I strode into Sickbay. As the doors opened, the Doctor turned around. "Ah, Captain, just the person I wanted to see."
"Hello, Doctor. How is my little girl today?"
"Like her mother, she has no problem making her demands known." The Doctor said as he turned away, though not so fast that he didn't see the devastating glare I gave him. It was difficult for me to be angry, though. A demanding child had to mean that Mollie was growing stronger, and I rejoiced.
"I was wondering if I might be able to take her on a few field trips, Doctor?"
"If you mean bringing her with you to work, then absolutely not."
"I've already modified the duty rosters. Less time on the Bridge, more time working in my quarters so that I can spend more time with Mollie, and I've arranged child care for her in the event of an emergency, as well as for my Bridge shifts. All of the arrangements are in her file."
"So they are, Captain. I must confess, I am both delighted and surprised."
"But I thought perhaps I could take her out to see pieces of the ship. Quiet places, of course, but maybe an hour in my quarters one day, an hour in the Holodeck another. I think it would be good for her development if she was able to experience different environments. Only when she is able to, of course. I'd like her to see the stars."
"Maternal instincts?"
"Yes, Doctor."
"I'd prefer that we worked our way up to an hour, but I agree that a "change of scenery" would do our patient well. You may take Mollie on a 15-minute stroll, provided that she wears several monitors. You seem surprised, Captain."
"I was expecting much more resistance, Doctor."
"Fifteen minutes, and no more. If she shows any signs of distress, return to Sickbay immediately." He said as he affixed the monitors.
"Would you mind if I replicated an outfit for her?"
"Go right ahead."
I went over to the replicator and pulled up a file I had saved with outfits I'd hoped Mollie would be able to wear. In the end, I chose an eyelet dress made of pale pink cotton with a matching diaper cover, and a white cotton hat with a ribbon the same color as the dress. At the last moment, I also replicated soft white booties like the ones I'd worn when my parents took posed pictures of me as an infant. Then, I set about dressing Mollie, which was much more difficult than I'd anticipated. She had never worn clothing, and was not at all sure that she liked it. The Doctor took photographs of the whole process, which aggravated me at the time, but for which I was incredibly grateful. He then took a picture of Mollie and I. She was so beautiful when she decided that she was, in fact, okay. I could not remember the last time I had smiled so brightly.
"Okay, Miss Mollie, are you ready to take a walk with Mama?"
We took a leisurely stroll around the deck. Fifteen minutes was not long enough to go anywhere, but it didn't matter. I was deliriously happy. All too soon, we returned to Sickbay, where Mollie had a bottle, and I told her all about her grandparents, her aunt, about my life, and about Earth.
"I hope you'll learn to walk in the Janeway homestead in Bloomington, and not on Voyager." I whispered into her ear as I burped her. She gave a big burp, and I decided that we were in agreement. Then, as I looked at her and held her in my arms, she looked at me, and fell asleep in my arms. "Doctor." I whispered.
He rushed in as if there was an emergency, then smiled and took another photograph. "She is precious, isn't she?"
"Yes." I smiled.
"Captain, I believe I may be able to remove the implants…"
I cut him off. "It can wait, Doctor." I was torn between feeling that her survival was incredible and my not wanting to do anything that might endanger her, wanting her to be as fully human as possible, and knowing that each day that I delayed removing her implants would only make them more difficult and more dangerous to remove. But she was so small…
"I wouldn't bring it up if I thought it would endanger her in any way, Captain."
"Of course you wouldn't, Doctor…"
"You're her mother, Captain. It's normal for you to be overly protective. I'd start with non-essential implants, of course, and move slowly, but I do think it's best we begin sooner rather than later."
"When are you proposing?"
"I thought perhaps now, as I'm sure you'll want to be present. I consulted with Seven of Nine about the stages that the maturation chambers move through in each cycle. I'll start with the least developed non-essential implants, and work my way up to the more complex implants. As she is the least assimilated of the drones, I think Mollie's restoration will be the greatest success yet."
"Very well, Doctor. Of course, I want to stay."
"Of course, Captain. If you'll bring her into the surgical bay…"
I kissed her head and explained what was going to happen even though she was asleep and even though she wouldn't understand. "But don't you worry, baby, Mama will be here the whole time." I put her down on the bio-bed and the Doctor administered hypo-sprays and began to work.
My stomach was in knots the entire time. I was sure it was normal for a mother to have this sense of dread each time her child was undergoing surgery, but it didn't feel normal.
"Mollie will require more surgeries than the other children, but I assure you that my goal is to do this in the way that will be least traumatic for her." The Doctor said as he monitored Mollie before lifting her sedation. I knew it would be risky. I knew everything about Mollie's life would be risky. She hadn't been assimilated fully, but she had been assimilated, and the immature systems might not react in the expected manner. I tried to unknot my stomach. Everything seemed promising. Then, something was wrong. All the monitors were beeping and flashing.
"What's wrong, Doctor?"
"I don't know." He rushed to administer medication. "Doctor to Seven of Nine, prepare for emergency transport."
I prepared the site-to-site transport immediately, and Seven materialized in Sickbay.
"What happened?"
"The operation went exactly as predicted. Mollie crashed when I lifted the anesthesia."
"We must re-assimilate the infant." Seven said.
"No!" I yelled. "There must be another way!"
"She's getting worse!"
And then Seven injected nanoprobes into Mollie's neck.
"Let me hold her!" I cried. "Leave us!"
Seven left without a word, and the Doctor retreated to his office, where he no doubt was remotely monitoring Mollie.
"Hey, baby, it's okay. Mama's here." I whispered as I held her close to me. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You're going to be okay, baby." The color was leaving her face, and tears began to fall from my eyes. I cried harder with each implant that erupted. There were more implants in her body now than there were before her operation. I didn't know how much time had passed, and I didn't hear the Doctor come back into the surgical bay.
"I'm so sorry, Captain."
TBC
A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites. I don't quite know how long this fic will be, as I have several ideas for where this might go, but fear not! It is not over yet!
