Hours passed and Seven just sat while her nanoprobes repaired the damaged ligaments in her ankle. She observed the cell around her. It was a 10x10 foot room. No windows. Only one door. The walls were composed of a hard stone she did not recognize. She could not penetrate it, even with her Borg hand.

The door opened suddenly. Seven did not try to stand, knowing her ankle would not support her weight yet. The man who opened the cell was Kryll.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Seven asked. The Kryll blinked at her with yellow eyes, giving no indication he had heard her. Then he stepped aside and a body was thrown into the cell right before the door slammed shut. A shock of auburn hair on a small body.

"Captain!" Seven cried, crawling to her side. For one heart-stopping moment Seven thought that Kathryn Janeway was dead. Then her enhanced hearing caught the faint heartbeat, the shallow ragged breaths.

Seven looked her over. They had stripped her down to her white cotton panties and sports bra. Her body was covered with dark bruises and cuts. There was a gash on her head that was wet with blood. Without a tricorder she couldn't be sure but she suspected the captain was bleeding internally.

"Oh Captain..." she murmured, stroking a lock of auburn hair from Kathryn's pale forehead.

For the next hour Seven sat there, stroking her unconscious captain's forehead. She felt helpless and it was not a feeling she liked. When her ankle could bear weight, she went over to the door and tried to open it. When that didn't work she began to beat on the door as hard as she could. It was made of the same hard stone as the walls and she could not make a dent in it.

"Hello! My captain needs medical attention! Please!" she shouted, knowing the whole time it was illogical and pointless. The aliens who had put them here, who had hurt her captain, were not going to help her now. But it made her feel like she was doing something.

"Seven?" a voice behind her croaked.

"Captain!" she said, dropping back to her knees beside her. Kathryn's gray eyes were open now, her pupils dilated.

"Where are we? I...can't see."

"You are not blind, Captain. It is dark. We are in a prison cell somewhere."

"Are you okay?"

"I am undamaged, Captain, but you are not. You have extensive injuries."

"I know, my head it..." Kathryn put her hand to her head and tried to sit up.

"Do not move," Seven said, putting a hand to her chest, then jerking her hand away when she realized she had touched the captain's bare skin.

"I remember...I was tied up. On a table. They were hitting me."

"What do they want with us?" Seven asked.

"I don't know. They were laughing and..."

Kathryn's eyes closed and she went limp.

"Captain!" Seven said, shaking her shoulder. Her gray eyes opened and she drew a shaky breath.

"You should not fall asleep, Captain. You may have a concussion," Seven said, trying not to sound scared.

Kathryn nodded weakly and took another deep, shaky breath.

"Seven?" she said after a minute.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Can you see?"

"Yes, Captain. My ocular implant allows me to see even in complete darkness."

"Am I...naked?"

"...They brought you in in your underwear."

Kathryn grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest. Seven quirked her ocular implant.

"Modesty is the least of our problems, Captain."

"You're right. I'm too tired to feel embarrassed anyway," she mumbled.

"...You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Captain," Seven said softly. "You are beautiful."

She looked down to see Kathryn's eyes had closed again. Seven sighed. At least she was still breathing. She decided to let her rest. She lifted the captain's head gently and placed it in her lap so she could stroke her hair more.

More hours passed and Kathryn did not wake up again. Her heartbeat got even slower and her blood pressure dipped dangerously low. Seven began to feel panic again. She went back to the door and yelled more.

"Hello! We need help! My captain is dying!" she said, pounding on the door. When she got no answer, she kicked the door in frustration. She kicked it several times, then turned back around and leaned against the door, frustrated. She was starting to feel tired too, her nanoprobes depleted from repairing her ankle.

A soft sound reached her ears and she realized it was Kathryn shivering, her teeth chattering together. Seven looked around desperately. There was nothing in the cell, nothing to cover her with, no way to keep her warm.

Not knowing what else to do, Seven lay on her side beside her. She pulled the shivering captain's small body close to her and wrapped her arms and legs around her. She was cold. Her body temperature was down to 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

"It is okay, Captain," she said softly. "I have got you."

"Sev...Seven..." Kathryn whimpered, not fully conscious. "I think...I'm dying..."

"I am here, Captain. Just rest," Seven said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I will not let you die."

Inside Seven's heart was pounding and she felt sick. She knew her captain was dying. She was going to die if she didn't do something. Seven could only think of one thing to do but she could not...she could not, but she could not just let her die!

Kathryn's heartbeat slowed and she drew one last shaky breath. Seven put her hand to Kathryn's neck, feeling tears well in her eyes as she did.

"Forgive me, Captain," she whispered softly and inserted her assimilation tubules into Kathryn's neck.