Shining Star

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners. I am just having fun with the characters.

A/N-I would like to say a big thank you to SCIFIROMANCE who betad this chapter for me. I was rather nervous about posting this update but her awesome encouragement really made all the difference, thanks honey!

Part Four

Chakotay carried Seven into sickbay, he had refused to let anyone else pick her up as they were beamed directly to the room. An alarmed Doctor had confirmed he was on his way when he heard the Commander's desperate call for assistance come through the comm. system. Chakotay gently lay Seven down on one of the bio-beds, making sure that she was placed in a comfortable position. He hovered over her anxiously, gazing down at her pale face and blood red lips which were slightly parted as she drew in shallow breaths. He found himself reaching out to smooth her shiny blonde hair away from her brow, his hand came into contact with the metal encasing one eyebrow and to his dismay he felt a burning sensation coming from the metal. A small groan escaped Seven as her eyelids began to flutter as she slowly regained consciousness.

It was at this point that the Doctor, followed closely by a harassed looking Janeway burst through the entrance to sickbay, the automated doors barely opening in time before they were through. When the Captain saw Seven lying rigid on the bed she let out a shocked gasp.

"What happened?" She demanded, glaring at Chakotay as if Seven's present condition was all his fault.

He did not even notice her harsh tone, instead he completely ignored her and focused all his attention on the Doctor. "I found her collapsed in Astrometrics, I brought her straight here. What could be wrong? She was unconscious but seems to be coming around now..." he informed the Doctor quickly.

The Doctor walked over to Seven and began immediately examining her, his ever present tri-corder held firmly in hand as he ran it over her body. He was finding it hard to keep his own emotions in check as he gazed down at her limp form. It took all his professional medical training to keep his expression impassive. Her eyelids were still fluttering but had not completely opened and her breathing was becoming increasingly rapid.

The Captain watched the EMH and Chakotay standing either side of the bed with the fallen woman between them. There was no room for her to join them. She stood uncertainly to one side as the Doctor continued his examination, his expression becoming grimmer with each passing second. In the end Janeway could not take the tense silence any longer.

"Well, Doctor what do you think is wrong?" She asked.

Chakotay flinched at her intrusive tone and had to grit his teeth to stop himself issuing a retort. Instead he took hold of Seven's hand in his own, hoping that she could feel his fingers clasping hers so that she would know that he was there for her. The Doctor finally finished his examination and turned to Janeway.

"It's not good...It appears that one of her implants is failing. At this point I am not sure which one." He said sadly. "I need to do more extensive tests, I could use Tom Paris' assistance."

The Captain nodded, she felt numb. How could this be happening? Guilt washed over her as she recalled her earlier meeting with Chakotay when she had demanded to know why Seven would not be working while the rest of them attended the Doctor's concert. How could she have been so dismissive of Seven's feelings? She finally found her voice. "Yes of course Doctor, under the circumstances I will be cancelling tonight's performance.."

The Doctor agreed at once. "If you don't mind Captain I need to get to work at once..."

Janeway let out a heavy sigh. "Keep me posted?"

"Of course..." the Doctor turned his attention back to Seven. He asked Chakotay to let go of her hand as he needed some space. The latter reluctantly complied, loathe to let go of his only contact.

Janeway strode over and stood next to her second In command. She placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Come on Chakotay, there is nothing you can do here."

Chakotay gave her a distraught look. "I want to stay..." was all he said.

The Captain looked over toward Seven, the former Borg had sunk back into unconsciousness. The Doctor was inputting data into the computer, whilst running a continuous scan of Seven's implants. He needed to narrow down which one was the cause of Seven's present condition.

Janeway patted Chakotay on the arm. "Okay you can remain here for now..."

Chakotay just nodded absently as he returned to Seven's side, taking her limp hand in his own again while the Doctor was distracted. It was now clear to Kathryn that she had been wrong about how deep his feelings for Seven ran. Her earlier assumption that he had asked Seven to the concert out of misplaced courtesy was wrong. Chakotay was acting like a man in love, desperate to stay by the side of the woman he cared for.

"I am sorry, Chakotay..." Kathryn whispered, wiping a tear away from her eye as she finally left sickbay.

XXXXXXX

Chakotay stood outside the doors of sickbay, wet running down his cheeks. It had been two hours since Seven had collapsed and the Doctor was still no nearer to finding the cause. His panic had increased with each passing moment and he had to step outside for a while to regain his composure. Tom had given him a sympathetic glance as he left the room. Chakotay leaned his head back against the cool metal of Voyagers walls and closed his eyes. It had been a long time since he had offered up a prayer to his ancestors, but he found himself doing that now, begging to let Seven survive her ordeal.

The doors to sickbay swooshed open and Tom emerged, a tired look on his face. "She's woken up, I thought you would want to come and be with her..." He suggested gently. He politely ignored the wetness coating Chakotay's cheeks.

"Thanks...has the Doctor found anything yet?" Chakotay questioned.

Tom hesitated briefly before deciding to just tell the Commander the truth. "Yes, it seems that Seven's cortical node malfunctioned...she must have been in pain for a good couple of days. It's a pity she didn't seek assistance earlier, maybe it would not have come to this stage..."

Chakotay frowned. "Cortical node? What the hell does that do?"

"It seems that the Borg in their infinite wisdom placed a node, well call it more like an emotional failsafe, into each of the assimilated drones. It stops them being overwhelmed by emotions, to keep them focused on doing their job and thinking as one." Tom did his best to explain but felt he was doing a bad job of it. He was only repeating the easy part of the Doctors complicated explanation.

"So Seven was overwhelmed by her emotions and this failsafe was basically interfering with this and caused her to shut down..." Chakotay surmised in horror. His hatred of the Borg increased, they were barbaric.

"That's about it..." Tom agreed.

"Can the Doctor remove it?" Chakotay asked.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure...he needs to do some further investigation."

Chakotay swallowed the bile in his throat, he was getting desperate to go in and see Seven. He thanked Tom and swiftly entered sickbay. His eyes immediately strayed to the beautiful woman lying on the bed. To his relief he saw her vivid blue eyes open and she seemed lucid. Her face was still pale however and when she answered the Doctors questions, her voice sounded weak. He approached the bed cautiously.

"Hey Seven, how are you?" He asked awkwardly.

The Doctor gave him a severe look as he passed him. "The patient needs her rest, don't keep her too long..." he warned.

"Yeah..." Chakotay murmured. He reached the bed and instinctively reached for Seven's hand. He saw her glance up at him in surprise.

"Commander?" She said wearily.

Chakotay rubbed his thumb over her smooth palm as he gave her a smile. "Chakotay, Seven...call me Chakotay..."

Seven blinked rapidly, her heart stuttering painfully in her chest, her head was still aching and she felt utterly exhausted. She felt embarrassed to be seen in such a state by her commanding officer, even if he had asked her on a date out of some misplaced kindness. "I am sorry to have been the cause of so much upset. The Doctor has had to cancel his performance because of me..."

Chakotay smiled at her affectionately. It was so like Seven to feel unnecessary guilt over such a thing. "That is not important Seven, as I am sure the Doctor has already told you. All we are concerned with is getting you better. You gave me quite a scare." His voice lowered as he said the last part.

Seven stared up into his soulful dark eyes, worry and empathy were shining clearly from the dark pools and there was another emotion she couldn't quite place emanating from them. She gave him a tired smile and allowed her body to relax. "Thank you for being there for me, Chakotay..." she said simply.

"Your welcome..." he whispered in response. He leaned his head closer to hers and added. "I would always like to be there for you, if you let me..."

Seven's lips trembled as her emotions took hold of her once again. Happiness at his words surged through her body and she struggled to respond, desperate to tell him how she felt. Once again her head was split apart by an unimaginable pain as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body began to jerk. Chakotay cried out in alarm as the Doctor and Tom Paris hurried back to Seven's side, pushing Chakotay to one side.

All he could do was watch in despair as the two of them began a desperate fight to save her life...

A/N-I am sorry to leave yet another cliffie. I promise to update faster this time as I am already working on the next chapter. Thanks for reading, Nikki