A/N I sincerely apologize for the unnacptable delay...as you shall see the length of this chapter is partially responsible but you can blame myself and the pressures of education as well. please I beg of you, enjoy it, and reviews would be more than welcome, enjoy :)

"Captain, its time." Slightly disoriented, from her dreamless sleep, Captain Janeway wasn't quite sure whose voice it was on the other side of the com. Rolling out of bed, she smoothed her dishevelled uniform and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Captain, do you copy?" The com system chirped once more.

"Acknowledged. I'm on my way." She replied.

"Computer: Initiate site to site transport. The Bridge."

"Captain on deck." Said Mr. Tuvok.

"Report!" Janeway replied.

"We are 250,000 kilometres away from the rift left behind by the alien Vessel. The estimated time for entering fluidic space: approximately 3 minutes." The dark Vulcan's reply was prompt and calm. If he was secretly feeling as anxious about the eminent rescue mission as his fellow crewmen, he was hiding it well.

"Mr. Paris, full speed ahead." Katherine's order was full of determination.

"Aye, Captain." The entire crew seemed to hold its breath as the Ship made its way into Fluidic space.

"We're in," Lieutenant Paris whispered with awe, "I didn't think it would really work. Damn. Guess I owe Harry this week's replicator rations." He muttered as an afterthought.

"Well, work it did. Perhaps you should have a bit more faith in yourself and the crew, Lieutenant." Janeway replied with a smile. "Mr. Tuvok: status report."

"No injuries reported. Hull integrity, life support and shields all functioning within optimal parameters."

"Excellent. Start scanning for Seven's com badge and life signs". She said to crewman Tal, who had taken over Seven's position for the time being.

"What if there is no life signs to scan for?" She blurted. The rest of the bridge crew turned to stare between her and the Captain, each holding their breath waiting for the reply as Captain Janeway turned at last to look at the now mortified crewman in the eyes.

"There will be," Janeway replied with a voice as cold as the Borg Queen's heart, "Begin scans."

"Aye Captain" came the embarrassed reply from crewman Tal.

VOYAGER continued to cruise idly through fluidic space for several moments, with no sign of Seven of Nine's com badge or life signs.

"Captain," Celes said timidly, "Since in the past we've been unable to get a lock on 8472, is it possible that Since Seven's inside their ship, said biofield is blocking her com badge and or life signs?"

Janeway was dumbfounded, as were the other senior officers on the brig. How could we have possibly overlooked that? She thought with despair.

"You could be right, Ensign. What would you suggest we do about that?" She said with a voice strained with self chagrin. Celes looked rather taken aback at being asked her opinion, but recovering quickly she cleared her throat and said carefully, "The alien ships form a sort of blind spot for the sensors. If we start a full sweep and collect detailed irrelevant data of each section of the quadrant, when we find a spot where no data was collected we'll find a vessel and if we're lucky-"

"It will lead us to the one that took Seven," Pondered Janeway, "Brilliant Ensign! Give it a try!"

"A-Aye Captain" the eager to please ensign said. As she began the scans, the crew sat in a tense silence, which was suddenly broken as the com system went off.

"Torres to Janeway."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"Captain I need you down here in engineering please."

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. I'm on my way, Janeway out."

Janeway strode swiftly into engineering, eyes searching for signs of the disturbance in engineering that would require a Captain's attention. Spotting her spirited chief engineer tapping busily away at a console, she quickly stalked towards her.

"You wanted to see me Lieutenant? What's the emergency?" She asked with concern,

"No emergency, Captain. But you needed to get off the bridge." B'ellana's reply was calm yet decisive.

"For what reason exactly Lieutenant?" Asked Janeway, frowning and feeling rather foolish for rushing over so readily.

"Let's talk somewhere more private." the Lieutenant replied, walking over to her office, once the two were in her office, Lieutenant Torres turned towards her captain, who was now quite put out.

"Lieutenant," Janeway began, growing angrier with each word, "We are in the middle of a rescue mission, and if you called me here for social time I'm going to revoke your replicator rations for-"

"Captain, I called you here about Seven of Nine." Torres cut in. Janeway stared at Torres with complete incomprehension,

"What about her?" Janeway asked, her voice cold as her anger grew

"You're worried about her."

Captain Janeway was now concerned for her half Klingon friend's mental stability.

"Keen observation skills, Lieutenant. If that's all, I suggest we both return to our stations"

"No, that's not all." The lieutenant heaved a sigh of exhaustion. "Listen to me, Captain. Do you remember two weeks ago, when Miral came down with a really bad fever?"

Janeway was puzzled, but could indeed recall the event that seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Yes, I do. You were off duty for three days."

"Yes, well I spent all three of those days by her side in sickbay, holding her and comforting her through the night. On the second day, the doctor gave her a medication that seemed to be working, and then he sent me back to work on the third day." When Katherine Janeway simply stared, the Lieutenant continued.

"He did that so I would do something besides worry incessantly, and I called you away from the bridge for the same reason."

"Hang on Lieutenant," The Captain said stiffly, "If you're suggesting my worry is unprecedented then-"

"I'm not saying it's unprecedented. I know how you feel about Seven . Its how I feel about Miral and how Sam feels about Naiomi. And I know that if aliens kidnapped my daughter I would be even less calm than you are, but right now Seven needs you and all of us to be at the top of our game. You won't be able to focus if you're too stressed from worrying. So I asked you to come down here, so you would take a walk, and clear your head." She paused slightly, regarding Janeway carefully "If you want to go back to the bridge now go for it. From the look on your face, I'd say you're more annoyed than worried, and an angry captain can be an asset, but you're no good to anyone scared." Janeway was glaring with increasing annoyance at her chief engineer but couldn't help but nod slightly in agreement. "You're right. I'm so worried about Seven, I haven't been thinking straight. I don't where she is, how she is, if she..." The captain's voice trailed off as a flood of images she would rather not think of flooded her mind. "Ugh, I need a coffee." she sighed, placing her head in her hands. Looking up she added in a tone suggesting no room for argument, "I also need my chief engineer back at her station."

"Aye captain, and Captain? Don't look so hopeless. We'll find her. Alive. You may not have given birth to her, but your daughter has definitely inherited your knack for emerging on top from the most impossible situations. I wouldn't be surprised if Seven manages to find her way back on her own."

The Captain smiled, encouraged by the spirited Klingon's confident tone and dry wit.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." she repeated.

"Anytime." Lieutenant Torres called back over her shoulder, as she hurried back to her station. Feeling considerably less frazzled, Janeway set off for the mess hall.

"Captain! We've found something!" The Excited voice emitting from the Captain's com badge could only belong to Harry.

"Acknowledged. I'm on my way." The Captain quickly swallowed the last few dregs of coffee and sped towards the bridge.

"Report!" Cried the captain as she entered the bridge.

"We did a quadrant by quadrant search and we didn't get any information back at heading 132 mark six. A little over half a light year away." Ensign Celes replied.

"Sounds like your idea worked, Celes! Well done!" Janeway enthused. "Mr. Paris, lay in a course. Full speed ahead. Red alert. Battle stations." The crew began to scramble as senior orders were carried out.

Amidst the preparations for battle, a timid voice called out.

"Um, Captain?" Celes began, from her position at the console

Janeway walked over to the timid young woman.

"What is it Ensign?" She asked gently.

"I-I was wondering wh-what the plan is to rescue Seven when we actually find the Vessel?"

Captain Janeway smiled mischievously as she replied "Well, we`re going to just walk in and take her."

"Just like that?!" Celes asked in disbelief.

"Just like that. What?" Janeway said rather defensively to the now open mouthed Ensign, "It worked with the Borg." Janeway explained as Celes continued staring at her open mouthed.

"Seven`s bio signal may be blocked but we were able to contact her while she was on board the alien vessel, just before they escaped to fluidic space. We'll scan the ship and we'll page Seven. Once we figure out where she is three away teams will go in and if all goes well we'll have her back within the hour. Standard rescue mission."

Turning toward the view screen, Janeway could now see the alien vessel on the view screen. "Full stop, Mr. Paris." She ordered.

"Tuvok, Paris, Kim; let's go." She said briskly as their replacements filed in. Janeway began to purposefully stride to the shuttle bay, her anticipation mounting with each step. So swiftly did she walk that although his legs were longer, Harry found himself jogging to keep up with her.

"Janeway to Chakotay, target's in sight. Have you and the doctor finished the necessary preparations?" she called to the commander over the com.

"Aye captain" came the reply.

"Excellent, Commander. Tom, harry Tuvok and I are on our way."

"Acknowledged" Chakotay replied.

Commander Chakotay looked out from the door of the 'Delta Flyer' as the shuttle bay doors opened. The four senior officers, headed by the captain, filed in.

"Commander, report." Janeway said as soon as she spotted him.

"All systems go, Captain. The all three shuttlecrafts are armed and loaded. You, Tuvok, and Tom are the alpha team, you'll be taking the 'Delta Flyer'. The doctor and I will be heading the beta team along with Ensign Wildman. Finally, Harry will be in charge of the gamma team, along with Crewmen Jones and Mithell."

"Good. Mr. Tuvok, how shall we proceed?" Janeway asked shortly,

"Each team will enter the alien vessel at specific locations. Each location is programmed into the helm of each shuttlecraft. Once on board, each person is to use their triquarters to find Seven of Nine. You will be using hand held bio-weapons against species 8472."

The tall Vulcan officer handed a case full of the necessary weapons to each crewman and the doctor injected each person with the Vaccine. As soon as the Captain received her equipment she moved swiftly, with a slight urgency, preparing her shuttle for the journey ahead, as the other two team members changed hurriedly into protective suits in the shuttle's aft compartment.

"I will complete the necessary preparations. I advise you to put on your suit, Captain." The Vulcan officer said in his usual neutral tone.

"Thanks Tuvok." Janeway said quietly, for her focus was solely on rescuing Seven of Nine, "She's so close...I can almost feel her in my arms again. I will make her safe, no one steals my daughter or for that matter, any of member of my crew and gets away with it." She growled to herself. After changing quickly, Janeway paced impatiently waiting for the moment when Tuvok would fire the first torpedoes allowing Tom to manoeuvre them into the ship.

"We`re nearing the entrance point!" Tom called with excitement.

"Acknowledged. Readying Torpedoes. " Tuvok called in reply

"Fire at will!" Janeway said, her eyes glowing with anticipation.

"Aye captain. All hands, Brace for impact." The Vulcan officer replied. With a few skilful commands, the Delta flyer breached the hull of the alien Vessel and made its way inside.

The delta flyer found itself in a large chamber, and its three crew members quickly dismounted, armed with phasers, and in Tom's case a med kit including several blankets, and began to scan the area.

"Come on, come on, where is she?" Janeway thought impatiently as she read the increasingly frustratingly inconclusive triquarter readings.

"I've got something!" Tom called from the entrance to a corridor to her left. Janeway sped towards him, triquarter at the ready, surprised to find it picking up traces of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Stepping past Mr. Paris determinedly, the Captain began to cautiously make her way down the corridor, her cohorts following closely behind her.

The three officers continued to slowly advance, listening carefully for any sign of hostile activity.

The tense silence was broken only when all three triquarters began to beep, having finally picked up Seven's com signal. Janeway felt her heart leap, according to the triquarters; she was mere meters from her precious daughter.

"Damn!" Janeway cursed suddenly, as they had found themselves at a dead end. Feeling along the wall, none of the officers could find a way forward. Checking her triquarter once more, Janeway grew silent. The triquarter was picking up a com signal, albeit faintly, on the other side of the wall.

"She's in there. But how do we get there from here?" Janeway murmured.

"Maybe we should retrace our steps? Go back and find another way through?" Mr. Paris suggested,

"Not a chance, Mr. Paris. Who knows how much longer Seven's been stuck in here, and who knows how much longer can survive in this temperature."

The triquarters had been reading a chilling negative fifteen degrees celcius. Janeway frowned slightly, running her triquarter over the wall once more.

"It's less than a meter thick, we can cut our way through. Hand me that phaser." Janeway demanded. Tuvok obliged, and working quickly, the Captain began to cut an entry way through. It was slow work, and the other two officers kept a sharp lookout. Finally, after moments that seemed like hours, the captain managed to create an opening large enough for the three of them to pass through single file. Passing through quickly, she found herself in pitch blackness and readjusting the light setting on her triquarter and began to look around. She was standing in a large, round chamber, at the opposite end of which was what looked like a cryostasis pod, as she began to creep towards it, Seven`s com signal grew stronger. Janeway began to sprint towards the device, her heart pounding more from exhilaration than exertion, her focus entirely on thoughts of being re-united with her precious, sweet, angel.

"Argh!" Janeway cried out in pain and shock, as she was violently launched backwards. Landing hard, she groaned as the force of the impact knocked the wind out of her lungs. Gasping for breath, she searched for the source of her flight, cursing slightly as was greeted with a shriek from a member of species 8472, which was quickly racing towards her.

"Crap." she muttered breathlessly.

Standing quickly, she reached for her phaser, which had landed just few feet out of reach, managing to fire off a shot just before the alien reached her.

"Tuvok! Tom!" She yelled, firing another shot at the hostile alien

"We can't get through captain! The wall is repairing itself faster than we can cut through it!" Tom frantically replied from the opening Janeway had come through, chancing a glance, Janeway was horrified to realize the opening was sealing itself over as the other two officers tried to work through it.

"Well, cut faster dammit! God damned biological ships!" Janeway snapped with impatience. She turned to face the alien who had retreated slightly and was now standing between her and the strange device trapping Seven of Nine.

"Listen," she snarled through gritted teeth, "I know you can hear me, and I'm sure you understand me. We came here for that," she pointed the enhanced phaser at Seven`s prison, "And we`re not leaving without her. Now stand aside."

The alien replied with a wordless shriek. And using its incredible speed, struck hard with two legs, posting on the third. Janeway had been prepared for the onslaught, and recovered more quickly this time, firing off several shots of her own. "Alright, let's dance." she growled under her breath. Changing her tactic, Janeway advanced towards the alien, phaser at the ready, tense fingers poised to pull the trigger. As the adrenaline coursed through her, she became more aware of herself and her surroundings, and more desperate than ever to get her Seven home safely. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Get the hell out of my way!" Captain Janeway snarled with the authority only an angry Starfleet captain could have. As if mocking her, the alien turned to throw her once more, this time with its tail. Katherine tried to dodge, but was not fast enough. She fell to the ground dazed, and getting up, she faced the alien once more, this time adjusting her phaser to output maximum power.

" I have tried to reason with you. I would rather not kill you, now move." As the alien rushed towards her, Katherine could think only of her adopted daughter, lying trapped, so close yet so far and she saw red. With the fury of a mother's love coursing through every vein, she howled,

"THIS ENDS NOW! TO HELL WITH THE PRIME DIRECTIVE!"

And with that she pulled the trigger, the massive alien was struck with such force it flew through the weakened wall, allowing Tom and Tuvok to finally slip through. All three officers sped towards the strange chamber concealing Seven of Nine. Tom reached it first, and began to scan it.

"Life signs detected captain, and it's definitely Borg." Tom grinned at the triquarter's findings.

"Excellent. Let's get her out of here. Tuvok, Tom can you give me a hand?"

"Aye captain." Tuvok said, and if Janeway didn't know better, she'd have sworn there was hint of excitement in that Vulcan`s tone. At first glance, there did not appear to be any discernable opening or latch by which to rescue Seven from the chamber. The three officers felt along the machine but it was as smooth as silk.

"Any chance we can blast it open?" Tom suggested with exasperation.

"Not without risking serious harm to Seven of Nine." Tuvok pointedly replied, prompting Janeway to stare at her head helmsman in alarm and annoyance.

"Never mind..." tom blushed as he muttered his embarrassment reply.

"This pod appears to be made in much the same way as the rest of the ship. In short, it has grown around Seven of Nine." Tuvok commented, ignoring the tension of the other two.

"Well," Janeway said slowly, "If it is biological I say we do some surgery, Mr. Paris."

"Unnecessary captain. Observe." Mr Tuvok said with a hint of self with a few expert taps around the edges of the pod, it began to open, slowly peeling outward much as a flower opens from a bud. As the pod slowly opened, the three officers stepped back, eyes desperately searching for Seven's condition. Once it had finished, the three stepped forward once more.

"No..." Janeway moaned, for the huddled form inside the pod looked nothing at all like the healthy young woman that had been taken from her. Seven of Nine was emaciated, her usually tight fitting bio-suit now hung loosely around her frail form. There were several tears in the suit through which through which the skin appeared raised and tattered. As Janeway watched, horrified they were too late, the young woman's chest moved, but only briefly. Her breaths were shallow and her eyes closed. Cuts along her face and her bloodied nails showed she's put up quite a fight, likely attempting an escape. "Tom?" Janeway whispered hoarsely.

"I'm on it." Reaching into his med-kit, he extracted a medial triquarter. The trio waited in tense silence as he scanned her, Janeway tenderly stroking the unconscious woman's hair. When Janeway could bear the suspense no longer, she broke the silence.

"Well?"

"The opposite actually," Tom said grimly, "she's got three broken ribs, a fractured skull, and a broken ankle. Saying nothing of course, of the other bumps 'nd bruises."

"But can we move her? We need to get her to sick bay that much is obvious, but will we need to come back with a graviton stretcher?" Janeway snapped with impatience, her concern for her daughter's wellbeing eclipsing all rational thought.

"In her condition I doubt she'd even make it that long. The shuttles a half hour away. That would add another hour at least, which we can't afford."

"So what are our options Mr. Paris?" Janeway's irritation grew in tandem with Tom's prognosis.

"Relax captain," Tom said soothingly, sensing Janeway's distress, "We can bind and brace the ankle and wrap some of the more serious cuts, afterwards we can wrap her in one of the blankets I brought and then we'll take turns carrying her out. Here," he paused in order to pass out the med tape, "We can cover more with three than with one." Within moments Seven was patched up, letting out only a slight whimper when her broken ankle was moved.

"I'll carry her first." Janeway murmured quietly, her eyes on the broken young woman lying unconscious before her.

"Aye Captain." The other two replied, knowing that to argue Seven was too heavy for her would be rather like signing their own death warrants. With determination, and the tenderness only a mother could have, Janeway gently lifted her little girl into her arms. She was dismayed to find the young woman was much, much lighter than she should be, and cradled her to her chest protectively, adjusting her hold so as to make Seven as comfortable as possible. As Janeway turned to move, Seven whimpered slightly, her eyes briefly opening.

"Captain... Janeway..." she whispered hoarsely, pausing between words to breathe, "You... came for me."

"Of course I did Seven," Janeway murmured soothingly, looking into the half lidded eyes of the exhausted young woman, "I told you, I stand by my promises."

"I missed…you, I-" Seven broke off in a fit of coughing, Janeway held her more securely her worry for the ex-drone's condition reaching new heights as the hacking coughs shook both of them rather violently.

"Shh, easy, easy, sweetheart, just rest now," Janeway murmured urgently to the young woman in her arms, "I missed you too, but we can talk back on voyager. For now you need your rest. Don't worry, I've got you." Janeway's tone was gentle yet firm, and Seven nodded, exhausted and closed her eyes, leaning gratefully into her adoptive mother's warm, tender embrace, her head resting on the captain's shoulder. The captain tucked the blankets around her more securely, determined that Seven would feel no more discomfort. Once Seven had settled, her breathing evened out slightly, indicating she was slowly drifting off to sleep, the captain nodded to the other two officers who had been waiting quite patiently.

"Let's move." the captain said quietly, once again looking down at her prize, who now slept soundly in her arms, her expression one of peace that betrayed none of the perils of the last forty-eight hours..

Without a word, the trio began the long walk back to the shuttle, Tuvok and Tom flanking Janeway as she marched without complaint, her heart lighter than helium at the fact she was finally holding her daughter once more.