=/\=

When she entered Sandrine's, B'Elanna noted the crowd was fairly quiet tonight. Tom was sitting with Harry and Seven in the corner, behind the piano. No sign of the Doctor, so at least they shouldn't have to endure any long operatic interludes this evening. She didn't mind the occasional aria. He really did have a very nice vocal subroutine, but the EMH was far too fond of the sound of his own voice and tended to monopolize the evening when given the opportunity.

From the grim look on Seven's face, she wouldn't be volunteering any solos, either. That was actually too bad; B'Elanna liked Seven's singing voice. A few times recently, Tom had sung a duet with her. The blend of their voices was so much nicer than the Doctor's was with Seven, although he was totally oblivious that this was the case. It helped that when Seven sang with Tom, the "classics" were of the popular variety.

"Sorry I'm late. The inspection of the aft thrusters took a lot longer than expected. We had to clean . . . What's the matter? You all look like you've lost your best friend."

Tom put his arms around B'Elanna as she slid into the booth next to him. He looked as glum as Harry and Seven, but he maintained his silence until Seven said, "It is all right to tell her, Mr. Paris. I give you my permission to share my . . . my medical status with your wife." Harry nodded to show his approval, too. In a few succinct sentences, Tom told her about his unhappy hunch and discovery in Sickbay.

"Seven, I'm so sorry. Would you prefer to be alone tonight? We can get another table. A few are still available."

Seven slowly shook her head. "No, it's fine. Harry and I would prefer your company."

After asking Harry and Seven if they wanted anything from the bar and receiving a negative response, Tom excused himself to order drinks for B'Elanna and himself. As soon as he had turned his back, B'Elanna leaned forward and asked softly, "Does the captain know?"

"Of course she does," Seven spit out, with a grimace.

"The Doc told her. She called us on the carpet for an immediate disciplinary meeting this afternoon. We haven't heard about what's going to happen yet. I think my lieutenant's pip may be history."

"No, Harry," Seven said, patting his arm gently. "I believe your pip is safe. The captain understands I did this without telling you. If anything, I will become Crewman Hansen."

A minute later, Tom arrived with B'Elanna's prune juice and his synthale to a table wreathed in silence. "Hey, did you hear the one about . . ."

Harry put up his hand. "Tom, my sense of humor isn't capable of responding to any jokes tonight, no matter how good they are. Sorry. It's been a pretty devastating day."

Seven shrugged her agreement.

"Okay. Just thought it was worth a try. Do you want me to change the background music? Maybe something a little more up tempo would help?"

"The music is fine . . . Tom. I don't feel very much like talking right now. I believe Harry and I would just like to sit here with the two of you for a while. You are our friends. Your presence is helpful, even if we are not likely to converse very much."

After Seven's comment, the four sat quietly for several minutes, sipping drinks and snacking on the pretzels and dip Tom had ordered for the group before B'Elanna's arrival.

At first B'Elanna was discomfited by the awkward silence. After a couple of minutes, though, B'Elanna's mind began to work. Seven's miscarriage - as Tom had called it - was obviously a great disappointment for the couple.

Ever since the four had gone on their "excellent" vacation in Tahiti, the prize from the contest Seven had won, the two couples socialized far more frequently with each other than with anyone else on board Voyager. B'Elanna had once thought the best thing for everyone was for "that Borg" to leave Voyager. Now, she counted Seven as one of her closest female friends. What do you do for friends who have suffered a grave loss? Just commiserate with them and then ignore their pain? That's not how B'Elanna did things.

The chief engineer of Voyager decided this was a mere obstacle that needed to be overcome with a little ingenuity and some creative engineering, both of which B'Elanna had in abundance. Seven and Harry were no slouches in that regard either. And while Tom was more of a cheerleader when they had that sort of project going, he often came up with insights that made all the difference. "If we could come up with the Delta Flyer, despite our lack of resources, we can lick this problem, too."

B'Elanna hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until she saw three pairs of eyes staring at her. "Well, we can. So, Seven, you can't carry a baby inside your own body. You're not the first woman to have faced that problem. We'll just have to figure out a way to do it another way."

"Tom mentioned the possibility of in-vitro fertilization and having a surrogate mother carry a baby for us," Harry said patiently. "That technology has been around for three centuries. Actually I think that's how my mother finally had me. She didn't like to talk about it much. But we're sure the captain would never give permission for one of the crew to do that for us now, especially since you'll be needing to go on modified duty soon. When you do, we'll be down a crew member for certain assignments."

"I beg to differ about 'soon,' but 'eventually,' yeah, you're right about that, Harry. But I wasn't thinking about using a human incubator. The one I have in mind has already proven itself to be a very efficient way of developing a new human being. In fact, it's a little too efficient right now. We don't dare use it the way it was before. We don't want to attract the attention of the Borg again."

"You are thinking of One's maturation chamber."

"Yes, Seven. It's the logical choice, isn't it? Your remaining Borg technology prevents you from carrying a baby. Let's use Borg technology to take over for you. Do you have any idea how maturation chambers work?"

"I have some knowledge of them from my time with the Borg. One's was an extremely advanced version, however, since it was constructed automatically, with the help of 29th century technology."

"Right. That's what I meant about being a 'little too efficient.' You're already adopting Icheb, right? You don't need another big guy like him. You want a baby. We need to figure out a way to protect your fetus for several months before his or her birth. We don't want your child to develop in a day, the way One did."

"That's right," Tom chimed in. "One of the advantages of single cell reproduction and an extended pregnancy is that the parents get a chance to prepare for their new family member. It's not just physical preparation. There's the mental part, too. You have to study up on what to expect once the baby arrives. And the parents' relationship has to adjust to having a new member of the family."

"Yes, Doctor Paris," B'Elanna agreed, with a laugh.

Tom returned her grin before adding, "Seven, since you do know something about maturation chambers, do you know if there's a limit on how soon the embryo can be introduced into the chamber? Your nanoprobes stepped in to destroy the 'invader' within a few days after conception. The maturation chamber would have to be able to accept the baby almost immediately."

Seven reviewed her memories for a moment. "I believe a fetus generally must have reached a certain stage of development before being introduced into a normal maturation chamber. However, One and his maturation chamber were apparently conceived simultaneously. His entire gestation was spent inside it. If we can slow down the rate of fetal development in the chamber to some degree . . ."

"And modify it so that the baby is a human child, not a Borg . . . ," Tom interjected.

"Yes, exactly. That modification would also be necessary. However, if we can surmount the technical difficulties, I believe it may be possible for a fetus to spend virtually its entire period of gestation within the chamber. It might work." Seven's hushed pronouncement suggested that despair had begun to be replaced by hope.

"Wait. Hold on, everyone. We'd have to have the captain's permission for a project like this. Do you really think she'd let us do this now? We may have already messed up any chance we'd have for her to say it's okay because of what happened today," Harry said gloomily.

"I really don't think she'd be that vindictive, Harry. The key to being allowed to do this is to ask for her permission first. Don't try to sneak anything past her again. That's really what upset her, right?"

"I don't know, B'Elanna . . . "

"Harry, I agree with B'Elanna. We should ask the captain for permission to modify the maturation chamber. We already have all the parts in storage. We disassembled it so the Borg would not realize how advanced the technology is. We could rebuild it. It may turn out to be impossible to make the modifications we must in order for the plan to work, but at least we can ask."

"Seven, if we do this, does this mean you'd be willing to marry me?"

"The captain has not granted permission to anyone but Tom and B'Elanna to marry. Even if she would give us permission, I would wish to prove we could reproduce in this way first. If it fails, you should be free to engage in a romantic liaison with another who can provide you with an opportunity for biological children."

"Annika, I don't want anyone else! I love you."

"And I love you. Our association may continue for the time being as it is. I do not want you to commit to someone who cannot give your parents grandchildren . . ."

"Yoo, hoo! Seven and Harry!" Tom called out, waving his hand between their faces to draw their attention. "We're still here, you know, and it's getting a little uncomfortable sitting here while you talk about the 'nature of your affiliation.' You might be happier returning to quarters to continue this discussion."

"You are right, Tom. We should adjourn to your quarters, Harry, and speak in private about this matter."

"Thank you!" B'Elanna muttered sotto voce to her husband as their friends got up and walked away.

"You're welcome," Tom said with a smile, which turned into a much more solemn expression after Harry and Seven walked out of the entrance to the holodeck. "Do you think we can get the thing to work?"

"We know it did once. A person would definitely result. We just have to figure out a way to make sure it's a cute little Hansen-Kim baby, not a Borg adult. Icheb might be able to help us with that, you know. One was here long before Icheb arrived on Voyager, but Icheb is really good at the DNA stuff. You certainly know that. If anyone can help us make the modifications we need to do to it, he can."

Tom nodded his head thoughtfully. "You're right about that. And it might be a good idea to have his help for another reason. This baby would be his baby brother or sister. Seven isn't the only one who has been really down about losing Mezoti. The project might make him feel better, too."

"You know, Flyboy. You can be surprisingly sweet when you want to be."

"Always ready to oblige, Chief. And you too, Munchkin." Tom tenderly patted B'Elanna's belly, which was just starting to swell. Their baby girl was still barely visible to the general public, but her presence was already a given for her parents. B'Elanna knew Tom had spoken from the heart when he'd told Harry and Seven that the physical aspect of becoming a parent wasn't the only part that had to be addressed. She was really glad, now, about what he hadn't let happen to their precious little girl. If anything, that experience made B'Elanna even more sympathetic to Seven's quandary.

They would just have to find a way to help her, that's all.

=/\=