Beverly Crusher studies the cards on the table. In her hand, she holds two 4's. Another lies face up on the table.
"Raise," she says as she pushes a small stack of chips to the center.
Worf growls and lays his cards face down. Data and Deanna Troi are already out. Just Will Riker remains with one card left to play. Will checks his cards then studies Beverly's face. She calmly stares him down. She knows he's playing for the flush. Two hearts show on the table. He matches her chips.
"Deal the card Data," he demands.
Another heart. She smiles at him as she pushes a larger stack in. He smiles back.
"All in!"
Beverly considers the bet. Will is the best player on the ship. He's also the best bluffer. Data is rattling off the odds, advising her not to call. She lays her hand on the top of her stack. Just before she makes her move, her communicator chirps.
*Dr. Crusher. You have an incoming subspace message. It is marked private.*
*Thank you. I'll take it in my quarters.*
"Sorry boys. Duty calls." She gathers her chips and slides her cards to the middle of the stack.
"Hey! Wait!" Will calls after her. She just winks at him.
"Well that was rude," Will tells his friends.
"How so?" Data asks, "I believe she folded her hand and therefore forfeited her bet. She was under no obligation to show her cards."
"I know Data. But didn't you want to know?"
"Actually, what I would like to know is if you had the flush," Deanna says. He turns his million bars of gold pressed latinum smile on her.
"You have to pay for that privilege my darling," he says as he shuffles his cards into the deck.
"But how about these messages she's getting?" Will asks, changing the subject.
"What about them?" Deanna asks a bit too quickly. Will turns on her again.
"Correct me if I'm wrong Data, but that's the third 'private' message the good doctor has received since returning from her vacation."
"You are correct sir. Three messages in eight days."
"Mmm hmmm…" he continues, "and I think Deanna here knows exactly who they're from. Spill!"
She laughs. "I'm sorry Will. I can't. You know I never share confidences. And a good thing for you too, that I don't."
"True. True. Still, we all want to know what happened on that island, don't we boys?"
Worf and Data stare, never sure who to side with when it comes to gossip. Deanna shakes her head.
"Nope. Sorry. Now are we here to play cards or what? Deal!"
In her quarters, Beverly sits in front of her monitor and taps it to life. She smiles as a woman's face come into focus.
"Seven!"
Large blue eyes light up with a smile.
"Beverly! I am happy to see your face. Do I disturb you?"
"No. Of course not! I'm happy to see you too. How are you?"
"I am good now. I've been looking forward to talking to you for several days."
"Me too. You've been busy?"
"I have been. Voyager has been mapping a new star system. Much of the work was done by me and Ensign Kim in the Astrophysics Lab. It's been quite interesting. Do you wish to hear the details?"
"Sure." Beverly smiles as Seven begins to describe her project in more detail than she understands. It does't matter, just hearing the sound of Seven's voice and watching her talk about something she loves is enough, she lets her mind wander to the things that they can do together.
"Beverly?"
Beverly snaps back to attention.
"Please tel me about your day now."
"Oh it was nothing special."
"You're work is very interesting to me."
"It can be interesting but we've got nothing much going on right now."
"Still, I wish to hear what you do all day. Please don't leave anything out."
Beverly laughs. "Why would you want to know all the mundane stuff I do."
Seven smiles. "Because I often stop in my work to think about you. It would be helpful to me to know what you are likely doing at those moments."
"Details are important to you."
"They are."
Beverly smiles back. "Alright. Well, let's see, I usually start my day at 06:30. I often share breakfast with Captain Picard then I go to my office in sick bay to check staff schedules. My first appointments start at 08:00 then..."
Beverly finishes her story by telling Seven about the evening's poker game.
"Then I have a cup of chamomile and valerian tea or a bit of sherry before bed."
"It sounds like a busy and fulfilling day," Seven tells her.
"It can be. Now, though, I find myself a bit lonely in the evening."
"Why is that?"
Beverly just smiles and Seven catches on.
"Oh. I see. Yes, I find myself wishing you were here to talk to as well. I think about you when I start my regeneration cycle."
Beverly is curious about that. She's seen the process on Borg ships but she's never fully understood it.
"Can you tell me about that? Is it like sleep? Do you dream?"
"I do not know. I don't remember needing to sleep. I feel refreshed and energetic when I finish the cycle. My thought processes are much clearer. As for dreams, I don't remember any. When I was connected to The Collective, I was able to follow commands to awaken. I think of you at the beginning and the end so maybe I am able to have thoughts about you throughout."
"Well then I hope your dreams are as good as mine then," Beverly says with a wink.
"Do you wish to play a dream game?" Seven asks.
From the pink color in Seven's cheeks, Beverly suspects what it is she wants to do.
"Maybe, is this something you read about?"
"It is. I've heard it can be quite pleasant in circumstances when lovers are separated by distance."
Beverly is suddenly embarrassed. "I don't know..."
"Trust me?"
"Ok," she says with a nervous giggle.
Seven lowers her tone, her voice more melodic than her normal Borg cadence.
"Listen very carefully to my words, do everything I say. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, hold it until I count to three then slowly let it out. Don't think about anything but the sound of my voice."
She slowly guides Beverly into relaxation then starts to give her directives. She describes in detail every taste, smell, the feel of her lips as she gently sucks on Beverly's neck, the touch of finger tips on her breasts. By the time she directs her to touch herself, Beverly is unable to tell the difference between her fingers and Seven's.
"Open your eyes Beverly."
Beverly slowly opens her eyes and sees the image of Seven on the monitor, a bit startled that Seven isn't actually in the room with her.
"How was that?"
"That was amazing. It was like it was real, like you're really here with me."
"I am with you Beverly. Now you will have good dreams tonight."
Beverly smiles. "I hope that you do too. Can we talk again soon?"
Seven ducks her head.
"As you wish. Good night Beverly. Dream not of today."
The screen goes black and Beverly sits back with a sigh.
"Damn," she says softly as she crawls into her bed.
Deanna comes by Beverly's office.
"You want to get some lunch?"
"Sure. Just let me..."
"What happened?"
"What?" Beverly asks, a bit startled.
"I know that look!"
"It's nothing Deanna. Really. I just had a chance to talk to Seven last night. I guess I'm still a bit high from that."
Deanna peers at Beverly's face.
"No. It's more than that. Can we go to my office and talk?"
"Only if there's food."
"I'll replicate something."
Beverly follows Deanna down the corridor, wondering how much her friend has guessed and what it is she has to say about it. In her office, Deanna makes lunch and coffee and brings it to the sofa where Beverly sits.
"Tell me what happened?"
"It's kind of embarrassing."
"You're not embarrassed. You can't wait to do it again."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"With communicator sex? No. Not really."
"Then what's the problem?"
"The problem is that she hypnotized you."
"She did?"
"Uh huh. I can feel the fuzzy edges around your memory, the confusion about what was real and what was your imagination."
"It did feel amazing. Like she was really there. Like it was her hands and not mine."
"Beverly, did you consent to that?"
"I'm not sure. I think so. I mean she asked, not specifically that but...I don't understand the problem? Even I know that you can't make someone do anything they don't want to do under hypnosis."
"True. But suggestion can be very powerful when you're in that state. It may be something you wouldn't normally do. It seems that she's very good at it and you've been hypnotized before. It makes you an easy target."
"Maybe but she didn't do anything wrong. It was good. Really good."
"I can feel that. Just talk to her about it. Please? And make sure you know what's going to happen first. Everything. OK?"
"Ok. Now can I tell you about it?"
Deanna grins. "You better not leave out a single detail!"
Tom Paris and B'lanna Torres drop their trays onto the table in the mess. Harry Kim joins them moments later. Their breakfast discussion often include a great deal of ship's gossip and this morning is no exception. Tom starts the conversation.
"So has anyone noticed Seven has been acting strange since she came back from her vacation?"
"I have," Harry agrees. "She seems preoccupied for some reason. And why did she need a vacation in the first place? It's not like she has any hobbies or anything."
"You mean besides working out and annoying me?" B'lanna asks.
Tom and Harry laugh at her.
"Seriously though," she adds, "Harry's right. She's been distracted, and she's been asking me the strangest questions."
"Like what?" Tom asks.
"Like about you and me. Dating things though she calls it courtship and mating. Like how did we know we wanted a mate, what does being in love feel like."
"Yeah! She asked me the same kinds of things," Harry says. "It was really weird. You guys think she has feelings for someone?"
B'lanna shakes her head. "That would be assuming she has feelings."
"Now c'mon B'lanna. That's not fair," Tom scolds her. "She's got feelings. She's just not good at expressing them. Maybe our little Borg is growing up?"
"You know," he adds, "I did see her when she got back from her trip. Ran into her in the hall. I even accused her of having a boy friend. I was teasing her at the time but maybe..."
"What did she say?" Harry asks, leaning forward onto the table.
Tom laughs at him. "Whoa. Down boy! She said she didn't."
"You know," B'lanna says, "she did ask me some other questions..."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. About sex."
"Yeah?" Harry asks again, a bit too interested in the answer.
"She asked if I ever had sex with a woman too."
"What did you say?" Tom and Harry ask at the same time.
"Not telling!"
"You don't think...?" Tom asks.
"It would explain a lot." Harry says with disappointment. Tom and B'lanna laugh at him. Just then Tuvok walks by their table.
"Lieutenants. Ensign." He nods his head in greeting. "What is the topic of discussion for this morning?"
"Seven has a lesbian lover!" Harry blurts out.
Tuvok glares at him. "Mr. Kim, I think that we would all appreciate you refrain from speculation on Seven's personal life."
"Understood," Harry mumbles but as Tuvok walks away, the three friends dissolve into giggles once again.
"So, what is today's gossip?" Kathryn Janeway asks her old friend as she slides into the seat at Tuvok's table. Tuvok sighs. "It seems that Seven and her love life are of a great deal of interest this morning."
"Seven has a love life?" Kathryn asks with surprise.
"Apparently so."
"And who is the object of her affections?"
"Unknown. The current theory seems to be that it's a woman."
"I see," Kathryn muses as she sips at her coffee.
The door to the Holodeck slides open to reveal a tall blonde wearing a tight red catsuit. Kathryn looks up.
"You wished to see me Captain?"
"I did. Don't just stand there, come in."
Seven steps through the door and it closes, dissolving into the image of daVinci's workshop. Seven watches patiently as Kathryn picks up a blob of green paint with her palate knife and spreads it onto the canvas in front of her. She squints at it then scrapes it off and back onto her palate. She mixes a bit of darker green and tries it again. Satisfied, she pulls the edges of the green outward to simulate the branches of a tree. She adds a sliver of white paint for accent then puts her knife and palate down. Without taking her eyes from her painting she begins to talk.
"I was wondering why you went to Nuevo Quepos last week?"
"I requested a shore leave. Is that not proper?"
"No it was fine. And is your right. I'm just wondering why? You've never expressed any desire for leave before nor have had any interest in that particular place."
"I wished to explore the human idea of a vacation."
Kathryn finally looks up and meets Seven's eyes.
"Bullshit! You had a reason for that particular place and that particular time. I want to know what it was."
"There was a person there I wished to meet."
"Ahhh!" Kathryn says triumphantly. "And who was this person?
"A StarFleet doctor. One who is an expert in Borg physiology. I had questions I wished to have answered.
"Things you couldn't ask the Doctor?"
"No."
"I see."
Kathryn goes back to studying her painting.
"Is there more Captain?"
"I'm not sure."
"I don't understand."
Kathryn sighs and stands. She goes to sit on the hearth next to the fire and gestures for Seven to join her.
"I'm concerned Seven. It seems as though you've been acting differently since you returned."
"I'm sorry Captain. I will pay more attention to my work."
"It's not that Seven. I'm going to just come right out and say it. This doctor that you went to meet, are you in a relationship with this person?"
"Is this something I am to share? Must others inform you when they form friendships?"
"No. But Seven, you're different. I worry about you, that someone may take advantage of you."
"I assure you Captain that Dr. Crusher has not taken advantage of me."
"Crusher?! So it's true then?"
Seven just looks at her with confusion.
