Author's Notes: Welcome to Chapter 11! We're like, halfway there, maybe? RATING CHANGE from T to M. You'll see why. I have so much fun writing this- I'm glad so many are enjoying reading it! Thanks again to Sci and Starshine for being my sounding boards and betas! Also, thank you to all my reviewers!

~LM

Obligatory Legalities: Don't own it, DO manipulate it to my will...

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It was the sound of trickling water that woke her. The rain was no longer pouring down by the bucketful. Instead, it fell in staccato patters on the windscreen, the sound quiet and gently lulling. If not for the pressure in her bladder, she would have easily slipped back into sleep. Her back was pressed into the camp mattress, Chakotay sleeping with his chest half over her's and his lips next to her ear. Every breath swirled across her ear, pulling goosebumps up along her neck and shoulder even as it drew beads of sweat up along her hairline. One arm was pinned under his neck, curled up with her fingers resting in his hair; she used her other one to push away the too-warm blanket covering her. The sudden rush of cooler air across the skin of her belly where her shirt had ridden up was a welcome sensation, pulling a sigh of relief from her lips. Even feeling slightly overheated, she was comfortable enough that it almost hurt her to gently prod Chakotay's side.

"Chakotay.. älskling.." She murmured, turning her head and kissing his lips. "Querido.." Another kiss began to rouse him, his mouth suddenly responding to her own before he finally pulled back a little and opened his eyes.

"What do I have to do to get this kind of wake up call every morning?" he asked softly.

Seven smiled, her blue eyes bright. "I am sure I could think of a few things." she answered.

"Good." He leaned up to hover over her, letting cool air rush across their chests, looking down to watch her nipples pebble under her tshirt in the dim light of the sun rising behind the rain clouds. "I expect a report on my desk by next week." he teased before moving up to kiss her again.

"Yes, Commander." Her bladder twinged and she crossed her legs at the ankle as he peppered kisses along her jaw and then down to her collarbone through her tshirt.

"Commander?" he chuckled, the hand not supporting his weight over her moving down and inching the grey material up across her belly. "At ease, Crewman." he practically purred. His hand stopped just beneath the curve of her breast, glancing up to meet her eyes.

Seven hummed a sigh, arching her back beneath his hand in permission. He teased the fabric up to reveal one perfect milky-white globe, then brought his mouth down to lathe his tongue over the pink peak. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes slamming shut as he drew her flesh into his mouth. When she could breathe again, she groaned his name. Releasing her skin with a soft, wet pop, he leaned back up and kissed her lips, replacing his mouth with his hand. Just as he was about to return them, the sound of the midsection door sliding open threw ice water over the both of them. His hand yanked down her shirt and she turned towards the wall before the cockpit door also slid open.

"You guys up yet?" Harry asked, barely peeking into the cockpit. When he saw Seven and Chakotay were both dressed, he took a step inside.

"Yeah, we're up." Chakotay said, turning to look up at the ensign over his shoulder. "Time for breakfast?" Seven also turned enough to see Harry over her shoulder.

Harry smiled with a nod. "Yeah, after a bathroom break anyway."

Seven sat up first, adjusting her shirt down and pulling her knees up to her chest to hide the evidence of Chakotay's attention poking through it. Chakotay sighed before following her example. "We will be right there." he said to Harry. "Let me roll this bed up first."

"Oh, okay." Harry said awkwardly, backing out of the cockpit and letting the doors slide shut behind him.

Alone again, Chakotay turned back Seven with a wolfish grin. She blushed the faintest shade of pink, her lips barely curling into a smile as she made to stand up. He took hold of her hand before she could tuck her knees under her and pulled her shirt back up to her collarbones. Ignoring her gasp of surprise, he leaned in and ran a warm tongue over her other breast before placing a teasing kiss on her nipple. When he pulled back, he pecked a kiss on her cheek. "Wouldn't want this one to get jealous of its twin." he teased.

"Chakotay!" Seven smirked, glancing at the doorway where Harry had just left them before standing up. Chakotay only chuckled, standing up helping her roll away the bedding before following her down through the midsection and into the aft.

The sleep mats were already put away in the aft, the blankets folded up and laid on top to await nightfall. The canisters of water were by the door, and Tom was currently filling the canteens as B'Elanna held them so they wouldn't spill. Harry was unlocking one side of the hatch, the other side already unlocked. Chakotay walked past Tom and B'Elanna and helped Harry push the hatch open.

Outside was dusky as the sun tried to shine its rays through the clouds that still hung thick, heavy, and wet in the sky. The rain coming down in a gentle shower was cool, raising a gentle mist out of the ground around them. The bottom of the hatch was now sitting in three inches of standing water, as the whole back end of their crater had become one giant rain puddle. The water itself was clear while pocked with fallen leaves from the trees and random bits of wood splinter from the crash. The woods around them stood dark and ominous without the sun to light them, every shadow suspect.

Seven stared out the open hatch with a scrunched nose. B'Elanna joined her a few seconds later, her hands crossed beneath her belly as she eyed the treeline. "baQa.." mumbled the half- Klingon. "I am not going in those woods to pee."

"No, you're not." agreed Tom, capping the lid on the water canister and following her line of sight. "Not alone, anyway."

"I'll accompany you." Seven offered, stepping out onto the hatch.

Chakotay reached out and took her hand, stopping her. "Not without me, you aren't." he mumbled, scanning the dark woods with squinted eyes.

"You're not going to the bathroom with me, Chakotay." said B'Elanna, looking at him like he had grown two heads.

"It's still dark out there." Tom said. "I'm going with you."

"What, no one is going to hold my hand?" Harry laughed, grabbing up the flashlights and handing them out.

"I mean, if you want me to..." teased Tom, strapping his flashlight to his wrist.

"We're going to get soaked." commented B'Elanna, flashlight on and ready. As a group they walked down the ramp and sloshed into the small pond that had been their campsite.

Seven gasped as the cold water ran down the back of her neck and into her tshirt, suppressing a shiver as she stopped and looked up into the sky. After the initial shock of cold had worn off, she found the soft drops landing on her face and arms to be a pleasant sensation. Raising her left hand, palm up, she watched the drops land on the silver metal, and roll down to drip from her arm. The sensors in her fingertips buzzed, sending the new sensation to her cortical node to be stored and processed later. A sharp throb began behind her right eye.

"Come on, Snugglebunny." B'Elanna said, reaching out and taking the silver-lined hand in her own, and tugging it after her towards where the boys were scouting just inside the treeline. "We can play in the rain later."

"I do not intend to play in the rain." returned Seven, smoothing back the damp hair from her braid that had come free and plastered itself to her forehead.

"Clear out here." Chakotay said, running his flashlight into the trees and turning away from the couple of trees he indicated to give the girls some privacy.

Seven was the first back out of the woods, walking up to the shuttle with her hands palm up in front of her to catch the rainwater. The throb behind her right eye dulled as she distracted herself with the cool liquid pooling in her hands. Leaning her head back, eyes closed, the cold rain soothed the ache and drew a pleased hum from her lips.

B'Elanna sidled up beside her with an amused smile, holding her own hands out in the rain. "How do you like your first rainstorm?" she asked.

"It is.." Seven paused, turning her face to look B'Elanna in the eye. "Interesting... but.." She winced with a particularly sharp pain, unable to stop her hands from coming up to fold over her forehead.

The half-Klingon's smile dropped. "Seven?"

"It is nothing, B'Elanna." Seven mumbled, bringing her hands down. "Just a glitch." She managed a convincing enough smile that B'Elanna dropped it, turning to look behind them as the three men came one by one out of the woods from their bathroom break.

"I'll tell you a glitch." said B'Elanna. "I had a dream last night that I didn't give birth to a baby Klingon-human hybrid. Instead, I had a litter of bald tika cats!"

Seven gave her a quizzical look. "...tika cats?"

B'Elanna nodded. "Better than targs, I'm sure. Targs have tusks." If anything, this statement made Seven look more confused. The engineer laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Harry, sloshing his way back towards the covered hatch and the protection from the rain it provided.

"Just telling Seven about a dream I had." answered B'Elanna.

Tom, following Harry, stopped next to his wife. "The one about the tika cats?" When she nodded in confirmation, he leaned forward and planted a lingering kiss on her lips. "I'd raise a whole litter of tika cats as long as it was with you, Be'nal."

"Oh my god, I may puke." Harry teased.

"Shut up, Harry."

"I'd raise a litter of tika cats, but I'm not breastfeeding them." laughed B'Elanna, leaning into him as Tom slid his arm around her waist. "Those fang teeth... ouch!"

"What fang teeth?" Chakotay asked, walking up beside Seven and holding his arms out cupped in front of him to catch the rain.

"Tika cat fang teeth." answered Seven with a shake of her head, a slightly amused frown on her face. A light wind from the North began to blow, changing the direction and force of the rain. Seven shivered.

"Okay, inside." Chakotay said, ushering the others up the hatch. "The Doctor would never let us hear the end of it if we all have colds when we get back home."

XXX

Kathryn strode onto the bridge with a more determined air than usual, immediately catching the eye of every officer in the room. At her chair, she paused only to turn to Tuvok as he retook his station from Ayala's capable hands. "Tuvok, I need you to call back everyone on the planet." She lightly scowled, reaching up and touching her com badge. "Captain Janeway to Ensign Celes."

"*Celes, here, Captain.*"

"Celes, I need you to bring the group of dignitaries back to the transporter rooms. Something has come up, and we need to leave quickly."

"*On our way now, Captain. Celes, out.*"

Sorted, Kathryn turned back to Ensign Culhane sitting at the conn. "Get ready to spin us around, Ensign." she told him, taking a seat on her chair. "We have a rescue mission to execute."

"Who are we rescuing, Captain?" Megan Delaney asked from her newly assigned station as backup opps.

Kathryn watched Icheb and Chell walk to the turbolift without a word, but the Tinvarii professor hung back. "Our away team, Ensign." she answered.

Professor Menton walked to stand beside the Captain's chair. "If you are willing, Captain," he began, tugging his lapels and rolling on the balls of his feet. "I would like to accompany you to the planet. It has been many years since I have witnessed Decissis for myself, and I wonder if your ship could conduct any more detailed scans than the last time I was able to." He looked down at her imploringly. "If you would be willing, that is."

With a nod, Kathryn gestured for the professor to sit in Chakotay's chair while they waited. His knowledge of the planet itself and whatever 'beast' the Tinvarii believed to be on it would be highly valuable. "More than willing, professor." she said with a placating smile. "Why don't you tell me more about the planet and its history?"

"Certainly, Captain. It is believe, by my people, at least, that the planet itself was..."

Kathryn settled down in her chair, half listening to the professor's voice and half worrying about her people. The seasoned Captain didn't want to believe the away team was truly in such peril, but had learned over the years in the Delta Quadrant that it sometimes was better to play it safe than be sorry. She just hoped that if there really was a creature roaming around on that planet, that it hadn't found them yet.

XXX

Harry reached his arms up above him as high as they would go, stretching out the kinks and popping his shoulder with a soft, satisfied groan. When he brought his hands back down, he used them to push himself up to stand. "Anyone else need a bathroom break?" he asked, glancing from where B'Elanna and Seven were laid out on the mattresses to where Tom and Chakotay were enjoying a match of War with the playing cards. "Any takers?" The day had passed by slowly, the rain having kept them indoors again. Save for the playing cards and the sleep mats, there had been little else to do.

"No, thanks." said B'Elanna, turning on her side to face Seven. "So, anyway, about the defect in the grid over the port nacelle..."

"Not me." said Tom. Chakotay shook his head, dropping an Ace on the pile of cards with a smirking grin. The blonde pilot spotted it and cursed.

"Okay then." said Harry, walking down the open hatch and staring into the rain. "I'm just going to walk around to the other side of the flyer then."

"Do you need a buddy?" Tom asked, a concerned look coming over his face as he watched Harry scanning the treeline. "It's starting to get dark."

"No, I'm just walking over here." Harry shrugged, gesturing to the side of the shuttle once he had strapped on his flashlight. "I'll be right back." The rain was still cold when he stepped into it, and he squinted as water immediately began to flow from his hair down to his eyes. With a shiver, he turned and walked along the port side of the Flyer until he was halfway up the ship. He started to reach down to unbutton his pants, but stopped and quickly scanned the treeline with his flashlight first. The dark woods were ominous, their presence oppressive. "...Nothing to be scared of." he mumbled to himself, undoing his button.

"Harry?"

The ensign jolted, startled, raising his flashlight beam up to the front of the shuttle and the blonde standing there. He let out a relieved breath, watching Seven take two steps towards the woods before stopping, her head turning as she followed the treeline. "Did you come out here to make sure I was okay?" he teased, turning away from her to quickly do his business and re-button his pants. "You shouldn't sneak up on a guy like that!"

"Harrry?" Seven said again, taking another two short, halting steps towards the dark woodline.

"Do you see something?" Harry asked, zipping his fly as he turned his flashlight to the trees. He couldn't see anything through the shadows his flashlight couldn't penetrate. "I'm finished. Let's go back inside. It's cold."

"There." Seven said, pointing ahead of her into the woods.

"What? Where?" Harry padded up closer, shining his light out. His eyes widened as Seven took another step towards the woods. "Hey, don't go in the woods- it's too dark!"

"There." Seven repeated, pointing again and taking another step.

"Seven!" Harry's voice was pleading. He really didn't want to go into the woods in the dark or have to talk down the overly-confidant ex-drone, either. Once she made her mind up, there was little changing it. He turned back towards the hatch-end of the shuttle to yell for Chakotay; maybe he could come reign in his girlfriend.

"Who are you talking to, Harry?" Tom asked, peaking his head around the side of the shuttle.

"Will you grab Chakotay? Seven's going in the woods!" Harry said exasperatedly, looking back over his shoulder at the blonde facing the woodline.

Tom scrunched his nose. "Seven isn't in the woods."

The younger man hissed out a sigh. "Well no, but she's about to be and she won't come back with me. Just grab Chako-"

Seven stuck her head out of the shuttle next to Tom. "Harry, what is wrong?"

With a look of complete uncomprehending shock, Harry's arm dropped to his side, illuminating his pants leg and foot. It took him two seconds to jump, spinning around and shining his light towards the woods. He just caught a wisp of blonde hair moving around the front of the shuttle before he let out a loud yell, scrambling back to the hatch. "Get in! Get in!"

Tom dodged out of Harry's way, pushing Seven with him. "What?! What's wrong?! What?!"

"Get in! It's out there!" Harry yelled, yanking up the edge of the hatch. "Hurry!"

Chakotay hopped up from the bench, quickly helping the two men to pull and lock the hatch shut. "What's out there?" he asked, glancing back to make sure that B'Elanna and Seven were both okay. Seven sunk back down beside B'Elanna, the two women sharing a worried look between them.

"I just walked over there-" Harry began, out of breath, "And.. and.. and Seven was by the nose of the Flyer.. and I thought she was.. just.." He paused, catching his breath enough to speak clearly. "I thought she came out to go to the bathroom herself or to be a lookout, and she started walking into the woods- and then she came out of the shuttle!"

"I was in here the entire time, Harry." said Seven, her brows drawn together. "I didn't come outside until Tom did."

"She was here by me." B'Elanna confirmed.

"You saw one of the dopplegangers." Chakotay said with a shudder. He glanced at Seven and then back to Harry. "Now do you believe us that we saw you wandering around like a lost puppy up in the woods?" Harry's head bobbed up and down, his mouth a tense line across his face.

"They're outside.. right now..?" B'Elanna curled a worried lip, looking up towards the closed door to the cockpit and the windows to the outside world in there.

"Outside is the important word." said Tom reassuringly. "The hatch can't be opened from the outside with it locked on the inside, and there's no getting through the windscreen without a photon torpedo. We're safe in here."

"Yeah. Safe." Harry muttered sardonically. "Sure."

Chakotay sighed, unable to feel much more confident than Harry acted. "It's known we were here for days now, and it hasn't done anything to truly hurt us yet. Surely it won't be more than four or five days until Voyager comes back for us. We are already halfway there."

"Just because it has yet to attack does not mean that it will not." said Seven quietly. "It may only be feeling us out.. looking for a weak spot."

"A chink in the armor." Harry nodded his agreement, plopping down on the far end of the bench. "How much food do we have left?"

"Half of a canister of fruit." said B'Elanna.

"And twelve ration bars." added Seven.

"Plus a box of those ration cracker things." Tom said, sitting back down and picking the playing cards up. "And a whole canister full of water, plus whatever is in the canteens."

"Well, good then." said Chakotay. "We won't have to go get more food if we are careful with what we have, and if we ration our water, we shouldn't need to leave the Flyer."

"Yeah, except for bathroom breaks." said B'Elanna. "You guys might can hold it for a while, but eight pounds of bouncing baby Klingon in here doesn't give me the same luxury."

"Well, hopefully they aren't somehow immune to phasers then." said Tom. "Otherwise, I suppose we can put the fruit on the biobed and set the empty canister in the lavatory for you."

"I am not peeing in a bucket."

"You will pee in the woods, but not in a bucket?"

B'Elanna scowled, crossing her arms. "Let's just burn that bridge when we cross it. Kahless."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, each individual similarly worrying about what the next four or five days would be like if they were unable to leave the shuttle until Voyager decided to swoop in and rescue them. Cut off and in the dark, all they could do was hope that they were found sooner rather than later. The Commander was the first to break the silence in the room, turning and heading up the three steps to the midsection. "Tom. Harry." He gestured for the men to follow, leading them up to the cockpit.

"Can you see them?" Harry asked quietly, peering into the dark room. The windscreens were as black as ink, plinking softly with the falling rain that was invisible in the darkness.

"Not yet." said Chakotay, "Shine your light out." He pointed to the flashlight still attached to Harry's wrist. With a nod, the younger man walked to the windscreen and tried to shine out the light. It's beams refracted on the raindrops streaming down and hitting the other side, but enough light went out to dimly illuminate a few yards in front of the shuttle. Just inside the woodline and out of the full illumination of the light, something black moved back, slinking deeper into the shadows.

"Okay, is this the part of the horror movie where we send Harry outside to confront the beast or-" Tom began, trying to put a lighter spin on the situation.

"You couldn't get me outside if you tried, Tom." Harry hissed, trying to follow the shadow in the woods, but there just wasn't enough light.

Back in the aft, B'Elanna watched the men go into the cockpit with a worried expression. "I think I'm going to wait until the baby is a year old before I go on any more away missions." she dead-panned, turning back to meet Seven's eyes.

Seven had her eyes shut, knees drawn up to her chest, and held her head in her hands- having waited for Chakotay to leave before giving in to the pain that came in spurts and waves behind her eyes. A small hand reached out and pat her back, making her jump in surprise. She hissed in a breath as the ache doubled with her heart rate, glancing through her parted fingers at an apologetic B'Elanna beside her. The blonde blew a long, cleansing breath out through her nose as the last pangs faded back to the dull throb that had become her baseline, and lifted her head.

"Want another shot of analgesic?" B'Elanna asked softly, giving Seven's back another pat and feeling sorry for the ex-drone. Seven's eyes turned back to the midsection door, gauging whether or not the men were likely to walk in on them, then nodded once. "Okay then." said B'Elanna. "Hand me that med kit over there." She gestured to the little silver box on the other side of the sleep mats.

Laying her legs out flat, Seven reached for the medkit and drew it into her lap before opening it. One metal-laced hand reached out to lift the hypospray out, but only the first three fingers curled at her command. With a scowl, Seven tried again to curl all five fingers around the hypospray, but her ring finger and her pinkie refused to obey. 'Oh no..' She scrambled back, the medkit flying out of her lap, spilling its contents across the floor.

"Seven?" B'Elanna deflected the metal box before it could hit her, turning wide eyes back to where Seven was against the bulkhead, her Borg hand cradled in her human hand. "What's wrong?!"

The blonde ex-drone pulled in a sharp, hyperventilating breath and released it in a soft, panicked whimper. "Nothing!" Seven half-hissed, concentrating on the numbed digits. How had she not noticed she had no feeling in them?

The half-Klingon raised her eyebrows. She hadn't seen Seven look that frightened since they had had their first run-in with species 8472 all those months and months ago. Pulling on all of her growing maternal instincts, she gently put a hand on Seven's knee as she crawled the three feet back to settle beside her. "Something is wrong." she said softly. "Tell me what it is."

As the ex-drone concentrated, the feeling of pins and needles began to blossom at the base of her hand, slowly bleeding up into the last two digits. "I.. my hand.." When the pins and needles dulled into a wispy tickle, she attempted a fist. Stiffly, the last two fingers obeyed her and curled in with the others. "It was.. numb." she scowled. "That is imprecise. There was no feeling. At all." She flexed her hand again. This time, all five fingers moved fluidly, and she let out a semi-relieved sigh.

"Oh." B'Elanna winced in sympathy. "Do you think it was related to your...?" A nod from Seven confirmed it. "What do you-"

Sliding open, the midsection door cut off B'Elanna's question and let Tom, Harry, and Chakotay back into the aft at the same time. Tom stretched his arms over his head to pop his shoulder. "Well, who is ready for some dinner? May as well eat and get it over with- this rain isn't stopping anytime soon."

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~LM