Still don't own Star Trek.

"I love you too, Jean-Luc." I didn't need to look at him to know he was smiling as I held him close. He was warm in my arms and fit perfectly within them, as thought they were made for none but him. I couldn't understand it. Everything about this was as unnatural as possible. And yet, to me, nothing had ever felt more natural than holding the little Borg close to me and saying that I loved him. And I truly did. I wanted to say more, but I saw his eye closing. Of course. He was probably tired after a day of work. Carefully, so as not to wake him, I laid him down on the couch while I went to get a blanket. When I came back, I will admit I almost squealed. He was even adorable in his sleep! His one eyelid fluttered with his dreams, his lips slightly parted, his small white hand laid beside his face. He was a perfect picture of warm softness and innocence. I gently stroked his cheek as I covered him with the blanket. I would give him the morning off to regenerate. He looked too sweet and peaceful to wake now.

"Goodnight, Hugh." I whispered before going to bed myself.

Late in the night, I woke to the sound of screaming and crying. I ran into the front room. Hugh was curled up into a tight ball on the couch, shaking and whimpering. Cautiously, I reached out and gently touched his shoulder. Instantly, he spun around and latched onto me, burying his face in my shoulder. I slowly wrapped my arms around him and just held him, stroking his back softly.

"Shhhh, it's alright, Hugh. It's alright." Eventually, he woke up and saw me there.

"J-Jean-L-Luc?" He tried to blink back a few tears. I gave him a small smile and gently dried them off.

"Who else would it be?" This got the tiniest of smiles out of him as I sat down beside him. "Now then, what happened? Are you hurt?" Hugh shook his head slowly.

"No. I-I just...I saw things...F-Felt things...it was awful. And painful...I thought it was real."

"You had a nightmare." I said. "It's not real, but it is perfectly normal. Sometimes it helps to talk about it. At least, it helps me to talk about it when I have them."

"It was the Collective." he sniffed, "they attacked us. Th-they made me watch everyone be as-simil-lated. G-Geordi, Beverly, D-Data...And then you." He visibly shook as he said that. "Then...they did it...to m-me. They h-hurt me. Tore off my implants...It hurt so much!" He buried his face in my shoulder again.

"Hugh, look at me." I gently lifted his chin to look at me.

"I promise, Hugh, nothing like that is ever going to happen. I will never let anyone hurt you like that. Ever." He choked back a sob.

"I'm sorry, sir, I just...I..."

"Never had someone love you before?" I asked. He nodded. "Well you're not alone. I've not felt this way for someone before." He turned over onto his side, his head against my shoulder, his hand on my chest.

"Jean-Luc? This will probably sound foolish, but... well..."

"I assure you, it's not foolish if it will help you. A captain's job is to look after all his crew and make sure they have everything they need."

"Like when you had my room converted into a Borg alcove?" Now a tiny glint of curiosity came to his eye.

"Yes. Exactly like that." I said, "That was something you need in order to function, to live. My job is to provide that for my crew."

"...Okay...May I...sleep with you? Just...in case I have another nightmare." God, he was cute when he asked for things!

"Of course you may. That's another thing that helps with them. But let's go to your room, so you can regenerate, okay?" Hugh nodded and got to his feet, yawning and rubbing his eye. I put an arm around his shoulders as we walked.

Hugh's alcove had been built differently, at his request, than the ones on a Borg cube. Where a normal one had the drone standing up, his was more like a standard bed, with a cable that attached to his arm, allowing him to lay down and sleep. I crawled in first and let him lay down in my arms. I held him close, softly stroking his arm and whispering words of comfort to him until the drone's eye closed, and he was asleep again. After I attached the regeneration line to his arm, I quickly followed suit.

Hugh's POV

He loves me. Jean-Luc Picard, formerly Locutus, most notorious Borg hater there was, loved me. Me, a lowly maintenance drone, completely expendable, and utterly unremarkable. I was basically nothing outside the Cooperative. And yet he fell for me, just as I did for him. I wanted to tell him I loved him, too. But my words abandoned me and left me stuttering and mumbling. Jean-Luc must've sensed my trouble, because a second later, he pulled me close against him. After a moment, I hugged him back.

"I love you, too, Jean-Luc." I said softly. And I smiled, because finally, I knew he felt the same. With that thought, I slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms.

I woke to the red alert sirens going off and the sound of people screaming. I jumped up and bolted to the door, which opened into a hallway filled with panicked crew members running and screaming. Before I could back into the room, I was knocked to the floor. All I could do was curl up and try to cover my face as people all but trampled me. And then I heard an all too familiar sound echoing through the ship. A sound I hoped I would never hear again.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." My blood ran cold. The Collective! How were they here?

"No!" I cried even as I took an officer's foot to my cheek. Then I saw them. Their cold, soulless eyes, their stony faces, their stiff movements. And to make matters worse, one of them locked eyes on me.

"You!" the drone growled

I tried to scramble up and get away, but I suddenly felt cold hands wrap around my arms and what I knew was a tactical drone's weapon digging into my back. They dragged me through the hallways and into Sickbay. Or rather, what used to be Sickbay. Now it had been converted into an assimilation chamber. They dragged me over to one side and shoved me onto an upright assimilation table, where they fastened metal clamps around my neck, wrists, and ankles so I couldn't move. All I could do was scream and cry as everyone I cared about was assimilated in front of me. Geordi, Beverly, even Data. And then I watched helplessly as Jean-Luc was turned into Locutus again, by now my face soaked with tears. Suddenly, I felt a sharp, tearing pain in my side. They were tearing my implants off. I was going to die.

"No!" I cried, "Please, no! Help me! Make it stop!" Distantly, I could hear Jean-Luc's voice as they continued tearing me apart as the scene faded into blackness.

I woke up sobbing. Jean-Luc was there, holding me, talking softly to me, stroking my back gently and drying my tears. He explained that I'd had a nightmare, and that it was normal. I told him what had happened. He held me close, saying that would never happen and that he'd never let anyone hurt me like that. And I knew he wouldn't. I could feel it in his arm around me as we walked to my quarters, and the protective way he held me when we lay down in my alcove. He was still whispering words of comfort when I fell asleep again.