Star Trek will never be mine. :(

I got up extra early, since I knew Hugh was an early riser. I needed to pick up my order before he found out. Only O'Brien was there when I got to the transporter room.

"They're ready for you to beam over, Captain." he said.

"Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Oh, and if Hugh asks, don't tell him anything. Act like you've not seen me."

"Yes sir. Energizing." I felt the pull of the transporter beam and a moment later I was stepping out of the public transporter onto the main concourse. I ran quickly to the claims booth and handed my claim tag to the clerk, who brought it out to me. After I inspected it, to make sure it was correct, I hurried back to the ship. Today was going to be a very important day, and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

I changed clothes quickly, then went down the hall, where I saw the name plate outside one door that read Lt. Cmdr. Hugh Third of Five, Chief Engineering Officer/Senior Command Staff. That last bit was added at the suggestion of Geordi, who said that Command and Operations had an officer from every department except Engineering. No one objected when I posted Hugh to the command staff, which was why he was the only engineer who wore Command red.

The door slid quietly open and I carefully went over to his bed alcove. He was peacefully asleep and blissfully unaware of my presence. Reluctantly, I gently shook him.

"Hugh," I whispered, "We're here. Time to get up."

"I don' wanna!" came the groggy reply as he pulled the covers further over his face.

"Come on now, you know we have to get up."

"Nuh-uh." The response was muffled by the blanket.

"Come on, Hugh, I don't want to make it an order." I could hear his sigh under the covers before his head popped out.

"Alright, alright, I'm up." He rubbed the sleep out of his organic eye as he sat up. "I guess there are worse things to wake up to." He gave a little smile that turned into a cute yawn as he got up.

"Oh? What's that supposed to mean, hmm?" I grinned so he'd know I wasn't actually mad.

"I'm sorry. You are the best thing I could wake up to, Jean-Luc." He stood up and hugged me, yawning again.

"Come on, let's go. Here, I've got your power converter."

"Thank you. I have the rest of my things here." He gestured to the large leather suitcase he had that looked like an old trunk that stood on its side. Data had made it for him, if I recalled correctly. He'd even put silver trim along the edges and on the corners. He took the handle in one hand, and the other hand slid around my waist as we walked to the transporter room. Just as I had done that morning, we appeared on the main concourse. I led him the the quarters we would be staying in while the ship was being serviced. It was a large room with two beds. Hugh immediately set up his power converter, then put his suitcase on one of the racks in the closet.

"Do we have anything scheduled today?" he asked. I checked my PADD. The others had all given me an OK on the plan.

"No, just dinner with the senior crew. Riker picked the place, so you know it'll probably be crowded and loud."

"I don't mind." Hugh said, "Maybe I should go and get a maintenance progress report for the ship."

"Good idea." I said, "I'll go with you."

"Okay. Come on. I'll show you where to go. I studied the map before we arrived." He took my hand in his Borg hand. It was warm, just like his organic hand, despite its being metal, and its slender fingers curled neatly around my own as we walked down to the shipyard.

"Whaddaya want." the ensign at the console said.

"Progress report for the maintenance service on the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D please." Hugh replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, just a minute will ya?" He finally looked up and almost fell over laughing.

"Hey Carson, get this! There's a Borg here asking for a progress report and it said please! Please! It must've escaped from the Collective loony bin!" I looked at Hugh's shocked, confused face and decided it was time for me to intervene.

"Excuse me, Ensign," I growled, "but seeing as you are obviously blind, I will inform you that this Borg is a superior Starfleet officer and thus he outranks you. Is that how you speak about all of your superiors?" Now he wasn't laughing anymore.

"M-My apologies, Captain. My apologies, Lieutenant Commander. Here's your report."

"Thank you, Ensign." Hugh said as he took the report. I grumbled to myself as we left.

"I'm so sorry you had to take that, Hugh." I put an arm around his shoulders.

"It's okay," he said, "But thank you for talking sense into him."

"I hate that, Hugh. I hate that people do that to you, treat you like garbage or talk about you like you're not even there. I hate how much it hurts you." I was stopped by his hand on my shoulder.

"I know, Jean-Luc. And you're right, it does hurt. But I have you to love me and remind me that it's not true, and that I am not garbage."

"No, you are anything but. You are the sweetest person I have ever met. I just wish others could see it." I squeezed his shoulders as we walked.

"You can see it, Jean-Luc. That's good enough for me."

Hugh's POV

"...That's good enough for me." It was. But I knew, and Picard knew, I was still hurt. He held me close to his side as we walked down the main concourse. I knew how much he'd hated Borg. He'd been willing to kill me when they first found me. I could only imagine how much he had to overcome just to accept that I was not part of the Collective anymore. Now here I was, a Borg, at his side, where I could be protected and loved by him. Right where he wanted me. Right where I wanted to be. I realized that I must've meant a great deal to him for him to not care that I was a Borg, and to even stick up for a Borg, even when he likely agreed with their words. I knew I was the the exception. I was HIS Borg.

I didn't know what to expect when we went to dinner. But it definitely wasn't what happened.

The dinner itself was uneventful. It was when Jean-Luc stood up and turned to me that everyone, even Riker, fell silent and watched us.

"I...h-have something v-very important to say." It was the first time I ever heard him stutter when he was giving a speech of some kind. He turned to me with a nervous smile.

"Hugh...You are the most amazing person I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I am so grateful to have you as part of my crew. I was even more excited when I found I could call you my friend. And then, when I started to have feelings for you and found out you felt the same way...well, I decided there is only one thing that could possibly make me any happier than I already am with you." He slowly knelt in front of me, reaching into the folds of his uniform as he pulled out a small black box and opened it. Inside was a small silver band with flame patterns etched into it.

"Hugh...will you marry me?" My Borg hand flew to my mouth as I gasped in disbelief. I had no idea he loved me THAT much. I could feel tears stinging my eye, blurring my vision. I could barely see the rest of the crew watching anxiously. Before I could even speak, my head was already nodding. But I wanted to say it. I wanted him to hear it, to know I meant it. To know I wanted this more than anything.

"Oh, Jean-Luc...I thought you'd never ask. Yes. I will marry you!" He carefully slid the silver band onto my left ring finger before he hugged me close, the same tears in his eyes that were in mine. The rest of the crew applauded us, smiling and congratulating us as he held me close and kissed me. And for once, I kissed back. Riker stood up with his drink in his hand.

"To Picard and Hugh!" he said loudly.

"Picard and Hugh!" the others echoed, clinking their glasses together. I couldn't stop smiling. So far, this was the best night of my life. I loved Jean-Luc, and he loved me. And now we were going to be together. Forever