Disclaimer: The characters of Voyager belong to Paramount and Star Trek.
She must have ran when she left the holodeck, because Finnegan could find her
anywhere on the deck, and he was sprinting.
"Computer, locate Seven of Nine," he said through breaths.
SEVEN OF NINE IS IN CARGO BAY TWO.
Finnegan made his way to the turbo lift, " Deck 8. Cargo bay 2."
The computer beeped in compliance.
In the 47 seconds Finnegan was on the turbo lift, he reviewed the past half hour in
his mind. Ensign B rooks had checked her watch a total of 4 times. Was it simply one of
her idiosyncrasies or was she waiting for something? Finnegan was willing to bet his ship
that it was the latter of the two. But why? Why would someone be so deceitful?
The doors opened to the hallway. Finnegan darted out, almost knocking over Tal
Celes in his way to Cargo Bay 2.
"Seven!" he shouted as he entered the large room. There was no answer. He
looked around frantically, trying to find her. His eyes didn't find her, but they did spot a
shiny object near her alcove. He walked toward it and picked up her comm. badge.
"Damn it!" he yelled to no one in particular. Sitting on the step to Seven's alcove
he began to rub his temples with one hand, and clutching Seven's comm. badge with the
other, as it letting it go would cause him to loose her forever.
Finnegan was too grief stricken to look up to the second level of the cargo bay,
where a heartbroken Seven of Nine was hidden and observing him. She found his
behavior odd. For a person who had clearly chosen another member of the crew to be
intimate with, he was certainly intent on finding her, and seemed upset that she had seen
what she had seen. She saw how much pain he was in. A part of her wanted to go up and
comfort him, but the urge was quickly quelled by the overwhelming anger. She actually
was about to tell him to leave when Ensign Brooks walked in to the room. She stopped
and crouched down so she could observe the interaction.
"Dempsey, we need to talk," she said.
"I thought I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to talk to you," he said
bitterly. Seven furrowed her brow in confusion. What was going on?
"I know. I'm sorry I kissed you. But… I have just been so lonely and… I thought
that you wanted it," she said, moving ever closer. She reminded Finnegan on some kind
of predator, slowly moving in on its prey.
"I wanted nothing from you, and you know that. I was there for a date with Seven,
and you knew that too. That's why you came tonight. Seven never told you to come and
tell me she couldn't make it. You knew she would be there," he spat the words at her, "
All that I wanted was a nice night alone with Seven, and you destroyed that. I want to
know why. Tell me!"
Brooks was squirming. Finnegan could tell she hadn't anticipated this reaction to
her plan. She had underestimated his ability to see threw her ruse. That just served to
anger Finnegan even more.
"I was worried about you," she finally blurted out.
Pathetic.
Finnegan rolled his eyes at her, " Worried about me? First of all, I have talked to
you about six times before today, I doubt that we have formed that enough of a
relationship to warrant any concern from you. Secondly, I wasn't aware that Seven of
Nine was dangerous. If anyone here is dangerous it's you, Ensign. Now I suggest you tell
me what the hell you were thinking when you pulled all this."
Ensign Brooks turned away from him.
"Why?" she said, her voice deeper and darker. "I'll tell you why."
She turned, her face distorted with what Finnegan could only determine as pure
hatred and rage, " It's because of her. Miss Perfection. She came aboard this ship and
everything went straight to hell."
"What are you talking about?" he asked. Confused beyond belief. Seven had been
a valuable addition to the crew. Her extensive knowledge of science and alien technology
and culture had been vital.
"Do you know what it's like to have to compete with a 5'8" former drone, who
happens to be the Captain's pet? When she came onboard it didn't matter what she did or
who she screwed over. Just as long as the drone was allowed to continue her never-
ending quest to recapture her humanity, all was well," she finished; her emotional display
was the best chance she had for some sympathy.
"You selfish moron," she got none, " Do you have any idea what that woman has
been through. Any idea of the hardships she has had to face to get to where she is today,"
he stopped, trying to grasp his mind around the fact that Brook's thought Seven had it
easy.
"When was the last time you saw your parents Ensign?" he asked.
Brooks was caught off guard by the question, "Uh… seven years ago, before
Voyager left."
"And where are they now?" he asked.
Brooks answered the question; " They live in New Detroit, on the moon."
" How long have you known your parents?"
"All of my life," she replied, still not understanding where he was going with his
line of questions.
"So you would say that you had a fairly stable childhood?" he continued.
"Uh, yeah I guess so, what's your point?" she asked.
"My point is that you, unlike Seven, had a childhood. You got to play at the beach
and sled in the snow. You got to eat ice cream on a warm summer day, and go to school
with other kids. There is nothing more tragic then missing your childhood Ensign! There
is nothing more tragic then a six year old child having to watch her parents be assimilated
by the Borg," he spat.
Brooks was almost speechless, almost, " I didn't think that you…"
"Yeah, you didn't think, exactly. Well here is something to think about. Imagine
this: You live most of your life on a small ship with your parents, following some
mysterious alien that you know little about. Everything is going well, your world is small,
but happy. Hell, you can even remember having your sixth birthday party. But one day
your ship is caught in a storm, and these aliens realize that you have been watching them,
and they aren't happy about it. These half humanoid, half machine beings come on to
your ship, take your parents, and then take you.
After a couple years in a maturation chamber, you emerge only to have the most
horrific and painful operations done to you, but worst of all they strip you of yourself,
your soul.
It may not be an ideal place, but the collective was secure. Yet suddenly, that
security is ripped away from you and your individuality is given to you once again. But
see there is a catch, with that individuality comes your soul. And with soul comes guilt.
Because you start to get those morals back, and understand the value of self. And you
start to get those memories back too. The memories of all the atrocities you committed;
the same ones that were done to you.
For the next four years you make a continuous struggle to reclaim the part of
yourself the Borg took from you. It's not easy, but slowly you begin to come more and
more human. Finally, you decide that you are ready to take then next step and try for a
more substantial relationship, more then just platonic," Finnegan paused for effect, " but
then some psycho tries to ruin it because she thinks that your life is to easy."
Brooks just stood there, not reacting, there really wasn't much she could say.
Finnegan walked pass her, to the door, " Do me a favor, if you "sprain" something again,
ask the Doctor for some help," he left, leaving Brooks to wallow in her own guilt.
That's just what she would have done until Seven decided to reveal herself. She
stepped on the platform and lowered herself to the main floor.
Brooks' thought she had felt foolish before, now, with her victim standing there,
all she could do was look at the floor.
Seven walked right towards her until she was a mere two inches from her face, " I
suggest you leave."
Brooks couldn't decide which emotion to cling to, so she chose the one that came
most naturally to her: anger
"You may have tricked him and everyone else on this crew, but I'm to smart for
it. I'll get what I want," she said coldly.
Seven raised an eyebrow and almost smirked, " I believe Mr. Finnegan has made
it clear to you that he wants nothing to do with you. Yet, if you wish to continue this
foolish pursuit, you are welcome to it."
Brooks glared at her with a look of such contempt and anger that it could have
destabilized the warp core. She turned and stormed toward the door.
"Ensign," Seven said as she neared the door.
She turned, "What?"
"I would like to remind you… I rarely ever loose," Seven smirked, thoroughly
enjoying provoking the woman.
Ensign Brooks simply sighed and stomped out of the Holodeck.
Astrometrics was one of the most likely places to find Seven of Nine on Voyager.
So when Finnegan ran into the large room to find only Icheb, he was slightly
disappointed.
"Hey Icheb," he said. Finnegan thought highly of Icheb, and found him to be a
bright and respectful young man, " You haven't seen Seven in the past couple minutes,
have you?"
"I have not seen her since she left for dinner approximately 30 minutes ago. Is
there something wrong? You seem distressed," he commented.
"No, I'm fine, thanks," he replied, but he wasn't fine, nor was he going to be until
he found Seven.
"If I see her, I will tell her that you are looking for her," Icheb said, in a somewhat
comforting tone.
Finnegan nodded and ran his finger through his hair. He walked up to the main
consul. Astrometrics was where he spent half his shifts. The other half was split between
sickbay and the science labs. He usually worked without Seven because they tended to
disagree on a lot of things and there was really no point in having two specialist on at the
same time. Most of the time he worked with Tal Celes or Icheb.
"What are you working on here?" Finnegan asked Icheb when he noticed the
information on the screen had little to do with astrometrics.
"Oh," Icheb said, " I am sorry sir, I shouldn't be working on this while I'm on
duty," he began to take it off the screen.
Finnegan raised his hands in protest, " Whoa there, don't worry about it."
Icheb paused, " Sir?"
"It's all right, I don't mind you getting stuff done while you're on duty. Just as
long as you're paying attention to the readings so we don't get pulled into a black hole or
anything," Finnegan joked, "What were you working on?"
Icheb enlarged the main screen, " History of Pre-Warp Earth," he read.
"Hmm," Finnegan smiled, " For the Academy?" he asked, knowing the Icheb
intended to join it when Voyager returned to Earth.
"Yes," Icheb said, " Both the Captain and Commander Chakotay informed me
that having a knowledge of the past can only improve my future. I also know that Lt.
Paris is a 'history buff' as well. Seven, however, says history is irrelevant."
Finnegan smiled at this, " I have degree in history, if you ever need any help I
could throw together some lessons."
Icheb smiled, " That would be very helpful, thank you sir."
"No problem," Finnegan said, " and Icheb, don't call me sir, Dempsey or
Finnegan will do just fine."
"As you wish," Icheb smiled back.
By 21:30 Finnegan had checked the mess hall, the bridge, the cargo bays, the
science labs, sickbay, and even the Wildman's quarters.
"Dempsey, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be out to dinner with
Seven," little Naomi said, straining her neck to see the top of his tall figure.
He kneeled down to get on eye level with the young girl, "How did you know
that?"
"Seven told me," she said.
"Really," he paused, taking a deep breath, " You wouldn't happen to know where
she is right now, would you?"
Naomi frowned, " No. What happened? She didn't show up?"
Finnegan winced, "Oh, she showed up."
"Did you two get into another fight?" Naomi asked with a tone and look that just
proved her role model was Kathryn Janeway.
Dempsey let out a little chuckle at the sight of her, " In a manner of speaking. If
you see her, tell her I am looking for her."
Engineering was no better.
"How goes it B'Elanna?" he yelled to her as he walked into the blue glow of the
warp core.
B'Elanna was sitting at her workstation, looking slightly less busy then usual.
"Hey Dempsey, what brings you here, aren't you supposed to be on a date?"
"What is with this ship? Why does everybody know when someone has a date?"
he yelled out loudly. Several people looked up from their work.
B'Elanna leaned forward toward him in her chair and whispered, " Maybe
because you talk so loud."
"Oh, that's cute, real witty," he said sitting down next to her, "Has Seven been
down here in the past half hour?"
"No, what happened?" she asked, slightly concerned.
"Nothing, it's nothing," he said.
"Dempsey, clearly there is something wrong or you wouldn't be looking for the
woman your supposed to be out on a date with. She didn't show?" B'Elanna asked,
getting a little angry at Seven for being so rude.
Finnegan looked up at B'Elanna. He could see her starting to get angry. B'Elanna
had never been a big fan of Seven; their tension was legendary. Over the years, after
working with each other on countless projects and away missions, as Seven had become
less rude, and B'Elanna less angry, they learned to tolerate each other, and more
importantly to respect each other. However, that did not mean that B'Elanna wouldn't tell
Seven what she thought.
"Seven showed up. I'm the one who screwed up, big time," he said, and
proceeded to explain the night's happenings to the chief engineer.
"I never did like Ensign Brooks, there was always something off about her,
B'Elanna scowled, the anger rising in her voice.
"I should suggest a full psych exam to the Doctor, I had no idea that people could
be that vengeful," he said.
"I'll admit, when Seven first came on board, I wasn't very fond of her, but she has
been her for four years. She has saved this ship countless times. It doesn't make any
sense. You should write her up," B'Elanna said.
Finnegan shook his head, "No, no. I don't want anyone to know about this,
especially in an official capacity. I'm just going to handle this myself. All I need to do is
find Sev-"
Before he could even finish Icheb interrupted him over the comm.
ICHEB TO MR. FINNEGAN.
"Go ahead Icheb," he replied.
"I have reason to believe that Seven is in Holodeck Two," he said.
"I'll be right there, thanks," he smiled, and then turned to B'Elanna, " If you'll
excuse me Chief."
"Good luck," she replied. Finnegan began walking away, " Finnegan," she said.
He stopped and quickly turned around, " As for Brooks, let me take care of it,"
she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
Finnegan just smiled, nodded, and resumed his walk.
By the time Finnegan reached the Holodeck, he was completely winded. He had
sprinted to the turbo lift as fast as he could, paced back in forth in the small booth, much
to the dismay of the three other occupants, and when he had gotten off at deck 4, booked
straight to where he hoped Seven was waiting.
Finnegan was very confused as to why Seven had returned to the holodeck but
satisfied that he at least knew where she was so he could talk to her. What he would say
to her would have to wait till he got there.
As he approached the doors he wondered what would happen. He wondered what
she had to say to him. He wondered, as he ran face first into the doors why he hadn't
checked to see if the privacy lock was engaged.
"Damn!" he yelled as he fell backward onto the floor, cradling his nose. He heard
the door slide open and looked up.
It was Seven, she glanced down at him, with what Finnegan thought was an
amused expression, " You are late."
Finnegan slowly picked himself up and stumbled into the holodeck. Seven was
running the simulation he had created for their date.
"Seven, where have you been? I've been looking all over the ship for you," he
reached in his pocket and pulled out her comm. badge.
"All I found was this," he placed it in her hand, " You know its against
regulations to take this thing off."
Seven took a seat, but remained silent.
"Seven, I know what you saw looked pretty bad, but it wasn't what it appeared to
be. Ensign Brooks was … well she has some issues, and I know its going to be hard to
trust me after what you saw, but-"
"Mr. Finnegan, there is no need to explain yourself," she said.
Finnegan scrunched his brow in confusion, " There isn't?"
Seven stood up and walked toward him, her voice was soft, " When you entered
the Cargo Bay you failed to examine the upper work station.
Realization spread over Dempsey's face, " You heard my discussion with
Brooks?"
"Yes."
Finnegan thought on this for a moment, but another question sprang to his mind,
"Then why didn't you come and find me, why have you been hiding for all this time?"
Seven took a moment to think as well, " I have been… thinking. The feelings I
experienced were complex, I had to contemplate their meanings."
She looked up at him, " When I first saw you and Ensign Brooks in the holodeck,
I felt" she struggled to come up with the words, " cold… weak. After returning to the
Cargo Bay I had some time to think about what I saw. My feelings went from pain to
anger. You entered the Cargo Bay, and I was about to confront you, but then Ensign
Brooks entered," her cool eyes began probing his, " What you said, was it true?"
Finnegan didn't pause, "Yes."
"I had no idea the you had such respect for me," she said, clearly touched by his
words, "that you held me in such high regard."
Finnegan smiled behind his injured nose, "Well I wouldn't go that far," he joked.
"I assume you also wouldn't normally walk into a door" she retorted.
"Touché," he said, looking around, "You know, this is a shame."
"What?" Seven asked.
"We're all ready to go out, and we only have a half hour left on the holodeck," he
answered.
"It is a disappointment. This program looked… interesting," Seven said.
Finnegan turned to face her once again, " Some other time perhaps?" his tone
betrayed his uncertainty in the answer.
Seven was surprised and expectant of the question all at once, but had to think
only for a second to know the answer, " Yes, but next time I suggest you meet me at
Cargo Bay 2 so there won't be any more unexpected interlopers."
Sounds like a good plan to me," he paused for a moment, "Seven, I want to
apologize for what happened this evening," he said.
"There is no need to apologize, it was not your fault," she replied matter-of-factly.
"True, but you were still hurt by what happened, that's partially my fault, and I
want to you to know that was the last thing that I wanted to happen," he said sincerely.
Seven slowly, yet confidently placed her hand on his, "I know," she said, a hint of
surprise in her own realization.
"I guess I'll walk you back to the cargo bay?" he asked.
" That will not be necessary," she said.
"Well I insist," he began to ramble, " I know that it's an antiquated notion, but I
really must-"
Seven interrupted him," It will not be necessary because I wish you to accompany
me to the Mess Hall. I have not yet consumed my evening meal. Since we could not have
dinner together on the Holodeck, I thought we could settle for Mr. Neelix's Bolian
Soufflé."
Finnegan could only respond with a nod and a smile. He offered her his arm as
they approached the door. She took it and they continued on to the mess hall.
She must have ran when she left the holodeck, because Finnegan could find her
anywhere on the deck, and he was sprinting.
"Computer, locate Seven of Nine," he said through breaths.
SEVEN OF NINE IS IN CARGO BAY TWO.
Finnegan made his way to the turbo lift, " Deck 8. Cargo bay 2."
The computer beeped in compliance.
In the 47 seconds Finnegan was on the turbo lift, he reviewed the past half hour in
his mind. Ensign B rooks had checked her watch a total of 4 times. Was it simply one of
her idiosyncrasies or was she waiting for something? Finnegan was willing to bet his ship
that it was the latter of the two. But why? Why would someone be so deceitful?
The doors opened to the hallway. Finnegan darted out, almost knocking over Tal
Celes in his way to Cargo Bay 2.
"Seven!" he shouted as he entered the large room. There was no answer. He
looked around frantically, trying to find her. His eyes didn't find her, but they did spot a
shiny object near her alcove. He walked toward it and picked up her comm. badge.
"Damn it!" he yelled to no one in particular. Sitting on the step to Seven's alcove
he began to rub his temples with one hand, and clutching Seven's comm. badge with the
other, as it letting it go would cause him to loose her forever.
Finnegan was too grief stricken to look up to the second level of the cargo bay,
where a heartbroken Seven of Nine was hidden and observing him. She found his
behavior odd. For a person who had clearly chosen another member of the crew to be
intimate with, he was certainly intent on finding her, and seemed upset that she had seen
what she had seen. She saw how much pain he was in. A part of her wanted to go up and
comfort him, but the urge was quickly quelled by the overwhelming anger. She actually
was about to tell him to leave when Ensign Brooks walked in to the room. She stopped
and crouched down so she could observe the interaction.
"Dempsey, we need to talk," she said.
"I thought I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to talk to you," he said
bitterly. Seven furrowed her brow in confusion. What was going on?
"I know. I'm sorry I kissed you. But… I have just been so lonely and… I thought
that you wanted it," she said, moving ever closer. She reminded Finnegan on some kind
of predator, slowly moving in on its prey.
"I wanted nothing from you, and you know that. I was there for a date with Seven,
and you knew that too. That's why you came tonight. Seven never told you to come and
tell me she couldn't make it. You knew she would be there," he spat the words at her, "
All that I wanted was a nice night alone with Seven, and you destroyed that. I want to
know why. Tell me!"
Brooks was squirming. Finnegan could tell she hadn't anticipated this reaction to
her plan. She had underestimated his ability to see threw her ruse. That just served to
anger Finnegan even more.
"I was worried about you," she finally blurted out.
Pathetic.
Finnegan rolled his eyes at her, " Worried about me? First of all, I have talked to
you about six times before today, I doubt that we have formed that enough of a
relationship to warrant any concern from you. Secondly, I wasn't aware that Seven of
Nine was dangerous. If anyone here is dangerous it's you, Ensign. Now I suggest you tell
me what the hell you were thinking when you pulled all this."
Ensign Brooks turned away from him.
"Why?" she said, her voice deeper and darker. "I'll tell you why."
She turned, her face distorted with what Finnegan could only determine as pure
hatred and rage, " It's because of her. Miss Perfection. She came aboard this ship and
everything went straight to hell."
"What are you talking about?" he asked. Confused beyond belief. Seven had been
a valuable addition to the crew. Her extensive knowledge of science and alien technology
and culture had been vital.
"Do you know what it's like to have to compete with a 5'8" former drone, who
happens to be the Captain's pet? When she came onboard it didn't matter what she did or
who she screwed over. Just as long as the drone was allowed to continue her never-
ending quest to recapture her humanity, all was well," she finished; her emotional display
was the best chance she had for some sympathy.
"You selfish moron," she got none, " Do you have any idea what that woman has
been through. Any idea of the hardships she has had to face to get to where she is today,"
he stopped, trying to grasp his mind around the fact that Brook's thought Seven had it
easy.
"When was the last time you saw your parents Ensign?" he asked.
Brooks was caught off guard by the question, "Uh… seven years ago, before
Voyager left."
"And where are they now?" he asked.
Brooks answered the question; " They live in New Detroit, on the moon."
" How long have you known your parents?"
"All of my life," she replied, still not understanding where he was going with his
line of questions.
"So you would say that you had a fairly stable childhood?" he continued.
"Uh, yeah I guess so, what's your point?" she asked.
"My point is that you, unlike Seven, had a childhood. You got to play at the beach
and sled in the snow. You got to eat ice cream on a warm summer day, and go to school
with other kids. There is nothing more tragic then missing your childhood Ensign! There
is nothing more tragic then a six year old child having to watch her parents be assimilated
by the Borg," he spat.
Brooks was almost speechless, almost, " I didn't think that you…"
"Yeah, you didn't think, exactly. Well here is something to think about. Imagine
this: You live most of your life on a small ship with your parents, following some
mysterious alien that you know little about. Everything is going well, your world is small,
but happy. Hell, you can even remember having your sixth birthday party. But one day
your ship is caught in a storm, and these aliens realize that you have been watching them,
and they aren't happy about it. These half humanoid, half machine beings come on to
your ship, take your parents, and then take you.
After a couple years in a maturation chamber, you emerge only to have the most
horrific and painful operations done to you, but worst of all they strip you of yourself,
your soul.
It may not be an ideal place, but the collective was secure. Yet suddenly, that
security is ripped away from you and your individuality is given to you once again. But
see there is a catch, with that individuality comes your soul. And with soul comes guilt.
Because you start to get those morals back, and understand the value of self. And you
start to get those memories back too. The memories of all the atrocities you committed;
the same ones that were done to you.
For the next four years you make a continuous struggle to reclaim the part of
yourself the Borg took from you. It's not easy, but slowly you begin to come more and
more human. Finally, you decide that you are ready to take then next step and try for a
more substantial relationship, more then just platonic," Finnegan paused for effect, " but
then some psycho tries to ruin it because she thinks that your life is to easy."
Brooks just stood there, not reacting, there really wasn't much she could say.
Finnegan walked pass her, to the door, " Do me a favor, if you "sprain" something again,
ask the Doctor for some help," he left, leaving Brooks to wallow in her own guilt.
That's just what she would have done until Seven decided to reveal herself. She
stepped on the platform and lowered herself to the main floor.
Brooks' thought she had felt foolish before, now, with her victim standing there,
all she could do was look at the floor.
Seven walked right towards her until she was a mere two inches from her face, " I
suggest you leave."
Brooks couldn't decide which emotion to cling to, so she chose the one that came
most naturally to her: anger
"You may have tricked him and everyone else on this crew, but I'm to smart for
it. I'll get what I want," she said coldly.
Seven raised an eyebrow and almost smirked, " I believe Mr. Finnegan has made
it clear to you that he wants nothing to do with you. Yet, if you wish to continue this
foolish pursuit, you are welcome to it."
Brooks glared at her with a look of such contempt and anger that it could have
destabilized the warp core. She turned and stormed toward the door.
"Ensign," Seven said as she neared the door.
She turned, "What?"
"I would like to remind you… I rarely ever loose," Seven smirked, thoroughly
enjoying provoking the woman.
Ensign Brooks simply sighed and stomped out of the Holodeck.
Astrometrics was one of the most likely places to find Seven of Nine on Voyager.
So when Finnegan ran into the large room to find only Icheb, he was slightly
disappointed.
"Hey Icheb," he said. Finnegan thought highly of Icheb, and found him to be a
bright and respectful young man, " You haven't seen Seven in the past couple minutes,
have you?"
"I have not seen her since she left for dinner approximately 30 minutes ago. Is
there something wrong? You seem distressed," he commented.
"No, I'm fine, thanks," he replied, but he wasn't fine, nor was he going to be until
he found Seven.
"If I see her, I will tell her that you are looking for her," Icheb said, in a somewhat
comforting tone.
Finnegan nodded and ran his finger through his hair. He walked up to the main
consul. Astrometrics was where he spent half his shifts. The other half was split between
sickbay and the science labs. He usually worked without Seven because they tended to
disagree on a lot of things and there was really no point in having two specialist on at the
same time. Most of the time he worked with Tal Celes or Icheb.
"What are you working on here?" Finnegan asked Icheb when he noticed the
information on the screen had little to do with astrometrics.
"Oh," Icheb said, " I am sorry sir, I shouldn't be working on this while I'm on
duty," he began to take it off the screen.
Finnegan raised his hands in protest, " Whoa there, don't worry about it."
Icheb paused, " Sir?"
"It's all right, I don't mind you getting stuff done while you're on duty. Just as
long as you're paying attention to the readings so we don't get pulled into a black hole or
anything," Finnegan joked, "What were you working on?"
Icheb enlarged the main screen, " History of Pre-Warp Earth," he read.
"Hmm," Finnegan smiled, " For the Academy?" he asked, knowing the Icheb
intended to join it when Voyager returned to Earth.
"Yes," Icheb said, " Both the Captain and Commander Chakotay informed me
that having a knowledge of the past can only improve my future. I also know that Lt.
Paris is a 'history buff' as well. Seven, however, says history is irrelevant."
Finnegan smiled at this, " I have degree in history, if you ever need any help I
could throw together some lessons."
Icheb smiled, " That would be very helpful, thank you sir."
"No problem," Finnegan said, " and Icheb, don't call me sir, Dempsey or
Finnegan will do just fine."
"As you wish," Icheb smiled back.
By 21:30 Finnegan had checked the mess hall, the bridge, the cargo bays, the
science labs, sickbay, and even the Wildman's quarters.
"Dempsey, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be out to dinner with
Seven," little Naomi said, straining her neck to see the top of his tall figure.
He kneeled down to get on eye level with the young girl, "How did you know
that?"
"Seven told me," she said.
"Really," he paused, taking a deep breath, " You wouldn't happen to know where
she is right now, would you?"
Naomi frowned, " No. What happened? She didn't show up?"
Finnegan winced, "Oh, she showed up."
"Did you two get into another fight?" Naomi asked with a tone and look that just
proved her role model was Kathryn Janeway.
Dempsey let out a little chuckle at the sight of her, " In a manner of speaking. If
you see her, tell her I am looking for her."
Engineering was no better.
"How goes it B'Elanna?" he yelled to her as he walked into the blue glow of the
warp core.
B'Elanna was sitting at her workstation, looking slightly less busy then usual.
"Hey Dempsey, what brings you here, aren't you supposed to be on a date?"
"What is with this ship? Why does everybody know when someone has a date?"
he yelled out loudly. Several people looked up from their work.
B'Elanna leaned forward toward him in her chair and whispered, " Maybe
because you talk so loud."
"Oh, that's cute, real witty," he said sitting down next to her, "Has Seven been
down here in the past half hour?"
"No, what happened?" she asked, slightly concerned.
"Nothing, it's nothing," he said.
"Dempsey, clearly there is something wrong or you wouldn't be looking for the
woman your supposed to be out on a date with. She didn't show?" B'Elanna asked,
getting a little angry at Seven for being so rude.
Finnegan looked up at B'Elanna. He could see her starting to get angry. B'Elanna
had never been a big fan of Seven; their tension was legendary. Over the years, after
working with each other on countless projects and away missions, as Seven had become
less rude, and B'Elanna less angry, they learned to tolerate each other, and more
importantly to respect each other. However, that did not mean that B'Elanna wouldn't tell
Seven what she thought.
"Seven showed up. I'm the one who screwed up, big time," he said, and
proceeded to explain the night's happenings to the chief engineer.
"I never did like Ensign Brooks, there was always something off about her,
B'Elanna scowled, the anger rising in her voice.
"I should suggest a full psych exam to the Doctor, I had no idea that people could
be that vengeful," he said.
"I'll admit, when Seven first came on board, I wasn't very fond of her, but she has
been her for four years. She has saved this ship countless times. It doesn't make any
sense. You should write her up," B'Elanna said.
Finnegan shook his head, "No, no. I don't want anyone to know about this,
especially in an official capacity. I'm just going to handle this myself. All I need to do is
find Sev-"
Before he could even finish Icheb interrupted him over the comm.
ICHEB TO MR. FINNEGAN.
"Go ahead Icheb," he replied.
"I have reason to believe that Seven is in Holodeck Two," he said.
"I'll be right there, thanks," he smiled, and then turned to B'Elanna, " If you'll
excuse me Chief."
"Good luck," she replied. Finnegan began walking away, " Finnegan," she said.
He stopped and quickly turned around, " As for Brooks, let me take care of it,"
she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
Finnegan just smiled, nodded, and resumed his walk.
By the time Finnegan reached the Holodeck, he was completely winded. He had
sprinted to the turbo lift as fast as he could, paced back in forth in the small booth, much
to the dismay of the three other occupants, and when he had gotten off at deck 4, booked
straight to where he hoped Seven was waiting.
Finnegan was very confused as to why Seven had returned to the holodeck but
satisfied that he at least knew where she was so he could talk to her. What he would say
to her would have to wait till he got there.
As he approached the doors he wondered what would happen. He wondered what
she had to say to him. He wondered, as he ran face first into the doors why he hadn't
checked to see if the privacy lock was engaged.
"Damn!" he yelled as he fell backward onto the floor, cradling his nose. He heard
the door slide open and looked up.
It was Seven, she glanced down at him, with what Finnegan thought was an
amused expression, " You are late."
Finnegan slowly picked himself up and stumbled into the holodeck. Seven was
running the simulation he had created for their date.
"Seven, where have you been? I've been looking all over the ship for you," he
reached in his pocket and pulled out her comm. badge.
"All I found was this," he placed it in her hand, " You know its against
regulations to take this thing off."
Seven took a seat, but remained silent.
"Seven, I know what you saw looked pretty bad, but it wasn't what it appeared to
be. Ensign Brooks was … well she has some issues, and I know its going to be hard to
trust me after what you saw, but-"
"Mr. Finnegan, there is no need to explain yourself," she said.
Finnegan scrunched his brow in confusion, " There isn't?"
Seven stood up and walked toward him, her voice was soft, " When you entered
the Cargo Bay you failed to examine the upper work station.
Realization spread over Dempsey's face, " You heard my discussion with
Brooks?"
"Yes."
Finnegan thought on this for a moment, but another question sprang to his mind,
"Then why didn't you come and find me, why have you been hiding for all this time?"
Seven took a moment to think as well, " I have been… thinking. The feelings I
experienced were complex, I had to contemplate their meanings."
She looked up at him, " When I first saw you and Ensign Brooks in the holodeck,
I felt" she struggled to come up with the words, " cold… weak. After returning to the
Cargo Bay I had some time to think about what I saw. My feelings went from pain to
anger. You entered the Cargo Bay, and I was about to confront you, but then Ensign
Brooks entered," her cool eyes began probing his, " What you said, was it true?"
Finnegan didn't pause, "Yes."
"I had no idea the you had such respect for me," she said, clearly touched by his
words, "that you held me in such high regard."
Finnegan smiled behind his injured nose, "Well I wouldn't go that far," he joked.
"I assume you also wouldn't normally walk into a door" she retorted.
"Touché," he said, looking around, "You know, this is a shame."
"What?" Seven asked.
"We're all ready to go out, and we only have a half hour left on the holodeck," he
answered.
"It is a disappointment. This program looked… interesting," Seven said.
Finnegan turned to face her once again, " Some other time perhaps?" his tone
betrayed his uncertainty in the answer.
Seven was surprised and expectant of the question all at once, but had to think
only for a second to know the answer, " Yes, but next time I suggest you meet me at
Cargo Bay 2 so there won't be any more unexpected interlopers."
Sounds like a good plan to me," he paused for a moment, "Seven, I want to
apologize for what happened this evening," he said.
"There is no need to apologize, it was not your fault," she replied matter-of-factly.
"True, but you were still hurt by what happened, that's partially my fault, and I
want to you to know that was the last thing that I wanted to happen," he said sincerely.
Seven slowly, yet confidently placed her hand on his, "I know," she said, a hint of
surprise in her own realization.
"I guess I'll walk you back to the cargo bay?" he asked.
" That will not be necessary," she said.
"Well I insist," he began to ramble, " I know that it's an antiquated notion, but I
really must-"
Seven interrupted him," It will not be necessary because I wish you to accompany
me to the Mess Hall. I have not yet consumed my evening meal. Since we could not have
dinner together on the Holodeck, I thought we could settle for Mr. Neelix's Bolian
Soufflé."
Finnegan could only respond with a nod and a smile. He offered her his arm as
they approached the door. She took it and they continued on to the mess hall.