Disclamer: If it's from the show, I don't own it. The only people I own are T'Pau and Gwenhwyfar.

The voices... Hundreds, thousands, millions... I hear them, as I sit here, alone.
The one voice above all the others... The Queen, calling me...
~Come back to us, Four of Six... We can give you more then Starfleet... Can Starfleet give you perfection? We can... Come back...~
I shiver, trying to block her voice from my mind. It is hopeless.
In a way, my life ended the day I was assimalated. I stoped being fully human the day that Seven of Nine's assimalation tubes were thrust into my neck.
Yes, Seven of Nine. Now almost human, although less so then me. But when she was Borg, she assimalated me. She still hates herself for that.
Now, I sit here, alone. Captain Janeway refused to give up, and they did get me back... But not the same. I'll never be the same.
The implants, cold, dead steel on living flesh. The Doctor can't get rid of them without killing me, and my life is too high a price to pay for being human again.
The voice of the Collective. It will never leave. Ever. It is enough to drive someone insane, that voice. And the voice of the Borg Queen on top of everything doesn't help.
And the pain. The implants hurt constantly. The Doctor has yet to find a way to make it stop.
So I sit here, my legs hanging over the edge of the bunk, threatening to hit my half-Vulcan roommate T'Pau if she moves. Not that she will. She's sitting on the edge of her bunk, meditating. Again. Her chants compete with the voice of the Collective for my attention. So far, T'Pau's winning. Thankfully. Even her chanting is better then listing to the Queen and her drones.
I swing my legs onto the bunk, very narrowly missing T'Pau's head, and roll onto my back. I can't read a PADD, or do anything, really, because she claims that she can't meditate with the lights on. I consider turning them on anyway.
Nah. Not worth it. She doesn't like me much: Vulcans don't seem to trust humans. And a Borgifyed human is, aperntly, even worse.
There is a muttered "Ow!" from the lower bunk. I think I may not have missed T'Pau's head. "Four-" she starts.
"Don't call me 'Four', T'Pau. My name's Gwenhwyfar."
"Sorry. Gwenhwyfar, could you please ether sleep on the lower bunk or stop kicking me?"
"If you would use your bunk for sleeping, and meditate on the couch or something, I wouldn't kick you."
She mutters something like "Humans" and started puting her things away.
"Vulcans." I mutter back.
"I'm not a Vulcan."
"Half-Vulcans, then."
"Shut up."
I shut up, staring at the ceiling, the voice of the Collective calling me. Normally, the voice isn't enough to keep me from sleep, but today...
I climb down the ladder and grab my uniform from the closet.
"Something wrong?" T'Pau asks. Although she's not facing my direction, she seems to have heard me getting my uniform. Damn Vulcan super-hearing.
"I'm going to Sickbay." I say, going into the bathroom and changing out of my nightie.
She doesn't ask why, thankfully. She knows what I am. She knows that sometimes I can't sleep because of the Collective's voice.
I finish changing, and leave the room, heading for the turbolift at the end of the hall. The night lighting makes my implants almost glow, and I'm glad I'm alone in the hallway.
I step into the turbolift. "Sickbay." I'm used to the slight vibration, and it doesn't normally bother me. But now, I feel slightly sick as the 'lift moves, and I'm glad it doesn't take long to get to Sickbay.
I step out of the 'lift into the empty Sickbay. "Doctor?" I call.
He materializes in front of me. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
"I can't sleep." This, coming from anyone else, would start him complaining that he wasn't programmed to deal with sleeplessness and that whoever it was should go back to bed. With me, however...
"The Collective again?" he asks, taking a med. tricorder and scaning me with it.
"Yeah... The Queen's calling me." I say softly, sitting on a bio-bed. I fish a pony-holder out of my pocket and tie back my hair, knowing that the Doctor will most likely want to look at my implants, some of witch would be covered by hair if I left it down.
"The Queen. What is she saying?" He reads the tricorder and sighs. He can look so very human at times. It's sorta freaky.
"The usual... 'Come back, Four of Six... You don't belong with the humans anymore. You're better then they are...'" I say, doing a very good imitation of the Queen's singsong voice.
He takes a tool off a tray and starts fiddling with the implant by my ear. I try to stay still, even though it hurts. "Ouch!"
"Sorry, Ensign." He puts down the tool. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Is the Collective more noticeable then normal?"
I nod, still wincing.
"I'll have to check Seven, too... I think it would be a good idea for you to spend the night here."
I sigh, but lie down on the bio-bed. He comes over and injects a hypospray into my neck.
"That should make it a bit easier to sleep. Good night, Ensign."
"'Night." I say, already very sleepy. Soon, I can't keep my eyes open any longer, and I drift into dreamland.
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Review! This is my first fanfic...It stinks, doesn't it? Let me know if it does...or if it doesnt.