It was late, around 2300. Seven entered holodeck one, dressed in a long flowing white dress. She activated one of her programs, the newest one she had created. It was called Seven-Eternity. It was encrypted so that only Seven could activate it.
The scene around her materialized. She was on the seaside, the rugged cliffs dropping off near her. The sun had already set and the stars above her shone brightly. A gentle wind blew off the ocean, swaying the long meadow grasses.
Seven wandered through the meadow and down to the seaside, where she sat down on the sandy beach. She stared out at the ocean, letting the relaxing sound of waves relax her. She just sat there and thought.
"Five minute warning." The computer stated, cutting into Seven's thoughts. She sighed and got up, dusting off the sand on her dress. She looked at the beautiful scene around her and with an almost invisible downward turn of her lips, she ended the program and left, heading for cargo bay two, where her regeneration cycle was again plagued with dreams.
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"Carey! Run diagnostics on the plasma relays!" B'Elanna snapped at him. She had been in a bad mood all day and almost everyone was trying to avoid her, hoping that she would cool down quickly, which did not seem to be happening.
"Yes Lt." Carey replied rushing away to avoid the half klingon's temper. B'Elanna went into her office to work.
Seven noticed a power fluctuation in the overhead lights. She saved her work and left Astrometrics, heading towards engineering.
When she reached it, it was busy, teeming with activity. Rather than disturb anyone, she went directly to a console and ran a quick diagnostic on the Astrometric's power relays. B'Elanna left her office at that moment, only to find Seven tampering with something.
"What the hell are you doing?" B'Elanna snapped. Seven answered her honestly.
"There was a power fluctuation in Astrometric's. I came to correct it." Seven replied.
"Goddamn it Seven! There were no bloody fluctuations! We've been running routine diagnostics." B'Elanna shouted.
"There were. I am correcting the problem." Seven said with her normal neutral tones. It caused B'Elanna, already agitated beyond reason, to explode.
"Seven!" she screamed. "Get the hell out of my engine room! Can't you stop being such perfectionist drone for one minute and listen to me? God! No wonder why no one likes you!" She yelled.
"I will comply." Was all Seven replied as she rushed away. B'Elanna was surprised to see the definite shine of tears in Seven's eyes. She turned to see Seven walked at her usual hurried pace, but somehow, it almost seemed as though she was hastier than usual. B'Elanna sighed, her anger draining away. She looked at the information on the console that Seven had been working on.
"Damn it." She said when she read the analysis. She left engineering, leaving the console on. In Standard Federation text was the report of a minor power surge in Astrometrics.
B'Elanna went directly to Astrometrics and was surprised to see that Seven wasn't there. She went up to the console, glancing at what Seven was working on. She frowned, knowing that the amount of work in the scans should have taken a few days, but it was only started the day before. She got curious and looked at the work logs to see how long Seven worked on them.
She scrolled through it until she came across Seven's work log. Seven had not logged out until about twenty minutes ago, where she had headed straight to engineering. If the computer was correct, then Seven had not slept in the past thirty-six hours.
"Computer, locate Seven of Nine." B'Elanna commanded.
"Seven is in cargo bay one." The computer's voice rang out automatically. B'Elanna headed there. She reached it, the automatic doors opening soundlessly.
"Seven?" B'Elanna called softly, looking around the darkened room. She heard something near where Neelix kept his plants. She quietly slipped forward to peer around the large storage containers.
Seven was carefully tending a small portion of a garden. She didn't have her usual Borg mask in place, instead, her lip trembled and her eyes shone. She poured carefully measured amounts of water into each plant.
"Seven?" B'Elanna said softly. Instantly, Seven's stance became stiffer and her face was schooled to neutrality. Seven set down the container she used to water the plants and turned, her hands hidden behind her. She was as she always was, emotionless, but B'Elanna couldn't wipe the trembling lip from her mind. "I'm sorry Seven. I didn't mean to get angry at you. You're right there was a power fluctuation in Astrometrics. I apologise." B'Elanna said, dipping her head.
"Apology accepted." Seven replied, turning away from her. B'Elanna turned to leave, but before she took a step she hesitantly turned back.
"Mind if I swing by your quarters later?" B'Elanna asked.
"If you must." Seven replied. The engineer left. Only after she was in engineering did she realise that Seven had been wearing an Astrometrics uniform and had been tending flowers, not any of Neelix's food plants.
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B'Elanna waited for Seven to answer her door. The door opened, though she had not heard Seven's voice. She was surprised by what she saw.
The rooms were totally devoid of the lived in feel. Everything was as it had been a few days ago when she had made sure all the technology was operational. Nothing had been touched.
"Computer, where is Seven of Nine?" B'Elanna asked.
"Seven of Nine is in holodeck two." B'Elanna headed there, wanting to talk to Seven. She stepped into the holodeck, looking around for Seven.
It was an ocean hologram. She looked for Seven and she saw her on the beach below her sitting on a rock. B'Elanna ran down the path to join her.
"Seven! I want to talk to you!" B'Elanna called. Seven's head snapped up.
"Go away." She said. Her voice was cracking. B'Elanna slowed a few feet, a frown on her face.
"Hey, I just wanted to talk to you, that's all. I wanted to ask you, why you working such long shifts? And have you been in your quarters yet?" B'Elanna asked.
"Just leave me alone." Seven snapped. B'Elanna took a step back, startled at the icy tone in Seven's voice. She had thought that Seven was normally icy, but she had been wrong.
"Seven? Tell me about it." She must have said something, cause her words triggered something she did not expect. Seven rose to her full height at six feet, anger blazing in her eyes.
"Just mind your own business Torres! I am perfectly capable of fending for myself!" Seven snarled. B'Elanna could see some other emotion glittering under the anger.
"Seven, what's going on?" B'Elanna asked.
"Nothing! Nothing is going on! I'm fine..." She no longer sounded like the Seven that B'Elanna knew and she knew that she was witnessing a side of Seven no one else had, except for maybe the captain.
"Care to tell me what's wrong?" she commented. "Why have you been working so hard?" Seven turned away. B'Elanna took went closer to Seven until she stood a few feet behind her. "Seven?"
Seven's shoulders shook. B'Elanna wrapped her arms around the former drone and sat them both down. Seven turn her head into B'Elanna's shoulder, crying silently. B'Elanna just soothed Seven the best she could, murmuring reassurances. Eventually Seven's tears stopped, but her slight frame still shook.
"Want to talk?" B'Elanna said softly.
"I am sorry for my lapse. It won't happen again." Seven said, pulling away, her mask reclaiming her face. B'Elanna stood when Seven did.
"I'm not buying it Seven. Tell me what's wrong." She demanded. Seven turned around, clasping her hands behind her. She looked the same as before, but now B'Elanna could see the pain in the woman's eyes.
"Astrometrics is a quiet environment. I find it soothing. I prefer it's loneliness to the hostility I meet every where's else. I do not like my dreams." Seven stated. "Satisfactory?" she said, starting to climb the path off the beach. Before she left the holodeck, she said something else. "It's better to have an unrequited love than one who hates your guts because of it." Seven left the room, the doors closing with an odd sense of finality.
"Computer, end program." The scene around her faded, leaving the gleaming metal room of the holodeck. B'Elanna stood there for a few moments. She touched the damp part of her shirt, not quite sure whether or not to believe that Seven had actually been the one she had held in her arms.
B'Elanna decided that she would wonder about it tomorrow. She was tired and she had an early shift. She went to her quarters. It was still a mess, but she just hadn't felt like cleaning it up and hadn't really found the time to do so. She changed into something comfortable and slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Seven sat in the empty mess hall, staring at the stars that seemed to zoom past. She had no idea what possessed her to say something that close to the truth, but she didn't really want to delve into it, knowing it would just bring up painful thoughts.
The mess hall doors opened, revealing a very tired Janeway. She grabbed a cup of coffee turning to see Seven sitting by herself in the corner. She came to sit quietly next to the silent woman.
"Seven, shouldn't you be asleep?" Janeway commented.
"You are in more need of sleep than I do Captain." Seven murmured. She did not even turn to look at the captain.
"You seem tired. You should get some sleep." Janeway persisted.
"No, thank you." Seven got up and left the mess hall, disappearing door the corridor. Janeway stared after her, wondering what had gotten into Seven.
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B'Elanna attracted Janeway's attention after the morning briefing, everyone else filing out. Janeway sat back down, smiling at B'Elanna to join her.
"Captain, I am worried about Seven." She said bluntly. Her words shocked her superior into silence. "She hasn't been sleeping I don't think she has even been in her quarters yet. She has been working extreme amount of hours. And... we had sort of an odd talk in the holodeck."
"What sort of talk?" Janeway asked once she had regained her wits.
"She cried." Was all B'Elanna said. Janeway looked at B'Elanna while she pondered.
"I'm sure she is fine Lt. She was fine last night when I spoke to her." The captain said. B'Elanna frowned at what she heard.
"Captain, I really think something is wrong."
"And I don't. Dismissed." Was the curt reply.
B'Elanna left the room, angry that the captain would not believe her about Seven. She stormed into engineering, working herself up into a foul mood.
"Lt. Seven came by. She asked me to tell you that she apologises for last night and that it won't happen again. I never thought I would hear the Ice Queen apologise for anything." The ensign said with a smirk. When B'Elanna whirled on him, he paled and the smirk left his face. He cowered as he became the target of the half klingon's temper.
"I don't EVER want to hear anything like that again! I hear one more rude comment about Seven, I will personally dismantle the person's hand and force feed it to them! Your holodeck privileges are removed for the rest of the week! Get back to work!" she snarled. The ensign went back to what he had been doing, his face a bright red. "God damned jerks." She muttered to herself darkly, shooting dirty looks at the ensign, who pretended not to notice.
After her shift ended, B'Elanna sought out Seven. She turned out to be in the Astrometrics, although it didn't surprise her much. She stood by Seven, waiting for Seven to finish what she was doing.
"May I help you Lt.?" Seven asked in clipped tones. She continued to work, images flickering across the screen.
"Seven." B'Elanna growled. It caused her to turn. "Talk to me. What is hurting you so much?"
"Pain is irrelevant." She stated calmly.
"Don't give me that bullshit." The engineer replied hotly. Seven looked at her, her lack of sleep evident in the dimmer light.
"Why do you insist on finding out?" Seven said. She made no effort to deny that she was in pain.
"Because I care."
"You do not. You have hated me since I came aboard Voyager." She replied calmly.
"Maybe I did once, but I don't now. I care about you. I only want you to feel better." B'Elanna said.
"I do not believe you." Seven said. B'Elanna growled in frustration.
"Goddamn it Seven! Why can't you just accept it as the truth for once? If I didn't care, would I do this?" B'Elanna roared. She gripped the back of the taller woman's head and pulled her down, her lips hungrily devouring the former drone's. Seven broke the contact, a hand gently touching her lips.
"I do not understand..." Seven said. Rather than ask B'Elanna to explain, she logged off and fled.
B'Elanna was just as shocked that she had kissed Seven. That wasn't the oddest part. The oddest part was that she wanted more.
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Seven entered her assigned quarters for the first time. They were bare of any personal touches and had the sterile smell of the sickbay. She looked into the bathroom and the bedroom, finding that they too also lacked personal touches. She went to the replicator, flicking through the selections. She replicated a bunch of items that she needed or wanted to make the quarters.
She set one of the blankets onto the back of the couch and one on the foot of the bed. She put away the meditative devices she had acquired a taste for in a storage unit. She placed everything where she wanted it. She tapped her comm badge.
"Seven of Nine to the Captain." Seven stated.
"Janeway here." The captain's voice drifted into the room.
"I require a few days off. I wish to ask for three days leave." Seven requested. The Captain was quiet for a few minutes.
"Request granted." A pause. "Seven, I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything." She said. Seven wanted to fling the comm badge across the room.
"I am fine captain Seven of Nine out." Seven ended to conversation, tapping the badge, cutting off whatever more the Captain wanted to say.
The captain stared at her own comm badge, as though through it she say Seven. Perhaps she had disregarded B'Elanna's opinion too quickly. Seven had never before asked for a day off. That she felt she required it was a shocker to the captain. She had always assumed that Seven was adapting well, but now she wasn't quite as sure.