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Kelani: Well, this figure may change later as I write more chapters or edit old ones but about three months.
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Dark Borg Drone: I guess I should be honest about flamers. I am going to defend my story when I read a comment I think is a flame but by the time I post the next chapter I've pretty much forgotten about the flame, unless it's something that really mean. You just can't get through the day if all you can think about is the flame that took ten seconds to write versus the chapter that took I don't know how many hours to write.
For the Love of a Child
Part Fourteen
"I have something important to tell you." B'Elanna said as she pulled Kaia and Seven closer. "I'm sending you a data file explaining everything because it takes a lot more than twenty minutes to explain this but, you're a grand mother. This is my daughter, and her mother."
"Your daughter… and her mother…" Miral said as she looked between the three of them. "How is this even possible?"
"Because I am part Borg I can be impregnated by both males and females. There was a transporter accident a month ago and Kaia was conceived. B'Elanna and I decided to keep her." Seven explained. She desperately wanted the acceptance of B'Elanna's mother.
As Miral looked at the young woman who was so obviously the mother to the little girl in her arms she didn't know what to think. Her explanation seemed to make sense and the fairly large data file she had received was most likely a more detailed technical explanation of what happened.
"I am a grand mother?" Miral asked, still unable to process what had happened.
"I know this comes as kind of a shock mom, but it's true." B'Elanna confirmed.
"Is there anything you would like to know?" Seven asked.
"Are you married?" Miral asked bluntly, which caused B'Elanna to blush.
"No, we have only recently begun a relationship." Seven answered, not showing any discomfort over the awkward situation they found themselves in.
"I see…" Miral said. "Only you could end up in a situation like this B'Elanna." Miral said with laugh. "I don't think you've ever done anything the normal way."
"You are not upset?" Seven asked curiously.
"Upset? I just found out I have a grand daughter and a soon to be daughter in law. I could not be happier." Miral smiled. After the initial shock Miral had genuinely warmed to the idea.
"How old is she?" Miral asked as she smiled at her granddaughter.
"Kaia is one week old." Seven said as she brought Kaia closer to the view screen so Miral could get a closer look.
"I assume you sent baby pictures in your data file as well." Miral smiled at Kaia.
"Our entire collection," B'Elanna said, happy for once that she was getting along with her mother.
"Good, I want more the next month as well." Miral said, knowing that messages could only be sent every thirty days using the Midas array.
A lot of thoughts were running through Harry's head as he walked towards the bridge for the beginning of his duty shift.
He knew that he should be happy for Seven and B'Elanna. They both clearly cared for each other very deeply. He had vainly hoped that the dinner party would give him something, anything to make him believe that Seven could be happier with him.
Sadly it wasn't the case, no one would be able to come between those three, and no one would be able to make Seven more happy than B'Elanna already had.
'I don't want to feel this way about my friend.' Harry thought to himself, feeling conflicted. 'Why can't I just be happy for them?'
When Harry reached the bridge he noticed that he still had another ten minutes before his duty shift started. 'Maybe I should talk to the Captain about this.' Harry thought. 'She said her door was always open. She cares about Seven too, she has to have a way do deal with these feelings.' Harry thought as he ringed the entry chime.
The Captain sat in her ready room thinking about the dinner she had last night. In the beginning a part of her hoped that Seven and B'Elanna weren't getting along as well as they seemed. It was hard to look at the woman you loved with someone else.
Even though Seven had yet to say the words it was plainly obvious that she was in love with B'Elanna. The way they acted around each other, the way they knew each others habits so well, and the love they shared for their daughter was almost heartbreaking.
Through the heartbreak came a realization though. She could not give Seven and Kaia everything that B'Elanna could, and as much as she cared for Seven she had to let her go. She belonged with B'Elanna now, not her.
Janeway was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the chime to the ready room ring. "Come in."
"Captain I was hoping I could talk to you." Harry Kim said as he walked through the door.
"What would you like to talk about?" Janeway asked, already knowing the answer.
"It's about B'Elanna and Seven." Harry said as he sat down. "It's hard being around them now, knowing how close I was to being in B'Elanna's shoes."
"I think we both were." Janeway admitted starting what would most probably be a long philosophical discussion.
"I guess you're right, but as much as I'm happy for them I can't help but wonder if I had just done something differently Seven would have been with me." Harry sighed.
"Try this one." Janeway said with a rye smile. "Did you know that I was giving serious consideration to leading the away mission to that planet? In the end I decided that B'Elanna should go because I wanted her to get along better with Seven. Seven's daughter could have very well been my own."
"I see what you mean." Harry said, seeing the humor in it as well. "Well at least you got your wish. I don't think I've ever seen B'Elanna and Seven get along so well."
"Neither have I." Janeway admitted. "Speaking of getting along how is Mr. Paris taking all of this?"
"I honestly don't know. I haven't talked to him since he was put in the brig. I don't think that he even knows." Harry said.
"You haven't visited him at all?" Janeway asked a little shocked, after all Harry was Tom's best friend.
"I was pretty mad about what he did to Seven and Kaia, what he could have ended up doing." Harry admitted.
"Well, you're not alone in that. Tom will have to earn back the respect of a lot of the crew. I had no idea Seven was respected that much by the crew."
"It isn't only that. Gossip travels pretty quickly on this ship. It only took a couple of hours before the rest of the crew figured it out. At first people wondered how someone could strike down a pregnant woman, after all we're talking about hurting an unborn child, a complete innocent.
Then people started wondering about Seven. She was assimilated by the Borg as a child, just as innocent as Kaia is now. I guess everybody realized Seven's emotional development was a little above a child." Harry concluded.
"They felt guilty about the way they treated Seven in the past." Janeway deduced. "Suddenly it wasn't a peer they were fighting with. It was a child they were abusing."
"I was lucky enough to realize it at least partially in the beginning. I don't think the rest of the crew has said one bad thing about Seven since, to her face or behind her back." Harry agreed.
"At least some good came out of this then." Janeway said. "I know that this is something that I would normally do Harry but I think it would be better coming from you. Tom needs to know about Seven and B'Elanna, so at the very least he can get it out of his system before he's out of the brig. If you don't feel comfortable talking to him I understand though."
"No, it's alright. I'm still his best friend. I should be the one to tell him."
Harry had spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to talk to Tom. Since he hadn't visited him at all in the brig so far he didn't know how Tom would react to him or what he had to say.
Harry couldn't wait any longer though. He had made too many excuses already. Visiting hours were almost over, and it wasn't something that he could put off. The longer he waited the worse the end result would be.
Harry finally got a hold of himself and walked into the brig. "Hi, Tom," he said, the only words he could thing of.
"I'm surprised you came." Tom looked up from his seat on the cot.
Tom looked like he'd been taking the whole situation pretty hard. He face was unshaven, and he looked like he hadn't got much sleep in the past week.
"We need to talk Tom." Harry finally managed. Thos was probably one of the toughest conversations he had to have.
"It's about Seven, and B'Elanna isn't it? Are they okay? Nothing else is wrong with the baby is it?" Tom asked, becoming worried.
"No, Kaia's fine. I met her last night, she's a cute kid." Harry smiled, remembering Kaia's antics.
"I'm glad." Tom said sincerely. "What did you want to tell me about Seven and B'Elanna?"
"I know this is going to be hard to accept at first," Harry said trying to soften the blow. "But B'Elanna and Seven have started seeing each other."
"What? There's no way that can last. They'll be at each other throats in less than a week." Tom said, unable to except the fact that B'Elanna had moved on, and with Seven of all people.
"I saw it with my own eyes Tom." Harry said feeling bad for his friend. "B'Elanna's already told Seven she loves her. Seven hasn't said the words yet, but everyone else can see it."
"B'Elanna said she loved Seven?" Tom felt hurt. "In all the times we went out she never said that to me."
"We should have seen it from the very beginning Tom." Harry was upset at not picking up on something that was so obvious in hindsight. "Neither one of us stood a chance."
"Maybe if I could just talk to B'Elanna," Tom said desperately. "I can't loose her Harry. She's the first good thing to have ever happened to me."
"Believe me Tom, you're not the only one that feels like that. But B'Elanna, Seven and Kaia have a chance to be a family." Harry repeated B'Elanna's words.
"So what? We all have family waiting for us back home. Why should Seven be any different?" Tom asked mirroring Harry's own feelings a short while ago.
"Seven is different." Harry said, finally truly understanding B'Elanna's argument. "She doesn't have anyone back home waiting for her. No family to welcome her back home with open arms, no long lost friends she can spend her time with. To her Earth is just another planet full of people that may not accept her, that might even hate her."
Tom didn't have any retort to that. He never really thought about. He just assumed that everyone had someone waiting for them. That was the reason they were all trying so hard to get back to earth. Wasn't it?
"Can you honestly tell me that she deserves that Tom? She needs a family more than anyone. She deserves to have what we all seem to take for granted. Even if there's the smallest chance that they can make things work we have to step back, and let them have it."
"You're right." Tom found himself saying. "Seven does deserve to be happy, and so does B'Elanna."
"You're going to be out of the brig in another three weeks Tom. When that happens try to be happy for them. If you could see them now, see how happy they are…"
"I guess I just need time to think things through." Tom said with a sigh.
B'Elanna, Seven, and Kaia had just finished dinner. All things considered the day had gone pretty well, and B'Elanna was finally able to get some quality time with Kaia instead of being stuck down in engineering for most of the day.
"I don't think I've ever seen someone get along so well with my mom." B'Elanna said, not believing how quickly she and Seven took to each other.
"Miral is a very interesting woman. She cares for you a great deal." Seven commented as she put Kaia in her crib for her nap.
"Believe me, she wasn't always like this." B'Elanna said.
"What do you mean?" Seven asked curiously.
"Well, when my dad left my mom decided I wasn't acting Klingon enough. I guess I just couldn't accept that my dad left so I lashed out at my mom. For a long time I blamed her for my dad leaving. We drifted apart pretty quickly after that. It was just too painful to look at each other. All I could see when I looked at my mother was the thing that drove my father away, the Klingon part. When my mother looked at me all she could see was the human in me, and everything she lost because of it. She would never admit it to me but I could tell. I would always be a reminder to her of the husband she lost, and the mistakes she made because of him." B'Elanna sighed as she sat down on the sofa.
"I wish that I knew what to do to make you feel better." Seven said as knelt down between B'Elanna's legs and hugged her.
"You're doing a pretty good job now." B'Elanna smiled as she pulled Seven closer and kissed her forehead.
"If you think that you are mistake B'Elanna, trust me when I tell you that you are not. I need you in my life. You are the one person that holds me together. I do not believe that I would be strong enough to do this on my own, regardless of what I told you in the beginning."
"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for Seven." B'Elanna hugged Seven. "The life that you were forced to live, the things they did to you. Any normal person wouldn't have the strength to keep going after that."
"There were some days when I wished to end it." Seven admitted. "I just wanted the pain to stop so much that I was willing to do almost anything. Then you and Kaia came into my life, and it was better."
"Seven did you think about going back to the Borg?" B'Elanna asked feeling a little alarmed that Seven felt so miserable around the rest of the crew. She completely forgot about her own problems, which now seemed so small in comparison to her.
"No, In the time I spent on Voyager I realized that I could never willingly return to the Borg. It was what made it so hard, I felt as if I had no place I belonged, that no one could accept me for who I was." Seven said as a tear slid down her cheek.
"You belong to me." B'Elanna said impulsively as she lifted Seven off the ground and into her lap. She immediately figured out that if Seven didn't want to return to the Borg, and didn't want to stay on Voyager. There was only one option left, and she couldn't even bring herself to think it.
"I'm not going to let you leave me." B'Elanna said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Seven, afraid that if she lost contact with the younger woman she would disappear.
Seven knew that she should be feeling at the very least offended by what B'Elanna had said. Logically she didn't belong to anyone, she was an individual now, but it was oddly comforting.
All the doubt she had felt seemed to vanish upon hearing those words. She felt like she belonged.
"I won't leave B'Elanna." Seven promised as she kissed her cheek. "I do not feel that way anymore. You made that feeling go away."
"Feelings like those don't just go away." B'Elanna denied. "I need you Seven. I'm not letting you go. I love you too much for that."
"As you said B'Elanna, I belong to you now. Even if I wanted to I could not leave." Seven said, drawing comfort from B'Elanna's words.
"Say it again." B'Elanna demanded.
"I belong to you." Seven repeated, as if it was the most simple thing in the world.
"Again," B'Elanna asked more softly this time.
"Every part of me, mind, body, and soul all belong to you." Seven whispered.
"Thank you." B'Elanna whispered as she felt tears run down her cheeks.
The words seemed all too simple to B'Elanna when she said them, but they fit. Seven had just promised herself to her unconditionally. The amount of trust Seven had for her, no one else had ever shown her.
The tender moment was broken all too quickly by the gurgle of Kaia as she woke up from her nap.
"Kaia is awake B'Elanna. She is hungry." Seven said reminding B'Elanna that she was still held firmly in her lap.
B'Elanna reluctantly let Seven up again, but she never took her eyes off her, still afraid she might disappear on her.
Seven returned moments later with Kaia in her arms and was about to sit down beside her when she felt a pair of arms grab her hips and pull her down into a warm lap. The arms wrapped around her and Kaia again protectively.
When Seven turned her head to question B'Elanna their eyes locked. B'Elanna was almost daring Seven to try to get out of her arms without uttering a single word.
Seven deciding not rise to the bait leaned into B'Elanna and began to feed Kaia as B'Elanna watched occasionally running her fingers over their daughters delicate face.
As Kaia finished Seven realized it would be the perfect time to read her another one of the stories from the data pad.
"B'Elanna what was the story you wished for Kaia to read?" Seven asked as she kissed Kaia's forehead.
"This one," B'Elanna said as she picked up the data pad and opened in to the first Curious George book. "I there's Seven books in the series, Kaia's going to love them." She said as she handed Seven the book. It seemed B'Elanna wanted to hear Seven tell the story as much as Kaia did.
Seven smiled at Kaia's enthusiasm as she looked at the cover. "Would you like to know where Curious George is going with those firemen Kaia?"
As if in answer to her question Kaia touched the picture of George, and then looked to her mother, waiting for her to turn the next page.
Seven woke up that morning feeling happy and safe. A part of her regretted telling B'Elanna about how she used to feel around the rest of the crew. She had not believed that it would affect B'Elanna as much as it did. On the other hand Seven felt she was closer to B'Elanna than ever before.
B'Elanna awoke with a happy sigh, as she felt Seven still in her arms. 'Kaia must be sleeping in.' she mused to herself.
B'Elanna instinctively tightened her grip on Seven when she felt her trying to get out of bed. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Kaia will be awake soon, and I must start breakfast." Seven explained.
"Not until you say it." B'Elanna said as kissed Seven's forehead.
"I belong to you." Seven said, liking the way it sounded.
B'Elanna knew it was slightly childish to want to hear Seven say those words, but for some inexplicable reason it calmed her to know that Seven couldn't just get up and walk out of her life.
"Let's go." B'Elanna said as she got out of bed. "Maybe we'll have time to read Kaia another story before our shifts start."
"Read Kaia a story?" Seven asked with a smirk. "I seem to recall you enjoying listening to story as much as she did, if not more."
"Was it that obvious?" B'Elanna laughed. As she went to her desk to see if she received any messages, while Seven picked up Kaia and began to feed her.
"That's strange I have a message from home. I didn't think mom would send anything since she could talk to us yesterday." B'Elanna thought out loud.
"Perhaps she has written the letter before she knew you wished to speak to her." Seven offered.
"Maybe," B'Elanna said as she brought up the message on her console. "It's from my father." She said with a gasp.
"What does it say?" Seven asked. She was curious to know what the man who had abandoned B'Elanna as a child could have to say now.
To Be Continued…
You all probably didn't think I could jam another cliff hanger in did you?
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