Disclaimer: I am not making any money of this fic, nor do I own Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation or the original series, or anything else I make references to. If you saw the character on any show, then it is not mine. The same goes for ships, planets, cultures, et cetera. This story will depict a loving relationship between two women and there are no apologies to be made over this. Chapter 19 is from "Bother" by Stone Sour, whom I do not own.

Genre: Action-Adventure, Drama, Angst
Codes: K/7, T/7

Feedback: Please, reviews are the food of the muse… but flames are for candles!

Home, Chapter 19
Once I hold on, I won't let go 'til it bleeds...

A date with Seven of Nine was not like a date with anyone else. At least, that was B'Elanna's opinion on the matter. Seven showed an entirely different side to the engineer than ever before. She wasn't pushy or exacting; she was almost shy after their first encounter. It made B'Elanna react in kind, and the physical aspect of their relationship was limited to a few timid 'good-night' kisses.

But B'Elanna found that the merest peck on the cheek by Seven was not only endearing, but stimulating. She loved touching her and took every opportunity she came by to do so.

Their first date had been in Stellar Cartography. B'Elanna had believed this an odd place for a date until she had seen it. Seven had turned off all overhead lighting and set the viewscreens to rotate into magnificent views. From glowing nebulae to spectacular meteor showers, the screens glowed and displayed breathtaking stellar phenomena while they dined on a sumptuous meal that Seven had actually cooked, rather than replicated.

Their second date had been water-skiing on Pacifica, an oceanic planet with a warm climate that B'Elanna had enjoyed immensely. B'Elanna had selected their third date, a moonlit stroll along the beach cliffs of Berillia Prime, the violet water below glowing under the light of three red moons whilst they walked on white sand, finer than any on Earth.

She couldn't believe that almost two weeks had passed since she had begun dating Seven. Jessica had kept a vigil at her daughter's side while the other Shashans had taken up temporary lodgings on the ship. Luii had been contacted about his wife and informed them that he was en route to rendezvous with Voyager, but it would be another week before he would arrive.

Voyager had come across two more ships, destroyed by the Paraepersk. As with every ship other than the Dracco, nothing but dust remained. They had no idea if they were catching up with the aliens, although Seven worked double shifts trying to find a way to detect them. It was estimated that Voyager would arrive at the anomaly in ten days. Hopefully, they would have the weapons from the Dracco converted to be fired from Voyager before they met up with the Paraepersk, but B'Elanna wasn't giving it good odds.

The damn missiles were unstable when launched from Voyager's torpedo tubes, a bit of knowledge that had cost Voyager five days' traveling time to discover when it had misfired. The Engineering teams were working around the clock to install special force field buffers in the lining of the torpedo tubes and creating more missiles to fire at the alien ship before it could use its formidable weapons against Voyager. It had been a thorn in B'Elanna's side for the same blissful two weeks that she had spent with Seven.

Harry had quit sulking after a few days and challenged them to a hoverball match, which had been postponed six times already. They ate lunch together a few times, but had almost no free time between them. If two of them were off at the same time, one was still attempting to work out some difficulty posed by these damnable Paraepersk.

That was, until today. They had had their match, which was why B'Elanna was in Sickbay, with the Doctor repairing her sprained ankle, giving her a lecture about playing on it instead of holding the game until it had been attended to. She tuned him out and glanced over at Jessica, who was asleep with her head on Alexandra's bed. The EMH followed her gaze and smiled.

"She should be waking up soon," he confided.

"Jessica?"

"No, her daughter. I've finally repaired all the damage to her brain, I believe. Within the next twelve hours, we'll find out if she's going to recover. If she doesn't wake up by then, I don't have a lot of hope that she'll ever recuperate, as I've done all I can." B'Elanna looked over at Jessica, who was beginning to twitch and jerk in her sleep and appeared to be in danger of falling off the stool she was perched on.

B'Elanna hopped off the biobed when the Doctor finished chastising her and walked over to her friend. Jessica was now issuing small, abrupt cries, as if she were trying to wake herself from whatever horrors were unfolding behind her eyes. Finally, she jerked awake with a yell and looked around, disoriented. B'Elanna felt a pang in her chest that her young friend still suffered the nightmares that, in her effort to avoid them, had once made her go weeks at a time without sleeping.

"It's okay, Jess, you're on Voyager, safe and sound." Jessica looked up at B'Elanna, who had put her fingers in the long, silken hair on top of her head for comfort. Jessica pressed into the contact and leaned against B'Elanna.

"Thanks, Bel. I didn't really mean to fall asleep." The young Shashan woman raised her hand and brushed the little girl's forehead. "I'm just so tired all the time." B'Elanna looked at the white-scaled hand and realized, for the first time, that Jessica had been in the same form since she arrived on Voyager.

"Can't you shape-shift anymore?" the half-Klingon asked. Jessica looked up, surprised.

"Yeah." Jessica looked at her own hand and closed her eyes. Almost painfully slowly, her skin darkened to its human shade and the claws changed into grey nails. Jessica laughed lightly and B'Elanna watched as the nails turned clear. "I never did master the art of shapeshifting." Then she slid her gaze up to the younger woman's face and gave a start. Jessica could have been the same age as B'Elanna last saw her. Her face was youthful and bright, despite the white hair framing it. Just as before, Jessica could pass for twenty as easily as fourteen, or even thirteen.

"Kahless, you haven't aged a day," B'Elanna breathed. Jessica grinned.

"No, just seventy years," Jessica responded. B'Elanna flinched inwardly, but shook her head, grinning.

"Doesn't show."

"Well, don't expect me to offer you the same compliment. You look like you're thirty," Jessica said, a twinkle in her eye.

"At least I don't have split ends," B'Elanna growled. Jessica's mouth opened in a little 'o' of surprise.

"Now, that's just plain fighting dirty, bringing my hair into this," she growled. B'Elanna knew that Shashans were as prideful of their hair as a Ferengi of his ears. Maybe more so.

"And your ears are still pointy." Jessica's hand automatically went to her ears, which were round and smooth. She glared at B'Elanna, who laughed. After a second of hardy glaring, Jessica joined her in laughing.

"Momma?" came a tired little voice. Jessica's head swung around and grasped the tiny, searching hand in her own.

"Right here, Xandra."

"Where are we? My head hurts." Xandra opened her olive eyes and looked around curiously.

"We're on a Federation ship called Voyager."

"Hey, you're part Klingon, too," Alexandra said to B'Elanna, who quirked a half-smile.

"Yeah. But it's on my mother's side," B'Elanna responded. Xandra blinked and smiled slightly.

"My daddy's mom was half Klingon on her mother's side, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Daddy didn't used to like being Klingon, either, but he does now. It made him go away." She blinked her large, green eyes at B'Elanna, who was a little startled that the girl had read her mind.

"Xandra. You know it's not nice to read people's minds without their permission."

"But, Momma, she's LOUD," Alexandra proclaimed. B'Elanna laughed. Xandra rolled over and saw the EMH, working quietly next to them, monitoring her bioreadings. "Not like him. He's quiet." The doctor looked up, a sad look on his face. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, dismissing his feelings.

"That's because I'm a hologram. I'm not real." Alexandra scrunched up her nose.

"Yes you are. I can still hear you, if I concentrate." At this, the Doctor looked startled.

"You can?"

"Yup." The EMH looked at Jessica for confirmation and she gave it with a small nod.

"You've seemed to develop a little bit since I last saw you. You feel like Commander Data in my head, only grumpier." Jessica smirked at him. He resumed working, ignoring her comment, but considerably more cheerful.

"Well, it would appear that I've managed to perform yet another medical miracle. Your daughter will be just fine after a day or so of bed rest." Jessica smiled and thanked the doctor, then turned to Xandra, who was already drifting back off to sleep.
…

Seven glared at the instrument panel in front of her, resisting the urge to remove the casing and assimilate it to force results from it. She stepped away from it and sighed. No matter how she adjusted it, the Paraepersk would not register. She stepped forward again and split the screen in front of her to show the projected course of the ship they were pursuing. She glanced over at the empty space where her calculations indicated the alien ship should be and resumed scanning that sector of space.

After another hour, she realized that her frustration was interfering in her calculations and she decided to take a break. She instructed the computer to continue scanning on all frequencies and left Astrometrics, her mind still trying to work out another method of detection or another frequency on which to scan.

She ended up in front of B'Elanna's quarters. Moments later, she had B'Elanna. Frustration drained into the soft lips, tasting vaguely of the banana pancakes she had just finished, it being oh-six hundred. Hair slid through her fingers, ghostly trails sending shivers down her spine. Seven felt her hands slide down B'Elanna's spine, her right hand trailing to her ribs and brushing gently across her breasts, evoking a gasp from her love. Seven just left her hand there, reveling in the slight weight against her palm, exploring B'Elanna's mouth with her own, feeling teeth and tongue like a connection she never knew could exist.

"I must stop," Seven said, startling herself.

"What? Why?" B'Elanna asked.

"Because if I don't, I do not believe I will be able to and we have not discussed this—"

"I don't want to discuss anything, Seven. I just want to feel you." Seven gasped as B'Elanna touched her ribs, sliding her hands up and around. With the next touch of the soft lips to her own, Seven knew that her world had changed and would never be the same. She was home.

To be continued…