AN: Here we are, another piece to this one.

I hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think!

111

Raffi sat across from Seven in a corner table in the mess hall. Raffi wasn't hungry at all, but Seven made the burrito she was eating look good enough that Raffi was considering an extra meal for the hell of it. Anyone who happened to glance over and see the look on Seven's face every time she bit into her mid-morning snack would likely rush to the replicator to replace whatever they'd selected with the obviously-superior choice.

Raffi had replicated a few strawberry cupcakes on a plate—the pinkest dessert she could think of—and they sat waiting in the middle of the table for Elnor to arrive. He would meet them there, he'd said when they'd called him, as soon as he was done with his current task.

"I'm definitely not saying, Seven, that you shouldn't talk to Deanna Troi," Raffi said, continuing the conversation that they'd been having since arriving—a conversation that had actually started on their walk there from sickbay. Raffi kept her voice low. Most of the people currently gathered in the mess hall were ignoring them, and few would simply approach the combination of the current resident-Borg and the First Officer, but Raffi didn't want eavesdroppers either. "In fact, I think you absolutely should talk to her. You should probably make it a standing appointment. Being pregnant is stressful, and my anxiety was…it was overwhelming. I'm not going to lie to you, either. It didn't get any better, not for a while. Jae wasn't overly supportive and I worried night and day about Gabe."

"What were you worried about?" Seven asked.

Raffi laughed to herself. She shrugged.

"Anything," she said. "Everything. Seven—I don't want to give your subconscious any ideas. You're going to come up with plenty to worry about on your own. So will I. I'm already starting to get that queasy feeling in my stomach like I'm worried about something before I even know what it is."

"All of this is—irrational," Seven said. "What I feel, and your concerns, from what you tell me—they are all irrational."

"Sometimes, I think that's the point. My point is that I think you should absolutely seek guidance and comfort from Counselor Troi. She may have some ideas and coping mechanisms you can use. It may even help to say things out loud to someone else. My only concern is—I don't want you to talk to her instead of me. I want to be kept in the loop, too."

"What loop?" Seven asked, raising her eyebrow. Raffi started to explain the figure of speech, but Seven interrupted her with laughter. "I'm kidding, Raf. I understand the…jargon."

"I'm serious, Seven," Raffi said. She shrugged and picked at one of the napkins she'd brought over in anticipation of Elnor's arrival. "I don't want to be left out."

Seven looked at her and chewed until she could swallow. Brow-furrowed, she responded.

"Have I been guilty of leaving you out of something?" Seven asked.

Raffi laughed to herself. It was forced. She didn't feel it. She only did it because she wanted to feel it.

"I guess—I have some extra hormones, too, right now," Raffi said, wiping at her eye where the tear that had blurred her vision finally found its way free.

"You're crying," Seven said, reaching her hand across the table and touching Raffi's. "Have I done something to cause you to cry?"

Raffi laughed again.

"You haven't done anything except—eat your burrito and…talk to me. Look—Seven—it's just…I like when you tell me your worries, and your concerns. I like to hear your nightmares. I don't want to lose that."

"You need to sleep," Seven said. "It's likely that you're feeling emotional because you require sleep. I kept you awake with my concerns, and that was selfish."

"I'd rather you wake me up six times a night to ask me if I think the baby has a tail than…than…leave me out or…push me away," Raffi said.

"Why would I believe our baby has a tail?" Seven asked. "Do you think our baby has a tail, Raffi?"

Raffi laughed, this time feeling it.

"No," Raffi said. "No—our baby doesn't have a tail."

"Technically, we can't see if she has a tail or not," Seven pointed out. "She might have a tail."

Raffi could see that Seven was teasing her. She pushed the plate in front of Seven back in her direction.

"Eat your burrito," Raffi said. "She needs it—and I got that one loaded with good things for both of you."

Seven smiled softly, and she turned back to her burrito. She chewed through another bite of it before quietly adding her next words.

"I love you, Raf. If I have—pushed you anywhere," Seven said, "I am sorry."

"You haven't done anything," Raffi said. "I love you, too. This—it's just me, Seven. Being as…emotional, I guess, as you are. I just…I guess it stirred up something in me. I have more of a face for her, now. And—I started myself in some kind of spiral, Seven. I was thinking that I don't want to lose you…and…then, I was thinking that you might not tell me when you can't sleep and you think the baby's a machine, if you're telling that to someone else."

"I would imagine that you would welcome the reprieve," Seven said.

"I won't," Raffi said. "Experiencing it all through your eyes is how I'm experiencing this—all of it. This is my role. It's my place. And I…don't want to lose it."

Seven frowned at Raffi.

"I promise that—I'll wake you, tonight, when I can't sleep because my subconscious mind is certain that I have given the baby a tail."

Raffi laughed, and she reached her hand across, under the table, to touch Seven's leg. Seven smiled at her from across the table—a quiet indication that she didn't disapprove of the touch, though Raffi didn't maintain it too long for fear that someone might say it was inappropriate.

"She absolutely doesn't have a tail," Raffi said, smiling at Seven, soft laughter escaping her in small bursts. "But—if you're up at 0300 hours, I absolutely do want you to wake me up."

Seven nodded at her and smiled.

"I promise not to spend a moment of the night worrying over our daughter's tail without your companionship," Seven said.

"You wanted to meet me for lunch?"

Raffi jumped, and Seven looked in his direction. Neither of them had noticed his approach. Raffi gestured toward Seven, and Seven patted the seat next to her in the gesture she'd learned from Raffi. Elnor, well aware of what the gesture meant, sat down.

"I hope that there is nothing negative to ruin an otherwise pleasant day," Elnor said.

Raffi slid the plate of cupcakes toward the center of the table.

"It's nothing bad, Elnor," Raffi said. "Do you know what these are about? Do you know why we have these?"

"A hormone-driven craving of Seven?" Elnor asked.

"Actually—I do hope to eat one of them," Seven said, finishing up the last of her burrito and accepting the napkin that Raffi handed to her. "However, these are actually for you—if you wish to share them, that will be your choice."

"We got some news today," Raffi said. "Good news. Do you want to guess what it is, Elnor, based on the dessert I chose?"

"Something regarding the color pink," Elnor said. "And sweet. Baby Musiker is sweet, but…I fail to see the connection with pink."

"Is it possible that the gesture does not translate?" Seven asked. "It could prove to be purely cultural, Raffi."

"Damn it," Raffi muttered to herself. "I never even thought of that. Seven—do you know why I picked this?"

"Because I would like to eat one of those," Seven said. Raffi frowned at her. Seven laughed quietly. She was teasing Raffi—and Raffi loved her for the fact that, though she wasn't given to much teasing when they'd met, she tried hard to keep that playful back-and-forth going with Raffi on a regular occasion. "The Borg assimilated humans. I possess an understanding of the dessert that's separate from my appreciation of its potential flavor. However, I am unaware of whether or not the Romulan culture possesses the same archaic markers of gender."

"What archaic markers of gender do the Romulans have, Elnor?" Raffi asked, raising her eyebrows at Elnor. She frowned at him when he studied her a bit too intensely.

"Are you unwell?" He asked.

Raffi laughed.

"I'm about as well as I can be," Raffi said. "Elnor—you are going to be a big brother."

"A point of which I have been aware for some time, now," Elnor said. "We have been talking about my younger siblings since a time before even one of them was in existence."

"What you are not aware of is the fact that your younger sibling already-in-existence is a baby girl," Elnor," Raffi said. "And—I thought the pink cupcakes would surprise you with that news, as a cute way of telling you and celebrating Baby M, but it turns out that's one of the things that doesn't transfer across our cultures—and I forgot that."

"It's OK, Raffi," Seven assured her, patting her arm. "It was a thoughtful plan. It was a sweet way to tell Elnor about Baby M."

"The baby is well?" Elnor asked, his greatest concern always being the well-being of his family unit.

"She's well," Seven said. "And she's human. Eat your small cake, Elnor."

"I don't wish to eat the cake," Elnor said, not at all surprised that Seven would assure him that the baby was human. "I am happy to celebrate Baby Musiker, but I don't wish to eat the cake."

"You don't have to eat the cake," Raffi assured him. She pushed the plate in Seven's direction. Seven didn't wait for permission before she took one of the cupcakes. She was just biting into it—the only one with any interest in the strawberry-flavored dessert—when they were joined by Naomi Wildman at the edge of the table. Naomi hugged her PADD to her chest and smiled as broadly as she had the last time they'd seen her.

"Seven!" She said enthusiastically. "I haven't seen you much."

"I have been otherwise occupied," Seven informed her, her half-eaten cupcake partway through her mouth. "I am assisting Admiral Janeway. You should visit her office when you're not on duty. She would enjoy the opportunity to talk with you."

Naomi smiled at her and nodded.

"I'll do that," Naomi said. "I can't remember if I told you congratulations, Seven, about your baby, but…"

"We accept and appreciate your congratulations," Seven told her.

Naomi raised her eyebrows at Seven and trailed her eyes over to Raffi. She gave Raffi a genuine smile.

"If it's not too presumptuous," Naomi said, "are the cupcakes in reference to the baby?"

Raffi smiled, pleased that her cupcakes at least informed someone of something. She picked up the small plate of them and offered the plate in Naomi's direction.

"What do you think they mean?" Raffi asked.

"Does it mean that the baby's a girl?" Naomi asked.

Raffi smiled at her and nodded.

"Have a cupcake," Raffi said. "To celebrate that Baby Musiker is a girl. Please…"

Naomi selected a cupcake and thanked Raffi, though her thanks essentially blanketed the whole table. Raffi put the plate down, and Seven quickly snagged the last of the cupcakes off of it. Nobody objected, not that she'd really left much time or space for anyone to say anything.

"Congratulations on having a baby girl, Seven," Naomi offered. "You'll be a great mother." She looked at Raffi. "I'm sure you will be, too. It's just—I don't know you that well."

Raffi laughed at the sincerity behind Naomi's words. She thanked her for what she'd said, and she noticed that Naomi's gaze travelled to Elnor and settled.

"It took me some time to realize that Elnor was your son," Naomi said. "He kept telling everyone about his mothers, but…it wasn't until your talk that we all put it together." Elnor smiled at Naomi, and Naomi smiled back at him. Raffi felt something rise up inside her. "We're assigned to the same team for our current internship assignment. I was thinking, Elnor—if you're not too busy, we could go over some of the calculations that we had to do before tomorrow?"

"I am meeting with my mothers, right now," Elnor said, "to celebrate that Baby Musiker is well and, apparently, also that she is a girl."

"Your education takes precedence over celebration," Seven said.

Elnor looked like he might protest—not that there was much celebration going on, but that he simply valued celebrating, in whatever way that may be, the growth of his family. He would be excited about the baby in his own way, but mostly he worried only about her well-being and when he might actually get the opportunity to know her, personally.

"Elnor—we've celebrated," Raffi assured him. "And—we'll celebrate Baby M a lot more. Maybe you should go and prepare your assignments with…"

"Naomi," Naomi Wildman supplied. "Naomi Wildman."

"You should go and prepare your assignments with Naomi," Raffi clarified.

"Very well," Elnor said, accepting that when both Raffi and Seven gave him the same advice, he should accept it. He leaned and kissed Seven on the cheek that she offered him. Then, he stood up and leaned down to kiss Raffi on the cheek that she offered him. Raffi noticed that Naomi, rather than look bothered by his show of filial affection, was smiling.

"Naomi—do you like games, by any chance?" Raffi asked. "Old Earth board games and…some new ones?"

"I do!" Naomi said. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh—we do a few family nights a week," Raffi said. "And sometimes we could really use a fourth. If you're ever interested."

Naomi beamed at her.

"I'd love to!" She said.

"Great!" Raffi said. "Elnor will let you know the next time we have game night."

111

AN: Hi everyone! I am so excited that you're enjoying this story, and I'm so glad that you're letting me know. I did want to touch on things and let you know that there are some things that I'm simply changing (like I moved the timelines a little closer together in the beginning), but there will probably also be some things that I simply forget. When I write fic, I sometimes play fast and loose with certain canon details. I really hope that you'll understand. There will likely be some plotholes, and I apologize for that.

I hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think!