AN: Here's another piece to this one.

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111

"What are you working on?" Seven asked.

Raffi didn't want to admit that she'd been spending most of her time sitting among the pieces that she was supposed to be assembling and watching as Seven worked on painting the nursery—something she insisted she was going to be better at than she would be at assembling furniture. Seven was almost done with putting the first coat of "happy" pastel yellow on the walls.

Their baby had enjoyed quite the little growth spurt, and she was currently measuring at eighteen weeks. Baby M and Seven had both gotten a great report from their check-up, and there had been some enthusiastic cheering from Dr. Crusher over Baby M's growth spurt after the Doctor had simply reported on the accelerated growth of the baby in a monotone voice that, clearly, his coworker found less enthusiastic than their little girl deserved.

There was no exact way to predict her growth, especially given the possibility for spurts, but at least they knew where they stood.

Seven had allowed Raffi to replicate her clothes, and Raffi had admittedly enjoyed herself by playing in the choices for maternity clothes that she could choose for her wife. Seven hadn't complained about Raffi's final choice of jeans, a tank top, and a comfortable flannel—and Raffi hadn't complained when, as soon as they got back to their quarters, Seven had complained about it being hot, turned their environmental controls down to something just above the average temperature for a frozen planet, and lost the flannel.

Raffi had layered up, borrowing Seven's discarded flannel, to keep from freezing to death in the sub-arctic temperatures that seemed pleasing to Seven at the moment.

"Raffi?" Seven repeated, stopping her painting and looking at Raffi. She'd finished the first coat around the entire room.

Raffi smiled at her.

"What?" She asked.

"What are you working on?" Seven asked. "Raffi—none of that looks any more put together than it did when I was on that wall."

"You're doing a fantastic job, Baby," Raffi offered. "This looks so great. It's so—cheerful."

"Raffi, if you don't put the furniture together, we're never going to finish the nursery," Seven said.

"While that is a perfectly valid point," Raffi said, "and you're absolutely right, I think I should point out that we don't have to finish the nursery in one day. We have time, Seven. She's got to bake in that little oven of yours for…"

"How long, Raffi?" Seven asked.

"She's at eighteen weeks," Raffi said. "Dr. Crusher said we're doing everything we can to keep her in there until after she's registering at thirty-seven weeks."

"We don't know how long that is, Raffi," Seven said. "It could be…"

"It's not tomorrow," Raffi said. "Seven—I promise you this. I swear it. If every piece of this nursery is not how you want it when it's time for her to be born? I'll—stay up all night and make sure it gets put together. I'll organize a team with B'Elanna and half the engineers on this ship, if I have to. Every last piece will be in place before she comes." Seven looked at least a little satisfied with that promise. "Come here," Raffi said. She raised up on her knees and held her arms out to Seven.

Seven hesitated only a moment before she put her roller and tray down and walked over to Raffi. Raffi wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her cheek against Seven's stomach as Seven hugged her back.

"Let me tell you something, Princess," Raffi said, laughing to herself. "This is your mommy speaking, because the Doctor said you were likely developing your hearing, so you've got to start sorting out all the voices of everyone who loves you. This is your mommy, and you should know that—the only thing that scares your mommy is your mama." Raffi smiled up at Seven. Seven gave her the annoyed face that she'd practically perfected for her, but a hint of a smile broke through. Raffi kissed Seven's belly and rubbed her cheek there again. "And the only thing that scares your mama, is you, Princess…so…I'd say we already know who's in charge around here."

Seven laughed.

"Stop, Raffi!" She said. "Don't tell her things like that."

Raffi sat back on her heels.

"You know what you need, Seven?" She asked, smiling at her.

"I have the very distinct feeling that you're going to tell me," Seven said.

"You need me to take you into the bedroom," Raffi said. "And—you need me to slip into something that'll help you feel good. And then? You need me to make you feel good, Seven. It'll relieve a little stress."

"I still have another coat of paint, Raf," Seven said.

"Give me a head start. If you paint the second coat as fast as you did the first—and as perfect, I might add—then I'll barely have time to adjust the straps before you get into the bedroom."

Seven's face blushed red.

"You haven't built a thing," Seven said.

Raffi nodded and looked at the parts—the overwhelming pile of them—that were scattered in piles around the floor, with each pile corresponding to some piece of furniture that either Seven or Raffi had identified as necessary for a nursery that would eventually be home to two precious little ones who needed every possible creature comfort that their mommies could give them.

"I hear you," Raffi said. "I do. And—I respect what you're saying. But—did you hear what I'm offering, Seven?" She pushed herself up, pleased to find she wasn't nearly as stiff, getting off the floor, as she expected to be. It gave her renewed hope that she was physically up to what she was proposing. She reached for Seven and pulled her to her. Seven immediately went for a kiss, and Raffi indulged her without even a second of hesitation. "I am offering to strap up, Baby, and relieve every last bit of stress you've got in your body."

Seven kissed her again, this time slow and languid. She smiled at Raffi, audibly sighing as the kiss broke.

"We'll never finish the nursery, Raffi," Seven said. Raffi moved her hands, massaging Seven's back as she held her close to her.

"I understand that this is a source of concern for you," Raffi said. "Now—hear me out…we'll both be able to work better if we're relaxed. And an orgasm or two does wonders for relaxation and…and, Seven," Raffi said, cutting Seven off when she started to protest, "and I know I read in those PADDs that orgasms were excellent…excellent…for the growth of busy little baby Musikers."

"Oh—you read that, did you?" Seven asked, laughing. Raffi held onto her, keeping her from pulling away.

"Maybe it wasn't those exact words," she said.

Seven sighed, and Raffi could see that she was on the verge of giving in. There was just the slightest bit of lingering concern.

"After we finish, you'll put the last coat on the walls," Raffi said. "We have cribs, Seven. We are so prepared; we have a crib for a baby that we haven't even brought into existence yet. We have—a very comfortable rocking chair for you to sit in and feed our precious little girl. Pick one piece of furniture. Just for tonight. What's the thing that will make you feel the most secure?"

Seven screwed up her face slightly.

"I don't want to say that," she said.

"Because you think I'll laugh at you?" Raffi asked, already feeling amused. Seven nodded but, thankfully, her concern cracked and she laughed, too.

"You're already laughing, you asshole," Seven said.

"You're getting better at that," Raffi said, amused. "It's sounding more natural. Seven—I will not laugh at you. Baby M gets whatever her mama thinks is the most important. You tell me—and you go with me to the bedroom right now—and I promise that it's built before you close your eyes to sleep tonight."

Seven looked around a moment, and then she looked back at Raffi.

"The bassinet," she said.

Raffi smiled at her and held her eyes.

"She has a crib," Raffi said. "Are you sure that's what would make you feel the best?"

"Forget it," Seven said, her disappointment was immediately palpable.

"No," Raffi said. "I just want to be sure. I want to know. Why the bassinet, Seven?"

"Because the crib is in here," Seven said. "The bassinet is for our room. So, she can be close to us when she's brand new."

Raffi smiled at her.

"You're right," she agreed. "That's a very important piece. Probably the most important. And I'm going to build it for her—just as soon as I make her mama's knees feel like jelly…Borg joint enhancements be damned."

Seven laughed at her, but she was the one who led the way to the bedroom. Raffi followed, letting Seven lead her by the hand.

In the bedroom, things quickly switched. Raffi turned Seven around and caught her face. She held it and kissed her, prolonging the kiss every time that Seven gave even the slightest indication that it might stop. After a few moments, Raffi let her fingertips trail down to find the bottom of Seven's tank top. She eased her fingers under it and pulled it up, noting that Seven's body was extra warm to the touch—a somewhat raised body temperature was a side-effect of the active accelerated growth of the baby, at least that's what they'd hypothesized in sickbay. Baby M, it seemed, was possibly not quite done with her growth spurt.

Seven came out of her tank top easily when Raffi pulled it up. Her bra joined it on the floor. Raffi allowed Seven to start peeling her out of her clothes, and Seven broke the seriousness of the moment by laughing.

"Shit, Raffi…how many layers do you have on?"

"It's so cold in here," Raffi said, her teeth chattering slightly as she came out of the layers that she'd put on to protect herself. "You can't feel it because she's turned you into an oven, but…Seven…there are polar bears in the bathtub."

"I never want to hear another thing about bears," Seven said quickly. "None of them. Not after you almost…"

"Shhh…" Raffi said, putting her fingers over Seven's lips and shushing her. "I didn't go anywhere, and neither did you. We're both here. We're not going anywhere, OK?"

Seven sighed, nodded her head, and requested another kiss. It went from soft to hungry, and Raffi indulged her.

"Hurry up," Seven said, "and let me warm you up."

"I'm counting on it," Raffi said. "I intend to work up quite the sweat, Seven, for both of us. Just—give me a minute."

Getting ready took a moment longer than she might have liked, but having Seven watch her the entire time was arousing in its own right. On Raffi's command, Seven stripped down, out of her remaining clothes, and waited patiently for Raffi to come and lead the rest of their love making. Raffi enjoyed taking control of Seven and, more than that, she enjoyed that Seven liked it.

Raffi adjusted the straps even as she squared herself in front of Seven again.

"All right," she said. "What are you waiting for? Get in bed."

Seven laughed quietly and came to Raffi for a kiss. Raffi indulged her, biting her lip because she couldn't help herself. She slipped her hand down between Seven's legs and teased her with her fingertips.

"You're already wet," Raffi said. She laughed quietly. "And you made me feel like this was all on me."

"It was," Seven said, practically panting out the words as Raffi teased her with her fingers. "But—then you told me what you wanted, and…"

"That's right," Raffi said. "You get ready for me, Baby. Come on—get on the bed, Seven."

Seven followed Raffi's instructions, and Raffi came to cover her immediately, kissing her again, once she was comfortable on the bed. If Seven had shown any hesitation before they'd come to the bedroom, all of that was gone, now. She was hungry, and Raffi shared the same sensation.

"Tell me what you want," Raffi said.

"I want you to fuck me," Seven said. "Hard, Raffi."

Raffi hummed.

"You're getting better at that, too," Raffi said, teasing about the fact that Seven, when they'd first started their physical relationship, had admitted that she felt very outside of her league talking about sex, even though she wanted to try. Raffi had promised her safety, and she'd delivered that, so that Seven could practice anything she felt bold enough to say or do in the bedroom. Encouragement, Raffi had learned, went a long way, and she was more than happy to offer encouragement. Seven moaned as Raffi worked her with her fingers, making sure she was ready for what was to come. "Open your legs, Baby," Raffi said, not that she needed to, but rather because she knew the words were some that seemed to simply arouse Seven even further. "So I can fuck you like you like."

Raffi had been the receiver more than the giver when it came to using a strap-on in her past relationships. Still, Seven granted her the same safety to experiment that she gave Seven, and she felt that she'd really gained a certain level of skill—at least when it came to pleasing Seven and, really, that's all that interested Raffi. She imagined that she'd never care about pleasing another living person for the rest of her life—at least, not sexually.

Raffi also wouldn't have believed anyone if they'd told her—once upon a time—that she could be driven to orgasm simply through bringing someone else to orgasm, but she'd found that to be the case, time and time again, with Seven. As she heard the little sounds that Seven made building toward a release, Raffi found her own body responding, no matter what she was doing. It never took much, when she saw that look of pleasure and pain on Seven's face, and when she heard the sounds that very often accompanied Seven's peak, for Raffi to come crashing after her.

By the time they'd both come, Raffi no longer felt cold—something she was sure would change as her body started to return to a normal state—and she worked the last waves of pleasure out for herself by using the friction that the strap-on created as she half-heartedly thrust a few final times into Seven.

"I love you," Raffi promised, kissing Seven, even as she milked the last of it.

"Ahh…" Seven exclaimed. "Ah…I love you."

"You want more?" Raffi asked, working her hips and trying to decide if she had enough stamina left to make good on a promise she was already making.

"It's good," Seven said. "Raffi—it's good."

"Good…you want more?" Raffi asked.

"I mean…sufficient. It's sufficient. Oh—it's good, but it's sufficient."

Raffi felt relaxed and invigorated at the same time—and very tired. Maybe there was still at least a little recovery left to be done. She kissed Seven again, offering her a little more friction and a few more thrusts. A little special attention with her fingers earned her the best feeling ever—the feeling of Seven shaking as jolts of pleasure ran through her already sensitive body.

Raffi smiled at her as finally broke them apart and settled next to her for a moment. She slipped her hand down, resting it on Seven's belly.

"Aren't you glad we took a break?" Raffi asked.

Seven looked at Raffi.

"Did you receive enough pleasure?"

"Every time I'm with you, I have more pleasure than I know what to do with," Raffi offered with a wink. "Now—how hard will I have to work to talk you into sharing the shower with me before we get back to work?"

Seven rolled toward Raffi and touched her face before kissing her gently.

"On one condition," Seven said. Raffi hummed in question. "You allow me to…please you in the shower."

Raffi smiled. She felt her face run warm—an interesting contrast as her body began to cool down with the room's frigid temperature.

"You know I always like to give you what you want," Raffi assured her.