I appreciate all of the feedback and would love to hear more opinions and thoughts. This chapter took a long time to post due to pesky real life stuff. I hope to have Chapter 6 posted in a more timely manner.

Time Enough Chapter 5

Janice felt Mio twist violently away from her. She took a step back and saw Mio breathing heavily. "I'm sorry," she said, confused. "I thought... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push."

Mio saw the hurt in Jan's eyes. "It's not you," she choked out. "It's, well, it's what happened on the shuttle."

Janice felt her blood run cold. All that minimizing Mio had done about whatever had happened with Nels, how she dismissed it as unimportant while Janeway seemed so angry, now it made sense. "Sit down," she said gently. "I'll get you a coffee." She replicated a tea for herself while she was at it. She would want something to do with her hands. Janice sat next to Mio but kept a little space between them.

"Thanks," Mio said as she sipped the coffee. It always tasted better when Neelix made it. Maybe it was that Neelix made it, not a computer. It was a completely inoffensive taste, made to appeal to every coffee drinker. No one disliked it, but then again, no one really liked it all that much either.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Janice said. "Just tell me what you need."

Mio set her cup down and leaned against Jan. "You," she said quietly. "I need you." She sighed deeply. "It was a little worse than I told you. I really thought I'd put it behind me. When you were holding me and touching me, it all came rushing back. It surprised me, that's all."

Janice set her cup next to Mio's. "Stop acting like it was nothing." She put her arms around Mio.

"I want it to be nothing," Mio whispered. "I want it to be over." She took another deep breath. "Voyager wasn't responding to hails. We'd gone ahead with the mission but the planet was a bust. Everything had an enzyme that was poisonous. We'd decided to just wait for whatever the problem was on Voyager to end. Wilson suspected that it wasn't Voyager but us. So we just stuck to Voyager's side and waited. I was still thinking about ways to neutralize that damned enzyme when Nels slammed me into a wall from behind."

Janice did her best to remain outwardly calm while the tale unfolded. Mio needed her, she reminded herself. As the full details of what Nels had done were revealed, she felt her anger shifting to a new target. How could Janeway allow that man his freedom? He should be locked in the brig or better yet, left to fend for himself on the nearest marginally habitable planet. By the time Mio finished they were both crying and exhausted.

"Ensign Cavanaugh, would you be available to help me with a research project?"

Janice was a bit taken aback. Seven hadn't even mentioned the project the entire shift. "Yes, Ma'am, I'd be happy to assist." Why not? She could push buttons and watch indicators with the best of them. Besides, Mio was seeing The Doctor. They'd both agreed she needed to talk about the assault with a professional, and the hologram was the closest they had. Rape, she reminded herself. "Assault" made it seem less invasive, less horrific.

"Thank you," Seven said. "I am grateful for your help. Please accompany me to the holodeck. The simulations I wish to run are programmed and ready."

Janice followed along. She had no idea what Seven had planned but then, the woman was insanely brilliant. She hadn't been in the holodeck since her "vacation" with Mio. Perhaps a return trip would be good for them. She made a mental note to take a look at the program and get some time booked.

The holodeck was empty save for a comfortable-looking chair and a small table behind it. "Please sit," Seven said as they approached the chair. "This research is not related to astrometrics. It is related to our earlier discussion. I wish to use your reactions as a baseline for my own. Is this acceptable?"

"Reactions to what?" Janice asked. She sat down anyway. Seven was showing enormous trust in her and she'd not let her down.

"To visual stimuli," Seven said. She placed a few monitoring leads on Janice. "I wish to see how your reactions differ when seeing someone you find sexually desirable and someone in whom you have no sexual interest. I will then compare that data to my own reactions."

"What do you hope to learn from this?"

"I took your advice and asked the person I believe am attracted to if that attraction was returned. I was told to ensure my own feelings were of attraction and not gratitude or friendship. I decided to measure my reactions but realized I would need a baseline."

"This conversation would be a lot less convoluted if you'd just say the Captain's name," Janice griped. Seven wasn't friends with anyone but the Captain. Who else could it be? Seven's face never lit up when she mentioned Chakotay or Tuvok.

"How- well I suppose it does not matter. I would ask that you keep this in confidence, for the Captains sake." Perhaps she should have recruited Roberts for the experiment, Seven reflected. He would never have made the connection. "Please watch and do not attempt to control or analyze your reactions."

The holodeck transformed into a bedroom. Janice fought to control a ferocious eye-roll. A woman in a negligee walked through the door and stopped about a meter in front of Janice. Janice didn't recognize her but she was drop-dead gorgeous. The woman smiled the walked back out the door. A moment later, an equally stunning man in shorts and a tank top repeated the procedure. A surreal parade of men and women followed, varying in age and attractiveness. After a while Janice was more bored than creeped out. Chakotay strolled through and she felt a growing sense of dread. The rest of the ranking officers followed, including Seven. The final model was Mio. It was disturbingly accurate.

"Ma'am, you can't go around using the images of crewmates like this. I can't imagine of them would approve." She pulled off the leads and stood to face Seven. She knew Seven wouldn't understand her anger but this had to stop. "I want you to delete that image of Ensign Sato," she said firmly. "And the rest of the crew."

Seven was pleasantly surprised to see Janice confronting her. Very few of the crew ever did. "I will." She manipulated the input screen on the table. "They have been permanently deleted. I apologize for causing you discomfort. I needed to obtain your reaction to someone you are not just sexually attracted to but someone you love."

"I hope you get useful data but at some point, you're going to have to trust your feelings."

"I agree," Seven said. "I am just not certain I can identify my feelings. They are confusing and although I have been assured I will acquire this skill in time, I am growing impatient. I have some questions about your results."

How much worse could it get? "Yes, Ma'am?"

"It seems that you respond most to women save for a very strong reaction to the fifteenth subject." Seven helpfully called up a picture of a sandy-haired man.

"He reminds me of my brother," Janice replied carefully. Tommy had died at Wolf 359.

"That is enlightening," Seven said. "There were some similarities to your response to Ensign Sato. I feel reasonably confident in labeling that part of your response as love. I also noticed that while you find me sexually attractive, you do not seem to find the Captain desirable."

Janice winced. "It's not that she isn't attractive. It's just that she's my commanding officer. I could never think of her in that manner."

"Is it inappropriate for me to find her desirable?" Seven asked. "The Captain is the leader of this collective."

"I don't think so," Janice said after a moment's consideration. "I'm a minor officer and frankly, I'm only in Starfleet because Seneca-5 isn't open to civilians. You, on the other hand, are not technically in Starfleet and you're acting as a command-level officer. There is very little distance between you and the Captain but for me, light years."

Seven nodded once. "I find your argument to have merit. I appreciate your assistance and your discretion."

"Ma'am, it is my fervent wish that no one ever find out about this."

"Would you care for some spaghetti?"

"Yes, please," Janice said with a smile. She glanced over at Mio. "Try some. It's really good."

Mio nodded and Neelix soon returned with two plates that bore a passing resemblance to spaghetti. "I made the noodles from marrows and the sauce is made from stewed tomatoes and finished with a selection of root vegetables and herbs. Every ingredient is native to Earth. I hope you enjoy it, Ensign Sato."

Mio smiled. It was all vegetables so how bad could it be? She took a bite. "Who puts cilantro in spaghetti?" she whispered to Jan. Cilantro aside, it was certainly edible. She caught Neelix's eye and gave him a smile and a thumbs-up. "I'm going to see what happened with the hybrid tea bushes I was working on," she mused. "Maybe I can get some basil growing for him."

"Look at you two. Just like nothing happened."

Janice forced a smile. "Hello, Carol. Would you care to join us?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. A lot to confess."

"I told her," Janice said flatly.

"Nice to see you, Carol," Mio chimed in. "I'm okay with everything. I mean, you all thought we were dead. I'd have to be a raging bitch to be jealous." She smiled, but there was no hiding her irritation. Carol was clearly spoiling for a fight.

"I'm glad to hear you're good with John leaving me," Carol snarled.

"Really, Carol?" Janice sighed. "You know she didn't mean that. Your problems with John are between you two. You made bad choices. So did I, but then, I wasn't the one cheating. Take some damned responsibility for once."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about you and John," Mio said quietly.

Carol turned to Mio with a short, humorless laugh. "Look at you, Little Miss Perfect. Jan might have thought you were dead when she cheated, but you, you seduced Nels on that shuttle. To make matters worse, when Wilson stumbled on your tryst, you cried rape. You ruined Nels' life to save face. You're despicable!"

"Ladies, may I get you anything?" Neelix said, positioning himself between Carol and the table. Carol sneered and walked out. "I'm sorry about that," Neelix said quietly. He turned to Mio. "I've heard that she and Crewman Nels were good friends before. Perhaps that friendship has blinded her."

"What she said is a lie," Mio said in a quavering voice. Carol's words felt like another violation. "Dinner was good, but I think I'd like to go back to my quarters."

"Of course, Dear," Neelix said with a pat on Mio's arm. His shoulders slumped as the women walked away. He'd hoped things would settle down for the welcome back party, but it didn't look as if the Captain would be giving clearance for it any time soon.

"We have to do something about Crewman Nels," Janeway said.

"What's wrong with the brig?" Paris asked.

"Or the airlock," Harry added with a disgusted look.

"Gentlemen," Janeway interrupted. "As momentarily satisfying as it may be to consider spacing Crewman Nels, we are not vigilantes. We will follow Starfleet protocols to the degree possible." She took a breath. She was back in control. "Tom, if we lock Nels in the brig, we have to devote security staff to guard him. Tuvok, do you have men to spare?" Her pause was barely long enough for Tuvok to shake his head before continuing, "I didn't think so. We have to come up with a solution that won't require extra manpower."

"He could remain confined to quarters," B'Elanna ventured. "But honestly, I don't like the idea of him relaxing in his quarters while everyone else is pulling shifts."

"Neither do I," Janeway agreed. "Let's look for a duty assignment that will keep him busy and easily supervised. When not working, he can be confined to quarters. A security lock on the door can replace a guard. Tuvok, can you incorporate escorting Nels from his quarters to his duty shift and back with minimal disruption?"

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok replied. It will require little more than a restructuring of routine patrol routes."

"How about waste reclamation?" Chakotay offered. "He should feel right at home with garbage."

B'Elanna said, "Suit work is exhausting. Let's put him on the hull crew. I can make a few modifications to his suit to make sure he stays in line."

"That has possibilities, B'Elanna" Janeway said. "No lethal modifications. Work up the details and send me your report. All right, on to more pressing matters. Seven, have you found anything promising in your scans?"

Seven recited the relevant data in her typically efficient manner. She felt less than efficient inside. "Fluttery" came to mind, doubtless from one of those novels Ensign Cavanaugh had recommended. She had been monitoring her reactions to everyone in the room. A peek at her tricorder confirmed that her reactions were strongest toward the Captain and while not quite the same as Ensign Cavanaugh's toward Ensign Sato, they certainly indicated a high degree of sexual attraction. She concluded her report with a triumphant smile directed at Janeway.

Janeway raised an eyebrow. There was nothing in that report worth celebrating. "Thank you. B'Elanna, what's the status for Engineering?"