Title: Better Off Borg (Chapter 5)
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Author: Singing Violin
Rating: M
Disclaimer: The Star Trek characters and universe are not mine. I'm just playing with them.
Summary: By request, a rewrite of my story "The Curse of Coffee," in which it is Seven instead of Chakotay that is imprisoned with a full-of-coffee Captain Janeway. J7.
Author's Notes: Apologies for the delay in continuation of this story. Life has gotten in the way. Thank you to Aunt Kathy, who gave this a once-over. I have edited since she looked at it, so any mistakes are my own. Also, this will be the penultimate chapter. The last chapter will likely be posted within the week. (It's written but needs edits.)
Fear.
It was an emotion Seven of Nine was unaccustomed to experiencing. Once, while left alone on the ship whilst the rest of the crew, who lacked the Borg technology that would adapt to the radiation, slept in stasis, she had hallucinated frightening images, but knowing they were just that, she was able to overcome the sensation and function adequately.
Now, she felt unable to cope. Her own physiology was rebelling against her, and she knew not why. Furthermore, the absence of knowledge of her state was perhaps even more upsetting than the state itself.
She needed help.
With a trembling hand, she tapped her communicator and called for the one person she desperately wanted.
"Please," she begged, attempting futilely to keep her voice steady, "report to Astrometrics at once."
The recipient of her request raised an eyebrow in surprise, noting the tremor in the familiar voice that was never agitated without good reason. Duty dictated that she demand an explanation before complying, but something in that shuddering voice tugged at her heart strings and, instead of questioning motives, she merely nodded to her first officer and exited the bridge as hastily as possible, making her way to the indicated destination.
Still, she was unprepared for the sight that greeted her as she entered the room.
The tall blonde was pale, shivering, her eyes pleading with the captain to do something...anything. She raced to the younger woman and reached upwards, taking the pallid face into her hands.
"What's wrong, Seven?" she asked worriedly, noting the former drone's rapid and shallow breathing along with her clammy skin.
"I...do not know," the taller woman admitted weakly. Then, another impulse overcame her and, desperately, she bent down and kissed her captain.
Janeway pulled away. "Seven, we can't just...we're on duty. It would be inappropriate."
At once, Seven's face showed the mortification - another heretofore unfamiliar sensation - rapidly spreading from her core into every one of her extremities. "My apologies, Captain," she managed to force out, "but I thought, perhaps, it was arousal, and would be alleviated if I..."
Immediately, she realized the foolishness of her suggestion, and another impulse overcame her: to disappear into the floor below her. Of course, that was impossible, so she settled for staring down at her feet and hoping that she had not incurred too much wrath with her actions.
There was sympathy in the captain's eyes as she reached out to Seven's chin and gently tilted it forwards to look into her eyes. The same sympathy was present in her voice as she spoke gently. "Seven, tell me what's going on."
The former drone took that as a prompt to list her symptoms. "My heart rate is rapid, I am sweating, my stomach...feels odd, and I am shaking." Before the captain could ask, she continued, "and they are not pleasant sensations. I wish for them to cease, but instead they are increasing in intensity. I do not know how much of this I can survive. How do you do it?"
"I don't understand," the captain answered, bewildered. "How do I do what?"
"Tolerate these sensations," Seven explained rapidly, as if it were obvious. "I have merely replicated the conditions you were forced to endure several days ago, minus the restraints. How were you able to remain so calm?"
"What do you mean, replicated the conditions?" asked the captain suspiciously.
"Please help me," begged Seven breathily, uncharacteristically neglecting the question asked as she noted internally the rapidly escalating sensations.
The captain looked around for clues, and saw nothing unusual in her immediate surroundings. Unconsciously, she reached for the coffee mug sitting on the nearest surface, and only as she was about to bring it to her lips, did she realize that she had not been carrying a cup with her when she entered, and so it must not be hers. Furthermore, it was nearly empty.
Realization dawned. "Seven, have you been drinking coffee?!"
Seven only nodded as her shivering continued.
"How much did you drink?" Janeway asked.
"I'm...not sure," Seven admitted. "Three or four cups? Not nearly as much as you had on the planet..." Her voice became more desperate still. "Oh Captain, please help! Something is happening to me..."
With that, she shuddered violently and began to gag.
"It's all right," Janeway soothed as she rubbed the younger woman's back. "Let it out."
When Seven's heaving ceased for a moment, the captain took the opportunity to tap her communicator. "Two to beam to Sickbay immediately," she ordered.
As the Doctor rushed over, the captain helped her astrometrics officer up onto a biobed, then proceeded to run a soothing hand up and down Seven's thin arm.
When he was done examining his patient, the EMH shook his holographic head. "Caffeine overdose. It's too late to do anything now; Seven, you'll just have to wait this one out. I can give you some medicine to make you more comfortable, but it'll be better if you can manage without. I don't know how the medication will react with your nanoprobes, but I do know that your body will recover on its own, given time."
"Understood," the blonde answered through clenched teeth, attempting valiantly to quell her trembling and not let loose another torrent from her still-reeling stomach.
Kathryn looked down at the miserable-looking patient before regarding the Doctor steadily. "Do you need to monitor her here, or can she leave?"
"She is not in any immediate danger," the EMH answered, "if that is what you are asking. But I wouldn't recommend that she be alone. Would you like me to contact one of the emergency nurses to supervise her?"
"No," Janeway answered immediately. "I'll stay with her." She then addressed the shivering mass on the biobed. "Do you think you can walk, Seven?"
"I believe so," the blonde answered tepidly.
"Good," the captain replied, then carefully helped the younger woman to sit up and then dismount from the biobed. She proceeded to snake an arm around Seven's waist.
"Wait, Captain," warned the Doctor, and when Janeway paused, he held out a hypospray, which she tentatively grabbed. "This is a sedative. Administer it if you need to." He did not specify what constituted necessity, obviously trusting the captain to use her own judgment. "If the dose is not effective, or if there are side effects, bring her back here immediately."
The captain nodded as she curled her fingers around the small item. "Will do." Then she turned her attention back to the woman beside her and allowed Seven to lean heavily on her as she made her way back to her own cabin, assuming her charge would be most comfortable there.
Although it was Commander Chakotay's job to assign duty rosters, Captain Janeway always made a point of going over them thoroughly and, as a result, she had them virtually memorized. That, and a surreptitious knowledge of most of her small crew's leisure activities, allowed her to avoid being seen by anyone along their path. While she knew Seven of Nine was likely not affected by embarrassment, as such unproductive emotions would be deemed irrelevant and wasteful, she didn't care to explain to anyone why she was half-carrying the former drone down the hall: the last thing she needed while she figured out her own feelings was a rumor as to her relationship with the other woman. Even now, with Seven incapacitated and ill, she found her mind wandering to Seven's expert ministrations in the bath just days ago, and how wonderful it felt to sleep cuddled up next to her in the bed.
As they entered her quarters, she continued to lead Seven of Nine to that very bed, where she bade the blonde to lie down. Gratefully Seven, still visibly shaking, nearly collapsed onto it. The captain tucked the blankets around the younger woman, went to the replicator for supplies, then returned to sit beside her on the bed.
Seven of Nine was squirming uncomfortably, too restless to lie still, let alone sleep. She sat up suddenly, and her panicked eyes met the kind ones of the captain as her stomach lurched again. This time, the captain was prepared with a basin she held in front of the former drone as she stroked her back. "It's all right, Seven," she reiterated. "It'll pass soon."
Seven, however, was not comforted by the captain's words. Instead, she began to feel an immense weight inside her, something she belatedly identified as guilt. As tears began to stream down her face, she looked up at her caretaker and shook her head. "Captain, I am sorry."
Janeway set down the basin and laid her hand on the younger woman's cheek. "There is nothing to be sorry for, Seven. We can't always anticipate how our bodies will react to unfamiliar substances, but it's still worth it to try new things."
Seven's response was to gag again, but the captain was quick, and the basin was once again in position just in time.
When she was done, she spoke again, her voice quivering along with her body, which had increased its palsy. "Am I going to die?" she asked.
Kathryn chuckled lightly. "Not today, Seven. You heard the Doctor; your body will recover. I promise."
"It does not feel like I will recover," Seven observed, the timbre rising with her increasing agitation as she began to gag again. "Please," she begged between heaves, "make it stop. Please." Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as her newly-enabled tear ducts struggled to keep up with her inner turmoil.
The captain nodded. "All right." Setting down the basin once again, she turned Seven's head to the side and administered the hypospray.
"Why isn't it working?" Seven asked through sobs. "I still feel like I am going to die."
Kathryn squeezed her shoulder. "Give it time. I'll be right here, just focus on my voice."
"I cannot focus on anything," Seven retorted.
"You're focusing on your symptoms," Janeway pointed out. "Here, let me tell you a story. What would you like to hear about?"
"Anything, I suppose," Seven answered, calming slightly. "Perhaps something from your childhood, since I barely remember mine?"
Janeway nodded and began to speak. Seven hardly knew what her captain was telling her, but she allowed the lilt of Kathryn's voice to lull her senses, and with the aid of the drug coursing its way through her veins, she drifted into sleep.
When she awoke, the captain was at her side, staring lovingly at her and holding her hand, and she instantly felt warm and safe. "Thank you," she attempted to utter, but what came out was but a hoarse whisper, as her throat was raw and dry. With considerable effort, she sat up, using Janeway's arm as leverage.
The captain handed Seven of Nine a glass of water, which she sipped gratefully.
"Better?" the captain asked, and Seven nodded in reply, then took a deep breath, suddenly overcome with appreciation for the equilibrium she had previously taken for granted.
The captain's countenance grew stern then. "We need to talk about this, Seven. Why were you attempting to replicate my condition in the dungeon?"
Seven looked plainly at her captain. "I told you before. I believe you experienced something pleasurable, and I wanted to experience it for myself."
Kathryn looked askance at her, and avoided addressing the inherent assumption directly as she had when Seven had first suggested it. "I thought your nanoprobes made that impossible."
"They did," Seven confirmed. "However, I have modified them."
Janeway's eyes grew wide. "Is it possible the modified nanoprobes were the actual cause of your illness, rather than the coffee itself?"
Seven thought for a moment. "I do not know. I will have to consult the Doctor. Perhaps I ought to do that now."
Before Captain Janeway could object, Seven of Nine had hopped off her bed and exited her quarters, leaving the captain agape and slightly confused.
Not knowing what else to do, Kathryn crawled into the warm spot in the bed and drew the covers up over her chin, inhaling the scent of the woman who had so abruptly disappeared.
Author's Note 2: The next chapter will contain explicit content of a non-traditional nature. If you believe you may be offended or upset, please stop here.