Notes and disclaimers....see prologue

Ch. 4

Turning her back on the only other occupant of the room, Kathryn tugged at the belt of her robe. She could already smell the tang of the massage oil in the air and knew from previous sessions that this time her masseuse, one of Sheila's minions, would be concentrating on toning her muscles. The sharp scent that reminded her of spices and mint told her as much. When the sessions were meant for conditioning her skin, the lotion they used was of a much milder scent. She'd lost count of how many beautifying sessions she'd endured the past several days, but the full body sessions happened at least twice a day. As mortifying as these imposed massages were, Kathryn had to grudgingly admit that her body hadn't felt or looked this good in a long time.

Shrugging the robe off so that she was now fully exposed, she laid face down on the provided table. Almost immediately, the peppery smell increased, and she felt the warmed oil being smoothed onto her back. Her gut clenched at the contact, and every fiber of her being revolted at the passivity she affected. But what choice did she have?

The doors to the outer corridor slid open and Madelyn, along with the man named Stefan, entered the room. For a moment, Madelyn did not see her mother, and her wide eyes simply surveyed the room and its occupants. Finally seeing Kathryn near the far wall, she tore across the small space, launching herself into her mother's open arms. That had almost been Kathryn's undoing.

Knowing full well that their reunion was being eagerly observed, it had taken every mental strength Kathryn possessed to not cry all over her daughter's apparently unharmed condition. Reluctantly, she pulled back, holding Madelyn out from her so she could inspect her better. "Are you okay?"

Maddie nodded. "They told me you were sleeping but that if I was good, I could see you when you woke up." Kathryn pushed her daughter's hair back, not trusting herself to speak as her daughter continued. "I was so scared, Mommy. I saw that man hit you…"

"Shhh, I'm okay," she assured her, kissing her palm. "Miral hits harder than that guy."

A noise of disgust drew Kathryn's eyes back to the other occupants of the room. She assumed by Sheila's curled lip that she had made the noise. Kathryn slowly stood up, keeping Maddie's hand tucked in hers. Milo gestured towards the couch, and she reluctantly moved to it, taking a seat.

"Am I to understand that you have reconsidered my request?" he asked knowingly.

"She stays with me."

Milo pretended to consider his answer before speaking. "No, I don't think so."

"It wasn't an option."

Maddie squirmed, hearing her mother's tone. She was usually in a lot of trouble when she heard her mother's words clipped as if she was biting the letters off. She looked cautiously between her mother and the large man and knew that this was one of those times where Uncle Tom would caution her to not draw attention to herself.

"All right," he said, glancing pointedly at Maddie and then back to Kathryn. "The child can stay with you in the evenings…"

"At all times." Kathryn cut in.

Milo's amused manner evaporated. "You seem to be laboring under the delusion that you have control in this situation, Kathryn. Let me assure you, you do not. Now, I will allow you to keep your daughter in the evenings, if and only if, you cooperate with us throughout the day." His voice lowered an octave. "And any time that you choose not to act appropriately, it will not be you that suffers the consequences. Have I made myself clear?"

"If you so much as lay one finger on her…"

"It will be solely a result of your actions."

Kathryn's mind raced, and she glanced up at Stefan, the younger man that had brought Madelyn to the parlor. She swallowed hard. "And if I…behave?"

"She will spend her hours in a parlor much like this one. Revale, the Orion girl, will watch over her. And Stefan," he paused and followed Kathryn's glance to the half Cardassian still holding position by the door, "well, let's just say that Stefan will mete out any punishment that may be required."

"I want to stay with Mommy," Maddie interrupted, earning a squeeze from her mother's arm, but she'd already drawn Milo's attention.

"Oh, I know you do, sweetie."

Maddie pushed further into her mother's side. She didn't like this man calling her that. It wasn't at all like when her Daddy would say it.

He didn't seem to notice though as he'd kept talking. "And I know that your mother wants nothing but the best for you," he paused, eagerly drinking in Kathryn's protective posture, "but your mother is going to be very busy during the day as she and I are going to be working together." His small beady eyes held Kathryn's this time. "Aren't we, Kathryn?"

All she could do was nod her agreement.

The masseuse's open palm slapped against the back of her thigh and Kathryn grit her teeth. The slap was an indication it was time to turn over. Since her coerced agreement to cooperate, she'd endured facials, manicures, exfoliative scrubs, and the promise of other things yet to come. The massages, however, were easily the hardest to bear. As Milo insisted that whoever bought her was going to see her entire body, his beauty treatments naturally needed to be done full frontal and back as well. The personal nature of the exposure had become increasingly hard to bear, and Kathryn had come to regard all her sessions as a new kind of torture, employing every method of resistance she'd ever been trained in. She refused to relax, but knowing that Madelyn's continued safety depended on her compliance, she submitted to their ministrations.

Despite her tentative agreement to cooperate, when Sheila had first approached her and insisted she disrobe, Kathryn had balked. She'd known damn good and well the lithe woman could've easily pinned her in a minute as already evidenced, but that would hardly be conducive to good skin tone as Milo had so casually explained. Instead, he'd just continued to play the one card Kathryn had no strategy to defend against.

"No."

"Now, Kathryn, really, why are you being so obstinate about this?" Milo came out from behind the bar, carrying a drink. "I mean, it's not like she hasn't already seen and inspected you while you were unconscious, anyway."

Kathryn blanched, and her mouth went dry. The fevered dream of Chakotay massaging her, his hands traveling across her bare skin, gently caressing all of her muscles. Her eyes met Sheila's, and the little smile the woman gave only served to intensify her loathing. "You bitch."

Now the woman's teeth showed as her smile stretched further at Janeway's recollection of their first encounter. Sheila moved to the balls of her feet, preparing to lunge, and Kathryn crouched instinctively to defend herself. Milo's exaggerated sigh cut between the two women.

"Sheila, if you continue to throttle her every time she reacts poorly, we're going to end up with bruised merchandise." He walked between the two women unconcernedly. "It's like this, Admiral, either you can disrobe and endure a fabulous massage that will ultimately only make you look better, or we can have dear Madelyn disrobed and well…we'll just see what happens from there."

Kathryn had thrown her hands up in surrender. The thought alone of what he suggested made her nauseous. It hadn't helped any that Milo had stayed in the room for the entirety of that first session, although she had to admit he never once had looked at her with lust. She was simply a piece of merchandise to him. Something to be examined for flaws and defects.

That first session with Sheila, or second, depending on how you looked at things, had been more painful than necessary, with the woman delighting in every tender area she found as she systematically went through each of Janeway's muscle groups. Milo took notations, cataloguing which were injuries that needed to be treated and which were simply weak areas that caused pain. He'd questioned her about the small scars on her back as well, evidence of the Borg spinal clamps that the doctor had removed after her assimilation. It would've taken several subsequent trips to sickbay to rid herself completely of the blemishes, and as Kathryn never looked at her back, she'd seen no reason to subject herself to more of the doctor's care. Milo had immediately taken note to have them removed. No one wanted a personal slave to remind them of the Borg.

"Open your eyes."

Kathryn held back a retort at the command from her current masseuse and held very still as the girl put a single drop of milky liquid in each of her eyes. She blinked rapidly at the slight burning sensation, hating that she didn't know its purpose, but relieved that it signaled the end of the session. By the time her sight cleared completely and she sat up, reaching for the discarded robe, she was alone in the room. Maddie would be brought to her shortly, and they would discuss each other's day, with Kathryn leaving out the more disturbing aspects of hers. She moved towards the sleeping quarters, eager to put on the provided sleeping attire. It was only in these few moments of solitude that she allowed herself to agonize over the situation. At night, watching Maddie sleep contently next to her, she couldn't help but strategize and rehearse every possible scenario she could think of to get them out of this, but before Maddie's arrival for the evening, her thoughts would inadvertently cry out the same thing every night. Chakotay, where are you? I need you.