It had been 3 day since Kathryn Janeway had been summoned back to San Francisco after Thanksgiving for debriefings a Starfleet Headquarters. She'd guessed they'd be rigorous, but the outright suggestion from Admiral Nechayev of a court martial she found quite insulting. Forced to defend her actions and inactions, in some cases. Her main arguments stemming from her Borg alliance and subsequent severing of a human drone and reasserting its humanity. She had watched as Admiral Paris defended her, and that decision with barely contained rage at the Gaul of his fellow admiral. His normally kind features twisted into fierce conviction. It had taken 13 hours on that subject alone before the other Admirals had moved on to the next charges, and another day before the proceedings had ended, with no indication of further scrutiny or court martial possibilities.
It had also been 3 days in she'd seen Seven of Nine. They'd spoken on video communiques but even those had been few and far between with the grueling schedule of what could only be described as interrogations. It was evident with each message that Seven was feeling every bit as haggard as herself. Dark circles under her eyes, and sunken cheek bones. She'd promised Kathryn she'd get some rest but they both knew it was a hollow endeavor. Seven hated to sleep alone, even more so now.
The once formidable Captain leading her lost ship and crew through the unknown realms of the delta quadrant now sunk wearily into her favorite arm chair in her San Francisco apartment, clutching a frosted glass to her chest. Swirling the liquid absentmindedly, the golden liquid churned smoothly as blue eyes pierced the dim light, staring at nothing at all. She had yet to taste the Whiskey but the smell alone was a comfort.
She lost track of time as she found herself reliving the past 7 years, occasionally laughing, occasionally feeling her eyes water. She thought about Neelix, the once mildly annoying and presumptuous Talaxian who had been instrumental in making Voyager feel more like a home, his liberty taking had become so common place, it became the standard norm. She missed him. He was so far away, now. Living his own happily ever after. She'd have to travel for 14 years at top warp just to be in range to tell him Hello on long distant communications. The bittersweet of it all caused her to chuckle to her self.
Her musing flowed from Neelix, to the Borg children, even farther away. The friends they'd made on various missions; and the enemies. Some of which never made it into their formal logs. She knew with out a doubt she'd have been imprisoned for life had the brass been privy to every indiscretion along the voyage. She shook her head lifted the glass to her mouth, tilting her head back, she downed the entire contents in one swift flick. It coated her mouth and throat like liquid gold and she groaned as she felt her mind slightly fog over. The chiming of her communique equipment almost went unnoticed.
Throwing off her blanket and setting her glass on the table as she sat in front of her view screen, she instructed it to open and smiled at the face of her mother. Her smile, however quickly faded at the expression pulling at Gretchens features.
"Mother?" She gently probed.
Gretchen swallowed and leaned forward. "Sweetheart, i know you're coming home tomorrow afternoon, but I.." She trailed off, looking off to the side to something Kathryn couldn't see.
"What, Mom?" She regained her mothers attention and waited anxiously.
"Can you come home," She paused momentarily and dropped her voice to whisper. "Can you come home tonight?" Her eyes were almost pleading.
"What? WHY?" Kathryn was exhausted and she placed her palm to her forehead, trying to physically wipe away the fuzziness caused by the Whiskey.
"Seven is sick."
Kathryn paled immediately. She felt her heart hump in her chest and sweat coating her chilled palms.
"Sick? What kind of sick?" There was a catch in her voice that caused pain in her chest.
"I'm not sure but she hasn't slept more than 5 hours in the last 3 days and she has a high fever that I can't get down. She can't keep any food down. I don't know what to do."
Kathryn pressed her lips together tightly and gave her mother a curt nod before closing her eyes.
"I'll be home in 2 hours."
Gretchen exhaled loudly and nodded in return, reaching forward to end the transmission.
She stood up so rapidly, her chair skidded backwards into the wall with a loud thud. She quickly gathered her things and was out the door within 5 minutes.
——————————————————————————————
It had been three days since Seven of Nine had watched Kathryn's shuttle take off towards San Francisco, having been summoned to Starfleet to answer their questions. 2 days since she felt normal, and 18 hours since she last kept any nutrition inside of herself.
Her skin ached and she wished she could sleep. The pain too raw for her to relax. Regeneration had proved little help as well. Gretchen had told her she had a fever, but she wasn't really coherent enough to comprehend much of anything. All she knew was she was tired, she hurt, and her insides were burning from repeatedly being sick to her stomach. Her implants felt like foreign objects and the skiing surrounding them was reddened and sore. She kept her heavy eyes closed, but sleep never took its mercy on her.
She was curled up in a fetal position on the large couch beside the fire place. It was the only place she could feel some semblance of comfort from the heat of the flames. Gretchen had kept it roaring for 36 hours straight in order to provide the small comfort it seemed to a lot the shivering young woman.
A small whimper on a breath escaped her lips when she felt Gretchen's hand on her forehead.
"Still burning up," She trailed her long fingers down Seven's temple, across her cheek and cradled Seven's chin in her hand. "Hang in there, little one. She's coming."
Seven barely heard the words as she felt herself finally drift into someplace between dimensions where she no longer felt pain, and floated in a dark nothingness where time and space didn't exist.
——————————————————————————————
On her way to the transporter Dias outside her building, she pulled out a PADD and quickly sent an encrypted emergency message to Voyagers EMH and B'elanna. Stepping onto the platform, she gave the attendant her coordinates and vanished in a shimmer of photons.
Now in Indiana, she had to procure an emergency shuttle to the Farm and even with her hero status that proved harder than she'd anticipated. With it being 1am, she knew it I might be difficult but it had taken an hour, and a lot of compensation to get her on the small, antique hover car she driving towards her home. Her Seven.
The front door flew open and a whirlwind of show and cold air flew in the entryway as Kathryn ran inside, dropping her small carry all on the floor and kicking off her boots in one swift motion. She flung the door closed and shimmied out of her jacket as she raced into the living room where she found Gretchen sitting on the floor in front of the couch, caressing Seven's reddened cheeks.
Seven was curled up in a tight ball, clutching a blanket to herself and shivering slightly. Her cheeks flushed and her lips white as the snow outside. Her eyes were closed and she was slightly whimpering. Then she groaned as her face twisted in pain. Her features sharpened from lack of sleep.
"What is going on?" Kathryn felt herself struggling to breath as she kneeled on the floor beside her mothers.
Gretchen shook her hand and removed her hand as it was replaced by her daughters. "I don't know." Gretchen exhaled sharply. "I thought it was just a cold, at first." She shrugged. "So did Seven, but Look…" Gretchen pulled the blanket down enough for Kathryn to see the irritation around the Ex Borg's ocular implant. Kathryn reached up and ran her fingertips around the metal. Seven squeezed her reddened eyelids tighter, the touch obviously causing distress.
"B'elanna and the Doctor are on their way." Kathryn sat back on her heels. "The doctor is intimately familiar with her human physiology and B'elanna knows almost as much about her cybernetic implants as the Borg queen herself."
Gretchen nodded her approval. "When will they be here?"
The answer came in the form of her front doorbell ringing.
——————————————————————————————
"Well," the doctor stood up from his hunched position over Seven, clicking his tricorder in place. "It actually Is a cold." He shrugged at the two Janeways who's mouths slightly fell open.
"How is this a Cold?!" Kathryn spat, her frustration only heightening her imposing stature towards the hologram.
"Seven has never had a cold. Except maybe in first 6 years of her life. Borg don't contract viruses, and if they do, their nano probes eradicate it almost immediately. When she was severed from being Borg, she lived most of her lives since on a starship where transporter filters and environmental controls kept almost all viruses and bacteria at bay." He shrugged. "Her immune system has an ever early had to deal with anything like a simple cold. Her boy is responding, and her system is fighting it, but its going to be one hell of a recovery."
"Will regenerating help?" Kathryn almost pleaded, taking a few steps towards Seven and sinking back down to the floor.
"Maybe, a little." He shook his head and turned his attention to Gretchen who looked most like a small child than the mother to a hero. "Her Human immune system is going to be the key factor here. Her implants are slowly becoming dormant the more she asserts her humanity."
Gretchen slowly sat in the chair that was thankfully right behind her.
"It's a waiting game." He said as he pulled a hypo spray from his bag. "This will provide some relief from the fever, I've also included a nutritional dose of vitamins, minerals and amino acids to keep her strength up." He pressed the device to Sevens neck with a hiss. Seven immediately seemed to relax. Kathryn pressed her palm to Seven's cheek and relaxed herself as she felt the heat recede.
"Hold on, my Seven." Kathryn whispered, leaning forward to kiss.
Seven stirred and nuzzled her face into the palm resting against her cheek. "Promise?" Her usual melodious tone was jagged as deep.
"Promise what, Darling?" Kathryn leaned in and moved her hand from Seven's face, sliding outstretched fingers in to matted golden strands, pushing them out of the sweaty face. Powder blues eyes fluttered open and locked onto Kathryn's.
"Yours." Seven rasped. "I am yours?" The question was tentative and Kathryn knew it came from a fever riddled need for affirmation.
"Forever." Kathryn leaned in and pressed their foreheads together.
"Here!" B'elanna came rushing in from the kitchen. "Try this." She thrust Seven's portable regeneration unit into her Captains hand who quickly pulled Seven towards herself and reached around to attach it to Seven's lumbar implant. It clicked into place and lit up green.
"I recalibrated the sensors to instruct the nano probes to stimulate her natural immune response. It's not much, but it should help her put more energy into fighting the virus."
"Thank you" Kathryn shood and yanked the surprised half Klingon into a forceful embrace.
"It's my literal pleasure." B'elnna laughed, returning the hug with a strong squeeze of her own. "Let me know how she's doing tomorrow." She pulled back and looked at Kathryn who nodded with that half smirk that had become so familiar to them both in the last 7 years.
"Of course." She croaked through the heady emotion in her chest.
B'elanna pulled away and smiled before grabbing up her bag in a huff. "C'mon Doc! It's late."She didn't wait for an answer before grabbing him and pulling him quickly the door and pushing him out in front of her. "Night, Janeways!" She smiled warily as she looked at Seven, who seemed to be finally sleeping. "Night, my friend." With a nod, she was gone and the door shut silently behind her.
Kathryn and Gretchen stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Gretchen headed towards the stairs.
Good night, Darling. Good to have you home." Kathryn only nodded in answer.
When Gretchen had disappeared up the stairs, Kathryn turned towards the couch. Seven's features had relaxed into a peaceful sleep. The sharpness of her features morphed in to soft lines and her cheeks had a more peach hue instead of the harsh ruby flush they'd sported only 30 minutes prior.
Kathryn reached down and gathered Sevens Head and shoulders in her arms, lifting gently until she had enough room so slide one leg under and behind the slumbering blonde. She settled back against the cushy arm and laid Seven down against her chest. A warm, sweaty head resting loosely against her shoulder. Kathryn felt the warm puffs of breath hitting her sensitive neck as Seven turned into the embrace and snuggled into the warm flesh just under Kathryns ear. They fell asleep like that. Kathryn's arm wrapped around the front of Seven like a cocoon.
————————————————————————————
Kathryn awoke with a start. Awareness flooding her like a drug as something moved against her. Her eyes flew open to meet the clear blue eyes gazing up at her.
Seven was awake, with a bit of color back in her lips and her staunch features looking a bit more full. Her cheeks had maintained their peachy hue and the clarity with which she was staring at Kathryn with made the smaller woman's heart leap with pure joy.
"Seven!" She breathed through a wide, toothy grin.
Seven made an effort to speak, only to fall into a coughing fit. Her Borg enhanced hand flying up to her face and covering it until the onslaught had finished. "Ow." She groaned. Her hand still pressed to her face.
"What hurts?" Kathryn sat up straighter and reached for Seven's hand, pulling it away gently.
"My head." Seven laid her face against Kathryns chest. "My skin. my throat." Seven smacked her lips a few times. "I require water."
Kathryn quickly shimmied out from under Seven and softly laid her back down, pulling the covers up around her before running into the kitchen where Gretchen practically threw a glass full of water at her, stopping her in her tracks. Frozen for only a split second, she turned on one heel and took the water to Seven who very quickly and effectively emptied the entire glass down her throat with only 3 gulps.
"More." She thrust the glass to Kathryn who ran back to the kitchen, filled the glass and brought it back. This time Seven only drank it half way and handed it back to Kathryn who set it on the small table beside the couch.
Gretchen wordlessly entered, steaming cup of coffee in her hand and sat it beside the water glass and disappeared almost as quickly has she'd entered.
Seven winced as she tried to sit up fully. "This is almost as painful as being assimilated." She tried to joke. Kathryn offered a pained grimace that matched Sevens at the attempted humor.
Kathryn helped Seven continue to sit, taking a seat beside her and feeling the heavy weight relax against her. A blonde head falling limply atop her shoulder. Kathryn hooked her arm under Seven's and laced their fingers together. Sevens breath was labored but steady. Her throat scratchy as she tried to clear it.
"Don't try to talk. Just rest." Kathryn felt the head on her shoulder relax and soon she heard very soft, but definite snoring.
"Well now your stuck." Gretchen grinned, peering around the kitchen entryway.
Kathryn just winked at her and rested her cheek against a crown of golden hair.
Seven slept like that, leaned against Kathryn for almost an hour before Kathryn dared attempt to extricate herself. She placed her free hand on Seven's head and held it in place as she unwound her fingers from their clasped hands, pulled her arm free and scooted delicately away while holding the sleeping ex Borg steady with said appendage. She slowly rose and allowed Seven's weight to lower her down, guided by Kathryn's hand and arm. Once Seven was laying back on the pillow, her breathing evened out and her snoring stopped.
Kathryn couldn't take her eyes off the carefree expression playing across Seven's features. Facial muscles completely relaxed in regenerative sleep. It was a scene Kathryn had seen many times, as she watched the Blonde retreated when they were still aboard Voyager. Seven never mentioned anything, but Kathryn was sure her attentions were far form subtle.
"Come get some lunch," Gretchen Called quietly from the kitchen. "I made you soup."
Kathryn let her gaze linger a bit longer over the serenity of Seven's sleep before turning and walking to the kitchen, her shoulders slouched and rubbing her neck.
"Thanks, Mom." Kathryn tried a smile as she took the offered bowl in her hands. The warmth radiating from her palms and caressing the aching muscles in her arms.
Gretchen only nodded and pulled out a chair for her daughter in the small breakfast nook in the corner.
Kathryn sat and ate in thoughts silence for several minutes; her mother flitting about pulling out ingredients and busying herself. As she began to cut up some carrots, she glanced towards her somber daughter.
"Phoebe is in Berlin for a month." She offered the information hoping to pull Kathryn into a conversation.
"Ok." Kathryn put another spoon full of soup in her mouth without looking up.
"I think I'm gonna go visit your aunt Martha when Seven's better." She kept dicing the orange vegetable. "I think you tw.."
Gretchens thought as interrupted by a gentle knocking at teh front door.
Kathryn looked up at her mother who shrugged and wiped her hands on a dishrag before making her way to the kitchen window to see who their visitor was.
"It's that sweet young man," Gretchen searched her memory, snapping her fingers a few times before something clicked in her eyes. "Icheb!"
She quickly made her way to the door and opened it. The ex-Borg teen looked at her with a smile that only came from his eyes. His mouth was pursed and stoic.
"Hello, Icheb." Gretchen ushered him inside and closed the door. "It's nice to see you, would you like to See Kathryn? I'm afraid Seven is not feeling well."
Icheb opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Kathryn strode out of the kitchen and greeted him with a tired smile. "Icheb!" She held her arms out to him and he quickly embraced her. Much more warmly than the former Captain had ever been hugged by him. He was much more readily able to show affection that Seven had ever been, having only been Borg for a few weeks, at most.
"It's good to see you Captain." He stepped back and this time, his smile was all over his face.
"How are you? What brings you here?" She asked quirking an eyebrow.
His face fell, and he pulled a PADD out from his pocket.
"It's about Seven." He started acting bashful, which was something else knew Kathryn noticed. "I believe I have a more detailed explanation for her illness."
Kathryn took the PADD and activated it. Reading carefully, her eyes slowly growing wider until she looked up at Icheb, who blushed and bowed his head.
"Icheb, are you sure?"
He nodded and shuffled one of his toes around on the floor.
"Icheb." Kathryns voice was pointed and commanding but gentle. "Look at me."
Icheb raised his head just enough to peer through his eyelashes at his Captain.
"This is not your fault." She handed the PADD to her mother who looked it over, confused.
"How did you discover this?" She placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to ease his discomfort and encourage him.
"Well," He began, his voice starting to sound more like his usual enthusiasm. "I was visiting the Doctor this morning to check on my cybernetic components. He had requested I check in with him every few weeks to monitor how they were adapting to my not having a cortical node. During his examination he mentioned Seven's condition and i requested to review her scans. As i was reading through her DNA profile i noticed the anomaly."
"You mean the code marker?" Kathryn clarified. Icheb nodded.
"I've seen a similar one on strands of my own DNA that correspond with the technical virus i was designed with to destroy Borg upon assimilation."
Kathryn took a few steps back and pressed her finger to her chin. Furrowing her brow as she continued to listen.
"Do you remember when Voyager attempted to return my to my home world, and my birth parents?"
Kathryn nodded. Ignoring the twisting in her gut at the mention of that dreadful experience.
"Seven, along with a few other crew members, ingested some of the food they grew there."
Kathryn's eyes widened suddenly. "They're skilled in genetic manipulation." She whispered.
"They seem to have incorporated a sequence that latches on to Borg signature technology that is connected to organic tissue. It's almost like what they did with my DNA, but it gets ingested through food. It has no effect on organic tissue, unless the tissues is associated with Borg technology."
Kathryn Paled.
"It lies dormant for several months before it activates a genetic virus that attacks the organic tissue. If the cybernetic components attempt to compensate, it then mutates and kills any nano probes that attempt to eradicate it."
"Is Seven going to die?" Kathryns voice was barely a whisper as it shook with terror. Her eyes wide as saucers, her skin having lost all color.
"No." Icheb them smiled.
"Why are you smiling?" She asked dryly.
"Because, The doctor, and B'elanna are geniuses."
Kathryn cocked her head to the side. Silently waiting for him to elaborate.
"You know how I mentioned the virus relies on the Borg technology to effectively destroy its host?" Icheb paused while Captain Janeway nodded once. "Well, when Seven recalibrated Seven's portable regeneration unit to direct her nanorprobes to stimulate her natural, organic immune system, and NOT directly attack the virus, her organic immune system began eradicating the virus with her nano probes remaining unharmed."
Kathryn's smile quickly spread across her face, laugher bubbling out of her chest.
"God bless that half Klingon!" She reached out and pulled Icheb against her and squeezed until the young man grunted, needing desperately to breathe. When she let him go, she met his eyes with pure adoration. "And God bless you, Icheb!"
Icheb's face fell again. "I do not believe i deserve such sentiment. It was my parents.. my people who did this to her." His slumped shoulders weighting so heavy he looked like he'd crumple to the floor.
"No, Son." Gretchen approached him from behind and grabbed his arms, lifting him up and straightening his stature. "WE. Are your people." She walked around to stand in front of him. "The people of Voyager, are your people."
He looked over Gretchens shoulder to see Kathryn grinning and nodding in resolute conviction.
"Would you like to see Seven?" Kathryn asked
Icheb beamed and allowed Gretchen and his Captain to guide him to the living room where Seven was sitting up. Her blanket pooled around her torso. Her legs Crossed and folded in front of her in what Kathryn had mentioned was called Indian style. A position she'd adopted while on vacation. She had even more color in her cheeks that a few hours ago and her eyes were bright as she smiled at Icheb when he took a seat in the chair across from the couch.
"You are looking well!" He grinned happily at her.
"I am feeling better and better." She nodded with a half smile. Though her voice was still rough and scratchy.
"I was just telling the Captain…"
"I heard." She sat up a little straighter.
Gretchen excused herself and quickly disappeared into the kitchen for the quickest of moments before returning and handing Seven a bowl of soup. "Let's see if you can keep his down, Little one." She whispered and smiled
"Little one?" Icheb asked, mildly amused.
"It's a long story." Seven offered before gathering the hot soup on her spoon and attempting to put it in her mouth. She misjudged and ended up with chicken noddle bits dribbling down her chin.
Kathryn chuckled and took the napkin her mother had dropped in Seven's lap, wiping the gooey liquid away and taking the spoon from Seven who pouted.
"Allow me." Her voice tender and reassuring.
Seven opened her mouth and waited. Kathryn managed to get the spoon in her mouth and the soup stayed inside once the spoon was pulled away, Seven smiled as she chewed. It was the first time she hadn't felt like her intestines were turning inside out when she swallowed.
"Victory!" Gretchen clasped her hands together with loud clap, startling everyone. Seven coughed a few times and opened her mouth again.
Kathryn fed her several more times before Seven yanked the spoon away and quickly ate the rest in record time.
"How do you feel?" Icheb asked, eyeing her skeptically.
"I believe I can mange to 'keep it down' as Gretchen would say." She smiled even broader as Kathryn wiped her chin again, matching she smile on Seven's lips.
—————————————————————————————
Two days, a revised scan from the Doctor, 18 bowls of soup and 5 regeneration cycles later, Seven was her normal self again. The Doctors scans had indicated her human immune function had completely irradiated the genetic markers and no other anomalies were present. Kathryn had compensated B'elanna handsomely with trip to Hawaii for her and Tom with babysitting provided by the Wildmans, who were more than happy to accommodate the engineer who'd saved Seven's life.
Kathryn and Seven sat at the Breakfast nook, enjoying some honey butter croissants and grinning stupidly at one another when Gretchen came down the stairs causing a great racket.
Two thuds and whispered grumble drew the two women into the hallway at teh bottom of the stairs. Gretchen sat on the next to last stair, her hair disheveled and her clothes slightly eschew.
"What are you doing?" Kathryn laughed at the sight. She rarely saw her mother anything less than perfectly kept.
"Oh, ya know," She waved her hand around. "Just trying to pack for my trip." She stood and grabbed the two suitcases that had apparently tumbled down the stairs ahead of her.
"Where are you going?" Seven asked, holding the older woman's elbow as she stood.
"You're going to Visit Aunt Martha?" Kathryn said, remember what her mother had told her two days ago.
"Yep!" Gretchen sighed and hoisted her bags up, cradling them on her narrow hips. "The shuttle will be here in a moment and then I'm gone for 3 weeks."
She winked at her daughter, who blushed.
"That is when Phoebe returns." Seven stated in her typical matter-of-fact statement.
"That's right!" Gretchen hurried to the front door. "Oh, Seven!" She spun around. "Do make sure to monitor Kathryn if she attempt to cook. I'd like to have a home that isn't burned down when I return."
Kathryns blush deepened as she rolled her eyes. "Bye, MOM!" She jokingly stuck her tongue out at her mother.
Gretchen laughed openly as she opened the door and slipped out. "Have fun!" She yelled as the door shut, leaving Kathryn and Seven slightly stunned but mostly amused.
Kathryn spun around to look at seven and her breath caught in her throat. Seven's smile was different, and there was something mischievous glinting in her eyes that had turned an almost cobalt blue. Kathryn felt her stomach drop and her mouth went dry as she watched the almost predatory expression on Seven's face. She gulped, trying to find her voice but she never arrived at any words as Seven rush forward, long arms wrapped around Kathryn's thin waist as she was lifted effortlessly. Her legs instinctively wrapping around Seven's mid section as Seven's mouth covered hers in a searing kiss. Kathryn tilted her head to allow better access and a deep growl reverberated from deep in Seven's chest. Kathryn felt her surrounding melt away till her only perception was the woman holding her.
Breaking the kiss just enough to fill their lungs with air, Kathryn leaned forward and whispered into Seven's ear, "Now."
It wasn't a statement. It wasn't a question. It was confirmation. Kathryn shot breath coated Seven's neck and she leaned into the face pressed to her ear. "Now."