A/N: Had originally titled this "The Lab" as a subtle reminder to myself to get to it already, but then I wanted to have a little interaction with Tom and Harry in this chapter, one thing led to another and... well, here you go. Thank you to AlexisBlade for her constant encouragement, nightterror56, Guyana Rose, swishla and Air and Water for their wonderful and encouraging reviews as well as all those who add this to their alerts. It really is amazing how the tiniest feedback can inspire me to write. I miss Biggest-Baddest-Wolf and JosieRevisited although I hope the former is going to be putting out his own EPIC B/7 story that he's been teasing this website with for years and the latter isn't too lost in "The Old Republic" to continue the amazing Shepard/Liara fic "This Is Why You Fight To Save The Universe."- although I may be partly responsible as I gave JosieRevisited their beta key to the game back in November...

PS- Check out AlexisBlade's "Dancing in Shadows", a femRevan/Bastila fic if you're interested. She was inspired by Elizabeth Carter's amazing work-in-progress "Jedi Secrets" which you should also read.

Oh! One more thing, I do a little nod to "Ensign Rachel" who is a character that is well known for working hard to bring B'Elanna and Seven together in Ralst's works. The line "Stay out of my engine room" is from her hilarious short "Letters" in which B'Elanna and Seven are ordered to communicate civilly via letter. I've actually got to do a little edit way back in chapter 2 to change Ensign Rachel Thoms to Ensign Emily Thoms. There can be only one Ensign Rachel.

Chapter 22- Wooing Her Properly

She felt trapped. The 'room' she was being held in was non-descript. It was dark. It might have been frustrating that there was so little definition, but somehow, it didn't matter. It made sense. Someone else was there with her; maybe more than one other, she couldn't be certain. She felt like they were trying to restrain her but she wasn't putting up a fight. She wasn't moving. Despite the atmosphere that insisted she be frightened or intimidated, she felt calm.

Because she knew what was coming; coming for her. A noise. The others turned their collective heads looking past her. They were looking at a large, seemingly impenetrable door. The door was more defined. Its edges fell away into the obscurity of the environment, but the door had definition. It was metal- heavy metal and its proportions were exact in their design. Function. Large, yet functional. Meant to keep something out.

It was going to fail in its task.

Boom. A thundering echo on the outside of the door was reflected in the tightening grip upon her by those trying to hold her there.

Boom. The door visibly shook. She could feel panic around her, but within- only pride and joy.

Boom. This time, the heavy metal door buckled slightly. It would soon be time.

She smiled.

If you asked anyone who encountered B'Elanna Torres the next morning they would have said she was floating. She didn't project the aura of 'stay-away-until-I-get-caffeine-in-my-system', like she usually did; she complimented the Delaneys on their morning meal; took her time enjoying a raktajino coffee as she read over a padd and even teased Tom and Harry mercilessly for looking so haggardly after their late night on dish duty having just discovered it moments before from Jenny herself. Suddenly her nostrils flared in recognition of a scent now burned into her subconscious.

Seven walked into the mess hall.

Ducking quickly in her seat using Harry as a shield across from her, B'Elanna suddenly looked very shy and nervous. Tom glanced over his shoulder at the tall blonde in the Science blue who was getting a plate of food with one hand while carrying a small plant and padd in the other.

"What's up B'Elanna? You and Seven fighting again? I thought you two were best friends now." Tom somehow missed how B'Elanna's eyes had lit up upon seeing the blonde beauty.

B'Elanna began to try and tuck her uncooperative hair behind her ears and then straightened up while dusting off her uniform, making sure there were no wrinkles. Her eyes darted around randomly as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Far from it. I just… dropped something and… had to get it… Does this uniform make me look fat?" She suddenly pinned her two friends with a panicked and questioning look.

"Huh…?"

"Wha…?"

"You are in exemplary shape Lieutenant and look as such. Ensign Kim, Lieutenant Paris." Seven sat down next to B'Elanna with a quick glance at the now blushing Klingon and allowed herself to smile ever so slightly for B'Elanna's eyes only to see.

"Seven's right Maquis, you look great." Harry Kim may have known the least about women of all the men on Voyager, but he DID know that you never, ever directly answer a "do I look fat" question from a woman. He'd silently thanked whatever gods were listening when Seven had spoken when she did. He didn't notice the split-second glance from the tall blonde. Seven was briefly concerned that she might be the 'jealous type' when the thought of assimilating Harry suddenly held great appeal. Fortunately, Harry looked more relieved that Seven had complimented B'Elanna first and in no way that he might have been giving B'Elanna more than a friendly compliment. His innocent and somewhat naïve smile quickly turned on her.

"Omelettes and toast- nice choice Sev- er, Lieutenant Hansen." Harry blushed at his mistake as he tried to make conversation. It was weird with Seven having a rank, even weirder that she was ranked above him. But she was still his friend and deserved his respect so he tried to give it where it was due.

"Ensign Kim, please call me Seven as you would have before. I am not yet comfortable with the designation 'Lieutenant Hansen' and we are not on duty. While on duty, Lieutenant will suffice if you wish to maintain protocol."

Tom was now watching B'Elanna and Seven intently as Harry made small talk. His 20th Century 'spidey-sense' was tingling- something was going on between the two women. B'Elanna was clearly… giddy- the blushing; the smiles ghosting on her face that she kept squashing. And the way her eyes kept darting to Seven each time the curvy blonde spoke or shifted slightly. He'd only ever seen a fraction of that emotion from B'Elanna directed towards him in the past. Seven was a lucky woman.

Seven, Tom could not describe it any other way, was beaming- for her. Her blue eyes were alight and while she spoke she kept touching the small potted plant with an enhanced finger. There was also a tiny quirk of the corners of her beautiful fill lips as the response to each glance B'Elanna gave her and she couldn't stop her own gaze from falling upon the woman beside her involuntarily. Something had definitely changed between them. But what about the Captain? If that moment in Sickbay and Voyager's ultra-efficient grapevine were anything to go by, Seven had gone on a date with the Captain. His curiosity and friendly protectiveness for B'Elanna had overridden his oft-misplaced good sense and he was about to just flat out ask when Harry, in his sweet and naive obliviousness, beat him to it- sort of.

"Ok Seven, I've got to ask- what's with the… plant? It looks kind of, um, well like a branch stuck in some soil. Nice little pot though, cute… I thought you didn't care for 'decaying organic matter'?" He took another mouthful of his own scrambled eggs as Seven looked upon the somewhat pathetic plant with warmth before she spoke.

"This, along with this padd, were gifts from B'Elanna. I believe she has started to 'woo' me properly," her more open fraction of a grin demonstrated how she was now enjoying the idea of being wooed, "although, I am unclear as to the purpose of this plant." She had been planning on asking B'Elanna its purpose over breakfast anyway before she got sidetracked by the always enthusiastic Ensign Kim.

Both the padd and the plant were sitting on her console in Cargo Bay 2 when she arrived there earlier that morning to perform a quick diagnostic on the alcoves as was her custom. She'd nearly missed them as her thoughts had been on the strange dreaming experience during the night. Picking up the padd, she couldn't help the smile that came to her lips as she read:

Super Special Astrometrics Power Coupon!

Good for a 0.5% increase in Astrometrics power during Alpha Shift once per week upon polite request to the Chief of Engineering unless the ship is in an alert status.

PS- Stay out of my engine room.

PPS- I haven't stopped thinking about that kiss.

PPPS- See you at breakfast in the Mess? I bet the plant has you confused.

Now B'Elanna openly smiled at Seven. She didn't care who saw- she had decided last night that she never would, but it was nice to just be happy without anyone knowing why, even if it was for a short while. "Well, you're a hard woman to think of gifts for. I suspected that flowers in a vase wouldn't be your thing- as Harry said, but I thought this might be the kind of thing you could get behind. You've told me before that the Captain's Da Vinci program and sculpting 'congealed sedimentary deposits' didn't really do it for you, but I thought you might find this to be a more worthwhile… endeavour." She purposely dragged the explanation, suddenly very satisfied with the rapt attention of her two best friends and the woman she had come to love. Keeping Tom and Harry in suspense was an enjoyable added bonus.

The mention of the Captain snapped Tom out of his brief stupor. "Speaking of the Captain, I thought Seven and the Captain had something going on?" The triumphant look on B'Elanna's face as she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest told him that it certainly wasn't something she was worried about.

"It is a wonder how 'gossip' is able to spread through this ship with more efficiency than this crew seems to be capable of in other endeavours. Oddly, the fact that it is often incorrect is even more puzzling." Now it was Seven's turn to torture poor Tom and Harry. She took a deliberate bite of her omelette.

"Yeah, well, B'Elanna here along with the Doctor used to be the best sources of reliable gossip on this boat but both have been tight lipped recently. I've been stuck reading Ensign Rachel's latest works just to get my fix… although I'm not so sure why she thinks that I would…" as Tom trailed off all four Starfleet officers sitting at the table briefly locked knowing eyes at the mention of Ensign Rachel; B'Elanna might have even blushed a bit… then they went back to their conversation, "*cough* so what is the real deal then? Are you two together now?"

"Well…"

The previous evening… well, late night… or technically early morning, as Seven might point out…

As they walked, their hands seemed to gravitate toward each other and their fingers endeavoured to tangle on their own accord. Loosely those fingers- both pale with cybernetic meshing and caramel toned- caressed each other gently. B'Elanna couldn't stop grinning. At one point she even tried shaking her head as if that would somehow shake off the smile now etched onto her attractive features.

Seven kept glancing down at their attached hands and tried in vain to categorize the multitude of tactile and other feelings spawned from the simple touches. This was a similar experience to when she had been in B'Elanna's quarters not long ago asking for dating advice and B'Elanna had taken her enhanced hand in hers. But it was also different… more somehow.

More what, she wasn't quite sure. Seven was also keenly aware that both times now that their hands had been enjoined, it had been with her enhanced hand- as if B'Elanna was unconsciously telling her that her Borg heritage did not frighten or disturb her. An unknown energetic current seemed to travel from her enhanced hand, through her body and settled somewhere in her lower abdomen. This was matched by the swell of warmth deep in her chest that seemed to melt away any and all anxiety she might ever have or have had. These were not things she had ever experienced before and they were… wonderful. It all seemed to give her an unquantifiable strength.

They reached Seven's quarters on Deck three after what seemed like hours or seconds, depending on how you looked at it. B'Elanna had insisted on walking Seven back to her quarters despite Seven mentioning that she was quite capable of it even though the argument was half-hearted at best- she certainly did want to spend more time with B'Elanna regardless of the excuse. B'Elanna's personal green-eyed monster didn't like the idea of Seven padding barefoot back to her quarters in a robe all alone. Rationally, Seven was likely the most dangerous person on the ship and could very easily protect herself, but B'Elanna was thinking more of those who might just leer or even- Kahless help them- whistle. She would be having none of that and was preparing her own stare of death just in case. Hers was still a work-in-progress, but she'd been on the receiving end of the Captain's enough times to get an idea where to start. Fortunately (for the two ladies themselves and for any hapless soul who might have encountered them) they didn't meet anyone in their trip to Deck three and B'Elanna's only worry was that her smile might become permanent thereby ruining any chance of Paris ever shutting up about it.

Once the door to Seven's quarters opened, B'Elanna stopped short of the entrance and dropped her gym bag off her left shoulder as Seven stepped in the doorway and allowed the uniform and boots she was holding to drop the floor beside her bare feet. She was still wrapped in a soft blue robe covering the minimal garments she'd worn in the holodeck. Gathering Seven's other hand in hers, B'Elanna just stared up into Seven's luminescent blue eyes a moment before speaking.

"I think we have a lot to talk about, but I'm really thinking I need some sleep and before that, a shower. Sooo… I guess this is good night." She really didn't want to leave but she also really wanted Seven to feel special if they were going to start dating. She wanted Seven to feel appreciated and respected. These were things she could do for Seven, and she wanted to do them right as she knew that Chakotay hadn't and the Captain… well, they just wouldn't have worked, anyone could see that. It was s bit old fashioned maybe, but she doubted Seven ever had the experience of being properly wooed so B'Elanna was up for giving it a go.

Seven was not.

"You could shower here. My bed is also large enough for two if you wished to spend the night." Her tone bordered on brokering no argument and a sultry suggestiveness that a Vulcan priest would have been hard pressed to resist.

Fighting the urge to growl and tackle the taller woman to the floor of her quarters and ravish her silly, B'Elanna raised their enjoined hands and kissed each of Seven's hands gently and with purpose before speaking. "Of course I wish to spend the night. It's not that I don't think it's a good idea either so I won't say that. What I will say is that I want to woo you properly if you'll let me and that entails being a gentlewoman who escorts her lady home at night and ends the evening with a chaste kiss."

Seven quickly decided that she did not enjoy the idea of being wooed.

"A chaste kiss is unacceptable, if you insist on this process of elongated courtship, I insist on a passionate kiss to end the evening." The Ferengi Grand Nagus himself would have been proud of Seven's negotiating skill as her tone now did broker no argument and B'Elanna found herself helpless against her beautiful Borg's version of a firm pout. She almost chuckled as an image of the tall blonde stamping her foot in frustration came to her mind. But this wasn't a moment for laughter.

Slowly, so she could savour each action, B'Elanna let their enjoined hands fall before letting go first of Seven's left hand so she could slip her right hand securely around the taller woman's hip and draw her closer. Her left hand moved first to Seven's cheek where she made the softest connection with her skin, gently trailing her fingertips and palm along the smooth pale skin taking a moment to feather a touch over the starburst implant, eliciting a slight gasp from the beauty she was so lost in, before cupping the back of Seven's neck under her ponytail. Seven sighed at the contact and stepped forward without hesitation to curl her arms around B'Elanna mirroring the actions of the smaller woman with one hand snaking to the back of the brunette's head, the other at the small of her back having quickly found its way under her black form-hugging tank top. The irrational need for skin-to-skin contact was nearly overwhelming. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for both women as they gazed into each other's eyes, the mirrored looks of passion drawing them ever closer to their goal.

Touch. Soft, wet and full of promise. A promise of eternal love and an unbreakable future together. Both sets of eyes closed and an instinctual sigh was both released and swallowed by their partner. B'Elanna pushed ever so gently, increasing the connection between their lips, her tongue snaking out to lick Seven's full lower lip requesting wordless permission to further demonstrate her commitment to fulfilling Seven's request for a passionate kiss.

B'Elanna's soft tongue nearly made Seven's knees buckle and she pulled B'Elanna's strong form even closer as the kiss deepened and her own tongue joined the dance she was both inexperienced in and yet suddenly proficient. The taste of the brunette was intoxicating to the ex-Borg. B'Elanna growled as Seven demonstrated once again her ability to throw out a standard learning curve.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes felt like hours before B'Elanna began to ease back on the kiss gently stroking the nape of Seven's neck but not yet moving her body away from the contact with Seven's that it very much enjoyed. B'Elanna opened her eyes first as their lips finally attempted to part, both sets straining to remained attached as long as they were physically able as if their own biology was doing its dammdest to keep them together where they belonged. She licked her lips and just gazed at the calm look upon Seven's face. Her beautiful blue eyes had remained closed as she simply savoured… everything.

Slowly a smile began to appear on her face. Her eyes still hadn't opened as she replayed the initial moment of their kiss in her mind again. She had been right. It was certainly different with B'Elanna than either of her kisses with Commander Chakotay or the Captain. No, "different" was not the correct word. Infinitely superior, mind-blowing, intensely satisfying, and addictive were some of the more appropriate terms that came to her mind. The smile widened and suddenly Seven of Nine, former Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix Zero One, began to giggle. It was a "Seven" giggle to be sure, demure and absolutely adorable to B'Elanna even if she found it curious. B'Elanna nestled her head into Seven's neck and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment further.

"Was that passionate enough?" She couldn't help but smile into Seven's neck at her lithe beauty's reactions to the kiss. A little pride never hurt anyone she reasoned. She placed a small nip on Seven's pulse point enjoying the slight tremor that swept through the body she was attached to.

"Y-Yes. I am considering not allowing you to leave this embrace." Seven tightened her hold on the beautiful brunette in her arms and considered briefly that they were still standing just outside the door to her quarters before discarding it as irrelevant.

"And I'm considering allowing you to do just that… but I've got things to plan if I'm going to woo you properly and we both need our sleep because tomorrow is going to be a busy day." B'Elanna was pleased that she was obviously having as much of an effect on Seven as Seven was on her.

It was still another several minutes before both women reluctantly disengaged from their embrace. As Seven finished gathering her things, B'Elanna took one last opportunity to place both hands on either side of Seven's face and draw her down for a chaste kiss before leaving her with a 'sweet dreams' and making her way back to her own quarters. She had some planning to do which would include a trip down to the Botany lab…

The present…

"…are you two together?"

"Well…" B'Elanna took another bite of her meal to draw out the suspense. She was just having too much fun with Tom and Harry's curiosity now so inflamed and desperate to be satisfied, much like Janeway's coffee gene first thing in the morning.

"B'Elanna, if I may, since I am constantly… encouraged by the Captain to 'embrace my humanity', I believe this would be the perfect time to enact the Doctor's Social Lesson Number 17: Leave Them Wanting More." She quirked her brow as innocently as she could as B'Elanna fought back laughter and Harry and Tom's jaws dropped. Neither fellow knew Seven could be such a devious tease. B'Elanna had known about this little cruel streak of Seven's for a while and loving this new game, she couldn't help but join in. "That is so interesting, I'll have to ask the Doc about- say, isn't it time we got to work? Those warp engines and Astrometric sensors won't run themselves." She was surprised she got it all out without bursting.

"What?" "Hey!" Tom and Harry both said at the same time while the two ladies finished their respective meals and began to leave the table. "You can't leave us hanging like that! Lanna?" Harry poked Tom carefully in the arm to see if he'd burst- his voice had begun to reach a rather high pitch.

Stopping half way to the exit, B'Elanna and Seven turned back to the pleading looks of their friends. Glancing briefly at each other, B'Elanna just shrugged, nodded and smiled at Seven. Seven looked around the crowded Mess hall briefly before the last of her doubts melted away at B'Elanna's accepting and encouraging smile.

If the sound of a jaw dropping could have been defined as being akin to the noise made by a percussion instrument, then the noise of dishes and cutlery falling unceremoniously to the floor, tables and chairs would have been drowned out in a symphony of percussive harmony after what happened next.

Seven had grabbed B'Elanna and planted a kiss so full of passion and energy that the Delaney sisters behind the food counter had to grab each other for support as their knees had gone weak. Stepping back out of the embrace and momentarily looking away from a half-Klingon sporting a goofy grin and looking decidedly incapable of higher brain function, Seven growled loudly, glaring around the room and pulled B'Elanna back into her embrace. "Mine!" After a second of allowing their audience their stunned looks, Seven's face softened into a smile as she winked to their stunned audience.

"What social lesson was that?" B'Elanna had been practically swooning with glee at Seven's display of fierce possessiveness. Her blood was dancing for joy in her veins and her senses were wound up tighter than a female Klingon's bustier. Finally recovered to the point where she could walk, the two women left the stunned silence of the Mess hall hand-in-hand after Seven picked up her morning's gifts.

"Lesson Number 145: Rise To The Occasion."

End Chapter 22

See you all in a couple weeks hopefully! I'm writing as much as I can these days in between all the reading and such.