Fear. Pure unadulterated fear ran through her as the silent drone reached for her arm. Her mother screamed wildly and ran to save her daughter but fell forward as the Borg injection tubes went into her side, her head hitting the floor a few steps from her daughter's hiding place, her face already diffused with the sinister silver metal, green eyes still open and staring blankly. "Erin!" her father cried out in anguish. She was unable to move, horribly transfixed by her mother's wrecked features and convulsing body. Her father's panic filled almost animal like shout broke the spell, "Annika, run!" She obeyed mindlessly, her head crashing against the console she had been hiding under but she ran towards her bedroom, in her young mind a sanctuary from the inescapable. The ship lunched causing her to collide with the wall, adrenaline forced her on but suddenly she was in the air, a stranger's arm around her waist in a vice like grip. "Papa!" she screamed, seeing him kneeling on the floor, a drone standing over him. There was a buzzing sound and the last thing she saw was the ship disappearing.

Chakotay sat up, dragged awake by an eerie scream on the edge of his consciousness. He realised it wasn't a dream when he saw a shaking, sweating and screaming Seven standing in her regeneration alcove. "Computer, end regeneration cycle!" he shouted.

"Unable to comply."

"Why not?" he yelled, before running to the alcove and shaking her, as he normally did to wake her, but it had no effect. "Seven! Wake up!" he said forcefully. She remained as she was, shaking and muttering in her alcove.

Her eyes fluttered open; she could hear nothing except a constant buzzing noise, like the bees in her aunt's beehive. Where was she? The only light had a green hue, like the pea soup her mother often forced her to eat, thinking of her mother, she immediately wanted to see her. This was a strange dream, she should wake up now, Papa would want to eat breakfast soon. She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't. "Mama?" she called out. No response, that was strange. Her head and side hurt, dreams weren't meant to be painful, she could taste something sweet in her mouth, like the time she'd bitten her tongue. "Papa, where are you?" Panic choked her when he didn't come. She tried to sit up again, pain searing her brain, when she lifted her hand away from her hair she saw it was red with blood. "Ma…ma!" she sobbed, "Pa…pa! Help me!" The silence just intensified, and she began to sob hysterically. "Don't leave me here!" Steady, heavy footsteps filled her with hope, and she lifted her head. What she saw lifted the veil and she remembered the horror, two drones, one male and one female were approaching her. She tried to back away, but fear paralysed her. They loomed over her and she kicked out wildly, until she saw their faces. The female had long locks of familiar red gold hair which was gradually falling out. The male put his arm round her back and lifted her up almost gently, a single piercing blue human eye, a mirror image of her own pair, gazing at her terrified, tear stained face nonchalantly. She whimpered in denial and tried to push him away, but he remained still as stone. The last thing she was aware of before her mind was wiped clean was a sharp sudden pain which made her groan, the buzzing closing in on her as she lost her focus on her father's face. What remained of her mind fled to the reassuring chorus of voices she would hide in for the next eighteen years.

Chakotay cried out wordlessly in frustration and anxiety as the screaming disintegrated into sobs. I can't just leave her like that! In final desperate attempt to wake her he grabbed her round the waist and pulled her from the alcove, falling backwards with her in his arms. Sparks flew as electricity surged to the now empty alcove, but Chakotay ignored that as a now awake Seven pushed away from him, hyperventilating hard, eyes open but not recognising anything.

"It's alright now; you were having a nightmare or a flashback or something…"

Seven looked at him blankly; she caught a glance of her cybernetic arm, a vision of her mother's mutilated face filled her mind and she began to sob uncontrollably. Horribly frightened, Chakotay somehow managed to grasp hold of her and pull her to him. "What happened, my love?" he choked out, reducing his tone to a whisper as he repeated over and over "Tell me, tell me please…"

After several minutes Seven's self awareness returned. "Chakotay?" barely above a whisper.

"I'm here. What happened?"

"Memories of my assimilation…no…it can't have been like that…I shouldn't remember…"

"Flashbacks can happen, sweetheart…"

Seven pressed herself tighter against him, longing to deny the things she'd just seen, but was unable to. Chakotay could feel her stomach churning and led her to the bathroom where she was sick until all she could do was dry heave, tears still streaming down her face. He carried her back to their bed where he laid her down and cuddled into her as the shivers of shock slammed into her.

Eventually, after an uncounted number of hours, Seven spoke in a tone of high agitation, her fists clenched. "I don't understand! Why now?"

"Flashbacks are natural after a trauma…" Seven stiffened at the word but said nothing, "it's how the mind deals with it, do you want to talk about it?"

She was going to say no but ended up slowly telling him, holding nothing back despite her concern about his reaction. It was worse than anything he had expected or feared, but he managed to keep his head, even as she asked him not to tell anyone. "No, it's private!"

"Why do I feel so upset and…angry, I knew I had been assimilated with them, it's not their fault that they assimilated me anymore than it was my fault for trying to assimilate Voyager!"

"No, it's not…but you have to allow yourself to grieve over them and your own loss of eighteen years out of your life."

"I don't know them!" she replied hotly.

"Emotions aren't always logical like you want them to be, my love." Chakotay reminded her sadly.

"No, they're not." She said quietly.

"Do you know what might have brought this on?"

"Admiral Colby asked me what happened to his daughter, I couldn't tell him anything." She remembered how betrayed he had looked as she had informed him, as if he had been relying on her and she had crushed all his hopes. Her speech on Voyager a month ago had obviously only had a short lived affect on his view of her. "I am supposed to meet my aunt tomorrow."

"All that would definitely bring back the memories. I'll talk to your aunt…"

"No! I must confront this!"

Seeing by the determined glint in her eye that she was set on this course, he let her be. "Seeing her might help both of you with your loss."

"I hope you're right."

The next day Seven made the short transporter trip to Stockholm to see her aunt. As soon as she stepped out outside in search of the café in which they were meeting, she was struck at how beautiful and calm it was compared to the wild overpopulation of San Francisco. Numerous bridges linked the islands which constituted the city, sweeping over the clear blue water. Old but well maintained buildings lined the streets, colourfully but tastefully painted in pastel shades and ancient church spires pierced the sky. Taking all this in calmed her somewhat and she found the café relatively easily, sitting in a picturesque position by the water's edge on a quiet street. As manoeuvred past the many tables on the patio a silver haired woman rose from her chair with a shocked yet happy look on her face called out "Annika?"

This was the one person she would allow to call her that name ever. She couldn't help from frowning slightly as she tried to remember her properly. "Irene Hansen?"

The woman smiled with relief and came over. "Come sit…please. We need to talk." Seven nodded silently, catching the nerves in the older woman's voice and sat down where she indicated. Irene ordered and they sat in an awkward silence while they awaited their food, giving Seven time to observe her only living close relative. Her face was relatively unlined, despite the fact that she was sixty five, although she had allowed her hair to turn silver which was tied back in a loose bun. She could see the resemblance to her father in height and facial structure but most especially in the alert pale blue eyes which they all shared.

Their drinks appeared and Irene finally broke the silence. "Ah, you look so much like your mother and my mother too, your grandmother, the other Annika Hansen."

"I was named after my grandmother?" Seven couldn't help but be interested.

"Oh yes, your father worshipped her and your mother gave in."

Seven wasn't sure how to continue the conversation, but gave it a try. "And my maternal grandmother?"

"Oh, how she reacted is a story for another day!" she laughed at the memory. "She'd loved Magnus up to that point, but after there was a grandchild she forgot about him!"

They began to eat their food and Irene grasping around for another topic, mentioned other family memories but Seven stonewalled, her defences up. Finally she found a neutral topic. "So…how's work?"

"I have been assigned by Starfleet to help design new sensors and labs for ships, based on the Borg technology I used to build Astrometrics on Voyager." Irene flinched at the mention of the Borg and Seven instantly regretted her words.

"I never really wanted them to go, but it was their decision and I let them, I'm sorry I did."

Seven, sensing guilt spoke up. "I don't think it was question of allowing them, they would have gone whatever you argued."

Irene uttered something between a bitter laugh and a sob. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She stood up suddenly. "Come with me." Bluntness was obviously a family trait.

Seven looked at her in confusion. "To where?"

"There's something you need to see."

Seeing implacable determination, Seven gave in. "As you wish."

Seven's confusion only grew as Irene led her to a apartment block and up to the third floor before opening the door with a set of keys. Surely she's not taking me to her house? Her questions were answered as soon as she stepped inside. Familiar items abounded and memories washed over her. It was her family home. She sank against a wall trying not to show the agony of remembrance as her aunt walked around. "They asked me to look after it while they were away, of course I did. I thought you were all dead. He was my twin brother, a workaholic from birth, his passion was biology and he would shut himself up. He wouldn't have met your mother if it wasn't for me, she was my best friend at college, one year I brought her back with me from Cambridge, Magnus loved her immediately, the green eyes, Irish accent and same love of biology…Then they were introduced to the notion of the Borg, they couldn't let it be. They would have gone on that mission a lot earlier but Erin found out she was pregnant and they'd been trying for so long. He was so happy, you were his angel, I hoped your birth would get rid of that idiotic idea but when you were three they decided to you were old enough to go with them…For three years I got a weekly update from them but just after your sixth birthday they stopped…" Irene wept bitterly, old wounds opening up.

Seven, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, overwhelmed and crying, finally managed to speak. "Aunt Irene…I don't blame them, I feel pain over it as you do but nothing will change…"

"I know, I'm glad you don't…I was worried…but it doesn't matter now, you have come back." She knelt down and hugged her. "They'd be so proud of you, for regaining yourself…don't worry about that."

Seven was surprised at the sudden intimacy but realised as she returned her aunt's hug that Chakotay had been right, she and her aunt were helping each other to heal.

A/n: I'm worried Seven is out of character, please review and tell me! I thought all this would make her more emotional even if just with her aunt. If she is out of character please forgive me, I've just wanted to tell her parents story for a long time.