The little girl slipped out of Deanna Troi's arms and fell onto Seven of Nine's lap. The commander had no time to react, when the girl kissed her cheek, and hugged her neck. It was such a sweet scene, that almost melted the counselor's heart. Except for the fact that even the happiness of the little child could not overshadow the indignant shock of the Commander.
"Elle loves Mommy!" the girl laughed, and kissed the Commander's cheek again.
Seven of Nine didn't answer for the outburst of emotion, she simply grabbed the child at her armpit and tried to return her to the counselor.
"Please, bring her to the sickbay" she asked politely.
But Deanna didn't reach for the child, so they stood there, like a group of statues. The girl was the quickest, her mouth curled down again, and started to cry. This scared Seven of Nine too, who was not used to small children. She checked, but her grasp was not hard on the child. Seven had no idea, why the little girl cried so much. She wished she could have known Naomi Wildman when she was in this age! The counselor almost burst out laughing, watching the same facial expression on the child and the Commander. Even Jean-Luc Picard had to muster up all his self-control not to laugh at his first officer's bewilderment.
"Maybe you look like his mother" said Deanna, who just couldn't decide which distraught children to comfort first. She finally chose the older one.
"You are probably right" she nodded. "I am not her mother, I have never given birth."
"Hug her, and I think, she calms down" she advised to the Commander.
But Seven of Nine didn't hear a word from her advice. She was staring at the child, her eyes were scanning the facial features of the girl. The Commander's face suddenly contorted into a different grimace. At the next moment the counselor sensed such complex emotions from her, with such an intensity, which would have been a lot even from a Klingon.
Shock, bewilderment, shame, helplessness, despair, hatred.
Deanna Troi never experienced any of them from the always calm, cool, and somewhat distant Borg. Maybe Jean-Luc was right, when he said that even though she's a Borg, the Commander is still a human being. A human being, with human emotions. But she didn't have time to ponder the emotions of a cybernetic chimera, because from all of the emotions the hatred won over the woman, and she wanted to get rid of the crying child, no matter what.
"Hold her closer!" she gave a strict command to the Commander.
She was reluctant, but she was professional, so didn't oppose. Deanna covered them from the bridge crew, pushed the child to the chest of the Commander, and guided her arms to hold the child safely. The little girl stopped crying, she buried her face into the woman's neck. There was silence. Finally.
"Commander, please bring that child to the sickbay!" Captain Picard gave command to his first officer.
"Aye, sir" she replied.
But Deanna sensed the seething emotions in her, so she decided to accompany them to the sickbay. Seven of Nine didn't say a word to her, while they were walking to the medical part of the ship, but when they reached the sickbay, her temper won, and almost throw the little girl to a biobed.