Seven did not see or hear from B'Elanna again until several days later, when she was finally allowed to return full duties.

When they did finally see each other in Engineering, Seven was dismayed to find the nature of their interactions had changed once more. The Lieutenant had fallen back on a purely professional interaction, with no jokes, but no arguments either. Only a brief inquiry as to what Seven needed and a diplomatic assurance that she would look into it. She barely even met her eyes.

Bewildered by B'Elanna's cold manner, Seven left Engineering quickly after she had completed her task, making her way back to her safe haven of Astrometrics. Running some simple computations to help clear her mind, she tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

When B'Elanna had not contacted her during the previous few days, she had assumed the Chief of Engineering had needed that time to recuperate from her genetic recombination treatments. Now it seemed as if she had simply been ignoring her.

What could have caused her to withdraw? Had Seven been too presumptive in thinking that the other woman was attracted to her? Had she not really enjoyed the kiss?

Seven was seized by a sudden fear. Had she forced herself upon the other woman; exploited a situation where B'Elanna was, as her Human half had said, 'not herself'?

Guilt and shame washed over her. Her weak grasp of emotions had caused her to take advantage of a fellow crewmember and likely destroy any chance she had had at a familiar relationship with B'Elanna.

"Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Torres," she said as she tapped her commbadge. Even if the Lieutenant would never trust her again, she had to attempt to apologize.

After a moment of deafening silence, B'Elanna's voice came back, "Torres here."

"There is a matter I wish to discuss with you." Seven paused, unsure how to phrase her request.

Warily, B'Elanna replied, "Yeah?"

"It is of a… personal nature. Is there someplace private we could meet to talk?" she asked, her throat suddenly dry.

"I'm in my quarters right now. I suppose you could just come by."

Seven's heart gave a jump. Unbidden, images of B'Elanna's soft hair in her hands, pink lips against her own filled her thoughts, her eidetic memory making the sensations as real as if they were currently happening.

Fiercely shaking her head, she quashed the memories down. "Acceptable. I will join you shortly."

As she made her way through the halls, Seven tried to formulate what she would say to the Lieutenant. Logically, now that B'Elanna was whole again, she should have been able to predict her responses based on their previous interactions. But her change in behavior had thrown everything off. Would she rail against Seven for violating her? Enact physical violence? Or would she simply push her away with more chilly dismissiveness? Somehow, she found herself hoping for one of the former.

Reaching the Lieutenant's quarters, Seven paused to take a deep breath, retreating into her Borg habits. Now was no time for her emotions; not when they had already hurt the woman she was here to see.

She pressed the door chime once, standing rigidly with her hands linked behind her back as she waited for the Lieutenant to answer the door.

Instead of calling her inside, as her Human half had before, B'Elanna came to answer the door herself. Her eyes quickly darted over Seven before she turned and invited her inside.

Seven stopped a few steps into the room, surprising B'Elanna into pausing as well. Resuming her rigid Borg pose, she impassively relayed her reason for her visit.

"I have come to apologize for my actions of a few days ago. It was inappropriate for me to behave the way I did."

B'Elanna turned away from her, but not before she caught a flash of pain in her eyes. Seven felt a knot form in her chest at the sight. Even when she tried to right her wrongs, she only made things worse.

With a halfhearted scoff, B'Elanna turned back towards her slightly. "I appreciate it, but it really should be me that's apologizing."

"You?" Baffled, a chink showed in Seven's Borg armor as she narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Instead of answering immediately, B'Elanna paced a little ways away, her head down as she held her stomach with one hand and her chin with the other.

Finally, she said, "I'm sure it was disorienting dealing with two versions of me."

"It was… unusual," admitted Seven.

B'Elanna nodded slowly, the hand on her chin dropping to join the one around her stomach. "See? What happened wasn't your fault, no one could blame you for getting a little confused."

Not following her line of reasoning, Seven took a step towards her, her head tilted. "How would the existence of two of you make me 'confused'? I simply believed I was reciprocating your… advances."

B'Elanna threw her hands wide. "That's just it. You were reacting to how my separate halves were behaving towards you. It was all just a mix up."

Seven cocked her head further. "You believe your separate halves were behaving in a manner that would confuse me?"

"Yes, exactly," she said with a tinge of exasperation, as if she had finally gotten Seven to understand what should have been a simple concept.

But Seven still did not understand. "What manner would that be?" she questioned. "Why do you assume my judgment would be impaired by their actions?"

B'Elanna seemed to explode, whirling to face her, her eyes sparking. "Because I was nice!" she shouted.

Whatever Seven had thought she was going to say, it had not been that. "Elaborate."

B'Elanna's ire deflated, and she cast her eyes down, turning her face away again. Although she mumbled, Seven could hear her clearly. "You only thought you were attracted to me because I was being nice to you."

Seven was shocked by B'Elanna's revelation. Emotions swirled through her mind, finally settling on one: hurt. Did the Lieutenant really think that her interpersonal relationships functioned on so simplistic a level?

Hiding her distress behind a cold demeanor, she challenged, "You think I would form a romantic attachment on so flimsy a foundation?"

When B'Elanna could do nothing but stutter, she continued.

"Ensign Kim is nice to me. Ensign Paris is nice to me… when he wants to be." That drew a quiet scoff from B'Elanna. They both were familiar with Tom's fickle affections. "The Doctor is very nice to me, but I have denied his advances many times."

"What about the Captain?" B'Elanna asked reluctantly.

"She saved me from the Borg and has guided me through my time here. I owe her very much." When B'Elanna looked up at her with something akin to defeat, she softened her voice. "But I have never felt attraction towards her. Nor towards anyone else."

Seven stepped forward again, her voice lowering further. "Save you."

B'Elanna's head snapped up at her admission, staring at her with wide, liquid eyes.

Then she shook her head fiercely, squeezing her eyes closed. "No, no," she denied roughly. "I… It was a mistake. You only liked me because I wasn't acting like me."

Opening her eyes again, she met Seven's baffled stare with a watery one of her own, though she tried valiantly to hide it.

"I know it's my Klingon temper that makes people keep their distance," she continued. "It's caused me to be awful to you since we met. But then, while I was split, my Human half was so nice to you, so I can see where –"

"B'Elanna Torres," Seven interrupted, shocking B'Elanna into silence with the use of her given name. "Your Human half was indeed very kind and polite to me. But it was your Klingon half that made me realize your… interest in me."

B'Elanna looked stunned. Her lips tilted in a tiny smile, Seven attempted to explain.

"Her actions in the Mess Hall are what led me to consider the possibility that she was exhibiting mating behavior. Without her, I would have never recognized your Human half's attraction. I would have merely thought the split had made her more timid and less 'hotheaded,' as the Doctor would say."

B'Elanna let out a snort. "You really know how to flatter a girl."

Seven felt her cheeks grow hot as they flushed. "What I mean to say is that I enjoy both parts of you, not only the Human aspects. The split merely gave me the evidence I needed to finally act on my attraction."

"Finally?" B'Elanna caught at the word.

Seven's gaze became soft as a smile grew on her face. "Yes, B'Elanna Torres. I have been attracted to you for quite some time."

Relief flooded B'Elanna's features, lighting up her face like sunshine.

"I have something to admit," she said, her smile echoing Seven's. "I've liked you for a long time, too."

"You have?" Seven asked, nearly breathless. Then she truly hadn't assaulted the Human B'Elanna when she kissed her. The other woman had wanted it just as much as she did.

"Yeah, it's part of why Tom and I broke up," B'Elanna told her.

Shocked, Seven quickly did the calculations. "But that was…"

"Months ago, yeah." B'Elanna's mouth twisted in a rueful grimace. "I guess I was too scared to admit how I felt, in case you…" she trailed off.

"In case I did not feel the same." Seven nodded, knowing exactly how she felt. Suddenly her smile grew, and she told B'Elanna, "Then I believe we should both be grateful to your Klingon half."

B'Elanna laughed freely, sharing a grin with Seven. The ex-Borg marveled at the sound, barely believing the turn of events. She had come to B'Elanna's quarters sick with the idea that she had hurt the woman she felt so much for, only to then be the one to draw such happy, carefree sounds from her.

"B'Elanna Torres –" she began, only to be cut off by the woman she was addressing.

"Drop the Torres stuff," she teased. "Just B'Elanna is fine."

"Very well then, 'Just B'Elanna.'" Seven teased back, causing B'Elanna to stick her tongue out at her.

Focusing back on her question, she asked, "Do you retain all the memories of your split halves, B'Elanna?"

B'Elanna nodded, her eyes trained on Seven's.

"Including the last time I was in your quarters?"

"Yes," she rasped, her pupils immediately expanding, Seven was gratified to notice.

"Then I would like to propose an experiment."

B'Elanna's brow furrowed slightly in confusion, but she agreed. "Okay…"

With a twinkle in her eye, Seven reached up to cup B'Elanna's jaw, running her thumb lightly across her cheek. "I would like to study whether the recombination of genetic halves affects the sensation of kissing."

B'Elanna stifled a laugh, now eager to play along.

"That is an interesting question," she said in mock thoughtfulness, stepping closer and slipping a hand around Seven's waist.

"All I need is a participant to help me study this phenomenon." Seven's fingers drifted to B'Elanna's temple, stroking lightly at her rich, dark hair.

B'Elanna's other hand slid up Seven's back and curled around her shoulder, finally drawing them flush together. Seven gasped at the contact.

"I think I know where you can find one," she purred, tilting her head back as she waited for Seven to close the distance.

Seven couldn't help but pause, taking a moment to drink in the sight of the woman before her. The faint relief of her forehead ridges, her dark eyelashes against her tan cheeks, her full lips just so slightly parted – it was perfection as the ex-drone had never expected.

Finally, she dipped her head to B'Elanna's, keeping her eyes open until the last second as their lips pressed together. Seven couldn't help but moan at the sensation she had feared she would never feel again.

For a few seconds she catalogued her senses, surprised at the true number of differences between this kiss and the first. B'Elanna's lips had the same lovely, sweet taste, but with an underlying sharpness that just made them even more intoxicating. She was less tentative, the movement and pressure of her mouth making Seven grasp her shoulder to steady herself. Even her physiological reactions were different, the staccato beating of her twin hearts against Seven's chest driving her own to higher speeds.

Soon, though, she stopped being able to make any meaningful observations, getting lost in the sensations. B'Elanna's hands had wrapped around her back, her fingers splayed against her spine, pressing her ever closer. Seven carded her fingers through her thick hair, cupping the back of her head as their lips moved together.

This time it was B'Elanna that ran her tongue over Seven's lips, tracing her bottom lip before running along the seam. Seven readily opened her mouth for her, both of them moaning as their tongues met.

They took a minute to explore each other's mouths, tongues rolling languidly over each other and along the backs of teeth. Then suddenly, B'Elanna lightly nipped the tip of Seven's tongue, causing her to gasp and pull back.

B'Elanna's eyes were alight with amusement and desire in equal measure, her pupils nearly eclipsing her irises. Seven felt her heart pound in response, a fission of heat sliding low into her belly.

Slowly, without speaking, B'Elanna began to guide her backwards, her mouth licking and nipping across her jaw.

The backs of Seven's knees hit the edge of the couch, and B'Elanna lowered her down, climbing up to straddle her lap as soon as she was seated. Her mouth immediately sought out Seven's pulse point, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses towards the join of her neck and shoulder.

Seven found herself throwing her head back, allowing B'Elanna more room to keep producing such wonderful sensations. Finally, B'Elanna's lips locked on to her pulse, sucking hard. Seven could do nothing but hold on, her nails raking against B'Elanna's uniform jacket.

Unable to take much more, Seven pulled B'Elanna away from her neck, drawing her back up into a deep kiss, both hands buried in her hair as she arched into her touch.

At last, they separated, B'Elanna lightly tugging on Seven's lower lip before pulling away fully.

"So," she teased breathlessly, her fingers reaching up to with the fine hairs at the nape of Seven's neck, "have you been able to draw any conclusions?"

Giving herself a moment to catch her own breath, Seven shook her head.

"Not yet. I believe I need more data," she reported coyly, wrapping slender hands around B'Elanna's backside and drawing her closer. "I have not had the opportunity to compare the full mating habits of Klingons to my current findings."

B'Elanna let out a low laugh, hunger swiftly reentering her gaze. "You're just a regular horndog, aren't you?"

Seven cocked her head, raising her ocular implant. "I do not see how a canine with horns is relevant to our situation"

B'Elanna rolled her eyes, but could not hide the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. A low growl rumbling in her chest, she ordered, "Just shut up and kiss me."

Seven was all too happy to comply.