A/N: Y'all are the best. Thanks for the reviews. Darc is the best beta reader, too.

Thank goodness for the coronavirus so I can finish this story. I estimate 1 more chapter after this one to finish this part of the story and then the last one.

=/\=

"The first time ever I saw your face

I thought the sun rose in your eyes

And the moon and the stars

Were the gifts you gave

To the dark and the endless sky,

My love"

~Roberta Flack

Rip In Time
by Isobel Rowan

Part 2: Starfleet
Chapter 19: The Gifts She Gave

Admiral Kathryn Janeway had trusted her adjutant Commander Tom Paris when he said he had the perfect plan to help repair her marriage to Seven of Nine. Only this morning did she find out it was the same plan she'd tried months earlier.

"This is different," he'd said, handing her a cup of coffee and escorting her out of her office this morning.

"How?"

"You'll see," he said. "I had to give a foot massage to the Klingon Ambassador to the Federation who in turn agreed to call in this favor. Trust me."

"You're married to the Klingon Ambassador," she replied sardonically.

In the hallway at Startfleet headquarters, Janeway and Paris bumped into Commodore Seven of Nine. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and Janeway was silenced at the sight of her.

"Commodore," Tom said, handing over another cup he'd been holding and one that Admiral Janeway thought was his.

Seven looked at the contents, inhaled deeply and sipped it. Afterward, she nodded at him. "This is excellent and my favorite."

Kathryn's brows came together as Seven walked away.

"You're appointment," Tom prompted.

"I am aware," she replied without turning around. The Admiral watched long after Seven disappeared around a corner.

"What drink was that?" Kathryn whispered, without turning back.

"Her favorite, of course," he replied, as he stopped at the end of the hallway.

Janeway's head snapped to him. "What exactly?"

He gave her a pitiful look. "If you don't know..."

She pulled back a little surprised by the comment to a superior officer.

"All right, but you really should ask her yourself."

"Tom."

"It's Pomegranate juice."

Her eyes rose to her hairline. "But Seven likes strawberry juice."

"Not anymore, apparently. Now off you go to the transporters. Your appointment is in 20 minutes."

=/\=

Admiral Janeway and Commodore Seven of Nine sat in full uniform on opposite floral couches in an office surrounded by warm mahogany wood. A grandfather clock was gently ticking. Morning light poured in across the rich red carpet.

The door clicked open and a voluptuous woman with long dark hair and a warm smile stepped in. She was wearing a lilac body wrap. She extended her hand.

"Deanna Troi, your counselor," she said, shaking each of their hands in turn.

She sashayed to a nearby table where she poured a refreshment into a cup. "Would either of you care for a drink?"

"No, thank you," Janeway replied.

"I do not require hydration at this time," Seven said.

After she'd stirred something into her cup, Counselor Troi turned and found herself at a wingback chair at one end of the room, between the two couches.

"I don't normally see many clients anymore," she replied. "So I'm a little out of practice. But let's start with the basics. Tell me why you are here and how I can help."

As Counselor Troi sipped, Admiral Janeway got the impression she was being sized up. She looked at Seven and lifted a brow as a suggestion to start. But Seven responded by looking away. Fine, Kathryn thought crossly.

"Let's see, we have been married nearly 20 years and Seven wants to end the marriage contract."

"And you don't. Is that correct, Admiral Janeway?"

"Yes, it's correct. I want to save our marriage."

"Why?"

Janeway squinted her eyes before responding. "Because it's worth saving." She got the distinct impression from both of the women that she'd given the wrong response. But she couldn't fathom what else she was supposed to say.

But Counselor Troi did not comment on it. She'd been watching Seven for a few moments. "What about you, Seven. Why do you want to dissolve the marriage?"

"Because the data indicates that our compatibility has come to an end. After 20 years - more than 7,300 standard days or 175,320 hours - we are different and should, therefore, navigate different courses."

"It's interesting that you used facts," Deanna said.

"Why? Facts are essential to arrive at any reasonable decision."

Deanna only raised her eyebrows. "So why are you here then if the facts suggest the marriage is finished?"

Seven looked at Counselor Troi and then at Kathryn. "I have obligated myself to this course for the time being."

"Obligated?" Deanna echoed out loud Kathryn's same thought.

The word was like a dagger in Kathryn's heart. But through professional discipline, she was able to hide the pain deep down.

Deanna glanced at her briefly and offered her a sympathetic look that was so quick she wondered if Kathryn had seen it at all. In the space of that silence, Deanna shifted on her chair.

"Let's switch up the question. Tell me why you fell in love in the first place?"

Kathryn knew but she could not answer. She knew that the tight control she held over her emotions now would completely unravel if she expressed what she loved about Seven of Nine. That Seven was petulantly silent, made the control even more tenuous. So she sat in silence listening to the tick-tock of the grandfather clock and looking anywhere but at Seven of Nine.

When the clock struck nine, Deanna brought her hands together and softly clapped once. "Thank you for coming today. I believe that you have just learned that I am not intimidated by your silence. In any case, this time is yours to use as you please. But if I am to continue as your therapist, I think we could all benefit from two rules."

Janeway finally met Deanna's gaze. "Go on," she said.

Deanna turned to Seven. "What about you, Seven?"

"I am open," she replied.

"Excellent," Deanna said, "The first rule I would like you both to agree to. Before we start on this journey back to each other, I'd like to suggest that we refrain from sexual intimacy during this process."

Seven looked straight at her and lifted a brow. "I do not customarily engage in copulation with our therapist."

Deana smiled again and looked at Janeway who felt as if her face were scarlet. "Yes, I misspoke. I would like you and Kathryn to refrain from sexual intimacy."

Seven lifted a brow and turned to watch the window again. "Compliance will not be difficult."

"Same" came Janeway's reply.

"Very good," Deanna said, heedless of the sharp cooling in the room. "Secondly, I believe you both could benefit from meeting every other day. That gives you enough time to think about your feelings before our next appointment where we can explore those."

Janeway nodded: "Fine," she said.

"I will comply," Seven said.

"Well, this was productive," Counselor Troi said, pushing herself up from her knees to standing.

"It was inefficient," Seven replied, on her way out.

=/\=

Lt. Commander Naomi Wildman stepped into the Captain's ready room and froze. Captain Tallyesin Powers, who was seated at the head of the table with her XO Commander T'hor, looked up at her.

"Apologies, captain. I thought our meeting was scheduled now."

"Good morning, Commander Wildman, we are running just a few minutes off schedule," she said. "It will only be but a minute."

"One last thing, Captain," T'hor said. He glanced furtively at Naomi, who cleared her throat.

"I'll just…"

"As you were, Wildman," the Captain said, rising to her feet. "What is it, T'hor?"

"Security was called to Deck H crew quarters."

The Captain had been perusing her padd and she looked up at T'hor.

"Raucous behavior is cited."

"Who's quarters?"

T'hor glanced at his notes. "Atreya Shras and Eridani Janeway."

For her part, Naomi was as close to the exit as she could get and her mind was trying hard not to hear, but the surname of her childhood friend clenched her heart. She just wondered how Dani could work until 0400 and still have time for a rollicking good time.

She glanced at the Captain and saw a look she'd never seen before. More than displeasure. Betrayal perhaps. It was odd and for a moment she wished she'd been a Betazoid. But as quickly as the interaction started it ended with T'hor saying he'd handled it.

=/\=

Ensign Dani Janeway explained the in-depth account of how she and Commander Wildman reached their conclusion. She flashed a picture up from the central projector on the desk.

"Two macro-organisms, a new species, in fact," Dani said. "Using Huygens waves, we captured these images. They are ten times the size of the Maathai and they feed on the warp plasma before it reaches the nacelles."

"One of them is larger," Captain Powers noted. Dani enjoyed the expression on Tally's face when she was intent on something.

"Yes, we believe one is a mother and the other a child. With the rapid transformation of this system into a Minshara class, they are losing feeding grounds." Dani glanced back at the Captain in time to see the beautifully inquisitive expression give way to sorrow and then back. The transition was only a nanosecond of pain and then it was gone.

Images of the scene at the farmhouse when Tallyesin lost her baby girl to a fire flashed in rapid succession through Dani's mind, like a macabre holo slide show. If she could make it better she would and the heartache she wanted to unburden Tally with made her stutter the last few words. But no one seemed to notice and if they did it was Lt. Sullivan Daguerre who filled the awkward ending with a question.

"Correct me if I am wrong," Daguerre began, a finger absent-mindedly tracing a padd in front of her. "But didn't Commander Naith leave you in charge of ensuring engineering was fully operational in her absence on the away mission."

Dani felt her heart rate increase when all eyes turned to her. She had a bad feeling about this. "Yes, that is correct," both she and her boss said at once.

"At what point did you suspect that another life form could be interacting with the Maathai?"

Dani opened her mouth to speak but Naomi Wildman, who was sitting straight as an arrow in her chair next to where Dani was standing, replied. "Lt. Daguerre, we analyzed that data most of the night and only when all other options were ruled out did we begin to expand our search to non-standard EM bands. In fact, it was Ensign Janeway who suggested the Huygens band."

Dani smiled at her coworker and friend and then glanced quickly to see Captain Powers' reaction. There was none to her disappointment.

Lt. Daguerre made a face. "But that's the thing, Commander Wildman. Why didn't a Janeway continuously perform these-"

"That's enough, Lt. Daguerre," Captain Powers finally said. "Speculation about extraordinary measures is unproductive."

Lt. Daguerre offered Captain Powers a pained smile. "Of course, Captain. I apologize. I was merely asking for the sake of instruction."

Dani heard Naomi mumbled something under her breath but she didn't quite catch it. But she looked up in time to see a small scowl on Daguerre's lips and then it was gone.

The remainder of the staff meeting was discussing how to assist the macro-organisms, catalogue them and then warp out of the system safely.

=/\=

Commander Tom Paris was sitting on the edge of the desk of another adjutant when he saw Admiral Janeway marching through the hallway at Starfleet Command. Commodore Seven of Nine was not far behind her and she executed a sharp turn to her own office.

"I have to go," he said to the other adjutant.

He walked into the outer office that housed his desk at the same time as Admiral Janeway. "How'd it go?"

She came to an abrupt stop, put her hands on her hips and looked up, squinting. "I've seen more warmth at a Klingon bat'leth deathmatch," she barked.

He stopped abruptly. "I expected some thawing," he replied, following her into her office.

She went to stand behind her desk, inhaled deeply and put a palm on her forehead. "I need a moment, Tom," she whispered.

"I could send her some flowers from you-"

Admiral Janeway snapped her eyes open. "No! I will do what needs to be done!" She softened her expression when he paled. "I'm sorry, Tom,' she finally whispered. "It's been a difficult morning."

"It's going to get worse," he said tentatively.

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure how."

"I was just talking with Admiral Layton's new adjutant, Commander Palmer. She said Layton is forming a task force to oversee 'Operation: Integration.'" He waggled his fingers to indicate quotation marks when he said the operational name.

"Stop!" She held up a finger and activated the communicator on the back of her hand. "Seven, can you please come to my office."

"Kathryn-"

"Q's timeline, Seven."

"Q's timeline?" Seven asked.

Janeway looked at her adjutant, a little surprised. "Yes, Seven. The timeline he showed you just before we returned to earth."

There was a moment of silence.

"I am on my way."

In a few moments, Seven of Nine was standing in front of Kathryn's desk beside Tom Paris, as he described to them what information he managed to ferret out. "After forming the task force, they will be choosing a suitable ship to begin the first testing."

"This isn't his exact timeline but still the major pieces are there. Dani, Captain Powers and the Maathai," Janeway said.

"Eridani is involved?" Seven asked.

Kathryn turned a quizzical look on her wife. She was about to ask whether Seven even remembered that little stroll through time that Q had given her.

"What's going on here?" Tom asked, staring at each of them in turn. "I feel like the creepy kid left out of the 'It' gang's shenanigans."

Janeway studied him for a long moment. "You did well to tell us about Operation: Integration."

"That's a completely new mission," he said. "You knew about it by name before it had even been given a designation."

"I will tell you-" Janeway looked at Seven. "We will tell you about it if you swear to me this information doesn't leave this room. Section 31 would have a field day."

Section 31 was Starfleet's security division, known for the utmost secrecy and dubious methods.

He gave the Admiral a forlorn look. "I'm your friend and I was on Voyager." The crew of the U.S.S. Voyager were notorious throughout Starfleet for their unfailing loyalty to each other.

She glanced at Seven. They shared a moment before the Admiral gestured with a chin to Tom.

Seven's lifted a brow. "I believe it would be best if you shared it," she replied.

Janeway knit her brows but didn't want to make an issue of Seven's memories or lack of them. So she related to the story as Seven had told her.

=/\=

The U.S.S. Maathai was sleek with the consoles with the latest projection interface. In this timeline, Seven saw Starfleet personnel, including Captain Powers. Dani was not affiliated with Starfleet but wore a civilian's shimmering blue jumpsuit representing Omega Engineering Exchange. Dani used a peculiar headset connected to a metallic node behind her left ear. The headset projected a narrow red beam directly on the retina of her left eye as part of the neurogenic interface.

Dani set a course for Gamma Triangula, where the Maathai had an encounter.

"Dani, there is a ship on a vector course. Our heading," T'hor said.

"Readings confirmed," Dani replied through the computer's persona. "But it's out of visual range."

Standing behind Dani, Powers went ramrod straight. "Report?"

"They're gone," Naith replied. She was frantically trying to adjust the ship's sensors.

"Not gone," Dani said. "Cloaked."

"Scan for Klingon or Romulan warp signatures," Powers ordered.

"A Nausicaan raider has decloaked off the starboard," Dani said.

"Red alert!" Powers ordered.

"They're powering weapons," Naith said, alarm making her voice shrill.

"Shields!" Powers barked, even as Dani's computerized voice said it.

"Shields up," a silver-haired Omega Engineering Exchange woman replied.

"Reduce speed!" Powers ordered irritation thick in her voice.

Dani's eyes shifted relentlessly. "Speed re—all hands, brace for impact!"

Even before she finished, the Maathai shuddered from multiple phaser shots. Several consoles on the bridge popped, amber sparks bursting across the deck.

"Arm torpedoes," Powers ordered.

"Torpedoes armed and locked on 185 degrees mark 4," said a Starfleet officer at the Security station.

"Incoming!" Naith shouted.

Powers gripped the console. Naith and the silver-haired OEX staffer were blown back when their console exploded. Seven tried to steady herself on a bulkhead, but it was a useless effort as she felt neither the quaking of the ship nor even the slightest touch of inertia.

"You aren't here," Q whispered with a laugh.

She gave him her most withering look, which served only to incite a full-throated belly laugh.

"Fire all phasers," Powers ordered. "Damage report."

As members of her crew were barking out the number of dead and a deck by deck damage report, Dani replied in the computer's monotone persona: "Firing all phasers—weapons are offline. Warp drive has been knocked out."

"By a bloody raider?" Powers asked incredulously.

Just then, fifteen more raiders uncloaked. They looked like gnats beside the two Breen warships that uncloaked. The angular hull of the Breen warships bristled with weapons.

"The Breen vessels are building a power surge, Captain," said a Starfleet officer taking over at Ops. A high-pitched scream accompanied the surge.

"Is that sound related to the power surge," the Captain asked.

"They're firing!—"

"All power to shields!" Powers and Eridani shouted in unison.

A blue forked energy beam shot out of the two Breen vessels from the forward array. It struck the Maathai, easily piercing what remained of the shields. On the bridge, the blue energy could be seen jumping across severed cables and travelling in a concentric circle until—

It enveloped Eridani Janeway, who cried out. During the throws of convulsions racking her body, the energy even tinted her teeth blue. She fell forward, caught by the light-footed captain. "Dani," she whispered, lowering her to the conn. She felt her pulse and listened for breathing. Then she began to gently slap Dani's face. "Dani," she repeated.

Eridani shook her head, momentarily disoriented by where she was. The Captain helped her to her feet.

"Captain, incoming message," the security officer said.

"From the Breen?" she asked, still attending to Dani even as T'hor stepped close to assist her.

"Negative," the Security officer replied. "Nausicaan."

"Of course," she whispered, nodding to T'hor once when he resumed what little first aid he could provide. She tugged her tunic down and stood up. "Polarize forward viewscreen."

Specks of light began to cascade all around her providing a nearly three-dimensional image for each section of the bridge. The Nausicaan face formed from cascading electrons. His long, black hair forming first, followed by his vacuous nasal cavity and then the rest of him. "Captain," he said. "Your unconditional surrender will cease hostilities."

Powers studied him for a moment, her expression a blank slate. "I did not realize the Federation was at war with the Nausicaan Nation?"

A hideous smile revealed sharp Nausicaan teeth. "This experiment…" The Nausicaan Captain nodded toward the recovering Eridani Janeway. "It ends now," he growled.

Her bluff was called, and she gave the appearance of resignation. "Quite right," she said. "I can assure you that I'll see to it."

Instead of replying, the bridge was bathed in soft, sparkling lights followed by the appearance of four Nausicaans. "We'll assure ourselves!" a Nausicaan growled. Four blasts arced through the air, each striking Eridani Janeway. Convulsions seized her entire body. The Nausicaans dematerialized just as quickly, just before Starfleet phasers blasted the space they'd once occupied.

Seven tried to reach out to Eridani as she collapsed near the conn. Seven firmed her jaw in frustration when she clasped nothing but thin air. She watched helplessly as Powers ordered a site-to-site transport to sick bay while the OEX officer knelt over the prone figure of her daughter, touching two fingers to a pulse point at her neck.

"Transporters are down," the Security Officer informed her.

Powers waved T'hor away from the prone figure, crumpled on the floor. Blood poured out of her nose and left ear. "Make way," she shouted out. "She's going to sickbay one way or another."

Powers made to lift her, but T'hor caught her shoulder.

"Captain," T'hor whispered. "She's gone."

=/\=

When Janeway ended the re-telling, she watched Seven carefully. She was startled to find surprise and dismay evident on the Borg face she knew so well. Then she did a double-take on Tom, who was watching her.

He was seated in one of the guest chairs in front of her desk, drinking a Klingon raktajino coffee. He carefully set it down and opened up a computer window in front of him from a portable padd on the back of his left hand and began to type in the air. "So we need details about the Breen and Nausican raiders in Federation Space. And we need to know who is Layton considering for the pilot program."

"The Maathai," Janeway said.

He seemed content with the certainty, so he deleted a line and quickly typed again in the air. "All right then, we need one or both of you on that committee."

"Both," they replied again together. They looked at each other, faint smiles ghosted on their lips.

=/\=

The rest of the day was a blur, spent meeting with Layton, researching bio-engineering and doing the other 50 million things that desk-bound admirals did in Starfleet. At 19 hundred hours, Janeway set the last cup of coffee on her desk and leaned back. So much to do.

Then she remembered. Dammit, I said I would order my own thank you gift for Seven. She pulled up a menu on her desk console and scrolled through the San Francisco listings. Then she called one of them and placed an order that took 20 minutes to customize.

Just the act of doing something for Seven made her think of the woman. She'd boarded the U.S.S. Voyager as a Borg emissary and was severed from them as an unappreciated gift. Janeway remembers having to guide her on her quest to reclaim her humanity. But somewhere along the way, she'd fallen in love.

As she arrived at the San Francisco townhome she shared with Seven of Nine, she was exploring her own memories. When did I fall in love? She thought.

The living room was dark, but there was a line of yellow under one of the children's bedrooms upstairs. Since Seven had returned to herself and resumed duties at Starfleet, she'd moved up to Shannon's room at the very top of the stair. Janeway stared up for a long moment, wondering what Seven did there.

She could hardly remember what they did when they were off duty. And that thought made her profoundly regret how the marriage had disintegrated. Not yet, she told herself. "I'm going to fight like hell for us, Seven," she whispered to the door upstairs. She turned and walked to the ten lonely steps to her bedroom.

=/\=

After the completion of her extended shift forty-eight hours later, Dani Janeway collapsed fully clothed onto a couch in the crew lounge. She murmured good night when she vaguely heard Crewman Olidia Viroff wish her a good night. She felt the warmth of a blanket fall on her.

What felt like 5 minutes later, Dani dreamed a log was lying on top of her chest and she struggled to get it off because she couldn't breathe. The struggle awakened her and she realized something was holding her down. Not something, someone was holding her down.

Dani awoke to her hands tied behind her back and a knee was pressed into her back.

"Little Brat Janeway getting passes on half-assed work… You deserve this…." It was Deep Voice from that night of hazing not so long ago. The culprit thrust a knee in harder and pulled Dani's hair. "Your hair is getting longer. Maybe I should shave it for you again."

Deep Voice tugged her head back so hard, Dani had trouble breathing.

"You're a grunt…." Deep Voice kicked Dani onto her side. Dani felt the blows to her back and cushioned them by following their direction. With her hands tied behind her back, she was lying face up.

The person's face was masked and Dani could see a voice modulator on the column of his throat. The culprit pulled back a gloved fist and slammed across Dani's face. "Oh, now the poor Admiral's kid has a black eye."

Dani could feel her left eye sting and start to swell. She worked frantically trying to untie the wrist constraints. But the more she worked her hands, the more her arms began to lose feeling under her own and her attacker's weight.

"Not so smart now are you?"

Dani muttered to herself to get those restraints off.

"Panicking now, I see," the attacker said. "Good, good. But it's too late for that. Already made plans to…" The attacker's hand drew a kitchen knife down the length of Dani's body. "See you naked, have my way and then kill you. You made it easy by sleeping in the Crew Lounge since there is an airlock just over there."

The attacker laughed at the look of panic on Dani's face. But it was enough. She slammed her forehead into the attacker's covered face, striking her teeth. It hurt like hell but it made the attacker reel back. The face-covering was now moist.

She rocked back and pulled her legs over the attacker, capturing her head between her thighs and slamming it down to the couch. Her attacker growled and stabbed Dani's gluteus maximus.

Dani slammed her eyes closed, her ass cheek crowding out all awareness but the pain radiating from it. She howled an obscenity.

"You little bitch," the attacker grunted, pressing a hand to its mouth.

Dani knew she had to alert security or she was going to be shoved out of an airlock. She had loosened the ties on her wrists but still couldn't untie them. Just as she neared the Crew Lounge exit, the attacker slammed into her back, pushing her against the bulkhead.

"Now, now, grunt. I'm not done with you yet."

Dani spat out a tooth, blood gushing down her chin as she tried to pull away from the bulkhead to breathe.

The tang of blood was at her nostrils. She couldn't see the knife but sensed it close.

The attacker swung her around and punched her again. Blood from her nose joined the river from her mouth. As she was shoved back, her arms naturally responded by bracing, which was enough to free herself from the loose bonds. But it was not in time to break the fall and she slammed straight back onto the deck, her head hitting the deck hard.

"You gonna cry now, Admiral's kid?"

Dani snapped her eyes open, brushed her face quickly with a sleeve and kicked the perpetrator away. She scrambled to her feet and sunk to a fighting stance, both hands out and prepared.

"Still not an even match, Janeway," the attacker said, waving the knife in front of him.

"Oh, but it is," Dani said, tapping her right temple with an index finger.

"You're just a privileged brat who waltzed into this assignment."

"You jealous, bro?"

Dani easily sidestepped the anticipated parry, reTallyated with a fist to the attacker's forearm and a yank on the mask.

"Well, well, well," Dani said. "I always thought you were toxic and now, it's confirmed."

Lt. Sullivan Daguerre smiled grotesquely. "Once I throw you out of the airlock…" she shrugged. "No one will ever know."

Dani glanced in the direction of the airlock and then saw the communicator on the back of her left hand. Daguerre saw the same and, before Dani could activate it, the attacker slammed a foot into the ensign's hand.

Dani heard the crack as her bones broke and she cried out as the communicator dislodged and sailed across the room, hitting a table, bouncing onto a chair and then onto the deck.

Dani cradled her left hand to her chest. "Why are you doing this and why did you kidnap all of us that one night?"

"Because all of you had one thing in common. You were all Admiral's kids given plumb assignments fresh out of Starfleet academy while the rest of us had to work for it."

"So, you were jealous?"

Daguerre's face reddened. She kicked Dani's ribs. Dani heard a crack and every exhale was agony.

"Beating your ass was a lot easier than I thought," Daguerre said as she grabbed Dani by the short red hair again and pulled her toward the kitchen airlock.

She threw Dani to the ground and stabbed her knee in the ensign's back as she tried to open the inner airlock.

"How'd you create such an elaborate simulation that night you kidnapped me?"

"Simple. Excellent holo programming skills. Now shut up."

Just then someone appeared at the kitchen door. "Computer, lights on," Crewman Viroff ordered. She took one look at Lt. Daguerre and Dani. "I thought I'd left the airlock unsecured." She stared at Daguerre's hand trying to unlock it. "It appears I was incorrect."

"Dammit," Daguerre muttered and lunged at the Crewman.

Viroff touched her communicator. "Viroff to Security. Security Alert, Crew Lounge."

In place of replying to Security's questions, Viroff dodge rolled a punch.

Dani leaned back and closed her eyes; it was all she could do.

What felt like only a nanosecond later, Dani heard her name. "Ensign Janeway," Viroff said, kneeling beside her. "It is unwise to sleep with these injuries."

"But I'm tired," she replied lethargically.

"Open your eyes, Ensign Janeway!" Chief Medical Officer Varis Jaxa commanded as she and Captain Tallyesin Powers came to kneel beside her.

Dani opened her eyes and smiled at the Captain, but she grimaced after because the action hurt her face. Dr. Varis lifted her chin. "You have lost a tooth, which would explain the copious blood from your mouth." She moved Dani's chin side to side. "A black eye with multiple contusions and I'd venture to say a broken nose."

Dani closed her eyes again and felt Captain Powers pull away. "Report?" she heard the Captain bark.

Dani heard a security officer give her a brief but accurate account.

"Ensign Janeway," Dr. Varis said. "Open your eyes for a bit longer."

Her eyes were greeted with a concerned Captain Powers beside her again. She couldn't really speak so she focused on looking at Tally but winced when the doctor raised her right arm and wailed when the doctor examined her left hand.

"She has broken ribs on the right and broken hand bones on the left," Dr. Varis added, looking at the medical tricorder. "I think it's safe to stand her up now."

Captain Powers took Dani's right hand and elbow, pulling her to standing.

"Look at that blood on the deck," Dr. Varis said. She turned Dani around and examined her posterior with a tricorder. Captain Powers paled. "She has a knife wound on her left gluteus maximus. I'll seal it to prevent further blood loss."

Dr. Varis used a dermal regenerator to quickly seal it. "That will do for now."

Dani nearly swooned and Captain Powers braced against her. "Hello, Captain," she said woozily.

"Hello, Ensign," she replied soothingly. "I believe the Doctor is ready to transport you to sickbay. Shall we go for a lift?"

Dani looked into her mismatched eyes. "I'm all yours." And she meant it.

=/\=

Tom Paris placed Admiral Janeway's cup on her desk as he'd been alerted by security personnel that she was en route. She stopped at the door and looked at him and then at the still-steaming coffee.

"How do you always know when I arrive, Tom? And good morning."

"Good morning, Admiral," he said with a bit more syrup than usual.

She took a sip of coffee, holding the mug close to her heart and savoring the flavor with eyes closed. "Thank you for this," she said. "It's extra delicious."

"I thought you were going to need it today."

The admiral snapped her eyes open. "Why? What have you heard? Is it the Breen?"

"It actually is the Breen. They-"

"Wait! Let's go to Seven's office."

Being only a commodore, Seven's office was smaller and had no view of the Starfleet plaza. Seven was standing with her adjutant, a much shorter woman with curly blonde hair to her collar, a sharp little nose and questing brown eyes. Seven was looking over the bouquet of fruit that Janeway had ordered for her the previous night. Janeway could've sworn she'd seen a faint look of pleasure on Seven's face when she entered.

Seven's adjutant stiffened when she saw Admiral Janeway.

"As you were, commander," Janeway replied. She opened her mouth to talk about the Breen but the look on Seven's face made her stop. "Did you like my bouquet, Seven?"

Seven lifted a brow and glanced at Tom. "Did Commander Paris order it for you?"

Tom lifted his hands, showing Seven his palms. "I had nothing to do with that. In fact, I was ordered to leave it to the Admiral herself."

Seven studied the Admiral for a long moment. "It has my favorite fruit," she replied.

Janeway offered a rare toothy smile. "I know," she said. "I selected all the fruits personally but wanted to emphasize the pomegranates. And I included your old favorite, the strawberry."

"Thank you," Seven replied. "I will enjoy it."

"I'm glad," Kathryn replied.

Kathryn realized she still enjoyed gazing into Seven's eyes. Fortunately, Tom Paris interrupted the reverie with a throat-clearing. She gestured to Seven's office. "May we have a few moments of your time, Commodore?"

When Kathryn entered Seven's office, she was surprised at the decor and realized, to her chagrin, that she'd never seen it. Behind Seven's desk toward one end of the room was a large painting of a Borg cube looming over the Earth. Her desk was sparse with only a single padd to one corner and a blown glass globe with a strawberry suspended in the middle beside a portrait of Dani and Shannon sitting together in a field of yellow flowers.

Seven sat at her desk and gestured to the two chairs in front of it, which the other two took. "How may I help you?" she asked.

"Tom has news," she said, turning to him.

He leaned in closer and with a conspiratorially whispered: "The word in the ensuite is that the Breen Alliance is panicking over some Klingon technology."

Seven made a disgusted face. "Ensuite gossip is hardly suitable source material, Mr. Paris," she replied.

He sat back and shrugged. "My sources are impeccable," he replied.

"Who is this impeccable source?"

He opened his mouth and then closed it without saying a word. "Your Borg voodoo doesn't work on me anymore, Seven," he replied with a smirk. "I can resist your icy glare and derision in your voice."

"Borg voodoo?" she inquired.

"Yeah, you know the all-knowing, all-seeing Borg." His hands waved about his head as if he were following the contours of the tubules attached to the back of the Borg Queen's head.

She actually rolled her eyes and Tom nearly laughed. "As for my derision, I only give what is earned," she replied.

That is when Kathryn laughed out loud. "Hey, now," he said, looking at Admiral Janeway.

"Oh, you know Seven. She calls 'em like she sees 'em." The moment of levity was brief but for an instant, Kathryn thought she'd seen amusement on the woman's lips, albeit at Tom's expense. She could kiss him right now for this gift of a nanosecond.

"In any case, my source is never wrong."

Kathryn stood up, placing a hand on her hip and looking around in thought. "So, the Klingons have a new technology. What does it do?"

"My source didn't know."

"It appears, Commander Paris, that you have more work to do in the ensuite," Seven proclaimed.

"I'll find out," he said. "I always do." He turned to walk away but executed an about-face. Tom looked up, his expression curious. "Do you think we can outsmart Q's future?"

Janeway answered before he'd even finished his last word. "Yes," she replied emphatically. She nodded at Tom and Seven, but something in her wife's expression gave her pause. "Seven," she asked. "What is wrong."

She lifted a brow. "We are missing key data," she said.

"What?" Janeway and Paris asked together.

Seven stared at Janeway for a long moment, until she finally admitted. "I cannot recall the memories."

Janeway was so shaken by the revelation that she remained silent for a moment, so long that Tom cleared his throat and asked: "So what else can't you remember, Commodore?"

Seven's eyes looked up as if she were searching. "If I cannot remember events, how am I supposed to know?" she asked.

Janeway put a hand to her chin. "Is this why you forgot about strawberries and now like pomegranates?"

"Did I favor strawberries?" she asked, looking at the bouquet of fruit sitting on her desk.

Janeway nodded, before answering: "They were your favorite."

Seven crossed her arms and stood, turning her back to Kathryn and Tom and looking at the picture of the Borg cube with the earth in the background. When either of them tried to speak, Seven lifted a single finger, as if to stop them.

Seven turned, inhaling deeply. "Q called the Maathai incident a fixed point in time," Seven said. "I did not inquire then what that meant but-"

"It's unchangeable," Janeway said, her face a study in concentration.

"However, we managed to steer around the future he showed me for our younger subunit," Seven added.

Tom swiped the screen away and tipped his head at Seven. "What do you mean?"

Kathryn glanced down at the picture of her daughters, adjusting the angle of the picture to face both she and Seven. "Q showed Seven a future with Shannon in virtual breeding servitude to Tybelius Parmiller. They were living off of the grid in a remote and uncivilized quarter of Earth."

"Parmiller? That name sounds familiar," Tom said.

"Son of Trevers Parmiller and Rascilla Sebosi, both professors at Starfleet Academy."

"Oh, yeah. I remember them from a Klingon Embassy party. They were both insufferable snobs."

"During our reintegration into the Federation, we had a run-in with the Parmillers. Do you remember that, Seven?"

Seven tipped a head and Janeway noted the gap in Seven's usually eidetic memory. "Now Shannon is assigned to Utopia Planitia and has no contact with Tybelius Parmiller," Janeway said, more for Seven's benefit than Tom's.

"Are you sure?" Tom asked.

"Yes, Commander Paris," she said looking back at him. "I am confident that Seven and I succeeded in that matter."

"Ok, I believe you. I will start sending out feelers today on the Breen and the Nausicaans. Is there anything I can bring you?"

"Get me in every meeting you can with Layton," Janeway ordered. "I'll start working my end of it."

=/\=

Dani heard her name called and she opened her eyes. The glare of the biobed lights made her close them again. "Too bright," she muttered.

Dr. Varis ordered the computer to lower the lights by a third. "How is that?"

Dani opened them and squinted. "I have a headache," she replied.

"Of course. It is your concussion and unfortunately, we cannot repair it as easily as bone breaks, skin lacerations or contusions."

"I'm thirsty, too."

Dr. Varis offered her a cup of water she'd gotten from a replicator. Dani began to gulp the water. "I'll let you drink a little but not too much as you may…"

Dani threw up the little she'd ingested.

"You must sip, Ensign."

"Sorry," she croaked.

"It's all right," she soothed, offering her a cloth to wipe her chin and uniform. "Captain Powers, Commander T'hor, Lt. Naith and a security team would like to get your account of events from yesterday. I can certify that you are fit to answer questions when you hold down the water."

She retreated to the replicator and brought another cup, after recycling the first. Dani sipped slow and this time it stayed down. "Can I get an analgesic?"

A few moments later, Captain Powers and the rest of the investigators entered sickbay. Dani had propped herself up on the biobed and so she had a sumptuous view of the Captain walking toward her. She noticed with wry admiration that she concealed well that the Captain's left foot slightly turned in when she walked. She's mildly pigeon-toed, Dani thought. How adorable. She managed to hide the interest for fear it would be misinterpreted.

"Hello, Ensign Janeway," the Captain said, coming to stop at the right side of Dani's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I ran naked through a warp core breach," she said.

Though she didn't smile, Dani could see the Captain's eyes crinkle. "We wanted to ask you questions about the incident sooner rather than later, which is the reason for our visit."

"Why were you in the Crew Lounge after hours?" Commander T'hor asked, crossing his arms.

"That's where I bunk," she said.

"Don't you have quarters, Ensign?"

"Yes, but my roommate Ensign Atreya Shras and Lt. Sullivan Daguerre liked to party and have orgies there," she said, looking at the Captain as she answered. "I couldn't get any sleep."

"Why didn't you request a room reassignment?" Captain Powers asked.

Dani looked at Lt. Naith and then back at the Captain. "I did, but it was denied."

Lt. Naith's eyes widened slightly before she answered. "I deemed the request frivolous."

"So you slept in the Crew Lounge nightly or every other night?" T'hor asked.

"Nightly since the first week on the Maathai." Dani watched the Captain's expression carefully and was surprised to see relief.

"Do you have anyone who can corroborate that?" Naith asked.

"Crewman Viroff," she said.

Captain Powers nodded. "She said as much. So please tell me about the attack, if you can?"

Dani related the events as she remembered them. "Lt. Daguerre admitted to being the one behind the kidnapping and hazing of the crewmembers," Dani added. "But I'm guessing she is denying it now."

"She is denying it," the Captain replied. "However, you did quite well coaxing a confession from her before she deactivated your tricorder."

Dani nestled back into her pillow. "Good," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"I think we are done here. Lt. Naith, my ready room."

=/\=

That night Kathryn arrived late to an empty townhouse. She stepped in and unzipped her uniform tunic. "Computer, lights."

There was no sound nor any light under Seven's door. "Seven?" she called out. When she received no answer she sighed, walked to the kitchen and replicated herself a small bowl of Talerian lentil soup.

After she'd finished it and recycled the bowl, she heard the front door slide open. She pushed through the swing door to see Seven with her hair pinned on top of her head. There was a stray strand beside her right eye. She was wearing civilian clothes, a pale blue sweater over a pink blouse with dark pants that hugged her curves.

She felt blood rush to her face when Seven said her name while her eyes lingered on Seven's hips.

"Seven," she whispered, her eyes flicking up to regard the woman's face. "You went out?"

Seven arched a brow and removed the sweater, draping it over her arm. "Several staff members invited me to a birthday celebration at a nearby restaurant."

Kathryn felt a torrent of jealousy surface. But it was not useful so she suppressed it. "Did you have a good time?"

Seven looked up, pensive. "While I fostered goodwill by going, the investment of time was best utilized elsewhere."

Kathryn knew she couldn't hide the small curl at the corner of her lips. "Not enjoyable?" she asked. "For what it's worth, I missed you when I got home."

Seven stopped and looked at Kathryn. "Has not our relationship grown past these gestures?"

"Only if we allow it, Seven."

Kathryn felt the weight of Seven's gaze but she tried hard to keep the shields down. Then suddenly, Seven moved to the stairs. "In any event, I must regenerate."

"Good night, darling," Kathryn replied.

=/\=

The next morning, Seven of Nine was seated at the kitchen table, finishing what looked like a bagel and a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Seven," Kathryn replied, marching straight to the replicator to make her coffee. "I'm surprised to see you home. You usually beat me into work."

"You may engage the replicator as I have set it to make your coffee."

Kathryn's eyebrows lifted and she happily activated it, her coffee materialized quickly. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply over the cup. She sipped it and allowed the flavor and the energy to suffuse her before she turned around, her backside leaning against the counter.

"Thank you," she whispered, over the lip of the mug.

Seven stood up and walked to the replicator, placing her plate and cup inside of it, recycling the contents. Without turning, she said: "I have delayed my departure in order to synchronize our schedules."

Kathryn hid a small smile behind her coffee mug. "That's good thinking," she said.

She turned, offering Kathryn an indifferent expression. "It was for no other purpose than to unify our approach to the Breen question," Seven said.

"Of course," she replied. Kathryn wanted to jump up and click her heels, but she knew that would be a tad too much and potentially draw Seven's ire. Instead, she let hope fill her heart.

After they departed for their couple's therapy appointment, Seven became unusually quiet, Kathryn noted. Though there was nothing she could do about it and that frustrated her.

When they all assumed their usual stations in Troi's office, each of them on opposite couches while the counselor refereed center ring from a wing-back chair.

After Deanna opened the session enquiring what they'd learned, the grandfather clock began to tick and tock.

"I have a confession," Seven finally said.

Janeway stilled herself because the word confession seemed to carry plenty of undertones for infidelity. Could their marriage survive that? She wondered.

"Go on, Seven," Deanna said soothingly.

Seven locked her gaze on some point on the distant horizon in the window. "I cannot recall my wedding day or any day with Kathryn since until a few months ago."

"Oh darling," Janeway whispered. She wanted to jump off her couch and cradle Seven in her arms, but she knew that was not the right response right now. "I'm sorry you are still dealing with the fallout from the Borg Queen's nanoprobe living inside of you."

Seven finally looked at her. "I had not considered that possibility. I believed that our relationship was irreparable."

Janeway inhaled deeply, sensing that this was an important moment. She leaned forward, elbows on knees and looked at Seven. "Do you remember when we first severed you from the Borg Cube?"

Seven tipped her head, finally saying no.

"Let me tell you about it," Janeway said. "Because I remember. I asked you what your favorite color was. At first, you were angry and deflected the question as irrelevant. Perhaps you didn't know yourself. But later as your human systems were regenerating you told me your favorite color was red."

"Red," Seven whispered.

Janeway softened her expression. She wanted to place her lips against Seven's and whisper "yes, darling." She sat back and draped an arm along the back of the couch and crossed a leg. "Perhaps we just need more time, Seven."

Seven returned to look at the horizon, the rising sun shortening the shadows. "Perhaps," she conceded.

The trickle of hope had now become a roaring river and refreshed Kathryn's very soul. She believed she could see the beacon leading them out of this miasma. "Deana," she said, changing gears. "At our first meeting, you asked us what was the moment we fell in love. I would like to share my story."

=/\=

Captain Janeway was dreaming of another place, certainly not the Eesh'tob Ship in the Mencari fleet. She had always believed she would get the crew back to the Alpha Quadrant and here she was sitting on a ship other than Voyager and she knew she was dying. Thoughts nagged at her like regretting not seeing where a relationship with Seven of Nine could have led them both.

This pain was greater than the black eye that was swollen shut, the broken arm that throbbed at her side and the puncture wound at her neck.

"If only…" she said or thought she did. But she shook it off. This wasn't the end, she told herself. It can't be.

What seemed like only seconds from that thought, she heard human voices around her. She opened her eyes to see a compression-rifle wielding ex-Borg standing over her looking sexy as hell with a bandana covering her lovely face.

She felt Seven slide to her knees to assess her condition. She wanted to open her eyes but the fatigue was enormous. It wasn't until she heard the second voice more clearly that she tried harder but failed.

"Is she...?" The girl shuddered.

"She lives," Seven said, tugging down her bandana. The girl did the same, all the while staring uncomfortably at the entry.

Seven removed several hyposprays from the backpack. After the third injection hiss, Captain Janeway felt the meds working. "My Seven," she murmured. She jerked her head to one side, reaching with a hand to her neck. A grunt spilled from split lips.

Janeway blinked frantically, panicked at the fuzzy world before her. Slowly, she focused on the beautiful face before her. "Seven." Her voice was hoarse, as if she'd been yelling orders for a thousand years. She cupped the woman's cheek, running a thumb over her lips. "My valiant knight."

She knew Seven would kiss her and she wanted that more than anything in the world. First one union of lips and then another and twice more. Janeway made a conscious effort to reciprocate because this was her lifeline. Seven was life.

Janeway closed her eyes again, but her face was filled with adoration when she said, "Knew you'd come for me."

=/\=

When she finished her story, Janeway was sitting on the same couch about an arm's length from Seven. "That memory of you coming to save me is something I cherish," she said. "I have always been overly independent as a Starfleet officer. I tried to save my father and my fiance. I tried to save the Ocampa and my ship paid for that dearly. But when I needed someone the most, Seven... You. Saved. Me."

She smiled and sat back. "I knew I'd fallen in love then."

Seven blinked and looked away. That certainly wasn't the reaction Kathryn was going for and it dulled the joy a bit. But for the first time in years, Janeway understood Seven. She put a warm hand on Seven's. "You'll remember again, darling. I know it."

And so their days were filled with Janeway retelling important or humorous memories while Seven listened and they both worked on Operation: Integration committee tasks.

=/\=

Admiral Janeway wasn't a big fan of meetings, probably because now the rank she held in Starfleet was that of a glorified meeting planner. But today she was pleased to be in the inaugural meeting of Starfleet Operation: Integration. Seven of Nine was seated beside her, listening intently as Admiral Layton discussed the project's main purpose.

He gestured to a three-dimensional image at the center of the meeting table. Twelve pairs of eyes watched as he manipulated the image, showing a generic crewman using eye movements and hand gestures by his own ear to pilot a starship.

"Bio-integrated hardware makes this possible," Layton said "Ship response time should be accelerated astronomically. Given the high-speed brain interface, problems would be sensed and intuitively fixed even before the crewman was fully aware," he said.

"We could free ourselves of the mundane aspects of ship management in favor of expanding our own exploration and discovery efforts."

"Who will be the test ship?" Seven asked, cutting the enthusiasm in half like a Borg cube looming over sector zero-zero-one.

"We've narrowed it down to one ship."

Neither Kathryn nor Seven were surprised to see a miniature projection of the U.S.S. Maathai.

"The Maathai is a perfect candidate. It's a scientific vessel, with a captain who was a former science officer. Captain Powers has an excellent track record in supporting Starfleet goals and…" Layton paused and looked between Kathryn and Seven of Nine. "We have narrowed the first test case down to one candidate." He gestured at his console and a three-dimensional image of Ensign Eridani Janeway displayed.

Everyone looked at Admiral Janeway and Seven of Nine. Janeway knew the image was coming but Q's looming timeline seemed more like an old train rail than the fluid and ethereal events that the future was supposed to be, that Starfleet professors said it was.

She leaned back, a finger following the contour of her coffee cup handle. "An ensign would seem less suitable for such a sensitive assignment," Janeway said carefully.

Layton did not hide his surprise. "I, for one, thought the entire reason you insisted on being on this committee was to ensure that Dani was the test subject," he said.

There was a ripple of murmurs in the committee. The admiral looked around and noted the people supporting that idea. She shook her head slightly. "I am here to ensure that the project is successful with the best candidate." She infused every word with her persuasive authority. "As we all are, Admiral," she added.

Admiral Layton touched the console. The projection of Dani's image changed to show a human brain, with a small apparatus blinking for emphasis inside of it. "Having Borg heritage, Dani Janeway would present the optimal test case with the least investment of nanotechnology."

"But could it be replicated fleet-wide?" Seven asked sensibly. Janeway winked at her brilliant question, which brought the faintest touch of a smile to her lips.

"Our primary focus is whether a starship can be functionally operational at near nanosecond speeds rather than the several long minutes it now takes. We are under enormous pressure due to the Breen incursions. Their technology of absorbing ship energy thereby rendering our ships inert, and open to complete destruction in a matter of nanoseconds is our primary concern. If we can get this to work and integrate the Klingon technology to counter the Breen's then we would have a huge advantage should the Breen and their Nausicaan allies begin any aggressions."

In the end, the committee voted to move forward with the Maathai and Ensign Janeway.

Later, sitting together in Janeway's empty office after Starfleet Headquarters had cleared out after hours, Seven watched Janeway make another cup of coffee.

"It seems everything we have done has not stopped this timeline," Seven pointed out.

Janeway took a sip of coffee at the replicator and then turned around sharply. "We aren't giving up," she stated matter of factly.

Seven lifted her brows. "You do not surrender easily," she stated.

En route to her desk, Janeway diverted on a straight path to Seven's chair. She stopped, set her mug on the desk, and lifted Seven's chin to her. "Success is only a matter of time," she whispered. Then she kissed the plump lips and to her surprise, they kissed back.

=/\=

A month later, Ensign Dani Janeway was summoned to the Captain's ready room. She stepped in, smiling and then sobered when she saw Lt. Naith and Commander T'hor there also. Captain Powers was seated in a chair by the bay windows and she rose to greet her.

"Ensign Janeway," she said. The others came to stand beside her.

Dani looked at the Captain and then the others, each in turn. "Am I in trouble?" she finally asked.

Captain Powers laughed and shook her head. Her ice blonde locks were now long enough to make flowing waves, but still, she kept its length to her collar. "No, the contrary is, in fact, true."

"Oh?"

The Captain reached for a small box on the table and opened it. "You have shown exemplary and outstanding service to this ship and, during the investigation, to all of Starfleet, it is my great honor to grant you a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein." She showed Dani the hollow pip that she'd earned to join the solid one she wore at her collar as an ensign.

"May I?" The captain asked, gesturing to the new pip.

"Thank you, Captain," she said, leaning to the left.

Captain Power's slender fingers were warm against her neck as she applied the new insignia.

Powers smiled and Dani could see the one canine tooth that refused to stand in the line with the rest. "Congratulations, Lieutenant Janeway," she said, shaking Dani's hand.

"Thank you, Captain," she replied.

"We were just about to have some tea, would you care to join us, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, I would love a cup," she said.

"Actually, Captain, I have to see to some reports," Commander T'hor said. He turned to Lt. Janeway. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. We look forward to more success. Have a good day."

Before he was even a few steps away, Lt. Naith cleared her throat. "Yes, Janeway, I will be expecting more from you now," she replied. "I too must decline the tea. Thank you, Captain."

When they had both left, Captain Powers gestured to a couple of comfortable chairs by a window. "It's just the two of us then," she replied, walking to the replicator.

"Like the good old days," Dani said.

"Would you care for Belongo Tea of Picadilly?"

"Please," Dani said, finding a chair that allowed her a breathtaking view of the stars.

She accepted the cup with a quiet thank you, sipping it. "Just how I like it," she replied, watching the Captain set the teacup down and take a chair beside Dani.

"I remember," she replied quietly.

Before Dani could respond to the intimacy in her voice, it changed to one of command and just like that Dani felt bereft of her friendship.

"Did you expect this promotion, Lieutenant?"

"Well, considering I'd beaten Naith at a round of velocity a few days ago, no. In fact, just the other day Shannon was giving me grief for still being an ensign so this promotion was timely indeed, Captain."

"How is your sister?"

"She seems to really like her assignment at Utopia Planitia, though I suspect it is less about the location and more about the fact she can see her boyfriend on earth."

"She has a beau then?"

"Yes, JT Johnson. He's a medical doctor whom we met while at the academy. Evidently, AJ knows his father, Mark Johnson."

"How are your parents?"

"Fine, I guess. They are working on some big project together and so I'm not hearing from them much."

Captain Powers nodded and took a sip of tea. "So how are you doing?" the Captain asked. The soft timbre in her voice made Dani tingle.

She was going to make a joke, but something in the Captain's eyes made her abort that mission. She looked down at her teacup for a minute. She looked up. "The nightmares are gone," she whispered. "It's nice to sleep in a bed again. And my new roommate is a lot more considerate."

"I'm glad," Powers replied. She leaned forward to pour another cup and stopped mid pour. "To be honest, when I was getting multiple reports about raucous behavior in Deck H Section Gamma crew quarters, I was beginning to wonder about your…" The Captain looked up and then back at Dani again. "Your priorities."

"My priority is to be the best lieutenant a captain ever had." She nodded at Tally's raised brows. "Besides, I'm saving myself for someone special." To that she lifted her teacup and saluted the Captain before taking a sip. "To that, my aching back and Crewman Viroff can testify."

There was a silence that blossomed between them. Dani did not feel a need to fill that space with frivolities. Besides, she was not uncomfortable with the quiet. And neither was Tallysien as she did not speak for a long while.

Finally, the Captain stood, retrieving her own cup and asking for Dani's. Dani was hit with a pang of profound sadness that the all-too-brief tea session was already at an end. The Captain studied her and tipped her head to one side. "We can have more tea another day," she replied softly.

At the replicator recycling the cups and saucers, the Captain half turned. "Would you care to join me for fencing practice later?"

"Fencing as in…"

The Captain turned around, a look of mischief on her face. "En guard, sabres, parries and that sort of thing."

"I'd love to," Dani said, standing to see the Captain eye-to-eye. "It sounds like fun except I'd have a huge learning curve."

"I'll teach you then," the Captain said. "But it will require daily workouts and I will be most demanding."

"I look forward to it, Captain."

=/\=

Admiral Janeway was sipping her cup of coffee, amusement crinkling her eyes as Seven sat across from her in the kitchen of their San Francisco townhome.

"And then you said in your Borg-like way…." Janeway stiffens her back and assumes a deadpan face. "'Interspecies copulation is against regulation without prior authorization."

Janeway started laughing so hard, she had to drop her head and let out a round of guffaws. "And I said, 'Well, I didn't let my Irish setter hump my leg and I'm not about to let a lizard do it either.'" She tried to take another sip of coffee but ended up setting it on the table for another round of laughs.

"Oh, come on, Seven," she finally said, trying her hardest to sober. "You know that's comedy gold."

Seven lifted a brow. "I can see the humor," she replied. "Thank you for sharing one of our lighter moments."

Janeway smiled crookedly and touched Seven's hand. "Oh, darling, we have had more than our fair share of light moments and I will share them all if that will help."

Seven looked away, pensive, and then back. "I believe it is helping."

"Is it?" Kathryn was suddenly serious. "Can you recall any of this?"

Seven looked away for a moment and then back. She firmed her lips. "I believe I know enough that you took liberty with the timeline of this particular story for humorous effect."

Kathryn sat back and smiled. "That's a start," she said. "A fine start."

=/\=

Months later, they were nearing an important committee meeting when they would decide the formal date for the test project to commence. Admiral Janeway and Commodore Seven of Nine had prepared for this moment, identifying alternative test subjects, ships and timelines. There was nothing more to do for the meeting and so Janeway invited Seven to dinner.

The Prancing Pleides was a small restaurant off the bay and Janeway had secured a table on the wharf. The surf was crashing below on the wooden pylons under a full moon. Seven had ordered chicken tetra-trillium smothered in mushroom sauce, with carbonated water while Kathryn had ordered a rare steak, with an Arcanis lager.

"How is your chicken?" Kathryn asked.

"It is adequate," she said. "I do however wish that I had acquired a taste for alcoholic beverages-"

"Waiter," Kathryn called, ordering an Altairian merlot for Seven.

"Is now the proper time to-?"

Kathryn thanked the waiter with a wink. "Yes," she said, gesturing to it. "Never put off tomorrow what you can do today." Kathryn watched Seven expectantly. "Go on, darling."

Seven took the glass from its stem and brought it tentatively to her lips. "If I am not careful, I will induce a headache," she stated, pulling the glass away.

Janeway's lips tugged into a crooked smile. "The solution to an alcohol headache is…" She made a playful expression.

Seven frowned. "Surely not more alcohol-?"

"Bingo! Now try it."

Seven looked at the pink liquid. "Very well." She closed her eyes and let the smallest touch of it hit her lips before she removed the glass.

Her expression was surprised. "It is not unpleasant," she said with a tip of her head.

Janeway sat back, gratified. "It gets better," she said, enunciating every word. "Keep going."

This time, Seven tipped her head and finished the Merlot in the second go.

Janeway called the waiter over. "Bring the bottle, young man," she said with a wink. "And top me off."

Seven hiccupped and laughed. "Kathryn, I do believe I am inebriated,"

Janeway closed an eye and studied her with the one. "No, not yet, I don't think. But maybe we should slow down. And have a little dessert. Waiter."

They had moved to sit side by side, both digging into the same molten chocolate cake. Janeway pointed at the large portion. "This is therapeutic," she stated.

"How so?"

"The extra calories will reduce the alcohol in our system so we can walk home," she said with a giggle.

Seven squinted her eyes. "I am not certain that it works in that way."

Janeway laughed quietly. "But it's good though."

Seven tipped her head to one side and looked at Kathryn. "I am sensing this as familiar," she replied.

Janeway's face lit up. "Our time on that planet, when we first…" Janeway's face shifted to sultry with lidded eyes.

Seven was about to take another bite but stopped her spoon mid-air. "When we first…." she prompted.

"It's a sexy story," Janeway slurred. She looked around conspiratorially "Let's get a little clear-headed and head to the wharf where we can talk."

They meandered through the wharf, arm in arm, the breeze making them snuggle closer than they otherwise would have. The salt air, the seagulls were around them and the setting sun to the right as they headed away from The Presidio, the site of Starfleet Headquarters.

They stopped at a park with benches that overlooked the Golden Gate bridge. Kathryn looked at Seven, taking a finger to gently caress a stray blonde strand from her cheek. "You started courting me as soon as we reached the planet of Gweelee after the Mencari ship was hijacked."

"These words sound….familiar."

Kathryn smiled. "Good," she whispered. "Because I'm going to regale you with all the sweet words you spoke to me, starting with that time you called me an ocean."

Seven frowned. "That does not sound flattering."

=/\=

"My intention was honorable," Seven said, concentrating on infusing her words with affection. When Kathryn had relaxed again in the embrace, she pulled back to look into her eyes as she ran the backs of her fingers along the fine cheekbones. "Seduction is but one drop of water. What I desire—what I require—is the boundless and complex ocean of you."

Kathryn's face softened, her eyes jumping between Seven's. The vulnerability and brokenness she saw there wounded Seven's heart.

"I'm not sure that I could give you anything, Seven."

"You indicated such on the ship."

Kathryn was perplexed by such an indifferent response, though it was typical. "Will you believe me at last then?"

Seven looked down at her own arms that disappeared around Kathryn's waist. Then she considered the feel of the woman's breast on hers and her thighs rubbing Kathryn's. "Belief is irrelevant," she said. "I will not abandon you, Kathryn. Not to your fears of intimacy or your misplaced loyalties to a militaristic organization forty thousand lights years away. Nor to your own flawed theories about what you presume about yourself."

When Kathryn tried to interrupt, Seven leaned in, softly kissing the worrisome lips to silence. "Now that we are clear, let us begin with a simple exercise," she said, raising her eyebrows and a palm holding two white tablets.

To Janeway's curious expression, Seven continued. "Allow me to care for you. Yield to me—"

=/\=

"I said this?" Seven asked for clarification. "I asked to care for you?"

"Yes," she said, leaning into Seven. "You loved me and our child. You worked every day to supply us with what we need. In fact, I think you rather enjoyed working as a bouncer at a brothel to-"

"A brothel?"

"It's what you could find in order to feed the three of us."

Seven stared for a long moment into Kathryn's eyes. "Eridani was 7 years old."

Janeway smiled, caressing her cheek. "That's right."

"And you were ill."

"For a bit until you helped me-"

"The doctor performed in vitro fertilization with my stem cell that he converted to sperm and-"

"That's how we have our Shannon."

Seven's eyes widened and her lips parted. "I asked to love you." Her eyes seemed to gloss over slightly and Kathryn's heart tightened.

"Seven, are you all right?"

Seven blinked for a moment, her blue eyes staring into space.

Kathryn took Seven's right hand, feeling its warmth and lamenting the absence of their wedding ring there. When she didn't respond, Kathryn pressed closer to her mate. "Seven, darling?"

She took Seven's right hand and placed a finger along her wrist pulse. It was rapid but the beat was strong. She lowered Seven's chin to her and whispered her name. "Seven, can you please respond?"

Seven began to blink again and, as she looked down, Kathryn could see unspent tears in her eyes.

"Seven," she whispered.

"Kathryn," Seven finally replied. "I remember. My memories were secured behind some firewall and the stories you shared...they worked to weaken the wall." Seven blinked. Tears began to flow down. "I remember it all and most importantly I remember that I love you."

Janeway caressed her cheek, wiping the trail of tears with a thumb. "And I love you, my darling Seven."

She leaned in, feeling Seven doing the same. Their lips touched in a soft affirmation of love rekindled. "I remember our first lovemaking," Seven whispered along the column of Kathryn's throat between kisses.

Kathryn leaned to the side to give Seven space to caress her.

Abruptly Seven stopped and looked around at the scattering of people in the park. "I want to make love."

Kathryn looked around, a little embarrassed by the startled looks from passerby's. "Right now?"

Seven tugged Kathryn to her feet. "Yes, as soon as possible."

"What about our promise to refrain from intimacy we made with Deanna?"

Seven pondered it for a nanosecond. "It was an artifice to entice us with forbidden fruit."

Janeway gave her a crooked smile. "Did it work?"

"After a fashion. My memories evidently required Merlot, abstinence and story retelling to reactivate."

Janeway considered their options, her expression serious as if she were on the bridge again. "All right, let's find a cab. Hurry."

=/\=

At the front door, Janeway tried to key in their password, but Seven nuzzling the back of her hairline sent a myriad of electrical impulses racing through her body that she could hardly control it. So she entered the password incorrectly three times, which kicked on additional security.

"Dammit," she hissed.

The house's computer was activated. "To enter you must press your eye to the optical reader for a retinal scan," it said.

Seven pulled back from Kathryn's neck but just as Kathryn positioned her eye for the scan, the Borg slipped a hand on a breast tip, rubbing in small circles. Kathryn slammed her eyes shut and moaned. The electrical storm transformed into a conflagration of such intensity that Kathryn could barely think.

"Seven," she panted in protest, even as the computer announced an error in the scan

"Your...enticements are difficult to resist, Kathryn," she said. "Especially given that we have not made love in more than 757 standard days."

Kathryn lamented the retreat of the delicious hand from her breast but it was necessary if they were to get into the house.

"Too long," she said, placing her eyes close to the reader again. "I promise that will never happen again."

The door lock clicked and they rushed in, barely managing to shut the door before clothes began to fall to the floor on their path to the master bedroom.

In the bedroom, Seven whirled Kathryn around and captured her, circling her smaller form in her arms. Seven tipped her head, parted lips descending on Kathryn's, who moaned at the first touch. Seven's hands rubbed her back and when they inched lower, Kathryn broke their kiss.

"The bed," she ordered, gesturing for Seven to lie down. "Now."

Seven locked sultry eyes on Kathryn, as she slowly put one knee on the bed, making the bed creak, and then the other. Seven reached up; her hands a hot weight on Kathryn's shoulders. Slowly she trailed them down on each of her arms, lightly touching until she reached Kathryn's hands, taking them in her own and raising them to kiss the knuckles, all the while maintaining vise-like eye contact.

"Join me," Seven whispered.

Kathryn's expression softened and she leaned into the lips and kissed them. She freed her hands and nudged Seven back while cupping the back of her head toward the pillow. "I intend to," she replied. "Many times."

Seven inhaled deeply as she adjusted herself on the bed. Kathryn fell into her open arms, their lips joining and their legs intertwining. Seven arched her back when Kathryn's palm found a pink peak and rubbed it.

"You like this?" Kathryn asked with a crooked smile. She always felt so powerful when she could render Seven nearly incoherent.

Seven's eyes were slammed shut and her head tipped back. She opened her mouth to speak once but only moaned. When Kathryn took the tip in her mouth and swirled her tongue over it, Seven cried out.

"I… I am… I am liquifying," she said.

Kathryn blew on the wet tip. "That sounds promising," she whispered. "But I'll need to see for myself."

A hand caressed down the length of Seven's lithe body, from ribs to thigh. When Kathryn reached the blonde curls, she lightly glided her palm over it. Seven responded by thrusting her hips up, but Kathryn moved her hand away. Then Seven spread her legs and was rewarded with the return of the hand. But still, Kathryn only teased lightly.

"Oh Seven," Kathryn whispered as she kissed her way up to Seven's mouth. "You're so beautiful and I have missed you. I want this moment to last forever."

Seven opened her eyes to see Kathryn's staring back at her, each breathing the exhalations of the other. "I have felt a black hole in my very core and it was only you…." Seven whispered as she kissed Kathryn's lips to punctuate the rest.. "Only you could fill it."

Kathryn's expression softened. "I love you, Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct to unimatrix zero."

"I need you to fill me, Kathryn." She opened her legs, touching Kathryn's arm and urging her lower.

Kathryn's open mouth descended on Seven's, even as the palm of her hand brushed the center of Seven's seeping core. "Here?" Kathryn asked with a chuckle, knowing full well the need because it mirrored her own.

"Yes and at this time index," she replied.

Kathryn watched a writhing Seven as she slipped a finger in. Seven's mouth dropped open and her eyes rolled up under lids. Kathryn nuzzled Seven's throat up to her ear, where she whispered: "You like this?"

"I love this," she whispered, throwing her arms around the other woman, pulling her closer.

Feeling Seven's ample breasts grinding under her made Kathryn moan. She adjusted herself over one of Seven's thighs, rubbing herself against it, even as she slipped a second finger inside of her.

"Oh Seven, you feel so good." Her kisses trailed a path back to a breast, her tongue swirling the tip in perfect sync with the fingers between Seven's legs. Kathryn was rubbing herself occasionally against Seven's thigh.

She added a thumb to the ministrations between Seven's legs, lightly pressing into the swollen hill she found there. Seven cried out in affirmation. "Right there?" Kathryn asked mischievously.

"It requires your attention," Seven noted.

Kathryn rubbed her thumb there, making Seven writhe in pleasure. But just as Seven was about to crescendo, Kathryn withdrew and Seven whimpered.

"Oh, my love," Kathryn whispered before her mouth devoured Seven's.

She was still teasing Seven with delicious thrusts and rubs when she felt Seven's hand searching her own middle. She rose up to give Seven access and was rewarded with finger rubbing her own engorged sex. Her middle was aching to be filled and when Seven obliged, Kathryn rose to her knees and threw her head back. But she was careful to continue to fill Seven, but the need to reach a climax rose exponentially.

She remained on her knees, spreading them to give access while her fingers remained inside of Seven's moist center. When her thumb began to rub Seven again, she was rewarded with the same action on her own need.

"Oh, darling," she cried out. "I'm…."

Their syncopated breaths kept time with the ebb and flow of their crescendo. When they had reached the end of the ride, Kathryn collapsed next to her out-of-breath wife.

She kissed the landscape of Seven's skin closest to her lips, but kept her fingers inside of her, feeling the stray contractions intermittently.

"You were magnificent," Kathryn whispered. She was rewarded with an arm squeeze around her.

After a few moments of lying together, Seven adjusted herself to face her and reluctantly, Kathryn's hand withdrew and she shifted to her side, facing the woman. Seven reached down and covered them in a sheet, all the while giving Kathryn a faint smile.

"I do not wish to leave this bed for the duration of the weekend," Seven whispered, punctuating each phrase with a kiss.

"Oh, I think I can support that plan."

Seven's eyes crinkled and her lips displayed the smallest curl while a hand reached up and brushed Kathryn's hair from an ear that she promptly cupped. Kathryn got the feeling Seven was going to say something and so she waited, nudging a leg between Seven's and resting a hand on her hips.

Seven kissed her lightly. She recognized it was not the kiss of passion but of affection and she closed her eyes to receive many of them.

"Thank you," Seven finally said, causing Kathryn to open her eyes. "For retelling your memories to me. They were a gift."

Kathryn allowed a lazy hand to caress Seven from her hips upward until she reached Seven's cheek. "Don't you see, darling, that I would have had nothing to give you without the first moments you gifted me."