Don't own them, just enjoying playing with them. Projecting a bit here.

Seven stood at her console in Cargo Bay Two and attempted to focus on her calculations. In the Holodeck yet another party was taking place. The Captain had again made attendance mandatory for the Senior Staff. Seven had objected that it was an inefficient use of her time and that such parties were irrelevant but the Captain had just rolled her eyes and ordered her to be knew she should be there by now but she was putting it off as long as possible, hoping a ship wide emergency or Engineering failure would save her but she knew it was unlikely.

Seven wished she had been able to reveal to the Captain the real reason behind her reluctance to attend these events but the nature of the problem made it difficult to discuss. To put it simply Seven was scared. The thought of walking into a room full of people terrified her. She stood out, people would stare at her. Her enhanced hearing allowed her to know what most of the crew thought about her.

As ever Seven knew that the icy Borg mantle she surrounded herself with would afford some protection against the fear. It kept others at bay, kept them from realising how she felt. She was ashamed to be fearful of the crew, the rest of her Collective. It was not rational but having spent eighteen years as just another Drone, she hated to be the focus of attention.

Work situations were not as bad. Astrometrics was a safe place for her, very few ever entered her domain and she was confident of her abilities. Again with work on the Bridge or Senior Staff Meetings, the knowledge that she was performing her assigned tasks allowed her to get through it. The time spent in Engineering would be similar if not for one thing, Lieutenant Torres.

Seven did not want to be isolated from everyone else. She wanted to be able to get close to someone, anyone. One person in particular drew her to them. When she had first felt this preference she had been surprised but with further analysis the honesty of her interactions at all times had always been pleasing to her. How though was she ever to get close to Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres when she could not even manage it with members of the crew who were openly friendly. Their conflicts in Engineering were legendary but Seven did nothing to prevent them. It got her the Lieutenant's attention if nothing else.

The time had come for Seven to attend the party, any longer and the Captain would start to question her absence. She shut down her console and made her way to the Holodeck, trying to project a confidence she didn't feel. Seven paused for breath just before she entered the room, stepping forward to activate the doors she was greeted by an assault of voices from within. Spotting the Captain talking to the Doctor at one side of the room Seven walked over to them, looking as ever arrogant, proud and almost annoyed. Drawn into their conversation Seven tried to keep her back to the crowd but she could pick out one voice amongst the rest and turned slightly to see the object of her desires chatting happily with Ensigns Kim and Paris. She wished she had the confidence to join them, to infiltrate herself into their group and join in the light conversation but she didn't know how and doubted she would be welcome even if she tried. Realising she had not been paying attention to the Captain she turned back into the relative safety of their discussion, her internal chronometer counting down the minutes until she could escape back to the Cargo Bay.

Seven promised herself that one day she would find a way to conquer her fears and breakdown the barriers she had erected for herself. She would find a way to let someone get close to her, into her heart. She could only hope that when that time came it would be the person she truely wanted it to be. The person she would always call in her heart B'Elanna.