Disclaimer: You saw it on Star Trek? Then I don't own it! Simple enough? Femslash content (I like that word) so if you don't like that please don't waste your time with this story. Disclaimer, done.
Code: T/7.
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: M/R
Feedback: Click review, e-mail me, however you'd like to do it, but let me know what you thought!
Dark Dawn
Chapter 5
"My competency as a mother!"
"B'Elanna, I know that this is hard on you. Believe me, I don't want to test you anymore than you want to be tested," Janeway said, trying to calm B'Elanna down. The members of the senior staff had gathered in the conference room, with Janeway sitting at the head of the table. It had the air of a courtroom. B'Elanna glared at Tom as she took her seat.
"Captain, is a formal hearing truly necessary?" B'Elanna was a little surprised to hear Seven come to her defense, but glad nonetheless.
"I'm afraid so. The rules are quite clear. Now, onto business." With those words, the hearing began in earnest. Tuvok took the part as the prosecutor, while B'Elanna chose to defend herself. Twenty minutes into the hearing proved what a mistake that was.
"Is it true that the defendant tampered with your program for the sole purpose of forcing you to resequence her unborn child's DNA? To remove her Klingon heritage?"
"Well, yes, but..." And that was only the beginning. Everything that B'Elanna had ever done wrong was brought up, dirty laundry aired for the entire senior staff to judge her with.
"She made frequent trips into the holodeck with the safeties off and ran dangerous programs with the intent to hurt herself..."
"Has she not expressed disapproval of all things Klingon?"
"Yes."
"And is it not possible that she might harm her daughter, only because she appears Klingon?"
"This is absurd..."
"Please describe Lt. Torres' reaction to discovering that Annibel would have the Klingon attribute of forehead ridges..." And on it went. The trial had to be halted in the middle when B'Elanna requested counsel, realizing that she could not defend herself properly against the accusations being brought up against her. She was approached with offers from Harry, Neelix and Seven to be her attorney when the group broke up. She spent the remainder of the recess making a difficult decision.
She accepted Seven's offer.
Seven defended her with more skill and logic than B'Elanna herself could manage and by the end of the hearing, B'Elanna had resumed hope, even if she did feel that she didn't have a friend left on Voyager.
"We'll adjourn for now, so that I can review the information I have been presented with today. We shall reconvene tomorrow at 08:00 hours, at which time I shall announce my decision.
Everyone stood and allowed the captain to leave before milling about. Several of the officers looked at B'Elanna as if they wanted to apologize, but no one did. Instead, they hurried out the doors, leaving B'Elanna alone with Tom and Seven.
"Leave me the hell alone, Tom." B'Elanna growled. Tom nodded and left. B'Elanna buried her face in her hands and the day finally overwhelmed her. Her whole body was racked with silent sobs. Arms wrapped around her and she felt Seven's face press against hers. "What if I lose?"
"Then we will appeal."
"What's the point? I'll always have the same judge; no new evidence can be brought up. My past will ruin my future."
"That is not yet decided." B'Elanna leaned into Seven, relishing the contact for a minute, then remembered that they weren't lovers anymore. She sat up straight, pulling out of Seven's embrace. Seven stood up and walked a circle around B'Elanna to face her. "You should eat dinner." B'Elanna met her eyes briefly, then looked away.
"I'm not hungry."
"Then perhaps you should sleep."
"I can't go back to my quarters without Annibel there."
"I am certain that Neelix is taking good care of her."
"So am I. I just can't... It's too quiet... Dammit." B'Elanna wiped away the tears that had snuck up on her. Seven held out one hand.
"Come with me." B'Elanna looked up at her, wondering if she was just trying to torment her.
"Where?"
"Comply." Seven continued to offer her hand. B'Elanna took it and allowed herself to be led.
B'Elanna wasn't sure how they had ended up like this, but she wasn't really complaining. Seven had taken her to the Mess Hall and forced her to eat, then brought her back to Seven's quarters. Looking into those bright blue eyes, it had been as if the rejection had never happened.
They made love.
She returned to reality to find herself in Seven's arms and just lay, feeling her hearts pound slowly, calming down and listening to Seven's breath, the beating of her heart. Within minutes, sleep washed over her, enveloping her in warm contentment.
B'Elanna woke up and rolled over to find Seven sitting on the edge of the bed. She started to smile until she noticed that Seven looked pensive.
"Seven? Are you okay?" Seven looked at her and B'Elanna was overcome by a feeling of dread.
"I... do not know."
"What is it?"
"I do not know how to answer you."
"Tell me what's on your mind."
"This was a mistake." B'Elanna felt something inside her go cold. "We should not have... I did not want to hurt you." B'Elanna sat up and started getting dressed. She tried to ignore the fact that Seven was watching her. "I was... you were just so beautiful and I didn't want you to hurt anymore. I fear that I may have done more harm—"
"Fuck you, Seven. Just... fuck you." B'Elanna stormed out of the bedroom, stumbling for the door, blinded by unshed tears and vaguely disoriented.
"B'Elanna, please. Do not be angry!" Seven tried to hold her back and B'Elanna shoved her away.
"Don't ever touch me again. I love you, Seven. I can't handle—" her voice broke and she ran out of the ex-drone's quarters as fast as she could. She ran so fast that she tripped and fell over her own feet. She picked herself back up and began running again, trying to outrace her mind, her breaking heart.
She managed to make it into the turbolift before she broke down completely.
"Upon review of all the evidence, I have no choice but to grant full custody of Annibel Paris to her father, Thomas Eugene Paris. I'm sorry, B'Elanna." B'Elanna didn't hear her words of apology. She was in a haze. She didn't wait for anybody to say anything else to her; she just left. She walked to her quarters, ignoring everyone's calls for her to return.
Nothing registered as she walked back to her quarters, not really thinking, just breathing. It seemed suddenly very difficult to just breathe. Everything was gone. She set the lock on her doors and walked into her bedroom, where she looked at Annibel's bed. She scanned the room, suddenly in a panic, her eyes finally landing on the bat'leth hung on the wall.
She stood and walked to it, losing touch with reality as every step drew her closer. She stood in front of it and contemplated the design, the curve and before she knew it, it was in her hand and she hefted it. Time seemed to skip and she was in her bed, lying down. She looked at the bat'leth and there was blood on it. She tried to remember where the blood had come from, but she couldn't. She looked down and saw a darkness pooling, but nothing hurt.
"B'Ella?" B'Elanna looked around for the voice, recognizing it as Seven's.
"You hurt me." B'Elanna told the voice, but no sound came out of her mouth. She was suddenly paralyzed and an intense pain gripped her abdomen.
"She's coming around..."
"B'Elanna?" B'Elanna opened her eyes to find herself in Sickbay. "B'Ella, are you awake?"
"Seven?" B'Elanna's throat was dry and another spasm wracked her body. She felt an urge to bear down and she heard the doctor encouraging her to push. The dream fell to shreds around her as she came back into her own body. She realized that she had been asleep that whole time and relief flooded through her; then doubt as she remembered the beginning of the dream.
"I am here, B'Ella. What is it?"
"I need to know," B'Elanna felt tears burning behind her eyes as the pain of the dream reminded her of her question.
"Yes, B'Elanna. Yes, I love you," Seven answered, squeezing the half-Klingon's hand reassuringly. B'Elanna smiled happily.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, B'Ella." B'Elanna was then lost in the final moments of birth, until she heard that first cry. The cry of a new life, of her daughter, of...
"Annibel."
The End.
Note: "They made love." was used to replace the original sex scene, which was rather explicit. Sorry about that, but I don't want my account deleted, so I try to stick to the rules of the site. The full scene is out there, somewhere on the 'net, but you'll have to find it on your own, alas. Try looking up "xakana". Since I'm basically the only one out there, you're likely to find something about these perfect misfits related to me.