A/n: ANOTHER new fic! I promise that I am working on my already ongoing ones too; it's just that when a new idea occurs to me it tends to block the inspiration for everything else. Please give this new one a chance and review! :D It's set some time after "Natural Law".

"…and then she changed her mind again and said she wanted fresh oranges from Hydroponics instead, so I had to run down there at two in the morning and get her some!" Tom finished his story emphatically, turning away from the Delta Flyer's controls to look curiously at Chakotay and Seven behind him. He knew they hadn't been listening to him; he'd been around long enough to recognise flirtation when he heard it, but he wanted to see the looks on their faces when he caught them. "So what do you think was B'Elanna's weirdest pregnancy craving?"

Chakotay looked at him blankly, frantically trying to remember what Tom had been ranting on about for the last half an hour rather than thinking how cute Seven looked when she was blushing, as she was now. "Um… I don't know, they're all a bit weird I guess."

Tom had to suppress the urge to grin; it was fun seeing the collected Commander so flustered. "What do you think Seven?" he asked the still blushing former Borg drone.

Seven focused her eyes downward onto her console. "I doubt Lieutenant Torres would appreciate my comments." Her heart skipped a beat as she heard Chakotay laugh in agreement beside her and she found her lips to be curving up into a smile as she read the console readings. "If you are so interested in what others think of your wife's eating habits, perhaps you should ask when we return to Voyager, which should be in 5.2 minutes."

Tom put his hands up in the air defensively, "Okay, okay! I get your point!" he laughed as he stood up from his console and headed towards the back of the ship. "I'll just go and check that the supplies are well enough secured, there's a lot of spacial interference around here."

Chakotay nodded, "That's fine." He sighed in relief as soon as Tom was out of earshot and again leaned over Seven's console, their faces within a few centimetres of each other. "I expected us to be on our second date right now, not on a supply mission with a moaning father-to-be."

Seven arched her eyebrows teasingly, "And why can't an away mission together count towards a second date Commander?" she asked lightly, on the brink of laughter.

"It might have done, if the Captain had let me pilot as well as command. Then we could've spent the last nine hours alone."

"Given your track record with shuttles, I doubt that the Captain would be willing to risk the Delta Flyer." Seven replied wryly.

Chakotay pretended to pout even as he laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I haven't crashed any more times than Tom has…" He began to retort but stopped as he saw Seven tense, her eyes suddenly fixed on the console. "What is it?" he asked in concern, all jokes forgotten.

Seven stood up from her seat and ran to the main controls, "There's some sort of electromagnetic pulse heading towards us, we have to avoid it!"

Chakotay didn't have to think twice, running towards the back of the ship. "Tom! Get back here now!" A sudden scream of agony sent chills up his spine and he turned back to see some sort of electricity surging up from the console and into Seven's body, her implants sparking sinisterly. "Seven!" he began to cry out, just as the main force of the pulse hit the ship and sent his body flying against a bulkhead, causing him to blackout instantly.

"Doctor, is there really nothing else you can do? She'll take it so hard…" Chakotay dimly recognised the Captain's voice and tried to force open his heavy lids, but not before he heard the Doctor's resigned reply.

"I know she will, but unless a miracle happens…" The hologram trailed off, "In reality it could've been much worse, I managed to stop the bleeding in her brain and if her optical or motor implants had also been affected, she'd be blind or paralysed."

"I doubt that will comfort her much right now…" The Captain muttered. Chakotay began to feel panic tighten in his gut and forced himself into full consciousness, groaning slightly as he moved. The Captain heard him, "Doctor, Chakotay's waking up!"

Chakotay pushed himself up, "What happened?" he managed to gasp out before the Doctor pushed him gently back against the biobed.

"Relax please Commander, you took give a battering…" He soothed.

"I can't relax!" Chakotay snapped back, "What happened? Where are Seven and Tom?"

"You were in an accident Commander, Tom is fine, I've already released him back to his quarters to rest, which is what you should do too."

Chakotay frowned at him fearfully, "And Seven?" he asked tersely, more frightened than he'd thought he'd be to hear the answer.

The Doctor sighed heavily and exchanged an apprehensive glance with the Captain, who nodded reluctantly. "Seven…got the worst of the shock." He saw Chakotay pale and was quick to reassure him, "She'll live, we got her back here quick enough to make sure of that…"

"But?" Chakotay pressed, his fists clenching around the edge of the biobed.

"But the electromagnetic surge entered her implants. Her aural implants, the ones that control her hearing, took the brunt of it. I managed to repair the damage to the other implants, but the damage they sustained is irreversible."

Chakotay swallowed hard as he tried to process this overwhelming information. Finally, he said thickly, "Are you saying she's been deafened Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded sadly, "Profoundly most likely. She's still unconscious, so I haven't been able to perform all of the tests but…"

Chakotay shook his head in disbelief, "I don't understand, there are ways to get around damage to the ears aren't there? They've been doing cochlear implants for centuries now and my cousin…"

Pain flickered across the Doctor's face, "If it were just her ears, yes I could fix it, but the energy travelled through her implants to the part of her brain that actually interprets the sound."

"That's what caused the brain haemorrhage?" Chakotay asked broken, grief for Seven beginning to overtake his shock.

"Yes. Fortunately I managed to stop it before it affected any other region. This type of injury is rare, no technology will take the place of her brain and trying to operate on her brain may well cause more damage, even kill her." The Doctor bit his lip to control himself as both Chakotay and the Captain gasped, the certainty of the situation now really hitting home. He looked at them both sorrowfully, "I'm sorry to have to say it, but in all probability Seven's going to have to adapt to the fact that she's going to be deaf for the rest of her life."

The first thing Seven gradually grew aware of was a crippling headache storming through her skull. When she began to open her eyes she felt like her head was going to explode and grimaced painfully. The Doctor's face suddenly loomed above her, a relieved smile passing momentarily over his face before his lips began to move. Seven frowned in confusion, watching his dancing mouth intently, why was the Doctor treating her if he were malfunctioning? She sat up slowly, resisting the Doctor's anxious moves to pin her down. She turned to him sharply in irritation, "Doctor, I think your vocal processor…" Her hand sprang to her throat as she belatedly realised she couldn't hear her own voice. She began to shake involuntarily as she thought of voicing a word, any word. "What…" She choked in disbelief and fear as she felt her throat vibrate and her lips move. Yes, she had definitely spoken, but… Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed the Captain and Chakotay watching her, both looking white faced and anxious. Her stomach twisted with the realisation that something was definitely wrong. Keeping her eyes on her observers she snatched up a hypospray and threw it to the floor as violently as she could, watching as Chakotay and the Captain winced from the impact, the sound. That was just it, for her there had been no sound, no crash or smash, she had to turn her eyes to the floor to check that it even had hit the floor as she had intended. It had, it now lay broken to pieces on the floor tiles next to her bed. She twisted back around to face the Doctor, truly frightened. "Doctor, I am unable to hear..." She forced the words out, again pressing her fingers momentarily to her lips to check she was actually speaking.

His lips moved again, only a short phrase this time, one she was relatively sure was "I know."

"What caused this?" she asked fretfully. The Captain moved forward now and began to speak at the same time as the Doctor, but to Seven they were both unintelligible. Tears of frustration began to form in her eyes, "I cannot understand you! Tell me in some other way." She ordered.

The Doctor's shoulders slumped, indicating a sigh she couldn't hear, as he handed her an obviously pre-prepared PADD to read. Seven snatched it from him and began to read, her heart sinking with every word she read, every scan of her implants and of her brain. Tears began to burn at her eyes again and threatened to fall, but she resolutely held them back. "Test me, test the extent of the damage!" she snapped in panic.

Chakotay swallowed as the Doctor pulled out a device and put little microphones and sensors in Seven's ears before handing her another PADD. "It says she's to tell me if she hears anything." The Doctor explained when he saw the Captain's curious expression. Chakotay couldn't help but hope for a miracle that would prove false all he had already witnessed as the test started, but as Seven failed to react to even the loudest or most radically pitched sounds, that hope died within him and left him feeling numb. "Profound." The Doctor concluded unhappily as he removed the device, "She can't hear anything."

Seven must have seen their faces fall for she turned even paler, her every muscle tense. "How long will this last?" she asked. Chakotay couldn't help but notice the change her voice, the slightest unevenness in the volume and pitch, but she couldn't hear herself to know.

Seven waited as they processed her question, but it wasn't the relief she'd hoped for when she read the PADD the Doctor gave her with his answer, "Indefinitely." A sob rose in her throat and broke free as she sprang to her feet. The Captain reached for her, her lips moving rapidly as her eyes filled with pity. Seven wrenched her away with a wordless cry which reverberated in her throat as she fled.

"Seven, wait…" The Captain called after her, cringing when she realised that would no effect and instead going to follow her but Chakotay firmly held her back.

"Leave her alone Kathryn." He whispered painfully.

Hyperventilation shook Seven's chest as she ran blindly to her Cargo Bay, hoping to hear the click of her heels from her purposely stomping steps, but it was in vain. Warm tears now staining her face she rushed inside and said in what she hoped was a shout to the Computer, "Play Beethoven's Third Symphony!" The Cargo Bay remained, stubbornly, heartbreakingly, silent, but Seven still stormed over to the console and manually pushed the volume up as far as it would go. Gasping, hysterical, tears finally began to wrack her body as she felt huge vibrations travel up from her feet and watched objects around her shudder in reaction to the sound waves, sound was there but inaccessible. "No…" She choked out, collapsing to her knees on the floor and pressing her back against the vibrating speakers, hoping for a miracle even as she cried.

Chakotay had at first rang her doorbell unthinkingly, then just walked in, the sound of classical music so loud it made his ears ring. "Seven, can I turn that…" He began, halting when he realised she was unaware of his presence, staring into space with her body curled against the console that was thudding out the music. "Computer, stop music." He ordered sadly before cautiously walking into her line of vision.

Seven stiffened as she felt the vibrations hitting her body cease abruptly and glanced around before seeing Chakotay, inhaling sharply as he smiled weakly in relief and knelt down beside her, his dark eyes full of shared grief and sympathy, and his handsome face creased with anxiety. She winced as she watched his lips move in speech. She'd never hear his lovely voice again! This thought suddenly filled her with anger, why was he even here? Didn't he realise that he was only causing her more pain? Tears blurred her vision again as she shoved him away, "Why are you here? I can't understand you!" she shrieked, "Why are you even bothering to talk to me?" she asked through more tears, "Just leave me alone…" She gasped in surprise as he hugged tightly, pulling her against his chest. She gulped as she realised he was offering the only comfort he could, before burying her head in his shoulder and letting herself give in completely to her tears.

A/n: How will Seven cope with this? I know this premise is unusual, but I wanted to challenge myself. I REALLY hope you don't hate it so far, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D