summary:

Sequel to Perfect Misfits. B'Elanna has discovered that Seven of Nine is not just a Borg machine. Even more surprising it seems that Seven of Nine has a romantic attachment to the half-Klingon that is completely unexpected by everyone including the self-same half-Klingon.
Special warning: I'm afraid Tom Paris suffers mightily in this fic. Mightily.
Notes: This fic was originally written some years ago. It hasn't been on the net for a long time because I didn't really like some parts of it. However others disagreed, so I have decided to make it available with some editing especially in the final chapters.

disclaimer:

TPTB are many. In a perfect world I would be one of them but it's not and I'm not. No infringement of copyright/trade marks or other intellectual property is intended. This story was written for fun and not profit.

warnings:

Warning: This story includes same sex relationships between women. If you are offended by this or it is illegal where you live or you are underage then please read no further.

Full warnings, credits and disclaimers can be found in the contents page and chapter 1.

text:

CHAPTER 4

The Doctor had been outraged by Seven's careless neglect of her own well-being. After dispatching B'Elanna Torres back to her repairs including Seven's alcove, he was still nagging some minutes later and Seven was desperate for something to distract him as the lecture continued unabated.

"You cannot disregard your own health like this Seven. I have asked Lieutenant Torres to make repairing your alcove a priority. As soon as it is available you must regenerate for at least 22 hours. In the meantime you will rest here. Is that understood? I cannot understand how you could do this to..."

"You are my friend are you not doctor?" Seven interrupted "I can ask your advice."

"I would like to think so Seven." He calmed down a little, curiosity holding sway over his fussing.

Seven drew breath uncertain how to move the conversation along to what she wanted to ask.

"I am having problems concentrating doctor."

The Doctor was scathing "Hardly surprising if you have been depriving your body of rest and nourishment."

"No Doctor, my problems began before the present crisis."

The HoloDoc raised an eyebrow. "You should have come to see me Seven. This is what I mean by not paying attention to your own health. I have enough of that from the Captain without the rest of the crew joining in." Before he could get started on another tirade Seven interrupted.

"I do not believe that my symptoms are an illness but are related to my growing humanity. I am experiencing emotions that I cannot control and it is having a detrimental effect on my functioning."

The doctor's inquisitive nature was now fully aroused. "What kind of emotions?"

Seven blushed and her voice rose. "It is inexplicable to me that humans can function while experiencing such uncontrollable fluctuations in metabolism and emotional states." As she spoke she swung herself off the bio-bed and started to pace up and down the room at speed.

The Doctor stepped back, disturbed by the uncharacteristic outburst.

"What kind of emotions Seven?" he repeated in a more soothing voice.

"I think I am in love." She frowned at her choice of words. "Why am I uncertain about what I feel? It is nonsensical. I must know what I think and feel and yet I do not."

The holo-doctor felt a cold hand on his non-existent heart. Wrapped up in her own confusion Seven did not notice his distress but when he spoke she could hear acid in his voice. "And which lucky man is the recipient of your affections Seven of Nine?"

Seven knew she should be wary; some of the crew disapproved of relationships between women and many more certainly disapproved of a Borg having any relationship at all, but the Doctor had always tried to help her with the difficult transition from Borg to Human even though he was hampered by a similar lack of emotional and social experience. She needed to talk to someone, to try and reach some clarity and if possible to help her recover from the uncontrolled and chaotic emotional state.

"The person in question is not a man Doctor."

The Doctor blanched. "Oh no, not the Captain, Seven."

"Why do you assume I mean Captain Janeway?" said Seven slightly irritated.

The Doctor, still trying to cover his own disappointment, was sarcastic. "Well let me see... Ah I know, she spends a lot of time with you, she keeps trying to save your life against all odds and as a result regularly risks her ship and the lives of her crew for you. Really Seven, you need to ask?"

"All evidence suggesting the Captain has feelings for me but not that I reciprocate Doctor" said Seven coldly as though the idea of Captain Janeway loving her was not surprising but not welcome either. "I do not appreciate being a project for salvation and I do not belong to her no matter how often she rescues me."

"That's unfair Seven but to return to the point who is this person you think you love?" Mentally reviewing all of the female crew the Doctor found himself at a loss to guess who would have caught the attention of the Borg.

"B'Elanna Torres." Seven sounded shy as she said the name and shifted awkwardly, the image of an embarrassed adolescent. Quite difficult for six foot of Borg.

The Doctor's holo-eyes bulged. "B'Elanna Torres! You don't know what you're saying Seven. She is barely civil to you, she hates the Borg and has consistently opposed you being a part of this ship's crew."

"I am aware of these things and I do not understand myself either Doctor."

"Then why on earth do you pursue it? Do you like being ridiculed and insulted? Have you lost your mind?"

"I believe that is one definition of love Doctor" said the Borg wryly.

"She cannot return your sentiments Seven. She is apparently in love with Mr Paris which I have to say, shows an absence of good judgement that ought to discourage you if nothing else does," said the EMH bitchily.

Seven responded in her detached scientist voice as though discussing a strange spatial anomaly not previously encountered.

"My research shows that it is not necessary to the existence of love that the object of desire reciprocates that emotion Doctor. I have studied many gigaquads of data that address the subject of unrequited love and I do not believe that logic enters into the equation."

She walked away and leaned her long beautiful body against a wall and when she spoke again the detachment had gone replaced by sadness and longing.

"I am not sure I can explain why I love her Doctor."

Seven paused as she struggled to put into words what she understood intuitively.

"I cannot concentrate on my work because I cannot prevent myself from thinking of her. If she is in the room I constantly find myself observing her. I appreciate her skill and inventiveness and her honesty and courage makes everyone else seem weak and compromised." Seven's natural arrogance came to the fore "She is my equal, intellectually and physically and she is beautiful. Proximity causes my body to display symptoms of physical attraction. Even visualising her causes my respiration and pulse to increase uncomfortably."

The Doc interrupted the Borg eulogy impatiently "Seven I do not accept what you are saying. You cannot love B'Elanna Torres!"

"Whether you accept it or not, it remains true Doctor. I love her for what she is, not for her opinion of me."

"And what is she Seven? An angry young woman who is casually unkind to you because of her simple minded prejudices against your origins. She is unstable, violent and has lamentably poor taste in men."

Seven was indignant in her beloved's defence.

"Lieutenant Torres does not need me as her apologist Doctor. Perhaps she has cause to be angry, she says what she thinks, unlike many of the crew who think the same things about me but dare not say so openly. Which attitude is more admirable Doctor? I would prefer to deal with B'Elanna Torres open hostility, even when it hurts, rather than the hidden contempt of many of the crew."

He was finding it impossible to stifle his frustration. At least if it had been the Captain it would have made some kind of sense, appalling sense, but sense nonetheless. But an infatuation with that mixed up, angry Klingon hybrid was quite beyond him. Seven was his protege and he had a duty to protect her from harm so he tried a different tack.

"Are you sure Seven that you haven't chosen the Lieutenant because she is unattainable and you can thus avoid the problem of intimacy with anyone else."

Seven regarded him with disbelief.

"If I could choose Doctor, I would choose not to feel like this about anyone. It is an inefficient and painful mode of existence requiring the expenditure of significant amounts of energy." Shaking her head she covered the distance to the exit with rapid strides and left saying "I must go, I was mistaken in bringing this matter to your attention Doctor. I will find somewhere else to rest while my alcove is repaired."

"Seven you are not to leave sickbay, that's an order."

The tall drone ignored him and marched away without any sign of having heard him. The Holodoc watched her go with angry regret but he felt justified in expressing his doubts. B'Elanna Torres was a very unsuitable person for the young Borg's first relationship, of that he was certain. In any case it was not going to amount to anything. Lieutenant Torres was not interested and Seven would just have to recover from her broken heart, sad but part of growing up.

CHAPTER 5

"Calm down Tom. I'm sure Seven didn't mean to poison you. Get some rest."

Captain Janeway tried not to sound flippant but the young man's accusations were ludicrous. He had contributed to his own downfall by not testing the replicators as he had been instructed by B'Elanna.

"But Captain..."

"Tom drop it! I will not be making any further enquiries as there is no evidence that this was anything other than an unfortunate error compounded by your own carelessness. Now go and get some rest. Seven will be required to review her work with Lieutenant Torres and if she finds that Seven has been negligent then it will go on Seven's record."

Tom Paris glared at her angrily, his face reddening "I won't hold my breath Captain, I don't think B'Elanna is interested in finding fault with the bitch."

Janeway's expression made him shrink back involuntarily and her voice buried his anger under cold fear.

"As you were ensign."

Tom Paris subsided back into his chair as Chakotay and the Captain turned and walked slowly out. Chakotay was concerned. The trouble between Tom Paris and B'Elanna was the hot gossip on the lower decks and while he had not given much credence to the rumours about Seven of Nine's involvement he had little difficulty believing that the former drone could behave badly if it suited her. After all how would a Borg know what was acceptable behaviour in romantic conflicts?

"Kathryn are you sure we shouldn't take this further, the rumour mill is full of claims that Seven is besotted with B'Elanna."

The Captain raised her eyebrow "Commander if Seven meant to kill Tom do you think he would still be alive?"

"I take your point but perhaps she is trying to frighten him?"

"A little subtle for Seven I would have thought, picking him up by the throat and informing him that he should stay away would be more her style. Seriously Chakotay, Seven may be socially unskilled to the point of rudeness but she is not a fool and she would not be stupid enough to think terrorising Tom would endear her to B'Elanna. Plus she has a strong code of communal responsibility and murdering Voyager's best pilot would offend that ethic."

Chakotay had to acknowledge that the Captain was probably right but he still couldn't quite let it rest.

"Are you not a little off put by the thought of Seven pursuing B'Elanna? They couldn't be more different."

Kathryn Janeway was annoyed. The thought of Seven falling in love was disturbing, after all the woman had barely any emotional history of any kind, but Chakotay's obvious distaste irked her and she replied with more emphasis than was necessary.

"They are not that different, both unusually honest, intelligent and uncompromising, perhaps the "straight from the shoulder" Klingon temperament appeals to Seven. Now we have better things to do Chakotay: I want up-to-date resource and threat assessments on the local planets. Voyager needs to rest and restock and so do we." She stepped briskly into the turbolift, the conversation was over and she had to concentrate on her ship and its needs.

Chakotay remained doubtful. B'Elanna was volatile by anyone's measure and she was unlikely to refuse the Borg gently and who knew how an ex-drone would handle rejection. He decided to keep a close eye on the situation.

CHAPTER 6

At that moment Voyager's chief engineer and astrometrics officer were standing in silence in Cargo bay 2. B'Elanna was finding it hard to articulate her thoughts but she did know that for some amazing reason she now had feelings for Seven. Feelings that made her heart pound and her hands tremble. And that was scary. If anyone had suggested she might feel this way about a woman, a Borg for godsakes, she would have laughed and then beaten the suggestor senseless.

Seven watched her companion and tried to gauge her mood. B'Elanna was quiet, remote. The engineer had completed the repairs to the Borg alcoves but she did not seem in a hurry to leave after summoning Seven from astrometrics where the Borg had been 'resting'.

"... not like you" the engineer muttered as she toggled the controls on the alcove, Seven cocked her head questioningly, ".... making a mistake like that."

"I was distracted. Apparently I no longer function as efficiently as a borg drone, now I can only do one thing at a time." Seven was still annoyed with herself.

"What distracted you?" asked B'Elanna distractedly.

"You" she replied honestly and tensed waiting for B'Elanna to lose her temper but the explosion never came. The chief engineer seemed to ignore her statement altogether and continued tinkering with different alcove controls.

"Seven we both know something is happening between us but I think we have been going about this the wrong way. My fault probably."

Seven thought her heart had stopped. These physiological disruptions were very disconcerting she thought irrelevantly.

"We should get to know each other better, do something together, you and me Seven ... how about sky diving." B'Elanna saw Seven's expression and looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot, only crazy people like me do that sort of thing. Well something else then? We could talk, or eat. Do you eat now?" God is that the best you can do Torres?

Seven was having extreme difficulty understanding the turn of events but her research had covered some of the human rituals of courting "B'Elanna Torres are you asking me... for... a date?" Seven hesitated over the unfamiliar terminology.

B'Elanna Torres stopped and stared at some interesting burn marks on the wall.

"I suppose I am. Well? Look Seven I'm no good at this kind of thing so please give me an answer now before I am forced into swearing and violence."

She glanced quickly at the tall blonde who gaped at her blankly, the half-klingon almost smiled, she had never seen Seven look halfwitted before.

"I cannot process my thoughts" replied the ex-drone in distress "I seem to be malfunctioning."

B'Elanna laughed.

"Kahless what a pair, we are not cut out for this romance stuff perhaps we should just go realign something... "

"No!" Seven recovered enough to speak, too rapidly, "we could go to the holodeck, orbital sky diving would be... interesting" she lied lamely and blushed.

B'Elanna grinned "I think I have had a better idea. The Doc said you must regenerate for at least 22 hours. When you wake I'll have a surprise ready for you. Now let's get you tucked in and I'll wake you myself in 22 hours."

"Tucked in?" queried the Borg.

"Yeah. Tucked in."

"Surprise?"

"Yep. A surprise."

tbc