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Nine Months – With Child
By Kudara
Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to
Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is
intended.
Rating: Mature Warning: Violence and
emotional distress disclaimer. This story deals with captivity,
please be advised that punishments are described that deal with
technically induced physical pain. This chapter deals with
the result of such use on children in a non-graphic manner.
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep
writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike
about the story.
Revision History: 12/27/05; minor revision 01/05/07
Summary: Seven and B’Elanna come to terms with Seven’s
pregnancy.
***************************************************************
Chapter 24 – Stardate 52798.37 (October 19, 2375 9:48am)
B’Elanna watched Seven, trying desperately not to smile, much
less snicker, at the blonde’s expression. Seven was in the
process of changing Heather’s diaper, and the look on her face
was a mixture of intent concentration and… B’Elanna couldn’t
decide whether or not Seven was actually holding her breath, or
just trying not to breathe in too deeply. Whichever, it was
clear that the blonde did not consider the fragrance arising
from the infant to be a pleasant one.
Mary, Elizabeth and Maria’s oldest, was sitting near Seven and
watching with an openly disgusted expression. Mary had been
fascinated with Seven since their first day, and B’Elanna knew
that the two of them frequently played together. The
half-Klingon thought that their relationship was similar to that
which Naomi had with Seven when they had been on Voyager.
“Just wait, someday you will have one of your own, and you won’t
be able to sit over here watching.” Janice Young said next to
her ear, as she sat down beside her. “Hmm, actually now that I’m
thinking about it, it’s not really fair for her to be learning
everything. I’m sure you aren’t planning on treating her like
the little wife, and letting her take care of all the child
raising?” the raven haired woman asked with a raised eyebrow,
and a hint of challenge in her tone.
B’Elanna felt an immediate surge of anger at the suggestion,
“Of…” she paused noting her tone and took in a calming breath.
“Of course not,” she answered with forced calm, feeling slightly
ill at the thought of what could have happened had she not
caught herself. B’Elanna looked down at the table, certain that
Janice’s eyes would hold censure for her momentary lapse.
Instead she felt a warm hand grasp her shoulder, and gently
squeeze it reassuringly. Meeting the dark eyes, she only saw
understanding and concern in them.
“You need to be over there with her,” Janice said in a gentle
tone. “It’s very easy to just go along with everything, and not
realize what the roles are you’re settling into, but you’re the
one with the freedom to choose how supportive you will be. If
you don’t want to play some type of stereotypical head of
household, it’s up to you to make the effort to you to show
Seven that your equal partners.”
As she finished speaking, Janice’s dark brown eyes flickered
past her toward the wall of the room where the infraction
indication panel was located, and she breathed out a relieved
sigh. Suddenly B’Elanna realized, with an inward chill, just
what the Janice had willingly risked by being so honest with
her; she had to have known that there was a good chance that her
words might be taken as a protest against their treatment. The
half-Klingon’s eyes searched out Janice’s partner, Brenda Allen.
The weapons specialist was holding Jessica, their child in her
lap, and there was no mistaking the relieved look on her face.
Glancing around quickly B’Elanna realized that several people,
including Elizabeth and Maria, Christina and Nancy, and Amy and
Lee were watching them as well. It didn’t take a genius to
realize that they all knew, or guessed what Janice was talking
to her about. She almost asked the raven haired woman why she
had been the one to talk to her instead of Maria, when her eyes
fell upon Janice’s dark haired child Jessica. Jessica who was
only three, and then it made too much sense. All the others had
children who were already implanted with the pain inducers;
Janice was the only one of the three counselors who would be
risking only herself, instead of herself and her child.
B’Elanna still distinctly remembered the day she had found out
that her suspicion that the children were used as hostages in
addition to their mothers was correct.
**
Christine had not been her usual self for a few days, usually
she was fairly upbeat, but she had been particularly solemn,
even depressed lately. B’Elanna had asked her what was wrong
during a quiet moment.
“Carol’s turning five in a week,” Christine had answered
bleakly.
B’Elanna had stared at her, confused; before she could ask
anything more, Lisa Stewart had come over and pulled her away.
In a low tone, the red-headed former Mountie had informed her
tersely, “Five’s when the pain inducers are implanted.
Fortunately until the children are older, their only activated
for five seconds at a time.”
**
B’Elanna shook her head, pulling herself back to the present.
“Thank you,” she said in a low voice to Janice, trying to convey
deep appreciation for the risk the woman had run to make her
aware of what she had been doing. Janice was right, she had been
sitting back and letting Seven learn everything, as if the
half-Klingon had no need for the same information.
So much for telling Seven that they would both adapt, she had
been hanging back and letting the blonde do all the adapting,
B’Elanna thought to herself harshly. Her eyes were drawn toward
the other side of the room where Seven sat now holding the
freshly changed infant. The blonde was watching the half-Klingon
with a slight frown upon her face, and B’Elanna didn’t know
whether or not the blonde’s enhanced hearing was good enough for
her to have overheard the conversation, or whether Seven was
just curious as to what she and Janice were talking about.
B’Elanna got up, planning to go over to Seven, apologize for her
behavior, and ask the blonde to teach her what she had learned.
“Hey, B’Elanna,” Janice’s voice made her pause for a moment,
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, I don’t think many of us managed
to escape falling into that habit at one time or another. How do
you think we knew to look?”
She turned, looked back at the raven haired woman and nodded,
her face softening once again in gratitude. It did help to know
that others, people she was coming to respect, like Elizabeth
and Christina, had done the same. Striding quickly across the
open area she gave Seven a self-conscious smile, as she sat down
facing her, straddling the bench seat of the table. “Hey,” she
said softly to the blonde.
Seven raised her optical implant and smirked at the half-Klingon
as she replied, “You have come over to learn more about the care
of infants?”
B’Elanna had to fight the impulse to squirm, “You heard.”
“Yes,” Seven replied. “And Lee and Janice have discussed the
subject with me previously. As I informed them then, I have very
little memory of my own parents relationship, and only was aware
of your and Lt. Paris’s relationship on Voyager. Thus, I have no
standard against which I can form any judgment of the nature of
our relationship. I was not even aware of the roles they
described to me, until they informed me of them.”
“Oh,” B’Elanna replied briefly, still considering what Seven had
just told her. “Well, I should have been doing more than I have
been. I don’t want to have that type of relationship, I…” she
trailed off, rather confused herself about how easily she had
fallen into such an old fashioned stereotypical role.
“Have you ever held an infant before B’Elanna,” Seven asked
after a long moment of silence.
B’Elanna stared at her for a moment in surprise, and then shook
her head slightly at herself. It shouldn’t really surprise her
anymore that Seven was willing to forgive and move on; it was
one of the character traits she admired most in her lover. She
could guess that Seven had decided her silence meant the
discussion was finished, and it was now time to remedy the
stated problem. “No, I haven’t. Naomi’s really the only child
I’ve ever been around for a long period of time as an adult, and
I didn’t have any close contact with her.”
Seven nodded, “Karen,” she addressed Heather’s mother who was
busy playing with her older child Evelyn. “May B’Elanna hold
Heather? I will instruct her in the proper method.”
“Of course,” replied Karen. A smile formed on her face, and she
shifted so that she could watch the proceedings.
B’Elanna recalled most of the discussion that Seven had gotten
into with Lee and the others over how to hold a child, and was
able to persuade the blonde to skip over most of the lecture.
Finally, Seven instructed her to move very close, and once the
half-Klingon was standing almost toe to toe, transferred the
infant into B’Elanna’s arms.
“Expecting her to make a break for it?” asked B’Elanna, amused
as Seven stepped back.
“She has become very active in the past week, and this is the
best method to ensure her head is supported properly at all
times.” Seven replied calmly.
Almost as if to helpfully prove Seven’s point, Heather choose to
stretch at that moment, pressing her head and heels down and
almost lifting her entire body, then she relaxed and gurgled.
Suddenly, B’Elanna could see the point to Seven’s care; it would
be very easy to make a mistake if the child chose to do that
while changing hands.
This was the first time B’Elanna had seen an infant so close,
fascinated she examined the tiny hands and fingers that waved
and grasped the air. “I think she’s looking for you,” she
commented to Seven, noting that the child seemed to be looking
in the blonde’s direction.
“Doubtful, her eyes are not developed enough,” answered Seven.
“She can only focus on objects eighteen inches away or less.”
‘Great watch the kid start yelling at the scary looking
Klingon,’ B’Elanna thought as she tentatively lifted the child
and lowered her head. Immediately Heather turned her head and
looked up at her, verifying the blonde’s words. “Hello there,”
she tried out softly, finding it somewhat startling to realize
that the child hadn’t been able to see her face before; she
hadn’t known that very young children were so near sighted.
Heather stared at her and B’Elanna got the distinct impression
that the child was evaluating her, maybe making up her mind
whether or not she was interesting or scary. B’Elanna couldn’t
help but smile at the serious look on the child’s face. To the
half-Klingon’s fascination, the child took in a deep breath and
let it out, smacked her mouth open and closed twice, then
suddenly smiled up at her sweetly and raised her arms toward
B’Elanna’s face. Curious as to what the child would do, she
lowered her face toward the waving hands.
The warning, “B’Elanna,” from Seven came a moment too late;
Heather had already grabbed two full handfuls of wavy brunette
hair.
Reflexively B’Elanna tried to lift her head, only to figure out
that the child had an amazingly good grip on her hair. Heather
gurgled in delight. “Oh you think this is funny do you?”
B’Elanna asked the infant, amused herself at the predicament she
found herself in.
Seven’s metal wrapped hand appeared in front of her face,
fingers waving gently. Heather immediately focused on the new
object within her field of vision, and after only a few seconds
released the half-Klingon’s hair in favor of trying to grasp
Seven’s fingers.
“Infants are attracted to shiny or brightly colored objects,”
Seven stated. “I should have warned you that she enjoys grasping
hair, I have learned to keep mine out of her reach.”
An uneasy quiet descending over the room caused them to look
around. It only took a few seconds for them to notice the robot
that had just entered the room.
“Brenda Allen and adult hostage, B’Elanna Torres and hostage,
you have one minute before you must accompany this unit.” It
stated.
“I’ll take her,” Karen came up with Evelyn following her
closely.
B’Elanna was busy looking at Seven who was staring at the robot
with an odd expression. Hearing Karen’s voice the blonde turned
back around and watched as B’Elanna handed Heather to her
mother, then stared at the half-Klingon’s face keenly. “Seven?”
B’Elanna asked, confused as to what was going on, and why the
blonde was reacting this way. Off in the other corner of the
room she could hear Brenda and Janice reassuring their daughter
as they left her in Maria’s care.
“It is time, I am to be impregnated,” Seven stated, her voice
calm. Only her stormy blue eyes betrayed that she was not as
composed as she appeared to be.
B’Elanna stared at the blonde dumbly, and then looked around
only to receive confirming nods from those near them. The
half-Klingon didn’t doubt that they were right; this would be a
procedure whose pattern they were familiar with.
“We must go B’Elanna,” Seven tugged on her hand gently.
B’Elanna stared at her frozen, it hadn’t really been real up to
this point, it had been something that was going to happen in
the nebulous future, not now, not today. She wasn’t ready to
think of herself and Seven as future mothers.
“B’Elanna, I cannot carry you,” Seven whispered urgently and
gently placed her hands on the half-Klingon’s face.
With an initial lurching movement, B’Elanna grabbed one of
Seven’s hands and started walking, joining Brenda Allen and
Janice Young who were already standing near the robot.
Her shock lifting, B’Elanna looked curiously at the other couple
who were to go with them. There were three other women pregnant
at this time, and apparently Seven would not be the only woman
joining their ranks, Janice would be as well.
Brenda Allen was as striking looking as her partner, straight
black hair, dark brown eyes, high cheekbones and a darker
complexion like Maria and B’Elanna’s. The half-Klingon had heard
that the woman was of Native American descent, but had not
talked much to the leader of the second rifle squad.
As they came up Janice held out her arms, and Seven
unhesitatingly accepted a brief hug from her. B’Elanna was
surprised; she hadn’t realized Seven and Janice were so close.
“Don’t worry we will all be sedated for the entire procedure,”
she reassured them.
B’Elanna nodded to her, letting out a relieved breath; all types
of nightmarish scenarios had been running through her mind ever
since she realized what was going on.
The robot began moving and the two couples followed it out the
double doors.
*******************************************************
Chapter 25 – Stardate 52839.09 (Nov 3, 2375 6:30am)
Standing silently in formation, their weapons and gear stacked
along the left wall, the women waited in their black tactical
suits in Alpha Squadron’s training hall. B’Elanna, who was
standing with rifle squad one, was going on her first real
mission, and didn’t know whether or not she was more excited, or
concerned, at the prospect.
A training robot had come into their bedroom approximately
ninety minutes ago and wakened her and Seven. It informed them
that B’Elanna had an hour to prepare for a mission and she would
return in approximately twelve hours. Then it had left their
quarters as abruptly as it appeared.
Slim as ever, and as yet, showing no signs of her pregnancy,
Seven had elected to remain awake and join the brunette in her
bath. Before B’Elanna had left, the blonde had instructed her in
a severe voice, “You will ensure that you are not injured,
B’Elanna.” and then kissed her passionately.
Motion to the right of her distracted B’Elanna from her thoughts
of earlier. Elizabeth Janeway was striding along the right side
of the formation toward its front. The half-Klingon guessed the
unit leader had come in from the doors at the back of the room,
the ones that lead to the briefing area and classrooms.
When the russet haired, grey-eyed woman reached the front of the
formation she paused for a moment, her eyes running over them.
“As you already know we are to go on a mission today. We do not
know whether we are facing multiple units or a single unit, and
have been given no information on the battle location.
Communications and Electronics Specialists, we will be counting
on you today. We will need as much information as soon as you
can provide it. Everyone stay on your toes and keep sharp, and
keep an eye out for each other.”
So far this was just like a training mission, and B’Elanna was
anticipating the order to move out that usually came after
Elizabeth’s briefing. Instead, the doors at the end of the hall
that led to the outside opened and a robot entered. Elizabeth
turned sharply and moved to the right a few steps before facing
the formation once again.
The robot stopped at the place Elizabeth had just vacated and
began speaking. “This unit will now inform you of possible
infractions during this mission and their results. No
discussions or attempts at escape will be made. You will obey
the designated unit and rifle squad leaders. You will obey any
directive given to you by one of the instructional units. Any
infraction will result in a corrective action upon your hostage
or hostages.”
So far the normal spiel, B’Elanna thought, then it continued,
“As a reminder human females can withstand between six to ten
corrective actions at once before sustaining permanent damage.
Female children between five and eleven years can withstand four
to seven corrective actions before sustaining permanent damage.
Pregnant females can withstand three to four corrective actions
before chance of aborting the fetus rises above fifty percent,
at seven corrective actions the chance is one hundred percent.
Any permanently damaged hostage will be terminated. Any one of
you without a surviving hostage will be terminated.”
B’Elanna felt a chill sensation in her stomach. As always, just
when things had been going peacefully for a few days and she was
tempted to relax enough to almost forget the constant danger
Seven was in; she was forcibly reminded of their true situation.
What the robot had just related was the most specific
information she had heard about exactly how many of the
corrective actions their hostages could survive. Of course it
was also her first actual mission; from Elizabeth’s action,
B’Elanna could guess that the speech was standard procedure.
She was surprised that no one had ever mentioned this
information before, but glancing at the tense, pale faces around
her, she immediately guessed that it simply wasn’t a topic they
wanted to think or talk about. Or they might have assumed that
she already knew. Their captor or captors weren’t popular topics
of conversation, it was too frighteningly easy to step over the
invisible line that had been drawn, and incur a punishment for
their hostages. And that was something that none of them wanted
to happen.
The robot did not say anything further and B’Elanna wondered
what would happen next, she had asked Christina once how they
got to their mission sites. The Squad secondary leader had
informed her that sometimes they used a large transport shuttle;
sometimes they were transported into a large bay within some
type of ship. Feeling the tingle of a transporter beam for the
first time in eight months she waited impatiently for the
transport to finish.
Bare metallic walls, it reminded her strongly of the cell she
had first found herself in when she was first captured. Looking
around at the walls she could see no obvious opening, only
ventilation duct openings at their top approximately thirty feet
from the floor. Otherwise the room was bare except for the women
and their gear.
******************************************
Chapter 26 – Stardate 52840.11 (Nov 3, 2375 3:26pm)
Failure, the taste of it had seldom been as bitter for B’Elanna
as it was today. There had been four other units on the flat,
marshy, humid, bug-infested, practically coverless location they
had been set down in to fight. Elizabeth had reminded them, and
in the case of B’Elanna told her, that all such past battles had
been ones where every unit fought for themselves. So the best
thing they could do would be to take on one unit at a time, but
became rapidly apparent as soon as they engaged the first unit
that this mission would not be like the previous ones. Instead
of only thinking of their own unit, all four units had
coordinated to fight against them.
Three of the enemy units had been a motley collection of Delta
Quadrant natives, the third had been a unit of Kazon males.
B’Elanna hadn’t been sure what sect they belonged to, she had
never paid much attention to the fine details of the Kazon, only
despised them for attacking Voyager so many times that first
year. Thankfully, every unit’s weapons had been modified so that
they could only stun, not kill. As any of the combatants fell,
they were quickly transported out, presumably for medical
treatment.
In the end, though they had fought fiercely, and used what
little cover there was to their advantage, the superior numbers
of their enemies had finally overwhelmed them. B’Elanna had been
among the last thirty or so to fall, she woke still covered in
muck, on the hard floor of the same metal walled bay they had
first transported into. Gingerly rising she checked herself for
any injuries and was relieved to find none, either she had not
been injured, or she had already been treated.
The other women of Alpha squad were sitting or standing about in
small groups, the cavernous bay which should have echoed with
sound was strangely quiet. Looking around, she spotted her
favorite fellow Communications Specialist, Sabrina sitting with
her back pressed against a wall. The two of them had talked and
joked around with each other enough that B’Elanna considered the
woman to be a good friend.
“What’s going on, why is everyone so quiet?” B’Elanna asked as
she came up to Sabrina.
The dark skinned woman looked up at her question, and the
half-Klingon was dismayed at the despondence in evidence on the
usually smiling face. Dark brown eyes met hers, the woman’s skin
usually a warm mocha, had a dull cast to it that alarmed
B’Elanna. She made as if to speak then paused, to B’Elanna’s
surprise she reached up and placed her hand over B’Elanna’s
mouth for a second, then removed it, looking at her solemnly.
B’Elanna clamped her mouth shut and nodded silently,
understanding that she wasn’t to blurt out something she, or
Seven, would regret.
“More often than not, there is a punishment for loosing.”
Sabrina stated quietly.
B’Elanna gritted her teeth together against the protest that so
desperately wanted to be said. Breathing deeply in her
agitation, B’Elanna joined the dark skinned woman, sitting down
beside her. What exactly did their captor or captors want, it
had been four against one, her mind protested. ‘To win
obviously,’ she answered herself silently.
More and more she was becoming certain that this was all some
type of game that was being played with them as the pieces. Team
against team, only today the other teams had decided to defeat
them first before most likely starting in on each other.
B’Elanna knew from what had been said about past missions that
both Alpha and Beta Squads usually completed these missions
successfully. If she was right then it would make sense that the
other units had decided to take them out first.
Question was, were the other units prisoners like themselves? Or
competing for something else, like money? Was anyone else being
played with, and manipulated like they were? Or had they just
gotten some psycho competitor. Not that she could ever verbalize
any of her questions; any whisper of such sentiment would
certainly be counted as an infraction against their captor’s
rules.
Looking around she now understood why everyone was silent and
depressed. “Padma is three right?” she asked Sabrina in a low
whisper, not wanting to be insensitive to the women around her
that she knew had older children.
Sabrina nodded, her eyes acknowledging that yes, at least that
was something to be thankful for. Then she went back to staring
at the floor silently.
B’Elanna watched her for a moment longer, knowing that her
friend adored her partner Anuyha and their child, Padma. Unlike
B’Elanna and Seven, before they were captured Sabrina and Anuyha
were both aware they were homosexual, and had been in same sex
relationships before. Sabrina had been ‘out’ as she called it,
which B’Elanna had learned meant that she openly acknowledged
her sexual orientation during a time in which it hadn’t been
widely socially acceptable, but Anuyha had not.
Even though they had lived in the United States for several
years and Anuyha had been born there, her family was very
traditionally Indian. Anuyha had been born to her parent’s late
in their lives, after they had given up hope of ever having a
child. Her name even reflected this, meaning something
unexpected but pleasant and valued. Anuyha knew that she was
attracted to other women, but had hidden it, not wanting to hurt
her parents or their hope for grandchildren. She had been
planning a wedding to a kind and handsome young man, whose
family were close friends with her parents, when she had been
taken.
Sabrina, unlike herself, had been able to keep her temper and a
quiet tongue after being subjected to the typical punishment
session. From what her friend had revealed, Anuyha had been very
frightened at first, devastated at learning that her family was
long since dead, and had looked to Sabrina, who was older, for
reassurance and comfort. It had only taken them a few weeks to
realize they were attracted to one another, and they had been
lovers from that point on. Now, one had only to see the way
Anuyha’s face lit up when she saw Sabrina in the evenings, to
know that Sabrina’s love and adoration of the Indian woman were
returned in full measure.
B’Elanna’s thoughts of her friend and her friend’s relationship,
brought the half-Klingon full circle to her own relationship
with Seven, and her emotions for the blonde. She was pretty sure
that she loved the former Borg. B’Elanna shook her head, staring
at the smooth metal of the bay deck, she had no idea if they
were even moving, she couldn’t hear an engine, she couldn’t even
feel a vibration, as she had been able to almost anywhere on
Voyager. ‘Voyager,’ she thought, ‘if anyone had told me there
that I would fall in love with Seven of Nine I would have either
decked them or fallen down in laughter.’
Cold, dispassionate, remote, arrogant as hell, oh yes the blonde
could certainly be all of those. Yet, she was also very
passionate, tender, and loving, she could even do a passable
humble for a few minutes, if the occasion really called for it.
B’Elanna had to be honest with herself, the reason she had
fallen for Seven was because the blonde was all of those things.
Seven challenged her, she was intelligent, strong, proud, and
both the Klingon and the human in B’Elanna found her attractive.
A transporter beam interrupted her thoughts, and the next thing
she knew she was sitting on the floor of the Squad’s training
hall. There were a few moments of confusion until Elizabeth
called out, “Form up.” In seconds they found their places, and
stood apprehensively waiting to see what would come next.
B’Elanna noticed that Elizabeth was standing off to one side of
the formation, instead of in the center, indicating that the
Squad leader expected a robot to appear and address them.
As before the insectoid machine halted at the front of the
formation, “Alpha Squad you failed to complete your mission.
Failing to carry out orders given by a training unit is an
infraction. Two infractions have been incurred; corrective
actions will take place now.”
B’Elanna gritted her teeth together and locked her muscles into
place, willing herself not to move, not to betray the rage she
felt, the desire to smash the emotionless Ha’DIbaH machine
standing in front of them into a smoking ruin.
Finally, after what seemed an agonizing eternity, the robot
continued, “Training will resume tomorrow. You are now permitted
to go to your hostages in the community room.” Then it turned
and left.
Looking around numbly, she saw the sick horror she was feeling
reflected on the faces around her.
“Breathe, get it together, they don’t need our anger, fear or
regret. Everyone, especially the children are going to be upset,
we don’t need to be adding to it. Clean and store your tactical
suits, and as soon as you’re calm you can leave.” Elizabeth said
in a strained voice, her face pale and tense.
Amy Lewis, who was in formation in front of B’Elanna, turned
around, and the half-Klingon couldn’t help but notice the tears
running down the older woman’s face. The sight shocked her; Amy
was usually one of the calmest people in the unit. Then she
remembered that Amy and Lee’s children were seven and five years
old, both of the young girls had pain inducers.
Her teeth ground together, keeping the curses that she wanted to
utter locked inside. ‘Breathe’, she reminded herself, no one
needed her anger, and Seven certainly didn’t need it. Dropping
to her knees she placed her hands together as Tuvok had taught
her and spent a few seconds in meditation before standing up,
and heading towards the area where they cleaned and stored the
armor, along with several of the other women. The training hall
was empting rapidly; everyone seemed to be regaining a measure
of control over their emotions at about the same time.
It only took a few seconds to walk through the sonic cleaner and
then a minute or two more to strip off the tactical suit and
store it correctly. That task done she hurried toward the common
room at a quick jog, out of the corner of her eye she noticed
Sabrina come up beside her and then keep pace with her. In front
of them were Elizabeth and Christina. Elizabeth reached the door
first and opened it.
A cacophony of distressed noise assaulted them, children
screaming or wailing stridently, and in between the bursts of
distress there was the continual lower sound of sobbing.
B’Elanna’s feet carried her onward, though it seemed for a
moment as if her brain had shut down. In small groups on the
floor, mothers held their children, trying to calm them. Her
fellow unit members were joining their families, kneeling and
embracing their lover’s and children.
Looking around the room, the half-Klingon searched for a
familiar blonde head, finally spotting Seven over in one corner.
Karen was sitting beside the blonde holding the infant Heather.
Evelyn, Karen’s eldest, was leaning against her mother’s side.
The former Borg was holding Elizabeth’s eldest child Mary, and
Christina’s eldest child Carol. Sitting between the two women
were Elizabeth’s and Christina’s youngest children Ruth and
Rebecca.
Sabrina split off from the group, joining Anuyha and Padma,
B’Elanna, Elizabeth and Christina crossed over to Seven and
Karen. Lisa came running up from behind B’Elanna just as they
came up to the two blondes seated on the floor, and promptly sat
down and wrapped one arm around Karen and pulled Evelyn into her
lap.
“Seven?” asked Elizabeth with concern as she knelt, “How did you
get the kids? Where are Maria and Nancy?”
“Carmen Ward began having contractions seven minutes, forty
seconds ago. Maria, Nancy and Terrie Rivas went with her to the
delivery room to examine her. I believe they were uncertain
whether or not she was beginning labor or having Braxton Hicks
contractions.” Seven replied as she let go of Mary and Carol who
promptly went into Elizabeth and Christina’s arms, followed by
their younger sisters. She watched the children, her eyes a
stormy bluish grey. B’Elanna could tell, from the tension in her
body and face, that she was upset. Not that B’Elanna was
surprised; she just wished everyone would move so she could hold
Seven and ask how she was doing.
B’Elanna was confused at the mention of Terrie Rivas until she
remembered the woman was a nurse-midwife.
“She’s only seven months pregnant, isn’t she?” asked Christina
with a concerned frown.
Seven nodded, “Yes, the infant will be sixty-five days early if
she is in labor.”
“Thanks for taking care of them Seven,” said Elizabeth
gratefully. Christina quickly followed with her own thanks.
“Could someone move just a bit so I can get to Seven please,”
B’Elanna finally asked, her patience exhausted.
With murmured “Sorry,” Elizabeth and Christina shifted so the
half-Klingon could finally kneel beside her lover and pull her
into a tight hug.
“Are you alright,” B’Elanna asked her face buried in Seven’s
honey blond hair.
Seven didn’t respond for a moment, “I am functioning,” she
finally answered, her head tucked into the hollow between
B’Elanna’s neck and shoulder.
B’Elanna nodded; it wasn’t as if she expected Seven to be
feeling fine after what had just happened. There were around two
hundred children in the room, of that she would guess that
seventy or so were five or older. She knew that she would have
been terrified as a child if she had felt pain like that, no
matter how long it was for. Not to mention how frightening it
must be to come out of their five seconds of pain, and see their
mothers experiencing the same thing for another ten seconds. The
half-Klingon held Seven tighter for a moment; she had found it
overwhelming to walk in this room, the noise and terror of the
children. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for
Seven.
“You are permitted to go to your quarters,” the flat voice of a
robot echoed above the din in the room.
Seven stiffened in her arms at the sound, and B’Elanna looked
around surprised, repressing a growl. She hadn’t noticed the
robot enter the room as her back was to the door.
“If you need assistance stay, otherwise it will be best if we
get the children out of this room and let them calm down,” Lee’s
voice was raised to carry over the noise.
“Is it alright for me to go Elizabeth?” asked Christina a
hopeful expression on her face.
“Yea, go ahead,” Elizabeth answered her, understanding in her
eyes.
“Want to go back to our quarters and wait for Mommy?” Christina
asked her two quietly. Silent but empathetic nods answered her.
Christina stood, carrying both children easily and moved towards
the doors.
“You need to check on everyone?” Lisa asked the unit leader, “We
can watch Mary and Ruth for you for a bit if you need us to.” As
if to dispute her words, Heather who had been fussy but quiet,
choose that moment to begin crying. From the mess on the
infant’s face B’Elanna could guess that Karen had probably just
managed to quiet her before the half-Klingon had arrived.
Seven pulled back from B’Elanna, “I am also willing to care for
them while you do your duties Elizabeth.”
“You sure Seven,” Karen asked before anyone else could say
anything, a hopeful look on her face as she rocked Heather.
B’Elanna released Seven so she could face the other woman,
“Yes,” she replied certainly, raising her voice over the infants
rising screams.
“I’d rather we got the children out of here,” Karen said. Lisa
nodded, looking almost as distressed, as she looked at Heather,
as the infant was sounding.
“You guys ok with Seven?” Elizabeth asked her two.
“Yes,” the two chorused quickly.
B’Elanna couldn’t blame them; Heather had a good set of lungs on
her, and was obviously very unhappy about something. Hopefully
the infant was only hungry or needed her diaper changed; she had
noticed that Heather was a quiet child most of the time except
in those two cases.
Unhesitatingly, the two girls scrambled back to Seven. Ruth was
marginally quicker than her sister, and managed to claim what
was obviously a favored spot on the blonde’s lap. Mary, who had
intended to reclaim her prior spot, stared at her younger sister
who was resting her head on Seven’s chest and looking at her
rather smugly, and begin to pout. Seven held out her hand and
Mary took it, allowing Seven to pull her down to sit beside the
blonde with Seven’s arm wrapped around her.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Elizabeth commented as Lisa and
Karen left with Heather and Evelyn. After receiving nods of
acknowledgement from them, the squad leader rose and began
making her way around to the couples that remained in the room.
B’Elanna sat down and watched Seven interact with the two young
girls. She hadn’t realized that the blonde had gotten to be so
adept at taking care of children, nor had she known how close
Seven had become to these two. Some of her fellow unit members
had mentioned that their partners were surprised at how Seven
was proving to be such a natural with children, but she hadn’t
really had the opportunity to really observe the blonde
interacting with any of the older children before. Watching the
three of them it was obvious that the two girls were comfortable
with Seven, and that the blonde was at equally at ease with
them.
When Elizabeth came back with Maria about twenty or so minutes
later the community room was almost empty. Both Mary and Ruth
paused to hug Seven goodbye, before running to Maria.
“Carmen is in labor, the child will be a bit premature, but at
seven months she should be just fine.” Maria informed them.
“Nancy and Terrie expect it to be a fairly quick birth, maybe
only four to five hours.”
B’Elanna stood up and offered a helping hand to Seven who had
been seated on the floor for quite some time. Seven’s eyes had
widened at Maria’s words, “Four to five hours is considered a
rapid birth? What is the standard time frame for the process?”
“Well, Mary took six hours, not long for a first child, and Ruth
took five. Once they are born and placed in your arms for the
first time, you’ll know it was all worth it.” Maria smiled.
Seven looked at Mary and Ruth for a moment dubiously, then
finally nodded accepting the statement.
A commotion at the door drew their attention. Linda Smith, from
rifle squad one, and Patricia O’Mally entered the common room.
Their three year old Brigid, looking very scared and confused,
trailed behind them crying. Patricia was also seven months
pregnant, and B’Elanna remembered someone saying something about
Patricia and Carmen having been impregnated on the same day,
like Seven and Janice. The red-headed woman was clutching her
protruding stomach with one hand, and hanging on tightly to
Linda with the other.
“Madre Dios!, what has happened,” asked Maria hurrying over to
them.
“I let my temper get the better of me,” commented Patricia,
looking extremely worried.
“She got mad and said something to the unit in our quarters,”
Linda explained tersely. “She fell, and afterward she realized
she was having contractions.”
“Ok, let’s get her to the delivery room, Nancy and Terrie are
there with Carmen.” Maria took Patricia’s other arm. Looking
over her shoulder at the couple’s daughter she asked softly,
“Brigid, would you like to stay with Mary and Ruth?”
“Honey, stay with Elizabeth, Mary and Ruth for a bit, while I
take Mother to see Nancy ok?” Linda instructed her daughter in a
reassuring tone.
Elizabeth knelt and held out a hand toward the frightened girl,
who came over silently to her. The girl watched as her mothers
and Maria entered the doors leading to the delivery room.
B’Elanna had watched all this silently, feeling particularly
helpless and guilty, even though she was certain they had done
all they could today, there had just been too many of them, and
retreat hadn’t been an option.
“The bad thing hurt Mommy,” Brigid whispered.
B’Elanna could see Elizabeth’s jaw tighten for a moment, it
wasn’t as if she could actually agree with the child, or at
least she couldn’t verbalize her agreement. “Your mother will be
alright, Nancy and Terrie will take care of her.” she said
instead.
Thank goodness the children weren’t held accountable for their
actions yet, no one was certain at what age they would be, just
that none of the children were right now. Glancing over at
Seven, she realized with a jolt how upset her lover was, it
wasn’t that obvious, but she could tell from the way the blonde
was standing, the tenseness in her body and the severe look on
her face.
“Seven?” she whispered in the blonde’s ear, concerned.
Seven turned her head and looked at her, and now B’Elanna could
see the anger in her blue eyes. Seven stared at her for a
moment, and the half-Klingon wondered, with a sinking feeling in
her chest, if the blonde was angry with her. But then the former
Borg’s countenance softened, and she wrapped her arms around
B’Elanna and buried her face against her chest.
“You two go take a warm bath together or something, I’ve got
this,” Elizabeth said to them understandingly.
“You sure?” questioned B’Elanna not wanting to leave the other
woman alone with three children to reassure.
Elizabeth nodded, “Don’t make me order you,” she grinned.
“Thanks,” B’Elanna replied gratefully, she was beginning to
think that the stresses of the day were overwhelming Seven’s
control. She suspected that the blonde had held in her own
distress for most of the day, first because of Mary and Carol,
then because Mary and Ruth had needed her reassurance. Now the
half-Klingon suspected it was all catching up, she knew she was
exhausted, after fighting for several hours, and then the
emotional horror of the afternoon. She suspected Seven wasn’t
doing much better.
They walked slowly back to their quarters, arm in arm, each
unwilling to be without the other’s support. Seven slowed as
they walked by the robot unit in their quarters, and B’Elanna
noted with alarm the increased tension in her body, and the way
the blonde was staring fixedly at the carpet. Suddenly fearful
that Seven was going to lash out, she stepped quickly between
the blonde and the machine.
“Don’t please,” she pleaded with her, dreading the thought of
Seven being punished.
Seven stared at her, her face taunt and set, finally the blonde
looked away abruptly and nodded.
B’Elanna sighed, relieved, and led the silent woman to the bath
room. Breathing easier now that they were away from the
provocation of the robot, she began filling the tub. Seven was
standing where the half-Klingon had released her, staring at the
wall, her face betraying the distress she was feeling.
“I’m sorry, we tried… the other three teams cooperated and came
against us first…” B’Elanna trailed off, feeling horrible,
remembering once again the moment she had walked into the
community room, the screaming and crying of the children. She
stared down at the floor, within moments Seven’s hands were on
her face lifting it gently.
“You would not do anything less than all you could, B’Elanna,”
Seven reassured her before pulling her head down for a long
kiss.
When their lips parted, B’Elanna stared down at Seven, thinking
how beautiful she was, and of her thoughts before the fighting
had started. “I love you,” she said in a low, intent voice.
Seven’s blue eyes widened, met the half-Klingon’s brown ones
steadfastly, “I believe that I love you as well, B’Elanna.”
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