*

The turbolift doors opened to his worst nightmare. A Borg stood in the middle of the bridge, his daughter in front of it. When his daughter saw him, she ran for him, her arms thrown wide open. He swept her into his arms.

"Daddy. Daddy." She buried her head in his neck.

He held on to her tightly, not understanding what was happening. It took him a minute to realize that Kathryn was talking to him.

"Doctor, please come meet Korok."

"Korok? From Unimatrix Zero?"

"Yes." The Klingon-Borg straightened as he addressed him.

The Doctor stepped forward, still trying to process everything. He turned to Kathryn. "Seven?"

Korok spoke, "She is regenerating on our ship."

"Your ship?"

"Yes."

The Doctor shook himself. "Is she okay?"

"We will be once she completes her regeneration cycle."

"She wasn’t hurt?"

"She is suffering from exposure and lack of oxygen, but she will recover."

The Doctor nodded, still disbelieving what he was seeing. "Can I see her?"

"Once she completes her regeneration cycle, she will be transported."

"I would like to check her. Can you transport me to your ship?"

Kathryn stepped forward. "Doctor, I don’t think that would be safe."

"Why not?"

"This area is still being affected by the eddy. Without your mobile emitter, I don’t think we should try to transfer your program to their ship. I would prefer that you wait until Seven can return here."

Before he could argue with her, Korok spoke up. "We are caring for her. You should not worry. We are Borg. We understand her needs."

The Doctor stared at the Klingon-Borg, his anger growing. No, he thought, you don’t understand her needs. You don’t understand that she needs to be touched, to be loved. You don’t understand.

But, he took a step backwards and nodded.

"Daddy, I want to go see Mommy."

He looked around the room, then spoke softly to his daughter. "We will see her soon, sweetheart. Your mommy needs to regenerate. Once she’s finished, she’ll be home." He pulled her head to him and kissed her cheek. "You just need to be patient."

"Okay fine."

"Okay fine?"

She gave him a pouting smile. "Yes, sir."

"That’s my girl." The Doctor forced his face into a smile, but as he looked around the room, his eyes were not smiling.

The drone terminated her regeneration cycle. She would have to go through a longer cycle, but first her implants had to be adjusted. They had been damaged by the cold. She would be weak, but she would regenerate more efficiently once the adjustments were made.

Her eyes opened, and it stepped up on the platform, standing close to her. It watched her eyes move slowly around the room, finally settling on it, gradually focusing on its eye, moving down its face, trying to take in its features. Then, it watched as understanding came into her face. It watched the shock change to awareness, to indecision. It watched her swallow and her lips part, her tongue licking her lips to provide them moisture. It felt her body as she prepared to speak, but no words came. It heard the question she could not bring herself to ask. It answered.

"Hello, Annika. I told you I would find you."

Kathryn B’Elanna was sitting on the sofa, watching Daddy walk back on forth before her. She was trying not to cry. She had never known Daddy to get mad before. Aunt B’Elanna could get mad. Aunt B’Elanna would get mad and yell. But she had never known Daddy to get mad like this. Not before.

Daddy was not yelling. He was just walking, stopping to look at her, then walking again. She kept her head down, looking at her hands in her lap. She hoped Daddy would say something soon.

The Doctor paced back and forth, trying to calm himself enough to talk to his daughter. She looked so small, so innocent sitting on the sofa, her hands in her lap, her legs perched over the sofa, feet dangling. And her lip was quivering. She was so close to tears and trying so hard not to cry.

She did not understand what she had done. She had saved her mother. She had been so excited that she had saved her mother, that Seven was coming home to them, to her. How could he make her understand what she had done?

Finally, he stopped pacing and sighed. Crossing to the sofa, he sat down next to her, putting his hands on his knees.

"Kathryn B’Elanna." He stopped, hunting the words. He reached up to scratch his forehead, then tried again. "Kathryn B’Elanna, I know that you did what you did to save your mother. I know how much you love your mother and how much you don’t want anything bad to happen to her. I know you were afraid of losing her, but what you did was wrong. What you did was dangerous. You were very lucky. You found the Borg who had been freed from the collective. You did not find the Borg still in the collective. If you had," he stopped, taking a deep breath, "if you had found those Borg, and they had found your mother, you would not have gotten her back. And the crew of Voyager and Kahkar’s ship might have been assimilated. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"

She sat with her head bowed, not looking at him. And not answering.

"Come here." He reached down and pulled her into his lap. He took his hand and lifted her chin so she would look at him. "Kathryn B’Elanna, do you understand why I am so upset?"

She looked into his eyes, and he saw hers becoming watery. With her chin shaking, she said, "But Mommy is okay."

He looked away from her briefly, then back at her, making certain his voice was calm and low. "Yes, she is okay. But if the Borg you contacted had been with the collective, they would have taken your mother, and you would not have gotten her back. They would have assimilated her back into the collective." He pulled her tighter to him. "Do you remember telling me that mommy’s implants made her sad?" When she nodded her head, he continued, "Well, if the collective had gotten her, they would have given her many more implants. They might have found you and given you implants. Kathryn B’Elanna, your mommy would rather die than for you to have implants. She would rather be dead than to be given more implants." He waited, feeling how still she was in his arms.

"Daddy?"

"What?"

"Mommy said the Queen didn’t want to implant me."

He took a deep breath. "No, we don’t think she does, but we don’t know for sure. And," he shifted her to force her to look into his face, "we don’t know about all of the other Borg. We have to be careful. Do you understand, Kathryn B’Elanna?" He waited. Finally, she nodded her head. "Good." He hugged her, holding her close to him. Then, he pulled her back so he could watch her face. "Kathryn B’Elanna, now, there are two things I want you to know. First, I am not going to tell you that you can’t use the alcove again. I am not going to tell you not to go near that thing again. But, I am going to tell you that if you do, you risk your mother’s life. You risk everyone’s life. You will have to make up your mind about what you do. Do you understand?"

Eyes still downcast, she nodded again.

"And second," he took a deep breath and put his hands on either side of her face, "I want you to know that I love you very much. I am very upset with you, but nothing you have done has made me love you less." He pulled her head toward him and kissed her forehead, then leaned his head to rest against it. "I love you, sweetheart and nothing is going to change that.

He drew her to him, feeling as the tears she had been fighting so hard finally let go and sobs took over her body, jerking it. He held her, rocking her until she cried herself to sleep. Then, he just sat and held her.

She was in an assimilation chamber. She was on an assimilation table. Her eyes moved nervously around the room. Then, his face came into her line of vision.

"Are you comfortable?"

Her eyes cut to the side. "I am adapting."

"You do not complain. You never did." He turned, picked up a tool and turned back to her. He reached to pull her top down. She quickly put her hand up, stopping him. His eye studied her face. "I am only going to expose your shoulder, Annika."

Slowly, she relaxed her grip on her top and allowed him to slip her top off her shoulder. He leaned over her, scanning her shoulder, using the tool to make adjustments.

"I have to inject this implant. This could be painful." When she nodded, he lifted the tool against her skin, triggering the injection. As it pierced her skin, he saw her face flinch, then go pale. "It will only take a minute, Annika."

She stifled her groan, fighting the desire to tense against the object inserted through the muscle in her shoulder. When he finally pulled back the tool, she could hold the groan back no longer. She went lightheaded and lights flickered in front of her eyes. She heard him calling her name from a great distance, then her world start to go dim. Suddenly, she felt a numbing throughout her body, and the world quit spinning. She turned her head slowly in his direction.

"I’m sorry, Annika. I didn’t realize it would be so painful for you. I’ve given you something to help with the pain." His face exhibited concern around the implants and attachments

She was drifting. The medication taking over her body, freeing it from the pain. She relaxed, the tension flowing out of her muscles. She looked up, her eyes no longer able to focus. She reached up to touch his face, trying to judge the distance between them. She touched warm flesh, a part of his face without metal. She tried to tell him thank you, but her mouth would not form the words.

Axum looked down at her, his single eye focused on her face, seeing her eyelids droop as the medication took hold. He lifted his metal encased hand to brush her hair, remembering the feel of it when he had touched it in Unimatrix Zero, touched it without metal between them. Leaning into her, he slowly lowered his head, gently pressing his lips to hers, kissing her even as he felt her slip into unconsciousness.

"I want to see my wife!"

The Doctor was facing down the huge Klingon-Borg. Both were standing, toe to toe, arms crossed across their chests.

Kathryn stepped forward. "Gentleman. Please." She forced herself between them. "Doctor, sit down." When he glared at her, she added, "Please."

He looked at the huge figure in front of him, reluctant to back down, but realizing that anger on anger would not get them anywhere. He took a deep breath and moved to the closest chair, sitting down in it and crossing his legs. He looked back at the angry face staring at him and waited.

Korok addressed Kathryn. "Seven of Nine is regenerating."

"Korok, you said she was regenerating yesterday. Shouldn’t her regeneration cycle be completed by now?"

"She did not complete her cycle yesterday."

"What?" The Doctor stood.

Kathryn held her hand up to him. "Please." Then, she turned back to Korok. "Do you know why she didn’t undergo a complete regeneration cycle yesterday?"

"Her implants needed adjusting. Her regeneration cycle was terminated so her implants could be attended to." He turned his head to the Doctor. "One of the procedures was particularly painful and pain medication had to be administered. The affect of the medication was underestimated. She was unconscious for a number of hours. She was only able to begin to regenerate again a few hours ago. She will now need to regenerate for a full twenty-four hour cycle."

The Doctor was staring at the Klingon-Borg, grief coming over his face. He turned to Kathryn. "Please. I have to go care for her. I have to make certain she’s okay. Please, Kathryn. Do something."

Kathryn nodded. She understood. She put her hands on her hips, then looked at her guest. "Korok, will you allow the Doctor to check her? On your ship, of course."

Korok looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then gave a quick nod of his head.

Kathryn almost sighed in relief. "Get ready, Doctor. We’re sending you over in a shuttle."

Dr. Zimmerman helped him fit the mobile emitter to his back. "This has a five hour battery life. I hope that’s enough."

"Me, too." The Doctor shifted the pack on his back, settling it into place. "Okay, let’s transfer my program."

Dr. Zimmerman moved to the console and keyed commands into the system. He watched as the Doctor’s image fritzed, then stabilized. Checking the status indicators, he nodded. "Looks like everything is functioning." He walked over and patted the Doctor on his arm. "Tell Seven I said hurry home."

The Doctor grinned at him. "I’ll be sure to tell her you said that."

"Go." Dr. Zimmerman pushed him gently. "You’re wasting precious battery time."

The Doctor picked up the small bag he had prepared, left Dr. Zimmerman’s lab and rushed for the shuttle bay. Entering the shuttle, he slid into the seat next to Chakotay and said, "I’m ready."

Chakotay activated the shuttle’s engines, flying it out of the shuttle bay. As they flew toward the ship waiting off Voyager’s bow, the Doctor spoke, "Thank you for doing this."

"You’re welcome, Doctor. I’m glad to do it." He gave the Doctor a humorous look, "I’m going to take a nap while you check on Seven."

Despite himself, the Doctor laughed. "I’ll try to make certain I’m there for as long as my battery on this thing holds out."

Chakotay grinned, then concentrated on flying the shuttle into the Borg ship. When they landed, the Doctor rose from his seat and headed for the shuttle’s doors. Before he left, he turned to Chakotay. "Sweet dreams." Then, he left.

As soon as his feet hit the deck of the ship, drones appeared on either side of him and wordlessly led him through the ship, through a maze of twists and turns. Finally, the drones stopped and stood, almost at attention at an open door. He hesitantly moved forward coming into a larger room, flanked with alcoves. Straight ahead of him, he saw her. Moving quickly toward her, he pulled the tricorder out, activating it and scanning her. Relief filled him as he read the diagnostics, seeing that, except for some lingering effects of her exposure to the cold, she was in good health. He noted that her nanoprobes were effectively repairing the patches of frostbite. Frowning, he checked the implant in her shoulder, surprised that it was functioning perfectly. This implant was always causing problems and nothing he was able to do seemed to repair it. She had finally quit telling him it was hurting her, but he had learned to read the signs and would almost have to force her to let him try to adjust it. Whatever they had done to it had fixed it.

"I had to inject it."

He jerked around, surprised to see the drone that stood close to him. "I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in."

The drone was looking at Seven. "The implant required adjustment. I had to inject it, but it is fully repaired now."

"So I can tell." The Doctor smiled uncomfortably at him. "Maybe you will teach me how to repair it. It often gives her trouble."

"It should not be a problem now. But, I will teach you how to repair it."

The Doctor finished his scan and closed his tricorder. "She is in excellent shape. You did a good job." He gave the drone a glance. "I’m assuming you were the one who cared for her."

"Yes, I did."

"Then I want to thank you. I know Seven will appreciate what you did to help her."

The drone finally turned to him, it’s optical implant blinking at him. The Doctor saw the features of the drone behind the implants and could not help but think that he had been rather handsome at one time in his life.

When the drone did not say anything, the Doctor asked, "When will her cycle terminate?"

The drone focused on Seven, "Approximately fifteen hours."

He watched his wife for a few moments. "We’re anxious for her to come home."

The drone twisted his head toward the Doctor. "You are the husband."

A smile broke over the Doctor’s face. "Yes, I’m her husband." He saw something in the drone’s eye. Before he could say anything else, the drone turned to leave.

"When her cycle is over, she will be returned to your ship."

"Yes. Of course. Oh." He quickly moved to intercept the drone before it could leave the room. "I would like for you to teach me how to take care of that implant."

The drone hesitated. "I have a task to complete. We will still be in the area tomorrow. I will teach you then."

"Good. Thank you very much."

The drone left, and the Doctor moved back to his wife. He stepped up on the platform and lifted his hand, gently rubbing the backs of his fingers against her cheek. He stood, his eyes focused on his wife’s face, not noticing the drone was standing in the doorway watching them.

Tom walked out of the Doctor’s office and leaned against the doorframe. After a few minutes, he walked over to the main biobed, reached out and gently shook Ketaria.

"Ketaria," he whispered, "why don’t you go get some sleep. Kahkar is doing much better now. I think it would be safe for you to rest for a while."

She shook her head. "Thank you, Tom, but I would never be able to rest away from him."

Tom indicated a nearby biobed with his head. "Then why don’t you at least sleep on one of those. I’ll wake you if something happens."

She reached out and gently ran her hand down Kahkar’s arm. "I can’t, Tom." Her voice cracked as she talked. She gave him a sad, slightly embarrassed smile, "I have to be touching him. I have to be in contact with him."

Tom reached back for a chair and pulled it up so he could sit next to her. "Helping Kahkar find his way back?"

"Not really. Although I am helping him stay centered and calm so he can rest." Her eyes moved to her husband’s face, then back to Tom’s. "I cannot bear to be separated from him."

"I understand." He patted his hand on his knee. "Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat?"

She started to shake her head, then stopped. "Actually, Tom, I am hungry"

"Wonderful. Then I have a surprise for you." Reaching up to tap his combadge, he said, "Tom to Neelix. You can send that care package."

In a matter of seconds, an object materialized in a nearby biobed. Tom stood and picked it up and placed it on a tray for Ketaria. "Supala and Neelix fixed this for you. They told me to let them know when you woke up."

Ketaria picked up the napkin and placed it in her lap. She leaned forward and sniffed. "This smells delicious." Picking up the fork, she speared a morsel and ate it. "And it tastes delicious."

Tom grinned. "I’ll be sure to tell them you said that."

"May I offer to share? I think there is plenty here for two."

"No, please eat and enjoy. I’ll go get something soon." As he finished speaking, blue lights once again appeared in the sickbay. They looked to it and saw another plate appear on the biobed. Tom laughed and went to get his own plate. "Well, looks like those two thought of everything." Placing his plate on another tray, he rolled it close to Ketaria’s and joined her.

They ate silently for a few minutes. Then, Ketaria asked, "Tom, do you have any idea of when Kahkar might regain consciousness?"

Tom shook his head. "Not really." He chewed his food, then said, "He isn’t in a coma, Ketaria. He’ll wake up soon. Besides, the Doctor said he would wake him when he gets back and try to get him moving. He doesn’t want pneumonia to set in."

Ketaria let out a small breath of relief. "I am anxious to be able to talk to him."

"I know you are." Tom watched her face. "That’s the closest you have ever come to losing him, isn’t it?"

Ketaria nodded, her eyes tearing. "Yes, and I am afraid I did not handle it very well."

Tom gave her an understanding look. "That’s the last thing you should worry about. Almost losing someone you love should make you react like that. I remember when I thought B’Elanna was going to die. I went a little crazy. I don’t think I have ever felt so desperate."

"So I was being normal?" A hint of humor came into her eyes.

"If you hadn’t been a bit crazy, it wouldn’t have been normal."

She laughed lightly, leaning back in her chair and playing with her food with her fork. "If he had died, Tom, I don’t know if I would have wanted to live. I have never been so scared." Her eyes moved to look up at the ceiling. "I have never felt such loss as I felt…."

"But he’s alive, Ketaria."

"Yes. And I am thankful for that."

He frowned. "But?"

She put down her fork and looked over at her husband. "But, I have to wonder about the cost."

He nodded. "Kathryn B’Elanna."

"Yes. I am afraid that what she did has unloosed a monster."

"That’s about what B’Elanna said." He put down his own fork. "B’Elanna’s so mad at her right now she can’t even be around her."

"B’Elanna will calm down. She knows that anger is not an appropriate way to deal with Kathryn B’Elanna. But the child has to understand what she had done. She was lucky. We all were lucky. I don’t know how we are going to be able to assure that she never does anything like that again."

"I know the Doctor talked to her."

"What did he say? Do you know?"

"Not everything, although I know he did not forbid her to use the alcove again."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was really worried about that, but he said he was more afraid of making the alcove something forbidden."

"What is forbidden is more desirable?"

"Exactly."

"I think that was a smart move. Kathryn B’Elanna has a greater understanding about things than we often realize, but she is still very much a child. It is sometimes hard to remember that."

"I know." Tom picked up his fork, but before he could take a bite, he heard a low groan.

They both turned to Kahkar and froze, waiting. Then, there was a slight movement of his head. They jumped up and moved to him, one on each side, hunting his face for signs of life. First, there was nothing, then there was movement in his eyes and his eyelids slowly blinked their way open. His eyes stared forward, not trying to see anything.

"Kahkar?" Ketaria reached to touch his face. His head slowly turned in her direction. "Hello. It is good to see your eyes."

He licked his lips, turning towards Tom when Tom spoke. "Welcome back, Kahkar. You’re on Voyager and everything is okay."

He moved slightly as if trying to get the feel of his body back. His eyes changed from awareness to confusion to recognition. Then, a question came into them. He looked up at Tom and spoke in a broken whisper, "Seven?"

"She’s fine." Tom smiled, not letting anything else into his face. "She’s regenerating. You’re both going to be fine."

Kahkar nodded his head slightly, wincing as the movement sent shivers through him. He felt Ketaria’s hand slip into his and grip it gently. As best as he could, he smiled at her. Then, his eyes started to look around the sickbay, and he sniffed. He looked at his wife and asked, "Is that Supala’s stew?"

Tom and Ketaria broke into wild peels of laughter. Tom worked to compose himself, wiping tears from his eyes. Lightly patting Kahkar’s arm, he said, "Ketaria, I think he’s going to be okay."

Her regeneration cycle was ending. It was as if she was rising from the bottom of a deep pool into which she had dived, going straight down. Now, she was rising toward the surface, the light above her becoming brighter, the sounds around her sharper and more distinct. She could feel things, the slight current of air from the energy charge that still poured through her body, the static electricity given off by the alcove. And his presence.

She opened her eyes, looking immediately to her left and into his eye.

"Hello, Annika."

Her eyes narrowed sharply. "Axum." She swallowed. "It was not a dream."

"No." He stepped closer. "It was not a dream."

She stared at him, aware of the closeness of his body. "How?"

He cocked his head to the right, his eye cast down, then lifted to hers. "There is time for that later. Come, you should eat." He reached out and lightly gripped her upper arm, pulling gently. When she pulled back slightly, he said, "Your body needs nourishment. Please, come."

She allowed him to assist her off of the platform, stumbling as she stepped down. She reached out, placing her hands on against his chest to steady herself, and he grabbed her, holding her while she regained her balance. For a second, they stood, then she pulled back.

"Thank you."

"You will have to be careful. Your body is still recovering from your experience. You must not push yourself."

She extricated herself from his grip. "Yes. I will. Thank you."

He forced himself to pull his hands back. "Come. I will take you to our mess hall." He started walking, careful to move slowly through the corridors of the ship

She fell into step beside him. "Mess hall? On a Borg vessel?"

"We adapted one of the regeneration alcove chambers to serve as a mess hall. Many of us find we prefer to obtain our nourishment through eating. Rediscovering food has been a luxury."

"But not for all."

"No." He moved sideways to allow a drone to pass, noticing that Seven eyed it nervously. "Not everyone is willing to forego their regeneration to eat. Some of us consider eating to be an inefficient means of obtaining nutritional supplements." He gave her a sideways glance. "What about you?"

She raised her eyebrow. "I prefer eating."

"So do I." He tried to smile at her, noticing that she quickly turned away.

She was uncertain. He could feel it. Being close to her rekindled old memories, old feelings. He watched her walk, seeing the way she swung her arms, reading her body language. She was conflicted. And scared. She did not understand what being on this ship meant. And she was not ready to ask.

He knew her well. He knew her as well as she knew herself. Even after all of these years, he knew what she was feeling and the battle she was waging with herself. She wanted to know if her family knew she was safe. She wanted to know if they planned to return her to them.

He led her into a small room, filled with tables and chairs. He sat her at one of them and went to get her a tray, placing it in front of her and sitting down across from her.

"Eat." He pointed to the plate of food. "You will find that it is surprisingly good. One of our freed drones turned out to be a good cook." He watched as she hesitatingly picked up a fork and started to eat. She was hungry. He could tell. She had had many of the implants removed that would have supplemented her body, eliminating the need to eat. Regeneration would feed her implants, but not her body. "Voyager is close by."

Her head shot up. He saw the question in her eyes. Nodding his head, he said, "Your friend is alive. We were able to rescue both of you and get him to Voyager in time to be saved." He focused on her tray of food. "You have a competent doctor. He saved your friend’s life."

"You know…." Her voice trailed off.

"Yes." He raised his head. "Actually, he came here to care for you."

Her eyes widened. "He was here?"

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Yes, Annika, I met your husband." She did not respond, but the corners of her mouth twitched. "I have promised to teach him how to adjust your implant." He pointed at her shoulder.

"Did he know who you were?"

"No, Annika. I did not tell him my name." He glanced down at her plate. "You need to finish your meal. I promised him you would transport over when your regeneration cycle was over."

"I will go now." She started to stand.

"No. Please." He stood with her. "Finish your meal." He gave her an imploring look. "Please, Annika."

Her jaw line tightened, but she slowly sat down. After a moment, she picked up her fork.

"Thank you." He watched as she started to eat again, sensing her desire to go. To return to her family. To leave this ship. To leave him.