B'Elanna Torres entered the darkened cargo bay quietly and crept up to the regeneration alcove which housed the ex-borg woman. It was common knowledge that Seven of Nine had been having a rough time since her recent encounter with the Borg Queen. She had been having trouble regenerating and the captain had asked B'Elanna to drop by before she went off duty to check out the alcove itself and see if there was any malfunction in its systems. B'Elanna's attitude to Seven had softened somewhat recently, noting the emotional pain and the fear the young woman was clearly experiencing, and she was unwilling to wake Seven unecessarily so she carried out her check siently, efficiently and quickly, working around the statuesque Seven.

Having exhausted all other opitions, B'Elanna was kneeling down to check the primary power supply when she heard a whimper above her and looked up. Seven's usually peaceful countenance was now a picture of torment. Her hands were gripping the armrests so tightly that her knuckles had gone white and her breathing was shallow and raspy. The borg began rolling her head from side to side in her distress and panicked sounds and pleading words escaped her trembling lips. "Noooo!" she suddenly screamed, making B'Elanna jump, "Please....Mummy, I'm scared......where are you?...... nooooooo!" The pleading went on, making less and less sense and B'Elanna sprang up and tapped the emergency shutdown sequence into the alcove's control panel.
"Seven, it's okay....wake up" she urged, taking the borg woman by the arm.

As Seven woke from the hell of assimilation she felt the blood drain from her brain and her heart. She collapsed almost immediately, but was caught by strong arms long before she hit the deck, arms that cradled her gently and held her to a warm, comforting chest until the spasms of her body wore off. She heard the deep soothing voice droning on, "It's alright Seven, it's just a bad dream. You're safe now, it's over......." The tranquilising voice went on and the arms held her until she had stopped shaking and was calm. Full of gratitude, she looked up into deep dark eyes and was filled with their peace. It was only then that she realised that they were the eyes of....... Lietenant B'Elanna Torres!

"Lieutenant" she stammered, sitting up hurriedly, "I...I'm sorry."
B'Elanna smiled, "No, Seven, don't be sorry," she said softly, her hand rubbing Seven's back comfortingly, "Everyone has bad dreams sometimes. I'm glad I was here to bring you out of it."
"Yes.....I am grateful, thank you" said Seven, her voice still shaky, as she struggled a little to stand up.
B'Elanna helped Seven to her feet, keeping a calming hand on the borg's arm, and enquired gently "Do you want to talk about it, Seven? Sometimes it can help."
"I.....I do not know," she was struggling to regain her customary borg calm.
B'Elanna thought and then offered "I'll tell you what, why don't you come home with me? Have a drink and relax. If you feel like talking, I'll listen, if not you don't have to, okay?" Seven really didn't want to be alone, but she was confused by the gentleness and concern that the usually irascible Klingon was showing her.
"Why are you being so kind?" she asked, suspiciously, "You hate me!"
"Seven, I don't!" B'Elanna protested, wincing at the thought of how she'd treated the borg in the past, "you annoy the hell out of me sometimes but I don't hate you. Besides, I've been somewhere near where you are. I know what it's like - trying to work out who and what you are, where you belong, how you fit in, it's tough. I'd like to help if I can." Seven relaxed as the sincerity in B'Elanna's voice calmed her fears. She was close to inexplicable tears, tears of gratitude that there was someone who understood.
"Thank you" she almost whispered, "I have no wish to be alone at this time. I would like to come home with you, Lieutenant."
"Good," smiled the Klingon tenderly "let's go......but call me B'Elanna."

* * * * * *

Sitting stiffly on B'Elanna's sofa while the Klingon changed in the bedroom, Seven clutched her drink and tried to clear her head. She was unaccostomed to this kind of situation and was unsure of how to behave. "Seven," said B'Elanna in mock irritaion as she came through the door, "relax, will you."
"I.....I cannot"
"Do you even know how?" asked B'Elanna as she sidled over and sat down next to the rigid Borg.
"I am unsure of your meaning, B'Elanna. Relaxation is irrelevant to the Borg."
B'Elanna smiled indulgently and shook her head a little. "Well it's certainly not irrelevant to humans, Seven. If you keep this up your going to do yourself an injury.......will you let me help?" Seven looked apprehensivly at her host and B'Elanna laughed "Don't worry, it won't hurt!"
"Very well. What do I do?"
"You don't do anything, Seven. That's kinda the point." She reached out and took Seven's glass from her hand placing it on the table before the couch.Then she carefully raised her hands and reached around to undo the tight knot that held Seven's hair in its rigid style. Seven moved slightly away but B'Elanna soothed "It's ok, Seven, trust me." Despite her trepidation, the reassuring look in B'Elanna's dark eyes made her relax a little and she allowed the Klingon to free her golden mane and arrange it in soft waves around her shoulders. When she had finished rearranging Seven's hair, B'Elanna let her hands rest on the blonde's shoulders for a few seconds and then, very gently caressing the Borg's cheek she said dreamily "Kahless, Seven. You are so beautiful!" and she smiled with a tenderness that filled Seven's chest with a strange, unknown feeling of warmth. She tried to speak but her breath caught in her throat as her skin began to tingle under B'Elanna's touch. Her eyes were trapped by B'Elanna's gaze and she was unable or unwilling to break the contact, but as the Klingon's hand ran slowly down her neck she felt her head dropping back and her eyes closing, and she let out a soft whimper.

"B'Elanna..." she heard herself saying breathily, "wha....what are you...doing?"
In a voice that was deceptively steady the young engineer replied "Oh, I think you know, Seven."
"You are.....attempting to...seduce me?"
B'Elanna smiled to herself and laughed softly "Yes, something like that..." then as she slowly let her hand trail down Seven's arm as her other arm drapped itself casually along the back of the couch behind Seven's neck. "You don't seem to be resisting, Seven. Does that mean my 'attempt' is succeeding?"
Seven was mesmerised. She turned her head to face B'Elanna, "In this case..." she replied, her face just inches from B'Elanna's, "I think resistance would be futile." Seven's heart was beating so fast now, if a little arythmically, that she could almost hear the blood pumping through her veins. B'Elanna's hands were exploring her all over, and yet they were demmanding nothing in their tenderness. The smile that played around the Klingon's lips, combined with the new sensations her body was experiencing, sent a wave of pleasure through her and she began to tremble. "Am I making you uncomfortable, Seven?" B'Elanna asked softly, never removing her roving hands from Seven's gorgeous body.
"Yes" whispered the Borg as she arched into the touch "but do not stop."
"Are you sure? I don't want to rush you" B'Elanna asked as she leant in to graze he lips up Seven's neck.
"Aaaah!" came the quiet response as another shiver crawled down Seven's spine, "Yes.....oh, yes" She turned her face into B'Elanna's thick black hair as the Klingon nuzzled her neck. "I....I do not know...what to do" she admitted in a voice shaky with desire. B'Elanna pulled away a little to look her in the eyes. "What do you want to do?" she asked.
"I...I want to touch you....to feel you....to make love with you," she lowered her head, ashamed of her ignorance "but I do not know how."
B'Elanna stroked Seven's cheek and lifted the young woman's face with a gentle hand under her chin. "Yes you do, Seven. Deep down you know. And it will come naturally once you start. Let me show you." She reached out to take Seven's hands and she layed one of them on her thigh and the other she held to her heaving bosom. Then she leaned towards Seven and grazed her lips with her own, murmurring gently against them. "Just go with it Seven," she encouraged softly, "Don't think...don't analyse....just....let..go."

As their lips met she heard a sigh escape B'Elanna's lips and began to move her hands on the firm Klingon body, enjoying the slight trembling that her touch induced. Then B'Elanna pulled back a little and looked into Seven's eyes. "Seven," she said "before we go any further I want to apologize. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch. I think it was because I wanted you so much and I couldn't get close to you. It made me crazy, it made me tense and I made you pay for it. I'm so sorry."
Seven looked at her thoughtfully "I..understand" she said, suprised at the admission, then added "I would not let you get close, I have been.....cold."
B'Elanna raised a hand to stroke the silky skin of Seven's cheek. "It wasn't your fault," she soothed "it was all so new for you, you didn't understand. You were still learning."
"Yes, but I have learnt a lot and now I think I understand. I will not be cold towards you any more......and you are forgiven." She leaned in to kiss B'Elanna's smiling lips tenderly.
"Thank you" B'Elanna murmurred through her pleasure, and moved her lips down to lick and nibble at Seven's neck, causing the blond to shudder and gasp.
Seven said slowly in a voice ragged with desire, "Speaking of tension.....I thought you were going to....relax me.....This does not feel... very...relaxing."
"Well you to have the tension first, before you can have the release," B'Elanna explained, biting into Seven's neck and making her cry out. "Don't worry, by the time I'm through with you you'll be so relaxed I'll have to carry you to bed."
Seven laughed, a tinkling joyful giggle, "B'Elanna, I do not believe you would be able to carry me."
B'Elanna pulled back, a look of amuzement and challenge in her eyes. "Oh really!?" she said, a smile of delight on her lips.

The the Klingon rose, pulled the startled Seven to her feet and swept her up into her arms, all in one powerful, flowing movement that left Seven breathless. "B'Elanna Torres!" she panted "I did not know you were so strong!"
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Seven."
"So it would seem, but I would like to learn..." she buried her hands in B'Elanna's luscious hair and bent her lips to kiss her deeply, then added "very much."
In a perfect imitation of the gorgeous creature in her arms B'Elanna quirked an eyebrow, cocked her head and announced "that would be.....acceptable." Seven laughed indulgently and showered B'Elanna's face and lips with kisses as she was carried into the bedroom and deposited carefully onto the large bed. B'Elanna lay beside her and started to caress her cheeks, neck, chest and the nipples that were straining at the tight fabric of her suit, following the path of her hands with passionate kisses as the young Borg writhed in ecstacy under her and clutched at her shoulders. "There's just....one thing ...I want....to know," B'Elanna said between her hot kisses.
"And what is that?" came the rasping voice below her.
She looked up, resting her chin on Seven's chest. "How the hell do I get into this dammed biosuit?"

The End

SW
26/04/00