The Set Up


Summary: Just how did Harry get Seven to go to the party? A prequel of sorts to "There Is
No Point."


        Like any normal day on the starship Voyager, the messhall was buzzing with activity
during supper. Crewmembers maneuvered around as they chose the best looking or smelling
daily specialties created by Neelix. Once the people decided which dish was the least
worse, they went on to meet their friends while shuffling the padds from their duties.
When they settled at their tables, gossip spread like wildfire amongst grumbles of work .


        Harry Kim sat alone at a far corner staring at a padd, and looked generally worn out. He
was so worn out in fact, he turned away people that came to request to sit with him. All
signs pointed to the fact that he was really unpleasant, yet he still was able to
maintained his well known friendly manner, if only a bit more reserve. 

        "Hey Harry!" Tom Paris called out as he approached Harry carrying a tray of 'Delta
Quadrant Delights' that some members of the crew dubbed as 'Alpha Quadrant poisons'. 

        "You mind finding another place to sit?" Harry asked half sincerely without taking his
eyes off the padd.  

        "Now Harry, that's not the way to greet your best friend," Tom said sarcastically as he
sat down. "You look like a need some cheering up, and who's better than me to take that
job."

        Harry knew it was futile to get Tom to leave him alone, so he did not bother asking
again. He looked up briefly to acknowledge Tom's presence, but quickly turned his
attention back to the padd. "I'll cheer up a bit when I get this report done."

        "Really Harry? A single report?" Tom knew Harry well enough to know that Harry has a
tendency to hide his problems under the false pretense of work. After coming through so
many times during his moment of crisis, Tom felt it was necessary to return the favor to
Harry. He was determined to find out what it was that bothered Harry and do what he could
to help. "Come on Harry, tell me what's wrong. I'm not saying I'll know the answer to
whatever problems you have, but it helps to get it off your chest anyway."

        Harry considered Tom's offer. His mind told him it was in his best interest, since it
wasn't good to keep problems bottled up inside that would eventually turn to distraction.
Then again he could choose to just wait for the problems to go away. However, he didn't
want to suffer through the miserable few days that it would take. Waiting also meant he
wouldn't be able to go the event. Clearly the most beneficial thing to do was if he just
told Tom, after all, Tom was his best friend and could always offer a few solutions to
his problems. "Well Tom, for one thing the work is part of the problem. But I can handle
that just fine. Everyone will have to go through that phase sometime, right?"

        Tom nodded his head in sympathy. He knew very well of the certain times when the higher
ups wanted more reports than one could do in the amount of time given.

        Harry continued pessimistically. "And.... I actually feel stupid for saying this," 
he paused to take a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "It's about the resort night!"
Harry finally blurted out, just loud enough to convey a sense of desperation, but not
enough that others in the messhall could hear.

        Tom grinned. "So it's the night of fun Neelix is hosting... I actually helped Neelix
planned that you know. After going through the tough year, it's a nice event to get the
crew together, find something to celebrate, and unwind."

        "Unwind?" Harry snapped. "It's tying me up in knots!" 

        "Wait a second there Harry." It all made sense to Tom just what were exactly Harry's
problems. "I think I know what your problem is. Now, you're a great guy, so how could you
not get anyone to go with you?" 

        "One problem, Jenny Delaney wouldn't stop leaving me alone," Harry described with
extreme repulsiveness. "First it was subtle hints, then the hypothetical questions. But
now she just stops me at every opportunity to bug me about it! She keeps harassing me
every chance she gets!" 

        "Wait a minute, Jenny is after you and you're complaining?!"

        "Like I told you before, Jenny's aggressiveness scares me. And you know I like Megan,"
Harry said, emphasizing the name. "I tried so many times to ask her to go with me, but
she keeps going on and on about Jenny and how great it is if I go with her. Then some
other guy asked and she accepted his invitation."

        "This only happens to you Harry." 

        "Yes, poor Harry."

        Tom stopped to consider a solution for his friend. A certain unique woman came to mind.
"You know Harry, have you considered asking Seven?"

        Harry dismissed Tom's idea immediately. "Right Tom, some solution. Be serious please." 

        "No really Harry, I'm serious. Ask Seven," Tom encouraged. "You consider her your friend
right? She probably considers you a friend too. So why not ask Seven? You could help her
expand her social skills."

        "That's the Doctor's job Tom. She probably thinks the whole event irrelevant and an
inefficient use of time anyway. I think it's best if I go volunteer for bridge duties
during the party."

        "Come on Harry! Do you really don't want to deny yourself some fun?"

        "That's the price I'll have to pay then. I'm not going to go alone. Think about all the
gossip that would go around when everyone sees that."

        "Then ask Seven! Don't you deny the fact that inside you still have a tiny little crush
on her. Sometime you just have to take a chance." Tom looked over Harry's shoulder to see
that Seven of Nine had entered the mess hall. He made eye contact with her and she made
her way to their table. 

        "Ok Tom, even if I should ask her, how am I going to go about doing it?" Harry had
completely missed Tom looking over his shoulder. He was mesmerized by the wonderful
colors of Neelix's food.

        "Make it short and sweet Harry. I've got to go!" Tom abruptly left the table, which
caused Harry to turn to see where Tom was going. At the exact moment Harry turned, Seven
arrived.

        "Seven!" 

        "Ensign Kim. May I sit here?"

        "Ahh... sure! Go ahead."

        Seven sat down and pushed Neelix's offensive meal aside. Seven simply stared at Harry
for a long moment as Harry debated whether he should take Tom's advice and ask Seven. 
She finally broke the silence. "Your facial features and body language suggest that you
have a question to ask me. Please state your question." 

        'Where had that come from?' Harry thought. He knew Seven had the abilities to pick up
things a normal human couldn't, given her enhanced artificial eye, eidetic memory, and
her Borg intelligence. But she could sense when someone has a question to ask just by
their body language and facial features? Harry was suspicious; something was going on. He
proceeded cautiously, and nervously with the question. "You know about the year end event
Neelix planned..."

        "That would be acceptable," Seven calmly answered before the question was asked.

        'Seven said yes? Yes! What a sweet answer! But wait a second, the question wasn't even
asked yet... so how... why did Seven said it would be acceptable?' As he was regaining
his composure, it became clear to him. He sensed it was all part of a setup by Tom and
Seven. That would explain what Seven said when she hadn't heard the question yet.

        "Seven, did Tom put you up for this?" 

        "Ensign Paris only assisted me."

        Tom didn't set him up; Seven wanted him to go with him! Harry couldn't help but break
into a large smile with that revelation. Seven followed by curving her lips slightly
upward, showing a rare smile that Harry had the good luck to have seen in a few occasions. 

        The problem was solved.

The End