Title: Stuck in This Together
Author: Stefan C.
E-mail: cilia@mmedia.is
Rating: n/a
Archive: Go for it just tell me about it.
Summary: Seven and Harry stuck on the Flyer for seven days.
Note: <> Indicates telepathy.
Disclairment: They own it not me, I'm no making a cent of this story.

Stuck in This Together.

By: Stefan C.

Day 1.

"Ensign, bring the Delta Flyer around, by zero, zero, two degrees." Rang the cold analytical voice of Seven Of Nine, the commander of this two man mission.

"Yes ma'am." Replied Ensign Harry Kim.

Great stuck on the Flyer for seven days, nine at the most, if they found anything interesting. Great idea Harry, using the Delta Flyer to chart ahead at slipstream. Christ! Stuck on the Flyer with Seven. A dream come true, yeah right, a nightmare more like it.

Harry leaned back in the pilots seat.

"The Flyer is on auto-pilot, sensors are active and showing nothing of interest. Permission to have lunch?" He shot a look up towards Seven where she sat his usual post.

"Permission granted Ensign. I will join you."

They sat at the small table in the back of the Flyer, Harry eating a sandwich with peanut butter, while Seven drank one of her usual nutritional supplements. They ate in silence. Both seemed to be unsure of what to say until Harry finally spoke up.

"What does that taste like?" He asked out of the blue. "I'm curious I see you drinking it every single day."

Seven looked down at her cup.

"I cannot describe it since I have a very limited frame of reference." She stated in her usual cold voice.

"Mind if I taste it?" He asked.

She handed him the cup.

"Do so at your own risk." She stated flatly. Harry smiled and took the cup. First he smelled it, strange no smell, then he carefully brought it to his lips, he sipped, he coughed and spit it straight at Seven.

Seven looked down at front of her suit.

"I'm so sorry." He said and held up the cup. "But this stuff is awful how are you able to drink it.?" Seven was cleaning the front of her suit with a tissue. Harry had luckily not tried to wipe the fluid it away for her.

"It is an acquired taste." She stated, not seeming the least bit upset. She looked down at her front again.

"I did not bring a spare." She said, seeing that the stain would not be coming out.

"Recycle it and replicate another one." Harry said, in a mater of fact tone.

"I will do so. But you may wish to turn away." Harry stood up and backed away.

"If you need me I'll be in the cockpit." He sat down into the pilots seat. Great way to start the mission. He leaned back and held his hand to his forehead this was going to be a long week.

"Ensign Kim I need your assistance." Came from the back of the Flyer. Harry stood up and walked to the back. Almost jumping his height when he saw Seven, standing wearing nothing but blue lingerie, holding a Starfleet uniform.

"The replicator refuses to replicate my clothing, instead it keeps producing this." She held out the uniform. Harry shielded his eyes.

"And you need my help why?"

"I'm unfamiliar with this style of clothing. I need your help in putting them on." She stated in her stoic voice.

Harry looked up.

"You want me to dress you?" He asked in a amazement.,

"Yes!" She said in a voice that could only be described as annoyed.

Harry blew out a breath. "Oho boy!" He whispered as he took a step towards Seven, excepting the clothes from her.

"Let's begin with the turtleneck." He said and lifted up the garment. "Hold up your hands." He said, mentally reminding himself to stay calm. Seven did as was asked of her. Harry let her arms slide into the sleeves, now that see wasn't wearing heels he had inches on her. He helped her get her head through and pulling the turtleneck down. He noticed thin shinning wires running along her skin. Next came the pants, that she could almost do on her own. Socks where no problem. Shoes where a little trickier, since her normal outfit had them build in. Next came the jacket, with red shoulders.

"I wonder why they're red?" He thought out loud.

"The Flyer's computer identifies me as the commander of this mission so it's highly probable that it replicated the uniform assuming that I was a command officer."

"Well I think it looks good on you." He said with a smile. Seven gave an uncustomary smile, no one had ever complimented her on her appearance before.

"Thank you." She said, he voice a little softer the normal, but it immediately snapped back.

She pulled the pins out of her hair, it had come loose when Harry had pulled the turtleneck over her head. The hair fell down over her shoulders and Harry couldn't help but to stare.

"Ensign are you alright?" She asked in a confused voice. She had seen him like this several times before, but always asked that same question. Harry shook his head.

"I'm fine, it's just I've never seen you with your hair like that." He said and smiled one of his famous oho-I'm-so-embarrassed smiles.

Seven gathered her hair back into it's usual bun.

"Let's get back to our stations." She stated simply.

"Yes ma'am." Harry said and returned to his station, glad for the escape Seven had offered both of them.

After a dinner, which was quiet, they each went to their individual tasks. Seven read some of the texts she had brought with her. While Harry started putting his clarinet together. He held it up.

"You mind if I play a little?" He asked. Seven merely nodded. Harry brought the clarinet to his lips and ran the scales before he began to play. Seven found herself listening to the music, while reading over a text on the concept of dating. After an hour or so Harry stopped and started taking the clarinet apart.

"You think I should cut my hair?" Asked Seven, out of the blue. Harry looked up from his clarinet case.

"What?" He asked, caught more then a little of guard by the question.

"You think I should cut my hair?" She asked again. Harry just looked at her.

"Why?" He asked, just who and where left now.

"I've been thinking, having my hair in a bundle isn't really efficient." She said in her calm voice.

"Hey it's your hair." Harry replied.

"Yes it's." She said as she stood up. "I need to regenerate."

"Need help plugging in?" Harry asked.

"Yes I do. I also acquire your assistance in removing my clothing." Harry almost had to grab his jaw to prevent it from falling.

The walked over to the two bunks, that went into the walls. The Doctor and Seven had designed a potable alcove, in case anything ever happened. This had seemed like a good chance to field test it.

Seven removed the jacket and Harry helped Seven pull the turtleneck over her head, then he helped her slip the shoes off. then came the pants and Harry again had to slap himself mentally, so far this fitted pretty well into some of his fantasies..

Seven lay down on her stomach. The portable alcove had been designed to fit into a large medkit, it was a battery with two pads that had to placed between the shoulder blades and at the lower back, just above the buttocks. Harry sighed in his mind. He carefully placed the first pad between the shoulder blades, the he took the next one and breathed deeply.

"Is there something wrong Ensign?" She asked, her voice to revealing anything, although the sensation of feeling the touch of Ensign Kim was not unpleasant.

"Nothing wrong." He stated in as calm a voice as he could muster. He then gently placed the second pad above the string of her undergarments, trying not to touch bare skin. He then reached for the switch on the battery.

"Good night Seven." He said and pressed the switch.

"Good night Harry…" Her voice faded out, the portable wasn't as fast acting as your normal alcove. Harry's eyes turned wide. He stood up and walked over to his bunk, in a trance like state. Stripping down to his boxers, butting on pajama bottoms and folding his uniform neatly together. When he lay down and closed his eyes, he smiled and whispered.

"She called me Harry."

Day 2.

"Ensign." Came a soft voice. Harry hugged his pillow closer and mumbled something incoherent. A hand was placed on his bare shoulder, it was cold.

"Ensign." The voice again, calling him away from the land of dreams. The hand shook the shoulder and Harry eyes snapped open.

"Who? What?" He looked up into the crystal blue eyes of Seven and breathed out.

"Morning Seven." He said, as he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "What time is it?."

"It's 0600 hours." She stated, now in her normal cold and analytical voice.

"What!" Shouted Harry. "Is there something on the scanners." Seven just started at him and said in her normal tone of voice.

"No it's time for our shifts to start."

Harry jumped out of the bunk, forgetting of course to cover himself and stared Seven in the eyes.

"Seven." He said in a calm voice. "The reason I asked to go on this mission, was because it offered some quiet time. Now the Flyer is on auto-pilot, the computer will let us know if there is anything above space dust on scanners…" He raised his voice a little. "So get back to sleep or read a book or something, because I'm going back to sleep."

He took a step closer and whispered in a harsh voice.

"Understood?"

He then noticed that she was undressed and not entirely focused on his words, rather looking down at his finely toned torso. She noticed that he had stopped talking and her eyes snapped up. She tilted her head and stated simply.

"Understood." She turned around and walked back to her bunk. Using every ounce of mental strength to suppress a sudden human urge that had just come uncomfortably close to the surface. The texts had called it sexual desire.

Harry sank back into his bunk, that had been embarrassing to say the least, he pulled the covers over himself and called out.

"Computer lights 5 percent illumination, set alarm for 1000 hours." He closed his eyes and tried to get back sleep. Listening to the hum of the engines and the breathing of Seven of Nine. Something he wanted to be allot closer to at this moment.

Seven lay eyes open, having forgone adjusting her artificial eye to compensate for the lack of light. Her analytical mind busy at trying to comprehend what had just happened a few minutes ago. Her mind, knew the concept of sexual desire, but she had never before experienced it. She ran the image of Harry standing before her wearing nothing but his undergarments through her mind and there it was, that raw primal desire. A year ago she would have acted on exploring this desire, but after all those lectures from the Doctor about appropriate behavior, she decided against it, for now. She closed her eyes. Sleep something she had not yet experienced as well.

Harry managed to fall asleep again. The image of Seven both from last night and this morning still fresh in his mind. So it was no surprise what image dominated his dreams.

Seven to experienced this strange sensation called dreaming, unlike the dreams she had about the Raven, these where different, for they had Harry in them, wearing close to nothing, touching her like she had only read about in the texts.

The alarm ran all to soon, dragging both dreamers back to the land of the living. Seven felt strange, she was all covered a moist substance. Sweat her mind told her, also her undergarments felt damp. She lay in her bunk until she heard the sound of Harry in the Flyers small sonic shower, which had been installed just before leaving. She tried to stand up, but her limps felt heavy. She called out in a throaty voice.

"Ensign."

Harry had just stepped out the shower and was putting on his uniform pants and Starfleet issue T-shirt, when he heard the throaty whisper from the direction of Seven's bunk. He stepped into the area where the bunks were. What he saw froze him in his tracks, something that was becoming a regular thing on this mission. Seven of Nine standing by her bunk, her hair forming a halo around her head, sweat glistening on her body and a damp spot visible on the fabric of her underwear.

"I am damaged." Was all she could utter.

"Oho boy!" Whispered Harry, apparently sleeping didn't go that well with Seven. She looked worse for wear, but nothing a good shower couldn't fix. He walked over to her and taking her hand over his shoulder and half carrying her to the sonic-shower, right now she seemed very fragile.

"You're not damaged." He said. "You're just not a morning person."

When the entered the Flyers small, makeshift bathroom. Harry looked worryingly at the shower.

"I hope you don't need my help on this one." He said jokingly as they reached the small sonic-shower.

"I'll be quite fine Ensign, but thank you for the offer." She said in tone unaccustomed to her.

Harry help her into the shower and then stepped back. The sonic shower was just an alcove build into the Flyer's wall, with a door, with stained glass to seal it of from the rest of the Flyer's small bathroom. He stepped out line of sight and watched, not very gentlemen like. He watched as her bra and panties where thrown out of the shower and then her heard the sound of the shower.

Seven stood in the small shower, feeling as the waves of sound hit her body, taking away the sweat and the grease in her hair. Her analytical mind working overtime on trying to sort out the last four hours. The sleeping and the dreams, whom had been pleasant to say the least.

When she stepped out of the shower, she found her clothes folded on the floor in front of her and a PADD laying on top of them reading a message.

'If you need any help just call.'

A small smile crept to Seven's lips and vanished just as quickly. What was the expression she had heard Lt. Torres use? Oho yes.

"Men!" She said dead on impression of Lt. Torres voice.

She managed to get into the uniform and while looking at herself in the mirror, she came to two conclusions, the uniform did look good on her and that she should cut her hair. On her way to the cockpit she picked up a cup of nutritional supplement beta and sat down at her station.

"Anything new on scanners Ensign?" She asked in a calm and controlled voice, wanting nothing more then to put the morning behind her.

"Not even stray comet." Reported Harry, also wanting to put the morning behind him, well not to far behind.

They day passed peacefully, thank god, long talks about time travel and the Starfleet versus Borg ethics, kept both members of the mission occupied.

Then came the ritual of having dinner.

"Seven, what do you say about pizza tonight?" Harry asked from the replicator.

"That would be acceptable." Came from the small table. Harry turned his eyes up. Just once she wished she would say something else then that line. He walked over to the table holding the pizza in one hand and a bottle of a late 20^th century soft drink called Pepsi in the other with two glasses balanced on it's top.

"There are no eating utensils." She stated.

"Use your hands." He said and raised an eyebrow. "Live a little."

She matched his eyebrow and stated.

"Alright." And picked up a slice of pizza, while Harry poured the glasses. Harry watch with a smile as Seven bit into the slice and her eyes turned a wide.

"I guess I should have warned you. I like my pepperoni strong." He said as he handed her a glass, which she quickly excepted.

"Call it payback for the allowing me do drink your nutritional supplement yesterday." He said as he bit into his own slice. Seven drank her glass empty before venturing into taking another bite. Harry spoke while chewing on his slice.

"What'ya say we watch a movie tonight?" He asked.

"That would be acceptable." Was all the answered he got and Harry had to bite his tongue to keep himself from speaking up on just how much he was beginning to hate the expression.

They sat on the floor of the sleeping area, watching the screen on the far wall.

"What is the designation of the movie?" She asked in her analytical voice.

"Apollo 13. It's about one of the early space missions, that almost ended in disaster. You'll like it trust me?" He said with a roguish grin that could give Tom's a run for it's money.

They sat and watched the movie in silence, well with the standard interruptions from Seven, about the flaws of this and that, but all in all the evening was turning out rather nicely. As the finishing credits ran, both stood up and stretched.

"I found it quiet enjoyable. Thank you." Seven said in her usual tone of voice, but Harry knew he heard something a little gratitude in it. Then Seven let out small yawn, that made Harry brake into a smile.

"A little tiered are we?" He asked in a casual tone.

"Yes, I think I'll resign for the evening." She stated and headed for the small bathroom. Harry head for the front of the Flyer.

"Need me to tuck you in?" Harry called from the cockpit where he was setting the Flyer up for the night.

"Yes I do." She said, as Harry made his way back to the sleeping area. He found Seven lying on her stomach under the covers. He reached for the portable alcove and rolled the covers down. He carefully placed the first pad between her shoulder blades, allowing his finger to linger there for just a heartbeat longer then necessary, he then placed the second one, like the night before he wasn't very comfortable about it, but the felling was quickly fading. He placed it and the reached for the switch,

"Good night Seven." He whispered.

"Good night Harry…" She said, just like the night before and like the night before Harry went smiling to his bunk.

Day 3 (0400 Hours)

The Flyer shook violently throwing both Seven and Harry to the floor, landing in a rather awkward position. It took both Seven and Harry a moment to wake up fully and another few seconds to realizes that Seven was pinning Harry to the floor.

"Seven you mind getting of me?" Harry asked coming out his sleepy haze.

They both noticed they there faces where uncomfortably close, Seven relaying both on her portable alcove and normal sleep, took a little longer coming out of her haze and wasn't quiet in full Borg mode, apparently her human side seemed to be in control right now, her human side that was currently going through puppetry.

"What if I refuse?" She asked in a very uncharacteristic tone of voice.

"Then…" Harry said and called upon all his strength, both mental and physical, to push her of him. "I must place you under arrest for violation of proper protocol during an emergency."

That snapped Seven back to her usual self and as they stood up the Flyer rocked again. Harry grabbed his pants and was in them running for the cockpit, before Seven could utter an apology. Seven followed pulling Harry's T-shirt over her head as she went. She found Harry at the controls, reading over the data from the computer.

"We're going through some sort of sub-space turbulence, messing with dampers." He said without looking back at her. "You might want to strap in this could get bumpy."

She strapped into the seat at Harry's usual station.

"Can you get anything on scanners about the size of it?" Harry asked from the pilot seat.

"Negative Ensign." She stated in her now calm Borg voice as her elegant fingers flew across the console.

"I wonder why didn't the computer warn us about this?" Harry thought out loud.

"Because it was programmed only to warn us about critical anomalies, it thought the auto-pilot was capable of navigating through this." Seven stated.

"Sometimes I think we made the Flyer just a little to good." Harry said through his teeth "Hold on!" The Flyer rocked again, this time blowing out one of the consoles.

"Damage report." Shouted Harry.

"Internal dampers are offline, shields are holding and the slipstream drive is stable." She reported.

"Good that means we can get through this." The Flyer shook again.

"The biggest ride in the park." Harry said through his death.

"Excuse me?" Came from Seven's station.

"Nothing, just one of Tom's expression for a moment like this." Harry said back.

It took them almost five hours to get through the turbulence, neither said much during that time, mostly because they where to busy navigating the Flyer and the fact that both where embarrassed by what had transpired earlier.

When they cleared the turbulence, they realized that both where not up to the Starfleet religions considering dress code. Harry still only in his uniform pants and quickly realizing how cold the floor was. Seven only in Harry's T-shirt, also realizing that comfort wasn't irrelevant.

"We should get dressed." Was all that Harry said as he stood up from the pilots seat

Personal Log: Ensign Kim Stardate 53917.52
The past three days of the mission have been interesting to say the least. I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to hold out four more days. Tomorrow we'll turn around and head back for Voyager. But still that leaves four more days. I mean being this close to Seven is great, but right now I long for my bed and the knowledge that Seven is in Cargo Bay 2 not five feet away. Still this trip has proved educational. I now know for sure that Seven has a human side, a very human side. I just have to keep reminding myself not to do anything rash, or cosmically stupid. Tom is going to laugh when I tell him about this.

End Log.

Harry leaned back in the pilots seat, now fully clothed. Seven was in the back going over the system, something about the sensors not being at peak efficiency.

Personal Log: Seven of Nine. Stardate 53917.60
For the past two days I've neglected to keep my log. Human error is to blame for this lack of perfection. The mission goes as planned, we should be back on Voyager in four days. I've been experiencing unsettling emotions towards Ensign Kim during this mission and more than once I've found myself uncomfortably close to him. I will deal with these feelings and longings towards Ensign Kim in a tactful way. I've also reached the decision that when we've returned to Voyager I will cut my hair, since it's current length has now proven inefficient. I experienced a dream about Ensign, but unlike my previous dreams it was different, erotic. I also believe that I am experiencing a state that the Doctor's texts describe as puppetry. I scanned myself with a tri-corder and discovered high hormonal levels. This I must deal with as well.

End Log.

Seven returned to the cockpit and found Harry preparing to drop out of slipstream.

"We've detected a M-class planet. I'm taking us out of slipstream do investigate." He reported. Seven immediately assumed the roll of mission commander.

"Put us on a high orbit and run a full spectral scan."

"Yes ma'am." Harry confirmed.

"And Ensign." She said in a lighter voice, or at least it seemed lighter to Harry.

"Yea ma'am." He said again.

"Don't call me ma'am." She said in a grave serious voice.

"Yes commander." Harry said with a grin.

After they had established orbit and ran a full scan that revealed no sentient live and plenty of foodstuffs. They where back on their way.

"This would be a great place for shore leave." Harry said as they pulled away.

"Maybe you would consider joining me." Harry was amassed at himself for even asking this.

"That would be acceptable." Seven answered in her deadpan voice.

Harry eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"What?" He uttered, this mission was turning out to be full of surprises.

"It said that it would be acceptable. We shall spent shore leave together." She stated and then added. "As friends."

"Yes of course." Harry said , now getting over the initial shock of Seven's answer.

Two hours later Seven called for a break.

"What are you having?" She asked him as they stood by the replicator.

"Chicken sandwich, why?" Harry asked a little confused.

"Would you replicate one for me?" She asked in a tone that could only be described as hesitant.

"Sure." Harry answered as he keyed in the sequence for his special sandwich.

Seven sat down and Harry placed the sandwich before her.

Sven analyzed the piece of food placed before her. It was a nine inch long loaf of white bread, filled with various vegetables, cheese and two pieces of chicken.

"Seven stop staring at the food and eat it already." Harry said with a smile. Seven gave a small smile, humor something she understood better now.

She picked up the bread and carefully and took a small bite, she chewed it with efficiency Harry had come to expect from her. She swallowed and took a drink from the glass of water Harry and brought.

"So is it within acceptable limits?" Harry asked, waiting for his sandwich do be judged.

"It's acceptable, stellar compared to Neelix's cooking." Seven stated and looked at Harry. "It's quite good Ensign." She said with a grin.

Harry breathed a sigh of relieve.

"Well don't just hold it finish up." He said as he picked up his own and bit down.

Later after a day of nothing but space dust. They settled back into their usual tasks, Seven read and Harry played his clarinet. Then Harry remembered that he had brought a Vulcan chess board with him.

"Seven what do you say about a game of Vulcan chess?" He asked while putting the clarinet away.

"That would acceptable, but I fell compelled to warn you that you will lose." Seven stated in her standard tone of voice, that Harry was just about getting enough of.

"Let's just see about that!" Harry answered in a aggressive tone that Seven had never heard him use before.

After ten games and six losses Seven was getting a bit frustrated. Not accustomed to be the lesser of Ensign Kim, this annoyed her tremendously.

"One more." Harry said with a grin.

"Yes!" Seven stated in voice that seemed almost devoid of it's usual calm.

"Alright. You know? Losing is not the end of the world." Harry said, just a little to pleased with himself for Seven's taste.

"It has not escaped my notice." Seven said and focused, or at least tried to focus on the game

An hour later, at 2400 hours to be exact, Seven lost for the seventh time in a row. Harry stood up and stretched.

"Well I say that does it for the night." Harry said and yawned before heading for the bunks. Leaving Seven to stare at the board and Harry's winning configuration. She was completely baffled how in space had Ensign Kim managed to beat her. Fifteen minutes later Harry returned.

"You want me to plug you in before I go to sleep?" He asked in a careful tone.

Seven looked up at him and then back down at the board.

"No that won't be necessary Ensign I'll manage on regular sleep tonight." She stated in a flat voice.

Harry looked down at the woman he considered his friend.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning." He said and turned to walked away. Seven nodded absently and reset the board.

Harry lay down in his bunk and stared at the interior ceiling of it, his mind somewhere beyond. Was Seven upset over losing to him, or was it something deeper. He rolled over to his side. Better get some sleep, god only knew what he would have to face in the morning, space monsters, nebula, Seven of Nine…

Seven stared at the jumble of sticks, lost to Ensign Kim, something she never expected to happen. She stood up and wandered back to the bunks and studied his sleeping form, absentmindedly realigning a stray lock of hair, before returning to the board.

Day 4. (Around noon)

Harry arose, and felt cold, hell he was freezing, something wrong with the environmental controls, he thought at first and called out.

"Computer."

No response.

"Computer status report." He called again and again only silence. He got out the bunk and put his uniform on, he noticed that Seven was not in her bunk and that the bunk had not been slept in. He made his way back to the table where they had played the night before and found Seven slumped on the table, in front of her a perfect end formation of Vulcan chess. Harry gently shook her should and looked at her face, it seemed almost blissful.

"Seven time to wake up." He said in a low voice.

"Harry?!?" Came the voice that Harry had learned the previous day belonged to Seven's human side.

"Yes it's me." He answered.

"Good!" She said as he she reached out, twisting her neck to meet his face and pulling him towards her.

"Seven?!?" Harry said as he felt Seven's lips on his own.

"Mmhm." Came from Seven. Harry mind was racing to find some way to snap Seven back, he pulled himself away from Seven and stated in his best ensign's voice.

"Commander there is something wrong with the Flyer." He said. That seemed to work because Seven let go of his head and pulled back, two crystal blue orbs staring into his.

"Ensign?" She asked half as a question half as a statement.

"Last time I checked." Harry said, reverting to humor trying to defuse this rather flammable situation he was now in.

"Did we just before the courtship ritual refereed to as kissing?" She asked, seemingly trying to make sense of the whole scene.

"I guess so?" Harry said and straightened up. "But right now there is something wrong with the Flyer and as mission commander you are required to be in the cockpit."

Seven arose and tucked at her uniform jacket.

"Very well, but this matter has to be addressed." She stated simply and headed for the cockpit.

Harry blew a sigh of relief and then Seven called him from the cockpit.

"Ensign. It would be wise if you proceeded with the utmost haste to the cockpit."

Harry tucked his uniform jacket and headed towards the front of the Flyer. 'Every day another adventure.' He thought. Just his past experience made him stop from jumping out of his skin when he reached the cockpit and looked at the stars or rather where the stars should be. There was nothing out there.

"Where are we?" He thought out loud.

"In a dark nebula." Seven stated, the flickering of the lights giving the scene a very surrealistic look.

"The cold is so extreme that it shut down the drive about five minutes after we entered it, we're operating on back ups but they're not going to last." She said as ran over the scans.

"This can't be right." Harry said in amazement. "The temperature on the hull is below zero Kelvin, way below." He looked up at Seven, "In five hours this will be an icebox."

"Are the impulse engines still online?" Seven asked from the pilots seat.

"Yes, but barley, If we run them as high as we can we should be out of this in four hours and twenty minutes, if we don't burn them out and even if they hold by that time the temperature inside will be down to minus twenty degrees Celsius." Seven started brining the Flyer about.

"We will adapt." She stated firmly, showing almost no fear in her voice, almost. Harry heard it walked over to where she sat and placed a hand on her shoulder. Seven without thinking reached up and took it.

"Let's go get some blankets it will get cold here soon." Harry said. They wordlessly made their way back.

"Ensign Kim may I ask you a question?" She asked when they again sat in the cockpit wrapped in blankets.

"Sure what's on your mind Seven?" Harry asked and pulled his blanked closer to himself.

"I've been experiencing feelings of fear and doubt."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"I fear that we may not make it out this nebula and I'm also wondering whether or not I've lived my life right. It is the most peculiar thing."

"No it's not, it's just human." Harry said with a weak smile.

"Are you experiencing these feelings as well Ensign?" She asked in tone that was showing sign of weariness, sleeping aberrantly wasn't enough.

"Yes I am." He said in a low voice.

"Tell them to me?" She asked in an almost cautious voice.

"What I've regretted not having done. Lets see. I regret never having make Neelix eat his own cooking." This made Seven smile.

"I regret not having made peace with Lt. Torres." Seven said.

"I regret never having beat Tuvok at Vulcan chess." Harry answered with a smile.

"I regret not having beaten the Captain at velocity."

"I regret not having taken B'Elanna up on those batleth lessons."

"I could teach you." Seven said.

"You could?" Harry raised and eyebrow.

"Yes. I've being practicing it on the holodeck, I found it fascinating in a primitive way. So what is you response?" She asked with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Sure I'd love to. We'll go on shore leave together and practice batleth fighting." He said with a grin

"I regret never having told the Captain how much I truly care about her." Seven stated.

"Care about her how?" Slipped from Harry.

"As a maternal figure." Seven stated bluntly.

"I guess I regret that too." Harry said and cast his eyes downward.

"I also regret never getting the chance being the hero when Tom and I go do the holodeck." Harry said with a smile thinking about his friend and the things they had shared.

"I always assumed that you enjoyed your sidekick status?" Seven asked and shot Harry a questioning look.

"I enjoy it yes, but it would be nice to be the hero for once." He said with sad smile.

After that they sat in silence, staring into the darkness and occasionally glancing at each other. The temperature was dropping they both could feel it. After about half an hour of silence Seven spoke up.

"We should hold each other." Harry snapped up.

"What?" He asked a bit confused.

"We should hold each other to preserve heat."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry said and stood up and walked the few steps towards Seven.

"Now how are we going to do this?" He asked and looked at the pilots seat.

"Here let me show you." Seven stood up and opened up her blanket.

"Just put your hand there and wait…" Seven started to demonstrate.

"No I think it would be better if we did…"

"No this is a better way…"

"Look if your elbow…"

"That's not my elbow!?!" Seven stated a little loudly.

"Sorry, okay lets try this…" Harry blushed

"Just wrap you arms around my midsection and then I will…"

"And you…"

"Okay I'll sit down at you'll follow okay." Harry said when they had found the most efficient posture.

"Understood."

"On three." Harry said.

"One…"

"Two…" Seven said and Harry gave a small smile.

"Three." They said in unison and fell back into the pilots seat.

"You alright?" Harry asked.

"I'm quite all right Ensign. Thank you for asking." Sevens answered.

"Why don't you try get some sleep Seven, you look like a ghost." Harry suggested.

"I am the commander of this mission." She stated.

"Even commanders need sleep, now close your eyes." Harry said in a calming voice.

"Will you wake me in an hour." She asked in low voice.

"I promise I'll wake you one hour." He said with a look that seemed to seep through her armor.

"I will comply."

"Great now close those blue eyes." He said.

Harry listen as Seven breathing became slow and steady . He watched this marvelous creature he now held in his arms and how much he had come to care for her. Perhaps when they would take that shore leave together he could maybe take their relationship a little further. Battling with batleths. Harry smiled at the thought. B'Elanna was going to have a fit when she heard that he would be taking 'lessons' from Seven. Tom would just pad him on the back and say something like. 'Way to go buddy, now don't get yourself hurt' And then flash his trademark grin.

An hour later Harry shook Seven gently and she stirred, yawn and stretched only to find herself being entwined in Harry's arms.

"Good morning!" Harry said with a smile.

"It isn't morning." Seven stated and stifled a yawn.

"Well Tom once said; Morning is whenever you wake up."

"Sounds like Ensign Paris." Seven stated.

"You care to rest now." She involuntarily hugged herself closer to Harry.

"Maybe just for a few minutes, better be prepared when it gets really cold, it's about 5 degrees right now I'd guess."

"Ensign close your eyes." Seven stated firmly.

"Aye, Aye." Harry said with a smile and his eye closed.

Now it was Seven's turn to sit and watch, although she knew that Harry wasn't asleep. His heartbeat was to fast and his breathing was normal, although he tried to make it appear as if he slept. She analyzed everything about him, the color of his hair, the hue of his skin, which was turning redder as the temperature continued to drop, the warmth from his body, his lips… something came back to her a image, no more like a memory of a sensation, those lips pressed against her. Perhaps she should… no not now. Since Ensign Kim seemed determent to build a friendship before they went any further, maybe on the planet they past they would get a chance to… Seven was pulled back from her thought when Harry's eyes flew open.

"I can't do this!" He stated in a annoyed tone of voice.

"What seems to be the problem Ensign."

"I can't sleep."

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid of not waking up and because I'm with you."

"How does my presence interfere with you getting sleep." She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well it's complicated, it's just that…" Harry trailed off.

"Just what?" Seven insisted.

"It's just that…" Harry stopped again. 'Just tell her, you've got about a fifty/fifty chance of getting out of here alive, so just tell her!' His mind said. Harry started again "It's just that this has been a dream for so long, being this close to you and I don't want miss a minute of it." He said and hoped he would get away from this with all his bodily functions intact.

"You dream about being close to me?" Seven asked in a voice that belayed much confusion.

Harry wanted to reach up and touch her face at this moment but couldn't.

"Is that so hard to believe?" He asked in a low voice, their breaths becoming visible now.

"Not when I consider our close working relationship and your obvious affection towards me, which you time and again refuse to act upon."

"Do I detect a note of annoyance in your voice Seven." Harry said with knowing smile.

"Perhaps you do, the cold and lack of regeneration is having the most disturbing affect on my emotions."

"How so?" Harry asked, hoping to divert the discussion from the fact that he had been dreaming about Seven since he first met her.

"When you where sleeping… " Seven stopped abruptly. "Why am I telling you this?" She asked in a rather harsh voice.

"Well I could give you a psychological analysis of why? But to be short: I think you want to come clear with me."

"I found myself studying your features..." she paused for a second. "admiring them."

Harry just smiled.

"You're not angered by this?" Seven asked carefully.

"No, flattered maybe but not angered."

"But I thought I wanted to take the development of our 'relationship' slowly."

"I still do and this is an important step we're taking right now."

"How?" Seven asked.

"We're learning to trust each other." Harry said in low, controlled voice.

"Trust is good." Seven said in very uncharacteristic tone.

"Yes it is."

So they just sat there tangled together in the pilots seat staring out into the blackness. Feeling as the cold took over, neither cared and that moment both had been ready to die, save knowing that thy would always be together, if not as lovers then as friends. Seven cuddled closer to Harry. Muttering something about, never knowing love. Harry gently kissed her forehead.

Then like a wail being lifted, the stars reappeared, followed by the low hum of the slipstreamdrive coming back online. Harry stirred and looked out onto the stars, and tried to shake Seven, her head resting his shoulder. She looked up, first at the stars and the at Harry and smiled, her cheeks a frostbitten and frost had started to gather on her implants, but to Harry she had never looked more beautiful.

"Time to go home." Harry said in a low throaty voice.

Seven nodded. "Time to go home."

The slipstream was up and running within two hours. This was a problem that had to be dealt with upon returning to Voyager now the trip home awaited.

Day 5.

The Delta Flyer flew gracefully through space, then out of the darkness a blue ribbon of energy appeared and the small ship past through seemingly unharmed, but inside a young man found himself between a Borg and a hard place.

Harry cracked one eye open, something lay on his chest, and he was holding something soft, a pillow maybe. No wait a minute this was the Flyer, he was sleeping in a bunk, he opened both his eyes and looked down at his chest and behold, there lay Seven, as he came to his sense he felt that his right hand was grasped with Seven's left, he could clearly feel the exoskeleton on it, his left hand was draped over her back, while hers rested on his chest. Harry battled with whether or not he should wake and how in space they had ended up this way.

Seven mumbled something and snuggled closer to Harry. He felt the grip on his hand tighten. Nightmares. He thought. Then she murmured something audible. "Harry." Harry's eyes grew wide. Could she be dreaming about him, oho this was great. Another murmur from Seven. "Yes… Kiss me…" Now Harry was grinning like the Cheshire cat. Then the dream, for both Harry and Seven, was over and Seven came back to the land of the living. Lifting her head lazily from Harry's chest and pulling the hair out of her eyes. The first thing she said sounded very much like a teenager.

"That's it! The hair is gone!" She said in voice Harry usually associated with teenage girls. Then she looked down.

"Ensign?" She asked

"Seven?" Harry asked back.

"I think so." Seven answered.

"You've got any idea why we were sleeping like this?" Harry asked.

"None." Stated Seven.

"What's the last thing you remember." Harry asked again.

"We where getting back on our way, when the computer reported something heading our way. After that I've no memory." She state in a stoic voice, well as a stoic voice as she could manage lying on top of Ensign Kim.

"Computer time!" Harry called out.

"1300 hours." The computer responded.

"Is there anything on scanners?" Asked Seven.

"Negative." Stated the computer.

"What was the last thing that showed up on scans?" Harry asked.

"An unidentified energy wave was detected at 2100 hours." The computer stated.

"That's 16 hours ago." Harry thought out loud.

"Computer, what do the internal scanners say about the last 16 hours?" Seven asked.

"Internal scanners show a gap in the sensor logs dating from 2100 hours until 2200."

Seven was deep in thought, before she heard Harry.

"Seven you mind letting go of my hand, you're hurting me." Harry said through his teeth.

Seven immediately let go of Harry's hand. Seven still rested partly on top of Harry, her head propped up by her free hand.

"You wish for me to get off your person as well?" She asked in matter of fact tone of voice.

"No need if you don't want to." Harry said, in a tone of voice that Seven often associated with Ensign Paris. Harry himself didn't believe he had just said that, it just sounded so… Tom.

"Ensign are you trying to seduce me?" Seven asked.

"I should ask the same of you?"

"I'm not sure." Seven answered.

"You want me to?" Harry ask with an uncustomary flame in his eyes. He reached out and pushed Seven's hair back.

"Don't to that." Seven stated.

"What?" Harry asked, running his hand through her hair.

"That. Running your hand through my hair." She answered sharply.

Harry ran his hand through Seven's hair again and accidentally brushed the implant next to her right ear.

"Please stop…" Seven dew in a sharp breath as Harry brushed the implant.

Harry curious and not in complete control of himself, carefully circled the implant with his thumb.

"Something… is… not… right…" Seven said in between gasps, there brushes against her implants shouldn't be causing this much response, there was something else at work here.

Her hand was now running through Harry's raven hair, while she desperately tried to hold onto her fleeting logic. Wanting nothing more then to get lost in this rush of hormonal energy. But something in the back of her mind nagged at her that this was not right, that this was happening to fast and would lead to disaster. She withdrew her hand from Harry's hair and grabbed the one caressing her implants and pulled it away and stated firmly.

"Ensign Kim cease this at once."

Harry stared into her eyes and then blinked few times.

"Seven what just happened?" He asked as Seven rolled of him and straighten her uniform.

"I do not know, but I indent to find out." Seven said in a now calm controlled voice.

"Lets start with the internal sensors." Harry suggested. He looked at Seven and the lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry." He said in a low voice.

"No need for apologize Ensign it was obvious that you where not in full control of your actions." Seven turned away to head for the cockpit. "and neither was I." She added in a low, almost embarrassed voice.

The both stood at Harry's usual station, viewing the internal sensors logs. Everything showed normal, but then at 2100 hours they along with the external sensor what of the scale, when they came back online an hour later they showed two life signs in very close proximity. But there was no sound or video, which was to be expected since Starfleet valued the privacy of it's officers.

"It appears that we have a mystery on our hand Ensign." Seven stated. Harry nodded and moved closet to get a better view of the screen.

"We should start with figuring out what made the sensor go offline." Seven bent closer to examine the screen coming cheek to cheek with Harry.

"It appears to have very high energy signature, a plasma storm perhaps or a sub-space turbulence." She said and turned towards Harry who was less the an inch from her. She found herself looking into his almond shaped eyes. She saw her reflection in those eyes. Neither spoke, both battling their raging emotions, that seemed to be slipping away. And then almost as if being pulled by some unseen force. Both reached out and touched each others faces, then hands grasped and electricity tingled between them. Seven felt her barriers coming down, her mind exploding into a brilliant display of colors.

<What's happening?> She heard in her mind.

<Ensign?> She asked in her mind.

<Seven?> Harry asked .

They opened their eyes and saw nothing but a blue light.

<Where are we?> Seven asked.

<I don't know Seven. I just don't know!> Came Harry's thoughts.

The world around them started to shift, almost like a holodeck, it took on the appearance of a desert. They both blinked against the sun.

<This is a metaphor for something> Harry stated

<How to you deduce that?> Seven asked.

<This has to have something to do with telepathy.> Harry said.

<But humans are not telepaths.> Seven stated.

<But we carry the gene. It's possible that what ever we passed through last night set it off.>

<It is plausible, but how do we end this?> Came Seven thoughts a little loudly, she was scared of this.

<Why do you want to end this?> Harry asked.

<I don't want anyone invading my mind.> Seven stated firmly.

<I'm not anyone.> Harry thought in tone that carried some disappointment. He offered Seven his hand. <I'm you friend and I would never invade your thoughts.> He looked deep into Seven's eyes. <Don't you trust me?> He asked.

Seven took Harry's hand.

<I do trust you, but this frightens me.>

<This is our world, created from our thoughts, nothing here could harm us.> Harry stated.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes and focused for a few moments, then a portal of shimmering blue energy appeared before them.

<Is this your doing?> Seven asked, her amazement coming through loud and clear. This telepathy had it's downsides.

<Yes I think so. Follow me. I want to show you something.>

They stepped trough the portal and found themselves floating, music danced in the air and formulas floated across the skies, a statues stood all around in what appeared to be a huge dome.

<Where are we?> Seven asked as she looked around.

<My mind.> Harry said with a smile.

<Interesting.> Seven said as she glided across the dome. There were various statues here, all cut from different materials. There were bronze statues of the Doctor and Tuvok. Silver ones of Tom and B'Elanna, wooden statues of Neelix and Chakotay. A golden one of the Captain. Herself carved in white marble.

<Why did you bring me here?> She asked while studying the statues.

<I wanted you do see this.> Harry said with a smile. <I wanted you do trust me.>

Seven walked up to Harry and took his hands in hers.

<I've always trusted you Ensign, ever since our first day together, when you took me to the sickbay after I cut my hand.> She thought with a small smile. <I consider you a true friend.> This was another world here there were no barriers.

<I consider you among my closest friends as well Seven.> Harry said.

<Ensign this isn't reality?> Seven said both as a statement and a question, with a mischief in her thoughts.

<I know that but what are you…> Harry was cut of by Seven's lips on his. Her arms circled him and pulled him closer. Harry first taken back by this began to respond. When they opened there eyes again they where back in the cockpit of the Flyer. Seven looked at Harry and thought out loud.

"If that was a fantasy…" With that sentence hanging she pulled Harry in for a real corporeal kiss. When they broke apart Seven stated simply.

"These changes in our physiology seems to have triggered a massive amount of hormonal release. I hope this will not affect our friendship."

Harry started at Seven for few moments and the sighed, small steps he thought.

"Computer time." He called out,

"The time is 1800 hours." The Computer stated.

Harry's jaw dropped.

"Four hours, we where in there for four hours."

"It's not uncommon that telepathic experiences last for several hours." Seven stated simply.

"Doesn't matter." Harry stated. "Lets just find out what caused this."

Seven nodded. "Agreed."

Four hours later they had reached a conclusion of sorts. At 2100 hours last night, the Flyer had passed through an intense electromagnetic field, origin unknown, that knocked all sensors offline for an hour and caused a dormant gene in them to become active. That gene then activated the frontal lobe of their brains., the part of the brain connected to E.S.P. The reason they had woken up together, seemed to be that the wave besides granting them this new ability, had send there hormones flying, but the conclusion had not been copulation, but a telepathic link like they had experienced earlier. A scan showed that their hormonal activities where returning to normal. There was no explanation for the memory loss, perhaps the overload caused by their first link had caused it, but this was a question for the Doctor. The telepathy remained and would have to examined by the Doctor, as well as Tuvok, once back on Voyager.

Before Harry connected Seven's alcove that night. Seven said something to him that scared him.

"We must keep this a secret?" She said in a serious voice.

"Why?" Harry asked not understanding where she was coming from.

"Because most people on Voyager will be afraid of these new abilities. Humans value their privacy."of l

"I guess you're right. For starters we'll just tell the Doctor, the Captain and Tuvok." Harry knew that Seven trusted these three people.

"Agreed." Seven stated.

Harry placed a light peck on her cheek.

"Now lets tuck you in." He said

As Harry connected the portable alcove to Seven's skin he felt a brief brush of her thoughts when he, as he had when he kissed her. Was she willingly keeping her barriers down for him, as small test was in order.

<Good night Seven.> He thought to her.

"Good night Harry." Seven said, before slipping into the regeneration sleep.

Harry smiled and laid down fully clothed. Better not take any chances. This mission was really stretching the To-boldly-go-where-no-one-has-ever-gone-before motto. But now he shared something special with Seven and it felt kind of good being the next step in human evolution. Harry smiled, the universe never ceased to surprise him.

Day 6.

Harry awoke at the exact same moment Seven did.

"Morning Ensign." Seven said as she sat up on her bunk.

"Morning Seven, sleep well." Harry answered rubbing his eyes.

"As to be expected and you how was your sleep.?"

"Peaceful, thank god for that. What time is it anyway?"

"0700. I assumed since we will be on Voyager in less then two days, we should retune our internal clocks."

"Seven you don't have a internal clock."

"Very well then your internal clock." Seven said in a voice that sounded almost annoyed. Her now admitted friendship with the Ensign, didn't change the fact she hated when he corrected her.

"You enjoy this do you not Ensign?" She asked.

"Enjoy what?" Harry asked innocently.

"When I err and you correct me."

"Don't know what you're talking about." Harry said in calm voice, trying to keep himself from grinning.

Seven's features took on a slightly amused look, as she leaned forward, her chin resting in her hand, with her elbow on her knees.

"Admit it Ensign, you to love these rare moments when you're superior to me." She said in tone of voice, Harry had grown accustomed to hear from B'Elanna.

"I do not." He said a little defensively.

"Alright have it your way Ensign." Seven said and stood up.

"Fine by me." Harry as a stood up do follow Seven to the table.

Washed and seated, each with their own choice of breakfast, Seven had opted for something called cereal, roasted corn, soaked in milk, with a healthy amount of sugar. Harry bit into a toast, while both read over their respective PADD's

"Anything interesting on sensors?" Seven asked.

"Nothing thank god for that." Harry said and laid the PADD down.

"Why are you being grateful, I thought the main objective of the mission was to exploring."

"Well considering what has happened during the past few days I think we deserve one quiet day."

"Perhaps we should conduct some experiments with our new found abilities." Seven suggested.

"You sure that's such a good idea." Harry asked in a more serious tone of voice.

"I've been reading up on some low level Betazoid and Vulcan exercises. There are even some human ones, from the late twentieth century" Seven stated and handed him her PADD

"So in other words, no melting like happened yesterday with the following four hour time gap." Harry said and looked over the PADD.

"Exactly. So shall we proceed?" Harry could have sworn he saw a gleam in Seven's eye.

"Alright let's clean up the table and then we can begin."

Seven held up a card with star on it.