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Seven of Nine nodded her response to a passing crewman's greeting as she navigated her way through the long corridor to the science lab. She had been assigned to assist in the astrometrical survey of the type 7 pulsar that Voyager was studying. As Seven entered the lab, she noticed the buzz of activity. Ensign Samantha Wildman was bent over a console inputting data and speaking to one of her staff. Seven was pleased that she would be working with Ensign Wildman on this survey, as she had always regarded the young woman highly.

Ensign Wildman had been one of the few people who had always accepted Seven as a member of the crew right from the very beginning. Samantha had even helped Seven better her conversational skills a bit. Seven waited patiently as Samantha finished working at the console, and then approached her. Ensign Wildman nodded to her politely and smiled. "The astrometrical scans you requested," Seven told her as she handed over a padd.

Wildman took the padd and studied it briefly. "Oh good! This will help us a lot!" she said gratefully. "Thanks, Seven."

"If you require further assistance I will be...happy to help," Seven told her, trying to implement some of her learned socialization skills.

"Actually," Wildman said. "We've been having some trouble with the long range sensor grid. The computer says its a callibration problem, but I haven't been able to correct it."

Samantha brought up a schematic on her console, and stepped a few inches aside to allow Seven access to the panel. Their arms briefly touched as Seven worked the console.

"You are correct," Seven responded after a few seconds of studying the readouts. "The sensor resolution is off by .25 degrees. I will have to realign them manually."

Samantha picked up an engineering kit that was laying nearby. "I'll help you," she said, and off the two went.

The two spent nearly ten minutes crawling through jeffries tubes until they reached the sensor grid on deck five. Seven pried the hatch away from the circuitry and Wildman scanned the conduit with her tricorder.

"It looks like the whole forward sensor grid is out of alignment. These repairs could take hours. I guess that holodeck visit that I promised Naomi will have to wait until tomorrow," Wildman said sadly.

Seven could see that it obviously bothered Samantha to break this promise to her only child.

"Ensign, I believe that I can repair the grid myself if you desire to engage in your pre-sceheduled recreational activity with Naomi," Seven offered.

Samantha was a bit surprised by Seven's offer. She knew that the job would take at least eighteen hours, even for Seven.

"No," Samantha said. "I really should get the grid up and running."

Seven however insisted that Wildman leave the repairs to her.

"Are you sure that I can't help you?" Wildman asked.

Seven shook her head. "No...Thank you, Ensign," she responded, trying her best to utilize her recently learned manners.

"Thanks," Samantha told her as she left.

Back in the science lab, Ensign Wildman dispatched a maintenance team to help Seven before she left for her quarters.

The next day, Samantha and Naomi were enjoying their lunch in the Mess Hall when Seven entered. Naomi saw her first and waved at her.

"Hi, Seven!" Naomi greeted her.

Seven went over to their table and regarded them respectfully. "Ensign Wildman...Naomi Wildman."

Samantha invited her to sit down at their table. "Would you like to join us?"

Seven very much did want to, and looked like it, but she felt a bit awkward intruding on this private family moment.

"I do not desire to intrude upon your..."

"Please Seven, have lunch with us," Naomi interrupted.

Seven nodded and sat down at the table. Neelix came over a few moments later. He was wearing one of his usually bright and colorful outfits under his apron. "Ah! You look like a happy bunch! What can I get for you all today?" he asked.

Samantha and Naomi ordered the lunch special, leola root casserole. Seven thought for a few seconds before deciding on the same thing. Neelix smiled as he went off to the kitchen to dish them their lunches. His leola root casserole had actually become quite edible, although no one had yet told him it was because Tom Paris had tampered with the recipe a bit. Samantha dropped her napkin in her lap, and took a sip of coffee.

"I appreciated your help with the sensor grid. We couldn't have completed our analysis on time had it not been for your help," Samantha thanked Seven. "I am pleased that I was able to assist you," Seven responded.

A few minutes later, Neelix delivered their meals. As she took a bite of her lunch, Samantha laughed.

"I remember the first time Neelix ever made this," the ensign said.

No doubt the entire crew remembered that.

"It tasted absolutely awful!" Samantha whispered, hoping to not be overheard. She wasn't.

"Neelix's culinary concoctions are somewhat interesting at times," Seven remarked evoking a laugh from Samantha and Naomi.

As they sat there having lunch, something very unexpected happened... Seven began to laugh and smile and enjoy the conversation much to the amazement of the Wildman's and everyone around her.

One afternoon, Ensign Samantha Wildman found herself rather unceremoniously wedged into a tight access tunnel working on a stubborn power relay that had burned out for the third time in a week. She had been at work for three hours and was getting quite fatigued. As she began probing the relay with an instrument, she started spouting her frustrations at the inanimate object.

"You just have to keep making my day all the more interesting, don't you!" Wildman said out loud.

When she realized what she was doing she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Great! Now I'm talking to a power relay!" she said to herself out loud.

A drop of perspiration rolled down her face, and Ensign Wildman noted that the air in the conduit was a bit thin.

Suddenly, she heard a voice. "Ensign...".

Startled, Wildman bumped her head when she tried to sit upright and let out a yowl of pain.

"Ow! Oh, Seven...I didn't see you there," Samantha said when she looked down to see Seven peering into the access port at her.

Wildman wriggled out from the tight crawlspace. "Was there something you needed?" she asked.

"Yes," Seven nodded. "However, if you are occupied it can wait until a more convenient time."

Samantha put the tool away that she had been using.

"Well, I was just about finished here anyway. What did you need?" the ensign asked.

Seven hesitated a bit, wondering how to proceed. "I have a request," she finally said, but stopped, momentarily not knowing what else to say. There was an awkward silence. Samantha looked a little confused.

"Sure. What is it?" Wildman asked.

"I desire...companionship," Seven finally said.

Samantha tried hard not to let her mouth drop open. Had she just heard what she thought she heard? She was clearly thrown off guard by this.

"You mean...uh...with me?" the ensign asked hesitantly.

Seven nodded. "Yes."

Wildman looked a bit shocked and clearly taken aback by Seven's candid request, and for a few moments didn't quite know what to say.

"Uh...Oh..." Wildman finally said. "I...um...I'm really...flattered that you feel that way, Seven, but I can't do that,"

Seven seemed confused. "I do not understand. Why not?"

Wildman didn't quite know how to say it. "I..." she tried to respond, but admittedly did not know what to say.

Seven's face instantly adopted a heartbroken look. "You do not wish to love me?" she asked.

Ensign Wildman tried not to look at the pain etched on Seven's face. "I...I can't do that, Seven."

"I do not understand why not," Seven responded.

Ensign Wildman began shifting from her left to her right foot uncomfortably, and was sorely at a loss for words.. She knew that Seven knew very little about love and how it worked, and that was what made this so very hard to explain to her. She just had to do it without breaking Seven's heart. "Seven, I know that this might hurt your feelings, and I am sorry, but I..."

Suddenly, Seven fled, clearly upset. She had to navigate her way up into and through a conduit, so could not escape rather easily, but nevertheless she tried to make a desperately hasty retreat.

"Seven, wait!" Samantha called after her, but it was too late...Seven was gone.

A few minutes later, Ensign Wildman stood outside the captain's ready room and rung the door chime.

"Come in," she heard the captain say.

She entered unobtrusively, and found Captain Janeway sitting behind her desk. Janeway smiled a bit at Wildman's unexpected visit to her ready room.

"Ensign Wildman, what can I do for you?" the captain asked.

Samantha drew slightly nearer to Janeway's desk.

"I apologize for disturbing you, Captain, but I seem to have just had a bit of a misunderstanding with Seven of Nine, and I thought it best to bring it to your attention," Wildman explained.

"Misunderstanding? Of what sort?" Janeway asked.

Hands clasped behind her back, and her head slightly down, Wildman did her best to describe what had happened. "I'm not sure if I understood her correctly, but...I think that she might be...attracted to me," Samantha said sheepishly.

Janeway had to take a few seconds to let that sink in. "I see...What did she say to you?" the captain asked.

Wildman awkwardly explained what had happened. "I will talk with her," the captain assured her.

After Wildman left, Janeway sat for awhile wondering just how she was going to deal with this. Certainly she had dealt with Seven's odd way of doing things before, but this was going to be a challenge. Seven had virtually no experience in relationships, and Janeway knew that. This was just one of those things that she didn't envy herself.

A few minutes later, Seven arrived in the ready room, curious as to why she had been summoned there.

"Seven, have a seat," Janeway invited her.

Seven sat down.

Janeway took a deep breath before she spoke. "I just had a visit from Ensign Wildman. She told me that there seems to have been a bit of a misunderstanding between the two of you?" the captain asked.

Seven looked confused. "Captain?" she asked.

"She thinks...that you might be attracted to her," Janeway responded.

Seven was very confused now. "Explain."

Janeway could tell that Seven was confused. "Seven, there are certain relationships that cannot be pursued on this ship. Intimate relationships with members of the same gender is one of them," the captain explained.

"But...I only wished to integrate myself into Ensign Wildman's collective," Seven tried to explain.

"What you are asking of her is inappropriate, Seven," Janeway told her frankly.

Seven was sad. No one seemed to understand her. Why would no one really listen to her and what she wanted? Seven didn't understand why she was bad for wanting to be loved.

The next morning Seven worked alone in the Astrometrics Lab. Even though she knew she had been told not to, Naomi went to see her there. As soon as Seven saw that it was Naomi she quickly busied herself.

"Hi, Seven!" Naomi crowed happily. "What's our mission for today?"

"Naomi...Wildman," Seven regarded her with slight trepidation.

Naomi could obviously see that something was bothering Seven. As Naomi came closer to Seven, the half-Borg tensed up noticeably, and drew a couple steps away. Naomi noticed and stopped.

"Seven, are you okay?" the child asked quietly.

There was a noticeable silence before Seven's response. "No, I am not," she responded in a barely audible, shaking voice.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked.

Seven didn't know how to respond, but she looked sad. "Your mother does not wish to love me," Seven told her matter-of-factly.

Naomi looked a bit confused. "Do you...want my mom to love you?" she asked.

A tear rolled down Seven's cheek. "Yes," Seven finally said.

Naomi gently put her hand on Seven's arm and stroked it back and forth. "Don't be sad, Seven," she said. "I care about you!"

Seven tensed up tightly. She knew that she would be in trouble if Naomi was found here with her after the captain had given her explicit to stay away from the Wildmans.

"Naomi Wildman, please go..." Seven ordered her.

Despite pleading with Seven to stay, Naomi left.

Later that day, Samantha found Naomi sulking in their quarters fumbling with her holo-album. "Hi honey. How was your day?" Samantha asked from the doorway.

"Seven didn't want me to help her today...I think there was something wrong. She said all this confusing stuff to me, and she seemed really...sad," Naomi said unhappily.

Sam entered her daughter's room, and sat down at the edge of the bed. "What did she say to you?" Samantha asked.

"She said that she wanted you to love her, but that you don't. How come you don't like Seven anymore, Mom? Was she bad?"

Samantha rubbed her forehead in frustration. "No. Seven wasn't bad, honey."

Naomi looked up at her mother confused. "Don't you like her anymore, Mom?" she asked.

Looking into her daughter's sad eyes was just too much for Samantha. She didn't have the first clue as to how to explain this to her. "Naomi, Seven is...a little confused about some things right now. It might be best if you give her some space for awhile, okay?" she told her daughter.

Naomi didn't seem to understand. "Is something wrong with her?" Naomi asked.

"No," Wildman replied. "But I think she just needs some time alone right now."

Naomi was confused. Why couldn't she see Seven anymore? "But Mom, Seven is my friend," Naomi said.

"Honey, I'm sorry, but you can't see Seven for awhile," her mother said.

Naomi looked sad. "But why?" she asked.

"It's very complicated to explain, but just do this for me okay," Samantha told her.

Sadly, Naomi nodded. It broke Samantha's heart to forbid her daughter to see Seven, because she knew that they were friends, but she knew that right now this was the best thing. Days passed, and Seven was miserable. Spending most of her time alone in the cargo bay now, she very rarely left. She didn't understand why no one understood her desire to be loved. She just wanted to be loved. Why could no one accept that? It broke her heart that her every attempt to seek out companionship had been as futile as resistance to assimilation by the Borg had been for millions. Her family on Voyager was the only one she'd ever known, but they did not love her, and she knew that they didn't. Appreciate her? Perhaps. But love her? No.

That night during dinner in the Wildman's quarters, Naomi was uncharacteristically quiet. Usually she was bubbling about the day's events, and her lessons with The Doctor, but tonight she just sat sadly picking at her dinner. Samantha couldn't help but notice that her daughter had spent a considerable amount of time squishing her mashed potatoes flat with her fork rather than eating them, and had a good idea of what was bothering her. It had been bothering her too, but this was just something that at her young age, Naomi would never understand.

"Mom," Naomi suddenly asked. "You love me, don't you?" she innocently asked.

"Naomi, you know that I do," her mother answered.

"Then why can't you love Seven too?" Naomi asked.

"What did she say to you?" Samantha asked.

"She just said that you wouldn't love her," Naomi said.

Samantha raised a questioning eyebrow. "Naomi, Seven's idea of love is very different from how I love you," she tried to explain.

Naomi however, wasn't getting it. Samantha finally gave up trying to explain it. They finished the rest of their dinner in silence and when Naomi was asleep, Samantha went to go see the captain.

"I may be making a bigger issue out of this than is necessary, Captain, but I don't feel that it's appropriate for Seven to be discussing these things with my daughter," Samantha said to her. "Naomi has been asking a lot of questions about this recently that I don't quite know how to answer."

Janeway sighed. "I will have another talk with Seven."

Wildman nodded and left, and Janeway did not envy the task that she had ahead of her. The next day she spoke with Seven again.

"Seven," she said. "I think we have a serious problem here. Ensign Wildman is concerned that you have been speaking to Naomi about this, and I am as well," Janeway told her.

Seven looked ashamed of herself, but tried to explain. "Captain, I only meant to..."

Janeway put up a firm hand that stopped Seven's sentence like a brick wall. "You are not to bring this up with anyone anymore. Is that clear?" Janeway instructed. Seven didn't know what else to do. She nodded sadly and left.

The next afternoon, Naomi came tearing into her quarters and ran straight for her room without so much as a word to her mother.

"Naomi..." Wildman called after her, but it was too late.

Samantha gave her some time alone, and then tentatively approached her room. "Naomi, can I come in?" she asked softly.

"You made Seven cry!" Naomi shouted through the door.

Samantha realized that Naomi had been to see Seven again. "Naomi," she pleaded gently. " Please unlock the door."

Samantha could hear Naomi crying through the door. She felt awful. "Go away!" Naomi yelled.

Several miserable days passed. Naomi had consigned herself to giving her mother the silent treatment for much of that, and finally Ensign Wildman could stand no more to see Naomi and Seven looking so sadly and morose. Passing by the Astrometrics Lab one afternoon, Samantha finally decided that she had to talk with Seven.

She pressed the door chime, and spoke. "Seven, it's Ensign Wildman. Can I come in?" she asked softly.

"You may," Seven responded a few moments later, and Wildman entered.

Seven carefully averted her eyes, and continued to work at the console. Wildman approached her tentatively.

"I think that we need to have a talk, Seven. Can we...sit down?" she asked.

Wildman almost immediately noticed that there really was no place to sit. Seven indicated the row of Borg alcoves against the wall, the only suitable place in the room in which to sit...albeit not too comfortably for Wildman, but the ensign tried to maneuver herself into a decent position. This was hampered somewhat by a protruding apparatus which pressed hard into Wildman's backside. Despite this, Wildman did her best to look comfortable. Seven noticed Wildman's attempts to sit comfortably on the floor of the alcove. "If you prefer to stand we may," Seven offered. "No, it's all right," Wildman said.

"Seven, I know that this may be difficult for you to understand, but I can't love you. It wouldn't be appropriate," the ensign said.

Seven looked confused. "But you love Naomi," she stated.

Wildman had no idea where this conversation was leading, and was beginning to regret coming to talk with Seven alone.

"Yes. I do," Wildman answered. "But that is different."

Seven looked confused. "I do not understand how it is different."

"I dont...I can't have any feelings for you," Samantha told her. "I'm married."

Seven of Nine tried again to explain what she meant, but didn't seem to be getting her point across. Now Samantha was confused.

"I simply thought that you would make a suitable parent, since I lacked one," Seven finally said.

The look on Seven's face told Samantha that she was utterly heartbroken. Seven got up, and Wildman rose to her feet seconds later.

"Parent?" Samantha asked. "But I thought you..."

"I apologize for my desire to be loved," Seven said quietly, looking as if she were about to cry.

Wildman suddenly realized that all this time she had misinterpreted what Seven had been trying to say, and now felt awful. Seven of Nine hadn't wanted a lover, she had wanted a mother.

"Seven, I'm sorry," Wildman stammered. "I misunderstood you. When you said that you desired companionship, I thought you meant..." Samantha cut herself off in mid-sentence.

She didn't know what to say. Seven looked away from her ashamed. A tear rolled down the ex-Borg's face. The two were silent for a time, until Samantha put a gentle hand on Seven's shoulder, and embraced her.

"This will always be your family, Seven," she said reassuringly. And indeed, it had become just that.

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