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Title: Marooned - Part 1
Author: Heather
Contact: madaboutmango@excite.com
Rating: A Very Light PG
Summary: Inspired by a challenge by Vell. Seven and the Doctor are
trapped
in the Holodeck for several hours and the Doctor's lost his memory!
Disclaimer: I love Voyager. Please don't punish me for writing a story
about it. Paramount owns everything and I love them.
****************************************************
Large foaming waves crashed upon the glittering sable sand. One more
violent wave glided swiftly onto the shore and over twenty wiggling
toes.
An old rickety, moss-covered canoe lay moored on the shore, tied to a
sharp
rock.
Seven of Nine and the Doctor padded barefoot on the soft sand towards
the
boat. It had been the Doctor’s suggestion that Seven spend more
time
relaxing and having “fun”, so Seven had reluctantly agreed
to
join him in a new holodeck program that the Doctor had created.
Slightly annoyed, Seven leaned down and rubbed some wayward grains of
sand
that had attached themselves to her bare calves. She was wearing a
white
cotton blouse and tan shorts and was not used to getting dirty.
“I should have worn shoes,” she grumbled.
The Doctor smiled and said, “Seven, don’t you LIKE the
feeling
of the sand squishing between your toes?”
“I do not,” she replied.
“Well then, just walk into the water a bit and wash it off,”
the
Doctor suggested.
Seven moved closer to the edge of the churning ocean and dipped her feet
in.
She actually smiled a bit as the waves tickled her feet.
The Doctor watched with open admiration. It was hard for him to hide
his
exhilaration around her. Sometimes he felt like a lost puppy dog…
always wanting to be around Seven. He was sure that she didn’t
have a
clue of how he truly felt – that he was in love with her.
Seven looked back at the Doctor. She smiled softly at him and then
suddenly
a huge wave caught her off guard and made her lose her balance. Seven
stumbled backwards and fell on her side in the shallow receding water.
The Doctor was there in a flash, taking her hand, helping her to her
feet
and trying to remove the sand, seaweed and other debris on her.
“Are you alright?” he asked anxiously.
He could see a slight look of embarrassment on her face as she replied,
“I am undamaged. Thank you.”
Seven walked off quickly towards the wooden boat to grab a towel to wipe
herself off. As she rubbed the soft material over her damp skin, the
Doctor
ran up to her and put his hand up to her face. Seven flinched back a
little
but the Doctor whispered soothingly, in a soft gentle voice, “Just
a
little sand…”
Seven found herself curiously unable to look the Doctor straight in the
eye
as he cleaned her off. She also felt very aware of the feel of his warm
fingers on her cheek. It made her feel funny… her heart started
to
pound.
When the Doctor removed his hand from her face, Seven turned away from
him
quickly and said, “We should start back to the other side before
the
sun sets, agreed?”
“I suppose,” the Doctor sighed, “It’s just so
beautiful and tranquil here, don’t you think?”
Seven nodded to the Doctor but in actuality she still didn’t
really
understand the relevance of beauty.
The two got into the boat and began to row towards the opposite shore.
* * * * * *
“Report,” Captain Janeway croaked as she strode onto the
Bridge.
“Shields are down to 73%. Our friends have been firing non-stop
at us
for the last minute,” Chakotay reported.
“Do you have any idea why they’re firing at us? Did you try
hailing them?” Janeway asked.
“Yes Captain. There was no response,” Harry Kim shouted.
“Mr. Paris, evasive maneuvers. Get us out of here.”
Janeway
commanded.
“Yes Ma’am.”
Suddenly a bright yellow wave emanated from the alien attackers ship and
stretched out towards Voyager.
A huge impact hit Voyager, sending the bridge crew sprawling to the
floor.
Bright sparks showered everywhere as equipment all over the Bridge
exploded.
* * * * * *
The Doctor and Seven were just pulling the boat onto shore when the huge
jolt sent them both tumbling onto the sand.
“What was that?” the Doctor yelled to Seven.
Seven was already tapping her combadge but it wouldn’t work.
“Computer, exit,” she called but got no response.
Suddenly a large electric shockwave, not unlike a bolt of lightning,
struck
out over the holographic ocean, hitting very close to the Doctor. He
fritzed and then disappeared, his holoemitter falling to the ground.
Seven rushed over to where the Doctor had been and grabbed for his
emitter.
Suddenly, whatever shock that had run through the emitter transferred
into
her, and with a loud buzz, she became unconscious and slumped down into
the
sand.
* * * * * *
Seven of Nine’s eyelids fluttered and her eyes slowly regained
their
focus. Tiny bubbling waves were lapping over her feet and ankles. She
was
laying face down on the wet sand, clutching the Doctors holoemitter.
Seven
slowly raised herself up, flinching slightly from a pain in her right
arm.
She looked at it and saw bright red burn marks all along her arm from
wrist
to elbow.
She tried to remember what had happened…. She and the Doctor had
come
to this simulation for relaxation. Seven remembered the shaking, the
bolt
of lightering and the Doctor’s program disappearing before she
herself
was struck.
She looked at the holoemitter in her hand. “Computer, activate
the
EMH.” There was no response.
“Computer, end program.”
“Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway,” She called but again
there
was silence.
Seven got to her feet and started walking towards a beach house further
up
the shore.
When she reached the cabin, Seven went inside and immediately started
looking for a tricorder or medical equipment. She rustled through the
cabinets and drawers, and even looked through the Doctors personal
effects
but came up with nothing.
With a sigh of resignation, she sat down on one of the beds and decided
there was nothing more for her to do but to wait for help.
* * * * * *
“Report,” croaked Janeway weakly when she came to.
Harry was just regaining consciousness himself but he managed to reply,
“Hull breach on Deck 11. Our warp and impulse drive is down. 6
crewman reporting injuries.”
“And our friends?” the captain inquired.
“No sign of them.”
“Let’s get to work on getting our impulse drive back on
line.
Janeway to Seven of Nine…. Seven respond.”
“Computer locate Seven of Nine,” Chakotay commanded.
“Seven of Nine is in Holodeck One,” was the response.
Janeway gestured to Tuvok, “Get down there. We need her help in
Astrometrics.”
Tuvok nodded and headed to the turbolift.
“Sickbay to Captain Janeway,” an unfamiliar female voice
called.
“Janeway here.”
“Captain, the Doctor’s…. gone”
“Gone?” the captain asked incredulously.
“Yes, and we have injured here.”
“Ensign Paris will be right there, crewman,” Janeway said as
she
looked over at Tom.
Paris sighed and got up from his seat to assist in Sickbay.
* * * * * *
Seven was growing restless. It was not in her nature to just sit around
and
wait for help. She looked down at the holoemitter in her hand. She
hated
to admit it but she suddenly missed the Doctor. His chatter on
irrelevant
topics was preferable to silence.
Seven didn’t have much experience at adjusting the Doctor’s
holoemitter – that was usually B’Elanna’s job, but she
decided to give it a shot none the less. She fingered the tiny buttons
on
the emitter, and suddenly the Doctor shimmered into view. Seven felt a
huge
rush of relief rush over her and she smiled at him.
The Doctor just returned a blank stare. “Please state the nature
of
the Medical Emergency,” he droned.
“Doctor, we are in the holodeck. We were both struck by some type
of
energy blast,” Seven explained.
“Who are you, and where’s my sickbay?” the Doctor
asked
angrily.
“Doctor, don’t you remember? I am Seven of Nine,
your…
friend.”
“I am an Emergency Medical Hologram, I have no time for personal
dalliances. Are you injured or not.”
Seven looked hurt. He doesn’t remember me - she thought sadly.
She
put her burned arm forward for the Doctor to examine.
“You have 1st degree burns! I have to treat you right away.
Where’s my dermal regenerator?”
“Doctor, we are trapped on the holodeck. None of your equipment
is
here. I have already checked.”
“I can’t remember coming here. That’s odd…. Why
would I have come here with you?
And especially with no medical equipment!”
“We came here for recreational purposes.”
“But I’ve never met you before in my life! What am I doing
in
these ridiculous looking clothes? Where’s my uniform? I’m
a
doctor, not a toy!”
Seven sighed and sat down on her bed. The Doctor had obviously lost his
memory. He was acting differently towards her. Cold,
unattached…..
it bothered her and she didn’t know why.
* * * * * *
“The attack somehow isolated the holodecks from the rest of the
ship.
We can’t transport anyone in or out and we can’t use the com
to
speak to them. It will take me at least 3 hours to fix the
problem,”
Torres said angrily.
“It will have to wait. We’ve got to get impulse back just
in
case those aliens return. I don’t want to be sitting here dead in
the
water,” commanded Janeway.
Torres nodded. “I actually envy the Doctor and Seven. They get
to
take a vacation from this mess.”
* * * * * *
“Young lady! I demand to be returned to Sickbay,” the
Doctor
yelled.
“Doctor, you are malfunctioning. Let me access your holoemitter
and I
will attempt to repair you,” Seven moved closer to the hologram
but he
backed away.
“Keep away. I don’t trust you. Where’s your Captain,
I
wish to speak with her.”
“As I explained before, we are trapped in the holodeck. We
can’t communicate with the rest of the ship, but I imagine that
the
crew is working on a way to free us…..”
The Doctor had fear on his face as he bolted out of the cabin. He ran
down
the beach and into the jungle forest nearby. Seven looked after him but
decided not to pursue. She knew that he would not get lost in the
confines
of the holodeck and perhaps it would give her time to work on their
predicament.
About 5 minutes later, Seven heard a shrill cry coming from outside the
cabin. She quickly got up and went to the door. Coming towards her,
she
saw the Doctor, clad only in his navy shorts. He had a look of deathly
fear
on his face as he sped towards the safety of their cabin. Then she saw
what
he was running from. It was a huge bush pig. On one of it’s
tusks
was the Doctor’s white shirt that he had been wearing. It was
grunting and had it’s head lowered as it charged the cabin.
“HELP ME!” the Doctor screamed. Seven opened the cabin door
widely and stepped aside to allow the Doctor to enter quickly. She
slammed
the door on the snorting pig.
As she looked back at the Doctor cowering in the corner of the room, she
couldn’t help feeling amused. A slight smiled curled on her lips.
She moved closer to him and said, “It is all right, we are safe
now.”
The Doctor looked past her shoulder, as if the pig might pop out
unexpectedly at him. Then with a look of indignation he straightened
himself, and said, “Well… thank-you. I…. I’m
not
used to being out of Sickbay, that’s all. What was your name
again?”
“Seven of Nine.”
“Well, Seven of Nine, I brought you something.” He pulled
some
flowering plants out of his pocket and handed them to her with a proud
look
on his face.
“What are these?” Seven asked. Her chest felt tight and she
had
a funny feeling in her stomach.
“They are medicinal plants…. for your burn. They will
assist
with the healing process until we can get to Sickbay.”
Seven looked at the greenery. “Of course,” she said a
little
sadly, “Thank you Doctor.”
She applied bits of the plants to her wound, squeezing any liquid from
inside the stems onto her arm. Then she wrapped her arm up in one of
the
towels.
“Well, now that you are taken care of, I ask you to deactivate
me,” the Doctor said.
Seven felt bad. Why was the Doctor’s demeanor bothering her so
much?
She felt confused at her reactions. “Doctor, I’d prefer if
you
stayed with me until help arrives.”
“Your wounds aren’t life-threatening. I’ve done all I
can
under the circumstances,” the Doctor intoned.
“I have need for companionship,” Seven said softly.
“But I was not designed for small-talk. I am an Emergency
Medic….”
Seven cut him off. “Doctor, please. Stay with me.”
The Doctor sighed and looked at Seven crossly. His programming was
telling
him to deactivate himself. He wasn’t even designed for use
outside
Sickbay. Was it possible that he and this young woman were… as
she
had put it….. friends? He wasn’t designed to have friends.
He
looked at her. “All right,” he said.
* * * * * *
“Status,” Janeway ordered.
“Impulse engines are back online. We’re working on the warp
drive, Captain,” B’Elanna responded.
“Good. Any guesses yet as to why those aliens fired at us?”
the
Captain asked her Bridge crew.
“None, Captain. Maybe we were just violating their space,”
Chakotay suggested.
“Perhaps. Let’s get the hell out of here,” she
motioned
to the ensign at the helm. “Take us out of here, full
impulse.”
* * * * * *
“I sang opera?” the Doctor asked with wide eyes. He
couldn’t imagine doing anything besides the medical treatment of
others.
“Yes, you were also interested in holophotography. I believe your
holo-imager is over in that pile.” Seven pointed to the opposite
bed.
The Doctor walked over to the bed und rummaged through the pile. He
picked
up the holo-imager and looked through the view screen to see all the
pictures he had taken recently. As he scrolled through the photos, he
noticed that quite a lot of the pictures were of this woman, Seven of
Nine.
There were shots of her eating, working, even regenerating. There were
also
shots of parties and many had him in the scenes. Why am I socializing?
I’m not programmed for that – he thought.
“But why can’t I remember any of this?” the Doctor
said,
rubbing his forehead.
“I believe that somehow, when I reactivated you, your program was
reset to it’s original settings,” said Seven worriedly.
“I just hope Lieutenant Torres can restore your memories.”
Seven was suddenly preoccupied with the thought of the Doctor not
remembering their time together. All that they had been through
together
would be lost.
She suddenly felt a pang in her stomach. It had been 8.4 hours since
she
had last consumed a nutritional supplement. Seven went to a small
cupboard
and pulled out a ration pack that she had brought along. She tore it
open
and bit into the morsel.
“Was I well liked by the crew?” the Doctor asked suddenly.
“Yes. You are an indispensable part of Voyager,” said
Seven,
suddenly remembering the time when the Doctor was prepared to leave the
ship
to be with Tinkoo and his alien “fans”. It was a period of
time
that she’d rather forget. She had never felt so small, so lonely,
so… heartbroken.
“No, but did people like me?” the EMH asked.
“Yes,” was her answer.
“Did you like me?” he asked.
“You are my…. best friend,” she said, not believing
what
had just come from her mouth.
The Doctor smiled and got up. He went to the door and peered out,
scanning
for the ferocious bush pig that had chased him before. “No sign
of
the monster… or my shirt,” he said frowning and looking down
at
his bare chest.
Seven looked the Doctor over. She noticed that he was quite handsome.
She
had never really looked at him or any other man that way before, and
doing
that made her catch her breath a little. What is wrong with me? He is
my
friend, my mentor… nothing more.
“You are welcome to wear my shirt, if your bareness troubles
you,” Seven said, getting up.
The Doctor’s hands flew up in a resisting motion, “NO, no
that’s quite all right. I’ll manage, Seven of Nine.”
“You may call me Seven,” the borg said and then she picked
up
the Doctor’s holo-imager, opened the cabin door and stepped out
into
the approaching darkness. When she saw the stance of the hesitant
Doctor
she added, “I wish to go for a walk. Will you join me?”
The Doctor smiled a little and joined Seven.
* * * * * *
Captain Janeway stepped into Engineering. It was abuzz with people
running
every where. At the center of it all was Lieutenant Torres, with a
determined busy look on her face.
“B’Elanna, how are things going?, Janeway asked.
“I’ll have warp drive back in about 10 minutes,
Captain.”
“Excellent work B’Elanna. When you’re done with that,
see
if you can free our two hideaways on the holodeck,” the Captain
ordered as she moved towards the exit.
“Yes, Ma’am,” B’Elanna said loudly. She rubbed
her
ridged forehead. What a hell of a day – she thought.
* * * * * *
The sunset was truly gorgeous. Even Seven marveled at it’s
beauty. I
must be becoming more human – she thought. Looking down at the
holo-imager in her hand, she decided that she should record some of
these
images for later enjoyment. As she snapped some images, another thought
formed in her head. “Doctor, please stand over there. I wish to
take
your picture.”
The Doctor obeyed, and with some coaxing from Seven he even smiled.
Then
Seven set the imager on a stone, pushed some buttons and ran over to
where
the Doctor was. The first image caught the two of them standing
together
but apart. For the second image Seven drew very close to the Doctor.
For
the third image, Seven planted a small kiss on the Doctor’s cheek
just
as the flash went off. The Doctor stepped back, horrified.
“What did you do that for?” he asked.
“I have observed that people often do silly things in photos. I
have
kissed you before,” Seven said. “It was merely a platonic
gesture.” She wasn’t sure if she was telling herself that
or
telling the Doctor. Her cheeks began to burn. Seven turned and began
to
walk toward the holo-imager.
The Doctor came up from behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Please…. tell me about some of the things we did
together.”
Seven thought a moment, turned around and said, “Give me your
right
hand.”
With a puzzled look, he complied. Seven put the Doctors right hand on
her
waist and put her left hand on his shoulder.
“Now put your left hand in my right,” she said softly. After
he
did so, she said, “Due to the computer not working, I will be
forced
to provide the music.” She started humming and pulled the Doctor
closer to her.
“What are we doing?” the Doctor asked in a panicky voice.
“It is called dancing. You taught me this not long ago. Now be
quiet
while I sing accompaniment music.”
Seven nuzzled her cheek against the Doctor. He felt stiffer than the
last
time they had danced, but she felt looser – more aggressive.
The Doctor pulled his cheek away a little and Seven turned her head and
looked into his eyes. Suddenly her head began to pound and her cheeks
felt
hot. She wanted to break away and pull closer at the same time. Then
suddenly, she knew what she wanted to do. Her face drew closer and
closer
to the Doctor’s until their lips touched. Seven increased the
pressure of her lips and her hands trailed up the back up the
Doctor’s
neck. It felt electric, but the Doctor broke it off. He stepped back,
away
from Seven.
“I… I don’t understand,” he
stammered.
“I wasn’t designed for this.”
Then with almost the same look of fear as he had had with the pig, he
fled
into the jungle again.
Seven stood alone on the beach, wondering what had just happened. I
just
initiated a romantic gesture toward the Doctor – she thought incredulously. And it
felt
good……
* * * * * *
“Lieutennant Torres to Captain Janeway.”
“Go ahead, B’Elanna,” the Captain responded.
“Captain, I think I’ve almost got access to the
Holodeck.”
“Very good, B’Elanna. Keep working and let me know when
you’ve got them out.”
B’Elanna growled softly as she worked on the holodeck panel in
front
of her.
* * * * * *
Seven lay back on the pillow of her bed. Normally, she would have
thought
that this action was inefficient but due to what had just transpired on
the
beach, it felt right. I can’t believe I never realized this
before
– she thought. I have romantic feelings for the Doctor.
Seven kept replaying the scene in her mind. The kiss was breathtaking.
The
problem was…. the Doctor didn’t feel the same way. And she
felt
a little guilty for taking advantage of him in his mental condition.
She
began to run through scenes in her mind. All the times that the Doctor
and
her had spent time together singing or on the Holodeck seemed innocent.
The
Doctor had never acted romantically towards her. He just treated her as
a
friend.
Seven felt a little sad. She decided that she would apologize to the
Doctor
the first chance she got. Her conduct had been unacceptable. She would
correct the problem.
Suddenly the holodeck began to shimmer all around her. Seven got up and
looked around curiously. Then, a door appeared and Lieutenant Torres
walked
in.
“Well, Seven. Have you guys been having a fun time here for the
last
6 or 7 hours?” B’Elanna said angrily.
“We have not,” Seven said simply.
“Well the rest of the crew hasn’t. We’ve been working
our
tails off while you two have been lounging around in here. You two owe
us
big time.”
B’Elanna looked around. “Where’s the Doctor?”
“The Doctor is… hiding. He is malfunctioning. He has
reverted
back to his original programming.”
“How did that happen?”
His program disappeared when we were hit. When I reactivated his
holoemitter, he had forgotten everything.”
“You shouldn’t mess with technology you don’t
understand,” B’Elanna said vehemently.
“It won’t help to be angry about it. We should work on
finding
him.”
“That’s easy now that the computer is back on line here.
Computer, end program.”
The beautiful beach surroundings disappeared. The cold grey holodeck
walls
surrounded them. They could see the Doctor crouched in one corner with
his
head in his hands. B’Elanna looked questioningly at Seven, but
the
borg didn’t show any sign of recognition. The two women walked up
to
the Doctor, who got up as they approached him. He still had a look of
fear
on his face.
“Why isn’t he wearing a shirt?” B’Elanna asked
accusingly, raising an eyebrow at Seven.
“You stay away from me, and who are you? Keep back,” the
Doctor
cried.
“Computer, end EMH program,” B’Elanna said irritably.
The Doctor shimmered out of view. His holo-emitter fell to the floor
and
B’Elanna picked it up. “I’m going to work on
restoring
the Doctor’s program, I suggest you go to Astrometrics and contact
the
Captain,” the half-klingon ordered. She walked out of the
holodeck
briskly.
“Thank you,” Seven called. She looked back at the holodeck
and
spotted the Doctor’s holo-imager. She retrieved it, and finding
that
it was still on, she shut off the power. She then exited the Holodeck
and
headed to Astrometrics.
* * * * * *
Torres had done it! She managed to salvage the Doctors program, but in
order to restore him to his 6 year old self, she had to erase any
memories
of his alternate being on the Holodeck for the past 6 or 7 hours. She
had
discussed it with the Captain and it had been agreed that it was worth
the
loss. She reactivated him.
“Please state the…. B’Elanna! Where am I? What
happened? Where’s Seven?” he asked anxiously.
“Doctor, it’s all right. The blast knocked your program off
line, but we’ve got it back now.” B’Elanna explained.
“Seven reinitialized you but somehow your program was restarted at
your original point of activation. You spent 6 or 7 hours that way, but
I
got you back to normal now.”
“That’s funny. I… I don’t remember,” the
Doctor mused.
“I had to erase that time period from your program in order to get
you
back. I’m sorry. Maybe you can ask Seven what happened.”
“Is she all right?” the Doctor asked worriedly.
“She’s fine,” B’Elanna said as she headed for
Sickbay’s doors.
The Doctor watched Torres leave. I sure hope I didn’t make a fool
of
myself with Seven – he thought.
* * * * * *
“Torres to Seven,” B’Elanna called.
“Seven here.”
“I thought you’d like to know that I fixed the
Doctor,”
the half-Klingon said.
“Thank you for informing me,” said Seven.
“Your welcome. I’m going to get some rest now, it’s
been
a long day. Torres out.”
Seven punched the buttons on her console absently. She was thinking
about
what to do about the Doctor. She decided that a straight forward
apology
would be best and then she would put these foolish emotions out of her
mind.
Maybe a visit with Tuvok would help too. She felt a slight stinging in
her
arm and looked down at it. It was bound in a towel. She had forgotten
about her burn. Perhaps this was a good time to visit Sickbay and get
her
problem off her chest. Picking up the Doctor’s holo-imager, she
left
Astrometrics and headed to Sickbay.
When the doors opened, Seven felt sick. Nervousness swept over her for
the
first time. Straightening herself she commanded, “Computer
activate
the Emergency Medical Hologram.”
The Doctor shimmered into view.
“Please state…. Oh Seven, it’s you!” he said
enthusiastically. “It’s so good to see you!”
Seven felt her knees getting weak. Why was he so irresistible all of a
sudden? She didn’t want to feel this way. She couldn’t.
“I have brought you your holo-imager. You left it on the
Holodeck,” she said slowly, handing it to him, trying not to act
too
nice.
“Why thank you, that’s very kind,” he said smiling
warmly.
Seven almost melted.
“What’s this?” he asked looking at her wrapped arm.
“I received first degree burns in the Holodeck blast,” Seven
said softly.
“Well let me treat you,” the Doctor said anxiously.
Seven watched as the Doctor unwrapped the towel from her arm. He has
the
nicest hands – she thought. Stop it!! – she chided herself.
He
cares for me as a friend, nothing more. I’ve got to get these
silly
thoughts out of my head.
She took a deep breath. I have to apologize NOW – she thought.
“Well, well. These plants were a good idea, Seven,” the
Doctor
praised.
“Yes, you were very inventful,” said Seven.
“Me?” the Doctor asked while running the dermal regenerator
over
her arm.
“Don’t you remember?” Seven asked.
“I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you. B’Elanna had to
erase
my memory of our time on the Holodeck after the blast in order to
retrieve
my program. You’ll have to fill me in,” the Doctor smiled.
Seven just stared. Relief washed over her. Now she would never have to
reveal her actions on the Holodeck!
“Seven?”
“Sorry, Doctor.”
“I want to apologize in case…. I did anything untoward
during
our time together. I can only hope that I didn’t,” the
Doctor
said.
“You were different, amusing,” was all Seven could say.
“I will have to tell you about it…. Another time.”
“How about tomorrow evening, 1900 hrs?” the Doctor asked,
never
missing a chance to go out with his love.
“I look forward to it,” she replied.
She turned and left Sickbay, leaving the Doctor alone with his
holo-imager.
He put his medical instruments away and went to his desk. Sitting back
in
his chair, the Doctor thought about Seven. I wish I had the nerve to
say
something to her. To tell her how I feel – he thought. I
can’t, though. She only thinks of me as a friend, a guide.
She’s made that perfectly clear. I have to stop this foolish
train of
thought.
The holo-imager lay on his desk, a small light on it flashing. The
Doctor
looked at it curiously. That’s odd – he thought.
The holo-imager had captured 563 images in the last day. But I never
even
had the chance to use my imager – he thought
He faced the imager towards the opposite wall and projected the images
onto
it. The first few were of a sunset. Then there was one of him. He was
wearing navy shorts and no shirt. This looks like the holodeck program
Seven and I were running. Why don’t I have a shirt on? – he
wondered.
The next image was of Seven and him standing a bit apart. The next was
of
them together this time, close. The next image was of Seven kissing him
on
the cheek. The next few images after that were nothing but blurs but
then
he saw several images of Seven and himself dancing very closely. The
Doctor
shifted around in his seat nervously.
The next image was unbelievable. He saw Seven and himself locked in a
kiss,
and there was nothing platonic about it.
“Pause replay,” he ordered. The Doctor’s mouth hung
open
in astonishment at the sight. In this image, Seven looked like the
aggressor, her hands on the Doctor’s neck and her leg up against
his.
“Play,” he ordered.
The next image showed the Doctor turned away from Seven with a
frightened
look on his face. The next image showed Seven standing alone, looking
off
into the distance. Then there was nothing. There were no more images
with
people in it. The Doctor played the images to the end. There were
hundreds
of them. He realized that it must have been left on, snapping images
every
20 seconds or so, without Seven’s or his knowledge. He shut his
imager off and stared at the grey wall.
My God – the Doctor thought. What does it mean?
******************************************
On to Part Two
