DISCLAIMER:: All characters and settings are borrowed from Star Trek: Voyager and everything in the Star Trek Universe belongs to Paramount/Viacom. No infringement of copyright or trademarks is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only. This story depicts a loving relationship between two women, if this is something that will offend you please read no further. If you are under 18 or this is illegal where you live please read no further.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Feedback: T.J.

Double Dog Dare
By T.J

"How are you feeling today Lieutenant Torres?"

B'Elanna had been confined to sick bay for several days now, ever since she picked up an alien virus on an away mission. The transporter chief had not been able to eliminate the bug when she beamed back to the ship and so he had beamed her directly to sickbay. She had been violently ill for the first few days, but the doctor had finally perfected a cure and she was on the mend. The problem was that she hated being confined to sickbay, and to make matters worse, the captain had assigned Seven of Nine to oversee engineering during her convalescence. These two facts combined to leave one very unhappy Klingon feeling like a caged tiger. Seven had just come to sick bay to give B'Elanna her report on engineering as the doctor had finally given the okay for the bio force field to be dropped and for her to have visitors.

"I'd be feeling a lot better if I was in engineering right now."

"All in good time Lieutenant." The doctor's cheerful voice called out from his office; it only served to set B'Elanna's teeth further on edge.

"There is no need for concern Lieutenant, engineering is running at peak efficiency."

"That's what I'm afraid of," B'Elanna growled.

"The crew are adapting well to their new Borg designations, and the Borg modifications to the shields and warp core should result in greater efficiency and security for Voyager. The captain couldn't be more pleased."

"WHAT! It took me weeks to get the last Borg 'enhancements' out of my engine room, and if you think that I'm going to go through that again, you have another think coming. I better not find one trace of Borg technology left when I get out of here or I'll blow you out the nearest airlock, and I don't care what the captain says." B'Elanna was too busy ranting to see smile the on Seven's face.

"Relax Lieutenant. I was only joking; the doctor has informed me of the efficacy of using humour to diffuse an awkward situation. I have not turned your engine room into a, now what did you call it, oh yes, a Borg circus, no matter how much more efficient it would be."

"What? You're joking."

"I assure you it was only a joke Lieutenant. You will find everything is exactly as you left it."

B'Elanna slumped back down on the biobed, exhausted from her outburst, and a little embarrassed to have been taken in so easily by Seven of Nine.

"I can't believe you just did that. Well, now I've seen everything…Borg humour. I don't think there's anything left in the quadrant that can surprise me after this."

"Oh I don't know Lieutenant," said Seven handing the engineer the PADD containing her report. "Perhaps if I told you of my true feelings for you."

"Your true feelings?" B'Elanna was feeling more than a little uncomfortable now.

Seven advanced slowly toward the biobed.

"Yes Lieutenant. I have wanted to tell you for some time; I am attracted to you. I have determined that you would be the perfect mate for me. The only one onboard Voyager who is a suitable match physically and mentally for me." Seven smiled as she stood next to B'Elanna.

B'Elanna couldn't believe what was happening. Seven couldn't be serious could she?

"You're kidding right? I mean this had got to be another one of your jokes." B'Elanna was having trouble forming coherent sentences.

Seven arched her ocular implant flirtatiously at the flustered engineer.

"Get well soon…B'Elanna," she said as left the room.

B'Elanna's mind was in turmoil. Surely Seven was only teasing her?

"Doc get over here," B'Elanna commanded.

"What's the problem now Lieutenant?"

"Have you been talking to Seven about resuming her dating experiences?"

"No, she gave up on her attempts to interact on a more intimate level with the crew some time ago. She hasn't mentioned it since. Why?"

"Because she just told me she was attracted to me." B'Elanna's voice was unusually shrill.

"Congratulations Lieutenant. I think you two would make a striking couple."

"Has everyone around here lost their mind? Seven can't be in love with me…she hates me!"

"I don't believe she hates you Lieutenant, but I rather doubt she's in love with you either."

"Why not? Is there something wrong with me? I suppose you don't think I'm good enough for your precious drone."

"Hardly," the doctor intoned as he rolled his eyes dramatically. "But our social lessons lately have revolved around humour…it is more likely she was teasing you. She was rather adamant that there was no one on Voyager who would make a suitable mate for her."

"I KNEW she was only kidding me…I knew that," B'Elanna sat back and crossed her arms, relieved to have put her fears to rest.

"If that was the emergency Lieutenant, I'll be on my way. I have several experiments to attend to before the next staff briefing."

B'Elanna lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. So Seven thought that she could pull one over on her eh? 'Well, two can play at that game,' B'Elanna thought to herself. 'Well maybe miss ice queen just bit off more than she can chew.' B'Elanna was smiling to herself as she began to formulate a plan to pay the former drone back in kind.

Three days later B'Elanna was back in engineering. She and Seven were going over the reports for the week that B'Elanna had missed, and Seven was bringing the Lieutenant up to date on everything that had been accomplished in her absence.

"You did a really great job with this Seven." B'Elanna began to put her plan into effect. Although she truly did think that Seven had done a more than adequate job in running the department during her illness.

"Thank you Lieutenant." Seven wasn't used to praise from anyone, let alone the volatile chief, and to hear it now was making her uncomfortable.

"No, thank you Seven." There was an awkward silence for a moment. Just as Seven looked about ready to bolt for the door, B'Elanna spoke again. "I've been thinking about what you told me that day in sick bay Seven."

"Oh." Now Seven looked very uncomfortable. She had thought that the incident was over. She hoped the Lieutenant wasn't too angry with her for her teasing. The doctor had told her how flustered the engineer had been.

"Yes…and I was thinking that maybe you're right. I mean we do have a lot in common, and who knows…stranger things have happened."

"Lieutenant…"

"B'Elanna," the Klingon hybrid interrupted. "Call me B'Elanna. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

B'Elanna had set the trap and now she waited to watch Seven squirm. She wondered whether the former drone would confess to her deceit, or simply make some excuse to avoid the date. She was betting on the latter. Seven, for her part, couldn't believe what was happening. Surely B'Elanna was only joking. She must have figured out what Seven had been up to, and was paying her back. But what if she really did want to go on a date with her. Seven didn't know what to do. In the end she decided to gamble that B'Elanna was only teasing and decided to hoist her on her own petard.

"I would love to."

"You would?" B'Elanna felt her heart drop to her shoes. She had thought that Seven would back down, or squirm out; in her wildest dreams she never thought the statuesque blonde would agree to go out with her.

"Yes B'Elanna, dinner sounds wonderful." Now it was Seven's turn to wait and see if B'Elanna would attempt to get out of the dinner.

"Great!" B'Elanna said wanly. "I'll pick you up at 1900hr."

"Unless you would rather not…Ensign Chapman did not fare so well on our date."

"Oh…I think I can handle it," B'Elanna replied, "I have Klingon physiology to protect me." There was no way she was going to let Seven back her down now.

"Then I shall look forward to it," Seven said with a smile.

"Well, until tomorrow then."

"Good night B'Elanna," said Seven with a smile as she left the department.

"Shit," B'Elanna cursed. "What the hell am I going to do now? On the bright side this is Voyager, and we are in the Delta Quadrant, with any luck some alien species will arrive and blow up the ship and I won't have to take Seven to dinner anyway." With that happy thought she began to think of somewhere to take the former drone for dinner.

Seven was lost in thought as she walked back to the cargo bay. She was fairly certain that B'Elanna wasn't serious about the date, but one never knew. She certainly wasn't going to give Torres the satisfaction of winning their little contest of one-upmanship. Perhaps it wasn't such a crazy notion after all, she thought to herself. The more she thought about it, the more sense it actually made. They had many common interests; the Lieutenant was strong, honourable, intelligent, and aesthetically pleasing. Seven decided that as long as they were going through with this charade it might not hurt to take it a little more seriously. She began to put some thought into what she might wear for the occasion.

"Dinner with the Borg," B'Elanna said out loud as she paced in her quarters. "What the hell was I thinking?" There was no way she was going to back down first. She decided to simply turn on the charm and scare Seven into admitting that she had only been teasing. She began to think about what sort of flowers she could replicate for her 'date.'

To her surprise B'Elanna was actually having fun at dinner. She had arrived at the cargo bay to pick up the ex-drone, only to find that for the first time ever Seven was wearing a dress. It was a midnight blue cocktail dress that highlighted Seven's eyes, and B'Elanna had to admit she was a knockout in it. Seven had been appreciative of the flowers and had allowed B'Elanna to order her dinner from the holographic waiter. They were eating on a terrace overlooking a beautiful moonlit lake…the setting was very romantic, as was the music of the string quartet playing in the background.

"You didn't Seven." B'Elanna managed through gasps of laughter.

"But I did." Seven replied, smiling at B'Elanna's good humour.

She had just finished telling B'Elanna about the time that she had informed the captain that the nebula they had just spent several hours analyzing was completely unremarkable and that writing out a report on the study would be a waste of her time and the ships' resources. Janeway had of course given Seven a direct order to complete the report as well as a lecture on chain of command and appropriate Starfleet protocols for following orders.

"It took three PADDS to contain my detailed analysis of every square meter of the nebula. Captain Janeway looked slightly the worse for wear at the staff meeting the next day," Seven finished with a smile.

"I remember; she looked like she hadn't slept in weeks." B'Elanna was still shaking her head over Seven's antics.

"I thought the numerical listing by atomic number of each molecule of the gas cloud alone would be enough to put her to sleep instantly," Seven said with mock innocence, sending B'Elanna into another peal of laughter.

Maybe it was the wine, but B'Elanna couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun, or laughed this much in one evening. Suddenly it didn't seem like such a bad idea to have asked Seven out, even if it was only a joke. When the dinner was over they walked back to the cargo bay, pausing outside the doors to say goodnight.

"I had a lovely time this evening B'Elanna," Seven said after they had stood awkwardly for a moment outside of the cargo bay.

"So did I Seven."

"Perhaps you would care to join me for dinner again tomorrow night," Seven inquired.

B'Elanna wasn't certain of what to say. She no longer had any idea as to what Seven was thinking or feeling concerning these 'dates.' But in any case she had no intention of being the first to back down.

"I can't tomorrow night…staff progress reports are due."

"Then perhaps the next night?" B'Elanna was certain she heard a hopeful note in the ex-drone's voice.

"Sure, I'd love to."

"I will have to work out a few details before I can tell you a time and place. May I contact you later with the details?"

"Of course. Well, I guess I should be going. Good night Seven." Suddenly B'Elanna felt the need to get out of here and think about what was going on.

"My research indicates that a kiss on the first date is an acceptable procedure," Seven said quickly before B'Elanna could move away.

B'Elanna hesitated. She was fairly certain that Seven was only teasing her in an attempt to get her to back down. She decided to tease right back. She stepped forward and reached her hand up to cup Seven's cheek, pausing long enough to give Seven time to protest or move away—she didn't. Torres felt as if she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She had no choice but to kiss the younger woman, because there was no way she was backing down now. She wasn't bold enough to kiss the former drone on the lips, so instead she leaned up to kiss her on the cheek. At the last minute Seven turned her head slightly and the corners of the their lips touched briefly. Still holding Seven's cheek B'Elanna stepped back and mumbled.

"Goodnight, Sseven." It was barely above a whisper, but Seven heard it nonetheless. She was still standing there staring, an enigmatic smile on her face, long after B'Elanna was gone.

B'Elanna couldn't believe what had just happened. She had kissed Seven of Nine. Her head was spinning as she remembered how Seven had turned her head ever so slightly when she had gone to kiss her cheek. Either the former drone was upping the ante in their little game, or something had changed during the last round. Seven couldn't really be thinking seriously of dating her could she? And why did that suddenly not seem like the worst idea in the world. No! There was no way the former Borg was serious about this. B'Elanna was beginning to wonder how far they were willing to go with this charade. She knew for certain that she had no intention of giving in…in fact she was already trying to figure out what to wear for their next 'date.'

Seven had arranged to use the kitchen in order to cook a meal for B'Elanna for their date. She had put a great deal of thought into the menu, and fussed interminably over the ingredients as well as ensuring that each wine was perfectly matched to its course. She wanted everything to be perfect. Since she had started taking this 'relationship' seriously she knew the first thing she had to do was to get B'Elanna to see her in a different light. She hoped tonight would be the first step. She was just getting ready to put desert in the oven… she had made one of B'Elanna's favourites, Tomarian chocolate Crème Brule. She was just about to put in the oven so it would be ready on time when B'Elanna walked through the doors of the mess hall. B'Elanna was wearing a stunning black cocktail dress that showed off her athletic body to great effect, and Seven was captivated by the sight of the engineer's graceful form.

"B'Elanna you look beautiful," she said as she moved to take the Klingon-hybrid's arm and usher her to her chair. "May I pour you a glass of wine," she inquired once B'Elanna was seated. She couldn't resist the urge to trail her fingers over the satin smooth skin of the engineer's exposed shoulder; she was rewarded with the sight of gooseflesh her touch raised on B'Elanna's skin.

"Wine would be lovely." B'Elanna felt a tremor run through her body at Seven's touch. She was in way over her head and she knew it. The surprising thing was that she okay with that.

Seven served the first course and they began their meal. Once again the conversation flowed smoothly and B'Elanna again found herself having a wonderful time. The dinner was delicious, and the carefully chosen wine complemented each dish, adding to the perfection of the meal. B'Elanna leaned back in her chair, waiting contentedly for Seven to bring the desert. She was startled by the sound of a cry coming from the kitchen. She leapt to her feet and hurried toward the sound to see what was the matter. Seven was standing in front of the oven with a tray in her hands.

"What's the matter Seven…is everything all right."

"Everything is ruined," Seven's voice sounded anguished. "I was about to put the desert in the oven when you arrived in the mess hall, and you looked so…I became distracted. Desert is raw; everything is…"

"Perfect, Seven. Everything is perfect," B'Elanna interrupted.

She scooped up a fingerful of the mix and tasted it.

"B'Elanna!" Seven admonished.

"Mmm, it's wonderful Seven. Here try some," she smiled as she took another fingerful of the mix and held it out for Seven.

Slowly, hesitantly, Seven took the tip of B'Elanna's finger into her mouth and licked off the batter. She smiled shyly as the engineer slowly removed her finger. The moment was as sensual and as awkward as it was possible to be. The feeling of her finger being inside Seven's mouth had lit a fire inside of B'Elanna's veins. She was struggling with the urge to simply lean forward and lay claim to the beautiful blonde. The joke was over, of that B'Elanna was certain.

"I just wanted everything to be perfect for you," Seven said quietly.

"It is Seven, it is."

"Desert was supposed to be ready when you finished your meal, and now I have nothing to offer you."

B'Elanna fought down the urge to list the things that Seven had to offer her.

"How long does it take to cook?"

"What?"

"The desert, how long will it take?"

"An hour," Seven's voice was dejected.

"See, now that is perfect timing. I'm so full from dinner it'll be at least an hour before I'm ready for desert." B'Elanna picked up the last bottle of wine. "Not to mention I think it should take about an hour for us to finish this bottle of wine."

"You would wait this long?"

"Only if you promise to tell me what you said to poor Harry a month or so ago that has running in the opposite direction every time he sees you," B'Elanna said with a smile.

Seven blushed as she thought of her offer to copulate with Harry. She put the desert in the oven and turned to face B'Elanna.

"Very well…if you really want to know," she said with a smile that grew much wider when B'Elanna took her hand and led her to a seat on a sofa facing the bank of windows that looked out into space.

They continued to chat quietly while they sipped their wine, and watched the stars slip by outside the window. Seven wanted very much to kiss B'Elanna, but she knew before she did that they needed to clear the air about the beginning of their relationship. She shifted slightly in her seat so that she was facing the beautiful engineer.

"B'Elanna, there is something I have to tell you," she began nervously. "That day in sick bay, when I told you I was attracted to you." She paused, uncertain of how to tell the volatile Klingon the truth without angering her.

"I knew you were only kidding Seven."

"You did?"

"Yeah, in fact the only reason I asked you out originally was to scare you into admitting you lied. I never expected you to say yes."

"Are you sorry that I did?" Seven asked shyly.

"Absolutely not."

"Good," Seven's smile was the most beautiful thing B'Elanna had ever seen. "But I feel I must inform you at this time that I am attracted to you…truthfully. I am not sorry I did what I did, as it is unlikely that I would have discovered my true feelings for you had I not, but I wanted you to know. I apologize if I caused you…"

"Seven," B'Elanna interrupted with a smile. "Shut up and kiss me."

"I will comply," Seven smiled as she took B'Elanna into her arms and tasted the impossible sweetness of her lips for the first time.

The End

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