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ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
THANKS: to Jamie for beta work.
That's What We Dream About
By allie
"That's what we dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul that they'd find something worth dying for."
The words echoed dully through the fog of her consciousness. They reverberated around her brain until she could hear nothing else except them and the rush of her own blood pounding in her ears.
Somehow she knew that the speaker of those words had meant something more than she had picked up at the time. It wasn't just a sarcastic comment directed at her in one of her usual tirades. It was a plea. Or at least it seemed to be...but what was it a plea for?
Absolution?
No, it couldn't be that. There was nothing to forgive. They'd made peace with one another months ago. They'd become friends who regularly spent off duty hours involved in shared passions. They had overcome their usual hostility and begun a friendship which meant more to both of them than to anyone else on the ship. The others couldn't fathom why they had suddenly ceased hostilities. They wouldn't understand. They couldn't understand.
They had no way of knowing that when the hostilities had ceased and they actually started talking, rather than shouting at each other, they had more in common than either of them realised.
Their love of joint pursuits meant that almost every waking hour not spent on duty was spent together, either in the privacy of B'Elanna's quarters or Cargo Bay 2.
Their time was never idle though, it was spent converting part of the cargo bay into quarters for Seven and modifying one of the alcoves into a smaller version of itself.
During their conversation the previous evening they had been discussing the subject of love, a subject which completely confounded Seven. B'Elanna had commented that she often dreamed about meeting her "third heart".
"Explain?" Seven demanded.
"You know that Klingon's have two hearts, well when we refer to our "third heart" we mean the person who completes us. The one we will spend our lives and beyond with. When we reach the gates of Sto-Vo-Kor it is them we wish to meet if they have already passed, if they haven't then we want them to perform the death wail for us to have warned Sto-Vo-Kor of our coming. I think the best way to explain it is to call the person we are referring to as our 'eternal love'."
Frowning slightly Seven sought further clarification. "You dream of this person?"
"I haven't actually had the dream for a while now, but yeah, I've dreamt about her. That's what we all dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul that they'd find something worth dying for. Someone who makes my hearts flutter, my palms sweaty and my pulse race quicker than a warp core breech."
Seven latched onto one word in that sentence and felt her own pulse rocket. "Her"; B'Elanna wanted her third heart to be a female and had dreamt it so. "Why did the dreams stop?"
"I don't really know. I think it's because I've met her now, but knowing the kind of luck I have, I've probably let her slip right through my hands." B'Elanna sighed ruefully.
"When did the dreams stop?" Seven demanded in her usual forthright style.
"I dunno, a while ago I think." B'Elanna paused to consider the question. As realisation dawned upon her she could feel the colour drain from her face and her pulse suddenly become supercharged.
"B'Elanna?" Seven noticed the changes immediately. "Are you functioning adequately?"
"Erm...yeah...fine...listen I gotta go. I'll see you later." Torres fled with no consideration for Seven's feelings or the incomplete regeneration alcove.
Now, trying to fathom the reaction of her friend and the profundity of the statement Seven found herself at a loss. She couldn't really reconcile the savage Klingon with such tenderness as indicated by B'Elanna's phrase. "That's what we dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul that they'd find something worth dying for."
Trying to work out why she had suddenly fled when asked when the dreams had stopped was giving Seven a headache. She turned the conversation over in her head repeatedly. There was no indication that any offence could have been taken inadvertently; there was nothing to indicate that Seven had accidentally upset B'Elanna. There was no cause for her to flee.
Unless...
Seven left the cavernous bay and headed towards the closest turbolift. "Computer, what is Lt. Torres location?"
"Lt. Torres is in her quarters."
"Is she awake?" Seven queried, her internal chronometer suddenly making her conscious of the early hour.
"Affirmative."
When she reached the door to B'Elanna's quarters Seven experienced a rare bout of apprehension. So many "what if" scenarios ran through her mind; questions, which would remain unanswered until she rang the chime on B'Elanna's door.
Gathering her courage she pressed the chime and requested entrance. Moments later B'Elanna appeared, dishevelled and tired, looking like she'd spent the night pacing her quarters rather than resting. Indicating Seven to join her, she moved into her quarters and settled on the sofa.
Seven drew herself to her fullest height, took a deep breath and blurted. "Your dreams stopped when I came on board."
"Yes."
"That is why you were so hostile to me."
"Yes."
"You were unconsciously invoking a Klingon Mating ritual."
"Yes."
"You wish to engage in non-reproductive cop..."
"Stop!" B'Elanna roared rising from her seat so quickly she almost overbalanced. "No, I don't want to copulate with you." At Seven's raised eyebrow she continued. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've been in love with you longer than either of us realise. I've been dreaming about you for years and only realised it last night." Giving into her human side's need for tenderness, she sank to her knees; grasped Seven's left hand in her own and whispered. "I love you Seven, will you marry me?"
The End