Dreamscape
by Diana Anderson

   What are dreams?  Oh sure, we know what they are chemically,
biologically, but why do we see the images we do, why are some pictures
grazed over while others jut out with intensity?
     Janeway viewed dreams like most people of science, with detachment
and an understanding that it is part of a natural process that the brain
carried out to unburden itself, to relax, a purging of the database if
you will.
     But this...this was no dream.
     Time had slipped away from her, like some elusive memory, and
before she knew it the first yawns made her aware that she had stayed up
entirely too late.    It was only a few moments after she had fallen
asleep that she found herself whisked away to another reality.  She
could feel her own physical being around her, could even flex her toes.
She had begun to seriously wonder if she had been abducted by
someone...or something.  The mischievous Q was the first person she
could imagine who would find pleasure out of playing such games, and a
cruel game it was.
    She was standing in an office that had an excellent view of the
Golden Gate bridge.  It wasn't fair.    She couldn't leave the room, the
door would not respond to her presence, neither would the computer.  It
was as if she was a ghost who had been left to ramble about in this room
until someone opened the door and let her out.     It was fairly obvious
that she was in an office at Starfleet headquarters in San Fransisco.
After giving up on making any sense out the situation she decided the
most logical course of action would be to investigate the office area.
She must of been placed here for a reason.
    She decided to start at the most obvious point, the desk.  Gingerly,
she sat down at the mahogany desk and began to examine the items
scattered about its surface.    As soon as she began to do so it became
clear that this was HER desk, not from the past but from some point in
time in the future.  That gave her a little encouragement and she became
more enthusiastic in her investigation.
    There were photos sitting on her desk.  One was of when Voyager was
launched on her maiden voyage.  That seemed normal enough.  The next was
of her mother and sister, but the next two perplexed her.    One was a
picture of Seven, dressed in jeans and a white shirt, standing on a dirt
road.  Her hands were shoved in her pockets and she was smiling the most
brilliant smile Janeway had ever seen on another human being.  Sure, she
had seen Seven smirk occasionally but nothing like that.  She wondered
idly what had caused such a reaction in the former drone as she moved on
to the next picture.    It was a picture of a newborn baby, framed in an
ornate silver frame.  She picked it up, relieved that she wasn't a total
ghost and could at least manipulate objects.  There was some engraving
at the bottom and she read it aloud.    "Annika Janeway?"
     The two words rolled over in her mind a few times.  She turned the
frame over and saw there was a small inscription on the back.  Love,
B'Elanna.  Apparently it had been a gift from her engineer.    She set
the picture down, her mind lost in a fog.
     Annika Janeway?
     The doors swished open and she practically leaped out of her skin.
She saw...herself come stalking into the room.  Her uniform was
different, grey at the top instead instead of red with a red undershirt.
Starfleet had changed uniforms again.
       "No, I'm leaving for the day," she was saying to someone behind
her.  Her counterpart never even saw her, simply grabbed a bag that had
been sitting next to the desk and hustled out the door.    She jumped
and followed her, practically running to keep up.  She followed her into
a transport area.   "Home, Captain?"  the operator asked.
  "Yes, sir," she smiled.
   Janeway got a little worried.  How was she supposed to follow her
future counterpart home?  Maybe if she got in the transport beam.  There
was no time to ponder.  She jumped onto the transporter pad, her form
had no substance and she stood easily on the shoes of her counterpart
without even being noticed.  God, she was a ghost.
    It worked.  She found herself standing on a sidewalk that lead up to
Victorian house, one of the older ones still around the bay area.  She
followed her to the door
.    Inside it was a cozy setting, with a fireplace, couch, there was
even an antique rocking chair sitting close to the fireplace.  An orange
cat was curled up on the sofa, deep asleep.    Cat?  She had never owned
a cat in her life, why would she in the future?
     Janeway2 carefully set down her bag and walked quietly into one of
the bedrooms.  Inside was a nursery and in the crib was the baby from
the picture, a few months older now.  She leaned down to look at her for
a moment and when she began to fuss she rubbed her back a little,
sending her deeper into her slumber.
   Annika Janeway.  Why would she name what appeared to be her daughter
after Seven?  Who was the father?  She was a little startled at how she
found herself reacting emotionally to the site.  She couldn't stop
looking at this baby, she was absolutely beautiful.
   Apparently, her counterpart thought so as well, and stayed by the
crib for a long while before finally leaving the room.  She went down
the hall into another bedroom, and on a large queen size bed was a
sleeping Seven of Nine.

   Janeway stopped dead in her tracks.  Seven was dressed in red flannel
pajamas, her platinum blonde hair spread out on the pillows.  She was on
her side, her arm thrown over an errant pillow.
   Jneway2 slipped off her uniform jacket, quietly kicked off her shoes,
and crawled on to the bed.  She lifted Seven's arm from the pillow,
moved the cusion aside, and moved into it's vacated position, kissing
Seven's hand genty before wrapping it around herself.
   "Kathryn, you're home early," Seven mumbled, nuzzling the Captain's
neck.
   "And I've been occupied with one thought all day which involves you
wearing a lot less clothes."
   "I like those kinds of thoughts."
   OH MY GOD.  Janeway had to shake her head, her brain seemed to be on
tilt.  Her and Seven?  That meant Annika Janeway was probably the result
of a cross ovum fertilization, she was her and Seven's child.
   A pajama top flew by her.  She really shouldn't be watching
this...but it was just her future self, right?
   "Seven..oh yes, don't stop."
   Uniform pants joined the pajama top on the floor.  She should really
leave.
   Seven was now completely naked and she was ogling with no remorse.
Wow.
   This was too much.  She forced herself to leave the room and took the
opportunity to walk around the house.
   The orange cat was still asleep on the couch.  She found herself
moving back to the nursery to look at Annika.  Even though she was only
an infant she was the spitting image of Seven on Nine.  Same pouty lips,
same nose.
   The noises from the other room grew louder, from moans to outright
cries of pleasure.  She felt herself blush a little.
   "Kathryn!"
    That sounded interesting.  The cries reached a crecendo and then
drifted off into silence.  She then heard some quiet talking and went
back into the bedroom.
    "Dr. Lenara Kahn, the Trillian scientist?"
    "Yes, she'll be here tomorrow, she seems reluctant about working on
the project."  Seven stated quietly.  She was wrapped around Kathryn
from behind, her lips close to the other woman's ear.
    "I think she's a little disappointed it wasn't her breakthrough.
>From what I understand she's been working on the project for a long
time.  Do you want me o take Annika tomorrow?"
   "No, they will accomidate."
   "Is that a fact or an order?"
   Seven's lips curled into a grin. "Both."
   Project, Dr. Lenara Kahn.  She filed it away.
   "How was our girl today?"
   "Displeased, for most of the day.  I hope she did not inherit your
mood swings."
   Janeway2 just smiled.  "I'm sorry I interupted your nap."
   "It was a rewarding interference.  We should dress soon, Jean-Luc is
coming over for dinner,"
   Jean-Luc? As in Jean-Luc Picard?
   "I hope e brings some more of that wine."
   "I'm sure he will."  Seven got up from the bed and began to dress,
tossing on a white button u shirt and knaki pants.  Barefooted she went
into Annika's room to fnd her awake and peering up at her.  She scooped
her up, settled her on her shoulder, and proceeded to the kitchen.
   Seven apparently preferred preparing food to replicating it and
managed to throw together a meal for three with one hand while hauling
around Annika with the other, who had fallen back to sleep.
   Her future counterpart entered the kitchen, dressed in black slack
and a beige sweater.  Seven stopped her work to give her a quick peck on
the lips.
   "Here, let me take her.  What time is he coming over?"
    "In thirty four minutes, assuming he's punctual, which he usually
is."
   "You know Starfleet Captains,"  Janeway2 smirked.
   "Yes, intimately."
    Janeway2 gave her a god swat on the ass, which Seven was indifferent
to.
    The present day Kathryn Janeway was reeling.  She couldn't imagine
herself being so relaxed with anyone, much less Seven of Nine.
   "Is there any milk, I mean, you know, for Annika?  Did you--"
   "No, not today.  Put this in the oven, I'll feed her."  They switched
armloads and seven sat down in the rocking chair with Annika.
   Breast feeding?  How was that possible?  What about her nanoprobes
and...She knelt down in front of the chair and watched Annika suckle,
her tiny hands clenched, her left foot kicking out in a constant rhythm.
   "Ow! Damn!"
   "Did you hurt yourself?"  Seven asked.
   "No, I can handle putting a dish in the oven, you know."
   The orange cat was awake now, grooming himself.  Janeway2 came out of
the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee.
   "Move over, cat."
   "You can sit on the other side," Seven pointed out.
   "I want to sit here.  It's about time he learned who the boss is
around here."
   "He's perefctly aware of who the boss is and he gives me no trouble."
She smirked alittle at her own comment.
   The doorbell rang and everything faded to black.

    She awoke with a start, sweaty and shaking.  She jumped up and went
to the computer terminal almost as a reflex action.
    "Computer, find all Starfleet records on Doctor Lenara Kahn."
    As the computer searched she sat down and shivered.
    The Doctor could find no explanation for what had occured and she
told no one of the specifics of the dream.
    She waited a day to sort out the images in her head before even
approaching Seven.  As the hours passed they had begun to lose their
clarity and she became more and more convinced that the whole thing had
just been a metaphor for something else but every time she entertained
the thought her body almost shivered in alarm.
  Entering Astrometrics lab she approached seven carefully.  Seven did
not turn around, but did not need to, she knew the footfalls.
   "Captain?"
   Janeway smirked a little at the statesque blonde who turned to
appraise her with one cool glance.
   "Seven, what data do you have on artificial wormholes?"
   She paused.  "What you would term 'a lot'."
   "Good.  I want you to start a little project.  I'll brief you later
today.  My quarters, 2000 hours?"
   "Acceptable."
   They were silent for a moment,  Kathryn licked her lips.
   "Can I ask you a hypothetical question? Now, don't analyze this or
ask me why, but if you were to buy a pet would you get a cat or a dog?"
   "A pet?"
   "Cat or a dog, Seven."
   There was a pause.  "Cat.  They are more..."
   "Efficient?"  Kathryn added.
   "Yes."
    A broad smile illuminated her features.  "I'll see you tonight."

the end
 

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