"Seven?" a shout rose above the usual clatter and voices of Engineering. Seven of Nine looked up from her work console. She had been assigned by B'Elanna to run an extensive diagnostic on a few malfunctioning bio gel packs in the mess hall. She and a team of others had been working on it all morning; her in Engineering, them in the mess hall.

Ensign Harry Kim walked toward her. He wore a shy grin and in his hand he held the diagnostics she had called for. Seven rolled her eyes, a newly required skill. Harry had probably run from the mess hall to give it to her.

"Ensign." She greeted when he reached the consol.

"Please, Seven, we've been through this. Call me Harry" Harry said. His demeanor was that of someone who was extremely uncomfortable, but would rather not be anywhere else than where he already was.

"Ensign Harry." Seven conceded, raising her eyebrows and nodding slightly. It was her signature look. Harry sighed in defeat, then he handed her the report.

While she scanned it, Harry explained the situation.

"We replaced the six gel packs, but they still aren't responding. I tried a switch back to relay power from one of the replicators, but something seems to be jamming the power. Ensign Faber and Ensign Brown are working on figuring it all out. I thought it would be a good idea if you went to the mess hall and I switched you places."

Seven finished reading the report and handed it back to Harry. Their hands briefly touched and he recoiled. The report dropped to the floor. Seven and Harry both reached down at the same time to grab it. Consequently, their heads collided with a nice crack. Seven fell back, cradling her forehead. Harry gasped and began apologizing profusely. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. For a brief moment, Harry held Seven's hand in his. Then the moment passed. She gently pulled her hand away from him.

"Are you well, Ensign?" she asked. She had been unaffected by the brief encounter, but Harry looked ill.

"Y-yeah. I'm f-fine." He stammered, clearly shaken.

"Do you need to go to sickbay?" She pressed, more curious than concerned. She had never seen anyone act like this. He seemed ready to vomit.

No, I'll be fine." Harry said. He cleared his throat and pushed a rouge hair back into place. "You should probably get to the mess hall. Contact me when you get there."

Seven nodded to him and began to walk toward the doors. They slid apart and she stepped out into the halls of deck ten. Just before the doors closed, Seven turned to see Harry staring in her direction with a dreamy expression on his face.

7of9 ******* 7of9

Seven walked decisively to the nearest turbo lift. Once inside, she called out for deck two and waited for the lift reach her destination. But about two decks up, the doors opened to admit the doctor.

"Good morning Seven." He said cheerfully, and then he called out for deck five. Seven nodded in greeting but said nothing more. She was playing various scenarios in her mind as to what could possibly be complicating the repairs in the mess hall. Looking over at the doctor, she saw him staring at her expectantly. Seven sighed uncomfortably. The doctor had been giving her lessons in how to make small talk. Every time they had been around other people, he had urged her to try out her new skill. Finally the awkward silence made her cave.

"How are you doing today?" she said stiffly. In her opinion, small talk was irrelevant.

The doctor looked full at Seven, clearly surprised. Though her words were stiff and emotionless, they were spontaneous. This delighted the doctor that she was actually practicing without being told.

"Fine, thank you. How about you?" he asked. Seven searched in vain for the proper response. She hadn't really done anything of noteworthy report. Should she tell him about Harry's strange behavior? No, Harry himself had said that he was fine. Not knowing what else to say, she settled with-

"Well."

The doctor nodded and smiled at her.

"I am extremely proud of you Seven." He said, "Your social skills are improving. Soon you'll be able to stun people with you grace, your charm, your loveliness, your-" the doctor stopped short. Seven stared at him blankly. His compliments meant nothing to her. She attributed any of her "charm, grace, and loveliness" to the Borg collective.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Suffice it to say that I'm proud of you." He finished quietly. His mood had shifted. Seven could not identify his new mood. Not cheerful, more thoughtful. The door opened on deck five, and the doctor stepped out.

7of9*******7of9

The corridor to the mess hall was crowded. Men and women of ever rank and position milled happily to and from the mess hall. Seven smoothly navigated the people and headed toward the doors. Suddenly, a voice called to her.

"Seven!"

She turned to see Neelix frantically waving her over. She went over to him.

"Do your require something Neelix?" she asked. Neelix's golden eyes were filled with boyish excitement. He looked back at the wall and pointed. A beautiful spider sat on a web of gossamer silk. Its body was jade green with a yellow mark on its abdomen and its legs were the color of onyx.

"Look at it Seven." He breathed, "A rare Green Bitter spider! You don't see one of these every day. They come from a planet called Deruh. Must have come on board with the away team while we were there. I can't believe this one has managed to stowaway!" He babbled on while Seven studied the arachnid more closely. Two of its legs were missing and appeared to be old, even tired.

"Neelix?"

"Yes?" Neelix stopped midsentence.

"In all my recent studies of common entomology, I have found that true arachnids have eight legs." She looked at him, confused.

"Yes, and…." Neelix failed to see the point.

"If that is the case, than this is not a true spider." She stated.

"Well, not exactly. It might have lost a couple of its legs in a fight or some such thing." He explained.

"Then it is defective?" Seven asked, as if in confirmation.

"In a way, I guess." Neelix replied.

"I see." Seven said. She then reached out and promptly squished the jewel-like spider with her thumb.

Neelix gaped at her in open mouthed surprise.

"Why did you do that?!" he asked. His expression was crestfallen. Seven stood, wiped her thumb on her pants, and said in a matter of fact tone-

"It was defective."

Then she walked to the mess hall, leaving Neelix to stare sadly at a colorful smear on the wall.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Reviews always appreciated ;)