By Diane Klepper
(Author's Note: This is the sixth part of Voyager: The First Year series. Tom becomes closer to Kes while working in sickbay.)
Tom Paris was tapping some notes into a padd when the sickbay door opened and Kes came in. She smiled at him and said, "Hello Tom."
"Hey Kes…your coming here to begin your training."
Smiling Kes said, "Yes…I didn't know you were working in sickbay today."
"Yeah…I promised the Doc that I would work a few extra hours this week in sickbay."
"Really."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Kes gave a little smile. "Voyager is a small ship…I hear things."
Tom put down the padd he was working on down on a nearby bio-bed. He wrapped his arms around himself in a defensive posture. "What kind of things?"
Kes gazed into Tom's eyes and smiled. She heard a lot of things about Thomas Eugene Paris since she had arrived on Voyager. There were many whispers among the crew about Tom being a traitor to both Starfleet and the Maquis. Many people said he was a selfish and uncaring and the only reason he risked his life to save Chakotay was to get Captain Janeway to give him the post of chief helmsman. The man she had gotten to know over the last few months was nothing like his reputation. She knew he was caring and that he would risk his life for Kathyrn Janeway because he felt he owed it to her for giving him back his Starfleet career.
Kes frowned, "Tom it is no secret on this ship that The Captain got you out of prison for this mission."
Tom folded his arms across his chest. "I guess you are one of them."
With a perplexed look on her face Kes asked, "Them?'
With a little smirk on his face Tom said, "Kes there is an old Earth saying that says 'once a screw-up, always a screw-up.'"
"A screw-up?"
Tom picked up his padd and started to tap in a few calculations. "Kes I'm sure you know about my past…I lost my concentration on a simple flying mission and I made a mistake…but unfortunately I wasn't the one to pay for my mistake…The people who paid for my mistake was Charlie who was my closet friend growing up, Bruno another close friend, and Odile who was very special to me."
"Losing three people very close to you must have been very hard on you."
Tom put his padd back down on the bio-bed. "It was…but when I woke up in the hospital Starfleet started asking questions about the accident and I got scared…My father is an Admiral and from the time I was a small boy all I ever heard was when you go to Starfleet…I was never even asked if I wanted to go into Starfleet it was expected of me."
"Tom it is very common for children and parents to have disagreements about their child's future…I know my parents would have wanted me to stay on Ocampa. But, I was too adventurous and I wanted to see the surface world."
Tom smiled, "I'm glad you were adventurous. If you weren't you wouldn't be on Voyager and we would of never met."
Kes sighed. "I love being on Voyager but there are times when I miss my home world…I know a lot of people on Voyager miss Earth a lot…Do you miss Earth?"
Tom gave a small laugh. "Kes I'm perfectly happy to spend the next seventy years on Voyager. The only thing waiting for me on Earth is a prison cell."
Kes looked at me and smiled. "Tom Paris I'm sure there are a lot of people on Earth that misses you."
Tom gave a small laugh. "My Dad is probably happy that I'm not around to dirty the family name."
"I don't believe that. I'm sure your father misses you a lot…What about the rest of your family?"
"I'm sure my Mom misses me and my sisters Kathleen and Moira."
Kes sighed. "I often wished I had a brother or sister…I was really close to my father but when he died I felt so alone…tell me about your sisters."
Tom smiled. "They are both older then me and they use to boss me around a lot but I knew they loved me…. Neither of them are involved in Starfleet but they knew the pressure Dad was putting on me to become the next great Paris is Starfleet and they use to do things to make me feel better."
"Like what?"
"Kathleen use to always bring me books about the sea and sailing because she knew I loved the ocean…One time when she was home from college she rented a sailboat and we sailed San Francisco Bay."
Kes smiled, "I really don't know that much about the sea because my home planet doesn't have much water."
Tom laughed, "That's true…Maybe I could take you out on a holodeck one day and we could go sailing."
"I would like that…What did you do with Moira that was special?"
"When our parents went out and Moira babysat me she would let my replicate pizza and we would watch horror vids all night…Even after she left for college she sent me vids to watch that she knew I would enjoy."
"They sound really nice…I bet they miss you as much as you miss them."
"Yeah…Hey maybe you can come over to my quarters and watch a vid one night.".
Kes frowned, "I don't think Neelix would like me being alone with you in your cabin…He tends to get very jealous."
Tom smiled. "Invite Neelix over too…I'll invite Harry and B'Elanna. Maybe we can start a movie night."
"I would like that…Neelix and I can bring over some food."
Tom frowned, "Kes I know Neelix means well but I hate Leola root stew…pretty much I hate anything with Leola root in it."
Kes laughed, "It takes time to get use to Leola root but I'll replicate something for movie night."
Tom smiled and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Kes."
Just then the Doctor materialized into sickbay. He saw Kes and smiled, "Kes I see you are here for your lesson."
Kes smiled at him. "Yes Doctor"
The Emergency Holographic Doctor turned to face Tom. "Mr. Paris did you finish
recalibrating the instruments I asked you to do."
Tom smiled. "Yeah Doc." He picked up his padd from the bio-bed and made a few more taps into it and handed it to the Doctor. "Here's my report on the recalibrations. I'll see you in two days."
The Doctor looked at the padd and said, "Remember Mr. Paris I expect you two hours earlier…I have some experiments I need you to watch while I tutor Kes."
Tom frowned, "Doc…I have an early conn shift that morning….If I come straight here I won't have a lunch break."
The Doctor said matter of factly, "Mr. Paris I thought we made a deal…If you can't live up to your end of the agreement I can always talk to Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay about what really happened to the medical regenerator."
Knowing when he lost Tom gave a little smirk. "I'll be there Doc." He turned to Kes and smiled, "Let's make movie night tomorrow night…. It's the only day this week I'm not doing a double shift…Be at my quarters at 1900 hours. You'll bring Neelix and I'll bring Harry and B'Elanna."
Kes smiled at him. "We'll be there and I promise no Leola root."
Tom smiled and then said, "I'll see you then." Tom said, "Bye Doc." and left sickbay.
The Doctor watched Tom leave and then turned to face Kes. "Kes…I think you should be careful around Mr. Paris…he does have a certain reputation as a womanizer."
Kes smiled at the E.M.H. "Doctor don't worry about me…Tom knows I'm involved with Neelix and besides he only has eyes for B'Elanna.'
"He does?"
Kes smiled, "Yes he does…He just doesn't know it yet….but give Tom Paris time…I'm sure he will figure it out.".