Title: I'll drink to that
Summary: On the final leg of Voyager's run, Tom, Harry, Joe Carey and Ayala gather in Sandrine's and remember all the good times of the last seven years. Set before Friendship One. Implied P/T with a mention of J/C
Disclaimer: Voyager belongs to Paramount. And the phrase "caffeine fiend " was not my idea first.
***
When they reached the holodeck, Tom Paris and Harry Kim were surprised to find themselves in Sandrine's, a place they hadn't spent time in years, and surprised further when they found the only occupants were Lieutenant Carey and Lieutenant Ayala. Never ones to socialise with just one particular type of friends, neither hesitated in joining the two men for a drink.
***
"It's been a long time since we've done this," Joe mused out loud, nursing a glass of ale.
"Back in the day, I do believe more alcohol and gambling were involved," Ayala added.
All the men sniggered at that.
"What happened to us?" Harry wondered.
"We grew up," Tom answered simply. Though he didn't know Ayala or Joe as well as he did Harry, he has spent a lot of the early years hanging out with the two men and a few others, in this very bar, back before life with B'Elanna had become the most important thing to him.
"Or we just became boring," said Harry, and the men laughed again.
"So this is it. The home run. I can't believe we're almost home. You know, I stopped hoping after a year of being stuck here. And now we're that much closer, all I can think about is being reunited with my family," Joe said, unable to stop the grin from forming on his face.
Ayala, on the other hand looked more cautious. "I refuse to start believing until we're actually back home. I don't want my hopes dashed."
The other men fell silent at this thought, thinking about home and what it meant. Or what it didn't mean.
Both Ayala and Joe had children and wives they hadn't seen in almost seven years. Harry had his loving family. Tom wasn't sure what kind of family he was returning to, and wasn't sure if he cared. Call it cliché, but Voyager was home for him.
"It's been one heck of a ride," Joe said finally.
"And in some ways it has been more than worth it," Harry added.
And that summed it up completely.
"I'll drink to that," Tom said, raising his glass, and the others followed suit.
***
Half a pint later...
"The first time I met Neelix, I thought he was the result of an intense affair between a hyena and a Gorn," Ayala admitted, to which Harry sputtered in his beer. "I mean, I know we interact with a variety of different looking species back home, but somehow I will never get over meeting odd looking aliens for the first time. Not that I don't respect Neelix or anything. I'm just saying, the first time I saw him..."
"The first time I met Captain Janeway, I was so sure that she was going to burst into song, that I stopped working at my console and gawped. Commander Cavit practically hit me to make me pay attention," said Joe, and the others started laughing again.
"What song did you think she'd sing?" asked Tom.
Joe grinned. "I was so sure she would burst into one of those 21st century musical songs, you know? Like Oklahoma!"
Ayala and Harry looked on in confusion where as Tom nodded. Like Tom, Joe loved all things 21st century. As well as 22nd century. And 23rd century.
"The first time I saw Chakotay in his Starfleet uniform, I wasn't sure whether to tease him or run away. He looked so mad, like his mother had made him stay in and do his homework. But he didn't look as tough as before. In his uniform he looked like a big teddy bear in need of a hug." That came from Harry. "Not that I was going to give him one," he hastened to add.
"You wouldn't have dared," Tom mused.
"Do you dare me to now?" Harry asked cheekily.
The men pictured Harry walking up to Chakotay on the bridge and engulfing him in a hug, whilst he remained rooted on the spot, shocked. And stayed like that five minutes later.
"I think I'll save that one for another day," Tom decided.
"Maybe on our last day, so you don't get chucked in the brig," Joe added.
"Or killed," Ayala put in, reminding them all of the Maquis response to disobedience.
"I remember the first day I met B'Elanna, back during my brief stint in the Maquis. She knocked me unconscious for 'giving her the eye'," Tom said, his eyes awash with memory.
"The first time I met B'Elanna in the Caretaker's Array, I thought she was going to kill our captors and then eat them for breakfast, she was that mad," said Harry.
"It was like that the first time she stepped onto Engineering. She was so resentful of being there that she could have killed us with a glare. Punched me in the nose instead." Joe rubbed his nose in memory.
"The first time I met B'Elanna, she did kill someone." That from Ayala.
Silence.
Joe whistled. "You win," he told Ayala.
"I'll drink to that," said Ayala.
***
One pint later...
"Remember all those pranks we used to pull?" Joe asked.
Everyone grinned in memory.
"How about that time when Harry was off duty, and you tried to convince the Captain to trade roles with you, so that when Harry came back on duty, you'd tell him that he'd entered an alternate universe where you were Captain and everyone else were your minions," Ayala mused to Tom.
That caused a round of laughter from everyone.
"You were going to do what?" Harry cried.
Tom grinned. "I was bored! And I thought it would be funny. Not that the Captain even let me try. Besides, I was only getting you back for the time you set my chronometer to play heavy metal Klingon rock at 5am in the morning."
It was Harry's turn to grin. "That was when you had a serious crush on B'Elanna but would do nothing about it."
Tom made a noise that sounded strangely similar to a huff and folded his arms.
"What about that time you invited the crew to watch a comedy on what 21st Century people thought space travel would be like, in the cinema?" Ayala asked Joe. "What was it called, Red Giant?"
Joe laughed. "Red Dwarf. I had a lot of people turn up, including the Doctor. The Doctor immediately associated himself with the hologram Rimmer, and for days afterwards, decided to take on his more annoying personality traits."
"So Joe decided to modify the Doctor's programme so that he carried a big H on the middle of his forehead."
"And made sure it was big, bold and girly."
"By the time he noticed, everyone was already calling him 'Alphabet Head' and I do believe a young Naomi even called it to him in front of his face."
"Hey I remember that!" Tom said in realisation. "The Doctor blamed me!"
Ayala turned to Joe. "Do you remember that time we got fairly drunk and replicated squirty cheese and wrote 'Tuvok woz 'ere' outside the men's toilets, near the mess hall?"
Tom frowned. "I got blamed for that too!"
Harry turned to Tom. "What about that time you decided to mess with the replicator, so that when the Captain asked for coffee, all she got was a mug of warm milk. I do believe Neelix had to restrain her from strangling you."
"She really is a caffeine fiend," Tom mused.
It was Ayala's turn to frown. "I was the one who had to supervise you when she put you in the brig for a couple of hours."
"And wasn't that fun?"
"Not when you were trying to distract me and get me chucked in the brig," Ayala grumbled.
Tom grinned again. "So many pranks to pull, and yet so little time."
"I'll drink to that," said Joe.
***
Half a pint later...
"Defining moment on Voyager?" Joe asked.
"Definitely that time that I reached Warp 10. Not only did I manage to make the record books, but I finally earned the respect of everyone on board."
"And then promptly lost it again when you turned in to a lizard and mated with the Captain," Harry interjected.
Joe and Ayala almost choked on their beers, whilst Tom adopted an evil glare.
Then grinned again. "It's still pretty amazing though. Having people finally treat me as a real person, and not some outcast, well, nothing can compare to that."
Everyone thought back to those times. Harry had shown nothing but respect for Tom since the moment he met him, and whilst Joe and Ayala hadn't been hostile towards Tom, they hadn't exactly been friendly either, although they had warmed to him much earlier than the Warp 10 incident.
"My defining moment would be that time I had to guard that alien who could turn invisible. Covered him with flour so I knew where he was. When he escaped, he didn't realise everyone could see him," said Ayala.
"Did he do the hypothetical 'sneak into the ladies' locker room'?" asked Harry.
"No," answered Ayala. "The men's."
The men laughed.
"My defining moment would be when the Captain left me in control of the bridge and I got to sit in her chair. The power!" No one needed to guess who said that.
"Yeah, and you didn't let it get to your head at all," Joe mused.
Harry glared.
"My defining moment was when I won the Leola Root eating competition," said Joe, and the men laughed in memory. "I managed to eat it for a month straight every meal. Of course, I was throwing up for a month straight afterwards, but it was so worth the rations I earned."
Ayala smiled. "You win."
"I'll drink to that," said Joe.
***
One more pint later...
Joe turned to Ayala. "Do you remember when we first started hanging out?"
"Yeah, it was about a month after getting stuck here. I still wasn't settled, and spent many sleepless nights in the holodeck. I was trying to put together a giant 3D puzzle of Earth, and you came in and helped. We didn't exchange one word, but afterwards I knew we were friends."
Joe grinned. "At first, people couldn't understand why the Starfleet officer and Maquis rebel were hanging out. People started thinking we were gay."
"I do believe that rumour was started by Jenny Delaney," Ayala grinned too.
What people didn't realise at first was that Joe and Ayala had a lot in common. Both had a family back home, and both were struggling with a lack of faith that they'd get back at all. Knowing that there was someone else going through the same thing made it a little easier.
"I think you two started the buddy-up-with-the-enemy trend," Tom mused.
"Really? I always thought that was Janeway and Chakotay. Or Harry and B'Elanna," said Ayala.
Harry grinned. "Maybe you two were more believable."
"You know, I was so certain that the Captain and Chakotay would hook up," Joe said.
"Those weekly dinners they used to have? I never believed the friendship-only guise," Ayala said, shaking his head.
"The Captain would never allow herself to 'fraternise' without risk of going against Starfleet," Harry's tone was almost sad.
"Not that she's ever gone against Starfleet before," said Joe.
Tom smiled. "They would have been good for each other."
Joe shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I betted them getting together soon after they got dumped on that planet."
"I'm betting they'll get together when we reach the Alpha Quadrant," Harry said.
"Me too," Ayala chorused.
"I'm not making any bets on this. I'm saving mine on guessing when B'Elanna goes into labour," Tom admitted.
"What a nice and considerate husband you are," Harry mocked.
"Hey! You're in it too. And bets are one of the top things that have made Voyager more interesting over the years," Tom pointed out.
"I'll drink to that," the three men said.
***
One more pint later...
"I can't believe that I'm going to be a father." Joe detected what sounded like slurring in Tom's voice.
"I can't believe I've managed to put up with B'Elanna's raging hormones without there being any fatalities," Joe said, and his voice wasn't exactly steady either. "Guess I have some 'xperience with preg-pregnant wom-men."
"After all the mis-steaks, mistakes I've made, I never thought that I deserved someone like Blarna. Never thought I was good en-uf to have a family. Never thought I would get to the day when I wanted one."
"I think you'll be a good father, Tom," Ayala told the drunk man. Ayala could clearly hold his drink better than this former tough shot.
Tom's eyes glazed over. "Hope so. Hope Blarna knows that I've never been as happy as I am now."
Harry poked him. "You know, Tom. You should tell her."
Tom banged his fist down on the table. "You're right!" He made a move to stand up, and a sudden wave of queasiness overcame him. He sat back down. "I'll tell her tomorrow," he decided.
Joe sighed. "When my wife first told me she was preg-nant, I was so sh-sh-shocked that I almost crashed the shuttle we were fly-ing. She really shouldn't have told me that whilst I was fly-ing. She was going to tell me when we reached our new home, but go so nervous she blur-ted it out." Joe grinned in memory. "I had to land the sh-sh-uttle to stop myself from hyper-va-nt-a-la-ting. Hyperventilating. But once it sunk in, I was overjoyed. When I held our boy in my arms for the first time I cried. And it only got better with the sec-ond." Joe's face fell. "We were going to try and have a girl for our next one."
Ayala stared sadly into his almost empty pint glass. "When Mary fell pregnant, we weren't even married. It was only a few months into our relationship, and she was scared to tell me in case I left her. But she is one of the things that have made all the wrongs in my life right again. And the news of the baby just cemented my need to protect and love her with every step of the way. The next time it happened, we were more prepared. I was so determined to raise the boys to be the best they could be."
"I was going to start feeding them science fiction holonovels from a young age," Joe mused. "You know, start with Kirk Captain and his Amazing Ad-ven-tures. I mean, Captain Kirk. And then let them watch Star Wars, even if they complained they were fashioned-old. Gotta start early, you know? Wanted them to love the stars as much as I did."
"My boys were already old enough to start doing things on their own when I left. I taught them how to fight and defend themselves. I also taught them to respect women, regardless of their race and violent tendencies. Gave myself a heart attack when my ten-year old brought back a twelve-year old Betazoid girlfriend. She'd fallen for his boyish charms and good manners," Ayala grinned in remembrance.
"My boys are going to be champions," Joe said proudly, and suddenly he sounded a lot more sober. "I could tell by that keen look in their eyes, you know? I was going to let them be whatever they wanted to be. And pretend to be mad when they didn't join Starfleet. I love them so much, and hate not being there to watch them grow up."
"My boys are going to be part of the generation that put an end to war," Ayala's voice conveyed pride. "They hated all the violence and uncertainty. They were so sure they could single-handedly put an end to it, and their mother made them believe they would." Ayala's face crumpled. "I miss them every moment of everyday. But I hope they haven't forgotten who I am."
"Of course not." That came from Harry. "They'd never forget having you as a father," he said to both of them.
Joe and Ayala looked at each other. "You win," they both said softly.
"I'll drink to that," chorused Tom and Harry.
***
One more pint later...
"Naomi Wildman is definitely Voyager's child," Joe announced.
"I let her think she pilot-ted the delta fly-er," Tom said proudly. "She'll make a good pi-lot one day. I wonder if Bump will take note?"
"Bump?" Harry's thinking wasn't exactly clear.
"The baby," Tom clarified. "Wanted to nickname her Splodge, but Blana won't let me."
Joe shook his head. "You know, I let Naomi man Engineering one day. Er, don't tell B'Elanna, Tom. She'd make a good drill sergeant one day."
Ayala smiled. "I think Sam realised how much some of us missed our families, so loaned Naomi out to us all. I think it was hard for her too, to be without her husband."
"I babysat for Naomi when she was a toddler. I was the one who taught her how to use a hyperspanner," Joe mused.
"I taught her how to be an efficient security guard. That death glare? She learnt it from me," Ayala beamed.
"I brought Naomi over from the duplicated ship when the other Naomi died," said Harry.
Silence.
"You win," the men said to Harry.
"I'll drink to that," he said.
***
Half a pint more later...
"When we got stuck here, I saw it as a sign that my life was going to finally change direction, and maybe for the better," Tom sounded a lot more sober, despite his wobbling hands suggesting otherwise.
"When I realised we were stuck here, I was really scared for what that meant. But I knew Captain Janeway would get us home. But as those weeks turned to months and those months into years, my hope began to dissolve." That was from Joe.
"When I found myself stuck on a Starfleet vessel, instead of being mad, I was relieved. Did you know that the day we got stranded, I was planning to resign and join Starfleet instead? I didn't want to stay in the Maquis when I had a family to look after. I thought that by being on a Starfleet ship, I would be safe. And yet safe hasn't been the word I'd use to summarise this journey."
The men took a moment to reflect this.
"When we got stranded, it was my first day." Harry's words were slow and slurred.
Tom grinned. "You win again, Harry."
Harry frowned. "I'm not sure if I can drink to that."
***
1/8th pint later...
"I joined Starfleet because of my love of the gala-xy. Knew that I wan-ted to ex-plore it, but as an engine-er, not some wishy-washy pilot. Loved every moment of it," Joe slurred.
"I joined Starfleet because they were in a league of their own. Best of the best. I wanted to be like them. Made my mom proud," Harry gleamed.
"I never had a choice in the matter. My dad had secured my place in Starfleet and I was barely a few hours old. I wanted to be a sailor. Not that I don't love piloting. But having to do it when you don't have a choice, leads to bad mistakes," Tom's face screwed up. "I was so angry with my dad the day I killed my comrades. If I had been thinking straight, I would have ensured their safety and they would still be alive today." His face portrayed deepest regret.
"But you wouldn't be here today," Ayala pointed out. "Look at what you've achieved with your life. You've learnt from your mistakes, and that's what is important."
Tom gave a watery smile. "Sometimes I get so elated with something that I feel like I'm flying several feet above the ground. And then I remember what I did to get here, and that knocks me right back down."
"It was an accident, Tom," Harry said.
Tom shrugged.
Ayala changed the subject. "I joined the Maquis back in the day when I thought that joining freedom fighters was cool. I didn't have a particular reason for fighting; I just knew I wanted to. But the people I met along the way, the ones who had lost everything and had nothing to lose by fighting, they were worth fighting for."
Tom gave a slight smile. "Some things in life are worth fighting for. Life is worth fighting for."
"I'll drink to that," said Ayala.
***
1/16th of a pint later...
"I haven't tried to contact Libby, since we've been in contact with the Alpha Quadrant," Harry admitted. "I'm scared I'll find out she's married with a wonderful man and has started a family." Harry frowned. "I was going to propose to her, as soon as I had finished my first Starfleet mission."
"Technically you haven't finished your first mission yet," Tom pointed out with a grin. "There's still time."
"And be naive enough to think that Libby hasn't moved on? It's been seven years!"
"You'll never know if you don't ask," Ayala said pointedly. "What do you have to lose?"
Harry murmured a word that sounded strangely like hope.
"I've missed my Sarah so much," whispered Joe. "When we first got stuck here, it was so hard to go to bed at night without her by my side. We'd been together ten years then. Met her on my first mission for Starfleet. She was the Captain's daughter, and I was the young, cocky engineer- ensign. Naturally, she wouldn't give me the time of day. And naturally I couldn't get enough of her."
"So how did you get her to like you?" Harry wondered.
"Rescued her from the evil clutches of an over-amorous Ferengi. She thought I was slightly more bearable from then."
The men grinned.
Maybe it was the alcohol running through his veins, but Tom couldn't help but ask, "Have you ever been tempted to cheat?"
Joe took the question in his stride. "No. I won't say it's been easy, and there have certainly been a few women who have tried to cajole me, but I love my wife and I would never do anything to hurt her, no matter how far away I am."
Tom nodded. "Did you ever think she might give up on you and find someone else?"
"Part of me hoped she'd keep holding on, and wait in vain for me, and that made me feel so selfish. But another part of me hoped that she'd find happiness again. I guess now we're almost home, I don't have to worry about that stuff anymore."
"Don't hold your breath," Ayala warned. "Anything can still happen."
"Oh, Ayala, your cautiousness could never dampen my happiness!"
Ayala grinned at this. "I knew Mary all my life. She was my best friend, and I fell in love with her not long after I joined the Maquis, but I never thought she'd feel the same way. And then her family got killed in the war, and I was the one who picked up the pieces. She said that when I stayed behind to help her through, she fell in love with me. It's been hard without her too."
"Well, everyone and their holographic dog knows about my relationship with 'Larn," Tom said tentatively, dropping another syllable in B'Elanna's name.
Everyone smiled.
"You're good for each other," Ayala enthused.
"But when you've had a fight, everyone in Engineering knows about it," Joe said with a wink.
Tom grinned. "I was attracted to her from the moment I saw her. But back then I was attracted to any kind of female, so that doesn't say much. Yet there was something about 'Larn that made her different. I'm glad she let me discover what."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a drunk Tom Paris: Voyager's finest pilot and biggest love sap to boot," announced Harry.
"I'll drink to that," Joe and Ayala chorused.
***
1/32th pint later...
"Wh-at are you gonna do if we ever reach back to the Alpha quad?" Tom's voice had reverted back to slurring.
"I'm going to have a holo-novel worthy reunion with my wife. Pick her up and spin her around in my arms, and then run away with her. Then maybe come back later for the kids, who knows?" Joe mused.
"Ditto," Ayala said with a laugh.
"I'm going back for my fam-lay, and then I'm going to e-eat my mother's cooking non-stop until I'm too fat for Starfleet," Harry decided.
"Mind if I join in?" Tom asked. "I'm going to find somewhere to call ho-ome. Somewhere for me and the lady, and the soon-to-be-little-lady. Maybe try and make amends with the old man."
"I really should try and finish that model of Voyager I was building for my sons. I only have a couple of nacelles left to do. They're going to love it."
"You've done a really good job on it, Joe. But I have a feeling the boys are going to love seeing you more," Ayala told him.
Joe grinned in a self-assured manner. "I know."
Harry pointed at Joe. "Joe Carey and his model Voyager rules this side of the galaxy!"
"I'll drink to that," Tom and Ayala practically shouted.
***
1/64th of a pint later...
"Ayala," Tom said suddenly. "Ex-ac-tly what is your first name?"
Ayala just grinned mysteriously in return.
"Voyager's biggest mystery," Harry said nodding vehemently. "I think I'm hedging my bets on Cornicus Benedict Ayala."
"Cornicus Benedict Ayala?" Tom pulled a face.
Joe grinned. "I'll drink to that!"
***
One cup of black coffee later...
Joe and Ayala examined the two men fast asleep at the table.
"They didn't last very long, did they?" Ayala questioned.
"Weaklings," Joe said, shaking his head.
"I guess we should return them to their quarters."
"I guess."
"Want to run Neelix's resort programme, with them in bikinis, and get the Doctor to take pictures of them wrapped in each other's embrace?"
Joe grinned. "You're having to ask me?"