Title: Slip of the Tongue
Rating: T
Summary: Inspired by "Captain… Commander… Wait, What?!" by AFSTexaCali93. Fictober 2018 prompt #18: "You should have seen it." Proto-P/T.

A/N: Inspired by "Captain… Commander… Wait, What?!" by AFSTexaCali93. Please read (and review!) that first, or this story won't make much sense.

archiveofourown –dot– org/works/16158551

"… you should have seen it!" Harry was saying to B'Elanna.

Tom couldn't help but overhear.

Considering how she was shaking with laughter and Harry's guilty expression when he looked up and caught sight of him, Tom deduced that they'd been talking about his gaffe on the Bridge.

He supposed he should have expected that. Harry usually kept B'Elanna apprised of all the gossip about what happened on the Bridge. There were distinct advantages to being a Bridge officer.

B'Elanna was still snickering when he sat down at their table.

"I have to get going," Harry said hastily, jumping up and sprinting off before Tom could even say a word. "See you later," he called out over his shoulder.

At least Harry's sudden departure gave him a chance to spend some time alone with B'Elanna. He hadn't seen her much since she'd turned down his invitation to go sailing on Lake Como.

B'Elanna was shaking her head. "Harry just told me what you said on the Bridge. I can't believe you called Captain Janeway, 'Mom,'" she said.

His ears turned pink.

"It was an honest mistake," he defended himself. "Anyone could have made it."

"Harry didn't," she pointed out.

"Harry's mom looks nothing like Captain Janeway," he shot back.

She raised an eyebrow. "And yours does?"

"They have similar coloring and build," Tom grudgingly acknowledged. "Besides, I'm not the only one. Captain Janeway told us that she accidentally called Admiral Nechayev, 'Mom,' once."

B'Elanna snorted with laughter. "How embarrassing!"

"I'll say. Especially considering that Admiral Nechayev is way too young to be Captain Janeway's mom. She was probably deeply insulted."

"Captain Janeway's too young to be your mom," she observed.

He shrugged. "I know. She does remind me of my mom in a lot of ways, though. They both carry themselves with authority."

"Still, it's not the first time you slipped your tongue," she chortled.

Upon realizing her mistake, she blushed bright red.

Tom was greatly amused but pretended she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

"At least it made Hendricks feel better," he commented. "His mistake was trivial by comparison."

"What did Hendricks say?" she wanted to know. "He was so nervous about his first shift on the Bridge."

She seemed concerned. Belatedly, he remembered that Hendricks was one of her engineers and also a former Maquis.

"Hendricks inadvertently called her 'Commander' and Chakotay, 'Captain.'"

"Oh," she chuckled. "Sounds harmless enough."

"Yeah. No big deal, but Hendricks panicked. Captain Janeway had to reassure him that she wasn't offended. She seemed to think it was funny. That's when she told the story about Nechayev. Then she turned around, and Chakotay was sitting in her chair."

B'Elanna laughed in delight. "He didn't!"

"Yup, he did," Tom confirmed.

"What did the captain do then?"

"She shoved him out of her seat."

B'Elanna couldn't stop laughing. "Serves him right!"

"Then the captain called me 'son,' and threatened to send me to bed early tonight if I didn't behave."

She laughed even harder at that. "That's even worse than a formal reprimand," she quipped.

"Oh, it's not so bad. Sometimes I head off to bed early all on my own," he said loftily. "Might do it tonight, even."

"You?" she scoffed. "Let me guess – you need your beauty sleep."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" he countered, giving her a wicked grin.

She blushed again.

He lowered his voice. "It's even more fun going to bed early when you have company. You should try it sometime."

"Pig," she retorted, but without any real rancor. "You'll have to look elsewhere for company tonight. I have to get back to work."

"Maybe next time, then," he said smoothly.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation and stood up to leave.

"And Lieutenant…" he called out to her.

B'Elanna turned back to look at him warily.

"Anytime you want me to slip you some tongue, I'm ready, willing and able," he offered, giving her an angelic smile.

From the way she inhaled sharply and the heat sparked in her eyes, he knew he'd hit the mark.

It was only a matter of time before she'd let him.

The End!