Edging Closer

Missing scene - Revulsion

Author's Note: I've had part of this story saved on my computer for more years than I care to admit. After recently re-watching Revulsion I had an urge to finish it. I always assumed there was a missing scene between when Tom kisses B'Elanna outside of the mess hall and the end of the episode when they clearly had a rendezvous already set up. This is my take on what may have happend. I hope you enjoy!

I own nothing here by my own thoughts. I returned Tom and B'Elanna to their rightful owners, Paramount. I can't promise I wont borrow them again though.

B'Elanna walked down the corridor at a near run. She couldn't believe Tom had just kissed her. He had tried to give her a way out and briefly she considered taking it. She had been sure he would be scared away by her honesty in space. That once they were safely back onboard Voyager, he would back off. But there he was, standing in front of her, still trying. His voice was laced with uncertainty, when he suggested that maybe she only said she loved him because they were about to die and she didn't really mean it.

She had watched as a slow smirk had begun to form on Tom's lips when she told him she meant it. She made it clear she didn't expect him to reciprocate, suggesting they just forget she had even said anything. She knew how stupid the words sounded coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't think straight with him standing so close to her. She was surprised at his speed when he pushed her up against the wall behind them, telling her to shut up. He paused before kissing her, almost daring her to push him away, she didn't. She could still feel his lips on hers, how soft and yet intensely demanding they were. How she had wished for those lips to never leave hers as she weaved her hand up his face to deepen the kiss. But then the Doctor interrupted them.

'Oh Gods, the Doctor!' She thought. What if he told everyone? She didn't want ship talking about them anymore than they already did. She stopped short to wait for the Turbolift, attempting to gather her thoughts. Letting out a loud sigh she rubbed her hand against her forehead. The Doctor wouldn't tell anyone she decided. In fact, it was better that it had been the Doctor who had walked up than anyone else. She cringed at the thought of it being Chakotay. She couldn't decide if he'd tell them it was about time or just simply deposit Tom out the nearest airlock for daring to touch her.

She walked the rest of the to her quarters in a kind of daze. She could taste his blood on her lips from when she bit him as he pulled away from their kiss. It frightened her how she had never forgotten how sweet his blood tasted. Perhaps it was only the left over memories from the Pon Farr, but she doubted that. She wanted to taste him again and that terrified her. She had never let herself bite anyone before, hell she'd never felt the desire too. Yet somehow with Tom, it was different.

Walking into her quarters, she curled up with a blanket on her couch. She had spent more months than she cared to remember trying to rebuff his advances, keeping him at arm's length and fighting with herself to not let him in. B'Elanna couldn't deny Tom was attractive. At times she found herself watching his hands on the bridge, gliding over the controls, imagining what those hands could do to her body. A simple smile from him could light a fire inside her that shook her to her core. She desperately wanted to believe if he had only been looking for a fling he would have moved on a long time ago. He wasn't the type to waste time on a lost cause, but she was still frightened he would be like all her past lovers. Once the thrill wore off, he would move on without so much as a second thought about her. She had never let herself love anyone the way she loved Tom. She was terrified that she would screw it up somehow.

She jumped at the sound of the door chime even though she knew he would follow her. "Come in."

"Hey," Tom said as he walked slowly into her quarters and surveyed her carefully. She had curled herself into a blanket, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, sitting on her couch while attempting to look everywhere but at him. Well, at least she's not picking lint off this time, he thought. Measuredly, he walked over to the couch and sat down beside her, their bodies not quite touching.

"What did the Doctor want?" B'Elanna asked not looking up at him.

"He wants me to be the new nurse!" laughing lightly.

"You. A nurse?" She said with a slight snort, "I don't think so. Maybe I should check the Doctor's matrix, just to make sure he's working properly." Her eyes darted up, daring to look at Tom for the first time since he entered her quarters. His blue eye's always seemed to make her feel like she was drowning, and maybe she was. There was no doubt that whatever was about to happen, she could no longer stop it. She watched keenly as he lifted his hand to cup the side her face.

"B'Elanna, I…" He hesitated, searching her eyes for the answers he was desperate to find. He had waited so long just to get to this point. He had starting hitting on her the same way he had any other woman, immediately discovering she was different. Sure in the beginning he told himself that he was only pursuing her because of the challenge, but he knew now he had only been deceiving himself. He had never spent more than a week or two on a woman before cutting his losses, let alone more than a year. Her strength and beauty captivated him, more so because she couldn't see it in herself. He had started to give up hope he even stood a chance with her, until Sakari. He realized then she had feelings for him, she had even said as much in the caves. No matter how hard she tried to deny it later, he knew she had been just trying to cover for her own fears.

She was unlike any person he had ever met. He knew once he dove in, that would be it, he would be done for. No matter what choice she made tonight, there would be no going back for him. He had come to realize he had always settled for less than what he needed out of relationships. He only cared about how quickly he could get into bed with them, always keeping them at arm's length, moving on when it all started to feel too permeant. If he was honest with himself, he knew he did it as a way to protect himself from getting hurt again. Yet somehow, B'Elanna had made him ready for something, someone, more permanent. She was worth the risk. Now he just needed to figure out a way to say that, without scaring her away. Pausing to take a deep breath, he steadied himself.

"I just wanted you to know, being around you has made me be smarter and work harder, just so I could keep up with you. I like the person I am when I am around you. I don't want another dead-end relationship. I have wanted us to get to this point for a long time." He said softly, sliding a strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes darkening. "I would love nothing more than to carry you to your bed and make love to you right now, but I need you to want the same thing. I will never rush you B'Elanna, we will take this as slow as you want to. I'll wait forever for you to let me in." His thumb lightly circling on her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her, pausing at her lips to whisper, "I love you too."

She stared at him with shock and then relief. He had said everything she had needed to hear, calming her. He always seemed to know her feelings better than she knew herself. Normally that would have infuriated her, but tonight she found it comforting. He kissed her deeply, her making her heart ache. Tears threatened to drop from her eyes as he pulled away from the kiss to look at her.

"Tom…" shaking her head when no words came to her she pulled him back into a kiss to rival his, grabbing at the back of his neck while pushing the blanket away from herself. She unfolded her body, turning to straddle him. She could feel his arms encircle her waist, his hands gripping her hips to pull her against him. She heard him groan intensely as he did, making her smile.

"Are you ok, Tom?" She asked, attempting to feign concern as she rocked her hips to settle over his lap. She prayed that he didn't catch how shaky her voice was. Even with everything he had just said she was apprehensive about taking this next step with him, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Keep doing that and I'll more than ok," he said in a voice that left no question about his desire for her.

Tom pulled B'Elanna back in for another kiss, his tongue tracing her lips while his hands slid up her arms to seize the edges of her uniform. He removed her jacket, tossing it on to the couch next to them. He slid his hands back down her body resting briefly on her hips, griping them hard as he ground against her. He delighted in hearing her sudden inhale when she felt how painfully hard he was, her hands grasping his shoulders to steady herself. His hands moved to opened the closure on her pants when he felt her tense ever so slightly. He broke their kiss, resting his forehead on hers.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She lightly shook her head no. She could kick herself for letting him notice her hesitation. Tom sighed knowing he didn't want to push her too far, but needed an answer.

"B'Elanna?"

"I'm ok Tom."

"Are you sure?"

She visible sighed as she dropped her head down to his shoulder and spoke at barely a whisper, "It's just… it's been a while."

He kissed the side of her head, his fingers making small circles on her thighs. "How long?"

She pulled back to look at him with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. "Why does it matter?"

"I was just wondering if there was anyone on the ship I needed to go disembowel," he said with a hint of a smile on his lips.

B'Elanna started to laugh. "Already feeling the need to protect my honor?"

"Maybe," he mumbled, kissing down the side of her neck.

"There's no one here to go after Tom." She said trying to suppress a moan as he lightly nibbled her neck. She knew he had made the joke to put her at ease and was grateful for it.

"Good," he growled while pulling her back against him, his mouth working the small hollow at the base of her neck before slowing moving back to her lips. Kissing her fully before pulling back to look at her. "It's ok if you want to wait. I meant I said, we can take this as slow as you want to B'Elanna."

"No. I think we've waited long enough, don't you?"

It took her a moment to realize Tom had picked her up from the couch, her legs quickly moved to lock around his waist. Within a few steps he had reached her bed. She was startled at his strength as he gently laid her down. Clearly all of those Klingon programs had made him stronger than she realized.

She quickly moved to pull his jacket off along with his shirt, his scent immediately surrounded her. She groaned deeply when he settled back on top of her, pressing his hips solidly into her, showing her how badly he wanted her. Her hands weaved into his hair pulling his face down as her mouth sought out the cut on his lip. Hesitantly, she pulled his lip between her teeth and bit down until she could taste his blood flowing again. Tom copied her actions, drawing blood for himself. He smiled when he heard her deep guttural growl as their blood mixed in their mouths.

His hands started to explore her body as she deepened their kiss. His fingertips traced the swell of her breast through her tank-top before rolling his thumb lightly over the nipple. B'Elanna's hands started to play with the muscles on his shoulders as his teeth nipped down the side of her neck. She cried out in shock, digging her fingernails into his back when he bit down hard on her shoulder drawing blood. For a second Tom worried he had gone too far, quickly raising his head to look at her. She met his gaze with dark passion, softly nodding that it was ok. She couldn't stop the whimper from falling from her lips as he licked the wound on her shoulder, causing her to jut her hips up as she instantly became wet.

"Gods Tom." She panted at him as he undulated between licking and sucking his mark.

"And you said it wasn't a technical manual." Unable to keep the smugness from his voice.

B'Elanna looked at him in disbelief but couldn't help herself from laughing. "I thought you said you didn't know what happened to my PADD. You told me I was imagining things!"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I told you I wanted to find a way to make your heart quicken."

"You could have just gotten your own copy."

"I could have." He whispered has he bent to lightly bite her ear. "But, I wanted you to wonder if I had it. If I was reading it and thinking of you."

"You're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

"You have no idea," he said laughing softly, his characteristic Paris smirk firmly in place. "Don't worry though, as a brilliant engineer once told me, I am fully aware that it was only a rough schematic. I'll have to do my own exhaustive, in-depth research on the entire system." His head dipped to lightly bite her breast through her tank-top. "I'll have to study each sub-system independently to see how the entire system is affected." His hand slid defiantly to cup her sex and was rewarded by B'Elanna purring beneath him.

"If that's the case then maybe, just for tonight at least, I'll forget about the dagger." She joked.

"Good. I promise, I'll make it worth your while."

"That's an awfully big promise Paris. You think you can live up to it?"

"God I hope so…" They both looked at each other and started laughing.

His hand moved to smooth a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you have any idea how amazing you are?" B'Elanna's gaze fell as she rolled her eyes at him. He smiled and kissed her on her nose, making her pretend to swat him away. "Well, until you can see it for yourself, I'll just have to show you how amazing you are."

"You seem to be doing a lot of talking for someone who insists they're showing me something."

Smirking he bent down to kiss her. He started off slow but soon he was aggressively claiming her mouth, while his hips started to time their movements with his tongue. She wrapped her legs around his, forcing him harder against her. She threw her head back as he licked his way up and down her neck. Her hands moved to his pants, wanting nothing more than to rip them from his body. He kicked off his boots as she unfastened his pants. He groaned fiercely as she slid her hand along the outside of his boxers, firmly gripping his length.

"Doctor to Lt. Torres."

Tom laughed at the string of Klingon curses fell out of B'Elanna's mouth. "Ignore him" he muttered as he reached to open her pants pulling her tank-top lose.

"Doctor to Lt. Torres"

"I am going to delete every one of his subroutines, line by line!" She snapped with annoyance.

"Maybe you should answer him."

"NO! He'll get the hint." She said growling as Tom started to lick the exposed skin on her chest as he floated his hands up her waist to slide her tank-top off. She reached down to help him remove her top and threw it to the side of the bed. He gazed down at her lacy, dark navy blue bra with a leer, "That is not regulation, Ms. Torres."

"Are you complaining?"

"Not a chance."

He slipped one of the straps off her shoulder with his hand, his lips following close behind. She squirmed beneath him, jetting her hips up as he pressed into her. "God, you are so beautiful B'Elanna." She whimpered his name as he moved to the other strap to repeat the pattern.

"Janeway to Lt. Torres"

They instantly froze.

"Well, you can't ignore her," Tom said rolling off of her, breathing deeply.

"Just one night of not being bothered, is that too much to ask for?!"

"Janeway to Lt. Torres"

"Apparently." Tom angrily muttered.

B'Elanna quickly tried to steady her breathing hoping that her voice would hold. "Torres here."

"Are you alright B'Elanna? We were concerned when you didn't answer." Tom's eyebrow raised at the use of the word 'we'. They heard the Doctor in the background start to chastise her for ignoring him, telling anyone within ear shot that he deserved more respect than to be ignored like that. He was a doctor and he expected people to answer him when he called.

"I'm fine Captain." B'Elanna said trying to cut the Doctor off before he could go on any further. "I had already gone to bed hoping for an early night. I must not have heard the comm." She could feel Tom's silent laughter shake the bed as she responded.

"I am sorry to disturbed your evening B'Elanna, but we have received a distress signal from a nearby ship. I need you to accompany the Doctor and lend a hand if possible."

B'Elanna's eyes closed with a curse she hoped the Captain couldn't hear. Tom tapped her on the shoulder and made motions like he was turning the controller on one of his old vehicles from the holodeck and pointed to himself. She smirked at him.

"Captain, will we be taking a pilot with us?"

"I didn't see the need. The ship is only a couple of lightyears away. I can't divert Voyager because of our scheduled meeting with the Aarithans. I suppose I can assign a pilot if you feel the need." The Captain's voice clearly sounded like she was well aware of which pilot B'Elanna was thinking of. Looking over at Tom she realized the Captain was most likely assuming that she wouldn't want to be in a shuttle with Tom so soon after their accident. Shit!

"No Captain, that's ok. I just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be another spacewalk in my future." Tom faked a look of pain at her comment, like she had stabbed him in the heart.

With humor in her voice the Captain replied "I assumed as much." She paused briefly then added "We can't have Mr. Paris trying to compete with Mr. Chakotay's record on the number of shuttles lost, now can we?"

"If anyone would have simply bother to ask me," the Doctor voice chimed in unmistakably annoyed. "You would have known that Mr. Paris has more important things to do with his time. Like looking after my sickbay while I am away."

"When do we leave?" B'Elanna asked, praying to any Gods who would listen that the Captain would say a few hours.

"As soon as possible. Report to sickbay to meet with the doctor. I want to have his mobile emitter checked out before he leaves the ship."

So much for that thought. "Understood Captain. I'll be there shortly. Torres out."

"You sure know how to make a guy feel wanted Torres."

"Don't worry, I don't have any doubts in your ability to fly a shuttle Tom." Her hand skimming up his arm. "I could tell she saw through why I was asking. I guess I panicked a little bit."

"Don't worry about it." Tom said as he sat up and started to move off the bed.

"Tom wait. I really was only joking." He could hear the hint of fear in her voice. "I know we didn't get around to talking about it, but I was kind of hoping to just keep this between us for a while. This damn ship spends too much time talking about us already. I can't imagine how much time they would spend if they knew we were actually a cou..." B'Elanna's voice slowly died off.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just didn't know…I mean with everything you said, I just assumed. But I didn't know if I should have. I mean…"

"B'Elanna what are you talking about?" Tom stared at her utterly confused.

"Us being a couple."

Breaking into a smile, Tom exhaled and moved to put his hand on to hers. "Of course I want us to be a couple, B'Elanna. Look, we don't have to tell anyone about us right now if you don't want to. Though, at some point very soon Harry is going to figure it out. He'll see right through us."

"You're right, we'll have to tell him. Do you think he'll be surprised?"

Tom chuckled "Nah, Harry has been hoping we would get together for ages. You should see all the bets he's placed on us."

"That's exactly what I am talking about. Those stupid betting pools and people making all those assumptions!" She yelled while throwing her tank-top back on.

"Don't worry B'Elanna, no one can win if no one knows." Snickering he added, "It also means people will keep betting. Just imagine, everyone wasting their rations on something that has already happened. I even wager we could find a way to set it up so one of us wins in the end, anonymously of course."

"Leave it to you to think of a way to cheat your own system."

"Hey! I didn't set it up totally alone, I had some help."

"Yes and you also know all the ways to rig a bet, after it's been made."

"You're right, I do." He said with a chuckle. "They are as good as ours."

"Maybe, when I get back, we should look up to see if anyone would have won. Not that we'll give them any of the winnings of course."

"Of course."

She moved to walk past him to retrieve her jacket from the couch but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.

"You be careful. I can't have anything happen to you now."

She was surprised at the worry in his voice. "I will be Tom." Marveling at how safe she felt wrapped his arms, her head perfectly fitting in the hollow of his shoulder.

"Doctor to Lt. Paris."

They gave each other a knowing smile. "Paris here."

"Could you join me in sickbay please? It seems I will be needing your nursing services sooner than expected."

"I'll be right there, Doc. Paris out."

"So, I'll see you when I get back?" B'Elanna said, her doubt still bleeding though her words.

"I meant what I said B'Elanna, I love you. I'll be waiting for you when you get back. In fact, we can start off right where we left off." He added with a wink sliding his hands down to her waist, gripping her hips hard before moving away from her.

A smile spread across her face she watched him put his shirt and jacket back on. "Do we have to skip right to where we left off? I was kind of hoping we could start from the beginning again."

"I'd thought you'd never ask." His smile beaming brighter than she could ever recall seeing it. "Come on, the sooner you get going, the sooner you'll be back. We have a bet to win."

Please R&R. I would love feedback as this is the first story I've ever set completely free.