"Tuvok must be wrong about his Pon Farr business. I doesn't make any sense."
"It does explain how you've been acting."
"I don't see what's so strange."
"How about starting a fight with a group of armed aliens? Shouting at Neelix? Biting me? If I remember Klingon customs, I biting someone on the face means…"
"I know what it means. All right. So maybe I do feel something some kind of instinct. What am I supposed to do about it?"
"When we get back to the ship," Tom said. "The doctor should be able to help or theres always Vorik?"
"I am not helping that Vulcan pahtk! The idea of bonding with him it's ludicrous."
"What's this?"
"The tremor must of shaken the rocks loose."
"They're in the way," B'Elanna said as she made to fire on them with the alien gun.
"No. Hold it!" Tom said. "We don't know how stable this tunnel is. And energy blast might bring the rest of it down on our heads." He is holding the weapon so she can't fire it.
"Let go!"
"No. I think I should keep this."
"Never pick a fight with a Klingon, Tom."
"I'm not going to fight you, B'Elanna."
"Afraid I'll break your arm? You should be." The gun gets thrown aside and Tom hold only B'Elanna's arm.
"B'Elanna stop it! This isn't about the gun. This is about sex. But that's not going to happen right now."
"Oh I think it is. See, I've picked up your scent, Tom. I've tasted your blood."
"No. No. I'm your friend and I have to watch out of you when your judgment's been impaired. If you left these instincts take you now, you'll hate yourself and me too for taking advantage of you. I won't do that."
"Maybe…" B'Elanna said. "Maybe we should continue separately."
"No."
"You don't know how strong… how hard it is to fight this...urge."
"Are you telling me that I'm impossible to resist?"
"I wouldn't go that far."
"Good. Come on."
"We're almost to the next passage way. Can you make it?"
"Not much of a choice." There is another cave in. They are trapped again.
"We should use that weapon. It's worth the risk now."
"I might agree with you if I still had it. It's buried somewhere under all that."
"What?!"
"Sorry."
"Try to stay calm," Tom said. "I know it's hard."
"You don't know anything! I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin! I need to do something. I can't take this." She charges at him, getting on top of him. He rolls her over and get up off her.
"You've never been hard to get, Tom."
"Well, I'm making an exception. I can't let you do this."
"Oh? Oh but you wish you could. All those invitations to dinner and on the holodeck that way you would stare at me when you thought I wasn't looking and get jealous when I'm with someone else. You can't tell me you're not interested in me."
"You're right," he said. His breathing quickening. "I can't."
"Then don't push me away."
"Oh, believe me, I'd like to," He said. "but I know this isn't really you. You've make it clear that you're not interested and I have to accept that's how you feel, even now."
"No…" B'Elanna said. "No. It isn't. I was just afraid to admit it. You see, I've wanted this for so long." And she kisses him. He can't resist anymore. He is hoping she means everything she says.
"Just let it happen," she said. He tries to pull away again but she is there kissing him again, gently. His arms wrap around her. He knows she probably doesn't mean what she is saying. He can't help but hope some of it is true. But his reason comes back to him. She wouldn't forgive him for his. He pulls away.
"I hope some day you say that to me and mean it," he whispered.
"You would rather let me go insane than help me!" B'Elanna yells.
"You know that isn't true," Tom said.
"Just stay away from me!" She pulls herself into the corner of the cave. Tom goes to the other side of the cave, when he moves back over to B'Elanna she is resting her head. Eyes closed. He wakes her.
"Where are we?"
"Still stuck in the cave I'm afraid."
"The cave? The gallicite- where's my tricorder?"
"No, we're not looking for the gallicite anymore," Tom said, really worried now. "We are trying to get back to the ship, remember?"
"No… I don't."
Tom racked his brains. Did memory lost mean anything particular about her condition? Does he have time to wait for rescue?
"B'Elanna," He said softly. "How are you feeling?"
"I…" She said. "Kinda funny. You said we're not looking for gallicite?"
"That's right." She was deteriorating fast. Think Pairs! What had Tuvok said. Memory lost was the final stage. Yes that was it. If she gets any worse she will have permanent brain damage.
'You aren't just remembering this any certain way for your own benefit are you Tom?' He asked himself. He looked at her sitting there confused and in pain and knew he wasn't.
It was either help her or lose her and he knew the latter wasn't an option no matter how it ruined their friendship. She would probably never talk to him again but at least she would be alive.
"B'Elanna," He said sitting down next her. "Do you remember when you gave me this?" He pointed to her cheek.
"Yes," she said with conviction.
"Do you remember why?"
"Yes." He leaned in and kissed her. Her whole body immediately seems to come back to itself. She had him on the ground in moments. She could feel his sudden acceptance and didn't care about the reasons behind it. She was pulling off his shirt and drug her nails into his back. It hurt quite a lot but Tom didn't stop. He started to get into it. She pulled off his pants and had him in her hands. He felt his body respond as she mounted him. Forplay was not what she was interested in. Before long they were bruised from the hard ground but he didn't really care at the moment. His world was a wonder of sensation. When they were both done just moments later they lay back panting. B'Elanna fell asleep almost at once. Tom got up and scanned her with his tricorder. Her brain chemistry seemed to be returning to normal. Vital signs stable. Physically she would be fine. Emotionally was a whole other matter. He lay back and tried to come to turns with the fact the girl of his dreams would probably never talk to him again.
B'Elanna awoke an hour or so later to find Tom asleep. She looked at him for a moment taking in his appearance and hers. Then it all came back to her. They had just had sex. Her mind was feeling clearer and her heart beating at a normal rhyme again. At a closer look she saw huge red marks on Tom's back and bruises all over him and with horror realized she had been the one to inflict them.
They didn't speak again until they were rescued quite some time later and then they only spoke only to check in with Chakotay. They learned that Vorik has managed to resolve his Pon Farr with the help of a holographic substitute back on the ship.
Once back on the ship B'Elanna was sent to sick bay where the Doctor said she was doing fine. All traces of the Pon Farr were gone. He guessed how and so had everyone else. It had been rather obvious when they are returned to the ship. B'Elanna was just glad no one was bringing it up.
Over the next few days B'Elanna kept to herself. She was embarrassed and ashamed.
Tom wasn't surprised when B'Elanna didn't talk to him but nevertheless he was sad. Before he had thought of her often now she was all he thought about. He thought of the curve of her waist. He remembered the feeling of her nails in his back. But most of all he wondered if anything she had said while under the Pon Farr's influence she had actually meant.
After a week of letting her cool down he thought she might be okay to talk to him a little. He wasn't expecting much but complete silence wasn't going to work on a ship this small forever.
He was standing outside her quarters. He rang the bell.
"Enter." The door opened and he stepped inside.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said back softly.
There was a pause before Tom said. "I was wondering if we could talk?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I just wanted to ask," Tom said, "I mean I need to know."-he paused-"Did you mean any of what you said down in that cave?"
"I-" she said. "I don't know." Tom's face fell.
"I mean," B'Elanna started again. "I can't remember everything I said. I mostly remember the feelings."
"You said you wanted... us?"
"Is that why you let me," she trailed off. "Ravish you?"
He laughed. "Thats a good word but no that's not why. You were fading. I couldn't let you die."
"Did it get that close?" she asked.
He nodded. Still waiting for the answer to his question.
"I can't give you an answer," she said finally. "I don't know." Angry flashed across his face.
"Well that's just great!" he said. All his anger and frustration over the last week was spilling out of him.
"So what I am supposed to do with that," he said. "I can't get you out of my head. My previous affection it seemed didn't escape your notice but now. I…" He ran his hands over his face to try and calm himself.
"I am so sorry." she said.
"Well I guess that answers my question," Tom said. "I won't keep you any longer." He leaves and B'Elanna feels horrible. She was starting to think she had meant that she said down in the cave but she had shown such a different side to herself and hurt Tom so much she was too scared to do anything about it.