Tom was awakened, in the early hours of the morning, by a sound coming from the living area of Kathryn's quarters. He was immediately aware that he was alone in bed and the sound that had taken him from unconsciousness had been Kathryn. He rose from bed, and finding his pants he quickly slipped into them, not bothering to fasten them fully.

He watched Kathryn stalk around the living area for several minutes, before making his presence known to her. She was still agitated, he could see that, clearly. He made a shuffling sound with his feet, so as not to startle her with his approach. As soon as he was in reach of her, he pulled her too him and wrapped her in his embrace. Her arms snaked around his waist and she hugged him close.

"Do you want to talk about?" he asked, resting his chin against the top of her head as he lightly stroked up and down her back.

"It's time," she sighed. "Tuvok and I have been looking for your way off of Voyager and we found it. We found it, right before I went to the brig for you."

"How am I leaving?" he asked in a hushed whisper, stroking his fingers along her spine.

"Talaxian convoy. We picked them up on long range sensors and we seemed to be traveling on intersecting courses. I contacted them and let them know we had an accomplished pilot that would like to leave our ship and was looking for work."

"A Talaxian convoy?" Tom questioned in mock shock, "You mean I'm going to be spending my time with a ship full of Neelix's? All the peppiness and helpfulness might kill me?"

"Yeah, well, you take what you can get? And at least they're friendly."

"True," he admitted. "Now tell me about last night."

"You're leaving," she answered, holding him tighter. "I think it kind of just hit me all at once. Not just you leaving, but what we've been putting Chakotay and Harry through. What we've been putting the entire ship through, actually. I was feeling frantic and, maybe, a bit afraid. As soon as the arrangement had been made for your transfer to the other ship, I was filled with thoughts of things going terribly wrong and never seeing you again.

"I just needed you, Tom. I've never reacted like this before, I can't explain it, I don't know if I could even try."

"You don't need to explain," Tom told her. "I understand."

Kathryn felt like he really did understand what had happened, even if she didn't, that he understood the myriad of emotions that had led to her behavior the night before. She pulled away from him and standing on tip toes, reached up and kissed him lightly, "What do you say, we go back to bed? I haven't been sleeping well."

Tom decided to lighten the mood, Kathryn wouldn't be able to fall asleep, again, if she was still brooding about his upcoming departure. "I assumed as much," he smiled, holding Kathryn's hand as she led the way back to bed. "You got up off the floor, after great sex, without so much as a word to me, crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep. Honestly, all you did was order me around last night."

She smiled at him, "What can I say? You make me do strange things. Next time, I'll try to remember to compliment you on a job well done before I go to sleep."

"That's all I ask," Tom laughed as the pair slid back into bed.

=/\=

When she'd awakened, again, it was morning. Tom had breakfast ready for the both of them.

Somehow understanding what Kathryn needed, even when she herself did not, he'd led her back to bed, after breakfast, with soft kisses and delicate caresses. Making love to her slowly, worshiping her body and her soul, telling her, with his body, everything that he himself was feeling.

Now, hours later, Kathryn sat back against Tom's bare chest and relaxed. Pulling the gray sheet up over her breasts, she reached for a PADD, read the first few pages of Chakotay's report on the incident on the bridge and handed it to him. "This is acceptable. Anything you want to add?"

Tom took the PADD and skimmed it, "Yeah, that fall of Chakotay's was faked. I didn't push him that hard."

"Chakotay, took one for the team and it got you thrown in the brig," Kathryn laughed at him. "He's smarter than you think he is."

"Yeah, well, I think he just wants you to kiss it and make it better."

"What makes you think I didn't? You were in that brig for quite awhile," she quipped with a straight face. "And a girl has needs."

"Oh, I know, I'd have been able to smell you if anything tawdry had been going on between the two of you."

"I'll have to remember that," Kathryn smiled, tilting her head back to look at Tom.

"And don't be getting any ideas while I'm away. I don't want to come back here only to find you have Chakotay germs all over you. Yuck!" he said, sticking out his tongue and making a disgusted face."

Kathryn patted him on the leg, "I'm so glad I'm dating a five year old."

"I'm at least eight, I'm not afraid of girl germs anymore."

Kathryn picked up the next PADD in the pile, seeing that it was an engineering report from her chief engineer. She looked back at Tom and trying to get the last word in, said, "I promise to only have sex with B'Elanna while you're gone."

Knowing she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of besting her in their silly verbal game, he tried hard not to laugh at her, "Now that would be hot."

"You would think so," she answered back, settling in to read the report from said engineer.

Shaking her head, she blew out a breath. "I don't know how B'Elanna expects us to accomplish something as ambitious as this," she sighed.

He nipped her naked shoulder with a kiss. Working in bed had never been so much fun. Mark had always left her to her work when she had brought PADDs into the bedroom, never trying to talk to her, much less touch or kiss her. To be fair to Mark, she had to admit, chances were, all he would have gotten for his trouble was a reproachful glare and her inching further away from him.

"She doesn't expect you to accomplish it now. She just wants you to know that she has ideas, that she's thinking ahead and that if sometime in the future we find ourselves in the position where something like this is feasible, it's all been thought out."

"Kathryn, you may not realize this, but, really all she wants is your approval. B'Elanna admires you a hell of a lot, much more then she's willing to admit to herself or show to you. Let her know you notice what she's accomplished."

"I'll keep that in mind," she smiled, reaching behind her to caress his cheek. "I'll just file this under 'things to consider at a later date,' and let B'Elanna know I think it's a solid idea and if we are ever in a position to implement it, we will seriously consider it."

"That's all she wants," Tom said, nuzzling his lips against her neck. "And a little tongue, she also wants a little tongue action from you."

"Dammit, Tom, could you stop it?"

"Hey, you started it, with that quip about you, B'Elanna and sex. I can hardly be blamed if the very words you spoke set my brain in motion."

"Fine, I'll never mention it again and I'd like you to keep any and all thoughts that include B'Elanna, me and sex to yourself."

"You're no fun." Tom pouted as he looked at the remaining PADDs, "Only a few left, what do you have planned after that?"

"Oh, I don't know," she smirked, "I'm sure we'll come up with something fun."

=/\=

Within the week, Voyager rendezvoused with the Talaxian convey and Tom was gone.

Once Neelix had discovered Tom's intentions to leave the ruse became decidedly harder for him to maintain. There was a heavy stream of Tom's friends coming to his quarters, telling him not to leave, that they wanted his to stay, that what he was going through was just a rough patch and he would pull himself back together, again.

Harry's downtrodden face was the hardest to take. Tom just avoided him those last few days, waiting until it was time to step on the transporter pad to speak to the young ensign.

Kathryn just stopped talking about him leaving, anytime it was brought up she became agitated, though only Tom and Tuvok could see the immediate change in her demeanor. To everyone else she was the composed and detached captain. Her captain's mask unreadable to almost all that were around her.

Tom didn't bring up his departure when they were alone, instead continuing on as if nothing of importance was happening. The knowledge of his leaving still stayed with them, always the unwanted third party in the room.

With Tom off Voyager, everything started to fall into place quickly. The only complication being Chakotay's hurt feelings at the Captain's apparent distrust off him. Kathryn wanted to explain and clear the air as soon as possible with her first officer.

"Chakotay, will you stay a moment?" she asked as Tuvok and Neelix left her ready room.

"Of coarse, Captain," he replied, all business.

Kathryn moved to the upper level of the room, sitting on the sofa. Chakotay followed her, but chose to remain standing. "I need you to believe that leaving you out of the loop wasn't about me not trusting you," she admitted.

"How am I suppose to think anything else, Captain?" he said with more formality then he usually used when they were in private.

"Chakotay, I trust you more then I ever believed was possible when I asked you to become my first officer," she admitted, before continuing. "I see how well B'Elanna seems to know you and how easy it is for her to read you, Mike Ayala as well. I haven't really seen you with the rest of your Marquis crew enough to know how well they know you. I couldn't take the chance that whoever the traitor is knows you just as well as they do. I hope you can understand that."

"Answer me one question."

"Okay," Kathryn answered.

"Why was Paris included?" he asked.

Kathryn couldn't help the tiny smile that made it's way to her lips. "That was Tuvok's idea as well. He was of the impression that Tom had the least amount of ties to Voyager and was the most likely to become discontented with his life aboard this ship."

"Chakotay, at no point did I value Tom's ability as an officer of this ship more then I value yours. Tuvok laid out a coarse of action and I agreed with his decisions as my Chief of Security." Kathryn said in earnest. "This had nothing to do with my personal relationship with Tom."

"And that personal relationship is what exactly? You have to understand I'm not sure where anyone stands anymore," Chakotay admitted with more then a little bitterness.

"All animosity between Tom and myself was part of the plan. I'm sorry I made you worry about me and I'm sorry most of his behavior was aimed at you. More then once, Tom asked for you to be included in the operation."

Kathryn moved from the sofa to Chakotay, facing him and placing a hand on his upper arm, she curled her fingers around his bicep and gave a gentle squeeze. "I want us to be alright," she admitted, eyes pleading for his understanding. "I need us to be alright."

"Not right away," Chakotay told her, "But, we'll be okay."

=/\=

"Paris to Voyager. Paris to Voyager. Do you read me yet? Paris to Voyager," he kept repeating as he was jostled around by the repeated weapons blasts.

He managed to escape from the Kazon ship in one of their own shuttlecrafts. Luckily for him the shuttle's controls were rather straightforward, despite being in a language that he couldn't read, and he was able to fly the shuttle with a moderate amount of success. The Kazon had started firing on him as soon as the shuttle had cleared the ship, he wasn't sure how much longer the shuttle could hold together before shields failed and the ship itself broke apart.

He needed to get in contact with Voyager, to let them know what was waiting for them and who the traitor was. He needed to keep the crew safe, to keep Kathryn safe. "Paris to Voyager! Come in!" he tried again.

He finally heard what he'd been waiting for, through the static he heard Kathryn's voice, "Voyager to Paris. We hear you."

He was so relieved to have gotten through to them before his shuttle exploded. "Captain, change your course immediately. The Kazon have ground troops waiting on Hemikek and more ships on the way," he spoke quickly as he was thrown around by the weapon's blasts.

He heard her say, "We'll get you out of there as soon as we can, Tom." He worked the controls frantically. "You're still out of transporter range, but, we won't change course until we've locked onto you."

"I can take care of myself," he replied, not wanting her to know how dire his situation actually was. He needed to know that she and the crew were going to be safe. "Just get Voyager to safety!"

"As soon as you're on board," he heard her say. She sounded so calm; worried, but, calm. He knew she wasn't going to leave him behind without doing everything she could to get him back. It wasn't Kathryn Janeway's style to leave a member of her crew behind.

An explosion threw him against the control panel and then out of his seat, Tom landed hard on the ground. "Tom what happened? Are you all right?" Momentarily stunned, he couldn't answer Kathryn's first demand for his status. "Lieutenant Paris, report."

"Mister Jonas, we need that transporter now!" he heard her say over their open comm line before turning her attention back to him, "Tom, can you hear me? Report."

"I'm here. Captain," he said as he got to his feet.

"We'll be in normal transporter range in another minute," she let him know, concern for his safety obvious in her voice.

"Captain, the spy, it's Michael Jonas!" he informed her, making his way back into the pilot's chair, "He's the one that sabotaged the ship."

"Noted. Janeway to Tuvok. Get to engineering. It's Michael Jonas."

"On our way," Tom heard Tuvok tell Kathryn over the comm as the shuttle's hull started to breach. He was satisfied that she would get to safety.

"The shuttle hull is starting to breach! I might not make it, Captain," there were so many other things that he wanted to say to her. He was thrown hard against the console by a blast, knocking him unconscious.

He didn't hear Kathryn telling him they were transporting him.

=/\=

Tom woke up to the feeling of someone running their hand through his hair. He opened his eyes slightly, his head hurt and the light wasn't helping it. He saw Kathryn looking down at him with a big smile. He couldn't help smiling back at her. "God, it is so good to see you. You look beautiful," he murmured.

He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat somewhere behind Kathryn. "Sorry," he told her as he spotted Tuvok.

"It's okay," she whispered back, grasping one of his hands in her own. "You did good, Tom."

"Thanks. How long have you been here?"

"Since we got rid of the Kazon. You missed a lot while you were out."

"You'll have to tell me about it. How long have I been here?

"A few hours, not too long. Tuvok just finished giving me an update on the ship and the crew."

"Everything is good?" he asked with concern.

"Everything is fine, repairs are coming along nicely," she answered, running her free hand along his jaw. "There are a few people who are really glad to know that it was all an act and that the real Tom Paris is back among us."

Tom smiled, "When Neelix came to my quarters, I didn't know if I could keep the act up. He seemed so distressed to be seeing me leave, I wanted to tell him that everything was a lie. That was why I distanced myself from Harry, so, I wouldn't have to keep telling him things that weren't true. I evaded nearly every question he asked me."

"Captain, if you have no further need for me, I'll be going to the bridge," Tuvok said from behind the couple.

She'd forgotten Tuvok was still in the room, "Yes, Tuvok. Sorry. I'll see you on the bridge shortly."

Tuvok nodded, "Lieutenant, it is good to see that you are well."

"Thanks, Tuvok."

As the door slid shut behind Tuvok, Tom squeezed Kathryn's hand, "Can I get a kiss for a job well done?"

"No," she said. "If I kissed you for a job well done, before I'd know it, everyone will be expecting me to kiss them when they do good work. We can't be having that, can we?" she joked. "How about if I kiss you because you're Tom Paris?"

"Whatever the reason, just as long as you kiss me soon."

Kathryn leaned over him, bringing her face closer to his. He brought his free arm up to caress her cheek. "You really are beautiful," he said just before her lips touched his.

Her lips moved softly over his, her tongue darted out and into his mouth, feeling the familiar contours of his mouth. She heard Tom's hum of appreciation as his free hand snaked up her arm and around her shoulder, his hand caressing the base of her scalp before pressing her lips more firmly to his. His lips became more insistent, increasing her passion and his, her own lips becoming as demanding as his.

Kathryn leaned fully over Tom's body, releasing his hand, she braced her hands on the bio-bed on both sides of his head to keep herself steady as the kiss continued it's heated progress. Tom moved his newly freed hand around her back, running his hand up and down her body, from the curve of her waist to the swell of her thigh. His touch was intoxicating, she wanted nothing more than to climb onto the bed with him and hold him close.

The door to sickbay swished opened, there was not enough time to pull apart before they heard and audible gasp from the doorway. Kathryn turned around quickly, pushing Tom's hand away from her. "B'Elanna, what can I do for you?" her voice husky with arousal.

B'Elanna stood, eyes wide, staring at the two of them for a good minute, before shaking herself out of her surprised stupor. She had witnessed Tom's behavior on the holodeck, when he had said things that should have remained private, she had come to the conclusion on her own that Paris and Janeway had at one time been intimate and Harry confirmed her assumptions on the matter. She had also thought they were no longer an item. It hadn't occurred to her, until just now, that it had all been for show. Tom's hand on the Captain's ass and the Captain enthusiastically kissing the Lieutenant was more then enough visual information to tell her the pair were still very much an item.

"I … just … I had a few spare minutes, I thought I'd come see how Tom was doing."

Tom grinned from the bed, sitting up a little and rolling onto his side, "Thanks, B'Elanna, I'm feeling amazingly good considering everything that happened."

Kathryn had to hide a smile, as Tom had rolled onto his side, his erection had brushed across her backside. The blue hospital gown unable to keep it from standing at attention. 'He is feeling amazingly good,' she thought to herself, 'I wonder if the Doctor will let him out tonight.'

B'Elanna noticed the Captain's little smile, before she had the chance to school her features, and couldn't help giving her a small smile in return. "Well, I don't have a bunch of extra time, I just wanted to see how you were and say welcome back. I'll leave you two alone," she said, before nodding in Kathryn's direction, "Captain."

"Lieutenant," she answered in way of dismissal, before adding. "I'll be down to engineering within the hour to see how repairs are going and for a full report."

"Yes, Captain," the younger woman said before making a hasty retreat.

Tom brushed his hand across Kathryn's backside, saying, "Harry, Chakotay, the Doctor, Tuvok and now B'Elanna. That's the whole senior staff, and the only one you had to tell was Chakotay, the rest of them found out on their own."

"I think Chakotay figured it out on his own, too. With a lot less visual info then B'Elanna just got. Though, he was the only one who asked for verbal conformation from me," she said as she turned back towards Tom, a smile on her face.

She reached for one of his hands, her fingers running along his before resting on top of his. "Not too long ago, we had a plan to ease into telling the crew about us. I think it might be time to get back to it. Neelix is having a 'Welcome home' party for you tomorrow night, would you be my date?"

Tom smiled at her, "Since it's my party, shouldn't you be my date?"

"Well, you see, I'm the Captain of this little ship called Voyager, you may have heard of it," she teased.

"I think I've heard of it once or twice," he nodded in amusement.

"And as her Captain, it seems that people are much more interested in who I'm dating, then, who the guest of honor is dating. So, you should be my date."

Tom laughed, "I see you are embracing the gossip mill. I'd be thrilled and honored to be your date, Kathryn Janeway."

She leaned down and kissed him gently, " Wonderful, because I'd be thrilled and honored to be your date, Tom Paris."

=/\=

Author's note:

This was meant to be the end, but after reading it for the nine billionth time I decided that I wanted to tie up Tom's relationships with Harry and Chakotay and end it differently. So, I'm writing another chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't come to this decision until after I started posting it. I hate posting stories I haven't completed, one never knows when they might need to go back and change a line so the story meshes better. Plus, it's the ultimate act of torture to start a story, post it and then never finish it. I like to make sure everyone is going to get a finished product from me. Just to let everyone know, I'm about half through with the last part, a couple of more scenes to write, including a little more sex, because really that's why we're all here and it should be finished in a day or two.

If not, feel free to hunt me down and torture me.

BNP