A/N: I feel like this is how the Doc should've reacted, Juddysbuddy. It makes me sense with how this program usually reacts. Also, I gave Ensign Tabor a first name in this chapter: Jad. It's the first name of Tabor's actor.
That night, Harry Kim and Tom Paris were on the night shift alone once Tuvok left. Tom sat in Janeway's chair and Harry sat in Chakotay's. They tried not to stare too intently at the blackness. But it was hard.
Suddenly, deep into their shift, they heard the door to the turbolift open. Both men spun around to take a look and were surprised to find Fiona in the doorway in her pajamas. They hopped up.
"Fiona!" Harry blurted. "What are you doing up?"
She hesitated. "The Doctor has said I should not be by myself if I get… this way. B'Elanna, Shara, and Myral are all asleep. I'm sorry to bother you."
"Not at all," Tom replied with a snort. "It gets boring up here."
Fiona nodded and walked down the bridge ramp and was about to take a seat on the floor when Tom smirked.
"Sit there," he corrected her, pointing to his usual pilot's seat.
"No thanks," she sighed. "I'm too tired."
Harry and Tom looked absolutely surprised. Since when did Fiona not want to fly a ship… especially the ship. But they didn't protest. She slid down the wall onto the floor.
"If you're tired, go to bed?" Harry suggested.
Fiona smirked and shook her head before the smile fell and she hugged her knees. She shook her head fiercely now.
"I can't," she sputtered.
Harry grimaced. "Okay."
They passed in silence for several minutes. The only sounds were the occasional beeps of consoles and the ever present warp core rumble.
"Doc has ordered I get in at least an hour of holodeck time each day," Fiona said a little later. "I have an hour tomorrow afternoon if either of you care to join?"
"What program?" Tom asked curiously.
Fiona shrugged. "I haven't picked one yet."
"Have you read any good books since coming aboard?" Harry asked her. "Maybe there's a holonovel?"
"There's this book called… Lord of the Rings? Yeah that's it." Fiona smiled a little.
"Hey, there's a smile," Harry laughed. "Looks good on you, Bishop."
Fiona blushed and shook her head, trying desperately to stop the smile that was forming on her face.
"Oh! Oh look!" Tom laughed along. "It's growing!"
"Stop," she chuckled, trying to hide her face in embarrassment. "Stop it!"
"Take the helm and we might!" Tom laughed, pointing from where he sat in the Captain's chair to his usual station.
"I can't fly this thing," she protested. "I've never even flown a real shuttle!"
"Fair point," Harry smirked. "Fair point."
"Not good enough in my book!" Tom replied immediately. When Harry and Fiona both shook their heads he relented. "But fine. I've read Lord of the Rings. When we get off in a couple hours I'll whip up a few holo-locations from the book for you to hang out in."
"Can you make the Shire?" she asked excitedly, jumping up from her spot on the floor.
"Easiest one there is," he nodded. "Hobbits or no hobbits?"
"Let's do it without people first," she decided.
Tom agreed that would be easier. "Alright, cadet. Next order of business. Fly the ship."
Over the course of the next hour, Tom pointed out what each button and command did. She sat in his chair and pretended to touch the buttons until at last he was satisfied she could do the basics.
"Alright." He smirked, sitting back in the Captain's chair. "Adjust our course by .02 degrees."
She punched a couple buttons, hands quivering with excitement. She had forgotten how good it felt to fly, to try new things. And here she was, piloting a starship for the very first time. True, it was only a minor course adjustment but it was still something.
She felt the touch pad response to her fingers as they punched in commands. After a moment, the course adjustment was complete and she grinned widely, excited beyond anything she had been able to experience lately.
"Nice work, cadet."
All three people on the bridge whipped around to see Commander Chakotay stepping onto the bridge. Fiona immediately stood out of Tom's chair, and Harry out of Chakotay's, but Tom stayed where he was.
"She's a quick learner," Tom grinned. "Took us maybe an hour. But now she's able to make course adjustments just fine."
"Too bad she's only a cadet level officer," Chakotay smirked. "Might be a fine replacement for you, Tom. Seeing as she seems to understand rank more than you."
Tom smirked back but stood out of the Captain's chair. "My apologies."
Fiona covered her mouth to hide her laughter and Harry chuckled at her. Tom protested but Chakotay shook his head.
"You two are relieved." Chakotay told them this as an Ensign walked into the bridge and took his station at Ops.
Tom, Harry, and Fiona went into the turbolift and the doors closed behind them.
"So, let's get to engineering and see if B'Elanna can't help us design the Shire," Tom suggested. "Computer, Engineering."
They took the turbolift down. Upon arrival, Fiona, Tom, and Harry walked into the main engineering room and found B'Elanna talking to Ensign Tabor.
"Hey B'Elanna," Tom called over to her.
She looked up. "What do you want?"
Tom and Harry exchanged glances. Paris spoke up again as they walked to meet her. "Geez. You could be a little more welcoming!"
"Fiona!" B'Elanna interrupted. "Been awhile!"
Fiona nodded. "Sorry."
She shrugged. "It's fine. What can do I do for you?"
Harry chuckled. at the indignant look on Tom's face at the way B'Elanna addressed Fiona first. Harry patted him on the back with a fierce smirk.
"We need to create a holodeck simulation of 'The Shire' from a book called Lord of the Rings," Harry explained.
"Do you have design specs?" B'Elanna asked.
Tom smirked at Fiona. "Yes."
She looked at him in surprise. How could he have the specifications already?
"I made them years ago." He accessed his personal files using a workstation. "Here they are."
B'Elanna and Harry began the process of formalizing the specs. It took a few minutes but fortunately Tom had done a lot of the work already. Fiona waited patiently.
"All done," Harry smiled.
B'Elanna handed Tom his Padd back. Tom thanked her and turned to find Fiona looking at the warp core.
"So that's how you manually fuse an injector coil?" She asked Ensign Tabor.
He nodded. "It's an easy enough process, though time consuming."
Tom gave a short, silent laugh. He folded his arms and watched the interaction. B'Elanna tugged on his arm and guided him and Harry aside.
"Ensign Tabor and Fiona have been getting close," B'Elanna smirked. "Whenever she's scheduled to work he asks for a shift."
"Really?" Tom smiled with a playful twinkle in his eye. "She could do worse."
Ensign Tabor Jad and Tom Paris were good friends. They often designed holo-programs together. He was a young man, maybe twenty-three years old. He had joined up with the Maquis as a teenager. Ensign Tabor had been nineteen upon their stranding in the Delta Quadrant.
Harry chuckled and called out. "Fiona!"
Fiona and Tabor jerked around from where they had stood looking at the warp core. She and the Ensign walked over to the little trio.
"We just finished up," Harry told her. "Hey Tabor."
"Harry, Tom," he nodded with a smile. "What were you working on?"
"It's a holo-program from an old Earth novel, Lord of the Rings," Tom explained.
Tabor looked over the specs on the Padd Tom handed him. He nodded.
"Have fun," he smiled at Fiona.
She nodded and smiled at him. "Hopefully I will."