Tom settled Miral in her seat as Kathryn had a quick word with the shuttle pilot.
The tests were going well enough that Kathryn could head home. Just as well: Miral needed her routine, and B'Elanna didn't need to think that Squirt was ready for off-planet life.
Kathryn stopped to replicate two mugs of coffee. Tom's mood had taken a sudden change after breakfast; she suspected things were frosty when he picked up Miral.
She passed him a mug before she settled into her seat. "You know, I forgot to tell you: Got a message from Chakotay a couple of days ago."
He couldn't speak for a moment — and why did his stomach feel like it had gone into free-fall?
"Really? What did he have to say?" he managed as casually as possible.
"He was going to be on Earth and wanted to have dinner. He also wanted to see B'Elanna and a few other folks."
"I take it he doesn't talk to anyone," Tom quipped.
"Apparently not. I said I was tied up at McKinley, and that if he wanted to see B'Elanna, he'd have to go to Mars. I did tell him about … "
"That's fine," he interrupted. "Wonder if Seven had a checkup at Medical."
"You know, now that I think about it, he didn't mention Seven."
ooo
He invited her in when they arrived at his place, and she helped him settle Miral, who needed a nap.
He still seemed uncomfortable she noted, but accepted his offer of an iced tea.
"Can I ask you something?" he finally asked. She shrugged. "Sure."
"Did you offer B'Elanna a posting?"
"No. She'd be a great asset to my team, but she should establish a career away from me. And I would have a conflict of interest." That last statement seemed to make Tom more uncomfortable. "What's going on?" she demanded.
"I had a very odd conversation with B'Elanna when I picked up Miral."
"Well, thanks for bringing her up," B'Elanna said. "Back to enjoying Admiralty perks, I see."
"Well, that's one nice thing about being a civilian. I can be friends with the people who wear those bars," he snapped back.
"Hmm, well, tell your girlfriend that I don't need her help in getting a posting. I can do that on my own."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Don't you have a shuttle to catch?" he retorted.
"That was Ann," Kathryn explained. "She wants to put B'Elanna on the invitation lists for her postings. There's no guarantee that she'd get a spot."
She paused for a moment and looked at Tom. "Girlfriend?"
Wrong thing to say: Tom blushed a bright red, and she looked at him, dumbfounded.
"You know we're friends… right?" he stammered.
"Well, yes, I know where we are," she said. Though maybe she didn't.
"I'm sorry," he managed. "I get the feeling people are pushing us into a relationship. B'Elanna's crack; Mom going out of her way to tell you about the divorce …"
"I suspected that Julia had an ulterior motive," she replied. She wasn't about to tell him that she suspected her own mother was in on it. Nor would she mention Ann's observation. "But whatever her motive, I certainly was going to check on you. And you did invite me out."
She took a breath. "Tom, no matter what other people think, I'm not pushing. At least I hope I'm not."
He didn't reply. Maybe she was wrong about that. And from the looks of it, they weren't going to talk this out … at least not today.
She swallowed hard, then made a decision. "I should get going," she said quietly as she got up. "If you want to talk, give me a call."
Then she was gone … and a moment later, he was seized with panic. He ran to the window to call her back, but her staff car was pulling away.
He sat back down and put his head in his hands. "Paris, you idiot, what the hell have you done?" he groaned.