Love's Labor Multiplied: Chapter 8
By Pari
(See Chapter 1 for disclaimer)
Meanwhile, in the Mess hall, Neelix kept a concerned eye on two junior officers who sat huddled in one corner, looking as though they'd just experienced a particularly harrowing experience. Even the other officers present seemed to shy away from the pair, leaving the tables directly around them empty and giving them a wide berth. They didn't know why Markwell and Barelli looked so shaken, but they did know this: anyone who would order an entire pitcher of Neelix's latest attempt at a passable coffee substitute definitely had some issues that they'd rather not know about. Currently the men were downing their second cups of the sludge, and even Neelix looked worried.
It was a sad and sorry state to behold.
Commander Chakotay, his mind on ship's matters, didn't seem to notice anything amiss when he came in for a quick break, leaving Tuvok on the bridge. He grabbed something to drink (from the replicator, thank you very much) and took a seat at one of the unoccupied tables in the mess hall - which just happened to be right next to Markwell and Barelli's.
Looking up from the padd he'd been pouring over, he couldn't help but overhear the two men's conversation, spoken in the hushed tones that indicated gossip. He thought of coughing, or making some other noticeable noise to alert them of his presence - he certainly wasn't inclined to eavesdropping. But then he thought - what the hell? It was just gossip, which Voyager had more than her fare share of, he knew. Why bother breaking into the officers' conversation? It wasn't as if he himself would pass on any rumors he might here. Besides, he was the ship's commander. One of the duties of any good commander is to keep up with what's being done - and said - on his ship, isn't it? Commander Chakotay smiled at his own loose reasoning.
The smile continued when he realized the topic of the conversation going on beside him: romance. A favorite of the Voyager rumor mill.
"I can't believe this. I just can't believe our luck. I can't BELIEVE we just walked up on...," said one of the two.
"Well, maybe we didn't walk up on anything. Maybe it's just like we said...you know, he just...fell," the other suggested, weakly. Chakotay tried not to laugh.
Barelli, however, didn't make the effort. He gave a little snort, which managed to express his incredulity, despite his nervous attitude. Actually, they both looked oddly upset, the Commander now noticed.
"Fell, are you kidding me?" Barelli said. "Did you see the look on his face? Oh man, that was guilt if I ever saw it." He took another chug of the thick, dark liquid in his cup and grimaced. Even Chakotay winced. Today's coffee substitute was definitely not one of Neelix's better concoctions, which was saying a lot.
"He just looked nervous to me."
"Of course he looked nervous!" Barelli exclaimed, then lowered his voice. He glanced around a bit, missing Chakotay whose seat was just behind Markwell, out of his line of vision. "He's no doubt worried that his girlfriend will find out. If she did..." Both men shuddered, and Chakotay's brows went up. This just got more and more interesting.
Markwell shook his head, mournfully. "I can't believe this is happening. He must want to kill us."
"Hey, it's not our fault we caught him cozying up to his girlfriends."
Chakotay's brows rose higher. Girlfriends? As in plural? Interesting, indeed.
"Yeah, but we shouldn't have followed him in Engineering," Markwell said.
"Tell me about it," his friend woefully concurred. "Believe me, if I knew who he was with I wouldn't have. I didn't think anyone had that kind of guts - even Ensign Paris."
Chakotay paused in mid-motion from taking another sip of his tea. Tom? Surely they weren't implying...
Meanwhile, Markwell was shaking his head and Barelli was rubbing as temples, as if to ease a particularly unpleasant headache.
"Tom Paris...," Markwell muttered, pondering the unbelievable events of the last twenty-four hours. Suddenly, he looked up at Barelli in accusation. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault!" Barelli exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. You were the one who complained about Tom being too settled down with B'Elanna."
"Are you crazy? What does that have to do with anything? Hey, I didn't tell Paris to go around three-timing his partners...and I damn well didn't want to know about it."
"The hell you didn't! You thought that little scene with Tom and Seven in the holodeck was hilarious..."
Chakotay sat through the first half of Markwell and Barelli's heated discussion in absolute shock. They were talking Tom? He couldn't have...could he? He struggled to assimilate that information. Could this just be nasty, idle gossip? As much as he'd like to stick up for his friend, Chakotay couldn't immediately discredit the men's stories about Tom's activities - they looked genuinely shocked and upset by the things of which they spoke. And then the Commander's shock began to give way to other unpleasant emotions. Was Tom cheating on B'Elanna? How could he hurt her like that? Chakotay couldn't believe it. Anger began to creep in. He had to get to the bottom of this. He'd confront those two officers, then talk to Tom...but before he had a chance to act the officers' conversation drifted to him once again. They weren't arguing anymore, but they were still on the same basic topic of discussion.
"...shouldn't have told them anything."
"Well what was I supposed to do?" Barelli countered, "You were practically shaking in your boots after that little run-in in front of Paris' quarters. We had to tell them something."
Markwell just sighed. "Do you think we should tell them about Engineering?"
"Are you kidding? Maybe we should just phaser ourselves right now and save someone else the trouble. No, we're in enough trouble as it is. Besides, they probably wouldn't even believe us. Hell, I don't believe us, and I was there."
Chakotay started to rise out of his seat...
"Yeah," Markwell was saying, "Who would have thought, Paris and the Captain."
...and froze right where he was. He sat back down with a soft thud. The Captain? Kathryn? His immediate impulse was to accost the two crewmen for talking malicious gossip that couldn't possibly be true. But something kept him still. Kathryn wouldn't possibly...and after all they'd...Chakotay stopped those thoughts right in their tracks. After giving Tom and B'Elanna her blessings she wouldn't do that, he rephrased his thoughts. This was all ridiculous. But, still, he listened.
"I can't believe she finally decided to move on and start a relationship with someone. Especially with him...and behind B'Elanna's back. I always kind of figured she'd get together with, well, you know..."
Chakotay shook his head, as if to clear a ringing from his ears. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"Actually, I can sort of see it. You know, Paris and Janeway. They come from the same kind of background, like some of the same things...have you ever seen the two of them working together during a battle? Sometimes it's like there's noone else on the bridge."
"I always kind of thought it was more of a mentor/protégé kind of relationship. Like mother and son, or something."
"Yeah, well mothers and sons don't sneak around in the bowels of Engineering to make out."
Chakotay really didn't need to hear that...
"Besides, Janeway's hardly anybody's mother."
...and he really didn't like the way that crewmen said that.
"All I know is, things aren't gonna be too pretty around here if word of this gets around."
Chakotay had heard enough. He was just about to confront Markwell and Barelli, when his commbadge chirped. He sighed in frustration, mind lost in the disturbing things he'd just heard.
"Chakotay here."
It was the doctor, and he sounded concerned.
"Commander, do you know where either Captain Janeway or Ensign Paris are at the moment?"
The commander frowned.
"No, doctor. Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, I just received a rather odd comm from Captain Janeway concerning Mr. Paris. I haven't heard from either of them since, and I can't seem to reach them through the comm system. Even the computer can't seem to locate them."
Chakotay's frown deepened. The feeling of surreality that had begun to surround him at the first mention of Tom and the Captain grew.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll see if I can find them and let you know. Chakotay, out." And then: "Computer, what is the location of Captain Janeway." The computer replied immediately: "The Captain is in her ready room." So much for the computer not being able to locate them.
"Computer, what is the location of Ensign Paris?"
"Ensign Paris is in the Captain's ready room."
Chakotay's expression became grim. Quickly, he left the mess hall - and headed for the Captain's ready room.
Unseen in the corner of the hall, an omnipotent being laughed in glee. Now this would be fun...
He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light - his favorite mode of transportation. His destination? The Captain's ready room.
To be continued
By Pari
(See Chapter 1 for disclaimer)
Meanwhile, in the Mess hall, Neelix kept a concerned eye on two junior officers who sat huddled in one corner, looking as though they'd just experienced a particularly harrowing experience. Even the other officers present seemed to shy away from the pair, leaving the tables directly around them empty and giving them a wide berth. They didn't know why Markwell and Barelli looked so shaken, but they did know this: anyone who would order an entire pitcher of Neelix's latest attempt at a passable coffee substitute definitely had some issues that they'd rather not know about. Currently the men were downing their second cups of the sludge, and even Neelix looked worried.
It was a sad and sorry state to behold.
Commander Chakotay, his mind on ship's matters, didn't seem to notice anything amiss when he came in for a quick break, leaving Tuvok on the bridge. He grabbed something to drink (from the replicator, thank you very much) and took a seat at one of the unoccupied tables in the mess hall - which just happened to be right next to Markwell and Barelli's.
Looking up from the padd he'd been pouring over, he couldn't help but overhear the two men's conversation, spoken in the hushed tones that indicated gossip. He thought of coughing, or making some other noticeable noise to alert them of his presence - he certainly wasn't inclined to eavesdropping. But then he thought - what the hell? It was just gossip, which Voyager had more than her fare share of, he knew. Why bother breaking into the officers' conversation? It wasn't as if he himself would pass on any rumors he might here. Besides, he was the ship's commander. One of the duties of any good commander is to keep up with what's being done - and said - on his ship, isn't it? Commander Chakotay smiled at his own loose reasoning.
The smile continued when he realized the topic of the conversation going on beside him: romance. A favorite of the Voyager rumor mill.
"I can't believe this. I just can't believe our luck. I can't BELIEVE we just walked up on...," said one of the two.
"Well, maybe we didn't walk up on anything. Maybe it's just like we said...you know, he just...fell," the other suggested, weakly. Chakotay tried not to laugh.
Barelli, however, didn't make the effort. He gave a little snort, which managed to express his incredulity, despite his nervous attitude. Actually, they both looked oddly upset, the Commander now noticed.
"Fell, are you kidding me?" Barelli said. "Did you see the look on his face? Oh man, that was guilt if I ever saw it." He took another chug of the thick, dark liquid in his cup and grimaced. Even Chakotay winced. Today's coffee substitute was definitely not one of Neelix's better concoctions, which was saying a lot.
"He just looked nervous to me."
"Of course he looked nervous!" Barelli exclaimed, then lowered his voice. He glanced around a bit, missing Chakotay whose seat was just behind Markwell, out of his line of vision. "He's no doubt worried that his girlfriend will find out. If she did..." Both men shuddered, and Chakotay's brows went up. This just got more and more interesting.
Markwell shook his head, mournfully. "I can't believe this is happening. He must want to kill us."
"Hey, it's not our fault we caught him cozying up to his girlfriends."
Chakotay's brows rose higher. Girlfriends? As in plural? Interesting, indeed.
"Yeah, but we shouldn't have followed him in Engineering," Markwell said.
"Tell me about it," his friend woefully concurred. "Believe me, if I knew who he was with I wouldn't have. I didn't think anyone had that kind of guts - even Ensign Paris."
Chakotay paused in mid-motion from taking another sip of his tea. Tom? Surely they weren't implying...
Meanwhile, Markwell was shaking his head and Barelli was rubbing as temples, as if to ease a particularly unpleasant headache.
"Tom Paris...," Markwell muttered, pondering the unbelievable events of the last twenty-four hours. Suddenly, he looked up at Barelli in accusation. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault!" Barelli exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. You were the one who complained about Tom being too settled down with B'Elanna."
"Are you crazy? What does that have to do with anything? Hey, I didn't tell Paris to go around three-timing his partners...and I damn well didn't want to know about it."
"The hell you didn't! You thought that little scene with Tom and Seven in the holodeck was hilarious..."
Chakotay sat through the first half of Markwell and Barelli's heated discussion in absolute shock. They were talking Tom? He couldn't have...could he? He struggled to assimilate that information. Could this just be nasty, idle gossip? As much as he'd like to stick up for his friend, Chakotay couldn't immediately discredit the men's stories about Tom's activities - they looked genuinely shocked and upset by the things of which they spoke. And then the Commander's shock began to give way to other unpleasant emotions. Was Tom cheating on B'Elanna? How could he hurt her like that? Chakotay couldn't believe it. Anger began to creep in. He had to get to the bottom of this. He'd confront those two officers, then talk to Tom...but before he had a chance to act the officers' conversation drifted to him once again. They weren't arguing anymore, but they were still on the same basic topic of discussion.
"...shouldn't have told them anything."
"Well what was I supposed to do?" Barelli countered, "You were practically shaking in your boots after that little run-in in front of Paris' quarters. We had to tell them something."
Markwell just sighed. "Do you think we should tell them about Engineering?"
"Are you kidding? Maybe we should just phaser ourselves right now and save someone else the trouble. No, we're in enough trouble as it is. Besides, they probably wouldn't even believe us. Hell, I don't believe us, and I was there."
Chakotay started to rise out of his seat...
"Yeah," Markwell was saying, "Who would have thought, Paris and the Captain."
...and froze right where he was. He sat back down with a soft thud. The Captain? Kathryn? His immediate impulse was to accost the two crewmen for talking malicious gossip that couldn't possibly be true. But something kept him still. Kathryn wouldn't possibly...and after all they'd...Chakotay stopped those thoughts right in their tracks. After giving Tom and B'Elanna her blessings she wouldn't do that, he rephrased his thoughts. This was all ridiculous. But, still, he listened.
"I can't believe she finally decided to move on and start a relationship with someone. Especially with him...and behind B'Elanna's back. I always kind of figured she'd get together with, well, you know..."
Chakotay shook his head, as if to clear a ringing from his ears. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"Actually, I can sort of see it. You know, Paris and Janeway. They come from the same kind of background, like some of the same things...have you ever seen the two of them working together during a battle? Sometimes it's like there's noone else on the bridge."
"I always kind of thought it was more of a mentor/protégé kind of relationship. Like mother and son, or something."
"Yeah, well mothers and sons don't sneak around in the bowels of Engineering to make out."
Chakotay really didn't need to hear that...
"Besides, Janeway's hardly anybody's mother."
...and he really didn't like the way that crewmen said that.
"All I know is, things aren't gonna be too pretty around here if word of this gets around."
Chakotay had heard enough. He was just about to confront Markwell and Barelli, when his commbadge chirped. He sighed in frustration, mind lost in the disturbing things he'd just heard.
"Chakotay here."
It was the doctor, and he sounded concerned.
"Commander, do you know where either Captain Janeway or Ensign Paris are at the moment?"
The commander frowned.
"No, doctor. Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, I just received a rather odd comm from Captain Janeway concerning Mr. Paris. I haven't heard from either of them since, and I can't seem to reach them through the comm system. Even the computer can't seem to locate them."
Chakotay's frown deepened. The feeling of surreality that had begun to surround him at the first mention of Tom and the Captain grew.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll see if I can find them and let you know. Chakotay, out." And then: "Computer, what is the location of Captain Janeway." The computer replied immediately: "The Captain is in her ready room." So much for the computer not being able to locate them.
"Computer, what is the location of Ensign Paris?"
"Ensign Paris is in the Captain's ready room."
Chakotay's expression became grim. Quickly, he left the mess hall - and headed for the Captain's ready room.
Unseen in the corner of the hall, an omnipotent being laughed in glee. Now this would be fun...
He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light - his favorite mode of transportation. His destination? The Captain's ready room.
To be continued