Redemption
Chapter 17
Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me.
A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.
Captain Janeway put the PADD that she had been attempting to read down on her desk. She stood and stretched her tired muscles as she walked to the viewport in her ready room. It had been a long and tiring day. They had not heard from the away team, Commander Chakotay was off duty in his quarters, and the EMH had not given her any encouraging news about Lieutenant Paris's condition. Moving to the inner door, which slid open silently at her approach, Janeway entered the bridge. "Any news from the away team?" She asked Tuvok.
"Nothing at this time, Captain. May I suggest that you return to your quarters and rest? I will notify you immediately when we get word from them." He could see that the captain was still fighting the fatigue from the past few days.
Shaking her head, Janeway looked at her old friend. "Tuvok, you know me too well. I can't rest until I know that the away team is safely back onboard. I will take a break though and see how Mr. Neelix is coming with transforming my private dining room into a mess hall." With that, she turned and entered the turbolift.
* * * * *
Janeway could hear the banging of pots and pans as she entered the renovated dining room. Neelix had added several tables and now had a long serving counter in front of the kitchen, as one entered the room. "Ah, Captain, and how may I help you today?" The short, bewhiskered Telaxian emerged suddenly from behind the counter.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Neelix. I'd like some coffee, black." The captain answered, somewhat startled by his sudden appearance.
"I'm afraid, that the replicator is giving me some problems with plain coffee but it is producing a delightful drink recommended by Lieutenant Torres. I believe it is called Raktajino and is quite strong. Would you like a cup?" He replied, grabbing a silver cup and moving towards one of the two replicators on the near wall.
"No, no thank you, Mr. Neelix. I'll just return to my quarters where I hope my replicator is more cooperative." Janeway said as she turned to exit the mess hall.
She was interrupted by the voice of the EMH coming through her commbadge. "Sickbay to the Captain. You wished to be notified of any updates with Lieutenant Paris."
"Yes, doctor, what is it?" She answered a little too sharply. She was worried it might be more bad news.
"I am about to attempt to take the Lieutenant off of the ventilator. An earlier attempt, two hours ago, was not successful. Sickbay out."
"Doctor…" Janeway started to respond but stopped when she realized he had cut the commlink. "I really need to discuss protocol with that..that hologram." She muttered as she left the mess hall.
* * * * *
As the doors to sickbay slid open, the captain noted the quiet. There was no beeping from the surgical bay, just a still silence. She moved slowly towards the biobed where Tom lay deathly still. His face was quite pale in the dim light illuminating the bed. The readings above his head looked normal to her unpracticed eye and she noted that he was breathing on his own. He looks so very young and not at all like the cocky, smart-mouthed crewman he tries so hard to be. She reached out her hand and gently touched his shoulder.
"He's holding his own, Captain." Kes's quiet voice came up behind her. "The doctor took him off the ventilator about ten minutes ago and his breathing is steady. His other vital signs also look good."
"Where is the doctor?" Janeway asked, looking around for the arrogant hologram. "I expected to find him here, gloating about his skills."
"No, Captain. He asked me to turn off his program. He's been online continuously since Lieutenant Paris was beamed into sickbay. He spent the night in the lab trying to find an antidote for the toxin and, once he knew that Tom would be alright, he felt he could go offline safely." The young woman seemed to be defending the EMH with her response. "He has an alarm rigged so that if Tom is in any trouble, he will be brought back online. He's really quite smart, don't you agree, Captain?"
Janeway glanced at Kes and gave her a slight smile. "Yes, he does seem quite intelligent for a hologram. I just wonder who programmed his people skills. He mentioned that a previous attempt at taking Lieutenant Paris off of the ventilator was not successful. Where you here at that time?"
"Yes, Captain, I was here then. Tom was not able to breath on his own and the doctor put him back on the ventilator." Seeing the captain's concerned look, Kes hastened to reassure her. "Tom did not regain consciousness at that time, Captain. His neural activity has now increased to 75% of normal and his breathing pattern, although shallow, is at a steady pace. I plan on staying here in sickbay, in case Tom wakes up, so he won't be alone."
Janeway looked down at Tom's still form once more, turned towards Kes and smiled. "Thank you, Kes. I'm sure Lieutenant Paris will feel better with you here. Please let me know when he awakens."
"Yes, Captain, I will." Kes touched Janeway's arm shyly. "Captain, you need to get some rest too. Tom will be alright and the away team will be also."
Janeway looked at the young Ocampa as if she had read her mind. "I'm sure they will be, Kes, but I'll rest easier when everyone is back on Voyager." She turned and moved through the doors as they slid open.
Kes pulled a short stool over by the surgical bed; sat down and lightly took one of Tom's hands in her own. Smiling slightly, she closed her eyes and focused her mind on sending Tom healing thoughts. Looking up, a few minutes later, she noted that his vital signs had become somewhat stronger.
* * * * *
Ayala lifted off the surface of the planet and headed back towards Voyager's coordinates. The rest of the crew settled into their seats for the trip back to the ship. B'Elanna sat down between Harry and Gerron on one of the bunks. "I guess Paris has some good in him after all, if you stuck up for him, Gerron." She gave the young man a grin and punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"I just don't see why Dalby always seems to have it in for him." Gerron whispered to B'Elanna, glancing to the front of the shuttle where Dalby sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Ayala. "I heard him talking in the mess hall last week about how they were going to make the Lieutenant wish he had never been brought onboard Voyager. I know that several times in the past few weeks, some of the others have beaten him up, because I've heard them bragging about it."
"Why, didn't Tom say anything?" Harry asked in a low voice. "He's always looked okay on the bridge. Why didn't you tell someone, Gerron?"
"I saw him come out of cargo bay two last week. His mouth was bleeding and he was holding his left wrist as if it was broken. He didn't see me, but Dalby did and told me I'd get more of the same if I opened my mouth to anyone. I was afraid then, but someone needs to know what's going on. I was in sickbay, the week before, and saw Tom swipe an osteoregenerator when that holo-doc's back was turned. I know he's had some kind of medic training, so he's probably just been fixing himself up on the sly." Gerron stopped talking suddenly when he noticed Dalby looking back at him.
Suddenly, the shuttle was rocked by waves from an unexpected ion storm at the planet's upper atmosphere. "Hey, Torres, I thought you said it was clear to take off!" Dalby shouted from the front of the shuttle.
"Scanners showed it was safe. We must have hit a storm that was outside the pattern!" B'Elanna shouted back over the alarms sounding from several consoles. She stood, and started to make her way to the engineering station, when the shuttle lurched to one side and she was thrown against the bulkhead, striking her head.
Harry jumped from his seat and knelt down beside B'Elanna. "She's out cold. We need to get her to sickbay. Ayala can you get us through this storm?"
Ayala held onto the console, to keep from being tossed from his seat, and kept his eyes on the viewport. "I'm trying; these controls won't respond." Just as quickly as it came upon them, they broke free of the ion storm. "We're clear; hail Voyager and get B'Elanna transported to sickbay as soon as we're in range."
* * * * *
Pain. A steady, burning pain in his arms and legs. Tom struggled to regain consciousness. I can breathe again. I'm burning! My arms and legs are burning! He couldn't move but he felt a cool hand on his forehead and could faintly hear a soothing voice telling him that he was alright. That he was back on Voyager.
Kes grasped Tom's hand harder and tried to calm him with her thoughts as he grimaced with pain. She stroked his forehead softly and leaned over the biobed. "It's alright, Tom. You're in the sickbay. The doctor found an antidote."
He slowly opened his eyes to see Kes smiling down at him. He was alive and back on Voyager. "Kes." He managed to whisper; his voice harsh from his partially paralyzed vocal cords.
"Shush, Tom. Don't try to talk right now." Kes said softly, as he looked up at her with pain in his eyes.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." The EMH shimmered into existence by the foot of the surgical bed. The bio scans at Tom's head showed an elevated heart rate and rapid breathing. "Ah, Lieutenant, you're awake." He grabbed a hypospray and approached the biobed.
"It hurts; my arms and legs are burning. I can't move." Tom gasped out.
"Your nervous system is regenerating, Lieutenant. What you're feeling is a form of phantom pain. What a person with an amputated limb would have felt in the past. It will diminish with time. Until then, I've prepared an analgesic." He leaned close to Tom to administer the medication.
"No, I want to stay awake." Tom pleaded in a confused whisper.
"Tom, it isn't a sedative. There's no need for you to be in pain; let the doctor give you the medicine. I'll be right here with you." Kes reassured Tom.
He closed his eyes as the hypospray hissed against his neck. "Will I be able to move again?" He asked looking to the doctor.
Looking at the bioscans, which showed Tom's heart rate and breathing returning to normal, the doctor replied. "At this time it is much too early to predict the outcome." Seeing Tom's fearful look, he continued. "But I believe you should make a complete recovery, Lieutenant. For now, you need to rest." He moved to his office and began to enter Tom's bioscans into the computer.
"Kes, to the Captain." Kes tapped her commbadge.
"Yes, Kes." Janeway answered immediately.
"Captain, you wanted me to let you know when Lieutenant Paris awoke."
"Thank you, Kes. I'll be right there. Janeway out."
Tom opened his eyes and tried to focus on Kes. His breathing had slowed yet his heart rate was erratic; as he once again tried to move his head or arms.
"Don't try to move yet, Tom. It's still too soon. You need to heal. Please try to go back to sleep." Her gentle voice calmed him and he closed his eyes.
Captain Janeway entered sickbay and the EMH rose from his desk and met her before she entered the surgical bay. "Captain, Lieutenant Paris has regained consciousness. I have given him some Hydrocortilene because he is experiencing some pain as the feeling returns to his limbs."
"May I speak to him, doctor?" Janeway asked as she moved to Tom's side, not waiting for an answer. Giving Kes a smile, the captain reached out to Tom's shoulder.
Hearing her voice, he opened his eyes. "Captain, it's good to be back on Voyager. I knew you'd find us. I just wasn't sure if it would be in time."
Janeway had to lean close to hear Tom's soft voice. She brushed back a lock of hair on his forehead and smiled down at him. "It's good to have you back, Lieutenant. I understand that the doctor wants you to rest now. Try to get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning." Turning to Kes, she put her hand on the younger woman's arm. "Take good care of him, Kes."
"Yes, Captain." Kes replied as Janeway left sickbay.
to be continued…