Disclaimer: I don't own the ship, the characters, or anything at all.
Chapter 7 – RevelationsTom walked slowly, quietly, invisibly into sickbay. The doctor was in his office; he looked up at the sound of the door.
"Tom, are you alright?" he nearly kicked himself for saying that. Of course he wasn't alright, he'd just lost his sister. A sister he hadn't seen in 6 years, a sister he would never see again.
"I want more" he put an empty hypospray on the desk in front of the doctor, who frowned.
"Tom, you know I can't give you anymore. You've had as much as possible." The doctor looked up at him, trying to make eye contact, but Tom evaded his gaze.
"Please, I need to sleep" he said pleadingly.
"I know that. Maybe it would help if you talked about it."
Tom closed his eyes. "Alright."
"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes she's there and if she's not….", he trailed off tears welling behind his closed eyelids.
"If she's not" the doctor prompted.
"My mom" he choked out, turning to look through the window at sickbay. So quiet, so peaceful, he thought, so unlike me at the moment.
"What happened?" the doctor whispered, encouragingly.
"She died in a shuttle crash too. Liz was too young to remember it, but I…" he shook his head. "I was there, I watched while she died" his voice barely audible, but clearly tinged with regret.
"It was just the three of us from then on. I tried so hard, but after a while I couldn't do it anymore. So, I drank away my misery. She managed to pull me out of it, only for me to go and…. Well you know what happened." The doctor nodded sombrely.
"She visited me you know, dad hated it, but she still came" he smiled through the tears. "We were close. I let her down though." He stopped and sank down to the floor.
The doctor saw an opportunity to find out what role the Captain played in all of this.
"The Captain?", he questioned.
Tom laughed then, "The Captain never had the chance to know her like I did. She loved her though, very much. That was obvious enough." Tom put his hand to his head. "Liz idolised her, even before we got stuck out here. She was the glistening example of what a Starfleet officer should be." He sighed, "I was the bad example. She didn't love me any less for it though I know that. The Captain came for dinner a couple of times. Liz loved it when dad brought her home with him, she used to read her bedtime stories, and tell her stories about her own life. Liz showed her school projects and stuff, all she wanted was to impress her."
"It would seem that she did" the doctor interjected.
Tom just laughed, "Yeah." He paused, before continuing, " She missed mom. She'd never admit it but she did. I'd here her crying at night, it broke my heart. There was a place in her heart she was trying to fill. It would seem she did in the end. She needed a mother and she found one." He paused, as though contemplating whether or not he should go on. "You met Deanna Troi when you went to Jupiter station." The doctor nodded "Yes, she was a pleasant young woman."
Tom smiled, "Liz was full of praise for her. I wonder how she's feeling now? Liz was a surrogate daughter to her."
For a moment he sat in silence, when he spoke his voice was filled with pride. "Last time I saw her she was waving me off. So proud that I was out of prison and doing my duty. I remember her hugging me, telling me how she couldn't wait till I got home. Then she left, walked out of my life and to her death."
He broke down then. The doctor got up and went to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She wouldn't want you to be like this, because of her. Would she?"
"No", wiping the tears from his face. Tom stood up pulling his uniform down.
He looked at the doctor, who patted him on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, Tom"
Tom nodded. He left sickbay with a new, positive attitude. He had gotten everything off his chest, without letting the Captain's secret slip. Liz hadn't known, why should anyone else. She was gone, but she would always live on in his memories. Things weren't the same for the Captain; she had to few memories to treasure.
-Fin-
