This is the Engineering scene. The one where Kate turns interesting colors.

And yes, I know it became a bit longer, and that the addition doesn't really do anything... I just wanted to emphasize that, due to my rather odd relationship with Maria, Anaheit, and Kate, this is neither a Mary Sue nor anything else named by sane and righteous people.

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Kate enters Engineering looking about how she feels.

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Emerging from the turbolift, Kate stifles a yawn, stares blearily at a panel, runs some diagnostics, and nods at her superior officer.

"You look half dead, Kate." Slyly, because she knows that Kate is sharing someone's room, but not whose. "Did someone keep you up?"

Kate gives her a look that eloquently declares "I want to bite your head off and I'm not allowed to. And if that was the only thing stopping me, you would be bleeding by now."

Tom walks in, absently pecks his wife on the cheek, and stares unbelievingly at Kate. "You're sharing a room with _Tuvok?_"

The tired ensign blushes a bit at B'Elanna's questioning look.

"_No!_ B'Ela-na!" She sighs as Tom protests.

"But he said..."

"No. Yes, I am sharing a room with Commander Tuvok. No, B'Elanna is annoying."

Somewhat incoherently, Kate thinks, *That made an amazing amount of sense, actually. I wonder if anyone else in the room understood it?*

B'Elanna sighs. Tom is just confused. And Kate is desperately wishing for some coffee.

Bypassing his confusion, Tom puts forth, "Well, I talked to Tuvok in the Mess Hall."

B'Elanna is randomly interested. "And?"

"He thinks that Ensign Barem here," a hand on the shoulder, "is the nearest thing to a tolerable roommate on the ship."

Kate is exasperated as B'Elanna smirks again.

"Not in as many words, of course."

Kate makes an inquiring noise. Or maybe that was a snore.

"...Well, actually, he said 'The situation is... tolerable.' " Mistaking her glazed eyes for confusion, he hurries to explain "That's good."

"Ah." Kate looks at the scans, and becomes awake. "Oh, shit. Warp cores are not supposed to do that." *I hope.*

In the ensuing confusion, Tom slips back to the Bridge, Lt.Cmdr Torres becomes (rather traditionally) covered in soot (where does it _come_ from?) and Ensign Barem hands various people hydrospanners. They then save the day and let her run more (non-intelligence-requiring) scans. It all works out.

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That was short! Even with more added, I remember it as being longer when I wrote it. Maybe it was just that _Roneth_ snatched it out of my hands every five words or so. LASFS is good for you. Or rather for her, because I'm stuck at home, bored witless.

Anyway, the next will appear as soon as I get a few reviews on this one. For those of you who have never seen this story before (and those who don't remember it or have never seen the complete,) the next involves a late evening, Geometrics work, and the following morning. Break out the gift wrapping... I might have to change the rating.