Tom
Miral wailed. For the first and last time in his life, Tom felt the need to forcibly quiet her. Did she not understand that Mommy wasn't well? Whatever was wrong with B'Elanna had to be bad, and he needed to know. Now. Trying to restrain the urge in him to grab the Doctor and shake the truth out of him, Tom simply concentrated on something else for a moment. His eyes scanned the back wall, only to see B'Elanna's form lying on the bio bed helplessly.
"B'Elanna…" The word stumbled from his lips haphazardly, coming out in fragments. He started towards her, but the Doctor stepped in his way.
"Not now, Mr. Paris. She needs her rest."
"What's…what's wrong with her?" The Doctor sighed. It was never good when he showed a human characteristic.
"It appears she's contracted something from this planet. It is totally unknown to me, and has been in her system for just over a day." The Doctor's eyebrows went up, as if indicating something, something Tom missed, but the Captain figured out.
"The pregnancy," she simply stated.
"Yes. It appears that while she was giving birth to Miral – thus, being very vulnerable – she was, for lack of a better word, invaded by this virus."
"And what does it do?" the Captain asked. Tom was silently grateful for her ability to ask questions for him. He was at a loss for words. The Doctor inhaled the breath he didn't need, buying him time.
"Well, as best as my limited knowledge can tell, this virus is essentially harmless, except that it stimulates the part of her brain that creates hallucinations at random. Thus, she will see and experience things that aren't really happening at any given time."
"I see." Janeway's eyes fluttered for a moment, brows knotted together in concentration. "Is there any vaccine against this for other crewmembers, or any way to treat it?" The Doctor shifted his wait again, tossing the PADD from one hand to the next.
"I wouldn't worry about other crewmembers catching it."
"Unless they're pregnant," Janeway probed.
"Well, um, yes."
Tom didn't fully realize where she was going until he remembered her pregnancy. A virus that causes new mothers to hallucinate? Who was so sick to think of that? And B'Elanna… Tom heard Miral whimpering in the background, cradled in Neelix's arms. He turned away from the group, retreating into a dark corner.
"Doc," Tom finally said, finding his voice, "is there any way to correct it though?"
"I'm afraid I don't see any way to do it at this time, Mr. Paris." The Doctor's pitying look fell on him, and he lowered his eyes in mourning for his wife. The Captain was speaking.
"Will she be fit for duty?"
"Possibly. Not right away, mind you, but eventually she may be able to work, under supervision, of course. As far as I can tell, these hallucinations come upon her once every few hours. The ones that come while she sleeps simply take the form of dreams, but those she experiences while she's awake are absolute reality to her. The virus appears to occasionally block out the part of her brain that causes her to think logically. As a result, she will sometimes wholeheartedly believe in what she sees, and, at other times, she will be able to reason the absurdity of it. I'm working right now on a medicine that should keep her pathways open, so she will always know that hallucinations are just that, providing that they are…weird enough for her to question them." Letting out an exasperated sigh, Tom felt Janeway lean against the bio bed next to him. He didn't have the strength to pull his eyes from B'Elanna, even though she was speaking to him now.
"I want both of you on this. B'Elanna's skills are needed right now. Doctor, keep me posted. Tom, a word." It wasn't a question or request, but a command. For a moment, he considered not moving, but out of respect for his captain, he managed to take himself away from the static form of his wife.
The Captain had lead Tom through the doors, back into the streaming moon light. Moon beams played off the windows of the cabins. Janeway stopped near the edge of her own cabin.
"Tom, I know that you and B'Elanna have part of your own cabin built already, but I would like for you to stay here tonight, with me and Chakotay."
"Um…sure…"
The Captain smiled warmly, although he could tell it was forced, and pushed open the door. Chakotay was already in his night clothes, and Kathryn wasted no time in changing into hers. All Tom could do was stand at the threshold of this cozy place and stare, dumbstruck. He felt Chakotay's eyes combing him for what was wrong that he should be here. Kathryn had pulled a chair out of a corner and placed it in front of the bed, motioning for Tom to sit. He moved with leaden legs towards it, finally settling himself down, facing his commanding officers. Tom sat, waiting till he was addressed, while Kathryn filled Chakotay in on B'Elanna's condition. When she got to the part about who it affected, he risked a glance upwards. Chakotay betrayed little emotion except for a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Finally, they both looked at him. Kathryn was the first to speak.
"Tom, it's obvious why I brought you here. I'm very sorry about B'Elanna, but I'm confident in the Doctor's abilities…" Why should she be? His advanced programming was gone, and with the limited resources available, it was unlikely he could solve the problem on his own. A new idea started to reveal itself to Tom's mind, and he toyed with it while he continued to listen to the Captain.
"…we can do, just let us know. You may take as much time as you need every day to go and visit her…" Tom had stopped listening altogether now. He sat patiently, like a scolded child, until he heard Kathryn say he could leave now. With a nod, he got up and left, barely acknowledging them. Sure, it was a breach of protocol, but he had one, burning desire on his mind right now: find a cure for B'Elanna.