"You didn't have to ask." (Janeway & Paris)

Author's Note: This story takes place early in Season 2.

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"I believe someone on board may be working for Seska."

Tom blinked, speechless, as the Captain's words sunk in. Silence fell in her ready room, broken only by the ship's engines, as they sat together on the sofa. She met his eyes with a stern and steady expression that made it clear she meant exactly what she said. He would have given a great deal for it to be a practical joke, but she never joked about Voyager's safety. The implications were alarming.

"You're sure about this?"

"If I were sure," she said with some asperity, "I'd have arrested them already. Let's just say I'm suspicious of how the Kazon keep showing up along our course."

"And you're asking me for help - why?"

"Because of your … well … unique position relating to both Starfleet and the Maquis."

This was, Tom thought, a remarkably tactful way of reminding him that he'd betrayed both groups in the past, and had been in prison for it when they met.

"Yeah, if by 'both' you mean 'neither'," he retorted. "I'm the guy everyone plays pool with, doesn't mean they trust me. And speaking of trust, how do you know I'm not the traitor you're looking for?"

"Seska made it pretty damn clear when we blew her cover that her goal is still the Alpha Quadrant," said the Captain, her voice dropping to a dangerous rasp at the mention of their former crew member. "It's only her methods that differ from ours. You, on the other hand … "

"I'm the disowned son with nothing but a jail cell waiting for me." Tom's attempt at flippancy grated even on him. "Which means I've got no reason to go back."

Janeway nodded curtly. Something flickered in her eyes; irritation, compassion or both, he couldn't quite tell. Either way, that look reminded him of his older sisters, back when they'd been teenagers and conspiring to hide some misbehavior from their parents. She was on his side, no matter how obnoxious he might be.

Auckland, Banea … how many second chances had she given him already?

His experience with the Maquis gave him an idea. A very dangerous idea, but then, life in the Delta Quadrant was dangerous anyway.

"What you need," he said, leaning back against the sofa cushions with his arms folded behind his head in his best 'bad boy' attitude, "Is a sting operation."

Her eyes widened. She shook her head in instinctive protest. "Tom, you can't be serious - "

"Believe it or not, I am. The only way I'll be able to smoke out the traitor is if I pretend to be one too. You said it yourself: I've got no real motive to work with Seska, but everyone knows I've got issues with both Starfleet and the Maquis. If I act pissed off enough at everyone, the traitor just might believe I'm ready for a bunk on the nearest Kazon ship."

"Tom - Lieutenant - you do realize what you're suggesting, don't you?" she retorted. "This would put your entire career at risk, not to mention your life. You've worked so hard to earn your place here, I can't let you give that up."

Tom could not deny the fact that his stomach turned at the prospect of alienating his shipmates. Harry would be bewildered. B'Elanna would lose what little regard he'd managed to earn from her. Neelix, Tuvok and the Doctor would probably say they'd known all along he was trouble, and in his quiet way, so would Chakotay. That thought hurt Tom more than he'd expected. Chakotay was a good commander. His respect meant something to Tom.

Then again, keeping them all safe meant even more.

"Let me? Captain, if there's someone on this ship looking to stab us in the back, I'm not gonna sit around waiting for it to happen. That's not the place I earned."

That conflicted, elder-sister look came back into Kathryn's eyes, as if she wanted to either hug him or swat him upside the head. "Damn it, Paris. If I had a better plan, I'd use it."

"Does that mean you don't?"

She ignored the quip, which he took as a yes. "Lieutenant Tuvok and Commander Chakotay will need to be informed, of course. You can't play out a charade like this all by yourself."

"Not Chakotay," Tom blurted out. "Please."

"And why not? He's my First Officer, I trust him implicitly." Kathryn's look positively dared him to argue with that.

"He can't lie for shit - sorry, Captain - but you know what I mean. He's only got one way of hiding something, and that's by making a face like a brick wall." Tom mimicked that face so successfully that, despite the gravity of the situation, the Captain let out a snort. "Tuvok's the same way, but he's Vulcan, so it works. Chakotay would make our traitor suspicious at once."

The First Officer's integrity was actually what Tom most admired about him. Starfleet or Maquis, Chakotay had never pretended to be anything other than who he was. No wonder he had little patience for someone like Tom, for whom pretending was his go-to defense mechanism. And no wonder all the spies aboard the Valjean had remained undetected for so long.

"You do have a point," said Kathryn, frowning. "If you're going to play rebel without a cause, his reaction to you would have to be genuine."

Tom's heart sank into his uniform boots at the idea of disappointing Chakotay, but he played it off with a shrug. "Should be interesting, though. I play a lot of those characters on the holodeck. James Dean, John Travolta … "

One lift of her eyebrow silenced him. No doubt she could see right through his pretense. She sighed.

"I hate asking you to do this."

"You didn't have to ask, Captain," said Tom. "I'm volunteering."