Back in her quarters, B'Elanna opened the closet and pulled out the first yellow-shouldered uniform she put her hand on. For a contemplative moment, B'Elanna sat on the bed, fingering the synthetic material, flashing back to that defining moment when she realized she'd have to wear a Starfleet uniform again.
… who is she to make those decisions for us?
… she is the captain
She dressed and then examined her appearance quickly in the mirror. The material stretched tighter over her abdomen; she would need to replicate another uniform soon. She'd also reverted from the hairstyle she'd worn on Quarra – styled with a gentle wave on the left side of her face – and resumed a more regulation look. As she closed the closet door, her gaze fell on Tom's uniforms – neatly pressed, starched, ready for him when he returned to Voyager. It had been more than 12 hours since Neelix had brought her home, but B'Elanna's thoughts wandered back down to Quarra. She wondered if Tom was in his dismal studio apartment, getting ready for his shift at the restaurant. Would he be looking for her at the usual time? Or would his attention move to someone else? Did he even know she was gone? B'Elanna roused herself; getting Tom and the others back required action, not contemplation.
"Computer, locate Ensign Kim," she requested.
"Ensign Kim is on the Bridge."
This was a good sign; Harry wouldn't have left Engineering if he hadn't succeeded in boosting the transporter range and expanding the size of the pattern buffers, putting them a step closer to retrieving Tom and the rest of their colleagues. She trusted Harry's work; he tended to be as detail-oriented and precise in his calculations as she was, but still he had commed her to ask questions about contacting Chakotay down on the surface, about what was required to transport the crew back to Voyager. B'Elanna appreciated the back and forth as it helped keep her mind from dwelling too much on what was happening down on Quarra, and more specifically to Tom.
B'Elanna stepped out into the corridor and headed for the turbolift. When she entered the Bridge, she paused briefly, noting Harry at the Helm, the Doctor – wearing the command colors of red – occupying Janeway's chair and Neelix at Ops. She ran her hand across the railing as she came down the ramp to the main section of the Bridge. The viewscreen showed a green and blue marble of a planet. She gripped the railing tightly as she took in the sight.
"B'Elanna?" Neelix asked tentatively.
"Is that Quarra?" she asked, her voice trembling. How innocuous of a world it looked from here, this world where she'd lost three weeks of her life, and it still wasn't certain she'd retrieve everything that had been taken from her. She resolutely pushed the nagging thought – what if Tom never remembered that he loved her? – that had been haunting her since her memory had been recovered. First things first. She would deal with that question later; for now, she needed to do everything she could to get Tom and the others back.
"Yes." Neelix half rose from his seat. "What are you doing here?"
B'Elanna recovered her composure, offered him a smile. "I thought you could use a hand."
Neelix didn't look convinced.
"Is it all right?" Neelix questioned the Doctor. The Doctor nodded.
"I hereby declare her medically fit for duty," the EMH announced.
Harry grinned as B'Elanna passed by him to head to the Engineering station.
"We could really use your help," Harry told her. "Your systems don't like me that much. Also, your idea of using a subspace band to contact Chakotay worked. The question is, can they call us back?" Before B'Elanna could answer back, Neelix's console beeped.
"We're being hailed," Neelix said. He pressed a few buttons before the image of Quarra was replaced with a fuzzy image of Kathryn Janeway.
"Starship Voyager?" Janeway asked, uncertainty in her tone. B'Elanna bit her lip. The image of the woman in the blue uniform who had been so friendly to her at the Power Facility and now seemed so hesitant was incongruous with the authoritative woman who strode across Voyager's bridge so commandingly.
"Captain," Neelix said.
Silence, as loud as it possibly could be, descended on the Bridge. On the viewscreen, Janeway appeared visibly uncomfortable at the title.
"Why don't you just call me Kathryn?" Janeway suggested.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry answered awkwardly. B'Elanna knew exactly how he felt. There was no universe in which she would have ever referred to the Captain by her first name. Except that she had, on Quarra. "Where's Commander Chakotay?"
"Hospitalized," Janeway answered flatly. B'Elanna flinched at the thought. What the hell kind of people were these Quarrans? First, they were abducted, then their memories were erased and now Chakotay was in the hospital? B'Elanna then decided she preferred the 'shoot first, ask questions' later type of hostiles; it was less painful.
"He told me you have proof of who some of us really are," Janeway continued. Harry looked at B'Elanna and she concurred in silent agreement. She came to stand behind Harry.
"We do," B'Elanna said gently.
Janeway's eyes widened in surprised recognition. "You're the woman who was abducted?" she asked.
B'Elanna nodded. "Chakotay was supposed to deactivate the shield grid so we could transport you and the others to safety."
"That's why he wanted to get back to the plant," Janeway said.
"If you could find a way to shut down main power, the shield grid will go down too," B'Elanna said.
"Will you help us?" Harry asked.
Janeway didn't seem convinced; B'Elanna didn't blame her. Only a few hours ago, B'Elanna had been in Janeway's shoes. The confusion and wariness under these circumstances was completely understandable. She opened her mouth to speak, but the ship shuddered and B'Elanna braced herself against the back of Harry's chair. She quickly regained her balance and hurried to her station.
"We're under attack! Three ships!" the Doctor exclaimed, rising to his feet.
"I'm re-modulating shields now!" B'Elanna cried as she summoned up the proper systems panel and calculated the required variances. In front of them, the image of Kathryn Janeway was rapidly being replaced by static.
"Please shut down the grid!" Harry exclaimed just as the picture fizzled out. "Damn! Do you think she heard us?"
"Let's hope so," B'Elanna said as she worked furiously to reroute power to compensate for the remodulation. "Otherwise, we'll have to try again later." She decided to leave unsaid the sentiment that they may not have a second chance to contact Janeway or the others. Another thing to think about later. She lifted her head to look at the three ships menacing Voyager.
"The ships are charging their weapons," the Doctor exclaimed. "B'Elanna?"
"I'm on it!" B'Elanna shot back. Adrenaline surged through her body as she ran through the proper set of protocols to make sure Voyager could issue a proper response.
"I'm taking evasive actions now. Maybe I can avoid them getting a firm lock on us," Harry said over his shoulder. And then with a slight sardonic chuckle he added, "but I'm not Tom."
In response to Harry's commands, Voyager swooped and swerved through space, sometimes jerkily. B'Elanna held tight to her station as she managed control of all the ship's systems.
"Neelix, get ready to fire on my mark!" The EMH's voice boomed out across the Bridge.
The ship jolted again, and the lights flickered. B'Elanna checked the readings on her screen. A direct hit but the shields appeared to be holding. So far so good. She put her hand on her belly, as if to comfort the baby who was turning cartwheels in reaction to all the activity.
"So much for avoiding their sensors," Harry said ruefully.
"The only way they could've found us is if they knew exactly where to look!" the Doctor exclaimed. B'Elanna felt a tinge of pity for the hologram; he seemed unusually flustered.
The ship rocked again, this time causing another console to spark. B'Elanna scrambled to her feet and ran a quick diagnostic.
"Transporters are off line!" she reported. After all that hard work Harry had put in! She calculated it would take a few hours to make the required repairs to Voyager, a delay that was utterly unpalatable to her.
"We're losing shields!" Neelix announced. B'Elanna checked and saw Neelix was right. She made the decision to divert power from the life support systems on deck 15; there was no one down there anyway. The momentary power transfer boosted the shields to 20 percent.
"Any 'advice' from your tactical database?" Harry asked in a cutting tone of voice which made B'Elanna wonder what she had missed.
The Doctor looked uncomfortable, almost pathetic, as he answered, "Nothing relevant."
"How many escape pods do we have left?" Harry asked.
B'Elanna checked the status logs.
"Five," she replied.
"Stand by to eject three of them," Harry said as he turned his attention back to his console. B'Elanna arched her eyebrow at the ensign's request but acquiesced as she had a good idea of what he was planning; the Maquis had once pulled a similar stunt against the Cardassians, but with mixed results as Chakotay's cell had managed to make a clean getaway, but the other Maquis ship had disintegrated in a volley of photon torpedoes. But what other option do we have?
"I don't think abandoning ship is the answer," the Doctor objected.
"Neither do I," Harry said. "Can you create a dampening field around the Briefing Room that'll mask our life signs?"
"I believe so. Why?"
"Watch and learn."
"What are you doing?" Neelix asked in fascination, but Harry ignored him.
"When you're ready, Harry," B'Elanna called from her station.
"Ejecting pods now," Harry said briskly. "Tell me when they're clear."
They waited until Neelix confirmed that the pods were indeed clear of Voyager.
"Now what?" the Doctor asked, anxiety crossing his face.
"You stay here," Harry said as he got up from his seat. "We'll be in the Briefing Room."
"You're leaving me alone?"
"That's the idea," Harry replied. B'Elanna caught up to her friend.
"I don't know about this, Harry," she said, casting a look back at the EMH. Yes, the Doctor had certainly exceeded his programming, but was he capable of an on-the-spot subterfuge?
"This will work," Harry grinned. "Now, Doc, all you have to do is pretend to be alone. And when you are hailed, press this button here." He pointed to a small yellow key on the Doctor's armrest.
"And what does it do?" the Doctor asked.
"Trust me," Harry said cockily. "It will be explosive."
Harry ushered Neelix and B'Elanna off the Bridge.
"You really think this will work?" Neelix asked incredulously.
"Of course," B'Elanna said with confidence she didn't feel. She wanted to be able to trust the EMH's ability to bluff, but he seemed so bewildered by the idea of command; it seemed like a harsh lesson to learn that subroutines couldn't quite take the place of intuition. And for some reason, Harry seemed to take command very easily. Maybe after all of this, a pip would be in his future.
They settled themselves into their usual seats around the Briefing Room table. Through the windows, they could see the three ships that had fired on them. The Quarran ships seemed paused in formation – as if contemplating the three escape pods in front of them. Without access to her sensors, B'Elanna couldn't tell if the Quarrans' weapons were still powered up and aimed at Voyager.
As if giving voice to her thoughts, Neelix said, "At least they aren't attacking us anymore."
"Thank God," B'Elanna said. She pressed her fingers to her forehead. Harry glanced at her in concern.
"Are you feeling all right, B'Elanna?"
"I'm fine. Really," she assured him. Her mind was still on the malfunctioning transporter system. Clearly locking on to the Voyager crew's life signs would not be an option now, and 'kidnapping' each one would take too long, and it was clear the Quarrans would stop at nothing to stop Voyager from retrieving its people. Her mind spun through a variety of Plan Bs, but none felt promising. "I'm thinking through our options."
Harry's expression was grim, his earlier bravado seemingly disappearing in the apprehension of waiting. "This will work."
Neelix and B'Elanna exchanged a look.
"And if we fend them off, then what? How do we get the captain and the others back?" Neelix asked.
"One step at a time," Harry said with an authority and calmness that both startled and satisfied B'Elanna. They sat in silence, with only the rapping of his fingers to betray Harry's nervousness. B'Elanna stared at the window, her eyes unable to focus on anything but the rounded frames and the endless expanse of space just beyond the thick glass.
"Doctor to Ensign Kim. I believe the plan is a success."
A broad-faced grinned spread across Harry's face as he gave two thumbs up signs to B'Elanna and Neelix.
As they entered the Bridge, the Doctor turned to face them.
"Bravo, Ensign!" the Doctor exclaimed.
Harry tipped his head in acknowledgement as he turned to B'Elanna. One problem solved, another one left to go.
"B'Elanna, we need those transporters," he said urgently. B'Elanna didn't need to be told twice. She quickly set to work on her console. If she could realign the power matrices and reroute-
"The shield grid's failing!" Neelix shouted. The opening they had been waiting for was finally in front of them. It was now or never. Tension gripped every cell in B'Elanna's body as she concentrated intently on recalibrating the phase variance of the pattern buffers and then adjusting the power variance to compensate.
"B'Elanna?" Kim asked anxiously. B'Elanna's fingers flew over the console.
"Transporters coming on line-" she paused as she checked a quick reading. "Now!"
"Get them up here," the Doctor ordered. Harry nodded, relief clearly etched across his face.
"I'm picking up a mixture of human, Vulcan, and Borg life signs," he said. "Locking on to Seven of Nine now."
"I'll go to the transporter room to meet them," Neelix said. "They will be confused and will need a friendly face to explain what is happening."
"Good thinking," the Doctor said in a wistful sort of way that made B'Elanna think he wished he'd suggested it.
Within minutes, Harry reported he had transported Seven, Tuvok, Chakotay, and Janeway back to the ship.
B'Elanna continued to monitor power fluctuations, making miniscule adjustments when necessary, as Harry diligently continued to transport crew back to Voyager; her fix was the type Tom would refer to as "bubble gum and string," but so far it was holding, and the pattern buffers showed no sign of strain. Once the crew was on board safely, she would work on making the transporters' power flow consistent with Starfleet guidelines.
B'Elanna's concentration was momentarily broken by Chakotay's arrival on the Bridge. The Doctor ceded the center seat to the first officer, but Chakotay shook his head slightly and took his normal seat just to the left of where Janeway sat.
"It's good to see you, sir," Harry said from his station.
"I'm glad to be back," Chakotay said, a half-smile stretching across his face. "I imagine we'll all have quite the tale to tell, but—" he nodded at B'Elanna "—first things first. Let's get our people home."
When Harry confirmed the last Voyager crewmember had been rescued from Quarra, and a course had been laid in to the nearest nebula, B'Elanna headed to Sickbay. She knew that her future held several weeks of double-shifts while they put Voyager back together again, but she figured that for now, the repairs could wait.
She entered Sickbay and immediately noticed Janeway, Seven and Tuvok among the others waiting to receive treatment. Carefully, B'Elanna brushed past a few of her fellow crewmembers, greeting them by name, but very aware of the disorientation they must be feeling. Tuvok, however, seemed quite aware of who he was and where he was.
"Lieutenant," he greeted her. "It is good to see you."
"And you as well," B'Elanna said, but she was distracted by the sight of Tom sitting on a biobed, studying a tricorder intently. She paused, and the cacophony surrounding her seemed to vanish in that moment. She took in the curve of Tom's jaw, the delicate triangles of his sideburns, the straight profile of his nose, the sweep of his cheekbone and the smooth rise of his forehead. These were all features she knew by heart, but were suddenly new again. A second chance at a first time to know you again.
"B'Elanna!" Tom exclaimed when he saw her. "You're here." Tom laid slight emphasis on the word 'here.' "I was so worried about you."
B'Elanna smiled at him and then glanced over at the Doctor who shook his head slightly at her before turning his attention back to Naomi Wildman. B'Elanna sucked in her breath and approached Tom carefully. Adrenaline raced through her body and it took all her self-control not to launch herself at him.
"I'm fine," B'Elanna said softly as she stood in front of him.
"And the baby?"
"She's fine too."
Tom's eyes widened. "It's a girl?"
B'Elanna allowed herself a little smile. "Yes."
"Congratulations," Tom said sincerely.
"Thanks." B'Elanna brushed off the awkwardness of Tom not quite realizing this was his child. All of that would come in time. For now, it was important to let him recover slowly. "How do you feel?"
"Better, now that I see you. When they told me about your disappearance, I was frantic about what might have happened to you. I shouldn't have listened, should have walked-"
"Don't worry about it," B'Elanna cut Tom off. "What matters is that you are here, that we are here."
"I heard the stories," Tom said grimly. "About what the Quarrans did to us. I'm afraid I'm having a hard time believing all of it but it's impossible to ignore the evidence I heard from the inspector, so it must be true. Right?" His voice faded into uncertainty.
"I know the feeling, but yes, it's all true," B'Elanna said softly. She resisted the urge to cup his face in her hands – she had no idea, after all, what he had been told of their actual relationship and remembering her own skepticism, she decided to take it easy even when it was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She instead settled on placing her hand on top of his and was very relieved when Tom didn't pull away. "I remember everything, and you will too. Soon."
"So, I'm really a pilot, then?" He flashed his cocky grin at her and B'Elanna felt instantly better. She could see some of her Tom radiating back at her in that smile.
"Yes."
"I guess that's why I was such a lousy waiter," Tom said, shaking his head. "Umali's patience would have run out on me soon enough, so I guess this is for the best." He bit his lip. "And I'm a Starfleet officer?"
"Yes."
Tom closed his eyes, tipped his head back slightly. After a moment, he inhaled sharply.
"Does it take very long to remember?" he asked in a tremulous voice.
B'Elanna shook her head. "No. The Doctor came up with a protocol that worked for me, and with his enhancements, you should recover your memory even more quickly." She took a deep breath. "But, when you don't remember anything and everyone insists that this is where you belong, it does feel like a long time."
"I can understand that." Tom glanced down at their intertwined hands. "I'm glad that... I'm glad you're not alone, B'Elanna. I worried-"
"I know," she said soothingly. "I know."
The Doctor approached them, holding a full tray of different medical devices in front of him.
"You're next, Mr. Paris," he said brightly. "I will need your assistance to restore everyone else's memories once you've recovered your own."
"At your service," Tom answered gallantly, but he didn't take his eyes away from B'Elanna as the Doctor pressed a hypospray to his neck. Tom flinched slightly, putting his hand to the slightly reddened spot.
"The stinging sensation will only last for a moment," the Doctor said reassuringly.
"You went through this?" Tom asked B'Elanna.
She nodded. "It's disorientating, like all of your nerves and cells are unthawing," she said, "but you're among… friends." She swallowed hard. "And I'll help you."
Tom scoffed lightly under his breath, that tiny little mannerism she always found so endearing. "I'd like that."
"Kim to Torres."
B'Elanna bit back a sigh. "Go ahead, Harry."
"Can you come to Engineering? I've got something I need you to look at."
B'Elanna wanted to put Harry off, but she knew that while the nebula offered some protection from anyone who wanted to do them harm while they were short-staffed and required repairs, she couldn't neglect her duties. It was times like this that she keenly felt the pull between the personal and professional, and this time her desire to stay with Tom was nearly overwhelming her duty to the ship. She inhaled sharply. "I'll be there in a minute."
"Engineering, huh?" Tom asked.
"I guess so." Reluctantly, B'Elanna released Tom's hand. "I'll be back soon."
Tom flashed her a smile, so blindingly seductive and promising, that she felt her knees soften just a little bit.
"Don't forget about me," Tom said. "I'll be waiting."