Chapter 3
The following weeks were a busy time for the crew, and for Tom Paris in particular, who was working double shifts. Once the situation with Kashyk had played out, to the conclusion that they it would; with his betrayal, the doctor began an investigation into why some of his memories had been lost. And in turn, those repressed memories recreated the moral breakdown he had suffered eighteen months ago.
So, while the doctor wrestled with his conscious, Tom took over as medic in sickbay during alpha shift and then followed that up with bridge duty for beta shift. Because of working the double shifts, he rarely saw Kathryn, but slowly an idea began to take form in his mind, on how to change that. An idea that might get him thrown back into the brig for the rest of his life but it was a risk he was willing to take, in order to re-ignite his relationship with his Katie. He loved her too much, not to try it.
Just before beta shift started, Tom was in the Astrometrics lab, searching the region ahead of them, when the doors opened, "Ensign Paris, is there something you require?" Seven asked, as she came up and stood beside him.
"No, not really," he replied, "I'm just planning ahead, seeing what M class planets are on our current route. You never know when we may need to replenish our supplies." he added, as he enlarged a section that took his interest.
"A most prudent course of action," Seven replied as she scanned the area, which Tom had enlarged, "There are several M class planets in that sector. Two have humanoid populations but neither have warp capabilities."
Tom shook his head, "We'll leave those alone," he said, "Any others?"
Seven nodded, "I believe so," she replied, as she ran her fingers over the control panel, "There is an uninhabited M class planet, approximately one point two light years off our current course."
"Perfect," he muttered to himself, as he isolated the planet and scanned the readouts.
"Ensign, may I ask a personal question." Seven asked.
"Sure." Tom replied, somewhat absently, as he downloaded the details onto a PADD.
"Will you be resuming your sexual relationship with Captain Janeway?" she asked curiously and perhaps even a little innocently, unaware of how personal the question was.
Tom cleared his throat, whatever he was expecting from her, this wasn't it, "Why do you ask?" he asked in replied, even as he felt the tips of his ears burn.
Seven turned to face him, intrigued by how red his ears have gone, "I have been studying human sexual relationships in general, and yours in particular. I have noticed that there is a period of what is termed, a 'break up', where the mating couple are no longer together, " she replied, "And this leads to, on occasion, to a 'make up', whereby they return to their previous relationship. Is that not correct?"
He nodded, "Yeah, that's true enough." he confirmed.
"Well, since you have had a break up with the captain, do you intend to, make up with her?"
He grinned, "I hope so, Seven, I really hope so," he replied, "And this may help me to do it." he added, as he held up the PADD.
She raised an eyebrow, "I don't see how a hand held computer interface, can help you to resume your relationship with Captain Janeway."
He shook his head, "The PADD itself won't but the information on it may," he replied, "I would love to stay and chat about this, but my duty shift is due to start in five minutes."
"Of course, ensign," she replied, "Perhaps you will advise me of the outcome, to help me further understand human relationships."
Tom chuckled, as he made his way to the door, "I'm sure you, and everyone else, will soon know the outcome," he replied, "One way or another." he added before he left astrometrics.
Seven watched him leave, "I shall look forward to it."
Tom walked down the corridor and entered the nearest turbolift, "Computer, where is Commander Chakotay?"
"Commander Chakotay is in his quarters."
"Is he alone?" he didn't want to inadvertently interrupt anything, in case B'elanna was with Chakotay; the pair had become inseparable and from all accounts insatiable for each other.
"Affirmative."
"Deck three, officer's quarters." he ordered the computer.
The turbolift took only moments to reach deck three and when he exited the lift, he turned left, walked down the corridor to Chakotay's quarters and waited for the computer to announce his presence.
Seconds later, the door opened he stepped inside, "Commander, may I have a word with you."
Chakotay nodded as he took a cup of coffee from his replicator, "Of course, what's it about, Ensign?" he asked.
"It's on a personal matter, sir." Tom replied, "It's about Kathryn." he added.
Chakotay gazed at the younger man, "What is it Tom? I thought the two of you were working things out."
Tom signed and shook his head, "Yes and no," he said, "I need your help."
"While I appreciate you confiding in me but I don't see how I can help you," Chakotay replied, as he tugged on his ear, "I'm not exactly a relationship counsellor."
Tom smiled, "I'm not looking for a counsellor," he said, "But what I am looking for, is for some time off for both Kathryn and myself. I thought that if we can get away from the ship, away from work and be on our own for several days, then we can work it out between us."
Chakotay nodded thoughtfully, "Sounds like a good idea," he replied, "I take it you have a plan?"
"Yes," Tom said as he held out the PADD, "There's an uninhabited M class planet, in the sector ahead of us. It's only a slight off our course, and in the grand scheme of things, it won't make any difference to our way home."
The older man took the PADD and scanned the readouts, "All right, I will grant you leave but how will you get the captain to agree to it?"
Tom grinned, "I'm thinking about an old fashion kidnapping." he quipped.
Chakotay shook his head, "Are you trying to get me thrown in the brig, ensign, for being an accessory to your schemes?"
"No sir," Tom replied chuckled, "But I'm thinking that between the two of us and the doctor, we can get Kathryn to take leave. In fact, she needs a rest anyway, after all the hours she spent alone with the doctor, even now he isn't fully right. Besides if we get the doctor thinking about someone else other than himself, he may work out these ethical issues, himself."
"You might be right about that," Chakotay replied, "And with the double shifts you've been pulling over the last several weeks, you could use the rest too."
"Well, I can't deny that I would like a rest." the younger man replied.
Chakotay nodded with a smile, "Tom, I approve this, all except for kidnapping the captain," he said, "Find another way."
Tom grinned, "Aye, commander."
Kathryn entered the shuttle bay, silently cursing both her first officer and her chief medical officer, for ordering her to take, at least three days leave, on a planet they had stopped at. She had authorised shore leave for her crew except herself, believing that she didn't need any leave, and then her two senior officers had ambushed her, into going herself. Granted, she was feeling somewhat tired lately; it hadn't been easy sitting with the doctor for hours on end, in the holodeck, while he grappled with his ethical subroutines but it was nothing to warrant this action.
She entered the Delta Flyer and as she reached the cockpit, she saw a very familiar figure sitting at the helm controls, "What are you doing here, Ensign Paris?" she asked with growing suspicion.
Tom turned and grinned at the woman he loved, "I'm kidnapping you." he replied.
She narrowed her eyes, "You're in on this too, aren't you?" she asked, as she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring down at him.
"Who, me?" he replied innocently, refusing to back down under her glare.
But she wasn't buying his innocent act; she knew him too well, "Yes, you," she said, "I should have known that it wasn't just Chakotay and the doctor. They're not cunning enough to think of this on their own."
He grinned, "Perhaps not but you need a break, Kathryn and so do I," he replied.
She let out a long breath, "Perhaps I do at that." she confirmed as she turned and sat down at the Ops station, "Well, shall we get this kidnapping under way?" she added with a teasing smile tugging on her lips.
Tom chuckled, "Yes, ma'am." he replied before he faced forward once more, and began preparing the flyer for flight before he opened communications, "Delta Flyer to Bridge, permission to leave Voyager."
"Permission granted." Chakotay's voice floated over the intercom.
Tom's fingers gracefully flew over the controls and the Flyer rose from the flight deck and gracefully left Voyager before he piloted a leisurely route towards the planet.
"So, how much will my kidnap ransom be?" Kathryn asked.
"Oh, I was thinking, perhaps a months replication rations." he quipped.
"What! One months rations," she replied indignantly, "I'll have you know that I'm worth at least two." she added. This was one of the things that she missed about Tom; his odd ball sense of humour.
He chuckled, "Well, that depends on what I want the rations for, doesn't it."
She shook her head, "You seem to be enjoying this a little too much, ensign." she said.
He turned to face her, "Not as much as I hope too, captain."
For a moment, their gaze held, each feeling the attraction between, "So, where are you kidnapping me to?" she asked, breaking the moment.
He grinned, "You'll see." he replied as he turned back to his controls.
"You're not going to tell, are you?" she asked.
He shook his head, "Nope," he replied, "You'll just have to be patient."
"I could order you to." she joked
"But then I would have to disobey..." he stopped when he realised what he was about to say, "Ah, sorry." he added. Why couldn't he learn to think before speaking, he cursed himself. Disobedience of orders was not a joking matter, especially what happened between them.
She sighed and shook her head, "It's all right, Tom." she replied, silently cursing herself for lack of judgement. It brought their unresolved issues out into the open.
Perhaps it was time to settle things between, she mused to herself, as she watched Tom pilot the flyer with such an ease that made it look easy. The rift was gradually healing but at the same time, they were going nowhere. What did she want? Want did Tom what? Could they put the past behind them and move on? Could she forgive him, forgive herself? She had too many questions and not enough answers.
They landed in a small grassy clearing, surrounded by tall trees and the glistening green waters of a small lake, and as they stepped out of the Delta Flyer, they both took a deep breath, inhaling fresh but unfamiliar air, rich with the scents of the alien world. They noticed their identical reactions to being on the planet, causing them to chuckle together.
"There's nothing like fresh, clean air," Tom said with a grin, "The holodecks never get it right."
"I hope it never does," Kathryn replied, "Otherwise how can we ever appreciate the real thing." she added as she gazed around, "Its beautiful here, Tom. There seems to be a variety of plant life; more than enough to keep a botanist happy for years. I wonder if any intelligent life ever evolved here, on this planet. I mean, it seems to have all the right attributes for life. It's not to close or to far away from the sun, water, oxygen atmosphere," she bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt, "And good soil."
He chuckled at her enthusiasm, "Forever the scientist." he gently teased her.
She dusted off the soil from her hand before she stood up and she faced him, "I'm sure you didn't bring me here to study the history of this planet." she replied, somewhat chagrined at her words.
He stepped closer to her, "It's okay, Kathryn, I brought you here to enjoy yourself, to have a holiday," he said with a warm smile on his face, "You can do as much or as little as you like. If you want to study the geological history, then go ahead."
She smiled back, "And what do you intend to do?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I intend to sleep under the stars, eat and swim," he grinned, "Not necessarily in that order," he reached out his hand, "Come with me, I have something to show you."
She raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean, show me?" she asked curiously even as she took his hand, "Did you make a secret trip down here that I didn't know about."
He chuckled, as he led her towards the trees, "No, but I did use the sensors in astrometrics to find it."
"Find what?"
"You'll see." he replied with a grin.
She shook her head, "You make a lousy tourist guide, Mister Paris." she teased.
"Hey, I'm hurt," he replied, as he raised his hand to his chest, in mock pain, "A tour guide doesn't give away all their secrets. There has to be some mystery otherwise where is the fun in it." he added, as he had to drop her hand, for they could not walk side by side through the trees.
She chuckled, "It seems, then, that I'm in your hands." she replied as she followed him, through the small grove of trees. It was then, she heard a sound of rushing water and just as they walked up a small incline, they emerged from trees and stopped in amazement of what they saw.
"Its beautiful." she whispered in an awed voice, as she stepped out in front of him.
"Yes, it is." he replied, equally overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the cascading waterfall. The waterfall appeared to be at least twenty metres high, the fast rushing water sparkled in the late afternoon sun, before splashing down to a rocky pool at the base, which then feed into the lake they had landed next to.
"You said awhile ago, that you wanted nothing more than to find a planet with trees and flowers, lakes and waterfalls," he said, his voice reflecting his emotions, "Well, here it is."
She turned to face him, her eyes welling up at his romantic gesture, "Oh Tom, thank you. It's perfect."
He reached out and gently caressed her face, "You're welcome, Katie." he replied softly. He had been fighting the urge to kiss her ever since they left the ship but now he no longer fought it. His gaze lingered on her luscious lips before he slowly lowered his head.
"Voyager to Captain Janeway." Chakotay's voice floated over her commbadge.
Tom groaned, "How does he do that?" he grumbled, as he straightened up and dropped his hand from her face, "Are you sure he's not telepathic or something?"
She shook her head, "I sincerely hope not," she replied before she tapped her commbadge, "Janeway here."
"I'm sorry to bother you, captain, but I'm just confirming your safe arrival on the planet." Chakotay said.
Kathryn exchanged a grin with Tom; they both had forgotten to follow landing party procedure and report in, "My apologies, commander," she replied, "We have arrived safely," she confirmed, "What about the other leave parties?"
"All arrived safely," Chakotay stated, "Enjoy your kidnapping, captain. Chakotay out." he added with noticeable amusement in his voice before he closed the channel.
Her eyes widened in surprise, "Did he just cut me off?"
He chuckled, "It sure sounded like it."
They gazed at each other for a moment but the earlier intimacy had been broken.
Tom cleared his throat, as he glanced back towards the waterfall, "Well, I better run some tests on the water before we drink or even swim in it, just to make sure there are no nasty bugs." he stated. Oh great, that's an even more of a mood killer, than Chakotay's interruption, he mused to himself.
She nodded, "Agreed," she replied, "Neither of us wants to get ill," she paused for a moment as she looked up at the bright sun, "And perhaps a booster against UV rays. We don't want to get sunburnt either."
He grinned, "Are you planning on sunbathing? Would that be with or without clothes?" he added.
"You'll see." she replied, with a gleam in her eyes before she turned and walked back the way they had come.
He chuckled at hearing his own words used against him. It served him right too, he mused to himself, as he watched her walk away from him, a slight sway to her hips. And yet, he found himself looking forward to finding out if she would sunbathe, naked or not, by the waterfall. So much so, that he felt the first hot stirrings in his groin.
"Easy there, Tom old boy, don't count your chickens," he murmured to himself, "It hasn't happened. Yet." he grinned, as he followed Kathryn back to the Delta Flyer.