Funny thing about this story, I meant for it to be a one-shot. But I forgot to click complete and people seem to like it, so I think I can do a little more with it. I imagine having one more chapter before I work right up to the scene at the end of the episode. So what a happy little mistake. ;)
"It is now 0600 hours," the computer announced. The figure in the bed stirred and moaned. A few minutes went by. "It is now past 0600 hours," the monotone voice reminded.
"Alright, alright," Tom mumbled as he extracted himself from the sheets. He had long ago disabled the ability to verbally dismiss the alarm in exchange for a manual input on the other side of the room. There were a lot of adjustments regarding being back in Starfleet that had come easier than he anticipated, but even in the vacuum of space waking up early was not one of them. He entered the obnoxiously long unlock code into the terminal and looked around the room. It needed his attention, but not as much attention as his growling stomach demanded. Deciding he could deal with the mess after his shift, Tom quickly fit into his uniform and dampened his hands in the sink to arrange his hair before attaching his badge and heading toward the kitchen.
"Hello Mr. Paris!," Neelix exclaimed while wrapping one arm around Tom's shoulder. "I am so happy to see you this morning. Why, I would have imagined you would take today off with B'Elanna". Tom's forced smile faded quickly with the mention of B'Elanna's name. "Oh…" was all the Talaxian could respond with realizing he had said the wrong thing. "Well nothing makes mornings better than a wonderful breakfast! Come sit and eat!". He ushered Tom over to the nearest table and pulled out the chair for his friend. "What will it be, Tom? You name it!," Neelix was not about to admit to Tom he was preparing banana pancakes for the crew in an attempt to cheer up B'Elanna. Never a man to allow much silence, Neelix tried to rack his brain for a suggestion. "I've got it, Tom. Don't even say a word! I will be right back!". Neelix scuffled away, still having a small limp from his fall the previous day. He scrolled through the list attempting to remember an earth breakfast Megan Delaney had requested multiple times. He returned victorious to the table where Tom still sat quietly. The only other member in the mess hall at the moment was Tuvok, who was sitting quietly in the corner drinking tea and studying several PADDs before his shift. "Here is just the thing to take your morning blues away!" Neelix began, setting the plate in from of the helmsman. "Chicken fried steak and scrambled eggs, an Earth favorite".
Tom couldn't help but acknowledge the effort (and replicator rations!) Neelix had put into the dish in front of him. He grabbed the fork and used the side to cut a piece off the meat. "Thank you Neelix," he sincerely offered before shoving the full bite into his mouth. It was good and he was hungry. Three bites in, he realized the friendly chef was still standing right behind him. Knowing ignoring Neelix would not result in him leaving, he motioned for the man to sit across the table. "Come on, I know you have something to say," Tom attempted to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
Neelix opened his eyes wide and feigned innocence. "Oh, well if you insist," he answered while lowering into the seat. He shifted his weight uncomfortably several times before blurting out the thought that occupied the forefront of his mind, "So when are you going to ask out B'Elanna?".
Genuine surprise quickly overtook Tom's face. "Talk about being a little forward, Neelix!".
"Oh no, I mean I wan't meaning to intrude," Neelix stammered before regaining his usual chipper persona. He pulled a PADD out of his pocket and laid it on the table "I just happened to download some information regarding Klingon romance last night and I don't know if you know this, but when a Klingon female bites—"
"I know what it mean," Tom interjected, his facade of patience all but gone. "The whole ship knows. Hell, the whole Delta Quadrant probably knows by now".
"Oh, this is no time to be dramatic Tom," Neelix chided before standing up. "Well, I should probably get back to finishing breakfast before the rest of Alpha shift shows up hungry". He stood up and left Tom to finish his breakfast. Soon afterward, a dozen more crew members filtered in for their morning ritual. By the time Neelix had a chance to peek out into the hall, he could see Tom had left, but a smile crept to Neelix's face when he saw the PADD he had left on the table was also gone.
It was an uneventful shift on the bridge. With the Gallicite retrofit underway, Tom could only head toward Earth at a maximum of Warp 6. He did get the chance to navigate the edge of a planetary system but even that was fairly routine minus a small drop from warp so Astrometrics could properly scan the area. One planet looked like it hosted a pre-warp civilization but it was all so routine even the Captain couldn't come up with a reason to explore further. He would owe Harry holodeck time for that, as they had a friendly wager on when the next time Janeway would inadvertently (or blatantly) violate the Prime Directive. As the Captain and First Officer chatted jovially behind him, he let his vision wonder toward the PADD he had grabbed from the mess hall. He knew Neelix had planted it, but it was also a great relief to Tom that he had the information without having the download associated with him. Just in case B'Elanna were to check. Klingon poetry wasn't necessarily Tom's version of a good time, but it was a decent distraction on such a boring day. He was intrigued to read the full story of Kahless and Lukara and found it more passionate than he had imagined the ideal Klingon relationship. Eventually, his Beta shift replacement emerged from the ready room and stood behind his shoulder, ready to take the conn. Tom signed out of the station and reverted the controls to the default settings for Lieutenant Ayala.
As Tom entered the turbolift, Chakotay motioned for him to hold the door and jogged the last few steps to make it in. "How did it go?" he ask the moment lift jolted to signify it was on it's way to the lower decks.
"Show a little subtlety, Chakotay," Tom mused while leaning against the side of the lift. When he saw the Commander wasn't accepting his joke as an answer, he continued to the truth. "Pretty awful actually," he ran his hand over his mouth while forming his next thought. "She doesn't even want to be friends".
"Give her time," Chakotay responded confidently before turning toward the entrance to the lift. The door opened outside Engineering and Chakotay exited. Tom stood in place several seconds before realizing he hadn't told the computer where he wanted to go. In reality he wasn't sure.
After thinking a few seconds, he knew who he needed to see "Deck 4, section 5," he requested. When the lift reached its destination, Tom walked briskly to avoid smalltalk with several crewman lining the corridors and pressed the chime in front of his best friend's quarters. Harry commanded the door to open immediately. "Hello Tom," he responded, several PADDs in hand.
"Harry, I thought this was practice time," Tom mused aloud, his head looking toward the case in the corner of the room. It had long become tradition that Tom would listen to Harry practice whenever he needed to think and relax. Realizing how selfish that sounded, Tom followed Harry to the small desk. "But I mostly came over here to apologize for last night. Bringing up Libby was too far".
"Tom, I wouldn't hold anything you said yesterday against you. Pulling a second shift after the stress of what happened to you and B'Elanna just had me a little on edge". He nodded toward the PADDs in his hand, "I didn't realize how little I knew about warp coils until today. I can't get the flow correct. Every time Carey and I try to compensate, the antimatter reaction in the core fluctuates".
Tom leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sure you're doing just fine, Harry. If you don't have it figured out by tomorrow, I bet B'Elanna has already come up with five solutions while she has holed herself up in her quarters". He dropped the air of confidence and looked Harry in the eyes. "I'm worried about her. I don't think she left her quarters all day".
"You're going to have to give her time, Tom".
Tom scoffed, "You sound like Chakotay".
"Maybe that means we're both right. Think about it. B'Elanna is an intensely private person. You and I are her closest friends on this ship and in nearly three years she hasn't shared that much of her life with us other than the occasional grievance she airs about the academy. Yesterday she reverted to some almost primal Klingon state in earshot of the whole bridge crew. Her pride is going to be damaged for a while," he watched Tom hang his head as he processed the words. "You may have way more experience with women than I do, but trust me on this one. B'Elanna has feelings for you, that part is now obvious. You need to start to show her your feelings. Make yourself as vulnerable as she did in front of you".
"You know, Harry, sometimes I think you aren't as naive as you seem to be".
"And sometimes I think you aren't as tough as you make yourself out to be".
"Alright, enough mushy best friend talk. Grab that clarinet and play something upbeat". Tom relaxed and smiled as Harry retrieved his instrument and played an upbeat Betazoid march.