by Melanie
"Are you sure you should be out of bed yet?"
B'Elanna suppressed a groan. Harry was one of her closest friends and she loved him dearly, but there were times she gladly would have decked him were it not so like kicking a puppy. "Yes!" she groaned for the umpteenth time. "I feel just fine now. No aches, no pains, no weakness, nothing. Much to the Doctor's chagrin. You'd think he actually wanted me sick and confined to bed." She shook her head. "I don't know what's up with him, but the moment the Captain and I beamed there he started acting really weird."
"How could you tell," he joked.
It was the first joke the ensign had made in a week and B'Elanna gave him a brilliant smile -- more for the indication he was returning to his usual self than the comedic brilliance of the remark.
"Okay," he smiled, "how is he acting weird?"
"I can't explain it. It's just a feeling really. He kept scanning me and asking me to describe every single twinge and to tell him immediately when I felt any. And he kept making meticulous notes about it all. At least I think that was what he was doing. I'm not quite sure what exactly he doing on that padd of his."
Harry shrugged. "B'Elanna, it sounds like he was merely doing his job."
"But it was the way he was asking. I know he usually makes a pest of himself whenever he has a captive audience, but still, it felt different. I had to appeal to Chakotay in the Captain's absence to order him to let me leave. And then the Doctor was reluctant to give in." She shook her head. "I can't shake the feeling there's something he's not telling me."
"Like what?"
"I don't know," she groaned, frustrated. "I told you, he wouldn't tell me."
"So you started imaging all sorts of horrid things."
The look on her face confirmed his statement.
"B'Elanna, you're fine," he said in his most reassuring tone. "Chakotay wouldn't have been able to talk him into releasing you if you really were sick. And he would have told you if you were sick, not kept it from
you."
"Then why has he been watching me like I was some new from of microbe under his microscope?"
"With the Doctor, who knows? Maybe he's as baffled as you were as to why your legs gave out on you. Maybe he's lonely since he hasn't had any patients in a while. Or maybe he's trying out some new improvement to his personality, trying to pay more attention to his patients' needs, and has gone overboard."
"He'd better not be messing around with his personality again," she growled, remembering the disastrous results of the last time he had "improved" his program.
"Whatever the problem is or was, forget it. You've been sprung."
Sighing, she nodded her head. "You're right."
Harry smiled.
"I'd better get to Engineering and see what Carey and Vorik have done to it in my absence."
"I can tell you it's still standing, or at least was when I was down there an hour ago. I don't know if you'll like the shade of pink they've painted the warp core though."
"You've been hanging out with Tom too long, Starfleet."
The ensign's face grew taut at the mention of Tom's name.
"Harry-"
"I have to get to the Bridge. My break's almost over."
She grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Harry, I know you're still upset about Tom's role in everything, but maybe if you talked about how you're feeling about-"
"You sound like Sue! 'Talk about it.' 'Tell me how you're feeling.' You want to know how I'm feeling? I'll tell you. I hate him. He was my best friend. The man I wanted to be so much like and he turns out to be some sort of assassin who helps the woman I loved to kill herself!"
"No, Sunfire helped her, not Tom. From what the Captain told me, all Tom apparently did was-"
"He would have shot her if Sunfire hadn't beamed her off Voyager and scattered her molecules to the Universe. He didn't even try to stop it!"
"Because he knows what she was going through. It had to be Hell for her to remember all the horrible things she was forced to do in the past."
"I don't believe this. You're defending them."
"I'm not defending what they did. I'm just saying I can see where they're coming from."
"I can't understand you. A few days ago you hated him. Then I find you in his quarters, determined to see him. Now you're here playing his champion?"
"I'm not-"
Harry removed her hand from his arm and stormed off.
She was about to follow when there was a call from the Captain for all Senior Staff to report to the Conference Room for a briefing on the outcome of the lunch with Rachar's leader.
-------
"Yes, I'Nu? What good news have you brought me?"
The clerk handed him the just decoded report. "The three ships found Sunfire and engaged her in battle."
Smiling, he began scanning the words for all the grisly details of the Gherop victory. The small ship had inflicted much damage on their ships the last time they had met in battle. It would be gratifying to see an account of its destruction at the hands of fully armed Gherop ships. There would be no turning tail and running or being reduced to space dust this time. They no longer had to pretend to be less powerful than they were. Voyager was at Rachar and in his grasp. The need to create minor damage to her no longer was
a concern. Their Captain's now were permitted to use their torpedoes to blast their opposition out of existence.
Only he did not find the account of a short and violently victorious battle.
"All three ships destroyed?!"
"Yes, E'Arte."
"And the investigating ship can't confirm Sunfire was destroyed!"
"There is evidence to suggest it was, but they can't be certain. Sunfire's pilot led them into an asteroid field. Many ships have been destroyed there over the centuries. Our people estimate at least 200 intervals to sort through the mess and ascertain whether or not it was destroyed."
"We don't have 200 intervals!"
"No, E'Arte."
"Have all planetary defenses placed on alert, but don't let the Voyager crew know."
"Yes, E'Arte."
I'Nu left as his superior began throwing a temper tantrum. The younger Gherop was very tempted to grab Zji and take her with him from the office and out of harm's way. The fact the little girl had the presence of mind to always make herself as unobtrusive as possible made him reconsider the need for taking her. 'Besides,' he rationalized to himself, closing the door behind him, 'his ushering her out would only catch E'Arte's attention and they would become the focus of his rage. Better self-preservation enjoyed in the
safety of his office than stupidity remembered in the pain of traction in the Infirmary.'
-------
Hours later, after the ship had been repaired as best they could, the cloaking device temporarily patched up enough to work, and the wreckage of their attackers left well behind them, Tom returned to his quarters. His body was exhausted to the point his legs nearly had collapsed beneath him. His mind, unfortunately, still was very much awake. This was the last thing he wanted. A tired body with an awake mind meant sleep would come but it would be with the brain ready, willing, and dreadfully able to amuse itself with its
favorite horrible diversions. He would have much preferred to yet again closet himself in his lab and work to the point of mental as well as physical exhaustion. His fatigue-induced near collapse in Engineering naturally had been witnessed by his mother hen who promptly and loudly had ordered him to bed. Hearing Sunfire's chastising of him, the other two had joined in and now he was back in his quarters. Not bothering to undress, he was about to fall onto his bunk when he saw it -- Naomi's picture still lying on the blanket.
This time when the mask fell, tears fell with it.
-------
The little, brown haired boy clambered up onto the bed next to the man sobbing into his pillow. Given the fact, the child remained several planes of existence away from him; the bed did not experience any movement. He lay there on his stomach,
facing the unaware human and watching the strange spectacle. The sight of the clear liquid appearing from under the thick pale lashes fascinated him. He reached out to touch the wetness and brought some of it to his plane to examine, curiously.
The tears still were under his scrutiny when Tom lapsed into unconsciousness sometime later. The cry had been rather therapeutic for him, though not entirely successful in exorcising all of his sorrow, and now he slept the sleep of the dead. He certainly never knew of his bedmate.
-------
"Hey, Maquis!"
A few meters across the market place bathed in late morning sun, B'Elanna and Sue Nicoletti turned to look at Harry, lagging a few meters behind.
"I'm going to check out a music shop down here."
"We're not supposed to split up," Nicoletti reminded him.
"Stop worrying, Sue. I'll meet you two in a little while in that café back there."
"Just be careful, Starfleet," B'Elanna cautioned.
With a negligent wave, he wandered off through the thin crowd of mid-morning shoppers.
The Chief Engineer shook her head and she and Nicoletti went into another shop.
-------
Unhurriedly, Harry browsed his way through the displays outside of the various shops between himself and his target -- what appeared to be a music store. He was crossing the end of a dead end alleyway when the male beside him bumped into him, sending Harry stumbling into the alley. Out from behind a stack of crates, two more Rachar appeared and grabbed him. The muscular hand of one assailant was clamped over his mouth as another pinned his arms behind him and the third ripped his combadge from his jacket. A sharp something suddenly jabbed him on the left bicep and seconds later everything went black.
-------
"Where is he?" B'Elanna complained fifteen minutes later. Not only had the shop not had what they had wanted but also she had been forced to spend more time in Nicoletti's company than she normally preferred.
It was not that she despised the beautiful human female sitting across the small café table from her. She actually liked her, but the fact she embodied everything B'Elanna always had wished she had been -- beautiful, confident, sexy, and human -- that made her want to hate her.
As she thought of this she remembered Tom once wrenching this admission from her after the two of them had shared a turbolift with the woman. He had waited until they were in his quarters before questioning her, but when he had his explanation, he had stared at her for the longest time, his long-fingered hands framing her face, brow furrowed, jaw slack. Finally he had shook his head in disbelief and spent the entire night and part of their day off the next day showing and telling her how wrong she was. By the time they both collapsed from exhaustion, even she had believed him.
Now she was uncertain what she believed anymore. During her most recent time resting in Sickbay, she had done a lot of thinking about her, Tom, their relationship and his past. She still did not know how she felt other than she wanted to be in Tom's arms and to forget everything she did not want to think about. It was times like this, she wished she was able to confide in people. She really could have used someone with whom she could talk and get a second opinion. As it was, Harry had made his opinion of Tom painfully clear. Chakotay never had been a member of the Tom Paris fan club to begin with. And the one person she confided in on a regular basis was the man about whom she needed the advice.
She took a long look at the woman sitting across the table from her while she watched the activity in the square. 'Harry trusted Sue enough to confide in her, didn't he?' she wondered. 'He must. His saying just last night she was trying to get him to talk about things to her suggested a close, personal relationship, didn't it? And Nicoletti always had struck her as level headed and, most importantly, had not said anything against Tom since his secret life had been revealed. Maybe I could follow Harry's lead and talk to her.'
She was about to get Sue's attention to ask if she could do this when a shadow fell across the table. "You're waiting for someone who is late?" a grey skinned alien asked from Torres' elbow.
So lost in her thoughts, B'Elanna had not heard his approach and that put her off balance. "Uh, yes. One of our crewmates," she responded, mind slowly switching gears.
"One? It is not wise for your people to venture off alone. The Verta may see an off-worlder alone as an opportunity for causing trouble."
"He's gone into a shop over there," she said, gesturing to one down the block. "He should be back any moment."
"Ah," he sighed. "I caught a glimpse of your friend. As tall as I? Uniform colored like both of yours?"
"Yes."
"Then I did see him. He had something in a bundle in his arms. I turned away to say hello to a friend and when I turned back he had vanished."
"Vanished? Oh, you mean 'beamed up'?"
He shrugged. "He was gone anyway."
"I can't imagine Harry forgetting to contact us."
"I can," Sue sighed. "I think it's a music shop. When we were on... Where were we? Doesn't matter. Anyway, Harry, Tom Paris, myself, and I forget who all were on shoreleave and Harry abandoned us for a music shop and forgot all about us and Voyager for hours."
"I remember," B'Elanna nodded. "The Captain had to call him back to the ship twice before he finally came. He had been engrossed in some conversation with the proprietor and forgot all else."
Sue grinned. "I'll never forget his face when he beamed up and the first thing he saw was a ticked off Captain waiting for him. His face was as red as her uniform shoulders."
Smiling, B'Elanna turned to the alien. "Thank you for telling us."
"It was nothing. Actually I was hoping for an excuse to meet some of your people. We don't receive many visitors here, what with the Verta and all. May I stay and talk with you for a while?"
Not seeing any reason why not, the women offered him a seat at their table.
"I am C'Nar," he introduced himself.
B'Elanna gave her name and Sue's then answered his questions as to why they were on the surface.
"Perhaps I can assist you in your search," he volunteered. "I know The Capital very well."
"Then you wouldn't happen to know where we might find some of these, do you?" B'Elanna handed over the padd containing their shopping list and pointed to a highlighted item. "We were told the shop over there might have some but they didn't."
"Hmm, that is a tough one. If they don't have any, I'm not sure where to find them."
Dejected, she took the padd back.
He suddenly smiled a toothy grin. The sight was not an altogether enjoyable sight for the women, but his tone of voice and friendly attitude did much to counteract that. "I don't know," he said, "but I have a friend who might." He rose. "Come with me and we'll see."
The two women quickly followed after him.
-------
"Frankly," Chakotay said once he finished his mouthful of the vegetables and rice that was his dinner that night, "if anyone would know it would be Harry."
From her seat across the Mess Hall table from him, Kathryn nodded. "Yes, you're right." She looked around the room. "It should be his dinner hour." She spied B'Elanna just leaving the queue at the serving counter with her meal and motioned her over to join them. "B'Elanna, didn't I overhear you and Harry this morning making plans to have dinner together tonight?"
Taking a seat, the Chief Engineer nodded and gestured to her padd. "We have some modification details to go over." She did her own scan of the room. "I wonder where he is."
"Did you get what you needed?" Chakotay asked, setting down his juice glass.
"Finally, yes. A friend of C'Nar knew a guy who knew a woman who was married to a man who... well anyway, it gets confused after that, but we finally located almost everything we need and the raw materials to manufacture what we couldn't find. All of it, except a couple of items, beamed up with Sue and I. Beta shift's finishing off the repairs to the ship now that we have the parts and I'm going to work with the Gammas when t
hey come on duty to start manufacturing the rest."
Only half hearing her Chief's plans, Janeway was frowning. "Who's C'Nar?"
"One of the grey aliens. He wanted to meet someone from Voyager. He's rather curious about aliens apparently. Always wanted to go into the diplomatic corps and do First Contact type of missions only some relative of his screwed up somehow and sullied the family name... Anyway, to make a long story short, because of that relative he couldn't get clearance to join the corps and ended up here in some low level, technical position instead. Frankly, I think he's better suited to Engineering actually. He has an amazing grasp of technology." She shrugged. "But he's stuck here. Anyway, he saw Sue and I sitting in a café, waiting for Harry and-"
"Waiting for Harry? Where was Harry?"
B'Elanna could have kicked herself. She knew Harry was going to get into trouble for leaving them alone if anyone found out so she and Sue had resolved not to tell anyone unless word made its way to the Captain or Chakotay on its own. Now she had gone and let it slip anyway. "Oh, he saw this music shop," she sighed. "And you know him and music shops. He went to go check it out and we planned to meet him in the café only C'Nar saw him beam up with some purchases."
Chakotay angrily shook his head. "He knows none of the crew are supposed to be traveling alone down there. He should never have left you two. What if the Verta had got him or you two?"
The Captain slapped her combadge. "Janeway to Kim."
No answer.
"Captain Janeway to Ensign Kim. Computer, locate Ensign Kim."
"Ensign Harry Kim is not on Voyager."
Both of her dinner companions froze with their forks halfway to their mouths.
"This C'Nar saw him beam up?"
"He said the saw Harry then he looked away to say hello to someone and when he turned back a second later Harry was gone."
"But he didn't actually see him beam up."
"No, ma'am."
"Janeway to Bridge," she called, rising along with the other two. "Scan the surface and locate Ensign Kim."
"Yes, Captain," came the voice from Ops as the trio ran from the room.
-------
Harry awoke in the dark. There were no windows wherever he was, only a hard stone floor upon which he was lying. He had no idea of how much time had passed other than in the fact the dampness around him had had enough time to seep into his uniform and form a chilly sheen over his skin.