Part 7 added on 24 November 2000
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
The four trainee pilots stood around outside the Delta Flyer waiting for their instructor to show up, Tom Paris was already fifteen minutes late, and when Neelix contacted him to enquire about the delay, Tom just brushed him off and said he wouldn't be too much longer. All four of the trainees had other duties they could have been attending to, and although they realised the theoretical value of the training, the reality was that they spent most of their time just listening to Paris going on about his supposedly heroic deeds. This latest delay was just adding to their dissatisfaction with Tom and Porter, who was normally one of the engineering team and rather proud of that fact, was trying to organise the others into making an official complaint to Janeway.
"Yeah I know he's late, again, but he was on ships business." Claire pointed out.
"But that's my point," Porter continued, "he ended our morning session early to attend to the tactical flight demonstration, which I know is ships business, but why, when he's meant to be training us in preparation for escaping those enemy ships, didn't he let Tuvok do it? I mean it was Tuvok who came up with half the stuff anyway."
"He did?" Asked Neelix.
"Of course he did."
"Porter's right, I saw Tuvok working on them." Claire agreed.
"Well, erm." All eyes turned to face the fourth trainee Ensign York, a quiet man who became embarrassed easily, "I just thought he might've taken us with him." Three sets of eyes were now looking at him slightly baffled. "I meant to the tactical display. That is part of what we're meant to be learning, isn't it."
"Well yes, I guess that would have been useful." Neelix conceded, of all the trainees he was the one most hesitant about complaining to Janeway. It wasn't that he didn't agree with what Porter was saying, he thought Tom was being very lax in his teaching, but Paris was a friend and even if at times he was very, very annoying, running to the Captain to tattle on your friends was not something Neelix felt comfortable doing.
"Useful? I would have thought it was a vital part of our training." Porter's rather angular face was becoming a progressively darker shade of red with each sentence, "If he can't organise our training better we should get someone who can."
"Like who?"
"Well what about.." Porter was interrupted as the doors to the hanger opened to reveal a chirpy looking Tom Paris.
"Good afternoon everybody, are you ready to get started?" Tom began, totally oblivious to the tension in the room. "I have a feeling today's session is going to be the best yet." Here he looked around to give each of them his most smug smile, silently praying someone would ask him why he was so happy.
"Well it doesn't exactly have that high a standard to break, does it?" Porter looked round at the others to get them to agree, and one by one they began nodding in affirmation of his comment.
"Great, great." Tom mumbled, still oblivious to his groups dissatisfaction, "I think today is just my day, nothing could possibly spoil it."
"Oh you think not?" Porter started moving in real close to Tom in an attempt to cower the other man, but his move was halted by Neelix's restraining hand. "Come on Neelix, we have to do something." Porter agitatedly whispered.
Before either man could decide on their next course of action Tom had left to take up his place inside the Delta Flyer. Neelix made to follow but was stopped by Porter, "So are we going to do anything or just accept this like a bunch of sheep?" The man's tone was hard, but he knew they needed Neelix's support if they were to take the matter further. Even though Neelix held no Starfleet rank he was still closer to the command of the ship than any of the others, and more than that he was seen by most of the crew to be fair and as such any complaint by him would hold more weight.
"Lets just see how today's session goes." Neelix began, then seeing Porters about to interrupt quickly added, "if there's not improvement I'll talk to Tom." At this point it was Claire who seemed ready to protest, "and if that doesn't work I'll talk to the Captain." Neelix looked at the others waiting to see if any more complaints were forthcoming, "Okay then?" At this the other three nodded and then proceeded to board the Delta Flyer.
Inside the ship Tom was happily entering data into the navigational controls, his whistling reverberating around the small cockpit. The whistling was a new thing from Tom, but Neelix was sure that within minutes it could easily aggravate his tense crew to the point where they would happily throw him out an airlock. Therefore as Morale Officer, he saw it as his job to stop the murder before it could take place, and one easy way to stop Tom whistling was to get him to talk about his favourite subject, himself.
"So Tom, how come you're so happy today? Did you find a wormhole to the Alpha quadrant or something?" Neelix gently teased.
Finally Tom thought, he had been waiting for someone to ask since he arrived, "Oh no, something better than that." The helmsman was desperate for news of his relationship with Seven to circulate amongst the crew, and especially to B'Elanna, but he didn't want to just blurt it out. No, he wanted to play the romantic hero and have them slowly coax the details from him, and as there weren't really any details beyond the one kiss to tell, he thought adding a slight sense of mystery and chivalry to the affair might make it seem all the more exciting.
"What could be better than a way back home?" Porter grumbled.
"Surely you have to know the answer to that?" Tom said turning to face Porter, then winking at Claire added, "The love of a beautiful woman of course."
"Hurumph."
"Oh really Tom, did B'Elanna take you back?" The idea surprised Neelix, he had been witness to the break-up and wouldn't have thought B'Elanna would change her mind, but then again he had never understood why they were together in the first place, perhaps it was to do with her Klingon nature.
"No!" Tom momentarily let his happy face slip, the reminder of B'Elanna's rejection was not something he wanted to deal with, now or ever. "I happen to have found someone else, someone quite unique."
"Oh?" Four faces were now turned to him in curiosity, all the previous animosity forgotten at the prospect of hearing some fresh gossip. "Anyone we know?" Asked Claire, and considering they were stuck together on a ship of only around a hundred and fifty people, it was more of a prod for the name than a real question in itself.
"Well I don't really like to say." Tom tried out the chivalrous bit, it wasn't really him but it would work for the short term, as long as the others did their part to cajole the name from him.
"Is it one of the Delaney sister?" York piped up from the back.
"No, look guy's I really shouldn't say." Waiting a beat Tom let out his first clue, "I mean she's not used to dating and I wouldn't want everyone knowing putting undue pressure on her."
Four minds could almost be seen going over and rejecting possibilities, "So she has dated, just not a lot?" Porter tried to clarify.
"Come on guy's give me a break okay? Besides her other date didn't really count." Work it out someone, Tom thought, maybe he'd have to start mentioning nanoprobes or something to get them on the right track.
Neelix looked rather shocked for a second before shaking his head of the ridiculous idea, still she was the only one he could think of who'd only been on the one date. No, it couldn't be, there was no way Seven would date Tom, it was a ludicrous thought.
"What?" Claire whispered to the Talaxian, "You know who it is don't you?"
The other trainees crowded round Neelix to better hear the gossip, and Tom did his best to listen in while appearing disinterested. "No! I mean I thought I did, but she wouldn't, even though she is the only one who fits the description, but still it can't be her." Neelix starts shaking his head, "No it's not her."
"Who?" "Who?" "Who?"
"It's a silly idea." For all that's sacred Neelix, tell them Tom thought, "but the only person on the ship I can think of is Seven."
"Seven?"
"Huh?"
"No way."
Four sets of unbelieving eyes then turned to stare at Tom.
"Oh no, look don't say anything will you, Seven and I just want to keep this quiet for now." Inside Tom was doing a happy jig.
"Okay." "Sure" "Hmm" "Not a word"
Four now sombre and very confused pilot trainees then turned to their stations, hoping that their instruments hadn't suddenly changed configuration in what must be an alternate reality.
Neelix was quickly making his way towards sickbay, the idea of Seven dating Tom Paris had been playing on his mind all afternoon and he thought if one person besides the Captain would know the truth it would be the doctor. Not that he didn't believe Tom, only it just didn't seem right. Entering sickbay he was about to activate the EMH when he saw the doctor slumped in his chair apparently going over files.
"Hello Doctor, I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"Not at all Mr Neelix." The doctor stood up and made his way to the other man grateful for the interruption of his thoughts, thoughts that had been centred on Seven's discussion with him that morning about continuing her lessons on romance. It wasn't so much the lessons he had been thinking of, but the possible recipient of those teachings, Tom Paris. For hours the hologram had tried to convince himself that he was wrong in presuming Seven's interests were directed at the helmsman, after all she had never shown any feeling towards him before, but still he couldn't get over the timing of the request and Tom's knowing wink to the former borg. "So how may I be of assistance? You don't look to be in pain."
"No, no I'm fine never been better." Neelix reassured.
"And so naturally you came to sickbay."
"Well you see I wanted to ask you about something."
"Of course." The doctor could practicably be seen to grow in height as his ego inflated, "and which of my many fields of expertise do you need assistance with? A particularly difficult anatomical problem." Here the doctor took an unneeded breath to give Neelix the once over, "Or help of a psychiatric nature? Or perhaps in the field of music and the arts?"
"No nothing like that." Neelix interrupted. "I wanted to ask you about Seven."
"Seven? What about her?" Suddenly thoughts he had been trying to forget were once more at the front of the doctors mind.
"Well I was talking with Tom and.."
"Oh no, so its true?" The Doctor interrupted.
"About them dating? That's what I came here to ask you." Neelix sat on the edge of the desk, suddenly feeling rather depressed. "So she is going out with him them?"
"I had my suspicions but I wasn't really sure, but if Paris told you I guess that means its true." The EMH slumped down next to Neelix. "I still can't believe it though, I mean him of all people."
"Tom is a nice guy," Neelix tried to defend, but he couldn't put much effort into it, "I just can't see him and Seven together. She's just too inexperienced for someone like him, I can't help but worry about her." Then realising how his comment could be taken he quickly added, "Not that I think Tom would do anything to harm her, but.."
"Yes, but.." The two men just sat looking at the floor, both caught up in their own thoughts and as such unaware of Tuvok entering sickbay.
"Do I take it from your lack of activity Doctor that the analysis the Captain requested has been completed?" The Vulcan raised a superior brow at the inactive men, expecting to see them return to duty, or alternatively in Neelix's case leave.
"Yes of course, I finished five minutes ago." The Doctor handed a data pad to the commander, but then simply resumed his sulking pose.
Tuvok having received what he came for was prepared to leave, but the men's strange behaviour intrigued him, not through any emotional response of course, but through a professional need to be informed of any situation that might effect the crews reactions in any given circumstance. So as a dedicated security officer he thought it his duty to find out what was causing the unusual behaviour. "Has something occurred which is preventing either of you two gentlemen from carrying out your assignments?"
"I finished the analysis didn't I?" The Doctor explained as if to a child.
"And I'm off duty." Added Neelix.
"Then why are you both sitting here, in what I must ascertain is a dejected manner?" Tuvok questioned.
"We were just discussing Tom and Seven." Neelix answered, while the Doctor just hung his head in defeat.
"What about Ensign Paris and Seven of Nine has had this effect on you?" Tuvok wondered if the two had somehow been injured, even though if they had he would already have been informed.
"It seems they're dating." Neelix continued, this time the Doctor just met the words with a continual shake of his head.
"Discussing other peoples romantic affiliations is not a productive use of time, and as senior members of the crew I would have thought you both beyond this type of idle speculation." Having chastised the two men Tuvok turned to leave, but couldn't help adding, "Besides the idea of them involved together in a romantic relationship is highly unlikely, your information is obviously flawed."
"Tom told me." Neelix told the smugly retreating Vulcan, "and the Doctor just confirmed it."
"That.." Tuvok came to stand next to the two men, his brows furrowed in deep and apparently unpleasant thought, "is highly illogical, I would have thought Seven more discerning."
"Yeah" "Hmm" "Most illogical"
"I don't believe it." Harry said for the third time, "He would have told me."
"Its true Harry, Tom told all of us this afternoon before training eventually started." Claire had presumed her boyfriend already knew about his best friend and Seven, but he seemed even more shocked than she had been. "Didn't Tom give you any indication that he was interested in Seven?"
"No, nothing." Harry tried searching his memory for any signs of attraction from either Tom or Seven directed towards the other. "I kind of thought there might be something going on between Seven and B'Elanna, but never Tom."
"Seven and B'Elanna?"
"It was only a feeling, they've kind of stopped fighting now and seemed to be getting on real well, I even saw B'Elanna hug Seven when the test result came back positive." Harry's smile of remembrance soon vanished "Oh no, what is B'Elanna going to say when she finds out?"
"Or more importantly what will she do? And to whom?" Claire added.
After leaving Claire, Harry put in a request for Tom's whereabouts, he planned to check out the story for himself, not that he didn't believe Claire but he just wanted to make sure Tom wasn't just teasing his pupils. Finding Tom sitting with Chakotay in the mess-hall Harry interrupted the two men and blurted out to his friend "Is it true?"
"What Harry?" Tom asked even though he was confident he knew the answer, and was secretly pleased the news seemed to have travelled so quickly.
"Are you and Seven seeing each other?" Harry was now standing over his friend in an unconsciously threatening stance, and the look on his face was anything but friendly.
"Hey Harry, why don't you sit down until we get this all sorted out?" Chakotay interrupted hoping to dispel what he feared would turn into an altercation. Realising that he was being a bit over zealous in his questioning, and especially infront of the second in command, Harry took a seat on the opposite side of the table from Tom.
"To answer your question Harry, yes I am seeing Seven." Tom tried to put on a shy smile, although he failed miserably and it came out more of a smug leer, "I suppose you heard about it from Claire?" Seeing the nod he continued bowing his head slightly, "I asked them not to say anything, its all really too new for everybody to know, I wouldn't want to scare Seven away." He waited a moment for someone to reassure him that Seven couldn't possibly be scared off so easily from such a prize as himself, but none was forthcoming. "I think this could be the one Harry."
Harry just shook his head in bewilderment.
"Have you told B'Elanna yet?" Chakotay asked in a voice devoid of all warmth.
"No."
"Don't you think you should? I mean you only just finished your relationship, she might not take too kindly to you suddenly seeing someone else." She might kill you is what Chakotay was thinking, especially if she finds out it started before she dumped him.
"She finished it with me remember? I don't think I owe her any explanation." Tom was desperate for B'Elanna to know, but he would much rather she found out from someone else and had time to stew on what a mistake she had made before he confirmed it for her.
"But how could you so soon after getting dumped?" Harry pleaded, he couldn't understand how one day Tom could be desperate for B'Elanna to take him back and the next have fallen for someone else. If it had been B'Elanna who had found someone else he would have understood, it had become obvious after the break-up that she had been unhappy for a long time. So it would have been understandable if she begun to notice other people, even if her honour prevented her from acting on it until she finished things with Tom, but the helmsman was too wrapped up in his own world to notice B'Elanna let along look for someone else.
"How long does it take for love to spark?" Tom tried to sound all gooey eyed and romantic, but he was becoming increasingly annoyed with the reactions he was getting from his friends.
"What?" Harry just looked at him blankly.
Chakotay got a small grin on his face as he saw three figures enter the mess-hall. Captain Janeway, B'Elanna and Seven entered the room together having just completed another set of holo-simulations for Janeway's approval. Spotting her senior crew sitting together the Captain made her way over to join them and, it seemed to Chakotay reluctantly, the two younger women followed their superior officer towards the table. "It looks like your chance to inform B'Elanna has just arrived." Chakotay whispered to Tom, whose smile then faltered momentarily before being replaced by an even brighter one directed straight at the approaching Seven, 'Oh this is going to be interesting' Chakotay thought, and prepared to hide all the sharp cutlery.
To be continued.