TITLE:
Sweet Dreams
AUTHOR:
Alice Max
EMAIL:
alicemax@dynacomm.ws
PARING/CODE:
P/T
RATING:
PG-13
DATE
POSTED: 4/31/02
DISCLAIMER:
Paramount owns these characters but the story is mine.
SUMMARY:
This story is set during Season Two’s “Persistence of Vision.”
The Botha’a energy shield causes Tom and B’Elanna to hallucinate
and come face-to-face with their true feelings about each other.
_____________________________________________________________
She’s got to be stopped. If she succeeds in initiating the resonance burst they’ll gain control of their ship again.
“How’s it going down here?
“Not good. I can’t get a response from anybody.”
“I want you with me.”
“You aren’t Chakotay.”
“I’m the Chakotay you want me to be. The one who loves
you. This is what you want isn’t it? The secret you’ve been
keeping? You want us to be together. And we CAN be.”
“I have to help the others.”
“I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”
“Ahhhhhh!”
“You feel the same way too?”
“YES!”
“Then
stay with me and let me love you the way you should be loved. tIqwIj Sa'angnIS
(I must show you my heart).”
“Ahhhhh,
I’ve longed to hear you say that. . .but you and I know we are creatures
of honor and duty. I want you to love me but you would never take that risk
– not as long as we are on Voyager!
You would never walk away from your command. This is wrong!”
“B’Elanna
I want to make it right – between you and I. Let’s go away together
– just the two of us. I want to be your mate. That’s what you
fantasized about, isn’t it?”
“Ahhhh
yes! HIchop, bang. (Kiss me, love).”
“I’m
the only one you can confide your innermost secrets to. There’s no one
else.”
“No.
. .NO, this isn’t right.”
She’s resisting again. It’s not the commander she really wants in her bed. It’s the helmsman.
“What
are you doing here? Where’s Chakotay?”
“Com’on
Torres. You know as well as I do that Chakotay can’t satisfy both your
Human and Klingon side,” Paris smirked as he pinned her hands down on
either side of her with his hands. “Deep down inside you’re looking
for someone just as rebellious as you are. Someone who isn’t afraid to
take risks, who isn’t worried about what people think or concerned about
your sorted past because he has one too. Someone who can throw caution to the
wind and bring out the animal in you.”
“PutaQ!
Get your hands off of me!” Struggling to break free, B’Elanna
hesitated and started panting when she felt Paris match her strength, clutching
firmly at her wrists.
“Not
until you admit that you want me – more than Chakotay – more than
any other man you’ve ever known!”
Torres
glared at him with disgust and allowed herself a few moments to gain control of
her breathing. Gathering up some saliva, she spat in his face. “Pig!
I’ll never admit that to you!”
“We’ll
see about that!” Paris leered at her and proceeded to lower himself over
her body. Reaching up to entwine his fingers with hers, Paris gripped them
tightly causing Torres to pant again in anticipation of his next move. Looking
deep into his steel blue eyes, B’Elanna could hear her hearts throbbing a
duet of excitement and her lungs panting out a silent cry for that long awaited
first contact. Gradually, a heady aroma filled her nostrils as he made his
descent to touch her receptive, flaming-red lips. His kiss ignited her passion
(adding ‘fuel to the fire,’), culminating into one blazing display
of emotion.
“That
kiss certainly tells me that you’re interested in me,” Tom
remarked, looking deep into her smoldering brown eyes. “Face it
B’Elanna, you’ve picked up my scent and you want me as your
mate.”
Their
lips came together quickly in another passionate kiss causing them to both moan
in unison as their hands roamed, in reckless abandonment, over each
other’s body. Torres felt her passion getting out of control and rolled
Paris over onto his back. Her hands reached to pin his wrists down on the bed.
Looking deep into his clear azure blue eyes she sensed as if she could almost
read his thoughts.
“You
want me, don’t you?”
“Oh
yea – more than anything I’ve ever wanted before,” confessed
Paris.
“jachchoHmeH
'Iwraj penaghtaH (Mate until your blood screams),” she exclaimed as she
clasped her hands on either side of his face and challenged him to match the
forcefulness of her kiss.
*
* *
The helmsman is the only crewman left on the bridge to intercept. Deal with him!
“. . . you usually manage to make a mess of everything you
do.”
“Let me say something I’ve always wanted to say –
get out of my life!”
“I’m just telling you what you already know. When the
going gets tough, you crumble.”
“Not anymore. NOT ANYMORE!”
“You don’t really believe that. In your heart you
believe you’ll fail again. And of course you will. You can’t do
anything right. You’ll fail. Why even try?”
“NO!
I’ve changed Dad. Being on Voyager has changed me. I won’t listen
anymore to what you have to say to me!”
“Tom,
what your father said to you is untrue. That was the old Tom Paris.”
“Kes?”
“Yes,
Tom, it’s me Kes. You HAVE changed and I’m proud of you. So very
proud of you. I have also changed my mind about us.”
“Us?”
“Ever
since that day I fell into your arms during that training simulation, I wanted
to kiss you.”
“What
about Neelix?”
“Neelix
will have to understand that I have made my decision to be with you.”
“You
have? That’s just great. You win Dad! I can’t do anything right! I
made a mess out of my friendship with Neelix and now with you. Huh!
That’s all I do is fall head-over-heels into impossible relationships. Please go away.”
“Don’t
you think you’re being a little to hard on yourself?”
“Lt.
Torres. Where’s Kes?”
“She
ran back to Neelix. Good riddance,” she said caustically as she took a
seat next to him on the bridge.
“And
why do you say that?” he challenged pressing in codes on his Navigational
Control Panel.
“Because
Paris, she’s a child. She doesn’t know how to give you what you
need,” Torres countered as she reached over and punched a button on his
console.
“Oh
and I suppose you know what I need!” he snapped, glaring at her.
“I
know you don’t need to be disappointed again in another dead end
relationship,” Torres smirked.
“Huh!
You’ve got that right,” Tom agreed. “What makes you an
authority on how I feel anyway?”
“Paris,
don’t flatter yourself. You’re not as complicated to read as you
think you are. In fact, I’ve noticed a change in you since last
year.”
“For
the better?”
“Yes,
for the better,” Torres retorted as she stood up and walked over to where
he was sitting. “It must have been quite a change if it caught my
attention,” she remarked as she sat on his lap.
Paris
moved to put his arms around her waist and inquired, “So you don’t
think I’d crumble when the going gets tough?”
She
put her arms around his neck and replied, “My human side was ready to
give up when we were captured by the Vidians. You were the one that gave me
strength to go on. I’ll never forget that. You didn’t let me quit
fighting for survival,” she said, placing a kiss on his cheek.
“B’Elanna
I have something to confess to you,” he said as he lowered his head for a
moment. “On that away
mission. . .I wanted to do more than just help you – I wanted to take care
of you.” Raising his head to meet the her coffee-colored eyes he
professed, “In the cell, I wanted to do more than just touch your face.
When you confided in me, I needed to be close to you – to hold you in my
arms and make everything right again.”
“You
made it possible for things to be right again, Tom Paris,” she whispered
as she leaned forward to gently kiss him. Tom responded with a heartfelt kiss
and held on to her tightly. It was comforting to know that someone didn’t
consider him a failure – not by a long shot!
*
* * *
They’re onto us. I can’t get through the little one’s defenses. Their methods of defense are crude and pose no threat to us. I’m going to abandon this intervention and let them continue on their way.
Agreed.
*
* * *
“Commander.”
“Tom.
Mind if I walk with you?”
“Sure
but I’m only going as far as the Turbolift.”
“I
thought I’d use the Holodeck tonight. Care to join me? It’s boxing
program I created. . .it might tire us out so that we can get some
sleep.”
“Sleep!
Huh! I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that tonight and not think
about some alien trying to invade my mind.”
“As
I said, it might be the kind of diversion you need to take your mind off of
what happened today.”
“Thanks
but in a way I don’t know if I want to stop thinking about it – at
least part of it anyway. It was just something I hadn’t thought of in
quite a while and well,. . . I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
“In
a way, I know what you mean. What we experienced was similar to a ‘Vision
Quest’ and that indeed requires some thought interpreting all the signs.
Good night Lieutenant.”
*
* * *
“Captains log supplemental: We have no explanation for the
mysterious disappearance of the telepathic alien. We can’t even be
certain that he was actually here. He seems to have left us with any number of
unanswered questions.”
“I’m surprised to see you here, Captain. Isn’t
this the day that you’re usually in the Holodeck with your novel?”
“I thought, after our recent experience that I’d take a
break from fantasy for a while.”
“I don’t blame you. I think that it had quite an impact
on all of us. Do you think it’s true? That the alien was reading our
minds? Creating them just from our own experiences?”
“It seemed that way. He had an uncanny ability to bring
thoughts out into the open. Why?”
“It’s just I experienced something I’d rather not
admit.”
“I know. Me too. But in a way maybe he did us all a favor. Maybe it’s better to. . . look those feelings into the eye and to keep them locked up inside.”
“I guess I’ll have to think about that. Well, I have an
early watch tomorrow so I’d better turn in. Good night, Captain.”
“Good night B’Elanna. Sweet dreams.”
“Thanks, you too.”