Emotions Series 04 Rekindled Emotions Read online

  "Then we went to...." Harry continued, but Tom was ignoring him. His eyes kept wandering to the young Lieutenant. He would look at his friend every once in while to assure the ensign that he was still listening, but again his eyes would hover toward the woman at the bar. Tom began to imagine what kind of dress she would look good in, and what she would look like without any clothing on at all. He then began to envision what a date with her would be like. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore.>

  "Excuse me, Harry," Tom said, standing up, "I believe I see a young lady who needs attention."

  Harry's eyes widened as he watched the pilot head for Lt. Tauri Lakla. He knew what Tom was up to. The ensign stood up to stop the pilot before he ruined his life again.

  Tom tapped Tauri on the shoulder, and handed her a drink. His eyes sparkled as he spoke to her, "Hey beautiful, what are you doing here all alone?"

  Lakla smiled nervously. She knew that Tom had amnesia, and could didn't remember the last three years on Voyager. She also knew that he was B'Elanna's husband, even if he didn't.

  "Thanks, Lt. Paris," she spoke, looking around the bar, "but I'm waiting for someone."

  Tom wasn't bothered by her behavior, to him it just made her more of a challenge. He put his arm around her and whispered in her ear, "Maybe I can keep you company until they arrive."

  Tauri backed away as Tom moved closer to her. She looked at Harry, who was trying to get Tom's attention.

  At that moment, the door to Sandrine's opened and B'Elanna Torres walked in. She at once spotted her husband getting cozy with the fair lieutenant. B'Elanna's eyes narrowed and a low growl escaped her. She completely forgot that Tom had amnesia, and didn't know what he was doing.
  Not seeing Harry walk toward her, B'Elanna growled deeply, spun around, and left. She was so angry that she almost knocked down two ensigns who were just entering the holodeck.

  Tom saw B'Elanna leave Sandrine's. He was not surprised by her behavior, but he was curious and concerned. He wanted to know what happened that made her so angry. He excused himself from Tauri, and went over to Harry and asked, "What's wrong with B'Elanna?"

  Harry turned around, a disappointed look on his face, "She saw you flirting with Lt. Lakla, Tom. Don't forget you're married to B'Elanna. Even though you don't remember the love you shared, she does."

  Tom stared at the floor. He sighed and answered, "I know, Harry. We have a lot to work out. I have a lot to remember. I still don't understand what B'Elanna sees in me. I don't know why or how she fell in love with me, but I certainly don't want to hurt her."

  Harry offered a sad smile and patted him on the arm, "It'll come back to you, Tom, in time."

  Tom didn't say anything as he stared at the door to Sandrine's. He wondered if he'd ever remember.

  ******

  In the Captain's Ready Room, Janeway and Chakotay were discussing the latest crisis: Tom's amnesia and how it was affecting B'Elanna and their marriage, and in turn how it was affecting the rest of the ship.

  "I'm more than worried about them, Chakotay," Janeway said, "I know those little boys miss their father and B'Elanna has to be missing Tom like crazy."

  Chakotay nodded, "It's really hard on her. She's trying to bury herself in her work according to Lt. Carey. It's not helping, though. I'm grateful that Ensign Lerise was able to convince her to take a day away from Engineering a couple of weeks, ago, but she's back to her old routine. If she isn't in Engineering she's at home with the boys. She never has any time to herself."

  Janeway sipped her coffee, "I don't know how long they can hold out. I know Tom isn't fairing well either. Everyone knows he's hiding behind that mask of his. He has to be suffering as well."

  Chakotay took a sip of his own coffee as he contemplated on the predicament of the Lieutenants. There had to be something they could do to help them over come this hardship before it tore them apart.

  "Kathryn," Chakotay began, "they need to talk about this. They're avoiding the issue and it's tearing them apart. They hardly speak to each other and B'Elanna's avoiding Tom."

  "What do you suggest?" Janeway asked, intreged.

  Chakotay smiled, "Put them in a situation where they cannot avoid each other. They need to learn to work together again. Tom needs to learn to be comfortable around B'Elanna again. To see her as a woman again and not just the mother to his children."

  Janeway smiled, "You're suggesting we play matchmaker?"

  Chakotay grinned, "Correct."

  "Well, where do we start?"

  "I've been thinking about that. If they ever caught on that we were meddling, they'd be hell to pay. So I was thinking that we could send Tom down to Engineering for the day. Tell him to work a bit on the navigational relays. We can tell him he can program them any way he feels like. That should keep him down there for awhile."

  Janeway beamed, "Good idea, Chakotay. I'll give him the assignment."

  Chapter Three

  Tom stood in front of the Chief's desk and waited or her to notice his presence. B'Elanna was obviously absorbed in an engineering problem and hadn't even noticed that he had come in. After a few minutes had passed though, he finally spoke up.

  "B'Elanna?"

  The Chief's head snapped up, she hadn't expected to hear his voice in Engineering. "Tom? What are you doing down here?"

  "The...ah...Captain ordered me to report to Engineering and work on the navigational controls. Isn't it standard operating procedure to report into the Chief of Engineering first?"

  "Yes...of course it is. Go ahead and do your work. You do remember where the controls are, don't you?"

  "Of course." Tom nodded, turned on his heel and left her office.

  "Of course, he remembers where the navigational controls are," she mimicked the blue-eyed pilot. "But why can't he remember what he had with me and the boys?" Grumbling she returned to the problem at hand.

  She was almost finished solving the problem, when Vorik came into her office. "Lt. Torres, I require your assistance with the warp core retrofit."

  "Of course."

  B'Elanna followed the young Vulcan out to his workstation passing Tom along the way. As she strode purposefully past Tom, he looked up from the navigation console and followed her appreciatively with his eyes.

  "What seems to be the problem, Vorik," she asked when they reached his work station.

  "I am having difficulty realigning the warp core constrictors. When I align one, the other ones become misaligned. I have tried several different methods but I am still unsuccessful."

  "Here, let me see your sonic spanner."

  Vorik passed the Chief the tool and B'Elanna shimmied under the repair cabinet. For several minutes all that could be heard was the clang of metal on metal and an occasional muffled Klingon curse. Finally she pulled herself out. "I see what you mean, Ensign. I can't get it to realign myself." B'Elanna slapped her commbadge purposefully. "Torres to Captain Janeway."

  :::"Janeway here.":::

  "Captain, we are experiencing problems in engineering realigning the warp core constrictors. We need to bring the ship to a stop while we correct the problem."

  :::"Very good, B'Elanna. Let us know when we can bring the ship back on line.":::

  "Aye, Captain."

  Tom watched this exchange from the navigation console. He was very impressed with the way Torres handled herself. It reminded him of the time that B'Elanna was split into halves, for this was her Klingon side asserting itself in a crisis. He recalled their time with the Vidiians. It was one of the memories that had returned to him when he regained most of his memories, but one that he had not thought of too much until this moment.

  Knowing better than to get in her way, Tom moved to the far side of engineering and stood near the door and waited. He witnessed a choreography of problem-solving excellence involving the many of the engineers which culmin
ated in the warp core finally coming back on line. When the blue core finally came alive, B'Elanna looked over her shoulder and bestowed a smile in Tom's direction. She obviously hadn't forgotten that he was there and seemed to be glad that he had witnessed her success.

  Tom returned her smile, which delighted her even more, and he resumed his duties. He had labored for another couple of hours, frequently taking note of B'Elanna's presence and how she was respected by the crew. It reminded him of how difficult it was for both of them to fit in on Voyager at the beginning when neither he nor she were respected on board the ship. The half- Klingon made her rounds checking on nearly every engineer making sure that they understood their assignments and asking and answering questions where appropriate. Unknown to the pilot, he in turn was being stealthily scrutinized by B'Elanna. The pair's appraisal of each other though did not escape the notice of almost everyone else in Engineering. Finally, B'Elanna stopped by the navigation console and asked if Tom required any assistance.

  "How's everything going, Tom? Do you need any help?" B'Elanna asked finding it hard to focus on the console when she really wanted to lose herself in his sky blue eyes.

  his subconscious said. "Well actually, it seems like the redundant navi-strictors are a bit sluggish. Do you think you could have a look?"

  B'Elanna nodded. "No problem," she replied briskly. She examined the console, then grabbed one of the tools that was attached to a belt she wore around his waist. Kneeling down in front of the console she removed the maintenance panel, laid down on her stomach and rolled over onto her back and peered inside. "Tom, can you get one of the wrist lights over on the far table?" she asked.

  "Sure," Tom retrieved the light, knelt beside her and held it so she could see.

  "Here's your problem," B'Elanna announced. "One of the connections has come loose." Within a couple of moments she had corrected the problem and was reattaching the maintenance cover. Tom stood up and grabbing B'Elanna's hand pulled her up from the floor. He could feel something special happen, an almost electric charge flowed through his body when he had touched her hand. They lingered there, Tom not letting her go for several moments. Blue eyes bore into dark brown eyes, neither wanting to break the contact. And most of engineering held its breath in anticipation--all except one.

  "Chief, can you come look at the readout on my console," a suicidal, nameless ensign asked B'Elanna. The rest of the engineering crew quietly sighed, rolled their eyes, and silently plotted the best way to teach Ensign Whats-his-Name a lesson.

  B'Elanna reluctantly tore he gaze from Tom. "Ah, yeah....sure. I'll be right there, Ensign."

  And the moment was lost, all thanks to a young ensign who was blind to the signs of love.

  *******

  "So do you think it worked?" Janeway whispered to her First Officer from her position seated in her command chair.

  "Well I don't know. I ordered the EMH to inform us if either Tom or B'Elanna were brought into Sickbay for broken bones or other injuries, but as of yet I haven't heard from him," Chakotay replied sadly.

  "And I was so hoping for one little broken clavicle," the Captain said with a playful pout which caused Chakotay to laugh at the childish expression on Kathryn Janeway's face.

  Harry noticed the exchange between the Senior Officers and correctly assumed that they were talking about Tom and B'Elanna, so he approached the pair.

  "Captain, Commander, I hope I'm not interrupting but, by chance, are you talking about Tom and B'Elanna?" Harry asked in a low voice.

  "Are we that obvious, Harry?" Chakotay queried with a grin.

  "No, it's just that I've been thinking about them a lot too, actually Alera and I have. It's been a long time and still they aren't back together again," he commented sadly.

  "And have you two come up with a plan to get them back together?" the Indian asked.

  "Well, now that you mention it, there was something we though of, but it would need the skills and finesse of a couple senior officers that I know," Harry insinuated.

  "Harry, I do believe you have become devious over the years. Just who taught you that?" Janeway remarked knowingly.

  "Um, well, just some pilot I know who shall remain nameless," Harry replied with a blush.

  Janeway and Chakotay laughed. "Shall we meet in the Mess Hall at break time, we can take the last rotation, maybe we can discuss it there?"

  "Sounds good, Captain." Harry replied.

  Chapter Four

  Chakotay and the Captain entered the Mess Hall. They spotted Harry and Alera almost at once. They picked up their food trays and headed for the two ensigns.

  "Captain, Commander," Harry Kim said, seeing the two officers coming toward their table. "May we sit here?" Chakotay asked, knowing that he really didn't need to ask. It was just a courtesy. The ensigns nodded and the commanding officers took their seats. "Any ideas on how to get Tom and B'Elanna back together?" Alera asked wasting no time, looking at each of them. She could feel that the group was concerned about the two Lieutenants. She also knew that all of them where thinking about way to get the two together again.

  The four went through several ideas, but each was dismissed. They didn't want the young couple to realize they were being set up. The two were pretty quick and could tell when they were being tricked. The matchmakers remained silent for awhile until Chakotay spoke. "I remember a time when my sister tricked me into asking a girl out that I liked once, but I was afraid that she'd reject me."

  "What happened?" Harry asked, suddenly interested.

  Chakotay smiled, "She had a male friend of hers hit on the girl. I became quite jealous. Hoping to get to her first, I finally asked her out." The three laughed.

  "So you think if we make Tom jealous, he'll ask B'Elanna out?" Alera asked.

  Chakotay nodded, "Tom will feel threatened and try to get to B'Elanna first--at least, in theory."

  Janeway nodded, "It should work. If anything, it will wake him up to what he could lose." *Like he thought he lost her before* Janeway added silently to herself. She remembered what Tom was like when he thought he had lost B'Elanna to another. She hoped, this time, he would fight for his wife.

  Chapter Five

  The next day, Captain Janeway assigned Tom to go back to Engineering. He didn't mind, though he wanted to get back to the helm soon. He did enjoy programming the controls and actually looked forward to it.

  Tom walked into Engineering and stopped short. He spotted B'Elanna talking to an ensign--a tall, dark haired handsome man. He felt a strange feeling come over him, but he shook it off, and went to the nav. control console.

  The pilot tapped a few controls on the console and got to work. He smiled as he began to program the helm's controls to his preferences. Tom looked up once from his console to take a quick peek at the mysterious engineer again only to see B'Elanna smiling at the ensign, and the ensign with his hand upon his wife's arm. He watched as she laughed, and a knot in his stomach began to form.

  *What is she doing?* Tom asked himself.

  Tom lowered his eyes to the console just as B'Elanna looked over at him. She had no idea that her husband was becoming jealous.

  *Is that what she does when I'm not around?* The pilot wondered as he punched a key. *Is she that pessimistic about my remembering that she's looking for someone else? Does she even care anymore?*

  Tom looked up to see B'Elanna working on another console. The ensign was nowhere to be seen. The pilot tapped in the final commands into the console then left Engineering. He was not happy at all. If anything he was getting worried.

  He suddenly saw a flash of light form before him. He felt depressed and alone. Tom stopped in his tracks as he saw himself drinking heavily. Another flash appeared and he felt sick to his stomach. He suddenly had to get away. He held his stomach as he rushed to the nearest turbolift and for his quarters.

  *******

  An hour later, Tom left his quarters and headed for B'Elanna's. He tried to push the images of
the ensign flirting with B'Elanna out of his mind. He knew he shouldn't be jealous, for he didn't remember marrying B'Elanna or having the twins. He also knew he had a right to be jealous, because he was married to her.

  *I'll ask her to lunch,* Tom thought as he left the turbolift, *If she says "no" then I'll ask her about that ensign.*

  Tom walked down the corridor to B'Elanna's quarters. He turned the corner and saw B'Elanna talking to the very same ensign. Tom calmed himself by saying it was nothing to worry about, but the knot in his stomach grew larger.

  The pilot watched as the ensign left, and B'Elanna entered her quarters. Tom sighed in relief that no kiss passed between the two. Gathering his courage, he headed for the door and pressed the button.

  "Enter," came his wife's voice.

  The door slid open and Tom stepped inside, "B'Elanna?"

  A slight hesitation then her voice came from the bathroom, "I'll be out in a bit, Tom. Make yourself at home."

  Tom looked around the room, taking in every detail. He went into her bedroom and noted the decorations. He saw holopics on the dressers and on the walls. Holopics of him, their friends, and of him and her.

  He looked at them, hoping something would come to mind. Nothing did. Sighing, he went to a dresser and opened a drawer. Maybe he could find something that he remembered.

  *What's this?* Tom wondered when he spotted two spheres.

  Tom picked one up and inspected it. A flash of something came and went. He stared at it strangely as if it had insulted him. Tossing the ball in the air, he was amazed when he saw it change colors. He caught it, and something did come back to him.

  He could see himself in a market, looking at some pastries. Tom then saw himself backing up to catch a ball that changed colors as it flew through the air, and he saw himself apologizing to a strange alien.

  Tom tossed the ball up in the air, and watched in awe as the ball changed colors. He caught it and picked up the other one and tossed it as well. It also changed colors, but the colors were different. Tom smiled in delight. He then suddenly remembered something else, something that turned his smile into a grimace.