Part Four - Flashback
Tom awoke early, still safely wrapped in Chakotay's arms. The young
man sighed softly. He could get used to this very fast, and that
wouldn't be a good idea. However much he wanted to, Tom knew that
he couldn't expect Chakotay to sleep with him every night, just so he
could feel safe.
Quietly calling for the time, Tom was surprised to discover that he'd
slept for four hours since the nightmare had awoken him the night
before. That meant that he'd slept for five hours total, since he'd gotten
an hour of sleep before the dream had come.
Shifting slightly, Tom tried to slip out of Chakotay's embrace without
awakening the man. He needed to pee, and then he would make them
breakfast. He didn't get far, though, because as soon as he moved, the
Commander's arms tightened around him.
The pilot stopped moving, and lay quietly in the other man's embrace
for a moment longer. It was kind of nice, actually, being held so
securely. Tom decided to just enjoy it, and did so, until he could no
longer ignore the pressure in his bladder. Sighing with regret, Tom
moved out of Chakotay's arms as gently as he could.
As soon as Tom had moved away from the older man, Chakotay
shifted and muttered something in his sleep. It was too soft for Tom to
hear. He studied the other man for a moment, then rose to his feet and
headed to the shuttle's small bathroom.
Once he'd peed, Tom decided to take a quick shower. He went out of
the bathroom and over to his satchel, and pulled out a fresh uniform.
Turning his head to check on his XO, Tom was satisfied when he saw
that Chakotay was still asleep.
Sighing softly to himself, Tom walked back into the bathroom. After
putting his clean uniform on the toilet, the pilot stripped out of the one
he wore, leaving it in a heap on the floor. Then he stepped into the
stall and turned the sonic shower on for a few moments, until he was
clean.
Tom stepped out of the shower and quickly donned his fresh uniform,
then bent down to pick up the dirty one before leaving the bathroom.
Walking over to the bed, he dropped the uniform on it, then checked
on the Commander. After making sure the man was still asleep, he
walked outside to take care of breakfast.
Half an hour later, Tom re-entered the shuttle. He walked over to
where Chakotay lay, knelt down and put a hand on the other man's
shoulder, shaking him gently. "Commander."
Chakotay sighed quietly, then his eyes fluttered open. "What?" he
asked in a sleep-slurred voice.
"Breakfast is ready," Tom informed him as he removed his hand from
Chakotay's shoulder.
The Commander blinked, still not completely awake. Then he nodded.
"Okay. I'll be out in a moment."
Tom smiled, stood up and took a step back, allowing Chakotay to sit
up. After a last look at his companion, Tom turned around and headed
outside again.
*****
Fifteen minutes later, Chakotay came out of the shuttle, freshly
showered and wearing a clean uniform. He walked over and sat down
across from the pilot, who handed him a plate and a cup of tea.
"Thanks, Tom," he said quietly, and took a sip of the hot beverage.
Then he put the cup on the ground beside him and added, "You didn't
have to do this, you know."
The pilot gave a half-smile and a shrug. "I know. I woke early,
though, and figured that I might as well make breakfast." Tom's eyes
twinkled and his smile widened. "That way I had something to do,
instead of just sitting here, staring at nothing."
Chakotay snorted in amusement. "You have a point," he admitted.
Then he cocked his head slightly and said, "But you *could* have
woken me. I wouldn't have minded."
"I know," Tom said, "But I only woke up forty-five minutes ago, and I
thought that I'd let you sleep while I made breakfast." He gave
Chakotay a rueful smile. "After all, I woke you up in the middle of the
night, and it's my guess that you're not used to be woken at that time.
Not like I am."
Chakotay lifted an eyebrow. "No. I'm not," he agreed. After taking a
bite of his breakfast, he continued. "I still think that you should've
woken me. It wouldn't have killed me if..." Chakotay's voice trailed
off when he saw the pilot's suddenly horrified expression. "Tom?"
When the pilot didn't respond, Chakotay rose and walked over to sit
beside him. Looking into Tom's unseeing eyes, Chakotay realized that
the young man's mind was elsewhere. He reached out, put a tentative
hand on Tom's shoulder and shook him gently, repeating his name.
"Tom."
A shudder went through Tom and he blinked, returning to the present.
Blinking again, Tom turned his eyes to his XO. "Yeah?"
"What happened?" Chakotay asked.
"I... I'm not sure," Tom answered. He ran a shaking hand through his
hair, gathering his thoughts, before continuing. "When you said that it
wouldn't kill you... It just... I think it reminded me of my dream. I
have the same feeling of horror, now, as I get when the nightmare
awakens me," Tom explained.
"Spirits, Tom. I'm sorry," Chakotay apologized.
Tom looked surprised. "It's not your fault, Chakotay. There was no
way you could've known. Hell, *I* didn't know this would happen."
Chakotay shook his head. "No, but I should have realized that it would
upset you," he said quietly. He studied the young man beside him for
a moment, then asked, "What did you see?"
Tom, lost in thought, bit his lip and frowned. After a while he shook
his head and looked at Chakotay. "I don't remember," Tom answered
before he picked up his cup and finished his coffee.
Chakotay watched silently as Tom drank his coffee. "Are you okay?"
he asked when the young man had put down the empty cup.
Tom looked up, an automatic "I'm fine" on his lips. When he saw
Chakotay's concerned expression, though, Tom sighed and shook his
head slightly. "No. But I will be. I just need to do something to get my
mind away from this," he said softly. Tom looked straight into
Chakotay's eyes, his own conveying the truth of that statement.
Chakotay studied him intensely for a moment, then nodded and said,
"All right. Let's finish our breakfast, then, and get to work." Chakotay
waited for Tom to nod his agreement. Then he rose and moved to sit
across from Tom again.
*****
The two men quickly finished their breakfast. After putting the
utensils away, they picked up a couple of empty boxes and headed to a
small valley. They had discovered it the day before, and found that it
was filled with fruit trees.
Tom and Chakotay worked for several hours without incident. At
noon, they carried full boxes back to the shuttle, and inventoried what
had been collected so far. They wouldn't need to gather much more.
After a quick lunch, Tom and Chakotay went back to gather the food
Voyager needed, having decided that they would collect the minerals
B'Elanna needed the next day.
About an hour after lunch, Chakotay suddenly noticed Tom standing
by a tree, staring straight ahead. The Commander walked over to the
young man, who didn't react to his presence. Chakotay frowned in
concern, and put his hands on Tom's shoulders. When the other man
still didn't react, Chakotay shook him gently and called his name.
"Tom!"
Tom blinked slowly and looked down into Chakotay's eyes. Seeing
the worry in their velvet brown depths, he sighed. "It happened again,
didn't it?" he asked in resignation.
Chakotay nodded. "I think so. You were staring straight ahead of you,
and didn't react when I came over," he answered. Chakotay removed
his hands from Tom's shoulders and ran one through his hair. "I don't
suppose you remember what you saw this time, do you?"
Tom grimaced. "No, I don't," he admitted. With a wry grin he added,
"And it's driving me crazy."
Chakotay half-smiled at that. "I can imagine," he said. He hesitated
briefly, then added, "We can return to Voyager if you want to."
Tom considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I'd like to
stay here until we're finished." Tom looked at his XO. "If that's okay
with you."
Chakotay studied the pilot for a while before answering. "All right.
We'll stay," he said. Then he gave Tom a stern look. "But if this
happens again, we head back to the ship. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir," Tom answered with a grateful smile, relieved that
Chakotay didn't insist that they returned right away.
"Good," Chakotay said with a smile. "Then let's get back to work.
We've still got some food gathering to do before we can turn our
attention to B'Elanna's minerals."
*****
The rest of the afternoon went by without any additional problems.
Tom and Chakotay worked efficiently, picking the fruit and carrying
the filled boxes back to the shuttle.
An hour and a half before the sun set, the two men were picking the
last of the food they needed. Suddenly Chakotay heard a muttered
"Shit!" from Tom. Turning toward the other man, he saw that for
some reason Tom was trying to climb up into one of the fruit trees.
With limited success. Apparently, the branch Tom was trying to get to
was a bit too high up, and the young man couldn't quite reach it.
As Chakotay watched, Tom walked several steps back. After having
studied how far he was from the tree, Tom walked further back.
Finally deciding that he was far enough away, Tom then ran toward
the tree, and when he was near enough, he jumped for the branch. And
missed it. Again. "Pokkers," Tom muttered, then turned around, intent
on another try.
Chakotay watched in fascination as Tom failed again. Then he tried
not to laugh at the annoyed expression on the other man's face.
"Forbandede LORT!" Tom yelled. Then he turned and saw Chakotay
looking at him, and clearly trying no to laugh out loud. Tom narrowed
his eyes and glared at his XO. "It is *not* funny!" he growled.
Chakotay was silent as he struggled to, and finally succeeded in
controlling his mirth. "Oh, I don't know. You looked absolutely
ridiculous," he said. Then he cocked his head slightly. "What language
*was* that?" he asked.
Tom glared at Chakotay for a moment longer, then sighed and
answered, "It was Danish." Seeing that Chakotay was curios, he
added, "I learned it while I was traveling around Europe, after I got
thrown out of Star Fleet." He paused for a moment. "And I was
cursing."
Chakotay snorted. "I figured as much. What does it mean?" he asked.
"You really wanna know?" Tom asked. When Chakotay nodded, Tom
sighed and said, "It means 'Damned shit'!"
Chakotay chuckled. "'Damned shit'? Creative. So, what does the other
word mean?"
Tom frowned in confusion. "The other word?" he repeated, puzzled.
Then his face cleared. "Oh! You mean 'pokkers'! It means 'damn'."
"I see," Chakotay said. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did
you learn to say anything else in Danish, or is that it?"
Tom looked slightly amused. "Oh, I learned a few words and phrases
besides curse words," he answered. He smiled teasingly. "You want
me to teach you how to speak Danish? Or just to curse?"
"No. I'm just curious," Chakotay replied.
Tom nodded in understanding. "All right. I'll tell you some of the
phrases I learned. When we're finished and back at the shuttle. Deal?"
"Deal," Chakotay said, then the two men picked up the last two boxes
with fruit and headed back to their shuttle. As they walked, Chakotay
realized something. Turning his head to look at Tom, he asked, "Why
were you trying to get up into that tree?"
"Hmm? What?" Tom asked. He'd been lost in thought, trying to
remember some of those Danish phrases he hadn't used for years.
When Chakotay repeated the question, Tom looked at him briefly.
"Oh! I just wanted to pick some more of the fruit in that tree. It's
delicious," he explained.
Chakotay nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is. But you *could* have
picked it from one of the other trees. You know, the ones where it
didn't hang so high up," he said.
Tom looked slightly embarrassed. "I know," he said. He hesitated for
a split second, then continued. "But I haven't climbed a tree since I
was a kid. I wanted to see if it's as fun now as it was back then," he
explained blushing.
"Then why didn't you try one of the trees where the branches weren't
quite so high up?" Chakotay asked.
Tom stared at him incredulously. "Because I wanted to climb *that*
one," he answered.
Chakotay laughed. "Stubborn bastard," he muttered, clearly amused.
"You better believe it," Tom said smiling, just as they reached their
camp.
The two men carried the fruit boxes into the shuttle and put them in
the storage containers in the back. When they were finished, Tom and
Chakotay went outside again to light the fire and make dinner. The
meal was ready just as the sunset began. Tom filled two plates, handed
one to Chakotay, then sat down across from the older man.
They ate in companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
When they'd finished eating, Chakotay cleared away the utensils while
Tom made tea.
Once everything was put away and the tea was ready, Chakotay sat
down beside Tom and turned slightly so they were facing each other.
After taking a sip of his tea, Chakotay looked into Tom's blue eyes
and asked, "Well?" At the younger man's puzzled expression,
Chakotay elaborated. "You promised to tell me some of the Danish
phrases you learned in your wild youth."
Tom snorted, took a sip of his tea, and put the cup down. "So I did,"
he said. He cocked his head slightly to one side, considering which
phrases to 'teach' Chakotay. After a moment he decided to stick with
the more innocent expressions. Tom looked straight into Chakotay
velvet eyes, and said, "Okay. Danish phrases. One of the first I learned
was: 'Jeg vil gerne have en øl'. It means 'I would like to have a beer'."
Chakotay snorted in amusement. "That *would* be one of the first
things you'd want to now how to say," he said teasingly.
Tom chuckled. "Yeah. It would," he agreed. Then an idea ran through
his mind, and Tom smiled wickedly. "Why don't you try to say it?"
Chakotay's eyes widened. "Me?" he asked incredulously.
Tom looked around, as if searching for something, then turned his
head back to gaze at Chakotay. "Well... I don't see anyone else here,
so...." Tom's voice trailed off.
Chakotay stared at the pilot and saw the wicked, teasing glint in his
eyes. After a moments of silence, the Commander sighed in defeat.
Knowing that Tom wasn't going to let him get out of this, Chakotay
said the Danish phrase. He was only partial successful, having trouble
pronouncing the word 'øl', and fully expected Tom to laugh at him.
To his credit, Tom didn't even snort. Instead, he smiled in what
seemed to be approval, and said, "That was not half bad, Chakotay.
You actually did better than *I* did the first time I tried to say it."
Chakotay blinked in surprise. "I did?"
"Oh yeah," Tom replied. "The first time I tried to pronounce 'øl'...
Well, let's just say that I made it unrecognizable, and leave it at that,
okay?" When Chakotay nodded his agreement, Tom asked, "Do you
want to try another phrase?"
Chakotay stared at the young man. "You want me to repeat *every*
Danish phrase you say?" he asked. When Tom just smiled, Chakotay
sighed in exasperation. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, then ran a hand
through his hair as he considered whether or not he wanted to learn
more Danish. Deciding that he did, Chakotay nodded and said, "Okay.
Just don't use other words as difficult to pronounce as 'øl'."
Tom smiled, obviously pleased that Chakotay was up for the
challenge. "I'll try," he said. "No promises, though. Okay, Let's try
something simple, like asking for someone's name. In Danish you say:
'Hvad hedder du'."
Chakotay slowly repeated it, then smiled. "That wasn't nearly as
difficult to say."
Tom returned the smile. "No, it wasn't. And the reply, when someone
asks your name, is: 'Jeg hedder...' and then your name. In my case it
would be: 'Jeg hedder Tom'." Tom looked at Chakotay expectantly.
The Commander smiled again, and indulged the other man, hesitantly
saying, "Jeg hedder Chakotay... This gets easier to say all the time,"
he observed.
Tom laughed. "Yes it does. Wanna try another?" he added.
"Yeah. I just want to ask you something first," Chakotay answered.
Tom looked at him curiously. "Shoot," he said.
"I was just wondering... How much Danish *do* you know?"
Chakotay asked quietly.
Tom got an sheepish expression on his face and averted his eyes.
"Umm. Actually...." He hesitated, clearly embarrassed. Taking a deep
breath, then releasing it, Tom finally blurted out, "I speak Danish
fluently. I just don't use it very often."
Chakotay's eyebrows met his hairline. "Fluently," he repeated,
surprised. He caught Tom's eyes, then asked, "How long were you in
Denmark?"
"Oh, about a year," Tom answered.
"A year?" Chakotay's voice was incredulous. "You must really be a
quick study. Either that, or you have an ear for language."
Tom looked down a moment, then lifted his eyes from the ground and
looked back at Chakotay. "Actually, I have a photographic memory,"
Tom confessed quietly. "I can remember *anything* after seeing or
hearing it once." A brief pause, then, "Everything, that is, except all of
my dream. And now, the flashbacks I've had today."
Chakotay frowned. "You still don't remember what those were
about?" he asked.
Tom shook his head in the negative. Then, just as he opened his
mouth, he froze and stared at the image in his mind. He was back in
the dark moonlit room. Tom looked down and saw the other man from
his dream, still lying on the floor.
Suddenly, a moonbeam found it's way to the silent body on the floor,
illuminating it, and Tom saw who it was.
TBC
Translation:
Hvad hedder du: What is your name
Jeg hedder...: My name is...
Author's end note: A special thanks to Britta. I told her that I might
have Tom speak Danish in a story some day, and she said that he
could've been in Denmark sometime after he was thrown out of Star
Fleet. The beer phrase was for her. :-)