Part 18
Over the next week, Tom went to sickbay every day for the tests
that the EMH had insisted on. He hated them. He really did.
However, the hologram had been adamant that the pilot not proceed
with his plan until the doctor was satisfied that there was
no danger involved. Tom had assured him that it was a perfectly
safe procedure, but the doctor was not convinced.
So Tom had to go through thorough examinations, not to mention,
answering all kinds of personal questions. Each session
took about an hour, and by the end of the week, Tom was sick to
death of the doctor and his numerous questions. He finally decided
he'd had enough.
"Doc," Tom said as he walked into sickbay for his daily appointment.
The EMH looked up from his terminal. "Yes, Lieutenant?"
"I'm canceling the rest of my appointments." Tom's voice
brooked no argument. "I'm not going to answer anymore of
your questions, and I *refuse* to have another examination."
The doctor was unaffected by Tom's tone of voice. "No more
tests are necessary," he stated calmly. "And, although I do have
more questions, they are a product of my curiosity. So, them
since you won't answer them, I'm not going to ask."
Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "So, does this mean that you've
finished your analysis?"
"Yes, Mr. Paris. I have finished my analysis of the Darrbakhian
procedure of male pregnancy. I found that the process *is* indeed
harmless. I find the method quite fascinating, and would
like to monitor your progress on a weekly basis once you've
become pregnant."
Tom sighed in resignation. He'd suspected that the doctor would
want to supervise his pregnancy. Oh well. At least the hologram
didn't insist on *daily* examinations. He'd survive seeing the
doctor once a week. He hoped. For a trick of light, the doctor
could be quite annoying. Tom sometimes played with the idea of
deleting the EMH. And he probably would have, if not for the
fact that the only other person on the ship with *any* medical
knowledge, aside from first aid, was himself. In Tom's opinion,
Voyager needed a real doctor. Badly.
Tom brought his thoughts back on track. "So, Doc. Can I go
ahead with my plan?" he asked impatiently.
"Yes, Mr. Paris, you may proceed with your plan," the doctor
informed him.
Tom sent the EMH a brilliant smile. "Thanks, Doc." With that
he hurried out of sickbay. As soon as he was out in the corridor,
Tom asked the computer for the location of Samantha Wildman.
"Samantha Wildman is in her quarters," the computer replied.
Tom smiled, knowing that probably meant that she was alone.
After checking that no one else was nearby, he tapped his comm
badge. "Paris to Wildman."
"Wildman here."
"Remember that offer you made about a week ago?"
There was a brief silence on the other end as Samantha recalled
her suggestion. "You mean about Tarra spending the night
here?"
"Uh-huh. Does it still stand?" Tom inquired.
"Yes I does." Samantha's voice was slightly puzzled. Then she
had a thought. "You're going to take me up on it, aren't you?"
"Yeah. I am. As soon as possible," Tom told her.
Samantha thought about it for a moment. "Well, I'm going to
pick Naomi up from daycare in a few hours. I can take Tarra
with us," she suggested.
"Would you?" Tom's voice was delighted.
Samantha laughed. "Of course. You and the Commander deserve
some time to yourselves. You just need to drop by with
some clean clothes for Tarra."
"Thanks. I'll come by after my shift ends."
"All right. I'll see you then." With that Samantha cut the link.
Tom sighed softly, then headed to the nearest 'lift and the bridge
to begin his shift. Plans for the evening ran through the pilot's
mind during the turbolift ride. When he arrived on the bridge, he
tried to push all other thoughts away and concentrate on flying
Voyager through an extremely boring part of space. He was only
partially successful, and to keep from screaming from boredom,
Tom decided to play a little mind game with his husband.
*****
Chakotay looked up from the report he was reading when he
received a mildly erotic mental image from Tom. With an almost
unnoticeable smile, he decided that the report could wait,
and sent a slightly more erotic picture back to his spouse. He
chuckled mentally when Tom perked up.
For the next hour, the First Officer and the Senior Pilot sent each
other mental images, which became more and more detailed,
competing about who could be the most explicit. Then Chakotay
ended the game, knowing that if they continued for much
longer, they would both be so distracted that they wouldn't notice
a red alert. He could practically *feel* Tom's pout when he
called a stop to the competition.
This time, the Captain noticed his grin and sent him a questioning
look. "Something funny, Commander?" she asked in a low
voice.
Chakotay turned his head towards her. "Just a private thought,
Captain," he told her smoothly, praying that she wouldn't glance
down and notice his obvious arousal.
She did, but didn't comment on it directly. "It's a boring part of
space," was all she said, suspecting that her First Officer and
Senior Pilot had played some kind of mental game. She also had
a hunch that it had been initiated by Tom. {Oh, well,} she
thought. {I'll let it slide this time. We *are* in an extremely
boring part of space, and as long as Tom's mind games don't
interfere with his and Chakotay's duty....}
The Captain let the thought trail off, and considered whether or
not to have a word with Tom. She knew that Chakotay would be
mortified if she brought this subject up. Coming to a decision,
Janeway put her own PADD down, rose from her chair and
walked over to the helm. "Tom," she said, her voice pitched for
his ears only.
Tom glanced quickly at Janeway. "Yes, Captain?"
"I know that we're in a boring part of space right now, but I'd
appreciate it if you refrained from playing games with Chakotay
when you're on duty," the Captain said mildly. Her tone clearly
conveyed that it wasn't a reprimand. Yet.
Tom tried to control his rising blush, with moderate success. He
was embarrassed that Janeway had noticed the little game he'd
initiated with his husband. He knew that she was right, though.
No matter how bored he was, he shouldn't have started something
like that on duty. He turned his eyes back to the woman
beside him. "I'm sorry, Captain," he said sincerely. "It won't
happen again."
Janeway nodded and went back to her chair, hiding her amusement
at Tom's slight blush. As she sat down, she noticed Chakotay's
puzzled look and gave him a smile, but didn't answer his
silent question. He'd just have to ask Tom, she decided, and
picked up the report she'd been reading when she first noticed
Chakotay's amusement.
*****
When his shift was over, Tom headed for the turbolift. When it
arrived, he and Harry, who'd come over while Tom was waiting,
stepped in and called out their destinations.
"You wanna go to Sandrine's tonight?" Harry asked.
Tom turned to face Harry and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Not tonight," he said. "Tarra is sleeping over at the Wildmans'."
Harry smiled in understanding. "And you have plans involving
you, Chakotay and a bed," he guessed, knowing that the girl had
put a dampener on the two men's sex life.
Tom grinned. "Yep. And I wouldn't cancel my plans for the
*Captain*. A red alert, but *not* the Captain," he told Harry,
eliciting a chuckle from the other man.
"Okay, then I'll just go down to engineering and see if I can
drag B'Ela away from her engines early," Harry said.
Tom smiled. "You do that," he said as the 'lift stopped at his
deck. "See you tomorrow."
"Have fun," Harry called before the 'lift doors closed.
"Oh, I will," Tom said, then turned around and walked to his
quarters. Once inside, he went to Tarra's bedroom and picked
out some clean clothes for his daughter, along with a clean
nightgown. Walking over to the girl's bed, he picked up her favorite
teddy bear, then put everything into a small bag. Then he
left the cabin again, and headed to the Wildmans' quarters to
drop off the bag.
*****
Half an hour later, Tom reentered his quarters and called for the
time.
"The time is 1630 hours," the computer replied blandly.
{Hmm, that means I have an hour and a half before Chakotay
gets off duty,} Tom thought. Running through his plans for the
evening, he decided that he had enough time to take care of everything.
He started cleaning the slight mess left from the morning.
When the cabin was tidy, Tom proceeded to replicate lots of
candles and put them on every flat surface in the living area and
the bedroom. Then he went into the bedroom to take a quick
shower and change into something more fit for seducing his
husband than his uniform. When he was dressed, he returned to
the living area and proceeded to set the table.
When that was done, he lighted the candles and replicated a
glass of wine, then walked over to the couch and sat down, taking
a sip of the wine. "Computer, time," he called.
"The time is 1800 hours."
Tom smiled and relaxed. Chakotay would be here in about ten
minutes. Then their evening could begin.