Part 29
"Dr. Kéla'an to Captain Paris."
Tom looked up from the book he was reading. It was late afternoon,
ship time, and he'd been relaxing all day. He'd asked the
doctor to comm him when Chakotay was regaining consciousness,
wanting to be the first thing his husband saw when he
woke up. It seemed that it was time. He put the book down and
tapped his comm badge. "Yes, Doctor?"
"If you want to be present when Commander Chakotay wakes
up, you should come down to sickbay now," Dr. Kéla'an stated.
Tom smiled with barely controlled excitement. "I'm on my
way," he informed the doctor, then closed the link before getting
up from the couch and almost running from his quarters.
*****
Less than five minutes later Tom walked into sickbay, a bounce
in his step, and looked around for the doctor. He noticed the
hologram standing by one of the biobeds, and strode over.
Dr. Kéla'an looked up from the medical tricorder he was holding
when he heard footsteps approaching. Noting the anticipation
on Tom's face, the doctor didn't even *try* to control his
smile. He *did*, however, turn back to the tricorder. "There you
are, Captain," he said, studying the device in his hand.
"Mm-hmm," Tom said distractedly, his full attention focused on
the bed. As he'd suspected when he saw the doctor, it *was*
Chakotay lying there. After a moment of silence, he turned his
head to look at the EMH. "How is he? When will he wake up?"
Dr. Kéla'an closed the tricorder and turned to Tom. "Commander
Chakotay is cured of the virus, and should be waking up
in a few minutes," he informed the young man. "However, I still
want to keep him here for the next four hours, just to make certain
that there are no aftereffects."
Tom grimaced slightly at the thought of having to wait an additional
four hours before he could take his husband home. Dr.
Kéla'an's reasoning made sense, though, so he didn't complain.
Instead, he turned his attention back to Chakotay. He took his
hand and silently waited for his husband to regain consciousness.
Dr. Kéla'an watched Tom, then said, "I'll go get a glass of water
for Commander Chakotay. He'll need it after fourteen weeks in
stasis." He waited for Tom's nod of acknowledgement, then left.
A few moments later, Chakotay's eyes fluttered, then opened.
He turned his head when he heard Tom's voice to his left. He
had to blink a few times, but was finally able to look at his husband.
He swallowed a couple of times before he tried to speak,
but his voice still came out as a hoarse croak. "Tom."
Tom smiled softly. "Don't talk yet. The doctor went to get you
something to drink." Seeing the questioning look in Chakotay's
eyes, Tom explained, "You've been in stasis for quite a while,
which is why your throat is so dry." As Tom finished speaking,
Dr. Kéla'an came over to the bed, carrying a glass of water.
Tom flashed the doctor a quick smile, then turned and helped his
husband to sit up.
Once Chakotay was vertical, the doctor gave him the glass,
which he quickly drained. He handed the now-empty glass back
to Dr. Kéla'an, then turned to look at Tom. "How long have I
been in stasis?" When his husband didn't answer, Chakotay
turned to the doctor. "Doctor?"
Dr. Kéla'an looked seriously at Chakotay. "You've been in stasis
for fourteen weeks, Commander."
Chakotay's eyes widened in shock. "Fourteen weeks?" he repeated.
When the hologram nodded in confirmation, he asked,
"Why? What about Tarra? Are there any other crewmembers...?"
Before Chakotay could finish, Dr. Kéla'an interrupted him. "I
want to keep you here for the next few hours to make sure
you're completely cured," he informed the Commander. "I'll let
your husband answer all your questions." When Tom looked at
him, he added, "It'll give you something to do to pass the time,
Captain." With that, Dr. Kéla'an headed to his office.
Chakotay turned his head and looked questioningly at Tom.
"Why did the doctor call you Captain?"
Tom sighed. "Because right now, I'm in command," he answered.
Then he looked around, searching for a chair. When he
spotted one, he went over, picked it up, and carried it back to the
biobed. He sat facing Chakotay, and prepared to answer his husband's
questions.
Chakotay studied Tom's face, waiting for the younger man to
speak. When he noticed that Tom seemed to be lost in thought,
he prompted, "Tom."
Tom blinked and looked at his husband. He'd been trying to
decide where to start when Chakotay's voice had interrupted his
thoughts. "Yes?"
Chakotay smiled slightly, having a good idea what had been on
Tom's mind. "Why don't you start by telling me what happened
after I went into stasis? You can take it from there," he suggested
gently.
After more than five years of marriage, Chakotay knew him
pretty well. Tom smiled for a moment, then turned serious.
"You and Tarra were among the first to get sick, followed by
Tuvok, Naomi Wildman and the other children," he began.
"Over the next few days, the doctor and I were busy, as more
and more crewmembers fell ill." Tom paused and ran a hand
through his hair, gathering his thoughts. "Captain Janeway ordered
our return to the planet, when the doctor told her that the
crew was suffering from a virus we'd picked up there."
Tom sighed and looked at Chakotay. "Unfortunately, it wasn't
long before the Captain displayed the symptoms, and the EMH
told her that she had to go into stasis." Tom grimaced, then continued.
"By this time, I was the only one of the senior staff with
any command training, so Janeway put me in command until a
serum was found and she was cured of the virus."
Chakotay digested this information in silence. "So, right now
you're Voyager's Captain," he finally remarked quietly. When
Tom nodded, he asked, "How many of the crew were put in stasis?"
Tom sighed again. "Most of them were infected by the virus,"
he said slowly, not really wanting to answer the question, but
knowing that if he didn't, his husband would insist. Looking
straight into the older man's eyes, Tom finally responded to the
inquiry. "For the last fourteen weeks, we've operated with sixty
healthy crewmembers."
Chakotay's eyes widened in shock. "Sixty?" he repeated incredulously.
When the younger man nodded in confirmation, he
asked, "How on earth did you manage running the ship with less
than half a crew complement?"
Tom smiled without humor. "It was hard, especially when we
ran into the Kazon on our way back to that damn planet."
Chakotay seemed even more shocked. "You ran into the Kazon?
And survived? How?" he asked.
Tom took a deep breath before he spoke, then proceeded to tell
Chakotay about everything that had happened in the past fourteen weeks.
*****
"... land Voyager." For the last few hours, Tom had told his
husband about what had happened in the past fourteen weeks.
He'd only paused a few times to get a sandwich or something to
drink. Now he stopped speaking when he noticed the doctor,
standing beside him with a tricorder in his hand. "Yes, Doctor?"
"It's been four hours since Commander Chakotay woke up," Dr.
Kéla'an informed the two men, then opened the tricorder and
scanned Chakotay. After a moment, he closed the device again
and looked up with a slight smile. "You are completely cured of
the virus, Commander, and in perfect health."
Tom looked up with a hopeful smile. "So, I can take him
home?"
Dr. Kéla'an's smile widened. "Yes, Captain, you can take the
Commander home." He sent Tom a stern look. "Just take it easy
with the reunion. Commander Chakotay may be perfectly
healthy, but *you*, Captain Paris, are still pregnant. Don't
overdo it."
Tom turned serious. "Don't worry, Doc, I won't."
Seeing the Captain's seriousness, Dr. Kéla'an nodded in satisfaction,
knowing that Tom would keep his promise. In the past
fourteen weeks, Tom had not only listened to the doctor, and
taken care of himself, but he had also made sure that B'Elanna
Torres didn't work too hard.
Tom's voice interrupted Dr. Kéla'an's musings. "Maybe you
should check me out as well, Doc. Just to make sure."
Dr. Kéla'an turned his full attention on the young man. "Do you
feel unwell?"
Tom smiled gently at the doctor's concern. "No, Doc, I feel
fine," he assured the hologram. "I just thought that it would be a
good idea to get an examination now." He's smile turned impish.
"I'll be too busy to come by tomorrow morning."
Dr. Kéla'an chuckled at this, then opened his tricorder and
scanned Tom. After a moment, he closed the device and smiled.
"You're fine, Captain," he said. "So is the baby. Just remember
to eat and rest regularly, and you shouldn't have any problems."
"I will," Tom promised. Then he turned to his husband with a
soft smile. "C'mon, Cha, let's go home. We have a reunion to
start."
Chakotay laughed, then got up from the biobed and looked at
the doctor. "Thanks for everything, Doc."
Dr. Kéla'an smiled. "You're welcome, Commander," he said.
Then he watched as the two men left sickbay, holding hands.
When the doors closed behind them, he turned and went into his
office to make a note in the Commander's medical file before he
began curing the rest of the sick crew.