Dedicated to Mel and Isabelle without whom this part would still
be in the works. To Mort, because I know that you'll love this.
And to the rest of the gang.
******************************************************
Part Four
###Flashback###
Tom entered his quarters and went straight into his bedroom,
where he undressed. He had just finished a double-shift and
desperately needed a shower. He let the uniform fall to the floor,
and once he was naked, Tom walked into the bathroom. He
turned on the water and stepped into the shower stall. For a long
moment he just stood still and let the water relax him.
Finally, Tom moved out of the spray, picked up the bottle of
shampoo and poured some into his hand, then washed his hair.
Then he stepped under the water again and washed the shampoo
out before moving back again. This time he picked up the soap
and a washcloth.
Tom lathered the cloth and proceeded to wash himself, quickly
and efficiently, then stepped under the spray once more. When
the soap was rinsed away, he turned off the water and got out of
the shower stall. Picking up a towel, he dried himself off, then
returned to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of sweat pants, not
bothering with underwear.
When he'd gotten the pants on, Tom picked up the towel again
and dried his hair. Before he was done, the door chime sounded.
Wondering who it was, he moved to the bedroom door and called
out, "Enter."
The door to his quarters opened, revealing Captain Janeway. As
she entered, Tom lifted an eyebrow. "Captain? What can I do for
you?" he asked, curious as to why she was here. The Captain
rarely visited him in his quarters.
Janeway smiled easily. "I wanted to talk to you, Tom," she said,
raking her eyes over his form. Then she met his eyes again. "And
we're off duty, so please call me Kathryn. "
"All right," Tom said, then gestured to the couch. "Have a seat...
Kathryn. I'll be right back." With that, he went into the bedroom,
threw the towel on his bed and put on a t-shirt. Then he returned
to the living area. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Thank you, Tom. I'd like a cup of coffee," Janeway answered,
and watched as her pilot walked over to the replicator, where he
placed an order for two cups of coffee. When Tom turned away
from the replicator and started towards her with the beverages,
her eyes lingered on his groin. For a moment, she appreciated the
view, then lifted her eyes to his face to see his reaction. To her
disappointment, he didn't seem to have noticed her perusal.
Tom *had* noticed where Janeway's eyes had been, but decided
to ignore it as best he could. However, her action had made him
uncomfortable, and when he'd handed Janeway her cup, he chose
to sit in the chair across from her, instead of on the couch beside
her. Disregarding Janeway's disappointed expression, Tom
smiled politely and asked, "What did you want to talk to me
about, Kathryn?"
Janeway took a sip of her coffee, then sat the cup on the table
and leaned forward. Catching Tom's eyes, she smiled
seductively. "I have a proposition for you, Tom."
Tom gave Janeway a quizzical look, not liking the sound of this.
He put his own cup down without drinking anything, then leaned
back in his chair. "A... proposition?" he inquired.
"Tom, it's been a long time since I had the yearning for the
closeness of another person to be with. Because of our unusual
circumstances I thought I would never experience the touch of a
lover again. But, I've started to realize everyone needs someone,
deserves to be with someone, even if only for a brief time."
Tom nodded in confusion, trying to understand what was going
on.
"To be honest, Tom, I don't have the time to devote to a full-time
relationship. What I am looking for is someone to be there when
I need them and then leave when it's over."
Tom just nodded again, clueless.
"For providing this service, I would make the person a little
more, shall we say, comfortable. Extra rations or free holodeck
time would be given. Anything else is open to negotiation."
Kathryn leaned further forward. "So what do you say?"
Tom's jaw dropped open. She was offering to pay him to sleep
with her? Was she serious? One look into the blue-grey eyes of
his Captain told him that, not only was she serious, she actually
expected him to say 'yes'. Tom's mind was whirling in disbelief.
After a long moment of silence, Tom shook off his shock and
focused on Janeway. "Why did you come to me?" he asked
calmly, expertly hiding his feelings.
Kathryn, who had leaned back in the couch while Tom thought,
smiled. "According to the rumor mill you sleep around a lot, and
are fun in bed," she answered, not knowing that the rumors about
Tom's many lovers were wildly exaggerated.
*She actually believes the rumors about me?* Tom thought in
disbelief. Then another thought occurred to him. "I thought you
were attracted to Commander Chakotay," he said, a slight
question in his voice.
Kathryn shrugged. "I am, but so far, he hasn't shown any
interest," she replied, then gave Tom a serious look. "Of course,
our liaison ends when Chakotay comes around."
Tom sat in silence for a moment, pushing his feelings of hurt,
anger and humiliation aside. It wasn't hard, he'd done it his
whole life. "I can't believe this," he voiced, mostly to himself.
Tom's soft words made Kathryn blink. "You can't believe
what?" she asked.
Tom looked up and met her eyes. "I'll let you know that I might
be a little promiscuous in some people's eyes, but I am *not* a
whore. I never have been, and I'm certainly not going to be
yours." He ran a hand through his hair to gather his thoughts,
then continued. "Hell, I thought you of all people had a better
opinion of me. I *thought* that you didn't give a damn about all
those rumors. I thought you knew that most of them weren't true.
Guess I made the wrong assumption. Again."
Kathryn's eyes narrowed. "So your answer is no," she said
calmly, skillfully making her anger.
"It certainly is. I thought you respected me. I respected *you*."
Tom snorted. "The funny thing is... I liked you. If you had faked
some sentiment, you might have had me." The smug smile he
sent her was as cold as ice. "Now, I think you should leave,
*Captain*."
Kathryn rose from the couch, glaring angrily at Tom. "You are
going to regret this," she told him, then made her way to the
door.
Tom rose slowly from his chair and watched as Janeway crossed
the room. He didn't speak again until she had almost reached the
door. "Oh, and as for waiting for Commander Chakotay to 'come
around' as you put it, good luck."
Kathryn stopped and turned to look at Tom, curious despite
herself. "What do you mean?" she asked coldly.
Tom lifted an eyebrow. "I mean that you'll have a long wait
ahead of you," he answered matter-of-factly.
Kathryn frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that Chakotay is gay," Tom informed
her with another smug smile.
Kathryn stared at her senior pilot for a long moment. "You're
lying," she finally said. "Chakotay dated Seska, remember?"
Tom laughed at this. "No, Captain. She was a drunken one-night
stand," he told her. "Seska was a mistake that happened shortly
after Chakotay's lover died."
For a moment, Kathryn stared at Tom in silence. She didn't want
to believe him, but the expression in his eyes told her that he was
telling the truth. Finally, she turned around and left Tom's
quarters without saying another word.
As soon as the door closed behind the captain, Tom picked up
the two cups and disposed of them. Then he checked the time,
and decided that it was too early to go to bed. He went over to
his desk and sat down, deciding that he'd better finish his reports.
He had a feeling that Janeway was going to be very strict with
him from now on.
###End flashback###