Thanks to Mort, you know for what, Sweetie.
Dedicated to my twin. Hope you feel better soon, Sweetheart.
**************************************************
Part 37
"Janeway to Paris."
Tom halted the flight sim. "Yes, Captain?"
"Please report to my ready room, Lieutenant."
"On my way, Captain," Tom said, then tapped his comm badge
to close the line. He rose from the conn and made his way to the
holodeck door, calling out, "Computer, end program," as he
went.
As he walked through Voyager's corridors, Tom wondered what
Janeway wanted to see him about. He had a hunch that it had to
do with his time as the Acting Captain. He knew that she'd used
the last three days since she got out of sickbay to go through the
logs of that time. Now, she probably had some questions, and
Tom would answer them as best he could.
When he arrived on the bridge, Tom quickly made his way to
the captain's ready room. For the first time in months, he rang
the chime and waited for Janeway to answer. It felt weird to
have to sound the chime instead of just walking into the room.
"Enter," Janeway called out.
Tom walked through the door into the ready room. He went to
stand before Janeway's desk and waited for the Captain to acknowledge
his presence.
A moment later, Janeway put down the padd she was reading,
and looked up at Tom. "Have a seat, Lieutenant," she said with a
slight smile.
Tom returned the smile and sat down. "Thanks, Captain," he
said gratefully. His back and ankles were beginning to hurt. It
was hell being pregnant, and he was pleased that he only had
twelve more weeks left. He was really looking forward to when
the baby was born. "You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asked.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Janeway answered. She glanced quickly at
the PADD she'd been reading when Tom arrived. Then she
pushed it over to him. "I wanted to show you this before I publish
it."
Tom picked up the PADD and read it in silence. When he was
finished, he looked at the captain, surprise clearly written on his
face. "Captain, this is... It's really...." He took a deep breath
and tried again. "You don't have to do this, Captain."
Janeway smiled at Tom's uncharacteristic stammering. "I know
I don't have to, but from what I read in the logs, it's well deserved,"
she told him sincerely.
Speechless, Tom looked at the PADD again, going through the
list once more. Half afraid that he'd read it wrong the first time.
He hadn't. There it was, in black and white, to borrow a twentieth
century expression.
The following crewmembers are officially promoted:
B'Elanna Torres is promoted of to full Lieutenant
Joe Carey is promoted to full Lieutenant
Harry Kim is promoted to full Lieutenant
Greg Ayala is promoted to full Lieutenant
Pablo Baytart is promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade
Dr. Kéla'an is promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade
The list went on. Janeway was officially promoting every member
of the crew that Tom had given higher rank in his seventeen
weeks as the Acting Captain. No one had expected her to do
that, not even Tom. Then he saw the last line, something he had
missed the first time he went over the list.
Thomas Eugene Paris is promoted to Lieutenant Commander
His eyes widened and he looked at the captain in shock. "You're
promoting me?"
Janeway smiled again. "Yes, I am," she replied. She didn't tell
him what else she was going to give him. That was going to be a
surprise for the ceremony when the promotions were made official.
"Captain, I... I don't know what to say."
Janeway's smiled widened. "You don't need to say anything,"
she told him, her eyes twinkling. "I thought that you'd like to
tell those on this list that their promotions are permanent."
Tom nodded. "Yes, Captain, I would. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Tom," Janeway said, using his name for the
first time since he arrived. "You all deserve it. You did an incredible
job of keeping Voyager in one piece under difficult
conditions. I'm very proud of everyone, and you especially."
Tom blinked in surprise. "Why me *especially*?" he asked.
Janeway became serious. "Because with your pregnancy and all
the trouble Voyager ran into, it couldn't have been easy for you
to be Acting Captain."
Tom shrugged eloquently. "I managed."
"I know you did, Tom," Janeway replied. "Dr. Kéla'an informed
me that you even managed to keep B'Elanna and yourself from
working too hard, made sure you both ate regularly and ensured
that B'Elanna kept her daily appointments in sickbay."
"Nothing too amazing about that." Tom ran a hand through his
hair. When he saw the Captain's puzzled look, he explained.
"Well, it was easier for me to remember doing these things myself
if I had to make sure that B'Elanna did them." He smiled
suddenly. "Besides, Dr. Kéla'an constantly reminded me to eat
and rest. He also got into the habit of comming me in the morning
to remind me to go to sickbay for my daily physical."
Janeway laughed out loud at this. "I can imagine," she said.
When she got her amusement under control, she called for the
time.
"The time is 1250 hours," the computer replied blandly.
"Would you care to have lunch with me, Lieutenant Commander?"
Janeway asked as she rose and walked around the
desk to stand beside her senior pilot.
"I'd be delighted, Captain," Tom answered and took the hand
she held out to him. With Janeway's help, he got to his feet.
Then the two of them left the captain's ready room, heading for
the mess hall, wondering what Neelix was serving for lunch.
*****
After lunch, Tom stopped by his quarters to send a message to
'his' crew, asking them to meet him in the mess hall at 1530
hours. He'd gotten Janeway's permission to do this, and had
informed Neelix that he'd need the mess hall this afternoon.
Message sent, Tom left his quarters and went to sickbay. The
doctor had requested to see him about an important matter. Tom
wondered what Dr. Kéla'an wanted. He'd asked when he commed
him during lunch, but the doctor would only tell him that it
wasn't about Tarra.
Tom walked through the corridor to the turbolift. When the lift
arrived, Tom stepped in and called for his destination. As he
waited for the lift to reach deck five, he worried about Dr.
Kéla'an's call. {He said that Tarra's fine, but what if there's
something wrong with me? Or with the baby? He wouldn't tell
me that over a comm line.} He was steadily working himself
into a panic. {Or maybe Chakotay had a relapse.}
The ride seemed to take forever, but finally the lift stopped. Tom
got out and hurried to sickbay, praying to his goddess that he
was mistaken and nothing was wrong. When he reached the
door to sickbay, he stopped and took a deep, calming breath
before he entered.
Tom looked around, and when he didn't see Chakotay, he
sighed in relief. At least his mate hadn't gotten sick again.
Quickly glancing around again, he spotted Dr. Kéla'an in his
office and went to join him.
Dr. Kéla'an looked up from his screen when Tom sat down
across from him. "Ah, Captain Paris. I'm glad you're here," he
said with a smile.
The doctor's smile calmed Tom's nerves a great deal. He figured
that if Dr. Kéla'an smiled it couldn't be that bad. Then the
doctor's words sank in, and Tom blinked. "Doc, I'm not the
Acting Captain anymore, you know," he said mildly.
Dr. Kéla'an's smile widened. "I know. I just think that title
suites you." He chuckled at the startled look on Tom's face.
"You make a great captain," he added.
Tom recovered from his shock and lifted an eyebrow. "If you
say so, Doc." He cocked his head slightly. "Now, what did you
want to see me about?"
Dr. Kéla'an quickly controlled his amusement. "Well, I just
thought that since you were kind enough to give me my name,
you should be the first to know that I've chosen a first name."
"You have? That's great." Tom smiled in genuine pleasure. "So,
what did you choose?"
"Well, I've thought about it ever since you named me. I finally
decided on Farinelli," the doctor said. Then he sent Tom a quizzical
look. "What do you think?"
Tom considered it for a moment, trying it out in his mind.
{Farinelli Kéla'an.} Finally, he re-focused on the doctor and
smiled. "I like it," he stated.
Dr. Kéla'an seemed pleased. "Thank you, Captain Paris. Now I
just need to inform Captain Janeway, so she can enter it into the
ship's official log."
Tom smiled again. "Well, I know for a fact that she's in her
ready room, going over a few reports. You could comm her immediately,"
he suggested. "Unless there's something else you
want to talk to me about?"
Dr. Kéla'an shook his head in negation. "No, that was all. I'll
contact Captain Janeway right away."
Tom rose from his chair with some difficulty. "Then I'll see you
in the mess hall in an hour, Doc," he said as he made his way
out of the office.
"I'll see you then, Captain," Dr. Kéla'an responded and watched
Tom leave sickbay. Then he turned his attention to his view
screen and commed Janeway to inform her that he had chosen a
first name.