Inspiration for this story comes from Margaret Berger‘s "Sweet Dreams 8: Spice Rack" where Tom, under the influence of painkillers, is talking without thinking. I challenged the CPSG to write stories where one or the other is influenced by drugs, or something else, that leaves them unable to censor what they are saying. Then, of course, I had to write a story, myself, to meet the challenge! Under the Influence by Lianne Burwell January 1998 Tom Paris was on duty when the call came in from the away team. Voyager was negotiating with the government of Lamun, a pleasant planet with an unsettled political system, for technological equipment that could be modified to repair needed systems, especially their dwindling supply of shuttles. The Lamun government was eager to make a trade for various types of information, especially medical, but there were opposition factions that were against dealing with any "outsiders". "Emergency beam-up, directly to sickbay!" Harry Kim sounded almost panicked. "Report, Mr. Kim" The Captain spoke calmly as the rest of the bridge crew watched her worriedly. "There was an attack as we were entering the government center. Commander Chakotay was hit with some sort of dart. Our escort says that it was probably dipped in a local poison that is supposed to be very fast acting. The doctor is doing what he can, but..." "Understood. Mr. Paris, you‘re with me." Tom had gone completely white. When he stood, he had to grab at the back of his chair to keep from falling over. As soon as the dizziness eased he moved to join the Captain in the turbo-lift. On the way to sickbay he opened his mouth several times to speak, but he couldn‘t quite manage to make any sound. Janeway squeezed his shoulder gently. "Don‘t worry, Tom. I‘m sure the doctor will be able to handle it." He nodded, not sure that he believed her, but desperate to try. * * * * * At the doors to sickbay, they were met by the doctor. "Doctor, how is he?" asked the Captain with a worried frown. "Oh, there was no need for worry. The toxin used may be almost instantaneously fatal for one of this world‘s species, by the effect on a human is apparently quite different. It‘s quite interesting, in fact." Tom ignored the doctor. All he could see was his lover, perched on the edge of a diagnostic bed, gloriously alive. He rushed to Chakotay‘s side. "Oh gods! I was so worried! Are you all right? Don‘t ever do that to me again!" Tom knew he was babbling, but didn‘t really care. But he did get a little worried when all his lover did was sit there and grin at him. "Chakotay?" Suddenly he was caught in a bear hug that robbed him of breath. This was followed by a tongue that seemed to want to lodge itself somewhere around his tonsils. He struggled for a second (although not very hard) then relaxed and began to participate a little more actively. When he heard a discrete cough behind him, Tom finally found the strength, both physical and emotional, to pull away. "As I was saying," the doctor said dryly. "The toxin that the commander was struck with may be fatal to a Lanum but the effect on a human is much milder. It is basically acting on his system like a combination of narcotics and alcohol. The effects should disappear in about fourteen hours. I recommend that the commander spend that time in his quarters. Perhaps Mr. Paris should take him there and stay with him in case of an adverse reaction later on?" "Agreed," nodded the Captain. "Lieutenant, you are assigned to monitor the commander until tomorrow‘s duty shift." Chakotay swayed towards Tom with a leer. "You heard the Cap‘n. Les go gorgeous." He followed that up with a not so subtle grope that had Tom blushing and the Captain smirking. After she left, Tom decided that he better get Chakotay to their quarters fast. * * * * * Halfway to their quarters Tom was mentally smacking himself for not having the transporter room beam them directly. The doctor had spouted some medical gobbledygook about why it would be better not to, but Tom was wishing he had risked it. Chakotay was definitely acting like he was drunk. Tom had to half-carry the older man down the corridor to the turbo-lift. He wasn‘t sure, though, if the commander was faking it or not, since the grinning man was using it as a chance to keep groping Tom. Tom tried very hard to ignore the smirks and snickers of fellow crew-members that they passed along the way. He also tried to ignore the rock-hard erection he was sporting, but that was a little more difficult. Starfleet uniforms were not designed for these situations, so his pants were painfully tight in all the wrong places. Meanwhile, Chakotay was keeping up a steady stream of rather loud sweet nothings—of the x-rated variety—for everyone to hear. The turbo-lift arrived just as Chakotay started going into graphic detail about just what he intended to do to Tom as soon as they slowed down enough. Tom quickly maneuvered the other man into the lift, praying that it was empty. The gods were not smiling. Inside he found B‘Elanna Torres and Ensign Talbert from Life Sciences. Talbert gave them one look and quickly turned away, red-faced. B‘Elanna just smirked at them and called out their destination to the computer for them. "Soooo... Having fun boys?" Tom couldn‘t think of any good comebacks. Even if he had, he still wouldn‘t have been able to use them, since as soon as the lift doors had closed behind them, Chakotay had pinned him to the back wall. "Hmmmm... Always wanted to have you in a turbo-lift. Or maybe a Jefferies tube. Wanna try it sometime? Or maybe in the Captain‘s ready room. You‘d have to be quiet, though. Nah, you‘re never quiet." Meanwhile, Chakotay‘s hands were roaming far and wide. Busy hands tugged at the fasteners on Tom‘s uniform and Chakotay‘s hips were undulating against Tom‘s. The lift stopped once, and Ensign Talbert was off at almost a run. B‘Elanna snickered at the sight, then turned back to watch the show. Tom was doing his best to keep Chakotay‘s hands out of his uniform and was failing miserably. His squirming just seemed to encourage the other man and (if he were honest with himself) Tom was quickly losing the will to fight. In fact, his knees were about to buckle under him. He didn‘t even notice B‘Elanna‘s smirking presence anymore. * * * * * Finally, the lift stopped on their deck. Now it was Chakotay who was dragging a barely mobile Tom down the corridor. Tom was in a haze, all brain functions having shut down as the blood rushed to his groin. He was finally starting to notice their surroundings when the door to their quarters whooshed open in front of him. That brief moment of coherence was short-lived, though. Once through the door, he suddenly found himself flat on his back on the floor with a grinning Chakotay pulling his uniform off and tossing the pieces over his shoulder with a flourish. After Tom was naked, Chakotay repeated the same process for himself, while Tom licked suddenly dry lips. Finally, both were naked and the still grinning commander landed on top of Tom, causing him exhale sharply from the weight. "Wanna lick you, wanna suck you, wanna fuck you, wanna marry you, wanna kiss you, wanna bury myself in you and never come back out again..." Faced with a writhing Chakotay, determined to use every part of his body to maximum effect, all Tom could do was explode with a scream. Lying there—breathless, sticky and trying to remember something very important—Tom was surprised to find himself suddenly dragged to his feet. He blinked to find that a still active—not to mention still very horny—Chakotay was dragging him into the bedroom where Tom quickly found himself thrown onto the bed, with his lover landing beside him. With very little finesse, Chakotay pulled out the lube, prepared Tom and then plunged in. The pace he set was bruising and pulled them both over the edge very quickly. Then Chakotay cuddled up behind him and they both slipped into sleep. With a last sleepy thought, Tom wondered how he could get a hold of a sample of this poison. He wouldn‘t mind Chakotay being like this again. * * * * * A few hours later, Tom woke to find Chakotay undulating behind him, cock already deeply buried. He groaned and started moving with the thrusts. Chakotay‘s hands roamed all over his front, from the neck, to the nipples, then the cock and back up again. Unlike the last time, this lovemaking was gentle and drawn-out. Tom finally shuddered into orgasm and he felt Chakotay freeze behind him. Then the other man sighed, as Tom felt the warmth filling his back-end. Chakotay quickly fell asleep again, still sheathed inside Tom‘s body. Tom followed him quickly with a contented moan, and a feeling that the next half-day was going to be very long and very enjoyable. * * * * * Fourteen and a quarter hours after Harry had first hailed Voyager, Tom woke again, feeling rather sore and very satisfied. Chakotay, on the other hand, was moaning. He also looked decidedly green. Tom went to the replicator and called up a hypospray loaded with a standard anti-hangover medication and a large pitcher of ice water. As he headed back to the bed, he was commed. "Tom, is Chakotay recovered yet?" said the Captain in a concerned tone. "Yes, Captain. He‘s just looking like the fourth day of a three-day pass, if you know what I mean." The Captain‘s chuckle came over the comm as Chakotay snarled at him. "Well just remember, you are both due on duty in two hours. See you then, gentlemen." Tom reached Chakotay and pressed the hypospray to the other man‘s arm. The medication quickly took effect, returning his complexion to something resembling his normal bronze color. Tom filled a large glass with water and held it out to him. "Here, you need to replace a lot fluids after last night." Tom filled a second glass a quickly emptied it himself, sighing in relief as parched tissues soaked up the fluid. He refilled both their glasses. When they had finished off the pitcher of water, he pulled his lover off the bed and into the bathroom. Once in the shower he scrubbed them both until the commander started showing some more signs of life. "I... didn‘t hurt you last night, did I?" Chakotay sounded apologetic as he wrapped his arms around Tom‘s waist. Tom leaned into the embrace with a sigh. "No. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. However... sitting at the conn will be... interesting today." He chuckled, and was relieved to hear an echo from the other man. "In fact, I wouldn‘t mind if you got like that a little more often." They stood there, enjoying the warm spray for a few long minutes. Then Tom pulled up straight, finally remembering something. "Did you mean that, last night? What you said?" Chakotay blinked at him, confused. "Which thing that I said?" Tom frowned at him. "You said you wanted to marry me." Chakotay‘s eyes widened, then narrowed in thought. Tom stared at him, suddenly wishing he hadn‘t said anything. Then Chakotay smiled slowly. "Well, I hadn‘t really though much about it but... yeah... I do want to marry you. If you‘re willing, that is." "Yes!" Tom threw himself at Chakotay, and they kissed hungrily for a couple of minutes. Then they pulled apart and looked down. "Damn, I think we wore them out," Chakotay said with a frown. Tom laughed, then pulled him in for another kiss THE END Next time: A Wedding to Remember!