Tea Time by Lianne Burwell December 1997   Another day in the Delta Quadrant. Another boring day. I never would have thought that I‘d want an alien attack, but anything to break the monotony. Everyone is trying to come up with projects to keep busy. B‘Elanna has fine-tuned the engines several times over. Stellar Cartography has analyzed everything within scanner range. Even Neelix has been experimenting.   Although, this new tea substitute is not bad.   Ensign Kim is working busily at his station. Coming up with new scan techniques, no doubt. Tuvok is as serene and focused as always. Almost annoyingly so. The Captain is in her chair, reading reports. And Paris is bent over his console, plotting a variety of courses. Paris. Interesting, that hair color. A rich gold that catches the light. Getting a little thin on top, though. The curls are nice. They look soft. I wonder how soft they are. Perhaps... Well, that was easy. Just lean over the back of his chair to ask a question about his course plotting and, ever so casually, brush my fingers along the back of his head. He looked startled for a moment, then he probably decided that it was his imagination. It is soft. I wonder what it would be like to run my fingers through those curls. I bet they would feel wonderful, like silk. Like dipping your fingers in a stream of running water. Hmm... yes, that is nice. "Commander?" Strange. Paris looks surprised. I wonder what his problem is. I‘m curious, though. Is he blond all over? Would his chest hairs be the same gold color? I‘ll bet he has a wonderfully furry chest. And what about the pubic hair? Is it golden too? "Co... commander! What are you doing?" What is his problem? I just want to take a look. Real easy too. Just unzip the uniform and tug the turtleneck up a little. "Commander, would you care to explain yourself?" Now the Captain? And Ensign Kim is snickering in the background. If he doesn‘t stop soon he‘s going to find himself working double shifts for a while. Whoops. Paris is trying to get away. Really. Where does he think he‘s going? If he‘d just hold still for a second.. Oh great, now Tuvok is trying to interfere. What is everyone‘s problem? I‘m just curious! But Tuvok has grabbed me by the shoulder and... * * * * * Oh, Great Spirits! This has got to be the most humiliating day of my life! I can‘t believe I was actually chasing Paris around the bridge trying to strip him. Tuvok actually had to resort to a Vulcan neck pinch to stop me. The doctor says it was Neelix‘s new tea. Apparently everyone who tried it started to act on sudden impulses, unable to recognize their actions as being a problem. I swear, Neelix had better submit all future experiments to the doctor for testing. Maybe we can avoid having this happen again.   Back to my quarters. Better get a good night‘s sleep. I don‘t know how I‘m going to face the bridge crew tomorrow. Especially Paris. The first officer chasing the helm officer around is not something that is going to be forgotten anytime soon. What the.... Someone just grabbed me? A hand running over my head. Another pulling at my uniform. Warm breath blowing past my ear. "Turnabout is fair play, Commander." THE END?