Title:  Kian P8
Author:  Cheryl Forbes
Fandom:  Star Trek:  Voyager
Pairing:  Chakotay/Tom Paris
Rating:  NC 17
Series:  8 of ?
Email Address for feedback: forbesc@skyia.com
Disclaimer:  Voyager and her crew belong to Paramount and not me.
Whatever.

Summary:  Knock, knock who's there?
 

He was expecting someone else that much was obvious.

B'Elanna wasn't sure of much lately, but the way Tom retreated to the
other side of the cabin at her entrance, told her that it wasn't her
he was all gussied up for.

For the moment she allowed the distance between them, it gave her an
opportunity to take in his loveliness and his aroma. His fairness
gave him an ethereal beauty so unlike her own darker, cruder
countenance and his scent was a heady mixture of scented soap, musk
and fear.  It was the last ingredient that always drove her over the
edge during their encounters causing her to mark that pale body with
her teeth.

"What do you want B'Elanna?" The pilot's voice betrayed none of his
anxiety.  It was clear, strong and slightly annoying.

"You know what I want."

B'Elanna took a step forward and Tom countered her movement by taking
a step to the side, placing the dining table between them.  Oh he
wanted to play did he?  Well that was fine with her.  It had been
awhile since she had to hunt him down and the thought excited her.

"It's over B'Elanna."

"Is it Tom?"  She kept her voice low and calm as not to spook
him.  "I don't think so."

"Well it's not up to you."  The pilot's voice quavered slightly,
sparking her passion.

"I think it is Tom."

Scraping her nails along the glass of the tabletop as she walked,
B'Elanna closed in on Tom's position.  He moved one step, then two
and then stopped, allowing her to close the gap between them.

"Leave B'Elanna."  The strength returned to his voice.  It dampened
her desire and raised her ire.

By now she should be able to smell his arousal through his weak
protests.  This bold defiance was something new and B'Elanna found
she didn't like it one bit. He sounded too confident and too whole.

B'Elanna had always played to the damaged part of the pilot's
psyche.  That part of him that felt it should be punished for failing
to be a model son and a perfect officer. And why not, everyone was
damaged one way or another, she just put Tom's defects to good use.
He found repentance in their savage lovemaking and she experienced
revenge.

The pilot was tall, blond, exceedingly human and the epitome of every
bastard that had ever teased her or tormented her because of her
Klingon heritage.  Making him surrender to her alien touch, helped to
assuage the endless hate that burned through her veins besides being
incredibly erotic.  It was this Tom she hoped to bind to her with the
Oath.

Ignoring this new version, B'Elanna reached up to grasp his haughty
chin.

"I said leave!"  Tom slapped away her hand before it found its target.

Oh wrong move Flyboy!  With a force born of a lifetime of rejection,
B'Elanna struck. She hit the pilot square on the mouth with the back
of her hand and sent him backward into the bulkhead.  Through the
roaring of the blood in her ears, she heard the thud as Tom made
contact with the wall.

"Are you fucking nuts?"  Blood sprayed from his mouth as he spoke.

"You belong to me."  She said the words slowly to emphasize their
meaning.

"Well I'm sorry burst you fucking bubble but I don't belong to
anybody!"

"You need me."

Tom pushed himself away from the wall. "Beep wrong again.  It's not
you I need."

She saw the regret in his eyes at voicing his last statement. So
there was someone else and he didn't want her to know. Well that was
too damn bad.  She wasn't leaving until she found out who it was that
had superseded her power over the pilot and had given him this new
found audacity.

"Who do you need Tom?"

"You know what, I don't think that's any of your business. So do me a
favour and get the fuck out of my quarters!"

He tried to brush pass her but she grabbed the lapel of his fancy
white jacket. It was stained with his blood and B'Elanna rubbed her
thumb into one of the spots, ensuring the mark would never come out.

"Tell me and I'll leave."

He twisted out of her grasp but didn't go far.

"You don't want to know." His voice was menacing.

"Try me."

"B'Elanna just leave now and I'll forget all about this incidence.
Reporting it will only cause us both trouble."

B'Elanna released her hold on the pilot's coat but she didn't leave
his personal space.  It wasn't because she wanted him, no.  Minute by
minute this Tom's rebelliousness revolted her but honour still
demanded she know her successor.  She placed her fist on the centre
of his chest hoping to intimidate him. "Tell me her name."  It didn't
work.

The pilot didn't flinch from her touch.  "I don't want to hurt you."

"You've already done that. Now give me the solace of knowing my
replacement." If she couldn't frighten the answer of out him, perhaps
she could seduce it. B'Elanna splayed her fingers and ran them down
the front of the pilot's teal blue under tunic.

"No." Tom captured her hand with his own before it reached the edge
of his shirt.  "What would be the point."

"Would you rather I found out through the grapevine? That wouldn't be
very honourable thing to do for a Starfleet officer."  Tom's warm
fingers stiffened around hers and B'Elanna knew she'd hit pay dirt.
B'Elanna was surprised to hear the pleading resonance of her voice as
she continued. "Please tell me."

"It will hurt."

"I've been hurt before."

"Not like this B'Elanna." Tom let go of her hand and embraced her.
This was a softer, gentler man than she was used to.  He whispered
into her ear. "But if it will make you understand, I'll tell you."

"It will Tom. It will."

"Chakotay."

"Chakotay?  You're fucking Chakotay?" She pushed out of his arms in
shock.  Hearing her best friend's name was like a slap in the face.

"More than that. I'm in love him."

"Love?"

"Yeah go figure and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way."

"He can't."  Tom had to be lying.  Chakotay was a good man and a good
man wouldn't do this to her.  None of this could be true and she told
the pilot so.  "He wouldn't touch you Tom if he knew you were mine."

The pilot looked her square on.  "You're right but I'm not, so he
did."

Tom placed his hands on her shoulders.  Blue sympathetic eyes bored
through her own mud brown ones and straight on into her warrior
heart.  Now she began to feel fear and as well as defeat.

"If I could have loved you B'Elanna I would have. You made me feel
good but he made me feel right.  There's a difference you know.  I
didn't know there was until he touched me but after he did I knew I
could never go back."

With that admission she knew there was no possible victory here.  He
loved someone else and that someone was Chakotay. If it had been
anyone else, she might have had a chance, but B'Elanna knew from
personal experience that trying not to love the dark Maquis was an
exercise in futility.

Once you allowed him into your heart, he was there forever. You would
fight his fights and dream his dreams to remain at his side in any
capacity.  The Maquis had done that and she'd done that.  Even
knowing he was the reason they were lost in the Delta quadrant, the
Fleet crew of Voyager had fallen under his spell and done that.
Could she really blame Tom for doing the same, especially if what the
blond said was true and Chakotay loved him back?

All her anger and frustration bled out of her as she fell into Tom's
embrace.

"B'Elanna?"  She felt his breath on her neck.

"What?"  The engineer heard the fear return to Tom's voice, but this
time, it wasn't of her, it was for her.  Another barrier was broken.

Feeling her capitulation, the pilot's tone turned playful. "Are you
going to kill me now or later?"

"That depends." B'Elanna bumped her head against his shoulder.

"On what?"

"On whether or not you hurt him.  You're not off the hook yet Paris."

"I won't hurt him."  He nuzzled his nose in her hair.

"You better hope not because I've been known to have one hell of a
temper."

"No shit."  Tom carefully pulled away from her and smiled.

"None at all Flyboy, none at all."  She gave him a feral grin.

With that she left his quarters and basically his life.  Tom it
seemed wasn't up to her challenge or worth her effort. Lost causes
weren't her cup of raktajino.
Wondering who would be, B'Elanna returned to her quarters and did
what she usually did to make sense of things.

She called Harry.

********

Picard, Sisko and Kirk, oh my.  Picard, Sisko and Kirk oh my.

Wishing she could tap her heels together three times and
chant 'There's no place like home' and let someone else figure out
this bloody mess, Kathryn got herself yet another cup of coffee.
Making her way carefully stepping over unfinished manuscripts and
drawings, she returned to her stool.

"So what do you think?"

"Oh bella, I don't think you want to know."  The master gave her a
tender smile.

"Why not?  You're an intelligent man."

"Yes but just a man."  Leonardo placed a humble hand over his
heart.  "Do you know who Francesco Melzi was?"

"Yes he was your pupil.  You lived with him in the Castle Cloux near
Amboise for three years until your death."

"Not just a pupil my precious Kathryn.  On no, he was more than
that.  Young Francesco was my treasure. He was tall, beautiful and
the colour of light.  He made my last days my best."

The bearded man before her was a tangible extrapolation of everything
Voyager held in her databanks about Da Vinci.  He was as close to the
real thing as a hologram possibly could get and he was her friend.

"You had an affair with him?"

"An affair?" Leonardo was taken aback. "Such blasphemy!  I was in
love with the boy and would have done anything for him."  His
expressive hands flailed as he spoke.  "I would have stole, cheated
murdered and dared I say it?  Yes my darling girl, I would
have 'lied' to keep him safe."

"So you think Chakotay is lying."

"Would that be beyond the realm of possibility?"  His small eyes
twinkled.

"No Master."

Leonardo really wasn't telling her anything she didn't know.  It was
clear to her from the moment the ex-Maquis took the stand he was
sacrificing himself to cover for Tom.  Her problem was what to do
about it.

Whether it was together or one of them alone it didn't matter. A
primitive species had been exposed to Voyager's superior technology
and the Prime Directive had been violated. Did they know what they
were doing?  Yes.  Would it have a lasting effect on the planet's
society?  Maybe?  Did they have a choice?  She wasn't sure yet and
that was the reason Kathryn had come to see the Master.  When she
knew the answer to that last question, she'd have her ruling.

"So Chakotay lies for his lover but that doesn't excuse the original
crime does it?"

"Ah yes the crime."  The Master stroked his long graying
beard.  "Tell me again who was harmed by Tom's actions?  Was it Rad
or was it Kian?"

"It's not a person we're talking about here but a principle."

"Ah and did this principle suffer much?  Did it die?"

"No."  The captain carried on in the same dramatic air. "It lives
yet."

"So my dearest girl where was the crime?"

"A rule was broken."

"Yes a rule was broken by two people in love for two other people in
love and no one was hurt.  That is terrible.  Tell me Kathryn, who
makes the rules?"

"I suppose in this case right now, I do."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Yes."

"And have you ever broken the rules because of that love?"

She thought of Kashyk and of more recently of Jaffen.   Both times it
had been close but Kathryn had always done what she thought was best
for Voyager and let go both of those loves.

"No."

"Because you felt you had no choice?"

"Yes."

"And who was hurt because of that?"

"Me." In a very un-captain like way, her eyes misted and she gnawed
at her bottom lip.

Leonardo moved forward and pressed her to his chest. He smelled of
candle wax and ink.

"That, I think my precious girl, is a crime." He whispered in her as
he stroked her hair.

Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager and current judge
advocate buried her head and her sorrows into the shoulder of a
collection of light and electro-magnetic pulses.

In his strong arms, Da Vinci gave her solace and he gave her the
forgiveness she'd never given herself for leaving the men she loved.

And he had given her the answer.

TBC