Please see Part One for disclaimer, warnings, etc. 

They Don't Know  Part 5

By Thomas Jesse Fournier 05/02/2001 
 

Six weeks had passed since Chakotay and Tom's wedding. B'Elanna and Harry had also exchanged vows, and had twenty eight weeks to wait for their first child's arrival.  Voyager was in a quiet part of space and had been for some time. The only exiting thing to happen in days, occurred three days ago. An uninhabited M class planet had been discovered in a solar system not that far off of their course. So the Captain and Chakotay had decided that they should stop for supplies. The solar system they discovered had seven planets, the fourth one out was the one they were headed for. They were just entering the system and were still a few hours away at full impulse speed. Everyone was really starting to look forward to the away missions and possible shore leave that this planet would mean. A chance to get off of the ship and breathe fresh air. 

"Mr. Kim start some short range scans of the planet. I want to know what sort oflife forms are present." Captain Janeway ordered. 

"Yes Captain." Kim answered. "Initiating short range scans." 

A few minutes later Kim started to relay the information he had gathered so far, "Captain there are some humanoid life forms present, they look to be a pre-warp society." 

"Then scan for uninhabited parts of the planet for the supplies we need." Captain Janeway ordered. "And while you're at it gather as much information about the inhabitants, in detail. Put the information through to my ready room. Commander Chakotay please come with me to the ready room. Tuvok you have the bridge." 

"Yes Captain." Kim answered. 

Chakotay and Janeway retreated to the ready room to plan the up coming away mission. She immediately walked over to the replicator. 

"Chakotay, what may I order for you?" 

"Tea with Ginseng, please." 

"Coffee, black, hot, also, tea with Ginseng, hot." Both items materialized, she carried them over to the desk, placed them on it, then turned to Chakotay and said, "Well, let's plan an away mission, shall we?" 

"Kathryn this is a pre-warp society so we have to plan this mission with Prime Directive firmly in mind." 

"We will have to transport in and out and leave nothing behind when we are through." Janeway responded while taking a sip of coffee. 

"Kim to Captain Janeway." 

"Janeway here, go ahead." 

"Scans are showing the smallest land mass to be uninhabited. I am putting the information through to the ready room now." 

"Thank you Mr. Kim." 

"Well that's good news, if there is no troubles then we should be able to allow the crew some shore leave." Chakotay said. 

~^~^~^~ 

Three hours later Janeway and Chakotay came out of the ready room with an away mission planned. Chakotay was to lead the mission. Tom was to accompany the mission as medic and also help Neelix who was along to hunt down food. Joe Carey from engineering was needed to find dilithium and Baxter and Rollins from security. Chakotay, Neelix, and Carey had a couple of hours to gather the appropriate equipment that they would need. 

On the bridge the planet was getting closer and closer on the viewscreen. 

"Captain we are approaching the planet." Tom said as his hands hovered over the helm, ready for the Captains orders. 

"Slow to one quarter impulse, place us in geo-synchronous orbit over the smallest land mass Mr. Paris." Janeway ordered, knowing the smallest land mass had no inhabitants living there. 

"Yes ma'am." Tom replied as his fingers went for a dance over the helm controls. 

Captain Janeway smiled, she usually didn't like being referred to as ma'am, but from Tom Paris she allowed it. Why, she didn't know. Well if she really thought about it, she knew she had a soft spot in her heart for Tom. She had known him since he was a boy. He was almost like a son to her. All of the Voyager's crew were like her children in a way. But she refrained from mothering them. They were like her family though. 

"Captain, I have secured Voyager in geo-synchronous orbit above the smallest land mass." Tom reported. 

"Fine Lieutenant, I believe you are needed in the transporter room then." Captain Janeway responded. 

"Yes ma'am." Tom said as he secured the helm, then went to the turbolift with a grin on his face. ::I am *really* looking forward to some time on an actual planet....fresh air...mmmm.:: 

A few minutes later Tom was strolling happily in to the transporter room, thinking of ways he could get Chakotay alone on the planet. Chakotay, Carey, Neelix, and the security detail were already there. They all looked his direction when he entered. 

"Good we're all here everybody take your place on the transporter pads.  Energize."  Chakotay ordered. 

They materialized in the middle of a small clearing of blue/green grass.  Flowers were everywhere and their fragrance filled the air. There was a dense forest around them on three sides and a large lake in front of them.  The sky above was a much darker shade of blue than earths. Carey was immediately scanning the surrounding area for dilithium deposits. Chakotay started dividing the away team in to smaller teams of two. 

"I want us in teams of two.  Tom, you and Neelix are in charge of looking for food supplies. Carey go with Baxter and look for the dilithium you need for Voyager's engines.  I'll take Rollins and secure the area for shore leave." 

::Damn:: Tom thought, ::there goes my plans for getting Chakotay alone.::  "Yes sir, come on Neelix let's see if there is any thing edible on this planet other than leola root." 

"Leola root is so nutritious Tom, and it's so versatile, with the right spices....." 

"I know Neelix, but it has such a strong flavor." 

"Oh that's right, you humans like everything so bland." 

"Not everything, we like spices, just not in the oatmeal first thing in the morning." 

"I will never make that mistake again I assure you." Neelix assured Tom. 

"Neelix, for all the teasing I give you, I hope you know that I do appreciate all of your efforts." 

"Thank you Tom, I enjoy trying to come up with new recipes for the crew's meals." Neelix replied as they walked through the trees scanning for anything edible. 

Near by in another part of the forest Chakotay and Rollins were scanning the area to determine if there was anything harmful. 

Rollins noticed what looked like a sunflower turn itself toward Chakotay.  Before he could say anything to warn him, the plant shot thorns towards Chakotay.  They pierced his chest and seconds later he fell to the ground unconscious. 

"Rollins to Paris." 

"Paris here, go ahead." 

"Lieutenant you better come quick, Commander Chakotay has been attacked and  is unconscious." 

"I'll be right there." Tom responded as he ran the few hundred yards to where Chakotay and Rollins were located. 

"What happened?" Tom asked as he scanned his husband. 

"We were scanning the area and that plant over there shot thorns at Commander Chakotay." Rollins reported. 

The results on the medical tricorder showed that Chakotay had not been poisoned, but it could not determine why he was unconscious.  For a more complete analysis Chakotay and the plant would have to be transported to Voyager's sickbay. 

"Paris to Voyager, we have a medical emergency, lock on to Chakotay's commbadge and beam him directly to sickbay and standby to transport a plant sample to sickbay as well."  Seconds later Chakotay was transported to sickbay. 

~^~^~^~ 

A few minutes later in sickbay. 

The plant had been transported to sickbay.  The holo doctor retrieved the thorns from Chakotay's chest. He started to run scans of Chakotay and had also started tests on the plant  It was already becoming clear to the doctor that the plant had a complex chemical makeup.  He decided to perform a molecular scan of the plant and it's thorns. 

Down on the planet Tom was trying to do his job as food scout and medic.  After a half hour though he could not stand the suspense any more. 

"Paris to sickbay." 

"Mr. Paris I know you are calling with regards to Chakotay.  He is stable for the moment.  I am now running some tests of the plant, I need to attend those tests, you may call back later.  Sickbay out." 

"Don't worry Tom, I am sure Chakotay will be just fine." Neelix attempted to assure Tom. 

"I know.  I am just scared.  I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Chakotay." 

"Oh I don't think you have anything to worry about.  Chakotay is just to stubborn to die. You two will be together forever." 

"Thanks Neelix." Tom responded. 

A few hours later they had gathered all the supplies they needed.  Joe Carey and some of the crew were mining the dilithium deposits that had been found. The first shift, had been warned about the flower, and were enjoying shore leave on the planet. 

~^~^~^~ 

That night in Tom and Chakotay's quarters. 

"Chakotay you gave me such a scare today." 

"Well, I am still here, so I guess no real harm was done." 

"Cha, you could have died, I would *kill* you if you died. Dammit I would go *crazy* without you. Cha if those thorns had been poisonous....." 

"Tom." 

"What?" 

"Be quiet and kiss me." 

Tom happily complied, of course with these two, one kiss led to two kisses, which led to more kisses, which intensified their feelings. Groping soon followed, which of course led to mind-blowing sex. 

TBC in Part 6