Within a few minutes, Kathryn and Tom got off the turbolift.  Tom's shit
eating grin and Kathryn's pleased smile only piqued his curiosity.
However, he managed to hold his peace.  He excused himself for the first
of four counseling sessions for the day.

When the last person had left, Chakotay was very pleased with himself.
He had not allowed the moaning and groaning to continue.  He had
actively pointed out where things were getting better.  That the command
structure was sound and that except for the betrayal by Tuvok and Harry,
everyone else was beginning to move past that.  Three out of the four
people had accepted this and appeared calmer and happier when they had
left.  The fourth was someone who was going to have to be coaxed a
little.

Chakotay activated the comm link to the Captain's ready room.

"Captain, can I have a moment of your time?" he asked.

"Of course, Commander, I wanted to speak with you, too."

Chakotay entered Kathryn's ready room and found her sitting on her
couch, with a cup of coffee.  A cup of tea sat on the small table
nearby.  Chakotay paused as he realized how long it had been since they
had sat down and talked like this, as friends.  Too long, he decided.
He relaxed and sat down on the far side of the couch from her.

"What can I do for you, Chakotay?"

He smiled at her, and sipped his tea.  "I was thinking about what I've
been hearing, Kathryn and I think we need to do something to prove to
the crew, or at least show them, that Voyager's command structure is
sound and that we're fine.  Tuvok and Harry did a lot of damage in that
area.  A lot of what I have been hearing is very honestly the old
StarFleet/Maquis rift coming back to haunt us.  I think perhaps a small
gathering, maybe an open night at one of the holoprograms, with all of
the command staff present would be a good idea."

"I agree," Kathryn said decisively.  "In fact, Tom suggested something
similar today.  He also suggested it be informal, a party at the resort,
maybe Sandrine's, but that it be relaxed and we be there to let people
know we were still alive and available."

Chakotay was a little shocked Tom had suggested that to the Captain
without speaking to him first, but he could understand Tom wanted to
clear it with her.  It occurred to Chakotay that he hadn't mentioned it
to Tom either.

"Sounds like we have a plan, Captain," he said, with a smile.

"I agree, Commander."

***

Three days later, Chakotay watched Tom finish getting ready for the
party.  Tom was whistling to himself, which was a clear sign that he was
up to something.  The party had been planned to last through the split
shift, which would allow everyone to at least stop by.  The three of
them, himself, Tom and Kathryn would all go together.  Chakotay met
Tom's eyes in the mirror.

"What are you up to?"

"ME?" came the extremely innocent question from his lover.  "Whatever
gave you the idea that I was up to something?"

Chakotay decided to keep the whistling thing to himself.  "The fact that
you are insisting this be something very relaxed and social, and my
clothing had to pass muster," Chakotay said, coming up behind him and
wrapping his arms around Tom's waist.  He looked over Tom's shoulder.
"Now spill it, Paris.  What are you up to?"  Chakotay pulled Tom's shirt
out of the way, and gently began to chew on Tom's neck.

"Gods, Chak don't give me a hard on.  Kat's gonna be here any minute."

Chakotay looked up, grinned evilly and said, "Then tell me what you are
up to."

"Well, one, we need the relaxation.  People on this ship are as tense as
Klingons in a room of tribbles."

"Probably tenser than the tribbles in a room full of Klingons," Chakotay
chuckled, releasing Tom.  His lover turned to him.

"Probably," Tom laughed.  "Second, because you and Kat need the break as
well.  You all think that you have to be perfect for us."

"Well, we are the commanding officers, like you are now, and we have to
have people's respect."  He had been so proud of Tom when Kathryn had
promoted him to third in command.

"That's true, but let's look at this realistically, Chak.  We are still
about sixty-five years from home, and I imagine, at some point in time,
one of us is gonna do something stupid.  Fart, burp at the wrong time,
fall down, have a door malfunction and walk into it.  Now, if the crew
sees that we are human, that we do mess up; when something big does
happen, it won't be so shocking or damaging."

"Tom, the thing with Tuvok and Harry was no burp," Chakotay said,
letting Tom go and walking across the living area.

"I know, but...you were more willing to forgive Kat, because Tuvok had
fooled you too, right?"

Chakotay nodded.  Tom was right, his own failure to see Tuvok as a plant
had allowed him to understand and forgive Kathryn quicker.

"So, if the crew sees you two as human beings, not their parents, or
their gods, when something big hits us, they'll get over it much faster
and without so much trauma."

Chakotay agreed.  He just had a hard time relaxing at these functions.
He sighed as Tom's arms came around his waist.

"Okay, you have a point.  I'll try to be sociable."

"Can we use the other box tonight?" Tom asked, biting on Chakotay's ear.

"Liked that, did you?"  Chakotay had stretched Tom out on the bed, face
down last night, and had slowly driven him insane.  He had used candle
wax, feathers, and his own hands.  Tom came before Chakotay had even
entered him.

"Chak, I have never gotten as excited as I did last night.  That was
great."

"Talk about giving someone a hard on," Chakotay mumbled, as he
readjusted his pants.  The chime to his quarters rang and Tom laughed in
his ear.

"Talk about timing."
 

The three of them entered the holodeck, and found Neelix behind the bar,
and a lot of people milling around talking.  Tom stepped forward and
took the lead.  Chakotay marveled at his social skills.  And he also was
amazed that throughout the entire party, Tom made sure that everyone was
having fun.  He was very tuned in to the moods around him.  He kept
pulling people over to talk to Chakotay and Kathryn and even got Kathryn
to laugh out loud.  Chakotay quickly gave up trying to fade into the
shadows, because each time he did, Tom would drag him back out.

It was later in the evening, when music was playing.  Tom went to
Chakotay and quietly asked, "Will you dance with me?"

Chakotay almost let loose with an automatic no.  Then he realized that
Tom would take it as a rejection and that was the last thing on his
mind.  He just didn't want to prove to the crew that he was that left
footed.

"Will you wait for a slow song?"

Tom's eyes glowed and he nodded.  Instead, he went and asked Kathryn to
dance.  Chakotay smiled as his lover led the Captain onto the floor.  He
watched the crowd of people watching the dancers.  Tom had been right.
This was a good way to ease tensions.

A slow song came on next, and Chakotay decided on a bold course of
action.  He had a sneaking suspicion Tom was going to love it.  He
walked boldly out onto the dance floor, tapped Kathryn on the shoulder,
and when she smiled and stepped aside, Chakotay pulled Tom Paris into
his arms, and began to slowly dance him around the floor.

He heard the twitters from the crowd, and he ignored them.

"Now, who's up to what?" Tom asked quietly.

"I want people to know, don't you?"

"I wasn't going to push you."

Chakotay looked into Tom's eyes, and whispered, "I want them to know."
Then he kissed Tom right there.  People were no longer twittering, in
fact by the time he was done, there were more than a few wolf whistles
and cat calls.  He looked back at Tom.

"Well, now we have a problem, Chak."

"And that would be?"

"You let go of me before this hard on dies down, or I'll let everyone
know just how bad I got it for you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'll suck you off before you get off this dance floor."

"Let's hope the next song is a slow one."

And luckily it was.

***

That night, Tom walked up to Chakotay.  He had been thinking about this
for a while.  Chakotay had mentioned it a while back and, despite his
own better judgment, Tom wanted to try it.

"Chak, I want to try something."

"And what is that?"

"Fisting." He watched Chakotay freeze for a second and he almost started
laughing.  "Well, you had mentioned it, and you sounded like you enjoyed
it, so...I want to try it."

"Okay, but it won't happen tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't have small hands either, Tom," Chakotay said, making a
fist.

Tom was once more questioning why he wanted to do this.  "Good point."
He tried not to blush when Chakotay started laughing at him.

"I won't hurt you Poocah.  It just takes a little preparation."

***

The next day Tom sat at the helm, doing his best not to squirm.  However
having a reasonably large butt plug inside him, rubbing against his
prostate made it hard.  Tom almost laughed out loud at the pun.  Oh, it
was hard all right.  He had gotten harder than a rock just walking to
the bridge.  He still could have kissed Chak for getting him off the
bridge for lunch without anyone noticing his 'condition'.

What made it even worse was every time he moved the stupid thing rubbed
against him and almost made him moan.  He suspected if he just sat there
and twisted around in the seat, he could come at the helm.  Kat would
probably get upset with him though, he thought sardonically.

A presence over his shoulder, brought him back to reality.

"Are you okay?" Chakotay asked quietly, leaning over Tom, making an
adjustment on the board.

"Sure, I've just got a warp core container up my ass," Tom whispered
just as quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on the view screen.

Chakotay's voice was full of humor, as he said, "I told you to wait
until we had a day off together."

"That's next week.  I didn't want to wait that long."

"Then hold still.  The Captain thinks you're hurt."

"Hell no, but you want to talk about rock hard.  I could drill a hole in
the hull with this boner."

Tom would have paid money to see the look on Chakotay's face when he
turned around to sit down.
 

As the shift ended, Tom waited for the bridge to clear of most of the
Alpha shift.  The he looked at Chakotay and saw the lust in his lover's
eyes.  Chak stood up, Tom fell into step behind him and they made their
way to the turbo lift.

When the doors closed, Tom pushed Chakotay against the back wall and
kissed him lasciviously, rubbing his aching cock against Chakotay's
leg.  Chakotay returned the kiss, pulling Tom even tighter against him.

"Spirits, Chak, I am aching for you."

"You're gonna get me, Tom.  I promise," Chakotay said, rubbing his own
cock against Tom.  But, he set Tom away from him and they made their way
to Chak's cabin.  The doors were barely closed when Tom started
stripping clothes off.

"Stop," Chakotay ordered.

Tom's eyes widened in disbelief, but he did as Chakotay ordered.  He
watched as Chakotay stepped up to him, stripping his tunic off, and then
his shirt.

"Oh, shit," Tom moaned.  He knew what Chakotay wanted and it was gonna
be the sweetest torture he had ever know.

When Chak had stripped to his pants, he went into the bedroom and lay
down on the bed.  Tom followed him, and while Chakotay reclined, his
hands tucked behind his head, Tom stripped for him.  It was so good.  He
watched Chak gently stroke himself when Tom freed his cock from his
pants.

"C'mere, Poocah," Chakotay said in that predator voice.

Tom climbed onto the bed and began to kiss and lick at Chak's chest.  He
used his hands, lips and teeth, until Chakotay opened his pants, and
that's when Tom went down on him.  Without being cruel or demeaning,
Chakotay controlled Tom's head, until he came, but this time, Tom didn't
pull away when Chak came.

Up until that point in time, Chakotay had never insisted or even
suggested that Tom do that particular act.  And except for that one time
on the shuttle, even the thought of it had made him want to gag, but
tonight, it just seemed right.  When Chak had called out a warning, Tom
had deepthroated him.  Chakotay cried out and came.

Within moments, Chak had him laid out, kissing him.  Then that warm hand
closed over Tom's cock, and while Chakotay claimed his mouth and marked
his neck, he also brought Tom to a quivering orgasm.

Tom lay there afterwards, the butt plug still in place. Chakotay met his
eyes.

"You still ready for this?"

"Oh yeah," Tom answered.

Chakotay spread him out on the bed, on his stomach.  And Tom, in a
strange mood, intertwined his fingers behind his head.  Chakotay groaned
and then picked up a pillow.

"Lift your ass up, baby," Chakotay coached, and Tom, still in the same
position, lifted his ass as Chakotay put three pillows under him.  Tom
felt Chakotay begin to gently remove the butt plug, and he groaned as it
rubbed against him inside.  When it was out, he felt Chakotay start with
two fingers.  He quickly worked a third one inside Tom, and Tom could
feel the stretching begin again.

He drew in a deep breath.

"Talk to me, baby."

"Nothing, I like it.  Go."

Then he felt Chakotay freeze.  A warm hand closed over his shoulder and
a quiet question sounded in his ear.

"Tom?  Are we dealing with..."

"No, nothing like this."

The hand started to move inside him again.  Chakotay was deliberately
stroking his prostate, and Tom knew it wouldn't be long before he was
hard again.

"Deep breath, Tom.  Exhale and push."

A fourth, Chak's pinky.  He twisted his hips.  Gods, this *was* like
having a warp core in his ass.  He cried out as Chakotay rubbed all four
fingers over his prostate.

"Chak, oh my god, do that again," Tom moaned.  He released his fingers
and grabbed the sheets by his head.  Chakotay did it again, and he
shifted his position.

"Relax, hardest part."

Tom tried not cry out as he felt Chakotay's hand slip inside.  He had
just folded his thumb over and slid it in.  Then he formed a fist.

"Easy, Poocah, I'm in," Chakotay said, as he kissed Tom's shoulder
giving him a minute to relax. "Spirits, Tom, you look so hot.  My cock
is hard.  I'm gonna come when we do this.  I know I am."

He slowly began to move his hand, and Tom felt so full, and then he felt
the edge of Chak's knuckles rub over his prostate and he came up on his
hands and knees.  Chakotay put a hand on his back.

"Slow and easy, Tom.  I don't want to hurt you."

"Do it, Chak.  Please do it," Tom cried, as he grabbed his own cock.  "I
am so full of you.  More."

Chak started to move his arm, leaning up and over him to get the angle
right.  That was even deeper and fuller.  Tom started to rock and Chak
held still for him.

"Yeah, baby.  Do it for me.  I got my cock in my hand and I'm watching
you and it is so hot."

Together they established a rhythm.  Soon, Tom heard Chakotay begin to
breath hard.  It wasn't long before both of them came hard.  Tom found
himself being held safely by Chakotay.  Slowly, Chakotay removed
himself, and lowered Tom to the bed.

"Are you okay?"

"That was so intense," Tom panted.

***

Chakotay looked down at his lover and almost got mad at him.  Tom should
have told him they were dealing with his past.

"Yeah, now you want to tell me about it," Chakotay said, lying down
beside Tom. He wanted to slide off into sleep with his lover in his
arms, but right now, they had to deal with whatever was going on it
Tom's head.  "Tom, you can't lead me into something like this blind."

"Chak, as soon as you suggested I use the butt plug, I knew it wasn't
even close and I was right.  They just basically punched their way in."

Chakotay closed his eyes as he got a mental picture he could have done
without.  He reached over and swatted Tom on the ass.

"Next time, you tell me."

"Okay, okay," Tom agreed, but Chakotay could also see he was almost
asleep.

"No way.  In the shower."

He pushed Tom in that direction and while Tom got cleaned up, Chakotay
remade the bed.  That was a big step for Tom, and Chakotay knew they
were good.  Tom trusted him implicitly now.  He watched the drowsy pilot
drop into the bed and go to sleep.

***

For the next several weeks, Tom did his best to keep Chakotay and Kat in
the loop, he had a sneaking idea about something, but no one was ready
for it yet.  He made sure B'El was included, too.  He was pleased when
he walked through the halls of Voyager and saw people smiling and
talking to each other again.  He was really glad to see Sandrine's
become a happy place instead of a bar where people drowned their
sorrows.

When Seven announced the EMH was back on line, he bit back any comments
he might have had, and went down and had the EEG performed.  The EMH
admitted that all signs of the mind melds were gone and that both
Chakotay and he were in the best of health.
 

He, Chakotay and Kat had started to have dinner together on a regular
basis.  One day before one of their lunches, he was walking around the
cabin whistling to himself.

"Tom," Chak called from the bedroom.  "What are you up to?"

Tom smiled to himself in mirror.  "Nothing."

"You're lying, Paris, now 'fess up."

"I want you to think about something."

"What?"

"How lonely Kathryn is."

Chakotay nodded for a minute.  Tom saw the light bulb come on over his
head.  "Oh no.  No way.  Ain't gonna happen.  We tried that once and it
didn't work."

"Not just you, Chakotay."

That was when the flood lights came on.

"The three of us?  You are talking about a menage-a-trois with Captain
Regulation herself?"

"Chak, that's mean."

"Maybe, but it's also true."

"Chak, there is no one on this ship she can be with.  She won't choose
anyone from among the crew.  She won't step into what we have.  Chak,
she's sleeping with a hologram, let's get real here.  We gotta be better
than *Michael*."  Tom moved closer to him and kissed him deeply.  "She's
lonely.  We know she likes you, and I think...I think having a less
dominant person in there with you two would work."

"I think you've been breathing recycled air for too long."

"Just think about it."

Tom watched the doubt fade from Chakotay's face, replaced by a lifted
eyebrow and concern.

***

Chakotay sat in the morning conference room with the other members of
the senior staff.  Specifically, he was watching Kathryn, and he was
pretty sure Tom was, too.  Kathryn would never admit she was feeling the
strain, but they could see it.  Tom's words came back to him, *She's
lonely,*.  And after last week, she didn't even have the Michael she
wanted.

B'Elanna had tried an adjustment to the power cells and something had
gone very wrong.  They had had a power spike that had been phenomenal,
and it had not just damaged Fairhaven, it had fried it.  Tom had managed
to rebuild the program, but Kathryn had copied Michael and made changes
to his personality for her personal use, and those changes had been
lost.  Now she was as forlorn as when they had first gotten to the
Delta.

Chakotay glanced over at Tom.  To his credit, he hadn't tried to push
Chak towards it, but Chakotay could see the hope, the suggestion in
those blue eyes.  When the meeting was over, Chakotay waited.

"Kathryn, how are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Kathryn lowered her head and began to gather the padds she had acquired
during the meeting.

"I'm fine, Chakotay.  Well, with reviews coming up, I'm even getting a
head start on them."

Chakotay noticed how she never met his eyes, and was making a bee line
for the door as quickly as possible.

"Kathryn..."

"Look, Commander, I know Michael was just a holocharacter to you, but to
me, he was something much more," Kathryn said, as she tried to brush
past him and get out of the conference room.

Chakotay took a chance and caught her arm as she walked by.  "I know he
was, and I'm not making light of your loss.  I couldn't even imagine
loosing Tom the way you lost Michael.  It was too sudden.  Why don't you
join us for dinner tonight, Kathryn.  Spend some time with friends and
see how things go."

"I have reviews to..." Kathryn said, as she tried to pull away from
Chakotay.

"With all due respect, Captain, screw the reports."

"Commander, I believe Tom Paris is rubbing off on you."

"Maybe he is, but the offer still stands.  You wouldn't let anyone on
this ship spend as much time alone as you have since you lost Michael."

Chakotay was shocked when Kathryn Janeway leaned against him, and
whispered.  "I miss him, Chakotay."

He wrapped an arm around her and comforted her gently.  "I know you do,
Kat," Chakotay said, unconsciously using Tom's nickname for her.

***

Chakotay and Tom both headed for their quarters to prepare for the
evening.  Tom had suggested that they do something on the holodeck, but
Chakotay disagreed.  Just being on the holodeck would remind Kathryn of
Michael and the best idea they had had was a picnic, and that was just
too close.

However, Tom had managed to throw one or two ideas at him that he
liked.  Chakotay came out of the bedroom to see Tom putting the
finishing touches on their quarters.  He winced when he thought of how
many credits this was going to cost them, but he had to agree.  Kathryn
deserved it.  She had probably given the most of herself to see that the
crew of Voyager got home.

***

Tom was arranging the red and yellow roses in a vase.  He carefully
placed it in the center of the coffee table.  He wanted everything to be
just so when Kat got there.  He glanced around the room.  There were
candles on most of the flat surfaces, the illumination was lowered to
take the edge off the artificial lighting.  Wine, real wine, was
chilling off to one side, and he had pulled two more bottles out of his
reserves.

"Computer, play Paris Dinner music, selections one to seven."  Quiet,
relaxing music filled the air, and Tom nodded to himself.  Just about
perfect.

"No Klingon opera?" Chakotay asked, as he came out of the bedroom.

"Not unless I want to run her off.  Besides, I don't think Kat likes
Klingon opera."

"No one likes Klingon opera," Chakotay chuckled.  "They're just too
scared to tell the Klingons that."  Tom smiled at Chakotay and quickly
glanced at what he had chosen to wear.  Chakotay had the fashion sense
of a rock, and it was the one area he took Tom's advice, but this time
he had chosen well.  He was wearing a dark brown shirt that clung and
tight trousers.

Chakotay got the disgusted look in his eyes, and then stopped, held his
hands out and turned around slowly.  "Do I pass inspection, Lieutenant
Commander?"

"You look great, Commander.  In fact," Tom said, wrapping his arms
around Chakotay's massive chest, "you look fuckable."

Chak chuckled, as Tom leaned in and bit at his neck.  He pulled away
when he realized Tom was intentionally raising a bruise.  "What do you
think you're doing?  Kathryn's gonna be here any minute."

Tom smiled evilly.  "I'm putting ideas in her head, Chak."  Tom winked
at him and stepped back.  He looked at the room once more, and then
turned back to Chakotay.  "No curry."

"Okay, okay," Chakotay said with a smile.
 

TBC