See introduction for pairings, disclaimer and author
notes.
 
 

Revelations:

Tom paced the room, biting his nails. "Where the fuck
is he," he screamed?

"Tom, you need to calm down and think. Did he say
anything at all that could give us a clue as to his
frame of mind," Greg asked quietly?

Tom called Harry and Greg as soon as he got Miral
settled in. They came over as quickly as they could.
Greg was concerned; this wasn't like Chakotay at all.
He never just walked away from a job. Not even when
Rose was killed. Chakotay was the consummate
professional, from the initial investigation, all the
way through the trail too. {Except when he tried to
rip the guy's throat out in court,} he thought to
himself.  Never once did his feelings betray him. Greg
knew also that, even though his boss and friend had
moved on, finally, he still had extremely deep
feelings for the former pilot. Not that Greg was going
to tell the blond that. 

"No, He didn't say a word..." Tom answered quietly.
"Wait, yes he was blaming himself for Ray taking
Miral." Tom stopped his paced and looked at his two
friends. "You don't think he'd just walk away because
of this do you? I mean he wouldn't, would he." Tom
asked with a hint of distress in his voice?

"No. I don't think he'd just walk away. But he may've
needed time to work things through. He knew that you
were in good hands with Ken, Gerron and John," Greg
stated plainly. 

Tom relaxed considerably. Then he began to pace
again. He needed to tell Chakotay the truth. With
every ounce of his being, he knew he had to. If
Chakotay walked away from *him* this time, Tom was
sure he wouldn't make it. Forget the possible lunatic
that was still out there, Tom would make the asshole's
threat a reality himself. 

Harry sat and watched his best friend pace, it was
driving him crazy. Tom had far too much energy
tonight, in his personal opinion. Perhaps it was
because for the last month or so, all Harry had done
was lay around and get waited on. Greg had been
wonderful, fussy, but wonderful.  He wouldn't let
Harry do anything for himself. True, in the beginning
he wasn't able to but his lover refused to let him
when he could. Harry couldn't help but smile as he
thought about Greg catering to his every need and
wish. 

That line of thinking wasn't proper at this time. He
needed to be supportive of his friend. Harry knew
that, even though he had never admitted it, Tom had
strong, deep feelings for their former First Officer.
Even now, some seven years after the end of their
short relationship. Greg and he never spoke about how
their best friends couldn't seem to make a
relationship between them work. Harry always found it
funny, how each of the other men would encourage him
and Greg to talk out their problems, but never took
their own advise. He could still remember the shock,
both he and his lover expressed, when Tom said he was
marrying B'Elanna.

A loud bang quickly dragged Harry from his mental
stroll down memory lane. His best friend had thrown a
padd against a wall. "Tom, he'll be back soon, I'm
sure," Harry said, hoping to appease the anxious blond
a bit. Tom just looked at him as if to say 'whatever',
then he flopped down in a chair and sighed. 

After, what felt like an hour, but was only fifteen
minutes of silent berating, there was a knock on the
door. Tom jumped up, ran and opened it. Chakotay stood
on the other said, his face gave away nothing.

"What the hell have you been," Tom demanded?

"I had a few things to look into and I went to speak
to Ray," Chakotay answered.

"What? You went to see him. Why?" Tom was completely
confused.

"I went to discuss what happened and a few other
things. I now know he had nothing to do with any of
the threats or the break in."

"Well, that's good. But, damn, Chakotay I... we've
been pacing the floors worried about you," Tom spat
accusingly at him.

"I'm sorry. I just... I had to go with my gut and
take care of as much as I possibly could before.... "
Chakotay stopped, he didn't want to discuss this with
Harry and Greg there. Turning to the other men,
"Harry, good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Nice to see you too, Chakotay. I'm much better,
thanks," Harry answered slowly. He had the feeling
things were going to get even more tense than they had
been before he showed up real soon.

"Good. I trust Greg too good care of you," He smiled.

"Hey! Of course I did, old man," Greg said in mock
indignation.

Chakotay walked over to his friend, grabbed his hand
and shook it. "Great to see you too, Greg." Then he
whispered, "We need to talk." Greg just nodded.

The following silence was filled with unspoken
questions. Each man seemed to squirm under the
tension.

"Harry. Greg. Would you two mind giving Chakotay and
myself some time to talk,alone?" Tom broke the
silence.

Both nodded and got up to leave. "Chakotay, I'll be
around in the morning. Harry seems to think I need to
get back to work and soon," Greg said with a smile.

"Driving you crazy is he, Harry," Chakotay asked with
a half-hearted chuckle?

"You could say that, yes," Harry laughed. "We'll see
you two tomorrow. The doctor said I should be able to
return to work in a couple of days, Tom."

"Okay, Harry. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Tom stated
with a nod.

Greg and Harry left, somewhat reluctantly. Chakotay
sat down, not looking at Tom. There was far too much
for him to explain and he knew if he looked at the
other man, he would never get it out. 

"What going on, Chakotay? Why did you storm off into
the sunset, so to speak?"

"I told you, there were things I had to take care
of."

"Like what? What could you've possibly needed to care
take of, that couldn't wait until we got Miral the
hell out of there," Tom asked irritated. Then he
remembered something else. "What did you mean before?
Before what?"

Ignoring the last question, "There was something Ray
said that made me think he was responsible for
everything else going on in your life. I had to go
with my gut and check out a few things before I could
talk to him. He told you that he had planned on using
the stalker and the crowd attack for publicity."
Chakotay stood and walked to the window. "I found the
people who were involved with the incident at the
pavilion and spoke to them. Fortunately Don Fry knew
who they were."

"What did they tell you?" Tom sat heavily in a nearby
chair.

"Just that Ray paid them to get as rowdy as they
wanted, and to make sure you ended up in the middle of
it." As he spoke his eyes darkened, his face seemed to
pinch. "That bastard wanted them to hurt you, that's
what it turned out to be all about. Hurt you and then
use it to gain ticket and CD sales." Turning to Tom,
who could see the anger welling up in the other man's
face.

"Chakotay...." Tom didn't really know what to say to
that. "What did Ray say when you spoke to him? How do
you know he isn't behind the other stuff?"

"While we were talking, he said a few things that
made me believe he isn't the one. When he told me
about hearing about the fire at your other home, he
was genuinely upset. No one is that good of an actor."
As he spoke, Chakotay began doing a bit of pacing
himself. He did this whenever he needed to process
information, it helped focus him on the task at hand.
"He took Miral because he was angry with you for
firing him. He wanted to 'teach you a lesson'."

Tom stiffened, "Well, I think he was the one, who was
taught the lesson, don't you." Trying to sound as if
he was joking, but it didn't work. "So, where are you
now in figuring out just who in hell wants to scare
the hell out of me and my daughter?'

"I've ruled out Ray, Nick, and a few others. But I'm
no closer to actually finding the person," Chakotay
answered, with clear frustration in his voice and on
his face.

"You. you looked into people around me? Why?" Tom was
getting pissed again.

"Because Tom, whoever this is, is close to you. They
know almost everything you do and when. It's like they
have your schedule in their back pocket. And unless
you advertise everything, including your personal
life, they shouldn't know most of the things they do."
Chakotay ran his hand over his face, he was suddenly
very tired. "Those letters clearly indicate that this
person knows everything from when and where you are
performing to what brand of shampoo you use. *That*
tells me either they are close to you or someone close
is feeding them information."

"Are you saying that this person could be intimate
with one of my employees?" Tom was shocked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Although, I'm
not saying that whomever it is, knows what's going on.
More than likely they are oblivious to the fact that
they are giving their 'friend' the desired
information." Chakotay stopped his pacing when a
realization came over him. "Do you know of anyone who
has, in the past twelve months, started dating someone
new?" He sat on the couch when he was done.

"Umm, let me think a minute," Tom said quietly. He
racked his brain trying to remember if he saw any new
faces among the crowd of usuals at parties in the past
year. Mentally going through the list of names and
attaching faces to them. One face popped out, "Yes,
Ann Delaney, she started seeing this guy. hell what is
his name?" Tom tried to think but couldn't come up
with the person's name. "I can't think of it right
now. But about ten months ago, I remember Ann being
really excited because this guy had asked her out. She
said he was exactly what she wanted in a man." 

"I guess we need to pay Ms. Delaney a visit. Do you
have an address for her?"

"Yes, it's in Ray's office," Tom answered. He noticed
the other man stiffed when he said his ex-manager's
name. "Chakotay, stop beating yourself up over Ray. I
told you if it was anyone's fault it's mine. I should
have made sure Miral knew he wasn't welcome here
anymore."

"Tom... I... I can't do this. I can't protect you and
Miral the way I should. I'm too close. I told Kathryn
this when she came to Trebus. I'm going to hand
everything over to Greg in the morning."

"No. Chak!" 

Jumping up at the sound of his nickname, his face
let the younger man know he made a big mistake. "Don't
call me that! You have no right to use that name. You
lost it the minute you slept with B'Elanna." Chakotay
snapped. He couldn't bear to hear that name come out
of Tom's mouth, not now. 

Tom flinched at the venomous words. "I'm sorry. It
just slipped out. Please, Chakotay don't go. I need
you."

"You don't need me. You never needed me. Greg can
handle everything." Chakotay wasn't going to be talked
out of his decision.

"No. That's not true. I needed you then and I need
you now."

"You sure have a funny way of showing it. I never
once saw any need other than a sexual one coming from
you," Chakotay raged. 

"You know that's not true! I needed you for your
strength, your calm presence. You know that." Tom was
getting weaker in his resolve. He felt the words he
didn't want to say jumping forward.

"I know nothing. You walked away from me like I was
just another conquest," Chakotay roared. 

"NO! You turned you're back on *me*. You wouldn't
listen, wouldn't understand. But then again, you never
did," Tom yelled.

"Bullshit! I listened. What I heard was, 'Thanks for
the fuck Chakotay. See ya'," Chakotay was fighting mad
now. More angry with himself for allowing himself to
be in this position, then at Tom for pushing it. He
didn't want to hash out things that were seven years
old. 

"That's not what I said. Ever! What I said was I was
scared. Afraid to get too close, that things were
going too fast. That's what I said."

"Oh, so going and sleeping with B'Elanna was your
answer to that fear? Give me a break, Tom. You did
what you always do, you turned tail and ran."

"Of course I ran. I didn't see you getting in as deep
as I was. I couldn't handle that. I wouldn't be able
to handle your rejection when I told you that I loved
you." There he said it.

"Loved me? Bullshit! You didn't love me. If you did,
you wouldn't have slept with B'Elanna," Chakotay
accused.

"Don't tell me what I feel... what I felt.  I loved
you. I was scared. I needed to show myself that it
wasn't love." The ending came out in a hushed, pain
filled voice.

"Why? Why did you need to believe it wasn't love?"
Chakotay whispered. His body wanted to grab and shake
the blond standing in front of him but his mind
wouldn't allow it.

"Because you didn't love me," Tom answered quietly.

"Yes I did!"

"You never told me. You never said it," he accused.

"I showed you every time we made love. Hear that Tom,
we made love, we didn't fuck. I didn't fuck you, I
made love to you every single time we were together,"
Chakotay hissed.

"But you never *said* it. I needed to hear you say it
to me," Tom whispered.

"And I didn't? You never said it to me. You ran from
it. Why should I've been the one to say it first? Why
was it okay for *me* to put my heart out there for it
to be trampled on and not you?" Resignation clearly in
his voice, Chakotay sank back deep in the couch. 

"You're right." Tom shifted back and forth on his
legs. "I should've told you what I was feeling. You
don't understand, didn't then either. Saying 'I love
you' always cost me far more than I was willing to
allow. Whenever I said it, I got slapped down. I
wouldn't have been able to handle it if you did this
same thing. I couldn't risk it." Tom began to pace;
they were getting into territory he didn't like to
tread on. 

Chakotay just stared at Tom. He couldn't believe what
he was hearing. After all these years, he finds out
that Tom didn't know him at all. He didn't know that
Chakotay would never take such a gift and throw it out
an airlock. How could he have not known? {Because you
never told him,} a little voice in his mind shouted to
him.

"Tom, I... I'm sorry. Sorry that you believed I'd
reject you. Sorry that you didn't trust me enough with
your heart back then to tell me how you felt."

The blond stopped his pacing and stood in front of
the older man. "Chakotay, please don't go," Tom
pleaded. "If you leave, I'll die. That crazy son of a
bitch that's after me, won't get the chance to kill
me. I'll do it myself."

"Tom," Chakotay whispered and held out his hand.

 Tom took it and allowed the older man to pull him
down. He kneeled in front of Chakotay and looked
directly into his eyes. "Please don't leave me now,
Chak. I love you."

Chakotay inhaled sharply, "Don't say that Tom."
 

"Why?  It's just as true today as it was seven years
ago. Are you going to tell me you don't love me?"

"No. I can't say that." 

"Then stay and help me. Help me not be afraid, to fix
whatever mistakes we both made all those years ago.
Find that stupid fucker who burned my house down and
scared the hell out of my kid and put him out of my
misery," Tom said with a small smile. He got up and
sat next to the other man. "Besides, you owe me."

Chakotay snorted, "I owe you, how?"

"Well, with all the restrictions you've put on me, I
can't go out and find a date. You have to be my date
now," he grinned.

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "A date, huh? And just
where do you plan on taking me on this supposed date?"

"Oh, I was thinking dinner then some dancing. Maybe
we could go and neck somewhere. There's this great
place at the end of my property that overlooks the
city," he explained with a hint of mischief in his
voice and eyes.

Chakotay laughed, "Why don't we figure out who is
after you and why, before we think about anything like
that?"

"Spoil sport," Tom sighed. "Okay. You want Ann's
address. Do you want me to go with you?"

"That might be a good idea. I don't think she likes
me too much."

"Oh gee, I wonder why. Perhaps it had something to do
with the fact that you pointed her error in judgement
out in front of half my staff," Tom laughed.

"I would've done it to anyone who was stupid enough
to let a stranger into the room with you, especially
now," Chakotay answered in defense of his actions. 

"I know. Let me go and get that address and we'll be
off. Then you can take me to dinner," Tom grinned.

"Oh no, you have to treat *me* to dinner. My boss, he
doesn't pay me enough to take you out," Chakotay
laughed. 

Tom laughed and left the room. Chakotay sat there a
bit stunned. He couldn't believe what had just
happened. Maybe, it was just a way for Tom to keep him
here. No, he wouldn't believe that Tom could be that
devious. When he had said that he loved him, Chakotay
could see it took a lot of effort on Tom's part to
make the confession. Even though he, himself, hadn't
returned the sentiment, he couldn't deny any longer
that his feelings for the blond had come back in full
force. 

Again, because of this Chakotay didn't think it was a
good idea that he continue as Tom's bodyguard. Perhaps
he could still convince Tom to accept Greg as the one
to do that. If Chakotay agreed to stay close by and
monitor things, Tom would be more respective to the
change. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ann Delaney was quite surprised to open her front
door and find her boss on the other side. "Tom! What
are you doing here? Come in," she said as she moved
away to allow him entry. That's when she noticed who
was with him. "Chakotay, or is it still Mr. Cochrane,"
she asked sarcastically?

"It's always been Chakotay. And I've already
apologized for that incident Ms. Delaney," he answered
politely.

"Oh right. Forgive me if I have a bit of trouble
forgetting that you tried to get me fired."

"That wasn't my intention. Although let me ask you
something. How would you have felt if I had shot Tom
right after you spoke to me?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? I would've
felt terrible," she answered quite annoyed.

"Then, I've taught you not to accept people at their
word, haven't I?" Chakotay smiled his best smile and
that seemed to lessen the blow to the young lady's
ego.

"If you insist. Come in," she said. Then turning to
Tom. "What can I do for you, Tom? Please sit down. Can
I get you anything?" 

"No thank you," Tom answered and sat in a chair.
Chakotay followed suit by taking up a chair on the
other side of the room. "Ann, We... or rather Chakotay
has a couple of questions he needs to ask you." He
noticed her back stiffen again. "Before you get upset.
It has to do with these threats I'm getting. We, or
rather he will be talking to the entire staff."

"All right," she turned to face the bodyguard. "What
do you want to know?'

"First, I want you to know that I have no intention
of invading your privacy. If you feel uncomfortable
with answering any of my questions, I'll understand."

"Okay," she said nervously.

"We know that six months ago, Tom started receiving
threatening letters. From all my experience, I can
conclude that whoever this person is, they have been
around him or others close to him for at least four to
six months prior to the beginning of the threats."

"I see."

"Is there anyone you can think of that has, within
that time frame, gotten closer to Tom or any other
member of his staff?"

Ann sat quiet for a few minutes. Mainly trying to
think of whom was new to the fold. She could only come
up with her 'new' boyfriend, Larry and one other
person, Greg Ayala. She also knew that Greg use to
work for Chakotay, and was Harry Kim's lover. They
couldn't or wouldn't suspect him. So that only left
Larry.

"Are you accusing my boyfriend of being a stalker,
Chakotay," she snapped?

"I'm not accusing anyone, Ann. I don't know your
boyfriend. I'm going through a process of elimination.
It may very well be that the person isn't directly
related to anyone. More than likely, they are getting
information from someone within the small circle of
people that are close to Tom."

"Then why ask about any new people?"

"Because, they are likely the ones giving out the
information, unbeknownst to themselves," Chakotay
answered calmly. He wasn't about to let this woman
know he was highly suspicious of her boyfriend. 

"I see. Well, Larry, my boyfriend, and I have been
seeing each other for about eleven months now. He has
no family to speak of and we very rarely discuss my
job. What about *your* friend Greg," she asked,
throwing the unspoken accusation back at him?

"Greg was hired after the threats began, first off.
Second, he and Tom have been friends for the better
half for fifteen years. Besides, do you believe he
would put Harry Kim in harms way?" Chakotay took the
ball and passed it right back to her.

"No. I don't think he would do that. He loves Harry
very much," she answered in a whisper. "So, it's my
boyfriend you're investigating?" She looked at Tom
with pain in her eyes.

"No, Ann. That isn't what Chakotay is saying or
doing. He's just trying to get a handle on what's been
going on in *my* world for the past year," Tom
explained.

"Okay. What do you want to know about Larry," she
asked with a bit of resignation in her voice. This was
one thing she wouldn't be discussing with Larry. She
knew he would go nuts. Just like when he found out
what happened with Chakotay that first day. He wanted
to find the other man and 'beat the crap out of him'.
Not that she would tell her boss or his bodyguard that
piece of information either. 

"Just his full name and where he's from. What he does
for a living. The normal stuff. Just pretend I'm your
father and you want to make sure I'm impressed with
your new beau," Tom answered. He knew Ann would
probably be resistant to giving Chakotay any
information.

"Well, he's name is Larry Baatz, but you knew that,"
she said.

"Actually, I couldn't remember his last name," Tom
answered.

"Oh, well. Let's see, he's about forty-five. I
believe that's what he told me." She noticed
Chakotay's raised eyebrow and Tom's smirk. "I like
older men, the ones my age are usually too busy trying
to impress their buddies to be serious. He's an
imporrt/export dealer. He buys and sells antiques for
people here and on Mars. And he treats me like a
queen," {most of the time} she added mentally.

"He sounds like a really nice guy, Ann. I haven't had
much of a chance to talk to him. Will he be coming
with you to the benefit shows in Florida," Tom asked.
Although he was a bit uncomfortable with the guy's
occupation, not that he could explain why.

"He hasn't agreed yet. He said he's not sure if he'll
be free. There is a major sale coming up around the
same time, but if it's over before the concerts, I'm
sure he'll be there. I know he really enjoys your
music," she said with a smile. 

"Well, I look forward to meeting him again," Tom said
and then stood up. "We've taken up enough of your time
for one day. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll
see you on Tuesday." Tom nodded to Chakotay, who stood
also and said good bye to Ann. 

Once they were back in the hover-car, Chakotay let
out an audible sigh. "That got me nowhere."

"Do you really suspect this Larry guy? He seems nice
enough and I know he treats Ann well."

"As far as you know he does. I'm going to poke around
in his past a bit. Is there anyone else you can think
of?" Chakotay didn't want to tell the blond of his gut
instinct, not yet anyway.

"I'll ask Kathryn. She pays better attention to the
small details than I do."

"That's fine," Chakotay answered. "So, where are you
taking me for dinner?"

"Ha! Back to my place. Neelix said he'd fix a special
late dinner for us," Tom laughed.

"Gee, cheap date."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ann's comm went off as she closed the door on her
guests departing backs. 

"Hello?"

"Hey babe," Larry's smiling face appeared.

"Hey you. What are you doing?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be interested in
a late supper at Viggo's with me."

"I'd love to. I can meet you there in an hour."

"Don't be silly. I'll be by to pick you up. I'll make
reservations,then come and get you. You can tell me
all about your day on the way over," he smiled. He
wondered if she'd tell him about her visitors.

"Not much to tell. But let me go so I can get
beautiful for you."

"You are perfect the way you are," he said with a
smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh, you sweet talker you. I'll see you in an hour."

"Okay," he answered and signed off. Larry Baatz, the
name he was using now, had to get his lovely puppet to
tell him exactly what happened today. He needed to
know how close the ex-Maquis bastard was to figuring
anything out. 

Larry had been quite careful in covering his tracks
all this time. If the little wench he was pumping for
information said anything to ruin his plans. Well, she
would find herself added to the list of those who had
been moved out of his way. Nothing was going to stop
him from making sure his target understood what he was
losing around him.

TBC