Okay, this series was inspired by a song, of course. The song has nothing at all to do with blindness, but plenty to do with love. Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers redone by LeAnn Rimes Oh my love my darling I‘ve hungered for your touch a long lonely time as time goes by so slowly and time can do so much are you still mine? I need your love I need your love Godspeed your love to me Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea to the open arms of the sea lonely rivers sigh wait for me, wait for me I‘ll be coming home wait for me Oh my love my darling I‘ve hungered for your touch a long lonely time And I know as time goes by so slowly and time can do so much are you still mine? I need your love I need your love Godspeed your love to me   Love Is Blind: Sightless Eyes (VOY, P/T, PG) by JoAnna Walsvik part 1/9 The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, and the scent of growing wildflowers was in the air. <Yes, Lieutenant Tom Paris thought, looking at the scenery around him, <it‘s a great day to be alive. "Hey, Torres!" he called. "Check out this waterfall!" B‘Elanna walked over to him, eyeing the cascading water. It was beautiful. The water was crystal clear, pouring over wonderfully shaped rocks that were a shade of topaz she had never seen before. The water ran into a little stream, about the width of her engineering console, that babbled merrily along the ground. "It‘s nice," she allowed. "But you haven‘t seen anything until you‘ve visited the Tyrell Falls on Kessik. The water is really warm, because there‘s this underground geyser that keeps it 79 degrees Farenheight year round. And there are keela flowers growing all around the river, and it looks so pretty. My father and I used to..." Her voice trailed off, and her mouth set into a thin line. "Let‘s not forget we‘re looking for edible vegetables, Paris," she said coolly. Tom looked at her curiously. <So, I guess I‘m not the only one who doesn‘t like talking about their dad, he thought. <That‘s one more thing we have in common. "I know, B‘Elanna. I‘m looking." Voyager had stopped off at an uninhabited M-class planet, searching for foodstuffs for Neelix. The galley was getting low on supplies, the Talaxian had informed Captain Janeway, but there was always plenty of leola root in case she didn‘t want to stop anywhere. Not more then five seconds later, Janeway had Harry Kim searching for somewhere to stop. And it looked like they had gotten lucky. The planet was a virtual paradise. It was close enough to it‘s sun where there was pleasant weather year-round, and no winter. All kinds of exotic plants and flowers grew there, and there appeared to be no dangerous man-eating beasts or even any life-forms bigger than a lizard. <I predict shore leave, Paris thought gleefully, searching through the underbrush for anything resembling food. <I hope I can convince B‘Elanna to go on a picnic with me. She‘s been kinda uptight since that Pon Farr incident. Maybe I can convince her to relax. He looked over at the half-Klingon. The frown on her face was perceptible even from the distance away from which he was standing. <Then again, maybe not. "Find anything, Torres?" he yelled. "Nothing. You?" "Not yet. I‘ll keep looking." Tom bent down to search under some bushes that were growing next to the stream. He had thought he had seen something that resembled a strawberry plant... Nothing. Only a small green lizard that blinked up at him with big red eyes. "Hi, fella," Tom said to him. "Seen any food around here lately?" The lizard blinked again, opening his rather large mouth wide. Tom watched it interestedly; it almost looked like it was going to talk. "AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly, red hot flashes of blistering, searing pain stabbed daggers into his eyes. Tom screamed and screamed, clawing at his face in an effort to get whatever had gotten into his eyes out. Gods, it hurt like hell! No, hell would be a relief compared to this agony. It felt like a million Ktarian fire ants were in his eyes, sucking and biting and scratching. Just as suddenly as the pain started, his hands were forced off his face and his head was plunged into ice cold water. It was brought back up a second later, Tom gasping for breath. His eyelids were forced open, and his head was again immersed into the water. "Stop...stop," he choked once it emerged. "Gods, it hurts...stop it..." "I‘m trying to help you, goddamnit! Now stop struggling!" B‘Elanna‘s voice. "Torres to Voyager. Medical emergency! Two to beam directly to sickbay." The last thing Tom felt before slipping into a blessed unconsciousness was the feel of B‘Elanna‘s arms wrapping around his waist, and the transporter‘s familiar pull as they materialized to safety. Blackness. That was the first thing he was aware of, even after he opened his eyes. Thank the gods, they didn‘t hurt anymore. The searing, blistering pain had gone. Tom squinted into the darkness. Why were the lights out? "Computer, lights." "The lights are currently at the normal level," the computer‘s monotone voice replied. "Computer, lights on full," he ordered, a note of panic in his voice. What was wrong with him? Why couldn‘t he see? "Mr. Paris?" "Doctor, what the hell is wrong? Why is it so dark?" Tom demanded hysterically. "Why aren‘t the lights working?" "It‘s not the lights that aren‘t working, Mr. Paris. It‘s your eyes." "What do you mean, my eyes?! What‘s wrong?!" He was yelling now. "Calm down, Mr. Paris, and I‘ll explain everything to you." The doctor‘s voice had an oddly soothing effect, and Tom forced himself to take deep breaths. <Steady, Thomas old boy, he told himself. <This—this eyesight problem is probably only temporary. A couple hours. Nothing to worry about. "On the planet‘s surface, you came into contact with a venomous and apparently very hostile form of lizard. The reptile sprayed it‘s venom into your eyes, causing serious damage to your corneas—in fact, all of your eyes. In essence, Mr. Paris, you are blind." END OF PART 1 Go to Part Two: Love Is Blind: Eye Of The Tiger Legal crapola: Paramount ------ god. Star Trek: Voyager ------ owned by Paramount. Copyright 1997 by JoAnna Walsvik; all rights reserved and most of the lefts, too. Archive, distribute, etc.; but keep my name and the disclaimer attached.