Author: Jan Monroe
Series: Voy
Parts: 1 of 1
Rating: PG
Codes: P, J/C
Summary: AU: Tom Paris is turned into a three year old. Happens after New Earth but before Tom and B'Elanna becomes involved.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the Star Trek Universe. I own my story. I just took the characters just play for fun, not for profit.
Thanks to my beta readers, Lesa and Susan who helped me with this story. My most humble thanks to PJ who know knows all my bad grammar and spelling tricks but proof reads for me any way.
Warning: This story was much darker then anything else I've written. It has a P.G. rating and had a discussion of child abuse.
Little Boy Found
Copyright by Jan Monroe 1998
The mission started out as a simple trading trip with the Captain going to negotiate the trade and Tom to fly the shuttle. His secondary duty was to follow her around and carry her purchases. At times he felt like a pack mule, follow and carry, don't think or suggest that a highly trained officer such as himself should have more important duties. He had tried that and her responsed by hand him more stuff to carry.
The trip home to Voyager was when the problems began. They had taken the largest shuttle in Voyager's rather small fleet. It was built to accommodate up to four people for a month. One of the few luxuries on the shuttle was the private bath with shower.
They had packed the shuttle full of raw materials and food stocks. Tom had fallen in love with one of the fruits. It looked like an apple but its taste was more like a peach. The texture was off but the taste was wonderful.
The ride home was proceeding according to the plan that Tom had left with Tuvok on Voyager. The tiny fractures in the fabric of space time continuum weren't even big enough for the shuttle's limited scanning ability to read. The incident, as it would later called, was almost instantaneous. Tom was setting in his usual pilot's seat and the Captain was taking a shower, dreaming of getting home to her bath tub.
All the power on the shuttle went out.
"Kat'n?" a little voice called out. It sounded scared and yelled it again.
The Captain exited the bathroom and slowly made her way to the front of the shuttle. The scared little voice had stopped calling but has stated crying. She walked careful to check the floor, looking for Tom. "Tom?"
The crying slowed.
She finally reached the pilot's station. She was not prepared for what she found there. She reached over and turned on the emergency lights. She again looked around for her pilot, she found a blond hair, blue eyed child. He looked to be about three years old. He had stopped crying and was sucking his thumb. She knew that this situation was much more unusual than she had ever been through. She followed procedure and stabilized the shuttle before turning to the child. He had been watching her every move while she was handling the emergency but hadn't said a word since she had turned on the lights.
She finally turned to the child, "Hi, my name is Kathryn. What's yours?"
"Tommy," was the muffled reply that she got from him. He had answered without taking him thumb out of his month.
"Tommy what?" she pressed, she was getting a very bad feeling about this situation.
"Tommy Paris." He took his thumb out of this mouth to answer this time. He was a cute child but her Tom Paris was 27 years old. He was wearing most of top half of the uniform of the twenty-some Paris.
She was about to confirm her worst fears, "Tommy, how old are you?"
He held of three fingers, "This many. Where's Kat'n?"
"I don't know, honey. Let's go back to our ship and we'll figure this out." Kathryn didn't know what to do with him. She reached over and maneuvered him into the co-pilot's seat.
"Can I fly?" Tommy asked.
"No, I'll fly this time. Do you know how?" She was wondering if he remembered anything about before.
"No. I want to," he stated clearly. He seemed to be relaxing more and becoming more vocal.
"I think that you have to grow up enough to be able to reach the controls first," she stated.
She had changed back into her uniform. For some reason, he looked less scared than before, the uniform actually helped him relax. She didn't leave him alone. She had a fear that he would start playing with the buttons while she was gone.
She pulled out the medical tricorder and scanned herself and Tommy. They were perfectly normal for their new ages. Tommy was, according to the tricorder, 3 years, 6 months old, and healthy. She was concerned about his newly healed left arm. It was a green-stick fracture. She scanned herself and found that she was 24 years 2 months old, also healthy. He had lost just over 24 years while she had only lost 17 years. This disparage was upsetting but not as much as if she also lost the full 24 years. At least she still had all her abilities and memories.
They talked and while the shuttle was on autopilot she had read several stories to him. He had picked out words as she read but he couldn't read all the words.
"I want Kat'n," he told her much later. They were almost in communication range with Voyager.
She tried to distract him, "Who's Kat'n?"
"My sissississter," he lisped around his thumb.
"Kathleen. I think that she's with your mom and dad." the Captain answered. He looked scared that when she mentioned him mother and father. "Don't worry, your are not in trouble."
He shrugged and curled up in the seat and went to sleep. She had made a few guesses earlier about his size and replicated him sleep wear. He had picked the style and the material. He wanted a bunny suit with starships. She turned down the lights in the cabin and moved him for his rather precarious position to the bed that she could see easily from the conn.
He looked adorable. The problems that this was going to cause were huge. *How do we get him back to be the chief helmsman of Voyager.* she thought to herself.
She looked at the clock. The accident was over nine hours ago but in all that time he had not asked for his father once. He called out for mommy once but that was it. He wanted his big sisters, and had called for both of them repeatedly. She was not happy with the images that this created for his early life. She had greatly admired his father. The Captain Paris she knew was a hard man to please but in a Captain that was a good trait -- but in a father... She suddenly stopped herself. Tom's personal life was none of her business.
"Janeway to Voyager," she hailed.
Chakotay's rich voice greeted her, "Voyager, welcome back Captain."
"I'll be at the rendezvous at 21:55," she stated.
"Sounds good. How was the trading trip?" He asked.
"Great. We have all the supplies. There was an accident. Tom isn't himself." she told him, not sure how to explain what had happened. Tom wasn't going to be able to explain in use able terms.
She was about to ask Chakotay to beam another pilot over to land the overloaded shuttle. This maneuver required a very skilled pilot and she admitted that she didn't fly enough to be comfortable to with this maneuver. While checking out the pilot council, she found a 'to do' list Tom had made before the accident. The list was specific about how to arrange docking. It required that the metals be beamed to the storage area in cargo bay 2. The food stocks were to be beamed into cargo bay 3. These transfers would almost empty the shuttle for docking. She smiled, Tom had planned to unload the shuttle the fastest way possible.
She followed the list exactly. The off loading was simple and took less than twenty minutes. The docking was now simple enough that she felt comfortable to do it herself. Her last order was to request that Harry, Kes, and Chakotay meet them at the shuttle bay.
She left Tommy sleeping in the shuttle while she went out. She could tell that they were shocked by her appearance. She looked like an Ensign.
Chakotay was the first to speak. "Captain, what happened?"
"I have no idea. The power went out and when I got the power back on, I looked like this..." she trailed off as she heard Tommy call out. She turned and re-entered the shuttle. She reappeared carrying Tommy.
The officers standing near her were even more shocked. Tommy broke the spell, "Who are they?"
"This is Chakotay, Harry, and Kes," she introduced. "This is Tommy. He's three."
"Captain, please tell me that this is a joke," Chakotay responded.
"Sorry, no joke. How about we go to the sickbay and I'll tell all. Harry, I know that you want to be there but I need you to go over every second of the trip home and find anything that might explain this," she ordered. Tommy slumped in her arms and dosed off again.
The trip to sickbay was short but interesting. Every crew member that they passed did a double take. A youthful Captain was shocking enough to draw attention. The main attention getter was dozing on the captains shoulder. He wasn't even aware that people were staring at him.
"Computer activate EMH," Chakotay ordered.
"Please state the nature of your medical emergency," the EMH stated.
"Doc, I would like to introduce you to Tommy Paris. According to the shuttle's medical tricorder, he is about 3 and a half. He needs a full physical, we have to figure out how to get him back to before the mission." The Captain stated. "I'm also much younger but that isn't a major problem."
"I will decide that." The doctor started to scan the child in the Captains' arms. "Three years old, healthy. His left arm is newly healed, was he injured in the accident?"
"No," the Captain reported while Tommy slept.
"I will have to run a few more tests to tell you all of the changes. What happened?" the EMH inquired.
"We were returning to the ship. I was in the shower and Tom was at the helm. The power went out. When I got the power back on, I found him in this condition. He was awake and crying after the power outage. He's was alert and active. He ate a piece of fruit about four hours ago," the Captain told him.
"How was he emotionally?" Kes asked.
"I'm not sure. He is acting and talking like a three year old. He asked for his sister several times, his mom once but otherwise was happy to be with me. It was as if he didn't expect his parents to be there for him. He asked to fly but admitted that he didn't know how," she explained.
"Please put him down," the EMH requested. "I have to scan you now."
"Chakotay," Kathryn called. "If I put him down, he'll wake up. I don't think that he needs to be part of this discussion."
"Fine," Chakotay answered. He took Tommy from her arms. Tommy readjusted but didn't wake up. Chakotay wasn't sure what to make of this situation. He no longer actively hated Paris, but for him to suddenly turn into a small child seemed to be cruel. This was Tom Paris but it wasn't. Tommy was a child who hadn't done anything, no Starfleet, no Maquis, no huge defenses, and no attitude.
"Captain, you are healthy. Your transformation only took the years physically. I don't know how you were moderately effected while Mr. Paris was so dramatically changed. I have accessed Mr. Paris' records and the newly healed fracture was not listed in his medical files at all. One notation was made when he started the Academy that his records appeared to be incomplete. They noted this fracture, three other similar fractures and other childhood traumas that were still evident that were not mentioned in his medical files. This was interesting considering that he was born in a Starfleet facility and was treated by Federation doctors until he left Starfleet at the age of 21." the doctor stated.
Janeway had known what usually caused greenstick fractures, persistent turning. It was the splitting of the bone from too much stress. They were common among athletes who trained too hard. The only way for Tommy to have such a break was if someone had twisted his arm until it broke. She suddenly gained insight, Tom had been such a risk taker because taking risks hid the abuse. In the beginning, he likely hadn't taken all the risks but the stories were of him doing it. He only lived up to the stories.
Janeway couldn't allow herself to continue this line of thought. She abruptly changed the subject, "Kes, have you picked up anything from Tommy?"
"Only a few dreams, a sense that he is comfortable. Nothing that would indicate that he is distressed or unhappy," Kes paused. "It's as if he expects to be passed around. I didn't get any distress over the loss of his family."
"Where is he going to spend the night?" Chakotay asked. He knew that Tom's old quarters were out of the question. Tommy couldn't be left alone to run the ship.
"Since he is comfortable with the Captain, I would suggest that she take him for the night," the doctor stated.
"Tonight. After that we are going to have to figure out what to do with him. This causes so many problems that I didn't even want to think about tonight," Janeway commented. They continued to discuss the incident for an hour before the doctor suggested that the information from the shuttles sensors might be able to tell us more but after everyone got some sleep.
Chakotay carried Tommy into Kathryn's bedroom and laid him in the middle of the bed. Tommy willingly curled into the pillows but refused to release Chakotay's arm. Kathryn laughed at his predicament. Chakotay's response was to lay down on the bed and kick off his boots. "I'm comfortable. Good night."
She grabbed her most modest nightie and went into the bathroom to change. She half hoped the Chakotay would leave while she was changing but he didn't. He was sound asleep on her bed next Tommy. She had been considering her options but this was a new development. The easiest option was to simply get in bed on the other side, leaving Tommy between them. She had known that she had pushed Chakotay's buttons for him to take the challenge and spend the night. Part of her didn't like the idea of having total care of a small child but the other half keep saying, 'you command a starship, you can do it.'
The next morning came much too soon for her. She usually had problems sleeping but had actually slept until the alarm announced the time. She moved and stretched, looking around the room. Chakotay was also slowly waking but Tommy had slept thru the alarm. He was still hanging on to Chakotay arm just like he did when he had been put into bed.
"Tommy, wake up. It's time to get up," she prompted him, shacking him slightly.
He opened his eyes looked around and started the day with the most hated word in a child's vocabulary, "Why?"
"Chakotay and I have to go on duty. You get to play with Naomi today," She stated. She knew that it wasn't fair to the babysitter to dump a second child on them but she had no other options. He needed both supervision and the constant supportive presence of an adult.
"Who's that?" Tommy asked.
"She's a little girl that lives here on Voyager," Janeway explained as she started gathering her uniform. "Do you have to go potty?"
Tommy just nodded. Chakotay smiled and lead the little boy into the bathroom. Kathryn could hear them talking. "What do you want to wear today?" Chakotay asked.
Tommy's answer was very precise for his age, "blue jeans."
"What else?" Chakotay prompted.
"Don't care." Tommy answered.
Kathryn went over to her replicator and replicated a pair of jeans, underwear and a light blue shirt. She laid them on the bed and waited for them to vacate her bathroom so she could shower and dress for duty. She didn't have to wait long, Tommy came skipping out of the bathroom toward her. Chakotay stayed behind.
She decided to save time and start getting him dressed. The clothes were easy to get on. He wanted to get dressed. He was eager to begin his day. The problems came afterwards when she realized that he didn't have any shoes. About the same time Chakotay slipped away to get ready for duty. She left Tommy happily 'reading' a history book about flying and warp ships while she prepared for the day.
They went to the mess hall for breakfast. She had used all of Tom's replicator rations on his clothes and hers were carefully budgeted so that she would have enough for two cups of coffee a day. That left very few rations left over for anything else, including a decent breakfast. This morning she had the feeling like she was a spectacle. Everyone did at least double takes. Tommy received many looks but no one talked to him in the hall.
Harry asked them to sit with him and B'Elanna. Tommy was a little shy but when Harry picked him up and got him breakfast, he was happy. Harry had eaten with Tom enough that he knew what Tommy wouldn't eat. Tom had been a notoriously picky eater. He once stated that he wanted his food simple and easy to identify. Harry was so natural with Tommy, she wondered if he could be the substitute parent for a while. B'Elanna wasn't as relaxed but she did talk to him.
Tommy had surprised her with his first words to her, "Who pretty lady?"
B'Elanna laughed and introduced herself. That scene did show one thing to Janeway, he was a natural flirt. He had just honed his natural talent as he grew.
After breakfast, the Captain took Tommy to Wildman's quarters. This situation was going to take a lot of explaining. fortunately, Wildman took Tommy without complaint, after all, it was only for one day.
The bridge was not the same as before. Even though discussion not directly related to duty was not encouraged, Tom's comments had made duty time move faster. The morning meeting shed no light on the incident. The scanner readings didn't help at all. The scanners just did not have the detailed information that they needed. They had no idea on how to return Tom to his pre-mission condition.
"Why can't he just go on like the Captain?" Tuvok asked. He had not meet Tommy earlier.
"Tuvok, he's three. He weights about 25 pounds, taller than an average three year old but skinny. He leaves syllables out of the middle of words. He can pick out a few words but can't read. He doesn't know how to fly a shuttle," Janeway explained
"Indeed." Tuvok stated. It was his only comment.
"Does anyone else have any suggestions?" No one answered, Janeway ordered, "return to your duties. Tuvok, I have some one that I would like you to meet."
After everyone had left, Janeway asked for Tommy location. He was in holodeck one. The program was actually one of his, a present for Naomi's last birthday. It was a playground with a sand box and playground equipment. Tommy and Naomi were playing in the sand box. Tommy seemed to be building a sand castle and Naomi was just digging a hole.
Tuvok's reaction to Tommy was almost not Vulcan. He showed his shock. He wasn't sure what he had expected but that wasn't a child. Tommy noticed the Captain and the other officer but he ran to the Captain. He put his arms up in the universal request to be picked up. She did so.
"Tommy, this is a friend of mine. His name is Tuvok," Janeway stated.
"Hi," Tommy greeted him.
"Hello, Mr. Paris." Tuvok responded. This situation was much more serous than he first thought. Thomas Paris was indeed a small child. Tuvok couldn't help but wonder just how much of his old life he remembered. If he was regressed back to being a child, were all the memories from his adult life wiped out. The legal issues were mind boggling. If he regressed to three than he was a ward of the Captain's according to a very old earth law dating back to when ships used sails to cross oceans. If this regression destroyed the memories of adulthood, than Tommy was not responsible for any of the mistakes Tom had made in the past.
"Have you been having fun with Naomi?" Janeway asked. He just nodded, not speaking. "I have go back to the bridge now. We'll have lunch soon."
Tommy smiled, "'Kay."
She put him down and she and Tuvok left the holodeck. "What do you think?"
"Captain, I am stunned by this development. Do we have any idea on how to speed his development?" Tuvok asked.
"None. According to all the scans he is three. Until we find out what caused this regression, we can't reverse it." Janeway stated as they walked toward the turbolift.
"What of your own condition?" Tuvok asked.
"I'm functional. I have no idea how this will effect me later but right now the effects are negligible," Janeway answered. They arrived a the bridge and took their posts.
The day fell in to the normal routine. Dinner was simpler than she thought with Harry again fixing Tommy's plate. He fell asleep while coloring on the floor. Chakotay gathered him up and tried to place him in the middle of the Captain's bed. Tommy again refused to let go of his arm. Chakotay spend another night sleeping in his uniform on the Captain's bed with the Captain and Tommy. Janeway's only comment was slightly sarcastic, "If you are going to spend the night, you really should start dressing for it."
That day set a pattern. She and Chakotay took care of Tommy, and ran the ship. Answers about how to get Tommy back to Tom were not favorable. No one had any good ideas of how and the Captain was not interested in experimenting on Tommy. She had intended to find Tommy another home on Voyager but never quite found the time.
The first indication that her relationship with Chakotay had changed came the day that he brought over his clothing and sleep wear. He was getting tired of getting up, helping with Tommy and them running back to his quarters to get ready for his duty shift.
The next change was the night that Chakotay laid out a sleeping bag on an air mattress on the living area floor. He suggested that Tommy lay down on that instead of the floor to read his book. Tommy's evening routine was simple; dinner; stories and cuddles on Kathryn's or Chakotay's lap, preferably both; a bath; then he 'read' himself to sleep with a picture book about flying and ships. Chakotay or Kathryn usually picked him up and put in the middle of her bed after he fell asleep. They had tried to put him to bed alone in the bedroom with them coming in later and that had only produced an hysterical child. She didn't know what was going on but disturbed by it. They had consulted both Kes and the EMH about this unusual and startling behavior. They didn't know what to do except not to put him in to bed alone. The pallet in the living area seemed to be a workable alternative. He usually didn't wake up when he wasn't moved after he went to sleep.
The first night that Tommy spent in the living area alone Kathryn and Chakotay took their relationship much farther then either of them intended. All Kathryn could think was that she was glad that the doctor had run so many tests and had renewed her birth control. Tommy was enough to handle right now. Two children under five were just too much of a challenge to face with the danger of the Delta Quadrant. Chakotay and Kathryn were happier than they wanted to admit. Neither thought that a ready made family would make them closer but it did. The major shift in her thinking can when Janeway realized that everyone referred to Tom Paris and Tommy as different people. Tom Paris was the beloved scandal but Tommy was the ship's child just like Naomi was. As far as the crew was concerned Tommy was just another child to spoil with attention and activities. He had bloomed with the attention and under the Captain's watchful eye.
The first answers they received about Tommy's situation were in a cultural data base that a new trading partner shared with them. Harry called the Captain and Chakotay when he realized what he had.
"Report," Janeway ordered.
"I keep finding mentions of 'the blessed' in the Otptoan data base. I finally had just scanned for all incidents. I found twenty different notations about 'the blessed.' The last case was about two hundred years ago. It seems that 'the blessed' were those who traveled in a specific area of space, they would either gain or lose 'life force.' When I read the cases, I realized that it was talking about years. Both you and Tom lost years, which to them was gaining life force," Harry reported.
"Does it say anything about reversing the process?" Chakotay asked.
"Nothing. I found one case where a child was aged. They had just lost those years. Mentally the person was still a child. They still have to learn everything that they had missed. If Tommy follows this example, he would grow physically but he would still be a child. In one case 'the blessed' was regressed to infancy. He was on a ship with four other people, they all lost years but each to different degrees. He grew up again and lead a normal life," Harry stated.
"Why were they called 'the blessed'?" Chakotay asked.
"I think that it was because the age that the affected person was regressed to is usually after their first life altering event. I have no idea why Tom was taken back so far though. I would understand if it was to 20 before the shuttle accident but 3?" Harry asked.
"He has a newly broken arm. Considering the type of fracture it was, the data suggests that was the first time that he was physically abused." Chakotay stated. He had known that Tom had not had a happy childhood before but the lingering signs of emotional abuse were still being felt. Tommy still clung to the people who provided his care and was scared of strangers. He was becoming more adventurous but only with a few people. Unfortunately, one of the people he was comfortable with was Naomi. The pair of them were getting into more trouble, than Naomi could ever think of herself. She would lead him to other people and he would lead her into trouble. They had definitely enhanced each others lives.
Tommy was happy to play small practical jokes on almost everyone but the Captain. Actually she seemed to be the only one that was safe from Tommy in a joking mood. She never had to listen to endless knock-knock jokes and really bad puns. Chakotay wasn't sure if it was because her respected her role as Captain or if it was the Mama Factor. He was still playing with language, something that his educational records indicated that he had done before. Chakotay had never seen this very playful side before from Tom but with Tommy it was coming out more and more everyday. It was like Tommy had been hiding his love of life under a layer of extremely good behavior. In many ways, he had tried to disappear from sight whenever someone raised their voice. It scared him badly the first time Chakotay and Kathryn had a fight. Chakotay didn't know what Tommy had expected to happen but they did stop as soon as they saw Tommy's face. Since then when they disagreed they did not do it in front of him. He didn't need to know all the problems they both had adjusting to living together, working together and taking care of him. Chakotay was amazed by how much stress had came from the recent changes. Parenthood was not for wimps. He knew that raising Tommy was much more responsibility than he had before in his life--including when he was leading his Maquis cell.
The only option available to them was to continue to raise Tommy as if he had never been and adult. Tommy had asked how to fly a shuttle several times. Chakotay had a great answer to him, "I'll teach you as soon as you can reach the controls without a booster seat." His reading was improving with his nightly story time. After the hysterics over being put to bed alone, Tuvok had done a very careful mind meld scan to find out why. The results were less than informative. Tommy didn't really know what caused it. Tuvok found that some of his formal education remained but was likely inaccessible to Tommy. He would likely have a sense *I've seen this before* but not be able to just call it up at will. Tommy had no memory of his life as an adult. Tuvok did have a revelation for Janeway and Chakotay. Tommy considered them his parents. Not long after this session Tommy insisted on calling the Captain 'Mama' and Chakotay 'Papa.'
They finally gave up on ever turning Tommy back into Tom. The finally acceptance was a very simple gestor. They needed Tom's old quarters, the remains of his previous life were packed away. Personal items was placed in storage, clothing, and padds were recycled. In some ways, it seemed so permanent. Tom's journal entries were sealed along with his personnel records.
Kathryn was not happy to admit it but about six months after the incident, she couldn't imagine life without both Chakotay and Tommy. She had backed into motherhood but she found that she enjoyed her time with Tommy. The first time that he read a story to her without making a mistake, she went running to his files. 'Just how smart was this kid of hers?' she wondered. She wasn't surprised to find out that Tommy's IQ was in the gifted range, most Academy graduates were in that range or higher. The first time around, his father had channeled all that intelligence into flying. She and Chakotay had already decided that they would not turn Tommy into a flying child prodigy. He had so much potential for more than just being a pilot and this time he would get a chance to learn more than the helm. His self worth was not going to be just about how well he could fly.
They had been careful that the stories that read to him included much more than planes and starships. He showed an interest in computer programing. He wrote his 'first' holodeck program when he was five. He used stock elements and built a program that was like the pictures in his favorite book. "The Sands of Kitty Hawk." He programed his first plane. Truthfully both his parents were very happy that the holodeck safeties padded his impact, otherwise he would have been extremely seriously injured or killed. That wasn't his first daredevil stunt, or his last, but it was one of his most infamous.
Tommy had been reading a history book about the first flight of the Wright Brothers. He had wanted to try to fly a plane like the one in the pictures. He had asked Mama and Papa about trying a flight but they had both been adamant--NO!
He tried anyway, hoping that they wouldn't learn about it. He knew that people had died flying in air planes but he didn't recognize that he could be hurt. He had the child's sense of invincibility. It didn't last long. The take off was bad but the plane got into the air. He tried to turn the plane, forgetting that the plane had crashed several times while turning because the flight control areas were not adequately designed. He crashed. The scene in sickbay was a turning point in his life.
Tommy remembered hearing Doc and Aunt Sam talking. He remembered pain and Mama running in being chased by Papa.
"Captain, Commander, he'll be fine. He managed to break his right arm, right leg and crack four ribs on his right side. That was the side that he impacted on. I've healed those injuries. He had a concussion but the best course of treatment for it at his age is to just let it heal on it's own." Doc stated. He wasn't used to dealing with parents or a child that was so reckless. Naomi would never try such a stunt.
"Can we see him?" Chakotay asked, knowing that Kathryn was just too upset to talk.
"Yes, he should be waking up soon. He will be sore for several days." Doc stated.
"Tommy?" Mama called to him.
"Hi." Tommy knew that he was in big trouble.
"Why did you do it?" Chakotay asked. He had a feeling that he knew the answer but had to ask.
"I didn't mean to get hurt but I just wanted to fly." Tommy answered.
"We told you it was too dangerous to fly the Wright Brother's plane. I know that I told you not to try and fly that plane." Chakotay scolded Tommy.
"I didn't think you would find out," Tommy stated. He had lingering memories of Kat'n telling him that it would be fine as long as Daddy didn't find out. He couldn't really remember why secrecy was okay but it was according to his big sister.
"Hiding what you do doesn't make it all right. We have never lied to you. Do you think hiding things from us is different from lying?" Chakotay continued. He knew where this behavior had lead before, and didn't want a repeat of those mistakes gain. It seemed to Tommy had learned secrecy and irresponsibility very young.
"I didn't say anything." Tommy was aliment. He knew that he hadn't lied about flying, just disobeyed. He didn't see any connection between the two. He knew that both could get you in trouble but to him they were to different actions.
"Words and actions are the same. Your actions say that you don't trust us to know what is best for you," Chakotay stated, unsure how to make this any clearer.
"I just wanted to fly." Tommy cried. He loved the birds and ships and flying. If they went on shore leave he always wanted to go in a shuttle. He loved it when Papa would take him on a training flight on the holodeck. He like to do lots of other stuff but flying would always be at the top of his list.
"We know. You have to fly but instead of asking us to go on a training flight, you planed to deceive us and fly a plane we already forbid you from flying." Chakotay wasn't going to let him out of this until Tom understood truth was more important than your wants.
"If I hadn't gotten hurt no one would have know. Then you wouldn't be mad." Tommy stated.
"I would be when I found out. Disobeying direct orders is not allowed and you know it. What do you think you should do?" Chakotay asked.
"Apologize to Mama for disobeying."
"Who else?" Chakotay asked.
"Doc and Aunt Sam."
"Who else?"
Tommy just shrugged.
"Where are you supposed to be?" Chakotay asked, even thought he knew that Tommy was to be in the mess hall with Anderson for his daily lessons.
"Teacher."
The Captain stayed out to this conversation. She knew that Tommy had skirted more than a few orders but this was his first flagrant disregarding of her orders. Not only had he disregarded his orders, he had injured himself to the point that he would be in sickbay. Chakotay was being extremely honest in his approach to the accident and Tommy's responsibility. She hoped that this would not be a long term problem. Tommy was enough to handle when he was honest but hiding things was new or was it? She didn't know but it had to be stopped.
"What punishment do you think that you should get for this?" Chakotay asked. He would love to lock him up for a week but that was impractical.
"No holodeck for a week," Tommy suggested, hoping that they didn't take away his time with Harry or B'Elanna. They were both busy but they played with him at least once a week. He loved the way B'Elanna would hug him and read him stories about Klingon warriors.
Chakotay passed judgement, "No holodeck for a month. No stories or books about flying for a month and as soon as Doc lets you go home, you are going to apologize to all the people that we have talked about."
"Yes, Papa." Tommy didn't like it but he knew that he could have lost a lot more.
Janeway turned her attention to the EMH, "How long are you going to keep him?"
"Over night, just in case his head injury is more serous then the scans indicate." Doc replied.
Tommy hadn't spent much time in sickbay since the incident but now he was making up for it. The Captain stayed for a few minutes and talked to Tommy. She had been called out of trade negotiations for his accident and she had to return. The official that they were dealing with was not pleased to have the meeting interrupted and really didn't understand why Janeway went. She had bridges to repair.
Tommy and Doc were left alone when Chakotay went to meet Mama for dinner. Tommy had eaten and now he was ready for his nightly story and then his bath. Doc was not pleased to have a five year old tell him what to do and how.
B'Elanna was impressed with Doc's bedside manner when she came in later. Tommy was settled onto Doc's lap listening to a story. The book was about how bones worked. The war between the osteoblast cells always building bones while the osteoclast were trying to destroy it. According to Doc, it was just one small war that constantly raged in the human body every minute of every day. It was non-fiction and Doc had no real expression in his reading but Tommy was engaged. She had brought with her new sleep wear. Chakotay had packaged everything that had anything to do with ships and flying including his bunny suit.
She broke in at the end of the book, "Anyone need a bath?"
Tommy smiled when he heard her voice, "Me."
The bath ritual was well known to the entire senior staff. They had all performed it from time to time when his new parents were busy and they were babysitting. The bath didn't take long. Doc had slipped a mild sedative into the milk Tommy's was drinking during his story. Tommy fell asleep on the biobed without complaint. Doc put up a pediatric force field around the bed to keep Tommy for falling off it in the night. The biobed was much higher off the ground than Tommy's new bed in his new room. They had put an arch in between Chakotay's old quarters and Janeway's quarters. They now had two workstations and Tommy had his own room.
Janeway finally figured out how to explain the emergency that had called her away. She brought the embassador to sickbay.
Doc heard the door and meet her half way to Tommy's bed. "Captain, your son is going to be fine."
This was the first time that Chief Medical Officer had referred to Tommy as her son but she was grateful. "I just dropped by to see how he was doing."
"He's been quiet since his fall. He admitted that his head hurt earlier but it was relieved when I turned down the lights. B'Elanna was here and he went right to sleep. I have put up the pediatric force field so he don't fall again." Doc was all business. He didn't know who the alien was but his presence brought out his most professional behavior.
Janeway reached over the force field and brushed Tommy hair away from his eyes. "When can he come home?"
"Tomorrow, after breakfast, if he has a good night. I read him a story about bones, since he broke so many, before his bath. He seemed to be interested in the process of bone growth." Doc was simply making conversation, not knowing what else to do.
Tommy roused slightly, enough to look at her and slurred, "mama" before drifting off again.
The ambassador spoke, "do you always bring your children on long voyages with you?"
"No, he was born in a shuttle craft here in the delta quadrant." Janeway didn't see the point in trying to explain what had happened to Tommy.
"He will recover?"
"Yes, he'll recover faster than we will. He frightened the entire senior staff with this stunt," Janeway stated. She turned away from Tommy and started towards the door when it opened and Harry came in.
"I just had to see how he was for myself," Harry stated. She just smiled and told the ambassador she was done in sickbay.
Tommy had several visitors after he went to sleep. Doc was surprised that so many of the crew had taken such and interest in him.
The negotiation proceeded much better after they visited Tommy. The ambassador was impressed with the ship's Captain who was also such a devoted mother. He knew others who would not have interrupted a meeting just to check on their young, even one that had been hurt.
Tommy was released the next morning much to everyone's relief. Doc was running out of children's anatomy books. Tommy had awakened at 05:00 wanting to getup and play. Doc didn't realize it, but this was his own fault since he had put Tommy to bed more than two hours before his usual bed time the night before.
Tommy didn't understand how lying and hiding the truth were the same. Chakotay had a story every night at bed time that talked about ethics and honesty. Slowly the concepts got through to Tommy. One of the problems was that hiding things from parents was a survival strategy lingering on from his first three years with the Paris'. Even thought he didn't need to hide stuff from Mama and Papa, he still slipped back every now and then. According to the psychology data base, Tommy would need years of a normal, stable home before these type of linger behaviors disappeared. Not what they had hoped but at least they knew about it and could work with him to eliminate it.
~~~
Tommy's ninth birthday was a turning point in the history of Voyager. They found a wormhole that dropped them well into Federation space. The entire crew celebrated.
Chakotay and the other Maquis were unsure of their welcome but that concern wasn't as big a concern to the Federation. The war with the Dominion made the old Maquis activities unimportant.
The biggest problem was trying to explain how Thomas Eugene Paris was one of 'the blessed' and now nine years old. After this event was finally accepted, the next stage was deciding guardianship. They were no longer on the ship where Janeway made the rules. The first meeting with Tommy biological parents did not go well. Actually it started out great, they had arrived at the Admiral's house and Tommy was intrigued to meet his other parents. When they had discussed this meeting the night before, Tommy actually wanted to know if his sisters would be there. He had vague memories of sisters and some holo pictures of them.
Tommy hugged his other mom but stayed away from his other father. Tommy was sent to the kitchen to find some cookies that his other mom had replicated for him. He knew why he was being sent out of the room. Mama and Papa had told him that they had to talk to this other parents about where he was going to live. He wanted to live with Mama, Papa, and Mickey.
He found the cookies and the piano. Harry had taught him how to read music very early and the keyboards soon followed. He took to them like he did a shuttle helm. He had explained it to Harry at the time, the music just came out his fingers like flying. He just knew how to do it. He was playing with the piano and picked out his best, no-mistakes piece and started playing. He could hear the admiral yelling at his Mama and Papa. He was pulled, he wanted to know what was going on but he had promised Papa to stay away until he was called.
His other mommy came out to listen to him play.
"When did you learn that piece?" she asked.
"Last year, Harry and I played it for talent night. It was the first time that I played for other people, not just mama and papa. I wrote a piece," Tommy stated proudly.
"Can you play it for me?" she requested.
"It's called "Michael's Babysong," Tommy told her when he started playing.
"Baby song? Who is Michael?"
"My little brother. He's four now. We call him Mickey," Tommy answered.
'My little brother'-- he really was their son wasn't he. He had new parents and a brother. "Are you happy with your Mom and Dad?"
"Mama and Papa," he corrected. "I'm really happy except that Voyager is here so Naomi and the others will be going other places and won't be on the ship like before."
She had the answer that she had both wanted and did not want. He was a happy, secure child that wanted to live with the only parents that he remembered. "What do you like to do?" She knew what his answer was the first time around--flying.
"I like to fly shuttles, papa taught me last year; hanging out in the nursery, and with Doc. Medicine is fun. I like programing the holodeck, too," Tommy answered. He shrugged, "I like to read books, but school is boring."
"Why's school boring?"
"I started a new school and all we did this week is take tests. We didn't learn anything new," Tommy told her.
"What's your favorite subject?"
"Biology. I like helping Doc in sickbay and he gives me great biology books to read." He didn't mention flying or a subject related to flying. He was a much more rounded individual than before. She wasn't sure about sickbay and biology but he did seem to be happy about it.
"Are you going to be a flying doctor?" she asked.
"Yes. I have to write another song soon," Tommy stated.
"Why?" She was beginning to feel like a school teacher, always asking questions.
"I think mama is going to have another baby." Tommy informed her seriously.
She did a double take, "why? What would make you think something like that?"
"She has started going to bed the same time as Mickey. She had been throwing up but Papa didn't make her go to sickbay. She even took a nap yesterday. Papa has been volunteering to do stuff and she been letting him," Tommy listed her 'symptoms.'
"That doesn't mean that she is pregnant." Mommy said.
"It did last time. When she was pregnant with Mickey. I want a sister this time. I asked for a sister last time but I got Mickey instead," Tommy stated.
She decided to let this subject drop, the next one was much more important, "Where do you want to live? With Mama, Papa and Mickey or with me and your Dad?"
He looked at her like she had lost her mind. His answer was decisive, "Mama and Papa."
That answer was expected. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that raising a child was hard work and she rather liked her role in life as a grand parent. Starting over again with a nine year old was a recipe for disaster, especially when the child wanted to be with his Mama and Papa.
The major problem was her husband, the Admiral. He saw this as a way to 'fix' the mistakes of the past. Tommy didn't need fixing, just left with his new parents to finish growing up. He was brighter then he was the first time. He had more interests and seemed more open.
He still made jokes, but his philosophy of life couldn't be the same. The jokes lacked their brittle sarcastic edge that she remembered so well. She remembered walking into the kitchen one day when Tom was there with both his sisters, just before he left for the Academy. He stated emphatically "Laugh and the universe laughs with you, cry and the universe laughs at you. If you remember that life is a lot easier." He was seventeen and he sounded like a cynical war veteran. Tommy here was still innocent of that corruption, she said a quick prayer that he would always be so. She didn't want that to happen again. Tommy seemed to embrace the sensitive side of his nature. Music, taking care of Mickey and dreaming of medicine focused him on more than just flying. It was like he didn't need to escape his life this time.
The admiral made blustering threats in the other room. He didn't like Tommy's school records. This upset Janeway considerably. Tommy's worst subject was physics, and that was a 92%. How could anyone complain about a report card with a 97% average over seven content areas? He was at the top of his class and was going to a private school for gifted children. This new school was even more exclusive than the best academy prep school on earth. What did this guy want . . . perfection? Tommy was good but he wasn't perfect. They even knew why the physic grades were lower than the other subjects. Tommy understood physics on an instinctual level and converting that into symbols was difficult. The instinct that made his flying brilliant and inspired also held down the physics grade. Truthfully she rather he have the instincts rather than a meaningless grade.
When he started threatening to challenge custody, Janeway went into her full Captain mode.
"I will see to it that you never get custody of Tommy. How dare you complain about his grades. Those don't give you a full measure of his abilities. We didn't let him fly until he was old enough to understand what a responsibility it was. I always wondered why anyone would let a four year old fly a shuttle. I knew that he asked but really, a responsible parent would not have taught a child a skill that requires so much maturity before they were ready. He is a happy, well adjusted child. You are not going to destroy that. I went through all his old logs, I found references to some of his childhood memories. Tom's logs will sink you." Janeway used to admire this man but when she review Tom's logs she had found that the man that she had thought that she knew didn't exist. The admiral was a great officer, not a great man and should never have became a parent.
"I'll get Tommy," Chakotay stated. He knew that this was not a good idea.
They left but Tommy's mother contacted them later. She was happy with Tommy's progress and didn't want to change his living situation. She did want to see pictures of Tommy and to hear about life on Voyager. Tommy was happy with his life and she didn't want him to become the old Tom. The admiral didn't even understand that he was trying to repeat the past. The same past that nearly destroyed Tom. He turned traitor against the federation not for politics but because they would let him fly. The only thing he did that he was taught had worth, the only thing that gave him any feeling of self-worth. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't stopped it from happening, she didn't think that flying would turn him from a child to a prodigy.
Chakotay wasn't surprised when they were served with documents demanding that they turn Tommy over to his father the next morning. Their happy little family was about to go through a legal challenge that would be difficult. They hired a lawyer and countered the order, asking for an early court date. Chakotay found a certain irony in this situation, he never dreamed that he would be fighting to keep Tom Paris. Of course he wasn't fighting for Tom Paris, he was fighting for his oldest son, Tommy. Life had changed so much since the Caretaker.
Actually the court case wasn't as hard as Chakotay had feared. The lawyer used Tom's logs as evidence and knew exactly where to dig dirt on the admiral's past child raising activities. The testimony from Tom Paris' sisters was damaging to the admiral. Kathleen admitted the broken arm that Tommy had was not a childhood accident but 'punishment' for not being able to read a book. The logic that Tommy was three and could not reasonably be expected to know how to read had not deterred the admiral from punishing Tommy for not meeting his unrealistic expectations.
The judge was not happy to hear about Tom's childhood and was not about to inflict it on Tommy. Even he referred to Tom and Tommy as separate people. He awarded custody to Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. He awarded the Admiral supervised visitation, if the supervisor believed that the visits were abusive or damaging to Tommy, the visits would be ended. He also commented that he was unhappy that the statue of limitations prevented prosecution of the admiral for child abuse and assault.
~~~
Tommy understood that he was home to stay with Mama and Papa.
He asked the big question the night after the judge made his decree at dinner, "When is the new baby due?"
Chakotay choked on his water, "How did you know?"
"Simple, this is the second baby you know," Tommy stated. "When is it due?"
"Seven months," Janeway stated. It amazed her just how observant he was at time. She could remember the old Tom who knew everything that happened on Voyager. It seemed that was a talent that he was born with to go with the inborn ability to flirt.
~~~
Tommy Janeway was amazed at how life had turned out. He was now a Starfleet doctor serving on a starship. According to his records, he was the only person to ever graduate from the academy twice at the age of 21, with 24 years between graduations. The first time he entered just before his eighteenth birthday and this time just after his sixteenth. The medical degree had added an extra year to his academy stay. All the extra reading the Doc had given him over the years had cut down on the classes that he needed. That did make sense to Tommy, Doc had been the person that had introduced the idea of the body as a constant battle field with tiny armies fighting for control. It was a view of medicine that no little boy in love with stories of Klingon warriors could resist.
He occasionally pulled a shift at the helm. His piloting skills usually came into play for shuttle rescue missions. Fancy flying followed by fancy medicine. His only problem is that he loved both. According to both Harry and B'Elanna, he still had his heroic streak but because he got his adrenal rushes in medicine now rather than away missions, he had a much better chance of seeing forty this time around.
All the hassles of court and the custody battle turned out to be unnecessary. The visitation supervisor to end the Admiral's visitation rights after only two visits. He had seen his Mommy and sisters often over the years but not his father. His Mommy was very specific about her role in his life--grandma. She provided occasional love and support but didn't make any of the decisions related to his upbringing. In may ways, it was exactly like her role the first time around.
Mama had been pregnant and that time he did get the little sister that he wanted. Lynn had been a beautiful baby who hated the baby song that he had wrote her. Mickey had loved his but that's life. Lynn was a true Janeway-- she was bound for command school while Mickey was doing cultural anthropology. Mama had also made Starfleet history as being the only women who was pregnant when she was promoted to admiral.
Tommy knew that he truly was blessed. He had listened to his old logs from before the incident and heard loneliness and a fear of failure. Those were emotions that he didn't have now. He never thought that he would ever be able to explain his strange double lived life but gradually he had stopped trying. He hadn't even aged back to 27 when he lost all those years, and started over with practically a blank slate. This time he had been blessed--with parents that made him a priority in their lives. Life hadn't been all smooth sailing but when you know failure is just another step on the road of life, one mistake can't destroy your life. Tommy had to admit that he had made mistakes but he has owned up to those mistakes and moved on.
Someone had commented once that children need problems to build character as they grow. Tommy knew that problems didn't make you strong, how you deal with them did. If the old logs were accurate, Tom had never been given reasonable expectations to grow into. Expectations that require that a eight year old act like a cadet had nearly destroyed Tom. His mama and papa refused to let that happen to him.
Tommy's biggest problems right now was trying to explain to his fiancee about Tom Paris's life and "the blessing" that had created Thomas Paris Janeway, M.D. He had taken mama's last name about a year before entering the academy. He didn't want Tom's past to come back and haunt him. His parents knew that was one of the reasons for the change but it wasn't the only one. His love for his parents was the main reason.
The End.