The Perfect Gift
Ancarett
Synopsis: What present would make the heart of Lieutenant
B'Elanna Torres, Voyager's Chief Engineer, beat faster?
(Besides Tom Paris, that is!) A coda to "Random Thoughts"
fulfilling the "Archivist's Challenge."
Disclaimer: The characters, setting and series belong
to Paramount et Cie. The inspiration belongs to the P/T
Collective Archivist's Challenge. The rest is history!
Tom Paris absently dressed for duty. His service-gray
turtleneck all but disappeared beneath Starfleet's command
series red and black pullover. One final tug brought the
uniform smoothly into place, but all the while his eyes
vaguely focused on an unwieldy, dull metallic box, sitting
to one side of the counter. Such a small thing to inspire
so much distress and doubt-emotions that Tom did his best
to avoid!
Ever since he'd heard of B'Elanna's arrest on the Mari
homeworld, Tom was unable to recapture the initial glee
he'd felt in finding the "perfect" present for Voyager's
bewitching and fascinating engineer. Lieutenant B'Elanna
Torres: the woman he loved.
The present had lain in his quarters, forgotten during
the feverish hours of B'Elanna's imprisonment, while Tom
created and presented a series of rescue plan, hoping to
convince Commander Chakotay to authorize a mission to win
B'Elanna's release. But they both knew that Captain
Janeway's sense of fair play precluded any open attack on
the Mari justice system. Relief couldn't come close to
describing Tom's feelings when Tuvok's dogged, undercover
investigation had revealed the seamy underside of "perfect"
Mari pacifism. The planetary authorities released their
prisoner and Voyager cleared the system almost before the
last official apologies were made.
B'Elanna was back. Wonder of wonders, no lasting
mental trauma was detected during her medical scans.
Unable to find further excuses to detain his impatient
patient, the holodoc finally excused Voyager's engineer
with a dark look. Clearly he knew that his prescription
for rest would be ignored.
Experience had taught him well. With Tom at her side,
Lieutenant Torres made a beeline for the engine room, not
her quarters.
"B'Elanna," Tom said warningly as her intentions
became clear. "You're supposed to be resting for the next
twelve hours, not on duty!"
The half-Klingon shot him a speaking glance. "I know,
Tom," she replied with exaggerated patience, "I was there
when the doctor gave me his `advice'." Her steps gradually
increased in speed and length until even the long-limbed
helmsman found himself rushing to match her stride.
B'Elanna continued as they passed through Main
Engineering's outer doors. "I'll just rest better after
checking out my engines. I'm still a little . . . keyed
up, that's all. This will help me relax."
Tom understood her unspoken message. B'Elanna was
dealing with the trauma of her confinement and aborted
mental "cleansing" by clinging to the normal and relatively
safe routines of Voyager. A small part of him felt
disappointment that she didn't turn to him for this
comfort, but their relationship was so new and untested
that such an alternative obviously hadn't entered her mind.
He suppressed a sigh and leaned his shoulder against a
bulkhead, unobtrusively waiting while B'Elanna finished her
ritual check-up.
Brown eyes quickly scanned the main monitoring
screens. Practiced taps pulled up detailed records of the
last two shifts' repair logs and warpcore performance
benchmarks. Breathlessly, a junior ensign stood
respectfully at a distance. Gamma shift usually saw the
Chief Engineer only rarely. Breakdowns, crises, alien
takeovers or "surprise inspections" were never cause for
celebration. But whatever Lieutenant Torres saw on the
monitors seemed acceptable. With a nod, a quick smile to
Lieutenant Carey, who hovered near a secondary set of
screens, B'Elanna turned and abruptly exited the engine
room.
She made it two meters beyond the door where she
suddenly leaned limply against the corridor bulkhead. Tom,
who'd been silent since her discharge from sickbay, gently
seized her upper arms.
"Are you satisfied now, B'Elanna?" he demanded softly.
"Harry and Joe Carey took good care of your engines while
you were gone. NOW"-irritation and concern edged his
voice-"will you get some rest?"
She turned her head to one side, avoiding his eyes.
Tom softly repeated his question as he ducked his face in
an effort to meet her gaze.
She looked up resentfully. "I'll try, it's just . . .
oh, you wouldn't understand!" B'Elanna wrenched away from
Tom and strode purposefully towards the turbolift.
"Try me," Tom suggested as he followed. "You might be
surprised."
"I just can't get it out of my mind," B'Elanna began
hesitantly. "Sitting there in the Mari's `medical center'
waiting for them to `cleanse' me! The injustice of it all,
I mean, wiping out your MIND because somebody might pick up
a bad thought! And nobody there understood what I was
going through. They all thought I was some sort of monster
for thinking the way I did. And I couldn't do a damned
thing about it!"
"I know," Tom offered, "at least a little bit of what
you're going through. Remember," he qualified as she
tilted her head in surprise, "the Captain picked me up
after I'd been jail for two years. Two years of hell,
where everybody either hated me for my family, my screw-up
at Caldik Prime or my turn with the Maquis."
As the turbolift doors opened, he indicated she should
precede him to her quarters. "I'm sorry, Tom," B'Elanna
offered. "It's hard to think of you that way."
"I'm glad," Tom responded dryly. "You sure hate for
the woman you love to dwell on your unsavory past." She
smiled at this weak joke. Tom's spirits began to rise as
they entered her quarters. If B'Elanna was able to see
that she wasn't alone in her experience, she was on the way
to getting through the trauma.
"Look, I'll say good night now, B'Elanna," Tom said as
they stood uncertainly in the dimly lit room. He ducked
his head to steal a sweet kiss. "You need your rest and
I've got to report two hours early this morning for" he
grimaced feelingly "biannual helm efficiency tests." Her
arms stole around him in a fierce hug and B'Elanna gazed up
at him with tear-bright eyes.
"Thanks Tom, for understanding. You're too good for
me sometimes."
"Yeah, I know," he cheerfully replied, then quickly
ducked out of the doors of her quarters as B'Elanna raised
her hands and began an indignant reply.
****
The helm efficiency tests, mercilessly administered by
Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, had taken almost the entire day
as each of Voyager's regular pilots took the ship through a
series of drills and maneuvers designed to sharpen their
skills. Even the Captain had taken a turn at the combined
simulator and conn exercises, although hers had been
briefer than that allotted to the regular pilots.
Commander Chakotay joked at the wilted expression of the
men and women finally released from Tuvok's exhaustive
regime, staggering out of the briefing room.
"Who's up for a rappelling expedition at 2200 hours?
Neelix has programmed some famous Talaxian cliffs and is
inviting all comers." The second-in-command's dark eyes
glittered at the universal groan from the piloting ranks.
"What about you, Tom? Isn't climbing one of your favorite
sports?"
"Not tonight, Commander," Tom replied, raising his
hand warningly, "I think I'll just find a quiet soft corner
and curl up."
His admission of weakness inspired a round of ribbing
from the other pilots, then a ridiculous series of
elevating complaints as they entered the turbolift. Tom
lagged behind as he caught Chakotay's eye.
"What is the problem, Commander?" he challenged.
Rapidly, Tom searched his memory for any recent actions of
his Chakotay might have caught wind of. The prank that he
and Harry had pulled on the holodoc, replacing his
"patient-friendly" vocabulary with ancient slang
equivalents from old Earth movies? It had been worth it to
hear of Ensign Vorik's stiff outrage at being diagnosed
with "jock itch!
"Have you given it to her, yet?" Chakotay asked.
Tom's eyes widened with surprise, and then he relaxed
as he realized that Chakotay had made an unintended double
entendre. "Oh, you mean B'Elanna's present," Tom replied.
"Umm, well, no, I haven't, actually, yet." His voice
trailed off defensively, then he regarded the Commander
with renewed suspicion. "Anyway, how did you know?"
"Kath-, I mean, the Captain told me about it. After
all, you did get clearance from her and Tuvok to bring the
package aboard. Something so, unusual, was sure to arouse
some comment." Chakotay failed to conceal his grin as Tom
shifted his weight from one foot to another under the older
man's scrutiny.
"Yeah, well, like I said, I haven't given it to her
yet. It didn't seem right last night, not after she just
got released from sickbay, and then today, with Lieutenant
Tuvok's tests. . . ." Tom's voice trailed off in
resignation.
"I understand, Lieutenant. And I imagine I'm not
helping matters, keeping you here on the bridge. See you
tomorrow, that is, unless you've reconsidered the climbing
expedition?" Chakotay's voice ended on a rising note.
Tom grinned. Obviously the commander had been to slow
to evade the cherubic Talaxian's invitation and was seeking
fellow sufferers. "Nah, I think I'll give that a miss
tonight. See you tomorrow, commander." He jauntily exited
to the turbolift.
As the doors closed, bringing privacy, Tom queried the
computer for B'Elanna's location. "Lieutenant Torres is on
Deck Four." Tom's brow rose consideringly. "Paris to
Torres," he paged.
B'Elanna replied edgily, "Torres here."
"Just wanted to know, are we still on for dinner
tonight?" Tom winced as he prepared himself for
disappointment. B'Elanna's first shift back should have
ended almost an hour ago, and yet it seemed she was still
at it.
"Dinner? What time is it, Rodriguez." The pause
lengthened as B'Elanna obviously consulted with some of the
junior engineering staff. "Tom, I'm sorry, it looks like
I'm going to have to give it a miss tonight. We're
replacing some cracked paneling in the upper EPS conduits
and it's gotten a bit tricky . . . ." Her voice trailed
off as the engineering problem reclaimed her attention.
"I understand. I'll probably make an early night of
it anyway. We just finished those helm efficiency tests,
after all." Tom rubbed the nape of his neck and winced
again, this time at the muscles' stiffness.
"Oh, how'd you do, helmboy? Keep your number one
status?" A teasing note entered B'Elanna's husky voice,
transmitted by the communicator.
"Not only did I get the highest scores in ALL
categories, I bettered my last performance by 2.9%," Tom
assured her. "Why, even Tuvok had something good to say."
Tom waited for the inevitable question.
"What something good to say?" B'Elanna asked
curiously, her attention fully restored by Tom's easygoing
banter.
"He said, and I quote, `A noticeable improvement, Mr.
Paris.'" The chuckle that followed over the communicator
brought a smile to Tom's face. It was always a triumph to
win B'Elanna's attention back from her work, even if only
for a moment. -Best to stop while you're ahead, Paris,- he
cautioned himself. "Paris out."
"Torres out." In a few moments, the turbolift doors
opened and Tom was soon at the messhall. The unmistakable
scent of Neelix's cooking filled the air. Cloying
sweetness vied with a slightly scorched meat odor. -Good
thing that Chakotay's still on duty,- thought Tom as he
searched the offerings for something palatable, -the smell
alone would violate all of his dietary sensibilities.-
"Tom, over here," came a hail in Harry Kim's
unmistakably cheery voice. Loading his tray with the most
innocuous of tonight's choices, Tom made his way over to
the small table where Harry sat, nursing a cup of some
steaming beverage. "Heard the scuttlebutt about the tests.
How can you keep topping yourself?" Harry smiled across the
table and raised the mug to his lips.
"Oh you know how it is, Harry, the best just keep
getting better and better," Tom replied airily as he used a
fork to spear some spindly blue fibers. He lifted the
serving in the air and eyed it dubiously before finally
tasting. Finding the results survivable, Tom chewed and
swallowed before continuing, "the rest of you mere mortals
can only hope that such genius will rub off in your
presence."
"We bow at the altar, oh mighty one," joked Harry as
he made a sketchy bow across the table, spilling his hot
drink. "Ouch," he exclaimed as a few drops hit his hands.
Tom's smile widened at his friend's discomfort.
"Maybe I shouldn't make you my chief disciple. You're
a little clumsy for the job," he noted as Harry hurriedly
wiped at the hot liquid with his left sleeve.
"Funny, funny, Tom," Harry answered. "So, I meant to
ask, what did B'Elanna think of her present?"
"Christ, Harry, I haven't had a chance to give it to
her yet!" Tom laid down his fork and explained, "Today's
been hectic for BOTH of us, and now B'Elanna's gone and
cancelled our dinner date because she's wrapped up in some
EPS conduits on Deck Four. Anyway, I'm having second
thoughts about the present."
"But why?" Harry asked incredulously. "We spent hours
in the Mari market, combing it for `just the right thing'
for B'Elanna. Then you spent half an hour fast talking
Lieutenant Tuvok and the Captain to allow us to bring it
aboard. You aren't telling me now that all the work was
for nothing. Especially," Harry concluded darkly, "when I
passed up the chance to have lunch with that Mari dancer to
help you with your shopping."
"I know, I know, Harry, and I appreciate what you did,
but really, after what B'Elanna went through at the hands
of the Mari, do you think she really wants some sort of
souvenir? I mean, maybe it's just going to bring up bad
memories." Tom's shoulders slumped dejectedly as he
speared another forkful of the blue stalks.
"I hadn't thought of it that way, Tom, but I'm sure
B'Elanna would still love the gift. After all, it really
is precisely the kind of gift she'd love!" Harry paused
thoughtfully as Tom continued to eat his dinner. "If
there's anyway I can help," Harry's voice trailed off as he
rose from the table.
"What? Oh, thanks, Harry, but I don't think there's
much you can do to help me out here," Tom replied
abstractedly. He pushed the half-full tray away, then
cleared that and Harry's mug off of the table. Nodding to
a few other shipmates, Tom made his way back to his
quarters.
The damned box sat mutely on the low table in his
quarters. "Don't you start at me, too," Tom warned it. He
tried to relax, reading a historical novel that Captain
Janeway had recommended, but soon set aside the datapadd
containing Cyrano de Bergerac. The hero's insecurities
made it impossible for Tom to lose himself in the novel's
lyrical flow. -Although, admit it, his Roxanne sounds just
as exciting and terrifying a challenge as B'Elanna. No
wonder the guy keeps waffling and ducking behind pretty
boy, Christian. After all, how long did it take me to get
up the courage to approach B'Elanna? And if Sakari IV
hadn't ever happened, I might still be waiting and hoping.-
Finally Tom got ready for bed, although not before
moving the gift box out of sight. Even stowed in the
bathing alcove, its unseen presence haunted his restless
sleep.
****
Now, as Tom readied for a new day, he still debated
over the gift. -Should I give it to her, or just get rid
of it. Harry's right, it is perfect. But Mari will always
bring bad memories.- Tom continued his musings as he made
his way to the bridge.
This day's shift proceeded fairly uneventfully.
Harry's long range scans led the Captain to order a slight
detour to search a particularly rich planetary asteroid
belt for some useable rare elements. The successful
asteroid capture left the bridge and engineering crews
elated and relaxed, while Seven of Nine only raised an
enquiring eyebrow at the resultant hubbub.
Tom also felt pleased, but as the shift wound down, he
felt under increased scrutiny. Every new arrival on the
bridge seemed to stop and stare at him, however briefly.
The attention irritated him. -Probably one of Harry's
jokes.- At the end of his shift, when he handed off the
conn, Tom tried not to rush too obviously off the bridge.
As the turbolift sped him down towards the crew quarters'
decks, Tom closed his eyes briefly and made the decision.
-I'll just get rid of it. Give it to the Captain and
let her have it. She'll probably enjoy it almost as much.-
There, the decision made, Tom could look forward to his
evening. Hopefully, B'Elanna would be free tonight. They
could have dinner and just enjoy some time together. He
mentally rehearsed what he would say to her as the doors to
his quarters glided open.
"Finally," came a growl from the chair. Tom jumped
and stopped dead in the middle of the doorway. B'Elanna
sat quietly in the dimly lit anteroom of his quarters.
Quiet, but watchful and waiting. -Uh-oh,- Tom thought. -
I've seen that look before.-
"Computer, standard illumination," he swiftly directed
as he stepped inside the room, letting the doors swoosh
quietly closed behind him. "B'Elanna, how nice to see you.
I thought you were scheduled to supervise the shuttle
engine realignments till 1900 hours tonight." A finger
nervously tugged at the suddenly too-tight collar of his
uniform.
"I was, but I decided that Vorik and Sanderson can use
the practice. Besides, I just had to see you." The
emphasis on the last sentence settled ominously in Tom's
ears. This was one angry woman.
"See me," he smiled ingratiatingly. "I'm flattered."
"Well, don't be," growled B'Elanna. "All yesterday
and today, I've been feeling like a specimen under the
scanner. Then Harry explained that it was all because
EVERYONE wanted to know what I thought about my present."
"Why, that little sneak," expostulated Tom. B'Elanna
uncurled herself from the chair and in two quick strides
confronted Tom from a breath's distance.
"I'd stop worrying about Harry and start worrying
about yourself, helmboy," warned the engineer. "What's
this about a present."
"Well, you see, B'Elanna," Tom began awkwardly as her
dark eyes drilled him mercilessly, "I bought you something
when we made the stop on Mari. I was all ready to give it
to you when word came about your arrest. Obviously, I had
a lot more on my mind after that than some gift. And then,
when you got released, I wasn't sure that it was such a
good idea anymore."
His hands came up to gently grasp her shoulder, thumbs
rubbing a gentle rhythm along the juncture between
collarbone and neck. "I didn't want to be responsible for
bringing up bad memories, after what they almost did to
you. B'Elanna slowly relaxed as the massage continued.
"It almost killed me, to hear what they were going to do to
you, B'Elanna. I didn't think you'd want anything from
Mari, so I was going to throw it away."
Her eyes flashed open. "Throw away MY present," she
exclaimed. "You'd better not have done that, Tom Paris, or
I'm going to make you have dinner with Neelix for the next
month."
Tom winced at the threat. "Now relax, B'Elanna." He
dropped one hand from her shoulders to gesture to the
bathing alcove. "It's just sitting over there. Why don't
you sit down and I'll bring you your present."
B'Elanna complied while Tom fetched the box. He sat
down beside her and passed her the present with a flourish.
"Sorry there's no fancy wrappings or decorations," Tom
began as B'Elanna examined the plain container with an
assessing eye.
"That's okay, as long as I like what's inside." She
looked up at him suspiciously. "I WILL like what's inside,
won't I Tom. I mean, it's not some joke present that you
and Harry concocted, is it?"
"What?" Tom shook his head dismissively. "No way,
B'Elanna. Harry and I searched hard to find you just the
perfect gift. . . ." His voice trailed off as she broke
the seal.
Inside the box lay an assortment of alien objects:
fragments of larger devices, some micro-molecular relays,
miniaturized power couplings and projection enhancers.
Each item was tagged with a Mari description, to which Tom
had meticulously appended his own translation and notes.
B'Elanna stared speechlessly at the items nestled
against the dark grey packing foam. She finally picked up
one of the relays, lifting it high to eye it consideringly.
Then she carefully returned it to its nest and lifted out
another object.
"You bought me a bunch of broken tools and spare
parts," she breathed as she examined a semi-transparent
tube fitted with small toggles.
"Yeah," Tom muttered shamefacedly. "I guess it wasn't
that romantic, but when I saw them on a seller's table, I
thought of you. The Mari merchant told me that they came
from the workshop of an eccentric inventor. He even had
all the documentation and I took notes of everything he
said. Harry agreed with me that you'd love it."
B'Elanna kept silent for an interminable time. Tom
felt himself babbling. "You wouldn't believe what I had to
go through in order to bring it on board. I had to get the
Captain's permission and Tuvok's clearance, before bringing
unknown alien technologies aboard Voyager." Blue eyes
warily noted B'Elanna's lack of response.
-Oh well,- thought Tom, -Maybe she'll forgive me by
the time we get back to the Alpha Quadrant.- He sat back
glumly. -I knew I should have gotten rid of it- he told
himself as he braced for B'Elanna's response.
Slowly her eyes refocused and B'Elanna carefully laid
the tube back into the box. She placed it onto the table
in front of her and launched herself into Tom's arms.
He fell back against the couch in surprise, arms
folding around her in a tentative embrace. "Tom Paris,
that is the most thoughtful, wonderful, PERFECT gift anyone
has every given me," B'Elanna burbled. She levered himself
up off of his chest to look him in the eye. "No one has
ever given me something so fun! It isn't one of the
typical girlfriend gifts that a guy gets when he wants to
put her in the mood. These are just great for me, B'Elanna
Torres, engineer and scientist."
"Do you have any idea what amazing things are in
there? I can't wait to sit down in with them and start
examining some of the power systems they're using. They're
totally alien and" whatever B'Elanna had to say was cut off
as Tom pulled her head down for a kiss. She returned it
passionately. Tom tasted the sweetness of her mouth and
ran his hands down her back in long strokes. -I guess it
was the perfect gift,- came his last hazy thought before
B'Elanna's enthusiastic response overwhelmed his mind and
body.
THE END
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