THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

Lt. Diana Farber, Private log, Stardate 52117.6

It has been four weeks since the Hirogen left Voyager. I still can't believe that Captain Janeway gave them copies of the holodeck designs. But, she's the captain; and she did go through just as much as the rest of us at the hands of those manipulative monsters. Even so, we did lose three more crew members to injuries sustained by Hirogen "games". Although I can't remember *anything* of the scenarios into which I was placed, there are a few scars that remain that the doc couldn't completely heal. I still wonder what happened that has left large red marks, about 5 by 10 centimeters, on each of my middle thighs. I cringe to even imagine... and doc is not talking.

Everyone is openly singing the praises of the doctor and Seven of Nine for their "heroic" work in de-programming the imbedded neurotransmitters in Captain Janeway and the rest of the senior staff, allowing them to overcome the Hirogen. But, there is another hero to this story, too, and he deserves some of that credit. The problem is --- unlike the doc and Seven --- he does not want any of the adulation; he's just happy to have things back to normal (whatever that may be!) and be rid of the gigantic terrorists. Unlike the rest of us, he remembers all to well their savage treatment... using him as a pawn in their games. Harry Kim is the person we should be thanking, too; Harry, the humble hero.

Maybe I should say something to him; we're working together on the next shift in astrometrics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beta shift was in full swing on Voyager. Astrometrics, as the newest department on the ship, was always busy, and this evening was no different. The starship was receiving images from an asteroid field 10 light years away, and the projections on the screen were full, lively and colorful. Unlike the gray rocks that most people imagined as stereotypical galaxy "garbage", these objects appeared as a veritable rainbow of colors and textures. The crew in attendance, Lieutenant Farber as the senior officer, Ensigns Harry Kim and Terrence Karpel, and crewmen Connie Spring and Atar Patel, were valiantly documenting the mineral contents of each new object as it appeared.

"Lt. Farber, I've found several that appear to have a high level of radioactivity," Harry shouted over to the shift commander. "Downloading elemental breakdown... now. Oh... wow! Look at that dilithium content! B'Elanna is going to like this!" he continued, rapidly keying in the information to engineering.

Diana Farber quickly took four lengthy paces over to Harry's terminal. Noting his entries, she said, "Make sure that the captain knows about this. I'm certain that she'll want to set a course for this area. It's a little out of our way; but with a field as rich as this, it will be worth our time. Good work, Harry," she said, as she patted him on his shoulder.

He turned and looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes and smile wide with the satisfaction of a job well done. "Thanks, Lieutenant. That's what I'm here for!" His face gleamed with the innocent pride that Harry always seemed to exude.

Farber was suddenly very conscious of her hand still resting on his shoulder, and she quickly pulled it away. "By the way, Ensign Kim, I've been meaning to pass along my thanks to you for all your efforts in the Hirogen debacle. Your efforts --- particularly since you were cognizant of events throughout -- were... um... greatly appreciated.

Harry started blushing. "I'm afraid that I didn't do enough... at least, to save the crew from some of their hardships. I was just... *so mad*! You know, I have *no* idea why they chose me to be their dupe." He lowered his head and started shaking it negatively. "I just wish that I could have fought them off better... sooner..." He sighed and breathed deeply, wanting to just forget the entire bizarre month. "So many people hurt... traumatized... killed. Why couldn't I have..."

Diana suddenly realized that her intended compliment had, instead of brightening Harry's attitude, opened up his sublimated guilt. She immediately wanted to take back the words... at least, rephrase them.

"Harry, that's not what I meant... you must realize that if it hadn't been for you, that we would not have been reinstated to ourselves. By your actions, you bought us time.. and helped the doc deprogram us. I, for one, am most grateful to you. I'm just sorry... that more of the crew don't acknowledge your role in the whole episode." She once more placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

This time, he looked up at her and sincerely smiled. "Thanks... Diana... er... Lieutenant. It's good that someone cares... and understands." He reached up and briefly covered her hand with his. She suddenly became aware of a rising warmth in her face, and quickly withdrew her hand... and herself from the compromising position.

"Yes... well, let's see if we can find some more dilithium, folks. Maybe even some latinum," she said jovially, changing the strange aura that had arisen. The tall woman briskly returned to the instrument panel she had been monitoring and resumed her observations. He watched her for a few minutes --- she was once more intent on her observations; his observations were intent in focusing on her tall frame and the light hair that fell almost to her shoulders.

The atmosphere of the room turned lighthearted, as Ensign Karpel recounted yet again the story regarding the newest being aboard the ship.

"It seems that when Tuvok and Nicoletti came back from the supply run to Rygum Nova that she had brought a furtin on board the shuttle. Susan had found it trailing after her and knew that he would say 'no'. So, she stuck it into her backpack and kept the little fuzzball under cover in her quarters for two months. During the reign of our "visitors", one of the big guys was ransacking her quarters and the furtin jumped on his back and bit his neck. He then scurried into the hall and into the Jeffries' tube system, and the Hirogen never *could* find him. The furtin did manage to find Chakotay, though... when he and the captain were crawling around through the tubes. The little guy was hungry, and decided that the Commander's leg looked mighty tempting. It's a wonder that his scream didn't snap all of us back into reality..."

Fraser listened to the story with interest, as the rest of the quintet laughed anew at the tale. She knew that Nicoletti was harboring a four-footed refugee, but she hadn't heard the bit about the ship's first officer. The image of him and Captain Janeway in a Jeffries tube, and then his commotion when the animal bit him...

"Hey, Terry --- better watch your use of pronouns when referring to the Susan's furtin. That 'he' is a she --- unless some males in this neck of the galaxy can give birth! I heard yesterday that Nicoletti is now the proud aunt to three new furtins. She's scared to death that Tuvok is going to hear about them and they'll end up as Neelix's newest casserole."

Crewman Spring could not keep quiet any longer. "He wouldn't! Why, I'll bet Mr. Tuvok himself would loose that stony face of his if he saw those darling little creatures! I guess that's why she was so hungry all the time and thought that Mr. Chakotay's leg looked pretty good," she chattered, her short blonde curls bouncing with each word.

"You've seen them?" Farber asked excitedly, her pupils dilating with a rising interest.

Connie's body was now dancing with vivacity. "Yep. They are *so* tiny and cute! Just like kittens. In fact, at first glance I thought that mama furtin was a cat, with her beautiful coat, the steely green eyes and those ears that stick straight up... although the ears are so tall that they look like the poor animal will tip over any time! And that long, curled tail... just like she could wrap it around any available tree branch and swing away!

"Anyway, Susan was saying that they were born sometime during the night cycle night before last... she heard this strange soft 'mewing' sound coming from behind the sofa in her sitting area. She followed the sound and saw her favorite off-duty sweater all rolled up. She leaned down and pulled the material back and was greeted with her enlarged 'family'. That's why she was late to her shift yesterday morning."

"Kittens!" Diana Farber sighed, half under her breath. "Oh, I have always adored cats. I wonder if..."

"Um... ladies, I hate to dampen your daydreams," interrupted Harry, "but don't you think we should ask permission from the captain before this goes any further?"

Both women were on top of him in a flash. Spring grabbed him by his shoulders, while Fraser quickly placed her open hand across his mouth.

"Not a word of this to the captain!" she exhorted. "I'm sure that there are some... er... 'private sides' to Captain Janeway's life that she doesn't share with us."

Harry was shaking from laughter, as he shrugged them off. "Geez, you are really taking this seriously, aren't you! But, hey --- your secret is mine." He sighed. "Oh, boy. Three more mouths to feed on the ship. Hope you have enough replicator rations!" He quickly grabbed Fraser's receding hand, as she began her more calmed retreat. His eyes locked onto her dark ones as he said playfully in a voice heard just between the two of them, "But then, maybe you could share some of mine."

*Red flag!* thought Farber. *What just happened here? Volleyball and poker games on the holodeck are one thing; but, mister, this might be out-of-bounds...* She tried to muster an authoritarian face before responding.

"I beg your pardon? Ensign, perhaps you would like to rephrase what you said." She straightened herself to a full standing position and turned to head back to her workstation, aware that he was starting to follow her. She was not necessarily unhappy or uncomfortable, but noted that this was not the time or place for such an encounter.

"Aw, come on, Diana. Nothing serious. It's just that... well, I'd really like to see you in some situation other than work, the mess hall or holodeck." His expression brightened. "I've got an idea. Let me ask Susan if I can bring you by to see Scilla and her offspring."

"Scilla?"

"Yeah... oh, that's the furtin's name. Sort of goes along with that gray silky fur of hers, don't you think?" He knew she was hooked. She wouldn't relent now.

"Scilla and her kittens."

"Tomorrow?"

"It's a deal, Mr. Kim."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry contacted Diana early the following day. "Susan thinks that right after alpha shift might be a good time to come meet her 'tribe'. They're still young, but she says that they are quite alert, and unlike Earth 'kittens', these little tykes have their eyes open already, and have become adept at running around."

"Fine," she said. "See you on deck 6 around 1600. And...uh... Harry... you haven't mentioned the furtin kittens to anyone, have you?" she queried, knowing that he was contacting her from an alpha shift on the bridge.

"I promise you, mum's the word. Um... you're frequently my 'boss', and I certainly wouldn't want to get you into any trouble." He heard the stifled moan at the other end of the comm message.

"Never, Harry; and we all know that *you* never get into any trouble!" Her low laughter could still be heard as he closed the communication.

*Well, maybe there have been a few times when I've been in some less-than-desirable situations,* he thought, trying to push a multitude of memories to the back of his mind... images of coffins and chutes; dancing damsels and angered aliens. Yeah, he had had a few scrapes in the last few years...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was waiting for Diana at Nicoletti's door.

"Sorry... I had to download a whole pile of info for Seven, and she kept wanting to see more figures to compare. What a prima donna she has turned into, always..." Diana suddenly became quiet, forgetting the well known crush that Harry had once had on the "built" blonde Borg.

"It's okay, Diana. I'm completely over that infatuation," he said, as the blood still managed to inflame a telltale blush on his face. "I like women who can appreciate more than themselves," he said, trying to help her out of the obvious hole into which she had placed herself. "Besides, Seven could *never* appreciate what we're going to see!" His smile became broad with the delight of anticipation.

He buzzed Nicoletti's door, which came flying open to a scream from the short haired lieutenant. "Eeeeeekkkkk.... watch it, folks... they're on a rampage!"

Harry and Diana took two steps into the room, only to feel a cool breeze of movement circling around their feet then darting into Susan's sleeping area.

"I'm sorry; they have been like that since I got in. Whew," she said, as she dropped into a nearby chair, her short dark hair settling in the back of the chair, "they have rapidly become quite a handful. Scilla plays with them, but she makes no pretense of trying to run around with them. I hope they stop long enough for you to get to see them." Scillia came up and curled around her feet, thankful for some relief in her frenzied life, too.

As if on cue, the tireless trio peeked around the corner of the door to the other room. Three pair of intense blue eyes glistened from the ovoid faces, all gray fur except for their flat, coal black noses and the enormous erect ears. They could have been clones, except one had its ears tipped in black, and another had a white circle around its right eye. The one whose head was on the top of the strange little knoll took a couple of tentative steps towards the two new additions to his world. The steps became braver as he sensed no harm in the tall beings. Scillia's eyes followed his journey, darting back and forth from her little one to Susan's friends. In a cat-like lowered position, he slunk along the floor.

Just as he reached Diana, she could stand the wait no longer. In a graceful swoop, she leaned down and picked up the small furtin. His coat felt like the smoothest silk on her skin, and she raised it to her face to see it more closely. It filled her hand, and spilled over just a little bit; the small creature barely weighed a kilo.

Mama Scillia was now a little more concerned, and she wandered over to Diana, monitoring this human who had taken such a liking to her kitten. She stood at Diana's feet, looking up at her with a very solicitous gaze. Diana was stroking the small animal, who was now eliciting a low purr-like noise.

A buzz at the door announced a new visitor. Susan gave the word and the doors opened, allowing a very excited Connie Spring entrance. Her shriek as she saw the kitten in Diana's hand startled the little furry being, and, in a gigantic leap, he went from Diana's hand, to the floor... and out the door, running at a speed that was quite unbelievable for his size, down the hall of Deck 6.

Quickly in pursuit of the illegal resident were Diana and Harry.

The small animal was zigzagging down the corridor, quickly headed for an intersection.

Harry yelled out, "Diana, keep an eye on him. I'm going to open the Jeffries tube here and try to set up a force field to keep him in this area."

He quickly opened the covering leading to the conduit and hopped inside, scrambling to find the panel he needed. While he was trying to tap in his instructions, he heard footsteps coming closer to the opening. Suddenly, he heard Diana let out a scream,"No... don't go in there!" At about the same time, he felt a swipe of gray furry motion go past his hand -- the furtin was in the Jeffries' tube!

Diana climbed in and started crawling after the animal, scurrying past Harry in her retrieval. Harry, in turn, started following her, copying her fast crab crawl in the cramped space.

"I've set up the force field division about 15 meters from here; he can't get far now," Harry exclaimed.

Diana suddenly stopped and looked back at Kim. "It's not going to hurt him, is it?" she asked, with tears forming in her eyes.

"No, just a slight stun, I'm sure. With that critter's momentum, it'll barely slow him down."

"There he is!" she shouted. Sure enough, the furtin was in clear sight in front of them. Suddenly, a bright blue flash appeared about 4 meters ahead. The furtin jumped, back shaking his little head, but otherwise seemingly unharmed.

"Poor little baby!" Diana crooned, picking him up and cradling him. He sensed her concern, and curled up against her. Harry sank back against the wall of the tube, in relief that they wouldn't have to go chasing all over the ship, hoping that fried furtin wouldn't be the next thing on the menu. Although, if the captain ever found out... Perspiration was forming on his forehead.

"We'd better get your 'poor little baby' back to his happy home before *we* loose ours! Can you carry him and crawl out all right?"

"Sure," said Diana. "I'll just tuck him into my uniform." With that, she gently placed him inside her tunic, and zipped it completely up under her chin. "Piece of cake!" she stated resolutely.

"Yeah, well... I just hope he doesn't get any bright ideas about you being in his mama," Harry laughed.

Diana looked at him with a mock fake expression. "Ensign Kim, whatever do you mean?"

Harry once more was blushing. "Well... I... uh,oh. I'm sorry, Lieutenant. That was out of order."

But Diana was laughing with him, not at him. "Harry, it's nice to know that you can think of me as... a woman, and not always as 'one of the guys'."

"Oh, no... you've *never* been 'one of the guys'! I mean... oh, geez." The opening of the long operations tube never looked more welcome. It was a closure to his discomfort.

"Ah... here we are." He stuck his head out, and noted an empty hall. "And the coast is clear." He hopped out, and then turned, offering his hand to Diana, who was trying to turn around and exit feet first, without jarring her hidden treasure, which was once more becoming lively.

"Race you back to Nicoletti's," she said, as she hurried down the hall.

Susan heard them coming, and had the door opened when they got there. "Did you...????"

"Find him? Yep, mission completed, ma'am," grinned Harry, as he turned his hands toward Diana, who was unzipping her tunic and gently urging one little frightened furtin out into the relative safety of his "home". "I don't think he'll be interested in any more side trips anytime soon."

Susan took her charge from Diana, further soothing him. But he looked up at Diana, and started crying. Susan smiled, as she continued her stroking. "Well, little one, it looks as if you've found a new friend." She then continued speaking to Diana. "So... do you want a pet?"

Diana's eyes took on a new glow. "Oh... Susan. May I have him? He's adorable!"

Nicoletti was laughing. "Was there ever any question? But, I *do* think he'll need just little more time with 'mom'. However, you have visiting privileges whenever..."

"And a name... he needs a name!" said Diana. "Thanks so much, Susan," said the taller woman, as she leaned into her friend with a warm hug.

Susan's twinkling laugh continued. "With all the reading you do, I'm sure you'll find the perfect one. Now, I'd better try to get these little angels settled down!"

Diana turned to Harry, "I thinks that our cue to leave. Thanks again, Susan."

Susan was pushing her friends towards the door. "Get. Before they try The Great Escape again!" The doors whooshed open, and Diana and Harry found themselves in the hall.

Harry suddenly realized that something was missing. "Oh, boy. I think I left my padd in the Jeffries tube. Come on; let's go look."

He grabbed Diana's hand, and they took off down the hall. When they got to the entrance of tube #67, their previous hunting ground, the door was still open from their earlier escapade. "Wow... we're lucky no one came along and found this open. Then there really would have been hell to pay. Come on... let's look for it," he continued as he hopped through the entrance, reaching out to his partner-in-crime. Diana sighed, then took his hand and hopped in after him.

They were slowly making their way towards the area of the computer panel which Harry accessed when they heard footsteps in the hall. The clatter stopped right by the opening, and, although they couldn't make out whose voice it was, they did hear an audible mumble. "*Who left this off? Better get it back on.* And with that, there was a "thump...click" and their world became dark, lit only by the small amount of light being emitted from the panel.

Harry sighed and leaned back. "Ow!" he said, and then reached around himself. "Well, at least I've found my padd; here it is." And he produced his find.

Diana leaned back against the opposite wall. "And we do know that those doors can be popped open. But, you know, it's sort of peaceful in here." She leaned her head back against the metal. "And it's cool on my skin. All that running around had warmed me up. And it all was starting to give me a headache."

Harry's legs were stretched out next to hers, their limbs going in opposite directions. The lengths were about matched, with their feet meeting the upper hip areas of each other.

"Diana, you get headaches an awful lot, don't you?" Harry asked with concern. He didn't realize that with his question, he started to gently rub her hip with the toe of his boot.

She sighed... whether from thanks for someone who seemed to care... or (and she quickly tossed the thought away)... from his contact. "I have for a long time. I used to think that it was due to certain foods that I ate; but the doc has a theory that it's because I tend to... keep things locked up inside. I guess... that really I am somewhat shy... and all this time being away from everyone one... well, I guess I really haven't made that many close friends on Voyager. There's Susan... and a couple of others. But, I really prefer my books..."

"And cards," chimed in Harry. "You're really quite a poker player! And I heard someone say that you also like an old word game called... um 'Scrambled"."

Diana was now laughing. "Scrabble... it's called Scrabble. Yeah, I even have a version on the mainframe computer. We'll have to play it sometime."

"I'd like that... Diana." He straightened himself to a more upright seated position, pulling his legs up. "You know, it was fun today, chasing after old Fritz the furtin with you."

"Harry! That's it!" cried Diana, now pulling herself up and resting on her knees in the middle of the long enclosure. I'll name the furtin Fritz! Thank you!" In her excitement, she reached out and grabbed his neck... and kissed him. She had meant for it to find its destination on his cheek, but somehow or another, his lips leapt out and took its place.

She jumped back. "I'm sorry. That wasn't what I meant to do..."

"What *did* you mean to do?" grinned Harry Kim, now moving closer to her and raising his hands to her shoulders. "I certainly didn't mind, if you didn't."

Diana became flustered. "No, I don't mind... I mean, I just wanted to... to..."

"Thank me," Harry finished for her. "Okay. I'll buy that. So... now let me thank you for our fun today," he said, as he pulled her closer. And he leaned forward, and placed his lips exactly where he had aimed. This time, neither of them pulled back.

************** Is there a new couple on Voyager? ***************