EPILOGUE

The sun was peeking over the horizon as Chakotay, Tuvok, and Torres made it out of the castle. Chakotay carried B'Elanna as Tuvok continued to heal her. When they were half-way to the treeline, the ranger placed Torres on the ground, so the wizard could better heal her. Chakotay looked around at his surroundings. He could hear shouts coming from in front of the castle. He smiled. The Randerians were being banished from Wyvern and they were putting up a fight. A half-hearted attempt, but a fight nonetheless. He also believed that Janeway and Nyle were thinking of what to do to the guards who sided with Danion. He knew most of them were loyal to Danion only out of fear. He believed Janeway would go easy on those guards, but the others...
Tuvok's voice brought Chakotay out of his thoughts. He looked at the wizard.
"I have healed her wounds," the wizard repeated, "but she needs rest. I will acompany you in case she needs more healing."
Chakotay nodded, "Good idea."
The two walked back over to Torres, who was lying on the ground unconscious. The ranger picked her up, and they resumed the hike to their horses.
~~
The ride back to Darkiston was uneventful. Tuvok led the way on his horse with Chakotay following. The ranger held Torres in front of him as he led her horse by its reins. He prayed to the gods above that she wouldn't wake up, and find his arm around her. He knew he would need more than Tuvok's healing powers to help him if that happened. To his luck and relief, she remained unconscious the whole ride back.
They arrived in Darkiston when the sun had reached its peak. They rode through the streets until they came to the White Horse Inn. They put the horses in the stable, and Chakotay carried Torres to her room. When he exited her room, Kelta was coming out of Tom's room. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Let me guess," she said, "I have another to look after?"
Chakotay nodded, "And you can bet she's going to be a handful."
Kelta rolled her eyes then answered the ranger's unspoken question, "Tom is doing fine. He gave me a hard time for awhile. He insisted on going to Wyvern, but I finally convinced him that you would be coming back."
"He must have been feeling better," Chakotay explained, smiling.
Kelta shook her head, "I think it was more than that. He was determained to go to Wyvern. He was extremely worried about B'Elanna. After I brought him his food and finally got him to try to sleep, he screamed her name. He tried to convince me to let him go and help her. He thought she was in trouble. I finally got him to realize that she was all right..Why are you looking at me like that?"
Chakotay stared at Kelta in wide eyed surprise. After a moment, he found his voice, "Kelta, B'Elanna was injured during our fight with Danion's Randerians."
"What!?" Kelta stared at the ranger with her own shocked expression, "You mean he somehow knew she was injured?"
Chakotay nodded. He believed he knew why Paris reacted the way he did. If his suspicions were true then what Paris and Torres felt for each other went a lot deeper than mere love.
"Kelta," he began slowly, "Tom and B'Elanna have mated. I know that B'Elanna's people have strong bonds with their mates, but I believe what's between them is a lot stronger."
Kelta nodded, "I have heard of such strong bonds, but they were just stories and very tragic ones at that."
"I don't think this will be tragic," Chakotay said, smiling.
The two then made their way down the stairs to join Tuvok for breakfast.
~~
It was evening when B'Elanna Torres slowly opened her eyes to find a blurry figure hovering above her. She blinked back the blurriness and the figure came into focus.
"Tom," she whispered, smiling. She wanted to grab him in a tight hug, but she felt too weak to make her body do what she wanted.
"I'm here," he whispered and took her hand in his. He brushed some hair off her forehead with his free hand then bent down to kiss her there.
"You should be in bed as well, Paris," she said, trying to sound harsh, but she was more than happy that he was with her.
"I've had enough of being in bed," he replied, "Besides, I wanted to see how you were doing."
"Remember the first time you woke up from being injured?" She asked.
Paris winced and she nodded, "But I more than understand your concern, and I'm grateful for it."
Paris smiled and bent down to kiss her again. At that moment, the door opened, but they tried their best to ignore it as their kiss became more passionate.
"Are you two going to breathe anytime soon?" A voice asked from behind them.
They broke the kiss, and looked to see Kelta holding a bowl in her hand. She was staring at them with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye.
"All right, Tommy, out," Kelta said, "B'Elanna needs her rest, and with you in here, she won't get it."
Paris growled at Kelta, but when he saw that she was not going to give in, he looked at Torres and smiled. He kissed her again then got up and left the room.
When the door shut behind him, Kelta sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled, "He's such a pain in the butt."
Torres smiled as she took the bowl in her hands, "Just part of his charm."
Kelta watched as the warrior ate the soup. Torres stared at her, and noticed that she wanted to say something. She put the bowl down and asked her what was on her mind.
"I have heard stories of very strong bonds between mates, but I never thought I would ever witness one."
"What do you mean?" Torres asked, confused.
Kelta went on to tell her about Paris' behavior last night. She watched as Torres' eyes grew wide in surprise and realization.
"He wanted so much to be with you. To help you, but he was in no condition to travel. I was able to get him calmed down and to sleep. I have never seen anyone so determained as he was. Then Chakotay told me what happened to you. He told me that you and Tom are mates."
Torres attempted to sit up better, but a sharp pain shot through her. She hissed then growled in anger at her condition. Kelta took the bowl away and helped her sit up. As the anger subsided, Torres took the bowl back and finished off the soup.
"We are mates," Torres said after awhile, "but I didn't think our bond would be that strong. I guess I should expect more surprises along the way."
Kelta smiled as Torres handed the bowl back to her. Kelta stood up and headed for the door. Then remembering Paris' determination, Kelta stopped and turned around, her eyes twinkling with delight, "I guess it would be useless to lock your door in order for you to get some rest, huh?"
Torres smiled impishly, "He'll find a way to unlock it. He's a thief after all."
They laughed and Kelta left the room. Torres lied back into the pillows and stared at the ceiling. A wicked smile crossed her lips again as she imagined Paris sneaking into her room after everyone had gone to sleep. With that vision playing in her head, she drifted off to sleep.
~~
B'Elanna Torres's eyes flew open. She thought she heard something, but when she searched the room with her eyes, she didn't see anything. She silently cursed, for her eyes had not adjusted to the dimness of the room. She growled as she slowly sat up in bed, her hands trying to find something to use as a weapon. She froze when she heard a floorboard creak.
"Who's there?" She asked, her voice threatening.
She felt someone sit on the edge of her bed, and she growled as she grabbed the intruder by the throat.
"Answer me!"
"B'Elanna," a familiar voice spoke in shock.
She snarled and released Paris from her grip, "Next time, answer me."
"I'll knock first, next time," Paris said, rubbing his throat,Damn, she's strong.
"Why are you here, anyway?" She asked, "You're suspposed to be in bed."
"I never did what I was told, what makes you think I'm going to start now?" He answered her, a smile in his voice.
"Pest," she said, smiling. Her eyes were now adjesting to the darkness, and she could see his silouhette sitting next to her.
"You wouldn't want me any other way," he whispered.
She smiled then she suddenly remembered her dream, "What made you want to come in here?"
Paris lit the candle he had with him, and set it on the dresser beisde Torres' bed. He stared into her dark eyes as he answered her question, "I felt drawn to come in here. I was sound alseep in my bed when I felt that I should be in here with you. I'm not making any sense am I?"
Torres smiled, "I wanted you in here. I had this dream of you sneaking in here late at night. I guess you 'heard' me."
"Loud and clear," Paris said as he bent down to kiss her.
Torres returned the kiss as she ran her hands through his hair. Paris took his boots off then rolled onto the bed, so Torres was on top of him. Torres sat up and stared at him, a mischievious gleam in her eyes.
"Try not to have us land on the floor this time, Tom," she said.
Paris laughed then watched as Torres slipped her tunic up over her head and tossed it to one side. She smiled as he stared at her as if he was hypnotized. She then bent down and attacked his mouth with hers. She ran her hands under his tunic. She heard him moan softly as she moved her hands over his chest. She broke contact with his mouth as she moved the tunic up and over his head. She tossed it aside then turned back to admire her mate.
Paris was admiring her as well as his hands roamed over the upper half of her body. He heard her growl softly as she tipped her head back. He pulled her closer to him, and kissed her neck then her shoulder. She growled in his ear as she slowly moved her hands down his sides. She stopped at the top of his pants. She ran her fingers between his skin and the pants. She heard him gasp, and she smiled wickedly.
"Hmmm. I found a way to tease you," she said, laughter in her voice.
"Give me some time, and I'll find a way to torture you," he replied just as mischieviously.
"You're no fun."
With that, Paris flipped them over to where he was on top. He began to kiss trails up and down her body. He then stopped at the rim of her pants and smiled wickedly. He blew lightly on her skin and she jumped. He then slowly licked the skin along the pantsline and blew on the skin again. She gasped first then whimpered. She grabbed his hair and gently pulled him back up to her face. She stared at him, and saw the impish smile on his face.
"Youare an imp!" She snarled. She then kissed him as she ran her hands through his hair. She softly growled as he slid her buckskins down and off. She moved her hands down his back to the top of his pants. She slowly slid them off and tossed them across the room. She then flipped him over onto his back.
"Why don't we just lie down on the floor," Paris suggested, "I can already tell we're going to fall on it anyway."
"Not if I can help it," Torres whispered as she bent down to kiss him.
Paris wrapped his arms around her as he returned the kiss. He also hoped that no one would check up on Torres until morning. Torres broke the kiss, and sat up to look into his sparkling blue eyes. She slowly moved down his stomach, kissing him as she went. He closed his eyes and moaned softly. He then felt himself slide into her. He opened his eyes after hearing her moan. He saw a feral grin on her face, and he couldn't help, but return one of his own. The pair soon left the world behind them.
The only thing that interrupted them was the shutters banging open, and a strong wind blowing out the candle as they cried out in esctacy.
END

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