Tom woke the next morning feeling very refreshed. He looked at the chronometer and saw that it was 0630. He stared at it, wide eyed.

*I slept through the night!* Tom was surprised. The only time he got any sleep at all was if he was drunk or sedated. He shook his head and smiled.

*I hope I've seen the last of those nightmares,* Tom thought as he got out of bed and headed into the shower.

Tom entered the Mess Hall to a couple of greetings of sympathy. They told him that they were sorry that he wasn't getting any sleep, and hoped that he would feel better soon. Tom stared after them strangely. He didn't think the whole ship knew about his sleeping problem. Then a vague memory surfaced. Those two were on the Bridge when he snapped at the captain and commander. He closed his eyes and mentally groaned. They were also gossipers.

Tom grabbed a tray of food, and headed for a table far away from the other diners. He did not want to be confronted today about anything; his sleeping problem most of all. He sighed and began to eat his breakfast.

Tom's relief from his nightmares was brief when a flash of light appeared from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw the dark figure near the serving line. He closed his eyes and returned to his meal, hoping it would go away. He knew it wouldn't, though as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Shivering, he forced himself to look up, and before him was the shadowy presence. He stared at it as it glided closer toward him.

Suddenly, it vanished as the sound of a tray being slammed on a surface came to his ears. Tom blinked and saw B'Elanna sitting down across from him, a digusted look on her face.

"B'Elanna?" Tom said cautiously. He was suddenly grateful that she was here. He didn't care if she was angry or not. Her presence was very much welcomed.

"Engineering called me at 0530 this morning, saying that the warp coils I just put in were acting up. I went down there to fix them only to find that nothing was wrong with them. Turns out the person who thought they were acting up hadn't slept in twelve hours, and was quite tired when she checked the coils. Needless to say I was not happy."

"So, there was no problems at all?" Tom asked, picking at his food. His mind was else where, though as he contemplated the evidence before him. The shadow had disappeared twice when B'Elanna came around. He looked at the engineer as she further explained her problem of being awakened at an early hour. Tom began to believe that something about B'Elanna frightened the shadow.

*Why would a shadow be afraid of B'Elanna?* Tom thought as he ate his breakfast. There were several reasons of why most of the crew feared or respected her. Her temper was one reason. He doubted, though that the shadow feared her temper. No one except him could see the figure. There had to be another reason that it vanished when B'Elanna showed up.

*Maybe it's her over all presence that terrifies the shadow,* Tom thought, *Maybe I finally found something that will keep the nightmares at bay. It's worth a try.*

B'Elanna stared at Tom curiously. He hadn't said a word since she began talking. He just stared at her with an odd look on his face. It was making her uneasy, and at the same time aroused.

"So how have you been, Tom?" B'Elanna asked, changing the subject.

"I finally got some sleep last night," Tom answered happily, "I didn't dream at all."

B'Elanna smiled, "That's great, Tom. Do you think you'll finally be able to sleep from now on?"

Tom's features sobered, "I don't know, B'Elanna. The figure showed up again before you sat down. It disappeared when you arrived."

B'Elanna's brow furrowed, "Why do you think that is?"

Tom shrugged, "I haven't figured that out, yet. That's the second time it's vanished after you arrived. I'm guessing there's something about you that it doesn't like."

B'Elanna smiled wickedly, "My temper is enough to frighten anybody away. Maybe it senses that and leaves just in case."

Tom had to smile at that. There were very few people who could stand up to her when she was furious. On of them being Tom himself.

"I'm not afraid of your temper, B'Elanna. Anyway, I don't think it's your temper the figure doesn't like. I don't know what it is, though."

B'Elanna smiled inwardly. She was half-glad and half-aroused that Tom wasn't afraid of her temper. Most of the time, he could fire back with a temper of his own. She had to admit that she did enjoy their sparring sessions. She admired his wit, even though it sometimes did become annoying. B'Elanna suddenly realized she hadn't spoken, and was staring at the pilot in front of her. She blushed and adverted her gaze to her food.

"I was wondering if you would join me for dinner?" Tom asked, noticing her blush. He rarely saw B'Elanna blush, but when she did, he liked it.

B'Elanna looked at him, stunned. She searched his eyes, but saw nothing in them other than friendship. She blushed again and cautiously nodded.

"Good. How's 1900 sound?" Tom asked, smiling.

B'Elanna thought for a moment, "1900 is fine, Tom. Where?"

"My quarters?" He asked, tenatively. He didn't want to sound as if he anything else in mind other than dinner.

"Your quarters?" B'Elanna repeated trying to see if there was an ulterior motive to his asking. She saw nothing in his eyes that told her. She sighed and nodded, "All right, Tom. Your quarters. Though, if...."

"B'Elanna, I have nothing in mind, except dinner. Would you be more comfortable in your quarters?"

Dark eyes narrowed as they bore into blue. Tom stared right back at her, daring her to think otherwise. She rolled her eyes and offered a wry smile, "Your quarters is fine, Tom. I'll see you then."

Tom smiled back at her and stood from the table, "Good. See you then."

B'Elanna watched as he left the Mess Hall. She shook her head as she returned to her meal. He was definitely better if he was risking life and limb to ask her to dinner. She just hoped it lasted. She'd hate to see him return to the state he was in when he wasn't getting any sleep. She was afraid for him beyond mere concern for a friend.

*Stop thinking that, B'Elanna!* The half-Klingon told herself, *You don't have time to be fantasizing about Tom. You have work to do!*

With that, she picked up her tray and headed for the exit.
~~
When 1900 hours arrived, Tom was pacing his quarters. He was undoubtably nervous. He had long dreamed of being with B'Elanna Torres, but she had always been just out of his reach. Now, as his dreams were finally starting to come true, Tom was fidgety.

*Relax, Tom,* he coaxed himself, *What have you to be afraid of?*

*Other than that shadow coming back?* A voice answered him, *Nothing really.*

Tom stopped his pacing when the thought of the dark figure of his nightmares entered his mind. He surely hoped that it wouldn't appear tonight. He didn't know what he would do if it did.

The sound of the door chime brought him out of his thoughts. Tom took a deep calming breath and answered the door.

Tom's breath caught in his throat at the sight that greeted him. B'Elanna had never looked more beautiful to him than at that moment. She wore a cream colored dress that brought out the bronze coloring of her skin. It also brought out the richness of her dark eyes as they stared into his. He was so mesmerized by the sight of her that he almost forgot to breathe.

B'Elanna smiled as she realized that she had rendered him speechless. She blushed as she knew he was staring at her. As Tom stepped aside, she went into his quarters.

"You look lovely, B'Elanna," Tom whispered when he found his voice. He went over to the her and led her to the couch. She sat down, staring at him confused. She wondered what he had in mind as she both feared and relished at what came to mind.

Tom placed a plate before her and her mouth began to water. She looked at him and he smiled softly. She smiled back and took a fork in her hand and began to eat. She closed her eyes and savored the taste--honey glazed chicken. She swallowed and opened her eyes to see Tom watching her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" B'Elanna asked curiously.

Tom nodded and set his plate on the table. He sat down beside her and began to eat. The two were quiet for a long while as they ate their meals. Soon, B'Elanna broke the silence.

"You said that the shadow disappears when I come around. Is that why you asked me to dinner, Tom?"

Tom stopped eating as a sense of dread washed over him. He closed his eyes and slowly put his fork down. He didn't want to lie to her, though he also didn't want to sound like he wasn't truly interested in her.

"I'm not sure if the figure disappears when you're around. It had only happened twice before."

"So this is a test?"

Tom didn't look at her. He could tell that she was getting irritated. He tried to soothe her, "No, it isn't. I just wanted...If you thought that I only wanted you here for protection why did you bother to come at all?"

It was B'Elanna's turn to feel that sense of dread. She looked at her plate as she realized how it sounded. She was accusing him of doing something she already knew, yet still came. She took a breath and answered, "I wanted to protect you, Tom. This whole nightmare business is tearing you up. I don't know how long you can take this before you go insane. If the shadow is afraid of me then I'll chase it away."

Tom smiled slightly. Here he was always wanting to protect her when she really didn't need and now she was the one protecting him. He shook his head at the irony and smiled.

"Thanks, B'Elanna. That means a lot to me."

Tom ran a hand through her hair, causing her to gasp in surprise. He took his hand away and stared at her, concerned and apprehensive.

"Sorry," Tom whispered as he went back to his meal.

"It's all right, Tom," B'Elanna said softly, "We have more things to worry about right now."

Tom nodded, "I know it's only temporary. It'll come around again when you're not here. We have to find out why it's haunting me and do something about it."

B'Elanna could see the torment in his blue eyes. She wished there was something that she could do to stop his nightmares besides just being with him.

Chapter Five

The nightmares didn't haunt him that night after B'Elanna had left. He woke refreshed, and feeling much better than he ever had. The bridge crew saw that he was back to his old self as he returned to making remarks and jokes on duty. The crew had dearly missed his taunting of Tuvok and Chakotay. They were all glad that everything was finally back to normal.

Tom, though wished everything was truly back to normal. When B'Elanna wasn't around, he felt an icy jolt grip his arms. Only thinking about the half-Klingon drove the sensations away. He knew then that the only way he could stop the onslaughts was to constantly think of B'Elanna.

Tom also began to hang around the engineer a lot more often. He ate his meals with her, and asked her out to dinner on occasion. B'Elanna took it as a compliment and hardly turned him down. She could see, though that he was still tormented by the shadowy figure that haunted him.

Tom slowly began to feel normal again as the cold sensations and the visions began to dwindle. He was beginning to enjoy the engineer's company a lot more than he normally would. He began to be with her just for the sake of it. He no longer cared about the figure, and if it vanished because of B'Elanna's presence or not. Suddenly, he realized that he had fallen in love with her, and wanted to tell her.

After several days of having Tom hang around her, B'Elanna Torres was getting annoyed. The only other person, who ever hung around her like a love-sick puppy was Freddie Bristow. She snarled as the ensign's name came to mind.

*Tom is coming around a lot more than Bristow ever did,* B'Elanna thought as she worked on a console, *I don't like it when people hang around me. I have things to do, and I don't need someone hanging over my shoulder all the time.*

The engineer snarled again as the two images of Tom and Bristow merged together to where she couldn't tell one from the other. She growled as the console refused to give her the results of her scan.

*I'm going to give Tom a piece of my mind. He's becoming too much like Bristow. I don't want him coming around here anymore unless he has orders to do so.*

At that time, the object of her thoughts entered Engineering. Tom went straight to her when he spotted her. He didn't notice that she was not in the mood to be spoken to.

"Hello, B'Elanna," Tom greeted.

B'Elanna's eyes flashed and she stiffened. It seemed she would get her chance to tell Tom off. She slowly stood up and glared at him. When he didn't jump back at her angered appearance, she stepped closer to him.

"What do you want, Paris?" B'Elanna hissed, trying to warn him off without hurting him.

Tom suddenly had a feeling that he was not wanted. He stared into her eyes and saw the anger there. What had he done now?

"I'm sorry if I bothered you, B'Elanna," Tom spoke softly, hoping he didn't anger her further, "I obviously came at a bad time."

"Obviously," the half-Klingon snarled, but she wasn't going to let him go that easily, "What do you want?"

Tom could feel his own anger growing. He was trying to slip away without angering her and she was forcing him to do just that. He took a deep breath, calmly his temper as he answered her, "I came down here to see if you wanted to have dinner with me? If you don't want to..."

"Tom, you are getting as bad as Ensign Bristow. You are constantly around me if you're not on duty. You ask me almost everyday to have dinner with you. I'm getting tired of it!"

Tom stared at her, suddenly hurt. He tried to hide it, but his eyes showed her everything if she had bothered to look.

"I want you to leave me alone, Paris!" B'Elanna continued, ignoring those around her.

"Fine. I can take a hint. Just don't bother to look for me when you want some companionship. That's all I wanted from you, B'Elanna. I'm sorry if you took it wrong."

Tom's calm voice startled her. She blinked back her surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already gone. She stared after his retreating figure as the realization of their words came to her.

*You idiot,* B'Elanna scolded herself, *You could have been more understanding. Instead, you thought he was trying to invade your space. He'd never force you to do something you didn't want to.*

B'Elanna knew that the pilot never asked her something he knew she wouldn't want to do. The two shared many hours together, either eating or on the holodeck. She found that she accepted his invitations willingly and enthusiactically. The half-Klingon clearly enjoyed his company. Now, she had thrown that away, because she wanted her space.

*I'll talk to him tomorrow,* B'Elanna thought, *I'll tell him that I was wrong. That I was afraid. I don't want him to think I don't want him around.*

With this in mind, B'Elanna tackled the problem with the console.

B'Elanna never got around to apologizing to Tom. There were more problems in Engineering that made their presence known. She had her staff working round the clock fixing them. She herself took the more difficult ones. She had completely forgotten talking to Tom. Even after she retired to her quarters, the subject of Tom never came to her mind. She changed into her nightclothes and slipped into bed, totally exhausted.

Tom's anger kept the visions at bay as he flew the ship in a straight line. He was angry that B'Elanna believed that he was shadowing her like a love sick puppy. He was also angry at himself for letting her get to him. He knew why she got to him.

*Maybe I am a love sick puppy,* Tom thought, *Maybe I have been crowding her. If it wasn't for these damn nightmares and ghosts, I would only be around her, because I want to.*

*But you do want to be around her. The nightmares had nothing to do with it. You've wanted to be with her for a long time.*

Tom smiled at the thought. The only good thing that came from having the dreams and figures appear was that it brought him closer to B'Elanna. Now, though that was gone.

*She'll never know that I love her,* Tom thought as his shift ended for the night.

Tom declined Harry's invitation to a game of pool. He wasn't in the mood fo company, and he was bone tired. He hoped, though that exhaustion would keep the dreams away. He knew now that B'Elanna was no longer around, the dreams and visions would make their presence known to him again. He could only imagine what nightmares would appear now.

Tom made his way to his quarters, hoping that the dark figure would not appear. He sighed in relief as he entered his quarters. He wasn't happy, though for he believed that shadow was waiting for him to sleep. Waiting for the time when it could produce a most terrifying nightmare.

The pilot slipped into bed and thought of B'Elanna, hoping that would keep the nightmares at bay. He finally fell into a calm sleep with images of the engineer in his head. A small smile played on his lips as he dreamed of B'Elanna.

As the night wore on, the dream changed from being with B'Elanna to the engineer being attacked. He tried to help her, but his feet wouldn't move. He stared at the woman before him, her back turned to face him. She was trying to fight off her attacker, to no avail. Tom screamed her name as he saw blood splatter everywhere. He sank to his knees as B'Elanna's body fell to the ground. He buried his head in his hands as he heard the footsteps of the dark figure near him.
~~
The next morning, Captain Janeway sat in her chair, nursing a cup of coffee. She had to use the last of her rations, but she didn't care. It was one rare treat that she gave herself. It was a much needed treat as it helped her through some very rough times. The rough times now, was her concern for her chief pilot. Tom seemed to be getting better these last couple weeks, but something about him continued to worry her. She hoped she was just being overly cautios, and that there was nothing to worry about, but the feeling never went away.

*Something's still bothering him,* Janeway thought as she sipped her coffee, *I'm going to find out what it is.*

Janeway looked at the chronometer and saw that it was five minutes passed the beginning of Alpha shift. Tom had not arrived yet, and the knot in her stomach tightened further.

She tapped her commbadge and spoke, "Bridge to Paris."

No answer. She looked at Chakotay, who also wore a concerned expression. She tried again and still received no response.

"Compute, location of Lt. Paris," Janeway said.

"Lt. Paris is in his quarters," came the response.

"Tuvok, you're with me. Chakotay, you have the Bridge."

Janeway and the Vulcan entered the turbolift and headed for Tom's quarters.

When they arrived at the pilot's quarters, Janeway pushed the call button. She didn't bother to try again as she knew she wouldn't get an answer. She overrode the command to lock the door, and Janeway followed Tuvok into the room.

Tom's quarters were dark and they carfeully made their way to the pilot's bedroom. There, they saw that he was asleep. Janeway went to his side and tried to wake him.

"Tom, wake up," she said loudly in his ear, "wake up, Tom."

Janeway looked at Tuvok, her expression full of concern. Tuvok went to the pilot and forced an eye open. He looked back at her, and shook his head.

"It appears that he is in some kind of coma," the Vulcan stated.

"We have to get him to Sickbay," Janeway announced. She tapped her badge again and said, "Transporter room one, beam Lt. Paris directly to Sickbay."

Once the blue beam had taken Tom, Janeway turned to the Vulcan, "We'll find out more there."

The two then headed for Sickbay.


"Doctor, report," Janeway said, as she entered Sickbay.

The EMH looked up from his scans of the pilot and shook his head, "It's not good, Captain. The scans indicate that he is in a deep sleep, but I can't wake him. I'm attempting to scan his brain in hopes of finding some answers."

Janeway watched as the Doctor scanned Tom's brain. She looked at the pilot's calm face, and knew that what ever was happening to him was not at all calm. She shivered as she thought of what could be happening to her pilot.

Several minutes later, the EMH spoke, "Captain, there is a strange brain wave pattern along with Tom's own."

"What?"

The EMH pressed some keys and Tom's brain wave pattern came up on a console's screen. He tapped some more and another pattern appeared along with it. Janeway stared at the images then at the Doctor.

"It appears as if another mind is intermingled with Mr. Paris'," the EMH concluded, "The only problem with that theory, though is that it doesn't match any one else brain pattern on this ship."

"There isn't any aliens on this ship or in this vicinity," Tuvok put in.

"Correct, but what if it isn't an alien or a person on this ship?"

"What are you suggesting, Doctor?" Janeway asked, not liking where this was heading.

"What if it is a ghost?"

"Are you suggesting that a ghost entered Tom's mind and is forcing him to have nightmares?"

The EMH nodded, "That could also explain why it appears to Tom when he's awake and no one can see it."

Janeway looked at Tuvok, who raised an eyebrow. This was clearly out of the realm of science. It entered the world of the supernatural now. She didn't know if she wanted to tread into that realm. It clashed with everything she believed in, though out here anything was possible.

"All right, Doctor," Janeway said, "What do you suggest we do?"

The EMH grinned. He tapped some controls on the console and some reading appeared. He pointed at one and said, "This is Mr. Paris' brain wave pattern after he was brought in before. It showed that he was unconscious. Nothing appears to be wrong. The scans revealed that he was suffering from lack of sleep."

He pushed some more controls and another reading showed up, "This is the recent one. Notice the extreme difference. He is in a deep sleep, almost a comatose state. There is a presence of another wave pattern. Something is in there with him. I suggest a mind meld to find out who or what this thing is."

"A mind meld in his state is not appropriate," Tuvok mentioned, "It would not help. Prehaps when he has awakened."

The Doctor stared at the Vulcan, "If he wakes up, you mean. There is no telling when he will regain consciousness. If he doesn't waken now, I'm afraid that it will only get worse. He might actually fall into a deeper coma if he's not awakened soon. There has to be something we can do."

"B'Elanna," Janeway mentioned, "Tom has started pursuing her more agressively as of late. I've always known that he was attracted to her. Maybe, he feels that if she's around, the nightmares don't bother him. Maybe we can get her in here to wake him."

"How do you suggest she do that? Kiss him?" The EMH sarcastically asked.

Janeway smiled, "Whatever works."

On to Part Four
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