DISCLAIMER: Voyager and her crew belong to Paramount. I'm just keeping them from being bored. :-) All other characters are mine.*evil Dr. Forrester laugh* SUMMARY: The best summary I can come up with for this story is that Paris is held captive by the primative villagers of Shandarr. Rated PG

The sun shone brightly down on the planet, warming the ground. The birds sang sweet melodies in the trees as the breeze rustled the leaves. The water lapped gently against the bank of the lake, providing soothing music for the two that sat near it.
Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres sat on a blanket with a picnic basket between them. They stared into each other's eyes; almost forgetting they were holding glasses filled with wine. Paris spilled some wine on his leg, and instantly came back to reality.
"Damn," he whispered as he looked for a napkin.
Torres smiled and handed him hers, "You should be more careful, Tom."
Paris looked at her, but said nothing. All he could think about was how he had planned the whole afternoon only to have it ruined by her thinking how clumsy he was. He shook his head to get the thought out of his head. He set the glass down and said, "I hope the rest of the day will be better."
Torres moved closer to him, and put her hand on his, "I'm sure it will be. It's perfect so far. It's beautiful. I could spend several days in here."
Paris smiled and looked at her. The look he gave her told her that he had something mischievous on his mind.
"How 'bout a little swim?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.
Torres stared at him, a little surprised, "I didn't bring a swim suit."
"So?" "Tom!" "I take it you're not comfortable with this," Paris said, a little disapointed.
"Actually taken off guard," Torres mentioned, "You just sprang it at me."
The excitement returned to his eyes, "Maybe some other time?"
Torres smiled, her own excitement showing in her dark eyes, "Some other time. Right now, let's just enjoy the rest of our day off."
"Good idea," Paris said as he took Torres in his arms.
At that moment, Captain Janeway's voice came over the intercom, "I'm sorry to cut your day of short, but we have ran into some trouble."
They stared at each other for a moment before Torres asked, "What's wrong?"
"Lt. Carey says that there's a leak in the warp core and we're heading toward an astroid belt."
"Can't they handle it?" Torres asked, not hiding the disappointment in her voice.
"Of course, but they could use your help."
Torres sighed, gave Paris an 'I'm sorry' expression, and stood up. She was heading to the holodeck door when Paris came up behind her.
"How about a rain check?" He asked, catching her before she left.
She turned around, and said smiling, "Of course, Tom. If the captain ever gives us another day off on the same day."
She then turned and left the holodeck. Paris smiled, "Computer, end and save program."
The beautiful planet was replaced by the black and yellow grid. He then left the holodeck, and followed after Torres.

B'Elanna Torres stepped off the turbolift, and stalked off toward Engineering. She knew damn well that Carey could take care of the core leak. They did not need her there, except to double check everything they've done.
She turned to her right, and went down the corridor that led to her destination. She came to the entrance, and suspicion crept up her spine. She did not hear any activity of any kind coming from Engineering. She slowed her steps, and cautiously crept toward the room.
She peeked around the corner, and saw that it was dark inside. The only light came from the warp core. She went for her phaser only to find that she wasn't wearing her uniform, but a summer dress. She sneered in frustration, and went inside.
The first thing she noticed was that the room was empty. Not a single member of the staff was anywhere to be seen. This made her angry.
"Where the hell is everybody?" She asked the dark room, "If this is some kind of joke, I'm not laughing!"
At that moment, the lights came on, and the crew jumped up from behind consoles and the warp core.
"Surprise!" They all shouted, "Happy Birthday!"
All Torres could do was smile, and think how she was going to kill Paris.
As if reading her mind, Paris came up behind her, and whispered in her ear, "This wasn't my idea; it was Chakotay's."
Torres turned around, and stared into his eyes, searching for the truth. Satisfied that he wasn't lying, she answered, "And you just had to go along with it, didn't you? That whole picnic was just a way to keep me occupied."
Paris looked hurt, "I went along with the idea of throwing you a party, but the picnic was not a diversion. I just wanted to..."
At that moment, Captain Janeway came up to them; two wine glasses in her hand. She gave both of them a glass as she spoke.
"I'm sorry for the desception, but we had to get you down here somehow."
Torres nodded, "So you didn't put Tom up to keeping me occupided while you did all this?"
"No. You needed the day off, and Tom just happened to have a day off as well. He wanted to show you this wonderful new program he made. That's what he kept telling everyone anyway."
Torres looked at Paris, who gave her an innocent expression. She finally relaxed and smiled. Paris smiled back.
"Now, I order you two to have fun," Janeway said before she went back to the party.
"Sounds like a good idea," Paris said, taking a sip of wine.
Torres watched the crew members talking and laughing. They were having a wonderful time, so why shouldn't she?
"After you," she told Paris, smiling.
Paris headed into the crowd. Torres followed after him, smilig and thanking everyone that told her "Happy Birthday."

Later that day, Torres sat alone in her quarters. She looked over the presents the crew had given her. Most of them had to do with her Klingon heritage, except for Chakotay's and Tom's.
She picked up Chakotay's present and smiled. It was a simple stone, but she knew it was anything but. The stone was obviously a worry stone used to reduce stress. She definitely needed it with the last few days.
Torres put the stone down, and looked at what Paris gave her. Her smile grew as she picked it up.
Trying to tell me something, Lieutenant? She thought to herself as she held the dark blue nightgown at arms length before her.
She stood up and went into her bedroom. She stood in front of her mirror, and placed the nightgown before her. It stopped above her knees, and she could picture Paris' jaw hitting the floor when he saw her in it. Her eyes sparkled with impish delight.
You're such a naughty boy, Tom.
She laughed and tossed the nightgown on her bed. She went back into her living room, and sat down. She picked up a datapadd Carey had given her before she left the party. It was an update on how everything was holding up. She glanced at it for a few moments. She saw everything was in order, so she put the PADD down, and leaned back into the couch. She never remembered ever having a day off on her birthday, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. It's too bad Tom had to go back to work, she thought, I'm quite sure he wanted to see me in that nightgown.
She snickered as she imagined Paris fuming at the helm. She smiled, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

Tom Paris stared at the passing stars on the view screen. He was indeed fuming, for he had planned to continue the picnic with B'Elanna. The captain, though wanted him at the conn. He agreed relunctantly, but now he was regreting it.
I guess we will have to wait until we get another day off together, Paris thought, I just hope it's sooner than later.
"Captain," Kim's voice interrupted his thoughts, "we're coming upon a class-M planet."
"On screen."
The stars were replaced by a blue marble planet. Most of the bridge crew's stomachs lept into their throats.
"Somebody pinch me," Paris said as he stared in wide-eyed surpise at the planet before him.
"It looks like Earth," Chakotay mentioned.
"But it's not," Tuvok said, "There are only five thousand inhabitants. All of them primitive. There is however much needed food supplies on the planet."
"When will we reach the planet?" Janeway asked.
Tuvok looked at his console, "I suggest we slow down now."
Janeway smiled, "You heard him, Tom."
Paris' fingers flew across his console as he brought the ship to orbit the planet. He looked up, still surpised by how close the planet looked to Earth.
If planets had twins this would be Earth's, He thought, feeling a twinge of homesickness.
"Chakotay," Janeway's voice pierced his thoughts, "prepare an away team. Gather as much food stuffs as you can. You have twelve hours no longer."
Chakotay nodded. He stood up and tapped his comm badge, "Chakotay to Neelix."
"Neelix here."
"Go to the transporter room. We're going hunting."
He then turned to Paris, "Paris, I want you along as well. Someone might sprain something."
Paris thought of a snide remark to that, but kept his mouth shut. He stood up, and made his way to the transporter room.
Chakotay could sense all kinds of emotions coming from Paris. The strongest ones being frustration and anger. He felt Janeway staring at him. He looked at her, and could see the question in her eyes. Janeway smiled, "I cut his day off short. He probably wanted to spend more time with B'Elanna."
"There will be many more days off he can spend with her. We need him now and focused. I'll have a talk with him before he brings even Neelix down."
Janeway nodded, "We don't want a depressed Neelix."
Chakotay smiled and headed for the turbolift. He caught a quick glance of Janeway as she sat down in her chair. He then gave his destination as the doors closed.
Chakotay entered the transporter room, and he saw Neelix and Paris waiting on the pad. He could feel the negative emotions still coming from Paris.
Let's get this over with, he thought as he took a deep breath.
"Paris, a word with you," he said as calmly as he could.
Paris stepped off the transporter pad and walked over to Chakotay. He knew right away that whatever the commander wanted to talk to him about was not good.
"What is it?" He asked, hoping it would be quick.
"I've noticed as well as Janeway, that you are being a little hostile."
"Hostile? What ever gave you that idea?" Paris asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Chakotay didn't want to argue with Paris. The minutes were already ticking away as he spoke.
"Listen. You do not need to be angry, because Janeway cut your day off short. You'll have plenty more to come. B'Elanna is not going to toss her hands up just because you can't be together. Now, quit sulking, and let's find some food."
Chakotay walked to the pad, followed more slowly by Paris. He could see that the young pilot was thinking about what was said. Paris looked at him as he stepped onto the platform. Chakotay could see the blue eyse darken, but he ignored the glare.
Well, this is going to be a fun outing, the commander thought. Outloud, he said to the transport officer, "Energize."

B'Elanna Torres was awakened from a sound sleep by the sound of the door beeping. She jumped to her feet, almost tripped over the table, and stumbled to the door. She opened it, and saw Harry Kim standing on the other side.
"What is it, Harry?" She asked, yawning.
"I thought I'd bring you a slice of cake," he answered smiling, "You left the party before it could be cut."
Torres looked at the plate Kim held in his hand. Her eyes came into focus, and saw that it was chocolate. She felt her mouth watering as she stared at it. She took it, and went back to her couch.
"Um. Can I come in?" She heard Kim's voice behind her.
She turned around, and saw that the door was closed. Smiling, she pressed the panel by the door, and it hissed open.
"Of course, Harry," she said, taking a piece of the cake, and putting it in her mouth.
Kim stepped inside and went to the couch. He sat down, looking at the presents on the table. He picked up the present he had given her and said, "Interesting gifts everyone gave you. Do you like them?"
Torres sat down beside them, "Considering that most of them are Klingon gifts, yes."
She took the Klingon dagger from Kim, and set it on the table. She took another bite of the cake, savoring the taste.
"What did Tom give you?" He asked of a sudden.
Torres almost choked on the morsal. She coughed for a moment before she answered.
"A nightgown," she was trying not to laugh.
"Really!?" Kim was surprised and he was starting to feel embarresed.
"It's really beautiful. It's a dark blue," Torres looked at Kim. His face was turning red.
"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," she said.
"No, no. I asked the question. All you did was answer. I should have had an idea of what he would give you."
Torres smiled, "Don't worry about it. I liked everyone's gifts. I could definately use yours in a fight. Thanks."
Kim smiled, "You're welcome, B'Elanna. Um, also, the captian wants you on the bridge."
Torres' eyes flashed, "Why didn't she tell me herself?"
Kim stood his ground, though he felt like he wanted to run, "She didn't feel up to arguing with you about cutting your day off. She needs you on the bridge, not at her throat."
Torres looked at Kim angrily, but then she sighed and stood up. She stared longingly at the entrance to her bedroom, knowing that she would have to take a rain check on not just the picnic. She then left her quarters and headed toward a turbolift.

The away team materalized in the middle of a forest. Neelix held a large basket to put the food stuffs in. He headed in one direction while Paris and Chakotay took out their tricorders and scanned the area. The two walked in different directions; looking at their tricorders as they made their way deeper into the forest.
Chakotay came upon some bushes that had dark red berries on them. He scanned them with his tricorder, and it told him the berries were not poisonous.
He tapped his comm badge, "Neelix, bring your basket. I found some berries."
"On my way, Commander," Neelix's cheerful voice came over the badge, "I also found some fruit over here. I'm picking them now."
"Alright," Chakotay said, smiling, "make it quick."
He then tapped his comm badge again, "Paris, have you found anything?"
"Very strange animals," Paris answered, "I'm trying to catch one of them now."
"Becareful. There's not much of the daylight hours left, and I want back on Voyager before nightfall."
Paris hesitated a moment then answered, "All right."
"Good. Chakotay out."
At that moment, Neelix walked through the bushes toward the commander. His basket was half-filled with yellow bell shaped fruit. He smiled at Chakotay as he brought one of the fruit out, and handed it to the commander.
"Taste it. It's delicious."
Chakotay took it, and bit into it. It tasted sweet like a strawberry. He nodded, "Tasty. Now, let's get these berries."
Neelix looked at the blood red berries. He immediatley thought about pies. He smiled and began picking them.

Paris peeked around a tree, and caught a glimpse of what he was tracking. It was reddish in color and about the size of a mule deer. It had horns instead of antlers, though which wrapped around its ears. It was feeding on the leaves of a bush, so Paris decided to get closer.
He slowly crept from behind the tree, and quietly as possible closed the gap between him and the creature. He stepped on a twig, and he ducked behind a bush. He figured he was close enough to use his phaser, so he drew it. He cautiously peeked over the bush only to see that the creature was not there. He sneered in frustration, and headed for where the animal once stood.
His commbadge chirped then. He spoke before Chakotay could even get a word in.
"No, I haven't caught it, yet. And, yes, I know it's getting dark. Just give me a few more minutes."
"I can't spare you any more minutes, Tom. I'm not going to stay on an unknown planet after dark. There's no telling what kind of nocturnal animals prowl the night. Or how dangerous they are."
Paris didn't answer, for he saw the creature a few feet to his left. He cautiously headed in that direction, keeping his eyes focused on the prey. He could barely hear Chakotay yelling at him to head back to the transport area.
He crept closer trying to be as quiet as possible. When he was close enough, he aimed his phaser at the creature and fired. The animal screamed once then fell to the ground. He ran over to the animal only to stop short in surprise.
Paris stared at the creature in awe. It stared back at him with dark green eyes. The coat had a golden tint to it, and the hoofs were a silvery color.
He was so hypnotized by the animal's beauty that he didn't notice he was being crept upon. He was brought back to reality when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around to see a small group of hunters standing before him. Two of the hunters had arrows aimed at him while who he assumed was the leader glared darkly at him.
Paris then noticed he was holding his phaser. Figuring that's why they had arrows trained on him, he slowly put it back on his belt. He then showed them his empty hands, but the hunters only looked at each other. The leader then said something and pointed at the animal lying at Paris' feet. He looked at the creature, and somewhat understood what was said.
"I killed it fair and square," he said, staring at the leader, "it's mine."
The leader shouted angrily, and pointed at the creature. The translator only caught a couple words. One of them being "ours".
"Sorry, but you're going to have to find your own," Paris said, knowing that it was time to get out of here.
Paris slowly moved his right hand to his comm badge to contact Chakotay, but the leader noticed it. He must have taken it as a threatening move, for the translator picked up the next words clearly.
"Vaal, kill him."
Paris held up his hands, "Now, wait a minute."
The bowmen didn't wait. He fired his arrow, and watched as it hit its target.
Paris fell to the ground, the arrow had pierced his right lung. He opened his eyes, and saw teh leader standing over him. The last thing he saw before the darkness took over, was the leader bending over, and taking what Paris knew was his comm badge.

Chakotay stared up into the sky, and saw the first appearance of stars. He grumbled to himself, and tapped his comm badge.
"Paris, I'm ordering you to get back here now!"
There was no answer, and Chakotay looked at Neelix.
"I think he enjoys trying my patience," he growled.
He then tapped his commbadge again, "Chakotay to Voyager lock onto Paris' commbadge signal and beam him up. Then beam Neelix and I up after."
"Maybe something went wrong," Neelix mentioned, "Maybe he ran ito trouble."
"Then transporting him back to Voyager should get him out of trouble," Chakotay said.
At that moment, they felt the tingling sensation as they were transported off the planet. They appeared on the transporter padd a moment later.
Chakotay waited another moment before he stepped off the platform. He immediately noticed that Paris was not in the room.
"Where's Lt. Paris?" He asked the transport officer.
"Only his comm badge appeared, Commander," she said.
She handed the badge to Chakotay, who took it with mixed emotions of anger, surprise, and concern.
Neelix came up behind him and said, "You don't think he took it off, do you?"
"That's a possablity, Neelix, but doing so would only make harder to transport him back. He might be angry, but he wouldn't do something stupid like this."
"He's in trouble," Neelix finished, "You think he ran into the natives?"
Chakotay didn't answer, but he knew that could be a possiblity. He left the transporter room, and headed for Janeway's office.

Tom Paris slowly opened his eyes, and looked around at his surroundings. When his eyes focused, he saw that he was in somekind of dwelling. The walls were made out of wood, and the floor was covered in furs.
He tried to sit up, but a sharp stab in his side stopped him. He clutched his side, and hissed in pain. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to find a dark haired woman hovering over him.
"B'Elanna?" He whispered.
The woman looked away toward the entrance. He followed her gaze, and saw the leader of the hunting party standing in the doorway. The woman motioned for him to come inside, which he did. He stood beside her, and stared at Paris.
The woman pointed at Paris, and said a few words. The man shook his head, but the woman became angry. She shouted some more words at him.
I guess they took my comm badge, Paris thought.
The woman must have finally got to the man, for he threw up his hands, said a couple words then stormed out. She made an angry gester after him then looked back at Paris.
She smiled at him, but another sharp pain prevented him from replying. She placed a hand on his forehead as if to calm him. She whispered something to him, and he relaxed some, though he had no idea what she said.
She looked back at the door and shouted. A moment later, a smaller male entered, carrying a bowl. She dipped her hand in the bowl, then pulled back the furs that covered Paris. She placed the glob on him and rubbed it in.
Paris gasped then cried out in pain. The sudden cry startled the male, who dropped the bowl. The crash startled all of them.
The woman grabbed the male's arm and yelled at him. She then shoved him back toward the entrance to the hut. He ran out of the hut as the woman went back to tending to Paris.
She tried to say something to him, but she realized what he already knew. He didn't understand a word she said.
"Do you know how to play Charades?" He asked.
She stared at him curiously, but she just shook her head. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep his mind off the pain he felt.

Chakotay stood silently in front of Janeway's desk as she stared at Paris' commbadge. He knew hundreds of thoughts were running through her head, most of them he knew were not good.
"Scan the area you were at," Janeway said at last, "Also scan the surrounding areas. He could be hurt, so we don't have much time, especially with preditory animals roaming about."
Chakotay nodded then left the ready room. Torres stopped him before he could reach his chair. He saw in her eyes that she was worried.
"We're going to do all we can, B'Elanna," he assured her, "I just wish he would have listened to me when I told him to head back to the transport sight."
Torres nodded, "Have you thought about sending down a search party?"
"Yes, but it's too dark on the planet now," Chakotay answered, "And too dangerous. We're going to scan the area where we landed, and see if we can beam him back first. If we can't, I'll send down a search party. Don't worry, B'Elanna, we'll find him."
Torres offered a small smile before she went back to her station. She mentally told her stomach to behave, for it was doing flip-flops. She tried to keep her mind on her work, but the idea that Tom was alone and injured on an unknown planet kept returning. She shook her head, and forced herself to focus on the console before her.

Paris woke to the scent of cooked food. He opened his eyes, and saw the woman holding a bowl before him. The woman said a few words then helped him sit up. He gapsed in pain, and started coughing. She yelled toward the entrance then lied Paris back down.
Almost immediately, a girl came in with a cup. The woman took the cup, and put it to Paris' lips. He took as much as he could before he lost consciousness.
The woman gave the cup back to the gril then stood up. She left the hut and walked toward the largest hut in the village. She passed by the guards, and entered the hut. She walked right up to the chief of the village, who sat on a decorated chair. She glared at him as she spoke.
"He won't last another day, Hrond," she said, "if you don't give me permission to do what I need to."
"You know he can't be allowed to live, Lyndra," the leader hissed, "He's a threat to us."
"He is not a threat to anything. I know someone will be looking for him. If he's healed, we can take him to where he can meet them and leave him there."
Hrond thought on this for a moment then answered, "Fine, Lyndra. I don't want anymore of his kind coming here looking for him."
Lyndra bowed and left the hut. She ran quickly back to her hut, and was surprised to see the injured male sitting up and eating. She cleared her throat, and he looked at her, startled. She knew he couldn't understand a word she said, but she had to try to communicate with him.
She walked to him, and sat down beside him. She took the bowl away and set it aside. She then pointed to herself.
"Lin-drah," she said, "Lyndra."
Ah, finally. The introdcutions, Paris thought.
Paris smiled, pointed to her and said, "Lyndra."
Her eyes widened in surpise and she nodded. He then pointed to himself and said, "Tom."
"Tu-om," she said, "Tom."
He smiled and nodded, Well, we each other's name. Now what?
He recieved his answer when Lyndra helped him lie back down. She said a few words to him as she covered him with the fur blanket.
"I wish I knew what the hell you were telling me," Paris whispered, trying to fight back the drowsiness he felt.
She looked back at him, put a finger to her lips, then picked up the bowl and left the room.

"Captain," Kim announced, "there's a village about five miles from where Chakotay and Neelix were beamed up."
"Can you detect if Paris is in the village?" Janeway asked.
Kim shook his head, "I'm re-adjusting the computer to search for Paris'DNA pattern. It'll take awhile, though."
"Be more specific, Ensign," Chakotay said.
"About an hour."
"Tom may not have an hour!" Torres snapped, "He could be lying somewhere on that planet dying, while you play around with the computers."
"That was uncalled for, Lieutenant," Janeway said, "But you do have a point."
"We have to send a search party down there," Chakotay mentioned, "We'll try to be as descreet as possible. If he's in the village, we'll just ask them to take him back with us."
Janeway said nothing for awhile then she looked at the commander and spoke, "Take Tuvok with you. Just you and him will be going. I don't want the natives to think they're under attack."
Chakotay nodded and motioned for the Vulcan to follow him to the transport room.

Paris woke to find Lyndra sitting beside him. His eyes moved to what she was holding in her hand. His eyes widened as he tried to move away from her. The sudden movement startled her, and sent a sharp stab through him. He yelped in pain, and clutched his side. He lied back down trying to catch his breath.
Lyndra put her free hand on his forehead to calm him. She looked at him, and saw in his eyes that he was both terrified and in pain. She only wished she could tell him she was only trying to help him. The only thing she could do was go ahead with what she needed to do.
She brought a stick from beside her. She opened her mouth, and put the stick in it and closed her mouth. She then pointed the stick at Paris and nodded. She then placed the stick against his mouth and he opened it. He closed his mouth around the stick and closed his eyes.
I hope this won't take long, he thought as he waited for the knife to cut into him.
At first, all he felt was coldness. He then felt the first stings of pain as the blade cut into his skin. He whimpered as the pain grew worse. He opened his eyes once, and saw Lyndra looking at him with a concerned expression on her face. She disappeared when he screamed in pain. He bit down on the stick to muffle the cries.
Paris believed the pain would never let up. He then cried out one last time before he fell into unconsciousness.

On to the Conclusion
Back to Paris, Voyager