Redemptions of the Heart

By Oprelia

Rating: PG-13

Code: P, J/P

Category: VOYAGER

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Beta: H. Louise

Disclaimer: STAR TREK: VOYAGER and all its characters contained within this story are owned exclusively by Paramount Pictures Corporation. No copyright infringements are intended.

Author's Note: Tom's relationship with the Admiralty is borrowed with permission from The Undead Begonia's 'Assumptions' story which can be found on JuPiter Station. I highly recommend that story.

I would also like to thank my reviewers Michelle for your endless support and Raven Sage for your comments which inspired an entirely new conversation between the lovely couple.

I hope this chapter doesn't exceed my rating. If I have, please tell me and I will tone it down.

Chapter Eleven

A Timely Reunion

*****

When they rematerialised in their shared quarters, he slowly carried her to the bedroom and silenced her protests with a long searing kiss. He laid her gently down onto the bed and without breaking the kiss, joined her on the mattress. Eventually the need to breathe forced them to move and they reluctantly ended the kiss. With a sigh, he gently guided her head onto his shoulder after he sat against the headboard of the bed.

"I love you..." Tom whispered to his beloved fiancé.

"I love you more..." Kathryn whispered back, playing one of their favourite games.

She frowned when Tom didn't answer back. Before she could question him, she felt him tremor beside her. She immediately sat up and noticed that he had tears running down his face. She immediately became worried since it had been a few years since he had last broken down. It was a clear testimony showing the severity of the ordeal he had endured during these past few weeks.

"What is it my love? Why are you crying?" she asked, hoping that he wasn't feeling any residual pain. She immediately began feeling guilty for allowing him to exert himself by carrying her into their bedroom.

"I just can't help thinking about the past few weeks. The Luzwai treated me like dirt. It was only through my training that I was able to withstand their torture and their treatment of me," Tom said while shuddering when he recalled a particularly vicious interrogator.

Kathryn couldn't think of a good response to his revelation. Even though he had averted his eyes, she could still see the tension in his muscles.

"That's not all I've been thinking, Kathryn," Tom continued, breaking her train of thought. He gently entwined his fingers through hers so that he was grasping her like a lifeline. "I must have placed you in so much emotional pain when I disappeared. I should have done something more to prevent my capture. I should have..."

He was silenced by a kiss.

"It's not your fault, Tom. You couldn't have anticipated their actions. We still don't know what type of weapon they used but even Voyager couldn't withstand the firepower of your captors, let alone the shuttlecraft Orion. Without the Borg's intervention, I wouldn't be here with you now," she said reassuringly.

"But..." Tom tried to protest.

"But nothing, Tom," she interrupted. "They were stronger than us. They nearly overwhelmed the Borg. There was nothing you could have done to prevent your capture. I'm just glad that you had the necessary skills to escape from your imprisonment."

Tom couldn't think of a way to refute her argument so he hopped off the bed to gaze out of the large window. The fact that he couldn't continue the argument showed that he was very stressed. Kathryn stayed on the bed to allow her fiancée the time to gather his thoughts. During the times they spent together, she came to recognise the reason why he constantly gazed at the stars. It didn't matter whether they were on a planet or in the vacuum of space, Tom always calmed down at the sight of the millions of stars and he used the calming sight to gather his troubled thoughts.

After a few minutes of stargazing, he turned towards her and beckoned her towards him. When she reached him, he wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace and peered into her face to see her expression. Tom had also learnt many things about Kathryn during the time they spent together and that included the ability to gauge her moods and thoughts accurately. All he needed as a glance at her expression and he would know her thoughts.

"Something is troubling you," he merely stated.

She was surprised as always when he seemed to know her thoughts. If she didn't know him better, she would have assumed that he had the gift of telepathy.

"How did you know?" she asked, frowning at him.

"I can read your facial expressions and know what you are thinking, my love. I have seen your beautiful face so many times, I can draw it with my eyes closed," he whispered before he gave her a chaste kiss. She couldn't help but blush at the comment.

It took her a few moments before she was able to voice her fears.

"The changes that have occurred to you, how can you be so blasé about it? You whole body has essentially been altered and you don't seem to care. Is it because you don't care about yourself anymore?" she asked, her tone showing her true concern.

Tom had to think about his answer. He had never noticed that he had projected an air of indifference to his physical body.

"Well... yes and no. I do care about myself in so far as to say that I take care of it. If you are worried that I have reverted back to the way I was after we first arrived in the Delta Quadrant, then you don't have to be concerned. I'm no longer reckless with my life. I no longer have a death wish either. I have you, remember. I haven't felt that way since you had helped me after B'Elanna and Miral died. The reason I'm not concerned about the changes to my body is because the alterations give me the ability to protect the crew better. The faster hand-eye coordination allows me the ability to react faster during an altercation with a hostile force. My increased analytical ability allows me the ability to create and suggest further possible scenarios to solve a problem. In this hostile quadrant, Ben's gifts are really helpful," Tom explained.

"What about your offspring?" she inquired.

"What? You don't want them to look like me?" Tom exclaimed in mock humour. He pulled away from her and placed his hands over his chest, signifying that he was mortally wounded in the heart. He even started groaning.

"Tom!" she said while laughing at his theatrics. She placed her hands over his gifted hands, which were still over his heart, and he immediately pulled them to his lips to nuzzle her fingers. She gasped at the unexpected action and she immediately pulled her hands free.

Tom pouted at the loss of contact but he couldn't keep the look long. The pout eventually formed into a smile.

"I don't presume to say that you would want my children, but they would all be tall!" he cheekily stated, which earned him a playful whack.

"Ow! In all seriousness, our children would all be smart, handsome and courageous."

"Not to mention egotistical," she murmured.

"Hey! I heard that, Kathryn," Tom protested. He started to pout again before he decided to change his tactics. He went to her ear and gently whispered into the delicate shell.

"They will be intelligent. They could follow in their mommy's footsteps and become scientists," he whispered seductively.

She moaned from the feeling of his hot breath on her sensitive ear.

"They can..." a kiss on the shell of her ear.

"...listen to you..." a nip on the ear lobe.

"...when you..." a suckle on the lobe.

"...talk about..." a kiss at the sensitive skin behind her ear.

"...massive compact halo's," he said before he claimed her mouth in a hot, passionate kiss.

She had lost most of her coherent thoughts during Tom's seductive whisper and the searing kiss that he was giving her now. Only a small portion of her mind was secretly rejoicing at the fact that her children with Tom would be able to follow in her scientific footsteps.

They finally made it back to the bedroom for their long awaited reunion. They made love many times that night to reacquaint themselves with each other.

* * * * *

It was quite late in the morning when they began to stir. They wanted to stay in bed all day wrapped around each other but they knew that the ship needed her Captain. They reluctantly untangled their limbs from each other and set about preparing for a trip to the messhall. They finally left an hour later. They would have been finished sooner except for the playful antics that Tom did to Kathryn, which were impossible to ignore.

As they walked to the messhall, all the crewmembers they passed stopped them to welcome back the pilot and to say that they were glad that he had recovered. They were stopped many times along the way towards the messhall since the decks seemed to have a lot of off-duty crewmen

Fifteen minutes later they finally arrived at the messhall doors. With a sigh of relief they entered the messhall to be greeted with applause. With shocked expressions on their faces they were led into the centre of the room where Harry was holding court. Someone had obviously commed ahead to notify them that they were arriving.

"I would like to say on behalf of the crew, welcome back Tom. We are all glad that you have fully recovered from your ordeal" Harry said as he hugged the overwhelmed Lieutenant Commander.  "Here! Here!" the crew shouted as they all stood and clapped to welcome him back.

"We received a notice last night from the doctor to say that you had finished your examination and that you were all clear of the pathogen," Harry explained as Chakotay stepped forward to give Tom a handshake.

"Welcome back Tom. Tuvok's on the bridge right now but he told me to give you a message," Chakotay said after he finished the handshake.

"Really? What is it?" Tom asked, curious as to what the Vulcan would say..

"He said that he was gratified that you have recovered and that the bridge has been too quiet in your absence."

"That's high praise indeed, coming from Tuvok," Kathryn observed.

"Thank you everyone. I'm glad I'm back. Thank you all for showing up to welcome me here. This past month has been terrible for me and to see you all again makes me very happy," Tom said to the assembled crew.

Seven's turn seemed to be next when she came up to Tom and gave him a hug as well. With Chakotay's help and encouragement, she had progressed quite far in her quest for individuality.

"Tom, welcome back. We, the Senior Staff, commandeered Ensign Chell's kitchen and we made a very special meal for you. I suggest you find a table and I will retrieve it from the kitchen," Seven said as she ushered Tom to a chair.

As Tom and Kathryn chose a table, everyone else in the room sat down at their own tables but food was the last thing on their minds. All attention was riveted towards the couple as Seven came out of Chell's kitchen with two trays.

"I have made for you a favourite of yours. Hot plain tomato soup. You will find that the soup flavours are as close to perfection as possible. I have carefully selected the best ripe tomatoes from the Hydroponics Bay that would achieve the optimum flavour. You will find the taste very pleasant," she said as she placed the trays on the table, one in front of Tom and the other in front of the Captain.

"Thanks. I'm just surprised that you made this soup for me. You usually make more complicated culinary delights. This means a lot to me Seven," he said as he stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek. He then sat back down again.

"Okay, if you made the soup, then who made the pot roast?" Kathryn asked. She was amazed at how good the roast smelled and how it looked. She shared a smirk with Tom and Chakotay as they remembered her abysmal attempts to get the replicator to make a pot roast. Sadly she was never successful.

"That would be Harry and me," Chakotay admitted.

"You made a roast!" both Kathryn and Tom exclaimed.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Harry asked with mock hurt.

"It's just that Kathryn here has had nightmares trying to make a roast," Tom said with laughter while Kathryn nodded her head vigorously.

"Well... Chakotay did the hard work. I just marinated it. He was the one to actually cook it," Harry revealed.

"You didn't use a replicator?" Kathryn and Tom asked in unison.

"No. We replicated the raw ingredients and prepared it ourselves," Harry explained.

"Seven's been teaching me how to cook. As you all know, she loves to cook and some of her enthusiasm has rubbed off. I'm quite good at it now," Chakotay added with a fond smile towards Seven. She returned his smile.

"That is correct. Chakotay has been learning from me. If he has made the roast according to the specifications I gave him, the roast should be close to perfection as well," Seven said.

"I'm sure I'll enjoy it. What did Vorik and Tuvok make?" Tom asked. All he saw left on the tray was a cut loaf of crusty bread.

"They baked the bread, Tom" Chakotay revealed. Tom was astonished and his face clearly showed his surprise. He wasn't the only one. Kathryn's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Tuvok and Vorik baked some bread?" Tom asked when he finally found his voice.

"Yeah buddy. They spent all of this morning making the bread. The doctor measured all the ingredients and researched the recipe, Tuvok made the dough and Vorik baked it. They even made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for you and they have placed it in stasis, ready for you when you want it," Harry said to his best friend. Seeing Tom so happy had a flow-on effect and his smile was a mile wide.

"Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it," Tom said with tear filled eyes.

He began to eat his sumptuous lunch. He savoured every spoonful of his soup and every mouthful of the roast and crusty bread until he finished it with a sigh. With his eyes still closed, he sat there with a contented expression on his face. He finally opened his eyes to see everyone looking at him. Harry was the first to interrupt the silence.

"Well? How was it?" Harry asked with anticipation.

"It was delicious. Thank you." And everyone in the room smiled.

"When are you cleared for work buddy? We've missed you on the bridge," Harry asked, with a nod from Chakotay indicating that he also missed Tom.

"I'm cleared to start next week. The Doc wants to make sure I'm fully fit before I come back to work," Tom replied.

"All right then. We received a message from Pathfinder this morning asking about the latest report on your situation."

"You sent a message to Starfleet Command on my disappearance? How did Starfleet react to the news?" Tom asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer but he wanted to hear if he was correct.

"They were quite anxious when we reported the news. It seems that you have some friends in the Admiralty," Chakotay replied.

"Yeah, well... you know... Since most of my relatives are Admirals, you're bound to meet other Admirals that came to our home..." was Tom's enigmatic reply. "I'll go and contact them now if that's possible?"

Tom obviously had something to hide by the way he spoke.

"Sure Tom. Would you like me to come along?" Kathryn asked. She was puzzled by his odd reply. She was able understand most of his expressions from the time they spent together.

"No, I think I'll go and speak to my dad alone. I'm sure he would have aged five years on the notice of my disappearance. Maybe next time?" Tom asked. When he saw her sad look, he tried to reassure her. "It's all right love. I just want to have a conversation with them without any distractions. The Flag-Rank Officers that would be concerned about my safety  would most likely ask for my undivided attention when I speak to them. It is their nature, believe me I know. I have grown up around them and I know all of their quirks and idiosyncrasies. This is something that they would expect, Kathryn, and if they see you there, they will most likely ask you to leave."

She did not understand the camaraderie he had with the Admirals and she would most likely feel intimidated by the high-ranking officers. He would do anything in his power to save her from being embarrassed.

"Are you going to tell your father about us?" she asked. She still didn't like to be excluded from the talk with his father but she would do just about anything to please him. Especially after nearly loosing him.

"Yes love, and to make it up to you, I'll tell you all about the conversations tonight okay?" he asked to placate her.

"Okay. But you must remember every little juicy detail" Kathryn said with a mischievous smile.

"If this gets any more cloying I'll need to report to Sickbay" Chakotay said. For that statement, he earned a punch on the arm from Kathryn and her patented death glare. She even placed her hands on her hips and was about to speak when Chakotay raised his arms in surrender. "I think I better head off to the bridge."

"I believe that it would be for the best Chakotay before she melts you with her glare," Tom said with a perfectly angelic expression. This in turn caused Janeway to scowl at him before she sighed and arranged her facial features to create a tragic expression.

"I'm surrounded by larrikins," she said in defeat. But then the glint returned to her eye. "I believe I read in Lieutenant Vorik's latest engineering report that the hygienic conditions in the jefferies tubes have deteriorated. Do I have any volunteers?"

The whole mess-hall cleared in a rush. In less than ten seconds, the room was empty except for herself and Chell with a lot of empty trays and upturned seats.

"I'll have to remember that for the next time when I want to have a room all to myself," Kathryn said to the bemused Bolian as she left the mess-hall.

*****

A/N: Please Read and Review!!! And thank you Raven Sage for your comments.

    Next: Chapter Twelve