"WHEN IRISH EYES ARE TALAXIAN"
Part 7
Once Tom and the Doctor had delivered Jenny to her quarters, they returned to Harry's quarters for the now fully dressed Seven. Before they left, Neelix informed Tom about his encounter with Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay. Visions of a strangled Talaxian cook filled Tom's thoughts when he learned how the Captain managed to fool the former. Using B'Elanna's meditation methods, Tom calmed down and with the Doctor, lugged the former drone to Sick Bay.
Upon their arrival in Sick Bay, they found Megan Delaney gaining conscious. "Doctor? Tom?" Megan slowly rose into a sitting position. She clutched her forehead and groaned. "What happened? What am I doing here in Sick Bay? And why do I have this god-awful headache?"
The pilot and the hologram dumped Seven on an empty biobed, before the former rushed to help Megan to her feet. "The answer to all three questions," Tom said, "is Neelix's Valax."
"God!" Another groan escaped Megan's lips. "I see what you mean. I had one too many drinks."
The Doctor sarcastically added, "Actually, one drink would have been suffice."
"Huh?" Megan stared at the two men with confused eyes.
Smiling gently, Tom explained that Neelix's Valax proved to be incompatible with the bloodstreams of those from the Alpha Quadrant. "Just about everyone who drank some became affected."
Megan stumbled about Sick Bay, until her eyes came upon Seven's inert form. She nodded at the former drone. "Her too?"
Tom nodded. Before he could open his mouth, the doors slid open and a groggy-looking B'Elanna strode into Sick Bay. "Doctor, I have a splitting headache. Do you have any anaglesiac available?" She paused at the sight of Tom, the Doctor and Megan staring at her. And at the figure stretched out on one of the biobeds. "What the hell is going on?"
"Congratulations Lieutenant," the Doctor replied. "You're the second person to survive Mister Neelix's atrocious drink. Ensign Delaney, here, is the first."
B'Elanna's gaze focused upon Tom and Megan, standing in front of the biobed. For one awful moment, Tom feared she had remembered witnessing his and Megan's wrestling match on Deck 5. "Jenny?"
"Megan." The stellar cartographer walked toward the Doctor. "About that anaglesiac, Doc?"
The Doctor picked up a hypospray from a nearby tray and pressed it against Megan's neck. "I would also recommend a few hours of rest, Ensign. That Valax was very potent."
"I don't get it," B'Elanna said, as she headed for the EMH for her medication. "I only had three glasses of Valax. At least I think I did. And yet, this happens. I thought Neelix's little drink was suppose to have less alcohol than anything made in the Alpha Quadrant."
Tom replied, "It does. The Doc checked it out himself, before today. Like we had told Megan, those from the Alpha Quadrant seemed to have a low resistance to it. Sort of like encountering a new disease."
"Oh wonderful! I get drunk from fermented Leola root. By the way," a frown creased B'Elanna's lovely face, "how did I end up in our quarters?"
Tom explained how Crewman Jarvis found her inside one of the Jeffries tubes. "She had summoned me and I carried you home."
"What about me?" Megan asked. "I wasn't found any place strange, was I?"
A smirk appeared on the Doctor's face. "Only Lieutenant Paris can answer that, Ensign. He was the one who found you."
"He did?" Both Megan and B'Elanna cried out at the same time. All eyes fell upon the pilot. Who found himself growing uncomfortably warm all over.
Struggling to maintain a calm façade, Tom quickly replied, "Well, uh yes. I found you unconscious. Inside Turbolift One."
"Really?" The Doctor's eyebrows waggled mischeviously. "I didn't realize that Ensign Delaney was unconscious."
Tom glared at the hologram. Too bad one could not strangle a photonic being. Tom would have happily done so at this moment. "Yes Doc! She was unconscious when I found her. You just forgot." His eyes fell upon the unconscious figure stretched out on another biobed. "As for Seven," he nodded at the former drone, "you wouldn't believe where the Doc and I found her. It was in . . ."
"Inside the Mess Hall!" The Doctor's smug expression had vanished. Tom noticed how his face had paled. Could holograms do that?
B'Elanna looked unimpressed. "So what? She was found in the Mess Hall. What's the big deal?"
The Doctor glanced at Tom, who remained silent. He added uncomfortably, "Seven was attempting to . . . uh, she was telling jokes to several people inside the Mess Hall." He paused. "Rather badly."
A short laugh burst out of Megan's mouth. B'Elanna arched an eyebrow, Tuvok-style. "Seven-of-Nine, a comic? That must have been an unusual sight."
"Just as a drunken ex-Borg must have been," Megan added. "I thought Seven's nanoprobes gave her a low resistance to alcohol of any kind. Even champagne."
The EMH stiffly explained that as a former drone, Seven possessed a low resistance to alcohol. "Oh yeah," B'Elanna added with a smirk. "I remember when she was once practically tight after a glass of champagne. And that had synthehol. Maybe the next time we go against the Borg, we should consider exposing them to alcohol. Or perhaps Neelix's Valax. Get the Collective drunk and take over ourselves."
Even Tom could not help but laugh at his wife's crack. It felt nice to see that sharp edge of hers in fore, again. His combadge crackled. "Carey to Paris."
Ignoring B'Elanna's sudden interest, Tom responded. "Paris here. You have news for me, Joe?"
"I thought you would be happy to know that the transporters are back on-line. Engineering now has enough power to complete repairs on the external sensors. Hopefully, they should be up pretty soon."
Tom smiled. "Hey! That's good news, Joe! Keep me updated on the repairs. Paris out."
Dark brown eyes narrowed. "The external sensors are off-line?" B'Elanna asked.
Oh oh! Tom saw the glimmer in his wife's eyes and immediately knew she would not be spending the next several hours recovering from her ordeal. He hesitated before answering, "Yeah, but before you think of heading for Engineering, you need to get some rest." Tom turned to the EMH. "Am I right, Doc?"
Mischief lit up the Doctor's eyes. Fortunately, his ethical subroutines kicked in before he could cause any trouble. "Mister Paris is right, Lieutenant. You do need some rest. Both you and Ensign Delaney. I would recommend at least two or three hours of rest before either of you can return to duty."
"I'll rest after I help get those sensors back on line," B'Elanna replied tartly. "Meanwhile, I'll be in Engineering. See you later." She gave Tom a quick peck on the cheek and headed for the doors.
Tom heaved an exasperated sigh and started after his wife. "B'Elanna!"
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Around the corner from Sick Bay, a woman hiding the corridor's shadows watched the double doors slide open and Voyager's chief engineer stride out into the corridor. As she marched toward the nearest turbolift, another figure emerged from Sick Bay. A taller figure with sandy blond hair, who wore a black uniform with red shoulders. Gray-blue eyes stared hungrily at the second figure.
"B'Elanna! B'Elanna, wait up!" Tom Paris cried after his wife. "Look, maybe the Doc is right. You've been through a lot today, and you need some rest." The woman surreptiously followed the pair.
The half-Klingon disregarded the helmsman's words with a wave of her hand. "Nonsense! I feel perfectly fine." B'Elanna paused in the middle of the corridor, nearly causing her husband to collide into her. She whirled around and seared him with a shrewd and penetrating stare. "Besides, I think you simply want an excuse to get me inside our quarters. Alone."
Kathryn Janeway frowned, as she watched Tom's jaw nearly drop to the deck. Her frown deepened when he gathered B'Elanna into his arms. Arms she longed to feel around her. "What's wrong with that?" the Chief Pilot whispered into the engineer's ear. "It'll be fun." He gently nibbled his wife's earlobe. Janeway closed her eyes and imagined that mouth nibbling her ear. She shivered.
"Hmmm," B'Elanna moaned. "I am so tempted. But," much to Janeway's relief, the former snapped back into her Chief Engineer mode, "I have external sensors to repair. And you have a starship to run. So . . ." B'Elanna extracted herself from the pilot's arms and continued her march along the corridor. Tom followed closely behind. So did Janeway. When the couple halted in front of Turbolift One, Janeway paused a few feet behind them. She then ducked behind another corner and observed the pair.
"Why don't you accompany me to our quarters first," Tom said, as he and B'Elanna waited for the turbolift. "I have to change into a fresh uniform. And I wouldn't mind some help." He gave his wife the full effect of those blue peepers.
B'Elanna seemed to be made of sterner stuff. Or else she had developed a resistance to the pilot's famed puppy dog eyes. "Sorry Flyboy," she said, patting Tom's arm. "Right now, the ship comes first." The turbolift doors opened and the couple stepped inside.
Silly woman, Janeway thought. How could Lieutenant Torres resist those . . .? An idea struck the red-haired captain's Valax-induced mind. It was an idea that would have horrified every member of her crew, yet it filled her with pure giddiness. She opened the hatch to the nearest Jeffries tube and crawled inside. Janeway realized that if she hurried, she just might reach her destination before the Chief Helmsman.
END OF PART 7
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