Tom had never been so uncomfortable during a staff meeting in his entire life. The thought that he would rather face Seska than Kathryn Janeway on a rampage flashed through his mind once or twice. However, she managed to remain civil, and Tom followed regulations like he never had before in his life.

That night as they sat in Chakotay's quarters, Chakotay gave him a short rendition of their meeting.

"She isn't happy, but she accepted it," Chakotay said, stroking Tom's hair.

"She didn't look exactly happy about it."

"Oh, she wasn't, but she checked the logs and checked our whereabouts two nights ago and found us both well away from each other, so she really couldn't say much."

"I'm sure she's figured out we've never spent the night together before either."

"Which we haven't except of away missions."

Tom laughed. "Ah yes, the infamous away mission."

"Yeah."

Later, Tom was on his hands and knees, begging wantonly as Chakotay plowed his ass. He had never been fucked like this before in his life. Oh, he had had it rougher and harder, but Chakotay was playing him like a fucking violin. He had touched, stroked and kissed every square inch of his body, with the exception of his cock. That Chak occasionally reached down and stroked until Tom was twisting. Tom would gladly enjoy every fucking night for the rest of his life if it was going to be like this.

"Fuck, Chakotay, more. Do something!"

He heard the evil chuckle and once more a light stroke teased his cock to just almost enough and then he let go.

"Chakotay!"

"I love you, Tom," Chakotay whispered.

"Shit," Tom said, panting. "Now you admit it. Now when I can't do anything!" Chakotay stroked deeply into him and Tom arched his back for it. "Sadist!"

"No, I love to watch you twist for me, Tom. I had to do this," Chakotay groaned.

"Do what, drive me...shit...drive me nuts?"

"No, when I used to be with men, I wanted them so satisfied, they never wanted to do me," Chakotay groaned.

"If you'll let me cum, I swear I'll never try to do you again. I swear."

"No, Tom, I want you to do me, but I wanted you to enjoy this."

"Enjoy? My balls are so tight, they're gonna become ovaries here any second."

Chakotay chuckled at that comment, but granted Tom's wish and started to lever in and out of him. Tom's entire body started to sing. An orgasm was gathering in his belly like a bolt of electricity. Chakotay grabbed Tom's cock and started stroking. Tom felt everything gather in his groin and escape through his dick. He came long and hard, feeling Chakotay bury himself a few more times before crying out as well.

Several days later, Harry cornered him outside the mess.

"Okay, Tom, spill. Is it true?"

Tom smiled that 'could be' smile and asked, "Is what true, Har?"

Harry made an extremely frustrated face and grabbed Tom's tunic. "You and Chakotay?" he said louder than he meant to. Harry looked up and down the corridor and then back at Tom.

"What?" Tom asked, feigning innocence. "That I've stopped going to counseling? Yeah, Harry I did, but Chakotay was great. I haven't had a nightmare in weeks."

"I'm going to let B'Elanna loose on you if you don't 'fess up now, Paris. Are you and Chakotay a couple or not?"

"Me, and Chakotay, the big man, if you know what I mean, the mystic warrior? A couple?" He looked shocked, askance at Harry's accusation. "You better believe it, Harry, and I am happier than I have been in years."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." Tom smiled, pulling free from Harry's grasp and walking into the mess with his arm around his best friend's shoulder. "Yeah, Harry we are and it's good. Sorry, I didn't tell you before, but with the way the Captain has been breathing down our necks, we didn't want anyone else to get dragged into it yet."

"That Captain isn't happy?"

"Well, I can guarantee you, I wouldn't be happy if I had lost the big man."

"So how did it happen?"

Tom smiled as they got in line and started to tell the story.

It was two weeks later that Chakotay started to notice things. Things he didn't like. Like the fact Tom was getting recluse, not wanting to go out, not wanting simple PDA's, finding reasons to skip out on lunch in the mess. The sex was still good, great in fact, but Chakotay knew Tom well enough to know something was going on. It was that night that it was clinched. Tom had a nightmare about being chased by Becker.

He was up early, sitting in the living room with a cup of tea for himself and ready to replicate one for Tom at a moment's notice. He heard Tom wake up and got him the coffee and when Tom was more or less awake, he very gently said,

"We need to talk."

Chakotay had planned this one carefully, Tom had no outs today. No duty, no breakfast with Harry, nothing.

Tom sighed with a look of despair.

"Okay. Be there in a minute."

Tom came out in sleep pants, tousled hair and a definite cuddly look about him. He threw himself onto the couch, coffee still in hand, looking like a teenager in trouble. Chakotay just sat quietly, waiting for Tom to become a bit more receptive.

"Well?" Tom asked.

"What's wrong?"

"You yanked me out of bed with this mysterious 'We gotta talk' thing. I hate this, Chakotay. I really do."

"Well, this is important. Did you know you had a nightmare last night?"

Tom blinked sharply and then turned his head to the side. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

Chakotay nodded. "Yes, and it was about Becker. So I know it isn't you're flying, it's interpersonal. That, coupled with the fact that you've been becoming introverted, don't want to be seen with me in public, don't want to be touched by me in public and just generally turning back into the old Tom Paris, I want to know what's going on."

"God, why did I ever decide to get serious with a counselor?" Tom moaned, sitting up, putting his coffee down and burying his face in his hands.

"Dramatics are not going to help, Tom. Now, is it us? Have I offended you with something I've done?" Any further questions were cut off by Tom.

"No, it isn't you."

Tom lifted his head and looked at the man he loved deeply. How to tell him. He would be hurt, angry and disillusioned. Either that or he would turn into a raging bull and kill several people.

"Then what is it, Tom?"

"You aren't gonna want to hear this, Chak," he said in a half hearted attempt to dissuade him.

"Yes, I do, because it's affecting us."

"Okay," Tom said, and then blew out a breath. "Some of the crew aren't happy with us being a couple."

Chakotay digested that little bit of information. Then he simply asked, "Maquis?"

Tom nodded. "Not all of them, just a few."

Then Captain Chakotay come to the fore. "Which Maquis?"

"Usuals. Dalby, Chell and a few others, but those two are the most vocal."

"Vocal?"

"You know, Chak, I really hate it when you do that one word question thing. Makes me feel like a kid."

"I don't really care right now, Tom. I want to know what's going on, who's doing it and what they are saying."

"Like I said, the usuals and the usual stuff. They haven't touched me, but they are trying to run me off. Been here, done this. It isn't going to work."

"Oh, so, that's why you don't want me touching you in public, or eating with you in the mess and are having nightmares again?"

"Picky," Tom said. "Actually, I was just trying to tone it down for a while so they could calm down and adjust to it."

"That's good, Tom. Really, it is. However, their behavior is unacceptable. I'll deal with it," Chakotay said, standing up, already heading for his desk. Tom was not going to be the Omega anymore.

"Oh, no you won't!" Tom said, standing up, interposing himself. "I will. I don't need you jumping up to protect me, Chakotay. I can deal with this."

Chakotay stopped, about to say something, but he stopped and took on a thoughtful pose for a minute. Then he chuckled and smiled.

"What?" Tom asked, still expecting Chak to try and take control of this situation.

"How about, instead of either of us staking territory, 'we' deal with this?" Chakotay smiled evilly.

"How?"

"Well, let's try turning the tables on them a little. I could talk to Greg, upset of course that it's causing problems. Greg will, of course, let the Maquis know they are leaning on you. Believe it or not, Greg is okay with this and I know what his reaction will be." Chakotay started to walk back towards Tom. "You could let Harry know and he would be sure to spread it to others, mainly B'Elanna, who would be sure to lean on Chell and Dalby, maybe even hurt them if we're lucky. Then you and I could...hm...How to say this...express ourselves more freely and hopefully they'll be stupid enough to make a move and we can both beat them into the decking for it."

"Shit, Chakotay, why don't we just tell the Captain? I'm sure she'll have a fit about it. Not that she's that thrilled about us, but she won't put up with people threatening anyone else."

"THREATENING?" Chakotay asked harshly.

"Same old, Chak. Don't get your boxers in a twist. They haven't laid a finger on me since the first couple of months."

Chakotay's face closed. Tom didn't like that. He'd gotten used to and really liked Chak's openness for the last few months. "So how do we get the Captain in on this?"

"We don't. Neelix will pick it up through the grapevine and tell Kathryn. That way we look completely innocent."

"Good point. How do we express ourselves to get them to do something stupid?"

"Actually we set them up. We get demonstrative in Sandrine's while they are there. You go on to our quarters, I'll hang to talk to Greg and then when they leave to follow you, Greg and I will follow them and assuming what we come up on, we either pound them into the decking or they do brig time for 'threatening' you."

"Sounds feasible, but what about when they get out."

"Are you kidding, half the security staff is Maquis. They'll get enough threats heaped on their head to let even those two closed-minded fools to listen up."

"I like the way you think some days, Chakotay," Tom said, covering the distance between them and kissing them, but Chakotay pulled back.

"Don't do this again, Tom. You and I can deal with things much better as a team then we can separately. Okay. Please don't push me out like that again."

"Okay, Chak, I promise, but I didn't want you..."

"To take over. I understand and I'll try not to, but you have to let me in."

"Okay," Tom said, kissing his lover.

He loved the feel of Chakotay's lips. Over and over he drew at them, pushing the big man's robe off his shoulders, rubbing against him.

They were both standing there in their sleeping pants, trying to get closer and closer to each other. Tom tried to push Chakotay back onto the couch, but he just as well try to shove a planet as move him. Tom met an impish smile.

"Come with me, Lieutenant. I want to do something," Chakotay rumbled, leading Tom to his bedroom. They both got naked quickly and Chakotay had Tom lay down on the bed.

"I don't think you'll have a problem with this, but I want to try it."

"What?"

Chakotay smiled and asked, "Sixty-nine?"

Tom's mind quickly provided mental images and his dick happily joined in the fun, until he remembered the hard time Chak had had with being blown or at least Tom swallowing. "Fine by me, Chakotay, but you take the top. That way if you have a problem, you can just pull up."

Tom could not categorize the feeling of having Chakotay suck his dick as anything less than glorious. He loved being blown and had no problems with it, but he was a little concerned about Chakotay not being comfortable with it. However, when Chak took him in one long glide, his concerns disappeared. Soon, all he knew were they were both sweaty, pumping into each others' mouths. Chakotay had insinuated two fingers in Tom and was driving him nuts, while Tom played with his balls. They both had a free arm wrapped around the other trying to still them, but soon it didn't matter. Tom was close and by how hard Chakotay was, he guessed he wasn't too far off himself. He started drawing hard on Chakotay's cock, and at the same time, drawing farther out with his own dick, trying to warn Chakotay, but instead of pulling back, Chakotay cinched him closer and intentionally stroked Tom's prostate. He almost pushed his dick down Chakotay's throat as he came. He sucked hard on Chak's cock and was rewarded by a harsh cry and they both sucked the other one dry.

When his brain came back on line, Tom reached out and touched his lover's arm.

"You okay?"

"Better than okay, Tom. Thank you."

Tom knew it was for helping him overcome his fear of that particular act, but all he could think of was how good it felt.

"Any time, Chakotay. Any time."

They both resettled on the bed and took a long nap.

They set their little plan into motion, Chakotay talking to Greg and Tom talking to Harry. Chakotay was worried when the threats increased instead of decreased. He thought Dalby and Chell would have backed off in the face of controversy. So that night at Sandrine's he paid attention to Tom like he always wanted to. Touching him, gently kissing him, and just showing him how much he did love him. The occasional glance at the two off in the corner told him they were getting more and more upset.

Finally, he kissed Tom, full on the lips and said he would see him in a few.

Tom winked and said, "Down the hall to the turbolift, then to my deck and my quarters. Please don't be late."

Chakotay smiled and kissed him again, feeling his dick swell, even from something this staged. "I won't be."

Tom nodded and left. Chakotay walked over to Greg.

"Hey, how are you this evening?" he asked his friend.

"Jealous," Greg replied with a smile. "That was pretty intentional, Chief. What are you up to?"

"Chell and Dalby are still threatening, Tom. I wanted to draw them out."

"Well, your plan seemed to work," Greg said, gesturing towards the door. "Shall we?"

"Oh yeah," Chakotay replied.

They started to leave, when Harry and B'El stopped them.

"We going to beat the shit out of Chell and Dalby?" B'Elanna asked, baring her teeth.

"If they're that stupid, yes," Greg said.

"Can we come along?" Harry asked, as the doors to the holodeck closed behind them.

"Of course," Chakotay said, turning towards the turbolift.

As they rounded the end of the corridor, they saw Dalby and Chell enter the lift with Tom.

"Computer, halt lift," Chakotay called and they piled in with the others in the lift. It was pretty tight in there.

"Resume," he ordered, pulling Tom close to him, and kissing his cheek.

He heard Chell grunt loudly and hit the back wall of the lift, thanks to Greg's misplaced elbow. Dalby just winced as B'elanna ground her heel into his foot, and then fell in an ungainly fashion as Harry shoved him. But due to B'elanna's foot pinning him in place and Greg stepping out of the way, he hit the wall of the turbolift pretty hard.

As he got up off the floor, he and Chell closed ranks with each other, but Chakotay stepped forward.

"Any more threats and it will be me and Tom that you meet up with and we won't be gentle about it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Chell answered, holding his ribs.

Dalby just nodded, staring at them angrily.

Tom and Chakotay got off the lift and left the two hapless victims in the questionable care of the three remaining passengers. Both Tom and Chakotay chuckled as they walked to Tom's quarters.

Tom started laughing as soon as the doors closed. "I wish you could have seen the looks on those two faces when you halted the lift."

"Not too much?" Chakotay asked, wondering if he had gone too far with the overprotective act, not that it was completely an act. The list of medical supplies Tom had had to order those first few months still haunted him occasionally.

"No, that was great. Do we really get to do it the next time?"

"Oh yeah," Chakotay growled. "I don't even think we'll get in any trouble over it."

The next morning, Tom and Chakotay laughed when Chell and Dalby came in. Man, did they look rough. B'elanna and Harry came and sat down with them.

"Serves, the Pa-tak right," she growled.

"What?" Chakotay asked.

Harry smiled. "We just did some late night adjustments to their quarters."

"Such as?" Tom asked, overtly interested in what could have caused those two to look that bad.

"I readjusted their sonic showers. Those two should both have headaches," B'Elanna said with a Klingon grin in place.

"I messed with their gravity controls. I think normal plus a quarter gravity should have helped them sleep just a little harder."

"I'm proud of you, Starfleet. Here I thought you would have just made them replicate shaving cream instead of toothpaste."

"Did that, too," Harry said with a smile.

Soon pretty much everything regarding their relationship calmed down. People began to look forward to seeing the two of them together, and it encouraged others to seek out more long term relationships onboard. It wasn't smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination for Tom and Chakotay. There were times Tom called Chakotay on his possessive, workaholic lifestyle, and there were times Chakotay called Tom on his devil-may-care, flyboy attitude. However, they were friends first, and then became lovers. They had a good foundation.

But, six months later, Chakotay sat in his office, staring out into space as the stars slowly moved by. He sighed. Once more Voyager limped through space. The stalwart lady barely making light speed, but this time, it wasn't because of a power loss. This time she was hurt. He turned back to his desk, but the myriad of reports were nothing more than an aggravation to him. They were in trouble.

Voyager had taken a serious blow, serious enough to cripple the great ship.

Not only was Voyager hurting, but so was her Captain as well. Kathryn had been in command for a long time and the strain was beginning to show. She was tired. Voyager had never been designed for what they were putting her through, and with each phaser blast, with each blown gel pack, with each setback, both Kathryn and Voyager were slower to come back. Now, Voyager was in trouble.

They were trying to navigate an asteroid belt, a big asteroid belt. They had all been at their stations for twelve hours straight. They were almost through the stupid thing, when the proximity alarm went off. Tuvok barked out a trajectory and Tom, in the limited amount of maneuvering room available, did his best, but for once Tom's best wasn't enough, and the comet punched a hole through the very front of the dish. No one died, but the structural damage was colossal. Voyager had structural problems. Anything above about three-quarter's impulse put too much stress on that area and threatened to rip her apart.

Earlier today, he and Kathryn during their morning meeting discussed something that was about as upsetting as the gaping hole in Voyager's bow.

"You mean there's a planet around here with the components for titanium laying around in slag piles?" Chakotay asked, incredulous that Kathryn planned to pass it by.

"Their culture is warlike Chakotay. They haven't even evolved to space travel. We can't make contact with them."

"I don't believe this, Kathryn. You're willing to sacrifice this ship and her crew because these people might be affected by our presence?"

"Chakotay, we've had this argument so many times. You understand the Prime Directive as well as I do. Please don't do this."

"I understand the Prime Directive perfectly, Kathryn and the rest of the regs, but," he said, as he leaned forward in his chair. "We need those metals. We need a whole bunch of those metals, and we need a place to fix Voyager. These people have it. Maybe we can negotiate a trade. We've done it a thousand times."

"We can't, Chakotay. How would we explain needing that much? How do we explain moving that much? It's too risky."

"We have to find a way, Kathryn," Chakotay said, scanning the padd with the information on it. "Look, there's another planet in that system. It's M class. We can put down there after we get the ores and repair the damage. The crew can relax for a while. You can relax."

"No. I'm sorry I even told you about it. I should have told Seven to destroy the information. We are not going. I was hoping you would understand, and that you would support me in this decision. However, I can see that isn't going to happen."

"Kathryn, I support you in we can't disturb the culture. I support you in it would be a difficult assignment, but I do not support your dismissing it out of hand without sharing the information with at least the senior staff. Spirits, Kathryn, we can do this. We can just beam it out and let their own belief system explain the loss."

"No, we can't. They have satellites and would detect our presence. We can't get close enough to beam it out."

Chakotay cursed under his breath. There had to be a way. He wracked his brain. Then it hit him. He went back to the planet information. They had a monetary system. "Then we send in two teams. One to each side of the conflict and we buy it."

"And how do we get it off planet?"

"They have a hole in their defense grid here," he said, pointing to the southernmost type of the planet. "We send in two shuttles, they can get in and get close enough to beam them out. Then we beam it to this land mass and then to Voyager."

"Too risky. I won't violate the Prime Directive."

That was it. He had come up with a viable solution and she was dismissing it. "Captain, with all due respect, fuck the Prime Directive. We are talking about our survival. We are not out to hurt or corrupt these people. We have a plan that could work without undue risk to their society. Why won't you consider it?"

Kathryn Janeway sighed, and for the first time in a long time he saw how tired she really was. He saw the gray beginning to streak her hair and the lines on her face. "Because Chakotay, I don't want to launch another burial pod. Because, I don't want to have negotiate the release of another member of Voyager's crew. Because it is too damn risky, Chakotay, that's why! Voyager is badly damaged and at this moment, can't even take a limited attack on her. One of their missiles could destroy us all."

"So, we do what? Limp along at three-quarter's impulse until we stumble on another stockpile of the very metals we need? That is ludicrous, Kathryn. Absolutely ludicrous," Chakotay stated. "We're more likely to run into another hostile race before that happens. Then what, Kathryn? For your information, we don't have enough burial pods if that happens, except Voyager's ravaged hulk."

Kathryn turned away from him and stared out her viewport. Chakotay stood up and straightened his uniform, and went to attention.

"Captain, I don't say this lightly. Either you bring this to the senior staff's attention, or I will."

Her back stiffened. "That's insubordination, Mister."

"And if you don't act, it could get bigger than that."

Kathryn's sharp intake of breath accompanied her turning sharply, pinning him with a glare that was deadly. "Mutiny, Chakotay?"

"Only if you don't act, Captain."

"Hey, baby." Chakotay felt arms come around his waist. Spirits, he hadn't even heard Tom come in. "Hard day?"

Chakotay just let loose with a short laugh, and leaned back against his lover's frame, sighing. It felt so good to just be able to relax every now and again. Tom's warm lips pressed against his temple, and Chakotay turned to him and returned the kiss.

"I love you," Tom whispered, as he held Chakotay close to him.

"I love you, too."

Tom sat in the conference room, waiting for Chak and Kathryn. He knew what was going on, and he was not looking forward to this showdown. He fervently prayed that Kathryn took Chak's advice and gave them the opportunity to get these metals or, at least, kick the idea around. From the brief description Chakotay gave him, Tom knew his plan wasn't fool proof and he could understand the Captain's reservations, but he also agreed with Chakotay. They needed that metal badly.

They walked in, Kathryn stalking to her usual seat, Chakotay following more calmly. She stood there, rigid and angry, but suddenly she softened, her eyes and face relaxed, and Kathryn Janeway sighed heavily.

"Okay people, here's the situation..."

At the end of the meeting, everyone seemed to be excited, Once more, they may pull off a small miracle. Tom met Chakotay's eyes and nodded. Chakotay just gave him that look that said 'Thank the Spirits.'

They all hit their duty stations, everyone doing their utmost to find the safest, quickest and most expedient way to attain the ores that lay in huge piles around a city.

Tom went to his quarters and ordered his outfit for this away mission. It appeared and he sighed as he picked up the odd fabric. He wished someone in the Delta had discovered denim. He went to the bedroom and started to change.

"Chakotay to Paris."

"Yeah, Chak," Tom answered, as he slid the pants on. It almost looked like a uniform, but at least they were warm, and considering the weather down there, he was happy about that. Tom tried not to think that this was their six month anniversary and they had planned a quiet dinner for the two of them.

"Sorry, about this, but we have to get that metal."

"I know," Tom answered. He pulled the shirt on, and buttoned the buttons.

"At least we're going down together."

"Well, considering I'm going with the Captain and you're with Greg, I don't really see us together, do you?" Tom asked, as he bent down to tie the shoes. That always took him a minute to remember how to do that. Luckily, Starfleet had a course on how to dress in odd or ancient clothing and customs, and everyone had had to learn how to "tie" their shoes.

"Well, she was originally going to leave me behind. She didn't want the two most senior staff down there."

"Really?" Tom asked drolly, as he picked up the jacket. That was almost laughable, because if anyone should have stayed on the ship, it was the Captain, not the first officer. However, Kathryn was never much for being left out of the action.

The jacket had a layer of their fabric in it and it would keep Tom warm, but he wondered about the people down there who didn't have the liner. He started to slide his equipment into the hidden pockets.

"Yeah, but I pointed out I had more experience in covert operations than she did."

"Oh, I bet she took that well," Tom snorted.

Tom wondered why the Captain had never forgiven Chakotay for choosing someone else after she had dumped him. Ever since they had moved in together, even before then, she had treated Chakotay with an aloofness that sometimes caused problems. This away mission being one of them.

"Well, let's just say, she wasn't happy with me," Chak said.

Tom sighed. "I'm sorry, Chakotay."

"Not your fault, Tom. I'll see you in a few okay."

"Okay, but I gotta stop by sickbay and pick some stuff up."

Tom stood in the transporter room, waiting for the Captain, Chak, and Greg to get there. They were beaming down to a planet that was unsettled at best. There appeared to be a war of sorts going on with two distinctive sides. He almost shuddered when he thought about how close it was to the Hirogen set up in the holodecks. Two sides of the same race vying for supremacy.

His thoughts were silenced as the doors slid open and Greg came in. The clothes he was wearing reminded Tom of what Greg looked like when he was in the Maquis. He wore leather and it made him look dangerous. They also looked extremely thin. He quirked an eyebrow, but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Tom," Greg greeted. "Are we the first ones here?"

"Yeah, for once, Chak and the Captain are late," Tom said with humor.

"Well, miracles do still happen," Greg said, as he checked his phaser and slid it into the secret pocket of his jacket. "You ready?"

Tom patted the pocket of his jacket and said, "Communicator, small medical kit and phaser."

The doors opened again, as both Chak and the Captain entered. The Captain strode to the pad, pausing long enough to pin Tom with a glare. Chakotay met his eyes with an apology, but followed her onto the pad.

She wore clothes similar to Tom's, but for some reason, Tom thought, they looked more important than his. Neither side in this conflict was military, but she and Tom were going to the side that appeared to have the upper hand.

Chakotay was dressed like Greg, with a skull cap on, hiding his tattoo. Tom liked Chakotay in black, because he looked really good in it. He looked more like an old fighter pilot in the leather jacket. He remembered the first time he had met Chak. He had been dressed similarly to this, even down to the cap.

"Gentlemen, if you will join us, we will get this mission started."

Greg and Tom shared a glance, but got onto the pad.

Chakotay wished he could and Kathryn could talk like they used to. She had no business giving him and Tom this hard a time. Of course, coming at her this morning hadn't been one of his most brilliant ideas, but there was no reason to keep Tom or him onboard when she was putting herself directly in harm's way.

Then to try to put Greg with him was ridiculous. It was actually more logical to put Greg with her. They had more experience with this type of mission from their time in the Maquis and would see things that Kathryn wouldn't. However, her accusation that he was doing it just to spend time with Tom was ridiculous. They got into an argument that she had ended by pulling rank. So he was going with Greg and she was going with Tom.

He got on the transporter pad. Tom stood beside the Captain and Greg beside him. Greg gave him a look that asked what happened. He shook his head slightly that told Greg he would tell him later.

They materialized in a dark alley. There was snow falling and a shiver ran through him. The buildings were made of stone or bricks and there was very little light where they stood. He wondered if Harry could have found a tighter spot to beam them into.

"Commander, you go that way. Tom and I will go this way. Meet back here in four hours. If you can't, comm me. I'll do the same," the Captain said in a low whisper.

"Yes, Captain," Chakotay replied.

Once they were on the street, Tom kept his eyes open, watching dark places. He checked his phaser once or twice as the Captain wandered the streets. He followed her without question. She went into what looked like a tavern, but the stares they got told Tom a lot. People here dressed differently than they were. He checked his phaser again. The Captain however, walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of wine. Tom definitely recognized the look she got from the bartender and the way he served Kathryn from as far away as he could.

"Cap...Kathryn," he corrected, knowing he wasn't supposed to use rank here. "I don't think this is a good spot for us."

"And why is that, Tom?"

"Maybe you don't recognize them, but I do. The stares we are getting are telling us to go away."

"You would be more familiar with that than I would be."

Tom wondered what that little comment was all about. "Yes, Ma'am, I would be. So why don't we move on."

Her eyes scanned the crowd in the mirror behind the bar. She took a sip of her wine and then nodded. She put down a few coins and turned towards the doors. Tom sighed. He saw a cluster of people dressed like them farther up the street and pointed it out to the Captain. He sighed again when she headed in that direction.

Well, they had made contact that was for sure, Chakotay thought as he spit blood out of his mouth and stared darkly at the man who had just hit him.

"Who are you?" the man asked again.

"Like I told you, my name is Chakotay. I came here with my friend looking for work."

His head snapped to the side again. This guy was really beginning to piss him off.

"People like us don't work in the city."

Chak twisted his arms against the rope holding him to the chair. He felt a trickle of blood trail down his cheek.

"Maybe you're thinking of the wrong kind of work," Chakotay spat. He wasn't in any great pain. He had taken worse abuse than this on the holodeck sparring, but at least there he could hit back. His main concern was Greg. They were separated when they had been brought in.

"Oh, so what? You're one of us?"

"Maybe, depends on which side you're on," Chakotay said. He knew from his time questioning people, the ones who begged to join, were the ones you didn't trust.

"Which side are you on?" another man asked.

"The right side," Chakotay responded.

Shortly after that he was pushed into a room and found Greg already there. It looked like he had been beaten too. Both of their hands were still tied behind their backs, but at least they were together.

"You okay?" Greg asked him.

"Yeah. You?"

"I've had worse."

"Yeah, me too. Well, we made it."

Greg snorted. "Oh yeah, Chak, we made it all right." Greg lowered himself onto the cot and stretched out.

Tom and Kathryn managed to get to the right side of town for their parts. The other men Tom pointed out looked the Captain up and down once, but she successfully convinced them she wasn't interested. This time when they sat down to eat in a tavern the looks were much friendlier. Kathryn leaned over and spoke quietly to him.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom and try to get some readings. We have to get to that refinery as soon as possible."

"Right," Tom replied.

The planet had large quantities of all sorts of ores lying around, but most of it was contaminated with uranium. A radioactive ore. They had guessed these people didn't know how to separate the radioactive from the usable ores and so they discarded all of it. Voyager, however, could separate the uranium without so much as blinking using the transporters. To make titanium with the remaining ores would require another transport.

However, the radioactive material was interfering with the sensors just enough to keep them from getting an exact location and composition. Thus the reason for the mission. Chak and Greg were there to do the same thing, because they weren't sure which side controlled the dump site. And while they were down here trying to do the espionage thing, Voyager was raiding the southern continents of food.

So Tom sat alone, sipping his wine and hoping everything went smoothly. A few minutes later, the Captain came back and sat down with barely contained excitement.

"Find it?"

She nodded. "It's about one hundred fifty kilometers away. It's almost dark, so we'll wait until then and use the tricorder to get us there, but there's something even better than that."

"What?"

"I was running the tricorder when that woman came in," Kathryn said, gesturing with her eyes to a woman sitting about four tables away. "Do you see that stone in her pendant?"

Tom nodded glancing that way. It was a large blue luminescent stone of some type.

"I turned the tricorder off when she came in, but when she left, it registered that stone as a power source."

"Can we use it?"

"According to the tricorder, yes."

"What is it? I've never seen anything like it before."

"I have no idea, but according to the tricorder, it's plentiful."

"Captain, if it's a stone used as jewelry, that would equate to theft, wouldn't it?"

"Which is more important Tom, their jewelry or our getting home?" she asked shortly.

Tom almost brought up the Prime Directive, not to mention regulations and just standard laws about theft, but something, maybe his keen sense of self preservation, told him to keep his mouth shut. "I see your point, Captain."

Both Chak and Greg looked up when five people came through the door. Three of them Chakotay recognized from his questioning, but there was a woman and another man with them.

The three he knew were holding weapons, but the two he didn't know were unarmed. Greg was now sitting up on the bed.

"Chakotay and Greg," the man asked. "Where are you from and why are you here?"

"We're from the South," Chakotay started, but he was cut off.

"Save us the shit. We aren't stupid. No one in the south is interested in us," the man said.

Chakotay looked at him. He was tall, dark headed, heavily muscled and intelligent, and something told Chakotay to level with him.

"We're here to help our people. We need something you have, but don't use. We didn't want to just take it. We thought if we met with you, you might let us have it or sell it to us."

"What is it that you need?" the woman asked. Chakotay looked at her. She was small and rather petite, but he saw a fight in her that would probably rival B'Elanna.

"There's a refinery around here. Some of the metals that you don't use, we can."

Suddenly all the weapons were pointed directly at their heads. Everyone in the room tensed. The man strode up to him, shoved Chakotay against the wall and pinned him there by the throat. He raised a fist.

"Wrong answer," he growled.

Chakotay took the body blow without a sound. The man grabbed him by the shirt and slammed his head against the wall.

"Why are you here?"

"Like I told you, we need the metal."

This time it was a knee to his groin. Chakotay inhaled sharply as pain knifed through him. He almost threw up, but whoever this guy was waited until he lifted his head up.

"Tell me the truth or you are going to die."

Chakotay was straightened by an upper cut and slammed back into the wall. He was seeing stars and his groin was on fire. Once more, the man cocked his fist back again.

"I am. We need the metal," Chakotay gasped. Chakotay spit blood when the fist connected with his face again. He vaguely noted this guy hit harder than the first one did.

"Troy," the woman said, moving farther into the room. "I think he's telling the truth."

"Yeah, right!" Troy responded, with his hand still in a fist. "We're getting ready to hit their main refinery in three hours and these two stroll in wanting to buy the metals? I don't think so. They're fucking spies." He pulled his fist back again. "Who do you work for?"

"Troy, I'm serious," she insisted. "This...isn't their style. Get in and start killing people, yes. Wait for us and mow us down, yes. But this, walk in with some stupid story about metal, no way. Think about it, Troy. If they knew about us being here...we'd already be under attack."

Troy loosened his grip on Chak's throat. He looked at the woman and then back at Chakotay. Then he stood up.

"Maybe you're right. What do you think?" He asked one of the men, now holding a gun on Greg.

"I say Nicky is way too trusting, but if that's what you want to do, I say they sit in this room and be real good. They won't even look at the door. And, if they're really, really lucky, they might live until sunrise."

"Are you nuts?" another man asked. "They know us. They're spies. I say they die.

"And that's what you always say, Kev," Nicky said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the table in the middle of the room. Chakotay looked at her for the first time. Something tickled a memory in the back of his mind. "If we left recruiting up to you, we'd be at half strength and a lot of good people would be dead."

"I've saved our asses more than once, Nicky," he defended.

"Yep, but your first reaction is 'Kill 'em all'," she said with a wink.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Nick," Troy said with a smile.

"Only when we don't know the whole situation," she said. She looked at Chakotay closely. "Who are you?"

"My name is Chakotay. I travel with some people and our...we've had some damage and we need the metals to fix it."

"People get sick around that metal. People die," Troy said.

"We know, but we can...get around that," Chakotay answered.

She stared for a moment and then looked at Greg. "You?"

"Greg, and he's telling you the truth. The metals if they're mixed properly are harder than usual and we need it to support some places."

She looked back at Chakotay. Chak looked at her closely and then realized she was pregnant. It had been so long since he had seen a pregnant women, he had initially missed the swelling. That and she was wearing several layers of clothes softening the curve of her stomach.

"Are you from the South?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"Then where are you from?"

"Not from here," he answered evasively.

"Duh," she replied. "Let's get something straight. There isn't much standing between you and death at this moment. You had better start talking."

"I can't tell you where we're from. We have rules. All I can tell you is we aren't from around here, we don't mean you any harm and we just want to get some of those metals."

She stared for a minute, and then stood up. "They're hiding something, but I think on the whole they're telling the truth."

Chakotay and Greg looked at each other as the silence stretched out.

"I agree," Troy said quietly, releasing his hold on Chakotay. "You want the metal, there's a price. You can have all you want, but you gotta help us get it."

"You're going to blow the refinery up. We can't help you with that."

"You want the metal?" Troy asked.

Chakotay nodded.

"You help."

Chakotay opened his mouth to protest, but Kev pointed his gun at him.

"You don't help, you die."

Chak shut his mouth. This was great. He could see himself getting dressed down already. He looked at Greg, who just shrugged. They were stuck.

"We won't kill anyone."

"That's fine," Nicky commented. "But remember one thing, they will be trying to kill you." She smiled and started to leave the room. All the others started to leave as well, but she stopped just inside the door. "Don't try to leave this room. Then we will kill you, understand?"

"Yeah, we understand," Chakotay said.

They left the room and the door was locked. They looked at each other.

"Well, all things considered, that went well," Greg said, as he lay back on the bunk.

Tom tried to look nonchalant as he leaned against the wall outside the alley. He also wondered what was taking the Captain so long. He glanced left and right and almost panicked when a woman approached him, that is until he saw the sway of her hips.

"Hey there. Looking for some company?" The blue eyed woman asked.

"Uh, no. Not tonight. Thanks," Tom stumbled.

"Too bad. You look like you could have been fun."

Tom just shrugged and the woman sauntered off.

"What is it with you, Tom? Can you just attract people like flies?" the Captain asked, as she stepped out of the alley. She took Tom's arm and led him down the street. "Come on. This way."

Tom made a mental note to discuss the Captain's sudden propensity for taking pot shots at him with Chakotay as soon as they were back on Voyager.

Greg and Chakotay both looked up when the door opened again. Nicky stepped through the door carrying a tray. Two more guards stepped through and covered both Chakotay and Greg as she moved into the room and set the tray down.

"It isn't much, but it's better than nothing," she said.

One of the men snorted. "They don't look hungry to me."

"Shut up, Dan," she said tersely.

"Actually, if you need the food, we can do without," Chakotay said, looking at the small amount of food on the tray.

She eyed him suspiciously. Her face set in stone. She had unusual eyes, and roughly cut brown hair. Her clothes were worn and the building they were in was cold. He looked at the two men, and although they wore jackets, Chakotay could only see Bajoran refugees trying to survive in camps.

"You know what, Chakotay," Nicky started. "I may have made a mistake about you."

"I just don't want to waste your supplies. I know what it's like to be hungry," he said. "We both do. But if it will make you feel better, we'll eat."

She pulled a knife from her belt, and gestured he should turn around, and Chakotay did. If nothing else it would be nice to move freely again. She cut the ropes and he very carefully lowered his hands and turned around. He was glad he did, because she had reversed the blade and could have gutted him with a single stroke. Then she reached up and touched a bruise on his face, and frowned. Then she turned to Greg and cut him free as well.

"Behave and you'll stay free. Misbehave and you die," she said, as she turned and walked out of the room. The two guards stepped outside.

"Chief, we gotta do something. These people are starving," Greg whispered, as they sat down at the rough hewn table. He pulled a tricorder out of his jacket and scanned the food. "It's safe to eat."

"Prime Directive, Greg, we can't," Chakotay said, picking up a cup and drinking from it.

"Prime Directive be damned. This is every Bajoran camp we ever went to."

"I agree, but we can't interfere." He gestured towards the door, reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator. Greg grimaced, but stood and took two steps towards the door. He nodded.

"Voyager," Chakotay said quietly.

"Voyager here, Commander," Tuvok responded.

"We've made contact and will be going to the refinery in three hours. I will signal you then. Unfortunately, soon after we get there, the refinery is more than likely going to be blown sky high by these people, so if the Captain and Tom get there first, let us know. If we get there first, be ready to act quickly."

"Acknowledged."

"Any word from the Captain?"

"She and Lieutenant Paris are also moving in that direction, but are still some distance from it. She has also reported to have found a compatible power source."

"What is it?"

"A blue luminescent stone. She is endeavoring to obtain a quantity of it."

"We'll keep our eyes open for them. Chakotay out."

Tom and the Captain stood before a shop with a large display of the stones.

Captain Janeway looked left and right and then drew her phaser from her jacket. She aimed it at the window and fired. It actually put a nice hole in it; unfortunately, it also triggered some sort of loud alarm. They had already talked about it and the two of them reached in, grabbed a handful and ran. They waited until the local constabulary showed up and then walked by them as if they were just coming on the scene. They were questioned briefly, but soon told to be on their way.

"See, I told you we could do this," Captain Janeway said proudly.

"Hey, you two wait!"

Tom and the Captain looked back to see someone else talking to the lawman and pointing at them.

"Do we run or do we comply, Captain?" Tom asked, feeling a distinct sinking in his gut.

"We have a pocket full of stolen jewels. Run!"

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Tom said, but he started to run.

Soon, after yanking the Captain into an alley and using every single trick he knew for avoiding people, which included hiding in large trash containers. He and the Captain shook the pursuers.

He went to the end of the alley and looked around carefully.

"It's clear," he whispered.

"Well, I should hope so. That was disgusting. Don't you dare ever do that again, Lieutenant. I had the situation fully under control until..."

That was it. Tom had had enough. "With all due respect, Captain. You have been riding me like a green cadet for a while now, and I have had enough. The only thing you had under control was getting us put in a local prison. There we would have lost our jackets and our only source of contact with Voyager. Now, Captain, I would suggest we beam these back up to Voyager and get on with the main part of the mission, getting the metals we need to fix Voyager."

Captain Janeway stood up straight. "Lieutenant, only because I agree with what you are saying are we going to proceed in this direction. However, if you ever speak to me like that again, I will put you in the brig."

'Better the brig on Voyager than on this backwater planet,' Tom thought as he and the Captain made a small pile out of the stones and she contacted Voyager to beam them up.

Chakotay and Greg both jumped when the door slammed open again and Nicky came back in with a bowl of something. She set it and a rag down on the table and sat next to Chakotay.

"Let me see your face," she ordered. Chakotay grabbed her arm as she was about to press the towel to the cut on his face. He heard everyone shift and figured if he was not really careful in the next fifteen seconds, he was going to die. He gently released her hand.

"I am allergic to certain things," he said, putting his hands down gently on the table. "That could do more harm than good.

Nicky was giving him a very measuring look, as if trying to figure him out. "You're allergic to water?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, but I didn't know if you put anything else in there."

"Nope, just water. Cuts like that don't need anything else," she pointed out.

"Just making sure."

She nodded and rinsed the cloth out and pressed it to the cut on Chak's cheek, and then the others. She rinsed the cloth out and moved to Greg.

"Are you allergic to water?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm not," Greg chuckled.

"Maybe I should have listened to Kevin," she muttered, as she got the gash over Greg's eye.

"No, Ma'am. Sometimes asking questions before you shoot can save a lot of lives," Greg said.

"The question is whether it will save their lives or our lives."

"Good point," Greg conceded.

After several hours of sneaking through alleys, hiding as patrols went by and generally avoiding other living creatures, which included rats. Tom and the Captain were within a kilometer of the refinery. They both stopped, breathing hard, looking at the wide open distance between them and a very mean looking fence and a whole bunch of guards. To make things even better, there was another wide open space on the other side of the fence before the actual buildings started.

"We can't get in this way," the Captain panted.

"You're right," Tom agreed. He looked left and right, trying to figure out how to get closer. "Would you be opposed to having Voyager beam us inside the fence?"

"They couldn't get us close enough with the danger of materializing inside a wall, or in plain view."

Then a large truck went rumbling by and they ducked back into the shadows. However, they both watched it pass right into the compound without a problem. That looked at each other and both knew what the other was thinking. Janeway nodded and said,

"Come on, two buildings that way and we can jump on when they make the turn to go in."

"Right behind you, Captain."

You know what this is?" Troy asked, slapping a weapon down on the table.

"From the looks of it, it's a projectile weapon," Chakotay said, looking at it.

Troy looked at him as if he were nuts. "A projectile weapon? Well, yes, I guess if you were in military classes. To us, it's survival. Do you know how to use one?"

"Not this model," Greg said. Starting to reach for it. He looked at Troy for permission to pick the gun up and got a nod. He picked it up and hefted it to his shoulder. He cycled the pump, and looked into the chamber. "Doesn't do much good empty, does it?"

Troy took the weapon back. "I don't arm people I don't trust."

"So what you're giving us empty weapons, so they can shoot at us, but we can't shoot back?"

"We won't be shooting back, and we won't be using those either," Chakotay said, staring at Greg.

"Chak, they will be shooting at us. If we get in a tight spot, we may need one of those."

"That isn't why we're here, Greg. We came to get the metal and that's it."

Troy stared between the two of them. Chakotay met his look evenly.

"We won't be needing them," Chakotay said with authority.

"You really want to die, don't you?"

"No, but our rules say we can't get involved in your conflicts."

"But you can take our supplies," Kevin said, in the background.

"You don't use them."

"Enough," Troy said, but he turned as Nicky came into the room. She had one of the weapons slung over her shoulder, and two bandaleros of bullets over her shoulders and a bag in her hand. "No, go put that gun up. You are not going in on the first wave."

"The hell I'm not, Troy. We've been here before. I will not hang back and hide."

"Nicky, please. Don't do this. You're pregnant and I'm sorry, but you're getting slower. Please, just stay back until we get in. Then you can come in set the explosives."

She took a deep breath and started to bow up, Chakotay knew he was about to see a domestic squabble to rival one of his and Tom's.

However, Troy stepped up, wrapped her in his arms and whispered deeply. "Baby, please. I don't want you hurt. Every battle scares me to death, but it will kill me if I loose both of you. Please, just wait for us."

Chakotay almost smiled. He could hear his own father arguing with his mother when the war started. He also knew Troy was going to loose. Nicky had the same spirit his mother did. He glanced at Greg and saw his smile as well, but they were both surprised when she looked up, kissed Troy and then smiled.

"Okay, I'll wait, but I'm still taking my gun and covering your asses."

Troy kissed her back and whispered, "I can deal with that. In fact, do you think you can keep these two in line."

"I think I can, unless they happen to want to take a slug," Nicky threatened, chambering a round into her gun.

"No, Ma'am," Greg said with a smile.

Nicky smiled at him, and then winked at Troy.

"Thank you," Troy whispered. Then he looked around the room. "Kevin, get these guys some weapons, they may change their minds later. We move in fifteen minutes."

Tom and the Captain carefully lifted the edge of the tarp on the back of the truck. They were inside the compound, but in some sort of storage building. Kathryn slid out of the truck and Tom followed suit, wishing she would just slow down for a few minutes and look before she acted. For all they knew, their descriptions had been posted all over the place after the thing with the stones.

Kathryn slipped to the far side of the truck and then moved quickly to a wall, crouching down. Tom followed suit and then they both started moving towards the door as if they belonged there. Tom was relieved when no one screamed as several guards noticed them. He just kept walking, hoping this was over soon.

They stepped out into the night, and he tried once more tried to look nonchalant as the Captain ducked into a doorway and scanned with the tricorder.

"That way, about half a klick."

"Klick?" Tom asked.

"C'mon, Tom," she said with a smile. "You're the old twentieth century buff. Kilometers."

"Oh," Tom said, wondering what had gotten into her.

They started walking that way.

Chak knelt beside Greg and Nicky, as three men went forward to cut the metal fencing between them and the metal. He hadn't been able to get alone to contact Voyager since he had found when they were going to attack.

"Be careful, Troy," Nicky whispered.

"Always. You too," he whispered. Then he kissed her one last time.

It tore at Chakotay's heart. It reminded him too much of all the people he had seen do the same thing. And how many had never seen their partners again.

"You two, if you know what's good for you," Troy said, to Chakotay and Greg. "You'll keep an eye on her."

"We will," Greg answered.

Chakotay just met Troy's eyes and nodded. Troy took off to follow the others through the wire.

Tom could see the piles of slag and stepped in front of Janeway as she once more took readings.

"The one on left is the one that has the most ores we can use," she said. They moved towards it and she threw her communicator on the pile.

"Voyager, lock onto the Captain's comm badge and energize," Tom said into his own badge.

"Affirmative," Tuvok said.

A large portion of the pile disappeared, and then a second part of it did, and as Tom was about to order a beam up, a large explosion rocked the world, and all hell broke loose. Tom realized that Chakotay's group must be attacking at this very moment.

"Voyager, get us out of here."

"Captain... picking up... explosion... massive release... cannot... lock... get clear... transport." Came across the badge as bullets starting flying in every direction.

"Shit," Kathryn Janeway said in a most uncaptainlike fashion. "Move it, Paris."

They headed for the nearest fence.

"Let's go, you two," Nicky called, starting to move forward.

Chakotay and Greg looked at each other, but followed her in.

Once they cleared the fence, Chak saw the Captain and Tom moving towards them. He stood up and called to them, and everything slowed down.

Tom turned and saw him. He smiled and altered his path, grabbing the Captain's arm. Chak felt relief fill his system. Tom was okay. Kathryn was okay and soon they would get out of here.

That was when he heard Nicky cuss. "Get down you, stupid fool." She stood up beside him and brought her gun down.

Chakotay thought she was aiming at Tom and lifted the barrel as she fired. The blast shot dangerously close to his head, and for a moment, he could only hear ringing. He looked back at Tom and Kathryn, but for the first time noticed the man behind and to the left of Tom. He blinked as he saw the man fire a gun and white smoke burst from the barrel.

A high pitched scream filled his senses as Nicky jerked backwards against the gun he was still holding. Greg grabbed his shoulders and Tom started to run towards him.

Chakotay glanced back and saw Nicky's body fly backwards a few feet and then hit the ground hard. He also saw the blood staining her clothing bright red.

"No!" he screamed, and then without thought, he lifted his own gun, chambered a round and shot the man who had shot Nicky.

"Shit," Greg cried, as he too shouldered the weapon he had.

"Tom, get over here," Chakotay called.

Tom and the Captain both came to a skidding stop by Nicky. Tom grabbed his tricorder. Chakotay scanned the area and saw no danger. He knew Greg would cover them and he knelt next to Tom.

"Tom?"

"Not good," Tom responded, pulling the medical kit from his jacket. After a moment, he looked up. "The bullet hit her and the baby, nicked an artery and did spinal damage, Chak."

"Can you do it?" Chakotay asked, hoping she wasn't going to die.

"I'd feel better with the EMH doing it," Tom said truthfully.

"I don't think so, gentlemen. What are you think anyway? Have you forgotten the Prime Directive?" Kathryn asked stridently.

"Captain, without us, this woman and her baby will die."

"It's against the Prime Directive," Kathryn announced. "And our work here is over. We are leaving. Greg, contact Voyager."

"Belay that, Greg," Chakotay ordered. "Captain, she was injured protecting me. It won't do any harm if Tom does this while she is unconscious."

"Except, she isn't unconscious, Commander," Kathryn pointed out.

Chakotay turned and saw Nicky's eyes were open. He knelt and took her hand.

"My baby?"

"Tom?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm working on it, Chak."

"Who are you?" she asked, staring into Chakotay's eyes.

Chakotay stroked her hair back. "We're travelers, that's all I can tell you."

"Where's Troy. He needs these." She lifted the bag in her hand.

"Right here, Baby. I'm right here."

Chakotay looked up to see three men: Troy, Kevin and Dan, walking towards them with guns leveled at them.

"You, blondie, move away from her," Troy ordered.

"I stop, she dies," Tom said, continuing to work quickly. "That bullet nicked an artery."

Chakotay rose up slowly and held his hands out. "Troy, you trusted me once. Please, trust me again. Tom's trying to save her life."

"Bullshit!" Kevin cried, and for a second, Chakotay really thought he was going to die.

"No!" Greg screamed, launching himself at Kevin and they grappled on the ground. Troy and Dan tried to cover both Greg and Kevin, as well as Chakotay, the Captain and Tom, until Nicky's scream brought everything to a halt.

"Easy," Tom said calmly. "Someone hold her still. I don't have time for anesthesia."

Chakotay and Troy were still facing off and Chak didn't feel like he could move without making them even more uneasy. He was surprised when Kathryn knelt at her head and lifted Nicky's head into her lap.

"It's okay. Sh, don't scream. Tom's trying to help."

Chakotay stared in awe as his Captain tried to soothe the young woman. She met his eyes, and although Chakotay could tell from the sharp glint in her eyes she was angry, her words said something completely different.

"Well, we're already there, Commander. The quicker we get this taken care of, the less damage we do." Then she looked at Troy. "We won't hurt you. We're trying to help."

Troy stood there undecided. Then he handed his weapon to Dan and dropped to his knees besides Nicky and took her hand. "Hang on, Nicky, please hang on. Don't die on me, baby."

Chakotay glanced at Kevin and Greg. They had stopped fighting, but Greg yanked the weapon from Kevin and growled,

"We aren't trying to hurt you."

However, Nicky's small cry and Tom's nervous exclamation of "Damn it!" drew Chakotay back to that part of the group.

"What?" Chakotay asked, putting his hand on Tom's shoulder.

"She's going into labor."

"What? She's early. She isn't due for four more weeks," Troy whispered.

"Well, she's in labor now, and I haven't completely fixed the damage."

"Fixed the damage? What are you talking about?" Troy asked.

"Just stay focused, Tom," Kathryn said. "Remember get the whole story and then act."

"The whole story is, I have to finish with her before she can deliver. It's still gonna be rough."

"Give me the tricorder and I'll give you updates," Kathryn said. Chakotay leaned down and gave Kathryn the tricorder.

"Okay, Tom the baby is fine. A little distress, but he's fine."

"He?" Troy asked. "It's a boy?"

"Yes, it is," Kathryn said, watching the readings. "Tom her blood pressure is too low. Have you stopped the bleeding?"

"Almost," he said working feverishly. "Captain, I need Voyager or they both die."

"No!" Nicky screamed.

"Easy, baby," Troy soothed. "You can't be screaming here."

"Troy, the explosives. You gotta..."

Troy took the bag from her side. "Dan, take care of these."

"Right, boss." He took the bag and ran.

Kathryn looked at Tom. "Tom, forget she's in labor. Get the bleeding dealt with. Then we can fix her spine."

"Bleeding's stopped," Tom pronounced a moment later.

"Her blood pressure is still too low. Chakotay hand me the medkit," Kathryn ordered. He watched her tap a few things into the tricorder and then mix a hypo up and press it to her neck. She scanned her again. "It's coming up, Tom."

"Good, give me the tricorder." She handed it to him, and Tom scanned her and then handed it back. "Help me get her on her side." Troy and Chakotay rolled Nicky onto her side, trying to ignore her cry of pain.

"Another contraction, Tom. Can we stop the labor?" Kathryn asked.

"No, what I need to do that, isn't in this kit," Tom replied distractedly, as he scanned her again. "Okay, it isn't as bad as I first thought."

He ran the regenerator over her spine. Chakotay took Nicky's hand and held it as she dug her nails in.

"Breath, Nicky. Breath with the pain," he said, the knowledge coming from way back in the past.

He met her eyes and she tried to smile.

"I knew I was right about you."

"Yeah," Chakotay smiled. "But next time, don't get yourself shot over a stranger."

He looked up as he heard the regenerator begin to slow down.

"Come on, just a few more minutes," Tom said, wiping his forehead.

"Almost there, Tom," Kathryn said. Troy was stroking Nicky's hair back.

"You got it," Kathryn explained.

Nicky started crying. "I can feel my feet. I can feel everything."

Twenty minutes later, Nicky stood up, holding her son in her arms. Troy was holding her protectively in the circle of his arms. Tom and Greg were all smiling broadly, as were everyone else, with the exception of Kathryn Janeway.

"If you are quite finished now that we have blown the prime directive to hell and back, can we get back to Voyager?" Kathryn asked tersely.

Troy touched Chakotay's arm. "Thank you."

Chakotay just nodded, knowing Kathryn would exact her punishment, but what he wasn't expecting was the small arms of Nicky to encircle his waist and squeeze.

"Thank you for saving my baby. I know you're going to get in trouble for it, but thank you so much," she said quietly, looking up at him.

He felt something twist in his stomach. Damn Kathryn and the Prime Directive. They had done the right thing.

"You're welcome."

Nicky looked at Tom. "Thank you so much. I don't know what you did, but thank you." Then she looked at the Captain. "And as far as I'm concerned, I went into labor early and these two delivered my baby, just like normal. Isn't that right, guys?"

"Whatever you say, Nicky," Kevin said.

"That's all I saw," Troy agreed.

"That was the strangest fucking thing I ever saw. He just made the hole close." He jumped when Troy hit him. "Oh, yeah. Normal delivery in the middle of a battle field."

Nicky rolled her eyes and smiled. "We'll work with Dan, but we won't tell anyone."

Kathryn just nodded tersely.

"Oh," Troy asked. "Did you get your metal?"

"Yes," Chakotay said, and then stepped back. "Good luck." He tapped his comm badge. "Voyager, five to beam up."

Chakotay stood at attention with Greg on one side of him and Tom on the other, in front of Kathryn's desk as she paced her ready room. She had tried to start talking several times, but stopped and resumed her pacing. Then she went behind her desk and leaned on it. Chakotay hadn't seen her this angry in a long, long time.

"I should throw all three of you in the brig. Especially you, Lieutenant Paris. Your behavior on that planet was reprehensible."

"Yes, Ma'am, it was," Tom replied stiffly.

"And Chakotay, how dare you question me like that in public or belay an order. That's mutiny, Mister."

"Yes, Ma'am it was," he responded, staring at the wall behind her head.

"And you, Lieutenant Ayala. If you ever speak to me in that fashion again. I will court martial you."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You are all to be punished, but I will wait until I calm down before I decide on what that punishment will be. The only good thing in all of this, is we have upped our power levels by fifteen percent, even with refining the titanium, thanks to my finding those stones."

"And a young woman and her son didn't die because of us," Chakotay stated shortly.

Kathryn's head snapped up and she glared at Chakotay. "I won't comment on that. Dismissed."

They all turned and walked out smartly. When the doors closed, they all got on the turbolift. Greg's comm badge beeped.

"Ayala."

"Mission accomplished," B'Elanna announced.

"Good job, B'El," Greg responded with a smile.

"Tell Chakotay and Tom we're behind them," B'El said.

"I will, B'El. Thanks for taking care of it. Ayala out."

Chakotay raised an eyebrow. Greg shrugged.

"We siphoned some power off when we saw how much those stones gave us and sent them some supplies. Food, blankets, that type of thing."

"Weapons?" Chakotay asked sternly.

"No, sir," Greg replied smartly.

Chakotay looked at his friend for a moment, and then nodded. "A normal delivery as far as I could tell. What about you, Tom?"

"Piece of cake. All I did was catch."

It was an angry Captain that split the three of them up among the various shifts on Voyager for a month. It was an even angrier Captain that reduced their ration privileges by fifteen percent for a month. And, it was a very unpopular Captain that removed their holodeck privileges for a month. But, the three were more than happy to live with the consequences, and extra shifts doing grunt work, whenever they remembered Nicky's smile when she held her healthy baby boy, and Troy's husky thanks as Nicky stood up.

Tom and Chakotay, despite being on opposite shifts and no coinciding days off, spent as much time together as they could. There wasn't much to it. They'd pool their resources and eat dinner once a week in their quarters, or go to the gym and work out together. It also became common place for people to loose at pool with Tom, not to mention, someone bowing out on holodeck time and offering it to them.

They also got the chance to explore the planet they were on. It was a very pretty planet. One night they stood watching the sun set, their arms around each other. It was a quiet moment.

"I want to remember this moment forever," Tom said.

"Me, too," that's gorgeous."

"And with you here with me, it's perfect."

Chakotay just nodded.

As the sun turned the sky a deep red, and the clouds striking oranges and pinks, they heard steps approaching them.

"Captain?" Tom asked, almost letting go of Chakotay.

"At ease, gentlemen," she said gently, coming to stand beside them.

Together the three watched the evening fade to black.

"Your usual duties are being reinstated, as are your rations and holodeck privileges."

Tom and Chakotay looked at each other, questioning what was going on.

"I'm not happy about what happened on the planet, but I went too far," the captain said, looking both of them in the eye.

"Thank you, Captain," Tom said, acknowledging what she was trying to say. He'd seen it with his father once too often. Unable to say I'm sorry, but making some other gesture.

"I can't change what I've done, but..." She never finished her sentence. Instead she face Tom directly. "Would you give the Commander and I a moment."

Tom squeezed Chak's hand when he stood up and away from his lover. "Of course, Captain."

He walked back towards where Voyager stood. The work was progressing well. They should be back up in space in about two more weeks. It was strange seeing her like this. The hole in the top of the dish was already closed and the exit wound was about seventy percent repaired. It would be good to fly again, he decided as he made his way to he and Chakotay's cabin.

Chakotay watched Kathryn twist uncomfortably for a moment.

"I've been a bit of a bitch lately, haven't I?"

"Try iron clad bitch, Kathryn," he said, not willing to let her off as easily as Tom had.

Kathryn shrugged. "I guess I have been." She started pacing in front of him. "And I owe you several apologies. First off, I treated you very badly when I found Michael and I would like to explain."

"I'm listening," Chakotay said, crossing his arms.

"Not gonna make this one whit easier, are you?"

"Nope," Chakotay confirmed.

"Do you remember the night of the concert, when you were so distracted?"

Chakotay nodded.

"I realized when you didn't come to my quarters that night, that you weren't distracted by a what, you were distracted by a who."

"Kathryn, there was nothing between Tom and I then."

"I know that," she said quietly. "But when you started talking about someone in your sleep, I...got jealous. I also knew we weren't going to be...I knew we weren't going to last forever."

"So, you dumped me for a holoprogram for my own good?"

"No, I dumped you for Michael like any petty, hurt woman would do."

"What?"

"I'm not going to go through the whole list of things I saw. Let's just suffice it to say, I saw a lot. I initially used Michael to get you jealous, but you didn't chase and I found Michael easier to deal with. The emotional entanglements, PDA's and all that weren't an issue. I convinced myself you didn't care about me and went my own way."

"That doesn't explain the behavior since Tom and I have been together."

"Ever been dumped for another man, Chakotay, or better yet, how would you have felt if I had dumped you for say, Anika or B'Elanna?"

"I was dumped for photons, Kathryn. That was embarrassing enough."

She shrugged again. "I guess it was. I'm sorry, Chakotay." She took a deep breath. "And that's what I came out here to say. I apologize for how I've been acting. You, Tom and Greg are back to full status on everything and I've taken out the entries on your files and put in commendations. You all did pretty good on that planet, despite my attempts to make 'Spoiled Brat of the Year' award."

"You owe Tom and Greg apologies," Chakotay said, still perturbed with the Captain.

"I've already spoken to Lieutenant Ayala and I will apologize to Tom." She stepped up next to him. "It's beautiful out here."

"Yes, it is, Kathryn."

"I hope things work out for you and Tom."

"Thank you."

Tom looked up from his holonovel. Chakotay winked at him as he joined Tom on the couch.

"You look like you have a secret."

"I do," Chakotay rumbled, as he took the novel out of Tom's hands and threw it on the floor.

"Hey, I was reading that."

"You won't care in a minute."

"I won't?" Tom asked.

"Nope," Chakotay said, leaning in and kissing Tom with one purpose: to get Tom all hot and bothered. "We got tomorrow off together."

Tom, whose cock was now wide awake and wanting to play, smiled. "All day?"

"All day," Chakotay affirmed.

"Computer, hold all incoming messages and lock the door."