Never To Part
See part one for disclaimers.
Part Three
********************************************************************************
It had taken a great deal of patients and diplomacy
on Janeway's part but she did finally manage to arrange negotiations with
Creeag for Tom.
When Voyager's away team arrived on the
compound, the Captain, Tuvok, Harry, and an entire section of security
officers, were welcomed as honored guests, but none of them could really enjoy
it knowing Tom was imprisoned somewhere. And knowing that Chakotay was nearly
hysterical back on the ship didn't make this any easier for the Captain.
They endured their welcoming dinner then as
soon as was politely possible they withdrew to their rooms.
Harry was just about to lay down and attempt
to sleep when he heard a rustling in his closet. Grabbing his phaser he threw
open the door.
He nearly fired on the figure he found inside
but then its soft voice stopped him. "No! Tom need you."
"What?"
"Tom need you, come please." The
little slave girl pleaded, and Harry could now see the back of closet opened in
to a passageway.
"Where's Tom?" Harry demanded.
"This way, come. Help."
"Alright lead the way." Harry said,
activating the locator he wore just like all the other members of the away
team.
********************************************************************************
Tom heard the footsteps in the corridor
outside the crack in his cell wall. "Kit?" He called uncertainly, she
was usually barefoot and moved almost soundlessly. His call brought an
immediate response when the footsteps broke in to a run.
"Tom?"
"Harry. Is that you?" Tom cried
jumping to the crack. Outside he could see Harry pressed against it. "How
did you find me?"
"A little slave girl brought me."
Harry said looking around. "Where is she now?"
"Kit." Tom called catching sight of
the slight figure slipping away. "Don't leave. Come back." The figure
turned. "Come back." Tom coaxed. "Meet my friend."
Kit came back and slid through the crack as
always. "Kit thank you." Tom smiled giving her a gentle hug.
"Now this is my best friend Harry. Harry this is Kit."
Tom and Harry talked. Harry explaining why
they hadn't just beamed him out already. "Here take the phaser, it's got a
locator, that should be enough for us to lock on to you and beam you out."
He said handing the weapon through the crack. "I'll just get back up and
tell the others and we're out of here."
"Warn whoever's on the transporter there'll
be two in my beam." Tom said.
"Two?"
"I can't leave Kit here she's the only
one who could have told you about me, and she'll die for it if she stays."
Tom explained. Harry nodded then was gone.
"We'll be out of here soon Kit." He
smiled. After a few minutes he felt the transport start and put he arms around
she drawing her back against him.
When they rematerialized on the ship Kit's
eyes went wide. "Voyager?" She questioned.
"Yes this is Voyager." Tom said.
Smiling as she noticed the others on the transporter pad, and jumped back
towards him. "It's all right Kit. See there's Harry from the planet. And
no one will hurt you here."
"Sickbay Mr. Pairs." Janeway said.
"Both of you."
"Oh joy." Tom groused, drawing a
confused look from Kit. "Never mind." He told her.
********************************************************************************
Janeway waited until after the doctor
pronounced Tom under-nourished but fit, and had moved on to examine Kit.
"Tom." She began carefully.
"Your being held on the planet, it upset Chakotay pretty...." She
didn't get the chance to finish because Tom cut her off.
"Oh gods." Tom cursed jumping to
his feet. "I should have known." He looked frantically towards the
door.
"Go." Janeway urged.
********************************************************************************
Tom arrived at his and Chakotay's quarters in
record time, hitting the doors at a full run.
"Chakotay?" He called softly, once
he had skidded to a halt. His lover appeared in the door way to their bedroom.
"Tom?" He whispered hoarsely.
"Are you..."
"I'm fine." Tom said moving to pull
the other man in to his arms.
"I was afraid they'd..." Chakotay
mumbled bringing his up around Tom, and burying his face against the other
man's neck. "Did they..."
"I'm fine." Tom said again,
pressing a gentle kiss against the tattooed temple. "They just locked me
up and ignored me."
"I thought..."
Tom knew exactly what his lover had thought,
what he was afraid had happened. "I'm fine." He repeated again.
Gently he pulled away from the other man's tight embrace. Then he lifted
Chakotay's hands to the fastenings of his tattered shirt. "Why don't you
check for yourself."
A slight smile turned up the corners of the
commander's mouth. "You're incorrigible." He murmured sounding a bit
more like himself.
"Thank you." Tom grinned.
Chakotay knelt gently tugging of first one of
Tom's boots then the other. Then he rose to his feet again and slowly
unfastened the buttons of the shirt, carefully slipping it off the pilot's
shoulders and down his arms, letting it fall to the ground when it was free of
Tom's wrists. Next he knelt, tugging off one boot the other. Finally he removed
his lover's pants and boxers, and rose to his feet again.
Slowly his hands slid over Tom's body,
searching, and to his immense relief found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing
to make him think Tom was telling him anything but the truth. He continued his
exploration until he had checked every inch of fair skin, and had completely
assured himself that his beautiful lover had not been harmed in any way.
Tom stood still, moving only when his lover
wanted him to. Facilitating the slow examination of his body. Finally Chakotay
pulled him in to a tight hug. "I was so worried." He murmured.
"But now I know you're fine."
"Good." Tom said softly, smiling.
"So now that I'm fine, can we celebrate?" He added trying not to let
on how strongly the other man's exploration had affected him. Of course it was
pointless considering his erection was pressing into Chakotay's thigh, hard.
The older man let out a tiny chuckle and
swung Tom up in to his arms. "Incorrigible." He muttered softly.
"You are never going to get over this
'sweeping me off my feet' thing will you." Tom teased affectionately,
clinging to his lover as he was carried in to their bedroom.
"Do you want me to?"
"Don't you dare."
Chakotay couldn't help laughing at the
vehemence in Tom's voice as he lowered the younger man on to the bed gently. He
had intended to pull back and remove his clothes once he'd released Tom. But
the younger man had ideas of his own, instead of releasing him, the pilot
pulled him down, catching his head so he could plunder his lovers mouth.
After a moment Chakotay broke the kiss.
"This'll work a lot better if you let me get out of me clothes." He
commented.
Tom groaned, but released the other man and
gave him a light shove. "Well get on with it then." He urged,
stretching slightly, just the way he knew drove Chakotay mad.
The Commander very nearly tore his shirt of
in his haste to get out of it. And he was infinitely glad he wasn't wearing his
shoes, as he finished stripping off his own clothing, and returned to his
position over his lover. "Missed you." He muttered as his mouth
settled over Tom's.
"Probably about as much as I missed you,
huh?" Tom grinned, albeit somewhat shakily, when his love released his
mouth.
"Tom shut up." Chakotay muttered,
his hands wandering down his lovers body effective silencing all coherent noise
in the room. The older man reveled in the delighted whimper that escaped from
Tom as her closed one larger hand around Tom's erection.
"Kotay please..." Tom sighed
squirming under his lovers body as he tried flip on to his stomach, to offer
himself to the other man, but Chakotay wouldn't let him.
"I'm not going to be letting your face
out of my sight for quiet a while fly-boy." The older man told him deadly
serious. "I was so afraid..."
"Tell me about it later Cha'." Tom
gasped as his loveres and continued to move around him. My mind is a little
peroccupied at the momment."
"Later." Chakotay agreed reaching
for the tube of lubricant with his free hand. "First I need to convince
myself you're real.
********************************************************************************
Within moments of Voyager leaving Delshorian
space they were hailed by one of the ships they'd seen on the far border that
the Delshor had told them were enemy forces.
The tall man who call in to view on the
screen instantly reminded Captain of the young woman who had returned to the
ship with Tom, he had the same not quite human eyes, but they were an odd
silver color as was his hair despite his young appearance. If he were human the
Captain didn't believe he'd be over twenty-five.
"Captain, I am Dallen of Plaraka. One of
our sources has told us you rescued one of our people from the Delshor."
"Yes we did. A young woman."
Janeway said carefully.
"Could I see her." He asked
anxiously. "Or could you describe her?"
"She's on her way up here. But she's
quite small, long pink hair, and gray eyes"
There were exclamations all over the other
ship's bridge. "What is her name?" Dallan asked finally.
"She told us her name was Kit."
Janeway said turning slightly as the turbo lift opened, and Tom, Chakotay and
Kit stepped out. Her reaction to the figure on the screen was instant.
"Dallan." She cried in delight
rushing forward to stand next to Janeway.
"Kitrianna." Dallan breathed, and
the broke into a language different then what Kit had been using. One that even
after several moments the universal translator announced it couldn't figure it
out.
"Captain, you must be thanked for
bringing back our Princess." A second man on the bridge of the ship said.
"Princess." Janeway and Tom both
gasped. And the others on the bridge had much the same reaction.
Tuvok on the other hand. "May I ask what
language they are speaking?" The Vulcan asked. "Our translators can
not decipher it."
"It's the Language of Kings." The
second man said. "Only the royal families in our system speak it, it can
not be taught it is simply known. It is how we can always know the true
rulers."
"Then he is royalty as well." Tuvok
asked.
"Dallan is Prince of the fifth
planet."
Tom heard the name. "Dallen." He
repeated softly. But Kit heard him, and turning to him she smiled and nodded.
"Now we are both home." She said softly. He just nodded
understanding.
********************************************************************************
After they'd seen Kitrianna safely beamed over to Dallan's ship Tom and
Chakotay returned to their quarters. Tom moved to stare out the view port.
This was the perfect time he thought,
everything inside his going mad. 'Oh gods can I do this.' He wondered. But then
another voice came to life in his mind, the one he heard so much more for since
he'd been with Tom. 'The worst thing that will happen is he says no, he'll
still love you.' It told him. Chakotay swallowed hard and moved to stand behind
Tom wrapping his arms around the other man's waist. The pilot sighed happily
and leaned back.
"Tom, I've been thinking." Chakotay
started.
"Dangerous pastime Big Man."
"I know." Chakotay chuckled, then
sobered. "While you were gone I swore when I got you back I would make sure
I could never lose you again."
"You know that someday one of us will
lose the other 'Kotay." Tom said softly.
"I know, but until then, I'm going to
make sure." Chakotay said watching as his lover turned in his arms to look
at him. "Marry me?"
"Oh god Chakotay." Tom breathed
wrapping his arms around the older mans neck and burying his face in a broad
shoulder. Chakotay stood still not sure quite what to think, was that a good
'oh Chakotay' or a bad one.
Tom felt his stillness, and realized why.
"Of course I will marry you, I love you." Tom whispered against the
warm skin of his lover's throat.
Chakotay gave a delighted shout and spun Tom
around. The younger man lost his balance as he was set back on his feet and
clutched at Chakotay. "That sweeping my off my feet thing again,
huh?"
"You told me *not* to get over it."
The Commander teased, and they both laughed.
When they calmed down Tom looked thoughtful
for a moment. "You know Chakotay I think I know what our vows should
be." He said, and at the questioning look he received, he said softly.
"Together we stand."
Chakotay smiled knowing what came next.
"Forever and always." He murmured.
"Never to part." Tom added smiling
lovingly at his fiancée.