Title: Kisses For Tim

Author: JaimeBlue

Fandom: seaQuest, of course :)

Season: 1st

Series/Sequel: Well, this story is neither, but it does have 3 possible endings - all of which will be posted separately tomorrow ;p

Pairing: Tim/Surprise

Disclaimer: The characters and all the stuff from the show don't belong to me. The poem, however, DOES belong to me, since I wrote it ;p

Summary: On Valentine's Day, Tim finds a special gift in his room which leads him on a little trek through the ship.

Author's note: This is written purely for fun's sake all. Enjoy! And don't die of curiosity waiting for the 3 possible endings (oh, I watched Clue one too many time - ‘I told you it was Minya in the bedroom with the knife!')



KISSES FOR TIM
by JaimeBlue
*****

Tim held back a yawn as he left the bridge after his shift. He smiled kindly to the various crewmembers he passed in the halls, all of which were rushing to be ready by the time seaQuest docked in the Cape Quest harbour. It wasn't often the crew got some shore leave, especially on ‘holidays', and everyone was more than ready to take advantage of it. Everyone but Tim.

Tim had never been a big fan of this particular holiday. It wasn't that he didn't like all the romance and mushiness the holiday tended to bring out in everybody, but he always felt like an outsider, content to live his more-or-less solitary life while everybody else looked for love in all places, right and wrong.

Well, he thought, at least I can take solace in the fact that it was named after a saint.

Once he'd entered his quarters, he quickly shut the door against the noise of people rushing to and fro through the halls. He sighed, then stood looking around his room. He had no idea how he was going to spend his time off.

As he mentally ran through the many languages he knew, trying to figure out which ones needed the most brushing up, his eye caught on a tiny flash of silver on his desk. He took several steps forward until he could see what was there, and couldn't keep the smile from his face. He reached out to pluck the object by the tiny ribbon that hung from its peak, then brought it up to his nose, inhaling deeply.

He'd always known Hershey's Kisses were his undoing.

As he unwrapped the tiny chocolate bud, he looked down at the spot where the Kiss had sat to see a small note. He popped the chocolate into his mouth, closing his eyes in ecstacy at the taste of his greatest vice, then finally reached down to open the note.

***There are more fish like me in the seaQuest. But eat too many, and you might get sick.***

Tim chuckled to himself. Somebody sure had a weird sense of humour, which pretty much described most of his friends. If one of them were playing games with him, he wasn't sure if he wanted to play along. However, if there were more Kisses on the boat...

His vice won out. Reading the note as the clue it was, he left his quarters to head for Medbay. When he entered, he saw Miguel and Dr. Westphalen talking softly to each other, heads bowed down conspiratorially. After several moments, Tim coughed, causing the two individuals to whip their heads up. Tim couldn't help but notice the blush that crept up Miguel's neck.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

"Mr. O'Neill," the Doctor said, "is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't think so, Doctor. Mig, I should have known it was you."

"What are you talking about, Tim?" The Cuban looked genuinely confused, but Tim dismissed it. His best friend could be quite the actor when he set his mind to it.

"I'm talking about the Kiss and the note. I should have known I'd find you here."

The Doctor looked at Miguel with raised eyebrows as the man raised his hands as if to defend himself from an assault. "Hey, I don't know anything about any kisses, at least not with Tim."

"Give it up, Mig. You know I'm talking about the chocolate you left in my room."

The hands lowered and Miguel shrugged. "I didn't leave anything in your room, Tim. I just stopped here to talk to the Doc before my leave."

This time, Tim believed the slightly confused and embarassed look on his friend's face, briefly wondering what *had* brought his friend to Medbay. As he wondered who else could have snuck into his room, his thoughts were broken by the entrance of Dr. Levin.

"Doctor, here's the medicine you asked for..."

"Thank you, Doctor." As she tried to hide her smile, she turned her eyes back to Tim. "Now, Mr. O'Neill, why would you think someone from Medbay would have sent you a chocolate?"

"Well, the note that came with it hinted that I'd find something here."

"It's funny you mention that," Dr. Levin broke in. "An hour ago or so, I entered the examination room next door and there was a chocolate in there with a note."

"Is it still there?" Tim asked.

"I didn't move it, so it must be."

Tim resisted the urge to run. Okay, he thought, maybe this is just a little fun. At least it's an adventure. He entered the room and immediately spotted the Kiss. This time, he placed the chocolate in his pocket and opened up the note.

***I'm shot through the heart, and you're to blame. You blow me right out of the water.***

With a grin on his face, Tim set out into the lower bowels of the ship. He finally reached the torpedo room to find it manned only by Chief Crocker. Tim didn't even allow the thought that the Chief might be behind this little game to enter his head.

"Good day, Lieutenant. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Perhaps. Have you seen anything different in the last hour or so?"

"You mean other than a bridge officer showing up in the torpedo room out of the blue?"

Tim blushed. "Yeah. I'm, uh, looking for a, uh, note... and a chocmmmm," he mumbled.

"Ah, so you're the one. I'm glad it's not me on this little chase of yours."

"You mean, you know who's been leaving me these notes?"

"I might, or maybe I just know the middle man. Either way, I'm sworn to secrecy... but the next note is in that tube over there."

Tim turned to where the Chief pointed him and pulled open the door to the torpedo tube. There, once again, was a Kiss and a note. Palming the chocolate, he opened up the note.

***You make me so hot, I have to take a dip to cool off.***

The Moonpool, he thought. With a parting nod to the Chief, he headed up to the seadeck. He had to admit to himself that he was really enjoying this. Sure, the clues were pretty easy, but they were still fun to figure out.

As he neared the moonpool, he couldn't help but be surprised at who he found in the room. Commanders Ford and Hitchcock weren't exactly known for spending time down there, yet there they were... taking inventory. He should have known neither of them would actually take time off when they could be doing something ‘useful'.

"Tim play!"

Smiling, Tim retrieved the vocoder so he could speak with his friend. "Not right now, Darwin. I'm kind of looking for something right now."

"Tim find shiny thing."

"Yeah, at least I'm trying."

"Darwin find."

The dolphin dove under the water, only to come up with a small waterproof bag hanging from between his teeth. Tim took the bag from his friend, rubbing the animal's nose in thanks.

"Thank you Darwin."

"Tim like?"

"Yeah, Darwin. I like a lot."

Tim put down the vocoder so he could open the bag. Once again pocketing the chocolate Kiss, he opened up the note, longer than the others.

***Thank you for this wondrous world you've somehow given me, And thank you for the mysteries you try to help me see. Thank you for the love you give that keeps me warm at night, And thank you for the dreams you're in that stay with me 'till light. Thank you for the moon and stars that shine bright in the sky, And thank you for the look you give when looking in my eyes. Thank you for your gentle touch that lingers night and day, And thank you for the loving kiss I love in every way. Thank you for the lessons that your heart is teaching mine, And thank you for the memories that'll last throughout all time. Thank you for the way that you can always make me feel, And finally thank you for the fact that you're completely real.

The easy part is over. Catch me if you can.***

Tim frowned. Was that it? And how on earth was he supposed to figure out who had led him on this wild goose chase?

Still clutching the note, Tim headed off to his quarters to sulk...

=====

Tim flopped onto his bunk, still thinking about the chocolates and the mysterious notes. He dove a hand into a pocket, retrieving one of the neglected buds. He unwrapped it, savouring the smell of the chocolate as the foil was pulled away, briefly wondering how anyone on the ship could have gotten ahold of the precious sweets, especially since it had been a very long time since seaQuest's last shore leave...

Tim's hands paused in their unwrapping. No, he thought. No. It couldn't be. Anyone could have bought the chocolates months ago, then hid them away all this time...

He dismissed that thought immediately. He knew that if he'd had the chocolates around, they wouldn't have lasted a day. He also seriously doubted anyone would have planned something like this that far back. Which left but one answer.

Tim's eyes rested on the dark piece of chocolate between his fingers, contemplating whether to continue looking at and smelling it, or to place it between his lips. In some distant corner of his mind, that simple decision would also decide what he would do about this little ‘situation.' He took a deep breath, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips as he gazed upon the tiny chocolate bud.

His decision made, Tim placed the Kiss on his tongue, running his fingers on either side to lick off any last trace of chocolate. He closed his eyes as the chocolate melted in his mouth. Once all traces of the sweet were washed away, he rose from his bunk and headed down the halls of seaQuest.

He stopped before the metal door, taking a few deep steadying breaths before knocking.

"Come in!" the voice shouted from the other side.

Tim pushed the door open, only to have it jam about half way. There was a large pile of boxes and towels piled up on that side of the room, making it impossible to open the door any further. Tim slid through the opening, then closed the door behind him. He watched as the figure bent over a pile of CDs, the material of his uniform pulling tight over his backside.

"So, what can I do for you?" the man asked without turning around to see who had entered his room. Tim reached into his pocket, took out one of the remaining Kisses, and tossed it onto the pile of CDs. The man reached out to pick it up and froze. After several moments, he rose and slowly turned to face Tim. "Umm, hi Tim."

"Hey, Ben. I think I found something that belongs to you."

Ben shrugged. "I think you'd appreciate it more, though."

Tim cocked his head as he considered his friend. "So, why'd you set it all up Ben?"

"You were the only member of the crew *not* excited about Valentine's Day, so I thought I'd get you into the spirit. It's in the job description."

Tim smiled shyly and ducked his head. "Thanks. I have to admit, it was kind of fun. And the poem was nice. Where'd you find it?"

"Somewhere on the Internex. It sounded nice, so I thought I'd borrow it." Ben paused a moment as silence filled the room. "So, now that you're in the holiday mood, so to speak, what do you plan to do with your time off?"

It was Tim's turn to shrug. "I don't know. I never really gave it much thought either way."

"Well, you should spend it with somebody special. That's what it's for."

Tim waited a moment, then looked up until his eyes met Ben's. "Ben, at the risk of sounding cliched, would you ‘be my valentine'?"

A big grin lit up Ben's face. "How could I refuse?"

Tim glanced down at the pile of CDs at Ben's feet, and spotting one of his favourites, he bent down to pick it up and put it into the small stereo on the shelf next to Ben. The conman let out a little laugh as the first strains of "Strangers In The Night" poured into the room.

"I don't know why, Tim, but I never really took you for a Sinatra fan."

Tim shrugged. "There are a lot of things people don't take me for."

The two men were standing close to each other, their gazes locked as the music flowed around them. It felt so natural for both of them to lean closer to the other, until finally, their lips met. The simple touch seemed to spark something inside each of them. The kiss deepened, their tongues exploring each others' mouths as their hands grabbed onto whatever body part was nearest in desperation.

"Oh God," Tim moaned against Ben's cheek. "It's been so long."

"Me too, Tim. Me too."

With much clumsy maneuvering and a few accidental trips, the two men managed to find their way over to Ben's bunk and fell onto it, their arms still wrapped around each other. Somewhere in the maelstrom, Tim managed to find a brain cell or two that were still functioning, reminding him to remove his glasses. Never taking his lips from Ben's, he managed to pull them off and place them on a nearby night-table.

They managed to lie full-length along the bunk, their bodies pressed tightly together as their hips ground into each other. They kissed each other fleetingly between gasps and pants. Finally, Tim's voice caught mid-moan, his body rocking with sensation as he came. Moments later, Ben tucked his face into Tim's long neck, shouting into the flesh as his orgasm took him.

Neither man moved, their arms still tightly wrapped around each other, their breathing getting somewhat back to normal as their chests stopped heaving.

"God, Ben, that was... that was..."

"Mmmmmm," Ben moaned into Tim's neck.

"Yeah," Tim agreed.

"Can't wait till round 2," Ben said, finally pulling his face out of its hiding place. "Then I get to see you naked."

"Oh you think so, huh?" Tim teased. "I think I'll need a nap before I can even *think* of a round 2."

Ben chuckled, laying his head down so that his forehead rested against Tim's. "Definitely." The two men rested in silence, a silence Ben soon broke. "And Tim?"

"Hmm?" Tim sleepily acknowledged.

"Happy Valentine's Day."


end