Kathryn sighed and looked at the senior staff perched throughout sickbay. The doctor's somewhat frantic announcement had brought them all running, and only Tuvok and B'Elanna were actually in uniform. A glance at her second- in-command's nicely formed chest through his loosely tied robe brought a sigh and a brief dimpled grin told her she had been heard. She resolutely turned her attention to her oldest friend who almost looked his age.

"Your link is gone?"

"N-n-no."

Kathryn glanced at the holo-doctor and Chakotay. Tuvok seemed slightly disoriented as if he were listening to something far away. Gently reaching out, she closed her hand over his wrist.

"Tuvok—"

The Vulcan grimaced and carefully moved from her grip. Kathryn stepped back seeing that even that small contact seemed painful.

"Our bond is still intact, but weakened as if he is at a great distance. I have studied all ship's diagnostics that were made in the last hour. There is nothing that resembles Thomas' rhythms."

Chakotay looked up from Tom's face. "His rhythms?"

Tuvok nodded briefly. "There is a rhythm and symmetry to Thomas' thoughts... his essence...which is as distinct to me as his genetic information would be to the doctor. Being that Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim were unable to track his movements in his last transfer, I had little expectation of finding him in that manner. I am hoping that our bond will enable me to establish a method of determining his location."

For both men's sake, Kathryn hoped so too. With a nod in the doctor's direction she left followed by everyone but Tuvok.

~*~

It had been nearly sixty-five years since Tuvok had last experienced a lack of mental companionship to this degree. From T'Pel's quiet serenity to Tom's warmth and humor—he'd never truly been alone. His statement to the Captain, while not wholly inaccurate, perhaps overstated his current contact with his mate. There was none. His link with his bondmate had been reduced to the level of awareness that he shared with every sentient being on Voyager. The emptiness was appalling.

As an adult Vulcan male, Tuvok was expected to be wholly self- sufficient... free from the weight of emotion and illogic. However, this quiet, this-- Tuvok sighed briefly, this loneliness was disturbing. Even more disturbing was the heavy handed attempts of others to provide comfort. Comfort in this instance was a wasted commodity and it surprised the Vulcan how much he wanted to tell everyone —in his One's own words to-- "...mind their own fucking business."

"Mr. Tuvok...?"

Apparently the holo-doctor's audio receptors were in excellent working order. With one last caress to the red-gold hair under his hand, Tuvok nodded at the somewhat agog being across the room and headed for the bridge.

~*~

//Well, this sucks.//

Feeling confident after his visit to the ship's computer, Tom had tried a bit of mental transference while Tuvok was caressing his forehead. In a sense it had worked, or at least it would have if his lover hadn't decided to check the settings on the cortical monitor at exactly the wrong time.

Tom sighed. The workings of the machine seemed clear and he had identified the monitor's power and maintenance routines. The monitor's screen was straight forward and the programming leading to the read- out was at full power and ready for any changes in his condition.

His body's condition.

Tom himself, however, sat in an index of mnemonics used to make the equipment more user friendly.

It didn't feel very friendly at the moment.

Hesitant to make any attempts that might accidentally turn off the only thing actually keeping his physical body functioning, Tom continued to sit.

And to wait.

~*~

Even after five years on Voyager, Harry Kim generally felt like he was considered to be little older than Naomi Wildman. He knew he was intelligent. Hell, he'd saved their asses any number of times by using that very intelligence. Still, he couldn't recall ever feeling this helpless.

Gazing down at his friend's body, he watched the quiet movement of breath, willing the older man to open his eyes. It wasn't going to happen, he knew that, but to see Tom so still went against everything he knew about the man.

Raising his hand, Harry reached out and gently touched his friend's shoulder. Warm, strong, but the muscles totally relaxed.

"This sucks."

...Yeah, Harry, I hear you... ... ...

"Doc!"

~*~

Tom sighed and stretched, frowning at the resistance in his limbs. Opening his eyes, he blinked at the penlight shining brightly in his eyes.

"Gods, what did I do n— Tuvok?!" A large blur wobbled and then turned into his mate. "I can see you..." Tom slowly turned his head to take in his companions. "This isn't your head." There was a burst of relieved laughter at his statement and his lover's face was replaced by that of the doctor.

"This is also not a cortical monitor, which is where Mr. Kim finally located you." The hologram sounded slightly miffed at the trespass.

Tom's right hand was squeezed tightly and Harry's grinning face appeared overhead. "Actually, you sort of found me. I was standing here talking to myself and you answered."

Tom grinned. "I didn't think you'd hear me. I had been trying for a couple of hours to send messages through the screen, but I was afraid that I would turn myself off." He closed his eyes against the vertigo resulting from the doctor's adjustment of the bed, listening to the sound of the sickbay door. Dizziness gone, he re-opened them to find the Captain, B'Elanna and Chakotay had joined his group of well-wishers.

"How'd you get me back into my body?" Harry paled, and then shrugged.

"We almost didn't. Your signs started going south after you spoke, and I called the doc." Kathryn took his hand.

"There wasn't much time for discussion. What little brain activity your body was showing began to fluctuate. I gave the okay to use the cortical stimulator...somehow you were transferred back into your body along with the electrical stimulation." The haunted look on the woman's face told how close it had been.

Tom started to reply and then felt it. A small, soft, almost physical caress that soothed and calmed. He smiled and turned to find his mate who had taken position almost behind his head. Weakly raising his hand, he was gratified as the faint pulse of their bond steadied and grew.

~*~

"Wow..."

Tom rolled onto his back, grinning at the throb in his ass. Tuvok, while careful, had enthusiastically reacted to the doctor's announcement that Tom was okay for duty. A glance to his left proved that his bond mate was in a similar condition.

"I would have to agree with your assessment, Thomas. That was indeed, a wow."

Tom snorted and then rolled to spoon up to his lover's side. Half- heartedly wiping them down, he lay his head on Tuvok's shoulder. Breathing calmed, bodies cooled, and the pair allowed their bond to convey their contentment.

"The Captain said that I am to stay away from anything that might explode, crash, mutate or alter me in any other way, for the foreseeable future."

"As Security Chief, I shall make that order my chief task."

Tom smiled and wrapped an arm around Tuvok's waist. "I think she'd like that. She also said that if I caused her or Chakotay one more gray hair, I'd be busted to crewman." Tuvok made a noise that was suspiciously close to a snort and stretched, slightly dislodging his lover who frowned.

"Yes, T'hy'la?"

"I'm in the wet spot again..."

Life was truly back to normal.