Tom Knew
by: AW

Pairing: J/C
Rated K+
June 2010
Length: 2545 words
Summary: Tom knew, that's about all I can say.
Disclaimer: blah blah blah, I DON’T OWN THEM

B'Elanna heard the doors to engineering opening and looked up from her warp core diagnostic to see the Captain walking in looking a little worse for wear.

Her eyes were drawn and she looked exhausted and more then that she looked upset. "Captain! I hadn't realized you were checking on our warp core diagnostic progress."

Kathryn sighed, "I'm not B'Elanna...I'm just going for a stroll; needed to clear my mind."

B'Elanna stared at her, "Are you okay Captain, if you don't mind my saying so...you look like hell."

Kathryn glared at her chief engineer. "Well thank you for your candor B'Elanna, but if you don't mind me saying so; mind your own business." And she walked out of engineering to terrorize the ensigns on deck 15.

B'Elanna shook her head; she would have to talk to Tom when shift was over.

[6 hours later - Paris Quarters]

B'Elanna walked into her quarters, she had been in Engineering for more than 10 hours, she had finally gotten the warp core diagnostics underway.

Thank you Seven of Nine, she had explicitly told her that she needed to be informed before she touched the power systems.

Her meddling had put B'Elanna and her team hours behind schedule.

"Tom, I need to ask you something."

Tom came out of the bedroom appearing as if he had just woken up. "Yeah?"

"Did you notice anything different about the Captain on the bridge today?"

Tom shook his head, "Not that I noticed, but after that little blow up in the conference room who knows."

She stared at Tom, "I just don't know: she's been complaining about headaches, but what's new. Can you imagine the stress that woman is under?"

Tom shrugged his shoulders, "I know but she never really shares with anyone." Tom got a flirting look on his face, "Maybe Chakotay can help her relieve stress."

B'Elanna slapped him, "Not funny she's the Captain."

Tom shrugged, "You never know."

[Same time Janeway Quarters]

Kathryn leaned her head against the back of her chair. *This headache is killing me.* She didn't want to go visit the doctor because she knew he would find a way to make her life a living hell.

Her door chime rang and she reminded herself that she needed to turn the volume down. "Come."

Chakotay walked into the quarters and realized that everything was dark. "Kathryn?"

"I'm here Chakotay; I just have one mother of a headache."

Chakotay walked up to her and began massaging her shoulders. "I said my head Chakotay not my shoulders."

Chakotay grinned, "I know I'm getting there."

Kathryn's eyes rolled back, it felt so good. "You haven't done this for me since 'New Earth'."

"Just enjoy Kathryn."

Kathryn let herself enjoy the feelings and before she knew it his hands were touching her head in the most wonderful way. She moaned, "God that feels good Chakotay."

Chakotay stared down at his pants and realized they were getting tighter by the moment with the noises that were escaping Kathryn's body. "Just enjoy it Kathryn, let it happen."

Kathryn laughed but didn't look at him, "Dare I ask what you want me to just let happen?"

Chakotay shook his head, "Kathryn, you have to stop making those noises." Chakotay's hands continued their ministrations.

She moaned again, "What noises Chakotay?"

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about Kathryn, and unless you're willing to go all the way you'd better stop."

Kathryn smiled, "And by all the way, I'm assuming you finally want to bag the Captain."

Chakotay was speechless, "I would never ask you that, or say that about you Kathryn."

She grinned, "Who said you had to ask?"

Kathryn sat up on the couch and let his lips touch hers in their first kiss; Kathryn moaned again and Chakotay's hands went to grab her waist and lifted her into his arms. "There's no going back Kathryn."

Kathryn nodded and let him take her into her bedroom.

[2 hours later - Paris Quarters]

B'Elanna lay back in the bed and felt for Tom's arms around her. She smiled to herself and hoped that the Captain and the Commander would some day find the love and happiness that she had discovered. She smiled and felt Tom's wandering hands. "Hey you what are you doing?"

Tom raised an eyebrow, "What do you think I'm doing?"

B'Elanna rolled her eyes, "I know exactly what you're doing and if you ask really nicely I might concede."

Tom smiled, "Please."

B'Elanna nodded and the loving began all over again.

[Janeway Quarters - Same time]

"Why did I ever push you away?"

Chakotay laughed, "You know the answer to that question, you weren't ready." He paused, smiling showing his dimples, "And I'd have waited forever for you: We're soul mates."

Kathryn nodded and felt the pain in her head increase ten fold. "You need to let the doctor take a look at that Kathryn."

She shook her head, "Later."

Chakotay wrapped his arms around her and snuggled close. "What will the crew think if they see me slinking out of the Captain's quarters at 0500?"

Kathryn smirked, "At this point, I don't care."

Chakotay kissed her temple and got up to go get a coffee from her replicator.

"Hey who said you could use my replicator?"

"Well hopefully, it'll soon be 'our' replicator."

Kathryn glared at Chakotay, "Mighty sure of ourselves aren't we?"

"Well if the sounds you were making earlier were any indication, I don't have to worry."

Kathryn laughed, "True enough."

Chakotay pulled the coffee out of the replicator and held it tight, watching his hands shaking with his grip on the cup becoming more and more unstable.

"What's wrong Chakotay?"

Chakotay shook his head, "I don't know."

Kathryn got out of bed not even bothering to wrap the sheet around her, he had seen all there was to be seen. At that moment the cup dropped and shattered on Kathryn's floor.

Chakotay raised a hand to his head and watched the hair fall like snowflakes all over Kathryn's carpet. "My god."

Kathryn's hand went to her mouth. "I think it's you not me who has to go to see the doctor."

Chakotay didn't argue and Kathryn quickly threw on her uniform and escorted Chakotay to sickbay.

[Sickbay]

The doctor walked up to a very concerned Captain, "Commander Chakotay is suffering bone decalcification, tissue necrosis, decreased visual acuity. All classic signs of aging, but they've developed within hours."

"How can this be Doctor, he was fine an hour ago?"

The doctor shrugged, "I don't have any theories at the moment. There's a rare genetic disorder called progeria which causes children to age prematurely, but there's never been an adult case and it was supposedly eradicated two centuries ago."

Kathryn stared at the doctor, feeling her life shattering before her eyes, "What's the prognosis?"

"I can't speculate on that until I've identified the cause. There's no sign of an infectious agent."

Chakotay stood up going to follow Kathryn to the bridge, "I may look pretty strange, but my mind is perfectly clear. I'd rather stay busy than just sit here."

The doctor put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit on the biobed, not hard in his weakened state. "I have no idea how your symptoms will progress. You should remain in sickbay for observation."

Kathryn walked up to him concerned. "He's right, Chakotay. I'll keep you informed." Kathryn rubbed her temple showing the doctor exactly how much pain she was still in.

"Still having headaches, Captain?"

Kathryn glared at the doctor then hissed, "I don't need any more lectures about working too hard, Doctor. Chakotay's the one who needs your attention right now."

Kathryn swiftly exited sickbay and when she reached the hallway leaned against the wall. She took a deep breath and proceeded to the bridge.

Upon entering the bridge she proceeded directly to the ready room nodding to Tuvok.

When she reached her ready room she immediately heard a panicked Tom Paris over the line telling her that something had happened to B'Elanna. Her lungs had almost stopped functioning and Tom was beside himself.

Kathryn rubbed her forehead again and hoped the pain would stop.

She sighed and heard the chime ring. "Come."

Kathryn stared up as the great Seven of Nine walked into the room. She turned to Seven, as she entered the room.

"Captain, I wish to speak with you about..."

Seven paused and Kathryn looked at the former Borg drone already annoyed with her, "What's wrong?"

Seven stuttered and continued, "My attempts to repair the resonance scanner have failed. I require assistance."

She sighed, "Ask Ensign Kim to lend you a hand."

"Yes, Captain."

Kathryn stared at Seven who was rooted in the spot, "Is that all?"

Seven nodded and walked out of the ready room.

[Three hours later - Sickbay]

Sickbay was quiet and dark; Kathryn walked in and proceeded to Chakotay's bedside. She took his hand in hers rubbing her thumb over his arthritic knuckles.

Chakotay eyes opened, "Hey." He saw that Kathryn was crying and he reached his other hand up to brush the tears away. "I'll be fine Kathryn."

"We both live dangerous lives Chakotay and you can't promise me that."

"I can promise you that I will do my best, and if that's all I can promise you, that's what I'll do."

She smiled and bent down to kiss him.

The doctor was watching the scene from his office. He hoped that Chakotay came out of this fine, he wasn't sure if Kathryn would make it otherwise.

Kathryn heard a hail from the bridge. "Chakotay, I have to go. I'm sure you'll be okay." She paused and smiled, "You'd better be; that was the best sex I've had in a while and I need an encore."

Chakotay laughed, "WHEN I get out of sickbay: You'll get it."

Kathryn walked out of sickbay and headed for the bridge.

[Bridge]

Kathryn watched as the yellow ensign collapsed. The doctor walked up to her, "She's in hypertensive shock. Three milligrams lectrazine. Her blood pressure is three sixty over one twenty five."

Kathryn shook her head confused, "How is that possible?"

"Severe adrenal stress." Kathryn began CPR and trying to breathe life into the young woman. The doctor looked at her, "No effect. Her arterial pathways are rupturing. She's in cardiac arrest. We're losing her. Captain, I'm afraid that won't help. There's too much internal bleeding."

The Captain looked at the EMH. "Then try something else. We'll transport her to sickbay." All she could think about was Chakotay lying in sickbay possibly dying.

"Her entire circulatory system has collapsed. There's no way to repair that kind of damage. Brain death has occurred. I'm sorry; there was nothing more we could have done."

Kathryn turned and stared at the doctor, "This ends right now." She walked down to the lower level of the bridge and glared at the lieutenant at Conn., "You're relieved."

Tuvok almost sounded incredulous as he stated: "Captain, what are you doing?"

"I'm running a little experiment of my own. Red Alert!" Hopefully everything would go back to normal after this.

"We're less than a million kilometers from the pulsars. We must change course to avoid being caught in their gravity." Her life depended on this course of action she had to keep going. "No! Keep going."

Tuvok's voice piped up from the background, "This is a far more reckless course of action than I've come to expect from you, Captain." "It certainly is."

Kathryn watched the crew as the next ten minutes almost went by in slow motion. Then she turned her head to Tuvok, "I’ve lost helm control."

Tuvok answered her, "Main power is offline."

Kathryn drew in a deep breath, hoping against all hopes that she had been right, "Well, let's hope we've got enough speed"

When all was said and done she turned to Harry. "I don't believe it. We're alive"

She smiled at Harry and made her way to sickbay where her lifeline was.

As she walked to the turbolift she began her log. "Captain's log, Stardate 51244.3. With the aliens gone, the Doctor has been able to remove their devices from the crew and neutralize the genetic tags."

She finished her log and smiled as she reached sickbay. "Doctor, you can begin removing the tags now; I think everything will be okay."

[Paris Quarters]

Tom stared at B'Elanna. "Well I hope you like the dinner, I replicated it myself."

She smiled, "You know I almost felt bad when you turned Harry away."

Tom laughed, "He'll find someone some day, but this is our time; how many shifts did we have to switch to get this night off together?"

B'Elanna rolled her eyes, "Too many."

Tom leaned down and kissed B'Elanna, things would be okay.

[Sickbay]

Kathryn walked up to Chakotay, the doctor had removed his genetic tags and his hair had begun to grow back. "Not the prettiest thing is it Kathryn?"

"You talking about me?"

He laughed, "Never."

She leaned down and let her lips embrace his. "You know, I've been thinking."

Chakotay raised an eyebrow in response.

"My quarters are big enough for two considering we'd be sharing the bed."

"Awful sure of ourselves aren't we Kathryn."

Kathryn groaned her hand going to her head and rolling her eyes, "Do I have any reason not to be?"

Chakotay shook his head and beckoned the doctor over. "Can you help Kathryn; I think she needs to be treated."

The doctor nodded and took out his tricorder. He began scanning her and saw something unexpected, the Captain was pregnant.

She would not know for another month probably, but she had definitely been inseminated. The doctor sighed and began working on the removal of the needles.

When he was done he stared at the 'Command Couple', "Well you both appear to be in good health, you may return to the Captain's quarters."

Chakotay looked at him surprised, "I should go to my quarters."

The doctor nodded, "Of course Commander: Your quarters."

Kathryn and Chakotay walked out of sickbay and proceeded to the Captain's quarters. "So these are our quarters now are they?"

Kathryn laughed, "I guess so." She stared at Chakotay, "Is it just me or does the doctor know something?"

Chakotay shrugged, "I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough." He tilted his head, "Do you want me to go and check out Tom's betting pools?"

"Might not be a bad idea."

They arrived in Kathryn's quarters and walked up to the computer terminal. "Well look at that."

BETS NOW BEING TAKEN ON THE CAPTAIN'S DUE DATE AND THE SEX OF THE CAPTAIN AND COMMANDER'S FIRST CHILD.

Kathryn stared at Chakotay, "But I'm not pregnant."

Chakotay's mouth dropped open, "Are you on boosters?"

"No but Chakotay it was only once, and it was yesterday."

She pulled the tricorder out from behind her couch and the Commander scanned her letting out a low whistle. "Put in our bet for about 39 weeks."

Kathryn shook her head and grabbed the tricorder from Chakotay's hands staring at it unbelieving. "Incredible, Tom knew before we did."

"Ah the Voyager grapevine."

THE END