Disclaimer: Paramount owns everything, blah blah blah, if you don't give Paramount credit you will die a horrible death, blah blah blah. Copyright 1997 by JoAnna Walsvik. All rights reserved, and most of the lefts, too. :) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Thoughts (VOY, P/T, J/C, PG) by JoAnna Walsvik "Aren't they cute?" Janeway asked Chakotay, smiling as she discreetly looked at the next table. Lieutenants Paris and Torres were eating breakfast together, and every so often Tom would say something to B'Elanna, and B'Elanna would visibly blush. Right now, the two were involved in feeding each other various pieces of fruit and laughing as they did it. "Very." Chakotay's answer was short and curt, not like his usual self. Janeway looked at him curiously. It wasn't like him to be so brusque, especially not with her, and especially not when they were having breakfast together. "Is something wrong, Chakotay?" Janeway asked in concern. *Wrong? No, nothing's wrong,* Chakotay thought sarcastically. *Only the fact that my best friend and my worst enemy--well, former enemy--are acting like lovesick teenagers. Gods, B'Elanna turns into jelly when she's around him. And Tom Paris! Of all the people on this ship to start a relationship with, why did she have to pick Tom Paris? He was a traitor to both Starfleet and the Maquis, he's cocky, he's brash, he's not trustworthy--okay, maybe he has proven himself the last few years. But he IS a womanizer. He'll break her heart. She'll just end up getting hurt. What does he see in her, anyway? I always thought Paris went for the blonde beach-bimbo type, the kind that wouldn't know a plasma conductor if it walked up and hit them in the face. B'Elanna is smart, tough, and certainly no dumb blonde. Is she just the latest novelty to him, a sort of conquest? Just once I'd like to know what is going on in that man's brain!* "No, Kathryn. Nothing's wrong. I just--didn't sleep to well last night," he fibbed. "I can fix that." She grinned suggestively at him, and he grinned back. But he still couldn't help but wonder just what was going on in the mind of Tom Paris. *Gods, how I love her,* Tom Paris thought, gazing across the table into the face of B'Elanna Torres. *She is the smartest, most beautiful woman in the entire Delta Quadrant--no, the entire universe! I wonder what I would ever do without her.* He smiled at B'Elanna and popped another grape in her mouth. She laughed, and he felt his heart skip a beat. *She never used to laugh or smile. Now, hardly a day goes by when you don't hear that wonderful chuckle of hers. I wonder if it's me? Or maybe she's happy that Neelix finally picked up some edible food!* *Gods, how I love him* B'Elanna Torres thought happily. *He treats me like I'm a queen. I've never had someone treat me like that before. Before we started going together, I felt like I had a dark storm cloud hovering over me all the time, just waiting to gush a flood of misery over my life. But now, even though it sounds sappy, my life is sunshine and rainbows. He's the best thing that ever happened to me.* She picked up a piece of what Neelix called "bovant"--it looked and tasted vaguely like cantaloupe--and popped it into his mouth. He grinned at her, and his sparkling blue eyes shined in adoration. She smiled back, something she had been doing a lot more often since being with Tom. *Even the captain has noticed that I've been a lot more cheerful lately. She commented on it yesterday, said something like, 'You have a wonderful smile, B'Elanna. I'm glad to see you're wearing it more often.' I think she's glad that Tom and I are together. She's always been fond of Tom, and as for me--well, I think she's just glad that Tom is happy.* *Didn't sleep well, my foot,* Janeway thought, watching Chakotay eat. Every so often he would cast dark glances towards where Tom Paris was sitting. *He's just mad because he thinks that Tom and B'Elanna aren't right for each other. Aren't RIGHT for each other! For God's sake, I can't think of two people that are more right for each other! B'Elanna and Tom are both rebels at heart. They're both lonely, neither of them have any family at home worth mentioning. B'Elanna and her mother don't get along and Tom and his father certainly don't like each other, so they can both empathize with each other. They're both best friends with Harry Kim, and they both love their work on Voyager. What more do you need? Of course they have their difference; namely B'Elanna's temper versus Tom's cocky brashness, but their differences is what makes their relationship--exciting, and unique.* *But that isn't Chakotay's problem. Chakotay is still angry at Tom because Tom had to act like a total jerk towards him so Michael Jonas could be caught. Chakotay still holds that against me, and Tom, and Tuvok for that matter, because we didn't tell him about our little plot. But, damn it, can't he see that we COULDN'T tell him? For God's sake, we wanted it to be believable. Chakotay is a good actor, but not that good. Besides, after what happened with Seska, I wanted to prolong the agony for as long as I could. Well, perhaps 'agony' is a bit strong. I wanted to prolong the--the betrayal--so he wouldn't have to go through that again. Damn it, I love him. I know he knows that. Why can't he see that I did it for his own good? Tom had nothing at all to do with it. He was just following orders. He did a damn good job of it, too. Even when the Kazon seized the ship, Tom managed to rescue us. My God, if not for Tom, we'd still be stuck on that hellhole of a planet, and Cullah and Seska would be running amok with Voyager. Yet Chakotay still doesn't trust him. He actually believes all the rumors about Tom's 'womanizing' ways. Even I know that Jenny Delaney has been shooting her mouth off. I have it on good authority--Harry Kim--that since coming on board Voyager, Tom's social life has consisted mainly of hanging out at Sandrine's and shooting pool. B'Elanna is the first--and, if my guess is right, the only--serious relationship he's had or will ever have. And if Chakotay's attitude doesn't improve soon, I'm going to yell at him so long that tattoo will fall right off his face!* *I know that he loves B'Elanna like a daughter, and I know he's very protective of her, but B'Elanna's a big girl now. She can take care of herself. If she gets hurt, then she gets hurt. That's life. It happens. But I don't think--no, I am positive--that it won't turn out that way. Unless I miss my guess, those two will be hearing wedding bells soon, or my name isn't Kathryn Janeway. And that's all I have to say on the matter.* THE END