I guess this is where that silly disclaimer saying that Paramount owns all goes. ( like we don't already know that!) I'm just borrowing these people for a little while for the purposes of fun and only fun. I'd like to say Thank-you to: PJ for being my sounding board and for giving Tom's mother a name. Janine, Deb, Kristen, and Betty for being great sisters and giving me the support I needed. Thanks to the AOL  P/T Collective for giving me a home. Thanks To Roxann Dawson and Robert Duncan McNeill for bringing these characters to life every week in such a way as to inspire us to write about them. And Mostly, to my son, Samuel Elijah, the Jr. Helmboy for being my inspiration and giving me all my ideas.  When I Close My Eyesby Laura TewOwen Paris was sleeping soundly in his bed, when he was suddenly awakened by a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see his son, Tom, standing next to him, teddy bear clutched tightly to his chest.     "Daddy?" Tom said quietly. "I had a bad dream and I'm scared.     "Tom, " Owen said exasperatedly, "You are four years old. Stop being such a baby and go back to bed."     "But I'm scared." Tom repeated, his fear of the dark overcoming his fear of his father.     "Thomas, do not make me have to tell you again,..."     Owen's angry response was cut off by his wife's gentle hand on his back.     "Why don't you go back to sleep Dear," she said softly. "I'll take Tom back to bed."     Owen sighed deeply.     "You need to stop babying him, Beth."     "I'm not babying him. I'm being a mother." She gently kissed her husband. "Go to sleep. I'll be right back. "     Elizabeth Paris slipped out of the bed and taking Tom's hand in hers, she gently led him back to his room. With the tenderness only a mother can show, she helped Tom into his bed and tucked the covers around him.     "Teddy is tired," she said softly as she tucked the bear in with Tom. "Why don't you close your eyes Pumpkin, so you and Teddy can get some sleep?"     Tom settled into his pillow and closed his eyes, his mother's presence, driving his monsters away. Elizabeth gently pushed the hair from his eyes and began to run her fingers through Tom's soft blond curls. At the first light touch of his mother's hand, Tom's body relaxed, and as she twirled his hair around her delicate fingers, he drifted off in to slumber, breathing deeply.     His dreams took him far from the evil clutches of monsters, to the wooded area behind his family's house.  For the rest of the night, he ran through the trees, playing hide and seek with his mother.************************************************************Tom Paris walked slowly down the dark tunnel, holding his flashlight in front of him, straining to see into the gloom beyond it. He heard Harry's footsteps from behind him, as they made their way deeper into the blackness. The cold of the cave sent a shiver through Tom, causing him to wonder why he had volunteered to help Harry with this away mission.     Suddenly, from out of the darkness, a huge shape burst forward, knocking into Tom, sending him to the ground. From behind him, he heard Harry scream in pain and fear as the creature moved off down the cavern.     He struggled to his feet, realizing the flashlight was gone and that he would have to help Harry without being able to see.     "Harry!" he called out, praying his friend would answer.     He heard a moan from just off to his right and moved that direction. A moment later, he tripped over something and knelt next to Harry's body. He put a hand out, gently feeling his way to Harry's face, and drew in a quick breath, pulling his hand back as his fingers touched wetness.     "Harry?" he whispered.     There was no answer and Tom felt a stabbing in the pit of his stomach.     "Harry?" he tried a little louder.      When there was still no answer, panic took over at the thought of losing his best friend, and he found himself screaming over and over.     "Harry! Harry! Damn it, answer me! Harry!"     Tom sat up suddenly, his breath in his throat and his heart beating wildly in his chest. He felt the soft weight of blankets on his legs and realized he was in his bed.     "Computer, standard illumination." he called out.     The lights came up, causing him to wince, and after a moments worth of blinking, he looked around his bedroom. His heart rate was returning to normal, and he let out a frustrated sigh.     It had been three days since he and Harry had gotten back from that away mission, and Tom hadn't gotten more than two hours total sleep. Every time he drifted off, the memory of that God-awful creature attacking Harry took over his mind.     Deciding sleep was futile, Tom rose, threw on sweat pants and a tee-shirt, and went to sickbay.  Sickbay was dimly lit and the Doctor wasn't active, so Tom stood just inside the door and looked at Harry lying asleep on a bio-bed.      When they had been beamed to sickbay, Tom was sure Harry was going to die. He was covered in blood and there were long gashes across his chest. The Doctor had gone right to work, and an hour later, had informed Captain Janeway and Tom that Harry would be just fine after a long rest. Tom had also been given a week off to recuperate, but he found he was spending most of his time standing here in sickbay watching Harry sleep.     The soft whoosh of the door behind him caused Tom to turn around, bringing him face to face with Voyager's Chief Engineer.     "If you keep spending all your off time here, Sandrine is going to get jealous." B'Elanna joked.  Seeing the serious look on his face and the dark circles under his eyes, she added in a gentler voice, " You should be sleeping Tom."     "So should you." Tom answered his voice lacking it's usual vivaciousness.     "I just got off my shift and was going to get some sleep." B'Elanna responded " What's your excuse?"     Tom opened his mouth to give her one of his patented Tom Paris come backs, only to hear something else entirely come out.     "I couldn't sleep, so I came to check on Harry."     "Couldn't sleep?" B'Elanna said in a decidedly more compassionate voice. "Was there a reason for your insomnia?"     Once more Tom planned on giving her a flippant response, only to hear his tired brain tell her the truth.     "I keep having a horrible nightmare. I relive that whole moment in the caves where Harry is hurt and I can't do anything. It always ends the same and I wake up screaming into the darkness."     B'Elanna had not been prepared for such an honest answer, and looking up into his clear blue eyes, she found him looking so young and vulnerable that she just wanted to take him into her arms and make everything right again.     "Harry is fine, " she said gently" but if you don't get some sleep, you won't be."     She took his hand in hers and started to lead him out of sickbay.      "Where are you taking me?" he asked     "Your quarters." B'Elanna said simply, as if she did this all the time.     Wordlessly, Tom let her lead him through the halls of Voyager and into his quarters. Once they were inside, B'Elanna let go of his hand and pointed to the bedroom.     "You go get in bed and I'll be right there," she said.     Tom arched an eyebrow.     "I think I might be a little too tired for that right now B'Elanna," he said in a suggestive voice.     She fixed him with a withering stare.     "Don't flatter yourself Helmboy," she said testily. "Now go put your sorry butt in bed before I have you confined to sickbay."     Tom smiled at her and went off to the bedroom while B'Elanna ordered a glass of warm milk from the replicator. When she entered the bedroom, it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. As they did, she saw Tom, sitting on his bed, surrounded by a nest of covers. She made her way over to him and handed him the glass of milk. He looked at her once, but seeing she was serious, he said nothing and just drank his milk.     "All right," B'Elanna said, taking his glass from him." Lay down and relax."     Tom laid back on his pillows and tried to relax, but it was useless. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in that tunnel, and nothing he did could change it.     B'Elanna had pulled a chair over and was now sitting next to the bed. She looked down at his blue eyes with their haunted look, and feeling an unexpected wave of affection for Tom, she placed her hand on his arm.     "Relax," she said softly.     Tom closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate on the feeling of B'Elanna's touch, but fear went through his body, causing him to tremble, and he sat up, his eyes wide.     B'Elanna was actually worried by his reaction, and she reached out and took Tom's hand in hers.     "It's all right Tom," she said soothingly.     He looked at her, his eyes wide with panic. As their eyes met, she smiled and he returned the gesture, relaxing slightly.     "Lay down." B'Elanna said quietly.     Tom laid back once again, but did not close his eyes. B'Elanna was racking her brain trying to come up with some way to help him sleep, while she stared absently at Tom's forehead. The longer she stared, the more she was aware of a stray piece of his hair that was hanging right in the middle of his forehead. She tried to ignore it, but finally able to stand it no more, she reached out and gently brushed the hair off his face. The minute her fingers touched his hair, Tom's eyelids fluttered.     B'Elanna narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and ran her fingers through his hair again. As before, his eyelids fluttered and it seemed an effort for him to open them again. Smiling slightly, B'Elanna continued to run her fingers through his hair, watching as his eyes closed and his breathing began to slow. It surprised her how soft his hair was and that despite the short Starfleet cut, it seemed to want to wind around her fingers in unruly curls.     After about five minutes, she stopped and sat back to watch him, hoping he was finally asleep. He looked so young and angelic as he slept, and she could tell from the soft snoring sounds he was making that he was indeed asleep. She rose quietly and stood looking down at him for just one last minute, noticing a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.     "Sleep well, Tom." she whispered quietly as she left the room.     Tom was lost in his own world. B'Elanna's gentle touch had driven the monsters from his dreams and now, he was back in the wooded area behind his family's house, a place he hadn't seen in years It was warm and the air smelled sweet. He realized he hadn't felt this at peace in a long time. And for the rest of the night, as strange as it seemed, he ran through the trees, happily playing hide and seek with B'Elanna.THE END