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. 
:)

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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 too 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