The BLTS Archive - Saved by the Holo-Imager
by Sasscat Bu-to-y (fitchett@netaccess.co.nz)

---

Disclaimer:  Paramount owns them.  I just write stories about them
inspired by bad sitcoms.  (Saved by the Bell, may ye ne'er darken our
screens again!  And yet somehow I was always compelled to watch ye...)

Feedback welcome.

(c) Sasscat Bu-to-y 1999

---

Paris watched with interest as Janeway crossed the mess hall, nodded
at him and Chakotay, and exited the room.  "What was that about?" he
said with a grin.

"What was what about?" Chakotay asked, not sounding very curious.

Paris leaned back in his chair smugly.  "The captain and that little
nod she gave you before leaving."

Chakotay gave him a measured look.  "She was just being friendly.
Don't count on those betting pools just yet."

Paris snorted in disbelief.  "If she was just being friendly, how come
she came all the way over here from the other side of the room instead
of just going out the doors by her table?  It's quicker to get to the
turbolift that side, too."

"Maybe she was nodding at *you*," Chakotay said, taking a mouthful of
pasta.

Paris gave him a look to see if he was joking.  Probably.  "Maybe she
was.  After all, she's made it pretty clear she's not interested in
you."

"Exactly," Chakotay said, giving him a warning look.

Paris ignored him, stretching casually to hide the whirring of his
mind.  "In fact, it's probably a hell of a lot more likely she was
nodding at me than you."

"Is that so?" Chakotay said flatly.

He grinned.  "Yep.  In fact, I bet I could get her to kiss me before
you could."

Chakotay put his fork down and leaned back in his chair.  "Really."

"Day's replicator rations," Paris said immediately.

"Just a day?" Chakotay jibed.  Paris folded his arms.

"Six months."

"Now hold on a minute," Chakotay started in alarm.

"Five months?" Paris suggested.

Chakotay gave him a quelling look.  "One."

"Done."  Paris shook Chakotay's hand before the older man could react.
"On the lips, at least two witnesses or recorded.  Good luck," he
smirked, and picked up his tray to leave the commander wondering how
he'd got himself sucked in yet again.

---

Janeway barely glanced up as her ready room door chimed.  "Come in."

"Hey, Captain," Paris said casually.  "You busy?"

"Not at all," she said dryly, regarding the scatter of PADDs on her
desk.

"Great."  Tom plopped himself down in the chair on the other side of
the desk.  "Wanna earn two weeks easy replicator rations?"

Janeway leaned back in her chair, interest piqued.  She *had* been low
on rations recently.  "Maybe.  What's the catch?"

"I bet Chakotay he couldn't get you to kiss him before I could," Paris
said, looking completely unabashed.  "Doesn't have to be in front of
the crew.  Just you, me and a holo-imager."

Janeway raised an eyebrow at his presumption.  "Pot?"

"Month's rations."

"Fifty-fifty?"

"Naturally?"

"Tongue?"

He grinned.  "Only if you want to."

Janeway extended her hand for him to shake.  "It's a deal."

Paris took her hand then lifted it to his lips, watching her all the
while with a grin on his face.  She let him get away with it, just
this once.  His lips felt good.  She looked forward to the prospect
of tasting them.

"Well then," Paris said, standing.  "Dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good.  Eighteen hundred hours?"

"I'll make the arrangements."

She smiled up at him.  "Dismissed."

He rewarded her with a blinding smile of his own, then sauntered out.

---

He met her at his door that evening; stared at her dress.  "Shit," he
said, then looked embarrassed as he moved aside to let her in.  "Sorry.
It's just, you look..." he hesitated, then settled on, "different."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Janeway said smugly, aware of his
eyes on her as she entered the room.  It wasn't even a spectacular
dress, just something cream and formfitting that she'd got a year or
two ago.  Oh well, it felt good to be looked at.  Even if it was just
Tom.

'Just Tom' didn't look too bad himself, in a light brown suit with the
chest flap pinned half-open.  The lining was golden, bringing out the
colour of his hair and the grin in his eyes.

He held her chair out for her, and when she was seated poured some
champagne into their glasses.  He took his own seat and lifted his
glass.  "To teamwork.  May we hustle Chakotay for many more years."

"To teamwork," Janeway echoed, tapping her glass against his.  She
grinned broadly.  "Chakotay's going to be pissed."

Paris grinned back.  "I know."  He took a sip of the champagne and
sighed contentedly, closing his eyes.  "Ah, this is the year...  '57,
if I recall correctly."

Janeway took a sip herself, letting the golden liquid glide down her
throat.  "Mmm... definitely a good year."

"What did I tell you?  I'm an excellent judge of alcohol."  There was
a slight bitterness to his tone that made her reach towards him.

"Did I ever tell you about my first drink?"  She found his hand and
clasped it loosely in her own.

Paris put his glass down and leaned forward.  "This sounds like it
should be entertaining."

"Oh, very," Janeway said wryly.  "I was about seventeen...  Yes, I
know, that old.  Shush.  Anyway, I was dating Cheb Packer at the time;
he was a complete jerk, but I was too flattered that he was interested
in me to realise it.  So when he begged me to go to this party with
him, I couldn't bring myself to say no."  She smiled ruefully at the
memory.  "I should have known better, of course, but I was a teenager
and I had very strong beliefs in my own invincibility - oh, stop
*laughing*, Tom.  I'll have you know I'm very much older and wiser
now."

"But just as invincible," he teased.

"Do you want me to tell this story or not?"  She shook her head.
"There I was, seventeen and very socially inept, and I actually
believed them when they told me it was punch...  About an hour into
the party, I was already *completely* plastered...  I spent most of
the rest of the party in the bathroom, adding a lot more colour to the
decor."

Paris laughed, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.  "I find
it hard to believe that *you* were ever socially inept."

"Oh yes, I was a complete disgrace to my friends.  Never saw the point
in half the things they did."  Her eyes were drawn to his thumb moving
over her skin.  After a moment he noticed, and drew his hand away
awkwardly.

"Well, don't worry, your secret's safe with me.  No one will ever know
that Kathryn Janeway was once a gawky, self-conscious teenager like
the rest of us."  He grinned at her look.  "That is, unless Chakotay
lip-reads."

"I don't think so," she smiled.  "If he does we'll be in trouble."

"Nah, I'll just cut this part of the evening out of the recording.
You know," he gave her a sidelong glance, "we should do this more
often.  Sitting like this, talking... it's nice."

Janeway considered it for a moment, rolling her head.  "You could be
right.  I don't think I spend enough time off-duty."

"Of course, next time it'll be your turn to arrange it," Paris said.
He grinned at her across the table.  "Maybe take me somewhere on the
holodeck?  Although I should warn you, I've been told I'm very hard to
please."

"Is that so?"  She raised an eyebrow at him.  "Then perhaps I should
ask where you'd like me to take you?"

He leaned forward, voice low and eyes dark.  "On the pool table?"

Well, she'd walked right into that one.  Janeway shook her head
ruefully.  "Watch it, mister.  It's not too late for me to do this
with Chakotay, you know.  I could probably get more rations out of
him."

Paris held up a placating hand.  "I'll behave."

"You'd better."  She smiled into her champagne glass as she took
another sip.

---

It was getting late, and Janeway was beginning to quietly panic.  The
plan had been to act like she was getting seduced, not for her to
actually *be* seduced.  But closer towards the end of the evening,
every time their hands had brushed... or their eyes had locked... or
even just when he flashed her that dazzling smile...  She was starting
to feel distinctly sexual.

"...I don't think he ever trusted that particular flight sim again,"
Paris finished.  Janeway laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm glad I never taught you at the Academy.  I could never have stood
the pressure."  Her eyes rested on his then skidded away.

"Hmm, there's a thought...  I can only imagine what we would have done
to you."  He grinned at the table.  "But I can imagine it pretty well.
It probably is a good thing you never taught us."

"On the other hand, maybe I would have been able to instill some
discipline into you and your oh-so-studious friends."  She stretched
back in her chair.  "You could probably have used it."

Paris leaned on his hand.  "And how exactly would you have disciplined
us?  We were a pretty tough bunch."

"Well, I think the Academy frowns on leather and whips."  Her smile
faded as his eyes locked onto her own.  Her skin burned.

"That could have worked," he breathed, leaning forward.  Janeway could
feel her heart pounding, started to move her head towards his, lips
parting of their own accord.  She pulled away sharply.

"I, um...  It's getting late..."  She looked away awkwardly.  "I
should probably go."

"Yeah," Paris agreed reluctantly.  He stood as she did, to escort her
to the door.  "I guess I'll see you on the bridge."

"Yeah," she said softly.  She paused, unsure where the holo-imager's
field of view ended.  Well, here was as good a place as any.  She
placed a hand on Tom's chest, leaning up to kiss him gently.  It felt
good, and she sighed as she drew away.

He covered her hand with one of his own before she could pull it away.
"This was... nice."  His voice was slightly rough.

"I have to go," she said quietly, sliding her hand out from under his.
They stood there a moment longer, then she left.

A few seconds later she came back through the door, putting her arms
around Paris's neck and pressing her lips to his without hesitation.
His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her to him as the kiss
deepened.  He nudged her mouth open with his tongue, sliding his hands
down to pull her pelvis against him.  She groaned, feeling his
erection pushing firmly into her.  This was good.

She wrenched her mouth away finally, and looked into his hungry eyes.
"Bed," she said huskily, and saw them darken further at her voice.

"Let me," he murmured, and lifted her up without waiting for her
answer.  A smile flitted across his flushed features.  "I've always
wanted to do this."

She laughed and kissed his throat, growing more bold as he carried her
into his bedroom, nipping and teasing with her teeth.  He lowered her
to the bed, giving her a look filled with such lust that she swore she
could feel her heart stop.  She'd never expected to receive that kind
of look from Tom, not even in her most deluded daydreams.

He straddled her midsection, his fingers burning her skin where he
pushed her dress straps off her shoulders.  Janeway reached up to
fully open the chest flap of his suit, twining her fingers lightly in
the golden curls beneath it.  Oh god... this was really going to
happen.  She could feel her heart beating faster at the thought.

"Shit," Paris murmured.  "Just a minute--"  He started to get up, and
she pulled him back.

"What?"

"The holo-imager," he stammered.  "It's still..."  He gestured vaguely.

It was set to record even in here?  Janeway gave him an incredulous
look.  "Just where did you think that kiss was going to take place,
mister?"

She'd always wondered what it would take to make the worldly Tom Paris
blush.  Now she knew.  And damn, he looked cute doing it, too.  "I..."
He trailed off, looking distinctly sheepish.  She wasn't sure she
wanted to know.

"Never mind," she said, and stopped him again when he started to rise.
"Hold your horses, mister."  She smiled invitingly.  "Leave it going."

He drew in a quick breath, resting a hand in front of himself on her
stomach.  "You are..."  He shook his head, leaning down to hover scant
centimetres from her face.  "We should have done this a long time
ago," he murmured, before capturing her lips.

Janeway had the feeling she was going to agree.

---

The End