The BLTS Archive - Season V: Blister by Bridget Cochran (bjcochran@aol.com) --- © 1999 This is number 14 (but, because it was written out of order, it will be numbered 8.a. in the Season V Series which includes The Way of All Flesh, A Friend in Need, A Friend in Deed, Pride's Cloak, The Moon is Nothing, Conscious Betrayal, Molded Out of Faults, No Signposts in the Sky, Moving Forward, Trust Comes With Effort, Trust Me (10a) and Round Two and Juggling Life. Spoilers for Bliss. Disclaimer: I own the ideas, Paramount owns the rest. Archive to ASC only, no where else without express permission. This story involves men in a monogamous, exclusive relationship. If that sort of thing offends you, move along home. --- It was after shift and Chakotay was drained to the soles of his feet. Ever since Voyager had left the maw of that mind altering beast, he had run interference on the major league depression that had descended upon the crew. The big man sighed. One more alien that turned out not to be their ticket home. He just wanted to go get Tom and relax for a couple of hours. Cargo Bay 2 had been his haunt lately. The younger man's concern for Seven and Naomi and the trauma the psionic beast had wrought drove him to do as he often did: overcompensate. Tom had been with Naomi and Seven for the last four days, if you count the day they spent on the Delta Flyer looking for deuterium. They needed him. Of course, they did. These two--women--had saved Voyager against some pretty awesome interference. Or not so awesome, in Chakotay's own case. He neared the doors to Seven's domain. The heavy doors rolled open, but the three occupants of the vast room paid no attention. They sat huddled around a low table enraptured by a kadis-kot board. The game in progress was being taken very seriously by one adult and not seriously at all by the other--the child was the referee. Seven's full lips were pursed in frustration as Tom looked to be slipping chips into their spaces at random. "That is not a legal move." Tom's smile was wide and bright. "Of course, it is." He looked down at the seven year old between them. "Tell her." Naomi looked into Tom's face, not wanting to hurt the feelings of her best friend next to Neelix, and was assured by the confidence she saw in his eyes. She looked at her friend. "It is a legal move, Seven. Tom wins." A smile began to appear on her sweet, young face. "Congratulations," Chakotay said, moving forward to join the group. The smile disappeared from Naomi's face in an instant, as it was replaced by unadulterated fear. On her feet like a phaser beam, she hid behind Tom. "No. No. No," she cried. Wrenching back, Tom dragged the unwilling child around. She clung to his chest, squealing unintelligibly. "What, honey?" Tom cooed. But she was still not coherent. "Naomi Wildman," Seven spoke firmly, "make yourself understood." Naomi pulled her head from Tom's chest and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Tom swiped at her nose himself, wiping clear mucus on his pant leg. He was clearly worried about this outburst. "I don't want to go to the brig." "What?" Tom twisted the little girl around to get a look at her face. His thumbs removed moisture from her pale cheek. "Commander Chakotay is here to take me to the brig," she sniffled. "No, I'm not, Naomi," Chakotay said, his voice soft. "Yes, you are." Her arms tightened around Tom's neck. "Honey," Tom soothed, "why would Chakotay take you to the brig?" He pushed at the little shoulder and pushed her chin up with a finger. She hiccoughed, looking up into Tom's eyes. "I disobeyed a direct order." Chakotay's shoulders sagged. In the maw of the Nirvana beast, Chakotay's mission had been to shut down Seven. Put her out of commission. Euphoria stated that she had to be put in stasis for her own good. But in truth, the beast had only wanted a threat neutralized. When she resisted, it had to retaliate. The supreme irony was, in Chakotay's engineered state of wonderment, he believed he was Seven's intellectual superior. Delusion on top of delusion. With Naomi's help, Seven had eluded Chakotay and his security team. He hadn't been very nice to the little girl. He cleared the lump from his throat. "I'd never put you in the brig, Naomi." What else could he say? "Yes, you would." The accusation was swift and sure. Tom's frown deepened to concern. He squeezed her shoulders. She looked up at him through her tears. "You disobeyed a direct order and you went to the brig for thirty days. I don't want to go to the brig for thirty days, Tom." Again, the small face was buried in Tom's shoulder, weeping fully and sadly. Chakotay couldn't really hide the devastation he felt. He sat down on the table with a thunk, running a hand through his hair. It didn't matter that none of this was his fault. It didn't matter that Tom's insubordination had nothing to do with being in the clutches of a mind altering entity. Naomi saw life in the black and white, good and evil starkness of a child's reality. Small wonder that Tom and Seven counted among her friend. They had similar outlooks. "Honey. Honey. Honey," Tom soothed, patting the back and smoothing the fine hair. "It's okay. Chakotay isn't going to put you in the brig. You did what was right." "But, what you did was right," came the muffled reply. Tom swallowed. "Yes, I did." "Captain Janeway sent you to the brig." "She did." "I don't understand." She still wept onto his shoulder. Tom's sigh was rich and touched Chakotay to his soul. Her simple question opened a flood of emotion in the two men. "And I'd do it again," Tom said after a few moments, "if I thought the cause was right." "You would?" Naomi pushed back, her eyes incredulous, her face glistening her face glistening with tears and runny nose. Tom's eyes were clear with strong resolve. "Yes, princess, I would." She was silent, large eyes looking into blue ones. Residual hiccups rising in the quiet. She studied Tom, trying to divine the truth. Straightening, she turned on Tom's lap to face Chakotay. "I'm ready to go to the brig. May I take Flotter with me." Chakotay's heart sank. She wanted to take her beloved doll to prison. He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted. "You will not be going to the brig, Naomi Wildman." Seven had watched the interplay among her fellow crewmembers in silence. "You will need to further your study of Star Fleet protocol regarding incapacitation of the chain of command." It was only around Seven that Chakotay found it difficult to suppress smiles. Most especially now when she was defending him. "Due to the nature of the creature, its effect on the Voyager crew was severe. I believe your quick thinking and determination should be noted." All three pairs of eyes stared raptly at the Borg hybrid, until she blinked at the commander, ending his trance. "Exactly," he said, smacking his thighs as he stood up. "I came here to tell you I'm recommending you for a commendation." Naomi had seen too much in her young life to be easily fooled. Her frown held patent skepticism. "Will the doctor get an accommodation, too? She had Chakotay exactly where she wanted him. He smiled as she manipulated him with a skill that had to have been taught by the man who held her. "The doctor, too," he agreed. The little girl nodded, now satisfied. She wriggled off of Tom's lap and back to her seat on the floor beside Seven. "Ready for another game?" she wanted to know, looking back and forth between her two grown companions. Tom smiled at Naomi and ruffled her hair before turning his rueful gaze to Chakotay. "No thanks, sweetheart. I'm going to keep Chakotay company." "Tomorrow?" she asked, the bottom lip starting to poke out. "Only if you don't pout." He rolled to his feet. Immediately she broke into a smile to rival Tom's in radiance. "Okay, tomorrow," she confirmed. It was through valiant effort that Seven hid her smile. "Am I to be included in this invitation, Miss Wildman?" The little girl looked up into the face of her friend, a frown rippling on her forehead bumps. "You have to come," she said, "The loser always goes first." --- The End