The BLTS Archive- Love Hurts Part Eight by Karen (CP4Karen@aol.com) ---- Disclaimer: Paramount owns them. I imply no copyright infringement. c1998 Karen --- Tom pulled a last tendril of hair into place and sprayed it. //Perfection!// Grabbing his commbadge and heading out the door to start the day, he thought of another lost love. Good and kind; she had saved him when he had hit rock bottom. So when Voyager had first become stranded out here, Tom had spent weeks faithfully re-creating her and her place which had become his haven. It wasn't quite the same, but there was a kind of security knowing that a bit of her was always with him. He thought of the words of wisdom her hologram had given him just that morning as she finished cutting his hair. Tom smiled. It was so true. The right hairdo really was essential. Even when you were naked, you were all dressed up. //Oh, Mona.....// --- Harry gently rocked Vorik. For the thousand time, he wished that he had never been given 'The Gift'. It seemed to bring as much pain as it did joy. Particularly to those he loved. Sometimes being special was a bitch. He thought that he had convinced Vorie that their wondrous love could conquer anything, but the ugliness that is sometimes life obviously still preyed on his boyfriend's mind. "Punkin, reading Idanian spice pudding isn't an exact science. I may have made a few errors in connecting the lumps." Vorik sniffed and nodded. "But you know it's true; people have even commented on it when we were out together. The simple fact is that you're a fall and I'm a winter. We clash too badly to stay together." --- B'Elanna carefully opened the panel and slipped out into the corridor. Placing her dagger between her teeth, she checked her make-up using the steel-tipped toe of one of her biker boots and crept towards sickbay. Finally concerned that none of the senior staff had appeared on the bridge for the past three days, the intrepid half-Klingon had decided to investigate. The investigation wasn't going very well. She needed to get to the holoDoc. Obviously there was some sort of alien virus on board. The Captain was treating Seven like she was the last pork rib at the family barbecue; Tuvok and Neelix were having a holoPicnic on Risa. Harry and Vorik were attending counseling in the other holoDeck with some dork named Freud, and Paris was boffing anything that would hold still. Not that the latter was particularly unusual. Where was Chakotay? His commbadge kept insisting that he was out to lunch, but would give no location. Obviously the Doc was her only hope. Keying the door to sickbay, she slipped silently through the entrance.... ....and into hell. Sweet smelling smoke wafted through the room, flashing first red and then green from the string of decorative lights hanging from the ceiling. Were those chili peppers? The occupants had yet to notice her, for which she was glad. With the back of one fist held tightly against her lips, Torres prayed that her training wouldn't fail her. If she started screaming, she would never stop. There were two men doing the lambada. Was that??? Yes, it was the doctor, although if it hadn't been for the bald head she wouldn't have recognized him in his cropped tee-shirt and leathers. Why wasn't he wearing pants under those? That had to chafe. And Chakotay....good lord, his ass was as big as Kansas in that burgundy teddy set! Training or no training, there was only so much the civilized mind could take. Black mist began to eat at the edges of her vision and she quickly sank into oblivion. --- Tom finished his mochaccino and looked at the chronometer. Harry should have been there some time ago. Oh well, he knew that Har and Vorie had been having a few problems. They had probably just decided to eat in. Tom smiled. He knew what his best friend's choice would be for the main course. The smile faded. He should be on his way to see the Commander anyway. Tom admitted to himself that he had been putting off the conversation. What if his beloved-to-be didn't believe in condensation divination? Tom shook his head. That didn't matter. Q said that they had to be together in order to save the universe and one hundred and sixteen of its parallels. Secure in the righteousness of his newfound lust, Tom girded his mental loins and resolutely headed for sickbay to claim his man. It was the Paris way. --- TBC Can one base a relationship on lumpy pudding or clammy hands? Will Tom arrive in time to save Chakotay and B'Elanna? Should the Big Guy have worn the lavender teddy? Stay tuned for Part Nine of "LOVE HURTS".