The BLTS Archive- Heart to Heart by Ben Mason (tychocelchu@mpx.com.au) --- He gently pressed his fingers to the focal points on her small face, and felt his awareness brush lightly against her instinctive defenses. They melted quickly when she realised what it was he was doing. Her trust in him was utterly complete. He quickly found the centre of her being, and allowed himself to do what he had never done with anyone, not the Captain, Suder, his family, even his wife. He opened himself completely, revealing his entire being to her. Her eyes opened, wide with wonder and feeling. Throughout the ages, men and women have claimed to know their loved ones. He suspected that Commander Chakotay would say that he knew his love better than she knew herself, but no one on this ship could ever hope to come close to what they two shared at this moment. She struggled to find the words, not realising that he was also receptive to her thoughts and feelings. "I understand. Thank you." These few simple sounds could not begin to describe her emotions, yet somehow, they were enough. He nodded in approval, and gratitude. It was with regret that he began to dissolve the link between them. The next few moments blurred for both of them, and he found himself at the console, facing the young woman on the transporter pad. Tuvok now understood why it was that humans found it so difficult to find the right words to say at a parting. Unable to find anything suitable, he fell back to what he knew, to the words his race had been saying in greeting and farewell for centuries. "Live long and prosper, Noss." Unlike previous occasions, when the benediction had been said perfunctorily, as a matter of ritual, this time he put everything he felt for this woman into those four words. "You too." Noss' voice was choked up in gratitude for the gift she had just received, and kept her eyes on his until she could see no more. Her sight had been taken, not from the effect of the transporter, but from tears for what could not be. --- Later, in the mess hall, Tom had just sat down after killing the curiosity of the transporter officer. Discretion was the better part of valour after all. He looked up as the Tactical Officer entered, and their eyes met for a moment. In that moment, he knew he had earned something from the Vulcan. Gratitude? Respect? Tom didn't know. But he didn't need to. --- The End