The BLTS Archive - Heard it Through the Grapevine
by Reanne Moreau (reannem1@att.net)

---

ARCHIVE:  any place as long as you leave my name on it.  This includes
Jupiter station and BLTs.

This is a sequel to Bar Time.  I don't know why it popped into my
head now, after so long.  You don't have to read Bar Time to know
what's going on, just know that Kathryn finally got the courage to
delete Michael Sullivan's program and that it turned out Tom had based
the character on his own ancestor.

---

The crack of a pool cue against a ball greeted Kathryn as she entered
the holodeck.  Looking around she saw that there were more people in
Sandrine's than usual.  Tom must have gotten a group together for one
of his famous Friday night parties - laid back affairs that involved
eating too much, drinking too much and exchanging significant numbers
of replicator rations over the pool table.  Kathryn nearly turned
around and left, not wanting to put a damper on the gathering, but she
found herself impaled by the cool blue gaze of her helmsman.

Tom called out across the bar.  "Captain, I'm glad to see you kept
your promise."  He smiled sunnily at her, his many-times great
grandfather's smile.

"I didn't have much choice," she replied, sauntering toward him.  "It
would have been unseemly to be dragged down the corridor by one of my
officers." He had threatened as much if she locked herself away again
after deleting Michael's program, and she didn't doubt that he would
do it.

Harry, who had been playing against Tom, looked blankly from one to
the other and shrugged.

"Captain, you came just in time.  Tom about cleaned me out on the last
game. Maybe you can get some revenge for me."

Kathryn grinned and moved to the table, collecting a cold beer from
the bartender on the way.  She was suddenly happy she'd decided to
come here tonight.  No one seemed uncomfortable with the appearance of
their commanding officer at the gathering; several people called
cheerful greetings as she passed.  She did notice, however, that she
was the only person here in uniform.  Removing her jacket, she rolled
up the sleeves of her sweater and took the pool cue from Harry.

"Are you up to the challenge, Mr. Paris?"

"Always.  Are you sure you're up to it?"  He smirked ever so slightly.
"It' s been awhile."

She swaggered past him, looking up from under her lashes.  "I have
natural talent, Lieutenant.  Practice has nothing to do with it."
Kathryn heard a few muffled snickers from the crowd around them and
could barely restrain herself from joining in.  Tom had a way of
bringing out the mischievous girl who used to sneak out of her bedroom
window at night.

"If you're so confident, maybe you'd like to make a small wager?"

"You're on, Tom.  I could use a housekeeper for a few days."

The captain had a policy of not playing for anything of value with the
crew. Harry went behind the bar to bring out the jar of forfeits,
normally used by those who had already lost their rations, making sure
that he grabbed the one containing innocuous tasks like polishing
boots and cleaning quarters. The other one, devised by the Delaney
sisters, held items that could make even Tom blush.  Each player chose
a slip of paper and placed it on the bar without looking.

Tom broke and began neatly picking off stripes.  He looked up to see
his opponent regarding him with a worried frown.  His game had
improved considerably since they'd last played together.  "Captain, if
you ..."

"What happened to 'Kathryn?'

He missed the shot, badly.  She was obviously referring to the last
time they were together off-duty.  He'd called her 'Kathryn' when they
parted after deleting Michael from the Fairhaven program.  The pilot
was half way back to his quarters before he realized the slip.

Tom looked from the woman standing before him, smiling with an
expression of exaggerated innocence, to the pool table, which was now
in the hands of the enemy.  It was going to be one of *those* games.
Instead of apologizing for his over- familiarity, he surrendered the
battlefield and struck a thoughtful pose.

"Kathryn is a lovely name, but it sounds too much like 'Captain.' Now,
Michael had a good idea ..."

The captain leaned over the table and took her first turn, sinking a
solid on a tricky bank shot.  "They call me Katharine that do talk of
me." A few more balls dropped into pockets.

It sounded like a quote.  Tom searched his memory for the reference.
"You lie, in faith; for you are called plain Kate, and bonny Kate, and
sometimes Kate the curst; but Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom
..."  He broke off, coloring slightly.

Pretty Kate laughed so hard she muffed the next shot.  She climbed
onto a bar stool and retrieved her beer.  "At least you read something
besides those twentieth century pulp magazines."

---

"Enjoying the view?" Sue Nicoletti jumped as Harry slid onto the bar
stool next to her. She had once told Harry that the finest view
Voyager had to offer was Kathryn Janeway in a tank top wielding a
phaser rifle.  He'd never let her live it down.

"Don't tell me you've never looked, Harry.  I won't believe it."

Harry just grinned.  Of course he'd looked and liked what he saw, but
still, she was the captain and that put her in the category of 'never
going to happen, so don't bother thinking about it.'  He liked the
captain and thought she was beautiful, but he wasn't a member of the
Janeway Junkies like Nicoletti and the king of them all, Chakotay.

He sighed.  Too bad Sue wasn't interested in men.  She was gorgeous,
smart and didn't outrank him by several light years.  One way or
another most of the interesting people on board were out of his reach.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes watching Tom and
Kathryn.  They were too far away to overhear the conversation, but it
was obvious that the pair at the pool table was engaged in their
*other* favorite game, teasing each other mercilessly.

"I'm glad Tom got the Captain to come out and socialize for a change,"
Harry remarked.  "I was afraid she was going to sit in her quarters
being all depressed again."  He leaned closer to his friend.  "Did you
hear about her deleting Michael Sullivan's program?"

Sue shook her head.  Her eyes widened as Harry filled her in on the
whole story.  She watched the other couple across the bar.  It was
good seeing the Captain relaxing like this; Nicoletti knew that she
was often uncomfortable mixing socially with the crew, and to tell the
truth, some crew members felt that having their captain around put a
crimp in their style.

Tom Paris was probably the only person on the ship who could make her
loosen up like this.  It was obvious that he considered it his mission
in life to make Kathryn laugh.  They were so 'in the moment' when they
were together, completely engaged in their conversation or whatever
activity they were pursuing.

"I wonder if they have any idea?" Sue murmured.

"Idea about what?"

Sue regarded her clueless friend.  Harry was oblivious to the
electricity that seemed to flow between Tom and the Captain.  She
wondered if B'Elanna was.

"Sorry, Harry, I was just thinking out loud.  Hey, have you heard that
Chakotay and Seven actually went on a *date*?"

---

She couldn't believe it; Tom Paris actually beat her at pool.  Wearing
a scowl that would have terrified any sensible person, she challenged
him to play for double or nothing.

"It's a deal ... Katie."  Tom couldn't quite believe she was letting
him get away with calling her that and intended to take advantage of a
possibly limited opportunity. Kathryn rolled the name around her mind,
liking the way it sounded in Tom's clear tenor, trying to ignore the
way it made her feel.  "If you ever call me that on duty ..."  Her
glare promised dire consequences.

"I am the soul of discretion."

That earned him a raised eyebrow that would have done a Vulcan proud.
Having made a circuit of the bar, chatting with the other patrons,
they were relaxing at one of the small tables while another couple
used the pool table for a quick game.

Tom cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.  "Speaking of
discretion, there's something I'd better tell you before you hear it
through the grapevine."

"If it's about the still in cargo bay four, Chakotay already told me
about it."  Kathryn enjoyed showing that she wasn't as far out of the
gossip loop as some people thought.

"That's old news.  Besides the maintenance guys only told him it was
there in case he ratted them out to you - which turned out to be a
good idea."

Kathryn couldn't stop the grin that stole across her face as she
contemplated the Machiavellian machinations of her crew.  Leave it to
Tom to have the straight scoop on whatever was going on.  People just
couldn't seem to help talking to him.

"Captain, ..."

Captain.  Not 'Katie,' not even 'Kathryn.'  That didn't bode well. She
watched Tom pick at his food, not looking at her as he spoke.

"You remember that when you deleted Michael you called up the entire
Fairhaven program, not just his character?"

"I remember."  She was confused.  Why would he be bringing this up
now?

"Well, I programed in a storyline where he eloped with a woman from a
neighboring village to explain his absence.  It was quicker than
deleting every reference to him from the program."  He glanced up to
see that Kathryn was looking at him with a puzzled frown.

"The computer had to reconcile the events it recorded that night with
the story I programed in.  What it came up with ..."  He took a deep
breath and blurted out the rest.  "... was that Michael ran off with
that woman because he caught us having an affair.  The villagers have
been gossiping about it."

There was a moment of silence as Kathryn leaned back in her chair and
closed her eyes.  She could see Michael running down the stairs after
Tom that night, accusing him of stealing Kathryn from him.  She had
shut down the program before Michael actually did any harm.  She
opened her eyes to find her accused lover watching her anxiously.
"How long has this been going on and how many people know about it?"
The captain rubbed the space between her eyebrows, feeling a headache
coming on.

"I only heard about it yesterday and patched up the program right
away. Nobody ran Fairhaven until two days after you got rid of
Michael, so I don't think too many people heard the rumor."  He looked
into worried gray eyes. "Kathryn, nobody believed it.  They all knew
it was some kind of computer glitch."  A sardonic smile twisted his
lips.  "Everybody knows you have better taste than that."

Kathryn opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again.  What could
she say in reply that wouldn't put her foot firmly in her mouth?
"Everybody knows that you're with B'Elanna."

The moment the words were out of her mouth Kathryn knew it was the
wrong thing to say.  The sparkle went out of her companion's eyes and
he slouched in his chair, looking suddenly weary.

"Tom?  Surely B'Elanna didn't believe that silly rumor?"

"No, it's got nothing to do with that.  We're just taking a little
break after our last fight - just to cool off a little.  We haven't
gone around telling people - it's not like we're breaking up
permanently or anything."

"I'm sorry.  I hope everything will work out.  I know this isn't the
place for a serious conversation, but if you ever need to talk ..."
She laid a sympathetic hand on her friend's arm.  He covered her
small, elegant hand with his own.

"Thanks, but this is something we have to work out ourselves."  He
sighed. "I'm glad you came tonight, Kathryn.  You were just what I
needed."

She was touched by the simplicity and sincerity of Tom's words.  Under
his brash manner was a sweetness that few people got to see.

A smile quirked up one side of her mouth.  "I'm glad I could help,
Tom, but if you keep holding my hand we're going to start another
round of rumors."

With a bark of laughter he let go and leaned back in his chair, once
more relaxed.  That small touch seemed to have spread a soothing
warmth through his entire body.

"Did my dad ever explain the hierarchy of starship gossip to you?"

Laughter danced in Kathryn's eyes as she remembered a long-ago
lecture. "There are things no one tells the captain," she quoted.

"Like just about everything interesting."  Tom chuckled and got a
rueful nod from his captain.

"There are things no one tells the first officer."

"Like why Crewman Chen beamed up from his last shoreleave in nothing
but his underwear."  Kathryn's eyes widened and Tom decided to satisfy
her curiosity.  "That's what he was wearing when he got thrown in the
drunk tank and he didn't want to call Chakotay for bail and a change
of clothes."  He was discreet enough not to tell her what Chen had
been doing while intoxicated.

Kathryn shook her head and repeated the last part of the Admiral's
lesson. "Then there's all the good stuff that officers never get to
hear." She grinned.  "Except, it seems for a certain pilot who hangs
out in holographic bars where people tend to forget he's an officer."

Receiving nothing but an enigmatic smile from her pilot she prodded
him for more information.  "So, are you going to tell me what they're
talking about on the lower decks?"

Tom shrugged.  "The same stuff starship crews always talk about.  The
captain's love life mostly.  They've got you sleeping with Chakotay,
you sleeping with Seven, or for a little variety, you sleeping with
me."

He really hadn't intended to say that last part.  They looked at each
other and quickly looked away, each unsettled by the images forming in
their minds.

Tom cleared his throat and dashed back into his narrative.  "Then
there are the rumors about Chakotay.  For some reason there's a really
persistent one that crops up now and then.  Apparently Chakotay and I
have been secret lovers for years and, thanks to the doctor, I'm now
carrying his child."

He suddenly realized that everyone was looking at them as the captain
leaned back in her chair and laughed until tears ran down her face.
Somehow he'd forgotten that anyone else was around.

She got up from her chair, still chuckling, as the other couple
finished their turn at the pool table.  Kathryn squeezed his shoulder,
smiling down at him.  "Thank you, Tom.  I needed that.  I needed
tonight."

Feeling slightly drunk on the sound of her laughter, Tom followed her
toward the pool table.

---

Tuvok slipped into a booth at the rear of the bar, scanning the room
around him.  He made it a point to attend informal social gatherings
from time to time to gauge the mood of the crew and pick up any useful
information.  He would have objected to the word 'eavesdropping.'

He saw B'Elanna Torres enter the bar, look around, hesitate and head
over to his table.  She smiled briefly as she greeted him and took a
seat on the other side of the table, but seemed rather subdued.

"So, Tuvok, have you overheard anybody planning a mutiny lately?"

The only reply was a raised eyebrow.  Tom claimed that the Vulcan had
a sense of humor, but she had yet to see it.

"I expected to see you here earlier, Lieutenant, since Mr. Paris is
hosting the event."

Nosiness, however, did appear to be a Vulcan trait.

"We've ... um ... decided to give each other some space.  I thought
I'd drop in and have a beer with Harry, just to be sociable, but he
looks busy."  She wondered if that sounded as lame as she thought it
did.  The truth was she was lonely and came to see if Tom wanted to
take things off of hold, at least for the evening.

The object of her affections appeared to be engaged in a serious
conversation with the captain.  After a moment, Tom favored her with
one of his dazzling smiles and they seemed to communicate silently
before moving apart.  Shortly afterward Kathryn broke into peals of
laughter, a sound not often heard on Voyager.  B'Elanna didn't believe
the silly rumors going around Fairhaven, but their easy friendship
rankled.

"I don't get it, Tuvok.  She threw him in the brig.  She demoted him.
He disobeyed direct orders and they're still thick as thieves.  I'll
never understand those two."

"Whatever their difficulties, the captain and Mr. Paris seem to have
overcome them."  Privately, he thought that the Monean incident had
brought them closer in a way.  The captain's over reaction knocked her
off the pedestal Tom had put her on.  They were now on equal footing
as flawed human beings who had hurt each other deeply and would do
anything to repair the damage.  Tuvok had never seen two people more
miserable than Tom and Kathryn when they thought their friendship was
over.

There was a wistful expression on B'Elanna's face as she watched the
pair take their positions around the pool table.  She knew Tom and the
captain had talked after he got out of the brig, but Tom had never
shared the details with her.  They didn't seem to talk about much
these days.

---

Tom's luck wasn't holding out.  Katie seemed to have gotten her game
back in the second round; she was calling complicated shots and
sinking most of them easily.  He bet her double or nothing which,
since Kathryn had already doubled the bet, was a lot.  He lost.

Kathryn turned over the slip of paper she'd placed on the bar earlier
and read it out loud.  "Personal wake up call and breakfast in bed for
two weeks."  She mentally adjusted the time period for their doubled
and redoubled bet and smirked at Tom, handing him her pool cue.  "I'll
see you at 0600 tomorrow, Tom."  She swaggered to the door, calling
back over her shoulder, "And don't forget the coffee."

---

The End