Illusions!!

Tom was excited about the away mission, the planet they had found appeared to be a paradise, from all the scans they had done on it and he wanted to spend some time alone with B'Elanna, they had both been busy and they hadn't seen much of each other lately. He missed her terribly and looked forward to this time together, even if it was on a mission to explore the planet, to be sure it was safe, before Captain Janeway began granting shore leave. Right now he was putting together what he would need for the trip, then his door chimed, "Enter"

"Tom, are you ready to go?" B'Elanna asked as she strode into his quarters.

"Yeah, I am really looking forward to some time alone with you." Tom took her in his arms, caressing her face with his hand, then kissed her gently.

"Me too, I have really missed you lately Tom, we both have been so busy." She then kissed him in return, a little deeper this time.

"Um, we better get going or Chakotay and Harry will be wondering where we are."

"Oh, I am sure they won't be wondering." B'Elanna had a very mischievous smile on her face, Tom never ceased to amaze her, he could always make her smile.

"Let's go B'Elanna, you have everything?"

"Yes, shall we?" They walked out of his quarters arm in arm and walked down the corridor to the turbo lift.

They stepped off the turbo lift and into the shuttle bay, where the Delta Flyer, Chakotay, and Harry were all waiting. Harry had just finished loading all the supplies that they would need and turned to take the supplies that Tom and B'Elanna had with them, "You guys ready? I am excited, it's been a long time since we found a planet like this one."

Tom couldn't help but smile at Harry's enthusiasm, he was glad it hadn't diminished after all this time. "Yeah Harry, we are ready, I don't have to ask if you are."

"If you two are finished, can we get this mission started?" Chakotay asked.

"Sorry Commander, we are ready." Harry replied.

The four officers climbed aboard the Delta Flyer, taking their seats, as Tom fired up the engines and prepared to depart Voyager. He was anxious to get down to the planet, but he was also getting a bad feeling about the whole thing. The trip down to the planet was uneventful, everyone on board concentrating on the tasks at hand and preparing for landing. Tom loved flying the Delta Flyer and took any opportunity to do so. He was glad they were not beaming down for this mission, they needed to bring back as many samples as possible, it would be easier to take a shuttle, plus they needed the equipment on board to analyze the samples.

"Everyone has their assignments?" Chakotay asked.

"Yeah, B'Elanna and I are to explore the area and gather samples along the way." Tom said.

"I am to catalog and analyze the samples, then put them into canisters to take back to Voyager." Harry said.

"Right, I am to determine which samples are most edible and should be gathered in large quantities." Chakotay finished.

The shuttle set down, they barely felt it, Tom was smiling at his piloting skills, "We're here."

"Thank you Mr. Paris, for the soft landing." Chakotay said.

"Your welcome sir, we can disembark now."

They all gathered their supplies and exited the shuttle, Tom breathed deep of the fresh, sweet smelling air. It was so nice after the artificial air on Voyager. He looked at B'Elanna and smiled, she was enjoying the sweet air too, their eyes locked for a moment and a silent message of joy and love passed between them. He nodded in the direction that they were to start exploring and they headed off together.

"Be careful you two, we don't know everything about this planet yet."

"Don't worry Commander, we will be fine." Tom replied, if only he knew.

"Have fun exploring you two." Harry yelled after them.

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As soon as they were out of sight of the shuttle, Tom stopped walking and turned to B'Elanna, moving close to her, "Now that we are alone, can I tell you something?"

"Of course Tom." She gazed into his sparkling blue eyes, wanting desperately to kiss him.

"I love you B'Elanna, like I have loved no other woman." Then he kissed her and drew her into his arms, he had been longing to hold her.

B'Elanna pulled away briefly "Tom, I love you too, it still amazes me that we seemed to hate each other when we first met."

"Yeah, it does, I can't remember what that was like anymore, the only thing I feel now is love." He kissed her again, letting it linger and enjoying the taste of her lips.

Finally B'Elanna pulled away, breathless "Tom we have work to do, as much as I want to, we can't stand here like this all day."

Tom sighed. "Your right of course, lets get to work."

They began walking around the area, it was a paradise and they were enjoying each others company, immensely. Tom held her hand securely in his, loving the feel of her soft, warm hand in his. This planet seemed almost too good to be true, that thought brought back the bad feelings he had about the place, it was too perfect. He saw what appeared to be a ravine, with a rock outcropping that overlooked it, he thought it would give him a good view of the entire area, so he let go of B'Elanna's hand and moved in that direction.

"Tom, what are you doing?"

"I want to take a look at this ravine, if I step out on this outcropping, I should be able to see everything." He took one step on the outcropping, he heard B'Elanna's voice, but didn't register what she was saying, until it was too late.

B'Elanna couldn't believe what she was seeing, for some reason Tom thought there was an outcropping over that ravine, but she didn't see one, "Tom, there is no outcropping there, what are you talking about?" She realized that her words were too late, as Tom disappeared from view. "TOM" She screamed, then ran to the edge of the ravine, which only turned out to be about twenty five feet deep.

When Tom took the next step, he realized that there was nothing there, it had been an illusion. His heart began to pound, he thought he was going to die, the ravine must be at least a hundred feet deep. He tried to grab hold of something, to stop the fall, but found nothing. The impact with the ground came much sooner than he expected and he wasn't dead, but the pain in his body was tremendous and he was suddenly overcome by darkness.

B'Elanna tried to use her comm. badge to call Commander Chakotay, but it didn't work. She wasn't sure what to do, she didn't want to leave Tom alone, but she needed help to get him out of the ravine. She decided to go for help, Tom should be safe there for the few minutes that it would take her to run back to the shuttle. She looked around, things seemed different than before, like it had changed. Now she was really confused, perhaps she should go to Tom, if he wasn't too badly injured, maybe they could get back to the shuttle together. She moved to the edge of the ravine and looked down at the man she loved, he was not moving, he lay crumpled at the bottom, laying against a large boulder, she could see blood on his head, this worried her greatly. She tried to find an easy way down and after a moment, she began to move down the side, it only took a few minutes to get to the bottom, since it was only about twenty five feet down.

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Chakotay was beginning to worry, Tom and B'Elanna should have been back by now, he and Harry had been cataloging and analyzing the samples they had gathered from the area right around the shuttle, several would be good in food, or as a spice, so they were having some luck. He decided to try his comm. badge, "Tom, B'Elanna, come in, how is it going?" No response, "Tom, B'Elanna? Do you read me?" Still no answer. "Harry, try yours."

"Yes sir." Harry said, "Tom, B'Elanna, come in." Nothing.

"This is strange, something doesn't feel right about this place, stay with the shuttle Mr. Kim, I am going to look for them."

"Aye sir."

Chakotay headed off in the direction that Tom and B'Elanna had gone, but it seemed different somehow, like it had changed, like the original landscape had been an illusion. He was very worried now, what if he couldn't find them. He decided to try contacting the ship, "Away team to Voyager, come in Voyager." Nothing again, he was beginning to wonder what kind of mess they had gotten into, he just hoped that Tom and B'Elanna were all right and that he could find them.

Once B'Elanna was at the bottom of the ravine, she moved quickly to Tom, he still wasn't moving and she began to fear he was dead. "Tom, can you hear me?" Nothing, no response. She took out her tricorder and ran it over him, he had a pulse and was breathing, but he had several injuries, all of which could be a problem without immediate medical attention, she knew that wasn't going to happen, "Tom, hang on please?" She took off her tunic and put it over him, he was beginning to go into shock and he needed to be kept warm. She then began to look around, to see if there was a way to get him out of the ravine, but she saw nothing, she needed Chakotay and Harry's help. She decided to climb back out and go looking for them, they had to be there somewhere, even if the look of the landscape had changed. "Tom, if you can hear me, I am going for help, I will be back as quick as I can, please hang on." She kissed his mouth gently, then climbed back up the ravine.

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Captain Janeway was beginning to worry, there had been no word from the away team yet, they should have checked in by now, "Janeway to away team, come in." Nothing, "Seven, what do your scans show?"

"I have them on scan, but they are not together, one of them seems to have below normal vitals and is not moving, the others all seem to be moving around, I, however cannot get a lock on any of them."

"Keep trying, any idea who is possibly injured?"

"No"

"Very well, keep me posted on any changes." She was worried, from what Seven said, it would seem one of them was injured, possibly severely and she could not make contact with them. She was not about to send anyone else down there until she knew what was going on. Seven's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Captain, there is some kind of interference in the atmosphere, it's like nothing we've encountered before, I don't know why the ships sensors didn't pick it up before."

"Can we cut through it somehow?"

"I'm not sure, since it's an unfamiliar anomaly, but I will do my best."

"Thank you Seven, keep me posted, I will be in my ready room."

"Aye Captain"

Janeway was worried, if only she knew what was going on down there and which member of her crew was injured. She couldn't afford to lose any of her crew, especially the ones on the surface of that planet. She hated these situations, when everything was out of her control and there was nothing she could do to help the members of her crew, at least not right now. She went to the replicator, "Coffee, hot." Then waited for the one source of pleasure she had these days, a hot cup of coffee. All she could do now was wait and see what Seven came up with.

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Tom was slowly beginning to come too, but he wished he wasn't, because pain was shooting through his entire body, especially his head. He slowly reached up to his forehead, feeling moisture there, he looked at his fingers, they were covered with blood, he groaned and wondered what he was going to do now. He called out, "B'Elanna?" but there was no answer, where was she, he knew she wouldn't just leave him behind, so where was she? "B'Elanna?" he called again, still nothing.

B'Elanna had been walking for what seemed like forever, but had yet to find the shuttle, finally though, she heard some noises coming from the bushes ahead and breathed a sigh of relief as Chakotay stepped through, "Thank god Chakotay, I couldn't find the shuttle."

"Yes, there is definitely something wrong with this planet, where's Tom?"

"You have to help me, he fell into a ravine, he's hurt pretty bad Chakotay, we have to get him out of here."

"How did he do that?" He asked as they began to move back in the direction that she had come.

"He saw an outcropping of rocks over it, but there wasn't, it was some kind of illusion."

"I think there is something in the air on this planet that makes us see things, but I don't know what."

"All I know is that Tom needs medical attention."

"How far did he fall?"

"About 25 feet, but he hit a large boulder at the bottom, I checked him before I went for help, he had a pulse and was breathing, but he had several injuries, including a head injury."

"Ok, we will get him out of the ravine and back to the shuttle."

"I'm so glad I found you Chakotay, I was beginning to get angry, because I couldn't find the shuttle."

They reached the ravine and looked down, Tom was conscious, but they could see he was in a lot of pain, "This isn't going to be easy, it's going to cause him a lot of pain." Chakotay said.

"We don't have a choice, we can't leave him there."

"No, I just hope he can take it."

"Well, it might be better if he lost consciousness, then he wouldn't feel the pain."

"Good point B'Elanna."

They carefully made their way down to Tom, he watched their decent with pain filled eyes, which could not focus very well. His head was pounding and his left leg hurt something awful, as well as his ribs and he knew he had bruises all over his body. "B'Elanna" his voice was very weak now, blood loss and shock were taking their toll on him.

"Yes Tom, I am here and so is Chakotay, we are going to get you out of here, but it's going to hurt."

"Just do it."

"Tom, if you need to pass out, do it, don't fight it." Chakotay told him.

"Thank you Commander, I will remember that." He then looked at B'Elanna, "I love you B'Elanna, I had to say that, in case I don't get another chance."

"Tom, stop talking like that, your going to be fine." She took his hand and squeezed it gently. "I love you too."

"All right Tom, this is going to hurt like hell." Chakotay and B'Elanna began to gently pick Tom up, he moaned several times, then Chakotay finally had him over his shoulder, which wasn't easy, since Tom was so tall. He let B'Elanna go ahead of him, so she could help pull him up. He knew Tom was unconscious, because he wasn't moving or making a sound. It took a little time, but they got out of the ravine with Tom, Chakotay laid him down on the ground, so he could rest a moment and catch his breath. "He's unconscious now, it should make it easier to carry him the rest of the way back to the shuttle."

"Yes, his breathing has become shallow and his skin is clammy."

"He's in shock."

"I know, we have to help him Chakotay, he can't die."

"He won't die, I promise B'Elanna, he's the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Yes he is, I have never been loved by anyone, the way he loves me."

"I know and I have seen the changes in you, you don't get angry quite so easily."

"We better get going, he doesn't have a lot of time, we need to get him back to Voyager." She watched Chakotay nod, then she helped him get Tom over his shoulder again, Tom was motionless, it scared her to see him like that. They walked as quickly as they could, but the landscape had changed again, at least to B'Elanna it had, but to Chakotay it was the same, she was being effected by whatever it was, more than he was. "Chakotay, the landscape has changed completely again."

"What are you talking about? It looks the same to me."

"Have you been outside since we got here?'

"No, I was in the shuttle most of the time, only when you two didn't return, did I come out to look for you."

"That must be it, it has to be something in the air, since you weren't exposed to it as long as we were, your not seeing things."

"What could it be? And why don't the communicators work?"

"I don't know, nothing was picked up on the scans we ran."

"We will have to do some further analysis when we get back to the shuttle, and once we are aboard Voyager."

"It will be interesting to see the results."

"Yes" Chakotay felt relief flood him as the shuttle came into view, they hadn't gotten lost. He watched Harry come out of the shuttle, he didn't like the look on his face, "Harry, help me with Tom."

"What happened?"

"Long story, we need to get him back to Voyager fast."

"That's going to be a problem." Harry said as he helped Chakotay lay Tom down on the diagnostic bed in the shuttle.

"What do you me Mr. Kim?"

"I was checking out the systems while you were gone, the ship will not fly, something has damaged all the systems."

"Are you sure? It seems we are sometimes hallucinating, let me check them."

"Yes sir." Harry looked down at his best friend, who was unconscious and did not look at all well, "What happened B'Elanna?"

"It is a long story, lets just say he saw an illusion and it caused him to fall down a ravine."

"These hallucinations, what have they been like?"

"Very strange, one person sees them, but the other doesn't, they seem very real, I thought the landscape kept changing, but since Chakotay had been inside the shuttle most of the time, he didn't see anything."

"It must be in the air then."

"Yeah, that's what we thought, but why didn't the scans we did, pick it up?"

"I don't know, unless it's something they aren't familiar with, so they didn't detect it,"

"Makes sense, we should try to adjust the scanners to pick it up."

"We have to know what it is first."

"Well, take a reading of the air outside the ship, then compare it with a sample inside the ship."

"B'Elanna, your a genius."

"Thanks" She looked at Tom, he seemed so lifeless, which was not like him at all, it worried her.

"Lets get started, we need to get out of here and get Tom some medical attention."

"Why don't you tend to him B'Elanna, while I collect the samples."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he needs to have his injuries tended to."

"Thanks Harry."

"Sure, he is my best friend."

"I know, he will be fine though, I know he will, he's too tough to die."

B'Elanna picked up a medical tricorder, as Harry began to collect samples, using the ships sensors, she ran the tricorder over Tom, noting his injuries and her brow furrowed with each one. He had a broken leg, several broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a severe head injury, with a gash on his forehead. She sighed and Chakotay heard her.

"B'Elanna, is everything all right?"

"No, he has a lot of injuries, some severe and I don't know what to do for him."

"Just do the best you can, the shuttle is out of commission right now, but I couldn't tell you why." His own brow was furrowed as he read the readout on his padd.

"What can we do? Have you tried contacting Voyager?"

"Yes, that didn't work either."

"What are we going to do Chakotay? If we don't get Tom back to Voyager soon, he's going to die."

"I know, do what you can for him and keep me posted on his condition."

"Yes sir."

"Harry, how are those tests coming?"

"I am getting some useful information Commander, it is definitely something in the air, the more your exposed to it, the worse the hallucinations, I am afraid Tom is going to start having severe ones, if he wakes up, because he has an open wound, so it got directly into his blood stream."

"Great, just what we needed, any idea how bad it will get?"

"No, I still don't know what's causing it, I need to go out and examine the plants, to see if it's coming from them, or something else."

"If you do, wear a suit."

"Yes sir"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Janeway sat in her ready room, drinking her 3rd cup of coffee and pouring over all the reports on her padd. There was no new information and still no contact from the away team, she was very worried. The door chimed, "Enter"

"Captain, we have completed a new set of scans, they still don't show anything new." Tuvok said.

"Tuvok, what do you think we should do? I have been racking my brains and I can't come up with anything."

"We could send down another shuttle, have the crew wear contamination suits and pick up the others."

"But if there's something that's causing malfunctions, is that safe?"

"If they don't stay there any longer than necessary, perhaps it's only long term exposure."

"Can we afford to take that risk?"

"That is your decision Captain, I am willing to go, if you decide to go that route and so is Seven."

"Thank you Tuvok, I will make a decision within the hour."

"Yes Captain."

"Tuvok?"

"Yes Captain?"

"You and Seven begin preparations to go down there, but I have not decided that is the best way, just be prepared."

"Yes Captain, I will let Seven know."

"Thank you Tuvok." She watched him leave, then went back to the readout on her padd, she had never felt so uncertain, her concern for whoever was injured, had her distracted. She tried to concentrate on the situation at hand, letting the information flow through her mind, searching for an answer, but right now, none was forthcoming. She settled into the chair and began going over the information again, she sighed and took a sip of coffee, this was frustrating.

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Tom began to come to, his head was pounding and he felt very weak and sore, he moaned and opened his eyes. He was shocked to see his father standing there, how had he gotten here? probably came to gloat at yet another failure by his son, "Father? Are you here to gloat?"

"Tom, it's Chakotay, not your father."

"Chakotay?" It took a moment for that information to register, his mind was filled with images that weren't real.

"Yes Tom, how are you feeling?"

"Awful, what's going on?"

"We're aboard the Delta Flyer, it would seem something in the air on this planet affects the mind and mechanical equipment, the ship is disabled right now, but try to hang on, we will get you back to Voyager as soon as we can."

"All right," He said it as he drifted back into unconsciousness, the familiar, yet unfamiliar visions coming back to him. He was suddenly back at the academy, on the day that the "Accident" occurred and he killed his three best friends, the guilt he had felt about that had been palpable and it seemed that way now, as he relived every horrifying minute of their deaths. "No" he cried out softly, "Please no"

"Tom, wake up Tom." B'Elanna was worried, Tom was having horrible dreams and she wanted him to wake up. It hurt her to see him like this, granted he had been in worse shape before, but that was before she realized that she loved him, now any kind of physical or emotional pain he felt, hurt her too. "Tom"

"B'Elanna? What are you doing here?"

"Doing where Tom?" She wanted to know what kind of nightmare he was experiencing.

"At this inquiry, about the accident, what are you doing here?"

"Take it easy Tom, your not at that inquiry, that was a long time ago." She now knew he was reliving the worst time in his entire life, she wanted to stop it, but didn't know how. "Tom, wake up, I don't want you to go through all that."

"B'Elanna, I love you."

"Tom, I love you too." She watched his eyes open, there was confusion and uncertainty in them at first, then she saw recognition, so she smiled at him and brushed his hair back from his forehead. "How are you doing Tom?"

"I hurt all over B'Elanna, really bad."

"I know Tom, try to hold on, for me?"

"I will try"

"I will give you something for the pain." She then bent and gently kissed him, tasting his warm, soft lips, she loved to kiss him, it made her feel more alive than she had ever felt in her life. She put the hypo-spray to his neck and injected a pain killer, it was all she could do, the regenerator was not on board. "That should help the pain Tom, just try to stay with us."

"I will, but these images seem so real."

"I know, you were more severely exposed to whatever it is in the air, since you had an open wound and it got directly into your blood stream."

"Great, so that's why I thought I saw an outcropping, but there wasn't one?"

"Yes, the landscape appeared to change to me too, just Chakotay and Harry weren't really exposed, because they were in the shuttle most of the time."

"Great, might know my volunteering for this would turn into a disaster, just because I wanted to be with you."

"Tom, don't blame yourself, it warms my heart to know you wanted to be alone with me so badly." She bent and kissed him again, then when he was asleep again, she went to Chakotay. "I don't know if I can do this Chakotay, not being able to do anything is so frustrating, I feel like I am standing there watching him die." Her hands were clenched in fists.

Chakotay took her hands in his and pulled her fingers out, breaking the tight fists she had made, "B'Elanna, I understand how you feel, but this stress is not going to help, try to relax and keep the faith." He pulled her to him and hugged her, "It will be all right B'Elanna, he's a fighter."

"I know he is, but he won't be able to fight forever."

"We won't be here forever."

"I hope your right Chakotay, I really do."

"I am sure that Captain Janeway is working on a plan, she has to know that something is wrong by now."

"Yeah, your right, and she does have Seven and Tuvok to help her."

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Tuvok and Seven had been working hard, they had a shuttle ready to go, with contamination suits on board. Seven had been working for the last hour, trying to enhance the sensors, so they could try and get a better reading, or at least a lock on the away team, so they could transport them. She managed to increase them enough to get a better reading, she could now make out each individual, but still could not get a lock, she now knew who was injured and that it was bad. "Seven to the Doctor."

"What is it Seven?"

"It would seem that Mr. Paris has been seriously injured on the surface of the planet, however right now we have no way of getting him off the surface, it doesn't appear that they have used the regenerator on him, any idea why?"

"Yes, I had removed the regenerator to do scheduled maintenance, so it's not on board."

"Thank you doctor, this makes the situation more critical."

"Yes, if he's that badly injured, he needs immediate medical attention."

"I will fill the Captain in, thank you doctor, Seven out." She walked to the ready room and the door chimed, she heard Captain Janeway say "Enter" and she did. "Captain, the situation has become critical."

"How so?" She sat up straight and listened to what Seven had to say.

"I was able to enhance the sensors and acquired a more detailed scan, however I was still unable to get a lock on anyone. The scan determined that it is Mr. Paris that is injured and it's serious, I checked with the doctor, because it hadn't appeared that they had used the regenerator on Mr. Paris, the doctor informed me that it wasn't on board, he had removed it for scheduled maintenance, so they have no way to treat Mr. Paris's injuries, we need to get him back aboard Voyager as soon as possible."

"That is serious, you and Tuvok prepare to depart in the shuttle as soon as possible, let me know when your ready to go."

"Very well Captain" She turned and left the ready room, she was worried about Tom, he was annoying sometimes, but he had befriended her when most of the crew had not, she hadn't forgotten his kindness. "Mr. Tuvok, the Captain wants us to get ready to go down in the shuttle, it is imperative that we get Mr. Paris back to Voyager as soon as possible."

"Very well, I will go to the shuttle bay and begin preparations."

"I am going to sick bay, we need all the medical supplies we can get, do you think we should bring the doctor?"

"No, we don't know what would happen to him down there, it's obvious that whatever is going on down there, is effecting the machinery as well."

"All right, I will get instructions from him on what to do for Mr. Paris."

"Could you tell what his injuries were?"

"Not specifically, but they were numerous, his vital signs were very weak, and he seemed to have a fever."

"All right, lets get going, we need to get in and out as quick as possible."

"What about the Delta Flyer? we can't leave it behind."

"I don't know yet, we will have to assess the situation when we get there."

"Very well, I will meet you in the shuttle bay in 15 minutes." Seven then stepped onto the turbo lift and headed for sick bay.

A few moments later, Seven walked into sickbay. "Doctor?"

"Yes Seven, I am here."

"I need whatever medical supplies we might need for Mr. Paris, so we can begin to treat him as soon as we get down to the surface."

"I really should go with you."

"We don't know what effect the planet will have on you, it is affecting the mechanical systems and we can't take the risk."

"It could be dangerous for you too Seven, your neural implants."

"The risk is minimal and I will be wearing a decontamination suit."

"Very well, I will put together a med. kit for you, it should have what you need, but since you don't know what his injuries are, I can only guess."

"That will suffice Doctor, I think we can adapt." She took the kit he handed her and headed for the door.

"Good luck Seven, get Tom back here as fast as you can."

"We will doctor, don't worry." She went out the door and headed for the Shuttle bay. When she walked in, the shuttle was ready to go and Tuvok was behind the controls. "Seven to the Captain."

"Go ahead Seven."

"We are ready to depart, I have obtained the necessary medical supplies from the doctor."

"Very good Seven, hurry back and be careful."

"We will."

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While Captain Janeway, Tuvok, and Seven were making their plans aboard Voyager, Harry was getting ready to go outside and check the warp nacelles on the Delta Flyer, to see if he could get them operational, Chakotay was also going outside to gather more samples, to see if he could find out what was causing the illusions. Both Chakotay and Harry were wearing the decontamination suits, they would not risk any further injuries, because of the hallucinations. "B'Elanna, we will be back as soon as we can, take care of Tom while we are gone."

"I will try Chakotay, but his pulse is getting weaker and he's in shock."

"I know B'Elanna, just try your best and don't give up hope."

"All right Chakotay, be careful you two."

"We will, let Tom know I am thinking of him." Harry piped up.

"I will Harry". B'Elanna had been getting more and more worried as Tom seemed to be slipping away before her eyes and she couldn't do anything. "Hang on Tom, you've been through so much in your life, don't give up now that you've got everything you could ever want."

"B'Elanna?"

"Yes Tom, I'm here."

"I do have most of what I want, you and my position on Voyager, but I don't have my fathers approval."

"Tom, if he knew all that you have accomplished in the Delta quadrant, he would definitely approve."

"I don't know B'Elanna, he almost never approved of anything I did."

"I'm sorry Tom, that's not right, but it's all in the past."

"Not at the moment, my mind is filled with images of him and my past."

"I'm sorry Tom, it's the effects of this planet, but none of it is real."

"It feels real." Tom's blue eyes drifted shut again as pain and weakness overwhelmed his body.

"Hang on Tom" She realized after a moment that Tom wasn't breathing, she panicked at first, then began to perform mouth to mouth on him, it was the only thing she could do. It took some time, but she got him breathing again and then gave him something to help ease his pain. "B'Elanna to Chakotay"

"Go ahead B'Elanna." He could hear the fear in her voice.

"We need to get out of here, Tom stopped breathing, I had to do mouth to mouth to get him breathing again."

"All right B'Elanna, don't panic, I will help Harry and see if we can get the ship operational again."

"Please hurry Chakotay."

"We will B'Elanna, just stay calm."

"Something has to happen soon, or Tom will die." She was having difficulty staying in control, she didn't know what she would do if Tom died, he was the most precious gift she had ever been given and did not want to lose him. She bent and kissed his lips gently, wanting him to be all right.

"I know B'Elanna, we will work as fast as we can."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The images in Tom's mind were frightening and he tried to hide from them, he didn't want to see all this, all over again. The images disappeared as he stopped breathing, all he felt was panic, certain he would die, the longer his breathing was stopped, the less he felt. He did feel B'Elanna trying to give him mouth to mouth, breathing life into him, after a short time, his breathing came back to him and he could do it on his own, but the experience had terrified him. There had been many times in his life when all he wanted to do was die, so he could end the pain and guilt that overwhelmed him, but now was not one of them, he didn't want to lose everything he had gained. He was truly in love, for the first time in his life, there had been others, but it wasn't the kind of love he felt for B'Elanna. For the first time in his life he had a sense of accomplishment and pride, he was finally a person that others respected and trusted, he hadn't felt that in a long time, so he didn't want to lose that now. His eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was B'Elanna's beautiful face, her eyes were so full of concern and love, what had he done to deserve her, "B'Elanna, I owe you my life."

"No Tom, all you owe me is your promise not to give up, I couldn't bare to lose you."

"B'Elanna, I won't give up, for the first time in my life, I want to live, because I love you and want to be with you."

"Tom..." Tears filled her eyes and she could not stop them, she felt his hand on her cheek, wiping the tears away and she reached up and took it, holding it in her hand tightly. "I love you, I never thought it would be possible to love someone as much as I love you." She then leaned down and they shared a gentle, warm kiss, before Tom lost consciousness again. "Chakotay, how is it coming?"

"I think we may be having some luck, just a little more time and I think we will have the Flyer operational again."

"Good, because I don't know how much longer Tom has."

"I understand, we are working quickly."

"Ok Chakotay, keep me informed."

"I will B'Elanna, you know that."

"Yes, I do."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

As Chakotay and Harry were working on the Delta Flyer, Seven and Tuvok were getting ready to depart Voyager, not knowing what to expect or how badly injured Tom was, they only hoped they got there in time, with the medical supplies. "Mr. Tuvok, I show all systems are go for departure."

"Thank you Seven, lets get this over with, that planet is dangerous."

"Indeed, it would seem that it is very dangerous, especially since it gives the appearance of being paradise, but it's not."

"No, it is not."

"Lets get moving Mr. Paris is running out of time."

"That is a logical assumption, since we don't know his exact condition, but the scans did indicate that his vital signs were alarmingly low."

Seven nodded, as she keyed in the commands to make the shuttle begin the launch sequence, "Launch sequence initiated," The shuttle lifted off the surface of the shuttle bay, slightly, then moved towards the large opening that it would leave Voyager through, the stars outside shined brightly. The faint blue glow of the force field, diminished the brightness of the stars, until they were clear of it, then they sparkled in all their glory.

"Initiating thrusters, prepare for atmospheric interface." Tuvok said.

"All system are within normal parameters."

"Be prepared, that may change when we enter that atmosphere."

"Yes sir, I have backup systems on line."

"Very good."

They then fell into silence, the only sounds were that of the computer, performing it's functions. Once they began to enter the atmosphere, the shuttle began to shake from turbulence and the engines began to cut out some.

"We better make this quick, or we won't get out of here either."

"Yes, there is definitely some kind of anomaly in the air that effects mechanical equipment and the mind." Tuvok replied.

"Preparing for landing, we can only get within 20 kilometers from where the Delta Flyer is, they seem to be in a very rocky area." Seven began to run a scan, "Mr. Tuvok, it looks like they have the Delta Fly operational, the sensors indicate that the engines are powering up."

"Try to hail them"

"Affirmative, Seven to the Delta Flyer, come in Delta Flyer." No response, "Communications appear to still be out,"

"All right, lets wait and see what they do, be prepared to depart quickly."

"Aye Mr. Tuvok."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Back aboard the Delta Flyer, Harry and Chakotay had the ship ready for launch, there was urgency in their actions now, Tom had fallen into a coma and his pulse was even weaker than before, without medical attention, he would soon die. "All right Harry, lets give this a try, I just hope we don't crash."

"Aye sir, I wish Tom were piloting this thing, instead of me."

"You'll do fine Harry, just take it easy."

"Aye sir, beginning launch sequence."

B'Elanna was in the seat behind Chakotay, she had made sure that Tom was securely on the bio-bed, so he wouldn't fall off, he didn't need any more injuries. She felt the shuttle lift off the ground and a surge of hope went through her, maybe Tom would survive this, then as the shuttle climbed, so did her hope.

No sooner had she felt hope, then the shuttle pitched and began a drastic decent, they were going to crash.

"I can't control it." Harry yelled.

"Hang on everyone, we are going down." Chakotay replied.

"Tom" B'Elanna cried, then tried to turn and move back to the bio-bed, but by the time she got out of her chair, he had already rolled off the bio-bed and landed heavily on the floor, B'Elanna cringed as she heard his head hit the floor hard. "Damn" She cried, then the shuttle hit the ground and everyone was thrown to the floor. B'Elanna got to her feet quickly and moved to Tom's motionless form, she rolled him over and found his head was bleeding again and his pulse was weak. B'Elanna silently prayed that they would get out of this and Tom would live, she didn't know what she would do without him. After a moment, Chakotay was next to her, "Help me get him back on the bed Chakotay."

Chakotay gently lifted Tom up and placed him back on the bed, B'Elanna grabbed his legs and got them back on the bed, trying to be careful of his broken leg, "B'Elanna, do what you can for him, I am going to check the damage."

"All right Chakotay, but we have to get out of here."

"I know B'Elanna, try not to panic, Harry, see if you can get any systems back on line."

"Aye sir." Harry had a bump on his head, but was otherwise all right.

B'Elanna ran a tricorder over Tom again, he was in worse shape than before, but he seemed to be coming to, "Tom, can you hear me?"

"Kes? I thought you were gone, I have missed your bright smile."

"Tom, it's B'Elanna, can you hear me?"

"Kes, it seems so strange that I was in love with you at one time, now that I love B'Elanna, it doesn't seem like I could ever have loved anyone else."

"Tom please, your scaring me." She knew it was the effects of this planet, but it still frightened her to see Tom having these hallucinations, they brought back painful memories for him. She saw his eyes begin to clear a little,

"B'Elanna?" He then moaned in pain.

"Yes Tom, I am here." She gently stroked his soft hair, trying to soothe him.

"What happened?"

"We tried to take off, but the shuttle crashed."

"Are you all right?" His brow creased with worry, which sent pain through his skull.

"I am fine Tom, you just relax and let me take care of you." She then bent and kissed him gently. She watched him drift back into unconsciousness and prayed he would make it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Seven and Tuvok watched in horror as the Delta Flyer went crashing back to the surface. They quickly lifted off in their shuttle and headed to the location of the crash, hoping that it hadn't been too severe, they hadn't gotten all that much altitude before it crashed. As they approached the Flyer, they saw that it was now in a place where they could get much closer, so it wouldn't be much of a walk to get there. Seven began preparing for their walk to the Flyer, as Tuvok landed the shuttle, they saw no signs of movement, but they knew the others probably wouldn't exit the shuttle unless they had too. "I have everything ready Lt. Tuvok, we can depart when you are ready."

"Very well, do you have all the medical supplies?'

"Yes, they are ready."

"Good, lets go, we aren't going to have a lot of time."

"I know, this planet will begin to affect our shuttle as well, not to mention that Mr. Paris is running out of time."

"There is no time to waste, lets go." Tuvok said as he put the helmet of the decontamination suit on, then opened the door of the shuttle and stepped out. It seemed like a tranquil planet, but there was something deadly and destructive about it, what they still didn't know. He watched Seven step out behind him, then closed the door to the shuttle, they began walking quickly towards the Delta Flyer, trying to get there as quickly as possible. "Seven, when we get to the Delta Flyer, I want to get Tom moved to our shuttle right away and headed back to Voyager, we can't waste time treating him aboard the Flyer, just do enough to keep him alive, until we get him aboard our shuttle."

"That is a wise course of action, I can begin treating him on the way back to Voyager,"

"Myself and Ensign Kim will stay behind and try to get the Delta Flyer back to Voyager."

"Perhaps I should stay, I could be of much more use."

"You have a point, I can take Commander Chakotay and Lt. Torres back with Lt. Paris."

"That would make the most sense." They walked the rest of the way in silence, both worried about what they would find when they got to the Delta Flyer.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ B'Elanna jumped when the door to the Delta Flyer hissed open, she had not been expecting it, but she felt relief flood her body as Tuvok and Seven stepped aboard. "Thank god, Tom is hurt bad, we need to get him back to Voyager fast."

"We know, I have brought some medical supplies, if you will allow me, I will get him stabilized, then we have to get him to our shuttle, before it is effected by this planet as well."

"Please, we haven't been able to do much for him, except ease his pain."

Seven began running the medical tricorder over Tom, he was in a coma and his pulse was barely registering, "He is comatose, this should help stabilize him some, then we will move him." She put the hypo spray to his neck and injected a drug into him that would help stabilize his vitals. "Lets go, Tuvok and Chakotay can carry Tom over to the other shuttle, Lt. Torres, will you take this medical equipment with you? Mr. Kim and I are going to stay and get the Delta Flyer out of here."

"All right, you sure you don't want me to stay?"

"No Lt. you need to be with Mr. Paris, he needs you more right now, Mr. Kim and I will manage."

"She's right B'Elanna, you should be with Tom."

"All right, good luck."

"And to you Lt. I do hope that Mr. Paris will be all right."

B'Elanna headed out the door of the Flyer, right behind Chakotay and Tuvok, who were carefully carrying Tom to the other shuttle. She turned back to the Flyer and saw Harry watching after them, "He'll be all right Harry, I know he will."

"I hope so B'Elanna."

"He'll be up and around by the time you get that thing back to Voyager." She hoped, they still needed to get this shuttle off the planet.

Unlike the Flyer, this shuttle did not have a bio-bed, so Chakotay got Tom as comfortable as possible in the back of the shuttle, as Tuvok got the shuttle's engines started and ready for liftoff, to his relief the engines did start and the shuttle began to climb into the atmosphere as B'Elanna moved beside him. "Do what you can B'Elanna, as soon as Voyager has a transporter lock, they will beam him straight to sickbay."

"I know Chakotay, but I am still worried, his pulse is still barely registering, even after giving him that hypo spray."

"Keep the faith B'Elanna, keep the faith." He patted her on the shoulder and let her be alone with Tom.

"Hang on Tom, we are almost back to Voyager." She doubted that he could hear her, but she needed to say it to him. She stroked his hair, hoping he could feel her touch and that it gave him some comfort.

"B'Elanna, we have made contact with Voyager, they are going to beam Tom to sickbay, standby." Chakotay said.

"Me too, please?"

"They can only transport one at a time, but as soon as they've got Tom, they will beam you next."

"Thank you Chakotay."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Relief flooded Captain Janeway as she heard Chakotay's voice crackle over the Comm channel. "Commander, it's good to hear your voice, what is your situation?"

"If you can get a lock on Tom, he needs to be transported to Sickbay immediately, he is barely alive."

"All right, we will beam him out immediately, how bad is it Chakotay?"

"Very bad Captain, Tom actually stopped breathing once, he is seriously injured and has been bleeding internally."

"All right, we have a lock, we are beaming him to sickbay, Doctor, Lt. Paris should be arriving there any minute, he's in serious condition."

"Aye Captain, he's here now, I will do what I can."

"Keep me posted Doctor."

"Yes Captain"

"Janeway out."

"Captain, can you beam B'Elanna to sickbay too?"

"Is she injured as well?"

"Not physically, if you know what I mean."

"Yes Chakotay I know what you mean, we will beam her too,"

"Thank you Captain, she has been a wreck."

"I can understand that, report to me as soon as your on board, I want a full report."

"Aye Captain, Chakotay out."

Captain Janeway stood from her command chair and headed for the turbo lift, she was going to check on Tom, he had managed to find a special place in her heart and she hoped he would be all right, he has come such a long way from when they first met, she hated to see that lost. She strode into the sickbay to find the Doctor working feverishly over Tom, B'Elanna was off to the side, looking very worried, "Report"

"He's in bad shape Captain, I am doing all I can, if we had gotten a regenerator on his injuries right away, this would be easy, but now I am trying to regenerate badly damaged tissue, it's not going to be easy."

"Well, you can do it doctor, you have to"

"I know Captain, I have learned a lot from Mr. Paris and I would hate to lose him." The doctor continued to work on Tom, his brow was creased from concentration and worry.

"Keep me posted Doctor."

"Yes Captain."

"B'Elanna, how are you holding up?"

"I'm all right Captain."

"No your not, I can see that your not."

"I'm sorry, it was so hard to stand by and watch him slowly die in front of me and there was nothing I could do."

"You did everything you could and more I am sure. I order you to go get some rest."

"I can't Captain, not until I know if Tom is going to make it."

"All right, but as soon as he's stable, I want you to get some rest."

"Yes Captain."

She turned and left, headed for her ready room and the meeting with Chakotay, she wanted to know how everything could have gone so wrong down there. They had done thorough scans of the planet before sending anyone down, they hadn't detected anything wrong, it was quite an interesting puzzle, one she planned to stick around and solve. She just hoped she didn't have to perform a funeral, but she knew Tom was a fighter and wouldn't give up easily. She walked into the ready room and ordered another cup of coffee, then took a seat and waited for Chakotay to arrive. A few moments later she heard the door chime, "Enter"

"Captain, how is Tom?"

"The doctor is working on him, but he's having a difficult time, Tom was seriously injured."

"Yes, he was, I hope the doctor can help him, I hope we weren't too late."

"Have a seat Chakotay, I am sure the doctor will pull him through."

"Yes, if it's at all possible, he will." Chakotay sighed, he was tired and worried.

"We can do this later if you like."

"No, lets get it done with." He proceeded to tell the Captain everything that had happened down on the planet and that those not exposed to the outside air, had not been effected like those who had, Tom's hallucinations were the worst, because of the contact with his blood stream. "It got pretty bad for Tom, before he fell into a coma."

"It's bad enough that Tom had to go through all that to begin with, but to relive it all, when he's fighting for his life, I can't imagine what it must have been like."

"It was hard Captain, all we could do was stand there and watch him slowly die, hallucinations flooding his mind."

"Shall we go and see how Tom is doing, the doctor is supposed to keep me posted, but I haven't heard from him in a while."

"I would like that Captain, I was very worried about Tom"

They stood and headed out the door, Janeway spoke as the turbo lift doors slid closed behind them, "I want to stay here for a while and see if we can figure out what's going on down there, we could still use some of the resources of that planet, if they actually exist."

"Sounds like a good idea Captain, hopefully Seven and Harry can get the Delta Flyer back aboard Voyager."

"They stayed behind to try and fix it, correct?"

"Yes, it shouldn't take much, unless the crash did too much damage." They stepped off the turbo lift and headed down the corridor to sickbay. When they walked through the doors, the scene wasn't much different than before, the doctor was still working on Tom, but now B'Elanna was next to Tom, holding his hand.

"Doctor, report"

"Captain, I have repaired as much of the damage as I could, the rest is up to him, all I can do now is keep him comfortable while his body heals itself."

"Why are you having so much trouble?"

"Between the deterioration of his damaged tissues, by not being repaired immediately, and some substance in his blood stream, I can't completely heal him, his body is going to have to do it on it's own."

"So your telling me that whatever effected their minds and the shuttle, down on the planet, is also effecting your ability to heal him?"

"That's correct Captain, the substance is slowly leaving his body, but it will be some time before he is well."

Janeway sighed, "All right, keep me informed."

"Yes Captain."

Janeway and Chakotay headed back to the bridge, "Chakotay, you still have all the samples that you gathered aboard the Flyer, correct?"

"Yes Captain, they are all in containers aboard the ship."

"Good, as soon as Seven and Harry get it back here, I want a team working on those samples, I want to know what's doing all of this, perhaps if we can find out, it will help in getting Tom healed."

"Yes Captain, I will head up the team, since I had already been analyzing some of the samples, I would suggest Harry and Seven be on the team as well."

"Very good, what about B'Elanna?"

"I think we should let her stay with Tom for now."

"So do I, lets find out if Seven and Harry have had any success." They stepped onto the bridge, it was quiet, only the sounds of the computer doing it's job, met her ears. "Report"

"Captain, the Flyer has lifted off, they should be in communicator range in a few minutes."

"Very good, continue to run scans on that planet, see if we can get anything new."

"Aye Captain." Tuvok bent back over his console, studying the readings very closely for anything strange.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The doctor felt helpless, he had done the best he could to help Mr. Paris, but he was still in serious condition, this strange substance in his blood was keeping him from healing. "Computer, identify the substance in this blood sample."

"There is no substance in this blood sample, it is a normal human blood sample."

That was the response he kept getting, but he knew there was a substance, the medical tricorder had detected it and he could see it in the microscope. He was very worried that whatever it was would wind up killing Mr. Paris, if his body didn't start healing soon, he would not survive.

"Doctor, how is Tom?"

"B'Elanna, there is no change, he remains in a coma, I am struggling to keep his pulse regular."

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Until I find out what this substance is, I can't help him, but the ships computer doesn't register it, only the medical tricorder and the microscope, which is very strange."

"That is strange, let me see what I can do to enhance the ships sensors, I have to do something."

"Try not to worry B'Elanna, I will keep him alive as long as I can, if nothing works, I will put him in stasis until we have an answer."

"I hope you don't have to do that Doctor."

"So do I, that would be a pretty drastic measure." He watched B'Elanna leave the sickbay, he felt for her, the man she loved was slowly dying and there didn't seem to be anything that anyone could do about it. "Doctor to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here, go ahead doctor."

"Mr. Paris is not improving, this substance is keeping him from healing, if I can't change that soon, he is going to die."

"Do what you can doctor, let me know what's going on."

"Yes Captain, I have been considering putting Mr. Paris in stasis, if we can't heal him soon,"

"That's rather drastic, but if it will keep him alive, then do what you have to, Janeway out." She turned and looked at Chakotay, they both wore the same look on their faces, deep concern.

"We made contact with the Flyer, they will be back aboard in a few minutes, they will come straight to the bridge, while the samples are off loaded."

"Very good, I want a full report from them."

"Aye Captain, the shuttle is docking now."

A few moments later Harry and Seven appeared on the bridge, they looked tired and frustrated, but otherwise fine. "Captain, whatever is going on down there is nothing I have ever seen before, it's very strange." Harry said,

"That is correct Captain, it is like nothing the Borg has ever encountered, I suggest we start analyzing the samples we have immediately."

"You, Harry and Chakotay will be doing that, Chakotay of course is in charge, I want answers and we need them quickly if we are to save Mr. Paris."

"What, he is not better?" Harry asked, looking very worried.

"I am afraid not, the substance is in his blood, it's keeping the doctor from healing him and he's not healing on his own either, the doctor is struggling to keep him alive."

"We will get you the answer Captain," Seven said coolly, but she was very worried about Tom too. The three left and headed to the lab, there was an urgency in their actions now, there was a life at stake, so no time could be wasted.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The doctor made his decision, he had to put Tom in stasis, it was the only way to save him until they could find an answer, he notified B'Elanna first, so she could have a few minutes alone with him, "Tom, hang on, the doctor is going to put you in stasis, you just have to keep fighting." She stroked his hair and gently caressed his cheek with her hand, then bent and kissed him softly, letting it linger a few moments and praying it wasn't the last time she would ever kiss him, "I love you Tom."

"B'Elanna?"

"Captain, I didn't know you were here."

"It's all right B'Elanna, he will make it, he knows how to fight and survive."

"I know Captain, but this is probably the hardest fight he has had to fight."

"Captain, B'Elanna, I am ready to put Mr. Paris into the stasis chamber, would you step back please."

The captain put her arm around B'Elanna as the doctor sealed Tom into the stasis chamber and activated it, she could feel B'Elanna stiffen as the doctor did all this, she knew B'Elanna didn't like to cry, it was a sign of weakness, but she knew B'Elanna was crying right now. "B'Elanna, I order you to go get some rest now, no arguments."

"Yes Captain." B'Elanna turned and left the sickbay, turning so that the Captain and doctor could not see her tears, she headed straight for Tom's quarters, she needed to be near him, but she couldn't so she did the next best thing, she went to his quarters and laid down on his bed. Her tears flowed harder as she breathed in his scent on the pillow and remembered how it felt to lay on that bed in his arms, feeling his love flow into her, it had been the most wonderful feeling she ever felt and the most loved she had ever felt, finally she fell asleep.
A few hours later, B'Elanna woke, at first she thought she could feel Tom's arms around her, holding her tight, but she realized it was just the aftereffects of the dream she had been having. She got up and checked the time, then headed to the lab, she wanted to know if they had come up with anything. she came into the lab to see Chakotay, Harry, and Seven all working hard, "Please tell me you've come up with something," She said as she approached Chakotay.

"Not yet B'Elanna, but we are working hard, I am sorry about Tom, but Stasis will keep him with us until we have an answer."

"I know Chakotay, it's just so hard to stand here, helpless as he barely clings to life."

Chakotay put a hand on B'Elanna's shoulder, "I know B'Elanna, I don't share the pain you feel, because your in love with him, but I am just as worried and frustrated as you are."

"Thanks Chakotay, anything I can do to help?"

"Sure, we can use all the opinions we can get."

B'Elanna began to help them with their analysis, she wanted to help Tom any way she could, there had to be an answer there somewhere. This whole thing was very strange, no matter what she had tried earlier, with the ships sensors, they would not detect the substance, only tricorders and microscopes detected it and they couldn't identify it, she had never seen anything like it.

The four of them spent hours in the lab, trying to come up with an answer, so far nothing, the Captain had come by once, to see how they were doing, she advised them that she had also stopped by sickbay and the doctor was closely monitoring Tom, his vitals were still weak, but he hadn't deteriorated any, so that was good news. They had told her there was no progress, they still didn't know how to counteract the effects of the strange substance.

Since that time however, Seven had made an interesting discovery. It seemed that whatever the substance was, it could not survive in extremely high temperatures, the question now was, could Tom withstand the amount of heat necessary to kill the substance, for it was alive. "I'm going to report this to the Captain and see if she has any suggestions." Seven said.

"I am going to show these results to the doctor, maybe he will know if this is something we can do, or if it would kill Tom." B'Elanna replied.

"Good idea, I'll come with you." Harry said, he wanted to see how Tom was doing too, he hadn't seen him for a while and he missed his friend, especially the smile he could always bring to Harry's face.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A few minutes later, B'Elanna and Harry walked into the sickbay, the doctor was standing at Tom's stasis chamber, making some adjustments to the settings, "How is he doctor?" B'Elanna asked.

"The same, what can I do for you two?" He said, turning to face them, after making one final adjustment.

"We have a way to kill the substance in Tom's body, but it requires exposing him to extreme heat, do you think he would survive that?"

"Let me see your results, it may be our only choice." The doctor took the padd from B'Elanna's hand and began to study the information.

B'Elanna moved to Tom's stasis chamber and looked at his handsome face, so pale and lifeless right now, she so desperately wanted to touch him and hold him in her arms, but she knew she couldn't. She just hoped that what they had in mind, to save his life, would not take it instead. She looked up as Harry stepped up on the other side of the chamber, "I've never seen him like this before, it's painful."

"Yes Harry, it is."

"I just know this will work B'Elanna, it has too."

"I hope so Harry, because I don't know what else to do."

"This will work you two, but it will be dangerous for Tom, we have to end the treatment the moment the substance is dead, otherwise Tom could die too,"

"That's good, when can we start?" B'Elanna asked.

"As soon as I speak to the Captain."

"Seven is doing that now." Harry said.

"All right, as soon as I hear from her then, we will start." He turned and went into his office, gathering what he would need for the procedure, he was going to leave Tom in the chamber and just pump it full of super heated air. He hoped it would work, he knew the intense heat would kill the substance, but he didn't know if it would kill his patient too.

"Captain to the doctor."

"Go ahead Captain."

"I have looked at the results that Seven gave me, they worry me, but I don't see that we have any other choice,"

"I agree Captain, I will monitor the entire procedure closely and end it the moment I can."

"Very well, proceed doctor, I am on my way down."

"Yes Captain, I will begin immediately." He gathered the tools he would need and walked back out to the stasis chamber. "The Captain has given me the go ahead, I need you to help me monitor every aspect of this procedure, if it looks like we are going to lose Tom, we have to stop, also we need to end the procedure the instant the substance is dead, no longer."

"Yes doctor, whatever you need us to do, we want Tom back with us." B'Elanna said.

"So do I B'Elanna, so do I." The doctor began to enter the necessary parameters into the computer to perform the procedure. "Computer, begin removing the air currently in the stasis chamber and replace it with air at the temperature that I have designated."

"Beginning" The computers voice said.

The doctor stood next to the chamber, monitoring the readings on the medical tricorder, while B'Elanna and Harry stood on the other side, monitoring and adjusting the controls on the chamber. Tom's face began to be covered with sweat as the heat continued to fill the chamber, his hair becoming plastered to his forehead. B'Elanna made an adjustment to the chamber as Tom's breathing had become labored, now it became more regular.

"We still need to continue this for at least 5 to 10 more minutes, but Tom's body is not liking this." The doctor said.

"He's fairly stable at the moment, but his pulse is beginning to slow." B'Elanna replied.

"We're losing him." Harry yelled.

"Making another adjustment, hang on Tom." B'Elanna pleaded.

"Just a few more minutes and the substance will be dead and purged."

"I don't know if he's going to last that long." Harry replied.

"Your not helping Harry."

"Sorry B'Elanna, that's what the readings are saying."

"No, I am sorry Harry."

"That's it, terminate the procedure, the substance is dead." The doctor advised.

"Terminating" The computer said.

"It worked and Tom is still with us." B'Elanna felt a rush of relief run through her and she relaxed noticeably.

"Yes, but I still have to repair his injuries, he's going to be recovering from this for a while, I am afraid."

"What's going on doctor?" The Captain said as she walked into the sickbay.

"The procedure is complete and Tom is still with us, now if you will all leave sickbay, so I can treat my patients injuries."

Janeway smiled, "Certainly doctor, keep me posted as to his condition."

"Yes Captain."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It took the doctor 2 hours to heal all of Tom's injuries and replenish the blood he had lost on the planet. He remained unconscious for another 3 hours, then slowly began to come around. "Where? What? Doctor?"

"Take it easy Mr. Paris, you have been through a lot in the last few days."

"Days?" Tom was confused, he hadn't remembered being out that long.

"Yes Mr. Paris, that substance from the planet got into your blood, it was preventing your injures from healing, even with a regenerator, so we had to put you in stasis."

"I hate stasis." Tom replied, as he slowly drifted back to sleep.

"I know you do Mr. Paris." The doctor knew he was back asleep, but he said it anyway. He turned as the doors to sickbay swished open. "Ah, Lt. Torres, I take it your here to see Mr. Paris? He's asleep right now, but in a few days, he will be fine,"

"Thank you doctor, do you mind if I see him?" She wanted to touch him, she had missed that over the last few days.

"Of course, just try not to wake him."

"Thanks" She stepped next to the bio-bed that Tom was laying on, with a blanket over him. He looked so much better than the last time she saw him, so she bent down and kissed his lips gently.

"B'Elanna?"

"Yes Tom, I am so happy that your going to be all right, I was so afraid that I was going to lose you."

Tom reached out and took B'Elanna's hand, "You know me, I never take the easy way."

B'Elanna smiled, "No you don't, but that's one of the things I love about you." She kissed him again, longer and deeper this time, "I do love you Tom, don't ever doubt that."

"Never, I love you too, don't YOU ever doubt that." He squeezed her hand, then drifted back to sleep, B'Elanna left to begin her shift. 3 Days later, Tom was back at the helm and Captain Janeway had a big smile on her face, so very happy to have him back where he belonged. They hadn't learned much about the substance, except that it was a living organism, Janeway sent out a warning beacon about the planet, then they were ready to go. "Set a course for home, Mr. Paris."

"Yes ma'am" Tom replied happily.

THE END!!



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