He got up and started to walk towards the beach. He stood there as the waves gently washed upon the shore, just over his bare feet. As he stood there watching the waves, he didn’t notice the only other person in the resort, watching him.

She had been there for awhile, not sure how to approach him. Not sure what to say. *DAMN,* she cursed to herself. *It used to be so simple. I was his captain, he was my pilot. But now. . . Now things have changed. I’m still his captain. And he’s still my pilot. But what he did, what he said. . . *

She made up her mind. It had been a week. She needed to talk to him. Whether or not he’d meant what he’d said, she needed to know, one way or another.

She walked towards him, but stopped just a few feet behind him. "Tom," she called out softly.

With out turning his head, he answered, "I was wondering how long you would be standing there before you came out here."

"You *knew* I was here?" she asked.

"I always know when you’re around," he replied. *How can I not know?* he said to himself.

Kathryn walked closer until she was standing right next to him. She turned to look at him, but he just continued staring out into the ocean. "Tom," she began, "we need to talk."

"Captain," he said quietly, "I know I disobeyed Chakotay’s orders. . . but I had to. I just couldn’t leave you there. So if you’re here to punish me. . . "

Kathryn silenced him by placing her finger to his lips.

"Tom," she said, "I’m not here to talk about that. Although eventually we do need to talk about it. We need to talk about what happened when you found me."

Tom turned and started to walk away. Kathryn grabbed him by his arm and spun him around till they were facing each other. He looked away, not wanting her to see him the way he knew she could. Not wanting her to see the confusion, the fear the . . . love in his eyes.

She placed both hands on either side of his face, and gently turned him until they were looking into each other’s eyes. Kathryn looked into his eyes, and she found what she was looking for. She knew what the truth was.

It scared her. Even Chakotay had never looked at her with that depth of emotion. But Tom. . . His eyes were shining; with the strength of his love or unshed tears, she couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his softly.

"Tom," she breathed. "I--"

He shushed her with a finger across her lips. "Captain--"

She moved his hand away but didn’t let go. "Tom, let me finish."

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Okay."

What was he afraid of, she wondered. Did he really think she was going to tell him off for his feelings? Push him away? --The way she’d done with Chakotay. . .

Oh god. She couldn’t let this turn out like that; couldn’t let Tom look at her with only pain in his eyes. "Tom. . . " She shook her head to clear it. "I love you. Shush," she added as he started to speak, looking stunned. "You said you’d let me finish."

He fell back, silent, and she smiled. "Better.

"Tom. I love you, but. . . I don’t know if we can make it work. I’m the *captain*. I have a responsibility to my crew--" He muttered something and she stopped. "What?"

"I said, my father used to say the same thing."

Kathryn stepped back as if the words had been a physical blow. The blood drained slowly from her face. "Tom--" she managed. "No, I--"

"Never mind," he interrupted. "You’ve made your position perfectly clear. Now if you don’t mind, I’m expected in Sickbay."

"Tom Paris, you come back here," she ordered angrily. He didn’t waver from his course to the door. "Tom!"

"I have a responsibility to my crew," she repeated under her breath, "but I’m willing to try. . . *Dammit*!" She picked up a stone from the beach and hurled it out at the waves. One, two. . . nine skips. More than she’d ever managed when she’d been trying. How ironic.

=/\=

Tom arrived on the bridge early, not wanting to run into the captain. Preferring to have her behind him.

He never looked around once during his entire shift. Answered her questions politely and formally. At first no one noticed, but the lack of bantering became apparent before the shift was over.

Harry looked worried. He did not like a quiet Tom; that was never a good sign. Hurrying to catch up with him during their lunch break, Harry almost stumbled as he ran into the lift. "What’s up, Tom? You seemed awfully quiet today."

Tom just looked at Harry. "Nothing, just tired I guess," was all he said.

Not to be put off that easily, Harry shook his head. "Tired from what?"

"Tired from *what*?" Tom almost glared. "Isn’t there enough work around here to make anyone tired? I work full time on the bridge and part time in Sickbay. I’m not an automaton, Harry; sometimes I get tired!"

Tom had raised his voice more then he should have and regretted it. If he was going to put Harry off he was going to have to calm down. He chuckled. "Sorry, Harry. You know the Doc, never a good word about me. It gets old after a while." That seemed to satisfy Harry, at least for the moment.

When they returned to the bridge, Tom walked straight to the helm, never even glancing toward the captain. He could feel her though. She was tense and stiff. Not her usual relaxed self like when nothing exciting was going on.

*Damn,* Kathryn thought. This was going to be tough.

Tom concentrated on trying to return to his normal behavior. He joked and kept up his easy banter without missing a beat. *There,* he thought. *That should satisfy Harry, and for that matter, Captain Janeway. I won’t let it get to me.*

"Mr Paris, could I see you in my ready room please?" she said after several long moments.

*Well, there goes that idea. I guess I’m not getting off as easy as I thought.* "Aye, Captain."

Tom followed Kathryn into her ready room. His back was stiff, very formal. *This is just getting harder and harder,* thought Janeway.

"You can’t run away from me now, Tom," the captain started softly.

"No; you have given me no choice but to listen. I suppose this is why the captain should not get involved with a member of the crew."

Tom stood his ground and didn’t even flinch. Kathryn felt hurt but didn’t show it in her features. She stood straight with her best command face. "Very well, Lieutenant Paris," she commanded, managing not to choke, "you’re dismissed."

With that said, Paris turned his tail and walked out of the Ready Room.

Once the door closed again, Kathryn sat back onto the chair before hitting the desk with a fist. *Damn that man! He’s a stubborn, pigheaded mule! Just like his father sometimes.*

Frustrated, Janeway went to the replicator for some chocolate coffee before sitting on the couch. Coffee was good for soothing nerves, but when she was *this* pent-up, the combination of chocolate and caffeine did wonders.

Sipping the rich drink, Kathryn sighed and started to unwind herself. She loved that young man dearly, but how to get across his stubborn attitude that she was willing to pursue a relationship with him was a thorny dilemma.

Then an idea came to her and she slowly grinned, satisfied with the plan she’d conjured up. The problem just a few minutes ago had been that they were both on-duty and obviously she couldn’t have allowed things to go out of control, unless she wanted the whole bridge crew to hear the shouting match.

Janeway finished off the coffee and recycled the cup back in the replicator before she returned to her desk. No more nice approach, she thought. Tonight, she was going to drill into Tom’s thick skull what she had to say. Whether he liked it or not!

=/\=

Entering his quarters after he had his dinner at the mess hall, Paris puffed out a breath of relief and rubbed his throbbing head. Trying to maintain an air of stoic professionalism and not show the pain on his face was not easy to do. Plus that confrontation with Kathryn in her Ready Room had made his nerves even more jumbled.

It seemed to the young pilot that it would take awhile to get used to Kathryn being his commanding officer 100% of the time and not just the woman he had fallen in love with. Sometimes he wondered whether it was best to remain single with no attachments or commitments for the rest of his life.

"Janeway to Paris," his comm badge blared, startling him out of his thoughts.

Tom closed his eyes. It seemed Kathryn would never leave him alone. "Paris here, Captain," he responded after tapping his badge.

"Mr. Paris, I could use your expertise in helping me with a holoprogram I’m working on. Can you come to Holodeck 3 at 2000 hours?"

Tom had the urge to give out a very loud ‘NO!’ but decided not to act on it. She was still his captain, no matter what. He decided it was probably best to help her out with this favor and start clean with her. "Sure thing, I’ll be there."

"Understood. Janeway out."

Seeing he had an hour, Tom entered the the bathroom so he could wash up and prepare himself.

=/\=

Holodeck 3’s doors opened and closed. Paris, in blue jeans and T-shirt, looked about the holoprogram his superior had created and whistled his approval. Yesterday, he’d been on a beach, but now he was in a beautiful green forest with a Starfleet shelter in a small pasture. *New Earth,* he thought.

Just then, Kathryn Janeway came out of the shelter in a light blue dress with long hair tied in a pigtail braid. "Ah, you’re here. I could use your help in modifying this program."

Tom was all business. "What exactly do you need to improve? This is your New Earth program, isn’t it?"

She nodded. "Yes, I found this place so relaxing that I had to create a program of it the moment I came back onboard. Now I want to change the Starfleet shelter to reflect more of a true home."

"Whatever you say," Tom shrugged. "Now how do you want to go modifying this place?"

Janeway led Tom to the shelter and began telling him what she wanted. With Tom’s help, they added a few more rooms, including a real kitchen, to the shelter. A stone fireplace was added to make the entire place seem more like a log cabin than a Fleet shelter. Finally, a large sunken jaccuzzi tub, built for five, was placed in the back of the modified house, along with a wooden deck surrounding the tub and connecting it to the house.

Looking back up from the water-filled tub, Tom turned around to face Janeway, who was between him and the house. "Is that all, ma’am?" He still would not give Kathryn the satisfaction of knowing that he had enjoyed helping her with this program or would love to use it.

Kathryn Janeway crossed her arms and smirked. She had him right where she wanted him now. "As a matter of fact, yes." She called out to the computer quickly. "Computer, activate program Janeway Paris Trap One."

Then before Tom could move or respond, Voyager’s captain pushed Paris into the tub. The pilot came up from under the water before he yelled. "ARRRRRRRGH! THE WATER IS FREEEZING!" He crossed his arms trying to keep warm.

With a pleased lopsided grin on face, Kathryn stood over him. "I have activated two commands with that single program. I participated in building this tub, so once the program clicked in, it turned the water from temperate warm to freezing. Plus it has locked out the holodeck. Only my command authorization can open it now."

Tom being angry was an understatement. He was furious! She had no right to lock him up with her! But Janeway paid no heed to his angry face.

Bending down, Kathryn looked Tom directly in the face. "You’re a stubborn mule, Tom. You didn’t give me any chance to explain fully last night or in the Ready Room today. *Now* you’re going to listen to *every* word I say before you draw any conclusions."

Janeway took a deep breath before starting. "What I said yesterday was true. As captain of this ship, I have a responsibility to every member of the crew. I can’t allow myself personal luxuries that would hinder that responsibility."

Tom looked away, annoyed, hurt, and angry that he was going through the same speech he heard yesterday.

"However, Tom, I *can’t* deny my feelings. It’s what makes me human. To deny that part of myself, especially since we’re more than sixty years from Federation space, would slowly decay me to a point where I couldn’t function as commanding officer anymore."

Janeway reached out and pulled his face back in line with hers. "I love you greatly, Tom," she said softly. "I *want* to have a relationship with you, and I want to try to make it work. It will not be easy with you being Chief Helms Officer and I the Commanding Officer, but I know you well enough to know that you understand enough when to put the professional mask on and when to take it off." Then she smiled warmly at him. "Just like me."

Tom Paris didn’t know what to say. He had thought she didn’t want him, placing the ship and crew’s needs before his. Now she had stated she wanted to try having a relationship with him, but when they were both off-duty and not serving the ship and crew’s needs. "I… I don’t know what to say," he stated, looking at her with wondering eyes. "I’m sorry I jumped to a conclusion too soon. Forgive me?"

Janeway caressed his cheek. "I forgive you. Say ‘yes’ to us, Tom," she smiled.

With warmth and joy coming to light-blue eyes, Tom smiled radiantly. "Yes. Yes, I want to have a relationship with you. . . Kathryn."

Mentioning her name made Kathryn realize Tom meant every word he said. "Thank you," she grinned warmly. Her heart was filled knowing he was going to be on her side always from now on.

Looking down, Tom realized the he was still in the freezing water. "I better get out of here before I turn into a popsicle."

Kathryn laughed outright from the heart. "Computer, return temperature of the jacuzzi tub to the way it was before the activation of Janeway Paris Trap One program. Authorization Janeway Pi One One Zero."

Sure enough, Tom felt the water turn warm, slowly easing the chills from him. "Thanks," he said looking back at her. Then his eyes and expression turned mischievous and wicked. Janeway knew what he was up to but reacted too late to get away.

Tom reached out and pulled her forcibly into the tub. "TOM…!"(SPLASH) Kathryn resurfaced with dress soaked through. She mock-glared at the young man before her who was smiling his well-known Paris smile. "Thomas Eugene Paris, you’re a *dead* man." Then she slowly grinned as she advanced gradually on him like a cat. It was hard to maintain an act of seriousness when those light-blues of his were twinkling.

"What goes around, comes around, Kathryn," Tom quipped with a teasing expression. No doubt about it now, her fun, joshing, loving Tom was back.

Chuckling, Kathryn reached him. "We’ll be here for several hours waiting for our clothes to dry, Tom. I’m *not* going out into the corridors looking like this!"

Tom ogled her curves, which the wet clingy dress stuck to. "No problem with me," he smirked. "We’ll take off our clothes and relax in the tub for awhile. We can even make out if you--OWWWW!" He rubbed his arm where she punched him.

"Tom, we’re not ready to go that far," Kathryn stated with a lopsided grin.

"Agreed," Tom laughed. "Did you program in bathing suits for us to change into?"

"For me, yes." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You’ll have to program the computer to get yours. I was expecting to just clear the air between us, not to be using the jacuzzi this soon."

"Hey, sooner or later, we’d be testing this tub out anyway. Might as well test it out while waiting for our clothes to dry," he grinned with shining eyes.

"My thoughts *exactly*," Kathryn whispered before pulling his head down for a long, languid kiss which raced their hearts.

Breaking apart, they smiled at each other warmly before Kathryn walked out of the tub pulling him to follow with hand in his. They walked into the house into separate bedrooms to change.

Changing into a form fitting, one-piece suit, Kathryn knew she was happy. Tom was willing to try having a relationship with her and it made her heart feel full and content.

They’d be working hard to made sure their off-duty relationship didn’t hinder their on-duty one. It would be disastrous if it did.

However, Kathryn knew deep inside that she and Tom would pull through with hearts intact. Love could triumph over *anything* if it was strong enough.

Leaving the room she saw Tom emerging from his in a light-blue swimwear boxer. They eyed each other and Kathryn could see the love deep in his eyes. She was sure he could see the same in hers.

*Oh yes,* she thought with a loving grin as she went out the door toward the jacuzzi tub with her love following. *We’re *more* than ‘strong enough’.*