Title: The Change
Author: Leone
Part: 1/2
Rating: PG
Codes: P, VOY/X: WP
Archive: Cha_Club, TPD, Paris Nights, CPSG. Anywhere else, ask
Feedback: tarrashenna@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Nothing but the story belongs to me. Star Trek belongs
to Paramount and any characters from Xena: Warrior Princess
belongs to Renaissance Pictures. (Except the gods, they belong to
themselves)

Summary: Follows "The Choice" and "The Charade". If you haven't
read those two, this won't make much sense

****************************************************
Part One

As Tom woke up, the momentary confusion that usually followed
didn't kick in and for a moment she didn't understand why. Then she
remembered. Ares had put her in a magical sleep before the
goddesses changed her.

Tom didn't open her eyes immediately. Instead she decided to see if
she could tell who was present by using her other senses. The first
thing she noticed was her Father's strong hand surrounding her own,
slender one. Then she felt the presence of His mind gently touching
hers and smiled inwardly, silently requesting that He didn't reveal
that she was awake. She was pleased to hear Ares' amused
agreement.

Tom mentally shushed the God of War, then concentrated on
figuring out who had stayed in sickbay, waiting for her to awaken.
Listening carefully, she was unsurprised to hear the voices of
Aphrodite, Eris, Athena, Artemis and Persephone. She knew that the
five goddesses would stay for awhile. Tom even suspected that one
of them would remain on Voyager until she had gotten completely
used to being female.

Tom tuned out the feminine voices and focused more intently. The
next thing she heard *was* a surprise. The soft rustling of wings
could only mean one thing. She almost frowned, not having expected
her oldest half-brother to be there. Then she waved off her
puzzlement with a mental shrug. She'd ask about it later.

However, as it turned out, Tom didn't have to ask. The next voice
answered the question of why the winged God of Love was in
Voyager's sickbay. Strife had probably asked His consort to join
Him and unsurprisingly, Cupid had agreed. Over the years, Tom had
learned that whatever Strife asked for, Cupid would do His best to
get.

When Tom decided that no other gods or goddesses were present,
she turned her attention to identifying who else was in sickbay. The
doctor was easily recognized, his acerbic tones almost as familiar as
her own voice.

"... perfectly healthy according to my scans."

"And there's no sign of the disease?" Tom recognized Janeway's
voice.

"No, Captain," the doctor answered. "Apparently, this gender change
has indeed cured Lieutenant Paris."

Tom tuned out the rest of the conversation as she sensed that
someone else was present. Unable to hear the person, she
instinctively stretched out her other senses. She tightened her grip on
Ares' hand when she felt the overwhelming concern from the
normally serene first officer. She wasn't sure how she knew that it
was Chakotay, but she had no doubt that it *was* him. Although his
presence wasn't unexpected, his worry for her was.

Despite the strong temptation, the pilot didn't probe deeper to see
what lay behind Chakotay's anxiety. That was a private matter and
to investigate further would not only be unethical, but an invasion of
the commander's privacy.

Ares, feeling His daughter's slight shock, chuckled quietly and
squeezed her hand. He knew the reason for the first officer's
concern, but decided to let the man tell Tom himself. Of course, if he
didn't, War could always change His mind.

Tom heard her father's laughter, but decided to ignore it. She knew
that if He wanted her to know what He found amusing, He'd tell her,
and if not, no force in the universe could get Him to reveal it.
Instead, she used her senses to make another sweep of sickbay and,
determining that no one else was present, opened her eyes and
looked up at Ares.

Ares smiled when He saw His daughter open her eyes. "Welcome
back, Tom," He said gently.

Tom returned the smile. "Thanks, Dad," she said quietly.

Despite the softness of Tom's voice, everyone in sickbay
immediately turned to look at her. Seeing that she was awake,
humans and goddesses alike walked over and crowded around the
biobed. The chorus of voices greeting her and asking how she felt
made her grimace.

War frowned when He noticed His daughter's slight discomfort.
"Silence," He not quite roared, bringing instant quiet to sickbay.

Tom chuckled. "Thank You, Father," she said in a formal tone.

Ares turned His attention back to Tom. "You're welcome,
Daughter," He replied, His tone just as formal.

Eris, who stood besides Ares' chair, spoke. "How do you feel,
Tom?" She asked.

"Tired, overwhelmed," Tom answered. She looked down at herself
and blinked in slight surprise when she noticed her breasts. They
weren't *too* big. She figured they were a nice medium size, but
they were there. There was no question about that. Feeling weird,
she shifted, instantly noticing something missing between her legs.
"Oh, and weird. I definitely feel weird, and in need of some female
guidance," she added.

"Well, I'll take care of that," Eris informed Her niece. "I'm staying
on Voyager until you have fully adjusted to being female."

Tom smiled in obvious relief. "Thanks, Aunt Eris."

"I'd like to help too, if I may," Janeway offered. "And I'm sure that
there's other of the female crewmembers who'll also offer their
help."

Tom looked at Janeway. "Thanks, Captain. I appreciate it." She
smiled and added, "I might take you up on that offer."

Chakotay cleared his throat. When Tom turned her head and looked
at him, he said, "If I can be of any help in your readjustment with the
crew, I'll be available as well."

Tom studied the first officer for a brief moment, then said, "Thanks,
Commander. I'll keep that in mind."

Before anyone else could offer their help, Artemis spoke. "I think
that We should also ask Hera to help."

"No! I am *not* letting Mother anywhere *near* My daughter,"
Ares growled.

Artemis looked at Him. "Ares, She *is* the Goddess of Childbirth,"
She reminded Him.

Ares locked eyes with Artemis, the violence of war flashing in His
dark orbs. "I'm sure that there is at least one woman on this ship
who's had a child. And if there isn't, the doctor can give Tom all the
information she needs about childbirth."

Before Artemis could say anything else and risk angering Ares even
more, Tom spoke. "I don't need to be taught about childbirth. I *am*
a field medic," she said. When Artemis opened Her mouth, Tom
held up a hand to prevent Her from speaking. "And *if* I should get
pregnant sometime in the future, I'm sure the doctor will inform me
of all the facts of pregnancy and childbirth."

"I'm sorry, Tom," Artemis said. "I didn't know that you're a healer."

Tom was about to correct Artemis when a snicker made her turn her
head. She quickly located the source. "What's so funny, Strife?"

The God of Mischief was laughing too hard to answer His cousin's
question, so it was Cupid who replied. "What Strife finds so funny is
Artemis being all-knowing when that's Athena's job."

Cupid's comment caused Ares and Eris to laugh. Tom just stared at
her brother in silence while she digested His words. Realizing that
He was right, she, too, burst out laughing.

Tom and her nearest family laughed with great mirth for quite a
while, but finally they all got their amusement under control. They
looked around sickbay and took in the faces of the others present.
Athena and Artemis were clearly insulted, Persephone also seemed
amused and the mortals and the holographic doctor looked confused.

The doctor shook off his confusion and walked closer to the bed
where Tom lay. Moving past Aphrodite, the hologram opened his
medical tricorder and ran it over the pilot. He studied the readings
for a moment, then closed the device and looked at her. "Well, Ms.
Paris. You're perfectly healthy, so you're free to leave sickbay," he
said, knowing how much the male version had hated to be in
sickbay, especially as a patient. He supposed that it was the same
with the female Tom.

Tom smiled and swung her legs over the edge of the biobed. She
looked at Eris and when the Goddess of Discord moved aside, Tom
rose to her feet. When she was standing, she looked down at herself,
then at her still seated Father. She opened her mouth to say
something, then reconsidered and turned to Discord instead. "Aunt
Eris? Could You...?" she trailed off, gesturing at her sickbay gown.

Knowing what Her niece wanted, Eris smiled at her. "Of course,
Tom," She said, and dressed her with an elegant wave of Her hand.
Then, before anyone could say anything, She produced a full-length
mirror. She knew that Her niece would want to see what she looked
like as a woman. "Here you go, Tom. Take a look."

Tom smiled at her Aunt. "Thanks, Aunt Eris," she said, then walked
over to the mirror. She studied her reflection in silence, taking in the
changes in her appearance. Her face was basically the same, but
softer, more rounded and feminine. Letting her eyes travel down, she
saw that she had been right about her breasts. They were medium
sized, a fact that she greatly appreciated. She couldn't imagine what
it would've been like if her breasts were bigger.

Tom's eyes moved further down, over her flat belly and stopped at
her hips. They, too, were more rounded and feminine. As she had
walked, Tom had noticed that she felt lighter and her movements felt
easier somehow. She thought that that might very well be the case.
For a moment, she wondered if her female body was more agile than
her male one.

Tom shook off her thoughts and refocused on her mirror image. She
couldn't help a slight smirk from forming on her face when she
finally noticed what her Aunt had dressed her in. It was a long, navy
blue dress. From the feel of it, it was made of silk. Her panties and
bra felt like they were made of lace. She briefly speculated what
color they were and then looked down at her feet. She was wearing a
pair of sandals that matched her dress.

Finishing her study of her reflection, Tom turned away from the
mirror and smiled at Discord. "Thanks, Aunt Eris."

"For what?" Eris asked.

Tom's smile widened. "The dress. It's lovely."

"You're welcome, Tom," Eris answered with a smile.

Ares studied His daughter in silence. The dress Eris had dressed
Tom in complimented her coloring. War wasn't surprised. Despite
what She sometimes wore, Discord had always had a good taste.
Suddenly sensing Tom's fatigue, He turned to His twin. "Eris, I
think You should take Tom to her quarters and get her settled in. She
needs sleep."

Eris looked closely at Tom and saw the demi-goddess' weariness,
then turned back to Her brother. "You're right, Ares. Come on, Tom.
I'll take you to your cabin so you can get some rest."

Tom didn't even think to protest, knowing that her Father and Aunt
were right. She went over to Eris who put Her arms around her, then
the two of them flashed out.

As soon as Tom and Eris had disappeared, Ares turned to the
remaining gods and goddesses. "You should return to Olympus. I'm
sure that Eris will summon You if She needs any help," He said.
When His family had departed, War turned His attention to the two
mortals. "You should inform the rest of the crew about Tom's
change. I also suggest that you ask everyone to wait a couple of days
before they visit her. She'll need it to adjust."

Janeway nodded in acknowledgement of what she knew was a godly
command. Then she turned to her first officer. "Come on, Chakotay.
You can help me figure out exactly what to tell the crew." With that,
she and Chakotay left sickbay, heading for the Captain's ready room.

War looked at the holographic doctor. "Don't worry, Doctor. Eris
will make sure that Tom tells you if something goes wrong."

"Good," the doctor said.

Ares smiled slightly and rose from His chair. "I'll leave you to your
studies," He said, then he left in His customary flash of blue and
white light, leaving the EMH alone in sickbay.
 

TBC