Title: The Choice Author: Leone Rating: G Codes: P, VOY/X:WP Archive: Got my other stories? Go ahead. Otherwise, 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: Do I have to? I'm really bad at this stuff. Hmm. Tom gets into trouble. Again. Only this time it isn't his fault. Author's notes: This is something different. This story has been bouncing around my head for quite a while. I finally gave in and wrote it down. As always with my stories, this is an AU Dedicate to my twin who first introduced me to Xena: Warrior Princess fanfic. This is the story I told you I wasn't going to write   Part One "This is the doctor. Please activate your monitor to the Emergency Medical Holographic channel." Captain Janeway did as requested, and a moment later, the doctor appeared on the main view screen on the bridge. "Yes, Doctor?" she asked. "Captain, your presence is required in sickbay immediately," the EMH stated. "Is there something wrong, Doctor," Janeway asked. "It's Lieutenant Paris, Captain," the doctor said. He hesitated briefly before he continued. "I'll explain when you get to sickbay, Captain." Janeway rose from her chair, saying, "On my way. Janeway out." As Harry cut the link to sickbay, Janeway turned to Chakotay. "Commander, you're with me." Then she glanced at Tuvok. "Tuvok, you have the bridge." With that she moved to the turbo lift, closely followed by Chakotay. Once they entered the lift, Janeway called out, "Deck five," then turned and gave Chakotay a quizzical look, sensing that he had a question. Chakotay smiled slightly at his intuitive captain. Then he sighed and asked, "Why did you bring me with you? The doctor only asked for *your* presence in sickbay, and it's not like Tom and I are the best friends in the galaxy." Janeway flashed Chakotay a quick smile. "I know that." Then she snorted. "It's hard to miss. The two of you rarely do anything together unless you're on duty." She held up a hand to forestall his next comment. "I know. You play the odd game of pool on the holodeck, but that's about it. Unless there's something you haven't told me?" She looked at Chakotay with a raised eyebrow. When he shook his head 'no', she smiled again. "I didn't think so. But, I asked you to come along, because I have a gut feeling that you'll be needed." Before Chakotay could comment, the lift arrived on deck five, and the door opened. The two of them stepped out of the car and walked down the hall to sickbay. When they arrived, Janeway triggered the door and went in, Chakotay on her heels. The two of them looked around for the doctor. Janeway noticed Tom lying on one of the biobeds, apparently asleep. She frowned in concern, then spotted the doctor in his office. With a quick glance at Chakotay, who'd also seen Tom, the two of them joined the EMH. The doctor looked up from his monitor when he heard someone arrive. Seeing both the captain *and* the first officer, he lifted an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting. "Captain, Commander. Thank you for getting here so promptly," he said as he rose. Janeway nodded, then got straight to the point. "Doctor, what's wrong with Lieutenant Paris?" The doctor resisted the urge to sigh as, for a split-second he wondered how to tell her. Then he decided that she would prefer that he just told her straight out. "I'm afraid that Lieutenant Paris is dying, Captain." Janeway heard Chakotay echo her shocked gasp, but didn't turn to look at him. Instead, she focused her attention solely at the doctor. "Dying?" she repeated. When the doctor nodded, she demanded, "Explain!" The doctor frowned slightly, his puzzlement clear. "I'm sorry, Captain. I can't explain it," he said. He raised a hand to halt whatever Janeway was about to say, then proceeded to tell her what he knew. "Lieutenant Paris came to see me about two hours ago with a severe head ache, stomach cramps and nausea. In addition, he complained about dizziness. Naturally I gave him an extensive examination," the doctor continued, then hesitated. "And?" Janeway prompted impatiently. "Lieutenant Paris' readings are... odd," the doctor said hesitantly. "Odd?" Chakotay questioned, speaking for the first time since he and Janeway arrived in sickbay. "Odd, how?" The doctor frowned again, then explained. "All Mr. Paris' readings keep jumping all over the place. His blood pressure skyrockets, then gets dangerously low, only to elevate to equally dangerous high levels. The same happens with his heartbeat. Not to mention his body temperature." For the second time in ten minutes, the doctor almost sighed. "The only thing I'm sure of is that, if this continues for much longer, Tom Paris will die." Chakotay and Janeway stood silently while they digested this information. After a few minutes, Janeway spoke again. "Can't you cure him?" The doctor shook his head 'no'. "Not until I figure out what's wrong." When this news seemed to make Janeway speechless, Chakotay asked, "How's Mr. Paris, now? We saw him sleeping on one of the biobeds." The doctor turned his attention to the commander. "Lieutenant Paris isn't sleeping, Commander," he said quietly. "He's unconscious or comatose. I can't tell which." Just then, a flash of blue light in the main part of sickbay interrupted the conversation. The three people in the doctor's office turned as one and looked through the window. When they saw a tall dark-haired man standing beside Tom's bed, Janeway sighed in annoyance, then walked out of the office, followed by Chakotay and the doctor. "I'm not in the mood for your games, Q," Janeway said as she entered sickbay. When the man straightened and turned around, she saw her mistake. This was obviously not Q. This man was dark-haired, yes, but he seemed to be taller than Q, and he had black eyes in a face that seemed... perfect. And yet there was something in that face that unsettled Janeway, and a quick glance at Chakotay showed that she wasn't the only one affected. Janeway turned her head back to look at the stranger. She let her eyes travel over his body and noticed that he was wearing black leather, and that his body appeared to be as perfect as his face. She frowned slightly when she noticed that he was carrying a sword. Her eyes snapped back to her... guest's face. Her jaw tightened when she noticed the slight amusement in the dark orbs. The man lifted an eyebrow, but made no comment about Janeway's inspection of him. "I am not Q," he stated the obvious Janeway barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "That much is clear," she replied. "What I want to know is, who are you? And what are you doing on my ship?" "I suppose you can say that I'm Tom's... protector." The hesitation before the last word was almost unnoticeable. "As to why I'm here," he continued, "I would think that's obvious. Tom is dying." "How did you know that?" Janeway asked, not bothering to denying the truth. The visitor smirked, an expression that was shockingly similar to Tom's trademark smirk. "I know *everything* about Tom Paris," he replied. "I'm also aware of the fact that the good doctor," he nodded in the EMH's direction, "can't do anything to help Tom." Although they speculated, no one asked the obvious question that the last remark invited. Instead, Chakotay inquired about something else that had roused his curiosity. "When you told us who, or rather what, you are, you hesitated before saying the word 'protector'," he started. At the visitor's slight nod, he continued. "Why is that?" "I was about to say that I'm Tom's guardian angel." The amount of disgust that the guest managed to get into those two words impressed even the doctor. "However, since I'm no angel, I thought 'protector' would be a better word," he finished. He glanced at Tom, then turned his attention back to Janeway. "Now Captain, if you don't have any other questions, I'd like to speak with your pilot." Before Janeway could answer, the EMH spoke up. "You *do* realize that Mr. Paris," he didn't notice the visitor's flinch at the name, but Janeway and Chakotay did and wondered about it. The doctor continued obliviously, "Is either unconscious or comatose, and as such can't answer you, don't you?" Tom's protector turned his eyes to the hologram. "Yes, Doctor. I'm aware of that," he said, slight annoyance showing on his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me?" His glance went to Janeway. When she nodded, he turned and looked at Tom's pale face. He lifted a hand and stroked the blond hair gently, never taking his eyes off of Tom's face. Suddenly the dark gaze intensified and the man straightened again, frowning in puzzlement. "What is this?" he muttered, almost to himself. Chakotay and Janeway who had turned away to give him some privacy twirled around to look at their guest. "What's wrong?" Janeway asked anxiously. Tom's guardian didn't answer, instead his frown deepened in concentration. A moment later, another flash of light preceded a new visitor. "You called, Uncle?" the new arrival asked. "Yes, Ace," the dark-haired man answered. He gestured to Tom. "Take a look at this." Ace did as instructed and looked at Tom. After a few moments, he turned back to his uncle, obviously surprised. "This is amazing," he stated. At the other man's questioning glance, he continued. "I have to check a few things, but I think...." Whatever he thought was left unsaid, but Tom's protector suddenly seemed hopeful. Ace turned to look at the EMH. "Doctor, can you tell me what Tom last ate?" he asked in his mild voice. "What he ate?" the doctor repeated. "I suppose I could. Why?" Ace smiled gently. "It's important. If I know what he had for...?" he trailed off questioningly. "Breakfast," Janeway supplied helpfully. The doctor shook his head in disagreement. "Mr. Paris told me that he hadn't eaten this morning because of the nausea." "Dinner, then," Ace concluded. When the doctor nodded 'yes', Ace continued. "If I know what Tom had for dinner, I might be able to decide what brought this on." He frowned. "This shouldn't have happened. His disease was supposed to *stay* dormant." "What disease?" Chakotay asked with a slight frown of his own. Ace glanced at the commander. "My uncle can explain it," he said, then turned back to the hologram. "Doctor, if we could talk in your office," he suggested. The EMH nodded and headed to his office, closely followed by Ace.     Part two Janeway looked at Ace's uncle. Seeing that he had returned his attention to Tom, she was loath to disturb him, but she needed some answers. She cleared her throat. When that didn't get a reaction, she went over and hesitantly touched his arm. This time he turned his head and glanced at her. "Yes?" "I'm sorry to disturb you," Janeway apologized sincerely. "But I have a few questions, if you don't mind answering them." The dark-haired man glanced at Tom once more, before he turned his attention back to Janeway and nodded his consent. Then he followed her over to where Chakotay stood. "What do you want to know?" "Well, Mr...." Janeway trailed off and looked ruefully at the visitor. "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name." Tom's protector smirked, and again the two others were struck by how similar the expression was to Tom's. "I'm Ares," He said in a tone of voice that told them that they should know who *that* was. However, neither Janeway nor Chakotay had the faintest idea, although Janeway thought it sounded familiar. She just couldn't remember where she'd heard the name before. "Ares," she repeated thoughtfully, trying to think of why she recognized it. Ares sighed in annoyance. "I'm the God of War," He informed them. "You might have heard about Me." His voice was ironic. Janeway's face cleared as she recalled where she'd heard the name before. "We learned about You in history class in school," she said. "We were taught about all the gods in ancient Greece." Then something occurred to her, and she lifted a quizzical eyebrow. "The other man, Ace?" She waited for Ares' nod of confirmation, then continued. "He wouldn't happen to be Asclepius, the God of Healing, would he?" Ares smiled. He always knew that Kathryn Janeway was smart. "Very good. Yes, that is My nephew, Asclepius." "He said that You can tell us what's wrong with Tom," Janeway said with a quick glance at her pilot. Ares sighed. Of course Ace would leave it to *Him* to tell the two mortals why Tom was dying. Or, as much of the why as He knew. He still didn't understand the reason for this resurgence of Tom's illness. He shook off his thoughts and focused on Janeway and Chakotay. "I'm not a Healer, so I'll explain in simple, non- medical words." "That should make it easier to understand," Janeway said. Are chuckled quietly. "Hopefully, it will." Then He sighed again and proceeded to explain. "Tom suffers from a disease called Ronar Syndrome," He began. At the mortals' quizzical expressions, He elaborated. "Ronar Syndrome is very rare, so it's not surprising that you haven't heard of it. In fact," He added as an afterthought, "I doubt that your doctor has ever heard about it, it's that rare." "So, how is it cured?" Chakotay asked. Ares turned His black eyes to the commander. "It isn't," He told him. Janeway inhaled sharply. "What do You mean, it isn't?" Ares looked at Janeway. "I *mean*," He said, "That there *is* no cure." He glanced at the two mortals' horrified faces and wished to Gaia he didn't have to tell them the rest. However, they had to be told. "That's not all." Janeway was almost afraid to ask and judging by Chakotay's silence, he felt the same way. "You mean there's more?" Ares nodded, indicating that there was. "As you've probably figured out, Tom's illness is lethal." He waited for their nods of confirmation, then continued. "It is also very painful. Even the strongest painkiller won't work for long periods of time." He hesitated for an instant, then added, "And after a short time, any and all painkillers will be useless." Chakotay and Janeway were shocked into silence by the implications of that statement. If none of the painkillers worked it would mean that Tom would be in great pain until he died. Finally Chakotay found his voice again. "How long does he have?" he asked, hoping for Tom's sake that it wouldn't be long. "A week or two," Ares replied quietly. By now, Janeway had managed to shake off the worst of her shock. "Then we'll make his last time as pleasant as we can," she said. "And I think, if Asclepius doesn't have any objections, that we should move Tom back to his quarters if he wakes up. He doesn't like sickbay," she added. Ares snorted in amusement. "Or, to be more precise, Tom *hates* sickbay," He said. "I'll ask Ace if there's any problems with letting Tom be in his quarters. I don't think there is since My nephew doesn't need a sickbay, but it never hurts to ask first. Oh, and Tom *will* wake from his coma," He added regretfully. Both Janeway and Chakotay were saddened by this news. Then another thought occurred to Chakotay. "How long has Tom had Ronar Syndrome?" he asked. "Since birth," Ares answered. "Ace noticed it when He delivered Tom." Before either of the mortals could ask, the God of War explained how Tom had survived all these years and why he was sick now. "Ace managed to suppress the disease, so it's been dormant. Tom must have ingested something that activated it." As Ares finished speaking, Asclepius and Voyager's EMH exited the latter's office and joined the trio. War looked questioningly at His nephew. "Well?" The God of Healing sighed. "It was something he ate," He said, including the two mortals in His glance. Then He turned His attention to His uncle. "Can I talk to You in private?" When Ares nodded, the two of them moved away from the mortals and the hologram. The trio from Voyager watched in silence as the God of War and the God of Healing spoke in hushed voices. The three of them wondered what the divine guests discussed so intently, but were confident that they would be told if they needed to know. A moment later, Ares turned and went to stand by Tom's biobed while Asclepius returned to the pilot's two commanding officers and CMO. He looked at each in turn, then said, "Join Him," gesturing to His uncle. "Ares will explain. I have to take care of something." With that He disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the mortals and their holographic doctor to obey Him. ***** Ares looked up when he heard the three others approach. "Let Me just wake Tom, then I'll explain," He said quietly. The doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Janeway's raised hand and slight frown made him close it again without making a comment. Instead, he turned his attention back to the God of War, curious as to how the man... *god* was going to wake someone he'd been told was comatose. Ares lifted a hand and laid it on Tom's forehead, sending some of His energy into him before He spoke. "Awaken." The gentle tone didn't disguise the godly command, and a brief moment later, Tom's eyes fluttered, then opened. He blinked a few times and when he could focus, he immediately turned his head toward the familiar voice that had brought him out of his coma. When Tom saw the God of War, he managed a slight smile despite the pain he was in. "I must be bad off if You're here," he said with a weak attempt at humor. Ares smiled slightly, not at the poor joke, but at the fact that Tom made one. It meant that he wasn't in too much pain. "I'm sorry to wake you," He said. "But I have some news." "If You woke me up to tell me that the Ronar Syndrome is no longer dormant..." Tom started with a glare. War shook His head. "I wouldn't awaken you to tell you something you already knew." He lifted an eyebrow. "As you should know," He added. Tom's glare faded into an apologetic expression. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, but *You* know what I'm like when I've just woken," he said. He didn't wait for Ares to reply. "So, tell me the news that made You get me out of my coma." "Ace was here a moment ago," Ares began. "He found out that one of the ingredients in the meal you had last night caused the resurgence of the Ronar Syndrome." Tom frowned in puzzlement. "I didn't know that food, or anything else for that matter, could do that," he said. "Neither did We," Ares said. "But that's not the only thing Ace discovered," He informed the pilot. When Tom just gave Him a questioning look, He elaborated. "He found a cure." Something in War's voice alerted Tom. "What's the problem?" Ares sighed. He should have known that Tom would pick up on His... reservations. If anyone had said He was uncertain, Ares would personally skin them alive, but He was honest enough to admit to Himself that He *was* unsure about how Tom would react when he heard exactly *what* the cure was. "There isn't a problem as such," He said. Tom didn't look convinced, but let it go. "Okay. So, tell me about this cure Ace found, and why He didn't find it before," he requested. "To answer your last question first, Ace didn't discover the cure until now because there wasn't one. But, whatever you ate last night that activated the Ronar Syndrome also did something else," Ares explained. "It changed it, so now there is a way to heal you." Tom considered that for a moment, decided it was odd and shrugged his acceptance. "That answers one question. It doesn't make any sense to me, but it answers it," he said, then narrowed his eyes at the God of War. "Now, stop stalling and tell me what the mystery treatment is," he demanded. Ares hesitated for a moment longer, then revealed exactly how Tom could be cured of the Ronar Syndrome. "The only way to get rid of your disease is to change you into a woman," He said. Tom blinked in surprise and quelled his instinctive reaction, which was to outright refuse. "What's the catch?" he asked, knowing that there was one. Ares looked straight into Tom's eyes and told him, "If you let Us turn you into a woman, it's permanent. If you're ever changed back, you will die instantly." Tom nodded in understanding, having expected something like that. He sat silently, considering the choice he had to make. Die of the Ronar Syndrome in a week or two. Or live as a woman. He ignored the conversation of his four companions as he thought about whether or not he could accept being a woman for the rest of his life. Finally, after an hour of weighing the pros and cons of an existence as a female versus eternal pace in the Elysian Fields as a man, Tom reached a decision. He shook off his thoughts and interrupted the ongoing discussion between the God of War, Janeway, Chakotay and the doctor by addressing War. "Ares," he said quietly. Everyone went silent and turned to Tom. Ares looked into the pilot's eyes and saw what his choice was. War got a distant expression on His face as He summoned Asclepius and some of the goddesses. The others were silent for a moment, Tom knowing what Ares was doing and the other three wondering what Tom had decided and how War had known. "What did you choose?" Janeway finally asked hesitantly. Tom turned his head and glanced at the CMO and his two commanding officers before he answered. "I have no desire to die," he said seriously. "So, I'm going to let the gods change me into a woman." The End