Title: Event Horizon
Author: Leone
Rating: PG-13
Codes: C, P, Doc
Archive: Got my other stories? Go ahead. Otherwise, ask.
Feedback: tarrashenna@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Everything Star Trek belongs to Paramount, not me. This story
along with any other characters belongs to me, though. Oh, and I'm not
making any money on this.

Summary: As Voyager is being evacuated, someone is forced to stay behind.

Dedicated to Mort for letting me use her version of Janeway, and to Elli for
digging me out of corners, thinking of a summary and beta'ing this thing.

Warning: Extreme AU

****************************************************

As he slowly regained consciousness, Tom wondered where he was. He heard a
familiar voice, and for a moment, he puzzled over who it was. When he
recognized it as the doctor's, he realized that he was in sickbay. Opening
his eyes slightly, he confirmed his suspicions. He *was* in sickbay, and the
doctor was talking to someone.

Tom frowned slightly when he heard an unfamiliar voice answer the EMH. He
concentrated, and after a moment, the voice became clearer. Tom caught the
end of the sentence.

"... *will* talk, I assure you."

"If you say so." The doctor's voice didn't sound convinced.

The other person obviously picked up on the doctor's doubts. "Believe me, we
have methods to make people talk. When I'm done, Tom Paris will have told me
*everything* I want to know. He's also sure to tell me a few things I'm not
interested in."

"Such as...?" The doctor's voice could be heard again.

"Oh, his whole life since he was born."

"Actually, that sounds interesting," the doctor said and laughed.

Tom could barely prevent a gasp from escaping him. He had never heard the
doctor laugh that evilly before. It made his hair stand on end. He cursed
inwardly. *What the hell is going on?* he thought. He soon got an answer.

"Ah, Mr. Paris is awake," the doctor remarked. A moment later, he stood
beside Tom's biobed. "Good morning, Lieutenant. Or, I suppose I should say,
good afternoon."

Tom frowned. "Doc, what's going on?" he asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

The doctor smiled unpleasantly. "I'm glad you asked, Mr. Paris," he said. He
looked at the mystery guest for a moment, then turned back to Tom. "Voyager
was attacked, and you got hurt when the conn exploded. With me this far?"
The doctor waited for Tom's nod of acknowledgement, then continued. "Well,
while I was operating on you, the aliens took the ship." He stopped
speaking. When Tom's frown deepened, he asked: "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Captain Janeway would've initialized the self-destruct sequence rather than
let Voyager get in the hands of some alien race," Tom said, remembering the
times when she had done exactly that.

"Ah, but during the attack, the computer system was damaged," the doctor
informed him. "When Captain Janeway realized that she couldn't blow Voyager
up, she ordered an evacuation." Seeing Tom's eyes widen slightly, the doctor
smiled quite evilly. "The whole crew left in the shuttles. You and I are two
of the only three members of Voyager's crew remaining onboard."

Tom blinked in shock. "Captain Janeway forgot us?"

The doctor snorted. "No, Mr. Paris, the Captain did not *forget* us," he
said. "She left us here."

Tom stared at the doctor, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. "She
wouldn't just leave us like that."

The doctor lifted an eyebrow. "No? Sit up, and I'll show you." He waited
until Tom complied, then activated a view screen. "Computer, play security
vid Omega Three Alpha Six Gamma."

Tom looked at the view screen as the computer played the security vid. What
he saw shocked him to the core. The vid showed the shuttle bay. Commander
Chakotay stood by one of the shuttles, speaking with Captain Janeway, who
had obviously just joined him.

"Are all the crewmembers on the shuttles?" she asked.

Chakotay frowned slightly. "No. Lieutenant Paris is still in sickbay. The
doctor hasn't finished operating on him yet," he informed her.

Janeway shrugged. "We can't wait for the doctor to finish. Leave them," she
said.

Chakotay blinked in shock. "Leave them?" he asked. When Janeway nodded, he
said, "Captain, we can't leave them. The EMH is our only doctor and
Lieutenant Paris is our best pilot."

Janeway gave Chakotay a frosty glare. "The EMH is a computer program, and
Tom Paris is a traitor and a fuck-up. We don't need either of them. Now,
let's go."

"Captain," Chakotay began, only to be interrupted.

"We don't have time, Commander. Let's *go*." With that, Janeway turned and
went into the shuttle.

Chakotay stared after her with an expression of disgust on his face. "I
don't think so, *Captain*," he muttered, then turned away from the shuttle
and left.

*****

Tom turned away from the view screen to look at the doctor. "Commander
Chakotay stayed behind?" he asked, clearly amazed. When the EMH nodded in
confirmation, he asked, "Where is he now?"

The doctor moved aside, revealing Commander Chakotay lying on the next
biobed. Seeing the questioning look in Tom's eyes, he reassured the young
man. "Commander Chakotay is merely asleep. He refused to leave sickbay until
I release you, which is why he's sleeping here."

Tom studied Chakotay for a moment longer, then turned back to the view
screen. He was just in time to see the shuttles leaving the shuttle bay one
by one.

When the shuttle bay doors closed after the last shuttle, Tom turned back to
the doctor. "Did Captain Janeway know that the Commander stayed behind?" he
asked quietly.

Surprisingly, the answer didn't come from the EMH, but from Chakotay
himself. "She knew," he answered as he sat up and looked at Tom. "She commed
me and ordered me to get on the shuttle," he explained. "When I told her
'no', she called me all kinds of traitor, then ordered the shuttles to
leave."

Tom considered Captain Janeway's behavior for a moment, then discarded it as
unimportant for now. He needed the answer to a much more significant
question. He looked straight into Chakotay's eyes. "Why did you stay here?"

Chakotay stayed silent, not knowing how to answer. How could he tell Tom
Paris why he had refused to leave him behind?

TBC