Title: The Prince
Author: Leone
Series: Voyager
Part: 1/?
Rating: [G]
Codes: C/P, K/T, AU
Archive: Yes, if you want to
Feedback: mailto: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: In this universe Tom's mother was a member of the
royal family on the planet Darrbakh and Tom went to live there
with his mother when he was 10. He returned to earth to live
with his father when his mother died, shortly after his 16th birth-
day. And Caldik Prime never happened. Oh, and Tom's younger
than he is on the show. Here he's 25. Chakotay is 40.

Author's notes: Flashbacks are marked with //
         Thoughts are marked with {}

Author's notes2: This will eventually become NC-17. At least
that's the plan.

Warning: This is about a relationship between two men. If you
don't like that, don't read it.

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

The Prince
By Leone

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

Sickbay was dark and quiet when the doors swished open and a
man stepped in. He walked quietly over to the biobed where a
figure was laying, unmoving. The man stood for a moment, si-
lently watching the still figure before pulling a chair over and
sitting down to keep vigil.

He didn't hear the doors open behind him to allow the Captain to
enter, nor did he see her do a double take when she saw him sit-
ting there. The man took one of his silent lover's hands, holding
it gently between his own and stroking it with his thumb.

He sat like that for a few moments, still completely unaware of
the Captain's presence behind him.

***

Captain Janeway watched the man by the biobed in silence. She
took in the slumped shoulders, the bowed head, the soft, gentle
caress and realized that the still figure on the bed was very im-
portant to the quiet man in the chair. She opened her mouth to
say something, to get his attention. Before she could utter a
word, though, he began speaking quietly.

"I'm here, Love... I'm here, and I'm not going to leave until you
wake up... Gods, my love, it's only been a few hours and I miss
you terribly already. Please, wake up soon, honey, I'm miserable
without you... I can't concentrate and I have no appetite. I also
have a sneaking suspicion that I won't be able to sleep... I'm so
used to have you in my arms at night that I think I have forgot-
ten how to sleep without you. Please Love, come back to me."

Captain Janeway felt a lump in her throat when she heard the
soft, broken pleas from the man in front of her. Feeling that she
was intruding on a private moment, she turned and silently left
sickbay to go back to her quarters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom sat quietly, holding the hand of his unconscious lover. Next
week was their 5th anniversary. He still felt slightly amazed
when he thought about it. He had been happily married for al-
most 5 years. And he was more in love with his spouse today
than he'd been when they got married.

He sighed softly. "You know Cha, if you don't wake up in time
for our anniversary, I swear I'll never forgive you." The serious-
ness in his eyes belied the wry amusement in his voice.

* * * * *

//Tom Paris walked into the bar and looked around. Seeing
nothing of interest, he walked over to an empty table and sat
down. A waiter came over, and after Tom ordered a beer, he sat
back in his chair, a slightly bored expression on his face.

When his beer arrived he sipped it lazily, watching the door
through half-closed eyes. He was waiting for Ro Laren to arrive
with one of the Maquis leaders, Captain Chakotay.

Tom had made a background check on the man, using his
authority as a member of the Darrbakhian Royal Family. Cap-
tain Chakotay's records had been impressive. The man had been
on the fast track to his own command when the Federation had
basically proclaimed the planets on the border unimportant and
expendable. It was then that Chakotay left Star Fleet to join the
Maquis in their battle to save their homeworlds from the Car-
dassians.

It had only taken him a couple of years to become one of the
leaders in the Maquis. From what Tom had heard the man was a
natural leader; calm, cool and centered. Ro had told him that the
Captain rarely got angry, but when he did, his voice would be-
come cold and he would quietly flay you alive.

Tom had met Ro Laren at the Academy and they had become
friends, keeping in contact when Ro joined the Maquis. She had
written to him, telling him about the Maquis and her crewmates,
regularly mentioning her Captain. She described his personality
and his reactions in different situations.

Ro had contacted Tom a week ago, knowing that he, like every
Darrbakhian, disagreed with the Federation about their policy
regarding the Cardassians. She offered him a chance to talk to
her Captain about flying for the Maquis. She told Tom that the
Maquis could always use good pilots, and Tom agreed to meet
her and the Maquis leader in this bar.

Movement at the door caught Tom's eye. He saw Ro Laren enter
the bar with a big man, who had to be Captain Chakotay.

{Gods, he's gorgeous,} Tom thought when he caught his first
look of the Maquis Captain. He saw Ro glance around the bar,
obviously looking for him. Tom moved and caught Ro's eyes,
the bored expression vanishing from his face as he broke into a
smile.

As the two came over to his table, Tom rose to kiss Ro on the
cheek.

"Hi Beautiful. Miss me?" Tom said wryly.

"Hi yourself, Blondie. Nope, didn't miss you one bit," Ro
chuckled. Then she put her arms around his neck and kissed him
thoroughly.

"Hmm. No I don't suppose you did," Tom agreed teasingly.

Ro laughed delightedly at Tom's teasing, then turned to her
companion. "Chakotay, this is Tom Paris, the best pilot in the
Quadrant. Tom, this is Captain Chakotay, the nicest person in
the Quadrant."

The men shook hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Tom said, "Ro told me a lot about
you."

Chakotay smiled, "She talks a lot about you when we don't talk
about the war. I think she must have told me just about every-
thing she knows about you."

"Oh *gods*," Tom moaned playfully. "I deny everything she
told you. Except for the part about being the best pilot in the
Quadrant. *That's* true."

"TOM, you don't even know what I told him about you," Ro
mock-growled.

"I don't have to. Knowing you, it's probably all bad," Tom
whined playfully.

"Oh, stop whining, Blondie."

"Ro Laren, when are you going to stop calling me that. You
know how I hate it." Tom scowled at her.

"I'm not gonna stop calling you Blondie. You should know that
by now. Now, if you're finished whining, maybe we could sit
down and talk about you joining the Maquis."

The three of them sat down at the table, and the two Maquis or-
dered beers from the waiter.//

* * * * *

Tom was startled out of his memories as the lights in sickbay
were increased a bit. He turned around to see Harry standing just
behind him, looking concerned.

"I'm okay, Har," Tom said to his friend.

"No Tom, you're not. How long do you plan on sitting here?
You've been in here for an hour and a half. You need to sleep."

"I don't think I can sleep without him in my arms anymore. I
haven't needed to do that for 5 years. Besides, I need to be here
when he wakes up. What if he regain consciousness while I'm not
here?" Tom's voice was choked.

"Tom, you *really* need your sleep. If you can't sleep in *your*
bed, then why don't you lie down on one of the biobeds, hmm?
The doctor will wake you if Chakotay show any signs of re-
gaining consciousness." Harry told him gently.

Tom sighed, knowing that Harry had a point. He got up from the
chair and moved to lie on the biobed next to Chakotay's.

"All right Har, I'll try to get some sleep. Now go back to your
wife. I'm sure B'Elanna miss you."

"Goodnight Tom. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Har."

Harry turned and headed toward the doors to sickbay. Turning
back towards Tom, Harry noticed that the man had already
fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. With a quiet sigh, Harry or-
dered the computer to lower the lights. After one last look, he
left sickbay and returned home, where he was met by a very
worried B'Elanna.

To be continued
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