Trials 02 Harry's Trial Page 10

Like I told you last night, you're a very attractive woman. Alone

  there, it would have been easy to---get carried away---and you might

  have regretted it later. All of that rushed through my mind when I

  recognized Tom coming to our campfire. Then I was feeling guilty and

  embarrassed and I didn't know what to say."

  "You wouldn't even look at me!" she accused, her voice betraying

  a hint of the hurt she'd felt---was feeling.

  "I couldn't," Harry explained candidly. "I was afraid you'd be

  looking at me---the way you're looking at me right now. I'm so sorry,

  Malista. I didn't mean to hurt you---or embarrass you."

  "I thought you were---ashamed that you'd kissed me. I thought

  maybe you just felt sorry for me," she confided, blurting the words

  without thinking.

  Harry was dumbfounded. He'd known she had little confidence in

  her own sexual appeal, but it had never occurred to him that she

  would doubt his sincere physical attraction to her, especially after

  what they'd shared.

  "Malista, men don't kiss women out of sympathy---at least not

  often---and I don't at all!" he asserted. "Why would you think I was

  only kissing you because I felt sorry for you?"

  She looked down at her hands and mumbled her response.

  Harry couldn't understand it. He reached across and grasped her

  hand. "What? Malista, tell me! Why would you think I only kissed you

  because I felt sorry for you?" he repeated.

  Her dark green eyes flashed up to his. "Because I had to ask you

  to kiss me! It wasn't your idea!" She snatched her hand away from

  his, her resentment patently obvious.

  Kim collapsed back onto the couch, flinging his arms wide. "I

  just can't win! This is my own personal Kobayashi Maru!" He stared

  at her, eyes wide. "You don't understand, Malista. I guess I

  shouldn't have expected that you would. The only reason I didn't kiss

  you sooner was because you're an innocent! And you're afraid of men!

  And you were stuck out in the middle of nowhere alone with me! I'd

  have to be the worst kind of selfish, depraved---A man doesn't---

  shouldn't take advantage like that! But I did anyway! That's why I

  was so worried."

  She gaped at him in astonishment. "You weren't taking advantage.

  I asked you to give me kissing lessons."

  Harry let out a short bark of laughter. "I should have said no!

  I should never have started something I couldn't---we---you wouldn't-

  -- Never mind."

  "You're acting weird again, Harry Kim," she said with a

  suggestion of a smile. "Are you trying to tell me---you did like

  kissing me?"

  "If you couldn't tell that I liked it, then I was doing it

  wrong," the ensign replied with a sly smile.

  Malista felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "As far as I know,

  you weren't doing anything wrong."

  "So---" Kim drawled hopefully. "Will you forgive me? Yes. I did

  lead you on, I didn't dump you---but I did ignore you. Or tried to.

  So will you forgive me?" Harry repeated. He sat forward on the edge

  of his seat, his elbows resting on his knees.

  A smile was playing peek-a-boo as she tried to face him

  solemnly. "Yes. I'm sorry, too, Harry."

  "For what?"

  "For all those names I called you. For all those rude things I

  said about you. For all those punishments I thought up---"

  Harry held up his hand. "Hold it. I don't think I want to hear

  this. Especially if Jenny Delaney was encouraging you. She has quite

  an imagination."

  "So," she said, "where do we go from here?"

  "What?" Harry Kim gazed at her blankly. He hadn't thought beyond

  making an apology and hoping it would be accepted. He had no idea

  what to say.

  Her shy smile dissipated like wisps of fog on a sunny morning.

  "Are we---Do you---" She stopped. She had no idea how to ask the

  question. "You said that you enjoyed kissing me," she finished

  weakly.

  "I did." Kim wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, but he had a

  sudden conviction he'd gotten himself up to his neck in quicksand.

  The light dawned. "Oh! You mean, where do we go from here?"

  "That's what I said." Malista was not smiling now.

  The ensign pulled at his collar. Somehow the room seemed warmer.

  "Well, I hope that since you've forgiven me for last night---for

  taking advantage of your inexperience---that we can be friends." He

  smiled uneasily. He wasn't sure what she wanted him to say.

  "Friends?" She studied his face impassively, reminding him

  momentarily of Tuvok at his most Vulcan. It was hard to interpret her

  tone when she spoke in monosyllables.

  "Yes. We can be friends, right?" He hoped he didn't sound as---

  pathetically inept as he thought he did.

  "Friends." She said again. She closed her eyes for a second.

  When she opened them, she permitted herself a small smile. "Yes, of

  course, Harry. We can be--- friends."

  He almost let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't blown it after

  all.

  "Harry?"

  "Yes?"

  "You need to leave now," she said gently, standing and moving

  toward the door. "I have to shower and get ready for my date."

  He followed her, frowning at her unconsciously. "Date?" he

  echoed.

  "Yes. If you'll excuse me---"

  The door slid open. "Date?" he repeated.

  "Yes, Harry." She gestured toward the open door.

  "You have a date?"

  "Yes, Harry."

  "Tonight?" He reluctantly stepped into the corridor.

  "Yes, Harry," she said politely. "Good night, Harry."

  The door slid closed, leaving him standing there staring at it.

  "She has a date!" Harry said aloud to no one. 'Last night, she's

  taking kissing lessons from me ---and now---the very next night---she

  has a date---with someone else! Women!' he thought indignantly. He

  spun on his heel and marched away from her door.

  ***********************

  Tom Paris had a very bad feeling about this. "B'Elanna, are you

  serious? You aren't kidding, are you?" Without conscious thought, he

  began pacing again. "Jenny and Megan want to do a make-over on

  Malista? They'll probably give her flirting lessons and set her up on

  a date. I don't think she's ready for this. Why the hell couldn't

  Harry fall for her? They'd make a great couple! And I could trust

  *him* not to get out of line! I know how guys think. They all think

  Malista is an easy target. She's vulnerable. She's innocent. She'll

  fall for a smooth line."

  Torres shook her head, smiling as she watched Tom's newly

  developed brotherly instincts kick into warp drive. It was a side of

  his personality she'd never seen. His protective instincts toward the

  two women were not exactly the same. The chief engineer was certainly

  a less fragile character than Malista Shadow, but when he and

  B'Elanna had been prisoners of the Vidiians--- The memories of Tom's

  efforts to encourage and protect her roused a fierce sense of

  gratitude and loving affection for the pilot that demanded to be

  expressed. Immediately!

  She jumped to her feet and pounced
on him, wrapping her arms

  tightly around him in an impetuous hug that nearly squeezed the

  breath out of him. "Attack hug!" she announced, rubbing her cheek

  against his chest.

  Reflexively, he hugged her back just as tightly, surprised and

  touched by this unexpected display of affection. "What brought this

  on?" he asked, rubbing his cheek against her hair, then kissing

  and nuzzling the bumps on her forehead. His warm breath tickled.

  She pulled her head back. She grinned at him. "You! You're

  irresistible when you're paranoid!"

  "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out

  to get me," he said, blue eyes glowing.

  Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled up at him. "Help! The

  paranoids are after me!'

  "I'll rescue you," he volunteered.

  "Later," she whispered. She stood on tiptoe and teasingly

  brushed her lips across his throat.

  ***********************

  Malista stood in the shower, the tears on her face

  indistinguishable from the drops of water pouring over her face and

  body. She allowed herself to cry for a short time, but shut off her

  tears with an effort of will just as she shut off the torrent of

  water. She toweled the glistening droplets from her light gold skin,

  and quickly pulled on her baggy green jumpsuit, one of the few

  clothing items she possessed other than her uniforms.

  As she brushed her short black hair, she caught herself staring

  at her reflection. "What are you looking at?" she asked her mirror

  image. "Did you seriously expect that a man like Harry Kim would be

  interested in you?"

  She made a sound between a laugh and a sob. "He's smart,

  talented, handsome. A Starfleet Academy graduate. A really nice man.

  He could have any short woman on the ship! Why would he want a

  hulking lummox like you?" She brushed her hair with vicious strokes

  as she continued her monologue. "You don't know anything! You're an

  innocent!" she quoted.

  "That's his polite way of saying you're a moron who wouldn't

  know what to do with a man---except for kissing. I'm now an

  experienced kisser. Oh, sure. Let's put that on a resume. In a

  personal column. Single female seeks single male. Qualifications:

  She's been kissed a couple of times. Wow! That would start a stampede

  for your door! You idiot!" Disgusted with herself, she threw her hair

  brush down on the dresser and knelt to look under her bed for her

  shoes.

  "Delaney to Shadow."

  She cleared her throat to remove the last trace of the tears

  she'd shed before answering. "Go ahead."

  "Malista! You're late! Get over here! Susan talked the doctor

  into loaning her the gizmo! We're all ready for a major reclamation

  project!"

  In the background, Malista heard Susan berating Jenny. "For

  crying out loud, Jenny! You make her sound like a disaster area!"

  "I'll be right there, Jenny. I feel like a disaster area. Shadow

  out." Malista gathered her courage in both hands and prepared to

  take her second step toward being assimilated into the collective

  sisterhood of women aboard Voyager.

  ***********************

  B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris, and Harry Kim were seated at their

  customary table in the mess hall. B'Elanna had been wearing a

  secretive smile since her arrival, but refused to divulge the source

  of her amusement. Tom had begun making wild, speculative guesses,

  each more outrageous than the one before. "The doctor's

  developed a holographic playmate for himself?"

  "Don't be a pig," Torres sniffed.

  Tom squinted as he thought furiously. "Someone stole all of

  Neelix's leola root supply?"

  "You wish."

  "Come on, B'Ella, give us a hint?"

  "Us?" She jerked a thumb toward Kim.

  Tom took a quick look at Harry's distracted frown. The boy

  wasn't paying attention. Kim had told them he'd apologized and

  Malista had forgiven him for whatever it was that happened. So why

  wasn't he in a better mood? The trio heard

  a commotion at the doorway and glanced over to identify the source.

  Megan Delaney, Jenny Delaney, Susan Nicoletti, and another young

  woman had just come in the door. They were surrounded by five men

  from various sections of the ship, all vying for their attention as

  they made their way through the buffet line and to a large table.

  Paris' jaw dropped. The other young woman was Malista Shadow.

  Torres reached over and gently pushed up on Tom's chin. He closed his

  mouth obediently and looked to her for an explanation. "How? What?"

  He frowned as he took in the

  changes in Malista's appearance. He darted a look at Harry to catch

  his reaction.

  Kim was staring as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Her formerly

  short hair, now was almost shoulder-length, thick, and wavy, moving

  and swinging distractingly with each movement. It gave her a more

  feminine, softer look that drew attention to the lovely oval shape of

  her face. She was also wearing make-up for the first time. Blush to

  accent her high, elegant-looking cheekbones, green eye shadow that

  drew attention to the slight slant of her green eyes, and a moist red

  lip color that emphasized the fullness of her lower lip.

  Tom looked at B'Elanna. Outraged, he demanded, "What did they do

  to my little sister? She looks---she looks---And look at all those---

  goofs---gawking at her!"

  Torres laughed delightedly. She'd known Malista's new look would

  have an impact. And what an impact! The 'goofs' were absolutely and

  positively gawking at her. Every man on the ship was---or would be

  very soon. She was highly amused at Tom's reaction, which signaled

  the final disappearance of any lingering doubt in her mind that he

  was romantically attracted to the other woman.

  B'Elanna thought it was ironic that Tom couldn't see the funny

  side of this. If this new, confident Malista Shadow had been on

  Voyager from the beginning, Tom Paris probably would have been part

  of the pack pursuing her. Or maybe not. Tom was more the lone wolf

  type. Except right now he bore more of a resemblance to Papa Bear

  than any kind of wolf. Torres stifled a giggle as she followed his

  glare across the room.

  For the first time in her life, Malista wasn't cowering away

  from the stares she received. In fact, she was looking back and

  innocently enjoying the power of her

  femininity and prettiness.

  She'd received a crash course in the art of flirting from the

  acknowledged mistresses of the game, the Delaney sisters. Secure in

  the knowledge that the Delaneys would deflect any inappropriate

  behavior, she was putting those lessons to use; smiling coyly,

  sliding those sparkling eyes up then gazing adoringly at each man in

  turn---even playing with her hair. She was currently dividing her

  attention among three admiring young men who were building her ego at

  a tremendous rate as they competed verbally to win her admiration.

  Some of the onlookers were surprised to notice that the Delaneys

  were keeping a watchf
ul, almost maternal, eye on the younger woman,

  making sure none of the men went too far or too fast for their ward.

  Two of the men who'd arrived with them had already been dismissed for

  some imagined offense and shooed away.

  Torres examined Ensign Kim's reaction. 'Poor Harry!' she

  thought. 'He looks like he's just been fried by a systems overload!'

  Harry Kim was alternating between staring at Malista Shadow and

  at his own plate. He abandoned his food and concentrated on drinking

  his tea. "Her hair was almost as short as mine last night," he

  commented, finally thinking of something innocuous to say.

  "They used the Doctor's follicular accelerator," Torres replied.

  "It's usually used for regrowing hair on burn patients or for

  disguises for away teams, but he made an exception and let Susan

  Nicoletti borrow it."

  Malista laughed aloud. Ensign Murphy was holding her hand,

  pretending to read her palm, prattling some nonsense as an excuse to

  stroke her palm with his index finger and gaze into her eyes.

  Tom was slowly and deliberately getting to his feet, his fists

  clenching and jaw tightening.

  B'Elanna snagged his wrist and reeled him in. "Sit down!" she

  hissed under her breath. "If you ruin this day for Malista, I swear

  I'll push you out an airlock, Tom Paris."

  "But those guys---" he began, sitting down, but still frowning

  in their direction.

  "Those guys are looking, not touching---well, hardly touching,"

  Torres informed him. "Susan and the Delaneys are watching out for

  her. They're letting Malista get her feet wet without giving anyone a

  chance to push her in over her head."

  Paris scowled, twisting his handsome features into a mask of

  Klingon-like ferocity. "Nobody better push Malista---anywhere, any

  time, any way---or I'll push his damn face in. She may look

  different---more grownup---but she still doesn't have any experience.

  Hell, she's probably never been *kissed*."

  Harry strangled on his tea and began coughing. B'Elanna gently

  slapped his back to help him clear his windpipe.

  Tom glared at him, his suspicions suddenly aroused. "Harry, what

  exactly did you---"

  B'Elanna whacked Tom's arm. "Will you stop it? You are really

  getting paranoid when you start suspecting poor Harry! If you don't

  calm down, I'm going to tell Chakotay you need counseling. Eat your