Trials 02 Harry's Trial Page 7

yelling 'Yes!' She might misinterpret either of those responses.

  Talk about putting temptation in a guy's path! 'Doesn't she realize

  what she's inviting? No, she doesn't,' he reminded himself.

  "Of course, I don't mind. Kissing me---it won't be like kissing

  your brother?"

  She shook her head. "No. I don't think so." Though she didn't

  say it aloud, her eyes revealed that she found him attractive. She

  wanted this. With him. Not Tom Paris. Not because he was the man who

  happened to be marooned here with her. She wanted Harry Kim. Whether

  she understood that herself or not.

  'Though she won't know what to do with me once she has me,' he

  told himself. 'Go slow, Harry. She doesn't need another trauma to

  deal with.'

  With his left arm he pulled her toward him, lifting and turning

  her so she was sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest and

  shoulder. He cupped her jaw with his right hand. She was blushing

  like mad. He could feel the heat, even though it was too dark to see

  her color change. He tipped her face toward his and brought

  their lips together.

  She wasn't lying about her inexperience. She pursed her lips

  like a child. He brushed her lips with his, gently coaxing them

  apart. He nibbled at her lower lip.

  She sighed her contentment and pleasure into his mouth,

  and relaxed her body into his. She smiled, a genuine full smile that

  warmed Harry to the soles of his feet. He leaned toward her again.

  He brushed tiny kisses up the column of her neck, stopping for a

  few lingering kisses against the pulse in her throat. She leaned

  her head back to ease his access. She was almost purring.

  He moved back toward her mouth. This time her lips parted. She

  was a quick study. She mimicked his every move. She nipped at the

  tiny mole just above his upper lip, sucking lightly on it. Her arms

  crept up around his neck, pulling him closer. Her fingers threaded

  into the thick hair at his nape. Her breasts were crushed to his

  chest. She enjoyed the sensation and moved, instinctively rubbing

  against him as he deepened the kiss. Her response took Harry's breath

  away. He kissed her again. And again.

  This was moving too fast! Breathing hard, he drew back and

  studied her expression. "Malista?"

  She opened her eyes and smiled at him dreamily. "Yes, Harry?"

  "Nothing." He smiled back at her. She pulled his head towards

  hers again. Just before their lips met, he heard the clatter of rock

  hitting rock. Like a flash, he set her on the ground beside him and

  was on his feet moving toward the approaching sound, putting himself

  between her and the advancing intruder.

  Malista sat there for an instant, stunned by the sudden change,

  then scrambled to her feet, wrapping the blanket around her. She

  watched bewilderedly as Harry Kim moved away from her.

  "Harry?" It was Tom Paris. He was coming out of the darkness,

  his path lit by the beacon he wore on his wrist. "Are you and Malista

  okay?"

  "Sure. How did you find us?" Kim asked. "We lost our commbadges

  in the scuffle."

  "I know. We beamed them back to the ship. Along with one of the

  local bums. The captain is a little bit irked about that." He didn't

  mention how anxious he'd been since losing sight of his friends.

  "How did you find us?" Malista asked, coming to stand behind

  Ensign Kim.

  "Your campfire. The sensor array is online again. Tuvok knew it

  would be cold, so he started scanning for human life signs near

  outdoor fires. We didn't figure you'd take shelter with the locals."

  Tom was staring at Malista in the dim light of the fire and the

  torches. There was something different about her. He thought Harry

  seemed a little nervous. Both of them seemed nervous.

  Tom suddenly had a flash of insight. Malista was standing very

  close behind Harry. He wondered if something had been going on, but

  dismissed the thought as quickly as it occurred. Not with these two.

  Boy Scout Harry and Touch Me Not Shadow. There couldn't be a more

  unlikely couple---of course, that's what people had said about Tom

  and B'Elanna.

  "Well, let me put out this fire and we can beam up," the ensign

  said, uneasily aware of Tom's scrutiny. He moved away from Malista

  without a glance in her direction.

  "Where did you get the blanket?" Paris asked curiously.

  "Uh, I stole it off a clothesline on the way out of town," Harry

  confessed, stirring the ashes of the fire to be sure every spark was

  out.

  Paris grinned at him. "Harry, Harry, Harry! I can't take you

  anywhere. Better leave the evidence here." He took off his jacket.

  "Malista, take this!" Paris took the blanket and dropped it to the

  ground then wrapped his jacket around Malista. He enfolded her in

  his arms to warm her against the chill of the early morning air. She

  was watching Kim, but he didn't look at her. Tom waited till Kim had

  thoroughly put out his campfire, then slapped his commbadge. "Paris

  to Voyager. Three to beam up."

  ***********************

  When they materialized in the brightly lit transporter room,

  Paris got a better look at his friends. Harry was unusually quiet,

  but had no visible injuries, Tom noted. "Are you okay, Harry?" Harry

  nodded. Paris turned toward Shadow. "Malista! Is that blood?" He

  reached out to touch the trickle of dried red on her forehead and

  matting her hair.

  "It's not that bad," she snapped. She evaded his hand and

  stepped out of reach. She glanced at Harry once more. He was standing

  as far from her as possible. When he said nothing and refused to meet

  her eyes, she looked back at Paris. "I'm going to my quarters. Thanks

  for the rescue." She slipped off his jacket and handed it back to

  him.

  "Go to Sickbay and have your head examined, anyway," he told

  Malista.

  "I'm not the one who *needs* my head examined!" She pushed past

  him to get to the exit, giving him an exasperated glare.

  Paris spun on his heel and followed her. "Harry," he called back

  over his shoulder. "The captain wants to see you in her ready room

  before you report for duty in the morning. Malista! Wait up!"

  Harry sighed and exchanged a tired glance with the transporter

  operator. He trudged to the turbolift. The captain was not going to

  be happy with him. He wasn't very happy with himself right now.

  That look in Malista's eyes---what had she expected him to do? To say?

  He didn't want to embarrass her in front of Tom. How could he have taken

  advantage of an innocent? He felt like a depraved sex maniac.

  ***********************

  Malista was making for her quarters on a straight, unwavering

  path. Her normally deferential manner was totally absent as she blew

  by the others in the corridor without noticing their reactions to her

  stormy countenance. Tom had to sprint to catch up with her and match

  her long stride, which was almost, but not quite a run. He studied

  her expression. She was muttering one word repeatedly under her

  breath. "*Pallikaras*!"r />
  "What?" Tom asked. "Malista, could we slow down? I'm running out

  of breath. And you need to go to Sickbay."

  She didn't slow down. She screeched to a halt and whirled to

  confront him. "I don't want to go to Sickbay!" For the first time

  since he'd known her, a Greek accent colored her words. She sounded

  like a two year old throwing a tantrum.

  Tom squinted his eyes at her with a stern frown. "You will

  report to Sickbay, Crewman Shadow. Now! That is an order." She'd

  never seen him in command mode. His performance was impressive.

  He was serious. But that didn't lessen her anger---at Harry, at Tom---

  at the whole male gender.

  She drew a deep breath with a hiss. Clenching her teeth, she

  responded, "Yes, Lieutenant." She spun on her heel and launched

  herself in the direction of the turbolift. He trailed along behind

  her.

  Maybe if he gave her a few minutes, she'd calm down and forgive

  him for pulling rank. Maybe. But he wouldn't count on it.

  By the time he caught another turbolift and reached Sickbay, she

  was sitting on a biobed. The doctor was running a dermal regenerator

  over the slight cut on her head "Have you experienced any blurred

  vision? Any other symptoms?"

  "I have a headache," she snarled, her eyes on Tom Paris.

  The doctor's eyebrows went up as he followed her gaze. He turned

  back to her. "I can give you a mild analgesic for that." He prepared

  a hypo and injected her. "Please report any additional symptoms at

  once."

  "Is that all?"

  The doctor didn't seem intimidated by her hostile tone. He

  didn't take it personally since it seemed to be directed, not at

  himself, but at Lt. Paris. He wasn't surprised. Mr. Paris seemed to

  have that effect on many people. "Yes, Crewman. You're dismissed."

  She jumped off the biobed and, for the second time that night,

  pushed Tom's shoulder to remove him from her path.

  "Malista?" Tom called. "Sis?" He looked at the doctor and

  shrugged. Paris followed her once more. He didn't know what the hell

  had happened between Harry and Malista, but he couldn't wait to find

  out.

  Malista knew he was following her, but refused to acknowledge

  his presence even when he once again caught up with her. She decided

  she wasn't ready to go to her quarters. It would just give Tom a

  chance to corner and interrogate her. She marched into Sandrine's

  like an invader establishing a beachhead. She went directly

  to the bar and seated herself on the only available stool, the one at

  the end of the bar. Next to her, Jenny Delaney was looking

  almost as angry as Malista.

  Malista signaled for a drink. Jenny eyed her. "Are you ticked

  off, too?" the younger Delaney sister asked, correctly interpreting

  Shadow's body language and expression.

  Malista had never talked to the Delaneys, but everyone knew who

  they were. Identical red-headed twins were hard to miss-especially

  when they were so---socially active. She nodded, holding onto her

  anger as she received her beer and took a sip.

  "I bet I know why," Jenny said. She seemed to have had a few

  drinks, but it hadn't taken the edge off her anger. "*Men*!" she

  spat.

  Malista agreed with that sentiment one hundred percent. "Yeah.

  Men!"

  'One minute I'm being held and kissed like I'm a precious

  treasure, the next he dumps me on the ground and pretends it never

  happened!' she thought to herself furiously. She touched her glass to

  Jenny's in a toast. "Men! Those *pallikarathes*!"

  "Yeah!" Jenny agreed enthusiastically, then looked at Malista

  through unfocused eyes. "What? Is that a Klingon word?"

  "No, it's Greek," Malista explained. "What are you drinking?"

  Synthehol shouldn't have such an affect, no matter how much Delaney

  drank.

  "The blue stuff from the planet. Want some? Whazzit mean? That

  word?"

  "Bad-tempered thugs!" Malista replied, finding satisfaction in

  recognizing a kindred spirit. So she wasn't the only woman having

  trouble understanding men!

  "Know any more good ephi---epith---names for those stinkers?"

  She poured a glass of the blue stuff for Malista.

  "If I switch to Klingon," Malista said, companionably.

  "*Patahk!* *Ha'Dlbah*!" She'd learned those words from listening to

  the chief engineer.

  "Yeah," Jenny said. "Men!"

  "You can say that again! The liars!"

  Tom Paris was standing just out of sight, but close enough to

  eavesdrop on this conversation. He could tell where this was going

  and he didn't want to be anywhere in the vicinity. That would be

  asking to become a target. Malista was safe on board. He couldn't

  believe she was bonding over drinks with Jenny Delaney.

  What an unlikely duo! And drinking that blue syrup from the planet

  below? He made a face as he recalled the taste. He wouldn't want to

  have their hangover tomorrow morning.

  Tom decided to leave them to it. It was dangerous to be a man

  around those two right now. The other women on the holodeck were

  drifting over to the bar as well, attracted by the topic under

  discussion. Whatever Harry had done, it seemed to have brought out

  Malista's aggressive instincts. She wasn't acting scared or self-

  conscious right now.

  'Wait till Chakotay hears about this!' he thought as he left

  Sandrine's to look for B'Elanna. She could keep an eye on Malista and

  Jenny and maybe find out what

  happened.

  ***********************

  "Come on, Harry. Give. What happened?" Paris had trapped Kim at

  a corner table in the mess hall during breakfast.

  The ensign met his eyes directly, trying to convince his friend

  to back off. "Nothing happened." It didn't work. Harry dropped his

  eyes. He couldn't look at Tom without thinking about Malista. He'd

  let them both down---Tom and Malista.

  Paris leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as he

  inspected Kim's face, looking for clues. "Your mouth says no, but

  your eyes say yes. Come on! What happened? You two were down there

  alone. For about four hours. Alone. In the dark. Alone. With a nice romantic

  campfire. Alone. And you're telling me nothing happened?"

  Harry directed his attention back to his plate. His rigid

  posture betrayed his tension. "I told you nothing happened."

  "Harry, Harry, Harry," Paris said. Kim refused to look at him or

  comment. The persistent pilot gave up---on that tactic. "Well, at

  least Malista seemed to be all right. I was afraid being alone with

  you might traumatize her."

  "Why?" Kim's eyes shot up. "Did she say something?"

  Paris widened his eyes. "But Harry, if nothing happened, what

  could she possibly say?"

  Harry's anger was simmering under the surface. Tom was being a

  major pain. "Excuse me," he said, rising with his tray in hand.

  "*Some* of us have work to do today."

  Paris halted him with the simple expedient of grabbing his

  forearm. "Harry, she didn't---that big bully didn't hurt you, did

  she?" Paris' smirk
pushed Harry right over the edge.

  "Leave me alone, Paris!" He stormed out of the mess hall, so

  upset he didn't notice he still had his tray until he reached the

  turbolift. He passed it to Ensign Meldron and asked him to take it

  back to the mess hall. Meldron gave him a funny look, but agreed.

  Paris went looking for B'Elanna who was late meeting him for

  breakfast. She'd joined the party at Sandrine's last night. Surely

  she knew what was going on.

  ***********************

  Ensign Harry Kim had a lousy day. In fact, it was probably the

  worst day he'd had since Voyager had been hurled across the galaxy to

  the Delta Quadrant. In his short lifetime, he couldn't remember ever

  having so many people angry with him at the same time. He thought he

  understood now to some small degree how Tom had felt on his first day

  aboard Voyager.

  Captain Janeway had politely chewed him out for not taking

  better care of his commbadge and Malista. Tom was aggravating him to

  death for information--- even though he didn't really think anything

  had happened---and if he did find out the truth, Tom would be mad at

  him too. He'd found out during his lunch break that Susan Nicoletti,

  both the Delaneys, and, of course, Malista were not speaking to

  him at all. The silent treatment would have been bad enough---but the

  four of them also stared at him as if he were a lower form of life---when they

  looked at him at all. He wondered how much Malista had told them.

  B'Elanna was avoiding him. If that wasn't bad enough, even

  Diane Russell, the ship's librarian, usually a quietly friendly

  mouse, had snapped at him when he'd made a simple request for information.

  He had come to the conclusion that every woman on the ship knew the

  depths to which he'd sunk in taking advantage of Malista's innocence.

  The men, as usual, seemed to be clueless as to the cause. They were only

  aware of the effect. Except possibly for Tom and the first officer. Chakotay

  had been watching him all through the shift.

  Ensign Kim tried to rationalize his sense of guilt away by

  arguing with himself as he worked.

  **It was kissing. It was just kissing. I didn't do anything ---

  irrevocable.**

  * Yeah, right. Because Tom showed up.*

  **What do I do now? Apologize?**

  * How are you going to do that? Tell her you enjoyed necking with