"Perils of a Matchmaker" [PG-13] 2/4
"PERILS OF A MATCHMAKER"
SUMMARY: Tom Paris helps Pablo Baytart win the affections of Sue Nicoletti and endangers his own pursuit of the Chief Engineer in the process. Set during late Season 3.
Part 2
Tom approached the engineer, flashing his trademark effervescent grin. "Sue!"
Nicoletti eyed the helmsman with a wary eye. "Tom. What can I do for you?" She picked up a breakfast tray and began to examine the dishes on the counter.
"Just wanted to know if you enjoyed last night's party." From the corner of his eye, Tom noticed the perked interest on Neelix's face.
Sue quietly made her breakfast selections. "I enjoyed it," she coolly replied replied, "aside from getting a plate full of dim sum and soy sauce on one of my best dresses."
Tom winced at her answer. It seemed Pablo's clumsy act had failed to fade from Sue's memory. "Yeah, I'm real sorry about that. Mike should really learn to keep his feet tucked in."
"And Baytart should learn to watch where he steps," Sue retorted. Oh, oh! Things did not look promising. Once Neelix filled her plate with food, Sue carried it over to the nearest empty table. Tom followed. She eased into a chair with a sigh. "Okay, Tom. What do you want, now?"
Tom sat down in a chair, opposite her. "I have a favor to ask." He paused.
"What favor?"
In a breathless rush, Tom informed Sue of his plans (phony ones, at that) to develop a training simulation holoprogram for the pilots in his division. "Holoprogram?" Sue took a bite of her Eggs Benedict and grimaced. Then she chewed her food and swallowed. "What do you need me for? You're one of the best holoprogrammers on the ship."
It amazed Tom how a compliment could sound so cold. What on earth did Baytart see in this woman? Better yet, what on earth made me pursue her for six months? The challenge? Tom gathered all of his patience and replied, "It's not your programming skills I need, Sue. It's your memory. Of Geminian Prime. I understand that your last assignment before Voyager was the Hiriku. And that it was the first starship to chart the Geminian Prime system."
"So what? I'm an engineer, not a astrophysicist."
Tom sighed. Patience, Tommy boy, patience. Hell, you've been practicing it long enough with B'Elanna. His lips still fixed in a smile, Tom continued, "That may be true, but I heard you were part of the original survey team. To study the geological and metallurgical details of several of the planets. I need to provide me some details of the system."
Sue warily speared a piece of Ragealan sausage. "You can find all the information you need in the ship's database."
"The database cannot provide those little details that make a program exciting. C'mon Sue! Please?" Tom gave the engineer the full blast of his blue eyes.
A sigh left Sue's mouth. "Okay," she said, surprising Tom. "I'll help you. I may not remember much, but I'll help. When do we start?"
So much for Cold Hands/Cold Hearts Nicoletti, Tom decided. Maybe he should have tried begging, when he had pursued her a year ago. "How about tomorrow evening? Around 1900 hours? I'll meet you outside the Hololab."
"It's a date," Sue replied. Unfortunately, she had spoken loud enough to draw stares from nearby diners.
Tom decided it was time to leave before a false rumor could start. He bid Sue a quick good-bye and returned to Harry's table. However, one person seemed to be missing. Tom's eyes narrowed. "Where's B'Elanna?" he asked. Harry did not say a word and instead, responded with a sardonic smirk.
* * * *
Somewhere on Deck 8, B'Elanna crawled through Jeffries tube 26, lugging her toolkit with her. Several of the EPS conduits had malfunctioned and for some reason, the two engineers she assigned to make repairs seemed capable of completing the task. A firm believer in the old adage - "If you want something done, do it yourself" - B'Elanna decided to deal with the repairs, personally.
She came upon a console, located a few feet away from one of the tube's opened doors. After removing the console's panel, B'Elanna's dark eyes examined the circuitry. Obviously, Ensigns Mulcahey and Ballard's repairs had failed to solve the problem. In fact, their work only seemed to have made matters worse. How in Kahless's name did Starfleet allow such incompetents on their starships?
A sigh left the Chief Engineer's mouth. She picked up a hydro-spanner and set about making repairs. B'Elanna hoped that a little work would help her forget that scene she had witnessed in the Mess Hall. Unfortunately, no sooner had she begun repairs, her hopes quickly dashed. The circuits before her, soon transformed into the unwelcome vision of Tom Paris and Susan Nicoletti engaged in an intimate conversation.
What in the hell made Tom rush to Sue's side, the moment she entered the Mess Hall? Did he have an innocent matter to discuss? Or did he invite her to another one of his private parties? B'Elanna began to wonder if Tom's romantic interest in the red-haired woman had revived, after his failure to woo the Chief Engineer. The latter longed to know. And yet, a part of her had no desire to concern herself with the notorious Chief Helmsman. Ah, conflict! Her constant companion in life.
". . . has to be," a voice beyond the tube's door, was saying. "How else can you explain it?"
Another voice sighed. "Explain what?" B'Elanna recognized that soft, sarcastic voice anywhere. It belonged to her second-in-command, Joe Carey. "Pat, you don't know what you're talking about."
Ensign Patrick Mulcahey snorted. "Of course, I do! I was sitting at the table next to them, inside the Mess Hall . . ."
B'Elanna's hands paused over the console. She placed the spanner on the floor and quietly crept toward the door. When Mulcahey mentioned the words, "Mess Hall", she realized that he and Joe were discussing Paris and Nicoletti. At that moment, B'Elanna refused to even think of the Chief Pilot as Tom.
"You mean to say," Carey sarcastically continued, "that you and Lindsay overheard the entire conversation?"
Mulcahey retorted, "We heard enough." He paused, causing B'Elanna to mentally scream for the man to continue. "Paris asked Sue to help him with a holodeck program."
"And?"
B'Elanna's heart lurched at the news. Since when did Tom Paris need help with a holoprogram?
"Tom Paris, asking for help with a holoprogram?" Mulcahey cried out, repeating B'Elanna's thoughts. "He's one of the best programmers on the ship! Probably the best! What the hell does he need Sue's help for?"
A sigh from Carey. "What are you leading to, Pat?"
"I think Paris is interested in Sue, again. C'mon Joe! What else can it be? He invites her to a party inside his quarters . . ."
Joe shot back, "I was there!" I could have been, B'Elanna added silently. "There were at least ten to fifteen people at that party."
Mulcahey continued, "And what about this morning? Paris seeking help for his new holoprogram?"
Silence followed. B'Elanna immediately knew the answer to Mulcahey's suggestion. Tom Paris wanted Sue Nicoletti. Quite simple. He had apparently grown weary of pursuing B'Elanna and now focused his attention upon another woman. Surely, Joe could see that?
Seconds later, B'Elanna had her answer. "I guess Paris finally got tired of chasing the Chief after Sakaris IV," Joe finally said. "Too bad."
"Too bad?" Mulcahey's voice rang with disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Can you imagine the Chief and Playboy Paris as a couple? It would never work! She's too intense for a guy like that!" Intense could only mean one thing - too Klingon in Mulcahey's eyes. He did not realize it, but he had just earned another black mark in the Chief Engineer's book.
Carey responded, "I don't know. Personally, I thought they had something. Like I said, too bad." He almost sounded mournful. But not as much as B'Elanna felt.
* * * *
Tom strode along Deck Six's corridor in his usual, easygoing manner. He was on his way to Pablo Baytart's quarters, located right next door to Harry. Upon reaching his destination, he rang the announciator. Several times. After six weeks of accumulating extra flying time, Baytart managed to get two days off for his troubles. Today was the first of his off-duty time. A groggy voice from inside cried out, "Wha . . . Who's there?"
"It's me, Pablo! Paris! I have something for you." Seconds passed before the door opened, allowing Tom to enter.
Tom's eyes glanced around the immaculate cabin. There were a few facts about Pablo Baytart. He was an excellent pilot, a good juggler, a friendly soul, he constantly complained about Harry's clarinet and he also happened to be a neat freak. Tom barely saw an object out of place or a piece of clothing scattered about. Amazing.
"Lieutenant," Baytart greeted his superior, while tugging at his robe. "Can I help you?"
Tom replied, "Not really. Actually, I'm here to help you. Here," he tossed a PADD at the ensign. "Read that. You're going to be helping Sue with a holoprogram, tomorrow. Nineteen hundred hours. Be there." He turned on his heels and started toward the door.
"Wait!" Pablo cried out. He ran a hand through his dark hair. "What do I need this PADD for?"
"I told Sue that I needed help with a pilot training program. It's all there on the PADD. She'll be expecting me, but you'll show up, instead. Tell her . . ." Tom's mind raced for a plausible explanation. "Tell her that I was called unexpectedly by Ensign Kim, regarding an Operations matter." He slapped the younger man's back. "After that, it's up to you."
Before Tom could leave, Pablo thanked him. "I really appreciate this, Lieutenant." The Chief Pilot responded with a quick grin and left.
* * * *
At precisely 19:00 hours, the following evening, Tom deliberately failed to meet Lieutenant Nicoletti in the Hololab. Instead, he turned on his computer inside his quarters and watched Ensign Baytart make the appointment in his place, by activating the lab's video monitor.
The expression on Sue's face expressed annoyance at Tom's failure to meet her. However, the engineer seemed willing to work with Pablo. Within twenty minutes, Tom could see that his plan was going smoothly. Both Sue and Pablo worked well, together. And unlike the party from a few days ago, there seemed to be no mishaps.
No sooner had those words entered Tom's thoughts, Pablo punched in a few entries on his console, his eyes fixed upon Sue with unabashed admiration. Sparks immediately lit up the engineer's workstation. Sue cried out in pain, before she fell to the floor, unconscious.
Tom lowered his head into his hand and let out a heavy sigh. He realized, with a touch of despair that his efforts to help Baytart win Nicoletti's affections had just risen from difficult to near impossible.
* * * *
"One last item on the agenda, this morning," Captain Janeway declared, "is Lieutenant Nicoletti's injuries." The auburn-haired captain and her senior officers sat around the large table, inside Voyager's Conference Room. "Doctor, can you give us the details on this matter?"
Due to his possession of a 29th century holoemitter four-and-a-half months ago, the Chief Medical Officer had been able to appear outside Sick Bay and the holodecks. And finally even make personal appearances at senior staff meetings. Much to Tom's annoyance. The latter preferred the good old days when they communicated with the EMH via a computer monitor. Which meant anyone could switch off the ponderous hologram whenever he became annoying.
The Doctor gave a slight cough. "Lieutenant Nicoletti had suffered minor burns and electric shock from an outage in her console in the Hololab. She healed quite nicely, following a minor surgery and a few hours of rest."
"How on earth did that happened?" the Captain demanded. She turned to B'Elanna with concerned eyes. "Lieutenant, was there something wrong with one of the Hololab's computer terminals?"
The Chief Engineer's mouth formed a grim line. Tom almost smiled. She looked very Klingon at that moment. And quite gorgeous. "There was nothing wrong, Captain," B'Elanna grumbled. "It seemed Ensign Baytart had accidentally caused a surge in the console Sue was working from."
A puzzled frown appeared on Chakotay's face. "I'm surprised those two were working together. Neither really struck me as being exceptional holoprogrammers."
Tom spoke out. "It was my idea." All eyes fell upon him. "I needed Sue's help on a particular program, but I had to bow out at the last moment. So I asked Ensign Baytart to take my place."
"Why?" Janeway asked.
Tom shrugged. "It's nothing. I'm creating a new training program for the Conn Division."
"Is that what you two were talking about in the Mess Hall?" Harry blurted out.
The question took Tom off guard. He had no idea that his little conversation with Sue had generated so much speculation. "Well . . . yeah," he replied slowly. "What did you think?" He stared at his best friend, whose face turned red. Even more surprisingly, so did B'Elanna's.
Before Harry could answer, Neelix had a question of his own. "Why would you need Lieutenant Nicoletti's help with a holoprogram?" His question reflected in the eyes of the others.
"There's a certain system in the . . ." Tom paused. Why on earth was everyone interested in him and Sue Nicoletti? "Look, it's a private matter," he quickly explained. "Excuse me, but isn't this suppose to be a staff meeting and not gossip time in the Mess Hall?"
The majority of the staff glanced away, looking embarrassed. Except for the Captain, who let out a small cough. "You're right, Mister Paris. This is turning into a gossip session. However, you cannot blame us for being a little curious." She gave Tom a small smile. "If there is nothing more to discuss, everyone is dismissed."
The rest of the staff filed out, one by one. Tom started toward B'Elanna, but she walked past the door and toward the turbolift, before he could stop her. Damn! And he thought he had problems with Pablo and Sue.
* * * *
Two hours later, B'Elanna paused outside the doors to Engineering and took a deep breath. Disappointment threatened to overwhelm her. Disappointment that Tom Paris had found someone new to pursue. Or to be more accurate, someone he had pursued before. Namely, Sue Nicoletti. After the senior staff meeting, there was no doubt in B'Elanna's mind.
So many regrets filled her thoughts and heart. Regret that she had resisted Tom's overtures for a date. Or that he had resisted her pon farr-induced overtures on Sakaris IV. And that Vorik had interrupted when she and Tom were finally about to have sex. After receiving rejection after rejection, Tom had finally lost interest in her.
"Going in, Chief?"
B'Elanna snapped out of her funk and stared at the figure next to her. Carl Ashmore. She gave the engineer a tight smile. "After you, Ensign." She indicated the door with a wave and followed him inside Engineering.
The moment she stepped inside, B'Elanna froze in her tracks. Just ahead stood both Sue and Tom, their heads together in deep conversation. And judging by the animated expressions on their faces, Tom may have finally succeeded in his pursuit of the red-haired engineer. A surge of anger flared briefly inside B'Elanna, followed by jealousy and despair. Life was so damn unfair!
End of Part 2