A/n: I’m so sorry; it’s been almost two months since I updated this! I’m so ashamed! I hope you enjoy it after such a long wait!
“Where do you think we should go?” Amal asked Annika quietly as they walked as quickly as his injuries could allow through the complex’s dimly lit maintenance corridors.
Annika gave her head an indecisive shake as she stopped to make Amal take a breather, letting him lean on her more before she answered, “I’ve never had a firm plan Amal. Perhaps we should try to free Tuvok from the hospital…”
Amal frowned at her incredulously, “We do need to rescue him, but not now. There’s no way we could do it with just the two of us, we would be throwing ourselves into the arms of security.”
Annika bit her bit unhappily for a moment before nodding her head in reluctant acceptance. “We should return to Voyager then, and get a hopefully no longer amnesiac B’Elanna to help us; if she were to return then security would leave you alone.”
Amal gently freed himself from her hold and supported his weakened body on a large storage barrel while reading her expression carefully. “True, that would be very helpful…” He admitted, “…but really what are our chances of being able to get on Voyager and then back on again without being detected?”
Annika sighed dejectedly, “Virtually zero, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try to get you to a doctor!”
Amal’s eyes narrowed and he seized her arm, peering seriously into her flushed face, “Annika, you shouldn’t let your judgement be clouded by concern for me, I’m fine, thanks to you.”
“But…” Annika began in fretful hurt, stopping mid complaint as she read the certain, determined look on his face, her own reddening in anger, “I wouldn’t have to be concerned about you if you had stayed on Voyager with the Doctor as you told me you would!” Her near shout was shrill with frustration, her eyes hot and glaring.
Her words hit home and Amal gulped slightly, unnerved by her emotional outburst and feeling guilt and regret enter his mind, going out alone in search of the crew probably hadn’t been the most sensible thing he’d ever done, and he’d obviously given Annika a fright. “Alright, point taken.” He replied softly, letting go of her arm and watching her with interest as she glanced at him in embarrassment before gradually purging any sign of strong emotion from her features. He sighed heavily; sometimes she could really put him on the back foot! “I think we should go and look for more members of our crew.” He told her after a few minutes had passed.
She shot him a questioning look. “How would that help? They’d most likely react like B’Elanna, and that didn’t work out particularly well for us.”
He smiled wryly at the truth in that statement but continued, “I had one particular crew member in mind, Tom Paris, B’Elanna’s husband.”
Annika gave a start. “Why him of all people? He believes you kidnapped her, he won’t help us!”
He tapped his hand where his sub dermal communication device still lay under the skin, “We might not be able to convince him, but she will.”
A small, but slightly doubtful, smile of realisation dawned on Annika’s face and she once again extended her arm out to help him, albeit it with a short sigh, “Come on, the bar is within 100 metres.”
“Tom, pacing a hole in the bar floor won’t help you find B’Elanna, you have to calm down and let the police do their job…” Harry tried to reason with his new friend as they stood alone in the empty bar.
“I can’t just calm down Harry!” Tom retorted hotly, stopping momentarily midway through his circuit pacing around the floor. “Some psycho’s out there kidnapping pregnant women! How can I just leave her in trouble…” His voice now took on a note of anguish and his face crumpled, making Harry squeeze his shoulder supportively and peer at him thoughtfully.
“She really is…special to you, isn’t she Tom?” He asked quietly.
Tom blanched a little at that, then smiled sheepishly, “She is, I can’t explain why even to myself, let alone you Harry, the moment I met her I just knew…”
“That you loved her already.” A new voice finished for him in a certain, sympathetic tone, making both men turn abruptly to see that the odd blonde efficiency monitor had somehow joined them in the room and it was she who had spoken so out of turn.
Tom glared at her, feeling violated by her words, even though they struck a chord, and threatened by the woman’s stoic, yet understanding, expression, which coupled with the metal scarring her face, send a creepy shudder up his back. “Excuse me?” He exclaimed angrily, “I don’t think that’s any of your business…”
She bowed her head awkwardly, “I apologise for the intrusion, and I know what I’m about to tell you may be difficult for you to accept, but I know where B’Elanna Torres is.”
“You do?” Harry echoed incredulously, trying and failing to hold his friend back when he jumped eagerly on the woman.
“Really? Where is she?” Tom asked urgently.
“Come, we’ll explain.” She said quietly, heading off towards the open door of a storage room.
“We?” Tom asked tightly as he followed her, having enough presence of mind to signal Harry to come with him.
Amal gingerly appeared out of the room, “Yes, we.” He answered.
“You!” Tom snarled viciously, immediately trying to leap at him, but Amal dodged his flailing fists. “What did you do to her?” He twisted round to face Annika as she held him back from Amal, “And you! Why the hell are you helping him?”
“I’m helping him because he rescued B’Elanna!” Annika shot back sharply, “She, all of us in fact, are kidnap victims! We’re not supposed to be here…”
Tom laughed bitterly, “You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes, we do.” Amal replied tiredly. “Open the line to Voyager Annika.” Harry and Tom watched in disbelief as Annika pressed a small device and handed it to Amal, who spoke into it, “Doctor?”
“Commander! You wouldn’t believe how glad I am to hear your voice!” A male voice, strangely familiar to both Tom and Harry, replied.
Amal exchanged a small smile with Annika, “We’re glad to hear from you too Doctor, believe me. Is B’Elanna there? Tom wants to speak to her.”
It was the Doctor who replied now, but a nervous, uncertain sounding B’Elanna, “Tom?”
A/n: I’m sorry that it’s so short after such a long wait, but I’ve got time restraints tonight. Thankfully though, I think that’s me back on track with this story now! PLEASE REVIEW! :D
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Star Trek Voyager: Fragments
FanficWhat if, during "Workforce", not only Tuvok but also Seven and Chakotay, retained fragmented memories of their real lives? C/7 and a little Janeway/Jaffen and P/T in later chapters.
