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Betwixt & Between	By : Sagga Category: Star Trek > Voyager Views: 4316 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek: Voyager, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Betwixt & Between
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 9
- 10
Betwixt & Between

Part 10

They�d
arrived. The fan fare was still in full
swing even days later. News broadcasts
were fraught with Voyager tidbits of every kind. The crew manifest had been released
officially and the reporters were busy pulling up all available information on
the crew but mostly on the Captain and the senior staff. Starfleet had yet to release any details as
they were still undergoing debriefings.
It had leaked though, that the chief helmsman had some sort of incident
with an alien species very recently and there was wild speculation from all.
Thankfully
today was the last day of debriefings.
The commanding officers were left for last and after hours of gruelling
interviews and questions they were free to go.
Tom had been informed that his sentence had been shortened and commuted
to time served on Voyager so he was free.
He met the news with a stoic face and a slight shrug. The panel of officers had looked at each
other and then dismissed him.
That
had been hours ago. Currently Tom and
Chakotay waited in a small meeting room for Admiral Paris and his sister�s to
appear. They had met Chakotay�s
family earlier that day when the crew as a whole had triumphantly stepped out
of quarantine into the public eye and into the loving embraces of many loved
ones. Tom had only been greeted by nosy
reporters who�d managed to get in but Chakotay had seen his mother and one of
his brothers. He�d been overjoyed at
seeing them both alive and well and they had spoken animatedly for many minutes
giving into the urge to hug every so often.
Eventually remembering his lover Chakotay introduced a nervous Tom to
the assembled members of his family. Tom
couldn�t recall exactly what was said, his nerves getting the better or him,
but it had gone well. Chakotay�s older brother had given him the once over and
then glanced at Chakotay before pulling Tom into a hug. His brother was a handsome man too. Strong build, similar features, tanned skin
and the sweeping tattoo over the left brow �no dimples though. Chakotay�s mother was an aged woman but her own beauty was
visible in the lined faced, bright smile and sharp eyes. They seemed to accept him and Tom was more
than a little relieved.
Now
it was Chakotay�s turn to meet the family. Tom didn�t seem nearly as nervous as he was
when he met Nayib and Chakotay�s
mother. As they waited they spoke softly
to each other, Tom leaning on the table and Chakotay in front of him. The door at the other end of the room opened
and three people stepped in. Tom had his
back to the door but he saw the smile on Chakotay�s
face fade. Taking a deep breath Tom
turned and faced his family.
They
looked each other over. Tom couldn�t
help thinking that they looked old. His
father had lost more hair and it was now completely while. There were more
lines around his face and they didn�t look like they were from smiles. His sister�s were still �not ugly� (the best
compliment a brother could give to a sister) but they too had more lines. They were several years older than he was but
he could not mistake the sparkle their eyes had always held �although currently
their eyes were wide with surprise.
�Tom?�
Kathleen the younger of his two sisters asked?
�Who
else would I be?� The response was so Tom that they knew it had to be him.
�You
look different,� this from Moira.
Thought
of Osa sprang to his
mind. The hurt had faded since his death
but it was still strong. A brief smile
was all he could manage. �I�ll tell you about it later.� He slowly drew his eyes to his father, the
man he�d managed to disappoint at every turn.
He didn�t know what to say.
��Admiral.�
A
sad smile twisted the old face and he stepped forward. He pulled his son into a hug. The appropriate words had vanished from his
mind the moment he�d stepped through the doors.
All he wanted to do was get back what he�d finally realized he�d
lost. Tom pulled away a slight smile on
his face. He cleared his throat suddenly
feeling choked and turned to Chakotay.
�This is Chakotay, my fianc�.�
Admiral Paris shook his hand while extending his congratulations to both
of them. Chakotay had only proposed last
night during their quiet evening together.
Well technically Tom proposed since Chakotay had been too nervous to get
the words to come out in the correct order so Tom had proposed to Chakotay
instead.
Chakotay
shook the older Paris�s hand and tried to gauge what the man was really feeling but poker
face was impenetrable. He accepted the
chaste hugs Tom�s sisters gave him and conversation was polite but strained for
a few more minutes. Eventually they
parted way.
Tom
was silent most of the way back to their housing unit. �They were nice,� Chaktoay
said. Tom smirked.
�No,
your family was nice, mine was�formal.
It�s always been that way.� There
was a wistful note in his voice but he recognized that things weren�t going to
change that much. Maybe he and his
father would be able to get along but he wasn�t sure. Tom had changed over the years as had his
father but only time would tell if it was enough.
Chakotay
wrapped an arm around Tom�s waist and leaned in to kiss his neck. It brought a smile to the blonde man�s face
just as it was intended to. �Don�t worry
about it. We�ve got all the time in the
world to make things right. There�s no
rush.�
�I
guess.� They walked for while more
thinking about home until Chakotay interrupted.
�My
mom and brother liked you.� Tom gave a
non-committal �hmm�. �And I think I can
win over your sisters with my charm.�
Tom laughed outright. �What I won
you over didn�t I?�
Tom
continued to smile. �I guess.�
�Exactly!� Tom shook
his head ruefully. �So when do you want
to head to Dorvan and meet everyone else?�
�Everyone else?� Tom stopped walking as his nerves returned
with a vengeance.
�Yeah. My other
brother, my two sisters, and wives or husbands, nieces, nephews��
Tom
was more than a little overwhelmed.
�Uh�can�t your mom and Nayib just pass along
to them what a great guy I am?� Tom
asked, half-joking.
Chakotay
gave his nervous fianc� a quick hug and made a suggestion. �How about we order
in, and we can discuss what to do next?�
They still had a lot to discuss.
Where to live? When and where to
marry? Whether to stay in Starfleet or
not? Yes, plenty to discuss but they�d
made it. They weren�t in a hurry
anymore.

Generations later�

He�d
been around for a while now. They didn�t
call him child anymore (at least not to his face). He was a more experienced Alorem
contributing to his adoptive people and family.
Juma and Nie had
been like an aunt and uncle to him since he had arrived so long ago. Though he�d been an adult human he was a very
young Alorem and needed to be guided and taught just
as though he was an infant and occasionally even now he needed their guidance.
It
had been a long time since he�d gone to Earth, Dorvan
or anywhere in Federation Space which had expanded greatly over the years. He and Chakotay had adopted children, orphans
of the war. They had wanted a child that
biologically was theirs too but the Alorem council
forbade it. Their fears were
grounded. They had worried, when Osa had made Tom an Alorem, that the power he received would corrupt him
somehow. So far that had not happened
but it would be a risk to create another hybrid.
So
they�d adopted and if there was any difference between loving an adopted a
child and one that carried their genetic material, they�d never felt it. Three great children had grown up under their
care and eventually started their own families.
Chakotay and Tom had lived well on Dorvan with
each other but it had ended far too soon.
As
time went on Chakotay, just like all humans, had aged. Tom however had not (it was always tricky
trying to explain it to other people).
They�d received some looks in the latter years. Others could not understand what such an
elderly man was doing with such an young one. Tom hadn�t cared, neither had Chakotay.
Eventually though, Chakotay�s body, weak
with age, failed. He�d died
peacefully in his sleep his husband next to him. Tom had felt it coming and had stayed awake
that night not wanting to miss the last moments. He�d talked softly to his love telling him
everything in his heart until the man he would continue to love breathing
stopped. He�d cried for seemingly
endless hours until he raised himself to the comm-unit
and informed his children. The youngest
who lived on Dorvan as well, was the first to arrive
only minutes after being told. She
found her Daddy sitting on the floor next to where her Papa lay in the bed,
tear stains on a pale face.
The
other children and family members came to Dorvan. The
funeral ceremony was held and eventually they parted again. Tom stayed around Dorvan
for many years after his husband�s death.
He never took another lover, though he�d received offers. There was only one person he wanted and he
was gone.
The
day finally came when Tom knew he had to go.
He went to see each of his children and their grandchildren. He said goodbye although he could tell from
the confusion in their eyes they didn�t understand where he was going. He didn�t explain. His children were getting more lines around
their eyes and were slowing down. It
would not be long before their funerals were being held and he knew he could
not handle that. He said goodbye to each
and then left Dorvan, left the quadrant, left this
space. Since then he had visited his
grand- and great-grandchildren on a few occasions but he didn�t approach them
or anyone else. He viewed them from
afar, their happiness to bring him joy.
He
missed them; his children, his grandchildren, his friends, his husband. Some days he wished he wasn�t Alorem so that he could be with them sooner. Such it was one day when a there was a
disturbance in Alorem space. The area was off limits until the anomaly
vanished. They�d experienced these
before and so long as no one went to close they were safe.
Tom
had to be there. Someone was calling to
him. He could not disobey. He went straight towards the anomaly. The barricades and security could not stop
him and the others watched in horror as he vanished.

�I�ve
met him; your other father.� The tone
was happy and teasing. �I thanked him
for saving you, for giving me another chance��
��You�ve made me so proud�and given me more than my life was ever
destined for�my child.�
�I�m
waiting for you. We all are. We can wait an eternity�.no rush, okay?� That smile, that touch. He�d longed for it so badly and now�

Suddenly
he was back in Alorem space. The anomaly was closing. He was dazed and disoriented.
He�d
seen them, felt them -his family. All
who had passed.
Chakotay.
He�d been with him, felt the sensation of soft lips on his and then a
sudden force against his chest. That
jerk pushed him! Pushed him right back through the portal and
into Alorem space.
He
stared silently. The portal was
closed. He was cut off from them.
Other
beings gathered around him, worried and awed that he had returned. They expressed how glad they were that he was
home. Tom didn�t correct them.
A
moment before, in those arms, yes he�d been home. Now, he was just back. Two halves of a whole that today weren�t
fitting together as well as they used to.
Tomorrow would be better and sometime far down the line he�d be with
them again. It was a long time away
but�no rush.

End Part 10
Sagga Bott�
- 9
- 10
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Betwixt & Between