Resurrection Harry
By Ralkana

=/\= =/\= =/\=

Chakotay looked up from the padd he was reading when he heard Kathryn chuckle. She was absorbed in her own padd, so she didn’t notice his gaze on her for several moments. When she finally looked up, he smiled and asked in a puzzled voice, “What’s so funny about Tuvok’s report on the tactical training simulations?”

“I was reviewing the casualty reports. I assume you put Tom in charge of the crew’s locations and status?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. How’d you know?”

She counted off on her fingers. “One, Ayala was locked down in the Delaneys’ quarters. Two, the Doctor was activated, but his vocal subroutines were damaged. Three, Tuvok and Neelix were stranded in a turbolift. Four, Tom and B'Elanna were stuck in a Jeffries tube, and five, you and I were trapped in the ready room.”

He laughed. “Mmm, yes, remind me to thank him handsomely for that last one,” he murmured, pulling her into his lap and nuzzling her neck.

Kathryn shivered at his caresses. “I can definitely think of worse places to be than trapped with you for six hours… and worse places to ‘die’ than snugly held in my loyal first officer’s arms.” His lips and hands were making further voyages of exploration, and she sighed contentedly and leaned into him. “Hey!” she exclaimed suddenly, sitting up and causing him to give a small grunt of frustration. “If Tuvok and Tom and you and I were all out of commission, that means—”

“Harry had the bridge,” Chakotay said with an evil grin. “But not for long.”

“What do you mean?”

“Keep reading…”

She furrowed her brow and did as he suggested, gasping eventually. “Oh my God! They killed Harry! Again!” She frowned and glared at him. “Why is it always Harry?”

Chakotay snorted. “Please. This is the Ensign of Death we’re talking about. Kathryn, Harry’s been injured, shot at, dead or almost-dead more times than I can count. If something bad goes down on this ship, Harry’s bound to get it.”

“That’s not funny, Chakotay.”

“I’m not trying to be funny! It’s true! Why shouldn’t the simulations reflect it? This time it’s only funny because it was Tom who was responsible for choosing who died, and Harry died in twenty of the twenty-three simulations run. We were the only people who died more often; we died in all twenty-three.” He frowned. “I don’t quite know what to make of that.”

Kathryn grinned. “Maybe Tom was just trying to give us some time alone… you think he’s onto us?”

“Have you seen anything in any of B'Elanna or Tuvok’s reports about a massive amount of replicator rations switching hands? No, they haven’t figured it out yet, Kathryn. He trapped us together to give me a chance to overpower all of your virtuous objections with my wicked ways.” He snorted again. “It’s pretty sad that we’ve finally started the torrid love affair they’ve all been predicting for ages and they haven’t even noticed.”

She laughed. “Well, it’s not like we’re spending any more time together than we were two months ago. We’re just… using our time differently.”

“Very differently,” he whispered, pulling her to him again and crushing his mouth to hers. She moaned and lost herself in the kiss for a few minutes, but eventually she sighed and pulled away from him.

“Why would Tom want Harry dead in so many of the simulations? They’re best friends.”

Chakotay groaned. “Do we have to keep talking about Harry? I can think of much better things to do.”

“Chakotay! I feel bad for the boy, and I want to figure out why he keeps getting picked on.”

Her first officer sighed. “I don’t know why the universe picks on Harry. Tom picks on Harry because he considers him a little brother. Big brothers pick on little brothers. It’s a law of nature,” he said in a longsuffering tone. His face softened, showing a wistful expression she’d seen often as they’d grown closer over the past couple of months. “Believe me; I know. I was a little brother.”

Kathryn sighed and gave him a hug, knowing how bittersweet the memories of family were for him. “I’m sorry, Chakotay,” she murmured, and he nodded into her neck. He was happy to let her hold and comfort him, and after a few moments, his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck again. She snuggled into him, stroking his tattoo before tangling her fingers in his soft hair and pulling his head up for another kiss. Their actions were slowly growing more urgent when she pulled away from him and murmured his name. The growling sound he made was clearly a sound of aggravation.

“What, Kathryn?! I swear, if you mention Harry again, I will personally run up to the bridge and kill him with my bare hands, just so the subject is closed!” he exclaimed, laughing as he lightly shook her shoulders.

She chuckled and swatted his arm. “Relax, Chakotay! I was just going to suggest that we head into the bedroom. The last time we got… playful out here on the couch, we were both sore for days.”

He grinned. “But it was definitely fun… worth every ache,” he answered as he stood. She yelped as he swung her up into his arms and began striding across the living area of her quarters.

They both went tumbling to the deck as the ship was shaken by a massive jolt, and Kathryn felt the whoosh of air from Chakotay’s lungs as she landed on him. They were both stunned for a moment, but Kathryn recovered sooner. All Chakotay could manage to get out was a pained groan. Before she could slap her combadge, it chirped.

“Bridge to the captain. Can you please come up here, right away, ma’am?”

The command team glanced at each other in alarm. Harry was in charge of gamma shift, but that had not been Harry’s voice. It had been a female voice, and it had sounded nearly panicked. Kathryn scrambled up and helped her first officer to his feet. She took off for the turbolift and he hobbled after her as fast as he could.

=/\= =/\= =/\=

By the time the ‘lift got to the bridge, Chakotay had recovered, and they both strode out perfectly professionally.

“Report!” the captain snapped, and that was quickly followed by “Ensign Trevizo, where’s Ensign Kim?”

The young woman was sitting at the helm but facing backward, and she jumped up when the command team appeared. Her eyes were huge, and she was trembling.

“He… he was sitting in your chair, ma’am, and then some of the consoles exploded… including the one by your chair. I… I beamed him to Sickbay.”

Chakotay and Janeway stared at the still-smoking console and then at each other, their faces paling. Suddenly their earlier joking wasn’t at all funny.

“Good job, Ensign,” the captain said softly. “You did well. Bridge to Sickbay.”

“I’m a little busy right now, Captain. I’ll give you a report in a few minutes,” the Doctor snapped, and she could hear klaxons and alarms going off around him.

“Understood, Doctor. Bridge out. Bridge to Engineering.”

“Carey here, Captain.”

“Report, Mr. Carey.”

The engineer sighed. “As far as I can tell, Captain, the problem started with the power relays we got in trade from the Tiali. A couple of them shorted out and fried the surrounding gel packs. The computer was led to believe that the damage caused in the earlier simulations was real, and attempted to compensate by rerouting power to the affected consoles. They overloaded and blew. We’ve taken the other Tiali relays offline until we can figure out the problem.”

Janeway nodded and rubbed at her forehead. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Keep us informed on your progress. Bridge out.”

The console had exploded in Harry’s face, just like it had in nearly all of the simulations. And just like in those simulations, the young man’s life was in jeopardy. Janeway knew that if anything happened to Harry, Tom would never forgive himself.

“Sickbay to Bridge.”

Janeway unconsciously squared her shoulders, though she idly noticed that Chakotay did the same thing.

“Bridge here, Doctor.”

“I regret to inform you that Ensign Kim has died.”

The command team looked at each other in horror, but before either could say anything, there was a heavy sigh over the comm link.

“Cut the dramatics, Doc. Hello, Captain. He revived me. Again.” Harry sounded tired, but very much alive.

The captain stared at Chakotay in shock. His eyes looked full and bright, but his lips were twitching. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, and Janeway couldn’t help but join in. Ensign Trevizo looked at them both as if they had suddenly sprouted horns, and then she turned back to the helm and studiously ignored her commanding officers.

Through her tearful laughter, the captain managed to mumble, “Oh, thank God, Harry! Any other casualties, Doctor?”

“Three other injuries, Captain, all minor. I've already released the crewmembers in question, and I'll have a full report for you in the morning. As for Ensign Kim, he is fine, perfectly healthy, though probably a bit sore. I recommend several days off duty.”

“Of course, Doctor. Go to bed, Ensign. You deserve some time off.”

“Yes, ma’am. If you need a replacement for me, can I suggest Lieutenant Paris?”

Janeway laughed at the weary determination in the ensign’s voice. “Yes, I think that’s an excellent idea, Harry. In fact, I think Mr. Paris can have gamma shift for the rest of the week while you recuperate. He can come straight up here after his beta shifts in Sickbay. Make the appropriate changes to the duty roster, Commander,” she added, nodding to Chakotay.

“Aye, Captain,” he answered, grinning at her.

She smiled back, and suddenly it morphed into an evil grin. “Mr. Kim, can you remain in Sickbay for a few moments more?”

“Captain?”

“Just trust me, Harry. I’ll let you know in a few minutes what I need for you to do. Bridge out. Bridge to Lieutenant Paris.”

After several seconds, Tom’s voice came through, raspy with sleep. “Paris here.”

“Mr. Paris, your presence is required on the bridge.”

“Aye, Captain. Paris out.”

Chakotay raised an eyebrow. “Kathryn?”

“I’m just giving the little brother a chance at revenge, Chakotay. We won’t harm Paris… too much. Act mournful.”

“Kathryn, you’re not going to do what I think you are!”

“I am… Paris likes practical jokes, doesn’t he? Doc did it to us, and we’re fine.” Her face and voice hardened briefly. “Besides, maybe next time he’ll think twice before repeatedly killing off his best friend in a training simulation just for laughs.” Chakotay just shook his head ruefully and schooled his features into a somber gaze. “Bridge to Sickbay.”

“Sickbay here.”

“Doctor, is your latest patient still there?”

“Here, Captain.”

“Good. Doc, I want you to monitor bridge communications from Sickbay. Harry, break in at the appropriate moment, do your miraculous coming-back-from-the-dead trick again, and say hi to Tom.”

Harry laughed. “Aye, Captain. Anything—”

The ‘lift doors slid open and Janeway hurriedly cut him off. “Thank you, Doctor,” she said solemnly. “Janeway out.” She turned to the bridge’s newest occupant, who was staring at the ruined command console. “Mr. Paris, we need you to take the bridge for the rest of gamma shift. The commander and I have duties elsewhere.”

“What happened?” he asked, aghast.

“Apparently, there was a problem with the power relays, which fried the gelpacks and caused the computer to reroute power to the consoles ‘damaged’ in the simulations earlier. This console exploded, severely injuring Mr. Kim. He was beamed to Sickbay. The Doctor pronounced him dead a short while ago.”

Tom went white as a sheet and sat down hard in the captain’s chair. “What?!”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing Doc’s had a lot of practice reviving me,” Harry’s voice broke in, and Tom jumped up. “Thanks for taking my gamma command shifts for the next week, Tom, while I recover.”

Tom’s voice was shaky as he said angrily, “That wasn’t funny.”

“Neither was you doing God-knows-what in the Jeffries tubes with B'Elanna for hours while I got to die, over and over and over again,” Harry said, laughing. “You forgive us, I’ll forgive you.”

Tom’s face had turned bright red, and he opened and closed his mouth several times without saying anything. Then he laughed, shaking his head. “Fine. You got me good, Har. You win. This time, but—”

“Oh no, Mr. Paris. There will be no revenge for this practical joke. If you want to get your little brother for something, it will have to be for something else. Understood?”

Tom nodded, still laughing. “Yes, ma’am.”

The Doctor’s voice broke in. “Captain, there is a slight problem. Ensign Kim’s date of death has been recorded and erased in his file so many times that the field is scrambled. I think it’s irreparable.”

“What?!”

“Harry, calm down. I take it you’re not indulging in a practical joke, Doctor?”

“I can assure you, Captain—”

She sighed, struggling not to laugh. Chakotay had his hand over his mouth, smothering a grin, as opposed to Paris, who was doing nothing to hide his.

“Well, Doctor… replicate some paper. Mr. Kim will have to have his records in hard copy from now on, until we get home.”

Tom called, “Hey, Doc! I’ll replicate you a pencil and an eraser! I have a feeling this won’t be the last time you need to fill in that field; if you use pencil, you won’t mar his file with unsightly stains when you have to scratch out the ink.”

“Paris!”

Janeway raised a hand. “Gentlemen, that’s enough!” she exclaimed, fighting to keep her composure. “We’ll leave you to it. Let Mr. Kim rest, Mr. Paris. And he was correct, Tom; you do have gamma shift on the bridge this week, following your beta shifts in Sickbay.”

Paris groaned and nodded, and they all called their goodnights to each other. Janeway headed for the turbolift, and Chakotay followed close behind her. Once they were safely in, she looked at him, snorted her laughter through her hand, and fell against his chest. They laughed helplessly for several moments; she calmed down first, shaking her head.

“Oh God,” she moaned. “This quadrant is driving us all insane!”

“Not a very long drive for some people,” he countered, wincing when she elbowed him in the ribs. He hugged her to him, kissed her hair, and murmured, “Thank the spirits he’s all right.”

She nodded into his shoulder before raising her head to seek a kiss from him. The kiss was hard and hungry, and he responded just as hungrily. It was their quick way of reaffirming life and love after a traumatic incident, and they had both grown quite fond of the little ritual over the previous two months, though neither appreciated the frequency with which they needed it.

When Chakotay finally pulled away, needing oxygen, he was stunned by the smoky darkness in his lover’s eyes. She smiled slowly and seductively at him, and flames of desire began to lick through him.

“Computer, halt turbolift,” she murmured huskily, and his eyes widened even as his body responded to her voice.

“Kathryn?”

“We’ll just blame it on another computer malfunction in the morning, Commander,” she said as she grabbed the lapels of his uniform jacket and yanked him to her.

“Aye, Captain,” he responded with a smile. “Damn ‘lift malfunctions,” he murmured just before his lips found hers again.