Title: A Chance
Summary: Episode addition for "Persistence of Vision." Fictober 2019 prompt #22: "We could have a chance." P/T, AU.
Rating: T

A/N: Inspired by "Exposure" by Laney1728 and my subsequent re-watch of "Persistence of Vision."

"I can't believe you're saying this!" B'Elanna exclaimed. "You know we have to stay here and try to help the others."

"I want you with me."

"You aren't Chakotay," she realized. I'm hallucinating.

"I'm the Chakotay you want me to be. The one who loves you. This is what you want, isn't it? The secret you've been keeping? You want us to be together."

He bent down to kiss her.

"No!" she gasped, struggling out of his grasp and trying to stay focused. "I have to help the others. The captain… Harry… Tom…"

"I want you, B'Elanna. I've always wanted you. You feel the same way too."

"No!"

He grabbed her again, and she couldn't quite shake him off this time.

"Let her go." Another voice rang out, commanding and authoritative.

She whirled around in shock. Chakotay's fingers slackened on her arm.

"She doesn't want you, Chakotay. Try to get that through your thick head."

"And what makes you think she wants you, Paris?" Chakotay said derisively.

"Because I love her. And she loves me."

Chakotay lunged at him, but Tom easily deflected the blow and punched him squarely in the jaw.

To her horror, Chakotay hit the deck with a loud thud. He groaned in pain but didn't get up.

This can't be happening!

Chakotay was a boxing champ. Tom shouldn't have been able to fell him with a single blow.

And yet, it turned her on like she never could have imagined. No one had ever fought for her that way before.

"This isn't real," she tried to remind herself.

Tom advanced on her.

"He could never love you the way I do, B'Elanna. You already know that. His heart belongs to her."

He took her hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb.

"But you and me… we could have a chance. We could be real."

"No…" She tugged her hand away. "This isn't real! I'm still hallucinating."

He reclaimed her hand and pulled her closer.

"I've seen the way you look at me, the way you watch me on the Bridge when my back is turned."

"How else am I supposed to see the viewscreen?" she said truculently. "Your head just happens to be in the way."

He gave her a knowing smile, letting her know that her animosity didn't fool him one bit.

"It's in the way you find any excuse to touch me… and the way you respond whenever I touch you."

She faltered as he nuzzled her neck.

"I can give you everything you've ever wanted, B'Elanna, if you'd only let me into your heart. You don't have to be alone anymore."

Suddenly, Engineering vanished, and they were in Tom's quarters.

In his bed.

"I wouldn't be here if you didn't want me, B'Elanna. This is what you want, isn't it."

"Yes," she whimpered, losing herself in his embrace. In his kiss…

The captain was gazing out the viewport in the Mess Hall when B'Elanna approached her.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Captain. Isn't this the day that you're usually in the holodeck with your novel?"

"I thought, after our recent experience, that I'd take a break from fantasy for a while."

B'Elanna nodded in understanding. After all, characters from the captain's holonovel had been stalking her in the corridors and in her quarters, hurling accusations at her and attacking her with a knife. The captain still looked a little shaken after that harrowing ordeal.

"I don't blame you. I think it had quite an impact on all of us."

B'Elanna took a deep breath.

"Do you think it's true? That the alien was reading our minds, creating images from our own experiences?"

"It seemed that way. He had an uncanny ability to bring buried thoughts out into the open. Why?"

"Oh, it's just… I experienced something I'd rather not admit."

"I know. Me too."

B'Elanna looked at her in surprise.

"But, in a way, maybe he did us all a favor," Captain Janeway reflected. "Maybe it's better to look those feelings in the eye than to keep them locked up inside."

"I guess. I'll have to think about that," she said, not entirely convinced.

The captain looked pensive, and B'Elanna couldn't help but wonder what else the captain might have seen that she didn't want to admit to.

She stood up to leave.

"Well, I have an early watch tomorrow, so I'd better turn in. Goodnight, Captain."

"Goodnight, B'Elanna. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks. You too."

But as she walked away, she knew her dreams would be anything but "sweet." Carnal, erotic… but definitely not sweet.

Only ten minutes had passed in real time, but in her mind, it had seemed to last an eternity.

In truth, she'd never wanted it to end. It had been the most sensual experience of her entire life.

After he'd hauled her into his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow, then stripped off her clothes, she'd lost count of the number of times she'd…

Stop! she told herself firmly.

At this rate, she was going to need a cold shower. Again.

How could she look him in the eye after this? Sit next to him during morning briefings? Or worse, go on away missions with him?

It had all been so vivid. So realistic.

The alien had dredged the hidden corners of her mind and uncovered her deepest secrets.

She could no longer deny how she really felt about him.

How could she not be attracted to him? He was so handsome, so virile.

In recent months, they'd frequently been assigned to work together, and she'd grown increasingly comfortable with him.

She loved watching him man the helm whenever they were on the Bridge at the same time. His graceful fingers gliding over the controls, handling the ship with such skillful manual dexterity that it made her long for the feel of his hands skimming over the curves of her body.

More than once, she'd caught herself standing just a little too close to him. Or touching him with a familiarity that she rarely did with anyone else.

Like when Voyager had been trapped in the spatial distortion ring not so long ago.

They'd been in the turbolift, trying to get to Engineering, and she hadn't even realized just how close she'd gotten to him until her hair had brushed against his shoulder. Close enough to catch the fresh, clean scent of him and the faintest traces of the woodsy soap he used.

Close enough to notice the way his hair curled ever-so-slightly at the nape of his neck, just behind his ear.

Trying not to think about how soft and smooth his skin looked there, wondering idly what it'd feel like to press her lips against that spot on his neck.

Even though she'd been invading his personal space, he hadn't seemed to mind.

He'd merely turned the full force of his electrifying blue-eyed gaze on her and told her to relax.

Only if you make me, she'd wanted to say.

And then her thoughts had overflowed with the countless ways he could get her to relax…

His gorgeous smile had left her weak in the knees, her skin prickling with heightened awareness. In that instant, she'd feared she'd spontaneously ignite. Desire had sparked like lightning through her veins.

Was this what it was like to fall under his spell of seduction?

Her finely honed sense of self-preservation had been warning her to back down, but she hadn't stepped back.

And he hadn't either.

Most people gave her a wide berth whenever they sensed her agitation, lest they become collateral damage if she suddenly unleashed her fury, but he wasn't intimidated by her.

Not in the slightest.

Instead, he'd stood his ground, meeting the challenge in her eyes.

To her relief, they'd arrived in Engineering before she could do anything she might regret.

Focusing on the task at hand had distracted her temporarily. She'd sprung into action, and Tom had faded into the background.

But even then, she'd noticed the way her staff had also looked to him for guidance and respectfully deferred to him. Throughout the crisis, he'd remained calm, unflappable. He wasn't easily flustered like she was.

He set everyone at ease in a way she never could.

Even she had felt bolstered by his supportive presence.

Caught up in the adrenaline surge, she'd gripped his arm tightly. The solid feel of him had grounded her.

And when they'd transported back to the holodeck instead of the Bridge, when he'd casually taken her hand in his, and then her arm to help her get down from the pool table…

How she'd burned at his touch.

She couldn't stop herself from wanting to be near him, wanting to touch him.

He had no idea how attracted she was to him. And even if he did… even if he was attracted to her too…

It didn't matter. She couldn't do anything about it because she knew that he and Chakotay were still at odds and would probably never get along.

She couldn't just give in to her desire for Tom. It would be the utmost disloyalty to Chakotay.

She already felt guilty enough that she'd imagined them fighting over her. And that Chakotay had been knocked out so easily.

You didn't even check to see if he was all right, a little voice in the back of her head accused her. You should have rushed over to his side right away.

Chakotay counted on her. She was his closest friend, his confidante. He needed her. Unlike Tom, who only thought of her as a colleague.

The only way we can be together is in my dreams.

And yet she could still hear Tom's voice echoing in her mind…

We could have a chance. We could be real…

Tempting her. Tantalizing her…

Maybe someday…

The End