If there was any single quality about her husband that made B'Elanna Torres feel nearly equal amounts of admiration and exasperation, it was ability to anticipate any and all objections she might have to one of his schemes and plan appropriate responses.

It was the engineer in her, she decided, that admired the planning that went into it -- the foresight, the plotting and scheming, the figuring out of how big a lever and what angle of force would be necessary to change her mind without making her feel manipulated.

She watched Tom coil the rope in a calm, casual manner and she had to think, Well, he looks like he knows what he's doing... But then she had to shake herself. This is exactly what he always does. Looks like he knows what he's doing.

"So how do you know I'll like it?" she asked.

"Well," Tom replied. "You liked it that time we did it on the holodeck."

"But that isn't the same thing. On the holodeck, there's no chance that anyone could get hurt -- no rope burns if something gets out of control..."

"Come on, B'Elanna. I've done this before, you know."

"When you were a lot younger," she retorted. "Back on Earth where there were people around who would help if you got in over your head."

"Harry said that he would keep an eye on things..." Tom continued. "If we need him, all we have to do is speak up."

B'Elanna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "'Harry said...' Do you really think he's going to have time to keep a look out for us every single second?"

Tom waggled his eyebrows. "Well, of course not," he said. "If I thought he was going to be watching us every second, it wouldn't be any fun. If there's no risk..."

"...There's no excitement," she finished for him. "Yes, we've had that conversation before." She looked at the coil of rope in his hand, then over his shoulder at the blue ocean, the black sand beach, the boat... The tiny, tiny boat. "And you've done this before?"

Tom stepped forward and touched her on the shoulder, reached up and brushed her braid back over her ear. "Yes, love. Don't worry. It's only water."

"And sharks. Or something worse."

"No sharks. We checked. The only big predators are in the south. Up here, the top of the food chain are some large cetacean-like creatures, but the survey team said they were fairly tame. Harry said he went swimming with a school of them."

"Oh, that's right," she said. "I remember that."

"You have your comm badge?" B'Elanna asked. "But how cold is the water? You know I hate to get cold."

"It's about 35 degrees, B'Elanna. You've taken baths in water colder than this." He run his hands down over her shoulders to her waist, then pulled her close. "And if we get to the island I was telling you about, I promise you that you won't get cold at all."

B'Elanna inhaled deeply and considered. She knew that he knew she was going to give in, but she also knew that he knew that she couldn't give in too easily. "I didn't bring a bathing suit," she offered. Pretty lame, she thought. And he'll have that covered.

"I've got that covered," Tom said. He handed her a medium-sized bag, one of the half-dozen that he had beamed down before they had arrived. "I asked the replicator to make up half-a-dozen different suits in your size. Different styles. If you don't find anything you like, you can always stay in your cutoffs."

B'Elanna narrowed her eyes at him. She knew the power that the sight of her in cut-offs had on him. It was one of those weird "Tom is a male" things, that she didn't quite get. She had worn some pretty enticing outfits for him over the years, but for some damned reason she hadn't ever figured out, cut-offs -- particularly the pair with the little worn patches on the rear -- really made him crazy. Maybe crazier than she wanted him to be while trying to sail a boat.

She snatched the bag from him and headed for the boat. It had a tiny cabin where she could change. Over the wind, she called back, "Stow those bags, mister. I'll be right out."

Behind her, she heard Tom laugh and said, "Arrh. Aye-aye, cap'n. Shiver me timbers."

B'Elanna spent several minutes searching the interior of the cabin for a light switch until she remembered, Oh, right. No power. She pulled a small hand lantern from her standard-issue away team bag and propped it against the wall. It cast enough light that she could find the small cot and sit down.

She opened the bag and, as Tom promised, inside were six bathing suits in six different styles, ranging from a practical racing style one-piece to a tiny, tiny two piece suit that would show off more skin than her most revealing lingerie. She set the one-piece aside, stuffed the two-piece back into the bag, then fished around some more. Her hand touched something that felt different from the others and she tugged it out.

The material was thicker than a regular bathing suit, slightly thicker. She pulled it out and found that it had a zipper. Dark blue with a yellow stripe, it looked like the top half of a wet suit, except no sleeves and cropped at the bottom. She found a bottom that matched -- smaller and not made of the thick material, but a little more modest than the thong. It looked like it would insulate if she needed it. This will do, B'Elanna thought, and started tugging at her uniform.

When she emerged from the cabin, B'Elanna blinked from the bright sun. The clouds were burning off as Tom had predicted and the wind had slackened off to a light, steady breeze. Tom, just finishing stowing the gear in a small cupboard under the stern seat, stood up, squinted in her direction and smiled. "Hey, good choice. The material will insulate if it gets cold, but breathes well in case you get too hot. Looks good, too." B'Elanna looked down at herself and had to admit that, yes, it did look good. She felt slippery, like some sort of sea mammal, a seal or otter.

"Well, thanks," she said, tossing him the bag. "I can't believe you put that little purple thing in there."

Tom grinned. "Hey, I have to take every contingency into consideration. Maybe you'll get hot in that thing later."

B'Elanna hmphed. "Maybe," she said. "But don't count on it." She clapped her hands together and said, "Okay, captain, what do we do first?"

Tom looked around the small boat, tilted his head back to look up at the mast and the rigging, nodded in satisfaction. "First," he said, "we put the boat into the water."

This turned out to be less of a chore than B'Elanna would have expected. Tom had apparently correctly calculated the amount of time it would take to stow their gear and make the boat ready before the tide rolled in. Just as the first waves crept up around the bow, Tom waded into the surf carrying a line. B'Elanna's job, basically, was to push when the water rose high enough to float the stern off the sand.

When this occurred, Tom tugged the craft out into deeper water, swiftly waded through the surf, hoisted himself over the side and tossed the anchor out to keep it in place long enough to help B'Elanna on board. Then, with remarkably little fuss, he unfurled the mainsail, raised it and turned the boat into the wind.

The whole operation left B'Elanna a little breathless, not because of strenuous activity, but because she found the whole operation a little... thrilling. Crouching on the small seat on the port, waiting for the call to tug on one line or another, B'Elanna turned to look at her husband and was surprised to see that he wasn't looking back at her. Instead, he was watching the horizon, the streaks of ragged clouds high up and to the east, the trim of the sail and the shape of the wake.

He wasn't thinking about what he looked like or how well it was going... at all. He was just in the moment, not thinking about anything except steering the little craft straight and true, as faithfully and well as he piloted Voyager.

This thought filled B'Elanna's engineer heart with joy and when Tom called, "Coming about!" she leapt to her task with gusto, thrilled as the boom shifted, the sail luffed, then swelled. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her husband grin at her -- not a smile or a smirk, but a grin. He was happy with the knowledge that he was in the right place at the right time, and so she was, too. How strange, she thought, to find myself here. All the roads I could have taken, all the light years traveled, and here I am.

And then Tom yelled, "Coming about!" The boom shifted, the bow lifted, and the world spun about.

And they came about, brightly and well.

Later that day... B'Elanna held onto the line and lowered herself gingerly into the water, waiting for the cold to snap up her legs.

But it didn't.

Tom was right. It was like bath water. She felt a slow current stirring just below the surface and she held onto the line to make certain it wouldn't drag her away. B'Elanna knew how to swim -- you couldn't get into the Academy unless you did -- but it wasn't something that she did either eagerly or well. But this didn't seem so bad, so she led go of the line and slid into the water.

The water was almost still -- no wind, no waves, just tiny glimmering peaks and sharp sparks of sunlight. B'Elanna treaded water easily, feeling the high salt content of the water and the built-in buoyancy of the suit making it easy for her to keep her head above the surface.

"How is it?" Tom asked.

"Fine. Really nice, actually. There's a slight current that's trying to pull me off in... that" she pointed to her right "direction, but it's nothing much." Tom shaded his eyes and looked in the direction B'Elanna had indicated.

"There's an island over there," he said. "Very low. You probably can't even see it from there." He checked his tricorder. "I think it's where we're headed."

B'Elanna looked up at Tom and asked, "You want to come in?"

"What? Oh, no. It wouldn't be a good idea for us to both be off the boat. You just enjoy the water for a few more minutes. You earned it. When you're ready, climb back up and we'll go have lunch."

B'Elanna paddled around for a few more minutes, letting the current pull her a few meters, then swimming back towards the boat. She grabbed the line she used to lower herself into the sea and held on. The current was growing stronger, she realized, because the line grew taut as the current pulled her along. She felt the warm flow along her sides, then down her legs. It was actually quite refreshing, like a warm shower under the water, the thought of which made her twist her body and spread her legs slightly. Without really thinking about why she was doing it, B'Elanna reached down with one hand and slid her hand into the waistband of her suit. She lightly rubbed the tip of her clitoris and felt a tight tingling sensation where the current moved over her there.

She felt unexpectedly sensitive and said, "Ah!" louder than she would have expected. Tom, who was momentarily distracted by his tricorder readings, said, "Something wrong?"

B'Elanna pulled her hand out of her suit, grabbed the line with both hands and tried not to laugh. "No, nothing," she called. "Thought I saw a fish, but it was just a shadow."

Tom waved his tricorder around the surface of the sea and said, "Nope. Nothing big enough to worry about, anyway." He paused, waved the tricorder over B'Elanna and smiled a little half-smile. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go have lunch."

The island turned out to be little more than a little hump of sand and vegetation protected from the waves by a barrier reef. It was about half a kilometer wide and maybe two or three long with a tiny nub of what appeared to be volcanic rock at the center. It was hard to say for certain against the blue midday sky, but B'Elanna thought she could see waves of heat distortion above the center rock.

"Is that an active volcano?" she asked.

"Depends on what you mean by 'active,'" Tom responded. "If you mean, 'Is there any danger of an eruption?' then the answer is 'No.' If you mean, 'Are we looking at the top of a volcanic mountain?' well, I guess the answer is 'Yes.' It's one of the few around here that's actually visible. Most of the undersea mountains around here have some kind of vent in them. It's part of the reason the water is so warm."

"So we're not going to be running and stumbling over lava rock to get back to the boat before a volcano explodes under our feet?" she asked.

"Oh, you mean our usual kind of vacation? No, I thought we'd do something predictable and be boring today. Harry said it's just a big rock with some sand on it. I believe him."

B'Elanna shrugged and said, "Well, then, take us in, Mr. Paris."

"Aye-aye, Captain," he said, beginning a mock salute, then stopped. "Wait a minute -- I'm the captain."

They beached the boat on a narrow sandy strip fronted by low tropical vegetation. There was evidence of small prints in the damp sand, but Tom's tricorder didn't pick up indications of anything larger than what must be the local version of a rat, so they grabbed the two hampers Tom had packed, B'Elanna's backpack, and a couple other bags and headed for the bump of a hill.

The vegetation didn't present any problems and the volcanic rock was equal parts crumbly and spiky, but they both were wearing sturdy shoes, so it was an easy, enjoyable hike.

The top of the hill was indented, as if some strata of soil had given way some years ago. At the center of the bowl were several large palm-like trees, obviously protected enough by the lip of the bowl that they weren't blown over whenever a stiff wind kicked up. Beneath the trees, B'Elanna saw the source of the heat distortion -- a small pool of water heated by an underground volcanic vent. Tom grinned when he saw B'Elanna's eyebrows arch upward.

"You knew this was here?"

"I guessed. When Harry showed me the readings, we did a scan and it seemed the most likely explanation."

"Does Captain Janeway know that you're using Voyager's sensors to find us a hot tub?"

"Captain Janeway is the captain and if she wants a hot tub, all she has to do is order someone -- probably Chakotay -- to make her one. Those of us in the lower ranks have to make our own fun." Tom dropped his hamper on the ground. "So, you want to eat first or do you want to soak?"

"What's that thing about not soaking for two hours after eating?"

"That's swimming -- and it's a myth, too."

"Still, no use taking chances, right?"

"Right. You go ahead. I'm hungry. I'll join you in a little bit."

B'Elanna shrugged, secretly enjoying the idea of being the first one to try the pool., but the idea wasn't so attractive that she didn't pass the tricorder over the surface before dipping in her big toe. Hot, all right, but well within tolerance for a humanoid.

B'Elanna sat at the edge of the pool and slid a foot into the water. Some kind of natural effervescence, she noticed. High mineral content probably. She slipped in up to her waist and a rush of tiny bubbles rushed up the sides of her legs and percolated around her waist. The water was just warm enough that she had to pause for a moment to adjust, but, then she adapted quickly and slid in up to her neck.

If she stretched down to her full length, she could just touch the rocky bottom with her big toe, but when she relaxed (and it was almost impossible not to relax) she felt her legs rise up under her and found herself floating effortlessly. The mineral-laden water fizzed in her ears. She closed her eyes and the only sensory input she received was a soft, low hum broken occasionally by a low thumping noise that she guessed was Tom picking up and dropping things onto the ground some half-dozen meters away. If I could be sure of a supply of fresh water and food, B'Elanna thought, I might never leave this place. She shifted her weight slightly and a rill of bubbles tickled her inner thigh and she corrected herself. Okay, food, water, and... companionship.

B'Elanna opened her eyes to see if she could spot Tom anywhere near by, but she had apparently spun around a bit, so she was pointed in the wrong direction. She paddled lightly with one hand and twirled about slowly. Tom hove into sight -- hands on hips, shirt open from collar to waist, watching her placidly. He said something, but B'Elanna couldn't make it out with the water in her ears. She lifted her head, tread water. "What?" she said. "I didn't hear you."

"I said, 'Lunch is ready.' You should get out soon. You'll get light-headed."

She grinned and said, "You should want me light-headed. I'm more likely to do something impulsive." Tom smiled back at her, seemed to consider jumping into the pool with her, but then stopped himself.

"Well, come out when you're ready. Lunch can wait." As he walked back towards the picnic site, Tom unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the tails out of the waist of his shorts, then took off his hat, ruffled the hair on the back of his head, and put it back on. B'Elanna watched his ass move. Well, she thought. I can always get back in later.

Lifting herself out of the pool, she was briefly and refreshingly chilled, but quickly grew accustomed to the air again. Feeling a little light-headed, she walked slowly to the picnic site and saw that Tom had been hard at work. In addition to spreading out a blanket and laying out various containers, he had also hung a net hammock between two of the trees. He was laying in it now watching her walk towards him through half-closed eyes. He looked drowsy, slightly tired, well-pleased with himself. The slight breeze stirred his hair and dried the water that was still running down B'Elanna's legs and stomach from under the swim suit. She imagined how she must look to him -- flushed, dreamy, a little unsteady.

Tom extended his arm and handed her a frosty container. She took a sip -- beer. Not something she normally enjoyed, but the setting was just right, so she swallowed it appreciatively, enjoying the tickle of the bubbles on the way down. B'Elanna lifted one leg and laid it in the hammock between Tom's. "What's for lunch, Captain?" she asked.

"What are you hungry for?" he asked.

B'Elanna handed him the beer bottle and leaned forward to kiss him in one languid motion. As she was pressed against him, she could feel his hand against her breast, trying to stroke her through the neoprene. She pulled back slightly and unzipped the front of the suit and let the two halves swing aside. When she leaned in for another kiss, Tom languidly stroked her right nipple, then ran down over her belly and into the waistband of her suit. As they kissed, he lightly kneaded either side of her clitoris, something he had learned she liked when she was feeling naughty, but not necessarily ready to jump his bones.

She found the zipper of his cut-offs and slowly, tooth by tooth, tugged the fly open. The opening was quite large and the shorts just baggy enough that she could reach inside without having to shift her weight. She felt his cock through his boxer shorts and could tell that he was already erect, warm and throbbing. She lightly rubbed the tip of his cock through the cotton cloth, eliciting a low growl. While she briefly struggled with the button of his cut-offs, Tom leaned forward slightly and kissed her on the throat, then down over her collar bone and across the top of her left breast. His sucked the nipple into his mouth and sucked it between his teeth, biting down softly, causing her to thrust her hips against his leg.

"I thought you said you were going to soak," Tom said.

"I thought you said you were hungry," B'Elanna said.

He lifted his head from her breast and looked over at the lunch he had laid out and said, "Well, now that you mention it, I am." B'Elanna stared at him for a moment, then very deliberately wriggled her hand until she had found her way through the fly of his boxers. She lightly scratched the underside of his cock with her nails, making him shift his hips suddenly.

Then, just as quickly, she pulled her hand out of his boxers and shorts. "Okay," she said. "Let's eat."

Tom lifted himself out of the hammock and looked down at the bulge in his shorts. He looked at B'Elanna, lying there with her suit top unzipped, the bottoms pulled down slightly over her hips. He looked down at himself again.

"Okay," he said. "But only if you change."

B'Elanna considered the request for a moment. Knowing pretty well what he was going to ask for, she decided on a counter-proposal. "Under one condition," she said. "Get naked."

Tom laughed. "What?"

"Get naked. Take off all your clothes."

"Why?"

"Why not? I expect you want me to wear some ridiculous little whisper of a suit. Well, okay, I'm willing to go along with that, but only if you have on fewer clothes than I have."

"What will that prove?" Tom asked.

"Won't prove anything. I just want to be the one with more clothes on for once."

"Can I have my boxers?"

"Definitely not."

"But I'll get sand... all up in there."

"Sit on the blanket."

"How about my shirt?"

She thought about it. Shirt, shirt, shirt, she thought. Hmmm... "Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so. But, wait, I'll compromise. You can keep..." She considered her options for a moment. "Your hat." A smile spread across her face, one filled with promise. "We don't want you to peel up there."

Tom took off his cap, ruffled the hair on the back of his head again and stared at her. While he thought, she slid the neoprene vest off her shoulders and let it slide to the ground. She walked over to where they had dropped the bag with the other suits, stopped, and bent over at the waist to unzip it. As she moved things around in the bag, she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, making her ass move back and forth.

"Oh," she said. "Too bad." She lifted out a black one-piece suit with cut-out panels covered with a translucent material. "I actually kind of like...

"Okay! Okay!" Tom said, hopping up and down on either foot as he slid his shorts and boxers down over his legs. "You win." He kicked the pile of clothes onto the edge of the blanket then pulled the shirt over his head. He was now completely naked except for his hat and his shoes.

"Lose the shoes," B'Elanna said. "They're killing the mood."

Tom complied.

Then, he watched as B'Elanna turned her back to him and slowly rolled the bottoms she had been wearing down over her ass, then down her legs, then stepped out of them. She looked over her shoulder at him as she bent to pick up the black suit.

"This one?" she asked.

Tom nodded a little nervously, probably because he was aware that his penis had grown semi-erect, and he didn't know whether he should try to cover it with his hands or try to look casual about everything. He opted for cupping his hands in front of his crotch.

B'Elanna stepped into the suit and wriggled it up over her waist, then her breasts. It was an odd material -- very slick and shiny, seeming to reflect the light like a fish's scales. There was a moment of confusion while she looked for the second shoulder strap, then realized that there was only one, on the left. The legs were cut high and the translucent cut-outs showed off the left side of her belly, the lower side of her right breast (including the nipple) and her lower back -- the top of the cleft of her ass. It was an interesting effect, and Tom seemed to be, uh, enjoying it.

She held her hands up to her sides in a little "Tah-dah" movement and asked, "You like?"

Tom dipped his head, but didn't move his hands. He tried to say something, but had to clear his throat. "Very nice," he said. "Um, are you hungry?"

"Famished. Taunting silly men does take it out of a woman."

He grinned, decided that he deserved that one and bowed at the waist, indicating the direction of the blanket. B'Elanna walked past Tom (who was still bowing) slowly, then reached around behind him to goose him after she passed. Tom yelped, but stayed in his bow.

When she sat down, B'Elanna realized that she was, in fact, famished. The combination of the fresh air, the hot tub, and the sexual tension were a potent combination. Fortunately, it looked as if Tom had anticipated just about her very desire: A chicken-pesto pasta salad, fresh tomatoes and sliced mushrooms, cold green beans in a garlic and red pepper marinade, fresh berries, a chocolate mousse, and a couple of bottles of wine.

She sat down on the cloth and curled her legs under her and leaned on one arm. She could feel her nipple pressing up against the translucent cloth. "Are you serving?" she asked.

Tom sat next to her. "B'Elanna, you keep sitting there like that and I'll feed you."

She considered the concept for a moment and decided it had merit. "I guess that would be all right," she said.

"Seriously?"

"You offered."

Tom looked as if he were going to protest, but seemed to ponder the possibilities and decided it wasn't the worst idea he had ever heard. He started by offering her bits of tomatoes and mushroom which she ate in dainty bites. The chicken was more problematic until Tom dug around in the basket and found a sharp knife. B'Elanna enjoyed the opportunity to let her eyes linger on the curve of his back and the cheeks of his derriere. He was still in good shape, she decided. He hadn't fallen prey to the slight thickening around the middle as many of Voyager's men had.

He teased her with the strawberries dipped in mousse, but not for long, and especially not after she reached across the blanket, grabbed his cock and said, "Behave." Tom's reaction was so pitifully apologetic that she decided he deserved a treat. First, B'Elanna dipped her finger in the mousse, then slid the suit off her shoulder, and spread some of the mousse on her right nipple. She leaned forward, offering herself to him, and Tom lowered his mouth to her breast and licked the cool chocolate off with just the tip of his tongue.

B'Elanna groaned deep in her throat and almost reached across into Tom's lap, but decided to restrain herself for a little longer. Tom, conversely, seemed to be interested in moving to the next level, but was quiescent when she pushed him back. "Hey," she said. "I'm still hungry."

"All right," he said, panting slightly. "What else do you want?"

"I'd like a little more mousse."

"I'll get it," he said.

"No," B'Elanna said. "I think I'll serve myself this time."

She leaned forward and picked up the container and then pushed Tom back so he was laying flat on his back. Well, most of him was flat on his back. She scooped out two-fingers worth of mousse and began to slowly spread it on the head and down the length of Tom's now very-erect cock. Then, B'Elanna opened her mouth wide and lowered it over him until about half his considerable shaft was in her, and then she closed it and began to suck with great earnest. It was an interesting sensation -- the cold, mildly sweet flavor of the mousse mixed with the salty tang of his sweat.

B'Elanna pulled off, saw that some of the mousse had melted and was running down into Tom's pubic hair, so she began to carefully lick up every tiny drip. Each touch of her tongue made Tom moan and writhe and after she had cleaned up the drips, B'Elanna scooped up another dollop and dabbed his nipples, his belly, his thighs, and began to suck them up. It was almost more than the poor man could take, and he tried to reach up and pull her down, but when B'Elanna pushed him back, he complied.

She decided, Oh, what the hell I can afford the calories, and scooped out the last bit that was left and squished it onto the length of Tom's now pulsating member. She sucked the head into her mouth and began to slowly lap up the mousse. She knew the technique that would bring him to the edge and the spot just under the glans that would send him over it. It was pretty obvious that Tom had other ideas, and tried to push her off him, but B'Elanna was in control. His hips began to shudder and B'Elanna felt the quickening throb of his impending orgasm under her lips.

In the end, the salty flavor won out.

After his breathing evened out, Tom tried to pull B'Elanna close, but she said, "Forget it. You're covered in melted chocolate mousse. Go soak yourself."

He obeyed willingly enough and seemed to be happy for the opportunity to rinse off the sticky mess, but B'Elanna knew how he felt when this happened -- his coming first. So, she called after him, "Hey, Captain. Don't fall asleep on me over there. I'll be joining you soon enough."

She cleared up the remnants of their meal and lit a couple of the small torches they'd brought along. Night was coming on quickly as it seemed to in the tropical areas on every world she had ever visited. She thought about trying on a different bathing suit just to see what Tom's reaction would be, but decided that they had a couple more days left and there was no point in overdoing it the first day. Besides she had another idea in mind.

Standing at the edge of the hot pool, she watched Tom float in a slow, lazy circle. His eyes were closed, he still had his hat on and his now flaccid penis was laying along the side of his leg. B'Elanna knew what effect hot water had on the male member, but she was still surprised by how, well, long it looked. Though she never really thought about things like that very much, the sight made her shift her weight from one leg to the other.

"Hey, Captain," she called and he opened her eyes. He grinned, but didn't seem particularly eager to stop doing what he was doing, so she lowered the strap of her suit again and rolled it down over her breast. She touched her nipple lightly and let the relative coolness of the air do its work.

Tom's eyes were a little more open, but he still seemed content to stay where he was, so she pulled the suit down under both breasts and began to rub them both slowly. The scales of the suit glinted in the light of the now-reddening sun. She grasped the top of the suit with both forefingers and slowly pulled it down over her torso, exposing her torso, then her waist and finally her pubic area. She noticed that Tom's cock had begun to stiffen again.

B'Elanna stepped out of the suit and then sat down at the edge of the pool. "Come here," she called, after he had flipped over and was slowly breast stroking towards her. She languidly spread her legs for him.

Tom licked off the beads of water that clung to her legs around her knees, then slowly began to run his tongue up her inner thighs. B'Elanna settled back onto her elbows when she felt his tongue touch her clitoris, then lifted one leg so it was wrapped around his neck. They had been lovers for years now and he knew the signals for when she wanted to play and when she wanted some serious attention. The leg was the sign for serious attention and he willingly obliged her.

Tom began to alternately suck her labia and run his tongue up and down between her folds, each lick ending in a flick of her clit. He kept this up in a rhythmic manner until he felt the tension in her thighs and knew that was a sign for another kind of attention. He slid a finger into her vagina, let it get lubricated, then inserted another, and, moments later a third, then began to pump vigorously while simultaneously flicking her with his tongue.

The warm water of the pool, the comparatively cool breeze coursing over her erect nipples, the rough feel of Tom's day-old beard on her thighs, and the heavenly sensation of his lips and tongue on her soon brought B'Elanna to a shattering orgasm. It was the kind that, afterwards, she felt so relaxed, so boneless, that the only sensation anything like it was the satisfaction of slipping into a hot tub -- which she then did.

The water closed over her and she would have slipped into a dreamy half-sleep -- if her husband hadn't kept his hold on her legs and once again thrust his tongue into her. It wasn't the relentless, goal-oriented kind of lapping he had done a few moments earlier, but more the "Hey, I'm still here, don't go away" sort.

She didn't go away. Rather, she found herself thinking about Tom floating on his back with his seemingly-longer semi-rigid cock. B'Elanna pulled herself away from Tom and lowered her legs into the water. Tiny bubbles ran up into her and made her shudder slightly. Then, she paddled over to where he was standing (his legs were long enough to touch bottom) and wrapped her legs around his waist.

She reached down beneath her with one hand,found his rigid pole, and slowly stroked it for a moment. "Is there something about this pool that you aren't telling me?" she asked.

Tom grinned and said, "What do you mean?"

"Something seems to be larger."

"What? Are you asking me if this pool has some magical property that makes a man's penis longer and thicker?"

She lifted herself and set the head against the lips of her vagina. Settling slightly, she grunted in response.

"That," Tom said, "would make this the single most valuable piece of real estate in the known universe." He turned his hips slightly and B'Elanna felt him slide deeper into her. She caught her breath when she felt him throb. Oh, gods, she thought. I'm going to come just from this... Which she did.

Her contractions made Tom's cock throb even harder, but he didn't come again. B'Elanna pulled the sweaty hair off her forehead and said in a low voice, "I guess that wouldn't be very scientific, would it?"

"No," Tom said, grabbing her hips and pushing her down farther. "I think it's all attributable to you." The tip of his cock was reaching places inside her that no one had ever been before and B'Elanna had to stop him for a minute so she could adapt. The thought, What would this feel like up my ass? raced through her mind, but she decided that might be a little more than she could accommodate tonight. Besides, there would be other nights.

She tightened her legs around his waist and ground herself down against him, throwing her head back to howl when their pelvic bones met. Either he was bigger or she was smaller and it didn't really matter much because whatever it was... she decided she liked it. B'Elanna lifted herself and then thrust down again, once more feeling Tom pulse inside her, up against her clitoris. The sensation was... almost indescribable.

He lifted her up and roughly sucked on her nipples, then grasped her around the waist and pushed her down onto him again. She had adapted now and they slowly began to build up some speed. After a couple minutes, B'Elanna lost track of who was wrapping whose legs around who and who was lifting and grasping and it didn't really matter because when he came, shooting his hot seed deep into her, she came, too. She felt her insides go liquid and she felt her legs go limp and a short while later, she realized she was floating on her back again.

The sun had set and night had fallen. There were stars twinkling up above her. Unfamiliar stars. Beautiful stars.

B'Elanna felt her head bump up against the edge of the pool, so she pulled herself up so that her head and the back of her neck kept her anchored. A moment later, Tom joined her. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and grasped them to her breast. As they stared up at the sky through the trees, they spotted a light that was slightly larger than the others, not twinkling at all, but moving in a slow arch across the sky.

B'Elanna lifted one arm and said, "Hello, Harry. Hello, Captain. Hello, Chakotay."

Tom doffed his cap and said, "Hi, Seven. Hi, Neelix. Hi, Doc."

The light passed out of sight and B'Elanna grasped Tom's arm with both of hers again.

"So," she said after a while. "We're going to have to get out of here eventually."

"Theoretically," Tom said, "yes."

Neither spoke for a while. Finally, B'Elanna broke the silence again and said, "Do you think it worked?"

"What?"

"The treatments. The ones the Doctor came up with."

"Why? Don't you?"

"No, no," B'Elanna said, quick to want to reassure him. "I'm sure they did. It's just that..." she shrugged. "How could we know?"

Tom reached across his chest to pat her belly. "Well, the usual ways, I guess. A month or two will go by. You'll start eating everything in sight -- bugs, bark, chairs -- remember when that happened to Kes?"

B'Elanna didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't help it. "Yes," she said. "Poor Kes. She really didn't know what was happening, did she?"

"No more than anyone ever does."

"No, I guess not."

They were silent for a little while. "So," she said again, "do you think it worked?"

"Maybe," Tom said quietly. "Maybe. We'll find out, won't we?"

"Yeah," B'Elanna said. "I guess we will..."

And she wrapped her arms around her husband's head and knew that it was true.

This new life.

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Last updated on February 09, 1999

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