I made this for the Secret Drabble contest on VAMB! Enjoy

Dear requester. You gave me a difficult task with this sentence. I'm a angst writer and those words made my imagination jump! But I kept it in and I really hope you like it!

First Sentence

She never thought it would come down to this

Character/Pairings

Either of the following friendships: J/EMH, J/P, C/T or C/P; and J/C

No goes:

Character death. Overly angsty, sappy fics, baby fic

Enjoy!

Safety Off

She never thought it would come down to this. Sitting down in the chair the Doctor had pulled out for her, she sighed and put her head in her hands. What a mess. Her pilot laying on a biobed with a healed head. Her first officer in his quarters, eating himself up in guilt… Her chief engineer terrorizing Engineering, and her? She was trying to keep it all together. And why!

For a moment she let herself break down and give in to all the emotions running through her. She knew that the Doctor was watching her from his office.

When she felt him move closer she sat upright. "what… what are our options?"

He smiled sadly at her. "there is not a lot we can do. Either Mr. Paris pulls through on his own or we will have to end it".

She looked at the bed and shook her head. "we are not ending it. B'Elanna will kill me if we do that. And… I won't do it".

"I know that. Permission to speak freely?"

"I think that you got that permission weeks ago Doctor".

"Go talk to Chakotay. He feels guilty enough as it is. I think you are the only one that will get through to him now. And it's alright to let your guard down you know."

"How long have you known me Doctor?" she asked and smiled softly when she heard him chuckle while walking back towards his office.

She stood and placed her hand on Tom's arm. "Listen to me Captain Proton. If you don't wake up quickly I will have to deal with your wife and you can't put me through that".

Silently she bent over. "Wake up or I'll kill you personally Mr. Paris" she whispered. Standing upright she marched out.

"Go away".

The door opened. Chakotay didn't look up from his hands. "Chakotay…"

"I will just hurt you Kathryn. Go away!"

"Chakotay listen to me…"

She was met by silence; a sign that she could move closer. They had known each other long enough to tell what the signs were.

"Chakotay. It was a boxing match… nothing else".

"B'Elanna is ready to kill me" he mumbled.

"No she isn't… you didn't know the safety's were off. No one did".

"I just hurt everyone".

"That's it. Chakotay stop pitying yourself!"

"Why? Because that's your job?"

"I am just trying to say…"

He stood and moved away from her. "I don't want to hear it".

"well you are going to hear it. If you want to or not."

"I…"

He was interrupted by the com. "Doctor to Janeway".

"yes?"

"Mr. Paris is showing signs of waking up. You better come down here".

"On my way. Janeway out".

She looked at Chakotay. "you are coming with me" she said grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his quarters.

"Kathryn!"

She didn't react to him, just pulled him into the turbo lift. She was screaming inside her head at the man standing next to her. She was enraged but wouldn't show it. It had been a stupid accident and he was putting all the blame on himself. Well… to be honest… that was one of the very traits she loved about him.

She closed her eyes quickly. Kathryn! Don't think about that now!

They entered sickbay. B'Elanna was standing beside the bed. She looked up at the commanding team and nodded. She was still angry. The Klingon in her was still on a roll, making her a nightmare right now.

"Captain. I don't know what you said to him, but it seemed to work" the Doctor said. He scanned Tom once again, making sure all the readings were alright. "he should be waking up any minute".

She nodded and looked at B'Elanna and Chakotay. She looked at him as if he was lunch. Kathryn was about to call security when she lunged at him. But the hug that followed stunned her. "I'm sorry" B'Elanna said softly.

"you have nothing to be sorry about…" He answered.

"Great… I turned my wife soft" came a small voice from the bed.

"Tom!" B'Elanna cried out as she bent down to hug him.

Kathryn smiled. She looked at Chakotay and nodded. He smiled back, showing his ever so lovely dimples. She had to find a way to lock that part of her away!

"Captain?"

She turned to Tom. "yes Mr. Paris?"

"I'm awake now… please… don't kill me."