"One minute," Paris sighed and kissed B'Elanna, who was sitting on his lap, on the cheek. She responded by grabbing him by the collar of his turtle neck, "You call that a kiss?"
"Keep us on the outer boundaries of the anomaly, Mr. Paris," Chakotay ordered. "Go to red alert," the lights flickered ominously around the bridge.
"You break my ship, Chakotay and I'll have to . . . detain . . you. I hear the brig has a very comfortable place to . . ." she said smoothly and then sighed. She was trying to be on her "best behavior" because that seemed to make Chakotay happy and lord did she love it when he was happy.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Chakotay asked, his mind filled with fond thoughts of the brig.
"This shouldn't be happening. It's just not fair," Kathryn shook her head.
"Thirty seconds," Paris continued the countdown, tightening his hold around B'Elanna's waist lovingly and giving her one last kiss.
"What isn't?" Chakotay was concerned, wondering if Kathryn was starting to come around to being her old self again as they approached the anomaly.
"I have more pips than B'Elanna and she's getting all the kisses," Kathryn explained bitterly.
'Well, so much for getting my Captain back early on,' he thought. Before Chakotay could do more than smile the bridge was illuminated by a blinding flash similar to the one before. An eternity seemed to pass as the bridge crew either threw their arms over their eyes or fell to the bridge floor.
"Commander!" The Doctor's voice came over the havoc that was once again engulfing the ship, "I've received the sample via Engineering."
"Understood, Doctor," Chakotay strained. "Mr. Paris, get us the hell out of here!"
Chakotay could make out Paris' form trying to pull himself up and enter coordinates into the ship as it rocked and tumbled about the anomaly and space. Most of the crew had dropped to the floor in agony again but the light had yet to filter away in the time it had before. Paris wasn't going to make it in time.
Chakotay stood as Paris dropped to the floor unconscious. Tumbling forward with little or no support he fell as the ship convulsed under the strain. He found himself looking at Kathryn's form on the floor. "Kathryn," he gently shook her and trailed his finger down the side of her face before feeling for a pulse. It pounded consistently under his finger. 'If she's alive there's a good chance everyone else is in good shape,' he thought as he regained his footing and struggled forward past B'Elanna and Paris. 'It's up to me,' he thought and he really hated situations that he had little control over.
"Warning," the computer added to his frustration, "warp core breach in three minutes."
"Of course," he muttered and dropped to his knees in front of the console, the world slowly fading to black as his fingers numbly tapped on the console, "of course." And then the world went black.
Commander Chakotay awoke to the sound of a hypospray hiss and other groans from around the bridge.
"Glad to have you back with us, Commander" the Doctor's ever stoic face greeted Chakotay.
"The crew?" He questioned and groaned as the EMH helped him get to his feet.
"All seems to be in order, and we have our sample. I should have a 'cure' for the love-bug in two hours time," the Doctor said with a small smile.
"Well that made it worthwhile then," Chakotay slapped the doctor on the shoulder before heading over to where the Captain was laying on the floor. "Captain?" he gently picked her up in his arms and watched as her eyes started to flutter open.
"Chakotay?" She groaned and blinked her eyes, "Did you break my ship?"
He laughed, "No, and so I guess that trip to the brig will have to wait until later."
He helped her stand and gave her a quick hug before any of the crew had noticed. As Kathryn slumped down into her chair the other crew members were regaining their feet as well.
"So, Doc," Paris sat down at his console with a thud, taking a dazed B'Elanna back into his arms, "when do the male crew members start to get jiggy wit it?"
"'Jiggy wit it,' Mr. Paris?" The Doctor asked confused.
Paris rubbed his neck and smirked, "Allow me to illustrate," he tapped in some unauthorized codes to the console and suddenly the bridge was filled with loud, booming music. "It's a twentieth-century song, I believe the genre is something like R&B or Rap."
"Oh good lord," the EMH was startled as Paris began to sing with the lyrics.
"Na-na-na-Na-na-na, Na-na-na-Na-na, gettin' jiggy wit it," he shrugged and swirled a scowling B'Elanna around in his chair.
"Mr. Paris," Tuvok's voice was raised as loud as a Vulcan would submit to in order to be heard over the ruckus, "I will make a note of this in my security report. I doubt the Captain will be . . . 'jiggy wit it.'"
CONCLUDED IN NEXT PART!
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