#fever february

Have some feverish J/ayce for the first prompt 'Dont Get Too Close' including V/iktor who does get too close.

Oh Blood Fever, you glorious Star Trek Voyager episode! Blood Fever first aired February 5, 1997, when I was an impressionable teen with a huge crush on Tom Paris. I was already hooked on Voyager and was shipping P/T, so this episode was like seeing all of my shipping hopes and dreams come true.

It's easy to look at this episode and think of all tropes that make it so much fun. We've got sex pollen, fuck or die, trapped together (not only that but trapped with heightened hormones!), having to fight for your lover, flirting, witty banter-this episode has it all!

Yet Blood Fever is really so much more than that.

We've seen Tom and B'Elanna dancing around each other for some time now. They started out not quite as enemies, but they disliked each other. And slowly they came to see that they were very similar-they found in each other someone who understood and could see past their walls. They pushed and challenged each other and a friendship formed. And it was a fun friendship with lots of flirting and chemistry.

But Tom knew he had to take it slow. B'Elanna was not going to fall for his usual charms and that made her special. She was different. And B'Elanna was not going to let her guard down until she felt she could really trust Tom. But the attraction was there and flirting was fun.

So when B'Elanna gets stricken with Pon Farr, it makes sense that the person she would feel a bond with, that she would choose as her mate would be Tom. This wasn't simply a case of we're trapped in a cave and you're my option. It was more of a my inhibitions have been lowered and I'm finally letting myself admit what I've been feeling.

Yet when Tom is presented with what he has been wanting, he shows his true self. We've been led to believe that Tom is a ladies man, that he's out to flirt and sleep his way around. But this episode shows that has all been a cover and who he really is is a man who cares and who cares deeply. He tells B'Elanna that he can't accept because she's not in her right mind to give consent. That if he gives in now, it will ruin any chance of a relationship they might have in the future and he cares about her too much to do that. I also think he's starting to realize that he wants something more with B'Elanna-this isn't a fling, but the real deal and he doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.

His rejection stings. The way B'Elanna thinks he doesn't want her hurts. The way Tom thinks that she's only telling him she's interested because of the Pon Farr and not letting himself believe that she is finally telling the truth. Those walls come right back up. But for a moment we see what the two of them can't quite see yet-that they really, truly care about each other and that this is more than flirtation.

Sure, this episode has the first P/T kiss. There are so many great lines! And let's be honest, that whole cave scene, with the wrist lights-it's hot!

But more than that, this episode made a big impression on me for three reasons:

1. Consent is sexy: Tom says no because he doesn't have B'Elanna's consent and knows it would be taking advantage of her. He's even hesitant to comply with Tuvok's order to relieve her of the Pon Farr because he knows B'Elanna is not in the right frame of mind. He doesn't jump at this chance, but talks to B'Elanna, tells her he understands, that they don't have to do this. He waits until she gives the ok and even then, he's hesitant and waiting for her lead. This was huge, especially for the 90's when this episode aired. Tom puts B'Elanna first-her feelings, her thoughts, her consent. And that is very powerful and sexy.

2. Strong women are sexy: B'Elanna is often seen as a tough Klingon who is to be feared. So often strong women are presented in a way that is not attractive or that they can't be strong and smart and also be sexy. But B'Elanna proves all of that wrong here as she shows that strong women are absolutely hot.

(Also bonus, my girl punches Vorik who absolutely needed to punished in this episode!)

3. It's ok to be vulnerable: At the end, Tom says that B'Elanna is afraid her Klingon side was showing, meaning her strong-willed, forceful side. She's also embarrassed that she let her mask slip in the caves-she told Tom the truth (even if he doesn't believe it), she let her guard down, and she had moments of vulnerability. And instead of running away, Tom is right there for it, staying by her side, and encouraging this side of her-both her strong side and her softer, vulnerable side. He says he wants to see it again and in his flirtatious way, shows that it's not something to embarrassed or afraid about-it's something to be proud of.

This episode taught me that it's ok to be a strong woman who knows what she wants. And it's also ok to be vulnerable. I wanted to be like B'Elanna when I grew up and I hope that I'm doing her at least a little proud.

“I'm going to die without a shred of honour. And for the first time in my life that really bothers me. So I have to tell you something. I— ::Warning. Oxygen level at seventy one millibars:: “I have to tell you the truth.” “The truth about what?” “I love you. Say something.” “You picked a great time to tell me.”

Three little, gigantic, mountainous words. Tom doesn’t say them back. This is possibly the most popular, by sheer number of fics, fixit in P/T fandom. Why doesn’t Tom tell B’Elanna he loves her?

Not in Day of Honor, when she admits her feelings for him as their oxygen supply is quickly used up. Not in Revulsion, when she confirms that she meant it. Not in Scientific Method when she questions the veracity of their feelings for each other because of the meddling by those alien scientists. Not in Nothing Human when he begs her to reconsider allowing the Cardassian holo-doctor to save her. Not in Once Upon a Time, when he records his goodbye message to her, or in Gravity (where he actually comes the closest to admitting that he‘s in love with her). Not in Extreme Risk, when he tells her that he’s concerned about her behaviour, or in Barge of the Dead or Unimatrix Zero when he’s really concerned about her decisions. Not when he proposes, or on their honeymoon on the ‘Flyer, or when they discover they’re expecting a baby, and not during the emotional explosion & fallout of that discovery. Not even when he leaves her in sickbay, in labour, to go to the bridge.

This is why some (delusional) people say Tom & B’Elanna don’t belong together in the first place. (What version of Voyager are they watching?!?! Because it’s not the one I love!) But hold on, after that initial we’re-about-to-die-and-I-need-to-die-with-honor confession, B’Elanna never says it again, either. At least not onscreen. They may not speak the words but they do have a love language.

Behold:

Exhibit A: “Stardate 52647, fourteen hundred hours. Subjects quarrel in corridor outside female's quarters. Male returns with twelve flowering plant stems, species rosa rubifolia, effecting a cessation of hostilities. Stardate 52648, oh three hundred hours. Intimate relations resume.”

“How the hell do you know when we're having intimate relations?” “There is no one on deck nine section twelve who doesn't know when you're having intimate relations.”

Tom gives her flowers. And presents. There’s the mysterious box in Random Thoughts which once sparked a fic challenge. And they have lots and lots of loud sex even a year and a half after they started dating. Tom keeps the romance alive.

Exhibit B: For a couple who really don’t seem to know how to talk about their problems, Tom does’t back down from challenging her when he thinks they have one. He starts a pissy argument in Night because he’s fed up with her shutting him out. He genuinely expresses his concern in Extreme Risk when she stops by his quarters with those new shuttle specs he asked for. He pushes her until he gets a real answer in Lineage, then he reassures her that he’ll never leave her and their (two or three) children.

Which brings me to Exhibit C: He encourages her to explore her Klingon heritage, and even joins in when she lets him. From his enthusiasm with the Klingon exercise programme in Displaced:

To his excitement at creating the Day of Honor programme with her (and his disappointment melding into anger that she refused to finish running it):

To his offering to learn Klingon & read the ancient scrolls with her in Barge of the Dead… and can we all appreciate how Tom took ZERO guff from that upstart Klingon jerk in Prophecy and was all-in in his defence of B’Elanna & their baby!

Tom’s love for B’Elanna is expressed in how he’s continually feeding her (just ignore the banana pancakes & blood pie shots; I didn’t want to make another pic collage):

To his wardrobe upgrade (goodbye ugly vests & brown clothing) after they get married. He even looks bad in Maquis leather. And can we talk about how he never wears that one nice blue vest from False Profits again?! And that he has two ugly brown vests in Workforce?!?! …this how he reverts when B’Elanna isn’t around to police his wardrobe.

He offers to lose his Lieutenant’s pip a second time (when he just got it back) to keep her from beaming onto that Borg ship and being assimilated in Unimatrix Zero. He challenges Chakotay’s authority when she’s late getting back.

He offers to take out a shuttle & do a planet by planet search when she goes missing in Muse. He wants to shove the Prime Directive & lead a rescue mission when she’s being held for one stray, angry thought in Random Thoughts. And he risks her wrath by arguing against her choice to allow that Cardassian doctor to treat her in Nothing Human.

He offers to accompany her when she speaks to her father for the first time in 20 years in Author Author (and holds his own tongue), then holds her hand when they leave the astrometrics lab.

He created a holodeck programme of an old movie theatre for her, for date nights (so they can make out).

Her voice in his head is what brings him back in Alice.

He falls in love with her all over again in Workforce, even though his memory of her & them has been erased.

He says no, when he really, really wants to say yes in Blood Fever because he knows if he gives in to her seduction she might never trust him again.

She’s the most important person in the world universe to him.

Who doesn’t love a Tom & B’Elanna loopy time travel amnesia fic? Did I mention they’re fake married?

Set in their first year in the Delta Quadrant, and 18 months previously. I whipped this off in a HURRY, and almost got it finished in time. I packed it in at 3 am & went to bed, so forgive the maybe-nonsensical ending. 🤷‍♀️

And from me it definitely is. No story here I'm afraid just my art of my favourite (and first) 'ship'.

Here's my submission for Day 3 on Twisted Trope Thursday, fake dating with a Twist. Enjoy!

There's only so much obedience you can get out of a Bellerose. Stubbornness is a hereditary trait that flows through them like the blood in their veins.

And alas, there's even less obedience you can get out of a sick Bellerose, as their stubbornness hits it's peak and turns them into willful beings, ever so determined to carry out whatever plans or work their had decided to do. That is, until they're physically unable to or is forced to rest. Even then hints of that willful being in them is determined to peek through.

A prime example of this would be a small occurrence on a cold winter afternoon, spent tucked away in the abandoned apartment complex that served as Cerberus’ hideout.

“No.”

“Lee…”

“I said no!”

Epsilon frowned lightly, eyeing his boyfriend quietly. He had been sitting next to Leo's bed for a good twenty minutes, fussing with him and trying to get him to use the thermometer with no avail. Honestly speaking, he should've been amazed he got this far. He had found Leo wandering around the hideout in a daze, flushed bright red at the cheeks and barely coherent. The chef somehow managed to coax him back into bed, but as Leo regained a full consciousness he started getting stubborn again.

He had fussed a bit about putting on a blanket, and now he was outright refusing to allow Epsilon take his temperature.

“Leo, please… I need to take your temperature… I need to know if your fever is bad.”

“I'm fine, Ep! I don't need a fucking thermometer!”

Epsilon frowned more, though it was hard to tell, gently card his finger through Leo's hair. “Please…? For me…? Be a good boy… and I'll… give you a treat.”

A barely visibly smile came to Epsilon's face when he saw that the promise had captured Leo's interest.

“A… treat?”

He gave a soft nod, speaking gently to the sickly boy. “Yes but… only if you behave and let me take care of you…”

Leo clicked his tongue, giving a disgruntled noise as he huffed out, “Fine- B-But only for the treat-!”

Epsilon's smile grew, though it was hard to tell, and he held up to thermometer to Leo's mouth once more. “Open wide…”

He gave a pleased noise when Leo took it into his mouth, indulging him with a small kiss to the top of his head. “Keep that there… I'll go make you some tea. Be a good boy… okay?”

Leo nodded, prompting Epsilon to give him another kiss to his head and stand up. “Good. I love you, Lee…”

Epsilon got a muffled ‘Love you too’ before left to the kitchen to make Leo something to help him recover.