by Dakota

Tom stood in one corner of the mess hall trying to gauge the success of his latest party.  Looking around at the faces of the attendees he had to admit it was one of his better efforts.  Everyone was enjoying themselves and he wasn't in trouble with anyone.  He was still mentally patting himself on the back when he glanced at the Command Team. They both had smiles on their faces as they talked to the people in their group.  His grin widened.  If they were pleased then everyone was pleased.

"Don't take all the credit, Helm Boy.  This party is a success because they're celebrating their first anniversary not because you did a great job planning it."  B'Elanna's words stopped Tom's self-congratulatory thoughts.  The fact that her words were true brought his feet firmly back to the deck.

"Come on, B, don't I get some credit?"

"Well, maybe for not overdoing it.  So far everything is very tasteful."  B'Elanna stood on her tiptoes to kiss Tom on the cheek.  "We all thank you for that.  Now, I thought you said we were going to be dancing tonight."

"We are.  I have a song picked out for the captain and commander's first dance tonight."

Tom whispered in the ears of a couple of the crew who quickly moved tables away from the center of the room while Tom went over to the microphone.  Even before he spoke a small moan went up around the room.

"Hey, I promise I only want to get the dancing started.  I'd like the captain and commander to start off the evening, then they can slip away later and finish celebrating on their own."  A chuckle went around the room and the captain in question turned slightly pink while the commander in question merely deepened his dimples. They moved to the center of the dance area while keeping an eye on Tom, a fact that did not escape Tom's attention. "I picked this song because I thought the lyrics described the two of you.  It's from twentieth century Earth and it's called The Wind Beneath My Wings.

The mess hall grew silent as the music started and the crew of Voyager watched their commanding officers share the first dance of the evening.  Because Tom had mentioned the lyrics, they listened to them and had to agree that the song Tom had chosen was very appropriate for their captain and commander.  As the song was nearing completion, everyone noticed the captain whisper something to the commander causing him to chuckle.

When the music stopped, Chakotay turned towards Tom. The silence was deafening as everyone waited to hear what he had to say. Tom waited for his superior in the food chain to speak, knowing, in spite of everything he had not done to liven up this party, that somehow he was still in trouble. Even before Chakotay spoke, Tom wondered whether he should just head for the brig.

"Tom, think carefully before you answer this question.  Kathryn wants to know which of us is the airhead and which is the birdbrain."