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~~~~~~~~~
The name Benjamin comes from JoAnna Walsvic's story, 'Love Is Blind'. It was the name of B'Elanna's baby brother who died when he was a baby. K'Ehyla is a name I made up. It's actually Kayla, but I gave it a Klingon spelling.
Terkillium doesn't really exist. I made it up.
Dedication: This fanfic is dedicated to the Parisites: Erin, JoAnna, Lauren, Jessica Ferroni, Kirsten, Serena, Jessica Forrester, Jessica Raines, Abra, and Chris. Also dedicated to Robbie McNeill and Roxann Dawson for bringing the characters of Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres to life, and to the writers for creating such terrific characters.
Disclaimer: Tom Paris, B'Elanna Torres, and everything else in
the Star Trek universe are owned by Paramount, but the words, ideas, Benjamin
Paris, K'Ehyla Paris and Ensign Peter Hawkes are owned by me. Comments,
good and bad, are welcome and appreciated at: Mara_J_Antilles@hotmail.com.
Life
~~~~~~
By: Claire Daniels
Copyright (c) 1997.
B'Elanna was lying in bed, trying to tell her stomachs
to calm themselves. Being half-Klingon and half-Human had its ups
and downs, and having two stomachs was definitely one of the downs.
She hoped that she wasn't catching the flu that was going around the ship.
It was particularly brutal, and half of her Engineering staff was out sick.
She got out of bed slowly and headed for the lavatory as the wave of nausea
overtook her. After she was finished, she splashed some cold water
on her face and brushed her teeth. Exiting the lavatory, she looked
back over at her husband, hoping she hadn't woken him up.
She hadn't. Tom Paris was still lying in bed.
His hair was tousled, and one foot stuck out from under the covers.
B'Elanna smiled warmly at him in spite of her sommersaulting stomachs.
Silently, she asked herself what she had ever done to deserve this man.
They had been married for six months, and B'Elanna couldn't think of a
time when she'd ever been happier. Getting used to being on Voyager
was a big change, and she had a difficult time adjusting at first, but
she made friends with Harry, and then Tom, and life had gotten better.
Her stomachs felt fine now, and she got ready for her shift in Engineering.
Tom awoke a few hours later and reported to the
Bridge for his duty shift.
"Morning, Captain." he said.
"Good morning, Mister Paris." she replied.
Tom slid into his seat at the helm.
"Captain, I'm detecting a planet two hundred kilometers from
our present position." Harry reported.
"Run a sensor scan." Chakotay said.
"Sensors are showing traces of terkillium." Harry replied.
"Any lifesigns?"
"Negative, Commander." Harry reported.
"Mister Paris," Janeway said, "prepare to take a shuttle down
to the planet. Take Neelix and someone from Engineering with you."
"Aye, Captain." he replied, heading for the turbolift.
***************************************************************************
B'Elanna had been feeling nauseous again, and decided
to head down to Sickbay and have the Doctor check her out.
"So? What's wrong with me?"
"Congratulations, Lieutenant." the Doctor replied.
"What for?"
"You're pregnant."
"I'm what? I mean, are you sure?"
"Quite sure." the Doctor replied sounding annoyed, "Four weeks."
B'Elanna sat up on the biobed.
"You are free to go, Lieutenant, but I expect to see you back
in a month. You'll need to have regular check-ups."
"Thank you, Doctor." she said as she got off the biobed.
B'Elanna exited Sickbay and walked back to her quarters
in a daze. *A baby.* she thought, *I'm going to have a baby.*
She was so excited, she couldn't wait to tell Tom.
"Tom!" she exclaimed when she walked in the door, "I've got something
to..." her voice trailed off as she noticed he was packing an overnight
case.
"There you are." he said coming over to kiss her, "I wondered
where you were."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"The Captain is sending me and Neelix down to the planet to collect
some terkillium. I'm supposed to take someone from Engineering along,
too."
"Take Carey." she replied, "I've got a lot of work to do."
"Okay. What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"It's nothing." she replied, "It'll wait 'til you get back."
He eyed her suspiciously, but let the subject drop.
B'Elanna helped him finish packing. She had hoped to tell him about
the baby, but thought it was better to wait until he got back from the
mission. If she told him now, he'd never be able to concentrate,
and that would endanger everyone who was with him.
A few hours later, Tom, Neelix, and Carey were standing
in the shuttlebay.
"I'll be back soon." Tom told B'Elanna as he kissed her good
bye, "and then we'll talk."
"Okay." she smiled. She watched as he and the others boarded
the shuttle.
***************************************************************************
Several hours later, B'Elanna was in Engineering
working on the plasma conduits. The Captain had said they were having
a problem with them. The Away Team was due back any time now.
"Captain!" Harry called out from his post at Ops, "I'm detecting
a ripple coming toward Voyager."
"What kind of ripple?" she asked.
"I'm not sure." he replied as the ripple hit, shaking the ship.
"Janeway to shuttle Cochrane."
"Cochrane here, Captain." Paris replied, "We're okay, but it's
a little bumpy out here."
"Janeway to Engineering. B'Elanna, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure, Captain. We're working on it."
"Understood. Keep me posted." she said, cutting the link.
Down in Engineering, B'Elanna pounded the console
with her fists in frustration. She didn't know what the hell was
going on, but Voyager couldn't take much more of it. The ship rocked
again, and B'Elanna was thrown hard into the console. A stab of pain
ran through her abdomen, and she collapsed to the deck clutching her belly.
Ensign Peter Hawkes ran over to the fallen Chief Engineer.
"Engineering to Sickbay." he said, "B'Elanna's down. Beam
her to Sickbay. She needs help."
B'Elanna was still clutching her abdomen, face contorted
in pain. *Not my baby.* she thought, *Please don't take my baby.*
***************************************************************************
Captain Janeway went down to the shuttlebay to meet
the Cochrane. Her comm badge chirped as Tom Paris exited the shuttle.
"Janeway." she said tapping it.
"Captain," the Doctor said, "is Mister Paris with you?"
"Yes, Doctor. Why?"
"He needs to come to Sickbay right away. I'm afraid B'Elanna
has had an accident."
Tom took off running before the Captain even had
a chance to reply.
***************************************************************************
B'Elanna awoke. She thought for a moment, trying
to recall what had happened. Tom, the away mission, the baby.
The baby. She had lost the baby. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Tom was sitting by her bedside.
"Hey," he said taking her hand, "how are you doing?"
"I'm sorry." she choked out.
"It wasn't your fault."
"I lost our baby. I lost our baby." she said over and over
as she broke into sobs. Tom wrapped his arms around her and held
her as she cried. He stroked her hair, promising that they would
get through it, not letting his tears fall for her sake.
***************************************************************************
He was right. It had been tough, but they had
managed to get through it. They were even stronger now than they
had been before. B'Elanna looked down at their son. Benjamin
was sleeping quietly in her lap. His tiny fist wrapped around her
finger. His sister, K'Ehyla, was sleeping in the nursery. The
twins had been a surprise for her and Tom. B'Elanna had been so thankful
when they arrived safely, but she never forgot the child she lost.
The Doctor had said it was a girl. He had known from the DNA scan
he did. Sometimes she would just sit and wonder what she would have
looked like, or if she would have been a happy child. She looked
over at Tom as he took her free hand in his. She gave it a squeeze
and smiled.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." she replied squeezing his hand again, "I was just
thinking."
"About what?"
"Life."
The End
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