Yeah, I know. I own *nothing* (with the exception of
the actual story and all the characters I made up -
it'd take too long to name them!!!) and Paramount
owns everything!!! Please e-mail me feedback - I
*luv* feedback - at JaneG100@rocketmail.com!!! Thanks!
~Jane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heartbreak
- By Jane Griffen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a regular day on Voyager, and almost
everyone was mildy bored, for nothing new had
happened for a while.
"Captain, sensors show a habited class-M
planet ten lightyears away," Ensign Harry Kim
informed Kathryn Janeway.
Captain Janeway turned from talking with
Commander Chakotay. "Technology?" she asked,
immediately interested.
Harry looked down, then nodded. "Similar to
ours. Sensors show five spacefaring ships with warp
drives, but they're all landed."
"How long would it take to get there, Harry?"
Chakotay asked.
"At warp 6, seven hours."
"Mister Paris," Captain Janeway told Lt. Tom
Paris, who was at the conn. "Set a course for the
planet, warp 6." she ordered, leaning back in her
chair. She hoped the planet would prove mildy
interesting, for she, like the rest of her crew, was
mildy bored.
******************
Fifteen minutes later, the Beta shift ended
and Ensigns Beth Carmen and Melissa Paso relieved Tom
and Harry of their posts.
"So, where you headed?" Harry asked as the
turbolift descended the shaft.
"I thought I'd go ahead and turn in my conn
report to Engineering." Tom replied evasively.
Harry smiled. "Uh-huh," he replied knowingly,
knowing that Tom was only using that as an excuse to
see Lt. B'Elanna Torres, cheif engineer.
The turbolift doors opened and Harry got out,
after he made Tom promise to meet him at Sandrine's
at 2000 hours.
"Pass it on to B'Elanna and Heather." he
called over his shoulder, referring to Lt. Heather
Whitney - Voyager's senior science officer and a good
friend of theirs - as he walked off.
Tom made a mental note to do it as he got off
at Deck 3to go to his quarters and retrieve the conn
report. Getting it, he headed for the turbolift again
and got off at Deck 11; Engineering.
******************
B'Elanna Torres worked busily in a side part
of Engineering, as was everyone else there. She
sighed as she uploaded some files. It seemed to take
forever. The truth was, she was bored. Sure, the
systems could always use a little upgrading and it
wouldn't hurt to just run scans on them, but she just
didn't feel like it.
Just then, a pair of hands covered her eyes.
Laughing, she she removed them and turned around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Tom
Paris, drawing away from a kiss.
"Conn report," he replied, waving a padd in
front of her face, his blue eyes sparkling.
B'Elanna took it. "Thanks." she replied.
"Need any help?"
B'Elanna smiled and shook her head. "No, but
if I did, I'd be doing it." she replied, kissing him
back.
"Why, things boring?" he murmered into her ear.
"Not that you're here."
They would have continued talking if it
hadn't been for a fellow engineer and good friend.
Heather Whitney poked her head around the
corner and laughed.
"I hate to stop the little romance scene
between you gwo - maybe I should tell the Captain -
but..." Heather laughed again as the two embarrased
lieutenants pulled away from their embrace. "Boy, the
looks on your faces are priceless!" she added, almost
doubling over with laughing. "I'm only kidding." she
said, realizing that the two thought she *was* going
to tell the captain.
"What do you want?" B'Elanna asked, regaining
her composure.
"A request from Stellar Cartography. They're
wondering if we can take the warp core offline so
they can use the extra power to conduct a series of
tests revolving around creating a sonar burst."
Heather explained.
B'Elanna took the padd, interested, and
skimmed the contents while Heather continued.
"Captain Janeway has already said yes. They just need
your approval."
B'Elanna nodded. "All right. It can't hurt.
They'll just have to wait until we reach that
planet." she said.
"Will do. I'll see you guys around." Heather
said.
"Hey, Heather." Tom called.
She turned, curious. "What?"
"Sandrine's. 2000 hours."
"Okay, I'll see you guys there." she said,
and she left.
"What about me?" B'Elanna asked playfully.
"You, too. You coming?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
*******************
Heather walked into Sandrine's. As usual, it
was jam packed with officers off duty. She spotted
Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry at a table near the pool
table and went over to them. Pulling up a chair, she
sat down.
"Sorry I'm late, but those scans I wanted to
run on those plants I was telling you about took
longer than I expected," she told them.
"No problem," Tom replied. "We waited for you
before we started a game of pool. Anybody want to
play?"
Harry agreed but it took a little prompting
on everybody's part to get Heather to play, but
finally, the former won over.
"Fine, fine! If I make a fool out of myself,
I'm blaming you." she kidded as she got up after
taking a sip of her drink.
"Then you'll fit in with everyone else I'm
gonna beat tonight." Tom replied.
"We'll see about that." Harry said.
"A weeks worth of replicator rations?"
"You're on."
"What about you, Heather? Whose side you on?"
Tom said, turning back to Heather, who was sharpening
her cue. She narrowed her eyes. "If you want my
opinion, you are getting *way* too over confident."
she said. "As for the bet, who says I'm not going to
win?"
Tom, Harry, B'Elanna and a few bystanders
laughed. Tom turned to B'Elanna. "You in?"
B'Elanna shook her head and smiled. "No,
thanks. I'll just sit out tonight." she replied.
Tom, Harry, and Heather all turned to stare
at her.
"You sure?" Tom asked.
B'Elanna nodded. "Yeah, I'll just watch."
Harry raised his eyebrow but didn't say
anything. Tom and Heather were more open.
Then Heather shrugged. "Okay. But I still
think it would be more fun if it was you and me
against them. *Then* we could beat them by tons!" she
joked.
B'Elanna smiled. "You don't need my help."
"Yeah, sure. Just watch them humiliate me!"
"Again." Harry commented. Heather just turned
to glare at him. Tom and B'Elanna laughed, and the
game began.
************************
A few hours later, the four walked out of the
Holodeck.
"Life's so unfair!" Heather commented, for
Tom had won. Harry had given him a challange, but he
had still won. And Heather just couldn't stand the
thought of him - Tom - beating her.
Everyone laughed.
Harry covered up a yawn. "Well, I don't know
about you, but I'm tired." he said.
"What? But its only 2310 hours!" Heather
kidded.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Unlike you, I got up
at 0200 hours in the morning for the early shift, so
I don't think you should be talking."
Heather laughed. "I was only kidding."
"I know."
"At least you don't have to work the night
shift tonight as well." Heather replied brightly.
Harry gave her a withering look and B'Elanna
refrained from laughing.
"You are the limit." Tom commented, shaking
his head.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Heather
shot back.
"Still, I can't figure out how you can still
be so awake and ready to go when it's almost
midnight." B'Elanna commented, trying to smother a
yawn. She was tired.
"You tired?" Tom asked softly.
"No, I'm not." B'Elanna kidded.
Tom laughed. "Well, if you get too tired,
I'll carry you back to your quarters."
"Hmmm.....How 'bout a compromise?"
"You like compromises, don't you?"
"Only when I come up with them."
"You would have liked Chili!"
"Didn't you like Tahitit?"
"Loved it."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
The two laughed and walked out of the
turbolift they - along with Harry and Heather - had
been in.
Harry and Heather watched them walk down the
corridor, hand in hand. Then they turned and looked
at each other.
"Well, I think its safe to say that now I
know how it feels to be invisible." Heather
commented.
Harry laughed. "You have to admit, though.
They *do* make a cute couple."
"No argument there."
"So, you on for breakfast?"
"What time?"
"Is 0700 hours to late for you?"
"Very funny. Sure."
Just then, the turbolift stopped and Seven of
Nine walked in. Harry immediately felt uneasy but
Heather ignored it. She smiled. "Hi, Seven. Where you
headed?"
"To my quarters."
"Oh." Heather yawned again. The turbolift
doors opened. "Bye!"
She got out and headed for her quarters. It
had been a *long* day.
**********************
Captain Janeway talked pleasantly with Tar
Julianna King, the woman who was the leader of the
Tarans, whose planet they were orbiting, on the
bridge. Tar Julianna had blonde hair and catlike
green eyes, and she wore her hair back in a
flip-through.
"Your crew is welcome to beam down, although
there are a few, er..." Julianna seemed hesitant to
go on, which aroused Kathryn Janeway's curiosity
immediately.
"What?" Commander Chakotay asked, curious as
well. Tuvok and Harry were at their positions and
Heather had just come in with a cup of coffee. She
quickly apologized to the Captain.
Kathryn Janeway nodded absentmindedly in
Heather's direction as she sat down at her station,
awaiting Julianna's answer.
"There are two groups that aren't part of our
government that are at war with each other - they
have their own settlements farther south of here, so
I'll have to warn you. They aren't active within the
city grounds - they aren't interested in the
government and we don't pose a threat to them, but
your crew might. Of course, if your crew stayed in
the city, I don't think anything would happen, but..."
Captain Janeway nodded understandingly. "I'll
warn my crew."
Julianna nodded. "I'm sure they wouldn't harm
anybody, but there's still that slight possibility."
she said, then she laughed. "I'll see what I can do.
You see, my twin brother, Dan, is the leader of the
eastern group. I'll try to contact him. I'm sure
he'll let you and your crew explore their grounds, as
long as you don't make contact with them."
"Your brother?" Tuvok asked.
"Yes. When my parents died when we were young
- I was ten and he was nine - because of the Gerae;
the southern group - my brother ran off to join the
Jaira; the eastern group." she said.
"I see." Captain Janeway replied. "Thanks.
Janeway out."
The viewscreen stopped transmitting
Julianna's signal. She turned to Chakotay.
"What do you think?"
Chakotay raised his eyebrow. "I say go for
it. We might not get another chance to take shore
leave for awhile." he said.
Captain Janeway nodded. "I agree. It'll be
nice to go someplace other than the holodeck and walk
around."
Tuvok interjected. "Captain, you are not
being rational. The Gerae might pose a threat to us."
"The odds are slim and I myself would *love*
to take a chance to take some shore leave. I'll tell
the crew that they are allowed to beam down and
mingle with the Tarans, and *can* leave the city
grounds if they're careful and stay well away from
*both* rebel groups. Is that good enough for you, Mr.
Tuvok?" Captain Janeway said expectantly.
Tuvok raised his eyebrow and nodded.
Captain Janeway turned back in her chair.
"As soon as this shift ends, do you want to
beam down and see the city?" Chakotay asked her.
Captain Janeway smiled. "It's a date."
**********************
"Come on, you guys!" Heather called, walking
out of the city gates. They had just come from having
lunch with Julianna and her husband, as well as their
two children - Tara, who was six, and Michael, who
was four, - and the senior staff.
"I don't know how she does it." Harry
commented, shaking his head as he, Tom, and B'Elanna
hurried to catch up with Heather as she walked down
the path.
"Wait up!" B'Elanna called.
Heather stopped. "You guys are so slow!" she
said.
"No, you're just very fast." Tom replied.
Heather just grinned and walked with them.
"Sorry, I'm just eager to explore the planet." she
said.
B'Elanna smiled. "We *all* are, and it'll be
more fun if we do it together." she pointed out.
The four continued up the path, which was
headed towards the forest. The sun was out and it was
a pretty day. As soon as they entered the forest, it
was immediately cooler.
"Remarkable." Harry remarked, gazing up at
the trees. They were bigger than any other tree he
had seen in his life.
"You should see the Redwoods in California
and Oregon." Tom commented.
"This'll be great for a science expedition."
Heather remarked.
"You and your work." B'Elanna said, shaking
her head mockingly.
Heather just smiled and they continued on.
About a half a mile later, she paused.
"Did you hear that?" she asked worriedly.
"Hear what?" Harry asked. He hadn't heard
anything.
"That noise."
"It's your imagination, Heather." Tom told
her, but she still worried. Soon they came to two
trails. The one they had been on stopped.
"Which way?" B'Elanna asked.
Heather shrugged and Tom shook his head.
"Beats me."
Harry went down a few meters on the left
trail. Heather followed gamely and the two went on,
not knowing that Tom and B'Elanna weren't following
them. Ten minutes later, they did.
"Where'd they go?" Harry asked.
"Maybe they got kidnapped by the Gerae,"
Heather remarked, for she had heard the sound again.
"Aren't you the pessimist today."
"I'm sure they just took the other trail,
hoping to spend some time alone together." Heather
said, ignoring her friend's comment.
"A nice, romantic stroll, just the two of
them." Harry added. The two laughed.
Heather smirked. Little did they know that
their two friends were about to stroll right into a
nightmare.
***********************
Tom and B'Elanna walked hand in hand down the
trail. It was nice. Just the two of them. They didn't
speak, enjoying the peace and quiet.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" B'Elanna asked,
gazing up at the sun, which was partially concealed
by the trees.
"They're nothing compared to you." Tom
replied. B'Elanna looked over at him and smiled. They
kissed. Just then, they heard a noise and jumped away.
"That was close." Tom commented.
"What was that?" B'Elanna asked, on guard.
"Probably Heather trying to scare us." Tom
replied, but, he, too, was worried.
"How come I don't think Heather would go that
low to get our goat?" B'Elanna asked.
"Because she wouldn't."
"Maybe we should go back to the city."
B'Elanna said, looking around.
Tom nodded. "That would be a good idea."
The two turned around and walked quickly
back, glancing around uneasily.
"We should have listened to Heather."
B'Elanna fretted.
"I know. It's not your fault. I was the one
who said it was just her imagination." Tom said,
disgusted with himself. He, of all people, should
have known that Heather hadn't been trying to scare
them.
Just then, they heard it again. It was closer
so the two broke out running.
"Wouldn't it be funny if it *was* Heather."
B'Elanna commented, but she knew as well as Tom that
it definetely wasn't.
"Yeah, *real* funny."
They came to a dead end.
"What?" they said at the same time.
"We took the wrong trail." Tom said.
"What do we do now?"
"Paris to Voyager."
Nothing happened.
*******************************
Heather and Harry hurried down the trail.
Harry, too, had heard it and they were both a little
uneasy, for they had tried contacting Voyager. They
couldn't.
To their relief, the trail soon ended near
the beginning of the other trail. They glimpsed the
city in the bckground. About to enter the city, were
a blonde man and a brunette woman, but they could
only see the backs of them.
"Thank God!" Heather said, and the two
sprinted as fast as they could.
"Hey, guys, wait up!" Harry called as they
neared them.
The couple turned. They weren't Tom and
B'Elanna.
"Is there something we can do for you?" The
young woman, who had hazal eyes asked.
"You're from that starship orbiting Taran,
aren't you?" The man asked. He had green eyes.
"Oh, sorry. We thought you were someone
else." Heather apologized, a sinking feeling in her
stomach.
"I'm Yvonne. Where'd you last see them?" The
woman asked.
"On the trails. When this one split into two,
we took the left one. I guess they decided to take
the other one." Harry replied quickly.
Yvonne narrowed her eyes and the man spoke
up. "I'm Alec. That trail leads to a waterfall, and
then comes back. It's much shorter than the left one,
so unless they got lost or took some other trail,
they should be back by now."
"Thanks *so* much!" Heather called, and the
two Starfleet officers hurried on, looking for Tom
and B'Elanna in the city. That would have been fine,
but Tom and B'Elanna weren't in the city.
************************
B'Elanna sighed. They had decided to retrace
their steps and soon found the trail they *should*
have been on.
"Listen." Tom said, leading her by the hands
down the moss-covered trail. He had thought he had
heard the sound of water, but he wasn't sure.
"What?" B'Elanna asked, worried that it was a
Gerae.
"It's okay. Here, come on." Tom replied, and
he covered her eyes with his hand and led her by her
hands with the other.
"How am I supposed to see where I'm going?"
B'Elanna asked.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Then how 'bout a compromise. You trip, I
carry you."
B'Elanna laughed. "Sounds like a good
compromise."
A minute later, Tom uncovered her eyes and
stepped back. B'Elanna gasped. It was *beautiful*.
She stood on the edge of a small pond. A waterfall
fell from rocks about eight yards above the ground.
For the final touch, a rainbow radiated from the water.
"It's wonderful." she whispered.
Tom just smiled.
B'Elanna walked around the edge. Something
moved. She narrowed her eyes and started towards it.
The next thing she knew, Tom yelled her name
and hurled himself at her. She fell to the ground.
Getting up quickly, she spotted a lurking figure
hurrying away. Scared, she turned to Tom. He lay
motionless on the ground.
"Tom?" she practically screamed, kneeling
next to him.
"Tom!" she screamed, tears running down her
face. Then she gasped and tapped her commbadge, which
now worked.
"Torres to Voyager. Medical emergency. Two to
beam directly to Sick Bay." she said, sobs racking
her body, and the two disappeared in a haze of misty
blue light.
*************************
Captain Janeway sipped her drink as she and
Commander Chakotay sat at a table at a small sidewalk
cafe. After they had explored the city together after
the luncheon Tar Julianna and her family had invited
them to, she and Chakotay had decided to stop and get
drinks.
Captain Janeway was about to speak when
Tuvok's voice came over the comm system.
"Tuvok to Janeway."
Kathryn shook her head. "I swear he does this
on purpose." she said. Chakotay smiled. "Janeway
here." she said, tapping her commbadge.
"Captain Janeway, there has been a medical
emergency. I suggest that you and the rest of the
crew report back to Voyager immediately."
"What happened?" Kathryn asked, her eyes
narrowing worriedly.
"One of the Gerae has shot Lt. Paris. He is
in critical condition. I suggest you contact Lt.
Whitney and Ensign Kim."
Kathryn and Chakotay shared worried looks.
"I'm on my way." she said. Leaving some money
on the table, the two walked quickly to the transport
site. On the way, they spotted Heather and Harry
walking among the crowds, glancing around.
"Heather, Harry!" Chakotay called. Heather
and Harry spotted the two commanding officers and
quickly headed over towards them.
"What happened to Tom and B'Elanna?" Kathryn
asked hurriedly.
"We lost them back at the trails when
they..." Heather was about to comment further but
then she realized how worried the other two were so
she left out the other part. "Well, we got seperated
and then we ran into a couple named Alec and Yvonne
and they said that the trail they took was shorter
than the one Tom and B'Elanna took - we think - so
they should be here somewhere in the city. Why?"
"Because there's a medical emergency. You
two'd better come, too." Chakotay said.
The four hurried to the transport site and
soon they beamed aboard Voyager. Tuvok was there to
meet them.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Lt. Paris is in critical condition. The
Doctor is trying to save him." Tuvok replied.
Heather gasped.
"What about B'Elanna?" Chakotay asked,
concerned.
Tuvok raised his eyebrow. "She is not
handling the situation well."
"Come on, let's get down there. I have a
feeling the Doctor could be using your medical
expertise right now." Captain Janeway said, but the
other three were already out the door. She jogged to
catch up with them. Within what seemed like seconds
they all ran into Sick Bay. The Doctor was there, a
deep frown on his face, and Tom lay lifelessly on the
bio bed. B'Elanna stood next to him, tears streaming
down her face and holding Tom's hand as the Doctor
worked quickly and methodically. She didn't even seem
to notice Captain Janeway, Chakotay, Heather, and
Harry enter. The Doctor did.
"Lt. Whitney." he said curtly, not needing to
say anything else.
Heather went over, her face pale. She
hesitated, seeing Tom there, but the Doctor's orders
snapped her out of it.
"Lt., 10 ccs or cartorozoid."
Heather did so quickly, and they started
throwing orders and reports back and forth.
B'Elanna held Tom's hand, sobbing. She
couldn't believe what had just happened. Just the
other moment they had been standing at the edge of
the waterfall. That had been only a few minutes ago.
Now Tom was on the line between life and death.
For the next minute - what seemed like an
eternity - the Doctor and Heather continued. Then the
Doctor paused. B'Elanna couldn't take it any longer.
She fled the room and ran blindly through the
corridor. Ensigns and lieutenants called after her,
but she payed no attention. She entered her quarters
and sat down on the floor. She cried, her sobs
racking her body. She put her face in her hands. *How
could this have happened?* she thought, as the image
of Tom lying lifelessly on the bio bed kept going
through her head.
**********************
"Doctor?" Harry asked hesitantly, seeing that
the Doctor had stopped. Heather stood there, her hand
holding a hypospray that was inches away from Tom's
neck.
The hologram looked up. "He's unconcious in a
coma. I can't do anything to revive him. Only time
will tell." he replied somberly.
Heather dropped the hypospray on the floor
and sat down on a bio bed, her face pale and ashen.
*How could this have happened?* she asked herself,
not even realizing that tears were running down her
face. Harry went over to her.
"It's gonna be okay, Heath." he told her
softly.
Heather took a deep breath and looked up at
him. *How can he be so calm?* she asked herself. She
could have hit herself for thinking that. Of course
he wasn't calm. She could sense him being worried and
scared, just like her. She glanced around Sick Bay.
Chakotay and Captain Janeway were talking with the
Doctor.
"Where's B'Elanna?" she asked.
"I don't know." Chakotay replied.
"Computer, location of B'Elanna Torres."
Captain Janeway said, a frown on her face.
"Lt. B'Elanna Torres is in her quarters, Deck
3 section 17."
"I'll go see how she is." Kathryn said
softly, and she turned and left. The Doctor,
Chakotay, Heather, and Harry watched her go.
"What now?" Harry asked the Doctor.
"Now, we wait."
***********************
Kathrn Janeway hurried down the corridor. She
didn't need to ask which way B'Elanna had went, for
the puzzled looks on several ensigns and lieutenants'
faces in the corridor told her.
"Computer."
The computer beeped.
"Location of B'Elanna Torres."
"Lt. B'Elanna Torres is in her quarters."
Kathryn headed for a turbolift. There stood
Seven of Nine, a perplexed look on her face.
"Seven." she acknolaged.
"Captain Janeway." Seven replied, then turned
to the Captain. "Captain, Lt. Torres-"
Kathryn waved her off. "I know. Tom Paris
nearly died and she doesn't realize he *isn't* dead."
she explained.
Seven raised her borgified eyebrow. Then the
turbolift doors opened on Deck 3 and Kathryn got out.
She broke into a run and stopped at B'Elanna's
quarters.
Pressing the door chime, she waited.
Nothing.
She knocked on the door. "B'Elanna?" she
called.
Still nothing.
"Computer, open Lt. Torres's quarters' doors,
authorization Janeway Alpha 7083."
The doors opened and Kathryn stepped in. She
looked around but didn't see B'Elanna anywhere.
"B'Elanna?" Kathryn called, more anxiously.
She paused for a second and listened. There was
sobbing coming from the bedroom so she walked softly
into it without making a sound. There was B'Elanna,
her back to the Captain, sitting on her bed and
crying.
Kathryn went over to her.
"B'Elanna!" she said softly, laying a hand on
the sobbing woman's shoulder.
B'Elanna turned around, tears running down
her face. "Is he..." she just couldn't bring herself
to say the word *dead*. It just didn't seem that all
this could have happened. It was like a nightmare,
and all she wanted was to wake up.
Kathryn gaped, then laughed lightly. "No,
he's *not* dead!"
"So he's going to be all right?" B'Elanna
asked, more hopeful.
Kathryn opened her mouth, then sighed.
"Seriously, I don't know. He's in a coma right now.
The Doctor can't do anything to help him. It's up to
Tom to fight it."
B'Elanna stood up. "Can I see him?" she
whispered.
Kathryn paused, considering, and then nodded
slowly. "I guess that would be all right."
The two then headed back for Sick Bay in
silence.
****************
Kathryn and B'Elanna walked into Sick Bay.
The Doctor, Heather, Harry, and Chakotay were still
there. Chakotay and Harry were talking quietly and
trying to comfort Heather - since she still was as
pale as a ghost - who was cleaning medical supplies.
The Doctor was running scans.
Everyone but the Doctor looked up. Chakotay
and Harry stopped talking and Heather dropped the
medical tool she'd been cleaning. Blushing, Heather
picked it back up.
Kathryn walked over to the three senior
officers.
"Let's go." she whispered, and the other
three agreed and walked softly out of Sick Bay. The
Doctor finished and went over to his office. B'Elanna
was left alone with Tom.
B'Elanna's eyes welled up with tears again as
she pulled up a stool and placed it next to the bio
bed. She sat down on it and took Tom's hand, which
was limp.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "I'm so sorry..."
**********************
That had been five days ago. Now, Tom's
condition had not gotten better and he was still in a
coma. B'Elanna walked tiredly down Deck 5's corridor.
She had just gotten off her night shift in
Engineering and was going to spend the rest of the
day, as she had for the last five days, at Tom's
bedside. She took a deep breath and walked into Sick
Bay. Her hopes fell as soon as she saw that nothing
had changed since late that night, when she had left
to work the night shift. She went over to the Doctor,
who was in his office.
The Doctor glanced up and shook his head as
soon as he saw the chief engineer. "No change." he
said, answering the unasked question.
B'Elanna nodded and went to her regular spot
and sat down.
The Doctor glanced at her from his window,
then turned back to his work, frustrated. Lt. Torres
hadn't left Sick Bay, except to work her shifts. She
hadn't eaten or slept for five days and the Doctor
was getting worried about her. However, there was
nothing he could say or do to change her mind, which
was bent on spending every single second at Tom's
bedside if she wasn't on duty. She had even excused
herself from the senior staff meetings. When the
Doctor had brought her behaviour up, the rest of the
staff had voiced their worrys as well. Everyone was
worried about Tom, and everyone was starting to worry
just as much about B'Elanna.
Captain Janeway entered Sick Bay. She frowned
when she spotted B'Elanna there, but went directly to
the Doctor.
"Report." she said, sitting down.
The Doctor could tell she wasn't in a good
mood. "Lt. Paris's condition hasn't changed."
"What's she doing here? I ordered her to
report to her quarters to get some rest after her
nightshift." Captain Janeway said moodily.
The Doctor sighed. "She arrived here a few
minutes ago."
Captain Janeway stood up, nodded, and left,
leaving the Doctor even more puzzled. Soon after, the
doors opened and Heather stepped through, carrying a
tray. Before going over to Torres and Paris, though,
she stopped by to see the Doctor.
"I swear, that woman is so...." Heather said
furiously, then stopped short, unable to think of a
word. It wasn't that she didn't have a good
vocabulary, she did, it was just that she was too
frustrated to think. "How long has she been here?"
"About ten minutes ago, why do you ask?"
"I just got off the night shift, stopped by
the Mess Hall to get some food for her, and came
here, and she *beat* me."
"Oh."
Heather shook her head. "I'm worried about
her. She hasn't slept since the night before it
happened, and even then, we all stayed at Sandrine's
till past midnight."
The Doctor shook his head and waved the
frustrated woman away, but then asked. "Do you know
why the Captain is in such a bad mood?"
Heather grinned, but then her smile faded. "I
think its because she's in a fight with Chakotay.
He's been acting sour lately, too."
"Sour?" the Doctor asked, confused.
Heather laughed. "As in: he's in a bad mood,
too."
The Doctor nodded and she went over to
B'Elanna. She layed the tray down on the table.
"Eat." she ordered.
B'Elanna looked up. "Thanks, Heather, but no
thanks. I'm not hungry."
Heather frowned and crossed her arms over her
chest. "Eat, and that's an order."
"Same rank." B'Elanna muttered.
"I'm a bridge officer. Now eat."
B'Elanna just shook her head.
"Fine, then I'm going to stand here until you
do." Heather said. She tapped her foot impatiently.
*How come she always has to be so stubborn?*
B'Elanna eyed the platter of food. "What is
it?" she asked.
"I used my own replicator rations. Ceaser
salad, vegetable soup, and a roll. Now eat!" Heather
said.
B'Elanna reluctantly bit into the roll, and
was surprised at how good it tasted. Then she
realized why. She hadn't eaten for five days.
"Thanks." she said, after she'd swallowed.
"Finish it." Heather said.
B'Elanna looked disdainfully at her friend,
then set the roll down.
*Ughh!* Heather thought, aggrivated. "Look,
I'm sick and tired of this. So what if Tom's in a
coma. That doesn't mean you have to die of
starvation! Now, I'm fed up of you not eating or
sleeping. You are going to eat and until you finish
every last bite, I'm not leaving. And if I do, I'll
have the Doctor come in."
B'Elanna eyed her friend, then, realizing she
wasn't going to go anywhere, ate the rest of the roll.
"Thanks. I'm full now so you can go."
Heather nearly snorted, then put her hands on
her hips. "Lt. B'Elanna Torres, you haven't done
nothing except work your shifts and sit at Tom's
bedside. And the last thing he would want you to do
is to practically starve yourself to death and not
sleep at all!" she cried, nearly yelling.
B'Elanna winced. Normally *she* was the one
who lost her temper, not Heather.
The Doctor looked up from his work at
Heather's words. He nodded to himself. Heather was
speaking perfect sense. *If only B'Elanna'd take the
time to notice.* he thought.
Just then, Harry Kim walked in. "What's going
on? I could hear you screaming from the corridor." he
commented to Heather.
"She won't eat." Heather said shortly,
glaring at B'Elanna. B'Elanna just glared back.
"*What*?" Harry asked, incredulous.
"I'm not hungry!" B'Elanna protested.
Harry shook his head. "Maquis, you haven't
eaten in *five* days. You're starving yourself to
death!" he said.
"Fine, fine!" B'Elanna said. She started
moving the lettuce leaves around on her plate. Seeing
Heather was about to explode, she started eating.
"Chakotay to Kim."
Harry looked puzzled but tapped his
commbadge. "Yes, Commander?"
"Please report to the bridge. Chakotay out."
Heather shook her head. "Boy, he's in a good
mood, isn't he?" she commented sarcastically.
Harry just shook his head and walked out the
door. "Bye!" he called.
"See you!" Heather called after him. Turning
back to B'Elanna, she smiled innocently. "Now, finish
it!"
B'Elanna did as she was told, feeling like a
four year old who refused to eat her lunch.
"Carey to Whitney."
"Whitney here." Heather said, sighing tiredly.
"There's a malfuncion with the plasma relays.
Could you lend a hand?"
"Fine. Whitney out." she said, and left Sick
Bay.
************************
* * * * *
B'Elanna was walking down the corridor. It
was just another day. Another plain old boring day.
All of a sudden, the ship rocked and the red klaxons
started blaring.
*Janeway to all hands. Battle stations.*
B'Elanna glanced around. Now the corridor was
swarming with Starfleet personnel.
*I don't belong here.* she told herself, not
hurrying the slightest to do what Kathryn Janeway,
her superior, had ordered.
Scenes changed. Now she was standing at the
edge of a waterfall. She was so close she was being
hit with the light spray of water as the water hit
the bottom.
*B'Elanna!*
B'Elanna turned around. There was Tom, but he
didn't see her. He shoved her, but she didn't move.
She was too confused to...
* * * * *
"Tom?"
B'Elanna sat up. She shook her head and
glanced around. The lights were dimmed and she was in
Sick Bay.
She laughed softly at herself. *Just a dream,
'Lanna.* she told herself, but she was still puzzled.
*What kind of dream was that?*
B'Elanna glanced around. The Doctor was still
activated, but he wasn't paying her the slightest
attention. She rubbed her neck and groaned slightly,
for it was pretty stiff. *He must have given me a
sedative.* she thought. She sighed and leaned back.
Then, she felt her hand being sqeezed. She glanced
down, and Tom's eyes were open and he was smiling up
at her. Then he sat up. She smiled widely, then
kissed him. And then, she knew everything would be
all right.
THE END
*******************
© January 1998 by Jane Griffen
Original Disclaimers apply. Please send all comments
and feedback to JaneG100@rocketmail.com Merci!
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