Going Home
Subha Rajaram (SubhaR@aol.com)
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Code: P/T
Rating: G

Synopsis: A regular day in the Delta Quadrant leads to a discovery of a
wormhole…and from there, to the Alpha Quadrant! Tom decides that it's
time to move forward in his relationship with B'Elanna Torres.

Legal Disclaimer: Let's make this quick: all characters are Paramount's.
If you didn't know that, I have no idea where you have been for the past
30+ years.

Author's Ramblings: This work was written piece by piece on the AOL Star
Trek: P/T Collective board, whose denizens were supportive enough to
actually give me enough courage to finish this story. I hadn't read any
fan fiction before I wrote this (otherwise this probably never would
have been distributed across the 'net) and I was so eager to write
something I overlooked all its flaws. Nonetheless I got more feedback on
this story that I did on any of my others, so who knows what kind of
taste you people have? ;-)

I wrote this soon after Blood Fever, in the third season when all P/T
fans were dying to see more of Tom and B'Elanna.

I have tweaked this version a bit from the original, and if this is your
first time reading this: be grateful that you got the revised edition
instead of the original one ;-)

And before I discourage you any further, please go ahead and read.




***************

"Tom Paris, if you don't get your hands off me this very instant,
I'm going to throw you across the room, " warned B'Elanna Torres, as
Tom's hands massaged her tense shoulders. "And then the stars you'll be
seeing won't be the ones outside the window."
"Why? Don't you like massages?" asked Tom innocently, still
massaging her shoulders.
B'Elanna twisted around in her seat in the deserted mess hall and tried
to give Tom her harshest look, although with that cherubic face it was
hard to do. "You know perfectly well I have to get this report on the
warp nacelles done for the Captain, and it's due in fifteen minutes.
With all that massaging, I can't think straight."
Tom clucked his tongue, and waggled his finger. "Why Lieutenant
Torres, you didn't finish your report for our dear Captain? I'm
shocked!" He put his hands over his heart and widened his eyes.
B'Elanna snorted indignantly. "That's your fault too. If you
hadn't made me go to the holodeck with you, I could have finished my
report, and gotten a good night's sleep," accused B'Elanna, sounding as
if having fun had suddenly become a capital crime.
Tom took the seat next to her. "You had fun didn't you?"
"That's not the point!" Hunching over the PADD, she tapped in a
few final commands, and looked up at Tom. "There, now I'm done. NOW you
can massage my shoulders."
"What makes you think I'll want to massage your shoulders after
you hurt my feelings like that?" Tom tried to look as annoyed as
possible, which wasn't very easy, since he loved B'Elanna so much.
"Tom, if you're playing games with me-"
"Janeway to Torres"
"Yes, Captain"
"Lt. Torres, we've just encountered a very interesting phenomenon.
I think we're going to need warp power soon." Janeway's voice was tense,
yet full of anticipation, which peaked B'Elanna curiosity immediately.
"On my way, Captain."
"Oh, and B'Elanna, bring Lieutenant Paris with you, I think we're
going to need him at the helm."

*********************

The entire bridge crew stared in wonderment at the beautiful sight
on the view screen.
"Commander, tell me I'm dreaming," Janeway said, turning to her
first officer.
Chakotay turned to her, his entire face one big grin. "Captain, if
you're dreaming, so am I, and I don't think I want to wake up from this
one."
The turbolift doors hissed open, and emerged B'Elanna and Tom,
looking like they would have preferred to stay in the turbolift. Tom's
face was a bright red, and Janeway was amused. She heartily approved of
the relationship between her chief engineer, and helmsman.
B'Elanna and Tom stared in awe at the wormhole on the view screen.
Captain, are we going in?" asked Tom as he took his seat at the
helm. B'Elanna went over to the Engineering console.
Janeway smiled. The anticipation on everyone's faces was
heartwarming, but she hoped their hopes wouldn't be dashed if nothing
came out of this wormhole, or rather if it didn't go anywhere. "Yes we
are Lieutenant. Harry, put me on inter-ship communication."
"You're on, Captain."
Janeway wasn't sure how to start, but once she did, the words came
tumbling out.

"You have all been a wonderful crew. I know in the
beginning, it was hard to work together, since half of us were from the
Maquis. But for the past three years, you've been the best crew a
captain could hope for. We are about to attempt a journey home, through
a wormhole that our astrophysics department says is stable. All evidence
indicated that it will take us closer to the Alpha Quadrant, so we're
giving this a try. It will be a rough ride, so prepare yourselves.
Janeway out." Turning to Tom, she paused and looked at the stars
surrounding the wormhole. In a short time, if things worked out right,
she could be looking at the stars from Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.
"Mr. Paris, warp one into the heart of the wormhole on my command.
B'Elanna, I hope you have warp power available."
"Plenty of it, Captain," replied B'Elanna. Her gaze shot to Tom,
who was sitting calmly at the helm, fingers poised over the console
waiting for the Captain's orders. "How can he be so calm," she wondered.
"Especially since if this works he'll have to see his father again."
Tom glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see B'Elanna studying
him. He tried to sit there as calmly as he could, but the truth was he
was nervous as hell. All he could think about was facing his father
again. Of course, there was no guarantee this wormhole would take them
back to the Alpha Quadrant. It might take them half way back, or it
might even put them farther away, if worse came to worse, but they had
to take the chance.
Janeway settled into her chair, her shoulders tense, and Chakotay
followed suit. "Brace yourselves, it's going to be a rough ride," she
warned once more. "All right, Mr. Paris." She paused for a moment and
looked around the bridge. "Take us in."


**************************************

B'Elanna groaned as she opened her eyes to find herself sprawled
on the floor of the bridge, next to the Engineering console. It took her
a minute to remember that they had just gone through a wormhole. As she
lifted her head, and struggled to her feet, she turned to see what had
happened to the rest of the crew. Captain Janeway and Chakotay had both
fallen out of their seats and onto the floor, and both were struggling
to their feet. Tuvok and Harry had collapsed on their consoles, and were
coming around. The only one who showed no signs of regaining
consciousness was Tom, who was slumped over his helm console. B'Elanna
rushed over, and started patting his face anxiously. "Tom, wake up."
Tom's eyes fluttered open, and he mumbled, "Did we make it
through?"
B'Elanna sighed with relief, and helped Tom sit up. If something
had happened to him--she didn't even want to think of the possibilities.
"I think so."
The Captain was back on her feet and in command. Hearing the doubt
in her chief engineer's voice she called out, "Tuvok, report. Where are
we?"
Tuvok looked up from the console he had been working on. "We are
not in the Alpha Quadrant yet, Captain. It appears that we directly in
front of the Bajoran wormhole that leads from the Gamma Quadrant to
Deep Space Nine."
Well, isn't anyone going to say great job, Tom?" asked Tom, trying
to break the astonished silence on the bridge.
"Stuff it," answered B'Elanna, letting go of him, and returning to
her station.
Chakotay and Janeway exchanged smiles. Even now, Tom and B'Elanna
couldn't keep from exchanging barbs. "All right, Mr. Paris, take us in,"
Janeway ordered, barley keeping the smile of glee from appearing on her
face. Ensign Kim apparently didn't have that problem, for he was
grinning from ear to ear, probably thinking of his girlfriend Libby.
"Yes, ma'am."

*******************

Tom looked at the image on the view screen, and beamed. "I never
thought I'd say this, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing that
idiotic Ferengi barkeeper again."
I hate to admit, but that station might have been designed by
Cardassians, but right now, it's looking good," added Chakotay.
Janeway rubbed her hands together, and walked toward the view
screen. "Ensign Kim, hail Deep Space Nine. Tell them Voyager's come
home."

********************

On the former Cardassian mining station now known as Deep Space Nine,
Captain Benjamin Sisko was sitting calmly at his desk, daydreaming about
going to the holo-suite, and watching a world series game, when Jadzia
Dax's voice broke through.
"Benjamin, a ship just came through the wormhole."
Sisko immediately snapped back into reality. "What kind of ship?"
Images of JemHa'Dar warships filled his head.
"I think you'd better come out here and see for yourself. You
won't believe me if I tell you."
Sisko left his office, and walked into Ops, and stared at the ship on
the view screen. " That's Voyager isn't it?" he asked softly. The U.S.S.
Voyager had garnered the status of 'ghost ship' because no one could
figure out how it disappeared without leaving any traces. Several months
ago, Starfleet has marked the crew "missing, presumed dead" But now,
here it was three years later, in front of DS9. "Did they hail us?"
"Yes sir," Worf answered. "The message is "Voyager's come home."
"Well, then," answered Sisko calmly, the initial shock having worn
off. "Put them on screen so I can welcome them."
Three seconds later, an image of Kathryn Janeway filled the view screen.
"Commander, or rather should I say, Captain Sisko, you have no idea how
good it is to see your face," smiled Janeway.
"You have no idea, how shocked I am to see yours, Captain,"
answered Sisko. Janeway's face looked a little tired, but hell, anyone's
would if they'd been missing for three years.
"Captain, I'd love to explain what happened, but my crew hasn't had
shore leave in who knows how long, so I request permission to dock."
"Granted," Sisko said. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

********************

B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris stepped out of their assigned quarters on
Deep Space Nine. As they walked toward the Promenade, B'Elanna couldn't
help look around, at all the familiar aliens walking around. "I didn't
think I'd ever say this, but after three years of staring at the Kazon,
I am actually starting to like that Cardassian tailor," she sighed,
nodding toward the small dress shop obviously owned by a Cardassian.
Tom took her hand his, and squeezed. "This from a former Maquis," he
joked," If they could hear you, they would probably throw you out."
B'Elanna turned at stared at Tom seriously, stopping in mid-stride. She
had a serious look on her face as she asked, "what makes you think I'm a
former Maquis?"
Tom felt liked she'd hit him in the gut. "Well, I just
assumed...." he started, starting to panic. What if B'Elanna joined the
Maquis again? He would lose her, he would......
As panicky thoughts started to fill Tom's head, B'Elanna started
to smile. "What's so funny?" he demanded.
"You," laughed B'Elanna. "You're so adorable when you become
anxious. I was just teasing you, Tom. I didn't think you'd take it so
seriously. She reached up and ruffled his blond hair.
Tom was relieved, to say the least. He couldn't do what he wanted
to if B'Elanna was going to run off and join the Maquis again. "Come on,
we're attracting too much attention standing in the middle of the
Promenade." Tom started walking, but B'Elanna held him back.
"Well, if they're staring at us, why don't we give 'em something
to stare at?" suggested B'Elanna, with a mischievous grin on her face.
Before Tom could utter another word, B'Elanna yanked on the neck of his
uniform, bringing him down to her height, and started to kiss with a
passion, right there in the middle of the Promenade.

*****************************

Chief Miles O'Brien and his wife Keiko, were walking through the
Promenade, arm in arm, when they came to a dead halt. In front of them
were two people, kissing each other with a passion that most people
expressed only when they were alone.
"Isn't that sweet, Miles," Keiko asked, smiling at the obviously
loving couple.
"Sweet, my foot," scoffed Miles, "if Molly ever did that in public, I'd
lock her in her quarters until she was 45. Look at all the attention
they're getting."
"But Miles, look at them. They're in love," pausing, she added as
she got a glimpse of the man's face. "and what woman wouldn't fall in
love with a man like that."
"Are you saying that you actually wanted to marry some young cocky
kid like that," asked Miles, astonished, and a little bit hurt.
Keiko managed to pry her eyes off handsome young man--Gods, he did
have the most amazing blue eyes---- and patted her husband's cheek
lovingly. "Of course not, Miles, I can't imagine not marrying you."
"You know, I bet this is why you called of the wedding the first
time, " muttered Miles, "you probably met some young sucker like that
man, and decided you didn't want a simple Irish man like me, and then--"
"Miles, you sound like a jealous lunatic," Keiko laughed. "Why
would I have married you if I didn't love you? Never mind, we'd better
get to the holo-suite before Quark decides to charge us extra for being
late." She pulled her husband after her, who was still muttering
something about cocky young men, Molly, marriage, and killing someone.
"Men," thought Keiko." Utter one simple little thought, and they get all
bent out of shape."

*******************************************

At the same time, Miles and Keiko were arguing, Kathryn Janeway
and Chakotay were crossing the Promenade in order to get to the
replimat.
"After so many years of having to ration the use of a replicator,
I will be in heaven, just knowing I'll be able to use the replicator as
much as I want," said Kathryn as she walked alongside Chakotay. "I'm
dying for a cup of Colombian Coffee, as a matter fact-" Kathryn stopped
abruptly when she realized Chakotay has stopped walking a few seconds
ago, staring at something in the middle of the Promenade. She followed
his gaze toward Tom and B'Elanna who were locked in a passionate
embrace, and quite a few people had stopped to gawk, including a
beautiful Asian woman, who seemed to be arguing with the man next to her
about something.
"I don't believe it," muttered Chakotay, " I don't believe it."
"What's not to believe, Chakotay?" asked Kathryn. "They're in
love, and they're kissing."
Chakotay shot her a dry look. "Kathryn, not many people stop in
the middle of a hallway and start to kiss as passionately as those two.
If Tom does anything to hurt her, I'm going to----" He looked like he
was going to storm over to the couple, pry them apart, and deck Tom.
Chakotay has always been a little suspicious of Tom Paris, but
this was getting out of hand. "Chakotay, you know perfectly well, that
Tom and B'Elanna have been in love for almost a year now, and NOW you're
threatening to do something to Tom, if he doesn't treat her right? You
sound like a jealous father."
Kathryn yanked on Chakotay's sleeve. "Now stop gawking, and come
on." Kathryn dragged him to the replimat, but all the while, his gaze
was still on the young couple. "Men," she thought. "Who can understand
'em?"

***************************

B'Elanna pulled apart from Tom, letting go of his uniform. Tom's
entire face was bright red, contrasting with his pale skin, but he has
an enormously satisfied look on his face. Clearing his throat, he looked
around the Promenade, with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Looks like
we got everyone's attention."
"Yes, we did," B'Elanna agreed, still enjoying the flush on Tom's
face. It wasn't easy making Tom Paris blush, but when he did, he turned
the color of a tomato.
Tomatoes, just the thought of that made her hungry. "Come on, let's go
get something to eat at the replimat. I'll eat anything as long as it
isn't Neelix's leola root."
"Leola root," groaned Tom, "Did you have to mention that?" His
face was beginning to turn pale, and he didn't seem to be too steady on
his feet. For a minute it looked like he was going to fall.
"Are you all right, or is this just to make me play nursemaid to
you again?" asked B'Elanna suspiciously. The last time Tom had been sick
she had been at his beck and call for almost three days, when she
realized he wasn't sick at all. It had taken him two weeks to be able to
blink his eyes without flinching, and almost three to convince her he
was sorry.
"Okay, I'm not really that sick, but I do need to go to my
quarters," admitted Tom, with a mysterious smile.
B'Elanna hated mysteries. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
Tom was shocked at B'Elanna accusation. "Never. You're the apple
of my eye, the cream in my coffee, the----"
B'Elanna held up her hands in surrender, "All right, I believe
you. But are you going to tell me why you have to go to your quarters,
or not? And what about dinner? You're not going to make me eat all by
myself are you?"
"Of course I'm not going to tell you," grinned Tom, "that would
spoil everything. Besides, this has to do with dinner. Meet me on
Voyager's Holodeck 2 in a half hour" With a final mischievous grin,
he disappeared down the Promenade, almost colliding into a Bajoran
exiting the temple. "Oh, and formal attire," he shouted, and vanished
around the corner.
B'Elanna shook her head in exasperation. "Men, they always have
some wild idea or another, don't they?"

************************************************

As Tom was about to enter his assigned quarters on DS9, he saw
Harry Kim walking toward him.
"Hey, Harry," greeted the pilot. "Come in." Obediently, Harry
followed Tom into his quarters and took a seat on the couch, while Tom
whistled under his breath, and gathered various PADDS. He had a very big
smile on his face. Harry watched him for a moment before asking, "You
seem cheerful today, anything special going on I should I know about?"
Tom turned and faced Harry, and if possible, his grin grew wider.
"Yes there is, and I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I can't help
myself, I have to tell someone."
Harry instantly became suspicious. "Okay, let's have it," he
sighed, expecting the worst.
"Harry, Harry, Harry, you are way to distrustful of me, my
friend," answered Tom. "This is really good news. But I think I'll make
you guess."
"Okay...does it have anything to do with returning to the Alpha
Quadrant?" guessed Harry.
"No, even if we hadn't returned I would have done this
eventually."
"Something to do with..... B'Elanna?" This time Harry knew he was
right by the way Tom got that dreamy look on his face. Harry waved his
hand in front of his friends face. "Earth to Lieutenant. Paris, Earth to
Tom"
Tom snapped back to reality. "Yeah, B'Elanna has a lot to do with
it," he said, disappearing into the closet to retrieve something,
throwing clothes out of the way.
Harry stared in bewilderment at all the clothes coming out of
Tom's closet. "Tom, we just arrived on the station 5 hours ago, how come
it looks like every single piece of clothing you own is in your closet?"
Tom shrugged his shoulders, emerging from the closet with a small
velvet box in his hand. "I'm efficient, besides, B'Elanna insisted on
it."
"She did?" asked Harry skeptically. Somehow he couldn't imagine
B'Elanna Torres standing over Tom Paris ordering him to hang all his
clothes in the closet. Wait a minute, actually he could. However, his
attention was distracted by the box Paris was holding. "Tom, you're not
going to ask B'Elanna to-"
"Yes, I am," said Tom, jubilantly. "I finally decided I'd go for
it."
Harry didn't want to spoil Tom's mood, but he had to ask. "What if
she turns you down?" Harry asked softly.
Tom's smile evaporated, and he answered," Well, then, I'll have to
tell Neelix to hold off on making the appetizers, won't I?"
Harry sighed, slightly impatient. "Come on, Tom, seriously. What
would you do?"
"Honestly, I don't know, and I'd prefer not to think about it."
Harry studied Tom. He seemed more sure of this than anything in
his life. Harry decided he would be happy if B'Elanna accepted. Suddenly
the image of B'Elanna trying to cook a meal, with a bunch of little
children yelling and screaming around her ankles filled his head, and he
couldn't help laughing.
Tom's head jerked up. "What's so funny?"
Harry tried to control his laughter, but much to his chagrin, it
kept getting louder and louder. He wouldn't have been surprised if Odo,
DS9's chief of security came to arrest him for disturbing the peace.
"I'm sorry, Tom," he managed to choke out, as his face turned lobster
red from keeping his laughter contained, "the image of B'Elanna being a
typical housewife filled my head, and I couldn't help laughing."
Lucky for him, Tom didn't seem to be distressed. "Personally, I
won't and can't expect that from B'Elanna," he said seriously.
Harry stopped laughing, and managed to sit up straight in an
attempt to regain his dignity. "Okay, enough of the serious questions?
How are you going to propose to her, drop on your knees in the middle of
the Promenade like you did this afternoon?" It took all of his control
not to start laughing about that. It was all over DS9 about Tom and
B'Elanna's public display of affection.
Tom blushed. "Actually, I invited her to the holodeck, and we're
going to have dinner, and then I'm going to ask her. " Going back into
his closet, he started examining all his shirts, trying to decide which
to one to wear. " The black one or the blue?" he asked Harry, holding
both shirts against his chest.
Harry considered it. "The blue," he announced. "The black one
looks like something you'd wear to a funeral."
Tom smiled gratefully, and drawled, "What would I ever do without
you, Harry?" He disappeared into the bathroom to change out of his
uniform.
"With all this talk about B'Elanna, I almost forgot to tell you my
good news," remembered Harry..
"What is it?" asked Tom, his uniform flying out from the bathroom
and landing in an untidy heap on the floor.
"I contacted Libby, and she's coming out to DS9 on the next
transport ship off of Earth," Harry smiled to himself as he pictured
seeing his fiancee after all these years.
"That's great, Harry. So, are you going to pop the question ?"
questioned Tom, as he exited the bathroom.
"Hey, just because you finally got the guts to ask your
girlfriend, doesn't mean the rest of us are all going to run out and
follow you're example!"
Tom held up his hands in surrender. "Didn't mean to get you all
worked up, just a little question. Besides, from the way you responded,
I bet you are."
Sometimes Tom was just to darn smart for his good. "All right, so
maybe I'm thinking about it," admitted Harry. "But I still haven't
gotten her a ring yet."
Scooping up his little velvet box, and tucking into his pant
pocket, Tom grinned. "I'd love to show you what I got B'Elanna, but I
don't want you to get too jealous. But one piece of advice...."
"Yes?"
"Don't go to Quark's bar and buy a ring, this time I won't be
around to save you." With this final piece of sage advice, Tom left his
quarters, with a wave of goodbye to Harry, an exuberant smile on his
cherubic looking face.

*************

As Tom and Harry were entering Tom's quarters, B'Elanna entered Garak's
Clothing store. The Cardassian hurried over to her, an eager smile on
his face. "Hello, my dear. I am Garak, owner of this fine establishment.
How may I be of assistance?" Garak led her over to a chair in a corner,
and sat her down.
"Well, I'm supposed to be meeting my.." She hesitated to say
"boyfriend" because he was more than that.. but she couldn't think of a
proper term "...my friend." she finished. Ugh, that sounded like she was
going to meet a regular friend on the holodeck.'
Garak looked at her knowingly. "A male friend?" he inquired
"Yes," she admitted, slightly annoyed that the Cardassian could
know so much about her. But news of her and Tom's embrace on the
Promenade was probably all over the station. "Something simple yet
elegant."
Garak smiled delightedly. "I have the perfect dress for you. I
made it for a young lady, but she decided she didn't want it in the end.
Something about not wanting to support a Cardassian." He frowned in
indignation. "Anyway, I'll go get it." He returned in a few minutes with
a dress draped over his arm. Holding it up, he beamed. "It's one of my
best works," he confided.
B'Elanna wasn't paying attention. Her attention was focused on the
dress. Garak was right, it was the perfect dress. It was off white, a
perfect compliment to her dark skin. It had thin spaghetti straps, and
the front dipped down just enough to reveal a bit of cleavage. It
narrowed at the waist, and then spread out. It was one of those dresses
with the skirt that would fly straight out if she twirled around. It
would end just above her knees, so it would be comfortable enough that
she wouldn't have to keep tugging at it. B'Elanna knew she had to have
this dress. But then it hit her. The dress was missing one key detail.
Scowling at the dress to make Garak think she wasn't too interested, she
barked, "I'll only take the dress if........"
"If what?" asked Garak anxiously.
"If you throw in a pair of shoes."
Garak's face relaxed considerably. Obviously he's expecting
something worse. "That's no problem" He went into the back room, and
returned with several boxes of shoes. "You can choose from any one of
these," Garak pointed to the pile of shoe boxes at B'Elanna feet.
"You're so kind," B'Elanna said dryly. In a manner of minutes, she
picked out the ones she wanted. They too, were an off white, the same
color as the dress, with thin heels, and straps that tied around her
calf, making her legs look longer. Glancing at the chronometer, she
cursed. She had ten minutes to change and meet Tom on the holodeck..
Grabbing the dress, she bolted out of the store, while Garak shouted
behind her," Wait a minute, you didn't pay for those!!!"


************************


Tom paced around the holodeck anxiously. Glancing at the
chronometer, he sighed and kept pacing. B'Elanna still had two more
minutes before he could call her late, but Tom was worried that she'd
decide not to come. "Why would she do that, she doesn't know what's
you're planning to do," Tom told himself.
What if Harry told her? "No, he wouldn't do anything stupid like
that," he assured himself. Tom continued to pace, until the holodeck
doors hissed open, and he heard B'Elanna enter, her heels clicking on
the floor.
"You look.......gorgeous," he said as she walked toward him. If
Tom had any doubts about asking B'Elanna to marry him, he certainly
didn't have them now.

****************************

B'Elanna looked down at herself, slightly uncomfortable. The dress
was perfect, and from Tom's reaction, he seemed to agree to. But she
thought the dress felt a little too tight. Pushing her doubts away, she
studied Tom. He was looking more handsome than ever, with a loose silk
shirt, and black pants. The blue of his shirt seemed to bring out the
blue of his eyes even more, if that was possible.
As she walked toward Tom, she suddenly realized that she wasn't
walking on the glowing yellow lines of the holodeck, but in Tom's
program instead.
Dusk was just falling as the sun settled on a distant mountain
peak. Looking around, B'Elanna realized she seemed to be on a deserted
roadway that wound its way up a mountainside. There was a huge log
lodge nearby, but at the edge of the road stood a small one-room cabin.
Tom was standing outside the door with a smile on his face as he saw the
recognition in B'Elanna's face. This was where they had had their first
date, she had set up this program, and had been wearing the red dress
Tom had given her.
"B'Elanna you look more beautiful that there are words to express
it by." Tom took her hands into his, and led her up the path to the
cabin. B'Elanna followed him wordlessly, and as she followed him, she
suddenly had this odd sensation in her stomach, as if something big was
about to happen. "Impossible," she told herself. Klingons and Humans had
no powers of telepathy.
Tom led her into the cabin which was lit entirely by candlelight,
and sat her down at the table. B'Elanna looked at him, the love in her
eyes clear.
"You did all this, for dinner?" The astonishment was clear, but
it was also apparent that she wasn't complaining.
Taking a seat in the chair across from her, he reached for her
hand, and clasped it tightly. "For you, B'Elanna, anything." He gazed at
her with the utmost seriousness. *Not now* he thought to himself. *I'll
wait until after dinner*

**************************

B'Elanna sat back in her chair, sighing in contentment. Tom had
prepared, or rather replicated, a wonderful meal of various Earth
delicacies. Sweet and Sour Chicken, Indian Curry, Sushi (which had
looked revolting at first) and for dessert some wonderful chocolate
mousse. "After all these years of being tortured with Neelix's leola
root, I think this is the best meal I have ever had," complimented
B'Elanna, smiling at Tom from across the table.
"You would say that about anything as long as it wasn't Neelix's
leola root," said Tom, the pride in his eyes obvious. Pushing back his
chair, he gestured toward the door. "Let's go for a walk, there's
something I want to talk to you about."
B'Elanna stood up and followed him outside, where they walked
along a little path behind the cabin. The sun was setting, and the air
smelled like roses. Tom came to a halt after several minutes and sat her
down on a rock, which looked suspiciously like a chair.
"Tom, what's this all about?" asked B'Elanna. The feeling that
something important was going to happen was getting stronger, but she
couldn't place what it was.
With utter seriousness, Tom got down on his knees, and took
B'Elanna's left hand in his. "B'Elanna, I think it's time we moved
forward in our relationship." *Okay, Tom,* he told himself, *this is it*
Pulling out the little velvet box from his pocket, he opened it to
reveal a simple gold ring.
B'Elanna stared in astonishment, and nothing seemed to register
until Tom asked softly, "B'Elanna Torres, will you marry me?"
She blinked a few times, staring at the ring, at alternately
staring into Tom's face which was looking at back at her with---was that
fear in his eyes? *What are you waiting for B'Elanna?* she asked
herself, and with a broad smile she said, "Yes, Thomas Eugene Paris, I
will marry you."
Now it was Tom's turn to stare in shock. "You will?" he asked, his
voice brightening. He put his arms around B'Elanna's waist, and twirled
her around, shouting in glee. "She said yes, my B'Elanna said yes!!!!"
B'Elanna laughed with him, feeling as if a great weight had been
lifted of her shoulders. Stepping out of his embrace, she asked with a
twinkle in her eye, "Aren't you even going to put my ring on my finger?"
"Right, I almost forgot," Tom said sheepishly. Removing the ring
from the box, he slid it onto B'Elanna's finger. She stared in amazement
at the ring, which felt heavy on her finger. She made a face.
"What's wrong with it? Don't you like it? If you don't then I'll
just go—"
"No, silly. I was just wondering how I'm going to repair plasma
conduits and work on computer consoles, with this ring on my finger."
"I'm sure you'll think of something," her fiancé commented. "Come
on, I want to go celebrate!"


**********************



© 1996-2001 Aurora Khan

ltrotsky17@hotmail.com

http://www.oocities.org/auspicious17

E-mail me at SubhaR@aol.com if you'd like to read any of these stories,
or to send comments, questions and nit-picks. Just no flames!