Back                 Next

Don't Touch Me
Part 1 of 1
Synopsis:  Pre-"Lineage".  B'Elanna has a strange dream... or is it a warning?

Don't Touch Me

    A smile covered Neelix's spotted face as he placed a plate on the counter and piled a stack of pancakes atop it.  On the other side of the kitchen counter, Noah Lessing looked down at the platter with surprise.  In a sudden burst of energy, he snatched up a tray and a plate.  He heaped scrambled alien eggs on his plate, grabbed a glass of the local orange juice, and retreated to a nearby table.  Crewman Phipps had been standing in line next to Lessing.  She got her own tray of eggs without sparing the pancakes a second glance.

    Neelix chuckled to himself as he sliced a banana on the platter and drenched the stack in hot maple syrup.   The casual observer would think the crew possessed: homesick humans passing up a plate of pancakes?

    Not possessed, Neelix thought, just... terrified.  And it wasn't his cooking they were terrified of (for once), it was...

    B'Elanna Torres stormed through the mess hall doors, dragging a very docile Tom Paris behind her.  She didn't release her grip on his arm until she had reached the kitchen.

    "Good morning, Lieutenant!" the Talaxian chirped.

    "Good morning, Neelix," Torres replied with a smile.  She picked up the tray of pancakes and a glass of milk and headed for a nearby table.  She sat down and dug into the stack.

    Paris watched her for a moment, rubbing his wrist absent-mindedly.  "Problems?" Neelix inquired as he spooned the last of the blue-flecked eggs onto Tom's plate.

    "When she's hungry, nothing slows her down."

    Neelix smiled cheerily.  "It's as much your fault as it is hers," he replied.

    Paris pinned Neelix with a glare.  "It's more her fault.  Because of that whole Borg mess--"

    "Tom!" B'Elanna called.  "Hurry up and get your food!"

    "Coming!" Paris answered.  He grabbed the pot of coffee and poured a brimming cup.  Gesturing to the engineer with the cup, he said, "M'lady beckons."

    Neelix chuckled.  He turned to a nearby cabinet and picked up one of the extremely large, ten-kilogram eggs and set it in a bowl next to his skillet.  At that moment, several engineers were leaving the mess hall.  The chubby alien caught their attention and gestured to the head-sized egg.

    "Look familiar?" he whispered, a mischievous grin on his face.

    The closing door soon cut off the unsuccessfully stifled snickers.  Neelix returned to his cooking in bright spirits, eyes carefully avoiding the enormous bulge under B'Elanna Torres' jacket.

*      *      *

    B'Elanna had started on her fifth pancake when her sharp Klingon ears caught Neelix whispering.  She turned her head slightly, noticing Tom following her gaze.

    "Look familiar?" he whispered to a group of engineers, pointing to the enormous egg.  They began to snicker.

    Torres lifted her chin, turning back to Paris.  "Don't you dare start laughing."

    "About what?" he asked, expression innocent.

    B'Elanna didn't believe that for an instant. "You know what.  So don't you dare start laughing.  What Neelix said wasn't even remotely funny."

    Paris' eyebrows shot up and a bewildered expression crossed his face.  "What did Neelix say?"

    She speared another piece of pancake with her fork, rolling her eyes.  "You heard it as well as I did, so don't even start.  It wasn't funny."  She shoved the food in her mouth, resuming her interrupted meal.

    Paris knew that to argue with the moody half-Klingon would be suicide.  (His aching right arm told him that much: it still hurt from where she'd decided he was too slow getting to the mess hall.)  However, in his medical training, he had learned that the hearing of a Klingon was much more sensitive than that of a human.  B'Elanna could hear things he never could.

*      *      *

    Lieutenant Paris peeked inside Sickbay.  The Doctor was nowhere in sight.  Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped in the room and crossed it.  His hand closed over one of the medical devices on the tray beside the diagnostic bed, and he rolled up his right sleeve.  He switched on the device and turned it on his arm.

    "Ah, Mr. Paris!"

    Paris nearly dropped the dermal regenerator.

    "Mr. Paris, why are you using the dermal--oh."  The Doctor took Paris' right elbow and turned his arm up to look at the bruise that stretched from mid-forearm to wrist.  He took the dermal regenerator and proceeded to finish what Paris had started.

    As he repaired the damage, the Doctor's holographic lips curled back.  "I came across something interesting in my research today.  Pregnant human women often experience wild mood swings and are almost always hungry.  Pregnant Klingon women experience increased physical strength, to better protect their young.  A cross between the two is no doubt devastating."  He switched off the device and handed it back to Paris with a triumphant smile.  "But I'm sure you know that already."

    Paris scowled.  "If I didn't before, I certainly do now.  At least, my arm does."

    "How'd you get that monstrous bruise, or shouldn't I ask?"

    Tom sighed.  "B'Elanna gets hungry all the time.  Of a morning, I'm never fast enough getting to the mess hall, so she decides to, uh, help me along."

    "Hmmm..." the Doctor said.   "In my professional medical opinion, you need... to move faster."

    Paris rolled his eyes and headed for the door.  "Thanks, Doc."

*      *      *

    "How are you doing this morning, B'Elanna?"

    Torres crossed her arms.  "I eat every hour and go to the bathroom every half-hour.  My feet hurt, my back hurts, and the baby kicks too much."

    Janeway smiled.  She handed Torres a cup of tea and sat down on the couch beside the pregnant lieutenant.  "Have you and Tom decided on a name yet?"

    "No," she answered. "He thinks she should have a more Klingon name, but I think, since she's three-quarters human, that her name should be human.  The only name we could agree on we ended up giving the Borg baby."

    "Terra," Janeway repeated.   "It's a beautiful name, in more ways than one.  What are your ideas?"

    "Human names are Melissa, Danielle, Andrea, Madeline, Elizabeth, Kristin, and Roma, among others.  Klingon names include K'Ehara, Lonal, B'Esela, and K'Adora."

    "I like K'Ehara," Janeway offered.

    "Don't you start, too!" B'Elanna cried.

    Janeway leaned back, smiling.   "What about a compromise?  Something that has Klingon and human elements to it? Like... B'Elissa... or... Kendra?  Kendra is a human name that sounds almost Klingon."

    The engineer leaned her head back.  "I keep pushing for Danielle.  It's really simple and pretty."

    "I think it is, too," the captain began.  "And--"

    "Good!" Torres said, standing up with a surprising amount of speed for a person of her not-inconsiderable girth.  "I'll tell Tom it's settled, then!"

    "B'Elanna... "

    But she was already out the door.

*      *      *

    B'Elanna was mad.

    She'd been restricted from Engineering for the past four months, unable to carry out any of her normal duties due to the constant bulk she packed around.  The Doctor, despite her protests, told her that she had to think of two people, now.

    For the past four weeks, she'd been banned from the engineering station on the Bridge.  Last week, Seven had ousted her from Astrometrics.  Practically the only place left for her to go was her and Tom's quarters, the holodeck, Sickbay, and the mess hall.   Because of her pregnancy and restriction from duty, she was allowed to reserve a great deal of holodeck time.

    Today, to work out all her extra anger, she decided to run Tom's Klingon martial arts program.  As the warriors came at her, she began to imagine the face of a particular person who irritated her on that warrior.

    Tom Paris... A warrior fell beneath her bat'leth. Just look at me!  Captain Janeway... A second warrior was felled.  For agreeing with Tom on "K'Ehara".  Chakotay... and Harry... for avoiding me for the past week.  Neelix... for making that stupid "egg" comment.  Joe Carey... for kicking me out of Engineering.  Vorik... for enforcing Joe's bright idea.  Seven... for kicking me out of Astrometrics.  Tuvok... for kicking me off the Bridge.   The Doctor ... for scheduling all those stupid pre-natal exams.   Seven... for--

    "Seven!" B'Elanna aborted her swing at the former Borg.  "Computer, freeze program!"

    Seven raised a metallic eyebrow.   "I was not aware that bat'leth practice was normally engaged in during pregnancy."

    "It's not," B'Elanna replied, lowering the weapon.  "I just had a little extra... energy, that's all."   She lifted her chin defiantly.  "That happens when I've been banned from Engineering."

    Seven let the comment slide. "The captain and Commander Chakotay have approved the revised plan for expanding Lieutenant Paris' quarters to accommodate your new family.  All it needs is the approval of the chief engineer."  She handed a padd she carried to Torres.

    Torres gave the plan a quick glance.  The quarters next to Paris' had long been vacant, and the plan proposed combining the two rooms into a suite.  Walls would be built to create a master bedroom and two other bedrooms, a living area, and two bathrooms--

    "Three bedrooms?"

    Seven tilted her head. "It would not be wise to build just one room.  You and Mr. Paris may choose to have more than one child.  In that event, we would have to begin construction on a third room."

    "Another child? Who said I was going to have more than one?"

    The blond turned for the door.   "Tuvok suggested that planning ahead would be the most prudent course of action, and I concur."  Then she was gone.

    B'Elanna tossed the padd at the door with disgust.  It just wouldn't get the chief engineer's approval, then!  "Computer, resume program."

    Tom... just look at me.  Janeway... for approving the plan.  Tuvok... for his "prudence"... Seven...

*      *      *

    She'd been in labor for more than twelve hours already.  Paris had stayed beside her the whole time, partly in his capacity as the child's father, partly in his capacity as medical assistant.  B'Elanna expected no less.  Had he left her sight for more than a few seconds, she probably would have chased after him and dragged him back to the medical bed.

    "What will her name be?" the Doctor asked.

    "K'Ehara," Paris said.

    "Danielle," Torres said at the same time.  She glared at him, speaking when she could.  "She's three- quarters... human... she needs a... human name."

    "She has one," Paris answered.   "Paris. But she's also Klingon, and so needs a Klingon name."  He turned to the Doctor.  "K'Ehara.  Big K, apostrophe, Big E, little H, A, R, then A."

    "K'Ehara Paris, it is then," the Doctor said, entering the name into the padd.

    B'Elanna shot a glare at the Doctor. "PetaQ!" she spat.

*      *      *

    B'Elanna looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms.  K'Ehara Paris had just a hint of ridges on her brow and dark hair.  When the tiny baby opened her eyes, they were blue, just like her father's.  Smiling, Torres looked up at Tom, who was standing proudly at her side.

    "She has your eyes," she said.

    "But she's beautiful as her mother," he answered.

    B'Elanna gazed down at the little marvel she held in her arms, rocking her gently.  K'Ehara murmured sleepily and sighed.

    "Maybe her little brother will have your eyes," Paris said.

    "Little brother?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

    "Sure.  And as many little brothers and sisters as she wants."

    Torres glared at Paris.  She had a sudden vision of herself being blocked from engineering by a slew of blue-eyed children with forehead ridges.  Tuvok and Vorik stood behind the children, further blocking the way.  Janeway was off to one side, telling Chakotay and Kim how she preferred K'Adora to Madeline and B'Esela to Kristin.   Chakotay and Harry never once looked at her.

    Neelix paraded around with a watermelon, pointing and whispering, while the Doctor preached at the top of his lungs about the importance of pre-natal visits.  Then, Seven approached, talking about expanding the suite to include more bedrooms.  She handed B'Elanna a padd with the signatures of Janeway, Chakotay, and the chief engineer --Joe Carey!

    In the midst of all her outrage, she heard Tom's voice from behind her.  She wheeled about to find him with a guileless expression.  "Maybe one of K'Ehara's brothers of sisters will get to be chief engineer."

    "IN YOUR DREAMS!" she shouted.

*      *      *

    She woke from the nightmare with a gasp.  Visions of blue-eyed Klingons in engineer's uniforms still danced through her mind.  B'Elanna took a deep breath to steady herself, trying to recall where, and when, she was--it was three weeks after she, Janeway, and Tuvok had been rescued from the Borg.

    Had she remembered to...  She froze with sudden fear, realizing she had, indeed, forgotten to get her monthly contraceptive injection.  Her gaze went immediately to Paris, sleeping peacefully beside her.

    Bracing herself against the edge of the mattress, she shoved him out of her bed and onto the floor.  He landed with a crash.

    "Ow... B'Elanna?  How'd I... ?" he mumbled.

    "I pushed you out," she retorted.

    "What?"

    She rolled over in the bed, pulling the covers protectively over herself.  "Don't touch me," she warned.

    The children disappeared from her mind, and she fell to sleep with a contented sigh, satisfied that she, B'Elanna Torres, had once again prevented a ship-wide disaster.

Note: All "pregnancy" material came from watching my own sister Mary, along with my niece Elizabeth Christine Davis, born August 16, 2000.  Also, when this story was first written (in September of 2000), B'Elanna Torres was not pregnant, and certainly not with a girl!

Back                 Next