"Three months, huh? I'd better requisition family quarters now,” he said smiling ear to ear.
"From what I hear, anyone on Deck 9, Section 12 would be happy to help you move." With that parting shot the Doctor left.
Laughing out loud, Tom headed toward the bedroom. B'Elanna sat cross legged at the head of the bed, pillows stacked up behind her. She was nibbling on a small square cracker and holding a glass of clear bubbling liquid.
"An old earth morning sickness remedy, saltine crackers and white soda. The Doctor said I should try it. I have to say, it seems to be helping." She avoided his eyes as she spoke. Her hand trembled slightly as she lifted her drink to her lips. The tension in the air was almost tangible.
Tom sat on the bed, facing her. He took the glass from her hand and set it on the night table. She still couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead, choosing to stare at her hands as she twisted the bed spread. Placing a finger under her chin he gently lifted her head until she had no choice but to face him.
Pain and regret radiated from her. Eyes, glassy from unshed tears, pleaded for understanding. Shaking, she brought her hand up to his face, cupping his cheek.
"I'm so sorry,” she didn't know what else to say. It felt so inadequate. She didn't deserve forgiveness, but she hoped he could find it in his heart to give it to her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She would have prefered yelling to this soft spoken, pain filled, question.
"I tried to, so many times. But I didn't know how you would react. We had never discussed children. We're not married. I didn't want to force you into anything. Then we heard from Starfleet, and everything changed. Suddenly the Alpha Quadrant seemed so much closer and our futures so uncertain. What if we weren't going to be together once we reached home? I wasn't thinking clearly, I know, but I didn't know what else to do. I knew I could never abort your child, if we weren't going to be together at least I would have this small part of you."
Tom's heart twisted at her anguish. At the fact that she didn’t know how much he loved her.
"Oh, B'Ela," he sighed. "Don't you know I would brave the fires of hell for you? I love you. I will always be right there next to you. You are my soul mate, my imzadi, jIH bang." He took her hand and placed it over his heart, covering it with his own. "Two hearts that beat as one. I don't exist without you, and you don't exist without me. I wanted to take "The Oath" with you since the first time we made love. But I didn't want to dishonor you." Now, after all this time he was finally able to tell her how much she meant to him.
"Dishonor me? How?" She couldn't figure out what he meant.
"I haven't exactly lead the most noble of lives. I didn't want you to suffer from the mistakes of my past." Dropping her hand he got up and walked to the other side of the room.
The realization of what he was saying dawned on her. He felt he wasn't good enough to be her husband.
"You've made such a point of denying the Klingon traditions,” Tom didn't face her as he spoke. “Saying they didn't mean anything to you. Working so hard to convince me that you didn't feel bound to take 'The Oath' just because we had become lovers. Did you really think I didn't -know- I was the first? I am your chosen mate, from the moment we first made love. Regardless of whether the actual words have been spoken, we are bonded. That's why I knew you would take 'The Oath" with me, and that's why I couldn't ask."
B'Elanna studied his back as his shoulders slumped in defeat. It was amazing how much someone could underestimate this man. Now, more than ever, she was convinced that the only reason he hadn't figured out she was carrying his child, was because his father's recent communication affected him so profoundly. Anger coursed through her with the thought that this man considered himself undeserving of her.
"Thomas Eugene Paris. You are the most honorable man I have ever known. You are strong when met with adversity, courageous in the face of fear, and dauntless in the heat of battle, your heart is truly Klingon. And I would be -honored- to call you 'husband'."
Tom was surprised at the fierceness in her voice. Turning to face her, he saw that she had risen to her knees on the bed. Her hand was outstretched, beckoning him.
He approached the bed and drew her into his arms. His lips met hers with a gentle passion. Carefully lowering her back on the bed, using his arm to support his weight, as the kiss deepened. His hand tenderly moved over her body, stopping when he reached her abdomen. Pulling back, shocked blue eyes met brown. Now that he knew what to look for, he realized there was, in fact, a slight swell to her stomach. B'Elanna chuckled softly as he untied the drawstring of the pajama bottoms to expose her pregnant belly. His hand caressed the small swelling that was their child.
"How could I not have noticed this?" His voiced was filled with awe.
"Tom, your thoughts have been so preoccupied since we heard from Starfleet. I doubt I would have been able to hide this from you otherwise." She didn't want him blaming any of this on himself.
"Still, I should have..."
--chirp--
"Seven of Nine to Lt. Torres." The Comm-System interrupted them.
B'Elanna groaned and tapped the comm-badge on Tom's chest.
"Torres here."
"The Doctor has told me that I am to check with you before I come to your quarters with the duty schedules. Would now be a good time?" Seven asked.
"Now would be fine, Seven. Torres out,” she replied. B'Elanna smiled apologetically at Tom.
*****
Seven of Nine exited the turbo-lift on deck 9, to find the ship's youngest crew member was waiting for her.
"Naomi Wildman. What is your purpose here?" She greeted the child.
"I was waiting for you. Guess what?" The girl asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Guessing would be an inefficient use of my time, since you obviously want to tell me." Naomi fell in step with her as she headed toward Lt. Torres quarters.
"I heard that Tom and B'Elanna are going to have a baby!" Her excitement was apparent.
"I am already aware of that fact." Seven said with a touch of amusement in her voice.
"I'm going to baby sit for them,” the child proclaimed proudly.
"You still require 'baby sitting' yourself. I do not think Lt. Torres and Ensign Paris will allow you to take care of their child." Seven told her, gently.
"I know. I meant when I'm older." She answered, shaking her head, sometimes Seven could be so dense.
They came to a stop at the door to Lt. Torres quarters. Seven reached forward and rang the door chime. A moment later the door swished open to reveal Tom Paris.
"Come in, ladies,” he said as he made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm.
Naomi, needing no more invitation than that, bound into the room. Seven followed, walking past Tom then turning around to face him. She was about to speak when B'Elanna's voice could be heard from the other room.
"I'm in here, Seven. Bring that stuff in."
"Ensign,” she said to Tom with a nod of her head and then proceeded into the sleeping area.
"So, Naomi, what brings you here?" He addressed the little girl, who was waiting so patiently.
*****
Seven entered the bedroom to find B'Elanna sitting in the middle of the bed. She was shocked at her appearance. The normally strong, feisty half-Klingon looked fragile enough to break. The Doctor's stern warnings about upsetting B'Elanna suddenly made much more sense to her.
"Lt. Torres. I hope you are feeling better." Seven was slightly surprised to realize that she truly meant this.
"I am doing much better, thank you, Seven."
"Here are the duty rosters and repair schedules I have prepared for your approval." Seven told her as she handed the PADD to her.
B'Elanna started to read the information then stopped and looked up at the other woman.
"Sit down, for pete's sake. I can't concentrate with you hovering over me like that."
"There are no chairs in this room,” she replied stating the obvious.
With a groan of impatience, B'Elanna scooted further back on the bed and indicated to the space in front of her.
"Sit here with me. There's room enough for the two of us. It will be like a p.j. party."
"A p.j. party?" Seven was confused.
"A pajama party, a sleep-over, didn't you have any of those before you were assimilated?" B'Elanna wanted to know.
"I do not recall anything of that nature,” she said with a furrowed brow, trying desperately to remember.
"Oh well, never mind. Just sit here on the bed." B'Elanna told her as she went back to her reading.
Seven sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling awkward and slightly foolish.
Suddenly a muffled thud, a masculine yelp of pain followed by a shriek and gales of laughter came from the outer room. It was clear that Naomi and Tom were rough-housing in the next room.
"It appears that Ensign Paris will make a capable parent." Seven remarked at the noise.
B'Elanna looked up in shock. Then realized that Seven probably wasn't the only one who knew of her condition.
"I suppose the whole ship knows about it." There was resignation in B'Elanna's voice.
"Yes. Ensign Dimato took great enjoyment in regaling us all with the events in Sick-Bay yesterday. He seemed to take special pleasure in telling us that Ensign Paris was unaware of your condition. I found his behavior distasteful."
The corners of B'Elanna's mouth began to twitch as she read where Seven had assigned the ensign for the next two weeks.
"Cleaning out the manifolds in Deuterium Maintenance, huh?"
"Mr. Neelix once mentioned how unpleasant the job was. It occurred to me that Ensign Dimato would be well suited to the task."
Anyone listening to the exchange would have assumed Seven had simply assigned the job to a capable worker. If you paid close attention, however, you would notice the mischievous glint in her eye.
B'Elanna looked at her in shocked silence for a moment then burst into laughter. Maybe there was hope for Seven yet.
*****
Things settled into a quiet routine over the next few days. The young couple had many visitors to keep them company and the time they were spending together alone was only strengthening their relationship. Tom was amazed at the tentative friendship forming between B'Elanna and Seven. She arrived every morning at precisely 09:00 with the repair updates, but they rarely were even discussed. Seven was having a problem with interacting with the crew in Engineering. She began asking B'Elanna for advice. Which in itself-was rather funny, considering B'Elanna's volatile relationship with her crew. Maybe it was the shared difficulties that was helping the women understand each other better. Whatever it was, B'Elanna looked forward to the morning meetings. She didn't even get angry when Seven had some minor warp core modifications listed on the repair schedule. Well, not too angry. It was on the fifth day after the accident that everything changed...
They were snuggled up together on the bed reading one of the child care books the Doctor had left for them when the ship was rocked by a mighty explosion. Tom's lightening quick reflexes were the only thing that kept them from being thrown violently out of the bed.
"What..."
--chirp--
"Janeway to Paris,” the Captain's voice came over the comm-system.
"Paris here. What's going on?"
"I need you on the bridge, Mr. Paris. Janeway out."
Tom looked at B'Elanna, something was definitely wrong.
"I want you to go to Sick-Bay. You'll be safer there," there was a steel edge to his voice.
"Okay." Normally B'Elanna would have bristled at his tone, but there was more than just herself to worry about now. She knew he was right.
--chirp--
"Torres to Sick-Bay. Request emergency beam out, one to Sick-Bay."
Tom watched as she disappeared then quickly headed to the bridge.
*****
"Initiate a full spectral analysis. I want to know where each and every one of them are," Captain Janeway was ordering Tuvok as Tom exited the turbo-lift.
"What's going on?" He asked as soon a he took his place at the helm.
"We've entered some kind of mine field. It didn't show up on any of the sensors, they're slightly out of phase,” replied Harry from his station.
"Why not just back the ship out?" Tom wanted to know.
"The mines are not stationary. As soon as we entered the field they started to close in around us." This time Tuvok supplied the requested information. "We're attempting to align the phasers to the same phase variance as the mines." Tuvok continued as he worked on the realignment.
"Ready, Captain."
"Shields up. Target the nearest mine, and fire." The Captain took her seat as she spoke.
"Shields up. Target locked...firing weapons,” stated Tuvok.
The phaser shot from the hull, hitting it's target. The mine exploded and set off a chain reaction. Mines began exploding one right after the other, impacting the ship with incredible force.
"Shields down to 50%,” reported Tuvok.
Explosion after explosion buffeted the ship.
"Shields down to 10%."
Another blast.
"Shields are down!"
"Brace for impact!" Warned Captain Janeway.
The next few blasts rocked the ship with devastating force. Blowing out several computer consoles on the bridge and throwing the crew to the floor. Then, it was over as fast as it started.
"Report!" Janeway demanded.
"Numerous injuries reporting in from all over the ship, the warp core is off-line, shields are non-functional, weapons are off-line, Astrometrics is off-line..." Harry was interrupted by the Captain:
"What -does- work on this ship?" She asked impatiently.
"We have life support, impulse engines and I believe the holo-decks are operational." Harry's little attempt at humor was met with one of the Captains famous 'don't go there' looks.
"Status of the mine field?" She asked Tuvok.
"All of the mines in the immediate vicinity were detonated by our phaser blast. The remaining mines are changing position and closing in on us again. I estimate we will be trapped again in less than 10 minutes."
"Mr. Paris, can you navigate this mine field?" she asked the Chief Helmsman.
"Yes, Ma'am. But at the rate the mines are closing the distance we're not going to get out of here before the passage is blocked,” he replied doing some quick calculations at the conn.
"Mr. Kim, get those shields back on line, we're going to need them," the Captain ordered. "Mr. Paris, get us out of here."
"Aye, Captain." Turning around to face the conn he began to lay in the flight path.
Then he felt it, deep within himself:
bub-bump
"B'Elanna,” her name passed his lips like a whispered prayer. Something was very wrong.
*****
In Sick-Bay the Doctor was helping B'Elanna up off the floor, when she doubled over in pain letting out a cry of agony.
"Tooommmm."
Quickly altering his sub-routines to allow him the strength to pick her up he place her on the main bio-bed. The bio-scan confirmed his suspicions. She had suffered another abruption, much worse than the last time.
bub-bump
Injured crewmen from all over the ship began entering Sick-Bay. He was going to need help.
"Sick-Bay to the bridge."
"What is it, Doctor?" The Captain asked.
"I have a critically injured crewman down here and I have to operate. I need some assistance to help with the other injuries,” he told her.
bub-bump
"I'm sending Chakotay, anything else?" The ship's first officer got up and headed to the turbo-lift when she nodded her head.
"Yes, I need to know if we are going to be encountering anymore mines while I'm operating. The surgery is delicate and I could do considerable harm if we do." He readied his instruments as he spoke.
"We haven't cleared the mine field ye
t. We may still set some off as we plot our course out of here. No promises Doctor. Janeway out."
bub-bump
"Harry, open a comm-link between me and the Doc." Tom had an idea. "Doc, I will keep an open comm-link to you and give you advance warning as to our proximity to the mines. That way you will know what is coming."
"I don't think that is a wise idea, Mr. Paris. Perhaps you could give the information to Commander Chakotay and he could relay it to me,” the Doctor suggested.
Klingon Hearts 03 Secrets - What We Choose to Hide Page 3
