"I'm fine, the Doc fixed me up in no time." He smiled gently at her.
"I was worried about you," she admitted softly, almost embarrassed by it.
"It takes a lot more than a holodeck malfunction to take me out." He joked in his typical Tom Paris fashion. But a half a smile later he turned serious. "I'm just glad you weren't there."
He reached up and touched her cheek with the tip of his fingers. Brushing them lightly across the smooth skin.
B'Elanna's eyes closed of their own accord and she felt his lips softly touch hers. It was just a feather light caress, almost hesitant as if he was scared she would disappear if he pressed too hard. Then he lifted his head and looked at her.
Her dark eyes shadowing the turmoil she felt. Tom had not kissed her since Sakari. It was shocking to know how intensely her body responded to him still. He gave her a knowing smile and left her standing alone in the corridor.
*****
Here in the now....
Both crews worked on the timeship, trying to repair its systems. Tom and Chakotay were fixing the helm controls. Harry was trying to get the shields back online and Neelix was helping with anything he could. Which, being Neelix, wasn't much.
The ship's Captain was in the back working on the main computer. It was a good thing the Delta Flyer had not sustained any damage, for the timeship was in pretty bad shape. It would have to be repaired before any attempt could be made for the two ships to try and escape the sub-space rift.
"You and B'Elanna first met in the Commander's resistance cell?" Neelix asked Tom, trying to lighten the mood. They were long over due for their rendezvous with Voyager.
"Yes, she didn't like him very much. Mercenaries rubbed her the wrong way," Chakotay responded with mirth.
Tom laughed out loud. She certainly had a lot to say about that, back then. He had been the lowest form of life ever to crawl out from under a rock, as far as she was concerned. He used to go out of his way to upset her, just to see her hackles go up. She was magnificent when she was angry.
"Actually, Commander, B'Elanna and I met a few years before that. Although I doubt she remembers it," but Tom did...
*****
Before then....
Ensign Tom Paris. He still couldn't believe it. He had made it through the academy, with honors. Even his father was impressed with it.
He walked in the darkness, taking in the academy. It would be a long time before he returned. His first posting was on the U.S.S. Argentina. Helmsman. Like he always wanted. His thoughts were interrupted by an angry shriek.
The small form of a young woman tore around the corner of the building and barreled right into him. Almost knocking him over.
"Easy, there. You're going to hurt someone," he said as he grabbed hold of her to prevent both of them from falling.
"Sorry, sir," she snapped to attention, drawing in a shaken breath. The heat of his hand seemed to burn right through the cloth of her uniform.
Shaking off his hand as soon as she had regained her balance, B'Elanna took a step back from him.
Way to go, Torres. Right into Admiral Paris' son.
Tom gave her an appraising look. She wore the uniform of a first year cadet. Long dark hair, dark eyes and if he wasn't mistaken, Klingon cranial ridges. He was intrigued.
"That's all right," Tom was loath to remind himself that he was her superior. "Is there something wrong..."
"Cadet Torres, sir. B'Elanna Torres. No, sir. Just a little misunderstanding."
B'Elanna looked up at the young officer before her. He was something to behold. Every blond haired blue eyed inch of him. No wonder all the cadets were enthralled with him. An admiral's son to top it off, she would bet his bed was never cold for long.
"Well, carry on then, Cadet." He watched her retreating form with a small twinge of regret. There was a nagging feeling that something important was slipping away.
It would be more than two years before he saw her again. By then, they were different people...
Tom leaned insolently against the door jam as he watched the engineer work. She was bent at the waist, the upper half of her body inside an access panel, providing him with a spectacular view of her backside.
B'Elanna crawled back out the access port and was startled by the man who was there. How long had he been watching? By the look in his eye, she didn't have to guess -what- he had been looking at. She felt her ire rise.
"What the hell do you want, Paris?"
"Chakotay sent me down to see if you needed any help with the Nav Array."
"Well I don't, so you can be on your way." She turned her back on him, hoping he would get the point.
He didn't.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose, when his hands came to rest lightly on her waist. His breath warmed her cheek as he bent down to whisper in her ear.
"How about you and I take a little break? Find something more...stimulating to do?" He all but purred in her ear.
B'Elanna slowly turned to face him. His hands stayed at her waist, tightening his hold and pulling her full length against him. He bent his head to take her mouth but she turned and his lips grazed her cheek, coming to rest next to her ear as she ran her tongue along his jaw.
"Well, Paris. If I ever feel the need to go slumming, I promise, you'll be the first one I call." She whispered in his ear.
His hands gripped her waist painfully for a moment, and then he released her with a chuckle and replied caustically:
"You do that, Torres."
B'Elanna never saw the flash of hurt in his eyes, and Tom never noticed just how shakily she drew in her next breath.
*****
Now and again....
Isobel had come to the bridge of her ship to work on the secondary computer interface. Helm control was still off-line, but Harry had managed to get the shields repaired. Things were, at least, looking up a little.
"You're young to have made Lt. Commander. Your parents must be very proud." Tom said to her.
She was a remarkable pilot and her grasp of Temporal Mechanics was far beyond his.
"I never knew my father. He died before I was born." She replied quietly, not looking at him.
"I'm sorry," he recognized the pain, B'Elanna was still haunted by her father's desertion. "Your mother must be very happy with your accomplishments."
She turned to him, now. There was a heart wrenching sadness about her as she spoke, "My mother loved me very much. She was proud of me in whatever I did, but.... I don't think I ever saw her truly happy until the day she died, Mr. Paris."
"Tell me.... how is it someone so young is test piloting a prototype?" Chakotay asked her.
"Hell, I'm the best pilot you could have." She flashed the Commander a brazen smile with the arrogant retort.
In the back of the ship Harry began to choke on the cup of coffee he was drinking.
Tom frowned. Why did that sound so familiar? Losing the thought, he turned to the sputtering Ensign.
"You okay, Har?" he asked. Harry didn't reply. He was looking at Isobel as if she had sprouted wings.
"Harry! You, okay?" Tom tried again.
"Umm...yeah...I'm fine. I guess inhaling this stuff is the wrong way to go."
*****
"B'Elanna. I can give you a pain reliever, it will help relax you." The Doctor told her. After 30 hours of labor she was still nowhere near delivery.
"Klingon women do not take pain medication in childbirth, Doctor...." B'Elanna stopped momentarily to ride the contraction through, taking short breaths and squeezing Seven's hand to help her through it. "We are much stronger than that."
"Perhaps your human half could take the medication, then." Seven said in a pained voice as B'Elanna released her hand. When B'Elanna shot her a look of annoyance, Seven continued: "Or, maybe, I will just take it."
"You're just being stubborn about this Lieutenant," said the Doctor. "There is nothing shameful in getting pain relief in childbirth. You could be at this for another full day, you will e
xhaust yourself if you continue like this."
"I can handle this Doctor, thank you." She had made up her mind.
"Very well. You may continue to labor here in you quarters, if you like. As long as you wear the fetal monitor at all times. Understood?" He would rather she stayed here, she would be more comfortable and he would be out of her line of fire.
"I won't take it off, I promise. Is there any word from the shuttle?" She asked.
"No, not yet. I'm sure the Captain will let you know as soon as we hear from them." The Doctor's gaze met Seven's over B'Elanna's head. Seven interpreted the situation correctly.
"I have no doubt Ensign Paris will be here for the birth of his daughter. He has talked of nothing else for the last 2 months." Seven told her.
"You two are the -worst- liars on board this ship. You know that, don't you?" If B'Elanna weren't so worried, she would have laughed at their expressions.
Turning to Seven she said, "Get your Borg butt back down to Astrometrics and see if they've found anything."
*****
Harry walked into the aft of the timeship where Isobel was working once again; she was intent on her calculations. The others were still trying to get navigation and helm control back on line; it would give him the opportunity to talk to her. He saw a picture of a man holding Isobel in his arms fastened to her workstation.
"Is this your husband?" he saw the wedding band on her hand earlier.
"Yes, that's Lucas," she replied with a small smile.
Imzadi, her mind called, almost automatically.
There was no answer of course. He hadn't been born yet. He was a couple of months younger than her, and she hadn't been born yet. It was disconcerting though. Her head may have understood the silence, but her heart didn't.
"I see Will Riker finally married that Betazoid councilor of his."
Lucas Riker was the very image of his father. The only visible genetic concessions to his mother were the piercing jet black eyes. They were a mark of his Betazoid heritage. Harry Kim was a smart man, she should have been more careful. The picture should have been put away.
"I really can't..."
"How long have you been married? Was B'Elanna still alive to see it? Did I give away the bride?" Harry pinned her with a sharp look, there was no getting around it. He had figured it out.
Breaking into a resigned smile that he knew all too well, she cocked her head to the side and spoke.
"When I was a little girl, I could fool my mother, I could fool the Captain, I could even fool Neelix, but I could -never- pull anything over on you, Uncle Harry." She shook her head laughing derisively.
"The others don't see it, you know. I can't figure out why not, you look just like the two of them. Tom doesn't even realize you're using his mother's name."
"It's my middle name. It was the first one that came to mind when I realized what had happened. I knew if I used my first name it would be recognized."
She was violating the Temporal Prime Directive more with each word, but she didn't know what else to do. From his expression, she didn't think he was going to drop this. With a sigh, she began to tell him.
"Uncle Harry, we're in big trouble. I'm not supposed to be here. I was only supposed to travel 10 years backward, not 28, not to the Delta Quadrant, and not to -this- date. It's my fault. Kahless, it's all my fault." She struck the edge of the panel in frustration. There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.
"What's your fault?" he was confused.
"My father...he died the day I was born," she told him, voice shaking. "This day, in a temporal anomaly. Voyager never figured out what happened. The rest of you barely made it back to the ship alive. I must be the cause of the anomaly. There's no other explanation. It's my fault. When I entered the temporal stream I was wishing I could go back and prevent my father's death. Thinking how wonderful it would have been to grow up with him and my mother still together. When the computer asked the destination date, I must have given this one. I don't remember doing it, but I must have."
"How did you end up in the Delta Quadrant?" Harry didn't believe a simple miss entered date could have created this paradox. Something more was at work here. There was definitely some type of intelligence here, too. Not just a coincidence.
"I don't know," she replied, thinking fast and furiously. "What if Crusher's Theory of Time and Space is correct? What if 'thought' is part of it? What if -my- thoughts created this paradox?" It was a stretch, but it was all she had. "You came to see me last night. It was late. We were just finishing up the last of the temporal calculations. You weren't making a whole lot of sense. Talking about paradoxes and such. I thought you were just being over protective. I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me...."
*****
Before and after....
K'Leena and Lucas worked side by side in the small timeship, making sure all the last minute preparations were done properly.
She could feel his unease.
"I don't suppose I could get you to reconsider?" he asked quietly.
She chuckled. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?"
"No, you don't have to do this, K'Leena."
Stopping her calculations, she glanced up at his concerned expression.
"I -want- to do this, Lucas," she stressed. "I want to be the first. Just like he was."
"Is that what this is?" he demanded. "You proving yourself to a -dead- man?"
"No! This is about -me- and what -I- want!"
Her eyes flashed dangerously. He may be her husband, but this was her life and her career.
Lucas' jaw clenched with the effort to hold back his anger.
"Permission to come aboard, Commander?" a voice from the hatch interrupted.
"Uncle Harry!" K'Leena jumped up, relieved at the intrusion. She hugged him fiercely. "I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow."
"I wanted to talk to you, alone." Harry tossed Lucas an apologetic look. "Nothing personal, Lucas. I just need to speak to K'Leena."
"No problem. We were just about done here anyway." Turning to his wife he continued, "I'll meet you back in our quarters, okay?"
"I'll be there as soon as Uncle Harry and I are done." She held on to his hand briefly as he passed by her.
I won't be long.
"What's the matter, Uncle Harry? Is Aunt Ani all right?"
"Yes, she's just fine. She sends her love. I needed to talk to you about tomorrow's time jump." He sat down in the co-pilot's chair as K'Leena took her seat.
"What about it?" she asked, he was so serious.
"I just want you to think about your actions tomorrow. Double check and make sure everything goes as planned, okay. Temporal Mechanics can be a messy thing to deal with. Small mistakes can result in huge consequences. Paradoxes can destroy lives, K'Leena."
"I know that, I'm not going to take any reckless chances. I'll be careful, I promise." She reassured him. He worried about her so much, especially since her mother's death.
Harry looked at her sadly. She didn't understand, and he couldn't tell her. It was all going to happen again.
"Remember one thing for me, okay?"
"Anything."
"A paradox can't exist outside its circle of time." He was so intense he was starting to frighten her. She nodded slowly. She would remember.
*****
K'Leena entered her quarters, the conversation with her uncle weighing heavily on her mind. Lucas looked up from the PADD he was reading. He sensed her thoughts immediately, feeling her distress.
Imzadi? His mind touched hers.
He stood up and she moved into his arms. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She just wanted to be with him.
"It's nothing," she reassured him. "Just an overprotective uncle. He worries too much since Momma died."
"He's got good reason to be worried," he reminded her. "Jumping around in time is dangerous."
K'Leena groaned silently. Not again. He was like a dog with a bone lately.
/> "Lucas...."
"No!" he shouted. "Don't tell me everything will be all right! I have a bad feeling about this, K'Leena. I don't think you know what you're getting into!"
"It's a simple time jump. I'll return seconds after I leave. What could go wrong?"
"Anything! Everything!" he raged, pacing across the room. "You don't -know- what could go wrong. That's the problem! I don't want to lose you, 'Leena!"
Klingon Hearts 04 Beginnings - Birth, Death, and Everything in Between Page 2
