The Power of Love: Dark By Erin Alpert This story is DEFINITELY PG-13!!!! If you thought that the previous one was gross or something to that equivalent.. don’t read this!! It is an.. interesting section... but not vital.. it will help you understand the next one.. but if you think you’ll be offended, I wouldn’t read on... aaaaaand, depending on how far you take your imagination with the last line... who knows what it’s rated... but, I’m only writing up to a PG-13 point.. Ahh yes... I make some references to Blood Fever, and I’m assuming that they were never really “involved” before that... please correct me if I’m wrong.. but if they were, I never saw it on the show. “Now!! Damn it!!” B’Elanna shouted.  It had been the worst attack on the station since she and Tom had gotten married... seven months ago. It was the tail end of her shift, and Tom was already home.. waiting for her... but there were power outages and explosions on that section, and she didn’t know what had happened to him... or if he was still alive.  She glanced at the chronometer, her shift was over. She looked up from the console, and dashed off. “Wait!! You can’t just leave in the middle of a crisis!!” One of the engineers called. “I have to... he needs me!!” She called back, and the engineer knew what she meant. Tom felt the last blow to the station, then the door opened. “B’Elanna!!” he rushed over to see her... thankful she was okay. “Tom... I thought that something had happened to you,” she breathed a sigh of relief, and wrapped Tom’s arms around herself. Another volley shook the station, nearly knocking the couple to the floor. “Tom, let’s sit down, maybe we’ll have a better chance of not getting thrown across the station that way.” “Good idea,”  Tom smiled, and sat down on the couch with her.  “So, how was your job today?” B’Elanna asked, kissing Tom lightly. “Fine.. once you came home.” “So, now I’m part of your job?” She asked, teasing him. “That wasn’t what I meant,” Tom told her, holding her in his arms, gently stroking her hair. “I should hope not,” she smiled, and looked up slightly into his gorgeous blue eyes. “I didn’t have such a great time before you came home though,” he kissed her, almost as to tell her that she was the reason that he was feeling better now, and she was. “I bet not.  All those phasers and photons could ruin anyone’s day,” she relaxed a bit, and snuggled closer into his arms.   He pulled her closer, and began to think back... far back.. nearly 4 and a half years. He sighed. “What are you thinking about?” she questioned. “Something that happened a long time ago.” “Hhmmm.... what?” she nearly giggled, he had always thought of weird things at weird times. “The first time we kissed, back in those caves,” he said, kissing her again. She nearly jolted out of his arms, “Thomas Eugene Paris, I told you to forget about that... but it’s okay.”  She had such strange mood swings, and now she was back in his arms. “That was.... interesting.” “To say the least.” “We almost ended up doing something.... well, we could have had a kid.” “I know that, Tom, I was there too,” she reminded him, touching her lips to his. “We might have... if Vorik wasn’t there...” “It wouldn’t have happened if Vorik wasn’t there,” she kissed him, telling him how he forgot those little details. “We would have been way over our heads.” “Yeah.” “Hmm.. just imagine if it was Neelix, instead of me.” “Let’s not think about that....” “I remember how nervous I was when you... bit me. I had no idea what was going on... then,  I found out from Tuvok. Then, I was just worried about you.  Because I really cared for you. “I was really glad when we found you in the caves. I just knew we needed to get back to the ship, and get you help. Not that I didn’t want to help you or anything,” he trailed off, wondering if B’Elanna was still listening. “Go on, Tom.” He got another silly grin, “I need encouragement.” She caught his lips with hers, and kissed him. “Much better.” “I wonder about you sometimes,” B’Elanna smiled. “Continue.” “I got so scared after the avalanche, I didn’t know where you were, if you were okay. But you were, and I was really glad. “Then, I had to explain the whole Pon Farr thing to you. That was fun.  I remember having to stop you from using that weapon on the rocks... but it wasn’t really about that.. no..  “You kept wanting to.. well, you know.. I kept saying no, I don’t know why.  All I was thinking was, ‘Yes, Tom, this is exactly what you want. Go for it.’ I do know why I said no though. You were, you are, one of my best friends, well, now you’re a little more... I love you ‘Lanna.... “I remember...” “Tom?”  “What, am I boring you? I’ll stop if I am.” “No, Tom,” she kissed him, “You sound like a poet.” “Hmmm.... maybe I do.” B’Elanna smiled, her husband was a great poet... and a great anything in her mind, “Continue.” “I remember how hurt you were, I told you we’d get out, we’d get help. You couldn’t take it though. I was shocked when you pushed me over, I didn’t know what to do. I knew what I wanted to do, but I couldn’t. “Oh.... In that cave, when you told me how you noticed all those things I did, you had me worried.  And I got really worried when you pinned me to the cave wall. “I was a bit disturbed when you said you had those feelings for me, I knew you didn’t.  Back then, anyway. I felt so helpless when you were just teasing me, with those, perfect lips of yours. I figured, ‘What the hell,’ and kissed you... but when you said, ‘Just let it happen,’ I knew something was more then wrong.  I was  hesitant to let you get near me, to kiss me.  But, that feeling wore off.  I gave in..... it felt... good, to be kissing you, but I knew it wasn’t really you.” “Tom?” “Yeah?” “You’re the greatest,” she kissed him, “Is this really me?” “I hope so.. if it isn’t, I married the wrong, beautiful, intelligent, attractive, half-Klingon.” She kissed him again, with more and more love each time, “Good... response.... continue.” “When, Tuvok and Chakotay finally came... I felt so bizarre, when Tuvok ordered me to, ‘Help you,’ and I felt even more embarrassed when I had to tell you.  But you knew just what to say... you always do. “It felt funny when you just kinda, led me away.... I didn’t know what to say, where to start, what to do. You did, you’re always so confident.  I still remember your lips on my hands, on the back of my neck... I was so nervous.  I knew the other two were still around, waiting for us... that was embarrassing. “I had no idea what to do... I even asked you.. Your reply was so, Klingon.. Just that throaty growl, and tipping your head back... I tried to growl... I wasn’t to good at it... but that’s not what mattered. “I just looked at your neck, and had a feeling I knew what to do... and eventually, I ended up with your face cupped in my hands.. nearly the same way Vorik had touched you... just before you broke his jaw.  But, my jaw didn’t get broken... I wasn’t so sure about my back though.. “You just seemed to get fed up with me not knowing what to do.... I remember my back falling onto the ground... that hurt.. I think I landed on a rock, or something. I had that hurt expression on my face, and you asked what I was doing.  I told you I was enjoying myself. You told me to ‘show it,’  but I didn’t know what you meant, and had that confused stare again.  Then, you smiled at me, and I knew exactly what you meant.... the rest.. is history... is our story” “How long did it take you to write that, Tom?” B’Elanna joked. “I just thought of it,” he confessed, kissing her sweetly. “Sure... you.. did... I know you’ve got a PADD here, somewhere,” she faked looking around him, trying to find a fake PADD. “Nope, I really thought of it by myself, just now,” he gazed at her, with his pale blue eyes, pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly... until another blast rocked the ship. “DAMN! I thought the attack was over,” she shouted, nearly into Tom’s ear. “I guess not,” another blast knocked the two to the floor, still in each other’s arm, and the lights were off too, with the exception of the emergency light. B’Elanna could barely see Tom in the darkness, but was able to find him, because he still had his arms wrapped tightly around her. She pressed her lips close to his, “Tom?” “What?” he could feel her lips forming into an evil grin. “It’s dark in here....” To Be Continued :+) Who here has a sick mind? Me!! Me!!! Copyright April 1997   Legal junk. Viacom owns characters, I own story. Comments on my second section of my first real series go to Eraalpert@aol.com.