The Power of Love: Reassignment By (Guess who!) Erin Alpert (Wow! That was hard!) Gurgle-snort! I'm really crazy right now, and it's all Hand-Boy's fault! Bad Hand-Boy! Sorry for that, I told you, I've lost it!!   Tom Paris finally made it back to Earth. It had been a long trip, too long.. * Too damn long. * It didn't take as long as it took for Voyager to get home, but without B'Elanna, it felt like it did. Some how, Paris had found his way to Starfleet Command, asked to speak with Admiral Owen Paris, and got his wish. "Tom! I'm so glad to see you. I've missed you so much," Owen exclaimed. * Yeah right, Dad, * "I'm glad to see you too." The admiral frowned, "Something tells me you didn't come here just to see me." "I didn't really," Paris admitted. "Well, we'll talk about that later. Now, how have you been? Any special someone in your life?" * Tom * Paris got his smile back, "Yeah." "Tell me about her. What's she like?" "Of all things you have to worry about, you chose my love life?" "Yes, it's a parents job." "I'm not a kid anymore, I have my own life now." "I know that. Now tell me about her." Tom sighed, "Well, she's a brilliant engineer." "Good, a good woman needs to be smart." Tom held back the urge to snort, "She is really, really.... beautiful." "Oh, another good thing to look for. What species is she?" "Human," he had only paused for a moment when Owen interrupted him. "It's great to have a girl your own species." "Ahem! I wasn't done yet. She's human, but only * half * human." The Admiral got a concerned look in his eye, "And her other half?" "Um.. well... Klingon." "Klingon!?!?" Owen was shocked, * How could anyone with that breeding be like what Tom described? * "Yes Klingon." "Tom, what do you see in her?" "I already told you!" "Well then.. where did you meet her?" "On Voyager." "Oh, that's nice, what was she?" "Was she? Do you mean like Maquis or Starfleet? Or like what rank and position when I met her?" "Both, I guess." "She was a Maquis crew member," Tom watched his father shudder, "And she was a lieutenant, the chief of Engineering." "Chief??" "Yes, chief." "Let me look her up in Voyager's logs, I know I have a PADD here somewhere," Admiral Paris searched his desk for the device, found it, and looked up B'Elanna. "Ah.. yes.. B'Elanna Torres, former Maquis... Voyager's Chief Engineer. Is that a good picture of her?" he asked, showing Tom the screen. "Any picture she's in is good," he sighed, wishing she was here now. "So, where is she now?" "On Deep Space Nine space station." "Oh... well any way, what did you come to see me for?" "I want to join Starfleet again." "I think that can be arranged." "Thank you," Tom said as Owen was using his PADD to look for a place to assign, reassign, him to. "Ahh, here we go. I think we can get you a job." "Where?" Paris, Tom, eagerly asked. "On the Deep Space Nine station." "Thank you so much, I'll leave right away." And he did. **************************** "What do you mean that it's more than Tom, I know he means everything to you," Chakotay was questioning Torres again. "I don't really know, the girl, The Era, she was a fortune teller of some sort, she told me about a journey." "What are you talking about?" "I think it means I should go to Earth to see him." "Are you crazy!?" "Crazy, yes, but only for Tom," Torres wouldn't let anything come between her and Paris. "B'Elanna you know you can't do this." "I can do whatever I want," she protested. "Well then, I'll see you when you get back," he knew there was no way to change her mind once it was set on a goal. "Correction: When Tom and I get back." Only two people came to see her go, Kim and Johnson.  "Good luck B'Elanna," Erica said. "Bring back Tom for us," Harry added. "And you guys have to do me a favor." "What?" They asked, almost at the same time. "Don't get married until we get back." "Okay, I wouldn't dream of having my wedding without you guys," Erica Johnson, soon to be Erica Kim, said. "Yeah, Tom's my best friend," Kim, Harry Kim, once more had to add something. "Well, bye guys," she said as she took her bag and headed onto the shuttle. "Bring him back soon," Erica called. "I will." The two soon to be married people waited for Torres's shuttle to depart before heading back. But Kim glanced back one more time, and saw a familiar figure. He was moving toward them, blond hair, blue eyes, tall, undoubtedly, Tom Paris. To Be Continued :+) Wasn't that short, yet weird? Legal junk. Viacom owns characters, I own story. Comments on my second section of my first real series go to Eraalpert@aol.com.