Life With a Paris II

The first thing she felt when she took off her boots and stepped into the living area of their quarters was something hard and wet beneath her foot.

"What the hell?"

She looked down to see the soft leather end of one of her boots sticking out from underneath the sofa. Frowning, she bent down, removing the boot from the shadows. A growl built in the back of her throat as she straightened, the ruined boot in one hand, a fist curled in the other.

"TOM!!"

No answer.

"Hiding isn't going to help, Tom Paris! This is your fault and you know it!!"

How could she have agreed to having a dog in their quarters? The puppy hadn't been with them more than a week and already they had to have the living room carpet replaced, not to mention the coffee table, a leg on the sofa, and now her spare boots. This was the last straw. That flea bitten mongrel was out of here. Now!

"Dog! Come here!"

B'Elanna's harsh tone did nothing to encourage the dog to come towards her.
She drew in a deep breath and softened her voice.

"Come on, pup."

The tip of a wet black nose appeared from behind the sofa, and his sweet
brown eyes, half shaded by his floppy blonde ears followed. B'Elanna's
expression softened slightly. The pup's tail began to wag, then his back
end, and then his entire body as he began to slink slowly towards her. A
half smile crossed B'Elanna's face, which she half heartedly attempted to
chase away.

With a sigh, B'Elanna lowered her heavy form to the ground, and was
immediately leapt upon by the wiggling mass of fur. Before she could stop
herself, B'Elanna found herself laughing and her heart melted a little
further.

"You really have to stop chewing things, Dog." To stop herself from
actually playing with the dog, B'Elanna pushed herself back up to her feet,
and glanced at the ceiling, calming herself.

"Computer, locate Tom Paris."

"Tom Paris is in the mess hall."

"Torres to Paris."

"Go ahead, B'Elanna."

"Your dog is up to two strikes now, Paris. One more and I'm tossing it out
an airlock. Get me?"

"What did he do now?"

"It doesn't matter. Just know it's got one last chance. Torres, out."

B'Elanna moved over to the sleeping area, and began to change out of her
work clothes. Half way through she glanced down and noticed the puppy
sitting directly in front of her, his trusting eyes gazing up at her, never
wavering.

"What?"

The puppy's tail wagged quickly, his fat little body swaying with the
effort. B'Elanna furrowed her eyebrows as she stared back at the dog for a
moment, only succeeding in making his tail wag harder.

Finishing getting changed, she moved into the bathroom, preparing to wash
her face and brush her teeth, stopped only by the feel of something soft and
warm against her legs. Again she glanced down, again to be met with the
chocolate brown gaze of the puppy.

"WHAT?"

Trying to ignore the eyes that never strayed from her body, B'Elanna
finished getting washed and hurried out of the bathroom, towards the
replicator. Periodically, she glanced down to see the puppy keeping pace
with her. The faster she walked, the faster the puppy walked. Stopping at
the replicator, B'Elanna leaned with one hand against the wall and stared
down at the puppy who was once again seated contentedly at her feet.

"What do you want? Are you hungry?"

She ordered a few dog biscuits and tossed them to the floor, gratified to
see the puppy wolfing them down. Still, he never left her side.

Giving up on ordering anything for herself, B'Elanna edged away from the
puppy and hurried towards the sofa, the dog on her heels the whole time.
Collapsing on the sofa, she sighed with victory as the puppy proved to be
too small to get up on his own. She crossed her arms over her chest and
used the remote to turn on Tom's television as she tried to ignore the
pathetic whimpering coming from just below her line of vision.

Settling back, B'Elanna decided to indulge in the one secret she managed to
keep away from Tom's prying eyes. Flipping the remote, she tuned the
television into an episode of Days of Our Lives, circa 1990.

Try as she may, the trials and tribulations of Bo and Carly's doomed romance
couldn't keep her attention as the soft crying kept inching into her heart
and mind. B'Elanna sighed softly.

******

Long overdue, Tom paced silently outside his quarters. He wasn't eager to
face the wrath of his pregnant wife, especially after leaving her alone all
night with the puppy. With a grimace, Tom found himself wondering if he
still had a puppy after this.

With a deep breath, Tom slipped into his quarters, and blinked in the dim
light. From one side of the room he noticed that his television was
displaying static, so his eyes crossed over to the sofa.

Fast asleep, B'Elanna hadn't heard his arrival, so Tom moved closer to her.
A few feet away, he noticed something strange about his wife's body. Her
chest was moving slowly. He blinked.

"Computer, one quarter lights."

The lights came up slightly, and Tom was able to make out the form of the
puppy's head, raised just slightly from B'Elanna's soft flesh to look at
him, before lowering once more and slipping back into the realm of puppy
dreams. Tom blinked in amazement as he noticed B'Elanna's gentle expression
and arm crooked lovingly around the tiny form.

He knelt down beside the sofa, and gently stroked a few strands of hair
out of B'Elanna's face. He lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her until
she was semi-conscious.

"Hey." He smiled down at her.

"Hey." Her response was mumbled, but lucid.

"What did I miss?" His eyes trailed towards the puppy now sleeping with his
head nestled under B'Elanna's chin.

Half asleep, his wife was puzzled by his question, but tried to explain. "Bo is
in love with Carly, who's married to Bo's father Victor, but Bo just found
out Victor was his dad. Carly's lost her medical license 'cause she
supposedly killed Victor but they think Victor's in Mexico faking his death.
And Bo's sister, Isabella, wants to go to Mexico anyway, cause she's in love
with Roman, Bo's brother, but we're not really sure he's Roman, cause
another guy just showed up saying he was Roman, and Roman's wife, who just
returned from the dead, Marlena, recognizes him as Roman too. So they're all
about to go to Mexico together, to find out if Victor is alive.. you know he's
Isabella's dad too, but they only just found that out. They're also going to
find Stephano Dimera to find out which Roman is the real Roman."

Tom blinked. "Huh?"

B'Elanna's face blanched slightly as she realized what she had just said.
"What did you ask?"

Tom began to laugh heartily, "I was wondering how you and the puppy learned
to get along, but thanks for the update on Days. I wasn't sure if I was
going to get to see today's episode or not."

Leaning back into the arm of the sofa, B'Elanna groaned. She wasn't sure
how, but she knew this was somehow the blasted dog's fault.

"He's not sleeping with us, you know." she grumbled, quietly.

"Of course not."

"I mean it."

Tom smiled, "I know you do."

B'Elanna chewed her lip, and the puppy's tongue darted out to give her neck a
tiny kiss. "Well, not every night."

Tom began to laugh as he made his way into the sleeping area, and began to
undress.

"Yes, ma'am."
 

End.