Daddy's Little Girl She took his outstretched hand in hers, and looked up into his face. So many thoughts going through her head, so many memories - her father pushing her on a swing, eating ice cream on a hot summer's day, the two of them laughing, and the day he left. That one stood out the most, and all of those feelings filled her heart with a pain that was as fresh as the day he left. It was as though she was an abandoned child once again. Tom sensed her sadness and lifted her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss upon it, trying to bring her back to the present. "You okay?" "Yeah...I think so. It was just so...I don't know. I mean to see him again after all this time..." her thoughts trailed off again as two ensigns walked passed them in the hallway. Sensing her need for privacy and her need to talk, he said "Why don't we go back to our quarter's for a little while? I'll replicate us some tea, and we can talk for a while. What do you say?" "I wish I could, Tom, but I have to go back to Engineering." "You don't look like you're up to being the 'Chief' right now. " "I'm fine...I mean I'll be fine. I just need to get back to work." "Are you sure, B'Elanna? I don't think the Captain would mind if we took a little break before heading back to work. I know the Doctor would recommend you taking a little down time after something so obviously...painful." "It wasn't painful, Tom. It was...it...it just wasn't painful! Okay?!" "Okay." He could tell she wasn't ready to talk yet, but he would be there for her when she was ready. He silently vowed, once again, to always be there for her. "I'll see you later." She said
and headed off.
Returning to sick bay, Tom felt a
little heavy hearted, knowing what his wife was going through, knowing
the effect the absence of her father had caused her over the years, Tom
wasn't sure if he would be able to wait until she was ready to let him
in, but he would try. He knew it would be easier for her if she was
ready to talk about it, then to force her into it, so he would wait, but
not for too long.
"Well Mr. Paris...it's about time you got here. I have several ideas about the re-write." The Doctor had recently penned a
holo-novel loosely based on the Voyager crew - very loosely based.
The Chief Engineer was a woman that looked considerably like B'Elanna without
any Klingon traits, the first officer had a tattoo covering half of his
face, the Chief Helmsman
"I'd like to get started as soon as possible." "Sure Doc. Have a great time
on the holodeck...and Doc."
With that the Doctor left for the
holodeck to complete his "work of art".
Tom spent an uneventful hour in sickbay when the doors swished open and his wife walked in. "Hey" she said softly.
She smiled wistfully and said "Tom...I'm
fine. I just wanted to talk."
"What's on your mind?" he said trying to lighten the mood a bit. "My father." "Here...come on over and sit down. Do you want a cup of tea or something?" "No. I just need you for a little while. Is that alright?" she asked sheepishly. "You don't even have to ask. I'm always going to be here for you, whenever you need me." he said as they walked over to a biobed and sat down. "I know. Maybe I forgot for a while..." both of them remembering her reaction to finding out their daughter would be born with forehead ridges. An obvious sign of her Klingon heritage. "...But I do know that you'll always be there for our daughter. And me" she continued. "Tom, my father...he...well...he's
a good father. That is he was a good father until the day he left
my mother and me. That was the most painful day of my childhood.
I think back to all of the fights my mother and I had, all of the disputes,
of how I was nothing but a
He wanted to tell her that she always had a heart, otherwise she wouldn't have joined the Maquis cause, but sensing her need to talk he let her continue without interruption. "When I saw him today on that view screen it was like I was 5 all over again, and my daddy was there for me. I want so much to let him back in, to be his little girl, but I'm so afraid of being hurt again, of him hurting our daughter. I would never let him hurt her that way." "Maybe...you should take it slowly, B'Elanna. Look, today was the first time you spoke to him in how many years? No one expects you to just open up your heart and let him back in just like that." "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"Well...he did send you a message saying he wanted to talk to you, and he did seem pretty sincere in wanting to get to know you again." "He did didn't he?"
"I guess so, and as far as our daughter is concerned...we have a long time before anyone, other than her mommy and daddy, are going to be close enough to even hold her. Well...maybe the Doctor, him being the Godfather and all." "Oh you think so, huh?" She said feeling much more at ease now. "You think I'm going to let just anyone hold her? No way." "I think you might have a problem
with Chakotay and the Captain there, Tom."
He placed his warm lips over hers and kissed her lightly, stroking her face and looking into her eyes while he kept on kissing her over and over. "Well...isn't this nice. Mr. Paris pleases stops performing a tonsillectomy on your wife in my sick bay." Tom and B'Elanna barely pulled apart to acknowledge the Doctors, untimely arrival, and resumed kissing for a few more seconds. "Perhaps the two of you would like me to leave?" He said as he took his seat in his office, obviously not planning on going anywhere. "No that's okay Doc, but thanks for
the offer."
He wasn't sure exactly how turned
on it made her, but he was definitely going to find out tonight.
The End |