Family Ties (VOY, kinda P/T, PG) by JoAnna Walsvik   "Ugh! Some days I wish I had never set foot inside an engine room!" B‘Elanna Torres exclaimed, slamming her food tray on the table next to Harry and Tom. "Half of my staff is out sick with that flu that‘s going around, and the other half are coming down with it. Not only that, but now we‘re having trouble keeping the warp coils aligned because of that stupid protostar we‘re passing by. Good grief!" Harry and Tom grinned at each other. "Well, if it isn‘t Little Merry Sunshine, spreading joy and happiness wherever she goes," Tom remarked. "Bite me, pilot," was her flippant reply. "That‘s your department, isn‘t it, Torres?" Tom said sweetly. Harry nearly choked on his drink. He swallowed quickly and looked up at B‘Elanna, expecting to find her in a furious rage, ready to kill Tom. But, to his surprise, she just stared at the pilot, and grinned. "I set myself up for that one." "You sure did," Tom agreed amiably. "But that doesn‘t mean I can‘t kill you," she continued, lunging over the table. Harry quickly shoved out an arm and held her back. "Don‘t kill him, B‘Elanna," he warned. "If you get blood all over the carpet, Neelix will be furious and he‘ll make you clean it up. And the doctor is so busy trying to find a cure for this flu that he wouldn‘t appreciate the extra business." "True," B‘Elanna acknowledged, sitting back down. "I‘ll wait until later. Then I‘ll kill him." "Gee, thanks, Harry," Tom said sarcastically, shooting the ensign a dirty look. "It‘s nice to know you care about my safety and well-being." Harry shrugged gamely. "No problem." "So, what were you guys talking about before I came?" B‘Elanna asked, wrinkling her nose at the purple concoction on her plate. She had run out of replicator rations yesterday, otherwise she wouldn‘t be eating the glop. "Our family histories, actually," Tom replied. "Did you know that Harry‘s dad can trace his lineage back to a distant cousin of Confucius?" "Really?" B‘Elanna said, seeming to be impressed. "Quite a heritage, Harry." Kim shrugged modestly. "Yeah, I know. It‘s nothing compared to Tom‘s, though. He has—what, nine or ten Starfleet admirals in his family?" "Eleven," Tom said indifferently. "Frankly, it‘s no big deal. I think after a while Starfleet command would see an officer named Paris and automatically give them the rank of admiral." B‘Elanna and Harry chuckled. "Should we just skip lieutenant and go right to admiral with you, Paris?" Harry asked teasingly. "The captain would be impressed." "Chakotay even more so," B‘Elanna added, taking a bite of the purple gunk. She looked down at her plate in surprise. The stuff wasn‘t half bad. "Sure, guys. Whatever," Paris kidded. "On the other hand, you better not. People might get me confused with my dad, god forbid." "What about you, B‘Elanna?" Harry asked. "Any mighty Klingon warriors in your family?" "Gods, no," she said, rolling her eyes heavenward. "I hope not. The Klingon Empire practically disowned my mother after she married a human. My mother never talked about her family. All I know is that my grandparents were killed in the Romulan attack on Khitomer when my mother was just a baby, and she was raised by family friends. When she was nineteen, she married my father and they moved to Kessik. A few years later I came." She paused slightly, taking another bite of the purple gook. "I did try and trace my dad‘s family, though, when I was...I must have been about fifteen or so. Well, I managed to trace my dad‘s family back to a twentieth century astronomer, and that‘s as far as I got. This astronomer was my...let‘s see, my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother—or something like that. Anyway, I tried to go back further, but I couldn‘t find any information about her parents or anything. The record keeping was so archaic back then, it‘s amazing any records still exist." "Twentieth century? What was her name? Maybe I bumped into her when I was down there," Tom said jokingly. "Ummm...Robinson, I think," B‘Elanna said pensively. "Raine Robinson." Tom‘s mouth dropped open in frank astonishment. Now he realized why Raine had reminded him so strongly of someone...and why he had been so attracted to her. Why, now that it was pointed out to him, he could almost see a resemblance between her and B‘Elanna. They both had the same eyes. And hair. And B‘Elanna‘s face...there was a hint of something that was suggestive of Raine. Harry had put down his fork and stared at B‘Elanna when she had revealed her ancestor, and he was still looking at her in surprise. B‘Elanna looked from Harry to Tom. "What?" she asked uncertainly, not sure why they both had such strange looks on their faces. "B‘Elanna...didn‘t you read Tom‘s report about his away mission on Earth?" Harry said. "His report? Harry, I‘ve barely had time to write my own, let alone read someone else‘s," B‘Elanna said in exasperation. "What is it? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Quietly, Tom explained the reason for their reaction. When he was through, B‘Elanna was visibly startled. "Wow," was all she said. "That is—well, that‘s so coincidental it‘s weird. What was she like?" "Smart. Really smart. Outspoken. Quick-thinking. She liked old horror movies, and astronomy. And she was cute. Very, very cute," Tom said dreamily. "She reminded me of you, actually." B‘Elanna blushed scarlet from the roots of her hair to the tips of her shoes. "You‘re a pig, Paris," she murmured while Harry grinned knowingly. "That‘s probably what she would have said," Tom agreed. "You know, you should tell the captain that you‘re related to Rain. I think she‘d like to know." "Maybe later," B‘Elanna said, rising from her seat, having finished the purple gunk which, really, wasn‘t too bad. "I have to get back to Engineering and see how many more of my staff are sick." "Hey, if you need any help down there, I‘ll come on down," Harry offered. "Thanks, Starfleet. I‘ll remember that. Catch you guys later," B‘Elanna said, and was gone. "I can‘t believe she‘s related to Raine," Tom said, shaking his head. "That‘s really too weird." "Well, as the captain told me once," Harry grinned, "we‘re Starfleet officers, Tom. Weird is part of the job."   THE END Remember, send your feedback!!!! Anyone that does NOT know that Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and everything associated with it, please raise your hands. Does anyone see any hands raised? I didn‘t think so. Copyright 1997 by JoAnna Walsvik. All rights reserved and most of the lefts, too. :) Archive, distribute, etc. to your heart‘s content, but leave my name and the disclaimer attached.