Owen smiled sadly. “Don’t apologize, Kathryn. You’re right. I just have to get used to the fact that I can’t protect him. I guess I never really could.”
Janeway smiled back at him, and said gently, “He’s a good man, Admiral. He doesn’t need your protection. Just your love.” Owen knew the truth of what she was saying. It was a lesson he had almost learned too late. They stepped though the kitchen door and onto the long deck that ran the length of the house, overlooking the private beach below.
Prepared for their captain’s visit, Tom and B’Elanna were both in uniform, sitting on the sand with MK. The couple was watching out over the water in a scene very similar to one they had created on Voyager’s holodeck only a few weeks earlier, B’Elanna seated between Tom’s raised knees, her back against his chest. This was a much more peaceful moment for the couple, however, with their lives no longer in danger, B’Elanna’s freedom guaranteed, and their real, gorgeous daughter on the blanket beside them. Their future was still uncertain, however. They couldn’t fully relax and enjoy this time together until the last of their questions was answered.
They heard the screen door slam, and could see Kathryn standing with Tom’s father on the porch. “I guess this is it,” B’Elanna said softly before they stood up.
“I guess so,” Tom answered. “My turn to face the music,” he joked.
She didn’t smile, instead turning around on the blanket to face him. “Whatever it is, we’ll be alright,” she reassured him.
Tom smiled. “Yep. Just a question of Scenario A or C,” he said, almost under his breath.
“What?” B’Elanna asked. Tom still hadn’t told her about his three-option prediction for their welcome home.
“Nothing,” he said and smiled. “Let’s go see the captain.”
They climbed the stairs to the porch hand in hand. Tom was wearing Miral in a ‘snugglie’ exactly like the one B’Elanna had replicated for their last night in Voyager’s holodeck, and B’Elanna carried the blanket over her arm. “That’s an interesting...‘harness’ you’re wearing, Tom,” Kathryn said as they reached the top step.
“Yeah, well, I figure B’Elanna got to carry her around all day for over eight months. It’s my turn.” They were trying to keep the mood light, but the air was full of the tension of anticipation. They knew that whatever Kathryn was about to say would chart the course of their lives for the foreseeable future.
“Maybe we should go inside,” Owen suggested. He held the door as B’Elanna lead the way into the house.
Tom passed the baby to B’Elanna and unbuckled and removed the carrier. He immediately headed for Owen’s study, a place where he had years of experience in getting reprimanded. Tom’s father sat behind the large oak desk, and B’Elanna took a seat on the couch at the far side of the room. Tom was moving to sit next to her when Kathryn stopped him. “Tom, I’m sorry, but it’s customary for one to stand when given this kind of news.” Her friend looked hurt, but complied.
“Captain...” B’Elanna blurted out sharply, not sure why Kathryn had to make this even harder for her husband.
“It’s okay, B’Elanna,” Tom said, realizing that, this time, his father would be present to see him stripped of his rank and commission. He pulled himself to attention in front of his commanding officer, just the barest hint of the old mask slipping over his face to contain his emotions.
Kathryn took a deep breath. “Thomas Eugene Paris,” Janeway said solemnly. “It is my duty to inform you that your field commission of lieutenant has been revoked.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box. The look on Tom’s face instantly changed to one of dumbfounded confusion. “In its place, you have been granted a permanent commission,” she opened the box to reveal the golden pip, “and the rank of lieutenant commander.” She opened the box, pulled out the pip and added it to his collar, unable to contain her smile any longer. “Congratulations, Tom,” she said as she reached out to shake his hand. Like another very similar day in her ready room seven years ago, Tom Paris didn’t know what to say.
Which was fine, because his lips were soon covered by B’Elanna’s, which would have made talking impossible anyway.
Kathryn was truly apologetic about the drama. “I’m sorry, Tom, but I wanted you to remember this moment for a long while. You’ve earned this, and I’m very proud of you.” B’Elanna let him out of her embrace just long enough for Tom to give his captain and friend a long hug. When she pulled back, her serious expression returned. “I’m afraid there’s more, if your heart is up to it.” Tom couldn’t imagine what else she could say.
“I don’t know what plans you and B’Elanna have made for your future,” she began.
Tom had to think. “Well, honestly captain, we weren’t really in a position to make any before today.”
Kathryn hesitated a moment, a little afraid to even bring this up. “I know most of the crew has done nothing but dream of the day they could leave Voyager behind, but I get the sense that the two of you were happy with the home you’d made on the ship. So I’ve asked Starfleet to keep you with me, assuming you’re both willing.”
Tom and B’Elanna looked at each other for a moment. They’d never really discussed their next steps. Each was hesitant to answer without time to talk to the other. Then Tom saw a look in his wife’s eyes that answered all of his questions. “Well, now that you mention it,” he said, “I’m sure B’Elanna won’t let anyone else take over her engine room, and I guess I would have a problem with seeing a new pilot at Voyager’s helm.”
Janeway averted her eyes for just a moment. “I’m afraid you would have to get over that, Tom,” she said cautiously, “if you’re going to be my first officer.”
There was no question now that the ‘Paris mask’ was gone. Tom’s jaw visibly dropped, and he had that same open-mouthed, glazed-over expression he had once saved for B’Elanna’s bombshells during their courtship. Kathryn filled the awkward silence with an offer she hoped would be too good to resist.
“Of course, I’m willing to throw in the unofficial captaincy of the Delta Flyer if that will help, now that my helmsman isn’t likely to object to having the first officer fly his ship.”
Tom was slowly regaining his composure, but it was B’Elanna who answered first. “He accepts,” she said quickly.
“B’Elanna!” Tom interjected, “I thought there were rules about senior officers fraternizing with their subordinates. Isn’t that going to make our marriage a little dull?”
Kathryn laughed. “Yes it would, so I’ve told Starfleet that my chief engineer will be reporting directly to me. Tom, as long as the two of you aren’t worried about it, neither am I.”
Tom didn’t know what else to say. “Excuse me, Captain, but could you hold our daughter for a moment?” Tom pulled the baby out of B’Elanna’s arms and handed her off to her godmother. It was a good thing B’Elanna was no longer pregnant, Kathryn thought, when Tom took his wife in his arms and lifted her off the ground with his embrace. “I guess we’re doing this,” he said to B’Elanna as he let her feet hit the floor again.
“I guess we are,” she smiled back at him.
He turned back to face the other woman who had totally changed his life. “We accept.”
They had convinced Kathryn to stay for dinner, but she left soon after to go back to her sister’s apartment. The captain had spent seven years away from her aging Irish Setter, Molly, and she liked to spend her evenings at home when she could. Her friends also knew the separation from Chakotay was difficult for her, and they tried to respect her privacy.
Tom had finished loading the dishes into the recycler, and was relaxing in the lounge chair on the back porch when his father appeared. “Is B’Elanna putting the baby down?” Owen asked, a little uncomfortably.
“Yeah,” Tom answered. “That is if she was able to pry her out of mom’s arms.” It was the first time the two men had been alone since Tom’s promotion in the admiral’s study that afternoon. Owen took the chair next to his son and spent
a few minutes staring up at the stars. Tom could tell his father was uncomfortable. They sat together in silence for a long moment, until Tom got the courage to break the ice. “Tell me what you’re thinking?”
Owen shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “That I’m proud of my son. And a little jealous,” he admitted.
Tom couldn’t imagine. “Jealous? Of what?”
Owen looked at his feet, the deck, the stars—any place but his son’s eyes. “Not of you. Of Kathryn. Sometimes, I think she did a better job raising my son than I did.” Only after his admission did he meet Tom’s eyes.
“She’s my captain, not my parent,” Tom said softly. “Besides, I don’t think I gave her quite as much grief as I gave you—though Captain Janeway might disagree.”
Owen laughed, softly. “Maybe so, but still wish I knew what went wrong between us...”
Tom had spent most of his adult life asking the same question. “Look at what we were just doing, Dad. As long as I can remember, we’d sit on this porch at night, me looking out at the water and you looking up at the stars. We just wanted different things. One’s not better than the other. They’re just different. And I guess that’s all I really ever wanted from you: permission to have my own dreams.”
Tom wasn’t trying to refight this old battle, however. “But I think the only way this is ever gonna work between us is if we both just forgive each other and move on. You weren’t the easiest father in the world, and I wasn’t the easiest son. I know we’d both do a lot of things differently if we could, but I’m not sorry for the way things turned out. I’m happy with my life now.” Tom paused for a moment to get the courage he needed to finish. “I’ve forgiven you. I think it’s time you forgive yourself.”
Owen just nodded gently to himself, and turned away. “Are you sorry you ended up a pilot instead of a sailor?” he asked his son.
“Not anymore,” Tom said honestly. “B’Elanna gets seasick on anything bigger than a sailboat.” They laughed out loud together. And, for the first time in all their years of sitting together on this deck, the admiral spent the next hour gazing out over the water, while his son leaned back to enjoy the view of the stars.
~*~*~*~*~
The refit was going better than expected. B’Elanna had four crews working around the clock—a luxury she could never have afforded in the Delta Quadrant—and, despite the enormous task in front of her, she was home by dinnertime almost every night.
Tom would be taking family leave for the first four months of their layover, and was already having a wonderful time being a full-time father. He and MK were joined at the hip (or, to be more precise considering Tom’s favorite baby carrier, the chest), and he couldn’t remember any longer what his life had been like without her. He and B’Elanna continued to live with Tom’s parents, and were enjoying this weird feeling of having a ‘normal life.’
Tom was becoming quite a cook, and he usually had dinner ready when B’Elanna and his parents returned from work. He did have his own ‘special project,’ however. With Kathryn’s permission, Tom had requested that the Delta Flyer be transported to a Starfleet hangar just a few miles from their home, and he spent a fair amount of his free time getting his ship put back together. It wasn’t unusual for B’Elanna to find him lying under a panel, the baby sleeping behind a forcefield, Tom singing butchered song lyrics to his daughter at the top of his lungs.
B’Elanna helped him when she wasn’t too tired, though she was interested to see that Tom’s engineering skills improved when the Flyer was his patient. All of the years of faking ignorance at the subtleties of plasma couplings were now exposed as exaggeration. He’d never get away with that trick again.
Just over three weeks into their homecoming and they were ready for a test drive. Leaving their daughter at home with her grandparents, they were cleared to take the Flyer on a quick check-out flight: once around the solar system. Tom hadn’t been in space in a long while, and it had been even longer since he’d piloted anything more than a ground shuttle. He was anxious to get her in the air.
They had done a short hop to the moon and back before plotting a course for Saturn. The view would be wonderful, and Tom looked forward to navigating the more intense gravitational forces he knew he would find between the planet and its moons. After buzzing McKinley Station for his own peek at B’Elanna’s progress and dodging a few stray satellites, all that was left was to test the warp drive. He called for his copilot to bring the warp core online, and they made a quick jump to light speed. It was a short ride, and all they needed to know that their hard work had paid off.
Everything was checking out. The Delta Flyer was officially back in service. For this and other reasons, Tom thought a celebration was in order.
He dropped them into orbit on the dark side of the giant planet, well out of view of any prying eyes. Then he slipped the helm controls to autonavigation and turned around in his seat. “I think I’m declaring her fit for duty,” he said of his favorite ship. He stood up and leaned on B’Elanna’s console. “What about you?” he asked a little playfully.
“Excuse me, Commander?” she asked.
“You heard me, Cadet,” he teased her since she had started this little rank game. “Are you feeling fit for duty?” He had been a very patient man, but it was now six weeks and one day since their daughter was born and he was through waiting. B’Elanna knew this test flight had been carefully timed. She came prepared.
“Stick out your neck,” she ordered. This was a new wrinkle, Tom thought. He just stood there looking confused. “Unless you want it to be six weeks and two days,” she continued, “you’d better stick out your neck.” Still confused, he did as he was ordered.
He didn’t see the hypo until she was placing it against his jugular. “Hey!” he said as he grabbed her arm. “What was that for?”
She smiled. “Contraceptive booster,” she explained. Of course. They knew they wanted more children. Just not this year. She handed him the hypo and he adjusted it for her gender and body chemistry before returning the favor. Technically, only one of them needed the shot, but why take any chances?
Now safely guaranteeing the stability of their family size, Tom pulled B’Elanna away from her station and onto the jumpseat. “I guess that means you’re in the mood for some ‘mushy stuff,’ he teased her.
She played along. “That depends,” she answered. “What kind of ‘mush’ do you have in mind?”
This time their little conversation played out without the interruption of a warp core breech. “Traditionally, it requires a proposal,” he said, then finished the question he’d wanted to ask on that day so long ago. “Will you marry me?”
She leaned over and gave him a long kiss. “I already did, you idiot.”
He pulled her onto his lap and began to test his theory about the easy removal of their new uniforms. Having already set the unofficial Starfleet records for longest flirtation, most action-packed proposal, and shortest engagement, they proceeded to reenact its longest honeymoon.
~*~*~*~*~
She was pleasantly surprised when Owen Paris showed up at her door. Kathryn was in the process of moving into her newly-refurbished ready room, and hadn’t expected any visitors. “Admiral, how nice of you to drop by,” she said as she welcomed him. “To what do I owe this honor?”
She noticed her old friend was carrying a datapad. Suddenly, she understood. He was bringing her new orders. “Captain, I have a mission that you and your crew are uniquely qualified to handle.”
She was intrigued. “As long as it’s in this quadrant, and takes less than seven years, I think my people would be happy to oblige. What is it?”
She showed the Admiral to the seat across from her desk and he handed her the PADD. The display was marked classified, and she put her thumb in the proper spot to verify her identity and clearance. Almost immediately, she couldn’t believe what she was reading.
“You’re kidding,” she said as she looked up from the orders. “Why Voyager?”
Owen thought for a moment. “It’s simple. Because you’re the only ones who can. Because it needs to be done. This wound needs to be healed, Kathryn. Who better to do that than this crew?”
She shook her head, trying to imagine giving these orders to her people. How would they react, Janeway wondered. The idea came to her almost instantly. “They’ll be suspicious of Starfleet,” she said. “I’ll need to take along a civilian. Someone familiar with the history, who would have credibility with both sides.”
Paris smiled. “I was thinking the same thing,” he nodded. “As a matter of fact, I think your first officer knows where to find someone who’d be perfect for the job. Why don’t you call him in here and we can discuss it.” He’d arranged this all along, she now knew.
“Janeway to Paris.” It took a second for him to reply.
“Paris here, Captain.”
She looked at the young man’s father as she spoke to him over the com, “Commander, can you report to my ready room?”
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