"Daddy, aren't you going to tell me a story before I go to sleep?" Little Miral asked innocently. Tom Paris smiled down at his five-year-old daughter. To him, she was the second most beautiful thing in the galaxy; her mother was the first.

"Why don't you let your mother tell you a story? You know Daddy is no good at telling them." Tom said as he tucked the sheets around his daughter's neck.

"But Daddy! I want you to tell me a story! Please?"

Tom sighed. Miral looked up at him with her large, brown eyes. She has her mother's eyes! Tom noted.

"Alright, sweetie. What do you want me to tell you about?"

Little Miral scrunched her eye brows together, thinking long and hard before deciding.

"Daddy, Mommy told me that you two went on a very long vacation. Tell me about it, please?" Miral asked as she hugged her teddy bear tightly towards her ribs.

Tom didn't know if she was ready. Five years old was a very young age to tell a person that her father went across the galaxy and back in seven years. I want her to remember what B'Elanna and I did, and I want her to be proud of it.

"Alright, I'll tell you. One day I was at this colony…" Tom started.

"Wait!" Miral interrupted. "You didn't say 'once upon a time'. The best stories always start with 'once upon a time'!"

Tom shrugged his shoulders. Daughters, he thought, are the pickiest things. But I wouldn't change her for the world.

"Once upon a time…" Tom started, looking at his daughter for approval. She smiled, and waited for him to continue.

"Once upon a time, nearly 13 years ago, I was in New Zealand."

"What where you doing there, Daddy?" Miral asked innocently. Tom hesitated. She might be old enough to know about Voyager, and understand it, but she certainly wasn't old enough to learn her father had been a criminal.

"I was just visiting, darlin'. Let Daddy continue his story, alright?" Miral nodded, and wiggled a little in her bed.

"I was in New Zealand, just minding my own business, when a Starfleet Captain approached me. And you'd never guess who it was." Tom said, waiting for his daughter to answer.

"Rice Admiral Janeway!" Miral shouted with glee. Tom laughed at his little girl. When Miral was just two years old, she started to call 'Captain Janeway' 'Rice Admiral Janeway'. Even though she was old enough to pronounce it correctly, Miral –much to Janeway's delight- still called her 'Rice Admiral Janeway.

"That's right! Vice Admiral Janeway wanted me to go with her on her ship on a special mission. Of course, I agreed. A few days later, I found myself on a space station, getting ready to board Voyager. I went into this little place that was run by a Ferengi named Quark to get something to drink, and you'll never believe who I saw there!"

Miral squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think of who her father might have met.

"Mommy?" She guessed.

Tom shook his head. "No, not Mommy. I'll give you a hint. You like him to play you lullabies on his clarinet." Tom smiled as he saw the recognition in his daughter's eyes.

"Uncle Harry!" She laughed.

"Right. Uncle Harry was in the same place! I helped him out a little bit, and then we boarded our ship, and began our journey. A few days into the trip, we ran across some bad weather." Tom said.

"Oh no!" Miral shreaked.

"That's what I thought, too! When the bad weather was over, we were in another part of the Galaxy! I was 75 years away from home, Miral!"

Miral's eyes widened. "Oh, Daddy! That's not good! Not good!"

"Of course it wasn't! But what could we do? We would have to fly all the way back to Earth; but first, we had to get what we were looking for."

"What was that?"

"There was a ship full of people who called themselves the Marquis. We were going to get them when we were taken to the Delta Quadrant. We found there ship there, too! So, Captain Janeway decided that we would have to team up with the Marquis, and form one big crew. And do you know who was on that ship" Tom asked. He loved giving his little girl a chance to do more than listen in a story.

"Who, Daddy, who?" Miral asked excitedly.

"Why, it was none other than Tuvok and Chakotay!" Tom laughed.

Miral spread a grin across her face. "Oh, goody! and Cap'n Chocolate!" She giggled.

Tom loved to see his daughter recognize his old friends. Even though Miral had never met Neelix in person, she knew that he called Tuvok 'Mr. Vulcan', and had liked calling him that rather than 'Mr. Tuvok'. As for 'Cap'n Chocolate', Tom had no clue where she got that. Although Chakotay was now a Captain in Starfleet, he still thought of him as 'Commander Chakotay'.

"Of course, Tuvok wasn't really a Marquis. He was just pretending to be one. Chakotay was a real Marquis, though. So, Tuvok was now part of the Voyager crew, and Chakotay was promoted to Commander! I was promoted to Lieutenant, and we all became one big, happy family on Voyager." Tom said. He pulled the sheets back around Miral's shoulders, and kissed her on the forehead.

"That's all for tonight, sweetie." He whispered.

"But Daddy! You didn't finish the story!" Miral cried.

Tom smiled. "Darling, it took seven years for that story to be written. I can't finish it all in one night. But, I'll tell you some more the night after tomorrow, alright?"

"Why not tomorrow night?" Miral asked quietly.

Tom sighed. "I have a meeting to go to tomorrow, and I won't be back until very late. You'll already be asleep when I get back!" Tom said as he gently tickled Miral's ribs. Miral giggled, and nodded her head, showing him that she understood.

"Goodnight, honey. Sleep tight." Tom said as he turned the lights out.

"Goodnight, Daddy. I love you." Came a small whisper.

Tom walked into his and B'Elanna's bedroom. B'Elanna was sleeping peacefully in the bed, her hair spread out on the pillows. Tom wondered how a guy like himself could be lucky enough to have a beautiful wife, and a beautiful little girl.

Trying not to wake B'Elanna up, Tom quietly changed into his pajamas, turned out the lights, and slipped into the bed.

B'Elanna felt the bed become warmer from Tom's body heat, and she rolled over to look at her husband.

"Hey, you were in Miral's room for a long time. Don't tell me she was crying for Harry again." B'Elanna said sleepily.

Tom smiled as he remembered the deep affection Miral had for Harry, or 'Uncle Harry'. Ever since she was a baby, Miral wanted Harry to hold her, Harry to play with her, Harry to play her lullabies. Even though she was five years old now, she still cried at night when Harry wasn't there.

"No, I was telling her the story of Voyager." Tom whispered.

"She's a little young, don't you think?" B'Elanna said.

"She's old enough to get the briefing of it. She doesn't have to know about the Borg war, or anything like that, sweetheart." Tom said as he planted a kiss on his wife's ridged forehead.

B'Elanna returned the gesture, and went back to sleep. Tom smiled, and thanked whatever deity was out there for his beautiful ladies.