The Language of Flowers
By Laura Schiller
Based on: Star Trek: Voyager
Copyright: Paramount
"Hey, Kes."
The young Ocampa lowered her pruning shears and looked across the shelf of plants at Tom Paris, who had come sauntering in with his hands behind his back, whistling.
"Lieutenant."
"Tom." He shot her grin. "Please, call me Tom. How many times do I have to say it?"
"At least once more," she teased. "Lieutenant."
"Y'know, it doesn't seem fair," he said, peering down through the row of plants opposite her. "You're the only one on board without a title. Even Neelix gets to be called 'Mister'. Don't you mind?"
"Not really." She was just about to ask him if there was a reason for his visit, when he circled around and came to stand on the same side of the shelf, looking at the flowers.
"Daisies, huh?" he said, as if to himself. "I'm not much of a botanist, but even I can recognize those."
Kes smiled at the way he was scrutinizing the little white flowers, as if they were hiding some deep secret. "Drinking tea from them helps some crewmembers to sleep," Kes explained.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Did you know that in the language of flowers, daisies refer to innocence and purity?"
Kes blinked. "Flowers on Earth have a language?"
"More like a code of symbols. It's not used so much anymore … but some meanings are still famous. Like roses, for example."
He gestured towards a red rosebush sending climbers along the metal poles of the shelf.
"I was just about to trim that one," said Kes, with a shrug. "It's growing all over the place."
"Can I have a bud?" asked Tom. "I like the color."
They were a deep, wild scarlet, almost black at the heart. As she reached up to snip off a flower for Tom, it occurred to her that the suit she wore was almost the same color.
"What do roses symbolize?" she asked, handing it to him. Their hands touched; suddenly he was standing very close.
She hadn't realized before just how enearing it looked when his blond hair fell into his forehead. Or how very blue his eyes were. The rose had a very sweet, spicy scent; was that why she suddenly felt dizzy?
Suddenly he cleared his throat and backed away, glancing over his shoulder like a little boy caught in mischief. "Oh, er, whaddaya know," he said, with a very casual shrug. It slipped my mind. Thanks, Kes," holding up the rosebud. "See you later."
He exited the airponics bay just a little too quickly, almost running into the wall as he turned back to wave.
Kes shook her head, amused and exasperated in equal measure, refusing to acknowledge how fast her heart was beating.
"Now what in the Caretaker's name did he want?" she asked the plants. "Computer, what is the symbolic meaning of the plant Rosa rubifolia?"
"True love," said the computer.
Kes trimmed back the tenacious climbing rose with extra diligence, her shears snapping fiercely as she worked. Neelix would be waiting.