This is an idea that suddenly struck me- we know that B'Elanna had 'a hard time fitting in' at the academy, but we were never told she had no friends. So, here's an idea for a friend for her. But, if you're easily upset, I would stop right here. The ending is a little bit sad. I feel mean already.
…..
The academy building was tall and modern. B'Elanna took it in, admiring the shining metals and imagining the kind of engineering she'd see and learn about in there. Other cadets milled around the place, chatting in big groups, threes or pairs. B'Elanna tried not to make eye contact with any of them. She'd never been good at making friends. As if to prove her thoughts, the conversation from one group drifted over,
"What have they got a Klingon here for? Are they planning on getting us all killed?"
"Don't worry, she'll be kicked out before she gets anywhere near a starship."
"I don't see what your problem is, we all know what Klingon girls are like…"
B'Elanna felt the rage boil up inside her; she clenched her fists and searched out the group with narrowed eyes. When she found them, her heart began to beat harder and faster. They were all human, attractive and cruel-looking. Oh well, a broken nose would bring them down a few pegs… She began to march over there, when a gentle hand rested on her arm.
"Hey," a smooth, deep voice laughed, "Are you planning on getting kicked out on your first day?"
B'Elanna whipped round, tearing her arm from the hand that held it. She fixed the person with angry eyes, taking them in. They were human, a girl and about her age. She had long black hair with a thick block fringe, and the tiniest flicks of eyeliner.
"Yeah… well they'd deserve it…" B'Elanna murmured, looking away awkwardly.
She had no idea how to 'make friends', having spent her whole life being avoided because of half her DNA. Which half it was, depended on the place. But this girl didn't seem to care about the small ridges on B'Elanna's forehead, taking it all in her stride.
"Oh, God yeah," the girl laughed, "Don't get me wrong, they deserve a good beating. But I wouldn't try it… see that blonde bitch over there?"
B'Elanna looked over at the group again. A girl with long, curly blonde hair looked over at them for a moment. A look of disgust crept over her mean little face and she tossed her hair, looking away again. She muttered something to the tall, fit blonde guy and the group laughed.
"Yeah… I see her…" B'Elanna growled through gritted teeth.
The girl took in B'Elanna's angry posture and laughed.
"I know, what a bitch, right?"
She held her hands out flat, showing B'Elanna her knuckles. They were smattered with yellowing bruises.
"Couple of weeks ago I tried to give her a nose job… her face is harder than it looks. And her daddy is someone high up in the academy, so may I suggest finding another punch bag?"
B'Elanna managed a slight laugh at that, and the girl grinned back. She looked B'Elanna up and down for a while, still smiling.
"… We're friends, yeah?" she asked, suddenly vunerable.
B'Elanna frowned. She didn't have a clue whether they were friends or not.
"I guess so…" she said, looking confused.
"I've never made a friend before," the girl's face broke into a genuinely pretty smile. "Maxine Smith, but call me Maxine and I will hit you. It's Max."
B'Elanna took the girls offered hand and shook it, "B'Elanna Torres."
"Nice to meet you, B'Elanna. Welcome to the outcasts."
B'Elanna relaxed slightly at that. She was used to being the outcast, the loner, the one no one wanted in their group… but now she found someone to be outcasts with. It was a strange sort of friendship, but (as she was soon to find out) one of the best.
…..
The two young women became firm friends. They would walk around the academy tomorrow, and B'Elanna even stayed with Max and her mum at times. The girl's mum, Mrs Martin, was glad to have B'Elanna there. They were happy, and made good friends. They could always make each other laugh and took each other's sides over anything. But a lot of the time, Max had a bad cold or the flu and had to stay at home, sick. Secretly, Max's mother confided in B'Elanna.
"She's not well today, B'Elanna."
"Again?" B'Elanna frowned.
"Yes. I know- I'm worried too."
That was it, but it was enough to set in motion everything that was to happen.
…..
A few months later and B'Elanna had settled into academy life. Well, as much as she could settle. She stuck with Max in all the classes she could, when Max was well. The two spent their breaks walking around town and the academy campus, doing their best to avoid fights with blonde-bitch and her group. Unfortunately, it didn't always go to plan.
"Hey, Torres!"
Since learning her name, the guys in the group had taken up muttering comments in lessons to distract her. She whipped round at the sound of her name. When they started laughing, Max just nudged her,
"Ignore them, B'Elanna." She held out the polystyrene container of chips she was holding, "you want one?"
B'Elanna took one and grinned,
"Thanks… but they're bloody hard to ignore."
Max studied her face carefully. Max was good at that, reading faces. She could tell when B'Elanna's rage could be stopped and when it couldn't. This was one of those times where she wasn't stopping for anything.
"What do you want to do?" Max asked, putting the near empty polystyrene container by her side.
"Get them."
Max nodded, "Why the hell not, I could do with getting another black mark against my name."
The grin on her face let B'Elanna know she was serious. The next time she heard her name, she whipped round.
"Can I help you with something?"
The blokes, sat on a wall, laughed and nudged each other. One of them met her eyes and smirked, patting his trousers.
"You can help me with something alright. We all know what Klingons are like, after all."
B'Elanna felt the rage that had been simmering inside her bubble over. Max must have sensed it too, because when B'Elanna charged towards him, so did she. Enraged, B'Elanna tore the cocky guy off the wall and pinned him up against it, smashing her fist into his nose. The rest of his mates moved to fight her away, but Max had that covered. With a smirk of enjoyment on her face, she punched and kicked and shoved until they had all backed off… except one. The biggest, burliest bloke there smashed his fist into her chest and sent her flying backwards, yelping in pain. A shout of,
"Hey! What's going on over there?!"
Made B'Elanna release the offender. He slid down the wall with a groan, hitting the ground with a thud. As soon as he did, she realised Max was no longer at her side. Seeing the crumpled lump on the floor, she ran to her- listening in fear to the wheezing breaths escaping her best and only friend. The guys around them, who had been joined by the vicious blonde and a few others, smirked. The only one not laughing was the one who had hit Max. He looked at her in fear.
…..
B'Elanna was allowed to wait for Max at the hospital. They had both gotten off with a warning, after their teachers had vouched for them. They heard them being mocked in lessons and managed to get their sentences lowered. Eventually, a kind nurse led her into a cubicle. Max sat on the edge of the bed.
"Hey, B," she grinned. "That bastard cracked two of my ribs."
B'Elanna's eyes widened.
"He must have hit you pretty hard. We should smack his head into a table…"
"No, B…" she shook her head, "We won't be fighting anyone for a while…"
B'Elanna's heart stopped for a second. Had she just lost her one and only friend? What had she done?
"The doctors think there's something wrong, B. And I mean badly."
"What?" B'Elanna frowned, "What is it, what's wrong?"
"I've been getting migraines for a while now, and I keep getting these bad colds… not to mention all the bruising. They think I might have Leukaemia. They've taken my blood away to test and they're going to keep me in until they get the results."
B'Elanna felt lost. She had no idea what to say to that. After all, she had made her first friend ever, and she was going to lose her. The two friends sat, talking, until the nurses told B'Elanna she had to leave.
…..
When the blood results came back, it wasn't good news. B'Elanna sat on her bed, twirling the cord of the phone as she listened.
"It is Leukaemia, B. They're starting me on chemo today."
B'Elanna held the phone tight.
"I'll come sit with you," she whispered.
"Thanks, B." she heard the smile in her friend's voice, "I'll get mother to wait for you."
B'Elanna put the phone down and rushed to her friend. The two girls managed to joke and laugh, despite the tubes and the bleeping machines.
…
And, after that, their friendship no longer touched the academy. B'Elanna began to talk less and less, and her temper grew and grew. Each time she was suspended, she would spend the days talking and laughing with her friend. But they could all see that Max was slipping away. Her hair fell out in clumps, and one day she handed B'Elanna a razor.
"Get it off, B. I'm sick of waking up with it stuck to my face."
Trying not to shake, B'Elanna gently buzzed the hair from her friend's head. Then, before she could think twice, she did her own. Max stared at her, wide eyed.
"What did you do that for, you nutter?"
B'Elanna raised an eyebrow,
"What, you want to be the only bald one around here?"
Max couldn't help but laugh at that. But when she started laughing, she began to retch. B'Elanna was used to this process by now, and she reached for a bowl and held it under her friend's chin. But the dark, rust coloured vomit didn't stop. B'Elanna began to panic.
"Mrs Martin? Mr Martin!"
Max's mother hurried upstairs, running into the room. She took the bowl from B'Elanna.
"Thank you, B'Elanna," she turned to the girl's friend, "But I'm going to have to take her to hospital."
B'Elanna stood up and pulled on her coat,
"I'm coming too."
Max's mother didn't argue. B'Elanna helped her get Max up and into the car, and the group went to hospital.
…..
That hospital was to become a home-away-from-home for Max. B'Elanna, too, spent a lot of her time sleeping in a folding bed right next to her best friends. She helped Max write out a bucket list… but she never got to complete it.
Max passed away, Stardate 2367.
…
Stood in Holodeck 1, an adult B'Elanna Torres looked at the holographic image she had created. It was almost, almost perfect.
"Computer, make the following changes to program Torres Beta 1. Add nose stud."
The little glint of metal, that B'Elanna had grown to know so well and even envy, showed on the little, snub nose. Almost crying, B'Elanna made her decision.
"Computer, run program."
The character in front of her disappeared. B'Elanna found herself, once more, stood outside the Academy. The academy building was tall and modern. B'Elanna took it in, admiring the shining metals and imagining the kind of engineering she'd seen and learnt about in there. Other cadets milled around the place, chatting in big groups, threes or pairs. A hand caught B'Elanna's and she whipped round, desperate to see the person that held it. She fixed the person with happy, sad eyes, taking them in. They were human, a girl and about her age. She had long black hair with a thick block fringe, and the tiniest flicks of eyeliner. A nose stud glinted in her nose. Wordlessly, she wrapped B'Elanna in a hug.
"Hey, B." Max's voice was near identical.
"Hey, Max."
Max held B'Elanna at arm's length, and fixed her with sad eyes.
"It's not me, though, is it B? I think like me, look like me, talk like me… but the real me is dead."
B'Elanna nodded,
"I know, Max. I just wanted to see you. I wanted to ask… why did you make friends with me?"
"Because you looked like my sort of person. And I was right. You were a great friend, B."
B'Elanna choked. She couldn't stop herself, not this time. She let the tears fall and held her friend again.
"So were you…"
Max looked at B'Elanna once more,
"Thanks. But you know this can't work, B. You have to go. Look at you- a Starfleet engineer! I always thought Lieutenant Torres would exist one day. And she does. And she doesn't need me, especially not a holographic me. Go on, B. Go have a life."
B'Elanna hugged her friend once more, and as she sobbed she murmured the words,
"Computer, delete program."
As the world around her faded, all she could do was fall to her knees and sob.