Author's Note: This is just a little thing I wrote while trying to exercise my writing. I happened to like it, so here it is. Many thanks to R_S_B and Delwin for betaing and to photogirl1890 for catching typos!
Outside
A cool breeze blew past, raising goose bumps in its wake. She shivered, but the sensations passed quickly, the warm rays of the sun soaking deep into her skin. B'Elanna drew her knees up slightly, resting the data PADD with her novel on it lightly against her legs. The soft sound of birds chirping mixed with a distant wind chime. Forgetting the novel for a moment, she closed her eyes, taking it in.
She had always enjoyed being outside, but the path she had taken in life had not always allowed for such indulgences. Between the Maquis and Voyager, she had spent most of the last decade sailing through the icy blackness of space, the glow of the suns so distant that they could barely be seen, let alone felt.
She had almost forgotten how much she enjoyed just sitting in the sun.
When shore leave had been granted, Tom always wanted to go do something. Run around the alien city. Go backpacking in the wilderness. Her stomach turned as she remembered the time they tried to go sailing, only to encounter rough seas and learn all too late that she was susceptible to motion sickness.
The look on the captain's face when they had explained why they had beamed the entire sail boat into the shuttle bay before returning it to its owner had been priceless.
She smiled at that memory as a bright blue dragonfly landed nearby. He's the color of my warp core, she thought, before remembering it wasn't hers anymore.
It flew away.
B'Elanna slowly drew up the hem of her loose, flowing sarong, exposing her thighs to the radiating heat of nuclear reactions taking place 150 million kilometers away. Her shoulders were already bare and she turned her head slightly to look at them, dimly realizing she had not been this brown since she was nineteen.
She couldn't decide if she liked it.
Suddenly, a squeal of delight erupted from the house. Someone was up from her nap.
The bundle of energy that was the product of her and Tom's love rocketed towards her, crashing into her with a force that seemed impossible given her mass. Miral, dressed in a swimsuit, was chattering about who knows what.
B'Elanna didn't always follow what her two year old was saying. It was at moments like this she was envious of Tom. Staying home, he was with her more and spoke 'Miral' better.
The scraping of the plastic kiddie pool across the cement drew B'Elanna's attention. She watched as Tom, dressed in the loudest Hawaiian print swim trunks she had ever seen, filled the cylindrical container. The water from the hose was hypnotizing and for a moment B'Elanna just watched sun glint off the ripples.
Miral sprung from her, launching herself at her father, clamoring to jump in the water. Being welcomed only by its unexpected chill, she ran back to her mother, dripping wet, effusing information regarding the temperature of the liquid.
It was cold.
B'Elanna smiled as the wet little girl squirmed in her arms, slipping away again to run back over to the pool. Maybe it wasn't cold anymore.
Tom caught his daughter before she could disturb the now placid water, swinging her around in a parabolic arc before bringing the little girl close to his chest. Setting her down again, he threw some toys into the pool before shooting a stream of water at the girl on the grass. A screech of joy echoed through the yard and Miral ran back over towards the pool.
Braving the cold, the child began splashing in the water and Tom got in with her. B'Elanna's heart was warmed as the happy sounds of her family reverberated through the air.
"Mommy come play?" Miral asked, suddenly realizing her mother was not with them.
"Yeah, Mommy?" Tom asked from his position in the pool.
Taking in a deep breath, B'Elanna realized that the radiation of the sun was not the only thing warming her at that moment. The ebbs of love, washing over her with a warmth that didn't disappear in the breeze, came not from the sun, but from her family.
Her family.
She smiled and nodded, slowly rising and removing the sarong. Shedding her cares for a moment, mommy went to play.