A/N: Okay first off, this is assuming that Tom and B'Elanna are the same age. It's an AU, so don't get on my case about it. Also, don't get on my case about the name of Tom's sister. Again: AU. As always, please review if you read. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. They are the respectful property of Paramount; I just write stories about them.
"Ready for the Admiral's weekend survival course?" Cadet 4th class Tom Paris asked to no one in particular as he bounded into his twin sister's- Ashley- dorm-room.
Ashley's roommate, Cadet 4th class B'Elanna Torres, pushed her chair away from the desk in the corner and spun around. "Well, I know I'm ready," she replied with a hint of annoyance lacing her words, " but somebody isn't quite done packing."
"I just want to make sure I have everything I need," Ashley replied from the bathroom.
Tom sat down on one of the beds. "What could you possibly need? We're just going with basic essentials."
Ashley walked out of the bathroom, and shoved a box in the bag with the rest of her camping gear. "Yeah, well, I need special 'basic essentials' that you and dad don't."
"Okay, that was information that I didn't need to know."
"Same here," B'Elanna said, cringing.
"Alright, we can go now."
"Finally."
Ashley narrowed her eyes and stared at B'Elanna. Unfazed, B'Elanna grabbed her camping bag and headed out the door.
-
Fifteen minutes later, the trio stood near the transport with five other students, barely listening as Admiral Paris laid down the rules that he expected to be diligently followed. He nodded to his assistant who then stepped onto the transporter pad.
"Now that you have the basics, half of you will be transporting with Lieutenant Rodgers, and the other half will go with me."
Four of the students walked onto the transporter and waited patiently as the transporter chief beamed them to their destination. When the pad was empty again, Tom, B'Elanna, and Ashley joined Admiral Paris and another student on the transporter. They felt the pull of the beam and seconds later found themselves in front of an old-fashioned log cabin remotely positioned within the wilderness of Washington.
"Alright, everyone," Admiral Paris said as he took a few steps forward and repositioned his bag on his back, "follow me. And remember: stay with the group."
The students filed behind the Admiral -Tom taking the rear- and followed him into the trees.
-
They had been walking for over an hour and Tom's boredom was growing with every passing second. Listening to his father drone on about various survival techniques was never his forte, and he was finding it rather hard to fight the urge to break away and explore on his own.
No one will know I'm gone, he told himself. They're so absorbed in the course that I don't even have to be too quiet to get away. However, another, less assertive, part of him was reminding him of his father's rules, but he ignored it, and planned his escape. He slowed down his pace allowing a five-foot gap to separate him from the others. He turned left and resumed his normal pace, being a bit more careful of his foot placement so he wouldn't create too much noise.
-
B'Elanna noticed a subtle change in the sound of the group's footsteps. She tried to ignore it a first -something she wasn't quite use to-, but her curiosity was eating at her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Tom heading off in the other direction. She thought about telling Admiral Paris, but something about it seemed wrong. She didn't want to see him get in trouble, especially since that meant that he would have to miss out on the rest of the outing. She decided she would go after him, have a talk, and convince him to go back with her without anyone knowing.
She quietly got away from the group and went after Tom. As she walked closer to his last known position, she realized that he had gotten out of visual range. Lucky for her, the scent of his cologne tickled her nose, and she was able to track him. It's times like theses where it's not so bad being half Klingon, she thought as she let her nose lead her to Tom.
It didn't take her long to find him. "Paris," she called right before he could take another step.
He turned around slowly, and appeared to be shock by her presence. "Were you following me?"
"Only to bring you back. What were you thinking running off like that?"
"I was thinking I wanted to get you all to myself." He smiled smugly.
"Ha ha, very funny. What's the real reason? No more of your crap."
"I was bored. So I decided to take a look at what was over here."
"I thought I said no more crap."
"It's not, I'm being honest here."
"So you're telling me that because you were bored you decided to go off on your own, in an area that you don't even know, where you could be attacked by a mountain lion, or a grizzly bear, or worse: Big Foot?"
"You believe in Big Foot?" Tom asked with a laugh.
"Answer my question, Paris," B'Elanna replied.
"Fine. Yes, that's what I'm saying."
"Then you're an even bigger idiot then I thought. Now will you please come back with me?"
"Or maybe you could come with me." He walked up to her so that they were face to face.
"I don't know."
"Oh, come on, Torres. Don't you have a sense of adventure?"
"For your information, I have a very good sense of adventure."
"Then why don't you use it. I can use someone with your expertise."
"My 'expertise'?"
"You did say you've gone camping before, right?"
"You're not planning on camping out on your own, are you?"
"No, of course not. But camping has a lot of hiking, and if we get tired we might want to take a rest in the tent."
B'Elanna contemplated Tom's proposal for a few moments. "Alright, let's go."
"Excellent." He cautiously wrapped his arm around her shoulder. When she allowed the contact, he started leading her where he wanted to go. "It's nice to know I have someone to help fend off Big Foot," he chuckled.
"It's not funny."
"You seriously believe in him, don't you?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because everyone knows he isn't real."
"That's what people said about aliens, too."
"Good point."
"Let's just say that I still think there are some things on Earth that still have yet to be found. Like Ogopogo, the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti… Big Foot."
"What got you thinking they exist?"
She pondered the question. She knew Tom for awhile, but she wasn't sure how much personal information she wanted to divulge to him.
Tom noticed her silence. "So, you're not going to tell me?" He had already figured the answer for himself; she wasn't as hard to read for him as she was to others. He let his arm fall to his side, and he started to put a bit of distance between them.
"My grandparents," B'Elanna said out of nowhere.
Tom allowed her to get beside him. He stayed quiet. He wasn't going to push her to tell him the rest of it; he knew it would cause her to pull away again.
"My human ones, that is. When he was younger, my grandfather use to go looking for different mythical creatures. Big Foot was one of his favorites. When he met my grandmother, he got her into it as well."
"Sounds like they were a lot of fun."
"They were. They once took my cousins and I to Lake Okanagan during the summer to look for Ogopogo."
"Did you see it?"
"Unfortunately, no. But grandpa swore that the only reason we didn't see him or her, is because the water wasn't warm enough for it to surface." Her face grew solemn.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I guess I'm just missing him a little more right now."
"He meant a lot to you?"
"They both did. But he meant just a little bit more. He passed shortly after my father left, so it was pretty hard to deal with."
"Sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. It's been over ten years. I've accepted it." She chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"I don't know. I guess the fact that I've never told that story to anyone, and yet, somehow, I feel comfortable enough to tell you. I don't really get it."
"Maybe it's because I have a very trustworthy face." He smiled at her, and she returned it.
"Yeah, she replied jokingly, "that's it."
As they continued, they noticed the trees began to look similar, and the scenery was beginning to blend together.
"Where are we?" B'Elanna asked.
"I have no idea. No worries though."
"What do you mean 'no worries'? We're lost."
"We're not lost, just misplaced. Don't concern yourself with it. We Parises have an excellent sense of direction that's been passed down from generation to generation."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to use the emergency communicator your dad gave you?"
"I suppose it would. But just give me a few hours. It's still light out."
"Fine."
They reached a little ravine and decided to take a short rest. They dropped their bags on the ground, and sat down on a fallen tree. B'Elanna sat back up, took a rope out of her bag, and started tying it between the arm loops of both bags.
"What are you doing?"
She swung the other end of the rope around an ten-foot branch. "I'm hosting these up so animals can't get to them."
"Here, let me help." Tom stood up and grabbed the rope right above B'Elanna's hands. Together, they pulled on it, until the bags were at a satisfactory height.
In the distance, they heard a roar.
B'Elanna's had turned sharply in the direction of the noise "Did you hear that?"
"Yep, I did," Tom said. "It was probably a bear."
"I know what a bear sounds like, and that wasn't a bear." A light breeze blew in their faces, and B'Elanna's face contorted. "Doesn't smell like a bear either."
"I don't smell anything."
"Lucky you."
They heard the roar again, but this time it was louder.
"I think whatever it is, it's getting closer. We should probably get out of here."
Another breeze blew in, and this time, both of them smelled the scent of old, vile musk in the air.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," B'Elanna said in a hushed tone.
"B'Elanna, what's-" Tom looked in the direction that B'Elanna was, and coming out of the trees was a tall, brown, hairy thing.
"Run," Tom said as he headed for the nearest tree.
B'Elanna didn't need too much coaxing. She followed Tom up into the tree, well out of reach of the creature.
They reached the highest branch they could, and tried to catch their breath.
"I can't believe," B'Elanna said between gasps of breath, "that we've been chased into a tree by Big Foot."
"Well," Tom replied, finally managing to speak, "now you're theory about Loch Ness and stuff doesn't sound so far-fetched."
They heard a ripping sound, and looked down to find Big Foot tearing apart their bags.
"Animals couldn't get to them, huh?" Tom mocked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to account for Big Foot."
Tom shrugged.
"Hey, Tom?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember when I asked you about the communicator before? I think now would be a good time to use it."
"Yeah." He began to fumble through his pockets. "It's in my- Oh, shit."
"You lost it?"
"No, it's in my bag."
"You mean the one that Big Foot is now ripping to shreds?"
"Yep."
"Great. Well, if we're lucky, he'll break it."
"Why would we want him to break it?"
"Because it will send a signal to your dad, and he can come rescue us."
Tom nodded.
The sky suddenly became darker, and even through the leaves, they could feel raindrops.
Thunder broke the sky's silence, lightening became the only source of light, and the rain fell down harder. It didn't take long for B'Elanna to start shaking.
Tom held his arms out. "Come here."
She stared at him questionable.
"Unless you want to be cold," he added.
She drew close to him. "You better not try anything," she warned. Hesitantly, she allowed him to pull her close to his chest. "This is just perfect. It's raining, we're stuck in a tree, and Big Foot's right underneath us."
"Well, you did manage to do one thing."
"What's that?"
"You made me a believer of Big Foot."
She laughed, her eyes slowly closing. "This is the worst hike I've ever had."
He nodded. Not to me it isn't.
-
"I'm telling you, Harry," Tom said as he and Harry walked onto the Bridge.
"Sure, Tom. And I'm the king of the universe," Harry replied sarcastically.
"Your majesty.
A/N cont.: In case you're wondering: yes, I do believe in the creatures listed above.