"I don't want to hear it."
"But I'm really sorry."
"You are always really sorry. And I'm really tired of it." B'Elanna shoved the remains of what was supposed to be their dinner in the reclaimator after having waited two hours for him. Enough was enough.
"What can I do to make this up to you?" Tom asked. His hair was mussed and he was still sweaty from whatever it was he had been doing in the holodeck.
"Nothing. You will do nothing," She said turning around to face him. "Don't talk to me. Just leave me alone. I don't want to be around you." She raised her hands, palms outward as a warning to not come any closer even though he made no move toward her. After a moment's hesitation, he cleared his throat.
"That's going to be a bit difficult. We are supposed to go to that reception on the planet tomorrow…" he began. She immediately cut him off.
"We will still going but you and I will go separately. I was asked by one of the delegates to be his guest tomorrow and I am going to tell him yes." Like almost every other decision in her life, she made that one on the spur of the moment. In reality, she thought the alien visitor annoying but Tom didn't need to know that.
"You are kidding?" Tom asked. B'Elanna set her face like flint. "Please tell me you're not serious."
"I am serious. His name is Matev and he was most attentive today while the delegation was touring engineering. Asked me a lot of questions and seemed fascinated by my background."
"So I am supposed to go to the planet and just sit back while you spend the evening with this….Matev?"
"Yes," B'Elanna said."I'm sure HE won't keep me waiting." She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She had spent a fair amount of time planning this evening and had even worn that blue dress that he liked. She sighed to herself. It was all for nothing. She caught his eyes in the reflection.
"You look really nice," He said. His voice sounded forlorn. He did look sorry but she had to keep that voice and those eyes away from her heartstrings.
"I'm going to look even better tomorrow night," She said. This time was determined to teach him a lesson he would not forget.
-00-
Smiling at the handsome Ligerian delegate B'Elanna deliberately shifted position so Tom could see her face. With a slight smirk, she raised her glass and looked straight into his eyes. She was taunting him. On purpose. Her attention immediately returned to her escort for the evening.
Stunning was the only way to describe her. She was wearing that black dress. Absolutely classy. She had often dressed up for Tom but she had never gone this far. She was wearing jewelry, something she rarely did. A set of pearls around her neck, a gold bracelet, an elaborate yet tasteful Klingon brooch and earrings. The Ligerians, in the process of breaking from a painful warring past, requested that there be no uniforms worn for this event. The Voyager delegation complied. Tom admitted they all did look nice when they made an effort. Captain Janeway wore a long green dress and a well turned out Chakotay was by her side. Harry had let his hair down, literally, and a Ligerian woman was hanging onto his every word, much to his delight and Tom's amusement. Even Neelix had taken the advice of wearing a solid color outfit. True, it was a bright turquoise but it suited him. He was over on the other side of the large room chatting with two senior Ligerian officials about the wonderful food sources available on this planet. Tuvok, Seven, and the Doctor were not present. It seemed the Vulcan and the former Drone were a bit too reticent for the talkative Ligerians. The Doctor, on the other hand, was a bit too chatty.
And then there was B'Elanna. On the other side of the room with someone else. She kept her attention on her host but occasionally allowed her eyes to stray over to Tom. The dark haired humanoid's good looks added to Tom's pain. The man's face was finely sculpted and his mannerisms too perfect. His attention was completely fixed on her. Tom never thought of B'Elanna as a sadist but there she was not only watching him suffer but enjoying it. Try as he might he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her. He deserved it. The rest of the crew was amused at his expense. He resigned himself to accepting his punishment and being miserable for the rest of the evening.
B'Elanna's gaze turned back toward him. The smirk disappeared as a premature scowl started to cross her face.
"Ensign Paris?" He turned to look into the eyes of a very pretty Ligerian woman. Her wide set eyes were dark opals. Her hair was long and dark, the same as the rest of the Ligerians, male and female, a sort of reflective deep chocolate brown. She was carrying two drinks.
"Yes?" He responded politely.
"I understand you pilot the ship? I'm a pilot, but now I just operate one of the planet hovercrafts. I have dreams of spaceflight. In a few days, I'm going to start training for orbital missions. I'm a bit nervous about it," She said. She held up a glass clearing indicating that he should take it.
He considered the ramifications of the moment. B'Elanna had set no limitations on him, just that she would not be with him this evening. He was under no obligation not to enjoy himself. Why should he stand back and act like a whipped puppy all evening? If she were free to enjoy the company of someone else then he would as well. He took one of the proffered drinks. He deliberately turned toward B'Elanna knowing she was still looking in his direction. Taking a long drink from the glass he returned her smirk, raised his glass in her direction and then directed his attention back to the Ligerian woman.
-00-
Later that evening while sitting beside the friendly alien at dinner B'Elanna did her best to look interested as Matev prattled on while she fumed inside. The man was good looking and was polite to a fault. She had intended to spend the evening giving him her attention, pretending to be interested in whatever he wished to talk about while at the same time making sure Tom was miserable. Tom needed to be taught a lesson. This evening was intended to force him to undergo penance and reflect on his bad behavior. She hadn't counted on the fact that the same genetics that made these men so handsome was also responsible for those beautiful women and it was only natural that one of those beautiful women would see Tom alone and decided he needed company. Her plan had fallen apart.
Matev kept going on and on praising the fertility of Ligeria. The various climate zones of the planet were perfect for agriculture. They were the go-to place whenever any other civilization in the sector underwent famine or any kind of natural disaster. The table before them was piled high with food. Voyager's crew knew not to complain about their normal fare but new foods were always welcome and the friendly LIgerians were more than eager to share. She responded with polite nods and smiles surreptitiously glancing down the table at Tom. The woman with him waved her arms about as she told a story. Tom joined in with a tale of his own. Everyone around them laughed, Tom included. It was a real laugh. Not a show off fake laugh that people sometimes resorted to in an effort to hide the fact that they were hurting or putting on a false front. He was actually having a good time, damn it. What was worse was the rest of the Voyager delegation knew full well what she had tried to do and that her attempt had failed.
How would he react if he showed up for a date and she was off doing something else? She reflected on that for a moment. She had nothing like that in her life. She had no time for a hobby. She had work and she had Tom. She read romance novels when she had a spare moment but that wasn't the same. She needed something else. Something of her own.
-00-
The young woman's name was Sapiro. All she talked about was flying. She waved her hands about as she described a youthful joyride which ended with her crashing her father's shuttle. Tom related his own story of ditching his father's craft into a lake. Everyone around them laughed aloud.
B'Elanna's attention was focused on Matev but Tom chanced a glance in her direction. Their eyes met for a brief moment and then they both immediately looked away.
He was acting like a cad. B'Elanna was in the right and everyone knew it. He should have just accepted his figurative forty lashes and sent Sapiro on her way. The reason they weren't together at this moment was his fault. He hadn't shown up when he said he would...again. He had no excuse. That was just the way he was. When he became interested in a thing it would become the driving force of his life for an intense period of time. He would give it his all to the point of obsession. It was an ongoing problem since childhood. His father tried to break him of it but nothing he did worked. Maybe there was something wrong with him.
-00-
After dinner, they took a short tour of their main museum. It was a beautiful place. Their paintings and sculpture were minimalistic but very pretty. Matev would not leave B'Elanna's side. He walked slowly around the exhibits with her taking the time to explain each piece of work in detail. It was interesting to learn about other cultures and he was very knowledgeable but she realized she would much rather be exploring all this with Tom. He was at that moment on the other side of the room with the pretty Ligerian woman listening intently as she explained the artwork to him. This evening and the whole failed personal mission were over as far as she was concerned but she was still determined that after this was over things would not go back to the way things were. Somehow that cycle had to be broken but for now and she would do something about it as soon as she got back to the ship but for now, she had to suffer through the next half hour.
"There is a beautiful mural on the wall down this corridor," He said. "Would you like to see it?"
"Or course," She replied. Might as well.
The corridor was long and closed off. Up against one side sculptures stood in curtained alcoves while on the other side a mural took up the whole wall. It was a large elaborate representation of the Ligerian planet. It was breathtaking. It was similar to earth except there was more greenery and their oceans were smaller.
"This was based on an image taken by one of our first space explorers. It was the first time we saw how our planet as it looks in space." Matev seemed very proud of it.
"It's beautiful," B'Elanna said. It was true. It was a gorgeous picture. A long time ago when she was younger she had liked to draw and sketch things. Her talent was adequate enough. She could draw things passable enough for her own amusement. Maybe….
Stepping closer to examine it she suddenly felt herself being dragged from behind. A hand clamped over her mouth and she felt a stab of something in her neck. Someone was trying to sedate her. She felt herself being pulled backward and she realized she was being taken around a sculpture and through the curtain behind it. She felt a gag put in place before she could cry out. The instinct to struggle kicked in but at that moment she was thrown over the shoulder of someone and taken into a darkened space.