Disclaimer: All things Star Trek belong to CBS/Paramount. I only own my imagination.

Spoilers: The 37's. If you haven't seen it, this won't make much sense.

Author's Note: I have the ambition to keep these coming, but I also have a real life which can mess with me. It's decision time. Why are they staying on Voyager?

"You're not the first person I've heard talking like this. A lot of people are thinking about staying," B'Elanna said leaning her head on her hands.

"What about you?" Harry asked. "Don't you have some of those feelings?"

She glanced away for a moment and shrugged her shoulders. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I'm not so sure though that it would be a home for me. In fact, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't."

"Why is that?" He was a bit surprised by the lack of enthusiasm on B'Elanna's part. Aside from the war, she didn't miss much of home. Well, she didn't miss the war either, she just wished she could go back and do what she felt she had to.

"Harry, I didn't have an easy time growing up on Kessik IV. I'm not human, in case you missed that." She hesitated. "I'm not Klingon either," she murmured. "I don't anticipate these people to be any different than the ones on Kessik IV. As it is, I'd rather stay here, though I must admit that I'm not looking forward to spending 70 years with Tom Paris.

"Hey! I heard that!" Tom exclaimed as he came up to the table where Harry and B'Elanna sat with a mug in his hand.

"I was kidding. I saw you were heading this way," B'Elanna said with a small smile on her lips.

Tom grinned. "I figured," he said and sat down next to Harry.

"So Tom, have you decided what to do?" Harry asked.

Tom's eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at him. "You mean, about staying?" Harry nodded. Tom looked straight in front of him and was quiet for a moment and then he looked back at Harry and gave him a crooked smile. "I didn't think I had to decide. Staying was never an option." Both Harry and B'Elanna stared at him. "What? Who'd fly this thing?" He picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"But… I really thought you'd stay," B'Elanna said. "They don't have space travel. You'd become a hero here, developing it, teaching people to fly…"

"B'Elanna, I'm a pilot, not an engineer. A really good engineer would have to decide to stay too if we were to bring space flight to these people. I assume you have no plans on staying?" he said.

"No… No, I'm not," she answered.

"Then I won't stay either." He took another sip.

Harry looked at Tom with surprise. "You'd stay if B'Elanna did?" he asked.

"I didn't say that. I said that if I had decided to stay, I would have needed an engineer like B'Elanna to stay as well if I was going to do some good around here. Since she's not staying, that rules out any possibilities to develop space flight. Therefore I'm not staying. Not that I was thinking about it anyway."

"There are other engineers here on Voyager. One of them might stay," Harry pointed out with a smile. He enjoyed this. Tom had made a slip and he was not going to let him talking his way out of this one.

"I wasn't going to stay anyway!" Tom threw out his hands and his eyebrows shot up.

"Because B'Elanna is staying," Harry said.

"Hey you!" B'Elanna interjected. "I'm right here, on the other side of the table," she continued, looking a bit annoyed.

Tom gave her a quick glance and then he glared at Harry who smiled contently. "Are your ears always that colour? I can't remember. B'Elanna, are his ears not more red than usual?" Harry said and looked over at B'Elanna. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. A small smile crept over her face.

"Yeah, actually," she leaned forward and placed her folded arms on the table and scrutinised Tom before continuing, "they are kind of red. In fact, his neck is rather red as well."

Tom looked quite uncomfortable. "Will you stop it!" Harry and B'Elanna burst out in a laugh.

"I'm sorry Tom, but I couldn't resist it," Harry said still smiling widely. Tom gave him another glare and lifted his mug to drink some more. B'Elanna leaned back in her chair again and watched an irked Tom drink his coffee. He was staying and she was happy about that. Not because he was a really good pilot, but because he was Tom. Days would become more dull if he wasn't around. Holodeck programs would be more dull. No one would poke at her when she bottled up. She'd have no one to take out her anger at. It was still a bit strange though. He had repeatedly said he had nothing at home, no family, no friends and just like the Maquis, coming home would mean… imprisonment. Unless they could somehow jump ship when arriving in the Alpha quadrant.

"Tom, why are you staying?" she asked and leaned forward putting her arms on the table again.

"My home is here. On Voyager. The chance of finding a shortcut taking us back home is slim, next to none. The risk is there, but I'd rather stay on Voyager and live my life here, with people I know and care about. I focus on the present and I have accepted that I might end my life as an old man out here. I'd rather do that than leaving Voyager to live among strangers. They're nice people, but I'd miss this," he looked around the mess hall. "I'd miss you." He looked at Harry and B'Elanna. "I'll take my chances, hoping we won't get back home before the idea to put me and the Maquis crew in a penal colony is dead."

Harry smiled. "I'd miss you too. And Voyager." He glanced around just like Tom had moments before.

Tom leaned forward looking B'Elanna straight in the eyes. "What bout you then B'Elanna. Why aren't you staying?"

B'Elanna glanced away. "I don't belong on this world. In the long run my Klingon side would… cause problems. It always does."

"With that kind of reasoning you don't belong here either." Tom kept looking at her trying to catch her eyes.

"It's been better than I thought it would be. I mean here on Voyager. I'm also taking my chances, hoping it'll take a while before we come home. This is not a bad life." She laughed nervously. "I don't have to worry about fashion." She was silent again and lifted her eyes and met Tom's gaze, tilted her head and raised her chin slightly. "And I have my friends here."

Tom smiled gently. "I'm glad you're staying." He turned and looked at Harry. "It'd be pretty dark here if we didn't have this fluorescent ensign here too," he smiled.

"I'm not that green any more," Harry retorted.

"No, it's more of a spring green these days," Tom teased.

"You just wait. In a few years, when you're beginning to struggle with that belly, you're going to envy me being younger than you," Harry said triumphantly. B'Elanna laughed.

"Oh, I'm going to whip your ass in the gym even when I'm 60!" Tom huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see about that." Harry paused. "Well guys, it's time. Break's over."

They rose from their seats, picking up their mugs heading for the doors. After disposing of the mugs Tom elbowed Harry who tripped Tom in response. Tom managed to keep his balance and B'Elanna half-turned and said, "Children, behave yourself."

Tom and Harry grinned. "Yes ma'am!" they responded in a chorus. B'Elanna smiled and shook her head and continued out through the doors.