=/\=

"Great party, Neelix!"

"A happy occasion always brings out the best in this morale officer, don't you agree, Tom? What did you like best?"

"That Bajoran hors d'oeuvre, hasperat? You did a great job with that. All the food was really top notch." Tom chose not to mention that the entire menu had been catered via the replicator, with nary a Delta Quadrant selection in sight, as he accepted a piece of Jor and Tabor's wedding cake from Naomi. "How are you going to top yourself for Amanda and Brian's wedding next week?"

"We've got a wonderful menu planned. Larsson is Swedish, and Lang comes from New Orleans, so we're going to blend Scandinavian and Cajun foods. I'm really looking forward to that combination."

"Hmm. Interesting. Swedish meatballs and crawfish étouffée? That would be quite a combination."

"Why, yes, Tom. We're having both of those dishes. I never knew you were so familiar with ethnic cooking."

"Neelix, I was raised in San Francisco. You can get just about anything there. Even hasperat! There's this great Bajoran place down by Fisherman's Wharf. They even make a soufflé from hasperat. Absolutely delicious."

"Really? That sounds great! I wonder if I can add a little Delta Quadrant flair to my own version of that soufflé . . . "

"You'd better lay off too much of that cake, Tom. Your midsection is already showing signs of a sympathetic pregnancy belly," B'Elanna advised, swooping in between her husband and Neelix. Snagging a bit of frosting with her pinkie, she lapped it up with a rather suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.

"One piece is my limit, Chief. Neelix and I were just talking about next week's big affair. Neelix has a fascinating menu planned."

"Wonderful."

"I was really disappointed you wanted such a small affair when the two of you 'tied the old knot,' as the old Earth saying goes. I've been studying up on Alpha Quadrant slang, you know. I want to be ready once we get there! You know, I would have loved to make a banana pancake wedding cake for you, B'Elanna. With chocolate frosting, maybe?"

"Perhaps for another occasion, like our little girl's first birthday party?"

"Wonderful! I'll make a note of it. Excuse me, but I think I have to add a little more 'bubbly' to the beverage fountain." Patting Tom on the back and nodding to B'Elanna, Neelix stepped away to do his duty as caterer and maître d' for the wedding reception.

"A banana pancake birthday cake?"

"Actually, it might be really good. When Neelix works the replicator for his dishes, they're usually first rate. Surely you've noticed. You ate enough of that hasperat."

Tom chuckled. "That I did."

B'Elanna licked a last bit of frosting from Tom's plate and sighed contentedly. She'd had only a tiny slice of cake herself, and she was peeved when she saw her piece didn't have any frosting on it at all. Slipping her arm underneath her husband's, she said in a very low voice, and with a serious edge, "After the meeting yesterday, I was really in the mood for a party to cheer me up."

"It was good news for Harry and Seven, at least. They can move on to the next baby-making step. Not that 'sperm donor' will be quite as much fun for Harry as it was for me."

"True. Rolling around in bed is lots more fun than filling up a test tube! I just wish Seven would finally decide to marry Harry. The captain looked really frustrated when Seven insisted she wanted to have her baby in her arms before consenting to any change in their relationship status. You know, Tom, if anyone else but Seven took that position, the captain would have withdrawn permission right there."

"It's odd, but I think something else was going on that we don't know about. The captain kept looking over at Icheb when Seven was telling her she wanted a baby but didn't want to get married yet. Maybe Icheb made some sort of deal with the captain. I can't put my finger on what it could be, though. Icheb isn't spilling." Tom decided not to mention his suspicion that the other subject of the meeting, which stunned the team when Icheb revealed the weapon he'd created, could easily be the source of that deal.

B'Elanna sighed. "Poor Harry. I know he's afraid she'll never marry him."

"I have a hunch she will, though. Eventually. Seven can be impulsive and take matters into her own hands, but I'm sure she feels something with Harry that she doesn't have with anyone else. Her single-mindedness is a carryover from her Borg days. Harry says Seven often needs to see something happen in a very concrete way before realizing just how she does feel about something."

"I hope you're right, Tom. He'll be devastated if she drops him after the baby arrives."

"You know Harry, the Upstanding One. He says he'll still be the father and stay close, no matter what his relationship is with Seven."

"If she lets him."

"As Naomi likes to say, 'It's a small ship.' I don't know how she'll be able to stop him from being close to his own kid!"

"I guess you're right. It is hard to get away from anyone else on Voyager unless you hide out in your own quarters."

"Spaeaking of which . . . we could adjourn to our quarters. Or maybe we could hook one more slice of cake to share inside the Delta Flyer. 'Whattaya say we bust outta here,' Chief?"

"Gangster movies on the television again, Tom?"

"Maybe a few."

"Well, okay. 'Let's split this joint in two and get out of this burg.' Or something like that."

Tom laughed. "Something like that, sure. But first, cake."

=/\=