Chapter 10

It had been one year since they had landed on New Terra, and all the homes had been built. Even Tom's, but he still hadn't moved in, preferring to stay with his parents. He had yet to get any furniture and the house was bare. They had expanded the clinic so it included a twenty bed hospital. Not that they had needed any hospital for any accidents. But it was there if anything happened. They had also built a sort of town hall for administration duties. There was a mayor's office, and an office for the security of the colony. Tuvok had set up a crew of ten of his former security officers to help, but again, they had no problems, so they were more like a volunteer office.

Kathryn had been pleased at how well they had settled in. They still felt like a large extended family, and everyone worked well together. She was proud of the way they all worked to keep a well ordered colony. Chakotay was also pleased that the Maquis had so easily settled into the colony. It reminded him of his old days on his home colony in the AQ.

They had built a large storage for the wild grain and had even built a mill to grind the grain into flour. They had set it up by the river to take advantage of the flowing water. The large water wheel had been Tom's idea, taken from the late nineteenth century. He had shown them the plans and explained that even though it seemed old fashion, it could run with little supervision. They had taken two days to decide to build it, and now the Wheel was using the power of the river to grind the wheat to flour.

They also had a very good crop of vegetables planted. Most of the people had also planted personal gardens, and they knew they had enough to go around. The Delaney twins has shown an aptitude in gardening, and had helped the others with theirs. They had giggled and laughed as they worked, telling stories of when they were girls and how their mother had forced them to work in the garden. Tom had helped them plant a good size garden for his mom and Chakotay. They had planted tomatoes, cucumbers,melons,lettuce,beans,carrots and potatoes. It was thriving as all the things they had planted. The soil was good for growing...all except leota root, much to the relief of all but Neelix.

Many of the crew had paired off, and there had been three weddings since they had arrived. The first was Kathryn and Chakotay seven months ago, and five months ago, Joe Carey and Samantha Wildman had tied the knot. Naomi had been thrilled, as she loved Joe and, never having seen her real dad, she had latched onto Joe even before they had stopped. And then last month, two of the members of Engineering had married. Several were dating. Harry was seeing a lot of Megan Delaney, and Tom and B'Elanna had been getting closer.

Tom stood up from the ground and looked down at his handiwork. He had been planting some tomato plants while Jenny and Megan were weeding. He brushed a stray lock of hair off his forehead. Since they'd been here, he'd spend a lot more time out in the sunshine, and his hair had lighten a lot. On the ship, it had been a dark blond boarding on light brown, but now he had lighten up considerably, more blond then light brown. It was a little longer too, so it curled around his neck and ears, and had a tendency to fall over his forehead. His blue eyes matched the blue of the sky, and always seemed to sparkle.

"So, ladies, what do you think? Do my plants look healthy or what?"

He grinned at them as they finished up the weeding they were doing and sat back on their heals. Jenny laughed and said

"You know Tom, you are a jack of all trades. A pilot, a furniture maker, a planter, and... a fair baseball player."

"Hey, I'll have you know I am the best baseball player you'll ever see!"

He grinned at her and continued

"Didn't you see that home run I hit the other day? It was perfection!"

He began to strut a bit, and both sisters burst out laughing. They loved seeing Tom this way. He was so relaxed and open now, with them, and they were determined to get him to open up to everyone. Most of the crew had taken to trying to get the young man to open up and relax more, and for the most part he had, but not as much as they would have like. He always seem to pull back at the last moment, as if remembering something and he'd become either embarrassed or quite and withdrawn. It seemed that only with his close friends was he able to be himself.

They left the garden and went to sit on the chairs that were sitting under the large shade tree in the back yard of the house. The little kitten who had been playing in the grass came over and began batting at Tom's fingers as he let his hand hang down over the chair's arm. Jenny and Megan smiled as they watched Tom play with the kitten. The weather was great and they started to talk about the evening's festivities.

"I'm really looking forward to tonight's celebration, what about you Tom?"

He smiled and, picking up the kitten, he said

"Me too. B'Elanna and I are in charge of a couple of the booths, and she's looking forward to running the ring toss."

"That should be fun, I can hardly wait. Harry and his band The Kim-Tones are going to be playing, so I'll be tagging along with Jenny and Ken."

"Which booth are you manning Tom?"

"Why the shooting booth of course!"

He looked at them both as if it was understood. They smirked at him just as Kathryn came out the back door and said

"How would you three like to have some lunch? We have plenty."

Both Jenny and Megan stood and said

"Thanks, but we promised to join Harry and Ken for lunch today. They promised us a surprise this afternoon."

Jenny said with a smile. It was obvious she was in love with Ken, and Kathryn was sure there was a wedding coming up. The twins smiled and said goodbye, and left for the dining hall. Kathryn looked at Tom and said

"I guess it's just going to be the three of us for lunch then."

Tom nodded and said

"I guess so."

He stood and put the kitten down, who immediately chased after a small flying bug and walked inside with her and said

"Well, what have you been up to this morning while we worked on your garden?"

"I've been working on the security grid that Chakotay and Tuvok came up with."

The colony had decided to set up an orbital system that would help by scanning the system they were in. The system was made up with four planets of which they were on the third one, and they had decided they needed some sort of warning system in case any space faring races were to drop by. They hadn't seen any evidence of any lifeforms in this area of space before they had needed to stop, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Tom had already flown to the other planets with a team, and they had found no higher lifeforms on the other planets. They seemed to be alone, but Tuvok had thought it a good idea to set up the scanners just in case. They also had set up a long range communication system so they would be able to communicate with anyone who came along, which Kathryn hoped would be friendly.

They were now inside, and after Tom has cleaned up a bit, they both sat down at the table to wait for Chakotay to come home for lunch. Kathryn had made sandwiches and fruit for lunch. Tom had taught her some simple recipes, and even though she really didn't like cooking, she was getting better with it. He and Chakotay still did the lion's share of the cooking. But things like sandwiches and cutting up fruit she could do easily. They had teased her often about her lack of cooking skills, but she had taken it in stride, saying why should she cook when she had two perfectly good chefs in her home. But they didn't mind, they both loved cooking for her.

"What's dad and Tuvok up to today?"

Tom had reached for a slice of the apple type fruit and took a bite. It was sweet, and he loved them. His mom looked at him and said

"They are putting the finishing touches on the first satellite, and then tomorrow, I want you to take the Flyer up and launch it into orbit. We want to test it and if it works, we'll launch three more. They should give us plenty of warning if any ships should enter the system."

He knew that she worried a bit about hostile aliens, and he couldn't blame her. This planet had become home now, and none of them wanted any trouble. If need be though, they still had Voyager, and even though there was no more warp drive, they still had impulse, and weapons. He hoped it would never come to that. Neelix had said that this section of the DQ was off the beaten path and that he was unaware of it being near any shipping lanes, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

They heard the front door open, and Chakotay walked in looking satisfied. Kathryn stood and kissed him and said

"You look like you've had a good morning. Did the tests go well?"

He had gone to the sink and washed his hands before he said

"Everything checked out fine."

He sat down and took a sandwich and some fruit onto his plate before continuing

"Tuvok thinks we should launch it today."

He took a bite of the sandwich and then turned to Tom and said

"We thought maybe you could take it up this afternoon in the Flyer and launch it."

"Sure, dad, no problem I'll take Harry and we can get it launched this afternoon."

He had finished his first sandwich and had reached for another. Chakotay grinned as he watched his step son eat. He loved grilled cheese sandwiches, and it was one of his favorite foods. Comfort food he called it, and seeing the look on his face it was comforting. Chakotay looked at his wife and they both smiled.

"So, Tom, are you ready for the celebration tonight? You and B'Elanna are manning a couple of the booth aren't you?"

Tom looked up at his step dad and grinned

"Yeah, she's doing the ring toss, and I'm taking care of the shooting gallery. Oh, and Harry and his band are going to be playing some music for us. It will be just like the old nineteenth century summer evening in the park. They use to have a bandstand, and people would come with picnic dinners and listen to the music and enjoy the night stars. It was great fun for all."

He was looking at his parents now with the look of a boy looking forward to his first outing. They loved that look. It was a look that filled their hearts with warmth and joy. Tom had completely let his walls down when he was with them. This was the real Tom, the one that should have been. That had been meant to be. They just wished they could get him to let the walls down for everyone. Even his closest friends never saw this Tom. This Tom was only for his parents. And he only showed it to his parents.

Tom was going through pre flight checks, as Harry boarded the Flyer.

"Hey, Tom, you ready?"

Harry called. He joined Tom who said

"Yup, all ready to go. We'll have that baby in orbit in no time."

He turned and grinned at him and said

"Strap in and lets get this show on the road!"

They got strapped in and Tom gracefully lifted off and within minutes, they were in orbit. They released the satellite and watched it pull away from them. Then Harry tested the sensors. They seemed to be working

"I've got a reading coming in. The second planet is reading now."

He looked up and grinned as he continued

"It's working. We have a reading of the planet. I'm going to check with the service."

He was excited about the success and called the service and said

"Delta Flyer to New Terra, it's bringing in readings from the second planet, how's it doing down there?"

Tuvok's stoic voice came over the link and replied

"Sensor readings are coming in strong, Mr. Kim. I am going to switch position and see if it scans the fourth planet."

There was a moment of silence, and then they heard Tuvok again.

"It seems to be reading the planet. What readings are you getting up there?"

Harry checked and smiled

"It's coming through up here too. I think it's a success. We can begin the other three satellites tomorrow. Once we get them positioned, we'll be able to scan in all directions."

Both of them in the Flyer beamed, and they heard Tuvok say

"Good work gentleman. Now return and we will be able to monitor the orbit tonight to make sure it stabilizes."

Tom began reentry, and within a few minutes, he had glided in and gently landed the Flyer. They shut down the engines and left to the congratulations of the group at communications.

The night had gone well. Everyone had enjoyed the carnival like setting and had played and eaten till they could do no more. Harry and his band had been a hit, and now most had gone home for a quite night.

Tom and B'Elanna were sitting on the bench in the square in front of the fountain. The sound of the water was soothing and they were in each others embrace. Tom was softly humming as he ran his fingers gently up and down her arm. They had been getting closer and he felt like he was falling in love with her. He hoped she felt for him as he did for her. She was so beautiful, and he could see himself spending the rest of his life with this woman. She kept him on his toes, but the best thing was she laughed at his jokes.

He knew that his parents were in favor of this relationship. He had talked to them about his feelings, and they both thought it was a good idea to start to get to know each other better. He had been a little afraid at first. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she didn't want to get closer? And the worst was what if she wanted someone else? He knew if she did, it would break his heart.

He still suffered from the idea that he was less that he should be. He sometimes still believed that he was not liked, and when he got those feelings, he had to kick himself and tell himself that he was liked. People he would never had believed would have become his friends had. He and Ken had become really close, and Ken had been one of the worst in the beginning of the trip home, always taunting him. But Ken had come to him soon after they settled on New Terra and apologized for how he had treated him, and they had become good friends. More and more of the crew had done the same thing and he now had more friends than he'd ever had

He had asked his mother not to long after they settled here if she thought that the crew had warmed up to him because they now knew he was her son. She had seen the look of despair on his face and had taken him into her arms and hugged him and told him that he was liked for who he was, not because he was her son. She had rocked him in her arms and let him know he was a gentle and compassionate man, and now that he was less likely to put up his defenses, the crew were seeing him as he really was and they couldn't help but like him. He had told her that he had few friends growing up because his father never liked his friends, and most of them never stuck around. She grieved at the thought of a lonely boy and they had sat there for minuets as she hugged him. He so craved the physical contact, and she was happy to give it as she was a tactile person.

He was brought out of his thinking when B'Elanna said

"Tom, did you have a good time tonight?"

He sighed and said

"It was great. I loved it. It reminded me of that old vid we watched the other night, about how the town always got together to have a good time with the band in the park...remember?"

"You mean that one about the summertime?"

"Yeah, that one. It's one of my favorites."

They were quite for a moment and then Tom said

"I was thinking...maybe we could go for a walk tomorrow night along the river? We could watch the moon rise and sorta stargaze?"

He sounded a little hesitant, but B'Elanna was enjoying his company so much that she said dreamily

"I'd love to, Tom. It sounds so nice to just walk along the river and then find a nice little corner to watch the moon and stars. We may not be out among them anymore, but I'm happy here and I hope you are too. Tom, I really enjoy spending time with you."

She finished and turned to look at his face as the dim lights of the square played off it. She saw the look of astonishment and then the silliest grin came across his face. She smiled and gently leaned in and kissed him lightly on his lips. He tighten his grip on her as he returned the kiss. Then, they both just cuddled together as they watched the stars, the sound of the fountain gently trickling in the background.

TCB