Synopsis: Set during various periods of time post-"Endgame."

Miral Paris, the daughter of B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris, and her friend Andrew Kim, the son of Harry Kim, are preparing to enter Starfleet Academy. But after eighteen years of friendship, things between them are starting to change – and their parents struggle to deal with what that means for the future.

Chapter 10: Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy, 2399

The long summer was finally over, and the grounds of Starfleet Academy were once again populated with its full complement of cadets. Miral Paris and her roommate Teodora Walsingham had extended their stay at the medical facility on Quebec Outpost Two until the last possible moment, arriving back in San Francisco only one day before their new semester was scheduled to begin. Their time off-campus had been productive and enlightening for both of them, but for separate reasons each had avoided returning home earlier than was necessary. Teddy wanted to finish a research project she'd begun in order to receive full academic credit for it, and she'd only completed it the day before hopping a ship for Earth with Miral's help and a few all-nighters. Miral had lingered at the outpost longer than was necessary in part to help Teddy and because she enjoyed her company, but mostly because she was avoiding returning to the place where she knew she'd be faced with her demons.

Once she and Teddy were transported to the surface, she stood still for a moment, looking around the grounds, mentally preparing herself. For Teddy returning to the Academy meant reuniting with her girlfriend, whom Miral knew she had missed terribly. For Miral it meant Andrew, her father, Andrew's father, their friends, and a whole smattering of other people who probably knew about their break-up and would have a lot of questions to ask.

Sensing Miral's anxiety, Teddy put an easy hand on her shoulder. "I'll walk you to the dormitory," she offered. "Do you have your new room assignment yet?"

Miral nodded and took a deep breath. Funny how Survival Strategies and various tactical simulations failed to shake her, but the mere thought of seeing Andrew was making her nervous.

"Isabelle and I made dinner plans," Teddy continued as they headed across campus toward the dormitories. "Otherwise, I'd stay with you until you talk to him."

"Until?"

"Miral, you have to talk to him."

"How do you even know he's here?" Miral asked. "Classes don't begin until tomorrow. He could still be en route. Or he could be at his parents'."

Teddy shook her head. "He sent you a message yesterday. Didn't you read it?"

"No," Miral admitted. "Did you?"

"Only by accident," Teddy confessed. "Don't be angry. When I saw that it was from San Francisco, I thought it was Izzy."

"Right," Miral said with total disbelief. Somehow, though, she couldn't muster the strength to be angry. "Well, what did he have to say?"

"That he thinks you two need to have a talk. And I agree."

"Teddy, stay out of it."

"Well, what are you going to do? Avoid him for the next year?"

"Maybe."

"And what about all your friends?"

"He can have them. Soraya only sent me three messages all summer anyway."

Teddy rolled her eyes. "You're acting like a child, Paris. I've never seen you like this before." A thought occurred to her. "This is about the bartender, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Teddy."

"Okay, okay." She opened the door to the dormitory and followed Miral inside.

Miral marched down the hall with her usual confident stride to her new room for the year. Then she turned in the doorway. "Hey Teddy? I really want to meet Isabelle," she said sincerely.

"I want you to meet her. But not tonight, okay?"

"Breakfast tomorrow morning before the opening convocation?"

Teddy nodded. "We'll meet you in the cafeteria at 0730. And, Paris, don't sit in your room sulking all night."

Dormitory Room of Cadet Andrew Kim

"Hanson!" Andrew called happily as he embraced his friend. "How was your summer?"

"Pretty uneventful," Hanson said. "Except the part where I finally told Soraya I have feelings for her."

"You did?" Andrew asked with disbelief. "Come in. Sit down." He opened his door further, admitting Hanson, who walked in and stood in the middle of the room. Andrew sat on his bed and waited to hear what he'd missed all summer.

"Drew," Hanson began as a smile erupted across his face, "I can't believe I ever said I wasn't serious all those times I teased her about fantasizing about her. It's great. She's great."

"I'm happy for you," Andrew said honestly. "Where is she? I only heard from her three or four times all summer."

"She's in her room unpacking. She told me to get you. Since curfew doesn't begin until tomorrow, she wants to go out tonight. Do you feel up to it?"

Andrew nodded. "If there's one thing that changed about me this summer, it's that I am definitely up for anything."

"Great. Get out of your uniform, though. We're going to a nightclub in Cozumel, and Soraya says they'll only serve you synthehol if you're in uniform. Come to my room when you're ready." Hanson started to leave but paused in the doorway and turned back. "Hey, what about Miral?"

"Let's leave her out of this, okay?"

"Is everything all right with you two?"

"It's just fine," Andrew lied. "I'll be down to your room in a few minutes."

After Hanson left, Andrew looked through the roster to find Olnar's new room assignment and then decided to pay him a visit. Olnar had been such fun company on the starbase that he thought Soraya and Hanson would like him as an addition to their group excursion.

He'd left his room in such haste that the door was open. When he returned a few minutes later, he saw Miral Paris sitting on his bed. His good mood immediately faded.

"Hi," she said simply.

"Hi," he echoed. He sat down at his desk chair, keeping a fair distance between them. "I didn't think I'd see you. You didn't answer any of my messages."

"I know."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Andrew said, "Is there something you want? I was getting ready to go out."

Miral looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have intruded on you." She started for the door but hesitated before opening it again. "This was a mistake," she realized aloud. The revelation washed over along with a mixture of other emotions – sadness, embarrassment, discomfort – that she'd never before experienced in Andrew's presence. Her confidence shattered, she backed out the door quickly and pulled it closed behind her.

Andrew watched the door shut with a kind of detached wonder. Then he threw off his uniform and changed into pants and a tunic. He hurried to meet his friends, dismissing any thoughts of Miral Paris from his mind.

Torres-Paris Family Residence

Tom and B'Elanna sat at opposite ends of the sofa in silence. He was reworking the specifications on the Voyager twenty-fifth anniversary holoprogram – which was already behind schedule, thanks to the doctor's blossoming romance with a blonde soprano he'd recently met. B'Elanna claimed she was reading the latest perimeter defense report from the High Council, a small lie Tom graciously accepted as he had for the past twenty years.

Their domestic tranquility was shattered when the door to the house burst open, admitting Miral. She slammed it behind her and stormed past them in the direction of her old bedroom.

B'Elanna looked over at Tom with some curiosity. "What was that?"

"I think it was your daughter," he replied, sitting upright and tossing his padd on the coffee table. "And she looked upset." He turned to her. "I think it's a job for her mother."

B'Elanna shook her head firmly. "If she wanted to talk to us, she would have. No, she must have come home because she wanted to be alone."

"And she couldn't be alone in her dorm room?"

"Apparently not," B'Elanna said. "Which must mean the problem is in the dorm."

Their eyes met as they realized it at the same time. "Andrew."

Tom twisted to look over his shoulder toward the corridor, but he felt B'Elanna's warm hand on his knee. "Leave her alone," she cautioned.

He reluctantly picked up his padd and began working again. B'Elanna settled back into the couch, confident that Miral would come talk to them if and when she was ready.

Miral didn't go to her bedroom. She needed to talk to someone, and ordinarily that person would be Andrew. She couldn't talk to Teddy – Miral recognized that her own problems did not outweigh her friend's need for a reunion with her girlfriend. And she also couldn't talk to Soraya, who was physically unavailable at the moment but who, more importantly, she thought had decamped to Andrew's side. That left her one choice for a confidant.

"L'Naan," she declared as she entered her sister's room.

"Hi – what are you doing here?"

Miral flung herself on the bed. "Am I bothering you?"

"Since when do you care about that?"

Ouch, little sister. Am I that self-absorbed? "I guess since now."

"All right," L'Naan said, setting aside the book she was reading and making her way to the bed. "It's nice to see you after three months."

"You, too, little sis," Miral admitted. "How's Grandpa T?"

L'Naan shrugged slightly. "He's okay. A doctor visits him every day, and he can't get much exercise. I spend most of my time reading him stories out loud or listening to him tell me about Mom when she was little. He misses you. You should send him a message."

Miral nodded. "I will, I promise." She impulsively hugged her sister. "I missed you."

"So did I. What's on your mind?"

"I cheated on Andrew." The confession felt good as it flew out of her mouth.

"I know," L'Naan said quietly. When Miral's eyes met hers with confusion, she explained, "The bartender. You wrote me about how it felt to flirt with him. I knew there was more to the story."

"Oh." Miral sat up. "He sent me a message yesterday that said he thought we needed to talk. Andrew, not the bartender."

"And?"

"And I didn't respond. So I went to his room tonight, and he was…he was so cold, L'Naan. I've never seen him like that. He wasn't hurt or angry, just completely…apathetic. That was the worst part."

L'Naan listened, observing Miral's facial expressions to guide her response. "And that made you upset."

Miral nodded. "If he was angry, we could have had a fight and fixed this. But instead, he's acting like he just doesn't even care if I exist. He said he was going out, so I left." She paused for a moment while she traced the pattern on L'Naan's bedspread. Then she looked up at L'Naan to confess the last part – the worst part. "I think it's over between us."

As much as she hated hearing that the relationship between her sister and dear friend might be finished, L'Naan suspected Miral didn't need gushing denial. She needed a strong shoulder to lean on. "And if it is?"

"I know it was my idea to stay on Quebec, and I know I should have talked with him about my decision. And it was really, really stupid of me to sleep with that bartender. It all made sense at the time. But, L'Naan, if we're over, I don't know how I'm going to handle the next year."

L'Naan slowly put her arms around her sister, and Miral accepted the hug. As they sat on the bed, hugging and rocking slightly, Miral did something she didn't do very often: she started to cry.

Mexico, Cozumel, Disco des Diablos

"What are you drinking?" Hanson shouted to Soraya over the loud music of the club. "That looks like orange juice. There'd better be some vodka in it!"

"It is orange juice," she shouted back. "I know what'll happen if you stay sober and I get drunk."

Their conversation was interrupted when Andrew reached his hand between them to grab his drink from the bar. As he took a sip of his whiskey and looked around the crowded nightclub, it occurred to him that this wasn't turning out to be as fun as he thought it would be.

"Where's your friend?" Soraya asked in his ear.

Andrew pointed out the dance floor, where Olnar had found an Andorian dance partner and seemed to be having the time of his life. I wish I was having that much fun.

"Why don't you go dance with someone?" she suggested.

Andrew looked at her carefully. She had a double reason for suggesting it, and he knew it. As much as she wanted him to lighten up, she wanted to be alone with Hanson. If there was anything worse than being a third nacelle, it was being a third nacelle to a new couple when he'd just had his heart broken. He set his drink back down on the bar and moved into the crowd, determined to shrug off at least some of the gloominess that had overtaken him.

Summoning some of the charm and courage he'd had at Starbase 74, Andrew gazed around the crowd until he found a lanky brunette who happened to make eye contact. He smiled slightly and offered her his hand, which she accepted, and he led her onto the dance floor just as the music changed tempo.

A slow dance. Great. He plastered a smile on his face and took the brunette in his arms. She was faceless to him, but at least she was a pretty good dancer. It was slightly awkward to hold a strange woman in his arms, but her timing and rhythm soon put him at ease.

"What's your name?" he murmured in her ear.

"Felicia," she replied.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Andrew."

"You're a good dancer, Andrew."

"I was going to say the same thing to you," he admitted.

They lapsed into silence until the song ended. As the beat of the music quickened again, they looked at each other, unsure of the next move.

"Thanks for the dance," she said. "I'm going to go find my friends."

Andrew nodded and retreated to the corner where Soraya and Hanson were watching him.

"She's pretty," Soraya noted.

"Leave me alone."

"Why did you stop dancing with her?" Hanson asked. "She looked interested in you."

"Guys, I think this might have been a bad idea." He reached for his drink and quickly emptied the contents down his throat. Slamming the glass on the bar, he announced, "I'm going home."

"Oh, come on, Drew," Soraya urged. "Classes begin tomorrow. This is the last night of fun any of us is going to have for a long time."

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm not having fun," he remarked pointedly. He watched as Soraya and Hanson looked at each other with some concern.

"Drew, do you want to go somewhere and talk?" Soraya asked seriously.

Andrew shook his head. Nice offer, but it's not you I need to talk to. Anyway, it's too late for talking. "I'm fine. I'm just tired and want to be fresh tomorrow. I'll see you guys at breakfast, okay? And don't stay out too late." As he watched Hanson sizing up Soraya, he added, "And don't stay up too late once you're back in. Tell Olnar I said good-night."

San Francisco, Starfleet Academy, Dormitory Room of Cadet Andrew Kim

As Andrew changed into his pajamas, his thoughts drifted toward his mother. She was always ready and willing to give advice about his personal life – the kind of advice his father just didn't seem to know how to give in a helpful way. He vaguely wondered if it was too late to call her. He checked the chronometer. 0030. She probably wasn't asleep, but if he summoned her at this hour, she'd assume it was something deeply important, life-or-death.

The cynic in him reared its ugly head and reminded him that there was no longer anything about his relationship with Miral Paris that was deeply important or life-or-death.

Andrew climbed into his bed and lay on his back. His hands behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling. It hadn't occurred to him before that his whole Academy experience had been shaped by dating Miral. In fact his whole life had been shaped by her presence. He had absolutely no concept of what life was like without her.

Well, this summer…

That was different, though. You thought it was temporary.

What did you think was going to come of all this anyway? Did you really think you'd stay together until graduation? Did you think you'd stay together after?

The part of him that wanted to answer yes was pushed aside by the cynic. In reality, the cynic told him, they'd make it past graduation until they realized that being light-years apart on different starships made it nearly impossible to maintain any semblance of a relationship. They'd end up saying things to each other they didn't really mean. Then they'd both find new people, and they'd break each other's hearts.

Which already happened. See? You saved yourselves a year or two.

As he closed his eyes and tried to force sleep upon himself, Andrew couldn't help but hope that perhaps the cynic was wrong.

Main Cafeteria

"Miral," Isabelle asked, "did Teddy get into any trouble this summer that I should know about?"

Miral glanced across the table to Teddy and then stalled by taking a bite of her pancakes. "What did she tell you?"

"That she was a perfect angel. So I know she's lying."

Miral grinned. "She's telling the truth, Isabelle. I swear it."

Isabelle didn't look convinced. She turned to look at Teddy, who had an angelic smile on her face. "I'll bet you got drunk every chance you could."

"Teddy?" Miral asked with feigned shock. "Never. She was in bed every night by 2200." Her playful banter was interrupted as her eyes caught sight of her old friends entering the cafeteria together. She quickly looked down at her breakfast.

Teddy turned to look toward the entrance and saw the group sitting at a table. Three of them were laughing and talking loudly, clear unaware that Miral was across the room. The fourth, however, looked sorely out of place among their conviviality. Andrew, she surmised. He's cute.

"He looks miserable, Paris," she told her friend.

Miral dared to look across the room and noticed the same thing. "I wonder what happened to his big night out with our friends?"

"It probably wasn't the same without you," Teddy suggested.

Her appetite suddenly gone, Miral set her fork down on her plate. "The convocation starts in twenty minutes. Let's go find seats."

Although none of them was eager to sit an empty auditorium for twenty minutes awaiting a boring convocation, Isabelle and Teddy politely rose with Miral and escorted her from the cafeteria.