Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. They are the respectful property of Paramount; I just wirte stories about them.
One month later...
Tom briskly walked through the halls to Starfleet's shuttle/starship testing lab. He was finally going to test pilot the Manticore, after several design flaws put the launch months behind schedule. He could feel his adrenaline pumping through his blood stream, as images of touching the control panels raced through his head. He hadn't felt like this in almost a year, and it was a welcomed, and much missed, feeling.
*
Before heading to the Manitcore's launch bay, he made a visit to some old friends.
Making a right at the next corridor, he came to a pair of doors. He typed in the command code that his father had given him, and the doors swished open. Walking inside the dimly lit room, he waited for his heart to stop pounding in his ears.
"Computer, lights, full illumination." The lights came on to reveal several starships. He walked down the line until he found the one he wanted. Voyager, she was still as beautiful as the first day he saw her. His heart jumped into his throat as he typed in the command to open the landing deck. He jogged up and went straight towards the Shuttle Bay, where the Delta Flyer was still perched.
*
Reaching the Shuttle Bay, he slowed his pace and entered. He ran his hand over the Flyer's hull as he walked to the entrance. He opened the door, and as he stepped inside, past memories flooded him. Memories of piloting the ship he designed for the first time, various away-missions, proposing to B'Elanna, and their honeymoon.
The last memories were bittersweet. For they were the symbol of what he and B'Elanna had, and lost. They seemed so distant now, that if it weren't for Miral, he would have thought they were just a dream.
He sat at the helm for a while, soaking in the sight. He then left to go visit other parts of the ship.
His first stop was to the Bridge. He was half expecting it to look the way it did, with Captain Janeway in her command chair, and Commander Chakotay in his, and with him arriving late for his shift for the umpteenth time. However, it was empty, except for everything that couldn't be moved. Upon further inspection, he found his chair, standing at the helm, waiting to receive him.
He eagerly sat down in the chair. He sighed a deep, contented sigh. He laid his hands out over the console. Without thinking, his hands automatically started tapping in random codes. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly pulled his hands away, then left the room.
Tom's last stop was to his and B'Elanna's old quarters. Once again, he was expecting it to look the way it did, but found a room with only a bed. He sat at the edge of it, and put his head between his knees. As he was in this position, he noticed a holo-image lying face down near his feet. He carefully picked it up, and turned it over.
It was an image of him and B'Elanna. As he looked at it, he remembered when they took it. It was several days after he first told her that he loved her, and it showed. They were both smiling, and looking deeply into each other's eyes. Tears threatened to fall, but he couldn't look away.
He would give anything to go back to that point in time, where they were both happy in each other's arms, and he would wake up next to her every morning. Then, it seemed so easy to turn to her and say those three simple words. If he said them now, they wouldn't matter. Although they were still technically married, she had moved on without him, and he had to live with that fact, even if it hurt more than he could bear.
*
Ten hours later, B'Elanna was lying in her bed as another contraction hit. She had been experiencing them since the night before, but since they weren't close enough together, the Doctor allowed her to wait them out at home.
She could hear Miral crying, so when the pain subsided, she went to check on her daughter.
*
She carefully picked Miral out of her crib, and took her over to the rocking chair. Miral was still a bit colicky from the day before, and the rocking helped soothe her back to sleep for a few hours. B'Elanna watched as her eyes started to drift closed. She rocked Miral for five more minutes, to insure that she was sound asleep.
As soon as B'Elanna placed Miral back in her crib, another contraction over took her. She bit her lip so hard -to keep from crying out, and not to wake Miral- that she drew blood. She also grasped the side of the crib hard enough that her hands were as white as flour.
*
When Tom returned home, he took the holo-image out of his pocket, and found a frame to put it in. He placed it on his bedside table, and stared at it. Looking at the smiling faces again, made him yearn for what once was, until he found himself walking over to the house.
He rang the chime, but there came no answer. Looking around the back, he saw B'Elanna's shuttle in the same spot it was when he left, so that meant she was home. But it also meant that she might be hurt, so he reached for the key underneath the doormat.
He reached his hand under the mat, but only felt cement.
Figures. She moves the key when I really need it, he thought.
His mind started racing with the many possible hiding places. He tried underneath all the rocks, then behind the porch light.
Still no key.
Just when he thought he was out of hiding places, he remembered the "tacky" pink lawn flamingo that he convinced B'Elanna to let him put up when they first moved in.
Sure enough, lying deeply inside the flamingo's open mouth, was the house key.
He raced back to the front door, and shoved the key into the lock. He cranked it as far as it could go, and threw the door open.
Miral started crying again.
Running up the stairs, Tom could hear a slight moaning coming from B'Elanna's bedroom. Since her bedroom was closer, he went to check on B'Elanna first.
*
B'Elanna stared at the door as it started opening. Her first thought was that it was a burglar, but was relieved of that thought when Tom's face appeared.
"B'Elanna, come on, let's get you to the Doctor."
"We can't."
"Bella, you're clearly in labor; we need to go now."
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Have to check on Miral."
"Alright, I'll be right back." He left the room, and entered Miral's shortly. She was still crying, but not as loudly.
"Shhh, it's okay sweetheart, daddy's here." He picked her out of the crib, and bounced her. Her crying grew louder, so he switched that method for the rocking chair. Slowly she began to calm down enough to fall back asleep. Placing her back in the crib, he tucked her in.
*
When he returned to B'Elanna's room, her labor had progressed to the point that the baby would have to be delivered at home. He ran downstairs to grab some clean towels, and contacted the Doctor.
He returned with a few extra things that he forgot that he would need. He propped B'Elanna up on some pillows, and gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before leaving her side.
He gently moved her legs aside. "I can see the head," he said excitedly. "Next time you get a contraction, push."
B'Elanna bored down sooner then he expected.
"You're doing great," he assured her. "One more push and you're done."
She rested for a few seconds, then pushed again as hard as she could.
"It's a boy!" Tom cried as he lifted the screaming newborn up so B'Elanna could see. He gently wrapped it in one of the towels, and brought him over to B'Elanna.
They were both grinning as Tom handed her the baby, which quickly stopped crying when he was in his mother's arms. Tears suddenly filled her eyes as she looked down at her son.
"What are we going to name him?" she asked.
"I don't know. You did most of the work, so you should choose."
"I really like Aiden."
"That's the one I suggested."
"I know." She smiled at him.
"Bella."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
More tears flowed down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I love you too." B'Elanna lifted her head, and Tom met her half way into a long kiss.
