Chapter 14

The wedding had been beautiful. They had been married under the trees by the river, with the sound of the flowing water in the background. B'Elanna had been so lovely, in a simple white dress, and Tom had worn a nice pair of black slacks with a white shirt. They both looked like they could walk on air, they were so happy.

The whole community turned out, and afterward, they had a celebration to end all celebrations. Neelix had prepared a feast that had even surpassed his expectations, and Harry and his band had performed and they had partied well into the night.

Some of Tom's friends had fixed up the Flyer with everything they needed and they had taken off to spend five glorious days together and alone.

Kathryn and Chakotay were sitting on their front porch, with Kolo in his carrier, sitting between them on the porch swing. They were gently swinging, and Kolo had fell asleep. Now they were quietly talking about the wedding.

"It was so beautiful. Tom and B'Elanna were so happy. I'm so glad they got together."

Kathryn was saying

"It's going to be hard, though not to have him here at home..."

Chakotay took her hand and said

"He'll just be down the street..."

"I know, but he's still my baby, Tay."

"I know, I feel the same way. But He'll make a good husband and if his care of Kolo is any indication, an excellent father."

"He does love his little brother."

She laid her head on his shoulder as he embraced her. She was just having mother withdrawal...she knew it. Chakotay was sure she'd be okay by tomorrow.

"I hope they enjoy their time alone. Tom told me he had found a beautiful beach on the other side of the ocean and he wanted to take B'Elanna there for their honeymoon."

"Well at least we don't have to worry about dangerous animals or aliens!"

Chakotay chuckled as he said it.

They'd had no contact with any space going aliens since they had been here and each day they had watched the sensors and listened to communications, but never had they encountered anyone.

Chakotay stood and reached out his hand to his wife, who took it

"Come on Katie, lets get the little one to bed and hit the sack...I don't know about you, but I'm tired. It's been a long day."

"You're right, I'm tired. But it was well worth it. It was a wonderful day."

She stood, and took the baby carrier and they both went inside to get ready for sleep.

Tom and his Lanna were sitting in front of the fire, watching the flames. The night was warm and they had enjoyed an early evening swim in the ocean. B'Elanna was glad the water was warm, as she hated the cold. Now they were sitting on the blanket in front of the fire enjoying each others company. They would be going home tomorrow and she wanted to make tonight last as long as possible. They had enjoyed four days and nights of bliss as husband and wife. They had explored the area and found a beautiful small glen complete with a small bubbling hot spring. They had spent time there and Tom said it would be nice to be able to take the spring back to town. B'Elanna had laughed and said that it would be hard to uproot the whole area. They had spent some time after that getting more and more ridiculous in their ways to do it.

"Lanna, did you see that?"

He was pointing to the west as they watched the stars come out. She followed his finger and said

"I missed it...oh, there's one."

They watched as the shooting stars played through the night sky. B'Elanna was content to cuddle up with Tom, and he was content to hold her close as they watched the show.

They had been camping out, and they had their bed near the fire. Luckily, the rainy season wasn't due to start for a month yet, so they had decided to forgo the tent. They had spent each night loving each other and knowing that they were one. They never knew how happy they could be in each others arms. It was bliss.

Chakotay and Tuvok were working in the offices when Harry came in. He had been working on the power plant plans, and today he thought he had solved the problem of getting the power from the plant to the town.

"Chakotay...Tuvok, I want you to look over these plans. I think we finally solved the power transfer problem."

Harry and his team had been working on this for a week now, and had scrapped three previous options. Tuvok looked at the young man and raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed, Mr Kim, that would be a great help if we can get the power transfer up and running."

Harry smiled and said

"This is what we're purposing..."

He showed them the padd and for the next twenty minutes, Harry explained the plans. Both Chakotay and Tuvok agreed that it could work, so they decided they would get to work on it as soon as possible. Tuvok took the plans and went to get the workers organized. Once he had left, Harry said

"So Tom and B'Elanna will be home today, right?"

"Yes, we expect them home this afternoon. Kathryn is at their home now, making sure its ready for them."

He smiled as he thought of how Kathryn had said after breakfast that she wanted to make sure everything was perfect for when they got home. And he knew she would.

"So, she's getting everything ready huh?"

Harry was smiling. He knew she was a romantic at heart, and she loved Tom, and wanted to make his life happy. Now she also had a daughter to look after. In some ways, she was still a Captain.

"Yeah, she said something about flowers and such. I'm sure Tom and B'Elanna will come home to a nice comfortable home."

Harry nodded.

"She still takes care of us all. Yesterday, she came and asked Megan if she needed help with planning Jenny's wedding. Megan was really touched."

Jenny and Ken were planning a fall wedding, and all the town was in some way involved. It seemed that as people announced a wedding, the whole colony got involved. They truly were a large family.

"Yeah, Kathryn's just a mother at heart. She always thought of the crew as her responsibility and as an extended family. She once told me she thought of herself as the mother to the crew."

"Then, that made you the father."

Harry was smiling, as Chakotay looked at him.

"Come on Chakotay, all the crew knew you two were meant for each other."

"Well, as the father, I say get out of here...time to go back to work!"

He shooed Harry out and smiled as the young man walked back to the group of men who would be working on the power plant today.

Tom guided the Flyer down for a landing. He saw a group waiting and he turned and said

"Lanna, we have a welcoming committee waiting for us. Are you ready?"

"Sure Tom, I think I can handle it."

He maneuvered and set the Flyer down. Once on the ground, he shut down the engines and got up from the pilot's seat to join B'Elanna. They opened the hatch, and disembarked. Waiting for them was Harry, Megan, Ken and Jenny. Also his parents and of course, little Kolo. Tom took his brother in his hands and lifted him up and said

"How's my little bro? You've been behaving yourself?"

He brought the baby back down and laid a raspberry on his bare belly, which made him gurgle and smile. He then cuddled him up to him and turned to his parents.

"Hey, mom..dad...did you guys miss us?"

He was teasing, and they knew it. His mom just smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek and said as she retrieved her baby

"I've been busy keeping this little guy happy. What about you Tay?"

He smiled as he looked at his older son and replied

"Me? I've had lots of administration duties to keep me busy."

Tom looked from one to the other and then he faked a hurt look and said as he turned to Lanna

"See... you go away for a few days, and they forget you!"

He pretended to pout, and then they all burst out laughing as he made a perfect puppy dog face.

Finally, Jenny said between giggles

"Tom, you are so funny! And that face, you should see yourself!"

She could hardly stand she was laughing so hard. Ken had to support her. Tom just looked at her with an innocent look on his face and said

"I don't know what you mean, Jenny."

He was one of the best at keeping a straight face at some of the jokes he pulled. The rest just kept laughing and Tom took Lanna's arm and said

"Come on Lanna, let go home."

He turned and gave them a dazzling smile as they walked towards their home.

As they walked towards their home, B'Elanna was still smiling and said to her husband

"Tom, you're so incorrigible, but I've got to admit, it was funny."

He was grinning as he said

"Yeah, that was fun. You know, before I knew she was my mom, I'd sometimes wake up early and try to figure out some silly joke to pull on the bridge. Especially on slow days. It was always to see if I could crack her up...it usually worked. I didn't know then that she knew who I was."

They arrived home, and Tom stopped at the front door. He turned and scooped up B'Elanna and carried her in. Once in, she said as she seemed content to be in his arms

"And what does this mean?"

He had told her of the old fashion traditions of weddings. He looked deep into her eyes and leaned over to kiss her before he replied

"I'm carrying my bride over the threshold...it was tradition to do so to keep all evil spirits out and therefore nothing bad would happen."

He placed her down and they moved over to the couch and sat down. It was then that B'Elanna noticed the large arrangement of flowers on the table next to the couch.

"Look, Tom, someone placed these flowers here. They're fresh, so it must have been this morning."

Tom looked at them and replied

"Must of been mom. She loves fresh flowers."

They looked around and saw more arrangements, and then noticed the fragrance of the flowers, as it seemed to fill the air. It was nice. As they sat there , Spanky came out of the bedroom area and mew at them and promptly came and jumped up and settled down on Tom's lap, purring his approval that his person had come home. He had, early in his life attached himself to Tom, and now was never far from him. He had also adopted B'Elanna and seemed happy in the company of the two. Now both people began to stroke the cat, and cuddle with each other. All was well in the world.

Chakotay and Kathryn were sitting on the porch and watched the sun set. It was a beautiful evening, and there was a soft breeze, which brought the fragrance of the lilac like bushes that were planted along the side of the house. Kolo was in his carrier and was happily playing with his toes and gurgling. With a sigh, Kathryn said

"I'm glad they're back. I missed them."

He smiled and replied

"Katie, they were only gone five days."

"I know, but I still miss them. Tom and his wicked sense of humor just makes the days go better."

She laughed as she remembered how he had pretended to be offended when they pretended to not have missed him.

"Like today...that look on his face when he pretended to think we didn't miss him..."

Chakotay also laughed and said

"He does have a way of getting everyone to lighten up. He use to do it all the time on the bridge. I'd swear he laid awake at night just to think up some new joke or prank to pull."

"He did. He loved to try and get me to break up on the bridge. Many a time he almost succeeded."

He looked at her as she continued

"Why do you think I'd always excuse myself to my ready room?"

He laughed as he would remember that look on her face as she would rise and tell him he had the bridge. Now he thought, that it usually happened after on of Tom's silly jokes. And now remembering the look on Tom's face as he would watch her go. They both had known the other so well. Now, Tom was still doing it to get her to relax and laugh. And he was succeeding. Now that she no longer had the mantle of command to worry about, he suspected this was the real woman. He hoped Tom would continue his efforts.

They could see the light coming from their son's home and knew that they were probably doing the same thing, sitting outside watching the evening sky. She knew he loved to stargaze, and many nights he would go find a dark place to do that. The reds and yellows of the sunset were beautiful and she could not imagine that many were not outside watching also. Kolo had finally drifted off to sleep, and as the colors began to fade, both of them snuggled to enjoy some more time together.

It was late and the moon's rays were streaming into the room, illuminating it with soft light. It wasn't quite full yet, but would be in a couple of days. Two people were in the bed and relaxing and cuddling after some lovemaking. It was better than either would have expected a week ago. The coming together in complete love was fantastic. Tom now knew what was meant when he had read that a husband and wife came together and became one flesh. The complete letting go and at one point not knowing where one began and the other left off. It was...intoxicating.

Lanna had her head resting on his chest, and he was lightly stoking her arm. She sighed and softly said

"Tom, I love you so. I never knew how good it could be till I found you."

She was stroking his chest hair and he was enjoying her actions. He leaned over to kiss her head softly and said

"I love you too, Lanna. I thought I'd never find someone who would love me. I'd been told all my life I was worthless. But then I found my mom, and she loved me without any strings attached...just loved me because I was...me."

He was having trouble continuing. His feelings were coming to the service. She understood.

"Tom, you are so lucky to have found such a great family. And I'm so thankful to be a part of this wonderful family. When I first met Chakotay, I sort of latched on to him as a father figure. He took care of me...now I have you to do that."

She kissed him and he just relaxed in her arms. He was a lucky man to have such a wonderful life mate. They were silent for a while and then Tom said, sleepily

"Now Chakotay is your dad...father-in-law since he married mom."

She barely whispered as she replied

"Yes...dad..."

They both drifted off to sleep, happy and content to be together. Neither felt the cat who jumped up on the bed and walked up and settled on the pillow above Tom's head to go to sleep too. With a sigh, the cat also drifted off to sleep.

TBC