Look After You- Chapter Twenty-Five
A/N: Many thanks to Riss-uscmam for her help on this chapter. Updates will probably be slower as work is preoccupying my time, but I'll try and update fortnightly at least.
***
The next morning, Tom greeted Harry in the mess hall with a big clap on the back, and a, "I'm glad you're still alive," which had signalled the beginning as well as the end of that particular conversation over Harry dying.
"Thanks," Harry replied with a wince.
Tom joined him at the table.
"So how are things?" he inquired.
Harry shrugged. "Could be better. B'Elanna won't let me help with the repairs as she thinks that I might stumble across a tiny infrastructural scratch and that I'd somehow end up dying again."
Tom laughed, but then stopped when he saw Harry glaring at him. "Sorry. So what are you doing instead?"
"Hanging out in Astrometrics," he replied glumly. "I'd rather be helping out in Engineering, or repairing the Bridge."
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing," Tom said, as he sipped his coffee. "So, where's B'Elanna, or dare I ask?"
"As far as I'm aware, she's still in Engineering, after getting no sleep last night. But you know what she's like: once she's on one of her crazy repair missions, sleep becomes an inconvenience."
"Can't say I've ever felt that way before."
"Same."
"Not that I envy her the tough task of putting the ship back together."
"Yeah, it must be nice to be a pilot. All you have to do is sit on your ass all day."
"Hey! I resent that. And I'll have you know that I occasionally get up to get coffee for people."
"That must be so taxing for you."
Tom gave him a glare. "And I've been helping out in Sickbay."
Harry's eyes lit up. "Are Sam and her baby still there?"
"Yeah, I believe that they'll be there until this evening."
Harry let out a sigh of content. "I rescued that baby," he said, proudly.
Tom grinned. "That you did, Harry."
"You know, she's a pretty cool baby. Didn't make a sound when I smuggled her off the ship, which is saying something because babies usually hate me."
Tom laughed at this, although he was hardly surprised. "Sam's looking forward to properly thanking you for bringing Naomi over. She's really grateful."
Harry smiled at this. "Hey, you know what we should do?"
"What?"
"We should throw a party, to celebrate Naomi's birth. Maybe we could combine it and celebrate us all not dying either."
Tom considered this. "I like your thinking," he mused.
"The crew has been pretty down lately," Harry added.
"And I do know how to throw a good party."
"And I know of a band who can supply the music."
Harry and Tom exchanged conniving grins.
***
Over the next week, while the rest of the crew immersed themselves in getting the ship back in order, Tom and Harry spent their spare time going over every detail for the party and their working moments daydreaming about it. It needed to be something that would honour Naomi, as well as honouring their counterparts. It also had to be fun and uplifting, in order to give the crew a chance to forget their troubles.
For Tom, the hardest bit was what the venue would be. He was tempted to hold it on The Bold Ego, but somehow, showing the ship to anyone but B'Elanna and Harry felt wrong. It took a lot of planning, but the location he had finally settled on was something he hoped people would like. Theme had been another issue, but a costume party seemed the most obvious answer and by the end of the week, every crewmember received an electronic invitation inviting them to a party that promised to be the event to attend this side of the galaxy.
***
The first thing B'Elanna did when her last shift of the week ended was to yawn. She had been flitting all over the ship, meticulously putting it back together, and had got by on little to no sleep over the last few days. To say she was shattered would be an understatement, and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her quarters and sleep for the next year. But Harry had begged her to attend his and Tom's party, and since she still felt guilty about killing him, she had agreed to at least put in an appearance. Maybe it would be nice to spend time with people without having to shout out orders every five minutes, although part of her couldn't deny that she wanted to see Tom. Even though she had been angry with him recently, their recent ordeal had made her feel as if the whole matter was irrelevant. That was not to say that she had completely forgiven him, but she didn't want to spurn him anymore either.
B'Elanna headed to the holo-deck, and when she finally got there, the sight that greeted her took her breath away.
She was on what appeared to be an island, and a stunning one at that. As she stepped onto the sandy beach, she became aware of the unusual presence of a rainforest to her left, and the relentlessly astounding sight of the ocean to her right. Tom- and she was certain it was him who had chosen this place- had done an extremely good job. The ambience of the place was magnificent: the time of day had been set at late sunset, casting an array of blues and purples across the sky; there was a bonfire in the middle of the beach, with the smell of a nearby barbecue accompanying it, and a few orbs had been suspended in the air and scattered around, containing something that appeared to be glowing slightly, although B'Elanna couldn't tell what it was. Harry-and she was sure it was he- had programmed the message, Welcome to Voyager, Baby Wildman, set as bright stars in the sky. The place was filled with the vast majority of the crew, and she suspected that all who weren't on duty were present here and it amused her to see them all in costumes. Nearby the bonfire, a group of pirates were playing various instruments, and she spotted Harry as one of them. Elsewhere, she spotted the Delaney sisters dressed as cowgirls, Hogan dressed as a famous Andorian, the Captain as Valentina Tereshkova along with the Soviet astronaut outfit - and was that Chakotay she saw dressed as a Viking? Surely not!
She tried to locate Tom amongst the throng of colour, but couldn't seem to spot him. She let out a sigh. It didn't matter; it wasn't like she was desperate to see him or anything. And maybe he should be the one to find her, after all, she was still supposed to be mad at him, and he was still supposed to be grovelling for her forgiveness.
From behind her, a voice said: "Wow, lieutenant, I love your costume!"
She turned around, only to find a man clad in green: dark green arm-length gloves, light green top with a dark green waistcoat, dark green shorts with light green tights, all accompanied with a dark green eye mask and soft plume hat. The costume initially made him look unfamiliar, but there was no mistaking those bright blue eyes.
B'Elanna turned and glared at Tom. "Look, I didn't have time to change, okay?"
Tom grinned. "Well, at least you're here. I didn't think you'd come."
She nodded, and then realised that Tom was waiting for her to say something.
She looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Well?" he said.
"Well what?"
"Well, what do you think of my costume?"
B'Elanna studied him further. He looked good. Extremely good, in fact. And he knew it.
"I think you look like a clown," she informed him, if only to slightly dent his ego.
Tom frowned. "But I'm not dressed like a clown."
"You aren't?"
"No! I'm dressed as the Green Arrow."
She gave him a blank look.
"You know, from the 20th Century comic books?"
She gave him another blank look. Tom always expected her to remember every culture reference from that century, as if she didn't already have enough problems remembering their own century's happenings.
"He's a superhero," he said.
"Oh." She cast another gaze around the island. "Well, Mr Superhero, you did a great job with this place."
Tom beamed. "Really, you think so?"
She nodded. "What is this place?"
"It's an island on Earth. Found in Australia, Fraser Island is the only island to have a rainforest to grow on its sands," he conveyed the information as if reading from a travel brochure.
"I think it's beautiful," she told him.
He smiled again.
His head suddenly turned in the direction of the barbecue, and he frowned.
"Neelix better not be adding his own Talaxian touches to the food," he muttered. "I better go and check that the food is still edible, I'll be back in a bit." He turned back to face her. "I mean, my superior superhero senses are detecting that evil intergalactic forces are causing chaos and destruction nearby and I must go and fight them." He pointed a finger at her. "Stay put."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Get out of here, you clown!"
As he rushed off, B'Elanna couldn't help but be a little embarrassed when she found couldn't keep her eyes off him. But there was no denying it: the costume really made his butt look good.
***
After checking that the barbecue food was still palatable, Tom went to find B'Elanna again. Inwardly, he was relieved that she no longer seemed angry at him. He was afraid that she wouldn't turn up for the event, be it because of her cool attitude towards him as of late, or because her duties were taking her away. In fact, neither he nor Harry had seen her at all in the past week, and he was beginning to wonder whether she had been swallowed by the warp core. Having her turn up, even without a costume, was a pleasant surprise. The fact she seemed glad to see him, made it even better.
When he found her again, she was sitting down on the beach, with her hands buried in the sand, watching Harry and his band play. Because of the warm atmosphere, she'd taken off her uniform jacket, and had removed her boots and socks, as well as rolling her trouser legs up to her knees.
Grinning, he sat down beside her, handing her a plate of food.
"Thanks," she said, taking the proffered food and not taking her eyes off the band. "You know, it's really weird, but I never thought that a clarinet, a saxophone, a triangle, Bajoran lute, a guitar, a violin, drums and a tambourine would sound so good together," she mused.
"I guess it's one of those tricks of the trade," he said.
She smiled, and took a bite of one of the burgers. "Hey, this isn't bad," she told him.
"You sound surprised."
She shrugged. "Never pegged you for the culinary type," she commented.
"Oh, if only you knew..."
She gave out a laugh, which quickly turned into a yawn.
"Tired?" he inquired.
"You would be too, if you hadn't slept in a week."
"It would only take a day for me," he said. "You should go, if you're tired."
She shook her head. "No, I'm having a good time."
"Good."
Their chain of conversation was interrupted by Joe clinking extremely loud on his triangle, causing the crew to fall silent.
Harry cleared his throat. "Tommy Boy and I would like to thank everyone for attending tonight." From his position, Tom gave a wave of acknowledgement. "And would further like to congratulate everyone on their rather imaginative costumes. In particular, Chell, you make an extremely good Bolian hypno-wasp." Everyone turned to look at Chell and laughed. "But really, we are gathered here for two things: firstly, to honour the birth of Naomi Wildman-," everyone turned their gaze to Sam and her baby, who was sitting down on a log placed near the band, with a sleeping baby in her arms. "-for whom we waited long enough to arrive here. She had a rather unusual and precarious start onboard, but we all know that in the Delta Quadrant, strange is normal. We're all glad that Naomi is well, and may she go on to have a wonderful time on Voyager." Sam beamed her gratitude, and the crew cheered. "Secondly, this party is to honour our counterparts who didn't make it, and for being glad that we got a second chance. So I propose a toast:-,"
Everyone lifted their glasses, apart from B'Elanna, who didn't have one.
"Here's to life, and being able to appreciate chances, both first, second, third and beyond that."
"Hear, hear," everyone chorused, which then turned into applause.
The band started to play again, and Joe took the lead vocals. The song seemed to be some rocked up lullaby, and B'Elanna couldn't help but grin at it.
"Hey, do you want a drink?" Tom asked.
"No, I'm good thanks."
"Are you sure? Neelix has made some cocktails."
"You mean, the ones he added hot sauce to? I think I'll pass."
"Suit yourself, but you should know, you're missing out."
"I'll try and find a way to gauge the pain."
They both smiled at each other, and then looked up at the sky. It had gotten darker, and Harry's message in the sky shone brighter. The bonfire was also gleaming, and the orbs suspended in the sky were glowing.
B'Elanna looked at them in puzzlement. "What are in those orbs?" she questioned.
"Oh, those things? They're fireflies."
"Really? I've never seen one of those before."
"Most people haven't. These ones are Vulcan. They emit a variety of colours, where as the ones on Earth only emit one."
"Wow, they're beautiful."
He smiled again at her, and the two of them lapse into a comfortable silence. A few minutes passed, and she had somehow found away to procure his eye mask, and much to his amusement, decided to wear it. She in turn was extremely glad of his company, although wondered why he chose not to leave her side.
His smile faltered slightly, and he started tracing patterns in the sand.
She gave him an odd look, which he couldn't quite catch through the mask.
"It's been a weird few weeks, hasn't it?" he suddenly asked.
"Yeah," she agreed softly.
"B'Elanna, about what happened-,"
"Tom, you don't have to apologise," she interrupted, and realised that it was true. "I understand why you had to act the way you did, at least, I think I do. I was just angry that you didn't tell me."
"I wanted to, B'Elanna. I was this insufferable jerk, and I never wanted you to see that- you know, again, anyway. And I didn't want to leave you. When you tried to make me stay, you don't know how much you almost had me. I know the last thing you needed was another person walking out on you, and there I was, practically running out."
She looked at him in amazement. How was it that Tom always knew the things she didn't even voice? How could he sense that the thing she had hated the most about Tom leaving, was that it felt too similar to another betrayal that she had gone through as a little girl?
"It's okay, Tom, really. I mean, I was definitely angry at you and for a long time too. It hurt that you didn't tell me, but you had your reasons. To be honest, I'm just glad you weren't leaving for real, and that you weren't really a spy or running away from having a torrid affair or whatever all those rumours were."
Tom raised an eyebrow. "There were rumours going around that I was having a 'torrid' affair?"
B'Elanna nodded. "With Chakotay. And that the reason you were being so hostile towards him was that he broke it off, and then you had to leave the ship because your behaviour was getting on the wrong side of stalking."
"Well, that's certainly original."
She grinned. "I'd say."
His expression turned serious again. "So you forgive me?" he inquired.
B'Elanna found it hard to appreciate his sincerity when he was dressed like a pauper, but found it even harder to resist the vulnerability in his eyes.
"Only if you forgive me for punching you, although I can't say that I felt too badly about doing it."
He gave a short laugh. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
They smiled at one another and he nudged her gently with his elbow, and she did the same, albeit harder.
"So, I hear that the pirates are going to start dancing around the bonfire," Tom said.
True to his words, some of the pirates dropped what they were doing, and started prancing around the bonfire.
B'Elanna winced when she saw them begin to mock-belly dance.
"That must have been some strong hot sauce Neelix was using," she mused.
"Sure you don't want to join in the fun?" Tom asked.
"I can't say that I'm the dancing type."
"Does that mean you won't be partaking in the dancing competition?" he asked innocently. "There's a prize for the worst dancer, you know."
"So you'll be a winner for sure, Tom?"
"Your words wound me, Torres. I'll have you know, that I'm an extremely good dancer."
"Dancing in front of the mirror doesn't make you a pro."
"Actually, it's singing that I do in front of the mirror, and as a matter of fact, being the son of an admiral meant having to know every waltz and tango that there is."
"Well, that explains a lot."
He nudged her again. "Freddy Bristow is looking at you," he commented.
She looked over to see a vampire standing at the edge of the barbecue, surreptitiously eyeing her.
"Maybe he's going to ask you to dance in the couples round," he suggested.
"And maybe he should go and crawl back into his coffin. I'm not dancing." She turned to face him. "With anyone."
"Darn, and I was so going to ask you to do the jitterbug with me."
"Jitterbug?"
"It's only the coolest dance ever invented."
"I'll take your word for it."
They fell into silence again, and watched as the rest of the crew began dancing as well.
After a while, B'Elanna looked at Tom again.
"Tom?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think about what happened on the other Voyager?"
"All the time."
"It must have been awful when they realised it was their ship that the Vidiians had invaded."
"Sometimes I feel guilty for being relieved that it wasn't us."
"I hope the Vidiians didn't get much of a chance to wreak chaos over the ship."
"Janeway wouldn't have allowed it."
"You're right. I just keep trying to think what the other B'Elanna was going through in her last moments. Where was she? Was she safe? Was she scared? Was she alone?"
"Maybe it's best not to think about it."
"I can't help it," she admitted. She let out a sigh. "I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we're going to encounter them."
"No, probably not. But at least next time, we'll be ready."
She gave an affirmative nod, and they both went back to watching the dancing. B'Elanna took in the light and colour of the people, merging together, and revelled in its beauty.
Not too long later, she fell asleep, her head against Tom's shoulder; eye mask still on. Tom looked down at her smiled, before adjusting his position slightly so his shoulder was more comfortable for her.
Although he had hardly moved from his position next to B'Elanna, it was one of the best times at a party that he could recall.