Look After You – Chapter Twenty-Eight Part I
A/N: Sorry for the delay, had a mixture of writer's block and then this past week I've had little time to write. Just a note, although I've tried to keep the events that have occurred in the same time frame as in canon, the next few chapters will see the key points sped up, so they're isn't such a time gap in between. Thanks to Pepper for the beta. References and quotes from the episode, "The Chute" (anyone else notice how Star Wars-esque that episode is?)
A/N 2: The instrument that Harry refers to is the same instrument used in the Futurama episode, "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" (naturally).
***
I can't believe how I have fallen for you, and I was not looking, was content to remain. And it's ironic to be back in the game – Lauren Wood (Fallen, Pretty Woman ST)
"So anyway, there we were, all trying to light a fire. Bear in mind, none of us had the comforts of 24th century technology. No phasers, no tricorders, no heat generators- not even a simple lighter. It was ridiculous! None of us even knew how to start a fire."
B'Elanna and Tom sat adjacent to each other in the mess hall, each sipping a raktajino with whipped cream. B'Elanna was animatedly telling him about being stuck on Hanon IV, and Tom was listening intently, hanging on to every word.
"So there I was, furiously rubbing two stones together, getting madder and madder by the moment. Harry had to stand several feet away for fear of my wrath. I was convinced that it was never going to work, and all of a sudden, one of the stones goes flying out of my hand and hits Freddy Bristow in the head!"
Tom laughed. "I bet he was happy."
"The mood I was in, you would have thought he threw the stone at me. Freddy didn't dare to even glare at me."
Tom raised his eyebrows. "I bet he didn't."
"It was hard on that planet," B'Elanna carried on. "We had no resources, no good food and no hope… I don't know how we would have spent the rest of our lives down there, if it came down to it."
"You'd have been able to cope, B'Elanna. You always do. I'm just sad that I missed out on all the fun," he said with an impish grin.
B'Elanna snorted. "Sure you are." She looked at him intently. "I'm just glad you're still alive. You really had me worried for a while there."
"It's going to take a lot more than aliens with bad hair to meet my end, that's for sure."
"I don't doubt that for a moment," she said with a smile. For a moment, she debated on whether to apologise about their argument, but that seemed like a lifetime ago, and compared to what had just happened to them, it felt incredibly underwhelming. Any apology now would seem insignificant.
He looked at her, and she could tell it didn't matter to him anymore either. He gave another smile, something he didn't seem to be short on recently. She couldn't seem to hold hers back either. She spent time studying the face she came so close to losing- again. She loved the way his blue eyes crinkled when he was happy, and loved their indefinable colour. She loved his smile and the all-encompassing feeling that came with it. Losing all of that would have been incredibly hard.
The thought of losing him drifted into the thought of gaining him. She wondered briefly whether Harry could be right in thinking that she had a chance with Tom. Even if she thought she might, she didn't think she'd ever feel confident enough to tell him how she felt. She wasn't sure she even knew how.
"So, the Captain thinks we'll be able to stop by on a nearby M-class planet in the next few days for some much needed shore leave," Tom informed her.
B'Elanna raised an eyebrow. "Much needed? I think we've all had enough shore leave to last the rest of the journey."
"You have, yes. I, however, was busy tackling the Kazon whilst the rest of you were slacking off and partying on Hanon IV."
"And what a party it was."
"Oh come on, aren't you the least bit excited about relaxing on some glorious planet?"
"Not really."
He frowned. "So you're not going to come with me and Harry?"
If B'Elanna wasn't mistaken, the look he was wearing almost resembled a pout.
She let out a sigh. "I don't think I can," she replied honestly. "The ship still has a few things that need modifying, and I want to get them sorted when we'll be at orbit."
Tom continued to frown. "Aren't you supposed to be Chief Engineer? Don't you have minions to do that kind of thing?"
"Minions, I wish. Besides, they won't do them the way I want them," she pointed out.
"Ah yes. Sometimes I forget that you're a one-woman army. Fine, but just so you know, you will be missing out on the greatest shore leave to be had."
B'Elanna smiled. "I'm sure I will. You can get me a souvenir?" she suggested.
"Only if you promise that when we get back, you'll actually grace us with your presence."
"I think I can agree to that."
***
Tom had to admit that he was slightly disappointed that B'Elanna wasn't there to join him and Harry on Akritiri, but he hardly expected her to drop everything just to join him. His realization that he loved her had done a lot to open his eyes and make him really see things, and he'd considered that he should act upon this. However, dragging B'Elanna aroundwith Harry, the planet was hardly the ideal situation to profess one's love. Not that he knew how to go about doing something like that.
He gave out a sigh, and put those particular thoughts out of his head. Instead, he focused on looking around the marketplace he and Harry were currently wandering through. He was hoping to pick up some interesting: Akritirian alcohol, maybe even a few nifty gadgets to decorate his quarters with, and at the very least, he was hoping to pick up an interesting souvenir for B'Elanna. Although he doubted that this particular species sold t-shirts with an, 'My friend went to Akritiri and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' emblem. Which was a shame, because he really did love those kinds of t-shirts.
He spotted a few fascinating things: Akritirian comic books, or the closest thing they had to it. They were about as thick as a brick, and weighed a tonne, but the big, elaborate pictures were roughly the same, even if they weren't depicting the kind of things he liked to read in comic books. There was an interesting array of candies, but they seemed to be made out of whole insects, and Harry steered him clear of those before he could even try them. He noticed an actual talking clock, complete with an animated face- and a personality. The particular clock he stumbled on was obviously set to curse, which made him chuckle. But what really caught his eye was the stand that was selling intricate gifts. He immediately saw a set of bracelets, and one in particular caught his eye. It was made of what looked like delicate glass beads, each suspended by a material similar to gold. Each of the beads were a varying blue colour, and in each bead there appeared to be what looked like a star, all of which were twinkling. He watched as each star turned a different colour: first red, then orange, then green and then purple.
"Wow," he breathed. He'd never seen anything like it.
He wasn't the type of guy to give jewellery even a mere glance. But something about this particular bracelet captivated him, and as soon as he saw it, he thought of B'Elanna. He wondered whether it would be too presumptuous to get it for her. He wasn't even sure if she liked bracelets. Although, just because he'd never seen her wear one, didn't mean she didn't like them. After all, jewellery wasn't exactly Starfleet regulation. And besides, even if giving her the bracelet was too forward, he could always give it to her for her birthday, which was coming up soon. After considering all this, he decided to purchase the bracelet and placed it in the inside breast pocket of his waistcoat.
He looked around for Harry, and spotted him hanging outside some sort of facilities centre.
"Seen anything interesting?" Harry enquired.
"I have," Tom said with a grin. "This place is like a giant toy store. It's great!"
"I know," Harry agreed. "You should check out the musical instruments they have in the recreational centre. This one instrument, plays out holo-images of a story when you play it, isn't that cool?"
Just as Tom was about to reply, there came a rumbling noise from the recreational building, and before Tom and Harry could look at one another, the centre exploded into flames, throwing the two men into the air.
***
B'Elanna emitted a yawn. She'd been in Engineering for hours without a break, and the lack of coffee or food was starting to get to her. She contemplated getting a coffee, but had an overwhelming urge to stay put. Ever since the Kazon had taken over the ship, she hadn't been at want to leave Engineering. She felt as if the Kazon had come in and graffitied their names all over the console, and she wasn't leaving until she felt the place was 'clean'.
She walked up to the warp core, and tried to figure out the work that needed to be done. Suddenly someone behind her cleared his throat. She turned around and was surprised to see Ensign Bristow standing behind her.
"Hello, lieutenant," he greeted.
"Ensign Bristow," she acknowledged cautiously, wondering why he was here and not on leave with all the others. "Can I help you?"
"I was just er- wondering if you, you know-needed some help in here?"
She gave him a look. She was tempted to send him off, after all she preferred to work by herself. But then she remembered she had thrown a stone at his head, and part of her still felt a little guilty over that.
She sighed. "If you have to. Pick a console. Scan for damages and report any repairs to me."
Freddy grinned and picked a nearby console. Just as she thought he wouldn't speak, he asked, "So, you didn't feel like going on shore leave?"
She gave out another sigh. She really should have gone and got that coffee.
***
Tom's head hurt.
It took a while before he could open his eyes, and when he did, all his senses hit him at once, and it was then he realized a few things: first, that wherever he was, he was not in the same place he had been, and Harry was nowhere to be seen. Second, that he was in an enclosed place, and that this place emitted the most horrendous stench that he had to prevent himself from gagging. And third, there were a few vicious, rugged-looking men encircling around him the way a pack of wolves did their prey.
Now why does this scene look familiar? he mused.
He stood up to face the men.
"Look what we have here!" one of the bigger, burlier men snarled. "Fresh meat!"
The others cackled and edged themselves closer.
"Well, Tommy Boy, you sure as hell aren't in Akritiri anymore," he said to himself, just as one of the men tried to throw a punch at him.
***
B'Elanna didn't know how long she'd been in Engineering when Joe Carey came stumbling through.
"Hey, you," she greeted him with a smirk, while pouring over a console. "Akritiri must have been good."
"You have no idea," he replied with a grin.
"Good booze?"
"More like good food. That stuff is to die for."
"Well, I'm glad someone had a good time."
"You know, you really should have come and joined in the fun."
"And missed out on all the good stuff going on here? It wasn't too bad. Besides, I had Ensign Bristow keeping me company for most of it."
Joe snorted. "That must have been fun."
"Thrilling." She finished hacking away at the console. "So, did you see Tom and Harry on your travels?" She had to admit that she was starting to grow worried that she hadn't heard from either of them in the last forty-eight hours. She had expected one of them to comm her and let her know what she was missing out on, but she'd heard nothing. She only hoped that they were having too much fun that they'd forgotten to.
"Actually, come to think of it, I haven't seen either of them since we transported over."
"Oh," was all she could say.
"I'm sure it's nothing. They're probably fine."
But the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach told her otherwise.
