CHAPTER 4 - AFTERGLOW
~~~~But he had always told the truth
~~~~Lord, he was an honest man
~~~~And Brandy does her best to understand.
Early in the morning, just as the sky was lightening, a happy Tom
Paris approached the Liberty. Normally at this time of the
morning, the ship would be quiet. Instead, he found a hive of
activity.
"Bout time you showed up!" Param called out.
Tom looked over to see the young Bajoran had his arms full of
cables and jogged over and relieved Param of some of his burden.
"What do you mean?" the pilot asked. "What's going on?"
"If you had been around, you would have known. Chakotay has
ordered us to prepare to leave the planet by this time tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! I thought we had a least another week?"
"Apparently we've received word from the front that they need our
assistance," Param told Tom.
"Where's the Captain?"
"Last I knew he was down in engineering. Why?"
Tom passed his armload back to Param, who almost stumbled under
the return of the weight. "There's some business I have to
attend to. I'll be back in time, don't worry."
* * * * *
B'Elanna was just getting back to the bar when some of the
overnight guest were leaving. Alini and Trini in the hall
upstairs bid their customers goodbye with lazy kisses. When the
men pulled away from them, the women noticed B'Elanna heading
toward her room at the end of the hall.
"Late night, Torres?" Alini called out, one hand on her hip.
B'Elanna's lips curled upward slightly, but she didn't comment.
"You go out with that pilot again, B'Elanna?" Trini asked,
ignoring the sullen expression on the other prostitute's face.
"What'd you do this time, to be coming back so late?" Her voice
left little doubt as to what she expected the pair had done.
B'Elanna remained silent while she struggled with the door's
ancient locking system. Meanwhile, Alini had moved closer to
her, placing her arm across the doorway to bar B'Elanna from
entering the room. Alini was either brave or stupid B'Elanna
assumed the latter.
"Yes, little engineer, what did you do? Engage in mad,
passionate sex under the stars?" Ani teased, not knowing how
close to the truth she was.
B'Elanna turned to them. "If you must know, we had a picnic and
swam in a stream." She turned back to the door to work with the
lock. "Then we had mad, passionate sex under the stars."
Trini smiled, and Alini scowled.
"I don't believe it," Alini remarked.
"What don't you believe? That we made love, not that you'd know
anything about making love as opposed to having sex, or that we
went swimming?" B'Elanna challenged.
Alini spun on her heel away from B'Elanna's door and back toward
her own room.
"Good for you, B'Elanna. It's good to see you happy, and it's
good to hear someone speak back to Alini," Trini replied. "Your
pilot seems like a nice man."
B'Elanna nodded. "Yes, he is." She tucked the present Tom had
given her under her arm and opened her door. (How many men,
would think to buy their girl a radiometric converter instead of
flowers?}
* * * * * *
"Open up!" Tom Paris yelled, pounding on the heavy wooden door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" someone from inside finally called out.
"Keep the noise down!" The door creaked open to reveal a small
man who had obviously been aroused from a heavy sleep. His dark
hair was in wild array and he needed a shave. "Tom Paris, what
are you doing here?"
"Our ship has been given orders to depart by this evening. I've
come for my pay," Tom explained.
"At this hour?"
"I didn't want to wake you, but I won't have another chance to
come."
"Gobo, come back to bed!" a woman's voice cried out.
"I'll be up soon, desert blossom!" he called out. Gobo smiled
and shrugged. "My wife's insatiable. What can I say?"
"I know what you mean," Tom replied knowingly.
"You know my wife!?!?" The little man's eyes lit with rage.
"Oh, no, no." the pilot reassured him hands raised. "It's just
that I've met a woman like that. They are a rare treasure. You
are a fortunate man."
Gobo smiled his chest swelled with pride and nodded his dark head
knowingly. His anger forgotten. "What is it you want, Tom
Paris?"
"I told you, my pay. We have to pull out tonight, and I have
plans for the money."
"GOBO!"
"I'm coming, dearest!"
"I'll be right back, Tom Paris. Wait here." True to his word,
Gobo came back with a pouch of luma. "Here you go, my friend,
and you'll notice that I added a little extra as a bonus because
you've worked so hard. I wish you well, and if you ever are
looking for any more work, please come see me."
"I will. Thanks!"
"GOBO!!!"
* * * * *
Tom's next stop was at one of the kiosks that he and B'Elanna had
visited during their night at the cafe. He recalled that at the
time she had paid particular attention to a braided chain of fine
Palmat silver. If he was going to leave, Tom thought, he was
going to make sure that B'Elanna had something to remember him
by, and he knew that this necklace was the perfect gift. Paris
was also aware that according to Klingon tradition*, that a gift
of adornment could be considered a commitment to the future. It
would be fitting he thought considering the bite she had given
him the night before. He knew to a Klingon what a bite on the
face signified. Remembering the moment, he fingered the bite
mark as he approached the kiosk. As he neared, he noticed the
owner of the kiosk was just setting up for the morning's
business.
"Good morning, friend, can I help you?" the owner called out.
Tom looked up at the thin man.
"I think so, I was here with my friend the other day and she was
particularly fond of a silver necklace you had on display," the
pilot explained.
"Your friend, she was the one with the..." he motioned toward his
forehead.
"Yeah, what of it?" Tom jingled his money bag to signify that he
intended to do important business. Even with the Palmat's
superstitions, they valued money almost as much as a Ferengi.
"Nothing...nothing at all, it's just that I remember when she
came in," he explained reaching over to one of the display cases.
"I think she was looking at this one." He withdrew a long,
braided silver necklace and held it up for inspection.
Tom admired the quality workmanship. "It's beautiful."
"Made from the finest silver. It'll never tarnish or lose its
shine."
Tom took the chain from the other man's hands. It was perfect.
"How much?"
"Twenty-five luma."
"Eighteen," Tom countered.
"Twenty-two."
"Twenty-one and you throw in that holo-locket." Tom pointed to a
oval locket that was displayed in another case.
"It's a deal. You drive a hard bargain, stranger. Lucky for you
it's so early in the morning. I'm not so relenting in the
afternoon."
Tom laughed. "Thanks, I hope she'll like it."
"She will, after all it'll be a gift from you."
* * * * * *
Chakotay walked onto the bridge and noted that preparations were
well underway. At this rate, he mused, they'd depart ahead of
schedule. But where was their pilot? "Param," he called out,
"Where's Paris?"
"Paris?"
"Yeah...you know...our pilot."
"I saw him briefly this morning. He said something about
unfinished business, but he said that he'd be back before we
left. We tried to raise him on his commbadge, but we have having
problems with communications."
"Well this ship isn't waiting any longer for him to return.
There's still work to be done. Param, you and Nicholls go find
Romeo."
"Aye, sir. Ah, sir?
"Yes, Param?"
"Who's Romeo?"
* * * * * *
B'Elanna was just entering the bar when she saw Tom Paris come
through the entrance.
"B'Elanna, I have to talk to you!" he called out.
She approached him. "Now?"
"There's no time." He grabbed her hand and pulled B'Elanna along
after him, out of the bar.
"What's so important?" she asked.
"We've been ordered back to the front," Tom explained.
"So soon? I thought you had another week or so before you had to
leave?" B'Elanna couldn't disguise the disappointment in her
voice.
"Me too." Tom's tone of voice reflected his own sadness. "The
war must be heating up. By this time tomorrow we'll be gone, and
I knew if I didn't see you now, I might not have another
opportunity before we left."
"I'm glad you were able to find the time."
Tom dug into an inner shirt pocket and pulled out a small box.
"I didn't want to leave before I gave you this."
"But you already gave me the converter last night." she argued.
"That was for your ship. This is for you," he explained and
placed the box in her hands. "Open it."
With trembling hands, B'Elanna removed the blue paper that
covered the oblong box and then pried open the box. In the
morning sunlight, the necklace that lay inside sparkled brightly.
Looking up she saw how the pilot's eyes shone in anticipation of
her reaction.
"You shouldn't have, Tom."
"I just wish I could have done more."
"It's lovely. It's the one that I was looking at after we went
to the cafe."
"I know," he replied. "Let me help you put it on."
"No."
"No?"
B'Elanna closed the box. "I can't keep this. It's not that I
don't love it--I do. It's just..."
"Symbolic."
{He knew? If he knew of the significance of this gift, he might
know about the bite.} That's why I can't keep it," she explained
holding the box out to Tom for him to take. "In Klingon
tradition, this is equivalent to an engagement ring."
"Oh, I know," he remarked and pushed the box back into her hands.
"I also know that when a Klingon bites someone on the face, it
means that they claim that person as their mate."
Brown eyes widened "I can't hold you to a promise of this
magnitude," B'Elanna replied. "I won't do it. I bit you in the
heat of passion. I just..."
"Responded instinctively. Something inside of you--probably your
Klingon side--knew that we are meant to be," Tom clarified.
"Almost from the first time I saw you, I knew that you were
something special. That you were someone that would always be
part of me." Tom took the box from her hands and removed the
necklace, and slipped the long chain over her dark head.
Carefully he adjusted the locket so it lay properly against her
stomach. He knew the chain was long when it bought it, but
didn't know how long it would be on B'Elanna's petite frame until
she actually wore it. It looked wonderful, he thought.
"I'll wear it proudly," B'Elanna vowed.
"And I'll proudly wear this." Tom touched the scar that was
starting to form on his cheek.
"I'll wait for you, Tom Paris."
"And I'll return, I promise." The pilot cradled her face between
his palms memorizing her exquisite features. "Kiss me, B'Elanna.
I have to go before the Captain sends someone looking for me.
I'm in enough trouble as it is."
Needing no further prompting, B'Elanna stood up on her toes, and
encircled her arms around the pilot's neck. Their lips crushed
together and their tongues entangled, each wanting to make this
goodbye kiss a lasting memory, for both knew that it might be a
very long time before they were together again.
Breaking from the kiss, Tom looked down on B'Elanna once more.
She smiled bravely and he returned the grin looking very
satisfied with himself, like he had just made an important
decision. Lowering his head to hers once again, he avoided her
swollen lips and instead tilted her face to one side and deftly
bit her cheek.
B'Elanna was surprised at Tom's action and her hand flew up to
her cheek to assess the damage. She never had expected him to
mark her--to visually declare that she was his mate.
"Your blood is as sweet as the rest of you, B'Elanna Torres. I
wish I had time to taste the rest of you." A movement in the
crowded street made Paris look up and he spotted a couple of
Maquis amongst the mob. "I'd like to stay, but I have to go.
Looks like the Captain has sent out the posse to bring me back."
B'Elanna nodded.
"I promise we'll be together again--and B'Elanna, after I'm gone
open the locket."
The half-Klingon's hands grasped the pendant.
"Not now," he warned, "later."
He kissed her again, this time lightly on the lips and in the
next instant he was gone, blending into the crowd before the pair
of Maquis could spot him.
Alone now, B'Elanna turned to face away from the crowd and pried
open the locket with trembling fingers. Cradling the heavier
half in her palm, she pressed a small button in the center of the
locket. Immediately a small hologram of Tom Paris appeared above
the button. The little hologram smiled softly, and even in this
diminished size, B'Elanna noticed the sparkle of the pilot's blue
eyes. Looking at her, the hologram spoke: "B'Elanna, I know
we'll be together again, I can feel it inside me." The
hologram's hand pressed against his chest. "Until then, trust in
fate and remember that I love you. I love you only and always."
The hologram then blew her a kiss before it finally disappeared.
"Oh, Tom," B'Elanna breathed, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
* * * * *
Fingers danced over the helm as Tom Paris readied the Liberty for
take-off. By now, he thought, B'Elanna would have seen the
hologram. He was glad that the jewelry shop owner had talked him
into buying this option--it was worth every luma.
End Chapter 4
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