"YOUNG MEETINGS"

~What if Tom and B `Elanna had met before?~

Rating: PG (for taunting)

Code: T, T/P

Angst/Romance Angst for taunting and more Romance Oh yeah like newborn puppy love!! (in other words children, not so deep)



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Once upon a time there was a young Klingon girl named B´Elanna Torres.

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B´Elanna is four and a half years old. B´Elanna, her human father and her Klingon mother are sitting side by side in under the big cherrytrees in their green garden at Sakari IV. At the other side of the old wooden table, sits B´Elanna´s human aunt and her two kids. Jean- Claude and Irina Jane, you know them as Dingo and Dutchess.

Dingo isn´t really fond of Klingons. At all. As a matter a fact he dispises them, like his father, and sister, and mother too by the way. But he is fond of uncle John, and so is his father, and sister, and mother too by the way, the fact that he married a Klingon woman they just had to stand.

When they didn´t like Klingons, they didn´t like Miral, B´Elannas mother, and they didn´t like B´Elanna either. But as they´re raised, they disguise it.

Dingo and Dutchess can´t put up to Miral, so they picks on B´Elanna, she´s smaller, stupider, weaker, and a (ugh!) Klingon, according to Dutchess.

This day, as they sit there drinking strawberry-lemonade , all together; John Torres, Miral Torres, B´Elanna Torres, Mariah Dowewing, Stephan Dowewing, Jean- Claude Dowewing, and Irina Jane Dowewing. Dingo´s got a frog in his shorts pocket. Dutchess , who was really mean , meaner than her brother) smiled at the sight of the jumping pocket and got an idea. She starts to scream, throw herself at the ground and screams even higher. Of course, all the grownups got worried for 'the innocent little girls' sake and tried to help her as best as they could. All except Miral. She could see the child was pretending.

When his sister starts to scream, Dingo waved ácross the table to B´Elanna. She smiler, though she´s worried for her cousin too, but her father told her to stay put. She asks her allhuman, male cousin what he wants and he tells her that Irina Jane needs her medicin, wich she left upstairs in their guestroom. Without a thought on why non of Irina Jade´s parents gets the medicine, she rushes up to be to some help.

At the table Dingo slips the frog into his cousin´s glass, when the frogs sinks down to the bottom, the lemonade goes over the top of the glass and runs down at the table.

B´Elanna came back, sad. "I´m sorry, Jean-Claude", she says."I couldn´t find any medicine in your room."

He askes her if she´d look in all their bags and she noddes.

When she sits down again, thirsty after the running, she sees the flood of bloodred lemonade over the table.

"I ´ve filled your glass", Dingo hurries to say. Though his cousin is only four, she was very suspicious, but now she didn´t care and bend down to drink from the glass were it stood, she couldn´t lift it when it was all full and slippy at the sides. When she bends down to drink she gleares into the glass and sees the frog, It seems much bigger because of the liquid covering it. She screams and exactly when she does, Dutchess kicks in the table where she lies, the glass tips over and the frog jumpes up. The poor half- Klingon girl got the fighting frog in her eye, and then she of course screams even higher.

John Torres hears his daughters desperate cries and rushes to her. Picking the frog away and tossing it in the high grass he embraces her and tells her that it´s alright now. He looks up and catches the grinning Dingo´s eye. The grinning Dingo quickly defends himself with a ,"I don´t have a clue how it got there", and , as usual John believes him, he can´t think something bad about his big sister´s son.

A few feet away stands Miral. She´s seen the whole thing, from start to end. But she didn´t do anything. Strong in her believes that the child needs to learn how to take care of itself. Not get spoild like Jean - Claude and Irina Jane. She didn´t like those kids, then she also was the only one who saw them for what they really were. Evil little rats.

Unsatisfied by the fact that B Elannas father comforted her, Dingo pouts while another genius (according to himself) plan forms in his brain. He knows that uncle John don´t dare to fight with his sister,Dingo´s mother that is. Dingo gets up from his bed in the Torres guestroom. His face gets a sad look and he walks down the stairs and out into the garden again, slowly.

"Mum!", he says. "I can´t find my PADD with Harry Potter and The Scorcerers Stone."

"Oh no! I know how much you love that book!" She answers. " Has someone been into our room this morning, except us that is?"

BÉlanna raises her hand and says;

" I only was there to search for..

She gets interrupted by her aunt.

"Then you wont get the present I´ve bought for you on Venus!"

Dingo smiled, now satisfied enough for today. As he´d expected, his mother picked up on that loose straw he left as a hint.



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~A day a few months later, B´Elanna, Miral and John sat at the Dowewing family´s kitchentable. I was christmaseve and everybody was happy- especially Dutchess and Dingo. This was their hood, and here they had the upper hand.

"That Klingon is going to suffer!"

Dingo whispered exited to his one year younger sister. Her 52 long, blonde plaits flew around her head when she nodded.

John Torres had the opportunity to for once bring his family to the annual Starfleet Christmas Eve Party. When his nor his sister or her husband was Starfleet, they couldn´t come. This evening it was going to be him, Miral and Lanna. For once only the three of them could do something alone on Earth. The former times Mariah had insisted on following *everywhere* and it teared on their relationship when she did it, this time they might have a chance to stay friends the whole week. Oh, it was good for him to see Earth, his home again, he´d missed it.

Both Miral and B´Elanna looked forward to get rid of the Dowewing´s for a couple of hours. B ´Elanna even putted on one of Irina- Jane´s old dresses in joy to not see the dress´ former owner for some time.

This year the Party was held at Admiral Mooroo´s house. Of course B´Elanna ruined the evening (according to her mother) before it even started. It happened when Admiral Mooroo came to wish them welcome and B ´Elanna accidentily said;

"Good evening, Admiral Moron."

The four-year old blushed when sha realized what she just said, her father excused her and her mother yelled at her.

B Élanna felt so embarrased that she refused to eat, drink or watch the Fireworks.

Instead she sat cuddled up in a chair the whole evening, she heard the high-ups within Starfleet talk about things such as;

" The new shuttle is really remarkable.."

"Captain Rarch can´t come, his mother broke her leg.."

"Ah, this carpet is very nice. Vulcan?"

" Two of Admiral Paris´ kids has got the flu, so he´ll come along with his oldest later on.."

" I´ve heard that the Tiinis want´s to join the Federation.."

And so on.

She heard that part about an Admiral who would bring ´his oldest' to the Party soon, and she hoped that they would be almost the same age, so they could play together, cause she didn´t see any other children there. In fact noone at all seemed to be under 25.

In the end of the party B Élanna was close to fall asleep. She hadn´t seen any kids yet.

Halfanhour later B ´Elanna saw two kids, but it wasn´t the kids she wanted to see. Dingo and Dutchess with parents. She groaned where she sat and tried to stand up, so she sould flee. But she´d been in that locked position for so long that she fell of the chair, the D´s (Dingo & Dutchess) ran laughing to her.

Dingo grabbed a high glass full of something beige with bubbles from a table and handed it to B´elanna. She was acually really thirsty so she took the glass and tasted at the fluid inside. It was strong and not tasty at all. Dingo wasn´t satisfied when she didn´t drink the champagne so he took a grip of her shoukder and forced her to drink it all up. It burned its way through her throat and she coughed to get rid of the feeling but it didn´t work. She felt really bad after drinking that stuff, the whole world was spinning along with the floor alone and she landed in a heap on the floor.

When B ´Elanna opened her eyes again she saw a tall man´s face. He smiled at her and then turned to her parents,

"It´s obvious that your child´s intoxicated.

Mariah gasped. "You see !!? She´s gonna be a dipso when she grows up!

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At 'home' from the party things got even worse for B´Elanna. The Dowewing´s went to the party to pick their 'lost at earth' relatives up, they appearantly didn´t think that they would make it home by themselves.

The little girl´s whole family seemed to think that she´d gotten herself drunk at that party. Not even her understanding father sent a thought to investigate what really had happened. B´Elanna was sent to bed without anything to eat before, not that she would have anyway since she felt sick the whole way home to her aunt.

She was left alone in her big bed, shaped like a racecar, Dingo´s old bed, nobody came in to say goodnight to her either, nobody shouted goodnight either. Otherwise her aunt and her husband always stopped outside her closed door and yelled 'GOODNIGHT!' so loud that she always woke up when she finally had managed to fall asleep.

The little child sighed, as if she had emptied both her lungs from air. She stared at the old, white ceiling and a few quiet tears rolled down her cheeks.

Down in the kitchen sat Mariah Dowewing, drinking her usual cup green tea from a special part of China.

Her little brother stood beside her, watching her drink the hot tea with fake intrest.

"What is it, John?" she said, sighing and emptying her cup.

"I think I´ll have to leave Miral and B´Elanna, and that I´l have to do it soon. Things are going overboard, and tonights events has made my thoughts to tip over more to one side."

"What side is that?"

"The 'leave your family' side."

He bend his head and left the room, his sister could swear he sobbed.

Mariah on the oher hand didn´t sob, nor show the slightest bit that she would either. No, she didn´t cry, she sat there, alone in the luxuary kitchen, spinning her cup, smiling.

She putted the cup down on the table and thought, 'Finally. Finally has the man realized what I´ve known for so long.'

She also thought, 'oh, that cup, I´ll have to wash all yesterdays dishes in the morning.' But that doesn´t count.



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A week later, when B´Elanna at least hoped that she was forgiven, her father told them all that they were going to a party tongiht too. And this time they all could come. The latest announcement led to cheering and a funny little dance from Dingo and Dutchess side of the breakfast table.

This New Year´s eve Party was going to be held in Admiral Paris´ home.

'Admiral Paris,' B´Elanna thought, 'The man who was supposed to bring his oldest and never did, the man who had two kids with the flu a week ago, the man her own brave father feared.'



When the evening came and they were making ready to go, didn´t aunt Mariah lend the dress to B´Elanna, and B´Elanna didn´t care, she never wanted that dress anyway. Instead she dressed herself, like she did the most mornings back home at Kessik IV.

When she went down to their hovercar she wore a pair of lod black pants and a green sweather she got as a christmas present from her grandmother, and that was it. Noone could make har change what she was wearing tonight, not even Miral would have suceeded, if she bothered to try that is.



When they were on their way to the Party B´Elanna asked her father if there would be any kids at *this* party. Her father answered that he didn´t know, but then he seemed to remember something and said, " Paris has got three kids, two daughters and a son, in your age I think, and they ought to be there at least. But I can´t recall their names."



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Admiral Owen Paris´ house was bigger than Admiral Mooroo´s. The wide path up to the house was two long lines of cressets and it was lanterns everywhere. In the main door stood Admiral Paris and his family to welcome all their guests.

The Admiral and his wife smiled and seemed happy but his three kids seemed tired and utterly bored.

B´Elanna was so fascinated by the big house and all lanterns that she didn´t notice Dutchess´ foot, wich she of course tripped over and fell forward straight at Mrs Paris´ feet. She bent down and helped the child up, then she told one of her daughters to straighten out the carpet so noone else would trip over it. She didn´t see what really happened, noone did. Except B´Elanna, who knew, and little Tommy Paris who saw exactly how it all happened and he decided to keep an eye on those two kids who seemed to think that it was fun to trip their little sister.



Some twenty minutes later B´Elanna stood alone by a very long table with very many drinks on it and very much little pieces of food on it too. At least from B ´Elanna´s view it seemed that way. She saw a high glass with something beige and bubbly in it, she took it down from the table and smelled at it. Yes, it was the same thing Dingo had made her drink at the last party.

"That´s champagne. I can´t drink it and I don´t think you can either." She turned around, behing her was that bot from the door.

"You got something wrong in your throat so you can´t drink it, or *can´t* you drink it because ofyou parents?"

"I *can´t* drink it, because of my parents. I´m Tommy Paris." He said.

"I´m B´Elanna Torres. " She answered and putted the glass back.

"Do we have to shake hands?"

"No."

"Good. My father forces me to shake hands with all kinds of people that I don´t even know."

"Isn´t that what handshakes are fore, to learn to know people?"

He cocked his head to one side, she continued, this time with another subject.

"Your mum seemes nice."

"Yes, she´smuch nicer than dad. *Much*. Hey, I saw what happened when you got in, how your sister tripped you, I mean."

"Dutchess? She´s not my sister, she´s my cousin."

"Dutchess? Who callsa kid that?"

"Her real name is Irina-Jane and her brother´s name is Jean-Claude but he´s called Dingo."

"Dutchess and Dingo are better than those real names."

"You say 'Dingo and Dutchess' or 'The D´s'."

"Or 'spoiled brats'."

"Yes. Someday I wish I can do such things back."

"You want some help?"

"Yes please! Can you help me?"

"You´re talking on the master of 'such things'. Tell me, do you know something they don´t like?"

"Er...They don´t like meat."

"Neither one? The right thing to do should be to smack their arrogant little faces in with two large t-bones, but that can be a little tricky."

"I understand that."

"Do they like that brown sauce that comes with meat?"

"No they hate that sauce too! Maybe even more than the meat itself."

"Perfect!" Tommy smiled and ran away with a puzzled B´Elanna after him.

The two kids sneaked into the kitchen where Tommy told everyone that worked in there to hurry to the Admiral , because he wanted to tell them something.

And since the whole kitchen staff knew and trusted little Tommy Paris they went, and left the kiddos to take a bucket and fill it with meatsauce and three bottles vinegar. Vinegar because it smells so bad.

Then the two partners in crime putted the bucket into a bag and carried it away across the big crowded floor. Noone paid much attention to them anyway except the D`s who was utterly unsatisfied with the thought of B´Elanna having a friend. So then they did what any stupid,spoild and evil kid would have done, they followed their cousin and her (ugh!) friend.



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Dingo and Dutchess ran across the upper hall in the Paris´ house. They had lost B´Elanna a long time ago, she must have went into one of those rooms. There was surely sillions of rooms up there (at least Dutchess thought so) , and they all looked the same.

The doors to all those 'sillions' of rooms did at least look the same. Just regular doors, white with a console beside it, and all of them were locked. The ones the D´s had tried to open had at least been locked, and they didn´t have time to check if every room where locked if they didn´t want to surely loose her, that could even they understand.

Tommy and B´Elanna was really in one room, his parents. Because they had a big brown bookshelf placed next to the door. Tommy explained that people used to do this on the 21th century, but that they had different doors back then, and a door that didn´t open either in or out was useless for this trick.

The two smart little kids knew that the D´s were on their way and to attract them to the right room, Tommy threw a big Vulcan lamp

to the floor. It landed with a big crash and B´Elanna feared that all the crown-ups would come running.

"Don´t worry." Tommy assured her. "They can´t hear anything down there and besides, I´ll take the blame when they´ll notice.

B´Elanna felt so glad that finally have a friend and she knew what else she wanted to do with her new friend. She gripped his shoulders and gave him a quick kiss (only the lips). They stared at eachother for a moment, like frozen in time, when Dingo destroyed it by knocking at the door. Hard.

Dutchess pulled her brother away from the door. "Are you nutty?!" She whispered, "Do you want them to know that we´re here?!"

She cleared her throat and said with a much louder, darker voice;

"Hrrm. I´m sorry but I´t seemes like I went to the wrong room. I´m looking for the toilet."

On the other side of the door Tommy and B´Elanna rolled around laughing at the floor.

"Dutchess." B´Elanna whispered to him. "I think she´s trying to sound like an officer!"

"Why doesn´t she speak like a female officer? That would have been smarter." Tommy whispered back. "Besides, she did something wrong too. A grown-up Starfleet Officer never, ever says 'toilet'. So, if she would have spoken like a woman and said 'bathroom' instead, she might be able to fool some poor guy one day."

"What shall we do to get them inside?"

"Well, now it´s up to you. If you want to tease them back, this is your chance."

B´Elanna smiled as she thought of at least a hundred possible words to tell them, that would tease her cousins.



The D´s boiled with anger as they heard B´Elanna´s backfire.

"Jean- Claude! Irina Jane! Are you there? I hope you know that you´ll trip over your own feet one day, you´re noses points to much upwards for you to see your them! Dutchess, if I only could I would take your favourite dress, you know that pink with green sleeves, throw it outside at the spring, when it´s muddy outside and stomp on it until it´s brown and unrecognizable!

And Dingo, if I only could I would take a slimy green snake and put it into your pants, and you know, the snake would be poisonous too!"

This was too much for Dingo and Dutchess to take. They stormed into the room and had the chance to get a glimpse of their smiling cousin before anything got brown.

At B´Elanna and Tommy´s view it all looked so much more funny. The bucket with meatsauce fell down from the bookshelf when Dutchess´ arm touched the string that went across the door up to the bucket.

The room filled with the sounds of crying brats and with the smell of vinegar.

B´Elanna and Tommy looked one last time at the dirty siblings before¨they fled to his room further away.

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Of course these events led to a showdown - but not one between B´Elanna, Tommy and their families, but between Dingo, Dutchess, their family and Admiral Paris.

Noone of the grown-ups believed the D´s story about how Tommy and B´Elanna had drowned them in meatsauce, everyone focused on *why* the two 'drowned' kids had been in Admiral Paris´ bedroom.

Tommy and B´Elanna sat outside, at a balcony and watched the expensive fireworks fill the sky.

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Neither Tom or B´Elanna remembers this New Year´s Eve long ago, they were so small you know, but B´Elanna remembers Dingo and Dutchess´ endless taunting to this day.



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.:End this Part:.

I don´t know if I´ll continue on this later but I wrote 'end this part' anyway, if I *would* write another chapter or a sequel someday. Maybe if they´ll meet again when they´re a little older.. (before Voyager)

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voy_girl@imatrekkie.com

Written: Between 25/12 2001 and 1/1 2002 (I think I started the 25th anyway!)

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