The Pause
Lee Fields
Set the night before end game. Rated G
She was walking along the corridor. Lazily drifting from window to window. The freedom of it, having this time for herself to gaze like a child at the stars. Those stars, which were ever, present in her new life. Her new life! She still called it that, even after six years, six years and this was the first time she had felt...a pause. Ho, there had been brakes before. Time when there was empty space and shore leave. But there had been planning then, schedules to shift, systems to repair. Trying to hide the work she was doing behind Chakotay's back. She smiled to herself. She had always been busy, an induced frenzy, constantly working on her supposed 'breaks'. And yet tonight... She had a pile of PADDs to get through, a problem with the engine coolant, and she had left her replicator in pieces on the floor. (It had been making her coffee cold again.) But instead of rushing off somewhere at two AM she was gazing at the unfamiliar stars. That's what made the familiar, they had no patterns, no familiar shapes or lore. They were the stars she had lived with for six years. Not the stars of earth so distant, so un-reachable. She missed these stars. It was as if she was saying goodbye...She walked further amongst the inky background. When a head popped up, sitting in the observation deck. Tom Paris. She walked towards him. "Tom," she said quietly as to not startle him. "What are you doing up this late?" "Oh B'Elanna kicked me out, said I was fussing over the pregnancy and that I should go to the holodeck, or she'd Q'URT Ilm'ork me to death. Which I interpreted as not good." She chuckled at this and sat down. "So Mr.Paris why aren't you at the aforementioned holodeck?" He stared at her as if deciding something. "I felt like seeing them one last time." He gestured to the stars. "It sounds incredibly lame, or maybe Harry's optimism has finally got to me, but I have this feeling that I'm not going to see them again. Really see them anyways." He sighed. "Maybe the babies just getting to me." He racked his hand through his hair and smiled at her. She considered what he had said, the tone so much like her earlier musings. They sat in companionable silence for awhile lost in their own thoughts. "So Captain what may I ask, brings you to the observation deck so late in evening," He looked at his watch. "Or rather, so early in the morning?" "Catching my breath." She said cryptically. "Oh the vagued up version of what you're doing, excellent." He clapped his hands together. "Let me see, let me see, you're tired, you need a break, you need a holoprogram set in the Caribbean, with harem of cabana boys." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and smiled broadly. "While enticing that maybe Mr.Paris, that's not exactly what I was talking about." She smirked back at him; he always could bring her out of melancholy meandering. "I just feel like...something's coming, like this night is the one pause I'm gonna get before its all, its all gone," She finished lamely. She looked at him knowing she wasn't being clear. "I, I just feel like this is it. You know?" She frowned to herself, why was she unable to articulate what was happening. That everything was changing. That they were crossing some point. "I know what you mean," He cut into her thoughts. "Before when I was talking about no seeing the stars again, I wasn't talking about how busy I'd be when the baby comes. It feels like its all changing even though I'm settling down." He shrugged. "I guess, well I know what you mean." He stood up and walked towards the windows, staring at the perpetual night. She walked towards him feeling her oppressive mood lift. She was next to him, happy, peaceful, and ready for whatever would come. And grateful for this pause, for the stars, for this one last time. He grasped her hand. Fear etched on his face. She could imagine what he was thinking. Concern for B'Elanna, hope for there baby, fear for his new life. And apprehension too, for this end that was coming. Like she was. She clutched his hand back. It was coming, she new now what was worrying her. The end, of this, of the Delta Quadrant, maybe even them. But she was grateful, for this pause, for this one last time. For the stars that had no pattern, no shapes, no lore. Stars that would soon be replaced by Earth's.
Set the night before end game. Rated G
She was walking along the corridor. Lazily drifting from window to window. The freedom of it, having this time for herself to gaze like a child at the stars. Those stars, which were ever, present in her new life. Her new life! She still called it that, even after six years, six years and this was the first time she had felt...a pause. Ho, there had been brakes before. Time when there was empty space and shore leave. But there had been planning then, schedules to shift, systems to repair. Trying to hide the work she was doing behind Chakotay's back. She smiled to herself. She had always been busy, an induced frenzy, constantly working on her supposed 'breaks'. And yet tonight... She had a pile of PADDs to get through, a problem with the engine coolant, and she had left her replicator in pieces on the floor. (It had been making her coffee cold again.) But instead of rushing off somewhere at two AM she was gazing at the unfamiliar stars. That's what made the familiar, they had no patterns, no familiar shapes or lore. They were the stars she had lived with for six years. Not the stars of earth so distant, so un-reachable. She missed these stars. It was as if she was saying goodbye...She walked further amongst the inky background. When a head popped up, sitting in the observation deck. Tom Paris. She walked towards him. "Tom," she said quietly as to not startle him. "What are you doing up this late?" "Oh B'Elanna kicked me out, said I was fussing over the pregnancy and that I should go to the holodeck, or she'd Q'URT Ilm'ork me to death. Which I interpreted as not good." She chuckled at this and sat down. "So Mr.Paris why aren't you at the aforementioned holodeck?" He stared at her as if deciding something. "I felt like seeing them one last time." He gestured to the stars. "It sounds incredibly lame, or maybe Harry's optimism has finally got to me, but I have this feeling that I'm not going to see them again. Really see them anyways." He sighed. "Maybe the babies just getting to me." He racked his hand through his hair and smiled at her. She considered what he had said, the tone so much like her earlier musings. They sat in companionable silence for awhile lost in their own thoughts. "So Captain what may I ask, brings you to the observation deck so late in evening," He looked at his watch. "Or rather, so early in the morning?" "Catching my breath." She said cryptically. "Oh the vagued up version of what you're doing, excellent." He clapped his hands together. "Let me see, let me see, you're tired, you need a break, you need a holoprogram set in the Caribbean, with harem of cabana boys." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and smiled broadly. "While enticing that maybe Mr.Paris, that's not exactly what I was talking about." She smirked back at him; he always could bring her out of melancholy meandering. "I just feel like...something's coming, like this night is the one pause I'm gonna get before its all, its all gone," She finished lamely. She looked at him knowing she wasn't being clear. "I, I just feel like this is it. You know?" She frowned to herself, why was she unable to articulate what was happening. That everything was changing. That they were crossing some point. "I know what you mean," He cut into her thoughts. "Before when I was talking about no seeing the stars again, I wasn't talking about how busy I'd be when the baby comes. It feels like its all changing even though I'm settling down." He shrugged. "I guess, well I know what you mean." He stood up and walked towards the windows, staring at the perpetual night. She walked towards him feeling her oppressive mood lift. She was next to him, happy, peaceful, and ready for whatever would come. And grateful for this pause, for the stars, for this one last time. He grasped her hand. Fear etched on his face. She could imagine what he was thinking. Concern for B'Elanna, hope for there baby, fear for his new life. And apprehension too, for this end that was coming. Like she was. She clutched his hand back. It was coming, she new now what was worrying her. The end, of this, of the Delta Quadrant, maybe even them. But she was grateful, for this pause, for this one last time. For the stars that had no pattern, no shapes, no lore. Stars that would soon be replaced by Earth's.