Chapter Three--Business as Usual

Engineering-0806

"Good morning, Mother." Miral greeted B'Elanna Torres as she walked into Engineering.

"You're late," B'Elanna said walking to a different console.

Miral followed her. "It's Dad's fault."

B'Elanna looked at her daughter with a playful scold.

"Indirectly," Miral added, B'Elanna smiled. "So what are we up to today?"

"Purging warp manifolds," B'Elanna replied wearily.

"Oh, fun," Miral said sarcastically.

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Bridge-0814

"I'm getting too old for this."

"You're too old?"

"We're getting too old for this."

"What, exactly, are we getting too old for?"

Harry sighed. "A transporter malfunction, and internal sensor problems. We should be golfing and relaxing at a villa in the South of France."

"But we're stuck on a starship thirty-five years old without a break or refit. Don't worry Harry, she'll hold together." Tom affectionately stroked the bulkhead he was leaning on.

"I'm not worried about her not holding together, I'm worried about dying as the OPS officer on an Intrepid-class."

"At least you're not an ensign anymore." The old men laughed. "I ran into our granddaughter in the Turbo Lift this morning."

"She was late too?" Harry asked teasingly.

"What can I say? I'm contagious."

"No, you're hereditary. If you were contagious no one would be on time for anything." The old men laughed again. This time Owen turned and looked up from the CONN. Tom smiled at his son and thanked science that the baldness gene ran through maternal grandfather. He hoped Miral didn't have any boys.

"Hey, Old Man," Harry interrupted Tom's thoughts. "Want to grab a bite to eat tonight."

"Sure, we can double date."

"Nineteen hundred?"

"Sounds great. B'Elanna and I will be there." Tom walked back to his chair.

"If you're late, we're eating without you," Harry added.

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Sickbay-0856

"Naomi, have you done the analysis of the gaseous anomaly sent down yesterday?"

"I'm almost done, Doctor."

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asked. The Doctor thought of how Naomi was the first child he had brought into the world. Maybe not this Naomi, but another Naomi. It felt the same to him and it felt all the same to Naomi; to Samantha, when she was alive; and to Neelix. The Doctor was happy that he had brought Naomi into the world and was now helping her with her fifth child.

Naomi's hand rested on her protruding stomach. "Nauseous, but alright."

"Lizzie has the record now, you've been nauseous nearly the entire pregnancy," the Doctor pointed out cheerily.

"I know," Naomi frowned.

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Year: 2430

Sickbay

"Jessica, baby number four. Fighting for the record with your mother?" the Doctor joked.

"I'm trying," she replied as she, with much effort, eased herself onto a bio-bed. "I guess I'm lucky I don't have the frequent waves of nausea," she relaxed on the bed.

"I won't be surprised if you do," the Doctor replied cheerily looking up from his PADD.

"Don't say that! You'll jinks me."

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Year: 2418

Engineering-0943

B'Elanna glanced at a console and noticed in a few minutes she would be surrounded by young children eager to learn about the exciting world of engineering. She remembered a time long before there were children on the ship; long before any of them dreamed of children. She supposed that was a perk of being 'First Generation', as they had been deemed by the 'Second Generation'.

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Corridor-Deck Eleven-0957

"So she told you to hold your tongue?"

"Yep," Carrie replied.

"And that's why you were late?" Jessica Stevens asked. She was a slightly older looking girl who was best friends with Carrie. They weren't very much alike, but they we on the same ship and that was enough.

"Yes," Carrie confirmed as they rounded another corner in the Labyrinth that was their ship.

"I don't believe you," Jessica said bluntly.

"Jessie! How could you doubt me?" Carrie was playfully taken back.

"Because you're always late whether your mom yells at you or not," Jessica answered casually.

"Okay, I might have been late, even if she didn't."

"There," Jessica put her arm over Carrie's shoulder, "doesn't it feel better now that you've told the truth?" she asked in false curiosity.

Carrie pushed Jessica's arm off her shoulder. The girls walked into Engineering laughing, alerting B'Elanna to their arrival. "You're not late!" B'Elanna exclaimed sarcastically.

"I'm only late for my first class of the day," Carrie corrected.

B'Elanna smiled at her granddaughter, who looked a lot like her. She had Tom's eyes, and her hair was close to black, like Harry's, but the face belonged to her; although the Klingon strength was a little subtler because of all the 'Human Blood'. "Are you ready for another day in the exciting world of Engineering?" B'Elanna asked cheerily.

"A lot more exciting than Astrometrics," Carrie replied gladly. Carrie and Jessica followed B'Elanna around the warp core, to a small table with a model of the Phoenix on it. They were soon joined by the rest of their class, Jared and Cass Ayala, Eric Paris, and James and Ben Stevens.

B'Elanna cleared her throat to get the teenagers attention. "Today we are going to discuss why Engineering is the best place on the ship."

"Oh, ha ha," James and Benjamin replied in unison, a creepy feature that the twins always got right. They were not amused with the same opening joke B'Elanna used every class period.

"No, really. Let's get some real work done; because last class was wasted on the finer theories of early warp development," she looked to Carrie, then to Jared, and back to Carrie.

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