NOTE: Just a short section this time. More soon.

Part 2

B'Elanna sat back and watched Tom pull a soft yellow nightgown over their wriggling daughter's head. "There you go, Little Duck," he cooed, and kissed Miral's forehead. "Ready for bed."

"No," Miral said firmly, and pushed him way. "Captain Proton."

"I know you want Captain Proton, kiddo. But we talked about this," Tom said, glancing at his wife. "TV before bed gives you nightmares."

"Captain Proton!" she wailed. "Captain Protoooooon!"

Seated on the edge of the bathtub, B'Elanna leaned her elbows on her knees and sighed. Dinner in their quarters had been a messy, noisy affair. Miral, rarely a compliant child at the best of times, had been a holy terror all evening. Perhaps sensing the tension between her parents, she'd acted out at the table, refusing to eat the food Tom had prepared for them, demanding peanut butter sandwiches and pizza instead of the turkey and mashed potatoes in front of her.

As usual, Tom had caved in to her tantrum and replicated the pizza for dessert.

"Captain Proton!" Miral wailed again.

Tom puffed his cheeks out and exhaled slowly. He turned to her once more, his blue eyes pleading with her. "Don't you think-"

B'Elanna growled at them both and left the bathroom.

Everything was falling apart in her hands. After all they'd been through – separation, faked death, near death, real death, reunion – nothing was going the way they'd hoped. She swept the dirty dinner dishes into the recycler, reveling in the loud crash, but felt instantly remorseful when she heard Miral's cry of surprise and alarm from the bathroom.

"Hey, Little Duck," Tom said softly. "It's okay. Mama's just clearing the table. It's okay. Don't cry, Miral. Daddy's here."

B'Elanna wiped tears from her own cheeks.

Damn Chakotay, anyway. Damn his stupid nobility and his stubborn overprotective streak. Damn his self-righteousness. Damn his love, too, his deep, quiet love for her and her little family.

Sinking down on the sofa, B'Elanna buried her face in her hands. She listened to Tom continue to console and cajole their daughter, his voice calm and steady even as Miral's wails grew to a fever pitch.

"Captain Proton!" she cried. "Buster!"

Tom's quiet voice answered. "I know, sweetie. Tomorrow. How about a bedtime story tonight instead?"

"No bed!"

"It's bedtime, Miral," he answered. "And you're so tired you don't even know what you want. Let's have a story and get you to bed."

The little girl sniffled and gave one last, fading sob. "Mama too?"

"Let's check on her."

B'Elanna scrubbed tears away from her face and rose as they emerged from the bathroom together, Miral draped around Tom's neck, her teary face pressed into his shoulder. "Mama too," B'Elanna said, and forced a smile for both of them.

Together they tucked Miral into bed. With the patience of a saint, Tom read story after story to them both, until Miral was asleep and B'Elanna had shaken off the last of her anger, if not her nervous tension.

Tom yawned and tucked the blanket more firmly around Miral. He stared down at her for a long time, his face shuttered. "Tom?" B'Elanna asked.

Tom gave his head a little shake and sighed, not taking his eyes off their sleeping daughter.

"It should be our choice, Tom," B'Elanna whispered. "Not his."

"He's just trying to keep us safe," Tom offered.

"But it's safer than it was last time."

Tom shrugged. "I know that. We all do. But we really didn't have a choice last time. It was a risk we had to take."

"And now that we don't have to take it, he thinks we shouldn't." B'Elanna clenched her fists around the edge of Miral's little bed. "I want to raise them both here, with the people we love around us."

"So do I." Tom rubbed his forehead. "But just a few weeks ago, Chakotay tried to sacrifice himself so I wouldn't have to," he said softly. "He was ready to give up his life so you and Miral wouldn't be alone. I think that's why he's doing this. Because he loves us, and he wants to keep us safe."

"I know." B'Elanna sighed. "But that doesn't explain what he said to the Admiral."

"No, it doesn't." Tom looked up at her, his blue eyes pained.

"What did we do, Tom? Why was he so angry?"

"I'm not sure." He rose and crossed to the living room, B'Elanna following at his heels. "I think maybe we forced something that they weren't ready for yet."

B'Elanna nodded. "It's possible." She looked up at her husband. "Do you think I should go talk to him?"

Tom raised his head. "Computer, locate Admiral Janeway."

"Admiral Janeway is in Captain Chakotay's quarters."

Tom shrugged. "We better just let them work it out."

B'Elanna paced the length of the room, four quick strides to the left, four quick strides to the right. "I feel like I should do something." Her nervous energy had returned, full-force. "I can't just sit here while they're making a decision about our future."

Tom chuckled. "Go take a walk, B'Ela. I'll hold down the fort."

She stopped pacing and looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

He grinned. "Unless I'm grounded from Captain Proton, too?"

She smacked his chest. "Back in an hour, Helmboy." She rose up on her toes and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Then you can help me work off the rest of this tension," she whispered.

Tom laughed. "I look forward to that." Before she could turn away from him, he grabbed her by the elbow and held her close. "It's going to be okay, B'Elanna," he said. "Either way, it's going to be okay."

"I know. I'll see you in a little while." She kissed his cheek and headed out into the corridor, certain that when she returned in an hour, he'd be sound asleep in front of the TV.

-END Part 2-