Chapter 2
Tom sighed over his PADD. He was tired.
He looked to his daughter and smiled, giving Miral a soft kiss on her baby ridges.
It was so strange to have his own family, this small helpless creature and his fiery B'Elanna.
He didn't think he would ever get that after Section 31 covered the Caldrik Prime disaster up as a pilot error.
With the Section not having immediate plans for him, Tom could concentrate n the next few years.
His new posting was Utopia Planitia, as a test pilot and developer for starships. His first project would be the Delta Flyer, Starfleet was very interested in the Shuttle.
It was a dream assignment.
B'Elanna would work on the Voyager. It was normal for the Chief Engineer to stay with the ship so it wasn't really a surprise.
It was perfect for them, both had postings they loved and both had regular work hours and no deep space assignments that would have been complicated with Miral or even worse, splitting up for a time.
The reason he was tired was his promise to the MHN.
The Doctor had told him not to waste all the hard work he had drilling him in medicine.
Starfleet Medical hadn't really known what to do with Tom at first but they warmed to the idea.
He was the first person to study medicine under a hologram, could his work be accepted like anybody elses?
Admiral Leonard McCoy had said yes and ordered placement tests for him.
With the fleet encouraging it's personal to crosstrain in different fields there were policies for such cases.
He would have shifts at sickbay but it wasn't as if he wasn't used to this.
"Incoming message" beeped the console before him.
He put the PADD down.
"Activate."
The screen changed to the face of Admiral Owen Paris.
"Tom. How are you, B'Elanna and Miral?"
"Very good. thank you."
Silence.
Owen mustered his son. The change in pips showing his new rank as Lt Commander and the dominantly black gray uniform looked good on Tom.
It still wasn't easy for them to talk.
After the Voyager was lost and he thought his son was dead he reflected on their relationship.
And on his mistakes.
He had just seen the potential and disregarded Toms plans completely. He had even gone as far as meddling with Toms postings behind his back.
Just because Owen and Tom were talking again and the older man realised what he had done didn't make their relationship easy.
Owen had decided to be less the Admiral and more the father he should have been and give Tom all the time he needed.
He didn't even know where his son and daughter-in-law would work.
"Your mother asks you to come over, she wants to see Miral some more. Did B'Elanna and you decide on postings near each other or didn't you?"
'Were will you be?'
The question had not been voiced directly but it was clear.
"B'Elanna stays with the Voyager." No surprise there. "My posting is on Utopia Planitia. Test Pilot."
Owen just nodded.
"I will tell your mother that you will stay here."
Tom nodded to the screen and saw it change to black.
He didn't have the energy to really think about his relationship with his father.
He had to feed Miral and learn something about the Tellarite digestive tract.
Owen Paris could wait.