How To Save A Life- Chapter 9
Earth
Q had snapped his fingers and he and Tom Paris arrived on Earth. They were inside his sister Moria's home, the one person he thought could help him decide on whether or not to keep Jadzia alive. Suddenly, they both saw a shadow on one of the walls, it was coming towards them. Two people came around the corner, Moria's husband and a little boy, whom they assumed was her son. The two walked right past Tom and Q, not noticing them at all. Tom and Q then followed them into the kitchen where Moria was.
"Well honey, I'm going to take little Tommy here out for a visit with my parents." Moria's husband, Duncan McCormick, said.
"'Little Tommy?'" Tom whispered to Q.
"Okay, how long will you two be gone?" Moria asked, she seemed rather sad still, but she smiled in front of her son.
"The whole day, leaving you to have some time." Duncan answered.
"Thank you, Duncan." Moria responded. She kissed Duncan on the lips then 'little Tommy' on the forehead.
"Bye bye Mommy." Tommy said innocently with a smiled.
"Bye, baby." Moria replied and returned the smile, though hers was forced. "Don't forget to say goodbye to Uncle Tom. Bye Duncan."
"Bye, honey." Duncan responded then left the room with Tommy in his arms.
"She can see me?" Tom asked Q.
"No you idiot, look." Q pointed to a picture of Tom on one of the table stands. Duncan and Tommy went over to the picture.
"Bye bye Uncle Tom." Little Tommy said and kissed the picture of Tom. Duncan also said goodbye then the two left the house.
Q snapped his fingers and suddenly he disappeared, or rather the opposite. Tom appeared to the normal eye while Q was still invisible. Moria had sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of her. He walked over to Moria and stood next to her.
"You named your kid after me?" Tom asked Moria.
"Of course I did." Moria replied. "You've been gone for so long and only recently has there been any contact with Voyager. When Tommy was born, you had been lost for almost a year. It seemed like the obvious choice."
Tom shook his head in disbelief. "Thank you, Moria." He said and sat down in the chair next to her.
"Wow, I didn't know ghosts could sit in chairs." Moria muttered.
"You think I'm a ghost?" Tom asked.
"Or a spirit. I don't know, Tom." Moria responded. "You're out in the middle of the Delta Quadrant, anything could have happened to you between the time when your EMH stopped by and now."
"I'm real." Tom said simply. "Flesh and blood. Q brought me here."
"Why would a letter of the alphabet bring you to say 'hello' to me?" Moria asked sarcastically.
"Q's something we call a higher level being, he can snap in and out of anywhere and will let you change things." Tom replied. He was trying to no avail to explain who Q was. "He's real, Moria."
"And you claim you are, too." Moria said then took a sip of her coffee. "Then prove it."
"With what?" Tom asked. "Do you want me to tell you the time when Mom caught you sneaking in after three in the morning, but she let you slip? Or how about the time when I caught you kissing Kathleen's boyfriend when they were still dating?"
Moria looked at Tom with her eyes narrowed. "I never told Kathleen that. Tom was the only one who knew." Moria stated.
"I know, I never told anyone because you promised to do my homework for a month." Tom replied smiling.
"It is you." Moria said in disbelief. Tom nodded. "Oh my gods, Tom!" She practically screamed then lunged herself onto Tom. She hugged him hard to the point where breathing wasn't an option. After a few seconds and some gasping breaths, Moria let go. "I can't believe it."
"Well, believe it. But I'm not here to just say 'hello', I wanted to ask you for your help." Tom replied.
"Did you get in trouble again, little brother?" Moria asked.
"No. Why is it every time I ask you for your help, you think I'm in trouble?" Tom added.
"Because every time you're in trouble, you ask me for help." Moria answered. "Think about it." Tom thought for a couple moments.
"Oh…" He replied. "Well, anyway, I need your help."
"Fine, shoot." Moria said.
Tom was about to say something when Moria's gaze went from directly in his eyes to over his shoulder. He looked at her oddly and asked her what was wrong.
"Well, Mom and Kathleen were supposed to come over today." Moria responded.
"Oh…when?" Tom asked.
"They were supposed to come today around noon…but they got here early…like yesterday early." Moria answered.
Tom then turned around realizing what Moria was looking at. In the doorway to the kitchen were his mother and oldest sister. Tom immediately stood up from his seat and offered to his mother. His mother seemed so much older than she did the last time he saw her.
"Here you go, Mom." Tom said somewhat silently motioning to the chair. Kathleen and his mother just stared back at Tom, not sure if it was really him or not.
"It's really him." Moria spoke up. "It's really Tom."
Kathleen and Mrs. Paris gasped as soon as Moria said that. They continued to look at him, and then at the same time, they yelled, "Tom!" and ran at him. The two hugged Tom tightly and wouldn't let go.
Things had just gotten a hell of a lot more complicated than before.