Chakotay knocked on the door gently and waited for a reply. "Is everyone…y'know…dressed?"
"Yeah, come in!" Chakotay and Harry stepped in gently with Naomi following them in. Kathryn placed a quick kiss on Chakotay's cheek left with Samantha. Harry stood talking to Seven and handed her the ring she was to give B'Elanna, Naomi was brushing her hair in front of the mirror which left B'Elanna and Chakotay privacy to talk.
"So, are you nervous?" She laughed gently at his statement but nodded.
"Yeah. But, I'm more happy… and excited than nervous. How's Tom?"
"He's good. A group of women came to sort him out, make sure he didn't go up there in his pyjamas! He hasn't let anyone touch his hair though, he's worn it how he got out of bed."
"Why?" B'Elanna looked extremely puzzled.
"He said that's how you like it." Chakotay shrugged, but a huge smile spread across her face.
"Tom?" The Captain knocked on the door
"Yeah?"
"Are you ready? Can I come in?" Kathryn sounded awkward at the door.
"Yeah, come in." She stepped in and saw him struggling with his tie. "Do you know how to do a tie?" She laughed and stepped over, sorting it within seconds. "Oh."
"I thought those women came in to sort you out?" She handed him his blazer.
"Yeah, but I didn't like the bowtie." He pulled on the blazer and stood up.
"What are you doing about your hair?"
"Nothing. Why?"
"You look like you just got out of bed." She chuckled and handed him a comb.
"Exactly. B'Elanna loves it like this, she says it all the time." He threw the comb down on the desktop.
"That's cute. Are you ready? Everyone is here."
"Yeah. Let's go." The two left, swiftly closing the door behind them, headed for the altar.
"Where's my veil?" B'Elanna looked around for it.
"Here." Chakotay handed it from her, after finding it with Naomi. She positioned it on her head gently and arranged it. Checking her makeup she pulled on her heels and arranged her hair under her veil.
"Do I look okay?" She turned to Chakotay, but he was watching Kathryn from the door. "Chakotay!"
"Hmm?" He spun round and closed the door, trying to hide what he'd been doing.
"Do I look okay?" She rolled her eyes at him and laughed.
"Yeah. I think you look amazing." He hugged her gently before heading for the door again. "Everyone's here." He was exchanging signals with Kathryn when he finally came back in.
"Is it time?" She lifted her veil from the top of her head and laid it gently over her face.
"Yep. You ready?" Chakotay walked to the door and signalled for the music to start.
"Absolutely." She linked her arm through his and waited as Harry and Seven arranged themselves behind them, while Naomi arranged herself in front. The group began to walk slowly, and as they exited B'Elanna's room, all eyes turned to her, and she caught her breath as she saw Tom, he looked amazing. She was shaking a little but Chakotay held her tightly, but gently to keep her steady. Her mind and heart raced as she made her way towards her fiancée, but more importantly, towards her future.
Tom watched as she walked towards him, she looked a million miles away in her own thoughts, but she also looked right here thinking about her surroundings. He wondered if she was having second thoughts. Or regretting her decision.
"Oh my god!" Tom sighed as he watched his beautiful bride come down the aisle.
"What?!" The Captain looked suddenly alarmed at Tom's outburst, fortunately only she could hear it. She turned to him and looked around for the cause of his distress.
"She looks…outstanding." B'Elanna and Chakotay had almost reached the point where Chakotay would sit down, so Tom began to walk towards them. As they met, Chakotay hugged her and sat down, Naomi finished walking down the aisle and sat with her mum. Tom held his hand out to B'Elanna, who took it graciously. The couple made their way towards the altar. Upon reaching the altar, the two took position in front of their Captain and crew. Trembling, B'Elanna lifted her veil and nodded to the Captain to begin.
"We're gathered here today, not as Starfleet officers, but as friends and family, to celebrate the marriage of two of Voyager's finest. As Captain, the honour of joining these two people has fallen to me. These two, are two of my best-friends, and out here, in the middle of the Delta quadrant, I am more than happy that they have found each other. But before I declare them husband and wife, Tom and B'Elanna have prepared their own vows." All eyes turned to Tom as he prepared himself for his vows.
"I still don't know what I've done to deserve you, but whatever it is, I'll try to keep doing it. And I promise to stand by you, to honour you, to love you, till death do us part. You are the most beautiful, funny, clever, most loving person I've ever met. I will spend the rest of our lives doing whatever it takes to make you happy, because I love you more than anything else in this world." Harry handed him his ring and he gently slid it onto her finger. "May this ring be the symbol of my eternal love for you." He wiped a tear out gently from under her eye as it trickled down her cheek.
"You stood by me when most people would have run for the nearest airlock. You were willing to see past my shortcomings, and to take all the bumps and bruises that came along with it. You made me a better person, even though I put up one hell of a fight. I look forward to our journey together. I never thought I would meet someone like you, I never thought I would ever have anybody who cared about me the way you do. So thank you, thank you for being here with me, I will do whatever it takes, I will try my best to make our lives the best I can. I love you so much Tom Paris."
"Lieutenant Thomas Eugene Paris…do you take B'Elanna Torres as your wife?"
"I do." The Captain turned to B'Elanna.
"Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres…do you take Thomas Eugene Paris as your husband?
"I do."
"I believe there is some Klingon rituals you wanted to involve?" The Captain looked across the two of them. "Here." The Captain handed him a small blade. He gently pierced a whole in the top of his index finger, watching blood begin to gather at the puncture. He passed her the blade and she did the same.
"Q'utanOs teQa parvunO. T'epono a'tiulliA conturnO Malik po-pa'voR. B'ellek kyamo n'epiolA c'urnarO. I love you. I'll always be here for you. I'll always protect you. He held his bleeding finger out to her.
"Q'utanOs teQa parvunO. T'epono a'tiulliA conturnO Malik po-pa'voR. centarO po'limin kap'mos. I love you. I'll always be here for you. I'm always yours." She pressed her finger to his and their blood mixed.
"This was the Klingon marriage blood oath. It celebrates that they are one together and always there for each other." He gently held her wrist and bit it gently, creating a mark but not drawing blood. She returned the action for him. "This was the Klingon Love Oath. It represents their eternal love for each other and only each other." The Captain confirmed, handing them both a small plaster for the tips of their fingers.
"Q'utanOs teQa parvunO." Tom repeated.
"Q'utanOs teQa parvunO." B'Elanna replied, pressing her forehead to his.
"With the power vested in my by Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Tom gathered his new wife up in his arms and kissed her devotedly, holding her tight for a long time. Crewmembers and friends made their way up to congratulate them, before making their way to the Holodeck next door. After a while, when the two were finally alone, Tom sat down on one of the pews and invited her to sit with him.
"I love you so much Be." He kissed her gently.
"I love you two Tom." She leaned into him gently and he took her into a warm hug.
"Look inside your ring." He gently pulled it off her finger and handed it to her. "Read the inscription."
"I'll always love you." She placed it back on her finger. "That's so sweet, what does yours say?"
"Mine doesn't say anything, I had to rearrange some replicator codes to have this inside, but it-" She leaned in and kissed him forcefully, they leaned back on the edge of the pew, and it broke, sending the two tumbling to the floor. Laughing uncontrollably, Tom stood up and helped his wife to her feet. "Good thing this is just a hologram, I don't think God would be too happy." She leaned in for another kiss and he returned it gently.
"I agree, but we'd better get going. I wish I'd brought an extra dress, it's going to be awkward having a meal in something like this." She sighed but began to walk towards the door.
"Good thing I know you so well. I got you a small present, follow me." He led her to his changing room. He handed her a long, black ball-gown and a pair of slip-on shoes.
"Aww, thank you!" She slipped off the wedding dress and hung it on the hanger. Creating a pile including her dress, shoes, gloves and veil, she set it for the transporter to take them back to their quarters. At the last minute Tom pulled of his tie and threw it on the pile. "By the way, I love your hair."
"I knew you would! I didn't let them do anything to it!" He smiled and wrapped his hand through hers.
"Let who?" B'Elanna leaned up and ran her hand through his hair.
"The women that came this morning to do my suit and stuff." B'Elanna pulled away from him and walked across the room.
"You let another woman dress you…on our wedding day?!" B'Elanna was fuming.
"Oh, god, no! I just realised how that must have sounded. No, they wanted to make sure I kept in time and made sure my suit was steamed and…honest! They…they…" Tom struggled to find the words to describe, but he ran out.
"They what?" B'Elanna pushed.
"They just made sure I was here on time, that my skin was clear and that my suit was perfect. They didn't dress me or anything like that! Do really not trust me, especially on our wedding day..." Tom sat down on the edge of a small bed, he looked hurt and wouldn't make eye contact. B'Elanna suddenly realised how stupid she'd acted, did she really not trust him that much? Of course she did! Sometimes she just let her stupid Klingon anger get in the way, not to mention her jealousy.
"Of course I do, it's just, you looked so amazing today, and you're so handsome and sweet and you could pretty much have anyone on this ship and-"
"But I want you." He stood up as she walked over to him slowly.
"But-"
"But I want you!" He picked her up and fell backwards onto the bed, erupting a scream from her. He nuzzled into her hair gently. "But I want you." B'Elanna stood up and pulled him up afterwards, kissing him gently. "Y'know, I think everyone is waiting for us, we are kind of important today."
B'Elanna laughed gently. "Let's go, then!" The two exited together, hand in hand, so happy to married.