Chapter 3

The evening was cool but not uncomfortable as the man walked out the front door and settled himself in the chair on the porch. He had just finished his evening meal and as his habit was he was enjoying the the sunset. He relaxed and let his hand trail over the side of the chair and begin stroking the dog's head. He was at peace with his existence. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he watched the sun dip below the horizon.

Tom had been on this planet now for four years, and he had come to accept his fate. It really wasn't so bad. He had Harry for company and Harry had Katie and now they all had three bouncing pups. He had named the pups Chakotay,Tuvok and the one girl Lanna. So now his family had grown to five. He chucked to himself as he thought of his friends and wondered what they would think if they knew he had named the dogs after them. He was sure that Harry and B'Elanna wouldn't mind, but he wasn't to sure about the Captain, Chakotay and Tuvok. Well he'd never know about that would he?

He turned his attention back to the sunset and once again marveled at the golds and reds of the sky. It never failed to amaze him how lovely the colors could be. This had become a sort of ritual for him to sit after his dinner and watch the sky. He usually sat till the night became quite dark and he had already named many a constellation. It was something he remembered doing back on Earth in his childhood. He had loved to go out back and lay on the grass and watch the heavens. He had always been a star gazer. As the colors began to lose their hue, he began to watch the stars come out one by one. Harry had laid down and he looked down and said to the dog

"Well Har, another day has passed. You and the missus been hunting again to feed that brood of yours?"

The dog looked up at him and thumped his tail. Tom smiled and thought to himself that it almost seemed like Harry could understand him. It would not have surprised him if Harry had actually said something back to him. He sometimes imaged that he did. The pups were gathering on the porch and all three came over to Tom and wiggled in delight as they all tried to get on his lap. He laughed and picked them all up and settled them on his lap. Lanna crawled up and licked his face and again he chuckled and said

"Ha I could never get my Lanna to do that"

Katie as he called the mother came over and laid down at his feet and placed her head down on her front paws and just looked up at him. She seemed to trust him with her pups and he was glad as it made his days go by easier to have the pups and the parents in his life. He remembered back to last year when Harry had come home one night with Katie in tow. She had hung back and was cautious of him but had after a couple of weeks accepted him too. He had looked into the dogs eyes, and for a moment they reminded him of the Captain, the look of wonder at seeing new things to explore in space. Thinking back now it seemed silly, but at that moment he had started calling her Katie.

He became somber as he once again thought of Voyager and her crew. Where were they? Had they made it home through another wormhole? Did they think about him? Had they forgotten him? He shook his head, he was not going down that path again. He knew the chances of ever being found by Voyager was practically null. But he was content. He had to be or it would drive him mad with loneliness and despair. It really wasn't that bad. Sure he didn't have a person to talk to but he had his family and even though they couldn't talk, he still talked to them and they seemed to listen to him.

He had rigged up a type of solar panels and now he didn't need to use the impulse engines to power the area. He had also replicated some vids and he was able to watch movies. The good thing was he could recycle them and so he always had a supply of them. He had also done a big collection of his favorite music, and so he had that to listen to. In fact he was listening to some right now. The music drifted out to the porch and he closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. It was his favorite piano piece, Clair De Lune. He could remember his mother playing that piece when he was a child on the grand piano that was in the den. He had always loved it and now the sounds of the music soothed his soul. He closed his eyes again and imagined his mom playing for him.

He sat there for over an hour before he stood and stretched The pups had long since gotten down and were now curled up with their mother and he looked down at them and said

"Time for bed guys. Its been a long day and I'm beat."

All the dogs looked at him and as he turned and walked into the house, they all followed him in. He shut the door and walked towards the bedroom. The pups followed and Harry laid down near the door, his usual spot. He had a large pillow and Katie joined him. They always kept guard at night but the pups always slept with Tom. There were no dangerous animals here on the planet, which Tom had dubbed Paradise. It fit the place well as the climate never varied much and the weather was good. He sat on the side of the bed and watched as the pups jumped up and settled down in their usual places. Chakotay always slept at the foot of the bed and Tuvok took the side Tom didn't. Lanna loved sleeping on the pillow next to Tom's head and sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night with her cuddled up against his neck. He laid down and covered up with the quilt and settled down to watch the first moon rise. This planet had two moons. They rose about two hours apart, and when both were up, the night could be quite bright. Tonight though it would be a half moon, so not so much light out. He saw the first begin to peek over the mountain range to the east and he watched for a while. Soon though, his eyes drooped and he fell asleep with the light shinning into the room and the sound of the pups breathing in his ear.

Tom woke with the sun shining through the window and a slight breeze ruffling the curtains. He replicated some white ones for the bedroom and had some light green ones in the main room. It had just seemed more home like and he felt better with them even though they didn't really provide privacy, but then he had no neighbors to worry about. The pups had moved out to the main room, and he knew they all wanted to go outside, so he got out of bed and walked into the main room. There they all were waiting patiently by the door. They all turned and looked at him with tails wagging.

"Morning guys did you sleep well?"

They all looked at him and Harry gave a small bark and wagged even more. The pups were wiggling their bodies as they came and wrapped around his legs almost tripping him

"Hey, guys."

He laughed and opened the door and all five shot out to do their duty and spend the day doing dog things. Tom left the door open and moved to the kitchen to see what he wanted for breakfast. He had fashioned a cooler and it held his perishables. He had some fruit and vegetables and juice and milk. Since about two years ago, he had cut way down on his coffee consumption and only had it about once a week. He grabbed the container of juice and poured a glass and sat it down on the table. He turned and took the loaf of bread he had baked yesterday and cut a couple of slices and took the fruit spread he had made out of the cooler. He had replicated some butter last night and he placed that and the spread on the table with the bread. The last thing he got was the container of peanut butter he had also replicated. He still enjoyed peanut butter toast in the mornings, only now he rarely toasted the bread. He sat down and began fixing the bread. As he ate, he thought of what he needed to do today. He'd need to work in his garden. He had quite a garden. He had planted potatoes,corn,beans,tomatoes, carrots and salad makings. It had thrived here with the mild weather and rains. He knew he wasn't going to lack in what he needed. He had canned a lot of the produce and had the one large cabinet full of fruit spreads and vegetables and his own tomato sauce. The fruit trees and berries he picked had come in handy too. He had canned a lot to have on hand. What little the planet didn't provide, he'd replicate it. He had flour,sugar,salt and other spices and condiments so he was able to cook each night. The stream had provided fish, and what little red meat he ate now was also replicated. He smiled to himself as he realized he was more of a vegetarian now than when he was on Voyager, but he found that he felt better for not eating a lot of red meat. Now he only ate the occasion steak or had a hamburger meal maybe twice a month.

When he finished his breakfast, he rose and cleaned up and then went to the bedroom to get his clothes for the day. He also took his shower things and went to the shuttle to shower and get ready for the day.

He had spent a good two hours in the garden and now he walked to the house with two baskets of items. He had decided he would be making a vegetable stew tonight and had the ingredients he would use. He walked into the main room and placed the baskets down on the table. He would sort through them later. He first wanted to go and get some of the apple like fruit for tonight as he had decided that a fresh baked apple pie would be good tonight. He might even replicate some sharp cheddar cheese to go with it. He put all the salad greens and fixings in the cooler and took that basket and left again to get the apples. As he walked the quarter mile to the grove of trees he was joined by Harry who loved to go with him on his outings. He stooped down and scratched the dog's head and then continued on. When he reached to grove, he went to the first tree and began to gather the apple like fruit. The trees were not tall so he could easily pick the fruit. Once he had gathered all the basket would hold, he turned and started back, Harry at his heals.

"Well, Har, I think I've got enough to make a good size pie and have some left to fry tomorrow for breakfast."

The dog just looked up at him and wagged his tail. Tom just chuckled and said

"Thanks, I knew you'd agree."

When he got home, he went in and put the basket down on the table next to the other one. He looked at the clock and saw it was mid afternoon and decided to get the stew going first. He had, since he had extended the power grid to the kitchen area been able to dispense with the need to do fire wood to cook and bake, and he was glad. It heated the house up too much and it took forever it seemed to cool it down. He took a large pot out of the cabinet and placed on the burner of his stove. He turned and took the basket of vegetables and placed them in a large bowl in the sink and began to pump the water to fill the bowl. It took him all of fifteen minutes to get everything ready and he then turned the burner to a simmer so the stew would cook. He cleaned the mess he'd made and wiped the counter down, and then he got the things he needed to do the pie crust. It took him about twenty minutes to make and roll out the bottom crust and place it in the pie plate. He had decided to make a crumble topping and had mixed it first and set it aside till he had the apples peeled and sliced. He got the apples and placed them in the same bowl and with the peeler, he took them out to the front porch and sat down to peel the apples. He was humming as he worked and soon had them all peeled. Going back into the house, he scooped the slice apples into the crust and added spices and the crumble topping and placed into the heated oven to bake. Placing the remainder of the slices in a container and then into the cooler for tomorrow, he again cleaned up his mess. He checked the stew and saw it was cooking nicely and the aroma was making him hungry. It was then that he realized he hadn't eaten lunch. He took the tin that sat on the counter and opened it and took three chocolate chip cookies out and then replaced the cover. He got the milk out and poured himself a glass and placed it back into the cooler. Picking up the glass he moved to the computer and placed a disc in and let the music flow through the room. Picking up his book, he went out on the front porch and sat down to spend the rest of the afternoon reading.

His stew and pie had made his evening. He was once again very thankful that his mom had insisted he learn to cook. He wasn't one to think he could have made a living with it but he wasn't bad at it either. He was getting ready to go to bed and was once again thinking of his time here. It was a lonely existence but he also felt himself lucky. He could be completely alone but he wasn't. He had no real work to do, but he kept himself busy around the home. Sometimes he'd hike off and camp out with the dogs in tow and explore his planet. He'd found a lovely valley about ten miles to the east and had enjoyed a week there camping. It had a pristine lake and the mountains in the distance. It had made for a nice peaceful place. He'd been back several times and had enjoyed it. He had figured he had explored a fifty mile square area around his home and knew what lay around him. In his first weeks here he had even taken the Flyer up and surveyed the planet and had mapped it out, but now he never took it out anymore. It remained in its place just off the bedroom and he used it for his bathroom now and would replicate the few things he needed when he needed them.

He laid down and took his book to read some more. He was reading one of his favorite classics, The Three Musketeers. He had read it as a child but he never got tired of it. That was one thing he was glad he had insisted that was programed into the computer system of the Flyer. Tuvok had said it was unnecessary but Tom had insisted that it was a need in case they were ever stranded on some planet. He had been right. Now he had replicated ten different books and he would go through them one at a time. Sometimes he'd read out loud to the dogs as if they understood the story. Deep down he knew it was silly, and maybe he did it to hear a human voice, but it also seemed to sooth the dogs too. Finally he had gotten to the end and laying the book down on the bedside table, he turned out the light and settled down to sleep, the light of the two almost full moons streaming into the room.

He had just finished cleaning up after lunch when a sound caught his attention. He put the dish down and walked out onto the porch to listen. It sounded like a craft. For a moment his heart leaped and he thought that maybe Voyager had found him, but then he saw what was causing the noise. It was a shuttle of some sort, but definitely not Star Fleet. He had mixed feelings about it. Were they friendly? Did he need to fear that they weren't? If they were friendly he'd have company and if not then he was in trouble. How many were there? He watched as the shuttle seemed to be in trouble. It's flight was erratic and he could tell it was in trouble. The engines were whining and he could see the pilot was having trouble controlling the descent. It finally dipped below the tree line and he heard a loud crash and explosion. He turned and rushed into the house and went to the desk and opened the small drawer and took out his communicator and attached it to his shirt for the universal translator. He also grabbed the phaser he had there just in case they were not friendly. He also got his med kit and was out the door and running to where the shuttle had crashed. He estimated it was about half a mile to the east.

When he got there, he could see it was smoldering but it seemed safe enough to enter. The hatch was torn at the hinges and hanging at a grotesque angle. Cautiously he entered and looked around. He let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. He could smell burning wires and saw the sparks coming off the panels. He made his was to the front and then saw the pilot slumped over the panels. He was humanoid and had long blond hair. Tom checked him for a pulse but found none. His face was burned and he did not seem to be breathing. He took the medical tricorder out and scanned him and found he was dead. He shut the tricorder and sighed. He'd never know who he was now. He sighed and went to check to see if any others were on board. As he made his way to the rear of the shuttle he thought he heard soft crying. He found a woman who was burned badly over most of her body and barely alive. He knelt down and began to scan her.

"Don't worry I'll help you."

He said as he looked at the results. His heart sank as he saw she was also dying. He couldn't even do anything to save her. She looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes and said

"My baby...my baby."

"Baby?"

It took all her remanding strength but she raised up and pointed to the back of the shuttle. Tom's eyes followed her pointing hand and got up and went to the area she was pointing at. He found a small lighted chamber and as he peered in he saw the baby. It seemed to be protected and he watched as it turned its head and looked out at him. Then it grinned at him. He looked at the controls and pushed a couple of buttons and the covering opened up. He gently reached in and took the baby out and walked back to the mother. She was anxiously watching and as he knelt down again and started to hand the baby to her she stopped him and looked at him and said with her last breath

"Take care of my baby."

She slumped down and Tom knew she was dead. He looked down at the baby in his arms and saw the look on it's face and how it didn't know that it had lost its parents and suddenly he could not hold the tears back any more. He drew the baby closer and held it to his chest as he sobbed uncontrollable for the loss of life. But he had hope for the child and he knew he would do anything to keep this child alive and healthy. He again looked at the baby and saw only trust and contentment on its face. He could not seem to stop the tears from streaming down his face and he brought the baby up to his face and cuddled it to him, and as he did he felt the little hand reach up and touch him on the cheek.

TBC