Chapter 8

Tom was still standing in the middle of the room with that same goofy grin when he felt a small hand on his. He looked down to see not only his daughter looking up at him, but also Harry and Katie sitting and looking at him tails wagging.

"Daddy, I let them out of their box, they looked sad."

Tom stooped down and ran his hands over the dogs and reached to scratch behind their ears and the tails wagged harder. He stood back up and looked at his daughter and picked her up. He moved to the couch and sat down with her on his lap. She snuggled close and he began to absently run his fingers through her unruly curls. After a moment he said

"So sweet pea, what are you thinking?"

"I like it here Daddy, and the people all seem nice...I think we should stay."

She said it with conviction and Tom smiled at her as he said

"Okay, I think we will."

She reached up and patted his cheek and said

"I will miss our other home Daddy...and our swimming hole..."

Tom got a warm look on his face and then said

"Well, sweetie don't worry about swimming. Do you remember me telling you about the holodeck?"

She nodded and then her eyes lit up and she said excitedly

"We can go there to swim?"

She was getting excited and Tom was loving it

"If you give me some time, I think I can recreate our swimming hole for you."

She clapped her hands and said

"Please Daddy oh please?"

He took and hugged her and said

"Okay but it may take me some time, after all its been ten long years since I've had a chance to play around with a holodeck..."

But Joy didn't seem to mind. She was happy with the idea that she would still be able to go swimming. They sat there in silence as they both enjoyed the closeness of each other. Tom had closed his eyes and was close to nodding off when he felt the difference in the way the ship was handling. He opened his eyes and looked out the port at the stars and then said to Joy

"Sweetie look out the port and watch..."

She did and what she saw amazed her, for suddenly the stars that were twinkling out the port suddenly began to streak and elongate and for a moment they seemed to be moving. She felt the ship jump and then settle down, but the stars still seemed to be moving in streaks. Her eyes remained the size of saucers as he looked at her dad and he smiled at her and said

"We've just gone to warp..."

He seemed to pause for a moment and then continued

"I'd say probably 6.5 or maybe 7..."

She looked at him with wonder in her eyes and said

"How can you tell?"

He again smiled and said

"Well, its just the way the ship feels...something a good pilot would feel..the vibrations in the deck.."

She got off his lap and stood and after a moment she looked at him with a confused look on her face

"I don't feel anything."

Tom smiled again and said

"Well usually most people can feel the vibrations in the deck plating, but only an engineer or pilot would be able to judge the speed."

Joy was still mesmerized at the stars streaking by. Tom watched for a moment with the look of love in his eyes as he enjoyed her look of wonderment. His little girl had lots of things to learn and he was looking forward to teaching her.

"Come on sweet pea, lets see what we can rustle up for dinner."

He moved towards the small kitchen area and opened the door to the fridge and saw that it had been stocked not only with his things he had transported up that morning, but there was other things too. He just stood for a moment and then grinned as he shook his head. There were several containers of food, and he reached for a yellow one. It contained a pasta salad and looked good. He took it out and placed it on the counter. He took out another and looked and found slices of all kinds of fruit. He decided that he was entirely too tired to really do any real cooking, so he decided that this would suffice along with some home made bread he had brought. He turned to say something to Joy, but she was still watching the stars, so he just continued getting their dinner ready.

Once he had everything ready, he turned and saw both Harry and Katie looking at him with their big brown eyes. He smiled at them and turned to check on the bag of food he had left from the planet. He filled their bowls and set them down and both dogs began to eat. He then walked over to his daughter and said

"Come on sweetie, time to eat."

He picked her up and carried her over to the table and deposited her on the chair and then sat down himself. He took her plate and dished up the pasta salad and the fruit, and then took a piece of bread and put some butter on it and a little jam and then handed her the plate. He filled her glass with milk and then began to place food on his plate.

"Daddy, where are we going?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, why are we going so fast and where are we going and how long will it take?"

She said all of this in one breath and with a mouth full of pasta. Tom had to hide his grin but said

"What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?"

She chewed and then swallowed and said

"Sorry daddy, I forgot."

She looked at him with downcast eyes, but he said warmly

"Don't worry, sweetie, but in company its not polite to talk with your mouth full. I just want you to remember that okay?"

She nodded at him and took another bite of her dinner.

"Now to answer your questions, we are going home...to Earth, and we are not really going that fast, but at a good cruising speed, and unless we find some sort of shortcut, it's going to take a long time to get there I'm afraid."

He watched the look on her face and knew she was thinking. When she had finally decided on what she wanted to say, she did

"I hope we find a shortcut then, so we can get home sooner. I want to see Earth cause you told me so many wonderful stories and I want to meet my grandma and grandpa...Do you think they will like me?"

It broke his heart when she'd ask this question. He knew his mother would adore Joy, and he was hoping beyond hope that his dad would too. His sisters would spoil her rotten and she would not want for playmates, as he knew they both had children of there own. He looked at his daughter and said

"They will absolutely adore and cherish you as I do. And my sisters, your aunts, will spoil you rotten"

The smile that lit her face was something he could not get enough of. She happily finished her dinner and then as he cleaned up, she played with the dogs.

Once he was done, he sat on the couch and watched his little brood play chase. After an hour he scooped his daughter up and announce

"It's time for bath and bed."

She screwed her face up and said

"Do I have to take a bath? I'm not dirty."

He smiled at her and said

"Yes, you have to take a bath. Just because we're on Voyager, doesn't mean we can skip our nightly bath."

He stood with her still in his arms and started towards the bathroom. When he got there, he put her down and began to run the water for her. He filled the tub about one quarter full and then turned the water off. He turned to her and said

"Okay, off with those dirty clothes and into the tub, I'll get your jammies and make sure the bed is turned down for you...no making a mess though."

He looked at her and she said

"Okay daddy."

As she started to undress, he went into her room and over to the dresser. He opened the second drawer and took out a pair of PJ's for her, all the time keeping his ear pealed to her. He heard her get into the tub and then he heard water splashing around. He said

"I don't want to find a wet floor when I come back."

The splashing subsided and he grinned to himself. He took and turned down the bed and straighten the pillow for her. He took the stuffed bear and placed it on the pillow and then stood back for a moment and looked at the bed. The bear she had since she was a baby, and it was showing signs of wear and tear, but it was her favorite stuffed animal. She loved sleeping with him...Goofy. She had named the bear after a cartoon character he had told her about. Never mind that Goofy was a dog, the bear had become Goofy. He sighed and picked up the PJ's and went back into the bathroom.

"You done sweet pea?"

She nodded and he got a large fluffy towel and as she got out of the tub, he dried her off. He picked up the PJ's and said

"Raise your arms."

She did and he slipped it over her head. He took the brush and combed her curls, and then he had her brush her teeth. When she was done he said.

"Come on sweetie time for bed."

She reached for his hand and they went into her bedroom. As they got near the bed, Tom scooped her up in his arms and said

"Who's my little sweet pea?"

She laughed and said

"I am."

He began to swing her around and said

"Are you sure?"

She continued to laugh and said

"Yes daddy me...me!"

He had continued to swing her as he moved closer to the bed and at the right time, he let her bounce down on the bed. She giggled and said

"Tell me a story daddy, please?"

"A story? Well..."

"Please daddy just one story?"

Tom looked at her sparkly eyes and sat on the edge of the bed and said

"Okay...one story and then it sleep time for you..."

So he told her favorite story of the princess who was rescued by the handsome prince and soon she was fast asleep. Both Harry and Katie had joined them and were now laying on the soft bed that was in the corner of the room so they could keep an eye on Joy. Tom stood after lightly kissing his daughter on her cheek and lightly brushing a golden curl off her forehead.

"Good night my little princess sleep well."

He turned and left the room, secure in the knowledge that they were safe and sound aboard Voyager. He left the door ajar so he could hear if Joy needed anything during the night. He went back into the main room and stood for a moment before he quietly asked the computer the time

"It is 19:45"

He thought for a moment and said

"Computer, location of Lt Commander B'Elanna Torres?"

"Lt Commander Torres is in her quarters."

The reply came. He smiled and went over to the desk where his communicator was. He knew he'd have to get use to wearing one again, and he full well intended to get one for Joy too. He had no desire to have her wander around the ship without a way to find her. He attached the communicator to his shirt and then lightly tapped it to open a channel.

"Paris to Torres...B'Elanna you busy?"

He hoped not as he so wanted to see her tonight. He received an answer almost immediately

"Tom, I'm not what's up?"

He cleared his throat and then said

"Uh B'Elanna, I just thought maybe..."

Before he could finish his sentence he heard her soft voice say

"I'll be there in a minute Tom."

And the channel was closed.

He grinned and then he became anxious. He looked around and decided that the room was presentable. He heard the announcer chime and nervously he went to the door to open it. As the door slide open, he felt the softest lips on his, and as he was gently moved backwards until he was all the way in the room, the lips never left his. For a moment he just stood there and then instinct took over and he deepened the kiss and placed his arms around the warm body of the chief engineer.

TBC