Making Up is Hard to Do
Chapter 11
Captain Janeway sat in the 'Big Chair' on the command deck and scanned her PADD. Commander Chakotay had forwarded the weekly summaries of the section chief reports noting nothing of importance. Everything was as it should be less what was happening aboard the shuttle off Voyager's starboard beam. And of that she had no clue.
Despite what seemed to be a crew busily going about their shift or enjoying off duty activities, Voyager was buzzing with speculation as to what was happening aboard the Flyer. Bets were placed over outright murder to intimate sexual relations. No one, however, predicted that the two Starfleet lieutenants would return as a married couple.
No one except Seven-of-Nine. Seven's study of human sexuality held copious amounts of information regarding Paris and Torres. She had predicted they would reconcile. She also foretold that they would marry. Now she was confident that the two would quickly put aside their differences while alone in space in a similar fashion to when the almost died in their EV suits nearly three years before. To her, the couple only made bold moves when they were absolutely alone be it on Sakari IV, a frozen cave, or now aboard the Flyer. Paris meeting with Torres in seclusion was the logical step to finally bonding. She was about to become a credit-rich woman.
/
Just over five hours after the Flyer had departed Voyager, the comms channel opened. "Delta Flyer to Voyager." Tom Paris's voice came over the comm and was immediately picked up by Janeway. Funny, Paris is speaking over Lieutenant Torres' comm badge.
"Janeway here, Tom. What is your status?"
"One second, Captain. B'Elanna, stop it!"
At that point everyone on the command deck heard B'Elanna Torres giggle and Tom laugh. The two happened to be lying naked in each other's arms with B'Elanna stroking Tom's lower extremities and licking his ear. In his excitement he had accidently sat on the comm badge on his discarded flight suit. The comm channel was open due to a hot microphone.
Paris responded to his wife with his fingers between her legs. "You're tickling me! Tommy! Don't, stop it!" More giggles. "Ummmmmm…." Some obvious passionate kissing went out over the comm.
Janeway looked around as the command crew tried to appear very busy. Chakotay smirked and Tuvok nodded. Harry Kim shrugged and grinned.
Realizing something was wrong due to microphone feedback, Tom found his badge and cut the link. "Ooops!"
He called again using his own commbadge. "Paris to Voyager. Our status…Hey, B'Elanna!...is that we are nearly done here…Hey!...and umm, well, umm. Oh man! B'Ella!"
"Hurry up helmboy!"
"Umm, we are ready to come…aboard that is. I, we, need clearance to dock and…umm…Yes!...well, we need to see you right away Captain, if you can please meet us in five minutes. Oww, that's my ribs! On second thought give us half an hour. Delta Flyer out."
The comm link ended.
The Captain smirked. She notified Docking Bay One to secure and open the outer doors once Tom signaled his pending arrival. She turned command over to Tuvok and motioned for Chakotay to follow her. They would pick up Ensign Aubrey on the way.
/
The Delta Flyer entered the docking bay and settled down onto its landing pad. The engines revved briefly and then shut down as Voyager's doors closed.
Once the area pressurized, the ground crew arrived to secure the vessel as Captain Janeway, Chakotay, and Ensign Aubrey approached it.
The shuttle's rear ramp opened and Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres stepped out, every hair in place, her makeup perfect, and with the broadest smile Janeway had ever seen on her. Her right arm was slightly backward because her hand was firmly attached to the left hand of Tom Paris who was grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.
The two walked side-by-side to the Captain when suddenly B'Elanna could not stand it anymore. She let out a small shriek and held up her left hand. "Tom asked me to marry him! I said YES!"
Three people stared at the couple and the same thought entered their minds. Finally!
"Congratulations you two," said the Captain shaking their hands. "Umm, I can tell by the blood and bite marks on your chins that you are a couple once again?"
Tom spoke. "Actually, Captain, we have now bonded. We are married, at least according to Klingon law."
B'Elanna never stopped smiling or stopped holding his hand. She felt so giddy.
"I see. Did you bring pain sticks aboard?" Janeway laughed. Chakotay and Aubrey grinned.
Tom was not amused but managed a smirk. "No, Ma'am. But you see, Captain, we also want a wedding under Starfleet civil regulations. This one will be a human ceremony and with your permission we would like to do that as soon as possible. We believe in short engagements."
Torres now looked determined. "I agree. As soon as possible. 2000 hours tonight? And Captain?"
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"I…we…would like to discuss new living arrangements with you. There are some larger former VIP quarters being used for storage on Deck 2 that I…we…have had an eye on for several months now. And some new furniture and other items. With your permission, of course." She smiled.
Janeway nodded. "Of course. Consider it a wedding present. Commander Chakotay will take care of it."
"And also us being put on the same shift so we can spend more time together. If that is not too much to ask?"
This time it was Chakotay's turn. "I'll take care of it."
Ensign Aubrey spoke up. "Lieutenant Paris, can I have just a brief word with you, if that is okay with Lieutenant Torres?"
B'Elanna glared but in a nice way. "Keep it very brief, Ensign. I have a lot of plans for him."
/
Tom and Freddy walked over to the Flyer, which was being serviced.
"Tom, are you okay?" Aubrey was obviously concerned.
Paris moved his feet a bit. "Yeah. But I had my doubts I was going to get through it alive. It was dicey at the end."
She now knew it had nearly gone wrong. "You…died?"
"Yes, I think so."
She stared and wondered what happened. People either lived or died during the ritual but there was no return from death.
"Tom, the mating link should have broken then. B'Elanna would have grieved and it would have ended without bonding. You should not be here."
Tom shook his head. "No, that is not true. I'm here because you were right."
Aubrey looked confused. "Right about what?"
Tom looked at her. "About everything really. But mostly about B'Elanna."
He was getting emotional. "I had never believed that two people were really destined for each other, you know, people having free will and all of that. But I do now. How else could we have known each other at the Academy, separated for a few years, became Maquis, and then ended up together once again in the Delta Quadrant?"
Aubrey shook her head. She had no idea. Pure coincidence?
He then spoke with conviction. "At the end of the ritual I could sense I was dying. No, I knew I was dying. Just before I lost consciousness I called out to B'Elanna and she came to me in the mirror. She…was my lifeline. Just as you said she was. She saved me, Freddy. She saved me from myself. She brought me back." His eyes watered. "How can I ever repay her?"
Freddy's own eyes welled up with tears. "You can love her forever, Tom. Isn't that repayment enough?"
Tom nodded. "I suppose it is."
/
A determined and confident B'Elanna Torres was fidgeting with her makeup in her mirror and then dabbed on Tom's favorite perfume. She pulled her wedding gown over her head to conceal her white bra, lace panties, garter belt, and stockings. Assisting her were the Delaney sisters who now zipped her up, combed her hair, and slipped a garter up her right leg. She then pushed her feet into white shoes with four-inch heels.
"Oh, B'Elanna! You look so lovely. Tom is going to go nuts!" That comment came from Megan Delaney, one of Tom's former girlfriends who he had dated for months aboard Voyager.
B'Elanna smirked. And now he is mine you…. She did not complete the thought. All that was over now. No need to speak about the past.
The wedding dress was a gift from the ship's crew and was replicated from Torres's human grandmother's holograph wedding picture taken over seventy years ago. It was white satin and lace that hugged her in the right places while exposing just enough cleavage to make it interesting. Her train was short enough to not require an assistant but long enough to appear as if she was floating. And that was exactly how she was feeling.
In a few moments Commander Chakotay would arrive at her quarters. He was going to give her away since her father, John Torres, was not there. And she was more than ready.
Tom Paris wore his dress uniform. It contained Starfleet decorations for service and valor approved once the MIDAS array allowed monthly communications with the Alpha Quadrant. He was most proud of his master pilot's wings, which he highly polished until it almost glowed on its own. I can't wait until Dad, Mom, and my sisters meet B'Elanna. He will recognize her from my Academy days when she was a plebe. But she is now a woman, a beautiful woman, and no longer a rebellious teenager. Humm…rebellious. Me or her?
Tom was pacing about and talking to himself as his best man Harry Kim looked him over and brushed off his uniform. Paris was slightly nervous but only because he desperately wanted to be with his wife.
Scanners had found a humanoid-inhabited M-Class planet that Voyager now orbited. Tom and B'Elanna would take a short ride on the Delta Flyer and then honeymoon at a plush and warm seaside resort. Voyager's crew would also enjoy a week's shore leave in the nearby capitol. The Starship would undergo a much needed overhaul, this time without the supervision of the chief engineer who would be obviously occupied.
Captain Janeway stuck her head into the rec room off the mess hall to see her chief pilot walking about. "Cold feet, Lieutenant?"
"No Ma'am, just anxious. I really want the rest of my life with B'Elanna to begin as soon as possible."
/
Tom Paris stood patiently next to Harry Kim and awaited the arrival of his bride. The turbolift doors opened and out stepped a vision that took his breath away. B'Elanna was stunning, her left arm intertwined with a beaming Commander Chakotay. Tom had never seen her look so happy.
Chakotay accepted a hug from Voyager's chief engineer and then handed her over into the loving hands of Tom Paris. The two looked into each other's eyes as Captain Janeway administered the wedding ceremony. Vows and sentiments were exchanged along with two plain gold wedding bands that matched the engagement ring.
B'Elanna did not wait for her Captain to finish saying "You may kiss the bride," for she launched herself into Tom's arms and bussed him shamelessly. The crew members applauded loudly, even those on duty watching from monitors around Voyager.
Of course, Seven-of-Nine caught the bouquet and smirked. For some reason she found herself staring at Commander Chakotay who pretended he did not see her glance. And then he looked back and smiled.
The Captain's log recorded the ship's first but not last wedding in the Delta Quadrant, for other crew members followed suit.
The reception was a Neelix affair in every sense of the word. He outdid himself given such short notice and managed a full dinner buffet, a marvelous wedding cake, champagne, and decorations. After the meal and many kisses and toasts, the party moved to Chez Sandrine's for dancing and an open bar furnished by the senior officers. After the newlyweds danced together and with their guests, they quietly slipped away. Accepting congratulations from those they passed in the corridors, the couple ran arm-in-arm to the Delta Flyer for their trip to the surface.
/
Tom landed their ship, killed he engines, and turned to his wife who was filling champagne flutes. He toasted her glass with his, careful to keep his rim below hers as a sign of honor. They had come so far over the last six-plus years yet their journey together was just beginning.
"To B'Elanna Paris."
"To Tom Torres."
They laughed, drained their glasses, and then tossed them against the sanitary compartment door.
Tom laughed again. "Maybe we should just keep our last names, at least for now? Could get confusing with two lieutenants on Voyager having the same last name."
B'Elanna batted her eyes and teased. "Why Tommy, there are two Delaney's on board with the same rank and you never seemed to get Jenny and Megan confused when you comm them."
Tom looked a bit sheepish and his face turned red.
Tom's wife continued and she touched his lips with a finger. "But I suppose we can decide on last names later. I can think of a few more interesting things I would rather be doing at the moment."
Tom agreed. "Then shall we gather our bags and abscond to our nuptial abode, Mrs. Torres?"
"I think that would be a fine idea, Mr. Paris."
They stared at each other briefly and then broke out in laughter. Settling for a quick kiss, the honeymooners secured their ship and departed. With a bag in hand and arms around each other they slowly walked barefoot across the beach to their hotel. They stole kisses as the sun began to set.