"Mommy," B'Elanna heard from Miral when she entered her parents-in-law's house. B'Elanna kneeled so Miral could run into her arms. B'Elanna lifted Miral and stood, which was hard because she was pregnant with her second child, but she loved holding Miral close.
B'Elanna headed for Julia, who was in the kitchen. "Were you good for grandma today?" Miral looked up at B'Elanna and nodded her head.
Julia smiled. "She was fine," Julia gave B'Elanna a look. "You shouldn't be holding her."
"I know," B'Elanna put Miral down. "Is Tom home?" Julia shook her head. B'Elanna sighed. She hadn't seen her husband in a few days, and she knew that she and Miral missed him. When they decided that they were done with space and ships, Tom was teaching at the academy, and she barely saw him. She had hoped to see him more.
"Your cousin, Elizabeth called for you while you were gone," Julia said. "She wanted you to give her a call as soon as you got home."
B'Elanna nodded. She put Miral down. "Can you stay with grandma for a few more minutes?" B'Elanna asked her. Miral nodded.
B'Elanna headed for the den where she could call her cousin. It didn't take long for Elizabeth to answer. "Hello, B'Elanna. How are you doing?"
B'Elanna smiled. "Good with a three-year-old and pregnant with my second. Why did you need me to call?"
Elizabeth sighed. "I don't know if your dad call, but Grandma Torres passed away last night. I just wanted you to know."
B'Elanna was glad that she was sitting down. She hadn't seen her grandmother since she came back from Voyager. Her grandmother had met Miral and Tom. Her grandmother wanted to know everything about what she did in the Delta Quadrant and how she met Tom. Tom had charmed her grandmother right away. Grandma Torres had fallen in love with Miral right away. They had talked about going to see her again, but with everything that happened to them. They didn't make time. B'Elanna was going to miss her grandmother and her banana pancakes.
B'Elanna didn't know what to say. "Can you tell me when the funeral is so I can be there?" Elizabeth nodded. "Was she sick?" B'Elanna asked. She knew that Elizabeth would have told her if her grandmother was sick or not.
"No, she passed away in her sleep," Elizabeth said. B'Elanna nodded. She was glad that her grandmother got to live a long life.
"Please keep me updated about the funeral," B'Elanna didn't know what else to say.
"Will do," Elizabeth said. They hung up after that.
B'Elanna sat there for a second before getting up and heading back to her mother-in-law and daughter. Julia looked at her and saw her face. "Is everything alright?"
B'Elanna shook her head. "No, my grandmother passed away."
Julia came over and hugged her. "I'm sorry. When is the funeral?"
"Don't know yet, but Elizabeth will keep me updated," B'Elanna said.
B'Elanna laid in bed and tried to get some sleep. She had dinner with Miral and her parents-in-law before putting Miral to bed. B'Elanna couldn't wait until they got their own place. Not that she didn't love her in-laws, but they needed their own space. She worked on homework before crawling into bed. She knew that she was upset about losing her grandmother and she wanted Tom around to comfort her.
B'Elanna heard the bedroom door open. She sat up and saw Tom making his way into the room. He closed the door behind him. He smiled when he saw her sitting up in the bed. Tom made his way over and kissed. "Hello, love," He sat on the bed and took off his shoes. "What are you doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep," B'Elanna watched him get up and take off his clothes.
Tom crawled into bed with her. He placed a hand on her slightly round belly. "Is our son keeping you up?"
"No," B'Elanna watched his hand for a moment before looking up at him. "My grandmother died last night."
Tom pulled her close. "I'm sorry."
B'Elanna let the tears that she was holding back fall. Tom settled them on the bed and let B'Elanna cry. Tom kissed the top of her head. "I'll be here if you need me too," he mumbled in her hair.
Right now, all B'Elanna needed was Tom holding her.
B'Elanna sat with the rest of the family as they said goodbye to her grandmother. Tom was next to her holding Miral, who was sleeping. They had taken a late-night transporter to Boston last night and the funeral was the next morning. The funeral director wanted her grandmother's sons and grandchildren to sit together. B'Elanna saw that all her three cousins were here. Her uncle Carl and his wife were here. B'Elanna saw her father, who hugged her and told her how sorry he was that he didn't tell her.
B'Elanna watched as her father and uncle went first. Then it was all of Grandmother Torres' grandchildren with their other half and their children. B'Elanna was glad that Tom could be here with her. He was the support that she needed. They decided to bring Miral with them because B'Elanna wanted to be close to her daughter. Right now, Tom and Miral were the bright spots in her life right now.
She watched as people stood and told wonderful things about her grandmother. The thing that B'Elanna was going to remember was her banana pancakes that she would make for her before her dad left them. She always hoped that she would learn the recipe, but her grandmother always kept it under her hat.
The last thing she was going to remember was her grandmother's smiling face when she saw B'Elanna for the first time in years. How she loved Miral. B'Elanna smiled as she thought about how she questioned Tom about what he planned for his family. Tom humored her and told her some story about what they had planned for their lives. That night she made them banana pancakes for dinner. B'Elanna was going to miss her grandmother.
B'Elanna didn't know how she made it through the service without crying. She had felt Tom reach for her hand and hold it as he held a sleeping child. They went to the wake where everyone was going. She stepped into her uncle's house with a sigh. She felt Tom by her side. Tom leaned down. "I'm not leaving you," His words brought comfort for her. She knew a long time ago that Tom was never going to leave her.
"B'Elanna," She heard her name being called. B'Elanna turned to the call and saw an older woman making her way over to her. B'Elanna didn't recognize the woman. "I'm your great-aunt Emma, I'm your grandmother's sister."
"Hello," B'Elanna said. She traded a look with Tom, who shrugged his shoulders.
"The last time I saw you, you were a little girl," Emma turned to Tom and Miral. "Who is this beautiful girl?" She asked. Emma tried to reach out for Miral, but Miral buried her head in her father's chest.
"This is my husband, Tom and our daughter, Miral," B'Elanna said.
"She is beautiful," Emma glanced down and saw B'Elanna's round belly. "Congratulations, do you know what you are having?"
B'Elanna felt Tom place a hand on her arm to stop her from saying something she was going to regret. "Yes, a boy," B'Elanna clenched her teeth.
Emma started asking questions about what B'Elanna was doing now. B'Elanna told her what was going on with her. "I think Miral is hungry," Tom said.
Both women looked up at him. B'Elanna inner smiled. She knew that she was going to have to thank her husband later. "If you excuse us," B'Elanna turned away from the older woman. Tom followed her.
Tom glance back and saw Emma talking to someone else. "We are good."
B'Elanna looked up at Miral. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, Mommy," Miral looked at her mom. B'Elanna nodded and took her family to the food.
They filled plates and found a place to eat. Someone came and sat next to them. The person started asking questions about B'Elanna and what she up too. They soon left and another person came up and started talking to them. After the fifth person came up and started talking to them. B'Elanna was ready to kill someone. It was a good thing that Tom was next to her, or she would have murdered someone at her grandmother's funeral.
B'Elanna was ready to leave and headed for the door when she heard her name being called again. If it was another person asking about her life, she was going to kill them. She turned and saw her cousin Elizabeth. She took breath and smiled at her cousin.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," She said. "I saw people coming up and talking to you. I could also tell that you weren't happy about it." Elizabeth tried to smile.
"I think some part of me knew that this was going to happen," B'Elanna sighed. "The thing that bothered me was none of them talked about Grandma. All they wanted to know what was going on in my life."
"Again, I'm sorry," Elizabeth hugged B'Elanna. "Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for letting me know, I'm glad that I got to say goodbye to her."
"Don't be a stranger," Elizabeth said.
"You, too," B'Elanna smiled. They hugged one more time before B'Elanna and Tom headed out the door.
