B'Elanna took a sigh before entering her home. She just had a meeting at Starfleet Command about all the top engineers getting together for a conference. She didn't want to go, but she felt honor that they considered her as one of the top engineers in Starfleet even those she was teaching and not Chief Engineer on an important ship.
"What the hell happen to my kitchen?" B'Elanna turned and saw goop on the walls and counter. Her two children were standing in the center of the kitchen with googles on. They had smiles on their faces as the experiment went well.
"Sorry, Mom," Xavier smiled at her. "We were doing a science experiment for school."
B'Elanna could feel a headache coming on. She waved them off before making her way upstairs. She couldn't deal with her children right now. She wondered where Tom was because he would have told them to do it outside away from the house.
B'Elanna closed the door to her room, changed, before crawling into bed.
Tom whistled as he entered the house. The meeting he had with his publishers went well and he needed to get started on his next book. He stopped in the center of the room when he saw the goop all over the kitchen. It looked like his children were taking notes on something.
Selena was the first one to see him. "Hi, Dad. Don't worry, we will clean this up."
Tom nodded. "It better be cleaned before your mother gets home," Tom was going to go to his office.
"Mom's already home," Xavier said. "She went upstairs," Xavier pointed to the stairs. "She didn't see happy for some reason."
"It might have something to do with our goop all over the walls," Tom said.
"No, before she came home. She didn't yell at us," Selena said.
Tom sighed because something was going on with his wife. He turned from the basement and headed upstairs to his room. He stopped at the stairs. "Clean this up before we come back downstairs." Both children nodded.
Tom entered the dark bedroom. "B'Elanna," Tom said. She waved him away from the bed. Tom smiled and made his way over to her. He leaned down to her eyes. "Everything okay?" He asked.
B'Elanna gave him a look. "No, did you see what your children did?"
Tom nodded. "I don't think that is all that is bothering you. From what our children said, you were like this before you came home."
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Remind me to kill your children later."
Tom smiled. "So, what is going on?"
"I have to go to engineer conference with the top forty engineers on spaceship," B'Elanna sighed.
"That is awesome that they think you are one of the top engineers," Tom tried to kiss her but B'Elanna turned her head. "How long will you be gone?"
"Two months," B'Elanna mumbled. "I did try to get out of it, but there was no way."
"I'm sorry," Tom said. He knew that B'Elanna would rather be at home than in space.
"I can bring someone with me," B'Elanna smiled over the blanket. She was hoping that Tom would want to go with her. They could leave the children here with their grandparents.
Tom smiled and B'Elanna knew what smile he was giving. "I'm sorry but I must do writing for my new book. Why not bring one of the kids?"
"Which one?" B'Elanna asked. "Last time I checked we have three."
Tom smiled because now the children were theirs. "I don't think Miral would go because she is in Starfleet Academy." B'Elanna knew that he was right about Miral and B'Elanna didn't want to take Miral from her studies. "That just leaves the two that are downstairs cleaning up the kitchen."
"I don't know if I could bring one and not other," B'Elanna said. "I would rather go alone than have one or the other."
Tom nodded because she was right. Knowing his children, one would hang it over the other's head for years to come. "Why not ask to see if you bring both?"
"I could," B'Elanna pulled a hand out of the blanket. "That would leave you alone by yourself."
Tom took her hand. "I will be fine. I'm sure Miral will check up on me to make sure that I am alive," B'Elanna laughed because it was probably true.
"You could never live without me," B'Elanna pulled his hand towards her.
Tom leaned over her. "No," He knew not to argue with her. "Should we go and see if the kitchen is clean enough for dinner," Tom stood, pulling B'Elanna with him.
"Yeah," B'Elanna sighed. She followed Tom out of the bedroom and downstairs to find a clean kitchen and dinner waiting for them. Tom and she traded a look as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the children went with her. They were sixteen and fourteen, so they had some responsibly.
B'Elanna found out the next day that she could bring both children. Tom and she told them that night at dinner. Xavier and Selena were excited about going to space with their mother for two months. Tom and B'Elanna told them that they had to keep up on their studies while they were out there. Before they knew it, it was time to leave.
Tom hugged Selena. "Be good."
Selena smiled. "Of course, Dad," Tom didn't trust her smile but let her go and turned to Xavier.
Tom hugged his son and Xavier half heartly hugged him back. Tom broke the hug. "Be good."
"Don't I always," Xavier smiled. Tom knew that smile, he gave it to his own parents when he was that age.
"Then why don't I believe you," Tom returned Xavier's smile.
Xavier only smiled while he grabbed his bag and bat'leth case. "Love you, too, Dad," Xavier headed for the transporter that was waiting for them.
B'Elanna watched as Xavier and Selena got on the transporter before she turned to Miral, who was seeing them off. "Watch out for your father. Make sure that he eats and sleeps. You know how he gets with a deadline."
Miral smiled. "I'm sure that Dad can take care of himself."
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "I have known the man forever and I know when he gets in his head."
Miral only nodded her head again. "I love you, Mom," She hugged her mother.
B'Elanna let go of her daughter and turned to Tom. Tom hugged and kissed her. They whispered I love you to each other. B'Elanna broke out of Tom's arms. "Don't let them make you crazy," Tom smiled at his wife.
B'Elanna glanced at the transporter. "They are our children. They always drive me crazy." Tom laughed. B'Elanna placed a hand on his chest. "Take care of yourself, Tom."
Tom picked up B'Elanna's hand and kissed it. Miral made sure to look away from her parents because they didn't look their age when they looked into each other's eyes. "I'll be okay," He leaned down and kissed B'Elanna again. "I will miss you," B'Elanna gave a weak smile. "But not those monsters," He waved to the transporter.
B'Elanna laughed. "They are your children, too," Tom shook his head. B'Elanna was ready to say something else when they heard.
"Come on, Mom. It is time to go," Xavier yelled at them.
B'Elanna sighed and picked up her bag. "He is your son," B'Elanna headed for the transporter. B'Elanna got on the transporter and threw Xavier a look while taking her seat.
The transporter started to fly, and Tom stood outside until it became a black dot against the blue sky. Miral grabbed his hand. Tom looked at his oldest daughter. "I'm sure that you will be okay while they are gone." Tom nodded. "I have to get back to the academy," Tom nodded again. Miral let him go and started to walk away. Tom stood out there until he couldn't see her anymore.
Tom went in the house to find that it was too quiet. He took a breath; this is what he wanted. He needed to finish his novel and with the kids gone he could do it. He made his way through the house to his office to finish his work.
The transporter stopped at the base where they were beaming to the ship. They stood in line to wait transport over to the ship. When they got to front of the line, B'Elanna gave the person her name and the name of her children and told what ship they were going on. They stood on the platform and waited to energize to the ship.
They arrived on the ship. There was a man waiting for them and he smiled at them. "Hello, Commander Torres and welcome to the Chicago. I'm Commander Jonathan Heinz, the first officer," Commander Heinz turned to Xavier and Selena. "You must be Xavier and Selena Paris." They both nodded.
"Lieutenant Trol will take you to your quarters," A young Betazoid man stepped up.
"Madam," He said. "If you would follow me," B'Elanna nodded and grabbed her bag. B'Elanna watched her children as they gathered their things before following Lieutenant Trol out of the transporter room.
B'Elanna stepped in her quarters with her children behind her. "The captain will be here to say hi," Lieutenant Trol said. B'Elanna nodded. He left them after that.
B'Elanna went around the quarters to see three bedrooms. Two that were together and one that was alone. She gave the two that were together to her children while she took the one that was alone. She set her bag on her bed before the chime went off.
B'Elanna left her room and made her way to the door when Xavier answered the door. The captain of the ship entered the quarters. "Commander Torres," The captain smiled at them.
"Captain Draco," B'Elanna returned her smile. They hugged each other while laughing.
Lisa let go of B'Elanna and turned to Xavier and Selena, who were in the room. "Hello Xavier and Selena."
"Lisa," Xavier said.
"Captain," Selena said.
"You can call me Lisa unless we are around my crew," Lisa winked at them.
Selena smiled at Lisa. Lisa turned to B'Elanna. "I'm glad that you are here. I don't know how I would make without you here. You brought the troops," Lisa was speaking of Xavier and Selena.
"Yes, did you bring anyone with you?" B'Elanna glanced at her children and knew that they were friendly with Lisa's children.
Lisa glanced at Xavier and Selena. 'Yes, Jason is here."
Xavier eyes lit up. "Jason," Lisa nodded. "Awesome," Xavier headed for the door.
"Wait for me," Selena followed her brother. Xavier waited for two moments so Selena caught up.
"Behave," B'Elanna yelled after her kids. "Now do you have a moment for a glass of wine?" B'Elanna turned to her friend.
"Later, I have to greet the other guests," B'Elanna made a face that had Lisa laughing. "I'll let you finish unpacking," B'Elanna nodded and watched her friend leave.
Xavier stopped in a hallway because he didn't know where Jason was, "Computer, where is Jason Draco?"
"Jason Draco is in holodeck one," The computer said.
"And where is holodeck one?" Selena asked. She knew that her brother would never ask the computer. Xavier threw her look before the computer told them where to go.
They entered holodeck one to find Jason playing some game where he was shotting a ball into a basket. "What the hell are you playing?"
Jason turned around and smiled at them, "Hello, Xavier, Selena and it is called basketball," He threw the ball at Xavier.
Xavier caught the ball and laughed. "Where is Jacks and Jessie?" Xavier asked about Jason's brother and sister.
Jason laughed and took the ball out of Xavier's hands. "Jacks is at the academy trying to win over your sister," Everyone knew that Jacks had a crush on Miral, and she only wanted to be friends with him. "And Jessie couldn't get her nose out of a book long enough to come to space."
Selena rolled her eyes at Jason and took the ball out of Jason's hand. Jason gave her a look as she took the ball to hoop. Jason ran after her to get the ball. Jason decided to teach them basketball. They play for about an hour before they had to go back to their quarters.
"I see the way you look at him," Xavier said after they left Jason at the lifts.
Selena sighed. "And why would that concern you?" She asked.
"I just know his type and stay away from him," Xavier said as they stepped off the lifts and headed down the hall to their quarters.
Selena turned on her brother as they stood in front of their quarters. "I think I can make my own decisions with boys."
"I don't want you to get hurt," Xavier said in a soft voice.
Selena waited until the people that were walking pass leave. "So, what if I get hurt. I'll learn from them." Selena punched in the code and entered their quarters, not seeing that their mom was sitting there watching them. She waited until Xavier was in the room before saying. "This is my life, and you need to let me live it," Selena didn't say anything as she went to room.
Xavier glanced at his mom to see that she had a raised eyebrow at him. He didn't say anything just went into in his room. B'Elanna sighed. It was great idea to bring the children on this.
Selena listened for her mom and didn't hear anything. Her mom must be in her room or has left their quarters for moment or two. Selena slowly got out of bed and her way to the door. The door opened a little too loudly for Selena. She hoped that her brother didn't hear or that her mother could hear it from the other side of their quarters.
Selena stepped out of her room and tried to close the door quietly. It didn't work. She took a sigh when she heard a loud snore coming from Xavier's room. She tiptoed pass his room and out to the living quarters. She glanced across to her mom's room to find that there was no light coming from it. Her mother must be sleeping. Selena slowly made her way out the door and into the hall.
"I didn't think you would make it," Selena turned to Jason leaning against the wall opposite her family quarters.
Selena smiled. "I told you I would," Jason returned her smile before grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall.
Just this afternoon, Selena received a message from Jason asking if she was free to go out tonight with him. Selena knew that her mother would say no about the time they were going to go out, so Selena didn't ask her, and she wasn't going to tell her brother about this because he would tell her not to go or find a way from stopping her from going, like telling their mom.
Jason led her to one of the holodecks on the ship. He didn't as the doors opened, and they were on the beach at home in San Francisco. It was a rare sunny day with no clouds. The ocean was hitting the sand just right. On the beach was a blanket with a picnic basket.
"Take off your shoes," Jason whispered in her ear. Selena took of her shoes and socks and placed them to the side. She watched as Jason did the same. Jason smiled before taking her hand and leading her to the blanket. They sat on the blanket and the sun started to set over the ocean. Jason pulled out two glasses and bottle. Selena glanced at the bottle to see that it was sparkling grape juice. He handed her the glass.
Selena took a sip. "I'm going to guess you bring all the girls here."
Jason gave her a half smile. "No, only ones who and will like this San Fran scene."
Selena could agree with him there. She always like this moment at home. "I do like it," She turned to a look in his eyes. "Is everything okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I just miss it, but I love being in space with my mom," Jason gave a weak smile.
It made Selena wonder how long Jason was out here. "How long have you been out here?"
"Since starting high school," Jason gave a weak smile.
Selena smiled. She didn't know what to say to that. She thought that he was only out here for the conference. "Oh, I hope its not bad." She finally got out.
"No, I am thinking about joining Starfleet and this will help me," Jason eyes lit up when he talked about joining Starfleet. Selena could see him in Starfleet. "Okay, enough being down. Let me feed you some food," Jason pulled out some cakes and cookies.
They spent the night just talking. Selena liked it. Afterwards Jason walked her home while holding her hand. At her door, he leaned down and kissed her. Selena was jumping up and down on the inside because this was her first kiss with a boy.
He broke the kiss after a couple of moments. It felt too quick for Selena, but she watched as a smile appeared on his face. "Goodnight, Selena," He said as he pulled away from her.
"Goodnight, Jason," Selena smiled as she watched him walk away.
Selena didn't care how much noise she made as she punched in the code for her quarters. She was on cloud nine as she entered the room. She waited as the door closed behind her before heading to her room.
"Selena Judith Paris, where have you been?" Selena turned around to see her mother sitting on the couch. "Lights on," The lights to the room came on. Selena saw that her mother was in her pajamas with a robe over them.
"Hi, Mom," Selena let out a yawn. "Can we talk about this in the morning? I'm tired," Selena started to walk to her room.
"And where do you think you are going Selena Judith?" B'Elanna asked her daughter. B'Elanna had heard the door open and close. She thought that it was Xavier, who was leaving. She went to their rooms to see Xavier sleeping on his bed and her youngest gone. B'Elanna decided to sit on the couch and wait for her daughter.
"To bed," Selena pointed to the way to her room. "I have an early morning tomorrow."
"So do I," B'Elanna crossed her arms. "I have a meeting in," B'Elanna glanced at a clock in the room. "Six hours. I have been waiting for you for two hours. So, I will ask you again, where you have been?"
"Out," Selena didn't want to tell her mom where she been and who she was with.
B'Elanna sighed. "Selena, do you want to go home, or do you want to stay here?"
Selena took a shallow. "I want to stay here."
"Then I need to know where you were," B'Elanna raised one eyebrow.
Selena looked around the room and saw that Xavier watching from the sidelines. "I was in Holodeck Two," Maybe she wouldn't have to say who she was with.
"Were you with anyone?" B'Elanna asked. She had a feeling that she knew who her daughter was with. Selena shook her head. B'Elanna was shocked because Selena was laying to her. B'Elanna was going to say something when Selena spoke up.
"Mom, will you leave this alone. I went to Holodeck Two to get some alone time," Selena snapped at her mom.
B'Elanna eyes widen. She never heard any of her children yell at her like that. B'Elanna took a breath before she lost her temper. "Selena Judith Paris, if you really don't want to go home you will tell me who you are with."
"I think you know," Selena shouted at B'Elanna.
B'Elanna pitched the bridge of her nose before looking at her youngest. "Jason Draco," B'Elanna watched as Selena's eyes narrowed. B'Elanna was right. "Go to your room while I think of a punishment for you."
B'Elanna hoped to hear the footsteps of her daughter but didn't she looked up to see that Selena was still there. "Why do I get punished when you never punished Miral or Xavier for going on a date?"
B'Elanna sighed. "They never broke curfew while going on a date."
Selena could think of a couple times that Miral and Xavier snuck out of the house. "Oh, they did," Selena growled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother's white face. "They would sneak out of the house all the time," Selena didn't care that she was throwing her siblings under the bus.
B'Elanna believe her. Tom or she had caught their older children a couple times they were sneaking back in the house. "Oh, they got caught a couple of times, you just don't know about it. And the only difference is they would take the punishment that your father and I handed out to them. Selena narrowed her eyes at her mother and was ready to say something when B'Elanna spoke again. "If you say one more word, you can pack your bags and be on the first shuttle out of here tomorrow heading for home."
Selena had so much more to say, but she didn't want to leave. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room to her room. She started to pace the room when her door opened, and Xavier walked in the room. He glanced at the closed door before saying. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Selena shrugged her shoulders. "Mom went to her room crying."
"I don't believe you and Mom was lying about catching you," Selena fell on her bed.
"Mom wasn't lying. Dad caught me sneaking back in after a concert I wasn't supposed to go to because it was a school night. I was grounded for two weeks, and I had to go to school the next morning. I know Mom caught Miral one time as she was sneaking out to see D'stil because he was in town."
Selena sat up. "Why didn't you or Miral tell me?"
Xavier smiled. "Because it is something you have to experience yourself and you would have never believed that we would do it." Selena knew that her brother was right. Selena watched as Xavier's face changed and pointed to the door. "That is one thing that we have never done. I can't remember a time that I or Miral made Mom cry."
Selena felt bad that wasn't going to stop her from seeing Jason. "That's not going to stop me," Xavier shook his head.
"Don't come crying to me when Mom sends you back to Earth to be with Dad," Xavier didn't say anymore before leaving her room.
Selena knew that she should feel bad that she made her mom cry, but she just got her first kiss tonight. That put a smile on Selena's face as she went to sleep that night.
The next day, Selena found a note from her mom saying that she was grounded for the rest of the trip. She couldn't leave their quarters without Xavier or her. Selena didn't care as she opened her PADD to message Jason.