B'Elanna paced her empty house. Tom had taken Xavier and Selena on a book tour for the summer. It was perfect because the children had a couple of months from school off. She didn't mind that they were gone. She had to some things at the academy to do, so she couldn't go with them. The problem that B'Elanna was having right now was she hadn't heard from Tom.
Tom would have called her by now and he hadn't. Before he left, he told her what their schedule was like and what they were going to do. He told her that he would call her when they went to a new planet or town. He was supposed to call yesterday, but she got nothing. She knew that she shouldn't have to worry about him and the children, but something didn't feel right. B'Elanna knew that Tom would take care of their children. She also didn't want anything to happen to Tom.
"Mom, you here?" Miral came into the house. Miral saw that her mom was pacing the house. "Is everything okay?" Miral asked.
B'Elanna sighed and looked at her oldest daughter. "No, I haven't heard from your father."
Miral could see the worry on her mother's face. "When was the last time you heard from him?"
"Three days ago. He was supposed to call yesterday, and I haven't heard from him," B'Elanna stopped pacing for a moment.
"Dad could have forgotten to call," Miral had to find a reason that her dad might not call.
"He knows how I worry when I don't hear from him," B'Elanna ran a hand through her hair. "And he has my babies with him."
Miral raised an eyebrow. Her brother and sister weren't babies anymore at seventeen and fifteen. "I don't think that Xavier and Selena are babies anymore," Miral told her mother so.
B'Elanna threw her daughter a look. "When you become a mother, you'll always think of your kids as babies," B'Elanna tried to smile.
Miral sighed. "You know who to contact if you need to find Dad, Xavier, and Selena."
"Your father's not in Starfleet anymore," B'Elanna knew where Miral was going with.
"You still are, and I have a feeling that she would help family," Miral said. B'Elanna nodded. "Are we still going to dinner because I leave tomorrow?" Miral asked.
"Yeah," B'Elanna sighed. She looked around the house one more time before following Miral out. She still didn't have a good feeling about this.
"Dad," Tom woke to his son's voice. He reached up and felt a lump on his head. He looked around and saw that he was in a box with his son and daughter. Xavier was leaning over him making sure that he was okay. Tom sat up and felt the pain in his head.
"Here," Selena handed him a bottle of water. Tom thanked her and took a drink of water.
"Where are we?" Tom asked. The last thing he knew was that they were in the hotel room, and he was going to call B'Elanna to let her know that they were okay.
"I don't know," Xavier mumbled. "The last thing I remember was going to bed and I woke up here."
Tom looked at his daughter to see that she was crying. Tom held out his arm and she made her way to him. He held her close. He held out his other arm for Xavier, he didn't think that Xavier would come but he did. Tom held on to his children. As he tried to figure out what had happened to them.
Tom remembered that he was on a book tour for his latest book. He had brought the kids along because it was their summer vacation from school. Xavier was starting his senior year in the fall. With Miral already in the academy, Tom wanted to spend more time with the children before they all left. His agent didn't mind that he brought his kids along and B'Elanna thought that it would be a good idea.
Tom closed his eyes as he thought about his wife. He saw her face in his head. She was laughing at him before he kissed her. He saw her lying in their bed after they spent the night saying goodbye in their own way. She didn't want to get out of bed, but Tom pulled her out. He danced them on their way to the bathroom, where they showered. He saw her making breakfast for them while he got the kids up. Miral had even come over for breakfast to say goodbye to them. They were a family for a moment.
At first the trip was fun. They went from town to planet. Tom and his children got to see the sites while Tom promoted his new book. This was their next stop. They had just spent the day together as a family and were talking about what they were going to do for the next day. The kids headed for their room to go get ready for bed. Tom knew that they weren't going to sleep right away, but they were going to leave him alone.
Tom decided to work on the answer that he was going to get in his interview tomorrow. He was so into what he was doing, he didn't hear his hotel door opening right away. Tom glanced up and saw three men coming in. One came up and knocked him on the head. All he saw before he blacked out was his children being pulled out of their room with scared looks on their faces. He wanted to tell them that everything was going to be okay, but he had tried to open his mouth and nothing came out. He didn't want to lie to his children.
"Dad," Tom looked at Selena. He hated that he remembered what happened to them. "Are you okay?"
Tom shook his head. "No," He glanced at both children. "I remember what happened."
Xavier nodded. "They told us that they would kill you if we did anything," Tom nodded. He didn't blame the kids for doing what they did.
Tom wanted to say something positive, but nothing came to him. He didn't know if his agent knew that he was gone, and he wouldn't find out until Tom and the kids weren't at the interview today.
Tom glanced around and that there was a door at the other end of the room. There was no window to tell them what time of day it was. Tom looked back at the door and knew that was the only way out. Tom tried to get up but the bump on his head stopped him from getting up.
"Xavier," Tom whispered. "Can you check the door?"
Xavier nodded and went to check the door. As he was at the door, the door opened, and they knocked Xavier back against the wall. Tom tried to get up to check on his son.
Two men came in and didn't even look at Xavier. They looked at Tom. "It looks like you are awake," The man on the right said. He looked between Tom and Selena. He turned to the other man. "Take the girl."
"No," Tom shouted. He put his body in front of his daughter. "Take me," Tom would do anything to protect his children.
The men traded looks before shrugging their shoulders. They each grabbed an arm and pulled Tom to his feet and out of the room. There were four men other men standing there waiting for them. They spoke between themselves. Tom didn't listen because all he could think about were his children.
They took him down a corridor with little light. His eyes adjusted to light and as he looked around, he saw other doors but none of them were opened. One of the rooms had to be kitchen they passed because he could smell food cooking. His stomach let out a growl when it passed. It had been a while since he ate last. One of the men laughed as he heard Tom's stomach.
They came to one door that was open. They pulled Tom inside. Tom could smell the blood that was in the room. It smelt old like the place hasn't been clean ever. They had him standing and they tied his hands to a pole above him. Tom let out a breath as the men left closing the door behind him. He was waiting to see would come.
Tom tried to look around the room, but he couldn't get passed the smell. The door opened and Tom got a waif of flower-scented perfume. He looked on as a woman walked in. Tom didn't like the look in her eyes. She smiled at him. Tom didn't like her smile.
"My men told me that I had someone famous in my room," She said. Her eyes looked him up and down. "I didn't think that I would have the famous Tom Paris."
"Who are you?" Tom asked.
She continued to smile. "Amber Mahogany, leader of this band of merry men." Amber reached for something, and Tom saw a table with tools on it. She had a pair of scissors and cut Tom shirt down the middle that it split opened. She pushed the sides apart. "How old are you?"
"Fifty-four," Tom held in his breath.
"You look good for your age. Is it for your Klingon wife?" Tom tried to answer but Amber spoke again. "I'm sure she enjoys this beautiful body." Amber ran a finger along his chest. Tom made no comment. Tom tried to move out of the way because he didn't like her touching him like that. Amber let out a laugh. "I did most of your holonovels," She walked away from him. "I read your bio and it said that you live with your wife and kids on Earth," She turned to face him. "I thought that was one lucky woman to have you as a husband. Never thought that you would marry a half-Klingon woman."
Tom made a questionable look. "Everyone knows who my wife is. If you had read my holonovels about Voyager, you would know." Tom couldn't keep quiet anymore. He had to wonder why this woman thought that his wife was full human.
Amber turned to him. "I didn't. I never liked history."
He looked at her and saw how young she was. She had to be alive when Voyager came back to the Alpha Quadrant. "You would have heard about Voyager coming home after being in Delta Quadrant for seven years and it wasn't quiet that my wife and I came back married with a baby."
Amber shrugged her shoulders. "I don't pay attention to Starfleet stuff."
Tom moaned because it was more than Starfleet stuff when they got home. He didn't know what to say to this woman. He tried to reason with her. Everyone that knows about him knows that he is married to B'Elanna Torres, and they have three kids. They don't keep it a secret, it is in public records.
Amber had turned away from him and picked up another tool. Tom saw that it was a leather whip. He had to think what she would do with that. Tom had a feeling that she would use that on him if he didn't answer her next question the way she wanted. Tom took a breath. "Would you leave your wife and marry a good human woman?"
Tom closed his eyes. He knew what answer she wanted but he knew that he would never leave B'Elanna. She was his best friend, lover, wife, and mother of his children. B'Elanna was everything to him. They had grown together as people and a couple. "No, I love my wife too much," Tom felt the leather whip hit his back. He let out a scream.
"Why would you love a half Klingon?" She hit him again.
Tom had to wondered if this woman had ever been loved. He looked in her eyes and knew that this woman never knew what love was. "She saw the real Tom Paris and I saw the real her," Tom felt that he was back on Voyager falling in B'Elanna again. How she put up a fight that they would fall in love. One of his most favorite moments was the day that she told him that she was in love with her. Another was the day that they got married and every moment that they welcomed their children into this world. Watching their children grow up and turn into amazing people.
"What are you smiling about?' Amber growled at him.
Tom opened his eyes that he had closed as he thought about his wife and family. "My wife and kids."
"No," Amber shouted. "You shouldn't think about them. Your half-breed wife and your mongrel children."
"Don't you call my children mongrels," Tom growled at her. "They are more human than you are right now."
"No, they are not. I have human blood going back generations," Amber didn't try to hit him.
"So do they," Tom said. He was glad that she didn't hit him again.
"Where my grandmother was a human, their grandmother was a Klingon." She gave him a wicked smile.
"A proud and strong culture," Tom said. Being married to B'Elanna, he had met many Klingons and he knew their culture very well. Miral was studying it in school.
"A strong and proud culture, they killed humans before," Amber hit him again. Tom tried to cover up his scream. Tom could feel the blood running down his back.
"That was more than hundred years ago," Tom didn't know how he got that out. "Did you lose someone to the war with the Klingons," Tom knew that he had lost family in the war, but he never held that to his wife and her family. The Klingon had become their allies in more recent wars.
Amber looked him in the eyes with the whip in her hand. He could see his blood dripping on the floor. "No, my family has stayed out of this space society since the first Vulcan stepped off their ship."
Tom had to close his eyes because that was a long time. He had read books about human men and women falling for alien species. It had been happening for centuries. Tom had to think about the next question he would ask her. While he was thinking, Amber put the whip down, went to the door, and called one of the men.
"Take him back to his mongrels," Amber looked right at Tom when she said that.
Tom felt his anger run a course through his body. "Don't call my children mongrels!" Tom yelled at her. Amber only smiled and nodded to her man. The man hit Tom that it knocked him out.
Selena and Xavier watched as the door to their cell opened and threw the body of their dad in. Selena saw how bloody her dad's back was. Xavier heard them lock the door.
"Xavier, help me with Dad," Selena told her brother. Xavier looked over to his dad and nodded at his sister.
They got their father on his stomach. "Give me the water," Selena said. They had gotten some water while they had taken their father somewhere. Xavier gave her the water. "Give me your shirt." Selena saw that his shirt was the cleanest out of both their shirts. Xavier nodded as he took his shirt off. "Can you tear it apart?" Xavier nodded.
Xavier watched as Selena cleaned his dad's back with the water and took his tore shirt and placed it on his father's back. Xavier watched and saw that their father didn't wake as Selena took care of his back.
When Selena was done, she looked at her brother. "We need to get out of here."
"I know, but we need help," Xavier looked to the door. He had a feeling that no one was going to help them here. They needed outside help. He had to wonder who was going to help them. "Who is going to help us?"