First Steps
By: Julia 
Comments to: artemis_moon@geocities.com
Written: October 11, 1998
Dedication: To "Chile." Happy that its a happy story?


        Two year old Natalie K'Tarna Paris stood in the center of the large room,
gripping the table as if she would never let go. She had a wide smile on
her face as she looked from her mother, B'Elanna Torres-Paris, to her
father, Tom Paris. 
        The small girl had curly brown hair and clear blue eyes. She had slight
brow ridges that gave her a childlike look. She wore a yellow flannel
nightgown and a small rubber ducky sat on the floor beside her. She stood
on an old, worn blanket that had once been a bright shade of green but now
was only gray that was tinted with a small color of green.
        "Come on, Nat. Come to Daddy." Tom Paris knelt down beside his daughter
and extended his hand. Natalie took one hand off the table and seemed to
wave at Tom. She giggled and became unbalanced.
        With a *thump,* she landed on the ground. The assembled people laughed
gently. Natalie looked like she would start screaming for a moment but then
laughed too, clapping her hands together.
        She looked up to see Captain Kathryn Janeway sitting on the couch beside
Chakotay. She turned to see her Uncle Harry, crouching near the wall,
holding the hand of a small boy.
        He had dark hair that was thin and fell in his face, and blue eyes like
her. He stood between Harry's knees and grinned up at a tall, blond haired
woman. She looked down at him with pride.
        "Do you want to try it again?" Tom asked Natalie. She looked up at him,
reached over, grabbed the rubber ducky and stuck the head of the duck in
her mouth. She took it out and handed it to Tom, who still had his hand
outstretched. 
        She smiled when everyone laughed as Tom looked down at the slobbery
rubber
duck in his hand. "Thank you, Natalie. I'm glad to know you love me."
        Natalie gurgled and reached for the leg of the table, hauling herself
back
up and staring at Jeshua Kim. He let go of his father's hand and toddled
towards her.
        Tom glanced at Harry. "How long has he been walking?"
        "About... three days, right, Seven?"
        Seven crouched down beside her husband and patted her son's head. "That
is
correct."
        "Come 'ere, Natalie. Its only a few steps. Come on, sweety. You can make
it. Come to Daddy."
        Natalie took a step forward and gripped the table tightly. She stopped
and
glared up at her father as if saying, "Why do I have to go there, why don't
you come here?"
        "She does have her mother's temper." Tom remarked and was rewarded by a
light hit on his head. "Ouch!"
        "Pig." B'Elanna remarked and sat down beside him. "Come here, Natalie,
don't you want to walk?"
        Natalie sat down again and chewed on the bill of the duck. She threw it
aside and started to crawl towards her parents.
        "No, Natty, you have to walk. Not crawl. Don't you want to walk?" Tom
asked his daughter. He imitated a person walking with two fingers.
        Natalie studied him and then turned to see what Jeshua was doing. He was
eyeing the rubber ducky.
        She turned her attention back to her parents and crawled to Tom's lap. He
laughed and pulled her into his lap. "Maybe another day." 
        She grinned up at her parents and studied one of Tom's hands.
        Jeshua stood up and toddled towards the abandoned rubber ducky. Natalie
watched him for several seconds before standing up and screaming shrilly.
        Jeshua ignored her and picked up the rubber ducky, triumphant. Natalie
let
go of her father's hand and before anyone could say, "Woah!" she was out of
her father's lap and toddling uneasily towards Jeshua. 
        She let out another scream and grabbed the rubber ducky with one hand and
bopped Jeshua on the head with the other. Jeshua then started to scream and
fell down on his rear. 
Natalie stood proudly over him before falling down herself. She stuck the
head of the duck into her mouth and chewed on it. She took it out and set
it down between herself and Jeshua. She stared at him intently.
"She's challenging him to take it." B'Elanna whispered to Tom.
He smiled at her. "She sure is."
Jeshua looked from the duck to Natalie, to his parents, and then back to
the duck. He reached for the duck and held it firmly before placing it in
Natalie's hands and grinning.


***

        "That was amazing, wasn't it, Tom?" B'Elanna asked that night as they got
ready for bed.
        "It was indeed." He said, looking over at Natalie who watched them both
from her place at the counter. "What are you looking at, huh? Whacha
looking at?"
        B'Elanna sat down on the bed, ran a brush through her hair and pulled the
covers up over her. 
        Tom looked at B'Elanna and then at Natalie. "I assume I'm putting her
back
in her room then?"
        "No, she can stay with us tonight. Here." She made a small nest out of a
pillow between Tom and herself and Tom set Natalie into it. Natalie gurgled
and her eyes began to close. 
        "Just wait till the teen years hit." Tom commented as he hit the command
for lights out.
        "I love you, B'Elanna." Natalie snorted in her sleep. "And I love you
too,
Natalie."
        "I love you both." And the three fell asleep.

Notes: Okay, okay, kinda a sappy ending, but hey, its happy isn't it? Hope
you're satisfied, Chile!

Disclaimer: Parmount owns Voyager, I just borrow the characters. I own the
story and Jeshua Kim and Natalie K'Tarna Paris.