Different Paths By: Julia and Lauren Part II By: Lauren Comments/Death Threats to: FiddlerITW@aol.com and frostyu@geocities.com. Scott Meherrit sat alone at a table in the mess hall, studying the plate of food that Neelix had served to him. He really wished he'd stayed in his quarters for dinner, the mess hall was extremely crowded and loud. He got enough of loudness in engineering, he hated to put up with it on his free time. B'Elanna walked into the mess hall, starving after a long day in engineering. She spotted Tom and Harry at a table with one seat empty, but she didn't really feel like being with Tom right now. It had been about two weeks since they had decided to break up, and she always felt a bit strange around him. She noticed Ensign Meherrit alone at a table, and debated whether to sit with him. Sometimes the engineers felt uncomfortable when she was around. She decided to take the chance, and walked towards him. He looked up from his tray, and, before she could say a thing, he gestured for her to sit down. "Hi, lieutenant." he said with a smile. "We're off duty. I'm B'Elanna now." she smiled as she sat down. She hadn't realized before how beautiful Meherrit's voice was. All she normally heard him say was "yes, chief" and things like that. His accent was British, but it seemed as though he'd lost the accent a bit. There was also a bit of an Irish accent in there. "Well, B'Elanna, what brings you to sit with one of your lowly engineers?" Meherrit asked. Right away, B'Elanna liked this man. He didn't seem to be uncomfortable around her, and was joking right away. He was attractive, she told herself, as she got a good look at him. He was about her height, with brown eyes, and brown hair that seemed too long by Federation standards tied back in a ponytail. She didn't answer him, she just laughed, and looked over at Tom. They caught each others eye, then turned away quickly. "What is this stuff?" he asked himself as he picked up some purple goo in his spoon. "I'm not sure, but I think I'll pass on dinner, go replicate some real food." she smiled. "Wish I could do that. I've blown all my rations on art supplies." he laughed. "You're an artist?" she asked him. "Yeah. I've been painting as long as I can remember. My sister Lindsay used to hate it, she was always complaining about the house smelling like paint." He laughed. "Lindsay? As in, Lindsay Meherrit, science officer in Starfleet?" B'Elanna asked. He nodded. "She was my roommate at the Academy!" B'Elanna exclaimed as she grabbed Scott's hand from across the table, smiling, "She was one of the few people that was actually nice to me there." "Yeah, that's Lindsay." he smiled. "In fact, I remember her having a painting of yours hanging up. It was of... sailboats, I think." she smiled back. Scott was an easy guy to get along with, she had never become such fast friends with someone. Across the mess hall, Tom was keeping an eye on B'Elanna. "What's going on between them?" he asked Harry. Harry shook his head. "Tom, I'm not getting involved with this. Her and Scott are just friends. He's a nice guy." Harry told him. Tom watched them some more, and saw B'Elanna smile and grab Scott's hands. "I can't watch this." he muttered to himself as he stood up from the mess hall. He walked out without even a glance at B'Elanna. * "Well, you said you wanted to see my paintings, so... voila!" Scott exclaimed as he opened the door to his quarters. It had been a few days since he and B'Elanna started talking, and they'd been spending a lot of time together. She had begged to see his paintings, but he wanted to wait until he was finished with a new one until he invited her in. "Scott, these are beautiful." she said as she looked around his quarters. A few were hanging up, and some were just leaning against the wall, still waiting for a space. They were all landscapes, and looked detailed enough to be photographs. She looked at one hanging near his couch, of a cliff leading down to the ocean, waves crashing against the rocks. In the background of it, very small, she saw an old house. "What's this one?" she asked. "That's England, where I lived on Earth. That house back there is mine." he said, looking at the picture fondly. He put his hand on her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't mind. She wasn't even paying attention, she was still looking at the painting. B'Elanna turned to Scott, and saw the expression on his face. It was evident that he missed England. As she looked around his quarters, she noticed many of the pictures were also of England. She looked back at him, and took his hand. They stared into each others eyes for a few moments, then went in closer to each other. Their lips met, and B'Elanna was startled to find that she enjoyed kissing him. She was in love with Scott Meherrit.