Different Paths
By: Lauren and Julia

Part Seven
By: Julia

"Well, how about Deirdre?" Scott asked B'Elanna, stepping down from the
ladder and handing her the bucket of paint.

"Deirdre. Deirdre Meherrit." She shook her head. "I'll never learn to
spell it, and it doesn't really blend well with your last name. It's a pretty
name though."
She held up her hand. "And it is going to be your last name."

"How about Kate?"

"Kate." She said it herself, trying it out. "Kate Meherrit. That sounds okay,
it could be a middle name."

"JoAnna? Tim? Mathew?"

B'Elanna grinned. "Let's not forget them all now, we'll write them down
tonight and add them to the others."

Scott grinned and set the white paint down on the rug. "What color should
the rest of the room be?"

B'Elanna surveyed the cans set over in the corner. There was orange,
bright blue, a soggy reddish color, and green. "Light orange? It would go well
with the
blue border."

Scott moved the ladder over and dipped his brush in the canister of orange
paint before starting to paint the opposite wall. 

"Could we hang that moon painting of yours over the crib?"

"Sure."

B'Elanna looked down at her stomach. As much as she hated the effects of
pregnancy, she had to admit, her heart fluttered everytime the baby kicked,
or Scott looked at her with his smile that showed how excited and proud he was
of
the baby.

"B'Elanna!" Scott stood in front of her.

"Hmm... what?" She asked confused.

"You zoned out for a minute there. I asked you... great, now I have to say
it all over again. Would you consider us getting married?" He asked, his voice
cracking slightly.
 
B'Elanna stared dumbfounded at him and then smiled, taking Scott's hand and
placing it on her stomach. "As soon as the baby comes. I don't want to get
married when I'm pregnant."

"Sickbay to Torres." The Doctor's voice came over the comm.

"Torres here, Doctor, what is it?"

"I have the sex of your baby if you would like to find out."

Scott and B'Elanna grinned parental pride and left the room. 

*

"Doc, I'm leaving, my shift just ended." Tom stuck his head into the
office. "Hey, what's this?" Tom asked, picking up a picture of B'Elanna's
sonar.

"That is Miss Torres's baby."

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"I was just about to tell them, and then they, Mr. Meherrit and herself,
may tell you."

Tom glared down at the picture and set it down. "Oh." He left Sickbay, almost
running into B'Elanna on the way out. He muttered a quick apology and
managed a glare at Scott before taking off down the corridor.

Scott looked after the tall man's figure and felt B'Elanna take his hand.

"Forget it." She said. "He's just jealous and I'm not having him spoil
today."
 
"Auh, Miss Torres, Mr. Meherrit. Over here please." He showed them back into
his office and they took a seat, still holding hands.

"You are sure you want to know the gender?" The Doctor asked. B'Elanna
exchanged a glance with Scott and both nodded.

"Its a girl." 

Scott grinned with pleasure.

"I told you it would be!" He said to B'Elanna.

"So full of yourself." B'Elanna shot back and stood up. "Thank you, doctor."

***

Scott and B'Elanna stayed up late that night. B'Elanna's feet were swollen to
half
their normal size and Scott made it an issue to massage them. She was relaxing
back
against several pillows, one foot propped up on Scott's knee. She had her
hands on her
stomach, wishing the little girl inside there would stop kicking.

"She must have your temper." Scott commented and stopped massaging her foot
long enough to put his ear to her stomach to feel the baby kick.

"I guess so. What were some of the names you mentioned earlier?"

"Well, I thought of some more while I was on duty. What do you think of
Caitlin?"

B'Elanna sighed. "Let's start with A names and agree on one name for each
letter."

"That could take awhile."

"I'm not tired, are you?" 

"Not really. Besides, you need to be able to put on your boots tomorrow."

***

"Hey B'Elanna! Wait up!" Harry jogged down the hall towards her and grinned,
"You're getting bigger each day."

"Be quiet, you men have it easy."

"So what is it?"

B'Elanna grinned with motherly pride. "A girl! Scott and I stayed up
practically the
whole night talking about names. We've narrowed it down to five names."

"What are they?"

"Harriet, JoAnna, Kate, Lindsay, and Mahalia. What do you think of Lindsay
Harriet?"

Harry grinned. "I like it."

"Oh, and I talked to Scott, and we both want you to be the godfather."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "Me? A godfather? I... I don't know what
to say! Well, sure, I'd be honored!"

"We thought about asking the captain, but she's already Naomi's godmother and
besides, you've been a great help to both Scott and me."

Harry blushed to the roots of his hair and left B'Elanna at the turbolift.
As he headed off down the hall, he called over his shoulder and practically
yelled, "THANK YOU!" Several people stared at him as he entered the Mess Hall.

***

"Janeway to Torres. Please report to my Ready Room."

B'Elanna sighed. "On my way captain. Computer, delay last order and head
for the bridge."

The turbolift stopped and the doors open. Harry waved from the OPS console
and Chakotay looked up and smiled. Tuvok raised a vulcan eyebrow. "Lt."
B'Elanna rang the chimes on the Ready Room door. 

"Enter!" The captain called from inside.

She entered to see Tom sitting in the left chair in front of Janeway's desk.
He
hardly looked at her as she sat down. Janeway smiled and offered her a cup of
tea. B'Elanna thanked her with a smile.

"How is the baby? The doctor informed me this morning that its a girl."

"She's been kicking all night. I didn't get much sleep."

Janeway smiled again and then sat down. "I know that you're quite far along in
your pregnancy, and I would never ask you of this but I need too. Seven found
a moon
orbiting a gas giant about two lightyears away. We're already on course. It
has a
welcoming amount of different mineral deposits we desperately need, but the
gas from the planet would make it a difficult landing. You could be done
within two
hours though, and the entire mission would only take around six. I understand
if you don't
want too, but I'm sure we can trust Tom to get you down there in one piece."

B'Elanna glanced over at Tom. He was staring at something interesting at his
hands.

"I understand captain, but I'm not due for another three months, I should
be fine."

"Very well then, report to the Shuttle Bay at 1700 hours."

***

"How long should this take?" Scott asked worriedly as he escorted B'Elanna
to the Shuttle Bay. 

"Not more then six hours, I'll be back in no time."

Scott looked worriedly over at the shuttle. Tom was already there, doing pre-
flight
checks. "B'Elanna, why can't Vorik go with him? I don't trust him. He opposes
our child
and our relationship, I don't want him doing anything that can cause you pain,
you're going through enough."

"Vorik and Tom sharing a shuttle? That's like sticking me and Seven in a
shuttle.
Scott, I'll be fine, Tom's just jealous, but I love you. Okay?"

Scott wrapped his arms around B'Elanna and kissed her forehead before kissing
her good-bye. Several moments later, he let her go. 

B'Elanna gave a small wave from the back of the shuttle before setting her
Engineering kit down on the back seat and maneuvering into the co-pilot
seat. Tom watched her with cold ice blue eyes. She met his gaze. 

"Oh don't glare, Tom. Get used to it." She shot back at him with her own
coldness. 

Tom turned his attention back to the helm and started up the thrusters.

TO BE CONTINUED

Disclaimer: Parmount is god. They own Star Trek and the characters, I just
borrow them.
Lauren and I own Scott