Beloved B'Elanna, Part 5 - Reconcile by (the one and only Gaelic Parisite) Cheile Dedicated to Robbie and Roxann, just 'cause. :) "Marc, is it really you?" D'Lena couldn't believe her eyes. Here was the only man she'd cared about, who she hadn't seen in twenty-four years and had never expected to see again. "D'Lena." Marc was speechless. He had reunited with B'Elanna, but had never expected to lay eyes on D'Lena again. Twenty-four years had passed, but D'Lena had lost none of her fiery beauty. Klingon or not, she was still beautiful to him. B'Elanna was prepared for an argument, a fight, World War Three, thinking it inevitable. "When did you get here?" Marc asked. "I only heard this morning that Voyager had come back. I located B'Elanna early this afternoon. How did you find her?" "We met on my walk." B'Elanna finally found her voice, now that she was convinced that they weren't going to be at each other's throats. "Mother, Father, why don't you two sit down?" The two turned to their daughter as if noticing her for the first time. "Right." "Of course." They both sat, D'Lena on one end of the couch, Marc in a chair. B'Elanna perched on the other end of the couch. She had no idea what to say now that both of them were in the same room. Finally, she was ready to speak, but Marc beat her to it. "D'Lena, I know that this is twenty-four years too late, but I'm going to say it anyway. I have regretted what I had done since the day I left Kessik. You were right to tell B'Elanna that I was a damned idiot, because I was. I told myself that I was thinking of you two, when in reality I was thinking of myself. I never should have left you, by yourself, to take care of B'Elanna when she was so little." Marc rose and approached D'Lena, dropping to one knee before her. "What I'm saying is that I'm sorry, and I want you back, 'Lena." He took her hand in his. "Come back to me, and forgive me." For a long moment, D'Lena was silent. Then she rose to her feet, bringing Marc with her. "Get up, you idiot." Marc quickly got to his feet. D'Lena's dark eyes burned into his. He was overcome by a mix of anxiety and slight fear. Which vanished the instant D'Lena kissed him. His hands went to her shoulders as her arms encircled his neck. When they finally separated, Marc looked into her eyes for a long minute. The love that rarely showed was there, and Marc was certain if Klingons could cry, she might have. As it was, he was coming dangerously close. As if by a sudden revelation, they both remembered B'Elanna. Marc blushed, and though D'Lena couldn't, she looked slightly embarrassed. They broke apart, but D'Lena kept a hold of Marc's hand as they returned to sit down, this time together on the couch. "Sorry, B'Elanna," Marc began. "We sort of--forgot that you were here." B'Elanna shrugged. "Now that that's over, we can talk to our daughter, 'Lena." "Exactly. And the first thing I want to hear about is your boyfriend--what's his name--Paris." "Mother, he's not my boyfriend." "You were with him, weren't you?" "We were--good friends." "You don't fool me, girl," D'Lena said. "I saw the look in your eyes when you first mentioned Paris. That lighting up--which you probably inherited from your father--obviously means love." "Mother," B'Elanna protested. "Now D'Lena, slow down. B'Elanna, you mentioned him to me slightly, but you didn't tell me much. Tell us about him." For the past two and a half weeks, B'Elanna had been trying desperately to forget Tom, but fate refused to let her forget. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. "B'Elanna, are you all right?" B'Elanna could stand it no longer. She burst into tears. * "So, Captain, what all did you see in the Delta Quadrant?" "There's too much to tell, Quark," Janeway protested. Quark grinned. "Start from the beginning. I'm in no hurry." Janeway exchanged a glance with Chakotay and rolled her eyes. Chakotay smiled and reached up with one hand to brush back an errant wisp of her auburn hair. A sudden crash from the doorway drew their attention. Quark's favorite metalwork statue had crashed to the ground, nearly braining whoever had stumbled into it. "My Kilreny!" Quark hollered. "You better not have ruined it!" The person got to their feet, then put the statue back up. "Don't worry about the dumb old thing, Quark. Besides, you should get it out of the doorway so people don't run into it." Janeway exchanged another glance with Chakotay. They knew that voice--and its owner. Tom Paris stumbled into the light near the bar, collapsing onto a nearby stool. Noticing Janeway, a crooked grin crossed his face. "Hey, Captain, Chakotay. What's up?" He tried unsuccessfully to hide a yawn that nearly split his face. "Did sleeping ever occur to you?" Quark said acidly. "Then you wouldn't be so clumsy as to run into my Kilreny." "Oh, hush up, Quark. Get me a Romulan ale. That way, when I leave, I'll be awake and I won't go anywhere near your precious Kilreny." Chakotay squeezed her arm lightly. Janeway nodded. They got up. "Quark, we have to go. But we'll come back another time and tell you about our adventures." "Do that." Quark waved as they departed, then turned back to Tom with the ale in hand. "Get started on waking up." Quark watched as Tom began to sip the ale. He somehow instinctively knew that there was something more to this than insomnia. * "B'Elanna?" Marc let go of D'Lena's hand and moved to B'Elanna's other side, so that she was between them. He pulled her close. "Now tell us what's wrong." B'Elanna realized that she was shaking, so she took a couple of deep breaths, and tried to calm down. When she had calmed down considerably and had brushed away her tears, she turned to her parents. "I'm sorry." "You don't have to be," D'Lena told her. "Now explain what's wrong. It's not about Paris, is it?" "Don't mention Tom." If they did, B'Elanna knew she would lose her nerve and start bawling again. "B'Elanna K'Ehleyr Andrea Torres, explain yourself. Now," D'Lena said. "Only hours ago, you were recounting his every accomplishment like he was your child, and now you refuse to talk about him. I know you love each other, so what is the deal?" "D'Lena, be calm," Marc said quietly. "Give her time to explain." "It's easy to explain," B'Elanna began. They turned to her. "You're right, Mother. I do love him." Tears filled B'Elanna's eyes again. "But he doesn't love me." "Another one, Quark." "Well, I guess you were right, Lieutenant. You're looking a little more awake." Tom snorted. "My body's here, but my brain isn't." Quark brought a second ale. "So why are you alone? Last time you were here, you had the girls all around you." B'Elanna. The thought of her was never far from his mind. But he'd been a fool when he'd lost his temper at her after her being attacked. Now he'd lost her. "Something troubling you?" Quark asked. "Yeah. My whole life's a disaster." Quark found his stool and perched on it. "Tell me." "What for? You'll just tell everyone else." "I promise not to." Tom snorted again. "I don't suppose it matters. Everyone will know about it sooner or later." "When I mentioned girls, a sad look came into your eyes. Is it a girl? One you've lost?" "You're pretty perceptive for a Ferengi." Quark shrugged. "It was just a guess." "Yeah, it's a girl. She was on Voyager with me. The whole six years, I was infatuated with her. I didn't want to admit it until about a week before we found the wormhole leading back here. I wanted to tell her I loved her, but I couldn't get the nerve. By the time I did, her shuttle had left for Earth." "Was she just a crewmember? Or was she someone important?" "Only the chief engineer." Quark nodded. "An intellectual." "She's so smart--and so beautiful." "What does she look like?" A dreamy look crossed Tom's face. "Tall, slender. Raven-dark hair cut to about here--" Tom indicated his shoulder, "--dark eyes. She always insisted that she wasn't beautiful, because of her brow ridges, but I didn't care. They were a part of her." He smiled wistfully, remembering. "Brow ridges?" Quark repeated. "She's half-human, half-Klingon. She has the brow ridges inherited from her mother, but they're not harsh like full-blooded Klingons. They're soft, not really that noticeable. I noticed them, but it only made her more beautiful, not ugly as she once believed." "And you love her," Quark guessed. Quark knew he hadn't needed to ask, the answer was clear on Tom's face. "I do." "So go to Earth, find her, and tell her." "I'm not going to waste my time, Quark." "What are you talking about?" "I love her, but she doesn't love me." "What do you mean, he doesn't love you?" Marc asked. "What I said. He doesn't love me." B'Elanna felt the tears begin to fall. "I thought you two were together," D'Lena said. A puzzled look crossed her face. "At least, that was the idea I got from the way you talked about him." B'Elanna shook her head. "Bragging about Tom is so easy to do. He really is wonderful. He's made a few mistakes, but then everyone has. But to me, that didn't seem to matter. I love him." She buried her face in her hands. "God, I love him so much. And he doesn't love me." "Did he tell you that?" Marc asked. "No." "Is there anything he said that would mean that he didn't have feelings for you?" "No." "Then how by Kahless do you know that he doesn't love you?" D'Lena demanded. B'Elanna was silent. In her heart, she knew that her mother was partly right. "Your mother does have a point," Marc said. "Even if he did, it wouldn't matter. I lost my temper at him after my accident. He'll never want to look at me again." "Are you certain of that?" Marc asked. "No. But I'm pretty sure that's how he would feel." "Prove him wrong," D'Lena said. "What do you mean, 'Lena?" "We'll go to Deep Space Nine, find him, and talk to him. It's the only way to really find out what the Paris kid thinks." "That sounds like a good idea? What do you think, B'El?" I might as well, B'Elanna thought. Even though it won't change anything. "All right," she said aloud. "Go ahead and pack, then. Can you be ready by 0630? The first shuttle to Deep Space Nine leaves at 0700." B'Elanna nodded. "Then we'll see you tomorrow." Marc and D'Lena left, as B'Elanna prepared for leaving the next morning. "A girl that's not in love with you?" Quark shook his head. "Kinda hard to believe." Tom snorted. "You don't know her like I do. She's not susceptible to charm, like most girls are. She's tough. No one could get to her. I guess that's why I pursued her. I could never resist a challenge." "Are you sure she isn't in love with you?" Quark persisted. "Of course I'm sure. Why the hell would she want an ex-con like me?" "That's in your past, though," Quark pointed out. But Tom wasn't listening. "Who was I kidding to think that the Captain's second chance would change anything? That it would matter?" He shook his head. "I must have been out of my mind." Quark shook his head with a sigh. He knew that there was no way to talk Paris out of it. 2238. B'Elanna lay on her bed in the darkness. She would get up at 0545 to get ready to meet her parents and take the shuttle to Deep Space Nine. *I love you, Tom. Forgive me.* Exhaustion finally drove her into a deep, dreamless sleep. To be continued........