LKNB chapter 3 'The Dance'

            lauren35@juno.com (Lauren E Taylor)


OK, it's here people. This one is dedicated to Jessica Ferroni, because
without her, I would have never gotten the idea for a series. Here goes
'The Dance'
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"Mr. Kim, scan the rest of the ship!" Janeway ordered the young ensign.
Harry snapped back into attention, and followed her command. He wanted to
find Tom as much as she did, and was going to do everything he could to
bring him back.
"Nothing, captain. I'm scanning everywhere in transporter range now." the
paniced man told her. He paused and hesitated a few times as he realized
the news that he would have to break to the crew. 
"Nothing at all. He's gone" Harry said, still not believing those words
were coming out of his mouth.
Captain Janeway walked over to the ops console, and looked at the data
Harry had gotten, which was nothing.
"Is there anywhere else he could be?" Janeway asked Harry, afraid that
she already knew the answer.
"I'm sorry, captain." Harry answered, still in shock.
Janeway looked around the bridge. Chakotay was looking at the viewscreen,
but most likely, not paying any attention to anything around him. The two
ensigns on the bridge were glancing at everyone else, trying not to
stare, and the lieutenant who had taken over for Tom was staring down at
the console in disbelief.
She looked at Harry one more time. He had the same expression on his face
that everyone else had right now, shock. 
"I'm sorry, too, ensign." she said to Harry, then addressed everyone
else," Chakotay, you have the bridge. I will be in B'Elanna's quarters if
you need me." she added and walked off to the turbolift. Once she was in
the turbolift, she did something that she didn't want anyone on the
bridge to see. She began crying.
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And I, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives, they're better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance
Garth Brooks 'The Dance'
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B'Elanna hated being pregnant. She felt horrible practically all the
time. Since she was half human, half Klingon, she got symptoms from both
species. Humans got nausea, Klingons got back pains, B'Elanna got both.
The pains were excruciating lately. Some nights, she couldn't even sleep,
so her and Tom would sit up all night and talk. They would waste
replicator rations on tons of coffee and tea just to stay awake, and Tom
never seemed to mind the sleepless nights. She was going to miss that
tonight, because she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep.
<ding, dong>
"Come in" B'Elanna called out from her place on the couch. She wasn't
planning to get up at all for awhile, and was hoping that it was Harry at
the door, and that he would go to the mess hall and get her some dinner.
The captain entered, her face red and weary.
"Captain!" B'Elanna said, surprised, "I'd been expecting Harry."
"B'Elanna, I have something to tell you" the captain began, with tears in
her voice.
B'Elanna moved over to make room for her on the couch, and said, worried,
"What is it?" not sure that she wanted to know.
The captain hesitated as she tried to find a way to phrase the next few
words. "There was an accident on Tom and Neelix's shuttle."
B'Elanna's eyes grew round as she stared at the captain, hoping for good
news, but expecting bad.
"Tom contacted us, saying that there were problems with the shuttle,
neither of them knew what happened. He then stopped talking, and Neelix
told us that he had no idea where Tom was, or if he was alright, because
the cabin was full of smoke. We beamed them to sickbay, but then found
that only Neelix made it back. Harry began scanning everywhere, hoping to
find something, but there was nothing." the captain explained to her, as
the tears welled up in her eyes and B'Elanna's.
B'Elanna moved over and wrapped her arms around the captain, and began to
talk through her tears. She just repeated 'he's gone' over and over. The
captain held back her own tears as the young woman kept sobbing.
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Looking back, on the memory of
The dance we shared, beneath the stars above
And for a moment, all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
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TO
BE
CONTINUED }}}:-)
Next chapter: 'If Tomorrow Never Comes'

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Comments can be sent to ME at lauren35@juno.com