LKNB 5 'Outer Banks'

           lauren35@juno.com (Lauren E Taylor)



Here it is, for your viewing pleasure, part 5!

'Outer Banks'

The two friends walked into the holodeck. Harry had told B'Elanna that
this was a new program he'd just created yesterday called Outer Banks,
and she had no idea what to expect. As she looked around, she found
herself at the beach. It was sunset, and the orange sun was dropping into
the ocean, leaving a reddish glow over the water, and giving the sky a
beautiful purple tint. All along the shore, couples walked hand in hand,
and families strolled along with their children. Just in front of her was
a fishing pier, that was empty, except for a man and a woman looking out
over the water, and a group of teenagers, joking and laughing as they
walked along in the cool, evening air.
"This place is beautiful. Is it a real place?" she asked Harry, in awe.
She couldn't wait until she could take Katie/Jeremy here.
"Yes, it is real. It's the Outer Banks, in North Carolina, on Earth.
We're looking out at the Atlantic Ocean right now. At this moment, we are
in Emerald Isle, the town I would go to with my parents every summer for
two weeks. This is one of the things I really miss out here..." he
trailed off as he began to gaze off into the sky. He got back to his
thoughts again, and suggested that they go onto the pier. B'Elanna
agreed, and they walked up the old, wooden stairs. Harry kept his hand on
her back the entire time, helping her, since she wasn't used to having to
go up stairs in her condition.
When they got to the top, B'Elanna went straight for a bench, overlooking
the ocean. Harry ran over to her, worried that something was wrong.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, concerned.
"Yeah, I just got a little tired going up those stairs. Here, sit down."
she told him as she scooted over to make room for him. They both stared
out at the Atlantic, each lost in their own thoughts of the friend they
had lost only hours ago. Harry got a smile on his face, and he tried to
hide it, but was unsuccessful. He started laughing.
"What's so funny?" B'Elanna yelled at him.
He regained himself, and told her what he was laughing about. "I was
think about the time you and Tom finally got together. Did he ever tell
you that he had all that planned, about me and Kes not making it?" he
explained to her.
"No, he didn't!" she exclaimed, with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "I
do remember that day, vividly, though."
**********************************************
It had been a slow day, and B'Elanna was looking forward to the end of
her shift. Once she got out of engineering, she was going to go to her
quarters to change, and then was going to meet Tom, Harry, and Kes on the
holodeck to see this new program Harry and Tom had made. She knew nothing
about it, but was excited, because Tom had assured her that it was their
'best program yet' She was actually happy about getting to see Tom.
They'd just gotten their friendship back to the way it was before the
little pon farr incident, and she was glad. He still flirted constantly,
but she didn't mind that, she was actually flattered.
"Cheif!" she heard Ensign Roberta Hawthorne call out to her.
B'Elanna snapped out of her day dream, and turned around. 
"You can go now. You're shift's over, and I'm here to take over." the
young woman told her.
B'Elanna ran out without even saying anything to Hawthorne.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She walked onto the holodeck. She'd changed into a brown dress,  and was
now looking forward to the premier of 'the best program yet' as Tom and
Harry were referring to it. Tom was the only one in the holodeck, which
had no program running.
"B'Elanna, glad you could make it! Harry and Kes had to cancel." Tom
called out to her. "Computer, run program Paris Kim Coastal 1" he ordered
the computer. B'Elanna found herself standing in a huge, open field, near
the ocean. It was daytime, and it was beautiful.
"Coastal New England" Tom told her, "How do you like it?"
"I love it!" she exclaimed.
He walked over to her, and grabbed her arm. He led her to the edge of a
small rocky cliff, only about 6 meters high. He motioned for her to sit
down, and he sat beside her.
"I'm really glad everythings back to normal, B'Elanna." Tom told her
after a few minutes of silence.
"So am I. I was really looking forward ot this. This is one of the first
things you and I have done together since..." she trailed off.
"Yeah." he said, then paused. "B'Elanna, can't you feel something between
us?" he finally said, as he reached over, and grabbed her hand. He looked
directly into her eyes.
"Tom, I don't want to get involved with someone. Not now." she told him
as she turned away and looked out at the water. Tom kept looking at her,
and said, "B'Elanna, there's something between us. Everyone sees it,
Harry, Kes, even the captain. Haven't you noticed the stares and whispers
when people see us together?" he asked her, hoping for a good answer. 
She didn't say anything, and Tom got up and began to walk away.
"Tom, wait!" she called after him, "You're right, there is something. The
more you talk about it, and the more I think about it, I know you're
right. I feel it, too." she uttered out those last words, not believing
she was actually saying them. She stood up, and looked at Tom's face. He
was surprised, to say the least, and he was staring directly at her.
B'Elanna walked over to him, and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, Tom. Let's go have dinner. In my quarters." she smiled at him.
***********************************************************
THE END
Don't know next chapter's title yet.

Legal stuff. Paramount owns these people, except Ensign Roberta
Hawthorne, because I made her up. My story.