LKNB 6 'Best suggestion goes here'

          lauren35@juno.com (Lauren E Taylor)



Tom had no idea what the hell was going on. He had yelled to Kes and
Neelix for ten minutes, and there wasn't even a glance in his direction.
Kes said that he had been killed in the shuttlecraft accident, but how
was that possible? He wanted answers, and he wasn't going to get them
here. He ran out of sickbay, not even noticing that he ran right through
the doors. He looked to see if anyone was in the hall, and noticed Erica
coming in his direction, seeming to be looking right at him.
"Erica!" he called out. No response, as it had been with Kes and Neelix.
As she got closer to him, he noticed that she was crying. *Of course, she
thinks I'm dead* he remembered.
"Erica, I'm right here. I'm not dead" he choked on those last words. He
was beginning to accept what had happened, and almost didn't belive what
he was saying. 
"Computer, locate Harry Kim." Erica ordered the computer between tears.
"Harry Kim is in holodeck 1." the computer replied.
*Harry* Tom thought to himself. *He could be with B'Elanna*
As if to reply to Tom's thoughts, Erica asked the computer, "Who else is
in holodeck 1?"
"B'Elanna Paris"
"Erica, I'm right here." he said as she began walking. He walked slightly
ahead of her, and to the side. He was walking backwards, to look at her
face.
Ensign Hawthorne walked by in the opposite direction. It was hard to tell
if she knew about what had happened or not, because she barely knew Tom.
Tom didn't see her coming until she walked right through him.
**********************************************
B'Elanna was happy to be with her best friend through all of this. They
had joked about old memories of Tom instead of crying and being
miserable. They both knew that Tom would want them to be laughing and
having fun. 
"I'll never forget the day he proposed to me. Remember that? That's when
he became friends with Erica, and you and her met a few days later."
B'Elanna asked Harry.
"I'll never forget that day. You told me every detail about it." Harry
laughed.
***********************************************
B'Elanna was on an away mission with the captain and Neelix, gathering
food. Her and Tom had been dating for six months, and she sorely missed
him while she was on the mission. As it turned out, Tom had big plans for
when she got back.

Tom walked into the transporter room, about an hour before the away team
was due back to Voyager. There was a woman standing at the control panel,
looking bored.
"Erica, right? Erica Jones?" he asked her.
The woman turned around. "Johnson, actually. You're Tom Paris, right?"
she said, knowing exactly who he was, but trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, that's me. I need to stay in here until the away team comes back.
That alright with you?" he said, with a grin on his face.
"I don't mind. Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Well...ok. You're the first to know this. Not even Harry knows. Harry's
my best friend. You might know that I'm dating B'Elanna, since you're
down in engineering some. Well..." he trailed off as he pulled out a ring
from behind his back.
"She's lucky to have a guy like you" Erica smiled at him.
The two officers became fast friends. They talked for an hour, non-stop.
Tom mentioned to her that she would be perfect for his friend Harry.
Erica said that she'd have to see about that, but could see that Tom was
already planning out their first date. About twenty minutes after
bringing that up, the captain contacted the ship and told Erica to beam
the away team up. Tom knelt in front of the transporter pad, with the
ring out in front of him. As B'Elanna materialized, he could see the
smile on her face appearing as well. 
"B'Elanna Torres, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with
you. Will you marry me?" he asked her, nervously.
B'Elanna was in shock. She looked at Neelix and the captain, who were
looking at her. She looked down at Tom, who was smiling up at her.
"Yes" she said quietly.
***************************************************
TO BE CONTINUED
Next chapter: Your Love Amazes Me (tentative title)

Legal stuff. Paramount owns these people and stuff. Erin owns Erica, I
own Ensign Hawthorne.