REFLECTIONS
By: Lauren Taylor

        I used not to believe in love at first sight. I never thought I
was lucky enough for that. I didn't believe in that old saying about 'the
light at the end of the tunnel' either. Why should I have believed it
when I'd been stuck in the tunnel my whole life? That all changed three
years ago when I first layed eyes on her. 
        She was beautiful, in an exotic sort of way. It's hard to
describe what I thought when I first met her. All I remember is thinking
that she was great-looking. That isn't saying much, though, because, at
that point in my life, all women were great-looking to me. She was with
my best friend, and I remember feeling jealous, that he got to spend so
much time with her, that he knew her so well at that point, while all I
knew was her name. She was sick, and tired, so I supported her. letting
her lean on my shoulder until we were able to transport back to Voyager. 
        For about six months, I only saw her when I was with Harry. Her
and I were both good friends with him, but weren't close enough to each
other yet to do things together, just the two of us. Then, I was called
on an away mission with her, and Lt. Durst. That changed everything. That
mission went to hell, and Durst was killed. Her and I had to rely on each
other if we were going to survive. After that mission, her and I spent
time with each other more often.
        I still had somewhat of a crush on her, but I tried to deny it,
in a big way. I fell for someone else, someone already involved in a
romance. That cost me some respect from people, but she still saw me just
the same. Thank the gods for that one, because, if she'd lost respect for
me during that time, we wouldn't be where we are today.
        I began falling more in love with her everyday. She was my best
friend, someone who was always there, but I wanted more. I tried asking
her out for the first time while we were in a shuttlecraft together. She
seemed to think I was joking, and brushed the dinner invitation off. I
had no idea how to show her I was serious. Until the luau.
        I saw her in that dress, that beautiful dress, and knew, right
then and there, I wanted her to know how I felt. I tried telling her how
great she looked, but it didn't work. She was catching on, though. God
knows it took her long enough. 
        Then came the infamous pon farr. This engineer, Vorick, had it,
and tried to get her to be his mate. She denied him, and he gave her pon
farr telepathically. She was due to go on an away mission with me after
that, and she still went, unbeknownset to what was happening to her.
        To make a long story short, we became trapped together, and she
would die if I didn't help her. I didn't know that, and, even though
kissing her and everything else was exactly what I wanted, I refused her.
We finally got out of the caves, and communication with the ship had been
cut off. Tuvok informed me that I needed to help her, or else I would
lose her. 
        We went to a clearing, and she began kissing me, and acting very
Klingon about it. I played along, while, in my head, I played with my
emotions, wondering what she would think of me the next day. 
        I found out the answer to that question when I ran into her in
the turbolift. We had a little small talk about warp coils, and then, I
halted the turbolift. I explained to her that we were going to be
together for awhile, and needed to get over this.I told her that I
wouldn't mind seeing her 'big, bad Klingon side' again, and she told me
to be careful what I wished for.
        We didn't talk much for about two months after that. I was over
it, but she's more sensitive about things like that, so I gave her some
space. 
        About three months after the little incident, I began the
flirting again. This time, she seemed to be playing along. I've almost
got her. Not much longer now...

THE END

Paramount owns 'em, we just borrow 'em
Comments can be sent to lauren35@juno.com