A YEAR IN THE LIFE
Part Two: June
By: Lauren Taylor

^In laughter
 In strife...^

"Tom?" B'Elanna called out again, this time placing her hand on his back.
She'd entered the mess hall, where she was meeting him and Harry for lunch,
and found him sitting at a table, facing out the window with a far-off look in
his eyes.

"Huh?" he asked as she sat down. 

"I called you five times. Are you okay?" she asked, watching him in concern.
He just nodded. 

"I don't believe you." Harry said from behind him. He'd just entered, and had
apparently heard the bulk of the conversation.

"Who asked you?" Tom snapped. B'Elanna and Harry both stared at him with wide,
confused eyes. 

"Tom, I think we need to talk," she ordered. 

"I don't need to talk to anyone," he said quickly. "I'm tired, I'm going to
bed. I'll see you guys later."

*

"Tom, please, tell me what's wrong. I know something's bothering you. Please,
tell me." B'Elanna pleaded with him. She had walked right into his quarters
only a few minutes after he'd returned, and he was pretending that he was
asleep, in a vain attempt not to talk to her. 

"Go away. I'm sleeping," he answered. 

She leaned down closer to him, practically laying down next to him, and put
her arm around his shoulders. 

"Tell me, Tom. I want to help," she whispered. 

He turned to her, and she saw that his face was stained with tears.

"I don't want to die. There's too much I need to do," he explained hesitantly.

"Like what?" she asked as she helped him up to a sitting position. 

"Go home. See my sisters and my mom," he answered. "Yell at my dad." He added,
with a devilish grin. 

"Tom." She scolded. She hated hearing him talk about his father like that. She
would have given anything to have a father around, and he actually had one,
but complained about him constantly. 

"I'm serious! That man has been on my case for every single goddamned choice
I've ever made, he's controlled my life, and the great thing about being in
jail was the fact that I was rid of him!" he shouted. 

"You really want to yell at him, don't you?" she asked. He just nodded. 

*

"Computer, start program Torres 12. Start it frozen." she ordered the computer
once Tom had arrived to meet her on the holodeck.

The still form of Admiral Owen Paris appeared, sitting at a desk in his
office.

"How did you do this?" Tom asked. 

"Captain Janeway helped me. I didn't really tell her exactly what it was for."
she answered, with a glint of mischief in her eyes. 

"You mean to tell me that you're supporting this?" he questioned. She nodded.

"Anything that will help you. We've got a wedding in two weeks, and I expect
to see you there." she informed him. He gave her a quick kiss, thanked her,
and then she left him alone. 

"Resume program." he commanded. He took a few deep breaths, and began talking.

"Dad, we need to talk." he stated. 

"Yes, son?" the Admiral said, waiting for him to speak. Tom hesitated, took
some more deep breaths, and then walked to the edge of the desk, and leaned
down on it with his arms.

"Dad, I don't have much time left, so I want to tell you this, because I don't
think I'll have a chance to again. 

"Why did I always have to be the best?  Why did you push me so hard?  Why
didn't you let me have a normal childhood?" he demanded. 

"Thomas, I loved you. I knew you had potential. I wanted to show that
potential."

Tom was shocked for a moment. He didn't expect the program to respond like
that. It was making sense to him, though. 

"You wouldn't let me do what I wanted to do! I didn't want to be a pilot, I
wanted to join the Navy! I wanted to be out on the ocean, not flying through
space!" he screamed. 

"You've become a successful pilot, Thomas. You wouldn't have gotten far in the
Navy. I'm not the only one who said that. I'm proud of you, Thomas." he
answered. His voice seemed to echo on that last line, an echo that stuck in
Tom's mind. 

"Computer, end program." he ordered. The gray walls of the holodeck came back,
and Tom found that a few tears had trickled down his cheek. He wiped them away
with his sleeve, and then walked out into the hall. 

B'Elanna was sitting against the wall, across the corridor, waiting for him.
He walked over to her and pulled her up. 

"Thank you." he whispered sincerely.

TO BE CONTINUED

Paramount owns everyone, I own nothing, except the story :-)

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