Revelation: Homecoming 
Part 3/4 

by Caitlin 
dana_lynn_tighe@hotmail.com 

PG 
Disclaimers from part one apply. 

Special thanks to Sarah for her feedback! 

This part of the series is dedicated to Tie for her ideas and 
suggestions.  Thank you again so much!!! 

^^ 
 Tom’s steps slowed as he approached Chakotay’s house.  B’Elanna paused 
and looked back over her shoulder at him.  He took a deep breath and 
started to walk again.  He heard the sound of a child’s laughter, and 
then there she was.  Gillian came bounding around the side of the house, 
Chakotay and Kathryn close on her heels.  Neither of them noticed Tom 
and B’Elanna.  Chakotay scooped Gillian up into his strong arms. 
Kathryn came up behind them, laughing.  Chakotay set Gillian down, and 
Tom noticed that Kathryn slipped her arm around Chakotay’s waist.. 
Suddenly, Kathryn’s eyes met Tom’s and they widened  in surprise. 
 Gillian came hurtling up to B’Elanna.  She flung herself at her mother, 
and B’Elanna caught her her up and hugged her, laughing.  “Mommy! 
Mommy!” cried Gillian excitedly.  B’Elanna set her down and then 
crouched down beside her.  Tom couldn’t take his eyes off the little 
bundle of energy that was his.  In his peripheral vision, he noticed 
Janeway and Chakotay whispering, and then they slipped off into the 
woods that surrounded the house. 
 “Gillian, hon, there’s someone I want you to meet.  His name is Tom.” 
 Gillian looked up at Tom with her big, blue eyes.  Her expression was 
unreadable, and for a moment Tom was afraid that she would burst into 
tears, but a smile spread across her face.  “Hi.”  she said. 
 Tom follows B’Elanna’s example and crouched down next to the girl. 
“Hi, there.”  He extended his hand to the child, and she took it and 
shook it firmly, as though she were shaking the hand of a Starfleet 
admiral. 
 “Who are you?” asked Gillian innocently. 
 Tom froze and looked to B’Elanna.  He saw his confusion and indecision 
echoed on her face.  He nodded slightly to show that she should take it 
from here. 
 B’Elanna sighed almost inaudibly. She scooted backwards until she was 
sitting on the front steps, and then she motioned for Gillian to crawl 
up on her lap. 
 “Gillian, remember how I told you that your Daddy couldn’t live with us 
and that we couldn’t see him?”  The little girl nodded.  Her lower lip 
jutted out slightly as she concentrated on what her mother was saying. 
“Well. . .this man here, Tom, is your Daddy.” 
 B’Elanna held her breath as she waited for Gillian’s reaction.  The 
little girl seemed to consider this information for a bit.  Then she 
raised hew eyes to meet Tom’s.  She held his gaze for almost a minute. 
Then she lifted up her arms to him.  Tom uncertainly came forward and 
lifted the child up.  She hugged him more tightly then he thought a 
three year old could hug.  Then, with a wisdom beyond her years, she 
whispered, “I missed you; it’s good to have you home.” 
 Tom felt his eyes moisten.  He tightened his arms around Gillian. 
 Out in the forest, sitting on a wooden bench, Kathryn turned to 
Chakotay, her eye glistening.  Chakotay slipped his hand into her 
smaller one and squeezed it. 
 B’Elanna watched Tom and Gillian’s embrace with open longing in her 
eyes for what could be. They looked so perfect together. . .it was just 
as she had pictured it in her dreams. 
 Tom finally loosened his grip on Gillian and set her down.  Gillian 
slipped her tiny hand into Tom’s.  “Let’s go home.” B’Elanna said before 
she took Gillian’s other hand in hers. 
^^ 
 Tom held a sleeping Gillian in his arms as B’Elanna unlocked the door 
to her apartment.  B’Elanna turned and held the door open for Tom.  “Lay 
her on the bed in there.” she whispered.  B’Elanna closed the door 
behind him, set her things down on the table, and then followed him into 
the bedroom. 
 She stood in the doorway and watched as Tom gently untied Gillian’s 
shoes and slipped them off her feet.  He worked her little socks off, 
and then pulled the covers up over her.  Oblivious to B’Elanna presence, 
he leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly.  B’Elanna was touched 
by Tom’s obvious affection for Gillian.  She slipped back into the 
living room before Tom saw her. 
 Torres was seated on the couch when Tom came out of the bedroom.  He 
joined her on the couch, stretching as he sat down.  “You two live 
here?” 
 “Yes.” 
 “Tight fit, hmm?” 
 “We get along fine.” B’Elanna defended. 
 He held up his hands in mock surrender. “No offense intended.” 
 She nodded.  “Would you like some coffee?” 
 “Sure; if you’re having some.” 
 B’Elanna started to busy herself with setting the water to boiling. 
They had a replicator, but she preferred to do it the old fashioned way 
whenever possible.  She handed Tom his coffee and then sat back down 
beside him.  Trying to fill up the void between them, they talked about 
Tom’s post as the helmsman on the Enterprise, the Federation, Harry and 
Libby. . .everything but themselves. 
 Tom glanced at his watch.  “Oh, I’d better go; Cameron will be 
worried.” 
 B’Elanna bit her lip.  His words had hurt worse than a physical punch 
could ever have.  Half of her hated him for hurting her so, but the 
other half of her loved him so much. . . . 
 She stood up and escorted him to the door.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 
she said 
 “Right; at the little restaurant on the corner.” he verified.  He 
turned to leave, but then his arm snaked out and he caught her wrist. 
“I’ve missed you.” he murmured.  She didn’t say anything, but her eyes 
held a hint of sadness and longing that was oppressed by her suspicions 
and fears.  He swallowed hard.  She looked so beautiful in the half 
light.  He longed to tuck the stray tendril of hair back behind her ear. 
. . .  He could feel her eyes piercing his back until he was out of 
sight. 
^^ 
 When Tom reached his temporary apartment, he found a message for him 
from Cameron.  She just wanted him to contact her as soon as he got 
back.  Ignoring the message, he pulled off his shoes and headed for the 
shower.  He changed into a comfortable T-shirt and sweatpants, and then 
collapsed onto the bed and into a deep sleep. 
^^ 
 <i>Tom found himself on Voyager.  He was standing in a silent, 
deserted hallway..  “Hello?” he called out.  Only silence greeted him. 
He speed walked down the corridor, and then broke into a run.  He ran 
for what seemed like forever; finally, he spotted a light at the end of 
the dark hallway.  He could hear the sounds of a child crying.  When he 
reached the light, he found himself suspended in open space.  He jerked 
around as he heard a voice to his left. 
 Gillian was floating in the open vacuum of space.  “Daddy!  You 
abandoned me!  You’re not fit to be a father! 
 He heard the familiar voice of Kathryn Janeway.  He whirled around to 
face her.  “Some Lt. Cmdr. you are, Paris!  I never should have given 
you a second chance!  What kind of Starfleet Officer leaves his  love 
because of a rumor!”  Janeway sneered.  “You’re worthless, Paris!   You 
don’t deserve B’Elanna Torres.” 
 Harry appeared  in front of him.  he shook his head, a grim expression 
on his face.  “Some friend you are!  You loved her, Tom!  I could see 
it!  And then you abandoned her. . .leaving her with your child!  And 
*now* you’re getting married to someone *else*!  What are you 
thinking?!” 
 “Tom. .  .” It was B’Elanna. “Tom. . .I loved you!  You broke my heart! 
You abandoned me!  Didn't you love me! Do you still love me? Well, 
here’s news for you, even if you still loved me, I could *never** love 
you  after what you did to me!, Tom. . .Tom. . .Tom. .  .” 
 “Tom!  Tom!” 
 Paris felt himself being shaken. He eyes popped open.  Cameron. 
  “Finally!”  she said.  “What were you dreaming about, sweetheart?” 
 Tom rapidly blinked the sleep out of his eyes.  “Uh. . .just a 
nightmare, Cameron.” 
 “Is everything okay?” she asked wordily. 
 “Peachy.” he muttered. 
 She cast a dubious look at him, but then seemed to recover from his 
strange behavior.  “Look, I brought you breakfast!”  She pulled to warm, 
gooey cinnamon rolls out of a bag.   She broke off a piece, and held it 
out to him.  He leaned forward and ate it from her tiny hand. 
 He made himself smile.  “Mmmmm, good.” 
 The look of joy on her face stabbed his heart.  She turned away to get 
some drinks for them, and he watched her back.  He loved Cameron. . .but 
not in the same way that he loved B’Elanna.  B’Elanna. . .He had felt 
like he had been missing part of himself for the past four years.   He 
had gained a small bit of it back through Cameron, but it wasn’t the 
same.  The love he felt for B’Elanna was deep and powerful and. . 
.indescribable.  He loved Cameron, but more in a school boy sense.  He 
didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t met Cameron though; she 
had been a source of stability and love for him over the past year.  She 
looked so beautiful there fixing breakfast for them. . .but there was no 
way that he could marry Cameron when B’Elanna still meant so much to 
him. 
 Cameron turned back to him.   “Here, eat up, Tom.” 
 “Cameron, do you remember how I introduced you to my  friend, B’Elanna 
a couple days ago?”  Carmen nodded, licking the icing off her finger 
tips.  “We were going to get together for lunch to talk, would you like 
to come?” 
 Cameron smiled at him.  “Sure, if I won't be in the way.” 
 Tom clenched his teeth.  “No, you'd never be in the way, Cameron.” he 
lied. 
^^ 
 B’Elanna nervously drummed her fingers on the plastic surface of the 
booth.  Finally, she saw Tom come through the glass doors.  She waved 
him over to her booth half heartily, for she noticed that Carmen was 
with him.  In some ways she was glad that there was someone else there. 
It would help keep her from doing something that she would regret later 
when Tom would leave her and Gillian again.  And yet she was almost 
disappointed that this private time with her old love wasn’t so private 
anymore. 
 Tom and Carmen sat down across from her.  The waitress came right up, 
and they ordered their meals.  Carmen chatted with B’Elanna about this 
and that while they waited for their food to come.  Cameron seemed nice 
enough, and B’Elanna could clearly see that she loved Tom.  But did Tom 
feel the same way? 
 They stretched lunch out as long as possible.  Cameron excused herself 
to go to the bathroom, and finally Tom and B’Elanna were alone.  There 
was an awkward silence for a few seconds.  “You really love her, don’t 
you?”  B’Elanna finally asked. 
 Tom stared thoughtfully out the window.  “Yes, I love her.”  he agrees 
unconvincingly. 
 B’Elanna felt her heart skip a beat.  He didn’t sound to sure of 
himself.  Was there still hope?  Then she mentally slapped herself. 
What was she thinking?  Getting involved with Tom would only lead to 
more heartache.  He had already proven that he didn’t love her enough to 
stand by her, hadn’t he?  B’Elanna decided then and there that she would 
not allow herself to be pulled in by his charm and wit. 
 Tom glanced around the room, checking to make sure that Carmen wasn’t 
headed back to their table.  He turned back to B’Elanna.   ^I know I 
still love her, and that I’ll hate myself if I let this chance slip 
through my fingers.  I have got to tell her how I feel about her.  Now.^ 
  “B’Elanna,” he started, pulling her out of her dismal reverie, “I need 
to tell you something.  After all that I’;ve done to hurt you, you at 
least deserve the truth.  I do love Cameron.  But I’ve just recently 
realized that I love her as. . .” he paused, trying to put his thoughts 
to words.  He started again.  “She has helped me over the past year to 
find myself, and I don’t know what I would have done without her love 
and support.  And maybe she really loves me, but I wouldn’t be the best 
thing for her.  There is a man out there someone who can make her dreams 
come true, but it’s not me.  I love her, but in the same way that I 
loved Kashy Niefert in the eighth grade.  It’s not true love.  So, I’ve 
decided that I need to call off the wedding.”  Tom glanced up from his 
empty coffee cup to see if B’Elanna had gotten his subtle hints; what he 
was *really* trying to say.  But instead of the the loving expression he 
expected to see, he saw only disgust. 
 “I couldn’t have expected anything else from you, Tom Paris, could I? 
Is this the kind of thing you do to every girl you get involved with? 
Well from this point on, you are no longer a part of my life.  I had 
hoped that we could become friends again, but if you are going to 
continue to break people's hearts, I refuse to be apart of it.  And if I 
*ever* see you near Gillian. . . .”  she let the threat hang in the 
stale air between them.  She slammed down her share of the bill for 
lunch, roughly slid out of the booth, and stalked out of the restaurant. 
 Tom could only watch her go, shock painted across his handsome 
features.  Suddenly, he felt Cameron’s presence beside him.  “Is 
everything ok, Tom?”  she asked, though she obviously knew it wasn’t. 
 “No.” he replied hollowly.  “And it never will be again.” 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
End Part 3. 

Whadidja think?  *Please* e-mail me with *anything* (I am sooo 
desperate!) at dana_lynn_tighe@hotmail.com  Part 4 will be out as soon 
as I have time.  Thanks to everyone who was so patient with me about 
getting part 3 out!