Day of Honor - Michael Jan Friedman [72]
"You're being a little hard on yourself," he said dreamily.
"No," B'Elanna declared. "I'm going to diewithout a shred of honor. And for the first time in my life, that bothers me. So I have to tell you something. I have to-"
"Warning," Tom's computer interrupted. "Oxygen level at seventy-one millibars and falling."
Tom's eyes were closing.
"Tom," B'Elanna said.
He came awake with a start. "I'm here," he told her. "It's Okay. It won't be long now."
"I have to tell you the truth," B'Elanna said.
"Maybe then I can die with a little honor after all."
"Truth about ... about what?" he asked.
"Something I haven't said before," she sighed. "So at least, I won't pile up any more regrets."
B'Elanna swallowed. It was harder than she'd thought it would be.
"If I ... if I didn't know we were dying ... I could never say this." She smiled. "Silly, isn't it?"
"Warning," said Tom's suit computer-like the knell of doom. "Oxygen level at six-two millibars and failing."
"Better say it now," Tom told her. "We don't have much longer. . ."
"Okay," B'Elanna said. "Okay." She looked into his heavy-lidded eyes. "It was all for you, Tom."
He seemed puzzled. "For me?"
"All for you," she repeated. "The Klingon rituals, the Day of Honor. I just wanted you to be proud of me."
Tom shook his head. "You didn't have to ... to do anything to make me proud, B'Elanna. I was proud ... of you already.…"
It was so frustrating. Why couldn't she just come out and say it? "No, you don't understand ... what I'm trying to say…" She took a deep, ragged breath and got it out.
Finally.
"I love you, Tom."
He didn't answer. He just looked at her, stunned by her admission and losing consciousness from lack of oxygen.
"Well," B'Elanna said at last, "say something."
Tom gave her a weak smile. "You picked a great time to tell me…" Then his eyelids began to flutter dangerously. "To tell me…"
As his eyes closed, a peaceful look came over him. B'Elanna's secret revealed, she felt a great burden fall away from her. Maybe it was time to let her eyes close as well, she thought.
And they did.
But not before she hugged Tom as hard as she could. And somehow, even though he was all but unconscious, he hugged her back.
B'Elanna's last thought was that Tom was right. It was peaceful dying this way. And their being together made it even more so.
But something wouldn't let her go. At first, she didn't know what it was, but it kept tugging at her, insisting that she pay heed to it.
She opened her eyes.
"My god," B'Elanna whispered.
There was something in the distance. Something bright and shiny. It was too far away for her to make out its shape, but it hadn't been there before. And unless she was completely crazy, it was getting larger.
Suddenly, another voice came to her. Not the computer voice they'd been listening to, measuring the time left to them. No, this was a different voice. A more welcome voice.
"Voyager to Tom Paris. This is the captain, Tom ...
do you read me? Respond. Voyager to B'Elanna Torres. This is the captain…"
Tom's eyes came open again. He looked around, dazed. Then he licked his lips and spoke in a voice so low, B'Elanna could barely hear it. "We're here ...
Captain ... we're here. . ."
Janeway's voice soared with joy. "We were beginning to get worried about you. Prepare to beam aboard."
B'Elanna smiled. Then she turned to Tom. She looked at him, searching his face for whatever emotion she might find there.
Tom looked back at her, doing the same thing. But even she didn't know what he saw.
B'Elanna knew only one thing for certairmothing would ever again be the same between them. She was still holding on to that thought as the familiar confines of the transporter room appeared around them ...
Nothing would ever again be the same.
THE DOCTOR WAS IN HIS OFECE, THINKING ABOUT ALL that had happened to him in the last several hours, when he received a communication over the ship's intercom system.
"Doctor, this is Commander Chakotay. I have a couple of patients for