The days had seemed to grow increasingly longer to B’Elanna as she waited and waited for the little egg to hatch. She didn’t know what to do in the meantime, so there she sat in the music room listening as the songs flowed throughout the room. The music room contained many instruments and a very large sound system along with many, many CD’s and tapes. A few chairs were in the room, but B’Elanna ignored them and sat on the floor with the little white egg near her. As far as she knew Erik was downstairs either reading the paper or talking to Mary and Mary was either talking to Erik or cooking. B’Elanna sighed and looked down at the little egg, “Taking your time to come out are you? That’s okay, take as long as you need little Sofi.” Then she carefully picked up the white egg, turned off the music and went downstairs.

When she got downstairs she went to her favorite chair and sat there, she looked up to see Erik reading the paper though when she looked closer she saw Erik wasn’t really reading it. ‘Huh,’ she thought, ‘Must be thinking.’ And she was right Erik was thinking, very hard about something. Last night he had had a dream, actually more like a nightmare. It was very realistic and detailed which scared him because every other single time he had a dream that was like that it ended up coming true in actual life. As the Butler continued to think about it he just shook his head and said, “No that’s not going to happen.” Then he said it again and again while B’Elanna tried to get his attention.

“Erik! What is wrong with you?! Are you going insane?! Hello!!” She said right in front of his face and then finally she gave up. B’Elanna walked into the kitchen where Mary looked at her and was about to ask what she wanted when she just grabbed a glass, filled it with water and left. Mary shrugged and thought she must have just wanted to get a drink. A few minutes pass and Mary suddenly hears a shout and Erik yell, “What was that for B’Elanna?!!” Mary stops cooking for a second and walks out to see Erik soaked and B’Elanna holding an empty water glass.

“You weren’t responding. I tried to get your attention and even got right in your face, but you wouldn’t even blink! I had to do something.” She said back to him.

“Really? I didn’t know that you tried to get my attention, I was just trying to think or concentrate on something I suppose. Sorry about that, but still next time don’t dump a glass of water on me. Please?”

B’Elanna nodded, “Okay. Sorry, I just didn’t know how else to get your attention. What were you thinking about anyway?”

Suddenly what Erik was thinking about surfaced once more in his mind, but he decided not to tell anybody at least not yet, “It was nothing B’Elanna. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to go get some dry clothes on.”

B’Elanna puzzled over what Erik might have been thinking of, but then just shrugged and went to sit once again in her chair next to her little white egg. Mary went back to the kitchen shaking her head while she laughed and muttered quietly to herself.

Erik came back down in a couple of minutes and sighed when he saw B’Elanna holding the small egg and looking at the ground. “What’s the matter B’Elanna?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing huh? Well how about you think more on whether that is the answer you want to give me when I get back from checking the mail and I ask again.” Then Erik walked to the door and went out to go check the mail. It was a fairly sunny day and getting a bit warmer slowly. “Today would be a nice day for rock climbing or something like that. Maybe B’Elanna would like to go rock climbing, who knows? I’ll ask when I get back.” As Erik walked down to the he remembered that B’Elanna’s Father was supposed to be visiting tomorrow. “Bet that guy wrote a letter saying he can’t come back. He’s never here.” Sighing again Erik opened the mail box he pulled out four letter’s, one for B’Elanna, one for Mary and two for himself. The one for B’Elanna was from her Father, “A letter from her Father this close to when he is supposed to visit? Not a good sign.” Erik said thinking out loud. The one from Mary was from her older sister. Erik finally looked at the two letter’s addressed to him, one was from B’Elanna’s Father and he was pretty sure that he knew what that one said. The second though puzzled Erik it was from somebody he had never heard of. He wanted to hurry and open it right there, but then he decided to go back to the house and give the other’s their letter’s before reading his own.

He entered the house slowly and tossed B’Elanna her letter, his aim was a bit off and it ended up smacking into her face. She grabbed it surprised then turned to Erik to say something about not throughing letter’s at her head, but stopped when she saw the serious and confused look on his face. A second letter flew at her face, but she caught it. “Give that to Mary would you?” He asked not even looking at B’Elanna who nodded back at him. Then the Butler went to his room still staring at the one letter he didn’t know who it was from.

B’Elanna got up from her chair and looked at the white egg, “I’ll be back in a second or two Sofi.” She said and headed off towards the kitchen. She handed Mary her letter who opened it and read it quickly then she turned to B’Elanna.

“What’s the matter B’Elanna?”

“I’m worried about Erik, he’s been starting to act funny not like himself.”

“When have you started to notice this?”

“Just this morning.”

“Well then I wouldn’t worry about him anymore, everybody has those days B’Elanna. Just give him his space and some time.”

“If you say so Mary.”

In Erik’s room he sat on his bed, he had already read the letter from B’Elanna’s Father saying that something had come up and he wouldn’t be able to visit for a while. Erik wasn’t surprised that that was what the letter said, he knew that was what it would say all along. He still hadn’t opened his next letter and now he just started to open it. Slowly he pulled out the letter and began to read.

Back in the living room B’Elanna was yet again sitting with the little egg when Erik stormed out of his room and smiled at B’Elanna who looked up at him lazily. “What’s the matter B’Elanna? Oh yeah wait a second you already said nothing and I don’t think that you changed your mind just now right? So let’s see. Oh yeah I was meaning to ask you. Do you want to go rock climbing today?”

B’Elanna could hardly understand a word that Erik had said, but she understood the last bit of it and nodded. “Sure that’d be great, but what about Sofi?”

“Well I don’t think that she will hatch just yet, at least not until we get back. So what time is it right now? About 8 or so?”

“8:11.” B’Elanna said back.

“Okay. Well I have to go to the city right now and I’ll be back soon. When I get back you be sure to be ready to go okay?”

B’Elanna nodded to him and then before she could even say goodbye he was out the door.

Erik pulled into the small restraunt that was in town and saw that it wasn’t that crowded just like the letter said it usually isn’t that crowded at that time of the day. He got out and locked the car then went inside to sit and wait for the people to arrive.

Back at the Vawntika mansion B’Elanna was ready and packed to go. She had still yet to decide what she was going to do about Sofi, she had done a few scientific scans which reveal that Sofi was not quite yet ready to hatch. B’Elanna was thinking about this as Mary got around in the kitchen, she was thinking about it when she was doing her last check on the things she had to take and was thinking about it when Erik stormed through the front door scaring her half to death. “Erik! You’re back! Erik? Are you okay?”

The usually friendly eyed butler now seemed to be ready to start crying, “I’m fine.” He said, “When are we going? Are you ready?”

B’Elanna nodded, “I’m ready. I don’t know when we will be going, that’s up to you this was your idea. Just one question, where are we going to climb this time?”

“Someplace we usually don’t go to, it’s a little bit of a drive, but not that much. I’m ready, you’re ready,” then he heard a ‘I’m ready.’ come from the kitchen and said, “Mary’s ready. Let’s go now, eh?”

A little while later they arrived to the place Erik wanted to go climbing. B’Elanna hadn’t brought Sofi along, mainly because Erik had convinced her that Sofi would be fine for a while, but that didn’t stop B’Elanna from having a computer monitor the little white egg constantly. The way up took a while, now Erik and B’Elanna were on their way down. Mary would climb too, but she was a bit afraid of height’s so she just waited patiently at the bottom. “Erik! Are you even paying attention to what you’re doing?” B’Elanna asked as she continued down slowly. She stopped for a second and looked down at Erik who didn’t say anything to her. “Erik? Be careful would you? We’re at least more than 200 or so feet up.”

But Erik wasn’t listening, he was thinking that he shouldn’t have suggested going rock climbing. It was just like his dream, he was high up and if his dream came true then any second now he should hear a snapping sound. Erik waited, then, he heard the snap sound. “No, it’s just a coincidence.” He said looking at B’Elanna to see that it was just her trying to get her footing right. But he was wrong, it wasn’t just a coincidence and suddenly without warning he found himself falling. Frantically he tried to stop, but he couldn’t and continued to fall. Wide eyed B’Elanna tried to grab him and stop him from falling while she could and she just barely caught the end of a rope.

“Erik! What happened?! I can’t hold on, hurry do something!” Then B’Elanna realized she must also try and do something, but for the first time in her whole entire life she froze and so did her brain. She couldn’t think of what to do. Everything seemed to be in slow motion from then on, Erik was trying to do something so that he wouldn’t fall and centimeter by centimeter B’Elanna’s grip on the rope was slipping.

“Hang on B’Elanna I think we’ll be okay and make it through this.” Erik said, but just as the words had left his mouth the rope that B’Elanna held slid through her hands and Erik fell.

“ERIK!” B’Elanna’s mind now jumped into speed and she tryed to get down to the bottom as fast as she could. Down below Mary looked up to see Erik falling, smashing into rocks on the way down.

“Oh no. Oh my god. Erik!” Erik hit the ground a ways away from the truck they had taken to go climbing and B’Elanna’s feet hit the ground a few minutes later. She ran as fast as she could hoping Erik would somehow be okay. When she got to where he was she found Mary already kneeling near him.

“Erik. Mary is he?” B’Elanna said so quietly that Mary could barely hear her.

But before Mary could answer B’Elanna heard a faint hiss, “B’Elanna.” Instantly B’Elanna was beside Erik and looking at him as he painfully tried to tell her something. “I have,” he paused to take a few deep breaths and continued to his out his words, “to tell you something. This morning I,....got a letter from a lady,...I have a brother,...his name is Heath,....he needs a family and a home.” Erik took a few more deep breaths, “They want him to,...come stay with me since I’m,...his only family left. I never knew, never knew that I had a brother,...he’s actually a half brother...Different Father’s.”

“What?” B’Elanna asked, “What do you mean, I,...a brother?”

Erik tryed to get up a little, “I’m not going to make it much longer,...please just listen B’Elanna. He needs a home,...you were supposed to learn,...about this a bit later--but,” He looked around then started to cough, blood appear on his hand, “this happened,” Erik coughed somemore, “I want you to go meet him in a couple of days at--The Cafe in the city--The one on Hope Lane. Please B’Elanna, he’s an okay young man. Odd, but we all are odd,” more coughing followed.

“You want me to go meet him and bring him back to the mansion so that he can live with us? But Erik what about Sofi. White remember? Stranger’s are not good.”

“She’s still,...an egg. Please B’Elanna. He’s my only family and I’m his only family......If I die I want to know,...that my only half brother is in a good home. Please, promise me. Please.” It was becoming increasingly harder for Erik to breath and both B’Elanna and Mary noticed this. B’Elanna wanted to believe that he would make it through this, but she knew that there was no way he would.

“I...”

“Please B’Elanna.”

“I promise Erik.”

In his last few moments Erik smiled to B’Elanna and said, “Thank you. Take care of yourself B’Elanna, you too Mary. And take care of,.” He coughed more and took a few sharp breaths, “of that little Sofi.” He coughed somemore, “I love you B’Elanna....” Just then Erik’s eye’s went blank. The dam B’Elanna had built during all of this to keep the tears back had finally broke, she started to cry. Erik was gone. His eyes had zero life in them. B’Elanna didn’t know what to do now, she kept thinking that it was all her fault. Maybe if she could have held on a bit longer he would have been able to make it.

‘It’s all my fault.’ She thought, “It’s all my fault.” She said aloud.

Mary turned to her, she was also crying, “Don’t say that. I’m sure you did everything to help. Things like this happen B’Elanna; you don’t live forever. We shall always remember Erik, but please B’Elanna don’t go into a state of deep depression like you did with your Mother. You can’t, you must hang on, think of Sofi. And please don’t try to go to Heaven.”

B’Elanna could barely hear Mary, she looked up towards the sky that was now clouded with many black rain clouds tear’s continued to stream down the sides on her face. “What do we do now Mary?”

“We, well we better call the police or 911 or something. They would probably come out and investigate then we go from there. Where is the cell phone?”

B’Elanna slowly stood up, “I’ll have to talk to people won’t I?

“Yes dear, you probably will have to.” Then Mary went to the truck to call one of the places she said she would and report that Erik Trinigal had died from a climbing accident and nobody is very certain of what happened. People came and took away Erik’s body, B’Elanna thought there might be a funeral in a couple of days or so. She had to talk to the police and tell them what had happened. After what seemed like years B’Elanna and Mary were told to go home and get some rest, they would be contacted by the police or somebody else in a while.

B’Elanna sighed as she finally arrived home, she burst through the door as quick as she could and that was when she realized she had a deep cut in her shoulder. She hadn’t noticed it before and as she touched in she found it had already started to try and heal. Mary came in and took one look at the cut and tried to get B’Elanna to sit down and let her take care of it. B’Elanna kept saying that she could take care of it herself, but I guess Mary just didn’t trust her to take care of it after what had happened so B’Elanna finally gave up trying to argue and sat down.

Upstairs a little egg sat on a cushion which was on a cart blankets also surrounded the egg and computer’s monitored it. A few feet away was a window which revealed the thunder and lightning storm outside. A flash of lightning lit the dim room up a bit more and thunder quickly followed. The lightning went as quickly as it had come and the room returned to it’s fairly lit state. In a corner was a stereo and music played from it. A speedier melody than some, but still calm and soothing. Just as thunder boomed again outside a small hole appeared in the egg and little cracks appeared around the hole. Then, one small black eye peeked through it. ‘Do I really want to go out there?’ Sofi thought for a second, but then took longer than that. ‘It’s a strange world out there, do I really want to venture into it?’ She thought a bit longer, ‘Yes, I must. B’Elanna is out there. I must go.’ Sofi’s eye disappeared from where it was and she started to push her nose against the small hole, she listening as she pushed and heard the egg crack. Slowly she made a hole that her snout could poke out of. She pushed the end of her tail against one side of the egg and her snout against the other and tired to make the egg crack open and let her out, but it wouldn’t. She could her it cracking a bit, but she just kept pushing. Finally the egg split apart and she could get out. Sofi calmly looked around the room and looked at the stereo, she smiled a bit, ‘Nice music.’ She thought, but she continued to look around. ‘Where is B’Elanna?’ She thought looking around. Then she noticed the window and stared out of it as lightning flickered across the country side. Thunder sounded across the land too and Sofi crawled beneath a blanket away from the remains of her egg. ‘I don’t want to go out there, not into that storm. No. But where is B’Elanna?’ Then she tried to call for her, *B’Elanna?*

Downstairs B’Elanna waited patiently for Mary to say she could go, but then she heard a soft whispery call, *B’Elanna?* The dark haired genious’ eyes flashed quickly, “Sofi?” Then she quickly got up and ran to the stairs while Mary yelled at her to come back, but B’Elanna wouldn’t listen and she darted up to the room where Sofi was supposed to be. She stopped when she reached the door, then quietly turned the knob. She stepped into the dim room and saw the shells of an egg on the little cart. She looked closer and saw Sofi beneath a small blanket. “Sofi?” She asked, the little white Wyrm looked at her.

*B’Elanna?* She asked. B’Elanna nodded and Sofi smiled, B’Elanna started to cry which surprised her because she didn’t think that she had any tears left. But these tears were different, they were tears of happiness rather than sadness, but then she realized something and spoke it out loud as she crossed the room to get to Sofi who had raised her head and slithered out from underneath the blanket.

“Today I lost someone, but I gained another. Hello Sofi.”

*Hello B’Elanna, I took a while to come out of my egg. Sorry.*

“It’s okay you have no reason to be sorry for such a thing.” B’Elanna said and then reached down to Sofi who slithered into her arms.

*Who did you lose today?* Sofi asked resting her small head on B’Elanna’s arm.

“His name was Erik, Erik Trinigal and he was my butler and also my guardian. He was more than those things though, he was family and now he’s,...gone. You probably would have liked him, but I’m not sure. Now the only other person living here is Mary the maid/cook, but somebody new if supposed to live here. Erik told me he had a half brother that he want’s to come live here. He told me this as he was dying and made me promise that I would let his brother come live here with us.”

Sofi listened to what B’Elanna said and let out a sigh, *I’m hungry and I need to get some sleep, perhaps later we can talk somemore.* B’Elanna nodded and then took Sofi to her bedroom so that she could sleep. Then she ran downstairs and grabbed something for both of them to eat. That night B’Elanna didn’t sleep that well and a few times she bolted awake from having a nightmare, but everytime she awoke she would find a small white nose pressing against her cheek or forhead and Sofi telling her that everything was fine and to get some sleep. Though that was easier said than done for B’Elanna who was still mourning the loss or Erik, but she was also worrying about meeting the lady with Erik’s half brother in a couple days.

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