Lt. B'Elanna Torres of the starship Voyager woke up startled and glared at her chronometer as she slammed a fist down on it. Today was not going to be a good day. It was her 35th birthday and she was in a foul mood.
She believed that she had little to be thankful for. Lately she had been pulling double and sometimes triple shifts to keep the engines running at peak capacity. They were traversing a tricky part of space where dangerous spacial anomalies were constantly popping up and making the engineering systems go haywire.
Also, she had broken off her relationship with Tom Paris awhile back and he sought to make her life a living hell in return. He persisted in tormenting her whether they where on or off duty and she found his methods exceedingly distracting.
Then there was the fact that she chose not to celebrate her birthday in the traditional Klingon ways. In the back of her mind she could hear the voices of her Klingon ancestors berating her for not following tradition. It didn't matter that she was only HALF Klingon.
Finally she had done the dumbest thing of her life. She had been having lunch with Captain Janeway last week when the Captain had asked what B'Elanna had wanted for her birthday. B'Elanna had blushed uncharacteristically and said she was too embarrassed to say. Janeway insisted she jot down some ideas so she could get B'Elanna something she wanted. B'Elanna had written the note and left the mess hall quickly.
B'Elanna rolled over and gazed at the ceiling and groaned at the thought of the words that she had written. It had been almost a year since she realized her feelings for the Captain. It started way back when she was promoted to Chief Engineer. She began to work closely with the Captain and saw her as a positive role model. This turned into friendship and at times B'Elanna thought of Janeway as an older sister or maternal figure. It wasn't until last year that she began to realize her attraction for the Captain.
She couldn't even pinpoint the moment it happened, she just knew that now when Janeway looked at her, the blood in B'Elanna's veins turned to liquid fire. Half the time she couldn't concentrate on what was being said because she was gazing into those bright blue eyes or fixating on the delicate lines of Janeway's cheekbones. B'Elanna envied the Captain's beauty as she felt her own looks were of a freakish nature.
Dragging herself out of bed and into the sonic shower she went over the events of their last meeting. She had been coming off a triple shift and could barely see straight. All she could think of was her bed and getting there as quickly as possible. She had run into Janeway in the turolift and when lunch was suggested, B'Elanna was helpless to disagree. When the subject of a birthday gift came up, B'Elanna had borrowed a pen and paper from Neelix who had been teaching her handwriting skills. With a flourish she had put her wants on paper, hoping Janeway would be impressed with her new handwriting talent.
It wasn't until they next day after she had awoken from her sleep that B'Elanna had realized in horror what she had written. In a haze she had jotted:
5 wishes for my birthday by B'Elanna
1. A kiss from you
2. A kiss from you
3. A kiss from you
4. A kiss from you
5. More kisses from you
She couldn't believe that she had written that, let alone given Janeway the paper. Luckily she hadn't stuck around while the Captain had read it. And she managed to avoid the Captain for the last 4 days. It wasn't easy as they were on the same shift rotation and had the same free time off. B'Elanna chose to avoid public areas like the mess hall during her off hours and had gladly taken on extra shifts as an excuse to busy herself. She had half expected the Captain to demand to see her and give her a good tongue lashing(no pun intended)about her inappropriateness. And she was surprised when no communication came from her. B'Elanna hoped that she had not lost her closest friend.
She finished her shower, toweled off and grabbed a newly replicated uniform. Putting her insignia in place as she exited her quarters, she made her way to engineering. A crewman she barely recognized wished her a Happy Birthday and mentioned seeing her tonight. She mumbled a thanks and stopped dead in her tracks. Tonight. Oh gods, Neelix was throwing her a birthday party in the mess hall as was traditionally done for all senior officers. How was she supposed to avoid Janeway when it was tradition for the Captain to give a good luck toast to kick off the festivities? B'Elanna could only hope that the beautiful blue eyes she often admired were not filled with distaste and contempt.
*******************The day passed quickly even though B'Elanna was dreading the coming evening. She went back to quarters after her shift and moped for an hour, feeling hopeless and pitiful. When Chakotay dropped in to escort her to the party, she was still in her rumpled uniform and sitting forlornly on her couch.
Chakotay took one look at her, having heard the whole story from her earlier, and propelled her into her bedroom to change. He ordered her to dress pretty or she wasn't getting her present. He was tryng, unsuccessfully, to hide a rather large box behind his back.
B'Elanna emerged from her bedroom 15 minutes later dressed in a silver tunic and pants set that made her olive skin glow. Chakotay whistled his approval and they were off to the party.
They arrived exactly on time and a hush fell over the room as they entered. Happy Birthday cries rang out and the crowd spontanously broke out into the traditional song. B'Elanna blushed and discreetly looked around for the Captain. She was no where to be seen. This worried B'Elanna and she hoped that the Captain wasn't staying away in anger. Her fears increased when Chakotay picked up a glass of champagne and gave the traditional toast explaining that the Captain was unavoidably detained. And when B'Elanna confronted him about this he just shrugged.
B'Elanna tried to appear as if she was having fun. In a daze she woodenly when through the mechanics of opening her presents, cutting the cake and thanking people for coming. When she felt she had stayed a sufficient time, she feigned a headache and ducked out. At the door, Chakoay caught up with her and pressed something in her hand and whispered Happy Birthday.
Fighting tears, B'Elanna made her way to the turolift when she remember that Chakotay had given her something. She opened her palm to reveal a crinkled piece of paper. She gasped when she realized it was her wish list and scrawled at the bottom was the message "My quarters after the party, KJ"
B'Elanna sighed and stopped the turbolift at her deck instead of that of the Captain's. She had a miserable evening and a confrontation was not what she wanted to deal with now. She went to her quarters and arranged to beam her gifts from the mess hall. As she was looking over them again, her commbadge beeped.
"Janeway to Lt. Torres."
"Torres here."
"Lt. is there a problem?" Captain Janeway's voice floated through the air. "Did you not receive my message?"
"I did, Captain, but I am exhausted and I was about to retire for he evening."
"You will report to my quarters immediately Lt. And that's an order." she barked.
"Yes, Captain. Torres out."
I'm not getting out of this one B'Elanna thought to herself. She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. If she put on a brave face, maybe the Captain would go easy on her. She doubted it thinking of the many rules she had broken, let alone the sexual haraasement of a senior officer. She hoped the Captain didn't throw her in the brig.
When she found herself in front of the Captain's door, B'Elanna hesitated. Before she could think of how to start her apology, the doors slid open and she was surprised that the lights were out.
"Captain?" she called.
"Enter." a disembodied voice commanded and she did as the door slid closed behind her.
Then a flash in the corner and B'Elanna turned to see the Captain lighting a candle and then another. B'Elanna stared as she saw many candles placed around the room and flowers decorating almost every free space. The Captain continued to light the candles without a word or a glance at B'Elanna who felt insecure as this must surely be a cruel joke or a dream.
Finally, the Captiain finished and the room was flickering in beautiful candelight. She turned and motioned for B'Elanna to join her on the couch. She did and noticed for the first time that the Captain was not in her usual uniform, but instead in a very low cut, silky, rose gown that accented her curves. B'Elanna flushed and diverted her eyes.
"About your birthday wish list..."
B'Elanna interrupted before the Captain could finish, "I'm sorry. I had just worked a triple shift and I meant it as a joke. I guess it was in poor taste." B'Elanna though she could effectively lie her way out of the situation.
The Captain gave her an odd look and rose to get something off the table. She came back with two glasses and a bottle of champagne. "Do you want your toast now?" she said ignoring B'Elanna's earlier admission.
"Ok." B'Elanna squeeked not knowing why the Captain wasn't more upset.
Janeway popped the cork and poured two glasses handing B'Elanna one. "I couldn't say this at the party." she explained. "I didn't want the whole ship to hear this first." she took a breath and went on. "B'Elanna, I care about you a great deal and I was really happy when I saw your list. I had wanted to approach you with my feelings for a long time, but I wasn't sure you felt the same. I hope you aren't regretting what you wrote."
B'Elanna stared in amazement and blushed guiltily. "Wow, you really like me? I thought you liked men, so I didn't confess my feelings and I probably wouldn't have if I had been thinking straight(no pun again)."
"Men?" Janeway laughed. "No, I just did what was expected by everyone by getting engaged to those guys, but I'm thankful none worked out. I adore women and I adore you." she raised her glass, "To us and the beginning of something wonderful."
The clinked glasses and sipped the bubbily liquid in silence. Janeway took the glasses and set them aside "Ready for your gift?" she asked.
"I've been ready forever." B'Elanna admitted as she leaned forward and their lips met. Dreams can come true she thought to herself as she leaned further into Janeway's embrace.
the end
