The BLTS Archive - Now and Then
by Amiroq. aka Gypzy (fitchett@netaccess.co.nz)

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Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek. I don't. Nuff said.

This story has absolutely no plot. Bear with me.

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Andrew Kim glanced up from his work as the door opened, and grinned.
"Hey, Dad."

"Hey." Harry dumped his bag near the door and wandered over.

"Mom said we aren't allowed to put things on the floor."

"No, she said *you* aren't allowed to. What are you doing?"

"Maths. I can't work out how to do this problem. Can you help me?"

Harry studied the question, then took the PADD and solved it easily,
going over each step. "Where's your mother gone, anyway?"

"Returning something to Naomi's mom, I think. She should be back
soon."

"Great." He took a cookie from the plate on the table and leaned back
in the couch.

Three biscuits later ("Mom said no more than two or you'll ruin your
appetite") the door opened again, and Harry got up to greet Linnis.
She smiled at his attentions and kissed him back, before scolding him,
"Move your bag; you're supposed to be setting a good example."

"Told you so," Andrew said quietly, grinning at his dad.

"I don't need to set a good example," Harry retorted, "I'm your
father. Sweetheart, I'm going to visit Tom, do you want me to give him
a message?"

"Tell him he's having tea with us tonight. He's hardly eaten
recently."

He nodded sympathetically - he'd noticed it too. Things just hadn't
been the same since Kes' death. "Okay. I'll be back soon."

It only took a few minutes to get to Tom's quarters; when he arrived
he noted with some concern that his friend and father-in-law hadn't
bothered yet to remove the late Ocampan's name from the door. He shook
it off and hit the chime, not bothering to wait for an answer before
entering.

Tom was sitting in semi-darkness with a picture in his hand that Harry
recognised: Kes was dressed in a red jumpsuit holding a baby, Andrew,
in someone's quarters. "Hey, Pop," he joked, coming to sit by him.
"Apparently you're having dinner with us."

"Huh?" He glanced up, putting the holo down on the coffee table. "Oh.
Great. What're we having?"

"I don't know. I think Andrew's helping to make it."

"Right." He nodded for a few seconds. "He's growing up fast."

"He's quarter Ocampan, what do you expect?"

"Yeah. You know, it's funny, I'm probably still going to be around to
see my great-grandchildren."

"I know. It's a little disconcerting, I guess. How are you holding
up?"

"Me? Fine, fine." He shook his head slowly. "You?"

"Yeah." The word sounded hollow, like Tom's reply; Harry knew his
friend well enough to know it was a front. He'd seen him like this
before, when B'Elanna died. That had been hard on both of them, but
Harry thought he might almost have had it harder - he couldn't afford
to let Tom know how he *really* felt about her. "Do you still think
about B'Elanna sometimes?" he asked, continuing his train of thought
out loud.

"Sometimes. Yeah. I miss her, you know?"

"Yeah, me too. I mean, she was my best friend, or one of them, but...
hell. You know what? I never would have told you, but to this day I've
never been able to work out if I was in love with her."

That got his attention. "Really? Jesus, I'm lucky I got in before
you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, you know and I know that *any* sane person would choose
you over me. You're smart, you're goodlooking, you're funny...
everyone likes you. Me, I'm just the guy who flies the ship."

"If that were true I would never have stuck around this long. You know
that."

"Maybe." He ran a hand through his hair and slumped into the cushions.
"So, you loved B'Elanna too, huh."

"You're not mad."

"Nah. She was... easy to love."

Harry nodded. "I know what you mean." He hesitated. "She still doesn't
hold a candle to Linnis. I mean, she's smart, pretty, sweet, good in
b--"

"Whoa, stop right there!" Tom straightened up. "This is my *daughter*
we're talking about. You know, my little girl? As far as I'm
concerned, Andrew was the virgin birth."

"Hey, it's just *sex*," he teased.

"Ha. You know, it seems like just yesterday she was going through the
elogium. And I was rubbing her feet and she was going on about you
like you were some kind of god or something. It's hard to believe that
was two years ago. She really loves you, you know."

"I know. And you know what else? I think dinner's about ready. Let's
go eat."

"Good idea." He pulled himself up and waited for Harry before heading
to the door.

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The End