When We Were Young
By Elizabeth Carter
B'Elanna Torres sat with her knees pulled up to her chest her dark eyes concentrating upon the Data PADD in her hand. She had barely noticed the presence of the blonde until she was almost on top of her.
"What do you want?" Snarled the young Klingon.
"Can I sit here?" The voice was soft, not mocking.
"There are plenty of other places to sit." B'Elanna waved to the room filled with many vacant places.
The four-year-old blonde glanced around her and then back to the Klingon child.
"I know…but…"
"What!?" The eight year old growled.
The blonde girl bit her lower lip. "Well…most of them are grown-ups. And you're one of the only kids here...and…you're…"
Dark eyes narrowed expecting the girl to make some sort of crack, to tease her. "What am I?" B'Elanna knew the answer. This human child wasn't going to be any different than the others who teased her and called her turtlehead.
"The only other girl. All the other kids are boys."
"Oh." B'Elanna didn't expect that. She looked to the human again and thought she was barely more then a baby.
"What's your name, kid?" the Klingon asked trying to sound kind.
"Annika." She smiled widely. "What's yours?"
"B'Elanna."
"That's pretty." The little girl sat down next to her as she set her plate of food down on the table. B'Elanna snickered at the sight as the top of the table was at neck level to the girl.
"Here." She stood up and moved to the child. "Sit up on your knees you'll be taller." She helped Annika to sit up closer. "There you go you're all set."
"Okay." Annika said pleasantly. She looked to her plate of food and picked up one of two cookies. "You want one, B'Elanna?"
"Sure." She took the chocolate-chip cookie. "Thanks."
Annika simply grinned. "Are your Papa and Mama here too?"
"Papa?" B'Elanna cocked her head. Sometimes she knew that human kids called their grandfathers papa.
"My granddaddy isn't here."
"Not Grandfather…Papa." Annika shrugged.
"You mean my Dad?"
"Papa…yeah."
"No." B'Elanna growled without meaning too. It had been a month since her daddy left them. "Only my Mommy. My Dad is gone."
"Oh." Annika said quietly. She looked to her new friend and saw that the girl was sad. Her heart felt for her and she reached out and patted B'Elanna on her shoulder. "My Papa and Mama are gone a lot too. We're going to a new place."
"What do you mean they're gone a lot?" B'Elanna was a little confused. When she saw a bit of sadness in the blue eyes she felt her hearts tug in sympathy for the little girl.
"Oh, they are…xeo—xeo—bio—logic'ets…um…scientists…"
"So."
"They go to the lab a lot and are gone…lots…I have to stay in their offices…We have to go to the Borg place...because Papa and Mama are going to study them." Annika shivered. "I think they're scary though."
"Your parents leave you alone!" Large chocolate eyes widened.
"Sure. All the time." Annika shrugged as if it was a very natural thing for her to be left alone in the labs of her parents.
"How old are you?" B'Elanna starred. Who would leave this Wa'Hom, …this little one alone?! It seemed wrong. She was so little… how could she defend herself? Take care of herself?
Annika puffed out her chest. "I am four." She smiled. "But soon I'll be five."
"Well you seem ...um…pretty grown up for four."
Annika was all similes as if she had been paid the greatest complement in her entire life. "Yeah." She stood up in her chair a little taller. "How old are you?"
"Eight."
"Oh." Annika nodded. She counted on her fingers and smiled. "You're four years older then me."
B'Elanna snickered, thinking the little girl was cute. Something in her wanted to protect this little one…she seemed so vulnerable…a lot like Toby. It seemed more apparent when the four boys came their way and Annika instinctively closed the space between her and B'Elanna. In response B'Elanna positioned herself between her and the boys protecting Annika.
"Don't worry, I'll look out for you Annika." B'Elanna whispered.
"Kay." The little blonde uttered watching the new comers with wary eyes. She didn't trust the lot of them. They looked mean and nasty.
"Hey blondie you better stay away from the turtlehead or she'll feed you to her targ!" One of them called out. A tall blonde boy that seemed to be the pack's leader.
"Turtlehead stick to your own kind!" Another chirped.
Annika had no idea what a turtlehead was but she definitely didn't like the boys. Picking up her apple she threw it as hard as she could and hit the lead boy square between the eyes. Then quickly ducked behind her protector.
"Ow…. you stupid turtle-lover!" The blonde boy screamed out holding his head.
The four others moved in but B'Elanna growled and grabbed her own apple as a weapon.
"We'll pound you for that!" A dark haired boy snarled.
"Try it and I'll feed you to my Targ!" B'Elanna challenged. What she wanted to do was run. She was out numbered and she knew they would overcome her. But little Annika needed to be protected and B'Elanna was not about to allow the girl to come to harm.
"Yeah what B'Elanna said!" Annika backed up her new friend. She had no idea what a targ was either but she thought it was something large like a bear.
"Is there a problem here?" A dark skinned Vulcan asked. The young lieutenant had seen the altercation and decided to intervene before things got out of hand.
The seven children looked up to the tall man. The boys shook their heads and backed away. All four of them worried the Vulcan would put the 'death grip' on them.
"Come on Tommy, don't waste your time with the turtlehead." A redheaded boy grabbed the leader's shoulder.
The other boys shuffled by, the last of them a very young Asian lad. "Sorry." He mouthed as he quickly moved past the two girls. "Sometimes Tommy and the others can be jerks." He tried to smile but then quickly moved past the tall Vulcan who seemed to be scowling at them.
When the boys were gone from the commissary of the space station the Vulcan turned back to the two girls. "Are you injured?"
"No." B'Elanna crossed her arms in front of her. "We're fine."
"They were meanies." Annika said as she slowly moved around her friend to face the Vulcan. Her newfound bravery was founded only because she was still very close to B'Elanna. In fact half her body was still hidden by the taller girl's own body.
"Indeed." Came a clipped answer from the Vulcan. "I would advice you two seek your parents if another such altercation occurs."
The young Klingon girl sensed the younger girl's nervousness and placed a protective hand upon Annika's shoulder. "It's okay Annika they're gone." B'Elanna said gently.
"Thanks." B'Elanna said never taking her eyes off the Vulcan. "We're fine now, sir."
The Vulcan merely nodded. "Very well." Then he too left following the direction the young humans had darted off to.
The girls watched for a moment latter then turned to one another. "Hey you we're pretty brave, throwing that apple." B'Elanna smiled hugging the younger girl.
"Really?" Annika basked in the praise. "I was scared. But you're Klingon…you weren't scared we're you?"
B'Elanna narrowed her eyes for a moment. Klingon. Klingon. That was why Daddy had left because he hated Klingons. He found living with one difficult and then he had two. Klingons…they made everything bad. And yet Annika…seemed….to have a different view.
"You…like Klingons?"
"I like you. You're Klingon. So yeah…I like Klingons." Annika smiled hugging her friend tightly. "I wish I was Klingon."
B'Elanna snorted. "Why?"
"Well If I was a Klingon…I'd never be scared. Klingons are always brave…everyone knows that." Annika smiled holding the hand of B'Elanna.
"What are you scared of?" The young B'Elanna almost sneered.
"The Borg." Annika said. " 'Member…Papa and Mama are going to study them. And I think they are very, very scary. But if I was Klingon, I wouldn't be scared, because Klingons are never scared."
B'Elanna wanted to say something. Klingons…she hated Klingons…they made her Daddy leave, but she couldn't say anything mean. Annika didn't deserve it. She was so trusting. She actually believed Klingons never got scared. There was nothing mocking in the blonde's voice…only admiration. Almost worship. "Annika…you're not Klingon and you stood up to those boys."
"Oh…only because you were here." Annika said readily. "You protected me."
B'Elanna sighed. "Well you're really little." She squeezed the hand that held her's. "Might as well as be me."
Annika smiled warmly. She moved in front of her new best friend and gently raised her left hand, which was her free hand. She touched the ridges of the taller girl, which shocked the young Klingon.
"You're pretty." Annika stated in the truth that is held in the purity of an innocent child. She touched her own unremarkable forehead and tilted her blonde head. "I wish I was pretty like you."
B'Elanna could only stare. Once more she expected to be teased, mocked but she only found honesty in Annika's eyes. The young human girl truly believed that she was pretty. "You think I am pretty!?"
"Yeah." Annika nodded she didn't understand why her friend thought otherwise. "Of course." Then she hugged B'Elanna tightly. "I am just plain…but you have very neat ridges. I don't want just to be plain."
"Trust me you don't want to be different. No one likes different. You're lucky." B'Elanna said. "You'll always have friends. No one wants to be friends with a Klingon mutt."
Annika narrowed her blue eyes. "I want to be you're friend."
"You're the only one." B'Elanna said sitting down on the chair.
Annika sat near her and smiled. "Oh I bet you'll have lots and lots of friends. Its just there's not a lot of kids on this station only icky boys. Boys are mean. I'm you're friend. You're so nice. And so pretty, B'Elanna." She repositioned herself on her knees as B'Elanna had taught her so that she was taller. She hated being short, she wanted to be really tall.
Once more B'Elanna felt compelled to watch over this small friendly child. She was a little mad at Annika's parents for leaving her alone bringing her to Borg Space. The Borg were scary. In fact B'Elanna was terrified of them. And she hoped she would never ever meet them.
"B'Elanna what is a targ?"
"It's a pet. Big…with a mane and spikes and horns, and a snout and hooves. I have a stuffed one. He's purple...and neat. My Daddy gave him to me before…" B'Elanna started to cry thinking of her beloved father.
Annika saw the tears falling and immediately hugged her friend tightly. "Did your Papa die?"
"No…he's just gone." B'Elanna hugged her friend back just as tightly.
"Oh…" Annika felt bad for her friend. But she had no idea of how to make it better. "Well maybe he is only lost and he'll come back. My kitty was lost and she came back."
"My Daddy isn't a stupid kitty. And he isn't coming back. He left because I told him to!"
Annika dropped her head, having no idea hat to say to that. "Well maybe if you wrote a letter or subspace transmission he would come back…if you told him to." She smiled. "Papa and Mama are going to a place called the Delta Quadrant. I don't know where that is…but…um…but…I could take a letter there to for your Papa and if I find him I can give him the letter."
"You'd do that?" B'Elanna looked up surprised once more by this tender child.
"Sure!" Annika smiled. "I can help you write letters. I'm just learning how to read and write…if you tell me the letters on how to write…I can …copy. Then and we can make tons of 'em. It is…um…"the blond looked up to the ceiling of the commissary as if to find the word she was searching for pasted on its surface. "Oh…efficient. With two of us writing letters to your Papa it is efficient. That's what my Papa says…a lot. It's supposed to make things faster...I think. I don't know...though it's a grown up thing. Seems boring to me. Papa says that is apart of the Borg things. He likes that stuff."
"I don't know." B'Elanna said softly. "Maybe…but not right now."
"Okay." Annika easily complied with her friend's wishes.
B'Elanna looked at Annika once more. She didn't know why this little girl was being so nice to her, but then she really didn't care. Yes they were the only two girls on the station but Annika truly liked her. But maybe it was because she was only four going on five. It also seemed that B'Elanna had been her only friend.
In the next three weeks while the Raven was being overhauled and stocked with supplies for the three year mission to study the Borg, Annika spent a great deal of her time with B'Elanna.
Miral Torres, B'Elanna's mother thought the child a little soft, but then she was human. When Lanna told her about the apple, Miral laughed heartily and rubbed the small child's back approvingly. Maybe she wasn't so soft after all.
Annika practiced growling so that if she encountered the Borg she would growl like a proper Klingon warrior and make the Borg go away. Miral was more than stunned to realize that for those three weeks Annika's parents seemed not to have noticed their child was not near them. Yes B'Elanna was independent and wandered the station but Miral always knew where she was at any given time. B'Elanna was to report in every three hours as to her whereabouts and was allowed only on certain decks. Annika's parents twice had searched for her and always found her in the company of B'Elanna. To Miral's surprise Annika became attached not only to her little Lanna but to Miral as well. So much so that when she came to the guest quarters where the two Klingons were staying Annika would leap up and give Miral a tight bear hug, then scamper off to play with Lanna. In the last three weeks the two became inseparable. B'Elanna truly seemed happy. Miral started to have a true distaste for the Hansens for abandoning their little girl who was obviously starving for parental care. Annika was a delight to have around the young Klingon mother thought. She brought such happiness to her daughter who had been depressed and surly for so long.
Then two ships were ready. The Raven to be headed to the Delta Quadrant and the Excelsior to Kessick IV a Federation colony. Neither girl was pleased about the aspect. Annika had even hidden in one of the cargo containers in the Torres Quarters so that she might go to Kessick IV with her friend.
Miral shook her head and took the young blonde out of the container. "Planning to stowaway?"
"I didn't steal anything Miral." Annika crossed her arms in a very B'Elanna-ish stance
The Klingon chuckled. "No I mean you were trying to sneak on board."
"Oh Mama and Papa won't miss me I replicated a dolly my size…it's the same to them…I can come with Lanna and you." Large blue eyes glistened. She was trying so hard not to cry…Klingons don't cry. Of course Klingons didn't have tear ducts to cry. (Though hybrid Klingon children did but Annika didn't know this.) And Annika didn't want to appear weak in front of Miral.
"Wa'Hom…you have to do your duty and be very brave and go with your parents."
Miral once more berated the Hansens. Who in their right mind would take a child to chase after the cyborg menace known as the Borg. They were begging to be assimilated. The wind does not respect a fool, and the Hansens were fools. Once more they certainly didn't deserve to have this little spark of life with them. Miral had been tempted to challenge the Hansens parental fitness but she knew that would cause far more problems then solve. She would pray to Kah'less this child would be spared, that she would be safe. She also knew the likelihood that little Annika and Lanna would meet again was astronomical. But Miral was more than proud of her daughter for watching out for the tyke and grateful for the friendship that had blossomed.
"Okay…"Annika uttered softly. "But it's not going to be any fun. Papa doesn't think the Borg have kids…and I'll miss Lanna."
"She'll miss you too Wa'Hom, but you can write one another." Miral encouraged.
"Yeah." Lanna smiled. "You're pretty good at writing so far." Lanna made a small reference to the letters she and Annika had composed.
"Yeah but it isn't the same." Annika glowered. Letters… "Oh I forgot." The tiny blond said. She knew she had an important job in which she was to help Lanna find her Papa. She was to carry a letter into the Delta Quadrant just in case he was there. "Letter…"
Lanna clapped her hand over the other child's mouth before she said too much. Annika didn't know when to be quiet about things. Being eight Lanna was learning the art of discretion, which the four year old had no concept of yet.
The hour had finally come when the two friends had to part ways. Annika was crying but Lanna held her. "Hey…don't worry squirt…we'll see each other again."
"Promise?" blue eyes sparkled in hope
"Cross my heart." Lanna smiled as she wiped her own eyes.
"Then I believe you. Klingons always keep their word. Everyone knows that." The blonde smiled and in her little heart she believed fully that she would once again be reunited with her friend Lanna.
B'Elanna Torres sat with her knees pulled up to her chest her dark eyes concentrating upon the Data PADD in her hand. She had barely noticed the presence of the blonde until she was almost on top of her.
"What do you want?" Snarled the young Klingon.
"Can I sit here?" The voice was soft, not mocking.
"There are plenty of other places to sit." B'Elanna waved to the room filed with many vacant places.
The twenty four-year-old blonde glanced around her and then back to the Klingon woman
"I know…but…"
"What!?" The twenty-eight year old growled.
The blonde woman set her jaw. "Indeed…how ever you are…
Dark eyes narrowed. "What am I?" B'Elanna thought she knew the answer.
"The only other female. All the others are male."
"So."
"I prefer female company at this time. You are also the only one I am in love with." Seven of Nine leaned over kissed her beloved.
B'Elanna's chocolate eyes twinkled as she moved over so that her lover could sit next to her. She put her arm around her beloved. "I kept my promise."
"Concerning what in this instance? You've kept your promises on several occasions."
As an explanation B'Elanna handed Seven the PADD she was holding. When Seven read the words she snapped her head up and looked directly into B'Elanna's eyes.
"I had forgotten about this."
"Come on Nic you were only four. A lot has happened since then." B'Elanna reached out and touched the soft face of the woman she loved. Her fingers traced the ocular implant in the same gentle way a small blonde child had done twenty years ago when reaching for her ridges.
"And you're a far cry from being plain." B'Elanna whispered
"You are still very pretty." Seven smiled as he kissed each ridge of her lover. She looked down. "I actually believe the Raven Archives I have in our quarters still has the letter I carried for you into this quadrant for your…father."
B'Elanna smiled nuzzling into the long arms of the taller woman. "That was so sweet of you to do that you know. I think you were one of my first true friends."
"As I am now."
"A little more then that BangwI." B'Elanna murmured.
An enhanced Borg hand reached out and handed B'Elanna the PADD once more. "Where did you find this?"
"It was at the bottom of the truck with my armor. I found it when I was looking for something else. It brought back a lot of memories." Lanna smiled. "As did this." She handed Seven a holopicture.
It depicted the scene of an eight year old ebony maned Klingon girl holding a four year old cherub cheeked blonde human.
Seven chuckled softly. "I take it back."
"What?" B'Elanna frowned
"You were not just pretty…you were adorable."
"Adorable!" B'Elanna almost raised her voice.
"Adorable…. another word would be cute…endearing…but adorable is more apt."
"Here I thought such vernacular was irrelevant." B'Elanna teased her lover.
"You are in error Bella…such vernacular is never irrelevant when it concerns you."
"Sweet talker."
"You will adapt in hearing such vernacular from me in the future."
"Resistant is futile?"
"The wind does not respect a fool." Seven countered.
Seven nuzzled the woman cradled in her arms. "I am fortunate that as a child, I believed I would once again be with you."
B'Elanna felt hearts hammered within her chest. She looked at the meshed hand…the Borg hand and felt those hearts swelling into her throat. Her once childhood friend had been taken by those who had so scared her. But because of those same beings Seven was now here holding her, loving her. "I crossed my heart didn't I? I had to keep my promise Annika." She turned in the arms that held her and planet a kiss upon Seven's lips that caused the ex-Borg to become breathless.
The End