Author: B’Elanna Paris

Title: ‘Before I’m 30'

Rating: G

Date: 12/2001

Disclaimer: All characters and Star Trek related material belongs to Paramount Pictures.

Feedback would be much appreciated.

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Nightingale Coda. Tom & B’Elanna discuss what they planned to have been doing when they got to thirty.

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B’Elanna walked into her and Tom’s quarters after a stressful and bizarre day.

Icheb thought I was hitting on him?! I wasn’t giving out those signals was I? she thought.

Tom was sitting on the bed, already in his pyjamas, reading a PADD. " If I realised you had all this time to spare, I would have sent for you in engineering, we’ve been struggling all day!" she told him.

"Well, hello to you to!" Tom exclaimed, "Anyway, I thought with Icheb helping out it would be no problem."

"Yeah, but that was until he broke our relationship off.... he just walked off."

"What?" Tom was wide eyed and opened mouthed.

"You heard me! Icheb thought that I was hitting on him, he even scanned me! Can you believe it? Oh, and he also told me you challenged him to a race. I mean for god sake I’m old enough to be his mother!"

B’Elanna was saying all this while getting undressed, she throw her boots across the room at the last sentence.

"B’Elanna your not that much older than him." Tom stated.

"Huh?"

"Well, he’s 19 and your 27 there’s only an 8 year difference."

B’Elanna raised her eyebrows as if to say ’are you implying something?’

"Tom, that’s not the point! I *feel* so much older than I am. I mean I’ve got a good job and I’m married. Aren’t you suppose to have these things when you’re a bit older!"

Tom could see this was clearly upsetting her, on some level. B’Elanna moved over to the bed to sit next to him.

She began to giggle. A sudden change of emotions, Tom thought.

"What?" he asked puzzled.

"I was just remembering what you were saying for a couple of weeks before your 30^th birthday. All you were saying was I’ve reached the big 3 0......."

They both started laughing together. It was true Tom had really stressed over that. In hindsight, he didn’t know why he did.

"B’Elanna, its just that ever since I was a kid, I suppose, it was instilled into me that I had to achieve a lot of things by the time I was 30.

"Like, what?" B’Elanna asked.

"Well, I was suppose to be a Captain or at least a commander, married with at least one child."

B’Elanna smiled, "You’ve been Captain sometimes and your married, two out of three ain’t bad..... and we’ll have to see what we can do about the other one."

There was suddenly a long silence between them. B’Elanna had only just realised what she had said. She wasn’t sure why she said it, it had just came out of her mouth. She wasn’t even sure she wanted any children yet. They had both spoken about having a family just after they got married. But it wasn’t something she wanted to think about yet, she thought.

Tom was in shock that B’Elanna had just said that. Sure, he wanted children with B’Elanna but they had only been married two months, it was a little early to be thinking about it. Anyway, the odds against Human/Klingon conception is so high. They had both stopped taking contraceptives when they got married but the chances..... I think its time to change the subject, Tom thought.

"Anyway what are your aims before your 30, I mean you’ve got 3 years to go?"

"Well, I’ve never really thought about it."

"Oh, come on B’Elanna, surely as a kid you thought of what you would be doing before you reached 30!"

"I suppose there was once a time when I thought about it." She confessed.

"Come on then, tell me."

"No, Tom its silly." Tom raised his eyebrows at that statement.

B’Elanna raised her hands in protest, "Okay, okay, I thought..... when I was a kid remember so don’t laugh, that I would be married to my prince, have a couple of children.... and to just be happy."

"That’s not silly! I mean you’ve achieved two haven’t you?"

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Well, you’ve married your prince and your happy!" He said as a matter of fact.

"Who says I’ve married my Prince or that I’m happy?"

"I’m not your Prince, then?" Tom said, putting on his puppy dog face.

Tom’s face began to turn into serious worry when she did not answer. Then B’Elanna just burst out laughing.

"You’re so gullible!" she said.

"So, I’m your Prince then?"

"I suppose you’ll have to be!" B’Elanna teased.

"Well, you’re my princess and I’m *very* happy!"

"Good!"

THE END