Of Course
Rated: G
Codes: P, Owen Paris, P/T implied
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, I make no money…
I just borrow them for fun.
Author's Notes: This started out as one thing and
turned into something quite a bit different. More
than one point of view here. I'm just getting back
into writing after a long dry spell so… maybe I will
be able to finish my 2 or 3 WIP's now… hmmm.
Enjoy. :) Feedback is craved as always, writers
starve without it.
"Of course"
She didn't know.
That thought kept running through his head. How could
she not have known? It had been three years... three
years of aliens, near death experiences, adventures
beyond dreaming... of course he loved her.
She had saved him. In a far more profound way than
even Janeway had. Janeway had merely given him
purpose - she gave him his life. She WAS his life.
And she didn't know.
Why did he need to prove it now? Didn't he do that
all the time? What right had she to ask that of him.
The anger struck him w/ a force that was surprising.
What more could he do to show her if three years of
loving her hadn't been enough. Were they that far
beyond hope, beyond repair, had it all been wasted
time.
------------------
He didn't know. The thought kept running through his
head as he stared at the screen long after it had gone
blank. He had told him he was proud of him and the
silence was deafening. How could he not know?
Didn't it show in everything he did for him, the way
he was fighting to get them back - the whole crew but
mostly HIM. The stories he told to friends and
colleagues. Of course he was proud of him, his son
was a hero finally becoming what he knew he could be.
But he didn't know.
So he had pushed him when he was young. But that was
for his own good. He had to be thrown to the wolves
to be who he was meant to be. Everyone did. The
anger was frightening in intensity. What right had he
to expect to be coddled, life wasn't like that. He
had to be prepared for the harsh reality that is out
there. If their relationship was
beyond repair b/c of this then so be it.
---------------
It couldn't have been wasted time. He wouldn't let it
be. She didn't know, didn't believe so he would tell
her - show her again. This time with forever. Maybe
they both needed to be shown what it always was.
Maybe they still had to prove what love was to each
other. Two broken souls who had never known before.
The tenderness and need hit as if a tidal wave.
Insecurity is not an isolated trait. They had made
each other who they were today. They were stronger
together. It couldn't ever be wasted time. He would
show her, she would know. Of course he loved her.
----------------------
He wouldn't let it end. Not now, not after finding
and reconnecting after so long apart. After believing
that the silence was forever. He didn't know. So he
would tell him. He would tell everyone who might
listen. His son was a hero. He was proud of him, and
he always had been. Maybe it was time to try again,
maybe lessons and new approaches could be learned.
Maybe bridges could be built. He would prove it, he
would know. Of course he was proud of him.
--------------
Tom reached for his jacket on his way out the door.
He was about to change his title. He was about to
become husband.
-------------
Owen picked up a pad and began to write. It was time
to begin, to know his son as a man. He was about to
become father.
end