THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD
by Betty Phipps (Aries4116@aol.com)

     I'm not sure what possesed me to write this. At first I thought it couldn't be because I have a pig 
and a bear staring at me while I write this. Then I realized...nawwww......couldn't be.  I guess I was 
looking for a little non-sense.  Writing about pigs and bears is the limit of my non-sense. 
     Then I got to thinking about a song called "Through The Eyes Of A Child"  by Air Supply. 
(Okay...that should tell you that I'm a sappy romantic at heart.)   Then I began thinking about it.  
Children see the world in ways adults no longer see. It is through them that we are reminded that 
we need to look at the world through a child's eyes. To see that there are no boundries, no hate, and 
unconditional love. Okay...so much for my sentimental speech..........

DISCLAIMER: We all know what Paramount owns and does not own. The only thing I own is the 
story idea. Which is quite enough for me!!!!


     Tom Paris felt very foolish as he looked at his reflection in the mirror before him. It just wasn't 
him.  Well it still was him, only dressed differently.  But he made a promise and was not going to 
back out because he felt ridiculous.  In a way this was going to be fun. Being in a character that he 
knows so well. 

     "Tom?!"  B'Elanna announced stepping into his quarters. "Are you ready?"    He heard her voice 
and laughed. She finally used his code to get into his quarters.  He knew she knew it for a long time. 
She was never comfortable in using it, until she realized that Tom was only interested in her. Then 
she used it often. 

     B'Elanna was wearing a black dress that was off the shoulders and just above her knees. The heels 
wouldn't make her taller than Tom, but close enough.  She gazed around his quarters noting how 
clean it was. Information padds neatly stacked on the desk, pillows perfectly positioned on the 
couch. Pictures of sunsets and tropical nights hung on the walls.  He was  a romantic at heart. 
     She walked over to the desk and  picked up a picture that sat  there and looked at it. It was one 
of Harry, Tom and herself after a encounter with Tabitha Wildman and finger paints. Smiling, she 
recalled the afternoon when they volunteered to watch Tabitha, while Samantha Wildman helped 
Neelix plan for a party on the holodeck. 

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     "How difficult can it be to watch a 4 year old?"  Harry asked glancing at Tom and B'Elanna.  
"There are three of us."
     "I think you forget Harry. This is the same child who managed to get away from Aayela and 
escape through the jefferies tubes."  B'Elanna replied.
     "Not to mention running on the bridge and knocking Chakotay over."  Tom giggled at the sight 
of Chakotay tumbling to the floor.
     "She is just a child. The only child on Voyager. She is rambunctious and gets bored easily."  
Harry said.  "I'm sure you two were no better than she was when you were 4 years old.  I know I 
wasn't. I got into more trouble than you could imagine."
     "That I find hard to believe."  B'Elanna said rolling her eyes towards Tom. 
 
     Harry walked over to Tabitha and knelt down in front of her. "What would you like to do?"
     Tabitha Wildman was a blue eyed, blonde hair child with Katarian markings. She looked much 
like her mother. 
     "Paint. I'm an artist."  She said eyeing the three that were left to watch her.  Harry smiled, "Paint 
we will. You will have to show us how."
     "Okay."  She said walking toward the paint area. "Put this on. Your clothes won't be messy."   
     Harry took the smocks that Tabitha handed him and passed them to Tom and B'Elanna.  "I must 
say, I might like this."  Tom smiled as he put the smock on.  B'Elanna only rolled her eyes. She had 
never finger painted before. 

     They all were sitting on the floor with the finger paints, creating their works of art.  Tom was 
enjoying this as much as Harry and Tabitha was. B'Elanna was a beginner and Tabitha knew it. 
Standing up, she walked over to B'Elanna and sat down beside her. 
     B'Elanna looked down at the little face that looked up at hers. Blue eyes quizzed brown ones. 
With out a word, Tabitha took B'Elanna's hand and put it into the plate of red paint, then on the 
piece of paper. Then placed her hand into the blue paint and then on the paper. The paper was 
covered in B'Elanna's hand prints in various colors. Then taking B'Elanna's index finger, dipping it 
into the purple paint, she dotted the hand prints on the paper.  B'Elanna watched in fascination as 
Tabitha showed her how to finger paint. Smiling down at the little girl, B'Elanna got a clean sheet of 
paper and ventured out on her own. 
     Tom and Harry smiled at the sight. Tabitha was not afraid of B'Elanna, or any one on Voyager.  
It was like having a ship full of  playmates in Tabitha's eyes. 
     Harry scratched his cheek and looked up at Tabitha. "What do you think Tabby?"
A fit of giggles erupted from Tabitha.  "Harry got orange on his face!"   
     Tom and B'Elanna began to laugh at the paint on Harry's face. "Watch out, Harry is on a 
warpath."  Tom added as B'Elanna handed him a rag. 
     Tabitha became encouraged by her own imagination and put her hand in the blue paint and 
plopped a perfect hand print on Tom's face. She quickly got to the red paint and repeated the action 
on B'Elanna's face. Things started to move along at a fast pace. 
     The paint fight began. Tom, B'Elanna, Harry and Tabitha managed to have more paint on 
themselves than on the paper before them. It was in their hair and on their clothes.  They looked 
like natives returning from the games. Although it wasn't clear if they won or lost.  
     Just then, Tabitha jumped up and shouted, "You can't catch me!"  And tore out of the room.  
Tom and B'Elanna looked at Harry and said, "How difficult can it be to watch a 4 year old?"  
     
     Three senior officers, covered in finger paint, began searching for a little girl who was loose on 
the ship.  They looked into access crawl ways, storage spaces and in some quarters. 
     "Let's split up."  Tom suggested.  
     "Let's use the internal sensors."  B'Elanna added.   
     "Let's find her the old fashioned way."  Harry added smiling.   "Why?"  B'Elanna asked. 
     "Hide and Seek. I played it as a child. Hiding from my parents was fun."  Harry added.  "She 
wants to play hide and seek."
     "The captain is going to hide us in the brig."  B'Elanna said going along with the crazy idea. But 
not letting them know that she would like this game.   

     It was not too hard to find Tabitha. Little clues were left where she had been. Colorful hand 
prints had decorated the corridor walls.  B'Elanna sighed and prayed it could be cleaned off with 
little problem. She called upon Joe Carey to help with the cleaning of hand prints off the wall 
before the captain saw it.
     B'Elanna thought hide and seek was a stupid idea. Why hide?  Fight.  Fight for what you want.  
Then she had to remember that Tabitha was not a Klingon child, she was the only child on the ship. 
It had to be hard for her, B'Elanna knew what it was alike to be alone.
     Faint giggling caught B'Elanna's attention. She quietly moved toward the sound. A couple of 
crew members who were walking down the corridor, gave her a funny look. They were not used to 
seeing a senior officer wearing paint and sneaking around the corridors. This was an unusual sight. 
One that would be talked about.  B'Elanna ignored them like they were not there. She was sure that 
the whole ship would know of the sight they saw soon enough.
     The paint trail stopped at the mess hall doors. Stepping in front of the doors, she prayed no one 
was in there. To B'Elanna's delight, no one was. She tip toed in and heard more laughing.  Dropping 
to her knees she began to crawl around the counter and into the kitchen.  Peeking around the 
counter, Tabitha was sitting on the floor eating marshmallows. 
     "So you wanted a snack?"  B'Elanna giggled.  Tabitha was shocked to be discovered and she 
held out a marshmallow to her.  B'Elanna smiled and crawled over to her and took the 
marshmallow.  They sat side by side eating marshmallows, until B'Elanna replicated some chocolate 
and graham crackers.  Together covered in paint they fixed S'mores.  It paid off to listen to Tom and 
his snacks preferences.

     Harry and Tom met in the corridor. "I didn't find a thing."  Harry said pulling at his uniform that 
was stuck to him with paint. 
     "Me neither."  Tom said snapping his fingers.  "Computer, locate B'Elanna Torres."
     "B'Elanna Torres is in the mess hall."  The computer stated.
     "Lets go Harry."  Tom said with a grin.

     Tom and Harry stepped into the mess hall and heard laughter from the kitchen. They quietly 
walked over to the counter and leaned across it.  The sight of B'Elanna and Tabitha covered in paint 
and S'mores was the funniest thing they have seen today, other than themselves.  
     "So Tom, I wonder why we were not invited?"  Harry feigned hurt.
     "I know what you mean Harry."  Tom echoed. "Guess we are not fun to be with."
     "We would share with you, but me and Tabitha ate it all."  B'Elanna said grinning at Tabitha.
     "We did. It was good. B'Elanna is fun to sneak around with."  Tabitha said as she wiped a 
chocolate hand across her face. B'Elanna was still licking the stuff off of her fingers. 
     S'mores."  Tom announced with  a sigh. "Oh those are so good. I loved them when I went off to 
camp."   
     "Camp?"  Tabitha questioned. "What is that?"   
     "A place in the woods you go with friends and sleep outdoors at night."  Tom said. "You sing 
songs around the camp fire and eat S'mores."
     "Can we do that?"  Tabitha's eyes gleamed at Tom. He was a sucker for a cute look from a child.  
B'Elanna made mental notes along the way. This was going to be for future use. 
     "I don't see why not. We would have to ask your mother."  He added. 
     "Will Harry and Lanna come too?"  The little voice asked. 
     "Sure. Harry and Lanna can come too."  Tom mocked her perfectly.   B'Elanna and Harry shared 
a look of one who was roped into something by Tom Paris.  Tom could feel the looks and he only 
laughed. 
     "We need to get cleaned up."  Harry said. "I feel like a work of art."  
     "Harry, Harry, Harry..........Orange is your color."  Tom smiled.   

     B'Elanna, Harry, Tom and Tabitha left the mess hall to get cleaned up. They were in the turbolift 
when it stopped and Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay stepped in.  Both did a double 
look and then looked at each other. They saw Tabitha smiling at them with that smile and knew 
what happened. 
      "Rough day?"  Janeway asked hiding a smile. 
      "Maybe."  Tom answered.  "More like colorful."
Chakotay had never seen B'Elanna this colorful before. It reminded him of a child who found his 
fathers paint and decided to paint himself as a warrior. The look on his fathers face was priceless.  
     "Captain...will I be in trouble?"  Tabitha asked.  Captain Janeway knelt down to Tabitha.
     "Why would you be in trouble.?"   It was hard not to laugh at a little face coverd in paint and 
chocolate. 
     "Because I'm all messy."   
     "I think we can overlook that. It looks like all of you had a good time."  She smiled. 
     "Lanna and me did have fun."  Tabitha giggled. "We had S'mores and Tom and Harry didn't get 
any."
     "Poor Harry and Tom." Chakotay laughed. "No S'mores for you."    B'Elanna had to pinch herself 
to keep from laughing.  Tom and Harry really cashed in on the attention. 
     The turbolift stopped and 4 messy people stepped out. When the doors closed, Janeway and 
Chakotay began laughing. 

     They took Tabitha back to her quarters to get her cleaned up. B'Elanna was in charge of giving 
her a bath while Tom and Harry cleaned up the paint area. 
     Tom couldn't resist slapping Harry with some more paint and Harry couldn't resist returning 
the favor. This was going have to be done more often. 

      B'Elanna managed to get Tabitha into the soapy water. She had thought this was going to be easy. 
She began thinking wrong when she was splattered with some water followed by a series of giggles.
     "Tabitha, it is not nice to splash water on people."  B'Elanna said picking up a wash rag and 
scrubbing that paint and chocolate covered face.  Tabitha was not fond of having her face scrubbed 
and began to dodge B'Elanna's efforts. Then she began to spin herself in the tub and yelling 
"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"    B'Elanna couldn't help but laugh with her.  With a little more 
patience, B'Elanna managed to get the fidgety child cleaned up and wrapped in a towel. Tabitha's 
muffled giggles made B'Elanna laugh also. 
     Then without warning, Tabitha took off out of the bathroom and streaked out into the living 
area where Harry and Tom finished cleaning. They were shocked to see a clean Tabitha, but they 
were more shocked to see that she was naked as the day she was born. Before the mind could begin 
to work, Tabitha shot out of the room and into the corridor.  B'Elanna came out with a towel and 
said, "Here we go again."

     "Isn't there a rule about streaking on the ship?"  Tom asked as they headed out into the corridor.
     "I'm sure we will find out soon enough."  Harry answered as they rounded a corner. 

     Tabitha was not as lucky as she was the last time she escaped.  Because B'Elanna latched onto the 
little streaker and bundled her up in the towel. Tabitha was laughing and squirming as B'Elanna 
literally tied her up in the towel. 
     "Where do you get this urge to streak around the ship?"    Tom and Harry stepped around the 
corner as B'Elanna walked passed them. 
     "You guys are getting slow."  B'Elanna said.  Tom and Harry turned around followed her back.  
Tabitha was looking over B'Elanna's shoulders and waving at Tom and Harry.  They waved back at 
the bundle of energy. 
     "Sometimes I wished I had that much energy."  Harry said wearily.
     "I for one would like to see B'Elanna Torres streak throughout the ship."  Tom whispered to 
Harry.
     "I don't believe you said that."  
     "Said what?"   Tom replied.   Harry grinned, catching on.

     Once back into the room, Tabitha jumped out of B'Elanna's arms and ran into the bed room. 
B'Elanna followed.
     Tom and Harry returned to finish their paint clean up, quietly talking. 
     
     "I think B'Elanna has had a good time tonight."  Tom said capping the paint jar and handing it to 
Harry. "She has been finger painting, walking the corridors covered in paint, looking for a child 
and eating S'mores.  She hasn't lost her temper."
     "Did you think she would?"  Harry replied. "Tabitha doesn't understand a lot of things.  
B'Elanna sees that. I sometimes think B'Elanna missed out on a few things from her childhood and 
Tabitha is teaching her about being carefree."
     "I wasn't sure at first."  Tom confessed. "B'Elanna doesn't tolerate nonsense too much. But when 
Tabby showed her how to finger paint, you could have knocked B'Elanna over with a feather.  
Tabby didn't make her feel bad or remind her that she didn't know."
     "Where did Tabby learn to streak like that?"  Harry laughed at the memory.  "I don't think I did 
that."
     "We will have to ask Samantha about the streaking thing."  Tom laughed.  "Harry...all kids 
streak.  Some more than others.  I'm sure you did."
     "I wonder if I have blocked out that memory?"  Harry said with a grin.   Tom laughed.


     "Lanna, can I have a story before I go to sleep?"   Tabitha said standing on the bed in her night 
gown.
     "I'm not good at stories, Tabby."  B'Elanna confessed. "Tom and Harry are."
     "Why are you not good at stories?"      B'Elanna turned to look at her. Her blue eyes waited for a 
answer. How could one child ask questions that she couldn't answer?
Suddenly feeling self conscious, she quickly picked up the towel from the floor. 
     "I never told stories to children."   She said walking into the bathroom.   Tabitha jumped down 
off the bed and went out to the living area.  
     
     "I think I will keep this one."  Tom said holding up one of Tabitha's picture.  "It reminds me of 
one those colorful dishes that Neelix serves."
     "You are truly ill."  Harry laughed.  A tugging at his pant leg, made Harry look down to see 
Tabitha. Picking her up he asked, "What did you do with B'Elanna?"  
     "Lanna said she did not know stories."   Tom elbowed Harry and said, "Lets put Tabby to bed 
with a story shall we?"     Harry held Tabby up in the air and made airplane noises on the way into 
the bedroom. 

     B'Elanna was walking out of the bathroom when the trio came in.  Tabitha laughed as Harry said, 
"Bed space one is ready for final landing."   And he dropped her onto the bed. She laughed 
uncontrollably as Harry tried to cover her up with pillows.
     "I hope your good at stories." B'Elanna said.
     "We are."  Tom stated, nodding towards Harry. "Now B'Elanna, you and Tabby get settled in and 
we will prepare the story."
     B'Elanna wasn't sure if she should be scared at Tom's overconfidence, or just laugh in his face. 
But she wouldn't do that.  

     Tabitha was tucked in with her pig and bear, and B'Elanna was sitting next to her against the 
pillows. 
Tom and Harry sat at the foot of the bed and began to make up  a story that only a child would 
believe.  At this point, Tabitha would believe just about anything they said. B'Elanna too. 
     B'Elanna watched Tom and Harry's eyes twinkle as they told a story about two little boys who 
were always getting into trouble.  What made them more adorable was the fact that they were still 
covered in paint. The only clean one was Tabitha who didn't seem to mind that they were still 
covered in paint.  
     B'Elanna got  a chance to see a different side to Tom and Harry.  A side that rarely was seen by 
others.  Tom was the greatest fibber of all time. He could make something totally untrue up and 
have you actually believe it did happen.  His expressions were wide and sweeping as Tabitha 
giggled in delight. 
     Harry was more of the down to earth story teller.  He slipped a few untrue facts into the ever-
growing story, but never went as far as Tom did.  His tone was more serious as Tom's was more 
comical. 
     
     Tabitha was starting to get sleepy, and leaned over to B'Elanna who put her arm around the 
little girl.  She didn't realize she had done so until Harry nodded towards Tabitha.  Smiling down at 
the child, she pulled the covers up over her.  Tom and Harry continued to go on with the story until 
Tabitha fell asleep.

     Tom whispered, "It's true Harry...you do put people to sleep."    Harry playfully punched him on 
the arm and replied, "You would keep them up all night with that mouth of yours."

     "Shhhhhh...." ,  B'Elanna said to them both,  "Wake her up and I will deal with you myself."

     Tom and Harry exchanged careful looks.  It was tempting to find out what she would do.  But 
then again.....they wanted to live to see tomorrow.  They quietly got up and left the room to finish 
gathering their works of art. 

     B'Elanna looked down at the child in her arms.  So fragile, so innocent and so lonely.  How do 
children ever survive?   How do they grow up and know what is right and wrong?    Most questions 
B'Elanna could answer  herself.  But not all children grew up like she did, battling two different  
races that made  her who she was.  Hating herself for being half Human and for being half Klingon 
and for not being able to see how each side made her unique.  She could only see the negative 
aspects of her life, not the positive ones.  
      Then Tom Paris came crashing into  her life and making her look at who she was, what she was 
capable of doing.  Making her look at what feelings she was capable of having and sharing.  It made 
her feel...safe, warm and loved.  Loved.  She was loved, if not by her parents, but by Tom.  It 
mattered more to her how Tom saw her than how others did.  He was an important part of her life, 
she was going have to share that with him.

     "I was thinking you fell asleep."  Tom whispered stepping into the darkened room and standing 
by her. 
     
     "I'm awake. Just thinking."   She whispered back.  Tom knelt down beside the bed. He could just 
make out the shadows on her face.

     "You all right?"   

     B'Elanna looked at Tom, not too sure if she could answer him.  But those intense blue eyes told 
her that whatever she said was only ment for him. 

     "I was thinking about...children.  What it would be like to have one to take care of."  She said 
looking back down at Tabitha.  "Passing on things that I've learned over the course of my life.  
Learning through the  eyes of a child who sees a whole different world.  A world so different than 
the one I know. "

     Tom was surprised by the emotion that filled her words.  It was something he wouldn't mind 
hearing more often.  "Children are wonderful teachers. They teach us things that we have forgotten. 
They remind us that we still have  a lot to learn."

     B'Elanna reached out and touched Tom's face, "Even though we are grown up and had rotten 
upbringings ourselves?"

     "Yes."  He said basking in her touch.  "We both know that when we bring a child into the 
universe, we will always be looking at the world through his or her eyes.  And learning all that 
there is to be learned."

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**************


     "Missing the painting lessons?"  Tom called over her shoulder.  She turned around and hid a 
smile and a laugh.   She found it very difficult not to laugh. But she couldn't hold out any longer and 
began laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.   
     Tom only stood there. He wasn't offended. He wasn't mad.  He just felt foolish.  But he did 
enjoy watching B'Elanna  as she laughed at him. Tears were streaming down her face.  She quickly 
wiped them and walked over to him.  
  I'm sorry Tom."  A giggle escaped from her.  "It is just that....that...well....I mean you do have a 
curly tail. And..you look so...huggable."
     "Squeak!"  He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her to hug her.  They stood there 
enjoying each other's embrace until a pounding on the door interrupted them. 
      "Enter."

    The door opened and a fluffy teddy bear stepped into the room.  B'Elanna once again began 
laughing and stumbled over to Harry.  

     "She's laughing."  He said with out emotion. "I don't want to be laughed at."

     "She will get over it."  Tom assured him. "At least she is not crying."

     B'Elanna walked around Harry and pulled on his cute little tail and hugged him. "Oh...Harry!   
You are huggable like Tom!"     Harry rolled his eyes and asked Tom, "Explain to me why I'm dressed 
as a Teddy Bear and your dressed as a Pig."

     Tom walked over to Harry and put a pink hoof around his brown furry shoulder and began 
walking towards the door.  B'Elanna followed the pair and laughed as Tom began to explain to 
Harry why.  

     "See...Harry.  It was B'Elanna's  idea to surprise Tabitha for her birthday and we are part of that 
surprise."  Tom said wiggling his butt for B'Elanna's benefit.  "And not to mention a payback for that 
unfortunate accident with that Leola root fight that B'Elanna insisted on breaking up."  
     "Oh..yeh...the one where she stepped in between us just as we were about to slig it out.  I 
wonder if her pride was wounded?"   Harry nodded understanding the explanation.  Then he 
wiggled his butt for B'Elanna and Tom laughed.  

     "If you think wiggling your rear ends will get you out of cleaning the mess hall, you'd better 
think again."  B'Elanna said not falling into their little plan.  She was one step ahead of them.