These Are Not Divorce Papers

Posted on Thursday, 16 February 2023 - 4:35pm by Crewman Leopold Eberhardt & Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt
Edited on on Thursday, 16 February 2023 - 4:35pm

Mission: Operation: My Unfair Lady
Location: Eberhardt Quarters

Crewman Leopold Eberhardt sat on the sofa, the PADD sitting on the coffee table in front of him. What's she going to say? he thought to himself. He had asked his wife to meet with him in their quarters when she was off duty, he took care of the childcare matter by finding a babysitter for the evening. He needed tonight to just be theirs, especially with the conversation that he felt they needed to have. He had been keeping this from her for far too long, and time was ticking. A decision needed to be made, and he did not feel it was appropriate for him, her husband to make the decision without her.

Adrianna finally came home. She shrugged off her uniform jacket and tied up her hair. Thankfully it was back to its natural colour now. "Hello, I'm home," she called out.

There she was. "Hey," he said from the sofa, standing and heading towards the doorway to meet her. "I found a sitter for the night. So, it's just the two of us...for once" he added with a smirk. They really had not had much alone time for a while. This was of course to be expected.

Adrianna couldn't help but smirk, "wishful thinking. I have missed you though. I missed you a lot." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, "how have you been?"

"I have been fine, but I did miss you too. A lot" he said with a smile. "I arranged for some time off, someone's covering for me for a week. I needed the time. There's been a lot on my mind lately, and I thought keeping the quarters a bit quieter tonight would be good for the both of us."

"What has been on your mind?" Adrianna asked, leading him to the sofa, where she could cuddle up to her husband.

He took a seat on the sofa, conveniently, his PADD was on the table. Leopold guided his wife into his arms on the sofa so that they could get some cuddling time in uninterrupted, a rarity these days. "You earned yourself a field commission after putting in a lot of work and earning the trust of each Commanding Officer we've had. You are the Chief Intelligence Officer, and I'm still me. Unless I do something about it, I am going to stay in waste reclamation, Ade."

Leopold looked into her eyes. He knew she did not care what he did, but he did. "I want better, for you, for our family" he stated. "I'm not about to get a field commission and made Assistant Chief Engineer or anything like that, but what if I changed directions? What if I applied to Starfleet Academy?"

Adrianna went silent, processing. Before long, she smiled, "if that's what you want. Do you have to return to Earth though?"

"That is a possibility, but not one I want to explore. If I had to go to Earth or elsewhere, I don't want to leave you behind, to raise a family without me for a few years? I could not do that to you" Leopold confessed. "I was hoping that I could take some courses remotely. I know it will take a while, but I think it would be worth it."

"I will support you in whatever you want to do. If I can help, I will. If you need to go back to Earth," she paused, silence lingering with hesitation, "then we'll cross that bridge if needed."

Her husband smiled and nodded. "I knew you would be supportive, but I won't leave you here. I refuse to ever leave you behind. If Our 'vacation' on Ekos has taught me anything, it is that it destroys me not to be near you."

Adrianna nodded and added, "we now have a child too. Family, more than ever, is now the most important thing."

"And I won't be an absent father," he quipped. "I want to be a very present and protective father, and loving husband."

"You make it sound as if I'd give you the choice," she darkly teased, "so, you didn't get a baby sitter just to discuss your education, did you? You planned a date night, right?"

Leopold smirked "I Did, a nice trip to the holodeck and then I thought we'd stop by the lounge and have a meal together, anything else that you'd like to do before coming back here for the evening."

"No, I think that sounds wonderful," she smiled and kissed his cheek. The woman then looked over to their bedroom, "what do I need to wear?"

"For out there, whatever you want. Casual, semi-formal, formal...when we come back? Clothing optional."

She elbowed him gently and playfully, "tease. I'll get freshened up and then we'll go." Adrianna stood up and went over to get changed, leaving a trail of clothes behind her, to tease her husband.

The sight brought Leopold to bring his arm up and bite hit wrist. She looked damn good, and he knew that she knew how much that made his heart flutter and knees buckle.