Plans

Posted on Thursday, 13 August 2020 - 4:48pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley & Lieutenant T'Lanna Vali
Edited on on Thursday, 13 August 2020 - 5:01pm

Mission: Operation: Jabberwocky
Timeline: MD12

“Come in,” Alex called over her shoulder as she threw another ball for Bones to chase, watching him scurry across the room with an excited bark before he returned and dropped said ball before changing direction to dart in between the legs of the new arrival, recognising her and so quite happy it was friend not foe. Climbing to her feet, Alex flashed T’Lanna an apologetic smile, “he’s a little too excited to have so much attention today. Come on Bones, dinner!”

The magic word had the pup racing to the kitchen area where she laid out food for him before washing up. “Make yourself comfortable, I wasn’t sure what food you like so I was going to cheat and replicate ours,” she admitted.

T’Lanna grinned as she walked over to Alex handing her a bottle of non alcoholic wine, “A little gift” she smiled as she walked over to the sofa and made herself comfortable. “I’m happy with whatever you want to cook, I’m not a fussy eater. So how are you and Soral?”

“In that case, I can make pasta,” Alex decided as she set to work. “Better after some sleep, thanks. He took Bones with him this morning so I could sleep in. But he had to come back for a tactical report or something and I persuaded him to take a break for a couple of hours.”

With a mischievous smile she set out two glasses. “Did Raith enjoy your purchase?”

T’Lanna smiled. “To be honest I haven’t shown him yet, I’m planning a nice romantic evening for us so he’ll get to see it then. How was your wedding? I’m sorry I missed it!”

“It was amazing. I never pictured myself getting married on a beach but my mother outdid herself. I’m glad we did it, I didn’t realise how much it meant to have her walk me down the aisle and see how much Soral and I love one another. She is totally in love with him - she thinks the world of him. Oh, helped by the spa break he sent us on. A girls retreat. It was insanely beautiful and mum and I loved it.”

“Sounds like you’ve both been treated like royalty!” T’Lanna grinned. “Soral certainly knows how to be a good husband and son-in-law. If you don’t mind me asking ...” she paused before continuing. “The two of you seemed ‘off’ when I saw you last night. Is there something wrong? Is there anything I can help with?”

“I appreciate the concern but we will be okay,” Alex assured her. “We had some family issues, complicated ones,” she assured her. “You aren’t allergic to any foods are you? I heard we have a new doctor aboard but I don’t want to put his skills to the test just yet...”

T’Lanna shook her head. “No allergies that I know of.” She smiled warmly. “Is there anything you need me to do? Lay the table or anything?”

“Why not pour the wine?” Alex suggested. “Pasta doesn’t take long.”

Nodding T’Lanna set about opening the wine, picking up some glasses she poured two for now whilst Soral wasn’t with them. Placing a glass near Alex she sipped her own before putting the glass down. “I’ll pour Soral’s when he arrives.”

“He’s not joining us, he’s determined to catch up on reports,” Alex rolled her eyes as she sipped her wine, “and that was before I distracted him! Poor Grol is going to need his own yeoman at this rate.”

“So what exactly is Soral hiding from?” T’Lanna gave Alex a curious look. “He’s not himself and now he’s burying himself in his work. There’s organised and there’s just doing it for the hell of it. I’m leaning towards the latter.”

“He’s had a lot to deal with. His work ... he takes pride in it but it is also a way for him to be very Vulcan. Organised, logical. Give him time.” Alex urged, choosing her words with care so as not to betray his confidence.

“Fair enough” T’Lanna nodded and smiled. “I just worry that’s all, Soral has been a friend and mentor to me ever since I got here. I worry.”

So do I... Alex thought with a sigh as she began laying the table before starting some garlic bread. “I’m sure he would come out with some quote about worry being an unnecessary emotion,” she commented with a rueful smile.

T’Lanna grinned. “I’ve no doubt that he would, but then he cares very deeply for you and wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“I know,” she said as she began plating up. “And he isn’t hurting me.”

T’Lanna nodded as she made herself comfortable at the table ready to eat. “Dinner smells lovely, I’m looking forward to getting stuck in!”

“Me too. Pizza and garlic bread were my life for about two years,” Alex grinned.

T’Lanna grinned. “To be honest I never used to bother much with that kind of thing, at least not until the Academy when friends introduced me to it!”

“When I went to university my mum rented an apartment which was over an Italian restaurant where she worked. It was torture at times, it smelled so good!” Alex enthused as she set down the plates with the bread between them. Taking her seat she could see Bones edging forward, curious even with a full belly.

“Looks like Bones wants some of your food too.” T’Lanna smiled as she looked at the adorable dog. “I’ve never had a pet but I’ve always liked animals. As a Betazoid we find some animals too overwhelming.” She picked up a piece of garlic bread and politely ate some. “Mmmm lovely.”

“I often wonder what Bones is thinking,” Alex mused. “His default setting is happy and playful so that’s a good thing.”

“That’s true” T’Lanna smiled. “So do you and Soral have any plans for a family?”

She almost choked on the pasta she had been about to eat. “Did you speak to my mother?” She blurted out.

T’Lanna looked surprised at Alex’s reaction. “No, not at all. I just thought as a married couple now you might want a family at some point that’s all.”

"Oh absolutely," she nodded, thinking of Severine and her brother. "Just taking time to enjoy the being newlyweds right now. We have time. Besides, the Standing Bear isn't a family ship. When we were on Earth, or even at Soral's house on the holodeck, I could picture it so clearly. I mean I still can and we would make it work... I'm making zero sense."

T’Lanna nodded and smiled. “You’re making perfect sense! To be honest I’m struggling with the thought of having to leave my son behind once he’s born, I’m not sure how I’m going to cope with that.”

“I don’t envy you the decision,” Alex admitted with a rueful smile. “And until I met Soral, children never entered my mind.”

"I wasn't planning a family myself, my son's father was my best friend." She paused. "We had a ... drunken night together and then I lost him on an away party that never returned. I'm just glad I have Raith."

“Raith loves you a lot,” Alex smiled.

T’Lanna nodded. “I know, I love him too with all my heart.” Her smile said it all as she thought about Raith.

“In that case you will both find a way that works,” Alex said with conviction.

T’Lanna smiled the biggest smile yet. “Thank you Alex, sometimes you need to hear someone else’s encouragement to make your own feelings stronger. It’s nice to have friends here, people who appreciate me for who I am.” She paused to tuck into some of Alex’s wonderful food. She was enjoying it immensely.

“Well you were invaluable in the search for Commander Stillwater, and I have not heard a bad word said. Although once you move in with the XO you don’t seem to hear as much gossip. Funny that.. “ Alex mused. “And I could not do your job. I’m more of a lock me in a lab on my own kinda girl.”

T’Lanna nodded understandingly. “Sometimes being alone is the only way to get anything done, especially if you want to do things in your own way. I sometimes hide away in my office just for the hell of it.”

“A lot of my work has always involved hazmat suits so you get used to the bubble they put you in,” Alex confided, “it gets very relaxing if you overlook the fact you are in the suit to avoid risking your life!”

T’Lanna grinned. “Sounds wonderful.” She paused to sip her drink. “This food is wonderful, we should do this more often either that or go out shopping!”

"This is the limit of my cooking skills so shopping may be a safer and more enjoyable option," Alex admitted with a grin.

T’Lanna laughed, it felt good to have fun. When she’d returned from the collective humour had been one of the hardest concepts to grasp. “I’ll cook next time, I’m pretty good at cooking.”

"Deal," Alex nodded.

“Great” T’Lanna smiled warmly before finishing up what was on her plate.

"I'll tidy this up and then we can plan," Alex smiled as soon as T'Lanna cleared her plate. Bones was eagerly watching what was to happen to what was left on her own, his big sad eyes accusing when she disposed of it. "You had dinner, crazy puppy..." Shaking her head she cleared more space as she admitted, "I don't even know where to start. I don't want it to be a disaster and cause an incident like, well, comedy night."

T’Lanna grinned. “Trust me nothing is a disaster, you don’t have to cook you can replicate food. I just like to cook every now and then, my father taught me and I’ve improved on it over the years. I had to learn most things from scratch again after being with the collective.”

“So you learned to cook twice? Great...” Alex sighed, “and I can manage pasta. Just. Soral May come to regret the whole age gap situation...”

T’Lanna grinned. “I only learned to cook once, that was after I was Borg. It’s taken a while to perfect my technique but I do okay. I’m not fantastic or anything.”

Alex sighed, reaching down to scoop up Bones who promptly curled up in her lap. “Okay. Planning... I guess we could use the mess hall? More space.”

“Sure” T’Lanna nodded and grinned as she stroked Bones. She liked the little furball very much. “Obviously at a time when no one else will be there to interrupt us.”

"We can replicate a lot of the decorations in advance, maybe enlist some help moving them in before the evening starts," Alex added. "I just need to think about what decorations to have. I don't want to go crazy with them."

“Well we could hold the reception in the holodeck? Then you could set it to just how you wanted it, practically anywhere too.” T’Lanna smiled.

“It would be easier,” Alex agreed. “We could have it on a beach just like on Earth, only we would be skipping straight to the party.”

“Easy to put together, and easy to clean up afterwards with minimum fuss!” T’Lanna grinned. “We’ll just have to replicate the necessary food and drink.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alex nodded. Sure it could not be that easy. Her mother spent weeks planning such things. “Well, planning didn’t take too long. I’ll book some holodeck time to try out some ideas.”

"Excellent" T'Lanna smiled and nodded. "This is going to be fun."

OFF

 

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