Tea

Posted on Monday, 24 May 2021 - 2:32pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Neu Reich
Location: Risa
Timeline: MD12

Nursing a cup of tea, Laura Kingsley settled into her chair and savoured the warmth that always seemed to reach the very core of her being with every sip. There was little a good cup of tea could not fix. It was a universal truth which had stood the test of time, even now when people lived amongst the stars and Humans had ventured so far from home. Even here, on Risa, she had managed to source some delightful flavoured teas to try. And she always had her trusty Yorkshire Tea on standby.

Behind her, through the open doors that led out onto the private beach, she could hear the water as it lazily lapped up onto the shore. A small breeze followed the waves, drifting through the house and rustling the thin fabric of the curtains and some paintings the children had laid out to dry. If it were not so welcome, Laura would have closed over the doors but she was rather enjoying the cooler turn the weather had taken.

Since leaving London behind, she had always migrated to more tropical climates. And of course then there was Vulcan. Nothing had quite prepared her not only for the heat, but the thinner air. Making everything more of an exertion, more exhausting than she was used to. Yet she was starting to acclimatise rather well, she had thought. And then they had to abandon everything but the most essential things in order to leave her new home for Risa.

While she had shielded the children as best she could from the news reports, she herself had watched in horror. Cried at the tragic loss of life which had befallen those on P'Jem. Prayed. Her mood had not lifted for several days afterwards, although she did her best to stay positive as she found new things for her and the children to do. Yet she had apparently not been as good an actress as she thought.

One morning, she had awoken to find Severine had made her breakfast and was in the process of baking cookies, just like Laura made for her and her brother on many occasions. She had declared, quite firmly and sounding far older than her years, that she and Soval would be 'spoiling' her for the day. It had been a wonderful day, truly. And many cups of tea were consumed. And while Laura knew both children were unhappy with their father, it comforted her to know they did not seem to think she was complicit in the decision to keep N'Vek aboard the Standing Bear.

For tonight, Laura had sat down to enjoy a few moments of quiet before retiring for the night. She had sent a brief letter to her daughter, thinking nothing of it and expecting one in return in a few days. But instead she had received notification of an incoming transmission and her surprise had been laced with worry. Had something happened?

Of course it had. Although as her daughter quickly regaled her with tales of explosions and fires, she decided her child was not displaying nearly enough worry. "You both could have been killed!" she had gasped, dropping a biscuit into her tea and spending a few seconds burning her fingertips as she rescued it and set it down on a plate.

"Yeah, but we weren't," Alex said dismissively, in a way that - with both fondness and a little irritation - reminded Laura of her husband. He often dismissed things in the same casual way. A strong believer in the 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' ethos. She had lost count of how many repairs she had to request for their apartment after Andrew got a little too carried away with tinkering with this and that. And usually while he had an audience. She even said it in the same tone, the same inflection in her voice.

Her mini Andrew.

"But the lab is pretty much out of action," Alex lamented. "Some things work but not much. So I'm doing paperwork and then I got your letter so I thought I'd call to see how you are. If I had planned it better I could have called Severine. Soral said she's upset with him. He also told me about Seleya."

"I'm sure it will settle," Laura assured her, smiling, "especially when you all get to have some together. As for Seleya, I am going to miss her terribly. I've gotten far to accustomed to her and her routines. But it is right that she is brought up by her family now that they've been found."

"Well she is incredibly lucky to have you looking after her until then," Alex said firmly.

"You aren't getting all sentimental on me now, are you?" Laura teased gently.

"Of course not," Alex grinned. "That's your department. You are the one who cried at every gymnastics and dance competition, then graduations, then when I went on my first date..."

"Well, it's a milestone -"

"You sat two rows away from us at the theatre and cried all the way through the movie!" Alex reminded her incredulously.

"It was a sad movie!"

"It was a romantic comedy, mum," her daughter corrected, rolling her eyes.

"Yes well, you were thirteen, I had to be a chaperone."

Alex narrowed her eyes, "yeah, like I didn't see you when I went to Revolution on my first date with Jake. I was not thirteen then."

"No, you were seventeen, that's worse! Do you have any idea what kind of thing I was doing when I was seventeen?"

"Do tell," Alex grinned, leaning in closer to the screen. "Is it worse than when you told me about the freighter captain and his -"

"Alex Kinglsey!" Laura interjected, laughing. "Enough. But I get the point."

Alex smiled, taking the small victory before something caught her attention. "Mum, I have to go but I'll write you, I promise. And tell Severine she can call or write to me if she wants to. I don't know if anything I can say will help...."

"I'll tell her," Laura promised, "although she probably knows. These walls have little ears."

"Ah..." Alex smiled, understanding. "Good thing you stopped my story then! Night mum. Night kids!"

As the screen went blank, Laura shook her head as she sipped her tea, closed her eyes and listened to the ocean. It was so quiet, so peaceful. Right until she heard a familiar cry from the master bedroom. Setting down her cup of tea she headed in to check on Seleya, glancing at her watch.

Right on schedule.