Ringing In The New Year

Posted on Wed Jun 3rd, 2015 @ 10:40pm by Lieutenant Raymond Benson & Ensign Leela Carter
Edited on on Wed Jun 3rd, 2015 @ 10:43pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: The Nexus Club

Life as an attorney, in the Fleet had given Ray one certain habit - he was always on time. Precisely two hours later, he rang the chime of Leela’s door. Since Jackson’s New Year’s party was formal, Ray was dressed in white tie and tails and looking, in his own biased opinion, drool-worthy. That was the word Chelsea had used when he ran by the office on his way here. Now he was prepared for a night of partying and likely some verbal fencing. He was looking forward to both.

Leela, who'd had time to curl her blonde hair and replicate a bright blue, low-cut gown, answered the door and smirked. "Punctual, I see. That's a good trait."

Ray smiled as his gaze traveled over her. Out of uniform she looked amazing..mouth-watering...and he realized he was staring. “Well, my mother always said that women find it irresistible,” he joked. “You look fabulous.” She looked more like an oasis would to a dying man in the desert, but he settled for fabulous.

"Thank you, Ray," she said, "You clean up nice, too. Shall we go?" She stepped out of her quarters, putting her in close range with Ray. "You smell good," she commented before she could stop herself.

“That wasn’t on my mother’s list. And thank you.” He offered her his arm. “Out table awaits."

The Nexus Club

Ray and Leela arrived at the door and when he gave his name, they were escorted inside and to a table in the ballroom. Ray held her chair for her to sit. This close he caught a whiff of her perfume and it was a heady one indeed. “Delicious,” he murmured before he could stop himself.

"Heard that. I know you're talking about someone's dinner that just went past." She chuckled and waited till he took his seat. "This is odd for me."

Ray sat and smiled at Leela across the table. “I was not referring to dinner. And what is so odd? You’ve been here before haven’t you?”

"Yes, but not with a JAG. On a date." She laughed.

“I’m surprised you said yes actually,” he replied. The waiter arrived with the champagne and filled their glasses, then left the bottle in the ice bucket beside the table. “As for the JAG thing? You’d be amazed how often that becomes a ‘no’ when I offer dinner.” He shrugged. “Such is life I suppose.” He raised his glass. “Happy New Year.”

"Happy New Year, Ray," she returned the toast and sipped the champagne. "Have you made any resolutions? Do you do that?"

“The same one I make every year - not to make any resolutions. So far I haven’t missed.” He grinned at her, then sipped his champagne. “Well that’s not entirely true. I am always resolved to enjoy life and I do so with gusto. That old saying about good things coming to he who waits is bullshit. Good things often keep going if you don’t reach out and grab hold of them.”

"Then again, you might find you've grabbed a bull by the horns." He was intriguing to her, the way he thought. Lord knew, he looked good. So far, too, he was disproving his reputation for being brash and foul-mouthed. She appreciated that. Her voice picked up a mild southern drawl as she asked, "Tell me, what's a Texan like you doing all the way out here in the Delta Quadrant? There's not a cow to be seen for light years."

“And thank god for that. I’ve seen a few rattlesnakes in my time out here though, like our recently departed admiral. More?” He refilled her glass,then continued. “As for here, well, SFC took that whole Texas thing to heart and decided that since it’s a frontier, who better to send than a man who’s not afraid to say anything or stare down trouble? I guess they were right, it seems to be working out well, especially now that I have someone I can work with who has good sense and instincts.”

"Bajun? Didn't she nearly get killed on Betazed?" Leela scoffed; in her opinion, nearly getting offed on Betazed of all places, was a endeavor only the truly blind could manage.

“Nasty business, that,” Ray answered. “Glad she’s off to wallow for the next half-century or so. Criminals are one thing, Leela, but when those who are supposed to be the good guys are torturing and killing their own people, I have no sympathy. This needed a tough approach and they got it.” He paused to study her face and his expression softened. “Sorry. She really got me riled up. But, it’s done and I have a beautiful lady’s company all to myself. The view is lovely, I must say.”

Blushing slightly, Leela picked up the gold pendant hanging between her breasts and rolled it in her fingers. "It's all right, I shouldn't have mentioned her. I can't imagine what makes someone capable of doing that to another person. Maybe that's a Cardassian trait? Abject cruelty? They can't conceive of another species being like them, so that makes it okay?" She shuddered.

“You know what’s a real kick in the pants? Azoulay is an empath. I just cannot imagine what the fu--” he stopped and drained his glass, then refilled it. “Enough shop talk from me.”

Leela tried not to laugh; she pressed her lips together even as she grinned. She couldn't hold it in, though, and laughed. "Sorry, Ray, I suppose I pushed that a little. You have a reputation, you know, and you weren't living up to it."

“Which reputation are you referring to?” He grinned back at her. “I do have a mouth on me and she found that out. But I’m in polite company, not in a cargo bay. Though I do think you’d make even their overalls look good.” He hoped that was the only reputation she was aware of and that it didn’t include Seyla and Seyla’s girls in the mix.

"Your mouth, the colorful language you sometimes use. I'm sure the admiral found that out. I meant here and now, you weren't living up to it. Which is fine, I was just wondering what it would take to get you to slip up." She sipped the champagne. "I have the feeling you'd rather see those overalls crumpled in a corner."

A slow, wicked smile spread across his face. “Are we being honest or polite here? If I’m honest, then yes, I would. As for the other, my mother also taught me to respect a lady. It’s always a good thing to remember.”

"Was she strict? Your mom, I mean."

Ray began to laugh and shook his head. “Well, depends on your definition. She and my dad ran a ranch that spread over about five hundred acres. Not big by Texas standards but there you go. My brothers and I grew up knowing the value of hard work and I suspect that’s where my colorful language, as you put it, came from. She refused to let us become ruffians, though. She was determined that we’d know how to treat a lady and have some manners, not end up neanderthals. She mostly succeeded.”

"How many brothers?"

“Four, and the woman is still sane. Can you imagine that?” He looked her over once more, then reached across the table to touch her hand. “And what about you, Miss Security Professional?”

She laughed, "Sorry, asking questions is a Security thing; we tend not to give answers." Toying with the stem of her champagne glass, she answered, "It was just me and my mom. She had a position on a freighter that shuttled between Betazed and Earth, so life was pretty boring. I spent a lot of time in one of the holosuites - that's where the freight kids had classes. Having a holographic teacher was cheaper than paying someone to travel with us. Made for some interesting times, once we learned how to change the teacher's programming." Her grin, sly and wicked, spread slowly as she recalled those days.

"Oh, I like the way you think, Leela.” He smiled back at her. “Now see? Here’s another reputation busted. Everyone says you’re a hardass but I am seeing something far different.” He stood and held out his hand. “We’re at a party, we should dance.” And he really wanted to feel her in his arms. The vision of crumpled coveralls flashed back in his mind and he laughed.

"Oh, dance? Sure." As she stood and he swept her into his arms, she added, "I should warn you: I'm way more used to hand-to-hand combat than I am dancing."

Ray laughed once more. “Sometimes, they are remarkably similar. Hand to hand makes a person very responsive when dancing, did you know that?” They began to glide across the floor and he held her close against him. It was as good as he’d expected and he gave a contented sigh. “So tell me, why don’t you get out more? Or maybe I should be asking what took me so long?”

"You should be asking what took you so long," she replied. "I don't usually come to the Nexus, but I do get out. I don't date within the Security pool, though. That can lead to too many problems. So what did take you so long?"

“That’s why I’ve had exactly two dates on this station, including this one.” The song slowed and so did Ray, shifting from the formal dance hold to wrap his arms around her. “Most of those I see are in the JAG department and seeing someone who works for you is a bad idea. As for you? Well, we never had much contact till this case but I was impressed by your backbone. And a few other things.”

When he had wrapped his arms around her, she'd put her hands on his shoulders. She touched his hair where it lay on his neck and looked him in the eyes. "My backbone isn't where your hands are." She wasn't mad, just amused.

“Can’t sneak anything by you security types can I?” He winked at her, then spoke softly at her ear. “So?”

His breath on her ear sent a jolt of desire to areas of her that she thought were permanently hibernating. "Oh, I think you'd hold it against me, Mr. Prosecutor."

Ray almost choked at her words. “There’s a lot I’d like to hold against you Leela.” He managed a smile. “And there’s the Ray you were looking for.”

"Indeed," she would have said more but was interrupted by a miffed Orion.

"I see you've gone back to your own kind, Ray. Does she handcuff you like I do?" Seyla confronted Ray, then, with a withering glare at Leela, cut in, making Ray let go of the Security officer and stepping into her place. "Go warm a chair, sweetie."

Blinking, completely bowled over by Seyla's rudeness and presumptions, Leela stood speechless. Her moment to retaliate was gone, though as Seyla attempted to lead Ray in a jerky, uncomfortable dance.

Ray’s eyes narrowed and a muscle twitched in the hard line of his jaw. He stopped moving and, taking hold of Seyla’s shoulders, moved her back. “What’s this about Seyla? And you can tell me after you apologize to my date.”

"Suresh. They killed him and it's your fault. You put him there." She glared at him.

“He is dead?” Ray sighed and shook his head. “Seyla, it was his own fault. No one made him do the things he did.” He glanced over to Leela, who hadn't made a move towards a chair, with an apologetic look. “Can we discuss this later?”

Seyla looked where his gaze had gone and barked out a laugh. To Ray, she said, "Hoping to get lucky for free tonight? She's probably a good bet. There is no discussion. Those two bitches better watch themselves." She flung his hands off her and stalked away, leaving before Jackson's bouncers could intervene.

Watching Seyla go, Carter turned toward Ray. "Care to explain?"

Ray rubbed his eyes, then looked up to Carter. “Can we do this at the table?”

"Over ice cream?" She smiled and turned to lead the way back to the table, where she hailed a server and ordered ice cream, vanilla.

“Make it two,” Ray ordered, then turned back to Leela. “A side effect of the Suresh case,” he began. “Seyla and Suresh were close apparently. You know the story on him and all the things he did. I was responsible for the decision to send him to Elba II. He escaped recently and Li and Oz went to find him. His death is news to me, however. I have no clue what’s up there.”

"Oz got seriously hurt, Ray. They stopped off at Nelvana III to patch her up," she said. It was big news in the Security Department, for all the obvious reasons. "Captain Hawke was physically uninjured. But that, and that Suresh is dead isn't generally known yet. So how does she know?"

“That, my darling Leela, is a very good question. I didn’t even know.” Ray frowned a moment. “Perhaps that would be a good thing to ask Gilroy when you see him.” He reached across the small table to take her hand and kissed it gently. He was hoping that the rest of Seyla’s rant would not come up.

"You have a thing for handcuffs?"

Annnnd there it was. He grumbled aloud and wondered just how to answer that. “It’s complicated,” he said, then wanted to kick himself for such a lame answer. “Does it matter?”

"Well, it might be good to know, since I usually have a pair on me." Despite having been angry at Seyla, now she was amused, even more so because Ray looked just a touch uncomfortable.

“I’ll keep that in mind, perhaps when we are not in such a public place, hmm?” He smiled finally. “I am sorry about the scene. Seyla’s an interesting case, as you well know. And if that Suresh is dead, maybe I can excuse it. Grief makes people do strange things.”

"It does. I wouldn't have thought she was close to him." She shrugged. "Anyway, let's not discuss her, especially since ice cream is here," she grinned at the server, who set two bowls on the table. She pulled one close and dug in.

Ray watched her as she took her first bite of ice cream. A sudden image flashed into his head, a most provocative one that involved that ice cream.

“Is it good?” His voice was husky and he cleared his throat. Heat settled deep within and began to spread. He had the sudden impression that he was about to spontaneously combust as he watched. Suddenly he wanted to be anywhere but here with an audience.

"Mmmm," she licked the spoon and commented, "Ice cream is the best thing ever. If all I could ever eat again was ice cream, I'd die happy."

“If I could be that spoon, I’d….” Ray blurted out, then stopped. Shit. “Umm….maybe we should get some to go?”

A gleam of something not quite wholesome sparkled in her eyes and she nodded. "That would be fantastic."

Oh yeah. He signaled for the waiter and ordered two tubs of ice cream and gave the number of his quarters. Then he stood, took Leela’s hand and raised her to her feet. “They’ll deliver it.” He drew her closer, wrapping his arm around her. “Ready?”

"Yup," she briefly pressed her body against his as they headed for the door. "We should do this again, sometime."

“We’ll discuss it over breakfast.”

****************
Ensign Leela Carter
Making a Martyr of a Man

Lt. Ray Benson
Enjoying Her ‘Backbone’