Darwin's And Suresh's Awesome Return Home - Part II

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2015 @ 11:37am by Suresh & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Seyla

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Seyla's Quarters

With Suresh walking the two Ensigns home, or, at least, out of Saturnalia, Darwin was left alone with Seyla. “Good show, Sey,” he said.

“Hush, you. Come,” she stood and gestured for him to follow her.

He did and wasn’t surprised when they ended up in her quarters. Grinning, he fell into their usual pattern easily and pulled her to him. “Fuck me for free, huh? No mention of the information passed along? Or of my healing skills?”

“We have to talk,” she started to say, resisting his attempt to remove her dress. He silenced her with a kiss.

“Later. Right now, I want you and a shower... in that order,” he was insistent and got what he wanted.

When Darwin emerged from the shower later, Seyla was fully dressed and sat at her dressing table, brushing her long hair until it shone once more. She looked up, catching Darwin’s eye in the mirror.

“Feel better? Now that you’ve worked out your disappointment that Reva’s not open for business?”

“Reva? Oh, the Ensign. She’s a bit young, Sey. I rather like the experience you bring to the experience. Plus, she’s Fleet, so she’s on inhibitors,” he stepped close to her and leaned to sniff her neck, “unlike you.”

“Inhibitors come in many forms, Michael.” She laid the brush aside and turned, knowing that cryptic remark would make him curious. “I saw the desire in your eyes when she sat down. Two weeks going without is hard on you when you spend it with women you can’t have and Suresh, apparently can.” Distaste colored her voice with the last statement.

“We were with my boss and her boss, Seyla. They aren’t exactly attractive to me. And Suresh... he can’t have them either.” He shook his head; he didn’t want to discuss Suresh or Oz or Li. Instead, he asked, “What other forms of inhibitors are there?”

“Something those two would understand very well I think.” She paused and smiled at Darwin. “A man at home who expects them to behave. Not that you’d understand that.” She shrugged and lifted her necklace from the table. “You never behave.” She reached up and fastened the necklace, secretly just a little thrilled that it happened to be the one Will had sent to her.

“Why should I, Seyla? I’m single, good looking, damned good in bed...,” he grinned at her in the mirror, knowing that she knew all of that was true. “Not like you have to worry about behaving, either.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, dear.” She shifted on the seat and reached out, taking Darwin’s hands in hers. “Things change sometimes.” It occurred to her now that Suresh had been the observant one that evening. He had questioned her conservative dress immediately, while Darwin had not. Interesting that the man she was so often intimate with missed it and the man she’d never had was the one to notice.

Had she asked him about that, Darwin would have blustered out an excuse along the lines of ‘Hey! I was elbow deep in bar-b-que! And bourbon!’, but she didn’t ask. But now, he wasn’t elbow deep in bar-b-que; he was fresh out of Seyla’s bed and shower. He eyed her for a moment. “Seyla, what’s up? You’ve been a little strange all night - the dress, earlier you started to say no. What things changed?”

“My life has changed, Michael.” Her voice had softened and she squeezed his hands. “Tonight is an end and a beginning. An end for us and a beginning of a different sort for me. This life here is fine and the business is fantastic. But I realized I wanted more, at least personally, and I never knew I did until it was offered to me.”

He asked the same thing her paying clients had asked: “Are you sick? Do you need to see Doc Harding?”

The question made her laugh, and apparently she found it funnier than it might seem she should. “No, I’m fine, never felt better actually. According to the doctor I have a clean bill of health.”

“Okay,” he was confused, to say the least. “Who are you settling down with? Who has tamed our resident Orion?”

“Actually, it’s Dr. Harding. Will.” A smile lit her face as she met Darwin’s confused gaze. “He’s wanted this for a long time and I...well I finally came around.” She reached up to touch the necklace. “All the mystery gifts were from him. He even gave up the Prime Minister for me.”

Darwin’s head cocked to one side and his eyes bugged out a touch. Will Harding? One, he was astounded that the Doctor actually had a sex drive; two, he was flummoxed that Seyla would throw him over for the old man; three, he reacted, slapping a hand to his forehead and turning away from Seyla: “Harding! My god! I just saw him Sickbay! You’ve been... he and I have been... oh, that’s wrong. That’s just wrong, Seyla! And... you think you’ll be happy with him? Long term?” He had calmed down a touch and now grinned at her. “You sure this is an end for us?”

Seyla watched him calmly as the conflicting emotions passed over Darwin’s face. “Do you think I would make such a drastic move if I weren’t? I gave it a lot of thought too, it wasn’t just some spur of the moment whim.” She honestly considered his question and finally nodded. “Yes, Michael, an end. He’s been most understanding for a long time but you would be beyond his tolerance.” She knew the direction of his thoughts - that the young stud was being passed over for an older man and finding it hard to swallow. Even so, she chose not to elaborate on the attraction to Will. “Perhaps you want to rethink your certainty that Reva is too young for you?”

“She’s an ensign, Seyla. One of your girls her age? That’d be fine, but not a Fleet ensign,” he shook his head, still flummoxed. “Really? Will Harding? That comes from out of left field, Sey! Though I can understand why he’d prefer you over the Prime Minister. Those Archadian women are demanding.”

“You know what they say, Michael. Once you go green….” She gave him a wink and stood, moving past him out to the living room, knowing he would follow. “The Prime Minister was not aware of the treasure she had. Will’s not one to be faithful to a woman who can’t give him the same thing.” She fell silent and poured them both a glass of wine while she let that sink in.

He did follow her, after pulling on pants. Wearing just a towel during this conversation was starting to leave him feeling exposed. “That’s a big change for you,” he said, accepting the glass of wine. “You’re going to continue managing your business, right?”

“I am, and my former clients are all being moved off to others. Marla will be helping out as well.” She sipped her wine and smiled. “Perhaps she might be of interest to you? I’m sure Dae wouldn’t mind sharing.”

“Nalas? Oh, come on!” He glared at her. Sharing a woman with unknown others was one thing; knowing that he was sharing with a fellow officer? Darwin didn’t want to think about that. “I think I’ll just ...consider my options for a while. I never had trouble finding female companionship before.”

“No, I don’t think you will now either.” Seyla left the bar and crossed to stand before Darwin. “And at the risk of sounding sappy, I hope you find a good one that makes you happy, even if they are an ensign. That designation doesn’t seem to concern Suresh.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to chat with him about that,” Darwin said. “Speaking of Suresh, you’re going to set him up as we discussed. I was serious when I said he couldn’t extort you; if he tries, let me know. Set him up as the old Suresh, and the evidence I have about the Elba II escape will stay unrecorded.”

Seyla’s expression hardened as she looked up at Darwin. “Tell me the truth, Michael. Is there really evidence or are you two just playing me? He said that my place down here was on the line, is that true? I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him and that’s pretty far. Who is he, really?”

“He’s earned my trust, Sey. He saved Oz’s life, which means that I didn’t have to come back and give Banning bad news. He’s not like the Suresh we knew; he’s not as... horrible. He’s actually kind of a nice guy,” Darwin hadn’t ever thought that he’d say that about anyone named Suresh. “But, yeah, I do have evidence. Naral spilled his guts while we were on Nelvana III. Oz and Li know that he named you as a conspirator; I didn’t give them all the details, though Li might have read them in my head. As for your place down here?” He shrugged. “Lazan seems to have a plan in mind. Who would you rather answer to: Lazan or a Suresh that isn’t really Suresh?”

“Certainly not Lazan,” she snapped, then took a deep breath. “That depends. How involved does Suresh want to be? If he has no intentions of interfering with me and what I do, then I might agree. If he just wants to be the face and keep the locals afraid as they’ve always been, then I can work with that.”

“The intention is to fill the vacancy Suresh’s incarceration left here, to stop the power struggles. He’d be a figurehead, Seyla. I don’t think he actually has the stomach to do what Suresh used to do.”

That surprised her and it was evident in her expression. “That’s unexpected.” Didn’t have the stomach for it? That cast things in a very different light, meaning that Darwin might be right and she’d have no interference. And none of the former Suresh’s abuse of her girls either. Finally, she looked back up at Darwin and nodded.

“Alright, but if he sticks his nose into my business, or raises a hand to the girls, you won’t like it.”

“You know I won’t like it,” Darwin pulled her close to kiss her neck, “I’d be the first one setting him straight on how to treat a lady.”

Seyla softened against him, giving in for a moment before she pulled back. “That’s enough, Michael. Go, tell Suresh we have a deal. He’ll be looking for me tomorrow and we can make plans then.”

“You sure that’s enough? We could have one last fling; Harding would never know,” he did his best to charm her back into bed.

“I’d know.” She pressed her hands to his chest, putting space between them. “Happy hunting, dearest.”

“Does Harding know? About us, I mean.”

Seyla shook her head. “No, he’s never asked about those I see….saw,” she corrected. “He didn’t want to know. But I gave my promise and I intend to keep it.”

“Can’t blame me for trying,” he said, kissing her lightly before stepping into her bedroom for a moment. He came back with his shirt, boots and odds and ends. He dropped most of those on her couch and pulled on his shirt. “Ok, I’ll talk to Suresh. And, you, don’t try to tempt me with the little ensign. She’s not one of your girls.” He sat to pull on his boots.

Seyla smiled for a moment. Not yet, she thought. “I think she’ll tempt you on her own. I’d suggest finding your new pal Suresh and make sure walking them home is all he’s doing.” Once he was dressed, she opened her doors. “Goodnight Michael.”

“Good night, Seyla,” again, he kissed her then was out the door, heading for where Suresh was supposed to have been taking the two Ensigns.

************
Lt. Michael Darwin
Seyla