Something Family This Way Comes

Posted on Sun Jul 26th, 2015 @ 10:54pm by Jackson Banning V & Vic & Commander Oralia Zeferino

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: The Nexus Club

*The Nexus*

Pausing, Oralia stared at the doorway to Jackson's office for a long moment. Finally, she shook herself and entered. She didn't notice she had a handful of her dress balled in one hand. "Hey, knock-knock," she smiled at her husband where he sat behind his desk.

“Hey gorgeous.” Jackson looked up from his screen with a bright smile. “Ya tryin’ ta wrangle yer dress into submission?”

"Hmm?" She wasn't sure what he meant, not till he nodded at her fist. She released it then smoothed the fabric. "Oh. No, it's this office." She looked around it and back to him before smiling slightly. "Sorry."

“Yeah, I know. Not a night goes by I don’t think about it when I step in here,” he admitted. He turned off the view screen and focused on Oz. “So what time’s he comin’?”

"Eight. I checked the transport he was on; their time was still a few hours behind the Station's, so hopefully the later dinner hour won't be too early for the Ambassador." She paused before saying, "I'm worried, J. I couldn't get Edwards or Chance on the comm today."

“Did you try Eli’s parents’ house? Surely they’d know where the boys went.” Jackson considered the situation for a few seconds. “However, if they don’t know, or ya can’t get them either, it might be time ta start worryin’. The problem is we’re three days out, even if somebody left this minute.”

"No one answered at Eli's parents' house." She shook her head and absently knocked a knuckle against his desk. "I have an officer trying every twenty minutes for any of the three or his parents. I also asked Dobry to go through his channels. If we haven't heard by morning, I'll ask Li to authorise a ship. Things will be fine." This last, she wasn't telling him so much as asking him.

“Let’s hope one or the other of ‘em answers by then.” A frown settled on Jackson’s face. “I tell ya, Oz, if they’ve pulled some monkey business with those kids, life is gonna be unpleasant for some Enarans pretty soon. I’ll go wring some necks myself. I bet Kh’ali will be spittin’ nails when she gets back and hears about it.”

"You can't go, J. I'll send Gilroy and Darwin with a team, perhaps with MACOs." It would be overkill to send both Gilroy and Darwin, not to mention MACOs, but she was dead set on Jackson not going anywhere.

“I can’t?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “An’ why not?”

"Because you're needed here." She placed her hands on his desk and leaned over till her forehead touched his. "You can't leave me alone." Her overprotectiveness of him was shining through, though she was doing her best to distract him from it.

“Not buyin’ it Oz. Special Ops is what I do. But let’s hope they turn up. If they are in trouble, three days from now won’t help ‘em much.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. “But worry about that when the time comes.”

"The morning, then. For now, come dance with me, please? The Ambassador will be here soon," she kissed him before straightening up.

“Gladly. I’m done with what I needed ta do here anyhow.” He stood and moved out from behind the desk and took her hand. “Can ya do me a favor soon?”

"For you? Anything," she answered and pressed against him affectionately.

“Talk ta Vic?” he opened the office door for her. “He’s havin’ girl issues, so I figure talkin’ to a sensible one might help.”

She blinked at him. "Was that sarcasm?"

“No, I’m serious. You might be able ta offer some perspective I haven’t yet.” They stepped out of the office and Jackson offered his arm. “Ya shoulda seen him when he got here tonight. As Woody would say, head up his ass...or somewhere. His head sure as hell isn’t here.”

"I'll talk to him, happily." She'd taken his arm and they made their way to the dance floor, where they joined other dancers gliding about in pairs.

Jackson led Oz smoothly around the floor, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. “So, sugar, how’re you dealin’ with havin’ Chance’s dad here?”

"It's weird, J. He said that Chance might have a pon farr soon now that he's twenty. I don't want to ask whether a male partner satisfies the requirements or whatever of that, but... there aren't any females on their trip and can you imagine Eli's hurt if a female is required?" She frowned.

“Well…” Jackson had to admit it was a good question. “Wouldn’t any bond satisfy it? As I understand it, and believe me what I know is far from perfect, but I think it’s more a mental thing.”

"Oh, good. I was thinking hormones might have something to do with it. But I don't really want to ask Lerius about it." She smiled at Jackson, enjoying the easy rapport they had.

“Well I sure as hell won’t ask Sakkath.” He grinned back at Oz. “But, If Lerius is right, and it is Chance’s time, I guess we’ll know soon enough.”tag

She started to laugh and finally managed to say, "Chance, even more eager for sex than normal? Can you see that? He already thinks about it twenty-four/seven."

Something occurred to Jackson as she said it. “What effect will this have on his relationship with Eli? I mean, yeah, they’re pretty tight but this is a big deal isn’t it?”

"It's a bit more than getting married, I suppose. Maybe Li would know. If she's willing to talk about it," she said. She glanced towards the Nexus' entrance and saw that Camille was just seating the Ambassador. "Time to be as charming as you always are."

“Alright, let’s do this.” Jackson kissed her hand, then tucked it into his arm and led her off to the table.

As they arrived at the table, Oz introduced Jackson, "Ambassador Lerius, this is my husband, Jackson Banning. Jackson is the guardian of Chance's boyfriend, Eli."

Lerius nodded to Jackson. “I have been wanting to meet you. Thank you for making time to meet me.”

Jackson smiled at the Ambassador. “To tell the truth, I’ve been real curious about you too, well, since we learned of Chance’s heritage. Welcome to 900. Please have a seat and the server will be right here.”

“Of course.” Lerius, in a most human gesture, held Oz’s chair for her, then sat as well.

A server, at Jackson's signal, brought a bottle of wine then their dinners. The three talked, avoiding the awkward topic of pon farr, and listened to two of Janice's sets. Towards the end of the second one, Oz excused herself and found Vic.

"Hey, Vic," she smiled at him. "Jackson said you might need the opinion of a sensible woman. And then he asked me to talk with you."

Vic smiled at her comment. “Are you hinting that you aren’t?” He poured Oz a glass of her favorite wine and placed it before her. “He tell you why he thought I needed a sensible female?”

Thanking him, she took the wine. "He didn't, just hinted that you have yourself a situation." She looked over at the dance floor. "So, what's happening?"

Vic hesitated a moment, and since there was a lull in the bar traffic, he rested his arms on it, putting him closer to Oz. “Girl issues. As in, I dragged my ass and she’s sort of involved with someone else. Well, no sort of to it. They’re living together now. But…..” he shrugged. “I kissed her Oz, even knowing all this. Just a few days ago.”

"Oh, you're Jackson in the Oz-Connor drama," she said. "I'd suggest cutting all ties and letting it go. Lots of other women on the Station would be thrilled to call you boyfriend. But, the heart wants what it wants, right? And if Jackson had done that, where would I be now?"

“There is that,” Vic agreed. “But Six is….hard to just forget and move on, you know?”

Wine halfway to her lips, Oz stopped and stared at him. "Particularly when you're her contact," she said, frowning. She set her glass down and asked, "Dance with me?"

“Sure.” He motioned to Joe to take over for him,wiped his hands, and stepped out from behind the bar to follow Oz to the dance floor. He took her in his arms and they began to move across the floor, getting a few good-natured whistles from the servers. “And yes, I’m her contact but that is not an issue Oz. I’ve been at this long enough to be very good at separating.”

"I didn't mean to imply you weren't, Vic, just that it isn't as if you can drop her." She followed his lead easily; he was as good at this as Jackson. "It's not a great situation for you. The best I can suggest: be like Darwin, find someone else."

“I’ve thought about that but I can tell she is attracted to me too. The problem is, I don’t want to cause problems for her or Suresh.” He shrugged. “So, round and round.”

She had an opinion about that, but it wasn't one she wanted to voice. Eventually, she knew, this Suresh would either get himself killed or grow tired of appearing dirty. Either way, she didn't see him being around for too long. "Round and round, indeed. And if you do cause trouble..., Suresh would need to squash you the way the old one would have."

“I know that too, which is why he isn’t going to know. He’s going through a lot for us and I’m not going to add to it.” Vic frowned slightly. “I also hope I don’t have a repeat of what happened in my quarters, thanks to her special ability.”

"Are you going to confront her about that?"

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I mean, what do I say? Hey, your projection came into my quarters, begging me to….you know…. ? How’s that going to make her feel? She has enough to deal with as it is.”

"Yeah, awkward," she agreed and smiled, somewhat ruefully.

“You can say that again,” he grumbled.

At the door, Janice was filling in for just a few minutes for Camille. She smiled as she greeted an older couple, "Do you have reservations or is any table good?

The man, a dark haired gentleman whose age was showing around his eyes and at his temples, said, "We don't have a reserv--"

"Dear, perhaps Chance made one?" The woman said and addressed Janice, "Conradi? Or Zeferino, perhaps?"

"Ah...," Janice blinked. Jackson would have let her know - hell, he'd have let everyone in the Nexus know, if he'd known that Oralia's parents were on the Station. She glanced at Jackson where he sat with the Ambassador. "Yes, we have a table for you, if you'll just give me a moment to make sure it's set up," she said, smiling. She turned and hurried towards Jackson.

The woman smiled and wandered farther into the Nexus, towards the dance floor. "Oh, look at them, dear!" A woman with steel grey hair smiled at the couples on the dancefloor. She had picked out one couple in particular; the woman in that couple was a younger version of her.

"Let's cut in," the man with her guided her to the floor and skillfully led his wife towards the two. Coming up bedside the younger couple, Zeferon spoke up and with a smile, asked, "Excuse us, may we cut in?"

Oz nearly froze in Vic's arms when she caught sight of the other couple. "Dad! What...? Mom!"

Her mom was already moving in to take Vic as her partner. "My daughter has good taste," Nadine commented with a laugh.

“Thank you, I’m most flattered.” Vic smiled as he took the woman in his arms. “Though I’m not……”

"Please, call me Nadine. I would try to claim I'm her sister, but she already outed me," she laughed. "You're a good leader, too." There was a definite vibe that Mom might have gotten inappropriate if this weren't her daughter's husband.

“My pleasure,” Vic answered. “I’m Vic. Oz didn’t mention she was expecting you.”

"Wait, you're not Jackson?" Nadine frowned then smiled. "Well, then.... We told Chance we were coming. Oralia doesn't call home very often."

“I see. Chance is off-station so that might explain why Oz didn’t know.” Vic waved to Oz to let her know he had to get back, then turned to Nadine. “Jackson is over here, I’ll introduce you.”

"Why? Couldn't we just finish this dance, Vic?" Nadine smiled, doing her best to be innocently stern about not letting Vic lead her off the dancefloor.

“I would but I have to get back to the bar. I run it you see.” He smiled politely and led her off towards the table where Jackson sat with Lerius.

Meanwhile, Oz, whose jaw seemed to have come unhinged for a few minutes, found herself dancing with her dad. That wasn't a problem, not really. Except: "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming!?"

He frowned at her. "Language, dear daughter. We told Chance. He calls us to talk." The silent admonishment: 'you don't.' "Hariwald set this up for us. We all decided it was time for your mother and me to meet your husband." He looked over at the man dancing with his wife. "He looks different in person."

"That's not my husband, Dad!", she protested and started to point out Jackson, but he cut her off.

"You're taking after your mother, then?" His tone wasn't filled with approval. "You just married him and you're already--"

"No! Gods, no. That's our friend, Vic. Jackson is at the table...," Oz interrupted him. "Come on, I'll introduce you." She broke away from him and led him to the table, realizing as she went that things were about to get awkward. Either way, when she got close enough, she kissed Jackson's cheek.

"Dad, this is Jackson Banning and Ambassador Lerius. Ambassador, this is my father, Zeferon Zeferino, and my mother, Nadine Conradi, who you know." She looked at Jackson, smiling weakly. Oh, the night was just such a stress-free one.

"Jackson," Zeferon held out a hand and when Jackson took it, he squeezed the man's hand, "Good to meet you." He looked at Lerius, "Lerius. We meet again. It's been years but you appear unchanged."

“Greetings, Zeferon, Nadine. It is agreeable to see you both. It has been a long time.” Lerius nodded to them both. “Please, join us.”

Jackson motioned to the server to add two chairs. As everyone got seated, he leaned over to whisper in Oz’s ear. “Should I order in a dampening field?”

She took his hand and lightly kissed him. "How about a dose of Valium?", she whispered back and smiled.

Nadine, across the table, poked her husband and nodded at the two, smiling. "Lerius, it is good to see you again. I'm glad we could arrange this."

"You knew? You three knew you'd be here?" Oz looked at the three like they'd just admitted to conspiring to hijack the Station. By her estimation, they were doing just that: hijacking her home base.

Her dad nodded. "We did. I wanted to meet Jackson," he looked at the man, "and your mother wanted to see you and Chance. Lerius, too, wanted to see Chance. So here we are."

“Well, it’s great ta finally meet y’all,” he said to Nadine and Zeferon. “Would you two like dinner?”

"Oh, no, we don't want to cause trouble, Jackson," Nadine adopted a genteel Southern accent and attitude. "Don't worry yourself."

"Mom, he owns the restaurant. He can have someone make dinner for you. Or a snack," Oz sighed. She looked at Jackson and said, "Dinner, yes please."

"I'll have a steak, rare, son," Zeferon looked squarely at Jackson, as if challenging him.

Jackson waited till Nadine had ordered, then nodded to Sam, who trotted off to the kitchen. “Once you’ve finished dinner, we’ll be seein’ Ambassador Lerius to his quarters, we can walk you two as well."

"Good. A body could get lost on this Station," Zeferon complained. "Speaking of, Oralia, where is your little brother?"

Oz winced. She was her brother's keeper. "Chance is on Enara Prime. He should be home in a few days."

"We'll wait till he comes home, then."

"Joy," Oz said, weakly.

***************
Commander Oralia Zeferino
Suddenly Stressed

Jackson Banning V
Owner & The Real Husband

Ambassador Lerius
One Of The Real Fathers

Zeferon Zeferino
Disapproving Dad

Nadine Conradi
Southern Mother

Vic
Not The Husband