Post-Honeymoon Gossip
Posted on Thu Sep 17th, 2015 @ 7:19pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana
Mission: Further Challenges
* Archadia III *
Morning came and found Suresh and Six in town for breakfast. They were due to depart shortly after but now, they sat at an outdoor cafe as Six polished off the last of a deliciously sweet melon. She reached over to take Suresh’s hand and squeezed it.
“This has been amazing. How soon do you want to come back?”
“We should do this every month.” He’d watched her eat the melon and now kissed her, seeking a taste of the fruit. “Take three days off and come down here? How’s that sound?”
“Deal,” she responded, then kissed him again. “The same cottage too. It has a certain sentimental appeal now, don’t you think?”
"It does," he agreed and sat looking at her. It was his favorite pastime, ever since he'd met her, and she never failed to delight him. A flash of a familiar blue caught his eye; he looked past Six for just a moment then grunted. "Isn't that Doctor Harding?"
Six turned and did, in fact, see Harding crossing the main square towards the palace. She watched for a moment and nodded. “It is.” As they watched, he entered the main doors and disappeared from view. “That’s interesting. I wonder if something’s wrong in there and they need him?”
"Maybe. He's got Seyla as his bedmate, so it's not like he'd need to be here for a woman." He shrugged. "Fleet business, not something I care about very much."
Six was floored. “Seyla? And Dr. Harding? Are you serious? You mean he hires her, right?”
"No, she quit her clients. It's why she's not around the Pit as much as she used to be. Shocking, I know. Darwin thinks that's why she's been hell bent on recruiting Reva."
Six blinked and then the light dawned, her expression a clear indication of it. “Oh my...that explains so much! At least where Reva is concerned. All the attention, all the prodding to do things…..” She stopped and frowned and now she looked angry. “And look where it all ended up.”
He rubbed her back, comfortingly. "It does explain a lot. Though Reva was willing to be prodded and to have the attention," he spread the blame onto Reva. "I warned that trader off, but she kept putting herself in bad positions."
“I want her home,” Six stated flatly. “No one should have to go through that. Trust me I know what it means to be yanked away from everything….from where you’re supposed to be. I don’t remember before and I think that may be a blessing. For her, she has all the people here who love her to remember and worry about never seeing again.” She pushed her plate away.”So let’s hope for some good news from Darwin. Oh! Can we tell him?”
He considered that a moment; Darwin was the closest thing he had to an actual friend - he certainly was the only guy Suresh could relax around. "Of course we can tell him! Edana, too, most likely. Maybe Bryce?" And thus ended the list of people he felt comfortable telling the good news to.
“Those three need to know because they are part of this. Well, them and Dae and Vic.” She felt a pang of guilt over Vic, knowing he wouldn’t be happy. “And that’s it.” She shrugged. “Seyla?”
"Oh, hell no. She has enough fodder on us. Let's not give her more," he ran a hand through his hair.
“Very well.” Six rose and came around to perch in his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in for a kiss. I suppose we should get home then.”
"Mmm...," he held her against him. "We could stay another few days? Better yet, we could empty Suresh's accounts and go recreate ourselves somewhere else!"
“Or move to the colony?” Six suggested. “But as much as I’d like to stay, we can’t. Not right now. They need you on 900.”
He wished they acted like it a little more often. "Someday," he promised and helped her stand before he got up. "Transporter or shuttle?"
“Transporter.” She hopped off his lap and held out her hand. “I know I already live there but now I’m going home as your wife.” She smiled brightly. “I know it sounds silly, but it makes a difference.”
"Gods, does it ever," he whispered, hugging her tightly, possessively. "Mrs. S."
* SB900 - Suresh’s Quarters *
The chime sounded and Edana hurried over to open the door. She’d received word that Suresh and Six were on their way home and had requested that she and Darwin be there. It wasn’t the first time such a request had come through. These days she seemed to spend more time in their quarters or Darwin’s than in either of her own. She opened the door and smiled up at Darwin. “Come on in. They aren’t here yet.”
He pushed her into the quarters and kissed her. "That's okay. We can fool around a little before they get here."
“I like the way you think.” She kissed him hard, then smiled. “They’ll be here any minute though. And isn’t it our turn to go down to Archadia?”
"Maybe soon. Oz told me that she's on the way back; Madhava's on the Takei with her. We can tell Six she's safe."
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Edana hugged him tight. “That’s the best news we’ve had in awhile. Owain can kiss my green ass. Do you think it’s possible he might get loose and then I could take care of him?”
Darwin laughed. "No, he's pretty secure where he is. I wonder if Reva will want to see him."
“Pity. He’d be fun to….never mind. That’s something Security likely doesn’t want to hear.” Ed shrugged. “In her shoes, I might never want to lay eyes on him again.”
"Or might want to claw his throat out," he shrugged. "The slaver is dead - his ship exploded."
“No more than he deserved,” Edana observed. “That takes care of him and his partner. Good riddance.” She reached up to run her hand through his hair and as she did, the door opened.
“Hi! We’re home!” Six burst into the living room, all smiles.
Suresh followed, also smiling. His was slightly more reserved than Six's and faltered as he looked at Ed and Darwin in a clutch on his couch. "Hey, what is this? You two playing teenagers while the parents are away?"
Edana laughed out loud and nodded. “Yes. You going to ground us?” She looked from one to the other, noting the happy aura that seemed to pour off them, especially Six. “So….how was the mini-vacation?”
“Awesome!” Six answered. Then, shyly, she looked to Suresh. She’d decided to let him deliver the news.
Darwin smiled; Six's happiness was contagious. "Hey, Reva's on her way home. That Orion, Robart, caught up to the slaver and he and Riley got her off the ship."
"Good news all around, then!" Suresh commented.
Six took Suresh’s hand and squeezed it hard at the news. “I am so relieved,” she whispered. “How soon will she be home? Can I see her when she gets here?”
“I suspect we’ll have to see what shape she’s in when they get home,” Edana answered. “But I don’t see why not.” She glanced to Darwin, then what Suresh had said got her attention. “All around? You have some other good news?”
"The Counselor, Raj Amani, is with them, so we'll ask him whether she's up for seeing anyone," Darwin added.
Suresh nodded then answered Edana: "Six is my wife. Officially." He smiled widely.
Darwin's grin fell. "Wife?"
Six nodded, her smile returning. “We decided to go ahead and do it while we were down on Archadia. Out on the beach too. There didn’t seem to be a reason to wait. But….you two and Intel are the only ones who will know. And Bryce since he’s involved too.”
Glancing at Edana, Darwin found a weak smile and plastered it in place. "Hey! That's... that's great!", he said, trying not to be the one tossing cold water on the pair. Really, he wanted to ask Six what she was thinking - she was awfully young to be married, and not just in a chronological way.
Edana smiled as well. “It is! Congratulations. Since that is the case, we’ll scoot out of here and leave you two alone. We’ll bring champagne later. Be sure to call Dae.” Edana wrapped her arm around Darwin and turned him towards the door.’
"We celebrated.... But I won't object to celebrating again," Suresh smiled at Six. "Thanks, you two. I appreciate you telling Dae."
"Yeah, of course we will," Darwin nodded, quickly kissed Six on her cheek and said, "Congrats." He then let Edana pull him out the door.
Edana was silent as she hurried Darwin along the corridor and a few doors down to her Pit quarters. The doors opened and she steered him inside. Once the doors closed, she relaxed on the sofa. “Okay, go ahead.”
"Married!?", he raged at the walls. "She's like twelve and he's.... Well, he's Suresh!" He paced and ran a hand through his hair.
“That’s all you’ve got?” Ed smiled indulgently at him. “You’re so tense your shoulders are up around your ears. Might as well get out the rest of it.”
"Mmph," he rolled his shoulders and shook his head. "Yeah, I have more, but what's the point? I want to yell at them, cause they aren't using their heads. Married in the Pit? And we have to keep that quiet."
“They could’ve been married all along and no one would know,” Edana pointed out. “I doubt it will change anything in how they act. They both know what they have to do down here. You have your own act here that you maintain and no one knows any different. Why shouldn’t they?”
He frowned. "Not the point! It's just all... awkward. Imagine if Reva finds out. She's likely to broadcast it to Seyla and Niro and from there... Gods."
“I think she’ll have bigger things to worry about for the next little while, Dar.” Edana slipped off her shoes and propped her feet on the coffee table. “And if Riley is the one who saved her, you really think she’s going to give Niro the time of day?”
"You think she won't? Just because Riley was there? What if she can't...," he shook his head, "nevermind." He wasn't going to credit the Ensign with having learned anything just yet.
“Try not to worry. We’ll see how things are when she gets home. There is one small mercy in all this.” She reached up to undo the elastic that held her hair in a ponytail. “It’s that Vic is off the station and won’t be back for a week. That will give us some time to figure out how to break the news. Too bad Leto’s not back yet, we could make her do it.”
"She'll be back before Vic is." Darwin smiled at her. "Unless you intend to call him and notify him."
“Oh hell no!” She shook her head. “Not going to happen. He needs to focus on this trip not be moping over something he can’t do anything about.” She fluffed out her long hair and looked up at Darwin. “Are you due back upstairs?”
"Exactly. Let him concentrate. And, no, I'm not due back upstairs, not for a while at least. Do you have something in mind?" Grinning slyly, he touched her hair, running his fingers through it.
“You’re incorrigible. Don’t ever change.” She smiled and reached up, moving his hand down to the corset-style top she wore. “I’m sure we can think of something. We’ll deal with the champagne later.” Looking up at Darwin, she had the sudden urge to lock the door and call in sick for the next few days. “Perhaps you and I need a few hours away from the act as well.”
"Soon," he nodded and tried to figure out how to open her shirt.
***************
Ensign Six Of Ten
The Blushing Bride
Suresh
The Happy Groom
Lt. M. Darwin
The Unhappy Guard
SCPO Edana
The Brazen Distraction
