New Beach, New Places

Posted on Wed Mar 23rd, 2016 @ 11:33pm by Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ignatius Reilly
Edited on on Wed Apr 13th, 2016 @ 9:19pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Archadia

*RAF Penelope *

Li had transported off the boat not long ago and, in her absence, Darwin had made Ignatius promise to keep her mental chatter to a minimum. He liked having Li around - she was a good partner in bed and didn't yammer on about everything under the sun. Iggy, though... well, she was being quiet for the moment and he didn’t mind her silent company.

He dove into the clear, warm water from the boat's bow and spent a minute underwater, checking the anchor line and making sure that the anchor wasn't hooked on something that would be detrimentally damaged by it. He surfaced, took a deep breath then swam to the stern to check the aft anchor. While he was still under, Ignatius suddenly broke her silence, sounding almost as if she'd been holding her chatter like someone might hold their breath.

Darwin? Are you okay down there? Are you breathing water? Is that even possible? Come back up! What are your intentions with Li? I thought you were involved with an Orion in the Fleet.

Sputtering, Darwin surfaced. "My.. intentions? What are you, my mother? Iggy! Where are you?"

I am here, she said, in a spectacularly unhelpful way. Oh, sorry, she appeared at the edge of the boat's deck and waved a leg at him. Here.

He swam over to look up at her. "Iggs... don't tell anyone about what happens between Li and me, okay? It's not for general knowledge. Got that?"

We have a secret. I can keep secrets.

"Can you? You haven't been very good at it before."

Can I come into the water with you? I dislike this angle.

"Come in, I'll catch you."

Okay. Catch me if you can, she said, disappearing for a moment before suddenly reappearing and leaping out from the deck into empty space. An anchor line streamed behind her and she squealed, Wooo!!

Darwin caught her, making sure she had a gentle landing onto the water's surface rather than a wet smack down. "Okay, Chance once told me that you can float. So... float." He let her go on the water. She didn't sink. Yet.

You will stay close, she ordered him, testing movement on the water. I wanted to be on the same level with you because this is serious.

"Yes, it is."

I have changed, Darwin, since having the Borg in me. I can tell - there are physical differences and mental ones. I understand what keeping a secret means now. I will not tell anyone that you had sex with Li, even though that would show well on you - she was quite pleased.

That got a surprised laugh from Darwin. "She wasn't the only one," he commented, chuckling.

Yes, I know.

"Okay, that's creepy. Don't do that."

Augh! Iggy suddenly screamed. I am being attacked!

Indeed, she was: several small fish were biting at her legs. "Oops," Darwin scooped her up and put her on his shoulders. "To the beach, we go, kiddo." He swam towards it, intent on letting Iggy play in the sand and on talking to the fisherman and house owner.

An hour later, he swam back out, sans Ignatius. He’d left her with the woman in charge of dinner; both had been curious about the other - Iggy was more curious about the food the woman and her husband were cooking. Either way, it gave Darwin time to return to the boat alone.

He wasn’t alone long - Li had returned as he’d stepped out of the shower.

“Enjoy your afternoon?” she asked. Reaching into the small closet, she pulled out a fresh pair of shorts and handed them over. “Where’s Iggy?”


He looked at the shorts and laughed, “Trying to get me to dress so quickly? Iggs is on the island at that house we’re going to for dinner. She’s watching dinner being made - and caught. They saw the Royal Seals and planned a decadent spread.” He ignored the shorts and instead pulled her close for a kiss.

Li tossed the shorts aside and gave in to the kiss with a soft murmur. “That’s nice of them. Did you miss me? Looks to me that perhaps that answer would be yes.”

His answer didn’t come in words.

* Later *

Li had taken advantage of the shower while Darwin snoozed, though she kept it short to conserve the water supply. She’d pulled out clothes from her bag and once she’d finished dressing, she settled on the side of the bed to wake him. Reaching out, she ran her fingers through his hair, marveling at the man and for a moment, wondered what her future held. She didn’t spend much time on that, however, but leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“Wake up sleeping beauty. The feast is waiting.”

“Hmm...?” He woke slowly, which was odd for him. Usually, he slept lightly and woke quickly. “Food, yes. And Ignatius. Hopefully she won’t lecture me for leaving her so long.” He kissed her and added, “Unless of course...you want another romp before we go?”

“After dinner.” She smiled down at him. “I’m hungry. Besides, you need to keep your strength up. How about we hit the water after dinner?”

“Yes, yes and yes. We’ll have to keep Iggy on the boat or on a float, though. This afternoon, she was ...ah ...well, some fish tried to eat her.” He laughed as he got up and dressed casually - linen pants and a linen button-down shirt. “I’ll pull the dinghy in and hold it steady for you, Li.” He headed up to do just that.

They reached the house several minutes later and the door was opened for them. With that gesture came an expansive welcome.

“Thank you.” Li smiled. “This is so kind of you.”

“You are a guest of the Prime Minister, Ma’am,” the woman said, smiling widely. “Please, come in and have a seat. Tonight, we have every kind of local fish and shellfish, as well as...,” she named several side dishes and desserts as she ushered them to a table. There were no other patrons in the house.

There you are! You took a long... oh, I see. Nevermind, Iggy greeted them. She was already seated at the table, perched amongst several empty plates and little bowls. This is going to be yummy!

“It all looks fantastic and I’m ravenous. Something about the sea air, you know.” Li grinned at Iggy, appreciating her restraint. Li looked the room over and realized that they had likely turned away any other patrons for the night. She made a mental note to thank Solaana when they got back. She waited till the wine glasses were filled, then raised hers. “To the holiday.”

Darwin raised his glass as well, reminding himself that he needed to take his cues from Li while she was with him - at least in public. The woman and her husband began to bring out platters of food; he had tried to convince her that a lavish spread wasn’t necessary for them, but she wouldn’t hear it. He had to laugh - the woman served Li, then Iggy, then him. Even the female spider outranked him in the social setting.

Li dug in and began to eat, trying some of everything and voicing her appreciation over each new thing. It was all so very delicious. Along with a steady stream of food, the wine continued to flow. As she ate, Li slipped off her sandal and reached out to run her toes over Darwin’s leg.

He grinned, watching both her and Ignatius eat. He was eating as well, and enjoying every bite of what they were served. Ignatius had kept up some chatter, talking about how the fisherman had reeled in the fish and let her watch while he’d gutted and cleaned them. “Oh, I love having my meal described from catch to plate,” Darwin laughed. He was as far along with the wine as Li was.

“I think you have some big fans here,” she said to the woman, addressing her though it was the man who was doing most of the fetching and carrying. “This is amazing. We do appreciate it.” She looked to Iggy now. “Did you save room for dessert?”

No. I prefer the meat that comes in these shells. Iggy poked at a pile of shells she had cleaned out. I do not need dessert. Darwin is thinking of something else as dessert, anyway.

Looking guilty, Darwin shrugged. “We could take dessert to go,” he suggested. Though... really, at the moment, all he wanted was a walk on the beach. “Let’s take a walk. Iggs, do you want to stay here?”

She’d caught his preference and answered, I’ll stay here and oversee the packing up and delivery of the leftovers to the boat.

“Li?” Darwin stood and held out a hand to her. “A walk will do us good.”

“It will.” She finished off her wine, thanked the hostess and her husband, then rose. “Ready when you are, Dar.”

He led her outside, where the breeze was warm. Suddenly he laughed, “Do you realize neither one of us has discussed Oralia? In my defense, I’ll say that I know she’s in the best care possible and not likely to suddenly get worse. How was she when you were up there?”

“As I recall, you distracted me.” She smiled as they began to walk along the beach. “Chance and her parents were there. Jackson was in sitting with her. Earl said that the repairs were done and it would take a little time for the nanoprobes to finish. She was at first a little panicky since it was hard to breathe but she was breathing on her own. He is keeping her sedated so the repairs can continue unhindered. He’s being cautious and is keeping her there for a little while but he thinks she will be fine.”

“See? Best care possible,” he smiled. “This is different from our last trip to a beach.”

“Thank the gods,” Li said softly. “Earl said she was dying when I brought her in and all I wanted to do was scream, break things…and Jackson was trying to be calm and inside he was so panicked. I wanted to get Iggy away so she wouldn’t freak out either and I was trying not to.”

“Dying... gods...,” he looked at the starry sky. “Can’t blame Jackson for panicking. Or you.” He put an arm around her. “But she’ll be fine. There’s no need to keep panicking or worrying.”

“She will outlive all of us most likely.” Li smiled up at him, leaning in closer as his arm tightened around her shoulders. “But we interrupted your time alone.”

He was amused. “Sure, you interrupted, for a good reason. But I’m not complaining. Sex trumps solitude. Usually. Plus, I enjoyed showing you and Iggs my sailing skills.”

“Oh, the big tough man has to show off for his women,” she teased. “You are an impressive sailor, Dar. It’s one of your many impressive skills. And that is something I’d never say in front of Iggy. You know what I mean.” For a moment, her thoughts brushed his and she smiled. She wasn’t eavesdropping on his thoughts, but sharing her own.

Laughing, he nodded; if the light were better, Li might have seen him blush slightly. “She’ll tell you she’s changed. She may have - being assimilated tends to do that. I made her promise not to talk about you and me.”

“Thank you. Not that we’re up to no good, or doing something we shouldn’t, but while I may be less ‘Vulcan’ now, there are some areas where I like my privacy. Earl already has it figured out, by the way. He asked me to update you on Oz when I got back down here.” She looked up at him as they wandered along. “It may be the station’s worst-kept secret.”

“I like my privacy, too, particularly if it’s something Ed might not be thrilled about.” He didn’t see the point in trying to hide his main concern. It wasn’t that he and Ed were exclusive or serious, but there were things she didn’t need to know. Just like Gilroy and Suresh and a whole host of others who didn’t need to know. “I don’t think Iggy will broadcast about this.”

“She means a lot to you.” It wasn’t a question. “Would she understand this?”

“I don’t know. I think she understood the ravine and my quarters. At least, she didn’t try to remove any body parts in anger, so I think she was okay with it. This?” He looked out at his borrowed boat; the headmast light was on, shining down toward the deck and glinting off of the spars and lines. It was a beautiful thing, that boat. He sighed, thinking this’d make a wonderful retirement. “She might be pissed that I didn’t invite her along. Actually, she might be more irritated about that than about me having sex with you.”

“I don’t know.” Li breathed in the fresh sea air drifting in on the breeze and decided Darwin’s thought about retirement was on point. “I don’t know that she’d be thrilled. Is it bad that I didn’t even think about that when I came? Or consider Max’s reaction? Knowing how we’d end up?”

“You knew...?” He blinked. He’d thought that having sex had been his idea; it was novel to realize Li may have had that thought long before he had. “Well... you and Max aren’t dating. Or are you? Ed isn’t yours to be worried about; she’s my concern.”

“Max and I are….it’s complicated. The short answer is no, not yet and that likely explains a lot doesn’t it?” She stopped and turned to face Darwin, slipping her arms around his waist. “I thought that your quarters….that was just….a thing. I hadn’t foreseen this until...well...you suggested coming down and then I knew what would happen.” She hadn’t phrased that very well, she knew.

“I have to admit that this vacation, so far, has been pretty damned good - and full of surprises. The boat, you, tonight’s dinner. I couldn’t have planned it better.” He hugged her. “This is still just a thing, right?”

“Is it?” she asked. “I think that’s something that should be addressed before things get more complicated.”

“Isn’t it? Is this suddenly complicated?”

“No, it doesn’t have to be. I just want to be sure that it’s not getting away from us.” The sudden urge to kiss him overcame her and she pulled him down, letting her lips meet his.

He kissed her and was tempted to lay her on the sand and take his time with her. He didn’t; instead, he addressed her words, “Li, I like you as a friend, respect you as a senior officer - ah... superior, not senior,” he chuckled. He was likely ten or fifteen years her senior. “And that’s where I am with this. I don’t expect anything from you more than that.”

She gave him a slow smile and nodded. “As long as we’re clear on that. Once we go back, things might change - at least till our date next year. Max has...waited a very long time.”

“Far be it from me to keep him waiting,” Darwin laughed. “Though, you’ll stay the night, right? We can breakfast on tonight’s leftovers.”

“Absolutely. I want you to know though, that once we’re back, if you want to see me all you have to do is say so. We’ll see what’s what then.”

He was surprised by the offer. “Won’t Max have an issue with that?”

Li smiled now. “That all depends on how things are then. We’re not rushing into this by any means and I might enjoy being single for a while. I’ve never really been single at all. There was always Rhys. Knowing who you are supposed to marry your whole life sort of puts a crimp in your dating years. Aside from that person, dating doesn’t really happen.”

“Huh. That sucks, to be honest. I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d been scheduled to marry a particular girl. She’d probably have left me by now because I catted around on her or something. Humans can be a little funny about monogamy.”

“Betazoids too, but in the opposite direction. We are all for marrying and such but side things aren’t a big deal. Well, not normally. We all saw how Rhys felt about that, even when I had no side thing.” She shrugged and shook her head. “Think Iggy’s expecting us yet?


“No,” he leaned into her a little and pointed out towards the boat, “I think our hostess’ husband just delivered Iggy and our food out to the boat.” A small dinghy was coming back toward the beach; the sound of the oars was quietly hidden in the sound of the surf on the beach. “We’re alone out here. Wanna go for that swim? Or go back and swim by the boat?”

“Let’s start here. We can go back in a little while. No one will bother our clothes on the beach.”

“Even if they did...,” he shrugged and laughed. “Not like I’d give a damn.” He shed his clothes, waited till she’d done the same then picked her up and carried her into the water.

********************
M. Darwin
Vacationing in Style

Captain Li Hawke
The Single Lady

Ignatius J. Reilly-Zeferino
Feelin’ like a Queen