Date Night

Posted on Sat 30th Oct, 2021 @ 10:25pm by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark

1,580 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Serena's Quarters
Timeline: MD 2, 1830

As he walked up to Serena's quarters, Andrew focused his mind as best he could to block out the distractions, both work and personal related. He wanted tonight with her to be perfect and that meant burying some emotions at least temporarily. With bouquet of flowers in one hand and a synthehol version of the wine he and Serena shared on a previous date in the other, Andrew leaned with his elbow to press the door chime and waited.

With a last pat to her hair ornament, Serena whirled toward the door. Expecting it to be Andrew, punctual as always, she said, "Computer, allow entrance."

When he stepped through the door, Alia thought her date looked just fine and prepared for a good evening, as she'd hoped. There hadn't been time lately for much relaxation together, so she hoped tonight would go well.

"Andrew!" she said, taking the flowers from him. "How sweet of you. You know how much I like a mixed bouquet!" Come on in and have a seat while I put these in a vase. And wine, too? I'll bring glasses. How have you been?" she asked as she reached under the small sink for a vase. "It seems we've hardly had time to say hello in passing lately!" She set the vase of flowers on the cabinet in front of the mirror and took two glasses from the wine shelf, walking over to sit next to Eberstark on the sofa.

Handing over the bottle and flowers, he smiled, "Well, I couldn't come empty handed that's for sure," pointing at the bottle Serena was opening, "And it's not the real stuff. Only synthehol."

Finding his seat, Andrew involuntarily let out a sigh as he looked forward, "I'm sorry for that. I've been so caught up in work," pausing to turn to Serena, "I'm sure the news and rumors made their way to Orchids by now. But I'm glad I'm here now with you. I can try to forget about that and other stresses, at least for a limited time. How have you been?"

"Oh things go on with their regular rhythm at work, though one of our AIs has gone adventuring, not sure doing what. Otherwise, business is good and Miss Lantz is saving for something, but she doesn't say what. An expansion to a lower market, maybe? Now, as for these rumors ... yes, there have been some wild ones flying around. I'm not sure what to believe. I don't think I want to visit Brown Sector and the Zodiac right now, though," Serena said with a smile and held out her glass to tap Andrew's. "Here's to quiet times."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. An AI adventuring? He thought about following up on the tangent but his mind could only take so many adventures at once.

Raising his glass in return, Andrew smiled, "At least temporarily. I'll toast to that." As their glasses touched and they each took a sip, Andrew began to speak but hesitated, wondering if he was asking too much of Serena, "May I ask your advice on something that's a little personal? Family related, I guess." He immediately followed up with, "I'm sorry. Don't want to ruin the mood or anything, if that makes you feel uncomfortable. We can just forget I ever said anything."

Serena motioned to her sofa and led the way to the comfortable seating. "I'm no expert on family relations, but I get along with mine. Ask away, and if I can help, I will. If I can't, well, you're no worse off, right?"

Andrew relaxed a little at the warm response, "Well, I guess that is just it. I haven't really had a relationship with mine outside of a few subspace communications. Most of mine have stayed on Earth, while I've been pretty far from it, which doesn't help. But, honestly, it just seems like the more I moved in Starfleet, the less communication there was," he paused. "Sorry. Rambling again. I guess I bring this up because of some recent personal things on my end," he smiled warmly at Serena, "And finding out about family events secondhand. I just don't know if I should be the one to kind of extend the olive branch. Does that make sense?"

"It might. I take it you are feeling left out of the family loop? And you want to be closer to your family members, feel more a part of things? I wonder, do they have any idea what you've done out here? I've heard of some pretty heroic acts on your part. If there's one family member you feel closer to than others ... maybe a newsy catch-up letter with them, sharing a little of your life would evoke a similar letter back. Or a holo message might be better." Serena thought about the messages she sent home.

"And be sure to ask a few questions about them ... maybe details on something you did hear about? Is that something you'd feel comfortable doing?" She sipped her drink again, hoping she wasn't giving him bad advice.

He could feel his face redden with embarrassment, "I certainly wouldn't use the word heroic. But point taken. It's just been so long since we had a consistent line of communication that I guess I would feel weird just sending a message out of the blue." He thought back to his time aboard USS Samurai.

"I did send a few messages while I was serving on my last assignment, but the responses were usually ... succinct let's say. My family is pretty close with each other, since they are on Earth, and I don't think my father really ever came to grips with me joining Starfleet. I'm closest to my sister, but I feel like I haven't kept up with her as much either, because I don't want to put her in an awkward position with our father."

Hearing himself speak, Andrew shook his head, "Sorry. Didn't mean this to turn into a counseling session. I probably should just take the high road and reach out again and see where it goes," he smiled. "I haven't had a real conversation with my father in almost a decade, so we should have a lot to talk about, right?"

He did not anticipate revealing to, and probably boring, Serena with this much detail, but he was glad that she made him relaxed enough to talk about them nonetheless.

"A lot can change in a decade, Andrew," Serena reminded him. "Maybe you have family members who would welcome hearing from you ... maybe even your father. Sometimes the person on the other end doesn't know how to fix things, either. Being older is no guarantee that you have those kinds of answers. My father and grandfather spent over 25 years not talking and when they finally did, both of them discovered they had wanted to change things but had no idea how to do it." She smiled encouragement. "Give it a shot. The worst that can happen is that your father is still holding a grudge. But what if he isn't?"

Andrew smiled back, "You're right, of course. From a neutral perspective, it must seem pretty crazy that we both allowed it to go on for this long," shaking his head, "I'm sorry to unload on you today, but I very much appreciate your patience and advice. And for giving me a reason to at least find out if there is a relationship to salvage. We haven't spoken in so long but I already know that he would like you."

"Maybe, but for me to like him, he has to like you," Serena smiled at him. "That could be a big stumbling block if he wants to hang on to his past feelings. I think you might be surprised, though, and don't feel bad about talking about this. Whatever else we are, we are friends and friends discuss things."

After a moment, she added, "Do you hear anything about him from your sister? Like how his health is? That can change a person's feelings, too, help them understand things in a new way."

Andrew hesitated and answered her question, "I haven't from her, no. I have heard from some family friends I still stay in touch with that he has taken a step back from the business he operates on Earth, which I admit doesn't really mean anything. But he's also the type of person with a very skewed work/life balance, so I would be lying if that wasn't on my mind," brushing aside some thoughts. "I would have to assume that someone would have let me know if it was serious, though," awkwardly smiling. "At least, I hope so."

"For your own peace of mind, maybe it's time to check in," Serena said, stroking his arm and sliding her fingers in between his. "That way you'll know for sure, and if he isn't welcoming ... well, you'll still know he's alright." Another swallow of her drink reminded her that dinner should be ready any minute.

Accepting her hand, Andrew smiled back, "No argument here." Looking into her eyes, he moved closer to Serena on the sofa, "As for us. I know we haven't exactly been spending time together consistently but I was wondering if you would be interested in taking our relationship to the next level," he winced as the words came out, hearing how cliched he sounded, but hoping Serena would be kind in her response.

To be continued ...

 

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