A Meeting of the Minds, Part 1
Posted on Sat 25th Mar, 2023 @ 6:03am by Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels & Makila i'Hartelhai
Edited on on Sat 25th Mar, 2023 @ 6:33am
964 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Neither Yours Nor Mine
Location: Kellian Michaels' quarters
Timeline: MD -8, 1800 hours
Authors' Note: This series of posts takes place perhaps a week before Dangerous Baggage.
Kellian checked the shepherd's pie in the oven one last time. Not quite done yet. The salad was in the crisper of his refrigerator, and the bairin breac cake sat under a glass cake cover, minus charms, waiting to be slathered with butter and served with hot tea. He glanced at his watch. 30 minutes. Time for a quick sonic shower and clothing change.
After the shower he pulled on a pair of black slacks and a blue patterned shirt with a stand-up collar that was comfortable to wear for cello playing. He checked the shepherd's pie again. Yikes! The golden was beginning to verge on brown. Hastily, Kellian pulled it out of the oven and set it on the stove to rest.
Makila was watching the chrono as she dressed for her date. Absently chewing on a dark curl, she stood in her underwear, assessing her choices.
Finally she sighed and decided to put on a piece she'd bought at the display from New Romulus. It was a fusion of styles, and the tunic itself was a deep green, fitted to the hips, where it flared. The end of the tunic was scalloped, and layered so it looked like petals. The tunic was edged in silver, were embroidered with Romulan patterns. The belt was a deep emerald green and wrapped around her waist and hips twice before falling in a cascade. The leggings that went under it were a deep rosy pink. A pair of flats completed the look.
Leaving her house she found her way to Kellian's quarters and rang the chime.
Kellian looked the pie over critically. Not too bad, and certainly better than his father's first attempts at baking shepherd's pie had been. The memory made Kellian snicker to himself as he went to open the door.
He saw a vision in green and pink. "Makila, come in," Kellian said, smiling, and stepped aside for her. "It feels like forever since I've seen you. How've you been?"
"Oh quite well. Between the clinic and my hours with Dr. Addams my hours are quite full. No moreso than one would expect though, I enjoy my work.
Kellian shut the door and gestured toward the sofa. "I'm glad you were able to get off. I've always heard interns' work schedules are notoriously long. Can I get you anything to drink? I've got tea, cola, and coffee, and the replicator can always make something."
"Oh tea would be lovely. " Makila answered settling down on the couch and tracking Kellian's motions with her eyes. "And yes, I am busy, but Dr. Addams is a fair taskmistress. She doesn't expect us to exceed our physical limitations and be superhuman. It's quite refreshing. "
"I've never understood what used to be the reason for expecting someone to work to the point of exhaustion and possibly to the point of making mistakes," Kellian said. "I'd rather my doctor in training be well rested when seeing me." He gave her a wry look. "Thus speaks a security officer who has worked his fair share of long hours. Go figure."
He went into the small kitchenette in his quarters and set a kettle of water on to boil. Kellian dangled four bags of an aromatic black tea with faint scents of orange and cinnamon in it and then fixed up a tea tray. Soon the kettle squealed, and he filled the teapot with the boiling water, leaving the tea to steep. He brought the tea over to his sitting area and poured out, adding only sweetener to his own cup after offering a filled cup to Makila.
"How's your Dad doing?" Kellian asked after he took a sip.
"Well enough. He throws himself so much into his work because I think he is lonely. I'm half tempted to set him up on a blind date." She laughed even as she cradled the tea in her hands absorbing the warmth from the cup.
"There have been times when I've considered doing that for my father, too, but I've usually been too far away to do anything about it," Kellian said. "Who are you considering as his potential date?"
"I'm not actually sure. ". Makila chuckled, sipping her tea." The women I am around most of the time are not exactly prime dating material. The rest of the time I am in sickbay and he'd never get involved with a direct coworker. Do you have any ideas?"
"Not off the top of my head," Kellian said. "I like that you think about your Dad's happiness."
"He spent his life doing that for me, at the sacrifice of his own happiness. It seems fair, and doing so takes nothing from me but time. " She knew he didn't resent her but she also knew how easily he could.
He sipped from his tea. "I heard from my Dad, and he wants to come visit here in a few weeks. I'd like to introduce him to you, if you don't mind."
"You wish for me to meet your father? How lovely. Please let me know when he is to arrive so I can adjust my schedule accordingly.". Makila couldn't help but smile at the idea.
"It'll be at least a month before he can leave," Kellian said. "I'll tell you as soon as I have an exact date."
Her cheeks darkened at the thought of meeting his father, the man who had shaped Kellian into the man he was today. That was a significant step in human relationships, but theirs wasn't typical and she had to wonder what it meant for them. Did it mean anything?
(To be continued.)
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