Daddy's Day Out (Part II)

Posted on Sat 1st Jun, 2019 @ 5:22pm by Lieutenant JG Artyom Mikhailov
Edited on on Sat 1st Jun, 2019 @ 5:24pm

879 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Promenade, Deck 586
Timeline: MD 5, 1420

"You don't need to be a squirrel, Matthew." Artyom chided his two and a half year old son who had begun stuffing the remaining corndogs in his mouth, presumably so the older Bella sitting across from him couldn't steal them. Artyom wasn't sure what the right way to address the problem directly was, given that Matthew was still adjusting to life with other people. He pulled the plate of corndogs away from Matthew and towards himself so that the boy didn't get the mistaken impression that his father was selling him out by giving them to Bella. Nevertheless, Matthew protested with a full mouth of food, calling out a word that loosely sounded like mine "Eat what's in your mouth first, and then you can have more," Artyom said before turning back to Anthony.

"Ah, the good old days," McCabe laughed. "It will get better after a while. Arabella and I are out for an afternoon of fun and games. We're going to her favorite park shortly. Since you're new on the base, I invite you and Matthew to come along. Bella is normally quite the attentive protector, so I think you can trust no harm will come from her. And we'll be right there, anyway. There's a playground on our deck that she prefers even to the one in Tivoli Gardens, which is good, because that one is a little too close to the river for my comfort." He shook his head at the folly of the playground designers. "I live on Deck 28, by the way."

Anthony glanced at his daughter and frowned slightly, "Bella, mind your manners. You know better." The girl had copied young Matthew's chipmunk cheeks. She looked down, blushing and nodded her head, as she knew what her father would say if she tried to talk with food in her mouth.

Artyom smiled towards Bella for a moment as there was a small relief in Matthew's antics not being limited to himself, then looked back to Matthew who finally looked like he was at least trying to chew the mass in his own mouth. "What do you say, Matthew? Do you want to go play?" The young boy nodded excitedly, and even tried to say something which was impossible given how full his mouth was. "That is very generous, thank you. We are on deck 43."

Arabella swallowed and drank some milk, then looked at Matthew's dad and said, "I'll take good care of him, I pwomise. I won't let nobody hurt him."

"Anybody, Bella," her father corrected, "but I'm sure we can trust you. Matthew is a little younger, so you'll have to be careful what you choose to be sure it isn't too difficult for him."

The girl nodded and wrote an X across her chest with her finger. "I pwomise."

"Good girl. Let's finish lunch first, though. You're going to need energy to fuel all that play you've been planning!" Anthony smiled at Matthew and his daughter.

Turning back to Mikhailov, he said, "My wife has been MIA since 2389, but my sister lives with us and helps with the mothering influence." He wouldn't ask, because it was rude, but he wanted the other man to understand his own circumstances.

The personal admission surprised Artyom, who could also manage to relate to Anthony's circumstances. At least Anthony had help; with most of Artyom's family still on Saga-Prodigy -- a non-Federation aligned world -- and there being no ties between him and Rees's family, he was largely left to raising Matthew on his own. There was a lot he was still trying to figure out about how to do that.

"It is fortunate that you have help, at least. But I am sorry to hear of your wife." Artyom briefly considered revealing his own past, but decided against doing so lest it seem like he were trying to compete for the greatest sob-story. Artyom looked down at his plate and realized that he'd nearly cleared it during their conversation. He had been hungry, and real food in absence of the native plant life he'd been used to after the last three years was definitely a win. "What happened, exactly?" he asked, partly because the follow up question seemed appropriate and partly because Artyom was genuinely intrigued.

McCabe shrugged, "Starfleet life. We couldn't get posted together after the first two years of marriage, not high enough up the chain, I guess. She was assigned a deep space mission, and then to an away team investigating an unusual planet. During that investigation, she and another team member disappeared. No one knows what happened to them, so I kind of live in two worlds, married and not married. I guess I could dissolve the marriage, but it doesn't seem right, and ...."

Tony paused, thinking, Who wants to know how I feel? No one, that's who. He stuck a grin on his face. "Anyway, it keeps the women away if I keep wearing the ring." He held up his hand with a gold band on it.

Looking at Arabella, he said, "You about finished, Punkin?"

She nodded, drinking the last of her milk. "Daddy, how many times I gots to say I not a punkin?"

He laughed, "Oh, about a thousand more!"

 

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