Paying A Visit

Posted on 05 Dec 2017 @ 9:52pm by Ensign Kelly Khan & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler

3,784 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: November 15, 2388

It was with a great deal of trepidation that Ensign Khan approached the Captain's quarters, partially hidden behind a large bouquet of silk pink tiger lily's with smaller purple flowers mixed in and all held in a clear crystal vase.

She wasn't sure if Joey wanted to see her, but she felt bad about the reaction the older woman had to the artisan chocolate she had shared with her. She stopped at the front of the doorl and took a breath, then swallowed hard before she tapped on the door panel to indicate a visitor.

Inside, Joey was lounging on the couch with her two dogs while she caught up on some reading. After the incident in Commander Walsh’s office followed by a trip to sickbay, she felt much better, though she was a bit embarrassed by her behavior. Still, Terry, nor Camila, seemed to be too bothered by it, which was good for her. It actually meant a lot that the two officers accompanied her, and that gave her more incentive to make it up to them.

She was just about the set the PADD down when the chime alerted her of someone’s presence on the other side of the door. Joey wasn’t expecting company, but perhaps it was someone coming to check in on her. That list was pretty short, but still possible. “Come in,” she called, leaning forward to place the PADD on the coffee table.

Kelly took a calming breath which didn't really calm her down and entered when the door slid open, the flowers held out in front of her as a peace offering...or maybe a shield. "Lieutenant Geisler?" she asked as she peeked around the edge of the bouquet. "I brought you something."

“And they’re beautiful,” the taller woman said with a smile. “Thank you. You can put them on the coffee table. And stop hiding. I’m not going to beat you or anything.”

The short brunette approached and set them on the coffee table with a hesitant smile. "I'm really sorry that the chocolate had a bad reaction for you, Lieutenant," she said as she took a step back. "I replicated these in silk and made sure they didn't contain any allergens or anything."

Joey shook her head. "There's no need to apologize to me, Kel. You had no way of knowing it would cause that kind of reaction, and neither did I. I'm okay, and so are the babies, which to me, is a good thing," she said, gesturing for Kelly to take a seat. It was rather sweet that the young woman came to check on her, and brough a smile to her face. "But, I'm curious to know how you found out about what happened."

Kelly approached and took a seat near Joey, but not too close. "Lieutenants Sterek and Di Pasquale came back and told me what happened and Lieutenant Sterek took my candy," she said. "I'll get it back, but he wanted to examine it to make sure it wasn't something in it that caused the reaction."

"That's understandable, and I'm sorry for causing you any trouble. What happened was... embarrassing, to say least, and I'm just glad that it's over."

"They didn't tell me what happened, just that it was an adverse reaction. I know it was really good chocolate and gave me a speedy buzz, but I didn't think it would make someone sick," the Ensign told her.

Joey shifted around a bit, earning a groan from Pequeno when she disturbed him, then shook her head. "It definitely wasn't something that I planned to happen, but it did, and now all we can do is move on from it. I need to be careful with my chocolate intake now, and while I was there, Doctor Sterek confirmed the twins and put it into my record."

"Twins....you're having twins!" Kelly exclaimed and nearly rocketed out of her seat and gave Joey a big, if careful hug and kissed her cheek. "First I find out that you're marrying the Captain and now you're having twins!" She gave a cheeky grin and wink. "So you're that mystery woman that no one knew about."

Joey returned the hug and blinked. “Wait... there was a mystery woman?” She pulled back slightly to study the young woman. “You need to tell me about this. Have a seat... get comfortable.”

The brunette sat down again and looked at the taller woman. "We figured it had to be someone," she said. "The rumor mill was deader than Denebian Slime Devil after meeting an angry Klingon, but everyone noticed that the Captain seemed different. Ya know, happy and stuff, so we knew there had to be a woman. Being on different decks on the old Black Hawk, we couldn't set up a watch, but two and two always equals someone else in the picture."

Joey couldn't help but laugh at the explanation. "I suppose that makes sense to me," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "And, yes, I suppose I am the mystery woman, but there is no more mystery since we're married and obviously expecting." To drive that point home, she placed a hand against her ever growing abdomen.

"How long were you together before you got married?" Kelly asked her. "Not that it's any of my business, but you said you were pregnant when you came back from shore leave. Did you spent it with him?"

"We've been together since shortly after I arrived on board," the taller woman replied, smiling as the memories resurfaced. Those were definitely good times, and she was looking forward to seeing what the future held for their little family. "Yes. We left to go to Earth shortly after you and the others graduated. We spent some time in Hawaii with my family, went to see his family in Colorado, then spent the remaining time we had alone together. With the boys, of course."

"Wow...and kept it a secret that long. No wonder you became Intel," the brunette Ensign said with a smile. "I'm really surprised that no one found out before now, but that Yeoman of his runs the ship under an iron thumb. I doubt anyone would even find out where he was if she didn't allow it."

"Not only is she his Yeoman, but she's also family, so Mila will do whatever she can to keep her family safe," Joey explained, reaching out to run the dogs heads. "Were you surprised to get the wedding invite?"

"Chief Rasputin is related to the Captain, too?" Kelly asked, blinking in surprise. "Or is she related to you?"

Joey smiled. "No to both questions, but sometimes, you get so close to people that they just become family."

"That's true," the young woman said. "I haven't had any run ins with her, but I know a guy who had a roommate that was dating someone in the enlisted ranks who saw her put a Petty Officer against a bulkhead with her glare alone and stripped off three layers of skin with her voice."

"I suppose it could happen," she agreed. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll have a Drunken Oreo Madness," Kelly said. "Synthohol or not, that drink is amazing."

"Well... I was going to get it, but I don't want to get anything that might tempt me. I've officially been limited on my chocolate intake now," Joey explain, gesturing toward the replicator. "You're welcome to whatever you want to get, though. But now, I want an Oreo milkshake. That sounds pretty amazing right now."

"The only chocolate it has in it is from the Oreos and mini chocolate chips on the side, but you couldn't have one anyway. It has rum chata and vodka in it," the diminutive officer said as she went over and placed the order for hers and Joey's drinks. When it materialized, Kelly took hers and licked the vanilla frosting and chocolate chips off one area, getting whipped cream on her nose in the process before she brought them back to where her friend was and offered her the Oreo shake. "Here you go."

Joey lit up like a Christmas tree and accepted the Oreo shake. "Thank you, Kel," she said, taking a sip of the deliciousness inside the glass she was holding. "I haven't touched coffee since I found out I was pregnant, and I've been making a pretty decent attempt at avoiding caffeine period. Coffee, of course, makes me nauseous, I don't think I'll have to worry about drinking that. But, from what I read, morning sickness doesn't stick around forever, and I may find myself having a cup at some point." Just the thought of that made her stomach flip, though.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry you can't have coffee. That's the wake up and go juice of choice. Of course, I prefer Raktajino," Kelly said as she took the Oreo Ice Cream cookie out of the whipped cream and offered it to Joey. "This is just a bit over the top for something like this, but the rest of it is mine." She started to lean back, then crossed her eyes and looked down. "I have whipped cream on my nose, don't I?"

"The Peanuts thank you," the taller woman said as she accepted the cookie. It was produced by the replicator, so it wouldn't hurt anyone. Joey bit into it, chewed it up, then swallowed it. "You once told me that you had a lot of siblings. How did your parents balance kids and career?"

"It's easy to do when you work from home," the shorter woman said. "My Mom runs a starcruiser company and my Papa makes new replicator recipes for desserts. I'm the oldest, then there's Sigmund and Signy, Liam who's adopted, Layne, Tori who is Liam's sister and adopted, too, and my half sister Lea."

"Sounds like a full house. I was an only child up until about ten months ago. My parents decided to give it another go, and now I have a brother. The age difference there is pretty crazy, but he's insanely cute, and I can't wait to be able to see him again," Joey said, spooning some of the milkshake into her mouth. It was thick like she liked them, but still too thick for her to drink with a straw. Not that she was complaining. "And now, he's going to have nieces and nephews that won't be too much younger than he is. What about you and Quinn? Are there wedding bells and kids in the future there?"

Kelly wiped her nose and began working on the whipped cream and Oreo crumbs on top of the drink, pausing to get a lick of vanilla frosting and chocolate chips off the side. "I was the only child until I was ten," she said after she licked her lips clean. "I'm glad you have a little brother. I bet that was a huge surprise for you. As for me and Quinn, no, there's no wedding bells. I think the thought scares him. I teased him with it when we were in Las Vegas and I thought he was going to faint. I'm really glad that you and Captain Geisler are together. He needed someone special in his life."

"I think I needed him more, to be perfectly honest," the older woman admitted. "He is an amazing man, and I am so lucky that I get to have him in my life. He completes me. And don't worry about Quinn... he'll come around when the time is right. It's unlikely he isn't ready for such a huge step. After all... you both only just graduated the academy and have your whole lives ahead of you. Had I not met Harvey, I can almost guarantee that I would have never gotten married, nor would I have been starting a family."

"Aren't you worried about starting a family on a ship as active as this one?" Kelly asked as she finally managed to get to the good stuff under the whipped cream and took a big drink. "I mean, considering what we've gone through, we're likely to face things just as nasty in the future."

"Yes, I'm worried, but they'll be safer here on a starship than any starbase. On a starship, there's a chance of avoiding danger. You don't get that on a starbase," Joey explained. "Between Harvey and I, we'll be able to keep them safe."

The petite woman gave the frosting on the side of her glass another lick and shivered at the sugary goodness. "That and the fact that we have a pretty solid crew and a lot more than we had on the old Black Hawk and the design of this one. I have to admit, I kind of miss the Akira. I wasn't expecting to be assigned back here, but I'm glad that the Captain fought to get us all back together. I would have missed you and the others I've gotten to know."

"When my orders came through, I thought I was going to be assigned to another ship. I went into full on panic mode. I was fully prepared to retire right there if that's what I had to do. But, thankfully, everything worked out, and the family is back together now."

"I'm just glad that I got assigned back here," Kelly said. "I like Captain Geisler. Me and him sort of bonded after I had command of the Chimera and we had a long talk. That's when he promoted me to Ensign. He's a good man and a great Commander and I couldn't ask for anyone better despite all the madness we've been through. I can honestly say that most of my senior class didn't see a quarter of the action that I did. It really helped me understand what it's like to be an officer."

"It's definitely not for the faint of heart, that's for sure," she said, spooning another bite of the sweet concoction into her mouth. Once she swallowed it, she looked back to Kelly. "There's not another Commanding Officer that I want to serve under. This ship is the last ship I will ever serve on."

The young officer took another drink of her Oreo Madness and sighed in contentment. "I don't think I want to, either, but I have career goals that I know are going to take me away from here one day. Besides, young officers don't get to pick the ships they want unless they're really good at what they do. What led you to come to the Black Hawk?"

There was zero hesitation in her reply. "Change. I spent so many years as a Close Protection Officer and nearly getting killed by those who were angry at me for preventing them from carrying out what they saw as their duty, but it was my job to protect them. I craved stability, and bouncing from place to place... dignitary after dignitary... I wasn't getting that. So, I put in for a more permanent assignment, and that's how I came to be here. I think it was meant to be."

"So...you went from place to place with people trying to kill you....to going to place to place with people trying to kill you. That sounds stable to me," Kelly quipped deadpan before she took another sip of her drink."I'd probably have gone crazy with some of the self-important people giving me orders when my only job was to keep them alive."

"You would think that, but I developed lasting friendships with some of them. It was what I loved to do, and I have to admit that I miss it," Joey commented, but found herself shaking her head. "I wouldn't give up the life I have now for anything, though."

"Now you're going to have three people to protect for life," the young woman said before she got bold. "Would you mind if I felt your stomach, Joey?"

Joey shook her head and pushed the covers away to give the young woman better access. "I don't mind, but you won't feel anything. I haven't felt thing yet, either, but according to the reading I've been doing, that's not going to happen for some weeks." Her belly was larger than average for someone as far along as she was, but that was due to her carrying twins.

Kelly set her glass down and rubbed her hands together briskly to warm them up before she reached over to lay them on Joey's abdomen. She gently traced the small curve of her stomach, pausing once or twice before she removed them. "You're right, but they're definitely growing. I'd say another three weeks and you'll probably feel something based on what I know from my Mom's pregnancies. Have you thought about doing a plaster cast of your stomach when you get bigger?"

"I've given it some thought, and I'd like to do it, but that's all going to come down to being able to find someone who can do it and time."

"I know how to do it," the young brunette said. "I've done it for my Mom twice and twice for one of my friends. I'd suggest one of you and Captain Geisler with both of your hands joining to form a heart over your stomach with a date in the middle of it, and two teddy bears above it with the words 'Twins are born with a best friend'," she said as the idea came to her.

Joey smiled. "That's actually rather sweet, but my husband is an incredibly busy man, and I don't know if he'll be able to sit around while everything firms up. It's something we'll have to talk about closer to when the time comes, though, it seems things keep getting pushed aside because there's time. Before we know it, there won't be anymore time, and I'll be delivering them."

"Stun him," Kelly joked, then got serious. "Any man worthy of being a Dad can take a half an hour out of their day for something that would immortalize something which would be a pivotal moment in their lives. I'll convince him to do it."

"You don't have to do that. I'll talk to him, and for the record, he's going to be and amazing father to his children," Joey said, trying not to sound too snippy. Of course, she was quite protective of her husband, and would be even more so when the twins arrived.

"I don't doubt that at all," the short woman said. "Another idea would be to get a scan of his hand and forearm and I could add it to the cast if he doesn't have the time for it. I could replicate a hand from the scan and put it on there."

"We'll see what happens with it when it's closer to time. I won't be doing anything like that until I'm farther along, so there's still time before we have to make any definitive plans. I definitely want to do it, though."

"I'll make a note of it when I get back to my quarters," Kelly said before she picked up her drink and took another sip of it. She eyed the frosting on the side of it that remained and frowned. "As good as this is, I think the frosted rim is just a little too much. It's still delicious, though. Are you going to take time off when you're closer to delivering?"

"I plan to work until my water breaks," the Intel Chief answered honestly. "And even after I deliver, I plan to continue working."

"I'd say take six weeks off after you deliver," the Flight Ensign said. "That's the time when bonding with the babies is most important. That, and you'll never get any sleep at all and be up at all hours. You'll also start noticing really strange things happening which will let you know when they need you."

Joey stuck her spoon into the glass she was holding only to hit the bottom of it. She'd managed to reach the bottom without even realizing it, which caused her to frown, but one was enough. "I'm sure Harvey will want me to take time off, too, but I'm not the one who can just sit around and do nothing when there's a lot to be done."

Kelly finished her drink and sighed in contentment, then hiccuped. "You're Intel now, which means a lot of your work is sit down and analyze stuff, right? You could work from here and be here for the Peanuts at the same time. Problem solved."

"That's what I was planning to do. And I can meet with my people from here if I need to as well," Joey pointed out. "I want to thank you again for the flowers. They're beautiful, and I love them."

"You're welcome," the young woman said. "They're called Stargazer Lilies. I wish I knew what they smelled like, but I didn't want to risk you having another reaction to something."

Joey smiled. "Regardless, it was incredibly thoughtful of you. And, I think the chocolate was a fluke thing."

"I really hope so," Kelly said. "When I ate a piece of it, I was going at maximum warp until the sugar high ended and then I crashed face first into bed for a few hours. I thought I had a hangover the next day."

"Oh boy... the horrible feeling isn't over yet?" Joey asked as a frown formed on her lips. "I already feel pretty horrible, and want to do nothing but sleep right now."

"Well, you already went to Medical and I assume that they gave you something for it, so I'd say that you're safe from the after effects of it. I should be going, though. I've taken up enough of your time and you need to get all the rest you can." She came to her feet and reached for Joey's empty glass. "I'll recycle these for us."

"Thank you, Kelly, and come by any time. I always look forward to our visits," she said with a smile.

Kelly took the glasses to the recycler and watched them dematerialize, then gave Joey a smile. "It's always a pleasure," she said as she headed for the door. "Tell the Captain I said hi and congrats." With that, she was out the door and gone.

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