An Exchange of...Pleasantries

Posted on 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:25am by Commander C. Kos & Commander Terry Walsh

3,005 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Location: DS11 || Compound
Timeline: MD 1 || 1300 hours

Terry was glad that he had decided to go back down to the planet today. For some reason the station was starting to seem a little stuffy and the people assigned there were either jumpy or antsy. But he didn’t care; the mission was over and this was rest and relaxation time. And he planned on doing lots of that, which is why he went back down to the planet. He had been told that there were a lot of places to see and visit, but he wasn’t really that much of a tourist. That, and when it came to exploring planets, he really didn’t have as much time as he would have needed.

But he had found a place that he liked. It was a nice resort not too far from the beach that had a great wine list, at least for the Gamma Quadrant, and freshly grilled meat kabobs. The weather, though a balmy 88 degrees, was still comfortable due to the slight breeze. Thus Terry’s choice of clothing, sandals, cargo shorts, and his trademark white t-shirt, was very comfortable. He leaned back in his chair, put his sunglasses on, and took a sip of his Tulaberry wine. Life couldn’t get any better.

Mackenzie had been laying out on the beach for several hours, attempting to get a little color, something she, as a redhead, lacked, and reading a new study her mother had published. The article was technical enough that Mac had to read several passages more than once despite her own knowledge of astrophysics. Unlike her mother, the younger Kos had not done advanced degrees in the field, nor had she devoted her life to space sciences, so it made sense that she struggled with some of the more evolved intricacies of Dr. Fairfield-Kos' research.

Having only had a light breakfast of a bagel and a mimosa, she begin to feel the need for lunch. She pulled herself off the towel she had been laying on, brushed some errant sand off her leg, and pulled her strapless, light green, leaf-printed cover on. She wore it around her midsection, leaving the top portion of her bright blue one-piece swimsuit as her only covering above the waist. She picked up the towel and returned it to the rental counter on her way to the pedestrian path that led to the small commercial strip nearby.

She wandered around, not sure what she was craving. She was passing an outdoor eatery when she saw what she was in the mood for.

"Mister Walsh?" she said, approaching the Black Hawk's resident pilot. Since his arrival on the ship, Mac had been drawn to the former Marine. She couldn't quite place the feeling, but she did know that she felt safe when she was around him.

Terry, without rolling his head, moved his eyes in the direction of the familiar voice. Correction, he thought, life could get seriously better. He removed the sunglasses and looked up at the Commander. “I don’t see any ‘Mister’ around here, just a Terry.” Chuckling a little, he motioned over to the other chair, “Have a seat. You want something to drink,” he paused and glanced at his meat-only kabobs, “or eat?”

"Definitely food," she said with a smile, her red hair swaying with the breeze. "I could also go for a drink too." Lowering herself into the chair next to Walsh, she looked at the Lieutenant's glass. "What are we drinking?"

He waved at the skinny Bajoran waiter and motioned him over. “Tulaberry wine,” he replied. “It’s a Gamma quadrant drink. Not too bad, but nothing compared to what I brought with me. Locked up back in my quarters, I mean. Care to try some?”

"Of the tulaberry wine? Not really. It's too sweet." Her lips curled into a playful grin. "Inviting me to your room so soon? You don't waste any time do you?"

Terry then realized his misplaced wording, but let it slide. With a quiet laugh and coy smile of his own, he said. “Might as well drop the open invitation from the start and get it out of the way.” He hadn’t noticed that the waiter had made it over and was waiting for their order. Reddened from the sun or embarrassment, Terry couldn’t tell. “Whatever the lady wants to eat and drink.” He then looked back the redhead sitting next to him. “Sooo, Ma’am or Commander, what’ll you have?”

"Do you have Lurian kew beer?" she asked the waiter.

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

"Give me one of those. Tall. And...those kebabs look good," she said, pointing to Walsh's plate.

"Yes ma'am." The waiter then scurried off.

Her eyes inadvertently gave Walsh a long once-over. "You can call me Mac. At least when we're off duty together." She realized that she was twirling a wisp of her hair with her fingers. "What have you been doing with your R&R, Terry?"

Terry watched Mac twirl that little bit of hair. Then, he just watched Mac. When we’re off duty together she said. That means there’ll be more, he thought. He absentmindedly nodded his head. “I’ve spent most of the time so far on DS-11. Then it got too stuffy up there and I decided to see what I could find going on down here. Needless to say, it’s a whole lot less stuffy and there’s a lot more to see.” Then he paused. “And the scenery just keeps getting better and better.”

He took a sip of his wine. “How about you, Mac? What occupies your time?”

He's a sweet talker, Kos said to herself. "I was going to stay on the ship to oversee repairs, but Har...the Captain ordered me to relax. So I've been doing a lot of relaxing. Catching up on technical and science journals, avoiding intelligence reports..." Her voice trailed off. "I've been at the beach all day. Haven't gotten in the water, just focusing on getting some sun. I'd love to go for an ocean swim this afternoon. If I'm not otherwise occupied." She flashed a demure smile and added a playful giggle. You really are playing this up, she thought.

"I'm not sure what your plans are, but maybe you'd like to join me for a dip?"

That giggle from that green-eyed redhead, how could he resist. “You know, that’s the nice thing about cargo shorts...they can be used as swim trunks if need be. So, yeah, sounds like fun.” However, he did not miss her slip of the tongue. Oh, he was still going to flirt; even if he did end up piloting the ship on gamma shift. Simply ‘cause it was fun and she was worth it.

“Besides, when I’m on R&R, I don’t usually like to plan anything. I’m more of a spur of the moment guy.”

The waiter returned with Mac's beer and her kebabs right then. She thanked the Bajoran man and took a long swig of her kew beer. "How about this: we finish eating, maybe another drink, then we head to the beach."

“Sounds good to me,” he said, before taking another bite. That was some good food. “Just so long as you promise not to drown me. Us big guys can sink like a rock if we’re not careful.”

She chuckled. "I promise," she smiled sweetly at the muscular man across the table. "In fact, if something happens to you, I promise to do my best to resuscitate you." She bit off more of the grilled meat and savored its taste. "Wonderful seasoning on this," she shared, before drinking more of her beer. "Can you cook Terry?"

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, smiling. “As far as cooking, I mostly like to grill. But there aren’t too many places on a starship, outside of the mess hall’s kitchen, where I can do that. And I never get those kinds of privileges.” He took another bite, followed by the wine. “If you think this good, you should try some of the rubs I’ve put together. They’re terrific. Anyway, outside of work and all those journals, what do you like to do for fun?” This time he took a drink rather than a sip of his wine.

"I could arrange for you to use the mess sometime. Being First Officer has its benefits," she reminded him. "I'd love to try your rubs." She allowed the double entrendre to sink in while she finished her Lurian brew. "As for my free time," she began, motioning for the waiter, "I don't have much. Being XO takes most of my time. When I do get a reprieve from duty, I try to fit in some exercise." She turned to the Bajoran waiter who had just arrived. "Bring us a warp core breach. Two straws." The waiter nodded and scurried off. Mac looked pointedly at Walsh's arms. "Looks like you get some regular gym time in."

Terry took a long, last drink of his wine, considering her statement. She doesn’t miss a beat, that one, he thought. He winked, “Sounds like another dinner in our future, then.” He enjoyed the flirty repartee with Mac and looked forward to more of it. “Oh yeah, I hit the gym about three days a week. It’s usually at odd hours, though. I like to keep my workout regimen close to home.” He looked at Mac and wondered what kind of exercising she does. “But I might consider sharing, with the right gym partner, that is.”

"Your routine clearly works well for you," she returned, batting her eyelashes in an unnecessarily overt display. Such behavior was atypical for her. "I admit to shying away from weights. I also avoid running. There is nothing fun about running. I prefer swimming. I've also been known to attend Lieutenant Greenly's yoga classes on occasion," she explained. "And I try to keep up on my hand-to-hand combat."

The waiter returned with a large, smoking glass bowl filled to the brim with some kind of liquid. Two long straws rose through the bubbling clouds. The aroma of rum was fairly strong. "Shall we?" Mac asked, leaning in to grab one of the straws between her lips.

Terry watched and then leaned forward to take the other straw in his mouth. The rum was as strong as the aroma indicated, but good...really good. He looked up from the drink, still partaking, and realized that Mac’s eyes were brighter green than he first thought. Funny, he’d never thought about something like that before. Oh well.... One more sip and he leaned back. “That’s the best warp core breach I’ve ever had,” he said.

And he's staring into my eyes! she thought. He's a huge flirt, and he's good looking. Not sure where this is going, but I'm willing to see it play out. "My first warp core breach was back on Earth. When I was in the Academy in fact. My friends and I went over to Oakland to a bar that was rumored to have the strongest drinks in the Bay Area. The rumors were not inaccurate." She had more of the strong and fruity beverage, ate some more of her lunch, and then enjoyed another taste of the drink with four different types of rum in it.

"So Terry, did you get a room down here or have you been beaming back up to the BH every day?"

“I beam back up to the Hawk,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’ll probably go back up after our swim. I’ve got a new hunting holo-program I’ve been itching to try.” He finished the kebab he was currently working on and took a long drink.

"I needed to be off the ship, so I got a place. It's not far from here." A flirtatious smile brightened her face. "After we swim, I could show you some sights. My room has a great view."

“Of course, the holo-deck will always be there. I think I’d like to see the sights.” Terry returned her flirtatious smile with one of his own. Maybe it was the warp core breach or maybe it was...her. Yeah, it had to be her. “I think it’s time for that dip we talked about.”

"We could skip the beach. My room has a jacuzzi tub," she said, touching Walsh's hand with her own. She realized at that moment that she had been absent mindedly rubbing her bare foot on the pilot's leg.

Terry turned his hand over and clasped hers. He had also been keeping his legs drawn-up underneath the table as much as his six foot, two inch frame would allow. He didn’t want to take up all the room. But when he felt Mac’s bare foot, he stretched his leg completely out. “Sounds like a plan to me,” he replied. “Lead the way.”

A wild grin spread across Mac's face. She leaned forward, sucked down the rest of the warp core breach, and then stood and headed down the alley, pulling Walsh behind her. "Follow me!"

Terry, being pulled along, called out, “You’ve got it!” That wild grin...man, that wild grin made those green eyes light up like fire. He watched as her red hair blew about in the breeze.

It only took the duo a few short minutes to walk to the small inn where she was staying. Mac continued to lead Terry, holding his hand tightly, as she ascended the stairs to the second floor. Down to the end of the hallway, she opened the door to the left and stepped into her room. The inn had an oceanic motif, and Kos' room was no different. The walls were painted a beautiful blue-green, the same color as the open water that could be seen through the giant sliding glass door that led to the balcony. The drapes were white and gauzy, like wispy clouds on an otherwise clear day. There were many seashell accents throughout the living area. But Mac wasn't thinking about that.

Before the door could close, she had wrapped her arms around the towering helmsman and nibbled on his lower lip.

Terry leaned down, wrapped his arms around Mac, and returned her nibble. Then he picked up the five foot, six inch redhead, looked directly into her eyes, and kissed her.

She reveled in his kiss, his touch. It had been so long since she had enjoyed this much physical intimacy. Her heart was racing. Walsh was an incredible kisser, but eventually, they both needed to come up for air. Neither spoke. Instead, Mac motioned towards the bedroom with her head.

=====

The two officers lay asleep, entwined, in the cloud-like softness of the luxury bed. Awakened by an unknown feeling, Mackenzie opened her eyes. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Terry's face, his eyes still closed in slumber. She laid there a moment, feeling the heat and strength of the former Marine. The buzz from the alcohol was wearing off, and the endorphins from their romp were losing their potency. Deciding to go back to sleep, she closed her eyes and drifted off again.

=====

An hour elapsed before Mac woke again. She found herself laying in a new position, facing Terry this time. She reached out her hand and caressed his chest. It was chiseled, the muscles defined and strong. She could feel his heart beating calmly, his chest rising and falling with his breathing. She nuzzled her face into him, and, as an unfortunate side effect, Walsh began to stir.

Terry groaned a little, as one does when initially waking up, and stretched his legs. He then realized that Mac was nuzzled up to his chest. Mac, he thought, and exhaled deeply.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," she said softly.

“You, disturb me...not a chance Mackenzie,” he whispered. He put his arm around her and ran his hand through her hair.

"Did you still want to head to the beach?"

“I suppose we could, in a few minutes.” Terry pulled her in and hugged her with the arm he had laid over her. “Or you could just lay right there for a little while. Up to you.”

"Round two?" Mac teased. "Round three actually, I guess. At least for me," she giggled.

“I love that giggle,” he said.

She looked at the chronometer on the nightstand. "As much as I want to stay here, I really do want to go for a swim today. I'm supposed to have dinner with the Captain at 1900, so...," her voice trailed off.

“Ah,” replied Terry. “So...we’re gonna see each other again, right?” he asked.

"We see each other every day. We're on the same ship. And we're generally on the bridge at the same time." Her hand stroked his cheek, her finger tickled his ear. She gave him a kiss and then wiggled out from under his arm, and slid out of the bed. Standing beside the now-messy bed, nothing between her and the air, she was grateful for the warmth of the New Bajor. Otherwise her pale skin would be covered in goose bumps.

"Come on babe," she encouraged, while she looked for her bathing suit.

“Yeah, you’re right, honey.” Terry threw the covers back and started looking for his cargo shorts and t-shirt.

The two officers dressed and headed to the beach. True to what she had heard, the water was warm and, despite the ambient temperature, refreshing. Unfortunately, Mac had to call short their oceanic frolic. She kissed Walsh goodbye, thanking him for the wonderful afternoon, and promising that they would have dinner the next night.

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