by Vol Tryst and Lt. Grace
Stardate 110316.4
Time: Current
-=Quarters of the Reece family, USS Serendipity=-
Stardate 110316.4
Time: Current
-=Quarters of the Reece family, USS Serendipity=-
Vol sighed patiently as he watched just the feet and legs of his dear friend February Grace moving before him. The top and middle portions of her willowy form had disappeared into a large closet, and her voice was muffled as she ran over her apparel options.
"No... no... no... definitely not going to happen."
Vol ducked as she tossed a blouse, hanger and all, over her shoulder, narrowly missing his head.
"If you don't decide soon..."
"I know. I know. But you sprung this on me when I thought the biggest event of my day would be having animal crackers between Sesame Street and naptime."
"Oh, well, if it's too much of an inconvenience for you, I wouldn't want you to miss an episode of—"
"Don't you dare." Bru could be quite threatening even if was just through her voice. Vol was still standing, staring at the closed door... completely quite.
"Frankly, it took us long enough to find time together. I yelped when Dabin told me of our date, and I'm thrilled, so don't you dare walk out on me now mister."
Vol remained very, very, quiet.
"Vol?" Bru inquired. Still nothing.
"VOL!"
"I'm still right here you silly goose." Another hanger and blouse game flying at Vol which he almost failed to evade.
"You're mean!"
"You're beautiful."
February huffed. "This would go by a lot quicker if I knew where I was going."
"How would it be a surprise if you knew where we were going?"
"I'm not a huge fan of surprises, you know," Bru said, sticking her head out of the closet and revealing a head of hair completely askew and possessed of static electricity.
She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. "I look like a blonde-ish bride of Frankenstein. With formula stains on everything I own."
"Then we need to get you something new." Vol tugged her out of the closet by her hand, gently positioning her before the replicator. He looked her up and down. "Yes. Definitely black."
"Black?"
"Yes. Pink stays home today."
"Intriguing." Bru nodded. "I leave myself in your capable hands."
Vol moved to the replicator and began tapping the panel, avoiding the speech interface so as to avoid spoiling the unveiling.
He returned with a simple black dress, soft and elegant. Sleeveless, with a simple neckline and tailored bodice leading to a skirt that would swirl and swish around her as she moved.
Bru looked at it approvingly. "Dude, I love you even more than I did thirty seconds ago, if that is possible.”
“It’s always possible.”
“So very, very true.” She held the dress up to herself and nodded again, but the up and down motion turned to a rapid side to side, and Vol mirrored her movements with much amusement as he anticipated what she was about to say.
“I know, I know. No high heels.”
“You know me so well.” She smiled once again at the thought of the day that awaited her: anything Vol would plan would have to be a fabulous time. “Wherever you're taking me, I don't want to end up detouring to the emergency room."
"I think that can be avoided." Vol moved to her closet and picked out a simple pair of black boots. "These comfortable?"
"Very. Why do you ask?"
"You're in for a bit of a walk."
-=USS Serendipity - Holodeck One - Early 21st Century Earth=-
"Oh Vol..." Bru was in awe.
Vol paused a moment to enjoy the sight as his friend walked on a few paces ahead of him. He held his hands together behind his back and he was absolutely beaming as the waves of joy, surprise and wonder she felt washed over him. He had done good. February turned to look at him.
"Where are we?"
"Le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal."
Bru blinked. Vol chuckled.
"The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts." He smiled. "This particular exhibit is called The Earth is Blue Like an Orange. I know how much you love art and although I'm not sure if Pre-Warp Era Art is to your liking, I thought you might still take some pleasure out of this."
February grinned. “Do I ever.” She grabbed Vol's hand and dragged him down the halls. The floors shone in brilliant black marble, and the walls were white opaque glass. The ceiling was comprised of windows. It was difficult to guess the size of the museum, no matter where you were positioned the place seemed huge.
The rooms displaying the exhibit seemed to be of a different world. The pieces (paintings, sculptures, instillations, photographs and more) experimented with colour, primarily. Bright colours. This place reshaped the fundamentals of the worlds of fantasy, such as Wonderland and Neverland, and brought them together to speaks volumes about relevant issues of the time—while being marvelous simultaneously.
Bru seemed to hurry from piece to piece, desperate to take it all in, in what she was certain would be too short a span of time to see it all.
No matter what she did, these days, it seemed she never had enough time.
Vol sensed the shift in her mood, the conflicting emotions within her as she stood still and quiet, tilting her head side to side as she analyzed the piece.
Vol read the small plaque beside the sculpture “The Nest, by Piccinini.” He nodded. “Creative use of an unusual medium.”
“Mother and child.” Bru replied. “A mother protecting her child, at all cost.”
“That is the natural, maternal instinct.” Vol walked a few steps closer and he watched as her shoulders slumped more than a little. “You do a fine job of it. Sophie is a very happy baby. I wonder, though.” He paused, and February’s head snapped toward him.
“Wonder what?” She put one hand on her hip and shifted uncomfortably. “You know so much about me Vol you rarely have to ‘wonder’ anything.”
“I wonder, when in all this ‘nest building’ that you’re doing, is the last time you did something just for yourself?”
“Besides today?”
Vol nodded and waited as she tried to scan her recent memory for such an event. “I can’t remember.”
“That concerns me. As your friend and as Ship’s Counselor.” He pursed his lips. “I hate to put on a different hat so suddenly but I just have to say this now, while I have the chance. I have to ask when the last time was you got out your easel and painted something?”
February laughed. “Well, mandatory bed rest and new motherhood kind of kill arts and crafts time.”
“Well, we need to fix that.” Vol stated, not offering this as an opinion but as a mandate. “You need time to unwind, Bru. If you don’t, you’ll only get more tense, your health will suffer and Sophie will feel the tension in you, too. Infants—well, they're almost empathic with their sensitivity to the emotions they're exposed to. Happy mothers have happier babies.”
She stepped away, moving to the next work. She raised a hand as if to touch it but didn’t, merely gliding her fingertips through the air near the artwork. She observed the colors, the textures, the way the light played over it. “But when?” She sighed. “Between the new training program they have me running and regular duty shifts, and the baby, and everything else…”
“You can’t do it all. Not all at once. So you have to choose, which would you really rather do right now? Train or fly?”
“Train.” She said without hesitation. “No question. It’s rewarding to watch the next generation move up and take on more responsibility. There are still a few tricks, especially to do with the Alchemy, I can teach them.”
“Then we should talk to the Captain. See about shifting your focus.”
Bru bit her lip. Any idea of talking to the Captain about anything made her nervous.
“I could…make it a recommendation.” Vol offered. “I don’t want to overstep, but if it would help I-“
Bru threw her arms around him and squeezed him so tight his shoes nearly left the deck. “Would you?”
“Of course.” He placed a kiss atop her mop of blonde hair and held her at arms length. “I’ll recommend that the current work load is inadvisable given your new family responsibilities and suggest that your talents be maximized in the role of teacher.” He tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger. “However, you must promise me that when we really get in a jam you’ll still take the helm and get us out of it.”
“Are you kidding? I’ll storm the bridge and tackle whoever tries to stop me.”
“A force to be reckoned with.” Vol smiled. “Now, about that painting…”
“Soon,”
“Now.” Vol stepped back and smiled again. “Computer, save program and run new program: Tryst/Grace outing 3.”
The scene shifted and suddenly, February was in the middle of a beautiful garden setting. The wind gently rustled through the leaves on the trees, and what appeared to be endless rows of flowerbeds decorated the land all around. A brook ran softly through it all, gurgling and churning gently to create a most relaxing sound.
“Vol, what are you…”
“Be right back. Computer, arch!”
He disappeared and when he returned a moment later, he was carrying a small folding chair and two very familiar black bags. One contained her easel, and the other, an array of paint and brushes. “Now.” He said softly, as he set up the chair and held out a bag in each hand.
“But what about our day?”
“We have lots of day left,” he promised. “I’ll be back in an hour to see how you’re progressing… with lunch.”
She shook her head as he retreated once more toward the exit, not wanting to break the magic of the moment by saying much more.
“Vol?”
He paused, arching an eyebrow expectantly as he waited for her to say what he knew she would.
“I love you.”
"And I you."
Lt. Vol Tryst
Ship’s Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2023
and
Lt. Grace
Flight Control Instructor
The Alchemy Project
Ship’s Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2023
and
Lt. Grace
Flight Control Instructor
The Alchemy Project