And humble pie for dessert (Backpost)

Posted on Thu Nov 20, 2014 @ 8:55am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant AJ Taggart

1,992 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: AJ's Quarters
Timeline: 1800

Nicole had started towards AJ's quarters at a brisk pace right up until she got out of the turbolift, then gradually began slowing. By the time she neared his door, a passerby would think she was caught in a slower time stream fragment. She wound up pacing outside of AJ's quarters just outside the range of the door sensor. She'd changed out of her uniform into a simple off-duty outfit, then thought the better of it and put on a fresh uniform, then thought the better of it again, and put on a dress, then second-guessed herself for another hour and a half.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so indecisive. She didn't want to dress for 'a date' because she wasn't sure she wanted to get her hopes up or give the wrong impression, then she wondered if she'd just gotten herself in way over her head, or perhaps it was simply him 'getting to know her again' and she shouldn't be formal, but shouldn't appear too informal either. Each change in opinion led to a change in outfit, and neither change helped her growing sense of doom.

She finally decided on a dress that wasn't too revealing but still did her justice, and decided, while pacing, that if his doors opened and he was dressed in his uniform, she would do a 180 and march back to her quarters, change back into her uniform, and then quietly crawl into a torpedo tube.

AJ walked through his quarters lighting the candles on the table and the mantle. One of the finishing touches were two wine glasses on either side of the table. Hearing the door chime, he smoothed down his shirt and double checked everything. It had been a while since he had been on an actual date and he had left too soon to actually go through with his last one with Nicole. He had had a lot of making up to do and this was going to be the start.

"Come in!" AJ commanded.

Nicole stepped through as the doors opened and glanced around, then found him, locked eyes and immediately felt the urge to bolt. *You've stood up to monsters, spooks and Julius Caesar of all people! Why the hell are you so scared?* she yelled at herself, physically shivering a little at the mental exchange, then mentally slapped herself for looking like a twit. She took another breath, put on a smile and walked up to him, handing him the decanter. "Thought some cognac would go nicely," she said, blushing slightly. "Thanks for having me."

"You're welcome." AJ said as he gracefully took the decanter and opened the crystal top, taking a small sniff. This particular vintage had a sweet but aged smell to it and it took everything within AJ not to keep smelling the drink. "Hmm, this is extra old stuff- a very good vintage. Where did you manage to find this?" he asked as he beckoned her in.

She stepped further in and tried not to fiddle with her hands in front of her. "It was a gift from the head of the Soul Clan. Every year they make a new batch, and only sell their stock when it's reached forty-two years of age after putting it into hand-blown glass containers. It's one of the more prized drinks on my homeworld." She gave a small smile. "It's a reminder that some things are worth waiting for."

AJ nodded. "Indeed." Setting down the decanter on at the center of the table, he walked into the small kitchen. Opening the oven, he pulled out a pot roast that was resting in the center of potatoes, carrots, and onions. Placing the hot pan on the stovetop, AJ turned. "I hope you're hungry. I wasn't sure what you were hungry for so I just picked something and went with it."

"Smells delicious," she said, although her nose wrinkled slightly. "Reminds me of a kind of roast meat they serve at the harvest festival." She looked it over and sat down, resting her chin in her hand. "Who taught you to cook?"

"My dad for the most part. He reinforced the fact that if you did nothing else, learn to cook. So he dedicated a lot of free time to teaching me how to cook. I picked up the broad strokes pretty easily and he mostly focused on the finer points." Reaching for a knife, AJ quickly sliced through the meat and placed equal portions on the plate. Spooning the potatoes out, he could smell the scent of rosemary and garlic and was slightly pleased. Placing the two plates on the table, AJ poured two small portions of the cognac into the glasses on the table and took his seat. "Let me know how you like it."

"Well anything with garlic is fine by me," she said, eyeing the green bits suspiciously. She'd never seen that particular herb before, but she'd give it a shot. "My mother wasn't terribly domestic, probably the reason we stayed in the city and not the surrounding farms," she said, taking a bite and nodding. "I was the one who wanted to explore and visit the clans. Her best lesson to me was how to replicate a roast kl'itta."

AJ chuckled. "Replicated food just doesn't have the same kick as the real thing. Yeah, it's the same basic molecular structure but you can't replicate the flavor that comes from making something yourself." Chewing thoughtfully for a moment, AJ swallowed and pointed his fork. "And what the hell is a kl'itta?"

"According to my last CO, it's something akin to a 'pot-bellied pig', whatever that is," Nicole said. "Tastes like what humans refer to as 'pulled pork.' I'm not much of a cook either, so I just nod when people tell me what something tastes like." She took another bite and swallowed. "This, however, is delicious," she said, smiling. "Do you only cook Human food?"

Thinking for a moment, AJ took another bite. "Human food is my forte. I've got a few Bajoran recipes but I won't have much time to perfect them with my new position since I'll be handling more duties in my new position."

"The joy of being a department head," she said dryly. "When I ran the hospital in Ancient Grace I practically lived there. They offered to dedicate a wing to me, I just asked for a bed." She smiled slightly. "It's worth it though, right?"

AJ nodded. "Yeah, so far it is. But I'll know more once I actually start doing the job."

Nicole nodded and put her fork down. "That was delicious, thank you," she said, then suddenly looked a bit nervous. "So...what comes next?"

AJ shrugged. "Well, we do have a bottle of cognac that needs finishing or we could do dessert. It's totally up to you, Doc."

Nicole made a slight face as if something just left a bitter taste in her mouth. "Cognac is fine," she said quietly. "Thank you, Lieutenant." She stood up and moved to sit on his couch, looking around his quarters. "Do you prefer life on a starship?" she said, changing tracks.

AJ brought down two glasses and filled them with the sweet smelling liquor. "Honestly, I much prefer life planetside where I can look out my window and see something more than just stars. I like seeing the little things, like birds, trees, and the oceans. Up in space, it just isn't the same. Don't get me wrong though, living in space does have its advantages."

"Never did like oceans," Nicole said, looking out the windows of his quarters. "Too open, too exposed. Give me a lake in the center of a forest any day. Water's fresh, sun's warm, and the trees are protective. That's a safe place to take a swim, not some salt-water monstrosity."

"You've obviously never tried swimming in the Atlantic. It's beautiful, oftentimes you can just float on the waves and let yourself drift." AJ said, thinking back for a moment.

She eyed him, skeptically. "I can float in a lake, too," she said. She tossed back her drink and let out a small sigh. "I don't know if I go for something as vast as an ocean. I grew up in a city surrounded by forest. The first time I saw the horizon, I was terrified I was going to fall off the planet."

AJ nodded and took another sip of the cognac. "I could see how you could be fearful, especially never getting to see things like an ocean for the better part of your life. At least up here you can't fall." AJ said, moving his free hand over Nicole's.

Her hand jerked back on instinct and she immediately tried to stop herself. A hand hold wasn't exactly a huge emotional move, but she wasn't sure how to take it. She tried to cover up the rude motion by turning her hand over and taking his gently, praying he hadn't noticed. "True," she said. "Of course, if you trip at any point I'm going to laugh at you without hesitation." She gave him a small smile.

AJ tried not to notice the jerk away at his touch but he had a feeling that it would nag at him for the rest of the night. "And you would have every right to. Granted, I tend to trip quite a bit so prepare yourself." AJ said in a feeble attempt at self deprecating humor.

"You don't do this often, do you," she said. "A 'first date' thing."

AJ could only shake his head and chuckle. "No, I can't say that I do. I've never really had the time to go out and date."

Nicole nodded. "I threw myself into my work at the hospital so I could be the same way. Morning, noon and night I was there, tending to patients, performing surgery, whatever it took to keep busy."

AJs smile faded as he thought about how much time he had wasted. "Well, let's try not to do that here. There's too much to lose if we do," he said succinctly.

She looked up and met his eyes, briefly. "And what would that be, precisely?"

"Let's just call it 'potential' for now-" AJ's sentence was interrupted by a sharp voice on his commbadge.

=A= Lieutenant Taggart to the torpedo room, at the rush! =A=

"Well that looks like my cue." AJ said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice before he walked into his bedroom. As he began to quickly change, he stuck his head out. "If you like, you can stick around since I'm not too sure how long I'll be."

Nicole hid her pout as he stuck his head back out. She finally felt like they were connecting and then Bad Timing reared its ugly head. She was toying with the idea of waiting, but her combadge went off as well.

"Doctor Anderson, report to Sickbay; medical emergency."

She sighed and stood up. "So much for that," she said. She glanced at the bedroom, then turned to the door. Before she left, she paused. She turned and quickly ran into his bedroom, catching him with his shirt off and pants halfway on. She walked right up to him, biting her lip in fear and then leaned in quick, giving him a swift kiss. "Soon as we have a night off together, pick a time and reserve a holodeck. I'll meet you there," she said quickly before she lost her nerve, then turned and flew out of his quarters, leaving him standing there stunned.

AJ shook off the surprise and glanced at the door again, before resuming getting dressed. Pulling a turtleneck over his bare chest, AJ slipped into a pair of boots and grabbed his jacket as he briskly walked out of his quarters and towards a turbolift.


Nicole Anderson
CMO

AJ Taggert
CSO

 

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