|
|
Commander Tanya Reed, First Officer of the Hawking, calmly and delibrately smashed her racket against the ball. The short young man opposite her made a face as the computer's impersonal voice announced, "Winning point."
"Okay, Tanya, okay. That's the fifth straight game you've won. I concede." He then drew the sleeve of his shirt across his brow, making straw colored hair stick out at all angles.
"I told you not to challenge me, Jason." She grinned, hanging up her racket and grabbing a towel.
"Next time I pick the activity."
"Go ahead--I'm good at everything."
At his look, she chuckled, her green eyes sparkling. On impulse, she dropped her towel and wrapped her arms around Jason for a quick hug.
"Do I get treatment like this everytime I lose?"
She winked at him. "If you're a good loser."
His next comment was interupted by the chirp of her comm badge. "Commander Reed?"
"I'm here, Commander."
"There's a message for you on subspace. I'm patching it through to your quarters."
"Okay. Thanks, John."
Tanya looked at Jason. His little boy face had fallen.
"I guess this means you've got to go."
"It's all right, Ensign. You can walk me to my quarters."
She took his arm and the two of them walked out into the hallway. They were quiet for a second while Tanya wondered who her message was from, but when she noticed Jason looking at her expectantly, she asked, "So, how is your relationship with Alannah going?"
For the first time since she'd known him, Jason blushed. It flooded his face, making his faint freckles more noticeable. "You know about that?"
"Why, my dear, I know everything."
He believed it. "I'm... I'm thinking about asking her to marry me."
Tanya let go of his arm and turned to look at him. "You are?"
"Don't tell anyone. I haven't decided how yet."
"That's great!" Tanya burst out exhuberently, ignoring the looks from the group of people going by, and throwing her arms around him for the second time in ten minutes.
"So," Jason continued once Tanya had pulled from him and they had resumed walking. "Do you have any advice?"
"Me?" Tanya laughed. "Honey, you're coming to the wrong person. I've never been married. I've never even come close."
"But you know a lot about... things."
"The only thing I can say with any confidendce is that you only go through life once. As you're sailing down the river, make sure you grab on to all of the overhanging branches you can."
"Huh?"
"Live life for today. Don't be afraid to take a chance. There'll come a day when all the branches are out of your reach."
Jason shook his head. "Only you would compare life and love to a river."
"No, Garth Brooks did it in the 1990s. Or was it the 1980s?" A frown creased Tanya's brow. "Damn. I'm out of practise. Grampa would kill me."
"Another song?" Jason asked curiously.
Tanya nodded, still trying to remember what decade "The River" had come out. She was still puzzling about it when Jason stopped.
"Well, here you are, safe and sound."
"Okay, go find that woman of yours and have fun. Thanks for the game. Better luck next time."
He stuck his tongue out in an impertinant and definitely insubordinate way. She mimicked his action, caring not a bit for protocol, and entered her quarters. A 3-D picture of her mother greeted Tanya as it always did when Tanya walked in the room. Tanya looked at the picture for a minute before turning to look at the terminal beside it.
"Computer, display message."
"Audio only."
"That's all right, lay it on me."
Curiously, she listened and wasn't disappointed. A smile rivaling the brightest dawn lit her face when she heard the voice. It didn't say much, but the message was as clear to her as if he had talked for two hours.
"I beat you! I beat you!"
At the end of the message, Tanya threw her head back and laughed delightedly. It didn't matter to her that it should have been her calling him-- would have been if it weren't for that mess with the admiral. All that mattered was that he was calling her and they would be together soon. She was happy for him, no jealousy had ever tainted her feelings for him, but most of all she was happy for herself. She was never really complete without him, and she knew he felt the same way about her.
With the smile still on her face, Tanya picked the 2-D picture off of her desk. She walked over to the couch and sat, staring at the picture of a girl she had been once and the boy who had become her soul mate.
"You see," she whispered, softly touching his face. "If we hadn't made the promise, we wouldn't be coming together now."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I wouldn't drink so much," Harry told her seriously, "Clulee spiked the punch again."
Tanya laughed, leaning against him. "Come on. Lighten up! It's a party."
She had accepted this date because Raclids were supposed to love to have fun. Harrilar J'andulan Mc'Lac'Zlk was a terrible disappointment. Tanya shrugged to herself, taking a sip of her punch and vowing that she'd have a good time anyway.
She was about to ask her stodgy but colorful date to dance, when a noise caught her attention. It was two people arguing, and she knew one of the voices-- knew it very well. Tanya put down her glass and looked towards where the crowd was parting to give the arguers room. In the middle of a now cleared space stood three people. One was a tall young man with dark hair and a hurt look on his face. Another was the small, pretty teenager who had come as his date.
"Stop it, Darren! Stop trying to control me!"
"I just... I just want to be near you."
"You're obsessive! I need some space. Daniel understands that."
"Tina... Tina, don't do this." His voice came out strong, but Tanya recognized something in it that others would not. Anger started up from her stomach, burning as it reached upwards, flushing her face.
"Don't touch me!" the young woman snapped as Darren reached for her arm. Then she tore something from her finger. "And here, take this!" Darren flinched as the ring hit him. "But, Tina, I love you."
"I don't want that kind of love!" She then turned her back and took the arm of the young man standing beside her. "Take me home, Daniel."
As Tina and Daniel made their way through the crowd, Darren slowly turned. He noticed that everyone was staring at him and his pain. A stricken look flashed over his features, and his face flushed with embarassment. With a curse, he ran out of the other exit. Tanya was just about to exploed. The only thing that stopped her was the sight of Darren's stricken face. She realized that she couldn't afford to be angry at Tina, she had something else to do. Quickly, she turned to Harry.
"Harry, I..."
Harry smiled gently and nodded. "I understand. Go to him." She knew there was a reason that she liked that guy. With an apologetic smile, she reached up and kiss his bright yellow face. "Thanks, Harry." Then, she was off to find Darren.
She found him ten minutes later, sitting by the water with fresh tear tracks down his face. Another flash of anger went through Tanya, but she stifled it. He needed her to be loving not angry. Silently, she walked up to his huddled form. He did not hear her approach, but he was not surprised to hear her voice when she spoke.
"Darren?"
"I really screwed up this time."
"You didn't do anything wrong," she said gently as she let herself fall to the ground beside him.
"I was going to ask her to marry me in a few years, after graduation..."
"There'll be other girls."
He looked at her sharply. "I don't need to hear that right now!"
She slipped one of her slim arms around him. "I'm sorry. Tina was a fool. Anyone who would willingly let you go is a fool."
"I didn't think you could love too much..."
"You can't, honey. You can't."
"But she said... she said I was obsessive; I was smothering her."
"She just doesn't know. She's only a baby and she wants to love as many as she can, party as much as she can. She doesn't realize that in ten years she's going to remember you as the only man who ever really loved her. Your heart is made for grownup love. Most of us, we're still children in here." She put her hand above her left breast. "We need time. Some of us will never be ready for grown up love. It costs too much, you have to make too many sacrifices. As Starfleet officers, that's especially hard."
Darren just looked at the ground wordlessly. Tanya moved her hand up from his shoulder to stroke his hair. "You'll be all right."
"Yeah? And how do you know?"
"Because, other women will come and go, but you'll ALWAYS have me."
"Always?" He turned to look at her. "Forever is a long time."
She nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is."
"In a little over two years, we'll be out of here, going our separate ways. That's not forever, that's not even a nanosecond of our lives."
Tanya searched his eyes. "That's what you think? You think that in two years, wham!, we graduate and that's it-- no more friendship, no more Tanya and Darren? Oh, honey, don't you know me--us-- well enough by now? One of us could be gone on a mission with no contact whatsoever for one hundred years and when she-- or he--came bback we would still be as close as we are right now. We're each half of the same whole."
"You believe that?" he asked intently, wanting her to say yes.
"Of course I do, and I'll even tell you right now, that no matter where I am or what I'm doing, I'm going to send you a subspace visual letter every week."
He believed her. Tanya wouldn't lie to him. Suddenly, he started to feel a little better. A slight smile came to his face.
Tanya saw that and was encouraged. "And to prove all this to you, now I'm going to make you another promise." She took him by the shoulders and looked into his face so he could see she was serious. "I promise you that if I make captain before you do, I will request you for my first officer."
He reached out and touched her face, hardly believing someone could care for him as much as she did. "And I promise you that if I make captain first, I will firmly," he said that word with a slight twinkle in his eye, "request that you become my first officer."
Tanya laughed, hugging him tightly. "Then, it's a pact. Now we know that whatever happens, someday we'll be like this, together again."
He hugged her back. "Thank you."
Tanya pulled away and got to her feet. She reached down a pale hand to him, and he took it, hauling himself to his feet.
"Come on," she said, "Let's go home."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot of things had happened to them since the day they made that pact, Tanya thought, getting back up to replace the picture, but neither of them had forgotten the promise. The friendship had also remained, strong and unbroken through all of the hard times, and the good times too. They saw each other when they could and Tanya had even been Darren's best man at his wedding. Tanya smiled sadly, remembering Laura. She had been a sweet, kind woman who flourished under Darren's overwhelming love. Not many people could accept being loved so completely and unconditionally, but Laura grew strong from it.
"I have to call Darren," Tanya said aloud, snapping herself back to the present. She sat down at her desk, in between her two pictures, and facing her terminal. It was only seconds before Darren's smiling face found its way to her console. He looked pretty much the same as he had that day eleven years before. He still had thick, slightly unruly, black hair and a beautiful little boy smile, but there were slight lines on his face, if you looked hard enough to see them, and a deep sadness rested behind the good humor in his eyes. Every time Tanya first saw his face for the past five years, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug the underlying sadness away.
"Hi, Tanya," he said, grinning.
"Hi, love. How'd you know it was me?" He always seemed to know when it was her calling, or sending a message when it was too far to call, or chiming his door when they were in the same place.
"I have my ways," he answered mysteriously. "Did you want something?"
She tried to look stern. "You know exactly why I'm calling. You've probably been sitting there for the past half hour waiting for me to call."
His grin grew bigger, if that was possible. "Isn't it great?"
Tanya could keep her face serious no longer, and her own unique smile broke over it. "Did you talk to Starfleet?"
He looked hurt. "Of course. I was in there getting a promotion, and all I could do was babble about picking the best first officer."
Tanya laughed, imagining the scene. She believed it. When Darren was nervous, he did tend to babble slightly. In fact, she remembered a time with a bunch of Klingons on the bar on Deep...
"Tanya?"
"What?"
"Aren't you going to ask me what they said?"
Suddenly, Tanya remembered the most important part of his news. "What did they say?"
"They said yes."
"They said yes? They're going to let two people as young as we are drive a ship around the galaxy?"
It was Darren's turn to laugh. "We're not children. It's a good thing Admiral Johnson wasn't there. He's still sore about that 'incident' with Captain Reeves."
Tanya's eyes danced. "It was his own fault."
"Anyway, I'm supposed to meet you at Starbase 103, where we pick up our ship and begin our fantastic voyage together."
"Our ship?" She was excited, more excited than she thought she'd be. "What class is she?"
"Galaxy."
"Children? There's going to be children?"
"Yes, sweetheart, there's going to be children."
"What's her name?"
It was like a light went on behind Darren's face. It lit up with pride and he seemed to sit up a little straighter. In a reverent whisper, he said, "The Stargazer."
"Oh, Darren!"
"The Stargazer. I'm going to be captain of The Stargazer."
"If you were here, I'd give you the biggest hug known to man!"
The awed look went from his face, and his lopsided grin returned. "A 'bear' hug?"
Tanya wrinkled her nose in amusement. "Of course."
Tanya's comm badge chirruped. "Commander Reed, please report to my Ready Room."
"On my way, Captain," Tanya replied. Then she looked at Darren. "Well, I've got to go. It seems that I'm about to be informed of my transfer."
"Captain Reeves will be sad to see you go."
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "I think he'll be relieved."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The good-byes were through. She was glad. She had always hated good-byes. Now she was almost alone in the transporter room-- just her middle-aged, somewhat conservative captain, a man who in her eyes seconded only, in terms of respect, to the man she called Grampa, and the young transporter chief were with her.
She turned to the captain again. He smiled gently, almost like a father would to his wayward but greatly loved daughter. "Good luck, Commander." Going with her impulse, as always, Tanya threw her arms around him. Finally getting used to her informality after all of these months, Captain Reeves only hesitated a few seconds before firmly returning her hug.
"I'll miss you," she whispered.
"And I you," he replied.
"I'm sorry I wasn't what you expected." She felt tears threatening as she stepped away.
"Don't be. Everyone needs their world shaken up once in a while."
Tanya shook her head and chuckled, then she turned and picked up her bag and the object she considered one of her five great treasures. Throwing both straps over her shoulder, she flashed a wave to Winthrop at the transporter console before climbing onto the pad.
Despite her sadness, Tanya was excited. In just seconds, she would be reunited with Darren, who she hadn't seen in four months, not since that wild trip to Risa. Not only that, the two of them would be leading a ship together, a ship with probably a thousand people--and children! In just seconds, it would begin.
"Energize."
And in a blaze of swirling blue lights, Tanya was off to start the new adventure.
The End