[BQ] LtCmdr Sky Blake, "A new year."

[Deliera Jay]

((Blake's quarters))

::She was half-way through cooking what she considered a meager meal when a crashing noise emanated from the other side of the room. The young boy, curious despite his tiredness, had pulled down the small display stand.

::And part of her was glad that she didn't have any glass ornaments.::

::There was no sound from Ayden. Instead, his brown eyes found hers, simply waiting for Sky to react. She tilted her head towards the boy, un-moving from her position. He was okay - no blood, no injury. Just a bit dazed. She gave him a smile, putting down the kitchen knife into it's holder so she could lean over the counter.::

Blake: Now what's happened over there?

::Ayden's nose scrunched, looking between Sky and the display stand, before finally, innocently, pointing at the stand.::

Ayden: The tall tree fell.

Blake: And it took you down too, did it?

::Ayden nodded.::

::She had to hold in a laugh. She moved around from behind the counter, the new years celebrations with some very tall, very colourful people wearing large clogs singing something about surviving on the view screen in the background.

::Sky crouched in front of him, looking down at Ayden and the fallen stand.::

Blake: And what do we do when someone falls?

Ayden: We help them back up.

::With a proud smile, the mother nodded.::

Blake: Let's help Mr. Stand back up, shall we?

::With a giggle, the Vulcan hybrid assisted Sky with the heavy lifting of the reasonably light stand, pushing it back up to it's original position, and putting one of the holopictures back in it's place on the bottom shelf as his mother returned the star ornament to the top.::

::Finally, she turned to the boy again.::

Blake: You okay? Nothing hurts?

Ayden: No.

Blake: Mkay. Are you hungry?

Ayden: Yes.

::Sky stood, holding out her hand to help Ayden up. He'd completely ignored it, instead pushing himself to his feet to trundle off towards the table.

::Noree, he'd grown.::

::She'd been finishing up preparing their snacks as they waited for the Antor fire shows being broadcast to commence, setting Ayden up on the couch next to her, offering him a piece from the plate.::

Blake: Are you excited?

Ayden: For what?

Blake: Well, we start a new year in a few minutes.

::Ayden shrugged, playing with the squish orb he'd brought with him from Ornara. Quietly, Sky took a deeper breath, taking a bite of her keeit.::

Ayden: Meite?

Blake: Yeah, mini-man?

Ayden: Where's kei-qu?

::Ice flooded her veins as she thought of her daughter, Ayden's sister, with her uncle and aunt on Ornara. Sky looked down, glancing back to her son.::

Blake: She's back with Syb-arbu.

Ayden: Why?

::She leaned back on the couch, watching the boy as he kept his full attention on the squish orb. This was the hardest part, forced to be separate from her whole family. She missed her daughter.

::Noree, how much would Faith have grown during their time apart?::

Blake: Because . . . people . . . want her to stay home, for now.

::The Federation wanted her to stay in the Delos system. And they'd yet to supply a reason as to why. Doesn't matter that her adoptive father had been a Federation citizen. Doesn't matter that her mother was a Federation Starfleet officer. She was now permanently located on Ornara, and that's how the Federation was hoping it would stay.::

Ayden: Why?

::And the countdown was concluded. The fire show began as Sky pulled Ayden onto her lap, holding him close around his middle as she nuzzled his neck.::

Blake: I don't know, Ayden. I don't know.

::The numeral 2395 flashed through the fireworks.::

::She can start this again, now. She could fight harder. Have a set of principles she was going to stick to. This year, she had the will and the opportunity to fight harder for her family.::

::She pressed her lips against the side of Ayden's head.::

Blake: Happy new year, mini-man.

::This was it. She'd pulled herself together. Her son was in her arms, she was in a stable position of living and employment. She was officially back on her feet. And now she can start on rebuilding properly.::

::And part of her knew that her bondmate would be proud.::


Tbc . . .

LtCmdr Sky Blake
Ranger
USS Veritas

C238803SB0

::Blake's new years resolution: Kick the alcohol.::