JP - Robin Hopper & Nathan Richards: A Special Kind of Knowing (Part 3)
Robin Hopper
((Lakeside, Cherry Blossom Biome, Peace Park))
The two laughed together, and Robin loaded up her small plate with an array of vegetables, happy to have a wide selection of ‘finger foods’ that could also serve as inspiration for the gardens she was beginning to plan in her mind.
Hopper: You know, it’s funny… I’ve never really done much growing in the dirt. ::Gesturing with the miniature cucumber she was holding:: My family’s farm is a hydroponic installation, and most of the work is performed by automated machines. Sometimes I’d wander the orchard, pick some fruit, but mostly we just grew beans…
She dipped the cucumber in the container of hummus and took a bite, a ripple of nervous energy passing over her. Now she’d done it. She’d gone and brought up family… again. It was hard not to these days. She looked over at him, wondering what he’d say. Nathan raised an eyebrow, swallowing another, not-tartoc-tainted bite of his sandwich.
Richards: Maybe one of these days we could visit the old family farm.
He took another bite of his sandwich, watching Robin's reaction out of the corner of his eye. It was the best opportunity he could have asked for to approach the subject again, and she had practically handed it to him.
Hopper: ::Eyebrows raised:: Do you think that’s… a good idea?
Nathan felt his heart drop slightly. He slowly chewed as he thought about what to say. The perfect opportunity with a…less than perfect response. He briefly furrowed his brow before softening his expression.
Richards: Well…why wouldn't it be?
Robin took another bite, feeling as though she’d spoiled the fun of lunch. She didn’t have a particularly good answer to that question either – except for how awkward things were at the moment, and how much explanation and backtracking would be required to make sense of it all.
Hopper: ::An awkward chuckle:: I mean, I’ve been trying not to talk much about you… Given how ‘taken’ by you Keri is, it seemed like pretending you don’t exist was the safest option.
She regretted that comment instantly. She hadn’t meant it to sound cruel, but as soon as she heard the words leaving her lips, somehow it did. She tried to make it better.
Hopper: …I just don’t want them to get the wrong impression. Or, you know, not the wrong impression – the right impression. ::Facepalm:: I’m trying to keep our… relationship… just ours. You know?
Nathan set his sandwich down, his original fear rising to the surface. What Robin said made sense, but it did little to assuage his feelings about it. But he shoved the feelings down, as he had done before and looked up at her with a smile.
Richards: Nah, you're right. ::Chuckling:: We don't need to get into this.
Robin nodded, grateful for the reprieve, and leapt at the opportunity to change the subject.
Hopper: Consider it dropped, then. ::Pointing to another vegetable, suddenly recognizing it:: That one’s from Velestus! Mellithran… It's sort of like jicama. ::Looking up at him, a little wonder in her eyes:: Don’t tell me that wasn’t on purpose.
She raised her eyebrows at him again – this time accusatory – but her subtle smile gave away her inner enjoyment. Nathan smirked, rolling his eyes playfully. He was actually somewhat surprised at how effectively he was able to put aside those sinking feelings when he saw her smile, no matter how small it was.
Richards: ::Sarcastically:: I don't know what you mean. ::Smirking:: I just thought the color was pretty.
He picked up his sandwich again, taking another bite.
Hopper: Whatever you say. But if you’re trying to impress me, it’s working. ::Picking up the vegetable:: There’s a proper way to eat these, you know. ::Spinning it around:: You’re supposed to peel it… There’s a sort of holiday tradition actually, where they get sliced up into wafers and dipped into nelthria nectar – that’s a native flower… It’s sort of like a special appetizer thing for festive occasions…
Richards: Hmm. ::Swallowing:: So I picked a vegetable that we can't even really eat?
She shrugged.
Hopper: Oh, whatever, I don’t think anyone’s coming after me for breaking with the proper ceremony of Eikostasia on a space station in the Delta Quadrant eating replicated Mellithran…
Robin took a bite, blue skin and all, and then passed it to Nate to try. She bit her lip pensively as she waited to see if he’d give it a try after the tartoc.
Nathan looked at the blue vegetable and looked back up at Robin. He was somewhat skeptical to try this one after the tartoc, but it seemed to be an important part of her culture. He reached out and took it into his hand, studying it for a moment. There didn’t seem to be anything odd about it. He had no idea what a jicama was, but it almost reminded him of a purple potato. Only blue.
Richards: Would your family be mad if they found out about this? ::Taking a bite of the…Mellithran, chewing and swallowing the small piece:: Huh. Not bad.
He took another small bite, enjoying the interestingly sweet yet starchy veggie. The flavor reminded him of a sweet potato.
Hopper: ::Slight smile:: I told you the Centauran people were reserved… Most of these things even I only kind of know, honestly. Mavai taught us the language, Keri and me, and some of the traditions… we practiced them when we’d visit my grandparents once every five years or so… But I was always more fascinated by Earth culture. It’s so much more…
Richards: Diverse? Expansive? ::Smirking:: Not reserved?
Hopper: Exactly.
That had been a large part of why she had chosen to go to Earth after completing high school. Theta VII, like many of the early colonies, had been founded on the “small town” model, meant to resemble a quaint community from the old Midwestern United States. While it had grown in size and import over the last couple centuries, that retro charm had never left it, and it had rooted itself firmly in Robin’s identity as well. You could take the girl out of the colony, but you couldn’t take the colony out of the girl. When it had come time for her to spread her wings and explore the galaxy, she’d known exactly where she wanted to go first…
So what was keeping her away now? Robin scrunched her mouth to the side, frustrated that she’d felt so unsettled by the notion of going to Earth with Nate and meeting his family when he’d mentioned it that morning… Honestly, they were probably a bunch of sweethearts too. Did it really make sense to be so afraid of that? Was it fair for her to withhold that, when he’d met hers? Was she just worried they’d be as meddling as her own family could be?
Nathan raised his eyebrow at seeing her mouth scrunched to the side, obviously deep in thought.
Richards: You alright?
Hopper: Just, um, thinking about… the future. ::Changing the topic:: I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d be willing to help me dig and border the rest of the garden plots? I want to do it ‘old school’ – wooden boards and everything. I figure you’d know what you were doing.
Deflection. There was something going on with her that had started with the original proposition for her to join the trip back to Earth. He could see it, but didn’t want to make the mistake of pushing it any further than he already had. Nathan set the ‘Centauran potato’ down and smiled.
Richards: Yeah. I wouldn’t mind doing that. Some actual, manual labor would probably do me some good.
Hopper: I was thinking of asking Bec too. She helped me pick the spot – and if we need any boards broken, I hear she’s a champ at that.
Nathan thought back for a moment to the one time that Bec had invited him to see her board breaking program on one of the holodecks. It was apparent back then that she had a lot pent up inside and the program helped her take it out fairly effectively.
Richards: ::Chuckling:: Yeah, yeah she is. I think it would do us all good to get out…in…out here? ::Shaking his head:: Come and do some work on the garden.
Hopper: Great! And with your help I can make it big enough to accommodate a lot of amateur green thumbs.
Nathan took the last bite of his sandwich and looked out towards the lake. For a moment, neither of them said anything as they simply enjoyed the other’s presence while they continued to pick at the food Nathan had brought.
Richards: You know, this lake reminds me of some of the lakes back home.
Glacier National Park had over 700 lakes at one point in its history. Now it was somewhere around 40 thanks to how the 21st century had gone. Each one was almost its own little ecosystem, with certain animals only congregating around certain lakes. Nathan had spent plenty of time over the years exploring and maintaining the trails to and around each one. The one that he could compare the lake in Peace Park to the most, was probably Avalanche lake. Over the centuries it had grown and shrunk, but, in the end, it had been one of the ones that stayed. It had been the one that Nathan spent most of his time around.
Robin followed his gaze to the water. They had lakes on Theta VII as well, but the water near her home town was mostly stored in underground reservoirs. She tried to imagine what Nathan’s home must look like and could only picture it like one of the travel brochures she’d looked through when considering Universities on Earth.
Hopper: One thing I can say for your planet – I never got tired of it. There’s just this… unending beauty about Earth. And so much diversity… I feel like I could explore every inch of it and never get bored.
Richards: ::Looking at Robin, scanning her features:: I think you and my sister, Alexis would have loved each other.
Nathan smiled. He smiled for the first time in years after saying her name. After he had finally gotten some closure when he heard that his father and Blake had finally found the bear that had taken her from them, he felt less pain when thinking about her. But he hadn’t felt the strength to really talk about her. Until now.
Hopper: Alexis? Is she…
Robin trailed off, unsure how to finish the thought she had begun.
Richards: ::Nodding:: Yeah. ::Chuckling:: She was the one who met the bear.
She reached out, put her hand on his, and looked into his eyes, searching for any hint of pain or trepidation. He turned his hand over, wrapping his fingers around hers.
Hopper: Hey – We don’t have to talk about it you know… If it’s hard.
Nathan smiled at her, shaking his head.
Richards: No, no. For the first time, I want to talk about it. ::Chuckling:: I want to talk to you about her.
She could tell he meant it. So she nodded, squeezing his hand back, forgetting for a moment that they were out in public where anyone could see.
Hopper: ::Softly:: Okay.
Nathan pulled his legs up and crossed them, resting his elbows on his knees.
Richards: She was such a free spirit. She was adventurous and curious. Always wanting to see and learn something new. ::Chuckling:: There was an old fire lookout on Mount Brown that she had turned into her own little clubhouse. She was obsessed with the plants and wildlife of the park.
Nathan stared out at the lake as he thought about the old fire lookout. The dilapidated sign that she had found and hung above the door that said Mount Brown. She had added her own lettering in paint along the bottom in her scribbled writing that was supposed to say ‘Conservatory’ but it was pretty hard to read. The inside had old tables and chairs that she had set up with different planters of different plants and flowers that she had found around the area that she watered and took care of.
Richards: She would have been a great xenobotanist.
Robin could feel her throat tighten with emotion, almost as if she could sense the depth of Nate’s feelings through their touch, or through the gaze of his ashen eyes. She ran her thumb tenderly along the back of his hand.
For all his boisterous confidence, and his charming ruggedness, she knew – had somehow always known – Nathan Richards really was a deeply emotional and vulnerable person. She felt grateful that he was comfortable letting his guard down with her, letting her in. The last thing she wanted to do was shut that door, lest it never open again. Even if that meant being vulnerable as well.
Hopper: I wish I could have met her… It’s obvious you really loved her. That you still do. I’m sure she knew how special she was to you, and that you’d do anything for her.
Richards: Yeah. ::Smiling:: I think she did.
Hopper: It sounds like you made the most of the time you had together – and that’s really beautiful. And rare. I think you were both lucky to have each other.
Robin ran a hand along his face, realizing that much of what she was saying now about how deeply he had cared for Alexis, she could also say about how he acted with her. They were lucky too. And if they were wise, they wouldn’t waste the time they had together, but make the most of it as well. She fell quiet, thinking over what that meant.
A moment later, both their bags began beeping.
Robin was suddenly drawn out of her thoughts again back into the park. She fished in her satchel for her PADD and deactivated the alert.
Hopper: ::Disappointed:: I guess that’s lunch.
Nathan pulled out his PADD, silencing the alert as well, dropping it back in and sighing.
Richards: ::Grumbling:: I guess it is.
He turned towards Robin, looking into her eyes and smiled.
Richards: Thank you. I’m sure that’s not how you saw lunch going ::Chuckling:: but, thank you.
Hopper: You know, one of the best things about spending time with you is that there’s rarely any point trying to plan.
She smiled at him.
Hopper: And I mean that as a compliment. I plan all day, and I’m very good at it, and it’s exhausting. You are not exhausting.
Richards: ::Smirking:: I never leave you exhausted?
Hopper: A bit sore maybe. ::Smacking his arm playfully:: Shut up. I was trying to be nice.
Nathan rubbed his arm, feigning pain.
Richards: How rude! ::Laughing:: What do we want to do tonight?
She shrugged, playfully evasive, and stuck her tongue out at him just a little.
Hopper: I dunno. I’m not making plans right now. We’ll see what the evening brings. ::Smirk:: Surprise me?
TBC in Part 4…
Lt. Commander Robin Hopper
Chief Science Officer,
Amity Outpost
V239806K11
&
Lieutenant Nathan Richards
Chief of Operations,
Amity Outpost
A239905NR1