JP Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek & PNPC Lieutenant Commander Chythar Skyfire: Surreal Conversations, Part I

[Lael Rosek]

((Rosek & Skyfire’s Quarters, Deck 9, USS Chintoka))

{{Time Index: Day 4 of Shoreleave, Evening}}

Lael leaned back against the couch with a glass of red wine and a PADD in hand. It was a rare evening to themselves. Maddy was spending the night with Anjar’s daughter, Liara. The concept of school nights didn’t really exist out here as they had for Lael when she was Maddy’s age. The individualized program she’d enrolled her daughter in meant flexibility for the young girl to complete the coursework at her leisure. Though there were class video calls a few times a week, tomorrow’s wasn’t scheduled until after lunch.

Rosek: Jo Marshall is a definite yes, right?

They’d agreed with the free time and their desire to move forward with wedding plans. In their case, the guest list was more likely to determine the date than the other way around. Fortunately, given their venue choice, the date was open, barring a mission or other ship emergency.

Chythar considered the name for a few moments. It was true, he’d met Jo aboard the Gorkon and had missed the broken arm on their first mission together after she’d joined them, and he didn’t know her as well as Lael seemed to. He shrugged slightly. 

Skyfire: I don’t know her as well as you do. Not even sure she likes me.

She looked up from the PADD, her brow furrowed. It was natural that they would have different ideas on who would be present for something this important. She hadn’t seen enough interaction between the two to fairly agree or disagree. 

She and Jo were close mostly by virtue of what they’d been through together in the other universe and their adventures and conversations since. There was, of course, the added complication of Bear, who had been one of Lael’s past flings and she didn’t want to cause Chythar any discomfort.

Rosek: ::shrugs:: I haven’t seen you around her enough to really say. ::pauses:: Would you be comfortable enough with it if I invited her?

He wasn’t that close to many people on the Gorkon, as everyone he was close to had either transferred off or dropped off his radar due to lack of contact. Other than Vice Admiral Reynolds, Ensign Tan, and maybe LtC Stoyer, he didn’t recall anyone from the manifest he’d consider inviting. Tan was a bit of an anomaly because this host wasn’t Alleran. Some part of him, yes. But...not, at the same time.

Skyfire: No objections.

She nodded, making a note on the PADD. There were bound to be compromises and she trusted Chythar when he said it wouldn’t make him uncomfortable. As far as she knew, there wasn’t any major history between the two that would cause a disruption. She was about to read off the next potential guest when an incoming message alert sounded from the nearby monitor. Rising carefully from the couch, she strode toward it to read who it was from and she tensed slightly. 

Her mother. 

She turned to Chythar, hesitation in her features. Ignoring calls from her mother was never a good idea. Every time she had, she’d received a stern lecture on manners.

Rosek: It’s mom.

Chythar knew his own family wouldn’t be calling, as the only one who even knew anything about his plan to propose was Cailyn. He hadn’t gotten around to telling Chris mostly because of the fact that he was a horrible correspondent. He noticed her tense up and moved to stand behind her, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

Skyfire: I am not afraid of her. Put her on. 

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Clearly, he hadn’t spent enough time with Adelynn to know exactly what he was getting into. But over the last year, he’d surprised her a number of times, showing her a different side of him. For most of their friendship, it had been her building him up. 

Since they’d started dating, it seemed that the shoe had switched to the other foot so to speak. The more she conceded to him in leading their relationship and their family, the more he seemed to rise to the occasion. It was an unexpected and humbling development that left her reflecting on just how much she really knew about him.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, she pressed the command that would bring the call up on the monitor. Within moments, the black screen was replaced by her mother’s face. She arched her eyebrows. The usually stern countenance was replaced by a much softer expression, so unlike what she was used to with her mother. In fact, she even saw a ghost of a smile on the woman’s lips. It put her on her guard, making her uneasy. What had changed?

Rosek: Mom. ::smiles:: What an unexpected surprise.  

A. Rosek: ::smile widens slightly:: After your letter, I just had to call and offer congratulations to you both. ::gaze shifts to Chythar:: About time, son. You’ve been mooning over my girl for years.

He gave a slight chuckle and nodded slightly. He considered for a moment how to respond to that, whether it should be humbling or snarky. In his spare time when he had been on his own, he’d been torturing Devlin with his attempts to learn yet another language: Esperanto. The little beagle sometimes got confused and thought Chythar was giving him commands when really he was just practicing saying hello. 

Once he recalled that it was her father who spoke it and not her, he decided to stick with the basics. With his usual Scots-Irish lopsided grin, he made his reply in similarly accented Standard.

Skyfire: Come now, Adelynn. You, of all people should know good things come to those who wait.

Lael ducked her head to hide laughter when she saw her mother’s eyebrows arch clean into her hairline. However, the chastising remark that she was expected in response never came. In fact, she lifted her gaze to find her mother trying very hard to conceal laughter. She suddenly felt like she was in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode. What had gotten into her mother today? The out-of-character reaction only served to make Lael more suspicious. Her mother clearly wanted something, though Lael hadn’t worked out quite what.

A. Rosek: ::smiles:: Well, I hope you won’t be waiting nearly this long to give me grandchildren.

And there it was. She grimaced, burying her face in her hands to hide the sudden flush on her cheeks. Grandchildren. Of course that was her first thought. Even though Lael was 28 and she technically already had a granddaughter, Maddy, and a grandson in Kellan’s son.

To that, Chythar made no immediate reply. He had to consider his words, wherein he took an uncharacteristically long pause as he stood behind Lael and gave a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder. He hardly ever paused in subspace conversations.

Skyfire: Hybrids are always a bit tricky, medically speaking, but I think we can manage to not make you wait as long for that. 

She shot him a look that he didn’t need to be a telepath or an empath to understand. Were the two of them seriously having this conversation with her sitting right here? It took counting backward in her head from 10 and a few clench-unclench movements with her hands to keep from saying anything. Her mentor on Vulcan would admire her self-control at that moment. 

Turning to the screen, she smiled at her mother despite the fire flashing in her eyes.

Rosek: Regardless of the medical complications, we do have our careers to consider. Besides, it will happen when God means for it to happen.

Better than anyone, Adelynn understood the role God had come to play in much of what she did. Though she still made mistakes from time to time, she’d learned to give God control. If he meant for it to happen, he’d make it happen when he was good and ready?

A. Rosek: ::arches an eyebrow:: Yes. But his timing can sometimes surprise you.

That much, Chythar could agree with. He too understood the bizarre timing affiliated with many divine interventions, having prayed for a few in his time. He nodded slightly and gave Lael’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

A tense silence hung in the air for long moments, leaving Lael to wonder when her mother would get to the true reason behind the call. Adelynn wasn’t one for small talk and the fact that she was making any sort of attempt at it put Lael on her guard. It was something her mother usually did before getting to her actual point.

A. Rosek: ::pauses:: Oh. I have wonderful news. ::smiles:: Do you remember the Harbour View Inn, Lael?

She grimaced. How could she forget? It was the bed and breakfast where she’d spent at least two Saturdays learning the proper way to prepare and take tea. She’d hated every minute of those forced charm school lessons. The most fun she’d had at any of them was snickering with Molly Dalinton who had professed to hate it as much as she did. When her mother’s back was turned, Lael and Molly would make faces and mock her mother’s every move.

Rosek: Yes, mom. I remember.

A. Rosek: ::grins:: Well, it went up for sale recently and I bought it!

Her eyebrows arched clean up into her hairline. 

Rosek: But what about your freight business?

A. Rosek: ::waves a hand flippantly:: Oh, that? I sold it. ::smirks:: Old Grezel finally offered me a fair price for it. ::waves a finger:: Not that he didn’t give me a hell of a time about it first. ::grins:: But I wore him down.

She sensed the change in Adelynn’s mood before another word was spoken and she could see that familiar glint in her mother’s eyes.

Rosek: ~ Here it comes. ~

A. Rosek: ::smiles sweetly:: I was thinking, dear, that it would be absolutely perfect for your and Chythar’s wedding. Quaint and just the right amount of class.

----

Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek, Eng.D.

Chief Engineer

USS Chin'toka, NCC-97187

I238110RH0

&

Lieutenant Comander Chythar Skyfire, MD

Medical Officer / Barista

USS Chin’toka NCC-97187

O239002CS0