Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

Posted by Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Micah grinned as she spoke. “I bet that was a sight to see, wife. You, backlit against the stars, playing somethin’ like this while people just listened… beautiful moment, I bet.” and he paused for a long time.

She could have interjected, but instead Shara enjoyed the silence as their bodies moved to the elegant music.

“Ya know we… all the ones in Recon with me… we always thought the Maquis got shafted. Had two brothers in there, parents were Maquis, dunno from where. When the Brass heard about that, man they came rolling up on us ready to throw those boys in the brig.” and he chuckled.

Shara snorted. It was a familiar story- guilty by association.

“That was the first time I drew my weapon on an Fleet officer.” he said with a grin.

Micah

Laughing openly, she pulled back and grinned. “That doesn’t surprise me in the least. But finding people who were sympathetic, if not understanding, back then was hard. It was hard all around. I certainly ave never envied the Federation Council. They had to take a side, one way or another, and peace had been hard fought at that point. I get it. But asking colonist to just up and leave because of bureaucratic decisions parsecs away was never going to fly. And for us on Tracken it was a matter of what was right. We hadn’t been asked to leave but so many others had and we felt it was wrong. Those in power might have bene trading planets, but those planets had people living on them. I know for a fact the Cardassian colonies that flipped to the Federation weren’t happy about it either but the Cardassian government did a lot worse to remove people than the Federation did. It might have been a losing battle to say no and fight back, but I don’t think we could have lived with ourselves if we had turned a blind eye.”

~Shara

Micah leaned in and kissed her… deeply, but not in a sexual way. This was love… pure and simple. He kissed her like that for a long time, then pulled back and said “I respect and admire the hell outta you, you know that? More than anyone anywhere.”

Micah

Lips still tingling from their kiss, Shara just stared at him. He did that- casting out those statements so easily- and every time it momentarily floored her. Shara wasn’t a woman who needed an ego boost and her self-confidence was strong. But when he said things like that it was easy to make a joke or brush it off. She had known so many incredible people in her life that she had this strange difficulty being that same person to someone else. Maybe it was all that baggage from her childhood, but she just was stunned every time. “I know it because you say it, but I guess I have a hard time wrapping my brain around it and understanding it. I’m not better than anyone else.”

~Shara

“Bite your tongue, woman.” and he pulled her close. “Now, I dunno everyone else in the universe… but from the ones I do know you’re the best one I know. You’re sincere. You’re direct. And amazing for our world… you’re honest. No matter what we’ve talked about… I’ve never once doubted you. So you are either honest, at least to me… or you are the single most convincing liar I’ve ever met. And since I’m married to ya, I’d like to think I can read ya well enough to know the difference.” He looked at her and then kissed her.

Shara smiled beneath the kiss- possibly acceptance of his words. Her knew her truly. When it mattered, she wasn’t a liar. For the job? Necessity. But this wasn’t some deep double cover con she was pulling. This was the real deal. And the one way to know that? She had never once had anything to drink while on under cover. Too risky.

“I love ya, Sha. And I ain’t ever gonna stop.”

Micah

Reaching a hand up, she rested it on the side of his face. “Well, for the record, you are the most singularly surprising person I’ve met in a very long time. And all I can say is don’t stop, okay? Both the loving and the surprising,” Shara said, drawing back in close as they continued to dance.

~Shara

They danced through the first side of the record, Micah stealing a kiss every so often. When the record stopped, he let her go and walked to the player. He gently lifted the record off, wiped it down, put it back in the sleeve, wiped that down and slid the record back in place. He moved to another shelf, pulled a record down, and smiled at Shara. “This one… this one is for you, Sha.” He started the player, set the needle and then walked up to her.

As he did the opening refrains of “At Last” by Etta James filled the cabin.

Micah

She broke into a elated grin as she closed the distance, holding out her hand and arm to him. It was an invitation for a first dance, as if Chopin had been a warm up and this was their true and proper first dance as a married couple. Who needed a reception anyway?

Meanwhile, she sang along:
At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song

Oh, yeah, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you

And I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known

As the song continued she hummed softly, her previously strong voice with its raspy emphasis shifting to a deeper tone with rich resonance. It was a voice that had aged and weathered and still had a bit of youthful brightness. It was also the voice of a person who had done a lot of music in their days and had excellent pitch.

~Shara

“Damn… may just have to start calling you ‘Etta’. Or is that ‘Ms. James’ to me?” Micah said with a chuckle. As the song faded, he dipped her back in a slow and leisurely fashion, before bringing her up very slowly… hangover, after all. As the next song, ‘All I Could Do Was Cry’, started; he looked at Shara and put his flesh hand on her cheek. “Sha… you have a great voice. Promise me you’ll sing to me everyday.” and he smiled. Not his typical wry, sarcastic grin… but a genuine smile; filled with love and appreciation for the woman before him.

“Thanks for marrying me.”

Micah