Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Side Sim: Happy Hour (17 Forward)
<SNIP>

A lanky, shaggy haired Science Officer entered the lounge and started scanning its occupants feverishly as he clutched a PADD in his hands. It was unlikely anybody took particular note of him… especially if they were wrapped up in a private conversation.

“It was a fairly normal day in sickbay. I was focused on records so I didn’t see many patients, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.” She’d spent the entire day scanning medical records for things the department should make themselves aware of, then scheduling visits from the officers she ran across that needed monitoring for one reason or another. There were another few hundred to go through, but that was for tomorrow—not tonight.

“So, how was your day? How did you spend it—I don’t have any idea what you might be working on.” Her drink arrived and she held it up to James for a toast. “Chin-chin!” (cin-cin)

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

James lifted his glass to join in Talia’s toast, but before he could respond to her question heard his name.

“Rowe? Rowe!” Khiryn spotted Lt J.G. James Rowe at a table and made a beeline over to him, offering him the PADD he’d specifically brought to show his fellow scientist.

Talia was surprised by the eagerness of the new face to speak with James. She withdrew her extended glass a few inches while the men acknowledged each other.

“The delayed echoes? It’s a phase shift! I can’t believe we didn’t see it before. But… you asked me to map our readings against known anomalies.” Khiryn was standing behind Rowe so they could both see the screen of the PADD. His eyes were intent and gleaming with excitement.

Rowe listened intently as the eager Ensign rapid fired information....

Ensign Donivas reached over the sitting man’s shoulder and tapped the display impatiently. “When I did that, I saw similar readings associated with micro-fissures in the very fabric of space! Not at this scale of course… and it doesn’t account for all of our discrepancies… but the correlation is too strong to ignore.”

The Ensign glanced between the PADD and Rowe… eagerly awaiting a response about this latest development.

Ensign Khiryn Donivas - Science Officer - U.S.S. Athena

While others might take offense to the Ensign’s ‘intrusion’… Rowe couldn’t help a small smile that crept onto his face. The younger scientist’s excitement was both palpable and contagious. Instinctively Rowe took the tablet with his left hand and his eyes gave a cursory glance to the data before he looked across the table with an apologetic grin. “Talia, this ball of excitement is my friend Ensign Khiryn Donivas. We’re actually doing some research together.”

Rowe then looked at Khiryn, “Khiryn, this is Doctor Talia Ren… my date”. He watched the younger man amusedly awaiting his reaction to realizing that he had stumbled into a dreaded ‘third wheel’ situation.

Khiryn’s eyes shot wide and he glanced over at Talia. The excitement faded from his eyes as it was replaced with complete and utter embarassment.

The younger man’s expression did not disappoint, which only widened Rowe’s smile. He remembered a time several years ago when his own excitement lived that close to the surface…

She raised her brows and smiled at Donivas, sure the Ensign hadn’t even seen her in his excitement to share his discovery with Rowe. “Hello.”

Ensign Donivas winced. “I am such an idiot. I’m so sorry. I kind of get tunnel vision when working a problem.”

Tipping the padd to Khiryn, “This is good work, I look forward to reviewing it at a time when I can give it the attention I’m sure it deserves. How about you give me the full run down tomorrow?”

• Rowe

An innocent little bump in their date was alright, but Talia wondered if the newcomer would excuse himself so she and James could continue their evening.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

Rowe was handling this better than he was… trying to give him a graceful way out of the situation. “No… I don’t think that will work. I’ll either be in medical dying from embarrassment, or transferred off the off the ship in shame.”

Talia laughed softly, “Please, don’t stress about it. It’s all good.” Something about the ensign seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was.

Rowe’s attention lingered on Talia as she addressed Donivas and in the moment her poise and kindness struck him. It was endearing to see he treat his friend with the same level of respect that he had, it was more endearing that he could see through her body language that it was genuine.

He turned to the Doctor. “Again, I’m so sorry. I’m leaving now… please enjoy your night and pretend this never happened.” He took the PADD from James and started walking away. A moment later he looked over his shoulder and said, “Nice dress by the way!”

“See you in the morning Khiryn.” Rowed called after the fleeing scientist.

“Thanks. Maybe we can all do dinner another time?” Always up for meeting new people, the invitation was genuine.

Ensign Khiryn Donivas - Science Officer - U.S.S. Athena

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

The couple sat silently for a long moment as the excitement around their table eased back to the realm of intimate curiosity. James returned his glass to the uplifted toasting position and offered to close the toast Talia had begun… “Was it ‘chin chin’?” As he said the words he didn’t know what they meant but they brought a smile to his face nonetheless.

Her eyes twinkled as she looked across the table at James. “There are a few different beliefs about where the toast came from. Most believe it’s from Mandarin Chinese that was adopted by the British, Italians and French. Technically, it means ‘please, please’, but over the centuries, it has changed to mean ‘good luck’.” She gave him a wink and then sipped her martini.

“Yeah so you asked about work… and there it was.” He said with a sarcastic shrug. “Khiryn came in looking for the CSO, who was out of the office, so I asked him to look at some data that I was confounded by. We had several independent sensor systems all hinting that something might be happening in the same patch of space. It set us on a bit of a mystery chase.”

-Rowe

OOC: Oooo sorry, I thought I answered this.

IC:
“Well that explains his enthusiasm then. Make sure you tell him I meant it when I said the three of us should have dinner. I don’t want him to think he messed up anything tonight by showing up.” Talia looked casually around at others seated at tables. There really wasn’t any romance in 17 Forward, but she felt a definite connection with James, so she was hoping there might be just a little at their table.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

Again Rowe was struck by how genuinely gracious Talia handled what could have derailed an evening with someone more self-centered. “I’ll be sure to tell him. Poor guy will probably flog himself until the three of us are at the table together and he sees that he had no need for embarrassment. He’s a good one, but he does put a lot of stock into first impressions.” James took a sip of his drink as he watched his date look around the lounge. For just a moment he had the curious feeling that whatever had drawn her attention mattered to him as well, though he couldn’t have explained why.

“So I’m curious are there areas of medicine that you get caught up with excitement and lose yourself in?”

• Rowe

She thought about it for a moment. “I love finding out how a body works–it’s really amazing how without medical intervention, our bodies can heal most things. That doesn’t include a lot of diseases, but some of them don’t really need a doctor. I don’t think we’ll ever really know how it all works.” She gave James a cheeky smile. “Don’t tell my colleagues that. There are some who think they already know it all.”

She studied him across the table. What was it that made her feel so at ease when she was with him? Whatever it was, it also gave her a sense of familiarity–like they’d known each other before the Athena. Should she say something about it–see if he felt anything like it?

“I don’t know if this will sound as cheesy as it does in my head, but there’s something about you that seems very familiar, but still unknown. Like someone from my past standing behind an opaque curtain. Does that make any sense to you?” Talia bit the corner of her lip, waiting to see if he’d laugh at the notion.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

James was quiet for a long moment, turning her words over in his mind. His thoughts drifted to the time they’d spent together, a small smile settling onto his face. There had been an ease about it all. His pain seemed quieter in her presence, conversation came more naturally, and he found himself lowering walls he’d carried for years. He wasn’t ready to leap to supernatural conclusions, but “chemistry” felt like too simple an answer.

Reaching across the table, James gently took one of her hands in both of his. Meeting her eyes, he let the silence linger for another heartbeat before answering. “That makes more sense than you know.”

Letting out a breath he hadn’t meant to hold, “I’ve spent a long time keeping people at arm’s length.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You once told me not to worry so much about what comes next… just to be here.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m trying.”
-Rowe

When he took her hand in his, Talia didn’t feel sparks, but it certainly felt intimate and she liked it. “It’s good to hear you say you understand. I thought I might be crazy or something. I mean, you don’t remind me of anyone I already know so I couldn’t fathom why you felt so familiar.” She sipped her drink with her free hand, not wanting to break the contact with James yet.

“So what should we make of this strange event?” Talia leaned in a bit. “Should we take it as ‘fate’ pushing us together? Or could it simply be serendipity?”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena

James pondered Talia’s question earnestly for a moment as his eyes searched her face. “I’d hate to give ‘chance’ all of the credit when we’re so charming and clean up so very nicely in our dress whites.” He said with just the hint of humor in his voice.

Squeezing her hand playfully he said, “The scientist in me would love to analyze this down to the micron, but what I’ve found is some mysteries are more rewarding when you take your time.”

Rowe removed his left hand from hers, leaving his right, and reached for his glass.

-Rowe

OOC: They are not in dress whites in this thread. They are in civilian clothing. :)

IC:
She agreed with him. If they really didn’t know each other, why try to find a reason for the happy circumstance? “It’s just odd to me. But, I say if its just a wonderful coincidence maybe we shouldn’t look too hard for a reason. I’m totally fine seeing where this goes and curious as to what we might find as we get to know each other better.” Talia crossed her legs under the table and accidently kicked James. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Talia Ren
Doctor USS Athena