Snip

Lexi’s Hotel Room

As Lexi entered she would hear some scuffling in the room, someone was here. It wasn’t long before she found out who.

“Hello? Chris?” Lexi called out half-hoping half praying that the man in her room was Chris. Why he would be here made no sense nor the fact she wanted him there when she was marrying another man-made no sense; however, on some level, Chris and Lexi never made any sense to those that knew them the best. Who came out surprised Lexi even more than Chris standing in the doorway.

“You invited Chris? Chris… really? Are you mentally daft doll, or just a glutton for punishment.” came the sharp rebuke from Ian as he exited the bathroom area as he locked eyes on Lexi.

“How did you find out? I mean he just got in. Literally he landed and came to meet me for lunch,” Lexi felt a little bit like a kid coming home late for curfew. “Did he call you?” Her question was a moot point. It was poised simply to stall for time. Sooner or later Ian would see his best friend around. A few different scenarios ran threw her head of how to handle this situation. Diplomats were trained to be calm and cool under any situation. Ian was rarely mad but tonight he seemed rather hot.

“Of course I found out, he is staying here. Kelly saw him leaving to go see you a few hours ago when we were checking in… now back to Chris. We talked about this, it wasn’t a good idea. You have called him, told him and wish him well,” Ian said with an angry growl as he shook his head as he paced a bit. Ian was often able to stay calm and cool under pressure but right now weeks of planning with Lexi on how to tell Chris about this all seemed to go up in smoke.

Adjusting the sleeping baby on her shoulder Lexi moved about the room setting things down. “Calm down Ian. It’s really not as bad as you think,” she causally leaned to one side pulling off a shoe as she spoke.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, he is coming to the Atlantis woman, don’t you know what this means? He is going to bring this day up for the next ten years about how you hurt him. I am not saying it is your fault you had every right to move on but he doesn’t shut up, ever. I think he likes to hear himself speak… where do you keep your booze?” Ian said as he looked around for the mini bar as he walked over and opened up.

“Let me call my mom. We can go down to the bar. Those mini bottles are a fortune,” she slowly pulled off Ruth’s shoes and then wiggled the baby out of the dress. Ruth for her part played the role of baby doll with an oscar-winning performance, lying limply as each limb was extracted from the dress and then over her head.

“Oh bite me I don’t care if it’s overpriced you bloody well owe me.” Ian retorted as he grabbed six of the small bottles and turned around. “These are all for me, you get none.”

Ian Bordeaux

Lexi wrinkled up her nose as she picked up the baby. “You are acting like Ruth around candy or her favorite toys. Really, Ian, I don’t see the problem with this situation,” she carried the baby to the small crib set up in the corner. “Chris deserved more than just a ‘hey I am in love,” she stopped immediately and adjusted her words, “was,” Lex paused again and sighed. “You are making this far more complicated than it is,” she spoke softly as she pulled the blanket over her daughter. “Sleep, tight baby. Mommy and Daddy love you.” On autopilot, she kissed her two-finger and pressed them to her Ruth’s cheek and then to the picture of Chris next to the crib as Lexi tucked Ruth in with a whisper.

“Oh yeah… I’m the one making it complicated” Ian said as he rolled his eyes at the display of her kiss to the picture. “You sure have this crap fest all wrapped up don’t you? Meanwhile… I don’t even have a meanwhile… I am just so tired doll.”

Moving across the room, she sat down across from Ian at the small table and examined the array of bottles scattered on the surface. Patrón, Grey Goose, Saurian Brandy, Crown Royal, Glenlivet, Macallan, Remy Martin were a few of the brands Ian had grabbed from the small chiller in the room. While any of these could be replicated at half the cost, the fact they were actually brewed by human hand, sent each mini bottle into the extravagant price range. “Screw it my dad is only paying for this once. Which should we start with,” Lexi held up two mini bottles for Ian to select his choice?

Lt. Lexi Garfield

“Screw you, these are mine! You get none, you have breast milk and last think you need is a drunk baby.” Ian said as he opened the nearest bottle and drowned it quickly. “Besides winners get booze, you didn’t win you invited your baby daddy to your wedding!”

Ian Bordeaux

“It’s call pump and dump. I have enough stored for a month just like medications when you are preparing for a disaster. It’s just an easy excuse to avoid drinking when I need to,” she grabbed the nearest bottle to her and cracked the lid sipping half. ”Right now I need to drink and not avoid it.” As the scotch coated her mouth Lexi’s face reflected how she didn’t like the taste. Her lips formed a tight pucker and she shook her head. “Ugh why is,” she turned the bottle around to see what she was drinking, “scotch so bad. I mean butterscotch rocks. Barbecue is the bomb. Why is this so bad?”

“And I am a winner,” she announced in a pouty voice downing the next bottle. Once her tongue was numb it got easier and Lexi was working on getting numb tongue as fast as she could tonight.

“And what do you mean crap fest? What’s so wrong about needing to see , I mean telling Chris I am getting married? What is this one ?” Lexi waited for Ian to give her a reply as she cracked her next bottle. They all looked the same with thier amber or clear color. She couldn’t tell liquors apart but it always seemed men could.

“Oh that one will put hair on your chest, might wanna grab a chaser, and… look.. I love you, you’re like the little sister I never wanted.” Ian said already cracking another bottle as he began downing it as he slammed it down and looked her in the eye. “But you need to decide, do you want Chris or do you want Toby, cause Chris flew out all the way here from half way across the galaxy on a whim that you needed him… and you still haven’t gotten the courage to tell him. Granted he odds are will run before you get a chance and you will feel vindicated I am sure… but it will be a false win doll.” Ian said as he reached across and patted the top of her hand.

“You’re drunk,” Lexi pulled her hand back angrily. “I am marrying Toby and it took a hell of a lot of courage to tell Chris that.” Drumming her fingers on the table a rhythmic tapping of three clicks filled the room as Lexi pondered what to say next.

“I don’t think you are ever going to get over him if you keep him in your life. If you love him you gotta tell him, and if you don’t… you gotta stay the hell away from him. It isn’t going to work any other way, make a neutral zone divide up your friends draw a line of no crossing… it’s the only way to keep the peace.

Ian Bordeaux

“So you are saying he and I can’t be friends. Is that it? Well, I got news for you Ian at lunch today he told me he had no idea what we were or what we ever were. I may have messed up one night but Chris messed up on the four thousand odd days between then and now,” Lexi snapped back. “I lah,” she stopped herself again from saying what she knew needed to be kept secret. “I have always been able to separate him and I. I don’t see why I have to give up and move on. All I do is give for that man.”

Lt. Lexi. Garfield

“No you haven’t doll, cause you don’t know what you two are either. What he said was the truth you don’t want to hear. If you two knew what you where to each other, I wouldn’t have been the one writing his name on the birth certificate. Your version of giving is just enough so it doesn’t hurt, and he only stays just long enough to feel hurt. You want the gods honest truth though doll, love is messy. You get hurt, you say things you don’t mean, you knock each other down but you then get up, say your sorry, kiss and make up. You do that cause you know this person is the only one in the world, galaxy, universe that makes you feel like a part of you isn’t broken inside, isn’t wrong isn’t weird isn’t strange. It clicks, and it feels right. If I was a betting man Chris does that to you, and you do it to him… but there is a bit of cowardice in both you of you to realize that sometimes you just need to take the hit and keep going forward.” Ian said pausing as he took a deep breath as he looked her in the eyes as he spoke, never wavering to make his point come home.

“And if I was that betting man, I would say Toby has never once made you feel that way. It’s safe, it’s simple, it’s dull. Hon the guy is a total douche bag knock off of Chris, everyone sees it… and you do too if you just don’t want to admit it. But here is the honest lesson, and listen closely cause I won’t say it again. No one gives a damn if you marry Toby and settle it life of safe obsecuirty, tons of women do it. You are the only one who has to be accountable here for these actions, so make sure you make the right choice… and don’t for one second think the right choice is going to be easy.” Ian said as he stood and began walking behind Lexi as he placed his hands on her shoulders and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Moving to the door he passed the crib, smiling softly at the small girl who had made his life a little bit brighter he looked back at Lexi, “No one gives a damn… but me… I do… and I don’t wanna see my best friends tearing each other apart for the rest of my life, so figure out what you want doll… and be happy with the choice.” Ian added as he walked out the door, leaving Lexi alone to think of the words he left her.

Ian Bordeaux

Thirty Minutes Later

“so you wanna tell me what happened earlier,” Kelly said flopping back on her pillow breathing heavy. Half and hour ago Kelly had given up waiting and went to bed. Ian had almost lost her for the night. Whatever happened in Lexi’s room though had definitely been in her favor. Ian came back in a mood she rarely saw him in. He was angry, moody and frustrated. He said nothing as he crossed the room and took Kelly in his arms. The next proverbial fifteen minutes had been a mix of gentle intimacy mixed with an undercurrent of anger. His grip was stronger, his kisses more forcefully yet under it all, Kelly could almost sense need Ian was desperately trying to satiate with her. She had responded back with the same intensity yet allowed Ian to take them where he needed to be. “Not that I am complaining but you seem,” Kelly rolled over propping herself up on one elbow looking down at Ian, “as stressed out as the groom is supposed to be.”

The sound of chimes could be heard as Ian’s personal communicator began to ring breaking up the conversation between Kelly and Ian.

=/\=Mr. Bordeaux. A personal call from room 428=/\= echoed through the room but not with the characteristic high pitched, slightly artificial voice everyone in Starfleet instantly recognized. The voice was a male’s. It bore the classic deep bass tones with a french accent. It was the type of voce found in every holovid where the sexy foreigner found the lonely woman and made all her wants and dreams come true.

“Oh that is Jean-Luc,” Kelly waggled her eyebrows. “I was bored and reading the informational packet from when we checked in. Turns out you can personalize you room’s communication system. He can say all sorts of things.”

Knowing exactly how her husband interpreted her sentence, Kelly grabbed a pillow at hit Ian gently in the face. “What,” Kelly’s cheeks flushed instantly red looking at her husband. “I didn’t know when you were coming home. You said you were coming right back. I waited an hour and,” she slightly averted her eyes not able to wipe the smile off her face.

=/\=Mr. Bordeaux. A personal call from room 428=/\=

Lt. Lexi Garfield

“Oh lord not again…” Ian said as he heard the chime. Sliding to the end of the bed he shook his head as he looked back at Kelly, smiling slightly as he wondered if it was who he thought it was. “If it’s her I am killing her, I just am… she needs to stop being so wishy washy.” Ian told Kelly as he looked around the edge of his bed as he looked for some of his clothes.

“She just has cold feet. I mean getting married is a huge step. Your shirt is on the couch,” she pointed across the room as she continued to talk. “The only reason I wasn’t a basket case was that I had no idea we were even getting married. Jean-Luc can you put some coffee on for me.”

=/\=Yes Kelly. I will begin to service your needs now. Mr. Bordeaux. A personal call from room 428=/\= repeated the voice of the hotel’s communication service in its smooth melodic tones as if there was no rush to anything.

“Oh for Christ sake… computer put the call to my personal com…” Ian said as he leaned over and kissed Kelly. “We aren’t this bad are we?”

=/\=Yes Mr. Bordeaux. I will implement your request now. =/\= The computerized voice was using very different verbiage with Ian over his wife but the tone and prosody of the speech remained the same.

“Ian here.” he replied as he held his com badge in his hand as he walked out of the bedroom area and into the living quarter.

Ian Bordeaux

“I am not a coward,” Lexi said hotly. Her voice has a nasal quality like she had either been crying or suffering from what was once known as allergies. “I have never once hidden the fact the baby is Chris’. He just doesn’t know because he doesn’t want to know. Does he really think I am that promiscuous that I would jump not only from his bed to Noah’s within a few hours time span?” Lexi’s question hung in the air. It was rhetorical but on some level needed an answer. “If I was so scared of him finding out I would never have listed his name on the birth certificate but I did.”

“Wait he thinks it is Noah’s? How does he think it is Noah’s?” Ian asked as he raised his eyebrows at the wording.

“He guessed,” Lexi moaned. “He said she was beautiful and perfect and then said something like ‘she’s Noah’s’. What was I supposed to say....no,” she had a definite whimper to her tone as she spoke. Clearly Lexi knew she had done something wrong and desperately needed it to be fixed yet had no idea how to do it. Looking across the room, her eyes met Chris’ in the photograph by Ruth’s crib? I”I had every intention of telling him but you just don’t blurt out ‘yeah she is perfect and she is yours. Don’t worry I had Ian sign your name so it’s all official.”

“Did you deny that it was his kid again to him? Lexi doll… why do we keep going through this? You can’t just keep making up this stuff!”

“I did not make it up. It just…happened,” Lexi grumbled flopping back on the bed. “He was holding her and Ruth was so happy. Like she knew he was her daddy,” Lexi sighed heavily. “And he was so natural with her. Like he had been there from day one.” Putting one hand over her face she closed her eyes wanting to hear Ian tell her that she had to tell him.

Feeling the anger turning to frustration, Lexi dropped into the seat. “Ian I don’t know what I am supposed to do here. If it was just me I would postpone the wedding but Ruth deserves more.” Casting a glance at the crib, Lexi blinked back a slew of tears threatening to spill over her lashes. “She deserves a father that is going to be there not when I call on a whim but every day and,” she felt her hands shake some scared to utter the next statement. “And I won’t share her. She is mine. I am not going to tell Chris she is his and then shuttle her back and forth across the galaxy because he wants a chance to get to know her. She is all I have Ian. I can’t lose her like I did Chris.” Not able to stop the emotional flood deep within her, Lexi because to sob. It was the deep and heavy cry that stole your breath forcing hiccupping chokes as the individual tried to breathe. “Don’t tell me love hurts because every time Chris leaves I feel like I am dying inside. That baby is my life,” Lexi struggled to talk and cry at the same time. “Without Ruth I am alone and I am tired of being alone.”

Lt. Lexi Garfield

“How do you know what he is going to do if he doesn’t know the kid is his? He just needs to know you love him, do you love him still? That is what he needs to hear if you do more than anything… if you don’t then you can’t keep toying with the man. He deserves better than this and so do you.”

Lexi chewed her lip reflecting on what Ian said. He was right. It would solve so many things and give her a solid reason to marry Toby. “Okay I will do it,” she sat up feeling energized. “Just help me. You are a diplomat. Can we do a dry run? You be Chris?”

Meanwhile…

As Kelly finished getting dressed, the system began to call a second number into the room.

Ian Bordeaux

=/\=Mr. Bordeaux. A personal call from room Chris Robbins room 426=/\= rang out clear and strong. Kelly could hear Ian on the computer dealing out tough love to Lexi. Odds were Chris was going to need the same speech. “Send it to Mr. Bordeaux’s contact number” Kelly ordered Jean–Luc. No sooner had she made the request did the phone on the table begin to chime. Picking it up, Kelly answered.

“Hey Chris,” she said in a sympathetic tone. Kelly had no idea if this was going to be a ‘boot the witch to the curb’ or ‘god I love her so much’ conversation. She would have to see how Chris responded to her greeting to know for sure. Over the past two years, she and Chris had spent the majority of their free conversations discussing Lexi. The problem for Kelly was that she liked them both. If only one of the pair showed up at her door, Kelly would side 100% with them. Since she understood both of their sides, she mainly gave lip service. Picking on side between Chris and Lexi would be like picking between two siblings.