Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in Another New Ship

Posted by Lieutenant Markus Woods (Chief Science Officer) in Another New Ship

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharah Fayth (Medical) in Another New Ship
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
As she stood and headed to the replicator he took a split second to both mourn and admire then pushed himself to his feet as well. He seemed stable enough and made his way after, heading into the kitchen. Pulling out a foot long section of bread, he sat it aside. Turning on a grill, he let it warm up while grabbing a knife and cutting the bread in half, producing two long pieces. On both he brushed a mixture that was like an aromatic oil. By then she made her way over with the drinks. Taking the uttaberry juice, e inspected it for a second, then took a sip. Then drained half the glass. “Been a while since I’ve had uttaberry juice,” he mused with a small smile, then snagged one of the waters.

Surprising herself, Sharah didn’t want to get up when she did. She would rather stay sitting next to Mark. “It can be a bit over powering if you aren’t used to it, and replicators always make the taste overly sweet. My father grows them and makes his own juice.”

At the same time on impulse he leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her cheek, along with a mental ‘Thank you’ burst of gratitude. Both for the drinks and the care. Yeah, she was a doctor. And looking out for crew was the job. But this was different, at least a bit. And she didn’t have to, not at all. It was appreciated.

The impulse was so sudden and his reaction to follow through so quick, Sharah didn’t have time to react before hand. Instead she stilled in surprise as his lips brushed across her cheek, and she blushed as red as the tomato sauce. She felt butterflies winging around her stomach, and not knowing what else to do she downed her own glass of juice and started on the water. Sharah was a doctor but that hadn’t been her motivation. She was simply a kind and caring individual. If she could help she would, but with Mark it was more than that. She wasn’t bothered by that but she would be hard-pressed to explain it.

Taking a moment to down half the water, he almost startled when the timer went off. Setting his glass down he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Kill that, please.” Moving over to the cooking equipment, he pulled out the dish they’d made and sat it out to start cooling. Replicating some plates and utensils, he went to plating a good sized square of the main dish. Along with it went the toasty grilled bread. Along with that came a salad he pulled out of the cooling conservation unit, and sat them out. Gesturing for her to take a seat he followed suit. “I would have included a nice wine, but… You don’t drink. And after all of that, earlier? Probably not a good combination.” He broke into a grin. It was a mild tease, but also he was being cautious and a little concerned. Better safe than sorry, right?

“I am a doctor, I don’t kill things,” a small teasing smile crossed her face, “but, I will silence it for you.” Sharah usually came off as a serious person because of all the noise. It made timing and interpretation difficult at times. She helped where she could, mostly moving things out of the way or to the table as he indicated. She sat and shook her head at his comment. “Not usually, no. It has a very strong effect on me, and I don’t trust myself ony own with it.” She knew he was teasing slightly and she shrugged with a small smile.

“So, nothing fancy. I dunno if you’ve had lasagna before. It can be a lot of steps, if you’re really going for it. But it’s so worth it. And it’s also a great comfort food, and has lots of fuel in it too.” He shrugged one shoulder casually, but at the same time was a little nervous, not knowing how she’d react.

Mark

She grinned brightly, “Fancy is overrated. Good things are worth time and effort.” She could tell he was waiting for her reaction. She picked up the fork and cut a bite off of the square on her place. It was heavy and rich and robust and flavorful. The noodles had a heavy texture and the cheese was rich and smooth. This was nothing like any pasta she had had before. He was right it was the ultimate comfort food. She moaned appreciatively around the mouthful. “Mark, this is really good. Thank you for sharing it with me.” But he could feel that she meant more than just the food.

Sharah

Seeing her reaction and delight he let out a breath he wasn’t quite aware he’d been holding and nodded. “Glad you like. It’s something my mother made a lot when I was younger. Learned from her. And you’re welcome. This isn’t something I get to do often. Much less with such good company.” he flashed her another small but pleased smile, scrunching his nose up for a second then dug into his as well. She was right, the noodles came out just right, separating the layers of sauce, cheese, and filling well. As near as he could tell everything cooked evenly, without drying out or hardening anything that shouldn’t be. The salad was fresh and light, which he added a little bit of dressing to, and the bread was a good companion.

“So. Back to the holodeck conversation,” he circled back, between bites. “Got any favorite programs or holonovels?”

Mark

Sharah ate quietly, the food was good and she was enjoying it, savoring it. Going unnoticed by her everything else seemed to be held at bay, momentarily. She considered his question. She enjoyed any holoprogram really. With the safety protocols, there were many things that Sharah could attempt on the holodeck that she couldn’t in reality. There was Ashlyn’s parkour program, she enjoyed that, or she had. She didn’t find much enjoyment in that anymore. But there was one, it probably would seem very boring and ordinary for a favorite program. Oh and there was that other one, she really liked that one. There was fascination and excitement and child like joy at the thought of them. “Nothing very exciting. Did you ever go to O’Hanrahan’s, about 5 blocks from the Academy? I never did, I…couldn’t go, but I can with the holodeck.” She ate quietly for a moment before continuing. “The other…it’s…a litter of puppies and kittens.”

Sharah

Focusing on food for the moment, he listened as she cycled through possible answers. He didn’t get anything specific, but it was amusing to see her go through her mental Rolodex. “Actually, I don’t think I ever did.” He took a long drink of his water, then tilted his head at the puppies ad kittens. Then nodded slowly. “I see. One of those things you couldn’t really do as a kid, I take it?” The question was simple, matter-of-fact, without pity or judgement. Though he wondered, now that she was older and had much more control, if an actual pet might some day be a possibility? What about any children she might have?

Markus

“It was just a little Irish pub type place, but everyone always talked about going there.” The crowds had been too much for Sharah and so she’d never gone. The place wasn’t really important to her, but the experience was. She nodded, stunned into not responding. He understood without her having to explain. More he actually ‘understood.’ He couldn’t empathize without living a similar experience but he did understand. She smiled, but it was slightly sad, and he could tell it wasn’t him but some memory. “Yeah one of those things. I…I had a kitten once…” but that was tied to that earlier too heavy topic for the evening. And then she shied away from his musings. [it had been a long evening already full of surprises and exhaustion, and she wasn’t ready to face those topics right now]. It was all on her, she let him feel it, he hadn’t done anything to make her uncomfortable, but the topics were for her, and she wasn’t ready, just then to explore them. But there was a silent promise that they would, eventually if he wanted to.

“Does your mom cook a lot? This is really good.”

Sharah

He could feel the weight as he’d touched on something a little painful at the moment. Silently he apologized. A small ache flooded through him, less physical and more emotional as he wished she didn’t have to have experiences like whatever it was. That he couldn’t do anything about it or to fix it. As she turned back to conversations of family and home he shrugged. “Well, dad was away a lot. So it was just us. Replicators are great, but on Deneva… the spirit of hard work is still alive and well. There’s something to be said for getting your hands dirty, planting food, and making food by hand. At that point you’re not doing it because you have to. But that you want to. It’s an expression. Of self, and of caring for others. My mom might be a scientist, but she’s got a big heart. She couldn’t cook all the time, of course. Which was understood. But when she could, she did, especially if she was feeling good. I learned how from her, and returned the favor. It was something we continued after she remarried and did for my step-sister as well.”

Mark