Sharah beamed aboard Challenger. She had managed to work it out that part of her trip back to Earth would be spent on the Challenger. She smiled at the chief and taking her bag she headed for sickbay. Sharah could ‘hear’ Joseph moving around the ship, that distinct calm and clarity that he had, and had to fight very hard not to simply touch his mind with hers. It would ruin the surprise.

Sharah walked into sickbay and was greeted by an overly enthusiastic NE Nurse. Sharah spent some time talking to NE Doctor and NE Nurse while she got an on boarding physical. She hadn’t been reassigned to Challenger, she was just a passenger, so she didn’t have to see anyone else. It was nice getting to see old friends. She, however, had a surprise to plan.

Sharah left sickbay and quired the computer, just to make sure, =^=Where is Lt. Rainns?=^=
“LT RAINNS IS IN THE SECURITY OFFICE ON DECK 7” Sharah nodded to herself and instead took the turbolift to deck 5. If she was lucky, Joseph hadn’t changed the access code to his quarters. He’d told her that he’d programmed his lock to inform him if anyone put the wrong code in 2 or more times, she hoped that was still the case. He’d wanted her to be able to get in if she was having trouble and needed him.

She walked off the turbo lift and down to his quarters. No one was in sight. She put the code in and the door slid open. She grinned and stepped in allowing the doors to close behind her. She felt strange being in there without him. She hoped he would forgive the intrusion. But at the same time it was little like coming home after a long trip away. She found the bottle of wine and put it to chill and then thought against it. She put it back and left that decision up to him. Then she started cooking. It wasn’t his spaghetti, but it would, she hoped, be enough.

An hour before his shift was over she went to the quarters that had been assigned to her, her old ones on Deck 9. She took the back turbolift. She went in with her bag and changed. She chose the same long sleeved blouse and peasant skirt she had worn on their first date, and left her hair down. On her way back to deck 5 an NE saw her that had been onboard with her previously. Unfortunately, she was too busy making sure she didn’t turn around and just tell Joseph she was there to notice the NE. Joseph’s shift was almost over and she was going to be waiting for him.

NE Woods, stared in shock at seeing the Betazoid Doctor on board again, and then turned about and headed for the security office. He walked in without waiting to be admitted.. “Ummm…Lt. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you remember that crazy Betazoid doctor? You know the one they claimed was sick, came in asking to use the phaser range? I thought we got rid of her, and good thing too. But…Well, sir, I could have swore I saw her up on deck 5.”

About that time Sharah got back to Joseph’s quarters. She put the wrong code in 2x on purpose and then 3rd time’s the charm. That should light up his console in the office.

As NE Woods stopped talking, Joseph’s console lit up alerting him someone was trying unsuccessfully to get into his quarters.

Sharah sat down on his couch, nervously waiting. She’d gone all day refusing to reach out and tell him she was there. And now the wait was almost over and it was almost more than she could stand.

-Joseph looked at the time. His shift was very nearly over, just five more minutes. He was ready to go to his quarters, have a drink, send a message, and then get a good night’s sleep. Although he actually had a day off tomorrow, so he wasn’t sure how to spend it quite yet. As he looked over a Padd NE woods came in rambling about a betazoid doctor, it became clear to Rainns that he was referring to Sharah. He gave the ensign a smile full of melancholy. “No Woods, you did not see her. She is halfway across the galaxy on Europa.” He looked back at the padd, and then realized his shift had ended. Smiling, he stood up from his desk. As he did, he saw his security alarm on his quarters go off. ‘Fantastic’, he thought to himself as he made his way to his quarters.

The young man figured it was a cheeky cadet or ensign who was trying to play a prank on him. Arriving at the door to his quarters he saw nobody around, despite checking around the corridor for several minutes. “Punks,” he mumbled under his breath. He then turned and entered his quarters. As he stepped through the door, he felt it. A presence in the room that was not his own. He smelled food too and looked at the table to see a bowl of spaghetti sitting on it. He suddenly felt the source of the presence, spinning around his eyes fell upon his couch. His breath stopped and his heart skipped a beat. He simply stood, staring straight at the person on the couch. Happiness, excitement, and joy began to bubble inside of him, but he kept them down for a moment. “I really hope.” He began, tearing up as he talked. “This is real.” Sharah was gorgeous, and the way she looked now since their first date was even more beautiful than when they had first had dinner in the mess hall. Joseph wanted to run up, pick her up and kiss until morning, but he couldn’t be sure this wasn’t some elaborate prank. ‘Imzadi?’ he thought, knowing that only the real Sharah would be able to hear that. In the split second after he sent out the thought, he felt it echo across the room, across the ship, and in that moment, he craved a response.

She waited, feeling him pace across the deck. Waiting for him to realize he needed to actually enter his quarters. Just as she was about to go out there after him, he entered, and her breath slammed out of her lungs. She’d missed him, and the realization at how much brought tears to her eyes. He looked good in his uniform, and for a moment she could only stare, waiting for him to turn and look at her. She smiled tentatively, holding her breath. And then she heard his voice in her mind, and the breath she had been holding rushed out of her lungs. ‘It is very real, Imzadi. I wanted to surprise you.’ Her mind sliding seamlessly into the spot he had created, just for her, unable and unwilling to stay separated from him any longer. She stood up taking a step towards him.

Joseph took in a deep breath, he felt Sharah rush into his mind. He closed his eyes, containing the joy as best he could, but he could not contain it for long. As she walked towards him. He rushed forward, almost tackling her in his hug. Picking her up he pulled her face to his and began to kiss Sharah repeatedly. ‘I love you’ he thought. He knew this wasn’t his standard reaction to stimuli such as this, but all his pent up affection was spilling out into one big show of feeling that Joseph typically did not engage in. This was the exception. He continued to hold her and kiss her, he did not want it to stop for a moment. He felt his solitude ending and the old feeling of unity grew inside him once more.

Sharah felt her feet lift off the floor for a moment and she laughed, pure joy. But then he kissed her and everything slowed down, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling herself closer to him. She was in his arms again and finally home. ‘I love you, Imzadi.’ She knew he wasn’t comfortable with huge displays of feeling, but if he stopped at that moment, she’d cry. She’d missed him too much and she needed to be in his arms, like this. ‘You just stood there, I was worried, you were upset’ the thought came staggered, she was having trouble focusing on the words. Their carefully-kept-in-check emotions feeding off each other. ‘Don’t let go yet, okay?’ She kissed him again, and again.

Joseph continued his barrage of emotion, not once letting up. He was glad that he was able to communicate with his mind, because at the moment his lips were very much preoccupied. ‘I will never be upset at seeing you imzadi. You just caught me off guard.’ He gripped her body tighter. ‘I’m not gonna let you go until you tell me too.’ Of all of his moments alive, this one very clearly topped the rest, Rainns simply could not fathom happiness that was more vibrant than his own at that time.

En Fayth, Doctor, USS Europa
Lt. j.g. Rainns, COS, USS Challenger