Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Asst. Chief Medical Officer) in Date Night In The Place With A View

Posted by Civilian Jason Reilly (Assistant Director - Colonial Intelligence) in Date Night In The Place With A View

Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Asst. Chief Medical Officer) in Date Night In The Place With A View
Posted by… suppressed (27) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Second. Our first was buying an apartment. and he winked at her with a smile. He stood and walked over to the table of food. He came back with a small, bite sized something. “Candied ginger, mint, and citrus. It will help settle you.” and he held it out to her.

She took it and popped it in her mouth. She sucked on it exile she set her head back on the cushions and closed her eyes. It was a weird flavor combination and the best thing she had tasted in weeks. Where did you get these because I am going to have to buy these in bulk. I am going to name them a-m-b-r-o-s-i-a. Not because the flavor was amazing, it was, but it settled everything. Just like he said it would. She opened her eyes and looked at him with a grin. Thank you.

He sat back and looked at her. Do you want to talk about it? Or pretend it didn’t happen?

Reilly

Talk about it? Sure let’s talk about the crazy lady you let into your house and her emotional break down. Who is more crazy? Me for losing it or you for letting me in? Hannah grinned at him. Really though, as much as I wish that hadn’t happened. And I swear it never has and that is unsettling, can’t really pretend it didn’t.

Asimina

He shrugged and said It is understandable, though. He shook his hands. Yeah, he was going to have to practice to keep up signing. “You at least have hormones to use an excuse. Me? My o ly excuse for doing this is thst I just want to.” and he chuckled. “Ansd I don’t even really know why!”

Reilly

Hannah shook her head with a smile. She set the glass down and took his hand, palm up, and began to rub with her thumbs along his fingers and palm, as if she knew exactly where his hands were sore. She worked her way slowly to his wrist and then his fore arm while she talked and then switched to his other hand. It sent tingles and warmth through her hands and up her arms, leaving behind goose bumps.

“Hormones are a factor but not an excuse. It implies I don’t know what I am doing. I do. I don’t quite understand why it is happening this way.” She raised her eyes to his and smiled, and let out a little breath of laughter. “My friend Alexis would laugh at me right now. I am always telling her to stop thinking so much. To dive in and let the experience happen. Her dad says that some things can only be understood only with the heart and not the head. Words and logic have to be set aside. I think she would really like ro turn the tables on me.”

Hannah

His mind was numb. Her touch was almost overwhelming. Never had a simple touch of someone’s hand made him feel like this. His eyes were riveted on her hand on his arm, the image sesring itself into his memory.

His brain finally gave up protesting and started screaming something else. PAY ATTENTION, STUPID! SHE’S TALKING TO YOU! it said. He looked up and saw her looking at him and smiling. Then she laughed, and Jason was just done.

“Uh… well, maybe Alexis could give you some advice for a change.” and he smiled and said “Althougj if your typical first response is to just let experiences happen… I wonder if I should be offended this whole thing is being the exception to the rule.” and he chuckled.

Reilly

She kept rubbing his arm and palm, unaware she was still doing so. “Well it’s not quite so clear cut. Embracing doesn’t mean reckless.” She smiled shyly. “But maybe…instead of offended, you could be flattered you are the exception. Instead of one experience…it will be more.”

Hannah

He looked at her and said “Promise?” and he smiled. He watched her hand for a few moments more and then said “And promise you will keep doing that. It feels amazing.”

Reilly

Hannah took a slow breath to stop herself from freaking out again. Hannah did embrace life, but she had so many regrets. She didn’t want Jason to be one of them. This was unlike anything she had ever done, and her head screamed she was being reckless, but her heart, her gut said go for it. “Promise.”

She looked down at his hand. She hadn’t realized she was still doing that. She didn’t pause though. “I promise that too.” She moved back to his palm and let her thumbs rub in a circle and then begin the process over. “You did all the signing, I can do this. Next time I will bring something to help.” She didn’t look up, but watched what she was doing. She seemed in no hurry. It felt pretty amazing to her too. Then she took his other hand and worked to soothe that arm too.

Hannah

Jason watched her for several minutes and then said “Tell me about your parents. And your friend… Alexis, is it? What are they like?”

Reilly

“My parents lived on Earth until they took jobs with with Paleo-pharmaceutical. My dad, Tahoma, is an ecologist. His job is ‘agricultural specialist. Basically he makes sure the plants they are harvesting are cared for and it is done in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the natural environment. He used to take me with him and we would camp for days. Hike, rock climb, swim, spelunking. I love it. He is also the one that makes sure the research and weekend warriors don’t tear up the planet with their visits. He plays harmonica and spoons. My mom, Lyla, is a pharmaceutical developer. She and the rest of the lab team spent years testing the plants and minerals for medical purposes and now they produce them. She loves to dance and the water. She used to go camping with us but only if we were near a lake or ocean. She would just sit there and paint…and she is awful! My dad would always laugh. Some private joke between them I think.”

Hannah’s hands slowed from a deep message to gentle caresses. The movements were the same but lighter. It sent little pulses of electricity up her arms. “Alexis is different, but she is amazing and precious. I met her 3rd year at the Academy. She already had her medical doctorate and was a practicing physician when she joined at 15. She is a child prodigy. She wanted to join Star Fleet earlier but age requirements and her parents made her wait. She’s brilliant at everything she does. But she has this really deep sense of compassion that drives her. People don’t see it though. They just see her brain and how she can solve any puzzle in unique ways. And compared to the rest of us she is scary fast doing it. She had a hard time making friends and so eventually she let herself concentrate on the puzzles and the work. And people let her because they just want her to fix their problems.” Hannah’s expression said clearly what she thought of that.

“That’s why I’m always telling her to stop thinking and just feel. It worked though. She met this really great guy. They just got married. Weird name, Solomon Kane. He really gets her and he makes her feel all kinds of things.” Hannah grinned over it and then turned a little serious. “Like you are doing to me.”

Hannah

Jason listened and let her run her fingers across his skin. It was like every stroke left behind sparks that dancing across his arms. The way she felt sitting against him made him-

It was only a lifetime of experience in not showing surprise that kept him from showing it then. The name… he knew the name. He knew the man whose name it was. And ‘weird’ didn’t even begin to touch the start of describing it. “That is a very odd name.” he said with a smile. “So what kind of things are you feeling? And can I do anything to-” and he suddenly touched the pocket of his pants, the one on the side away from her. “Crap. Can you excuse me? I’m getting a comm. Don’t… don’t go anywhere. Ok? I’m coming back to this exact spot and we are continuing this conversation.” and he smiled at her and squeezed her hands. Be right back. Promise he signed and then stood up and walked into another room.

Hannah nodded, yeah she would wait. She picked up the bowl of gumbo and picked at it, pausing to stare in the direction he left, a worried confused look crossing her face. She wasn’t sure why though. She shook it off. Things were just strange and she really wasn’t herself. The leftover adrenaline was probably making her feel off. She needed to relax.

He hadn’t had time to set up a comms suite yet, but fortunately his ‘office’ had made sure he had a secured PaDD. He quickly activated the comms and sent a priority comm request to the USS Ogawa. It took a long moment to connect, but when it did a wild- haired and very pissed off face appeared.

=/\= I fu<#ing told you people that I’m on my honeymo-” and the speaker paused. =/\= Reilly? What the f#<k do you want? =/\= Reilly didn’t waste time. =/\= First, congrats. Glad you found someone that can see you for you. Two. Hannah Asimina. Your wife’s friend. I know you’ve checked her out in ways I can’t think of right now. Is she legit? =/\= Kane blinked slowly. Now that was something he hadn’t expected. =/\= Why? Why do you need to know? =/\= Kane asked defensively. =/\= Because she is sitting on my couch and I’m trying really hard to slow down the fact that I am falling in love with her ten hours after meeting her and I need to k ow if this is a setup. She just mentioned you and your wife. And I know you are an a$$hole, but you wouldn’t play with other people like that. So? Am I getting played? =/\=

Kane looked at the screen a long time, processing. Finally he said =/\= You hurt her or use her, Reilly… and I’ll fu<#ing kill you. And it will hurt. But no… she’s not in the game in any way; except via her ex. But he bounced. You’re not being played. =/\= Reilly nodded once and said =/\= Thanks. I owe you. =/\= Kane shook his head and said =/\= Pay me back by being good to her, Reilly. I mean it. =/\= Reilly said =/\= Done. =/\= and cut the comms. He took a deep breath. Yes it was crazy… but it was a manufactured crazy. He turned and walked out of the room.

He took his seat on the couch exactly where he had been before and looked at her. “Now, then. You were telling me what you are feeling.” he asked gently.

Jason

Hannah smiled as he came back in and sat down. She hadn’t moved at all. She was still propped up against the arm of the couch, legs on the cushions. Except she was eating a little. She had traded the gumbo for more sushi. Small amounts seemed to be easier on her stomach. “I was saying you make feel all sorts of things.” She switched to sign because it was more descriptive. That I don’t feel quite so alone because you let me, because I could tell you everything that happened. She took his hands and squeezed, the warmth of the touch chased chills down her spine. Accepted is the word I think. Most people won’t sign with me even if they know it. In Star Fleet we are supposed to embrace other people and cultures, but if you serve you must conform to normal. Other people can speak their language and the UT translates. It doesn’t do that with sign. So I speak even though I dislike my voice and I wear implants even though I have a lot if problems with them.

Hannah

Jason squeezed her hands and then let go to sign. I like your voice. But I understand you being uncomfortable with it. And the only reason I prefer to speak with you is that I can’t hold your hand and sign at the same time and I would really like to kiss you right now but I can’t because this entire day has been one insanity after another and I would really like to just know that it’s not just me and that you are in fact real and I haven’t been hit by a slider and am having some kind of ridiculous coma dream. His hands were not as smooth as they had been and it was obvious he was ‘having a moment’ himself, somewhat similar to her moment a little while before.

Jason

Hannah took his hands again and pulled them down. “Let your hands rest. Tomorrow they will ache, and you’ll know this wasn’t a coma dream.” She smiled, not out of amusement but understanding. She began to rub his hands again. “I have learned to…accept…be okay with talking. It is easier when I am comfortable with the person I am with, like you.” She was quiet a moment. “And that is really crazy right? That I don’t know you but I’m comfortable and in all the craziness my life has turned into I feel…” she thought about it, the right word to describe the feeling. “Secure, calm…anchored? The idea of going home later makes my chest ache but I also know everythingbhas been a bit much and that space to breathe will do more than for us than staying. I keep wondering if…maybe this is all some weird stress induced dream.” She looked down at his hands where she was rubbingbthem again. “I keep doing that without realizing it but can’t seem to help myself.”

Hannah

“Its okay with me if you do it. It feels really good.” He fell silent for a moment and then said “Do you want me to be with you through all of this? I mean… after you have the baby… will you still want me around? Or do you think your body and mind are just freaking out right now?” He squeezed her hands and said “I’m not being jealous, and I’m not being selfish. I really am just trying to see if this… me… is what you want. Or do you just need or want someone. Either way, I really am happy to be either one. I hope that my meaning was more clear than how those words just sounded… blech.” and he made a face and then smiled.

Jason

Hannah sighed heavily, “That is the question isn’t it?” She kept rubbing his arm. Her fingers feathering from his elbow past his wrist, over his palm to the tips of his fingers and back. She was quiet, thinking.

“I don’t do flings. I don’t go into relationships saying, this will be over tonight or in a month. Everything is scary and lonely right now, but I don’t use people like that. And I really hope that being hormonal isn’t making me that way. That would be pretty $hi+y. If we’re going to go forward, I want you there for it all. Not just now and not just until. I do want someone, but I want the someone. I really…” Her cheeks puffed out and she blew out a breath, “want that to be you, or at least the chance to find out if we are that for each other. That being said I think it would be detrimental if I don’t take time to make sure I look at and start to get rid of all that extra baggage. It won’t go away over night, but I also don’t want it to impact what ever ‘us’ might become.” Her fingers laced through his. “Does that make sense? Because I really like you and I don’t want you to doubt that.”

Hannah

He nodded and said “It does. So… what does thst mean? What does that ‘getting rid of extra baggage’ look like? Do you need space? Time? Distance? Flowers every day and an empty drawer or three here?”

Jason

Hannah’s eyes widened slightly. Her thoughts hadn’t quite progressed that far…or they had, sort of. If they were talking about raising the child together so…living together was inevitable. Her mind just kind of skipped over the steps in that process. “I’m not sure, Jason.” She started rubbing his palm again. “I think it is some of all those things. I think it starts with putting away the memories I brought with me and seeing what happens.”

“What can I do so you know this isn’t a coma dream? What do you need for you to make sure this is what you want?”

Hannah

Jason looked at her and thought about it for a moment.

Then he leaned in and kissed her.

It wasn’t a seduction type of kiss. It wasn’t hungry for her, or the kind of kiss described in great detail in that particular sub-genre of holo-novels known as ‘Bodice Rippers’. No, it was much… more. It was soft… and inquiring… tentative, but not hesitant. It was firm, but not overpowering. And it was…

Easy…warm…it was like coming home. It was curious but not unsure. Jason filled every sense she had. There was no room for anyone or anything else. Like she had waited her whole life for this. It made her dizzy in a wonderfully scary way.

“Whoa…” he whispered as he pulled away slightly and put his forehead to hers. His blood was rushing in his ears and his heart was about to come unhinged it was pounding so hard. His eyes stayed closed for a moment and then he leaned back just enough to look at her and say just loudly enough for her to hear “That. That’s what I needed.”

Jason

Hannah was holding onto his arms, her thumbs rubbing over the inside of his forearms. She opened her eyes as he moved back. Her eyes were incredibly clear and free of guilt or uncertainty. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breath shuddered as she remembered to breathe. “I didn’t even know I needed that.”

Hannah

He smiled and said “So… where do we go from here? I mean… Hannah, I am lost. I’m used to knowing what to do three steps ahead. And I am seriously confused as to if I am even supposed to call you tomorrow. Or to ask you to stay tonight. Or what hell I was thinking when I ordered all this damn food.” and he laughed. He looked at her and smiled. “I woke up this morning single. I’m going to bed tonight as… I don’t even know ow what.”

Jason

“I am overwhelmed, and that is not something that happens to me often.” She held onto his arms, but rested her head back. “You can call me any time you want. If I can’t answer, I will when I can. I can’t stay. As much as I might want to, I still have a duty shift tomorrow and no clothes here. And I am not having very great mornings recently.” She sighed sounding as lost as he said he was. “Hopeful? We go to bed tonight hopeful? That tomorrow we feel the same. If you do you can call me. If you don’t, I understand.”

Hannah

Jason thought a moment and then said “I think you should call me. You are the one with the greatest responsibility here… to you and them. So… think on it. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not changing my mind. But I am a factor you may not want to add in yet, and I get that. So when you are ready to jump… call. And if you don’t call… it will suck, but I will absolutely get it. Okay?”

Jason

“Okay.” He was right and she had said the same herself. Hannah wished she could just jump and see where it went. But she had these huge responsibilities now. She did need time to settle into her position, but life was so much more than work. She stared at him a long moment and then leaned in and kissed him. It was soft but lingering. But no more than a promise to figure it out.

When she pulled back she squeezed his arms and finally let go. “The food you should enjoy, but I don’t think the sushi will make it ro left overs.” She grinned, attempting playfulness, as she popped another piece in her mouth. She signed, So did you really need help arranging furniture?

Hannah

Jason looked at her for a moment and then shook his head. No. I just wanted you to have e a say in how you wanted the place to look. He shrugged. I was… am… hoping that you spend a lot of time here. He ate a bite of something, not caring what it was, and then said What was the worst part… the hardest part… of you and D-a-n-i-e-l?

Jason

Two years ago I would have said it was not knowing where he was or what happened to him. Bouts of mourning with weeks of telling myself it was fine. But…that wasn’t part of us, of me and D-a-n-i-e-l. That was just me by myself. She sat up a little more, pulling her legs off the cushions, but stayed there next to him. She took her drink while she thought. “I think it was his…refusal to acknowledge my feelings and experiences in all of it. Every time we had to go on an away team or just discussing about mission assignments or he would come to sickbay injured it was always the same line. ‘You don’t understand my job or what I am capable of. The things I have to do and you won’t like it but I won’t not do what I have to.’ We always fought over it, but he didn’t get it. I wasn’t asking him to explain or not do. I lived 5 years with vague details and no information. Of accepting that it was hard and didn’t matter if I liked it or not. I didn’t have details but I knew how to live with his job. He promised me he was done and wouldn’t leave again. I knew it was a lie, but he acted like I couldn’t understand that.”

The first year and a half we were together was okay. But things started to change, and he thought I didn’t notice. Hannah dropped her hands with a shrug. “I knew it was ending, I think, it just hadn’t happened yet.”

Hannah

Jason nodded and said “I think I understand. And I’m sorry it was that way for you.” He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. You deserve to be more than an accessory. And I won’t put my job ahead of you. he signed. But I will make you a promise. and he took a breath. “If this moves ahead… if we end up together… I promise I will you about anything you want to know about my past, my job, anything you want to know. I inagine you have had enough of lovers and boyfriends keeping things from you. And I have no doubt you are capable of understanding things. So… thats my promise to you. No stupid secrets because of ego.”

Jason

That was it, exactly, stupid secrets for ego. Hannah knew there would always be things Daniel could not talk about, and that she wouldn’t ask. In the end she felt like he used that. The job got the real him and she got…the act, the persona. Hannah knew, she was just getting to the point to acknowledge it, that she was better off, but also that she had wasted so much on Daniel, and now she was left with the consequences.

She drank to give her self a moment. His words were everything and it felt like they were chipping away at all the damaged pieces left behind, and it was just a lot after everything else. What changed? For you? You said you have always been selfish in your relationships. What changed to make you want to try this with me?

Hannah

Jason thought for a moment. “Well, that certainly is the question, now isn’t it?” He wasn’t being flippant or evasive; he honestly didn’t know… at least consciously. “Well… the change probably came months and months ago… long before I saw your aid fall out of your pocket.” He looked at the food on the table without seeing it, his mind delving deep and trying to break past habits of not being truthful. He took a deep breath and then looked at her and said “I was given an assignment by SFI. I spent a really long time working on it. And when it was done, I was told it was a smashing success. But I looked at it… and in the grand scheme of things it didn’t make a difference. The Federation is just… it’s too big. Trillions of individuals? Countless inhabited planets and cultures? It’s so vast, so broad… and for anyone or any organization to think they can mange, let alone control that amount of territory and people and… it’s hubris. Pure and simple. And I want to make a difference. I want what I do to matter. Whether it is a company, a colony…” and he looked at her for a long moment, “… or just a very special individual, I want to make a difference. Maybe I am still being selfish, I don’t know. But I think in this particular circumstance, that might be an advantage.” He bit his lip and then signed very hesitantly. I lied to you. By omission. About my job. What I said is real… to a point. I am the new Assistant Director of the Colonial Intelligence Agency. I’m not an agent, I’m an administrator. But I was an operative for Star Fleet before I quit. And I quit because of what I just said. The reserve officer thing is real, too. I am Reserve Commander Jason Riley. You can look that up.

Jason

Hannah stared at him, unmoving for a long moment. Her head and her heart trying to figure out if she should freak out or not. A few little things seemed to click. She swung her feet to the floor and walked away.

Jason watched her walk away, and though every fiber of his being said go, he knew he needed to give her space.

She walked away, out onto the balcony. The wind whistled loudly as it blew and rippled around the building. She slipped her implants into her pocket. She set her hands on the railing and turned her face into the wind. Was it a lie really? Didn’t everyone hold things back when they first meet someone? Afraid to give too much of themselves to a stranger, no matter how perfect they might seem. Wasn’t he allowed to make sure he felt like he could trust her?

He said it was a lie of omission and that was true. But was that unforgivable? It wasn’t like he had made her live with the lie. The question then became would he have? Would he have made her live with the lie because it was easier for him? Why did he tell her? Because he promised to answer any question she had truthfully. But why did he make that promise? Did it matter why? She supposed not. He had promised and the first time she asked he had told her the truth.

‘Or is it a trick? Nothing is as it seems.’ She loathed Daniel in that moment for leaving her suspicious. She hated herself even more for allowing it to happen. To be so niëve when it came to him. She hated herself for allowing herself to be so stupid. She despised him, and a wave of neasua flooded her. She had only known Jason 12 or 13 hours. Was she being gullible by saying he had the right to be cautious? She wanted to believe in the innate goodness of people. They made hard choices but intentions were good. She believed him, she trusted him for some crazy reason. The problem was, Hannah wasn’t sure she trusted herself anymore. Could she? That was the worst part, Daniel made her doubt herself.

Hannah

Jason watched her from where he sat. He could read the body language of over a hundred different species, and hers spoke plain. Scared. Conflicted. Confused. And possibly a little hurt. He took a breath and then stood up and started packing away the food. He knew when he said it it was a risk… but he told her he would be honest, so he was. And now she was on the balcony in silence. He moved everything but the sushi away, stacking plates and containers for the caterers to get in the morning. He washed his hands, wishing the water was her fingers again.

Jason

What would she tell Alexis? The question made her chuckle slightly. She would tell her to not judge Jason because of Daniel. To judge Jason on his own merits and actions. Hannah realized this was why she kept thi ki g she needed to handle the baggage because it wasn’t fair to judge Jason and herself because of all of that.

Hannah moved back toward the living room and watched him stacking plates and food. She watched his body language, aching inside over it. The uncertainty and ache, the way he flexed his hands under the water.

She appeared suddenly behind him. Pressed against his back, she took his hands and held them under the water. She turned it warmer and rubbed his hands and wrists as the water ran. “Warmth will help more than cool.” She sighed and he could feel it against his back. Her voice had dropped to the careful and quiet tone when she didn’t have her implants. “I am not angry. I know you would have been justified waiting days or weeks to tell me or never. But your job does scare me, more than I want to admit. Perhaps more than I can admit right now. I don’t know how being pregnant and hormonal might work into that. But it doesn’t change that I want to try, that I would like this to be more.”

Hannah

Jason smiled as he heard her approach and felt her presence, so close, and then her touch. He didn’t say anything for a while, he just finished the dishes and then turned off the water and dried herm, then his, hands. He turned around inside her arms and looked at her. “My job, my previous job, was very dangerous. And I mad a lot of people very angry. But I don’t do that now. I was sincere when I said I was an administrator. I am no longer… well, not often… the one who needs to go out an play spy. I am now the person who decides what operations are needed, who to send, and how to handle information coming in. I am the people I hated in SFI. But I have something they do not. I was an agent. I know what it takes to do that job. And I know what jobs are worth doing. So the people that work for me will have a better shepherd than I had. And… I do not work for the Federation. I work for Oed and Oed alone. And part of the deal that I struck when I accepted the role was that our organization stays Oed-centric. I may travel, sure… but ninety-nine percent of the time I will be traveling as Jason Reilly, Assistant Director of the Oed V Colonial Intelligence Agency; not some cover ID. I get to be me… and I get to be myself with whomever I choose to be with. And that choice I made hours ago. I want to be with you. You and all your baggage and everything that comes with you. I want to be there for you. And I want to be here for myself. I don’t know the whys and the reasons and the rest of it… and for the first time in my life I simply don’t care why. I just care that it is.”

Jason