The Second First Date

Posted on Sun Nov 14th, 2010 @ 11:49pm by Captain T'mpest Michaels

1,392 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Lost Friends
Location: Quarters of Lieutenant Commander Zhukov
Timeline: 1800 hours

[ON]

Vladimir had debated most of the afternoon about what to wear. In the end he decided that it didn't matter if he wore the green shirt or the brown shirt because he and T'mpest had just finished spending almost 48 hours together pretending to be a married couple. And, surprisingly enough, it appeared they were a happily married couple.

Zhukov tried to remember the last time he had been on a real date. It must have been...well over a year ago on the Moscow. There was that cute Engineering Ensign from Brazil, Deolinda, that he had seen off on on for about six months, but it just never went anywhere. She didn't want anything serious, and neither did he. But...had that changed? Was he interested in something serious, with someone more serious? That made his stomach jump just a little.

He had to admit that he when he first kissed T'mpest that he had butterflies in his stomach, something that he almost never felt.

He began to look around his quarters to make sure everything was tidy for her visit. The table was set and the candles were lit. He had decided on his green shirt, and then there was the present for T'mpest. She had given him two books already, so Zhukov thought about what he could get her.

He had looked through his collection for almost an hour that afternoon and had found, what he thought, would be the perfect book for the occasion. It is a book that Zhukov had read only once, but was sure she would enjoy it. He placed it in a small box with red bow on the top and set in on the side table.

Then the door chime rang.

Zhukov walked over and pushed the button to open the door. As the door opened he saw T'mpest standing in the hall wearing a pair of black velvet slacks and a dark green blouse.

Zhukov smiled. He seemed to do that a lot around T'mpest. "Hi there. Come on in." he said as he stepped back from the door and extended his arm and hand. "Welcome to my humble home." he said. His quarters were the exact same as her quarters, just decorated differently.

"Thank you," she said as she walked into the room. She looked around, noting the details he'd added, the personal touches. She turned to face Vladimir. "Hi," she said softly.

She wasn't sure quite how to act. For two days it had been so easy to hold his hand or give him a kiss. If she were honest with herself, she'd taken advantage of the situation a time or two. But now it was just the two of them and she felt unsure of herself. It had been a while since she went on a date. The last one was with Zach aboard the Endeavor and that had been a disaster. Still, she wanted this night to go well. She smiled at him and tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach.

"Well, before we sit down, I have a little something for you." he said as he walked over to the side table and picked up the small cardboard box with a red bow on the top of it. As he handed it to her he said, "You've already given me two books, so I figured the least I could do was return the favor."

Inside the box was a reprinted copy of the "Kilmarnock volume", also known as "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" by Robert Burns.

"I hope that you like it. Some of them didn't make much sense to me, but then again, I've never been to Scotland." the Russian said with a sheepish grin on his face.

T'mpest picked up the book and gently turned a few pages. It was a beautiful book and a perfect choice. Grinning broadly, she kissed him. "My mother was born and raised in Scotland," she said in a thick Scottish brogue. "She taught literature. So I was weaned on Robbie Burns." Then, in her normal voice she said, "Thank you. It's a wonderful gift."

Zhukov smiled again. "I'm glad that you like it. Perhaps you can explain some of his writing to me later." he said to her.

"I'll be happy to," she said. "I promise not to get too pedantic."

"Would you like to have a seat?" he asked her as he motioned towards the small dining table with flowers for a centerpiece and two candles.

"The table looks beautiful," she said as she sat down at the table. He'd gone to a lot of effort and she appreciated it.

"Dinner is coming right up. I have programmed the recipe myself, and after playing with it for a bit, I think I have it just right. Tastes almost like mom used to make anyway." he said to her as he walked over to the food replicator and pushed a few buttons.

"Computer, two servings of recipe Zhukov Beta ten." he said.

Within seconds, the replicator had made two bowls of Zhukov style Borsch. He picked up the bowls and set one in front of T'mpest who was sitting at one end of the small table.

"I hope you like it." he said as he sat the bowl down in front of her and took a seat at the other end of the table.

The Borsch smelled delicious. She took a tentative bite and smiled. "It's very good. Did your mother cook a lot?"

Zhukov took a spoonful of the Borsch as well and sipped it. It was just about like he remembered it. He nodded.

"Yes, she tried to, anyway. The real cook in the family was Sasha Bostiev, my mother's mother. Sasha is Russian for Grandmother." he told her.

"What about your mother and grandmother?" he asked her.

"My grandmother loved to cook. When we'd visit, she always fed us well. Bangers and mash, lamb stew, haggis." T'mpest smiled. "My mother isn't much of a cook. She was a teacher for years. Taught 17th and 18th century literature. Earth. Now she's retired. She travels with my father and collects things."

"You mean like antiques?" he asked. "If she ever comes across any Russian items from...say the early 19th century, I would be very interested in them." he stated.

"She collects everything. Or, more specifically, anything that catches her interest. Literature, art, antiques. My father turns a blind eye to it as long as it's not blatantly illegal." T'mpest grinned, knowing there were a few times when the items were found through black markets. "I'll mention that to her. You never know what she may run across."

They finished their meal and T'mpest helped Zhukov clean up the dishes.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your meal." Vladimir said. He wasn't used to cooking for anyone else. "I suppose some bread would have been good to add to dinner, but I didn't think about it until now. Maybe I can add that next time." he said, hoping there would be a next time. And a time after that, and a time after that.

"Next time, we'll remember the bread," she agreed. "Although the meal was very good as it was."

"So, I had thought about asking you if you wanted to watch a movie, but I figured that running a program on the Holodeck would be more fun. Is that OK with you?" he asked her, knowing she would probably be agreeable to going on a little excursion.

T'mpest didn't care what they did as long as they could spend more time together. "What sort of program were you thinking of?

"Well," Vladimir replied, "I figured you could show me around around the Highlands. I remember hearing you talk about it at the promotion party for T'kaarch, or at least mentioning something about it." he said.

"Aye, I do like to walk the highlands," she said with a grin. "I'll be happy to show you one of my ancestral homes."

Vladimir had a good feeling, that this was going to be a walk he would remember for a long time.

[OFF]

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Commander T'mpest Michaels
&

Lieutenant Commander Vladimir Zhukov

 

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