Return

Posted on Fri Jun 22nd, 2012 @ 8:41pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sehra Vahn & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake
Edited on on Mon Jun 25th, 2012 @ 9:10pm

1,146 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Location: Shuttlebay, USS Ranger
Timeline: Current-ish...sort of.

With the shuttles and the Baden-Powell secured, their mission complete Lieutenant Blake carried out one last final checks before disembarking himself. He felt a spring in his stride in the knowledge of how well the team performed and the praise from the Captain, whom he knew from experience wasn't easily impressed. He gave the sleek flyer a fond pat of appreciation before leaving the shuttle bay. He'd barley made it through the door into the main corridors of the Ranger when something struck with such force he stumbled backward, back through the shuttlebay before falling on his rear and took stock of the thing that had bowled him over.

"Sehra?" he peered down his torso which she was hugging tightly. He smirked "Miss me huh?"

"No."

The response was muffled and unashamedly inaccurate, proving if nothing else that the vibrant brunette hadn't lost her sense of humour or her penchant for teasing in the days since she'd last seen the engineer. Sehra rarely planned anything and, in keeping with that trend, she hadn't given much thought to how she'd welcome Dylan back but impatience had gotten the better of her once it had become clear that he was going to be the responsible officer and sign off every last aspect of the mission before putting in an appearance. She was off-duty, at least, though in all honesty that probably wouldn't have made a difference. Impulse was a hard vice to overcome.

The up-turned face that greeted Dylan once the heat of breathing into his chest made suffocation an unattractive prospect was both flushed and sparkling, bright blue eyes filled with their typical blend of mischief and delight. There was a hint of challenge in the Betazoid's expression too, as if she was daring him to challenge her refusal to admit, in words, what her actions made abundantly clear. "Not one bit."

"Hmm somehow I don't believe that," Dylan chuckled inching himself up slightly onto his elbows. "My bruised butt certainly doesn't believe you."

"Well maybe you need to stop letting it do all your thinking for you." Sehra grinned. "Not that I disapprove of it playing a pivotal role in all negotiations." Wriggling into a sitting position that allowed her to straddle his waist, the young counselor lifted a hand to push haphazard strands of hair out of her face and then dropped it to prod Dylan in the stomach. "You were taking too long."

He flinched as her finger poked him, she knew very well he was ticklish and he would do or say anything to make sure she didn't get him going, it was bad enough having to endure the looks they were receiving right now let alone should he start to laugh and giggle like a boy at her unyielding tickling. Worse still if she'd make him snort or squeal when his laughter became too much.

"I had important work to do," Dylan said with a serious tone that didn't quit stick, "And besides I had to wait for the Ranger to rise from the ocean so don't blame all this on me."

"Nobody said anything about blame, as such."

Though she would have been content to stay like that, Sehra grinned quietly at the conflicted expression in his eyes and slowly got to her feet, standing with a boot either side of his hips as she reached a hand down to help him up.

"I don't blame you for being impressively diligent. It kind of suits you," she added as she negotiated her way into his arms and patted a hand against his chest. "But a girl only has so much patience and it's never been my forte to begin with."

"You must have shown a great amount of restraint eariler being trapped in this tub under the... well you were certainly braver than I." He stroked her hair fondly.

Beneath the weight of his arms, Sehra shrugged. "Honestly, I wound up being too busy to really notice. People were...tense," she added with a smile by way of explanation and the regarded him intently for a moment. Sending a starship to the depths was not exactly routine and people had been wary enough for the young counselor to have pulled several hours worth of overtime, enough that her own concerns regarding a young engineer had been forced to remain firmly in the background. She indulged in the luxury now and offered him a far more tender smile. "You seem relaxed."

"Relieved," he sighed. "Relaxation come later over wine and some good food, although I don't suspect that's on the agenda quite yet. There are still some loose ends to tie up of which I hope the Pelican will deal with - I've had my share of work today."

"Was it as bad as you expected?" The question was candid but not immediately intrusive. Sometimes it was worth digging around for the truth but other times you could tell a lot just by what people chose to mention.

Dylan pulled her closer enjoying her warmth, "Hard to say," he answered. "I was worried sick something might happen to the ship, or to my small team, something I couldn't control or fix, I guess that's how the Captain feels most of the time. But no, it I suppose it wasn't that bad since I wasn't aboard thanks for Doctor Fox's recommendation - you should have seen me then, I thought I was going to have a break down or something. It was horrid." he shook his head.

The young Betazoid's face creased with momentary sympathy before Sehra made the conscious decision to remain cheerful. She had fretted for him, enough to have surprised even herself, but she hadn't been lying when she'd said she'd been kept busy. The fear around her had been palpable but she wasn't entirely sure how much of it was actually her own or whether anything she experienced was concern for her own well-being or Dylan's. It had been a strange time and though she wouldn't dwell on her own discomfort, Sehra was about as glad to have it behind her as the man standing before her.

The arms around his waist gave him a gentle squeeze. "Well hey, it's over now, right?"

"I'd like to hope so," he breathed wrapping his arms around her sides. "I'd better check in with the Captain, shall we continue this later?"

"Deal." Stressful as the mission might have been, the talk of shoreleave that was filtering through the crew provided hope that they'd at least get to spend some time together. Her recent personal leave and Dylan's stint as Golden Boy had limited their conversations of late to much the duration of this one and it was getting...frustrating.

Smiling, Sehra added, "Dinner?"

He nodded with a cheeky grin, "I thought you'd never ask, I'm straved."

 

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