The little things in life

Posted on Sat Jul 13th, 2019 @ 8:17pm by Lieutenant Jack Carver & Captain Abigail Laurens

The walk back to her quarters hadn't taken long. All Abigail really needed was to pick up a PaDD that she had been working on earlier, but while she was there she had stopped and taken a couple of minutes to unbraid her hair and brushed it out. Finally, PaDD in hand, she turned on her heel and made the journey to the lounge, getting her glass of wine from the bar and choosing a table toward the back of the room, settling in to wait for Jack to join her.

True to word, Jack entered the loung exactly fourteen minutes and twentythree seconds after he told her he'd be there within fifteen minutes. He would've been there a few minutes earlier, but he took those to freshen up a bit. Still, the tiredness was evident on his face, even if it lit up when seeing Abigail, and giving her a wave.

First goal though was the bar, there to procure a rum and cola, and with that he headed over to the table she had chosen. "Hey." he said, smiling, sitting down. "Oof. Glad all that's behind me."

Abigail smiled as he sat down. "I'm impressed that you got through as quickly as you did, I honestly would have expected it to have taken an awful lot longer. You have everything you need onboard and sorted now though?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Abigail." He smiled, holding out his glass for a toast. "To a long and productive friendship." he said. "Everything settled - not everything, but everything that matters. My department can function now. We're operational. All that's left is paperwork, of the organizational kind. But I can do that when I've finally had some sleep."

She held up her wine glass. "To friendship," she repeated with a smile. "I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep at all the first two days I was on this ship, every time I started to relax something or someone else came along. The replicator was my friend, it was the bringer of the coffee," she said with a laugh. "I was so jacked up on coffee I have no idea how I passed my medical."

"The burdens of command. And I'm only in charge of a single department, let alone an entire ship." he smiled. "So what's it like? Sitting in that center chair, everything working like a well-oiled machine, all that power and responsibility at your beck and call?"

"It's..." Abigail paused, taking a sip of her wine before shaking her head. "I think it's still a novelty. It's strange. The power is fun," she said with a quick grin. "The responsibility not so much though."

"Well, they wouldn't have put you there if they didn't think you could handle it." a smile. He then covered his mouth as he yawned, looking apologetic. "Oop. Sorry. I've been up for twenty hours, working."

"Well perhaps you should call it quits after one drink and get some sleep," Abigail said gently. "It sounds like you need it. You know, you could have just as easily said no, I wouldn't have been offended, honestly."

"It's the little things in life that makes it worth living, though." Jack smiled. "I was probably going to sit and unwind with a drink and some music in my quarters anyways before bed. This is better."

"What kind of music?" Abigail asked with a smile as she leaned back in her seat, her fingertips turning around the stem of the glass on the table.

"Depends on the mood. And how tired I am." He leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment. "Right now I think ... some melodic soft rock. Guitar driven. With a melancholy melody. That sounds nice."

Abigail nodded slowly. "Fair enough, can't say I'm immediately familiar with anything that would fit that genre, but who knows." She laughed suddenly. "Ever noticed that when you start talking to someone about music you end up feeling compelled to say something good about their taste in music? To admit you like it even if you can't stand it?"

"Well, saying something negative implies you think they have bad taste. That's just not polite." He opened his eyes again, smiling. "Besides, it's nice to compliment someone and see them smile and light up." He almost opened his mouth as if to say something more but caught himself, and his expression fell a bit.

Noting the change in his expression, Abigail leaned forward, resting her hand over top of his. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah." He didn't react to the hand on his. "Just. Tired. And memories again. I told you you remind me of Gwyn, right? That just means I have some things to work out if we're going to be friends." Beat. "And the whole rank and chain of command thing, of course."

"Oh," it was a mix of a word and a breath out. She pulled her hand away, returning it to her glass, turning it slowly on the table in front of her. "Rank and chain of command doesn't apply to friendship," she said softly. "If it did, command would be the loneliest place in the universe... but if you'd prefer I leave you to your own devices, that's okay, just say so."

At that he reached for her hand, touching his fingers to hers as she was fondling her glass. "Nah, I don't want you to be distant." he smiled softly. "It's just something I need to work out for myself. That's all."

Abigail smiled faintly as she looked across at him. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I enjoy your company, but I don't want any of this to cause problems for you."

Jack chuckled, shaking his head a bit. "I'm a big boy. Promise. I can put my own pants on and everything." Beat. "Besides, you've seen how big and expensive my toys are."

She laughed. "Yes, yes indeed I have, and I signed off on them too," she said with a grin. "I guess the only thing I can say is, mine's bigger and better? And faster too?" she said, using a slight circular motion to indicate the entire ship around them.

Jack laughed, then gave a big yawn, holding his hand in front of his mouth out of politeness. "Hm. Yeah. I think it's time I turned in for the night." he mused, finishing his drink.

Abigail finished the last few sips of her own drink and smiled politely. "I should probably go back to my quarters anyway, I think I have about a million communications that need my immediate attention, not to mention everything else that's piled up since I've been away." She paused momentarily as she looked across at him. "Thank you, for the company," she said warmly. "It's been nice."

He rose as she did and offered her a hand, drawing some minor looks from the few others in the lounge. "Can I walk to to your quarters?"

With her hand in his, Abigail slid out of her seat and smiled. "I'd like that, but only if it's not too much trouble. If you'd rather just go to bed you can, I don't mind."

"It's no trouble. Wouldn't have offered it it were." and out they walked. "You know, people are going to talk. This is how rumors start." he said with a conspiratory smile.

"Perhaps so... but the beauty of being CO is that anyone who gossips out of turn can be reassigned." Abigail replied with a small smile. "There are some perks to command after all."

Jack made a face. "That sounds a bit totalitarian, to me. Cooperate or go to gulag, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred latinum."

Abigail laughed. "Well, there has to be some benefits to command," she said lightly. "Besides, somehow I get the feeling that Starfleet Command wouldn't approve if I started reassigning crew members on a whim." She shrugged slightly. "I doubt anyone here would be inclined to gossip anyway, and if they do Master Chief König seems the sort to put a stop to it rather quickly."

"I've not met him yet." Beat. "I've not met anyone yet, except for you. Not had the chance to. I'll do that tomorrow." he offered. "So what makes König most likely to gossip?"

"No, he's definitely the least likely. He strikes me as very old school, very stoic in his duties, he doesn't tolerate any nonsense." Abigail smiled, there was a certain fondness in her tone as she spoke. Clearly the Chief of Boat had already made a good impression on her.

"Oh, right. Sorry 'bout that." He sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "I blame tiredness." which was emphasized with another great yawn, once again holding a hand in front of his face as he did. Soon enough they reached the CO's quarters, and he turned to face her.

"Well, this is you, then." he smiled, bringing her hand up to his face and placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "It was very nice meeting you, Abigail. And I'm looking forward to a long friendship."

"As am I," she replied with a smile. "Goodnight Jack, sweet dreams." As she stepped through the doors into her quarters, she sighed softly before smiling again as she headed across to her desk. Maybe this Command was going to prove to be a blessing after all. Things certainly seemed to be looking up.

Jack smiled warmly as the door closed behind her, though when it did, his smile faltered, shoulders slumped and he heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples. "What the hell are you doing, Jack. Flirting with the captain?" he sighed, starting the trudge down to his quarters.