Close Encounters (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 14 Apr 2012 @ 3:26pm by Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,434 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo, Dru's Quaters
Timeline: MD 02 - 2215 hrs

[ON]

Dru looked in the mirror before smoothing down the front of her sky blue t-shirt which she had combined with a pair of boot cut faded jeans, leaving her feet bare. She wondered if her outfit was too simplistic, she wanted to go casual, not dressy this time, these were the clothes she felt comfortable in. She had invited Lirha here tonight, just the two of them. Since the dinner at Lirha's they had only been able to catch time together here and there, even though they had managed to talk more and grow to know each other better, this was the first real opportunity to just be able to enjoy each other.

The counsellor meet her own eye in the mirror and wondered who the woman staring back at her was. She wasn't the same woman who had walked onto this ship nearly a week ago. In such a short time so much had changed. She still felt conflicted inside but something had balanced. She felt something for Lirha in the short time they had known each other, Dru didn't want to dwell on it, she just wanted to take her time, take it one step at a time. They had all the time in the world to explore what they had.

Lirha arrived outside of Dru's quarters promptly at 2000 hours, anxious to see her again and unwind for the evening. It had been two days since their last encounter, a lovely dinner which Lirha had prepared for the two of them. During that time, they had managed to share the feelings they were developing for each other and had become even closer friends.

She tapped the doors console and waited patiently as she leaned against the bulkhead. Bringing her hand up to her shoulder, she adjusted the strap on her Starfleet-issue tank top. It was made of a light grey cotton and polyester fabric which she had cut off and hemmed just below her chest, leaving her green midsection exposed. She wore standard black duty pants, tight around the waist and thighs yet loose around the ankles to accommodate her black boots.

Dru smiled to herself as she turned around, walking over to the door to hit the panel to allow the person on the other side entrance. Before hitting the panel, she smoothed down her hair which she had left loose over her shoulders. She'd realised that Lirha preferred it down, ending half way down her back. The young counsellor found herself feeling nervous again. She didn't understand it. No matter how much time she spent with the Captain, she still felt nervous every time she saw her, worried she might do something wrong to scare Lirha away. Forcing her hand up, Dru hit the panel to open the doors.

Hearing the swish of the doors part, the captain looked up and smiled as she saw Dru's figure in the doorway. "Hi." she said softly with a glint to her green eyes, taking notice of the counselor's casual appearance and long flowing hair. She felt her heart begin to beat faster and a tingle in her stomach as she looked at her beautiful friend. "Can I come in?" she asked with a grin.

Dru silently nodded her head, stepping back to allow Lirha enter. She felt a stab of desire hit her out of nowhere as she saw Lirha's bare skin around her midriff. The last time she had seen so much of Lirha's skin had been that night in the Captain's quarters where Dru had gone looking for a friend. At the time it had made her uncomfortable but this time....it created a feeling she was not used to, causing her to let out a whisper of a gasp before reeling herself back in, her face feeling hot from the flush. "Sorry, this place is much smaller then yours."

"I think it's Commander Remington who should be apologizing...he has the final approval for all crew quarters assignments." she joked as she stepped into Dru's modest-sized living room.

At the mention of Will's name, Dru laughed. Things didn't seem to have become more easier between the two of them after that first counselling session. "I wouldn't be surprised if he purposely arranged this so."

Lirha took her by the hand and gently pulled her friend from the door as it swished closed, then moved close to her. Staring into her blue eyes, she leaned in and pressed her gold lips against Dru's, giving her a long and slow kiss. "It's good to see you again." she said softly after finally pulling back.

Taken slightly surprised by Lirha's kiss, Dru softened into the kiss, wrapping her arms around the Captain's waist, still holding her close as she pulled back, looking up into Lirha's eyes with a soft smile on her lips.

Reaching up with her hand, she stroked her green fingers through Dru's lovely chestnut colored hair, pulling a couple locks from behind her head and placing them in front of her shoulder. "How was your day?" she asked, content to stand close to Dru and feel her arms around her hips.

Dru felt a childish urge to giggle at Lirha playing with her hair but instead smiled up at the woman, moving forward to give her a brief butterfly kiss on her soft lips. "Long, tiring, but better now you are here ReeHee." Dru grinned as she knew Lirha didn't like the nickname much but she felt childish when around the Captain and couldn't resist.

ReeHee. Again. "I'm going to make a tally of the number of times you call me that," she began with a mock frown, "And you're going to have to give me a mud bath for each of them." she said with a sideways smirk.

"You could...but then I'd have to drag you in for a counselling session on why ReeHee annoys you so much and your anger and frustration towards it...and we both know you've been avoiding a counselling session." Dru grinned at Lirha before letting her fingers unlock and allowing her arms to fall from the Captain's waist. Dru walked over to the table to grab herself a white soda and a large cup of hot chocolate for Lirha. She wanted a relaxed atmosphere and hoped that the Captain would appreciate this.

"I hate counseling sessions." she finally admitted to the counselor. "But I think you do a good enough job of picking my brain regardless, so I'm in no rush." she replied with a grin, then took the drink Dru offered from her hands and brought it to her lips. "Mmm.." she mumbled to herself as she enjoyed the creamy taste of chocolate and milk. After a long sip, she finally pulled the mug from her lips, leaving a bubbly froth on her upper lip.

Dru laughed and used her thumb to wipe away the froth from Lirha's lip. "Alot of good personal counselling sessions are on your official records. But anyway...that's not talk shop talk, there's not meant to be any of that tonight." Dru took Lirha's hand and lead her to the couch, folding her legs under her as she sat. "Have you heard from Nesh since we left?"

"No." she replied as she took a seat on the couch next to Dru, crossing her legs and turning her body to face her. "I've been meaning to send her a message...especially after our conversation at the club." she added, now suddenly missing her younger sister. She remembered Nesh's comment when she asked her for her opinion of Dru. She's good for you, she had said. Now Lirha was finally realizing the truth in her words.

Dru leaned her head back against the back of the couch while keeping her face turned to Lirha, "What did she say to you at the club?"

The captain looked down for a moment before looking back at the counselor. "We were discussing her plans for school and her upcoming year off, and I proposed the idea that she should come live aboard the Galileo for one of our deployments." she began. "I know she isn't very fond of my job but I was hoping that it might allow us to spend more time together and let her experience something other than Los Angeles." she said then paused for several seconds before finally smiling. "And she more or less agreed."

Dru looked at Lirha in surprise. She'd never had any inking of what the Captain had been planning. "How do you think she will feel living amongst people so much more older then her? Do you have something planned to keep her occupied, some department or such who she could mentor with?"

"Yes, she would have to take up some sort of professional apprenticeship. It would be a bit difficult to obtain clearance for her to come aboard and she would have to go through basic space training, but I know a few people in Starfleet who still owe me some favors." she said with a smile and a sigh. "Nesh is a very sociable girl, she's never had any problems making friends and getting along with people...I don't think she would mind being the only teenager, as long as she's staying busy and enjoying herself. But I haven't had much time to think about it, to be honest. It's something I need to discuss with her in more depth." she said.

Dru leaned over to take one of Lirha's hands in both of hers. Rubbing her thumb across the palm of the Captain's hand before smiling. "Well you know I'm here if either of you need someone to talk to about it. Just make sure Nesh knows what she is doing if she decides to join us. Once we are in the middle of space, it won't be possible to drop her back if she thinks she has made the wrong decision or is struggling to readjust."

"I think she's got an adventurous side to her." Lirha replied as she stared down at her green hand being caressed by Dru's. "But I would definitely assign her to spend some time with you. It helps, I find, having a few familiar faces on board. And she has also met Commander Holliday." she added.

Dru took a deep breath as a strike of fear went through her. Her look after Nesh? What if something happened when she was with the counsellor? What if Dru didn't do a good job and let Lirha down. Dru took her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose before looking back over at Lirha, trying to hide her fear. "Why do I get the feeling you'll owe John massively if that happens?"

The captain grinned mischievously. "I think I already owe him for looking after her while we were in dry dock." she replied. "And strangely enough, they got along better than I had anticipated. Well, maybe a little too well...I think Nesh developed a crush of sorts for him."

Dru bit her lip to hide a smile, "Has he realised this yet? Might be good for his ego having a 15year old with a crush on him."

"He seemed pleasantly happy when he dropped her off at my office. Perhaps a bit too happy." she said with a bit of caution in her voice. "Did you, by chance, feel any...different after I picked her up from your office that day? Elevated heart rate, headache?" she asked curiously, and somewhat afraid of the answer.

"Hum.....I had a headache alright. I remember is was funny as I only realised it was there once you had both left. I thought at one point after I might need painkillers from sickbay but it just suddenly disappeared." Dru watched Lirha, she'd obviously had a reason for asking these questions.

Lirha sighed and shook her head, now frustrated with herself. She should have known better but she had been completely oblivious to Nesh's maturing body. "I suppose it's my fault," she began, "I didn't realize Nesh had started to produce pheromones yet." she admitted. "And I didn't check her in at the infirmary when she visited. The symptoms you experienced were probably the concentrated effects of her body's hormones mixing with your own."

"It's not your responsibility to have to see to things like that Hun. Best thing you can do now is alert your Mum so Nesh can start to deal with what is happening and not get into any trouble." Dru smiled across at Lirha.

The captain returned the counselor's smile. "I'll mention it next time I talk to her, but I think my mom is already aware of it. She keeps a pretty good eye on her and I'm sure she's noticed some of the other subtle changes which Orion women go through in their teens." she said. "But you're right. She's going to have to start taking suppressants soon, like me." she added, then scooted closer on the couch to Dru. She reached up and rested her arm on the counselor's shoulder, slipping her hand underneath her dark hair to affectionately stroke the back of Dru's neck.

Dru raised her hand as if to stop Lirha but then moved to cup her cheek, stroking her thumb across the Captain's cheekbone. Dru wondered how she could flip between emotions, feeling so upset and alone at one moment and then feeling wanted and at peace when she was with Lirha. Watching her thumb stroke Lirha's cheek, she realised she was still so confused. When one thing was sorted something moved into it's place to confuse her more. She hadn't talked to Lirha yet about what had happened, part of her was scared incase the Captain thought badly of her. Leaning forward, she kissed the Orion's lips softly, before drawing back and resting their foreheads together.

Lirha tilted her head up and pressed her lips against Dru's, returning the kiss with a long and slow one of her own before pulling back and looking the counselor in the eyes. Lirha sensed that something was on the counselor's mind, but didn't want to inquire unless prompted. She had a more...practical solution to whatever might be troubling her. "Computer, reduce lights." she said in a quiet voice. Dru's quarters quickly darkened with just a faint yellow light casting its hue over the two of them.

[OFF]

To Be Continued...

--

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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