Coffee, Black

Posted on 06 Jun 2014 @ 3:25pm by Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Alexander Iella

686 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD -2 - 1350 hrs

[ON]

Victoria set her PADD down carefully in front of her on the table and pushed her chair back. She ran a hand through her hair and stared at the ceiling, waiting for it to give her the answers she so desperately needed. The numbers in her calculations weren't adding up and she was starting to get frustrated. She'd tried everything and something was just...off. It was infuriating and she was getting a headache. It must be time for more coffee. She shook her head and walked over to the replicator.

"Coffee, black, hot," she said to the machine, still thinking of different equations she could use to tabulate the data. Maybe, she thought as she took her coffee and headed back to her seat, I could replace the F-statistic from group one with the one from group two... Soon she was lost in her thoughts again, tapping away at her PADD and oblivious to the outside world.

"Ahh if it isnt the beautiful redhead that doesnt have a comfort food." Alex said as he dropped into a chair across from Victoria. "Hey Victoria."

She looked up and offered a tired smile. "Hey! What's up?" She took a large swig of coffee and winced slightly at the bitter taste it left in her mouth. Yes, tea is definitely better.

"I came looking for you to apologize about shoreleave. I know we had planned on something something, but I got called back to Trill for some.... well simply put political stuff. It was pretty sudden, it's why I had to send you a message instead of telling you in person." Alex said offering a faint smile. He had felt bad about telling her they couldnt do anything over a message, it had felt so impersonal.

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I had..." she hesitated and played with her ring. "I had some personal things to deal with at home, anyway, so I doubt that I'd have been able to do much." It wasn't a lie; her mother was a mess lately and with Peter's birthday coming up...She shuddered and placed one hand in her lap, balling it into a fist and offering him another slightly less tired smile.

"Well, I plan on making it up to you." Alex said smiling back, "Im thinking dinner in a few days once I'm set into my routine at the bar and see what my sous chef can do. I feel bad we didnt get to find you a comfort food."

"You don't have to do that," she said still smiling, but looking down at her hands. The ring on her finger suddenly became immensely fascinating.

Alex reached out and gentle grabbed her hand. "Of course I dont have to do it. I want to do it. Do you know how many people I've come across that dont have a comfort food? None!" He exclaimed, "And it doesnt hurt you are a beautiful, smart woman who has my attention. I want to take you out Victoria."

Her head snapped up and she just stared, nonplussed and unsure how to respond. She'd never been in this situation before; she tended to avoid close human contact, especially after the whole Peter thing. It just wasn't what she did. So she stared at Alex in stunned silence.

Alex frowned, "Whats wrong Victoria?"

She shook her head and smiled slightly. "Nothing. I'm just a little surprised, that's all."

"Why would you be surprised?" Alex asked, "Never been asked out before?" he said with a laugh.

"Once. He was the creepy son of the man who killed my brother." She said this with a straight face, but inwardly cringed. He wasn't a pervert like his father, but still...Not her favorite memory, to be sure. She shook her head. "Just trust me. He was a loser."

Alex arched an eyebrow and looked at her hesitantly, "Well... that... that would definitely give one cause to be hesitant in the future."

[TRUNCATED]

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LTJG Victoria Crawley
Psychologist
USS Galileo

Alexander Iella
Chef/Bartender
USS Galileo

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