Mon Cherry

Posted on 16 Sep 2016 @ 2:25am by Lieutenant JG Braxton MacKenzie & Lieutenant JG Natalya Kirilova

2,116 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Gym
Timeline: MD -01

ON:

If there was one thing Natalya missed about serving aboard the Excalibur, it was the swimming pool. Large ships often had them, but obviously the Galileo did not. There was the holodeck, of course, but it just wasn't the same. Before she could've thrown on a bathing suit, grabbed a towel, and gone to the pool whenever. To use the holodeck, she had to schedule things in advance.

That left Natalya with her daily running routine to maintain her level of fitness. It was not as much fun, but she wasn't about to let herself break the habit.

Entering the Galileo's small workout room, Natalya noticed an unoccupied treadmill and headed in that direction. She wore a pair of black ankle-length leggings, matched with a snug black baselayer top and a faded gold Starfleet Academy tee. Even after so many years out of the academy the shirt still fit perfectly, a testament to her workout routine. Her hair was already bound back in a ponytail. She took a moment to stretch her legs, smiling politely to the person closest to her.

Braxton had his earphones in and a book open on the handles of his treadmill. He'd missed exercising for two days and his body was telling him that. He was at a much lower speed then usual. He was really getting into this book he was reading. It was part one of eight.

He hadn't noticed the lovely young lady saunter in. It was just by sheer luck that he looked up. She smiled a dazzling smile. His problem was that he couldn't smile and run at the same time...and she was pretty. The moment he tried to return that smile his legs seem to fall asleep on him and down he went thrown almost clear across the room by the belt.

Natalya gasped and one of her hands instinctively cupped over her mouth, as if to hide her shock. She reached out with the other, though of course there was nothing she could've done. It was a horrible sight, seeing the man lose his footing and go flying like that... and over a... smile? But there was also an open book lying on the treadmill's control panel. A book! Natalya woud've never been able to concentrate on reading while bouncing about at a jog. Maybe he just had too many distractions going at once.

"Are you... okay?" Natalya said tentatively as she moved closer and knelt down beside the man. Her hand still reached out, but she didn't touch him, she didn't know if anything was broken. A pair of young men working out over by the weight pile barely held their snickers in check. They didn't seem concerned. What did they think, that he was faking it to get her attention? Natalya directed a frown their way.

Braxton groaned. He turned over his eyes still closed while he took a mental inventory of his body. He could pretty much move everything so he figured he was fine. "Nothing's hurt but my pride." He mumbled. He did taste a bit of blood and his lip did hurt so he figured he'd had a busted lip; nothing a dermal regenerator wouldn't cure.

"Ouch. Broken pride. Sounds grim." Natalya winced, half in jest. "Hope you like musicals... our medical staff engages in sing-alongs while they operate." Natalya said, seeming to be serious. Well, she couldn't say that about all the medical staff, but certainly the good Doctor V.

Natalya extended her hand further out, in case the man wanted a hand getting up. She expected that he might want to get up on his own though, many people were like that.

Braxton took her hand and allowed her to help him up. He noted the snickers around the room and blushed. He then held out his hand. "Junior Lieutenant Braxton MacKenzie...the man who fell at your feet."

Natalya's assistance in helping the man to his feet was token. at best. Compared to her, he was a bear of a man, nearly a foot taller, and probably close to twice her weight. He seemed very athletic... too much so to be flying off treadmills. That didn't add up.

"Natalya Kirilova. Same rank. I'm the chief engineer." She smiled, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "And well, as for that... running and smiling at the other half is enough as it is. Adding in reading and listening to music is setting yourself for disaster." Natalya's heart had skipped a beat in response to a woman's smile many times before. She knew the feeling well. But, she'd never gone flying off a treadmill. She wouldn't call him sensitive yet though. Everyone had their embarrassing moments that seemingly came from nowhere.

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm usually not that klutzy..." Which was a lie. He was klutzy wen a pretty girl entered the room. He blushed a bit. "It is nice to meet you Ms. Kirilova." He gave a little bow. "I think I'll stay away from the treadmill for a bit." He looked around. He went to get his bottle of water. He took a sip of the water. "So ...are you new?" He berated himself. What kind of question was that. It was official he was not allowed around pretty women.

"Not really." Natalya said, flashing a knowing smile, albeit a small one. She didn't want the man to go tripping up again. Either he was attracted to her, or just really nervous around women in general it seemed.

"Why not try the cycle?" She said, looking to the cycling machine that sat unoccupied at her other side. It looked harder to fall off of that. She stepped onto the treadmill and entered her usual running program. It started up with a warmup jogging pace.

"So, are you new?" Natalya asked, repeating his last question, in a lighter tone. She was fairly sure that he was relatively newer to the ship than she was.

He smiled as he took his position on the stationary bike. He set the program and began to peddle. "I'm new. Just got here a few days ago Mon Cher." Smiling and feeling a bit more comfortable on the bike he continued his work out.

Natalya subtly eyed the man askance as she ran. Mon cher. Wasn't that a term of endearment? It sounded like one. She let it go for now, he probably talked to all the ladies that way. "So, what do you think so far?" She asked, meaning the ship but being a bit vague.

Braxton was caught off guard by her question. He thought she'd meant what he thought about her. He blushed. "Well I think that you are...." At that moment he regretted picking the bike with the handle bars that moved he'd lost his grip and the jerked forward. The handle bar went forward and then back hitting Braxton in the jaw. He yelped and as he tried to get off the bike his foot caught in the pedal strap and he fell to the floor. He groaned.

Seeing the catastrophe unfold, Natalya stopped the treadmill and couldn't help but but a hand to her head, which was slowly shaking, as if disbelieving what she was seeing. Maybe it was better that the ship didn't have a swimming pool. The man would probably drown at the sight of a woman in a bathing suit!

"I think... maybe the gym isn't for you. Perhaps yoga?" She said, thinking that at least he wouldn't fall as far, and that it might help with his coordination.

"Um...yeah..." He stood up. "I... I don't know what's wrong with me today. I think I'll bench press for a while." He said. "The ship is amazing...but small. Tell me about the ship a bit." he said as he moved towards the bench press machine.

"No!" Natalya couldn't help but explain as the man moved toward the weight bench. She couldn't bear to see him drop a barbell on himself the next time she did or said anything. "I'm sorry... you just seem pretty nervous about something. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Braxton sighed. He was really frustrated with himself. "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm just not good with pretty ladies Mon Cher. I am all thumbs."

The others in the gym had finished their workouts and left, leaving the two of them alone. "I see... Well, ah, I guess I should tell you that I'm not very good with pretty ladies either... if you know what I mean. We can be friends, but I'm not sure about that mon cher thing." Natalya trailed off, wondering if Braxton understood what she was saying.

Braxton sighed with what sounded like relief. "Oh. I get it." He grinned. He seemed to relax. "Well you are still pretty Mon...Miss Kirilova." He corrected. It was hard for him not to use the endearment that seemed to roll off his lips so easily. "I guess that means I will not lose any of my limbs today." He grinned at his own joke.

"Hopefully not. But there are many other women on board." Natalya cautioned, partly in jest. "Have you met our captain yet?"" She asked, unable to keep from wondering what his reaction had been. Lirha was quite lovely, though Natalya didn't see the exotic appeal of Orions the same way so many others seemed to. When she was younger she'd been fond of Vulcan women, with their cool exterior, elfin features, and those cute, cropped pixie cuts that some seemed to favor. She was more than content with her Bajoran girlfriend now, though. Who was nothing like a Vulcan at all, ironically enough.

"I have...she didn't have this effect on me." He said. "I think I'll just stick to science for the moment. I think I'll try the treadmill again. This is a great Gym for a small ship," he said by way of conversation.

Natalya let the conversation shift, as it was probably for the best that they didn't talk about women. She upped the pace on her own treadmill, as she was done with her warmup jog. "Some days I miss... being aboard a larger ship." Natalya said, pausing between breaths that were now more frequent. "I miss having a swimming pool."

Braxton thought for a moment. "How about the holodeck? I'm sure that you could book it regularly? Or request that one day a week it's not booked by anyone so that it functions as a pool for the whole ship." He too would have loved to have a pool aboard.

Natalya smiled at the idea, but inwardly wasn't enthusiastic about spearheading the idea. She tended to steer clear of the holodeck time-slot wars that were fought on every ship. She also imagined that if she did organize a common pool time, half the people who showed up would want to have a pool party or play water sports. Natalya just liked to swim laps and occasionally practice diving.

"That would turn into a fiasco for me, probably." Natalya said with a laugh. "Every time I show up to swim some laps, there would be people playing water volleyball."

"Well we could theme it. One week games, another just laps or divide the activities by daily hours. Morning for swimming, noon for games, evening for water sports." He shrugged. "Just an idea." He seemed to be better on his feet now not loosing his balance on the treadmill.

Natalya was very tempted to make a joke about adding in late-night skinnydipping, but the last thing she wanted was for Braxton to fall on his face again. "Daily hours are a noble idea, except I wouldn't get to swim my laps, and beta shift would riot over missing water sports." She grinned. Some kind of daily or weekly rotation would have to do.

Braxton smiled. "I guess so." He was feeling more relaxed now. "Slowly he stopped the treadmill. "Well Mon Chér. I think I am done for the day. I'm going to get some food. Care to join me?"

"What, like this?" Natalya said, looking down at her workout clothes. She hadn't even had a chance to break a sweat yet though. "Sure why not." She shrugged, turning off the treadmill. "Just... go light on the mon cherry stuff. Call me Natalya." She smiled, a small one. Hopefully not enough to have him goof up again.

He smiled. "Sorry...it is a Cajun thing." They headed to the mess hall.

OFF:

*****

LTJG Natalya Kirilova
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

&

Lt. JG Braxton MacKenzie
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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