Popping the Question

Posted on 14 Apr 2019 @ 1:07pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Luke Wyatt & Commander Marisa Wyatt

1,924 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Observation Lounge, Ready Room
Timeline: MD -10, 1438 hrs

[ON]

Luke hadn't seen Marisa for a couple of days which meant he had done a lot of thinking. He wasn't entirely sure when the idea to ask her had come into his mind but Luk hadn't stopped thinking about it, and now he was on his way to see her he felt something he was unused to feeling. Anxiety.

The walk to her office was shorter than he had hoped but none the less Luke straightened himself out and made his way to where Marisa was working alone. Good He thought thinking that if she said no he wouldn't be witnessed in his embarrassment. As he made his way across the room to her Luke smiled, he was truly lucky to have ended up falling in love with her Even now as she frowned at her work, concentrating so hard that even his presence wasn't noticed. He loved that about her, how she loved her work, how she was so passionate about the things she spoke about, and when she did it made him believe he too was a scientist.

"Marisa" He spoke hushed at first until she didn't answer. "Marisa" he tried again.

She turned, pleasantly surprised to see Luke. "Hi!" She went over and hugged him. "Do you need something?"

He shook his head at first before shrugging, "Well... Would you like to go for a walk?" Luke had decided at that moment that perhaps a walk with some light conversation was the best way to go.

Now she was confused. "Sure. Where shall we go?"

Smiling to reassure her, "How about the observation lounge. I've heard it's rather quiet at this time so we can urm, discuss some things" Already Luke had decided that storming a strong hold of Jem'Hadar warriors was both simpler and easier than what he was trying to accomplish right now.

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay." Together they walked out of her office and up to the Observation Lounge. Marisa could tell that Luke was nervous about something, but refrained from asking him about it until they got to their destination.

Fortunately for Luke, the Observation deck didn't take long to get too and was reasonably quiet for the moment. Directing Marissa over to the far left window he turned to face her. "So," He said simply before letting out a breath. "I've been thinking... A LOT. and before you say it, no it didn't hurt." He chuckled nervously.

She put a hand on his arm, part because she saw how nervous he was, and part because she wanted to encourage him. "What have you been thinking about?"

"About our future, and how I would like it to have you to be a more permanent place in it." Luke paused, trying to gauge her reaction. When it was clear she was waiting for more "I guess what I'm saying is I think its time we take the next step in our relationship and I would really think to move in with one another would be that step."

Her hand moved to his chest and she kissed him. "I would like nothing better than to be a more permanent part of your life and to see you every day--or almost every day." Even though she tried not to, in case anyone walked in on them, but she couldn't help being misty-eyed. "The only question I have is, your place or mine?"

Feeling the weight of the question and seeing her positive response he let out a sigh of relief and laughed. "Well they're both the same so does it matter?" He thought "How about I move into yours, I have fewer things to move."

"Good point." She hugged him and grinned. "I'll move some things around for you. I can also take some of it to my office." She paused for a long moment. "Luke, I love you. So much."

Luke returned the embrace resting his forehead on her head, something which was easily done as he was taller. "And I love you too Marisa." He proclaimed Leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose, "Maybe we need to consider informing the captain?" It would be considered inappropriate if two ship crewman didn't ask the captain especially moving in together and even more so two department heads.

That hadn't occurred to her. "I don't know if we need her permission, but we definitely should let her know." She hoped the captain wouldn't tell them they couldn't be together. Marisa could see herself being with Luke for a long time, hopefully the rest of her life.

He nodded "Just a courtesy call, I don't think she could keep me away from you if she tried." Luke said with a knowing grin. In reality he knew at least hoped he knew that their captain would approve of their status. "Sooner rather than later?"

"Yes." Now she was nervous about how the captain would react. "Definitely sooner rather than later. How about now? Then we can celebrate after." Providing the captain approved.

Not having any objections like Luke nodded before tapping his comm badge. =^= 'Captain Saalm this is Wyatt, are you free. There is something I wish to discuss with yourself at your earliest convenience. Wyatt.' =^= Now all that was left to do was wait for her response.

Quicker than expected, Lirha's distinctive light voice came back over the channel from another part of the ship. "Yes Luke, I'm in my office," she answered.

"On our way Captain," Luke said already walking expecting Marissa to follow his stride. "I'm actually little nervous. You?" He asked his hand finding hers and squeezing it lightly. "Soon we're gonna be talk of the ship, gossip spreads quick on the Galileo."

"I'm a bit nervous about talking to the captain, but I don't care about gossip. We may be the subject du jour this week, but it'll be something else next." She would have been more relaxed about telling the captain they were getting married than that they were simply moving in together. She wasn't sure why the difference mattered.

Down on deck two inside the small administrative chamber, Lirha looked up from her PADDs when she heard the chirp of the door chime. "Come."

Upon her order, Luke was the first to enter. In their previous and brief communique, Luke hadn't mentioned Marisa would be with him, not that he figured Lirha would object since the question was from them both. "Captain, Thank you for seeing us in such short notice. I hope we're not interrupting anything."

Marisa stood beside Luke and smiled a greeting to the captain. She was content to let Luke do the talking for now. She slipped her hand into Luke's for luck and support.

Saalm showed visible surprise when the two senior officers walked in together and the door swished shut behind them. At first she hoped it wasn't a work-related incident or a conflict between their departments, but then she saw the subtle display of affection from the half-Vulcan towards the large security chief.

"Oh, no. Please sit," she replied, hoping she hadn't paused too long while processing the implications of what she'd just witnessed.

Working past the slight pause it was somewhat clear everyone was out of their comfort zone, approaching the seats Luke waited for Marissa to sit before taking a seat himself. "Captain." Luke started, "As you may have started realising we're here not so much in a professional standing but a personal private one. " He paused looking to Marissa to take up the conversation, whilst doing so he placed his hand on hers.

Marisa smiled at Luke, appreciating the non-verbal support. "While we know that relationships between officers is not against regulations, we wanted to come to you and let you know that Luke and I have been seeing each other for the past six months and we'd like to move in together and make our relationship public." She tried to remain outwardly calm, but she was still afraid Lirha would tell them they couldn't be together.

Saalm listened to their proclamation of love and would have smiled if not for the revelation that it had been going on for so long. Privately, Lirha always considered herself an above-average judge of character which meant she was always trying to compare the latest rumors aboard the ship with her own observations. It seemed...unexpected but also not surprising that the Human and half-Vulcan had paired up. Most importantly, the captain knew such relationships were inevitable in Starfleet and in many ways she encouraged them as a means to relieve the mental stress of the daily grind.

"That is welcome news," Lirha grinned. "I admit you both caught me by surprise, but I am..." she looked between Sandoval and Wyatt, "confident it will work. Are you two..engaged now?"

Marisa was also certain they would make this work. She glanced at Luke, half-wishing they were. "He's not quite ready for that step yet." She turned back to Lirha. "He was afraid I'd say no to living together. He's also been concerned about not causing too many rumors."

"He's right here you know" Half teasing, "I think moving in was the best next step, becoming public and asking yourself for approval, out of respect to yourself. As for getting engaged." Luke turned to Marissa smiling, "It'll come, but let's see if we can live with each other first for all I know you snore and sleep talk." He chuckled, before turning back to Lirha. "Providing the good captain will allow it."

"You should know by now if I snore," Marisa teased quietly, squeezing Luke's hand. She understood how he felt, and she was happy taking their relationship step by step.

Luke allowed himself to chuckle before turning back to the captain. "Sorry captain, so to our question and our declaration, is it something you don't object too?"

Lirha let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "No, I have no objections." She again looked between the two of them and privately noted they were an attractive couple who she thought the crew would be happy to accept. "I'm pleased to see you two together... And of course, a healthy sex life is good for morale," she added in typical Orion fashion.

Marisa chuckled. "As a former counselor, I agree that there are definite benefits." She turned to smile at Luke. "But being with the right person is much better."

The captain wholeheartedly agreed with the CSO's assessment and, from her personal observations of each over time, didn't see anything wrong with their request. She couldn't say it outright, however, for proper protocol needed to be maintained. "Well, if you two are confident your living arrangements will be productive, speak to Scarlet. Or have you already?"

"Thank you, captain. We haven't spoken to Commander Blake yet." Marisa again looked to Luke. "We didn't think of it."

Nonchalantly, Lirha waved a dismissive hand to downplay the nature of the protocol. "Don't worry. Knowing Scarlet, she'd probably welcome the change," she mused to herself out loud. "Contact her for final approval and she'll assign Ryan to assist."

"Thank you, captain," Marisa said. "And thank you for your time."

Saalm looked up to both of them with warm eyes and a tiny smile she struggled to suppress. "It's my pleasure. Dismissed."

[OFF]

--

Commander Luke Wyatt
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed