Interlude – R & R Part 8) Into the Night
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham
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Chelsea wandered without realising where she was going she was so lost in thought. Eventually she decided to find out if there was an Arboretum. She had always walked there on DS5 and trees were soothing to her soul, especially ancient ones.
Consulting a computer station on the wall, she found directions and made her way deeper into the starship until she got to the garden. Wandering amongst the trees she *did* indeed feel calmer and began to make sense of the chaos in her thoughts. She sat beneath the biggest, oldest tree in the whole place, as she used to on DS5.
Sitting there her mind was cast back to when she had been rescued by Rick from her twisted ankle at the time when she didn't want Ryan to know how upset she was because he was with Nora. She couldn't help but feel warm in her heart when she thought of that time and how Rick had been there for her. It brought her to the metaphor Erica had quoted of Rick being like an Arthurian Knight. It was true. He'd been wonderful to Chelsea and she could no more live without him now than she could breathe methane.
"Oh well, she told the tree. I guess I didn't want children anyway." It's leaves rustled in the artifical breeze that maintained the balance of air in the Arboretum. "That's all very well for you to say!" she answered the imagined comment and lay back against it's bark, comforted by its presence. When she had been a little girl she had loved trees. They were a form of emotional paraclete to her.
Dunham had to ask the ships computer were Chelsea was, so eventually he found her sitting under the tree in the arboretum, he didn’t say anything as he approached just sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He knew something had been bothering her. She hadn’t seem restful since his sister had spoken to her, and she had seemed to have something on her mind, but now she wore the face of person who had taken a bitter pill and made a painful decision, “please tell me what the matter is?” Said Dunham in earnest.
"Nothing's the matter, honey" she smiled for him. "I was just thinking. I kinda gave your mum a hard time rather hypocritically because I'm a Fleeter through and through and while I don't mind having Kim with us if that's what you want, I think i'm actually going to concentrate on my career a bit more from now on." she lied, very credibly for once. She was trying to save her relationship with him and she was prepared to go even to the lengths of giving up having children for him, so what was a bit of acting in comparison.
"I should apologise to Margaret. I'm more like her and Erica than I realised." she said resolutely, squeezing his hand as she went to get up.
Dunham held her by the hand and lightly pulled her back down to continue sitting with him under the tree, he paused a moment in reflective thought before speaking “can I tell you a story about a man and his future? “ He put his arm around Chelsea as he began to explain.”Once upon a time there was man, and he dreamt about the future with the love of his life, in that future he envisioned this women one day being his wife, and that they would share a home together, somewhere where the grass was green, and fresh with morning dew, the birds sang in trees that over hung a sparking stream that came down out of nestling hills were the sun set at night, and were during the day they could listen contently to the patter of little feet, as their children played outdoors in the fresh air, and were they would read them bed side stories every night together, away from the troubles of the universe, away from the troubles of family commitment, away from Starfleet. But together."
Chelsea watched Rick's face in adoration. "Don't tell me, a big bad wolf came and gobbled him up? Or did his mummy come and take him home for tea?" she pretended to be laughing about this but it was breaking her heart to make fun of the beautiful dream that she so wanted to be his as well as hers. She knew now from Erica that couldn't be true, she had only spoken to him alone just a few minutes before she had told Chelsea so how could she be mistaken or out of date?
She tried again to get up. "Come on you big softie" she teased. "I'll race you to the entrance, last one there has to carry the other back" she knew perfectly well she'd never lift him, let alone carry him but she would cheat, she had it all planned.
Dunham wasn't done. "So you don't won't to have kids with me?" he said simply.
"What?" She stopped in her tracks and sat down hard on a tree root, regretting it immediately. It wasn't clear if the tears in her eyes were from the physical pain or the emotional reaction.
"Who said anything about kids?" she asked. "A newly promoted CMO shouldn't even be discussing such things... her voice dropped to a whisper as she fought to brave this out for his sake. "Anyway, you're a rising star yourself.... kids would be a disaster for us."
Dunham wrapped Chelsea up in a loving embrace”If you don’t want to have kids that’s fine” he said in a sympathetic tone, empathising with her emotions. “I’ll do it for you, but let me tell you how I feel first; these decisions should be made together.” Dunham smiled in thought. “You’re the only thing in my world, not Starfleet or career. I would gladly give them both up for you. I could be a stay at home dad while you work, and I look after the kids.” He began to take the pips off his uniform collar. He held them in the palm of his hand for Chelsea to see. “These don’t mean anything next to you and our future together. If I had to choose between my love for you and Starfleet, I would choose you every time. But we make these decisions together, not alone if you want to go forward in your career without kids that’s fine too“
Chelsea couldn't speak as she looked first at the pips and then into Rick's eyes. With tears of emotion in her eyes she reached for her own pips and added them to his in the palm of his hand. "I only said that because I thought it was what you needed to hear. I'd never ask you to choose." she whispered. "I'm sorry. I truly thought it was what you wanted."
Dunham nodded, “What I want is you wholly, and truly, with everything it entails....I would do anything for you.”
"Rick" She breathed his name. "That's so beautiful. You're the most amazing person I ever met. I love you so much it hurts." Dissolving into a passionate kiss that did more to tell him how much she wanted to say but couldn't find words that covered it all, Chelsea had never been so happy in all her life.
Dunham held Chelsea in his arms, content and one with the universe. There was no were else he would rather be. He smiled to himself, “You know this is going to be a great holiday.”
"It already is!" she agreed settling in his his arms for a long stay. "Rick, how thoughtless of me, I was so wrapped up in Erica's words I forgot to ask you how Kim is?" Chelsea was mortified now, so sorry not to have thought of it sooner.
Dunham nodded to himself, that statement solved the mystery as to why Chelsea had thought those things; she had been speaking to his sister. “She’s doing ok, poor girl misses her mum, we had a little chat and what she wanted to do next, and she is going to stay with her Gran for a little while , before returning to deep space five.”
"She doesn't want to come on holiday with us?" Chelsea was genuinely disappointed. She had thought earlier that she wanted Rick to herself but on realising more about Kim's situation she had come to think how selfish it was when she had all the rest of her life to spend with Rick and Kim would only be young and alone for a short while longer.
Sooner or later Kim would find a *perfect guy* of her own. Chelsea only hoped it would be earlier in her life than she had. "I guess she had few chances to stay with her gran so we have to share her. She *will* come back to us, won't she?" Chelsea looked up at Rick to see if he was softening this for her and actually Kim was leaving them.
Dunham nodded in agreement and smiled to himself, “She’ll be back, but she has the travel bug. The plan....” Dunham raised in his fingers of his head making quotation marks to the word ‘plan’ “Is to join us on our holiday for a couple of days while the USS Hagnon remains in the system. When it leaves she will go back onboard to stay with Granma Dunham. Kim will be back to join us after the Hagnon completes its survey mission in a few weeks and its course brings it back to deep space five.”
"As long as that?" Chelsea gasped. "Weeks? I thought you were talking about just a few days while we were on holiday?"
Dunham smiled to himself “Why Miss Adams I think you have taken a liking to our young little Miss Dunham, perhaps your sentimental mothering side is kicking? Don’t worry she’ll be fine, and we get to spend a few days with her before the little one leaves. Before you know it will be three weeks and she will be back with us at home.” Dunham squeezed Chelsea tightly, “but after Kim is gone we do get some alone time too.”
Chelsea grinned and kissed his neck. "mmmmmmm I like the sound of *that* part." she agreed. "and I think you're right, I *am* getting all maternal over Kim. I just feel like I want to fill in the gaps.... I know it isn't my place, but... I just want to... she reminds me of you so much.... except that she doesn't have the disadvantage of being a guy...." she added in the last little barb as a joke and grinned mischievously up at him waiting for his response.
“Well Kim is going to need all the help she can get from us....her family, while her mum is away." Dunham mused, "from the impression I got Intel has got her wrapped up in something deep and she has no clue when she will be off assignment.”
"I know, but we'll be great *in loco parentis* - show em all how to do it eh?" Her smirk was wicked. Of course they had *no* idea how to be parents but Kim needed them to at least try and they'd give it their best shot, despite all the joking about. "And anyway, how come you ignored that shot about being a guy.... or not... " she added mischievously.
“I used to be a woman. I had a sex change five years ago,” said Dunham in a very dead pan tone and very straight face.
Chelsea fell about laughing and hugged him tightly. His sense of humour was awesome. "Well, that explains a lot!" she said, still in fits of laughter at the imagery her mind had conjured up.
Suddenly she remembered the danger she was in and got up ready for a quick getaway if need be, but still chuckling.
Dunham got up too still chuckling; he put his arm around her waist, as they walked under the tree canopy of the arboretum. He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her there.
Chelsea melted. There was no hope for her. Rick was a complete eclipse of her whole universe. She could stay here like this forever. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.
Off:
Lt Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO - DS5
&
Lt Richard Dunham
Squadron Leader
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham
Post Details
| Title | R & R Part 8) Into the Night | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham | |
| Posted | Mon May 24, 2010 @ 7:39am | |
| Location | USS Hagnon - Unknown Deck | |
| Timeline | 03.00am |
Chelsea wandered without realising where she was going she was so lost in thought. Eventually she decided to find out if there was an Arboretum. She had always walked there on DS5 and trees were soothing to her soul, especially ancient ones.
Consulting a computer station on the wall, she found directions and made her way deeper into the starship until she got to the garden. Wandering amongst the trees she *did* indeed feel calmer and began to make sense of the chaos in her thoughts. She sat beneath the biggest, oldest tree in the whole place, as she used to on DS5.
Sitting there her mind was cast back to when she had been rescued by Rick from her twisted ankle at the time when she didn't want Ryan to know how upset she was because he was with Nora. She couldn't help but feel warm in her heart when she thought of that time and how Rick had been there for her. It brought her to the metaphor Erica had quoted of Rick being like an Arthurian Knight. It was true. He'd been wonderful to Chelsea and she could no more live without him now than she could breathe methane.
"Oh well, she told the tree. I guess I didn't want children anyway." It's leaves rustled in the artifical breeze that maintained the balance of air in the Arboretum. "That's all very well for you to say!" she answered the imagined comment and lay back against it's bark, comforted by its presence. When she had been a little girl she had loved trees. They were a form of emotional paraclete to her.
Dunham had to ask the ships computer were Chelsea was, so eventually he found her sitting under the tree in the arboretum, he didn’t say anything as he approached just sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He knew something had been bothering her. She hadn’t seem restful since his sister had spoken to her, and she had seemed to have something on her mind, but now she wore the face of person who had taken a bitter pill and made a painful decision, “please tell me what the matter is?” Said Dunham in earnest.
"Nothing's the matter, honey" she smiled for him. "I was just thinking. I kinda gave your mum a hard time rather hypocritically because I'm a Fleeter through and through and while I don't mind having Kim with us if that's what you want, I think i'm actually going to concentrate on my career a bit more from now on." she lied, very credibly for once. She was trying to save her relationship with him and she was prepared to go even to the lengths of giving up having children for him, so what was a bit of acting in comparison.
"I should apologise to Margaret. I'm more like her and Erica than I realised." she said resolutely, squeezing his hand as she went to get up.
Dunham held her by the hand and lightly pulled her back down to continue sitting with him under the tree, he paused a moment in reflective thought before speaking “can I tell you a story about a man and his future? “ He put his arm around Chelsea as he began to explain.”Once upon a time there was man, and he dreamt about the future with the love of his life, in that future he envisioned this women one day being his wife, and that they would share a home together, somewhere where the grass was green, and fresh with morning dew, the birds sang in trees that over hung a sparking stream that came down out of nestling hills were the sun set at night, and were during the day they could listen contently to the patter of little feet, as their children played outdoors in the fresh air, and were they would read them bed side stories every night together, away from the troubles of the universe, away from the troubles of family commitment, away from Starfleet. But together."
Chelsea watched Rick's face in adoration. "Don't tell me, a big bad wolf came and gobbled him up? Or did his mummy come and take him home for tea?" she pretended to be laughing about this but it was breaking her heart to make fun of the beautiful dream that she so wanted to be his as well as hers. She knew now from Erica that couldn't be true, she had only spoken to him alone just a few minutes before she had told Chelsea so how could she be mistaken or out of date?
She tried again to get up. "Come on you big softie" she teased. "I'll race you to the entrance, last one there has to carry the other back" she knew perfectly well she'd never lift him, let alone carry him but she would cheat, she had it all planned.
Dunham wasn't done. "So you don't won't to have kids with me?" he said simply.
"What?" She stopped in her tracks and sat down hard on a tree root, regretting it immediately. It wasn't clear if the tears in her eyes were from the physical pain or the emotional reaction.
"Who said anything about kids?" she asked. "A newly promoted CMO shouldn't even be discussing such things... her voice dropped to a whisper as she fought to brave this out for his sake. "Anyway, you're a rising star yourself.... kids would be a disaster for us."
Dunham wrapped Chelsea up in a loving embrace”If you don’t want to have kids that’s fine” he said in a sympathetic tone, empathising with her emotions. “I’ll do it for you, but let me tell you how I feel first; these decisions should be made together.” Dunham smiled in thought. “You’re the only thing in my world, not Starfleet or career. I would gladly give them both up for you. I could be a stay at home dad while you work, and I look after the kids.” He began to take the pips off his uniform collar. He held them in the palm of his hand for Chelsea to see. “These don’t mean anything next to you and our future together. If I had to choose between my love for you and Starfleet, I would choose you every time. But we make these decisions together, not alone if you want to go forward in your career without kids that’s fine too“
Chelsea couldn't speak as she looked first at the pips and then into Rick's eyes. With tears of emotion in her eyes she reached for her own pips and added them to his in the palm of his hand. "I only said that because I thought it was what you needed to hear. I'd never ask you to choose." she whispered. "I'm sorry. I truly thought it was what you wanted."
Dunham nodded, “What I want is you wholly, and truly, with everything it entails....I would do anything for you.”
"Rick" She breathed his name. "That's so beautiful. You're the most amazing person I ever met. I love you so much it hurts." Dissolving into a passionate kiss that did more to tell him how much she wanted to say but couldn't find words that covered it all, Chelsea had never been so happy in all her life.
Dunham held Chelsea in his arms, content and one with the universe. There was no were else he would rather be. He smiled to himself, “You know this is going to be a great holiday.”
"It already is!" she agreed settling in his his arms for a long stay. "Rick, how thoughtless of me, I was so wrapped up in Erica's words I forgot to ask you how Kim is?" Chelsea was mortified now, so sorry not to have thought of it sooner.
Dunham nodded to himself, that statement solved the mystery as to why Chelsea had thought those things; she had been speaking to his sister. “She’s doing ok, poor girl misses her mum, we had a little chat and what she wanted to do next, and she is going to stay with her Gran for a little while , before returning to deep space five.”
"She doesn't want to come on holiday with us?" Chelsea was genuinely disappointed. She had thought earlier that she wanted Rick to herself but on realising more about Kim's situation she had come to think how selfish it was when she had all the rest of her life to spend with Rick and Kim would only be young and alone for a short while longer.
Sooner or later Kim would find a *perfect guy* of her own. Chelsea only hoped it would be earlier in her life than she had. "I guess she had few chances to stay with her gran so we have to share her. She *will* come back to us, won't she?" Chelsea looked up at Rick to see if he was softening this for her and actually Kim was leaving them.
Dunham nodded in agreement and smiled to himself, “She’ll be back, but she has the travel bug. The plan....” Dunham raised in his fingers of his head making quotation marks to the word ‘plan’ “Is to join us on our holiday for a couple of days while the USS Hagnon remains in the system. When it leaves she will go back onboard to stay with Granma Dunham. Kim will be back to join us after the Hagnon completes its survey mission in a few weeks and its course brings it back to deep space five.”
"As long as that?" Chelsea gasped. "Weeks? I thought you were talking about just a few days while we were on holiday?"
Dunham smiled to himself “Why Miss Adams I think you have taken a liking to our young little Miss Dunham, perhaps your sentimental mothering side is kicking? Don’t worry she’ll be fine, and we get to spend a few days with her before the little one leaves. Before you know it will be three weeks and she will be back with us at home.” Dunham squeezed Chelsea tightly, “but after Kim is gone we do get some alone time too.”
Chelsea grinned and kissed his neck. "mmmmmmm I like the sound of *that* part." she agreed. "and I think you're right, I *am* getting all maternal over Kim. I just feel like I want to fill in the gaps.... I know it isn't my place, but... I just want to... she reminds me of you so much.... except that she doesn't have the disadvantage of being a guy...." she added in the last little barb as a joke and grinned mischievously up at him waiting for his response.
“Well Kim is going to need all the help she can get from us....her family, while her mum is away." Dunham mused, "from the impression I got Intel has got her wrapped up in something deep and she has no clue when she will be off assignment.”
"I know, but we'll be great *in loco parentis* - show em all how to do it eh?" Her smirk was wicked. Of course they had *no* idea how to be parents but Kim needed them to at least try and they'd give it their best shot, despite all the joking about. "And anyway, how come you ignored that shot about being a guy.... or not... " she added mischievously.
“I used to be a woman. I had a sex change five years ago,” said Dunham in a very dead pan tone and very straight face.
Chelsea fell about laughing and hugged him tightly. His sense of humour was awesome. "Well, that explains a lot!" she said, still in fits of laughter at the imagery her mind had conjured up.
Suddenly she remembered the danger she was in and got up ready for a quick getaway if need be, but still chuckling.
Dunham got up too still chuckling; he put his arm around her waist, as they walked under the tree canopy of the arboretum. He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her there.
Chelsea melted. There was no hope for her. Rick was a complete eclipse of her whole universe. She could stay here like this forever. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.
Off:
Lt Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO - DS5
&
Lt Richard Dunham
Squadron Leader