Post 417: Cheers Part Two

Stardate:70826.1345
Title: Cheers, Part Two
Authors: TC Blane and Zanh Liis
Scene: Seven
Time: Following Part One

----Later in the evening----

"Well done, Simon. Good choice of music," said Blane.

"I've got a new instrument I've been practicing," Simon said, surprising everyone around the table.

"What's that then, Biggles? Zanh asked curiously.

"That's Ensign Biggles to you, Captain," he teased.

"Watch it, sunshine!" was Zanh's half-joking reply. TC watched and listened to Biggs play the saxophone like a pro.

He found himself wondering how a man with so much talent found himself working security in Starfleet. He made it a point to ask the next time he and Biggs had a chat.

---Even Later----

The real-life band of officers decided to take the rest of the evening off, and Trick London brought the holographic one that was programmed into the band alcove online to play in their place.

Many people took to dancing after dinner, and as TC found himself cornered by a particularly talkative female Ensign from Engineering, he welcomed the interruption when he felt a gentle hand tap his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Ensign," February Grace said, moving between Blane and Ensign Ella Briggs.

"I hate to intrude. But I need a moment of Lt. Blane's time."

"Sure, see you later," Ella replied, bouncing off to find someone else to chat to.

"Thank you!" TC exclaimed. "I think you just saved my sanity, if not my very life." He smiled at her, "Look at you, aren't you gussied up tonight."

"Special occasion, to honor friends," she said, shuffling her feet a little. But TC had his doubts that was the only reason she'd dressed up tonight. He'd seen her earlier, hiding out in a corner booth and holding hands with Dabin Reece, and figured there was more to her radiance than she wanted to say.

"May I have this dance?" She asked suddenly, bowing dramatically at the waist. Blane didn't know what to say. Then she added, "Please?"

"Sure."

She led him toward the dance floor, and laughed as he debated where his hands should fall. She finally reached out and put one on her hip, took the other into her own, and put her remaining hand on his shoulder.

"I have to remember to let you lead," she laughed again. "I always try to. One of the hazards of having once been a dude."

"Quite a dude you were too," TC replied. "Gentry seemed like he was really something."

"Actually, TC, that was what I wanted to talk to you about." Bru said, "I wanted to tell you that it's amazing to me, now that I've had my memories fully restored, how much like Gentry you really are. Which must be looking back on it, the reason I asked you to embody him. Because I knew that you were, somehow."

Blane was momentarily overwhelmed by the compliment. Fortunately she spoke again quickly, relieving him of the need to do so.

"It's really cool for me, because being able to work with you and be on the same crew with you, it's a little like having Gentry with me. I like that. I hope that you won't mind it if I sort of, well, look up to you. Kind of like a big brother."

Now Blane truly was speechless. She could sense his unease and decided to put him out of his misery but cutting it short.

"Anyway, if you'll just step over here, I have something for you."

She moved out of the way of the crowd of dancing couples, toward a corner.

She opened up the small handbag that hung from a long strap on her shoulder, and took something out.

"This is one of the few mementos I have of Gentry's life, but it's something I want you to have."

She handed him a small patch, which read "Fire Company 42, Lainley District, Trill."

"Oh," TC began, holding it up to her. "Bru, I can't."

"You must. I'll never be able to thank you enough. I just hope that you know how much I appreciate all you did for me, and know that I won't ever forget it. If there's ever anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask."

He nodded, and she rose up onto her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

Feeling very shy now, she vanished quickly through the crowd and disappeared, leaving him alone to stare at the patch wondering what had actually just happened.

Had he just gained a younger sister?

-------Later Still---------

Eventually the party wound down and began to break up. TC found himself one of the last left in the room. The man who was looking for a quick exit had found himself going the distance.

He now however sat at an empty table swirling a glass of cider. He stared at the "Company 42" patch that Grace had given him earlier from Gentry's fireman's uniform. He contemplated his situation on the Indy and the friends he had made here. How he came to this spot in time and this place in the universe surprised him. He never expected this for himself.

He watched the bubbles float to the top of the glass and pop in a random fashion, perhaps they could tell him the answers to the universe.

"Still here, Mr. Blane?" He turned from his seat to see the acting Captain looking down on him.

"Aye." He squinted up at her. "So are you."

She nodded. "Yup." She took a sip from the coffee mug which Blane thought must be surgically attached to her left hand and she eyed the empty chair next to him. She smiled at him, and TC had an intense feeling of deja vu when she asked, "Mind if I join you?"

He looked at her, and then without a word kicked the chair out. Just as he'd done at the medals reception, a night which seemed an eternity ago somehow.

Zanh laughed softly, rotated the chair and sat on it backward. Her smile faded, and he was curious what was on her mind.

"Can I ask what you're thinking?"

"Sure, you can ask," she said, taking a sip of her coffee, and pretending she wasn't going to reply. TC couldn't help roll his eyes a little, and she shook her head.

". . .and I'll answer. The Reece situation weighs on me. He didn't deserve what he got."

"He's not what he seems to be on the surface," TC observed. "There's much more there."

"Many of us are not what we seem at first," Zanh replied, running her finger around the rim of her cup. "That doesn't mean what lie! s beneat h is dark. It just means that what lies beneath is, beneath."

She looked at him, completely serious. "Mr. Blane, I know that you have seen a lot in your career. Things that even with my varied, and, well, downright weird experiences I'd find hard to fathom," she stopped and let the words sink in. She watched as his expression changed, seeming to reflect darker memories than he wanted to recall. A moment of silence passed between them before she continued at last.

"I see so much in you, I've come to rely on your opinions, and value your vital role on this crew. You know full well that Chief of Operations follows XO in the chain of command. I didn't place you in this position by accident and I hope," she paused, "That perhaps you're beginning to find that what lies beneath my exterior is a person you will come to trust. In time."

He frowned as he considered what was being asked of him. He glanced once again down to the fire company patch that February gave him and somewhere deep in his unconscious mind he heard a voice, an instinct maybe.

*Come on man, give the girl a chance.*

TC thought it sounded suspiciously like Gentry Grace.

He shook his head and smiled back at Zanh. "Captain," he paused. "I wanted to," he paused again looking for the right words, none came to him. So instead he lightly clinked the rim of his glass to her coffee mug.

"To the future, and what it might bring." He noticed that the captain's eyes seemed to sparkle a little more brightly then he had ever noticed before.

"Cheers."

He took a long sip as he watched the Bajoran over the rim of his glass with thoughtful blue eyes.
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Lt. (sg) TC Blane
Chief of Operations
USS Independence NCC-90791

~and~

=/\= Zanh Liis
Acting CO
USS Independence NCC-90791