Post 430: My Only Love is the Sea

Stardate: 70902.1645
Title: My Only Love is the Sea (or Space, as it were. . .)
Authors: TC Blane and Zanh Liis
Scene: Turbolift
Time: Following "Fate is a. . ." (hours after the party ends)
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Zanh Liis was amused by the grin that TC Blane was wearing when the doors opened and revealed him to already be a passenger on the lift she was awaiting.

She noticed his expression change at seeing her. It seemed as if anytime he ran into her where he wasn't expecting to, he was still instinctively put on his guard. She didn't know whether she should take it as a compliment, or an insult.

Of course, she realized suddenly, it could have been because of the way she was dressed. She wore a swimsuit, with a large towel tied around her waist like a sarong. Her feet were bare.

He stepped aside to allow her entry to the lift, and she nodded and then looked away to try to put him more at ease.

"Captain."

"Mr. Blane." She was silent a moment before adding, "Working out?"

"Yes, Sir. You?"

"Aqua therapy. Doctor's orders. McKenna says it might help to keep me from snapping in half like a twig, so I figured what the hell."

Blane nodded, and said nothing more.

"Cheshire Cat," Zanh added, without any introduction or explanation.

"I'm sorry?" Blane asked, as he once again dabbed sweat from his brow with a towel that was slung over his shoulders.

"You were grinning like the Cheshire Cat a moment ago. I wonder why."

TC did not truly realize that he had let his thoughts slip to his face. He silently cursed himself for the slip up.

“I was just thinking about the surprise party.” He continued to look straight forward. “I think it turned out very well. A lot of interesting things to see. Don’t you think?” He probed.

"Yeah, for one thing I was seeing spots everywhere." Zanh said with a laugh. "Seems like Grace has taken a shine to you. You can tell that she looks up to you," Zanh's face betrayed worry and sadness suddenly, and now TC was as curious about that as she had been about his grin earlier.

"Something the matter, Zanh Liis?" "I was just thinking that Grace and Reece are going to need all the familial support they can get in the days to come. I'm glad that they both have friends here."

TC's' expression mirrored her own now. "What do you mean?"

"Reassociation. She probably didn't tell you, did she?"

"No," TC thought a moment now, and again he had this uneasy feeling that Gentry Grace was still with him because even though Blane's knowledge of Trill rites and rules was very limited, he suddenly knew exactly what Zanh was saying. "Crap. I didn't even think about that."

"It's all I've been thinking about. I know what it's like, giving up a lot for someone you care about," Zanh confided in him. "In the end, I found it to be worth the price I had to pay. I'm hoping the same for Reece and Grace. I know one thing for sure. Reece may be many things, but he's not a playboy. He's in this for the long haul."

"He'd better be," TC said, his hackles suddenly rising as he thought of February protectively. He quickly regained his composure and looked at Zanh. “Or I would be quite. . . put out.” He grinned.

He turned back towards the doors. “I am sure that they will work out. I’ve seen that look between two people before.”

“Really?” Zanh poked. “Speaking from experience Mr. Blane?”

TC snorted. “Hardly.” He was shocked at how bitter his reply sounded. “It’s just that you don’t have to be a romantic expert to see the attraction between them.” He hoped the second half of his reply covered the first.

Zanh smiled slyly. "Oh, come now. You can't tell me that a dashing young officer such as yourself on the fast track to success hasn't had his share of. . ." she stopped short of using the first word that came to her mind, and substituted another phrase. "romantic interests."

"My only love is open space, Sir." TC replied flatly, and Zanh laughed heartily.

"And a woman called Independence? Gotcha." She looked up at the ceiling and rocked backward from her toes up onto her heels and back again, as she was known for doing. "Well, you and lady Independence have your first official date in the morning."

"Sir?" TC was confused. He thought he had second shift tomorrow.

"You. Bridge. 0600."

"Captain?"

"Salvek and I have to take a trip down to the planet," Liis explained, as her floor came up and the doors opened. "You'll be in command."

Blane's mouth hung open a moment, and she winked at him as the doors slid shut again.

"Don't oversleep."
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Lt. (sg) TC Blane
Chief of Operations
USS Independence NCC-90791

~and~

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