Stardate: 70625.2030
Title: Babies? Me?
Author: TC Blane
Scene: Various – USS Independence
Time: During and After “As Blue as the Very Sea, Part Three”
TC was amazed at the gathering of his fellow Starfleet personnel. He was glad for the recognition, not for himself, but for his teammates. They had sacrificed so much for the Bajorans.
He did not feel that he deserved it as he was just doing his job, a job that he swore an oath to perform to the best of his abilities. His problem was that he never felt that he did his best; he could always have done more.
That is why when Daia Hilani appeared with her family to personally thank both him and Sunshine, he was taken aback and quite frankly stunned. After all he had done nothing more then listen to the real hero, Sunshine, and as always performed his assigned duty.
He was even more caught off guard about what happened next. The tall dark-haired woman approached him after thanking the team as a whole.
"I thank you, Lt. TC Blane, for listening to the voice inside you that told you not to give up on me." She pinned the medal to TC's uniform, then leaned in close and whispered into his ear. “Surely you are a Guardian from the Prophets. May they bless you with a long life and many healthy babies.”
TC’s mouth opened to say something but he was caught too off guard to even think of anything to say. He could feel his face grow hot as his cheeks flushed. It seemed as if every crewman was staring at him, which in fact was exactly what was happening. All he could manage was a shake of his head.
With a smile and a peck on his cheek Daia turned her attention to Sunshine and awarded the dog his medal. TC noticed with chagrin that the canine had a much easier time accepting the shiny object, as well as the recognition, as he wagged his tail excitedly.
After shaking Daia’s spouse’s hand TC leaned down slightly towards Sunshine and whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “She must have been talking to you about having those babies.”
The rest of the ceremony went as one could expect with the grandest surprise being the appearance of the captain. A vision that lifted the crews spirits considerably, including TC’s. With Captain Gilmore on the mend that meant he would be returning back to the security department, back to his bread and butter.
As the crew was dismissed from the medal ceremony TC glanced around for directions to the food, after all there was ALWAYS food after one of these events, it was the main reason people showed up.
= Later in Seven Forward =
The buffet was grand to say the least. The head chef had outdone himself on this one TC thought as he loaded up his plate for the second time around. The variety of food was staggering. It featured no less then fifty different main courses from numerous worlds, but centered mostly on traditional Bajoran fare.
TC had not eaten more then a few bites since returning to the ship and now was taking the opportunity to stuff himself on the succulent morsels spread before him. He did his best to hide his gluttony so as not to look like a complete pig and seemed to be performing stealthily. He reached the end of the buffet for the second time, having filled his plate he helped himself the one of the warm rolls that were in a basket and headed back to his table to dig in.
Sunshine on the other hand happily made his rounds from table to table collecting hugs, pats, pets, scratches, and of course uncountable amounts of treats. Once he had gorged himself sufficiently he walked, no waddled, back to TC and plopped down next to his chair with a loud satisfied sigh.
TC looked down and laughed. “Talk about knowing how to work a crowd.” He tore off a piece of bread and popped it into his mouth.
He pondered the dog next to him. Sunshine was very well trained to say the least and was most definitely a people dog, well acclimated to crowds. Now it was TC who sighed. The dog's master had died in the flood, yet TC suddenly realized that a dog like this never belonged to a single man, he must have a family somewhere. A family that missed him and probably mourned for him.
It was then he realized that if Sunshine did have a family, then it was his duty to find them and reunite them. After all, he scratched the dog behind his ear, if Sunshine did belong to someone he deserved to be with his family as much as Daia Hilani. If by some chance he no longer had a family on Bajor then he had one here. In either case TC knew he had to find out, both for Sunshine and himself.
He glanced up as music started to play from the band that was assembled in the corner. He could start the search in the morning because now was a time to relax and celebrate the good things that were accomplished not the bad that occurred. That settled in his mind he polished off his plate of food and stood up and began to mingle with his fellow shipmates as he worked his way towards the desert table.
Lt. (JG) TC Blane
Acting Chief of Operations
USS Independence
