Dinner and Drinks

Posted on Tue May 26th, 2020 @ 4:54pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Colonel Johnathon Hayter

Mission: Around The World in 8 Days
Location: USS Astraea

Abigail had been in the transporter room talking to one of the newer transporter operators while she waited. Ensign Vazam Mezul, an El-Aurian, had just come aboard while they were in orbit of Earth and Abigial had found his history utterly fascinating, but she was ultimately there for a more important reason, one that was about to materialize right in front of her.

The familiar figure of David arriving brought a smile to her face. She reached up and tucked her dark hair back behind her ear before she took a step toward him. "David," she said with a warm smile as she waited for him to step down from the transporter Pad.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting his uniform, David Hawkins stepped down from the transporter padd and looked at the Ensign with a nod before grinning as he took in the beauty that was Captain Laurens. Even in uniform, she had the body to make anything look good. "Abigail, drop dead gorgeous as ever," he started as he stepped forward and stood close, but didn't reach for her as he wanted to make sure she was the higher presence then himself, as it was her ship.

She laughed apologetically. "Sorry, I had hoped I'd get back to my quarters to shower and change before you arrived, but I never got the chance. Today has just been.... busy." Abigail slid her hand into his. "Want the guided tour?"

"I love tours, but first..." he replied as he held her hand tightly and pulled her close. He stole a kiss and smirked slightly before he nodded at the ensign. "You should have seen last night," he winked slightly before he looked at her. "Of course, it requires a higher security code."

"David!" Abigail laughed, color staining her cheeks at his words. "Don't corrupt my crew, I have to deal with them once you're gone! Come on." Keeping her arm around his waist, they walked out of the transporter room and started along the corridor. "I'm glad you had the time to come," she said softly. "We have our orders, we're leaving tomorrow."

"What?" He paused as he pulled her to a stop as crew walked by. He pulled her to the side and close before staying another word. "I thought you were here for a couple more days, at least?"

"That's what we thought," she replied quietly, turning to face him, his arms around her waist. "We're being dispatched to the Delta Triangle immediately. We've been given until midday tomorrow to finalize everything and then we have to depart."

"Sounds like someone has a stick up their butts," David huffed as he shook his head. "The Gladiator is still being stocked up with supplies. What is out there at the Delta Triangle that needs your immediate attention?"

"Let's save that conversation for later," she smiled slightly at his reaction. "Now what do you want to see first?"

"Your bedroom?" he shrugged but loosened his grip on her and held her hand. "Let's start with your favorite place."

"Why don't we save the tour for later, I'm sure this is far from the first Akira class you've ever set foot on." Abigail sighed as they started walking again. "How long do you have before you have to go back to the Gladiator?"

"Actually, this is the first. Its nice," he answered as he looked around at them taking in the designs. "I have a couple hours until I have to return to the ship. My crew have been given their orders and some leave to relax a little. Unlike some people, we run on our own clock. I'm also waiting on two of our ships in the task force to arrive."

"Oh..." Abigail couldn't help but feel disappointed that their time together was going to get cut so short. "Well, how about we start with dinner and drinks?" she asked with a faint smile. "No point wasting what little time we have."

"Sounds good to me, but you don't trust me with being on your bridge, do ya?" David joked as he took a look at her. "And to my defense, you were supposed to be here for a couple days as well."

"We can go to the bridge if you want," she said quietly as they stepped into the turbolift. She took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. "Deck one, bridge," she gave the order and squeezed his hand again.

"Hold turbolift," David ordered as he squeezed his hand around hers and looked her over for a moment. "What is it?"

"Just a bit disappointed," she said quietly. "I've enjoyed spending time with you, I'm disappointed that it's going to be ending."

He looked her over for a moment before nodding and finally spoke, "Computer, Deck 2, captain's quarters."

"I thought you wanted to see the bridge?" Abigail replied, surprised by his sudden change of mind but certainly not complaining.

"This time is for us," David simply answered as he looked at her before smirking. "Besides, I have a bigger bridge. I'd probably feel claustrophobic."

She lightly smacked his shoulder as they stepped out of the turbolift and walked the short distance to her quarters, the doors opening instantly with her bio signature. "Don't mind the chaos, I don't spend much time in here and when I do I'm usually working. Do you mind if I take a few minutes to get out of uniform?"

"Of course, Abby," David replied as he looked around the room as he walked around it a bit. He found himself a place to sit and sighed as he relaxed. Once in place, he rubbed the lining of his jeans while thinking through the new issues at hand. "Midday tomorrow..."

Ten minutes later, Abigail returned from her bedroom, freshly showered and in comfortable clothing. "You know," she said with a smile. "You're the only one that ever calls me Abby. Even my parents don't." She took the drink he handed her and took a sip before motioning to the couch. "Shall we?"

"Heck yeah!" David countered quickly winking as he made his way up to the couch. As he did, he sat close to here and enjoyed the view before him. Before he spoke, he pulled his badge off and tossed it onto her coffee table. "So I been meaning ask, Hayter tracked you after your first meeting with him. Wanna explain why he found you near a certain pain in the ass's house?"

"I assume you're talking about Lockwood?" Abigail asked quietly as she shifted closer to him, her head against his shoulder as she took a sip of her drink. "After I convinced Hayter to leave me alone I went looking for him," she confessed.

"He gave you space, but he didn't let you go to far from him that he couldn't jump in and assist you if you needed it," he explained before taking another sip of his drink. "So... are you dating him as well?"

"Lockwood?" The expression on Abigail's face was nothing short of shock as she pulled away and looked at him. "Really? David? Is that what you think?"

"Well he does have more rank than I do," he laughed jokingly.

Abigail stood up, folding her hands across her chest. "Not even remotely funny," she said darkly.

He took a deep breath and pulled her back down, but this time on his lap. "Calm down, I am sorry. So tell me, what was going on. Why did you stalk the man down?"

She didn't fight as he pulled her back into his lap, instead she leaned into him. "Because I wanted him to tell me the truth. He didn't." She shook her head. "He set me up and then at the last minute he turned it all around. I don't trust him. He gives me the creeps." An involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"So you talked to the man? I mean, it honestly sounds like you two have a history, and I'm not talking about a romantic one," he asked as he held her close and ran his hand up and down her side slowly.

"Can we not talk about him tonight?" Abigail asked quietly. "We don't have a lot of time, I don't want to waste it. How about dinner? Or we could just skip straight to dessert?" Her voice took on a teasing tone as she looked up at him, her fingertips tracing lightly over the side of his face. "What do you say?"