TJ hated these insipid school functions. As an administrator, her job was to ensure the academic growth of her students, intervene on their behalf when she thought it necessary, and gently guide them to their fullest potential. When she took the job that was her primary goal. She did not sign up for chaperoning frivolous school functions. An hour into the event, she was hot, uncomfortable, and her feet hurt from the ridiculous heels she had chosen to wear, a decision she was most regretting. The thought of tossing her heels aside and going barefoot crossed her mind but then she thought of how dirty the floor likely was and chose to keep the death traps on her feet. Three more hours.
Yep, here she was, on a Friday evening, in the only dress she owned, a sleeveless black, V-neck, cocktail length number, not overly revealing, but still leaving her feeling uncomfortably exposed as she tried to navigate the crowd of students, keeping one eye on them to ensure they were behaving appropriately, and one eye on the sullen former starship commander who had also been roped into this mess with her. Commander Goddard had chosen to stay in a far corner, arms crossed, and leaning against the wall, wearing his formal dress uniform and a sullen expression on his face. Part of her wanted to go over and drag his sorry ass out into the room to keep a better eye on the children, but another thought it best he stay exactly where he was- at least there he couldn't get into trouble or verbally get under her skin, as he was so often loathe to do.
At the very least, she supposed that she would need to make the most of the evening. By midnight, it would all be over and she could return to some sense of normalcy in the morning- a steaming cup of tea, and a stack of reports that she would have read tonight, but instead now was put off until a Saturday morning. Not the most exciting of plans, and frankly, the most boring part of her job, but someone needed to get it done, so she figured it might as well be her. It wasn't as though she had other plans anyway.
While perusing over the table of snacks, spotting a lovely assortment of chocolate strawberries, she heard a voice that caused her blood to boil. "Hello, TJ."
Davenport spun on her heels, taking a cleansing breath as she turned to face her ex-fiancé, William Daniels, an outstanding biophysics teacher, but horrendous human being, who she unfortunately had to work with on a daily basis. She had caught him in bed with another woman- Vicky from Admissions- and immediately broke off the engagement and after launching her ring from the nearest airlock, decided dating wasn't for her and became closed off, distant, and hyper focused on her work. Normally she was able to avoid William due to the volume of work that she tended to amass for herself. In a venue like this though, it was hard to run away from anyone. Better to plaster on a fake smile and plod through the niceties to get away from him more quickly. "William. To what do I owe the displeasure?" Her words were overly sweet but the ice could be felt within the tone.
"Nice to see you too, TJ," he retorted. He was giving her an appraising up and down glance, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable. "You look lovely tonight."
"Miss Davenport to you," she corrected harshly. "Where's Violet? Viola? Victory…?"
"Vicky," William corrected with a roll of his eyes. "She's over there," he pointed, indicating the chestnut haired woman with long curly tresses he had arrived with. She had also chosen black, but her fuller bosom was far more displayed, making TJ feel like a nun in comparison. "Just wanted to say hello. Compliment you on the dress. I don't remember ever seeing this on you."
"It's new," she deflected, hating the way he was eyeing her, especially with his new arm candy girlfriend barely twenty feet away. "Isn't Vicky going to miss you?"
"She's pretty open to me talking to other women. Certainly isn't a prim and jealous witch like other people I know. Not my fault she was there for me when you wouldn't be." He let a cold smirk cross his features.
TJ was somewhat stunned, but still managed to land her own blow. "Obviously my actions were justified. A relationship is built for two people. Clearly you don't know how to count."
"Miss Davenport, is this man bothering you?" A third voice joined them. TJ glanced over her shoulder to see one Commander Seth Goddard, an expression on his face that was positively murderous, suddenly standing at her side. She had no idea when he had left the corner, or how long he's been standing there, but was fairly certain that if William were to step even a centimeter closer, he would be snapped in two.
"We're just talking, Commander," William said snidely emphasizing the rank as a way to get under the man's skin. Pretty much everyone knew Goddard was sensitive about the demotion had landed him at the Starcademy in the first place.
To his credit, the Commander didn't looked fazed. "I wasn't talking to you, Lieutenant," Goddard answered back, letting him know that regardless, William was still outranked. Seth's hand was gently pressed on the small of her back, a protective gesture, as he stared down the man, making clear that any further advances on the Assistant Principal would not be tolerated.
"I am alright, Commander," TJ said softly, putting a hand lightly on his arm to keep him from tearing the biophysics teacher limb from limb. It wasn't that she didn't want to see it happen- and TJ was fairly certain Seth, given his skill set and history with the STARDOGS, was more than capable of making that a reality- it was that given the venue and timing, she didn't feel like cleaning up the blood stains or hiding the body.
One eye still shooting daggers at Daniels, Goddard held out a hand to TJ. "Care to dance?" he asked softly.
She shot Seth a grateful smile, thrilled for the rescue and nodded in affirmation. "That would be lovely." Taking hold of his proffered hand, she felt herself practically glide to the dance floor, skin tingling at the contact, while leaving the slack-jawed Lieutenant behind. This was an odd development, but strangely, not unwelcome.
It took a few minutes for them to find a rhythm with each other- "TJ, let me lead," she had been scolded lightly at first- but once she had given in, there was an effortless feel to the way they moved together.
"Thank you for the rescue, Commander," she told him.
He nodded, glaring in William's direction, shooting daggers to the gaping biophysics teacher as though warning him to stay away.
"What are you doing?" she asked by way of acknowledging his pointed look.
"Making sure he doesn't come near you again," he growled lightly.
"Look at me," she implored, resting her hand on his cheek to turn his face to her. She nearly gulped as his blue eyes met her hazel ones. Dear heavens, he has lovely eyes, she thought. For the briefest second, she registered something flit across his features when he looked at her but it was gone before she could really get a good look. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her feelings on that matter aside and continued. "I guarantee that if you keep staring at him that way, he'll take it as a challenge and come barreling over here like some mindless ape. I imagine it won't end well."
"You think I can't take him?" He straightened his posture, puffing his chest a little as though trying to prove he was strong enough to take William on.
She lightly smacked his arm. "Stop preening like a peacock," she chided teasingly. Then she added, "I do believe you could 'take him' as it were. Heavens, I could take him. But then there will be blood stains and inevitably a body, and then the paperwork that follows that kind of mess and frankly, I'm in no mood to handle that tonight."
Seth laughed heartily as he spun her around, then pulled her back into his arms. "I would love to see you knock him out."
"I'm quite capable," she informed him matter-of-factly.
"I'm sure."
"Don't patronize me-"
"I'm not. I truly believe you are a force to be reckoned with. Daniels would do well not to underestimate you," he told her sincerely.
His declaration sent her cheeks into a deep blush, mumbling her thanks to him as he swung her around once more, then dipped her. "You are too kind, Commander."
"Seth."
"Pardon?"
"This is an informal event. And right now, it's just us. Call me Seth," he told her. "Is he still watching us?"
TJ looked over to where William had been. Not seeing him there, she quickly scanned the room, finding him on the other side of the dance floor with Vicky, the pair with their tongues down each other's throats. She pulled a face and shook her head. "I believe he and the arm candy are otherwise occupied." Her head indicated towards the pair, where Seth pulled a similar face.
"Ugh. There's kids around," he said with disgust. "Aren't there rules about that sort of thing, Miss Davenport?"
"Call me TJ. And you're asking about rules?" she pointed out.
"I have some standards," he protested.
TJ nodded. "Indeed."
The song ended then, causing Seth to step back. "Thank you, TJ," he said as he turned away.
"Seth?" she asked suddenly before she could stop herself. Turning back towards her, he was surprised to find her hand outstretched to him. "Care to dance?" she asked shyly.
A lopsided grin- a very cute one- came across his face as he accepted her hand and gave her a twirl, then wrapping one arm around her waist, while the other held her hand as they swayed.
"Can I lead this time?" she asked with her own crooked smile.
"Absolutely not."
They danced for the rest of the evening, each time they were interrupted by someone else looking to cut in, they both politely declined. Seth made her feel like she was the only person in the room. Every dip, every twirl, each time his arms found them themselves encircled about her waist (and hers simultaneously around his neck), TJ could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and it suddenly hit her just how handsome Goddard was. Especially in his dress uniform. (It should be criminal for any man to look that good, she found herself thinking). At one point, her hand was rested on his chest while the other rested about the nape of his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. His heart was thudding in a similar beat to hers, a realization she found somewhat exhilarating and made her unexplainably happy.
Davenport was aware that they looked cozy and intimate. However, for the first time she could remember she felt content. Complete. Happy. Goddard had given her the one thing William never had- the feeling she was beautiful, cherished, and respected.
When the evening was hours over, (heavens, it's over already?), they reluctantly broke apart and gently guided the students towards the exit. "Need help?" he asked once the last child had left.
TJ glanced around the room, sighing at the mess left behind. "My," she noted. The rest of the staff who had chaperoned had also left, leaving behind the pair to assess the damage on their own. "The custodial staff will handle the big things but the decorations…"
Before she could finish, Seth was already gathering them up, depositing the garbage in the recycling chute near the corner he'd started the night in. "Come on, the two of us together will get this done a lot faster."
"I suppose many hands make light work," she conceded. It impressed her how he jumped in to assist her when everyone else simply left.
It took nearly a half hour, but once every blasted streamer and balloon was discarded, Seth offered to walk her back to her quarters, which she accepted.
"Thank you, Seth," she told him. "For saving me from William, for dancing with me, cleaning up- everything."
"It was nothing. It was actually fun." He nudged her as he said "fun," pulling a smile from TJ.
They walked in silence for a few moments before he spoke. "I have to ask. What the hell did you ever see in him?"
"I presume you mean William."
"Lieutenant Asshole, yes. It took all my self-control not to punch the guy tonight when he was looking at you like a piece of meat. That is not how someone treats a lady. Especially when he was there with someone else." Seth was enraged, hands balled in fists as he spat out the words.
"Commander Goddard, I didn't know you cared," she said coyly.
His jaw went slack. "I-"
"You're a true officer and a gentleman," she said quietly. "It's more appreciated than you know."
The gratitude on his face was all the thanks she needed. He was visibly more relaxed as they continued down the hallway.
"And further," she continued, "As much as I dislike Vicky, especially as she was quite involved in the dissolution of William's and my engagement, I've come to accept that there is no better revenge than letting her keep the bastard."
"So-"
"So, I've moved on, Seth. I appreciated the rescue tonight, and had a wonderful time with you. I'd like to focus on that rather than my past," TJ told him. She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and glided past, continuing to her quarters, stopping briefly to remove the offending heels from her feet. "I despise these things," she grumbled before moving on.
The complaint was enough to bring him out of the stupor her kiss brought on and he laughed. Before he could comment, he realized she had stopped in front of a doorway. "So um, this is my…"
"Right. You'll be at breakfast in the morning?" he asked hopefully.
"I suppose if I don't want to starve I will be," she teased.
Their eyes locked together, blue meeting hazel. TJ could hear a voice in her head chanting to invite him in. To take a chance. The longer they stared, the louder the voice got. Just as she was about to give in, he broke away. "I should go," he whispered sadly.
"Oh, right. Of course," she heard herself answer. There was a sadness to her voice she wasn't able to control. "Good night, Seth."
"Good night, TJ."
With disappointment in both their eyes, TJ entered her quarters and readied herself for bed.
At 0700, after her normal morning workout, and retrieving her first cup of tea, TJ found herself in her office, deciding to start a few reports before the mess hall opened at 0800. Based on how they had left things the previous evening, she was hoping Seth meant to eat with her this morning and she found herself absently fixing pieces of her hair. The idea of a meal with him warmed her heart, but would need to wait just a little longer. She was barely into her first report when she heard someone enter. Glancing up, she saw the headmistress settling herself into the chair in front of her desk. Startled, TJ glanced around, wondering if she had forgotten to do something, and after greeting her boss, inquired as such.
"No, Davenport. Just came to talk," the headmistress told her. There was an uncomfortable edge to her voice. "I heard you were quite the belle of the ball last night."
"Pardon?"
"Several sources tell me you and a certain former starship captain were rather cozy," she said snidely, as though she'd gotten her hands on a meaty piece of gossip and planned to use it against someone. Which she was.
"Interesting considering I was only dancing with someone. Other members of the staff had their tongues down each other's throats. Makes my simply dancing with Commander Goddard tame in comparison," TJ shot back hotly.
"Oh, but we're not talking about Mr. Daniels, whose escapades I have already heard about. We are talking about you," her boss said, ignoring the protest. "Miss Davenport, you are an administrator and as such, need to be held to a higher standard. Carrying on like you did last night is unprofessional and that behavior is unbecoming of someone in a leadership position. We can't have you fraternizing inappropriately, now can we?"
TJ was stunned into silence. Fraternizing inappropriately. She wasn't aware dancing with Seth would be seen that way. It was just supposed to be innocent fun. Looking back though, she realized that maybe it wasn't so innocent. They had flirted pretty openly. Their banter was easy, conversation light and constant, and neither of them had shied away from the light touches, or holding one another as they spun around the room. She didn't doubt that William had leveled some of those accusations, probably to save himself, but they didn't lessen the blow those charges brought. Those words cut into her.
Before she could protest, the headmistress continued. "Further, if that behavior were to continue, we might need to let you go. It is not the sort of action that we want to portray to children."
Davenport panicked and tried to think quickly of what she could say while attempting to maintain her composure. "That would be most unfortunate, Ma'am," she stated.
"Perhaps we can assign someone else to evaluate Goddard then? Seeing as you may no longer be able to stay objective?"
Absolutely not! TJ's inner voice screamed. Outwardly, she responded coolly, "My objectivity is certainly not compromised. We were two adults who shared a dance last night. Nothing more. His intent was to remove me from someone who attempted to make me uncomfortable, and for that, I would say he behaved as an officer and a gentleman should."
"Defending him then?" The headmistress was sneering at this point.
"Pointing out facts that seem to have been omitted from the account you received," TJ clarified icily. "I promise you, though, this lapse of judgment, as you perceive it will not happen again."
"See that it doesn't," Madame stated. "Would hate to lose such a promising administrator over her poor judgment."
Those parting words made TJ's blood run cold, as she watched the woman leave the office. Dropping her head into her hands, fighting back tears, she made a quick decision and called the Commander to her office. Breakfast would have to wait.
3 years, 5 months, 16 days later
"I believe you know what happened next," TJ said next, hanging her head sadly. She was emotionally drained from recounting the memory. She and Seth had been in her quarters on the Christa, having another one of their late night conversations when the topic had come up.
"The fight," Seth said wearily. He scrubbed his hands down his face, long since having hoped to forget that morning. He had wondered what caused TJ to abruptly retreat back behind the virtual fortress she locked her emotions in. Worse, he had leveled charges of her being unfeeling, cold, toying with his emotions, even saying that her father was wrong in thinking she was as warm and gentle as him. To know it was the headmistress threatening her- it made his heart ache for her and fired up his temper.
"The fight. I had to choose between two undesirable outcomes. There was no winning either way. Lose my job and never see you again, or continue with being your evaluator so that I would still see you, but pretend that night never happened. I chose the latter. And have hated myself since. Pretending every day that I don't care when in reality, I cared more than you knew…" she trailed off, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Seth gathered her into his arms, rubbing circles along her back as she sobbed. His mind wandered, remembering bits of their fight, and feeling remorse for all he had said. "The things I said to you…. I was out of line. And you stood there and took it. Right down to using your father's words against you. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry."
"It's all right, Seth," she told him. "I rather think things worked out. Even though we didn't speak for a week, we did eventually get past it, at least enough to be civil. We even had a few private moments away from prying eyes that I daresay were… nice." Her face flushed a deep red as she admitted that. "Perhaps it is fate we're here now."
"I didn't think you believed in fate," he pointed out.
"Generally, no. But consider this. The headmistress clearly did not want us together. I foolishly pushed you away as a knee jerk reaction to that. Yet, the universe still put us in a position where we ended up together anyway, even if it meant we were to be flung to the far reaches of the galaxy. So is it fate or some other force at work?" she questioned.
He considered her words before standing up and offered a hand to her. With a soft smile, he asked, "Care to dance?"
Accepting his hand, he pulled her up to her feet and gave her a small twirl, pulling her close to his body to sway with her. "Let me lead, TJ," he whispered when he felt her trying to take control again.
Her body visibly softened, giving in to how she felt pressed against him. "What are you doing, Seth?" she asked softly.
"Do over," he said. "Except this time, I intend to let us play out where this may lead. No miserable former bosses or exes to step in and keep us from what we want."
"And if at the end of this, I want you to stay with me tonight?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes again, and immediately seeing a dark desire within them, one that she was quite sure was mirrored in her own.
"I will follow whatever you want," he told her, both arms around her waist now, drawing her body flush to him, as his forehead dropped to touch hers.
"Such a gentleman," she whispered sensually just before closing the small distance between them to kiss him deeply, more than thrilled when he responded immediately.
Later that night, as they were curled in bed around each other, having finally physically expressed what they had wanted for far too long, TJ silently thanked the fates for bringing her to Seth. The sort of bond they had just forged together was unlike anything she had ever felt with anyone else before. Now that she knew what it felt like, she had no plans to let that feeling go anytime soon. As she lazily played with the gray around his temples, tracing tiny circles as she contemplated their changed status, he stared at her curiously, asking how she felt and if she was all right. Always concerned about my wellbeing, she realized. She answered with the first thing that came into her mind. "Care to dance again?"
The grin and ensuing husky laugh was all she remembered hearing before he soundly kissed her, continuing what she sincerely hoped would be the beginning of many nights to come.