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Leaves
He walked through the fallen leaves that had gathered on the path through The Presidio. He'd just been to the construction site for the Starfleet headquarters building and now needed to make his next appointment. Looking out at the view, he noted the long expanse of the Golden Gate Bridge, its orange color brilliant against the blue sky. This would be a good place to settle down.
The Vulcans had a different idea for what would be the proper location for all of this. They had suggested Arizona would be ideal. However, in the end, Zefram had made the final decision. Henry didn't doubt that the choice of the cool, wet city was at least a small tweak of his mentor's nose toward the alien race. When they had first visited Earth after the tall, mercurial genius had launched the first Warp ship, Zefram had welcomed them. He had thought that they would help the humans head into deep space much sooner than was otherwise likely. However, Zefram soon found that the Vulcan team sent to work with their engineers and scientists expected the galactic newcomers to take it slow. They'd feed them just enough helpful information to allow steady if exasperatingly sluggish progress.
Thus, Zefram had made it clear that the city by the bay was his choice for building Starfleet Headquarters stating the old shipyard area of Sausalito was the perfect place for the launch facilities for the Warp 5 project - the engines would continue to be manufactured in Bozeman - to be built as well. When the Vulcans had pressed him for a logical reason, his mentor had played upon their belief that humans were superstitious and stated that St. Francis was the patron saint of spaceflight and thus the facility would need to be placed in his city.
Henry knew that explanation was a crock but the sly older engineer made it sound like the Vulcans would be showing complete disrespect for Earth's culture if they refused. By the time they realized the man had used their own non-interference rules against them, the cornerstones had been laid and the work of constructing the infrastructure that would take humanity to the stars had begun.
Now that they were settling in, Zefram had brought Henry in as his full partner.
In Bozeman, Henry had worked in the lab, helping the often drunk but brilliant engineer fine tune the engine. It was there that Zefram had realized Henry's potential and had guided, when sober enough to do so, the less experienced man in understanding the intricacies of warp physics. Once the move had been decided, the reluctant leader of the Warp 5 project had pulled him aside and told him that once in San Francisco the younger man was to be in charge of the project itself.
Zefram had gone on to explain he would focus on basic research that was the likely path to the breakthrough science necessary to support the project. While they would allow their Vulcan advisors to lead them, they needed to have some freedom of movement and research. The genius behind the first human warp ship had confidence that Henry was the one suited to the day to day operations, steadily charting their course toward the stars, applying the concepts that his research would develop.
As he came around the curve, he saw the person he was there to meet. Sally sat on a bench turning the page of the book she'd brought to occupy her copious free time.
"What are you reading?" he asked with a smile.
She marked her page with a bookmark, and then closed the antique. The book's vellum pages were yellowed and the sturdy cover faded from its years of being held by multiple hands. It was a prized possession of hers.
"Leaves of Grass," she answered. Standing up, it was obvious the woman was very pregnant. "Did you finish your work?"
"Most of it. I'm sorry you had to wait." He moved closer to her, giving her a kiss upon her lips. His arms wrapped around her, careful of the large bump between them.
"It was pleasant," she answered. As they began walking she brought up what was on her mind. "I don't need to go. The hospitals here are excellent."
"But your mother will never forgive me if her first grandchild isn't born in Rochester. You know she expects that," her husband replied.
"My mother is an old woman…" she groused, a frown capturing her face, "…and I want you there when the baby's born. You started it, you should finish it." The tone of the latter was gentle.
"And we have our entire lives ahead of us here. You won't be gone that long and by the time you're back, the nursery will be completed."
"With the constellations on the ceiling, I know."
"We agreed…" Henry started, his tone indicating this decorating detail had once been in contention, before she turned and put her finger to his lips.
"We agreed." She took his hand and kissed it, continuing to hold onto it as they moved towards their hovercar. "I love you," she said with a squeeze to his hand.
"You're my life, Sally…and now there'll be two to love with all my heart." He said the words with the passion of a man who was doing exactly what he most wanted in the world.
She squeezed his hand once more, letting him know, quietly, that she felt the same. Smiling, Sally asked about their destination, "Madame Wang's?"
As he helped her into the vehicle, he nodded, "Of course." Then getting into his side, he started the car and drove off, away from the park with the beautiful falling leaves.