"Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to go to France!" Janette threw a heap of clothes into her suitcase. "I've dreamed of this my whole life!'
A shadow suddenly fell across the bed. Was the sun setting so early?
"And where do I fit into all this?" said a voice. "Babysitting Vorik's kids?"
Janette gasped and dropped her glass of wine. It shattered on the wood floor, spilling red liquid everywhere. "Bochra! What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"
The Romulan stepped into the light. Anger animated his features. "I'm a patient Romulan, but even I have my limits."
She recovered from her shock, and drew herself up. "Get out! How dare you just barge into my house without knocking!"
Bochra ignored her demands, and began to search the room. "Where is he?" He opened the closet door, then closed it when he saw only clothes. "Well?"
"Where is who?"
"That mealy-mouthed Vorik, that's who! And those brats! Oh, Jan, how could you?"
Inwardly, she felt relieved. For a moment, she thought he might have come to have his vengeance on her—but, only for a moment. She left the room to get a mop with her visitor in tow.
"First you leave me for that reptile Vreenak," he continued, "then you take up with a Vulcan—a Vulcan!—and have kids with him?"
Janette blinked. "I didn't have kids with Vorik. I didn't even go on a date with him."
"But, I thought... I read Bea's latest story."
"And that's all it is: a story," she returned. "You know how my friends and I like to write."
His face softened for the first time. "Truly?"
"Truly," she echoed, throwing the glass shards into the trash. "Vorik and I are co-workers. Nothing more." She smiled deviously. "I probably shouldn't tell you this..."
"But you will," he finished, folding his arms with a triumphant smile.
"Vorik admitted to me that he has a fancy for Bea."
"Bea? The food critic? I thought she was with that arrogant Vulcan captain. What was his name?"
"Solok. She is, but Vorik has been pining for her ever since he first saw her. I don't know what it is about you pointy-eared men. You see a woman and then you just decide she belongs to you right then and there—even when she doesn't."
She went to the kitchen to grab a new glass.
"Vulcans and Romulans are nothing alike," he averred. "Stop changing the subject. I know for a fact you were with Vreenak. Don't try to lie to me."
Jan held her hands up, all innocence. "I won't deny it."
"Good. Now tell me why you're interested in a man who could be your grandfather?"
"You could be my father." She took down a new glass from the cabinet.
As she reached for the wine bottle, Bochra took it and her glass away from her. He grabbed another glass and filled them both. "We discussed this long ago and agreed it's not the same thing."
"Well, you know how it is," she conceded. "He was a wealthy politician, I was an aspiring writer. Besides, you abandoned me at the club, remember?" She accepted the glass and took a sip.
The Romulan left his own glass on the counter, untouched. "I'm sorry I left you. It's just you made me angry when you were flirting with that bartender." A begrudging apology, but she could tell he meant it.
"You mean jealous." She rolled her eyes. "Being polite to someone is not the same as flirting. If it were up to you, I would act rude to every man I met. I'd never go anywhere or do anything the rest of my life. Is that what you want for me? To be your prisoner?"
"No," he half-whined.
"Well, that's how you're treating me." She finished her glass and poured another. "Vreenak didn't try to clip my wings."
"I'm sure he showed you the good life," he growled through gritted teeth. "Took you to all the finest restaurants and the opera. Introduced you to the biggest publishers. Bought you lots of pretty things to satisfy a material girl like you."
"That last part isn't true. He didn't buy me gifts. I bought those things you saw me wearing myself with my book profits."
Bochra didn't dispute her claim, but his expression remained incredulous. "And now you're going to France to meet more men. Is it true French humans are more promiscuous than normal humans?"
"Normal humans?" she scoffed. "First of all, that's a stereotype. Second—"
The doorbell rang.
"Your new lover?" he ground out. "He's a French human! I knew it."
She sighed in frustration. "I have no idea who it is. I'm getting ready to leave, remember? I don't need any more visitors."
When she opened the door, Lina rushed in to hug her. Taurik calmly entered once the two women moved out of the doorway.
"What are you doing here?" Jan asked.
"We came to wish you a bon voyage." Her jaw dropped when she saw the Romulan in the hallway behind her. "And who is this handsome devil? I thought you were going alone."
"I changed her mind," Bochra said, before Jan could answer.
"I am going alone," she insisted.
"No you're not," said the Romulan. "I'll never let you out of my sight again."
"No—"
He silenced her with an ardent kiss. Jan felt her knees give out from beneath her, but Bochra held her in his arms to keep her from falling.
Even Taurik's brows shot up past his hairline.
Lina nudged him in the ribs. "You never kiss me like that."
"Yes I do—my wife," the Vulcan calmed himself, "we should not discuss private matters in front of others. When we're alone, I'll make certain to allay all your illogical concerns." A spark ignited in his dark eyes.
She looked back to Bochra and Jan. "I don't think they're paying us any attention."
"They are not your biggest problem," said a new voice.
Commander Rekar stepped inside holding his disruptor. "The door was open, so I took the liberty of letting myself in." He let out an evil chuckle.
"Oh, brother," Lina moaned. "How many times do I have to tell you it's over between us? I have a new lover now, and we're very happy together."
"A convincing act, but you and I both know he only pays attention to you every seven years."
Taurik ushered his wife behind him. "That's not true. If you care to test my resolve, you may try."
"Don't push him," Lina warned. "Vulcans may look calm on the outside, but don't let that fool you."
Just then, the door creaked farther open. Bea and Solok peered inside.
"Are we interrupting anything?" Bea inquired, bewildered at the sight of a kissing couple on one side of the room, and Rekar threatening the other with a disruptor.
"Yes!" Rekar snapped.
At that moment, Jan and Bochra realized there was a world outside of themselves. They pulled apart and nervously began to straighten their clothes and hair.
"Bea!" Jan exclaimed. "Are you here to see me off, too? Uh...I think you're missing an earring."
"Oh!" She felt her bare ear with wide eyes.
Solok leaned over to whisper. "It's in the car," he supplied in a low voice.
"Right," said Bea with an awkward laugh.
Janette waved her hand at her friend. "No need to feel weird. I'm sure I don't look any better than you right now."
"Well...I wasn't going to say anything—" Bea began.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned to see Letant walk through the door. Like Rekar, he held his disruptor ready. "Bea, darling, I hope your hair and clothes are ruffled because you escaped from those men I sent." He eyed her up and down.
Solok stepped between them.
"Ah," said Letant. "I thought the case might be different. Bea, don't say I didn't offer you every excuse. Now you must pay the price for insulting my Romulan honor."
"If you are issuing a challenge," said Solok, "I stand ready to meet it."
Letant stood his ground. "Before I kill you both, I want to know why."
"How can you blame me?" said Bea. "All that violence and intrigue—I couldn't live like that any more."
"Same here," Lina piped up.
Letant shrugged. "So I had to take my work home sometimes. What else did you expect?"
"I want a hero," Bea continued. "Solok has won the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor."
"Twice," the Vulcan filled in.
Rekar scoffed. "As if Starfleet awards have any meaning!"
By that point, Jan had had enough. "Look, people, I've got a plane to catch. I don't have time for this."
"Yes," Bochra joined in, "we have a plane to catch. It's time for you all to leave."
"Nobody is going anywhere," said Rekar.
Solok was unconcerned. "The Commander is attempting to distract us while he waits for his henchmen to arrive."
"Threatening," Rekar corrected. "I'm threatening you while I wait for them to arrive."
"Well, you can go threaten somewhere else!" said Jan.
"Kapla!" Martok announced from the doorway.
"Come in," everyone groaned in unison.
Marok entered.
Rosemary followed behind him. "What's going on here? Why are all these Romulans in your house?"
"Janette thought she could fly away to Paris without me," Bochra told them, adding a wink in her direction.
Rosemary couldn't believe it. "You're back with Bochra?" She turned to Martok. "Are we the only ones here in a stable relationship."
"That's a matter of opinion." Martok's old wife, Lady Sirella strolled in like a queen bee. "So this is the flavor of the week," she cooed, looking Rosemary up and down.
Martok glared at her with his one eye. "I thought my targ took care of you!"
Sirella's cool demeanor melted away. "I just came to say something." She walked up to her ex and backhand him. "N'Gos tlhogh cha!" With that, she left, her glamorous robes railing over the grass as she stepped back into her limo.
"Divorce: Klingon style," Lina explained for those who didn't understand what had just occurred.
"I needed that," Martok laughed. "Now nothing stands between us, my Greek goddess!" He reached out for Rosemary.
"Not in front of everyone," she chided.
"But Par'Mach'kai—"
Chex suddenly appeared between them. "One side." He pushed through. "Janette, you minx! At last I've found you. Thought you could fool me with a pen name, did you? You've led me on a merry chase, but now the warrior has come to claim his prize."
Janette stomped her foot. "Will somebody close that door already?"
"You're seeing a Klingon now?" Bochra yelled, pushed beyond his limits.
Solok raised a brow. "I was under the impression you were bonded with Subcommander N'Vek."
Martok laughed. "I thought she was with that mealy-mouthed Vorik."
Rekar blinked. "I'm confused."
"Tell me about it," Jan sighed. "and I'm the one who was supposedly in all these relationships!"
An awkward silence ensued, while Bochra fumed in the corner, unable to finish sentences.
"Look, everybody," said Jan, "I really have to catch this plane, so you all need to leave-now! Get out! Get out!"
"We'll do better than that for you, Jan," Martok announced. "We'll make sure you and Bochra get to the airport on time. That's what friends are for, right everybody?"
"Right," everyone agreed.
The procession departed, everyone babbling as they got into their vehicles.
Letant stayed behind.
"Ah, Rosemary," he mused, admiring her lovely form as she climbed up into Martok's monster pick up. "We both know a Greek goddess like you was made for better than this. The primitive rage in his eye does nothing for you. You need someone who can show you the good life, and that someone would be me."
The monster truck roared off into the distance, leading the way to escort Janette and Bochra to their plane.
Letant called his butler. "I'm having a special lady guest for dinner tonight. I want her experience to be memorable." He made several more calls to put his plan into action.
With everything now in place, he laughed to himself. "This tale is just beginning."