Hello, readers! This idea just popped into my head while I was trying to write the next chapter of "Romancing." It was in part inspired by "The Court Martial of Simon Tarses," written by TheVulcanPrincess. That's a great story, so check it out—and don't forget to leave her a nice review!

Not sure where this is going, but I may write more if the ideas come to me. Some have already come, but not necessarily enough for an entire story. For now, it will be a one shot. Hope y'all like it!

"Penny for your thoughts?" Guinan wiped away a small pool of water, the remnants of a former ice cube, with her rag. It wasn't the real reason why she was there, but she knew a contrived task would make her customer more comfortable.

Simon Tarses looked up from his drink. "Do you really want to know?"

"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to listening."

He sighed. "Captain Picard didn't approve my transfer request. I suspect it was at Counselor Troi's suggestion."

"Ah. So you're trying to get away from me, are you, Simon?"

"No! You know that's not true. It's just..."

"You can't run away from your problems," she said bluntly.

Simon rolled his eyes. "Yeah...that's what people keep telling me."

"Well, did you ever consider that if everyone's saying that to you, then maybe it's true?"

He didn't answer. Like his true heritage, he wanted to hide from that particular truth as well.

Gotcha! "I've known Captain Picard and Troi for a long time. If they can see potential in you, you can be pretty sure it's there."

"They don't have my problems," he countered.

"And you don't have theirs, Simon." Got him again. "We all like to imagine that our own problems are somehow bigger than everybody else's. But more often than not, they're just different."

He paused for a moment to digest her words. Right before he was about to respond, another customer waved for Guinan's attention from the other side of the bar.

"Yoo hoo, Guinan? May I have a glass of pinot noir when you get the chance?"

Simon's cheeks and ears colored at the sight of her. He tried to hide his reaction, but the centuries-old bartender had seen that look thousands of times, on the faces of thousands of males.

"Are you trying to run away from that girl, too?"

"What's to run away from?" he shrugged. "I'm not her type."

Guinan couldn't help but smile. "There's a funny thing about men from all over the galaxy: you all assume you already know what a woman wants."

"I'm not assuming anything. She's not interested in me."

"Hmmm...that could be true, but it's just as likely that it's not. Only yesterday I heard her tell one of her friends that she has a thing for pointed ears."

Simon shook his head, though he blushed even more. "Nah. She likes Taurik. They're always together."

"Considering they were both friends of Ensign Sito, it makes sense that they would be. They miss her."

"Guinan," he closed his eyes, and ran his hand through his hair, "You don't get it. I lied to her. Not indirectly, personally. I told her—to her face—that my grandfather is Vulcan."

"Well, then, I think it's about time you showed her who you really are. Stop seeing your Romulan ancestry as a weakness. It can be a source of strength, if you let it."

At last, he was beginning to believe her. "How?"

"For one thing, they're an astute and determined people. Every time I've seen a Romulan set his sights on something, he almost always gets it. Somehow, I have a feeling your grandfather wasn't afraid to talk to your grandmother. And I doubt your father had that problem, either."

Simon smiled. "Mom said Dad asked her to marry him the day they met."

"Did she accept?"

"Not then, but later, obviously," he chuckled, "Or I wouldn't be here. He followed her all the way from a station on the edge of Federation space to the Martian colonies."

"You see? What are you waiting for? You're clearly attracted to her. It's time you used those pointed ears to your advantage." Guinan then left to go get the woman's glass of pinot noir.

"Guinan is right," Simon whispered to himself. He shot back the remainder of his glass and took a deep breath. A few steps, and he was sitting in the seat next to her. "Hi, Julia."

Julia looked up from her PADD. "Oh, Simon. How are you?"

It was time to turn on the charm he learned from his father. "Better, since you walked in the door."

Her beautifully-formed cheek bones turned slightly pink. "What a nice thing to say."

"It's the truth," he returned, with a smitten grin. "Julia, I wanted to say I'm sorry for lying to you."

Her smile faded. She knew exactly to what he was referring. "I know why you did. And I don't hold it against you."

"You don't know how glad I am to hear that." He ordered another beer—funny how he always preferred ales. "Look, this is just a shot in the dark, but would you ever consider..."

"Yes?" she asked hopefully.

"Having dinner with me," he finished quickly, "Tonight?"

"Well...I had an appointment..."

Simon felt his heart sink. So much for Romulan determination.

"But it's not something that can't be rescheduled," she added with a twinkle in her eye.

"Really? Okay! I'll pick you up at 19:00 hours." He rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation.

"See you then," she winked, and then she was gone.

Simon wanted to dance around and sing at the top of his lungs! If he hadn't been in Ten Forward surrounded by all those people, he would have done just that. He couldn't believe this was really happening. Never in his wildest dreams—well, that wasn't the case—actually, he dreamed every night about a romantic dinner with Julia Valéry! Guinan gave him a thumbs up and a look that said, "I told you so." He waved her away and finished his beer.

A thought then entered his mind, one that he could not dismiss no matter how hard he tried. He had indeed inherited Romulan determination. Some day, if it was the last thing he did, he would take certain measures to ensure that her name would no longer be Julia Valéry, but rather Julia Tarses.