The Simple Joys of Life
Author: The Passionate Admiral
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Star Trek franchise; just this story, a few minor characters in it, and the starships mentioned.
Plot: A few years after "Nemesis," Wesley Crusher has returned from the Traveler's dimension and rejoined Starfleet. This is a short one-shot about how his life could ideally be going.
Lieutenant Wesley Crusher stood by the door of the shuttlecraft Gutierrez, one of the largest shuttles from the Starship Maverick. A group of officers were being transferred from the Iliad to the Maverick that day. Like so many other times before, Wesley was there to oversee the transfer. However, this time, it was different. This time, he would be getting on that shuttle and getting off at its intended destination.
As the other officers scheduled for transfer showed up, he confirmed their attendance and let them get settled inside the shuttle.
"Hey, Wes, could you please give me a hand with these bags?" One of his fellow officers, Ensign Ernest Conley, asked him.
"Oh, sure I can, Ernie," was Crusher's courteous reply. He set down the roster; then he and Conley moved over to a cluster of bags that had been transported to the shuttlebay just a few moments prior. As they moved them to the compartments in the back of the shuttle, Conley attempted to make Smalltalk. He turned to his colleague and asked him "How is Robin doing?"
The person Conley was referring to was Lieutenant Robin Lefler-Crusher, Wesley's wife. The two of them had first met on board the USS Enterprise-D when Wesley was still a Starfleet cadet, but they had been reunited just three years earlier. Almost two years earlier, they had been wed on board the Iliad by its Till commanding officer, Captain Geita Taer Bovos.
Both Robin and her husband would be serving aboard the Maverick by the end of the day.
"She's doing fine," Wesley replied, "She's as excited as I am about this."
"That's good," commented Conley. There was silence for a moment. Then Conley asked his superior "How do you feel about this?"
"About what?" inquired Wesley.
"Your promotion."
"Oh," Wesley had only been offered the position of the Maverick's Second Officer a few weeks earlier. He was a bit hesitant at first, but after he had consulted both his wife and his captain, he had decided to accept the position. However, his feelings of the matter were somewhat clandestine. Even though he told everyone that he was looking forward to his promotion, he could not help but feel apprehensive. He was going to become a Second Officer, and he was only a Lieutenant!
In addition to this, just two months earlier, Robin had discovered she was pregnant. Her husband was as enthusiastic as she was, but he had gotten used to the idea of raising their child on the Iliad before the offer to serve on the Maverick had been presented to him. He needed a little time to accept this new transition.
Fortunately, he had been notified weeks in advance of this matter, and in those weeks, he had come to realize just how much he was looking forward to serving on a Dynasty-class vessel. He had also realized that it did not matter where he raised his child; all that really mattered in this subject was that the three of them – Wesley, Robin, and their child – would be together on the same ship.
Lieutenant Crusher looked at Ensign Conley and told him "I'm very excited, and Robin is, too."
Conley nodded and told him "We're all going to miss you. But we're happy for you all the same."
Wesley grinned again and told him "Thanks, Ernie. We'll miss you, too. And I'll remember you said that."
Conley patted Wesley on the back and left the shuttlebay. Wesley picked up the roster and looked over it. His wife was the only person that was unaccounted for. But they were in no huge hurry, so he just waited patiently for his wife to arrive.
Even though Robin signed documents as "Robin Crusher" and introduced herself as "Robin Crusher," on a starship, she still went by "Robin Lefler." Since she and her husband both held the same rank (even though she was a few years older than he was), she felt it would be better if she kept her maiden name, so that there would be only one "Lieutenant Crusher" and one "Lieutenant Lefler" onboard.
A few moments later, Robin arrived in the shuttlebay. She and her husband embraced outside the entrance to the shuttle and then they stepped inside. Wesley sealed the door behind him and turned to his wife. He told her "Our seats are in the front. I need to speak with the pilot first, and then I'll join you."
"Okay." Robin smiled at her husband. She went to get settled as Wesley went up to the cockpit. He gave the pilot instructions to request clearance for departure. Once they had the clearance, the Gutierrezwas started up.
Wesley went to the back of the Gutierrez and sat down next to his wife. The flight over to the Maverick was smooth and easy. During the flight, Robin looked at her husband and told him "I hear that the quarters on Dynasty-class vessels are very roomy. They would be an ideal place to raise a baby."
Wesley grinned and held his wife's hand in his own. Robin's pregnancy had not yet started to show very much, but a slight curve had formed around her abdomen, which indicated her pregnancy was progressing very well.
A few moments later, the Gutierrez docked in the main shuttlebay of the Maverick.
After having their bags transported to their new quarters, Wesley and Robin walked out of the shuttlebay and headed to a turbolift. They stopped there and Wesley told Robin "Our quarters are on Deck 2. You go ahead and get settled in there. Captain Beck requested to see me as soon as I got onboard."
Robin nodded and kissed her husband. Then she stepped into the turbolift and said "Deck Two."
Wesley went over to another turbolift, stepped in, and said "Main Bridge."
Note: Well, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Kinda love it and kinda hate it? Huh? Huh? HUH? I must know your thoughts!