I own Aisling, Jenna, this idea, their race, but nada else. Hope you've liked so far, be sure and let me know. Do you have any particular requests for embarrassing situations to put Trip through? I adore "torturing" my characters.


Trip looked ready to gag, "What do you mean you can't answer that?"

Jenna sighed and shook her head, what the hell had her aunt gotten her into anyway? Here she was, happily biding her time on this interesting ship waiting for her aunt to pop—meaning have her baby—and then here comes this sexy as all get-out engineer, scaring the hell out of her, and tempting her nearly as much. When was the last time she'd been with someone, as herself and not sharing with someone else's mind? Jenna had to squint in thought actually. It had been a LONG time. Of course, she couldn't very well ask this guy to end her less than willing years of celibacy; he was too busy trying to stay sane in the midst of all this oddness. She couldn't blame him though. The thought of getting stuck with her had driven many a man crazy, much to her amusement.

"Well my aunt, Aisling, didn't exactly inform me of your coming presence nor did she tell me why she was bringing you here, so when I say I can't answer I'm serious. I can guesstimate, but I don't think you want me to do that."

Trip looked sketchy, "Why wouldn't I want you to do that?"

"Because," she sighed, "I tend to assume the worst in things. Having two bodies killed on me and constantly having to jump from body to body in my efforts to find all the instigators of the violent war that just recently ended on my planet, well, that kinda warped my mind into thinking that 'all hell' really does break loose."

What did this guy want from her? A signed, sealed, and delivered note of death? She knew, already, that was the only way her aunt would've transported anyone into this dreamscape with her. Her aunt was more of a paranoid freak than she was, so the likelihood of her just nillywilly taking someone's consciousness and throwing it in here was very small. There had to have been no other choice, desperation had to have been involved, and desperation that involved a dreamscape usually only involved death. Was she about to tell him this? Hell no! She didn't think she could handle hyperventilating, sanity-loosing sexiness.

"Then what do you assume has happened in my case?" He persisted and she inwardly groaned.

Jenna stalled by downing the rest of what was called Andorian ale and slowly breathed in and out as it burned its way to her belly. Boy that pain felt good! No, she wasn't "odd" that way, but after so many years of not feeling her own physical pain, a little pain felt darn good from time to time.

Jenna scratched her forehead and sighed, "I assume you've been hurt in some way and Malcolm, seeing you in such pain, asked Aisling to transport you here, into her old dreamscape."

Trip didn't look like he was following completely, and she didn't blame him. "Her old dreamscape?" He looked around then back to her. "Where is she then? And where is Malcolm at that?"

Jenna pinched the bridge of her nose, "She transferred her consciousness inside Malcolm, so she is inside him all the time but they interact at night, through 'dreams.' That's how she's gotten pregnant and such. The dreams are her reality, and a form of his. This," she waved her arms around her, "is where they first met and anytime a dreamscape is created traces of it will be left behind. She apparently decided to put you inside her old one until you got better or-" she quickly coughed and took a drink of something called coffee.

Trip seized upon her words, "Or what?"

"Huh?"

"You said 'or' or what?"

Jenna did a good job of looking dumb as she tapped her chin, "I don't know what I was about to say. My mind races around a lot."

Trip sighed heavily as he threw his arms up and leaned back in his chair. Jenna felt sorry for the guy. She couldn't completely bring herself to be mad at Aisling for bringing him here. He was rather nice to look at, his accent was warm, and she was sure when he wasn't stressed out he was probably fun to hang out with. From the looks of it, he had nice hands, great lips, wonderful eyes, and arms that looked quite huggable. All in all, Aisling could've done worse she was sure.

"Will we be able to talk to Aisling or Malcolm to find out what's going on for sure?"

Jenna shrugged, "I don't know about Malcolm, but I know Aisling can come into this dreamscape still. That's how I got in contact with her in the first place."

"Well, do you know when she should come back to explain?"

"Nope," she shrugged again, "I don't know her schedule sorry. I'm sure she'll come as soon as she can though."

Trip frowned and leaned forward again, laying his head on his hands on the table. Jenna had the oddest urge to run her fingers through his hair in comfort but she held back. She'd never really been one for comforting or niceties such as that. She was a great friend, usually 'one of the guys' that was good for a 'good lay' on occasion, but when it came to relationships and stuff like that, she rather sucked at it. She was too flighty in thought, too random and odd for commitment and family stuff. At least, that's what she thought. Sure, sometimes she felt lonely even after having a good fuck, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Men weren't lining up on her doorstep begging for commitment, and she sure as hell didn't know how to look for it.

"What do you do here?" He asked, even though he still had his head on his hands.

Jenna smiled, "Oh lots of things! I've explored your ship numerous times, taken it to at least two worlds now, explored the worlds a bit, blown some things up, blasted music over the com system, streaked a few times," she giggled, "I must admit those were my favorite moments, and I've been eating as many different foods as possible. I've even learned your language, as you can hear quite well, and have started to learn how to juggle and dance the polka."

"Why the polka?" he still didn't raise his head but she thought she heard amusement in his voice.

Jenna shrugged, "Well I'm notorious for my randomness, so I just leafed through a list of dances and my finger fell on that. Its really quite fun and the music is quite catchy."

"I've always found it a bit annoying personally." Trip finally raised his head, "Always been better at the waltz myself."

Jenna grinned, "Well if you're still around in the future," she inwardly winced at her word choice but continued without batting an eye, "You'll have to teach me. It's always better to learn how to dance when you have a partner." She chuckled. "Actually there are a number of things that are better to do with a partner."

Trip raised his eyebrows, "What else have you been researching that would need a partner?"

"Well racquetball for one, fencing for another, and something called karma..no wait… umm… kama, yah that's right, kama sutra."

Trip's mouth fell open and she chuckled at the sight. He was really quite hot when he looked flabbergasted, she'd have to figure out how to make him so more often. Not that he wasn't hot all the time but he was just adorable like this.

"You mean to tell me you've been researching sex positions?" He sounded incredulous, and a bit scandalized.

Jenna eagerly nodded, "Of course! What are the first things anyone wants to know about a new culture?"

"Food, clothing, housing-" Trip looked like he was at a loss for a moment and Jenna quickly interrupted him.

"And sex! Everyone learns how to say 'bathroom' and curse words first and the customs they want to know about first are what you mentioned, yes, but also sexual practices." She chuckled at his offended look. "Oh admit it! It's true for nearly everyone out there! Just the more prudish ones aren't honest with themselves or others."

Trip sighed and she figured he was accepting his inner "pervert."

"Anyway, those are some of the things I've been learning that require a partner."

Trip again looked confused and a bit scandalized, "Are you meaning to tell me you want me to try out racquetball, fencing, and kama sutra with you?" His face was near burning with his adorable blush.

"Well," Jenna leaned forward and batted her eye lashes at him, "would you mind?"


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