April 2205
"You think she'll take it?" Reed sipped his beer as he sat on the deck, he had been debating it for weeks. As a Captain he needed input from the people who knew her best. "Charlie, she's the only one I trust, but it's Maggie we're talking about here. She hasn't had a ship assignment in over a dozen years."
"It depends. Is she planning for any wedding at the moment?" The history making half-Vulcan sipped a beer. "Aren't you going out on a multi-year run? Do you really want to be responsible for a Maggie Archer divorce? Or for that matter a Maggie Archer wedding? To her credit, she's still alive as is Quinn. She must know how to be somewhat diplomatic."
"Alive and survive are two different things my friend. There have definitely been things flying around here. Based on the stories, Quinn is your father reincarnated. An Ellie, well she's Maggie's daughter. I come in and we drink more than Maggie and I usually drink." The Captain cracked up laughing. "I think they finally agreed to a cease fire after she shot out with that it broke her heart that her cold hearted unemotional Vulcan ex-husband was a more loving parent than her."
"We all know that, I just never thought she would admit it." Tucker allowed his human side to show through his stern exterior. "Maggie has a command presence, people respect her. She'll make a hell of an XO Dan you don't need my opinion on that. You're willing to deal with her in close quarters for an extended period of time. You should consider having your head examined."
"Grace said the same thing." The Captain burst out laughing. "You're a bitter ex I expected that from you. From Grace I didn't, but then again she throws us sometimes."
"No, we're just realistic. We know and love our Maggie that's why." He watched his daughter cautiously dip her toe in the water. "I don't regret our marriage and there's still love between us. I'm just happy it wasn't a forever marriage. One of us would've been dead a decade ago if it was."
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May 2205
"You have a moment?" The commander smoothed her uniform skirt as she walked into her mother's office. "I need your opinion on something."
"You can't pawn Quinn off on me." Hoshi Sato smiled at her daughter. "It's only another 3 months Margaret. You two haven't harmed each other seriously yet, you can make it until he goes off to the academy."
"I'm not pawning Quinn off on you. We're getting along perfectly fine. Which means Dan is out of several bets; Grace isn't going to let him live it down." She plopped down in the chair. "I got approached for an XO spot, I'm seriously debating it."
"I told Dan he needs his head examined and I know Dad and Malcolm said the same thing. Grace and Charlie both wanted to know if he really wants to brave you on ship." The commandment tried to keep from laughing. "You haven't been on ship in over a decade; it's not exactly the press office. You'll be working 24-7 for the better part of four years. It's going to be about disproving your beauty queen reputation. It would mean Ellie in boarding school, are you sure?"
"I'm quite aware of what my reputation is mom. We all know I'm capable of being a command officer. It's my chance to prove I'm not some pretty face. Plus Quinn doesn't need me to parent him, and it's not like I'm worrying about a marriage at this point. And I've put my career on hold for 14 years." Archer accepted her mother's glare. "Seriously there is no hint of another husband in the picture. With my batting average I should stay away from the marital alter. The wise ass teenager I'm raising told me that."
"No kidding. At your rate you'll be in double digits eventually."The legend knew her only child too well sometimes. "Just try not to cause too much havoc to my ship. That's all I'm asking Maggie, keep the ship in one piece. Otherwise, I think you'll learn and excel from the experience. And we'll take Ellie if you don't think boarding school will work. I actually like having my granddaughter around, makes me realize I didn't mess you up too much."
"Thanks for the confidence vote Mom." Archer smiled. "I'll let Ellie decide what she wants, we're not heading out to October. I'm still not sure if it's a good fit or not. I just wanted your opinions on the whole thing before I started packing."
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June 2205
"Are you sure?" Mayweather looked at her partner and shook her head. "It's not too late to change your XO."
"You're not helping Grace." Reed looked right back at her. "She's mine, I ran the DNA test last week, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't use Maggie as my XO. She needs a chance to be more than a pretty face."
"Yeah, and the fact that you've been blindly in love with her for almost 3 decades is not going to influence your command at all." She arched her back. "Come on Dan, I think it's still a ludicrous idea. As much as I trust you, I don't trust you on this."
"I'll check in regularly." Reed sighed. "I promise I won't let having Maggie take over my brain. It's the flagship Grace, I'm not commanding a friggit. I didn't get the Enterprise for my cute face."
"No, you got it because they want Maggie out of headquarters, and they know you would bring her along with you." Mayweather smiled. "Just please, please, please behave yourself. I know you can't have too much liquor on ship, so that's a relief in a way."
"Thanks for being a cynic like usual." The Captain rolled his eyes. "I promise, I'll call in weekly, if you think I'm getting out of line you can scream all you like."
"That or I'll sic Bit on you, that'll put you back in line." She cracked up laughing. "Seriously, I'm trying to get pregnant here, dealing with you and an infant might very well push me over the edge. Especially if Greg can't easily defend me if he doesn't know about why you're driving me over the edge."
August 2205
She helped her son unpack into his dorm room. "I'm at headquarters for another month still. You can always pop in if you need to Quinn."
"I should be okay Mom. This really isn't any different than starting at prep. Only difference is I have the peace of not living in the circus you and Ellie call home." He smiled. "Thank-you by the way. I know I've been a pain in the ass the last two years."
"You're my child. And trust me it's kharma. I almost ran off and married your Dad before I even started Stanford, ant that was one of the quieter things I did as a teenager." The press secretary smiled. "Why do you think I'm spending Ellie's teenage years on ship?"
"Because you didn't torture Grandma enough when you were a teenager." He smiled. "Rick's coming into today, so I won't be totally alone for long. Apparently he's getting stuck with Grandma's linguistic class. I had no clue she still teaches."
"Every few years, she'll teach the basic course. Makes her feel less guilty about abandoning academia." The Commander laughed. "Plus who better to learn languages from than the woman who's wrote the Starfleet language standards. She's an enigma. You should know that by now Quinn."
"I figured that out a while ago. Part of prep instruction is the understanding that Admirals aren't normal people." Quinn paused. "Then again she's taking in Ellie when you go out on ship. I know that's totally Grandpa, he'll do anything for Ellie."
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