I do not own the Orville.

After my first Alara/Gordon story I was asked if I could write another one. So, I thought of another idea and decided to give it a try. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Alara couldn't believe what she was reading at her station. She was aware that they would be receiving an ambassador they would be transporting to Outpost 48 to attend a peace conference. She had already made the arrangements to bring him onboard.

What she hadn't realized was that the ambassador was her ex-boyfriend, Malik. The same ex-boyfriend that had left her when she decided to go into the military. The same ex-boyfriend that had broken her heart when he viciously dumped her only minutes before she went off planet and joined the Union Fleet.

The words he had flung at her on that day still rang in her head and hurt her, but she was able to push it out of her mind most of the time.

Now he was going to be onboard for at least a month, a constant reminder of a time when men weren't worried about her strength. A time when she really considered giving up her dream of the military and getting married, remaining on Xelaya instead of seeing the galaxy.

"Alara?"

Alara blinked before turning, aware of both Ed and Kelly looking at her. She knew then that someone must have said something to her.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"We were just asking you if the ambassador was enroute?"

"Oh," Alara cleared her throat. "Yes, the ambassador's shuttle is heading toward shuttle bay now."

Kelly nodded, the look in her eyes clearly indicating that she knew something more was going on. "Very well, let's head down there now to greet him."

Alara could feel a slight panic come over her at those words, but she couldn't ignore her duties. She stood and followed Ed and Kelly to the shuttle bay, ignoring the nervousness she carried with her.

As they entered the shuttle bay, the shuttle was setting down and the opening up. The first person off the shuttle were two men carrying supplies and then she saw him.

He was tall and handsome, just as he had been when they were finishing school. Those dark eyes and dark hair sweeping across his forehead, almost covering the markings of a Xelayan there. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white shirt. He smiled as he approached the group. He still had the best smile.

"I'm Malik Nextron. You must be Captain Mercer," he shook Ed's hand.

"Yes," Ed replied with a smile. He turned to Kelly. "This is Commander Grayson."

"Nice to meet you," Kelly said smiling.

Then Malik turned to her and Alara had to force herself to keep herself calm. She wanted nothing more than to run from this, but she couldn't.

"Alara Kitan," Malik said, the tone of his voice instantly telling Alara that he was well aware of how uncomfortable she was around him. "It's been too long."

"You two know each other?" Kelly said with genuine interest.

"We knew each other back on Xelaya," Alara forced herself to say, her voice calmer than she anticipated. "If you will follow me, I'll escort you to your quarters."

Malik's smile widened, causing Alara's heart to skip a beat. He was still so damn attractive. Too bad it was just covering a bad personality inside. "Lead the way."

As they left the shuttle bay, she felt Kelly's eyes on her back. She knew that she was going to have to explain this later. No one knew about Malik because they didn't need to know about him. She just wanted to forget, but that would be impossible now.

"So," Malik said leaning in closer to her as they walked, "how have you been since you left Xelaya?"

"I've been well," she replied, moving farther away from him.

"You know, I've been thinking about you lately," Malik said softly. "I even requested the Orville be the ship to take me the conference all so I can see you again."

Alara paused and turned to Malik. "What?"

He smirked. "I wanted to see you again. I've often thought about you since you left me."

Anger filled her. "You dumped me," she said firmly. "Because you wanted me do nothing more than stay at home and raise children and I wanted more."

Malik chuckled. "You wanted to play soldier and I decided to indulge you." His eyes ran over her form. "It actually did wonders for you. You look better now than you did in school."

He took a step towards her and Alara took one back.

"I think that we can pick up where we left off. You can leave the Orville and come with me to the conference and then back to..."

"I have a boyfriend."

Malik's smile fell and his eyes widened as he really looked at her. Alara glared at him, anger flowing through her veins.

"A boyfriend...?"

"Yes, and he's ten times better than you."

Alara turned and continued down the hallway, slightly aware that Malik was following her slowly.

She couldn't believe his arrogance. He thought that she was just going to come running back into his arms the minute he snapped his fingers. It angered her on every level. She didn't mean to blurt out that she had a boyfriend, but she wanted him to stop talking to her like she was his possession that he had just shelved temporarily.

When she reached his quarters, she entered the code and the door opened. "These are your quarters."

Malik walked to the door and then stopped and turned to Alara, a sly smile upon his face.

"I'll see you around Alara and I cannot wait to meet this man you believe is better than me."

As the door closed between her and Malik, Alara realized just what had happened.

She told Malik she was dating someone. How was she going to keep up that ruse?