A/N: Thank you SnidgetHex, ComtesseAlanna, pallysd'Artagnan, 29Pieces, and Aingealsuh for reviewing! We'll see the holo squad in chapter 18. XD

Also, my next story for "It Takes a Village" turned into a multi-chapter story, so I'll be posting it as its own fic starting tomorrow. Lots of Rios whump and angst to be had in it. XD

"La Sirena"

2390

Raffi fiddled with yet another transducer underneath the bridge console, trying to reroute the power cell. "Try it now."

She waited as Rios presumably tapped the console. A moment later the lights flickered and the systems whirred, but then it all sputtered and shut down again. Raffi dropped her head back against the floor with a vexed sigh.

Rios knelt down and peered under the console. "I thought you were the top of your class in your operations courses?"

"You know how long it's been since those engineering courses?" she groused as she crawled out. "Besides, didn't you take some and get high marks too?"

"Eh, it's been a while."

She huffed and swiped some stray curls out of her face. She was ready to call it quits on this thing but knew Rios would absolutely refuse to listen to reason. They'd gotten a new power cell, but somewhere in this dump the connections were just not getting there. They should just chuck this thing back over the fence.

Raffi heaved another sigh as she sat cross-legged on the floor and considered her options. This meant something to Cris, so she wasn't going to give up just yet. "Let's try rerouting through the auxiliary."

They got up and made their way to another conduit. Rios removed the paneling and Raffi once again got on the floor so she could reach in and try to finagle something together.

"La Sirena," Rios said abruptly.

"What did you just call me?" Not that it didn't sound nice to the ear but Raffi had never gotten around to mastering Spanish. Too busy with Romulan and all that.

"The ship. I'm going to name her La Sirena."

"Sounds nice. What's it mean in English?"

"The mermaid."

Raffi paused in her task to throw him a dubious look. "The mermaid?" she repeated, trying not to smirk. "Okay. Why that?"

Rios shrugged. "Mermaids are a symbol of beauty."

"I thought they lured sailors to shipwreck on the rocks."

Rios did smirk. "That would be fitting given her current state." His smile dipped and he shook his head. "But my mother liked them, and in her culture they represented beauty and were associated with a goddess." He grew quiet in a way that had Raffi once again pausing to look at him. He blinked when he noticed her staring and tried to force that smile back. "I'd like one beautiful thing to hold onto in this life."

Raffi gave him a sympathetic quarter smile in return and went back to wrestling with the conduit. A moment later, the systems whirred again as they came online, soft blue lights filling the deck with an almost ethereal glow. Raffi sat up, grinning. "We're in business."

Rios laughed and gave her a high-five.

…

They spent the next few days working on the ship, getting the essential systems up and running without any kinks before they'd focus on the structural necessities. The technology on board turned out to be rather sophisticated, suggesting the ship wasn't as old as it looked. Raffi wondered what had befallen it that it should end up scrapped before its time.

Looking at the way Rios threw himself into fixing her up, Raffi realized sometimes the universe just hands you a raw deal. And there was something worthy about trying to salvage some beauty from the wreckage.

Raffi still spent her nights back at the motel for some sleep and her customary bottle of wine, whereas Rios opted to stay on the ship, even though it wasn't even decked out for living in. He'd be sleeping on the cold hard floor. If he slept at all. Raffi knew he only caught a few hours here and there.

She had to bring him coffee and food from the motel replicator since the ship didn't have a functioning one yet. If it weren't for her, she imagined Rios would forget to even eat.

One day while making her trek out to the field—and why did it have to be parked so far away?—she passed through the local craft fair and came to a stop as something caught her eye. There was a table of small ceramic figurines, all handmade. And one of them was a mermaid.

Raffi went over and picked it up, admiring the crackle glaze that sparkled in the sunshine with teal and cerulean speckles.

"You like it?" the stall owner asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"I can wrap it for you."

Raffi smiled. "Thanks."

She handed it back and the creator of the piece carefully rolled it up in tissue paper and placed it in a small paper bag.

"Have a nice day," the woman said.

"You too."

When she arrived at the La Sirena, Rios was already working. Or still working.

"Coffee," Raffi announced, knowing it was the best incentive to get him to take a break.

He set down whatever tools he was working with and came over to join her on the floor on the main deck.

"You need to get some tables and chairs in here," she commented.

"Lunch yard tables," he replied. "You remember those metallic ones at school, grated surface?"

"No banquet table and throne?" she quipped.

"Take up too much space." He took a drink of the coffee, and since he was already sitting for that, he absentmindedly started pulling out the tray bake she'd brought as breakfast as well.

"I got you something." Raffi handed him the small bag.

He looked genuinely taken aback and reverently pulled out the tissue paper wrapped figurine. He was careful as he unwrapped it, and then he simply sat and stared at the little mermaid.

"I know it's too early for a christening," Raffi said. "And you should have a bed before a housewarming gift. But there you go."

He looked up, and there was a glimmer of moisture in his eyes, which had not been Raffi's intention. "Gracias, hermana."

She smiled. That one she knew.