"Hi guys." Beka said as she came in.
"Hi Beka." Replied Trance.
"Hiya Boss."
"Hey Trance, how ya doing? You have a glow about you." Beka told the younger woman.
"Really? I didn't notice, I have no idea what it is." Trance lied.
"Really?" Beka said, not believing it for one minute.
"Yeah really! Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go to work. Come on Trance." Harper said, rising and taking Trance's arm. As the two left the mess hall Beka shot an accusing look at their backs.
Harper and Trance didn't notice it one bit, they were busy trying to escape without breaking into fits of laughter.
As the doors to the mess hall closed behind them they were both seized by the fit of laughter they were trying to avoid.
Getting their laughter under control, they proceeded down the hall, and away from Beka.
"That was one of the funniest moments in my life." Harper told Trance as they rounded the next corner.
"It was pretty funny. But you know Beka, she'll keep pushing until she finds out what she wants. We'll have to tell her sooner or later."
"I know, I know. We'll tell them all later today at the dinner Dylan has planned." Harper said as he put his arm around her shoulder.
"Sounds like a plan to me." She replied.
Having reached Med Bay, Harper released his hold on her shoulder and kissed heron the cheek.
"See you at lunch Trance." He said as he left for Engineering.
"See ya." She said as she entered Med Bay.
Taking a deep breath, Trance and Harper pushed the call button on Dylan's door. They heard a muffled 'Come in,' and the door opened.
Entering Dylan's quarters Harper and Trance realized that they were the last to arrive, even Tyr had arrived before them.
"Hi guys, sorry we're late, we couldn't find anything to wear." Harper explained as he and Trance sat at the table.
Dylan had recently redecorated his quarters to accommodate a rectangular table that he used for group dinners, like the one tonight.
He still had all the wall hangings that he did before, but he had moved his couch to the far corner.
The table was big enough to sit four people on the each edge and two people on each end, all in all it could fit 12 people.
Harper and Trance were sitting on one side, across from Beka and Tyr. Dylan and Rommie were sitting side by side at the head of the table.
"That's fine, I'm just glad that you showed up at all." Dylan said, a hint of something in his voice.
"Uh … yeah, sure, of course we'd show up why wouldn't we?" Harper asked, a little nervous.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe you decided to have dinner in your quarters." He replied with a grin. "But that is neither here nor there, you showed up and that's all that matters." He said.
"So Trance, did you find out what that glow was yet?" Beka asked from her position beside Tyr.
"Not yet, I'm still running tests." She once again, lied to Beka.
"Well be sure to tell us what the results are, ok?" Beka continued to push.
"Yeah, sure." Trance stammered.
"So Dylan, how was your day?" Harper asked, coming to the rescue of his wife.
"Fine, just fine. You know the usual. But I want to hear more about this glow. Beka?" He said changing the topic.
Harper and Trance both realized that Beka had enlisted the help of not only Dylan, but Tyr as well. Well try as they might, the young couple wouldn't tell until the right time.
"Well, earlier today I noticed a subtle glow about Trance that wasn't there the day before. It's hard to describe it, but when the light hits her just right, it looks as though she is shining a golden color." She told Dylan.
"Really? Are you feeling all right Trance?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'm feeling fine." She replied.
Harper leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Why don't we tell them and save ourselves all this trouble?" He asked.
"I think you may be right, let's tell them." She whispered back, and evil look in her eyes.
"Ok, I've had it!" Trance said standing up and banging her hands on the table. "I am tired of these questions, and if Harper and I don't want to answer you then we won't!" She said, the outrage clear in her voice.
The others were all shocked at her outburst, Harper was the only one who wasn't.
"You think that just because you're our friends you can badger us all you want. Well I'm sorry, but that's not the way it works. If we want to tell you something, we'll tell you on our time, not yours, ours!" Harper said as he too stood up.
The faces of the others at the table reflected their shock, and to a small degree, fear. Dylan started to say something, but then closed his mouth and remained silent.
Looking over at Trance, Harper broke into a grin at the same time she did.
"Trance, do you want to tell them, or should I?" He asked her, both of them calm once again.
"I'll tell them Harper." She said as her husband sat down again. "Beka, Dylan, Tyr," She nodded at each as she said their name, "I have an announcement to make. I am pregnant." She told them.
The shock remained on their faces for a matter of seconds, before both Dylan and Beka were beside the couple, congratulating them and patting their backs.
"So when where you going to tell us? Assuming that our pushing didn't provoke it." Beka asked, remembering the outbursts of a few moments ago.
"Oh, we were going to tell you tonight." Harper said as Trance sat down beside him.
"It's just that we didn't want to be badgered all through dinner, that and we both had a little fun with the outbursts." Trance said grinning.
"Well, that sure made dinner interesting." Dylan said.
"Yeah, it sure did." Beka replied.
"I found it to be rather funny." Tyr said.
"You would." Beka stated with a snort, Harper and Trance just laughed.
"Well, shall we get on with dinner then?" Dylan asked as he and Rommie brought the serving platters to the table.
"Mmmm. What are we having? It smells so good." Beka Said as her mouth watered.
"It sure does, Boss. So Dylan, what is it?" Harper asked as well.
"Aside from the salad, honey glazed ham, with corn and mashed potatoes and gravy." He said with a smile.
"Oh, that is soooo, good." Beka said.
"Can we eat?" Asked Trance.
"Of course, help yourselves." Dylan said as he sat down and served himself.
Harper served for both he and Trance. While Beka and Tyr served themselves. The rest of the evening passed in comfortable conversation. Now that the big secret was out, they could talk about normal events of the day, like what had been fixed, what parts were needed, and what they were doing in their spare time. Needless to say the time flew by, and before they knew it, it was time for bed.
As they returned to their quarters, Harper and Trance were still talking about the reaction of their crewmates to the news of her pregnancy.
"Did you see the look on Tyr's face? I thought he was going to pass out for a minute." Harper said with a laugh.
"Yeah, I saw that too. But what about Beka? She was confused, between us yelling at them and the announcement that I'm pregnant, Beka didn't know what to think." Trance said.
"And the look on Dylan's face! I could have knocked him over with a feather, he never thought that we'd be a couple, let alone have a kid." Harper told her.
"What do you mean 'never thought we'd be a couple'." She asked.
"He told Beka that once, before we became a couple. I was doing maintenance in the conduit above the mess hall where they were talking. He said that he felt comfortable with us always working together, because there could never be anything between us." Harper told her as he changed into his pajamas.
"He then said that the idea of us as a couple, more than friends he meant, was a joke and that he always got a laugh from the thought. Beka disagreed with him, saying that it wasn't a joke, it was the 'funniest friggin' thing she ever heard in her life.' I left the area at this time, I didn't like where the conversation was going, and I didn't like the fact that they didn't trust me with you." Harper said, anger starting to build as he remembered the conversation.
"What do you mean didn't trust you with me." Trance asked, shocked by the revelation that Beka and Dylan were once so against a relationship between Harper and her.
"They also said that, back when you were still purple, they didn't like me hanging around you all the time. They were afraid that I would try to take advantage of your innocence. They thought that I wasn't good enough to be your best friend, they even said that they tried to breakup our friendship once or twice, but it didn't work." He said as he collapsed on the bed. Trance crawled up behind him and put her arm around him.
"Tell me more, I want to know what they said." She pressed her husband.
"They never like the thought of us at all. When we were alone on missions, Beka always wanted to go with us to keep us apart. When Dylan would let us go alone, he'd have Rommie watch us until we were out of range. Basically, they didn't trust me, the playboy-womanizing-egotistical-punk, with you, the innocent-sweet-naive-beautiful, girl." Harper sighed as he went on. "But, even with all their scheming, we still became a couple. I know that this seems like a contradiction to the way they acted before the wedding, but it's not." At her look of confusion, Harper tried to explain.
Rolling over so that he and Trance were nose to nose, he went on.
"Look Trance, it's like this. When they took the photo of us, they realized that what they most dreaded had happened, we were a couple. They figured that that was fine, give it few months, it won't work out. That's why they left us alone after they took the photo, to show us how wrong we are for each other. When I showed them the video of my proposal, they finally knew that we were destined to be a couple, and that there was nothing they could do to prevent it. that's why Beka threw herself into the wedding preparations, to try and make up for all she did to break us up." By now he was totally exhausted, so he just continued to stare at Trance as his eyes closed.
"It's ok Harper," She told him as she stroked his face, "There is nothing they can do to break us up, I will be by your side till death." She said as she kissed his forehead, Harper was by now completely asleep. Seeing that her husband was asleep, Trance got them both comfortable in the bed. She pulled the covers down and then back up over them both. Harper was on his back, cradled into Trance's arms, and that is how they both fell asleep. Trance held Harper all through the night as the both slept, for once at peace, if at least for a moment.
To Be Continued …