TITLE: Dear Annie ("Two Days and Two Nights")
AUTHOR: Mara Greengrass
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: fishfolk@ix.netcom.com. Feedback is better than chocolate.
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATINGS/WARNINGS: G
SUMMARY: Hoshi writes home after the events of "Two Days and Two Nights."
DISCLAIMER: Enterprise and all its crew belong to Paramount and many other entities with expensive lawyers. I am making no profit from this story.
NOTES: Huge gigantic thanks to Captain Average for some wonderful suggestions that made this letter *much* better. You're right, Annie *would* expect some details, wouldn't she?
* * * * *
Dear Annie:
In my last letter, I reminded you of our trip down the Nile, but after our shore leave on Risa, it looks like I should have been thinking of that winter break in Jamaica, instead. It took me a long while to forgive you for abandoning me for three days with Mark and Tracy and Misha. I mean, the woman you met was cute, but...well, now I understand.
His name was Ravis.
I think I'm even a little surprised at myself, but you know, it was nice. I'm feeling remarkably guilt-free at having just this once gone for uncomplicated, no-strings-attached sex. No expectations of true love, just a pleasant vacation affair, and even better, an affair with a fellow linguist!
Okay, perhaps I feel just a *little* guilty, because I was teasing Trip and Malcolm in the shuttle on our way down to Risa. But they were acting like such *children*, nudging each other and laughing about going looking for women. It was a little annoying, but I just kept reminding myself that after all the stuff we've been through, I shouldn't begrudge them a bit of childishness. It's not as if either of them would actually do anything bad, other than a bit of ogling. Boys will be boys and all that. (You're right, I don't believe it either, but it sounded good, didn't it?)
I guess I should begin at the beginning. We finally made it to Risa, quite a few days after we set out, and we had a lottery to determine who got two days and two nights of shore leave. Most of the bridge crew won, although I don't think T'Pol even put her name in. I'm surprised Jon didn't call her on that, I could imagine a fascinating argument between the two of them about whether Vulcans need vacations.
So, I rode down in the shuttle with Jon, Trip, Malcolm, and Travis. Oh, and Porthos, of course! Porthos and Jon were headed for a villa on the beach, Trip and Malcolm were looking for nightlife (so to speak), and Travis was planning to go rock-climbing. (Where a boomer learned to enjoy rock-climbing, I can't imagine. Maybe they practice climbing in the cargo hold?)
I set out to practice my language-learning skills without the dratted translator getting in the way. I got to practice Risan, which is really a lovely little language, and not too difficult at all. But while I was sitting in a little café, I met Ravis and I taught him English, while he tried to teach me his language. Given a little more time and a little less distraction, I could do it, I'm sure, but we got sidetracked. And a nice track it was, too!
He really was a perfect gentleman, a nice change from my last several relationships, and it was so romantic. We sat in the café, ate together, walked on the beach, then he showed me his favorite spot in these lovely gardens. Just stunning.
You'd have loved his pick-up line. We were working on his English by giving English names to the fruits we were eating. So, I tasted this sweet-tart green fruit and decided it was very close to a kiwi. He smiled, and when I asked him what was funny, he said that kiwi meant something else in his language, he didn't know the English word for it, but he could show me. Then, he leaned over and kissed me. I nearly choked, but managed to kiss him back.
After dinner, we went back to my room, and I'm blushing, so I think I'll stop there, but I can assure you that we were biologically compatible. At least compatible enough that--as I told him the next morning--I could easily have spent the whole day there! But a few hours later, I was on a shuttle back to Enterprise.
It was so unlike me, but you know, the more I think about it, the more I believe that for all of us, this little vacation was about trying to forget who we are for a little while. Trying to forget all the near-death experiences, the pressure we're under--not just to survive, but to represent Earth to the rest of the universe.
So, we all took different routes, but ended up at the same place. I wanted to get away from the translator, our boomer navigator went rock-climbing (where the only person he was responsible for was himself), two of the most proper gentlemen on the ship went tomcatting, and Jon pretended to be a man of leisure. Travis' plan backfired, I'm afraid, because he managed to injure himself and wound up back in Sickbay with an allergic reaction. Poor thing. Liz tells me he was quite miserable there for awhile.
Even Phlox was taking a vacation of sorts--his annual hibernation. Too bad they had to wake him to tend to Travis. Liz says it was quite bizarre, really. He needed his sleep just as much as we needed our vacation, and she left him tucked in on a biobed after he finally helped Travis.
I'm not sure if I ever told you about them, but Liz really has quite the crush on him. They work together regularly, and I know Phlox is fond of her, but he's completely befuddled by human romance. (Although, we know quite a few human men who are as well. Mark and Emmanuel come to mind.) And we're still not entirely certain if Phlox is even *available*--there's still the matter of the three wives. I'm glad my interspecial romance wasn't long-term, because it seems to me there are much greater difficulties than just those of language.
But back to my point, we were all trying to escape for a little while. I'm really curious about whether everyone else found what they were looking for, but barely anyone seems willing to talk about it. I guess I can't blame them, since I'm not entirely certain how I would describe my two days and two nights either.
I hope they all relaxed, but somehow I don't think so. On our shuttle ride back to Enterprise, you could have cut the tension with a phase pistol. All three of the guys were putting out "don't ask me" vibes so strong I expected the shuttle to explode. And as for why Trip and Malcolm were in robes...I wonder if I actually want to know the answer to that.
That's not jealousy, either, since it's not as if I have any room to talk. You know, if the men on this ship are going to treat me as their little sister, I'm just going to have to find fun where I can!
Doesn't sound like me, does it? I don't know, it's tough, we've been thrown together on this ship, tossed out into the wild black yonder, and expected to face the unknown with courage and honor.
But we're only human, with all the human faults that so irk T'Pol, and every once in a while, they're going to emerge from behind the mask of Starfleet propriety we all wear. And so, we came to Risa, we saw, and I suppose we conquered. Or were conquered! It's hard to tell...
Love,
Hoshi
AUTHOR: Mara Greengrass
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: fishfolk@ix.netcom.com. Feedback is better than chocolate.
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATINGS/WARNINGS: G
SUMMARY: Hoshi writes home after the events of "Two Days and Two Nights."
DISCLAIMER: Enterprise and all its crew belong to Paramount and many other entities with expensive lawyers. I am making no profit from this story.
NOTES: Huge gigantic thanks to Captain Average for some wonderful suggestions that made this letter *much* better. You're right, Annie *would* expect some details, wouldn't she?
* * * * *
Dear Annie:
In my last letter, I reminded you of our trip down the Nile, but after our shore leave on Risa, it looks like I should have been thinking of that winter break in Jamaica, instead. It took me a long while to forgive you for abandoning me for three days with Mark and Tracy and Misha. I mean, the woman you met was cute, but...well, now I understand.
His name was Ravis.
I think I'm even a little surprised at myself, but you know, it was nice. I'm feeling remarkably guilt-free at having just this once gone for uncomplicated, no-strings-attached sex. No expectations of true love, just a pleasant vacation affair, and even better, an affair with a fellow linguist!
Okay, perhaps I feel just a *little* guilty, because I was teasing Trip and Malcolm in the shuttle on our way down to Risa. But they were acting like such *children*, nudging each other and laughing about going looking for women. It was a little annoying, but I just kept reminding myself that after all the stuff we've been through, I shouldn't begrudge them a bit of childishness. It's not as if either of them would actually do anything bad, other than a bit of ogling. Boys will be boys and all that. (You're right, I don't believe it either, but it sounded good, didn't it?)
I guess I should begin at the beginning. We finally made it to Risa, quite a few days after we set out, and we had a lottery to determine who got two days and two nights of shore leave. Most of the bridge crew won, although I don't think T'Pol even put her name in. I'm surprised Jon didn't call her on that, I could imagine a fascinating argument between the two of them about whether Vulcans need vacations.
So, I rode down in the shuttle with Jon, Trip, Malcolm, and Travis. Oh, and Porthos, of course! Porthos and Jon were headed for a villa on the beach, Trip and Malcolm were looking for nightlife (so to speak), and Travis was planning to go rock-climbing. (Where a boomer learned to enjoy rock-climbing, I can't imagine. Maybe they practice climbing in the cargo hold?)
I set out to practice my language-learning skills without the dratted translator getting in the way. I got to practice Risan, which is really a lovely little language, and not too difficult at all. But while I was sitting in a little café, I met Ravis and I taught him English, while he tried to teach me his language. Given a little more time and a little less distraction, I could do it, I'm sure, but we got sidetracked. And a nice track it was, too!
He really was a perfect gentleman, a nice change from my last several relationships, and it was so romantic. We sat in the café, ate together, walked on the beach, then he showed me his favorite spot in these lovely gardens. Just stunning.
You'd have loved his pick-up line. We were working on his English by giving English names to the fruits we were eating. So, I tasted this sweet-tart green fruit and decided it was very close to a kiwi. He smiled, and when I asked him what was funny, he said that kiwi meant something else in his language, he didn't know the English word for it, but he could show me. Then, he leaned over and kissed me. I nearly choked, but managed to kiss him back.
After dinner, we went back to my room, and I'm blushing, so I think I'll stop there, but I can assure you that we were biologically compatible. At least compatible enough that--as I told him the next morning--I could easily have spent the whole day there! But a few hours later, I was on a shuttle back to Enterprise.
It was so unlike me, but you know, the more I think about it, the more I believe that for all of us, this little vacation was about trying to forget who we are for a little while. Trying to forget all the near-death experiences, the pressure we're under--not just to survive, but to represent Earth to the rest of the universe.
So, we all took different routes, but ended up at the same place. I wanted to get away from the translator, our boomer navigator went rock-climbing (where the only person he was responsible for was himself), two of the most proper gentlemen on the ship went tomcatting, and Jon pretended to be a man of leisure. Travis' plan backfired, I'm afraid, because he managed to injure himself and wound up back in Sickbay with an allergic reaction. Poor thing. Liz tells me he was quite miserable there for awhile.
Even Phlox was taking a vacation of sorts--his annual hibernation. Too bad they had to wake him to tend to Travis. Liz says it was quite bizarre, really. He needed his sleep just as much as we needed our vacation, and she left him tucked in on a biobed after he finally helped Travis.
I'm not sure if I ever told you about them, but Liz really has quite the crush on him. They work together regularly, and I know Phlox is fond of her, but he's completely befuddled by human romance. (Although, we know quite a few human men who are as well. Mark and Emmanuel come to mind.) And we're still not entirely certain if Phlox is even *available*--there's still the matter of the three wives. I'm glad my interspecial romance wasn't long-term, because it seems to me there are much greater difficulties than just those of language.
But back to my point, we were all trying to escape for a little while. I'm really curious about whether everyone else found what they were looking for, but barely anyone seems willing to talk about it. I guess I can't blame them, since I'm not entirely certain how I would describe my two days and two nights either.
I hope they all relaxed, but somehow I don't think so. On our shuttle ride back to Enterprise, you could have cut the tension with a phase pistol. All three of the guys were putting out "don't ask me" vibes so strong I expected the shuttle to explode. And as for why Trip and Malcolm were in robes...I wonder if I actually want to know the answer to that.
That's not jealousy, either, since it's not as if I have any room to talk. You know, if the men on this ship are going to treat me as their little sister, I'm just going to have to find fun where I can!
Doesn't sound like me, does it? I don't know, it's tough, we've been thrown together on this ship, tossed out into the wild black yonder, and expected to face the unknown with courage and honor.
But we're only human, with all the human faults that so irk T'Pol, and every once in a while, they're going to emerge from behind the mask of Starfleet propriety we all wear. And so, we came to Risa, we saw, and I suppose we conquered. Or were conquered! It's hard to tell...
Love,
Hoshi