The Captain was on the bridge in his command chair, reading from his padd on the Ferengi culture. He was especially amused by their 'Rules of Acquisition'. Jon looked up with a smile. 'I have to show this to Buffy.' This made him think wistfully about her, wondering what she was doing.

            Trip came to the bridge and smiled wryly. Jon was broodin', and he'd give bets 10 to 1 on who he was broodin' about. "Cap'n?"

            Jon turned around, "Commander?"

            "Can I see ya for a minute?" Trip asked and Jon nodded, "T'pol, you have the bridge." He got up and T'pol moved to the seat and Jon follow Trip out into the hallway.

            "What's up?"

            Trip looked at his friend and realized he felt no resentment. "When are you leavin' the bridge?"

            Jon raised his eyebrows, "I don't have to be there now, why?"

            Trip looked at his feet, "I tried to talk to Buffy. She threw me out." He looked up to see his friend pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It'll take time to work it all out, I don't want to push." Jon sighed wearily.

            "I think you should go see her now." Trip said, "I'm headin' back to Engineerin'. I have got 6 blown relays that are drivin' me nuts." Trip walked away. Jon stood in the hallway staring after him, then smiled.

He poked his head onto the bridge, "T'pol, I'm headed to bed."

            "Very well Captain." She inclined her head gracefully.

            He sighed as he walked down the hallway, trying to mentally construct a conversation. Not good, he was coming up with nothing.

            Buffy finished her letter to Angel with a flourish. She had kept it light, no point of telling him how her personal life had imploded, again. Her stomach growled, 'time to raid the crew mess'. She opened the door and almost mowed down Jon.

They stared each other for a moment and Buffy laughed softly, "I've got the munchies. I was going to raid the crew mess."

            Jon smiled, "Come to my quarters and I'll get Chef to feed you." His eyes were warm and Buffy smiled, "That would be great." They walked silently to his quarters, both nervous, not knowing what to say. He opened the door, then stepped back and let her in. Porthos raised his head from his paws, wagging his tail in welcome.

            "Hey Porthos." Buffy went over and knelt down by his bed, making a fuss. Jon watched for a minute, full of emotions he couldn't define, before turning to call the Chef.

            They sat curled up together on the floor, pillows behind their backs and Porthos across Buffy's lap. The Steward had brought sliced vegetables, dip and cheese and crackers. Porthos kept hoping desperately for the cheese to fall.

            When the Steward had come into the Captains quarters he had smiled. The Captain was lounging on the floor, relaxed, pointing to something on the padd he held. Buffy was curled up beside him, 'which was a surprise', and they both looked happy. He left the food on a table and both of them had looked up and said 'Thank you.' It was about time that the Captain was happy.

            Buffy had read Rule # 16-'Every once in awhile declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemy.' and was giggling hysterically. Jon moved down to Rule # 113 and pointed to it silently, 'Always have sex with the boss.' He grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes, "Har har." She snorted and threw a cracker at him. He smiled and picked it up then gave it to the ever-hopeful Porthos who crunched it happily.

            Buffy looked at the padd again and said, "Look at this picture, huh. Those are some ears, reminds me of a demon friend back home." Then she read aloud, " The Grand Nagus is their leader, equivalent to their king. All Ferengi women are second class citizens, they cannot inherit or leave the house. However the Ferengi males revere their Mother's.  Oh, that's nice."

Then she grimaced, "The women are required to be naked at all times." Buffy stopped, "Ewww."

            Jon tilted his head to consider, "Sounds like a good thing to me?" he teased and Buffy shook her head at him, her blond hair swinging gently. Jon's eyes darkened and he leaned forward to kiss her gently, their lips touching. They moaned in unison and pulled back, staring into each other's eyes. She touched his face and he leaned into her touch, then she snuggled into his side, continuing to read together until he looked over and saw that Buffy had fallen asleep. Usually so full of life and activity, seeing her quiet and at peace was seeing a different side of her.

            The next few days of their trip to Risa were busy. Jon conferred with Starfleet, adding things to be included in the negotiations. He knew he had to make the Ferengi think they were getting the better deal. Starfleet and Earth were willing to trade anything and everything to be able to get their hands on items the Ferengi were able to 'acquire'

            The nights for Jon and Buffy were filled with laughter and exploration.

            Buffy lay back, gasping for air, laughing a little. "Jon, Jon, Jon."

 Lying on his side he ran a hand over her sweat slicked skin, "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy." He replied softly. He traced the curve of her hip and traced a finger over her breast. Her eyes met his and leaning forward she gently nipped his nose.

            "Hey!" he yelped and grabbed her, making her squeal with laughter. She finally ended up on top of him, pressed so intimately together that they both moaned.

"Ok, that's not such a good idea."  She smiled and gently traced his face, running a gentle finger over his nose, his lips before ending in the cute dent on his chin. His eyes were on hers and he captured her finger in his mouth, running his tongue over the sensitive tip, then sucked gently, making her close her eyes at the sensation. She pulled it back and slid it into her own mouth, and he lost his control and they made love again.

            Later after they were satiated Buffy was relaxed against the pillows, watching Jon read the padd on the Ferengi.

            "Tell me about your Dad?" she asked and he looked over at her in surprise. "What?"

Buffy gently took the padd away and laid it on the table. "Trip and T'pol told me about the fight you won for your Dad's warp engines. Tell me what he was like when you were a kid."

            He smiled and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him, her head resting on his chest. He played with her hair as he thought back. "My Dad worked hard and played hard. He would take off one week every summer and we'd go camping, just him and I."

            "Wait, a tent, potty in the woods camping?" she asked.

            "Yep, I was a Boy scout. We'd fish, talk, eat fish, not bathe, fish some more and make my mom sigh in disgust when we got home." He chuckled at the memory. "He would work days at a time on the engine, then come home and crash on the couch. When he woke up he would tell me everything he did, what energy ratios he used, how he improved on Zephrem Cochrane's design, but kept true to it as well. He was full of fire."

            Buffy looked up at him, "You've inherited that fire." He gently hugged her. She turned and moved over to straddle his lap, making his eyes go wide.

 "Do you know, sometimes I think Dr. Phlox goofed, but he insists I'm ok." She shrugged, turning pink.

He looked into her eyes, "You feel it too?" he asked hesitantly.

            "Can't wait to see you, can't keep my eyes off of you, want to see you naked?" she asked and he nodded.

            "Nah." She waved a dismissive hand and he growled, "Oh yeah?"

            He pulled her forward for a searing kiss. She pulled back to catch her breath and they were both panting. She leaned back, "Should I move?"

 "Oh yeah." He whispered, "Up and down good for you?"  Her eyes lit up.