Icicles 9
Disclaimer: do not on star trek
Also, hello and thank you to my followers and reviewers. Hope you continue to enjoy.
"So, we're starting at Deck one?"
"No. Deck one and two mainly food storage, supplies and other janitorial things. Deck three is shuttle repair and we do not have clearance. We're going to start at Deck four, also known as the promenade."
"I see." Marla was still hanging on to his arm as the elevator doors opened to reveal people milling around.
"Deck four has the bar, mess hall, recreation, etcetera." He led her down the hall. "There's also this little shop where people can buy whatever they've managed to forget to bring with them. Duty shirts, toiletries."
He glanced down at her. Marla's eyes were glancing around, looking at the people wandering. He could hear the loud bar up the hall.
"Marlena!" A few of the Bajorans stumbled out of the bar and rushed up, hands outreached and grabbed her arm.
"Hey!" Marla released his arm and was dragged into the bar, giving a pleading look back at him. A loud cheer went up on the other side of the door. Khan growled and entered. The doors opened to reveal the Bajorans had formed a group around a table. The other Starfleet personnel included.
The other, less bold, patrons were staring at the loud group. Marla had been pulled onto someone's lap and had her arms around his neck and his arms wrapped around her to keep from falling as he took a swig of beer from a mug.
Another cheer went up as Kitya was hoisted onto the table, a strange stringed instrument in her hand. Khan moved to grab Marla off the muscular Bajoran's lap on a high stool, only to have people move in front of him, trying to get a better view of the Bajoran woman on the table. The group had fallen quiet and soon the rest of the bar followed. Kitya began strumming a song out.
Marla was very uncomfortable on Sok's lap. She squirmed and he laughed.
"Relax, terran. You are in good hands. I will not let you hit the floor."
Kitya began to sing in the Bajoran language. Marla was captivated.
"It is an old Bajoran love song." Sok whispered in her ear. "Of two doomed lovers. Granted, that's a Vulcan lute, but the song is ancient Bajoran. They are in love, from enemy villages. Their love is discovered and she is publicly killed. In turn, he slaughters her entire village before killing himself at her grave. A tree grows from his blood."
Marla cringed but she found herself absorbed in the music as she stared at Kitya's hands moving on the strings. She was wrenched from the hypnosis by Sok's mouth on her neck and hand squeezing her ass. Marla fought to get off his lap to be met with laughs from the surrounding Bajoran men. She felt herself being immediately pulled off and looked up at a very angry looking John.
One of the men prodded Sok.
"It appears you have picked and angered someone's mate, Sok. Bad luck, my friend." He laughed.
"He is not my mate! John, let's go." Marla grabbed his sleeve, giving him a warning look.
He had a snarl on his face, ready to go for the Bajoran's throat.
"John." She repeated and grabbed his hand, fearful he was going to have a go at him. She tugged gently towards the door.
"Later then, my little Terran."
Marla bristled. Don't hit him. She told herself. Intergalactic relations. Represent the family.
She continued walking. Kitya began playing another song. She recognized this one from her book of Bajor. A song of a woman's revenge and honor for her father's death.
Oh Kitya.
Marla turned around and moved past John, right back to Sok.
"Back so soon?"
Marla straddled him in the stool as best she could, intentionally grinding against his crotch as she adjusted herself and moved close to his ear. Sok smirked and grabbed her ass to keep her from sliding off, triumph clear on his drunken face. Good to know she could still work men in a chair. She played with his hair nonchalantly as she held on with her thighs and knees and braced herself with her feet on the rungs.
"If you so much as touch me again beyond a handshake when you leave, I will personally slit open your scrotum with a plastic knife, rip out your testicles with my bare hands and force feed them to you while allowing you to bleed out." She purred in his ear. Sok turned white and gulped hard. He removed his hands and held them up. "So uncomfortable already? Good." She stood and walked away.
Khan watched the scene in front of him. The sheer look of terror on Sok's face bewildered him.
"What did you tell him?" Khan interrogated her as soon as they were in the hallway. Marla kept walking.
"That if he touched me again I would force feed him his own testicles." She replied innocently.
Khan stopped. He was both wildly turned on by and terrified of the woman walking away from him.
'Are you coming, John? I was under the impression that our tour was not yet over."
His feet started moving again as he strode to catch up with her.
Marcus sat at the small table with Bal. The wine was wearing off and he was sobering up. However, it appeared that Bal had no intention of doing so.
The admiral sipped the glass of whiskey.
Bal was rattling on about Bajoran politics and what a mess they were. Marcus supposed politicians were the same on every planet. He took another sip of whiskey.
"So, that Marlena girl. I want her on Bajor in my office. She is very organized."
"No, sorry. I cannot do that."
"Why?" Bal whined. "She's dependable, organized and entertaining. Good help is so hard to find these days. She's what my office is missing."
"Bal, I hear you. But it seems that Kitya is pretty on top of things over there."
"Yes, yes. Kitya is a lifesaver. But even Kitya is no superwoman and needs a little help now and then."
"I'm not sending one of my professors for 'a little help now and then'. She is a professor, not a secretary. I do not think she would appreciate-"
"Fine, name your conditions."
"Bal, this is not up for discussion. She is needed here, in the classroom and in her office."
"Think of it as strengthening the bond between Earth and Bajor."
"The answer is no Bal. I am not transferring her."
"If I were to convince her…?"
"No."
Marcus eyed the drunken man in front of him as Bal knocked back another shot of whiskey. He needed McGivers on Earth. It was a pain in the ass to find history professors for Starfleet Academy. Plus the whole Khan thing. If he were right, he would be dealing with a more sufferable augment on Monday. He had been watching the class's progress and grades closely. The cadets were going to class and scoring reasonably well on exams. Two had switched majors to History from their minors. That pleased him. Starfleet was always in need of historians. Especially with the Five Year Mission approaching.
He was considering the USS Enterprise. Kirk had done a bang up job of dealing with Romulans, it was the newest ship and it would get the Captain out of his remaining hair. He was also considering sending the McGivers siblings with them. Of course, once Khan was safely back in stasis and under lock and key and motion activated phasers, that was.
The only problem with that was, he was not entirely sure when exactly he was going to throw the arrogant bastard back in his little cooler. He knew he couldn't keep him out forever. He didn't particularly wish to threaten McGivers' life to keep him under control. The more people involved, the messier it was going to be in the end.
He supposed keeping an eye on things was going to have to be the procedure for now.
"Would you pour me more whiskey, my friend?" Bal hiccupped.
Marcus poured more into his shot glass.
"Good, good." Bal purred. "Always did enjoy this terran whiskey."
"Oh yes. My wife looks forward to the springwine whenever you visit."
"Next time, I shall bring three bottles for her then." Bal swayed slightly in the chair, his earring swaying. "Anything for your lovely wife."
"I'm sure she would appreciate the sentiment."
"Shall we go to deck eight then?" He opened the elevator.
"What of the other four?"
"Docks, labs and quarters. Eight are offices and something I wish to show you."
"Show me?"
"Yes."
"You know I can handle myself, right?"
"Obviously."
"Good."
There was an awkward silence.
The door opened. Khan turned her around and backed her up.
"What are you doing?"
"It's going to be a surprise."
"Oh god, you're going to throw me off an airlock, aren't you?"
"You assume the worst. Besides, there are no loading docks up here."
"I'm going to fall if you keep walking me backwards like this." She informed him.
"As you wish." He picked her up.
She screeched.
"JOHN! PUT ME DOWN! THIS IS HIGHLY UNDIGNIFIED! PUT ME DOWN, YOU ASS!"
"Relax, we're here." He put her back on her feet. She moved to slap him across the face and he caught both her hands. "None of that."
Marla let loose a frustrated noise. He quickly moved to the side as he realized that she was bringing her knee up and turned her around.
Marla was startled to see it.
A huge glass panel that currently showed their reflection.
"Okay?"
"Patience."
He found the power panel in the wall and flipped the lights in the empty hall off. The lights down the hall were still on, but the lights ten doors on either side were off, throwing the section into darkness.
"Oh my god." Marla whispered as she approached the window and looked out. She could see into the entire system. "That's Earth there. And our moon. This is amazing."
Khan stood behind her.
"This is similar to what I've been seeing out my window as of late. I felt you would appreciate it."
She was silent as she continued to look out the window.
Khan hesitated before moving. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair. He felt her hand reach back and gently ruffle his hair as she relaxed into him. He felt his hair begin to fall across his face. Khan was tired of waiting, tired of being told to back off. He didn't care. He wanted her now.
"It's beautiful. Amazing."
"Marla, I-"
Her phone rang. Marla's hand fell and he tightened his grip on her. She reached down and removed his hands before answering the phone.
"McGivers."
"This is Admiral Marcus. You are to escort Bal back to his quarters. Report to my office immediately on Deck eight. It's the only one with a light on in the three hundred quadrant." The line went dead.
"Duty calls for me." Marla cleared her throat without looking at him. "Thank you." She walked away without looking back.
"Perhaps I should accompany you?"
"Not necessary. It is just to Admiral Marcus's office down the hall."
"Marcus?" Khan jogged to catch up with her.
"John, I can handle myself." She stated. He stopped as she knocked on the office door and backed into a doorway out of sight.
He door slid open. Bal stumbled out.
"My darling Marlena." He hiccupped and threw his arm around her for support.
"Come now, Ambassador. Let us get you back to your quarters to sober up."
"She will meet you at the elevator Bal." Marcus sent Bal off towards the elevators.
Khan held his breath as the Bajoran moved past him, humming.
"McGivers. Bal is close to considering talks. Listen to me. He is drunk. It is likely that he will ask you to enter his quarters. Do not do this. If you do, I cannot help you. He has diplomatic immunity."
"Sir, I am not understanding."
Marcus exhaled in frustration.
"Let me put this delicately, sweetheart. You go in there, I cannot guarantee his actions. Bal is a good man, but an amorous one with a particular fondness for Earth woman. I am urging you, do not listen to anything he says. The last thing we need is an intergalactic incident. Be intelligent."
"Admiral, I assure you, I can handle myself."
"He's been known to bed Klingon women without a mark on him the next day. I urge you to not enter his quarters. Bring him to the door. Do not enter. I have told him he is not to attempt anything. Whether he listens to me is to be seen."
"Understood."
"McGivers, I am warning you. He will tell you if you sleep with him, he will talk wit the Bajoran council. This is a lie."
"Yes Sir."
"Good, now go."
Marla turned to and saw the Ambassador leaning against the wall waiting for the elevator.
She glanced back at Admiral Marcus before continuing.
"Marlena…my darling little terran guide." Bal collapsed on her again. She struggled to support his weight as she opened the elevator door and headed up to the room.
Marie played with her pen at work. She hated working the night shift at the tollbooth. She shivered and pulled the windbreaker tighter around her while turning up the space heater Oscar was situated on. She shoved the tribble under her jacket as a car approached.
The man shoved the cash in her hand and drove off.
This was not what she wanted to be doing. Both in life and at the moment.
In life, she had wanted to be a scientist. Unfortunately, she had not gotten enough scholarships. She tried to get into community college. She couldn't afford the gas to commute and pay tuition. Besides, she couldn't bring herself to leave her family and community behind.
She remembered the day she died.
Well, technically died.
She had always thought it would be diabetes that would kill her in the end as she had seen so many others in the community die. Occasionally she thought it would be alcoholism either on her end or at the hands of another who suffered with it.
She had agreed to go on a camping trip with some people from the Oglala she had met at Gathering of Nations and kept in contact with. They had decided to go camping in the mountains. She remembered the bear trying to get at their food they tied up in the tree while they roasted some links over their campfire. She had done as she remembered that she had read about wildlife. Clapped, yelled, made noise. It didn't work. She remembered backing up from the great beast as it stood on it's hind legs and took a swipe with its gigantic paw. That was all she remembered.
As of right now, Tyrone was in jail since she couldn't afford to bail him out. The racist asshole was pressing assault charges. Marie wanted to cry, but it wasn't going to do any good.
Amanda was getting a pool together from the group to bail him out. Just about everyone had contributed, but they were still a hundred dollars short. The money sat in an envelope in her pocket. She didn't know what to do. She was still two weeks away from her next paycheck. She didn't want him sitting in jail that long.
She couldn't ask for anymore money from the group. Her coworkers were in the same financial boat as she was. She wiped away tears.
"Are you alright?" She jumped as she saw an elderly man next to her, holding out his money.
"It's a long story." She took his money.
"Is there such thing as a short one?" He put the car in park
"My boyfriend is in jail for protecting me against a vile man and I can't afford to get him out."
"How much is bail?"
"I'm a hundred short. I'm an icicle. I can't ask anyone. I have no one to ask. I can't afford it from this paycheck. I'm already digging in my savings for rent next month."
"Here." The man held out a hundred dollar bill. "Take it."
"Sir, I can't do that." Marie began crying.
"I believe in paying it forward. Someone else's kindness helped save me once, so I believe in spreading it around. Now take it." He waved it at her and she took it.
"How can I ever repay you?"
A car behind started honking.
"By getting him out of jail and keeping him out of trouble. You have a good night, miss."
With that, he drove off.
"My little terran, it is one of my duties to improve relations."
"Yes, Ambassador Bal. I am aware."
"Therefore, you and I should improve relations."
"I must decline Ambassador Bal." Marla moved as far back as she could while holding him up.
"You know, our noses aren't the only thing that's ridged."
"That's nice, Bal. Let's get you in your room."
"It brings much pleasure."
"That's nice."
"Why won't you join me?"
"I have a mate, Ambassador." She lied.
"A mate?"
"Yes, I have a mate."
"Who? I shall challenge him!"
"No. You are not challenging anyone."
"You have no mate. You have no ring like the terrans do."
"Let me rephrase. I HAD a mate. He chose another at the last minute and chose to not inform me."
"How unfortunate. Come, I will be your mate, you poor thing!" Bal's eyes welled up. "Come to my bed, I shall take you as my mate."
"That is touching and noble of you Bal, but I must decline."
"Am I not worthy?"
"I am not worthy of such a magnificent man. Here, Ambassador Bal. Here is your door. Where is your key?"
"My pocket. Would you fish it out?"
"I feel you are capable, Ambassador."
"You're no fun. Come inside and I shall share my reserves of springwine. We shall discuss how I am to bring about the subject of joining the Federation, my darling terran."
"I shall respectfully decline."
"Oh, I shall have to be more convincing." Bal cleared his throat. "Come in, I will relieve all tension in your body in a way only a skilled Bajoran male can." He grabbed her and pulled her close and began whispering exactly what he would do to her.
Marla pick pocketed his uniform for his key.
"Really? You would do that?' She breathed.
"Yes. All of it. Just come inside."
"Sorry, Ambassador, I will have to decline. Goodnight." She slid the card through the reader and pushed the Ambassador back through the door and tossed the key in. The door closed and latched in front of his confused face.
Marla sighed and rolled her eyes and headed to her room. That had gone better than expected.
She felt like she needed another shower. She felt filthy. She needed to strip off her clothes and scrub herself clean.
She found John leaning against her door, piercing blue eyes studying her.
She slid the card through and he moved as the door opened. He followed her in.
Marla groaned and began unwinding the scarf from her neck.
"I am in desperate need of another shower. I am tired of men hitting on me, spilling beer on me, touching me, and trying to sleep with me tonight. I feel disgusting."
Khan shifted, feeling slightly guilty.
"Would you prefer if I left you alone right now?"
Marla sat and the bed and removed her boots and socks. She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. She pointed at him without looking and then gestured to the spot next to her.
He sat without hesitation.
"May I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I am not feeling the safest right now on this space station." She snorted in disbelief.
At the strip club, there were bouncers to keep the drunks off. In the army, she had a Beretta. Here, the drunks were armed with phasers and liquid courage and she was unarmed and could only take one out at a time.
"Then allow me to ask this; would you prefer if I stay the night then?"
"John, you do not have to do that."
"I am not going to try anything and I do not wish for you to feel unsafe."
Marla took a deep breath, weighing everything.
"You can stay, but you cannot stay the night."
"As you wish then."
"I'm going to go get a shower."
"You're serious about that?"
"Completely. I feel filthy. Nothing scrubbing myself raw won't fix."
Khan rolled his eyes.
"I will be in my quarters then. I need to sort out some laundry I did earlier. I'll be back."
"Here. Take this again." Marla handed him the keycard.
"You should be done before I return." He started to get up to leave.
"John?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you." She gave a weak smile. "I really am embarrassed to even admit that."
He took her hand and kissed her palm.
"I think no less of you."
Marla snorted.
"It is alright to admit you need support upon occasion. It is perfectly fine to admit you're scared."
"It is not always easy."
"I suppose not."
"I'm not so much scared as feeling…defenseless. I've always been able to defend myself.. Here, I feel like I can't. I can't act against Sok or any of the Bajorans physically in fear of causing an incident. A Starfleet official, I could get fired."
"I understand."
"Do you now?"
"Oh yes." He responded darkly. "Alright, I'll be back." He rose and hesitated by the door. "Would it be rude of me to ask if you could take that back with you for me? I'm afraid it would be stolen or broken back where I'm heading." Khan gestured towards the bottle of springwine.
"Sure. I'll put it in my bag."
"Thank you." He opened the door and left.
Kitya strummed the lute. As she played an instrumental piece, she kept an eye on Sok. It was not the first time he had tried something similar with women. As for the Ambassador, well, she knew his preferences. She knew he had very single intention on bringing the terran back to Bajor with them. She had warned Marlena. Already, the Bajoran woman considered the terran woman an ally.
She had seen many women come and go through the Ambassador's chamber and household. None stayed long. Long enough for the Ambassador to grow bored of them and switch it up at least. She considered herself lucky to be off Bal's sexual radar. She knew there were women back home lining up for a chance with Bal, to see the galaxy, to fuck on different planets. The truth was, he wouldn't do any of that. The were usually stuck on Bajor in the house. As his personal assistant, she had to deal with the calls and the transmissions from dissatisfied women. It was growing rather tiresome.
Currently, Bal had no disgruntled woman in his home. It was logical he was determined to drag Marlena back to fill the void. Kitya had strong suspicions it had something to do with the foul relationship between him and his mother.
That was the other major complaint she had. His mother constantly contacting his office to talk to him. It was ridiculous. Bal was a grown man and still could not handle his mother in a reasonable fashion, leaving her to deal with the crotchety old hag while Bal waltzed around, merrily sticking his penis into whatever he pleased.
Kitya strongly considered quitting for the fifth time that month.
It was like a comedy to an outsider. She realized that. The constantly active, flamboyant, and horny Ambassador with the exasperated personal assistant wildly attempting to keep up with him.
Kitya remembered how ecstatic she had been when she first took the job. The opportunities, the excitement, the pay. She learned so much from those first few months.
Sok passed out at the bar and she gave a small smile as she plucked the last note and received applause.
The minute she got off work the next morning, Marie raced to the jail. She threw the car door shut, Oscar trilling on the dashboard. The chilly wind cut through her beater, open flannel shirt and jeans, black hair whipping through the air.
She wrenched open the front door and ran to the desk and slammed the envelope down on the desk, sliding it towards the scoop.
The woman looked up over her glasses at the native woman through the glass.
"I told you." Marie panted. "I told you I would be here for him."
The woman gingerly picked up the envelope with her nails.
"It's all there. Now, release Tyrone."
"I have to count it first before we can do anything, Miss Firepond."
"Fireblood. And in the future, Jenkins." Marie growled. "Now give me the paperwork."
"Whatever." The woman snorted and passed over the paperwork. "Congrats to the lovely couple." She gave a look up and down and stood to dial the office phone.
"Randall, we have someone here for Tyrone Jenkins with his bail."
Marie's lip curled in victory.
Three hours later, Tyrone and Marie sat on their couch.
"Where did you get the money? Did you do what I say and get it out of the savings?"
"No. That's our life savings. The group gave us the money."
The phone rang. Tyrone picked it up.
"Hello? Yes…yes…Are you serious? Are you telling me, if she had waited a few hours…no. No. No, I'm grateful. Alright, thank you for telling me, you have a nice day."
"What?" Marie sat on her knees and grabbed his shoulders.
"Jimmy is dropping the charges. If you waited a few hours, that bail wouldn't have been necessary."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"How are we going to pay them back?"
"I don't know. A little bit at a time I suppose." Tyrone shook his head.
"I guess that is our only option."
"Baby, we are going to get through this, alright? I promise. I'll pick up another job."
"No, Tyrone, I will."
"Marie, my queen. My baby girl, we will figure this out. I promise."
"Okay."
Khan was happy he had taken advantage of the laundry facilities that morning as sat and folded his clothes. He had taken to rinsing out his duty shirts, socks and underwear in the sink. He placed the clean clothes in his bag and zipped it back up before hanging his uniform up. He could hear the engineers having a mini party next door as he started the trek back to the other side of the sector.
As he passed rooms, he heard a few distinct noises. Either talking, snoring, sex or nothing. As he arrived, he knocked before sliding the key card through. Marla was sitting up in bed, laptop open with papers spread on the blankets around her that she had crawled into. Her hair was damp and her towel was on a radiator. He noted her skin was indeed red.
"Lesson plans?"
"Yes. I have to finish them and send them out."
"You're not teaching this week?"
"Not for the next two weeks. It seems I'm more valued by the side of the Ambassador than in the classroom."
He chose to not respond and went to use her bathroom.
Marla attempted to focus on typing the last page. She needed to get it out tonight to her three classes. It was rather distracting to have the faucet running, toilet flushing and moving around in the bathroom.
He came back out in and picked up one of the papers off the bed.
"Those over there I'm done with, if you wish to look. You better put them back in the right order this time." She looked over the screen of the laptop at him. "Done. Finally." She breathed a sigh of relief as she saved and forwarded an email to all her classes.
Marla shut the laptop and placed it beside the bed. John sat beside her on the empty side of the bed while reading over the lectures, leaning back on the pillow that ran the length of the headboard.
"If you're going to sit there, at least take your dirty boots off."
He grunted in annoyance and reluctantly complied.
"You made a typo."
"That's nice."
"I'm fairly certain the Civil War was not fought in 8161."
"The world is ending." Marla sighed dramatically. "I made a typo. My students will all fail, flunk out of Starfleet and become like the homeless man pissing on my sidewalk the other night, unable to rise from the ashes of their humiliation."
John looked over at her, stared and rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the papers in his hand.
She leaned on his shoulder and read over the papers. Marla absently played with the loose end of the bandages on his hand.
"What was this accident?"
"A load of scrap metal was accidentally spilled on my desk and sliced open my hand." Khan lied.
"I take it you have stitches."
"Yes."
She gently laced her fingers in between his. He gave a small squeeze in response.
She started to doze off when he finished reading through. Marla sat up as he handed her the papers and she set them on the small table next to the bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling.
Marla jumped when a violent pounding came from the door.
"MARLENA!" She recognized the voice of one of the female Bajorans, Elyn. "COME OUT HERE."
Marla didn't move and held a finger up to let him know to not say a word.
"MARLENA!" The pounding continued. "SOK WANTS TO TALK!" Elyn burst into a fit of giggles. "HE WISHES TO BEG FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS AND HIS TESTICLES!" She collapsed completely into laughter and they heard her hit and slide down the door.
"Elyn! Get up! Come on!"
"MARLENA!" Someone else started pounding on the door. "COME OUT!"
"Oh come on, she's either passed out or not in." Someone spoke. "Let's go back to the bar."
"Fine." Elyn whined. They heard the group leave.
Marla exhaled. Khan slid down pulled her into his arms. He could feel her heart pounding still.
"Calm down." He breathed into her ear. "They're gone."
Marla looked up into his blue eyes. She didn't want to tell him her heart was pounding because of the unexpected contact. She wanted to kiss him. It would be easy. Just move a little and lean forward. She also knew exactly what it might lead to and she hesitated.
Instead, Marla caressed his cheekbones before moving her hand to play with his hair. She felt the man next to her relax as he closed his eyes and let out a soft exhale of contentment. She gave a small half smile and continued, occasionally grazing her fingers across his forehead, jaw or ear. She swore, if he were a cat, he would be likely be purring up a storm.
Oddly enough, the man in front of her did often remind her strongly of a cat at times, especially when he was bored at work and decided to be an asshole by sitting on her desk while she was trying to work. Her Aunt Gina had a huge, brown and black Himalayan cat like that. If it wanted attention, it would plop down on whatever you were paying attention to, or get in your face and mew loudly until you gave in.
As she sat and contemplated the various comparisons between John and Schmoogleberry-Finn, she realized he had fallen asleep next to her. So much for him not staying the night. She didn't have the heart to wake him up and kick him out. In addition, she was exhausted.
"Computer, lights off." She mumbled and the lights cut out as she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest, the gentle rise and fall lulling her to sleep.
Khan sat on a porch stoop of an old Victorian house. He didn't know where it had come from. All he knew it was a lovely view. He felt something nestle beside him. He glanced down to see Marla leaning on his shoulder. He smiled and looked out again. He saw Joaquin and Ling approaching from whatever road it was. A boy of six ran up.
"Uncle! Uncle Khan!" The tan boy yelled as he ran towards him. It was undoubtedly Joaquin's. The boy looked exactly like he had remembered Joaquin looked at that age. The boy wiggled his way in between him and Marla. "Hi, Aunt Marla." The boy hoisted himself on her lap, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"There's my darling nephew. How was school today, Adir?" Marla hugged the boy, she was wearing a white t shirt and shorts.
"Good. We learned about space today and how it smells like steak and metal! We got to see one of the starships too!"
Khan stood to greet Joaquin with an embrace while the six year old babbled on and on about what he learned at school.
"Best of his class." Joaquin beamed.
"I am sure of it."
"Adir! Go find your cousin!" Ling shooed him away.
"He's in his room." Marla set Adir down. "Teenagers." She rolled her eyes. "He has a crush on a girl."
"Ew!" Adir scrunched up his nose as he ran inside and up the stairs. "DAVID LIKES A GIRLLLL!"
Khan could see the teenager sitting on his bed, absorbed in a Parrises Squares match on his homework pad. He had Marla's face with his black hair and blue eyes. The kid had long hair in a undercut hair style, the rest of his hair was pulled back in a hair band, exposing the shaved sides and back. Khan remembered the cut being popular with teen boys in the 90s. Stupidest hairstyle he had ever seen.
"Get off Adir!"
"You like a girl! That's gross!" Adir tackled him.
David wrestled gently with his cousin.
"You're gross Adir! You still picking your nose?"
Adir giggled as David tickled him.
"Adir picks his noseeee!" David imitated the boy in a high pitched voice.
"Can I play with your guitar?"
"No. go find your mom. I got work to do."
"BUT DAVIDDD-"
"No. Go."
Khan waited for the nightmare. It never came. He waited for the sudden carnage. Nothing. Just sitting and watching this teenage boy on his bed, strumming a guitar.
Khan was jolted awake by the alarm clock buzzing. He opened his eyes to find Marla laying in his arms, still asleep. That was right. He had fallen asleep on her bed.
"Computer, off." She grumbled and snuggled down further into his chest. He gave her a tight squeeze and she twitched. "Oh, you're awake?"
"Yes." He yawned. "What time is it?"
"The alarm was set for eight."
"What is your schedule today?"
"Guided tour of the station at eleven. On the shuttle home by three."
"Join me for breakfast?"
"Sure. Might want to change your clothes though."
Khan looked down at his wrinkled clothes.
"I will go do that now, then." He muttered. He continued to lay next to her for a few more minutes. She gently prodded him with her foot. He grunted.
"C'mon. We both slept in technically. Time to get up." Marla sighed. "You weren't even supposed to sleep here last night, remember?"
He grunted again.
Marla rolled her eyes and moved to get up. He dragged her back in bed and gripped her tightly.
"If you get out, the bed will be cold."
"John! Stop, I have to pee!" She giggled as she removed his hands. He froze, panic ready to set in as she rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. The light flicked on and the door shut.
It was only a dream. It was only a dream. He kept telling himself that as he heard the toilet flush and sink turn on and off several times.
"There. The bed didn't get that cold, did it?" She teased. "Come on, I need to make the bed."
Khan groaned and sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched.
"Can't you lot stay longer?"
"No. The first lecture is tomorrow."
"First lecture?"
"Yes, the lecture hall filled up with seats so fast, they decided to do another."
"Wow."
"We've recently come into contact with Bajor in the last few years. People are curious and interested."
"I would imagine so. Bajor is intriguing."
Marla smoothed out the top blanket and sat on the made bed.
"John, I'm kicking you out. I need to get dressed as do you."
"I'll meet you back here then."
"Fine."
Marla got up and began digging in her bag for basic duty clothes that had been given to her, throwing a red shirt, black undershirt and black pants on the bed.
He stood and observed, wondering how long he could get away with staying.
"John, out."
That answered that.
He left and walked back to his quarters.
Marla rolled her eyes. Men.
She got dressed and sat on the edge of the bed. Marla took a deep breath. Maybe this was moving too fast. Okay, this was moving pretty fast. A month ago, they hated each other, now they were sleeping in the same bed. It scared her. It really scared her. She just needed a few hours and then she would be off the station, back home where she could apply to a number of transfers.
Maybe it was best to let him know this was going way too fast for her liking. Tell him to back off. Then again, it would be two weeks before she saw him again. If she just ignored his calls, that might work for a little bit.
At the same time she did not want him to back off. She wanted him in that bed, she did not wake him up for a reason and she had to accept that.
She shouldn't be rushing into this. She knew exactly what he was capable of when angry.
She was completely confused. She pulled out her phone and went through her contacts and dialed Andrew.
"Hello?"
"Hey bro."
"Marla! How do you like space?"
"It is amazing. My situation, not so much."
"What's going on?"
"Please don't overreact."
Marla explained the situation and her feelings while Andrew remained silent.
"And yeah." She finished.
Andrew remained quiet.
"Well…that is a situation you're in sis."
"Would you provide insight?"
Andrew sighed and groaned.
"Marls…"
"Please Andrew?"
"Alright, I'm going to be honest with you, right now."
"Okay."
"I talked to John a few days ago."
"Um…okay?"
"After you freaked out in the office. Marla, he likes you. He is interested and I told him to back off or you were going to run and he apparently is ignoring me."
"What?"
"I'm sorry I went behind your back like that, Marla, but you do have a tendency to run when confronted with situations like this, don't you dare deny it. When you met Ryan, you ran off to college in Connecticut, You met Jake, you transferred back to UCLA, you met Lee, you became a stripper ad then ran off to the military. You met Fred, you broke it off immediately before it even got anywhere near serious. You've met John and now you're trying to run off to New York or even another fucking planet on the other fucking side of goddamn galaxy! You have a pattern Marla and a problem here."
Marla sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Whether or not you decide to pursue this is up to you, but if you want him to back off, you better tell him to back off because I tried, Marla. He has his sights on you and you need to either handle it and send him off or go with it. But you need to do this like, now. I am not letting you run from this one."
Marla made an annoyed noise.
"Don't you make that noise at me."
"Fine, you're right."
"Yeah, I am. Now fix it instead of running off. I have to go, but I love you."
"Love you too." Marla hung up.
Khan stood in the hot water, hand working his shaft.
The only thought in his head was what if they hadn't had all those interruptions the previous night. He could wager they'd still be in her bed, having their way with each other. He allowed his mind to fantasize, something he had been denying it. He closed his eyes. He could practically see Marla laying on the bed, inviting, warm, He didn't know if he could bring himself to be nearly as rough with her as he was with his past lovers. Her getting rough with him, now that thought wildly turned him on.
He finished at the thought of Marla riding him into the mattress and allowed the water to wash him off, feeling slightly ashamed. As if he had just violated some boundary.
He got dressed, combed his hair and headed back out. Khan did not want her to leave. He wanted her to stay, provide company. Keep him from going insane with these idiots he was stuck with for two more weeks.
Khan reached her door and knocked. The door opened and Marla walked out. He noted the black jacket with the triangular windows showing her red shirt underneath. She crossed her arms and gave a weak smile. Her hair was back up in the unfamiliar style and her makeup was done again in the way he was not accustomed to.
"That look does not suit you." He grunted. "I don't like it. It doesn't look like you."
"Tough shit."
"Tabitha got to you, didn't she?"
"Andrew brought her in. It's not permanent. As soon as Bal is gone, it's back to normal. It's a pain in the ass."
"Are you going to New York?"
"Huh?" She stopped walking and turned to look at him.
"I heard you put your resume in for the transfer. I repeat, are you taking it?"
"I…don't know yet." Marla was taken aback slightly. "They have not gotten back to me."
"When will they?"
"Does it matter?"
"Marlena!" They both turned to see Kitya next to the elevator. "I was just on my way. You're having breakfast with us."
"Oh. I see. Alright then." Marla nodded. "Sorry." She gave an apologetic look to the man next to her before moving towards Kitya.
Khan scowled and watched the two disappear in the elevator. He approached and waited for the next one.
The majority of the Bajorans were cradling their heads and picking at their food. Bal had already pulled her off to the side of the hall to apologize to her innumerable times about the previous night. Sok wouldn't even come near her.
Marla noted the few were not hung over were eating and chatting in the Bajoran language amongst themselves and appeared to be teasing the morning after crowd. It appeared the majority of the group was not going to be up for a tour of the Space Station.
The theory proved right. The handful of them joined the tour around the massive station. She noted there were many small businesses being run on the promenade beyond the bar. Their tour stopped at a few other levels of the station John had not taken her to, including out to one of the ship docks.
"Would any of you object to a look around the USS Enterprise?" Their tour guide stopped them in front of a ramp.
"I would." The group turned to see a disgruntled looking blond man.
"Captain James Tiberius Kirk and I object to a tour on my ship while we are loading for a mission."
"My apologies, Captain. I did not know the Enterprise was heading out. I thought she was still in for repairs."
"You thought wrong." Kirk glared at the man who quickly moved along, the Bajorans following.
"Captain James Tiberius Kirk." Marla approached him, smirk in place, arms crossed.
Kirk's expression lightened up considerably.
"At your service, my lady." He gave a bow.
"So you're the one who's been giving my darling brother so much hassle."
"Your…brother?" Kirk looked thrown off.
"Yes, Commander Andrew McGivers."
"Ah. I am grateful for his help on getting my ship repaired. He hever mentioned he had a lovely sister. I didn't catch your name?"
"Marlena."
"Well, Marlena, I just told your group no, but you know, I'll make an exception. Mostly out of gratitude for your brother's work here. Purely professional. Would you like a private tour of the bridge?" He gave a bright smile.
Marla looked into his bright blue eyes. Unlike John's, they were warm, inviting, friendly. The one word she would use to describe him was charming. She was tempted to take him on his offer, purely to observe the 'pain in the ass' her brother described.
"Jim!" Marla turned to see an agitated looking man charging towards them, medical equipment in hand.
"Bones! I meant to come see you-"
"Hold still." He began running the small devices over the captain.
"Can't we do this later, Bones?" Kirk made a pointed look at Marla.
"Ah, hello. Doctor Leonard McCoy. And if you had come when you were scheduled, we wouldn't have to do this now."
"I see you're a bit busy for a tour right now, Captain. Thank you for your offer." Marla grinned in amusement before walking off in the direction the tour headed.
She heard a frustrated sigh com from the pair behind her before bickering broke out. She chuckled to herself as she found the group outside the dock for the Bradbury.
"There you are." Kitya hissed. "Where were you?"
"Making friends." Marla replied innocently.
She could easily see how Kirk got his reputation. Unlike Lakewood, he didn't come off as sleazy and had one hell of a charisma about him. Woman probably would kill for a date with him. She smirked to herself. But yet, he was a right pain in the ass.
As it turned out, the tour guide could not get them on any of the ships docked. She was a little disappointed, but she would see them as she left the station.
Once the tour was over, she decided to go pack her belongings up and go see the little shops. Perhaps bring something back for Andrea and Amanda.
Marla found herself in a little gift type shop. The Andorian shop keeper kept informing her of objects and prices, slightly to her annoyance.
Her eyes found a necklace with a tiny glass bulb with a small pebble inside.
"Ah, that is one of our popular items. Meteorite. Anything in particular you are looking for perhaps?"
Marla glanced at the time. The shuttle left in an hour. She really needed to go.
"Here, this is my favorite in the shop. Andorian marble." He gestured to a rack of necklaces carved into different shapes. Marla sighed and picked one for Andrea.
She quickly made a run to the bar, hoping she would find him there.
Marla spotted John, sitting with a beer at a table in the corner, people watching. His eyes drifted up to meet hers. She swore she could see his face light up. She smiled at the thought. John abandoned his beer and came to meet her.
"Hey. We're leaving." Marla shifted her bag. She could feel the springwine slosh slightly.
"It seems as if you just got here." He sighed.
"Yeah, it does. But thank you for yesterday, John."
"My pleasure."
"Also, if we could not mention last night to anyone..."
John cleared his throat.
"Of course."
Marla glanced around in slight embarrassment.
"Well, I will see you when you get back I suppose." She fiddled with the strap.
"I suppose so. May I continue to call?"
"I see no problem. Oh, before I forget." She reached into her bag and produced his scarf and handed it to him.
"Oh. Yes. Thank you."
"Alright, I have to go. Please keep calm. Please don't throw anyone out any airlocks. You have two weeks left with these people."
He chuckled and took her hand and brought it to his mouth.
"Safe travels. Please alert me when you have arrived home."
"I'll try and remember."
"JUST KISS HER ALREADY, MAN." The bartender yelled from across the room.
He went red and turned to glare at the man. Marla giggled before gently guiding his face back towards her and kissing him on the cheek before turning to leave.
She turned and gave him one last glance over her shoulder as she exited the bar and headed towards the docking zone.
Kitya looked up at her as she reached the airlock.
"Ready?"
Marla looked back at the empty hall.
"Yeah, I suppose."
"We are just waiting for the last two slackers, then we'll leave." Kitya gave a small smile.
"Kitya, would you like to go get some food with me tonight?"
Kitya looked slightly taken aback.
"Certainly. Might I ask why?"
"Because, I wish to be friends. I know some great places around. Plus, you need a mini escape."
Kitya smiled wider.
"Alright then."
"Good!"
They turned to see the last two running down the hall, bags swinging around wildly.
"Looks like we can go then." Kitya entered the code on the airlock and they all four entered.