Chapter Nine - Mother Knows The Truth

One Month Later

Admiral Picard's task force had returned to Earth for two weeks. Evidently the Romulans had decided to give their hit-and-run attacks a rest for awhile, thus allowing one task force an opportunity to head home for Sector 001. Despite protests from Admiral Picard, his command staff, and every captain in his task force, Fleet Admiral Nechayev ordered them home to the Alpha Quadrant for a rest.

As soon as Zuikaku was secure in her assigned berth in Spacedock, Jett released his crew and headed for his own quarters. From there he requested a site-to-site transport to Kalinara's quarters. As he felt the cool wash of the transporter envelop him, his nervousness mounted about asking Kalinara to spend her shore leave touring Japan with him.

When he materialized in her quarters, however, all thoughts of Japan vanished when he found her sitting motionless in front of her comm terminal, staring at nothing. He went over to her and laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Kali? What's wrong?"

Her voice was emotionless.

"My grandmother has died."

Jett knelt beside her chair.

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head.

"Captain, there is nothing to be sorry about. She was elderly, and not in the best of health. It was inevitable."

Even as she spoke those words, her voice was shaky and her eyes betrayed the pain she was feeling. Jett reached up and stroked her cheek.

"Kali, Sweetheart...it's ok."

Those words seemed to break the dam holding back her emotions. She collapsed against him and cried, great heaving sobs that tore at his heart. He said nothing, simply held her and rubbed her back in circles. Her sobs came unabated for over ten minutes, and even when they slowed, then stopped, she clung to him like he was a life preserver in a storm-tossed sea. Finally, she loosened her hold on him, and looked up at him, embarrassed, her face red and her chocolate eyes glistening with tears. He smiled down at her.

"You're beautiful, did you know that?"

The tears spilled over, and she smiled a watery smile.

"How is it you always seem to know what I need to hear from you?"

'Because I'm in love with you!', he wanted to shout, but didn't know if she was ready to hear that from him yet. Instead he simply shrugged and returned her smile.

"Just lucky, I guess. Come here."

He stood up, pulling her with him, and walked over to her sofa. Sitting down, he wrapped her in his arms and she snuggled against him. Before he could speak, she murmured into his chest.

"Come to the funeral with me."

He didn't even hesitate.

"Of course I will. I've already packed, so we can leave as soon as you're ready."

The next words from her surprised him, and she spoke them so softly he barely heard them.

"Don't ever let me go."

He kissed the top of her head.

"I don't plan to, Angel...not in a million years."

Kalinara's childhood home was nestled on the outskirts of Long Beach. As they materialized in front of the Price residence, Jett could see the red and black smokestacks of the 20th-century passenger liner Queen Mary dominating the distant skyline. He'd visited the great vessel many times over, but seeing the famous vessel with his own eyes never failed to invoke his sense of pride and affection for maritime history.

He broke away from his reverie and followed Kalinara inside the main gate, carrying both their bags. They'd both chosen to wear civilian clothes, and had brought dress uniforms for the funeral. As they stepped inside the house, a large Rottweiler bounded in their direction, tail wagging furiously. Kalinara smiled widely as the dog approached and knelt down in greeting.

"Hello, Surak! How's my baby?"

Surak was apparently doing fine, as he bathed Kalinara's laughing face with his tongue, while she scratched his ears and ruffled his fur. Kalinara continued talking baby talk to the humongous animal.

"Did you miss Mommy? Yes, you did, didn't you? Well, Mommy missed you too! Yes, she did!"

Jett decided to speak up before Kalinara stopped petting the dog and it realized he was here and attempted to go for his throat.

"Is this a guard dog?"

She smiled up at him, still petting Surak.

"Hardly. He's so spoiled. Just let him sniff your hand."

Nervously, Jett knelt and extended his hand towards the dog's snout. The huge animal sniffed it, then licked it. The next thing Jett knew, Surak was trying to lick his face and welcoming him in the same manner as he'd given to Kalinara. Jett found himself propped against the door with an incredibly exuberant dog almost on top of him. Kalinara grabbed the animal's collar and pulled Surak away, laughing.

"You're fine, Captain. That means he likes you. To him, you're one of the family now."

Jett grinned up at her.

"Well, that's the important thing: the approval of the family dog."

She laughed as he got up and pulled her into his arms. Before he could say another word she reached up and pulled his lips down to hers. Not breaking the kiss, they managed to make it to the nearby sofa and sit down before their passion escalated. She leaned back, pulling him on top of her, their tongues dueling, as his hands snaked under her top. She moaned as he ran his hands up her ribcage; they felt like branding irons against her skin. He trailed kisses down her neck, and she arched her hips toward his as he nibbled on her earlobe.

Things would have been taken even farther if Surak hadn't decided they weren't paying enough attention to him, and tried to leap onto the sofa with them. The huge dog's attempt at getting attention was enough to break the mood, but neither of them minded.

Jett sat on the sofa, Kalinara curled into the crook of his left arm. They were both petting Surak, as the dog was sprawled out across both their laps and seemed to have no intention of moving anytime soon. Jett turned to the beautiful woman sitting next to him.

"I don't suppose he's going to move anytime soon? My legs are almost numb."

Kalinara giggled.

"I don't think so...he looks pretty comfortable."

No sooner had she finished saying that, then they heard the back door open and three sets of female voices enter the house. Surak heard them and immediately jumped off their laps and bounded into the kitchen. As he jumped down, one of his hind feet narrowly missed a sensitive part of Jett's anatomy. The couple rose to their feet and straightened their clothes before heading into the kitchen.

Jett let Kalinara precede him into the kitchen. They found a distinguished older woman talking with two teenage girls as they put down their school PADDs and excitedly told her about their day while at the same time trying to pet Surak. Kalinara spoke up, alerting them to their presence.

"Mother."

The three women turned at the sound of her voice, and both teenagers ran towards her excitedly.

"Kalinara! You're home!"

Kalinara hugged both her sisters before embracing her mother. Once Amanda Price had released her eldest daughter, she noticed Jett standing off to the side, letting them have their reunion.

"Kalinara, who's your friend?"

"Mother, Adriana, Marissa, this is my boyfriend Jett."

Jett's heart soared when she introduced him as 'my boyfriend'. Personally, he'd thought of her as his girlfriend for over two months, but hadn't voiced that opinion yet, as he had no idea how fast she'd wanted to move things. But now, after hearing her refer to him in that manner, he was getting a better idea. He was brought back to the present by Kalinara.

"Mother, where's Father?"

"He's at the Academy for an exercise. He'll be back tomorrow."

Kalinara's next question was more subdued.

"When is the funeral, Mother?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 1500."

'Oh good,' Jett thought. 'Her father will find out his eldest daughter's dating her Commanding Officer the same day he has to bury his mother...my good luck continues.' He smiled and shook the women's hands. Amanda Price seemed pleased that her daughter had met someone she felt so deeply for, while Kalinara's younger sisters swooned over the handsome young man with the southern accent.

The rest of the evening was spent with Kalinara's mother and sisters. Eventually, Amanda asked the question Jett was dreading.

"So how did you two meet?"

Jett was about to reply, but Kalinara spoke up first.

"We met at the Zuikaku's commissioning ceremony. Our eyes met across the room and when we were introduced, we both knew right away."

They smiled tenderly at each other as Adriana and Marissa commented on how romantic the couple's first meeting was. 'That's one way of putting it,' Jett thought to himself. 'She just left out a couple things, that's all.' However, when he tore his gaze away from Kalinara for a moment, he caught Amanda's gaze. She smiled warmly at him, but there was a humorous glint in her eyes that said, 'I don't think that's all there is to it.'.

Before she headed up to bed, Amanda opened up the sofa bed for Jett to sleep on, then headed upstairs, letting her daughter say goodnight in private. After several long, deep kisses, Kalinara headed upstairs as well, leaving Jett to lie down and stare at the ceiling, thoughts of how his career might very well end the next day running rampant through his mind.

Amanda Price rose early the next morning and headed downstairs to start breakfast. When the entire family was home, she always cooked instead of using the replicator. She knew Kalinara loved her homemade pancakes, and that's just what she planned to make. As she headed for the stairs, she noticed Kalinara's bedroom door was opened and the bed empty. When she reached the living room, she stopped and smiled.

Her eldest daughter lay on the sofa bed with her boyfriend, dead to the world, clinging to him like the jaws of life even in her sleep. Surak took up the foot of the bed, also deeply asleep. Jett lay awake, stroking Kalinara's hair and rubbing her back. When he noticed Amanda watching them, he smiled sheepishly. Amanda said nothing, just passed by him and went into the kitchen. He gently extricated himself from Kalinara's grip, slipped out of bed, pulled on some lounge pants and a t-shirt, and padded into the kitchen. He greeted Amanda, speaking softly so as not to awaken Kalinara.

"Mrs. Price, I apologize for you finding us like that. Believe me, I had every intention of staying down here alone the entire night, but she and the dog joined me about 0200. She'd had a nightmare, and to be honest we've kind of gotten used to falling asleep together. Please believe me when I say that sleeping is all that went on last night."

Amanda smiled.

"I believe you, and I could see she'd had a rough night. She seems really happy with you."

Jett smiled in return.

"I know I'm happiest when I'm with her. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Amanda shook her head.

"Not a thing. Just sit there and tell me about yourself."

He proceeded to tell her about himself and his family as best he could without revealing he was in Starfleet. He paused to take a sip of orange juice and was about to continue when Amanda stopped him.

"I need to ask you this before everyone else gets up. I noticed last night when I asked how you two met that you were somewhat nervous. Is there something you and Kalinara don't want me to know?"

'Uh-oh,' Jett thought. 'Here it comes.'

'Then again,' one of the voices said, 'maybe if you tell her, you'll have an ally when her father finds out.'

Jett smiled nervously.

"Well, since you were going to find out before we left for the funeral anyway, I don't see any harm in telling you a little earlier. I'm in Starfleet."

Amanda smiled.

"What's so bad about that?"

Jett sipped his orange juice, wishing right at that particular moment that it was laced with vodka.

"I'm a Captain. I'm also Kalinara's Commanding Officer."

"I still don't see the problem. Admiral Picard is married to the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer, the Enterprise's Captain Riker is married to his ship's Counselor, and Admiral Janeway appears quite happy with Voyager's Captain Chakotay. You wouldn't be the first Starfleet couple to carry on a romance aboard the same ship."

"Maybe so," Jett replied. "But that's not really what I'm worried about. I'm more concerned about what your husband will say about Kali and I. The moment he sees us both in uniform and me with four pips on my collar and I'm holding Kali's hand and being affectionate with her, I'm afraid he'll hit the roof and both our careers will be over."

"Nonsense," came the reply. "Bill may be old Starfleet, but his family comes before anything else. I think once he sees how happy you two are together, and especially how well you treat Kalinara, he'll overlook your positions."

When Jett still seemed doubtful, she added, "And if someone else tries to make trouble with your careers, he's a Fleet Admiral. That alone carries a lot of weight."

Jett smiled.

"I appreciate that, ma'am. I'm still nervous about his initial reaction."

Amanda smiled. Her daughter had certainly found someone special.

"Well still, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The rest of the family likes you, and Kalinara and her sisters have got their father wrapped around their little fingers. He'll back off once they give him that certain look."

Jett continued, not noticing Kalinara had awakened and was standing behind him.

"I hope so, ma'am. But if it came down to choosing between her and Starfleet, she'd win out, no question. These past few months have proven two things clear as day: One, that your daughter is as fine an officer as I could ever hope to serve with, and Two, I'm so in love with her it's not funny."

At that moment, Surak chose to make his presence known, and as Jett reached down to pet him, he noticed Kalinara standing there. Before he could say anything, she spoke, her voice emotionless.

"Captain, may I see you in the living room for a moment?"

Jett nodded, realizing that she'd heard every word he'd said. He now feared that he'd said too much too fast, and blown his chances altogether. Once they were alone, he spoke nervously.

"Kali, I - "

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by her lips in a passionate kiss. He moaned as she entwined her arms about his neck and pressed her body into his, her tongue seeking entrance to his mouth. They parted only when the need for air became too great to ignore.

He smiled at her.

"Good morning to you, too."

She graced him with her dazzling smile, and he could see tears in the corners of her eyes.

"You'd give up Starfleet to be with me?"

He decided to hold nothing back.

"In a heartbeat."

"Why?"

"I'm madly in love with you."

The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. He reached out to thumb them away and she caught his hands and grasped them in hers.

"You're in love with me?"

He nodded.

"Yes, Sweetheart, I am. Hopelessly and deeply. I hope that's all right."

Her smile grew wider.

"Only if I can love you back just as much."

Jett laughed. He couldn't believe it...she was the most incredible woman in the galaxy and she was in love with him.

"Permission granted, Commander."

She prevented him from saying anything else with another earth-shattering kiss.