The Cerritos arrived in the Sol system right on schedule, allowing shore leave to begin on time for the first time Mariner could remember. The process of leaving the ship was always a slow one, requiring an hour long wait in a line, one way or another. Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, and Tendi stood together in the slow-moving line to the transporter.

Mariner was so glad to be out of her uniform, having changed clothes before packing her travel bag. Boimler had also changed, explaining that his mom couldn't stand seeing him in uniform. "Dang Boims, that's kind of shitty," Tendi said sympathetically.

Tendi was staying in visiting officers' quarters at Starfleet HQ, so she figured she should wear her uniform to check in initially.

"I've never stayed in the officer's quarters, but I hear that room service is amazing," Mariner said to Tendi as they inched forward in line.

"I'm sure I'll get to try it. I have a lot of studying to do," Tendi said cheerfully.

"Gross, dude. Shore leave means that you need to leave the ship behind!" Mariner groaned.

"I'm with Mariner. You need to have a good time and relax!" Rutherford chimed in.

"See? I'm taking you to the beach tomorrow morning," Mariner decided, putting her arm around Tendi, "so replicate a swimsuit!"

To save time, all crew transported down to Starfleet HQ in San Francisco and then dispersed off to their destinations. Rutherford chivalrously decided to walk Tendi to the Visiting Officers Quarters, so they set off to explore the area without so much as a goodbye to Mariner and Boimler.

"Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Mariner shouted at their backs, rolling her eyes.

Boimler shrugged and took her hand, bringing her mind back to less annoying topics. She looked over at him curiously. "Come on, let's go take a walk on the pier," he suggested, pulling her along.

It was Spring on the northern hemisphere and California was previewing Summer with a warm and sunny day. As they stepped onto the pier, the ocean breeze hit them, and they both sighed happily, looking at each other with a smile. No breathing recycled air for a whole week. Mariner slowly walked up to the railing, taking in the view.

"It's so… open," Mariner said softly, knowing that only someone who spent all of their time cramped up in a Cali class ship would understand what she meant.

She felt Boimler's hands on her arms and looked back over her shoulder at him, turning to face him. His eyes sparkled in the bright sunshine, and she couldn't help but smile at his tousled hair. He smiled back at her, reaching up to brush back her fly-away hair from her face.

"Brad…" she began, not even sure what she was going to say, her stomach doing cartwheels as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Can we just run away together?" he chuckled, his hand on her cheek.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she said breathlessly with a smile.

He pulled her closer, her whole body pressed against his, sharing his warmth with her in the cool ocean breeze. "All I can think about is spending every second with you," he said.

"Where's Boims today?" Tendi asked as she and Mariner laid side by side on the beach on their first full day of shore leave.

"He's at home. His mom wanted him to stay home for his entire shore leave, but he's going to meet me here tonight for dinner," Mariner replied, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering a bit at hearing his name.

"Did you talk to him about everything? Are you guys dating now?" Tendi asked hopefully.

"Yes, because why would I lie about that?" she asked pointedly, finally having the opportunity to call out Tendi for she and Rutherford's deception.

Tendi cringed. "I'm sorry. It was my idea. I just really wanted to know what was going on between you guys."

Mariner sighed and her face softened to a smile, "You could have just asked. However, I suppose I should say thank you. Your lies were sort of a catalyst."

"Really?!" Tendi exclaimed, sitting up in excitement.

"Yeah, really," Mariner smiled, hoping that Tendi wouldn't notice her blushing.

"So, he's like your for real boyfriend?" Tendi prodded.

"Yep, labels and everything," Mariner replied.

"I'm so excited!" Tendi screeched, "You seem… very happy."

"I really am," Mariner smiled, a little embarrassed to admit it, "Thank you for convincing me to talk it out with him."

After a pause, Mariner said, "So, there's really nothing going on between you and Rutherford?"

"Not really," Tendi said, and Mariner could feel the sadness in her voice.

"Do you want that to change?" Mariner asked gently.

"There have been so many moments that have gotten my hopes up. And then moments that are absolutely crushing," Tendi sighed, "So yeah, a change would be nice."

Mariner waved happily at Boimler when he reached the San Francisco transporter station. He smiled at her; a specific smile that she noticed was reserved just for her.

"Hi," she said softly as he pulled her close for a hug.

"That was a long 24 hours. I missed you," he whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine.

"You better have," she replied with a smirk, "I saw how those girls threw themselves all over you at the vineyard."

"Ha, funny you should mention the vineyard…" he grimaced, anticipating her reaction, "my family wants to invite you over for dinner tomorrow."

"Ohhhh boy," she said, caught completely off guard. She paused for a minute to gather her thoughts, and he got worried.

"I know it's too soon, we just started dating a few days ago," he backpedaled, cringing, "So if you don't-"

"Shhh, stop," she said, pulling him closer so that she could kiss him on the cheek, "You really are adorable when you're worried… anyway, I'll come. It will be fine."

"Uh, really?" he asked, taken aback.

"I will be my most charming and well-behaved self," she promised with a smile, "but you're introducing me as your girlfriend to all those girls at the vineyard. I'm going to make them afraid of me."

He laughed and hugged her tightly against him. "You look beautiful, by the way," he whispered, giving her chills again. He had seen her out of uniform clothes before, but it didn't happen very often and he was always happy to see it. She had even styled her hair down instead of in her signature ponytail.

They walked slowly, hand in hand, enjoying the peaceful evening in the park near the transporter station. They were headed to a noisy bar in the historic district that served the best sushi in the Bay area, so it was nice to have a quiet moment together.

"So, what did you tell them about me?" Mariner asked with a smirk.

"I just casually said that I was going to dinner with my girlfriend, and everyone freaked out. It was ridiculous," he rolled his eyes.

"So, you told them that I'm beautiful and smart and what else?" she teased.

"Obviously. I also told them that we met on the Cerritos and that you are basically Starfleet royalty," he teased her back.

"Oh, please tell me you didn't," she groaned, and he laughed.

"I didn't. I just said that your family was all Starfleet, so of course my mom rolled her eyes at me," he replied.

"Well, I'm going to charm her. She's going to love me when it's all over," Mariner promised him confidently.

"How was the beach this morning?" Boimler changed the subject.

"I told Tendi about us," she continued, "she was super excited of course."

"Good. I didn't want things to be weird with the four of us," he replied.

"Once they figure their shit out, we can double date," Mariner laughed.

"I think Rutherford is the problem," Boimler replied, opening the door for Mariner as they reached the bar.

They were hit with a wall of sound from the crowd of people inside, and neon lights bathed them in pink and purple as they wove their way through the packed tables to a tiny booth in the back.

"Any allergies?" the waitress said, setting down a drink menu. The sushi was all "chef's choice." They shook their heads and ordered drinks.

"So why do you think Rutherford is the problem?" she asked, leaning in so that he could hear her.

"He's in complete denial. I don't know that he realizes that he has feelings for her, but if he doesn't make the first move, I don't think she will," he replied, reaching across the table to hold her hand. She could feel his leg brush against hers.

"Tendi has told me plenty of stories that lead me to believe that he's just one step away from figuring it out," she disagreed, "Besides, we owe them some sort of payback for lying to us. Maybe we can use that to help them figure it out."

They schemed as they ate plate after plate of amazing sushi and drank a whole bottle of sake, finally coming up with a solid plan as the bar was closing.

"Come back to my apartment with me," she said to him as they walked back through the park toward the transporter station, "My parents are in Venice this week."

"Are you sure?" he asked, a minor look of panic on his face.

"Don't worry, Boims," she teased, linking her arm through his, "I won't take advantage of you… at least not tonight."

"I mean it's not that I don't want to—" he stammered, and she stopped him.

"Three years of being best friends doesn't transition like that overnight," she said, "I mean I do still like just hanging out with you and making fun of people."

"Shew, okay good," he said, relief, with just a touch of disappointment, evident on his face.

"Besides, I didn't wear any fancy underwear today," she added, smiling as she waited for his reaction.

"Uhm…" he side-eyed her.

"Where did Bold Boimler go?!" she teased, "Did you leave him on the ship?"

He laughed with her and played along, "I can't over-use him. He has to recharge."

"It's okay, I can be gentle," Mariner said, again waiting to see his reaction before laughing.

"Mariner!" he gasped, and she laughed maniacally.

"You're so easy to mess with," she smiled, nudging him with her elbow.

They turned on the Federation News Network as they settled in, a Startfleet update starting just as Mariner sat down on the couch next to Boimler.

"It's weird to be in the captain's apartment," Boimler observed, looking around and seeing the family pictures on the wall, including baby pictures of Mariner.

"I'm glad they went on vacation. I'd go crazy if I had to stay here with both of them for a week of shore leave," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder as she had done many times in the past. It was like old times, but a little bit better.

"I wonder whatever happened to Admiral Buenamigo," Boilmer said as some boring fleet updates displayed on the screen.

"He died in the Aledo attack, don't you remember? You know he was my uncle, right?" Mariner sat up to see his reaction.

"Your actual uncle?!" Boimler asked, incredulous.

"Well, adopted," she clarified with a wave of her hand.

"That makes what he did even shittier," Boimler frowned, "To set the captain up for failure even though you're like family."

"I'm honestly more concerned about what he did to Rutherford," Mariner said softly, thinking about Rutherford's memory loss and constant glitches with his implant, "My mom is a bad ass. She can handle anything."

"Speaking of Rutherford… how are we going to implement our plan?" Boimler returned to the subject of Tendi and Rutherford's relationship.

"Starting rumors is always effective for me," Mariner suggested with a smile, "I think you still kind of believe that I'm a Starfleet operative."

He laughed and nodded, "Rutherford and I were freaked out for days."

"Okay, when we get back to the ship, maybe I could start a rumor that Tendi has a crush on Ensign Foster. Then you could start a rumor that Ensign Foster has a crush on her," Mariner schemed.

"What if this backfires and they actually DO like each other?" Boimler said with a grimace.

"No way. Tendi hates him. But if we need to, we can hit the holodeck and make Tendi and Ruthie do Crisis Point 3 with us. It will take a little tweaking, but Vesper and Doodle can rescue Dagger and Toussant. Epic double make out scene," she explained, "that's going to embarrass the hell out of Ruthie, but oh well."

"Ehhh, what if I don't want to share that scene?" Boimler smirked, leaning closer to her.

"We can replay that scene any time you like," Mariner purred at him with a wink, "Crisis Point 4, The Honeymoon."

He laughed, a mixture of total embarrassment and anticipation which came out as a high-pitched giggle. Mariner couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"I'm not sure the universe is ready for this dastardly duo," he said with a grin, relieved that she was still his partner in crime.

"We were always in each other's heads, but now…" she whispered as she leaned closer to him.

"…we're in each other's beds?" he laughed, closing the distance between them to kiss her.

Midnight passed and both were yawning. "Do you want to spend the night?" she whispered, "I promise I will behave. Tendi said we practically sleep in the same bunk anyway."

"She said that?!" he asked, beginning to realize how many people truly thought he and Mariner were already dating.

Mariner pulled him up from the couch and down the hallway into her bedroom. The irony of the moment wasn't lost on Boimler; they had been mad at each other over a stupid prank two weeks ago and now he was following her to her bedroom.

"I call this the 'Shrine to the daughter she wanted but never had,'" Mariner said with an eye roll as she led him into her bedroom, "I obviously didn't grow up here and I don't consider this my home, so basically, this is a hotel room to me."

"That's kind of… sad," Boimler said, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, well… we all have mommy issues," she said dismissively.

"Which you'll get to observe tomorrow," he sighed.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this. What makes Bradward Boimler the person he is?" she smiled, looking up at him, "You never talk about your family, and you know everything about mine."

"There isn't much to tell. All of my siblings took the path my parents wanted except for me. So, in reality, I'm the black sheep of my family just as much as you are in yours," he said, sitting down on the bed to take off his shoes.

"Seriously?" she looked at him with a newfound respect.

"I was supposed to go to the Agricultural Engineering school in Iowa. I was nearly disowned when I left for the academy instead. My sister smoothed things over while I was gone the first semester."

"So how many siblings do you actually have?" she sat down next to him on the bed, pulling off her own shoes.

"Three. An older sister and two younger brothers. I'm the oldest boy and of course I was the one that was supposed to take over that damn raisin farm," he grumbled.

"That's so wild… I never knew that," she whispered, feeling a little guilty that she hadn't asked him about his family years ago.

"It's not your fault," he said, seemingly reading her mind, "I never talk about it."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" she asked, suddenly realizing how serious this felt.

"I'm assuming I'm going to be embarrassed a thousand times," he chuckled, "and I really hope you still want to be my girlfriend after this."

"Let's just pretend that it's a holodeck program," she suggested, rubbing his back and giving him an encouraging smile.

"Crisis Point 3.5: Doodle meets the family," he deadpanned, and she fell back on the bed in laughter.

"Crisis Point 3.5: Dagger and Doodle are highly embarrassed and never come to earth again," she replied, happy to hear him laugh with her.

She replicated sweats and a t-shirt for him to sleep in, and despite the interesting energy of the situation, they both fell asleep quickly. She snuggled into his arms and listened to his heartbeat for a few minutes, still in minor disbelief that this was actually happening.

He kissed her goodbye around 0530 and gave her a hug that would have to last until the evening. "I have to sneak back in the house before anyone else wakes up," he laughed.

"You're 24 years old, Boims," Mariner said groggily.

"If only my mom would realize that," he said, looking down at her in bed, her hair spread all around the pillow looking ethereal. He shook his head; he really couldn't believe the beautiful girl looking up at him was his girlfriend.

"It's going to be okay," she said softly, reaching up for his hand, "Tomorrow we can meet up with Rutherford and Tendi somewhere. She sent me a message last night to try to plan something."

"Good, we can begin our matchmaking," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her one more time, hating to leave already.