Tendi spent the next morning sweating and cursing as she, Shaxs, and Dr. T'Ana climbed a real mountain instead of a holographic one.

"Kid," T'Ana said as they rested on a wide landing for a few minutes, "I heard Mariner and Boimler finally worked out their shit and got together."

"It's about time," Shaxs chimed in.

"Yes, they are officially official now. No more 'will they, won't they' to bet on," Tendi explained, adjusting her climbing gloves.

"Speaking of idiots, what about you and Rutherford?" T'Ana continued.

Tendi sighed, "Same old stuff, Doc."

"I think that implant damaged his heart more than his brain. What a chicken shit," T'Ana grumbled.

"He's an engineer. All he can think about is the warp core," Tendi said softly, standing up to signal the others that she was done with this conversation. T'Ana and Shaxs shared a knowing look, both feeling Tendi's sadness.

Tendi had waited all day to hear from him, especially after their fun day and late-night phone call the previous night, but Rutherford hadn't contacted her at all. She reluctantly got ready for bed, wondering what everyone had else done during the day.

But just as she rolled over to turn off the light, her PADD vibrated with an incoming call. She smiled, the sick feeling in her stomach instantly transforming into butterflies.

"Hi," she answered.

Rutherford was sitting outside on a patio, drinking a beer in front of a fire pit. He sat the bottle down and gave her a big smile.

"You aren't asleep, are you?" he asked, noticing that she was lying in bed.

"I was just about to lay down to try to go to sleep. It doesn't look like you're planning on sleeping any time soon," she laughed.

"I was thinking that if you couldn't sleep, and since I probably won't be able to sleep… maybe we should take a late-night walk around San Francisco," he suggested.

Her heart leapt at the opportunity to be with him alone, her mind racing with all the possibilities. "Sure, I can get dressed in like 5 minutes," she said, sitting up in bed.

"Great. I'll meet you in the lobby!" he said with a smile, ending the communication.

Tendi shook her head to clear her thoughts and climbed out of bed, looking down at what she was wearing. "This definitely won't get his attention," she mumbled, walking to the replicator to pick out something less drab.

She stepped out of the lift in the lobby to see him waiting for her, looking handsome in his leather jacket and jeans. The butterflies in her stomach danced out of control for a moment as she walked toward him, meeting his eyes with a smile.

"Hi," he said smoothly, and she noticed that he seemed more subdued than normal, but not in a negative way.

"Hi," she replied, her smile turning into a smirk as he opened his arms for a hug. She stepped closer and allowed him to envelop her in his arms; she lingered a bit longer than "just a friend" would, recognizing that he was actually wearing cologne while her face was pressed against his soft t-shirt.

"You look handsome," she said with a smile, linking her arm through his as they exited the massive lobby and stepped into the glow of nighttime in San Francisco.

"You look perfect as always," he replied with a little smirk, making Tendi a bit suspicious.

"You're you tonight, right? I mean, you're not the other Rutherford, right?" she asked him, pausing to look him in the eyes.

"It's me, I promise," he laughed, "It's just been a long time since I've gotten a chance to spend this much time away from Engineering."

"Don't you miss the warp core?" Tendi teased as they slowly walked down the path to the waterfront. He laughed and paused as if he were going to say something but decided not to.

They could see the water purification units sparkling offshore in the distance as they found an empty bench and sat down to enjoy the view. Music poured out the windows of a nearby restaurant, setting up the perfect romantic scene.

"It's such a beautiful night," Tendi sighed happily, looking up at the sky.

Rutherford glanced over at her to see her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight, and his heart felt like it was in his throat as his mind raced. Was this the time? Was this the place? Was she still interested? Was he still interested?

Finally, he decided that as an engineer, he owed it to himself to collect experimental data on the subject.

"D'vana," he said softly, still looking at her.

"You never call me that," she said, looking over at him curiously.

Their eyes met and he knew that it was time to collect his first data point. He moved with purpose, sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer, his lips finally touching hers.

Her heart practically burst into a thousand stars, and she kissed him back as the rest of the world faded away for a moment.

They slowly parted, both smiling sheepishly at each other before looking back out at the water. Rutherford left his arm around her, liking how it felt.

Tendi suggested that they take a walk on the pier, promising that she would point out all the sights along the shoreline for him.

"Are you looking forward to getting back to the Cerritos?" Tendi asked, glancing up at him as they walked slowly.

"I miss the warp core of course," he chuckled, "but it's nice to be home."

"I haven't been to Orion for a visit in a long time," Tendi said wistfully, "there are so many places I miss."

Rutherford wasn't sure what to say to comfort her, so he put his arm around her as they continued to walk to the pier.

"But this shore leave has been pretty good," she said with a smile, meeting his eyes.

"It has been, hasn't it?" Rutherford agreed, smiling back at her.

It was a clear and calm night in the San Francisco Bay, and they could see up and down the shoreline for miles. They both leaned on the railing, Tendi pointing out landmarks as she noticed them, telling Rutherford about her adventures at the Academy.

Soon they were both yawning reluctantly, trying to hide that they were both exhausted.

"I'll walk you back so you can get some sleep. You look tired," Rutherford finally said, nudging her gently with a smile. She nodded as she covered a yawn with her hand.

He offered her his hand as they walked back along the waterfront to the Visiting Officers' Quarters. She felt so safe with him and felt the tension leave her body as their fingers intertwined, and they walked in comfortable silence.

Tendi was so sad for them to arrive at the VOQ building, as it meant the end of the most amazing night. She looked up at him with a sad smile.

"I'm glad we took this walk," he said softly, leaning closer to her.

"Me too," she whispered, looking in his eyes. She saw him hesitate for a moment, as if he was trying to work up some courage, but then he leaned forward to kiss her sweetly one more time.

Mariner heard her PADD vibrating violently, indicating that she was receiving a call. "Shit," she whispered, breathless.

"Who is it?" Boimler groaned as Mariner reluctantly rolled over to grab her PADD. She felt cold without his heat against her, and she couldn't help but shiver at his attempts to hold on to her.

"It's Tendi. This better be an emergency," Mariner growled, wrapping the sheet around her body before answering the call.

"Tendi, it's 3 am. What's wrong?"

"He kissed me," Tendi whisper-screamed into her PADD.

"Who?" Boimler said impatiently, leaning over Mariner's bare shoulder to see the PADD's screen.

"OH MY GOD IS THAT BOIMLER?!" Tendi screeched with excitement.

"Yes, it's Boimler. And who kissed you?" Mariner grumbled, wishing she hadn't answered the call.

"Rutherford!" Tendi exclaimed, "Twice!"

"Tendi, that's amazing, and I want to hear all about it. Tomorrow," Mariner explained, trying not to be rude to her friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?" Tendi cringed.

"NOPE," Boimler said dryly, and Mariner snorted.

"Bye, Tendi," Mariner said, ending the call. Boimler gently took the PADD from her hand and chucked it to the other side of the room.

"Now, where were we?" he whispered in her ear, burying his hand in her hair just before kissing her.

Making it back to his house around 0330, Rutherford opened a new chat display on his PADD, pulling up Ensign Barnes' comm frequency. He'd always thought she was hot, and she seemed to have the same opinion of him, so it made sense to use her as an experimental subject.

"Hey, I was thinking we should meet up and hang out before shore leave is over," he sent to her, not knowing what else to say besides telling her she was an experiment. He doubted she would agree to the date under those conditions.

"That sounds great, I'm free tonight," she quickly replied. Rutherford was surprised that she was still awake, so he took the opportunity to solidify plans with her.

"How about the waterfront at SFHQ, around 2300?" he suggested, trying to make his experiment as accurate as possible.

"Great, it's a date," she replied.