When John arrived at the holodeck again, he found that it was still in use. This was no surprise to him. If it was at all like it looked like on the show then it was the ultimate fantasy toy. People would probably be using it every chance they could get.
On the external computer terminal he found that there was a sign up list to use the holodeck. The next available slot was tomorrow at 17:00 hours. He signed up for it, just in case he hadn't returned home yet.
As he started walking down the corridor wondering what to do next, his stomach answered for him.
He decided that rather than eat in his room today, he'd try out Ten-Forward. Besides the physiological benefits of being around other people, he was quite eager to meet Guinan.
Ten-Forward was packed when he got there. There was no place to sit at the bar, but he found an empty seat across a table from a young lieutenant.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" he asked her.
The blonde haired woman looked up from the padd she was intently studying.
"No problem," she said through a mouthful of broccoli, before turning her attention right back to her padd.
A moment later, a waiter came by and took his order; a cheeseburger, small salad and a diet coke. Then as he waited for his food, he did what any good cop did, he scoped the place out.
The room was filled with nearly thirty people; most were human, or at least appeared so, but there were a smattering of aliens mixed in. This included Guinan, behind the bar, who was wearing a large purple floppy hat of some kind. It reminded John of a wilting eggplant.
A moment later the waiter was back with his food and he tucked in.
He had been enjoying his meal for several minutes when the young woman across the table from him wiped her mouth with a napkin and pushed her chair back. Her eyes hadn't left her padd the entire time he had been sitting there, and even as she stood up she continued staring at it. She was about to leave when John said rather snarkily, "Nice eating with you too."
She finally glanced up at him, momentarily confused by his words, before breaking into a sheepish grin.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I'm just rather busy with work and…" she paused. "I'm Alana Reese," she said, extending a hand in his direction.
"John McClain," John said shaking the proffered hand.
"You're a civilian, no?" she asked him.
"That's right, just on board for a few days."
"Has anyone shown you around the ship?" she asked.
"I've mostly been exploring it on my own," John admitted.
"Well that's no good," Alana declared. "I'm off at 17:00 hours. I can show you around if you want."
John studied the pretty young lieutenant standing across from him. It had been a while since he had been in the company of a woman, even for something as innocuous as a guided tour.
"Sure," he said. "I'd like that."
"Great," she said flashing a brilliant smile. "Meet me back here at 17:00."
With that said, Alana grabbed her empty plate and left John alone at the table.
Well that was interesting, John thought as he took another bite of his burger.
By the time John was finished with his lunch, Ten-Forward had emptied out a bit. After dumping his plate into the trash receptacle, he made his way to the bar, where there was now an empty stool.
As he sat down, Guinan made her way over to him, and as she approached, he found himself staring. For all that she was only an occasional guest star on the show, he found her the most intriguing of the bunch. The aura of mystery that always surrounded her appealed to the detective in him.
"What can I get for you?" she asked him, a slightly mysterious smile on her face.
John was about to ask for a beer, but for some reason, he felt like he needed to impress her, and he said, "I'll have a scotch straight up."
"Sure thing," she replied, and went to get his drink.
A moment later she came back with a shot glass filled with an amber liquid.
John took the glass, knowing it was just synthehol, because as the computer had reminded him last night, alcoholic beverages were forbidden upon active Starfleet vessels.
"Thanks," he said, before downing his drink.
He wasn't quite able to suppress the cough that forced its way up his throat. "This is real whiskey!" he exclaimed, as he put the empty glass on the bar.
"You looked like you could use the real thing," Guinan replied.
"I'll say," John agreed. "You wouldn't happen to have a real beer back there too would you?" he asked hopefully.
"No, but I could get you another shot of that if you want" she said, indicating the empty glass.
"Sure," he said accepting her offer.
She came back a moment later and put a half full bottle of scotch in front of him. "Help yourself," she said.
"Thanks," John replied as he refilled his glass.
"You're John McClain, aren't you?" Guinan asked a moment later.
John almost spilled his drink he was so surprised.
"How on Earth did you know that?" he exclaimed.
She smiled that mysterious smile again; it seemed to be saying 'you'd be surprised what I know'.
"You were erroneously beamed aboard the ship yesterday evening."
"I didn't realize that was public knowledge."
"It's not," Guinan replied.
John pondered that for a second but decided not to pursue it.
"Tell me, Mister McClane," Guinan began.
"Call me John," John said.
"Tell me John, what is Earth like in your time? I was unfortunately elsewhere for that century."
When Lieutenant Alana Reese came back to Ten-Forward at 17:00 hours, John was still at the bar talking to Guinan. He hadn't been monopolizing her time, however; she was attending to the other patrons as needed. But in between said patrons, the two had been talking non-stop. Both found the other fascinating.
Alana walked up to John. "I see you met Guinan," she said cheerily.
John looked over at Alana and smiled. "Yes I have," he replied.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Guinan said to Alana.
"Hello, Guinan," Alana said back.
"Can I get you anything?" Guinan inquired.
"No, thank you," she said politely. "I'm here to pick up John." And then before anyone might get the wrong idea she added, "I'm giving him a guided tour of the ship."
Then she looked at John. "Are you ready?" she asked.
"Sure am," he replied, getting off his stool.
"Great! Then let's go."
John walked into his cabin and started getting ready for bed.
Lieutenant Reese had indeed known her way around the Enterprise. John had always known the ship was big, but after seeing so much of it over the next few hours he began to appreciate just how large it truly was.
After the tour they had gone back to Ten-Forward for some dinner. Reese had ordered for both of them, and when the food came it was still moving. She claimed it was a Klingon delicacy, and he believed her when she said it tasted amazing, but just the same, John preferred his food already dead. So while she ate her Klingon blood crab he feasted on roast chicken.
The meal and the conversation were both good, and John had been feeling quite content. Then Reese had tried to kiss him. Now he realized that as he was in the 24th century, his wife Holly was technically dead (a weird and disturbing thought), leaving him a bachelor again. Just the same, he had decided not to act on the emotions he had been feeling. So after a polite refusal, they had called it a night.
As John turned out the lights and crawled into bed a thought suddenly occurred to him; had he actually decided to become romantic with Lieutenant Reese no one could have blamed him. After all, according to the calendar, it had been several hundred years since he had last been with a woman.