Soda and Smalltalk

Posted on 08 Aug 2021 @ 12:24am by Ensign Gwen Leighton & Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov

Mission: Mission 5 - Season of the Witch?
Location: Mess Hall
1280 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Lunch time. It was inevitable and highly frowned upon to miss. Regardless of the shift, one had to eat. Nobody wanted a hangry officer at the helm.

"Grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough. Diet cola. Small cob salad." Gwen said without much thought. It whirred to life and produced her request. She placed the items onto her tray and looked about at the vacant chairs. This was a bust space today and seating was at a premium.

She noticed Lt.Belikov with her daughter and made her way over, "Sorry to interrupt. Do you mind if I fill this empty chair? "

Looking up at Gwen, Rose gave a friendly smile and nodded, “by all means. I’m sure we could use the company” she said before returning her attention to her daughter who was seated next to her in a high chair.

Gwen placed her tray down and took a moment to survey the youngling before asking, "How old is she?"

“Almost 2” Rose replied, watching Ziva play with a few simple shaped wooden blocks, “she’s becoming quite the handful. Walking on her own for short distances, soon she’ll be running around causing more havoc” she said as she looked up Gwen, “but I wouldn’t give her up for anything”

Gwen smiled and waved at Ziva, "It's a busy age for sure. I used to manage the daycare back at the Academy and it was never dull.” Gwen thought children brought life to a ship and, despite the people who rallied that it wasn't safe, the added family features onboard crafted an environment that was mentally better for the crew. Gwen couldn't imagine what it would be like if you fell in love on a ship and were barred from having children, "She's cute. I don't know how you get any work done."

Rose smiled, “it’s not easy, but the onboard nursery and daycare has been a big help with that” she said as she felt Gwen’s curiosity and contentment, “have you ever given any thought to having a family?”

Gwen cleared her throat, "That was the plan." She looked down at her left hand, "My husband passed before we could start anything. Which, now..."She motioned to the room, "...is a blessing being here. I don't think I could it alone. I hope in time I meet someone again. My mom would prefer it sooner than later but..." Gwen shrugged, "Finding the right person is important. "


“Well you’re not wrong. I guess the trick is to find the right person and take your time. There’s no rush”

"Tell that to my parents!" Gwen laughed, the mood lightening as she took a sip of her drink, "My mom pushed me to get out into the world after everything happened and now she thinks that I'm wasting my years away in space. She desperately wants grandkids." Gwen wiggled her nose at Ziva, "I don't blame her though. She just worries about me missing out on something."

“I guess I never thought about it like that before. You humans have only got around 100 years of life to experience everything so I guess I can’t blame her either. Mother’s always want the best for their child” Rose said, as her own words caused her to think of something a little more morbid, “and now that I think of it, I could outlive my own daughter. That’s a terrifying thought”

Gwen furrowed her brow, "How so?" She hadn't thought of the mixed species type thing.

“Hmm? Oh, my father is Romulan and my mother is Human so I should live for about 250 to 300 years. Ziva’s father was also Human so she may not get the full Romulan lifespan” Rose explained, tapping the end of Ziva’s nose with the tip of her finger, “though I’m not a doctor so I could be very wrong”

"But Romulan human relationships aren't foreign. I'm sure there must be some databases somewhere to give you an idea of how long she has." Gwen smiled, "And then you can ease that mom worry a little bit. I know that my parents still worry copious amounts about me and they're both human."

Rose smiled, “yea, I guess us mothers are always fussing over our little bundles of joy. I think it’s all that responsibility that is suddenly thrust upon us when we find out we’re about to push out a new little helpless humanoid”

Gwen opened her mouth and then halted, visibly unsure of her question. After a moment of pondering she decidedly asked, "Were you raised with human or romulan culture. From what I understood Romulan's weren't as parental outwardly."

“A little of both I suppose. My mother is human and my father is Romulan and the chose to raise me with human standards though father made sure I knew about my heritage and his culture. I intend to pass on what I was told when Ziva’s old enough to understand, though the Romulan people aren’t the culture they used to be”

"It can't be easy dealing with people's out dated opinions of Romulan culture," Gwen motioned to herself, "Even I make the worst assumptions, hence why I was hesitant to ask. I would love to take a spin in the holodeck with you and Ziva if you're down for sharing some cultural stories with me."

"Perhaps another time, right now it's kind of a private thing I only wish to share with Ziva for now" Rose said, giving a bit of a shrug, "but i'm happy to answer any questions you have here"

Gwen nodded, "Oh! I didn't mean right now. Anytime in future." She smiled, "Or maybe when she can talk, Ziva will share what she's learned. I love hearing how kids interpret things. I swear my mother tells the same stories from when I was little at every christmas and birthday. I swear everyone knows how I got the lyrics wrong to a song or how I embarrassingly inquired about my mothers mismatched undergarment choices in front of her boss. Then again maybe that's just her form of paypack."

Rose smiled, "well i'm sure Ziva isn't far off forming her own sentences. She's already quite the sponge, trying to copy random words that she hears"

"Kids are pretty amazing to watch." Gwen watched Ziva for a few, "I can't imagine growing up in a place like this, she's going to be miles ahead of kids who grow up in one place. She'll pick up other languages, cultures - bad habits." Gwen laughed and looked down at her empty plate, "Speaking of bad habits, I eat way too fast. "

Gwen placed her empty glass on top of the naked plate, "Thank you for letting me interrupt your lunch. I haven't had much conversation with anyone outside of Security for awhile. I'm grateful."

"you're more then welcome. If you ever need to talk, just swing by my office or my quarters, I tend to have a lot of spare time while I search for things through multiple databases"

"I'll definitely take you up on that," Gwen smiled, "I think I need to hang out with more than just my security pals. They're more trouble than they're worth half the time."

“You’ll keep them under control. That I’m sure of”

"If I can't, our new chief definitely will," Gwen laughed, "She's amazing." She stood up, "I'll see you both around."

“I am sure you will Ensign, have a good day” Rose said, before returning her full attention to Ziva.

OFF:

Ensign Gwen Leighton, Security
USS Andromeda

Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov
Chief Of Intelligence