Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

He dipped the tip of his finger in and then stuck it in his mouth. It was an instant heat, and the heat built up as it swirled in his mouth. Alex’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t cough or spit… he smiled. Swallowing and feeling the fire travel down, he shook his head quickly and said “Damn! Now that is something. Gotta tell my mom about that. She eats things so spicy none of us can even be in the house. But that needs something to wash it down, for sure.”

“Oh wait for it, it gets so much better, trust me.”

Going to a cabinet on the far side of the kitchen, he opened it to reveal a wine rack. Running his fingers along stoppers and necks of bottles, he finally said “Aha!” and pulled a single bottle out and two glasses. “Besides… it’s illegal to cook without a glass of wine. No… seriously. Bandalamt government takes their wine very seriously, and almost as seriously as their food. Understandable for a species that only eats once a year, I suppose.” and he set the wine on the counter in front of her. It was French, and was named after one of the most memorable ship Captain’s in Star Fleet history. It was also marked “Cochrane Special Reserve”.

“You open. I’ll wash my hands after that taste.” he said and nodded nonchalantly to the bottle.

Cochrane

Faye stood there and instantly felt the heat on her cheeks and it wasn’t from any spicy brine. “Ummm…” Well this was awkward. “Alex, slight confession.”

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “The night after I got out of the brig, I took the sleep aid you gave me and went to bed. But it was like fifteen hundred so though I slept eleven hours, it was like two in the morning and I was having nightmares again like I did in the brig and like I had immediately after I escaped the Romulans. Long story short things kept happening and I was drinking. In the end I polished off half a bottle of Romulan whiskey and then… I… spiralled. And it was not good.” She held up her hands defensively. “But, some part of my brain was actually thinking because I ended up At Rollo’s quarters. And I passed out on her floor. Not my proudest moment but.. I was safe. So… yeah, synthehol only for me.” It was hard to stand there and tell him that and she had to fight back the tears. Mostly she didn’t want to see the inevitable disappointment in his eyes, but she didn’t waver her gaze.

~Faye Calloway

Alex looked down as he rubbed his hands under the faucet and lathered the soap. He was quiet a few moments and then said “So tell me, Faye… are you still in that same place? In your head I mean?” His tone was non-judgmental and held no sense of apprehension or disappointment. He simply washed his hands and looked at her as the soap was rinsed away.

Cochrane

In order to find the true answer and not the one he wanted to hear, Faye let herself think through it. After a few moments she shook her head. “No, at least I don’t think so. A lot has happened in the last week and for the most part it’s nudged things along so that I’m in a better place. But one of the symptoms I’m still dealing with is dissociation. For me it’s like my brain just can’t cope with whatever is going on and I just… check out for a bit. I call it the distance, because it’s like I go someone far away. Sometimes I have no memory of those moments and other times it’s like watching myself from outside myself. The line between reality and non-reality is a little too thin right now and I worry that drinking will only make that worse. It encourages me to cope in ways that aren’t… good for me right now.”

~Faye Calloway

Alex smiled and said “Good first steps. Now, then… open the wine, pour us both a glass. I’ll show you a neat trick.”

Faye gave him a quizzical look, but it was a sign of the trust between them that she just did as he instructed, pouring a normal sized amount in each glass. But it sat there, almost taunting her, so she just looked at him again expectantly.

He shook the excess water off of his hands and then dried them on a towel. He walked around the island and went to the bookcase behind the desk, raising the glass door on the front of one of the shelves. He picked something up and then closed and locked the case door back and returned to the kitchen.

Taking one of the glasses, he held it to Faye and said “Now then. Taste it. Just a taste.”

It felt like a test and it was a hard one to know if she would pass or fail by having that sip. Faye took the glass from him and brought it to her lips. She could smell that heady scent of oaked fruit and alcohol. One sip passed her lips and she let it linger in her mouth a moment before swallowing and lowering the glass.

Once she had done so, he nodded once and then opened his hand. In it was a small dark red crystal. “Tear of Kavaar’ton. Only found on Q’onoS, and one of those oddities that can’t be replicated. Now…” and he took the crystal and, putting his hand over hers on the stem of the glass, dropped it into the wine. The wine agitated and bubbled slightly, then went still. “Now, taste. And don’t worry, you won’t notice single difference.”

He had to know her mind was already abuzz with curiosity. Tangents flowing, it was that irresistible thrill of a new puzzle. But the presence of his hand on hers seemed to cut through the noise and she took another sip. When the glass lowered again, her eyes narrowed as she smiled slightly. Puzzles, more puzzles.

When she had taken the second sip, he said “No alcohol. Not a molecule. The crystal absorbs it but leaves the sensation. Don’t how it works, but that right there has been the difference between an angry drunk Klingon and a pleasantly lubricated one.” and he released her hand. “I’d hate for you to have to miss that wine, after all.” and he laughed and then went and began chopping the vegetables.

Cochrane

With a grin on her face, Faye took another sip and set the glass to the side. “Neat trick. You do realize though that it’s going to be swirling in the back of my mind till I figure it out, right? And thank you,” she said, both for the crystal and the acceptance of her low moment and the ensuing limitation she had self-imposed.

Faye set about mincing the aromatics fairly small, but not so small they’d melt away in the pan. “Okay, on a medium-low heat, we want to caramelize them in a little bit of neutral oil,” she said as she scraped them into a cold skillet and turned the burner on. Once they are getting caramelized, then you add all the other veg with a bit more oil if you find it dry. I’m going to start on the flat bread while I start telling you the story.”

She grabbed one of the larger bowls and pulled the paper bag of flour over to her. “Oh! Do you have a scale? If not I can wing it.”