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Captain's quarters - Bringing Oscar Home

Posted Feb. 6, 2020, 6:05 a.m. by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) (David Shotton)

Posted by Lieutenant Natasha Knight (Acting Chief Medical Officer) in Captain’s quarters - Bringing Oscar Home

Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s quarters - Bringing Oscar Home

Posted by Lieutenant Allison Scott (Doctor) in Captain’s quarters - Bringing Oscar Home
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Natasha woke to the sounds of gentle stirring beside her. “Lights twenty percent,” she ordered As a doctor she had years of waking up on the fly and ready for action. Now it was different. Yes she was tired waking up but it was a satisfied tired, a content tired. Her body seemed to have instantly adjusted to a new circadian rhythm: her newborn sons. “Hello little guy,” she said softly looking at him in the low light of the room. The baby seemed to settle a bit as Natasha stroked his cheek with the side of her finger. The contented moment would not last for long though so Nat slid from the bed, picked up the baby and headed into the living area.

Entering the living room, the first thing she saw was her husband at his desk working with only a small light turned on. “Did you really come to bed,” she asked him taking a seat on the couch. It had only been 48 hours since they arrived back on the Saracen with the baby yet that 48 hours seemed like two weeks. After being checked out by medical, Natasha, Dante, and their infant son returned to their quarters and slept for hours. This was only possible because Ally spent the last eight hours in the apartment caring for the new baby. All new parents said they could do it all but the reality was women stayed in the hospital for a reason. It was to give your body a chance to recuperate. On her own ship, Ally would have forced Natasha to comply. On another ship with a different captain, Ally was the one to comply.

“Of course I did pumpkin,” he lied to her softly, watching her take a seat on the couch and smiling at his wife and child. “I woke up not long ago and decided to let you two rest more, I had a few things to look over anyway.” He didn’t for a minute think that he was going to get away with the lie, the five empty coffee cups and crusts of a sandwich that had dried hard hours ago still sat on the desk beside him.

“You know sleep deprivation has the same effects as a heavy night of drinking and while I love you with all my heart…Dante, you look like a functioning alcoholic,” she let out a laugh. Dante was what she called ruggedly handsome. Only while in the academy had he been clean-shaven. Since graduation, he wore the slight scruff only a few men were able to pull off. His expression was often one of deep thought but his eyes always bore the tone of his mood if you knew how to read them. Natasha had learned over the years to read Dante’s mood by the look in his eyes. Right now Dante looked tired but happy.

“But I smell better than a night of heavy drinking, so it’s not quite the same.” He joked and came to his feet quietly. Their little Neonato was awake but still sleepy and he didn’t want to startle or scare the young boy. He could handle a battlecruiser and grit his teeth while a hole was torn in the side of his ship, but the little man in Natasha’s arms was now more precious to him than even the Saracen and he was still earning how to handle his new role as a Father. The reality was, Dante snored. He had avoided sleep so that Natasha and Neo could get a few hours without him summoning the hive mother. “I’ll sleep soon, I promise love. I just had some paperwork to follow up on after our vacation. How is our little Neonato?”

“So I know we don’t officially need to have a name for him before a month but anything strike your fancy? Vyktor isn’t bad,” she suggested. “What do you think? Are you a Vyktor,” she asked stroking the side of his head gently. Natasha was Russian through and through. She was superstitious and did not give up her traditions easy. The recent big one was to not celebrate or buy anything for the baby until after they were born. The IFEA carts were brimming with a multitude of item ready to be shipped the second the baby arrived. Doing so beforehand was a symbol of bad luck. The second was that no one but the immediate family met the baby before two months. Natasha wasn’t planning on that long but a month wasn’t out of reason .

Lt. Natasha Knight CMO

You want to call a baby Vyktor?” Dante grinned at her while he walked to the replicator. “That name will automatically make him the terror of the playground, you know that right? Klingon children will cower in fear of the Russian-Italian with the piercing eyes and mop of black hair called Vyktor Knight. Vyktor Knight love, did you say it out loud? It’s like calling a child Bruce, I should know, my brother is Bruce. Not you, your name is just fine.” He said to the large Lizard that had emerged from the bedroom as well and was looking at him suspiciously as he described how terrible Bruce was as a name. Bruce hadn’t left Natasha or Neonato’s side once they had returned home, and it had taken some deft negotiation to make him let Ally near his family at first. He had slept on the ground right under Neo’s bassinet since they had arrived and left the bed to the big two legged people.

Bruce waddled over to Dante and stared for a second. He was not going to let his father get away with the comment but how to exact his revenge. It had to be swift and pointed. After several moments of contemplation, he decided on the ankle lick. It was quite effective in both causing a reaction but not getting his mom or dad mad at him. Flicking his tongue out, he let it wrap around Dante’s ankle like a bullwhip. It was a weird mix of hot, wet and slightly cold before Bruce pulled it back into his mouth. The humans found this sensation to be less than pleasing which was exactly how Bruce felt about the jab at his name. Looking at Dante once he flicked his tongue out once rapidly before scampering back to Natasha on the couch.

“Bruce, really? I’m not that kind of meat stick buddy.” Dante said while he adjusted his stance and tried to find something to wipe his ankle on. “Oh my god it’s sticky, what have you been eating? And now it’s getting cold, oh my god he slimed me.”

Natasha let out a full-bodied laugh seeing what transpired. “Wow, Dante you do need sleep if he didn’t see that coming,” she rocked the baby slightly in her arms. The look on her husband’s face was priceless. Few things snuck up on him yet Bruce always seemed to find a way to play the role of an evil villain who lived to strike another day. “Come here buddy,” Nat patted the seat next to her. Bruce didn’t wait around but scampered back to the couch intent on outrunning his father.

Dante laughed as he took the cup of coffee from the replicator, the scent of the strong coffee flavoured coffee filling the room in seconds. It only took a few steps and he was with them, placing the coffee on the small table beside Natasha and sitting down beside her on the couch. “Let me take Neo my love, drink you coffee.” Gently taking their baby he cradled him on his arm and brushed a lock of hair from the child’s forehead like he often did with Natasha in their intimate moments.

Natasha gently slid the baby into his arms as she reclined back onto the couch.

“Good morning my little Cucciolo,” Dante reverted to the Italian as he spoke, some words simply sounded better in his native language. “Did you sleep good, yes? I bet you are hungry, I know I am.” He looked back up at Nat as he held Neo, “I wrote a few names down. I like Ariosto as a middle name, it’s a proud name in Italy, a warriors name and a poets name.

Captain Knight, CO

“Aristotle,” she wrinkled up her nose. “You mean like the philosopher?” Natasha loved her husband. She loved how much he loved his family and his heritage but she was not in love with Greek poets. Especially when it was a name someone wanted to slap on her child. She wanted him to have a regal name like his father. It was no secret the second reason, Natasha nee Daye, cast a glance at Dante was because of his name. The first had always been his looks. Natasha would never say otherwise. Dante was hot.

“What?” Dante looked at her in confusion. “What about him? Um, we could look at Aristotle maybe. I mean it’s Greek and not really something I had thought about.”

“If we are going with historic names what about Ivan Knight or Aleksei,” she took a long drink of her coffee. “I mean baby we need a strong name that can grow with him. Aristotle,” she said not sure exactly how to pronounce what he said moments before, “is too.....philosophical?”

Lt.Natasha Knight

“Oh wait sunshine,” Dante grinned at her and laughed. “Not Aristotle. Okay there is no way over my dead body are we calling Neo Aristotle. I didn’t say that, he was just a fancy pretend philosopher with a talent for storytelling. No baby, I said Ariosto.” He said it slowly so she could hear it right.

“Ariosto…okay I will bite. Talk to me,” she said leaning back taking a sip of her coffee. She had a lot against Aristotle but nothing so much against Ariosto. If Dante liked it she would throw it in the running.

“Okay so, Ariosto is a name that comes partly from old high German. It means army leader, commander and warrior. It’s a strong name love. It also comes from an old Italian poet called Ludovico Ariosto, he wrote a famous epic called Orlando Furioso, which was a romance tale about Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they do battle against the Saracens in medieval Earth history. When I heard it, I loved the meaning and history behind it. What do you think love? Too Italian? We can call him Boris as a first name if you like, after your side.”

Dante grinned and bit his lip while he looked back at their little cucciolo, “Hello Boris, how do you like that? Boris and Bruce, that works a treat right?”

Captain Knight, CO

Natasha instantly fell in love with the symbolism of the name and the reference to the ship. They had a lot of homes over the years but only the Saracen had given them what they had dreamt of: a family. It felt almost fitting like the ship was a doting Godparent or uncle. It was also a sign. Now that they had a middle name they just needed to find a first one. “I love it but not as a first name,” she said. “First off it is a mouthful. Second I really don’t want him to have a nickname for a first name. I want a name that is strong and stands alone. Maybe Declan or Joshua,” she suggested not sure she liked either but they had to start trying some out.

“Nope,” Dante said, shaking his head. “Not Declan, I don’t think that rolls very well, and as for Joshua, really?” Dante passed Neo over to Nat and stood up, walking to the dining table he selected a peach from the bowl and then turned back to Natasha, standing so his profile was visible. Then, he held out the peach in front of him and placed his fist on his hip, tilted his head suggestively and bent his rearmost knee. “My name is Joshua,” he said, looking straight at Nat and his voice had gone up a few octaves and now sounded like he was juggling a plum in his mouth. “I like long walks on the beach, moonlight picnics, snuggles and naughty people with tattoos in hidden places. Call me, I’m Joshua.” Dante stood up again and cleared his throat, then took a bit of the peach and sat down beside Natasha and Neo again. “Sunshine we are not calling him Joshua, I will veto that all night long.” He looked down at their baby and smiled, then gave him a tiny fist bump against his small fist. “I got your back buddy.”

“Okay okay no Joshua like ever now,” she blew him a kiss. Living with him was so different than working with him. When he strode down the halls anyone on his SOL list cleared a path like they were on red alert. Dante had a demeanor about him that screamed don’t mess with me yet after fifteen years with him, Natasha could never be dropped to a quivering puddle by a look. Well, at least any look he was giving Joe Blow Ensign. In fact, you might had ruined all the other “J” names I had in mind.” Naming their son was so much harder than she ever imagine. Sure there were names she liked but none of them seemed to capture the spirit of their son. David was a perfect name but didn’t seem to fit him. Austin and Parker sounded like trust fund babies that were more worried about the gel in their hair over something substantial. One might have thought after fifteen years a name would have been picked out and carved in stone.

“Max Ariosto Knight,” she suggested before wrinkling up her nose. “MAK…those are horrible initials. We do need to think about that. Oh oh oh,” she said almost excitedly. “What about Johnathan? He could be JAK and that sounds a lot like Jack.” So much for the strong nickname, she just gave the speech on a few seconds ago. JAK was definitely not fitting that criteria but there were so many things to think about.

Lt. Natasha Knight CMO

“Didn’t you just mention the nickname and initials thing?” Dante laughed, then wrinkled his nose in imitation of how Nat had just done. “Johnathan, do you want me to do that thing I just did again?” He looked at Neo for a moment and then back to Nat, “I do like Max, even Jack is good, although can you imagine Jack JAK? Does he look like a Max or a Jack? Dante considered a moment. “Maybe we can try some others. How about Ethan? I always liked that name, or David but that is pretty common.”

“How about something a little closer to where you are from?” Dante thought for a moment, “Andrei or Ivan are popular in Russia, right? Andrei Ariosto, Ivan Ariosto, both work, what do you think love, or Oscar? How about that, Oscar Ariosto?”

Captain Knight, CO

Pulling out her communicator, Nat gaggled the meaning of Oscar. At first she looked at the screen confused. Oscar was based in English and Irish meaning deer with a footnote that it could also mean champion or warrior. The latter definitions she liked but deer seemed to be lacking. Tapping her finger in the side of her communicator she gaggled “deer symbolism”. Instantly a screen popped up. Natasha was her mother’s Russian more than her fathers English. This is where she got most of her superstitiousness. It was also where she got her strength and faith. Reading the blurb about deer as a symbol a smile lit up her face. “The deer represents serenity and peace. It shows that even in the toughest times one can show they are gentle and kind in the face of adversity. It symbolizes the ability to blend tradition with new ideas.” Looking up at Dante she was practically beaming with happiness. “See. See this is us. I am the traditional and you are the out of the box guy. It also goes on to say that deer are the epitome of grace under pressure so that they use their intellect before their fists so to speak. I substituted fists for antlers but you know what I mean,” she continued talking and reading at the same time. Setting the personal communicator down she adjusted the blanket around Oscar’s neck before addressing Dante again.

“So Oscar means deer and deer symbolizes everything we see in him: Strength, intelligence, wisdom in tough times to choose what path he should take. I love Oscar,” she bit her lip with a sly grin. “And if we go with Ariosto his initials are OAK like an oak tree. They had strong roots that hold them in place during any storm.”

It was now when Natasha broke out in a large bubble of laughter so loud Oscar’s eyes popped open. “I am sorry baby but mommy might be going a bit crazy due to the lack of sleep. Daddy and I were just talking about your name. We like Oscar Ariosto. What do you think?”

The baby blinked twice and closed his eyes snuggling his head into the soft covers as she held him. “My god he is your son. Don’t have a serious discussion at bedtime,” she looked over at her husband. “So Oscar Ariosto Knight,” Natasha said in a questioning but firm tone as she shook her head yes seeking Dante’s approval. She may have done all the work for nine months making the baby and another nine hours bringing the little guy into this world but Dante’s opinion was important as long as it agreed with hers. That was secretly what marriage was all about.

Lt Natasha Knight. CMO.

Dante nodded and leaned back into the couch beside Nat, smiling and looking him over. “I think it fits wonderfully,” he told her, “and now I can stop calling him Neo, hello Oscar,” he reached forward and adjusted the covers so he could see him better. “That’s a strong name, that’s the one. I think he is more like his mother though, no good before coffee, listen he even makes the same sounds as you before caffeine, baby.” Dante grinned as Oscar made a number of unintelligible noises from the back of his throat.

“So, now we can call our parents and introduce them to Oscar,” Dante smirked and bit his lip slightly. “That also means we can show him to the neighbors now we have named him, right?”

Captain Knight, CO

“Are you nuts,” she looked at Dante. “Well, we can call your parents and mine of course but do not mention to Babushka we are showing him off even via console. She will freak. Don’t ask,” she waved her hand and rolled her eyes. “You will get a whole bunch of responses from me that will make you question if I should see Royal and yes they are far crazier than abducting a bride at her own wedding or that the reason we never got married was that I sat in a corner of restaurants. I know it was because we wanted some quiet but Babushka still thinks it was your way to stall getting serious. I would challenge you to find a pic of me before a month.” Adjusting the blanket around Oscar she smiled.

“It will be harder to do that when the next one comes. Oh FYI I booked a trip back to Erewhon for the summer. Next summer I mean,” she said offhand.

Lt. Natasha Knight

“You did what?” Dante asked, and simply blinked. “Why would you book a trip back there? I mean sure, it’s a great place to visit if you’re not planning on getting knocked up there, otherwise I’ll book a full deployment of Security to bust us out of the Erewhon hooskal the moment you say um, Dante, we need to talk.”

In his surprise about her plotting another trip to Erewhon he had almost missed that other little thing she had said. “Hang on sunshine, what do you mean it will be harder to do when the next one comes? Next one?” He grinned, it seemed like Nat was getting right into this family thing.

Captain Knight, CO


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