STF

Three Isn't A Crowd If You Don't Want It To Be

Posted Dec. 4, 2022, 4:07 p.m. by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be
Posted by… suppressed (25) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

“I never go anywhere without her. She’s in my apartment.” Hope was her constant companion. They could hear her take a long slow breath attempting humor despite the seriousness and uncertainty. “You can’t miss her, she’s my cherry blossom tree.” She peeked up at them trying to guage their reactions.

Sharah

Tenkiller looked at V and smiled. “Tree, huh? Well, sorry… thats a deal breaker. As you can tell…” and he gestured out the windows, “… I hate plants.” and he chuckled. He looked at V and said “Why don’t we all go and pick up Hope? And maybe pack a bag for a few nights? Sharah and V and Tenkiller and Hope… all under one roof. We’ll call it a sleepover. How does that sound to everyone? We can go get Hope and get Sharah some things, swing by V’s and let her grab whatever she might need for a long weekend, and then we can come back here and get sleeping arrangements hammered out.”

Tenkiller

Tenkiller’s easy acceptance made some of the tension rush out of her. Most people were disbelieving and off put by her connection to the plant. Hope was more like a cat to Sharah than a miniture tree. She thought Tenkiller understood that connection, he had melded with the melody so easily. Maybe she didn’t have to explain. Maybe he would understand if she did.

Yavia nodded, looking confused and mouthed, “Tree?” at him. How were they going to move a tree? How did Sharah even get a tree inside her apartment? Yavia loved being outside in nature. She’d told TK that their first date. She didn’t know much about taking care of plants though. She just liked them. They would just have to figure out how to move this tree. “Yeah, we can do that. I mean I don’t know about sleeping arrangements. Last time I had a sleep over, we didn’t sleep.” She winked at both if them, earning her a small snicker out of Sharah.

Yavia

Sharah found Yavia’s obvious confusion amusing, but didn’t correct her. The mention of clothes made her pause. She honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead, but she supposed if she was bringing Hope with her then she was going to be here awhile. Uncertainty gnawed her gut, but it was too late to back out now. At least, for Sharah it felt too late. She had agreed, sort of, and she would follow through.

Tenkiller snorted slightly and said “Well… let’s put a pin in that particular train of thought and concentrate on getting everybody settled and comfortable. How does that sound?” He looked over Sharah at V and mouthed SERIOUSLY? and grinned broadly at her. He then stood up and said “Now come along. We’re burning daylight.” and he held out a hand to each of them to help them off the couch.

Tenkiller

Yavia shrugged with a wicked grin. “I don’t know what you are thinking. My sleep ivers consisted of cheesy romance flicks, popcorn, ice cream, pillow fights, and juicy gossip.” She nudged Sharah’s shoulder gently. “I think he has a dirty mind.” She took his hand and stood leaning into his side a moment, waiting for Sharah.

Sharah couldn’t help it. She started laughing. “I think you like to encourage him.” They couldn’t be anything but themselves. They didn’t have to curb themselves or their relationship to be friends with her. At least…she didn’t want them to. She slipped on her shoes, and then let him helpbher up. She didn’t lean into him like Yavia did, but she didn’t let go of his hand either. Andbthat was huge for Sharah.

Then she followed them out to the car, pausing to stare at the semi wild space. She really just wanted to go get lost and listen. After a moment she let them usher her into the car.

Sharah

The three piled into the back and the car turned around and went up the steep incline and onto the street. Tenkiller put an arm around Sharah and said “Now start making a packing list in your head. Everything you’ll need for a few days. I’ll get Hope settled in the car while you two get whatever it is you need. Okay?”

Sharah nodded. She didn’t need to pack. The Star Fleet personnel were getting ready to practice emergency call outs. In anticipation, Sharah had already packed a bag with everything she might need. Yes the Centurion had replicators, but Sharah preferred to be prepared and organized. She would have to make sure her comms were set to forward to her personal PaDD incase the call came while she was gone.

A sxant few minutes later the car stopped in front of Sharah’s building. Tenkiller got out and held out a hand to first Sharah and second V, helping each one out and giving them both a quick hug. He looked at Sharah and said “Lead on, Doc.” and gave her a wink.

Tenkiller

Oh they were actually coming in with her, okay. She wasn’t going to run off, she didn’t think. She led the way into the building stopping at the security desk. “Afternoon…uh..Lt?” The young man was one of the new arrivals and he knew he recognized the doctor but it took a moment, he’d seen so many people since he started literally that morning. “…Fayth, CMO right?” Sharah nodded, “Afternoon En Klee. How was your first shift?” She placed her hand on the ID biometric scanner. The ensign made a vague response while Sharah added both her companions to a PaDD. “Ms Yavia Crockett, with Sacred Heart, and Major General Charles Tenkiller, CCDA.” The young man held the bioscanner out for each of them. The ensigns reaction to them both was, unfortunately, cliche.

Yavia placed her hand on the scanner, and had to resist the urge to drag Sharah into a hug and love all over her, just to shock the poor Ensign. But Sharah would probably disappear and never come out if she did that. The young man was looking at Yavia like all his hopes and disappointments rested solely with the Deltan woman. Yavia sighed and moved out of the way.

Tenkiller brushed past V and whispered just so she could hear “You have a fan. I’m so jealous.” and he smiled at her before moving forward to place his hand on the scanner.

Yavia chuckled, it was rich and sultry and it did NOT help the situation with the poor ensign. She whispered back, “Now you know how I felt at Diamond Jim’s.”

His reaction to Tenkiller was a bit mixed. He knew what the CCDA was and his bearing altered subtly. He didn’t want the man to find any fault with SF Security. He looked perplexed though. “Do you have family in Star Fleet, Sir? I could have swore my cousin mentioned working with a Tenkiller on OP42 right before it was decommissioned. Such a shame. My cousin really liked being stationed there.”

Tenkiller looked at the Ensign and said “I might. What is your cousin’s name? Maybe I heard it from somebody.” Tenkiller asked. He was, in fact, that Tenkiller that had been the Chief of Security on the now decommissioned station.

“Chief Petty Officer Topir,” Kree replied as he waited for the computer to finish scanning and identify the person before him. All three names came through green lighted and he pressed the control for the inner door. “Let me know if you all need anything.”

Tenkiller smiled. “Tell CPO Topic Skip said hello. And he still owes me ten slips from our last poker game.” and he laughed and gave the Ensign a nod.

Sharah led the way down the main floor, all the way to the end, then right and left again to the very last set of doors. Anyone with a mind for mental mapping would realize this particular apartment was the the furthest away from the main activity of the complex. She paused in front of the door. She had really come to hate this place. She pressed her hand to the control and the door opened. They were typical of fleet quarters with the standard furniture and colors. Sharah was a meticulously neat and organized person, which made the utter chaos of the area shocking. It wasn’t like her at all. The work station to the immediate left of the door was surprisingly empty. There were a couple of PaDDs next to the work console and a single framed photo laying flat on the desk, like she’d been staring at it. It was a picture of her, around 4 years old, and a grey and white kitten. They both looked a little blissful. There were a couple of photos on the shelves behind it. One of her, as a teenager, in a hospital bed, with all kinds of nodes stuck to her head, and a young man, given the resemblance must have been her brother. A second picture of her, maybe a couple of years later, with a couple that was obviously her parents. The final one was another picture of Sharah, about 8, sitting in a ship’s arboretum with a science officer, he had light dusty brown hair and there were probably about 15 planets and pots and a lot of dirt spread out around them.

The shelves were filled with medical journals and reference books, books on botany and plants around the galaxy, as well as old and current reference books to natural healing. Then there were books on fiction, fantasy, historical romances, biographies, contemporaries, classic sci-fi. It didn’t seem Sharah had a preference for genre, but she did have a preference for books of any kind.

The windows had no curtains. Instead rods were mounted above them with long hemp twin hanging down. 15 to 20 teeny tiny glass bottles were tied to the string and growing out of each one was growing various air plants, ranging in color from deep greens, to mints, to pinks, and peaches. The room was divided with what looked like indoor trellis pots. Meant to create walls, but none held plants. There were seed packets and split dirt, and gardening tools laying about. It was like Sharah had started the project, but never finished. A blanket had been stuffed down between a table and the couch. Out of sigh, out of mind. None of the clutter included dishes.

The most noticeable thing was the mess on the floor. Paper and colored pencils and charcoal. Some of the paper had incomplete sketches on them, most were finished and they were remarkable. Not just for the extreme amount of detail and accuracy, but something about the shape of the lines, the shading and blending of the colors and they way they seemed to radiate out and fade, the observer could feel the emotion of the moment in them - it was tangible.

Out the windows was a the start of a garden that contained, if one was familiar, an extensive variety of medicinal plants. What was not seen in the room or outside was a tree, of any kind. Sharah stepped into the room, and it was like watching Atlas have the world dropped onto his shoulders. “Come in. I’ll be right back.” She hurried across the room, picking up random sketches, about 6 of them, and a small PaDD. The sketches she placed into the replicator and recycled them. The PaDD she tossed into to a drawer at her desk and scooped the rest inside and locked the drawer. Then she disappeared into the bedroom.

Sharah

Tenkiller went to the recyclers and hit ‘Stop’ before the process started. He opened it and retrieved the sketches, casting a glance at the bedroom to make sure Sharah didn’t see him. “Make sure you get your toiletries and such. Favorite toothpaste and whatever.” he said to the doorway and then looked at the sketches. He looked at V and said “Help her real quick, and let me see what this is about.”

Tenkiller

Yavia glanced around, this was not like Sharah. She was always so neat, to the point of compulsion. And there were signs of that neatness everywhere. The organization of the shelves, the neatness of the desk, the fact there were no dirty dishes about. That could mean either, Sharah wasn’t sloppy or she wasn’t eating. But there were no drink glasses either. It was just a feeling of a house beginning to crumble into ruins. Yavia stopped to look at the pictures, the one of Sharah in the hospital bed drew her attention, it was the most recent and it had to be at least 8 or more years ago. She looked tired and transparent. The color gone, even her obsidian eyes looked dull. She noticed how Sharah seemed to cling to him, and that the young man had taken great care that wherever they touched there was fabric or pillow or blanket, something between them. Not touching her directly.

Yavia looked up and nodded. She started to say that maybe they were private and he should respect that, but they also needed to operate on a little trust and patience. She hurried into the other room to help Sharah.

Yavia

The pictures were jumbled in a pile with no real order, but if he took the time to examine them, he would quickly find a pattern. They all shared the same common feeling of being a dream or a distant memory. Marked by the shades of grey that permeated everything with only touches of color to things. Hair, eyes, maybe some physical item in the picture. The lines were all mostly blurred giving a hazy uncertain quality to them. The first would be the most chaotic, several figures in different locations that all seemed to blend into one, but it was hard to tell where one ended and the next started.

The second picture was of an older man, the details hazy except the face with only a hint of color to his cheeks. He was from the first picture (in fact all of them seemed to come from the first picture). He was not the closest or most prominent person from the first picture but he was the most clear. The single sketch seemed to bring him slightly more into focus. So it went with each picture. Someone from the first sketch was brought into focus, but still with the blurred soft lines and edges of a dream like state. A woman with a colorful flower in her hair, a child swaddled in a pink and lavender blanket, a woman looking away with a bright red ruby necklace, a Vulcan turned away, the landscape in startlingly rich color. The final was a man with dark chocolate brown hair, grey eyes, the a science uniform, he seemed to be standing in the shuttle bay of a star ship. That sketch was full of color and precise detail, but like the others it was clearly a dream or memory and like all the others it carried heavy grief and sorrow.

It didn’t take Sharah long. She could feel Tenkiller’s curiosity but didn’t make much of it. The noise was loud enough to prevent her from catching everything, and she didn’t find it odd for someone to be curious when visiting someone’s living space for the first time. She was packed already. Toiletries, uniforms, extra clothes, pajamas, unmentionables, even a sketch pad and pencils. Enough for a week. The only thing she had to add was a spray bottle and a PaDD for her work. Yavia kept her busy for a couple of minutes. Finally Sharah just let her rummage through the bag. She picked up an 10” diameter pot off of her side table and turned to look at Yavia with a grin. “This is Hope. A bonsai or miniature tree. She was almost 20” in spread depending on how Sharah trimmed her back, and she was in full beautiful pink bloom.

She lifted her pack and stepped back into the living space. She would have to come back and straighten up eventually, there were sketches everywhere. She stopped short, gasping loudly in distress as her eyes landed on him and the sketches that should have been destroyed. She rushed across the room, setting the pot down, incredibly gently for her speed, on the desk and then over to him and snatched them away.

Sharah

Charles leaned against the counter and said “Those belong with you, not in the trash.” softly and then left the kitchen and looked at V and the tree. “Well, at least Hope seems happy.” he said and then looked around the apartment. He had seen such behaviors in people before… but usually when he’d been called to do welfare checks on crew members that were dealing with depression and / or trauma. “C’mon, let’s get her as far from here as we can.” He walked over to Sharah and gently touched her arm. “Time to go.” he said softly.

Tenkiller

She was sitting at the table. She shook her head not getting up. “No.” It was a denial but not a refusal to go with them. “You don’t understand.” Her voice was quiet, but adamant. She set the sketches face down on the table. “I need you to understand.” She needed to tell them this, now, before they left. Before it was lost and easier to not talk about it later.

Yavia pulled out a chair and sat down, “Okay.”

Tenkiller took a seat and leaned forward, looking at Sharah.

He had seemed…worried and disappointed. Not quite accurate words for how he had felt to her when he told her they didn’t belong in the trash. “Those,” she waved at the scattered sketches around the apartment, “I will not hide from you, I will not get rid of, I will let you see them whenever you ask. But these…you can’t have these, and neither can I.” This was always so hard for her. Others treated it like it was nothing, but it mattered. She looked really sad as she forced herself to meet his gaze. Sad and trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t change. “I’m not hiding myself, or the darkness, or depression, or anything like that. You asked for privacy earlier. I can’t give that to you, not the way you think. These,” she tapped the pile of sketches, “these are not my memories. They belong to people here on Oed. They didn’t tell me about them, I took them, right out of their thoughts, without their knowing. These happen to be their sorrows, regrets, grief, loss. I don’t want to know them, I don’t want to take them, or be aware of them, but I have no control over it. The sketches…” she stopped to breathe, to ease the ache in her throat and to blink her eyes clear of the weight of combined grief, “they are therapy, a necessary coping technique, destroying them is the only way I have to protect a strangers privacy.” She looked through them, and pulled one out and set it aside. “Only that one belongs to me. The rest are someone else’s secrets.”

Sharah

Yavia nodded quietly, a few pieces of the puzzle falling into place. She knew Sharah’s condition was a matter of her talents turning on from birth and not adolescence. Yavia had always had hers. Deltans were born with their gifts, but their physiology was made to handle such things. Betazoids were not. She understood having access to those senses as a very young child, but she also grew up in a culture that understood that and raised their children with that understanding and had perfected techniques. Deltan telepathy developed like any other skill, talking, walking, feeding. With exposure and teaching. But when Sharah said she didn’t want the contact and she had no way to control, things clicked a little more for Yavia and the enormity of what Sharah was trying to convey.

Tenkiller paused for a moment and then nodded. “Okay… I get it. I understand. But… these weren’t taken, I bet. Not intentionally. You didnt set out to steal secrets, right? Just like a comm station doesn’t seek out specific messages. It just gets the ones sent to it… whether they’re supposed to be or not.” He looked at Sharah and he smiled. “I have an idea. Just… sit. Watch.” He stood up and began working.

Quietly, more a breath than words, “No, I didn’t.” She nodded and watched him as he moved about the room.

Yavia slipped an arm around Sharah’s shoulders, and when Sharah started to say something, she squeezed gently and held a finger to her lips reminding her to just watch. Take it in quietly first.

She opened her mouth once to tell him something about a certain seed and soil and depth, but Yavia gently reminded her to just watch. The words were unnecessary as she watched him; he knew exactly what he was doing.

First, spilled soil was gathered and the carpet swept. The small empty pots were gathered along with seeds and seedlings. He put the empty pots in the racks and then went to Sharah and took the sketches that ‘weren’t hers’. He then began to tear them into very small pieces. Those pieces he sprinkled into the bottom of each pot, filled them with soil, and planted seeds or seedlings as needed. After he was done, he watered each and then took a seat in front of Sharah. He took her hands in his and looked at her directly.

His hands were warm, and hers were noticeably cold and flexed slightly in his. She was watching him, very still, leaned toward him, like the world had paused and was waiting to find out which way it would start spinning again.

“Secrets are hard to keep, and rarely bring anything good. But here-” and he inclined his head towards the pots, “- here they will. The paper will hold water, and the soil will stay moist longer giving the seeds and seedlings time to grow. Thats what we are going to do with you… give you the right environment to grow in. That isn’t here. Okay? And the secrets will stay buried… where they should be.”

Tenkiller

She was still for a moment longer before the connection in their hands drew her forward. She was pressed against him, face in his chest, and she shuddered. There was one quiet sob of relief and silent tears. The weight was still there, it was still something she had to carry. Her feelings about it were too jumbled to explain, even to herself, just then, but the effect his words and actions had on her were enormous.

Sharah

Yavia got up, quietly, taking in the room in a glance. The tone of TK’s voice when he’d said they had to get her out of this place, that she couldn’t grow here resonated with her on a professional level. She had seen places like this too in the course of her career. Sharah may or may not choose to come back here, but Yavia didn’t want her to have to. “I’ll be right behind you.” She gathered the sketches off the floor. She didn’t look at them, she didn’t pry, but she gathered them, and she gathered Sharah’s photos and placed them in Sharah’s bag before lifting it and leaving the room, hurrying to catch up with them.

Yavia

The three left the apartment and walked down the hall. As they drew closer to the more populated area, Charles gave her some space and whispered “You got this.”

They walked out the door and to the car and, once again, all got in the back seat. The car accelerated slowly and soon they were on their way.

Yavia didn’t live too far away, so the trip was swift and uneventful. Pulling up in front of her building, Tenkiller grinned at her and said “Bring whatever you want. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on this one… unless you think some girl time is needed?”

Tenkiller

Yavia grinned and slipped out of the car and she looked at Sharah. She looked wrung out, and tired. Yavia wouldn’t mind the company, but there would be time. Sharah very carefully placed the pot on the seat next to her. “I’ll go,” and Sharah slid out of the car. Sharah felt like it just wasn’t complete if she didn’t. She knew Tenkiller had been here before, and it just felt important. She couldn’t really explain it.

Yavia led her into the building and up to her floor. Sharah had to smile, the apartment was clean and classic, with flashes of outrageous colors and surprising details. Yavia set her down on the couch and went into the kitchen and poured her a glass of juice. Sharah looked like she needed something. “I’ll be back quick, unless you want to help?” Yavia was done before Sharah had time to finish the whole glass. She came back with two bags, she grabbed a shawl from the back of her couch, stuffed it in a bag and grabbed Sharah’s hands, pulling her up. “Come on. I bet he gets into trouble when left on his own.” She paused at the door and opened a drawer grabbing a couple things and stuffing them in a pocket. Outside she tapped the hatch to the trunk and tossed both bags in while Sharah slid back into the seat, lifting Hope back onto her lap.

Yavia closed the door after she got in and looked over at TK and winked. “Let’s get this sleep over started, I even brought my special party pjs.”

Yavia

“Did I not mention that Casa de Tenkiller is a nudist retreat?” he replied with a grin, and the car began moving.

Sharah laughed silently but hard enough it made Hope’s leaves dance. She was Betazoid, nudity didn’t both her much. Intimacy was so much more significant than being without clothes. If he wasn’t careful though, Yavia was likely to take him seriously just because she could.

Yavia grinned, “You mean I could’ve just brought work clothes? I could have left so much at home. Ugh!” Yavia wasn’t even phased, but she returned TK’s earlier look of disbelief when she suggested not sleeping at a sleepover.

They made their way back to the house with only a single stop where Tenkiller bought some fresh groceries and a bouquet of flowers, one for each of the women. When they pulled into the drive Tenkiller helped V with the bags, bringing them just inside the door and returning for the groceries. “C’mon, y’all… let’s get rooms situated.”

Sharah carried Hope inside and set the pot on the nearest table and then returned to help. They seemed to have it taken care of, but she wanted to help. She wanted to contribute. Yes she was tired, exhausted, uncertain, and confused by the whole day, and she was quiet, but she was trying to be an active participant for the moment.

He led them past the kitchen and bar and down the stairs. There was a single hallway that seemed to stretch much further than it should have in comparison to the landscaping outside until it became clear that the home stretched under a section of the yard. Six doors were visible, three on each side. One door stood at the end of the hallway. “Far door at the end is my bedroom. Other are spares. Take your pick, any you want is yours. And I don’t mind sharing.” he said with a grin.

The spare rooms were well furnished. The decor in each was warm and bright, but comforting. The most interesting thing, though, was that in each was a painting. An actual painting. Landscapes and vistas from a world unknown to the two women. And each had its own full bath.

Tenkiller

Sharing. It sounded nice. There was no mistaking Yavia and Tenkiller thought it a pleasant idea. She glanced down the hallway. Sharah had trouble sleeping anyway, and not that distance made a difference for her, but the pretense helped some times. Plus if she couldn’t sleep she wouldn’t want to keep them awake with all her moving around. Or wake them with one of those horrible mixed dream/nightmares. She entered the furthest room from the rest. If Yavia took a room near there Sharah would get something in between.

Yavia grinned, “Sharing can be fun.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips as she walked past him. She made a show of looking at very single room. Even though sharing a room sounded idyllic, she knew having their own space when needed would be healthy for them all. She was watching Sharah though, and Yavia was unsurprised when she entered the room furthest away, and didn’t come to look at the others.

Yavia made a full circuit of the rooms and entered the one Sharah was in. She entered and scrunched her nose. It was a lovely room without a doubt, but it was very masculine and not Sharah at all. She watched for a moment as Sharah wandered listlessly. “Sharah come here. Come look at this one.” She linked arms with her and led her down the hall and to the last one on the right. “I like this one.” It was bright, the painting was a beautiful meadow on the edge of the forest and it had a wild untamed feel to it, but there was lots of sunshine. The room was energetic. It fit Yavia.

“But I really want you to see this one.” She led her directly across the hall. Other than TKs room this one was the furthest underground. She led Sharah into the middle of the room. ‘Close your eyes. I can’t feel it, but I bet you can. All the plant life living right above you.

Yavia

The room was soft, earth tones with dots of gentle pastels. The painting was some kind of forest with so many different plants and trees Sharah could study it for months. Following Yavia’s suggestion she closed her eyes and sank into that deeper level of consciousness where the music lived, and it was so incredibly close it surprised her. It was beautiful and vibrant. She could feel the space left in the music for his notes and it made her smile.

Watching her, Yavia grinned and slowly guided her to sit on the floor and she left her there, to do whatever it was she was doing. She walked over to the door and TK and bumped his shoulder gently and nodded toward Sharah, who was sitting on the floor of this forested themed room looking for all the world like a forest nymph.

Sharah

Tenkillet smiled and said “Good call. And she can’t see it yet, but there are solar tubes in the ceiling. Morning sun will fill the room with sunlight. Now, c’mere. I wanna show you something.”

Yavia smiled softly, glad he liked the choice for Sharah. Yavia also liked it because it because it put the three of them right at the end in a neat little circle. She followed him quietly away from Sharah’s door. She grinned at him, “Oh what are you going to show me, TK?”

He led her to the door to his room and opened it…

And it was magnificent.

The room itself was very large, but it seemed like it still comfortably small. The walls were dark wood, but not paneling or boards. They were actual knotted, bark-still-on tree trunks cut and fitted to make the walls. The floor was a low, plush carpet of blues, greens, and yellows. On one side stood a large bureau with a matching armoire. Opposite was an open door leading to the master bath. In the center of the room was a truly large, four poster bed, easily big enough for at least four people to sleep in comfortably.. but it was the far wall that made the room. The entire wall was a water feature made of stone and some kind of dark crystal. Water ran down the wall and fell into a narrow trough at the base. It gave the room a soft humidity and made it seem like anyone inside the room was deep inside an old-growth forest.

He led her to the master bath. The floor was stone cut into irregular shapes and laid flat but not perfectly so, so it simulated walking along a lake or river’s edge. Set into the floor on the left was a large, deep soaking tub made if the same stone. Next to it a bit further in was a shower area, open to the rest of the room. Opposite was a sink and just past the sink was the toilet.

“Well?” he asked V with a smile. “What do you think?”

Tenkiller

Yavia turned taking it all in. The textures, the colors, the soft humidity and the sound of the water. The coolness that the stone implied, and the wild naturalness of it all. “First thought? You’re gonna share that tub too right?” She laughed leaning into him. “Seriously if this is how CCDA houses it’s people, I need a career change. I changed my mind, I wanna share this.” Yavia winked at him. “Your home is really stunning. And this room…I can’t imagine you in anything but this.”

Yavia

Tenkiller smiled and said “Glad you like it… and I was kind’a hoping you’d want to share. At least after you settle in a bit.” He looked past her and towards the door and said “How long you think she’ll be?” and he looked back at V and said “Oh, and I totally forgot something. Here.” and he suddenly took her in a full embrace, pressing his mouth to hers as he pushed her up against the wall for a long moment, drinking her in and pulling her hard against him. After a few long and impassioned moments, he pulled back and said “Sorry, I just really wanted to do that ever since our first date.” and he smiled at her as he took a step back.

Tenkiller

An affectionate smile crossed her lips, “Oh I am happy to share, but like you said earlier, space to be seperate when needed is a good idea.” With an elegant shrug Yavia considered, “Who knows. You’re the one who found her at the park.” Yavia responded in kind, wrapping her arms around him and pulling herself in close, as a thrill shivered down her spine. She rested back against the wall when he pulled back, her blue eyes sparking. “Oh good, ‘cause I wanna do that again,” and she pulled him back for another lingering kiss. Another long moment and she pulled back. “We should have done that sooner.” She took his hand, “Come on. I’ll move the bags.” She paused by Sharah’s door, but she wasn’t there.

Yavia

Tenkiller stepped into the room and made sure she wasn’t behind the bed or in the bathroom, then he looked at V. He said “Well… let’s see if she’s already ran off.” and he led her back down the hall, stopping to check the other rooms as they passed before heading up the stairs.

Tenkiller

Sharah had not run off....well she hadn’t run far anyway. As they reached the stairs they could hear her moving around quietly, and from the sound of running water she was in the kitchen. She had filled the water bowl and was adding something from a small bottle to the water, plant food, and then carefully lifted Hope and set the pot back into the bowl. She was humming some unknown melody softly. Both the bouquets were laid on the counter. She rummaged brazenly through the cabinets looking for vases. She was attempting to distract herself and give them space and time - privacy. She glanced between them as they appeared at the top of the stairs, and flushed before turning away, back to her search.

Sharah

Tenkiller looked at V, grinned, and motioned her to follow him.

Yavia followed him up the stairs, enjoying watching the play of muscles a d the way his shirt stretched and fitted over his moving form. She listened to the sound of his stride as he climbed the stairs. The sound of Sharah’s foot steps and the rush and ping of the water were welcome sounds. Knowing she was still nearby brought warmth and delight.

He came up beside her and slid an arm around her waist. “You know, you could have just yelled and asked where whatever you are looking for is.” and he chuckled. “Do you like your room?”

Tenkiller

Yavia leaned against the counter reaching for the flowers. Unwrapping them and holding each one up to inhale the scent before setting it back down. Yavia grinned softly, watching them as he slipped an arm around Sharah. TK was determined and Sharah didn’t know what to do with it.

Yavia

Tenkiller entwined his arm with hers so they both had her in a half-embrace. He looked past Sharah and winked at V with a smile.

Tenkiller was affectionate and not just in his openness to physically expresss it, but the way he felt and his thoughts. He had his arm around her again, and it was addictive for her. She just wanted to lean into it him, melt into his hold. She was having a hard time letting herself though. Trusting them both, more in trying to trust herself.

Sharah coughed slightly turning a bit more pink, “You were both…pleasantly occupied. The search gave me something to do.” She leaned past him nodding at the flowers. “I was looking for a vase or something to use as one for the flowers.” She finally turned her gaze up at him, leaning back against his arm so she could and smiled. “I do, very much. The room is…” she didn’t know how to describe it. “It feels good. Your home is amazing.”

Sharah

Charles looked at and smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I hope you feel like enjoying for a long while… its yours as long as you want it, too.” and he leaned in quickly and kissed her on the corner of her lips and then withdrew just as quickly. “As for a vase…” and he let her go with a squeeze (and another on V’s arm), and went to a tall, narrow cabinet and opened the door. He reached up on the top shelf and pulled down a large earthenware pot and said “Try this. My older sister made it.” and he set it on the black stone-topped island in the middle of the kitchen.

Tenkiller

Sharah smiled, the idea of a long while hinted at being whole and belonging. The best answer she could offer, right then was a hesitant but hopeful, “Maybe.” The moment, that brief touch was over before Sharah knew ot had begun. Her heart stuttered and ached. She was still until Yavia squeezed her around the waist and then let her go. Sharah took a breath and turned toward him. She picked up the pot, turning it this way and that, carefully, and smiled. Yavia walked over to look at it too. Both women had been raised in cultures that placed high value on the arts. They discussed the pot at length, the texture, the colors, the shape, the medium, the subtle details that some might call imperfections, but were evidence of skilled craftsmanship. Their comments and delight were genuine. “It’s beautiful. You are lucky to have an artist in the family.”

Tenkiller grinned and said “Yeah, we have a few that have a bit of talent.”

Sharah took the pot to the sink and filled it. Then she returned it to the island and one by one placed the flowers into the pot. She trimmed excess leaves off the stems so they wouldn’t clog the top of the pot, and trimmed the bottom of the stems as necessary.

Yavia handed her the second bouquet, which was missing a few. Sharah looked up and laughed a little. Yavis had braided some of the smaller fern leaves and Baby’s Breath into a crown and was wearing it. “Yavia, you look like you stepped out of that painting in your room.”

Yavia took a flower from the vase, small and a soft pink. She trimmed it short and wrapped a arm around Sharah’s waist and pulled her in really close. Sharah searched Yavia’s expression. A gentle affectionate mental caress encompassed Sharah and then Yavia gently tucked the flower into her hair, and played with her hair a moment. Yavia winked at her, “Beautiful.” Then Yavia let her go slowly and helped her put the last of the flowers into the pot.

Sharah

Charles watched the interaction between the two women and smiled. They were, if just for a moment, at peace. He moved to the bar, made a drink for the three of them (sans alcohol) and brought them in. “Here… how about a toast?” and he gave each woman a glass filled with yellow-gold liquid. He raised his to them both and said “To new beginnings.”

Tenkiller


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