Enough For Now

Posted on Sat Aug 31st, 2024 @ 3:31pm by Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*) & Executive Officer Jake Ford

Mission: Shackles
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: MD -04
1345 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Cassie could not believe that she had danced for hours with various members of the crew, enjoying the evening more than she had in a very long time. The silence of the mess hall, as she was left alone with her thoughts, made her sad. To lift her spirits, she got up and put on a song she remembered from 2246. The song had a beat that made her want to move. She had never danced to it before; back then, she had never done anything spontaneous. She had been everything a Vulcan in Starfleet should be and more. One hundred fifty years had changed her, and she knew she would not recognize herself if she had gotten the chance when the ship had been fractured.

In her opinion, Cassie had wasted a lot of time back then, but she was sure she was making up for it now with how much things had changed. She was dancing by herself, something she would have never done before, and she had attended a party and actually enjoyed herself. She grinned as she turned and found Jake standing there watching her. “I thought you had gone straight to bed when you didn’t come back,” she laughed, having lost track of him over an hour ago. "I was just... dancing."

"I can see that," he smiled. "Don't stop on my account."

"I was not." She assured dancing to a few more beats of the music that was finally finishing up.

Chuckling, he made his way over amid the discarded remnants of the party. Reaching her side, Jake took her hand in his. "Tonight was a lot of fun. I think I'm going to insist that having a few more social events should be planned in by our Manifest Manager." His eyes met hers warmly. "I'm going to have to work hard to match that Vulcan stamina of yours, though."

Cassie found herself just smiling up at him for a moment before lifting his arm up and twirling under it. She felt free to be herself and could not help but just enjoy the found family she had on the ship. "You need to have a nap before the event." She teased him as she tugged him a little towards where the console that people had used to play and put on a different song. "Can your stamina have one more dance?" She wondered.

"With you? I suppose I could force myself..." he made a little show of wearily staggering towards her before straightening up as a slower song began to play and he found the moment becoming a little more tender instead of a heavy beat. He put his hands to her waist. "You picked this one?" he asked softly.

Cassie shook her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and offered a small smile. "Nope. It is just the next song after... do you know it?" She wondered turning to look at the console wondering if she should change it.

"No, but that's not unusual." Jake tugged her back from her thought, keeping her focus on him for the moment. "I don't think I have the energy for anything more than just...this." He held her tight and let their bodies sway for a few seconds along to the gentler song. "I'm doing well considering how much I've had to drink, don't you think?"

“Well that might be cause I gave you some water and food at some point.” She teased a little as she was tugged back. “This is enough for me. I do not believe I have ever just danced let alone danced like this. You are softening me, Ford.”

He let the music take the moment before he responded to that. The fact that they rarely had the opportunity to just enjoy moments like this was a little disheartening, so taking it in and appreciating the intimate setting was worth not talking over. At least for a little while. What was it Klihra had said? Love burns, ale burns, fire burns, politics burn, but cold were life without them. In truth, being with her in a peaceful state was warming. "Is it so bad to be a little softer?" he asked softly. "I like this soft Cassie."

The woman had not expected him to answer when the room grew silent and they just stood there dancing together to the strange music. She could feel the music coming to an end but she did not want to break the mood. It was different from what was normal for them most of the time. She was sure that they had not had a moment like that since after they had come back from the Fractures. “She… it is just new.” She realised. “New is just different isn’t it? I am enjoying being her.”

He put a hand up to brush some stray hair from her forehead. "Good." A short pause. "We didn't finish that conversation from before. Not properly. About...the future."

Cassie raised an eyebrow at him bringing up that topic of conversation. "That was a while ago." She finally decided to say unsure of where this was going as it was not something either of them had brought up since then.

"It was." He nodded, a slight guilty expression crossing his face before he continued. "I needed time to think about it. Get some perspective." It went unspoken that said perspective had come in the form of a phantom living in his mind. "I mean, I don't want it to be all melodramatic or anything, I just said we should talk about it..."

Cassie offered a confused smile. "That was not me having a dig. That was me pointing out that it was four months back." She said gently leaning up to touch his cheek. "But talk you have something on your chest you need to share by the looks of things." She offered hoping she was reading him correct enough.

"Not specifically," Jake answered sheepishly. "Okay, well, I guess I do. But I hate being direct about it, so let's pretend we've circled back to it." He cocked his head slightly. "We're both serious about this thing between us, right? And where that typically leads to in most cultures - including both of ours. So...maybe that's something we should talk about eventually." He closed his eyes a moment, drawing up the willpower to verbalise it. "I love you, Cassie. And that future, where we were parents...I want that to come true someday."

Cassie looked more confused for a second as her brain caught up with what he was saying. It was a big step for him to admit it all and she could not believe he was saying it after such a normal day. “I am serious about this too.” She paused thinking of a way she could reassure him that she wanted it too. “Okay… I want that future too. It was… it … it felt right. I did not need to meet either of us to know that it was that. The little boy was a tribute to how great it could be someday.” She admitted out of all the futures and routes she had seen it had been the one that felt right.

"Yeah." He nodded again. In some ways, the possibility of that exact child being there waiting for them one day was actually pretty low. But then again, it gave him hope that there was a chance.

“So where does it leave us now?” She wondered softly as the music stopped leaving them in silence other than the faint hum of machinery.

"Standing in the middle of a mess hall. Dancing without music." He smiled faintly. "Isn't that enough for now?"

"That is good enough for me for now." She teased and nudged him stepping back to put just a little space between them so she could look up at him properly. "You good?" She checked offering her hand to leave.

"Better than I've been for a long while," he nodded, following.