Star Trek: Eventide 777 - ens-misthair﹢roode

inside her quarters, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She fed her Venus flytrap, and changed into a sweater and sweatpants. She then closed her eyes and dozed off with her glasses on.

The doors closed behind them. Her side of the room was bare and only a Venus flytrap at one corner. She let his hand go and made her way to the replicator. "What would you like?"

He immediately spotted the Venus Flytrap and ran over to it. "Just a simple black tea for me, please. I know it's basic but it always reminds me of home." He was moving his head around to look at the flytrap from several angles, closely studying it.

"Nothing wrong with that at all." She replicated his tea and her a peppermint tea and sat them both down on the table and walked over to him. "Do you like it? It's been with me for a few years."

After observing the Venus Flytrap for a bit longer he relented and joined her at the table. "Yeah it's really nice. I really need to adopt a plant of my own sometime soon."

"You could always grab some seeds or so from the garden." She sat down and took a drink from her tea, placed it back on the table and looked at him. "Tell me about your family?"

He was about to take a sip from his tea when he froze up in hesitation for a moment. He was unsure how to explain the he sold into slavery as a baby. "Well... I never actually met my real family but, my adopted family back in Hereford was really kind..." It was clear there was more to say but he was hesitant to speak up about it, he was scared he would bring down the mood after such a lovely night.

She put her hand on his and smiled at him understandingly. "That's alright, you don't have to tell me more if you don't want to." She said to him softly.

He wrapped his fingers around hers, taking support from her grasp. "Its not that I don't want to... it's just a sorta sad story... I know I should tell you I just don't know how."

"I'm not going to pry it out of you or anything. Would it help you if I started first?"

He smiled to her, he felt bad for letting his emotions get ahead of him but he relented. "I think it would..." He continued to think for a moment about his troubled childhood.

Ellanor thought for a moment. "Let's see..I was raised by my grandparents, because my parents died when I was a baby. I don't know a lot about them. My grandparents owned a farm so I grew up with animals and plants. I love animals, don't get me wrong, but I realized my passion was more for the plants." She picked up her tea and took a drink before continuing. "When I wasn't caring for the animals or tending to my plants, I was always found with my nose in a book. I don't know how many nights I stayed up until the sun was shining in my bedroom window reading." She laughed and looked into his eyes. "That's really all there is to me."

He gave her hand a comforting squeeze when she mentioned her parents. He could relate all to much to her situation. "Well... my childhood was really rough especially my early years. Atleast as I've been told I was born on Orion but my parents sold me into slavery when I was only a newborn. While I was being transported to be sold a Federation ship came and saved me. They took pity on me and brought me back to earth where I was adopted by an extremely kind family, though I always struggled to fit in. I was mostly on my own so I spent that time reading and studying science. Eventually I decided I wanted to try and help people like the Federation helped me so I decided to join up... which I guess brings me to where I am now." He looked down after telling the story. He had told it so many time sit didn't necessarily hurt him anymore but, he still understood it was a very abnormally tough childhood to go through.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at him. "I'm sure we would've gotten along extremely well if we went together." She kept her gaze on him, more particularly his eyes. "I'm sorry about your family selling you into slavery. That must be really hard for you to process."

He shrugged. "It was kind of hard coming to terms with it, the fact I'd been abandoned like that at times made me feel worthless but it's not like I ever got to know them so I can't say I miss them at all. I kind of like to think about my adoptive parents as my real family though." He downplayed it but the truth was it still bothered him. The other orions he had met at the bar were kind to him but, for some reason he didn't truely feel Orion.

She held his hand tightly and spoke softly to him. "I know it may not mean anything since we haven't known each other long, but I can promise you that I won't abandon you. And there is nothing wrong with them feeling like your real family. Sometimes I think of my grandparents as my actual parents."

He picked up her other hand and held it tightly. "That means a whole lot to me... I know it may sound strange because I haven't known you for long but there is just something about you, I don't think I've ever had anyone I could trust in the way I trust you."

"I feel the exact same way. I mean it, too. I feel like I can tell you everything. There's something about you I just find..safe."

He caught himself staring into her eyes again as he sat there holding her hands, they felt so good just to hold. "I just feel like we have so much in common, and I've just never met any one like me... like us."

"I agree completely, Edward. I don't think there's anyone like us. Call me crazy, but I feel like we were made for one another in a way." She loved her hands in his, almost like they fit perfectly.

He couldn't help but smile widely to her. "I don't think you are crazy at all I mean we just have so much in common. We both love plants, and we both love to read." She was just perfect in every way, he felt as the universe had lead them both to meeting at this time and place.

She looked into his eyes and smiled at him. "I've never met anyone like you before, and I don't think I ever will." She moved closer to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He blushed and then went in to kiss her back. "Me neither, it's almost like we're dreaming." He joked as he let go of one of her hands so he could finally begin sipping on his tea.

She watched him drink his tea as she blushed. "Is it weird that I don't want this night to ever end?"

He shook his head. "No I don't think it's weird at all, I'm really glad you invited me for tea. I was scared the night was about to end before then."

"Well if you agree, then I guess you can't leave." She joked and laughed after. "You can leave whenever you'd like. You're not my hostage."

He chuckled. "Maybe not directly but I might as well be your hostage because I don't want to leave." He playfully shrugged. "I'd be happy to stay the night if you really wouldn't mind."

She blushed at the thought. A man staying the night with her? "Yeah, I don't see why not. We could stay up reading if you'd like, or just talking."

He smiled excitedly, happy that he was invited to stay over. He never wanted this night to end. "That sounds really great, I've never really had someone i could just sit back and read with."

"I haven't either. It's exciting, actually. I almost don't know where to start in my collection." She finished her tea and moved closer to him on the couch.

He cuddled up next to her as he pulled her PADD out. He spent a moment scrolling the the collection of works. "How about something by Poe? I know you were a big fan of his works."

She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You read my mind. You really do know me."

He chuckled, careful not to move his shoulder. "Well you know what they say as great minds." He opened up the Raven on the PADD.

"Exactly. I couldn't agree more." She sighed happily and closed her eyes, ready for the mental movie of The Raven to begin.

He smiled, feeling a sense of self satisfaction that he had rarely felt before. He began reading the text, shifting his voice at times as he did in an attempt to capture the text better.

She smiled and listened to every word he read. The mental movie of the poem carried on as he read each line. She adored hearing him read, and never wanted it to end.

He found his head rest atop hers as he continued to read, her hair tickled against the side of his face but he didn't really mind. He kept on reading, trying his best to create a horrifying atmosphere through his own words. As he finished up he quietly asked. "What did you think?"

"I don't think I'll ever read it the same again. That was really good." She smiled and held his hand tightly.

He smiled it as he gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad, the ravens always been one of my favorite stories but I think now I'll always associate it with this moment."

"As will I. I wouldn't mind reading like this every night." She blushed as he kissed her, and she sat up and kissed him.

He chuckled. "Maybe we should... I could get used to hanging around here." He gave her anouther kiss, he felt amazing just to be here next to her.

"I wouldn't mind one bit. Though we would have to sleep at some point or our work would start to suffer." She joked, laughing a little.

He shrugged. "Maybe you are right about that, but I don't particularly want to sleep tonight because then our day together would end." Suddenly a thought came into his head. "Since we are both in science maybe we could do some research together!" He sounded excited at the thought. "Since I've mostly been working with plants recently you'd be the perfect fit."

She looked him into the eyes, her excitement building. Plants and working with him? Someone pinch her! "That sounds so fun! I would love to."

He almost shook with excitement, he finally had a research partner to share his work with but not only that he had a girlfriend who was just as interested in his work as him. "I'll write up the paperwork tommorow! This is gonna be amazing!"

She squealed internally, getting to work with him would be so much fun! "So that being said, does that make us..a couple?"

He nodded eagerly. "I think that makes us a couple! To be honest your my first ever girlfriend. I'm sure my parents are going to be so excited when I tell them!"

"And you're my first ever boyfriend. My grandparents will be excited. They've been harping me about a man since I started the Academy!" She laughed again.

"Same here, my parents were always trying to get me out of my shell." He moved in to hold her closely. "I guess I just needed to meet the right person."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I agree completely. Good things come to those who wait, don't they?"

He cuddled up with her. He almost wanted to fall asleep just resting there in her arms. "Yeah they really do, I'm definitely glad I waited."

"I couldn't agree more." She sighed happily and closed her eyes. "The wait was worth it."

He closed his eyes and began drifting to sleep a little bit, he wasn't there yet but he hadn't truely realized how tired he was. "Definitely, the moments I've spent with you so far have been some of the best of my life."

She began to fall asleep herself. Something about him was so comforting about him. He was so perfect.. "Here's to many more nights like this." She held her hand up, as if she was toasting with a glass that wasn't there.

He matched the gesture with a tired tone, he was on the verge of sleep. "Here here, a toast to the greatest couple of all time." He laughed.

"The most perfect couple of all time.." She finally gave in to the tired screaming at her, and fell asleep leaning against him.

"Yeah..." He fell asleep at almost the same time in her arms. They've reached so perfectly in tune and he was here for every moment of it.

After several hours of sleeping Nately's eyes slowly fluttered open. He jumped a little when he realized he was still in the arms of Ell, silently praying he hadn't woken her up. He looked at her and decided she looked super cute when she was sleeping, he didn't dare to wake her up.

She moved and slowly opened her eyes. She looked over to see she was in the arms of another. She looked and met the gaze of her perfect Orion. She smiled at him and spoke softly, keeping her arms around him. "Good morning."

He smiled to her, matching her soft tone. "Morning, I could certainly get used to waking up to you every morning." He adjusted his arms to hold her a bit tighter, he never wanted to let go.

She smiled and rested her head against him. "I wouldn't mind doing this every morning, either. I'm assuming you had a good sleep?"

He nodded, he felt invigorated, more then ready for the day ahead with her. "I've never slept better, how about you?"

"I have never slept that good in my life. We definitely have to do this more often." She smiled at him. She had never been this energized before. She almost felt like jogging.

"Agreed, last night was perfect." He kept his voice to a whisper not daring to disturb the serene morning atmospher. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her.

She sighed and kissed his cheek. "What do you like for breakfast?"

He kissed her back on the cheek. Thinking for a moment about what he wanted. "Maybe just some good pancakes? What do you normally have for breakfast?"

"Usually I just have a cup of tea, but I'm strangely hungry today."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind a cup of tea either." He smiled at her as he slowly began getting up. He wanted to stay there forever but the long night left him quite hungry.

"It really does. I'll be right back." She trotted off to take a sonic shower. She then returned in a pair of black jeans and a black hoodie. "There. I can't believe I slept in my uniform." She laughed at herself.

He took a second to look her up and down, the hoodie fit her quite well. "Yeah me neither but, I couldn't really help but fall asleep in your arms." He smiled as though it was the greatest thing to ever happen to him.

She smiled at him. "Would you like to replicate you an outfit? I can step into my room."

He nodded. "I could probably use a clean uniform if it wouldn't be any trouble. I was hoping to study my plants later today."

"Yeah, go for it. I'll step out." She smiled at him and went into her room so he could have privacy.

He hummed a cheery tune as he replicated a fresh uniform. He changed into it and then took a moment to do his hair. "You can come back in now."

Ellanor made her way back into the room with her eyes covered. "Everybody decent in here?" She joked.

He chuckled. "Yeah I am. Now that I'm in a clean uniform it reminds me though, is there any chance you would to come to the bioscience lab with me today?"

"Of course. After we eat, I can be ready in two minutes." She hugged him close for a moment. "What would you like?"

He shrugged, not really sure what he wanted, he just chose something basic. "Maybe just some pancakes and some bacon if that's fine."

"Sounds perfect, let's do it." She smiled and made her way to the replicator and made them a Pancake and bacon breakfast with some tea and sat it on the table. "Breakfast is served."

"Thank you!" He greedily took his tea and began sipping on it. It tasted extra special knowing she was the one who replicated it. "I could definitely get used to breakfast with you every morning."

She smiled at him and drank her tea as well. "I wouldn't mind spending every day with you, either." She sat her tea down and bit into a piece of bacon.

He began slicing his pancake up and eating it, take a second to get some syrup on it before each bite. "Yeah, spending time with you just... feels so right."

"I couldn't agree more. So I have a proposition for you, if you're willing to listen." She finished her piece of bacon and picked her tea up to take a drink.

He nodded to her. "Sure you can tell me anything, I'll always be willing to listen." He smiled as to tell her it was allright.

She returned his smile and held his free hand. "Let's go dancing again tonight. If we don't stay up late doing research together, that is."

He nodded, a loving tone persisting in his voice. "Nothing would make me happier then to go dancing with you again."

"Then it's a date." She squeezed his hand and let it go to get some more bacon. "What research do you have going on currently?"

He finished off his pancake before he spoke. "I'm just finishing up on these extraordinary bioluminecent plants we got from a ship that was passing by. I'm sure your going to love them."

" Bioluminescent plants? Count me in! When do we start?" Ellanor practically jumped off the couch with excitement.

He nodded eagerly. "We can start right after breakfast. I'm glad to finally have a second pair of eyes on them."

"I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'll hurry and get ready while you finish up." Into her room she went to change. She emerged little bit later with her uniform on and her smile still on her face.

He quickly finished up his meal in the time it took her to emerge, he was beyond excited to show her the plants. "Are you ready to get going now."

She kissed his cheek and held his hand. "Beyond ready." She replied to him.

He rubbed her hand a little as he got up and walked out of her quarters with her.

She followed him, her mind thinking about the plants that awaited them.

He wandered into the quarters, still holding her hand. Once he reached the table he sadly had to let go but, atleast he was still with her. "What were you thinking for dinner?"

She followed and had sadness herself when he let go. "What do you think about steak?"

He nodded. "A nice juicy steak sounds delicious right now." Sometimes steak made his stomach hurt a little but it was only fair to let her pick since he had picked last time.

"How do you like it cooked? I know everyone is different." She asked as she made her way to the replicator.

He thought for a second. "You can never go wrong with medium rare as far as I'm concerned."

"Are you sure you're not a telepath? You pretty much read my mind." She smiled at him then tapped her replicator and she sat two medium rare stakes down with a side of mixed veggies and a tea for them both.

He started out by sipping on the tea, it was delicious. "I think you were the one who read my mind by getting some tea, it's delicious." He laughed, it really was uncanny how in sync the two of them were.

She smiled and shrugged. "It's not that impressive, I just remember what you had to drink last time and replicated it for you." She took a bite of her steak. Perfect just like the man in front of her.

He shrugged. "Well I still really appreciate it none the less." Who could ask for anymore? A nice glass of tea, a great meal, and the most beautiful woman in the sector right infront of him.

She smiled at him and had a drink of her tea. "So, do you have any siblings?"

He nodded. "I had a couple adopted brothers and sisters, I might also have a couple biological siblings running around... I hope one day I might be able to meet them."

"I hope you get to meet them too. I really do." Ellanor smiled and squeezed his hand.

He took her hand and drew comfort from her grasp. "Maybe, I met some kind Orions at the bar the other day, maybe I could ask them if they could help me. They seem like the type of people who can get stuff done."

She smiled at him. "I don't see why they wouldn't. I would do anything I could to help you find them."

He smiled at her, glad to have her support. "I think I'll go down there tommorow, I figure you being there would just help me be less nervous. Plus I'll cover any drinks for you as a bonus." He joked.

"You got yourself a deal." She laughed. "I don't drink much anyway, I'll probably stick with tea."

He smiled excitedly, anouther thing to do with his favorite person in the world. He decided to begin digging into his steak. "Oooo that's good. I used to do a lot of cooking for myself, maybe I should get back into it."

"I would love to try your cooking sometime. I myself am not the best at it. I just bake." She smiled and ate some more steak.

He raised an eyebrow as he sipped on his tea. "You bake? I would love to try your baking sometime." He smiled at her happy to find that they both had a common interest in the kitched.

She looked at him excitedly. "Really? You really would?" She smiled at him. "I can make you a cheesecake or cookies or whatever else you'd like!" When she wasn't in a book or her plants, Ellanor was in the kitchen.

He stood up from his seat slightly out of excitement. "Definitely! I'll eat pretty much everything you bake, I'm eager to try it all." A great person, and she could provide him with cookies? She just kept getting more and more amazing by the moment. Suddenly he came up with an intriguing idea. "Maybe we could cook together?"

"Yes!" She said excitedly. She then immediately flushed with embarrassment then spoke calmer. "Yes. I would love that."

He couldn't help but giggle at her excitement, he was feeling the exact same way. "You don't need to control your excitement! I'm just as excited as you, I've always wanted a cooking partner." He sprung up from his seat and gave her a big kiss.

She blushed and smiled into the kiss as she kissed him back. "And as a bonus, your cooking partner is your girlfriend." She stood and hugged him and kissed him again.

He entered the hug and returned the gesture in kind, kissing her over and over again. "She's the best girlfriend in the galaxy, that's what she is." He was in awe at how amazing she is.

She found herself getting lost in his eyes once again. He was absolutely perfect. Was she falling in love with him? Was that this feeling? She was worried about scaring him off so she decided to wait on that. "And you're the best boyfriend in the galaxy. And that's the truth."

He gave her a long look in the eyes, that made him want to scream at the top of his lungs 'I love you' but that would be crazy wouldn't it? He simply settled for giving her a long passionate kiss instead for now. "Well I suppose it's only right for the best girlfriend and best boyfriend to be together." He chuckled again giving her that longing gaze into her eyes.

She laughed with him and kissed him back. "We were meant to be." Ellanor looked back into his eyes. "I see something different in your eyes."

He raised an eyebrow for a moment, unsure of what to make of the comment he asked softly. "What's so different about my eyes?"

"I can't tell. You're just starting to look at me different now. Not in a bad way. I just can't figure out what it is." She put her hand on his cheek and smiled at him. "Whatever it is, I like it."

He leaned into her hand with a little grin on his face. He wasn't sure if she had figured out his true feelings for her but, either way he wasn't planning on changing anything about his eyes. He was crazy for her, that's all he needed to know. "Well I guess that's good then." He leaned into look into her eyes closely, he was also able to notice an odd change in the way she looked at him. "I... I think I can see it in your eyes aswell."

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. Whatever was there, she did not plan on changing it. If it was the same look he had or not, she didn't want to tell him anything at risk of scaring him away. "You do? What does it look like to you?"

He shrugged. "Its hard to explain but, the way you look at me... it's just slightly different now. There is more of a light to your gaze if that makes sense? I'm not really sure, maybe I'm sounding a bit crazy." He looked away from her eyes to the ground unsure if he had just embarrassed himself.

Ellanor lifted his head with her hand on his chin and kissed him. "You don't sound crazy at all. I promise."

He kept his head glued to her hands, he soft finger tips feeling amazing again his chin. "I hope not, I never want to lose you."

"You never will, I promise you that." She smiled at him and gave him a soft kiss.

He gave her a short tight hug, he knew he loved her he just didn't know how or if he should let her know that. He apprehensively returned to his seat at the table to finish up his meal.

She smiled and returned to her meal as well. "Something on your mind, Edward?"

There was something on his mind but it wasn't the right place or time to admit it. Perhaps the next time they go dancing? He wasn't really sure. "Oh, it's nothing I promise..." He was never a great lier.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled at him. "Edward," She said teasingly as she poked his side. "I think there's something you're not telling me."

He shrugged, he knew he loved her but he wanted to wait to a romantic time. A light look of nervousness shifted across his face. "Ohhhh it's nothing I promise, I'll tell you later okay?" He said softly hoping he wasn't acting too strangely.

"I trust you, don't worry." She thought it would be best to wait until he was ready to tell her whatever it was. She hoped it wasn't anything horrible.

He nodded, he could see the concern in her eyes and didn't want to have her suffer over his own nervousness. "I trust you too... trust me it's not anything terrible... I just want to save it for the right time." He tried to reassure her.

"No I trust you, I promise." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

He ran his hand along her cheek. "Sorry for concerning you there." He said keeping his nervousness, then however he came up with a idea. "Maybe we should go dancing again tommorow?"

"It's alright, I promise. Don't worry about it." She smiled and leaned into his hand. "I would love to go dancing. Or we could lay out in the holodeck and look at some stars?"

He nodded eagerly. "Seeing the stars with you would be amazing." That would probably the place for him to say what he wanted to say.

"Let's do it, then. Tomorrow we'll staf gaze in the holodeck. Just you and me." She smiled and held his hand.

"That sounds perfect." He thought for a moment. "Could I stay with you again tonight, on your couch. I just really love being around you."

"Yeah of course. You don't even need to ask." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

He smiled to her. "Well thank you, do you want to get some reading done tonight. If you are going to let me stay over the least I could do is read to you tonight."

"I would love nothing more. We can read in my bedroom if you'd like?"

"Oooo the bedroom. Have you had the chance to decorate in there yet." He jumped up from his chair, interested.

"Yeah, but it's incredibly embarrassing, so please don't laugh too much, alright?"

He nodded. "I promise I won't laugh at you tooooooo much" He smiled at her ready to see what could possible be so embarrassing.

She smiled and lead him to her room. She opened the door and stepped inside. Her bed had a plaid blanket and four pillows with black pillowcases on them. Her walls were covered in posters of old earth metal bands from the 1980s and 90s. And what wasn't covered in posters, the empty spaces were full of posters of plants that were labeled with their names on them. Beside her bed was a picture of her, years younger, with another girl and a boy standing behind her. Also on her bed, a brown stuffed teddy bear with a red heart on its chest. She turned and smiled at him. "I will permit you to laugh now.*

Nately took his time to look around across the posters on the wall but, instead of laughing simply marveled at the room. "I dont see why you were so embarrassed, this place is amazing." He walked over to some of the posters on the wall. Looking up at one of the bands he asked. "I've never listed to old rock music before, could you show me some?"

"If you'd like me to, I can. It may be heavy though for you. It's pretty loud. I mostly listen to it while I bake, it helps me focus." She smiled and moved her teddy bear to the table beside the picture and sat down on her bed.

"I'm sure it will be fine, worst case scenario I'm not the biggest fan of it." He looked keenly as she moved the teddy bear. "Is that yours?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah. My parents gave it to me when I was born." She made her way back over to it and traced the foot of it with her finger and smoked sadly. "It's the last thing I have of them." She said softly, almost as if she didn't want him to hear. She didn't want to upset him with her sad stories.

He gave her a hug, he understood what it was like living without real parents. He figured it must've even been worse for her, she still had reason to love her parents. He ran his hand down her back petting her. "Awh, it's amazing that you've kept it for so long. It's good to have a reminder of them like that."

She hugged him back and kissed his cheek. She then picked up the picture to look at it. She then handed it to him to look at. She was afraid of talking at the moment, as tears threatened to flow at the thought of her parents being gone possibly and brother and sister too.

He continued to run his hand along her back in a reassuring fashion with one hand as he looked closely at the photo. "Is... Is this them?" He cared for her, he wanted to do whatever he could to help her.

She shook her head. She took the picture out of the frame and turned it around to show him the back of it. It read 'Conner, Samantha, and Ellanor. Best siblings around!'

He hugged her he was saddened, allowing himself to follow in the tracks of her emotions. "Are Connor and Samantha still around." Concern was evident in his voice, the likely answer allready showing its ugly head.

She quickly wiped her tears away and smiled. She didn't want him to see her cry. "Yeah, at least, I think so. I haven't heard anything from them in years."

He kept on holding her tightly but, gestured for her to sit next to him on the bed. "You can cry, it's okay. Maybe one day we will be able to find them, just like my family."

"I can't. I promised Sam I wouldn't." She sat beside him and smiled sadly at him. "Even if she is gone.."

He pulled in closely placing her head up against his chest. "What about Connor? Maybe you could find him?" He wasn't sure if it was the same situation but it was worth asking.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She could spend all night like this. "Same situation, only its been much longer since I heard from Robo-arm."

He kissed her on the head, as he continued to comfort her. "Robo-arm? That a pretty cool nickname for him."

"Yeah. He thinks he's all bad and cool because he has a cybernetic arm but that makes him a total lame-o." She laughed then immediately stopped. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk that way about my brother."

1

He smiled at her, taking solitude in her moment of happiness. "He must have been really nice, I hope one day I may be able to meet him."

Ellanor smiled sadly and looked into his eyes. Tears threatened again. "I hope so too..I really do."

He kept petting her. "Its okay you can cry if you need to, it's not good to hold them in." He spoke softly trying his best to help.

She closed her eyes and the tears won the on going battle. "Dang it, I promised Sam.."

He leaned in and allowed her to cry onto him. "What did you promise her?"

"That I would be strong. That I wouldn't cry for her no matter what the outcome is." She cried more but tried her best to fight it. She way angry. But only at herself.

He kept trying to comfort her, maybe he shouldn't have encouraged her to cry. "That's not fair is it? You need to be able to process your emotions."

"I feel like if I cry, I accept the fact that they may be dead. And I can't do that. I have to be.." She cried harder, unable to talk now.

He tried his best to keep from partially crying himself, seeing her like this made him feel the same. "You don't accept they are dead by crying, you're simply processing your emotions."

"I don't want them to be dead. I want them alive. I don't want them to be like my parents." She started to sob now. But she tried to catch her breath as best as she could.

Nately just kept petting her allowing tears to drop from his eyes onto her head. He kept holding her tight as he began to think about his own family. Part of him thought that was selfish but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. "I bet they are alive, I'm sure you'll be able to find them one day."

"I..I hope so.." Once she managed to relax, she didn't move from that spot. She just softly spoke. "Read to me?"

He smiled as he slowly stopped his own tears. He reached for the PADD after a minute of searching he simply chose to read some more Poe. He began reading The Cask of Amontillado hoping it would make her feel better.

She listened to each word he read. She didn't move her head from his chest. As he kept reading, she found her eyes becoming heavy. Next thing she knew, she was fast asleep.

Once he finished the text he didn't dare move. He smiled thinking about how cute she looked when she was sleeping. He carefully lowered her to allow himself to move over a little. Fearing she would find it weird if he stayed in the bedroom he began quietly moving to the door to head for the couch. He smiled at her one last time for the night as he carefully shut the door and then fell asleep on the couch.

Time skip The next morning she woke up to her empty bed. At first, she thought Edward went home, but then she remembered. He's on the couch! She grabbed a fresh uniform and snuck off to the sonic shower. After she finished and was in her clean uniform, she made her way to the replicator and make them both a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. For the drink, she got his tea he likes and a mint tea for herself. She set it all down on the table and walked over to him. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek and spoke softly. "Breakfast is ready, Edward."

Edward's eyes slowly fluttered open as he looked up at the beautiful woman standing over him. He grew a toothy grin as he began stretching his back. "Good morning Ell."

She smiled and kissed him. "Good morning. I take it you slept well?"

He nodded. "I slept great, though I feel even better now that I'm back with you again." He joked

"Oh you." She laughed and kissed him. "Now come on, I got you a hot breakfast waiting."

He slowly climbed off of the couch stretching as he got up. "Sounds great, had I been up before I would have cooked with you."

"It wasn't cooked, I replicated it. My specialty is only sweets." She laughed and sat down on one side of the food.

He chuckled as he climbed into a chair. "I think that I'll have to change that then. From now on I'll be your personal chef." He grinned.

"I would Iike that very much. There's something different about a non-replicated meal that hits different." She smiled and took a sip of her tea.

He nodded. "Yeah cooking it myself just let's let's adds an extra layer of flair to it. How does lunch sound today? After we go talk to the Orions at the bar and to stargazing?" He began slowly sipping on his tea, what a fantastic way to start the morning.

"I would love nothing more. Anything I do with you is absolutely perfect in my book." She smiled and ate some eggs.

He continued smiling at her as he made his way through their lovely breakfast. "I agree, I just love spending time with you. I can't believe we've spent all of our time together for 3 days now."

"I know! And you're not even sick of me yet." She laughed. "By now, Sam would be pulling her hair out I'm sure."

He chuckled as he cut his eggs. "Well if I'm no tired yet I don't think I'll ever be. It's quite amazing how you aren't tired of me either though."

"I'll never be tired of you. I promise you that." She smiled at him and drank some tea.

He gave her a loving smile after he swallowed the last of his food. "That's perfect news, because I want to spend forever with you."

"And I want to spend forever with you." She smiled and held his free hand.

He rubbed her hand gaining comfort from it. "Are you ready to head to the bar?"

"Sure, let's head on that way."

He slowly got up from his seat and took a moment to do his hair. He interlaced his hand with hers as they made their way out the door

She followed him smiling.

She made her way inside and to her room. She changed clothes and decided to try to send him a PADD so they could talk.

Ellanor smiled at her PADD. She then laid in her bed and went to sleep. She wanted tomorrow to hurry and get here.

[D] The doorbell ringed.

Ellanor was hurrying to clean up when she heard the doorbell. She had on a pair of jeans and an old Faded black Prince shirt. She heard the doorbell and ran over to it. She took a second to fix her hair and opened the door.

Natley had a conflicted look across his face. He was worried, wondering if she was going to tell him something good or if the love of his life was going to cut him loose. "Uhm... Hey Ell." He would have scratched his neck but, his hands were filled with two plates of pancakes, one containing a stack of heart shaped pancakes.

Her eyes lit up at him and she smiled. "Hey you. Let me help with that." She took half of the food from him and carried it to the table. "Are the heart ones for me?" She looked at the pancakes and smiled.

He allowed his conflicted face to creep into a small smile as he saw the light of her eyes. He slowly nodded to her nervously. "Yeah, I made them special for you." He spoke quietly still in his own head about all the bad possibilities.

"You didnt have to go through all that trouble." She took the rest of the plates he had and set them down. She didn't know how far he carried them so she didn't want him to carry anymore. She sat on one side of the table and motioned for him to sit as well.

He apprehensively walked over to sit across from her. Nervous thoughts continued to fly through his head as he spoke. "So about yesterday..."

Ellanor reached across the table and held his hand. Her face was full of care and she had a smile. "I'm listening, Edward."

He slowly rubbed her hand trying to gain whatever comfort he could from it. He calmed down slightly but he still struggled to keep his sentences coherent. "I... Well I love you." He averted his eyes from hers, scared of what could happen. "I... I understand if you don't feel the same though."

Ellanor stayed silent. She let go of his hand and stood up, pulled him up and into a hug. "I love you too, Edward. I promise you I'm not just saying that. I feel the exact same way you do." She whispered to him as a few tears fell.

He teared up aswell as her words wrapped around him. "You do! I'm sorry that I've been so scared to just say it. I was just so scared yesterday but, I know now that my fears were unfounded." Waves of relief aswell as a warmth within his chest washed over him.

She hugged him a little tighter to her. "I do. I really do. I love you. You have nothing to be afraid of. I understand why you ran, though. That's a huge thing to say to someone."

A few more solitary tears ran from his eyes. "No, I should have never run off from you. I trust you, I love you, and I shouldn't have felt like I needed to run." He blamed himself entirely for his nervousness, he had been beating himself mentally all night about it.

She let him go and took his hands and looked deep into his eyes. She knew what that look was now. It was love. Love for her. And she felt it in return. "You don't need to feel bad at all. I promise I understand completely. I was worried and confused when you ran away. I thought you were going to break things off with me."

A slight laugh emanated from him as he gave her a smile. He looked deeply back into her eyes. "I would never break things off with you." He took a moment to hug her again. "I feel so lucky just to have you by my side. I'm so sorry for making you feel like that. Sometimes I just can't control my nervousness at all."

"Don't apologize for anything. I know more about nerves than anyone probably." She laughed. "Let's eat?"

He nodded as he returned to his seat. "I really hope you like them... I put a lot of love into them." He smiled at her, the word love had a new meaning to him. "But really I spent all morning making them."

She returned to her seat and smiled back at him. "Then I'm sure I'll love them." She held his hand. She didn't want to not touch him, she just wanted him to hold her hand, or hold her.

He slowly rubbed her hand as he began eating the pancakes. Just sitting across from him was enough for him, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

She ate hers as well. Smiled at the heart pancakes and at him. She kept her hand in his and she kept a smile on her face. "Do you have any plans today?"

He smiled at how she seemed to be enjoying the shape of the pancakes. "Not at all, would you like to makeup the stargazing. That scene was so romantic and I know it was very personal to you." He had regretted not being able to further explore the scene.

"If you want to. I was thinking of something more private. Maybe just hanging out in my room for a while? If you'd like to, anyway." She looked at him. Her eyes were full of love for him.

He played with her hand but kept his eyes on hers seeing his loving gaze matched with hers. The way her mixed eyes shined towards him made him love her even more. "That sounds perfect, what do you want to do?" He raised an eyebrow intrigued.

"What do you say to just talking? There's some things I'd like to catch you up on." She squeezed his hand and ate more of her pancakes.

He nodded. "Talking with you, is fine by me." He smiled to her. "What's happened?" He asked excitedly.

"That's something you have to wait until after breakfast." She smiled at him. "Which is amazing, by the way."

He giggled at the compliment. "I'm glad you like it, I'll gladly cook breakfast for you every morning if that's fine by you."

"Every morning? You got yourself a deal." She smiled at him and finished her breakfast up.

He chuckled. "With how much time I spend around here I might aswell move in." He smiled as he finished up his own breakfast before taking their plates to be recycled.

"I won't protest to that." She stood and helped him clean up.

He raised an eyebrow to her, intrigued at the idea that had just been a joke a minute ago. "Do you really mean that?"

"I meant every word." She smiled at him and went into her room. She figured leaving her answer hanging in the air with him would excite him.

A smile shot across his face, he thought about the idea of them sharing a quarters, waking up every morning to her beautiful face and being able to treat her to breakfast and gifts every morning.

Ellanor came back out of her room. She was still in her Prince shirt, but her jeans were changed into black sweatpants. "Are you coming?"

He smiled and darted up towards her room. He wanted to hold her closely and hear everything she wanted to tell her. "Yep yep."

Ellanor couldn't help but smile at him. He was so adorable. So perfect. She went back into her room and laid down on her bed and pat the spot next to her.

He layed down next to her, staring eye to eye with her. Sitting next to her always felt so right to him. She was so perfect, and he was so thankful to have her.

She looked deep into his eyes before she finally spoke softly to him. "I found them."

His eyes widened as he understood what she meant. His voice was a mix of a whisper and an excited yell. "You found them! That's so amazing, what were they like?"

"Well, Sam and I got ahold of Connor and he's coming in two weeks. And Sam.. it's the assistant chief of security. Here!"

"That's amazing!!! I need to meet her as soon as the chance presents itself! I'm so glad you were able to find your family again." He moved in close to hug her, keeping his eyes on her own.

She smiled and kept her gaze on him. "When Connor comes we're all going to get together, and they want to meet you. Connor and I talked briefly. It was in a PADD message, but I got more than one word."

He smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I knew everything would work out for you in the end. I can't wait to meet the both of them... especially Robo-arm." He joked at the nickname she had called him before.

"Sam calls him Robo-bro. We're a bit apart in age. He's 39 and Sam is 37. I am definitely the baby at 22."She laughed and kept her eyes on his.

He chuckled. "Awh, so what were they like? Have they changed much after all these years away from them?" He for a moment wondered what his family would be like before snapping back to the idea off meeting her family.

"Sam is the same. She's still teasing me about silly things I did growing up. I'm not sure about Connor. It's hard to tell over a PADD message. But considering I got more than two words seems like he may not be upset with me anymore. But he said he was surprised I was still 'out and about' and I have no idea what he meant by that."

He tightened his grip around her, trying to give her more reassurement. "Well that's an odd thing for him to say. Though it's definitely a good sign that hes willing to hear you out. Getting him to come and speak with you again ought to be most of the battle."

"I'm extremely nervous about it. Two weeks isn't that long. What do I even say? Should I even talk first?" She rested her head on his chest.

He placed his head atop hers allowing her hair to tickle against his chin. "I'm sure the right words will come to you and I'll be sure to be right by your side... if thats all right."

"I can run it by Sam. She may want some one on one sibling time before we invite our SOs." She held his hand and smiled. "I think they'll like you a lot."

"I certainly hope so, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself infront of them. I hope you enjoy your time with your sister, lord knows I wish I had some." He smiled at her, remaining hopeful he'd find his family again.

"You'll find your family, I promise. And I would like to meet them, if you don't mind."

He nodded. "Whenever I find my family I think I'll need you by my side. I can just be such a wreck sometimes and I think I'll need your support to get me through it."

"Then you'll have my support. For the rest of your life if you want it." She pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it softly.

"You really mean that don't you?" He went in for a nice long kiss on the lips. "I'd love to have you by my side for the rest of my life, and I'd also loved to be by your side."

She returned the kiss and put her hand on his cheek and smiled. "I mean it, Edward. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives."

He gave her a even longer kiss when he heard her day that. "I wouldn't say what I said if I didn't mean that... I can just feel that you are the one for me, that we were made for eachother." He smiled as he looked closely into those beautiful eyes of hers.

"I couldn't agree more." She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug.

He adjusted the way he was holding her to simply just cuddle with her. He wanted to just hold her close. "Thanks for PADDing me, I was so scared last night. I don't know what I would have done."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "It's not a problem. I was confused and worried is all. I didn't think you'd get ahold of me so I thought I would message you."

He nodded. "You were right. All I could do was cry, I was do scared I had lost you. My room mate even saw me balling my eyes out on the couch, I hope I didn't scare her."

"You'll never lose me, I promise you." She smiled at him. "You should apologize to your roommate maybe?"

"I really should. I left her out an extra batch of pancakes this morning before I left. I hope that she enjoys them."

"If you'd like to do that today you can. I wouldn't mind at all."

He shrugged. "I guess it's a little selfish but I do kinda want to spend the day with you."

"That's fine. I enjoy being with you." She smiled at him.

[PADD]

I'm at the pool, are you free to help me swim again? - Aella

(edited)

Maggie saw the message and smiled slightly, before quickly getting changed into a purple one piece. Adjusting it around her body in the mirror before grabbing a pool bag and heading out. Typing a response as she went.