Notes From the Heart

[Vakhtang_Dalsazashvili 0]

About two weeks later, the day before TBS ends. . .

 

 

 

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The last few days had been surprisingly busy for Vakhtang. The nacelles had been delivered and installed by the Maturin Station crew. Now it was up to the Manticore engineering crew to check, double check, and triple check everything they had installed. The result was longer, busier shifts. Not that Vakhtang minded too much, it felt good to get back in the saddle again. Chief Faldek was also back, and despite his generally Cardassian business like demeanor, he could tell he was happy to be back on his feet and working again.

 

As his shift ended, he set his console to standby and headed off to his quarters. He and Eva were set to have dinner tonight, much like they had been doing most every night over of the past month. They had even started staying over at each other's quarters a few nights. Al Soandso had suggested that they were seeing a little to much of each other, and warned him that they might end up getting tired of each other, but Tang knew differently. The two of them were trying to get as much time together as they could while they could. They both knew that once they got underway again their time together would be limited.

 

He was also quite satisfied that they had managed to fly pretty much under the radar as a couple. A handful of people in engineering knew, so he suspected Faldek knew as well. And given the gossip nest that was sickbay, he was sure that all the doctors and nurses knew, which probably meant 90% of the station did by now as well, but at this point they hadn't, at least to his knowledge, become the top item on the gossip list.

 

He made his way to his quarters, it was his turn to cook. He was making Khachapuri, which was a Georgian staple. It was essentially a cheese pie with other filing and toppings to taste. Today, he was making his mother's red bean Khachapuri. He had made it before, but it had been a while, and he wanted Eva to try it.

 

Eva chimed as she arrived at the door, the smell of the meal escaping the quarters made her mouth water.

 

"Come in!" he yelled from the kitchen. The dish was almost done, it had about 5 minutes to go before it was ready, enough time for him to set the table.

 

"It smells delicious in here" she said, walking in. She walked to the kitchen, putting her arms around Tang's waist. " How was your day?" she asked nuzzling her nose into his neck.

 

Tang kissed her on the forehead. "Busy but good" he told her. "It feels good to actually do something for a change as opposed to just sitting around and watching the station crew work. How was yours?"

 

"Meh, the usual. One broken arm, couple of headaches and lots of coffee." she answered leaning against the counter. " So what's in there?" she asked pointing toward the pot.

 

"Its Khachapuri" he told her. "Its a Georgian dish. A staple really. Its actually red bean Khachapuri, my mother's recipe. I think you like it" he said. "What would you like to drink?"

 

Eva shrugged " Whatever you're having" She leaned in to peek in the pot. "I'm so hungry I think I've started to digest my symbiont." she said "Need help with anything?" she inquired.

 

Tang produced a bottle of Asti Spumante. "Don't ask where or how I got this." he told her with a smirk. He popped the cork and poured some into the pair of glasses sitting on the table. He sat the bottle on the table and headed back into the kitchen, putting on a pair of oven mitts and pulling the dish out of the oven.

 

Eva took a seat at the table, not wanting to be in the way. "I'm going to miss this when get back on our way." she said , loud enough to be heard across the room. She pick up the glass of wine, smelling its bouquet before putting it back on the table, trying to rid herself of the sad feeling creeping over her.

 

"So am I" he said, slicing the dish into two equal parts and sliding each onto a plate. "Might as well make the most of it while we can, though." He brought the two plates over to the table, setting one in front of Eva and the other at his table. He took his seat, putting his napkin on his lap. He looked up and smiled at her, "We'll still be able to spend -some- time together though."

 

"I know .." she said, forcing the a smile. She picked up her glass, raising it. " To the cook! Santé!"

 

He raised is glass and tapped it against hers, taking a sip. "Dig in." he said. "I hope that you like it. Its been a few years since I've made this. I'm pretty sure I did it right."

 

Picking up her fork , Eva looked at the plate, before taking a bite and washing it down with a sip of wine. " It tastes just as good as it smells." she said smiling before quickly taking another bite.

 

"Thank you." he said, taking a bite of his own dish. He sipped his wine, washing it down. "Its a taste of home." he told her, his mind flashing to the places he'll probably never see again. He quickly pushed the image from his mind, flashing a smile towards Eva as he took another bite.

 

"So," he said as he swallowed his food. "Have you heard anything about when we're supposed to leave this place?"

 

Eva raised an eyebrow. "I'll let you in on a little secret dorogoi, Doctors are always the last to know anything. The ship could be overtaken by Romulans and it would be a week before we'd find out." She took a sip of wine. "It's going on a month though. I know Maturin's engineers have nothing on you, but they must be done soon."

 

Tang nodded "They seem to be pretty much done." he told her. "The chief and I have been making sure that they did everything right. We don't want any surprises to pop up once we leave". He took another bite. "And let me tell you something about you doctors." he said with a grin. "It seems that some of your friends are at the forefront of spreading the rumors about you and I." he told her. "So what ever your department lacks in operational information, they make up in gossip."

 

Eva chuckled."It's not only about you and I. I swear Anastasia has a special PADD where she notes who is seeing who and every other bit of gossip she can get out of every crew member she talks to. I'm sure she could tell you what the Admiral had for dinner last night!" After a last bite, Eva put down her fork before picking up her glass.

 

Tang grabbed Eva's plate along with his and put them into the kitchen. He walked back to the table and offered his hand to her, leading her to the couch. "I saw her talking to that security officer from the Pensacola a few days ago. . .Smith, I think." he told her. "The next thing I knew, everyone in Engineering was talking about him and that Klingon scientist there on the station". He took a seat on the couch. "That woman is dangerous, let me tell you."

 

She took a seat next to him, curling her feet on her side. "Aren't we all?" she ask with a mischievous grin. "Oh before I forget, I brought you this" she said , digging in her pants pocket to produce a small data stick. "Put it on, I think you'll like it."

 

He took the data stick from her. "Is it the rock climbing holosuite program from a few weeks ago?" he asked jokingly as he slid it into the console.

 

"No, it's not. Just watch" she said, waiting for the holowall of the quarter to change. "It's the latest concert from the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. I figured you might appreciate."

 

The wall lit up to display the orchestra. Tang took a seat back on the couch, pulling Eva closer to him. "Thank you lapochka" he said, kissing her forehead. "You shouldn't have".

 

"I figured I should get a classical music education if I'm going to spend this much time around you." she said kissing him back. " And this is a start." she added moving closer to be able to put her head on his shoulder.

 

"I still haven't played the piano for you" he said. "How could we have not done that yet?" he asked. "Probably because we were too busy trying to kill ourselves on the holosuite." he said, answering his own question.

 

Eva pulled back, looking at him. "Well , you could play for me now" she said, smiling. " Unless you're too tired" she quickly added, not wanting to be a burden.

 

Tang thought about it for a second. What he really needed was a piano here in his quarters, but there was hardly the room for that, so he always settled for the holodeck. "I suppose I could" he told her. "I believe the holodecks here on the Manticore are operational again". He looked down at her. "Shall we?"

 

Eva grinned, jumping off the sofa, extending her hand as an answer.

 

Tang took her hand and stood up, leading her out the door and down to the turbolift. "Do you have any preference on what you would like to hear?" he asked as the turbolift doors opened.

 

"How about.." she started, trying to recall any composer but coming up short. "How about you surprise me." she said, putting her hand into his as the doors opened.

 

Tang nodded. "Holodecks" he said. The lift started moving. "I think I can think of something to play for you." he told her. The doors slid open, and Tang headed towards the holodecks. As the entered, he spoke again to the computer. "Computer, play program Dalsazashvili 11 Alpha" he said. Their surroundings transformed into the promenade at the Academy. The room was empty save for the two of them. He walked towards the piano which sat atop a dais in the corner of the room.

 

Eva looked around quietly taking in her surroundings. " Thank you for taking me here." she said gently. Feeling like she was entering a very private place; Tang's refuge.

 

"My pleasure, lapochka." he told her as he took a seat at the piano. He thought about what he should play. "Hmmm. . .I guess I'll play some Liszt." he said after a few seconds. "This is called La Campanella". He took a deep breath as he placed his fingers on the ivory, and began to play.

 

La Campanella , which translated into "The Little Bells", reminded Vakhtang of just that. The bells he envisioned were on a wind chime, blowing softly in the wind. The winds would pick up and die down, with the wind chime responding accordingly. It would sway back and forth in the wind, until, at the end of the song, a storm came in, gusting the wind chime violently until it was knocked of its hook, crashing into the ground.

 

Eva closed her eyes, focusing on the music. Tang was truly talented. She smiled to herself before opening her eyes to watch the engineer's hands moving quickly on the piano. As the last notes died down around her, she started applauding. " Bravo!" she said clapping enthusiastically. "It was beautiful." she said approaching the piano. " You must promise that you will play for me again!"

 

"I promise." he told her, motioning for her to sit down on the bench with him.

 

She took a seat next to him, touching the instrument lightly before turning to him. " You have quite a talent..."she said softly.

 

"Thank you" he told her. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. I guess its always come natural for me." He began to play the 1st movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. A simple, yet romantic selection, that Beethoven wrote in honor of a pupil he loved. "Its been a while since I've had the chance to play for anybody though. You're the first one to hear me play in about a year." He didn't know why he chose to play that. It was the first thing that came to his head after she sat down.

 

" You think you could.. teach me one day?" she asked. Her fingers tracing his as he stopped playing.

 

"Of course" he said, turning to face her. He looked down at her, into her eyes. He leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met, softly, yet passionately. He closed his eyes and wrapped one of his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. As they came apart, his eyes locked on hers. Something felt right about that moment, it was something he hadn't felt before in his life.

 

"I love you." he whispered. He didn't mean to say it right then, and he didn't know why he did. But he knew he meant it.

 

"I love you too" she answered softly before leaning in to kiss him softly.