Trouble in Paradise

[Ethan Hawke 0]

A Joint Log by Hawke & Ayers:

 

Nick steps onto the deck of the schooner and smiles as he glances around. He inhales deeply, smelling the sea air and murmurs a quiet "Perfect..." He brushes his loose hair out of his face as he steps towards the aft deck, intending on checking the computer controls of the ship.

 

He and Ethan had arrived several hours earlier, just before dawn on Pacifica. Their original idea was to simply rent a place somewhere private preferably with a beach on the ocean. It was actually her idea to go sailing, and while neither of them had much sailing experience, it really wasn't a problem, as the schooner could pretty much handle itself. And as Pacifica was a ocean world, there was plenty of sailing opportunities and plenty of privacy.

 

Satisfied with the controls he turns and steps to the side, ending up leaning against the railing as he watches the morning sun. Even though it is morning, it is quite warm and, without a cloud in the sky, the weather promises to be perfect and the temperature tropical. He closes his eyes and listens to the sounds around him, feeling the splash of the salt water on his face as the schooner slides through the water.

 

Ethan comes back on deck, having stowed their gear in the cabin. "Now THIS is nice. We should have done this a LONG time ago." She joins him at the railing, looking out at the horizon. "Everything is stowed. We're good to go for the week, assuming no freak storms."

 

He smiles and leans against her gently "No..it's perfect is what it is. And the weather reports indicate the weather should remain perfect. I was thinking that perhaps we could find a island somewhere with a secluded cove and go swimming if you wanted. And yes, we should have done this long ago." He opens his eyes as he turns to face her. Reaching a hand out to brush against her face he adds "Though perhaps it is good that we are doing this now as opposed to before. Until recently we were both being rather guarded with our relationship, even with each other." He reaches his hand up to brush through her shoulder length hair.

 

Nodding, she leans into the caress. "We... well, T'Loren gave me permission to start ... That is, I can..." She stops, frowns for a second, clears her thoughts, then says, {{What I'm trying, poorly, to say is that I'm allowed to do this again... though I'm not supposed to 'overdo'. But if you still want to rebuild the link, we can work on it.}}

 

He smiles softly and thinks {{Of course I do. Why would you think that I don't?}} He shakes his head slightly and adds {{I've missed it as much as I missed your physical presence. Don't quite feel whole without it. Just tell me how you want to go about restoring it and when.}}

 

{I just wanted to be sure. Didn't think that you didn't, but I also didn't want to assume. First step is to keep this up... verbalization should be limited. We can just take it slowly.} She sits on the bench at the side of the ship, pulling him down next to her. {{This is really, really nice... Can I ask you a few questions? Like, I know you have twin siblings... what are they like? How did your parents meet? What were you like as a child?}}

 

He leans his head against hers as his hand searches out hers. He closes his eyes {{You can ask me whatever you like, love. My sister's name is Terra and my brother's name is Phelan. Growing up they were typical younger siblings. A mixture of humor with a dose of annoyance. When they were younger they liked to try and accompany me when I was out with my friends. They're currently at Oxford as graduate students. She is planning to be a scientist and he wants to be an engineer. Neither one of them has much interest in Starfleet though which is just as well. I think mom and dad would worry overly much if all three of their kids were in a profession where there was a potential danger. I do have some half siblings as my mom has been married a couple times before but I don't see them much as they're much older then I am and more spread out around the Federation. My paternal grandparents still live in Munich. As for my maternal grandparents, I've never met them. They were on the El Aurian homeworld when the Borg came. They didn't survive.}} He pauses for a few moments then continues, explaining how he was as a child, that he had friends but didn't have a lot of time to be with them as he had to concentrate on his studies and that led him to be a bit bookish. And how he and his friends liked exploring the ruins that were around Munich. And he tells her about the move to England and how he didn't like it at first. And he explains why he joined Starfleet and about the influence one of his uncles had on that decision. Finally he opens his eyes and turns his head to look at her. He smiles and asks {{Any particular reason you're interested in my childhood?}}

 

She squeezes his hand, looking out across the water, {{No reason in particular. I just want to get to know you better.}} As he speaks, she stretches out her mind ever so slightly to catch glimpses of his memories. She sees a brief picture of his brother and sister, and the book-filled bedroom of his childhood. {{You are welcome to ask me the same. Just thought it would be kind of boring to sit on the ship and not really have anything to talk about. I've never been to Germany, strangely. You liked the ruins? Yet you didn't go into science?}}

 

{{My grandparents still live there and I would like you to meet them sometime. And actually I did go into science. I was part of science until my last couple years on the Venture when I took over as Ops and Aidan became Chief Science.}} He closes his eyes again and recalls memories for her to see. {{And yes, I would like to know what your family is like and what it was like for you as a child.}} He turns slightly to face her better.

 

{{Well, you've already met my father... sort of. My mother, Celeste, is human. She works for SF Security. Dad is an engineer. I... was a precocious child, I'm afraid. Frequently getting myself in over my head.. falling out of trees, getting into fights over something a kid at school THOUGHT about someone else. I had trouble learning to control even a child's version of telepathy, and I guess I was somwhat naturally a 'defender of the weak and abused'---probably because of mom's profession. I think I was 7 or 8 when I told her I wanted to go into the same line of work.}}

 

He chuckles softly {{You still could be described as precocious. I guess we both decided fairly early what we were going to do with our lives. Your influence was your mother, mine was the uncle I mentioned. I think mom wanted me to become a musician originally and while I love playing it's more of a way for me to relax. Not sure I'd like to play Beethoven's 5th Symphony in front of a crowd of thousands, for example. And at times I was protective of my siblings in the same way you were protective of others as well, especially of Terra. There were a couple of fights I found myself in because of something someone said or thought.}} He pauses as he sighs quietly {{And perhaps sometime I think I should apologize to your father for lying to him or at least decieving him. Not exactly the first impression I wanted to make.}} He glances down at their entwined hands before asking {{I do have a question. What have you told them of me? If I can ask.}}

 

Ethan's face takes on a rather embarassed cast. {{You can ask, but I'm not sure I have a good answer. I haven't said much--more because I wasn't sure how it might impact ...}} She struggles to find the right word, {{reality? I guess I was afraid that if word of our relationship got out, with them being so close to headquarters.. that they might decide to reassign one of us. So, I mentioned a 'man in my life', but I didn't really name names.}}

 

He smiles briefly, {{Love, to put it simply, I go where you go until you tell me otherwise if that ever comes to pass. And your family is going to find out eventually. At least I presume they...that is if you...}} As he fumbles over his thoughts he feels a blush crawl up the back of his neck. He is sure of what he wanted for the future, the only real question is what she wanted. He turns his attention to the horizon, as if searching for something there.

 

{{If I?}} she prompts him after a moment. {{Do you doubt my desire to have you in my life? After all that's happened? After suggesting we try to recreate the link we previously shared?}} She frowned, concerned that either he wasn't paying attention, or that he didn't believe her sincerity.

 

He blinks and turns his gaze back to her. He smiles and shakes his head {{I don't doubt your sincerity or your wanting me as part of your life at all.}} He frames her face with his hands and leans in for a kiss as he murmurs in her mind {{I know what I want the future to be and I believe I know what you want, I was just fumbling over the words in my mind.}} He breaks off the kiss and adds {{My apologies, I didn't mean to make you concerned. Forgive me?}}

 

{{Of course. So, what DO you want the future to be? You've said twice now that you know what you want, but you haven't said what it is...}} She smiled slightly, amused at his apparent reticence.

 

He feels the blush return as he thinks {{Wait here just a minute.}} With that he stands and heads below-decks. He returns a minute later carrying a small thin wrapped box. Sitting down beside her he offers her the box. As she takes it he murmurs {{That someday I will give you a ring that matches this and everything that goes along with that ring.}}

 

She opens the box, surprised to find a beautiful necklace inside. {{Wow. I don't know what to say. It's beautiful... but... why?}}

 

He lifts the diamond necklace out of its case and then leans to slip it around Ethan's neck. After fastening it he kisses Ethan below the ear then draws back so he can look into her eyes. He smiles {{I bought it before the incident with the statue. Originally it was supposed to be my anniversary gift to you but it's also now my Christmas present to you as well. And the reason is simple, I love you. It's all the reason I need. What better reason is there than that? I take it you like it?}}

 

Ethan just stands there, speechless for several moments. {{Anniversary? Anniversary of what? It's not like we're married or anything... or even really dating before this.}} She closes her eyes, suddenly feeling out of control of her emotions. She takes a small step to separate them, and speaks aloud, "I think I need to go below for a little while... I'm sorry."

 

He blinks and frowns as he watches her head below decks. When she's out of sight he swears darkly, berating himself. He glances down at the box the necklace was in and resists the urge to chuck it overboard. Sighing sadly he stands and heads for the bow of the ship. When he reaches the prow he leans against the railing and stares out at the horizon. Unlike before it doesn't bring him any peace. It is simply an horizon, something to stare at as he sinks into his thoughts.