Aloha, Hawaii!

Posted on Wed Jul 5, 2017 @ 3:40pm by Commodore Michael Aravan & Spencer Aravan

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Hawaii, Earth
Timeline: MD 13 || 1300 Hours

It had been a long morning at Starfleet Headquarters after Michael had undergone rigorous debriefing and managed to hold off an inquiry as to the death toll on the ship. Still, he was relieved that it had not been ordered and surprised at another twist of the meeting.

As he exited the building still in uniform and headed for the nearest transporter station, he tapped his personal communicator that he used on shore leave for private communication. =^=Michael to Spencer. I just got out of the meetings. Where are you and the kids?=^=

=^=We're in the conference room currently. The kids are taking a nap, and I'm waiting for you so we can meet up with everyone.=^= Spencer was so excited that their families chose to meet up with them during their short leave. This was going to be one of a few times everyone would be together, and she was so very excited. =^=We'll be heading to Hawaii soon.=^=

=^=I'll be there in a minute,=^= Michael said as he turned around and headed back into the building with a chuckle. Within a few minutes, he exited the turbolift and walked down the hall to the conference room and went in.

"Hey," he said softly as he went to give her a kiss.

Spencer smiled when she saw him, leaning forward to kiss him from where she sat. It was hard for her to move, what with their son asleep against her chest while they're little girl took position on her lap. "Hey. How did your meetings go?"

"Exhausting," Michael said as he reached up to finger his collar which now only had a single boxed in pip instead of the four single pips. "And surprising, although there's not going to be a board of inquiry."

"A Commodore now? Impressive," she said with a smile, unable to get up to congratulate him properly given she was currently being used as napping furniture by their children. For. Brief moment, Spencer had to wonder if she would have ever made it to such a rank, but those days were over... something she planned to leave well behind be. "I'm very proud of you, Mikey."

"Thank you. I thought I was going to be crucified, but it went well," he said as he sat down beside of her. "The promotion was for the information that D'ain provided the Federation about the Orion Syndicate. It seems she had a lot to tell them, but I wasn't privy to that information."

"Some things even a Commodore doesn't need to know," she said, hoping he'd eventually take their daughter so she could get up. "We should probably get moving soon. Piper said everyone will be arriving within the next few hours. It's going to be a nice family reunion."

Michael reached for Ava and settled her in his lap. "I agree with that," he said. "I just hope that the ship is going to be okay when we get back. Are you ready to leave?"

"I am," Spencer said, getting to her feet and leaning in to kiss him. "Thankfully, Hawaii isn't that far away via transporter. I've already had out things sent ahead. With any luck, it will already be in our room when we get to there."

He came to his feet with Ava in his arms after he kissed her. "And this time, it will be just us and not the rest of the senior officers. Do you think we should have more crew get togethers when we get back aboard?"

"Please... don't take offense to what I'm about to say," she said softly, making her way out of the conference room with her family. "But... I really don't want to think about anything regarding the ship until it's time for us to return."

"Fair enough," Michael said as he went out with her, Ava and their son before he headed for the turbolift. "Next stop is the transporter station and then Hawaii. I could really use a Piña Colada."

"The only ones I'll be having are the virgin ones," she said, shifting the baby in her arms around a bit. "Which isn't a big deal."

"I'll have one for you," he assured her as he headed into the turbolift. "I plan on getting a tan that will make me look like another person by the end of our vacation. What are you planning?"

"Keeping the little ones as busy as possible so they don't get bored," she answered.

"We can get them everything possible to keep them busy," Michael assured her as they left the building and headed for the transporter station. "We need to pick up holo recorders, too. I miss too much while I'm on duty and I don't want to miss a thing on this vacation."

"I have one packed, but we can get a few more," Spencer said with a smile. "The more we have, the less likely we are to miss things, right?"

"I think three would be perfect," he said as he entered the transporter station. "It's not like I can't afford it with the raise that I got. I can spoil you and the kids even more rotten now."

Spencer laughed. "Like we need to be spoiled more than you already do. I'm so excited, though. Aside from Piper and Gage... no one has met our little man yet. Come to think of it... the family hasn't met Liam, either. This vacation is going to be quite special."

"Other than seeing images, you're right," Michael said before he told the transporter operator their destination and stepped up onto the pad. "They're going to spoil him so bad that even a Ferengi will be disgusted."

"They're going to spoil all the kids rotten. I think... you and I will be lucky if we see much of them," she said, pressing another kiss to her son's temple. "I can't believe he's going to be a year old soon. This isn't supposed to be. Neither of my babies are really babies anymore."

"They'll always be our babies, Spencer," he said as he waited for her to join him and Ava on the transporter pad.

Once she joined him on the platform, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and canted her head. "I know. They just grow up so fast."

"Next stop," Michael started to say as the transporter energies swirled around the four of them and converted them to a matter stream. In what was no time at all, they reformed in the same swirl of energies and stood on a transporter platform in Hawaii. "Hawaii," he finished.

A woman dressed in a colorful bikini top and skirt came up to them with four lei's. "Aloha," she said with a smile. "And welcome to Hawaii. My name is Lani and I'm your transporter operator today. Did you have a destination from here?"

"Aloha. We do," Spencer said, giving the name of the hotel they were going to be staying at.

Lani put a lei over each of their necks except for Michael Junior and looked at Spencer. "Would you like to hold this cute little guy's lei?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," the little guy's mother said as she accepted the flower lei. "Can you tell us how we get to our hotel from here?"

"It's no problem," Lani said as she brought them a PADD and handed it to Michael. "This has all the local maps, attractions, eateries, hotels and everything else you could want."

Michael looked at it as he adjusted Ava again and entered their hotel name in it. "It's just three blocks down," he told Spencer. "Feel like walking or want me to call a transport?"

"Three blocks isn't so far, so we can walk. We'll have to lay the little ones down for a bit," Spencer replied. "You know how cranky your son gets if he's woken early."

"Sort of like how you were in the Academy," he said with a grin before he headed out of the transporter station. "The only thing that would make you smile were those brownies that I got from that old Betazoid woman who ran the bakery."

Spencer smiled at the memory. That seemed like ages ago now. "I remember those days, and it wasn't all that long ago that I broke the habit of being cranky when someone woke me up. It was having Ava that did it."

Michael headed to the left once they were out of the station and took a deep breath of the salty air. "I forgot how beautiful it was here," he said as he looked out over the blue ocean near them and the lush vegetation. "I thought your first CO was going to hang you for not showing up on shift on time," he laughed.

"Everyone has a slip up once in a while," she said with a shrug. "I'm only human, after all."

"If I recall correctly," he said with a chuckle. "Ensign Scott was the crew's choice as crankier than a Klingon with no bloodwine in the mornings."

"My schedule was crap," his wife protested. "Who puts someone on Gamma shift one day, then sticks them on Alpha the next? I swear my first XO hated me."

"That's where all green crew goes," Michael laughed. "It builds character, they say. I put all our green crew there, too."

"I never had it in myself to do that to anyone," she stated. "It just doesn't seem right. Why torture someone in such a way when they're already likely to pull two or three shifts at a time anyway depending on what's going on?"

"It trains new officers on what to expect while on duty," he said as they reached their hotel. "For example, I did five...or what it six? shifts straight when the Thasian was trying to kill us because Maddy was in Sickbay and I didn't have a Second Officer."

"There are other ways to train them," Spencer pointed out as they neared their hotel. It wouldn't be long now before they were checking into their suite, and what pleased her the most was it had two individual bedrooms. "Anyway... enough about that. We're supposed to be on vacation. I don't want to talk about anything that requires duty. Except... that I'm very glad Maddy is okay."

"So am I," Michael said as he headed into the hotel. "For now, though, let's get checked in, find a pool and get some real, honest to goodness Earth sun."

"I can't go anywhere until the squirts wake up, but that doesn't mean you can't. Gage and Piper are already here. I think he'd love the chance for some one on one time with his Commodore brother."

"That's business talk, babe," he said as he handed his ID chip to the concierge. The Vulcan took it and processed it, then handed it back and gave him a key card.

"Your suite is eleven thirty-four," the Vulcan male said. "Should you require anything, there is a PADD for in hotel service in your suite and thank you for choosing Grand Wailea for your stay."

"Thank you," Spencer said with a smile and looked to her husband. "Shall we head up and get settled a bit?"

A Bolian female came from a back office and approached them. "My name is Orawira Rewa and I'll be your personal concierge," she said before she handed him another card. "If you need anything at all at any time, please contact me. Your luggage has already been transported to your suite and your Napua Club PADD is awaiting your perusal. Once again, thank you for choosing the Grand Wailea hotel."

Michael took the card with the others. "Thank you, Miss Rewa and we will." He put the cards in his pocket and headed to the turbolift with his wife and kids.

"This personal concierge service with the Napua Club has everything, Spencer," he said. "I think you're going to love the Chocolate Decadence service. Especially the one for adults after the kids go to sleep."

"I think I may never leave," she said, making it very hard to tell if she was kidding or not. "Mama needs chocolate and a massage."

"Your wish is the Napua Club's command, love," Michael said as the turbolift arrived and they headed up. "You're going to be so spoiled that they'll smell you in the Gamma Quadrant."

Spencer shook her head. "As much as I'd love to to all of that, I'd feel guilty. I'm a mom, and their needs and wants," she began, gesturing to their two sleeping children. "Will always come before my own. I'll have plenty enough time to do what I want when they're all grown up and leave the nest, which... I hope won't be until they're in their fifties."

"They have stuff for all of us," he pointed out. "They have a schedule of activities and all the amenities you could want and some you will never be able to live without ever again. I already know that I'm going to be glad to be getting the raise in pay for being a Commodore because it's going to be spent here."

"Not by me," she assured him as they were deposited on their floor.

Michael stepped out of the turbolift with Ava in his arms still and headed down to their suite. "If you don't, I will," he laughed. "Can you get the key card from my pocket, please?" he asked her.

Spencer grinned as she reached into his pocket to grab the card. "How many times are you going to ask me to do that later?"

He laughed. "Depends on if the kids are in bed or not," he said with a gleam in his eyes. "Shall we enter our home away from home for the next two weeks?"

"Absolutely," she said with a smile, slipping the key card into the slot. When the door was unlocked, she turned the handle and pushed the door open, lighting up when she saw inside. "This... this is amazing."

Michael looked around and his eyes grew big. "Oh wow. When they said the Nupea Suites were big, I thought they were just trying to impress the guests. Color me impressed." He gestured for her to go in ahead of him.

"Let's lay these two down, so I can stretch out for a minute," Spencer stated, making her way inside and to the second bedroom that was already equipped with a bed for Ava and a crib for Little Mikey. She smiled and pressed a kiss to her son's temple, then laid him down. "Rest well, pumpkin."

He laid Ava down in the bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead before he stood back up and stretched. His back cracked several times and he gave a soft groan. "I think I need a massage, too," he said as he headed over to give his son a kiss.

"Why don't you head down and get one?" his wife asked softly just before kissing Ava on her forehead before leaving the room.

"All I really want to do now is get out of my uniform, take a real shower and spend time with you before we meet up with Gage, Piper and the others," Michael said as he followed her. Their luggage was in the center of the room and two PADDs were on the table detailing the services available with the scheduled times.

"While you do that, I'm going to check out our bed." And with that, she made her way to the other bedroom where she did a belly flop on the king size bed. This was total paradise.

He grabbed their suitcases and brought them into the bedroom before he opened his and pulled out a pair of black shorts and a blue, red and yellow shirt which looked like a sunset with palm trees on the back of it. "I'll be out in a few," he said before he headed into the shower.

"Take your time, honey. I'm going to lay here and let the bed swallow me whole," Spencer said with a bright smile. She looked extremely comfortable and had no intentions of moving from her spot. "The kids haven't been asleep but for about half an hour or so, which means they'll be asleep for at least another hour. So... if you decide you want to leave your clothes in the bathroom, I won't hold it against you."

Michael smiled and went to lean over to give her a kiss. "Your wish is my command," he said before he headed into the shower. "You could join me if you want," he called out as his uniform top flew into the room to land on the floor.

"I could, but that would require moving from this bed that's made from pure heaven," she pointed out, looking toward the bathroom, wondering how long it would take him so come back out after she said her next bit. "Of course... you could come back in here and give me a reason to have to take a shower."

"Sure," he called. "If you don't mind the smell of swamp butt. I sat in the meeting all morning in uniform and they had the heat turned up so much that only a Vulcan could love it."

Spencer pushed herself up on her elbows and looked toward the bathroom again. That was the equivalent of having an ice cold bucket of water dumped on her head. "Yeah... just go ahead and get dressed. That, and the visual it left in my mind, has successfully killed the mood."

"I was just saying that I really need a shower first," Michael called as the sound of running water was heard. "Then after that, we can explore the possibilities and take another shower."

"It's okay, really," she said, trying to shake what exactly a swamp butt would look like out of her mind as she rolled onto her side. With the little ones out for at least another hour, that meant she could likely squeeze in a few with is before they met up with the rest of the family. That sounded like a hell of a plan, too. Spencer closed her eyes and allowed herself the ability to doze off.

When he came out, Michael saw that she had passed out and proceeded to get dressed. He pulled the Commodore pin off of his collar and took the rest of the uniform to the recycler to get cleaned. After that was done, he unpacked their clothes quietly, then headed into the living room to go over the options available to them.

Ava came out of the room she shared with her baby brother with Spooky clutched to her chest looking quite disoriented. She had no idea where she was and let out a cry when she didn't recognize her surroundings... or see anyone familiar.

Michael heard the little cry and immediately turned to see his daughter. He dropped the PADD and immediately went over to her and knelt down to hug her. "Ava honey, Daddy's here. We're on vacation and in Hawaii, Princess. It's okay."

The little girl wrapped her arms around her dad's neck and sniffled, already feeling better. "Baycation?"

"Yup!" He lifted her up and went to the window to show her the sky and blue ocean that stretched to the horizon. "Look!"

Her blue eyes turned toward the ocean and lit up. "Come in, daddy! We go!"

"We will in a little bit when you mommy and brother wake up," Michael said. "But first...I have a surprise to show you." He carried her to the breakfast/dinner area and showed her a table that was laid out with different jars of cookies and candy and smiled. "This place has its own snack bar. Do you want one?"

"Weally!?" Ava asked, unable to contain her excitement that only a child could have. She looked over the selection in front of them with her little tongue poked out as she seemed to be concentrating. "Dat one!" Her little finger pointed at the jar that contained the chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

"One chocolate chip cookie it is," he said as he opened the jar, picked up the pair of tongs and selected one for her. "Here you go!"

"Thank yoooou, daddy!" the dark haired little girl shouted as she took the cookie from him. With a happy little wiggle, Ava took a bite and gave a happy grin. "Da cookies is all for me, right?"

Michael laughed. "They're for all of us," he said. "And you aren't going to eat them all at once. They have to last for our entire vacation." Sure, it was a fib, but he knew if she thought they wouldn't get new ones every day that she wouldn't try to eat them all in one day.

Ava made her patented 'oh no' face, her little mouth the perfect O shape. "We can't have dat, daddy."

"No, we can't," he said. "Do you want to help me plan an evening of fun for all of us?"

"Yes! We can go to da..." The little girl looked as though she was trying to concentrate on the word she wanted. Instead, she pointed at the window. "Dere!"

"Do you want to go make s'mores on the beach and play in the water?" Michael asked as he carried her onto the private balcony the room had. The warm salty sea air blew over them and he took a deep breath.

"Weally!?" the little girl asked enthusiastically. She was such an easy child to please. "Yesh! We needa tell Mommy!"

"Really," he said. "But right now Mommy is sleeping and so is your little brother. We can hang out together, though. I have some new games I got for you if you want to see them."

"Yesh!" the little girl shouted, throwing her arms around his neck and leaning in to press a cookie covered kiss to his cheek. Ava was definitely a happy little girl. Unless, of course, she woke up in unfamiliar surroundings without her parents in sight.

Michael led her to the living room and grabbed a PADD he had unpacked that was full of games designed just for kids her and Mikey's age groups. He activated it and began to show her the games that he had gotten and looked at her. "Which one do you want to try first?"

"Dis one!" Ava said, pointing to one of the puzzle games he'd installed on the PADD. She didn't know how to play most of these, but that's what her Daddy was there for.

He brought it up and settled down on the floor with the PADD and motioned beside of him. "Okay, Princess," he said. "Let's get this solved and Captain Ava will save the day again!"

Ava looked up at her dad. "Cap'n Spook Ava," she corrected before turning attention back to the PADD to play.

"Cap'n Spook Ava it is, then," Michael said as he started the game. "It looks like you have to put all the pieces together to see the whole picture. That's what Spooks do best, isn't it?"

"Yesh," the dark haired little girl replied as she began to move the puzzle pieces over the screen. This was the kind of thing she enjoyed to do when she had the chance to, and often times, her mother would allow her to play for a bit just before she and her baby brother went down for their naps. "Can we see 'tenant Rho?"

"He's on vacation, too, sweetie," he said as he moved a piece of the puzzle for her. "And he's having just as good a time as we are."

"Weally?" Ava asked, looking back at her dad. "Can Ava call 'tenant Rho?"

"No, honey," Michael said gently. "Daddy doesn't know where he is and can't get ahold of him until after our vacation."

"Oookay," the little girl said in a defeated tone, then went back to the puzzle in her hands.

"He'll be on the ship when we go back, Princess," he said. "Do you want something to drink?"

Ava shook her head and finished off her cookie, then she jumped to her feet. She settled the PADD on the couch just before taking off toward the back of their suite, though, she didn't turn toward the room she was going to be sharing with her brother. Instead, she turned toward the other where her mother was sleeping. Very carefully, the little girl crawled onto the bed to snuggle next to the sleeping form of one of her most favorite people ever.

Michael picked up the PADD, saved the puzzle and deactivated it before he set it on the table. He gave a chuckle, glad he had crew that he didn't need to pick up after. With a shake of his head, he went into the bedroom to see if Ava was trying to wake up Spencer. When he saw her snuggled up with her, he backed out to get a holo imager.

When he got it, he crept back to the bedroom and activated it, content to simply get a few precious moments. He had missed too many of them lately and he was determined to get as many as possible while on shore leave with his family.

Spencer stirred around a bit when she felt the little body curl up against her. A smile formed on her lips, and her arm slipped over the small body of her daughter. "Where's your Daddy?" she asked softly.

Ava pointed toward the door. "He's takin' pictures!"

Michael laughed when Ava pointed him out. "Guilty as charged and not nearly as sneaky as I thought," he said softly.

"You should spend the day with Security and brush up on your former training," his wife said with a smile. She still didn't get up, but instead pulled her daughter closer and pressed a kiss to her temple. "We're on vacation, though, so you can take as many pictures as you want to."

"I don't have a need to sneak," he said. "That's what Intel is for. I'm happy just to be getting a few pictures of my family together."

Spencer rolled onto her back and let Ava lay on her. "Like I said, you can take as many pictures as you want to."

Michael took another picture before he set the holo imager aside and moved over to the bed. "Do you feel like making s'mores on the beach with the kids when Mikey wakes up?"

"I do. Maybe we can have dinner out there, too," she said, kissing her little girl's forehead again. This was just what she needed. The chance to relax and be with her family without wondering if they'd all get to be together again. "Have you checked to see if everyone else arrived yet?" She already knew her sister, Gage and the baby were, but didn't know if anyone else made it.

"Not yet," he said. "I was putting everything away and Princess woke up in a strange place and panicked a little, but she's okay now. I like the sound of dinner on the beach, though. We have private access, too, so no one will disturb us."

Spencer smiled. "I think it will be nice. We can go swimming, too."

"While you keep Miss Ava happy, I'll go call," Michael said before he leaned down to give her a kiss.

"We'll be good here," she said, returning his kiss with a smile. "Go ahead. We'll be here when you get done."

He headed out to the living room and made a few calls, then went to pour himself a cup of real Kona blend coffee that he had requested be put in the suite. After he verified that everyone was already in Hawaii or soon to be there, he took his mug and headed to check on his son.

Inside the portable crib, little Mikey was still sound asleep with his little fist balled up by his face. He was on his belly, and looked so peaceful in that moment. Those that knew him, though, knew he was always on the go, seldom taking the opportunity for a break unless it was to sleep. He wasn't a bad child by any means, but chose to live life in the fast lane.

Satisfied, Michael smiled and headed back to the bedroom. "Everyone's here or in route," he said. "I checked on Mikey and he's still sleeping, too."

"I think he'll end up sleeping for a little while longer, then his Daddy will get to chase him around for a while," Spencer stated with a sweet smile. "I can't wait for everyone to finally be together. It's been far too long already."

"I'll give him a cookie when he gets up," he said. "Miss Ava already had one and knows that the cookie and snack bar has to last for two weeks. When everyone gets here, we can meet and plan out something for all of us."

"Half a cookie. I saw the size of those things when we first arrived. He's already set on max. We don't need him moving faster," she said, blowing a lock of hair from her face. "Dinner and s'mores on the beach will work. It will give everyone time to catch up."

"They have low sugar cookies there that taste as good as the real thing," Michael said. "Did you want me to have our concierge shop for anything in particular for the cookout?"

"We don't get much real seafood on the ship, so I would go with that. Maybe some steaks, too, and chicken," Spencer answered as she rose to her feet with Ava in her arms. A smile formed on her lips as the little girl snuggled against her mom. "We have a kitchen, so I can whip up any kind of side dishes we might want."

He followed her out and picked up the PADD and began placing the order with enough food to feed everyone and have leftovers. "Did you want anything special? Vegetables, desserts, seasonings?"

"Ice cream, strawberries, chocolate, and yes... to all that other stuff," she replied. "Make sure you put down snacks for the kids down, along with juice and drinks."

"Got it," Michael said as he placed the full order and sent it through. "This is amazing service," he told her as he set the PADD down. "It's even better than a replicator or service on the Promenade."

"Maybe we should consider getting it on the ship?" his wife asked with a hopeful smile.

He laughed. "Well, I can afford it now," he said. "But I doubt Miss Rewa would be agreeable to coming back to the ship with us. I wonder if I can get Mister Efits to act as a concierge...."

"I seriously doubt that," she said with a laugh. "It's okay, though. I don't mind my role as concierge for our family."

"You're far more than that, my love," Michael said. "You're the glue that holds us all together and I love you for that."

Spencer smiled. "And you'd all be lost without me. I know it."

"I would," he said as he leaned in to give her a kiss. "You've always been my rock."

"I'd be pretty lost without you, too, you know. You've been a huge part of my life for a really long time, and I'm so grateful to have you," she said as she leaned in to return the kiss. "I love you, Mikey."

"I love you, too, Spencer," Michael said with a smile. "If it weren't for you and the kids, I doubt that I'd be where I am today. Though, I do have one request."

"Oh yeah?" Spencer queried, more than a bit curious about what this request was. "What would that be?"

"If they try to promote me to Admiral, make me retire," he said. "I'm born to command a ship, not a desk and Admirals don't get their own ships unless they have somewhere to be taken."

"Spoken like a true CO," his wife said with a smile.

"C'mon, love," Michael said. "Let's get Mikey ready and enjoy our vacation."

Spencer smiled. "I like the way you think. Lead the way."