Pillow Talk

Posted on Fri Nov 18, 2016 @ 3:39am by Captain Madelina Weisz & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Barnes' Quarters
Timeline: MD 2 || 1930 Hours

Maddy didn't think her shift was ever going to end, but it was her position as Executive Officer that had her working odd hours and dealing with anything that just wasn't worth the Captain's time. Today seemed to be full of things like that, along with her dealings with one particular Orion woman she'd rather not have on the ship at all. The same could be said for those who claimed to have 'captured' her. It all seemed like a crock, but like everyone else, she had orders to follow.

It was getting late, and since she was just getting off duty after finishing up the days reports, the redheaded woman didn't even bother changing her uniform as she moved down the corridor toward Thomas' quarters. He wasn't expecting her. If he chose to, he could very well turn her away, but a big part of her hoped that wouldn't be the case. Maybe she should have stopped at The Black Hole for a drink or two before making her current journey. At least then, it would keep her mind from bouncing all over the place like it was.

With a sigh, she stopped in front of the door and reached out to press the chime. If nothing else, she'd have someone to talk to, and that was definitely better than nothing. Now, all she had to do was wait to be granted entry.

Tom had been in his quarters for just a couple minutes, only long enough to change out of his uniform. While he was normally preferred to socialize in his off hours, Tom had elected to stay in for the evening. The day had been quite eventful, and working with the Chief of Intelligence until just a few minutes ago, took more of his mental strength than he thought it would.

He was surprised to hear the door chime, so surprised in fact he nearly jumped. "Who could that be?" he mumbled, turning and approaching the door. Rather than simply call, "Come," like he would in his office day in and day out, he chose to open the door via the control panel.

His eyes widened in surprise, seeing the ship's executive officer there. While he had enjoyed their recent nocturnal activities, he hadn't expected to see her again this soon, much less in uniform. In fact, even in this moment he wasn't sure what to call her. Still, he smiled and managed to greet her by name, "Madelina." Well, it was probably too formal, but she was in uniform.

"Maddy," she said, gesturing past him with the same hand that had pressed the chime only moments ago. "Are you going to invite me in, or would you rather I kiss you right here for everyone to see?" Not that she'd mind if he chose the latter. One thing the red headed woman didn't care about was what others thought about her off duty activities.

Tom was not one to shy away from public view, but for him this was uncharted territory. After all, what problem should rank present when they were both mature adults. They'd both served relatively the same amount of time. What much did it matter. "Of course," he said with a smile, gesturing inside. "Come in, Maddy." He also noted that she did not prefer her given name at all. It would be wise of him to not use it again.

"Madelina is far too formal off duty," she said as she moved inside and out of the way of the sensors so the door would close behind her. "I'm assuming your day has been just as busy as mine has been."

He removed his hand from the door controls and smiled as she nearly passed him. Tom immediately reached out and slid an arm around her as if he were catching her as she entered. "That's a fair assumption from a fair lady."

Maddy grinned when he slid an arm around her, then slipped her arms around his neck in return as she leaned in to kiss him. This is what she needed after the day she had, and she'd been looking forward to it for more than half the day. When she needed to take a breath, she pulled back and grinned. "I've been looking forward to that for a large part of the day."

Tom's smile grew as a result, drawing her closer. "It looked like you needed it more than I. Who would have thought that a simple transport ship would have been so troublesome."

"Especially one with an explosive device on it," she muttered just before thinking about the Orion woman sitting in the brig. Sadly, the green-skinned woman would be sitting there for a while if the information she provided didn't pan out. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in on you like this. After the day we've all been subjected to, I didn't want to go back to my place and be alone."

"I don't mind at all." He kissed her again before withdrawing his embrace. "And you're not interrupting anything. I was actually planning on staying in tonight. Something to drink?" he asked, approaching a table nearby that had a glass container filled with brandy.

"A double, please," she said, moving over to the couch to settle down so she could take her boots off. If he didn't want her staying the night, it'd be nothing for her to put them back on, but she wanted to be slightly comfortable. Things would be even better if she could get out of her uniform, but there was time for that later. "That's all I planned to do, too. And, have dinner delivered."

Tom poured them both a double and took both glasses over to the couch. "Ordering in sounds like fun," he said with a smile, sitting on the couch beside her. "Now I'm glad I decided not to go anywhere."

"That makes two of us. I need a distraction, and you're a pretty good one," Maddy grinned as she took one of the two glasses. It was all she could do not to slam the glass back, but instead take a small sip of the amber colored liquid inside. Maybe she should have gone back to her quarters to get the blue stuff they'd had the night before.

"Pfft!" Tom playfully gruffed before taking a sip of the brandy. "I've been called many things. Distraction has never been one."

"Really?" the redheaded woman asked unable to his her shock. "I find that a little hard to believe."

"I've had years of working in the background, almost unnoticed," Tom confessed before taking another sip. "Though, it's hard to be unnoticed as a transporter operator. You see a lot from behind the controls."

"And look where you are now. You're the head of your department. There's no chance you can go unnoticed now," Maddy pointed out, taking another sip of her drink. "You're a good distraction for me. It's a compliment. Take it."

"Indeed I shall," he confirmed, ending that particular subject. Tom reached over and placed his hand on her knee. Already, he could feel the difference in the fabric; she was wearing one of the new uniforms. "How's it fit?" Tom asked. Though his had been replicated, he'd neglected to put his on that morning.

"It fits really well. I can hardly notice much of a difference, but there are slight ones. I'm impressed with them. Did you wear yours?"

Well, there was no point in hiding it now. "Honestly," he told her, "I forgot all about it. In fact," he pointed to the folded uniform on his desk. "It's been sitting there since last night. And I just changed out of a uniform, so it'll sit there until tomorrow." Remembering that she was still uniformed beside him with the three pips on the collar, he added, "If that's okay."

"I'm officially off duty despite the uniform, but just so you're not uncomfortable, do you have a shirt I can borrow?" Maddy asked as she leaned forward to set her glass down. If being out of it made things a bit more laid back, then that's what she was going to do. "And, you're more than welcome to keep it there as long as you wish to. I don't think the Captain made wearing them mandatory. There's been so much going on today that I've forgotten some of the little things that have gone on recently."

Tom nodded and retreated to the bedroom. "It's not that I'm uncomfortable," he called back. He opened a drawer and removed a gray t-shirt emblazoned with block letters that read RIGEL. As he returned to the living area, he continued, "Not only is this my first assignment where my peers are high-ranking officers, but I'm actually seeing the XO in my private time. He handed her the shirt and sat back down. "I'll get over it soon enough. Old habits die hard, as they say."

Maddy took the shirt and looked at the letters on the front. "I'm probably going to feel really stupid asking this, but what does the RIGEL stand for?" she asked as she began to remove her uniform jacket and shirt to replace it with the one he'd provided. "As for old habits, I can understand that, but try to remember that I'm just like everyone else is when I'm not on duty, and that I don't care who sees who as long as they do their jobs when on duty."

He gave her a reassuring nod before taking a sip. "Have you ever played the part of a tourist? Gone on vacation?" he asked her, answering her question with a question.

"Yes," she answered. "It's been a while, but I've been a tourist before. The last time was on Risa a couple years ago."

"I've been to a lot of places, never for a vacation though. You know how you can buy a shirt just about anywhere with a city's or planet's name on it?" Tom took a sip of his drink, nearly finishing the glass. "I have enough shirts to last me a couple months without having to do laundry."

"That's a lot of shirts," she said, settling back down on the couch again. "It makes me wish I would have thought to do something like that, but it's never too late to start. Do me a favor, though?"

He smiled at her comment, and at the sight of her changing as he finished his drink. "Of course, Maddy," Tom said. "What is it?"

"Stick around for a while," she answered simply.

Tom set his glass down on the coffee table before turning to face her. "I intend to," he said with a smile, and then leaned in to kiss her.

Maddy returned the kiss as she leaned back on the couch, making sure he was going with her as she moved by slipping her arms around his neck. She was looking forward to getting to know him better along with keeping up with their nocturnal activities. Most of the time she did things pretty backwards when it came to her personal life, and things had never worked out for her in the past, but that didn't keep her from getting back on that horse. She just hoped this didn't come back to bite her in some way.

After a few moments, she pulled back to smile at him. "I'm glad to hear that."

He smiled at her. "Should we order dinner?" he asked, not caring which she chose. "Or did you have something else in mind first?"

"That's the beauty of The Black Hole. They'll hold our order and deliver it when we tell them to," Maddy said, lifting her head to kiss him again. "I do have something else in mind, and I'm sure you have a good idea what it is."

Tom did indeed.

Later, Tom laid on his back in his bed with Maddy close by. In all of his years in the fleet, he'd had a few trysts and fewer lovers. Something about this, however, felt different. A good different. He looked to his left where Maddy lay and smiled. "That was a good idea."

Maddy rolled onto her side and pressed a kiss to his chest with a smile of her own. "I thought it was, too," she said, settling back down next to him. "How do you feel about having company for the night?"

"I would say that you are full of good ideas, Maddy," Tom confirmed. He had no problem hosting a sleepover for the evening. She already said she didn't care about off-duty matters, so why should he.

"Not always. I've had some pretty horrible ones in the past," she said softly, tucking an arm under her head. "I was almost married once. I thought things were great up until the day of the ceremony. He decided that he didn't want to be tied to any one thing but being out in space, so he called it off a few hours before the ceremony was set to take place. That... was one if the worst days of my life."

She smiled at Tom. "I didn't tell you that so you would feel pity for me. It happened years ago, and I've gotten over it. I told you that because I'd like the chance to get to know you better. Yes... I've done things a bit backwards, but that's just how I am. Backwards."

Tom frowned in response. He had no idea Maddy had been through something like that. Tom also completely understood her former fiancé's point of view. The chief had felt the same way throughout much of his career, which was why he'd never allowed himself to let a relationship go that far. Now that he was a Senior Chief and a Department Head, Tom had already started to evaluate his life and where he could make some changes. What had happened with Maddy over the last few days was a good start.

"It's Starfleet," he told her. "There's nothing normal about it, so why should you have to approach a relationship from a traditional stance? I get it all too well. But, if we are going to work backwards, we should figure out what the next step is. Not that this isn't fun, because it is. Because, I too would like to get to know you better."

"What would you want the next step to be?" Maddy asked softly, turning her attention in his direction once again.

"Well," Tom said, rolling over onto his side to face her. "Usually before the first night of... well, this, there's a spectacular date. At least there should be."

Maddy couldn't help but look a bit surprised, but it was replaced with a smile. "Then we should go on a spectacular date. There's quite a bit to do on the ship that doesn't even require going to the holodeck," she said, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face.

He noted the surprise, and was unsure whether he should address it or not. For now he thought it best to leave it be. "The Triumphant is a large ship. Though I've seen some of her so far, I haven't had time to explore the shops and the fine eateries that are aboard. But, that's not really that spectacular. Maybe we'll need a holodeck and I can give you some context for that shirt you were wearing a bit ago."

"The holodeck it is, then. How's tomorrow night sound for that?" she asked, leaning over to kiss him with another smile.

He gratefully returned the kiss. "Perfect," he replied, noting to reserve a generous time slot for tomorrow. "But, for now, dinner is in order."

"I can go order it, all you have to do is tell me what you want," Maddy offered as she sat up, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. "I'm not entirely sure what I want yet. Maybe a cheeseburger and fries." She wasn't a woman that was afraid to eat, but that was because she worked hard to be able to have whatever she wanted when she wanted it.

Tom beat her to the punch, tapping a control on the panel beside his bed. Just as soon as he ordered two cheeseburgers and fries, and asked for delivery, he closed the channel and looked back at Maddy. "I hope that was all right."

Maddy grinned. "Why wouldn't it be? I just so happen to like a man that takes control, so that is perfectly acceptable for me," she stated as she settled back down on the bed. For now, the redheaded woman didn't have anything that required her attention except for the man lying next to her.

He chuckled, laying back down beside her, though he propped himself up on an elbow in the process. "Let me guess, you make enough decisions during the day that you just want to come home and let someone else do the thinking for a while?" He asked jokingly.

"Maybe not all the decisions, but I definitely don't mind passing the reigns over when I'm off duty. Especially to someone I think is worth it," she said, slipping an arm behind her head before she turned her attention to him once again. "What do you think about doing some of the thinking you mentioned once in a while?"

"Well," he said, "I've been toying with the idea of transwarp beaming. Captain Scott's work was incredible, but he never could quite get it nailed down. I haven't made much progress either, but it's a good way for me to destress. Other than that, I like to see the sights, which I think you can tell from my t-shirt collection. Of course, they don't really compare with the sights of those worlds. But, just seeing the shirts or wearing one takes me back." He smiled at her. "That's a weird combination, don't you think?"

Maddy shook her head. "It doesn't seem so weird because it's something that interests you. I'm actually looking forward to getting to know more about Thomas Barnes. I've got a feeling it's going to be incredibly interesting. So far, it has been."

"What about you?" Tom asked. "What makes Madelina Weisz tick? For instance, why Maddy and not Madelina?" Personally, Tom liked the name, but he was sure there was a reason she preferred Maddy.

"I love my name, but Maddy is quicker and more efficient. Not only that, but my parents started calling me that shortly after my birth. It just stuck. You don't like it?" she asked as she rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Quite the contrary," Tom replied. "I do you like you and your name, Maddy." As an Operations officer, he could easily point out that there were times for efficiency and times for otherwise. But, getting to know her better first before something like that would be necessary. "Just like Thomas. It's a great name, but Tom works just as well. I get it all too well."

"Then... you can call me Madelina if you'd like to," she offered.

A genuine smile formed on Tom's face. He'd wait a while before calling her Madelina. Perhaps when and if this relationship went further down the line. "What else makes you, well, you? Once the duty shift ends, what do you like to do?"

"There's really not much to me. I'm basically a 'what you see is what you get' kind of woman," Maddy replied, shifting around a little bit. She wasn't the kind of person that liked to talk about herself, but if there was any chance that this was going to go anywhere, she needed to. "When I'm off duty, I like to spend time in the gym. I'm a big eater. There's hardly anything I won't eat. That's one reason I spend so much time in the gym. I workout hard to be able to eat what I want to."

"As am I," he told her. "Well, what you see is what you get as far as I go. Though, I don't really work out much. Crawling around in Jefferies Tubes and lugging machinery around the ship does that enough for me." Tom scooted back on the bed so he could sit up. "So, you know I'm an Ops guy, and that I'm good around a transporter. What did Maddy do before putting on the red collar?"

Maddy joined him, sitting up on the bed, but she didn't bother pulling covers over herself. "I'm former Security. I started from the bottom, and now I'm here. Although... being an Executive Officer is as far as I ever plan on going ip the Command chain. What about you? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in Command?"

"I'm a Senior Chief Petty Officer," he replied with a smile. "People like me don't get to Command. Besides, I find it a bit boring. And not having a toolkit in my hand or a console to manipulate just doesn't excite me. But, not going higher than XO? If you're not destined for the center chair, why take on the role?"

"I knew I'd be good at it. Not only that, but I get my share if the center chair being the XO," she replied. "As for your rank, since you've been on board, you've done more than most officers I've seen throughout my career. You should be proud."

"Oh, I am proud." Tom paused. "Well, as proud as I can be. I just like to serve and explore, as naive as that really sounds. But it's definitely true."

"It doesn't really sound naive. I like to explore, too, but we get sent on missions like this and it sets me on edge. Especially when there's an Orion woman involved."

His left eyebrow arched at the mention of the Orion woman in the Brig. He wouldn't bring up what he'd been doing a couple hours before as that would likely cause more damage than not. "How can an Orion woman put you that far on the edge?"

"I don't trust her," Maddy replied simply. "Until she's given me a reason to, that's just the way it's going to be. Almost everyone knows how they can be, too."

Tom leaned back against the headboard. "You know, for all of the Federation's ideals, we always seem to fall back on a species' singular characteristics whether they're good or bad. One has to wonder if we really are better than our forefathers..." Changing subjects quickly, he looked back to her and said, "Dinner should be ready. Should we go get it, or eat here?

Maddy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His words about the Orion woman playing in her mind. Was she wrong for wanting to keep the crew safe? That was her priority, and she didn't know Vashkele from a hole in the head. Knowing that... why did his words bother her so much? She cast a quick glance in his direction before looking down at her hands. "Whichever... I'm not as hungry now as I was earlier."

"Everything okay?" he asked her, noticing her sudden change in tone.

"It's just been a long day," she replied. "I sense many more of those to come in the future, too. I'll be okay." Still... she couldn't quite shake his words. That didn't mean she was going to let Vash out of her cell until the information she'd provided proved to not be a trap.

Tom leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Such is life in the fleet," he said with a worn smile. "Is there anything I can do to cheer you up? Or just help, for that matter?"

Maddy smiled. "You're helping just by being here, and I appreciate that more than I can ever express. Let's go get our dinner, and come back here to enjoy the rest of our evening."

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "I know you didn't bring anything with you, but you can use the replicator for a pair of pants. That Rigel shirt looked good on you though. You can keep it if you want."

"Are you sure?" Maddy asked as she rose to her feet and moved over to the replicator to replicate a pair of pants. She looked over his shoulder while she waited for them to appear. "I know your shirts mean a lot to you."

Tom shrugged as he left the bed and began to put his pants back on. "I have three from Rigel," he confessed. "I never stop at one when it comes to souvenirs. Besides, it looks better on you than in my drawer."

"Then I will wear it with pride," she said with a smile, then moved over to kiss him before she started to get dressed. Maddy was definitely looking forward to spending a little time with him.