Time Well Spent...

Posted on Mon Dec 12th, 2016 @ 1:40pm by Captain Jack Solomon & Admiral Deela T'Lar

1,488 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 93 - Warrior VS Warrior
Location: Deela's Quarters
Timeline: MD4 1900

Having finished his shift, Jack had secured his toolkit away in his office in Main Engineering and made a moments decision to go and catch up with Deela. Once again events had conspired to keep them apart with the recent situation surrounding the Klingon Civil War and the refit progressing with the USS Pegasus at a very nice pace.

However, after their last date, Jack decided to pay Deela a surprise visit to see how she and the kids were doing. It was at times like these with the Klingons at each others throats, Admiral Bremer recovering from the attack of the assasin trying to get to him and the Starbase on alert due to recent hostile activity that made him glad he family and friends to speak with.

Arriving at Deela's quarters, he pressed the chime and stood waiting with a bunch of flowers that he'd picked up from the Promenade on the way.

Deela wasn't expecting anyone so she was very surprised when she answered the door. Upon seeing Jack with flowers in hand, she smiled. It had been a long time since anyone brought her flowers. "Jack! Aww, you brought me flowers. You are so sweet." She took the flowers from him, "Come on in." She stepped back to let him in.

Jack stepped in and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek as he came into her quarters. "Well I wanted to start off well by making you smile after a hard days work," he said as he was pleased to see the flowers had the desired effect.

As they moved further in, Jack headed over to the replicator and ordered Deela's favourite drink before coming over to serve her where she was seated. "Your drink, my lady," he said with a smile.

Deela smiled, "Thank you." She took a sip, "Your timing could not be more impeccable. The kids are having a sleepover and Bremer is doing much better so I am off duty for the evening."

Jack smiled as Deela explained about what seemed to a perfect chance for them to spend an evening together. "Wow, no kids... Bremer giving you the night off... It sounds like a perfect night on your own," he said, teasingly as he got up to leave. "I don't want to disturb you my love..."

Jack smiled as he teased Deela, knowing that this chance didn't come along often but also that he was in a playful mood.

"You are not disturbing me at all. It is nice to have an enjoyable conversation with someone other than my kids." She took another sip of her drink, "Have you eaten yet?"

Jack moved back to the sofa and joined her. "No, not yet... I came straight over after finishing my shift," he explained taking a sip from his own drink. "Do you have anything in mind?" he asked.

"Actually, I do but it will require us to leave here." Deela stood up, "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Jack looked a little surprised as she explained that they were leaving her quarters and he eagerly followed her out.

Deela led him to the promenade and into a restaurant there. A civilian nodded to her, "I was just about to call you. I must admit, you have improved immensely. Great job." He went about his business and Deela continued to walk into the back kitchen. She opened the oven and pulled out what was cooking. She then looked over at Jack and smiled, "Remember when I told you that I cannot cook? Well, I have been practicing for a while now and I believe that I have become a decent cook. I hope you like Beef Wellington." She picked up the thermometer and tempted it.

Taking in the fact that they have walked into one of the restaurants on the promenade and then proceeded out the back, Jack was impressed Deela had been cooking and also that she'd been given praise by a professional cook.

"I love Beef Wellington!" he exclaimed as he watched her go about her work. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Jack asked as he was impressed with this new turn of events.

Deela joked as she sliced the Wellington, "You can help me eat it." She began to explain to him where she got the menu as she grabbed the salad out of the fridge and then took the lid off of the pot with the risotto. "I found this in my search of famous chefs from the 21 century." She pulled down two dishes from the cupboard and handed him one of them. She then handed him the spoon to the risotto, "Help yourself."

"Happy to assist," Jack answered as he dug in and served himself up a plateful of food before taking a seat with Deela. He took a mouthful of food and made his approval clear. "That is fantastic! You can cook again my beloved," he praised before continuing. "What made you think to check for recipes from famous historic chefs? Although I'm not complaining..."

"One word...replicators. True chefs became scarce by the 24th century. 22nd century, we had protein resequencers and then in the 23rd century, we developed food synthesizers. And now food replicators. I think cooking is a lost art." She took a bite of her food, "I mean, can you truly replicate something like pork chops and it tastes exactly the same? Think about it. Let us use my example I just mentioned. When we want to create a pork chop, the replicator would first form atoms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc., then arrange them into amino acids, proteins, and cells, and assemble the particles into the form of a pork chop. I have never tested the theory but I have heard it before that there is a slight difference."

Jack smiled as he watched Deela explain her reasons for producing such a fantastic meal and preparing it for them. He could tell that this meant a lot to her and he was proud of her work. Jack also realised how much he loved listening to her as well. *Well I think this is a fantastic meal and you've done a fantastic job," he praised.

"Deela smiled proudly, "Well thank you. At some point, I was going to surprise you with a dinner in my quarters but I am glad that you came over when you did and that you were able to enjoy this with me." She snickered, "Besides who better to be my guinea pig?"

Jack smiled before he took a sip of his drink and placed it back on the table. "My beloved, I am always happy to be your guinea pig anytime you require one..." he began before stopping for a moment. "However, the idea of a surprise dinner in your quarters isn't a bad one for another time. Besides, we have tonight to ourselves and the kids are safely looked after..."

He smiled before making his next comment. "Like a once great 20th Century song once said, We have all the time in the world..."

Deela chuckled a little, "So, what do you want to do with the time we have?"

Jack smiled as she posed the question. "I think we should go and curl up together and spend some alone time with each other," he suggested as he took her hand in his gently. "We've both been working hard recently and the kids are safely tucked up for the night... what do you say?" he asked.

Something Jack had promised during recent days was to spend more time with her and to show that this was a relationship that had his full commitment and attention. Not just to Deela, but to the children as well. He wanted to be there for them as they grew up and to be there as he loved Deela with all his heart.

Deela had been hoping to spend time with him and this moment couldn't have been anymore perfect. There was no question in her mind how much he loved her and she loved him just as much. So she didn't need to think about her response, "I say, yes. I would love to."

Jack stood up from the table and took Deela by the hand as he led her way from the table in the restaurant as he guided her to his quarters, he made sure that she could sense his intentions towards her as they spent the night alone together. Upon reaching his quarters he turned to face her, kissing her gently before as he whispered "There are questions that I must have answered," before taking her in.

Deela observed him for a moment, "You can ask me anything. What do you want to know?"

Jack smiled a naughty smile as he leaned in and whispered something into Deela's ear before guiding her to the bedroom for the night....

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