Stones, Secrets, and the Sea

Posted on Fri Jul 28th, 2017 @ 9:17am by Tom Vercetti & Vito Russo & Splendora Sage

2,546 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 95 - Helping Old Friends
Location: Splendora's Health Centre
Timeline: MD1 1405

ON:

After Tom had left Splendora had opened shop again. She'd convinced herself and Tom that she would be fine on her own tonight but he'd insisted on sending Vito to stay with her. She shook her head. Poor Vito. She smiled as she could imagine the man's face at having to babysit her.

She was just closing up when she heard Vito call her name. "In the second therapy room Vito!" she called back.

Vito walked into room, looking around, "Everything okay?" He asked.

She smiled, he was a man of few words. "Fine for now. I really appreciate you giving up your evening and night to spend it babysitting me so I thought I'd make it fun. Tonight I'll cook you a real treat! I learned this dish on Romulus, but before that you my friend are getting a spa treatment."

Vito tilted his head. 'Did she say evening and night?' "Ah, ma'am that's not necessary. Tom should be back soon. These votes with the Promenade Merchants' Association usually don't take long."

About that moment, Vito's communicator beeped. "Vito, I'm going to be a while. There's a lot of talking about and forth right now, accusations back and forth about the vote being rigged, a re-vote called, and that vote hasn't been held again yet. I also got work from Paul at the restaurant that the new crew over cooked the ziti for tonight and the fish was under-cooked so I have to run there next."

"Do you need me to take care of that boss? Gabe..." Vito started to reply but Tom cut him off.

"No, it's fine. Stay there. Gabe is watching the front door. I'll come back as soon as I can but it might be late tonight. Sorry V." Tom closed the channel as Zark could be heard calling another shop owner a cheater and costing him profit.

Vito took a breath and looked back at Sage, "Um, ma'am. Dinner would be nice...but does it have to be Romulan?"

She grinned. "Well I do make a mean veal parmesan." She studied Vito. 'Please call me Splendora or Dora, no need to be formal. Now about that spa treatment..."

Vito's shoulders slumped. This wasn't what he had in mind at all. His evening plans included a bottle of wine, a holo-suite, a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea, meh, none of that mattered now. He saw Sage, Dora as a little sister he was protecting. He knew she'd been thought a lot emotionally lately. "Sure, what do I need to do?"

She grinned, "That's the beauty of it! You don't have to do anything. Now I thought we'd start with a massage and then crystal therapy while I go and cook, I have a kitchen in here with a little cooling unit and I'll get to cooking and then we'll have dinner but wait till you see where!" For the first time in a long time she was excited. She hadn't worked in a week and helping people relax and rest was her specialty.

Vito wasn't nervous, no nothing of the sort, but this was unexpected and different. Well, there was that time on Risa with the two...yeah that was a different situation all together. "All right." He removed his phaser and holster and held them in his hand, he wasn't sure where to go or what to really do.

She smiled, "Follow me." She lead him to another room. Inside the lights were dim and soft music played with the sound of birds chirping and sounds of waves on a shore. She patted the bed. I'll let you get changed." She handed him a pair of loose pants. "When you change lay down on this table face down. Your hands go here and use the top sheet to cover yourself from the waste down. Do you like lavender or eucalyptus oil?"

V wasn't sure what to say. He'd had massages before, sure, who hadn't, but this went against his 'image'. "Um, eucalyptus ma'am, let's go ahead and open the sinuses up while we're here." He smirked.

She went to heat the oil while he changed.

V undressed and put the shorts on. He made sure to keep his phaser and communicator close by...never knew who might come though the door. He remembered the story of how Big Paulie Arcuri got hit while getting a massage. Of course that was a few hundred years ago on Earth, not on a Federation Starbase...but he and Tom were playing a dangerous game with the Orion Syndicate lately so he keep the phaser within arms reach.

After laying down he took a deep breath. V wasn't one to let his guard down, something he learned during the Dominion War but also came in handy in the Family. Still, against his better judgement, he relaxed a little.

Dora came back and gave a little knock on the door. "Ready in there?"

"Ah, yes ma'am." He replied.

She entered and smiled. "Okay, we're ready." She applied a liberal amount of oil and spread it on his back. Using pressure points and what was called a Swedish massage she started working each muscle from neck to waist. She brought each of his arms back and her fingers worked their magic untying knots. "Boy you are stressed, You have so many knots on your back, particularly around the neck. Do you get headaches?" She asked.

"No ma'am, not usually, at least nothing severe. I keep my tension in my neck and shoulders thought." He replied...maybe he did need this after all.

Dora worked his back, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, scalp down to the tips of his toes. "Vito you need to rest a bit more. I sense that you're feeling like you have to be constantly on guard. Anything I can help with?" She smiled, "And it's Splendora or Dora. You don't have to keep calling me ma'am." She grinned.

Vito really didn't have anything he could say, of course he had to be on guard that was his job. "Um, no ma'am, um Miss Dora. Thank you thought." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He really could use a vacation, but with things in motion as they were, now wasn't the time.

"Just Dora is fine." She finished the massage. "Okay now the crystal therapy. I'll go get my bag and you just lay on your back draw the sheet up to your waist. I'll be back in a minute."

Vito rolled over and pulled the sheet up. His back really did feel better, a lot better, maybe better than it had in a long time. Maybe there was something to this massage thing. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She came back in and set her bag on the table. She started pulling different crystals. As she laid them on Vito she explained which were for circulation, chakra clearing, better sight, relaxation, warding off arthritis and all the fun things. She placed the last, an amethyst, on his forehead. "Now while you close your eyes and rest I will go cook. I'll be back in 45 minutes and then we'll go eat. Sound like a plan?"

"Sure." He wasn't sure. "And these really work?" He asked. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, he'd seen enough strange things in his life to not really be surprised by much, but he imagined how silly he looked laying there shirtless with rocks on him.

She grinned at him, "I know it looks silly but they work. Each stone has its own energy. It really helps. Take the amethyst, it's used for headaches and clarity of mind. For Betazoids like me it helps with aligning the senses. Now this one," she said pointing to the one on his heart. "This one is pink tourmaline it helps with the immune system and the heart functions. The Garnet stones on your arms are a feminine stone, they are a goddess stone and work on inflammation and thyroid regulation for humans. Vulcan Danlite is for joint pain. Trust me they will work." She gave his shoulder a pat. "I'll go cook and see you shortly."

V took a breath, "Yes m'ama."

She smiled and walked out letting him rest.


=/\= 1 hour later =/\=

Dora came back into the room and gently touched Vito's shoulder. "Ready to eat?"

"Sure." Now this was something Vito believed in, a good meal. Being Italian, well mostly Italian, he knew food. How to cook it, grow, it, and certainly how to eat it.

She gently removed the stones and placed them in a bowl of water that she'd brought with her. She then took them to a small fountain that was built into the room off to the side and slid them inside.

"What, is that?" He asked.

"Oh this? The running water is pure it helps cleanse the energy of the crystals. She handed him his clothing, "I replicated new ones for, same as the ones you came in with but clean and crisp. I'll wait outside while you change and then a feast." She headed out.

Vito smiled. After Splendora stepped out, he quickly got dressed. There was no denying, he did feel better.

He stepped out of the room. "Thank you, I do feel more relaxed, but umm, not a word to Tom."

She smiled, "Doctor patient confidentiality." She led him to a set of doors and smiled a sly smile. "Now this, this is my little enhancement." She entered a code and the doors slid open to reveal a beautiful beach with white sand and a rolling lavender ocean. "Betazed, the Curtoise Sea." She walked back to a table and picked up a picnic basket. She then motioned for him to enter. There inside was a table on the beach with a couple of comfortable chairs.

Vito looked around. He'd never been to Betazed but had heard about the planet's beauty.

While Vito looked around she laid out the veal parmesans on a bun, along with salad, and a dessert, and a bottle of wine. She motioned for Vito to sit. "Picnic by the sea?" She had been so happy that she'd had the mini holo room installed. She used it for therapy all the time but also had a few private outings like this.

He sat down, and took a deep breath, it even smelled like a sea-side, a lot of holo-programs failed to include smells. He then looked at the food, this looks wonderful.

As they sat she smiled thinking about Vito. She'd settled into a sister to brother vibe with him these past few days, "Vito can I tell you a something?"

"Sure he replied." He picked an olive from his salad and ate it.

"I really appreciate everything that you are doing and have done." She looked out into the ocean. "To be honest...I have two brothers but neither of them is like you. As a child I always used to write stories that would show the family I wanted. The brother I imagined was just like you, protective, kind, funny, caring and loyal." She paused for a moment. "Thank you for that. This has been a hard week and without you and Tom and Gabe, I wouldn't have gotten through it."

Vito smiled, "You don't have to thank me. Tom really cares for you and since meeting you I've seen you has the little sister I never had." He paused as he looked at the ocean again, "There's a lot going on right now you aren't aware of, things you might disapprove of, things that Tom and I want to protect you from. Things that might pull us off the station for a while too." He paused again, he wanted to choose his words carefully, "There are some people that know Tom cares for you, that might try to use that to their advantage. If Tom or I tell you to pack up, you do it. If we tell you to go to Ops and ask Fleet Admiral Bremer for protection, you do it. If we tell you a security officer is going to watch out for you, you do what they tell you." His tone was very serious, "Do you understand?"

Splendora couldn't lie. She was a bit frightened by what he said, not for herself but for Tom and Vito. "I...okay..."

"I'm not trying to scare you at all, and it might all be for nothing, Starbase 400 is a safe place, but if the situation arises I want to make sure you're safe and you understand what needs to be done.

She sighed, "Vito, I'm Betazoid. I've sensed that something was up but..." She looked out to the sea. "I would never do anything that could hurt you or Tom. I understand." She looked at Vito. "I am worried though....I don't like to think that you two can get hurt. I don't even want to think about it. Promise me that you'll take care of one another."

Vito smiled, "Ever since he pulled my ass out of the fire on...well, more times than once I've always had his back."

She smiled, "I don't know the full of what you two are doing but I know that you both have good hearts and your souls are good to the core." She looked back out to sea. "Can I ask you something about Tom?"

"Sure." Vito replied, knowing he might not be able to answer the question, or at least not fully.

"Has he been hurt? I don't mean physically I mean....relationship wise. He seems to ...." She wondered how much she should say.

"Tom's a private man. He usually keeps his emotions in check." As long as they had been friends, Tom really hadn't talked about his past relationships. "Why do you ask?"

"He seems weary sometimes, like he's far away. We get close but sometimes I think he pulls away....Vito ...can I tell you a secret?" She looked at him.

"Sure." He replied again, as he ate another olive.

She hadn't said the words out loud before, "I... I'm falling in love with him." She sighed. There were days where she doubted herself, where she wondered if she was good enough for him or if he, like her family, would think she wasn't. She shook her head. No, Tom was special. He would never be unkind. But maybe he didn't feel as strongly about her as she about him. Maybe she'd made a mistake telling Vito but she needed someone to confide in and she knew he would keep it a secret. She stood up. "I'm sorry I shouldn't be saying this...I know he deserves better." She walked over to the water and looked out to sea. She shook her head and turned back. "Why don't you stay here and enjoy the sea side I'm going to go back to my office work on some files." She suddenly felt nervous. She shouldn't talk so freely what if Tom had heard her...

Vito stood up, "You should tell him these things." He gave her a reassuring look. "Just talk to him." With that, he watched her leave the holo-suite.

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