Late Night Dinner With The Stars (Part I)

Posted on Tue Nov 5th, 2024 @ 3:26am by Cadet Senior Grade Meghan Stefani & Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver

1,224 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Cadet Cruise
Location: Observation Lounge

ON:

Daniel needed to relax after everything that had happened, so the best thing for him to do was keep a promise he made earlier. He made his way to Meghan's Quarters and tapped on the chime. Hopefully, if she had a roommate, she wouldn't be as upset over the late night wake up call. He stood there in the corridor, looking back and forth to make sure the coast was clear, before tapping the chime again.

Meghan checked her appearance one more time. She'd chosen a simple dress in sapphire blue with a snug bodice, full skirt that fell to her knees, and long sleeves. She opened the door and smiled at Daniel. "You look great." She was looking forward to tonight and hopefully having a date that wouldn't get interrupted.

"You look... amazing." He replied softly, running his hand through hair, moving the chain to his family ear ring to the side. With a smile, he cleared his throat slightly, before speaking again. "I feel under dressed." He chuckled softly. All he had on was a pair of slacks, matching shirt that went passed his belt, and his Bajoran ear ring which was a rare site to see on him. "You're roommate still asleep?"

She shook her head. "Renae thinks I'm boring. She's spending the night with some of the girls in operations. I think they're going to find a way to move her closer for their late-night parties." She leaned forward, kissed the side of his cheek, and whispered, "I think you look perfect."

Daniel took her hand and smirked at the kiss, as well as the compliment. "Thank you." He replied softly. "Come on... Before we get caught." He said as he walked with her down the corridor.

After a while they reached the door to the lounge. It was clearly locked, but Daniel's friend who was also conveniently in Ops, made sure to help him out by showing him an alternative access code. He looked around before stepping toward the console on the side of the door. For a few seconds, Daniel stood there thinking of the code after repeating it over and over, before tapping it into the controls. The door unlocked, opening quickly with a soft hissing nose, granting them access.

"Come on." He whispered as he took her hand again and led her inside the Lounge. The lights remained dark but the replicator was still activated. There was a table in the far back of the lounge, lit up by candles, leaned against a port window looking over the stars. With a slight smile, Daniel gestured to the table itself and looked to Meghan. "Thank the Prophets for small favors and overthinking Ops Cadets."

She looked around at the candlelit table and viewport. "This looks wonderful. Thank you." It was perfect. Best of all, no one except his friend knew where they were. No Emma wanting to join in. She didn't have a problem with the security cadet, except when she wanted to join them on a date.

Daniel smiled and led her to the table. When they got closer her let go of her hand so he could walk to the chair to pull it out. "Let me get your seat for you, Cadet Stefani."

"Thank you, Cadet Weaver." She let him help her move her seat forward and watched as he went to his own seat. "So," she asked, a teasing smile on her face. "How was your day?"

"I'll tell you all about my day... as long as we don't have to talk about the Bridge Training." Daniel said, placing his hands on the table, just before he reached for hers. As he slightly ran his fingers against hers, he said softly. "Do you think if we took a shuttle and flew off this ship, would anyone notice?"

"Yes. Not mentioning the elephant in the room, Shafin would. So would the cadets you've worked with. I'd like to amend that to, once we finish this cruise, we'll take a shuttle and go off somewhere to celebrate. Just the two of us."

Daniel let out a sigh and took her hand in his. "How are you feeling? I didn't know the bridge training would get that... crazy. It should have never gone that way. My dad should be reprimanded. Strip him of his rank. Something. Anything!" He looked down slightly and let et out another sigh, this time it was more out of frustration, before he took a breath and looked into her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Meghan."

"It's okay. I was treated quickly and I'm fine now." She linked her fingers with his. "I'm more concerned about how you're doing." She sighed. "Let's not think about what happened. I want to enjoy my night with you."

Daniel remained silent for a moment or two, looking at their hands together, before letting out a deep sigh. He finally looked up and smiled at her. "You're right. Let's enjoy all this." As he interlaced her fingers with his he looked her in her eyes and asked. "So, what make you pick the Science Department?"

"I've always loved studying the past. History, archaeology, civilization. It seemed like a perfect choice because I get to explore the galaxy." She played with his fingers for a moment. "What about you? Why did you choose security?"

"Don't you mean Command?" He replied quickly before chuckling knowing that she knew very well he didn't want to be in the Command course. "I'm kidding." Daniel reassured her before continuing softly. "Actually, it was my mom. She's in the Bajoran Militia as a Colonel now." He laughed softly. "When she was a Major we used to call her Major Mom." As his laugh softened he continued to speak. "Her and my dad, the Commodore, were both in Security. They had their own ways of dealing with things and I always preferred my mom’s way. She always seemed more level headed and strategic. Unlike my dad, she would teach me without me knowing I was being taught. You know?"

Meghan nodded. "I do. Sometimes the best lessons come when you're not being bullied." She sighed. "Sorry. I'm sure your father means well, and is probably a good commander, but he has no idea how to treat his own son."

"I have two older siblings. Ren and Tatania. Both in the Bajoran Military. My dad didn't put them through any of this. At least, as far as I can remember. So, you can imagine my dad’s surprise when I went to Starfleet instead. My Mom was encouraging of it. It didn't matter to her one bit. So did my dad for that matter. Then, one day, out of the blue he starts being tougher on us. Came back from a duty assignment and he suddenly wanted to toughen us up." Daniel paused slightly, looking over to Meghan with a heavy sigh, before squeezing her hand slightly. "That's when my parents started to argue more. They did before, but it was always playfully. This was different. It was always about how he changed and how he was putting so much on us. It's what led to them splitting."

(To be continued...)

Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver
Command Cadet

Cadet Senior Grade Meghan Stefani
Science Cadet

 

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