Grace Note (Fermata) [Tina; Darcy]

[loyalty_ever]

He'd never been able to keep from being curious. Even if it would have been more prudent to keep his head down and not look and not ask. These people were friendly, in their too-open, too freely given way. And except for the red uniforms lurking near every bend in a bulkhead, they were even niceNice, and utterly vague when he made any reference to

Comments

[rn_chapel]

The hydroponics lab the other day had been surprisingly pleasant. Very bare-bones, not really designed for visual appeal, but restive. There was something nice about growing things, even when they were mostly lettuce.

When Tina heard that the planned arboretum was finally open, she made a note to check it out on her next walk. And she wasn't disappointed. The growth was all very new, of course. The trees had been brought in as mature as possible, but they were still small, and all of the flowers and other ground cover were barely past sprouting. But it was still lovely, and the potential for it turning into a really peaceful retreat from the sterility of the station corridors was plain.

It wasn't a very big space, but the paths through the trees were meandering, and it was easy to wander and sort of lose oneself. And then find oneself again, fortunately, just before smacking into another visitor.

"Oh, sorry!" Tina said, as she took a hasty step back, curling her arms around Darcy in her sling even though the danger of a bump had passed.

[loyalty_ever]

How did they work out alternating veins in the leaves like that? Maybe if he applied tr'Nevyn's uncertainty compensation to the...

Hands to ourselves was more than just politeness, down past social reflex and into automatic. Ayel jerked backward, arms behind his back to keep from overbalancing or hitting the poor woman he'd almost walked into.

...And her baby.

"Not your fault," he said immediately, with a shake of the head. A little wide-eyed. "I wasn't looking--you both are all right?"

[rn_chapel]

Tina smiled. "Perfectly fine. Lighting-fast reflexes to the rescue."

She didn't recognize the man she'd almost run over, but he looked familiar. Not another Spock, she was almost certain. She hoped not another Spock...

"I'm Tina, and this is Darcy," she said. "Hi."

[loyalty_ever]

"Fortunate," he said. "Just in time."

Tina. There was--no, he didn't know that name. He was just surprised by how easily humans gave them away.

"Hello, Tina. I'm just visiting, and thought I would explore. This is remarkable." He just managed not to wax poetic over the equations that must have gone into the turf alone.

"Hello, Darcy." She was very small, very young, so he pitched her greeting softly. He was grinning despite himself.

[rn_chapel]

Darcy blinked at him seriously and made no response, as was her usual habit.

Tina smiled again. "It's lovely, isn't it? I can't wait to see what it will look like when the growth is a little more established. And I'm sure it will be absolutely gorgeous a few years down the line."

[loyalty_ever]

The young one was so tiny. With big pretty eyes that looked at everything like it was new.

Tina had a pretty smile. He nodded excitedly.

"It's impressive. Very well-contained." He leaned, considered, wondering where the holo-emitters were--not the floor, or things would have rippled out of focus as they walked.

"Growth? So the pattern matrix was written to evolve?"

[rn_chapel]

"Pattern matrix...?" Tina cocked her head. "Oh, no! It's not a program. These are real plants."

He had the ears and the eyebrows, but was more emotive than any Vulcan she'd known. So... A Romulan?

"You're not from around here, are you?"

[loyalty_ever]

He was just the tiniest bit disappointed, mourning lost math. But the trees were lovely in their own right. And new, it looked, still growing. This station just kept surprising him.

"Are they all Earth plants?" She might know. "Sorry to make you play tour guide."

He paused, thoughtful. I still don't know how I got here was a real conversation-killer.

"Oh. ch'R--Romulus," he said. "Where's home for you?"

[rn_chapel]

"I'm from Earth, but the station is home for now." If he was Romulan, he had to be from at least a universe away, or he wouldn't be standing here so comfortably looking at trees. But he hadn't said, and perhaps it would be rude to pry. He hadn't told her his name, either.

"Most of them are Earth plants, yes," Tina added, after a moment. "I don't mind tour-guiding. It's nice to talk to someone who answers, for a bit."

Friends stopped by, and there were messages to read and respond to, but being at home with Darcy was still surprisingly isolating. Tina was used to working full time and being surrounded by people - adult people - for most of the hours of every day.