Communication to Christine Chapel (this universe)

[roger_korby]

I've been remiss in contacting you about our dinner plans, and I must admit, your little post the other day through me for a bit of a loop.

However, I still wanted to see you, and talk with you and maybe find out how you came to be in this situation, and if there was anything I could do to help.

Free tomorrow?
Roger

Comments

[rn_chapel]

Tina seemed to be having far more strange "what to wear" quandaries than any woman should have to bear, lately. The latest being something appropriate for dinner with your ex-fiance, whom you'd left because his somewhat controlling behavior and apparent lack of conscience when it came to infidelity and who-knew-what-else freaked you out, and whom you want to impress with how successful and ideal your life without him has been so far, even though you know that's petty and there's no reason for it. And that was without even taking the baby bump into account.

At least she'd learned to schedule extra time for these sorts of sartorial dilemmas, and though she spent more time than was sensible wrestling with her wardrobe, she arrived at Roger's quarters on time for dinner. And looking pretty good in the simple teal dress she'd paired with sparkling - but tasteful! - tear-drop earrings and a pair of black heels that were very understated by her usual standards. She took a deep breath and rang for entry.

[roger_korby]

Roger stood when the door slid open, a hold over from the days when being handsome and charming was all he had. "Darling," he said, heading toward her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She looked lovely, and pregnant. A concern.

Still, he wasn't going to abandon this opportunity, not when one had an established foothold - someone who was already close to you and could get him whatever information he'd need. "You look beautiful."

And pregnant.

[rn_chapel]

"Thank you," Tina said. When she'd first met Roger, still an awkward teenager, she'd never believed it when people told her that, was always ready with a quick demurral for any compliment.

Being the subject of his attention, a man so much more mature and accomplished than any of her peers, had gone a long way towards building her confidence. And she still remembered the thrill of being approved of by him, desired by him...

She smiled, and tried to redirect her thoughts. "I appreciate you taking the trouble to arrange dinner."

[roger_korby]

"No trouble," he said quickly, resting a hand on her shoulder, casually. "Are you hungry yet, or would you like to wait a few minutes?"

[rn_chapel]

If they happened to run out of things to talk about, a silent dinner would be awkward.

"Let's eat."

[roger_korby]

Pulling out the chair for her, he let his hand brush against her hair as he moved to the seat across from her. "I have some miso soup as a starter - I thought I remembered that about you," he pulled the lid of the bowl and picked up the ladle.

One of them liked miso soup. Hopefully it was her.

[rn_chapel]

If she'd really been aware of Roger's subtle, casual touching, it might have put her on edge, wondering what he was trying to do. As it was, she didn't even register it. It hadn't been all that long since she and Roger had had the sort of relationship in which that behavior was entirely normal, after all.

"It sounds great," Tina said. Even if she didn't like miso soup normally - which she did, at any rate - she'd been having an intense desire for salty things for a couple of days.

[roger_korby]

Setting a bowl of the steaming soup in front of her, Roger watched her carefully, cataloging in his mind the slight changes since their separation. She seemed older, a little more worldly perhaps, and something in him was sad at that - her youthful innocence was one of the things that he'd loved most about her.

That and her ass.

"So, shall we talk about your job and what's happened on board recently, or jump straight to the important topic."

[rn_chapel]

Tina laughed, not particularly startled by his directness. He was... Roger.

"By all means, let's jump. What do you want to know?"

[roger_korby]

"I didn't see a wedding ring, nor did I receive an invitation," Roger began, sipping at his soup. "So you remain unmarried."

[rn_chapel]

"That's something of an inverse error fallacy, you have there," Tina started to say, in a half-teasing tone. Roger had been merciless about poking holes in her incompletely developed arguments when they'd first met, and when Tina had risen to the challenge and started biting back, it became something of a game between them. It suddenly occurred to her that it was probably not a good idea to fall into those sorts of old habits, and she suppressed the flirtatious "Dr. Korby" that would have been tacked onto the end of that phrase just in time.

"But no," she continued, more plainly. "I'm not. Jim and I aren't actually in a relationship. We had a casual encounter that had a not-so-casual result."

[roger_korby]

"Simply making an inference," Roger replied with a warm smile. He had missed her, if he admitted it to himself, missed her mind as much as her body. She's been different from the others, enough that he'd found himself foolishly proposing to her one evening. She was too young, he'd forget that sometimes when they were together because Christine Chapel was an old soul if he ever met one.

But she'd been correct in the end to go find her own way. And where she'd landed was incredible. "Jim Kirk. I see you still aim high, Christine."

[rn_chapel]

That made it sound almost like... Well. Tina shifted a little in her seat and looked down at her soup uncomfortably.

"By having an illegitimate child by a man from another universe who probably won't be able to help me raise her, or by sleeping with someone who shares the name of a famous man in our own dimension?"

She tried not to sound incredulous. Or bitter. It wasn't as dire as she'd just made it sound, not really. But something about what Roger had said had her feeling defensive.

[roger_korby]

She was easy to bait still, he noted. Made for the best sex afterward. "Only the best for you, my dear, was all I meant." Christine appreciated quality, always had.

"If I might ask, have you made any plans for after your child is born?" Roger was nearly done with his soup, but she was moving slower.

[rn_chapel]

It might have been an ideal time to gush about how very much the best Jim was in bed, but Tina restrained herself.

"I've put in a request for transfer to a planetary base or starbase where families are permitted. Starfleet can use medical staff anywhere, pretty much, so that shouldn't be a problem."

[roger_korby]

"Will that move be permanent?" It irked something in him, knowing how plum a spot she'd landed, that she'd be forced to leave. And yet he knew she would, most likely without complaint, because that is how she was. Looking at the world through her optimistic lenses, even when he was people were less than kind to her.