JL (Backlog)|Cmdr. Dhej & Ltcmdr Hunter|"Outside of Work"

Posted on 241503.01 @ 10:22pm by

Mission: Holy Cow

Adrianna had made the suggestion that getting to know each other outside of the work setting would be a good idea. She was expecting the captain any second. Food was ready, just needed to be dished up. With her son on her hip she heard the door chime. "Enter," she called.

Karim entered her quarters with a small covered dish in his hands. Smiling, he said "I hope you don't mind Commander, but I've brought some dessert, they are my favorite double chocolate brownies."

"I hadn't made anything for dessert, so that sounds great, thank you," she smiled walking into view.

Walking over to the table, he placed the dish on the side and then approached her. Seeing the small child on her hip he said "And who is this little bundle of joy? One of our newest recruits?"

"Yes, this is cadet Matthias, my son," she smiled looking down to her son.

Reaching out to pat him on the head gently, he said "He's adorable. Reminds me of some of my own children. If you ever need a babysitter, I've been a mother a few times, so I can help out."

"That will never cease to confuse me," she chuckled, "Anyway, it's someone's bed time. I'll just pop him to bed and then I'll serve up. Make yourself at home."

Nodding, Karim took a seat on the nearby sofa. He hoped he would be able to relax with her, considering they had just recently met. He always had a bit of a hard time opening up to people quickly. Looking around her quarters, he was reminded of some of the past memories of Dhej's previous hosts, and felt a bit emotional.

It wasn't long before Adrianna returned, and started to serve up food, "I'm afraid my cooking skills match my mum's in the sense that I feed an entire army with just one plate, so feel free to leave anything."

Smiling he stood and moved to a seat at the table , then said "I'm sure everything will be delicious Commander." Pausing, he said "Can we drop the formalities for tonight? Please call me Karim, and what would you prefer to be called? Adrianna?"

"Adrian, though I respond to AJ, Rian, Anna," she smiled, "I was hoping tonight wouldn't be about the formalities anyway. We have to work closely together, so we might as well make sure we get along right?"

Nodding, he said "I agree Adrian. I'd like to apologise if I seem a bit down tonight, I guess seeing you with your son, is bringing up memories of the children of Dhej's previous hosts."

"It happens," she smiled and put her hand comfortingly on his, "Memories of emotion are the hardest."

Smiling, he said "Thank you Adrian, that helps a bit." Pausing, he added "So what have you made us for dinner?"

"Nothing special," She looked to her plate, retracting her hand, "Just a simple pasta dish, pasta Neapolitana. I wasn't sure if you were vegetarian so I left out meat products and stuff."

Reaching over to one of the bowls in front of him he scooped out a healthy plateful of pasta and said "I am vegetarian actually, thanks for thinking about my preferences."

"I wouldn't want to be a bad host," she grinned, "Wine?"

Holding up his glass he said "Please, I have to admit I do enjoy a glass every now and then."

"It's not the real stuff I'm afraid," she chuckled, "I only do that on special occasion. This is the finest non alcoholic wine you can purchase in all of the known galaxies." She opened the bottle and poured two glasses.

Chuckling, Karim took a sip and said "It's still very good regardless." Taking a bite of his pasta, he added "This is great Adrian, you'll have to share the recipe with me."

"Family secret," she replied quickly and playfully, "I'm afraid that even water-boarding won't get it out of me."

Rolling his eyes as he ate more of the pasta, he took a moment, and said "I think I'm going to like working with you Adrian, since we seem to get along so quickly."

"I have my moments," she said simply, "But then who doesn't. It's something you will learn quick about me. I will always put the most obscure idea out first, or the least probable. That might grind a bit, but it opens up so many philosophies in ethics, I always found it helped me in security."

Taking another bite, Karim replied "You'll learn I tend to bend the rules and regulations when it seems appropriate. I hope that doesn't cause too much tension between us."

"I'm ex security," she responded bluntly, "I think we were the worst for... manipulating regulations."

Smiling, he said "Then we'll get along fine then."

"I'm mean obviously I'll pick up on it and make you aware of it, but I won't do anything more than give you a weird look," she chuckled, enjoying her food.

Finishing his pasta, he took a sip of wine and replied "That sounds good Adrian. I hope you won't prevent me from being involved in more away missions. I know you had concerns about my involvement in the first one."

"I'll still protest," Adrian took a sip of her wine, "I'm not that capable of being a captain yet should anything go askew."

Chuckling, he said "I know you'll protest, and I'll expect you to. But there may be times where I want to be on the away team, and we'll have to work through them." Pausing, he said "Well enough about work. Is there anything about me you'd like to ask, off the record?"

"I could go down the whole: what's your favourite colour, what kind of music do you like and about whether or not you prefer dogs to cat, but I won't. I think that, if anything, I need to know if there is anything you think I should know about you. For example the fact that you have had many lives, some of which still affect you today."

Smirking, he said "I'm not sure where to start with those questions Adrian. I'm thankful however that we've grown comfortable with each other. I think it will help us work better together. Is there anything I need to know about you that I haven't already read in your file?"

"Well, I guess you now know I'm a mum," she replied, "So I'm quite a few of those stereotypes and if you ever made me choose between my career and him you can be sure as hell I would find a way of cutting myself in half. The one thing I will say though: I left security so I wouldn't have a job where I could be seriously hurt on any given day. I know that by moving up into this role I do still have high chances, but we're less on the front line, if that makes sense. His father is out there, somewhere, and I have every intention of being in the right frame of mind to make sure nothing happens to Matt."

Nodding, he replied "Thank you for sharing that information with me. I appreciate it." Yawning, he said "I'm sorry to yawn, maybe its the wine or the food, but I'm starting to get a bit sleepy."

"Shows you've eaten well if you are sleepy after a meal," she chuckled a little. Her ears pricked up at the sound of Matthias crying, "Uhh, that's my cue."

Smiling he said "Well, I'll leave you to him. Thanks again for the meal and the conversation. I'll see you soon Adrian."

"Night capt," she smiled and stood up.

With a smile and nod, he left her quarters, en route to his own for some sleep.

=/\=End Log=/\=

Commander Karim Dhej
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Enterprise, 1701-F

Lieutenant Commander Adrianna Hunter
Acting Executive Officer
USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-F