JPL - aXO & CIntel - LtCmdr Hunter & LtCmdr Rinehart - "It Takes A Village"

Posted on 241501.11 @ 1:25am by Commander Tierney Rinehart

Mission: Holy Cow

It was very late and Matthias couldn't sleep. Almost a year old he understood that this place was different. He just wouldn't settle. Adrianna had decided to take a walk with him around the ship to hopefully try and get him off to sleep. With her son on her hip, all wide eyed and looking around she wandered down the halls, "See, it's not so bad, huh?"

Night was when Tierney came alive. Insomnia was a horrendous thing all on it's lonesome, but combine with with churning thoughts and all of the hormonal surges of early pregnancy, and sleep simply wasn't happening. Instead she strolled the halls, languid and without much care. Perhaps it was exhaustion that had left her numb to the fact that Romulans lurked within, or perhaps it was more to the point that she was beginning to feel cocksure as ever regarding the situation. Enterprise was her home. The people that served aboard her had come to respect and accept her, especially in the wake of Mark's death. The sight of a woman and child was new, though, and it immediately piqued the little Starling's interest. "Salutations." She offered as she neared, keeping to one side of the corridor as she did.

"Evening," the woman smiled, the child still bewildered and enchanted by his new surroundings.

"How old?" Tierney asked, coming to a rest. At least this hallway engagement wouldn't involve a dust up and silly posturing. This one would involve a child's delight in a whole new world, and the Starling's own gentle curiosity when it came to babies. While she hadn't quite allowed her impending motherhood to sink in, she knew she needed to prepare.

"Almost a year old in a few weeks," Adrianna smiled and offered out her free hand, "Sorry, Umm, I'm Adrianna Hunter, you can call me Adrian, and this is Matthias." The little boy looked to his mother when he heard his name.

"Ah!" Tierney exclaimed, taking the offered hand for a shake, "You're the new Executive Officer they sent to fill the gap. I'm Tierney Rinehart, your Chief of Intelligence." She grinned and wiggled her fingers in a wave to the little boy, "He's positively beautiful."

"Thank you," Adrian smiled and looked to her son "You going to wave?" The boy just shied away into her shoulder, "Sorry. Yes I am. Intel? Well, you were next on my list to say hi to, so I guess that's another one checked off my list."

The warmth the young Starling exuded seemed so uncharacteristically out of place, babies shouldn't have that effect on anyone, much less a driven SFI agent. "He'll come 'round eventually." She chuckled and turned her attention to his mother, "Well as fate would have it, here I am."

"Great," she smiled, "Walk with us?"

"With pleasure, Commander." Ever gracious, Tierney motioned with her hand that she would follow the other woman's lead. "I've always heard that it's near impossible to get children to sleep." She mused out loud as she strolled along beside Adrian, "Sometimes I wonder if it's because they're too busy categorizing everything they've experienced for the day."

"Please, call me Adrian. I'm off duty," the woman chuckled softly, "He was ok. I think it's just because it's a new place. He was so used to our last ship and now all of a sudden we have new, bigger quarters and a new nanny programme. I mean all ships look similar, but the layout is different and stuff. He'll come around. I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

"My apologies." Folding her hands behind her back, Tierney nodded politely. "I could appreciate the sentiments." She considered for a moment, regarding the babe snuggled warmly against his mother's body, "Everything is new to them, and just when he had the hang of things there, now he has new things. It's excitement at its finest for him right now." She grinned. "It's like being a fresh cadet straight out of the Academy. It's all wide eyed wonder and new. At least I imagine that's how they feel."

"We will never know," she smiled, "He's not even talking yet." He kissed the top of his head softly and then looked back to Tierney, "I don't think I caught your name?"

"Tierney." The Starling responded, "I assure you I'm the one and only on this vessel, and most to be honest." If she was honest, she'd never met another in the nearly twenty-five years she'd been alive. It was both a blessing a curse, one her handlers had begged her to remedy by taking a 'stage name' that was far less distinct.

"So, when are you due Tierney?" Adrianna asked curiously.

A slender eyebrow rose at the question, and Tierney instinctively looked down towards her belly. Under the loosely fluttering chiffon of her handkerchief shirt, even if she'd already started to show, any bump would have been covered and concealed -- she was still flat as a board. "I'm sorry?" She asked, tilting her head as if she were certain she'd misheard the Commander.


"I recognize those questions and that look," the acting XO smiled, "I was the same when I found out about Matthias."

"Ah." The Starling nodded with a nervous and hesitant smile, "I'm still coming to grips with it as an Intel officer and as a woman" She explained and brushed hair from her face, "The good doctor says I'm only around nine weeks along so I reckon I have plenty of time to get used to everything."

"You will," the woman smiled knowingly, "Trust me though when I say that no matter what happens during pregnancy and the initial weeks after, it is all worth it in the end."

Tierney's hesitant smile only seemed to blossom a bit and her eyes softened as they continued on their walk. "I'll take that under advisement." She nodded and stole another glance towards Matthias. "It's just not something I'm advertising at the moment. Weakness in my position isn't the wisest thing to show."

"That certainly makes sense," Adrianna replied, "I had to keep Matthias hidden at first, as I was chief of security. Don't worry though, your secret is safe with me until such a time as you see fit. You know where to find me if you want to talk to someone who's had a baby though. Do you have a partner in all this?"

"Much obliged." Having someone on her 'side' that understood the theories of motherhood, someone who currently had a child afoot, would likely prove to be of benefit. Tierney would have been a fool to deny that, even if she did have Karim and his few hundred years worth of experience waiting at the ready. An old Terran saying offered 'It takes a village to raise a child', and at that moment she completely believed it. Adrian's next question, however, hit like a brick. A key member of her baby's village would be missing. Forever. "No." She responded, her voice far more somber, "He passed away just recently."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Adrian gave a sympathetic look to Tierney, "I'm a single mother as well. I won't lie to you, it is difficult, but I know that with the help of friends and getting into some form of routine, you will not want to change your child for the known universes."

"I'm a firm believer that there isn't a lot out there that I can't accomplish." The redhead replied with a nod of understanding, "I'll find my path through this and do what needs to be done to protect my child. We just live in a world of radical variables and I know it makes it a little more difficult, but in the end I'm sure you'll be right, that I won't want to trade this baby in for anything." She managed to chuckle lightly, "Children are a blessing, even if their timing is a little off."

"No such thing as good timing trust me," Adrian chuckled before looking down and seeing a now very sleepy baby. She kissed the top of his head lightly, "Life is a very odd thing. I mean you're in intelligence, so you'll understand that better than I do, but damn it is weird."

"It is. It's stranger than fiction." Tierney agreed and followed the Commander's line of sight, watching Matthias as he slowly began to settle and nod off. "Looks like your side kick has finally fallen victim to the sand man."

"Thank goodness," she smiled, "Now I can sleep in preparation for tomorrow." Adrianna stopped and offered out her free hand, "I'm going to get this one home. It was nice meeting you Tierney. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon in the professional context, but if you need me or want to talk about something outside of that, I'll probably be roaming these corridors with this one until he fathoms it's not so new anymore. A-side from that, you're intelligence, so I'm sure you'll know how to find me. My door is always open." Her voice was quieter and more aware of not wanting to wake her son. It had a friendly warm tone, "Good night, Tierney. Try Camomile tea if you are struggling to sleep."

"Was truly a pleasure. I'll definitely try the tea." Tierney smiled softly and shook the Commander's hand gently, "We'll make it happen. I know there's a lot of things coming in the morning so yes..." She nodded, "get some rest with that little angel. Have a good night."

"You too, good night," Adrian turned on her heals slowly, wrapping her arms around her son comfortingly as she wandered back to her quarters.

---

Lieutenant Commander Adrianna Hunter
Acting Executive Officer

&

Lt Commander Tierney Rinehart
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS ENTERPRISE, NCC 1701-F