Kites
Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 11:35pm by Captain Nycolas Temple & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:14pm
Mission:
Divided We Fall
Location: Holodeck 2
A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Emilie Temple
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline:
Wed Oct 3rd, 2018 @ 8:50am
"Higher!" Katrine cried. "Higher!"
There was a brisk wind on the Copenhagen beach today, and Nyx was showing his daughter how to fly a kite. The yellow and grey toy flapped playfully against the sea breeze, as if dancing across the sky. The Temples were having a day at the holographic beach, a favourite spot of theirs from Earth they used to enjoy in the summers. Thanks to the Holodeck, they could come here whenever they needed and after the experiences they had just endured, it was definitely needed.
Katrine giggled with delight as Nyx brought the kite around to dip and loop above them, showing off the skills he had learnt as a younger person with his own father. Nearby Emilie was sitting on a beach towel, watching proceedings with a bemused smile.
"Can I have a go?" Katrine asked carefully.
Nyx smiled down at his daughter and nodded, "Of course."
It took him several attempts to get the four year old to hold onto the kite's strings, having to pause the Holodeck program more than once before the little aircraft floated away across the imaginary bay. Eventually, after loosely tying the string around Katrine's wrist, did she manage not to lose the kite and settled in to watch it flying above her. Nyx retired back to the beach towel with Emilie, taking a quick drink of soda from his cup.
"It's like you were never gone." Emilie commented, her smile evident.
Nyx slid down on the towel and rested his head into her lap. "Yeah, I'm so glad. Of course, I hope she's not just repressing her feelings."
Emilie sighed, "She tried not to show her distress too much, but I could tell it weighed on her. She acted up at school, didn't want to go to bed on time. But she kept asking when you'd be back, every single night."
Nyx looked up to his wife and frowned, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. "Have I said sorry yet today?"
"Only twelve times already." She returned.
"Oh... Well, I'm sorry." He replied earnestly.
"I know." Emilie nodded, using her hand to ruffle his hair, which was untied and loose. "You're back, and that's all that matters."
Nyx also nodded, but he gave a wry smile. After sitting in silence for a moment, he spoke again, "Before the wave hit and I disappeared, you remember that conversation we had? In my Ready Room?"
"Yes." She replied slowly.
"For you it was last week, for me it was over a year ago." He said, "But I still remember it exactly. I thought... I don't know, I thought I had lost you. Before I really did lose you. Does that make sense?"
Emilie looked down at him again, "I don't want to go over all that again, Nyx. I just want enjoy our time at the beach, together again, thankful that we've been given another chance to start over."
Nyx sat upright again and placed his hands around hers, "That's all that I want. You, Katrine, the baby, my family all together. I want to put you first. Before my career, before the Pandora."
Emilie could feel tears welling in her eyes, seeing her husband's earnest face, knowing the choice he was proposing. She wanted to agree and embrace him, and she wrapped her fingers around his supportively. But there was that niggling doubt in the back of her mind, and this stopped her from agreeing right away. "A day at the beach flying a kite is all well and good, but you couldn't possibly be happy just doing that for the rest of your life."
Nyx knew what she meant and he sighed. "Then tomorrow we go the forest. Or the zoo. Or the mountains. I don't care where we go, as long as we do it as a family."
Emilie leaned in and kissed Nyx gently on the lips, and smiled at him. "I know."
"But?" He asked.
"But..." She paused. "What if that's not enough for you? What if you miss Captaining, miss serving?"
Nyx regarded her with all the intensity and passion he had. "Not enough?" His eyes welled. "Emilie, you are everything to me."
The two embraced again, pulling into each other with urgency and pure emotion. After a moment they separated and stared into each other's eyes, like two teenagers in love. Katrine had managed to keep playing in front of them, but she was busy now trying to get the kite to skate across the water, without much success. She complained loudly when the kite fell into the ocean and she had to drag it back to shore.
"Don't make a decision just yet." Emilie whispered to Nyx. "Let's discuss it as a family, later."
"How about once we get back to Carnwennan Station?" He suggested. "They'll probably put the Pandora on standby until they can find a new purpose for us anyway, we can take a trip back to Earth and decide there?"
Emilie nodded, "Okay." They leaned in and kissed once more. "But it does mean a lot to me that you're considering this."
"It's time I put you first." Nyx replied solemnly.
He leaned back down on the blanket and Emilie rested in the nook between his chest and arm, wrapping her own arm across his stomach. In the distance Katrine managed to get the kite back in the air again all by herself and she giggled with delight as it floated across the sky once more.
OFF
