Affairs of the heart
Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 2:46am by Lieutenant John Sandoval & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:37pm
Mission: Death in Paradise
A Mission Post by Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson PhD & Lieutenant John Sandoval
Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Sandoval’s Quarters
Timeline: Evening of return from Paradise Station
[ON]
Aeryn had spent her shift in Sickbay still a little distracted, even though she and John had made love in the heat of the moment then she couldn’t get out of her head the way he’d acted when he’d rushed into Sickbay. Now here they were wrapped up in bed in each other’s arms, another passionate evening of love making yet this seemed to be so much more. She raised her head gently forward to kiss him lovingly before asking what was on her mind. “John are you....falling in love with me?” Her eyes met his as she spoke. “I still can’t get over the way you acted in Sickbay today, it felt so....so much more than it has up until now.”
"Aeryn," John said. "I honestly don't fully understand all of my feelings yet. I care for you more than I've cared for anyone since Katherine. Maybe, because of Katherine, more than I should. With you it feels so easy, but because of Katherine it's also hard. I hope you'll give me some time to process all of this. When this murder is solved, I'm hoping to talk with Krysia."
“That’s a good idea” She smiled as she lay her head back down on his shoulder. “To be honest I think I’ll be doing the same! I never expected to feel the way I feel for you. The fact that your married, even though Katherine knows about it, makes it all the harder.” She ran her fingers gently across his chest. “Back on the station I was more worried about leaving you behind than I was about the fact that Dorian had taken me with him!”
"I had Emmanuelle," he answered. "I felt I was safe. And I'm glad you were, too. Though Dorian has decided to defend his actions through slander. Apparently he told security about the two of us, and suggested I was being inappropriate with Emmanuelle, too. This won't go away any time soon."
“Oh no...I’m sorry!” She looked at him with concern. “If you need me to speak to the Captain or anything, just let me know. I don’t somehow think the Captain will take much notice of Dorian.”
"No, no," John said, reassuringly. "I've been speaking with Lieutenant Griffin, who told me about the accusations. I was honest with him about us, as I had already been honest with security about spending the night with you. He didn't care, of course, and I think he accepted by denial regarding Emmanuelle."
“Well that’s reassuring.” She smiled feeling a little better. “It’s hard to believe that someone aboard this ship is a murderer. I didn’t get a sense of anything untoward from Dorian when I was with him, more fear at the thought he was the one the guards were after. Although I don’t think he had a clue one way or the other to be honest.”
John nodded. He was concerned about the possibility that the murderer was someone on the ship. His run-in with Dorian, as well as with Mauricio, showed him that not everyone was as worthy of wearing the uniform as they should be. He still had reservations about the Chief of Security, whom he knew from his books as the Butcher of Menelax, keeping them safe, but he wasn't a suspect in all of this. But it still meant that there could be a murderer among them, and while Aeryn found it hard to believe, John knew what people could be capable of.
"I think I need some tea," John said. "This has been such a long and weird day. Something soothing sounds suitable. Would you like some chamomile?" He rolled out of bed and grabbed a robe, not because he felt he needed to cover himself in front of Aeryn, but only because of the hot water.
“That would be nice, thank you” Aeryn smiled as she sat up in bed pulling the covers around her to stay warm. She watched as John headed for the replicator to get their drinks. “So what else did Lieutenant Griffin have to say? Do they have any leads? I know I shouldn’t be asking but it makes me uneasy and there’s an air of unease coming from the whole crew.”
"Not much, I'm afraid," John said as he approached the replicator. "One pitcher water, ninety-five degrees Celsius. Two chamomile tea bags." As the items replicated, he found a teapot and two teacups he'd previously replicated and put them on the table. He put two tea bags in the pot and added the water, letting it steep. "The replicator never gets it quite right," he explained. "With chamomile, at least. It makes a good ginger tea though. Anyway, Lieutenant Griffin wanted to hear my side of the debacle with Ensign Rochester, and to give me a fair warning about his accusations of impropriety against me."
“Let’s just hope Dorian doesn’t get you into any trouble, I’d hate to be the cause of any trouble for you.” Her smile faded a little as she thought about it. “If it’s any threat to your career then I’d rather your career takes precedence. As much as I love being with you and I’d miss you more than you know, I don’t want to ruin your career.”
As the tea steeped, John silently stepped closer to the bed and held his hands out to Aeryn.
Aeryn didn't need a second invitation she moved towards him her eyes somewhat misty at even the thought of being without him.
Pulling her up to him, he took her in a big, tight hug. "Don't say things like that," John said. "There's nothing he could say that could ruin my career. He's in the brig after that escapade. Anything he says at this point just appears like he's lashing out at me for putting him there. So let's not think about breaking up for career reasons when our careers aren't being threatened, okay?"
"Okay" She smiled and wiped her eyes. "I don't care what people say about us John. My life here would be very lonely without you!"
"And mine without you," he said. He released his grip and walked back to the table. The tea was ready. He poured them each a cup and pulled out a chair for Aeryn. "Your robe should be hanging up in there," he said, pointing to the bathroom. "Not that you need to use it!" he joked with a smile.
“Then I won’t” She smiled as she walked naked over to the table and sat down. “I’m Betazoid, being naked is no deal when you’ve been raised in a culture that conducts weddings naked. Not that I’d do this anywhere else but here with you!” She grinned as she picked up her cup and carefully sipped her tea.
John smiled. “If I ever tell you to unnecessarily dress, you have permission to slap me.” He sat and sipped his own tea. It was nice to have a rest and the tea was calming. “You didn’t get in trouble with Dr. Alves, did you?” he asked.
"Not at all" She smiled. "I just have the feeling she owns me now! That I'm forever in her debt or something like that." She grinned. "I like her, she's very understanding."
“Well, you kind of are,” John said with a silly grin on his face. “We both are. But she is understanding. And she knew about us already. We’d had a talk about how, for some things, it isn’t appropriate for you to be my doctor anymore. My massage the other day, while it felt great and made my leg feel better, didn’t exactly end medically, did it?”
Aeryn smiled as she remembered it. “No it didn’t but I enjoyed how it did end” She sipped her cup of tea. “It wasn’t very professional of me I know but that’s what you do to me! I can’t get enough of you!”
John took a moment to finish his tea and then set the cup back down. He then shifted his chair, angling it so that it faces away from the table. He looked at Aeryn with an intensity that he could rarely muster. "Then you'll just have to come here and get as much as you can, then, huh?"
“Oh now that’s an invite I can’t refuse!” Aeryn smiled as she put her cup down and pushed her chair out. Getting up she walked over to him gazing at him just as intently. “I’ll keep coming back for more, you know that don’t you?”
"That I do, Aeryn," he replied, returning her gaze. "And you're welcome to come back time after time after time." He held his arms out and took each of Aeryn's hands, gently pulling her closer.
Aeryn gently sat on John's lap, she knew she shouldn't feel for him the way she did but she couldn't help the fact that her heart was rapidly becoming his. She gave him a romantic and passionate kiss letting it linger for as long as she could. "I just want to be here with you, I don't care what goes on outside these doors as long as I have you here with me."
OFF
