Holonovel, Chapter 3 (Part 5, Conclusion)

Posted on Fri Jan 25, 2019 @ 10:13am by Commander Caleb Ryan & Civilian Opal Oliver (Deceased) Dr

987 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Holodeck 3
Timeline: MD06 2000

Opal never wanted the moment to end. It was delicious. She stayed in Caleb's arms as long as she could possibly remain locked into the longed for kiss.

"I love the extra something this holostory adds to our chemistry... MISTER BLACK," she finally said breathlessly once they finally let go of each other and came up for air.

Caleb grinned. “Ah’m glad you are havin’ a good time with this, Mrs. White,” he replied teasingly, taking a breath and forcing himself to release her and move away as the cabin faded around them to the black and yellow grid of the holodeck. “Now Ah think Ah need a cold shower.”

"Cold?" Opal looked up innocently at him, a slight smirk flickering at the edge of her lips as she put a hand onto his chest to stop him leaving. "Couldn't we have a warm one?" she asked, eyelashes fluttering slightly, smile getting the better of her luscious lips.

".... together?" she finished and waited for his reply as if she wasn't at all sure what he might say. Oddly enough the truth was that she wasn't actually sure. They had both held back on their 'holosuite' relationship, keeping to the storyline faithfully, but with the whole situation in their real lives, with Teena gone, Teena who had supported Opal and been a calming influence on the fiery Zandy, Opal was beginning to wonder why their parallel relationship seemed to have cooled slightly.

Perhaps she was being paranoid, but this very situation right now, Caleb so much in a rush to leave and go away to freeze his own ardour alone, worried Opal. Why would he even suggest that? As far as she knew, he wasn't due on duty. If he were, he hadn't mentioned it when they first arrived, and it had been a while since he had invited her to "stay for breakfast", explaining that, as Zandy was heartbroken and lonely, he had to be there for her more right now, a perfectly reasonable fatherly consideration. Opal had admired and respected his decision to do that, but... wasn't she at school right now?

Also, if she wasn't at school, or if Caleb was due on duty, why had he stopped telling Opal about these important things in his daily life? It felt like a slow decline in their closeness, and Opal had been on the end of that slope many times before. It worried her.

She kept the seductive smile and some optimistic hope in herself for a little while longer and just breathed slowly as she waited the few split seconds it took Caleb to answer during the time she had thought all of this through in a flash of sudden and lightning thoughts, feelings and unasked questions in her subconscious mind.

Caleb held Opal tight to him, inhaling the scent of her, savoring the feel of her against him. “Ah just thought we were holdin’ off on all that while we did this, buildin’ the tension, like the tension in the story,” he murmured against the skin of her neck, just behind her ear. “With everythin’ that’s happened, with Zandy, an’ me gettin’ suspended, yer the one thing in mah life that seems...solid right now.” He pulled back, gazing into Opal’s eyes. “If ya don’t wanna wait…” While he seemed to have all the time in the world right now, he knew Opal was still kept busy in Sickbay. Who knew when they could schedule the next chapter. He supposed it could be a long wait.

Opal felt a surge of warmth at his words. She loved the whole idea that she was solid in his life and bringing him some form of support. She nestled back against him. "I have lots of leave owing, and if I don't take it, I'll lose it, that's how backed up my carried over quota is. I'm sure it would be a relief to the CMO if I used a bit of it up while it matters to me. And you, 'Mister Black-Ryan' matter to me. So much I can't put it into words, so I'll put it into holiday instead. My gift to you is time together." She smiled softly, her eyes full of emotion.

"What would you like to do first?" she went on, with a little chuckle.

Caleb frowned. “Is Amia back from maternity, though?” he asked. “You’re the acting CMO. Can they afford letting you off?” He smiled and gave her a squeeze. “Why don’t we grab dinner at Gino’s,” he suggested. “Get cleaned up an’ have a nice evening out.”

"No, honey, thank you for the flattery, but I'm not that important. You're thinking of River Morgan, she's the acting CMO doing the Locum for Amia's maternity." Opal laughed softly and nestled against him. "Dinner at Gino's is perfect, lunch if you like?" she suggested with a wide grin. "I really love spending time with you and Mr. Black. I'm sorry about your suspension, but it has a silver lining for me!"

Caleb chuckled. “Too many doctors down there,” he apologized. “You sure you want to brave Zandy again?” he asked her as they headed for the exit. “Or do we go to your place?”

"No offence to Zandy, but if you're happy to, I'd choose my place for tonight. We could do with some us time, don't you think? What if I make us some supper. I'll cook your favourite, steak! And then we can take a shower, take our time getting dried, and splash some body cream about with the odd attempt at amateur massage to help us relax?" she suggested as they set off, laughing and joking about the things they could do once they got each other alone.

FIN

Cdr. Caleb Ryan/Shane Black
Executive Officer

Dr. Opal Oliver/Carrie White
Civilian
NPC Cdr. Dr. Amia Telamon

 

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