Verse and Chorus

Posted on Mon Feb 13, 2017 @ 7:42am by Commander Caden Aldrex & Commander Amia Telamon M.D.

1,515 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: XO's & CMO's Joint Quarters
Timeline: MD 4 / 2100

Amia had only just got off duty and she was exhausted. It had been a hard day and she'd been troubled by her multi-phasic radiation implant quite a bit today. She put in a call to Mai'ya Weston as soon as she got home to see if Mai'ya he had been able to get in touch with her old boss for an update on his Research and see if he had any answers. Amia requested the link to her home console but the computer informed her that Dr Weston was not available. Apparently there had been some bombings on SB80 and the casualties were heavy.

Very worried, Amia made a note to call again later and hope that there was some better news on the crew and SB80's medical situation.

She went off to make some supper but thought she'd just sit down for a while first, just for a few minutes and then she'd start cooking......

When the door opened and Cade came in, it woke Amia. Startled she jumped and asked immediately... "What time is it?" she rubbed her eyes. "I was just....."

"Hi," Cade replied. His expression was a mix of bemusement and concern. "Did you doze off for a few minutes?" He unfastened his uniform collar. It was the first thing he usually did when getting home. As the door slid shut behind him he moved towards her, drawing her into his arms as she stood. "How are we today?"

"One of us is not at all tired, quite the contrary, but the other is exhausted!" she laughed and patted her swelling belly.

"I'm so sorry I meant to start dinner...... "

"Don't worry about it," he said, giving her a peck on the lips. "Why don't I cook for you tonight?" He looked down and placed his hand gently on her belly. "And you too! What do you say?" He cocked his ear in that direction and listened intently, although there was no reply. "I'll take that as a yes."

"That's a unanimous yes please from mother and daughter" Amia smiled, full of love for her adorable husband.

"Cade..... What does Aldrex think about being a father? Is this something he's done a dozen times already and it's just another day at the office to him? I suppose what I'm asking is will this be something different to you than it is to me? Like it's my first time but your 30th? A sort of 'been there, done that, got bored with it kind of thing?" she asked suddenly, out of the blue. Actually it had been bothering her of late that she knew so little about Aldrex as an individual with a long past and loads of experience of just about everything. It was a daunting thought.

"I just got the idea of sharing my body with another being and it made me think... that's all" she thought she ought to mention why she was asking right now.

"In a single, unified voice, I can tell you that it never becomes old hat, and it's never boring," he said. "I'm just as excited now as I was the first time." He held both her hands in his. "Just because I've had a lot of 'days at the office' doesn't make my days with you any less special. Okay?"

"Thank you" she said, reassured. She squeezed his fingers back softly. "I always wanted to ask why you don't call yourself *we* instead of *i*?" she was still very curious about how symbiont and trill alliances worked.

He looked up at the ceiling and contemplated how to explain. He had tried doing it on other occasions but could never seem to do it well enough. But for her he would try again. "The first day was a bit disorienting. I felt like I was hearing different voices in my head. Like when you listen to a comm channel and hear several people chattering all at once. That's why we're trained before joining. To learn how to make it all harmonize: the thoughts, the emotions, the wills. It's really not that hard, to be honest."

He put one hand around her waist and pulled her closer. "Computer, play the Aldebran chorale 'Utzan Venae.' The Bharani IV Conservatory version from 2336."

The computer chirped and played the song. It was a chorus of voices with no musical accompaniment. Multi-layered harmonies filled the room. The song was slow, precise, and melodic. It wasn't the best dancing music, as talented as the performers were, but Cade Aldrex led his wife in a slow dance as it played anyway. It seemed like the thing to do. "If you focus intently, you can almost make out the individual voices, and yet together they make a single, unified sound. That's what it's like being joined. The voices become one, and soon after even the thoughts become one. Yes, we are two individuals, but we think and speak as one. So harmonized and so in sync that it doesn't feel weird at all to say 'I.' You know, as in 'I love you?'"

He gently brushed her hair away from her face. "Remember when we were on that day cruise to Saturn? We were dancing under that big, transparent dome, and the planet's rings were right over our heads? I didn't look at them at all, because I couldn't take my eyes away from you. I knew then that I loved you. Not we, but I. Two minds and one thought. Perfectly harmonized. I love you more than I love anything in this life or any other life, and I need you more than I need anything past, present, or future." He smiled and said it one more time. "I."

Amia melted. "and *i* love you too!" she breathed, snuggling up closer and looking up at him adoringly.

"I *think* I understand.... is it a bit like this": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ. She got the computer to switch to a different recording once the one he had chosen had finished, hoping that she had the idea.

There had been a part of her that once felt a little bit envious of the bond between Cade and his symbiont but after he had told her all about it and about how he felt about his bond with her, in such a loving and adorable way, there was nothing that Amia could find inside any part of her that didn't scream out how much every tiny cell of her being loved this man.

And now there was another little princess who would adore him just as much. It was too perfect for any other thoughts or feelings apart from pure bliss and happiness. Amia nestled against her wonderful husband and thanked her lucky stars that she was here, with him and that they loved each other so much. If there was a Heaven somewhere, it surely couldn't be more amazing than Commander Caden Aldrex.

As if in agreement, the baby kicked. It was a tiny first ripple but it was a special moment.

Cade jumped back half a step and grinned. "I felt that!" he said. Then jokingly he added, "lots of strength in those legs. We'll have to get her on a swim team."

There had been a lot of times recently when Amia had been wondering if there might be any chance they might go 'home' ever; maybe when he was ready to move up from XO one day?

However, she was realising now that by the time that was on the horizon, "home" would have changed and this might have finally become their new home. It was still a scary thought but somehow, safe and warm in Cade's arms, she was coming to find it more acceptable and less of a daunting prospect.

"Cade?" she murmoured. "If we were to find some other parents here, perhaps we could make new friends?" she wondered, day-dreaming.

"Yeah, not a bad idea," he said, pulling her close and resuming the dance. "Do you have someone in mind?"

"No, I don't know anyone socially. We had so many friends back home." She still thought of the USS Illustrious as their home as it was where they met and fell in love. "It feels like a floating city here, with so many more people on board but so much less interaction and so much more enmity. I miss Matt's brewing capers and the parties we used to have. The holosuite adventures, even Liam's nutcase girlfriend who I just could NOT like.... at least she was ....... alive, dangerous, sparkly....." Amia said, distantly, looking at the inside of her eyes rather than around their very nice, very clean, very luxurious quarters in their neutral colours and standard decor. "I think we should decorate!!" she said suddenly.

"Sure," he said with a smile. "There's a home furnishing place on the Promenade. We'll go tomorrow." She placed her head against his chest. His smile faded.


OFF:

A JP between:

Cmdr Amia Telamon
CMO - DS5

and

Cmdr. Caden Aldrex
XO

 

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