Love Is In The Air, part 3

Posted on Sat Jul 17th, 2010 @ 4:03am by Commander Raven Adams & Commander Ian Casey

1,132 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: On Typhon Station
Location: Holodeck 13
Timeline: Current

ON

[OLD]

"I think I've had enough," he said to her. "You can eat more if you like," he told her. "Or we can go for another walk."

[NEW]

"I think a walk would be nice," she answered quietly.

Ian looked at the fire to be sure it was under control then stood and held his hand out to Raven.

She took his hand and stood, lacing her fingers with his.

Ian smiled and led her back to the trail. "Where would you like to go?" he asked her.

"Anywhere you want."

"I don't want to go too far in the dark," he said to her. "Why don't we start with returning to the cliff and figure out where to go from there." He glanced at her. "Or we could go back to the lake," he added with a wink.

"How about we go back to the cliff now and go to the lake for an early-morning swim?" she countered. "As much as I enjoy a moonlight swim, I think I'd prefer to sit with you and look at the stars."

"That sounds fine to me," he said with a smile. He led her down the trail and they soon stepped into the opening by the cliff.

A chilly breeze blew up the cliff and the sky was bright with stars. Raven turned to Ian. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very much so," Ian replied, looking at her.

Raven's gaze met his and she felt her cheeks grow warm. "Ian..." She wasn't sure if it was too soon or not, but she couldn't hold back the words any longer. "I love you."

Ian looked at her for a moment then moved closer and put his arms around her. "I....I...." he looked at her then at the stars. He cleared his and looked at her again. "I care about you, Raven. You are a beautiful woman and you're a pleasure to be with. I just....well...." He looked at her again and said, "I love you too, Raven."

Raven wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't sound so sure..." Or was that just her own insecurity making her worry?

"I just want to be sure," he said to her. "How do you feel about children?"

Raven looked at him a moment, then decided to be honest. "I love children." She shrugged. "My life's been too chaotic to want to put things off. That includes children. I want to be able to enjoy a family while I'm young."

Ian put his arms around her and pulled her close, holding her tightly. "I feel the same way," he whispered in her ear.

Raven hugged Ian tightly, happier than she had been in a very long time.

Ian moved closer to the cliff and looked out over the valley again. The moon had come out and the valley now had a surreal, almost ghostly, appearance.

She watched him as he walked away from her, wondering what he was thinking.

Ian looked back over his shoulder at her and extended his hand to her.

She took his hand and kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to look at the valley below.

Ian moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her, putting his chin on her shoulder as they looked out over the valley.

They stood like that for a while. Finally, she whispered, "Should we head back now?"

"That would probably be best," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the trail.

When they got back to the camp, the fire was low, the embers still glowing brightly. Raven checked to be sure it was safe before joining Ian again.

"You ready to get some sleep, or would you like to try a few more s'mores first?" Ian asked her.

"The fire's too low for s'mores," she said, eying it critically. "However, I'm not quite ready to go to sleep, either."

"Why don't we just talk then," he suggested.

Raven walked over to her sleeping bag and sat down. "What do you want to talk about?"

"What are your plans for the future?" he asked, moving to sit across from her on his own bag.

"Plans? There's a lot I want to learn about being a code breaker and researcher." She shrugged. "I want to be the best, if I can." She didn't mention how much of that was used to help others. She wasn't ready to reveal that to Ian. "I want to get married and raise a family. As Intel is mostly a desk job, there's not much of a conflict between job and family."

"Have you ever considered trying for a command of your own?" he asked her.

"No. I like being a minion. It gives me more freedom to do what I want. How about you? What are your plans?"

"I've always wondered what it would be like to command a carrier," Ian said thoughtfully. "But I don't know if I could handle sitting in a chair watching while others were out there flying."

"That's what happens when you command. I prefer the flexibility of a department head."

"I like doing what I do now," Ian said. "I have the feeling of a command position and yet I still get to fly when I want."

"I don't fly as much as I used to." She smiled at Ian. "Not a fighter though. But I still enjoy it."

"There's nothing like being out there in a fighter," he said to her. "I don't know what I would do if I couldn't fly."

Raven reached out and squeezed his hand. "I think it's great that you love what you do."

Ian squeezed her hand then moved to lie on the sleeping bag. "I'll have to see about getting you out in one of the fighters with me sometime."

"I'd like that. I've never been in a fighter before." She'd been in other ships, mostly smaller craft, but they weren't the same as having nothing but a canopy above you.

"I'll speak to the Commander about it," Ian said to her. "He can be an ass at times but I've known him my entire life and I should be able to convince him."

"You've known him your whole life?" Raven asked, curious.

"I'm talking about the commander of the air group," Ian said, turning to look at her. "So, yes, I've known him my whole life."

Raven shook her head, chuckling. "I missed that one, didn't I? Put it down to my thoughts being... elsewhere."

Ian looked at her and smiled. "I'll forgive you this time," he said to her. He stretched and yawned, surprised at how tired he felt.

(To be continued..)

Commander Ian Casey
Air Group Commander
Starbase Typhon

Commander Raven Adams
Chief Intelligence Officer
Starbase Typhon

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