It Takes Two to Tango (or is it three?)

Posted on Fri Jul 16th, 2010 @ 1:49am by Captain Anna Johnson & Commander Ian Casey

2,417 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: On Typhon Station
Location: Operations/Restaurant
Timeline: Day after Dinner, a Movie, and Breakfast

Anna really wanted to spend more time with Ian. She had been thinking about him a lot since their date a couple of days ago. She sent him a message to see if he was free that evening before heading out the door to operations. It was time for her shift to start. As she stepped out she saw two people on the lift but the doors closed before she could hurry ahead to catch it. "Oh well I'll just catch the next one." She said out loud to herself.

The doors soon parted and she made her way to operations and of course put on a fresh pot of coffee then moved to check on any ships that were docking and leaving or in need of supplies.

Ian stepped into his office and sat down at his desk. He turned to the display and noticed he had a waiting message. He brought it up and read through it, smiling as he saw it was from Anna. She wanted to spend time together that evening. He leaned back and tried to decide what they could do. He sat up suddenly as he remembered he had a date with Raven later.

He sighed and stood up, leaving his office and making his way to the nearest lift. A few minutes later he stepped off the lift and made his way to Ops. He paused inside the door and looked around, trying to find Anna.

Anna stepped out of her office with coffee in hand and her face lit up when she saw Ian standing there, "Good morning." She said her face beaming, "Did you get my message?" She asked.

"Yes I did," he said, smiling at her. "I wanted to come up here and talk to you about it."

"Great so do you have the time to get together this evening?" Anna asked the smile still on her face as she set her mug down and moved over to take his hand.

Ian squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "I won't be able to see you tonight. I have an exercise scheduled for tonight on the holodeck."

"Oh," Anna said her smile fading for the moment. "Well maybe we can get together again soon then." She let out a sigh, "I just haven't been able to stop thinking about spending more time with you since our last date. I haven't felt this way about a man in a long time."

"I would really like that," he said to her. "I spend a lot of time thinking about you as well."

Anna reached up and touched his cheek. She looked around a moment and saw everyone was busy about them and not paying any attention to them. "It's more than just thinking about you." Anna said, "I think I'm falling in love with you." She said then blushed hoping she hadn't just messed things up for them.

Ian looked at her for a moment then smiled broadly. "I'm happy to hear you say that because I feel the same way about you."

Anna let out a sigh to hear him say that and the smile returned to her face. "So that said then when can we get together again?" She asked.

"We can do lunch," he suggested, "or we can get together tomorrow night."

"Lunch can work. Do you want to go back to that Italian restaurant I showed you the other day?" Anna asked.

Ian thought about it and nodded. "They have really good food there."

"So do you want to meet there or here when its lunch time?" Anna asked.

"I'll meet you here and we can walk there together," Ian said to her.

"Okay then I'll be looking forward to it." Anna said with a smile.

Ian nodded and squeezed her hand again, unsure if a kiss while on duty would be appropriate. "I'll see you in a few hours," he said before turning to make his way back to his office.

[Later around 1230]

Anna was checking off the supplies that had been loaded onto a ship that was ready to ship out in a few moments. She noticed the time and knew Ian would be arriving soon and a smile came over her face once more.

Ian stepped into Ops and paused, smiling as he watched her work. He walked closer and said, "Are you ready?"

"Just finishing up with a ship." Anna said. She looked over her shoulder and someone moved over to take her place so she could leave for lunch. "I contacted the owner he is going to have a table waiting for us when we get there." Anna said. "Well actually they had a shipment come in today so I mentioned we were coming for lunch when I arranged to get the good to them."

Ian smiled and reached for her hand. "You're an amazing woman, Anna," he said as he led her out of the office.

A short while later the two arrived at the restaurant. The owner greeted them at the door. He looked at Ian then at Anna and started to say something but didn't. "I have your table ready just as I said I would Ms. Johnson." As they arrived the server placed an order of bread and a plate of fried ravioli on the table. "The appetizer is on me." He said and held out her chair for her to sit down.

"Thank you," Anna said with a smile as she took her seat.

"That was nice of him," Ian said as he watched the man leave. "So how has your day been so far?"

Anna reached forward and grabbed a ravioli and dipped it into the sauce. "Busy but not too bad." Anna said then ordered tea when the server approached once more. She had to go back to work when they were done so she couldn't get wine this time. "How has yours been?" She asked, "Everything getting set up okay for tonight?" She asked.

Ian ordered a raspberry tea then looked at Anna. "Everything is all set. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out."

Anna nodded then reached forward and dunked one of the appetizers and offered it to Ian.

Ian smiled and leaned closer, reaching up to caress her hand as he took a bite of the ravioli.

"I so wish we could spend the evening together." Anna said looking into his eyes.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow night," he said to her. "We'll have a night that's all about you. Anything you feel like doing is fine with me."

"I don't care what we do as long as I have some time with you." Anna said, "Dancing all night, a moonlit stroll, anything will be fine, surprise me." Anna said with a smile then leaned back to look at the menu as the server had arrived. "I'll have the breaded chicken with pasta Alfredo and a salad with Creamy Italian dressing." Anna said.

Ian looked at the waiter and said, "I'm feeling adventurous so I think I'll go with Chef's Choice." When the waiter left Ian looked Anna and said, "We can go to the beach or watch a movie again."

"We just had diner on the beach night before last." Anna said, "I don't want to get into a rut." Anna said. "Oh and I wanted to have a few friends over for dinner next week at my place."

"As I said, anything you want to do is fine with me," he said to her. "I want to make you happy."

"The dinner is next week tomorrow night is just us." Anna said. "I still have to ask the others and find the best time to do it. Besides being with you makes me happy. I want to do something we both enjoy."

The server returned with a salad and bread for both of them, "The rest of your food will be out shortly." he said and moved to leave them alone once more.

"We could go camping," he suggested, trying to think of things they could do that she would enjoy.

"I've never been camping. Don't know much about it." Anna said. "Though I'm willing to give it a try."

"It's settled then," Ian said with a nod. "Tomorrow night we're going camping."

"What do I need to bring?" Anna asked before taking a bite of her salad.

"Everything we need is in the program," he said to her. "Just dress for a hike through the mountains."

"Okay." Anna said then leaned back as the rest of the food arrived. The chicken was also covered in the white sauce and Parmesan cheese and the server offered to put some more fresh ground cheese on their pasta. Anna nodded and leaned back to give him access to the plate.
"This smells wonderful."

Ian sat back as the waiter set a plate in front of him. He looked at the food then at the waiter. "What is this?" he asked.

The waiter looked at him and said, "It's Bucatini with Amatriciana Sauce."

Ian looked at the food again and nodded. "Thank you," Ian said to him.

"Is it okay?" Anna asked.

Ian took a bite and nodded. "It's a little different," he said to her, "but it's not bad. Would you like a bite?" he asked her.

Anna shook her head, "I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish this as it is." Anna said as she picked up the spoon and used her fork to twirl the pasta on it before taking a bite.

"You'll have to try it next time," he said as he took another bite.

Anna nodded, she watched him a moment and smiled then took another bite of her food. There was a twinkle in her eyes. "So other than pasta what do you like to eat?" Anna asked.

"Cheesecake," he said immediately. "I love cheesecake."

"I'll have to remember that." Anna said with a smile. "I think Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts though I think just about any girl likes chocolates. My favorite color is purple, my favorite flowers are any kind of lily." Anna said. "Anything else I need to know about you?" She asked before taking a bite of chicken.

"Purple's my favorite color as well," he said to her after eating more of his food.

"Anything else you really enjoy?" Anna asked.

"I enjoy playing cards and cooking," he said to her.

"Let me try it this way. If I wanted to surprise you with something what type of things would be good. Other than a cheesecake." Anna said.

Ian thought about it for a moment then looked at her. "I honestly don't know," he said to her. "I've never had anyone want to surprise me with something."

"That's what people do when they care for each other." Anna said then reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I just want you to know that I love you and care about you." There she had gotten up the nerve to say the three words she had been struggling to say all day.

Ian squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "You are an amazing woman, Anna."

"Why do you say that?" Anna asked.

"Because you are," he said to her. "You're beautiful, intelligent, organized. I'm happy that I found you."

"I'm glad I found you too. You don't know how hard it is for me to give my heart to someone after all I've been through." Anna said.

"I do know, Anna," Ian said to her. "You told me about your past."

"You are the only person that wasn't family, a doctor or a counselor that I have shared that with in a very long time." Anna said.

"I'm honored that you did," Ian said, looking at her and smiling.

Anna sighed, "I need to get back to work. I don't want to but I need to." She said, "Though I'm taking some Tiramisu with me." She added with a grin.

Ian laughed and stood up. He extended his hand to her to help her up then squeezed her hand before saying, "Thank you for having lunch with me."

"It was my pleasure." Anna said stopping to get the dessert she wanted to take with her.

"Where do you want to meet tomorrow night?" he asked her.

"If we are camping we would be doing so in the holodeck I'm guessing. So I guess you can stop by my place and pick me up." Anna said.

Ian nodded and turned to the door. "Would you like me to walk back to Ops with you?"

"Sure if you want." Anna said pulling out her credit stick to pay for her meal and dessert.

"Are you happy on this base?" Ian asked her as they left the restaurant.

"I am," Anna said, "Especially since my sister is here now. Well that and meeting you have made being here nice." Anna said.

Ian looked at her and smiled. "Have you ever thought about retiring and finding somewhere quiet to settle down?"

"I'm too young to retire yet." Anna said. "Though if the right situation showed itself I might consider it."

Ian nodded and said, "It's always good to have a plan for the future. You never know when you may need it."

"I know I'd like to be a mom one day. I just don't want to do that until I know a relationship is secure." Anna answered. "After I'm married preferably."

Ian looked at her and smiled. "That makes sense. You and I are so much alike," he said to her.

"Why do you say that?" Anna asked as they stepped off the lift and moved back toward ops.

"I feel the same way as you about my future in Starfleet and having a family," Ian replied. "It's almost as if we were meant to be together."

"I guess we will have to see." Anna said then kissed his cheek. "Thanks again for having lunch with me. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said to her as he turned and walked out of the office.

Anna smiled and waved then grabbed a cup of coffee and opened the container with the Tiramisu in it. She started eating it while she moved back to her station to check on how things were going.

:OFF:

Commander Ian Casey
Air Group Commander

Commander Anna Johnson
Chief of Operations/Second Officer

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