JPL ~ Cmdr Waterhouse & MCPO Caine ~ "Someone's Sneakin' 'Round A Corner"

Posted on Mon Apr 20th, 2015 @ 2:29am by Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine & Commander Amelia Waterhouse

2,663 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Agua Mala
Location: XO's Quarters

Rik had been waiting in Amelia's quarters for around fifteen minutes; she'd told him she'd be back earlier than his chronometer currently indicated. He clicked his tongue in thought and sighed a little as he looked around the living room. Assuming she'd been caught on the bridge or with some other duty he took a seat on the couch and took out a PADD to read. He paused, looked around again, and smiled. After the nightmare on Atlantis Prime she'd taken their relationship to the next level and given him an access code to her quarters. That had meant a lot to Rik, the first time he'd felt like he belonged. Despite it being a conditional code he'd found it impossible to hide the grin when Amelia had handed it over. As he smiled to himself, he looked to the door.

The doors into Amelia's quarters slid open with a soft sigh, and in darted a small green blur about the size of a Terran cat. There was a thin line of orange that followed it, until with a soft click it disconnected, and fell to the bamboo floor with a small thud. The blur continued to move around the quarters for a moment more, a soft clattering of claws against the bamboo helping indicate where it was at a given moment, until it finally skidded to a halt nearly in front of Rik. The green fox-thing overshot by about a third of a meter, paused a moment, then scrambled and fought to get purchase on the smooth floor enough to compensate for its failure. As it finally slowed its movements enough to not slip and slide all over, it moved close to sniff at the toe of Rik's shoe.

In through the doors walked Amelia, the handle of an orange leather leash around a wrist, a fluffy cloth bed about the size of a serving platter tucked under an arm, and an amused look crossing her face. She stopped just clear of the door sensor, her hand finding her hip as the doors slid shut behind her. The green fox-thing turned its head to look at her a moment, then sat itself down in front of Rik, looking up at him with a lolling tongue and a sweeping tail; large ears twitched a little behind twisted horns jutting out from the small creature's forehead like twin cork screws.

"Rik, meet Mikey."

Rik quirked a brow as he looked to Amelia, "Mikey, huh?" He asked with some amusement as he looked back to the little horned fox sitting at his feet. "Hey there, bo," he said to the animal as he reached down cautiously to pet and scratch the top of his head. "And where did you find this little guy?"

"His mother adopted Rochelle, after stowing away on my brother's ship to get onto Vindicator — as far as we could figure," Amelia explained as Mikey jumped and made a high pitched yelping bark, meeting Rik's extended hand with enthusiasm. He licked and nosed at the gum-shoe's palm as Amelia crossed the room. The bed landed with a muffled thud on the floor next to the coffee table, and she started to collect the leash, pulling it into a loose coil. "He was born just before Christmas, in the penthouse Rochelle had over central park for leave, and he's finally old enough to separate from his mother."

Rik half looked up to Amelia as she spoke, and half petted and played with Mikey, as he moved his hand just out of reach causing the little guy to scrabble around and jump up. "Lively fella huh?" He said with a small chuckle. "Sounds like quite the start for him, and you're looking after him for the Commodore for a while?" He asked.

"For the rest of his life," she returned with a laugh. The leash finally collected, she set it down on the coffee table. "I'm glad he likes you... With some species, males sometimes get territorial around other men in their person's life." She rounded the coffee table to lay a kiss on Rik's cheek and then looked down at Mikey.

Rik smiled to himself as he felt her lips on his cheek and caught her chin and her lips with his for a brief moment. "Oh so he's yours doll? Well who can blame him, everyone takes a shine to me," Rik said with a small wink as he chuckled, shook his head and scratched the top of the little critter's neck. "He's an affectionate lil thing - glad he likes me too, otherwise I'd be out on my ear and back on my couch eh?" He teased. He looked to the leash that Amelia had wound up, "you may need a new one though if he broke away when you brought him in."

"Electromagnet release; once he was inside, I triggered the release," she explained, crouching down next to Mikey. The little green fox-thing came charging at her, and jumped up. She caught him by wrapping an arm around him as she stood up. He quickly scrambled upwards onto her shoulder, nosing at her hair and climbing around the back up her neck, before he settled himself on her other shoulder. His tail twitched as it hung down her back, and he looked to Rik almost expectantly.

Rik nodded, "nice gadget". He couldn't help but smile, the green fox-thing seemed to raise spirits with his innocent need for attention. After the previous mission assignment, smiling had been sorely needed. Happy to oblige, he stood and walked over, putting his arm around Amelia's waist and using his other hand to scratch behind Mikey's neck. "Cute li'l critter huh? Got one question for ya though doll, what... exactly... is he?" he asked.

"He is an Almarian Fox. He came from a little planet in Klingon space with a very boring designation of K3," she explained as Mikey jumped from her shoulder to Rik's. "Starfleet hasn't seen them before, and we probably should have taken Helsa back to the planet when we found her... but the Klingons were very very specific that we didn't go back down once we'd pulled off the planet. So she stayed, and Rochelle and I are sharing what we learn about them in captivity. I think she even intended to co-author a paper with me... but don't tell Commodore Levine, we want to surprise her when it gets published." Amelia grinned wide as she said the last part.

Rik jumped a little and tried to balance himself as the little green fox-thing scrabbled on his shoulder to find a comfortable position to perch. Rik couldn't help but laugh as Mikey did this, and petted him gently. "An Almarian Fox you say? Interesting name. Well, doll, looks like you can report he's friendly enough." Rik chuckled some more as Mikey sniffed at the gum-shoe's ear. "My lips, are sealed and good luck with the research," he added with a small wink and a devilish grin as he moved in a little closer to Amelia. "So... green... Mikey... orange harness?" he quipped. As Rik spoke, Mikey moved and found a place on the very spot Rik had been shot with a disrupter just a few weeks ago. Although he had been cleared for duty, he was still in recovery and the little green fox thing perched on that shoulder caused him to take a sharp intake of breath.

"Mikey," Amelia barked and the huge green ears on his head turned towards her as a word in Orion slid from her lips. Her universal translator was kind enough to provide the word 'down' as the little creature was quick to hop to the couch and bound towards the floor. He sat patiently next to her heels, looking up at her expectantly. "You okay?" she asked Rik softly.

Rik watched as the little green blur jumped from his shoulder and ended up on the floor looking at Amelia, still wagging his tail. He smiled and shook his head that he'd been sucked in by this little ball of green fluff. "Cute thing, Orion huh?" he commented as he rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be fine doll it's a little sore still after my run-in with Kyym's minions." He explained, smiling at her with a reassuring twinkle in his baby blue eyes.

"I've started training him in a language that doesn't get spoken much on a fleet ship, so he doesn't get confused around other people," she explained with a frown. She sat down on the couch, tugging gently at Rik's hand to get him to join her. Mikey bounded up to the couch next to her, laying his head on her thigh.

"Well Orion is a good choice, doll," he commented as he acknowledged the non-verbal cue and took a seat next to Amelia on the sofa. He wrapped one arm around her, and left the other in her lap, his hand in hers.

"Speaking of Kyym, I don't get why you didn't bring backup when you headed out. We knew Kyym was up to no good, we were nearly sure she'd off us if she thought she could get away with it." A soft sigh slid out as she laid a hand on Mikey's neck and scratched.

He sighed a little at her comment, she was right, he had been reckless. "I know. I should have done, but there just wasn't time to find someone not tied up dealing with other shit. We were behind the eight ball, backs to the wall in a tight spot and I saw an opening that led me to Kessek. I... I wasn't expecting visitors. My own damn fault. If I'd been more careful, maybe that kid would still be alive."

"You are not out in the field, you're not alone. You have to ask for help before you assume we don't have anyone to spare," she insisted, frowning as she laid her head on his shoulder. Mikey crawled up into her lap and looked up at her and Rik.

Rik leaned in and kissed Amelia's forehead before resting his head on hers. "I... I'm not used people being around, spent so long as a solo operator I'd forgotten what it meant to have support, be a part of a crew... Have someone who cares," he squeezed her hand a little. "I'm sorry, Amelia." He spoke with sincerity as her name rolled off his tongue. "I didn't mean to make you worry or put myself in harms way... I'll know better next time."

"I know how hard it is to come back into the fold after going solo," she insisted with a soft sigh. Mikey padded across her lap, half climbing up her chest to touch his nose to hers. She scooped him up and cradled him against her like a baby. "So if you need help getting used to being stuck in civilization again, please just tell me."

Rik scratched Mikey's neck and smiled softly as he caught Amelia's eye, his baby blues saying more than words could in that moment. A look wasn't going to be enough, he could see that. "It is hard... And I'm sorry; genuinely I am, if I caused you to worry. I'm a'learning doll, and it means a lot you wanna help bring me in from the cold." Moving his hand to Amelia's face he let it rest there a moment, feeling the warmth of her skin on his palm, before turning her head to face him fully. "It won't happen again," he concluded with a signature smile.

"See that it doesn't," she insisted with a soft sigh. Try as she might, she just couldn't stay mad at him. "Next time, I might have to come after as your boss, not just as your girl. And if you ask the greenhorn down in Intel, I'm pretty sure she'll tell you I'm a dragon when I'm on duty." She laughed, and stole a quick kiss.

Rik enjoyed the taste of her lips, the feel of her breath against his face and sighed a little with content. He collapsed a little into the back of the sofa and continued to pet Mikey who had, at this point, started head butting Rik's arm. "Funny lil guy, huh?" he commented, before pausing. "A... dragon? You? Trouble I get, trouble with a capital T and a firecracker of a personality to match... dragon though... what... did you do?" He asked with a chuckle and immense intrigue.

"That's just it, I don't know," she insisted with a roll of her eyes. Mikey squirmed out of her grasp and moved to Rik's lap where he curled up within the gumshoe's comfortable reach to keep petting him. "I just tried to make small talk because her studies in the Academy were in cryptography... and she clammed right up."

Rik smiled as Mikey found his resting spot. Rik scratched at his neck and tussled the bright green fur as the fox creature nestled further. "I've heard the numbers at night... I always guessed it was code breaking or something, don't blame her for being scared when there's little you don't know and you even do it in your sleep... Dragon though? Not seeing it, doll." He winked and grinned as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Those are recordings of old Terran numbers stations, short wave broadcasts that various governments in the 20th century used to communicate with spies in the field. I just find them soothing to listen to," Amelia explained as they drew apart again after the kiss. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong... but don't you still owe me breakfast in bed? I'm not sure when we'll have a morning free, but you could serve me breakfast for dinner in bed." She grinned as she shifted to the edge of the couch, turning to face him as she sat with one leg tucked under herself.

Rik smiled, "so I was half right then, there could well be a code in there," he said with a wink and a grin as he watched Amelia shift and mention breakfast. "Ahh, I hadn't forgotten doll. You're ok with tea and toast... Right?" He teased as he scratched behind Mikey's ears.

"If it's French toast, with fruit, then perhaps you'll get away with toast," she insisted with a head shake and a laugh as she stood. She clicked her tongue, and Mikey's ears perked up as she told him to 'come' in Orion. The fox-thing nuzzled Rik momentarily before he hopped down from his lap and sat at Amelia's heels. "Don't leave me waiting too long, or the reports that I need to read are liable to put me to sleep while I wait." She touched his nose with her forefinger before she turned on heel and headed for the bedroom. The little green creature bounded after her, nearly on her heels the whole way.

Shaking his head he mimed biting her finger and winked. As he watched her saunter to the bedroom with a teasing warning of falling asleep on her lips. "Wouldn't dare, doll. Wouldn't dare." Rik heaved himself up of the couch, rolled his sleeves up and smiled at the beautiful dame and green ball of fuzz by the bedroom door. "Now, how do I turn this thing on... Or do I just use a phaser?" He called out teasingly.

"You singe my kitchen, and you'll be sleeping on your couch," she called from the bedroom, "since I know for a fact that you don't go to your quarters other than to wash and get dressed." She smirked, collecting Mikey to give him a lift up onto the bed, then kicked off her boots to settle down and wait to see what the cheeky gum-shoe brought her.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Executive Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine
Security Investigator
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

 

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