It was nearing 20:00, the end of Troy's shift at Soma. Kitty Mallory, having spent a very tiring day looking over intelligence estimates on the Mullurans, met Troy at Soma as planned. She'd been looking forward to seeing him more and more lately, without really knowing why.
As she entered the club, the Andorian head waitress ushered her to her usual spot at the bar, away from the stage where yet another Klingon band was performing. The 20th century Earth music genre known as 'heavy metal' had taken hold amongst the Klingons after a few of them had reportedly seen ancient pictures of heavy metal performers and decided that humans had stolen this most traditional of Klingon music forms from them. Numerous bands had formed to attempt to 'recapture' this vital part of Klingon culture. Tonight's band was called baS'ugh, "heavy metal" in Klingon... I can't vouch for how good they are, but they certainly are loud! Kitty thought as Paul Deveraux sat next to her.
"Bon soir, madame! How are you zhis fine eveneeng?" Deveraux asked.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just waiting for Troy," Kitty said with a smile as part of the their party appeared.
"Looking for me?" Troy asked as he hung up his bar apron.
"Of course!" she replied with a smile. For some reason she also found herself giving genuine smiles when she was around him. They had become very good friends and he had stayed with her several nights as just a friend. "Do you have a drink for me? Or are we going somewhere else first?" she asked, her green-brown eyes shining a bit.
"Well, we could get started here if we really wanted to," Troy said, almost yelling as the band drove into another number with full force. "It would appear that Paul's already ahead of both of us! But I think something quieter might be better."
"Okay! Sounds like fun!" she replied. "What do you think, Paul? Go or stay?" She asked as the music got markedly louder. "You are still joining us, aren't you?"
"But of course! I wouldn't zhink of anyzheeng else!" Paul said, more slurred than usual. "Shall we go?"
"Sure! But to where? What do you suggest?" she asked, looking at Troy.
"I'd suggest the Gunslinger, but they're usually packed when the Klingons play Soma," Troy said. "Maybe we should get something to eat first, then work it out. Everything's likely to be booked tonight."
"Okay, but it would be nice to go to a place that serves drinks!" Kitty said, really ready for a drink, or several.
"Zhen perhaps I might have a suggestion," Paul chimed in. "Zhere ees anozher place on ze station, ze Moulin Bleu. Anyzhing you could want to drink, and better music than this!"
Kitty's smile immediately brightened. "Sounds great!" she said enthusiastically. "What do you think, Troy?"
"I wouldn't mind checking this one out myself! They say it's an artsy kind of place. Very bohemian! Let's go!"
The trio left Soma for quieter, but more fulfilling ground. They walked through the station until they reached the establishment. It was busy, but not terribly crowded. Kitty immediately liked it.
The music was raucous but not nearly as rough as what was being played in Soma. "You've got to try zhis stuff!" Deveraux said, pulling a glass of absinthe from the tray of a scantily-clad waitress. He downed the greenish liquid in one shot. "Hooo! Tres bon! Zhis will definitely clear your head!"
"I think I'll try some of that," Kitty said and she also grabbed a glass and took a sip. Deciding it was good, she quickly drank the whole thing. "Wow!" she said, "That IS good! I think I'll have another!"
"Careful! I've heard of this stuff! Technically it's been illegal for centuries! Drink too much of it at once and you could hurt yourself!" Troy said, his mouth already going numb from the potent drink.
"Ah, Troy! Don't always be zo cautious!" Deveraux chided as he ordered cognac -- something a little softer to take the edge off the liquid hallucinogen he'd just consumed.
Kitty decided to drink one more glass of the green liquid, as she downed it, she shook her head a bit and took a deep breath. She could feel it inundating her system and she liked it! But following Paul's example she changed drinks and ordered half and half rum and coke. "This is fantastic!" she said as she leaned over to Troy and caressed his face at his worried look. Her green-brown eyes met his dark and she smiled. "Don't worry so much, Troy... I'll be fine! Just like always!"
Only it seemed to him that she was ready to do some serious drinking... More than her usual. This was more than just drinking in celebration. She was hiding the real reason for this escape. But he wasn't going to push her into finding out. He would enjoy this time with her, but watch over her as well... Someone had to...
A torch singer came on stage, singing a song in French that Deveraux translated. Troy and Kitty laughed as they noticed even Paul was blushing by the middle of the song. Troy thought to himself. Everyone keeps telling me to loosen up -- Kassia, Tarik, Paul, now Kitty... perhaps I have been a little too tight these days, he thought, asking for more absinthe.
As Kitty saw Troy take another drink, she leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. "Its good to see you relax and enjoy life a little bit," she said as she took another sip of her second or third rum and coke... she couldn't remember, but was sure feeling good!
Troy, in a fit of boldness, put his arm around Kitty's waist as they watched a holographic can-can routine on stage while Paul began trying to chat up one of the waitresses. That the 'waitress' was actually a transvestite male was a fact that seemed to evade Paul's mind. Kitty and Troy watched this exchange, laughing to themselves as Paul, once again, proceeded to humiliate himself.
As Kitty downed another drink, she was laughing so hard she could hardly catch her breath. Everything about the day was blotted out except for that moment. And Troy's arm around her was wonderful. She had grown to see him as her protector of sorts... Not that she couldn't protect herself, but he seemed to be there for her emotionally. His arm around her reassured her that she was okay and that someone cared about her. She smiled and got yet another drink, leaning against Troy as they continued to chat and watch Paul and the Waitress.
"Zo, where are you going after ze end of your shift?" Paul asked the waitress.
"Oh, I'd love to spend more time with you, pretty boy, but I've got plans with Susan later on," 'she' replied.
Paul's hands, which had been none-too-cautiously groping the server, then noticed the subtle difference in muscle tone between a man and a woman, jerked his hand back and made a hasty retreat. The server laughed at Paul, who drowned his sorrows in yet another cognac.
Kitty laughed and gently touched Paul's arm. "Maybe you'll have better luck with another waitress," she said. "Like that blond over there." She pointed to a girl across the room and smiled. She was pretty, Kitty thought in her present condition, thinking only of helping Paul in his endeavor.
"Down, but never out!" Paul said as he headed over to the blond waitress.
"You're only encouraging him, you know," Troy said as he laughed at the whole exchange.
"He just wants to find a girl... Have some fun," she laughed, snuggling into his embrace.
"Then I guess Paul and I have more to talk about than I figured!" Troy said as he tightened the embrace. Another server brought them red wine.
Kitty's eye brows lifted. She almost purred like the cat she was. She was definitely drunk, though still drinking more. "Have you changed your mind about my original offer?" she said, leaning so the her lips were a breath away from his. "It still stands..." she said in almost a whisper ready to kiss him. In her state it was a miracle she was showing restraint with him.
Troy said nothing, but simply met Kitty's gesture with his own very deep, very special response. The other patrons in the club cheered as they saw this. Meanwhile, Paul was getting slapped on the other side of the room.
As they drew apart, Kitty's eyes locked with Troy's expressing her desires. Just as she was about to kiss him again, Paul returned to the table, interrupting them. He hadn't noticed their kiss.
Paul's right cheek was visibly red with a handprint where the waitress had slapped him. "'ey! 'ow waz I supposed to know she was a Bajoran acolyte!?" he asked. "Maybe zhis wasn't such a good idea after all!"
"Oh, I don't know, Paul, we seem to be enjoying it!" Troy said, not resisting the urge to goad Paul a little.
"Well, if you both want, we could go somewhere else... We could get a couple of bottles of whatever to go and go to the holosuites," she suggested, "Or even to my place... I have music, movies from the 20th and 21st centuries... Or we could always go to another bar!" she said. She was going to stand, but was a bit unsteady and landed right back in her seat. For the moment, she decided to wait on the answer before getting up.
"I think we've all had enough of the bars," Troy said, noting the welt that was beginning to develop on Deveraux. "And the holosuites are likely to be packed. Would going to your place be too much of an imposition?" he asked.
She laughed. "If it were an imposition, I wouldn't have suggested it, silly!" she said. "So shall we go? Lets get two bottles of Rum before we leave, is that okay with the both of you?" she asked as she did finally stand up on wobbly legs. She smiled as she looked at them.
"Sure! I'll take care of that -- I know where to find the good stuff at reasonable prices!" Troy said as they left the club. Troy led them to a small sundries store and asked the proprietor -- a wizened old Deltan -- for two bottles of Risan rum. He gave the shopkeeper a twenty-credit note and thanked the man.
"How'd you manage that?" Kitty asked. "I know that brand -- it isn't cheap!"
"Only at retail it isn't!" Troy said, laughing. He noticed that the booze was starting to get to him too.
She laughed and held his hand as they walked to her place. Paul followed beside her. On occasion, she caught him looking at her, and smiled. In a few minutes, they were at her place. She opened the door and they went in. Troy had been there many times before and though he was use to it, the photos and the decor always got to him a bit. Paul had never been there before.
"Welcome to my home," she said.
Paul looked around the surroundings. "Oh, zhese babies are so sweet! Whose are zhey?" he asked, too drunk to come to the conclusion he would have otherwise reached.
"They're my angels," she said, with a smile, though tears misted her eyes. But the alcohol; sufficiently numbing her pain. "They were my babies..." She took a bottle from Troy and opened it. She went to her mini bar and grabbed glasses. "Who wants another drink!" she said, changing the subject.
"You have to ask?" Paul said, hoping to recover from this latest of many gaffes he'd made that night.
"Go ahead and top me off, too, Kitty," Troy said, smiling at her.
She gave a brilliant smile and got to work on fixing the drinks. She had to take extra steps as she delivered the drinks to the guys then watched them sit down and get comfortable.
"Here you go!" she said as she went back to fix her own. As she returned to picked a seat on the couch between Troy in the chair and Paul on the couch. She took another large drink of the almost straight rum drink, made a face at the harsh taste she liked and then leaned on the arm of the couch a bit.
Troy took his a little more cautiously; Deveraux downed his to try and rid his mouth of the aftertaste of a grand total of four glasses of absinthe. "So, Kitty, have I told you yet how extraordinary you look tonight?" Troy asked.
She smiled and laughed. "No, I don't think you have!" she replied, too drunk to realize he was making a pass at her. She just took it as a compliment. Paul shook his head as he watched the two.
"Well, my dear, I think you're simply ravishing!" Troy said. "So delicious, so scrumptious I could just eat you up!"
"'ey! We'll 'ave none of zhat here!" Deveraux said, slumping over on the sofa.
Kitty laughed and finished the drink in her hand. "Computer, play music - Earth Circa 1990s. Group called Stereophonics. Look for compilation 'Word Gets Around'."
<Track found,> the computer replied.
"Play track and my preferred setting."
Instantly music filled the room. It was easy to hear but not overpowering. Kitty rocked her body to the beat almost losing herself in the music as she took another drink. She then looked at Paul, her eyes taking on a devilish glow. "And just why not have any of that here?" she asked.
"Because it isn't right!" Paul said. "And because I 'aven't had a chance to tell you exactly what I zhink of you, you wonderful, sexy woman!" he finished, awkwardly edging over toward Kitty.
"Oh really?" she asked, meeting his eyes head on. She was being playful as she took yet another drink.
"Oh, yes!" Paul said as he grabbed her and kissed her.
As the kiss ending, Kitty looked at him and smiled caressing his face gently. "Oh Paul!!" she said. "You are such a sweetheart!" She kissed him again gently. "But, really, Paul, you're not my type... Thanks for the compliment though!" she replied. Her will to sit up along with her consciousness was wavering a bit.
Paul looked downcast. "Ah, yes, defeated once again... perhaps anozher drink to douse out zhese flames?" he asked cheerfully, holding up his glass, which Kitty filled.
Troy, meanwhile, observed all of this with interest. He wasn't sure what Paul had been attempting with Kitty over the past few hours, but an old Earth saying crossed his mind with this last exchange: in vino veritas. There's truth in wine. Well, I know how she feels about Paul; what does she feel about me?
"Let me see that bottle!" Troy said, taking the bottle from Kitty. "To true love!" he exclaimed, drinking straight from the bottle.
Paul grabbed the bottle away from Troy. "'ey! Don't drink all of zhat! Save zome for me!" he said just before taking a deep swig of his own.
"Okay, guys!" she said, taking the bottle from Paul. "Now its my turn! I bet I can drink you both under the table!" With that, she took the bottle and took a long swig. As she ended her drink, she grimaces and smiled. "Who's next!" They knew she had initiated a game and a challenge. Of course, she was doing it in drunken fun. She didn't care who drank or not! She laughed.
The first bottle of rum went around four more times before it had been completely emptied. Then they started the second bottle.
At that point Troy stopped. He wanted to hold onto some of his senses. But now, looking at Kitty, he started becoming concerned. Her and Paul were passing the bottle back and forth between the two of them and she was downing a lot. He had been watching her drink since she first started coming into Soma. This was many times the amount he had seen her consume, even on nights she drank a lot. Paul egged her on as she drank from the bottle for yet another round.
Paul began to get very loud and obnoxious even for him, while Kitty slowly became incoherent. Somehow a video of 20th century cartoons had been started; many lewd comments were made about a moose and a squirrel.
Kitty was laughing uncontrolably, but then as Paul passed out, Kitty melted into sobs. She looked at the photos and the realization of what she had been avoiding hit her full-force in her drunken state and caused her to crash down hard. She was sobbing so strongly that she caused herself to get sick and she retched all over the floor. As she tried to get up, it happened again, causing more crying from her.
"My angels... I want my angels back..."
"Come on, baby, I think you've had enough," Troy said, taking the bottle from her.
"Why did they have to die? I don't understand, why would God or any gods take my kids from me... I want them back!" she cried, reluctantly releasing the bottle.
"I can't answer that," Troy said. "But killing yourself isn't going to bring them back, and it won't bring you any closer to them!"
With that, she just melted into incoherent sobs and tears. "Why didn't I die? I wanted to die... What a cruel joke to let me live..." She seemed to just collapse into the couch. She preceded to get sick again and leaned forward, unable to control the response. More tears issued from here. "I can't live without them... I don't want too... I... I..." her consciousness lapsed for a moment.
"Come on, let's get up," Troy said, hauling Kitty up with him. "Nobody's going to die tonight -- not here anyway," he said as he led her out of the room to the washroom.
Gently, he cleaned her up and got her into something to wear for bed and managed to get her to the bed, almost having to carry her in his arms. Tenderly, he laid her down. As he started to leave to go check on Paul, she grabbed his hand.
"Please don't go..." she said. "Stay with me tonight... Even if its just to hold me... Please..." Tears were still shining in her green-brown eyes.
"I'm just going to make sure Paul's okay," Troy said. "I'll be right back!" He left the room and propped Paul in the rescue position--supine, on his left side, with his hands under his head to avoid aspirating his own vomit should things go that direction. He found a blanket and put it over Paul. "Just take it easy, you'll be fine," he said as he returned to Kitty. "I'm here for you," Troy said as he embraced her.
With a sigh that reflected she had finally calmed down, she whispered, "Thank you... Thank you so much..." and then she drifted into unconsciousness.
Troy held her as they both fell into deep sleep.
Kitty sighed as her consciousness returned to her. She could feel Troy's arm around her waist. Him spending the night with her was getting to be a pretty regular occurrence, though he was doing it just to be with her so she wouldn't be alone. As her eyes opened and she looked around, she realized that she didn't remember coming to bed, nor getting her nightgown on... And her hair smelled as if it had been recently washed.
"Computer, what time is it?" she asked in a soft voice.
<The time is 11:40 hours.>
"I slept this late?" she said out loud, though talking to herself. She felt Troy stir and turned over to face him.
"That's not surprising considering I only got you in bed at 06:30," he replied.
"What happened last night?" she asked. "I don't remember how I got in here."
"I'm not surprised," he replied, gently caressing some hair from her face. The concern was evident in his arm eyes. "You drank an awful lot... More than I see most people drink ever. And I have seen a lot of drunks in my time, Kitty... You actually scared me... I was about ready to call for the medics."
She smiled sadly and sighed, and she took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to."
"I know," he replied. "You mentioned Arianna and Zachary last night, toward the end there... "
She nodded and looked away, without surprised. Tears stung her eyes. "Yeah, figures I would... Yesterday was... would have been Arianna's..." she couldn't say it.
"Birthday. . ." he finished for her.
"And Zachary's birthday... It's the 17th..." The tears didn't fall, but still filled her eyes.
"You mentioned that too... That you wish you'd died with them..."
The tears trickled from her eyes. "I usually don't get like that when I drink..."
"I seriously doubt you drink that much on a regular basis to know."
She nodded. Tenderly, he brushed away a stray tear that had started rolling down her cheek, and gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes.
"I care about you, Kitty," he said. "And if you need me, I'm here..."
She sniffed gently, as more tears misted her green-brown eyes. She caressed his face again, letting her fingers run over his lips and then through his hair. She leaned toward him, and kissed him tenderly. She was afraid that he would turn away from her, yet he didn't.
As the kiss ended, his gaze locked with hers. His thumb caressed her cheek as his fingers went through her hair. Many intense emotions coursed through him. He had been with many women in his time, but none that he truly cared for... He never felt for them what he felt for Kitty. Unlike the others, he had gotten to know her. He really honestly cared about her. He wanted to hold her and give her comfort. He wanted to give her whatever she wanted of him... He leaned toward her, returning the kiss she had given him.
Within moments, what had started as a tender kiss had developed into passion. Kitty melted into him as his hands roamed over her. This is what she wanted. She wasn't drunk, she was in control of her faculties and this is what she wanted. She wanted Troy's arms around her, she wanted his kiss, she wanted him.
Suddenly, he stopped and pulled away, his dark eyes blazing into hers, filled with his passion. "Are you sure about this, Kitty? Is this what you want?" he asked, hoping, yet ready to stop if she asked. "I'm sure, Troy... I've never been more sure of anything in my life..." she replied, caressing his face.
With that, he threw his restraint to the wind and kissed her again, rolling her onto her back.
Kitty sighed with contentment, as Troy kissed her again. She hadn't felt like this in years. Part of her didn't want to move, but she thought it might be a good idea to get some juice or water to drink.
"I suppose we should get up," she said with a sigh, not really wanting to, but knowing it was necessary.
"I think you're right," he replied as he caressed her face once more. It was good to see her with a genuine smile, he thought. He moved from her so she could get up out of bed. Rather than grab something from her closet, she shifted into a robe. His eyes immediately filled with surprise. Seeing this, she laughed softly.
"Didn't I tell you?" she said, "I'm half Tanzaran. I can shape-shift. Not that I've done it in a very long time though."
He stood and joined her, again touching her face, leaning in to kiss her. She accepted the kiss greedily. She could feel his emotions, and knew that like herself, he hadn't felt like this before. As she pulled away, she laughed softly.
"I think we might want to get out into the other room before we end up back in the bed again."
"Would that be so bad?" he smiled.
"No," she replied, with a seductive smile, but I feel like I seriously need something to drink.
He nodded. "Yeah, you're probably dehydrated... You did get sick last night a couple of times."
Her cheeks tinted pink. "I guess I must have made an idiot out of myself."
"Not too badly..." he replied.
She laughed. "Yeah, right." Gently she kissed him again and walked to the door with him following behind in his shorts. As the door slid open and they walked down the small hall to the main area of her quarters, they saw a figure just sitting up, rubbing his head. It was Paul. As Paul's eyes focused on them in their state of undress, standing together, he tried to clear his head.
"'Ey! What ze 'ell did we do last night?"
With that Troy and Kitty laughed.
"What didn't you two do?" Troy asked.