Somehow it always worked out that Jayson ended up on the worst possible watch on Christmas. After the festivities had ended, Jayson was left to patrol a station that had pretty much wound down for the evening. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, as he made his rounds. Other than a few people who'd had a little too much to drink, he spent a very boring eight hours on duty.
He returned to the quarters he shared with another petty officer who'd just left to go on shift as he returned. On his bunk he found a nicely wrapped package. I know this can't be Pulver's doing, Jayson thought. He looked at the tag. "TO TARA" it read.
"Oh, no... Sam Pulver, if you're trying to get me in trouble, you can forget it!" he said aloud to no one in particular. His bunkmate was notorious for practical jokes, and the chemistry between Jayson and Tara was a little obvious to everyone last night.
Out of frustration, Jayson gave up and went to bed. Maybe he could get some sleep and let this thing ride out...
Tara had woken up to several small gifts under her tree that she wasn't sure how they had come to be there. She had gotten a fragrance from Earth she had enjoyed and a book... but then she saw a brightly colored package with a tag that read, "To Jayson." She was perplexed. with a curious sigh, she placed it back under the tree until later when she would find a time to take it to its owner. Until then, she had other things to do, like get dressed and get thing ready. Ryan was going to come over to spend Christmas day with her. She was going to replicate a Christmas spread her mother would be proud of and whatever they didn't eat would just go right back into the replicator. She just wanted this first Christmas aboard SB901 to be special.
With that thought she got up and went to dress.
Jayson couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. The package sat on his nightstand, seeming to stare at him. "All right," he grumbled as he got out of bed. "I'll take it to Tara!" He shaved hurriedly and dressed in civilian clothes for the first time in what had seemed like days.
As he stepped out of his quarters, he noticed a little more activity, but by and large the station was still quiet. Chances are, everyone's busy with their families and loved ones, Jayson thought a little bitterly. Since he'd been posted to the station, his family had almost completely ignored him with the exception of a deadbeat uncle who wrote once for money. He strode through the Promenade past a vast array of closed shops (with the exception of Muscle Beach, which was doing a booming business from people who'd received gift memberships) and headed toward the Transient Officers' Quarters where Tara was currently housed.
"That smells fantastic, Tara," Ryan said. "What are you fixing again?"
"It's a goose," she laughed. "And I have cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, carrot pudding, clover rolls, mulled cider to drink and plum pudding for dessert."
Ryan's eyes popped out. "Just for the two of us?"
She laughed. "Well, whatever we don't eat will just go back into the replicator. I just wanted to have something special for us this year..."
"You've managed that," he said as he went to her and embraced her.
Suddenly, the door sensor sounded. Ryan looked quizzically at Tara and she shrugged her shoulders. She went to the door.
"Enter," she said.
Jayson was unsure of himself as he entered the quarters. He was even more unsure of himself as he saw the huge spread on the table... and the company Tara was keeping. "I didn't mean to disturb you, but I did have this to give to you, er..." It didn't come out quite the way he'd intended. Great. She'll have absolutely no respect for me now!
She smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Please, why don't you stay for awhile. I have something for you as well! I don't know how it got here," she explained as she went to the tree and grabbed the brightly wrapped gift and returned to him, "But here it is. So either way, it looks as if we were destined to see each other again."
Jayson looked a little uncertain. "Are you sure? I don't mean to interrupt anything," he said. "I just wanted to return your package. It must have come to me by mistake."
"As did this one to me," she smiled. "Believe me... stay... I have more than enough food here."
"Yeah, she could feed a small army," Ryan agreed as he looked at the spread set on a table buffet-style.
"Okay, I suppose...," Jayson said as he sat down at the table. "This all looks so good! I don't believe we've met," Jayson said to Ryan. "Jayson Sandoval, from Security. I'll be helping to train Tara."
"Ryan MacLeod, use to be shuttle pilot for the Taelons and Assistant to Commander Tara Carmichael, now one Warrant Officer training to be a shuttle pilot for Starfleet," he smiled. "Your shuttles are a little different than what I'm use to driving."
"I've heard about that Taelon shuttle... it's supposed to be something else!" Jayson said in an effort to cover his nervousness with tech talk. "If you can drive that, you should have no trouble with a Federation ship!"
Ryan laughed. "Time will tell! So you're in Security. You'll be showing Tara all the new techniques she'll need to know."
"Are you going to talk shop all night?" Tara asked with a smile, her green eyes dancing in the light. "Or shall we get down to celebrating Christmas!"
"Oh, well..." Ryan was surprise and looked at her. "Let's celebrate!" he said.
"Good!" She held up her mug of mulled cider. "To Christmas and old friends... and new friends..." she added.
Jayson lifted his mug. "Hear hear!" he said, getting some of his spirit back.
"Here, here, here," Ryan laughed his agreement too.
They all settled down and ate dinner talking about light topics and then they had dessert. Tara had started Christmas music and the lights on the tree twinkled brightly.
"That was absolutely fantastic, Tara," Ryan said. "You can cook me Christmas dinner anytime!"
She laughed. "Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Jayson became quiet, not knowing what to make of the exchange. "Why don't we open the packages?" he asked, suddenly wanting to get the evening over with. He couldn't help but think he was intruding on something.
"Well, before that, why don't I go ahead and go," Ryan said. "I'm meeting up with that beautiful lady I met on the Promenade last night in a little while and I want to go take care of a few things."
"Oh really?" Tara smirked.
"Yeah, she took a real interest in me!"
Tara laughed. "Well, good luck then."
He went to her and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Tara. If you need anything you just call me."
"You know I will," she said.
With that, he went to Jayson and extended his hand. "It was nice to meet you. Take care of her for me."
Huh? Jayson thought as he shook Ryan's hand. "Okay, good luck! See you around!" he said.
As soon as Ryan left, Jayson breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I was intruding on the two of you!" he said.
Tara laughed gently. "Oh no! Ryan is a dear friend. He worries about me a great deal. He and I have been through quite a lot together," she explained. "And now we've gone through this... He's essentially my only family now..."
"I see..." Jayson said, knowing well how these things usually worked out. "Why don't you go ahead and open your package. Ladies first, after all..."
"All right," she replied as they both moved onto the couch. He handed her the rather large packed. She pealed away the greenish paper and pulled off the gold and red bow. Then she carefully opened up the box. As she peered inside, her heart started to race. It was impossible she thought.
"Oh my God!" she said breathlessly as she began pulling out framed photos. One of Ta'al, One of her mother, one of her brother, one of Boone... And one of Ron Sandoval. These were her photos, the ones she carried with her when she went on trips. There was also another with a set of photos of Na'ar, Da'an, James and Jen Christian and Grace Whitney. Tears sprang to her green eyes. And then there was a lone picture frame without a photo. This perplexed her. "I can't believe this... This is a miracle..."
Jayson looked down, not sure what to make of this development. She was still very much attached to the world from which she came... and possibly to the man whom he resembled. Get off it, Jayson! What do you expect? he admonished himself angrily. Let's see how well you do the next time you're stranded in a completely alien universe! He forced a smile and opened his package. Inside he found a framed picture, evidently taken at the festival the night before, of the two of them together looking quite happy. He was absolutely speechless.
"What did you get?" she asked, as she recovered from her own gift. As she saw, she smiled. "That's quite a photo of us." Her eyes sparkled.
"I don't know who took it, or where it came from, but it does look good!" he said as he admired it. "Perhaps sometime you can tell me all about yours..."
"I wouldn't mind telling you about them," she said. "These people are my family... The ones I left behind when I arrived here. A few of them there saved my life on different occasions. On some occasions I saved theirs..." She smiled bittersweetly. "It was a far different world than this one."
"I can only imagine," Jayson replied. "I'm sure you've got tons of stories to tell!"
She laughed. "Oh, do I! I was Head of Security for the Taelons - or rather a Taelon I despised. I also worked for the Liberation Movement that wanted to know why the Taelons were really on Earth, and I was also working for the Ta'az, which was a Rebellion group within the Taelons themselves." She sighed. "I was involved in everything. I worked on bombings, I worked on rescuing people from Taelon research facilities... I did help take down radical factions of the Resistance because they were a danger to everyone... So many things... It's strange not to have to keep secrets and have my life constantly in danger."
"I can only imagine," Jayson repeated. "You'll find that your life is constantly in danger around here, too, but at least we know for the most part who our enemies are! I think you'll do just fine," he said.
They continued to talk; he of his family in Manila and what he'd done in Starfleet to date; she of her previous life in the 21st-century Earth of another universe. The more Jayson talked with her, the more he seemed at ease. He wasn't sure whether he was growing more comfortable with her or whether she was exerting some sort of telepathic influence.
"Would you care for anymore mulled cider?" she asked as she tried to get up from the couch. Her bulging belly making it a bit difficult for a moment, but then she succeeded.
"I don't want to put you to any trouble," Jayson said. "You've been quite good to me already tonight."
"Oh, it's no trouble. I'm enjoying your company immensely," she replied. Suddenly, she grunted and touched her stomach. "She had to pick now to do a somersault," Tara smirked.
Jayson laughed. "Well, if you don't mind, then it's okay with me," he said.
"Very good then!" She smiled. She returned with two mugs of cider and handed one to him then took her seat back on the couch. "I am glad my daughter will be born raised here... She'll be safer than she'd ever had been where I'm from."
"We'll see to that," Jayson said, taking the mug from her. They continued to talk for several hours until it was time for him to go.
"I hate to do this, but I really must go... I've got to get some sleep before I go on watch!" he said.
"I understand completely," she said. "I'm so sorry for keeping you so late!" She added as she realized the time.
"Let's do this again sometime, shall we?" Jayson asked.
"I would love that," Tara replied with a very bright smile.
Jayson left, feeling considerably more cheerful than he had when he had arrived. Perhaps the holidays aren't so bad after all, he thought, looking at the picture. Let Pulver chew on this for a while!
As Jayson left Tara felt wonderful. She had enjoyed everything about the evening and looked forward to future evenings with Jayson Sandoval. As she gathered up her photos she took them to a shelf and began setting them up. There was, however, a small ache as she looked at the photos. As she gazed at the photos of her mother and brother, and the photos of Boone and Ta'al... Then she looked at the photos of Jen, James, Grace, Da'an and Na'ar. She studied them and smiled as memories sprang to her mind of their friendships. But then she came to the photo of Ron... She sighed as she placed his photo up with the others. When she closed her eyes and willed it, she could allow herself to be inside a memory. She wondered what he would think of Jayson. They were so much a like, almost twins... but they were different too... With a sigh, she gazed at the photos one more time. Then she looked at the empty frame. It was given to her for a reason. That she knew... She wondered... Could it have been given to her for Jayson? Only time would tell.