The sound of a waterfall cascading down onto rocks penetrated her mind, along
with birds cawing. She could feel a fine mist of water play on the skin of her
arms and face, and she could smell the scent of flowers floating on the cool
breeze. Beneath her was a soft blanket and she felt a light sheet covering her.
Her head was resting on a soft pillow. She also felt an arm on her waist. As
she opened her eyes, she saw Ryan. He was laying next to her, facing her. He
seemed to be asleep. Gently, she reached over and brushed a stray strand of
hair from his face and she saw his eyes open. She smiled softly, though everything
that had happened was still fresh in her mind.
"Hi," she whispered.
"As promised, here I am," he replied.
"This isn't sickbay . . ." she said, as she looked around at the comforting setting. Far more relaxing than the walls of sickbay, which to her, were her worst nightmare . . . for good reason now . . .
"I thought you may not want to wake up there again. After all, I have discovered you're not a person that particularly likes to be in sickbay." He pulled himself up and took an apple out of a picnic hamper between them. "You like it?" he asked.
She nodded, as tears misted her dark eyes. "Ryan, did I lose them all . . . my babies . . ." she asked. She knew she had to have lost one of them . . . She had to know to know about the others.
Although giving bad news was part of his job, it never got any easier for him. "One of them died. You still have another two fetuses that are perfectly healthy," he smiled to try to lighten the mood
She returned a bittersweet smile. She had come to a place where the pain had become a numbing, dull ache. It wasn't as overpowering as it had been, but it was still there. She reached over and gently caressed his face. "Thank you for bringing me here . . . I don't think I could have handled waking up in sickbay again."
"Hey, what are lovers for? That is what we are, right?" he asked, still unsure as to how exactly they both saw this on-off relationship.
"Are you absolutely sure you want me?" she asked, half serious, half joking. "It seems that I'm very good at complicating lives . . . And the babies . . . What if they aren't yours?" she asked.
"I want you no matter what," he answered without hesitation. "I'm not interested in who the fathers of the babies are. I will treat them as my own. I love you more than anyone I have ever met."
A relieved sigh escaped her. "I never loved anyone until you . . ." she said, meeting his dark gaze. "Those weeks without you . . . " but she couldn't finish the sentence. The time had ripped at them both.
"Hey, it's ok. I know how you felt," he said taking her into his arms. "I felt it too. So anyway... we know that I want you, but it all comes down to what you want now. Do you want me?"
Through all the pain, Ryan was her one source of joy. Her smile was soft and inviting, her gaze looking at him intently. "Do you have to ask?" she teased, "I have wanted you for a long time . . . I still want you more than ever . . . I need you more than ever . . . "
"So shall I take that as a yes?" Ryan grinned..
"Yes . . . " Karissa replied, hardly believing this moment had arrived. That they were together . . .
Ryan kissed her softly. "You have no idea how good it feels to finally hear that."
Ryan kissed her again as a monkey swung down out of the tree and swiped the picnic basket.
"Computer... delete monkey," said Ryan. With an acknowledging bleep, the monkey fizzled out of existence and the picnic basket fell to the ground. Ryan smiled as he went and brought it back.
Slowly and cautiously, Karissa pushed herself up to sitting, and laughed softly. "So what's in the basket besides apples?" she asked. Her stomach growled, though was nauseated a bit at the same time.
"A few sandwiches, more apples." Ryan loved apples. "Assorted fruits. Nothing that may jeopardize your condition though. It's all perfectly healthy and doctor approved"
"I'll try an apple and a sandwich . . ." she said, as Ryan reached into the basket and procured the items. "My body is telling me I need to eat . . . " she smiled. "Or I guess, the babies are telling me . . ."She was just about to take a bite of her sandwich, when a sadness passed over her eyes momentarily as she thought of the baby she had lost. "Did Ciara run a DNA scan on the babies? Do you know?"
"She wouldn't tell me anything about the babies. I tried to find out, hoping to find out if one may have been mine, but she wouldn't say a thing. That would be one thing you'd have to ask her about. Unless... it's ok for her to know that I am a potential father?"
"If it doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me . . . " she said, finally taking a bite of her lunch. It tasted good. As she took another, her stomach started to settle a bit. Of course, as she thought about it, she realized that sooner or later, her condition would be apparent to the crew and questions would start getting asked.
"Well what do you think would be best.. just to let people find out on their own time and let the word spread, or should I just announce it over the ship intercom?" he said half joking, but serious about doing it if she said yes.
She let out a surprised laugh. "I think them finding out over time might be better," she said. "Of course, I don't even know how long this pregnancy will last or anything . . ." she realized. She was human with feline DNA. Where did that leave her babies in the developmental timeline she wondered. She also began wondering if she had even been created to have child . . . There were so many questions she had now and no answers. She was still struggling with the fact that she had been engineered in a lab, though knowing she was loved anyway, was helping her through it.
"How do you feel about getting away for a day or so?" he asked suddenly out of the blue.
"I would love it," she replied without hesitation. Getting away from the Ronin where her recent sorrows had taken place and spending time with the man she loved was just the thing she needed. But where could they go, she wondered. "Is there some place you have in mind?"
"Well . . . the Captain's yacht still needs to be tested out," he said with a wink.
A sparkle came into her eyes. "That could be quite interesting!" she replied.
"The Ronin's sensors picked up an uninhabited planet yesterday. Full of wide open beaches, tropical climate... lush forests. Tickle your fancy?"
She took a breath in as she thought about having a whole world all to themselves. "Oh, yeah . . ." she replied, "More than you know . . ."
"Kira can mind the ship. No one will miss us for a day." Ryan tickled the chin of a passing monkey. "Just hope my ships in one piece when I get back this time" he grinned.
"Oh, I think you might get lucky . . ." she smiled. Suddenly, she leaned toward him, and kissed him gently. "Perhaps in more than one way . . ." she smirked as she pulled her lips away only a centimeter.
"Ohh yeah?" he smiled as he lost all interest in the monkey and focused on Karissa.
"Mmmhmmm," she replied, caressing his face. She wanted to lose herself in his kiss and his touch.
"Well, I can't wait to find out what it is" he said playfully. "How soon can you be ready to leave?" he asked.
"A few minutes, once I reach my quarters. I'll just throw a few things into a bag . . . and then I'll be good to go," she replied, as she caressed his face.
"See you at the yacht in 15 minutes then?" he said excitedly getting to his knees.
"I'll be there," she replied, with a bright smile. For the moment, her troubles forgotten.
Ryan helped her to her feet and walked
her out of the holodeck. Outside, he kissed her for the first time in the open,
to the astonishment of a passing crewman. "See you soon" he said as
he headed off down the corridor toward his quarters.