Karissa was at the park with the twins, enjoying the fresh air. If nothing else, she was glad to be on Serenity for that. As she watched the twins play on the playground, climbing and running around, a young woman came up to her.
"Are those twins yours?" she asked.
Karissa smiled. "As a matter of fact, they are. Hi, I'm Karissa Bentara."
"Hi," the young woman replied. "I'm Summer," she replied. "My daughter's over there on the swings."
Karissa smiled seeing the little five years old, with the strawberry blond hair swinging joyfully.
"She's very cute," Karissa replied. "She's five?"
"How did you know? She's considered a little small for her age," the woman was astonished.
Karissa smiled. "I just end up knowing these things," she replied, her dark eyes glittering in the sunlight.
"How old are they?" Summer asked as she sat beside Karissa, pushing some of her strawberry blond hair being her right ear.
"Twenty one months, almost twenty-two," she replied.
"Really?" Summer replied with surprise. "They're very fast and pretty agile for toddlers."
"Well, they're not your average toddlers," Karissa laughed softly.
"So how long have you lived on Serenity?" Summer asked.
"We actually only arrived a few days ago. I was stationed on the USS Ronin before now," Karissa explained.
"You're a Starfleet Officer?" Summer asked with surprise.
Karissa smiled. "Does that surprise you?"
"Well... You don't look like an officer... and you have the twins," she replied a bit flustered.
"It's okay," Karissa laughed. "I'm not the average officer either. Not that I can't do what the rest do, but I'm a counselor." She replied. "In fact, here on Serenity, I'm the new Chief Counselor. So if you ever need to talk, you'll know who to come to."
Summer smiled. "That's cool!"
"So how long have you been here?" Karissa asked.
"Oh my ex-husband was out here prospecting and dragged us with him. When I found him in bed with one of his helpers, I decided he could go on prospecting and I would make a life here for Kaylee and I. So far we've done pretty well for ourselves. I run one of the little stores in town. I cater to kids."
"Oh, I've seen your place! It's cute and you carry a lot of different things. Several of which I'm interested in getting! After all, birthdays are coming up!"
The women laughed together and watched as all the kids began climbing on the jungle gym. They were playing and screaming as all children do when excited. Even Luc and Maya were almost to the top. Suddenly a boy, a couple of years older than the twins, didn't see Maya behind him and accidentally knocked her over. As she dropped from the bars toward the ground, Summer stood up.
"Oh my god!" she replied, noticing that Karissa was calm.
Suddenly she watched as Maya righted herself and landed on her feet like a cat. Luc soon joined her jumping from the top.
"Wow! I've never seen kids--"
"And probably won't again," Karissa laughed. "They really are special."
"I guess so!" Summer replied. "Maybe you can tell me about it."
"Well, maybe at some point," she replied, her face glowing. "Do you come here often?"
"At least once a day," she smiled, "To let Kaylee run around. I figure she could use the exercise and she loves it here. Next time we're going to bring our swim suits and splash in the water fountain."
"That sounds like fun," Karissa replied. "Let me know when, and maybe Luc, Maya and I will join you."
Summer's smile widened. "I'll do that!"
They exchanged numbers and continued to watch their children play.
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