Gifts and Surprises - Part I

Posted on Sat Oct 26th, 2024 @ 12:35am by Lieutenant Fang Lee & Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami
Edited on on Sat Oct 26th, 2024 @ 12:37am

956 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well
Location: Starbase 2

ON:

The morning had passed quickly. Fang had woken up feeling drained and tired and upset. In all honesty he hasn't slept much that night. He'd tossed, turned, and walked the confines of his quarters. At one point he'd even walked over to Zai's quarters only to remember that Zai was not on the ship. Since he'd left the day before, walked out of the counseling session he had not been back. There was a scatter of clothing on his bed from where he'd packed his bag but he was gone.

The only comfort to Fang was that he didn't pack up his entire quarters and that meant that Zai would be back and perhaps they could talk all this out.

He'd felt restless and had decided to try and get his mind off things by inviting a couple of friends for lunch.

Fang had invited Counselor Alexander and Adrianna to lunch at the local Greek restaurant was one of the best on the station. He'd brought back a few things from Q planet and he'd wanted to give it to them as thanks for all the help.

He looked around. The ancient flavour was everywhere from the tables with column legs to the flowers to the frescos. It was fascinating. He now understood why Zai liked this place so much. He sighed. Zai, had stormed out of the counselling session and he hadn't seen him since. It had only been a day but... Fang was worried. He'd come to this lunch to get away from the worry but it had not helped. Luckily his worries were cut short by his first guest arriving.

Adrianna sat in the seat opposite and smiled, greeting him Italian, "fratello maggiore."

He smiled. "Well hello! Glad you could come out today. I know we're slowly winding down getting ready to leave so departments are busy but I wanted to take some time. The counselor will be joining us."

"Merde," Adrianna muttered, "Zai told you about my current situation didn't he? Merde! I don't need a counselor!" She went to stand up.

"What current situation?" He grabbed her hand. "What's going on...this is a thank you lunch for the two of your for all your help...are you alright?"

"Oh," she hesitated and looked to her hand in his, "si, si, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a shock when an ex showed up out of the blue... Or rather 'out of the black'. No need to worry about me. Just don't tell our mothers." She waved him off pulling her hand away. Adrianna chuckled, "sorry."

"We're going to talk about this...Zai knows?"

Adrianna nodded, sitting back in her seat, "inadvertently, in my defense. The guy is a mutual friend. Didn't know until a few days before we docked."

"Well you never have to worry about confidences with Zai." He smiled. "He doesn't tell me everything you know." There was a bit of a bitter tone to it and he shook his head as if to clear it. "...actually he's not talking to me now."

Adrianna made a mental note to check in on Zai. She hoped it wasn't because of their conversation regarding him being in love with Fang. "I'm sure that it is temporary, cucciolo," she offered a small smile.

"No...I messed up during a counseling session with him, myself, and Counselor Alexander, he stormed out and I haven't seen him since. He took a couple days on Station...but the station coordinator won't tell me what guest quarters he's in and he won't pick up my coms." He sighed. "I just want to know if he's okay. He was really upset."

"Lucky for you, your sister went to the academy with a member of security on base who deals with housing," she smirked, "want me to check in on him?"

He gave a nod. "Yeah that would be great. I've...never seen him like this. He did come to talk to me in Engineering but when I found him he was pale and upset and just said he was taking time. He left." He sighed. "Well enough about that. Now then. I did get you something from Q planet."

Adrianna nodded, taking the hint of instruction. She smiled, "why do I deserve a gift?"

"For being you and for all you've done and putting up with my family." He reached under the table and pulled out a black bag with silver stars on the front. Inside it was a velvet box. It was a necklace, earing, and bracelet set that he'd picked up on Q planet. The Rainbow Gem changed color at random, a mineral from the Q planet itself and highly prized.

Adrianna smiled and was silent as she admired them. She ran her thumb over the gem, watching the colour change in its wake. "You don't owe me any thanks, Fang," she looked up at him, "but thank you. It means a lot."

"It reminded me of you. I wanted to do something special."

Adrianna didn't feel like she deserved anything special at the moment. She was feeling guilty over the Jason/Vance situation. There was a little sadness in her eyes, but it was quickly pushed down in favour of a genuine look, "thank you."

He reached over placing his hand on hers. "When your ready to talk I'm here for you."

Adrianna shook her head, "I don't think it's wise. A man of duty shouldn't know the full story. I'll find a way to figure this out. Promise." Her eyes went to Lanna and she smiled, relieved at the change of topic, "hi."

Fang looked up. "Hello counselor. Just in time. Join us."


To Be Continued...

 

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