Wish upon a star.

Posted on 30 Sep 2023 @ 9:49am by Lieutenant JG Hannah Wagner

Mission: M4 - Falling Out
Location: Hannah's Quarters
Timeline: Early AM after Reclaiming Reality
1317 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly. Hannah spread the blanket out over the sand that she'd been enjoying all day. It was pleasantly warm right now but the breeze was starting to get cool. The caress of the wind brought goosebumps to her arms. Glancing over her shoulder at Jai, she felt a bloom of warmth in her chest. Another blanket was folded on the end of the spread blanket.

So far the day had been pleasant, the company beautiful and the enjoyment plenty. The scenery they found themselves in was very relaxing and for sure one to ring in his memories for some time. It was a very welcome reprieve from sessions and reports, it seemed like that was the only thing he'd been doing day in and day out, so a break was very welcome, especially where Hannah was included.

Her smile was as warm as the sunshine had been, and she gestured to him to grab the other end of the wedge pillow so they could sit up comfortably. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon and paint the sky shades of pink and violet.

The wedge pillow afforded a comfortable laying position gazing high into the sky, the blankets would keep some measure of warmth. As Jai finally got settled, the pillow in place he smiled, this was good, this was needed.

Hannah settled herself into the hollow at his right side and pulled the blanket over them both. The wrap she'd worn when she'd pulled herself out of the ocean was not enough to keep her warm as night began to fall.

There was a particular beauty to the moment as he settled with Hannah, blanket up, the position comfortable and the sunset granting them a maze of colours and streaks as it surrendered to the darkness of night. With a slowly released breath he got comfortable, looking up to the violets as they seemed to shine with the dying light before fading to the night sky.

Her head rested upon his chest lightly and she enjoyed the thrum of his heartbeat under her ear. The sky shifted in shade and deepened until blackness enveloped them. There was just the light of the billions of stars. "That's so beautiful..."

"Sometimes, with duty, we are so bogged down that we forget to look up." Jai spoke as he adjusted to the new position Hannah had chosen. It had not been long since she returned from her mission and it was a long one at that which caused her to linger in his thoughts frequently. Yet here she was, now, enjoying the night's vibrant beauty with him.

Her heart thudded as he seemed to draw her in closer. A smile hovered on her lips and she focused on her affection for him, purposely bringing it to the front of her mind. There was a flash of scarlet and gold as the first of the meteors fell.

A streak, then another, then another. Some lasting longer than others, fleeting moments to scant seconds. There was a unique beauty that only nature and the greater cosmos could provide, something untouched by other hands, allowed to be for the simple reason of being. There was a soothing simplicity to the moment, no rules or regulations, no constraints, just here, now, in this moment.

She watched enraptured by the falling stars in every color of the rainbow depending on the makeup of the particulates. "This....is amazing" she whispered into his ear. "Thank you."

"Should be thanking you, this was your idea." Jai spoke, a smile on his face when the scope of just how good an idea this was. They had spent a good long time at a beach earlier, enjoying sun and wave together, happy and joyful moments without the fabrics of Starfleet to intrude.

His words made her smile and she snuggled her arm around his waist. His hand was right there and she entwined their fingers. "Still..."

Things had been developing smoothly, as with any budding time between two people Jai found himself happy. While his role focused on the helping of people there was a benefit to helping himself too. Even now as the night sky continued to darken and the streaks continued, it was moments like this that permitted the relaxation of body and of the soul.

A particularly bright one left a glow in her vision that lingered for several moments. She gasped in awe, a shiver traveling down her spine.

While safety was never in doubt, there was something about the beauty of a meteor shower coupled with the raw destructive power it brought with it. The beauty and the danger, the good and the bad, the left and the right in perfect, equal balance. As much as Jai sought such balance in his life dedicated to Starfleet and the aid of others he knew such balance could only be maintained if he also tended to himself too, balance....equality.

Her sigh was soft, as the light show continued with bursts of color and light and then she whispered "What're you thinking about Jai?"

"I'm thinking, that a break from the norm, routine, work and going home...it's good to add something different. That it's moments like this, that don't come with the burdens of duty or the uniform, where we can be ourselves and not the faces the uniform puts on us, it's like being free." Jai spoke. It was hard for him to not slip into being the Counsellor but sometimes such training afforded him a perspective to see things for what they truly were.

"Who are you now, without the burden of the uniform?" She said with a smile not visible to him from her vantage, head on his chest.

"Who I am is the question, what I am...is at peace." It had been a long time since Jai had managed to truly relax, to ease off on the mental barriers he kept so tuned as to not be effected by his patients emotional outbursts or onslaught. There were days when he would venture home with a headache from the ordeals of duty, the wide range of emotional bombardment he'd endure daily were taxing but with it came a sense of purpose.

His admission made her smile against him and raised up on her elbows so she could look into his dark eyes. She didn't know what to say, so she simply squeezed his hand.

Hannah awoke, more suddenly aware of the acute emptiness of her bed than anything. That had been the last time she'd spent with Jai, just before the Pathfinder mission. She'd dreamed it to perfection, and honestly wished it hadn't cut off like the credits to a movie. The hand she'd held his with was even warm, and something about that made her deeply sad.

Hannah had thought that their interlude had boded well for their return and perhaps a deepening relationship. It certainly offered her some insight into the man she'd been coming to admire. He'd found peace he'd said. Perhaps a lie, perhaps not. She'd found she'd missed him rather acutely when he wasn't aboard the station when she'd returned. He'd left her a letter, but she'd yet to read it. Would it truly matter what the letter said?

"I hope you are well, wherever in the galaxy you are" Hannah whispered with a sigh that seemed to erupt from the depths of her being. Tucking her pillow in more deeply behind her neck, another sigh escaped. It was difficult to deny that she was lonely, but by the same she hadn't taken initiative to find any friends aboard the station. She was liked well enough by her medical counterparts for being fair and flexible with the scheduling, but she had no friends per say.

Perhaps, it was time to change that.