<USS Avalon> "Argentinian Nights"

Argentinian Nights
Elissabeth Marksbury
and
Bryce Quinn


The day had been long. He'd been in meetings with Cross and Gibson all 
afternoon about where to take the case and what exactly to offer to the new 
council. That's the biggest slap in the face a lawyer could ever receive: his 
own client asking for someone else to represent him at a trial. Bloodlines be 
damned, Bryce was a great lawyer and his track record showed it. Whatever, let 
the man fester and flounder in the pit of despair for all he gave a damn. 

He cursed himself for taking work with him. He pushed the thought of the 
Captain being hauled away in shackles from his mind, although it was quite 
humorous to see a man of age at the council table crying, and headed to the 
lounge. Bryce had doffed the Starfleet Uniform in all its constricting glory, 
and had found himself in khaki pants and a button-up navy blue silk shirt 
untucked. Wandering into the dimly-lit lounge, he stopped and balked. 

Smiling, he walked up to his booth and stared at the occupant, "I'm beginning 
to think that you sit at this table just to torment me. If you want a booth of 
your own there are plenty of others in the room to choose from; yet, you choose 
this one. May I join you, Ms. Marksbury?"

"And you insist upon trying to wrest it away from me with pretty words, Mr. 
Quinn." Looking up from the PADD she was reading, Elissabeth gestured for him 
to sit as she untucked her legs and sat them on the floor properly. "And you 
would think that several days of this behaviour would make me wise to your 
ways, and yet, here I sit. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment," she smiled.

"I don't know, I think that you just enjoy the company even when you insist 
that you do not." Bryce waved the waiter over, the same one that had served 
them the time they were together before, and the time before that, and so on. 
After ordering the usual - a non-alcoholic version of some Bolian concoction - 
he clasped his hands on the table and looked at her. "So, what shall we discuss 
this time around?"

"I'm not sure I'm up for a great deal of conversation tonight, Bryce," she 
admitted softly. "Forester's eulogy was earlier today and left me... 
somewhat... " she sighed, not sure how to finish the sentence.

He bowed his head respectfully, knowing more than he should about the situation 
she was going through. "Then why don't we do something a little more 
enlightening and fun than sitting at the table reading trashy Vulcan romance 
novels or updated security procedure, and visit a cool place in Buenos Aires 
that makes amazing Tequila Sunrises?" He smiled, attempting whole-heartedly to 
lighten the mood.

Shooting him a pointed look, she replied, "And if you think I would waste my 
time reading a trashy Vulcan romance novel, you are not nearly as intelligent 
and perceptive as I gave you credit for." Dropping her shoulders and then her 
eyes for a moment, Elissabeth looked across the table to Bryce. "The 
investigation is mostly over from what I hear and you still vie for my 
attention. I don't understand you."

"First, the romance novel was a joke. Secondly, I couldn't give a damn about 
the investigation because I'm off duty. There is a reason, Elissabeth, why I 
come here every night and talk with you. You're bright, more so than I think 
anybody has ever given you credit for, and you're beautiful. You can handle 
yourself and you are still approachable." He paused, watching the waiter set 
down his drink and walk away, "You're the epitome of female companionship; 
romantic or otherwise. I enjoy your company thoroughly."

His words caught her off guard and she felt her stomach flutter for the first 
time in a long while. They struck chord with the girl who had been feeling a 
little lost on all counts lately and made her feel... good. She offered him a 
wry smile before her thoughts could play across her face, betraying her, 
"Approachable? I?ve been about as approachable as swimming up a waterfall to 
you."

"I've seen tougher," he smiled at her, sipping his drink.

"Have you now?"

"That was," he paused briefly, looking out at the stars for a moment, "in 
another life. Anyway, what do you say? We'll ditch the Avalon's claustrophobic 
atmosphere and party it up the right way on the open-air streets of Buenos 
Aires. The nightlife there is unmatched even in modern times."

She rolled her eyes before a bright smile lit her face. "You really don't know 
me at all, do you? Or is this another one of your jokes?"

"Consider it a 'coming out of your shell' party. You've got a good night of 
partying in you; you just choose not to show it. Ever."

"Because it's not there. Ever. I'm sure of it." The thought of 'partying' 
actually frightened her to a degree. What did he think she was going to do? 
Dance and drink and laugh? But would it kill you to do those things? she asked 
herself.

"Oh, come on now. Wouldn't it be fun to just let loose and dance and drink and 
laugh?" He smiled at her, his hands locked elegantly underneath his chin with 
his elbows gracing the table nicely. "Would it kill you to at least try those 
things?"

His words stunned her for a moment, a reflection of her thoughts nearly 
verbatim and it was not appreciated. "You didn't tell me you were a telepath," 
she said coldly.

"I'm not."

"Then how did...?" She shook her head, wondering.

"How did I what?"

Elissabeth studied his face, searching for any indication he was deceiving her. 
"Know what I was thinking," she finally admitted.

He smirked, and blushed, "Lucky guess, I swear. Lying to you would not prove to 
my benefit, I don't think. Plus, I don't think that I would ever get my booth 
back if I did." Studying her himself, Bryce wanted nothing more than to learn 
who she was and what she was all about. More than he already knew, obviously, 
from their encounters and what he knew about her before coming on board. "So, 
what do you say?"

Lowering her eyes almost demurely, she responded before she realised she was 
speaking. "Only if you promise not to tell anyone. I wouldn't want to chance 
losing my reputation as a ?heartless harpy?, I believe the phrase was."

A laugh escaped his lips, "You have my word." Bryce pushed himself out of the 
booth, downing his drink as he did so, and offered his hand to her. "Tell 
Tahana the Vulcan Love Slave that you'll come back and read more of her erotic 
adventures tomorrow. Tonight, we're going to have some fun. Can you Salsa?"

"Salsa?" she asked confused, taking his hand long enough to stand. "As in chips 
and?" Elissabeth glanced down at the faded blue jeans turned up at the bottom 
because they were about three inches too long, and her simple black blouse. Not 
exactly party attire, but what does it really matter?

"No, Salsa, like dancing? Tell me you can dance a little?"

"I can Waltz," she offered as they left the lounge. "I told you, Bryce, I am 
not fun, but you wouldn't take my word for it." Holding up the PADD, "I need to 
return this to my quarters."

"Why?"

"Because I can't just leave it lying around? Because I don't want to lose it? 
Because the more I think about this crazy idea of yours the more jittery I get 
and hope that if I dash inside quickly enough and lock the door that you'll get 
tired of waiting and go away?" she smiled, taking the focus off the PADD with 
the information on Lyryn Cate that Joshua had pulled for her.

"Well, the jittery will go away with some alcohol and, well, I'm not going away 
period." He laughed as they entered the turbolift and he waited for her to call 
out her deck number. "And, don't try and lock yourself in your quarters, I have 
a friend in the security department and I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem 
opening the door for me to get to you. So, stay where I can see you." He 
chuckled again as he placed his hands behind his back.

"You're thoroughly evil," she proclaimed after telling the lift where to go. 
The ride was short and in a matter of moments they were standing outside her 
quarters. Elissabeth opened the door and oddly, didn't hesitate inviting him 
in. Her quarters were, as always, completely immaculate. Moving over to the 
desk, she locked the PADD away carefully and turned to face Bryce. "Do I need 
to change clothes?" 

He looked her up and down once or twice, thinking about the night's 
festivities. "Nah, I think that you could dance in that. Blue jeans don't have 
a lot of give, but something tells me that you'll manage." Bryce offered her 
his arm and motioned for the door, "Shall we go dance the night away?"

"I can't believe that even being aware of your wily ways, I still let you talk 
me into this." She followed him out, but didn't take his arm. Walking side by 
side, Elissabeth casually asked, "So, who's your security friend?" 

Bryce blinked, caught vaguely off guard by the sudden turnaround. "Uh," he 
thought quickly, "Mr. Benevente. Evan went to the Academy with me so many years 
ago. Before he got caught up in the whole Maquis thing he was actually a very 
pleasant person. I tell you, things like that change people." 

Something about that didn't sound right to her, but she filed it away for 
further examination because they'd reached the holodeck. "We could choose 
another program," she offered hopefully. 

"And why would we want to do that? Doesn't Buenos Aires on a hot summer night 
sound enticing? Or would you rather run some security training program where we 
can spend the evening beating the living hell out of drunken Klingons for their 
bloodwine money?" He looked at her, a smile and a hint of mischievousness in 
his eyes. 

Tipping her head to the side slightly, Elissabeth raised her brow, "Actually... 
that kinda sounds like fun." She chuckled and glanced down. Looking up again, 
she explained, "But I don't think I'm at that level physically yet. I've been 
working so hard..." Sighing, she concluded, "There's only so much your body is 
capable of, I've learned." 

"Yeah, that much radiation poisoning will do that to a person." 

To dispel the sudden dampening of the conversation, she turned and opened the 
door once Bryce was finished programming the holodeck. 

The familiar feeling of a warm Argentinian breeze wafted over them. The smell 
of mountain flowers was in the air as they stepped onto what appeared to be a 
rundown cobblestone-like road. Cheerful music permeated the darkening twilight 
with a feeling of life and passion, but it was far enough away that it was just 
the musical accompaniment to the soft glow of the festival down the hill. "One 
of my favorite places to go. Just to get away." 

"Beautiful," she smiled, suddenly curious and entranced. It felt old and new 
all at the same time, peaceful and exciting as well. If it were possible, 
anyway. Her senses were assailed, and with it came a stir of confusion, but she 
pushed it aside with a little effort and offered Bryce a real smile. "I can see 
why." 

The walk down the lane was uneventful. The music grew louder and the chatter of 
happy souls going about their merry ways transcended into a dull roar. Bryce 
smiled as they started to part through the first set of people on the outskirts 
of the fiesta. "You're going to get bumped around a little, don't take personal 
offense." He got bumped, as if his words were foreshadowing it. "You hungry? 
They have some great food over by the fire pit." 

Elissabeth moved to follow him, trying to let herself fall into the feeling 
permeating the air. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, actually. The 
music just seemed to wash her negative thoughts away. People were smiling and 
waving, bobbing and weaving as they danced through the crowd. One man in 
particular seemed a bit friendly as he popped up beside her with a flower. The 
action startled Elissabeth and she almost lashed out at him, but caught herself 
at the last moment. Smiling, she accepted the token as the man danced away 
again. She looked up at Bryce with questions in her eyes. 

"Intoxicating, isn't it?" 

Bowing her head slightly to the flower, she inhaled and looked up at Bryce once 
more. "More than I ever imagined." 

"Now, is it intoxicating enough to get you onto the dance floor?" He eyed her 
suggestively and motioned towards the hardwood set-up in the middle of the 
crowd. 

Wide-eyed, she shook her head 'no'. "I have to watch them first." Elissabeth 
attempted to move to the edge of the crowd, though she got pushed into Bryce 
more than once. A feeling she found more... appealing than before. 

There was a low stone wall with a wide ledge and dozens of coloured flowers 
like the one she was carrying planted behind it. Finally breaking free from the 
crowd, she perched herself on top of the wall lightly kicking her feet in time 
to the music, concentrating on the dancers. She hadn't felt so girly in ages. 
In fact, I've probably never acted this silly before, she thought, suddenly 
wondering how ridiculous she must look. 

Bryce watched her run to somewhere she felt was safe. He chased after her, 
smiling all the way, and found himself leaping up onto the wall next to her. 
"Come on, it's not hard. You just move your hips a little and take a step in on 
every other beat. We don't have to get complicated. It'll be fun to make 
mistakes. Don't worry, the people here are programmed to not care how you 
dance." He laughed, reaching for her arm. 

"No, really, just give me a second to watch and I promise that I won't step on 
your toes." Studying those moving to the music, it took her about three minutes 
to understand the steps and how they fit together. "Okay," she announced, 
hopping back off the wall. The culture, including bits of the language that 
wasn't Standard was beginning to make sense to her as well, and things weren't 
nearly as foreign. As Bryce joined her, she slipped her hand into his and let 
him lead her through the crowd, trying not to think anything of the contact. 

Pulling her onto the dance floor, he placed one hand around her waist and 
pulled her close to him. Palming her other hand in his, he looked her in the 
eye, "You sure you ready for this? It's fast and will definitely have your 
heart racing by the end of the night." 

"I'm ready. If I get too tired, we'll stop," she told him as they began moving 
to the music. And true to her words, she didn't step on his toes. It may not 
have been something she was interested in, but she had the grace to pick it up 
quickly enough and made very few mistakes, though she was a little stiff at 
first. 

Then, their movements became almost one. They stepped together, in and out, 
they shifted directions together like a river changing with the landscape. It 
was as if they had melted together to be one entity, one thinking body. "Ready 
for this? Just go with it," Bryce smiled and, on the next beat, spun her around 
before catching and stepping perfectly back into the beat. "That's nothing," he 
smiled again as he spun her again and dipped her in time to the music before 
launching her back onto her feet and regaining their simple twist and step 
moves. 

Her heart raced and her senses spun. It became less a thought process and just 
something to feel as she moved with him. Something that felt very good. And 
Elissabeth didn't tire nearly as quickly as she thought she would, especially 
when a soft and slow song began to play, allowing them to catch their breath. 

Bryce blushed like a cadet at the Academy. "Shall we break for something to 
drink, or would you like to continue dancing?" He was shy when it suited him, 
but that overbearing and sometimes overpowering robustness that he had 
exhibited in their earlier meetings faded quickly. This was the real Bryce 
Quinn. Away from all things, away from the desks in the courtrooms, he was just 
like everyone else. 

Unable to help the demure grin that sprang to her lips, Elissabeth scanned over 
his face and teased, "And here I thought nothing could make a lawyer blush." 

"I'm not a lawyer right now." 

"No, you're not," she replied softly, stepping just a bit closer, placing her 
left hand on his shoulder and holding up her right hand for him to take. 
"You've surprised me and I find that I quite like this side of you." It was 
true, though she shocked herself by saying so. When did she get that bold? With 
James, she'd been a silly, giggly girl. This was different. Not instant 
attraction like it was with James, but something that was developing. Or could 
develop. Possibly.

Taking her hand gently, he pulled her closer to him. Their bodies connected and 
touched, Bryce smiled inwardly enjoying being back in a position of romance. He 
had long since missed it. "I'm glad you like this side of me," he hesitated for 
a minute, looking over her shoulder at nothing in particular, "I think this 
side wants to be more of me." 

Settling into the embrace, Elissabeth was pleased that it was so comfortable. 
Not something she needed, like Anna. Or not something she desired, like James, 
but just something she enjoyed for the sake of enjoying it. She looked up into 
his face, trying to draw his eyes back to her, but just as she was about to 
speak, she looked away, not sure what it was she wanted to voice. Her 
attraction to him in that moment? To that softer side that balanced the 
boisterous and sarcastic side? No, she couldn't and she knew it. 

"Elissabeth," Bryce said, and stopped. There was something perfect in that 
moment, something ridiculously wonderful in that awkward embrace, and something 
amazingly sensational in the silence that had built itself between them. The 
dance, the atmosphere, had elevated everything to a much higher level than he'd 
ever expected. And, at the same time, he had expected nothing less. "I hope 
you're enjoying yourself," he said finally, peering once again into her eyes. 

"I am," she confided, just as the song ended and the moment was shattered by 
the incredible blast of a trumpet followed by the rest of the musicians. The 
crowd cried out whoops of joy and began their fast paced dances once again. 
Flashing an almost embarrassed smile, Elissabeth led Bryce away from the 
dancers and back to the flower topped wall.

"Good, I'm having a wonderful time too," Bryce replied, happily dragged away 
from the roaring throng of people. 

Once she settled on the wall again, she asked, "So what it is about this place 
that's so magical? This isn't exactly what I thought you had in mind when you 
said 'partying'. Not that I'm complaining," she added, quickly. "I just... 
didn't expect it to be romantic, I suppose." It was her turn to blush as her 
eyes roved pretty much anywhere but his face.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises. Some say I'm two-faced, but I like to think 
that I just like to reveal myself truthfully in due time," he picked a flower 
out of a pot and handed it to her. "Sometimes it is better to wait for 
something special than to jump into something and expect it to be the world." 

"And yet you have expectations." 

"Is that such a bad thing?" Bryce grinned. 

"It was just a comment," she said, teasing him.

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now." He stared at her, his 
eyes never leaving her face. 

What is one supposed to reply to that? she wondered in a microsecond as her 
stomach seemed to drop and her pulse seemed to quicken. She was struck entirely 
speechless and somehow knew that Bryce would be amused if he knew the only way 
to get her to shut up was to tell her he wanted to kiss her. But then, as 
before, the moment was broken.

This time it was an elder woman stepping up to the couple. She was spouting 
sentence after sentence in Spanish and gesturing to Elissabeth's flower. Lissi 
made a valiant effort to follow the woman's words and quickly began picking up 
on the speech patterns, but was still clueless as to what the Argentinian woman 
was saying. 

"Computer, delete partygoers." His eyes had never left his date's face. The 
upbeat festival had ceased into the blissful silence of just Bryce and 
Elissabeth. It was how he had wanted it to be in the first place. It was time. 
He reached out and cupped her cheek, turning her face towards his, and he 
brought their lips together in a tender touch. 

Surprised and how gentle his kiss was and how different it was from James, 
Elissabeth found herself letting go for a moment and falling into it. It was as 
the dance, nothing full of need or desire, but of comfort or a strange sense 
of... belonging? Pushing the thought away, she chose to ignore her normally 
analytical mind and just suspend the moment in time.

It was a moment of sheer perfection. The breeze, the aromas, the serenity of 
the atmosphere; it all made the kiss all that much more intense and passionate 
and, Bryce hoped, all that more memorable. Their lips parted and he breathed a 
refreshing breath, having lost most of his air during their kiss. "That 
was...well, it was." 

"It was," she agreed, though softly added, "and surprising. And a little 
wonderful too." Since when did you become such a talker? she asked herself. 

"I would love to walk you back to your quarters." His hand had gone to her leg, 
sliding up her thigh just a bit before coming to a rest. "It?s getting late."

"I don?t have to work tomorrow," Elissabeth said, childishly not wanting the 
moments to end. She was trying to keep the comparisons from her mind, but she 
couldn?t. These were definitely feelings she?d never experienced before. And 
they were far from unpleasant. What started as bantering, bickering 
conversation had ended in something extraordinary, in the true sense of the 
word, of course. Beyond ordinary. She thought she should be a little worried or 
frightened of her feelings, but she wasn?t. Then again, habits were hard to 
break. "But I suppose you do." 

"Old habits die hard. Early to bed and early to rise. It all seems horribly 
trite right about now," Bryce offered his arm again, hoping that their bond had 
given him the benefit of the doubt for her to take it this time around. "Shall 
we?" 

"Trite? Why's that?" She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice as she 
laid her flower on the stone wall. Sliding to the ground, she entwined her arm 
with his. 

Bryce smiled while nodding, wrapping his arms with hers, "I just always used it 
as an excuse to cut horrible social occasions short. Now, when the night is 
going so well, it bites me because I really do need to get some sleep before 
tomorrow. We're winding down with the final meetings between the JAG officers 
onboard and Captain Ketchum. I should be on my A game." 

"Of course." Their walked ended all to quickly at her door and she wanted him 
to come in and stay, even just for a while to talk some more, but knew better 
than to even offer. "Thank you for this evening," she offered, withdrawing just 
a bit back inside her 'shell' as Bryce had called it, now that they were back 
from fantasy land. 

Stepping closer to her, he kissed her again. "Goodnight, Elissabeth," he said 
as they parted lips. He smiled at her, looking into her eyes - her soul - and 
finally taking a step back. "Love is an ill-conceived plan, isn't it? It never 
does do what you want it to do, and it never makes you feel the way you want to 
feel.

And odd feeling ran over her entire body, a sense of deja vu almost, and it 
left her feeling a little pale and shaky. She nodded mutely, mind attempting to 
place that moment in time, but just as something floating on the edge of her 
vision, when she looked towards it, it disappeared. Her hand slid from his arm, 
finally realising what he'd just said. Love? "I need to go," she concluded, 
somewhat spooked. "Good night." Abruptly turning, she opened her door, fleeing 
to the safety of her quarters. 

He let her go. That sudden change in demeanor, attitude, it was everything that 
he expected. Bryce watched her enter the darkness, recede from his vision, but 
he let her go. "Goodnight, Lissi," he mumbled under his breath as the doors 
slid shut. He didn't hate the way the evening ended; she had taken a step in 
the right direction. Bryce smirked as he pivoted on his heel and retreated down 
the hallway. Tonight, he would dream about her. And, in his perfect dream, it 
wouldn't even come close. 


                
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