<USS Avalon> "Tennessee - Part 2"

Tennessee - Part 2
By Lieutenant First Class Melanie Redgrave and Ensign Elijah Dareth
 
 
A bright smile lit up Melanie?s face. "I adore riding." She said as they headed 
out the kitchen door. "I?ve been riding since I was seven. My Mum and I went 
out at least once a month." As they headed towards the stables Melanie took in 
the land around them. Even the back yard was open and breathtaking.  
 
It wasn't a long walk, but it energized him.  Dealing with his father was a bit 
draining.  The air was crisp with that 'just beginning autumn' feel to it and 
the leaves were just starting to change color.  Nothing spectacular yet, but it 
would be within two weeks.  
 
"I'm sorry about my dad," he said quietly.  "I guess that saying we didn't see 
eye to eye was a bit of an understatement.  We...have sorta reached a cold 
agreement.  I hope it didn't make you uncomfortable.  It'll get better when 
mom's around."  He laughed.  "She keeps him in his place." 
 
"He didn?t bother me. I can completely understand, well in a way I guess. I 
mean if I can handle a sister who avoids me on good days and looks through me 
the rest of the time I can handle your dad's chill." Melanie said as she walked 
along side him. Then she added with a bit of mirth, "Besides I?m English. We 
have a copyright on being stand-offish."

 
"Thank you," he said simply as they continued their walk.  "Thank you for being 
so sweet and saying such nice things about me."  
 
They arrived at the barn door and he unhooked the latch.  The inside was dusky, 
but clean.  There was an earthen smell along with the smell of hay and they 
could hear the horses snuffling a bit.  
 
Walking over to a chestnut mare, he told her, "This is Winnie.  She's a big 
baby and will be your friend for life if you give her this."  He handed her a 
sugar cube he had taken from a bag on the wall right inside the entrance.  
 
Melanie took the sugar cube and held it in the palm of her hand. She offered it 
to the beautiful chestnut mare and smiled when amazing creature took it from 
her. She then stepped a little closer and stroked the soft fur on her long 
face. "You liked that bit didn?t you? All us girls like a bit of sweets every 
now and again don?t we?" she said softly as she watched the horse look at her 
with huge brown expressive eyes.  "You're quite a beauty, Winnie." 
 
Elijah patted Winnie and then showed Melanie to the next stall.  "And this is 
Bo.  He's a bit more stubborn, but is good-natured."  Bo had the same coloring 
of Winnie, except for the white diamond shape on his forehead.  He handed 
Melanie another cube and moved to saddle the horses while she made friends.
 
"Well most men are stubborn, and a hand full of the good ones are 
good-natured," she responded as she flashed Elijah a warm smile. She feed Bo 
the sugar and talked to him and Winnie both until Elijah was done saddling them.
 
Once both horses were saddled, he handed Winnie's reigns to Melanie and they 
led them out of the barn.  "Need a hand?" he offered, referring to mounting the 
horse, since Melanie was so small.  
 
Melanie took the reigns with a smile and followed then followed the boys out of 
the barn. She bit the inside of her lower lip as she looked at the western 
saddle.  She was far more experienced in the English style of riding, but she?d 
been giving a hand full of lessons on a western. In one fluid motion she 
slipped foot into the stirrup, swinging her other leg over the horse, and then 
settled into the saddle. She then looked down at Elijah and smiled. 

 
"I'll take that as a 'no'," he grinned.  Then mounting the other horse, he gave 
the reigns a tug and set Bo in motion.  They were just walking along side each 
other to let the horses' muscles warm.  "Wanna take a trail?" he asked, 
gesturing to the woods.  
 
"Do we have time?" Melanie asked and then smiled once again when Elijah nodded. 
"Then lets go. I?d like to see as much as we can." She kept a firm but gentle 
hold on the reigns as she and Winnie walked in sync with Elijah and Bo. "It?s 
wonderful out here. I bet it was great growing up here."  
 
"I don't realize how much I miss it until I come home," he said, taking a deep 
breath of the fresh country air.  "Right over there is our path."  Angling the 
horse to follow his directions, he led her into a woods full of Maple and Oak 
trees, Birches, and a couple thin Beech trees.  There was the occasional pine 
as well.  
 
It was calm and peaceful with the birds chirruping, calling to each other 
throughout the woods.  The path they were on had been traversed many a time and 
was free of undergrowth and briars, though they had to travel in a line instead 
of side by side.  
 
They walked the horses for nearly fifteen minutes before entering a clearing.  
The space quickly opened up to reveal thick grass surrounding a small spring.  
There was water bubbling from the ground to create a small pool which then ran 
into a tiny creek that flowed farther into the woods.  

 
There was just the tiniest trickling sound of water and it was refreshing.  
Elijah dismounted and turned his horse loose to graze.  "I'd offer to help you 
down, my lady," he said, in exaggerated prose, "but I'm thinking you'd mock me 
whilst doing it yourself."  He grinned at her.  "Welcome to my little piece of 
heaven."  
 
Melanie hopped down from the horse with a little bit of a bounce when her feet 
hit the ground. She then repeated Elijah?s actions and turned Winnie loose to 
join Bo. She stood there a moment and watched the two horses and then slowly 
took in her surroundings. She smiled and took a deep breath, filling her lungs 
with the fresh, crisp, unfiltered, un-recycled air. "Bloody brilliant." 
 
"Say it one more time," he smiled, loving how she spoke.
 
"I will not," she teased as she laughed. "Not without good reason anyway," she 
added as she took his hand and started down toward the spring. It wasn?t a 
conscious choice to take him by the hand but she was so at ease with him that 
it was just natural. They walked along the spring for a few moments and then 
Melanie let go of Elijah?s hand before sitting under a large tree that allowed 
her to see just about everything. "I don?t know if I would have known what to 
do with this much open space as a child." 
 
Elijah moved to sit next to her, stretching out his long legs, back against the 
tree.  Lazy and at home.  And with a beautiful woman.  He didn't think life 
could get much better at that point.  "Me and the girls used to pack up tents 
and come down here to camp.  It was like this huge adventure."  Hesitantly, he 
reached for her hand again.  "I don't mean to be nosy and ... tell me if I am, 
but you mentioned you and your sister didn't get along..."  He let the sentence 
dangle, hoping she'd pick up.  
 
Melanie didn?t pull away as he took her hand again. "I guess that?s a little 
unfair of me to have said. I mean we don?t really know each other. I can?t 
blame her for being angry and hurt and confused when no one bothered to keep 
her from forgetting me." She looked out over the vast sprawling grass and 
listened to the faint movement of water. "Or at least her forgetting me is the 
only thing that makes sense. I was a little over a year old when our mother was 
killed by Romulans and I was found on that station. Skyler would have been at 
least twelve." Melanie looked confused as her mind once again twisted over the 
soap opera that had become her life, and then suddenly she looked as if she?d 
been bitten by a snake. Her hand flew over her mouth and her eyes went as wide 
as the saucer section of a galaxy class starship. 

 
"Melanie?" Elijah asked with concern, tensing up and studying her intently.  
 
Melanie looked over at Elijah with panic in her eyes. "I can?t believe I said 
that. Elijah you can?t tell anyone. She doesn't want anyone to know about me." 
She?d felt so safe with him that she had forgotten to filter herself.  
 
He had been so worried about her, that it took him a moment to realize what 
information had been so secretive.  Skyler...she must've been referring to the 
ship's XO.  Now it made sense.  Melanie looked so panicked, all he could think 
about doing was reassuring her.  "Hey, it's okay," he said as soothingly as he 
could manage, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture.  
"Melanie, I would never tell anyone anything that you told me in confidence.  I 
have a high security clearance, remember?" he joked, hoping to put her at ease. 
 She still hadn't relaxed and he pulled her just a tad closer.  "I swear to 
you, honey, I won't tell a soul." 
 
"Thank you," she said softly as she leaned into his embrace. "Things are so raw 
and messed up right now I?m scared to death of making them worse." Melanie was 
quiet for a while. Her mind was a swirling mess. When she finally started to 
relax again she sighed with just the hint of a smile.  "It actually feels good 
to have said that aloud. I have to tell you, Elijah, it?s been a long time 
since I?ve been able to feel this.. at ease and comfortable around a person. I 
normally have three people I can talk to openly and one doesn?t really count 
because she?s a hologram."

 
He liked the feel of her relaxing in his arms.  He leaned his chin on the top 
of her head affectionately.  "And who's the other two?"  
 
Melanie closed her eyes and drank in the warmth of the sun. "My Mum and 
T?Arah." She said as if he?d know who they were. "I go to my Mum for babying 
and I go to T?Arah for her very logical, very Vulcan straightforwardness." She 
laughed then. "It?s funny, that very quality was the reason we broke up. It was 
much easier to take from a friend than a lover." Melanie paused as she thought 
a little more. "Guess that?s why I like you so much. You filled a spot I didn?t 
know was missing. Some who could be sweet and real."

 
He blinked slightly at her revelation.  Her previous lover had been a Vulcan 
female?  He felt slightly defeated, wondering how he could ever compete with 
someone like that.  Until her next words.  Then his spirits soared.  He felt 
darn near giddy, actually.  But he was suddenly tongue tied, having no idea 
what to say next.  
 
It dawned on Melanie that she?d been doing most of the talking and it made her 
laugh. "I really don?t normally run off at the mouth like this," she said as 
she opened her eyes to look at the young man beside her. "Here we are in your 
favorite place on Earth and I?m rambling. Why don?t you go on and tell me about 
the games you use to play here?"  

When he remained quiet she quickly replayed what she had said and flinched. 
"Are you ok, Elijah? You know this is your fault. If you weren?t as kind as you 
are, I wouldn't be running off at the mouth." She smiled at him warmly. 

 
Seemingly out of nowhere, Elijah leaned down and gently touched his lips to 
hers.  It was near instinct at that point.  She was so beautiful and so 
soft-spoken with such a beautiful voice.  He was never that forward and 
somewhere in the back of his head cursed himself for it.  But it was done and 
he couldn't change it now.  Her lips were so soft and sweet.  
 
The kiss came as a shock but it was most enjoyable. Melanie?s hand went behind 
Elijah?s head, her fingers slipping into his short hair, and she held him close 
to her as she deepened the kiss just a little. When the natural flow of the 
kiss ended and the two pulled away from each other, Melanie just looked at him 
for a long time, a smile slowly brightening her face, then finally after a long 
few seconds she said. "Well that was a bloody brilliant way of shutting me up."

 
He leaned forward and touched his nose to hers.  "I gotcha to say 'bloody 
brilliant' again." He couldn't help but grin. 
 
Melanie just laughed as she shook her head. "Your positively impossible, Ensign 
Dareth." She teased and she kissed him quickly. "You know Elijah," she said 
smoothly as she kept her face close to his. "We?ve been out here for quite a 
while and it?s getting rather late." 
 
"Mmm...good point," he said, standing.  Seeing that she hadn't minded his kiss, 
he pulled her to her feet and gently kissed her again.  "I actually wanted that 
first kiss to be much more romantic."  He turned to go and gather their horses. 
 Looking at his wrist chronometer, he said, "We have just enough time to shower 
and dress for tonight.  Mom should be home soon."  
 
Melanie caught up to him and quickly turned him around to look at her. "Elijah, 
look around us.. The kiss was perfect."  
 
The look in her eye was so earnest.  It was nice to know.  "Melanie," he said, 
making the most honest confession yet, "you have to be the most amazing woman 
I've ever met."  He reached over and stroked her cheek with his thumb.  "You 
ready to head back?"  
 
"We?ll see if your still saying that after our third date." She said with a 
little bit of a laugh in her voice, as she leaned into his touch. "Yes, I?m 
ready. We?d better get back before we end up making everyone late."

 
To Be Continued...













                        
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