<USS Avalon> "Tennessee - Part 3"

Tennessee - Part 3
By Lieutenant Melanie Redgrave and Ensign Elijah Dareth
 
 
They made their way back to the house and securely stabled the horses once 
again.  Elijah's mom wasn't home yet, Trinity informed them and she showed 
Melanie to the guest bedroom.  It was spacious with a comfy four poster bed and 
a handmade quilt for a spread.  She even had her own bathroom off the side.  
Elijah had told her 'casual dress' for the evening, meaning more than blue 
jeans but less than an evening gown. 
 
Melanie stood under the shower for a long time turning the afternoon over and 
over in her mind. She was so caught up in what was happening between her and 
Elijah, and in the feel of the hot water she nearly forgot about their evening 
plans. She dried quickly and pulled her clothes from her bag.  

 
Twenty minutes later she was walking into living room with her long dark hair 
down, allowing it to frame her face, and wearing a simple black skirt that came 
just below her knees and a blue cashmere pull over sweater. "Is this alright?"  
 
Elijah's face lit up when he saw her.  "You look wonderful," he told her and 
bent to kiss her on the cheek.  Placing his hand in the small of her back, he 
turned her around and said, "Melanie, I'd like you to meet my mom, Sarah.  Mom, 
this is Melanie."
 
The woman looked very young for her age, hair neat and nails perfectly 
manicured.  She was dressed in business attire and would've seemed intimidating 
if it weren't for the warm smile on her face.  Sara stepped forward to shake 
Melanie's hand.
 
"Melanie, we are so glad you could join us.  Elijah has told us some wonderful 
things about you and I was just dying of curiosity to see who my son had chosen 
for his girlfriend."  If Melanie had thought Elijah's drawl was charming, she 
was entranced by his mothers.  Where Elijah tried to hide his, she used hers to 
seem less intimidating while teaching.
 
"Mom..." Elijah said warningly.
 
Sara?s accent was softer than Elijah?s yet stronger, and clearly different from 
Georgia?s, and it made Melanie smile. She took the offered hand and shook it. 
"Thank you for opening your wonderful home to me, Mrs. Dareth." She said 
softly, her own accent taking on a much more soft, much more social tone. She 
then turned to Elijah. The faint color on his cheeks was cute and it nearly 
made Melanie laugh. "So you?ve been telling them about me?" 
 
Elijah closed his eyes slowly, knowing he wasn't getting out of this 
embarrassing situation.  He did what he usually did and made a joke of it.  
"Only that you were a stodgy Brit and your idea of a date was cleaning off 
goo-covered sensors."  He winked at her. "And that you were beautiful and 
looked cute in strappy shoes."

 
Sara watched the exchange with delight.  It was nice to finally see someone 
paying Elijah some attention.  He was such a caring man that he oft times 
adored the women he dated and they took advantage of it.  Looking at Melanie 
and showing approval in her eye, she said, "Please, Melanie, call me Sara.  I 
save the Mrs. Dareth bit for students.  I hope you'll enjoy staying here."  
 
Melanie crinkled her nose playfully at Elijah and then turned to Sara with a 
warm expression on her face. "I?ve never been in this area before. I normally 
spend my time planet-side in large cities, and it?s nothing like the English 
county side. I have to admit Sara, I?m totally entranced." Melanie told her as 
she took a moment to look out a large window that over looked the grounds. "I 
also find myself a little surprised every time I look out into your fields.. 
You have no sheep."

 
"No, no sheep," Sara laughed.  "We dislike the city, but need to be close 
enough for work, so we found this little out of the way place.  It suits us, I 
think.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to round up the rest of the family 
so we can get going.  I made reservations for six-thirty so that we could make 
it to the eight o'clock curtain call for Liza's show."  She exited the room and 
they could hear her yelling for Trinity.

 
Elijah walked over to Melanie as she was gazing out the window and placed his 
hands on her shoulders.  "I hope it's not too overwhelming for you.  I know if 
I was in your place that it would be for me."  He kissed the top of her head, 
showing his level of comfort with her. 
 
"You have a most charming family, Elijah." Melanie told him as she looked over 
at him. She reached out and fussed with the collar of his shirt and picked at 
lint that wasn?t there. "I like your mother. She seemed very pleased that you 
weren?t being over looked."  
 
"What do you mean?"  
 
Melanie shrugged. "I?m not really sure. Just something I sensed from her." 
Taking Elijah by the hand she walked them over to the couch and then sat down 
next to him. "Maybe it has something to do with your dad and with what you told 
me about your crushes."  
 
"I'm still not sure what you mean by 'looked over'..."  
 
"By people who don?t take the time to really see you," Melanie tried. "Women 
who couldn?t see what a wonderful guy you are. Superiors who can?t see what a 
good officer you are. People who don?t see the fine man you?ve become." Melanie 
smiled at him with a bit of a blush on her cheeks. Then she leaned over and 
kissed his cheek. "Anyway, it?s their loss." 
 
"Thank you," he said simply, not really sure what his heart was telling him at 
the moment.  He felt like he was falling in love with her, but his head told 
him it was too much too fast and just that giddy new relationship feeling.  And 
they didn't technically even have a relationship yet!  He chastised himself 
silently for jumping ahead so quickly.

 
It was only another moment or two before everyone was ready and they made it to 
dinner.  For a few brief moments over dinner Melanie felt a little odd and a 
little under the microscope. Though she had to admit Elijah?s family?s ways of 
finding out about her was a lot more relaxed then when she?d met T?Arah?s 
mother. Somehow meeting Vulcan parents almost seemed like taking an exam. 
Things settled down into a much more easy going pace once the Dareths were 
happy with her answers. 
 
Melanie had grown up an only child until her discovery of Skyler and until now 
she?d never felt the pain of what she?d missed out on. She watched in childlike 
awe as Elijah interacted with his sisters and while she found herself becoming 
more enamored with the young man, she also felt herself longing more and more 
for a connection with her sister that she was afraid would never come. 

As Melanie followed Trinity down the aisle of the theater, with Elijah 
following her, she smiled when he put his hand in the small of her back. He 
must have seen the passing looks in her eyes during dinner because he?d asked 
if she was ok. She patted his arm as they took their seats, gave him her most 
warm and disarming smile, and simply nodded. When the play started both Trinity 
and Elijah pointed out their sister and the feeling of love and pride Melanie 
felt as she sat between them was comforting. 
 
After the play they had all gone out for ice cream and coffee in celebration of 
a fine show. Elijah had been right. The moment Eliza heard Melanie speak she?d 
asked her to teach her how to do it without sounding like a goof. Melanie 
agreed to do it as long as Eliza would help her master a southern accent.  

By the time they?d all gotten back to the house it was late, but Melanie didn?t 
really care. She couldn?t recall the last time she?d enjoyed herself so much. 
She was definitely going to have to work hard at making sure Elijah enjoyed 
London just as much as she?d enjoyed his home. 




                
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