Again, very well done, Ladies... :) ========Original Message======== Subj: <USS Banshee> A New Light - Chapter Three Date: 9/8/2002 3:56:27 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: <A HREF="mailto:cyanah@xxxxxxx";>cyanah@xxxxxxx</A> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx";>ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx</A> To: <A HREF="mailto:ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx";>ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx</A> Sent from the Internet (Details) “A New Light” – Chapter Three <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">by<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Lieutenant Sara Crusher <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">and<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Lieutenant JG Cyanah Kaelyre<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> Cyanah loved to wake up naturally and not to a tactless blaring alarm clock. It was so much more refreshing to gradually return to consciousness, especially with a lover sleeping peacefully at your side. Waking up on the morning after a night of passionate lovemaking was even more pleasant, and Cyanah took a moment to lie still and watch Sara as she slept, so serene and relaxed. She leaned over to lightly brush Sara's lips with her own, one of her favorite ways to awaken or be awakened by a lover. The gentle pressure upon her lips was just enough to bring Sara out of what was the best night’s sleep she'd ever had. She slowly opened her eyes when the lips were removed from her own, hoping it had not all been a dream. A smile brightened her face as her eyes focused on Cyanah lying next to her. It had indeed been real. Sara propped her herself up a bit as she reached out to brush some hair from in front of Cyanah's face. "Good morning," she said happily. "Is that how you always wake people up?" she teased. "`Cause I could get used to that." "Only those who I let sleep in my bed," Cyanah retorted, smiling. "But you're welcome to do that anytime you want to." "Good to know," Sara told her as she sat up, making sure to bring the blankets with her for some reason. "Because don't think you’re going to get rid of me any time soon." “I’d be crazy to even try, Sara. What time is it?” Sara couldn't help but sigh as she looked over Cy towards the clock on her night table. Morning had come just as she knew it would. Actually, it had come and gone; it was now early afternoon. "It's a good thing we're still on leave," she teased as she nodded towards the clock. "Truly. The captain would barbeque us both for being late if we weren't." Cyanah rolled out of the bed and stood. "I want to take a shower. Care to join me? You won't need those blankets, dear. I've seen every bit of you that there is to see." Sara blushed a bit as she laughed. "Very true," she pointed out as she cast the blankets aside. "I would love to join you, even if it's not a real water shower," she teased as she watched Cyanah make her way towards the bathroom. She was glad to see that Cy was also unwilling to let their time together come to an end. Sara could hear the sonic shower already running as she approached the door. She stopped in the doorway and watched as Cy got in. Cyanah closed her eyes and let the sound waves wrap around her, and though it was nothing compared to the water shower at the spa, it was invigorating. Her eyes opened again when Sara entered the shower with her, and she smiled at her new lover. Turning Sara around, she began to massage her shoulders as the sonic shower cleaned them. Twenty minutes later, they were sitting at Cyanah's table, clad in white terrycloth robes, eating a replicated lunch of Caesar salads. "Really? That was your first time?" Cyanah said, gawking at Sara. She flashed a sultry smile and added, "You certainly could have fooled me." Sara had blushed more in the past twelve hours then she had in the past twelve months, but she didn't mind. "I think I was the only girl in the dorm back at the Academy who wasn't doing it," she said with a giggle. Reaching for her coffee cup, she finished, "I just couldn't do it for the sake of doing it." "I find that interesting, as it's an attitude not common among my people. With homosexuality the norm and our resistance to disease, there really aren't any consequences to promiscuous sex, so we tend not to make a big deal out of it." Cyanah took a few bites of her salad and realized the possible implications of what she had said, so she continued, "I don't mean to imply that last night didn't have meaning to me, though. Even if Delosians as a society are generally open about sex, we still attach emotion when we feel it. And I do feel it." Sara smiled at Cyanah happily. She had known what her love had been feeling, but it was still nice to hear her say it. "I know that, Cy..." Sara said as she poked at her salad. "Betazoids have a tendency to become very sensitive towards their lovers during moments of intimacy." She relieved her fork of its holdings and then smiled playfully at Cy across the table. "I guess I should have warned you about that… But I wasn't sure if it would work for me... and besides, we did do a lot of talking last night." Cyanah grinned as she remembered the enhanced intimacy they had shared because of Sara's empathic ability. That sensation was unlike any Cyanah had ever felt, since she had no telepathic or empathic talent, and she had thoroughly enjoyed the sense of sharing her thoughts with Sara during their lovemaking. "Normally, for me, talking is a vital part of good sex... but Sara, I had never made love to an empath before... that enhanced it so much for me. Simply amazing." Sara felt a great amount of relief, since even with the empathic link she still worried about how she was. She smiled brightly as found herself lost in her new favorite place. She liked the fact that they were close in size and height. It made eye contact much easier and Sara could spend all day lost in Cyanah's green eyes. "We have a lot to learn out each other's cultures," she said after taking another bite of her salad. "That is if you'd want to..." She paused a second. "Josh and I never talk about stuff like that. Guess he forgets I'm not totally human." Sara felt a sudden pain. <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">"What in the hell did you being him up for?" she scolded herself. <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">"He doesn't belong here." "You'll have to think about him eventually, Sara." She had forgotten about their lingering telepathic link. Cy had, for lack of a better word, overheard her thoughts about bringing him up. "I know." She whispered as she pushed her plate away. "It wouldn't be fair to any of us to lie." She paused again “Besides, I don't want to lie about it. He'll be upset, he's going to get very angry..." She stopped again as she realized just how he would react. "He'd better not get <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">too upset or he'll have me to deal with. And I don't think he'd like that." Cyanah smiled, hoping to cheer Sara up again. "He's just going to have to accept it, Sara." Sara laughed at the image of Josh ‘dealing’ with Cyanah. "Ya know... Normally I'd be more worried about how he would deal with it. And I'm not saying that I might not still buckle... But for once I want things to go my way." It was strange for Sara to be thinking like that. But changes have been put into motion, ones she couldn't and didn't want to stop. "You have every right to want things to go your way, Sara. And I'll be here t o support you so you can make them go your way." Cyanah reached across the table and took Sara's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "We'll get you through this. I promise." Sara nodded as Cy's simple touch made everything look alright again. She smiled at Cyanah and knew what she was saying, what she meant. But still... "I come to you with this baggage and you’re still willing to have me?" she asked. "Everyone has baggage, love... some baggage is heavier than others, though." She gave Sara's hand another squeeze, thinking for a moment. "Sara... I should tell you this now, so you're not surprised by it later. You asked why I'm not nervous around Captain Morrigan anymore and I told you that I had been honest with her. That's true; I was brutally honest when I kissed her out of nowhere in a turbolift. I thought I was barbeque, but she came to me later and confessed to having enjoyed it. She and I have... something. I'm not sure what, though. But I thought you should know." Surprise was the first thing to hit Sara as she listened to Cy. The second was pure panic. And the third came out of nowhere. A confidence that if what she and Cy shared was meant to be then it would be, and not even Morrigan would stop it. "Looks like we both have things to deal with," she said. Suddenly, a flood of questions rushed to mind. The biggest was if she and the Captain as intimate as they were. But the one that raced from her lips was, "You kissed the BBQ Queen and you’re still alive?" Cyanah laughed and nodded. "We were trapped in the turbolift. I was getting signals from her that I was reading wrong, so I kissed her. She was totally cool about it, though, since I flew into a hysterical fit afterwards. Just don't tell anyone, please. I'm not sure she wants anyone else to know, but I thought you had a right to." "I won't say a word. I promise," Sara said as she rubbed the side of Cy's hand with her thumb. She grinned a bit as she imagined the scene in the turbolift, which might not have been a good idea, since the more she thought about it the bigger the twinge of jealousy she felt became. Remembering the link, this time she quickly put one of her shields up as she pressed that particular emotion to the back of her mind. But there were still others to deal with. She looked at Cy. She had to ask. "What does that mean for us?" "I can't answer that, since I don't even know what she and I have, Sara. But... we'll take things as they come. If I have to open my mind to loving both of you, then I can do that. My feelings for you won't grow any weaker, though. I promise, no matter what happens. Is that alright with you?" Sara thought about it. Cy was going through the same thing she was, only Cy was closer to the beginning and she was nearing the end. She didn't like the idea, but only because she had seen the hurt in Tony's eyes and she didn't want that for herself or for Morrigan. But she wasn't willing to give up on this, on what she wanted. She had given herself permission sometime last night while she lied in the dark, just before falling asleep, to be selfish. She wanted Cyanah in her life as more then her friend and if sharing her was how to do that then she would. "I understand, Cyanah... And I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here as long as you want me to be. I'm not going to pretend that it'll be easy. But who ever said life was going to be easy?" Cyanah nodded and quipped, "Anyone who says that is selling something." They both laughed, and Cyanah stood, gently pulling Sara to her feet by the hand. She wrapped her arms around Sara's back and hugged tightly, hoping to let her know that all would turn out alright. Just as she knew it would be the chaos of real life was waiting just side the door. But they were still on leave, the door was locked, and Sara had Cyanah all to herself for now. Chaos and the rest of them could wait until 0800 hours the morning they had to don their uniforms once again. Sara took Cy's face in her hands just before leaning in to kiss her. Stepping back, she smiled widely as she grabbed the knotted belt of Cyanah's bathrobe. With a mischievous look in her eyes, Sara started pulling Cy back towards the bedroom.