[ussbansheec] A Welcome to a Familiar Face
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:31:35 -0500
_A Welcome to a Familiar Face
_by Aidoaneth & Aneirin S'Ghaladriel, Delphine & Byron Matthews, and Rea
Lilin and Sabine
***takes place shortly after 'Family Duties'
It was too much all at once Aneirin told himself. There was absolutely
no place for Vulcan calm and meditation in any of the recent events that
had been heaped upon him. That he was understandably and obviously
pleased to be home and see his parents was a given, something Surak
himself might have agreed was sufficient cause for publicly embracing
them both. And the matter of finally meeting one of his father's older
children and thus have an older brother he never had? That was actually
rather pleasing if a bit awkward. They kept staring at each other, as
if Erianath had no idea what to make of /him /either. That amused him
(and Erianath) eventually.
What he had not expected, really, was his father's private and rather
strenuous objections to his relationship with the tactical officer. He
supposed he could have postulated that his father would object but never
to the degree that he did. In the end, he'd agreed to his father's
wishes. He supposed Dr. McEntire might blacklist him for treating her
sister so cavalierly but he was, after all, his father's son and no
Rihanha worth his name would destroy the name by disobeying the di'nanov
of the House so completely.
Even if he did agree with his father, it left Aneirin a bit more
withdrawn and reserved than usual. There was no sign of his somewhat
dry and bizarre humor as he entered the main room where the very odd
reunion of two families was taking place.
Byron sat in pride of place at the centre of the room, his children on
both sides and his wife flittering about, all doting so thoroughly on
him. He seemed to be enjoying himself as he basked in their love and
attention, telling silly stories and cracking jokes. He was, by no
means, completely healthy, but he was better, so much better than he'd
ever expected, and all thanks to a rather odd Romulan his niece had
found and whose son she was marrying.
"Daddy," Sabine said as she leant in close to him, "Are you
comfortable? I can get you another pillow, if you like."
"Don't be silly," he laughed, his green eyes shining brightly. "Go,
mingle, you're here to be celebrated! You're home!"
She grinned, an expression so like her father's, until she raised her
eyes and saw Aneirin. Colour flushed her dark cheeks and she lowered
her eyes again, heading for the buffet along the side of the room.
There was no way to avoid this gathering and Aneirin didn't really want
to but he was never one to mingle so freely with strangers. Patients
weren't strangers in his eyes so there was no problem with his bedside
manner but these people were all relative strangers, even as relatives.
He would have avoided this if it were possible but his father, whom he
had missed so dearly, had asked him to come. The vaguely apologetic
tone had nothing to do with Aneirin's decision. No, he was there simply
because his father was and he had missed him.
Lilin smiled at her daughter as she picked up a cup for punch. "Oh
look," she said cheerfully, "isn't that one of the doctors from your ship?"
Glancing up again, Sabine nodded then went back to the drink she was
ladling out. "Doctor tr'Ghaladriel," she mumbled.
"Why don't you introduce me?"
"I don't know him that well, Momma. He never really mingled with the
nurses," she said with a shrug.
"Well then it's a perfect time to mingle now!" That decided, Lilin
grabbed her daughter's arm and propelled her toward the tall, quiet
man. "So who's this young man, then?"
With a deep, embarrassed sigh, Sabine rolled her eyes and said, "Doctor
tr'Ghaladriel, this is my mother Rea Lilin. Momma, this is one of the
doctors from Banshee."
"A pleasure, madam," Aneirin said politely, even as his mind instantly
provided the younger woman's name. "I'm sure you must be pleased to
have your daughter home again. Nurse Rea is one of our finest."
Sabine flushed darker again at the thought he'd even know who she was.
The reaction was noted by her mother and filed as promising. "We've
been spoiling her rotten, I'm sure your parents are doing the same. I'm
sure my son hasn't actually let her out of his sight since she got
back," Lilin smirked. "Now, Sabine, why don't you show the nice doctor
where the punch is?"
"I'm sure he can find it himself, Momma," Sabine said quickly, doing all
she could to avoid Aneirin's eyes.
The corner of Aneirin's mouth twitched slightly. He supposed, once his
father had gotten over his, to put it politely, irritation, the man had
spoiled him in his unique way. Oddly enough so had his new brother.
"They have," he admitted with a slight smile. "Is the punch alcoholic?"
"No, my father isn't allowed alcohol yet," Sabine said softly, leading
him off and using the serving of the bright pink liquid, some Bajoran
concoction her mother had found from an old recipe book, as a way to
avoid looking at him. "It's made from berries from our garden on
Bajor," she explained.
"Just as well. I've never quite developed a taste for real alcohol,"
Aneirin said with an easy shrug. "It would seem that I am something of
a minority in that regard in my family, which I didn't know was quite so
large."
"All families are large," she said, handing off the cup of punch to him
and smiling down at her hands, "but sometimes we never get the chance to
meet them all. Your brother is marrying my cousin," she added, "so
we're sort of family too now."
Aneirin hmmphed softly at that. "I hadn't realized that yours was quite
so large or so vibrant. Considering my own consisted of myself and my
parents all my life."
"Most of my family are very lively," she nodded, playing idly with her
own cup. "My cousin and brother are always the centre of attention in
any crowd." Almost as if she'd heard her, Delphine swept into the room,
stunning and elegant as ever, dressed in a sapphire blue gown with a
circlet that had one pear-shaped sapphire dropped to the centre of her
forehead. Her grin blazed as she embraced the room in her glow. All
heads turned to watch the singer slide through the small crowd. "As I
said, she's quite the attraction," there was irony in her voice as
Sabine turned to the buffet table again.
"And my brother is not?" Aneirin said with an amused snort. "No Rihanha
stands out as much as he dared to if he does not want to be seen. Mind
you, he seems to be a good man but shy and retiring were not words meant
for him."
"Delphine's an amazing person, don't get me wrong," Sabine said quickly,
glancing over her shoulder at him, blushing profusely and turning back
to the food even if she had no stomach to eat now. She'd admired the
doctor for so long, ever since he'd come aboard, but he barely saw her,
like most people, except as a useful tool in the sick bay. "Ever the
artiste, though. She commands attention and her new partner is
completely perfect for her."
Aneirin noted the blush even with her darker skin tone and wondered
briefly at it. He supposed, logically or illogically, that making
somewhat less than kind remarks about someone you cared about could
cause such a thing. "I have come, Nurse," he said with something of a
sigh, " to believe that perfection is beyond me."
Nurse, she thought sadly, of course. That's all I am. "I doubt that.
The lieutenant is very much taken with you, sir. I thought... but then
it's none of my business." Closing down the thought, she turned to make
a desperate yet silent plea to Delphine, who was now approaching them.
"Cousin!" Delphine chimed merrily. "And brother. I'm glad you could
both make it. I see Aunt Lilin's had her way already." She winked one
azure eye at them both and grinned.
Aneirin looked curiously at the woman who was going to be his brother's
wife. "I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean, Delphine."
"To get you two alone," Delphine said as she touched Sabine's cheek,
frowning slightly at the heat she felt there. "My Aunt is ever the
hopeful one for our quiet little cousin."
Aneirin's mouth opened to speak but he shut it. He couldn't even say it
was a Human propensity since his father and many of the Vulcans he knew
were prone to doing the same thing. "Di'nanov talks too much," he
hmmphed softly.
"Your Di'nanov is a sweet man," Delphine said with a fond smile.
"Almost as sweet as his sons. Now be good!" She kissed Sabine's cheek
then moved to do the same to Aneirin, despite the man being half
Vulcan. So was she so she saw no reason to hold back. "I'll keep Aunt
Lilin away."
"He had a hand in this," Aneirin said to Sabine with some fond
exasperation even as he touched his cheek. Odd woman but very kind,
very. "I think he fears I'm angry at him."
"He fears what all our parents fear now," Sabine said softly, turning
away from him again. "They don't want to lose us again."
"That would most certainly be true but Di'nanov and I had a bit of a
heated discussion," Aneirin said, dark eyes staring into the punch cup
he had yet to touch. "Suffice to say, he swayed me with his arguments
and here I am."
"I'm glad," she whispered, then swiftly added to cover her
embarrassment, "that is... it's nice for so many people to be here...
Nice to see familiar faces." She offered him a shy, sweet smile then
returned to staring at her hands.
"Familiar perhaps but I am not terribly pleasant company," he told her.
"My brother or my father...those would be the magnetic ones."
"I always found you very calming company," she offered shyly.
One brow rose slowly. He couldn't recall her ever saying more than a
few non-work related words to him. "Is that so? I always thought my
presence unnerved people, except maybe Dr. McEntire and my cousins."
She glanced up from her fingers and realised she had his full attention,
probably for the first time in their entire working relationship.
Gulping slightly, she shrugged and finally met his eyes, her dark almost
black ones soft in her pretty face. "I'm very good at blending in but
even Dr McEntire noticed I always ask for particular shifts."
"Why would she...oh. I see." Aneirin would hardly dare laugh in
public, even if most of these people were, in some fashion, family. He
did however offer her a smile. "I believe the good doctor never said a
word to me about it. She should have."
"I asked her not to," Sabine said with a smirk. "She's sweet, she'd
thought it was because I didn't like working with her. I was so
mortified that she'd think that, I just had to tell her the truth. She
said she understood... I suppose she meant because of her and Captain
Maluhia."
At that, Aneirin really did smile. He liked his senior officer and
wanted her to be happy. "She still should have said something," he
insisted. He offered her a sideways glance. "Unless it is, of course,
in the province of females to not speak of such things. In which case,
I shall forgive her."
"I think it's a female bond type thing. We keep each other's secrets,
it's just what we do," she giggled lightly, her blush spreading over her
nose ridges.
Again the eyebrow went up and this time he actually smiled. "In which
case I am quite doomed. I am," Aneirin explained, "an only child for
all intents and purposes and I have no defense against wily female ways."
"Wily?" She blinked and actually took a step backwards, her eyes wide.
"No...No...you misunderstand. I would never try to manipulate you. I'd
never do that to anyone."
Aneirin sighed and shook his head. He thought to hold his hands out in
apology but instead he simply shrugged. "I...did not quite mean it that
way," he said in all seriousness. "I was attempting a joke but it
obviously failed. Badly. Forgive me please."
"Forgiven though there's nothing to forgive," she said guardedly,
keeping the distance from him she'd gained and returning her gaze to her
drink. "I think it best if we forget I mentioned it and part ways now,
Doctor. I won't be returning to Banshee, I've been offered a place on
Deep Space Nine, it's closer to home and I'll be putting in my
acceptance tomorrow. I was going to tell my parents tonight. Now, if
you'll excuse me, I need to see if my father needs anything."
Aneirin shook his head, watching her leave. He was simply conversing
with the woman yet he had the feeling he'd done something completely
wrong. It seemed that he couldn't do a damned thing right if it didn't
have something to do with medicine.
"Wow," Delphine's voice said from behind Aneirin, "you're quite the
master at contact, aren't you?" She put her hand on his shoulder as she
came to stand beside him and watch her cousin weave through the crowd of
extended family. "Want some free advice?"
"Apparently I'm not," he said with some acid though he didn't brush her
off. "I have bad taste according to my father and no social skills so
offer what you will."
"Say her name, meet her eyes, be easy with her and treat her like she's
the centre of your world, even if it's just a conversation and
friendship. Neither of you are on duty here so stop being her superior
and be her friend. She's lost here, she does her best to blend in but
with so many personalities in one place, she stands out too much. It's
making her uncomfortable." Delphine patted his shoulder then gave him a
little shove. "Just pretend you're only a man and she's only a woman,
that you've met by coincidence and you have something in common. Go on,
you might discover you can make a new friend."
His eyes searched in the direction Sabine had gone but Aneirin didn't
move. "She thinks I am involved with another."
"So?" Delphine just gave him another shove. "That doesn't mean you
can't talk to her. Maybe if you want to, you can tell her. She's been
fine single for a long time, I'm sure she'll be fine to stay that way if
you're not interested."
"I didn't think the word pushy was meant so deliberately," he said with
a mild snort as he headed in the direction he was shoved. He found her
easily enough, her beauty quite striking to him, drawing him closer.
"Sabine," he said quietly, "a word if I may?"
"Of course, Doctor," she replied. He'd called her by name, it sent a
warm glow through her even though she knew it meant nothing. Giving her
father a kiss to his cheek, she stepped off to the side, to a relatively
private area of the room where several soft chairs were arranged.
"I want you to know something," he said in all seriousness. "I meant
you no disrespect. My sense of humor is a bit off to most people and I
never meant to offend you, especially when yours was a face I was always
pleased to see. Even now, among all these people, I see you and know
that not everything is completely off kilter. I was glad to see you and
I truly am sorry."
"Glad to see me?" Biting her lip, she perched down on one of the
chairs. He was looking in her eyes and there was a soft sort of earnest
there. "I didn't even realise you noticed me."
"I noticed," he said with a small smile, his eyes not leaving hers. "I
am entirely too deliberate about thinking so that, by the time I ought
to do something, the opportunity has passed. What just happened now was
a perfect example. I think having sense knocked into my head, quite
literally, has me a bit out of sorts."
"Who... who knocked sense into you? I always thought you were very
sensible," she said softly. Patting the chair beside her, she nodded to
it. "You can sit down, y'know."
"Hann'yyo," he said simply, taking the space next to her. "The who
would be Di'nanov," he told her, nodding his chin toward where his
father and Uncle Eisnas stood with his aunt's Intended. "He was rather
emphatic that he didn't care for my choices. He literally smacked me
upside my head you know." In a completely un-Vulcan display, Aneirin
outright snorted in amusement. "It hurt his hand, by the way, but he
was right. The choice was a poor one that I would have regretted."
"You weren't going to leave Starfleet, were you?" she said in outright
shock, her hand over her mouth. "Don't. You're a brilliant doctor, it
would be a tragedy for the fleet to lose you."
"Ah no, it was more along the line of my interest in the lieutenant," he
explained, a wry smile twisting his mouth. "I spent entirely too long
infatuated with her and he was not pleased. He and I spoke a good long
time after he smacked me. Hopefully my common sense is better than my
sense of humor."
"So that's why the lieutenant isn't here?" she asked softly. In the
back of her mind there was a small measure of relief, knowing Aneirin
was single again. Not that she had any hopes of him seeing her
romantically in any way but the idea that he wasn't attached any more
was pleasing.
He nodded slowly. "Simply me, who was still glad to see you, Sabine.
It has nothing to do with her not being here either though I may not get
to stay in the Fleet after all this. If I've stepped on the wrong well
placed toes, I may very well be reassigned out to who knows where and I
will not accept that. I would rather resign."
"I was glad to see you too, Aneirin," she said his name tentatively,
sure she'd never used it before in her whole life. "Try for DS9," she
said suddenly, then flushed darkly. "They're looking for a new doctor,
if you're tired of Banshee that is."
"I like the way you say my name, Sabine," he mused. "It's rather hard
for non-Romulans to pronounce it properly. You know, if I were to do
that, I would need a familiar face to welcome me..."
She flushed at his compliment and had to look down at her hands to keep
her composure. "You have mine, I could welcome you..."
"And now?" he asked quietly. "Would you welcome me now even if I admit
to being inept and stubborn?"
"Stubborn you are but you're not inept." Glancing up, she smiled
sweetly at him and reached over as if she was going to touch his cheek
but her hand dropped away, unable to connect when she knew how unwelcome
it was for a stranger to touch a Vulcan. "You're always welcome to me,
Aneirin."
He reached down to pick up her hand, simply holding it in his. "Truly?"
he wondered. "I think I'd like that."
"Truly," she whispered, staring down at their hands.
He grinned outright then, a serious rarity for him. He'd seen his
father do so to his mother upon occasion and his brother had definitely
done so with his Intended, with the woman who'd shoved him over here.
Aneirin raised her hand to his lips and kissed it very gently. "Good.
You are a beautiful and talented woman, Sabine. I thank you for giving
me a chance to prove I'm not as much as fool as I think I am."
She was gaping at him and she felt like a complete dolt. "Um.. you're
welcome...Aneirin? Um... you're not a fool... but I'm confused."
"Why are you confused?" he asked curiously.
"Why're you holding my hand and kissing it? What d'you want, Aneirin?"
"I want just what I said, Sabine: a chance," he said carefully. "On
ch'Rihan, or so I am told since I've never set foot there, this is a
gesture of affection that is quite common between a lady and a the man
who wishes to keep her attention. Is it unwanted?"
"No! Not at all, of course not. You know how I feel, I pretty much
told you." She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand as she leaned
a little closer. "I just never guessed you looked at me this way."
"I didn't," he admitted, "but I've come to see better obviously." He
reached to touch her cheek with the back of his other hand. "You are as
beautiful as your cousin, Sabine. Why would a man not look at you?"
"Ask yourself that," she teased as she closed her eyes and relished his
touch, a small smile tugging her lips. "It's my own fault really. I
don't like to be seen, I hide."
"I know why I wasn't looking: no sense at all," he said with a
completely straight face. His fingers, sensitive surgeon's fingers,
still rested on her face. "You should not hide, Sabine. Why would you
wish to hide?"
"Look at our families, Aneirin," she said honestly, pressing closer to
him, barely a breath between them now. "Bright, vibrant, extravagant.
Even Delphine's father is colourful for a Vulcan. All of this scenery
in one place, they don't need more. I blend into the background so they
can shine all the brighter."
"Then we belong together," Aneirin told her, even as his arm slipped
around her waist. "I think you would shine quite well on your own."
Placing her lips lightly on his, she offered him the gentlest of kisses.
Lilin grabbed Byron's hand and pointed over at their daughter. "Look!
Didn't I tell you? Didn't I say?"
Byron laughed brightly and turned his wife away from the couple. "Ever
the match-maker. You were right, sweetness."
Aidoaneth nearly sighed with outright relief as he carefully 'didn't
watch' his youngest son. He strolled away from his twin and over to the
girl's parents. "Byron, I do believe I like what I see. I was in a bit
of despair over that boy."
"Blame my wife for having good sense," Byron said fondly. "That's twice
she's been right like that. First was me, now it's my little girl.
Sharp wits."
"For an old Bajoran," Lilin giggled. "Oh but they make the sweetest
couple, don't they?"
Aidoaneth smiled. He'd come to genuinely like his patient and his
family. "They do, lhhei," he said warmly. "I will not tell my son what
he should do in this matter but it would please me to no end if this
were to become something more. Yours is a fine family or, as I have
heard said, you are good people."
--
Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono `o Hawai'i
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