Answering To The Boss

Posted on Wed Sep 18th, 2019 @ 3:29am by Commodore Jane Saulitis

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Lhaes's Quarters
Timeline: MD 08 19:30 Hours
1221 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Bebe's way of doing things was to tell her daughter everything. Confront her, so the situation wouldn't get awkward later. So Jane had known that her mother and Lhaes had slept together. But this evening, at Jane's insistence, they were just leaving sickbay because she wanted an answer as to whether her mother had an implant or what else might be wrong with her. They argued as they walked. "I can't believe he proposed to you, he has to be out of his mind."

"I might agree with you there, but it's not his fault he's probably got one of those things in his head forcing his decisions for him through strong emotions. He's a sweet man and this is a delicate subject which really should be talked about just between the two of us. Since my own daughter doesn't seem to trust me . . it's become a matter for three."

"He's a sweet man now, but you have no idea who he really is. You fell in love with the thing in his head, not the real Lhaes, it's time you both realized this." Jane kept her eyes forward, she was walking briskly, making her shorter mother almost jog to keep up.

"Don't pretend that you're his best friend and know anything about him, you sit up there on your throne and direct people but you don't let them close to you, except Hak, thank god because I thought there was no hope for you." Bebe pressed the button and glared at her daughter. They both stood several feet away from each other with their hands on their hips and each had a stare for the other. Neither of them looked when the door opened.

Having expected neither woman to visit him, Lhaes just simply stared from one to the other, and back for a moment. Truth was, he had actually considered calling BeBe only seconds ago so it literally had him wonder whether the woman was telepathic after all. "Captain... BeBe.." he greeted in surprise, stepping back to allow them entry.

He couldn't even recall if the captain had ever visited his private domain at any given time. "Please excuse the mess, I haven't had time to clean up," he apologized, gesturing to the array of toys scattered around the living area. "What can I do for you?" he asked, though his senses already gave him a fair idea.

"Oh it's fine." Bebe assured him. "I just wanted to talk about the other day and well . . . I was hoping to do it alone but someone butted into the conversation. I've been to sickbay and I don't have an implant which means I guess that my feelings are genuine. But Lhaes," Bebe swallowed. "I can't marry you. I can't stay on my daughters ship and besides, I think once you have your implant removed, you may not want me to stay anymore."

Jane was feeling super awkward now that she was here. She supposed she could have let them deal with this, but the thought of her mother marrying this man was absurd.

The Romulan gestured towards the couch, giving no real indication as to what he was feeling just yet. Watching the women sit on the couch, he sat himself down in his favourite chair. He swallowed a few times as his eyes seemed a little darker now. It was becoming gradually clear that her words had in fact hurt. "We don't know that," he answered, defying the logic of her statement. He glanced towards Jane, then back at Bebe. "I want you to stay. If the age difference is an issue..." He shook his head. "I wasn't kidding...."

Even Jane could tell that it had stung a lot. "Okay," she said, interrupting both of them. "Here's the thing, we know you're serious but you freely admit that you have some kind of device in your head that may be altering your judgement."

"I think what she's trying to say is that, you may not want to marry me after you have it removed. The age really makes no difference to me if you are comfortable with it. I just don't want you making the wrong choice. How about we wait until it's removed and then make these important decisions?" Bebe asked, her hands clasped in her lap to keep her muscles from twitching out of nerves.

Downside of being an empath, really was knowing when people weren't telling everything. And the emotions from them were strong enough for him to sense them without much effort, especially this close in proximity. And especially, given his feelings for the older one of the two. "I have said from the moment these implants were discovered, that they could be dangerous," he said slowly, "we don't know what they are, who implanted them and what access they give to those controlling them. However, I'm not sure they can fully control feelings....for anything to work, an initial attraction has to be present. Therefor, I am mostly certain my feelings for you have to be real."

"Well, I don't have an implant so I know my feelings are real. You are so sweet and light hearted under that thick exterior you show everyone else. I will marry you but I have to be sure." She thought Alta had loved her but then he'd left her. There was still lingering pain from that.

"Right, I'm going to go now." Jane stood up abruptly wishing she'd never come at all and headed straight for the door.

Bebe smiled and shook her head. "She doesn't deal with emotions well, just like her father. I'm amazed Hak puts up with it but then again he's Betazoid so he knows what she's feeling."

For a moment, Lhaes said nothing. Though it really hurt, he finally shook his head. "No," he said after several seconds of silence. "No we're not going to make hasty decisions. You're right..I shouldn't have proposed. It was silly, and immature." He glanced over at Jane, who was about to head out the door. "She doesn't need a stepfather who is at least a decade younger than she is, or stepsiblings that are young enough to be her own children." It hurt, it really hurt to say it, but they had a point. This wasn't something that had to be rushed. '

"Oh Lhaes," She said, getting up so sit next to him and put an arm around him. "It will be all right, we'll figure this out. I promise. Don't worry right now."

He really wanted to give in and lean into her, but he couldn't. "I think..." He hesitated, not looking up at her. "I think I'd like to be alone right now."

"Right," she said softly. Bebe got up. "I'm sorry," she mumbled and headed for the door. His reaction had surprised her and now she was going to go worry about him elsewhere.

Lhaes sighed softly. What he really wanted to do, and probably should, was to call her back. But he couldn't. He feared that, if he did, he wouldn't ever let her leave again. He looked up, watching her go, his eyes almost Betazoid black with emotion. "I'm sorry too..." he whispered.

---

Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer

Beatrice Benjamin
Jane's Mother

LtC Lhaes Sommers
Chief Tactical/Security Officer