Then It's A Date?

Posted on Wed Dec 26th, 2018 @ 11:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Radak

2,223 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Negotiations and Apothecaries
Location: Ilana's quarters
Timeline: TBD

ON:

Ilana had spent the last couple of days avoiding Radak. She had spent time in 'her' quarters and so many things came to light that her head was spinning. She felt embarrassed more than anything. Radak had tried to call her but she'd avoided his calls not knowing what to say to him. She now sat with her hands wrapped around her cup of coco thinking about all that had happened and her slowly returning memories.

Radak sighed deeply as he stood in front of Ilana's quarters. He hadn't rung the chime yet and was just contemplating what he was going to say and what he was really doing here in the first place. The biggest problem was that she was his friend. He was both concerned for her and missed her talking to him. He finally pulled on his uniform to straighten it and tapped the buzzer.

Ilana put down her coco and sat up a bit. She looked at the door wondering who it was. She knew it wouldn't be the doctor she'd talked with her just a while ago. "Enter."

Radak stepped through the door as it slid open. When he saw that she was still seated on the couch he put up his hands, as if in defense. "I know you might not want to speak to me right now, but I would very much like to speak to you. Please Ilana. We were friends..." His tone was a little bit pleading.

She sighed. "You know, I have been doing a good job of avoiding you. I thought that you would not want to see me." She gestured in a defeated way to the empty spot on the sofa.

Radak took the empty spot on the sofa, sinking down into the cushion in a relieved way. "Why would I not want to see you? I am not angry." He looked at her with one eyebrow raised in a distinctively Vulcan fashion.

She sighed. "I mistook you for my husband. I diverted you from your duties." She shrugged. "Why didn't you tell me?" She knew the doctor had recommended that her memory return on its own, but still. "I feel like a fool."

Radak looked over at her and shook his head. "The doctor told me not to tell you, but I still felt like I was lying to you too and it wasn't all that horrible. You were very sweet. You kissed me..." He smiled just a little bit. "You're not a fool, though. You just got hit really hard. In the head."

She closed her eyes and let the silence wrap around her. "Yes well..." Hit in the head was no excuse. "Still, someone should have told me." She waved her hand. "I know that the doctor said not to tell me and I understand her reasons but..." She sighed and then changed topics. "That security officer brought back my pen. Apparently, this ensign liked it because it was shiny." She held the pen up.

Radak eyed the pen. "It was shiny? I mean, it is indeed shiny. There is no denying the shininess of that particular pen, but that still does not excuse taking things that do not belong to you." He made the statement and was only silent for a moment, before he started in again. "Look, Ilana, I owe you an apology as well. I should have told you. Here I am, proposing that I am your friend, but I let you believe what you liked. I am sorry. I was a bad friend." He looked at her while he talked, his gaze sincere.

She smiled. "It's okay. The doctor explained things to me on why I needed to let my memory come back on its own." She sighed. "I read what I thought was a journal entry and thought that you were the character, but it was just a chapter from my book." She smiled. "I guess if it's good enough that the writer believes it then it's convincing." She stood. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Please. Something strong. Anything really. It has been a long week already and we are just a few days in," he smiled a little as well. "I do have to admit that it was interesting to have someone so interested in me. Most of the time people are not really interested," Radak said.

She brought back their drinks seeming surprised at what he said. "Why in the world not? You are handsome, intelligent, you are Vulcan with hints of emotion that should drive the ladies wild. I don't see why they would not be interested." She blushed, realizing what she'd said and admitting, in a roundabout way, that she was attracted to him as well.

Radak looked at her for a long moment, considering what she had said. He understood that it was in a way an admission on her part, but he also didn't want to back her into a corner in case the admission wasn't really what she meant. He looked down at his hands in his lap. "Thank you, for saying so. I think that that is what has driven quite a few Vulcan women, at least, away from me... that little bit of emotion. When I was at academy, I was so focused on my work that... I did not notice if anyone noticed me. I think I had given up."

She smiled broadly. "Don't ever give up. Vulcan woman can be... standoffish to begin with." She gently touched his arm. "You will find someone you love and someone who loves you and she will be very lucky." She blushed a bit as she said this.

Radak smiled a little at her. His smile was charming. "Well... all that aside. Can we still be friends? And put all that behind us? Maybe we could go out to dinner? Sometime?" His eyebrows went up a little, hopefully.

She smiled. "I'd like that." She reached out on the coffee table and picked up the pen that had started all this. "Radak, can I ask you for a favour since you are Starfleet and I'm not?"

"Of course," Radak replied. "You are my friend. That is what friends do, is it not?"

She smiled and held up the pen. "The ensign that smacked me over the head. He did it for this pen. The doctor said that he wanted it because it was shiny. Is it true that he took other things from people that he deemed to be shiny?"

Radak nodded. "Yes, a wide variety of said shiny things..."

She handed Radak the pen. "If his condition does make it hard for him to resist shiny object then having them taken away must have been a bit traumatic for him. Can you give him this? At least he can have that." She really was worried about the man. He had done her harm, but she never held things against other people. It was a sort of life philosophy and the goodness of her heart.

Radak stared at pen and then stared at Ilana. "You would do this? But this man did you harm." He wasn't really confused, but he also wasn't sure what he was hearing. It was not like very many species to be truly noble. Even Vulcans spoke of nobility, but their actions showed differently, often. He felt a moment of pride for Ilana for truly surprising him.

She gave a nod. "He wanted something shiny, I don't know if it was his condition, like the doctor said, or he just didn't have it but think about how he must have felt when all was taken from him and now he's in the brig. He can have this." She smiled, "Promise, you'll give him at least that."

"Of course I will. I will also make sure that he knows it is from you." Radak was silent for a moment, his gaze on the pen. "Not many people know or even understand forgiveness and its value..." he started softly. "... It is as if in all this justice... we've forgotten. I'm not just talking about Humans or Vulcans or even Ferengi... I'm talking about everyone. I am glad that it still exists. You restore my faith." He looked up at Ilana, his normally hard gaze softened into a smile.

She smiled back. "I like to believe that we are all good people at heart, but we forget that sometimes. Think about it. We are all bound together in life in exploration. No matter what planet, we are all fighting to stay alive, to alleviate suffering, to advance. I think we have a lot of sameness and people forget that." She sighed. "You want to know what else?"

Radak was still smiling. He nodded. "Of course I want to know what else..."

She smiled. "I think that this ship feels like home."

Radak nodded. "I am not sure I feel the same way yet, but I hope it will come in time. Although, I am not always sure that I know what home is supposed to feel like. Not that I feel that I have never had a home, because I most definitely have, but I am not certain what is meant by that "feeling" any different?"

She smiled. "You and I are quite alike, you know. Rejected by those who were meant to love us, never feeling quite as if we belonged. Maybe even hiding parts of ourselves from others."

Radak nodded again. "You are quite right. I have only come to this realization recently. It is not such a problem anymore. Starfleet keeps me busy and had never not accepted me, but it has had the lasting effect of really making..." He paused as if he was thinking about how to exactly phrase what he was trying to convey. "... friendships awkward. If that makes sense."

She smiled. "Well, if it helps I don't find you awkward, but I do have a comment about your Vulcaness." She grinned.

Radak sighed. "You are going to tell me I am a Romulan again, are you not?"

She smiled. "No, it makes you uncomfortable, but I can tell you that I think Romulans are misunderstood. Deep down they are noble, like the Vulcans they just don't run from their feelings. They are brave and I wouldn't be writing about them if they weren't totally redeemable." She sighed, "You might not be Romulan." She said the sceptically, "But you'd make a good one. All the best parts of Romulans."

He smiled a little. "You are the only one that makes me feel like you might be right. I have not spent a lot of time around Romulans and I cannot say that the few experiences I have had have been positive. I do, however, appreciate that we share a common ancestor and that they are technically not much different than Vulcans. They are way too aggressive for my tastes. Kolinahr or not I am simply not that angry."

She laughed. "Seee humour. Well, you might not be Romulan, but you are a special Vulcan."

"Well, thank you." He bowed his head to her. "I do my best. You know, part of my fear of the Kolinahr was a feeling that I would be giving up my individuality. If that makes any sense."

She gave a nod. "Oh, I know. I have a good Vulcan friend who went through it and he's never been the same again. I guess it affects people differently." She didn't mention that her friend was a full Vulcan. Radak... well, she had her theories that there was more to him then he let on.

"That is exactly what I was worried about. I felt fortunate that I at least had an Uncle to go live with and was not completely outcast. It is not that I did not understand the usefulness of it, or see its benefits, but I felt like I had spent so much energy to be the person I was, that I was not ready to give it up to an emotionless existence." He shrugged a little. "Anyway, we are off topic. I would very much like to have dinner with you. In a more formal setting."

She smiled. "That sounds like a fun. You name the time and I'll be there."

"I was thinking that perhaps I could make dinner?" he asked hopefully. "Since there really aren't a lot of eatery options on the ship. Maybe, just something casual?" Radak rubbed his face a little. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this."

She smiled and taped her shoulder into his lightly. "You're doing fine. Sounds like a date to me." She grinned.

Radak actually blushed, the color rising in his cheeks and ears, all with a Vulcan greenish tint to it. He looked sidelong at her and smiled a little, one corner of his mouth turning up just slightly. "I'm glad I'm doing fine. I don't feel like I'm doing fine. Maybe... not tonight and not tomorrow night, but the following evening?"

She gave a nod. "Perfect." She could tell that this was all new to him.

Radak nodded. "Dinner time? 1800 or 1900 hours?"

She smiled. "1800 is fine."

"Then it's a date," Radak confirmed with a curt Vulcan nod.

OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Radak
Executive Officer

&

Iliana Jareth
Writer
PNPC--Polaris

 

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