Breath of air

Posted on Fri May 3rd, 2024 @ 1:37pm by Lieutenant JG Asher Kane & Civilian Lucas Kane-Loughty

888 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A marathon not a sprint
Location: Mountains, Risa
Timeline: Backpost to shoreleave

[[Shoreleave backpost]]

Risa never had bad days. The scenery was exquisite, practically perfect. The mountain ranges, with its small nature walk close to the main resort, was no different. Perfectly beautiful, a little wild and unpredictable, but perfectly safe. Just like the people of Risa.

Asher Kane kept the smile on his face as he walked, eyes on the seven year old before him, who had found a stick and was pretending to sword fight. He was laughing. Asher had missed that sound more than he could say. Happiness in his son, carefree. It would not last long. Suddenly Lucas would remember and he'd see those brown eyes suddenly fill with sadness, brows knitting together.

Asher hadn't realised his own smile had faded, brows coming together and a hard line of his mouth, aging him automatically. He let out a sudden breath, grimacing as he saw a blonde coming towards them on the trail.

"Halt!" Lucas shouted, smiling, eyes bright as he held the stick out to her. "Who goes there in this magic kingdom!"

“It is I” she paused and held on to her smile “Hope Ross and I request permission to enter his majesty kingdom.”

"Lucas, let her pass..." Asher said with a frown, quickly catching up and touching his son's shoulder. "I'm sorry, he has...an active imagination. And knows better than to point sticks at people."

"It's a sword, not a stick," Lucas said, his foot stamping with annoyance before he rolled his eyes and giggled. "If you...squint."

“A magic sword?” Hope knelt down and asked Lucas with a smile.

He nodded before he shifted the stick so it was across his palms, offering it to her. "Like Excalibur," he said before he made a bow as he presented it to her.

Asher watched, a small smile coming to him, with a stab of emotional pain. "I'm Asher Kane, this is my son, Lucas."

“You hang on to it for now” Hope smiled and stood up “it’s a pleasure, Hope Ross.”

Asher nodded, holding her eyes for a long moment. Clearly figuring out something. "Arkansas," he suddenly said, catching the Upper Southern American accent there. It wasn't quite Texan and it wasn't Oklahoman, so it left Arkansas, even if it sounded watered out. So spent a lot of time out speaking Standard. "Am I right?"

“That’s right” Hope smiled “how’d you guess?” Most people now days just said southern accent and couldn’t pick out where they were from.

"I got an ear," Asher said before he smiled, shaking his head. "I'm a Language Expert, in Starfleet. I was studying different dialects when I was a kid, trying to...do them. I could pick up the generic Californian one, but didn't spend long enough other places to do them justice. But I can still identify them."

“Well it all makes sense now” she could appreciate those kinds of skills. “Medical Officer here” Hope said with a smile, she was proud of all her hard work.

Asher smiled at that, nodding as held her eyes. The way she spoke, it was clear she was proud. He liked that. He had missed that. "Which ship? Or are you local to Risa?"

“The USS Wolf” Hope paused and smiled “I’m her Chief Medical Officer and the two of you?”

Asher looked over at Lucas before he smiled. "USS Wolff too, now," he said, his voice gentle. "We got dropped off by our old ship here, waiting for the Wolff."

“Well the Wolff has arrived” her souther accent shining through.

"Yes, and I suppose we are using whatever time we have left before I report there," he admitted, with a slightly shy smile. "And then I suspect I will be going to you for my medical?"

“That would be correct” Doctor Ross smiled.

He chuckled softly, giving her a small nod as he clearly thought about it. "Well, Lucas will need one too."

"Daaaaad..." the boy dragged the word out and sighed, tipping his head back. "Sickbay's so bright and I don't like it..."

“I’m sorry” the doctor apologized to the young man. “We can dim the lights slightly when you come in unless we need it bright for something very important.”

Lucas looked at her, studying her before he finally gave a small smile. "Alright..." he said, the way she wanted to make things easier for him melting him a little.

“You just remind me when you get there and we will take care of it if it is t already done” Hope smiled.

Lucas watched her closely before he nodded, looking down. "Okay."

"See, it's all good," Asher said with a smile, stroking the boy's hair and letting out a breath when he pulled away, to walk a little away and playing with the stick. He met Hope's eyes, forcing a smile. "We're...still adjusting. Wolff is my first active posting in a while, I spent time as a civilian."

“Well” Hope smiled “welcome back to active duty. I’ll do everything in my power to keep the two of you healthy and comfortable.”

"And I will see you around, on the ship," he said with a warm smile. "And I promise, we will both go to sickbay for our check up."

“Very good” Doctor Ross laughed as she answered.

 

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