Happiness before returning to our program

Posted on 30 Jun 2024 @ 12:41pm by Lieutenant JG Christina Hartley & Lieutenant JG Kin'Fuji Hartley MD

1,157 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Stranded
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: Moments Before "Tugboat"

Letting out a yawn, Christina leant back in her chair as she sat in her office, finalising the new duty roster. Since Frank would be off duty for a while, she needed to make sure that his shift was covered.

Thankfully, it didn’t require too much, since they were on a slow warp crawl back to DS9, for two months of repairs. That was something of a relief, though Christina had decided to make sure she had a few days off, to spend with Kin and K’tress, at their home on Bajor.

Her father owned a large plot of land on Bajor’s Southern Continent, near a large lake, which he brought years earlier, with three cabins there. One of them belonged to Christina, and she had to admit, a week on solid ground, on a planet, sounded like paradise, especially with K’tress.

Speaking of… she frowned as she looked out of the open door of her office, seeing K’tress racing into engineering. Christina put her PaDD down and got up from her desk, heading out, seeing K’tress talking excitedly to Amy.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed, young lady?” Christina asked, looking at K’tress, who turned around and ran at her, hugging her.

“Mommy said you were gonna be late, so she wanted to bring dinner to you,” K’tress said, as Christina saw Kin’Fuji standing by the entrance of engineering.

“Sorry loves,” Christina smiled, picking up K’tress – that was something she wouldn’t be able to do much more, unless she worked out a lot – and walked over to Kin, kissing her.

“It’s not your fault. Frank DeLuca told me what happened when he was being treated in Engineering,” Kin’Fuji explained. “Part of me wants to tell you off for even thinking of going into such a dangerous situation.”

“I know, and Frank reminded me why I shouldn’t, but at the same time, you know I have to do anything I ask my people to do,” Christina pointed out.

“You and those old movies; you’re an engineer, not a hero, love. You’re also a mother,” Kin’Fuji chided softly. Christina nodded.

“I know love, I do. I just don’t want to be one of those people who tell people to risk their lives whilst sitting back and doing nothing,” Christina said softly, as Amy led K’tress to a control panel, showing her the layout. Christina mouthed a silent thanks to Amy, who grinned, before Christina and Kin entered Christina’s office.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be a ship’s Captain?” Kin asked, crossing her arms.

“Uncle Plase said something similar,” Christina admitted. “He’s put me and the team in for the Cochrane Medal of Excellence for our work on the new repair system, which has been approved, and already I’ve been asked to prepare talks for symposium’s and conferences.”

“Which you weren’t happy about, right?” Kin asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t need telepathy to know that about you.”

“Is there anything you don’t know about me?” Christina asked.

“Honestly? Why you’d think about being in such a dangerous situation,” Kin replied.

“It’s because I couldn’t risk losing you and K’tress,” Christina told her. “I know, I know, you don’t want to lose me, but we were in an emergency situation, and could have lost both ships.”

“I know love, but you’ve got to be more careful. I don’t want to be a widow or a single Mom,” Kin’Fuji said. “What I want is to be living happily with you and all our children, especially since the treatment worked, and I’m pregnant.”

“It worked?” Christina grinned, pulling Kin into a hug and kissing her. “Well, Amy’s gonna take over for a week when we’re doing repairs so we can spend a week on Bajor, and I can’t wait to tell Uncle Plase.”

“In the meantime, you need to let others do their jobs, and not risk your life when you’ve got volunteers. I didn’t want anything to happen to Frank, but if I had to choose, I’d pick you being home alive than anyone else. I know that sounds cold, but we’re a family,” Kin’Fuji said. Christina sighed.

“Kin, I’m sorry, but I was the logical choice,” Christina pointed out.

“Were you? Because Frank managed to get the job done perfectly, and what if the shields had failed? Or if you needed to beam Frank out? You need to supervise and you need to make sure everyone is safe, but that doesn’t mean sacrificing yourself, or being willing to,” Kin told her sternly. “Do you know how empty I felt being aboard this ship without you and K’tress? How empty it felt?”

“Actually, yes, because we didn’t have you. Yes, K’tress was with me, but we were without you,” Christina said firmly. “That’s not fair of you to say; we’ve both got our duties, and sometimes I need to make the hard choice, and other times I need to be the one taking the risk. Would you prefer that I wasn’t the Chief Engineer?”

“I’d prefer you not to argue when you’ve got volunteers,” Kin replied. She sighed and shook her head. “Christina, I know you’re still blaming yourself for Antioch, and for Federation Day. I’ve been fully researching PTSD, since you’re not comfortable with seeing any counselor, and whilst I’m not a counsellor, I am your wife, and I love you, so we’re going to take this one step at a time. But you’ll be talking to me every day, and keeping a journal, is that okay?”

Christina sighed. “Not gonna argue with that,” she agreed. “Just… I know I shouldn’t have argued with Frank, but you know there are times when I am going to be the best person for the job.”

“I know, which is why you’re the chief. Just don’t go making me a widow, okay?” Kin demanded. “Now, you’re done for tonight, Amy can take over the shift, and you’re coming home for dinner.”

“Is Dinner ready?” Christina asked.

“It is. I made Chicken Fajita’s,” Kin grinned. Christina returned the grin, kissing her deeply.

“Then right now, everything is perfect,” Christina told her.

(Christina Voiceover)
It is said that life is a never ending series of shipwrecks, with only brief moments of happiness. This was the ultimate moment, which meant it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled programming

Whilst still holding Kin, the entire room went dark, and the last thing Christina could remember was a cry of shock as she and Kin were thrown backwards, before she lost consciousness…

 

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