Grass is Always Greener

Posted on 01 Nov 2021 @ 5:58pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lily Blake
Edited on on 03 Nov 2021 @ 5:34pm

2,316 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Outside Blake's Quarters
Timeline: MD 07, 1210 hrs

[ON]

Aria Rice had found herself wandering the familiar steps to Blake's quarters, almost on autopilot. She had considered to go to the Mess, but the thought of facing other people just...nope. Big no-no. She had gotten up, put on her uniform, done her hair (up in a bun today but there was now mustard streaks in it because why not??), put on her makeup and headed out...

And here she was. She hesitated before she rang the chime, shifting where she stood. Too late to back away though, the chime had announced her and the computer would verify her.

Besides, if Aria Rice was honest with herself, this was where she felt most at home. With Lily and Scarlet, surrounded by people she knew cared about her.

"Come in!" Scarlet called out, her voice a slightly lighter tone than usual in her somewhat strained state. It was as close to a tell tale sign that the ex-counsellor would ever give.

"Aria!" Lily grinned as the doors opened to reveal who it was, not caring that her hands were covered in soil as she made a run for a hug, bits of dirt scattering in a trail behind her.

"Lily..." Scarlet reached out to try and stop her, but too late, sighing as she lifted her hands in the air with defeat at the mess.

Aria though didn't care, picking Lily up and hugging her, closing her eyes. "Hey there, princess..." she whispered, closing her eyes as she kept a hold of her...and for a moment, her heart slowed down and she felt better. She blinked and put her down, looking at the dirt, which now was also on her uniform...and she couldn't stop herself, laughing. "What is all this?"

"We're growing things," Lily smiled brightly, taking a hold of her hand, completely oblivious to how messy her own was as she led her to the table. "Look! We've planted little seeds in the pots, and Mummy says if we look after them properly, they'll grow and grow..."

Aria smiled warmly at that and nodded, taking a deeper breath. "Giving life to something, nurturing it...yes, it's beautiful," she said and looked at Scarlet, with a small smile. "Messy, but beautiful..."

Scarlet smiled gently at that, but she was watching Aria, her eyes taking in everything. The slight wistfulness in her eyes and smile, the bounce that wasn't quite so bouncy. Something was off, but she remained silent on it for the time being. She was with them now, maybe it would help, whatever it was.

"There will be flowers in all sorts of colours," Lily smiled happily at the prospect, leaning forward on the table, resting her chin in her soil covered hand. "That one will climb up that stick! Do you think it will grow so high that we find gold and giants on a cloud?!"

Aria looked like she considered it before she shook her head. "Not on this ship, you need to be on solid ground for that to work. But in here...it can grow all the way to the ceiling!" she clapped her hands before she looked around, shifting slightly from side to side.

"Ooo...you have golden hair today...." Lily suddenly noticed the streaks of colour in the dark hair, reaching out dangerously close to the shiny clean hair with her grubby hands.

"Okay, head gardener," Scarlet managed to catch her wrist in time, easing her back. "Time to wash hands if we're done with the planting," she said firmly, having to blow some stray hair out of her face to not get the soil on her own hands across her cheek.

Aria chuckled as she watched them, nodding as she looked at them both. "I don't mean to interrupt your...gardening. It's really nice to see you two doing something like that. I have never tried to grow anything."

"Oh! Then you have to help too!" Lily grinned, making a run back to the table to pull an empty pot over. "This can be your pot! It's bright blue, so it's a perfect Aria pot," she offered it to her with a bright smile.

Aria swallowed hard, watching her with a smile. "I...thank you..." she took the pot, holding it close to her chest for a long moment before she laughed. "Now go and wash those mucky hands!"

"No! I have to help too!" Lily grinned, pulling the bag of soil in close to help her. "First you've got to fill most of it with soil. It's special clever soil, to grow the best things. Maybe even stripes and spots on flowers..."

Aria smiled as she nodded, doing as told...not caring if her hands got dirty. "So which seeds should I be using?" she asked the girl, looking at her with an easy smile as the tension drained from her body.

"Hm.....these ones!" the young girl smiled brightly as she reached out to pull a small bowl over for her. "These are gonna be snap-dragons!" she declared with all the delight as if real dragons might appear.

"Snap dragons!" Aria gasped before she nodded, smiling as she started to get to work. "Of course, they won't try and snap at you. Only at nasty people...so we are all very, very safe..."

"Maybe the clever soil will make them puff smoke..." Lily giggled, wrinkling her nose with the silliness of it, but enjoying the idea just the same.

"Only at night when we are sleeping, they are very clever that way," Aria said and shook her head, smiling as she patted the earth carefully. "I didn't do this as a kid...Luna dust is not the best thing to try growing things in."

"I'm a born and raised spacer," Scarlet shook her head with a small smile, finding a label for her. "This is pretty new to me too..."

Aria smiled as she looked at Scarlet, letting out a soft breath. "Well, we will see if it grows...like the ancestors did once..." she added the last dramatically, with a soft giggle to ease it.

"These will be pretty things to look at," Lily smiled warmly as she helped her put more soil in the pot to cover the seeds up. "Mummy said if we do well then we can grow things to eat too."

"It's true I think..." Aria said and looked at Scarlet, with a weak smile. "I mean, food comes from other places than the replicators..."

"Maybe the Lady in the Ship grows all the food before magicking it to the 'cators..." Lily laughed warmly at the idea, looking to Aria to try and see if she'd believe it or not.

Aria looked at her before she smiled, nodding at the thought. "I mean, there are so many places here we can't go. I bet she has carrots growing somewhere...and apples...hanging from a tube..."

Lily giggled at the prospect, covering her face with it despite her grubby hands. "That means she has to chop it and cook it...better than Mummy..." the slight dimples that appeared in her cheeks with her grin betrayed the cheekiness behind the words.

"Cheek! Just cheek!" Aria gasped and reached to stroke her hair back. "And now you got a mucky face too...better go and wash it, little princess...before flowers start growing on you!"

She giggled even more at that idea, dropping down out of her seat to run for the bathroom to wash...her hands making twirly motions around her head as if flowers were growing there.

Scarlet chuckled gently, shaking her head as she looked to Aria with a sigh. "Sorry, I doubt you came here to plant snapdragons..."

Aria smiled warmly, meeting her eyes. "I love it," she said quickly, watching the other woman. "So...back to normal then?" she gestured around with a small chuckle.

"Whatever normal is," she chuckled softly, holding her breath tightly as she pushed the pots together into the middle of the table. "She seems to have settled again now I'm back."

"She always does," Aria said before she wiped her hands on her trousers. "So how are you coping? After...our little adventure?" she wasn't subtle about it, but in case Lily came back she wanted to keep it all a bit vague.

"Oh, fine," Scarlet said dismissively, her sharp eyes on her as she leant forward a little, watching her intently. "But what about you?" she finally asked bluntly.

Aria paused and looked at her, giving a weak smile. "Recovering. I thought we were goners for awhile, but..." she let out a soft breath. "I suppose I am less than impressed with how we threw some of our...structure out of the window. Going back into the fight wasn't a debate club issue, it was an order and we should all just have gone 'yes ma'am'..."

"It sounded like things got a lot worse than that here," Scarlet said dryly, shaking her head with a soft sigh of pent up anger over it. "What a mess, hm? All those years training to follow orders, and they still ended up where they did. Still, we're alive, the ship is still in one piece, we live to fly another mission."

Aria looked at her before she looked down, nodding weakly. "For a moment, it didn't seem like we would," she said quietly. "And I thought about all the stuff I regret, that I never did, that I never dared to do."

Scarlet let out a soft breath, watching with understanding. So that's what was wrong. "And what came to mind?" she asked softly, casually, her hands slowly collecting and tidying the soil, pots and even a half finished sandwich that had been discarded in favour of planting, so the focus wasn't entirely on Aria.

Aria looked at her for a long moment, taking in her features. "I love you," she said, her voice soft, for once serious without any playing, any awkward words. "And I love Lily. That is what came to mind, Scarlet." She smiled at herself at having said it, giving a small nod. "And I want you both to know that. That you will always have me, no matter what."

"We love you too, and we already know that," Scarlet assured, holding her eyes as she squeezed the young woman's hands. "I'm just slightly insulted that it took your life flashing before your eyes to reach the same conclusion..." there was nothing but mirth in her teasing eyes at that though, trying to cheer her up with how serious she looked.

Aria let out a breath like a huff, a soft laugh hidden in it. "No, I know that I have always known it. But I never think I have actually said it before!" she said and held her hands up. "And saying stuff matters, you know. For those nights when doubt creeps in..."

"I know," Scarlet agreed with that, watching her with a small, fond smile. "Aria, I don't know what I'd do without you, to be honest. You're pure sunshine. And Lily adores you. So if you're saying we have you always, no matter what, then we're the luckiest little family in the galaxy," she said bluntly, as if that was a fact, and that was that.

Aria blushed as she watched her before she nodded, taking a deeper breath. "Well, you never have to worry about what you'd do without me. I am here and I am not planning to take the Chief Chair, meaning I am safe and uncursed..."

Scarlet sighed as she sat back, laughing softly as she shook her head. "Will nothing persuade you to take the chief's chair? Is it all chief security officer's seats, or just our one?"

Aria looked at her, clearly considering it. "I think it is just that one," she said after a moment and then held her hands up. "I mean, when was the last time a Chief of Security, on this ship, had a nice clean run with nothing horrible happening to them? I mean, genuinely? Not as long as I have been on the ship!"

Scarlet gave a small, dark humoured smile, shaking her head as she leant in closer to her, tilting her head. "The galaxy is a dangerous place. And it could do with more officers like you at the top," she said, simply, bluntly, but no more.

Aria playfully rolled her eyes at her, before she looked down and gave a small shrug. "I'm happy where I am. Seems...luckier, safer. Besides, I can safely say I don't command the sort of respect that is needed to be in that chair. Nowhere close. Maybe one day I will...get there."

"Oh, if you want it, you'll get it, that I'm sure of," Scarlet smiled gently as she sat back, shaking her head. "When that day comes...come and find me. I'd like to help."

"Yes ma'am," Aria said as she gave a mock salute, sitting back as well as she watched her. "You are...so much, Scarlet. You deserve to be worshipped like the goddess you are." She winked before she stood, stretching her body with a sigh. "You are right. We survived this. We actually survived this when I didn't think we would. Every extra day is a bonus..."

Scarlet smiled at that, unable to help it...because she'd heard Aria say similar things in the past about her lucky survival from some of the other near scrapes Galileo had. "You're getting good at this survival thing, Aria. Maybe you shouldn't be so surprised anymore...maybe you're one of the common factors in our success."

[OFF]

--

Commander Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lt. Aria Rice
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lily Blake
Civilian Child
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

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