Courting with Family

Posted on Thu Feb 2nd, 2023 @ 6:03pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry Washington & Ensign Charlotte (Charlie) Washington

Mission: Character Development
Location: Tycho City
Timeline: Shoreleave
2006 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

"I am so excited to see your mom, it's been way too long. I wish we could visit more often," Charlie lamented. She truly loved Henry's mother, but just as quickly as that thought came, it left. "Oh, by the way, you didn't pack that old B'hala shirt did you? The last time you did we had the worst luck on shore leave. I swear that shirt is bad luck." Said the seriously superstitious ops officer.

"I did pack it, cause superstitions are silly and not real," Henry said matter-of-factly. "Just like horoscopes and healing crystals," he added with a slight roll of his eyes. "Well, unless it's the healing kreezet stones from the D'ruun system which actually do produce a sort of toxin that increases the body's natural ability to regenerate tissues and cells. Then of course there's the Ba'ku who have the ability to heal but that was from the metaphasic particles emanating from their planet's rings and not from crystals, so I'm not too sure they should count really?"

"Superstitions are not silly, but I look forward to saying 'I told you so' at the end of shore leave. Also, you are absolutely not wearing that shirt when we visit my family. You can bring your bad mojo to your home all you want, but I don't want it following us to Florida. Besides, don't you want to get lucky while we're away from the ship?" Charlie hinted with a playful smile.

"You're looking forward to a calamity befalling me or even both of us so that you can prove a point?" Henry asked as he pressed the door chime to his family home. "Seriously when people say how lucky I am to have a wife like you, if only they knew the truth." He playfully poked her in the ribs with his elbow as the door flung over (because why would my mom have an automatic door like everyone else in the universe?) and his mom stood there beaming from ear to ear. "Hey, mom."

"Henry, you're looking thin, they're not feeding you enough on that fancy starship of yours." Helen Court was shorter than her son and had to stand on tiptoes to hug him. Henry wasn't a hugger and she knew this so the embrace didn't last a second longer than it had to. It didn't matter anyway because what Henry lacked in social etiquette her daughter-in-law made up for by the bucket load. She allowed Henry to move into the house so that she could embrace Charlie, first in an almost bear hug and then planting two kisses, one on either cheek.

"Charlotte, you're too thin too, and you still haven't gifted me with a grandchild. I've told you, you can't let him spend all his time on those silly puzzles, you need to make time for romance. Babies don't appear on the transporter pad out of nowhere, y'know?"

"Mom!" Henry interrupted turning a shade of red darker than his auburn hair. "Let Charlie in before you interrogate her please."

Ok, so Charlie mostly loved Helen. The grandchild talk was always a bit unsettling, considering neither of them was ready to bring a small human into the mix, but everything else about her was absolutely lovable.

"Are you sure? I swear I've seen a baby appear on a transporter before. Either way, we haven't been assigned a baby by Starfleet yet, but we'll let you know as we are," Charlie chuckled. Deflection was the best way to handle this discussion. "What is that delicious smell?" She asked as the aromas of an appetizing meal met her nose on the way to the living area.

Helen tutted as she gently pulled Charlie inside and closed the door. "Always the smart mouth with you, it'll get you into trouble one day. And to think I'm cooking your favourite, a mixed seafood platter," she added with a smile.

"Cooking?" Henry repeated clearly unimpressed with his mother's attempts to please his wife. "No offence but you're not a very good cook mom, the replicator exists for a reason. It's more energy efficient and it tastes just as good as the real thing, if not better."

"I do take offence Henry. I cooked for you your entire life and you turned out fine."

"Don't remind me," he muttered as he shot Charlie a knowing glance.

"Well, it smells amazing, and I'm sure it will be better than the replicator," Charlie shot back at Henry, signaling to just go along with it. "Is there anything I can help with?" She asked, always remembering to be polite when her elders were around, especially her mother in law.

"No, no, you rest. Tell me about your adventures. Are you keeping out of trouble?"

"Hardly," she chuckled. "Let's see....since we were last here, we've mostly just been settling onto the new ship. We've been on some interesting missions. We've had quite a bit of fun on shore leave though. I was almost killed by a Klingon after a, uh, miscommunication. Henry almost had a heart attack when the Captain talked to him in a Casino," Charlie laughed while also mouthing 'sorry' to Henry for throwing him under the bus.

Henry shook his head. "Charlie is exaggerating, it was a fun evening," he said, trying to convince himself and the women in the room.

"Oh, you have never been one for fraternising with the brass. Don't worry honey, just let your work speak for itself," Helen said as she laid everything out on the table. "Let's eat."

Charlie didn't waste any time heading to the table and diving right in. "Henry," she said after the first bite made it past her lips. "You don't give your mom enough credit. This is delicious! What seasonings did you use? I need the recipe."

"I'm happy someone appreciates my talents," Helen said as she stared at her son.

Henry shook his head as he tucked in too. He had to admit, she had clearly got much better since the last time he had visited, maybe he was being too hard on her.

"Oh the usual spices," Helen said, happy for the chance to pass her recipes on to someone. "Though I did use a Bolian wild mushroom that is only in season once every five years. It's rather sweet but I think it works?"

"A Bolian wild mushroom, you mean kait'k'ar root?" Henry asked, eager to try the exotic fungi.

"Interesting. I've never had it before, but I like it! Though it does make your mouth sort of tingly," Charlie noted, assuming that was a normal side effect for everyone eating the strange mushroom. A split second later and it felt like her whole body was being swarmed by fire ants. "Are you sure these mushrooms are supposed to be consumed by humans?" She asked, hoping that she wasn't visibly squirming as she tried to nonchalantly scratch her irritated skin.

"Why? What's wrong?" Henry asked after swallowing another mouthful. "Why are you so red?"

"I'm not red! Am I?" She asked, unable to see a mirror in plain site. Why did everything feel so itchy? "You don't feel weird after eating them?"

"No," Henry said, dropping his fork on his plate and pushing away from the table slightly. "Mom, have you poisoned my wife?"

"I don't think so," Helen said, panic creeping into her voice. "Charlie dear, can you hear me?" She asked, raising her voice a couple of decibels.

"She's not deaf Mom," Henry replied angrily. "How do you feel?" He asked, turning back to Charlie.

"Like I need a trashcan. NOW," the panic was clear in her voice as the urge to throw up suddenly became overwhelming. "Helen, I'm so sorry. It was delicious, really. I don't...I don't know what's happening." Charlie said as she folded over and dropped to her knees on the floor.

"Mom get the medkit," Henry ordered as he dropped to the floor next to Charlie and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, you're going to be okay."

Helen ran out of the room and came back with a small silver box in her hand and shoved it into Henry's awaiting hands. "Here," she said, suddenly confused by the outraged look her son was giving her. "What?"

"What is this?"

"The medkit," Helen answered, a little confused.

"This is the toy medkit I used to play with when I was five."

"Oh my," Helen replied, her hands covering her open mouth. She moved out of the way as Henry went to grab the real medkit and came hurtling back into the room. He loaded a hyprospray and injected Charlie into the neck.

"This should help," he said.

Charlie took a deep breath, not even realizing until this moment that she hadn't been able to fully breathe before. "What in the world happened? How come you weren't affected?" She flopped over, laying on the floor as the itching finally started to subside. "That was worse than trekking through those Bajoran ruins."

"I think it was an allergic reaction dear," Helen said somewhat nervously. "I'm so sorry, I should have checked before I planned the meal."

"Oh no, please, it's not your fault. I had no idea this would happen. I've never been allergic to anything before," Charlie said, feeling awful for having made a scene. She hopped up from the ground, not wanting to make Helen feel any worse. "You two should finish dinner. How about I make dessert?" She didn't wait for a response before meandering into the kitchen.

She was still somewhat red, but the itching had subsided. The only lingering side effect was that she felt like she'd had an entire gallon of Klingon blood wine. In other words, she couldn't walk straight, but she felt amazing. A giant melon caught her attention on the counter. Henry loves fruit, she thought, but as she reached for it she noticed a shiny data chip sitting behind it and suddenly a brilliant idea came to her completely jumbled brain. I'll make him a happy melon. Charlie then pulled together some other random ingredients and began to decorate the unpeeled melon, adorning a smiley face on the front and a giant lop of hair made of whipped cream.

"Dessert!" The seemingly drunken ops office plopped the unpeeled yet horribly decorated melon on the table a few moments later. Her lopsided smile looked from Henry to Helen, awaiting their praises for her creative and surely delicious approach to the after dinner meal.

Henry poked at his food but had lost in appetite with everything that had happened, clearly Helen was feeling the same too as she also wasn't eating, instead eyeing the noises coming from the kitchen. When Charlie finally reappeared, Helen's mouth fell open, a bit in surprise, a bit in amusement. "I think you should take her to bed."

Henry looked between his mom and his drunk wife. "I think you're right."

Charlie's mouth slipped into a deep frown. "You don't like it? But Henry, you love fruit. I thought this would be perfect. You didn't even try it!"

"I'll love it more in the morning when you're feeling better, I promise," Henry said, the usual crease appearing on his forehead when he was worrying about something. "I also think I'm going to throw away that B'hala shirt too," he added thoughtfully.

Charlie gasped. "The shirt! I told you it was bad luck! Where is it? I'm going to burn that sucker!" She stumbled towards the bedroom hoping to find the cursed article of clothing in their luggage.

Henry's eyes grew wide.

"You better go after her," Helen said as she started to clear the table, "before she burns down the house." As Henry rushed upstairs Helen grinned to herself. She recycled the leftover dinner but made sure to throw the mushrooms away.