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Home on the Range

Posted on Wed Jan 13th, 2021 @ 12:42pm by Captain Henry Crow & Commander Edra Crow

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Crow Ranch, Texas

"....And if I ever have a boy I think I'll name him....Bill or George, anything but Sue! I still hate that name!"

Henry finished strumming on the guitar as the fire crackled in front of the family. The kids were seated on the ground as the stars shown bright above on a cool but comfortable night.

Karissa looked at Marcus, then to her father. "So can we call him Sue?"

"You ain't callin' me no girl name!" Her brother protested.

"It's just an old song," explained Karina with a sigh, always the grown up.

Edra shook her head at the kids. Three entirely different personalities, and they frequently clashed. She worried that Karina's unending seriousness was not her daughter's choosing, but her own fault. The Bajoran would forever wonder if they could have done things differently and brought her back to the ship sooner, all those years ago. Instead, she was raised in her formative years with her Aunt and Uncle, then suddenly thrust back into this household, with a new sister she'd never met. Now Edra thought the preteen's studiousness was part of who she was, and not just a need to prove she was enough. Even though Millie had pointed out time and time again that what was done was done, it didn't stop her from wondering. The regret wasn't quite so painful anymore though.

Henry watched their interactions. Something about them made him envision them a decade or two older still holding familiar places in the conversation. He looked to Edra seated beside him. "Nice to feel some normalcy again."

His wife looked back at him pointedly. "Hush you! You know not to jinx us like that."

He grinned watching the kids continue to talk. "I know, I know." He stoked the fire. "We ought to stay." He raised a hand. "I know, we can't. But every time we leave I wonder if we'll see this again, the real thing not the holodeck. And we're here and everyone is safe and healthy. How many more times do we roll the dice?"

Her mouth turned slightly upwards. "I remember when you were itching to get out of the seat and onto the away missions." She paused. "Are you serious, or just looking forward?"

"Maybe just getting old." he looked around their environment at nothing in particular as the stars were coming out. In the distance he saw the smoke rising from the chimney of the newest addition to the family land. "But I won't hang my hat on an early retirement."

Edra nodded her understanding. She was also convinced he wouldn't be entertaining a late retirement either. She often wondered if taking the Captain's chair had burned him out faster, or if this was how it would have played out either way. She followed his gaze to the new dwelling. "Chance told me they got everything moved in earlier."

"Have you had an opportunity to talk to her? She seems different, a little hard to read." His eyes reached for the stars. "She didn't give a lot of details in her debriefing. Neither did the Counselor. Very tight lipped about that world and its inhabitants."

She shook her head. "No, we haven't crossed paths since then. You were very tight lipped about sending Chance out to get them," she pointed out.

"If family hadn't been involed I probably would have denied the request. I know it's not fair but it's true."

She lifted a brow, her expression serious. "If it hadn't been family, you woulda run it by me too. I didn't like hearing about it third hand." What she also didn't like was that he'd likely do it again, given the opportunity.

He nodded, knowing she was right. "I was wrong to do it the way I chose. You should have been in the loop for multiple reasons." He felt eyes on him and glanced to his right to see Karina following the conversation while her siblings were oblivious. He turned back to Edra. "This one is gonna be running intel before she gets her shuttle permit."

"Obviously she could be doing a better job if you can tell." She smirked at her eldest daughter, knowing she heard it, and held a hand out to her to pull her closer. Even as old as she was, Edra pulled her onto her lap and put her arms around her. "Are you having fun?"

Karina nodded, a grin slipping out of her serious exterior. "It's always better to be home with everyone."

Edra nodded, loving the look of a smile on her daughter's face. "It is nice to be home." She hugged Karina tight, knowing that as the girl became more of a teenager these moments would become rarer. "What do you want to do while we're here?"

"Riding the horses, a lot of time in the heated pool."

"I like both of those myself," Edra replied with a sage nod. How about a ride tomorrow in the morning, and then the heated pool after lunch...just us?"

Karina's eyes glanced to her siblings, then Edra. "Just us?" Her voice almost sought confirmation.

Edra smiled. She could almost read her daughter's thoughts. "Just us," she upheld, even lowering her voice to avoid attracting the other kids' attentions.

Karina smiled, but caught her mother's discretion. "Can't wait."

Henry turned his attention back to the fire and his thoughts. 'Someday', he promised himself.


Captain Henry Crow
Commanding Officer, USS Mercutio



Commander Edra Crow
Executive Officer, USS Mercutio


 

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