Title: PAST IMPERFECT

Author/pseudonym: PAULA (APB)

Fandom: SEAQUEST (2ND SEASON)

Paring: N/A

Rating:PG-13 for attempted rape, language and adult situations

Status: NEW FIC

Archive: PLEASE ARCHIVE.

E-mail address for feedback: apb@icubed.com

Series/Sequel: ARI ADLER & TREY BARLOW SERIES

Other websites: www.geocities.com/Area51/Comet/9976/timeline.html

Disclaimers: SEAQUEST IS THE PROPERTY OF AMBLIN TELEVISION AND UNIVERSAL TELEVISION AND WAS CREATED BY ROCKNE S. O'BANNON. I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE PEOPLE OR CHARACTERS WHO APPEARED ON THE SHOW, AND I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR ANY MONETARY REMUNERATION, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM READERS. THAT IS THE ONLY PAYMENT I DESIRE OR REQUIRE. THANK YOU.

Summary: WHILE SEAQUEST TRANSPORTS SARAH TOENIN TO SOLITAIRE ISLAND, SECURITY TRAINEE ENSIGN TREYSA BARLOW IS CALLED TO SPECIAL DETACHED DUTY AT A COMMERCE AND DIPLOMACY DOME IN THE MID ATLANTIC.

Warnings: TREY BARLOW IS AN OFC FROM SEVERAL PREVIOUS SQ STORIES. THESE STORIES CAN BE FOUND AT WWOMB OR THE WEBSITE MENTIONED.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is the first thing i'm sending out on my own..... and i work in MS Word, so please let me know if you get any funny symols.......i turned off the smart quotes and i think thats the major problem



Past Imperfect
by Paula (APB)

"Ari, Ari, ARI!! Slow down, OK?" came the exasperated voice of Trey Barlow. Just recently assigned as a Security/Negotiation trainee under Lt. Brody and the resident anthropologist involved with the dolphins in human society study that was being run by the aforementioned Ari Adler, Trey was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. There was nothing she could do about Lt. Brody, as an ensign, he had rank on her, but Ari was just another ensign, much as she didn't act it. "Some of us aren't as adept at picking up other specie's languages, you know!"

"Well, Tim's picking it up so quickly, I forget sometimes," the smaller, younger woman answered, turning toward Trey. A small frown touched her forehead, giving warning as to the topic of her next sentence. "I wonder about Miguel, though. Sometimes I suspect that he ..." she shook her head, focusing on her friend, who wasn't quite as comfortable in the water as everyone thought she was. She'd feel a lot better if either of the guys were around, both of whom were working extended shifts of the bridge, or even Lonnie Henderson. Ari was ok, but face facts, she was Small! "Speaking of Tim, everything OK there? I mean, no squabbles or anything, right?"

Trey gave the littlest ensign a puzzled look. "No, I mean, unless there's something you'd like to tell me?" Odd how things worked out. If Tim were troubled about something, he'd probably check it with the kid first, whereas Trey always went to Miguel for advice.

An emphatic "NO" answered her immediately. Ari dove down and resurfaced a short distance later. "I mean ... I just wanted to be sure, after everything with Lucas, you know, that no permanent damage had been done to your relationship." She grimaced worriedly and shrugged one shoulder. "He was worried and thought that you were the problem, you know."

Trey made a pickle face and started to answer but the shipwide announcement system chose that moment to come to life with Lt. O'Neill's voice "Ensign Barlow to the ward room please. Ensign Barlow to the ward room."

"Wonder what now?" Trey groused, looking down at her wetsuit and hauling herself out of the water. "I hope the captain doesn't mind me dripping on him."

"You want me to call Tim and have him relay the message that you'll be a few minutes? That way you could go change."

Trey grinned ruefully, pulling her sweats on over the damp wetsuit. That was the thing about Adler. She didn't act like a junior officer and so they let her get away with things like that. Shaking her head, Trey gathered up her belongings, answering in the meantime, "NAAA, the captain should know if I'm off duty there's a good chance I'm down here earning my 3 squares and all the grief Brody can dish out". Heading out the door, Trey turned and flashed an affectionate grin toward Ari. "Tell fishbreath bye for me, OK?

"STOP THAT!! His name is Darwin, not fishbreath," the indignant answer came quickly. Trey ducked out of the moon pool room, laughing inside. It was so much fun to tweak her tail like that. Sometimes, Trey lay in bed thinking up new nicknames to tease her with. Heading toward the front of the boat, she shook her head happily. She'd never had a little sister before. And brothers? ... well, the less said about hers, the better.

********

Slowing as she approached the open door, Trey could hear two voices coming from inside the ward room. It sounded like a semi-heated discussion was in process and she wondered what if anything it had to do with her. With a mental shrug, she decided that the fastest way to find out was to knock on the door.

A voice she recognized as the Captains called out "Enter" and Trey cautiously peered around the door into the room not knowing what to expect. The other voice turned out to belong to erstwhile boss officer, Jim Brody, who was obviously upset over something. This had all the earmarks of a tongue-lashing, and Trey began quickly wracking her brains to see what it could possibly have to do with her. They couldn't have learned about ...? Naw, no way!

"Ensign Barlow, have a seat, please" Capt. Bridger said, pointing to a chair near him. That was a good sign. He tended to try to distance crew members when he had to berate them. Sitting rather stiffly and feeling like she'd been called to the principal's office, Trey looked between her still upset line officer and the boat's CO.

Worriedly, she asked, "Did I do something wrong, sirs? Because I don't remember causing any trouble." Both men gave her a startled glance.

Chuckling, Nathan shook his head. "No, Ensign, nothing you've done. " Sitting his hip on the table and facing her, he continued, "Lt. Brody and I were notified by command as to a high security political conference to be held this week in the newly constructed dome on the Corner Seamounts in the North Atlantic. Due to political distrust, it is felt advisable that the various UEO commands in the northern Atlantic each contribute security personnel to cover the meeting and you've been requested from seaQuest."

Her eyebrows rose up to their limit, and Trey gave Jim a look of surprised worry before turning back to the captain. Shaking her head, she questioned the statement. "ME? Umuumum .... I'm not even certified in any security classification, why me?"

Looking thoroughly disgusted, Brody joined the conversation at this point, making it clear that he was upset. "That's what I asked .... the only thing you have any experience at is hand to hand. This makes no sense. You aren't ready for this kind of assignment, yet, and your lack of preparedness would reflect badly on seaQuest and me." Trey wondered if the last word expressed his real reason to be perturbed. He turned to the Captain. "I won't have it, sir!"

"That's enough, lieutenant," the captain snapped, pointing out more calmly, " Ensign Barlow just said the same thing." He turned back to Trey and continued. "I have a suspicious feeling that you've been picked for PR purposes. Decoration, not skill. Some of the people attending are very high profile, so this meeting will be heavily covered by the various media's." He grinned cynically. "And we all know that they'd prefer pretty faces than brutes that can do the job.'

Trey felt as though she'd just been slapped. Pulling herself as erect as possible, she stiffly asked, "Excuse me, sir? Is there a problem with my job performance? If this has to do with that missed liberty ...?" She gave Brody a hurt, betrayed glance. He'd assured her that that wouldn't go on record if she kept her scores up. He reassured her with a small shake of the head. She looked away.

"No," Nathan looked surprised at that construction on his words. "I didn't mean to imply that. Oh, no, both your naval work and your research are making very good progress. I'm going to leave Lt. Brody to go over a few things with you. We'll be in shuttle range with in four hours, ensign. Be ready to leave then. Be sure to include all your dress uniforms and your best everyday uniforms, please." He looked at her and blinked suddenly, as if noticing for the first time in just what state of undress she had appeared. Trey nodded.

"Yes sir." Opening his mouth, Nathan decided to leave whatever it was unsaid and left.

Turning in her chair, Trey looked at Jim with a skeptical eye. "OK boss, what's your take on this? We both know that the Captain's explanation is the most plausible one. So I go stand around for a few hours......" He scowled.

"Try three days."

Three DAYS! Blast! She'd been planning... Well, scratch that. Trey scrunched up her face in disgust. "Three days?" she echoed. "AHHH shit .... that should be deadly boring."

For the moment, she'd forgotten to whom she was speaking, answering Jim instead of Lt. Brody. He quickly reminded her. Leaning on the table to put his face at her level, looking indescribably official and grim, Lt. Brody answered, "You better hope that's all it is, ENSIGN. Anything goes down, you are not prepared to handle it."

"You've made that painfully obvious SIR!" Trey snarled back at him, jumping to her feet. He started back with surprise. "But I do have a brain and I think I can use it with out you being there. Can I go now?"

"No. That's not what I meant, Barlow. Listen. Anything happens, anything at all, you lie low and let the bullets fly over you. I know you've been hanging out with ..." he sighed, recognizing the stubborn expression on her face. "Ok, I'll get everything you'll need to know to you before you leave. But at least remember this," he almost pleaded. "You are NOT trip entertainment. You are an officer on the seaQuest, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Understood." Trey stood there stonily. Sighing again, already moving himself towards the door, Jim said, "Dismissed ensign."

Waiting until he was already outside the door before following him, Trey mumbled angrily, "Sounds like fun!"

****************

Tim tapped at Trey's cabin door and then poked his head in without waiting for her to acknowledge it. The mood she was in, he could be waiting out here all day. "So, how soon do you leave?"

Looking up from the floor where she had her duffel bag located to toss in her non-hanging clothes and necessities, she gave him a quick and rueful grin of welcome. "I have to be at the shuttle bay in 25 minutes. You want to get out of the doorway? Either come inside or stay out." Under her breath, she murmured, "And it's so nasty when you come outside." Tim decided to ignore it.

Sitting on the end of her bunk, he looked mostly like a little boy faced with losing his favorite toy. The sight of his woebegone face made Trey laugh, so she reassured him, saying, "Its only 4 days total .... you were gone at least that long when I first got here." And alone with the fascinating Ari Adler, she didn't add. Sometimes she wondered if he regretted Ari's choice of his rival, but she never asked. Just thanked the fates for it.

"We weren't together then though."

"OK, minor technicality, but hey..." She turned and walked over to him on her knees, leaning over his and hugging him, laughing a little at the same time. Tim could always make her laugh. Reason 110 on the list of 'Why I love Tim O'Neill'. "This'll be good for you and Miguel to get some space from the ever present Dolphin Twins."

"You have a crack for everything don't you?" Tim said shaking his head and tousling her hair. "So you heard that Lansdowne got the captain to release Ari to the Caicos?"

Running her hand over his hair backward in retaliation, she replied, "Not for everything, but I do think you need a break from me, from us. You had a life before I got here and you've drifted away from that, spending so much time with me."

Shaking his head in dismay over her continuing lack of self worth, Tim pulled her back into his arms and whispered in her ear, "No I had an existence before you and Ari got here, now I have a life." He kissed the top of her ear before grabbing the lobe carefully between his teeth and worrying it gently before releasing his grip.

Before he could pull his head out of range, Trey kissed him quickly on the side of his face and then leaned back. Looking at Tim with suspiciously bright eyes Trey softly ordered, "Kiss me, quick, 'cause I've got to leave, OK? And I want to remember ..." She shook her head, looking down to hide the naked emotion in her eyes. Swallowing heavily, she looked back up, asking briskly, "You want me to bring anything back for you? I mean I'll have off duty time for shopping from what I see on this schedule they gave Brody." She flashed the clowning face that had always served to hide her feelings before, and continued enticingly. "Luxury complex, sure to be a lot of good things there."

Tim stopped the clowning, kissing her and standing up quickly, as if he didn't think he could otherwise. His only comment to her offer was to reply seriously, "The only thing I want you to bring back is just you, my love, just you. I don't need anything else."

Smiling with pleasure at the compliment, but still trying to keep it light, Trey rolled her eyes at him. "Sap! You don't know what you're passing up. Ok, I'll see you in 4 days." Picking up her garment back and slinging it over her back and taking the duffel in her other hand, she quickly left the room and was off down the hall, feeling as though she'd left the best part of herself behind.

**********

Disembarking at the newly opened Commerce and Diplomacy dome, "Ceendee" for short, Trey grabbed her uniform bag and her duffel grip and headed out in to the docks only to be stopped by a Lt. Commander Jameson, or so his uniform tag said.

With a look that alerted Trey's old instincts that she was in the presence of a full blown Hound, Commander Jameson introduced himself, taking one of her bags and unmilitarily extending a hand to shake. Off balanced, Trey took it, then knew that it was a mistake as he used the contact to pull her slightly closer before taking propriatorial possession of her other bag, as well.

"I'm so pleased that Captain Bridger could loan you to us," the commander said, smarmily, steering her towards the lifts.

Surreptitiously wiping her hand on her thigh, Trey frowned. "Sir? I was under the impression that Lt. Brody wasn't given any choice in the matter of my being added to the force here."

Jameson pointed to his left as the way to the lifts. "Please, can we dispense with the military talk here. 'Sir' just doesn't sound as nice as Allen, don't you think? So, I'll call you Treysa and you can call me Allen. OK?" He smiled as though that settled everything.

Walking down the long passageway, Trey tried to think of how to get the commander back on a professional plane without giving offence. "I don't think so, Sir," she replied, pointing out reasonably. "This is a temporary duty posting for me and I'm sort of on probation as it is. On my honour to do the best job I can. Under the circumstances, I'd just as soon not break regulations here. If you can just tell me where my quarters are for the next few days I can see myself there. You don't have to worry yourself about it."

"Well, there is space in the officer quarters, But I happen to have an extra room in my suite." He leered at her familiarly. "I thought would be more convenient, you know. And better for you all around. More what you were used to before all this ... unpleasantness."

Puzzled, Trey came to full stop. After a second, realizing that she wasn't with him anymore, Jameson turned to face her. "Sir," she said, her face screwed up with frowning bewilderment, "I'm not sure I know to what you are referring." He closed the space between them.

Leaning in, he whispered, "Ohh, please let's not play coy, OK? I've seen your files. Tell you what, so if you want to get off that no where experimental boat and into a much nicer posting, then we just do a bit of the mutual backscratching. I'm sure we can come to an arrangement about this."

As his meaning became crystal clear, Trey took hard hold on her temper. Bristling internally with anger, but knowing this man would be her CO for these few days, Trey raised her chin and responded stiffly, "Sir, those were sealed files and not to be lightly read. If you would look over my more recent evaluations, you will see that I've committed myself to being the best UEO Officer I can." Taking a deep breath and trying not to grit her teeth, she continued insincerely, "and so, while I do thank you for that ... flattering offer, I do not believe that it's in my best interests to play that game any longer." Jameson snickered.

Winking at her in a conspiratorial way, the Lt. comm. shrugged easily. "I get you," he said, nodding slightly. "Ok, we can play it that way." Without another word, he led her to the dome level where temporary BOQ had been established and left her to check herself in while he put her down as reported for duty.

**************

Jameson went directly to his suite cum command post for the UEO security forces where his second, Lt. Pat Norman waited impatiently for a report. Lt. Norman, AKA Jig, for the shear length of time he spent as one before hooking up with Jameson's operation, turned on him as soon as he entered with an impatient, "Well? Where's the broad?"

He unbuttoned his uniform jacket with an exasperated sigh of disgust, and flung himself down on the suite's appropriately named loveseat before replying. "Playing by the rules, can you believe it? I mean, here I give her the chance of a lifetime. A way to get off that research blip and into a cushy position here, and she brushes me off like that." He sighed again, laying his head back on the rise, "I tell you, Jig, this is a bit more challenging than I expected." His head shot up and he gave his second a feral grin, "Which only makes it the more exciting, but I'm willing to bet she's a team member in 3 days."

"You know, some people actually *want* a SeaQuest assignment," Jig offered casually. Jameson scoffed the point.

"Not this one, Jig. You called it. She's a broad, not an egghead. I just gotta find the right key and she'll roll over and spread'em for me." The lieutenant shrugged indifferently, changing the subject slightly. His boss's attitude toward women was slightly left of Neanderthal.

"So. She still working the cushy point with you tonight ? Yes?" he asked, eyeing his boss closely for signs of deception. Remora who swam with this shark sometimes ended up on the menu.

"OHHH Yesss!" Jameson stretched out, pillowing his head on his intertwined fingers and smiling with anticipatory glee. "She's right beside me the whole time, boy-o. Won't even be able to piss without checking it through me first." Chuckling, he informed his henchman nastily, "She insisted on moving into temp BOQ, but I think she'll be ready to move her stuff up here before too long. Maybe sometime tomorrow." He sneered at the other man, " 'For her own good', of course. Have to protect SeaQuest's finest, now, don't we? Wouldn't want to send her back damaged in anyway." He sat up, swinging his legs around onto the floor and leaning forward.

"Tell you what, Jig, maybe while we're working tonight, there might be a small break-in in BO country? Or maybe tomorrow, see if you can get one of your flunkies to do it, best you not do it yourself." He snorted at the idea. In Jameson's world view, a dame was there to be bedded, slapped and sent in the kitchen to fix food. Anything more was too much. "Anyway, see what you can do," he ordered, standing up and starting to re-do the buttons on his tunic.

Jig nodded servilely. He definitely did. "Absolutely boss .... I'll do what I can to keep such incidents from bothering the little dear. We'd not want the fine CO of the "UEO'S pride & Joy's" playtoy distressed, now would we?"

Jameson looked more disgusted than ever. "I don't care a rat's fart about Bridger," he snarled angrily. "But I tell you, Jig, if I can bloody Brody's nose over this, I definitely will. That berth should have been mine. I just needed five more days, that's all. I worked for it, sweated blood, wheeling and dealing and kissing up for it, and after all my hard work, it just falls into his lap like a plum. No, I'm going to make Lt. James Brody look like what got scraped up off the bottom."

He stopped at the door, his hand on the knob, and looked back over his shoulder, "I'm going to get ready for act 2. You make sure that act 3 is ready on time."

**********

After settling her belongings in her own small room, Trey checked the schedule she'd been given for her assignment and found that she had an hour and a half before she was scheduled to report for the opening speeches. She also noted, with an increasing feeling of trepidation, that "female OFFICERS" were given the option of dressing formally. But according to the roster she was the only one present. Sitting back, she just shook her head over this. "Buddy," she told the absent Lt. Comm. Jameson, "I'm not playing that game. You'd better get the message fast."

Putting her dress uniform on, Trey made sure her hair, makeup and, most importantly, her bearing were all as conservative and severe as she could managed them, but she found herself paired with the Lt. Commander as podium security once she arrived at the checkpoint.

To call the evening a trial would be an understatement. As if "please call me Allen's" unwanted advances weren't enough, the gathered ministers were bored, which led to them to entertain themselves with the free alcohol. This then led to them passing back and forth through the security check point as the need to relieve the pressure of said drink on their bladders. Compounding all this two of the ministers, one from The Amazon Confederation and one from the Micronesian association of undersea colonies, decided she was there as part of the entertainment. And with each pass they made by at the curtained entrance of the podium, their behavior got more and more obnoxious and repellant.

Well after midnight local time, which was 3 am to Trey's internal clock, the offical festivities were finally over and the security members dismissed. However, this only meant that the local and outside security contractors took over to cover the private parties.

Trey headed thankfully back to her meager temporary quarters. In her opinion, it was heaven. All she wanted to do was collapse in that hard, narrow bed and zonk out for twelve straight hours. For that reason, she was grateful that she wasn't back on the schedule until 2 pm local. But, lying in wait for her was the man who seemed determined to become the bane of her existence. Jameson, whom she had learned to loath and despise over the past 7 hours, suddenly appeared at her side and draped an arm familiarly over her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, beautiful. The evening's early Treysa, darlin'. And the amazon confederation's minister has graciously invited the 2 of us to his private party. He's got some openings in his private staff, according to what I hear. So, what'd'ya say? Do some PR work with the minister, and give us a chance to get better acquainted. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!"

Trey twisted out of his grip. She noticed that he'd become increasing intoxicated as the evening progressed, although no where near as bad as the "official" participants. "Sir, like I said .... "

"Sir, sir, sir!" he complained petulantly, reaching for her again. "Come on, if you want this to work, you've gotta lighten up!" Trey compressed her lips into a straight, tight line.

"SIR," she repeated firmly. "Like I said earlier, anything you may have heard or read about my past has no bearing on the present. And forgive my asking sir, but have you been drinking already? We only were released from duty 15 minutes ago and drinking while on duty is a court-martial offense."

Commander Jameson answered Trey's statement in a highly amused voice, letting his hand roam down to tap lightly on her ass and laughing as she moved uncomfortably away. "Only if you get caught, sweetheart and as I'm the officer in charge of catching this sort of thing, so who're you going to report to? Hmmm?" He reached for her wrists, nonplussed when he missed his aim and she moved out of reach. "Besides, everybody here knows the score. Who would make waves? YOU?" He snorted scornfully. "That'd be amusing, considering how much dirt your past holds. Nobody would believe it."

Heaving a big, fake sigh, he sorrowfully concluded, "Well Ensign, I'll just leave you to the cold comfort of your frigid little bed while I go tell the Amazonian representatives that you snubbed their kind invitation. There was one there, from Cuba, who was really looking forward to meeting you properly." His leer and intonation turned the adverb into an overt innuendo. He snickered, a wet, ugly sound. "That should be a good show, watching him trash the place." As if it meant no nevermind to him, he turned too far around, overcompensated on the recovery and finally lurched off toward the hall juncture. Trey shook her head with dismay. What a jerk. But he could make things very ugly for her, without half trying. Heading for the lift bank & the sanctuary of her quarters, she wondered if it would be so bad to do what he wanted. Probably nothing that she hadn't done for less reason before.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the echo of a voice in her head. "The only thing I want you to bring back is just you, my love, just you. I don't need anything else." If she gave in to the pressure that Jameson was exerting, then how could she go back to Tim. Even if she didn't tell him, he'd know. And Ari would too. Trey shivered at the thought of the kid's disappointed pity. No. For Tim, she could put up with a little grief.

Feeling dirty after dealing with the shit Jameson was shoveling out, and even more so by her own thoughts, Trey took advantage of the water situation here at Ceendee and the private shower stall attached to the room, to take what Ari called 'a Hollywood shower'. She'd once asked the brat to explain, and Ari had told her it was an old sub term for letting the water run hot, hard and long. Trey grinned, thinking that the description could well be used on her favorite comm officer, as well.

Leaning against the wall, the only way to get the stream down her front in the limited space available, hardly enough room to turn around, she allowed herself to wander in thoughts of home, or rather of SeaQuest, which was more home to her than anywhere else she'd ever been before. She closed her eyes, turning her face to the water, imagining it rinsing all the bad feelings way, calming her down and relaxing her enough so that she might, possibly might, be able to sleep.

After finishing her evening toilette, Trey climbed into the barely adequate bunk, missing the smells of her own familiar quarters on seaQuest. Tim usually came by in the evening, and they'd talk about different things. Since her cabin was so close to the gym, he was usually slightly ripe, that fascinating, irresistibly masculine smell of fresh sweat and honest male arousal. Occasionally, things would go a bit further than talk, but not too often. Bridger had made it clear that he didn't mind so long as the Captain didn't have any reason to interfer. And anything that focused Ford's attention on irregular romances around the Dolphin Twins was to be avoided. Even so, she missed the slight scent that generally soothed her to sleep on seaQuest bunk, the aroma that meant Tim, and safety and, yes, love.

Trey tossed restlessly on the thin, lumpy mattress and pounded the one pillow that came with the room, trying to plump it up enough to give some support. It might be more comfortable if she spread the blankets on the floor. Finally, exhausted by the strain of the day, she finally managed to drop off to sleep, well after 0100 Zulu. But it didn't last long. The thermostat in her room went on the blink and the one, thread-bare blanket did nothing to keep her warm. Shivering and miserable, Trey fought the return of the flashback dreams that never dared haunt her sleep when she was on seaQuest, not since she'd finally allowed herself accept the fact that she had a future and friends here in this unexpected life she'd found.

After a couple of hours of futility, Trey surrendered and got herself up, feeling more tired now than she had after getting out of the shower the night before. Adler had lectured her on the cryo-effects, she remembered with a grin. How a little girl like that can sound so officious and omniscient was beyond the older woman, but there it was. The brat had told her that if she was hit by an attack, she needed to raise her core temperature, and that exercise was one of the best ways. Trey pursed her lips in ironic thoughtfulness. Tim had suggested an even more sure-fire method, but since he was there and she was here...

Consulting the terminal that came with the room, Trey was pleased to see that all UEO personnel, temporary as well as permanent, had been granted access to the workout facilities. Noting the location of the nearest, she decided to take advantage of the access. But as she dressed in her usual exercise gear of crop top and tight shorts, she flashed on how Jameson would view her attire.

As a person, the man was marginal, and she wasn't responsible for his attitudes, but still, she figured she'd be better off not take any chances until she made sure that the coast was clear. Consequently, she pulled the baggy sweats that were used by all of the Usual Suspects at breakfast before swimming with Darwin. Flashing on an image of the six of them in skin-tight swim suits in the seaQuest galley, Trey giggled. Ford would have a cow, she thought, but the guys ... well, they'd have something else. Feeling marginally better, Trey left the safety of the small, grimy room, barely noticing the flowing script that covered the hallway outside her door. Hopefully she could have some time to herself without Jameson the jerk trying to leer down her top.

Reaching the unbelievably large gym, a full gym, not a work-out area, and finding it mostly empty, Trey relaxed with a sigh. She didn't recognize any of the few people inside, mostly men but there was one other woman there. Maybe she was lucky and these were just ordinary folks, not UEO or ambassadorial staff. Programming the treadmill for a seven mph rate and one hour, she removed her top, and considered whether to leave the pants on or not With a regretful shake of her head, she decided not. By the time the program worked up to the speed, she'd be sweating like a stuck pig and suffering more from heat than anything else.

Dropping the sweats in an untidy pile, Trey adjusted the headphones of her music, took hold of the handles and activated the program, starting slowly at first then picking up speed. She was just hitting her pace when a lone, 30ish male passed her on his way out. Indifferently, she assessed him, dismissed him as a threat and forgot his very existence, losing herself in the classic music that she'd grown up with and feeling the rhythm beating through her system.

**********

Jig knocked at Jameson's door a third time before he finally got a mumbled response. "This better be goddamned important, or your ass is grass!"

"Oh, I think you might want to get up boss," Jig called through the door. He paused before trying the handle. "Ahh, is it safe to come in?" Once or twice, he'd surprised the Looie in a more than embarassing position. With things the way they were now, he didn't want to take any chances.

"Yeah....." The door opened revealing an unappealing, unshaven, gaping robe and scratching Lt. Jameson granted Jig access to his sanctum sanctorum. "Hell, none of those scaggs on the amazon staff worth the price of rubbers." He leered, adding suggestively, "Especially not with the prospect of the UEO amazon before me." Turning around, scratching his ass, he asked, "So, what've you got for me?" Jig handed his CO a large mug of coffee. "This for one," Jig replied

Jig sat in a hard upright chair in the corner of the room, his head turned slightly away from his superior officer. Grinning with anticipation at the reaction to his news, he replied, " I just left the gym. Your chickie's down there, barely dressed, running like the hounds of hell are on her. I'm betting you've got her splitting right down the middle & maybe you might want to press again. She looked like she got no sleep, dark circles under her eyes & just no pep."

Lt. Commander Jameson, turned around and looked suddenly wide awake. Putting the mug down on an antique table, he looked his second over with an evil grin. " That's what I want to hear. Sounds like the new good girl and the old schemer are having it out." Fumbling with the tie to his robe, revealing his hairy body, with it's slightly untoned muscles, he nodded toward the closet. "Things are looking up, Jig, Get me a clean uniform while I shower," Jameson ordered, "...... I think I need to pay the gym a visit."

************

Trey was startled out of her zone when the pace of the treadmill slowed to a trot and someone pulled the head set off. An already depressingly familiar voice whispered warmly in her ear. "Surely a woman as beautiful as you doesn't have to work this hard to keep in shape." Jameson maneuvered around in front of her, looking her up and down as if her attire gave him the right to do so. "Especially considering the small amount you ate last night. Diet and exercise, ensign, that's for losers, not someone like you."

Seeing who it was, Trey took a deep breath to calm & center herself. Remembering how Ari used her voice to keep wolves at bay, she tried her most formal voice, answering with insulting correctness, "Sir, as you well know, members of UEO security must be the most fit of all crew members . Just because I'm away from my home posting, doesn't mean I can slack off."

Jameson leaned on the front of the treadmill, putting one of his hands over hers where it held on to the guide bars. "But if you accepted my offer," he continued unaware of the insult he was offering, "I could get you transferred to my command & you would no longer be forced to do this kind of strenous workout." He grinned insinuatingly, and Trey knew what kind he was thinking of. "Just a few light workouts a week to keep this magnificant body, just so, and that's all."

Deciding that her best bet was to pretend to not understand his intent, Trey responded distantly, "I'm really not sure what offer you're referring to Sir, but its been a great privilege to be posted on the SeaQueast & to train under Lt. Brody. Furthermore, my greatest contribution to UEO is my work on the dolphin project and can only be done on board the seaQuest." She smiled dismissingly at him. "So I really have no interest in reassignment, sir," she concluded.

Jameson nodded his head in a knowing fashion. "So its like that, is it? Under Lt. Brody?" He gave her a conspiratorial smile. "So that's why he was so reluctant to release you. Yeah. Sure, now I understand. I'll leave you to your running ensign & I'll see you at 2:30." But went over to the weights and began working a light program on his own, carefully positioned to keep Trey under observation at all times.

Uncomfortably aware of the construction he put on the innocent phrase 'under Lt. Brody' and thinking that the hole had just gotten deeper, Trey found it impossible to continue under these conditions and aborted the program, grabbing up her sweats and resuming them with a feeling of putting on armour. She was done here anyway. Jameson gave her a jaunty wave as she exited the room, doing nothing to improve her fouled mood.

Breezing past the check in with her badge out, anxious to clean up and get into uniform, Trey was almost past before she realized that one of the enlisted men was calling her in an apologetic voice. "Ma'am, ummm, I mean, Sir, can we speak with you a second?"

Trey stopped and gave them a puzzled look, walking back a few steps to make it easier to hear what he had to say. "Yes?"

The other guard spoke up, giving his partner a hard, warning glare. "There have been reports of vandalism, sir. We think that the perpetrators gained access through the ventilation duct work. If you find anything out of the ordinary in your quarters, please inform us so we can make a complete report."

"And be careful going into your quarters," the other one added, earning a disgusted look from his fellow. Trey nodded seriously.

"Thanks for the warning guys." she answered, but she thought to herself that if anyone's quarters were broken into, her's was at the top of the list, no doubt. Conscious of their eyes on her as she walked away, she also considered that she knew who she'd target as the prime suspects.

She was right, too. Standing at the door, her hand on the knob, Trey stared with horror at the mess. Her room had been trashed; her belongings tossed about. Drawers had been pulled out, their contents dumped on the floor. Instinctively she started to clean up the mess.

Bending down she pulled lucky charm out from under one of the chair legs, finding that the little plastic flamingo that Tim had bought her had been broken, its head snapped off , leaving only the body there. But realizing that she was disturbing evidence, she dropped the little bird and left.

Walking out to the checkpoint, she reported the intrusion to the sentries. Informing her that it would be a while till anyone could get to her and that it'd be best if she stayed close, Trey headed off to the beverage machine to grab something to drink and went back and grabbed a seat on the floor which is where Jameson found her still sitting a few hours later.

"Well, Treysa," he sneared, "Looks like the ambassador WAS upset with you." Under the influence of their C.O., the officers were less than helpful, pointing out that she should be glad she hadn't been home at the time and suggesting that she find a room with more secure means of access. At this piece of advice, Jameson raised his eyebrows at her and pursed his lips suggestively. Trey ignored him angrily. She already knew that there weren't any more rooms available.

After they finally left, she gathered up her stuff, and bundled it together to take to laundry. With everything else, she wasn't about to trust it to the base facilities. Trey walked out into the commercial area, finding an attended laundry she left her clothes with the attendant for her to deal with the clothes that had been trampled and crumpled in the break in, asking that the uniforms be pressed and could they deliver them to her rooms within 3 hours.

Trey decided to roam around and soothe her jangled nerves with some comforting shopping. After all, this was her first chance since her posting on SeaQuest to spend the money she was earning as a productive member of society. It was also the first time since her rescue from the cryo chamber more than a year prior, that she wasn't being hounded by media sharks. Maybe things were returning to normal for her.



Chapter 2

Seeing that she had 3 hours before she had to report to her post for the day, mentally counting the hours till she could return home. Home. Now that was a weird concept to her, still. But that's what they had formed. A family out of these 6, no 7 counting Darwin, very different backgrounds and personalities. Trey grinned at the thought. Let's see, who was who? Lucas was the bratty kid brother, natch. Lonnie, the prima donna teen princess, even if she was a bit older than that. Darwin, the wise old father who knows best. That one made Trey giggle. Ari made such a great little sister. It was so funny when she got her leg pulled. But Trey was not about to consider Tim as a brother. There was such a thing as carrying a fancy too far.

Thinking of Tim reminded Trey of some of the holes in her wardrobe. Maybe she could remedy that little problem here. Seeing a pedestrian map, prominently displayed, Trey checked it out. She was right, there was. With three hours and a definate need for some kind of therapy to recover from the shocks of this morning, she headed out, surprised to discover that she was actually looking forward to it. An antidote in advance to meeting and working with the illustrious Allan Jameson. the profusion of signs, names, goods, Trey stood in one place and circled, trying to see everything. With a sigh, she shrugged and decided to prioritize things in her mind, get the smaller things first. She figured if she started with, say, Sam Goodies, then worked her way up to the places where the purchases were larger, this would save some strain.

The central shopping plaza was the pride of the new dome, and rightly so. Trey was amused to find that the more things changed the more they stayed the same. Many of the stores had the same names as the ones she knew so well from the 90's. But a lot of new ones had sprung up. Bewildered by the profusion of signs, names, goods, Trey stood in one place and circled, trying to see everything. With a sigh, she shrugged and decided to prioritize things in her mind, get the smaller things first. She figured if she started with, say, Sam Goodies, then worked her way up to the places where the purchases were larger, this would save some strain.

Wandering around in Sam Goodies, she felt a sense of familiarity, of homecoming. Not much had changed. There were some new categories of music, of course. Even one for "Bangers". And, just as it had been the last time she'd been in one of the branch stores, they had the newer music segregated from the "oldies", the latter being relegated to the ghetto in the back of the store. With a sigh of anticipation, feeling a foolish smile on her face, Trey headed back to that later section, looking to find some of the stuff from her preferred groups, and finding some exciting "new" releases that she had slept through.

Happily she began pulling out copies of missed offerings from Metalica, including a copy of Garage, Inc of her own. Miguel had bitched on several occasions because Trey kept "forgetting" to return the album to him. Ari had finally settled the matter by walking out of Trey's room with it and handing it over to the languishing chief. Smiling at the memory, she was startled to look up and find a store clerk shadowing her, and for a moment, she flashed back on her childhood, when the clerks were convinced that she was trying to shoplift. She stared at him blankly until the young man spoke up, his smile more appreciative than professional.

"Shopping for your parents?" he asked, glancing over the selection of music in her arms. "Need any suggestions?"

Cracking her first smile since she'd arrived at the dome, Trey shook her head, turning to him to reply, "Nope, shopping for myself. I'm not much on the newer music. At least, not yet. I've got a couple of friends educating me, though."

Giving her a wondering look that she interpreted to mean 'what planet they find you on' the man stepped back, preparing to leave this odd woman to her own devices. But Trey realized that she could indeed use some help with something. "Before you go," she said a little hesitantly, "Could you, maybe point out something newer that's romantic but not mushy or treehugging type. I know I want some Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow if you have it, but, umm, my, ah, boyfriend likes something newer. Something country tinged maybe?"

Happily, he led the way to another part of the store and making suggestions. " They're not country, but Lourdes has a new album out, a tribute to her mother, and there's Sarah Toenin. She's really big in the romance department."

"NOT Toenin," Trey declared firmly. "According to my native guide in the the realm of modern music, she's the epitome of tree-hugging." He snickered.

"You mean that P.R. stunt last year where she married a tree in France? Oh, that was classic. But I know what you mean." Trey had picked up a cartridge by the other artist he named.

"Hmmm, Lourdes? Madonna's kid?" Her eyebrows lifted at the thought, ignoring the man's startled glance at her identification. "Can I listen to any of these?" He nodded, then suggested a few others, showing her the demo area for preauditing music. After careful consideration, Trey picked 3 of the newer disks out to add to her arm load and settled up and headed back out into the mall, swinging the store bag and enjoying the feel of its weight hitting her leg.

Ok. Music done. What's next. Hmmm, to set the scene, costuming, Trey mused, sighting a Victoria's Secrets further down. Now that she had the right music, she wanted a couple things that would get Tim a bit more, ummm, well, riled up and she was tired of basic issue white. She snorted with sudden amusement. She hadn't worn white foundations since 9th grade till this past 15 months. And while the UEO might dictate her uniform, what was underneath was her prerogative. Hell, even Ari had more enticing underwear than she did.

Not much had changed in seductive women's wear in the past 30 years or so, Trey thought, looking around the store. She should start at the top. Trey picked out a few bra styles that she thought she'd like to try, and asked the lone sales woman if she could try them on.

"Of course, ma'am. How many?" Trey quickly counted through the hangers dangling from her hand.

"Ahhh, ten. Is that too many?" The facade of professional expression cracked and the saleswoman smiled, shaking her head.

"New man in your life?" she asked, handing over a changing room key. Susan, Trey noticed by her name tag.

Trey gave her a wry grin, and shrugged, feeling a trifle shame-faced at being so transparent "Well that and I'm tired of basic issue military things." Susan nodded tolerantly.

"I understand, white has it's place, but under blue isn't one of them." She looked around at the almost empty store, only a few idle browser inside, including one young man, about 30-ish. "Listen, dearie, you take your time. If you want to try anything else, change a size or design, you call me, and I'll get it for you. Ok?" She gave the lone man another, narrowed eyed look. "But first, I think I'd better see what he's up to."

Murmuring thanks, not paying any attention to the source of the clerk's unease, Trey disappeared into the dressing cubicle. Removing her shirt, she picked up the first choice. a soft cup, basic everyday to wear on duty. The first couple she set aside, not liking the placement of the straps. Too confining or insecure. With the increased amount of physical activity her new placement in security required, she didn't want to have to keep pulling them up under her uniform.

Finding a design that suited her, sturdy, attractive, and comfortable, she moved on to the underwire ones, knowing the difference they made in her profile. Posing in front of the mirror, she amused herself imagining Tim's eyes bugging out when she got some civilian clothes to wear off duty that would show the difference. With an evil snicker, she considered that Tim might not be the only one who appreciated the change in silhouette.

Replacing her top, Trey picked up the two piles.

"Find what you wanted?" Susan was back at the desk. "Need more time? Here, give me the ones you don't want, I'll put them back."

"Thanks," Trey answered, handing over the ones she wasn't keeping. "I just want to try out some different colours in these and match them underneath, if you know what I mean." The other woman gave her a conspiratorial smile and nodded. There was a wide variety of panties, some rather, well, flimsy. Trey fingered them, thinking how impractical they were, then, her perspective changed and she picked up several in the colours she liked, making sure that there were plenty of extras. Granted, she couldn't use them for duty, but there was more to life than duty. She hoped.

Taking her selections to the checkout counter, Trey sighed heavily. She really appreciated Tim's kindness and care, but she wished there was some way she could tell him outright that enough was enough. She got the message already. Enough with the TLC, she wanted something more. Hopefully, this stuff would send the right signals.

"Can I start a pile somewhere?" she asked pleadingly, explaining. "I'm just getting started."

"Sure thing. I'll put your things on the back counter as you decide. He must be special, cause that's more than just a 'I'm tired of white' collection."

Trey could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks at the comments. Good god! she thought, when was the last time she'd done that? The woman's knowing smirk made her feel even more young and unsure and Trey answered uncomfortably, "He is......"

Not knowing what else to say about it, she shrugged and headed back to resume her shopping. But Susan's observation made Trey wonder at the depth of what she and Tim seemed to feel for each other already. She'd joined the crew at the end of November, and here it was, a couple of months later, and they were still getting to know each other. Before, she would have ... Trey put the thought of her life 'before' firmly out of her mind. This was now. This was TIM. And one thing she knew was that she needed to be thankful every day for this happiness.

Seeing several racks of swim suits, a couple styles of one piece that had built in underwire bras, she picked out a couple of those, a couple basic tank types and, just to have some fun, 3 different 2 piece ones: A red one for herself, Green for Ari, purple for Lonnie after all, why should the guys get to wear less than they do?

Carrying the suits back to the counter, Trey paused, seeing a beautiful white gown and robe set. Involuntarily, she felt herself drawn to it, wishing that she still had the right to wear something that 'innocent'. A small, smug smile began to play around her lips. Unless she read things very wrong, which wasn't at all likely, Miguel would enjoy removing something like that from the Little One. With a sigh, she added one to the growing pile as an early trousseau gift. Probably be the first time he'd see it. Unless, Trey gave him a sneak preview.

Several decidedly unfancy night shirts would complete her shopping here. Normally, Trey didn't bother with such things, but having gotten the impression from Tim he might've stopped by her quarters on the rare occasions they'd ended up on different shifts, but hadn't for fear that she was asleep. Perhaps it would be best to be prepared. He'd made several comments to the effect that her lack of clothes sleeping preference made him uncomfortable. A long, scarlet chemise enticed her with the idea of Tim's reaction to removing it. So, in with the rest it went, for herself, a well for Tim. Finally finished, she headed back over to the counter.

Placing the goods down for checking, Trey caught sight of her watch and gasped with surprise. Had she actually just spent an hour and a half playing in here. She only had 45 minutes till duty. Handing over the credit voucher, pleasantly aware that she had more than enough in the balance to cover any expenses, thanks to the University of Seattle and USNC settlement for the "accident", Trey accepted her purchases and hurried out, heading back to her quarters, meager little room that it was. Trey felt light-hearted, free of tensions and the worries that this assignment and that ass of a temporary C.O. had inspired in her. Not only the shopping, she acknowledged, but the thoughts of the others, and what they all meant.

That's what made Jameson's unwanted advances so disgusting to her. She'd finally found some self worth and a group who wanted nothing but her friendship and her best effort and a man who loved her spirt, not just wanted her body. And this sorrid little man refused to believe that his offer would hard for her to turn down. She snorted with derision. He had nothing that she wanted.

As she passed the check-in point, though, everything came crashing back down on her.

"Ah, Ensign Barlow?" They were the same two who had been there earlier. Trey turned to them, dread starting to seize her her innards.

"Now what?"

The younger, more unsure of the two asked anxiously, "Didn't Lt. Commander Jameson find you? He said that you'd given him permission."

Looking confused as to what the slime worm could possibly want now, Trey answered the poor men. "Noooo, why was he looking for me? I'm off duty still. Permission for what?"

Looking between each other, the older one answered. "You'd better head to his suite Sir, it would be better if he explained."

"OK just let me put my......."

Shaking his head, the other said "Sir, you should take those with you."

Mentally bracing herself as to the look her shopping bag was going to get from him, Trey headed off to see her hated CO.

~~*~~

Hearing the knock at the main door to his suite, Allan looked at Jig "Ahh, I'm guess sweetness finally returned to her 'quarters'. My, what a mammoth shopping expedition. That's your cue to vanish, old boy."

Jig stopped at the door to Allan's bedroom, intending to slip out the other exit, a convenience that Jameson made full use of. Turning to his CO, he cautioned him playfully, "Play nice now, she's had a traumatic day." With his hand on the door Jameson sniggered and stage-whispered back, "Lets hope the dear needs comforting." As one door closed quietly, the other opened on a wary looking ensign.

"Trey, please come in," Jameson invited genially, closing the door behind her before moving up to put his arm around her waist. Affecting to notice the shopping bag from the lingerie shop in her left hand, he couldn't resist making a snide comment.

"Ahh, Ladies. It's nice to see the ugliness of the break-in didn't dampen your true feminine instincts. Yes, a woman like you should have access to all those luxury shops. See," he added reasonably, "there's another reason for you to play ball with me. My staff gets posted with me to all the better domes and land posts as traveling details. You can shop to your little heart's content."

Trey grimaced, trying to keep her bile from rising from his whitewash stereotyping of her first indulgence in the old "shop till you drop" maxim in 29 years and twisted out of his grasp, stepping away from his reach. Trying to bring the conversation to a more professional plane, she said severely, "Sir, I was informed that I was to report here rather than my quarters and I'd like to know why if I may. I need to get in to my dress uniform for my post for the evening and I wasn't factoring a side trip in my time frame for the afternoon."

Jameson smirked with nasty innuendo, as if he appreciated the joke of her pretending to prefer duty to pleasure. "Well, as your C.O.," he ignored her murmured addition of "temporary" and continued, "I made a decision for you. In light of the events in the BOQ, that seem to be targeting you as the lone woman officer, I felt, for both the dignity of the UEO and my own peace of mind, that it would be best for all concerned if you were removed from such an exposed position. Consequently, I had your belongings removed to the other bedroom attached to the command suite." Trey felt confused and off-balanced, sure that something was not quite right here.

"And that would be located ...?" Jameson made an expansive gesture with one hand.

"Here." Her sense of outrage at the deliberation of it grew. Dropping her shopping bag Trey's exasperation boiled over "SIR, with all due respect, you had no right!"

"Now, now. You know as your Commanding officer I did have that right, sweetheart..."

"Do NOT call me that. my name is Ensign Treysa Barlow. OR Dr Barlow. That I do not have to tolerate, SIR. "

"Thats close to insubordination Ensign," he said in a cool tone of voice.

"Fine, charge me." She started toward the door, but he moved to block the way.

"I can make the next day and a half hell for you, you don't want that," he informed her in a low, nasty voice. The man standing there had gone from the genial lech to a hard and dangerous man. "Not only that, but I can prepare a report of your 'actions' here that would see you up under charges and get you kicked off the seaQuest. And I promise you, missy, that you'd find it difficult to get another posting that doesn't involve scraping shit out of the can after what I write about you."

Trey looked him right in the eye, hoping that he would get the message that she wasn't going to backdown or give in to his sexual games. Not now, not ever. She had people who believed in her now and loved her, and she couldn't let them down by caving into this blackmail. "Sir, fine.... I'll stay in that other room, but lets get this on record, once and for all. I am not here to indulge you in anyway, and I have no intention of leaving seaQuest for another post. If you do manage to destroy my record, then I'll resign and apply for a civilian research post on her."

Apparently deciding that a partial victory was better than nothing, and convinced that his charm would have his way with her, Jameson reverted to his lecherous self again, replying , "Well darlin', that still gives me time to show you the advantages of working under me, rather than good ol' Jim Brody. But you better get that pretty little ass of yours in gear, missy. You only have 20 minutes to be at your post.

Wouldn't want to go on report for being late now would you?" With a wave of one hand, he went into his own room to change, leaving a bewildered Trey standing there wondering how she was going to survive this.

Shaking her head slowly, she through the indicated door and found that her clean laundry was indeed there, spread out on the oversized bed. Swallowing her anger at the thought of that lout fingering her things, she turned to shut and lock the door, dismayed anew to discover that the key was missing from the knob. Trey felt like sitting down and giving up right then and there, but she knew that Ari wouldn't. The thought of the small ensign gave her an idea and she returned to the main room of the suite, picking up a straight chair and carrying it into the bedroom with her, to shove up under the knob. With a decisive nod and a clap of her hands, she turned to examine her new quarters more closely, pleased to note a private shower, without an opening into the rest of the suite. Thank God! After what she'd been through so far today, she really needed a shower.

~~*~~

hankful that her hair had reached the point where it was wash and go more than anything longer or shorter would've been and envying Ari her curls. 10 minutes after the awful scene in the sitting room of the suite, she was ready to go put in her time watching the doors on some deadly boring seminar. And after seeing the behavior of the males attending she understood why they were called seminars more than ever. Walking out in to the center room she found the cretinous commander holding up one of the swimsuits she'd bought. She'd forgotten the lingerie store bag in her earlier outrage and the rush to get into a properly fitting uniform.

"That's one damn lucky dolphin if it gets to see you in one of these every day. Maybe you be up to modeling this and maybe that red thing thats in here. But I'm guessing that all this is not for some fish."Trey snatched the suit and the bag from him, eliciting a smirk and sarcastic laugh. Indignantly, she retorted, "Darwn's a dolphin, not a fish and he's not an it. Furthermore, I have no idea what you mean. I got those suits for myself and two of my friends." She gave him a pointed glare and finished, saying, "After all fraternization is against regulations. But being a Lt. Commander you'd know all about that, now, wouldn't you." Jameson moved to get his arm around her, but Trey evaded his grasp and stepped aside.

"Oh, yeah, darlin'. I know ALL about fraternization. And the things I can teach you... Ohh, baby, you'd never learn THEM under Jim-boy." Not bothering to hide the disgusted expression on her face, Trey placed the bag on the straight chair just inside the door to her new room. It reminded her of something.

Turning around, she asked, "Sir, you do have a key to the suite for me, don't you?" A look passed through his eyes, one that Trey didn't need any help in identifying. The scumbag hadn't planned to give her a key. "Now, why would you be needing one, darlin'? Since you and I will be on duty at the same time, I thought that we could just do the in and out thing together."

"Think again," she informed him tartly, walking up to the vidlink. "Because you thought that one dead wrong." She punched up the dome military directory and selected the number for the residential area's front desk. At this point, she didn't care how late it made them, reporting to their posts, she wasn't about to leave until this was resolved.

A disgustingly cheerful face answered her call, the woman chirping perkily, "Yes? How may I help you?"

Using a tone and bearing she hadn't used in a lifetime (well Ari' and Lonnie's lifetimes at least), Trey wasn't going to let this worm keep her at his side anymore than she had to ."This is Ensign Treysa Barlow, UEO, temporarily assigned to the security force here at the dome. Due to a break-in in my assigned quarters, I'll be spending time in the command suite. I will need room keys for this area. Lt. Commander Jameson told me to get in touch with you."

"Well, ma'am, I'm sure you understand, we need more than just your word on this......."

Seeing that she wasn't going to back down if she was willing to use such a baldfaced lie in front of him, Jameson walked over to the terminal and leaned in over the ensign's shoulder. He flashed his big grin at the woman, who must not have known him all that well, since she gave him a pleased, flustered smile back. "Jackie, hon', can you leave a notation for the next shift that Ensign Barlow will be exchanging her key for one to my suite."

Jackie simpered in response, her voice suddenly sounding like a little girl's. "You bet Alan. And you still owe me that drink from the other night. You never even called!" She pouted prettily at him as Trey rolled her eyes in exasperation. Being around Lonnie, Ari, Jenn and the other women of the seaQuest had almost made her forgotten what she disliked so much about other women.

"I'll tell you what, darlin'. If you can get someone to cover that pretty little ass of yours, I'll buzz you when this stupid dinner session is done and we can do that drink. Whadaya say to that, Jackie, hon'?"

She smiled back with delight. "Oh," she enthused, "That would be just great. I can get Tom to handle the desk for an hour or two," she added coyly.

"Wonderful, darlin'. Just wonderful. And that sound's about right." And with t hat he signed off and turned to Trey, who had retreated to the other side of the room while the two made their assignation. At least it would blunt his apparent interest in her.

He nodded curtly, "We better get moving, or I'm going to have to put myself on report." He did not look at all pleased at having been out-manuevered and Trey had a gut feeling that she would pay dearly for the victory.

~~*~~

Following Jameson to the conference room where he'd assigned them for the evening Trey started a perimeter sweep like Jim had drilled into her brain countless times. She was pleasantly surprised to find her commanding officer doing the same thing, using the scan to detect for spy-eyes, bugs or explosive devices. For a few minutes, she felt that there was a real officer there with her, and not the caricature of a one that she'd been dealing with for the past two days. The scan coming up clean, Jameson frowned.

"Look, Treysa, darlin'. I think you'd better stay here and keep this area secure. I'll go check on the kitchen, lavatories and hallways they'll be using.

"Excuse me, sir," she asked, heartened by the sign of professional behavior to ask something had been bugging her. "But why aren't there any facilities attached to the conference rooms?" He scowled at her, suspecting an imputation of inefficiency. But Trey really wanted to know.

His expression relaxed. "Security oversight, darlin'," he replied expansively. "This way, the architects can use one facility for three conference rooms. Saved them on plumbing. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the company charged for more and pocketed the difference though." He shrugged and took off, leaving Trey behind, grateful for the solitary silence in the empty room.As the dignitaries filtered in, Trey settled into the routine of running the weapons wand over their bodies, ignoring the invitations to frisk them to be sure. Jameson took his time returning, having apparently stopped for a bit of refreshment on his way back. He commandeered the wand and took over the task of checking the conventioneers just outside the door, leaving Trey to keep an eye on things inside the room. She noticed him taking especial care checking out the few female attendees, but his manner was more restrained toward them, more flirtatious, than the side he showed to her.

Waiters came in, carrying the inevitable chicken dinners, apparently still the staple at such dinners, Trey thought. Once again, many of the delegates chose to visit the stocked bar, apparently requiring copious amounts of liquid to wash the greasy meat down. Remembering the carnovats on seaQuest, Trey wondered if it was cultured meat, or grown from real chickens. Not that it made any difference.

As her attention wandered into wondering what rationale a vegetarian would use in a world where animals were no longer raised for slaughter, she noticed one of the Balkan representatives get up and approach the liquor table. Sternly, she recalled herself to duty, watching him closely and scanning the room with her eyes. Jim would be appalled by her loss of concentration.

But Jameson, eyeing the monotonic female speaker with his lids half-closed, didn't even seem to notice her lapse. He seemed to be the only one paying any attention to the droning speech and Trey suspected that he was more interested in what he couldn't see, than what he could. She saw the Balkan who had gone to the bar approach Jameson and get stopped at the door. For a few moments, she watched, wary for any danger, but as her temporary commander seemed able to handle whatever the problem was, she shrugged her shoulders metaphorically, and started to scan the room with her eyes again. That was when Jameson waved her over. With a frown of indecision, Trey left her post on the opposite side and circled the room to see what he wanted.

As she neared the exit, she heard Jameson give a genial chuckle and assure the anxious delegate, "I'm sure the ensign wouldn't mind at all."

This didn't sound good. Looking at him thru slit eyes, Trey wondered what game he was playing now. And if this was payback for the earlier snub she'd given him. Coming to attention, she saluted, and asked, "Sir?"

"My good friend, Assistant Secretary Kreshov is appalled that there was no bartender provided for tonight, and he noticed that the wet bar is running dry. Now it would reflect badly on the UEO if that were to happen, so I think you'd be more than happy to pitch in here, Treysa, darlin'. After all, didn't you work as one in your previous life." He faked a look of theatrical realization. "Oh dear, I forgot, that was then, and you aren't like that now, are you?" he mocked.

"I am not here as catering personnel, sir. I'm an officer, not a waitress," Trey replied as evenly as possible. Working in Joe's was nothing like being here, she thought, remembering the bluesy, smokey, gentle atmosphere there. Jameson's face hardened.

"You are what I say you are, ENSIGN," he reminded her snidely. "Anything else is rank insubordination. And right about now, I'd say that you look damnall like a barmaid. So get that pretty little butt of yours into gear and step lively. They need refills of everything. And then your station is right over there, mixing up whatever drinks they decide they're needing. Am I making myself understood, dearie?"

Fuming, Trey glared at him as she curtly nodded her head. "Loud and clear, SIR!" she snapped back, wishing that she had some way to make him eat his snide innuendo. She marched through the door, yelping as he hit her hard on the back side. Walking away, she could hear him laughing to the other man, saying, "DAMN! But that felt good. You should try it."

How the hell did Ari do it? Trey wondered. Even Tony didn't make such blatant comments to the kid, except the once. She looked so small and delicate, and yet, Trey had seen hardened seamen jump to attention and do whatever she ordered.

The kitchen staff were more than sympathetic, helping her get the tray of bottles ready. Trey learned that the bartender from last night, a woman, had threatened to quit if they tried to force her to return tonight.

"I couldn't get to sleep at all," she explained to Trey apologetically, as she helped out. "I had bruises all over my bottom and other places. And the delegates weren't the worst of it. There was this one UEO ..." she stopped suddenly, realizing that Trey was also UEO. But Trey, remembering Jameson's state shortly after they were relieved of duty, felt certain that she could fill in the blanks.

The next couple of hours were misery for the homesick and disgusted seaQuest ensign. The Balkan undersecretary took Jameson up on his offer and started a trend where the increasingly inebriated conference members would slap her bottom as she turned to make up their drinks. That ended when one of the technical attendees, an older man who looked vaguely familiar, came over to help her out. His sympathetic smile made Trey miss Ari all the more.

But, unfortunately, his presence behind the bar freed Trey up to actually deliver drinks, prompting gropes and pinches, as well as a few tips being shoved into her uniform pockets. The Amazonian delegate from Cuba managed to spill his vodka all over the front of her shirt, which apparently struck him as extremely humourous.

Picking up the full water pitcher, he poured that after the drink. Trey finally lost her temper and slapped him.

He froze, puffing up with anger, his face reddening. Trey glared back, aware of a presence at her shoulder, lending support. Then, the temporary bartender was pushed aside and Jameson was shaking her shoulders, furious.

"Damn you, Barlow! How dare you attack one of the delegates? Are you trying to get yourself thrown out of the ..." Trey's silver haired volunteer helper pushed between them.

Whatever he was going to say was lost as an explosion rocked the room. The old man was hit by a flung piece of debris, and fell forward, Trey catching him as he went down, and collapsing under his weight. Pushing her way out from under, she looked around with incomprehension. What had happened? There hadn't been anything planted in here, she and Jameson had done the scan themselves, and she had been in the room ever since, except for the short period when she'd gone for refills.

The man moaned and started to get up. Checking on his wound, Trey found that it was minor, in fact, none of the damage was that excessive. She wandered over toward the site of the blast.

"TREYSA!" Jameson bellowed. "I think you've caused enough trouble for tonight. Help get these people out of here and leave that to men who know what they're doing!"

A short while later the room was emptied. Trey had grown increasingly perplexed. How had that man gotten hurt? Everyone else had been frightened, a few people had hurt themselves when they dropped to the floor, but how had the projectile hit the bartender? As far as she could see, which wasn't much since Jameson wouldn't let her get close to the site, there hadn't been enough explosive to send anything flying.

Finally, Jameson seemed to notice the puzzled and confused junior officer. Strutting over toward her, he nodded down at her slowly drying uniform front. "Well, I just bet you can't wait to get out of that nasty, old uniform. Tell ya what Treysa, darlin, why don't you go get your new key and just go back to my suite and make yourself at home.......... anything there feel free to use. What's that fancy phrase for that?"

She looked at him mutely, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. He nodded with satisfaction. "I got it. Mi casa es su casa. Tell you what dear. Why don't you try on one of those cute little numbers you picked up this afternoon and I'll do a preview for the fish. I'll be a short while longer with this here mess."

Feeling nauseated, Trey saluted him crisply, waiting until his lackadaisial response was over before turning on her heel and leaving. As if she would even consider such a thing, she fumed. The jerk off.



Chapter 3

Arriving at the front desk Trey found that the shift had changed and the woman Jameson had addressed as Jackie was gone but her new room key was indeed waiting and she could go back to the suite and get out of these now disgusting clothes.

After gathering up shorts, tank and clean foundations, Trey looked over at the shower stall attached to her own room, then checked out the luxury bath facilities in the main room. The lock seemed to be a sturdy one, if Lt. Commander Slimeson returned early, so she rinsed out the tub and started filling it with water straight from the hot tap. She was going to have something that she'd been missing for almost thirty years of frozen hell, a steaming hot bath. Let's face it, running around with Ari, she got into a lot of metaphorical hot water, and swimming with her, a lot of cold salt water, but this... Trey sighed as the oversized, elaborate tub filled. Looking up, she snarled to see the ceiling above it tiled with mirrors.

Ok, mental check list time. She had the tub filling, now to get refreshments and something to read. A few men's magazines seemed to be the sum of reading material around. Trey flipped through one, thinking that there might be something worth reading in it, but all she found was that such things hadn't improved since the last time she'd seen one, eons ago. She dropped it contemptuously on a side table. Then, she noticed the bar.

"OK Slimeson," she growled." if su casa es me casa, then thanks for the drinks." Now, here, he had good taste, she told herself, taking down several bottles and examining the labels. Leaving most of them out, she took a bottle of Southern Comfort in to the bath with her. The heat, alcohol and first long soak since Bill Clinton's first term in office worked quickly on the ensign. With little sleep and less food since the last group meal on the seaQuest, Trey went from stone cold sober to sloppy drunk in less time than it had taken her the first time she went out barhopping.

When the water closed over her head, it woke her up enough to start draining the now lukewarm water and step out, giggling as she pulled the towel off the rack, hand over hand. The soft weave felt sooo good and she wished Tim were here to help her dry off, as he sometimes did back on seaQuest after a swim. She picked up the underpants and started to put them on, slipping both feet into one leg and getting it up to her knees before she discovered her mistake.

Laughing, she took them off and tried to correct the mistake, this time getting them back to front. "Come on, Trey old girl," she admonished herself aloud, slurring the words atrociously. "You've been dressing yourself since 1974, you can do this!" She finally managed, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth as an aid to concentration. Hey, it worked when she was four, it worked now. She giggled again, picking up the sensible bra she'd selected back when she was able to think. This wasn't something she'd had to worry about when she was four and she wasn't about to worry about it now, she decided fuzzily, dropping it down on the floor.

The tank top was more her speed, she thought, pulling it down. "The brat's right," she said aloud. "Silk's the way to go. Feels wunnerful!" She didn't even see her shorts , which had fallen down beside the toilet during her struggles to get the panties on right. Feeling no pain, she scooped up the bottle and turned the door knob, non-plussed when it stayed still and her hand slipped around. Feeling the giggles bubbling up, she tried again, and finally, blearily, leaned down to look at it. "Ooops!" she reminded herself. "Gotta turn the itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny little knobbie there. Ummm, I bet ol' Slimeson's got a itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny ... yep, there we go!" she exulted as the door opened and a cloud of steam escaped the bathroom into the main room.

The thought of Jameson sobered Trey enough, so that she looked around, expecting him to jump out at her. But she was still alone in the suite. Her scan of the room revealed a vidlink though.

"YEAH!" she yelled to the dust bunnies peeking out from under every piece of furniture there. "Can call ol' baby Lukie and he can get Tim and then .. Yeah, 'n I can talk to Tim." Somehow, even in her alcoholic daze, Trey remembered the address code for Lucas's private line. Soon, she was smirking as the brief-clad computer genius yelped and grabbed at a robe, pulling it around himself hurriedly.

"TREY!" he called, "How'd you get the override code? No one's supposed..."

"Found it in Short Stuff's stuff," she said. "You should know that she's got ... " But the sight of the cramped, uniquely male decorated quarters that Lucas and Tony shared in what was so obviously seaQuest surroundings served to evaporate the boozy euphoria that enveloped her. Her words got trapped by a sudden, large lump forming in her throat. His image seemed to waver through a watery veil as she choked out, "Go get Tim, please?"

Lucas goggled at her. This wasn't the Trey he knew and fought with. Where was the annoyingly confident, wisecracking ensign? Forgetting to hold his robe shut in back, he leaned forward, asking urgently, "Are you ok? Did you get hurt? What happened?"

Shaking her head forlornly, Trey could only repeat herself. "Please Lucas, please. Go wake him up. Get Tim. Please?" Now he knew that something was seriously wrong with her. Four pleases in 30 seconds?

"I'll call him," he said. "With everything happening, he's still up." Not removing his worried eyes from the screen, he reached for the ship's intercom controls. "Tim? Yeah, can you get down here? It's important. Umm, VERY important. Now? Ok, thanks." Lucas moved back toward the screen.

"Ok, Trey. He'll just be a couple of seconds. Hold on, now." She tried to essay a laugh, to reassure him, but the strangled sound that was all she could manage was worse than useless. "Trey? What's happened?" he pleaded. There was a sound of a door opening and his eyes turned away.

Lucas started to say something else to try and draw Trey out, but then the man Trey wanted more than she'd ever wanted anyone in her life was there, urging the boy out of the chair and sitting down, his brown eyes dark with concern as he took in details of her appearance. Lucas backed away indecisively. "I'll ... umm, I'll just leave you two alone while I ... Ummm, I'll be back in a while, just turn everything off when your done Tim." All Trey knew was that Tim was there, nothing else was real to her. "What's wrong, Trey? What is it?" he asked anxiously. Something in Lucas's voice over the com system had warned him that it would be her, but nothing could have prepared him for this. Trey tried to laugh again, stopping as the pained expression on his face intensified.

"I must look like shit," she observed, "If Lucas noticed it." she sighed, the tears she'd been fighting winning the war. "I can't do this. I just can't, Tim. I can't deal with........." The words choked up and she rubbed her face with her hand. "You bastard," she accused him incoherently. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't spoiled me, made me think that the world's good and everything's fine, then I could ... But it isn't!" She hadn't felt this bad since the day one of her cousins, a boy of course, had been born, and her grandparents had left the church without her because they wanted to see their new grandson.

"Treysa, have you been drinking?" he asked in a worried tone of voice. He'd asked Wendy once about the effects of alcohol on a system changed by the long cryo-sleep. He had a cognac that he wanted to share with her, but Dr. Smith had said it was too soon to be sure. With the primitive set-up Trey had been inflicted with, there was no telling what changes had been made to her body chemistry. Lately, Tim and Miguel had been making sure that the female members of the 'Usual Suspects' were eating properly, and he knew that Jim had increased her physical training with the security regime, so Tim was hopeful that things were getting back into balance for her. Maybe it would be enough. If she had a cryo-flashback now, though, when he couldn't help her through it ...

Trey interrupted his thoughts, saying in a small voice "Some. By myself, not with anyone." In her drunken mind it was somehow more reassuring that she was by herself, but this only added to his distress. She took another pull from the bottle to emphasize her point.

"Treysa Barlow!" he said firmly. "Put the bottle down and don't take another drink from it." She nodded, as obediently as a small child and carefully put it on the floor beside the chair.

"Now, settle down, love and tell me what's wrong? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, but I can't help you if I don't know what's happening."

"Too late," she mourned, shaking her head from side to side. "Way, way too late to fix what's wrong with me. I miss you, you know. Got some things for you... Well kinda for you. Pretty things. You miss me?"

"Desperately," he answered, hoping that she'd give him some details if he got her off whatever was bothering her. "We had a concert this evening, Sarah Toenin..." Trey interrupted him with the mumbled comment, "Tree-hugging. Not my thing." but he ignored her and continued, "Things got a bit hairier than we'd intended, but we finished up early and were on our way back, when we got word that Ari..." he stopped, not wanting to get into that.

But his caution was too late. "Ari? Whaddabout Ari? S'she awright? You tell me, Tim, you better."

"Calm down, we don't know. But Miguel's almost out of his head worrying. He says that he can't 'feel' her ever since the thing with Sarah..." Trey stood up and leaned forward toward the screen, treating the love of her life to a grandstand view in the doing so.

"Thing with Sarah?" she screetched. "What thing with Sarah? You tell that S.O.B. he touches that chick and I find out I'll cut his dick off so fast he'll not know what happened. He don't touch Ari but.......dead man that all I have to say."

"Trey, calm down." Tim felt he was out of his league. This wasn't working. "Flirting isn't a crime and besides, it's all over. We go find Ari, drop off Sarah and..."

"FIND ARI? You mean that old fart managed to lose her? I'm gonna..." Whatever she was going to say was lost in the distraction of someone knocking at the door. Glancing over at it, she looked back at the screen and said indistinctly, "There's someone at the door. I don' think it's Slimeson, but ... I better go. Don't you be late picking me up Tim, I wanna come home."

"Trey! Don't turn ..." But he was too late. The screen faded to black in front of Tim, leaving him more worried than he could've believed possible. Lucas must have been waiting just outside, because almost immediately he poked his head back in. <> "What did she say?" he asked, his concern soothing to Tim's jangled nerves. There had been a while there when Lucas would have believed anything bad about Trey.

"Nothing coherent." he admitted with a sigh. "She was drunk. God was she drunk. And something has severely shaken her confidence. Ari's going to be hopping mad when she gets back. If she gets back. Oh GOD, this is such a mess. I mean, Trey was just supposed to stand around and be part of the staff, looking decorative. But ... I don't know. This is wrong. She was in some kind of fancy suite, not BOQ. And Ari was just supposed to fix some equipment. Not disappear. What a time for Ari to be gone, she could've at least gotten her to calm down, everything I tried just seemed to agitate her more. But she'll be home tomorrow night and I'll find out what's up then." He suddenly realized that he was going on and on and from the looks of Lucas, he'd been ready for bed when the call came through. "Oh, well. Thanks for calling me, Lucas. I really appreciate it."

Tim stood to leave, but Lucas put out one hand on the officer's arm. "Tim? Ari? I mean, she'll be all right, won't she? She always finds her way out of trouble, doesn't she? Right?"

With a sigh, Tim shook his head. "I hope so, Lucas. I sure hope so. Sometimes, I think that Ari and I are the only two things keeping Trey sane. And I don't think I can do it by myself." He climbed the steps to the corridor feeling as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Lucas was right, though, Ari had to come though this. She had to

~~**~~

Disconnecting from the call, Trey carefully walked to the door to find a messager standing there. He stared, bugged eyed, at the scantily clad, long-legged and lissome beauty who had opened the door. Swallowing heavily, he looked down at the name on the pad, "Ensign Barlow?"

"Dat's me, why?" Damn, but how did Jameson get a woman like this? he wondered. "Ah, this came in for you a little while ago. Sorry about the delay, but we weren't sure where you were, you moved around. If you could sign on the pad there?" He pointed to the appropriate line of his pressure pad. Trey picked up the electronic pen and scribbled.

"What'sat?" she asked pointing with the pen to what looked like a thumb sized stain on one side. He looked at it, surprised that anyone would ask.

"It's for fingerprint confirmation. You know, official things and all that." She nodded and he dropped the pad down and picked up the long, narrow box, handing it over to her. "Here you go. Enjoy your stay."

Taking the heavier than expected long box from him she noticed that the return address was from a R. S. Paul. That confused her a bit. Did she know a R. S. Paul? It was posted in the Caicos, and, lessee, that meant.... Probably Ari. Trey smiled. A R. Ari. Yeah, an' that uncle she was so stuck on was Paul.

Satisfied that the mystery was solved, Trey took the box into her bedroom, wondering if Tim had arranged for Ari to send her flowers, or if the kid had thought of it on her own. Awfully heavy flowers, though. Curious, she opened the box and, instead of a floral tribute, found something a lot more useful. A broadsword like Methos carried and a set of leather bracers for the forearms. Excited, she put the braces on, and picked up the sword, trying to twirl it the way Duncan did in the start of the show. But twirling around was too much for her intoxicated state and she felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden. Falling onto the queen sized bed she thought to herself, "Jus' a minute to rest, an' then I'll try it again." Before the words were formed in her mind, however, she was out, the door to her room standing wide open.

~~*~~

"It's a shame that General Miguel couldn't make this trip, he always brought the best bitches with him for recreation and relaxing." was Jig's comment while opening the door to the command suite.

"Yeah, something about his project in the Cuba waters and dolphins that he was trying to get me to jump ship and join him with. But that dame Jackie wasn't half-..." Jameson stopped and took in the lovely details of the scene in front of him and Jig: a half empty Southern comfort bottle, wet towels, the turned vid screen and finally the ensign herself laying face down on her bed, dressed only in her panties and a tank top. "Well things are definitely looking up tonight, wouldn't you say Jig?"

Knowing his boss well, his answer was "Well something definitely is looking up. I'll see you in the morning then, boss." And he left.

Jameson barely even noticed him leaving, nodding absently as he started to unbutton his uniform shirt. This was perfect. Even better than he'd expected. His shirt undone, he took it off, dropping it on the floor as he slowly walked into the woman's room. His trousers soon followed the shirt, after he'd hopped a bit to take off his shoes. Wearing briefs, his undershirt and socks, he reached out to touch her shoulder, intending to turn her over so he could really start to have some fun. But the sight of the leather cuffs attracted his attention and all of a sudden, the briefs were just too confining. He quickly pushed them down and off. Now, he knelt on the bed beside Trey, his breathing heavy. She was his. So what that she had to indulge in artificial courage to do it, he knew that the old Treysa Barlow would come through. And from the looks of those leather restraints, she knew it too. A smile of anticipation touching his lips, Jameson reached again to push her over, then stopped, surprised to find that she had moved.

Drunk as she was, Trey wasn't so far gone that the swaying of the bed as a man sat down on it wouldn't wake her up. Barely about think consciously, her hands tightened around the sword she found inexplicably in them and she swung, stopping just before decapitating the lieutenant commander. He froze, staring down at the long, cold, sharp piece of tempered steel poised just between his legs. One knee wobbled and he felt just how cold it was. Sweat broke out on his temples. Suddenly, there was much less of a target available than a few seconds earlier, but somehow, Jameson didn't think that mattered to the suddenly aware and furious woman.

"Ahh, Treysa, darlin'. Honey, I don't think you want to..."

"DON'T call me that!" she hissed between clenched teeth. "I am NOT your darling or honey or anything. Is that clear, you scumbag?" Holding the sword steady, she backed away from him. "What you thought I wouldn't notice I'd been raped?" she snarled in a voice heavy with sarcasm. "Or, perhaps, you were hoping I was drunk enough that I would think it was consensual in the morning. LISTEN UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'm out of here in twelve hours and if I see you during that time, I will use this thing on you." The weapon nudged upward and Jameson almost fainted. "So, you better hope that we don't meet tomorrow, Get out! Get out of my room, get out of my face. get out of my life! Just, GET OUT!"

When the pressure of the sword eased, Jameson was only too glad to jump off the bed and away from the madwoman thereon. But he stopped at the doorway and looked back, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Keep in mind, bitch, that I'm still your CO, and this is assault. I can bring charges against you for this and several other things, if I chose. Furthermore, this isn't your room, it's my suite and you moved in here on your own free will. I have witnesses who will attest to that. So, you have twelve hours to change your tune and play along or..." Trey lunged, sword in hand. Ducking out, Jameson closed the door just in time, hearing a solid "thunk" on the other side. He swallowed the bitter taste of his fear and allowed his anger to grow. He'd show her. She'd better come crawling or else.

Trey pulled the sword out of the door and hazily inspected the gouge in the wood. Grabbing the straight chair, she wedged it up under the doorknob and collapsed back on the bed, sword just in reach on the floor beside it. Damn timely gift that. You'd almost think the kid knew she'd be needing it.

~~*~~

Trey was appalled to wake up, sword unaccountedly in hand, with the first hangover she'd had since she was in her late teens. Even more worrisome than the sword, though, was her state of undress. Quickly, she dressed, finding a box with the return address of some store in the Caicos Keys in the process. That triggered some memories. The messenger bringing it by. My God! Had she actually opened the door half naked? Calling Tim.

Oh, damn. She called Tim while she was dead drunk. There was no telling what he'd think of her now! But at least she'd had enough sense to jam the door shut before she'd passed out. Or had she? Picking up a pair of men's briefs, Trey groaned aloud, trying to remember what had happened. But that was just a little too much. Deeply worried, Trey grabbed up all her belongings, leaving the purchases in the shopping bags, and jumbling everything else into her duffle and garment bag.

She picked up the sword again, considering it closely. Methos collection, huh? If it was from the Caicos, then it was probably from Ari. And with this... She frowned thoughtfully, checking the straight chair still under the door. Maybe she could risk another shower. She nodded and, took the sword and her clothes into the small room with her.

The sword, she was grateful to discover later, fit in the garment bag inconspicuously enough. She wondered what had prompted Ari to send it to her. Feeling able to face anything now, even a nasty Jameson, Trey opened her door, to find herself absolutely alone in the suite. She checked the duty chart on the computer and found that she'd been assigned one last boring seminar with someone she hadn't even met, yet. Jameson, she was relieved to note, was all the way on the other side of the dome. So, she had to suffer this for only a few hours, one seminar more and she'd be home sub home again.

The other security guard wasn't disposed to make a fuss, and the seminar actually wasn't as boring as she'd expected. The silver-haired charmer who'd tended bar the previous evening was there, looking worried and rakish, a bandage on the wound on his forehead. He started to approach Trey, but another delegate grabbed his attention, and it turned out that he was the main speaker for this part of the show. He was interesting enough, spoke with Midwestern twang mixed with something that reminded Trey of someone. She grinned, maybe Tim. Man, was she looking forward to seeing him again.

As the seminar was ending, someone approached the speaker and gave him a folded message. Whatever it was pleased him to no end and he gave Trey a heartbreaking, joyous smile, inviting her to join his good news. Before she could respond, the same messenger came up to her.

"Ensign Barlow? Of the seaQuest?" She nodded.

"Yeah. That's me. What is it?"

"We've just heard from the seaQuest, sir. She's been delayed and it may be a while before she can get here. If you would care to wait in your quarters, we can alert you when her shuttle docks." Trey shivered.

"Ahh, no thanks. Look, is there anyplace I can put my stuff until they arrive?"

He looked puzzled. "Your quarters?" he suggested, knowing that was not the answer she wanted.

"NO. Thank you." she replied firmly. "I'm ... I'm in the command suite and I want to spend as little time there as possible." He nodded his understanding.

"There are the lockers near the docks," he suggested. "I'd be glad to help you out." Looking around, Trey found that everyone had left the conference room. Too bad, she'd never even found out the name of that gentleman, and she'd wanted to thank him for his support.

"Yeah," she answered. "I'd appreciate that. And I think I'm done here."

After locking up her things, Trey checked on seaQuest's eta, determining that she had some time before they showed up. Taking advantage of the extra time she finished up the shopping that she didn't get done the other day, new jeans, some more flattering shirts for off duty, new khakis and shirts for Tim. She was idly looking over the selection of stores selling reading material in the mall directory when her PAL buzzed her. "Ensign Barlow here."

"Ensign, this is the commerce dome traffic con. We just heard from the seaQuest, they'll be docking in approximately six hours. You might want to go get some sleep and we can wake you before they arrive."

"Thanks con, but no thanks. I'll just get a book and grab a booth at the food court. Please give me a buzz when she's about an hour out?"

"Sure thing, Barlow. Your call. Have a nice night." And with that the traffic con signed off.

Dragging her shopping bags behind her, Trey stopped by the fancy "we sell only the finest in original PAPER books" shoppe. They had a large display declaring "Banned Book Week: find out what they don't want you to know" and she shook her head sadly. The more things changed... she thought. Wondering how many of the titles she'd actually read, the bored seaQuest ensign moved closer. As she read through the list, some made her smile, and others brought out snorts of disbelief. Catcher in the Rye and Madonna's Sex, she could understand. Every parent she ever knew tried to keep their kids from reading those. But Little Red Riding Hood? How could anyone object to that innocent little fairytale? And what was so bad about Heinlein's Friday? That was the first RAH she ever read. Feeling nostalgic, Trey bought a reprint of the book, intending to see if the reality meshed with her memories. With something to read, she headed for the open air food court, stopping to get as large a Sprite as any of the vendors sold, and settled in for the vigil.

After a few hours, Trey's drink ran out. Emerging from her book, she looked around the still busy mall, feeling that it was a shame that such a nice place was ruined by such a nasty worm as Jameson. Thinking of him made her consider that possibly she shouldn't stay in one spot. So, feeling a little paranoid, she got up and started wandering around. There was this one bar that made her think of Joe's, since it specialized in "oldies from the 80's and 90's". It had a smokers cage in it, something that Trey had heard about, but hadn't actually seen. For a few moments, she checked it out but then some guys started checking her out, and she got to feeling uncomfortable. Wandering out again, she moved back in the direction of the food court, stopping in a liquor shop on the way.

Trey knew damn straight that Ari Adler had some kind of French brandy in her quarters, and if she could do that, then no one could complain if Trey Barlow had a couple of bottles of Irish whiskey in hers. Especially with St. Patrick's Day only a couple of weeks away. By the time that rolled around, she might actually feel like taking a drink again, might be recovered from the memory of her binge last night. For now though, she continued to one of the fast food booths and bought another drink, this one with some caffeine in it. She went back to what she was already thinking of as her booth and settled back down with her book to wait.

Friday was still a trip, she found from the perspective of her new life, smart, savvy, strong and innovative. Sort a combination of her, Lonnie and Ari, all in one. Damn but she missed them all. She started wondering what a person who combined all of the 'Usual Suspects' would look like and what they would program the child for.

From Tim, ohhh, looks, definately. Miguel, problem solving. Lonnie? Ummm, Lonnie... Musing on the question, Trey nodded off, dreaming of the seven suspects raising a child that looked suspiciously dolphin-like.

Her PAL signaled her just as Trey was trying to figure out how to change the diaper on a baby that wasn't wearing one and didn't exactly have legs anyway. Starting awake, she looked around for trouble, then identified the sound for what it was. Ceendee's con was giving her her wake up call, as promised.

"Ensign Barlow, the seaQuest just contacted us and her shuttle will be docking in Bay ten in approximately 50 minutes."

"Thanks Ceendee, but did they tell you what the delay was?"

"Nope, sorry. But I can tell you that they're course was from the Caribbean region. That help?"

Bristling at the fact that she was made to wait because of Ari, Trey tried to not let it sound in her voice, "Roger that, con. And I'm on my way."

She looked down at her wrinkled, lived in uniform. All of the others were in the bag in the locker at the docks, but there was no where there to change and, more importantly, there was nowhere to clean up. But she had the new clothes with her and she knew where she might find a shower. That decided her. Trey headed to the UEO gym, took a fast shower and put on a pair of jeans and one of her new v-neck shirts, hoping that Commander Ford was in a good mood, or at least inclined to close an eye to her state of undress.

~~*~~

Trey didn't even give Lonnie Henderson a chance to open the shuttle hatch. She was there as soon as the mini-sub docked, undogging it and throwing her bags inside.

"Whoa, Trey! It must have been some shopping spree you went on. Did you get anything for the birthdays coming up?" Lonnie asked, checking out the minor mountain of store bags. Trey looked at the younger woman's open, friendly face and a crooked grin spread over her face.

"Lonnie. You do NOT know how happy I am to see you." And before the other ensign could respond, Treysa Barlow, who had never had a real woman friend before and now had two, threw her arms around the girl and hugged her tight. After a moment's indecision, Lonnie responded, hesitantly returning the hug. "And no, I forgot about Lucas and Miguel although... " her face lit up. "Actually, I think I've got the perfect thing for Miguel at that." It would be worth it to see Ari's face when Miguel held up the nightie, at that. Especially if Trey put in a note saying that all she could afford was the wrapping for the real present.

"Hey! It must have been hairy there," she guessed. "What happened?" Trey took the co-pilot's seat and started checking dials and levers.

"Nothing but a whole lot of shit," she answered. "I really don't want to get into it, but I ran into someone who'd read all those 'True Story' bits about me, and was stupid enough to believe them." Lonnie nodded sagaciously.

"Yeah, you just can't trust civilians, I think." Trey didn't correct her misapprehension. "But did you hear what happened with Ari?" her young friend continued avidly, starting the bay filling so they could rejoin the seaQuest.

"Mmmmm, I seem to remember something," Trey confessed, her memory jogged by the question. "I think Tim said something about her being lost. OH! THAT'S why you stopped to pick her up first." Now she felt like mud for feeling slighted earlier.

"First we had to find her. Somebody in Cuba was experimenting with dolphins and they thought that Ari might be persuaded to help them out. See, they stole the plans for the vocoder that was at the dolphin research center, but the animals didn't want to talk to them, so they thought that it wasn't working right."

"Of course, Dr. Lansdowne's wasn't working either, because the dolphins were all too scared and didn't know who to trust. SOOO, Dr. Lansdowne, who's this old friend of Captain Bridger's asked to borrow Ari to fix his vocoder and these frogmen from the Amazonian Confederacy kidnapped her. But they got it wrong." Lonnie started to laugh

. Trey gave her a weird look. "I don't get the joke. What's so funny."

"Ari didn't have any uniform or id or anything, so they thought that she was a civilian. Can you believe ANYONE thinking she's a civilian?" She giggled again. "But when Miguel's cousin, Carmelita... you remember Carmelita, don't you?" But the bubbly woman didn't even wait for Trey's bemused headshake. "Oh, that's right. That was before you joined us. It was the first time that Miguel actually got somewhere with Ari when..." Trey interrupted the history lesson.

"Ok, I know who you mean. Miguel's told me about that party." Lonnie nodded, unfazed by the comment.

"Well, Miguel's been sending his kid cousin a bunch of seaQuest and UEO patches and she got this outfit that looked like a boat uniform, you know? And she sewed the patches on herself. Sooo, when she showed up on Dauphin, the guys watching thought that SHE was Ari and grabbed her, but Ari was there too, so they took her just because."

"I'm not really sure what all happened then, 'cause Ari was only just going in to see the captain and Commander Ford when I took off to get you ... She's been asleep almost since she got back ... But I know that she got them to drop off Carmelita, not a scratch on her, and she managed to release the dolphins..." Lonnie's voice trailed off, and the smile faded from her face.

"That was bad," she said slowly. Trey almost let that pass. It wasn't fair. Ari Adler always seemed to come out smelling like a rose, while she managed to get dumped in the manure. But something in Lonnie's voice snagged her attention and she looked up to find the woman slowly shaking her head, her expression deeply troubled.

"What is it? What was bad?" Trey asked.

"The things they were doing. Oh, Trey, it was horrible. Some of them, some of the dolphins didn't even have any skin on." There were tears in her dark, expressive eyes. "And Ari almost drowned, even with Darwin swimming as fast as he could."

"Darwin? Was he part of the rescue team?" Lonnie snorted.

"No. Captain Bridger was fit to be tied. Darwin was part of the dolphins Ari rescued. He'd followed her to the Caribbean and gotten himself captured. He pulled her almost all the way out of the underwater tunnels, but Miguel said that when he got to her, she was almost unconscious and starting to breathe out. There were bubbles coming out of her nose. He slapped the mask on her pdq and got her to the attack sub. Jonathan and Tony set charges around all of the openings they could find, and then we got out of there."

Trey looked away, trying to control the undoubtedly bitter expression on her face. She wanted to rejoice that her friend had done well, had most likely gotten another commendation, but, damn, it only served to make her own performance look all the tawdrier. Looking out the window, she caught sight of seaQuest, and felt immediately better.

"So that's what? The second time Miguel has saved her? Nope. It's got to be the third. What's she going to do one of these days if he's not around?" Lonnie shrugged, contacting seaQuest for docking information.

Before the hatch opened, though, she turned to Trey and soberly observed, "Some people thought for sure that she was... that she'd already ... Commander Ford thought that she was dead. He wanted me to talk to Miguel about it, but ... Well, with the thing about Sarah Toenin and all, I didn't feel right about it."

"Yeah..." this triggered another memory. "What about Sarah Toenin?" Trey asked. But it was too late. The hatch opened and Lt. Jim Brody was filling it, looking anxiously in for his trainee.

"Treysa! How are you? Did everything go all right? Are you ok?" Lonnie flirted past him.

"Jim Brody! Of course she's alright. I've NEVER had an accident in the shuttle." Before he could protest that that wasn't what he meant, the dark-haired ensign was gone, her laughter trailing behind her. Trey started picking up her bags, dropping some of them with flusterment as Jim bent down to help her. He handed them back to her.

"Ummm, Lt. Brody, sir," she fumbled. "Ah, yes, sir. I'm ..."

"Come on, Barlow," he pleaded. "You don't do this to O'Neill. Can't you just call me Jim. I'm a lieutenant, the same as him." She snorted at him, her nostrils flaring.

"Respectfully, no sir, you aren't. You are my immediate superior and I'm supposed to show you greater respect." They stepped out into the corridor and started toward her quarters.

"But I'm not here as your superior," he protested. "Look, I've got to know. Are you all right? Did that jerk, Jameson, try anything with you or not? Damn but I hated sending you off to face him, but my hands were tied."

Trey looked at him from the corners of her eyes. "You knew that he would hit on me?" she asked quietly, wanting to be sure before she reacted.

"Hell, yeah. I tried to warn you, but I don't think you were listening. I've heard of at least two times that someone, female personnel, tried to bring charges against him, but both times the woman backed down and decided against taking action. I've been hoping that he'd try his tricks on someone who would stand up to him but..."

"So you sent me into that viper's pit and didn't even tell me any of this Well, thanks a whole hell of a lot, Lieutenant Brody!" Trey replied in a quiet, deadly voice. She grabbed the handles of the bags away from him. "Give me those! I can carry my own loads, thank you very much!"

The nonplussed officer allowed her to pull them from his nerveless fingers, but as she stormed away, he recovered enough to yell to her disappearing back, "No! That's not what I meant. Trey, wait! Let me explain."

Trey was out of breath by the time she reached the safety of her own room. That was just too much, finding out that she'd been set up by her own commanding officer. He could have warned her, couldn't he? But then, what other good was she than a scapegoat to flush out the big game. Not like Miss Perfect next door. They'd never send her out to do something like that. She flung the door open and froze on the top step, surprised to find the room occupied.

Tim sat on the floor in his usual place, leaning up against her bed looking exactly as usual. The sight of him, looking so normal and welcoming gave her a sense that the nightmare of the last few days was over finally. She leaned against the door jam, dropping the duffel and uniform bags down to the bottom of the steps, Keeping hold of the more flimsy, delicate purchases. She jumped when the garment bag clattered. She'd forgotten about her unexpected present. He looked at it curiously, starting to unfold himself up from his sitting position. Trey took a couple of deep breaths and smiled at him, weariness in every muscle. In a very tired voice, she observed, "Heard you've had a bit of fun in the last few days."

Standing, Tim gave her a happy grin. "You know Ari. Can't turn your back on her for a minute, she'll find trouble." Yeah, Trey thought bitterly. And she always comes out of it smelling like a rose.

Tim was so happy just to have her home he wasn't paying attention to the details. Knowing how much she enjoyed giving and, more especially, receiving presents, he focused on the bags filling her hands as she walked toward him. That was how he missed noticing the circles under her eyes and her general slumped, defeated posture. As Trey walked past him to put her burden down on the bed, Tim grabbed playfully for the Victoria's Secret bag, ripping it in his teasing and spilling the contents all out onto the floor. "Is this my present?" he asked happily, glad to have her back and wanting to let her know it. "You buy sexy things to wear for me?"

And with that all the exhaustion and humiliation of the past few days came to a head. Slamming the bags one after another at Tim's head, knocking him back onto the bed and letting everything just tumble out onto him, Trey let it all out.

"You're no different from the rest are you really?" she accused him angrily. "Just waiting till the wrappings were better before you got to the real goods? That's all it was, wasn't it? Well you should've bought them sooner, cause god knows I offered often enough but I guess the damn uniform wasn't a turn on, was it, Lt. O'Neill. So you pick out what you want me in and I'll be your whore like I've been everyone else's."

Trying to unencumber himself from the pile of bags and things on top of him, Tim called out to the bitterly disappointed, exhausted, angry and betrayed woman steaming toward the steps leading out of her cabin. "TREY, darling. Honey, I was kidding, what happened there? Come over here and sit for a second and calm down sweetheart."

She didn't hear anything past the 'Trey, darling', burned into her psyche by Jameson's constant use of it. The phrase further enflamed her tantrum. "And why don't you just go straight to hell!" she yelled at him, at Brody and most especially at Lt. Commander Allan Jameson. And with that she slammed out of the room leaving Tim stunned motionless behind her.



Chapter 4

Trey blundered into the wall on the other side of the corridor from her room, and stopped, blinded by the hot tears burning their way down her cheeks. There was no where to go, she didn't want to see anyone until ... God, she felt so dirty. A shower would be good or... Or someone to talk to. Someone who NEVER had this sort of thing happen to her. Someone cool and understanding who always made her feel better. Without conscious decision, Trey found herself in Ari's silent, quiet, peaceful and dark quarters, and she hid in the darkest part, curled up on the bed alcove. Something of Ari remained, and she felt the tight coils of frustration and despair beginning to unwind inside her.

That was where Ari found her a while later, still crying for all the mistakes in her life, past and present. After a moment's surprise, the younger woman was cradling the elder in her arms, crooning to her and trying to calm her down. "Come on and tell me all about it," she offered, rubbing Trey's back comfortingly. Trey took her up on the offer and a damning and complete account of everything that had happened to her since she'd left seaQuest tumbled out. It felt good to get it all out, but Trey knew that she couldn't have stopped the spate if she'd wanted to.

As the sordid story of Jameson's behavior unfolded, Trey found that she did wish she'd edited it a little. Ari's reactions made it clear that the kid wasn't up to handling this kind of thing. She seemed to pull away, standing up to distance herself from the suddenly anxious ensign. If Trey lost Ari's goodwill and even more importantly, her good opinion, she didn't know what she'd do.

But Ari turned to face Trey suddenly and said, sounding unbelievably young and unsure of herself, "Trey, I .. I don't know what you want from me. But I can't forgive you. I think that what you did was... was incredibly brave and I wish I could have... " Her voice faltered, then strengthened. "You haven't done anything wrong, Trey. Honest. There's no need for you to keep punishing yourself for mistakes you made when you were a kid. You didn't know any better."

"And now I do?" Did she know any better. She stopped, reassessing her actions. Hey, maybe she did. Ari was saying aloud what was she was hearing in her own head. "Yes, now you do." The kid's voice broke, but Trey could hear the pride in it. Ari was proud of her. Unbelievable. "Oh, Trey. You ... you did fine. More than fine."

"Yeah, but if I did so fine, why do I feel like shit?" The ten million dollar question. But the young woman didn't even try to answer it, just shrugged her shoulders and sat down again, putting a companionable arm around the older woman again. Maybe that was all the answer that was needed.. "That's not the worst of it you know," Trey continued, deciding to get it all over with at once. Before she could change her mind, she confessed to the argument she'd provoked with Tim. Ari's response to her crime was unexpected, but typical. She started to laugh. And then Trey could see just how silly she'd been and she joined in.

After that cleared the air, it was possible to describe what Brody had said, how he'd set her up to take Jameson down. She was so sleepy by then, that she missed Ari's white hot rage, only hearing her soothing words and calm advice.

"Come on, now, Trey," Ari was saying, taking her by the hand and leading her up to the door. "What you need is a Hollywood shower." There was as small snort of laughter, "And I'd better help you out, or you're going to fall asleep in the stall. Let's get your robe and get you there, then I'll tuck you into bed and..."

Trey interupted this plan of action to protest muggily, "I'd much rather Tim tucked me into bed. He sings me to sleep, sometimes, when I don't feel too good and... " She remembered, suddenly, unhappily. "Oh! But he won't want to talk to me anymore, will he?"

"I'll talk to Tim," Ari promised softly, pulling Trey down into her own quarters.

Having gotten her friend settled, clean, relatively comforted and asleep, Ari headed off to make true her promise to talk to Tim. She wasn't all that worried about him not wanting to talk to Trey again, not after seeing the state in which he'd left the other woman's quarters. All of the things Trey had bought had been folded up and placed back into the shopping bags, Her uniforms and empty garment bag were hanging up, the duffle bag had been emptied and the dirty clothes separated out and put into the hamper. No, she smiled, glad that something right was happening, Tim wouldn't be a problem. With any luck, Miguel wouldn't be with him. It had been hard enough sitting across from him while being debriefed by the captain and Commander Ford.

Her luck was in. Tim was in Lucas's quarters, watching the younger man play games on his computer. Ari ignored the blonde computer genius and stood on the top of the steps, shaking her head sadly at her first human friend on the seaQuest. With a sigh, she asked, "Timothy O'Neill are you blind? Couldn't you see she was exhausted and stressed out?" Coming down the stairs, she gave him a rueful smile. "What a time for you to decide to get cute and make a move on her. Oh, Tim! After all your careful work too." Lucas looked up with interest, getting a few hits in his distraction.

"What happened?" he asked. "What'd I miss?" Neither answered him.

Tim grimaced, looking down shame-faced. "Yeah, I know," he mourned. "But, you know, I thought that it would cheer her up. She called me you know, dead drunk and upset about something, and she said that she'd bought me something. I thought... I thought it would make her feel better to know that ... that I thought she was attractive."

Ari sat beside him on Tony's bunk and gave him a quick sororial hug before putting her hands together in her lap. "Yeah, well. Take my word for it, this assignment was a bear. If you aren't knocked all the way back to square one by this, then I'll be very surprised." She stood up and smiled crookedly at Lucas, whose ship had gone down in flames while he tried to figure out what was happening.

"I got her settled in bed asleep," Ari said. "From what she's told me, she's had little of that and even less food over the past few, but since she was falling asleep in my quarters, I thought that might be what she'd need. Her alarm's been turned off, and I don't want her troubled with the morning swim," she paused for a moment, listening, then shrugged. "But we might try getting her something special for breakfast. Something she likes. Any ideas?"

Although the question was directed at Tim, Lucas shrugged. "She likes French Toast," he said. "But they make it with cinnamon and she's allergic to it, soooo.." Ari looked thoughtful.

"I can handle that," she said almost grimly. "That's appalling. Who ever heard of making French Toast with CINNAMON? You use nutmeg! Ok, I'll take care of her breakfast. Ummm, I gotta be going, so, ummm, see you later. Tim." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry you got the fall out from what happened." He grimaced back.

"I just wish she would have told me what had happened!" he replied fervently. Ari was already at the door.

"She will, someday. But, right now, Tim, she's in pain." And with that, she was gone. Lucas looked at his visitor and grinned.

"Well, everything's back to normal again. Ari's giving orders and fixing everything, and Trey's full of angst." His grin grew. "Man, it feels good." There was a knock on the door and Miguel pushed it open, peering inside.

"Lucas. Tim? Have you seen Ari?"

Lucas started chuckling while Tim replied, "Umm, yeah. You just missed her. Didn't you see her in the hall?" The sensor chief shook his head, coming down into the room.

"Nope. And she was gone from the wardroom before I could let her know that I wanted to talk to her." Lucas started laughing harder, and the cuban gave him a doubtful glance.

Trying to catch his breath, Lucas repeated, "Yep. Everything's back to normal again." He turned to his game, humming happily, and started it up again.

~~*~~

Tim woke early the next morning and went to the hydroponics labs and "borrowed" a few of the flowers there, then went to the WSKR's lab and used some of the bits and pieces laying around to cobble together a couple of magnetic flower holders and one that would stand up. Going back to his quarters, he picked up the note he'd struggled over all night long, trying to express exactly how he felt for the wounded bird who was his love. He'd written it in French because he'd always considered that to be the language of love. But now he wondered if it was the wrong thing to do. She'd understand it in English better. If he had time, he'd change it. Right now, he wanted to get things set up properly.

Trey woke up, hearing some kind of bump from the direction of the door, that didn't sound like a knock. She felt better now. She usually did after she'd talked things out with Ari.

Wondering what time it was, Trey picked up her bedside clock, stunned to see how late it was. She knew for a fact that she'd set it before the shower. Ari had asked her what she was doing. Ari! That little ... She must have turned it off. It would be just like that her to do that, for Trey's own good, of course.

From the time, she'd missed the early breakfast, and the others were probably already in the pool or swimming through the aqua tubes. Jumping out of bed, Trey tore off her sleep shirt and pulled on her old swimsuit and the sweats over it. If she hurried, maybe she could still join in the fun. Last thing she did was lift the privacy screen.

The sight of a red rose peeking in at her caused her to blink with surprise. Where had that come from? Within seconds, she was on the other side, reading the note that had been attached to the door with the the magnetic vase. "vous avez mon coeur ..." Her French was just up to translating that as "You have my heart..." It made her smile.

She got to the moonpool to find another vase stuck to the side of the hatch, a white rose in this one. Seeing her name, she took it down and opened the attached message. It was a continuation of the previous one, "... et vous avez mon âme..." It took her a little longer to read it as " and you have my soul ...". With a small cry, she felt herself melting at the thought of Tim setting that up. Trey bit her lower lip, trying to get herself under control before going in.

Ari already in the water, the other members of the usual suspects in various stages of preparation. She was in time to see Lucas slip into the water and he and Ari follow Darwin into the tubes before Miguel was ready to join them. With a cry, he dove in, provoking Lonnie to hastily zip up her suit and do the same. That left only Tim. But there was no 'only' about him.

Holding the roses and the notes, she approached him slowly. Too slowly. Tim swallowed heavily, nervously awaiting her reaction, his suit still unzipped in the front. Stopping before him, Trey held up what she had in her hands. "I ... I'm sorry I blew up at you yesterday. You really don't deserve all that shit I buried you under."

Grinning with sudden relief, he almost laughed with the release of tension. "I thought that those things looked rather nice, myself," he joked. More seriously, he cast his eyes down, then looked up into hers again, and she could see how soft and brown they were with worry. "But, really, that's ok. Ari said she talked to you, or you talked to her, and told her what it was all about, but she wouldn't tell me anything more than that. I'm glad you were able to tell her something." He paused again.

His face firmed and he squared his shoulders. "You know that I want to hear from you what happened, what upset you so much, but ... I'm not going to press you. When you're ready to tell me, that's soon enough. Right now," and his face looked so wistful as he nodded his head toward the pool, "Are you sure you want to swim this morning?" Clearly, he expected her to say no.

Trey laughed gently at him, knowing that he was nothing like any other guy she'd ever been with. "Yeah," she said, knowing that she was saying yes to more than just the invitation to swim. "Yeah, that's one thing I am sure of right now." She moved to her locker and opened it, almost sitting as her knees gave out when she found a third vase inside, this one with a coral rose. "...et un jour j'espère que je puis avoir une petite partie à vous pour mes propres."

Tim translated that one for her. "And someday, I hope I can have a small part of yours for my own," he murmured softly. "Oh, Trey, that's two things you can be sure of. Always and forever."

He stood there, looking so hopeful that it almost broke her heart to stand apart. "Ummm, yeah, Tim," she said uncomfortably. "Could we talk about this later. I really am not up to it right now." The look of disappointment almost undid her and he turned away and she stopped him. "My note?" she prompted, her hand outstretched. "Please." His eyes grew more hopeful as he handed it over. There was a yell from the pool.

"HEY! You two!" Lonnie yelled. "What's keeping you? Darwin wants to play tube ball and we need you to make out the teams." Tim snorted at the interruption.

"Hold your horses," he yelled back, to which she immediately responded, "NO WAY! I've had enough of horses. Thank the Gods there aren't any more on seaQuest." Lucas popped up in time to hear this and added in his two cents worth.

"Not whole ones anyway. Speaking of which, Tim, would you call Tony for me. Ari wants him to counter Darwin. Trey, she's chosen you and Lonnie for her team and Miguel's got me and you, Tim." Tim nodded and headed for the door, bumping into Tony coming in as Trey approached the pool rim. Intellectually, she knew that she was a pretty good swimmer, but compared to the others, she felt so inadequate.

"Watch it, O'Neill," Tony groused. "Hey, doll," he continued, walking up behind Trey and taking her elbow, "Waddaya say youse, me and the others show these drones how to really play the game." She smiled at him. Tony was a bit misogynistic, but like a brother, and she knew where she stood with him.

"Sure, but ... How'd you know?" Tim took up position on her other side, but didn't touch her, for which she was grateful. It would take a while for her to figure out what she was feeling.

"Saw the pipsqueak in one of the tubes and she held up a ball, pointed to me and waved me in. I figgered I got an embossed invite, Let's go." He waited until she took a deep breath and nodded then dove in, carrying her along with him. Tim entered the water a moment later, and they took off to find their friends.

~~*~~

Jonathan Ford paused outside the Wardroom door, surprised to hear his captain roaring with laughter inside, calling out, "Come on, Darwin, you can make the shot. Come on, OHHHHH!" At the howl of disappointment, Ford knocked and entered, finding the glowing, amused appearing captain turning away from one of the seaQuest view screens.

"Yes, Commander," he asked, but Jon had the feeling that the older man very much wanted to return to what he'd been doing before the interruption.

"Your schedule of appointments for today, sir," he replied, handing over the clipboard while looking beyond Bridger's shoulder at the screen. There seemed to be some figures, in water, but what were they doing? Bridger grunted, and looked at it, giving the curious XO a chance to really examine the scene. He recognized that it was in one of seaQuest's aqua tubes and that enabled the picture to fall into place. Ari Adler and her usual suspects.

"I think you might want to move Ensign Barlow's appointment to an hour later," the C.O. recommended, handing the board back.

"Yes, sir, I can see that. If I may ask, though, what is it that they're doing?" he just had to ask.

"Water ball. Darwin just missed a goal and ... Ummm, looks like Tony's called a huddle." Interested in spite of himself, Ford moved closer.

"Is that fair? Since Ari can understand Darwin and the others can't?" he queried, amused by the sight of Seaman Piccolo surrounded by the women of the group.

"I don't see the guys objecting," Bridger mused. "But that might be something to consider. Care to make a small bet, Commander?"

"Sir!" he rebuked him, then, after a pause, asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Darwin's team is ahead by five points, as far as I can make out." He glanced downward at a small pad with tiny lines cross-hatched. "I bet you that the ladies come out from behind to win." Looking at the large and muscular members of Darwin's group compared to the curvaceous and attractive members of Tony's, Jon nodded.

"You've got a bet, sir. Five dollars?"

"Oh, why be a piker, commander? Twenty." Pulling up another chair, Ford leaned forward and began rooting for his team, arguing with the captain over what was and was not out of bounds.

~~*~~

Exploding with fury fueled by the frustrations and upsets of the past few days, Ensign Barlow jumped to her feet and slammed a fist down on the conference table, causing her adversary, Jim Brody, to jump backward.

"EXCEPT ... You knew what I was going into and you didn't give me any warning at all. SIR!" The honorific spat out with the force of propelled weapon.

"I TRIED," he roared back, attempting to force her to see his side of the argument with sheer volume.

"You're an OFFICER, SIR! You are supposed to succeed. Isn't that what it means?" She'd managed to hold her emotions in check while she made her report to the captain, but once Jim started asking questions about Jameson's behavior, revealing by the questions he'd asked that he understood exactly what the situation was, Trey couldn't hold it in anymore.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Captain Bridger bellowed, overwhelming Jim's defense and Trey's protestations. "You are both officers, start acting like it." He turned to the lieutenant. "Mr. Brody, I agree with Ensign Barlow. It was inexcusable of you to send any officer out with such an inadequate briefing. I am also perturbed that you neglected to brief me on this ... this Jameson's record." His voice was filled with repugnance and Jim sat back down chastened. Bridger turned to the still standing Trey.

"And ensign, my wardroom does not contain a punching bag. I suggest you go to the gym and work off some of that hostility. When you are able to contain yourself, report to Dr. Smith and begin working on your formal report. I want charges that I can press against this stain on the UEO." Trey saluted sharply and turned on her heel to leave, but not before hearing him mutter visciously, "No one does that to any member of MY crew and gets away with it!"

~~*~~

Later, wearing shorts and a tank, hands protected by gloves, Trey glared at the speed bag through narrowed eyes, seeing, not a cylinder of fake-leather filled with sand, but Jameson. Her mind played through the entire affair again, and as she remembered every slight, every unwanted, unwelcome advance, she slammed her fists into the bag. A hand came down on her left shoulder and without conscious thought, Trey spun around, using the momentum of her body to drive her right into the gut of the person who'd accosted her and preparing to follow it up with a left to the chin.

She almost sprained her shoulder pulling that punch as her sweat-blinded eyes focused on Miguel Ortiz, doubled up with both arms around his stomach, as if holding his stomach in place. Appalled, she dropped both hands and stared at him, her eyes filled with apology.

"God, I'm sorry Miguel. I ... I guess I was in the flow of the thing and ... I didn't realize it was you. I'm sorry."

"No," he gasped out, raising one hand to stop the flow of her words. "My fault. Should know better. Whoo!" he shook his head, puffing his cheeks in an attempt to blow out the pain as he slowly and cautiously rose. "Man do you have some power packed in that right."

"Are you ok?" she asked anxiously. He shook his head

"Not yet. Whoa! I pity any man trying to take you on, Trey." At these words, the expression on her face changed, became bitter and shamed. "Hey! What is it? What's wrong?" the tender-hearted master chief asked. Trey shook her head stubbornly.

"Didn't your little girl-friend tell you all about it?" she asked almost angrily.

"Ari? I haven't really talked to her since she got back," he replied. "Look, let's go someplace where I can sit down. My stomach is killing me." He mugged it up and Trey surprised herself with a little laugh.

"Ok, help me with these gloves?" she asked holding up her hands. A few moments later, they were seated in the off-duty lounge.

"Trey, What's going on?"

"Did Ari send you to question me?" Trey responded suspiciously.

"I told you," his voice was impatient, a cover for his own worries. "I haven't spoken three words to her since she got back. But Tim's going around like a lost soul and from what I've seen, you aren't doing much better. The way you played this morning in the aqua tubes, and then that ... attack in the gym, something's bothering you." Trey was quiet, wondering what she would feel comfortable telling Miguel. Granted that he was her best male friend on board, other than Tim, and her confidante, but he was also an undeniably attractive male, one whom she'd come very close to having an affair with when first assigned to the seaQuest.

Finally, he sighed. "Ok, you don't want to tell me what's bothering you, then how about telling me what's bothering you about Tim? Are you handing him his walking papers? Is that why he's so depressed?" Trey's head shot up at this guess.

"NO!" she snapped. "No, I don't ... want that. I just want... Well, time, I guess." With a heavy sigh, she leaned forward, her elbows on the table between them. "I had a bad time at Ceendee. Maybe I'll be able to tell you some time, but ... well, it was bad. And I've got to do some serious thinking about me, and men and Tim." He nodded his understanding.

"You've got to get it all into perspective," he suggested.

"Exactly. And Tim... well, Tim's sort of..."

"He's hovering," Miguel finished for her when she faltered. Trey nodded her head. "He's worried and trying to wrap you up in cotton wool, right?" She nodded again. "Want me to run interference for you?" he offered.

"Oh, would you?" she breathed gratefully. "Not too long. I just need a couple of hours. I'm supposed to meet with Dr. Smith in..." She checked her watch and her eyes widened. "Ten minutes ago, Yikes! Look, if you could just keep him busy until ... Oh, say 2200, then I'll love you forever. Ok? Hey, I'll even put in a good word for you with the ..."

"No," he interrupted, shrugging a little. "It's nothing to worry about, yet. She's just really busy catching up. You know how she gets."

Torn between running out and helping out, Trey hovered, her forehead furrowed. "Are you sure?" she asked dubiously. The past month, she'd been happy to see Miguel finally winning ground against the frankly skittish ensign Adler. It would be horrible if she were to start playing hard to get again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You go on before you're even later than Dr. Smith. And Trey..." he called out as she took him at his word. "Don't say anything to Ari. If she is starting to shy away again," his smile grew broad and anticipatory, "Then I don't want her to be warned." With a nod of understanding and a wave of her hand, Trey ran out of the lounge, hurrying to her meeting with the psychic psychiatrist. She'd give Miguel three days. If Ari was acting up again, then Trey would... would shake some sense into the girl.

~~*~~

The session with Wendy Smith had run later than Trey had expected and she entered the galley to find most of her particular friends already started in with their dinners. Quickly, she picked up a tray and joined the food line, choosing from the selection almost at random.

After reliving the entire experience again, this time with the doctor recording her account and commenting on it, Tim's gallant gesture of jumping up and pulling out her chair for her was more an irritant than the pleasure she usually thought it. She sat and looked around, nodding to Lonnie and Lucas, wondering if Miguel had managed to work his way back into her neighbor's good graces again. But the sight of him returning with seconds scotched that notion, and provided a distraction from her annoyance at Tim's continual, worried fussing over her. The sensor chief winced slightly as he sat.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked apologetically.

"Naw, not that much," he lied, as settled himself in place and pulled the tray closer. "It takes more than that to put me out." Trey stared at him closely, worried that she had hurt him and was reassured by the tiny wink and microscopic headshake he gave her.

"Yeah, well you're damn lucky I saw that it was you and pulled the damn thing or you'd have a busted jaw, old man." Trey blustered back, realizing that he didn't want to make a big deal of it. She held out her hand to him and followed the assertion up with a smile that, in spite of his best efforts, made Tim jealous. He was supposed to cheer her up, that wasn't Miguel's prerogative. Miguel shoule be concentrating on his own lady, not Tim's.

"Someone want to clue the rest of us in on the joke?" he asked in a querulous voice. Looking at him, knowing what was going thru her man's mind, Trey answered, "Ohhh, not much. I just managed to fell one of the UEO's most vaunted fighting men, and this after what has to be one of the more heated debriefings in UEO history, half of which Captain Bridger declared off the record. In fact, it got so bad, he sent me to the gym to cool off. So, there I was, working on the speed bag, just beating the shit out of it, when this shithead grabs my arm and I react like I'm supposed to and start punching on him. If I hadn't pulled that left at the last moment, ummm, well, Ari might just have ended up having to remain a virgin all her life. And then I'd be dead, 'cause she'd be the one killing me! Goood," she groaned, dramatically, while Miguel winced and covered himself up, making the others laugh. "I'm running off at the mouth again."

Lucas gave Miguel an odd look at this, and shrugged. "And here I was feeling hurt because you weren't paying any attention to me. I should have known it would hurt even more if you had been," he cracked, hiding the uncomfortable way he felt at her comment about Miguel and Ari's probable relations. Ever since he'd met Sandra Kirby, Lucas had been avoiding most of the other women on board. But Ari was safe. He knew where he stood with her.

Giving the young man a level look, making him wonder if she knew what he was thinking, Trey replied severely, "Listen little boy, anytime you want to go to the gym with me, I'm there. Like to see you move a bit more anyway." Miguel snickered evilly at this and opened his mouth to add to that, which is where Trey's tossed napkin hit him. "Clean out that gutter mind of yours, Chief," she ordered. He sketched a salute at her while Lonnie started to laugh.

"You'd need Hercules to manage that," she spluttered. "I don't think ..." whatever it was was lost in a squeal as Miguel poked her in the side.

"Watch it, ensign," he warned. "Remember, I know where you're ticklish." He looked smug as she snorted at him and Tim regarded him with upraised eyebrows, Lucas with suspicion.

"Really?" the computer expert queried. "And how do you know that?" Miguel gave him a level look in return.

"I refuse to answer because I want to protect my sources." Trey realized where he'd found out and started laughing herself.

"That's not all he wants to do to her," she accused. The blonde boy looked disgusted and stood, picking up his mostly empty tray.

"Ari told you where I was ticklish? Why that ... She said ... Hmph!" Trey chuckled unsympathetically.

"Ask him how he tortured the information out of her, though," she replied. Lucas looked from one of his friends to the others.

"Gods, you guys do have gutter brains," he complained. "Where is Ari anyway? You wouldn't be talking like that if she were here."

"She got behind in her studies while she was gone so she has to make that up," Lonnie answered. "She told me that she'd get something to eat in her room and work until she gets caught up."

"Well, since I'm done," Lucas announced. "I'll grab something for her to eat. I know what she likes." Miguel's eyes narrowed at him, thinking that it was some kind of subtle dig, but Lucas just nodded, his face bland and open. Trey reached over and touched Miguel's hand lightly.

"I'm not looking forward to the next couple of weeks," she said softly. "After what I heard she found there, then god knows she'll want to get that dolphin anatomy and physiology down even more. Sorry Migs, you're stuck with just Princess Lonnie and myself for feminine dinner company."

"Princess Lonnie," the younger ensign preened. "Hey. I like that. It has a ring to it. 'Princess Lonnie'. Hmmm, then that means I can give you guys orders, doesn't it?" she smirked at them. Tim shook his head.

"Nope. We all obey Queen Trey," he said. Miguel smirked at the woman.

"Yeah, otherwise, she'll beat us up." He dodged the half-hearted slap Trey aimed in his direction, saying, "See?"

"So, if I can beat you up, I can order you around?" Lonnie asked musingly. Tim snerked. "Hey! I KNOW I can beat YOU up. Speaking of which, Riley says there's ice cream in the freezer, for anyone who helps him clean up the kitchen." She added in a wheedling voice, "And lots of chocolate ...." Tim's ears perked up at that, but his expression was wary.

"Truce?" he suggested warily. "No unfair attacks or unconventional use of frozen weapons?" Realizing what he was referring to, Trey started to chuckle, setting the others off as well.

"Ok. BUT ... Only if you call me Princess Lonnie and do whatever I tell you," that worthy answered. Trey held up her hand, a dry expression on her face.

"IF I hear about any ... ummm, waste of good ice cream, Lonnie, I might have to take exception to it. And you know, I bet that Ari would feel the same."

"Ok. Ok. I was just kidding any way. Although I do like the sound of it." She stood up and took her tray to the window, leaning over to call in to the cook. Tim took advantage of her departure to lean over his lady love's shoulder.

"Hear? Aren't you joining us?" he asked, disappointment in his voice. Trey shook her head, pushing herself away from the table and standing up.

"Sorry guys, but I've got time signed up for in the laundry room and I'm going to go get some of my stuff washed and do a few other things, so later 'gators."

Tim started to get up and follow behind her, but Miguel reached over and stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Give her some time to herself, Tim," he suggested quietly. "This is her way of cleaning away the last residues of a bad experience. "

"Did she tell you what happened? Am I the last to know?" Tim replied, a bit heartbroken that Miguel knew what was bothering Trey before she told him.

"No, but I've heard some things, and I could tell from the way she was attacking that bag that she was dealing with some nasty demons that weren't there before. She would never have gone off on automatic unless she were very upset. Give her 3 or 4 hours ok, then maybe go tuck her in." That would put it around 2300 or so, but Miguel knew his best friend. He'd be knocking at her hatch in half of whatever time frame he was given.

"Come on, let's go see what Riley wants done in the kitchen." he offered as a diversion.

~~*~~

"Hey, Treysa, wait up." was the slightly accented command that came from behind the older ensign as she headed back to her cabin with her clean clothes. "Haven't seen you since you got back. Want to grab something to wet our whistles and have ourselves a right old earbashing, eh?"

Trey nodded, thinking what the hell, she had nothing better to do except fold these things. Jenn noticed the load. "Hey, what if I grab a couple of stubbies from the tuckershop and meet you in your room for a bit of chinfab? You won't believe the things that have been going on around here while you and Ari have been away."

"Yeah. That'd be great. Thanks Jenn." As the thin blonde ensign Trey gave a small, crooked grin. Jenna McKay was a great pal. The Australian native had come aboard with Lonnie as a fellow helmsman but had been reassigned to engineering after Ari and Trey had joined the crew. Over the past couple of months, she'd started hanging around with the Usual Suspects, not doing much swimming, but when they were dry. If anyone had all the facts of what happened while Trey was gone, it'd be Jenn.

The blonde ensign not only brought the bottles, but she even helped fold up the laundry, while Trey gave her the run down of her assignment, skipping all the gory details about Jameson but hitting all the shopping details while the other woman salivated over each item. She had to promise to copy some of her new disks for her, especially the Sheryl Crow stuff. Then Jenn started to talk.

Trey had heard most of it, briefly, from Lonnie on the way back, but some of the details were new. Like the way Miguel had gone off his head praising the singer when he'd rounded up crewmembers for the first concert. And the description Lonnie had given Lucas of having snakes in her hair. Trey wondered how the tall dark haired helmswoman had managed to skip that.

But it was as Jenn was winding through the wacked details of the whole Solitare Island fiasco that a small nugget dropped out. Her back to Trey as she hung up one of the dress uniforms, Jenna asked disingenuously, "I wonder if it ever got back to our diminutive friend next door that Miguel and Lonnie had them one hot and heavy liplock there in the hall way outside her quarters."

"WHAT? Miguel and LONNIE? Outside her cabin, huh? Anyone see if they went inside?" She remembered Miguel telling her that he'd come on to Lonnie when she'd first come aboard, and the young ensign had made it clear that her interests did not extend into enlisted territory. And the fact that there were similar rumblings about her and the handsome, randy master chief a few months ago made her all the more curious. She knew what had prompted THOSE rumors.

"Well, it was more her latching on to him. Oh, you should have seen it Treysa. He pushed her away and said in as firm a voice as you can imagine," Jenna straightened up her shoulders and said in a deepened voice, "No, I don't want to kiss you." In her own voice, she went on, her eyes sparkling. "And then he just strode away, and I was right there behind him watching it all. The look on her face! It was precious. Then later, when Sarah Toenin said that Lonnie was Medusa and she was Minerva and they both loved Miguel because he was Neptune, he just sort of squeaked," she started laughing, finding it difficult to go on. Catching her breath, she finished up, saying, "Oh, yes, it was clear that he was never that far into the whole weirdness that he forgot HER, trust me." Jen smirked knowingly. "But that Sarah Toenin couldn't believe it. She thought she had him wrapped up like a package."

Trey smiled back, seeing what 'Princess Lonnie' must have looked like when Miguel gave her the set down. "So, Lonnie started it did she? That doesn't surprise me. I wish I could have seen it. Lonnie's hormones speak louder than mine, and that's loud. They're going to get her in trouble someday, if she doesn't cool down." An idea occurred to her. A wicked, nasty little idea.

"As her friends, maybe we should help her out, don't you think Jenna?" The blonde ensign looked bewildered.

"Huh?"

"Look, you're engineering, does that mean water lines, too?" Trey asked. Jenn saw the sparkle of mischief in her eyes and it lit an answering twinkle in her own.

"Sure does, mate. What's on your mind?"

"Just doing a friend a favor, and cooling her down," Trey answered, and she leaned over and began to whisper. Soon the two women were giggling and laughing, and Jenna McKay had promised to do her bit to help Lonnie.

By the time the galley was clean and sparkling, it was well past 2130, and Tim brushed off the invitations to stay and compete for the most elaborate ice cream sculpture. He had another ice cream party he wanted to set up. Taking one bowl of strawberry and vanilla and a second filled with all the chocolate he could get away from Lonnie, he fixed a tray with toppings of various kinds and headed for C Deck and Trey's cabin.

Juggling the overladen tray, he tapped on the door and waited for her to open it, instead hearing her call out with amused tolerance, "Come on in Tim" before he could announce himself.

"I can't," He called back, trying to prevent some of the containers from sliding off, and over-compensating in the other direction. "My hands are full."

"Ok, hold on a moment." She opened the door, and his heart stood still. She was smiling, at him. Just the way she used to, before... Instinctively, he knew that he'd ruin it if he moved too fast.

"That predictable am I?" he said instead as she stepped aside to let him enter.

"Well, yeah, but that's not such a bad thing," she answered peering at the covered bowls. "So what's all this?"

"Ice cream," he answered, putting the tray down on the desk and whipping off the covers. "I thought you could use a break from all those things you had to do." He heard the touch of asperity in his voice, and winced inside. Keep it light, he told himself.

Predictably, Trey bristled at the tone. "Hey, I know, you want to take care of me, but I just needed a bit of time. So, its over, the asshole's filed a preliminary report with Brody that's going to cause some problems with my next review, but the Captain thinks he can bury it. But they still want me to press charges. That one's mine," she decided reaching greedily for the bowl of pink and white, "so give me my ice cream, you."

"Charges? What charges?" Tim asked, trying to speak casually through the lump of worry in his voice as they took their accustomed places on the floor next to her bed.

"Sexual harassment, abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming, that sort of thing," she answered almost absently, stirring her spoon into the cold confection. "God, are you trying to fatten me up or what?" she asked, noticing that how much the two bowls held, relatively speaking.

"Well, I've never made it a secret that I've thought you could use a bit of meat on those bones and Ari mentioned that you missed a few meals on the assignment so I thought you could use the calories. So sue me."

She shook her head. "Nope. Can't do that. One set charges is all I can manage at a time. Is that all she told you?"

"That and the fact that you had a bad time and I should take it slow. She said that you would have to tell me the rest." Trey's head slowly shook from side to side, an expression of incredulous disbelief on her face.

"That's something I have a hard time getting used to. Anyone else, hell, even me, hearing a story like that, and it'd be all over the boat before morning. But Pipsqueak just sits on it and doesn't say hardly anything."

"That's the way she is," Tim answered, pouring the chocolate sauce on top and decorating the flow with bright candy coated bits. "And I really wish you wouldn't make comments about her like that." Trey laughed, comforted by the familiar and impersonal complaint.

"S'alright, Tim," she assured him indistinctly, through a frozen mouthful. Swallowing it, she explained. "Ari knows that I mean it affectionately. She's cool."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he answered. "Something happened there, to her."

"Yeah," now there was a bitter note in Trey's voice. "She whipped their asses and came out with flying colors. I should be so lucky."

"No," he insisted. "I mean it. I don't think that she looks at it that way. She's changed."

"Sure, sure," Trey shrugged indifferently. She took another bite, then sighed deeply and place the bowl on the floor beside her. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head on his shoulder, and relaxed. "Oh, Tim. It's so good to be back. You wouldn't believe what I went through." He placed his bowl on his other side, and carefully situated his arm around her shoulders.

"So, tell me," he invited. Having told it once to the authorities and once to a confessor substitute, Trey felt that there was a symmetry in telling Tim. She tried to edit out the worse, but he seemed to know when she was hedging and insisted on the full truth.

When she was finished, Tim held his breath, wondering if she would turn on him again, but she looked up at him with sad and anxious eyes. He nodded and the tension in her relaxed.

"Now I understand. Oh, Trey, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything like that. I just thought, ... Well, maybe I didn't think." He kissed her gently on her forehead. Looking searchingly into her eyes, he asked, needing to know not only what she would say, but how she would react, "Do you really think of yourself as a whore? I'm sorry, Trey, but that word from you last night, after everything that I've done to convince you of what you mean to me, that just ripped me apart. I know I haven't said it explicitly, because I was afraid that you would run and hide, but I've tried to show you how much I love you. And how important you are to me. But, if you believe that, still, then, I know that I've failed."

"Oh, Timmy!" she said, tears starting in her eyes. "If you had asked me that a week ago, I would have laughed and said that that was the old me, this is the new. But now, after that ... that slime, I ... I'm not so sure anymore. I guess I've spent so many years thinking that's what I was. Feeling that I was whoreing myself out for grades, attention, hell even money, ... Not that I ever took any," she corrected herself with quick pride, "but sometimes to get or keep a job. Jameson really studied my past record, he knew which buttons to push and, well," her voice faltered to a stop and she looked down. Tim put his finger under her chin to get her to look up at him. "But you didn't give in," he pointed out to her.

"I know," she replied in a small voice. "I know, everyone says that. But, a couple of times, I thought of how easy it would be. Just go with the flow and who would know. But ... I would know. Any you would, too, the first time you saw me. So, I couldn't." He folded her up in his arms and kissed the top of her hair, where the crown swirled round. "I think that you wouldn't have anyway," he answered. "You are far stronger than you were, Treysa Barlow."

"Yeah?" her voice was muffled and she pushed him away. "You think so?" Reaching over, she picked up the half-melted ice cream, and took a bit. "Ummm, you know, when I called you... I did call you, right?" Tim took the hint and his own bowl, a reminescent smile on his face.

"Oh yes," he breathed happily. "You did call me. Flashed me a good one, you know. Very nice view. Wish I'd taped that call."

"And here I thought that you saved everything I sent you," she teased him in a griping voice.

"Yeah, well, I would have, but that was Lucas's machine, and he would have made a copy. You know that he would have. How would you have felt about that?" he countered. Trey looked thoughtful.

"I don't know..." she replied, musingly. "Now, if it had been Ari ... Tim, have you noticed that ever since that Kirby bitch burned him, the kid's been clinging to her? Miguel doesn't like it."

"Miguel doesn't mind that much," Tim answered slowly. "I think he's finally figured out that he's the only man Ari notices hormonally. And Lucas is always getting crushes. It's part of growing up."

"Hmmm, I don't know. He is pretty much grown up, and it's time that somebody on this boat realizes it. If Pipsqueak keeps treating him like a kid, he's going to blow up in her face."

"Hey! Sounds to me as though YOU'VE been doing some noticing yourself. Should I be worried? After all, I gave you the key to my heart."

She gave a pleased, crooked smile, scooping up the last of the cream. "And here I thought it was the key to your Dodge," she quipped. "Oh, Tim! The flamingo was destroyed when my room was vandalized. I'm sorry."

"So we'll get you something new, like a small sword to match your big one." He felt that he could indulge in some idle curiousity now. "Where did that come from?"

"Ari sent me that and the leather braces. From some fancy store in the Caicos Keys. I'm not sure why, but I was damn glad for it that night at 3am." His forehead furrowed.

"You left something out. How did you manage that?" he accused. Studying her face searchingly, he asked, "Do I want to know?" She grinned back at him.

"Probably not," she chuckled. "Looking back at it, it was a real farce, start to finish, but at the time. Let's just say, it involved the sword, someone's genitals and a serious threat of castration." Getting up from her comfortable position, Trey deposited her empty bowl on the tray, then went to the closet. Taking out a few things, she dumped them unceremoniously on the bed beside him, announcing, "Yours, not very romantic I'll grant you, but you needed them." Tim looked at the shirts and pants, a lump in his throat.

"Trey. I'm ... I'm speechless. No one's done any shopping for me since, ... Since I went into High School. My mother just gave me the money, said 'you know what you like and I don't have the time' and that was it. I don't know what to say. Thank you." At this speech, her face grew soft and shy.

"I'm glad you like it," she answered in a quiet, gentle voice. "Would you like to see the other things I got. Oh, I forgot," her face changed comically. "You already have. That was a stupid thing to say."

"If you are offering to model them... I'd love to see you in that split skirt with the heels and blouse," he said diffidently, remembering the last time he'd mentioned that outfit to her and her explosion then. But she did buy it so maybe... "And I'd love to see you in that white set." Instantly, he felt certain that he'd blown it. But to his relief, his unpredictable ladylove just laughed.

"Oh, Tim, You don't know me as well as you think you do," she sighed. "That's not for me. Come one, me in white would be silly." Tim rolled his eyes at her and she laughed, balling up one of the shirts and throwing it at him. "It's for Ari .. well no I think its more for Miguel. I'm thinking of giving it to him for his birthday."

"I hope you kept the receipt then," he replied solemnly. "Because I know for a fact it's far to small."

"Oh, YOU!" Laughing, she attacked him, getting within reach for him to grab her and hold her satisfyingly in his arms, close enough so that she couldn't cause any damage. Any more damage. With a sigh, she settled down. "The Scarlet chemise is mine. And most of the other stuff, too, of course. I did get some sexy swim suits for Ari and Lonnie,"

"Only Ari and Lonnie? I'm disappointed. I want to see you in a sexy swim suit too," he teased her.

"You jerk. You know I got three. The red one's mine. I like red," she added defensively as he seemed about to complain. Tim hugged her again, a little laugh in his voice.

"Oh, sweetheart," he started to say, but stopped immediately when she flinched. "What? What's wrong?"

"Jameson called me sweetheart, darling and Honey all the time," she confessed in a small voice. "Can we find another endearment to use. It shouldn't be that hard, you speak 18 languages, there's got to be one that we can use . Spanish is out with the two next door."

"That doesn't matter, they won't be here when we ... OK, ok. I'll make you a deal, I won't call you any of those words, and you don t call yourself whore. Agreed?"

"Deal." And they sealed their agreement with a kiss. When she came up for air, Trey said, "You know, Tim, I really bought all that stuff, well, most of it, for you. Before, before the unpleasantness got really bad. I thought that when I got back here, we could have some fun, and I could model them for you, but now... Now, I feel like I need a shower inside."

"Look, Trey, I admit, I'd like to get physical with you, I want to... " he shook his head, stopping himself for saying anything he might regret. "But I want to move at your pace. When you are ready to share with me, I'll be here, with bells on."

"Oh DAMN!" she burst out, startling him into almost letting her go. "I knew I forgot something. Where are we going to get bells on this boat?"



-30-