Time Together at Last

Posted on Sat Jun 5th, 2021 @ 10:47pm by Lieutenant Alison Haldeman & Lieutenant Thomas Haldeman

Mission: Gamma Quadrant
Location: DS9
Timeline: Backpost

Tom smiled to himself as he made his way to their quarters. He had some good news for Alli or at least he hoped it was good news. He had managed to get some leave time for them to spend a little romantic holiday on the station.

Entering their quarters, he called out "Alli?" as he made his way deeper into the quarters. "Alli?" He called out. "Amanda?" Calling their daughters name next.

“You called?” Allison smiled as she appeared from the bedroom carrying some fabric, “I was just choosing some fabric for a maternity dress.”

“What’s up dad?” Amanda peered into the living room from her bedroom doorway.

"I did Alli and hi Mandy." Tom said first to his wife and then daughter. "Come into the living room, have some news for you both."

Walking into the living room Mandy took a seat beside her mother who’d just sat on the sofa. “What’s going on dad? We’re not moving are we?”

"No Mandy, we aren't moving." Tom replied with a smile, surprised at how good it felt to say that. "My news now that you are both seated is, I've managed us some time over on DS9 while we're docked.''

“Seriously!?” Mandy grinned. “That’s awesome dad!” She looked at her mother. “But I don’t want ruin your time alone with mum.”

Alison smiled. “You couldn’t ruin anything sweetheart, besides I’m sure your father probably has an idea for that too.”

Tom nodded and added, "Your mother is right Mandy, you could never ruin anything." As he finished he realized for the the millionth time just how important Alli and Mandy were to him and how much Alex's death still hurt. Pushing the depressing thought aside, he soldiered on. "I thought you and your mom could go shopping together, then in the evening I could take your mom out to a nice romantic dinner while you young lady play some of the new holovid games I got you."

“Holovids! Excellent!!” Mandy nodded happily. “That’s a deal, and if you and mum want to spend more time on the station I’ll be okay here.” She grinned.

Alison blushed as she looked towards her husband, she was forgetting her daughter was rapidly heading towards becoming a legal age adult.

Tom caught Alli's blush. "We'll see how everything goes Mandy." Tom replied wanting to keep his options open. He trusted their daughter, she was older than her years, having grown up on the jungle planet and seen so much pain, suffering and death through her young eyes.

“I’m sure we’ll all have a nice time” Alison smiled warmly. “I’m looking forward to being able to spend some time off ship, I need to look for some maternity supplies and some things for the baby.”

"You'll have plenty of time to do it Alli." Tom promised his wife. "Mandy, you can also get some new clothes. I'm sure the fashions have changed in the time we were... gone."

Allison took her husband’s hand offering gentle support. “We have the rest of our lives ahead of us now, what happened is over now.”

Tom offered a smile to Alli. "Yes, of course you are right Alli. Our lives are ahead of us not behind."

Mandy wiped away a few tears as she listened to her parents, she missed her little brother. The horror of watching him being killed was a very painful memory.

Tom saw Mandy's tears and moved to her, all while holding Alli's hand. "Mandy! I'm so sorry. I didn't meant to make you cry. I know how hard this is on you as well. Please forgive me."

Moving closer to her daughter Alison wrapped her arm around her. “It’s okay sweetheart, it’s still painful for all of us. It’ll get better in time.”

Mandy offered her father a brief smile as she wiped her eyes. “It’s okay daddy, I don’t blame you.”

Tom just nodded. While it was comforting that neither Mandy or Alli didn't blame for Alex's death. He blamed himself. It was his inner torment.

Allison could see the hidden pain in her husband’s eyes, but talking in front of Mandy wasn’t a good idea. “Let’s enjoy our time together.”

Tom forced a smile to his face and in his voice, "Your mom is right Mandy. It's time for us to enjoy ourselves. So lets do just that."

Mandy smiled and nodded. "I can't wait! This is going to be fun."

Tom smiled at Mandy's excitement and that made him feel good. "You are absolutely right Mandy. This is going to be fun."

Allison looked at Mandy, "Why don't you go and change ready."

Mandy looked between her parents before nodding. "Okay mum" with that she left her parents alone.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Allison looked at her husband. "I can see you're unhappy."

Tom nodded, "I'm fine Alli. Thanks for asking. Lets just go and enjoy ourselves."

Allison nodded and smiled. “Mandy! We’re going.”

“Coming mum!” Mandy answered and hurried to join her parents.

Thomas smiled, looked at Alli. "Someone is very happy." He observed.

“After everything that’s happened to us, I think that’s a good thing.” Allison smiled warmly. “I just want a chance to make things up to you, for the way I treated you.”

Tom smiled, "Alli, you don't need to make up for anything. It was a terrible time for all of us. You were angry, grieving and you saw me as the source of your pain."

Allison nodded. “I did, and I shouldn’t have. At least now we can start new.” She smiled as she took his hand. “Let’s get going.”

Tom squeezed her hand, feeling they were firmly on their way to rebuilding what they had lost and that they would all be better for it. "I agree, lets go and enjoy ourselves. It's been a long tome since we were able to."

Nodding Allison looked towards her daughter, making sure Mandy was ready to go as well. With that they headed on their way.

{OFF}