Things you never want to talk about with your mother

Posted on Thu Jul 11th, 2019 @ 8:20am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan
Edited on on Mon Jul 22nd, 2019 @ 9:10am

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Flight Control Office
Timeline: 2396 - The Morning after the Wedding of Mnhei'sahe Dox and Mona Gonadie

Standing at her desk in the flight control office of the U.S.S. Hera, it's chief Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox was working, focused on the tasks at hand.

Only a day earlier, she stood with her love and bond-mate, Mona Gonadie on the same flight deck that her office overlooked as the two women were joined as one. On her wrist, tucked under the sleeve of her crimson uniform top, she fingered the shining black Romulan ceremonial bracelet. It was a symbol of her union that brought a smile to the face of the anxious, red-headed pilot.

And last night, the pair began their first steps towards advancing that bonding further, as they were now actively trying to conceive.

But while yesterday was a day of celebration, it was time to get back to work for the newly minted bride. Buried in the paperwork that had accumulated over the last few days that Ensign MacNielle had been left in charge, the young Romulan was very absorbed in her work. So much so that Mnhei'sahe was slightly surprised when the door to the office wooshed open early and Jaeih Dox stepped in. "Jolan'tru, my daughter."

The older Romulan woman paused briefly, with an almost awkward smile, "I wanted to see how you were after the ceremony. This is rather quick to shift gears to duties, after all. And as it is currently the scheduled period for lunch, I was hoping you might be available?"

Standing back up, Mnhei'sahe straightened her uniform tunic and walked to greet her mother. "Jolan'tru, Mother. I appreciate you checking. However, we knew the timeline would be somewhat compressed, so we did our… honeymooning… in advance. As for lunch, I'm extremely burried in paperwork right now so I'd rather stay here. But we can grab something from the replicator and I would be happy to take a moment."

The younger Romulan woman put the slight inflection of a question on the traditionally human phrase of 'honeymoon' as she was woefully inadequate regarding many elements of Earth culture despite her four years on Earth before joining the Academy. Finishing up with the PaDD in her hand, she gave her mother her full attention for the moment.

Stepping over to the replicator, Jaeih held up a finger as she ordered up two plates of beef stew, a dish she knew her daughter enjoyed that they had eaten often when Mnhei'sahe was growing up on their smuggling ship together. Bringing the steaming bowls over, Jaeih set one down directly in front of her daughter, blocking her access to the computer for a moment.

Smirking at the none-too-subtle direction to stop and eat, Mnhei'sahe nodded. "Okay. Hint taken. Thank you. And yes, We had a wonderful ceremony and evening." Mnhei'sahe added.

With a now pronounced smirk of her own as she sat across from her daughter, Jaeih cricked an eyebrow. "Oh, I can tell, my dear. I've seen you miserable enough to know what contentment looks like on your face and I'm glad to see it."

"Stay this happy and you might even leap that mental hurdle and provide me with grandchildren before I die of old age." Jaeih added sarcastically, taking a spoonful of her stew.

At that, Mnhei'sahe's stomach tightened ever so slightly. It was nearly impossible to forget the prophetic statements of Death and Kodria that her time with her mother was to be short. She knew it meant that the elder Romulan could well die much sooner than of 'old age'. But Mnhei'sahe pushed the concern from her mind as she twisted the subject back around.

"Two to three weeks, mother." She said flatly.

"Pardon me?" Jaeih replied with a curious smile.

"We will know in two to three weeks if our… efforts last night… and for the next few evenings… thanks to the assistance from the DNA sequence gap stabilizer that's currently in both of our systems... will have led to anything."

At the words, Jaeih's eyes went wide as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a broad smile. "You mean… you and Mona are going to…"

Cutting her Mother off slightly, mid-thought, Mnhei'sahe interjected. "Yes, Mother. At least, we're officially trying. We shall see what happens, but for now… we have started."

Taking a spoonful of stew, Mnhei'sahe paused to chew before continuing. "She was already ready. Had a hypospray with the meds needed to hopefully overcome the species gap that she got from the EMH literally tucked in the couch cushions."

At that, Jaeih snorted out loud, almost spitting her stew. "Oh my goodness. Yes, that sounds exactly like something that dear woman would have done. We had lunch last week while working on her experimental cloak... and she already has a list of names picked out."

Looking at her mother with a slightly shocked expression, Mnhei'sahe took another spoonful. "Seriously? Well, she is very much a planner."

"That she is. I know I was… less than supportive initially, but I wanted you to know that I am quite happy for you, Mnhei'sahe. She is truly an exceptional woman and I'm glad you found each other." It was a more emotional statement than the elder Romulan was generally comfortable making, but she found herself feeling more and more... maternal... the longer she was on the ship and had decided to simply accept it as a positive.

But she was also willing to change the subject ever so slightly to share any uncomfortability around. "So… on another note. I understand how a DNA sequence gap stabilizer would be required. But… uh… how to put this delicately. You're both women? How did you do this in the bedroom and not a science lab?"

This time, it was Mnhei'sahe's turn to almost spit out her stew. "Mother?!"

There was an awkward moment of silence in which the former Tal'Shiar agent leaned in and raised her eyebrows quizzically with an expression of slightly sarcastic curiosity. "Well? You can't blame my curiosity. How much mad science was required here?"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Mnhei'sahe cricked and eyebrow and chuckled. "Okay. Well, not as much 'mad science' as you might think. The DNA hypo was the majority of the scientific requirements involved. And, uh, well… Miradonian women have the capability of mating with other women."

Blushing a deep green, Mnhei'sahe continued awkwardly. "We had a… tool… that Miradonian's use to help align... No. No, I can't be having this conversation. This is just…"

Flustered, Mnhei'sahe tried to end the segue quickly. "Believe it or not, it was largely… very much… naturally achieved. And I refuse to go into any further details, Mother."

As she finished, she shoved a very large spoonful of stew in her mouth to force herself to stop speaking. As she did, Jaeih took a decidedly daintier sip as she commented. "Well, I had to ask. I am a scientist as well."

"You're a Cloaking engineer, Mother. Very little CLOAKING was involved, here! Hnaev." The exasperated pilot commented, wiping her mouth as she finished her bowl.

Letting out a satisfied chuckle, Jaeih was clearly pleased with herself for making her daughter uncomfortable in this instance. It was, after all, a surprisingly innocent interaction for the two whose relationship not too long ago was completely adversarial. “Oh, relax Mnhei’sahe. We’re both adults here. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I am quite happy for you.”

Grimacing slightly, the younger Dox smirked as she leaned back in her chair. “Thank you, Mother. We will, of course, keep you posted on our status and if you’re going to become a Hu'nanov anytime soon. That said, I really do need to get back to this. MacNielle left me a metric ton of paperwork from my little mini-break.”

“The burdens of command, I’m afraid. Picking up after others. You had best get used to it, my daughter...” Jaeih stood up, grabbing both empty bowls to take to the reclimator as she began to head for the door. “...You may soon have an even greater command responsibility before you.”

With a smirk, the elder Romulan let herself out as the door wooshed closed behind her. As she did, her befuddled Daughter rolled her eyes as she mumbled to herself. “Heh. Yeah. Hera’s domain aura is definetly affecting her.”