Starfleet Commander Ananda Greydon is a graduate of The University of Betazed and, a member of the newly formed Starfleet Counseling Service.
Half human, half Betazoid - her silhouette could be described as imposing: A tall woman by any standard, sh...
Ananda takes a walk along the Embarcadero at dusk and finds herself in the art gallery of Kent Mackey, wistfully taking in the shapes and colors of his beautiful and expressive art.
She turns a corner and finds a pleasing and familiar image - her lovely feline companion BeBop. She smiles broadly and begins to giggle. She takes a step backward to get a better view and bumps into a patron looking at a picture opposite her beloved feline.
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"Oh! I am so..." She begins her apology before recognizing her friend Kent. "Kent! I didn't know you were gonna be here! So good to see you!" Ananda beams as she moves in for a hug. Kent returns her hug quite warmly, and pecks both of her cheeks.
"How are you kiddo?" He asks, smoothing his hands up and down her back. "Someone's kinda tense, huh?" He intuits.
"Yeah, just a little. Can we go for a drink? Might be the last I have for a long while" Ananda smiles with her mouth, but her eyes look weary -negating the intent of her affect display in its entirety.
"That sounds ominous. I've gotta lock up, then we'll head over to our favorite place." Kent begins shutting down the gallery and turns to look at Ananda, still admiring his painting. She reaches out to touch the nose of the cat in the painting, cooing and speaking gibberish, as if to a small child. "Wook at the kit-teh! Your widdle wiskers are so cute!"
When he returns he walks up behind Ananda and places his chin on her shoulder. "Ready to go kiddo?" She leans her head against his and nods. The pair amble casually, chatting as they go. When they arrive at their fave hangout, they scan the room for a quiet spot. Having decided on a table overlooking the bay, they slide into a banquette and wait for a server.
"You painted BeBop! Will you make a print for me?" She asks. "Of course, Doll," says Kent, quite amiably.
"Tell me something kiddo... Now that you've had that neuro-thingy removed - what's next? A conjugal with Mr Happy Pants? I mean, how's that gonna work?"
"Something pretty close. I've gotta decide how clinical this is going to be. Or, not."
Before Kent can object, a server arrives to take their order. He drums his fingers on the table impatiently, champing at the bit to continue their conversation. Order recorded and transmitted, the server takes her leave. Kent turns toward Ananda and asks "You aren't really considering anything resembling like sex... or romance, are you? Is that even possible with this guy? I don't envy you right now, kiddo. Not. At. All."
"I've gone all the way back to the 20th century for help processing this. Some very cogent information by a woman named Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has been a great help. She wrote about stages of grief. Unfortunately, I don't have time for all five stages. I'm hovering around the edge of acceptance. No other path. No other way..."
♪No day but todaaaay♪ They both warble in harmony.
"Ahhh! Thank goodness for the musicals of the twenty first century!" Ananda sighs.
