"Me either, Will." **She looks deep into his eyes, takes a moment, and then speaks again." ** "We'll have to do this again very soon."
"I don't want you to leave but you have to do what you have to do, Will. However, you are more than welcome to come in." **She smiles, but she is a little distraught over the thought that Will might have to leave her for the night. It was obviously very early in their relationship, well it may not even be considered a relationship yet, but she wanted him to stay the night. Which was very uncharacteristic for her, she normally would have waited a couple of weeks. She feels like she's been with him for months, from a single night out.**
Karelia was without words, and simply stared into her eyes for a moment.
"Let's get off of this cold floor," he said with a smile after a few seconds, and began to scoop Julia up and take her into the bedroom.
---Several hours later---
Will awoke to nearly complete silence, nothing but the ambient sound of the station. He looked over to see Julia, still soundly asleep. He couldn't help but smile, she looked so serene. He just looked at her, thinking about how happy she made him feel, and he marveled at how one's life could change so drastically in just twenty-four hours.
**Julia looks at Will through the mirror as she puts the clasp on her second ear ring.** "I understand Will, i'll meet you there in ten minutes. **She chuckles.** "Feel free to use my command console to transport to the Celtic Corner."
Will exited the turbolift on the officer's residential deck, and made the trip to Julia's quarters. He paused outside the door after pressing the doorbell key, curious what the "surprise" was that she had for him.
**She smiled.** "Yes it is real, you have a very discriminate pallet. Most people are so used to the fake stuff that they wouldn't know real wine if it bit them on the hand." **She laughs** "But it's actually a long story. I'm not from France, i'm from New Seattle in northern America. But i have a lot french blood running through my vains. My family owned a winery in the french country until 2214 and when they stopped production the family had the last 100 bottles packed up and they get handed down through the generations. We are drinking bottle 86 of 100. So i have 14 bottles with me in storage. The only agreement is that the last bottle ever made, bottle 100, is to never be drank. But the other 99 were to be used only to celebrate true love. Yes, my french family were a group of hopeless romantics. **She chuckled** This is the first bottle that i've ever opened. Will i truly do love you.
"It's Vulcan, and of course it's one hundred percent vegitarian. Sometime maybe i'll actually prepare you some meat. But i won't eat it." **She chuckles.**
**Rellek enters her code and enters her Quarters**
Computer, lights please. **Lights come on**
**She takes off the outer coat of her uniform and removes her shoes**
Aw, that feels better **Walks to the replicator** Ractijino extra sweet **The coffee materializes, she picks it up and takes a sip** Perfect **She takes a seat and begins to work on her notes for Starfleet Command, after a couple hours of work she heads for bed**
Computer, lights off. **She curls up under the covers and drifts to sleep**
Will locked gazes with Julia, and deciding that there was no time like the present, slowly pulled her closer and gave her a short kiss.
"Well, that makes my decision easier." Will pulled his communicator from his shirt, and dropped it to the floor while leaning in to kiss Julia again. He blindly reached for the door panel, and upon hitting the release key (along with about five others in the process), the door slid open.
** She leaned in towards Will and kissed him again slowly lying on the floor they embrace and kiss passionately she stops for a moment.** "Thank you Will." **She goes in for another kiss.**
Will headed over to the command panel, and tapped in a few commands. He dematerialized, and reappeared in his own quarters, from which he made the trip to the Celtic Corner.
"I was so nervous after i said that, i'm glad to hear you say it."
**She heard the hesitation in his voice and was terrified that she had rushed things. But he seemed firm in his decision to return the affection. Lying in bed she was wrapped in his arms.**
"It feels so right being here right now, being next to you means everything to me right now."
**Julia had finished setting the table just as she recieved Wills message. She had decided to serve a Vulcan vegitarian delicatcy. ~"Oh good he's on his way."~ Then she ran into her room and threw her little red dress and those satin red heels. Then she stopped by a mirror and put her hair up. After that she lit two candles that she had placed on the table earlier.**
"Computer, dim lights." **The Computer did as she requested. "No thats not quite right, Computer, dim them just a bit more. Ah, now thats perfect."
**Everything was ready, now all she needed was Will.**
"That's what they say," Will said with a smile, as he took a seat. He gently raised the glass with Julia, and took a sip. It took will a moment, but his eyes went wide. "This is real!" he exclaimed."This isn't replicated. Where did you get ahold of a bottle of wine that's over a century-and-a-half old?"
(OFF: Sorry about the late post.)
"It's great," he said between bites, "but I can't quite place it. Where did it come from?"
**After the kiss she pulled away slowly, opens her eyes. Then she looks into his eyes and leans in for a much longer kiss.**
As Julia fell, it threw Will off balance just enough to fall to the floor as well. They were unable to stop laughing for several seconds, but when the humor finally subsided, they were left with a knowing gaze, one that said more than any words could.
That word granted Karelia a realization, one that told him that this was a turning point in his life. In that word laid every hope, every fear, endless chances for a happy ending, or for tragedy. It was the one word that Will vowed he would never use in vain, and he refused to use it if he didn't absolutely mean it.
"I..."
Hesitation. Karelia was always a very calculating individual, something he picked up from the medical sciences during his tenure in Starfleet. Therefore, it was in his nature to double- and triple-check everything before making a decision. His tendency to be thorough was one of his greatest merits, but he also found it to be one of his greatest weaknesses. It occasionally rendered him unable to commit to one thing for fear of making the wrong decision.
But one thing that he could not ignore was the way he felt around Julia. She was one of the only people who saw past those five pins on his collar, and when he was around her, he felt free. He always had feelings for her, he now realized, but until now, was completely unaware of them. And it was for this reason that he was able to progress so fast with her without fear or preamble.
"I love you, too," he finished.
"I haven't slept that well in years," Will said with a smile. He leaned over and gave Julia a short kiss, before getting up and beginning to get dressed.
As he put the finishing touches on his outer uniform jacket, he realized his commbadge was missing. "Oh, that's right," he said, and ducked out of the room quickly to retrieve the badge. Affixing it to his uniform, he came back into the bedroom, where Julia was dressing as well. "If you're available," he said, "I'd love to have breakfast with you before I go explain why I missed a command shift."
**She laughs as he puts his comm badge on.** "Maybe Vorak won't notice that you're not there. Anyway breakfast sounds wonderful." **She got out of bed and through on some casual pants and shirt out of her closet and then heads towards her washroom to fix her hair and put her makeup on. Then she speaks loud enough for Will to hear her in the other room.** "Just give me a minute, you know it takes us women a little longer to get ready. Oh and it's actually my day off, so i'll get the pleasure of coming home to reports on top of reports."
**Julia chuckled to herself as he dematerialized and then thought about how amazing the last 12 hours or so had been. Then she grabbed a light sweater and headed out for the Celtic Corner.**
**The doors open** "Computer, lights off." **Her quarters went dark and she stepped out into the corridor**
As soon as the door opened, Will caught a glimpse of Julia in her dress, and was immediately awestruck. He had always found her attractive, although for the longest time it was only casually, but now that she was actively trying to look her best, it was enough to nearly take Will's breath away.
"I guess I'm a bit underdressed," he said with a smirk, as he moved up to wrap his arms around Julia and give her a kiss. "You look amazing," he added.
"I know we'll make it count." **She takes another sip and takes a bite of food** "So Will, what do think of the dish?"
**Julia set her glass down.** "When i was youngwe we used to have real cattle. And my grand parents butchered them. It was horrible. But evenb after i began eating replicated food i could never eat it. It was no longer because of the animals, i just didn't like it. I geuss i never grew accustomed to it."
Will and Julia walked slowly to the door of her quarters, conversing quietly on the way there.
"I don't want this to be the last time we do this," he said as they reached the door.
After a few moments, the kiss broke, and Will looked at Julia with a mix of relief and apology. "They're going to want me on the Ops center," he said, but was loathing the idea of work right now. He smiled slightly, "But I'll stay, if you order me, admiral."
**They headed in holding each other tight. Like usual Julia took the opportunity to show her clumbsiness as she tripped over a uniform top that she had left lying on the floor. She fell to the floor laughing.** "Sorry Will, i wasn't expecting company. I would have cleaned first." **Lying on the floor she looked up and couldn't help but wonder if he was the one.**
**She laughs loudly** "You didn't have to carry me but it's sweet." ** She smiles as he lays her on her bed. Then she looks into his eyes and her expression turns very serious.** "Will, I think I love you"
**She had only told one other man that in her entire life and that was back in the academy. She was seeing her, then, boyfriend off on a training mission. He died on that training mission when the academy's ship had a core breach. Ever since then she had been afraid to tell someone that she loved them. But for some reason, with Will, it simply felt right.**
**Julia enetered her quarters.** "Computer, lights on." **She replicated a ractijino. Then she begins to think to herself.** ~"I think it's time to revolve an old habit."~ **The reached into the bottom desk drawer and puller a small book out from under several PADDs. It was her diary, it was something she started once she became XO aboard the Tiberon. She always feared that her private thoughts may not be so private when saved in the computer core. Then she searched for an ancient writing utencil known as a pen and began to write.**
I'm in love, there i said it. I swore ever since that accident at the academy that i would never try this again, but i can't help it. Even worse it is a Fleet Admiral, Will. He is an amazing man and in just twenty-four hours i found myself completely lost in his eyes, his thoughts, his charisma, and it helps that he's hot. I cannot believe that i am giggling like a school girl over some man, but i truly do love him. I haven't felt like this in twenty years. Will, just in case i ever let you read this. I want to let you know that i loved you from the Cardinal Virtue. I was lost in your eyes and in one mere night I experienced more emotion than i have in the last ten years. Before last night i was alive but i wasn't living. I was lost in reports, crew manifests, granting promotions, but now i feel like i'm living for more. I hope i'm not jumping the gun, but i truly do believe that i am in love with Will, and i hope he is feeling the same.
**She finished writing this with a giant smile on her face. Then she began to consider what they could do tonight. She was thinking that a romantic dinner would be fun.** ~"Ooh, i have that little red dress and those satin red heels."~ **She pulled the dress out of her closet and modeled it, still on the hanger, in front of the mirror. She was certain that it would be another night to remember. Her only disappointment was that she had to work tomorrow morning, 0900 hours, therefore she knew she would sit in her office and daydream about Will. She sat on the sofa and cuddled up in a blanket with reports in hand, but her focus faded in and out. She was able to regain enough composure to get some work done.**
**Julia woke up wrapped in Will's arms. The first thing she noticed was that Will had already woken up. She gave a slight yawn and stretched a little.** "Good morning Will, did you sleep okay." **She said with a large groginess in her voice. Very few people know that that grogginess will stay there until the first ractijino in the morning.**
Will laughed at the comment about Vorak. "Just to be safe, keep a lock on my biosigns," he said with a sarcastic smile. "I might need an emergency beam-out."
He walked into the washroom behind Julia and looked at her in the mirror. "I'm going to get a head-start, and I'll meet you at the Celtic Corner. Until I break the news to Vorak, I'd like to keep this secret, if it's okay. Being seen leaving your quarters and letting the gossip spread will only piss him off more."
**The hug was warm and she felt safe in his arms.** "Thanks, and you look good too. I'm probably a little overdressed." **She motions toward the table.** "Go a head and take a seat, i have a bottle of red wine ready; 2214. It was a very good year for french wine." **She grabs the bottle and begins to pour the two glasses.**
"Well," he said, "let's make it count, then. I'm sure your family would expect nothing less."
Will held the glass up once more, but his eyes were locked in their gaze.
Will laughed at the last comment. "It's not like we still harvest meat the old-fashioned way," he said before taking a sip of wine.