Springing the Master Chief

Posted on Mon Oct 8, 2018 @ 1:55pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 34 || 2000 Hours

Maddy made her way through Operations and took a look around, taking note that it was business as usual. It was almost as if they weren't dealing with psychopathic Romulans bent on mass destruction only moments before. Now, though, their jobs were done, and said Romulans were being dealt with by their own people, for which she was grateful. That meant, she and the rest of the Triumphant crew could take some time to relax, and she was more than ready for that.

She made her way toward the door that led to Master Chief Barnes' office and leaned forward a bit to press the chime, but hesitated. Tom was likely on the other side of the door, but did she really need to announce her presence? Perhaps, he had someone in there with him, but on the flip side, maybe he didn't. Maybe it was the thrill of it all, and that was exactly what made her mind up for her. Without hesitation, she punched in her override code, allowed the doors to part, then walked into the office where she saw a yellow collared body standing near the door with their back turned toward her.

It all happened within seconds. She took the body in her arms, spun them around and kissed them. What she didn't know realize was she was kissing a poor non-commissioned officer, and there was a total look of shock on her face.

It wasn't just Maddy who bore the shocked face. The crewman receiving the kiss was a rather stocky woman with short hair, one who could easily best a Klingon in a wrestling match. Also bearing a shocked face was Tom, who was seated behind the desk, finishing receiving the crewman's report on the failure of one of the gravity wave generators, not that their purpose mattered much anymore with the mission being over.

Both Tom and Crewman Devore remained in stunned silence until Tom mustered enough sense to ask, "Commander Weisz. What can I do for you?"

Maddy took a step back when she realized she'd just kissed the poor woman standing closest to her. If she was embarrassed by her actions, it didn't show. At least, not on the outside. "I, um, came to speak with you about something," she said just before clearing her throat. Then, she turned toward Crewman Devore. "I apologize to you for that. I... thought you were someone else."

Tom could tell he needed to act, lest to save both Crewman Devore and the love of his life from further embarrassment. Rising from his desk, Tom quickly rushed over to the XO. "Commander Weisz has been leading efforts down on the planet. She probably picked up whatever plagued the Romulans. I suggest checking with sickbay as soon as possible, Crewman. I'll escort the Commander there."

Devore nodded, not as nervous as the Commander, before leaving the room. As she turned, Tom spotted a slight smile forming on the crewman. He wasn't convinced that his poor attempt at a cover story would work. If anything, scuttlebutt would run rather rampant today, especially since everyone was now exhausted from such a taxing mission.

The redhead noticed the smile as the Crewman walked out of Tom's office, wishing she had a hole she could crawl into. Not because she was overly embarrassed (she absolutely was), but more for Tom's sake. It didn't bother her if the entire ship knew of their romance, but she didn't want any of that negativity falling on him. Especially when it seemed she had a reputation for being a bit... promiscuous, which had no truth to it. Still, people talked, and there was no way to put a stop to any of it.

Finally, she turned toward Tom when the coast was clear. It was hard to tell if she was going to laugh or cry. "This is what I get for trying to be a little spontaneous. I'm really sorry, Tom," she said softly. "I threw caution to the wind..." Maddy closed her mouth, not wishing to dig that hole any further lest she be unable to get out of it again. Though, all of her concerns now were for him. She could handle anything the crew had to say about her. After all, the Captain had been dealing with it for years.

Tom couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled Maddy away from the door and managing to use a free hand to press the locking mechanism to keep someone from wandering in. "It's been a long day," Tom excused the whole situation away. "Besides, I have a feeling you're not the type to kiss random crewman anyway."

Maddy blushed. "No. That kiss was meant for you. I saw the collar and went for it," she explained. "I wasn't expecting there to be someone else in here with you, but considering everything that's happened, I should have known better." She looked toward him and wrapped an arm around him. "For the record, though, I don't mind if the entire ship finds out about us. I love you. I do, however, care that you could be fodder for the rumor cannon where I'm concerned. I will protect you from that at all costs."

He slipped one arm behind her before looking into her blue eyes. Tom knew without a doubt that she wasn't joking. He also knew that he shouldn't argue for she would not budge from her position. "It can't be any worse than everything we've gone through. I will, however, sleep a lot better once we're out of Romulan space."

"We'll be moving soon enough," she assured him, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. They'd been through enough lately, and Maddy would be lying if she didn't admit to wanting to lie on a beach somewhere with a drink in her hand. "I'm going to talk to the Commodore Aravan about giving the crew a little downtime. After all of this, and deranged Romulans wanting to kill their own people along with us, I think it's well deserved."

"Speaking of the commodore," Tom said, leading them over to a nearby couch. Tom's office wasn't terribly large, but it was certainly functional and well equipped for those longer shifts when a quick cat nap was necessary. "Did he ever find out what we did to the bonsai?"

Maddy settles down and nods her head. "He did. It happened to cycle while I was in his office, and I owned up to it. Of course, he knew I couldn't do something like that on my own and wanted to know who my accomplice was," she began, smiling at the memory. "I told him that you helped, but that you were off limits in this prank war lest his wife become a target. He agreed, then we called a truce. Besides... what you and I did is very minor in comparison to him putting so many bugs in my bed." She shudders at that memory, trying very hard not to relive that in her mind.

"Bugs?" Tom asked, thinking they might have discussed those before. "Any chance they were Garanian bolites? I know they itch like crazy, but I hear they're known for changing skin pigmentation." His imagination was running rampant, even if only for a second.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you. I have no idea what kind of bugs were there at the time. The second I saw them, I screamed and ran," she said, giving a full body shudder at the memory. Even though it happened some time back, she still recollected every second of the ordeal. "I ran out of my quarters half naked and called for Science to come retrieve them all. That was not one of my finer moments."

"The Commodore doesn't strike me as one who would willingly inflict harm," Tom observed. "As disgusting as it was, I'm sure the bugs were completely harmless. A final image of Maddy with skin as red as her hair flashed in his mind, and he filed that away for later. "So, the bonsai cycled when he was in the office? That shouldn't have happened."

"I don't know what happened, but he was rather impressed by it," the redhead said, laying her head against the back of the couch. "I do need to get his real bonsai back to him soon, though. Things have been so hectic that there just really hasn't been time to yet." She turned her gaze toward him. "Do you have much left that needs to be done?"

"Just the usual paperwork and reports." Tom looked towards the stack of padds and holographic displays that were still active on his desk. "Nothing that I can't handle on our way back to Federation space."

"Same here, but I just don't have it in me to bother with it right now," Maddy told him, but the last place she wanted to be was in her office dealing with any of that after everything they'd just been through. "I think we should leave all that behind until tomorrow morning and do something fun."

Tom smiled, looking back to her. "I think I can play hooky for the rest of the day. Did you have something in mind?"

"Well... we our options are pretty limitless thanks to the holodeck, so I was thinking we could do something adventurous," the redhead replied with a grin. "Like bungee jumping or skydiving. What do you think?"

He chuckled, enjoying her idea of relaxation. Not only had the Triumphant been shot at, dealt with some sort of nasty Romulan virus, and dealt with a turncoat Romulan agent, Maddy wanted to do something dangerous for relaxation. Far be it for him to argue, however, as Tom hadn't done much besides sit on his ass for much of the day. "I don't think I've ever bungie jumped before."

Maddy never knew him to back down from a challenge, and she hadn't expected him to do that this time, either. In fact, she was rather impressed by how on board he was with some of her ideas. She'd like to think she was as open as him, but sometimes she just had to wonder if that were true. "I've been a couple times over the years, and it will definitely give you an adrenaline rush," she said, leaning in to kiss him. "What do you say we head back to our place, change our clothes, then we can hit the holodeck?"

"Sounds like a plan," Tom confirmed. He might have suggested dinner first, but anything involving terrifying drops required empty stomachs. "Then a trip to the Black Hole afterwards."

"Sounds like a good date to me," she said with a smile, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. "That means there's only one thing for us to do now. Come on." Maddy rose to her feet and extended a hand in his direction.

He reached up to accept the proffered extremity. Tom didn't, however, use the hand to pull himself up. Instead, he pushed himself off of the couch as to not pull on her. "Lead the way," he said with a smile.

Once he was on his feet, she slipped an arm around his waist even knowing they still had to make their way through the ship, but she didn't really care who saw that. Maddy was happy, and she was fairly certain Tom was, too, which was all that mattered to her. The scuttlebutt could say what they wanted as long as it didn't impact her love negatively. "You're in for quite the rush. I've done this once before, and I always said I'd do it again. And with the safeties on in the holodeck, there's zero chance that we'll be hurt doing this."

Tom supposed he didn't care either that Maddy's arm was around his waist, a gesture he returned by putting his arm around her shoulders. He did, however, unzip his collar a bit with his free hand to indicate that he was off duty. "I've always wanted to try this," Tom replied to her. "You've seen my t-shirt collection. A lot of those came after attempting some sort of stunt while in port. Bungee jumping somehow never was offered away from Earth."

"Believe it or not, there aren't a lot of people brave enough to do it, and for good reason. It's like skydiving. Who really wants to fly through the air when they can stay standing on the ground where it's safe?" she asked as the two made their way toward the nearest turbolift. "And yes, I have seen your t-shirt collection. Worn a bit of it, too. They smell like you, and that's incredibly calming for me, especially if I've had a long day."

"I smell, huh?" Tom jested, feigning mock displeasure. "Maybe I should start wearing cologne or something. I hear Vulcans have a musky desert scent available. I could give that a shot."

Unable to help herself, she laughed as they stepped onto the turbolift. They needed to get changed so their evening could begin. "You know you don't smell bad, and even if you did, I wouldn't love you any less," the redhead said with a smile a mile wide. "Of course, if you did, I can't promise that I wouldn't plug my nose whenever we were in close proximity of one another."

"If I do," he said following her inside, "I promise to replicate the clothespins." He chuckled before giving the car instructions on where to take them. "So what sort if attire are we needing for the evening?"

"I'm going to wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I think. Comfort is what this evening is all about considering our mission was anything but," Maddy stated, knowing their turbolift ride was going to be a short one. "So, whatever you're most comfortable in, aside from your birthday suit, will work." With everything over now, Maddy was definitely feeling a lot better about things.

"I have a feeling that would be rather painful," Tom mused, thinking about the drop and the tugs that could follow. "Jeans and T-Shirt it is. Hmm... should I go for Risa? Delta Vega? Minos Korva?"

Maddy looked thoughtful for a moment as the turbolift came to a halt on the deck their quarters were on. "Minos Korva," she said with a nod. "And if you were to wear your birthday suit, it would be incredibly painful for others as well. I'd really hate to have to claw their eyes out for looking."

"I don't think it'd be any worse than an Orion or an Edo or a Deltan walking around off duty," Tom pointed out. "Not that we have many of those on this ship."

"The last Orion we had on board the ship turned out to be someone entirely different than what she said. Have you noticed that quite a few of the people we came across turned out to be someone they're not lately? No wonder I'm so jaded when it comes to our missions."

The turbolift stopped, allowing them to exit onto their desired deck. "Maybe we should station Ullians in every docking port and transporter room?" he suggested. "Subject everyone to intense screenings before being allowed to embark."

"I think Michael would think I finally lost my mind if I made a suggestion like that," Maddy said, stepping off of the turbolift to wait for him before she started off in the direction of their quarters.

He followed her out of the 'lift and started down the corridor. "I think we'd all lose our minds if we had to suffer through another mission more taxing than the one before it."

"I think we're all close to losing our minds regardless," Maddy said as she came to the door to their quarters and opened it. After stepping inside, she moved out of the way so he could get in. "Let's not dwell on that, though. We're supposed to have a relaxing evening, and that's definitely not going to help the cause."

"Fair enough," Tom said, already in the process of discarding his uniform jacket. A tug at his neck began the unzipping of his gold tunic. It wouldn't take him long to change into something a bit more comfortable for a daring act.

She made her way into the bedroom to get her boots off and flexed her toes a few times, grateful to have those off for the moment, but what she really wanted was a shower. And, there was definitely time for that to take place. "I think I'm going to jump in the shower really quick. Being around all those that were sick is kind of making my skin crawl," she said, making quick work of getting her uniform off. There was no reason to keep it, either, as far as she was concerned, which had her tossing it into the recycler. Who knew what kind of germs were hanging around inside of it. "You're welcome to join me if you want."

With that, Maddy made her way into the bathroom and started the shower, more than a little eager to get clean and wash away the stresses of the day. It wasn't that she was a germaphobe or anything, but that was one of the very reasons she never went into the medical field.

Tom could understand her reasoning for the shower. As much as he wanted to jump in there with her, he knew that they'd never make it to the holodeck for their scheduled time. Therefore, he simply changed, putting on his light blue Minos Korva shirt with a pair of cargo shorts and athletic shoes.

After a very quick shower, without washing her hair, Maddy climbed out and dried herself off before stepping in front of the mirror to pull her hair back into a ponytail. With those tasks out of the way, the redhead walked into the bathroom again so she could get dressed. Her attire was simple enough and designed to be comfortable, consisting of a pair of faded/torn at the knee jeans and a dark blue t-shirt that she completed with a pair of her favorite athletic trainers. They'd seen many days in the gym, but she adored the shoes, and had no plans of getting rid of them any time soon. "You ready to go have some fun?" she asked.

Having taken a couple minutes to deposit his uniform in the recycler and to address a few final items for the day for his department, Tom looked up from the desk in the main room. "Of course," he smiled, rising from the workstation.

Maddy eyed her other half. "Were you working?"

"Just a couple orders," Tom said, crossing the room to stand beside his seemingly disappointed other half. "Making sure Ensign sh'Paveress is fully equipped for the evening. I don't plan to touch anything else with Operations until tomorrow."

"Okay, I can let that slide, then," she said with a smile, leaning in to kiss him. "You all ready to go?"

"You mean, am I ready to jump off something extremely high up in the air, plummet towards the ground at terminal velocity, only to be stopped by something that's extremely stretchy and pray that it doesn't snap in the process?" Tom smiled, kissing her back. "Then yeah. I'm ready."

"That's the spirit!" Maddy said with a bright smile and a bite more enthusiasm than should have been given from a person who was about to do everything he'd just described. "But, like I said, with the safeties on, we're going to be just find, and you can say you tried something new."

Tom chuckled. "I doubt that would be hard to say. After all, you know how much I like to try new things." He gestured towards the door, as if he planned to usher her directly to the holodeck.

"You're always up for an adventure," she said, heading out of the door and turning in the direction of the nearest turbolift. "I don't think I ever asked you before now, but I'm curious. When you were first stationed here, did you ever think you'd meet someone?"

"Not in a dozen multiverses," Tom replied, following her. "Meeting someone, settling down, it's never been my goals. Sure, I've had a fling here or there, but nothing serious."

Maddy couldn't help but feel a little smug on the inside, but smiled on the outside. "So, I'm your first go at something serious?" she asked. For her, there was one other serious relationship, and it didn't work out the way she'd hoped it would. Being left at the alter was definitely not what she was expecting, but then, she'd met Tom. Truthfully, she'd fully expected him to be a fling, but he turned out to be everything she'd ever wanted, and now the redhead hoped that someday the two would take the plunge. Of course, she knew he wasn't ready for that, and she would wait for him as long as he needed her to.

"I guess so," Tom said after a moment of thought. "Though the future never really has been a concern of mine. I suppose after twenty years of service and knowing I'm as high up on the enlisted chain that I can get... I don't know. Life has many opportunities, and I'm not sure what's next."

"That's one of the greatest things about life," she said, stepping onto the turbolift once more. "We don't know what it holds."

"Life, space, the final frontier," Tom observed. "And though I've never
been afraid of the unknown, I can't say I am not now."

"Why's that?" Maddy found herself asking.

"I'm a Master Chief," he replied simply. "And you're a Captain. When I received news of my promotion, it was heavily implied that my days of serving aboard starships was near an end. As for you, Starfleet doesn't often promote an officer to Captain without assigning her a command. Sooner or later, those expectations will be brought to bear on us in full."

"I don't think we're going to have anything to worry about in that regard, Tom," Maddy said in an attempt to soothe any worry he might have. In fact, she wasn't the least bit concerned about that part of her future, because she was quite sure what she would do if it came down to it. "First... if your days are in fact numbered, I plan to go with you. That is, if you want me to. Second, I've already made it quite clear to Starfleet that I don't wish the center chair, and so far they've listened. If they persist... then I'll retire. It's that simple." She stopped walking and looked toward him. "You're my happy place, Tom, and I love you. Those decisions aren't difficult ones for me to make. But, like I said, I don't think we have anything to worry about. Michael isn't going to let anyone take us. Trust me."

He did want to protest what she said. Tom didn't want Maddy throwing a career away for him, especially since he was still very much surprised that she was a Captain without a ship. He'd had plenty of COs before him that had been determined to keep him, but Starfleet Command was ultimately Starfleet Command. Sooner or later, Tom's number would be up and he'd find himself heading for a different assignment. But, Tom was wise enough to let this argument go. There was no point in debating what was inevitable, especially since such debates would only serve to destroy this surprise staycation and would also result in him having to actually return to his first set quarters for the first time in a month (which he'd been able to retain). "So, bungie jumping. Where are we doing this?"

Maddy grinned. She'd been waiting for that question to come up, and now her excitement was at an all time high. "Macau, China," she began, unable to keep the giddiness from her voice. "Macau Tower, to be exact. Two hundred and thirty-three meters of pure adrenaline."

"Macau Tower?" Tom asked, trying to picture the landmark. "You know, I've seen most of Federation space, but I've never been to China. I guess I'm not a Nixon."

"Well... maybe next time we go to Earth, we'll make a trip to see the real country and bungee jump from the real Macau Tower. We can even get you a t-shirt from there to add to your collection."

“That’s a hard bargain there,” Tom laughed, thinking about how many dressers his T-Shirt collection could fill. “Should I accept if only to fulfill my completist mentality with the collection? Or should I accept to get some actual fresh air with the woman I love?” Tom winced. “Such a hard decision...”

"Why not both?" Maddy asked in return.

"That would prevent me from having to choose, I suppose." The turbolift came to a full stop and parted the doors, releasing the couple from its service. "I don't think I could argue with that."

Once off of the turbolift, she turned in the direction of the holodeck. "You can't fault logic," Maddy pointed out with a smile. "I don't know when, or if, we'll ever make it back to Earth, but we officially have something on our bucket list."

He chuckled, extending an elbow in hopes she'd take it on their journey. "Speak for yourself. I plan on living forever."

Maddy did, indeed, take his elbow as they made their way to the holodeck. "I'm definitely excited to spend a lifetime with you, and if we can find some way to live forever, I wouldn't mind it," she said with a smile. For those who knew her, knew she wasn't really the mushy sort, but somehow he was able to bring it out in her.

They arrived moments later at the holodeck. The doors parted as they arrived, allowing a pair of security crewmen to emerge, looking slightly worse for wear. "Training exercise," the higher ranked of the two reported to the XO, recognizing her sans uniform.

"No problem," the Captain said, stepping aside so they could get by. Once they were gone and out of earshot, she looked at Tom. Had years of service made her so paranoid Maddy couldn't trust her own crew? Yes. "You don't think they messed with the holodeck in some way, do you?"

"Not intentionally," Tom replied, ignoring the security detail that just left. "We have to recalibrate these things once a week. Probably will have to up the frequency now that the mission is over just to make sure everything is all right. Now, I'm sure everything's fine. Macau tower was it?"

"Yes," she confirmed, but there was something else bothering her. Did Maddy really want to bring it up and ruin what was supposed to be a good time? Not really, so the redhead would keep her worries to herself and try to enjoy herself. One thing was certain, though, and that was how much she appreciated the company of the man with her.

Tom worked the controls and called up the program. The computer quickly whirred and buzzed as it brought the holodeck to life and assembled the holographic bits and pieces to create the simulation. After a few seconds, the computer chimed, "Program complete. You may enter when ready."

"Shall we?" Tom asked, extending a hand. "Everything okay?"

Maddy took his hand and nodded, though, she couldn't help shake the feeling she had. There were far too many things going on lately that had her on edge. "Everything's fine," she said. "Let's go have some fun and try to forget what we all just dealt with."

"Fair enough," Tom said with a smile. "I know I've done a lot of things, but I'm the amateur here. You're going to have to take the lead on this one."

"I've only ever done it once, but I remember enough about it that I can do that. Things like this... the memory never really leaves," the redhead said as she stepped into the holodeck, which deposited them at the very top of Macau Tower overlooking the city below. The view was definitely gorgeous and despite her previous line of thinking, there was now an unmistakable smile on her face. "Do you want to jump together, or do it one at a time?"

"If we're gonna go, might as well go all in," Tom said with a coy smile. "That means together. That way, I can see your face as we plummet to the earth."

"Done," she said with a grin, leaning in to kiss him briefly before leading the way to the place they'd be taking the literal plunge from. There was a couple of people standing there that would be helping them get strapped in. "My eyes will be closed, and I'll be screaming the entire time."

Tom chuckled as the technicians started to harness them together. "Looks like too nice of a view to keep the eyes closed for such a long time."

Maddy could feel the pulling and tugging at her feet, but knew that to be normal while they secured the gear around their ankles. She was now standing chest to chest with Tom and couldn't help but grin when one of the men instructed her to wrap her arms around his waist. It wasn't like she would decline sure instruction. "It goes a bit quicker than you think, but, we an go more than once if you want to. That is... if you like it."

"What's not to like?" Tom inquired, smiling as the technicians finished. Though Maddy commanded his view, he took a look around them as they continued their welcomed, but forced, embrace. "Though I'm not too sure about the waddling we'll have to do to the starting line."

"Good thing for us, we don't have to go very far," she said, and with the help of the two techs, it was a lot easier getting to the platform they'd be taking their free fall from. Maddy couldn't contain her excitement anymore, and the smile she wore proved it. Gone were the insecurities she had only moments ago. In their place, were the memories she was making with the man she loved.

"We're going to count down from three," one of the technicians said, then proceeded to give a bit of instruction on the proper way to do things. "Three... two..."

"One!" the second tech called out.

Maddy felt a surge of adrenaline and leaned out toward the edge of the platform, urging Tom in that direction as well. It wasn't long before the two of them were literally plunging toward the ground at a fairly high rate of speed. True to her word, the redhead couldn't help but scream as they fell, but she didn't close her eyes. She kept them open and still had a smile a mile wide.

Tom found his gaze fixated on the ground as they rapidly approached. It wasn't until they were more than halfway down before he heard his own scream over Maddy's. He had to admit that it wasn't really a scream of terror. In fact, it was a cry of excitement. He'd been parasailing, vectorboarding, parachuting, and so much more, but there was nothing like seeing the ground approach so quickly.

He found himself wincing, bracing for impact as they came within certain death, a feeling he quickly relayed to his partner by squeezing her tight, pressing them both together tighter than any other moment of passion. Then, and only then, did their forward movement begin to slow, the bungie strap beginning to play its part in this finely tuned activity.

Her own grip tightened on him, and now that things were starting to wind down a bit, Maddy was laughing. The plunge was definitely worth it. "So?" she asked while they hung upside down and were pulled back toward the platform. It was a slower task, but they were definitely going up instead of down. "What do you think?"

Tom couldn't answer immediately. Now that he was not looking at the ground anymore, his face was being whipped by a mass of red hair. Eyes. Nose. Mouth. There wasn't an opening that the medusa-wannabe didn't try to exploit. "This was pretty fun," he admitted. "Shame it ended all too quickly."

Maybe she should have put her hair back in a ponytail since they were both being assaulted by her fire red locks. She couldn't help but laugh, though, seeing his face while he was bombarded by her hair whipping around from the wind. "We can always do it again if you want to," she told him. "The holodeck is ours for a full hour. The Black Hole isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so we can afford to take the plunge another time or two."

"Yeah, this doesn't seem like a one and done kind of thing. Surely we can change the location though," Tom suggested. "Maybe something from Risa or Delta Vega."

As they were lifted back onto the platform, Maddy smiled at him. "Since I picked this place, why don't you pick the next one?"

A smile appeared on Tom's face (though he had to wonder if it had really left. Though they had been pulled up, the harness hadn't yet been removed. "In a minute," he said playfully before pushing all his weight back off the platform.

Maddy had not been expecting that, and found herself tightening her grip on him as they plummeted toward the ground yet again. She only screamed for a second, but it was short lived and was replaced by laughter. "This is so much fun!" she called to him over the howling wind around them.

"WOOHOO!" Tom shouted as they plunged back downward in a feat more exciting than the first. He was fairly certain that had this been real life that not only would he have never have pulled this off, but also that he would be removed and banned from the property the instant they
were pulled back to the top.

Just before they snapped back up, Maddy leaned in to kiss him, which was a definite first for her despite bungee jumping before. There was a grin a mile wide on her face when she pulled back. This was truly an exhilarating experience, and she couldn't wait to be able to do this with him outside of the holodeck. "We definitely need to do this next shore leave."

Tom's grin was just as wide as Maddy's. "That and parasailing," he mused. "There's nothing like gliding from high to ground with nothing but silk and bones above your head." The snap upward had yielded to gravity and the couple started to fall once more. Her hair had not been whipping him in the face this time, but he could not help but feel closer to her than ever before. He returned her kiss with passion as they continued to fall back to Earth.

Maddy returned the kiss. When she'd first met Tom, she couldn't explain why she felt so drawn to him. In fact, the redhead had originally planned on it being one night, then parting ways and moving on with their lives. However, Fate had something else in store. Now... now, she couldn't picture a life without him. She didn't want a life without him. For her, he was 'The One'. The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and maybe (now Maddy knew she was totally head over heels and perhaps a bit insane given who she was) start a family with some day. However, those were two things she planned to keep to herself for the time being. On a whim, shortly after her promotion, she'd popped the question, and it hadn't gone all that well. Now, she wanted things to progress at his pace. If it was something he wanted, Maddy knew he would approach her with it. For now, she was more than content to love him and know that he loved her in return.

The kiss hadn't ended by the time they were pulled back up onto the platform. Just as in real life, the computer's holographic ride monitors did not give the couple a chance for a third ride, making quick moves to deharness them. The kiss likely would have kept going had the technicians not interfered. Tom took Maddy's hand, still smiling. "I'm thinking we should continue this back home," he said, having been electrified more by their passion than the thrill of plunging hundreds of feet.

"I'm thinking you're right," Maddy said, slipping her hand into his once they were free. "We can always order in."

And order in they shall. He extended an elbow to her and called for the arch. Though the evening festivities had already begun, there was still a fun and exciting night ahead of them.