A Moment Together

Posted on Thu Feb 26th, 2026 @ 12:08am by Lieutenant Commander Darrod Hanous & Chief Petty Officer Meredith Corden
Edited on on Fri Feb 27th, 2026 @ 12:02pm

1,171 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 6: Echoes of the Interphase
Location: Meredith's Quarters
Timeline: M6 MD05 (2268.10.07) 1800

Meredith and Darrod had gotten serious fairly quickly at first but they had been together for awhile. Lately, it seemed they hardly got any time together. On a starship, everyone has duties. They had tried to get time with Meredith's parents and in Darrod's apartment on Earth but they had been called back so quickly. So now Meredith had cleared away some time with Darrod. Two grilled chicken dinners under metal lids to keep them warm sat on the table with a bottle of Chardonnay and two glasses. Meredith herself was in a rosy pink dress, sleeveless, with thin shoulder straps and a plunging neckline and a slit to midthigh. To be honest, she wasn't sure it was more revealing than the contemporary uniforms some man had doubtless designed, but she thought it looked better. She strode to the door when she heard the chime and gave Darrod a warm, eager kiss. "Hi, babe," she said with a grin.

Darrod walked into the quarters, and grinned when he was greeted by Meredith. He rested a hand on her hip and returned the kiss, grinning back at her. "Hi, hon. I've missed you." He looked at her in the dress (very appreciatively) and then at his own duty uniform. He was finally getting some time away from the labor, and it was worth it to spend that time with the woman he'd fallen hard for. After the absolute madness of the Midway's launch, he didn't know how Meredith had finagled this time for them to be alone. Frankly, he didn't want to know; he enjoyed letting her be miraculous. "I really should get changed."

The engineer gave her another happy kiss, and then slipped into the bedroom. It took just a minute for him to get into a 'normal' outfit. Unlike her dress that probably hid more of her than her uniform, his was about the same - but it wasn't sweated in, and was made of replicated cotton fibers compared to the seaweed-based fabric of Starfleet uniforms. Plus, instead of the cranberry red shirt that made his green skin even more obvious, he'd picked out a soft gray button-down shirt, which unfortunately didn't have the effect he'd hoped of hiding the grayness of his skin from exhaustion. His pants were obviously a different pair too, cleaner and less lived-in. He crossed the room quickly, and held her again. "There we go. Much better. Now, where were we?"

"I've missed you too," Meredith said with a smile. She returned his kiss happily. Both of them. "Don't be long."

She smiled and kissed him again. "Just sit down and let me take care of you tonight," she said. She did want to make the night special for him. But also maybe she did notice that exhaustion. He had been working insanely hard. She had been busy too. She had her own duties. But her workload had not increased quite as much with the current mission and was rarely physical. She kissed him gently again. Then she stepped back to uncover the dishes and pour them each a glass of wine.

"Music," she instructed the computer before she sat. Charles Gabriel's Memories of You began playing low. It had been selected mostly because it was instrumental. Music to complement the mood, not become the focus of attention. "I hope you like it?" she said to him lovingly.

Darrod smiled as he sat down, leaning back in the chair for a moment before straightening. "I do like it, yes. Then again, I like anything that means I get a chance to be with you." He blinked, a little slower than usual, and then made a sound that approached a chuckle. "I just realized. I haven't even seen the inside of my quarters since I dropped off my bag when we ran here from my apartment. This is the first time I've really relaxed since then. I've missed you."

He looked over the dinner, and picked up the glass of wine she'd placed in front of him. It was a good vintage, judging by the nose. He wondered if her family had sent it with her, or if it was one of those things where she'd swapped shifts with someone else aboard the ship for it. He set it down gently and looked at her. "You really are a miracle, especially with everything that's going on. I know you don't have it much easier than me at work - anyone who ever says you're not working can take a long walk out a short airlock, so far as I care. What have you actually been up to, the last two days?"

Meredith smiled warmly as she saw Darrod relax. He seemed to appreciate the wine. He had a nose for it. Meredith had actually been saving it for a special occasion for awhile, but she had ultimately decided to make her own. "I missed you too," she said. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"I won't argue," Meredith said, "but it is a lot more sedentary. Some nights, you're eager to get off your feet and I'm eager to stretch my legs. I've been discussing the mission with the captain a little, but I've mostly been catching up all the administrative paperwork that falls by the wayside when a departure is rushed. Everything has to be in order."

Darrod returned her warm smile and nodded. "As soon as I remember what sleeping at night feels like, sure. I think the longest I've slept between the time we got back and now was a twenty-minute nap standing in a supply closest on Deck 6 while there was a diagnostic going on. I'm glad that you're keeping the records in order."

"Well, you do need to find some time to sleep," Meredith said, "if only to stay alert for all of that work." She smiled coyly and sipped her drink, playfully looking past to the bedroom door. "But don't worry. For the sake of efficiency, I do intend to get you into a bed tonight." She grinned wryly.

Darrod grinned back at Meredith and took a sip of his own drink. "Oh, believe me - you lead, I'll follow." He leaned forward slightly. "After all, I've got more than work that I want to be alert for."

"Oh?" Meredith said teasingly as she ate what was close to the last bite of her chicken. She lifted one leg under the table.

Darrod nodded and set their empty dishes aside to be dealt with in the morning, and leaned in, his leg reaching forward to hers as he reached out for her hand as well. He smiled at her and kept his eyes on her. "Yeah. You're going to have my full attention, tonight."

Meredith grinned but, for the moment, she pulled her leg back and stood. She extended a hand backwards and grinned as she started for bed. "I'd better," she said playfully.

CPO Meredith Corden
Yeoman
USS Midway

LCDR Darrod Hanous
Chief Engineer
USS Midway

 

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