Some Things Do Not Change
Posted on June 6th, 1999 by Sullivan Ruffian and Brian Caine

If there had been an old fashioned time keeping device in her office, the constant ticking would have only served to remind her that time was passing. The only question was: was time rushing by or was it dragging along? Sullivan pinched the bridge of her nose with a gentle pressure that helped to relieve her of some of the steadily building stress. She stared down at the PADD’s before her. The anomaly was a reality and one that was not going to be altered by wishing.

The door chime to her office chittered the announcement that someone was seeking entrance to her space. She spun smoothly in her chair to face the doors. “Enter.”

Ensign Solitaire entered with her normal efficiency. It was nice having a personal assistant. The executive officer only wished that she could have choosen her former security officer, Ash Kendrill. However, she somehow thought that Ash’s talents and career objectives could be better met remaining in what used to be Suli’s department. Besides, it never hurt to have someone you trusted on the *inside*.

“Ensign?” The query served to give Solitaire the freedom to speak.

“Commander,” the young woman’s voice held the residual accent of someone from the world of Bajor. Suli frowned to herself, and wondered why it was that she no longer wore the customary and traditional earring. Ensign Solitaire laid the PADDs that she carried down on the the desk. “Here are the communication logs that you asked for.” With quick hands, she separated them into piles. “These are the reports that you need to sign off on, and these are the personnel records that you requested.”

“Thank you, Ensign. You efficiency is as always, appreciated.”

“Commander?”

“Yes, Solitaire?” She barely looked up from the communications log that she was scanning.

“There is also the matter of a *dinner* with the counselor? It is the third invitation that he has sent.”

Sullivan sat back and steepled her fingers beneath her chin. She gave a gentle sigh. “Tell Mr. Alsobrooks that he is free to make an appointment to meet me here in my office to discuss his recent behavior.” She gave her assistant a devious smile. “I am not in the habit of discussing crew habits and behaviors in such an *intimate* setting.”

Solitiare nodded and returned the smile in understanding. She waited for a few moments. “Do you need anything else?”

“Not at the moment, Ensign. You are dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir.” The ensign gave a little salute before turning towards the door. “Oh, and one more thing…” She reached forward and dropped a rolled piece of parchment on the desk. Its yellowed paper was tied with a piece of red ribbon.

Suli reached for it at the moment that Solitaire slipped from the room. She twirled it in her fingers for a moment before she examined the knot. Intricate in nature, it was not to be opened with a simple tug. She was tempted to pull out the small pen knife she kept in her desk and just cut it. Then she considered simply slipping the paper out of the loop that held it closed, leaving the knot undamaged. Finally, she began the task that was intended, to follow the pieces of ribbon as they wound in upon themselves. Carefully, she unwound and unraveled the puzzle until it lay as one straight line.

She unrolled the paper and her lips twitched in a smile as she recognized the elegant sweeps of ink and brush.

“The road to inner peace is not straightforward and wide, allowing easy passage. It is a twisted road full of peril and adventure, a journey worth enjoying.”

Suli read the words and rolled her eyes. Chuckling to herself, she chided herself. “What did you expect, old girl? A love sonnet?” She laid the scrap of paper on the corner of her desk and returned her attention to the reports before her, signing off on the requisites, accepting some, denying others. “What in the world does engineering need with rubber snakes,” she muttered to herself. The chime to her door twittered again. “Come,” she called without looking up. “Solitaire, you can take these back and distribute them.” She gestured to the stack that sat to her right.

She stopped reading and looked up when there was no response. Caine stood before her. He was obviously off duty since he was dressed in a loose fitting robe of silk with an intricate design of dragons and cherry blossoms. His lower body was encased in pants of black silk, roomy, and softly flowing about his ankles.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Lieutenant. I thought you were….” She stopped abruptly, realizing that her cheeks felt significantly warmer. Giving him a lopsided smile, she continued, “I wasn’t paying attention. I apologize.”

“There was a time when you would have known who was behind the door before they had rung the bell.” His eyes were not accusing, his tone was merely observant. She looked up at him, words of defense rising to her lips. Words that remained silent as he held up his hand. “It simply means that you have not integrated your inner self with your external world.”

Sullivan looked at him for a moment and then said carefully, “perhaps they are mutually exclusive.”

Caine gave her the small, half-smile that told her he recognized that she was being *difficult*. The smile turned a bit broader as he turned the conversation to his advantage. “Perhaps you and I should discuss this further? In more detail?”

“Really, Doctor, I don’t have the time. I’m swamped with reports and….” Her words trailed off as she saw that Caine wasn’t buying the line she was selling him. “Are you saying that you wish us to continue training?”

“I believe it was you who came to me, but I think that it would be prudent. I am off duty as you have already surmised and according to the duty schedule, you should have been off duty approximately two and a half hours ago.”

“I am not a *regularly scheduled* duty officer. I work until my tasks are completed.”

“There is always time for understanding, Sullivan,” he admonished.

She stood, inwardly seething. She was a Starfleet officer, not a child! She had an unexplained anomaly on her hands and a ship to run, and here stood Dr. Caine, dressed like an old-Earth playboy, sounding like a Chinese take-out fortune cookie. I wonder just how “integrated” he is? she asked herself as she moved around her desk and toward the replicator.

As she passed Caine, she said aloud, “Spiced cider, with cinamm — ”

Her hand came straight up and out from her side, fingers wrapping into a fist as the hand moved, the knuckles almost vertical as she struck at his face.

Caine had only time enough to move his head slightly, “slipping” the punch, but as it was, her knuckles grazed his cheek.

Her hand snapped back, and she moved away before he could try a counter, the memory of his skin on her knuckles.

“What started as a strike became a caress,” he observed. “A matter of perspective and timing.”

Suli looked at Caine for a few moments, not speaking, her tongue once again deserting her in her time of need. The replicator informed her that her requested could not be processed due to insufficient data. “Cancel that order.” The wind had gone out of her sails and the bluster was replaced by a more introspective manner. She returned to her desk without the drink and quietly straightened the desktop nervously.

“It is good to see that you have kept your reflexes in shape.” He smiled serenely at her.

“I’ve kept my mind in the same shape as well,” the words once more finding their way from her throat.

A low chuckle came from the doctor. “Well, your tongue is still swift and sharp.” An almost impish smile twitched at his lips as he kept a safe distance from her.

“Alright,” she sighed. “You win. Give me a few moments to get things together here.”

Caine gave her a slight bow and headed towards the door. “We shall meet at my quarters. This will be an exercise of the mind, I am aware of the state of your body.” He smiled to himself, unseen by the executive officer. He knew that of all the lessons, those of the intellect were the ones she found most frustrating. She could not bully her way through the mental exercises.

She grumbled in irritation. “If you think for one moment I’m dressing in some ridiculous outfit, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“It matter not what you wear,” he called as he exited the office. “As long as you come as your true self.” The doors hissed shut and he winced as the sound of something substantial crashed behind him, probably a PADD hitting the doorway. “Some things do not change,” he murmured to himself as he made his way back to his quarters.

Inside the office, Suli fetched the PADD that lay inside the doorway, where she had flung it. “Can he say anything that does not sound like a bad kung fu movie,” she asked the emptiness that surrounded her. “Some things do not change, indeed.”