Memories part 1

Posted on Sat Oct 29th, 2016 @ 10:26pm by Senior Captain Connor McKinney M.D. PhD & Captain Madeline Sanchez
Edited on on Wed Sep 12th, 2018 @ 5:51pm

Mission: My Place In This Universe
Location: Campus Housing, Senior Staff Apartment Building
Timeline: 2388/07/25 1721 (July 25 2388 1721)

At the end of a long day, Maddie was finally winding down in her new home. She had to admit, her new apartment was wonderful and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore outside was so soothing. She just knew that this place was going to provide the emotional healing that she was so desperately in need of.

Having helped herself to her second bath of the day, she wrapped a large fluffy white bath towel around herself and headed into the bedroom. Deciding to put her jewelry on first, she fastened the necklace that Drago had given her around her neck followed by the matching bracelet after that.

Sitting down before the mirror on her dressing table, she began to brush her hair. Tossing the hair towel aside, she set about brushing her long, dark locks. As she sat there, she drifted off into a daydream as she remembered the meeting earlier that day with her new boss. She stared far away into the mirror as she brushed out the knots in her hair with long firm strokes until suddenly she shrieked "OW!"

Her bracelet had gotten caught in her hair and she had yanked it. Trying to pull her arm free only seemed to dig the bracelet deeper into a knot in her hair. Dropping the brush she tried to free herself with her spare hand but she couldn't. Her only option was to cut it out but growing her hair to the length it now was had been a pet project of hers and she was really desperate not to have to resort to that.

Then it hit her, perhaps the person opposite could help. Hopefully whoever had that apartment had moved in. Standing up, with her one arm stuck against her head thanks to the bracelet, she padded over to the door and headed out into the corridor. Knocking on the door opposite she waited, hoping that there would be somebody there.


Having been busying himself in the kitchen, Connor McKinney positioned a large wok onto the stove. After breathing in deeply, he stood back and stared at it for a moment, then eyed what else was before him: Varying herbs and vegetables laid out on one cutting board, a beef tenderloin on another, special ordered knives lay by each one.

A grin spreading across his handsome face, he slapped and rubbed his hands together in satisfaction, then snatched up the chefs apron laid folded on another counter, and slipped it over his head when he heard the knock on his door.

Hesitating, wondering who it could be, Connor gave one last look at his kitchen before his eyebrows came together as he crossed the room and opened it. Dressed in loose Khaki cargo pants, a loose light blue T-shirt, and a chefs apron hanging loose in front of him, Connor stood there staring, his eyes widened in stunned surprise.

"Oh!" Maddie yelped, shocked to see that it was Connor of all people who lived across the hall. "Hi." she grinned sheepishly at him, "Sorry to disturb you but I've kind of got my bracelet caught in my hair and I'm sort of stuck so I was wondering if you could untangle me and then I can leave you to whatever it was you were doing and you can forget that I ever knocked on your door what do you say?" she said in one huge long sentence that didn't give him a chance to interject.

Connor's mouth hung open as Maddie spoke, and his brows drew back together as he looked at her. With her accent thicker than he remembered, her sentences all running into each other, at first he wasn't sure he was understanding her right. It was her appearance that helped him figure it out.

"Uh..." Realising he was now staring at her like a star-struck schoolboy, he averted his eyes, and swallowed hard as he moved to the side to invite her in. "Of course.... please come in."

"Thanks." Maddie smiled gratefully at him, "You have no idea how glad I am that someone else is around, I had visions of taking the scissors to my hair." she added as she stepped inside.

Remaining sideways, Connor's eyes followed her, taking in her hair, and he was captured by the way she moved as he took in the rest of her. "Um..." He closed his eyes as he caught himself. Although their apartments were the only two on the top floor, he looked quickly down the hall towards the lift before closing the door. "How do you want to do this?" he asked, turning towards her.

"How about if I sit there?" Maddie suggested as she pointed to the sofa with her one free hand. She was so caught up with being...well...caught up that she didn't even notice Connor's response to the fact that she was wearing nothing but a towel.

Connor's face felt like it was on fire and he ran a hand through his hair as he walked around her. He wasn't happy for the direction his mind had gone, and rebuked himself sharply as he rubbed his hand down to his neck. He shook his head, and not saying anything, grabbed one of the counter stools from the kitchen area, and sat it down in front of her. "This would work better." he said quietly.

"Okay." Maddie smiled as she awkwardly got on the stool whilst trying to hold onto her towel with her spare hand. She watched him closely suddenly very aware that said towel was the only thing still keeping her decent and it had already opened up enough to reveal a long and shapely leg.

Connor's eyes had traveled up that leg, and suddenly aware that she was watching him, he did the only right thing he could think of. He lifted his apron up over his head, and after undoing the neck strap, he stepped behind her. With one hand brushing her neck as he maneuvered the strap, he reattached it, and then tied the back ties around her waist. "This should help." he said, moving around her.

Maddie chuckled nervously. Why was his proximity so unnerving? "Thanks. Although something tells me that I look even more ridiculous now." then she eyed him and added "But thank you for preserving my modesty."

"You're very welcome." Connor smiled awkwardly back and moved to the side of her. "I don't believe..." he murmured, his hand covering hers as he looked over where her arm was caught tight to her hair. "... it was your direct intent to come here for help in only a towel."

"Trust me," Maddie replied, "I'm not in the habit of it I can assure you." she smiled as she watched him up close.

He glanced down at her, and their eyes met. "I'll have to take your word for it." he shrugged teasingly, and returned to the bracelet. His smile lessened to a grimace as he realized it's clasp was buried deep into her hair. "How much does this bracelet mean to you?"

"Are you telling me that it's the bracelet or the hair?" Maddie looked forlorn.

"Well...I.." Connor stopped as he thought about it. It was obvious both hair and bracelet meant a great deal to her, and there had to be a way to separate them without damaging either one. An idea came to him. "Are you allergic to peanuts?" he asked.

"Huh?" Maddie looked confused before answering, "Uh...no, I'm not allergic to anything."

"Good..." Connor nodded, looking very intent as he walked away from her. He grabbed another stool, placed it down next to hers. Then walked to his bathroom, returned with a comb, and handed it to her before heading into the kitchen. A few moments later he returned holding a bottle of peanut oil in one hand and a towel over one shoulder.

"Okay....I have to ask." Maddie watched him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to oil up around your arm," he stated matter-of-factly as he straddled the stool he had placed beside her and sat down, " where the bracelet is tangled in your hair."

"Makes sense." Maddie replied as she watched him, his proximity a little disconcerting.

Giving her a half smile, Connor glanced at her briefly as he pulled the towel off his shoulder. He held it up underneath where her arm was caught in her hair, and then carefully poured a small amount of oil over the tangle. "Was the bracelet a gift?" he asked, watching the oil closely as it ran through the tangled hair, over the bracelet, over her arm, and he caught what dripped off her arm with the towel.

"Yes." Maddie replied as her mind briefly flitted to thoughts of the Trill who had stolen her heart but who she hadn't loved enough to stay with the Tomahawk.

Connor waited for her to continue, glancing back up at her again, and when she didn't, he looked away and reached over to to place the bottle of oil onto a nearby side table. "So who was it that gave it to you?" he asked quietly, holding his hand out for her to hand the comb over to him.

"Somebody that I cared about a lot but let down." Maddie replied, her eyes momentarily reflecting the pain she felt at the reminder.

Connor ended up looking downwards as her words knifed right through him, reminding him, with all the memories he had lost, of ones he would rather forget.


To Be Continued...