Meat Cute?

[Angel Ryder]

"Yeah, most of my peers that I would have graduated with... died in the Borg Wars." Angel said with a sigh. "I'm hopeful that the timeline changes that Cece and our kids did averted the disastrous future they came from. Imperium is not what it was. Earth is actually rebuilding toward something far less fascist. You and dad still have some semblance of sanity." she chuckled lightly. "Although dad will be the first to say 'Ah but AM I actually sane?'." she watched as little Ethan and Seraphina were eating. "I kind of hope those two don't have to grow up as quickly as we did. You already look more relaxed than I think I've ever really seen you. Told you this place is relaxing. Even with little kids around."

[Rebecca Talon]

"It's a different kind of stress," Rebecca said.

[Nick Ryder]

"Mommy stress is way better than 'holy crud stuff is blowing up!' stress." Nick said as he knocked on the kitchen door. "Knock knock... hey Becca, Angel... sorry to butt in. Nathan comm'd said they had some pirates raiding one of the colonies outside the system, should back sooner than he planned, maybe in a day or so once they sort it out."

"At least it's out of the system this time." Angel said and gave him a smile. "You have another reason for just popping in unannounced, don't you?"

"Yeah... kinda." Nick said as he looked down. "I... kinda locked myself out and Alice and Gale are out of town for that play she and some of the office gals from the Compound wanted to take them to see. I was changing the locks and security systems on the new loft, but I left my keycard inside the loft..."

"Again?" Angel rolled her eyes and walked over to a cookie jar and pulled out a plastic envelope. "You couldn't just beam in?"

"System's set up to block transports in and out unless it's me and I've got the fob on me... which I didn't take." Nick winced.

"God, you're so you sometimes it's painful. Here..." Angel handed her the backup 'master' key card. "I want it back dad. For next time you do that."

"I'll have it in your box tonight." he said and took a seat at the table. "Course I may as well spend a little time with my granddaughter and my best friend's kids. Ethan seems to get taller every time I see him."

"Because he's a growin' boy grampy Nick!" Seraphina said with a big grin and a mouthful of mac and cheese.

"Don't talk with your mouthful sweetie." Angel shook her head and chuckled. "Oh that's something you told me a million times."

"Told you, what goes around comes around." Nick chuckled and looked at Kim. "And you are certainly getting to be part of the family. Is it me or is her hair redder than last time?"

"I helped her color it!" Seraphina said with a bright smile. "It's just nano bot injections Grampy Nick. Not that hard."

Nick gave Becca a look. "And I'm pretty sure neither of you asked her mom if it was cool, huh?"

"Easier to ask forgiveness than permission." Seraphina replied simply.

"Wow... heh... Angel, this is so your daughter. Oh you are so in such trouble when she gets older." Nick shook his head and closed his eyes. "And she talks her way out of getting into trouble so easily... she'd be a great lawyer... or diplomat."

[Rebecca Talon]

"Whatever Angel's kid does I'm sure she'll excell at it," Rebecca said. "By the way, you may not need the key card for much longer. I've been tinkering with a biometric lock that utilizes a quantum scan to match our quantum resonance. We can be the key again, and Dominus or Bellatrix can't just pop in because their quantum signature doesn't match our own."

[Nick Ryder]

"That'll be helpful. I don't want Dominus coming into my home." Nick said as he stole a sip from his daughter's mug, much in the same way she used to do with his. "Not that I'm worried he'd hurt Alice, I'm more worried she'd burn the damn place down. She's more powerful than I am with the pyrokinetics. Always was, I mean, when we met she used to keep her clothes and anything she didn't want melted or burnt in her kitchenette. Wasn't until I introduced her to the fibers that I use for my own clothes and beddings and such that she could actually live like a normal person. Course, her heat conversion abilities were the basis for our power core system. As long as there's any kind of thermal energy, even its own, it'll power it up. Seems to be working great on the Kitea."

"Yeah, we hardly ever have to switch to traditional fuel sources." Angel nodded her head. "Powered the cyro stasis chambers I spent decades in. Which by the way, I do not regret in the least."

"So I was right, neither of us aged much huh?" Nick chuckled.

"You're right." Angel nodded her head. "Although Becca has a few more stress lines, but honestly... you both do not look like anyone that's lived as long as you do, even with the age regression thing."

"Which Becca missed out on. Although that field still exists around here, I just keep a warning buoy to keep ships out of it and when we built SB Byron, kept it out of its path. Still... ever want to relive your teenage years, pop in there for a few minutes." Nick said with a smirk. "I don't entirely recommend it, puberty was a bitch for me."

"I remember when Noella mauled you that was hilarious, back when she was still all snarky and jealous of you being with anyone and wanted to try for a second go." Angel rolled her eyes. "Of course Uncle Tony was kinda hot when he was younger."

"Yeah... which is why he's got more ex-wives than I do. I think he's up to like six. Maybe seven. Vegas and Risa weddings." Nick rolled his eyes. "Shocked you and he didn't hook up at least once Becca. Although I think when you first met him, he was with that one blonde... Candy Barr I think her name was. Seriously... half the profits from B.E.C.K.I 1.1 went to her."

[Rebecca Talon]

"I really wasn't interested," Rebecca said flatly. "Too much of Nick Ryder in him." She winked at Nick. "Let's just say Tony and I would be like my deuterium to his antideuterium."

[Nick Ryder]

"Yeah I can see that. He'd probably be with some other girl after your first date. I'm shocked that in all the time he's been in charge of the DoD he hasn't had any of his ex's come beating his door down. That I know of at least." Nick said with a chuckle. "Oh by the way... since you've been noticeably away from the Fleet for a while, our corporate contractors have been bugging me to bug you about working for them. Boeing kinda wants you bad." he handed her his comm. "Look at how many damn times they call."

[Angel Ryder]

"Wow..." Angel glanced at the communicator in between bites. "Interesting. So dad... considering I am going to take some extended leave. I'll be a bit more free to take on some other projects. I think what I need is to be creative and not just part time, I need a good meaty project to sink my teeth into that'll challenge me. More than the new Naval uniforms. I fudged the time I spent on them by a lot... I've got about twenty years of new uniform designs in my portfolio."

"I always figured as much." Nick deadpanned. "But hey it still took time and creative juice, that's worth something. Seriously though Becca, there is a literal world of things you can do out there. Or to steal that Winnie the Pooh line, 'sometimes doing nothing leads to the best something.' I had some of my best ideas while I was playing with the kids. Or just laying on the beach with a rum and Coke."

"I've already been turning our Becca into a beach bum. We're going to get some color in her yet." Angel said and sighed as she glanced at her daughter. "It's kind of nice just spending time watching them grow up. I feel like they're getting older before my eyes and I'm missing it."

"Trinity, the big one..." Nick chuckled as the little one popped her head up. "Always told me that she felt bad for whatever made you the cold, harsh, woman you became in her time."

"That's weighing heavily on me." Angel replied softly. "I don't want to be that person and yet I felt like I was. I can't let Dominus or his threat take away what matters most. That's why I took leave, not simply because I was pregnant or injured, because that never really stopped me from being 'on duty'. Honestly I need to be the woman that Dylan knew back on the Mata Hari, I had a nice work life balance, I was happy, I got my rep as being 'chronically perky' there. For the past year or so, the perky has been an act. I need to get that old energy back. Because I feel like I could solve problems more effectively, not just react, but actually solve them. I want my daughter to actually know the real me. And... I want to have another while I still can. Nathan's family was always hoping for a son out of us, since he's one of the few remaining Morrises."

"I can understand that." Nick chuckled lightly. "You sure you want to go through pregnancy again? You dodged the twins that time around."

"Kinda hoping for twins honestly... at least Trin... Seraphina is getting old enough that she can be the 'good big sister'. Sort of like I was with Marcus and Jack." Angel rolled her eyes. "And Olivia was the evil twin that got them into trouble."

"And Olivia called you the evil twin because you never let them get into as much trouble as they wanted. 'Captain Buzzkill' I recall being your nickname." Nick teased.

"Oh I kicked her tiny ass for that. Wonder what Aimee's Olivia will be like... well that's the first one of our family to name someone after the family." Angel gave Becca a wink. "I did seriously consider naming Trinity 'Trinity Rebecca' but it didn't quite flow as well. Maybe the next one."

[Rebecca Talon]

Rebecca snorted, "I'm a ginger. I have two colors: white, and sunburn red, and we met my granddaughter remember? She seemed like a smart young woman, and thankfully less angry than her mothercat her age. Now, Trinity's and Ethan's kids. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be wild as jackrabbits."

[Angel Ryder]

"Yeah that I entirely see." Angel agreed. "She's half me remember? Wild yes, but angry I sure hope not. I just hope they don't have the same problems Marcus did. Even as a kid he was a handful. As an adult, he didn't know if he wanted to be in charge, following or just alone. Can't say I blame him entirely, he and mom fought like crazy. He and dad didn't always get along."

"That is true." Nick sighed. "I always knew he had more in him, but he didn't want to be 'more' he just wanted to be. I mean... you and Olivia were geniuses, Jack... even more of a genius and Marcus, had the brains, had the book smarts and street smarts, but he flunked out, he got into fights, he knocked up Kirby when they were still in high school and then dropped out and joined a biker gang... ahem... motorcycle club."

"There are days when I do wish I could go back and set him on a different path and... I kind of tried, but it didn't work. Didn't help, didn't hurt. So... as much as it pained me, it was all meant to be. He gave us Zeke. Now look at what those two are doing... running Xenex and the XDF.Iljuna works in mysterious ways." Angel said and closed her eyes. "I've been trying to open myself more to it, trying to understand it if that's possible. I'm an engineer too so I like solid facts and figures and answers, but I'm also an artist and I don't need solid facts and figures, emotion and style and flow matter. Which the iljuna is."