My Pillar of Strength

Posted on 17 Jun 2021 @ 2:57pm by Lieutenant Alexandra Dering & Lieutenant Cole Dering M.D., M.S.
Edited on on 17 Jun 2021 @ 3:25pm

2,494 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Home
Location: The Dering's Quarters
Timeline: Slight backpost

It was late when Cole entered his and Lexi's quarters and after asking for low illumination, placed both their dinners on the coffee table that sat before their sofa.

"Lexi," he called out as he went into the bedroom and wasn't surprised to discover she wasn't there. He went over to some shelving and lit a few candles, deciding afterward to place one in the center of the table. Satisfied, he headed to the bathroom for a shower, hopefully, to start releasing the tension he'd been feeling throughout the day.

It had been a long but productive day. Lexi had gotten a good bit of work on the ship done as well as working with Kat on some designs that would, hopefully, allow her to fly one of the Valkyrie fighters. She was happy with her day, but she was even happier to be home. She was already taking her hair out of the braid as she entered the quarters she shared with her husband.

The doors closed, and she started to call for the lights but stopped when something caught her attention. The first thing was the scent of Egyptian Musk. Her eyes closed, and she stood for a moment, simply taking in the sent before her well-trained brain reminded her that this was not normal. She opened her eyes and looked around the room, quickly noting the candles -- that was the source of the scent, and she made a mental note to reward Cole for that later -- and the heated dishes on the coffee table.

"You always know just the right thing, Love," she murmured as she registered the shower and headed to the bedroom to finish her own undressing. She then stealthed through the bathroom and slipped into the shower behind her far-too-handsome-for-her-good husband. Sliding her arms around him from behind, she murmured, "Hello, my Love." Dinner would wait; those dishes were heated.

He smiled, feeling her soft breast pressing against his back and her hands sliding over his skin. "Your timing is perfect, well, assuming this is Lexi," he managed to tease.

Lexi's eyes glittered with an evil glint, though he would not see it. Her voice took on a playfully reproaching tone. "And who the hell else would be in our shower, Cole Dering?" she challenged, though her tone was far from convincingly angry. The hint of amusement could be heard in it. She was totally playing with him.

Cole inwardly chuckled and pulled away only enough to be able to turn around, returning to their bodies touching. He placed his arms around her, looking at her lips intently. "Nobody," he said before capturing them into a sensual kiss.

She must definitely have caught him off guard, she thought. He was usually more witty than that. But she was definitely not complaining either as she returned his kiss, melding her body against his, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers, the thumping of their hearts beating in time with one another, the exhilarating electric thrill that went through her every time they were close like this, every time he touched her. She held the kiss for a long moment before pulling her face back just enough to look up into his beautiful blue eyes. "Just like you to not play fair," she teased lightly before kissing him deeply once more.

Normally, that would have been all it would have taken for him to back her up against the shower wall, lifting her up so she would wrap her legs around him, positioning himself for them to start making love. Instead, as the second kiss ended, he ran one hand up her back, placing his forehead against hers. With the water cascading down between them, he just closed his eyes and held her there.

For Lexi, these interactions were more about connection than anything else, so this was just fine with her. She rested her forehead against his in return, eyes closing for a moment to just absorb the moment. After a moment, she looked up again. "We really should either shower or get out," she said with a playful smile. "I'm sure the captain would be thrilled with us wasting water, after all."

Absorbing the closeness, Cole grinned, inwardly laughing. "Yeah, I suppose. Though I don't consider this wasting water." He then held onto her face and gave her another kiss. "So... who washes who first?"

"Well, I don't either, but the captain may not share our view," she said with a chuckle. The kiss took her breath -- it always did -- for a moment. When she could speak again, she ran one hand over his chest. "You were here first," she said, taking the wash cloth and soaping it up preparatory to washing her husband... thoroughly.

Taking in his own needed deep breath, he smiled, never taking his eyes off her face. "Well then, I'm all yours to do as you please. But be gentle, save the rough stuff for later." Then he grinned.

Lexi smirked. "Promises..." She began a thorough -- very thorough -- washing of her husband's gorgeous body, taking time to not only make sure that body was clean but also to appreciate it as she did every time she had the chance, clothed or not. No spot was left unwashed or unappreciated. Then she handed him the cloth. "And now, your turn, my Love," she purred up at him.

Taking the washcloth, he added more body wash and began to wash her, all the curves and soft touches of her womanly form that never ceased to be the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He started with her shoulders and gently trailed down her arms, then to her breast, appreciating every aspect of them before moving down to her stomach and hips, and looking upwards to enjoy the look of contentment on her face.

Contentment was just the beginning. She couldn't help but to be aroused by his gentle touch, not just because of the nature of the touch, but because it was him touching her. She smiled down at him, running her fingers gently through his hair. He never ceased to amaze her with his warmth, gentleness and love. When he finished and stood once more, she took him into another kiss. "Now, what do you say we go and eat that meal you were so kind to make, hm?" Her eyes glittered with happiness. He was just the perfect man for her!

"Hmmm," he looked as if he was contemplating before placing his mouth on her stomach, where he started slowly kissing his way up. After taking a turn with each nipple, he moved up to her neck, wrapping his hands in her hair before pulling back only enough to look into her eyes. His own sign of arousal pressing into her, he lifted an eyebrow, "How about Dessert first?"

"Any time, my Love..." she murmured in an almost purring quality, reaching to run her hands over the parts of his body she could reach without moving. "You're wicked, and I love it!" She then kissed him again, pressing her body against his, wanting to feel every inch of him with every inch of her. Well, they would be wicked together!

Cole grinned into the kiss and with his hands feeling their way down her body, it wasn't long before he was lifting her up against the shower wall.

Lexi did not mind that one bit. She loved his take-charge manner in this regard. Instead, she simply lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, using them to pull him even closer. One hand tangled itself in his hair while the other slid down his chest then around his waist, the fingers touching lightly, teasing his flesh as they passed over it. It was an invitation, a calling, a demand even, for more, for deeper.

He groaned at her touch, wanting her so bad, but not against the hard shower wall. Not this time. He pulled away, but only enough to swoop her into his arms, and then he carried her away to their bed.

*** Some time later ***

Lexi lay beside her husband, head rested against his chest, fingers tracing over the muscles there. As always, she was completely satisfied and content. Had she been a cat, she would have been lazily purring. She raised her head, looking up into his eyes. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" she asked fairly rhetorically since she knew she told him a lot. But it was a way of telling him again.

Feeling relaxed for the first time that day, he gave her a smile in return. Then his eyes seemed to look her over intently. He reached over to caress the side of her face, "Have I told you how lucky I am to have you?" She was the one constant he felt he could hang on to.

Lexi raised up onto her elbow, looking down into her husband's eyes. There was something underlying his tone, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She smiled lovingly down at him, leaning over and placing a soft kiss to his lips before speaking. "I think I'm the lucky one," she corrected with a chuckle. Then she let her expression become serious for a moment. "But there's something you're not saying, my Love. What is it?" Her tone and expression, while serious, were concerned. If there was something wrong, she wanted to know so that she could help him... if she could. And if she was misreading him, then that was even better. In a way, she hoped she was. But she had gotten quite adept at interpreting Cole Dering over the course of their marriage, so she doubted it.

As she spoke, he only stared at her. A bit of guilt coming over him, he averted his eyes, momentarily looking downwards. "I umm..." he looked back up to her, finding it harder than he had imagined. She was worried and he hated placing her there. "I resigned from my position today. I know I told both you and Brady that I would take more time to think about it, but I..." He frowned. "I'm sorry."

If she was honest with herself, Lexi would have to admit that she was a bit stunned. He had said he would think about it, and so she had expected more time to elapse before a decision. But she also could not deny the toll this job had taken on him, the stress she'd seen in him and how it had grown exponentially the longer he held that job. She had not been able to help him either, which had felt to her like she was failing him as a wife. Yet now, she did not see the stress, but she saw the truth of the apology.

Leaning over, she kissed him softly, placing her free hand against his cheek. "For what, Love? You've done nothing to be sorry for," she consoled gently. "I get it. This job stressed you right the hell out, and you needed to step away. You needed to do what was best for you, and I get that completely." And she did too.

Listening to her, he studied her face before placing his hand over hers. "I put us at risk, Lexi. It was selfish of me."

Lexi frowned, brow furrowing in confusion. "How did you put us at risk, Love?" She didn't understand. Was he talking about now, about quitting? Or was he talking about before, giving her his reason for quitting? Either way, she didn't see how he had put anyone at risk. Was there something she didn't know?

"I could have ended up reassigned to another ship," he replied and then moved away to sit up along the side of the bed. His back to her, he continued, "It's only because of the medical research head's resigning that I still have a position here."

Lexi sat up and slid over on the bed so that she was right behind him. She put her legs to either side of him and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. She could feel the guilt he was heaping on himself over all of this, could hear it in his voice. She hated that he was hurting so much about this, but she understood what he was saying now. But how could she help him? The words themselves were true; Starfleet did have a tendency to split up families; it was one of their more annoying qualities. But the situation wasn't ever as simple as that. He knew this as well as she did, but he was already feeling bad about doing this without telling her until it was done; she suspected this was just an extension of that.

Turning her head slightly, she kissed his neck softly. "Maybe, but I could have simply followed you too, Love. Every ship needs Engineers. You really think I'm just going to stand by and let them take us apart?" she asked softly, reminding him gently of how much she loved him and what she would do to stay with him. And Starfleet could just like it or kiss her butt; it was that simple to her.

He had to smile at that, turning his head in her direction. "You're so tough, Lexi." And she always seemed to have the right words to say to make him think when he was in a state like he was now. He breathed in deep, closing his eyes, before admitting, "I just need to pull myself together...and I will."

Lexi closed her arms around him tighter in a gentle squeeze. He was stronger than he thought, better than he thought. "I know you will, Love," she encouraged in a tone that was pure love and surety. "You're too hard on yourself, you know?" Another soft kiss. "You're very strong, at least as strong as me. You're just harder on yourself, push yourself too hard, expect too much of yourself."

He leaned into the kiss and was quiet as he thought about her words. "I don't know...maybe," he said, feeling uncertain about it all, and decided to change the subject instead, for the moment anyhow. There was more he needed to tell her. "How about we eat our dinners?" he smiled, looking more towards her.

Avoidance, she thought to herself. But who could blame him really. She didn't. So she let him have that small avoidance and smiled. She was about to say something when her stomach entered its vote. She laughed softly and lightly smacked it. "Hush, you!" she said with humor before looking back to Cole. "I guess the majority wins." She kissed him softly once more then slithered out of the bed to find her robe.

 

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