Christmas Morning: Char & Kasper

Posted on Sat Jan 18th, 2025 @ 4:31am by Ensign Charlotte Dawes & Lieutenant JG Kasper Andersen M.D

1,155 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Happy Holidays
Location: Charlotte's Quarters
Timeline: Christmas Day

Meanwhile, Kasper walked up to Charlotte's quarters, pressed the chime and waited patiently for her to answer. He was late, again, but he had good reason for it: he was picking up her Christmas present. He felt like it was going to be a bit awkward with all four of them in the same quarters, but hopefully it would only be for a short time before they left Eirly and Malcolm to it.

Charlotte heard the chime to her quarters, and spoke into the holoscreen where she had been catching up with her brother and her mom for the last hour. "Okay, Mom, Dom. Gotta go. Merry Christmas again. I love you guys. I'll send you a note later this week."

"Okay, honey. I love you. Call me later if you get bored, or lonely or anything. You know you can call me anytime. I'm glad you have plans today, sweetheart," Charlotte's mom said over the screen. Her mom's graying hair was pulled back and she had a lab coat on over her Starfleet uniform.

"Bye sis. I love you. Take care of yourself," Her brother said nonchalantly. Charlotte threw her hand up in a little wave as she turned off the connection leaving the two to talk to one another.

"Come in," Charlotte called finally, she stood up and went to the kitchenette as the door opened. "I made a little fruit and cheese plate. Do you think it's alright?" She asked Kasper.

She'd worn an emerald green cowl-necked sweater dress that hit just above her knees, with black tights and tan boots. Her blonde hair was pulled back loosely from her face.

"Apples, grapes, some cheese, and nuts, cranberries. I wanted to do something, but didn't want to seem too much. I know your sister likes to cook and such. I didn't want to seem like I was showing her up, but I didn't want to come empty handed either. Do you think it's okay?" She asked again.

"You look amazing," Kasper grinned as he walked in and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before going to sit down. It felt like his right thigh was on fire and he didn't know why. "And I promise it'll be fine. My sister bakes and it's amazing, but her standard cooking isn't the greatest, so she's definitely going to appreciate you bringing it."

He pulled the small rectangle box out of his jacket pocket and turned it in his hands as he looked at it, before he looked at Charlotte, "I, uh, got you a Christmas present. It's nothing too fancy but I saw it and thought you'd like it. It's up to you when you want to open it too."

Charlotte blushed. "Oh, you didn't have to do that. I didn't think we were doing presents. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything," she said sheepishly as she took the box. "Um, should I open it now, or are we late?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it," Kasper replied with a wave of his hand as the other one rubbed his thigh and he winced at the pain that shot through him, "I'm pretty sure she said ten, so we've got plenty of time. Like I said, it's up to you if you want to open it now or later or even in private by yourself, doesn't worry me."

"Well, it'll just take a minute." Charlotte shuffled over to the small couch that she had in her simple quarters and opened the box to see an ornate charm of a daisy on a simple chain. "Oh, it's really pretty. Thank you, Kasper. That was sweet. I can wear it today."

She carefully took the necklace out of the box and worked the clasp so that she could put it around her neck. The necklace was mostly hidden by her sweater, but at the right angle, you could see the charm hitting near her clavicle.

"Like it?" She asked, smoothing the neckline of her dress down so he could see.

"It looks beautiful on you," he replied and moved from where he was sitting to in front of her, "Do you mind?" A small nod from Charlotte and Kasper reached out and proceeded to gently move the clasp around the back of her neck, "Now it looks perfect." With a smile, he took a step back and looked between her and the necklace, "I, uh, daisies are my favourite flower and it made me think of you when I saw it, so I had to buy it."

"I'm ready whenever you are, by the way," Kasper added, "Or we can just skip it. Completely your choice."

"Skip your sister's? She is expecting you. You can't bail on her," Charlotte replied.

"Okay, fine," Kasper whined and rolled his eyes, "Then we stay for a little while and then go and do our own thing, yeah?"

Charlotte shook her head. "I have my thing with my friends later. I told you that you are welcome to join us." She gave him a questioning look. "Remember?"

"You know what I meant, I'm not that forgetful," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and looked at her, "If you're still willing to have me after this thing with my sister, then I'll be happy to join you and your friends." Realising he just made the wrong move, he took the move back, coughed and slowly walked with a limp towards the door.

Charlotte gave Kasper an eye roll of her own and walked over to pick up the fruit and cheese tray. "Is it time to go?"

He nodded in reply, "It's been time to go for a while now. Like I said, I'm ready whenever you are."

"Okay then." Carrying the tray she went to the door and walked through it as it opened for her. "Hopefully we aren't too late."

"Welcome to my world, you should just expect that I'll be late," Kasper followed her out the door and down the corridor toward the turbolift.

"You should really work on that. Some people might consider it a character flaw," Charlotte teased as the two got onto the turbolift.

"Some might consider it endearing," Kasper teased back with a massive grin on his face as the turbolift stopped on the correct deck and they stepped out, making their way to his sister's.

"Let me know when you find that someone," she retorted dryly. She was carrying the fruit and cheese tray with both hands or she might have slapped him on the arm.

Kasper just smiled at her as he tapped the chime on Eirly's door and then walked inside. Charlotte stood in the doorframe, unsure of whether to follow him. It seemed weird to step into someone's quarters without an invitation. She knew they were siblings, and he probably did that often. But she didn't know Eirly like that.

~tbc~

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