Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, "Love Is Many Stars" 11/11
We're following the Ellie Doall/Todd Ahndmor romance in my SFF/Star Trekish parody. This episode is more romance than adventure.
Time to say “good-bye” to Todd as he heads home and the Impulsive heads to new adventures, but don’t worry! There are more Toddlie tales to come.
This section is a little choppy because there are several good-bye scenes. You can find this story in its entirety in Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 4.
Misha looked up from a plant she was misting and smiled at Ellie and Todd as they entered the botany ward. “Hey, you two! Where were you last night? Never mind! I don’t need to know. You missed a lot of fun, though. Gel is a weirdly good dancer.”
Ellie smiled, “So you made up?”
Misha held up both hands to forestall any jumped conclusions. “We’re just friends, El. That’s all we ever were and all we’ll ever be. Neither of us is into that level of species variance. What brings you here? Fyodor said you put him in charge of preparations. He’s so bossy.”
“Todd has a little brother who’s interested in botany, and he wants to bring him home something special. I thought maybe…?”
“Hmm.” Misha frowned. “How interested is he?”
Soon Misha had gifted him with a small pot holding the cutting of a Primeval Hisser of Juras 2. The thick-leaved plant earned its name because it responded to sudden, near movement by rearing back and hissing. “It’s completely harmless, but it looks cool,” Misha reassured him. Plus, it pulled moisture and nutrients from the air, making it easy to care for.
“But if your brother follows the instructions, this little cutting will be ready to bloom just about the time he’s going to want to impress girls,” Misha concluded.
“What’s next?” Ellie asked.
“I’m getting Raela candy that’s spun in vacuum, but I’ll do that tomorrow.”
They entered the lazivator, where they had spent many joyful minutes, talking, holding hands on the sly, and a time—or twenty—stopping it altogether for a real kiss. He was going to miss that lazivator.
Ellie broke his thoughts. “What about your parents? Don’t they get anything?”
“I was thinking about that,” he said, which was a complete lie. His mouth was moving on automatic, while a tiny part of his superego was shouting, “Don’t do it! Think about what the captain said! It’s too soon!”
But Ellie was there, and she was so wonderful, and his heart was so full. The words tumbled out.
“I thought, maybe, they’d like a future daughter-in-law?”
Her eyes got wide. “Pulsie! Stop the lazivator!” She set her hands over his. “Toddy, are you sure? I mean, there’s so much we don’t know about each other, and so much to consider…”
Of course, she’d be thinking that. Could she be any more perfect? “I don’t care. I know we’ll make it work. I love you.”
“I love you, too. And yes, omigosh, yes. I’ll marry you.”
* * *
The reception area for the airlock was filled with people saying, “Goodbye.”
Gel was getting some last-minute ribbing from his old coworkers about his new officer status. He didn’t mind. He was too proud. Besides, he didn’t have ribs—but he did have a bright future.
Leslie was making her farewells to more than a few new friends. Later that evening, there would be a couple of barfights as those who thought they had an exclusive learned the hard way that Leslie was glad to share.
Gloria Joy tried to tickle her brother into giggling. Dolfrick stoically refused, but he did give her a big hug.
Ellie and Todd kissed and kissed and in between kisses, talked over each other.
“So you find out your mom’s delivery schedule—”
-kiss-
“There has to be a time when your parents can get away.”
-kiss-
“They’ll drop everything. I’ll make them. I have an in with DipCorps after the KeepOut incident.”
-kiss-
“I love you!”
“I love you more!”
“I love you, forever!”
“I love you many stars…”
A few paces away, Jeb, Phineas, and Katika watched with bemused expressions.
“How long have they been together?” Kat asked.
“Five days,” Jeb answered. He’d never admit it, but he thought they were cuter than prairie dogs rubbing noses.
Captain’s Log, Intergalactic Date 676959.34
All systems are running green, and that applies to my crew as well as my ship. It’s a nice feeling. We didn’t get to spend as much time on station as I’d like, but the time we had was well spent. We got a lot done and managed to make some fond memories and new relationships to carry us on our next big adventure.