Cousin Charlie (Part 11)
Spock pulled back from the kiss not sure exactly how much she expected from him. He was pleased with the sudden turn of events and the fact that Charlie was not the object of her affections felt somehow satisfactory.
"Lieutenant, I feel we should cease from this behavior for now. Your respiration has increased dramatically as well as your heart rate. You are also perspiring." He didn't tell her that his heart rate had also increased and that her quarters had somehow reached an uncomfortable temperature.
"Very well, Spock" she replied straightening her uniform. "When would you like to continue?"
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to enter into a romantic relationship?"
"Do you not find me attractive?" she responded.
"Affirmative" he murmured. "Your scent when aroused is quite intoxicating. I am finding it difficult to maintain my normal level of control."
Nyota leaned in to him. "Is that such a bad thing?"
"Only if we are on the bridge. However, I do not anticipate arousing you at that location."
Nyota chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."
Spock stared at her a moment. "You failed to answer my query. I must tell you that I do not enter into relationships lightly."
"Do you want me to be your woman, Spock?" she asked smiling.
"If you are speaking of a monogamous relationship, the answer is yes." he replied.
She slid over and climbed on his lap taking him totally by surprise.
"Let's seal it with a kiss" she said bringing her lips to his.
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Charlie left the captain and Spock and headed to Hailey's quarters. He was still trying to digest all he had just learned. He could not believe that Justine would show up after all this time! One thing Spock said that was correct. Desperate people did desperate things and he did not put anything past Justine!
He walked into her quarters and found her lounging on the sofa. He was relieved that Chekov wasn't there.
"Hailey, we need to talk." he said walking over to her.
She looked up from the PADD she was reading.
"Is this about Pavel?" she asked. "I am sure that the captain and your cousin probably gave you all sort of reasons for keeping me away from him."
She sat up on the sofa and faced him. "I might become a bad influence you know"
"This isn't about him" Charlie replied sitting close to her. "It's about your mother."
"What about her?" Hailey responded, her negative attitude apparent in her voice.
"Has she tried to contact you?"
"Hell, no!" Hailey snapped. "Why would she do that? I was never anything to her but a burden."
Charlie rubbed her hand that he was holding. "Look, lil' bit." he said using his pet name for her. "The Federation is apparently looking for her and she may be show up at our gig."
"Why would my mother show up to watch us perform? She's never cared before, Charlie! What you're telling me just doesn't make sense." Hailey jumped up off the sofa and began pacing.
"She may try to contact you." Charlie replied. He stood up and walked over to her.
"Why? Why would she do that? She hasn't tried to contact me before. I haven't seen her in years. Why now?" Hailey said looking at him. "I want the truth, Charlie! Don't lie to me!"
Charlie pulled her into his arms. "You know that I would never lie to you lil' bit. I found out today that you are not really twenty three...you're twenty eight. I guess your mother gave me a phony birth certificate."
Hailey looked confused. "Why would she do that? I mean, I thought that I'd finally closed that door. Now I find out that I'm not really twenty three."
She looked at him. "Who told you, Spock?"
He nodded. "It also appears that at twenty eight you come into an inheritance left to you by your father. Your mother failed to tell you that and she may try to get her hands on it."
"An inheritance? Are you sure? Why hasn't some lawyer tried to contact me then? This may be some trick." she replied.
"Maybe since you changed your name from Graham to Grayson, they couldn't find you" Charlie speculated. "I don't know how much it is, but I am sure we can do some checking with the help of the captain and Spock. Your mother knows that you are coming into this money. She may try to come to you with some sort of sob story."
Hailey rolled her eyes. "What story could she possibly come up with that would make me want to help her? I hope she doesn't show up. I'm not sure what I'd do once I saw her again. If she's that hard up, then maybe I'll just let her have the money! Maybe then she'd leave me alone."
Charlie shook his head. "Don't even entertain that thought. Your father left that money to you. He left her a tidy sum and she threw it all away. She's like a leech. No matter what you give her, she'll be back if she thinks she can get more."
Hailey sighed. "I guess you're right. Now I have to get used to being almost thirty? How could I not know that? I should have felt something."
"C'mon Hailey. You know that's crazy. You can't tell your age by your feelings." Charlie replied. "Besides, you'll only be twenty eight on your birthday. That's still quite young."
"How do I know my birthday is really my birthday?" she scoffed. "The way my mother changed my age, she could have changed my birthday too."
"Nope. June 10th is still your birthday. It seems that Spock had all of our records pulled."
Hailey lounged back on the sofa. "I'm going to rest awhile Charlie. I'm a little tired. All of this is going to take me a while to digest."
"Alright" he said walking to the door. "I'll talk to you later"
Hailey didn't reply and he hoped that Justine would stay away and not cause them anymore heartache.
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The tall well dressed blond woman walked up to the hotel desk to check into her room. Alpha Seti I was known for being a resort planet. The weather was warm and the sky was an aqua blue. The water was a deep green with yellow sandy beaches.
She looked around the lobby and saw the man she was looking for. He was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs. She walked over to him.
"Do you have what I requested?"
"Do you have the credits?" he responded.
She nodded and handed him a computer chip. He reached in his pocked and pulled out a small PADD.
"They are on the starship Enterprise. They should be arriving here tomorrow at approximately ll00 hours."
"Very good" she said and turned and walked away.
Justine took the information and returned to her room. It had been eleven years since she had seen her daughter. Damn Charles Grayson! He had probably poisoned Hailey against her! After all, she was still her mother. She had done what she had to do. They did have to eat after all!
She began reading the PADD. So, she now sang in the band with Charlie. It figures! She scanned the information. She was sure that Hailey had no idea of the amount of money she was worth. Her father had left her three million credits. It had been accruing interest all these years. There was no telling how much it was worth now.
She fell back on the bed. She had spent the last of her money on this suite. Justine had expensive tastes. She needed that money! She deserved it. True, she received four million credits from her late husband Hailman's estate, but she had fell on hard times and had made some risky investments. Before she knew it, the money was gone. True, she had her dirty little habit...but hey no one was perfect!
She got up off the bed and stared at herself in the mirror. She was still a beautiful woman. She still had her looks and figure. Hailey looked like her father. What a pity. Justine had married him for his money. The fact that he was a Starfleet officer was an added bonus. He was gone a lot and she used that time to find other men to keep her company. She smiled at her reflection.
She had to talk to Hailey away from Charles Grayson! She knew that she could win her over if she just had the time. Their life hadn't been that bad after all. Other kids would give their right arms not to have to go to school. The sex wasn't so bad either. True she had cried like a baby that first time, but she had explained to her that the first time was always a little rough. She frowned at her reflection as she remembered how she had to smack Hailey's face when she became hysterical.
"Please, momma. I don't want to do it." Hailey whimpered.
"You will do what you're told" Justine snapped. "We have to eat!"
"But-"
"No butts, young lady."
Justine began to brush her hair. Hailey was always a whiner. She bet that for all his phony disgust with what she had done, Charlie Grayson was most likely screwing Hailey himself!
Well, she'd know that too soon enough. Nothing was going to stop her from getting that money. She deserved it. Hailey didn't need it.
She still had a little business to attend to. She still had information to sell and she had just received contact from a very promising buyer. Those credits should tide her over for another couple of months.
She smiled again at her reflection. Yes, Justine Graham always knew how to get her way.
