Homecoming

Posted on Mon Aug 18th, 2025 @ 12:43am by Lieutenant Commander Darrod Hanous & Chief Petty Officer Meredith Corden
Edited on on Wed Sep 3rd, 2025 @ 8:53am

1,144 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 6: Echoes of the Interphase
Timeline: M6 MD01 (2268.10.02) 0900

The foot traffic was brisk at the transport hub that covered Maryland, Virginia, Columbia, and Delaware. People were beaming onto the transport pads from ships in orbit and other locations around the world. They were also embarking and disembarking on trains and shuttles. For most people, these things were still at least somewhat centralized. Site-to-site transports were not casually used by the average civilian. Meredith and Darrod, of course, could have simply asked the transporter technician on duty to beam them directly to her parents home, but there was something about coming in the normal way that appealed to Meredith. She liked to see that shimmering blue Earth, half in shadow, slowly rise up to become the solid ground of home.

Meredith held Darrod's hand as she stepped out of the shuttle. She was in civilian clothing, her green dress actually a good deal more modest than her usual duty uniform. Other people passed by. They came from all over Earth and the Federation, but there was something of a local feel even here. Unlike Paris or San Francisco, this wasn't the home of any great central institutions. That didn't mean people from all over couldn't get a taste of home here. Meredith smiled when she saw an Andorian restaurant right next to a place advertising Maryland crab.

She considered for a moment. "My family is supposed to meet us in Baltimore for dinner. Do you want to grab lunch here or go ahead and take the rail?"

Darrod was also dressed in civilian clothing, a basic suit that any Starfleet officer would recognize immediately as coming from a shipboard tailor just from the cut. But he was comfortable in it, and the outfit looked decent on him too. The Delmarva station wasn't somewhere he knew well, but transit hubs were relatively interchangeable by design. Only the flair was different, but functionally there was no difference between this station and Starbase. "I could certainly do lunch here. The rail is fast enough that we could get there easily between lunch and dinner. Probably with some sightseeing."

"I do want to show you around," Meredith said. "But also..." Meredith hesitated a moment and then said something that was obviously not what she originally meant to say. "I know these places are almost interchangeable but some of the foods local. Still, it might be better to eat somewhere with a harbor view. Unless you're really hungry?"

Dar thought for a moment and reached out for Meredith's hand. "A harbor view sounds great, especially with you." He smiled, and his demeanor shifted slightly - rather than focusing on moving through the liminal space of the transit hub or reaching a destination out of public access. He was focused on her now. Old habits died hard - crowds and large places like this left him mildly unnerved, a response to past trauma. But in this moment, he realized something - he wanted better than that for himself and the people around him - not just materially better like a career or a place in the galaxy, but better for himself internally as well. "I want to see your home, with you. Because every time you talk about this area, your eyes light up and you're happy. And I want to see with my own eyes everything that makes you so happy."

Meredith paused, looking Darrod in the eyes. In a space like this, they were in danger of being bumped into, but he had her full attention. "I want to make a home with you," Meredith said and then looked away, her cheeks coloring. That had just sort of slipped out. "But, uh," she bit her lower lip. "One thing at a time, right?"

Dar cleared his throat quietly, but didn't argue. He looked at her and smiled. "Agreed. Whether it's on a planet or a ship." He reached out and took her hand. "Yeah, one thing at a time. Right now, I think the thing is getting to the harbor and being together outside of this place."

Meredith squeezed his hand. "Agreed," she said. She walked with him towards the rail. She was smiling but also still blushing. She had said more than she had planned to, but it was obviously what she was feeling and thinking.

The trip to the train was pretty quick, though Dar didn't turn away from Meredith for a moment. When they were finally on the train back to her home."I'm looking forward to seeing your home for real, and meeting your family."

"I love you," was all Meredith said in return. She squeezed his hand. She looked up at him and then she looked out the window, thoughtful for the moment. Soon enough, they arrived and stepped off of the rail. An older man and woman and a man a few years younger than Meredith were waiting and she headed right for them.

Darrod blushed at her with a smile, and spoke quietly. "I love you too." He wasn't really accustomed to a relationship like this, or feeling that he could have something longterm - but Meredith had changed that. He walked with her toward the people he thought were Meredith's family.

Meredith walked with him to her family. She hugged her parents and her brother. "Everybody, this is Darrod, he's my..." She struggled for a word. She should have thought of this earlier. Boyfriend sounded so teenage. They weren't officially engaged as yet. Lover was not something she could say in front of her parents. "This is Darrod. I'm really serious about him. Darrod, these are my parents and this is my brother, Owen."

Everyone reached out to shake Darrod's hand. Her father gave his name as Timothy and her mother as Emily. Meredith was beaming. She placed a hand on Darrod's back.

Darrod smiled and shook hands with each of them, obviously trying to manage feeling totally safe with Meredith and simultaneously feeling wholly uncomfortable with the public reality of the relationship. He was comfortable with publicly declaring how he felt, of course. But doing that here meant people would want to know about him. And there was only so much he was comfortable sharing. So far they weren't racist against him, but that could change quickly, based on his experience.

"Let's get some food. It's been a long trip," Meredith volunteered, not breaking contact with Darrod as they headed for what had apparently been her favorite seafood place. Her family did indeed buzz with small talk around them. No one called attention to the fact that they were a mixed couple. At least not as far as sentient species was concerned. However, her family did seem surprised she had brought home an officer. As the talk surrounded them, Meredith slipped her hand down to rest once more in his. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

 

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