Breaking Bones

Chapter 15: A Personal Attack

"I hope so too. I'd really like a repeat of last night." Leonard matched Talia's smirk at her insinuation, dropping his PADD so he could gently hold her face close to his. 

"Oh really?" 

"Mm hmm." Talia leaned in to place a longer, more passionate kiss to Leonard's lips before suddenly pulling away again to find her shoes. Leonard groaned in irritation at Talia's teasing, scooting over to her side of the bed to place kisses to her neck while Tali attempted to put on her shoes and not cave to Leonard's advances. Talia's smile turned to giggles as Leonard worked an arm around her torso in an attempt to pull the woman further back on the bed, but Talia forced herself to remove Leonard's hands from her body and stand from the bed to put some distance between herself and her boyfriend. 

"I have to go. I love you. Be home when I get home okay?" 

"Yes ma'am." The sound of Leonard's southern accent peeking through as he said those words was almost enough for the woman to ditch her security assignment and climb back into bed with the love of her life, but she also couldn't give Leonard the satisfaction of winning this tease battle.

"Bye." Finally out of the bedroom, Ana could allow herself to breathe normally again and forced herself to remove all thoughts of Leonard in that bed from her head so that she could focus on the upcoming task at hand. 

Although Anatalia was running late, her team knew better than to do the same and were already at their stations surrounding the council room. Anatalia fell into step with Kenshi who had been waiting for her at the council room's entrance, a sly smirk on her face as they did pre-checks of the room before the admiral, captain, and commander's arrivals. 

"You're late." 

"Yeah, I know. I was at the gym, lost track of time." 

"Uh huh. Is that why you have a hickey the size of your thumb on your neck?" Immediately, Talia stopped dead in her tracks and moved to touch her neck, wincing slightly when a bit of pressure on one particular spot became too much. 

"Shit. I'm going to kill Bones. I really am late because of the gym. Leonard was just being a distraction while I was racing to get ready." 

"Mm hmm. I hear that's the story." 

"Shut up. Finish checking the room then tell Johnson when we're clear to admit the officers. We can't keep them waiting." 

"Yes ma'am." 

While Kenshi moved to the other side of the room running security checks, Ana ran to the glass covering one wall of the council room to check the ridiculous surprise Leonard had left for her. How he had managed to leave a hickey so big without Ana feeling it, she had no idea. Luckily Anatalia had decided to wear her formal security attire, meaning she had a collar that she could adjust to cover to majority of her neck. Pleased with the fix for the time being, Ana brought her attention back to the meeting at hand and stood at attention as the lead officers of Starfleet made their way into the council room. Admiral Marcus made his way over to Ana, extending his hand for a cordial handshake as he spoke. 

"Commander Tonks. Nice to finally meet you. I've heard good things from your mother. Thank you for taking this security detail so last minute." 

"An honor, sir. It was no trouble at all. I'm glad to know my team's reputation is making its way through the ranks." 

"Indeed it is. I should like to talk to you more in depth some time about your goals here at Starfleet. I think there are plenty of opportunities that could become available to you very soon." 

"Thank you, sir. I'd be thrilled." 

"Glad to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting started with the meeting."