We Should Be Dancing
Posted on Sun Jul 19th, 2026 @ 2:16am by Captain Erik Norsgaard & Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae
2,402 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Friends and Traitors
Location: Holodeck 1 | Deck 3 | USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD005 - 2100
Overhead the night sky was, quite simply, beautiful.
Now the sun had disappeared below the horizon, the clear night was blanketed by stars by the time her hike had brought her to the clearing. Unclipping her backpack she let it fall to the ground, gratefully shedding the weight as she moved closer to the edge. Tonight was not quite a full moon but there was enough light to illuminate the wild beauty which somehow endured at such altitudes where the air was thin and the nights were … freezing.
The hour or so hiking from the main trail had been a solid bit of exercise and she had admired the attention to detail in the recreation her brother had programmed for her. The climb had brought her above cloud level where the sunlight had illuminated her path and kept her warm. Yet now the heat was rapidly dissipating and she reached to untie the jacket tied around her waist even as her eyes found familiar patterns in the stars.
Her boots kept her footing steady as she moved back to a small outcropping of rocks and began unpacking the bag. A light blanket to fold up and sit on, some chocolate cookies and some tea. Not special nice tea, yet she had invited Erik to join her if he had time and added a note to dress warmly and bring more tea if he did.
And so she settled in, sitting on the ground with one of rock face at her back, just taking a moment to enjoy the quiet and the ethereal beauty of the stars. When she was very little she had no idea her life would be among them, they were her diamonds, sparkling in the night sky on the clear nights she could see them from home. No need to worry about that here, where the clouds looked like a soft blanket far below.
For once, Erik finished early, leaving his Ready Room well before 8:00 p.m. and, having stopped in his quarters to stuff what he needed to make a good pot of tea into a small, leather backpack, he changed into clothes he often wore hiking. He had never been one to replicate brand-new clothes for every occasion; no, his showed signs of age but they were comfortable and they'd been with him on some very interesting climbs over the years. Still, when he stepped into the transporter room, he was brought directly to Caitlyn and felt almost disappointed. Stupid computer, he thought, as he shrugged off the backpack and approached, didn't think I could make the climb in the dark now did you?
He dropped lightly to the ground beside her, settling into place against the smooth stone, and sighed with pleasure. “This is nice,” he said. My brain tells me it's not real but there's another part of me that says, who cares if the stars are wrong. Still feels a bit like home."
Enjoying her stargazing, Caitlyn had smiled warmly as she watched him approach and pick a spot beside her. “I thought you might like a little change of scenery and a little break from diplomacy,” she grinned, making the last word sound like it left a bitter taste. Reaching to take his hand she added, “maybe next shore leave we get on a planet we can go hill walking and gaze up at some real stars?”
"I'd like that," Erik said, as he ran his thumb across the back of her hand, "somewhere away from Federation politics and counselors that always have that 'what's-your-ulterior-motive' look in their eyes. He sighed. "We're not even there yet and the Admiral's already in my ear ... seems like ten times a day."
Peering up at him she offered a sympathetic smile. “Fortunately this is an Admiralty and counselor free zone,” she assured him. “Instead you have tea - not your good kind though - some chocolate chip cookies, a beautiful night sky and some time to not have the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders.”
On the last word she shifted, stretching so she could kiss him before adding, “and I’d be happy to start vetting your incoming calls.”
Erik pulled her into his arms and held her, returning her kiss with an intensity all his own, before releasing her. "You'd have Trusk to contend with," he said, chuckling, as he reached out to drop his backpack into her lap. "I brought reinforcements."
“Oh?” Curious, she leaned into him as she opened up the bag with far more care than she treated her own. Seriously doubting he would have anything dangerous inside - even if the moonlight made it difficult to tell - she reached in a hand to begin unpacking his supplies. After a moment she realised what he had brought and grinned. “Tea?”
"Only the finest," Erik said, answering her grin with a warm smile of his own. "I know your preferences. Thought you might like it."
“I do,” she assured him, “thank you. Although, honestly, I don’t even drink a lot of tea unless I am around you. I think it’s mostly influenced by the company than the tea, although they are always delicious. Although maybe I need to get a little less predictable- keep you on your toes?”
Leaving the suggestion hanging in the air she took the additional supplies to the makeshift tabletop nearby, starting the tea brewing and unwrapping the slightly broken chocolate chip cookies. “Maybe not the healthiest dinner choice but smells amazing. Just tea or can I tempt you with some chocolate to sweeten the deal?”
"I'll just stick with the tea," Erik said. He cocked his head slightly to one side, considering her, his blue gaze taking her in. "So, what do you drink when I'm not around?"
There was a little voice in the back of her mind which immediately chimed in with ‘too much’. She hesitated a moment before she dug out two mugs from her backpack, knowing that not so long ago, the little voice was entirely correct. “Well, I have had always had a weakness for hot chocolate,” she confided, “I am sure that shocks you.”
"Not so much," Erik said, "but maybe it might surprise you that my favorite is mjöd or mead. Can't drink that on-duty though it might help me get through some of my meetings in better humor."
“It is definitely a backup plan, just in case diplomacy fails,” she pointed out with a grin. “Just take care of it’s an Orion bar, some of those concoctions are insane… few Federation drinks pack the same punch. Some come close though.”
"I'm lucky there," Erik said as he stretched his long legs out in front of him, "because in alcohol consumption muscle mass matters." He shrugged lightly. "Well enough to get me through one drink anyways ... even in an Orion bar." His gaze became speculative as he watched her. "Life undercover must certainly have had its challenges."
“I’d challenge you to a drinking contest,” she began as she poured tea before adding with a grin, “but I learned my lesson when we went axe throwing.”
Rejoining him she handed over a mug before carefully sitting back down beside him. “And yes, you could say that,” she confided as she took a sip. The warmth seemed to seep into her bones. “No delicious tea for a start.”
He accepted the bug, cradling it in his large hands, and shook his head slightly. "You do that a lot. Brush things off with a joke. If its not something you want to talk about, I understand. But if you do, I'd like to know."
Sometimes she almost forgot how perceptive he was, how much he really saw. As she took another sip of tea, though, she couldn’t deny he was right. She tended to be dismissive or make light of things in conversation because it was, quite simply, easier. Or to torment counselors during the mandatory evaluations.
“There are some things… I probably need to get my head around first? Things I didn’t deal with in the best ways and just kept throwing myself back into one assignment after another,” she admitted quietly. “But yes, there were a lot of challenges. Quite a few scars. It’s a little cold to be doing a show and tell… But I knew it was to keep the Federation safe. My family, yours, everyone. The needs of the many, as Vulcan’s love to say. And because I knew how dangerous it was, and how little I could tell them even if I wanted to, I kept more and more distance from home and went on longer undercover assignments. And eventually turned to piracy, as you know.”
"You slipped farther away," Erik said quietly, "because that was safer than letting anyone in? And no one in Starfleet Intelligence had a clue? You'd think that's a danger they guard against."
“Perhaps easier, rather than safer?” she clarified. “Especially when it came to family. And it wasn’t a life which made long term relationships, maybe having a family of my own, easy. Which was okay, because I wasn’t focused on that. Not then.
As for Starfleet Intelligence,” she added with a rueful smile, “it was quite a different beast, pre-Schofield. I only started reporting into him after I came back from medical leave. There was mandatory psych evaluations and debriefs so they kept watch. Schofield benched a few people who Admiral Svika would have sent back out in a heartbeat. But that is in the past and I am much more focused on the future. Besides, I’m sure earning those four pips was quite challenging too?”
"It had its moments, certainly," Erik agreed. "I heard about Svika. Ruthless. Driven. Broke a couple of good men on his way up." He took a long sip of tea, his gaze traveling up to the stars above and the memories that came with them. His gaze dropped to hers, knowing, aware, and said, his deep voice soften, almost a purr. "We can have dinner some time and I'll swap stories with you, how about that? One for one."
He was far far too good for her… setting aside her mug she leaned in, kissing him softly. “I’d like that, thank you,” she whispered as she drew back before adding, “I also believe there was a promise of a dance?”
"Now," Erik asked as he set his mug to one side. "I'm sure we can find a ballroom ..."
Her smile was far brighter than the stars overhead. “I’m sure we absolutely can,” she agreed as she kissed him, “and I do love to dance.”
Erik kissed her, his arms encircling her, and as she drew back ever so slightly, he said, "Computer, Rick's Cafe from Casablanca. Just the musicians. Playing a waltz." The scene shifted and he changed his position, so that he was holding her as one would for a waltz, leading her in the steps, while the orchestra played. "How's this," he asked as he moved her through the steps. The cafe was crowded, as it was in the movie, people talking and laughing, glasses tinkling, but for him, there was only her, only her eyes sparkling with reflected light.
“Erik Norsgaard, you are always full of surprises,” Caitlyn complimented, without heels to help reduce the height difference he still moved with grace. Even when her footwork was far from perfect and she stood on his toe. Flashing him an apologetic smile she confided, “I should confess I was kicked out of dance class back in the day. This could be more dangerous for your health than any Cardassian diplomacy.”
Erik chuckled as he spun her around. "I'll take my chances," he said as he executed a perfect dip, smiling over her. "Took classes to impress a girl once upon a time. She wasn't but the dancing ... that was fun."
“Definitely her loss,” she grinned, unconcerned by the fact he was the only thing stopping her from a far from graceful fall to the ground. One, he wouldn’t deliberately let go and two, she knew how to take a fall. “Axe throwing, dancing… I clearly need to get creative to find something you aren’t incredible at.”
"Not hard," Erik said as he pulled her up, close to his chest, "anything involved in the kitchen for starters. And shopping. I hate shopping."
“I can survive in a kitchen if really necessary,” she assured him, “but I am insanely good at shopping. It is always more enjoyable with some drinks and good food in the mix. But I know you love the great outdoors so I don’t think I could do that to you.”
"Heh," Erik said, the warmth of his gaze lighting a fire in the depths of his eyes, "what I am very good at is carrying parcels. Think of me as your slightly uncomfortable pack mule."
“You are absolutely going to regret that,” she grinned as she stretched up on her tip toes to kiss him, “because I need to buy soooo many may pairs of shoes.”
"Don't threaten me with a good time,' Erik rumbled as he kissed her back. "Kind of like the idea of you in heels. You might trip and I'd get to catch you." He grinned and kissed her again.
As he drew breath to continue, her commbadge chirped. "Bridge to Lieutenant MacCrae."
Caitlyn groaned, still close enough to plant a playful kiss on his check as she rescued her comm badge from her pocket. “I know so many ways to disable comms…. Just putting the idea out there for next time,” she whispered in his ear before answering the call. “Go ahead,” she said, not making an attempt to put any distance between her and her dance partner.
“Apologies Lieutenant, but there is a situation that needs your attention,” the disembodied voice explained. “Could you please join Ensign Melrose from Security in the Lounge?”
“I’m on my way,” she promised, “MacRae out.”
Sliding her comm badge back into her pocket she flashed Erik an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “But dancing will be continued, I promise.”
Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird
and
Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae
Second Officer
USS Thunderbird
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