by Lindy
Thomas Pinkler was delighted. He wiped his greasy hands on a tea towel and discreetly watched table 3 as his customers sipped their drinks. ...Wow, this is gonna make Willy Kessel soooooooo mad... he thought happily of his rival as he anticipated the rise in custom this particular visit would no doubt inspire. When word got around that Captain Sheridan came to eat in his resterant... Pinkler laughed out loud, hastily muffling his chuckles and returned to his cooking.
Sheridan was also feeling very pleased with himself. In one of his typically spontaneous acts of generosity, he had decided to take his senior staff out for a meal to celebrate a successful treaty formed between two warring nations. This way, he also got to spend time with Delenn... at this point he got slightly distracted as he saw the Minbari woman struggling with a human menu.
"Captain" she said, frowning slightly. "I have studied your people for many years and I believed I had obtained an accurate understanding of your language. But this..." she waved the menu in his general direction with an air of suppressed impatience, "makes no sense to me at all"
Sheridan took the card, feeling a tingle as their fingers touched. He glanced down.
"It's in French, Ambassador" he explained "An old Earth language. It used to be considered classy to have menus written in French back home... I guess old Thomas carried the tradition into space"
He grinned, enjoying the company of his friends. He saw Franklin translating for Garibaldi, and Ms Winters doing the same for Susan... He frowned. That was odd. Everyone knew those two couldn't stand each other. He had really invited Talia for Michael's benefit, knowing his security officer had the biggest crush on the telepath. Courtesy demanded he invite the other three ambassadors as well as Delenn, however he was really quite glad when both Londo and G'Kar declined the invitation. He had no desire to spend the evening mediating between the enraged Centauri and Narn representatives. Kosh, of course, did not attend.
Talia had been quite surprised to recieve the invitation. She had guessed, of course, that if Garibaldi had not directly engineered it, he had something to do with it, which made her a little mad. What did she have to do to make the man take a hint? she had thought in exasperation. But in the end she accepted the invitation, as she had known she would. With both hers and Susan's tight work schedules it was very rare they got to spend the evening together, especially since their relationship was still a secret. Talia didn't fully understand why Susan was so determined to keep it quiet, but respected her feelings, aware that there were still many things they did not know about each other.
Talia looked up from her reverie to see Susan smiling at her from the other side of the table.
"Everything OK, Ms Winters?" she asked, a mischevious glint in her eye. Ms Winters. Susan always called her that in company. Talia didn't know if it annoyed her or excited her the most. She suspected Susan was aware of both her reactions and said it on purpose.
"Oh yes, Commander. Absolutely" she said in her characteristically husky, cultured voice, smiling secretly at her lover.
The meal was ordered. Sheridan was more relaxed than anybody had seen him for ages, leaning back in his chair and laughing with Stephen about things that had happened when they were younger. Delenn listened and smiled, occasionally sneaking a look at the Captain's handsome profile when she thought he wasn't looking. On any other occasion, Garibaldi would probably have joined in the conversation. But tonight as different. He had strategically placed his chair to the left of Talia and was playing the part of the irresistable perfect gentleman.
"Can I get you another drink, Ms Winters?"
"No thank you, Mr Garibaldi" Go away.
"C'mon, call me Michael. D'you wanna try these potato chips? They're especially good if you dunk them in this dip. Tomato and onion. Tom makes it himself"
"I'm fine, thankyou" Shut up.
"Are you quite sure I can't get you that drink?"
"Really, Mr Garibaldi..."
"Uhuh... Michael, remember?"
"Michael. Really, I am fine" Fuck OFF.
Talia felt herself slowly flushing with irritation. She heard a choke from the other side of the table and looked up to see Susan attempting to smother her laughter with a table napkin. Talia glared at her which only made matters worse. Garibaldi viewed her in perplexity.
"Is something the matter, Commander?" he asked with patient weariness. Susan knew that tone. It meant,
"don't distract me when I'm trying to pull." Susan uttered a small shriek and stuffed the napkin whole into her mouth. Half the table turned to look at her.
"Ahem. Sorry... sorry..." she said demurely, dabbing delicately with the napkin and attempting to compose herself.
Talia felt her irritation subsiding, swallowed by the almost irresistable urge to lean over and kiss Susan's bright laughing face. She supposed that, after all, Susan did have the right to get her back after what she had done to her a week ago... Talia started grinning to hereself as she remembered the incident, the one and only time she had ever got the better of the proud and digified Commander Ivanova. Afterwards, she was a little surprised that Susan had made no mention of what she had done, and was sure that her lover had something planned for revenge. However... Talia smiled and relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere, sure that there was nothing Susan could do to her in company...
The food arrived. Garibaldi immediately started tucking in as though he hadn't been fed for weeks, for the moment losing all interest in Talia. It seemed that Garibaldi's priorities were food, women, duty, in that order.
What about mine? Talia found herself thinking, looking down at the untouched food on her plate and considering the way her loyalty to the Corps had decreased over recent weeks. Ever since Susan... Talia glanced furtively at the dark woman opposite her. Susan had been needed in C&C until the last minute and was consequently still in uniform. Talia was not displeased by this. Although she'd never admit it she had a thing about uniforms... and now looking at Susan who had removed her jacket and unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt, revealing the creamy skin of her neck and shoulders... Talia licked her lips and realised she was staring. She hastily looked away.
Susan was fully aware of Talia's attention. She grinned secretly, enjoying the effect she had on the telepath. It was great just to relax, off duty and in her company. Having dinner.
Dinner.
If Talia had been observing Ivanova at that point, she would have noticed a slow red flush creep up her face. Dammit... Susan tried to stop thinking about what had happened just prior to the last formal dinner she had attended. One of the most humiliating and frustrating incidents of her life, it was also, infuriatingly, one of the most arousing. And she knew that Talia knew. What was worse, she still had no idea how to get back at Talia for what she had done. It was going to have to be something special... The blush faded to be replaced by an evil smile as an idea occurred to her.
Talia delicately raised a forkful of food to her mouth. She figured it was about time she could take a look at Susan again without raising suspicions. Affecting to take a casual sweep of the room, finishing up with a long intense gaze at the enigmatic Commander, Talia looked up. And met Susan's eyes just as she felt an insistent pressure running swiftly up her leg. Her eyes widened at the sudden shock and she dropped her fork with a clatter. Susan tilted her head to one side in mock confusion, keeping a straight face with difficulty as she regarded the suprised telepath. Beneath the table, that... it was her toe, goddammit... probed higher, underneath her skirt, between her thighs, higher... Talia clamped her legs tightly together, trying to keep the probing foot away from her, but unable to use her hands, she stood little chance. She knew that look in Susan's eyes, knew exactly what this was all about, knew the predicament she was in and that the righteously vengeful Commander would have no mercy.
Susan watched in secret delight as she reached her target and saw Talia jump ever so slightly in her chair, her mouth opening silently. Carefully, she increased the pressure, loving the way the blonde shifted, squirming backwards to be pinned helplessly against the seat back.
The golden telepath looked so sweet and flustered as she tried in vain to catch Susan's attention. Susan was the picture of innocence, calmly eating her meal, occasionally chipping into the conversation with an ironic anecdote of her own.
"Susan"
Talia whispered urgently, smiling hastily at Stephen who had turned to stare at her in puzzlement. She looked down at her plate, composing herself, before trying again.
"Susan!"
This time, Ivanova looked up vaguely.
"Ms Winters? Can I help you?" She smiled in her most professional manner.
Yes, goddammit, you can...
The foot twisted suddenly in her groin and she jumped again, this time not quite managing to stifle her yelp. Now everybody turned to Talia. A long silence fell during which Talia stared down at her plate, feeling herself flush deeply. Susan saw the blush creep up the usually perfect and composed face of the telepath and could hardly control her laughter. She berated herself silently for running out of napkins, the inanity of which nearly killed her. Talia felt the stirrings of incredible arousal.
"Damn you, Susan" she muttered under her breath, fighting the urge to writhe in her chair and scream.
Susan watched, loving the systematic destruction of the serene telepath's self control. She wondered idly how long Talia would last before breaking down in front of the entire company, plunging her hands beneath the table to stop this torment. Talia gripped her silverware tightly, every ounce of self control being tested to the full. The toe was moving now in an insistent, rhythmic, circling motion. She could not prevent the escape of one agonised groan.
Garibaldi watched her. Yep, there was definitely something weird about Talia today. She was sitting very still except for tiny shifting motions every so often. Her face was very red and she gripped the edge of the table tightly. He wondered if she was having a fit. He was also confused to see her glaring furiously at Commander Ivanova. Garibaldi took in the situation at a glance. Couldn't those two just get along for one little evening? They were always at each other's throats. He sighed. It was clearly up to him, as usual, to restore harmony. Deciding to ignore Susan, as the cause of the problem, he turned to Talia.
"How are you, anyway, Ms Winters? It's been real hectic on Babylon 5 lately what with the Narn and Centaur playing up again"
Talia's heart sank. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse... She didn't answer him.
"Ms Winters?"
A second foot joined the first, linking round the back of her leg and stroking gently. Talia eyed her glass of water and wondered briefly what Susan would do if she threw it all over her.
"Ms Winters? Should I call a doctor"
Talia emphatically shook her head. Making a huge effort she managed to speak.
"No, honestly, Mr Gari... baldi... I'm..."
...eeek...Susan...
"...I'm..."
...may you rot in the bowels of bloody hell...
"...I'm..."
...and suffer horribly in eternal damnation...
With a huge effort Talia managed to get her sentence out.
"I'm fine, Mr Garibaldi"
...How often have I said that tonight?!...
But it was too late.
"Get out of the way! She's choking to death!"
Garibaldi leapt into action, obviously feeling himself better qualified to treat a choking woman that Dr Franklin who sat near him. Talia guessed what was coming. She had one moment to continue her mental blasphemous tirade ...oh God... in, one might have argued, a rather tame fashion, before being seized under the armpits and hauled bodily from her chair. Her initial feelings of relief at escaping from the teasing toe were replaced by mind numbing horror as Garibaldi proceeded to perform the Heimlich maneover.
"Hoooooooooff!"
Went Talia, desperately trying to escape from Garibaldi's bear hug.
"Hoooooooooooooff!"
"It's alright, Ms Winters!" he yelled, entertaining visions of a humbly grateful Talia throwing herself on him as her saviour. "Just cough it all up. Thaaat's right!"
"Ooooooooooommmpphh!"
The company watched in various states of concern and amusement. A piercing and ongoing shriek was heard above the confusion as Susan Ivanova finally gave up the struggle and rolled off her chair to continue her hysterics on the floor.
When the commotion was over and Talia, proved not to be in imminent danger of death after all, had retired in a state of furious indignation to her quarters, Susan and Garibaldi sat at the bar. Susan was on her fourth vodka of the evening, still periodically exploding with laughter. Garibaldi sat glum, nursing his mineral water.
"But did you see her face!" shrieked Susan, for the twelth time.
Garibaldi did not bother mentioning the fact that of course he had not seen her face as he had been too busy making a complete and utter ass of himself. He glared at the cheefully grinning Commander. Why the hell did she look so pleased with herself, anyway?
"I don't see what's so funny" he said, flicking a peanut at the wall. "You don't seem to realise that I've totally screwed up any chance I had with her. Dammit, I really think she was beginning to like me"