Prodigy Love - Chapter 12

For Anya, her first month on the Enterprise was, in the words of her close friend Saavik, "fascinating." During that month, many things had happened.

As the A&A (Anthropology and Archaeology) Officer, Anya's task was to observe and analyze every new civilization that the crew encountered and compile detailed reports of these societies. So far, all of the races that Anya met were friendly, peaceful civilizations who were more than happy to share the inner workings of their lives with her.

The reports that Anya submitted were extremely well done. In addition to the written information that she provided, Anya would also include photographs that she had taken with her PADD and sketches that she had drawn in her own hand. Compiling these reports was a breeze for Anya because she had been doing similar projects since childhood. As a girl, Anya would spend hours on the computer in her father's study jotting down information and doodling in notebooks. Later on, these notebooks caught her father's attention and he had encouraged Anya to consider applying and training for the post that she now occupied.

Life on the Enterprise did not always consist of duties though. Although Saavik was still her closest friend, Anya knew that she was going to need human friends as well. But because of her being snubbed so many times in the past, and because she was prone to being seen by many crew members as nothing more than a young celebrity, Anya found that forming acquaintances on the ship was a challenge that made her feel all the more awkward.

Luckily, this problem did not last. Word had gotten around of how Anya had stopped Kirk from attempting to get lucky with her, thus allowing many of the women who had no interest in having a fling with their captain to include Anya in their circles. With Saavik's help, Anya was able to find a few trustworthy acquaintances who accepted her as more than an icon of a bloodline from the earliest days of Starfleet.

In addition to her friend's logical guidance, Anya also had Pavel to encourage her--something that she was very grateful for. Whenever she was doubting herself, Pavel would take Anya's hands in his and give her a much-needed pep talk. As he spoke to her, Anya only had to look into those clear blue eyes of his to let her worries gradually disappear. If she still had hesitations, Pavel would hold Anya close to him and remind her that he was there for her. Afterwards, when her fears left entirely (and if no one was watching), Anya would kiss Pavel's cheeks in thanks.

Seeing Pavel was something that Anya looked forward to from the minute she woke up to begin her first full day on the Enterprise. As she got dressed, Anya put more time than ever before on her appearance, for she was well aware that she needed to show a sense of confidence in her looks, Turetsky or otherwise. All of the effort that Anya made to improve her looks was definitely worth it. Not only was she prettier, but she was also more confident--both of which made her all the more attractive to Pavel. Every day, as soon as she left her quarters, Anya would find Pavel waiting for her nearby. They would smile at one another, and, if no one was looking, they would give each other a few quick kisses on the cheeks before beginning the day. And every night, before she went to bed, Pavel would say goodnight to Anya and, once again, they would kiss each other's cheeks before they went their separate ways.

During meals and off-duty time, Pavel and Anya got to know more about each other. Anya learned from Pavel that he was an only child; that he was the first generation in his family to be involved in Starfleet; that he was at the top of the class in stellar cartography and transporter theory; and that he had won the Starfleet Academy marathon. Likewise, Pavel found out from Anya that she had seven-year-old prodigy brothers named Mikhail and Kirill; that she was the first member of the fourth generation of Turetskys in Starfleet; that she was the leading student in every history course offered at the Academy; and that she was the finest sure shot when it came to using a phaser.

In spite of the progress that Anya made, she was still subject to being viewed by the majority of the crew as a captain's daughter. Whenever she was away from Pavel or Saavik, people would double back to pass her in the corridors or stare in attempt to get a look at her. And if that was not bad enough, many of the male ensigns in the science division (who were in their early- to mid-twenties and still in the throes of bachelorhood) appeared to have only one goal: winning Anya's favor. Every time that Anya went to the lab to compile the data that she had collected from the landing missions, these ensigns would ask for help on their work. Wanting to be polite, Anya would lend a hand. Then, right in the middle of her explanations, the ensign that she was working with would woo her with some of the worst pick-up lines ever heard of. Their actions were slightly annoying at first, but after awhile they began to take their toll on Anya. True, she was used to being taken advantage of by now, but she was sick of the unwanted (and really lousy) flirting.

After a month of this treatment, Anya was definitely fed up with the incessant wooing. One day, after finishing her lunch, Anya was about to excuse herself from the table when one of the ensigns walked over to her and said, "Hey, Ensign Turetsky, I'm not too sure about--"

At that point, Anya snapped.

"STOP EET!!!!" Anya yelled, slamming her lunch tray down onto the table with such a force that the entire mess hall looked up in shock.

As the ensign backed away, Anya continued.

"VHAT EES EET VITH JOU?? VHAT?? VHAT?? ARE JOU EENSANE?? QUVIT TRYING TO FLIRT VITH ME!! I'M SICK OF JOUR ANTICS AND JOUR PAZHETIC ATTEMPTS TO GET ME TO NOTICE JOU!! JUST BECAUSE I'M A KEPTIN'S DAUGHTER DOESN'T MEAN ZHAT I'M JOUR TICKET TO A QUVICK PROMOTION!! EEF JOU REALLY VANT A FAWOR FROM ME, HERE'S ONE FOR JOU: KNOCK EET OFF!! FOR ZHE LOFF OF POKROVSKOYE, KNOCK...EET...OFF!!"

After shouting these sentences, Anya breathed heavily in rage, her eyes flashing angrily before storming out of the mess hall. The ensign, still startled at Anya's outburst, looked around at the crew members present in the area and asked, "What did I do? I only wanted her to check my calculations."

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"Anya?" Pavel asked, knocking on the door to Anya's quarters.

The door hissed open and Pavel stepped in. Upon seeing the sight in front of him, he became extremely concerned.

Strewn all over the floor were pieces of pastel paper. Some of this paper was crumpled and some was left open, revealing angrily-drawn scribbles in black, red, grey, and orange-colored pastel. Amidst the mess on the floor, Anya was sitting on her bed, her sketchpad in hand, attacking the paper furiously with a black pastel.

Even though Pavel had known her for a short time, he quickly learned that in order to fully understand Anya's mind, he only had to look at the art that she drew or painted. And from the livid, chaotic scribbles done in a mixture of fiery and gloomy colors, Pavel knew that Anya was releasing a lot of bottled up rage.

"Anya?" Pavel asked as he timidly approached her.

At the sound of his voice, Anya stopped what she was doing, put down the sketchpad and pastel, and wiped her hands clean with a tissue before turning to Pavel with a troubled look in her eyes.

Seeing the whirlwind of emotions surrounding her, Pavel held Anya close to him, gently bringing his forehead against hers. At this, Anya softly said, "I ken't take eet anymore, Pavel. Zhe staring; zhe flirting...eet's...eet's..." Anya sighed. "...sometimes, zhere are times vhen I vish zhat I...zhat I..."

"...Zhat jou veren't a keptin's daughter," Pavel nervously interrupted.

Anya nodded as a few unwanted tears fell from her eyes.

"Jou don't have to face zhis alone, Anya," Pavel whispered, brushing her tears away from her cheeks. "I'm here for jou, Turetsky or not, remember?"

Anya nodded before burying her face against Pavel's right shoulder and breathing heavily to keep herself from crying. Wanting to calm her, Pavel ran a hand through her hair and lightly kissed her somewhat tear-streaked cheeks.

'Anya, vhat ken I do to make jou feel better?' Pavel thought. 'Jou aren't like most ozzer vomen; jou're beautivul, eentelligent, and jou have so much potential. Zhey shouldn't be treating jou like zhat at all.'

After awhile, Anya lifted her head up so that she was looking at Pavel, confusion still apparent in her eyes.

"How am I going to get eet zhrough zheir zhick skulls zhat I'm not eenterested een zhem?" she asked, her voice slightly rising in anger. "I ken't eegnore zhem and I hate not hawing to giwe zhem a hand, but zhey act like zhey have brains zhe size of PEANUTS around me!"

"Try doing vhat jou did to zhe keptin vhen he tried to pull rank vith jou," Pavel suggested.

At his suggestion, Anya looked into Pavel's eyes and felt her confusion leave her entirely. Wanting to be close to him, Anya smiled before resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes as she listened to the gentle, rhythmic beating of his heart.

Glad to have her near him, Pavel kissed Anya's left cheek, then kissed her forehead. At this, Anya lifted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. Slowly, she leaned forward and closed her eyes, her heart beating faster as her face neared his. Their lips were just about to touch for the first time when the intercom beeped.

'Ruin zhe moment, vhy don't jou?' Anya thought as she walked over to the intercom.

After activating the intercom, Anya said, "Turetsky here."

"You're wanted up on the bridge, Ensign," Nyota said, her voice sounding somewhat urgent.

"I'm on my vay, Lieutenant Uhura. Turetsky out."