USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

ON:

<<USS Cheyenne, Kersare Suite, 1738 hours, Year 2366>>

Isabel had just finished dinner with her parents and sister, Gabrielle. Since she hadn't gotten any homework that night, she looked over at mother, "Mom, can I go for a walk around the ship?"

Adrianne looked at her eldest daughter, "Where are you going?"

"I don't know yet, just around the ship," Isabel shrugged.

"If you promise to stay out of the crew's w-"

"Yes! Thanks!" A big grin showed on Isa's face as she hugged her mother and practically ran out the door. Technically she was sixteen already, but her parents insisted on knowing where their children were.

<<Corridor, 1814>>

Isabel walked quietly through the corridors, smiling faintly as she remembered the adventures she and Gabi had had. They were older now, and rarely engaged in the same activities as each other anymore. Deep in thought, she practically ran into one of her schoolmates, Stephen.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Isabel blushed.

He smiled, "It's alright, Isa. I mean...can I call you Isa? I know that Gabi..err...Gabrielle.. Wait, you are Isa, aren't you?" Stephen sighed, his face flushing in embarrassment.

Laughing softly, Isabel replied, "Yes, I am Isabel, and you can call me Isa if you want Stephen."

"Oh, great," he replied. "Actually, I was just looking for you."

"You were?"

Stephen cleared his throat and did his best to manage a smile, "I uh...I was going to see if you'd like to go to the Holodeck with me. And maybe for some dessert afterward?"

Isabel blinked. Was he asking her out on a date? Might as well find out now. "Stephen Risti, are you asking me to go on a date with you?"

Caught, Stephen opened and closed his mouth a couple times before finally answering, "Yes, yes I am." Pulling his confidence together, he smiled at her. "Would you like to?"

"Absolutely!" Isabel smiled, "What time?"

"Well, I need to drop a few things off in my room...how about 1900 in Holodeck 2? Or is that too late?"

"No, it's perfect," Isa replied. "I'll see you then."

<<Kersare Suite, 1847>>

Excited, Isabel had nearly skipped down a few corridors before returning to her family's rooms. For the past few months she'd been secretly hoping Stephen would ask her out, but refused to do so herself.

A big smile was pasted on her face as she entered - something her mother didn't miss.

"Isa? Did one of the Engineers give you something to tinker with again?" Adrianne watched her daughter.

"Nope." Her eyes shone, "I have a date."

Caleb smiled, "That's great honey, who's the lucky guy? I'll have to have a talk with him..."

"No dad!" Isabel's eyes widened. "You can't. I don't have much time, I need to get ready."

With that, she hurried over into her room. Unfortunately, it seemed that Gabi had taken the outfit Isa wanted to wear. Sighing, Isabel frantically searched through her clothes, trying to find something else. Finally satisfied, Isa got dressed and pulled her hair back.

Seeing the time, Isabel knew she'd be late, but there was nothing she could do. As quickly as she could, Isa left the room and headed for the Holodeck.

OFF: To be continued

<<Outside Holodeck 2, 1854 hours, Year 2366>>

As soon as her sister had gone to change for her date, Gabrielle snuck out of the Kersare quarters. Luckily her parents had been busy discussing Stephen and didn't notice her leaving. All she really wanted was a little peek at Stephen...and to see what he had in store for Isabel. After all, Isabel was her best friend, and her sister.

Carefully, she looked around and was about to enter when she heard a voice.

"Little early, aren't you?" Stephen smiled.

"I...uh," Gabi started.

"Well, come on, we only have the Holodeck for an hour," he said taking her arm and escorting her in before she could say anything else.

<<Corridor outside Holodeck 2, 1911>>

After practically running through the corridors, Isabel finally made it to Holodeck 2. Isabel thought Stephen would be waiting for her outside, but apparently not... She paused to smooth her hair and catch her breath before entering.

The doors to the Holodeck swished open, admitting Isa. Her face broke into a grin as she saw a peaceful woodland setting with a stream going off to her left. Stephen chose good Holodeck locations at least. She decided to simply look for Stephen rather than call for him - surprises were good, Isabel mused.

Ahead of her was a break in the trees and she could see a lake as well. On the other side of the clearing the woods came right up to the edge of the lake. Sitting near the edge of the lake was Stephen, and Isabel smiled, ready to call out his name when she noticed someone else was with him.

Gabi.

Isabel's heart stopped for a moment as her mind tried to wrap itself around what was happening. Stephen was smiling at her sister, holding her hand. Isabel stood, frozen in place, as she saw him reach over and gently kiss Gabi.

Shocked, Isabel drew in her breath as tears threatened to race down her cheeks. "No," she said quietly.

As Isabel's tears fell, Gabi and Stephen's kiss ended. Gabi smiled at him, then looked over and noticed Isabel. A look of horror crossed her face, "Isabel."

Gabi started walking over to Isa, Stephen following her, unsure as to what was going on.

Stephen looked confused, "Isabel? But...you're Isabel."

"No, she's not Stephen," Isabel managed to say amidst tears. "This is my sister Gabrielle. You don't remember my sister?"

"I..." He looked at Gabrielle, his eyes suddenly realizing the mistake. "But I thought she was you. She was here right before 1900...and she came in here with me...we talked and...."

"Kissed?" Isabel said, obviously hurt.

"Well, yes... Isabel I didn't know, I swear." Stephen implored.

Gabi finally spoke up, "I just came to see what he had planned for you Isa, I promise. Then he showed up and brought me inside before I could say anything... We started talking. I..I figured when you got here I'd just leave, but we were getting along so well, and.."

Isabel's face hardened, "Don't call me 'Isa'. You could have told him at any time that you were my sister and not me. But you didn't. You know how much I like him." At this point, anger was starting to take over. "How could you?"

"There just didn't seem to be a good time to bring it up...." Gabi offered.

"Not a good time? Not a good time? What about right from the start? I can't believe you did this Gabrielle. I don't want to talk to you ever again," Isabel said. Hot tears continued to fall and she was torn between being devastated and angry. "You betrayed me."

With that, Isabel turned and jogged out of the Holodeck as Gabrielle and Stephen watched.

Stephen looked over at Gabi, "Should I go talk to her?"

Gabi shook her head, "No, she just needs time to cool off. I'll try talking to her later." She hesitated a moment before saying, "I should have told you. I'm sorry...maybe I'm just a horrible person... It's just...well...the more we talked, the more I liked you and I just couldn't..."

"Gabi, I'll be honest. I think Isabel is a great person, and we really hurt her. I don't like that we hurt her," Stephen sighed. "Truth be told, I didn't know her all that well - that's why I arranged this. And now I've gotten to know you..." his voice trailed off.

Gabi nodded. "I need to get back...Maybe we can talk another time," she offered. After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, Gabi left the Holodeck.

<<Kersare quarters, 1928>>

Isabel ran all the way back to her family's quarters. Her parents were in the living room and she hurried past them to her room.

Caleb raised an eyebrow, "You're in quite a hurry..."

"Isabel? Back already? That was a quick date," Adrianne commented.

"No, it wasn't at all. Please just leave me alone," Isabel said, going into her room and locking the door.

<<Isabel's room>>

As soon as the door was locked, Isabel took off her necklace and flung it across the room. She leaned back against the wall and slumped to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest, and wept.

Her small body was racked with sobs which slowly subsided back to tears. "Why? Why did that have to happen? I liked him so much.... How could she?"

Filled with unanswerable questions, Isabel finally managed to drag herself onto her bed. She pulled up the covers and curled up tightly, closing her eyes and wishing that it had all been a dream.

OFF: To be continued....