Weight Lifting

Posted on Sat Jan 30th, 2021 @ 3:48pm by Lieutenant Xenia Windsor
Edited on on Tue Mar 23rd, 2021 @ 8:50pm

2,002 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 3.5 - Some R & R
Location: Gym

Xenia gripped the 10kg weight in her left hand and held it at her side. Getting into position, leaning forward slightly, she pulled her elbow back and straightened it with the weight behind her, then bent her elbow until the cold iron touched her bicep. She repeated the motion, slowly, letting the weight pull against her muscled, giving her arms something to work. When she was done, she passed the dumbbell to the other hand and repeated the motion. She let her breath out loudly with each sweep of her arm as she was the only one in the gym. It was the beginning of her workout, the time of day she could let out all her stresses into the equipment she grasped and pulled or pushed. And given the happenings around the ship, she used the time to review what she'd seen and what the other crew members said they saw. Did this sort of thing happen on every ship, or had she picked the lucky one? It wasn't the first time she'd had that thought before.

“10kg? Nice going, Lieutenant.” Elias said as he wandered past and as headed for the exercise bikes. He had a towel draped around his neck and a bottle of water in his left hand.

Xenia jumped, squealed, and almost dropped her weight, but somehow managed to keep it in her grasp. Annoyed, she frowned to give her complimentor a piece of her mind. "You could warn a girl when you come in," she looked up to find out who to address, but stopped when she realized who it was. She simply finished with, "Sir," but she didn't correct what she'd said.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you. You ok?” Elias asked, seeing her struggling a little after her lost composure.

"I'm fine," she said, putting the weight back on the rack. "But thank you. I suppose I was focused on my workout." She straightened up and dabbed at her brow with her towel. "Do you get here often, Sir? I don't think I've seen you in here?" Honestly, she hadn't seen the XO off the bridge, but she'd figured the man kept to himself, and there was nothing wrong with that.

“Occasionally but I like to make use of the tennis courts in the Rec area but yesterday I broke my elbow quite badly. Doctor Arras had replace my elbow joint. So I’m here for some gentle exercise.” Elias said with a smile as he claimed a cycle. “I’m guessing you always come here.” He said with a smile.

"Fairly often," she replied. "A few times a week. A broken elbow sounds painful. How did you do that?"

“Fell awkwardly on it. Hence why it’s a little tender.” Elias replied. “I’m not one to moan about pain but this is still hurts.”

She cringed in sympathy before trying to lighten the conversation. "I imagine so. They're not meant to take apart." She picked up a kettlebell and set herself well apart from the XO before she started swinging it around. The man didn't need another injury. "I assume the Doc has you on a PT regimen?"

“Not yet, but I’m sure he will. I’m meant to be resting but I have plenty of energy to burn so I thought some cycling might do the trick.

She gave him a side eye as she began squats with the kettlebell. "Ahh...Note to self, Commander doesn't follow instructions." A grin was evident in the tone of her voice.

“Do as I say, Lieutenant. Not do as I do.” Elias said with a grin as he climbed up on to the cycle carefully and began to slowly peddle.

Xenia nodded continuing her exercises. "I wonder what the Doc would say if he knew..."

“Thinking of grassing me up to the Doctor, Lieutenant?” Elias asked a hint of playfulness in his voice.

The Lieutenant wore a look of shock and dismay, maybe a little too well. "Me, Sir? I wouldn't dream of it!" She grinned herself after falling silent.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re being sarcastic?” Walker replied as he cycled.

"No clue," she said, putting the kettlebell back in its spot. She traipsed to her water bottle and towel, wiping the sweat from her face and keeping hydrated. "I'm sure your word is much more powerful than a lowly helmsman." She passed him a pointed look but snuck a wink in as she grabbed a mat to stretch on.

“Not when it comes to the Doctor.” Walker said before taking a few breaths as beads of sweat began to form on his brow. “I’m sure he’ll enjoy relieving me of duty for not taking it easy.”

She raised a brow, surprised. "Is there some competition between the XO and the Doctor?" She still felt new to the ship in some ways, even though she'd been here for a bit now. Not knowing the interpersonal relationships between the crew was one of the reasons why.

“Oh no, I’m just sure he’s the type that would enjoy publicly relieving me of duty and writing a report to the Captain.” Elias replied as he continued to push himself on the cycle.

Xenia sat on her mat and began stretching, her fingers reaching for her toes. "That sounds a bit excessive. You can rest assured I'm not in cahoots with the Doctor."

“That’s good to know, I’ll make a mental note of that.” Walker said with a chuckle. “So, do you have any plans for shore leave or are you spending it all in the gym?”

She chuckled. "I'm not spending it all in the gym. I'm not that crazy. No plans at the moment tho. You?"

“Hoping to get over to the station for some downtime. Explore. Not be here for a little while.” Walker replied with a chuckle. “I do enjoy serving on Legacy but it’s nice to get a little change of scenery every now and then. Need to check in with my children too. It’s been about a week since I last spoke to them.”

"Kids, eh? Tell me about them." She shifted so that her feet were sole-to-sole, and her knees were bent, bringing her feet as close to her core as she could, and leaned forward over her feet. The stretch of her lower back felt good.

“You have your own mini you’s?” Walker asked as he pedalled away.

"Nope," she said, her voice straining in that moment as she stretched. "The universe is probably better off that way."

“Not the maternal type?” Elias asked as he adjusted the cycles difficult and incline making him stand to peddle hard. This in turn caused him to wince a little bit as he put too much of his own weight on his arm.

Xenia shrugged. "Meh, maybe one day, but now I'm fine as I--You okay?" She stopped, ready to help if he'd done something that required it. She foresaw some serious razzing if he had to go see the Doctor.

"I'm fine." Elias replied in-between breaths. "Just put too much weight on the arm." He added as he continued to peddle. "You were saying..."

She raised a skeptical brow, watching him to make sure he really was okay, but he seemed to be moving without pain again. "I was just saying I'm happy as I am." She shifted position, putting one foot on the floor on the other side of her other knee, and turning at the waist away from it. "So, how many little Walkers are terrorizing your place of residence?"

The Commander let out a chuckle and a grin. "Two boys. Jonah, who's 11 and Kyle, who is 9. They live with my parents on Earth. They've grown up so quickly but I'm super proud of them. They've dealt with a lot in their short lives."

The way he explained it sounded like there had been something significant in their past, and she ventured a guess. "And their mother?" she asked carefully.

"She died seven years ago." The Commander replied, a drop in tone as he said it.

"Oi, sorry to bring that up. Gotta be tough for everyone there. How are they? The kids?" She was sure that was something that stuck with you, but she hoped they had bounced back, able to still enjoy life.

"No, it's fine. We're over the worst. I took a couple of years off to look after my boys. I even retrained to Comms from Engineering. At the time I found the thought of stepping back into an engine room to hard." Elias said as he stopped cycling and sat up on the bike. "My parents and my wife's parents pushed me to return to Starfleet as she wouldn't want me to give up my career. So they agreed to raise the boys for me. I see and speak to them as much as I can. However, the Captain thinks it's time for me to put myself on the market. I'm just not sure."

Xenia listened. He'd come far from those low points, it sounded, and she didn't feel quite so bad for asking. "Captain may be right, and I assume she has your best interest at heart, but only one who can make that move is you. You gotta feel it's right for you too."

Elias wiped his brow with a towel. "I feel ready to meet someone but I'm worried about my boys. I don't want them thinking I'm replacing their mother." He paused for a moment to think. "That being said I want companionship. It would be nice to share my time with someone."

Xenia nodded. She had yet to feel a need to settle down, but that had never stopped her from finding a companion for a night or two. But the way he talked about companionship, as a long-term option, and the familiarity that came with that, sounded restful. She chalked it up to the grass being greener on the other side, and paused in her current stretch. "Well, I hope you find just what you're looking for."

"I might be lucky." Elias said with a laugh. "But I'm a little out of date with dating these days. I'm not sure how I'd even start talking to a woman."

Xenia stretched her fingers toward her toes with a pointed look. "Oooh, and she's shot down by the XO." She didn't show him the grin that tickles the corners of her lips.

"Shot down?" Eli asked as he threw the towel round his neck. 'Did I miss something?' He wondered to himself.

Xenia raised a brow. "Well, you've been talking to me for a good half hour now. Do I not qualify?" Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Oh!" Elias said feeling slightly embarrassed. "Forgive me, I didn't mean you were a woman and a very attractive one at that but I meant in a romantic setting."

The Brunette chuckled as she stood for a few final stretches. "You're fine...Sir," she said with a wink. "I find it hard to pass on an opportunity to tease." She lifted her arms up over her head, one hand pulling the other elbow backwards. "When was the last time you went on a date?"

Eli let out a long puff as he thought, "Probably a good ten years, maybe more." He said at length. "So, yeah. It's been a while."

"So, maybe you need a practice run...?"

Eli smiled, "Are you offering your services as a single lady?" He asked.

Xenia thought for a moment before looking to him with a grin. "I believe I am."

"Perhaps dinner? In my quarters?" Eli asked with a soft smile.

"That sounds lovely. Is 2 hours enough time to let you finish up here and get ready?"

"I should think so. Shall I come and pick you up or...?" Eli asked leaving the question to hang.

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