Alex looked around a moment as he refocused his mind again, "Well, that was certainly interesting. I've had lots of different kinds of empathic and telepathic experiences, but that was a very vivid kind of memory recall. It does indeed explain a few things. The part of you that is the symbiont is almost like a conjoined twin, in some ways. You each have your own aspects of self, yet you share parts of each of yourselves in a permanent way. I think that after your recent introduction to telepathic and empathic experiences, Velaul decided to join in on the conversation, so to speak. I don't completely understand the relationship, but I've read that one of the primary motivations was based in the collection of individual experiences and retaining them to share with their collective community. Quite a unique perspective."
Focusing his attention on Beno, he grinned, "So, you two ladies were quite the pair! I didn't figure you for the daring trouble maker, but now that I have some context, I can certainly see it. I think daring and bold are likely to be highlighted in your personnel file, but you seem to have found ways to channel that energy in ways that Star Fleet appreciates. I certainly can't wag a finger about crazy antics of your past when I have my own share of shenanigans. Yours were likely more adventurous and interesting than mine were. You apparently kept company with better looking friends than I had. I had one friend from the Academy who I miss very much. We were on the same ship together and he even had a relationship with Cindy for a little while. Sadly, he was killed by the Borg. I miss Val."
He leaned back and thought for a moment, "I don't know much about the kind of neurological biochemistry that is involved in the process of your joining and all that goes along with it, but I'm betting that between that and my own family variances as Betazoids, it explains why you have so easily and quickly formed such strong bonds with Reyna and I. My..." He caught himself thinking, but not saying First Wife, but simply paused and smiled before continuing. "...wife was human, but because of an accident, she might not have been 100% human. Either way, it took her a while to begin forming the bond with me. I had never had one like that other than with my sister and wasn't even sure if I could form one like that. You, on the other hand, formed one very quickly. I know we've been working together for a while, and I can be a bit thick when it comes to picking up on social signals, but until this last mission, thoughts of you and I...well...I guess the cover of our mission gave me an excuse to think of you as something other than an officer in Star Fleet. Seeing you out of uniform made me...um...think about you as a person, and in the outfit you were in, I realized I had never really looked at you before then. It was a little wake-up call about myself first, but an even nicer one about you." He gave a sigh and chuckled, "Then you kissed me on the cheek, we danced and here we are."
He leaned in close again and said suggestively, "You know, even though Reyna is along, this technically counts as our second date. I'm definitely getting some cheesecake to take home with us."
Just then, Reyna reappeared. She looked much more relaxed, "I miss anything?"
Alex asked, "Everything good, kiddo?"
Reyna nodded and gave a glance to Beno, "Apparently I like strawberries much more than I thought. Maybe I'm hitting a growth spurt or something. I know I have a couple of teeth loose, that's sure to feel embarrassing for a while soon."
Alex smiled, "Really? Well, you are about due to start that sort of thing, if I recall the material I read on it."
He took another sip of his drink and then said, "Cindy, can you run a scan and give me a timeline on that?"
From somewhere over Beno's shoulder came a very soft beep and a couple of seconds later Cindy's voice could be heard, [Alex, we should have a talk when you get back.]
He became concerned at first, "Is something wrong?"
There was a pause, "That's a matter of perspective. Something is different."
"Different how?"
Cindy began quoting key acronyms and numbers that Beno caught a few of that were related to the hormones and the endocrine system. A few things she listed had to do specifically with brain chemistry. Alex looked like he was frozen, but his mind was taking in all the information with no expression on his face. Beno was a bit confused by the rapid feed of information. The surprise was from Reyna.
After a long moment of this information, Reyna began shaking her head slowly, "No...no-no...no-no-no! This isn't fair. I'm only six..."
Cindy went silent then said, [Almost seven...]
"I still have at least half of my childhood ahead of me. I have barely begun to use the long list of childish excuses I'm entitled to and I'm not going quietly."
Cindy's voice said, [What's your current reading level?]
Without thinking about it, Reyna answered, "I just finished second year university level, you know that. What's that got to do with the price of self-sealing stem-bolts?"
[Reyna, remember the talk about the parts of you that were very old-school Betazoid and were technically an unknown? Well, congratulations, you're a girl.]
Reyna gave an exasperated look at the sky and then rested her forehead on the table with a small thunk, "I just got a mom and the universe has to do THIS to me? The Fates are cruel and I hate them."
[Actually, the two events might not be unconnected. Alex, I did suggest we have this conversation in a less public location. My apologies.]
Alex seemed unphased as he finally spoke up, "Cindy, please formulate a projected timeline with standard accountable variables for my review when we get back."
[As you wish...] Then there was another soft beep.
Alex gave a long sigh as he leaned back and picked up his drink. Beno knew the look on his face though. He was still thinking. A second later he spoke and gave Beno a wink, "The bond. That's what I think was the trigger. It's the most logical answer."
Reyna mumbled into the table, "I'm doomed."
Alex began to explain in more hushed tones, "The majority of Betazoids are born male. My family is a bit different in that our sex is more likely to be determined at birth and we also have twins more often. For many, the final sexual determination is triggered at or about the onset of puberty. Reyna was mostly female, but some aspects were still undetermined, but she's part human, so we weren't worried about it. You might say she was considered about 75% determined, so this is no real surprise. The surprise is that she never had a mom before and it appears that you may have caused her to finally have something kick in that her brain had not decided until now. That's the part that is known."
Reyna, face still down, mumbled, "I hate my brain."
Alex gave the top of his daughter's head a sympathetic look and continued, "All we know for certain is that the bond likely triggered that biological decision in her brain. Likely, it should have happened right after she was born, but she didn't have anyone to make that bond with and it seems that her bond with me wasn't quite the same as the bond with you. What I don't know is if it will end there or not. It could be simple, or it could turn complicated."
Reyna finally raised her head and said to Beno, "You may have noticed that in this family, we almost never do things the easy way. My latinum is on this getting complicated. Don't worry, I still love you and don't regret a thing. You're an awesome mom. This is just Murphy's Law and I really hate Murphy."
Just then the waitress brought by the extra slices of cheesecake in containers for them to take with them. Reyna's eyes went wide as she perked up and blushed, "Am I smelling more strawberries? This is going to be a long night."
== Tag Beno ==
