Christmas Dinner (OPEN)

[Sam O'Connor]

There wasn’t a soul on board the ship today that would be able to resist the delicious smell of food wafting from the kitchen. It was Christmas day, and Sam had been up since seven in the morning preparing all sorts of food for the dinner just after noon. The turkey was roasting away beautifully, which gave Sam time to start the roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, sausages wrapped in bacon, stuffing, and gravy before running off to get changed.

When he came back, clean and smartened up, his hair having been trimmed the other day, the delicious smell was almost overwhelming. Checking the food was difficult with his stomach rattling against his insides, begging to be satisfied, so after doing that, he removed himself from the kitchen, and set up the table – not too plain, not too fancy. Party poppers and Christmas crackers were a must. Then he put the music on – cheesy Christmas stuff, obviously - and hung a couple of small twigs of mistletoe around the room – one over the door, one over the table.

“Perfect.”

Bouncing his way back into the kitchen, he found that most of the food was almost ready. The vegetables went inside a large dish and got stowed in the top over to keep them warm, same for the potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. Now all they were waiting on was the turkey.

.... and the other Christmas dinner diners.

The kitchen door creaked open slightly and Sam spun on his heel, “hark! Who goes there?”

[Evangeline Irvine]

Christmas. What an odd concept. Eva had never really bothered with celebrating it much since she'd stopped living with Louise almost a decade ago. Theo hadn't celebrated it at all, and if he didn't, who would she have had to celebrate with? So she'd given it up. In fact, when Sam had told her to come to the dinner he was preparing, it had taken her a moment to understand why today was more special than any other.

Beta Cygni had always had warm, humid winters--often it would rain, but it never snowed. Keeping with that, she dressed in high-waisted shorts and a crop shirt, shrugging at the thought of how the others would react. They already thought she was crazy, so why would her outfit matter anyway? After considering her hair in the mirror for a minute or so, she shrugged again before turning and heading for the mess hall.

From the moment she'd stepped out of the sleeping quarters, the smell had enveloped her and brought a smile to her face. Inhaling greedily, she continued on her way in an almost eager manner, curious to see what all Sam had thrown together. She paused outside the door to the mess, arching her eyebrow at the mistletoe in amusement and skirting around it on her way over to the kitchen.

"Well, I'd say I was Santa out on a cookie run, but then you might shoo me off before the dinner actually started," Eva chimed when Sam called out to see who was there, stepping into view. "And, judging by that aroma, I'd be missing out on quite a meal."

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam immediately relaxed from his overdramatic pose when he saw who it was, and let out a wolf whistle when he saw what she was wearing. "Santa wears hot pants now, does he? Well I never." He laughed and shook his head slightly, "nice of you to join me. You are missing something though, a vital something." Pulling something from his back pocket, he kept it hidden. "Close your eyes." When she did so, he walked over and pulled a red and sparkly Santa hat onto the top of her head, "there, all better."

He was glad that at least one person had decided to turn up for dinner, otherwise he was going to be eating the whole thing himself, and he'd probably end up exploding from consuming all that food in one go. "Nope, no cookies before dinner," he shook his head, "we don't want you spoiling yourself now, do we?" He leaned back against the counter, shoving his hands in his pockets, "that hat suits you," he smirked, "let's see how long you can keep it on for before you get too worried about hat hair and force it onto my head instead."

The only two people who had mentioned they might be coming were Zoe, who would inevitably show as soon as the smell of the food hit her nostrils, and Julia, the ship's psychologist. Once again, he would be surrounded by women. The thing that he was sort of anxious about was Zoe and Eva meeting for the first time. Zoe knew of Eva, but he couldn't actually remember ever telling Eva about Zoe. It had slipped his mind. Oops. This was going to be fun.

[somerandomhippie4]

One of Zoe's favorite thing about the Venia was the ventilation system. Not the fancy equipment to play with, not the cozy room with a bookshelf where she could relax, no-- it was the fact that the ventilation system had a fan, and that the commons room was directly above the kitchens. If she sat in the fluffy little chair in the corner, pretending to read a book, she could get first whiff of when Sam was done cooking. It ensured that she got down to the kitchens first, for best dibs. She wasn't about to miss out on such marvelous cooking, especially not at Christmas.

She'd given the smell a little while to develop, to make sure everything was cooked and ready, before she innocently made her way down to the kitchen. Sam had been very excited about his latest creation, and she hadn't seen him all day, which probably meant he was toiling away. Sneaking a look around the mess hall, she made sure no one else was about to capitalize on her early snacks before poking a head through the push doors.

Seemed Zoe was a little late. Already, Sam was goofing off with someone in the kitchen; a blonde she hadn't met before. She thought for a minute. Wait... Ahh, this must be Eva, his old friend. As he popped a hat on her head, she grinned. Obviously, he was quite the ladies' man. She gave it a few minutes, then actually stepped through the doors, saying, "Are you done cooking yet? Some of us are hungry, you know." She beamed at him, then turned to his friend. "Hey, I'm Zoe Robinson. I don't think we've met before..." Trailing off suggestively, she waited for a name.

[Evangeline Irvine]

And so the joking about her ensemble had begun. Eva grinned and rolled her eyes, tempted to shoot off something about his own outfit to retaliate. But she didn't have a chance to come up with anything before he'd told her to shut her eyes. Sighing in an over-dramatic manner, she did as he asked and waited. Next she knew, she could feel him tugging something into place on her head. With a laugh, she opened her eyes and reached up to pat the Santa hat.

"Cute," she giggled, playing with the fuzzy bauble on its tip as he vowed to ensure she not eat before supper. At his joke about the hat, she smirked again. "When it comes to hair, Sam, it is inevitable that yours is more important. I'll just have to suffer, I supposed." Nothing else was said before the kitchen door opened again, and another woman popped in. She had a slight bounce to her step, and her hair was blonde just as Eva's own was, though she'd cropped it far shorter than Eva felt she herself would be able to get away with.

The smile fell from her face at the waves of familiarity that seemed to roll off the girl--Zoe, she'd introduced herself as. Did she know her somehow? She clearly wasn't R4, none of them were as cheery as she seemed to be, so how come she seemed to know who Eva was? For a moment, the said woman contemplated digging around in the other woman's head for answers, but then hastily aborted that thought. Prying into someone's thoughts never really helped induce friendship.

Hitching her smile back up, she nodded once to the other blonde. "Eva Irvine. It's nice to meet you, Zoe." After a quick handshake, she glanced back over at Sam. "You know, Zoe here raises a good point. Are you almost done, oh master of the kitchen?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement when she said his hair was obviously more important than hers, "your hair can't possibly hope to achieve all that mine has in these few short years we've been apart," he shook his head, "it's marvelous-ness just radiates." Maybe one day he would figure out why the heck Eva and Zoe both loved that mop of hair on top of his head - to be fair, it wasn't much of a mop at the moment, it was cropped fairly neatly.

He gave the bauble a quick flick, sticking his tongue between his teeth in a cheeky fashion, before Zoe announced herself. For some reason, he froze. There was no way with Zoe he was going to get a chance to introduce them to each other before she dived in. And they were both grown women - both older than him - they could handle themselves. Then why had he tensed? He supposed he'd never hung around two women at the same time before, he only had to work his charm and be his adorable self around one of them at a time. This could go so very badly... for him anyway.

Luckily, they both directed his focus back to the food, and he made a flourish in the air with his arm, before tapping the side of his nose. "My trusty sense of smell tells me so," he said, "if Zoe's impeccable timing hadn't already given it away." He skidded over to the oven, seizing a pair of oven gloves on the way so that he didn't scold his hands on the hot dish, and pulled open the door, the smell of the perfectly cooked turkey washing over them all. He could feel himself salivating already. Gently, he slid the turkey out of the oven and onto the surface, making a small incision into it to check that it was cooked properly. "Bellissimo!"

"If you ladies would like to go sit at the table, I'll muster what muscle I have in order to carry this into the dining area," he joked, waving them off through the door. "Mind the mistletoe."

[somerandomhippie4]

Zoe paused as Sam nearly jumped as she walked in. This could be a little awkward for him... So, she kept her placid face on and changed the subject. Eva seemed really nice, but her own entrance hadn't exactly been all that tactful. Beaming, she replied, "Lovely to meet you, Eva." After a quick handshake, Sam sprung back into his stride again.

"I'm sure it does," she snorted. "It's been drifting up through the vents for ages." She closed her eyes and smiled as he opened the oven, breathing deeply. "Wonderful, Master Chef," she teased. "Your amazing skills have served you well again."

He shooed them off, and Zoe managed to shoot a silly look over her shoulder before heading off to the door. Waiting for Eva, she let the other blonde out first before hopping over to the long table plopped in the middle of the hall. It looked antique, and quite classy. "So, what do you do up here?" she asked Eva conversationally, picking a chair to sit down in. "Sorry if I don't recognize you, I've only been here for a couple weeks."

[Evangeline Irvine]

Oddly enough, Sam seemed even more startled by the arrival of his best friend than Eva was, but it didn't take long for him to regain his wits about him, and he told them to go out and wait for him at the table. The two blondes did as asked, Zoe taking the lead. With a slight smirk, Eva skirted around the mistletoe again on her way to the table, and upon reaching it pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Well, to be honest," she began awkwardly at the other woman's question. Clearing her throat and staring determinedly at her knee, she continued, "I, uh, don't really do anything that much around here. I suppose you could say I'm a tactical officer, if you wanted, but officially, I'm not. Besides, what I specialize in is a little more... clandestine, than what you'd consider typical of a UGAP officer."

Shifting in her seat, she lifted her eyes again and met Zoe's gaze evenly. "What about you? I can't say as I've been around here all that long myself." Not that Eva really needed to ask--she could always just take a gander in the blonde's head. Manners, she thought pointedly. She really needed to work on developing some proper social habits. Well, more like re-learn them.

"How's it going in there, Sammy?" Eva called suddenly, smirking. She was all too aware of how calling him 'Sammy' could prove to be hazardous to her health. "Need help with anything?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam could hear the hum of their voices from the kitchen, which was a good sign, it meant they were keeping up a conversation in his absence. He didn't know quite how all this was going to work out, but... well, he'd certainly keep them laughing. That was what he was good at, after all. He was taking his time adding the final flourishes to the turkey and making sure everything was in place before heading out there.

Apparently the girls were getting impatient for food, Eva even dared to call him Sammy! "Well apart from being eaten alive by the turkey, I'm absolutely fine!" he called back, managing not to snort with laughter as he hoisted the turkey tray up and shouldered his way into the mess hall. Looking at them both sitting at the table, he wondered how the hell he had managed this, having dinner with two gorgeous blondes. Most guys would kill to be in his position right now. And here he was, playing the lead in the two beauties and the dork.

"At long last," he slid the tray onto the table, "dinner is served." Picking up the carving knife, he said, "not that I'm much of one, but I'm assuming both of you ladies are comfortable with the man carving the turkey?" He had no idea what Zoe would do with the carving knife, probably accidentally lop off his ear, as for Eva, the turkey would be slaughtered all over again.

[somerandomhippie4]

Zoe plopped her elbow on the table- rather impolite, but it wasn't like anyone else was here- and listened to Eva's rather stuttered explanation. Shrugging, she offered her a reassuring smile. "Well, most of what the government is 'claudestine', as you say, anyways. Besides, it's not like anyone else does anything either." Most of her day consisted of sitting around, playing Sudoku on her monitor. She was actually getting pretty good at it, compared to usual.

Eva finally lifted her head, and Zoe sat back naturally. Now that was a gaze that held power. It was a gaze like that crowds responded to, that could quieten a room in mere seconds. She was a strong person, sitting across from her. Shrugging again, she said, "I'm the communications officer. So, basically just the secretary. Even if telemarketers can't leave a lot of messages in space."

Grinning as Eva called for 'Sammy'- good for her- in the kitchen, she raised her voice to reply. "I thought we were supposed to be eating the turkey, not the other way around! Besides, I thought he would have the decency to cook you first!" His hair would probably go all crispy from the gel, anyways. That stuff tasted awful.

Beaming at his wordplay, she said sweetly, "Glad you're finally admitting it, silly." Tucking her feet under her, she sat back, letting Sam get on with his chef magic. She had to admit, his cooking could even trump a good, home-made meal. It would be great for settling in. Looking over at Eva, she asked conversationally, "So, I assume you've known this donkey longer than I have?" She'd only known him for a couple years, actually, even if it seemed longer.

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Why would a turkey want to eat you, anyway?" Eva added to Zoe's joke with a smirk, "All that hair wouldn't agree with its stomach." At the mention of cooking him, she snorted. "Well, I've heard of lean meat, but..." The turkey Sam carried out looked positively wonderful, and Eva inhaled deeply, leaning back in her chair to watch as he carved the bird up.

She glanced up from his skillful knife-working at the other woman's question and shrugged. "Depends how long you've known him, but probably not. We met once going on nine years ago now, but after that one encounter we actually hadn't seen each other again until about a week or so ago." Glancing around, she spied a wine bottle set in the middle of the table and got up to fetch it.

Once it was open, she brought it over to fill her own glass, then glanced at the others and held it up suggestively. "Shall I pour for the both of you as well? Or would you rather I not?"[/blockquote]

[Sam O'Connor]

Ohhhh, they were ganging up on him, he knew it. As much as either of them had ever believed he was a ladies man, he didn't really stand a chance with both of them working together, intentionally or not. "Don't tell me that, tell the turkey!" he said to Zoe, "although, you can leave out the cooking me part, as attractive as I look roasting on a spit." He snorted loudly at Eva's comment about lean meat. "I wouldn't be very tasty at all, I agree. After all, I'm all muscle." He knocked his fist against his hard stomach and stuck his tongue out.

"Oh, I knew you'd be glad," Sam shook his head at Zoe, carving them all a couple of slices of the turkey. The rest would probably be used as leftovers for days to come. "Eva's known me for longer time wise, but actually spending time with me, it's Zoe," he said, attempting to explain that as well as he could. Once the meat was one each of their plates, he skirted round into his seat.

He nodded when Eva offered to pour them wine, "not that we need to see Zoe tipsy, but it could be amusing." He smirked at her. Oh, he would tease them back. "Help yourselves to everything else. It looks like we're the only ones actually eating." It was sort of a shame, but also kind of nice, having a small Christmas.

[somerandomhippie4]

With an evil grin, Zoe said, "Oh, but you've got to let the thing have a little fun. Come on, it's Christmas." An eye roll was present at the muscle comment- as skinny as he was, it was mostly skin and bones. Yes, a little muscle, but most of it seemed to be centered around his mouth. And she wouldn't have it any other way. "We'll take your word for it."

"Oh, you're so sweet," she grinned. "Always the gentleman, hmm?" Looking at the turkey, she had to admit, it looked amazing. Roasted to perfection, steaming after being pulled right out of the oven. Pulling her plate a little closer, she beamed, "Thanks," and looked around for the stuffing.

Nodding in acknowledgement as Sam explained everything to them, she gave him a shove across the table. "That would be lovely, thank you," she told Eva, her smile only a little devious. Looking at her watch, she shrugged, "I suppose they might just want to come later. Have a late supper, and stay up a little later." Reaching across for the potatoes, she plopped one on her plate.