Chocolate ice cream is the best

Posted on Mon Oct 19th, 2026 @ 10:05am by Lieutenant Commander Ryan Keel & Aislinn Finnegan
Edited on on Sun Oct 25th, 2026 @ 2:20pm

1,979 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Maintenance and Recovery
Location: Barisa Prime
Timeline: November 5, 2389, MD 04: Early Afternoon

It had been an absolute treat to come back to Barisa Prime and get to spend it in the sun with Rose while Aislinn watched the rest of the crew have fun, be off duty for a while, and maybe even participate in the volleyball match that was currently being played.

"Mom," Rose turned her freckled face towards her mother and pouted; she wasn't having fun any more just watching everyone else have fun, she wanted to go play somewhere else. "When can we go? Some of the other kids are at the playground and I wanna play with them. Do we really have to wait for Ryan to finish? Please?"

"Rose," Aislinn said with an exasperated tone, "You know what? We can go, on one condition though." She waited for her daughter to acknowledge her before she continued. "We stop and get some ice cream on the way, yes?" Aislinn knew she was spoiling her daughter by giving her what she wanted, but who else was going to do it if she didn't? It's not like her or Seamus' parents were close by to spoil their granddaughter or anything.

While they were talking, the siren went off to signify the end of the match, and Aislinn's head turned to watch Ryan walk off the sand towards the stands. A smile lit up her face when she realised he'd found her and was on his way over, tight shirt and all.

'Hey you,' Keel said with a wide smile as he walked up to the pair, 'fancy seeing the both of you here.' Playing volleyball had left him in a sheen of sweat, despite not knowing what to do. He wrapped Aislinn up in a hug, and gave Rose a wave. 'You enjoy the match?'

"Oh my god, you're all sweaty!" Aislinn laughed as she tried to wriggle out of the hug. There was no way she was going to kiss him unless he showered. "You played a really good game today."

"It was okay," Rose said, she hadn't understood a single bit of it. "My mom's glad you're finished though. Can we go get some ice cream now?" She looked at Aislinn for confirmation.

"What do you say to that?" Aislinn asked Ryan. "Take her to the playground too? Or did you have other plans?"

'I don't know,' Keel replied, kneeling down in front of Rose. 'All depends. What's the best type of ice cream?' he asked Rose incredibly seriously. 'Don't rush your answer now,' he said.

Rose studied him for a long moment as she tried to make up her mind on what she liked the most. "Well, I like chocolate but I also like salted caramel and mom makes a really nice icecream that has bits of fruit in it too." She liked the fact he paid her just as much attention as he did her mom. "Maybe she could make it for you too!"

'Well, those are very good answers,' Keel smiled at her before looking up at Aislinn. 'Your mom's ice cream sounds fantastic,' he said to her with a wink. 'How bout we go get some chocolate and salted caramel for now?' Keel held his hand out to Aislinn. Mint choc chip was clearly the best ice cream, he thought, but not everyone got it.

"I want chocolate ice cream," Aislinn mumbled with a smile as she held his hand and they walked, Rose in front of them all happy and skipping.

While they walked to the playground, Aislinn turned to Ryan as soon as they were out of earshot of her daughter, "We've got approximately an hour or so where I'm gloriously child free, so I'm all yours, what would you like to do?"

His eyes glittered for a moment as he considered the possibilities. He kissed her forehead as they walked, savouring the sun on his skin and the smell of the water as they approached the ice cream kiosk. 'How about a little walk around the water? Everyone's still preoccupied with the other games, we'd have some quiet time?'

"I reckon we could get that done and maybe a bit more within that time, that sounds good." She liked spending time with him and it was becoming clear to her that her love language was more physical touch than anything else, as the forehead kiss made her cheeks flush with colour.

"How did you like playing volleyball?" Aislinn asked with sincerity as she took in the views of the sun sparkling off the water and felt the peace and serenity encroach on her soul.

Thinking it over a for a moment, Keel waggled his head from side to side. 'It was ... alright. I got into it in the moment, enjoyed the competitiveness of it. But I don't think a sport where a large object is hurtling towards my head is for me, really. It reminds me too much of ... well. Hiding behind things and hoping I don't get shot,' he winced. 'Sorry, I thought I'd try and keep things light, but there I go ...'

Aislinn had forgotten he was a Marine before making the switch to a safer option, and squeezed his hand as he talked. She couldn't imagine what it'd been like in a battle zone. "Hey, don't stress about it," she said warmly, "I'd rather you talk about it if you feel comfortable enough now, than waking up in the middle of the night from a night terror or something and not being able to tell me what's going on."

'I don't do that any more,' Keel replied softly, not wanting to let on to Rose they were talking about weighty matters. 'A lot of Counselor time. A lot of support groups,' he flashed a small smile, his sunny disposition asserting itself. 'Besides, there's no-one one to disturb when I wake up in my bed at three ey-em at the moment.'

"I don't mind three a.m. wake ups, if I'm being honest." Aislinn admitted. "Rose rarely sleeps the entire night, never has, and will usually come in with me around that time on occasion, so I'm used to it. Even if it does involve getting kicked occasionally." She missed the constant adult company though. A deep breath in and out as she considered what she was going to say next, leaving the moment hanging, "So I wouldn't mind if you woke me up instead."

'No?' asked Keel, momentarily thrown off-balance. They'd shared a bed once or twice since starting to date, but never for the whole night. Waking up on his own had been getting harder recently, the missing of a presence besides him. He smiled to cover up his nervousness, and threw out, 'you wouldn't be getting much sleep at all if we're sharing a bed on a permanent basis.'

Aislinn did a half whirl to end up in front of him, hands and arms going to around the back of his neck, and she smiled with a hint of a laugh before giving him a quick kiss, "A permanent basis, hm? I mean, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world at all, but I do like the idea of not much sleeping going on..."

He returned the kiss. 'Well then ... we might need to give it a whirl sometime,' he said, looking down at the redhead. 'But for now,' Keel declared, 'ice-cream!' He pointed to the kiosk nearby, and motioned Rose to run on ahead as he moved Aislinn's arms from his neck, and held her hand while he led her on.

Aislinn huffed in defeat as she resigned herself to holding his hand, but she still rolled her eyes and smiled, "You're no fun," before going to watch her daughter fine the line of people and lime up behind them, her naturally red hair causing her to stand out like a sore thumb.

---

Ten minutes later, the three of them had got their respective icecream - Aislinn her strawberry sprinkle, Rose her triple chocolate, and Keel his ultimate mint choc chip - and they went to sit on an embankment that gently sloped downwards and was in some shade.

Aislinn looked out of the water and the people walking along the shoreline, and found she was enjoying herself more than she thought she would. Especially with Ryan and Rose. "I've really enjoyed today, y'know?"

'Me too. It's been nice not to have to sit on some enclosed deck on the Astrea for the whole day. There's a whole different vibe here.' He looked over at Aislinn and winked, 'company's good in either place though.' He stretched out his legs on the embankment and people watched contentedly. 'How bout you kiddo?' he asked Rose, 'is the ice cream good?'

Rose wiped the back of her hand across her mouth to try and clear some of the chocolate from the icecream before she spoke to him with a smile that mirrored her mother's. "Chocolate is my favourite, so it's awesome." She noticed her hands were sticky with icecream and tried to wiped it on the grass with no luck.

"Now I've finished, can I please go play?" She asked in earnest, thinking she'd been patient enough for long enough. A look to Aislinn who rolled her eyes before saying yes was all it took for Rose to fling herself into a hug before she bounded off. "Thanks, mom!"

"I swear that kid..." Aislinn shook her head with a short laugh. "Here's hoping she'll tire herself out so she won't be a pain and just go straight to sleep tonight." Single parenting was hard, especially when it came to sleep time, and Aislinn silently prayed that would be the case, a selfish part of her thinking it'd be great to have an uninterrupted night with Ryan too.

Keel shuffled closer on the grass, and squeezed her thigh gently. 'She's a good kid,' he said gently, 'you're doing great with her.'

"Yeah, I know she's a great kid," Aislinn said with a sigh as emotions started to well within her for some reason. "I'm very grateful I am where I am in life, I wouldn't change a thing, I really wouldn't, but I.. it's just hard sometimes doing this alone." She half-heartedly ate some of her ice cream as she looked out, grateful Ryan was right there, and for his reassurance that she was doing a good job. "I feel like she deserves more."

'That's natural,' Keel replied, 'we all want a better life for our kids than what we had. You're clearly doing a damn fine job so far.' He shrugged, 'you won't always have to do it all alone either.'

"And when is that going to be, hm?" Aislinn queried as she leaned into him again.

'How about we see how this goes?' Keel asked gently, wrapping his free hand around her, and taking another slurp of ice cream as he looked at the sunset. 'We have all the time in the world.'

"All the time in the world, hm?" she murmured, looking out at the sunset painting the horizon in gold and orange. A small smile tugged at her lips as she squeezed his hand.

She rested her head against his shoulder, letting herself settle there for a moment.

"I think I could get used to the sound of that."

---

Lt. Commander Eirly Andersen
Second Officer
USS Astrea


Lt. Commander Ryan Keel
Chief of Diplomatic Intelligence
USS Astrea

 

RSS Feed