Gracie's Great Pair of B's (Barbeque and Billiards I mean!)

Posted on Sat Oct 3rd, 2026 @ 10:22pm by Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant JG Grace MacKenzie 'Sabre'

4,788 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Starbase 43

Grace MacKenzie wasn't someone to double-guess her outfit, but she was as she walked to where the computer had assured her he was presently at: His quarters. These ones didn't open for her the same way his door on the ship did, but apparently it was hard-coded that ONLY the resident of the quarters would have their biosignature recorded. At least she wouldn't be able to walk in on him inflagrante delecto with that engineer, even IF she'd given her tacit approval. That felt wrong, but what choice did she have?

Instead, she'd told him to dress casual for a date with her for tonight, which there had been no response from him, but that wouldn't matter too much, would it? She wore a really cute outfit she'd been able to find at a vender on the promenade, a white crop top that covered far less than the skin it left bare with thin straps and partial sleeves to keep it up, but still showed a generous amount of the cleavage she had, the short jeans shorts not covering all that much more, showing off her legs that ended in a pair of boots that were pre-worn to be comfortable and topped off by her Stetson. Hopefully, he was ready for her, but that lack of response had her worried as she pressed the chime on his door and took a half step back.

Zach's eyes snapped open and he let out a groan as he sat up. He had no idea what time it was; his internal clock just had its hands spinning. All he knew was the chime to his door was ringing and he should answer it. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up, stretched, and made his way to the door. As it opened, he looked out, then down. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Grace all dolled up. "Hey!" he said, smiling. "You look fantastic....wait..." he said, frowning as she came inside and bounced onto his couch, "why do you look so fantastic? What'd I miss? What time is it?" He looked towards the computer terminal and the blinking yellow light, indicating a message. He walked over and played it, hearing Grace's bubbly voice.

Hey, Zed! Ah thought Ah'd ask YOU out on a date tonight! Dress casual-like and let's have some fun! Ah've found a place Ah think we'll both love! See you at 1700! Love you!"

Zed facepalmed and turned around, coming over to his couch. "Aw, Gracie, honey, I'm sorry. I must have dozed off before that came in. I've been exhausted lately and I just--" he paused as she jumped onto her feet into his arms and kissed him. He put his arms around her and held her tight. When she finally let his lips go, he looked her in the eyes. "Does that mean I'm forgiven?" he said, smiling and squeezing her denim-clad rear.

Grace squealed lightly with the squeeze but smiled up at him with a nod, “Of course you’re forgiven, Zed, you’ve been workin’ long, hard hours tryin’ to get the ship fixed!” She gave him an appraising look up and down from her limited point of view, “Of course, if you’re comfortable and wanna stay, all we gotta do is get me outta these things..?”

He grinned and kissed her again. "Okay...as much as I want to wiggle you out of those shorts, you have planned a date, and I say we do it."

“Oh, poo.” Grace gave him a mock-pouty face then giggled into his face as he spun her around once quickly in his arms, “Ah know Ah’m ready to go, so all we’re waitin' on is you, lazy-bones!” Truth be told, she hadn’t felt this giddy in years, was it that second year at the Academy before she found that she’d been well into the bottom quarter of her class and had to struggle to try to catch up?

"Ten minutes," he said. "Fifteen on the outside; I will shower and look respectable and we will go." He snuck one more kiss on her lips and then kissed her ear. "And then we'll come back and I'll see about those shorts," he whispered teasingly, squeezing her rear once more before pulling away and walking quickly to his bedroom.

“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep!” She smacked him on his boxer-clad bottom as he passed her, smiling at him before collapsing back onto the couch as the door to the refresher closed behind him. Her concern that Alexis had been here had been for naught, which relieved her more than she’d ever admit to Zed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him happy, she just wanted him to be happy with JUST her. Was it greedy? Probably, but… No. This was HER night with him and she was going to make it memorable.

Of course, there was always the need to make fun of her boyfriend, it was expected, so she leaned back and slouched on the couch as much as she could, bring in’ her hat down over her eyes to look like she was napping while waiting for him.

Thirteen-point-eight minutes later, Zed stepped out of his bedroom in a pair of jeans and a nice, plain tshirt. He looked around for Gracie and found her lying on his couch. He walked over and leaned down. "Very funny," he said, rubbing her thigh just above the knee and squeezing.

“Girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep somehow, don’t she?” She peeked out from under the hat before reaching up with both arms, “It takes a lot of work to keep this pretty for you!” She paused a moment, “Well, maybe not a LOT of work.”

"Liar," Zed teased. "You're just effortlessly cute and you know it." He leaned down and kissed her as her arms wrapped around his neck. "So...what are you planning this time?" he said.

“Who says Ah have anythin’ devious planned?” Grace asked as she used the leverage of his standing back up to come to her own feet, “Little ol’ me!” She giggled and finally released him.

"No one, which is why it's very suspicious that you're now assuring me of it," Zed said, his eyes narrowing.

“Actually, Ah found a place on the station that looks like it should have some good stuff to it, so Ah figured we’d check it out. At least, the smells comin’ from it seemed pretty authentic. You do like good barbecue and music, right?”

"That I do," Zed said, his mouth watering. He must have been asleep for a while to be that hungry. "So, lead the way. We'll have a fun, delicious, soot-free dinner, and then we'll come back and have a nice night together." He bowed gallantly, letting her walk ahead to the door.

Grace smacked him on the shoulder as she passed him, “‘Nuff with that fancy bullcrap, Ah’m a country girl, not some high-falootin’ fancy pants gal!” She turned and walked backwards as she left the room, “And Ah’ll do better next time; no smoke! Ah just gotta practice a bit more!” She reached out with one hand and grabbed his, squeezing it tight, “Now c’mon!”

He followed her out of his quarters and into the corridor. They left the residential section quickly, discussing their day and Zed's repair schedule taking its toll on him, and entered the recreation district, various restaurants and lounges all looking inviting to Zed's empty stomach, but Grace pulled him along towards one in particular.

The frontage was covered by honest-to-god wood, at least the bark from it, to try to appear more like a vintage building until they stepped through the threshold. The tables were all typical Starbase fare, but there was a long bar that was made out of wood with a pair of bartenders behind it. In the far corner was a well ventilated barbeque pit with several things on it, slow smoking over the low fire. Grace stopped and smelled the air, a wide grin on her face, "This smells like the right place, Zed, more an Oklahoma flavor to it, but still authentic!"

Zed took a long, slow inhale and let out a happy sigh. "I won't get picky on the origins if it tastes as good as it smells," he said. His head turned as he heard the distinctive clack of phenolic resin and grinned. "And there's entertainment," he said, eyeing the pool table. "Excellent. Great choice, Gracie."

"And you and Ah are gonna be playing a couple matches on there." Grace leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, "And when Ah kick your sorry ass, you are gonna be making it up to me. But that's after we get some ribs and steak, isn't it?"

"And potatoes and whatever else they have," Zed agreed. "Lead the way."

Grace laughed and led him over to a table. "Now you sit down here, Ah'll go get us a couplea beers and get our order placed, okay?" She didn't wait for him to answer, giving him a kiss on his lips before flouncing off happily to the bar where the 'tender came over and she talked with him, flashing two fingers to him before bringing her shoulders in, clearly giving him some incentive while he pulled the beers from an honest-to-god tap.

Zed rested his chin on his hand and watched her bounce away, grinning to himself. This was the side of her that he loved the most: the infectious, bubbly side. It brought it out in him too, and he enjoyed that more than he thought he would. Their start may have been rocky, but he couldn't help but admit she was a great girl, and despite what she'd been through, she was coming back into herself bit by bit, even to the point where she could flirt with a bartender. A small shadow crossed his face at the thought of her past, but he put it aside and put his smile back on. his research was moving along, and he'd talk to her about it later. He saw her glance back and stuck his tongue out at her teasing.

Grace looked over at Zed and laughed before winking at the bartender and bouncing back over with the beers, sliding one in front of him and sitting down, "Rack of ribs for us to spar over, a couplea large steaks, baked potatoes with the fixin's, whatever the vegetable of the day is and some homemade red bean chili apparently as well. Think you'll get it all to fit in?"

Zed bit his lip and struggled to hold back his first response, trying to look like he was thinking it over. "I think I can manage," he said. "Of course, given our relative sizes, I suppose I should ask you that." He mentally kicked himself for how that sounded.

Grace giggled at both of the meanings that presented themselves to her, eyes glittering at him, “Ah can stuff more in here than you might think.” She rubbed her stomach, “You’ll see, Ah can promise you that!” She took a pull of the beer in front of her, then tossed a thumb at one of the empty billiards tables, “He said it’d be a few minutes, wanna try your luck against me while we wait?”

Zed looked back at her, his expression unsure. "I guess....I can try," he said. He took a long sip of his beer and stood up. "Shall we?"

She bounced back to her feet, "Of course we shall." She smiled widely, "Ah'll even let you break, give you the first chance to get some balls in the holes."

"So generous of you," Zed said, walking over to one of the empty tables. He picked up a cue and looked at it at each end, then picked up one of the blue cubes. He put the cube on the edge of the table and held it still as he put the cue on it, twirling it a bit to freshen the tip. "Okay," he said, "do you want to grab the balls?" he said.

"Do Ah wanna grab your balls?" Grace asked nonchalantly as she reached into the corners and started to pull them out, pointing a finger at the holes by him for him to do the same. "Sure, 'course Ah do." She winked at him while she corralled the balls in the center before grabbing the rack and putting the balls in randomly, except for the eight ball in the center of the group, "But that's for later."

He gave her a look and took the cue ball and put it randomly down on the table. When she pulled the triangle away, he leaned down and tried to aim, his shoulder moving his arm outwards as he tried to line up a shot. He struck forward and did hit the cue ball, but sent it off to the side, striking the twelve ball and sending it flying, but barely nudging the rest. The twelve finally came to land near him with the cue on the opposite side. He shrugged and nodded to her. "Your go."

She sighed slightly, shaking her head slowly before taking the cue she'd picked and liberally coated the tip with the chalk and gave him a look. That could have been either a great move or a really bad one, "Ah mean, the goal is to scatter them a bit, and if you didn't wanna do that, you coulda just had me do it." She took careful aim and shot the white ball sharply, impacting the (mostly) triangle formation directly, scattering the vast bulk of the balls across the table and sinking none of them, "There ya' go."

"Oh I'm supposed to hit them? Well, no wonder I'm confused," he said. "Good thing we're not betting on this." He aimed and struck, almost knocking the six into the side pocket. He sighed and nodded to her.

Grace shook her head, "Just remember, you put one in, you keep shootin', them's the rules." She leaned on the pool table with both elbows, looking up at him with those green eyes as he began to line up his next shot, lowering her shoulders to give him a better look if he glanced over.

He smiled at her, not bothering to hide his interest. "We're talking about the game, right?" he said, grinning as she sank the nine without batting an eye. "You know, there's no need to try and distract me if you're already beating me."

"Now Ah'm beatin' you." She grinned at him, before leaning across the table to sink number fifteen. "Ah'm stripes, you're solids." Then she swayed around the table before lining up her shot, looking up at him, winking and shooting without looking back down while the eleven ball went straight into a side pocket, the cue ball spinning back towards her and she barely let it stop before she changed her angle and sunk the twelve ball and the ten on the same shot, starting to make her way around next to him before lining up on thirteen ball.

Zed let her move in front of him to line up the shot and reached down, putting his palm on her left rear cheek and squeezing. "I dunno, you feel fairly solid to me," he said, grinning as she jumped and missed the thirteen entirely.

Grace squealed and smacked at the hand that had squeezed her, "Hey now, that's not fair!"

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Oh, c'mon, a little harmless fun. I can't let you win straight away, can I?" he said, grinning. "Besides, I think I could win now!"

"Hmph." Grace stuck her tongue out at him while she grabbed the chalk for her cue again, "Ah don't think you've got what it takes to beat me, Zed, not unless you're snowin' me so far." She gave him a careful look, "But who am Ah to stop you if you think you can. But are you willin' to put up?"

Zed suddenly looked wary, looking at Grace as if she were suddenly the squirrely one. "Put up what?" he said.

"If you're so confident that you can win, then you should put up some sort of bet." She grinned wildly, "That is, Zed, if you've got the balls for it, pun intended."

Zed looked at the table and then at her. "All right," he said. "If I win..." he leaned down and whispered in her ear, nuzzling her neck as he did so. "And technically in that case we both win," he said, giving her rear another squeeze. "And if I lose, I have to clean your quarters once a week for a month. Deal?"

Her eyes flicked to his then back to the table. To be fair, cleaning her quarters wouldn’t be that hard, she WASN’T a slob after all, but… Her eyes went back to his again to make sure she wasn’t being fooled. Of course, this was a win for her either way, but surely there was a caveat, “Deal.” She said, certain he wouldn’t be that abusive in whatever catch there was. “Just don’t be cryin’ when Ah nail the eight ball.”

Zed shook her hand and grinned. "Promise," he said, giving her a deeper kiss before standing back up and walking around the table with a much more confident stance. "Three ball," he said, leaning down and sending the three smoothly into the side pocket. "Five," he said, taking two steps and sending the five into the corner. The six and the two soon followed, along with the one and the four. "Seven ball, corner pocket," he said, sending it across the board and into the hole. As he walked by her he said "cue stick, back pocket" and gave her a playful swat on the rear.

Grace’s yelp was what startled her out of the staring she was doing as he ran the table of the solid colored balls. She rubbed her rear end and glared at him, “You… You… You aren’t supposed to be good at this! Ah was supposed to do…” She waved at the table with her free hand, “THAT!”

He grinned at her and came around the table to aim at the 8 ball.

Grace sighed heavily, though as he’d whispered, she admitted she’d been tempted to make a couple ‘unlucky’ shots herself to give him the win. But this was different. This was cheating! Hooliganism! Treachery! Getting played by someone just like she was. Damn. It was humbling. “Go ahead, Zed, Ah’ve been out… Out-played by another player.”

"You mean you were trying to play me?" Zed teased, grinning at her as he lined up his final shot. "Eight ball, side pocket," he said. He pulled his arm back smoothly and moved forward, striking the cue ball. It flew on course towards the 8 and struck true, knocking the black and white ball at an angle sending it directly towards the side pocket. Zed watched it go, smiling, then frowned as he saw it slow. It wasn't moving quite as fast as he'd anticipated, and suddenly, the ball rolled to a halt mere micrometers from falling into the pocket.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," he said.

"Oh my..." Grace chuckled, then bumped the table with a swaying hip, vibrating the table slightly, the 8-ball dropping in after anther second of hesitation, "Oops!" She covered her mouth in fake shock, "Ah suppose that means you win, doesn't it?" She winked at him.

Zed stared at her for a long moment, then broke into a grin. He came around the table and put his cue down before grabbing her and pulling her into a hug and kissing her hard. "Did I mention I love you?" he said, smiling.

She dropped her cue on the table and threw her arms around his neck to hold onto him, "You may have mentioned it once or twice, not as often as Ah have though." She batted her eyelashes at him.

"MacKenzie, your order is up!" The voice at the bar called out.

"Well, hon, looks like your time for some good barbeque is ready to go." Grace smiled and released him, falling back to her feet from her toes, "Did you wanna be a dear and grab it? It may be too heavy for little ol' me."

"Can do," Zed said, letting her go and heading to the bar to grab the impressively laden tray. He brought it over to their table, finding Grace already seated and ready. "Dinner," he said, sliding it between them and sitting down.

She pulled one of the steaks, potatoes and veggies over towards her before she ensured that a linen napkin was present before reaching out and grabbing a pair of the ribs and started with them, the meat falling off the bone almost before she could get to it, her fingers rapidly becoming sticky with the sauce that had been slathered onto the meat, "Okay," Grace said between bites, "This is pretty good, Ah'll grant that."

Zed was through a rib before she'd finished her sentence. "I'll say," he said after swallowing. He hadn't realized how hungry he was, nor how much he'd missed real food. "You know," he said, "when I first got to the academy, the commissary seemed like a dream, and replicators have definitely spoiled me, but real food is still such a treat."

"There's somethin' about it bein' made with someone's own two hands that just adds somethin' to it." Grace grinned over the barbeque sauce on her fingers, "And just wait until you get to try Daddy's stuff. It's more a dry rub with a lighter sauce, but you're gonna die in heaven with it."

Zed smiled slightly. "And how will 'Daddy' feel about his little girl dating an Engineer?" he said. "Or are we going to lead with 'former runaway and circus performer'?"

"If he even bothers to care?" Grace shrugged, taking a long pull of the beer in front of of her, "Ah don't think it'll bother him that much if at all. He never has really bothered much at all with my whereabouts since Ah left home, so what happens out here won't really matter. Oh, he'll throw a bash if Ah go home, but after that's over?" She shook her head, "Out of sight, out of mind."

Zed frowned around a mouthful. "Well, better prepare you for my parents then. They're very involved, and my mother will want to fuss over both of us when I bring you home. I hope you don't mind, but I'll be mentioning you in my next letter home."

"Ah have no problems in you mentionin' me, especially if it's as your girlfriend." Grace flashed him a bright grin, "Ah'm sure Ah could also handle bein' fussed over a fair bit, just so long as Ah get to look nice for them to fuss over. Ah ain't gonna meet them in some grubby old uniform; it'd at least be nice, fresh and crisp if it's gotta be in uniform." She pondered a moment, "They won't mind if Ah do what Ah can to help out, will they?"

"Help out?" Zed said, looking confused. "With what?"

"Ah dunno..." Grace gave him a helpless shrug as she wiped her hands with the napkin and retrieved a steak knife and fork, "Ah just... Wanna feel like Ah'm not there just to take up space and oxygen? You know, make myself useful?"

"All right," Zed said. "I'll let you make the bed each morning and do my laundry while we're there. If it'll make you feel better, I'm willing to make the sacrifice." He put a forkful of potatoes in his mouth and chewed with an amused smile on his face.

Grace stuck her tongue out at him, "Not for you, silly!" She threw her napkin at him and it fell halfway across the table, "For your parents! Ah'm not gonna be one of those girlfriends who just lets them do everythin' for her just because she's a guest. They gotta know their son is in good hands."

"So you're going to show my parents I'm in good hands by not doing things for me?" He bobbed his eyebrows and pretended to think on it. "I mean, it's a bold strategy, and it'll definitely subvert their expectations." He grinned as she stuck her tongue out again. "Our home is fairly self-sufficient, but I'm sure my mother would appreciate you helping me set the table now and then. Just don't feel you have to go out of your way, okay?"

"Ah'll consider that." Grace allowed as she stowed one of the last few bites of steak in one cheek and began to chew. For such a little thing, she could sure pack away a lot of food, "Thanks!" She smiled at the restauranteur as he replaced their drinks and she took another long drink of the beer, "But, we're a long ways from Earth and Vulcan, Zed; who knows when we'll get there."

"True," he said, clearing his plate quietly. He did and did not miss being there. He liked spending time with his family, but he had gotten used to living out on the move, having his own quarters and living his own life. "Maybe they can make a trip out to see us," he suggested. "The next time we put in to a starbase closer by."

"That would be somethin' Ah think Ah'd like." Grace sighed in relief that the steak in front of her had all but vanished, along with everything else she'd put in front of herself. "We'll also invite my family, not that Ah expect them to come along."

Zed frowned slightly, but didn't comment. Their loss was their loss. "And in the meantime," he said, "we can practice taking care of each other." He held out a hand and smiled.

She placed her hand into his with a grin, "We can, indeed, and just what were you thinkin' of, Zed?"

He squeezed her hand and stood up, leaning over and kissed her gently. "For starters," he said when they finally pulled apart. "Want to lose another game of pool?" His grin was innocent but his eyes were twinkling with smartass energy.

"Lose?" Grace scoffed, "Pretty big talk from someone who concealed just how good they were when he was in the process of gettin' hustled." Her grin turned predatory, "Put up or shut up, double or nothin'!"

"I'll take double," Zed said with a smirk, grabbing both her cheeks as she walked by and followed her back to the pool tables.

It turned out when she wasn't holding back and he wasn't being cocky, they were fairly evenly matched, and by the end, she'd won three games, and he'd won another two, leaving them tied. They both agreed that was the safest option for everyone's egos, and as they walked back to Zed's quarters, arms around each other, the conversation was less adversarial than it might have been.

"So, when I found out our sehlat trainer had a pool table in his compartment, I begged him to teach me," Zed was saying. "He wiped the floor with me fairly often, but thankfully my knowledge of geometry and such had been improved, and I learned fast. I've been playing variations of pool and billiards ever since." He opened the door to his quarters and led her inside, sighing as they closed and removing his shoes. "I could sleep for a week," he declared.

"But you ain't gonna." There was a rustle of cloth from the direction of the doorway along with a quiet sound as something hit the floor. She'd nursed her third beer of the night so she knew she was slightly inebriated, but not drunk. She was riding that fine edge where she had full control over herself with that slight loosening of inhibition. Now she stood there in her birthday suit and started to walk over towards him, "Tonight, Zed, you and Ah are gonna make each other's full acquaintance. And yes, Ah am in my right mind."

Zed stared at her, committing every inch to memory as he felt the blood leave his brain. "That's all I need to know," he said, walking over quickly, scooping her up and kissing her as he carried her to the bedroom.

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