SUMMARY: On her birthday, someone leaves a series of gifts for Kristin. Who could it be?

CODES: SQ, B/W

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Insert usual disclaimer here.

NOTES: none

"Secret Admirer"
by Liz VanZandt

Kristin Westphalen closed the door to her office and sighed. It was only early afternoon and already it had been longer than most days. That morning alone there had been three injured ensigns and two attempts at an experiment on Seadeck gone awry. And to top if all off, it was her birthday.

Kristin didn't really celebrate her birthday anymore. It was just another day on the calendar to her. She knew Cynthia would call later to try and cheer her up. Today of all days she needed it. Kristin was mildly depressed that only two crew members had remembered. Not that she had really expected anyone to. Except maybe Nathan.

Kristin smiled at the thought of her commanding officer. Tall and handsome with twinkling blue eyes and that gorgeous tan. Kristin briefly allowed her mind to wander, having to laugh as it wound its way into the proverbial gutter.

Kristin sighed again giving a glance at the pile of paperwork on her desk. Sitting on top was a box. It was about six inches square and roughly three inches tall, pale blue, and had a ribbon wrapped around it.

With another sigh Kristin collapsed into the chair behind her desk. She stared at the present by didn't open it. Rather, she thought back over her day, recalling the other strange gifts she had received.

The first had been sitting outside the door of her cabin when she got up in the morning. Kristin had almost tripped over the vase when she opened the door to leave. She'd looked down to see a dozen red roses in a crystal vase. The card simply read "Happy," nothing more, nothing less.

Intending to find out who left the roses, Kristin marched into the Officer's Mess hoping to find Nathan. But she had missed him by less than five minutes. As Kristin poured a cup of coffee to take with her down to Seadeck, Petty Officer Riley came over to give her a box. It was the long small box of jewelry and was pale blue, wrapped with a ribbon. Riley claimed he didn't know who had left it and disappeared back into the galley.

Kristin gingerly opened the box to discover a gold necklace. It was a simple long chain with a small diamond heart pendant. Curiously, Kristin read the one word phrase on the slip of paper under the necklace - Birthday.

Trying to push the questions from her mind, she quickly put the necklace on, grabbed her coffee and made her way down to Seadeck, only to find another box laying by her experiment from the previous day. This one was larger, however. Prodded by an inquiring staff, Kristin opened the box and extracted a bottle of her favorite perfume. Setting it aside, Kristin had summarily shooed her staff back to work amid comments speculating about the identity of the doctor's secret admirer. Kristin was grateful for the interruption of the first injured ensign.

Three injuries and two failed attempts at returning to her experiment later, Kristin wandered into the Officer's Mess for lunch, only to find Katie Hitchcock and Jonathan Ford sitting at a table with yet another blue box. She grimaced as they motioned for her to join them, but obliged. Katie had barely been able to control her curiosity as to the contents, and urged Kristin to open it right away.

Kristin wanted to melt into her chair as she opened the box to discover a red and black lace teddy that looked as though it left very little to the imagination. The rest of lunch had been spent fending off questions about who it was from and whom Kristin planned to model it for.

Finally Kristin had escaped, hoping to find respite in her office - alone. But instead, she found yet another box on her desk. Silently she reached over and undid the ribbon. Taking off the top, she discovered a copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Smiling, she pulled the book out of the box and flipped through it, briefly revisiting some of her favorite parts.

Her silent reverie was broken by a knock on the door. "Come in," she said.

"Doctor," a young nurse said slowly opening the door, "I was asked to give this to you." She held out a box with a ribbon around it.

"Who asked you to give this to me?" Kristin said getting up.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I can't say. He swore me to secrecy." The girl quickly handed Kristin the present and left the room.

Kristin wanted to scream as she undid the ribbon to find a box of chocolates. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. As she bent down to pick it up, Kristin realized that all the presents had been accompanied by a slip of paper. Rifling through her pockets for the others, she put all six together in the order she had received them.

"Happy ... Birthday ... to the most ... beautiful ... woman ... aboard," she read aloud to herself. "Wonderful, I have some young ensign in love with me."

Any chance at finishing any work killed, Kristin decided to take the rest of the day off and returned to her cabin. As she opened the door, Kristin almost turned right back around. A large blue box sat on her bed.

She was saved having to open it right away by the beeping of her PAL. "Westphalen," she said.

"Doctor," Tim O'Neill said, "I have a call for you from your daughter. I put it through to the ward room."

"Thank you," Kristin said closing the door, "I'll be right there."

After a long and somewhat one-sided conversation with Cynthia, Kristin was in an even worse mood as she returned to her cabin. Ignoring the latest gift for the moment, Kristin set it aside and flopped down onto the bed. She was just about to fall asleep when her PAL beeped again.

"Damn," she said reaching for the gadget. "Westphalen."

"Kristin," came Nathan Bridger's voice, "I just heard you took the afternoon off. Is everything OK?"

She smiled at the tender concern in his voice. "Yes, I've just had a bloody awful day and decided some rest might help improve my mood a little."

"All right, let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, I will."

Two hours later, Kristin woke feeling much better. At the risk of losing her good mood, she decided that she'd waited long enough to open the last present. Taking the top off the box, she pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. Attached to the bottle was another piece of paper - Will you.

"Will I what?" she said to no one in particular.

Shaking her head at the deep hole she seemed to be in, Kristin decided to find some dinner and made her way back to the Officer's Mess. Maybe I can find Nathan later and explain this to him. Hopefully he'll have some idea how to attack it.

Taking her tray into the Mess, she smiled seeing Nathan sitting by himself at a table at the back. But before she could head for him, she was approached by Petty Officer Riley for the second time that day. And for the second time, he was holding a small blue box.

"Still no idea who's leaving these?" Kristin asked before he could say anything.

"No," he replied and setting the box on her tray, turned and left.

Kristin sighed and headed for Nathan. "Hi, mind if I join you?"

"No," Nathan said looking up, "please do." He watched her as she sat down. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you," she said, forcing a smile.

"That's a pretty necklace. Is it new?"

She fingered the necklace, "Yes, I received it today, along with half a dozen other things."

"You certainly are popular."

"I don't know about that, they were all from the same person."

"Really?" he looked surprised.

Kristin proceeded to explain her day to him. As she finished, he pointed to the box on her tray. "And that's another one from the same person."

"Mmmhmm," she nodded taking a bite.

"So, why don't you open it, at least see what it is?"

Kristin frowned at him as she reached for the box. Opening it, she found a ring. It had a simple diamond at the center surrounded by sapphires. Her mouth dropped as she pulled out the folded paper from in the top. "Marry me," it read.

"Well?" Nathan asked impatiently.

Things suddenly made sense to Kristin. A smile slowly formed, "It's gorgeous, thank you." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"And how do you know it's from me? There are lots of people it could be from."

"Yes, but you're the only one who knows my favorite flower, favorite book, and knows my schedule well enough to pull this off."

He smiled sheepishly. "What gave it away?"

"I didn't put it together until now, but it was the nurse earlier, Maggie, that was the clincher." Kristin laughed, "She has a crush on you, you're the only one who would be able to keep her from telling me who delivered the gift."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm, and she's not the only one."

"Oh?" he leaned forward.

"Yeah," she closed the remaining distance between them. Before the kiss could deepen, they were interrupted by a chorus of clapping from the others in the mess.

"I think we're being watched, Doctor."

"I guess this means eloping is out of the question now."

"I guess so." He leaned back and picked up his tray. "What do you say we continue this conversation elsewhere, say my cabin?"

"Perfect. I'll even provide the liquor."

Finis

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