Expectations
by Denise Felt 2010
"I won’t let you do it!" the man stormed, throwing up his hands, then turning to his wife and saying, "Marina, tell him. Make him see how foolish he is being! No good can possibly come from pursuing this pipe dream!"
The young man said earnestly, "But, Father. The Academy has accepted me. This is a great honor, not a pipe dream."
"And what of your plans to assist me at the Astrophysical Research Center, huh?" his father asked testily. "Will you so easily walk away from what we have worked toward all these years?"
Dark brown eyes met those of his mother for a long moment, then turned back to face his father. "That is your dream for me, Father. Not mine. I don’t want to study the stars from a lab. I want to be out there among them!"
His father bristled. "This is what comes from letting you explore other fields of study! You have filled your mind with foolishness instead of what is important. How could I have raised such an ungrateful son? To have you slap away all that I have worked so hard to give you! Marina, tell him his duty! Tell him what he should do, for I am weary of trying to reason with him!"
The young man hung his head, hating the thought of his father’s displeasure.
His mother came to his father and laid a hand on his arm, then spoke softly to her only child, her little boy. "You must do that which is in your heart to do, of course. You must follow your dream – even if that dream takes you far away from those who will worry about you. Then we will be proud of you, knowing that you are pursuing your dreams as your father himself did at your age."
"Hmph!" grunted his father, but he did not dispute his wife’s words.
And the young man looked up and met his eyes. "Father, I will make you proud of me. I swear it!"
And Leonid Chekov could not hold out against the love that shown out of his son’s face. "Go then!" he said gruffly. "Go to your Starfleet and leave your family behind! But I shall expect you to send me reports on what you discover out there in the dark reaches of space. Perhaps you may even be of assistance to my work at the lab after all."
Pavel grinned in relief. "Yes, Father. I promise I will! Thank you!"
"I won’t let you do it!" the man stormed, throwing up his hands, then turning to his wife and saying, "Marina, tell him. Make him see how foolish he is being! No good can possibly come from pursuing this pipe dream!"
The young man said earnestly, "But, Father. The Academy has accepted me. This is a great honor, not a pipe dream."
"And what of your plans to assist me at the Astrophysical Research Center, huh?" his father asked testily. "Will you so easily walk away from what we have worked toward all these years?"
Dark brown eyes met those of his mother for a long moment, then turned back to face his father. "That is your dream for me, Father. Not mine. I don’t want to study the stars from a lab. I want to be out there among them!"
His father bristled. "This is what comes from letting you explore other fields of study! You have filled your mind with foolishness instead of what is important. How could I have raised such an ungrateful son? To have you slap away all that I have worked so hard to give you! Marina, tell him his duty! Tell him what he should do, for I am weary of trying to reason with him!"
The young man hung his head, hating the thought of his father’s displeasure.
His mother came to his father and laid a hand on his arm, then spoke softly to her only child, her little boy. "You must do that which is in your heart to do, of course. You must follow your dream – even if that dream takes you far away from those who will worry about you. Then we will be proud of you, knowing that you are pursuing your dreams as your father himself did at your age."
"Hmph!" grunted his father, but he did not dispute his wife’s words.
And the young man looked up and met his eyes. "Father, I will make you proud of me. I swear it!"
And Leonid Chekov could not hold out against the love that shown out of his son’s face. "Go then!" he said gruffly. "Go to your Starfleet and leave your family behind! But I shall expect you to send me reports on what you discover out there in the dark reaches of space. Perhaps you may even be of assistance to my work at the lab after all."
Pavel grinned in relief. "Yes, Father. I promise I will! Thank you!"