"I'm leaving," Brenak said as he packed his things in a hurry. This was the last fight he and his father would have; he would make sure of it!

"Please reconsider! Our life is here on Romulus!" his poor mother cried as she knew deep down inside that she was powerless to stop him. It brought about much pain to see her boy leaving on such bad terms with his father.

"I really have no idea how you can stand him mom, I just… He can't tell me how to run my life! I'm a grown man! I have no desire whatsoever to get involved in Romulan politics, much less become a Senator! You would think that he would've gotten a clue by now but no, he just keeps pushing and trying to manipulate circumstances to work out in his favor and I'm sick of it!"

"I'll talk to him about it," she pleaded as she held out her hands to him. He was her baby, it didn't matter that he was already in his late 30's and still living at home. She knew that in certain respects it was selfish of her, but she didn't know if she could stand him leaving. "Just don't leave!" she cried out to him.

Brenak shook his head as he piled the rest of his clothes and a pair of sandals into his bag. "It's too late, I've already contacted some friends from Earth, they're expecting me."

"Where will you go?"

He paused for a moment wondering if he should tell her, but then he quickly realized that it didn't matter whether they knew or not, no amount of threats or manipulations would get him to not leave.

"Florida, near the beach most likely," he replied. It was no secret that Brenak was a very skilled and competent surfer having won many competitions and even now being offered a modeling contract for a big name surfer company. Even though he was almost 37, being half Romulan meant that he didn't look a day over 25 to say nothing of his alluring physique that drove both Earth and Romulan women wild.

"Will you at least call me to let me know that you've arrived in safety?" his mother asked with tears cascading from her eyes.

"Of course I will I- Mom, you had to know that I wasn't going to stay here forever right? An offer was made to me and I made up my mind about it and you know dad has never agreed with me on anything since the moment I could first put a complete sentence together."

His mom, Janette, nodded. "I know son, it is his way."

"Well I'm sick of it!" Brenak yelled angrily as he zipped up his duffel bag. He then took her by the hand and sat her down on his bed. He wanted her to understand that he wouldn't abandon them; he just knew that this was simply something he had to do and now was the time to do it. "I'll come visit, and you come visit me too when you're not doing your archeological excursions. You'll see ma, I'm going to become the best surfer and be so rich and famous on Earth that even dad will have to admit that he was wrong about me!"

She sighed loudly and simply looked at his eager eyes. She so wanted to believe what he was saying and she knew that he had the talent to do so, and it was then that she finally smiled and hugged her son as tightly as she could. He was leaving, but she knew that he'd survive on his own.

OoOoOoOoOoO

3 years later….

It was an exceptionally hot day as Brenak rode his hover bike down the beach line. He smiled and slightly shifted his sunglasses as he looked up at the billboard that showed him catching a wave on a Q'Oakay brand surf board. Success had been achieved and he couldn't be happier.

Things had actually gone better than expected in terms of his surfing career, and now not only was he modeling for Q'Oakay, but he also recently signed a deal with a major soda company that enabled him to acquire all the Dr Pepper he wanted which had become his preferred drink ever since his best friends Bretant and Lentak introduced him to it.

Adjusting to life on Earth however had had its challenges particularly in the modeling world. He was obligated to attend many parties filled with the most gorgeous of women in the galaxy and it seemed to Brenak that they all wanted him; this meant of course that he'd have to make himself available to all of them – which he had no qualms about providing assistance with.

He had found himself in various interesting circumstances ranging from being drop kicked in the face by a woman's angry husband, waking up hung over and having absolutely no clue as to where he was, to being slapped in public- by various women…

But all these things could be overlooked when he considered that he was finally pulling his own weight and as soon as he was able to, he had purchased a luxurious 8 bedroom beach-front home that was the envy of the neighborhood.

When he got home from his bike ride, he saw that his mother had called. He sighed and became thoughtful. It had been a good few months since he had last seen her when she visited him, and he did miss her very much. He established a connection and her face came on screen. Her brown eyes were wide with joy when she saw his tanned face smiling back at her.

"My dear sweet Brenak, how is my big shot model doing?!" she asked excitedly.

He smiled. He really did feel genuine joy in seeing her. "Things are good, I'm actually flying out tomorrow to Maui for a shoot, you caught me on my day off." He then popped the top off a soda, momentarily oblivious to the fact that his mother was a major health nut.

"Brenak? What's that you're drinking?" she asked as a scowl began to form on her face.

"Whaaa? Nothing, just uh- w-w-water."

"That didn't look like water to me Brenak, are you drinking soda?!"

"Ummmm…"

"Brenak! Soda is horrible for your health! It's loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other chemicals that deteriorate your body!"

"I know mom, but it's just one soda…"

"Didn't you get the book I sent you explaining in detail what it will do to you over the years?"

"Yes, mom," he said as he tried not to roll his eyes.

"Honey, I tell you these things for your own good, you know that right sweetheart?"

He nodded. "Yes mom, I know soda is bad and I will try to cut down on it, I know I need to."

"Brenak, I was wondering is there- well, have you given thought to maybe seriously dating someone and finally settling down?"

This time Brenak did roll his eyes. "You've been talking to Aunt Bea and Uncle Letant haven't you?"

"Well, they came over the other day and were so pleased to hear of all the progress you've been making, it's only natural that now that you're somewhat established that maybe you consider engaging in a serious relationship. They would love nothing more for you to get married and start spitting out a bunch of kids but you and I both know that that's something entirely up to you."

"I'm fine the way I am mom," he said. "Listen, can we change the subject? Tell me about you, how is … you know, what's his face…"

Janette raised a brow. "Your father?"

"Yeah…" Brenak replied gruffly.

"He doesn't mention you, but he does keep tabs on you. I walked into his office the other day and he had left his computer screen on. He had been reading an article that Surfing Style had written about you."

Brenak scoffed, "Probably just seeking material to justify not speaking to me."

Janette shook her head. "I believe that he misses you a lot more than either of us can imagine but you know your father's disposition. He wanted you to be a Senator and it didn't happen. He has an uncanny ability to be quite stubborn at times."

"Yeah well… When am I going to see you ma?"

"Oh dear, I was thinking maybe at the end of this month, do you think you would be able to take some time off then? I'd so like for all of us to get together again like old times."

Brenak opened up his calendar on a separate screen, he was always busy, but there was nothing he wouldn't do for his mother.

"Looks good to me; I can take a week off and go to Romulus."

His mom clapped her hands happily. "Good! Oh, I'm so glad that you're coming home!"

"Yeah," he said, "I'll be there."

QQQQQ

Arienne sat on the balcony of her room, watching the Romulan sunset. The colors and hues blending from one intensity to another was breathtakingly beautiful. The beauty before her left her touched but also strangely empty. She found herself, once again, dissatisfied with her life.

She mentally took stock of the possible reasons for that empty feeling she kept having.

Her professional life was more than fulfilling. She was in her early 30s and nearly 10 years before she had almost accidentally crashed onto the galactic scene with a line of tiny handbags for girls in their early teens. The success had not been foreseen or even sought after, but almost overnight there was a fanatical demand for the little bags on Earth, Betazed and Bajor, primarily, but those were not the only planet they were sold...

As time went on, Arienne expanded her handbags into three lines. The 'Tiny Line' was still for preteens and teenagers. Though their mass production was limited, they were inexpensive and easy to purchase. Her larger, more designer handbags from her second line with lovely, intricate -sometimes not so intricate- designs were made for more mature students and career women so they could carry everything they needed in style. They ranged from the almost inexpensive to the 'just out of reach' price range.

And then four years before, Arienne made a third line of bags called 'The Exclusive Collection'. She had literally made only 10 of those in the last four years. They were custom made and sold at the highest prices. Usually top business people, royalty and politicians the galaxy over were the ones who ordered and then purchased them. Almost 50% of the proceeds went to the orphanage that her parents sponsored there on Romulus for the children of the disgraced.

In between all of that success, she had also launched a costume jewelry and a footwear line. She sometimes synced up bags, shoes and jewelry to match, but she wasn't too crazy about doing that and tried to shy away from it. That fashionable sync-up of her products had been at the insistence of her business manager who had seen nothing but dollar signs since the day he'd discovered her tiny bags and insisted someone would buy them. It had been a lucrative career for them both, but sometimes her manager drove her crazy with his schemes to make even more money.

Arienne's newest sketches for a line of surf shoes sat on her personal balcony. It was for a contract she had just picked up for a company called Q'Oakay. Her new designs were based on Earth aquatic life. The one she was working on now was called 'The Dolphin Line'. It was a streamlined surf shoe designed in such a way that it not only molded to the foot of the wearer and kept out sand while allowing water to flow through the vent holes, but it also protected his or her feet from reefburn, venomous sea life and abrasive rocks in the water. The Q'Oakay company was planning on using some big name model from their billboards to wear them at some point in the near future when she rolled out the new design.

Arienne, though, was tired of thinking about work. Maybe what she needed was a vacation! But every time she left Romulus, her dad wanted to either tag along, send one of her older brothers or send security with her.

She was annoyed. Even her little brother 11 years her junior, was free to traipse about the galaxy anytime he wished! Fortunately he had done nothing more than go to Earth and go surfing, as far as she knew, but she resented the double standard she knew was going on, there.

She used to tell herself it was because she was the only daughter and the next to youngest child of her parents. But once D'Nal turned 19 over two years before and was free to find himself, no questions asked by her dad, she experienced a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had been practically sheltered for years simply because she was a female. She flopped down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

Arienne knew that her mother had done her best when she had first come of age at 21. Jamie Lee tried to talk Rekar out of his sexist ways. The 'talks' turned into arguments.

Her parents had had one particularly bad argument complete with shouting and Jamie Lee throwing things at her husband's head. She at one point put her foot down and had threatened to leave for good. The result of that had been her father letting Arienne leave Romulus several times a year on her own (with security!) for long bits of time, at least. That was when she had launched her career and soared professionally.

The only place her dad let her go with no security was Vulcan to visit her cousin T'Nora. But that kind of sucked lately, too, because T'Nora and her husband Giellun had married years before, but now they were having their first baby. It brought home to Arienne, once again, that all of her friends and close relatives had moved on with their lives and were either living on their own in their careers and/or choice of schooling, or had gotten married and now some had children!

What had she had, so far? Two boyfriends, total, and her dad had used his Tal Shiar contacts to make certain the young men never spoke to her again! They had been very human young men scared to death by the Romulans that had called them to enquire after their intentions for Arienne.

She sometimes contemplated dating a Klingon just to watch that vein in her father's jaw pop out! But she had to be truthful with herself. She loved her parents. And she was a daddy's girl who didn't want to hurt him.

So her mind looped back to the thought of a vacation. Maybe she needed to take that vacation, finally.

There was the Apnex Sea. It was there on Romulus and some of her parents friends were getting together there that following week. Her mom and little brother, D'Nal, were supposed to be going, too, since her dad and older brother would be working yet again. The twins were off on Earth helping Uncle Benjamin with the restaurant that time of year. She sat up quickly.

Okay, that was it for sure. Arienne started packing. She could relax and maybe catch a little bit of sun and then return home refreshed to run experiments on her surf shoe designs. Since it was her mom, younger brother and herself, she knew her dad would insist they bring security. She shrugged. At some point her dad was going to have to let her go. Even if she had to run off to get some freedom! She laughed at that thought as she started looking for the right clothes to pack for the seaside. She wasn't the running off type, she knew, but she could always dream!

Her younger brother, D'Nal, crashed into her room then and began jumping on her. "Whatchu' doing, big head?" In looks, he was a young Rekar, but in behavior he was all human. It was the reason he went to Earth so often to surf. He usually went to Hawaii's North Shore, but occasionally he would go to California and Florida.

Arienne playfully pushed her brother, "Get off of my bed!"

D'Nal crashed to the floor on purpose, just to make his sister laugh. He knew she was stressed out, having to be home all the time. At least her time on Earth was coming up soon. He looked over at the balcony and her sketches pinned to a board. "Are those the new surf shoes?"

She sighed. "Yeah."

D'Nal looked over at her and saw she was feeling down, once again. "Ari, I don't understand. Why don't you just tell dad to shove it and go wherever you want?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Aunt Jacinda said her and mom were a lot like that, too. I just don't want to make him unhappy."

"Grandma and grandpa didn't talk to them for years because of who they married. I think history might repeat itself if you don't lay down the law with dad now. Get the silent treatment stuff out of the way now! And besides, right now you're the one that's always unhappy. That's not fair, Ari!"

She shook her head. "Mom told me the same thing, that I'm the only one who can do it now."

D'Nal smiled. "See! At least mom would be talking you!"

Arienne, though very independent, was very much a daddy's girl and the thought of her father not speaking to her killed her on the inside. Thinking about it made her want to cry. But she wouldn't. Unlike D'Nal, she was a little more Romulan in her actions.

"Is that your suitcase?" he asked, excited.

"I was about to pack to go with you guys to the seaside, not to run away."

"Oh well," he shrugged. "I could have helped. Anyhow, I'm glad you're coming with us. You can get out of this house, at least."

"For now…" she muttered.