Saavik’s visit to earth had been too short, and once again Maya found herself moments away from saying good-bye to her bondmate for years at a time. Such was the life she signed up for when she fell in love with a Starfleet officer: years of absence with lightyears between them and no contact beyond the occasional subspace communication. The telepathic bond they shared made the distance easier to bear. Maya couldn’t imagine how other civilian spouses did it.
They had lingered longer than perhaps they should have–simply enjoying each other’s company in silence–before Saavik offered a gentle reminder that she had a departure time to make. Maya looked down before she tried to smile and offered Saavik a Vulcan salute.
“Live long and prosper, Saavik.”
“I can think of a more appropriate farewell.” Saavik extended her first two fingers, and Maya reached out to touch her fingertips, a final moment of closeless before they had to say goodbye.