No True Pair

"Oh! That looks… interesting," Bill says with an unconvincing smile.

"It tastes better than it looks, I promise," Kathryn admits, wrinkling her nose. "Go on, try it," she coaxes. "You've been living primarily on algae for years. My cooking can't be that bad," she adds with a teasing smile.

Bill can't help but smile back. There is something magnetic about this Starship captain, even if he's not completely sure he can trust her yet. Not for the first time, he wishes that Laura were with him — this does seem like more of a diplomatic meeting after all. But Laura is in their sickbay, begrudgingly being examined by their holographic doctor who claims he can cure her cancer… Which, if it's true, gives Bill more than enough of a reason to humor the captain's precarious hospitality.

So, Bill smiles a little bit bigger and spears a bite of the mushy looking pasta with his fork. Kathryn watches with eager anticipation as he brings the fork to his mouth and takes a bite. Somehow, the pasta is both mushy and burnt and also manages to be both too salty and also nearly flavorless. Bill forces a smile as he swallows it down. "Mmmm. It's good," he says brightly.

Apparently satisfied, Kathryn puts a bite on her own fork and dives in. Unlike Bill, she does not try to hide her disgust, barely stopping herself from spitting it into her napkin. When she has regained her composure, she looks back to Bill with cheeks flushed in embarrassment and amusement. "Either you are a very good liar or that algae is even worse than I thought," Kathryn says with a half-hearted chuckle.

"It's really not bad!" Bill insists, picking up his fork to take another bite. Thankfully, Kathryn's hand on his arm stops him before the food reaches his mouth.

"Stop, no need to humor me. You're not the first and I'm sure you won't be the last to fall victim to my dubious cooking skills." Kathryn clears the offending dishes away in a flash and returns with a loaf of bread and two jars. "It's why I keep this around. I hope you don't mind peanut butter and jelly," she says with a smile.

"What is that?" Bill asks, still a bit wary of any food offerings from the captain.

"You've never had peanut butter and jelly?!" Kathryn exclaims incredulously.

"I… know what jelly is," Bill shrugs.

"Oh, you are in for a treat. Really, I mean it this time!" she jokes, already slathering the contents of the jars onto the bread. "If I had known you didn't have peanut butter, I would have skipped cooking altogether!"

Kathryn drops a plate unceremoniously in front of Bill and he looks cautiously at the sandwich.

"I'll go first this time. I promise it's not poison," Kathryn offers.

When she manages to not only take a bite but also swallow it without making a face, Bill picks up his own sandwich and takes a bite. "Oh, frak that's good," he groans, unable to stop himself. Especially after years of algae, this peanut butter stuff is like the food of the gods.

When he comes back down to Earth (metaphorically speaking, of course), Kathryn is grinning at him. "I'll replicate you a few jars to take back to Galactica."

Maybe these Voyagers are trustworthy after all.