Roses and Knots "
By: Mr. Knott , Masseur , [NPC]
Patia Zoei, Chief Counselor, [PC]
Teilani Dane, Chief Medical Officer, [PC]

Stardate: 58206.25 1700

Running down the corridors Teilani rushed towards the Promenade. She was late, one of the disadvantages of being on a station was that time was some how irrelevant.

"Come on, come on." she muttered under her breath while the turbolift decended way to slowly in her eyes.

Then dodging some banners, Teilani saw Patia from afar already.

"Hey Patia, sorry I am late." she said trying to catch her breath.

"Lani, you are right on time. I was early. Are you ready?" she asked.

Teilani nodded. "Oh and help me remember I need to pick up some yellow roses from that cute little flower shop. I noticed they had some yesterday..

"I will do that. I would like to stop there as well. How did the training go last night?" Patia asked

"Oh that went fine, McIntyre is trained well." Teilani said with a chuckle.

"And that is a very good thing," she winked. Patia nodded toward the shop, "After you."

Teilani entered the small shop, it smelled nice, minty and fresh.. in the back there were fluffy white towels, even some bathrobes could be seen. It seemed like it had a Swedish orgine. At least thats what Teilani thought, remembering from pictures from Earth.

"Hello," she said anybody there?"

On silent feet, a pleasantly plump man entered the anteroom through a beaded curtain. The soft light reflected off of his pale, blue, bald head. "How may I be of assistance to you lovely ladies," he queried.

"Hello I m Teilani Dane and this is Patia Zoei and we were wondering if we could get a massage?"

"I am Mr. Knott. Your timing is perfect. I have had two cancellations. The next two hours are at your disposal. You must be Dr. Dane, of the USS Zion," he nodded toward Teilani. "And you," he cocked his head, "yes, you must be our intrepid Chief of Security's little sister. I can see the resemblance."

He paused, his finger stroking the PADD on his desk. He raised his eyes to appraise the two women. "Dr. Dane, you will be first. Lieutenant Zoei, if you would be so kind as to return in an hour, we will have your massage when your friend is finished."

Patia smiled at Teilani. "I will see you in an hour. Enjoy your massage." The man's back turned and she pointed to her hair. "Don't forget," she winked.

Teilani grinned. "I won't."

The atmosphere of the massage parlor was quiet and reflective. Patia's movements were slower and more graceful than usual as she turned and walked out the door. She had an hour to explore the promenade. On the level below, she spied Silvio leaving a shop. She locked eyes with him and waved.

Mr. Knott glanced through the window. "Your friend, she does not look disappointed that she needs to wait," he observed.

"No, I think she spotted someone she would like to have coffee with."

"Follow me, this way, please," he glided down the corridor. He paused to open a door. "After you," he gestured through the portal.

"Thank you."

"Have you had a massage before?" he asked.

Teilani shook her head, "Not a real one."

"I will leave you for a few moments. You can hang your uniform on the hook behind the door. Once you are ready, you can rest here until I return," he patted the table next to him. "There is a warming and cooling pad under the sheet. What temperature would you prefer?"

"Oh I don't know, you make the choise please." Teilani said with a smile.

He made an adjustment, setting the heat to a gentle warmth, patted the bed, and slipped out the door.

A bit reluctantly Teilani slipped out of her uniform, being a doctor she had seen her share of naked bodies but seeing herself in a mirror was something completely different. Quickly she covered herself wiht one of the white fluffy towels and laid down on the bed.

Moments later, the door slid open and Mr. Knott glided back in. From the base of the table, he pulled out a slightly warmed sheet and blanket. Gently, he drew them up until the rested just below her shoulders. "This should be a little more comfortable than the towel, for you. If you would like to give that to me, I would be happy to set that aside until your massage is over."

Teilani removed the towel quickly. "Thank you," she said.

"We offer several different concentrations during a massage. You can have an upper body, which focuses on your head, neck, arms and back. Another option is the lower body. This addresses your legs, ankles, knees and feet. Some pressure may also be applied to your hips, but that would only be if you are comfortable with that, since it is not actual muscle manipulation. The third option is a face, scalp, head and neck massage. The final choice is an all over massage. This provides a massage to all areas, but would be more abbreviated than a focal point specific massage since we need to cover more areas in the same amount of time. Which would you prefer?" he asked.

"Hmm its difficult to decide but I think an upper body massage will work out fine. I have a tendency of getting a bit tight in the shoulders."

"Please relax, and we will get started. How long have you been docked here, at the station," he quietly asked. The lighting lowered and a relaxing scent overshadowed the mint.

Teilani layed face down as she felt the hands of Mr Knott gently massaging her neck. "We have only been here a day." She winched as she felt a big knot being "attacked"

Starting with light strokes, he worked the tips of his fingers into her scalp. Gentle pressure found clusters of tight muscles at the back of her head. Surprisingly, they relaxed with minimal effort. It gave hope the roping muscles on her shoulders would also relax easily.

His soft, singsong voice asked, "Is this the first shop you have visited on the promenade?"

Teilani shook her head, "No I have already done my share of shopping."

"What shops have you visited?" he asked. His hands slid gracefully down to her neck. Starting at the points behind her ears, he rubbed gentle circles, slowly loosening the muscles.

"There is this lovely little book shop on the upper promenade. they have these exquisite books from the 21 century. I was trying to get a copy of the titanic but that is so rare." Teilani said softly.

"For that, you might want to try 'Rarefied Inks' on the lower level." He applied light pressure with his thumbs on her upper back, along the edge of her shoulders. "They specialize in seldom seen books, including some from Earth from several centuries ago. Ask for Remali, she will help you if she is able."

Teilani softly moaned as she could feel the pressure in her muscles being released. She shifted lightly on the bed. "Ah thats great, I never thought of that shop."

Slowly, he moved toward her left arm. Using his thumbs, he applied pressure down her inner arm, concentrating on the area just above her elbow. "Have you seen our Chief of Security's wife's shop? I understand she just received an order to fill a room with flowers."

"Really????? Teilain asked. "Wow it must be a special woman then who gets those flowers. Oh... and suddenly it dawned on Lani. " You know," she said turning her head towards the bolian, " I might know who the woman is.." She chuckled.

"Who might it be?" he asked as he applied gentle pressure on the palm of her hand. He worked the pressure from the center of her hand to the tips of her fingers.

"Well I have a good feeling that they are ment for the lady I came in with. She and our Chief Engineer have, well are starting to... You know what I mean."

"They are?" he wondered quietly. "How about you? Do you like flowers?"

"Oh I love flowers, I adore yellow roses but they are hard to come by. Sure you can replicate them but the smell and the texture of the peddles are some how not the same. Teilani yawned slightly.."Is this ment to make you sleepy?" she ask Knott.

"It is meant to relax you," he said. "For some people, it lets them sleep." He moved to the other side of the bed and started to massage her right arm. "If you would like to sleep, you are more than welcome to do that. I will wake you when it is time to roll over."

"Oh no no, I will be alright. I guess I just need a cup of coffee." Teilani grinned. "You know I do drink too much of the stuff."

"These knots you feel," he pressed slightly harder on several small clusters of knotted muscles, "are made worse by too much caffeine and not enough pure water. You should drink more water," he smiled slightly. "It is time for you to lie on your stomach."

"Oh ok, trying gracefully to flip on her stomach, Teilani managed to hold the sheet firmly. Looking up at the friendly bolian face she smiled.

He smiled slightly in return. He slid the sheet down to Teilani's waist. Gently, he ran his fingers along the muscle of her back. Knots on both shoulder blades felt like cherries. He lightly rubbed the first knot with the palm of his hand before positioning his elbow on the knot. "Breathe in deeply. On the count of three, exhale completely, please."

Teilani took a deep breath as much as her lungs would allow here, and then exhaled it firmly.

As Teilani began to exhale, he applied firm pressure to her back. The lump of tissue released with a light popping noise. He ran his palm over her back. Smooth, unknotted skin slid below his hand. "Does that feel better?"

Teilani flexed her muscles and indeed the tension was gone. "Oh this feels perfect, i wasn't aware I was so thight up.. You know is there away to do it yourself?" She asked the bolian.

"You need to put heavy pressure in the middle of the knot. Personally, I can't even do it to myself, but if you can figure out a way to do that, and market it, there would be a lot of latinum in it for you," he smiled. "We are going to repeat this on the other side." He stepped around the table, smoothed the place with his hand, positioned his elbow and said, "Same as before, breathe in as much as you can, then exhale until all of the air is out of your lungs."

"Yes Sir," Teilani said with a smirk.

There was another pop, as he applied the pressure of his elbow. Again, when he smoothed the palm of his hand over her skin, it felt smooth and unknotted.

Teilani wiggled her shoulders. "Wow this feels great." she said looking at the Bolian.

"Drink more water, you will have less knots. Today, I want you to drink only water. There are toxins that are released into your muscle tissue when those knots are broken up. If you drink enough water, those toxins will be flushed from your muscles. If you don't, they will remain and reform."

"I will try to but you know I am a coffee holic."

Gently, he moved his fingers over the skin on her back, almost tickling her. His practiced hands felt for more tension. Along her lower back, the muscles tightened reflexively as his palms brushed the area. With his thumbs, he worked the area, gently at first, and then with more pressure.

Again Teilani moaned, not that it hurted but she felt the tension removed from her muscles. She doubted that it was from too much coffee but the stress of the last few days could have been a factor as well.

"I am going to apply some cooling gel to your upper back and that area on your lower back. It will be normal to feel some muscle soreness, much like if you have spent too much time in a physical activity. The cooling gel will help with the discomfort." He reached for the jar. It smelled like old fashioned linament. Carefully he smoothed it on before briskly wiping it from his own fingers.

He drew the blanket up to the back of her neck. Again, he gently rubbed a few more times along the length of her spine. "You are done. Take your time getting up. After an hour of intense pressure on your upper body, you might feel a little light headed when you first stand. Don't think it won't happen to you either," he quirked an eyebrow at her, "because it can."

He stepped to the door. "I will meet you at the front counter when you are ready."

"Mr Knott, you have magical hands!." Teilani said really thankful. She closed her eyes for a while and let the coolness of the gel flow through her. Then slowly she sat up, legs dangling she took some deep breaths. Slowing moving her head from left to right, then she hopped off and started to get dressed.

By the time she got dressed and according to the mirror looked presentable again Teilani could die for a mug of coffee. She stepped out of the back and met Mr Knott at the counter.

He smiled slightly as he handed her an iridescent bottle of water, a slice of lemon twirling through the contents. "No coffee, at least not for several hours. Drink water, lots of water, or you will be in the same position you were in when you arrived."

"I will make sure to recommend you to my colleagues Mr Knott." Teilani said smiling.

He half bowed. "Thank you." As he straightened, he noticed the woman outside the door. "Your friend, she has returned, I think."

Teilani nodded and she left the room. "Patia, this is heaven...