Tenth Gate [Video]

[forsometimenow]

Who: Jennifer Keller and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: N/A
When: Now

A year, huh... [Jennifer looks distant and sounds a little sad.] How... [She hesitates.] If you've been here for a while, what kinds of things do you do to cope when you're really, really missing home? Because I've been thinking about my friends back home a lot lately, and having been the only person from my world here this entire time... [She trails off, and decides to just wait for responses.]

Comments

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer inhaled and exhaled slowly at the touch, trying to stop the tears, but a few of them managed to squeeze out.]

But what if I'm stuck here for another year? Two, three, five more? I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

[dancingmd]

[Oh darling. Sometimes Beverly forgets how young Jennifer is, but right now she just looks so vulnerable and hurt. Without hesitation, Beverly wraps her arms around Jennifer in a tight hug.]

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer stiffened a little at the gesture, but she soon found herself returning it. She didn't bother to stop herself from crying this time.]

It's... it's stupid. Because I keep asking, "why me? All my friends are much more interesting than I am, so why was I out of everyone else picked to stay here?"

[dancingmd]

[Beverly gently strokes Jennifer's hair.]

I wish I had answers for you - and I wish I could get you home again.

[forsometimenow]

[And that made her relax, reduced her tears to sniffles. It was nice to be held, she thought- to be so comfortable around someone she wasn't ashamed to let her guard down, didn't need to apologize for being vulnerable.]

I wish I could do the same for you. It's not right. None of us should be here. But that doesn't matter to Atroma, does it? Hell, they're probably watching us right now and seeing- and seeing goddamn dollar signs in their eyes. It's bullshit.

[dancingmd]

[Well she can't say it's not a surprise to hear Jennifer talk like that but at least the tears have subsided. And it brings to mind what Ladon once told her: The anger's good. S'when you don't get angry, you just get resigned or sad, s'when you've given up.]

You're absolutely right to be angry because what they've done to us is unconscionable. But listen to me.

[She gently cups Jennifer's face in her hands.]

I love you. And I know I'm not the only one. However absurd and staged this situation might be, however they might profit off of us, the bonds we make here with each other are real. Please don't forget that.

[forsometimenow]

[And whoops, there go the tears again. Jennifer took a great, shuddering breath to stop herself from breaking down and bawling, and she nodded gamely.]

I love you, too. And... and you're right. We're not hired actors playing parts here... every person I've grown to care about here is real, and they care about me as much as I care about them. I still have all of you, no matter what happens.

[dancingmd]

[With a soft smile, Beverly gently strokes Jennifer's cheek with her thumb.]

You do. I'm so lucky to have a brilliant and kind young woman like you with me, almost from day one. As much as I hate being here, I don't hate that it means I got to meet you.

[forsometimenow]

[And cue the blushu- but Jennifer's also reminded a little bit of Sam in that moment. Sam had always treated Jennifer like an equal and like her opinions mattered, even though she'd had years of experience over Jennifer and was used to dealing with the kinds of situations she fumbled through. Being respected like that did wonders.]

And I feel so much less alone having a friend like you around. You've always got so much confidence in me even when I don't have much in myself. Believe me, it makes a difference.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly gives her a soft smile, her heart swelling with love for her friend.]

I'll always believe in you.

[forsometimenow]

Thank you. [Whoops, there's another tear- but this time it's of happiness.] Well, now that I've gotten the emotions out of the way... how about that drink?

[dancingmd]

Yes! And... it's a perfect opportunity for you to try something from my world, if you'd like? It's called synthehol, and I've been making it for Crowley here.

[forsometimenow]

I'd like that. See, sharing things with each other... it's one of my favorite things about being here.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly smiles, then sort of ... Gently pushes her towards a booth.] Excellent! You go sit down then and I'll bring the drinks. And maybe a snack?

[forsometimenow]

Sounds good. And... thank you.

[dancingmd]

Always.

[Another soft smile, and then she's off to the bar! She returns with two pale pink drinks in hand, complete with tiny umbrellas and curly straws(Crowley's touch, of course). They look similar to frozen daiquiris, but they won't taste exactly like any Jennifer might have had on Earth. Still fruity, though, and deceptively sweet. Beverly sets the glasses down on the table, looking very satisfied with herself.]

There we go, two Ferengi Stardusters!

[forsometimenow]

Looks good. [Jennifer raised her glass.] Here's to friendship... and to all the crazy shit we've been through in the past year.

[dancingmd]

[That elicits a small laugh from Beverly and she tinks her glass against Jennifer's before taking a sip.]

So... what do you think?

[Jennifer will notice it certainly tastes alcoholic yet there's something a little... different about it.]

[forsometimenow]

I like it. It's... not exactly like anything I've tasted before, but it's good. What's in it?

[dancingmd]

Synthehol. It's an alcohol substitute that mimics the taste and some of the more pleasant effects of alcohol, but does not cause intoxication and isn't addictive. I've been producing some here for Crowley, for people who would like to come to the bar for socializing but don't drink alcohol, for whatever reason.

[forsometimenow]

Now THAT sounds handy. [She took another sip.] A nice way to have the social aspect of drinking without the negative effects. If the future of my world turns out to be even half as awesome, humanity's in for a great time. [She winked.]

[dancingmd]

[She laughs.] Well it's not all fun and sunshine but I think you'd like it a lot.

[forsometimenow]

True enough... but still. The idea of humans and so many others living in harmony, working together... back home, all we had were the Wraith, and they wanted to eat us most of the time.

[dancingmd]

We have an enemy like that as well... though eating us is not their goal, instead they want to assimilate us into their collective consciousness.

[She frowns.]

But I do think it is that inter-species cooperation that will save us, in the end. Humans could not face down the Borg alone.

[forsometimenow]

I agree... and we were working toward that. Assimilation into collective consciousness, though... I'm not sure if that sounds better or worse than being food. [She sipped her drink again.] The Wraith are sentient and incredibly intelligent- they can't help their biology. I was working on trying to remove their need to feed on life energy, since they otherwise have digestive systems capable of digesting normal food, but hadn't yet succeeded.