(no subject)

[dancingmd]

Who: Beverly Crusher
Broadcast: No
Action: Blue Fish
When: May 10 (Mother's Day for anyone who celebrates it)

[Having had her fill of the casino scene for now, Beverly is back on board the Blue Fish, hard at work in their sickbay. She quickly discovered that she is unable to download the Starfleet database from her newly-obtained tricorder to the ship's computers, so she has been painstakingly typing up some of the more important information. Right now, she's going back over some of her own medical logs from the Enterprise, editing typos and adding comments where necessary. It's a slow process, but the more projects she has to work on, the better. Today is a day she'd rather not think too much about.

Unfortunately for her, Atroma is not going to allow that to happen.

Hi, Mom! says a bright, chipper voice. A voice she would recognize anywhere, the most important voice in the world to her.

She stands abruptly, knocking her chair over in the process. Where is his voice coming from? Did he... is he really here? A momentary surge of hope flows through her.]

Wesley?

[He continues to speak, Sorry I haven't written in a while. Things have been so crazy at the Academy lately. We got a new member of the Nova Squadron today, her name is Sito Jaxa and she's from Bajor! She's got a pretty cute nose...

Beverly gasps, feeling as if someone's just stabbed her in the heart and twisted the knife. This is only a recording, and an old one at that, before the incident with the Squadron, before Sito... scrambling around the room, she finds the tricorder where she left it sitting on a nearby table. A small hologram of Wesley is being projected above it as he talks. For a solid minute or two, she simply stares at the hologram, not really comprehending his words.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy Mother's Day! I miss you! His smile is so wide, so happy, and then the hologram shuts off. Beverly picks up the tricorder and scrolls through the messages. There they all are, every single letter he ever sent her while he was away, the videos she sent back of planets she had visited, holoimages of the two of them together on the Enterprise. She is absolutely certain these weren't here when she first got the tricorder out of the voucher machine. Selecting another letter at random, she hits play. There's no hologram this time, but he's excited: it was his first day of zero-g training. She picks up her fallen chair and drags it over to the table so she can sit and just listen.

Suddenly, it all gets to be too much and she begins to cry. Once she starts, she finds she can't stop, so she just lets it go and falls forward, elbows on the table and head in her hands, desperately hoping no one will see her like this.]

Comments

[alwayscomeback]

[Sokka's attention had been caught by the strange voice. He'd assumed it was perhaps a visitor from another ship, it happened regularly, after all. He'd only planned to peek into the lab to give a friendly wave, see who was visiting the ship today.

What he finds is Beverly, by herself and crying. About as far from what he was expecting as possible.

He hesitates at the door, but only for a moment. He's not good at comfort, but Beverly is one of them, and he has to try. He crosses over to her, brow furrowed in worry. ]

...Beverly?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly starts at the sound of Sokka's voice. Quickly, and a little clumsily, especially for her, she shuts the tricorder, which stops the recording from playing. She turns and looks at her captain.]

Sokka!

[That came out a bit choked sounding. She halfheartedly wipes the tears away from her face and tries to smile.]

I was just...

[She looks away, unable to finish her sentence.]

[alwayscomeback]

[She was just crying. He walks over, shoulders a little hunched, not sure how to help, but needing to anyway. ]

...Are you okay?

And obviously the answer isn't 'yes', here.

[dancingmd]

[She manages a short, sad laugh at that. He's not going to give her any leeway is he?]

No. No I'm not.

[She taps her hand on the tricorder and takes a deep breath before opening it again to select a holoimage of Wesley, taken right before he left with the Traveler. The image floats above the tricorder and she turns it towards Sokka.]

This is ... my son.

[alwayscomeback]

[He moves a little closer, his augment already working on that little piece of tech for him. That's...pretty neat, and he'd love to gush about it and learn all about it, but now isn't the time. He frowns softly, looking at the floaty image.]

So now they're, what? Sending us messages of our loved ones? That's a new low.

...Can I do anything for you? [He's genuinely worried, it's there in his face and voice. ]

[dancingmd]

I... don't know. Maybe, just for now, could you sit with me?

[alwayscomeback]

Sure, sitting, I can do.

[He offers her a weak smile and moves to sit next to her.

Wow, he has no idea what to say. How do you comfort people? Ugh. ]

[save_the_souls]

[If there was one thing you could say about Allen Walker, it's that he was a lot more observant than he was often given credit for. He had noticed all the hours Beverly had put into the clinic, into all her various projects- a sign of someone trying to not focus on their emotions. The little clues she had given about being homesick, about missing her friends and family. Each time he had noticed though, there had always been a bit of a wall. That wall that older people give when they think they need to be strong. When he was younger, the wall had fooled him a little...but as he got older, as he began to try the same old trick...]

[Well, he realized that adults were just as prone to pain as any child. Prone to hurt inside. But for Beverly, he had let it be. She seemed to be a proud woman after all, approaching her on such things might only make it worse. ]

[Today, he comes into the clinic to see her crying at a table. It barely surprises him....it was probably only a matter of time with how hard she's been pushing herself. It's not hard to figure out what caused it- the tricorder was still playing that recording. He remembered being shown it when she got it back. Seems like it has the same capabilities as Timcanpy. He knows well how much one of his recordings can hurt when it catches Allen unaware.]

[Slowly and quietly, he'll approach. It's only when he's near her side does he speak, in a quiet tone to try to avoid startling her.]

Dr. Crusher...

[dancingmd]

[Beverly heard Allen's approach, though she doesn't look up. Instead, when he comes to stand next to her she simply reaches out and takes his hand in hers. There's really no point in pretending with him is there?]

Allen.

[She closes her eyes and her next words come out as a sob.]

I can't. I can't do this.

[save_the_souls]

[He'll let her take his hand, giving her a gentle squeeze of her hand]

It's alright. It's better to cry when you want to cry. This isn't an easy situation to be in, no matter how much we try to make the best of it.

[Being away from her son, not knowing how he is...being away from everything else she's known- it'd be hard on anyone's heart.]

[dancingmd]

[She shakes her head, though what exactly she's disagreeing with isn't clear, even to her. Maybe it's just a mute protest of everything that's happened.

You wouldn't believe what happened the other day, Mom! Professor - Wesley is still talking. Dropping Allen's hand, she gently shuts the tricorder, silencing the recording. There's only so much of that she can handle right now. She's let herself listen for too long as it is. She takes a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm the crying. When that fails her, she thinks about what Cole said earlier, and what Deanna would tell her. She finally turns to face Allen, her face a blotchy red mess of tears.]

I could really use a hug right now.

[save_the_souls]

[Allen just gives the slightest of nods, before stepping over to hug her. He'll be here for whatever you need, Beverly.]

[dancingmd]

[As if Beverly is pouring all her pent up feelings into this one action, she hugs Allen a little more tightly and holds it a little longer than she originally intended. However, it helps, greatly.Finally, when she pulls away she rests her hands on his shoulders for a moment and meets his gaze directly for the first time since he came in. When she speaks, her voice is soft and still a little shaky, even if the tears have stopped.]

I'm glad you're here right now.

[justamobster]

[ Ladon isn't paying the Blue Fish a terribly personal visit, he's just here with a complimentary bottle from his recent purchase from the previous star system's waystations. He doesn't know when he's going to get his new bar up and running, but a little promotion never hurts.

So he arrives with a bottle of liquor with a silver sash tied to it and a label that says To: Blu Fish / From: Torist in Ladon's awful penmanship. And he's looking for a place to put it when he hears voices.

The first is a young man's, and it sounds like it might be coming through a device, so that's not too off-putting, but that second... He knows a woman crying when he hears it and immediately he seeks out the source.

He finds Beverly with her head down, crying in the med bay and while he feels like he's invading something deeply personal, he's too worried not to make sure she's okay. ]

Doc? You all right?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly looks up, surprised, when Ladon speaks. She frowns and quickly wipes away her tears with the heel of her hand.]

...Ladon?

[He's not quite what she pictured.]

[justamobster]

[ He offers her a small, sheepish smile. He has a way of forgetting that few of the people he's talked to here actually know what he looks like. He'd been around on Sacrosanct long enough that most the station's population knew him. He's still getting used to being a new face here. ]

I, er. Sorry. Was passin' through and heard... Ain't the type t'not check on a lady, yeah?

[ He's still visibly concerned. ]

[dancingmd]

No, no don't apologize. It's good to see you, it's just...

[For a moment she stares helplessly at the tricorder still babbling away before gently turning it off. She looks back up at Ladon and gives him a sad smile.]

Today is Mother's Day, where I'm from.

[justamobster]

Ah. [ He steps into the room then, looks for her approval to sit down across from her. Provided she appears okay with it, he takes a seat. ] So, that voice. Your son?

[dancingmd]

[She nods at the chair nearby, indicating for him to sit.]

Yes. [She smiles sadly.] His name is Wesley.

[destinyembrace]

[Kairi had heard the crash, having been walking by the sick bay when it happened. She spun on her heel and hurried over, afraid something might have happened. Beverly had been in there an awful lot this weekend, with no sign of letting up. Had exhaustion caused an accident? Her mind raced through the possibilities as she hurried in.

Her footsteps slow when she sees Beverly, staring in shock at... something. Kairi doesn't notice the hologram until a moment later, just as it shuts off. Words are caught in her throat as Beverly begins to play another one, and this time, she hears the whole thing, and she understands...

Then she cries, and Kairi's heart leaps into her chest. Beverly had always been the pillar of strength for everyone on the ship, a steady rock. To see her cry was heartbreaking, and Kairi had to fight her own tears as she walked over to her.]

Beverly...

[dancingmd]

[At the sound of Kairi's voice, Beverly looks up and takes a deep breath before turning around to face the young woman. Frustratingly, her eyes are still pooling with tears, even as she tries to give Kairi a reassuring smile.]

Ah, hello.

[Her voice breaks a little on that hello.]

[destinyembrace]

[Oh no, doc. You're not going to try and brush that off.]

That message...

[She slowly approaches Beverly, though keeping a minimum distance in case she didn't want contact. Some people needed space when they were upset, and seeing as this is the first time Kairi's ever seen her so upset, she's not sure what Beverly prefers.]

Was that from your son?

[dancingmd]

[She nods, the tears rolling down her face again.] They're old letters, but for a moment I actually thought...

[Tilting her head up in a vain attempt to stop the tears from falling, she closes her eyes. Her next words come out barely above a whisper.]

... I thought he was here.

[destinyembrace]

[There's a pang of sadness, and perhaps buried in there, even anger. Not at the doctor, but for Atroma or whoever for doing this, for getting her hopes up. It was cruel and uncalled for.]

I'm so sorry. I can't even... [A pause, and then she puts her hand on Bev's shoulder in support.] Is there anything I can do?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly rests one hand on top of Kairi's and gently squeezes it in gratitude.]

I ... really don't know.

[She opens her eyes and gives Kairi another small smile.] It already helps that you're just here.