A Breath of Fresh Air (Judy, Saya, et. al.)

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

Max nodded yes to Saya as she offered to pour for him, while Judy sipped her coffee with a genteel slowness to her sips betrayed by the ravenous look in her eyes, behind those bifocal lenses. She looked like she'd chug it, if it wasn't so hot.

"Judy Eastman-Williams is currently possessed," Max joked. "She's under a spell, and that spell will only wear off when she runs out of coffee."

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

Saya smiled slightly at Max's joke as she poured his tea and resumed her seat to begin eating. I am quite accustomed to Judy's tendencies with coffee.

Didn't you bring a huge mug or thermos of coffee with you when we worked together that very first time on Tempest? It was this big! She made a possibly slightly exaggerated gesture with her hands to demonstrate.

Kyo snorted a laugh as he started putting fruit on his plate.

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

Judy didn't reply, but rather gave Saya a little vaguely-affirmative look as she continued to enjoy her precious coffee.

"She still has some giant mugs. She just doesn't pour coffee in them anymore," Max commented, drawing a little side-eyed glare from his caffeinating wife, before she, at last, had her fill.

"I was drinking 6-10 shots of espresso a day when we met, so that's pretty likely," she explained at last. "Gosh, I miss it sometimes, but I suppose I don't need it."

"You're less tired now than you were when you drank those amounts of coffee," Max reminded Judy, and it was true. She seemed to have more energy now, she looked more lively, and she moved faster.

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

Saya listened to the teasing flowing between the other couple as she loaded her plate with fruit and started eating. She paused, however, as some of what was being said registered.

I don't understand, she said. Don't most humanoids drink coffee in order to energize themselves? Caffeine is a stimulant, isn't it? Why would it make you more tired?

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

"Well, the first answer to that is the heart. The new ticker can move blood through the system a lot better, so that gives me more energy than I used to have. The second answer is that I'm just not driving myself as hard as I used to: I work less, sleep more, take a lot better care of myself in general. I don't need those volumes of caffeine," Judy explained. "And I think we can all see the difference."

Judy helped herself to a few apple slices and began to eat away at it.

"What Judy isn't saying is that caffeine is also an addiction, and she was an addict. She needed bigger doses to get her high, because her body was used to smaller doses," Max added, addressing the other side of the caffeine habit.

"It's a drug, but it's a fun drug," Judy agreed.

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

That is a good thing, then. I wouldn't have considered having to have an organ replaced would end up being a net positive, though the technology is so advanced I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It is interesting to me that we have gone somewhat the other direction with engineering with bio-neural circuitry - introducing the organic back into the mechanical.

Kyo nodded sagely, then grinned and said, I don't know much about any of that. Musical instruments don't seem to have changed much, at least not if you choose to play acoustic instead of amplified. I guess the types of music people like has changed some, but not always. He raised an eyebrow at Judy.

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

"Not sure what you're looking at, young man," Judy protested Kyo's eyebrow. "I'm not from those 60s. Unless you think I'm some kind of time traveler."

Judy then popped another apple slice into her mouth, ate it, and then continued talking.

"I think it makes sense to have a two-way flow. More mechanical stuff here, more organic systems there, depending on what's better-suited to whichever function," she speculated.

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

But you like the music from those 60s, Kyo teased back with a laugh. He sipped some tea and stole a piece of cheese from Saya's plate, earning a glare that changed to a small smile when he batted his eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion at his mate.

Saya considered Judy's words and nodded. You make a good point. I will have to keep that in mind.

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

"It's not new, and it wasn't new in my lifetime. That's my point. I'm living in the past, young man; same as you," Judy countered, not willing to let Kyo have the last word.

She was nonetheless amused by the cheese antics, failing to suppress a little chuckle.

"You two are adorable, you know that?" she asked the youngsters.

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

Kyo turned his grin on Judy to say, It's my goal in life to get Saya to smile at least once a day.

Saya's face went Vulcan still before she said in a complete deadpan, It is my goal to let him.

Kyo burst out laughing and shook his head. You know you can't help it, he teased.

I have no idea of what you are speaking, Saya retorted in her most Vulcan tone.

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

Judy slightly raised one brow, and pinched down the corresponding corner of her glasses to accentuate the gesture.

"Pretend with him all you want. You can't fool me," she told Saya. "I don't think I need to remind you who corrupted you so thoroughly, young lady."

Max chuckled at his wife's assertion.
"You are a terrible influence on everyone around you," he reassured her.

[Ozu Saya]

[Vacation Home]

Saya's lips twitched as she tried to maintain her serious mien, so she quickly changed the subject before she laughed outright. So are we hiking back to the field this morning? she asked.

Kyo leaned down to whisper loudly, Nice save. I'm sure no one noticed.

Saya glared up at him even as she bit her lip to keep from smiling.

[Judith Eastman]

[Vacation Home]

"We'll go by car," Judy answered. "I need to bring some papers along, for record-keeping."

She chuckled at the younger couple's interaction, as did Max.

"Judy has a little black notebook she carries around, with scribbles that no one else can read, and she keeps all her thoughts there," Max explained his beloved's earlier comment.

"I have to write things down, or they escape," she defended herself. "This side of 60, the mind starts to go."