Of Course It Hurts (Judy/Saya)

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' Home, Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York - 4 days after returning from ancient Egypt]

The Tempest crew returned to the present on a Friday. That weekend, Judy's parents rarely left her side, tending to their daughter as she slowly recovered from her operation and outright encouraging her to complain.
On Monday, Judy's mother had work to do, but her father stayed with her.
But on Tuesday, he had to run errands. This meant leaving the poor, injured, 52-year-old baby girl alone for two whole hours. Since she couldn't make coffee on her own yet, Judy invited Saya to pay her a visit.

"You sure you'll be fine?" Jon, Judy's dad, asked her. He was worried that Judy might do something stupid, like try to make herself a sandwich, but he knew there was no stopping her. The best he could do was take a page from his wife's playbook and guilt his daughter.
"You know I will. I'm a big girl," Judy insisted. "As long as you bring back some food."
"You sound like your mother," he joked, and then left the elegant two-story house.

Judy, wearing a housecoat over her tholian silk pajamas, stood up with the help of her cane and went out to the backyard. She enjoyed the fresh air, and the corgis enjoyed the space. She'd just have to get up again to answer the door when Saya showed up.

[Ozu Saya]

Saya hadn't had the opportunity to make her intended trip to the storage facility where her father's ship was after her return from Vulcan and before the Tempest crew had been called up for their time-traveling mission.

Once they'd returned from ancient Egypt, Saya had been called upon for some consultation regarding the Tempest's refit, further delaying her mission. When Judy had invited her and Kyo to come visit while she was recovering from her injury, Saya decided to visit the ship right before going to Judy's parents' home. Kyo was meeting her at the transport station in New Rochelle and they would take a rented hover-car to Scarsdale.

Saya was surprised at the strength of her emotions welled up when she set eyes on her father's old YT-2660 light freighter, christened Kejal - the Bajoran word for freedom. It had been her home for most of her life, but despite the good memories, Saya couldn't bring herself to spend much time aboard. Rather than spending the time to search the databases there, she was downloading everything into a portable storage cell to examine at her leisure.

Still, she couldn't help brushing a hand along a wall or the top of a chair as her mind's eye saw her father again as he laughed at a very serious statement from his wife or child. He'd always kept them from taking themselves too seriously. Saya swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek as she keyed the startup sequence with the 27-digit code she'd locked it with. There was just enough juice remaining in the power cells to wake up the computer enough to copy all the files.

[New Rochelle - Transporter Station]

Saya stepped off the pad, storage cell in hand, and scanned the area for her red-headed Bajoran...companion. She honestly didn't know how to refer to him most of the time.

Spotting his hair over the heads of the crowd of travelers, Saya headed in his direction, dodging this way and that in an attempt to avoid physical contact with anyone. She was mostly successful and finally arrived at Kyo's side next to a parked hover-car.

He smiled as he saw her, and had to tighten his hold on Alieth as the little three-horn spotted her mama and tried to escape. Kyo reached out his free arm and Saya slid underneath, pressing her side against his and allowing him to lean down and plant a gentle kiss on her hair.

Kyo leaned back slightly and examined Saya's face. Are you okay?

Saya answered briefily, Fine, and slipped away toward the car.

He accepted her answer stoically, knowing it wasn't really true, but understanding Saya enough by this point to know it was her defense mechanism and she wasn't ready to talk.

Do you want to drive?

With a nod, Saya took the driver's seat while Kyo held on to Alieth. He spent a lot of time petsitting, but he really didn't mind the little critter.

[Judy's Parents' House]

A short time later, Saya pulled the hover-car into the drive that the navigation had indicated belonged to the correct house and killed the power.

Here we go, she said, far more gravely than she had intended, for some reason feeling like they were headed into battle.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Saya didn't really need to ring the doorbell. Even from the backyard, the corgis could hear footsteps coming up to the front door, and so both of them barreled towards it excitedly.

"Slow down, you two!" Judy yelled at them as she strained to get up, and then walked with her cane's assistance to the door.

"Sit! Sit!" she ordered the dogs once she reached it. "Sorry, just a sec. Bridge, Tunnel, sit!"
At last, the dogs complied, and Judy opened the door to find the visitor she expected... and her red-headed admirer.
"Welcome, Saya," she started. "Oh, Kyo. If I knew you were coming, I would've put on some pants, but nevermind that. Come on in, before the dogs get out."
Between the housecoat and the pajamas, Judy was in fact more or less covered from her neck to about her ankles. Besides, it wasn't her dressing herself, but the joke didn't need to be ruined with that information.

"Go ahead and just sit anywhere," Judy urged the two. "I'd offer you something to drink, but I can't get a kettle going with this cane and everything."
Judy herself sat down on one of the couches, off to one side.
"So I haven't really seen the outside world in, oh, 5000 years," Judy quipped (laughter was the best medicine). "What's it like out there?"

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Saya smiled as she heard Judy trying to get the corgis to obey and was still smiling slightly when the door opened.

Thank you. I'm sorry. I should have asked if Kyo could come. He wanted to check on you and he was meeting me anyway with Alieth.

They followed Judy inside and Kyo chose another couch to sit on. Saya started to sit next to him, but paused and straightened at Judy's non-offer for refreshments.

With a small half-smirk she asked, Would you like me to start some tea or coffee?

Kyo was holding on to Alieth, but the three-horn had spotted her furry-butt buddies and was struggling to get away from him. Kyo glanced around with raised eyebrows and asked, Is it okay to let her down? No socks around to steal, are there? He grinned at the memory of Judy's party.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

"No thanks, actually," Judy answered. "I know, huge surprise. But since you're already up, I wouldn't mind some beer. There's plenty in the fridge."
She was allowed to want different things at different times, wasn't she? Maybe in an hour, more caffeine will be in order.
"Yes, please do release her," Judy went on, addressing the matter of Alieth. "No socks this time, thank God. No Romulan Ale, either. Frankly, I can think of very few things about that party that I wouldn't undo if I could."
It was clear that Judy was far from happy about how the party had gone, both from her words and her tone. Then, again, from her abrupt transition.
"You know, almost every time I brought a boyfriend here to meet my parents, we'd sit right there where you are, and my folks would sit on this couch. My mother always sat on this side, where I am. It's like I'm becoming her."
Judy was awash with the nostalgia of it, oblivious to the hints her psyche was trying to send Saya and Kyo.

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Saya briefly raised her eyes to the ceiling but dipped her head in acquiescence. She glanced at Kyo with raised brows and he answered, Just water, thanks.

With a nod, Saya disappeared into the kitchen.

Kyo leaned over to release Alieth and the little three-horn immediately scrambled across the floor to her furry friends, barreling into Bridge's side in her excitement.

He blinked at Judy's abrupt change in subject, but smiled slightly at what she'd changed it to. When he'd gone to Judy's party, he had felt rather like he was meeting Saya's mother, though he didn't know if Judy would appreciate the thought.

Instead he said, And how did your parents treat those you brought home?

Saya re-entered the room then, bottle of beer tucked in one arm and tall glasses of water for Kyo and herself - ice in his but not in hers. She set set Kyo's glass on the table in front of him so that she had a hand to set Judy's beer on her side; then Saya returned to Kyo's side and sat on the couch next to him, taking a sip of her water as she did so.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

"Thank you," Judy thanked Saya. "I'm supposed to slow down a little, cut back the caffeine to a measly 4 cups a day," she added in faked indignation.

Then came Kyo's question. Judy raised her head a little and laughed as she reminisced.
"They were polar opposites, really. Like night and day," she said. "My mom was always the more conservative of the two. She used to just shoot daggers at any boy that got too handsy. My dad... well, the opposite of that."
Judy pushed aside the more immature questions her father liked to ask after the fact.
"The real test was the dinner afterwards," she recalled further. "We're an opinionated, argumentative family, and we're generally loud, so..."
Judy tried to think of a way to summarize it.
"The most common question I got asked afterwards, in my bedroom, was almost always 'do you really talk to your parents like that?' That, and questions about what I needed five guitars for."

Judy laughed again. Just having an audience made her feel so much better.
"Speaking of bedrooms, I'm supposed to practice walking with this cane when I have people around. Do we care for the grand tour?"

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Judy's final comment startled a laugh out of Saya. Why did you need five guitars? she asked.

Kyo laughed as well, enjoying Saya's laughter almost as much as Judy's story.  Sure, he answered. I'd like to look around. He stood and with comical gallantry offered Judy a hand to help her rise, knowing she would probably refuse and yell at him to boot, but enjoying himself too much to care.

Saya also rose, willing to go along with the others. Lead the way. Will Alieth be okay with the corgis?

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

"Different makes, different years, electric and acoustic ones, and most boyfriends didn't know bass guitars are different. 5 is actually not that many," Judy explained as she accepted Kyo's hand to get up (after 4 days, she'd made up with the fact that she needed some help), and then switched it out for the cane. She was used to a little pain by now, and soldiered through it.
"I think the animals will be fine. All the expensive stuff is behind closed doors" Judy stated as she led them down the living room, turned left into a hallway, and then found a door.

"We moved into this house when I was 16, which was about... I think 2360," Judy recalled. "I stopped using it frequently when I finished my bach degree like, 5-ish years after, so the décor is... well, it has to be seen to be believed. It's brought back a lot of memories, using it again."

Judy opened the door. Sure enough, the room's color scheme looked very suitable to killing someone in, in that it was predominantly wine-red. The main things disrupting the monochromatic color scheme were guitars, carefully dusted off by the housekeeper through the years, along with some small mementoes that Judy's parents brought from her apartment in Manhattan after the surgery. There were a lot of framed family pictures, some of Judy's whittling work, and, among the family pictures, the selfie that Judy took with Saya atop the wall of ancient Gol on Vulcan.
Granted, Judy no longer looked entirely like she did in the pictures.

"Remind me, Kyo, did you meet me when I still had the politician haircut?" she asked, referring to her former short hair.

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Kyo was surprised when Judy accepted his assistance without comment, but chose to not call attention to it. Judy likely hated having to be helped, but must have resigned herself to it for the time being.

He followed Judy down the hall, shortening his steps to match the older woman's slow pace and reached for Saya's hand as she came alongside him.

Saya had also been surprised by Judy's stoic acceptance of help, and also chose to remain silent on the matter, not wishing to irritate her friend. She took Kyo's hand, having become more comfortable with this little bit of physical contact in front of other people, and peered into Judy's bedroom.

That is an...interesting color choice, she commented, blinking around the room. She did admire the guitars though. They looked like nice instruments.

Kyo refrained from commenting on the color of the room. He was definitely not a fan - he preferred calmer or brighter colors in a room. But he also could appreciate the musical instruments, and he stepped inside to look at the pictures displayed. Kyo smiled at the one of Saya and Judy. Saya had told him all about their trip, but had resisted showing him pictures. He'd seen the story and video of them on Mt. Seleya on the News Service as well.

It looks like you two were having a lot of fun that day. He grinned at the two women. And yes, he said in answer to Judy's question. I think your hair was short when we first met in New York.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Judy had a creeping feeling that Saya wasn't as big on sharing stories and pictures as she was. Well, it only took one to talk.
"We did have a lot of fun, despite Saya's lack of smiling," Judy recalled with a smile. It was easy to get absorbed in the past, in her current position, but the present had its strong sides as well.

On that note, she looked around her bookshelf and pulled out an artifact of the past.
"We're a very traditional sort of family, so we have these photo albums," she explained. "I think this one is mine from..." she unclipped the glasses from the collar of her robe and put them on "...age 0-5. Shall we take a look?"
In the process, Judy found herself taking a hand off the cane for a moment, but still standing. That was progress.

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Saya raised a slightly skeptical brow, shrugged and bobbed her head. Is this something humans do? I do not think I've ever encountered such a practice.

Then she added, I might be able to reciprocate...I stopped by my father's ship just before coming here and downloaded the entire database.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

That was a very nice development - nice enough to keep Judy's mood just as high despite Saya's skepticism.
"Us humans generally share old pictures with close friends and family," she explained. "I's love to see any pictures in the database. I'm sure baby you had a little better manners than baby me."

Judy sat down on the bed, motioning for Saya and Kyo to join her, and opened the album. She revealed photos of a little infant that could potentially be recognized as herself - the prominent nose was there, as was the blonde hair. Mid-2340s Judy, like her mid-90s counterpart, also seemed to have a keen fashion sense, crawling around in stained pastel onesies.

"I'd say the big mistake isn't that I grew older, but that I let myself grow up," she said, equal parts humor and philosophy. "Especially these past few years, I've acted like an adult. She would've been utterly bored with what she became. Her grandchild deserves someone a little more fun."

Under the light influence of alcohol and painkillers, Judy couldn't recall if she'd told Saya already.
"Oh, did I tell you? I'm going to be a grandma!" she squealed with enthusiasm that better suited the mischievous baby in the pictures than the matronly older woman speaking.

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

As Saya and Kyo sat on either side of Judy on the bed, Saya commented, I'll go get the storage cell from the hover-car later.

Saya looked at the pictures politely, most of her reactions reserved and consisting of a raised brow or tilted head. She supposed babies were cute, if she understood the word correctly, at least in pictures. But in person, they tended to make a great deal of noise and produce copious amounts of various smelly fluids and solids from both ends of their small bodies.

Kyo, on the other hand, chuckled and cooed over the baby Judy, even going so far as to tease her, You were so cute back then! What happened? and giving her a goofy grin.

Judy's announcement sent both Saya's eyebrows to her hairline, and she did know the proper response to that proclamation - Congratulations! Who...? She remembered Judy saying her one son was in a stable relationship, but not what she'd said about Larry.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

"Lawrence," Judy answered. "Turns out, he got into a relationship over on Mars, with a young lady who worked at the replimat. He brought her by yesterday, she was absolutely lovely; she's Jewish, too. It's the kind of thing I dreamed about."
Well, it was close enough. Judy would've preferred a college-educated baby mama, a marriage, and for Lawrence not to drop out at the end of the term, but she was happy enough about almost being a grandmother to forget that.

"It's really a new phase in my life; I'm beyond excited," Judy continued. "I'll be the one taking these lovely pictures."

In the pocket of Judy's robe, her little civilian communicator beeped. That reminded her of two people who also appeared in some of the pictures.
"My parents promised takeout for lunch. They probably want to know from where, and whether you'll be joining us. I think you should, to see what that happy couple looks like half a century on."
Judy pointed at a picture of herself, probably about two years of age, in the powerful arms of her father, while her mother looked on. They all looked intensely happy to be together, as they still were 50 years after.