Of Course It Hurts (Judy/Saya)

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"I don't want to come down here every time I want to eat, either, at least in my current state," Judy answered.

Then, when Kyo suggested lamb kebabs, Judy smiled.
"Well, if you want really good kebabs, I'll have to take you to Istanbul, but we can try to make them here," she answered. "Maybe once I get a little better, we'll see Europe and the Middle East."
They still had many weeks of refit to go, after all.

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Well, once you know what all is down here, you can just send me for it, Kyo said with a grin. Maybe we should make a written inventory as well, so we can keep track of what's here and what we use.

Europe, Asia and African are amazing. I've been to London, Rome, Cairo (in the present), umm, New Delhi, a couple other places that aren't coming to me right now. I enjoyed looking around the ancient parts of those cities.

He grabbed the package of lamb and waited for Judy to decide what else she wanted to have with the meal.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"There's a lot more out there you might enjoy seeing. Paris, Athens, Vienna, Jerusalem, Prague, Budapest, Tehran. Naples, too, if only for the pizza."

She continued to move around, sighting some ingredients that suited her.
"Now, back to the topic of food. I think some eggplants and zucchini would be nice. Let's grab some rice and lentils, too, and check if there's some canola oil. I generally prefer to use it because of my cholesterol, but olive oil will do if we don't have it."

After coming up with this long list of ingredients, Judy went towards the dumbwaiter to grab a small cart with which to shuttle the ingredients.

"Come to think of it, this system isn't such a catastrophe. I need to practice using stairs, anyway."

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Kyo chuckled and shook his head. Not too much, though. You don't want to overdo it.

He grabbed the other food items Judy indicated, found canola oil on a shelf behind some olive oil, and loaded everything onto the cart. How does this dumbwaiter thing work? Do we have to have someone at each end of it? Or do we load it here and we both can go up?

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"You roll the little cart onto it, push the button, and up it goes. You just need someone down here to push the button," Judy explained. "I think it used to be steam-powered, using the fire in the fireplace, but we decided that was a stupid idea when my family bought the place."

Then, Judy began to walk out.
"Now, before we go up, I should show you the wine cellar. We do need to find a nice red to pair this meal with."

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Oh, handy, Kyo commented. He pushed the loaded cart onto the lift and pushed the button.

Sure, let's go look at wine. You've made me curious. We don't have any really good aged wines on Bajor anymore. The Cardassians drank everything during the Occupation. We're getting closer to having some good vintages, though. My parents have worked hard to develop their brand.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"Actually, we might have a Bajoran vintage or two here from before the occupation," Judy replied. "Who better to share it with than the son of Bajoran winegrowers?"

Judy led the way towards the back, where the really old wines were, and began to look for it.

"A-ha! Come to mama!" she exclaimed upon finding the wine in question. "2316 Springwine. Right at the last moment."

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Hooo, wow, Kyo whispered with no small amount of awe in his voice. That is amazing. I didn't realize any survived. So many artifacts of our world didn't. Wine is no big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's just one more way the Cardassians took from us. Kyo shrugged. He hadn't really intended to go down that road. Though he hadn't lived through the Occupation himself, he'd heard too many stories.

Clearing his throat, Kyo gently took the bottle and gestured Judy ahead. You go up first.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"There are a few," Judy replied. "One of the many things people of my family's status collect are vintage wines. Bajoran wines, especially after the occupation, commanded a lot of value and prestige because they were so rare. My father recalls that there were originally five of these bottles, but my great-grandfather sold four and donated the proceeds to a charity for Bajoran orphans."
Judy seemed particularly proud of that story, and with good reason. Those bottles weren't cheap.

"However, we should probably save this for when Saya is in more of a mood to join us. She enjoys springwine now and again," Judy continued. "The 2367 Aglianico would pair much better with lamb, anyway."

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

That was remarkable of your great-grandfather, Kyo said after clearing his throat once again. His voice still held a note of rough emotion. Many of the orphans of the Occupation were his age or older now, but there were still some young ones born to parents who died after the Occupation was over due to cancers or injuries sustained while in Cardassian hands. His parents had fostered some orphans when he'd been younger.

He set aside the springwine and took the other bottle, gesturing Judy ahead of him to the stairs.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

Judy went up the stairs slowly but steadily, careful not to fall this far from any medical facilities. Emergency beam-outs weren't cheap or pleasant, after all.

"There. Made it!" she exclaimed at the top of the stairs.
"Now, to make the lamb. I think it'll taste better if you barbecue it, but it is a little chilly outside, so we can settle for pan-frying if you'd rather."

Judy was going to have to do some things either way, like cutting the meat, so she laid out a knife and cutting board. She also tied an apron around herself, as always.

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Kyo glanced out the doors and shook his head. Not too much a fan of the cold, so yes, I think I'd prefer to pan fry. If we get a nice day while we're here, I'm happy to cook outside though.

He went to the dumbwaiter and opened the doors, rolling the cart across the kitchen to place it next to Judy. Kyo eyed her skeptically. She'd been up and around a great deal today. Is there a stool somewhere we can bring in for you to sit on? I'm not saying limit you to one spot; I can move it if you need to move, but you should rest some and let me do most of the work. I'm good at following directions. He offered Judy a charming, disarming grin.

*****
Saya recovered from her bout of crying and rose, setting Alieth on the floor to explore. She set up the three-horn's litter box and changed into soft, warm pajamas. She felt cold, so crawled onto the large bed and huddled under the blankets, wondering what in the world was wrong with her.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

"I can stand, Kyo. The cane supports enough of my weight," Judy replied indignantly. "I'll ask you for what help I need."

Judy quickly got to work seasoning the meat, and then shaped it properly around wooden skewers.

"Kyo, you could set up the little grill apparatus over the stovetop, and slice the zucchini?" Judy asked while she worked on this. She was determined not only to remain in charge of her kitchen, but to actively run it.

[Ozu Saya]

[Estate]

Kyo raised a single brow at the fractious woman, but moved to obey, again hoping that Judy wasn't pushing herself too hard. He set up the grill, then left it for Judy to work with and stationed himself at a stretch of counter near the sink to wash and slice the zucchini. He'd grown up helping his mother in the kitchen and enjoyed being back in the environment. There'd rarely been an opportunity during his travels and Kyo didn't particularly enjoy cooking alone.

Oh! he said suddenly. Alieth. Let me get her food quickly. I can give her some of the zucchini and eggplant. I think she likes both of those.

Kyo quickly chopped a few of the zucchini slices into smaller pieces and did the same with a few slices of eggplant before retrieving the three-horn's bowls from their luggage, putting the vegetables in one and filling the other with water. These he carried to Saya's door, knocking a couple times, opening it to set the bowls on the floor inside the door. Alieth's food and water, he called quietly across the dark, quiet room. There was no movement or sound from the bedroom, so Kyo left them and returned to the kitchen.

[Judith Eastman]

[Estate]

With Kyo outside for a moment, Judy had a chance to think about her words, and to come to regret them.

"Kyo, I think I owe you an apology," she said as soon as he returned. "I know that you're only trying to keep me in good health. It's just that... it's hard. It's hard to constantly be reminded of everything I can't do. As much as I talk and joke about being old and close to death, I'm not mentally ready for it yet. I still feel able and energetic, and this whole hip thing is... gosh, I can't really put it to words."

Judy sighed loudly.
"I'm probably inundating you with too much complaining right now, aren't I?"

Judy definitely wished Saya was in the room to legitimize her spontaneous spilling of her heart.