Of Course It Hurts (Judy/Saya)

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Kyo and Saya gave each other simultaneous questioning looks and both chuckled.

Sounds good to me, Kyo said with a shrug. And I don't mind pushing the wheelchair around. You don't need to be re-injuring yourself so soon after surgery, he scolded teasingly.

I also would enjoy visiting the Statue. We saw it from a distance when we visited New York City, but did not have the opportunity to go to the island. Is it advisable for you to go out so soon after surgery, though? Saya asked with concern. While she would enjoy her friend's company, Saya certainly didn't want her pushing her recovering body before it was ready for the exertion.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Judy and Diane both looked at each other. They both knew that Judy needed to start being active and living life for the sake of her own sanity. Judy wanted to say this, but her credibility on her own health was beyond shot. Thus, her mother spoke.
"Yes, she'll be fine. Going out is good for her," the matriarch confirmed. "Her upper body is fine, and her hip will be alright as long as you keep her in the chair."
"Mother knows best," Judy echoed.

"Well, Judy seems just about finished here, so I'll go and dress her," Diane declared, before helping her daughter up and walking her to the bedroom.

This left Saya and Kyo alone for a few minutes, while the mother-daughter duo put Judy in a long, elegant lavender dress and put her blonde hair in a ponytail. Her feet went into a pair of orthopedic flats, so she could theoretically walk if she had to.

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

With a wolfish grin, Kyo promised, We'll make sure she stays in the chair.

Saya asked innocently, Do you have any rope or cord we could take along, just in case?

When the Eastman women left the room, Saya and Kyo cleared the table, taking everything to the kitchen, rinsing the dishes and putting the leftover food in the cooling unit.

This should be fun, Kyo commented as they headed back into the living room. Unexpected bonus trip.

Indeed, Saya responded, crouching and calling Alieth to her. The little three-horn left her furry friends and trotted happily to her mama, rearing up on her back legs to beg to be picked up. Saya lifter her and stood, cuddling her pet close as she continued, I hope it will not be a problem to bring the pets. I assume Judy will want the corgis along. I am glad I brought Alieth's harness.

Can't see why it would be a problem. We just might not be able to go inside the statue. That's a thing you can do, right?

I believe so, but we will have to confirm with Judy. There is room in the hover car for the wheelchair, is there not?

Should be. Three of us, pets, chair in the storage compartment. I haven't loaded it for the trip tomorrow yet.

They both resumed their seats on the couch, sitting close, Kyo draping his arm around Saya's shoulders, while they waited for their hosts to return.

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Diane left the room first and went to the garage to fetch the wheelchair. Judy stayed a moment longer to apply her make-up, then emerged with her cane in one hand and handbag in the other. As she entered the living room, the corgis flocked to her, followed by her mother and the damned chair.

"Let's just show you how to handle this thing before you go," Diane advised, motioning for Judy to get into the chair.
"There's a handy pouch in the back where we can put her handbag and her cane, so she doesn't have to carry them. When she needs to get up to use the ladies' room or go into the car, you should make sure her cane is ready so she doesn't strain herself too much. She can do everything else on her own."
"And thank god for that," Judy exclaimed from the chair. "Mommy, Judy need to go tinkle," she added, reprising her baby impression to not-so-subtly hint just how lucky Saya was that that phase was over.

"There's a handicap parking pass in my car..." she then started.
"...but she's not allowed to drive," Diane cut her off while reaching into the invalid's handbag. "Take her keys, and don't give them back until you're back here. Now let's get the corgis and send you off."
The corgis came obediently, and Judy leashed them from her chair. Diane wheeled her to the garage, where her minivan sat waiting, and helped the scientist to the second row of seats.
"No walking," she warned her daughter sternly, "or you're all grounded."

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Kyo chuckled at Judy's baby impression and shook his head, reiterating, We'll make sure she behaves. He trailed the ladies to the garage.

Oh, I suppose that takes care of the question of space, doesn't it?

It does, Saya answered, taking Judy's keys. I will drive, if you have no objection? She glanced at Kyo, who shook his head and held out his hands. Saya handed over Alieth and climbed into the driver's seat.

Kyo paused outside the vehicle, making sure Judy was settled, before asking her, Would you like some company in the back?

[Judith Eastman]

[Car]

"Sure," Judy answered Saya. She wasn't supposed to drive, so it didn't really matter to her.

As for Kyo, she answered, "yeah, hop right in."
With two rows of seats, there was plenty of room for Kyo's long limbs, even with Judy and the pets around.

Then, Judy turned to give Saya navigation instructions.

"Saya, traffic when we finish will already be a mess. I suggest we go for the Jersey ferry instead of the Manhattan side, much as it pains me."

All New York area traffic is and always was necessarily horrid, but Lower Manhattan was worse. The total breakdown of the rectangular blocks below 14th Street made for absolute hell to all but the most seasoned pedestrians.

"Oh, and no one follows traffic laws in the city. This has been your warning."

[Ozu Saya]

[Judy's Parents' House]

Kyo climbed into the back row of seats and stretched his legs alongside Judy's seat in the second row. It was the only way he'd have any amount of leg room for the apparently long drive. Even the front passenger seat would probably be cramped for him. He held Alieth close and called out just before they pulled out, Hey, stop by the rental and we can drop off your storage cell and get Alieth's harness.

Oh, yes, Saya said absently as she moved the driver's seat much closer to the driving controls. She raised a skeptical brow at Judy's warning as she entered their destination into the van's GPS and altered the route to match the experienced New Yorker's recommendation.

She put the van in park next to the rental hover car and hopped out to make the switch of items. Getting back into the driver's seat, she passed Alieth's harness back to Judy.

[Judith Eastman]

[En Route]

Judy took the harness and set it down by her side. There was no need to strap Alieth in just yet, but it was there for Kyo to reach it if he felt the need.

Then, they set off, and Judy observed the traffic conditions. It was the usual, which is to say a lot of aggressive drivers packed tight on outdated infrastructure. Even as she hoped it would stay that way, Judy began to make a back-up plan.

If traffic went to hell in a handbasket, they could get the car to her aunt's townhouse on Staten Island and take transit up. Even though the aunt was out of town (Risa, as usual), she had an empty driveway they could use.

But that was a concern for later. Now, Judy could comfortably play tour guide.

"There's actually a fascinating place right next to the Statue of Liberty. It's called Ellis Island," Judy recounted. "Back in the 19th and 20th centuries, that was where new immigrants to the old United States were processed. New immigrants including many of my ancestors."
Judy paused for a moment and then added a personal family anecdote.
"My last name was actually born on Ellis Island. One of my ancestors decided he wanted a richer-sounding name than the one he had, so he adopted the name of the richest guy in the shtetl, the little village, that he came from in Poland. So that's how the Eastman name came to be."

[Ozu Saya]

[En route]

As Saya carefully navigated the roadways, irritating other drivers due to her relatively slow pace, she listened to Judy's story with interest.

So, he just changed his name? But does that mean you are unable to trace your family line beyond that ancestor? You know that Vulcans tend to refer to themselves as so-and-so, son or daughter of so-and-so, for at least three generations back, but if pressed, nearly every Vulcan can name at least fifteen generations of ancestors.

Kyo shifted, stretching his legs slightly. On Bajor, so many records were lost in the Occupation that many families can't trace their families anymore. The main connection we have to our collective past is our earrings, most of which still indicate defunct d'jarras. He flicked his own as an example.  Though many are beginning to have earrings made that reflect newer histories of family since the Occupation, or even to have completely unique ones like Saya's.

He caught Saya's gaze in the rearview mirror and smiled at her, receiving a small one in return.

[Judith Eastman]

[En Route]

"There wouldn't be much use in tracing it, anyway," Judy answered. "So many people were killed and records destroyed in the Second World War, that following any lineage in Eastern Europe before that is nearly impossible."
Judy really didn't care to delve deeper into the historical trauma that was the Holocaust (even 450 years later, the images of Auschwitz were burned into the Jewish collective psyche), so she didn't.
"There is something tragic about losing lineages and history like that," she added, choosing a slightly different line of conversation to pursue. "Actually, to this day, a lot of the older generations here kick ourselves for not doing more about the Occupation of Bajor. The Federation could've stopped the atrocities in their tracks if only we'd woken up to it."

Judy shook her head at decades of poor foreign policy decisions.
"Really, Federation politics make me want to scream; our government is so ineffective. Maybe that's why I went after the linguistics direction instead of following my mother into government."
She continued to follow down that line of thinking.
"Who knows, I could have been President of the Federation by now. In a different timeline, I probably am. But I can tell you, I doubt I'd be happy there; it's such a thankless, unpleasant field."

[Ozu Saya]

[En Route]

Saya smiled grimly. That is how I ended up being court martialed when I hadn't even been in Starfleet for six months.

What? Kyo exclaimed.

Saya glanced at him in the mirror. Yes, I suppose I hadn't told you about that yet. When I was on the Athena, our captain chose to circumvent the Prime Directive in order to save the population of an entire pre-warp planet. Those of us who went along with him were court martialed; however, most of us were not convicted. The incident was merely noted on my file.

Kyo couldn't help looking impressed.

But is it really that ineffective? Kyo asked. The worlds within the Federation are peaceful and have plenty. While I'm sure many outside the coalition likely wish the Federation would spread the wealth around more, I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing that they keep divisive worlds out. They do render aid in many ways to outside worlds as well. People will always argue that they should do more, but is it the Federation's responsibility to take care of the rest of us?

While it was difficult, certainly, the fact that we had to fight for ourselves and struggle to attain our freedom from Cardassian rule and recover our agriculture and economy, I think it might have been better for our people in the long run than if we'd been brought immediately into the Federation's fold for you to completely take care of us.

Now, we are better able to contribute to the Federation and take care of ourselves.

[Judith Eastman]

[En Route]

"The Federation isn't that good at defending itself, either," Judy defended her viewpoint. "We found the Borg in '65, and yet a year later, we could only muster 40 ships to defend a core world. And seven years after that, the Federation still got caught underprepared for the next battle."

Judy supposed she could push her case a little more by invoking inside knowledge. She was, after all, the scion of a political family.
"Let me just say this much, as an insider," she said, "those who love jumja sticks and respect the law should watch neither being made."

The drive continued. Soon, they were across the river, in Jersey.
"Speaking of bad leadership, this town here is named Fort Lee, after a General Charles Lee, who was one of the least competent soldiers of his epoch."

[Ozu Saya]

[En Route]

Saya was becoming more and more tense as she maneuvered through the crowded streets, so stopped paying attention to the conversation happening in the back of the vehicle and devoting all of her attention to not hitting anyone else or being hit by any of the much more aggressive drivers.

Kyo leaned forward so that he could hear Judy better over the sound of the traffic, mostly consisting of a wide variety of odd-sounding horns being pounded by frustrated drivers.

Mmm, yeah. I remember a conversation between my parents during the Dominion War. They'd been discussing whether they should abandon the winery and get away from Bajor and one thing I particularly remember my father saying was wondering whether the Federation would be able to stop the Jem'Hadar and protect us.

Don't go insulting my peoples' favorite treat! he added with a chuckle. But really, they are in a rather unappealing form, aren't they? My mother made jumja candies that were much smaller and easier to manage.

Kyo looked around at the town. It seemed perfectly normal to him, but it did seem strange...Why would they name the town after this man, then?

[Judith Eastman]

[En Route]

Judy chuckled. There were so many questionable place names out there, and this one was definitely one of them.

"If my memory serves me, which it might, they built two forts, one on each side of the Hudson, during the fighting for New York in the American War of Independence," she recalled. "The one in Manhattan was named after George Washington, the legendary commander of the American army. The one in Jersey was named after his second-in-command, Lee. Suffice it to say, they forgot to change the name."

The drive continued, with the ever-present car horns beeping at Saya. Even New York drivers considered Jersey drivers to be the scum of the earth.
Even so, they made it safely.

"I've seen Lady Liberty so many times, but this is only the second time I'm coming from the Jersey side," Judy reminisced. "The other time, I was too busy flirting to pay much attention, so I walked right into a wall. That was awk-ward."
Judy laughed at her past misfortune.
"Well, let's get my throne ready. We have places to be."

[Ozu Saya]

[En Route]

Kyo chuckled at Judy's story. A witty remark about her prominent proboscis and the wall flitted through his mind, but he valued his health enough not to say it aloud, uncertain how she felt about teasing related to that particular feature. Instead, he reached forward and retrieved Alieth's harness and got her into it as Saya parked the van.

After turning off the vehicle, Saya sat with her hands on the wheel for a moment, taking a deep breath through her nose and releasing it through her mouth very slowly while working to relax her shoulders and loosen the grip of her fingers. How, she said quietly, rolling her neck. do you manage to deal with that on any sort of frequent basis? Why is it even allowed to continue? Surely with transporters and hover-cars that...mess could be relieved.

As relaxed as she was going to get for the moment, Saya exited and went around the back to remove the wheelchair and set it up, pushing it to the side door for Judy to get into.