<USS Avalon> "Holographic Picnics and Aunts"

"Holographic Picnics and Aunts"
Vevay Davis and Melanie Redgrave

The call from her mother had both lifted Melanie's hormonal spirits and made 
her incredibly homesick. For the first time it had dawned on her that she was 
going to be having her baby out in the middle of space and that she wouldn't 
have her mother there with her. The thought of not having all of her family 
there when he baby was born nearly made her cry. 

Curing the ache to be physically home was easier to pacify then the longing to 
see her mother, so Melanie made her way to the holodecks. She was hoping that a 
walk on the grounds of her Uncle's home would help, but it was hard as hell to 
tell with her forever changing moods. Stepping up to the holodeck she liked 
best, Melanie's heart sank, tt was in use. She was just about to turn away when 
she noticed the name of the file. Davis. Hmm. 

After checking to make sure there was only one person on the holodeck, Melanie 
tapped in the codes that would allow the doors top open without interrupting 
the program and then stepped over to them and waited. As soon as they'd opened 
she's walked off of the Avalon and into a Scottish forest. Taking a deep breath 
as she looked around, Melanie smiled. "This is brilliant."

Jumping at the voice, Vevay looked up guiltily, a large slice of pork pie half 
way to her lips. She was sat on a tartan blanket, a huge hamper open by the 
side of her. There were two plates, one totally empty, the other stuffed to 
groaning point with food. Blushing furiously at the sight of Mel, Vevay dropped 
the pie back onto her plate. "Crathes. About a mile back that way is the castle 
and gardens."

Melanie blushed. "I didn't mean to disturb you, V." She walked over to the 
other woman and looked around at the view. "I saw your name on the display 
outside and thought I'd pop in, I guess."

"I'm only eating. I was supposed to... I mean, Ffej was meant to... but what 
with everything that's happening, he's kind of busy so he had to..." Staring at 
the empty plate and champagne glass, Vevay's heart sank. "There's plenty of 
food, if you want to join me."

With as much grace as she could muster with her little belly bump now showing, 
Melanie lowered herself to the tartan blanket. In another couple of weeks 
that's gonna be impossible. "It's ok, V, I understand better then you might 
think. Elijah's been so busy lately I'm normally asleep when he gets in and 
asleep when he leaves." 

"It's wonderful to be in love with someone so dedicated to their work but it's 
kind of lonely sometimes." Offering Mel all of Ffej's things, Vevay pushed the 
hamper at her. "There's lots in there. Potted meat, ginger ale, pickled onions, 
pork pie, scotch eggs, sausage rolls, tuna sandwiches, egg and cress 
sandwiches, raspberry and blackcurrent jam sandwiches, cheese and pickle 
sandwiches, ham sandwiches, beef sandwiches, plain old salad sandwiches..." 
Biting her bottom lip, Vevay tried to remember all that she'd packed into her 
basket. "There's also chocolate cake, dundee cake, shortbread, cheese and 
biscuits and strawberries and cream." Laughing loudly at the huge long list, 
Vevay said with a glint in her eyes, "Cold tongue, cold ham, cold beef, pickled 
gherkins, salad, french rolls, cress sandwiches, potted meet, ginger beer, 
lemonade, sodawater..." She could still remember her mother reading that to her 
when she was a very young girl. "Wind in the Willows," she said gleefully. "I 
swear I'm Ratty in disguise, especially when I go on a picnic."

Melanie laughed lightly as she peered into the basket. "Were you only expecting 
Ffej or his entire department?" She teased gently. "Hmm. Wind in the Willows. 
That's another one I'll have to add to my list." Reaching inside the basket 
Melanie pulled out a can of lemonade and the pickled gherkins. 

Continuing to quote, Vevay said, "It's only what I usually take on these little 
excursions; and the other animals are always telling me that I'm a mean beast 
and cut it very fine!" Laughing again, she popped the piece of pie into her 
mouth. "It's my favourite book in the whole world. I can lend it to you if you 
like. I have a real, proper bound version, hardbacked with colour illustrations 
inside."

"I'd like too some time." Melanie replied as she shifted a little. "I think Eli 
thinks I'm a bit daft for reading to her already but I think she enjoys it." 
Without thinking her hand went right to her belly where it rested on the little 
bump. 

Shrugging, Vevay swallowed another morsel form her plate. "I don't see what 
harm it can do."

Melanie smiled a little, taking a moment to look over at her younger friend, 
but then she turned back to the view. There were still moments when she'd look 
at Vevay and suddenly feel something, something left over from their shared 
dream. "This is a beautiful program, V."

"It's home. Well, to me it feels like it. When I was young, my Mum took me and 
my brother on holiday to visit my Dad's Aunt in Scotland. My father was... 
is... well, he's not the nicest of men, but his Aunt," the grin that exploded 
on her face was blinding, "was the sweetest, loveliest woman I've ever known. 
She gave us tea and cakes, let us sleep in huge feather beds and she had two 
little westie terriers that we played with all day. She lives about three miles 
from here, in a little stone cottage."

Anger flashed in Melanie's eyes at the thought of Vevay's father. The man was 
evil no matter what reality they were in. As Vevay's voice softened as she 
talked about her aunt, so did Melanie's eyes. She smiled at the look on her 
friend's face. "She sounds wonderful, V."

"She is, and you know what? The old biddy is still alive! I mean, obviously not 
here, because this is a holo-program, but on Earth. She sends me food packages 
every so often. When I was at the Academy, I visited her every weekend and at 
one point, I spent the whole summer there." Shoving another mound of food into 
her mouth, Vevay grinned. "And I'm babbling."

"Your not babbling." Melanie laughed lightly as she reached for one of the 
sandwiches. "You should go see her when we get back to Earth. I bet she'd like 
seeing you. You'd be welcome at my Uncle's as well. He has this garden that 
looks almost like the one from the.." Melanie stopped, her cheeks coloring at 
the memory of another holo-program.. "There's plenty of room. I'd love for you 
to come."

"From the what?" Vevay said as yet another slice of pie was dropped into her 
mouth.

Melanie bit her lip. "The garden outside the house on the holodeck in the 
dream." She said quickly. 

"Ohhhhh," Vevay said, grinning. "That garden. It was a beautiful place that." 

Looking over at Vevay, Melanie smiled. She liked the easy in the other woman's 
voice but wondered if she were the only one who could recall ever detail of the 
dream. "I wonder if there really is a place like that? If there's some resort 
on some tourist filled Greek island."

"I should hope not," she said, laughing lightly. "As innocent as I am, I hope 
there is no such place as that anywhere in the Galaxy. Training of that nature 
should be kept where it is: in the darker parts of our minds." 

"And in Anne Rice novels." Melanie added. A sheepish look in her eyes at the 
thought of the books she had hidden in her quarters. "Do you ever wonder if 
maybe if things had been different in our lives that we could have been those 
people?"

"No," Vevay shrugged. "I could never have been her, her darkness was poisonous, 
consuming and plague-ridden. Call me a silly little girl if you like, but I 
like to believe that I could never be that cruel."

"She wasn't all bad ya know." Melanie replied softly. "She still had your 
gentleness for the most part." Pausing a moment, Melanie nodded. "But your 
right. I don't think I could ever be that.. whatever it was I was." 

"Gentle, kind, loving, forgiving, demanding..." Vevay suddenly blushed. 
"Twisted?"

Melanie laughed. "Twisted seems right." 

"But you're not... I mean, you're the other things, but not so," Vevay 
shrugged, "fucked up."

"Nope just knocked up." She laughed. Then she looked over at her friend. "I'm 
glad you don't think I'm like that. I'd hate for that to get in the way of us 
being friends, cause I really want that, V."

"Me too," Vevay said brightly. "Ooooh, wanna come meet my virtual Aunt?" 

Melanie looked surprised. "You programmed in your Aunt?" She smiled a little 
crooked smile. "Sure I'd love too."

"Of course, what's Scotland without a mad old relative or two?" Standing up, 
she offered Mel her hand. "Computer, change program parameters, move us three 
miles east to Auntie Margaret's house." Instantly the scenery changed and they 
were stood outside a small granite house with a slate roof and a curl of blue 
smoke drifting toward the sky. "Auntie Maggie?" Vevay called.

Melanie accepted Vevay's hand and allowed the other woman to help her up. She 
watched as the scenery changed and then stood next to Vevay outside the 
cottage. "We use to spend summers in a little place like this, only it was 
closer to the water."

"Really? Sounds wonderful. Although, if you pop round the back, you're a 
stone's throw away from the Dee." Biting her lip, Vevay stared around. "Auntie 
Maggie?"

"Aye! Aye!" A tiny, ancient woman came bustling around the house dressed in 
slacks with green grass stains on the knees and a thick wool shirt. "Ahhh," she 
cried, running up to Vevay and clasping the girl's face in both hands. She 
turned her head one way and then the next, eyeing her cautiously. "You've no 
been eating, quine, you'll not grow up to be a big strong officer like my Tom, 
if you dinnae eat." Finally setting eyes on Mel, Maggie turned to look her up 
and down. "Well, I see you've brought company. Come in then, get your wee 
friend aff her feet."

Melanie smiled brightly at the woman and then laughed as she glanced at her 
belly. "I'm not going to be wee anything in a few more weeks, Ma'am." 

"Aye, true, but by then you'll be glowing, radient and in a better position to 
manipulate your mannie to do everything for you," Maggie said knowingly. Once 
inside, she led them down a long hallway, the walls covered in photos and vids. 
One in particular caught her eye and she stopped, Vevay almost walking into 
her. "You and yer wee brother, do you remember? Look at you both, such a 
dashing wee lad, have you heard from him recently?"

"No," Vevay muttered as she looked at the picture. A tall girl stood with a 
muddy face, her reddy-brown hair curling around her shoulders. The girl's arms 
were around a short, wiry, black-haired boy who was grinning gappily at the 
camera. "Newlyn," she said to Mel.

Melanie smiled up at the picture of the little girl and her brother. Normally 
she'd tell Vevay she was lucky to have this. She and Skyler didn't have a 
childhood together, so they didn't have pictures like this except for the ones 
from when she was an infant. But she wasn't sure if Newlyn was as bad in real 
life as he had been in their dream. "You were so cute."

Blushing furiously, Vevay glared at Maggie who just roared with laughter. "Aye, 
that she was. And the wee lad, what a gentleman. He would be up and aboot, 
doing everything for me." Leading them deeper into the cottage, she kept 
yabbering, "Always up to something though, getting into trouble. I swear, I 
wanted to pin that boy's feet to the ground. Now," she said as they finally 
reached the kitchen, "do youse want tea or I've not long made some lemonade. 
But be warned, it's a wee bitty on the tart side."

"Is that treacle or raspberry tart, Auntie?" Vevay winked.

"I'd love a cup of tea, Ma'am, but I'm afraid the wee puppet's not to found of 
it. Gives me bloody awful heartburn which is sheer torture for a Londoner like 
myself." Melanie sat next to Vevay at the small kitchen table and looked around 
a little. The delightful little cottage and it's owner, not to mention her 
niece were making her feel a lot better about being so far away from the real 
deal. 

"Aye, I'd just die if I couldnae have ma tea. I swear, there were times when my 
Tom were alive that he told me that I peed tea." With a wicked chuckle, Maggie 
turned to shuffle into her parlour. "I always asked him how he'd know what my 
pee was like. Silly old fool that he was."

"Tom was my Uncle. He died when I was about ten, maybe eleven. He was the 
loveliest, sweetest old man." A sad tear caught at Vevay's eye. "Sorry," she 
said, "it's silliness to still miss him."

Melanie reached out and wiped at the tear when Vevay's blinked, causing it to 
roll down her cheek. "It's not silly at all, V, I still miss my birth mother 
she died when I was only a year old."

"Aye, you listen to your friend." Maggie came back in and set a plate of 
shortbread on the table. "It's no the same as the real me makes, but 
replicated's the best we can do this far oot, right?"

Melanie blinked. Turning to Vevay she asked, "She knows she's a..." Then she 
turned towards Maggie, suddenly feeling a bit rude. "You know your a..." Why it 
surprised her she didn't know. Red and Toddy both knew they were holograms. 

"Aye, the youngun there designed me this way. How else would it be convincing? 
I've met the real Maggie too. Now there's a fine woman, even if I do say so 
myself." Maggie grinned, her sharp blue eyes twinkling. "My memory is 
programmed directly from hers and I live in quine's PADD when I'm no running. 
Now," she said significantly, "you'll be wanting camomile tea. No milak, just 
some nice, mild tea to sooth your poor tummy."

"Ok that had to be odd." Melanie replied as she thought about the real Maggie 
and this one meeting. Though she had to admit she'd have loved to have seen 
that afternoon tea. Then Melanie blinked and looked up at the woman. "Tea with 
no milk?" Well that's just daft. 

"Aye, ya dinnae hae milak with yer camomile tea. Have no had any before?" 
Tutting, Maggie bustled off and started to make a whole pot. When she returned, 
she had three cups and a steaming pot of tea. Pouring out the cups, she smiled 
warmly at the pair of them. "You know, if you ask quine nicely, she'll lend you 
this program and you can come back any time. In fact, I'd like that. It would 
be nice to have visitors on a more regular basis," she said, looking 
significantly at Vevay.

"Sorry Auntie, but you know how it is..." Vevay felt her cheeks redden so she 
grabbed her cup, sipping at the scolding liquid. "I talk to you, we chat all 
the time."

"Aye, through that bloody PADD thingy of yours." Frowning fondly at her 
great-great niece, Maggie tutted again. "And when am I going to meet this young 
man of yours?"

And so the afternoon went on. The three of them chatted and laughed and Vevay 
told Mel all about her brother and their summers spent at this cottage. Smiling 
sadly, Vevay hugged Maggie. "I will come back soon, I promise." She stood and 
waited for Mel to join her before saying, "Computer, end program."

Standing in the now empty holodeck, Melanie was sad cause their afternoon had 
ended, but no longer felt as badly as she had when she'd entered. Reaching over 
she hugged Vevay. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed this."

Desperately wanting to sink into Melanie's embrace, Vevay stepped back and 
grinned. "She's a nosey old biddy but she's my only family. She knows where 
Newlyn is, I know she does but I haven't asked and she hasn't told me." 
Shrugging, Vevay wandered out. She handed Mel the PADD with Maggie's program on 
it. "You can just chat to her if you like or run the program whenever you need 
to. But I might hunt you down when I get lonely and ask for the old fish wife 
back." 

Melanie beamed at the fact that Vevay trusted her with her Aunt. Handing the 
PADD back she brushed Vevay's cheek lightly. "Tell ya what. Why don't we have 
lunch with her next week. Ok? Oh and V, I might not be family but you always 
got me too." She hugged her friend again before heading down the hallway. She 
would have walked Vevay back to her place but she really really needed to pee.

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