[ussbansheec] "Someone to Watch Over Me"
- From: Rhiannon <bansheec@xxxxxxx>
- To: "ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:05:59 -0500
³Someone to Watch Over Me²
Kestra Riker & Lwaxana Tori
Sitting on her sofa with her legs curled under her, Kestra smiled tiredly at
the image on her comm. unit. The other young woman was one of her oldest and
dearest friends. Actually, the two young women were more like family rather
then just friends. They¹d gown up together despite the fact that their
parents served on different ships, but that hadn¹t stopped them from
becoming each other¹s closest ally and most trusted confidant. Kestra
confided things to Isabella that she hadn¹t even told her mother about, so
it wasn¹t much of a surprise that Isabella knew exactly what was going on
between the raven-haired hybrid and her marine boyfriend.
³So have you even talked to Dominic lately?² The redhead on the screen
asked, her blue-green eyes sparkling with interest.
³Yes.² Kestra said a little more defensively than she¹d meant to. ³I spoke
with him last night in fact.²
A small smirk appeared on the other young woman¹s face. When she spoke she
had the slightest of accents that sounded almost musical when she took on
certain tones. ³And? What did he say?²
³He said the Fenchurch and Tempest were still doing what they could.² Kestra
replied as she reached for her cup of hot coca. She didn¹t have nearly the
obsession with chocolate that her mother and uncle had, but she did enjoy a
nice hot coca with tons of whipped cream and a peppermint stick from time to
time. She found it soothing, mainly because it reminded her of her mother
and all those times the elder Betazoid hybrid had brought her coca when she
needed to talk. ³Then he shifted the conversation to me. He tried really
hard not to come right out and say I looked like hell.²
³You do look tired, Kes.² Isabella said carefully. ³Have you taken a day off
since you were given this new assignment?²
Kestra shook her head, which made her dark curls dance and wave over her
bare shoulders. As soon as she¹d gotten home she¹d peeled off her uniform,
showered and changed into a loose and flowing dress that was the same shade
of pink as the coral at her favorite beach on Betazed. ³People are grieving
over the loss of their loved ones, Bell. I can¹t just tell them I don¹t have
time for them just because I need a day off.²
³Who counsels the counselor?² Isabella asked, her concern clear in not only
her tone of voice but her eyes as well.
³Why that would be you of course.² Kestra laughed and then humped with a
soft chuckle. ³Though I¹ve been doing a lot of that counseling the counselor
thing lately too. Poor Adonis, I wish he¹d pull his head out of his?.²
The all to familiar tingle in the back of her mind made Kestra¹s black eyes
widen. The sense was so unexpected that she wasn¹t even sure she was feeling
it right. She titled her head a little and narrowed her eyes as she focused
on the presence in her mind. Then she groaned.
³Kes?² Isabella asked as she leaned towards the screen as if she could reach
out to her friend. ³Kestra, what¹s wrong?²
Kestra groaned a second time. ³I really don¹t have the energy for this right
now.²
³For what?² Isabella asked. If she had to she could beam to Kestra¹s side in
a matter of moments, but seeing her friend slump into her chair the way she
just had made her relax just a little.
The young Betaziod hybrid put her head back against her chair and closed her
eyes as she sighed, ³My grandmother¹s here.²
³Oh, is that all.² Isabella sighed in relief.
Kestra opened one eye and glared at her best friend. ³Oh is that all? Ya
know just for that I¹m going to ask if she¹d like a tour of a terrain
vineyard.²
Bright blue-green eyes went wide with inner laughter. Isabella like Kestra¹s
grandmother and thought idea was kind of fun, but she knew others who
wouldn¹t. ³Ya know, I think I hear my mother calling.²
³Just cut and run, I see how things are.² Kestra teased back. Sitting up she
smiled at Isabella. ³She¹s close, I should go anyway. Give everyone my
love?²
³Of course, do the same for me. We¹ll talk again soon.²
No sooner did her screen go dark she heard the oddly comforting voice of her
grandmother in her head.
~I¹m here darling one!~ Lwaxana called out telepathically. ~Don¹t worry,
Grandmama will take care of everything.~
Kestra blinked as she made her way to her apartment door. Take care of
everything? What everything? Kestra suddenly had a real sense of dread knot
up in her stomach. When she opened the door she saw a tall woman in a
flowing gown and flowing raven curls gliding towards her from the lift.
Despite the dread she¹d felt a moment ago, Kestra couldn¹t help but smile.
Something about seeing her grandmother after any length of time could turn
her into a five year old within a manner of seconds. ³Grandmamma!²
Lwaxana Troi smiled brightly as she opened her arms wide to her eldest
grandchild. ³Hello my darling one.² She greeted before engulfing the child
in a smothering hug. She hugged the girl tightly for several moments before
finally letting her go. Stepping back she held the child at arms length and
looked her over with a vigilant eye. ³Just look at you child. You¹re worn
out.² She said with a sigh. ³Clearly your mother¹s concern was warranted,
and I¹ve come just in time.²
The young woman just blinked as her grandmother breezed past her and into
her apartment. She¹d just spoken with her mother a few days ago and she¹d
expressed her concerns about Kestra taking care of herself, but she hardly
believed her mother would send her grandmother to come look after her.
³Mother sent you?²
³No, but I could tell she was worried about you and wanted to come herself
but she can¹t get away from that conference of hers.² Lwaxana replied as she
looked out over the small, neat apartment. She glided around as if she were
appraising the place and then turned to look at her granddaughter. ³Since
she couldn¹t come, I decided to.² The slightly taller woman came over and
put her arms around Kestra again. ³It¹ll be alright darling one, I¹m here
now. I¹ll take care of everything.²
There it was again, that everything word. That sense of dread bubbled up
every time her grandmother said it. Kestra hugged her grandmother back and
pulled away. She looked up into black eyes that she use to think held all
the answers to the universe, and saw now only love and concern. She had to
admit to herself that she kind of liked the idea of being taken care of for
a little while, but her grandmother¹s idea of doing that and her mother¹s
were on opposite sides of the meddling spectrum. ³What exactly do you mean
by everything, Grandmamma?²
³Taking care of you, of course.² Lwaxana replied. ³Someone has to keep you
from working yourself into the ground, and since I¹m here we can take care
of those love life issues of yours too.²
Kestra blinked black eyes at her grandmother who was once again roaming
around her apartment. ³I don¹t have love life issues.²
Lwaxana spun around and glared at her granddaughter. ³I¹d call your concern
over this young mister Rasputin¹s willingness to take your relationship to
the next step an issue.²
Isabella had been the only one she¹d shared her feelings with regarding her
future with Dominic, which meant her grandmother was poking around in her
mind. Kestra crossed her arms under her breasts and glared back at her
grandmother. ³Dom and I are just fine, Grandmother.² Most of the time she
called the elder woman grandmamma, but when she was trying to be a serious
adult she switched to the more formal grandmother, though that never really
lasted long.
³Oh darling,² Lwaxana sighed. ³I know you adore your mother and want to
follow in her footsteps, but does that really have to include repeating her
mistakes when it comes to love?²
That made Kestra a little defensive. To her, her parents romance was the
best kind of fairytale. They¹d gone through so much before finally ended up
where they belonged, which each other. ³What¹s that suppose to mean? I
thought you liked my father?²
³I love your father, child.² Lwaxana replied in the same tone she¹d have
used on Kestra fifteen years ago. ³He and your mother were meant to be
together. It just took them far too long to figure that out for themselves.
I don¹t want to see you doing the same thing with your young man, that¹s
all.²
Kestra huffed. ³I don¹t see why time should matter. If I¹m meant to spend my
life with Dom, it¹ll happen. It happened for Mother and Daddy, it happened
for Uncle Jean-Luc and Aunt Beverly. It¹ll happen for me and Dom.²
Lwaxana didn¹t need to enter her granddaughter¹s mind to feel the emotions,
the hope and the doubt raided off her in great crashing waves. Stepping
closer, Lwaxana reached up and caressed Kestra¹s cheek. ³Who are you trying
to convince darling one? Me or yourself?²
³Grandmother?²
Before Kestra could say a word Lwaxana was making her way back to the door.
She opened it and singled at someone down the hall. A moment later a very
tall man with pasty white skin and no hair entered. The man looked a lot
like Mr. Homn, so much so that he could have passed for Lwaxana¹s late
manservant, but in reality he was Mr. Homn¹s cousin, Mr. Xomn. ³Bring the
bags in here, Xomn, then you¹ll need to check the kitchen before going to
the market.²
³Grandmother?² Kestra asked as she watched the tall alien sweep around her
apartment the way he did her grandmother¹s home on Betazed.
³If I¹m going to look after you darling one I need to be close don¹t I?²
Lwaxana said as she fussed with the few traditional Betazoid things Kestra
had around her apartment.
Kestra choked back her groan. She liked the idea of having her grandmother
close by. Since graduating the Academy she hadn¹t really had the time to
spend on Betazed, at least not like she use too, and she missed spending so
much time with her flamboyant and well meaning grandmother. But those times
had provided her with an entire planet to share with her grandmother, not
just a small Starfleet issued apartment over looking San Francisco Bay. She
didn¹t even have a guest room, not really anyway. The only people who ever
stayed over were Dominic and Isabella and given her closeness to the latter
and the fact she was sleeping with the former, she just shared her bed with
them. She was not sharing her bed with her grandmother no matter how much
she loved her. ³Grandmother?²
³Don¹t worry darling one.² Lwaxana said with a flip of her hand in a
dismissive manor. ³Mr. Xomn will convert the small spare room you¹re using
as an office. I¹ll be perfectly comfortable.²
This time Kestra didn¹t hold back her groan. She had a very deep seeded need
to call her mother and beg her to fix this. She actually glanced at her
comm. unit several times while the thought swum around in her head. Then it
accord to her that her mother never really had any better luck in curbing
Lwaxana Troi then she¹d have. ³Wouldn¹t you be more comfortable at the
Embassy?²
³I didn¹t come here to work, darling one. I came to look after my
granddaughter.² Lwaxana said in a tone that meant this particular issue
wasn¹t open to discussion.
³Right.² Kestra sighed, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her
mouth. Despite the invasion of privacy the idea of having her grandmother
around to baby her was becoming more and more appealing. As she slowly
accepted the fact that she had a houseguest for the foreseeable future she
started making a mental list of people to warn. She may have adored her
beloved grandmother, but to the general populace of people in her life
Lwaxana Troi was larger than life and bit off putting. Isabella already
knew, she¹d let Adonis know, and of course she¹d have to warn her godfather.
³Oh! Darling one, that a brilliant idea!² Lwaxana cheered as sparking black
eyes glanced at Kestra. ³Dinner with Jean-Luc would be a wonderful way to
spend the evening!²
Kestra was about to protest but then stopped. She¹d been in such a low mood
these past few days, tired of the grief and other emotions that washed over
her when she visited the families of the lost research ship, she could use
an evening to simply be with the people she loved. Stepping over to her
grandmother, Kestra hugged her tightly. ³I¹m glad you came, Grandmama.²
Lwaxana hugged the girl back and kissed the crown of her head. ³Everything¹s
going to be just fine my darling one. I promise.²
Other related posts:
- » [ussbansheec] "Someone to Watch Over Me" - Rhiannon
