<USS Banshee> Big Brother
- From: EnsnSaraCrusher@xxxxxxx
- To: ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 05:33:29 EDT
"Big Brother"
By Lt. Sara Crusher..
Guest Writer.. Rob Garner as Lt. Sg. Matthew Crusher
Two minutes and fifty-three point two seconds. It had taken two minutes and
fifty-three point two seconds to go though the barrel course. Sara hadn’t
gone
over two minutes in barrel racing since she was fourteen. Granted it had been
months since she’d used that program, hell it had been months since she’d
been on a horse, but still, two minutes and fifty-three point two seconds! She
could do better and she knew it, and she would have tried to, but Petty Officer
Bell had interrupted her afternoon in the holodeck to inform her that she had
a sub-space call coming in from the judge advocate generals office in
Virginia. As Sara walked down the hall she smiled at the crew who passed her.
She
laughed as she entered the code to her quarters since she must have looked like
she’d just stepped out of "Urban Cowboy" dressed in her tight blue jeans,
button up denim shirt, cowboy boots and her favorite cream colored cowboy hat.
Sara scanned the living room quickly and even popped her head into the
bedroom and bathroom. There was a long, dark, green, silk night gown laying in
a
heap on the bed but it’s owner was clearly locked away in her lab still. For
a
brief moment Sara played with the idea of forgetting about the call and just
taking a shower and slipping into a cute little dress and talking Cyanah into
coming home early but the blinking light on her monitor reminded her that she
had
asked him to call. So Sara plopped down in the desk chair and opened the
channel. The moment the screen filled with his image she was glad she had taken
the call.
He was tall, very tall, his six foot six inches was simply huge compared to
Sara’s mere five feet two inches. His hair was black like his father’s and
worn very short. He had his mother’s eyes which were a very electric blue and
he
had the most beautiful eye lashes. Why do guys always have the softest and
longest looking lashes?, she wondered as she stared at his reflection. When the
channel was completely open Sara smiled and squealed. "Matt!" It had been such
a long time since she’d seen her big brother and she suddenly realized, as he
smiled his charming and disarming smile at her, that she missed him terribly.
"Hey, Sis!" It had been a long time since Matt had talked to Sara, and he
delighted in seeing her again. He wondered if this was about the games they
periodically played over subspace. They hadn't finished their last chess game
yet, and Matt wished she'd hurry up and move so he could checkmate her. But
something told him this wasn't the average "hi, how're you doing?" phone call.
"Sara, is everything ok?" His infectious smile changed into a frown of
concern.
Sara took her hat off and placed it on the desk as she leaned forward to look
into the screen. She had tried and failed at getting in contact with her
mother since leaving Ireland. The last time she had seen or heard from her
mother
was on Deep Space Nine when she was talking about joining Banshee’s crew and
now it seemed she had disappeared. Sara still wanted answers as to why her
mother felt she needed to wipe out her memories but now she was also starting
to
get worried. "Matt, have you seen or talked to Mom at all in the last few
weeks?"
Matt inclined his head before a look of understanding crept over his face.
"Oh, Sara, I'm sorry! I thought you knew. Mom...well, she sort of had a
mid-life crisis a few weeks ago. Dad took her on vacation."
"I kinda knew that. The mid life crisis thing I mean. She was on DS9 a few
weeks ago. She said something about leaving her job at the academy to come work
on my ship of all places." Sara looked even more worried now then she had a
few minutes ago. Was it so bad that her Dad had to whisk her off or was this
just one of their spear of the moment things? "Is Mom ok? I mean is it really
bad? Where did they go? I need to talk to her but I guess it can wait?"
Matt grinned widely. "Slow down, Sara! She's fine! She just needed a
break from the ordinary. They went off to some exotic and adventurous place.
I
don't know where exactly. Is there something I can help you with? It seems
pretty important judging from the look of things." Matt's compassion,
especially for Sara, was strong. He was overprotective of her, he admitted.
But he
had every right to be! Sara was his little sister, and he wasn't going to let
anything bad happen to her, as long as he was around.
Sara couldn’t help but smile. Matt had the same look on his face that he had
when she told him about Josh and their break up. It had taken her two hours on
sub space and fifteen letters to talk him into not coming to the Banshee to
pound Josh’s face in. Then it hit her. Would Matt know anything about what
happened? He was older but not by a whole lot, although as she recalled he had
a
fierce crush on Rhi. "Do you remember when Rhi took us to the academy to see
Ambassador Spock speak.. Cause I do.. Now that I have my memory back." The tone
in her voice had become very flat and angry.
Matt's reaction was one of confusion, pain, and joy, all paradoxically
expressed together. "Sara...believe me, I wanted to tell you! I wanted to
tell you
everything! But I...I couldn't. Mom and Dad forced me to promise not to.
You were so inconsolable after that accident...." Matt trailed off and ran his
hands over his face and through his hair. He had hated his parents for a
long time after they repressed Sara's memories. She had barely been the same
person after that. It was something Matt could never fully forgive his mother
and father for.
"They made Rhi and Nana Kathryn promise the same thing." Sara sat back in her
chair. She closed her eyes as she tried not to get overly up set. She really
did understand how up set she was. She had relived it all that night in the
barn. She saw herself in the hover cab pulling away from the hospital crying
and
begging her mother to let her see Rhi almost every night in her dreams while
she was in Ireland. She felt it all over and over each time she looked into Rhi
’s cold grey eyes. Sara sat up again and stared hard into the screen. "What
in the hell gave them the right to do that, Matt? Where they so caught up in
their own lives that I was to much to deal with, so instead they just wiped
away
the problem?"
"Sara, you'll never know how angry what they did made me!" Matt's
characteristic calmness was but a distant memory. "Try to understand, they
weren't
doing it for themselves. They were doing it for you. The ache Mom felt in her
heart for you drove her very close to a breakdown of her own on more than one
occasion." Matt paused both to collect himself, and to let what he had said
sink in. "It took me a long time to get to a point where I'd even talk to Mom
and Dad after that. Believe me, they weren't trying to make things easier for
themselves. Things ended up being much, much harder for us all."
Sara had no idea that they had suffered to. Then again she had no idea about
anything that was wrapped up in this at the time. Ok so they only did it for
her sake, the next question was obvious. "Were they ever going to tell me? I
mean I was assigned to Rhi’s ship and no one thought to clue in the dumb
little
kid? Do they have any idea what that did to Rhi? Matt, she’d never come right
out and say it, but seeing me everyday and not being able to tell me who she
was and what happened, not being able to treat me as her Beanie, that hurt
her.. Everyday for a whole year, Matt!" Sara slammed her hand on the table.
"This
may have been meant to help me but was easing my pain worth hurting everyone
else?"
"I don't know. Mom and Dad certainly did. I know it's hard, Sara, even
though I'll never know how hard. But what's done is done. Nothing can change
the mistakes we all made in the past. All we can do is learn from them, and
change the mistakes we would've made in the future." Matt leaned in closer to
his monitor. "You've been given a second chance of sorts, Sara. Few people
ever get that luxury."
"Seems I’ve gotten my far share of those lately." Sara said with a small
smile. Sara really hated when her brother was right. What good would it do to
jump
her mother for something she thought was the right thing to do. She still
wanted to talk to her about it but at least she knew now that she wouldn't be
starting the conversation with "how dare you!" like she had planned. "Your
right,
Matt, there’s no sense in letting this get to me anymore.. Being angry at the
world nearly cost me everything.. I‘m not doing it again. Mom was just
another person I was venting at."
"I'll make sure Mom knows you want to talk to her, and that she's adequately
prepared for the bombshell that you've got your memory back." Matt was
smiling again. "I'm glad you're back to your old self, Sara. Very glad. If
there's anything I can do to help you, just say the word and I'll hop on the
next
transport. In fact, why don't I come visit anyway? I could use the vacation.
I'll be packed up and ready to leave by tomorrow, which means I could meet up
with you in less than a week!"
Sara’s whole face lit up. She loved the idea of having her brother around.
"I’
d like that! You could meet Cyanah.. And see Rhi and Nana Kathryn again!"
Then Sara stopped. It dawned on her what it would entail to get her brother
here.
"What about work? Your cases? And what about your wife and son?"
Matt laughed heartily. "I've saved so many people's butts down here lately.
They owe me. And Kate and Mattie would be thrilled to get rid of me for a
while." He dipped out of view of the screen, and began packing.
"Great!" Sara squealed. "I’ll set up things here.. Oh though I should warn
you.. Mrs. Troi is on aboard and we’re not sure how long she’s staying."
"She is?" Matt seemed hesitant, but only for a brief moment. "Well, the
risk of a close encounter with...her is dwarfed by the chance to see my little
sister. I'll get all my travel arrangements made, and contact you tomorrow
with
the details, okay, Sara?" In his mind, Matt was already out the door.
She nodded and started making plans of her own.. "I can’t wait till you get
here." She said. Her tone was light and airy. "This will be perfect.. I have so
much to tell you and show you.. Oh! You’ll simply adore Cy and she you.. Mom
will be jealous she hasn’t meet her yet but you can tell her how wonderful
she
is." Sara babbled on for several more minutes as she scratched notes onto a
PADD. "Talk to you tomorrow and see you soon! I have to get you cleared with
Rhi! Gotta go! Love you!" Then with out even thinking she cut the comm and
bounced out of her quarters and towards her office to make plans.
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