From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Oct 06 2008 - 01:35:33 PDT
=Meet The Parents=
(cont'd from "Idolic Meanings")
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station
SCENE: Crichton's Quarters
STARDATE: [2.8]1006.0039
"I'm telling you, I'm *fine*," Jacob Crichton shouted from inside the shower. "It was just a little coma. No big deal."
"Do you hear yourself?" Stephanie Ferrell asked from where she lay on her back on the bed. "Comas are, by definition, a big deal."
"Yeah, but this was a little one."
Stephanie rolled onto her stomach, her hand propping up her head, and smiled over at the shower. "I'm glad to see all that time in the abyss didn't take away your smartass attitude."
The sound of the shower turned off, and a few moments later Crichton stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and smiling broadly.
"That's not all it didn't take away," he said.
"Why do you think I've been hanging around out here?" Stephanie giggled. "You think I like watching you shower?"
Crichton joined her on the bed, and the pair disappeared under the covers, laughing and loving in a way that only the very young can. But only a few moments later, they were interrupted.
[[Operations to Lieutenant Crichton,]] came the voice of Kate MacNeil over the comm.
Crichton groaned, but his head emerged from beneath the covers.
"Uhm, Crichton here, commander."
[[Sorry to disturb you, Jake, but there's a situation that needs your attention.]]
"Oh no," Jake said, shaking his head. "No, I worked this out with Gonzalez and K'bek... they're covering my shifts for the next two days."
[[I know, and I really hate to interrupt your recuperation-]]
"Medical leave!" Crichton cried, glancing desperately down at Stephanie, who grinned mischievously as she traced her fingertips along his chest. "I have a note!"
[[Jake, it's nothing like that,]] Kate said, laughing a little.
"Okay," Crichton said, a little confused now. "Then what is it?"
[[We've received a request for docking clearance from a civilian ship,]] Kate explained. [[One of the crew has requested to speak with you. Personally.]]
"To me?" Crichton asked. "Who could..." And then he realized, and his eyes widened.
[[I'll just go ahead and patch her through,]] Kate said, obviously enjoying the moment.
"No," Crichton said. "No, it's not possible..."
[[Jacob!]] came an excited voice over the comm. [[Oh, it's been ages!]]
Crichton clenched his eyes shut tight as he rolled onto his back and started rubbing his temples.
"Hi, mom," he said.
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SCENE: Corridor
TIME INDEX: 30 minutes later
Crichton moved down the corridor at a pace that suggested he was in no particular hurry to reach his destination. This little detail might be lost on most, but Ensign Sardra Vol hadn't gotten to where she was by letting things slip past her. She watched Crichton walk for a few moments, before adjusting her pace and direction so that she could fall into step beside him.
"Something the matter, lieutenant?" she asked, without a hint of emotion in her voice.
"Why do you ask?" Crichton said, glancing over at her as they walked.
"You just went through a uniquely taxing experience, both physically and emotionally," Vol said. "The abyss would be a trial even for experienced telepaths. The effects on an untrained mind must be considerable."
"Foster cleared me," Crichton shrugged.
"He is not fully qualified to evaluate your mental state," Vol noted. "Perhaps you should schedule some time with someone from the counseling department."
"Look," Crichton said, coming to a stop and turning to face her. "I appreciate that you've got a job to do as head of station security, but I promise you- I'm fine."
Sardra raised an eyebrow and made an expressionless face that looked like it held hints of annoyance. "It is unlikely that you are *fine*. You barely escaped an eternity inside a nightmare world. But of course, it is your decision to make."
"Thank you," Crichton said.
[[Transporter Room 4 to Lt. Crichton,]] chirped Crichton's comm-badge suddenly. Crichton sighed and slapped it.
"Crichton here," he said.
[[Your parents are ready aboard the GOLDEN TOUCH, and are prepared to beam over,]] the transporter officer reported. [[We're waiting on you, sir.]]
Crichton sighed. "Understood. I'm on my way."
He looked back at Vol and sighed. "You know that nightmare world you just mentioned? You think there's any way they can put me back?"
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SCENE: Transporter Room 4
The three figures shimmered into existence on the transporter pads. The first was a woman. Her short brown hair, streaked with gray in several places, hung down over compassionate blue eyes that were starting to look just a little worn with age. She smiled lovingly when she saw Jake standing at attention at the back of the room.
"Mom," Crichton smiled.
The second figure was a little shorter than Crichton, with a smaller build, but otherwise the two looked remarkably similar. He spared Crichton a quick nod, before glancing around the transporter room, wide-eyed, as though he'd never seen such a nice looking transporter room before.
"Will," Crichton said, but his younger brother hardly paid any attention.
The final figure stood towards the back of the transporter pad, a travel bag slung over each shoulder. He was tall, with salt-and-pepper hair in a crew-cut style. His eyes were deep green, and his face looked like it had been weathered by more than a few hard times. He was strong looking, and carried himself almost like a soldier. He didn't smile, and showed no hint of wonder at the technology around him. Instead, he stared long at Crichton, who tried to meet his gaze and only succeeded for a few minutes before he had to look away.
"Dad," Crichton said.
"Jacob!" Melissa Crichton said, coming right up to him and pulling him into a firm hug and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Oh, it's so good to see you in person after so long!"
"Hi mom," he said, smiling a little despite himself. "Nice to see you too."
"Oh, you look so handsome in your uniform!" she said, stepping back so she could admire the Starfleet colors. She glanced back at her husband, who was only just now stepping off the bad. "Brian, isn't he handsome?"
Crichton's father only grunted a reply, before looking right past Crichton and at the transporter chief. "Can you point the way to the nearest turbolift? Commander MacNeil said we'd have temporary quarters assigned to us on Deck 4."
"I believe Lieutenant Crichton is here to show you to your quarters," the transporter chief answered, glancing over at Crichton with a look of embarassment.
"Right," Brian Crichton grunted, before striding right past Crichton and out the door.
Crichton stared after him for a moment, then sighed. "Well, he's glad to see me."
"He's just being stubborn," Melissa said. "But I know he's happy to see you, Jake. You should have seen him on the way over."
"Yeah, I'm sure he was up all night practicing the many, many lectures he plans to give me," Crichton frowned.
"Give him a day or two," Melissa said, and she smiled in a way that reassured him like nothing else in the galaxy ever could. "Now, why don't you show us to our quarters? I want a chance to unpack and shower before you take us out for dinner tonight."
"Before I what?" Crichton asked.
"Jacob Crichton, surely you won't make us fly halfway across the galaxy and then refuse to give us the luxury of a nice dinner? Your poor mother hasn't seen you in *months*, and you-"
"Okay, okay," Crichton said. "You made your point, Ma. Let's go."
He glanced back at Will, who was crowding the poor transporter chief and asking all kinds of questions about the transporter systems.
"Come on Will," Crichton said. "And don't touch anything."
==========================================================================
NRPG: Crichton's parents are paying GATEWAY a visit during our R&R! Feel free to stick Crichton in whatever embarassing spots you want... I'm sure Melissa will be happy to break out the baby pictures at the first opportunity!
JAMIE: Hope I did okay with Vol.
Shawn Putnam
a.k.a.
Jacob Crichton, Lieutenant
Chief of Engineering
GATEWAY Station, GS-2
From HyperNews_at_youth.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Jan 05 2009 - 03:10:30 PST