Now/Then Part 2

Posted on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 6:33am by Commander Rin & Captain Gary Taylor

Mission: Interlude
Location: Restaurant
Timeline: After Now/Then Part 1
1446 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ENDING OF PART 1:

"My lack of memories has been very hard on them," Rin acknowledged with a nod of her head. Then her voice became quiet, more serious, more reverent. "The first time James visited me, the emotional pain was so obvious I suggested he leave. He said he would leave if that's what I wanted, but he would prefer to stay and talk. He acknowledged the pain, but he also said that day was a good day for him, and he hoped it was for me too. Because I was alive and safe, which no one had thought possible. My survival was good enough, regardless if I remembered him. And he addressed me as Rin."

"And I've repeated that story to very few people."

"A most remarkable man." Gary replied when Rin had finished. "I can see why you felt safe with him when you returned to the Federation. He was, is able to see the big picture which is you being alive and safe. I would like to have the honor of one day meeting him and shaking his hand."

"Then we'd better get to work on getting home, because I would love to make introductions."

---

TO CONTINUE....

Gary nodded, "I couldn't agree more.." He took a sip of his beer and looked across at Rin. "I'm glad he was and is there for you, Everyone needs someone in their life they can look to for support, comfort, understanding. Any number of reasons. In your situation Captain Addison provided the support and an anchor for you."

"Anchor's a good word," Rin said, pondering. "That's my relationship with the twins, a connection to a past even if none of us remember it. Somehow, I've never made that comparison with James. Why the hell not?" She made a face, almost mad at herself for never thinking of it that way. "Because I'm still their godmother, but he's the ex-husband, I suppose. Which isn't a fair line at all to draw, now that I'm thinking of it. Not particularly fair for any of them. I've just...never quite viewed it from that perspective. Thank you."

There were other differences, of course. Rin's understanding of her own emotions was far more sophisticated now than a decade ago. And their relationship had evolved over that decade, whereas she had only known the twins for a few months. There were a dozen other differences she could come up with, but... Gary had revealed a rather gaping hole in her understanding of her own relationships.

"How are you and Little Lia doing? If I may ask, " Rin said. That was a safe question, right? People ask about other people's children. Yes, Gary had recently lost his wife, but his family was more than his wife. Unless something sad had happened to Little Lia, but, to the best of Rin's knowledge, it hadn't.

"Of course you can ask." Gary answered, "She is doing very well. I know she misses Lia a great deal but she has her group of friends and activities she likes and we do things together. We go to the arboretum and feed the ducks and then ride the merry go round and occasionally we'll go by Cosmic Confections and get ice cream cones,"

"How old is she now?" Rin asked.

"She is almost four." Gary answered proudly "And she is the apple of my eye."

"Was she always named Lia? A fun coincidence of names?"

Gary nodded, "Yes, her given name is Liarrana Imi . Lia thought it a nice touch to shorten it unofficially to Lia and with her being a child she became Little Lia. She has a lot of the same likes and interests as Lia. She will on occasion wear a kimono, one of several Lia had made for her."

"Does she remember her birth parents?" Rin asked. "How does a four year old separate the idea of her present parents with her previous parents?"

Gary nodded, "She does have memories of them or maybe it is better to say images and feelings of them. She is Betazoid and she knows they died in the accident. As for for separating Lia and I from her birth parents. I think does quite well. As I mentioned she knows her birth parents died and Lia and I met her and love her very much to make her part of our family and our daughter. She called Lia mommy and she calls me daddy."

"Sounds like an astute 4 year old," Rin said. "Or maybe I don't understand 4-year-olds. But my impression is no one understands four-year-olds. One of the great mysteries of the universe. I briefly considered adopting after the accident, but I'm still occupied with figuring myself out, and it's not like we had a shortage of potential parents."

"I think she is very astute and you are right no one understands four year olds. You could be a foster parent. Give a child a place to stay, attention and care they need and proceed from there. A child may help you figure yourself out. As they are full of questions and curiosity." Gary replied.

"There are just over 200 civilians on this ship, with a fraction of them being children. There's not a large demand for fostering."

Gary accepted what Rin said, "True enough however, the option is there if you decide to look further into pursuing it."

"Maybe I should start with a puppy," Rin mused as she finished her drink. "Do you have thoughts on what you're going to do when we get home?"

"A puppy is good, so is a cat and they are much more self reliant." Gary replied pausing for a moment as he considered Rin's question. "Not in any kind of order but one of the things I want to do is take LL out to the ranch and let her see the horses, cows and other livestock as well as be out among nature and not cooped up on a starship. She can also meet her grandparents."

"I want to go somewhere with the twins. I don't know where. Someplace none of us have visited. And... maybe invite them to apply for a transfer to the Elysium, if they wish. The unfortunate truth is we will have a lot of openings to fill."

Gary nodded at Rin's comments. "A family trip would be nice I think as it would afford you a new shared experience. Asking them to transfer to the Elysium I think would be good for them and you and you are absolutely correct we will have extensive openings to fill. Aren't they on Galaxy Station with Garrett?" He inquired.

"USS Republic," Rin replied. "They took a few days leave to meet us at Galaxy Station. That was very fortunate, being able to see them one more time before we got flung out here. Fortunate for all three of us."

"The Republic. That is news to me. I for some reason thought they were on Galaxy Station with Garrett. However I am glad the three of you were able see and be with each other for a few days. maybe they will consider transferring here once we get home." Gary suggested.

"Why were you looking into where they were stationed?" Rin asked.

Gary chuckled. "Actually I wasn't. Like I mentioned earlier, I thought they were with Garrett and when I checked the manifest their names weren't there."

"We've gotten quite off the topic of Two," Rin said with a sigh. "If familiarity is what we need...Do we have any crew of Klingon descent who grew up among Klingons? Perhaps that might offer something for them to latch onto. The counselor can certainly have a go. Otherwise...I suspect I'm going to end up driving into his head."

"Right off the top of my head I'm not sure. I'll need to check the manifest and see what it comes up with." Gary answered. "Otherwise as you just mentioned it will be up to the counselors to see what they can do to help Two get more acclimated to life here and among the crew."

Rin nodded. "If we don't have a suitable member among the crew, perhaps the holodeck could give us something. Where would you like them in the meantime? Private quarters once Sickbay clears them?"

"The holodeck could work until we come up with something better. Yes, in private quarters. I think that is the best option we have in regard to getting Two to feel like an individual and not a drone."

Rin set down her glass. "Thank you for the break. I promise to get proper sleep in my quarters tonight."