Frustrations

Posted on Sun Apr 26th, 2020 @ 11:02am by Lieutenant JG Gallia Norris
Edited on on Mon May 11th, 2020 @ 10:07am

Mission: Season 3: Episode 4: Cause and Effect
Location: Deck 2-Shopping Area near Harley's Cookie Cart
Timeline: after Senior Staff Briefing
4278 words - 8.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Gallia and Anje, having been dismissed from their briefing and onto a mission they both thought was a terrible idea, had, like Tayalas before them, found their way to the Pink and White bakery kiosk, or, as the blueberry thought of it 'Harley's Cookie Cart' and now sat across from each other eating large cookies and drinking hot chocolates as they discussed the recent events of their lives, "Aye, I cannae deny ye shocked me showin' up with that knockoff of my haircut and tryna be tall besides." Gallia laughed hard.

"It's not a knockoff of yours." Anje protested, "You know, you really didn't invent that haircut, Gallia. Millions of women have done it before you."

"Aye, they have." Gallia conceded, "Though they didnae do it as cute as me."

"Maybe not." Anje giggled, she did have to give Gallia that, the Scot was definitely cute, even managing to be attractive in the same room with Phoenix Lalor, no small feat, "And I've been trying to be tall since I was ten, with no success."

"Is okay if ye wanna be like me, love." Gallia reassured, "I'm no a bad dish, if I must say so meself."

"That you're not." Anje replied, smiling, "So, any thought to wedding plans?"

"Aye, Kara's set on havin' Capt. Lalor perform the ceremony, though I hear they got an actual Chaplain comin' board." Gallia answered, sipping the last bit of her hot chocolate, "I'm wonderin' if she willnae change her mind when she gess that bit of information."

"You don't want Captain Lalor to perform the ceremony, Gallia?" Anje asked, there was something obviously on her friend's mind and she was worried, "Is there a problem between you two?"

"No, no, it isnae anythin' like that." Gallia answered, then added, "Kara seems te have some sarta croosh on 'er is all. I dinnae think I like it very much."

"Well, I can assure you, nobody will ever take her attention away from Master Chief Waters." Anje laughed, though it hid real disappointment that she herself hadn't been able to, "And Kara is crazy over you and Tay, you've got nothing to worry about, I promise."

"Aye, that she is." Gallia smiled, "So, I dinnae know if I tol' ye, but Cdr. Taylor, he wants to use Tay as the flower girl for him and Cdr. Holmes' weddin'."

"That's wonderful!" Anje broke into a warm smile, "I'm going to be Lia's maid of honor, Tay and I can be in the wedding party together."

"Aye, she's lookin' fard te it." Gallia stated, "Jus' gotta get 'er a pretty dress te wear's all."

"Well, the place that made mine is right over there." Anje said, pointing to the small hole in the all shop across from Spider's Web where she had bought her new clothes during her last shopping spree, "We could find something for her there, I'm sure."

"Right, we can!" Gallia smiled, finishing her cookie and drink, "Ready when'er ye are, Tsarina."

"Let's go." Anje replied, finishing her own repast and standing to take Gallia's hand, wondering if Gallia would mind hanging out long enough for her to slide into Spider's and get a trim, her pixie was starting to get shaggy, ~What would they call a shaggy pixie? A goblin?~ Anje wondered, concluding that Gallia probably didn't have time to hang out that long, she'd be wanting to get Tay from the sitter soon, ~Really hard to schedule time with the girls when you've got a kid to think about.~

They walked quickly across the few meters to the store, it was packed but not uncomfortably so, and Anje began to lead Gallia to the replicators, "So, what size is Tay wearing?" She asked, it seemed need to know information.

"Right now she can fit in te a 16 to 18 months." Gallia replied, "Might wanna go toward the 18-24 though, since we got a bit befar the big day an' I dinnae want her to outgrow it befar then."

"Okay, so size is done, now for style." Anje smiled as she entered Tay's size into the computer and brought up a holographic Blueberry to display the chosen clothing on, "Now, for a style. What's her favorite color?"

"She's bloody gaga over yella an' pink." Gallia answered, "Though she doesnae call it yella, she calls it Ducky."

"Like the yellow duck Cdr. Taylor gave her for Christmas." Anje said, that child was simply too sweet.

"The ducky Sana gave her." Gallia corrected, "She sees 'im as Sana and won't hear nothin' else."

"Well, to her he is, so she's not wrong." Anje concurred, she had managed to hold onto some of the joy and magic of childhood as best she could in the stressful tornado that was the adult military world, "We just can't see it because we've let our imaginations atrophy."

"Right." Gallia nodded, "Though here lately I've been wishin' hers wasnae as strong as it is."

"Still having nightmares, huh?" Anje asked as she brought up a picture of a frilly yellow dress on the holographic Tayalas, "What do you think of this?"

"Aye, still with the nightmares." Gallia replied, "An' I think is right cute, but I think Tay's gonna wanna match someone else there, one a her people."

"Well, how about this?" Anje asked, bringing up a picture of a smaller version of her own dress on the image of Tayalas, "We'll twin, it'll be cute."

"Aye, tha's the one right there." Gallia nodded enthusiastically, "Tha's the picture I wanna see from that weddin', ye and yer l'il blue double."

"I think that will be adorable." Anje agreed, inputting the command to make the dress, it appeared from a nearby replicator less than a minute later, "Okay, so here we go, dress dilemma solved."

"Solved fer sure, thank ye, Anje." Gallia said warmly, happy she and Anje had finally become close after their rough start at the Halloween party.

With the dress now tucked under Anje's arm they went to the front to check out, "Just this today." Anje smiled to the blue haired girl behind the register, she thought her name was Regina, Reggie.

"This is so cute!" Reggie smiled, "I didn't know you had any children, Anje."

"No, she's not mine, she's her daughter." Anje corrected, jerking a thumb towards Gallia, "She is adorable though."

"Well, gonna use my employee discount card here and I can give you this for...." Reggie paused while the register figured out the new total, "Ninety four credits."

Anje reached into her wallet and pulled out a hundred credit note, "Keep the change, Reg." She smiled.

Gallia, gobsmacked by Anje's generosity towards both the cashier and her, stepped up alongside her, "Ye didnae haff te pay for Tay's dress, Anje, I can dae it."

"I don't doubt you can." Anje reassured her, "I just wanted to. Look, Mad Russians are gonna do Mad Russian things, this is just one of them. Don't try to change me."

"Aright, aright, I know there isnae use in tryin' te argue with ye, is like arguin' wit the wall." Gallia surrendered, letting Anje do exactly what she was going to do anyway.

"Hey, Reg." Anje began, "Is Spider slammed?"

"Nah, she's sitting on ass in front of the place eating a cookie from Harley's cart." Reggie answered, "Looks bored out of her mind. Why?"

"Gallia, when do you have to be to Mrs. Blankenship to pick up Tay?" She inquired.

"I can get there anytime between now and five, why?" Gallia answered her question with a question.

"Got time for me to get a trim up?" Anje asked, "Want to look my best for the wedding."

"Dinnae upstage the bride, lass." Gallia warned with a chuckle, "Or ye will end up like me, walkin' aboot the place withoot a best friend."

"Upstage Lia?" Anje laughed hard, the idea was ridiculous, "Have you seen that woman? Can't be done."

"Right, right." Gallia conceded, knowing that she would never convince Anje that she was in fact not the ugly duckling in her group of friends, "Aye, I can hang out wit ye a bit longer if ye'd like."

"I would." Anje smiled, "Thanks, Gallia."

Five minutes later and Anje was already wet headed, caped, and waiting for Spider's attention, musing over the fact that she hadn't gotten a chance to shoot Mishka Vadran, "The worst part of the whole thing is that damned Mishka got away." Anje sighed, sorrow obvious in her voice.

"I know that feelin', lass, believe me." Gallia consoled her, "But ye didnae even get a look at 'er, I had Quinton Dunphy in ma gunsights an' didnae pull the trigger, now he's out there somewhere because I let 'im go. Tha's been hard livin' with."

"I know it has been hard for you, Gallia." Anje said with a comforting smile, "But, he was on his knees and injured when you found him, if you'd shot him, it would've been murder. And he's not out making trouble or looking for anyone, he's gone to ground and trying not to get caught and brought to trial. Trust me, if he's caught he's going to be brought in front of a Starfleet tribunal for kidnapping two Starfleet personnel and stealing a vehicle, that's a long sentence, plenty of reasons to stay hidden."

"I hope yer right, Anje, I really do." Gallia sighed, her worst fear, her recurring nightmare, was that Dunphy would resurface and hurt someone else close to her and that she would be at fault because she let him live.

Spider sauntered over next, looking down at Anje, "Well, got you back in at last." She smirked, "I was worried you were trying to look like a librarian again."

"No, no." Anje giggled, "Anje the Librarian is dead and buried. Though, question, when I came in that night, why did you drop my ponytail into my bag before I left."

"Maybe she wanted ye to plant it and grow another Anje." Gallia joked, "If ye water it proper this one might get te full size."

"Oh, you got jokes, huh?" Anje laughed, though, much as she hated it, this was full size.

"Actually a lot of clients that make serious changes like to keep it, a memory or something." Spider answered, "Though I kinda like her idea. Especially if we can get the extra Anje to full size." Spider released her dreadlocks from their clip atop her head, covering the shaven back and sides in a curtain of dark black, "So, gonna guess you're Milla, the hot younger sister who makes Anje feel like the dog's dinner."

"Milla? No. I'm Gallia." The Scotswoman answered back, "Dae I sound Russian to ye?"

"Now that you're talking more, not at all." Spider laughed, causing her dreadlocks to shake like a theatre curtain being rustled from behind, "Just you two look enough alike to be sisters."

"Right, I'm the one got watered proper and got te full size." Gallia kidded.

"Full size and then some." Spider nodded, Gallia was tall, leggy, and beautiful to go with that rapid fire sense of humor, if she didn't have her girlfriend Reggie over there at Carousel of Fashion, located where the Carousel used to be, she'd definitely make a run at the redhead.

"Ma bestie was a l'il bit taller." Gallia replied, "Ma sister, she was much taller, if ye count antennae in your measure."

"Antennae?" Spider stopped, "So your sister was...."

"Andorian, aye." Gallia smiled, puling out her padd to show Spider a picture of Tayalas, "Ma daughter, her daughter, but I'm raisin' her."

"What an adorable little girl!" Spider grinned, the cute was almost overwhelming. Turning back to her client, she asked, "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, obviously I need a little maintenance work." Anje laughed, "Though if you have any other ideas, I'm interested."

"Right, right." Spider nodded, "So, I'm thinking I love that purple color you're wearing on you, maybe some highlights in that color?"

"Okay, yeah, that sounds nice." Anje agreed, adding, "Tell you what, i trust you, do whatever you want."

"You sure about that?" Spider asked, one pierced eyebrow raised.

"Absolutely." Anje said confidently, she knew Spider was a pro and wasn't going to send her out of here looking bad.

"Okay, you heard it, sister not sister, she was warned." Spider stated, picking up a large pair of clippers and thumbing them on as she set the blade, unguarded of course, against Anje's forehead, "Always wanted to do this, straight down the middle."

Anje tensed up and turned whiter than usual, "UH, Spider, maybe that's a little too severe..." She squeaked, realizing in seconds she'd be longing for the Milla look.

"KIDDING!" Spider exclaimed, bursting into almost maniacal laughter as she put the clippers down and kissed Anje's left cheek hard, "I wasn't going to scalp you with the wedding coming up."

"Thanks." Anje laughed when she could breath again, "I did not want to explain that to Lia."

"Or te Gary if she thought it was cute an' copied it." Gallia laughed, less at her own joke than at Anje's still bleached skin and shocked/terrified expression.

"Perish the thought." Anje giggled, "Okay, so we're going to add some purple you say?"

"Right." Spider nodded, already mixing the color up.

"That'll be pretty." Anje smiled assuredly.

"Aye, an' Tay's gonna love it." Gallia said with conviction, her little girl was crazy for pink, purple, yellow or ducky, green, all sorts of colors.

"I hope." Anje nodded nervously as Spider began applying lightener to her dark brown hair where the streaks of purple would soon be.

"Stop being so nervous already." Spider commanded, Anje's name should've been Nellie, "And if it looks bad, we take it off and start over."

"Right." Anje nodded, though that last bit hadn't done anything to ease her nerves, but, she did trust Spider, this would be fine.

An hour later they walked out, Anje with a trim and purple highlights, Gallia with Spider's card and the promise that she could do 'magic' with Gallia's red hair, headed to the Blankenship quarters, Gallia had mommy stuff to get to.

Anje stopped as they exited the turbolift, checking her hair in the reflection from a nearby door, running her fingers through the purple highlights and smiling, thrilled beyond words that not only did it look good, but it hadn't been taken to the skin, Spider and her jokes....

"Stop worryin' already, ye look great." Gallia encouraged, "Come on, Tay's in there, waitin' fer us."

"For you." Anje laughed, not that she doubted Tay would be happy to see her, but she remembered something the Scot didn't, Tay had no idea she was coming.

"Well, whichever, lesgo." Gallia prodded, her daughter was going to miss the prom if she let Anje continue to sit there and preen.

"Right." Anje laughed, pressing the chime to Mrs. Blankenship's door and watching it slide open.

The door slid open to reveal Eleanor Blankenship, wearing her house slippers and an apron as she prepared dinner for little Tayalas, her favorite, Chicken nuggets, "Oh, Commander Brett, Commander Hoffman, I wasn't expecting you so soon. Tayalas and I were about to sit down and have some chicken nuggets and mac and cheese."

"Chicky nuggies, maccy cheese." Tayalas sang from inside the apartment, obviously excited about the impending meal.

"Commander Hoffman?" Anje raised an eyebrow.

"Mrs. B. is old school an' a little ahead a 'erself." Gallia shrugged, stepping into the apartment, "Now, where's ma l'il blueberry?" She wondered aloud.

Tayalas, sitting in Mrs. Blankyship's husband's chair, heard her mother's voice and knew she was looking for her, "Mommyyyy, in here, mommyyyy, me Buberry!"

Gallia followed the little girl's excited voice and found her in her usual place, Admiral Blankenship's chair, "Well, isnae that wonderful, ma l'il blueberry's right here. Ye ready, darling?"

"Din din, mommyyy, Mrs. Blankyship make nuggies and maccy cheese." Tayalas reminded her mother, who she figured could probably use some nuggies of her own, having been at work all day.

"Well, okay, we'll let ye eat before we leave, Tay." Gallia offered, giggling at her daughter's excitement over such simple things, The simple pleasures. she thought, reminding herself of her mother's favorite saying.

"Yay! Lub nuggies and maccy cheese." Tayalas said, telling her mother something she already knew well.

"Well, I got someone else wit' me ye love." Gallia stated, "Came te pay ye a visit she did."

"Oh, oo is it, mommyyy?" Tayalas cooed, she needed to know who her friend who came by was.

Anje had heard her cue and walked in, smiling to Tay, "Hey, munchkin!"

"Enn-a!" Tayalas squealed as she came down out of the chair and ran to her friend, standing at her feet with her arms up, waiting to be picked up for snuggles.

"Well, I'm happy to see you too." Anje grinned, bending over to pick the little girl up and hold her close.

Tayalas heard Enn-a but none of it registered, she was too fascinated by her friend's new hair color, which she touched with her fingers and antennae and murmured, "Preddy..."

"Told ye she'd be gaga over that color." Gallia laughed, remembering her prior conversation with the then very nervous Anje.

"Well, I'm thrilled she likes it." Anje smiled back, snuggling the little blueberry close and kissing the top of her snowy white head lovingly, "And I got you something, a present."

"I sees, peeasse?" Tayalas asked, politely and cutely, making Enn-a smile.

"Of course you can see, it's yours after all." Anje smiled, pulling the little dress out of the bag, "See, it's just like mine for Lia and Gary's wedding."

"Whoa... preddy." Tay gasped, this was indeed a very nice dress, nicer than anything else she had in her drawers, "You wear too?"

"This one? No. One just like it." Anje explained, "Your mommy thought it would be cute if our outfits matched."

"Would you ladies care for some chicken nuggets and mac and cheese?" Mrs. Blankenship offered, stepping into the living room with a still steaming pan of nuggets in her gloved hands.

"I would love that." Anje replied, she'd given no thought to dinner, though she figured Gallia and Kara had plans for dinner together.

"Okay, so nuggets for three." Mrs. Blankenship smiled, heading back towards her small dining room, "You sure you won't join us, Cdr Hoffman?"

"Actually, make it nuggets fer three an' a haff, please." Gallia replied, she could eat a few nuggets and some mac and cheese and still have dinner with her fiance at home, "Hate te see good food an' good effort gone te waste."

"Oh, darling, no, the effort was already repaid a hundred fold by watching her smile and hearing her sing the chicky nuggies song." Mrs. Blankenship laughed, then began to sing the song to herself softly, "Chicky nuggies, maccy cheese." Catching herself singing it she blushed a little, "Her enthusiasm is infectious."

"Aye, that it is." Gallia replied quickly, Tay's enthusiasm was infectious in every way, it had been a big part of what caused her to fall for Kara so hard, if the baby hadn't liked her, there was no way it would've worked, "She makes everythin' seem such a big deal, it's bloody wonderful."

Anje, still carrying Tayalas, whispered into Gallia's ear, "Would you like me to see if I can do anything about the nightmares?"

"Aye, would ye?" Gallia asked, "I'd give a month's pay for me baby te be able te sleep again."

"Right." Anje smiled, turning her attention back to Tay, "Honey, your mommy tells me you've had some bad dreams."

"Mommy say jus' dreams." Tay replied, "No can hurt me."

"Well, would you like it if I made them go away?" Anje offered.

"You make go way?" Tayalas asked, her eyebrow raised skeptically, how could anyone make a dream go away?

"I'll try." Anje promised, "If you're okay with it."

"Okay, you try." Tay smiled, she'd be happy if Enn-a could keep her from waking up crying and scared anymore.

"Okay, just hold still." Anje instructed, placing her hand against Tay's tiny forehead and temple, "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts." Seconds later she was perusing the little girl's subconscious, quickly finding the horrific nightmare she was seeking, "Oh, whoa, that is intense. That's too intense for a baby. Watching it for a second, but blocking Tayalas from doing the same, she commented to Gallia, "Your little girl's got some imagination on her, she may be the next great horror novelist."

"If I had me druthers, I'd like te see her go inte engineerin', folly the family tradition as it were." Gallia answered honestly, asking, "Can ye remove the nightmare, Anje?"

"No, there's no way to remove a memory without damaging the neural pathways." Anje shook her head, "What I can do is bury it so deep her subconscious can never access it again."

"Aye, dae that." Gallia implored, she was tired of her precious child waking up screaming in terror and wanted Anje, wanted anyone to help her.

"Right, coming up." Anje smiled, forcing the memory and the attached dream into the very back of the tot's mind and blocking the neural pathways that led to it so it couldn't find a way to the front ever again. "That should do it."

"Jus' like that?" Gallia asked, surprised it went that fast.

"Aye, lass, jus' like that." Anje replied in a poor impression of her friend's accent, "Woulda been easier if I was a full or even half Vulcan, but I'm a Russkie with pointy ears."

"An' ye cannae hide them ears nay mar." Gallia teased, remembering how Anje's hair, even when tied back, still covered the tips of her ears, when it was long enough, now though, now they were prominently on display.

"Why hide them?" Anje shrugged, realizing as she did that Tay had fallen asleep on her shoulder, "Nothing wrong with pointed ears. Billions of people have them."

"Aye, an' they're adorable on ye." Gallia complimented, stroking Tay's head on Anje's shoulder, "I mean, antennae are cuter to me, but still."

"Mommyy." Tayalas muttered in her sleep, she recognized her mother's touch.

Anje smiled silently, nodding towards Mrs. Blankenship as she brought plates of food to them, stroking Tay's back as she did. She began to softly sing a lullaby in Russian to the little girl, knowing she wouldn't understand a word, but hoping she would at least enjoy the melody.

"There you go, ladies." Mrs. Blankenship smiled, setting a small blue plate with a duck on it down for Tayalas, it was covered in golden chicken nuggets and her famous white cheddar macaroni and cheese, two things Tayalas loved, "If you'd like to make this for Tayalas at home, Cdr. Hoffman, the recipe is in the computer system, heading Eleanor B 27."

"Aye, thank ye." Gallia nodded, poking a chicken nugget into her mouth, whatever Mrs. B. did to the nuggets was special, they were amazing, "She loves the way ye dae them, and especially that mac and cheese ye make."

"The mac and cheese is Eleanor B 34." Mrs. Blankenship relayed, she couldn't serve Tayalas her nuggets without her mac and cheese, it would be incomplete.

"This is really delicious, Mrs. Blankenship." Anje complimented, there was something extra to her nuggets, like something in the breading, it was delicious, and the mac and cheese was restaurant quality stuff, "So what do you add to the breading, ma'am?"

"Oh, no no, Cdr. Brett." Mrs. Blankenship shook her head, "That was my Louis' secret recipe, can't share it with anyone outside of the family. When it's time for her to learn to cook, I might share the recipe with Tayalas, she's like family. Even took me on a ride today."

"Did she now?" Gallia asked with a smile, consuming a nugget a she did, "Tell us more, will ye?"

"Well, there's a group of children's rides across from the cookie stand, and Tayalas likes to ride the little yellow ducky." The older woman began, "Well, after riding the ducky twice she points to the Flinstone car and asks to ride it, asks me to ride with her, it was wonderful fun."

"Sounds like you're having a great time babysitting." Anje laughed softly so as not to wake the baby, asking Gallia, "So, should we wake her up to feed her?"

"Aye, she'll be terrible upset if she doesna get her nuggies and her maccy cheese." Gallia replied, "Jus kinda rub on her antennae, Anje, real soft like, she'll wake up directly."

Anje began to rub softly on Tay's antennae whispering to her, "Come on, baby, it's time to wake up and eat some nuggies."

"Nuggies?" Tayalas asked as she lifted her head to the sound of Anje's voice, "We has nuggies? I wan' nuggies."

"Well, there's ye a whole plate full, me love." Gallia said with a smile as she pointed to Tay's plate, waiting there for her, "Dig in, me l'il ducky."

"Yes, mommyy." Tayalas answered sweetly before picking up a nugget and starting to nibble on it, "Lishus. Tank oo, Mrs. Blankyship."

"You're very welome, precious, glad you like them." Mrs. Blankenship replied, the smile on her face washing away years of heartache and rough living, "I'm happy to make you nuggies any time."

"Nuggies good." Tayalas said matter of factly as she polished off first one, then another, of the golden breaded culinary gems.

"Nuggies indeed good." Anje smiled, watching the Blueberry enjoying her meal, and feeling all the frustrations of recent days fade away.