PNPC Charlie McQueen: Time to Go, Kiddo Pt 2 (NT)

[Kayla Drex]

((Shuttle Condor))

:: Charlie sat on the shuttle's seat with her knees pulled up tight to her chest. This really sucked. She had actually started to hope that there was some chance she was going to be allowed to stay on the Eagle. The Captain's family had even had her over for a family dinner. Then her bubble burst. They told her that she had to go back to Starbase 281 to get put into the Child Services system. As she sat in the shuttle, she tried not to imagine what her future held. Each time she'd let her mind drift that way, each possibility was worse than the one before. Kayla, the science officer escorting her to the base, was nice enough, but Charlie sincerely doubted whether the perky blonde lady could empathize with this kind of misery. ::

Drex: ::tenuously:: So ... Charlie? I just finished reading the report on what you did. I wanted to know why that security crewman was so tightly-wound.

Charlie: Yeah? So you think I'm a criminal too now, huh?

oO Great. Another grown-up who doesn't get that I didn't have any other choice. Oo

Drex: Actually, no. It sounds to me like you were desperate. I'm just curious about why. What were you running from, Charlie?

:: That got Charlie's attention. She lifted her head from her knees and looked at Kayla, really studying her eyes. She was serious, wasn't she? ::

oO Ok, why not? It's not like things can get any worse for me. Oo

Charlie: My parents died in an accident at the Spike. I wanted to start a new life, and figured a Federation starbase was a better option. I used the last of my money to get from there to 281, but panicked and ended up stuck on the Eagle. That was an accident and a misunderstanding. Once Mr. Blaidd kicked me off the first time though, I worked with my friend Katya to sneak back on. I know it was stupid, and now she's in a ton of trouble because I didn't think about the consequences of my actions.

:: Charlie felt a knot forming in her throat, but pushed on. ::

Charlie: They said they would do what's "best for me." That means they're going to make me somebody else's problem. I'm going to get lost in the Federation's Child Services system, bounced around like a piece of unwanted luggage from one foster family to another for the next five years. By then, I'll be old enough to apply to Starfleet Academy. So ... I just have to survive five years.

Drex: ::after a long silence:: Charlie, I'm so sorry about your parents. My Momma died recently too.

:: Charlie looked at Kayla again. She was crying. Charlie didn't think it was out of sadness about her own mother's death though. It looked like Kayla really felt Charlie's pain, and ... maybe she understood the desperation that led the girl to such drastic actions. ::

Drex: I loved my Momma more than anybody I've ever known. I won't even pretend to know how you feel, having lost both your parents at once. I'm just ... so incredibly sorry, Charlie.

:: Kayla walked across the small cabin and sat next to Charlie, putting a reassuring hand on the girl's back. Charlie felt its reassuring warmth and realized it was the first kind touch she'd felt since her parents' deaths. The floodgates broke, and she wept openly with her face buried in her still-tucked up knees. Between sobs, she faintly registered another person crying. Some small part of her mind put it together: Kayla was crying with her. Whether out of pure sympathy or shared fresh grief, she wasn't sure, but she felt Kayla beside her. She felt the hand on her back most gently in small arcs reassuringly. ::

Charlie: ::regaining composure:: Thanks, Kayla. You're pretty nice for a grown-up.

Drex: ::chuckling while wiping away her own tears:: Heh. You're pretty nice for a stow-away.

:: Charlie laughed at that. She decided she liked Kayla. She decided that whatever happened next, Kayla was a good person. The two talked for the next few hours, sometimes tearfully, sometimes laughing until there were even more tears. By the time the pilot announced their approach to SB281, Charlie felt like she'd known Kayla for years. ::

Drex: Thanks, Donovan. Would you mind not docking just yet?

O'Rourke: Sir?

Drex: Just ... take a lap or two. I need to make a call before we dock.

O'Rourke: Whatever you say, Lieutenant.

:: Kayla patted the pilot on the shoulder then walked toward the rear of the shuttle where a small anti-chamber with a terminal was located. As Kayla passed Charlie, she winked. oO People still wink? Oo ::

Drex: Don't worry, kiddo. It's gonna be ok.

:: Charlie had no idea what was going on, but she genuinely believed she could trust Kayla, so she smiled back, and watched her as she closed the door manually, blocking off the sound of her subspace call. ::

TBC


____________________

~ Charlie McQueen ~
(simmed by Kayla Drex)
USS Eagle, NCC-74659
Writer ID: E239510KD0