Girl Stuff
By: TashaLaw
Disclaimer: I don't own it. Don't sue me, or I'll sue you back.
Summary: True and Devon have a little talk. A hint of DD.
Author's Notes: This is my first Earth 2 fanfic. I was a huge Earth 2 fan back in the day and recently got back into it after buying the DVDs. Hence this story, and hopefully more to come. Set after All About Eve. Assumes Devon got out of coldsleep somehow and is healed.
Rating: T
As Devon made her way to the Transrover with a crate of food supplies to be loaded, she was struck once again by how much her life had changed since coming to G889. On the stations, the Adairs had been akin to royalty in the society of the rich and powerful. Devon herself was a boardroom figure, a force to be reckoned with by her competition and often by the Council itself. However, here on G889, she was just another set of hands to help transport provisions in their daily efforts to make and break camp.
That's not entirely true, Devon thought to herself. While she was no longer their employer, the others still looked to her for leadership. She had been the one to set them off on their quest for New Pacifica, and she was the driving force behind getting them there.
And I'm not just a boss anymore, she thought. I'm their friend.
Glancing around the camp, Devon knew this was true. They had been through a lot together since crash landing on this strange alien planet.
However, since taking her out of cold sleep on the Bennett's ship, the others had been treating her differently, making sure she did not work too hard or wear herself out. They did not fuss exactly (except for Julia), but they all seemed to do little things to try and make her life easier.
Alonzo, who was helping Baines take down a tent, had brought her a cup of tea that morning. The night before, Walman had quietly looked in on her after being relieved from sentry duty, mostly Devon thought, to reassure himself that she was still there. Even Morgan Martin had been more friendly to her, although Devon suspected it was due mostly to influence from his wife.
But more than anyone else, Danziger had grown protective of her, often going so far as to order her to rest when he thought she was over-doing it or slipping her an extra meal when he thought she needed it. To make matters worse, he and Julia had teamed up against her, even going so far as to enlist Uly and Yale in their efforts to make sure she got enough rest and recuperation after her time in cold sleep.
The one person who seemed to still treat her normally was True. While she and Danziger's daughter had never spent enough time together to become real friends, Devon felt a motherly protectiveness toward the girl almost as strong as that she felt for Uly.
Devon suddenly noticed the object of her thoughts race through camp at a brisk run, heading directly towards Julia's tent. Wondering what was going on, Devon followed the girl.
"Julia?" True called, ducking under the flap of the medical tent. "Julia, are you here?"
"What's wrong, True?" Devon asked as she entered the tent. The girl looked almost panicked, but upon seeing Devon, she tried to mask her fear.
"Nothing," she stated briskly. "I just needed to talk to Julia."
"She took the ATV to the river to scan for edible vegetation," Devon said. Closely watching the girl, she knew that something was wrong. True rarely became so rattled by something without letting out a scream designed to bring the entire camp running. And why was she looking for Julia rather than her father? "True, if something's wrong, you can tell me. I'll do whatever I can to help."
True stood indecisively for a moment, glancing around. It was clear she would rather discuss her problem with Julia, but the urgency of it seemed to push her into trusting Devon out of necessity. Not wanting to gain the girl's confidence in such a way, Devon suggested, "Or I could find your father. You could talk to him."
"No!" True said quickly. "I don't need to talk to him. I just need to see Julia."
"Are you hurt?" Devon asked cautiously.
True was quiet for a moment. She seemed to be deciding whether she could trust the older woman. Finally, she made a decision.
"I'm bleeding," she confessed quietly.
Devon blinked. Time seemed to stop for a moment as her mind raced to figure out why True seemed so embarrassed about this. If she had fallen down or scraped herself…
Realization suddenly dawned on Devon. But she wanted to make sure, lest she further mortify the girl.
"True, where are you bleeding?"
True once again glanced around nervously before whispering, "Between my legs."
"True, maybe you and I should sit down and have a little talk," Devon suggested. Sitting them both down, Devon smiled reassuringly at True. She was shocked that the girl had not been prepared for this.
She is still very young. Only ten years old. I was twelve when it first happened to me, she thought. Perhaps the stress of living on G889 had affected True's progession towards maturity. And ten was not an unheard of age. But Devon was still astounded that True had no idea what was happening to her.
"True, has anyone ever talked to you about what it means to become a woman?" Devon asked.
True stared at her blankly.
"I mean, you're becoming a young woman, True. Has your dad or… anyone… ever discussed with you the changes your body is going through?" True just shook her head.
Devon started to feel as though she were in over her head. She'd never had this conversation with a child before, never thought she would. But she remembered her own mother sitting her down and explaining things. Fortunately for Devon, her mother had done it several years prior to the event itself, so she hadn't been absolutely terrified when it happened, the way True obviously was.
"Would you rather talk to your dad about this?" Devon suggested, noting the girl's uneasiness with the way their talk was going. She was not certain if True's discomfort was with her or the situation, but she knew someone had to talk to True. Danziger probably wasn't the best choice to explain this type of thing, not having ever gone through it himself, but True was his daughter and he may prefer to educate her on such things.
"Can't you talk to me about it?" True asked.
Devon was surprised by her question. "Of course," she answered immediately. "Well, True… as I said, you're becoming a young woman. And, as that happens, your body starts changing. You're getting taller, eating more-"
"Will I get boobs?" True interrupted her, curious.
Devon smiled, a little surprised by the question. "Yes, True, you will, although probably not for a while. But that is one of the changes your body will go through.
"You also have changes going on inside. One of the biggest things is…" Devon went on to explain in general the female reproductive system, leaving the finer details and medical terminology to Julia. She was relieved to find out that True at least had a basic understanding of sex, so she did not have to give that particular talk to the girl.
After Devon was finished, True was full of questions.
"So you're saying, I could have a baby if I wanted? Right now?" True seemed half-excited and half-terrified of the idea.
"Well, no… not exactly. True, you're still a young girl. You are only ten years old. While you may technically be able to start a baby, you are much too young to go through the whole process of pregnancy. Even back on Earth hundreds of years ago, even girls your age rarely had babies because it was so risky. Your body just isn't mature enough to handle having a baby."
"But someday I can have a baby, right?" True asked.
"Yes, if that's what you want," Devon answered. Somewhat frightened she may have encouraged Danziger's daughter to seek motherhood at too early an age, she decided to back-track. "But True, you still have many years left before you need to even start thinking about having children. Or even start thinking about boys. Right now, you should just concentrate on growing up."
"Oh, I know. I was just curious. Besides, the only boy around is Uly, and that would just be weird," True wrinkled her nose and laughed at the idea. Devon laughed with her, though she was suddenly struck by a new realization. If Danziger and True stayed on G889, someday True and her son may end up getting married and having babies together.
"You're right. That would be weird," Devon agreed. "Now, let me get you something to take care of the blood." Rummaging through one of Julia's crates, she found the other woman's stash of washable menstruation pads and handed a few to True. Devon herself had seen to it that the supply list for G889 had included such things, and since landing on the planet, every woman in the group had privately thanked her for such thoughtfulness.
"Just put one of these in the bottom of your underwear, and when you're done with it… come talk to me, and I'll show you how to sanitize it," Devon said.
"Thanks, Devon," True said brightly. The two of them headed out of Julia's tent and were just outside when Devon stopped the girl from running off to implement the pad.
"True, I just want you to know, if you ever have any other questions or problems… you know, girl stuff, that you'd rather not talk to your dad about, you can always talk to me. Or Julia. Or Bess. We've all been through it," Devon assured her. She felt sorry the girl had grown up without a mother to teach her such things. While Danziger was an excellent father, sometimes, a girl just needed to talk to a woman about things.
"Thanks Devon, I will," True answered with a smile before running around the milling people and supplies that were still being loaded onto the Transrover. Devon saw her almost bump into her father before giving him a brief wave and disappearing toward the latrine area.
Smiling at the moment of bonding she had just had with True, Devon returned to her duties of helping pack up supplies.
"What was that all about?" Danziger asked as he walked up to her.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"Baines told me he saw True looking for Julia, and just now I saw her take off like her feet were on fire. Want to tell me what's going on?"
"Everything's fine. True had a little problem, but she and I talked about it, and I think she's going to be fine," Devon answered.
Danziger's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What sort of problem?" he demanded.
"Just… girl stuff."
"Girl stuff?" The subject clearly held little appeal for him. While he knew as much as any man knew about women's issues, the idea of having to impart such information to his ten-year-old daughter was more than a little daunting.
"Yeah. You know, Danziger, your daughter is starting to become a young woman."
It only took a moment or two for Danziger to catch on. "You mean she… she did… she started…" Devon nodded. "But she's okay, right?"
"Yeah, she's fine. We talked about it. I think she may go back and talk to Julia later if she has any questions, but she's not as alarmed as she was at first," Devon said. Suddenly she grew cautious. "You don't mind that I talked to her, do you? Cause I was concerned you might want to talk to her about it, but she seemed a little uncomfortable with that idea and-"
"No, its fine!" Danziger answered quickly. "I'm glad ya'll talked. I'm glad she has a woman she could talk to about… things like that." He smiled at Devon warmly. "We're all glad you're back, you know."
Devon returned his smile. "Thanks. I appreciate that."
"Now let me help you with these crates. You shouldn't be carrying all this stuff by yourself!"
"I'm not an invalid, you know," Devon protested with mock indignation, knowing he was being protective of her again. "I can contribute to the group."
"Then why don't you contribute by taking down that tent over there while I load this stuff," Danziger answered.
Even as Devon began to tear down the tent, Baines came over to help. Yes, it is definitely nice to be more than just a boss to these people, Devon thought.