Beverly sits in her office, staring at her computer screen. She's been working hard, perhaps too hard, for several months. The natural medicine project is more difficult than she thought it would be, starting a new program completely from scratch. She's grateful for the work. It keeps her busy. It doesn't give her much time to think about anything else. Except late at night. That's when her mind wanders.
Her hands are flat on the desk in front of her. She looks down at them and they remind her of something. She slowly slides them together until her thumbs touch. She bends her fingers, tenting them, the pads pressed to the surface.
She is interrupted by a voice at the door.
"Doctor? Dr. Crusher?"
She looks up to the face of her friend.
"Do you mind?" Alyssa holds out a cup of tea.
"Of course not. Come in. Sit down."
Alyssa Ogawa was Beverly's head nurse on the Enterprise. When the opportunity came up to work with her old friend and mentor on the holistic medicine project, she jumped at the chance.
"You work too hard Doctor."
"Probably."
"You should take a vacation. I can hold down the fort for a little while."
"That's very kind Alyssa but I really don't think I have the time right now."
Alyssa is quiet for a few seconds. She's one of the few people who can challenge Beverly. Still, she wonders if she should.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Of course not."
"What is it that you're so afraid of?"
Beverly scowls.
"I don't understand?"
Alyssa takes a deep breath. It's now or never, if she's going to make Beverly understand.
"Are you afraid that she will say yes? Or no?"
Beverly drops her eyes back to her hands on the desk. Alyssa stands and walks to the door. She turns.
"You know I hear Indiana is beautiful this time of year." She softly closes the door behind her.
Beverly blinks a couple of times. "I don't know," she whispers.
She stands at the door, trying to decide what it is she wants to do. She came but she still hasn't decided whether or not she will knock. Or what to say if she does.
The same impulse that brought her to the telehub brings her hand to the wood. She's just about to turn and flee when the door opens.
There is no mistaking the woman who answers the knock. She's older, a little bit taller, her hair is gray but she has the same strong jawline and the same bright blue eyes. The woman looks her over as well.
"You must be Beverly Crusher."
"Mrs. Janeway. I'm sorry to bother you."
"Gretchen. And it's no bother. Come in. I've been dying to meet you."
Her words deliver a stab of guilt.
"I need to apologize to you. For not calling you. I didn't know…" She pauses, not sure how to tell the woman that she assumed she was dead.
"There is no need. Kathryn told me all about it. There was a time that I worried that she would die alone, that I would never know how or why. I got over that a long time ago. She never told you about me?"
"No."
"My daughter can be, shall we say, a bit reluctant to share the details of her life. Now come, she's in the backyard."
Beverly follows Gretchen through the house and out the door to the yard. She leaves her there without another word.
Beverly scans the large yard, looking for Kathryn. She finally spies her in an area obviously set aside for a garden. Her face is completely hidden by a large brimmed hat. She watches as Kathryn covers seeds in a mound of dirt and pats it down. She doesn't say anything and Kathryn doesn't acknowledge her. She moves down the row a bit and plants another group of seeds. Finally she sits back on her haunches and surveys her work. She stands and wipes her hands on her pants and turns to face Beverly.
"Why are you here?"
"I don't know."
"I need to water these."
She goes to get a hose and sprinkles water over the dozen or so little mounds of dirt.
"What are you growing?"
"Feverfew."
"I didn't know you were interested in herbology."
"I have a lot of interests."
Kathryn puts the hose away and comes to stand in front of Beverly. She removes her hat and wipes the sweat off of her forehead, leaving a smear of mud in its wake. Beverly fights the urge to clean it off for her.
"I missed you." Kathryn says.
"I missed you too."
"Is that why you're here? After all of these months?"
"Yes. No. I'm not sure."
Kathryn smiles.
"Well that certainly clears that up."
Just then, they are interrupted by Gretchen who comes bearing three glasses of ice water.
"I thought you two could use a drink. Come sit." She places the glasses on the patio table and takes a seat. Beverly and Kathryn sit as well. They don't look at each other. Gretchen sighs.
"So Beverly, I've heard a lot about you."
"Really?" She looks at Kathryn. "I thought you didn't talk about your life much."
"You are all she's talked about for months," Gretchen answers for her.
"Mom!"
Gretchen feigns innocence. "What? She came all this way to see you. The least you can do is tell her that you miss her."
"Mother!"
"Fine." She turns back to Beverly. "So tell me about your new program. Kathryn comes from a long line of farmers you know. It's in her blood whether she chooses to acknowledge it or not."
Kathryn shakes her head but it's obvious that protests are not going to stop her mother. She sits and listens quietly while Beverly talks about her work.
When Beverly is done, Gretchen collects the empty glasses and stands. "You are staying for dinner," she tells Beverly.
"I would love to. If it's OK that is."
"It wasn't a question." She turns and heads back into the house.
Kathryn smiles. "She calls it the 'farmhouse rule'. No one leaves without a meal."
"My Nana was the same way. She loved to feed people."
"You got that from her."
"I did."
"Well, I need to go take a shower, get cleaned up. If you want, she would love some help in the kitchen."
Beverly nods. "I would like that."
"Just don't let her badger you too much about your personal life."
While they work, Beverly tells Gretchen about her young life. Gretchen is fascinated by her time on Arvada 3 and her experience with herbal medicines.
"I think I would have liked your grandmother," she says.
"And she would have liked you. You have a lot in common."
"I will take that as a compliment. Do you mind finishing, I need to go talk to Kathryn for a minute."
Over dinner, the conversation stays light. They talk about Beverly's and Gretchen's work, Kathryn's new hobby, current news, things that have no emotional undertone. As Gretchen cleans up the dishes, she turns to Beverly.
"You'll stay then."
"No. I don't think so. I just wanted to say HI, make sure Kathryn was still doing OK, a check-up if you will."
"Again. Not a choice." She gets up and leaves the room.
"You don't have to stay. Not if you don't want to. My mother can be…"
"Pushy? Aggressive? Opinionated?"
"You've met her before?"
"Do you want me to stay Katie?"
"Do you want to stay?"
They hear a loud sigh from the doorway. They turn to see Gretchen standing there, watching them.
"For gods' sake you two! It's not that hard. Stop playing this silly game and get it over with."
"Mother!"
"Don't you 'mother' me! You think I can't see what's going on here? You love her. She loves you. What else do you need to say?"
"It's not that easy!" Kathryn protests.
"The hell it isn't!"
"Mother!"
"Fine! You do it your way. I'm late for my book club meeting."
"It's Tuesday mother. Your meeting isn't until Thursday."
"Oh. Well then it must be my sewing club night."
"You don't sew."
"Fine. I'm going to a holomovie. Just take the damn woman upstairs already!"
