Disillusionment. It was a term she was sadly very well acquainted with. Nothing seemed real anymore. Everyone passed by in a state of hazy perception that she could only half believe was the truth as she was seeing with her own eyes.
She used to be cocky, okay she still was, and brave bordering on stupid. Her past had given her that kind of strength, topped off with a thin layer of faked bravado that she'd acted out so long it became her truth. Every time she'd gone through the crazy antics her life had thrown at her she'd gotten stronger, burying down the pain and anguish until it was no more. Locked it in a box so deep in the backyard of her mind that it lay forgotten about until she had time to deal with it. Which was never.
She kept herself busy with project after project. Throwing herself into work until she literally passed out from exhaustion. It was the only time she could sleep. And when she did sleep, she slept for countless hours. Sometimes she busied herself with work for up to six days at a time because she couldn't sleep. When she would finally crash, she would sleep for almost two whole days.
She wouldn't dream for those almost two days.
When she was younger and her mother left her and her older brother in the care of a less than desirable guardian, she cried for a whole day. Her guardian, was a drunk, an alcoholic, who frankly couldn't care for himself, let alone two children. Well, her brother wasn't exactly a child, he was sixteen, when her mother left them with Frank, but he left her too, a couple years later when he turned eighteen and she was eleven. She cried for a day after he left her to manage life with Frank alone. He never looked back and she never heard from him again until the day he died. It was the third time in her life she cried for a day.
The day after he left Frank completely lost interest in her wellbeing, if he'd had any at all. So she took to making him notice her. She stole her dead father's car who she'd never known and the car that Frank loved only second to booze and drove it straight off a cliff, jumping out at the last second.
It was the first time she felt anything other than anger since her mother left her. She reveled in the feeling of her adrenaline pumping, giving her a natural high that she sought to create more and more.
Four years of crazy stunts and antics later Frank decided he'd had enough of her antics and shipped her off to a faraway colony on another planet called Tarsus IV. She made friends there. For the first time in years she realized what is was like to have people who cared for her, loved her, and who she could truly love in return. But then, like any good thing she'd experienced, it became a tragedy.
When she finally made it off that planet, a witness to horrors she never thought possible, she was resolved to never let anyone in her life like that again. She didn't cry. She was sixteen then and she was already spent.
So she decided to enlist in MACO early. Getting Frank to sign off on the papers which would allow her to enlist the day she turned seventeen was almost too easy. In fact, it was the only time in her memory that she could recall him smiling at her and seeming happy with her decisions.
At first she thrived. Military life, while structured and full of authority, left her with a sense of autonomy and freedom she hadn't quite experienced before. She excelled in the physical aspects, looked forward to them really, and she excelled in her specialties as well, Tactics and Programming. She was trained efficiently in weapons and tactics, but she could work her way around a computer better than most. There wasn't a single person who could deny her quick intellect and tack. She approached each situation she was given with such an otherworldly outlook, out of the box, even her superiors were in awe of her. They thought she would go far in the military, excel even. And she did. She was promoted quickly, ahead of her peers, given responsibility that none in her paygrade had ever even thought about. And she excelled.
Until tragedy struck once again and everything fell apart. But she didn't cry. She got the hell out of there. She'd finally broken. She needed something more. Something better. A challenge worthy of her.
But she didn't quite find it. Not until she was working at home for over a year, with multiple close calls with the law. At age twenty one someone finally challenged her.
"You know your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved eighteen lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better."
A dare. A dare to use her intellect, her training. A dare to do better than the legacy she was left with. A legacy of a man she never knew.
And thus began Jennifer Tarise Kirk's career in Starfleet. She packed her bags, well her backpack, hopped on her motorcycle at the last second with a new air of feigned confidence, and drove off to Riverside Shipyard to begin her destiny.
"Four years? I'll do it in three." And she would, because she was just that good, and he had dared her to do better. She might be broken, but she always rose up to meet, no exceed the expectations of a dare. And this was the dare of a lifetime.
A dare of destiny.
Jennifer did and didn't know what to expect when she handed the keys of her motorcycle off to a random stranger before stepping foot onto the shuttle that would quite literally fly her off to the beginning of her destiny.
She thought that perhaps she would find a bunch of brand new recruits like her romanticizing being whisked away to Starfleet Academy. Why had she decided to go again? Oh yeah, because he had dared her to do better. She thought maybe she would be the only new recruit, or at least one of few, and that she would step onto a shuttle that was quiet and calm due to experienced cadets or frightened teens. She could handle military, she'd done it before, was pretty good at it. But what had he called Starfleet? A peacekeeping Armada. Not like MACO, whose sole purpose was military operations. It was an organization that had grown to be all but non-existent.
Non-existent because it was small, unspoken of most of the time, and elite. It wasn't non-existent in the sense that Starfleet's Section 31, which MACO officers co-operated with, but non-existent in the way that the Federation wanted a small militia type group that could potentially not have any ties whatsoever to the Federation if necessary. One could enlist in MACO, because, like all secret and supposedly non-existent organizations, it was infamous, but one could not expect to actually have any ties to MACO unless he/she was so far in, so ingrained and accepted, that there was no doubt about actually being in MACO.
What Jennifer Kirk did not expect to find when she sat down in the shuttle, mostly occupied by returning cadets based upon the numerous people clad in red cadet uniforms, was a grumbling man, a bit older than everyone on the shuttle, still in civilian clothes, grumbling about wanting to ride the entire way to San Francisco in the bathroom. Or that Cadet Uhura she had drunkenly decided to hit on last night before getting into the middle of a bar fight, who just glared at her scathingly.
Said grumbling old man sat down next to her, interrupting her thoughts about MACO and Starfleet and what to expect by turning to her and giving her a warning.
"I may throw up on ya," He said, looking over at her, his face a light shade of green from panic.
"I think these things are pretty safe." She replied, attempting to calm the older man's fears of flying.
"Don't pander to me kid." He shot back acidly, pulling out a flask from inside his jacket and taking a swig, offering her a drink which she heartedly declined. She might still have been a bit hungover form last night. "One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. Solar flares might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait'll you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding!" He took another sip from the flask. "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." He finished in almost a whisper.
Jennifer thought about this for a moment. The man was obviously aviophobic. But he could be quite expressive and darkly poetic. She didn't know whether to like him or dismiss him.
"Well, I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space." She decided to inform him. It was obvious, she knew, but she felt like maybe he needed one last reminder.
"Yeah. Well, I got nowhere else to go." He sighed in resignation. "The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones." He said rather melodramatically. Jennifer decided then, that if anyone she should meet on this journey ahead of her, that maybe this man, who'd introduced himself as Doctor Leonard McCoy, rather loudly at first, maybe he wouldn't be such a bad person to make friends with.
Maybe.
"You know, if I see you around, which I probably won't since you're obviously going to medical track, I've at least already got a nickname for you."
"And just what might that be, kid?"
"Bones." Jennifer decided. She didn't like names anyway. That meant getting attached. And maybe, just maybe, if she was going to have a friend, she didn't have to get too attached to him. So a nickname would do. A nickname would put some distance between them. That way, if he died, or dropped her, it wouldn't be so personal.
"Bones, seriously?" He looked at her with a scrunched up face.
"You did it to yourself." She said, not really knowing if she was talking to him or more to herself.
"Good lord, what have I gotten myself into?" He asked the air that surrounded them, because he certainly hadn't been facing her when he lifted his hands in the air in resignation to his new found nickname, his new profession.
And Jennifer silently agreed with him. What had she gotten herself into?
It didn't take long to arrive at Starfleet Academy and undock from the shuttles. And to his credit, Bones did not in fact throw up on Jennifer. He had, however, had a few close calls, turning slightly greener during takeoff and landing, but he'd kept himself together for the most part.
After the last person stepped off the shuttle into the crowd of people, cadets and commissioned officers alike, a woman, the same woman actually who had forcefully seated Bones from the bathroom into the seat next to Jennifer, started to speak.
"Everyone listen up!" She shouted over the numerous voices. Everyone stopped talking immediately and looked towards the direction her voice was coming from. "We will be holding two separate formations, one for new recruits, and the other for returning cadets. Cadets who are returning to the academy please follow Lt. Taffy to receive further instructions." She paused while more than half of the people from our shuttle started moving away from the group. Jennifer noticed the cadet she met last night, Uhura no first name, follow the group of cadets leaving. "Recruits, you are now cadets. You will be assigned an academic advisor for your first year while here. Your academic advisors are here currently waiting to take you to your next destination. Please form up behind your respective cones as I name your positions. Last names A through J first formation, your academic advisor for this year will be Commander Shra'al, form up behind the first orange cone." Surely enough there was an Andorian officer, who appeared in front of the first cone dressed in a black uniform. "K through T your academic advisor will be Captain Pike, form up behind the second orange cone." Captain Pike walked up to the second cone and stood waiting. "U through Z you have Commander Spock for your academic advisor for this year." A stoic Vulcan male, dressed all in black as well, stepped up in front of the third cone. "You have your assignments, fall in on your respective advisors and listen up. Good luck."
As soon as she walked off each new recruit, now a cadet, hurried to form up, military style, side by side, behind their respective cones. Jennifer, having been used to military formations and being towards the front of the group of remaining cadets, took the first place in formation, beginning the line and column to follow her. She assumed the position of attention, her arms placed firmly at her sides and her hands rolled into tight fists against her the side of her legs pressing firmly into the seam of her jeans. Bones decided to follow suit because she seemed to know what to do. Except he went to stand behind her.
"Come stand next to me." She turned her head around and whispered.
"What? Why?" He asked.
"Because that's how a formation works." She turned fully around then to face him, sighing. "There aren't really enough of us to form a true formation, but you fall in on the left of whoever is in the formation. Once there are enough people in a line then a column would form behind me. But, seeing as there aren't that many people, it'll just be a line formation."
He decided that she sounded like she knew what she was talking about and decided to stand next to her, sparing a good look at her once more so as to copy her posture when she turned back to face the front towards Captain Pike.
Three more people joined their line formation before Captain Pike began to speak, each attempting to copy Jennifer's erect posture.
"There a problem here, cadet?" Pike asked, eyeing Jennifer specifically.
"No, sir." Jennifer replied, not looking at him but keeping her eyes towards the front, somewhere off in space.
"Then why were you talking in my formation?" He dared.
"I was explaining the proper procedure to fall in, sir." Jennifer responded.
"Good. At least one of you knows what you're doing." He answered before turning back to address the group as a whole. "At ease, cadets." He commanded softly.
Jennifer quickly assumed the correct position, her left foot extending out six inches to her left, and her hands snapping behind her into the small of her back clasped. The other cadets were not as quick and looked to her for direction before assuming the correct position.
Captain Pike waited until each cadet had assumed a similar position of Jennifer's before continuing.
"Welcome to Starfleet Academy. I will be your academic advisor for your first year, and probably the remainder of your time at the Academy, should you decide to continue with your education. When we depart here you will leave in a line, falling behind Cadet Kirk here," he gestured to Jennifer, "and we will be walking to your first destination. The dorm assignment office. After being assigned a dorm room you will receive a PADD. I will then take you to my office to begin your entry paperwork. Some of you have already completed most of the paperwork and will only need a few moments with me to finalize it. Those of you," he turned and faced Jennifer directly, "who have not yet had the opportunity to fill out the entry paperwork and select your academic track will do so at that time. Any questions?"
A sounding "no sir," was uttered.
"Good." He rounded back to the orange cone in front of the group. "Attention." Jennifer quickly snapped to attention and the other cadets spared her a glance before doing the same. "Don't worry cadets, you'll learn all you need to about formations soon. You won't be using it often, but you'll need to know it anyway. Alright. Just uh, follow behind Cadet Kirk for now and you'll be taught the correct commands later. Cadet Kirk, I would say file from the left, but only you would understand it apparently, just follow me."
The group of cadets followed Captain Pike walking directly behind Jennifer to the dorm assignment office and received their assignment of quarters as well as the PADD they needed for meeting with Captain Pike.
"Captain." Jennifer said as she walked up to Pike, getting his attention. She snapped to attention in front of him when he turned around to speak to her.
"At ease, Kirk. What's the issue?"
"My quarters assignment seems to be incorrect, sir."
"How is that?"
"It says that I am sharing a room with McCoy, sir, a Lt. Commander, and a male."
Pike gestured for her PADD which held her room assignment and other information. Jennifer handed it to him from behind her back. After a moment of looking through the information Pike handed it back to her.
"Your room assignment is correct, cadet. You're not actually sharing the room with him, just a common area and a fresher. I put you down for the command track, and, since you said you were going to be doing this in three years, I had to move your dorm area. McCoy is being in-processed as a Lt. Commander because he's already a doctor with a medical degree and just has to take a couple of mandatory Starfleet classes while he works in the academy's clinic and training incoming medical personnel."
"Sir?"
"You were given this room assignment because your entry was last minute and there really wasn't anywhere else to place you at the time. Do you need to change quarters, cadet? Because if you can't handle sharing a common area with a man, I can change it for you. But if you can, well, I think you're getting a pretty sweet deal if I say so myself. Not every first year gets a space to themselves and a common area with a replicator."
"Negative, sir. The room is fine."
"Good to hear. Now gather up my cadets so we can move on."
She did. But before everyone regrouped she stopped and found Bones.
"Hey, we're sharing a living space. Don't say anything about it, I already talked to Pike." She whispered in his ear as they started walking back towards Pike.
"Um, okay?"
At Pikes office the first three cadets, who Jennifer hadn't actually managed to get the names of yet, were in and out of Pike's office within about five minutes each. Bones took about ten minutes before leaving and then she was called into his office.
"Take a seat, Kirk. And relax." Pike said, looking up from his desk. "MACO?" He asked.
"Your military training. Was it MACO?"
"Oh, uh, yes, sir."
"Did I not say relax, Kirk? It's Chris in here. You may not remember me, but I was a friend of sorts to your mother when you were younger, and we met once, when you were rescued from Tarsus." Jennifer shot him a look of shock and quickly fought to bury the box that was Tarsus deeper as it attempted to rise from the dirt of her mind's backyard. "Never figured you'd go and join MACO though. It's not in your records, of course, but then it wouldn't be would it? How'd you get out?"
"There was a… delicate situation, sir- Chris."
Pike looked at her for a long moment, thoughtful. But when looked like he wasn't going to press for more Jennifer let out a breath she'd been holding.
"Alright. So, command track. Looks like you'll be able to test out of a bit of the courses due to your training with MACO. I'll send them a file request so they can release it to Starfleet, should ease the process."
"Sir?"
"You didn't think they actually erased your file, did you? They just don't release it to the public. If you join Starfleet, however, then Starfleet is authorized access, well basic access anyway. But seeing as how they let you out, and your preliminary clearance checked out, I'm assuming you weren't high up in tier, right?"
"Correct." And Jennifer hadn't been in tier operations in MACO. At least, not the type that would lend to having files Starfleet or any other military type organization couldn't view. "I was in a mid-level tactical unit and did some work as a programmer. I wasn't advanced enough yet to join a tier team." She explained.
"But you were on track to be, I'm guessing?" He asked, making Jennifer shiver slightly because she found his keen insight a bit disconcerting. He pulled a PADD from his desk and began to type on it quickly.
"Yeah. I was."
"I'm not going to like what I find in your file from them, am I?"
"I wasn't in trouble, like I said, if that's what you're suggesting."
"Actually, I wasn't. I know you still have a hot head, but I talked to one of the cadets from that bar last night. I know you didn't actually start that fight. And I know why you intervened. So I gather, that even though you were a bit of a trouble maker when you were younger, you have a decently leveled head on your shoulders. I'll drop the MACO stuff in that regard. If it's not going to affect your ability to commission in Starfleet I don't see a problem."
"I don't see why it would."
"Good. So, it looks like, with the very basic MACO training, you'll be able to skip and/or test out Tactics 101 and probably 201, General Military Protocol, Customs and Courtesies, Astronomy 101, Weapons since you're not on a weapons specialist track and I'm sure you can more than handle a phaser, and Hand to Hand Combat 101." He pulled all that from memory before looking down to the PADD in his hands. "Ah, that was fast. Your file was just forwarded to me. Pulling up your training file… good. You'll be able to test out of programming all the way through the advanced classes it looks like, seeing as how you tested out of MACO's school, also looks like you won't have to take the general emergency responder course which is required for all cadets at some point during their education. Also the ones I mentioned from memory. Good. That actually takes care of quite a few classes for you, which will definitely help you meet your goal of finishing in three years."
"How many will I still have to sit tests for before being credited with the class, sir?"
"You'll have to test out of the programming courses, but if you sit the advanced test you shouldn't have to take the lower course tests. Also whatever level of tactics you feel comfortable testing out of, I wouldn't suggest trying beyond 201 because there is quite a bit tactically that Starfleet and MACO don't crossover on. I don't think you'll have to test out of the others, but be prepared to just in case."
"Alright."
"So you still have a bit of classes to choose from, and you'll need to choose when to sit your tests for testing out. I think it stands to reason that before you choose any advanced classes you'll have to test out of the pre-requisite classes prior?"
"Naturally."
"Not much of a talker, huh? You sure weren't regarded as such last night. Nervous, Kirk?"
"Not at all sir. If I'm being honest, pretty hungover." Jennifer didn't add tense due to the personal nature of two deeply buried boxes she was currently suppressing the hell out of right now.
"Understandable. So, I think you should start off with Command 101. Which, honestly, I think you could probably test out of, but I'll leave that one up to you. You may find it useful to take. Also, for this semester, obviously there's the physical requirement, Federation Policy, Advanced Astronomies, Basic Engineering, Federation Languages 101, and Federation History. That's all for this semester. Before the winter break, right after finals, we'll meet to discuss next semester's schedule."
"Sir, Chris, I think you'll find in my MACO file that I also tested out of their basic language course."
"Did they teach you how to have a conversation with a Tellarite in a diplomatic setting?"
"No."
"Then you will take Federation Languages 101. It's actually a year-long course, which teaches you how to speak the very basics of the Federations founding four languages, and how to apply that basic knowledge in a myriad of situations. Okay, your first semester's schedule is done. Everything will be finalized once you finish the paperwork I'm forwarding to your personal PADD right now. I expect you to finish that tonight and have it back to me before 0900 tomorrow."
"Of course."
"Oh, and Kirk? Loosen up, find some friends, have fun, study hard, and stay out of trouble. I have faith in you kid, don't let me down."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Chris."
"Good. Now get the hell out of my office!"
Jennifer walked out of Pike's office half excited half dreading her year. Her classes, she thought, seemed terribly boring for the first semester. The only classes that seemed even remotely interesting were the command core class and the engineering class. She had no desire whatsoever to take a language class, but gathered that as future captain, she wouldn't take less, she might one day have need for at least the basic understanding of at least the Federation's founding languages. She could already speak a bit of some of them, due to her time with MACO, but she definitely wasn't fluent in all of them, mostly, she knew how to curse in each one, and she could definitely win a match of insults against a Klingon if she ever had the need to.
When she got to the dorm side of the academy she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. She'd already memorized the way from Pike's office from the dorm administration building so all she had to do was follow the map from there to her own dorm room.
Running into Uhura was the last thing she expected to happen. So, of course, that's exactly what happened. But, no, she couldn't run into the woman like a normal person, she had to run smack into her in a full body collision because at that current moment her face was looking down at her PADD consulting the academy map.
"Ugh watch it!" Uhura shouted as she started to stand back up, having been knocked down by the force of Jennifer's body slamming into hers from rounding a corner too fast.
"Sorry." Jennifer replied, picking her PADD and herself up from the floor.
"OH! It's YOU! You're the one that was hitting on me at the Riverside bar last night! I thought I saw you on the shuttle. What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't possibly be attending the academy." Jennifer answered sarcastically.
"Just my luck. Wait, what are you even doing over here? These are second and third year dorms!"
"Because I'm a second year. Why else?"
"How, you didn't even start until today?"
"I'm just that good." Jennifer smiled and shrugged.
"Wow. Cocky much? I hope you fail. Miserably. Maybe that will teach you something and knock you down a peg!"
Uhura walked off towards her own dorm room, which was located in the second year's building while Jennifer found her room. The area she was sharing with Bones.
The room itself wasn't anything special. The common area had a small fridge, a replicator, a couch to sit on with a small tele-screen in front of it and a counter to eat at. There was a combined laundry fresher, which meant her clothes wouldn't smell super clean and be soft, but she wouldn't have to go to a campus laundry room. There was a trash collector as well. Jennifer took notice of this and was thankful. The fresher was small, with a simple toilet, sink, and shower. But the shower was wired for real water, and not a sonic shower. She hadn't had it this nice at MACO, which only had a sonic shower for every ten people in her living area, and definitely no replicator. For two people, she wasn't complaining. And then there was the fact that she had four walls and a door separating her from her roommate. It was kind of like a very tiny apartment. In her room there was a bed, a desk, a closet, and a chest of drawers. On the desk there was a computer terminal to be used for study and research, which was helpful. All in all she thought that maybe academy life wouldn't be that bad.
After taking a shower and changing into the Starfleet issued sleeping gear she decided to go sit in the common area and watch something while completing the paperwork Pike had given her to do. Before that, she tinkered with the replicator after noticing it was missing a very crucial element in its options menu. It was when she was about to hit send to forward her finished paperwork back to Pike that Bones finally came in.
"What the hell? What are doing in here, kid? This room was assigned to me." Bones half-shouted when he walked in the door and saw her sitting in the common area.
"It was also assigned to me. You have your own sleeping space, if it's any consolation."
"Um. No. Not really. Why the hell would they assign a female to live with me? That makes about as much sense as tits on a bull!" The southern draw that was she'd noticed earlier was now much more pronounced.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Exactly. Now, you can go and request another room because my schedule is so friggin wound this year, I don't need a first year cadet who obviously likes to get into fights and makes smart remarks here every time I get off shift."
"I already told you. I talked to Pike. He's not changing the dorm assignment. You're stuck with me I'm afraid."
"Shit. You did didn't you? Ah hell, I need a drink already. One damn day and I already want a drink." Bones chose that moment to plop himself down on the small couch next to Jennifer at that moment.
"So, Jennifer T. Kirk, have you figured out how to get some damn alcohol in this kid infested rat hole of space-monkeys?"
"Jenn. And wait, what?" She turned towards him on the couch.
"I'm just saying, I just got off a shift of doing more paperwork than I have in the last year as a doctor in the real world, and I need a damn bourbon. Please tell me you found a place to get a drink, cause I sure haven't."
"Uh, no. I've kinda been busy. What makes you think I would know anyway?"
"Well, you definitely reeked of alcohol this morning, and by the looks of that black eye you've got, well, I figured you'd be looking."
"So I like to drink sometimes. Doesn't mean the first thing I'm going to do is figure out where to get the alcohol from. And I didn't start the fight, I intervened. Big difference."
"Not from where I'm sitting. You still got the black eye, right? And sorry, but a black eye, even on a woman as attractive as you, isn't a pretty sight."
"Attractive, huh?"
"What? Do you think you're not? Please don't tell me you're one of those girls who can't see what's clearly staring back at her in the mirror? Please tell me I'm not stuck with a woman who can't see truth as clearly as the sun rises and sets every day!"
"I didn't deny it. I'm not fucking blind. Shit. Also, you should go look at the options menu on the replicator and pick your poison. It won't be as good as the real stuff, mind you, but I'd like to think it'll work in a pinch. And this seems like a pinch if you ask me."
"The replicator?" Bones got up from the couch and made the short walk to the replicator, pulling up the options menu. And sure enough, there was an option for ethanol. Under which listed just about every common liquor he knew, and some he didn't know. "What the hell? They specifically told us that we wouldn't be able to replicate alcohol using the academy replicators." He turned back to look at Jennifer with a confused and shocked expression on his face, one which demanded an explanation.
"What? I said I didn't go looking. I didn't say I didn't have a fucking solution." She countered.
"How?" Bones asked, dazed by the confession.
"I had a program I brought with me. Survival. School with a bunch of competitive assholes and bitches all vying for the most coveted positions in Starfleet? Yeah, no way in hell I'm putting up with three years of that without instant access to copious amounts of alcohol, even if it IS from a replicator."
"Again, I repeat. How?"
"I'm good with programming. I created it for a replicator once, long story, and it worked. Figured I might as well bring the program with me to the academy. In fact, it's probably like one of three things I did bring with me."
"Shit."
"Yeah, that's an appropriate response. Not 'thank you, Jenn. You're Awesome, Jenn. You rock my world, Jenn.' Yeah."
"Sorry, I'm just a bit shocked that a, how the fuck old are you anyway?"
"Twenty one."
"The hell?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm soooo old. Too old for this shit. Too old for bars like a normal fucking person, but that's mostly because of all the hellish studying I'm going to be doing."
"You too old? And just what does that make me, ancient?"
"Uh, no. Honestly, if you'd never told me about being divorced, I would never have guessed you were more than maybe like a few years older than me. Then again…you definitely could be, divorce happens young sometimes I guess when people still marry really young. Personally, I don't see the point. That, and you are a full-fledged doctor, so I mean, even if you were like super smart, you'd still have to do a bunch of schooling and stuff."
"Just how old do you think I am? And what do you mean you don't see the point? In marrying young or marriage in general?"
"Well, with all the information available I'd say like early thirties. If I were to go based off our looks however, I'd definitely say mid to late twenties. You're pretty hot. Just saying."
"Well, thanks darlin' it's nice to know someone thinks so." He said sarcastically. "I'm only six years older than you. I got my degree early. And you never answered, marrying young or marriage in general?"
"Both? I mean, honestly, why marry someone? Why tie yourself to one person for the rest of your life? It doesn't make sense. It's stupid. I'm sorry you had your heart broken, but at least you're not tied up anymore."
"Wow, you really are a cynical kid aren't you?"
"I'm not a kid. I'm young. But I'm not a kid."
"Right. And what have you got to show for not being a kid?"
"More than you'll ever know, unfortunately. And more than I'm willing to share. I'm going to bed, replicate yourself whatever you want I don't want a drink anymore." Jennifer stood up from the couch in the common area of their living quarters and marched over to her room, almost slamming the door behind her.
"Good night, princess!" Bones called out through the door after he'd chosen to replicate a glass of bourbon.
Whether or not Bones expected Jennifer to swig open the door in a hurry remains to be seen.
"I'm not a fucking princess." She peered out of the hole between her door and the common room with narrowed eyes.
"Sure." He replied, not sitting at the counter, not even bothering to turn around and look at Jennifer. "And I'm not a doctor. I bet that underneath that cold and confident exterior you're more princess than anything."
"Not true." Jennifer came out of the room and went straight for the replicator. "You don't know what you're talking about old man."
"Yeah, probably not. But I do know one thing."
"Yeah, what's that?" A glass of bourbon appeared in Jennifer's hand and she sat down next to Bones.
"You're going to drive me crazier than I already am."
"And what makes you say that, huh?"
"I can feel it in my bones."
