Star Trek: The Next Generation – Souvenirs

Written By: Commander Cody CC-2224

CHAPTER 28

Holodeck 2, Deck 10

Ben was still in Holodeck 2 practicing with knives, pistols, muskets, and rifles. He was near to getting the hang of firing the Brown Bess, and managed to get a shot millimeters near the center of the holographic bull's-eye target.

Much to Ben's exasperation the holodeck doors opened. This time it was Felicity, come to convince Ben to abandon his plan to escape from the Enterprise. Instinctively he turned his head.

"If the purpose of your visit is to talk me out of going away, you're wrong," he said to Felicity, as she entered the holodeck. "It won't work."

Felicity shot Ben a serious look. The slight artificial breeze in the holodeck surroundings played with her red hair. "'Tis you who's wrong, Ben," she said hotly. "To even think of leaving us behind to fend for ourselves while you go gallivanting on your foolish escapades."

Ben laughed a seemingly bitter laugh. "Your smart talk isn't going to convince me one bit, Felicity Merriman," he said.

Felicity heaved an exasperated and sad sigh. "Well, aren't you a hard-hearted boy, Benjamin Davidson," she declared in a rather tart manner. "I always thought…"

"…That 'twould be hard to refuse you?" Ben interrupted tactlessly. He scoffed in a rather sarcastic manner that hinted bitterness in his tone of voice. "Not this time, little Lissie. Not this time."

Felicity almost felt touched by Ben calling her that name, but she was still angry with him. "Don't call me Lissie," she said rather bitingly.

"But technically that's how your closest family and friends address you as such," Ben replied rather casually.

"You're not my friend, Ben Davidson," snapped Felicity. "You compromised your friendship with me moments ago."

"Including your love?"

Felicity's face was sad. "Aye," she quipped. "That, too."

Ben forced another bitter laugh as he faced Felicity and shouldered the Brown Bess on his right shoulder. "Did I indeed?" he asked sarcastically. Felicity just stared at him in a rather unfriendly manner.

"Well, that's bad news," concurred Ben, shaking his head. "If you're not my friend, how come you're still talking to me face-to-face in the first place?"

Felicity softened her look as she approached Ben slowly in a somewhat affectionate manner. "Because I intend to give you a second chance, Ben, a chance which may not come back another time once you reject it. You can still regain my friendship with you. Including our newfound love.

Ben felt that being badgered by Felicity again was too painful for him to bear. Also what he considered unforgivable to him at a personal level was the slap in the face that Felicity had the audacity to give him.

"You slapped me awful hard in the face, Felicity Merriman," he said quietly in a hurt manner. "That I consider an unforgivable offense."

"You deserved it," said Felicity. "For your unnecessarily foolish stubbornness, as well the insults you heaped upon me."

"And in addition to that, you kept badgering me around," replied Ben, as he raised his voice. "You always have to misjudge my character every time, every step of the way!"

Felicity gulped a little nervously. "Maybe I was wrong to do this," she said, as she looked up at Ben in a pleading manner. "Please forgive me."

Ben shook his head, forcing a bitter smile. "You're using your feminine wiles on me again, Felicity Merriman. And what the hell do you mean 'maybe'?" He raised his voice again as if both he and Felicity were involved in a shouting match. "'Tis wrong! Wrong!"

Felicity flinched.

"WRONG!" bellowed Ben finally. Poor Felicity flinched again, winced, and shut her eyes tight.

Ben kept glaring at Felicity. He took notice of her struggling desperately to fight back tears, but he saw some tiny teardrops on her face trickling from her tightly shut eyes. His looked softened a little bit, as he tried to gently brush away the tears from her face. But Felicity rudely slapped his hand away from her face.

"Don't touch me, Benjamin Davidson!" she snapped scathingly, feeling hurt by what Ben dared to do to her.

As Ben rubbed the area of his right hand where he got slapped, Felicity wiped her eyes with her right arm sleeve of her tea lesson gown. Now she was beginning to have mixed feelings of anger and sadness about her. Ben's heart was hardened once again.

"Fine, then," he said in bitter, hurt anger. "You can throw away your friendship with me, for all I care. I'm tired of being under your very thumb, Felicity Merriman. I'm tired of seeing you being the fawning favorite of your family and friends."

Felicity cast Ben a sad and serious look. "If you don't have any friends, than that's your fault," she replied rather bitterly, almost like Ben himself. "How can you expect anyone to be your friend when you have the audacity to torment someone like this?"

"I don't," replied Ben. "And frankly, I don't need any friend of the weaker sex telling what to do and what not to do."

Felicity frowned, and her face flushed as red as her hair. "You really are a stubborn and foolish boy, Benjamin Davidson. I see that trying to talk some sense into you a second time about staying with is in this timeline was a futile attempt. I've literally given up on you now!"

"Good," concurred Ben tartly.

"'Tis not good, Benjamin Davidson!" she said hotly. "Alienating your friends just to satisfy your own personal desires is just plain selfish!" She lowered her voice a bit. "I pity you, Ben. Is that what you're already becoming now?"

Ben displayed an attitude that indicated that he was very much tired of being incessantly criticized by the likes of Felicity. He was furious. "You've already made your point, Felicity Merriman," he replied. "And nay, I'm not staying with you, or your pesky brother and sister, or your suffocating friend Bitsy the Loyalist bitch!" With that, he violently shoved Felicity to the floor.

Already in a rather untidy heap, Felicity gasped in horror, her hands over her mouth, looking very much horrorstruck. How dare he call my best friend with that offensive term? she thought to herself bitterly. How can he push me like this as if I weren't worthy of respect! But I won't stand for this!

In response, Felicity returned the favor by landing a rather hard punch on Ben's right cheek, which made him sprawl to the floor almost in the same manner as she. Ben sprang up from the floor, rubbing his bruised cheek area, staring at Felicity in dismay. Normally he anticipated hot retorts from Felicity herself, but this was something he never expected in the first place, not even from a girl like her.

"Benjamin Davidson," began Felicity, as she furiously accented on certain syllables of every word. "You…are despicable, to ever have the gall of calling my best friend Elizabeth Cole with such an awful term! You really make me utterly ashamed to call you my friend."

Ben lowered his musket arm and simply shrugged his shoulders in a tactless attitude.

"You have no remorse, have you?" continued Felicity in a hurt manner. "I'm ashamed of you; I really am. I shall never speak to you again, or even see you again. Ever. And I shall make a point to tell Elizabeth, Nan, and William about how despicable you are so they'll never speak to you again as well. And you…shall never sleep in the Guest Quarters anymore." She flounced out of the holodeck, leaving Ben standing in nearly angered speechlessness, holding his musket, and the automatic sliding doors closed behind her.

Ben did not say another word after that. Inside he felt somewhat glad that he managed to triumph over Felicity's arguments. Whether remorse was surging across every area of his body remained to be seen. But somehow he couldn't feel the joy of his personal victory, as it had cost him the only friend he truly loved. He started wondering whether all this acrimony was worth keeping up the hurt he was imparting to those that really mattered to him the most…


Guest Quarters, Deck 10

The Guest Quarters was all quiet as a monastery, most notably on account of Elizabeth wanting a moment's silence both for her and on behalf of her friend. Both Nan and William were situated on the left hand corner of the room, near Ben's trundle bed, steeped in the chess game that was bought at the Replimat. Elizabeth herself was seated on the right side of the main sofa, busying herself as a bee over a plain white sampler that she picked up from the crafts room where the little mites were stationed temporarily, looking pretty relaxed as ever. In the group it seemed that Elizabeth was the peace and serenity in the midst of brash young hotheads like Felicity and Ben, and playful little mites like Nan and William.

Felicity, on the other hand, was seated on the fabric-lined swivel chair that was usually situated at the front of the desk, which was lined to the wall at its left side. She mused for what seemed to be quite a long moment before she let out a sniffle and plopped her left hand on the desk surface in exasperation.

Both Nan and William looked up from their chess game. "You look so sad and angry, Lissie," said Nan innocently in her little voice. "What's the matter?"

Felicity sighed. "None of your business, Nan. Go back to your play."

Nan forlornly continued her chess game with little William. "I don't think we should bother her," she whispered to her younger brother.

Elizabeth calmly looked up from her sampler work. "What is the matter, Lissie?" she asked in an almost motherly tone of voice. Felicity slowly got up from the swivel chair and planted herself down on the sofa near Elizabeth's left side. She leaned over her shoulders, with her shoulders on her legs supporting her face. This she maintained for a brief moment before she sat up straight, smoothed the red hair that was sticking out of her mobcap, and crossed her arms in an almost determined manner.

"I have had it with that boy," said Felicity crossly. "Benjamin Davidson won't listen to sense any more."

Elizabeth breathed a gentle sigh as she faced her friend in a motherly fashion. "We at least tried," she said quietly. "And…I think that counts for something…" She stopped for a moment, believing somewhat that this statement was a little too callous for her friend to take, as was indicated by the slightly cross look that her friend shot her before she hung back her head again. "I'm sorry that I wasn't effective in bringing Ben back to his senses."

Felicity began to have a shred of sympathy within herself that she put her right hand o Elizabeth's left shoulder. "Don't crucify yourself, Elizabeth," she said quietly. "It wasn't your fault."


Unbeknownst to the older girls, Ben was eavesdropping on their conversation in the Guest Quarters. He could have knocked, but he sort of feared he might get something thrown at him by Felicity, so he refrained from doing so. Besides, he was curious as to what the opinions of the older girls were.


In the Guest Quarters the older girls kept up the quiet conversation.

"Perhaps you seem to be right, in saying that you've given up Ben," said Elizabeth, as she gently took her friends arm off her shoulder. "But what will you do, or what will any of us do, now that he is gone from our lives?"

Felicity perkily turned her face to her friend. "You know what? I honestly haven't thought about that."

"So it seems," concurred Elizabeth sadly, heaving a rather wistful sigh. "And what of Ben?" she asked.

Felicity smugly braced her crossed arms. She seemed more determined than despondent. "What of Ben?" she asked rather smugly. "Humph! I won't bother with that uncivilized brat anymore! The second time I tried to bring him back to his senses it resulted in his becoming even more stubborn and hard-headed than ever!"

"Lissie," said Elizabeth. "Are you implying that Ben is dead-set against staying with us?" Her avid blue eyes were filled with worry. So was Nan's as she looked up again from the chess game, with William following suit.

"Ben's not going to stay with us?" asked William.

"Hush, William!" said a worried-looking Nan, with her right-hand finger over her mouth. Elizabeth looked over the little mites, and her fears were somewhat confirmed.

For an answer Felicity shook her head, ignoring both Nan and William. "I'm afraid that seems to be the case, Elizabeth. I…I just don't know what to do now. But…" She braced herself again while reclining a little on the sofa with her hands now clasped and resting on the upper skirts of her gown. "I don't intend to make a fool of myself again. If Ben desperately wants me very much, he'll have to earn back my love and respect. So there."

Elizabeth cast a rather serious look at her friend. "All right, Lissie," she said. "But…are you sure that's wise? I mean…" She gulped before she continued. "…Driving Ben away may not be the best thing to do, not for you, and especially not for all of us. We'll need him, that much is for sure. I mean…who knows what sorts of terrible things might happen to us at this time?"

Felicity chuckled to herself a bit, remembering those similar thoughts that she confided to her friend. She suppressed her chuckle before she continued in a seriously determined manner.

"The way he's acting?" she replied. "No way. I can certainly get along with out him fine, thank you very much, Elizabeth."

"But what will you do, Lissie?" asked Elizabeth, looking very much troubled.

Felicity snorted to herself. "If Ben thinks I'm just simply going to pine away for him like a lovesick little girl, he's wrong," she said rather determinedly. "I don't intend to sit here idle, waiting for some…miracle to happen. I'll just simply move on and act as though I won't want him anymore, much less need him. In fact, I'd be willing to be the leader of this little group if I have to…" Her voice trailed off, as she wondered to herself whether she really meant it. Truth be told, she was still inclined to pine away for Ben, even though it seemed from the way Ben was acting right now that he didn't love her. Elizabeth might have suspected that, too, but decided to give her friend some practical advice just in case Felicity decided to resort to rash actions, given her headstrong personality.

Disturbing the older girls' calm was Nan and William's wailing over Ben's seemingly possible absence. "Ben's going to leave us?" wailed William, perking his head up.

"But he can't," said Nan. Suddenly her eight-year-old mind began to remember something that she said about Ben nearly a year ago from 1776, and it kind of disturbed her.

"All right, Lissie," said Elizabeth quietly, as she shrugged her shoulders a little, after glancing at little Nan and William. "But…'tis not good to engage in rash actions unless there's a practical solution at hand." Unlike her best friend Felicity, Elizabeth was a very practical and sweet-tempered girl.

But Felicity, on the other hand, was rather impatient and exasperated over "practical solutions." "What practical solutions?" she huffed. "Don't you think I've had my fill of practical solutions for one…"

Elizabeth interrupted her friend by calmly placing her right hand over her friend's mouth. Felicity stopped talking, and Elizabeth put her hand down on her lap.

"Let's try the practical solution first before we resort to the rash one," she suggested. Felicity only sighed and gave in.

"Now…" continued Elizabeth. "I was thinking…of consulting the Reverend on this matter…"

"Oh, how will that help?" asked an edgy Felicity. "A Reverend generally does not…" She closed off in mid-sentence when she noticed her friend's hurt look.

"Lissie, please let me finish," pleaded Elizabeth.

Felicity exhaled. "I'm…I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Please continue. I'm just…"

"Never mind that," said Elizabeth. "There's a nice man named Reverend Garland. He's somewhat witty and kindhearted, in spite of our religious differences."

Felicity was sort of alerted by that last phrase. "What religious differences?" she asked curiously.

"Well…" began Elizabeth, but stopped, fearing what Nan and William would be hearing from her. So she whispered in her friend's left ear. "He's a Papist," she whispered.

Felicity gasped, hand across her mouth. "A…what? Oh…you don't say. But I thought…"

"Doesn't matter," said Elizabeth.

"But Elizabeth!" cried Felicity in a whispering tone of voice. "For you to be consulting a Reverend like that is…" Elizabeth just simply smiled at her.

"'Tis not like he was intent on converting me, Lissie; you can be well-assured of that," assured Elizabeth. "Getting back to the point, I intend to consult him over the matter of your beloved Ben while you…" She playfully poked her friend's chest with her right hand finger. "…Keep an eye on your little sister and brother. Does that sound like a practical plan for all of us?"

Felicity sighed gratefully, as she squeezed her friend's left hand in affection. "Elizabeth," she said. "I'm not sure what I would do without you."

Elizabeth smiled back at her best friend before a thought hit her that changed her expression. "But…I can't really do it tonight, Lissie," said Elizabeth. "The Reverend is not usually available during those afternoon hours. And even during the evening hours, he keeps himself busy in his quarters with his…whatever you call them. You'll have to wait, Lissie."

Felicity heaved a rather wistful sigh. Yes, she had to wait, but the idea of at least having a solution that was somewhat viable to getting Ben back was a godsend for her, as well as for the rest of the group.

Elizabeth resumed her sewing, while Felicity was peering and staring onto what her friend was sewing on her sampler. In what seemed to be after nearly a couple of minutes Nan approached Felicity and climbed onto her older sister's lap. William got up on the sofa and sat next to Felicity's left side.

"Lissie, is Ben going to leave us?" Nan asked her older sister innocently. Felicity was very much inclined to say that Ben, given his hotheadedness, was determined to never come back, but she felt she had the duty to calm her siblings' fears.

Felicity held her younger sister on her lap and gently rocked her in a motherly fashion, with Elizabeth fawningly gazing at the loving scene, which was filled with conventional sentimentality. "I don't know, dearest Nan," said Felicity. "But we're working on a solution."

"I shouldn't have said that I hated him," said Nan sadly. "When we heard that he ran away."

"That's what you said?" asked Elizabeth, a little shocked. Nan nodded dejectedly as she rested her head on her older sister's chest. Elizabeth shook her head while it was bowed slightly.

"'Twas only a year ago," said Felicity. She sighed rather wistfully, wondering how on earth such sentiment could have to do with Ben leaving his friends behind.

"Do you think that's what made him leave us?" Nan quietly asked her sister.

"I really don't know, Nan," said Felicity, sighing.

William kept sighing about getting his turn to sit on his older sister's lap. Felicity noticed this and instinctively turned to her friend.

"Um…Elizabeth, is your lap available?" she asked impishly.

"Um…of course," replied Elizabeth rather hesitantly.

"Well, William?" Felicity asked her younger brother.

William immediately rushed to Elizabeth's lap and made himself quite comfortable as Elizabeth held onto him. The entire moment was filled with pleasurable sentiment as he and Nan looked at each other.


Well, it seems that Felicity was not successful…this time…in persuading Ben to come back to his senses. But there's just one more card to play before a Lissie/Ben reunion can be made a possibility…