6. A Small Reminder
Wesley Crusher sat in a lonely corner of Ten-Forward, staring into the star-spangled blackness of space. He wasn't seeing the view though. His mind was elsewhere. He held the box tightly to his chest and rested his chin on the lid.
"Hey there. Can I get you anything?" The Ensign knew very well who was addressing him so he didn't even turn around to make his reply.
"No." He kept his eyes straight ahead trying to avoid the all-knowing gaze of the dark waitress.
Guinan wasn't giving up that easy. She simply sat down across from him. She waited patiently for a moment, giving Wesley a chance to spill his problems. He didn't. "You want to talk?"
"No."
"If you don't want a drink and you don't want to talk why are you here?"
In answer Wesley let out a long sorrowful sigh. He was here because he didn't want to be in his quarters. He knew that as soon as he was completely alone he would throw himself on his bed and cry like a baby. Control over his emotions seemed easier when he knew other people were around.
"What's in the box?" She asked, after the silence.
In answer the boy lifted the lid and pulled out a tiny furball and set it gently onto the glowing table. It began to purr. At first she thought it was an albino tribble until the furball uncurled itself into a snow-white kitten. It looked up at Guinan with curious golden eyes. As it studied this large creature in front of it the little head cocked to the side as if trying to figure something out. The waitress/counselor smiled and picked up the minute feline. "Hmm. Snowy complexion and gold eyes. Do you know who this little guy reminds me of?"
"Data." Wesley tried to say the word flatly but failed. His voice cracked badly and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn't cry! Not here, not now, not right in the middle of Ten-Forward!
"Are you allergic to the cat…?" She knew very well he wasn't. It was impossible to miss the way he'd choked when said his teacher's name, but she played innocent. "…or is there something else?"
Wes nodded to the affirmative.
" 'Yes you have allergies' or 'Yes it's something else'?"
"Something else." He finally managed to say.
Guinan waited patiently. She was very good at waiting patiently but at least this time she had a cat to pet while she waited.
"Data and Geordi beamed down to Chandra 4 this morning for a planetary survey. There was…" His voice trailed off.
"…An accident with Data." Guinan finished his sentence after a moment.
The boy stared at her with a slight frown. "How do you know already? I only found out 'cuz I ran into Troi and Commander LaForge."
"I have my sources."
"I wish mom were here." Came his barely audible whisper as a tear finally rolled down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly.
The unofficial counselor moved over and put a sympathetic arm around him. "It's okay to cry. You're not a Vulcan you know." He nodded and gave into her embrace, burying his face in her thickly robed shoulder. Guinan didn't usually offer physical comfort but this time she made an exception.
After young Crusher got a hold of himself the waitress stood and told him not to go anywhere.
"Mew?" Said the white fluff on the table.
She was very strange compared to the other kittens he'd seen. She didn't seem to play just for the fun of it. When he had tried to get her to play with a string she chased it only until he let her catch it. After she had it in her paws and she was able to experiment with it for a moment she completely lost interest. When Wes had pulled it away from her and began taunting her with it again she just sat and stared. It was almost as if she were saying 'I already know what that is so why should I chase it? You'll just pull it away again.'.
"This is Troi's favorite." Guinan had returned and placed a heaping chocolate sundae in front of the tearstained Ensign. "It won't make everything better but it might help. It better help some. It shorted out one of my replicators, you know." She whispered before she turned to greet two customers who just entered.
'She's a very discerning woman' Wesley thought as he watched her go. He looked down as a smacking sound came from the direction of his ice cream. There was a white fuzzball on the side of his bowl and a little pink tongue was lapping at the melted fudge topping. The tongue licked the now sticky brown whiskers. A little furry face looked up at Wesley and inclined slightly to the side as if to say 'intriguing'.