"Do you think Jaal is going to be upset I don't have a gift for him?"
Scott was currently positioned under the Nomad, which was his favorite place on the tempest. He had always been a tinkerer, so mucking around with engines and cables was the ultimate relaxation.
Sarah's worry, however, startled him so bad he banged his head on a tube, and now his head was throbbing and blood was trickling into his eyes.
He untangled himself from the cables so that he could extract himself and look at his sister, who was more or less hiding in his second best hoodie.
"Sorry, what was the question?" Sarah ignored him.
"You're bleeding" she said. "Shall I fetch Lexi?"
"No, I'll go see her myself. What was your question, Sarah?"
"Avela said jaal will give me a git when I arrived, and I don't have a gift for him. Do you think he will be upset?"
"I doubt it, but if you're worried you can ask Cora or Liam to help you come up with something. I'm no good at gifts."
Sarah thought about it for a few moments.
"I shall ask Cora" she decided, "she is a woman." Well, no arguments there.
Sarah turned to leave, then she remembered something and turned back.
"Scottie," she said, frowning. "What's your present for jaal?"
"I'm sorry?" he was supposed to give a gift to the groom? And Avela had neglected to tell him this? He was going to shoot her out the bloody airlock.
"You are my only family." Sarah said as if that explained everything when it really didn't.
"Well" Scott said as he carefully got to his feet. The blood was really distracting. "Help me to Lexi and you can explain why that matters on the way."
"Yes, Scottie."
"And my name is Scott."
"I know that, Scottie. Why do you tell me?"
"Because I want you to call me Scott, not Scottie. It makes me feel like a five-year-old."
"Oh. I'm sorry Scott." But she looked so unhappy when she said it, he put his arm around her slim shoulders.
"You know what, I've changed my mind. I don't mind you calling me Scottie. Now, about that gift?"
"Avela says that the family of the bride gives a gift to the groom and vice versa."
"I see. So it's not enough I give him my sister?"
Sarah giggled.
"No, I'm the bride!"
"Well, then we're both in a bit of trouble, aren't we?"
A little later, once Lexi was done lecturing him about not wearing protective goggles, sarah looked at him with that expectant expression again.
"Scottie" she began, ignoring Lexi who was trying to scan her vital signs, "Why haven't you introduced me to your sweetheart yet? Are you ashamed of him?"
Lexi froze, scanner raised, staring wide-eyed at Scott who stared back, equally panicked.
"I… why would you ask that?" Scott replied, trying to buy time.
"Because I know you're not ashamed of me." Sarah beamed at ths. "You told me so and you never lie to me. But sometimes you don't tell me things, which is like lying."
Well, now she had him good and cornered. Scott found himself wishing desperately for a sudden gett attack.
"I'm... I'm not ashamed, Sarah."
She clearly didn't believe him. "But-"
"But I haven't introduced you because he is not currently on board." Scott said hurriedly, really not wanting to talk about this anymore.
"When will I meet him then?" She clearly wasn't going to let him get out of this.
Scott sighed deeply. "When we arrive on Aya, Sarah."
"How will I know who it is?" She immediately wanted to know. "Is he angaran?"
"Yes. He's…" Scott licked his lips, "he's angaran."
"So how will I know which one is him? Avela taught me how do see differences."
Scott looked down at his hands, not wanting to meet either Sarah's questioning or Lexi's compassionate eyes.
"You can't miss him, zsa-zsa." he murmured.
"How?" she insisted, "how will I know? I want him to like me."
"He's… he's going to like you just fine, zsa-zsa."
"But how?" she insisted like a stubborn five-year-old.
Scott blinked back tears.
"Because you're marrying him." he whispered.
There was a moment of silence as Sarah came to terms with what he had just said.
Then her big brown eyes turned huge and haunted, and she started to tremble. Seeing one of her tantrums coming towards them at full speed, Scott still after over twenty years had no way of stopping them.
"They're making me hurt Scottie!" Sarah howled as she fell to her knees, wailing in a way that made Scott's blood run cold. "I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" she shrieked, "I don't wanna!"
Scott wrapped her in his arms, even though her fists hammered at his chest as she wailed that she didn't want to, she didn't want to, she didn't want to.
They both knew she didn't have a choice in the matter.