Only own Elonat and her family history and SL, everything Star Trek canon is happily borrowed but not claimed. Feel free to request canon appearances of characters or offer song prompts for upcoming scenes. Cheers

Ghosts do not manifest only from the dead. They come from memories just as much as from the dead, and sometimes, the ghosts from memories haunt more than the ghosts of the dead. The dead will remain dead, no matter how much they haunt. Memories, however, have a way of morphing, taunting, and tantalizing, especially if members of the memories are still living, pushing the boundaries of sanity with the questions of "what if." Oh, certainly, ghosts from the dead can pose these questions as well, but it is a hollow question in a way – at least until one grasps the power to reanimate a corpse and restore life to try again. Ghosts from memories, however, carry leaden weight in these questions, weighing a person down until they are a flattened husk of who they once were.

While Ruby and Ida accompanied the doctor into another room to review Jeremiah's condition and recommended recovery plan, Elonat sat by his side in the waiting hall. The bench seats they occupied faced the street, and through the double-paned glass, they could see both the hustle and bustle of the city and, beyond that, the hints of prairie land nature peeking through. Overhead, the announcements continued, alerting for transport departures and arrivals and requesting personnel to go hither and thither according to orders. Elonat used her peripheral vision to study Jeremiah more. The man sitting beside her was a man living with ghosts. Both kinds from the looks of it, too – the thousand-yard stare, the shadow of a beard, shaggier hair than normal, and tallow-colored skin.

"Gruesome sight, isn't it?" Elonat tilted her head to the side to face him more directly, raising both eyebrows in silent question. Jeremiah waved his remaining hand over the still-bandaged side of his face, his voice tinged with acrid frustration. "In some places, they had to cut away damaged skin all the way to the bone."

Elonat weighed the options for a reply and, remembering how many of the veterans dealt with one another back on the ranch, opted for a route that likely neither Ruby nor Ida would prefer had they been near still. "Well, then, at least you didn't lose any of your looks."

Jeremiah blinked a moment, seemingly surprised by Elonat's response. She had half a second to worry that maybe she'd chosen wrongly in her route, but then Jeremiah snorted, and she spied a half-smile touching the uninjured side of his lips. Elonat mimicked the half-smile and let out the breath she'd been holding in a breathy chuckle, thankful that her efforts hadn't missed their mark or been rebuffed.

"No, I don't suppose I'm robbing the world of much in that regard." He exhaled with that same grimacing smile she'd spied earlier, adjusting his gaze to look over Elonat's shoulder back toward the room where the others had disappeared. "Mom seems to have lost some weight. Has she been sick?"

Elonat took a breath before explaining his mother's health and the accommodation adjustments they were considering in partial connection to that. Jeremiah had known about Oliver's death from a letter his mother sent and he'd sent a vid-log that had been shown at the funeral since he hadn't been there in person. However, these facts still didn't lessen the cloud of guilt swirling over his shoulders as he ingested Elonat's explanations. When she finished with the plan for her to act as support to his recovery while his mother took over at the school, Jeremiah again looked at her with a neutral expression, gaze direct and probing.

"I lost an arm and half my face. I'm not an invalid who needs to be watched over." His tone of voice was matter-of-fact, though Elonat denoted an element of frustration creeping back in. "I don't know if you remember when we sparred on the Enterprise, but my left hand is just as strong and capable as my right."

Nodding, Elonat smiled, "Oh, my shoulder still remembers a few of those holds you got me pretzled into." She knew the moment he saw his aunt and mother come out of the room from the microexpressions moving about on the lines of his face. Leaning forward, Elonat rushed through her words. "Think of it this way, Jeremiah. Your mother is still grieving Oliver's death, and now your injury and the pain you're likely to go through and needs the distraction offered by taking over at the school. Your aunt is trying to keep everything running while fighting off getting sick from your mother's flu, and your sister is understandably still not herself. Whether you need my help or not, my spending time with you will help them feel more at ease and likely keep them from hovering."

Jeremiah remained silent, though contemplative, in response to her reasons. They were prevented from further private discussion by the arrival of the other women. Ruby looked pale and a bit sweaty but sported an overexaggerated smile, likely hoping to hide any residual pain and worry she'd been fighting ever since the news had come in about Jeremiah's injury. Ida was also looking a bit paler, her flu symptoms worsening despite the home remedies she'd been using in a stubborn desire to avoid modern medical practices. Her smile was less exaggerated than Ruby's, and her gaze was assessing as she glanced between Elonat and her nephew.

"We're cleared to leave now. The doctor gave me the list of medications we can refill at the pharmacy in town if necessary." Ruby looked between Jeremiah and Elonat before holding the data chip out for Elonat, already operating on the agreement that she would serve as caretaker. "Do you need, uh, do you need help getting to the flitter?"

Jeremiah answered her question by standing to his full height unassisted, stepping forward, and taking her hand in his. He tucked it into the crook of his arm and led the way to the stairs. Ida fell into step beside Elonat, hesitating only a moment before she mirrored the gesture and tucked her hand into Elonat's elbow to steady herself as they followed.

"Did you get any medicine while you were inside?" Elonat whispered to Ida, their pace slower so Jeremiah and his mother could haltingly chat together.

Ida shook her head, "The doctor agreed that, at this point, I just need to weather through it. He said I should be fine in a day or so but that once we get home, I should drink more of that home-remedy tea, bathe, and sleep. Can you and Penelope handle dinner?"

"Henry beat you to it." Ida tipped her head back in surprise. "He told me just before we left that he and Penelope would have dinner ready at Ruby's place. He said Amelia needed the distraction, and so did Ava."

"Oh? He said she wanted to help?"

"It could be we either overestimated the debilitating aspect of her grief or underestimated her resilience and desire to support her mother and brother." Using her chin, Elonat pointed it toward the pair walking in front of them. "Maybe we should reconsider living arrangements once we get to the farm? While you were in with the doctor, Jeremiah indicated that he doesn't see himself as an invalid and doesn't want someone hovering."

Ida nodded, squeezing her hand on Elonat's elbow in appreciation for the insight. They made it to the flitter a few moments later. Without much debate, Elonat was elected to be the driver so Ruby could sit next to Jeremiah and continue to catch up while Ida rested in the passenger seat up front next to Elonat. Throughout the drive, Elonat exchanged glances with Jeremiah a time or two through the rearview mirror and was even prompted to share a short anecdote here and there as Ruby sought to catch Jeremiah up on life and living in these parts in the time it took to return home. Elonat could tell, by the time they arrived at the Hayes farm, that Ruby had exhausted herself with overcompensating, trying to fill any awkward silence with stories, and that Jeremiah was likewise exhausted from his mother's efforts.

"Ruby, why don't you and I see if Henry and the girls need any more help in the kitchen," Ida spoke up once they were parked outside the main house, "and let Jeremiah and Elonat wander around a bit to get reacquainted with the area?" Ida's suggestion was precisely what Elonat wanted to offer, but the wise woman beat her.

Jeremiah looked sheepishly grateful at her words, while his mother looked a bit taken aback. She didn't protest, however, and was quickly tucked into the house alongside her sister-in-law, leaving Jeremiah and Elonat in the afternoon shade cast by the house as the sun crept toward the horizon. Elonat watched Jeremiah as he studied the house, then did a slow pivot on his toes, gaze taking in the poultry coops, the barn and hog pens, the tool shed, the grain silos, the kitchen garden, and the further off fields where the corn, beans, and grain cycled through. She couldn't read his expression clearly but ventured to guess that he was simultaneously seeing through past and present eyes.

"Did mom ever give in to Ava's request and get those damned fainting goats?"

Elonat chuckled and shook her head, "No. Last I heard the agreement was that once the last of the black-tailed sheep are sold off, they can look into getting the goats. Amelia doesn't want to get rid of the sheep but also wants the goats, so she's quite torn." She refrained from adding the reason for getting rid of the sheep. Likely, Jeremiah already knew it was due to the loss of Oliver, and with fewer hands on deck to care for the sheep, his brother-in-law's passion, in fact, there was little need to keep them around except as a reminder of the departed.

"Amelia." Jeremiah looked away from the far-off horizon and brought himself out of whatever memory he'd been reliving to return his gaze to Elonat. "How is she these days? Anything I should be aware of before going inside?"

"She's curious, fun-loving, unafraid. Adores playing with Elvindir. To the extent she has tried to play hookey from school to spend time with him and Penelope." Hearing voices from inside the house, Elonat gestured for Jeremiah to follow her as she strolled away from the house toward the flower garden kept adjacent to the kitchen garden. "She'd probably appreciate some flowers from you. Periwinkle is her favorite color." Jeremiah's eyes widened, and he raised his eyebrows in confused surprise, eliciting a chuckle from Elonat. "She learned the word at school, found out it was also a flower and has been obsessed ever since. I think some flowers are still blooming here that resemble the color you can take."

"How has she been handling losing Oliver?" Jeremiah first reached the flower garden gate and shifted to the side, flipping the latch and pushing the gate open for Elonat to precede him.

Elonat sighed, "Good days and bad. She's young enough to go for a few days without the sadness weighing her down. But when she sees how sad her mother is and how much work your mother has to put in around here to compensate for the loss of working hands, she gets more emotional and sometimes volatile, getting nightmares occasionally." Leading the way along the flower beds, Elonat pointed to the fluffy blooms Amelia would most likely appreciate. "She's very resilient though and seems to have inherited her father's natural inclination to look at the world from a brighter side, which lends itself to helping everyone else cope too."

Jeremiah bent to pick one of the flowers. Elonat inwardly grimaced when, instead of it easily breaking, the stalk proved cumbersome for a one-handed effort, and he ended up shredding the delicate petals off the stalk instead of severing it. He lowered his head, remaining in the crouch next to the flowers. While he remained in his momentary inward fight, Elonat bent and deftly plucked two flowers, holding them out for Jeremiah to take once he opened his eyes again.

"Thanks," he murmured as he accepted the flowers and stood up, "this will take some getting used to. And, to continue our conversation from before, I didn't mean to sound like a petulant child. I do appreciate your willingness to help out, especially with how things are around here."

Elonat waved away his apology, "You didn't sound like a child, Jeremiah. I agree with your sentiments, actually. You're far from an invalid, but, at the same time," she nodded toward the flowers, "it may not be a bad idea to have someone nearby in the first few weeks while you're getting accustomed to the new circumstances. It doesn't have to be me, mind you. If you'd prefer-"

She watched as the bandaged nub of his right away moved as if he'd wanted to reach out and touch her with the hand now gone. Elonat quickly averted her eyes to study his facial features. She saw his grimace of frustration and was privy the moment he fought it back to display an expression of open acceptance.

"Your reasons for it being you are valid. And with mom recovering from the flu and now Aunt Ida getting through it, I think you may be quite helpful around here for more than just keeping an eye on me." With a flower-laden hand, Jeremiah pointed to the barn and coops. "I don't know how long it's going to take to process my request for a programable prosthetic, and, even then, I don't know if they'll accept my request to remain active duty, if even just at headquarters. So, for the time being, I'm back to free labor on the farm, just one hand short. You've got one to spare; figured I could capitalize on your offer." Elonat laughed. "That is if you're able to. Who takes care of Elvindir while you're at the school?"

"Penelope. She's following a long-distance university program," at Jeremiah's expression, Elonat chuckled with a nod, "Oh yes, she's very intelligent and capable. Henry favors her interest in going to OCS to pursue her studies further, while Ida seems a bit more reserved. Ever since the Enterprise left and everything that's happened since then, Penelope has been nearly obsessed with learning everything she can about all the other cultures and species we've encountered. She believes going into Star Fleet will be the best route to learning more, perhaps even on a first contact mission."

Jeremiah's expression was clouded, his jaw bulging as he clenched and unclenched his teeth before answering, "That's a lot of faith in a positive outcome of this war."

Elonat averted her gaze again, uncertain how to respond to his comment. Henry solved the problem when he called for them from the porch. Holding open the gate for Jeremiah this time, she stayed a pace or two behind as he approached his uncle and was quickly enveloped in a bear hug. They'd barely made it over the threshold into the front parlor when both Penelope and Amelia came running down the hallway from the kitchen, each taking turns hugging Jeremiah. The hugs were renewed with added gusto once he managed to pass the flowers off to Amelia before Henry steered him into the dining room with an arm clasped around his shoulders. Ava handed Elvindir off to Elonat as she came down the hallway next, quickly making her way to Jeremiah's side and giving him a tearful hug.

Henry cleared the room for the siblings to have a moment by asking the kids to retrieve the last of the food and adults from the kitchen. Elonat also hovered in the hallway, giving them further privacy, until she heard the girls reenter from the dining room side door. When she reentered, the food was fully laid out on the long table, and the girls had taken their places on either side of Jeremiah. Amelia gestured for Elonat to sit beside her as well so she could likewise have access to Elvindir. Ava sat across from her brother with her mother at the head of the table and her uncle at the other end, her aunt beside her. There was, of course, the ever-present underlying awareness of loss in the room: the loss of Oliver and the loss of Jeremiah's right arm. Yet, under a combined effort, the meal passed pleasantly enough with only a few moments of deviation into potential discomfort when Jeremiah couldn't manage to cut something without two hands or pass something off quickly because he was trying to use the one hand for something else.

After dinner, they adjourned to the living room, where Jeremiah sank into his old favorite place on the well-worn couch facing the room's bay windows. It just so happened to be Elonat's favorite place, too, without realizing it was his, so it was only natural for her to take position beside him, with Henry dropping into one of the reclining chairs closer to the window and Ruby settling into her highback chair nearest the fireplace, almost immediately picking up her knitting needles. Ida curled up on the loveseat closest to Henry's chair and quickly fell asleep while the girls took turns telling Jeremiah stories and showing him various bits and pieces of their lives and talents via PADDs, displays, or even acting out a narrative a time or two. Elvindir enjoyed crawling back and forth on the couch, going from the far end of the couch where Ava sat, across her lap, into Jeremiah's, and then back again. Thankfully, Jeremiah didn't seem to mind her son's attention, half a mind on his niece and cousin as they continued their animated show-and-tell.

"I think I should get her home," Henry eventually took pity on them all when he quickly interjected his words in the brief lull between stories, "Ida, honey, let's go." He gently shook his wife's shoulder until she blinked awake and grunted understanding. Henry looked back to Jeremiah, "Are you staying here or coming home with us?"

With Elvindir in his lap, playfully pushing his small body up and down off Jeremiah's chest, the man was granted an extra moment to gather his thoughts before replying. "I think I should stay here and let Aunt Ida have the space she needs to recover. Thank you for the offer, though. Elonat told me about it before coming out here."

"No problem, the door's always open, you know that." Henry quickly nodded, then turned to his daughter, "Let's get going then."

Ida and Henry filed out first, easily walking through the dark back toward town from years of traveling the same path. Penelope swooped in and took Elvindir before anyone could protest –not that anyone would –and followed after her parents with the babbling babe safely tucked in her arms. Elonat kissed Ruby on the temple, as was their custom, and gave Amelia and Ava both a quick hug before she also headed to the door.

Jeremiah was already there, waiting, holding the door open for her. "I'll make sure mom knows to head to the school to take over for you." He looked out into the night, gaze following the direction where his other family members had disappeared. "Elvindir is getting big. Very strong." He rolled his shoulders, earning a chuckle from Elonat as she recalled the brief moment during their visitation when Elvindir tried to use Jeremiah's neck as a climbing ladder.

"I'll be over soon after breakfast, then." Elonat glanced into the living room before leaning closer, "Unless you'd like me to come earlier, in case you need help washing up or shaving or something."

Jeremiah's eyes widened, and he let go of the door to run his fingers over the stubble on his unbandaged cheek. "I suppose I do look a bit worse for wear." Shaking his head, he smiled, "I'll see what I can get done on my own, and if I end up in a knot, I'll send up a flare."

Just as it felt natural to sit beside him on the couch, it likewise felt natural to lean forward and kiss his stubble-covered cheek softly. If he was surprised by her gesture, Jeremiah hid it well by the time Elonat pulled back and bid him goodnight. Hurrying after the others, Elonat glanced over her shoulder to see Jeremiah's body still silhouetted in the doorway and felt his gaze on her until he finally shut the door, and the comforting comfort of countryside darkness surrounded her.