At 1750 hours, precisely, people began to file into Elle's quarters. Jetta, Nicole, and their younger sister Mina, arrived first, carrying a tray of homemade cupcakes. "You have a tribble!" Mina said, spotting Simba on the sofa.
"Make sure Simba doesn't eat anything," Elle warned.
"Okay!" Mina hugged the cooing tribble to her chest.
Satel came in a moment later, carrying a basket of grapes. Of course. Vulcans. Tyler came in a few moments later carrying a stack of blankets. "My grandma sends me them from Aurelia colony," he said, draping a blanket over Mina's head.
Mina giggled. "I'm gonna keep it," she warned him.
Tyler grinned. "My grandma'll be thrilled," he drawled.
Wesley arrived, his hands full of caramel popcorn.
"Is that real caramel popcorn?" Elle asked, rescuing a container from sliding out of his grasp.
Wes grinned. "Guinan made some for us."
"Nice. Your mom would kill you if she found out we're eating real junk food."
Wesley grinned. "It's my rebel phase. Don't tell her."
Jetta took the popcorn bowl. "I'll just be over here with this, thanks."
Two minutes later, Keiko came in. "Hello, everyone."
"Hi," came the assorted chorus.
Keiko held up two plastic containers. "I brought soda."
"What's soda?" Jetta asked.
Elle gaped at the bubbles rising through the clear plastic. "Is that real?"
Keiko grinned. "Miles reprogrammed one of the replicators for me." Her grin turned sly. "Did you know it takes three medical overrides to get non-nutrionally-balanced soda pop?"
"You are amazing, I love you, and you are the best thing to ever happen to Miles," Elle said solemnly. "And you guys better not get addicted to this stuff or Dr. Crusher's going to have my head. I haven't had Coca-cola in years."
They put all the snacks on the table and piled onto the sofa and the blanket nest on the floor. "Okay, what genre are we starting with?" Nicole asked.
"Is that Deltan comedy out yet?" Wesley asked. "The one that Lt. Simmons was talking about?"
"It's in the library," Nicole assured him.
Deltan comedy was 90's romcom sans hairstyles, being Deltans. The awkward young woman was just being introduced when-
"Elle to the captain's ready room. Elle to the ready room."
The movie paused.
"Another episode?" Wesley asked, surprised. "Q left like, two days ago!"
"And we're at a starbase, something always happens at starbases," Elle sighed. She climbed over Mina and Jetta and put on her shoes. "You guys keep watching, I don't think this is anything earth-shattering."
Wesley, dramatically, tapped on the synthwood coffee table he was sitting under.
Elle threw a popcorn at him. "You're not even superstitious, Wes, don't start."
She booked it to the ready room, counting down each minute of the movie in her head. The bridge was tense, when she stepped onto it. She went to the captain's ready room.
"Come." Picard stood up as soon as she entered. "Elle. Good. We need your help. Commander Riker has been accused of murder."
Elle blinked. "Murder?"
"Yes." He outlined what had happened, and-
"Ohh, that's this one," Elle said. "he's innocent. Obviously."
"Obviously," Picard said dryly. "But we need proof."
Elle grimaced. "So... I only watched this episode once... because it was really boring... and he didn't do it. I think the doctor meant to kill Riker but he accidentally killed himself? I don't know."
Picard stared at her. "My first officer is accused of murder and you consider that boring?"
"Well, not that part," Elle assured him, "but the whole trial and stuff. And Geordi finds out whatever it is, and Commander Riker didn't actually do it, so it's fine."
Picard sighed. "I see. If you have any more insight later on, please tell me."
"Yes sir." She bobbed her head respectfully and booked it back to her quarters.
"What's going on?" Wesley asked, pausing the movie.
Elle squashed back into her spot on the couch. "Commander Riker's been accused of murder. He's innocent though, it's fine."
"Cool." They pressed play.
It said something about living on a starship when nobody even blinked twice.
-/\-
The Deltan comedy ended like all romcoms, and they put on a heist movie next. Keiko graciously went to refill the popcorn, regular this time, but still crunchy and salty.
"Ocean's Eleven after this one?" Elle asked.
"What's that?"
"The ship's library doesn't have it," Satel said, looking it up on his PADD. "There's no record of it. It must have disappeared in your third world war."
Elle wiped an imaginary tear. "My culture, all gone."
"I thought you said National Treasure was an American touchstone?" Tyler asked suspiciously.
"It is! Societies of rich white men ruling over the world, hoarding wealth and power, hired mercenaries, and the power of friendship!"
Keiko coughed, trying to suppress her amusement. "Unfortunately, apt."
"Hmm," Satel said, and turned his attention back to the movie.
-/\-
"We should watch a scary movie next," Mina said, as everyone got up to stretch and refill their snack bowls.
"You're ten," Wesley told her.
"So?" Mina asked. "I like scary stories."
"I like thrillers," Tyler said.
"We are not watching The Hunt for Red October," said Jetta, with the annoyance born of long repetition.
"Okay, that one's actually good though," Elle said. "Me and the captain watched it for a lesson in immediate politics."
They all turned to stare at her. "Captain Picard watched a movie with you?" Tyler asked, his voice cracking.
Elle turned red. "No. I meant, um, Captain Kirk."
Jetta sighed. "Your life is so weird, Elle."
"So cool," Mina retorted. "I wanna time travel!"
"No you don't," Elle said, patting the teenybopper on the head in her most patronizing manner, just to watch Mina bristle like a Klingon-adjacent tribble.
"Scary movie though, it's night time, we have to watch one," Nicole said. "What about an Alfred Hitchcock movie? Nothing supernatural though."
"Ooh," Elle said, her eyes lighting up. "What about A Quiet Place? It's got aliens, family, sign language."
"We have it," Satel reported.
"Mina go to bed," the twins said, in perfect harmony.
"I wanna watch!" Mina whined. "I'm old enough!"
Jetta and Nicole shared a glance. "Fine," Nicole said. "But if it's too scary for you, you're going to go watch cartoons in the room."
"Fine," Mina said.
Elle sat next to Mina, ready to cover the younger girl's eyes at the slightest provocation. "Don't worry guys, it's only scary during, but after the end credits it's fine. I was thirteen when I watched this, and we went twice. It's so good."
Everyone settled in.
"And Wesley, I don't want to hear a word about if the aliens are realistic or not," Elle added.
Wesley pointedly shoved a handful of veggie sticks in his mouth and chewed, loudly.
Satel sent him a look of disgust.
"Okay, okay, let's just watch," Keiko said, reaching over to confiscate the veggie sticks. "And if anyone gets too scared we'll watch something else."
They watched the movie. Elle enjoyed it for the third time, periodically putting her hands over Mina's eyes and/or squishing the younger girl into the couch so she couldn't hear anything too gross, but the movie was... quiet. And so was everyone else. Within the first two minutes, everyone had stopped snacking. Within the first twenty, everyone had stopped fidgeting. When the dad died, Jetta let out a gasp but that was it. By the time the movie was over, everyone had turned into little statues of suspense.
The credits began to roll.
Elle stood up to stretch and stifled a yawn. "Man, that was just as good the third time. I heard they were going to make a sequel but I died before I heard anything." She poked at Wesley. "That was good, right?"
He stared up at her, wide-eyed. "That was terrifying, are you kidding me?"
She blinked at him. "What?"
"I don't think I'm going to sleep ever again," Nicole added, clutching Mina to her with single-minded siblingness.
Elle looked at Keiko, lost.
"It was terrifying," Keiko said.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Elle demanded.
"I wanted to see how it ended," Jetta volunteered.
"I did as well," Satel added. "However I find it illogical that they would not have contacted other survivors much earlier." He frowned. "But the species depicted were disturbingly similar ancient to Vulcan legends."
"That could happen," Wesley whispered, "in real life. We need to learn Standard sign language, immediately."
"There's no sound in space, Wesley," Elle reminded him.
"But what if the aliens boarded?" Mina asked, going pale.
"Guys, seriously, there aren't aliens like this in real life," Elle said. "They would have landed in any populated city and their brains would have exploded from overstimulation."
"Not if they landed on Vulcan," Satel pointed out.
Elle stuffed the tribble into his arms. "Yeah but they're not real."
"Okay," Keiko said firmly. "Computer, lights 100 percent."
The lights came on, banishing the shadows and blinding everyone in the glare.
The doorbell chimed.
Mina let out a yelp.
"Come in," Elle called.
Counselor Troi entered cautiously. "Everything all right?" she asked. "I felt quite a bit of fear building up."
Elle sighed, chagrined. "We were watching a scary movie."
Troi's lips quirked. "Ah. What were you watching?"
Satel handed her the PADD.
Troi read the summary and raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you lasted through the entire thing. We tried watching it, I had to stop halfway through."
Elle gaped. "What? It's, it's not even creepy, it's not bloody, it's, it's just suspenseful. But if it scared you guys..." She gave Mina a hug. "I'm so sorry."
Mina hugged her back tightly.
"Next time, don't let the desensitized time traveler pick the suspenseful movie," Troi advised, eyes twinkling. "Perhaps you should watch a cartoon or two before going to bed."
"There's no way we're going to sleep," Tyler replied, finally speaking up.
"Remind me never to show you guys the Silence," Elle said. "Or anything from newer Doctor Who."
"Cartoon?" Mina asked, eyeing her sisters.
"Catoon," Jetta said firmly.
They settled on the original animated Cinderella, lovingly restored by archivists in the early 22nd century after discovering a vault full of things called 'videcassettes.'
After Cinderella, they watched Megamind. And then they watched Pride and Prejudice, the 2250 remake.
Mina passed out before Darcy and Bingley even showed up.
And then they put on another romcom. Elle fell asleep halfway through that movie, her face smushed comfortably into the side of the couch.
-/\-
"How are they sleeping like that? That does not look comfortable."
"Shh, don't wake them up."
Elle dragged open an uncooperative eyelid and registered Miles and Keiko talking near the door. Miles passed Keiko a cup of coffee and they kissed. Elle closed her eye and went back to sleep.
When she woke up again, it was with a distinct sleepover hangover she hadn't experienced since she was nine. She managed to dislodge Mina's octopus grip on her torso and lifted her head to view the chaos. All of them, even Satel, had migrated to the floor, piled on and under blankets and cushions and each other.
Keiko grinned at her from the table.
"What time's'it?" Elle slurred.
"Just 1300 hours," Keiko replied. "Sleep well?"
"Like dead," Elle replied, yawning.
"Shh," Tyler said, from her other side, where he was cuddling with Simba. "Sleeping."
Satel was also awake, but he seemed to be meditating from his spot on the floor, staring at the ceiling with a blank look.
Elle gingerly stepped out of the pile without stepping on anybody's hair, and replicated herself a bowl of cereal. She sat on the couch, stole a blanket off Wesley, and turned on a Pink Panther cartoon compilation at low volume.
Nicole stirred two panthers later. "I feel drunk," she declared, reaching out blindly to smack at her twin. "Jetta. Jetta you alive?"
"Sh'up," Jetta mumbled, burying her face in Mina's hair.
Mina wriggled and slapped at Nicole's arm. "Shh, cartoon."
The doorbell chimed.
"Come," Elle called, hastily running her fingers through her hair.
The captain entered, Dr. Crusher by his side. "Elle, I thought you'd like to know that Will has been acqui..." he trailed off, gaping at the sleep-drunk and sugar-crashed group of teenagers.
Dr. Crusher stifled a laugh. "Good morning, Wes."
Wesley squinted up at her. "Morning, mom. Captain."
"Have a good sleepover?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"Super duper," Mina chirped. "Good morning, captain!"
"Good afternoon," Picard said, still shell-shocked.
Elle sipped at her cereal milk. "Did you say Commander Riker's been acquitted?"
"Yes," Picard said slowly.
"Excellent." Elle smiled. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"
"Er, no," Picard said, "thank you." He beat a hasty retreat.
Dr. Crusher shared a knowing grin with Keiko and turned a paternal eye on the teens. "Each of you better have a full glass of water before you eat," she warned, grinning. She left, and the door hissed closed.
"Who wants French toast?" Keiko asked.
Elle grinned.