I got into Lost in Space late. Like sixty years too late. The one thing I really wanted to see more of was Judy Robinson. Show a little more about her struggles at giving up her dream of being an actress, feeling insecure about her siblings being smarter than her and of course I wanted more of the Don/Judy relationship.
Judy felt sick, her stomach lurching as the Jupiter hurled towards the alien planet. She pressed a hand on her mouth, struggling to keep the bile from coming up her throat. If she didn't know that he would never play with their lives like that, she would think Don was deliberately spinning the ship.
"Are you all right, dear?" Maureen asked, leaning as far as the straps would allow her so she could reach for her eldest daughter's hand.
Rather than admit anything, Judy just smiled weakly at her mother. "I'm fine. I just hope we land in one piece."
"From your lips to God's ears, dear girl," Dr. Smith opined from his seat. He was holding the armrests in a death grip. "Oh dear me, I'm in the hands of a mad man. He's going to kill us all."
"Now stop that," Maureen scolded, her head snapping towards Dr. Smith to throw him a disapproving look. "It is not Don's fault. It was either fly through a meteor storm or hit that asteroid and be destroyed." Unfortunately, despite Don's maneuvering the ship was still hit enough times to be damaged.
Something flashed across Dr. Smith's face as his eyes flickered at each of them in turn. He spoke in a quiet voice, "Well, I wouldn't want that."
"Don't worry, Dr. Smith, Dad and Don always come through for us," Will insisted.
"I wonder what sort of planet we will land on this time," Penny piped up.
Somewhere dark and dreary, no doubt, Judy lamented as a wave of nausea swept over her.
"Somewhere dark and dreary, no doubt," Dr. Smith unknowingly repeated Judy's thought, much to her bafflement and concern. "I suppose it will be a barren husk or perhaps a world covered with ice. Or we will land in a city of aliens who want to cut us open and do horrible experiments on us. Or-"
Whatever else, their resident pessimist was going to say was cut off as the Jupiter crashed down on the surface, jostling the occupants inside. Unable to contain it anymore, Judy turned her head and vomited on the floor.
At once Maureen Robinson unbuckled herself and went running to her daughter, not caring that it might not be safe to move around. She rubbed Judy's back and held her hair away from her face.
Judy groaned as she lifted her head, using her sleeve to wipe her mouth. "I'm sorry, Mother. I guess I wasn't feeling well after all."
"Are you alright?" Maureen asked for the second time, grasping Judy's chin so she could study her countenance, noting she was slightly pale.
"I'm fine, Mother," Judy insisted. Her mother did not look convinced. "I mean it this time. I think I must have just eaten something that didn't agree with me."
"And what have you eaten, dear?" Maureen questioned, an eyebrow raised. "Other than nutrition pills for the past two days." Their food supply was growing low so John had ordered that until they could get to a planet to refuel, it would only be nutrition pills for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
"Then maybe I just got motion sickness," Judy suggested. "All I know is I feel much better." She wasn't lying. Her nausea seemed to have abated.
Her mother studied her appearance for a few more minutes before letting her go. She then went to Penny and Will, checking on them and unbuckling their seatbelts. As she did so, John Robinson came down the ladder.
"Everyone okay?" he asked as he went to them, his gaze bouncing between them.
"Affirmative." The Robot detached himself from the magnetic lock. "I have scanned them. They are healthy and unharmed."
"Speak for yourself, you birdbrain," Dr. Smith grumbled as he placed a hand on his back. "Oh, the pain. I fear I shall never recover."
John ignored him as he continued to do a sweep. Now that he was sure his family was okay, he started to check for any damage to the ship. He spotted the vomit and immediately looked back at his eldest daughter, scrutinizing her appearance. "What happened, sweetheart?"
"Motion sickness, Daddy," Judy assured him. She then glanced at the ladder, concerned that a certain pilot had not followed her father. "Is Don alright?"
"He's fine. Just checking out the damage," John replied before turning to the Robot. "We need you to check outside to make sure it is safe for us."
"Affirmative."
As the Robot moved to the elevator, Judy decided to brush her teeth, wanting to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. She then fetched the cleaning supplies to clean up her vomit. Once she was finished, she climbed up the ladder to the top level.
Her family had already started with unpacking their equipment. Don and Will were setting up the forcefield generator. Judy went outside to see if they needed help when she caught sight of the scenery.
Far from being a desolate, colorless world, there was grass and trees as far as the eye could see. She could see wildflowers scattered about and there was fruit hanging from the trees.
"Beautiful," Judy breathed.
"I'll say you are," Don pipped up. He was not looking at the scenery and instead focused on her.
Judy smiled coyly as she walked over to him, exchanging a chaste kiss. "You are a shameless flatter."
"I hear my flying gave you belly trouble," Don remarked, half-playful and half-concerned. "You okay now?
"I'm just fine. But if we ever go back to Earth, you might want to consider a career as a roller coaster operator," Judy teased. Both Don and Will chuckled at that. "Don, do you think we can go for a walk later?"
"Tomorrow, babe. Too much to do today," Don told her. "Don't worry, we got time. I think we'll be here for at least a month if not two."
Judy expected that answer, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. She knew that setting up camp was important. However, it would be nice to be Don's first priority especially when their relationship had reached another level.
She let out a sigh before walking around the corner where her mother and Penny were setting up the hydroponic garden. She quickly went over to help them.
"The Robot mentioned seeing some herbs and vegetables," Maureen divulged with a smile. "I was thinking before dinner we could do a little gathering. Of course, I will need to test them before anyone tries to eat them."
"By anyone you mean Dr. Smith," Penny guessed with a chuckle.
"Where is he anyway?" Judy scanned the camp for their stowaway/honorary member of the family.
"In his cabin," Maureen replied with a fond smile. "Apparently, after such a harsh landing, he needs to rest for his nerves are shot and his back will never be the same."
"And Dad's letting him get away with it?" Judy asked in surprise. Her father might not be as hard on him as Don, but he certainly did not let the doctor slack off.
"Since we need to replenish our food supplies, your father thinks it will go much smoother without Dr. Smith." Maureen began to put the seeds left over from their last garden into pots. "We don't have to worry about him eating untested fruit."
"I don't think we want another giant incident," Judy agreed, shaking her head. They seemed to run into strange trouble every week. She hoped that maybe they would have some time to rest on this planet. Perhaps stop to smell the flowers for once.
Thanks to some unpleasantness, I was forced to abandon my old account. I decided to use it as an opportunity to reboot my stories. I feel the old version of this had some pacing issues that I'm attempting to fix. Not to mention show the family settling down on the planet with Judy's symptoms becoming more noticeable before we have the reveal.