Country Roads

Posted on 10 Jan 2020 @ 7:40pm by Commander Jayla Kij & Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexander Rylan
Edited on on 08 Feb 2020 @ 6:04am

2,750 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Epilogue
Location: Trill
Timeline: June 2389

Once again, Jayla sat aboard a trans-port- this time with Alex seated next to her- destined for that long dirt road that led to the little house on the white cliffs. Oh, sure, they could have beamed in directly, but there was something about the journey that appealed to Trills. Perhaps it was a sense of nostalgia, or the satisfaction of finally arriving, but whatever the reason, the trans-ports were always at least half full.

"When we only see trees and no more houses, we'll be nearly there," she informed Alex as she gazed out the window at the ever fewer buildings.

Alex smiled, pleased to see Jayla so happy. "Sounds perfect. Thanks for helping me get this assignment," he said. "And for bringing me home to meet your family."

She turned to beam at him. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "If we came here to take jobs with the Symbiosis Commission and didn't visit my parents, they'd hunt us down and murder us. Or force-feed us gagh. I can't decide which would be worse."

Alex shuddered. "In SERE training they made us eat all kinds of nasty stuff," he said. "They told us we'd have to learn to use all parts of the animals we could manage to bring down in a survival situation. They brought out a domestic bovine of some kind and severed its testicles. I must have turned pale or something when they asked for volunteers to try eating the beast's family jewels raw. The instructor ordered me to eat them both. I did it, but damn. It was really gross. Whenever I see gagh, I think of having to choke down that poor bull's balls." Alex shuddered again. "Sweetheart, darling dearest, dearheart, if I ever get stranded somewhere and the only way I can survive so I can get back to you, and I do it, I expect absolutely mind blowing sex as a reward. This also applies if your parents serve gagh and I manage to choke it down somehow without retching. Mind. Blowing. Sex. For, like, six months."

"You get that already," she laughed. "But, it's a deal. I promise. That being said, my parents aren't likely to feed us anything gross. Except for some reason, my dad absolute loves marzipan." She made fake gagging noises. "So disgusting," she said.

Alex laughed. "Marizpan I can handle," he said. "It does slither and it wasn't previously carrying around the sperm of a male bovine, so marzipan I can absolutely handle. Okay, so remind me who's who. Names, relationships, etc."

"My parents are Sabro Gil and Anaya Tress- unjoined," she added. "Trill would know, but you didn't spend years learning all the names of the symbionts. Anyway! My sister is Jessa Meri- joined- and she has an adopted son called Neville. He's human. She spent a few months on the Black Hawk awhile ago and Neville's father was killed in action. Before we knew that, she promised to stay with him until we found his father. Well, once she found out his father had been killed, she petitioned to adopt him. None of his living relatives were able to take him in, so that was that."

"Got it," Alex said, committing the names to memory as best he could. "I'm hoping you're parents will let me use their given names. I mean, Mister Gil isn't a problem, but Miss Tress is going to sound weird. I mean, calling you Mistress in the right circumstances is one thing, but then going and calling your mother Mistress... just a little creepy."

Jayla giggled. "Knowing them, they'll prefer their given names," she assured him. "In fact, my friends even called them by their given names as far back as elementary school. They've always been rather informal."

"Great," Alex said. "So, how old is Neville?"

“Eight,” answered Jayla. “No, wait. He’d be nine by now! My goodness has it really been that long?”

Alex chuckled. "How would I know?" he said. "I haven't met the kid yet. I'll try not to corrupt him too much. No promises, but I'll try."

"Aunt Jayla has already taken him cliff diving," she retorted with a grin. "I'm not sure how much more corrupted he can get."

Alex looked out the window as the Trans-Port took them further from civilization. "It really is beautiful out here."

Jayla glanced back out the window. "No more houses," she announced with a big smile. "If you think this is beautiful, wait until you see the view from my house. You're going to love it."

The train began to slow as it curved around a bend and the platform came into view. It was just a platform with a small rain shelter and nothing else. Nothing else, that is, except two forms standing on the platform, the smaller one jumping up and down excitedly.

“Is that...?” said Jayla as she retrieved her duffel from uber her seat. “It is! It’s jessa and Neville!”

Alex looked at Jessa and blinked. She was a dead ringer for Jayla. He immediately squelched all kinky twin fantasies before they started playing in his head and making his interactions with Jayla's sister weird. "You're right," he said. "She does look like you. Well, let's go out and meet her."

When the car stopped, Alex got up and grabbed their bags and he and Jayla walked out onto the platform to meet Jessa and Neville. Now that they were here, Alex was actually a little nervous.

“Aunt Jayla!” bellowed Neville as soon as they appeared on the platform. He barreled over and threw his arms around her waist in a huge hug. “Can we go cliff diving again?” he asked excitedly.

“Let her breathe, Neville,” laughed Jessa as she approached to hug her sister.

“We can absolutely go cliff diving,” promised Jayla, returning both of their hugs. “But probably not today. Oh, and this is Alex. Alex, my sister Jessa and nephew Neville.”

“Hm,” said Jessa, taking in Alex’s appearance. “Cute. His nose doesn’t seem out of place, so that’s good.”

“Cut it out!” Laughed Jayla. “That was a long time ago!”

“What was?” Asked Neville, looking confused.

"That's because she missed my nose entirely. Hi, Neville," Alex said, shaking the young man's hand. "Like your aunt said, I'm Alex. I met your aunt Jayla when we were teenagers. She got mad at me because... well... because, looking back, I was probably being dumb. Anyway, she punched me in the mouth. Knocked loose a few of my teeth. Your aunt is kind of a badass, kiddo."

“Aunt Jayla?” replied Neville incredulously. “No way! She wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

“Maybe now I wouldn’t,” Jayla laughed. “But it’s true. I actually did knock out some of his teeth. And all because he was nice to me.”

“How rude!” Laughed Neville. “You shouldn’t be nice to people!”

“Right?” replied Jayla. “So inconsiderate. He hasn’t learned, either. He’s still nice.”

Alex grinned. "See, Neville?" he said. "In the short term, being nice got me punched in the mouth, among other things, but in the end, I got the girl. It took almost two decades, but your aunt was totally work the wait... and the dental surgery."

"That being said, don't ever put up with what he did," Jayla advised her nephew. "I was a terror to him. And I'm not convinced I was worth it."

Alex laughed. "Well, I'm convinced," he said. "So let's stop confusing poor Neville here. Jessa, Neville, it's very nice to meet both of you. When we get a chance, we can swap stories about Jayla. I'll tell you all about cra--spirited teenage Jayla, and you can tell me everything you know about what I've missed out on since we parted ways when I graduated from secondary school and joined Starfleet."

“Well all I know is she took me cliff diving last time,” replied Neville. “Are you gonna come cliff diving? Can he come, Aunt Jayla?”

Of course it was simply a 9-year-old boy’s way of asking if they were definitely going. Jayla gave him a grin. “If he wants to,” she said with a glance at Alex. “And your mother, if she wants to come. The more the merrier!”

“I really should protest, but I cliff dive regularly,” said Jessa resignedly. “But anyway, we’d better get home. Mum’s started dinner already.”

"Lead the way," Alex said. "I'll follow." Alex followed Jessa as she lead them out of the station. Alex took a deep lungful of fresh air and let it out. "Fresh air. There's nothing like it."

"Especially from home," agreed Jayla with a huge grin.

"If you think this is good, wait until you smell what grandma's got cooking!" declared Neville. "She's teachin' me. I learned how to make grakizh last week!"

"Awesome!" replied Jayla. "We'll have to have you cook for us sometime."

"After cliff diving," agreed Neville with a grin.

"After cliff diving," laughed Jayla.

The made their way towards the house while talking and laughing and once they were in view, Jayla recognized the form of her father shading his eyes against the sun as the walked up the drive. She raised her hand and waved and he waved back. "Come on!" she urged Alex, grabbing his hand and hurrying him faster. "That's my dad. You're going to love him!"

Alex followed Jayla, keeping up the best he could while carrying both of their bags, grinning at Jayla's almost childlike joy at being home. "I bet I will," he said. "But will he like me? Fathers in general aren't known for liking the guys their daughters bring home."

“My dad likes everyone,” Jayla assured him as they continued down the lane. “Just be yourself. Everybody likes you. Except weirdos and sticks-in-the-mud.”

"Okay," Alex said. He wasn't so sure, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Jayla was a highly educated professional. While Alex was a professional, he wasn't as well educated by a long stretch. Some fathers might take exception to that difference, thinking their daughters could do better. Alex had come to accept his limitations and learned to play to his strengths, but sometimes situations shook his hard won confidence. Sometimes he even got a little bitter, frustrated that he seemed to have the exactly none of the natural academic talent that his parents and most of his childhood peers seemed to have.

None of which mattered to Sabro Gil, who easily had twice the brains of a random sampling of the population, but who had found fulfillment in simple maintenance. He had spent his years mopping up various bodily fluids and swapping out lighting fixtures at the symbiosis commission hospital and had loved every minute of it. He had seen both sides of the coin and knew that neither was better than the other. “There’s my girl!” he exclaimed as Jayla ran the last few steps and launched herself into his arms. “Back from that big spaceship that she somehow manages to destroy every other week!”

“I don’t destroy it!” protested Jayla with a laugh as she broke the hug. “It just keeps running afoul, that’s all.”

“Never mind that!” said Sabro. “Is this the working man that keeps you honest?”

“Yes, dad, this is Alex Rylan,” she said, turning to beckon Alex forward. “Alex, this is my dad.”

“Call me Sabro,” advised Sabro. “Or dad, if you like. Or egghead. Whatever!”

Alex breathed a quiet sigh of relief and stuck out his hand to be shaken. "Sabro," he said. "It's nice to finally meet you, sir." Having now met the man, Alex was cautiously optimistic that he would be accepted.

"That's the way!" said Sabro, clapping Alex on the back and moving to take one of the duffels from him. "Come on, inside, inside. Your mother's got dinner nearly ready. We've set up the guest house for you. It's not much, just a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette, but we thought it would give you some privacy."

"Aw, thanks dad!" replied Jayla as they walked towards the house. Then, to Alex, she said, "it started out as a 'sleepover' spot for my sister and me and our friends when we were kids and then when we outgrew it, it got converted to a guest house."

"Comes in handy once in awhile," put in Jessa. "Especially when those squalls come in and our guests get stuck here overnight."

"We got stuck here once!" chimed in Neville. "Gran let me sleep in your bed."

"It's appreciated," Alex said. "I can take our stuff there and then I'll come back and meet your mother."

"Oh, no," replied Jayla. "Mum wouldn't like that. We can take our things out later."

"Never mind," said her father, taking the second bag from Alex. "I'll take them out there."

"Dad, you don't have to," protested Jayla as Jessa took the second bag from their dad.

"Never mind!" said Jessa. "You go in and say hello to mum. Dad and I will take care of these and be in in about a minute."

Knowing there was no use arguing with her family, Jayla sighed in resignation. "Come on, kid," she said to Neville. "Let's go see gran."

"Yeah!" cheered Neville, running the last few steps to the door. "Gran! They're here!"

"So I heard!" came her mother's voice from the kitchen as they entered the house. And presently, her mother stepped into the hallway to greet them as they came into the house. "Jayla!" she said, hugging her daughter tightly. "Oh, I've missed you!"

"You always say that!" laughed Jayla.

"Because I always miss you!" her mother pointed out, pulling away to take her daughter's face in her hands. "Ever since we sent you to life with Saraja. I haven't stopped."

"Aw, mum," replied Jayla. "You'll make me cry!"

"Good!" her mother replied with a mischievous smirk. "You deserve it for all the times you made me cry!" Finally, she turned to Alex. "And this must be Alex.

"Yes, mum, this is Alex," Jaya introduced them. "Alex, my mother, Anaya Tress."

Alex smiled at Anaya, trying to hide his nervousness. "It's very nice to meet you," he said. Jayla's family seemed to be accepting so far. Hopefully it would continue. He was so happy to have Jayla back in his life, the last thing he wanted was for her family to disapprove of him.

"It's great to meet you, too!" replied Anaya, not even bothering with formalities and going straight for a hug. "And she hasn't broken any of your teeth, yet!" she added, stepping back to take a satirically critical look at him.

"Mum!" replied Jayla as Neville began laughing uncontrollably.

"I couldn't resist," replied Anaya. "But don't you let her ever get away with anything, understand?"

Alex returned the hug warmly.

"Well," he said, after the hug broke. "When I found out Jayla was on the Black Hawk, I had the ship's oral surgeon reinforce all of my teeth, just in case I pissed your daughter off. After 'the incident' before I left for the enlisted academy, I wasn't taking any chances---OW!"

Jayla had playfully punched Alex in the arm. "Oh, that couldn't have actually hurt!" she retorted.

"The abuse continues!" laughed Jessa, now returning with their father sans bags. "Don't worry, Alex, we're witnesses."

"I see you've met their mother," added Sabro. "And, as you can see, my daughters get their looks from their mother, much to the relief of the universe."

"And their sense of humor from their father," added Anaya. "Jessa gave me that one. I never would have come up with it on my own."

"Oh, you used the tooth thing and I missed it!" complained Jessa.

"Don't worry mom, I'll tell you all about it," Neville promised.

Alex chuckled. He was going to like it here.

"And I'll tell you all kinds of embarrassing stories about your aunt as a teenager," he said. "Including the time--"

“Clear all stories with me first!” Jayla instead loudly, laughing.

“But that’s less fun!” insisted Neville.

“Dinner is ready,” Anaya pointed out. “Stories to embarass my daughter can wait.”

“See?” said Jessa, moving to set the table. “You have a sense of humor.”

Jayla beamed at Alex. He was fitting right in with her weird, quirky family just as she knew he would. These six months were going to work out fine.

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