"Dr. Crusher here. If this is a medical emergency, please go directly to audio. If not, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible."
[Beverly watches him for a moment before trying to mirror his movements. Her second cookie is slightly less lumpy than the first, and the third is even better.]
It's a traditional Scottish dessert with whipped cream and raspberries and oatmeal soaked in whiskey.
It's a synthesized variant of alcohol without any of the negative side effects like debilitating intoxication, addiction, and alcohol poisoning, at least in most humanoids, though there are a few exceptions. I make it on the Blue Fish for Crowley to sell in his bar for anyone who wants alternatives to alcohol.
Either way, I'm sure I could find a way around it if you wanted to try cranachan. Even just plain toasted oats and honey would work fine I think.
You're not any trouble at all. I like spending time with you and I want to share something of home with you, since you have shared something your home with me.
Of course. [His expression falters, since he hadn't really talked to her much.] And I'm not trying to diminish the role parents play, either. It's more.... I had uncles and aunts around all the time, so I used to pick up things from them too.
I know. [Stefan hesitates, not because he believes that Bev's trying to replace anyone, but because this is an actual cultural gap. One that he's gonna struggle to explain.]
You know the old saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Our parents do the bulk of the work, but you'll have aunts or uncles that help where they can. You can still look after someone without being their mom.
[She nods, familiar with the saying. Intellectually, she understands what he means but emotionally... she never had a village, not for her, and not for Wesley - except for perhaps the crew of the Enterprise, Will and Geordi and Jean-Luc.]
I suppose I'm still learning how to do that... I don't have any siblings or aunts and uncles. [She smiles sadly.] Just my grandmother, and now, just Wes.
But life in Starfleet is hard on families, biological or otherwise. You're always on the move, your crew and your assignment does not remain the same from year to year. I was the only constant in Wesley's life, and he was the only constant in mine.
[A constant that could be taken from either of them at a moment's notice, as they both well knew.]
[He's not kidding, either - Salvatore had always been on the move. Every few years, or else someone would realize that he wasn't growing older. Alesci too would encounter this, if he weren't careful.]
I'm not asking you to change it, either - I don't know if I'd be able to, myself, but you're family to me. You always will be.
[If anything, he's relieved, for it to not be so one-sided. Stefan wipes his hands clean before he gives her a warm, tight hug.] You'd have to do to a lot more to make me think otherwise.
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It's a traditional Scottish dessert with whipped cream and raspberries and oatmeal soaked in whiskey.
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[Hm. He peers down at his ma'amoul, thinking.]
Been a while since I've had to think about that.
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Either way, I'm sure I could find a way around it if you wanted to try cranachan. Even just plain toasted oats and honey would work fine I think.
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["So I'll trust that this once, it'll be permissable."]
Don't go to any extra trouble for me, though. This right here? It's enough for me.
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[She stops folding the dough and looks at him.]
You're not any trouble at all. I like spending time with you and I want to share something of home with you, since you have shared something your home with me.
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Alright. You've got me pretty curious, anyway. All this time, I kinda wrongly assumed you were more like Vi.
[read: grew up in outer space, rather than planet Earth.]
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Beverly gives him a little half-smile.]
I do see a lot of myself in her.
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You're her aunt too. Of course there'd be more than a few similarities.
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I can't claim too much influence on her.
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[Looks like the first batch's all done, so he'll put them in the oven.] It'd be weirder if we hadn't been influenced by other people in some way.
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[Beverly wipes her hands off on a dish towel.]
But still - most of the credit goes to Nomi.
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It's just... I'm not trying to replace anyone's mother.
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You know the old saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Our parents do the bulk of the work, but you'll have aunts or uncles that help where they can. You can still look after someone without being their mom.
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I suppose I'm still learning how to do that... I don't have any siblings or aunts and uncles. [She smiles sadly.] Just my grandmother, and now, just Wes.
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I don't think family has to be blood, though. You have your crews, right?
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[Her smile turns fonder, if still sad.]
But life in Starfleet is hard on families, biological or otherwise. You're always on the move, your crew and your assignment does not remain the same from year to year. I was the only constant in Wesley's life, and he was the only constant in mine.
[A constant that could be taken from either of them at a moment's notice, as they both well knew.]
It is a difficult mindset to change.
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[He's not kidding, either - Salvatore had always been on the move. Every few years, or else someone would realize that he wasn't growing older. Alesci too would encounter this, if he weren't careful.]
I'm not asking you to change it, either - I don't know if I'd be able to, myself, but you're family to me. You always will be.
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As you are to me. I hope what I just said doesn't make you think otherwise.
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[If anything, he's relieved, for it to not be so one-sided. Stefan wipes his hands clean before he gives her a warm, tight hug.] You'd have to do to a lot more to make me think otherwise.
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Good. Because you're important to me and that's never going to change.