Chapter 6

Brynley

“You haven’t seen me in over a month and doing a word search with Scrubs as our soundtrack in the background is really how you wanna spend our time together?”

“Oh look!” My mom enthusiastically exclaims prior to dragging her light biege finger down the page I’m holding open. “B…I…T…C…H…Y.”

It’s impossible not to toss her mirth-filled glare. “That’s not one of the words.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not what you’re being .”

You know everyone sees her and thinks “sweet lady”, yet no one ever considers that she’s the true source of my sass.

And she is.

I didn’t learn to be this mouthy, independent thing all on my own.

It came from somewhere, and it damn sure wasn’t the man who was always begging for her forgiveness over his fuckups.

“I’m spending time with my daughter,” she points out with a loving smile. “ That’s all that matters. ”

She’s right.

But I’m not gonna admit it.

Just because she’s basically been passed out since I got here doesn’t mean I have to gift her with the ability to say “I told you so” immediately.

I’m sure she’ll have plenty of other chances between now and whenever Picard and Riker kick me out.

“I’m surprised Wes let you come,” Mom comments, weak hand reaching for the pen in my possession. “We haven’t had a single visitor since I moved here.”

“He couldn’t have kept me away if he tried.” I playfully smile to hide the hurt of seeing her so frail. “I’ve scaled much higher gates than his for much less.”

“Bryn!”

“Oh, like I wasn’t gonna try to sneak in and see the Lawson Brothers possibly swimming bottomless.”

“ Bryn! ”

“What’s done is done,” light heartedly leaves me. “Let’s focus on you. Getting you healthier. And better. And back to apparently running a billionaire’s life.” She finishes circling an animal name and crosses it out. “Didn’t think telling me that – at any point – in the past decade was relevant?”

“No.”

“ Mom .” Lowering the book into my denim covered lap is done at the same time she’s presented a disapproving stare. “Why would you keep something like this from me?”

“Why is who I work for suddenly so important?”

“Because the man you work for is the reason your ass isn’t in a hospital getting the type of care you deserve!”

“I’m getting exactly the type of care I deserve, Brynley. Hamilton is one of the best physicians in the country.”

“One of…not the best. ”

“ One of is quite remarkable, young lady.”

“Uh-huh and for the man with enough money to make a real life, working version of Starfleet, I think he could afford to have the best. ”

“Wes trusts Hamilton, and I trust Wes .”

“I don’t.”

“You would if you knew him better.”

“And how in the fuck is that possible considering he wouldn’t even leave the main deck to talk to me about what’s been happening to you?” Her silence leads to me transferring the pen back into my possession. “What type of monster can’t even look a person in the face to tell them that their mother is possibly dying?” Angrily adjusting the booklet occurs next. “What kind of next gen emotionless Vulcan forces you to sign an NDA just to see their only living relative on their death bed?”

“ I’m not dying. ”

“We don’t know that!” I bite at the same time I bore my gaze into hers. “We don’t know what’s making you sick! We don’t know if it’s done making you sick! We don’t even know why something started making you sick!”

Rather than meet my outrage, she simply smiles.

Gently places her hand on mine.

Tilts her head motherly to one side.

And like some sort of Deep Space Nine voodoo, I find myself surrendering to the loving actions against my own volition. “ I just need you to be okay…I’m not ready to lose you. I can’t handle losing you. ”

“You’re stubborn enough to handle anything,” she sweetly sasses back. “I raised you that way.”

It’s impossible not to grin at her proclamation.

She did.

That’s why I know how to take care of myself.

Change my own flat tires.

Stretch my groceries.

Live off of other people’s streaming accounts.

Okay, that last one isn’t like “essential”, but it sure the fuck comes in handy, especially when you’re too broke to do anything else.

“Now, tell me something that’ll actually make me feel better,” the woman who gave me birth demands.

“Like?”

“Like you finally quit being a bartender at that strip club.”

“ Gentleman’s Club, Mom. ” The impish correction is attached to me circling one of the hidden words on the list. “You work for a billionaire. You should know that branding matters.”

“Brynley Elizabeth.”

“I quit bartending at that Gentleman’s Club.”

Being able to feel her excitement burning a hole into the side of my face is what leads to me meeting her elation filled gaze. “Really?”

“Really.”

More thrill threatens her expression until she spots something I swear only she could. “Yet whatever you’re doing still requires you to wear next to no clothes, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not next to no clothes.”

“That better not mean you’re job requires you to be naked.”

“It doesn’t.”

She does her best to snatch the pen out of my hands to circle another word she’s found.

“I actually get to wear more clothes.”

There’s no hesitation to throw me a sarcastic stare.

“Okay, not…exactly… more but…more coverage.”

Disbelief remains unmoved.

“And nicer. ”

“Nicer how?”

“Less full out trashy.”

Rather than continue to interrogate she merely waits for additional details.

“I’m now a Cigar Girl at the most prestigious, private Cigar Club in the city, Fire & Ash.”

“You sell people cigars now instead of alcohol?”

“Basically.”

And we’re going to leave it basically because I should be alleviating my mother’s stress, not adding to it.

“It’s good money,” I insist at the same time I divert my stare to the flatscreen in the distance. “ Better money. ”

“Bryn, honey, if you need money-”

“I’m good,” I cut her off before the lecture I really don’t want – nor need – can ensue. “You helped pay plenty for my extended education by playing head cleaning lady in charge of Casa de Creepy.” My blue eyes meet hers. “You don’t need to pay for the rest of my life, too. I’m a big girl, not just a girl with big titties.”

Mom snickers and shakes her head.

“I can take care of myself.”

Or I can at least keep fucking try to.

“And just to put your overly concerned mind at ease, yes. I am still applying for jobs in my field, they’re just not biting. Nerdy shark pun intended.” More laughter leaves her feeble frame pushing me to not only change subjects but make an attempt to help care for her. “How about I go grab you something from the doctor approved list to eat? Maybe drink instead? Are you thirsty?”

“A bit,” she softly replies, exhaustion replacing the disappointment I previously saw. “But you don’t have to do that here. You can just call and someone from the kitchen staff will bring it. Or if they’re too busy then Clark-”

“Who is anxious to see you.”

“Or Penny-”

“Who cannot wait to not see me.”

Mom transfers our word search from my lap to hers. “You’re probably stressing the poor thing out.”

“ Really ?” I juvenilely poke back, stare finding hers. “You think there’s something I’ve personally done to The Little Whoremaid in my very short stay here?”

“ Brynley. ”

“I’m just saying…” Reaching for the bedside phone occurs in tandem with my continued mocking. “Her deal with the Sea Wench hating ways aren’t warranted. I haven’t done shit to her. I didn’t steal her voice or her fins or her ability to fucking breathe underwater.”

“Maybe not.” An all-knowing glimmer I don’t approve of reaches my mom’s glare. “But perhaps she’s not worried about the what you may take away from her so much so as the who. ”