New Friends, Old Places (Alliana)

[Natalie Blake]

Natalie heaved a sigh, throwing her shoulder into each thrust of her wrench. She'd been running calibrations all day to keep herself calm, not wanting to work herself into a tizzy over the ceremony tomorrow. She'd have all day tomorrow to do that. Right now, she just wanted to finish working on this console so she could go and relax for a bit.

She hadn't been able to relax properly since they'd come back from shore-leave. Maybe it was the fact that she'd thrown her sleep-cycle completely out of whack while she'd been away, or because her parents hadn't contacted her in over two weeks, or, hell, maybe she was just frustrated about not being able to spend more time with Will now that they were back on the Venia.

Whatever the reason, she was unusually irritated at the moment, and with each twist she grew more and more violent. "Oh, come on, you piece of junk! How many times can you twist before you're screwed in properly?!" she snapped, scowling down at the console. She opened her mouth, preparing to cuss violently, when she heard the sound of footsteps.

Straightening up and whirling around, Natalie looked about the room curiously. "Hello?" she called. Perking up, she added, "Will, is that you?" A few moments later, however, she discovered that it wasn't Will but a woman with long dark hair and blue-grey eyes. "Oh, hi Ally," she said, blinking.

During shore-leave a part of Alliana's past had come back to bite her on the butt, and Luke had called up Natalie for help. She hadn't seen the science officer much since they'd patched everything up, and it occurred to her that she didn't know how she was settling in. Not that she was going to be one to bug her about it. Instead she offered a small, apologetic smile and glanced back down at the console.

"Er, yeah. I suppose you heard that, huh?" she laughed in embarrassment, gesturing to what she'd been working on. Trying to cover for her momentary blunder, she added, "Alliana, meet my newest pain in the neck, pain, meet Alliana."

[Alliana Porter]

It had been a long, hard few days. After her break was compromised with the UGAP, Ally returned to the Venia, with little more than a small nod here and there. Other than her business in her science department, Ally had spent most of her time in her room. Scared of the rejection and shame she felt would follow. Luke said he still loved her, but could she trust it? she had lied to him about something he deeply needed to know, she had ripped will and Natalie away from their perfect week and had worried Anna sick. She didn't deserve much.


Alliana had no desire...well..there was some desire to go back to the flightdeck, but not enough. She wanted to hide away and not be found. Her room was too much. Everyone knew where to find here and walls were only so thick. With a heavy sigh, her heavy feet found themselves walking towards the deepest darkest part os the ship. Technical, mechanical, whatever it was, it was somewhere she had spent zero percent of here time at.

She had considered pulling up her soft curls, but felt like leaving it down. Maybe it was because Luke liked it down. Ally gave a deep sigh and slid into a darker corner. She slid down against a corridor wall, reading herself to cry, when she suddenly realized she was not alone.

"Hey..." she replied softly, feeling as though she had picked the wrong place to break down like a hurt toddler. She had talked to Natalie briefly once or twice before the incident, and she knew she was Luke's good friend. Before they got close, she had wondered if Natalie liked him, but that obviously changed. She was good for Luke, he needed a friend. Natalie wasn't very girly, so she was almost like a guy to him, the way he talked about her.

Ally looked down at her face and chuckled lightly at her small joke. She was a bit more lighthearted than Ally, even if she was pissed beyond reason at..well whatever she was working on. Maybe she should go...it might..be better. She still felt like crying, and the lump was getting harder to swallow.

[Natalie Blake]

When Alliana spoke, Natalie realized she sounded close to tears. That was never a good sign. It either meant that she was upset about something, or she was hurt--or maybe both. Officially concerned now, Natalie put her wrench down on an adjacent workbench and timidly approached where Ally was keeping to the shadows.

"Hey, are... are you okay?" she asked carefully. If Alliana was about to cry, Natalie didn't want to make things worse. Her already irked mind leapt to the worst possible conclusion, and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "Did Luke do something? I swear to god, if he's giving you a hard time after all you've been through--"

She clamped a hand over her mouth until she'd managed to shut herself up, then allowed it to drop to her side and grimaced. "Sorry, I have to work on that. Sometimes speaking your mind is a good thing, but other times not so much. And I'm making the brash assumption that this is one of those other times, so I'll just shut up now."

Because explaining that totally helped, she thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes at herself. Wasn't she just brilliant. After moment she decided to see if Ally wanted someone to vent to--maybe she was just looking for a shoulder to cry on? Natalie could do that, if need be. As always, the best way to find out would be to ask.

"Did you want to talk about it? Or would you rather I left you alone? I won't step on your fingers if you don't want me around, honest."

[Alliana Porter]

Ally didn't protest Natalie's approach. She didn't feel like fighting anyone off right now. There wasn't much energy left. She had spent far too much time crying and here she was, finding somewhere else to do it again. She just..couldn't stop how her heart felt right now.

When Natalie suggested Luke, she had to scoff a small laugh. "no...no it's not Luke. It's never Luke....It..it's no one really. It's me. " She sucked her breath trying to keep her composure at least for a few more minutes. She swallowed deep and stared at the blankness in front of her.

She bit her lip, keeping the river at bay and looked down, then finally met Natalie's concerned gaze. She was trooper and had an amazing heart if she was willing to talk to Ally after all she had put her through. She still felt bad about the hole shore leave. Her time with Luke had also been cut short but he had mentioned three words that seemed to make it all okay. Luke Martin Loved her.

"No..it..it's fine. I don't know what I want." she answered softly, her Australian accent thickening in her moment as she hugged her arms for comfort. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. You were here first." She gave another sigh and stared into Natalie's caring eyes.

[Natalie Blake]

Natalie felt her heart twinge painfully at the sadness in Alliana's tear-choked voice, and she scrambled about mentally for something to say that could cheer her up. Sure, she was good at lightening moods, but this was entirely new territory. She couldn't truthfully relate with what Ally was going through.

It was clear in the Australian woman's eyes that she felt bad about everything that had happened, and Natalie wished she could let her know that it wasn't her fault. "Luke would have found out eventually, Ally. It's not your fault that he found out the way he did, it's not like you planned it that way. And shore-leave had to end eventually. At least we managed to help you out." Hopefully that would suffice.

Alliana looked so lost and broken as she mumbled what more or less amounted to an apology, and it was the most vulnerable she'd appeared since... well, since ever, really. After a moment of contemplation, Natalie abandoned her cautiousness and stepped over to pull Alliana into a hug.

Beyond Anna and Luke, she didn't really seem to have anyone, and so maybe she just wanted to be around someone who was a little less directly involved. Natalie may have come along to help free her, but it had mostly been Luke and Will behind the whole operation, so maybe she could be that person.

"You don't have to go either, hon," Natalie told the dark-haired woman kindly. She wasn't usually one to use endearments, but it just seemed appropriate at the moment. After a second Natalie released her, offering her a gentle smile.

[Alliana Porter]

Alliana was not usually a physical person, but apparently Natalie was. She felt her arms envelop her and Ally couldn't help but bury her face into the wave of blonde hair. Natalie was probably one of the sweetest people she had ever met, and secretly envied. Caring wasn't something she was good at, in fact being nice was something she had forced herself into after the Venia. It was definitely an advantage. She had earned the friendship of plenty of people, including Anna and managed to open her heart up to love again.

Ally swallowed down the warm lump in her throat and a solitary tear rolled from her, now silver eyes. She sniffled again and let her floodgates loose, sobbing into a wet mess on Natalie's shoulder. She hadn't known her all that well, but felt like this moment would be completely safe between the two of them. Ally's hard reputation was forced to leave once she stepped foot on board. She wanted to be liked, loved, have friends, and now that was slowly happening. She had broken Luke's heart with the lies, and still felt bad for messing up her friend's shore leave. Natalie, however didn't seem to be taking it personal. She hadn't talked to Will, but knew she owed him the biggest thank you.

Natalie pulled her away for a moment, and Ally sniffled up her tears, even though her face was now stained red. "Thanks Nat." she choked. "It...it means a lot to me."

[Natalie Blake]

At first Alliana's only response to Natalie wrapping her arms around her was to hid her face in Nate's hair. Then, after a moment, Ally fell apart, sobbing relentlessly into her shoulder, and she patted the dark-haired woman's back soothingly. "It's okay Alliana, it's okay..." she mumbled, trying to make her feel better but knowing it probably wasn't doing much.

She led the other woman over to one of the consoles so they could lean against it, leaving her there as she went over to the sink to pour a glass of water. She would have preferred to get Ally tea, but seeing as the closest means of doing so was a yet-to-be-removed biosynthesizer, she decided water would have to do.

Grinning a little at the nickname--she hadn't heard it in a while--she handed the water to Alliana and leaned against the console beside her. "Anytime, Ally," she said sincerely, wrapping one arm around her for another quick hug. "You've been through a lot, and while I can't really relate, I think I can imagine how you feel. I'm here for you to talk to, whenever you need it."

Though Alliana would no doubt turn to Luke or Anna first, there was no problem with knowing you had people who cared enough to want to see you happy. Ally didn't seem to have had much of that before, and now she had to make up for lost time. Natalie was willing to help her, if she was willing to accept.