Scene 9 - March 24th

Exterior April Park, Afternoon

Quinn Kaufman

I squinted at the flash card Holly held up to me. “An autoimmune disorder which results in the degradation of the nervous system... multiple sclerosis,” I said, confidently.

“Correct. And lastly...”

I blinked, coming back to myself.

“Are you okay, Quinn?” Holly asked. “You haven’t done that in a while.”

I sighed. “Yeah, Dr. Wagner has helped me get better, but... it’s just, that’s what my dad has. Had. It... that’s what killed him.”

“Oh.” Her eyes were infinitely kind, her voice gentle, as she said, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m doing better, I promise, it just... sometimes, when I’m not prepared...”

“Yeah.” She paused for a moment, then ventured, “at least that’s one chronic disease you know you won’t forget?”

I chuckled. “Imagine forgetting what disease killed your father. You’re at his eulogy and you’re all, ‘my father was a brave man. He fought for years against a deadly progressive illness, one which few can survive against, called... shit, was it cancer? It wasn’t cancer, was it?’”

Holly laughed. “I’m glad you’re doing well enough to joke about it, at least.”

“Yeah... I think dad would have wanted me to be able to.” I leaned back from my cross-legged posture and extended my legs, which ended up in Holly’s lap. She absently began kneading my feet, and I decided to change the subject - even though I was finding myself able to joke, finally, it still made my heart ache a bit. “Thank god it’s Spring Break next week. I’m really looking forward to getting a little time off from school.”

“Me too.” There were a few moments of companionable silence, the two of us enjoying just being together in the lovely spring afternoon - and in my case, enjoying the foot massage - before Holly said, a little hesitantly, “...you’re not going anywhere for the break, are you?”

“You know I’m not. Hell, I have two patrols scheduled, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

She flapped a hand dismissively. “You know Abe would give you time off if you asked, the man dotes on you.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go anyway. Why do you ask?” I said, sitting up again.

“Well... I talked to my parents.”

“...how’d that go?” I asked. “Do I need to murder them for you? Because Shepard wouldn’t want me to say I will, but...”

She chuckled. “No, it... well, it could have gone worse, anyway. They’ve been asking about my life, what I’ve been doing, and... um...”

“That sounds like good news. What’s the ‘and’?”

“Well, I told them about you, since you’re my best friend, and... they somehow got the idea that we were dating?” she squeaked.

I blinked. That hadn’t been what I expected. “And here I thought you might be trying to escape them during the break,” I said after a moment.

“That isn’t the worst idea, but no. They, um.” Holly had one of those moments she sometimes had, where I could have sworn she was blushing heavily, but her face was perfectly composed a moment later. “They want to meet you - to have you over for dinner.”

I propped my chin up on a hand. “You told them that we aren’t dating, right? I mean, I do realize what it looks like when we sit under a tree and you rub my feet, but whatever Simone says about us...”

“I tried to tell them that, but father just winked and said ‘I understand’, and mother keeps talking about how she’d need to approve of anyone I spend so much time with...” She sighed. “I’m sorry to ask, but...”

“Are you asking me to pretend to be your partner and meet your parents?”

“...yes. It’s. Well. I, um, I kind of tend to fold if I’m facing them alone, as it turns out that hasn’t changed, and I would appreciate it you would - um. I don’t know. I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry. Just forg-” she babbled.

I leaned forward to take her hands in mine, silencing her. “Holly. Would this be helpful for you? Would having me there to support you help you confront your parents?” I hadn’t missed her mention of folding when she faced them alone, and I had a suspicion that the attempted confrontation hadn’t gone well, even if Holly claimed otherwise.

“...yes,” she whispered.

“Then I’ll be there,” I promised.