Disclaimer: Daria and all related characters are the property of MTV and Viacom productions.

Note: This is the next in the Submariner Series, ....it takes place two years after "The Old and the New".


The Other Side of Things
By
Wildgoose



The scene is dimly lit, ....there is an almost eerie green glow being emitted from a chemical light stick that is being suspended from a piece of seaweed nearby. In the background, the floor is seen to be littered with large boxes containing light sticks of varying color and size, each box displaying the name of the fishing troller it came from. Panning around,.... the controls of a cold war era submarine line the consoles and walls of the conning tower. The POV pans further to the left until it comes to focus on a laminated map of the Atlantic ocean with all of the corresponding continents about it, the map has been marked with a water proof marker that had been found nearby. The marks were lines originating at the present location to various destinations located within a small area of the coast. The POV zooms in a little closer to that section of the map bringing the small letters spelling out the name New Hampshire into view. After pulling back again a hand can be seen a little off to the left holding a wallet size photograph of four people. They appear to be standing on a wooden dock behind a house that stands on the shore line of a marshy area or tidal waterway. The hand brings the photo farther into view as if to compare it to the map and all of it's markings somehow. Another hand comes into view with a waterproof marker and is about to draw a line to the next destination when a small parrotfish swims into view and the hand moves to swat it away before making it's mark on the map. (The scene fades to black)

(Cut to Daria's home sometime around midday on a Saturday afternoon. The front door swings wide and bangs against the wall behind it just before Quinn, who is sitting in a wheel chair, rolls herself in with Daria and Trent close behind her.) (1)

Quinn: (scowls) I TOLD you, ....I can get the door myself. I'm not a freaking cripple you know.

Trent: Um actually.........(He is cut off by Daria before he is able to stick his foot in his mouth)

Daria: No insult intended, Trent. But quit while you're ahead. (Trent looks hurt at this) Look Quinn, ....we all know you're completely independent. (Vo) Or at least you'd like to think you are, all evidence to the contrary. Otherwise Joey wouldn't have asked us to look after you while he's out of town. (Out loud) But would it hurt to let others help you out once in a while? After all, ...I AM your sister. Or are we going back to the cousin thing as long as you're pouting again about being in a wheelchair?

Quinn: (tries not to show how deeply Daria had just cut her by trying to calm down a bit) I am NOT pouting, .....but I can't help it if I'm still upset. How would YOU like to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, .....stupid spinal tumor. Why couldn't they have just nuked the damned thing or even given me chemo? All things considered, I think I would rather have lost my hair than the use of my legs.

Trent: (VO) Oh MAN, .......here we go again.

Daria: (annoyed) HEY, .......now you listen to me. We ALL know how much you've lost, we're doing the best we can to relate so we can be more supportive. But dammit, .....it was either this or DEATH! Now which would you have preferred, .....and if you say death I'm going to bitch slap you.

Quinn: (looks down into her lap as if she wants to cry) I'm sorry, Daria. I just can't help it sometimes, .....I feel so helpless. All the things I used to take for granted, ....I can never do again.

Daria: (takes on a more sympathetic look towards her sister as it appears that Quinn is thinking more rationally at this point) Look, .......I know how much you loved to fly. It was as if you had found your true talent in life, .....you know. As opposed to co-ordinating your wardrobe to match your dates and the place you were going out to like you used to do back in high school. It was a duty as a member of the fashion club, ....remember those guys? (Quinn laughs nervously)

Quinn: God, ....I was a stuck up little nightmare back then. (Trent gestures to Daria that he's going to head into the other room to leave them alone and then does so)

Daria: (shuts the front door behind her) Yes, ....you were. But you came around, ...and that's what makes all the difference.

Quinn: Actually, .....I think it was getting drafted that made all of the difference. The navy just grabbed me out of my selfish little world, tossed me into boot despite my objections and refusal to participate at first, and then tossed me into flight school because they were short on pilots.

Daria: (moves over to the couch and takes a seat as Quinn wheels herself over across from her) Yea well, .....as far as I was concerned you got the quality end of the stick. At least through that you found something that you loved to do. Me, .....I got shoved into driving special forces teams into the jaws of hostile territory and then later got shoved into a huge tin can that was deigned to sink halfway to the bottom for months on end thus cutting me off from the world. (2)

Quinn: Are you sure it was the world that you hated being cut off from?

Daria: Ok, ....my family. There you dragged it out of me, ...congratulations.

Quinn: Well, ....at least I won with you at something.

Daria: Hey, ....lets not let that go to your head. You've still got a lifetime of catching up to do if you want to get ahead of me on that little game. Anyway, ....I at least THINK you still loved to fly, .....you sort of stopped talking about your little corner of life a few years back. And I'm certain there are things you're not telling me, Quinn. I'm just not certain why.

Quinn: (smiles weakly) Some burdens are my own to bear, Daria. It's not something I'm content to discuss at the moment.

Daria: I understand, ....but you could at least talk to the kids about what you used to do. I think they're getting just a little tired of my sub stories, .....and I'm not about to tell them about the assignments I had before that time. They don't even know that you were in the military, .....I just never said anything because YOU didn't and they never asked.

Quinn: Then that's something we have in common, Daria. Neither of us finds any comfort at all in the fact that we were forced to blow people up for a living. That's one thing I definitely learned from you, ....to stand up for those principles I truly believed in.

Daria: That's flattering Quinn, ....but backtracking a little. There's a difference, .....I had to look at the people I shot at. You just dropped bombs and missiles from the air, ...never having to see those that died.

Quinn: I never engaged in cold blood, Daria. Only in self defense, ....which got me into a lot of trouble. And I did see them, .....every time I was presented with the damage assessment. And it's burned into my mind so much that sometimes I can't sleep at night. (In the background Jane is heard barreling down the stairs)

Jane: Hey aunt Quinn, I thought I heard you come in the door. Who can't sleep?

Quinn: (quickly covers) Oh uh, ......nothing. I'm just having trouble with occasional insomnia, .....nothing to worry yourself about.

Jane: Sorry to hear that, ....try warm milk before bed. It works like a charm for me.

Quinn: I'll try to keep that in mind. (Jane gives Quinn a hug from behind and then walks into the kitchen) Did you ever tell them what I used to be like back in high school?

Daria: Hell yes, ......I had to tantalize them with SOMETHING about their aunts past. Since you don't like to talk about the rest of it and all. BUT, ........they refuse to believe me citing that nobody could ever be THAT self absorbed without somebody trying to kill them for it. I guess they're just going to have to hear it direct from the horses mouth.

Quinn: (smirks) YOU tried, ...as I recall.

Daria: (scowls) I did NOT try to kill you, Quinn.

Quinn: Then what did you call trying to shove that web software up my rear end? That hurt enough that I THOUGHT I was going to die.

Daria: (swats at the air) Oh for gods sake, Quinn. That was only when the proctologist tried to remove the CD in one piece. I TOLD you to find somebody more competent, .....but would you listen? Oh NO!

Quinn: (sighs) No doubt you and your sister in law have many a laugh at my expense regarding that little incident.

Daria: At least you stopped calling Jane "the weird girl".

Quinn: (shrugs) The world changes Daria, ....and so we have to change with it.

Daria: You know if this was twenty or thirty years ago I would have demanded to know who you really were and what you had done with my sister. (Shakes her head) You've changed by leaps and bounds, Quinn. I have to hand you that. But I'm also forced to notice that you're still pretty depressed over something. I'm certain that it's not just the wheel chair, .....but I can't seem to figure out what else it could be. If you would just talk about the past more than maybe I could help.........

Quinn: (smacks her fist on the arm of the wheelchair) What bothers me is my own damned business, Daria!! (Daria looks hurt and then irritated before getting up to walk away from Quinn towards the kitchen) Daria, ....wait....... (Daria pauses and turns about to face Quinn again) I'm sorry,.......It's just something that I have to sort out myself. Please understand......

Daria: (Crosses her arms over her chest) I'd understand if you would just let me into your head to take a peak. Whatever is in there, I'm sure I can relate to it if you'll let me try.

Quinn: (looks saddened) Daria, ....you're a lot wiser and you have far more than I could have ever hoped for myself. But there are just some things you .........you wouldn't want to relate to. It's just,.... some things are meant to be dealt with alone.

Daria: Well, ...whatever. But before I forget, ....(Daria pulls an envelope out of her back pocket) Joey asked me to give this to you. He said that this letter's been floating around the house for a couple of years now and if you don't open it then he's going to toss it and get it out of the way. (Quinn takes it from Daria without so much as a word and turns away and wheels herself through the kitchen, over the back deck and down the access ramp onto the dock in the back of the house. Only to stop and stare at the water for a while before striking up a conversation with Amy who has been out there fishing for the past few hours)

Daria: (shakes her head and is about to follow Quinn in refusal to simply drop the previous matter that disturbed her sister so deeply, when without warning the doorbell rings) What the hell? (Daria gets up off the couch to open the front door and upon doing so is greeted by an all too familiar smirk)

Jane Lane: Como esta` amiga, ......que` pasa? A little birdie told me that your sister has been dumped on you once again.

Daria: (pushes Jane farther back from the door as she comes outside herself and shuts the door behind her) What are you psychic or something? I never told you about that, .....I didn't even know myself until last night. And sound travels you know, ....so keep it down a bit.

Jane Lane: Princess grace in a pouting mood again? (Daria nods)

Daria: (sighs and then smiles) You're never going to let go of that little nom de'geure,.... are you?

Jane Lane: I hadn't made any plans otherwise, ....so not bloody likely. So what's she bitching about today? Her legs once again?

Daria: She started to,.....but then she started to hint at something somewhat deeper. Something I "couldn't relate to".

Jane Lane: ( Appears to be deep in thought for several minutes as she studies Daria's facial expressions in attempt to discover what was going through her mind at the moment) Sounds like work history if you ask me. We've all had our nasty little jobs to do along the way.

Daria: (scoffs) I see your mind reading abilities are improving, .....you just quoted my thoughts verbatim. (Jane, in mockery of Daria's comments, places her index fingers to her temples and closes her eyes)

Jane Lane: And now I am sensing that you are hungry, .....the image of a slice of pizza keeps popping into my thoughts. You desire high cholesterol, ......no?

Daria: No, .....that's just me superimposing my will onto your psyche for the purpose of driving you to insanity. Or to make you think that you're Italian, .....either one will work for me.

Jane Lane: You've got plans for me to be the beginnings of your own little mafia organization, do you?

Daria: You'll never find out until it's too late so don't even worry about it.

Jane Lane: Don't you mean "fo'get ‘bout it? (Daria rolls her eyes and invites Jane into the house so they could order for delivery)

(Cut to the end of the dock, .....Amy is still fishing as she occasionally carries out fragmented conversations with her aunt when she removes her earphones to listen to what Quinn had to say.)

Amy: So aunt Quinn, .....how come you never tell stories about your past the way mom does? Jane was telling me a little while ago that she overheard that you were in the military just like mom was. How come you never told us that before? I had always wondered what you used to do for a living.

Quinn: (looks down at the water for a moment as the wake from a passing boat passes underneath the dock) Your sister talks too much, Amy.

Amy: That's not such a big deal, ....everybody does that once in a while. Even me! So what branch, ....army, navy, marines, air force? Where you a SEAL or something and everything's classified forbidding you from talking about it?

Quinn: (scowls) You're enjoying this aren't you.

Amy: Immensely, ....so give already. (Quinn says nothing) Oh come on, ....is some of this really personal or something? Mom doesn't tell us everything about what she used to do for that reason. I can be your confidant you know, ....I know how to keep my trap shut.

Quinn: (snaps) I don't talk to your mother about it,......what makes you so special? (Amy looks extremely hurt and gets up to walk away) Amy..................................I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to come out like that. (Amy pauses and then sits back down. A long moment of silence passes before Quinn speaks again ) I was a naval pilot, ....that's what I did for a living.

Amy: AWESOME, .....That must have been the coolest job in the world. I mean, ....I've seen all of those documentaries and they make it look like such an adventure.

Quinn: (sighs deeply) It wasn't all peaches like Tv makes it out to be,....but it did have it's moments. And it had a LOT of pitfalls. (A tear comes to her eye) Throughout my career, .....I had only this one friend. I don't think I would have made it if it weren't for her, ....I felt like such an outcast. In fact, .....for once in my life I knew exactly how your mother felt as she was growing up.

Amy: Mom was an OUTCAST? Damn, ......I'd have never have guessed.

Quinn: For being a "brain". Go figure, huh?

Amy: (smiles) Like mother like daughters I guess. So what about you?

Quinn: I was smart in my own right, ....but I was too absorbed in my own popularity to realize it at first. I was a member of the fashion club in high school.

Amy: (holds her fingers up to form a cross) YOU were a FASHIONISTA??????? Jesus, ......those people are all ASSHOLES!!!!!

Quinn: As you can see, ......I've changed a lot since then.

Amy: If you were anything like THOSE people then that's putting it LIGHTLY.

Quinn: Hey, .....you wanted me to open up so you'd better listen because none of this is going to be repeated. (Amy settles on one of the dock pilings in preparation of a long story) I wasn't very well liked during the course of my career, .....basically because I had a tendency to question the morality of firing on a target that had not provoked me first. (The scene dissolves to the past, ....the scene is that of a pilots briefing room aboard the aircraft carrier USS KittyHawk, .....other pilots are seen filing in a few at a time. Amongst them is a rather uneasy lieutenant by the name of Quinn White, ....who after looking for an available seat takes the only one remaining in the back of the room. After ten minutes or so a lieutenant commander enters the room and takes a position behind the podium up towards the very front)

Lt. Commander: Okay people listen up, ....we've got a new face among us. I'd like to introduce Lt. Quinn White, (he motions for Quinn to stand and she does so) she'll be our newest Hornet driver. We'll take a moment for her to tell us a bit about herself.

Quinn: Um....hi..... (the other pilots cut her off)

Pilots: (in unison) SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!! (Quinn meekly sits back down as the commander chuckles to himself.)

Lt. Commander: Relax lieutenant, .....that's how they initiate everybody. But just in case you didn't hear it already, .....we're the three hundred and second attack group. Also known as the "Wild Weasels", ...since that's what we specialize in. (Quinn looks slightly confused, something that the Lt. Commander picks up on but doesn't make public) I'm going to assign Lieutenant Nickleby as your wing man, .....she'll bring you up to speed for tomorrow's briefing which will occur at zero eight hundred hours. In the mean time just listen in and you'll learn our tactics in no time. (The commander dims the lights and begins the briefing by projecting a picture onto the wall behind him of a map with circles marked to show the location of several SAM sights located along the shores of the Black sea. The scene dissolves back to reality as Daria's voice can be heard calling to Amy in background)

Daria: Amy, ......some books came for you in the mail. Go put them away before you forget about them and they end up abandoned on the book shelf in the garage.

Amy: (rolls her eyes and calls back towards the house) Mom, ....I'm kind of in the middle of something here. Can you put them in my room for me?

Daria: What do I look like a maid to you? You ordered the things so you can put them away, .....I have things to do myself you know.

Amy: (sighs) I'll be right back, aunt Quinn. (Amy gets up off the piling and prepares to run up the dock and into the house)

Quinn: Amy, .....could you leave your tape player? I have something I want to listen to.

Amy: (removes the walkman and hands it to Quinn) Sure, ....I'll be right back.

Quinn: (sighs and looks down at the water beneath the dock) No you won't, ......I doubt you thought what I had to say was very interesting. (Beat) So much for trying to open up to somebody. (Quinn opens the envelope that Daria had given her knowing full well what was inside. She placed the tape inside the walkman, slipped on the headphones and began to listen) Okay old friend, ....let's get this over with. (After a moment a woman's voice long since familiar to Quinn comes over the headphones)

Woman: Hey Purse, ........it's the crap end of the stick making this tape and all but in our line of work you never can tell how things are going to end. So I'll get to the point, ....chances are that if you're listening to this tape then something has happened to me and I've died. I don't know how it happened but I know this, ....you did whatever you could to prevent it. Another thing I know all too well is that you're probably blaming yourself for it somehow. We were like our own little family, you and I. There was never a place we didn't go together, ....and you were always there to back me up just as I was for you. But that's come to an end apparently and like I said, ....you probably think it's your fault. Well guess what, .....unless you somehow pulled the trigger yourself, It's not. So you need to get over it or you're going to torture the living hell out of yourself. Get on with your life, ....pop out a dozen kids or something. I don't give a rats hairy ass what the doctors say. Oh and one more thing, ......I win the bet. And if I were still alive you'd owe me fifty bucks. Well, ....happy contrails old friend and keep on flying for me. That's where you and I were always happiest, ....in the skies where we were free. (The tape ends and Quinn hits the stop button and begins to stare at the water )

(Cut to the living room of the house where Daria, who is holding the days mail, is standing next to Jane Lane)

Amy: Hey aunt Jane, ....what's up?

Jane Lane: The sky, ....that's about it right now. (Jane smirks)

Daria: (Hands Amy her books one at a time making note of the titles as she hands them over) "Advanced Sign linguistics and interpretation"....? "The art of interpreting body language"? What the hell are you studying at that school of yours?

Amy: It's nothing to do with school, ....it's just sort of a personal hobby I've taken up.

Jane Lane: A hobby that involves being some sort of translator perhaps? (Grins evilly) By chance have you met some new guy and he just happens to be deaf or something?

Amy: (frowns) No, ......John and I are still together. Jeez ....mom's right, you DO like to meddle. (Jane Lane turns to Daria and gives her an appalled look before giving Daria a light punch in the arm)

Daria: (Rubs her shoulder and grins at her friend) Well you DO. And you've BEEN doing it for as long as we've known each other.

Jane Lane: Well, ...it's worked SO far hasn't it? (Daria just shakes her head and then gestures for Amy to go put her books away. After a moment Amy takes the hint and disappears up the stairs. (Cut to Amy's room as she's putting the books on the shelf,...the scene zooms in on the shelf to show the other books next to the new ones. Some of their titles are "Basic Sign Language", "Pictorial interpretations", and "Intermediate Sign". The scene cuts to the dock where Quinn is still sitting in her chair staring at the water, the scene zooms closer and then dissolves as she reminisces on the past)

(The scene is a narrow hallway composed completely of metal, ....numerous pipes line the ceiling and it is necessary to walk though a hatch in the center of a bulkhead about every thirty feet or so. Two women are walking down the hallway almost side by side but one slightly in front of the other so as to leave enough room for others to pass in the other direction. The taller of the two women, ....wears her black hair in a short standard military women's cut. She is thin but has a noticeable musculature enough so that she doesn't appear to be a toothpick. The other woman is a slightly shorter read head who while still wearing her hair longer, it's tied back tightly so as not to get in the way at any time. )

Quinn: So, ........I guess we're stuck together huh?

Woman: That about spells it out, ......and my names Kathryn Nickleby. As opposed to Lieutenant, ....being as we're of equal rank and all. (She opens a manilla folder containing Quinn's file and begins to read) So how did you get transferred to iron hand duty?

Quinn: The "wild weasel" thing you mean, ...right? (Kathryn looks at Quinn like she's pathetic and nods) Conflict of interest, .....I guess you could say.

Kathryn: Really, .....you're file says you had an issue of morality.

Quinn: That's another way you could put it, I guess. I refused to engage targets that had not provoked me first, .....on the grounds that I feel that killing in cold blood for the sake of ANYBODY is not justifiable. That and the thoughts of civilian casualties haunt me every time I go out.

Kathryn: (reads further into the file) You've only been on fifteen sorties before being transferred over to this squadron. DAMN, ......they must REALLY not have liked you.

Quinn: Nobody wanted to fly with me, .....they felt that I was more hazardous than their opponents. All because I refuse to be the one to start a fight.

Kathryn: (smirks) I can't imagine how that would make them feel uncomfortable. So what if you lose a couple of people along the way, ....you've got to stand up for your principals right? (Beat) That was a joke, ....you can laugh now.

Quinn: (frowns) It WASN'T funny, ....I don't want people to die BECAUSE of me either.

Kathryn: Hmm, ....kind of a tough dilemma you've got going. Which is more acceptable, .....firing on a potentially hostile target that has not yet fired on you, ....OR getting your wing man killed BECAUSE you refused to fire on said target.

Quinn: You're not helping me here.

Kathryn: I can see why they chose to stick you with us, .....it's a duty that actually satisfies your moral issues. And it risks no one else's life but your own.

Quinn: How do you mean?

Kathryn: On iron hand duty it's actually your job to wait until they fire first, ....that way you're painted with a radar beam that the HARM missile needs to guide itself to the target and take it out. The down side is that while YOU'RE busy trying to get the target to paint you, ....THEY'RE busy shooting at you. (Beat) Anyway, ..we work in teams of two aircraft, ....ones the bait who draws them out and gets them to engage their radar. The other is responsible for locking onto the source of the radar and taking it out.

Quinn: Soooo......which of us is the bait? (Kathryn raises an eyebrow in amusement) Right, .....stupid question.

Kathryn: There's just three critical rules you need to remember. Number one, .....don't get dead. Number two, ....don't get ME dead. And number three, ...and this is the most important of all. DON'T get me DEAD! Or I'm gonna come back and haunt your ass. (Quinn chuckles nervously as they arrive at Quinn's new quarters) We can talk inside if you like. (They enter before Quinn can respond. Once inside the door is shut and Kathryn takes a seat on a nearby chair while Quinn sits on her bunk) So what's your call sign?

Quinn: Um.....I don't really have one. (Kathryn looks astonished) Well, .....not one I'd choose to be known, anyway. (Kathryn places her chin in the palm of her hand and waits to hear this) The guys back in my old squadron used to call me..........................toe tag. (Kathryn erupts in laughter) Because they said I was bound to end up KIA sooner or later.

Kathryn: Well, .....that's not really gonna do now is it. We've got to come up with something better that can stick. That last one can be considered just a bit unlucky. (Quinn chuckles nervously as Kathryn looks about the room) Purse, ......that's your new call sign.

Quinn: (scowls) Why Purse?

Kathryn: (points to Quinn's wash area where she had several items of makeup) Because that's where all this crap belongs, ......in a purse.....at HOME. I think you're about the only woman on board who actually can get away with wearing lipstick on duty. PINK lipstick I might add.

Quinn: Old habits die hard I guess. But there's nothing wrong with doing your job and still looking just a little bit pretty while doing it. (Looks Kathryn over) In fact I could probably help you out a little bit if you want. Not that you could really put any of my tips to use on the ship, ....but maybe if you go on shore leave or something.

Kathryn: (chuckles) That's okay, ....I've never really been into the whole makeup thing. And by the way, .....most people around here call me Raider. (Cocks an eyebrow in hint)

Quinn: (Sighs) Ok I get the hint, ....Purse it is. It at least beats that other one. (Beat) Raider huh, .....how'd you pick up THAT name?

Kathryn: (smirks) Dunno, .....just sort of did I guess.

Quinn: Not going to tell me, huh?

Kathryn: Hmm, .....not JUST yet. I want to see if you can survive the first few months of dealing with me day in and day out. I tend to go through wing men rather quickly.

Quinn: What, ....you're hard on them or something?

Kathryn: Hell no, ....they were all just too stupid to know when they should listen to me. They all thought they knew everything, .....until they got shot down that is. I've been at this game for a good long time,....so I pretty much know what I'm doing. And you'd be wise to listen to me when we're up there. (Quinn nods in agreement. At this point Kathryn stands up and extends her hand to shake) I look forward to working with you. I'll schedule a "break in" hop at zero nine hundred hours, ....and you can show me what you've got. (Quinn shakes hands and the scene dissolves to the present, ....Quinn is still sitting in her chair at the edge of the dock while staring at the water. A breeze kicks up past Quinn blowing her long red hair off to the left of her causing her to sigh in thought)

Quinn: I miss you Raider.......

(Cut to the inside of the house, ....Amy is still sorting through her collection of books as others she had forgotten about have caught her attention away from what she had been doing recently. Jane is busy hanging around her mother and her aunt Jane as they converse about this, that, and the other thing.)

Jane Lane: (as she sits on the couch with her legs crossed) I wish the pizza guy would hurry the hell up, .....does he always take this long?

Daria: Usually, .....they always seem to have a hard time finding this place. Even though they've been here about half a billion times, ....thanks to the kids that is.

Jane: Hey, ....it's what we're here for.

Jane Lane: To sleep, ...crap, ..and consume everything in sight. Yea, .....that about sounds like what kids are here for today.

Daria: We weren't exactly any different when WE were kids you know.

Jane Lane: Sure we were, .....for one thing I at least created ART when I wasn't eating or on the porcelain pony. As opposed to Trent who didn't even wake up to eat half the time.

Jane: Was dad REALLY as narcoleptic as you guys say he was? Or is this just something to warp our minds with so we'll be afraid to let him drive us anywhere? (Jane Lane and Daria exchange looks)

Daria: I'd have to go with both on that one.

Jane Lane: Yea, ....your father HAS been known to nod off while at the wheel. You should have seen him when he was a little older than you, ....he was the scruffiest, most wiry guy you ever met with a dream that just could not be realized.

Jane: Because the bombs dropped, ...right?

Jane Lane: Yea well, ....there was that too. But for the most part he was hopeless anyway. That is until your mom here finally got the hints I'd been dropping for god knows how long and got their combined ass's into gear.

Jane: You mean they became more responsible?

Jane Lane: No, ....I mean they got their ass's into gear.....literally. Towards the back of the fallout shelter......where it was dark.......but we could still HEAR them. (Daria scowls at Jane and then punches her in the arm)

Daria: Don't tell her about that, ....and we were NOT loud.

Jane Lane: I beg to differ, ....I can repeat verbatim some of the things you said in the moment of passion. Shall I....... (Jane looks to begin drooling over what she thinks she's about to hear)

Daria: (cuts Jane Lane off) NO, .......you shall do nothing of the sort. Or I'll be forced to play back some of the shipboard laundry room encounters between you and a few crew members that I just HAPPEN to have caught on tape.

Jane Lane: (appalled) You were SPYING on me?

Daria: Hey I had nothing better to do, ....besides you weren't exactly discrete. I'd come down to check on my clothes and oh LOOK, ....there's your rear end bobbing up and down on some guys johnson. (Jane is about to return fire when she and Daria turn to notice how entertained Daria's daughter has become.) And............we can change the subject now.

Jane Lane: Perhaps that might be for the best.

Jane: AWWWWW, ...come on. This was just getting good!

Daria and Jane Lane: (in unison) Exactly!!

Daria: Now go find something else to do in the meantime. (Jane plods off towards the kitchen with a sullen look on her face. Jane Lane turns to face Daria again)

Jane Lane: Was my butt REALLY bobbing up and down like you say? (Daria tries not to laugh)

Daria; So what else did you want to talk about? (The doorbell rings) Damn, ...hold that thought for a second.

Jane Lane: I've been holding my thoughts for years, ....why do you think I've been so successful at avoiding becoming Kevin and Brittany? (Daria in the background pays the pizza guy at the door and then returns with two pies in hand)

Daria: (sighs) Yea well, ...for one thing the fallout from Y2K didn't cause YOU to develop a glandular disorder that caused YOU to blow up like a balloon. THAT'S how you avoided becoming Brittany. That and you have a lot less air in your head, ......it managed to keep you delicately balanced so you don't float away.

Jane Lane: (scoffs) It was such a shocker to hear that when she fell that last time, her own weight crushed her lungs. What a horrible way to die, .....couldn't she have at least taken a guy out while she was at it? At least he would have died happy, ....especially if she had fallen face down on top of the guy. With all that weight she gained they were at LEAST three times what they were in high school.

Daria: (smirks) I can picture the newspaper headline, ...."Man crushed by giant breasts. Body recovered with smile stuck on face." (Jane Laughs)

Jane Lane: So as long as we're on the subject, .....in what way have I avoided becoming like KEVIN? Just so I can have the indulgence of hearing your most witty response. (Daria ponders this for a moment)

Daria: You didn't trip over your own shoelaces during a professional football game causing the cartilage in your nose to break upon hitting the ground thereby shoving said cartilage up into the brain killing you instantly.

Jane Lane: (shakes her head) I saw that game too, .....they'd have WON that super bowl if Kevin had waited five more yards before tripping. What a bummer for the Sentinels, Huh?

Daria: Some of the guys back on the sub thought so, .....a bunch of die hard red neck sports nuts that last crew was. (There is a long pause as Daria takes a moment to inhale the steaming aroma of the pizza in her hands.) Quinn's probably hungry..... (Daria turns to head into the kitchen)

Jane Lane: Hey Daria, ......she's not the only one who's changed over the years you know.

Daria: (stops to look her friend in the eye) How so...?

Jane Lane: You actually give a crap about each other now, .......as opposed to when you used to hate each others guts and did whatever you could to avoid each other. It's a good thing, .....it just sucks that it took what it did to bring the two of you around. (Daria smiles and then continues into the kitchen to put the pizza on the table. She then heads out onto the dock in the back to inform Quinn that lunch is ready)

(Cut to the edge of the dock, .....Quinn is still sitting there as the clunk of Daria's boots against the wooden planks is heard approaching.)

Daria: (Sits on a wooden piling next to Quinn and studies her for a moment) So.........what's new since we talked last?

Quinn: (turns in her chair to look at her sister) I was talking to Amy about the past.

Daria: REALLY...? What happened to some things are just meant to be dealt with alone?

Quinn: She pried and promised to keep it to herself, ....and I felt the sudden urge to talk anyway. So I talked a little.......

Daria: And...?

Quinn: And then you called her inside to put some books away and I haven't seen her since. I guess she just forgot about me, .....like I thought she would.


Daria: (VO) Damn........ (Out loud) I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose, ....you know how teenagers are. The second something catches their attention........... (Beat) So......any chance you might want to talk to me instead?

Quinn: (sighs) Maybe a little bit later, ...... I'm just collecting my thoughts at the moment.

Daria: (reluctantly decides to accept the answer) Alright then, ......but in the mean time we've got some pizza on the table for lunch if you want it.

Quinn: (smiles) Yea, .....I'm hungry. Thanks Daria. (Quinn grabs Daria's hand and holds it for just a moment. This makes Daria feel rather awkward as this is something she and her sister have NEVER done, ....even under the worst of conditions.) I hate this chair Daria, ......I feel like only half the person I once was.

Daria: ( Daria tries to choke back a tear) If I could get you out of it, .....I would. (clears her throat) So, .....lets go eat before My good friend Jane Lane catches us bonding. Otherwise NEITHER of us will ever hear the end of it. (She waits for her sister to turn her chair around and then proceeds to walk behind her as Quinn wheels herself up the dock ramp onto the deck and then into the house. As Daria walks behind her sister she finds herself being thankful that she's pushed Trent into making the accessibility modifications on the house. Daria thought it strange how in the past she would have thought the world of watching her sister struggle or suffer a hardship just to see her sister get her just deserts. But that was Quinn of the past, .....a person who had the plug pulled on her the day she found out she had a cancerous tumor in her spine. A side of Quinn's personality that had been dead and buried ever since.)

(Cut to the somewhere in the middle of the bay, .....approximately three miles from Daria's present location. The water is calm with the exception of an occasional motor boat disturbing the serene waters of the bay. The POV snaps to just under water where visibility is low and a patch of drifting seaweed floats in and out of view for a matter of seconds. The visible light becomes brighter as the POV breaks the surface and the surrounding water appears to drop in height about half a foot. The POV pans slowly about one hundred eighty degrees in either direction before suddenly ducking below the water again to avoid a passing boat. The POV, still under water, looks up at the churning froth created by the boats propeller as it motors away at whales pace. The POV returns to the surface and again begins to look about, stopping to notice in the distance what seemed like one or two miles away, almost too faint to view with the naked eye, is the entrance to a small waterway.)

(Cut to the interior of Daria's home, .....Jane and Amy are busy talking up a storm with each other about the goings on of their personal lives now that they each had one, some of which Daria wished she couldn't hear. As some of the topics dealt with the issue of her daughters and sex. Daria knew that Jane and Allen had been intimate with each other and she took solace in the fact that Jane had been comfortable enough to come to her about it. She just wished that Jane had come to her about it BEFORE they went through with it rather than the day after. Never the less, Daria was relieved that Jane was responsible enough to think about contraception. Amy on the other hand was not so experienced in such matters to Daria's relief. She was two years into her relationship with John and so far they had not yet gone the distance with each other. While all of this was going on Daria and Jane Lane watched from their stools at the counter as there was not room for everybody at the kitchen table. Trent as usual just scarfed his food, belched, and then got up to give Daria a peck on the cheek before heading back to work. It was so convenient being the owner of a small business, ....it meant one could always set ones own hours. Quinn, even though she sat at the table with the others, was a different story all together. She just sat there quietly in her chair, ....occasionally taking a bite out of her food, and then staring at it for a while before taking her next bite. The kids, though genuinely concerned for their aunts well being, were at this moment more concerned with their own personal lives and the functions therein. It seemed to single Quinn out from everything else, .....everything else just seemed to flow.....and then there just sitting out of the loop, maybe trying not to be noticed, was Quinn. Daria found herself actually taking a step back and for the first time seeing herself in Quinn)

Daria: (VO) My god, .......was I really like that in high school? (Quinn finished her pizza and then rolled herself away from the table and out the door towards the dock again. Daria glanced over at Jane Lane who appeared to be thinking the same thing she was. Jane jutted her eyes towards Quinn and then came back to focus on Daria, ....a gesture concurring what Daria was feeling. She pulled herself off of her stool at the counter and began to follow Quinn out to the dock being careful not to catch up until Quinn had come to a stop at the end.) A penny for your thoughts...?

Quinn: (rolled herself around to face Daria in surprise and then spoke in a quinnesqe manner) You're FOLLOWING me......

Daria: (in order to complete the joke she responds in kind) We go to the same school. (Daria smiles as this actually gets Quinn to laugh a little bit.)

Quinn: I'm sorry I was such a pain in the ass when we were growing up, Daria.

Daria: It's cool, ....it's all about making the memories. If you can't look back and laugh at yourself then chances are, ....you led a pretty freaking dull life that not even a dead person would be envious of.

Quinn: Do you still want to talk about what's bugging me?

Daria: Well, ......since you've got me out here already. I mean the only other place I could go to get away would be the water, right? (Quinn stares at Daria inquisitively) Oh come on, ....I was trying to be supportive.

Quinn: When I was in the navy, ......I had just this one friend. She was my BEST friend in the whole world, .....I could tell her anything. We flew side by side, ....covered each others ass's, ....occasionally backed each other up in a bar fight while on shore leave........

Daria: (almost falls of he piling she was sitting on) YOU got into BAR fights? YOU....................................? The person who deemed dragging a cardboard box to the curb as inhuman manual labor?

Quinn: I never started them, ......Kathryn sometimes did. When she got drunk or if some guy wouldn't get the hell away from me.

Daria: Kathryn's your friend then?

Quinn: Yea, ....she was always there looking out for me.

Daria: Sounds like she was pretty cool, .....so what happened?

Quinn: I killed her...... (Daria's jaw drops nearly to the dock planks)

Daria: What..........how?

Quinn: It was a mistake, ......I mean...I didn't kill her myself as so much I got her killed. I broke the second and third rules of our relationship.

Daria: (VO) The second and third rules? (Out loud) How did this happen?

Quinn: It happened about three years ago........ (The scene fades and comes back up over the Black sea. Two F/A-18G hornets are seen flying side by side at an altitude of about five thousand feet. Each is armed with two sidewinders, multiple HARM missiles, and a compliment of retarded five hundred pound bombs.)

Kathryn: (As the coast of one of the Soviet independent states passes beneath, she calls into the comm piece embedded within her mask) Eagle control, this is ghost riders one and two. Feet dry....

Eagle control: Copy feet dry, .....good hunting ladies.

Kathryn: Hey Purse, ....say your fuel status.

Quinn: About sixteen thousand pounds, .....the gauge hasn't budged a whole lot since our last refueling.

Kathryn: You've got to love these new engines the crew installed for us, .....more mileage and power for less gas. (Looks down at her terrain following radar) We're about seventy five miles from our next turn point, ....prepare to check fifteen degrees left. ( Several moments pass and then they make their turn) One hundred fifty miles to the next turn point.

Quinn: Raider, ......have you ever thought about what you might do once we finally get stateside and on with our lives? I mean, ....you and I are well beyond the draft point. And re enlistment is coming up within the year for me. I was debating wether to bail from the military.

Kathryn: (laughs) What's to debate, .....you hate this job. You could probably go home and have a dozen or so kids and start a whole new life. Me........I don't have anybody to go home to. Most of my family is way out of touch, ......and no guys can stand to stick around me long enough to make a commitment. Nope, ....the navy's the only family I've got now.

Quinn: I can't have kids, Raider. (Kathryn looks over at Quinn in sympathy)

Kathryn: Damn,.....you too huh? (Beat) Ah the hell with what the doctors say, ....you and that husband of yours will pop one out sooner or later. You just wait and see. But like I said, ....what's to debate? You hate the job and you have family at home, ....so bail.

Quinn: But I love to fly, .....and I have a natural talent for it.

Kathryn: That you do Purse, I've never known anyone who can evade incoming fire as good as you can.

Quinn: That's not talent, .....that's saving my own ass.

Kathryn: It still falls under talent since you're still alive. But you've got people at home who care about you, .....they're more of a life than this is. I'll tell you what though, ....it's only a matter of time before I get to old and they send me stateside anyway. So maybe some time I'll look you up and you can show me how to make myself pretty enough to actually catch a guy, ....what do you say?

Quinn: Let me co-ordinate and replace your wardrobe as needed and you've got a deal. (Kathryn laughs)

Kathryn: If you do decide to go stateside, .....do me one thing. Give some of my mermaid drawings to your sister's kids, ...or your own if you ever have any. Kids need a little magic in their lives now and again and it all seems to have disappeared from the world. Hell, ....life's magic has made me what I am today.

Quinn: Raider, .....you STILL think they exist? They're just a myth told by drunk old sailors, ...nothing more.

Kathryn: I'll put a fifty spot on it, ......they exist! If you can prove definitely that they don't then you win.

Quinn: Count me in on that one. I could use some extra cash. (An alarm begins to sound within the cockpit and as Quinn looks down at her console the threat indicator has lit up and is showing that she has been painted by radar originating from the southeast)

Kathryn: (clips her mask to her helmet) Triple A, ......there's a ZSU down there somewhere. And we thought this was just going to be another quiet night on the job.

Quinn: (clips her mask to her helmet) They haven't engaged us yet, ......what are they waiting for? (The direction on the threat indicator changes from the southeast to the northwest) We've just been painted by another site, the last one has shut down. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this, Raider. (Tracers begin erupting from the ground hidden by the night) They're engaging us, ....lets do it!

Kathryn: Negative, .....something's wrong. They're not even TRYING to hit us. Look at it, ......they're all over the place. Did you deploy countermeasures to throw them off or something?

Quinn: Not me, ....I thought it might have been you. (The threat indicator goes silent indicating that the radar site has shut down) I'm getting a REALLY bad feeling about this.

Kathryn: You and me both. (Checks her six for a moment) All right, .....there's no point in trying to second guess ourselves. Let's do it and get this over with. Standard drill, ....drop down to five hundred feet and get them to paint you again, ....I'll stay high and stand ready to engage the site the moment they do. (Quinn inverts her aircraft and begins her decent to the hard deck. Once there the triple A erupts again and Quinn begins her evasive maneuvers. Kathryn begins to yell over the comm) MIGS, .......MIGS, ....eight o'clock low and coming in fast! The sites were just tracking us for them! ( a moment later) I'm engaged with two MIGS, .....get up here fast!! (Quinn hesitates to leave the threat intact and since she is almost on top of it she goes into bombs and drops before pulling up hard and lighting her afterburner to climb as high as she can to assist her friend. Kathryn has succeeded in taking out one MIG with a missile in the time it took Quinn to come off the target, ...however the other seems almost impossible to lose) He's on my ass, Purse. Get him off me!! (At this time the dogfight has descended to less than one thousand feet)

Quinn: I'm almost to you, Raider! (Kathryn along with the MIG directly behind her pass right by Quinn and she cuts the throttle, chops the flaps, and hits the speed brakes in attempt to swing in right behind the MIG, .....but she misses) Shit, ......Raider I overshot. I'm way out of position!! (Quinn immediately begins to bring her aircraft about for another attempt)

Kathryn: Purse, .......I'm cutting to the hard...............(The transmission cuts to static. Quinn frantically looks to where Kathryn was headed last only to see a fireball tumbling end over end towards the ground. Quinn screams in horror as she turns her aircraft in Raiders direction to see the MIG coming towards her. With no conscious thought, ....as the MIG came into Quinn's gun sight she squeezed the trigger sending a volley of twenty millimeter cannon fire at the MIG. Small flashes burst along the MIG's engine intake indicating multiple hits and the MIG breaks off and runs for home )

(Cut to the present, ....Daria is still sitting on the piling with her ear bent on every word of the story.)

Quinn: I should have been there for her, .....but I screwed up. And because of it my best friend is dead. What's worse is that the MIG that got her got away from me. And there's not a day gone by where I don't blame myself for it. I used to try to keep myself busy, .....just to keep my mind off things. I continued to fly, .......but it was never the same without her. My life just seemed so..........empty. And then a year ago, .....when the doctors told me. I swear I just wanted to die right there. I've lost my friend, I've lost the ability to have kids,.....I've lost the use of my legs and with them the ability to fly, .....and for that I was discharged from the navy and left to rot in this FREAKING chair. (Pounds on the armrests) And for what, Daria? So people can make me feel even worse by seeing me as a cripple. Have you even noticed how people look at people like me? Like I'm not even human or whatever.

Daria: (bites her lower lip in deep thought and after a moment decides to do, what she had once told Jodie, was the unthinkable) There's nothing I can do to change most of that, Quinn. With exception to the less than human part that is. And you are not rotting in that chair, ....I've done my very best to make you feel welcome and included. Despite all those times you've flown off the handle at the mention of you talking about what bothers you. (Sighs) But I think there's a way for you to have a chance to rebuild your life. A way you could sort of get back one of the things you lost. (Quinn looks up at her sister in curiosity) Jodie mentioned something to me once and I dismissed it as absurd, .....but now I'm not so sure it was. (3)

Quinn: Daria, ....what the hell are you talking about?

Daria: You and Joey had wanted kids for the longest time, .....and he told me once how it practically destroyed you both when you found out you couldn't have them.

Quinn: So what, .....that's in the past and I've accepted it for the most part.

Daria: The damage is classic right? You just can't produce eggs? And you still have control over all of your other personal functions, right?

Quinn: I guess so.......

Daria: (Sighs) All right then, I can't believe I'm actually going to do this but here's the deal. (Pauses and takes a deep breath) I want to help you regain part of your life, .....if you'll promise me that you'll keep talking to me about all of this to get it off your chest. Because frankly it would be traumatic to a baby for you to keep acting this way.

Quinn: Wha......what are you talking about?

Daria: Don't tell anybody about this, .........EVER! But I've probably only got a few years before I can't have kids anymore myself, .....And I seriously don't plan to anyway. Sooooooo.............as long as I still have a few........I'm going to give you one of mine. I'm going to give you an egg, .........just don't tell Joey how this came about. Let him think of it as some sort of miracle or something. Just so long as the kid doesn't start calling me mom.

Quinn: But....how?

Daria: We go through the surrogate foundation for the sake of anonymity as far as Joey and the kid are concerned. I donate to you, ....you get implanted and then I think you've got twenty four hours to screw Joey's brains out or the egg dies. It's either that or have it all done in a dish with everybody watching.

Quinn: Ick.......

Daria: Yea, ......that's about what I was thinking.

Quinn: So....you'd do this for me?

Daria: Well, ....not right away. But some time in the near future I guess.

Quinn: (looks down in thought) It's not going to change the past, Daria. Or how I feel about things.

Daria: I know, ......but at least if you keep talking about it. You'll come to accept it more and you'll be able to move on to bigger and better things in your life. A kid would demand a LOT of attention, ....trust me on this. (Quinn wipes a tear away from her eye) Oh god, .....don't go getting misty eyed on me. (Looks out towards the water) There's enough salt water out here as it is. (Daria gets up off the piling) I'll leave you to your thoughts for now. (Daria walks up towards the house and then inside closing the sliding glass door behind her.)

(Quinn swivels her chair about in the same spot to watch her sister disappear into the house. For some strange reason she begin to smile and cry at the same time. A mixture of a thousand emotions coming at her all at once. From sorrow over her friend, to misery at all of her other losses, to happiness to an unprecedented gift from a sibling whom she herself had once refused to acknowledge in public. Such a strange turn of events this was, .....but just maybe for once. Something was about to go her way. Quinn's sorrow disappeared from thought as the greater concept of holding a child in her arms forced a tremendous smile upon her face. In a burst of energy Quinn rolled herself backward expecting to swivel around to face the water again, ....but she had forgotten how close to the edge of the dock she already was and rolled right off the edge into the water. The scene cuts to under water from about a mile away, ....the sound of something entering the water with a splash is heard echoing off the surrounding plant life and catching the attention of a curious traveler. The scene cuts again to Quinn who is still underwater, her chair is on it's side and she seems unable to free herself from the chairs seatbelt which often prevented her from slipping out when she was sitting with poor posture. Several minutes pass and Quinn has just a moment ago lost consciousness when a face appears from the darkness of the murky water and tries to get Quinn's attention before messing around with the belt buckle trying to figure out how it works.)

(Cut to the surface of the water just next to the dock, Neirte (4) bursts to the surface with Quinn in hand but she is unconscious and not breathing which disturbs Neirte greatly. She submerges again and with a quick thrust propels them both up and onto the end of the dock. At this point Neirte looks about frantically for help and before long spies someone on the inside of the nearby structure. She scoots herself up the planks and over the deck as quickly as possible before smacking into the sliding glass door catching the attention of Amy who at the time was busy doing the dishes in the kitchen. Neirte while rubbing her forehead and trying to understand what she had just run into recognizes the person in the kitchen as the very person she had been searching for. )

Amy: Oh my god, ......how did you get here? (Neirte frantically points towards the end of the dock where after opening the door to take a look see's Quinn unconscious and calls for help) MOM, ....come quick something's wrong with aunt Quinn!! (Amy steps over Neirte who after ward scoots out of the door way in time for everyone else to come running past, their attention focused on the problem at hand rather than her. Neirte scoots her way to the dock and then rolls off the edge back into the water for air.)

(Cut to the edge of the dock, .....Jane Lane and Daria are kneeling over Quinn trying to administer CPR as best they can while the kids look on hoping there's something that they can do to help)

Jane Lane: (Gives Quinn two breaths) Come on dammit! (Daria gives chest compressions while counting to five. After only two sets of each Quinn coughs up a bunch of sea water and opens her eyes groggily)

Quinn: I think I need to get a new seat belt buckle on that chair, ......it sticks. (Jane Lane laughs)

Jane Lane: So Amy, ....I guess you're the big hero here, huh?

Amy: No I'm not. I didn't even know until I saw aunt Quinn was lying on the dock.

Jane: But if aunt Quinn was unconscious, .....how'd she get out of the water and onto the dock without the use of her legs or assistance from anyone else?

Amy: A friend of mine pulled her out and then got my attention.

Jane Lane: (in disbelief in favor of modesty) A friend of yours, huh? So where is this friend now?

Amy: Near by, ....she's just shy. (VO) Skittish is more like it.

Daria: And does this person have a name?

Amy: She does yes, .....it's Neirte. (Daria stares at her for a moment, she had also believed at first that Amy was just being modest)

Daria: Well, ..that's unique. Can you ask her to come back, .....we'd like to show our appreciation.

Amy: She's really not used to attention from people. (Vo) I mean humans. (Out loud) She usually just likes to hang around me.

Daria: (irritated) Where's your friend, Amy?

Amy: (reluctant) Under the dock, .....I think. Unless she swam away.

Quinn: What the hell is she still in the water for, .....get her up here before she drowns herself or something.

Amy: (VO) The odds of that happening are about absolute ZERO. (Out loud) O......kay, you asked for it. (She walks to the edge of the dock) Neirte, ......come on up. (No response) Neirte, ....you've been bugging me to introduce you to my family for the longest time. This is them! (VO) And I keep forgetting that she doesn't understand that much English. (Out loud) Neirte, ....Nichte' efti. ( A moment later a pair of hazel eyes surface to just above the water. Amy begins to use sign language) Remember the photo you've been holding onto? This is them, .....for the most part. (Neirte surfaces further)

Daria: (quietly to Jane Lane) Is it me or have we heard that language somewhere before? (Jane Lane just nods in agreement)

Jane: (amused) She likes swimming in the buff does she?

Amy: (scoffs) You're just jealous because she's more well endowed than you are.

Jane: (looks down at her own chest) Okay, ....you've got me there.

Amy: (in sign language) Neirte, ....what brought you here. You normally head south for the winter about now.

Neirte: (in sign) I was looking for you, ....you promised that I would get to meet my new family but you never told me where you lived. I've been searching up and down the coast for you. (Points to Quinn) Who is this?

Amy: (in sign) This is my mothers sister, Quinn.

Jane Lane: Ahem, .....I hate to break up this wonderful conversation here but not everyone is fluent in sign language. And what's the deal anyway, ...is she deaf or something?

Amy: (turns to face her aunt Jane) No, ....she can't speak. (VO) Above water, ....did I forget to mention that? Damn that memory of mine. ( A splash of water is heard from behind and everyone else's faces seem to drop)

Daria: Oh my.......god. (Daria gestures to Jane Lane who then turns and jogs into the house to fetch something)

Amy: (Turns around to notice that Neirte has lifted herself up onto the dock placing herself in full view) Oh uh.............did I mention that Neirte is a mermaid? (Everyone who is still present on the dock stands gaping with mouths open)

Quinn: (staring at this fair skinned beauty) I can't believe it, .......Raider was right! (Quinn props herself up on her hands and arms and drags herself over towards Neirte who seems amused that Quinn moves about on land much like she does. Neirte begins to sign to Amy)

Neirte: (in sign) Why does she not walk on her fins like the others of your kind?

Amy: (in sign) They're called legs, .....remember I told you about that? And Quinn's don't work anymore.

Neirte; (In sign) Why?

Amy: (in sign) It's complicated, ...I'll try to explain later.

Jane: Ahem, .......you're doing it again. What the hell is she saying?

Amy: She's asking why aunt Quinn doesn't use her legs. (Jane Lane arrives in the background and hands a tape recorder to Daria)

Daria: Amy, .....how is it that you spoke her language earlier?

Amy: I don't know very much of it, ....it's pretty hard to learn. She doesn't know much English either, but through pictures at first I was able to establish sign language as a common language between us. And now we're trying to learn from each other. ( Neirte holds out her arms as if looking for a hug)

Jane Lane: Okay, ....what did we miss? Does she want a group hug or something?

Amy: Um......no, she's looking for acceptance. I sort of, ...accidentally adopted her into the family about two years ago. (The scene becomes eerily silent as everyone turns to look at Amy) It was a misunderstanding, ....but it's just as well anyway. She's got NOBODY, ....her family got eaten by sharks and she's all alone now with exception to us. And apparently that little fact makes her an outcast among her own people, .....they figure if you don't belong to a family then you don't belong anywhere.

Jane: Talk about your sob stories. (In the background Neirte puts her arms down and looks sad)

Amy: You guys can keep this whole thing quiet though right? I mean if too many people know then she'll end up in some lab somewhere where a bunch of gestapo type guys will try to figure out what makes her tick.

Daria: Amy, you have no idea the circumstances I have to deal with at this moment. I... (She is cut off by Quinn)

Quinn: Yes we can.......

Daria: (extremely annoyed) Excuse me? (Quinn ignores Daria as she reaches out to touch Neirte's nose)

Quinn: My god, .....you look just like Raider. (The scene flashes back to a point in Quinn's career)

(The scene is in Quinn's quarters aboard the KittyHawk. Kathryn is seen drawing with colored pencils in a large art notebook)

Kathryn: What do you think Quinn? (She turns it about to show Quinn the picture of a mermaid she'd drawn. The human half is of a fair skinned teenage woman with long flowing black hair and hazel eyes that just seemed to burst with curiosity. She is leaning on a rock underneath a clear ocean as if she had just woken from sleep)

Quinn: I think you just drew yourself into one of your fantasies. Which is a first for you, ...it's cute though. (Kathryn Laughs)

Kathryn: It would be nice if I could remember her name, what a shame. (Smirks as she withholds information)

Quinn: Kathryn, ....you have the BIGGEST imagination I've ever seen.

(The scene flashes back to the present)

Daria: Congratulations Quinn, ....you've touched her. Now let me have a try. (Daria holds the tape recorder close to Neirte and presses play. A strange sounding language emanates from it, one that had been recorded on sonar from a submarine, this causes Neirte to snatch it from Daria and begin signing frantically) What the hell is she saying?

Amy: I can't make it out, ...she's going to fast. "Keia Soleis" (Neirte Stops for a moment and then goes slower but with the same degree of urgency) She thinks you've captured the soul of her mother in the box and she wants you to release her. Mom, ....do you have a blank tape?

Jane Lane: (whips one out of her pocket) I thought I'd bring one just in case. (Amy removes the cassette and replaces it with the blank one.)

Amy: (in sign) Your mother is not in the box, ...it's just a copy of her voice. (Amy records her own voice and plays it back for Neirte who, after looking back and forth between Amy and the cassette player, calms down. She then points to the other tape and Amy accommodates by replacing the other tape, rewinding it and playing it for her)

Jane Lane: So what's her mother saying on the tape?

Amy: I have no idea, ....like I said I only know a few words.

Quinn: It doesn't matter. (She extends her arms much the way Neirte had done earlier. Neirte stops and smiles before reciprocating)

Daria: (looks astonished) Quinn, ....what the hell are you doing?

Quinn: If she wants acceptance into the family then she's got it.

Daria: (looks furious) Quinn, ...what the....you can't......

Quinn: HEY, .....if it keeps the memory of my friend alive then I say she's in. And if I could move my feet I'd put one of them down.

Jane Lane: What the hell is she talking about?

Daria: (sighs and pinches her sinuses) It's personal.

Jane Lane: It must be. (Gestures Daria to walk down the dock with her) Hey admiral, ...can I talk to you for a second? (Daria complies) Is it me or have we stumbled into a strange number of moral dilemmas here.

Daria: How so?

Jane Lane: Well, ...on the one hand we've got our jobs. The one where we're supposed to seek out the source of that weird chatter that the subs have been picking up on SONAR. And damned if it doesn't appear that we've found it.

Daria: I noticed, ....so what are the dilemmas?

Jane Lane: Well for one, ....this Neirte has been under the impression that she's part of the family for the past couple of years. Can we really just toss her to the wind like that? Two, ...Amy's right. She'd get stuck in a lab somewhere and probed like a lab rat, ....and that's if word doesn't get out to the general public sending every yahoo with a net out fishing for her people just so they can either have a prize or get themselves on the news. Would you really be able to live with that on your conscience? And three, .....she saved your sisters life so that's got to count something I would think. That is unless you totally disregard the whole life debt system. And four, (she points to Quinn) your sister seems to be forming a bond with this mermaid. I'm not sure what the deal is but she relates to her in some way or another. And if you look closely, ....she appears happy. As opposed to her usual depressed self, that is.

Daria: It could just be temporary.

Jane Lane: Maybe so, .....but if you step back and take a look at it all. The pro's seem to outweigh the conn's here. Besides, ....it's not like Neirte will be at the kitchen table every night. She just wants to belong somewhere if I understand your daughter right.

Daria: (sighs) As if the family isn't strange enough, .....now we have a fish as a family member.

Jane: I thought you knew,.....that's what makes us Lanes so damned special. We thrive on the strange and unusual, ...it keeps the clan strong.

Daria: We'll just have to be careful about asking if we could have her for dinner sometime. (Jane Lane Laughs) So what do we do then?

Jane Lane: What we've always done, .....act like we know nothing and keep searching for something we already know exists. That way we keep pulling in that nice paycheck and keep the benefits, .....and the government knows jack maintaining the sanctity of our family.

Daria: "Sergeant Shultz" then?

Jane Lane: "Sergeant Shultz". (The both shake hands in agreement)

Daria: I wonder what my mom would say about this if she were alive?

Jane Lane: I dunno, ....but I bet it would involve lasagna for dinner. (Daria laughs) In the mean time, ....your daughters got a new friend, ...and your sister is happy for once. I say just flow with it.

Daria: We should probably give her something to wear if she's going to be hanging around.

Jane Lane: Yea, ....don't need Trent staring at somebody else's rack now do we.

Daria: Actually I was thinking about your son, William.

Jane Lane: (long pause) You may have a point there. You could always cut the legs off a wet suit, make a Christmas present out of it.

Daria; If she knows what Christmas is, ....and if she's around at that time of year. I wouldn't be surprised if she migrates to warmer water in the winter.

Jane Lane: At the very least it should make things interesting around here. Now give the fish girl a hug and let her know she's got a place somewhere.

Daria: You really know how to make a point, Jane. And I really do HATE you for it sometimes.

Jane Lane: (bows) Glad to be of service. (They turn and begin to walk back towards the end of the dock)

The End................................

Footnotes:

1) Quinn is mentioned in "The Old and the New" as having lost the use of her legs due to a malignant tumor in her lower spine that had to be removed via surgery.

2) Daria has spent most of her adult life in the navy after having been drafted. Most of her career was spent serving on a submarine until she was recently promoted to the rank of rear admiral.

3) Reference to "The Old and the New" where Jodie brought up the idea that Daria donate an ovum to Quinn so that she might have what Daria has, a family. That is since sixty percent of the worlds population is infertile due to the fallout that circled the globe from Y2K.

4) Amy encountered Neirte when a charter boat Amy had spent the day fishing on ran aground tossing Amy overboard along with several other passengers and rendering her unconscious. Neirte pulled Amy to shore where upon waking up she convinced her to stay despite Neirte's urges to flee.

Comments are always welcome. I may be contacted at Wildgoose81@hotmail.com