The Widow's Might

[Tess Ryder]

The 'New' Leo's Blues and Rock Club --

Tess walked in, flanked by the Cross's and their Narlin Intelligence officer, as well as a few nurses and doctors. The hostess at the door greeted her cheerfully. The lanky brunette had a sleeve of tattoos and looked very much at home in what was once a mediocre music club. "Doctor Ryder, we heard about what happened to Leo... Benny said that whatever you want is on the house."

"Considering my son and I own the house... " Tess teased.

"Not technically until tomorrow when Mr. Ryder signs the deed." Benny said as he walked out from behind the bar. "Can't see what he saw in this joint, barely turns a profit and we haven't booked a decent act beyond some random garage bands in months."

"Never underestimate the Ryders." Clint said as he pushed a couple of tables together.

"That I don't... again... if there's anything we can do..." Benny said to Tess. "He was a good man. Gave me a break when I needed it. Helped me open this place... but the wife wants to move back to Earth be with her family... can't exactly say no to her."

"Give her my regards." Tess said and nodded her head with a smile. "I will take a... blackberry brandy with sprite... Leo and I got so wasted on it after we got back from our honeymoon, had to take a sick day the before we went back to work. Haven't touched in nearly 65 years... I suppose today... is the day." she looked at Clint and Selene. "What do you two drink? A'Mira?"

[JT Kirk]

"Clint usually has a white Russian and Selene... moscato?" JT said as he walked wearing a smart black suit and matching shirt and tie. "Ever since he saw Big Lebowski... I'm going to start calling him 'The Dude'."

"Funny..." Clint deadpanned and glanced at Selene. "White Russian too?"

"Mission went well... Mac and I only blew through three power cells and a pair of heels." JT chuckled. "Told you I could do a mission without losing a lot of gear. Car's even in... passable shape."

"Passable shape?" Tess chuckled. "That's a Nick term for 'it still rolls, but that's all it does'"

"No windows, still has sheet metal." JT said with a wink. "Smugglers are getting ballsy."

"Well... at least you didn't wreck the suit... " Clint said and shook his head. "So when do you two go back to Xenex?"

"Trying to get rid of us so soon?" JT teased.

"No... but Leo did request you as a pall bearer." Tess said with a sigh as she looked at a padd. "Nick, Tony, you, Jason, Nathan and Jack. Ethan will be leading the color guard. "

JT nodded his head. "I'd be honored to be a pall bearer."

[Olivia Ryder]

"You know Jena, Kirby and I could probably carry the casket all by ourselves... strong women that we are." Olivia said with a smirk as she walked over to her grandmother and gave her a hug. "Kirby's on monitor duty downstairs and Jena's outside as a bouncer. Lana's in the bathroom, she's still learning how to cry with mascara on."

Tess smiled and chuckled at that. "Yeah... taught you girls how to do that at Cousin Steve's funeral. Let me guess, her whole face is black?"

"Pretty much. She took it hard, she was looking forward to that little great-grandkids trip Grandpa Leo was planning. You and he did pretty much raise my kids..." Olivia said as she sat next to Tess and held her hand. "I never told him how much it meant that he was so willing to look after the twins. They both liked him."

"He spoiled them, that's why they liked him." Tess said with a smile. "Trinity was my girl though... seeing the woman she grew up into, I can see my hand in her development. Just as I see Leo in Lana and Vin... and my goodness Vin got big in the future."

"No kidding... he's beefier than my Ethan... makes him look almost tiny or the clone or whatever he is just isn't as built but still. Lana got my height but Vin sure takes after his dad and my dad. Well look how tall Grandpa Leo is... was..." she sighed. "I'm never going to not miss him... you two... you mean the world to me."

"That's what grandparents do sweetie... we take care of and spoil our grandkids and great-grandkids." Tess said as she finished her drink and the bartender refilled her glass as soon as it hit the bar. "I don't now if I..."

"You're grieving Doc... for one night, it's okay." the bartender replied."Not like you don't got family all over here." he said as the place started to fill up with more of her family.

"Hey Aimee... come on over to the bar... you're family too." Olivia said as she caught sight of Aimee and Lana coming out of the bathroom.

"That she is." Tess agreed. "I was there when she was born. If the Sanders family didn't adopt her right off the bat... I... was considering it myself. I just didn't know how her mother would have taken it."

"Well, technically she's an in law now thanks to my niece." Olivia chuckled. "I seriously thought Marcus would have taken a pass at her. He always had a thing for strong women."

"Yeah then I'd have been all your's." Kirby said as she holographically appeared behind the bar. "I... hope you don't have a problem with y'know... us... ma'am."

"Not really... you're adults now... now when you two were teenagers..." Tess cleared her throat. "You were both... " she closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile. "But you matured into beautiful, intelligent, strong women... so I approve. Just... don't do it in my exam rooms huh? Not sterile. Leo and I never... that's what recovery rooms and sleep rooms are for. Not the exam rooms."

"La la la... not listening to that... la la la..." Nick said as he walked in, the distinct flicker of a slight holographic glitch as he passed through a bar stool. "My mother and my daughter and my old right hand girl..."

"Gah, don't y'bloody call me 'old' OLD MAN RYDER." Kirby said with a smirk and swatted at him and laughed. "Holo you... awesome."

"On the Erebus, just fixed up Trinity and trying to deploy some sensor drones to fill the gap that Sigma left." Nick replied. "Liv... Kirby... how committed are you two to not being spies?"

"I'm retired. Unless it involves singing on stage as a cover for whatever spy fun someone else does... I'm out of that life." Olivia said firmly. "And I told Aimee that she's got my permission to smack me upside the head if I even think about it. I sprang into action to investigate the bombing only because well... it's grandpa. But I'm out of Intel. 'This' Olivia Ryder is a civilian. The other Olivia died on Omega. Let her stay buried."

"Fair enough." Nick nodded his head.

"I'm still getting used to normal life." Kirby said softly. "Certain sounds still make me jump. I'm retired too."

"Mata Hari's as a band it is." Nick said and nodded his head. "I'll buy the next round."

[Alessandra St. James]

"I loved the demo you guys did." Ally said as she walked into the bar and put her arms around Tess. "Mom couldn't come... not sure why but whatever... I'm here representing the St. James girls."

Tess smiled and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you came. You look a little different?"

"New nose." Ally said as she turned her head. "I was going after a smuggler and he slammed me face first into a car window. It was an accident, he stopped in his tracks and let me arrest him. Not a bad guy... well.. he was a bad guy but not a BAD guy."

"You really need to be careful... wait... you sound like you like this guy?" Tess raised an eyebrow at her. "Alessandra..."

"Hey Intel needs smugglers... especially since Aimee isn't exactly useful in that capacity anymore." Ally winked at Aimee across the bar. "And he's cute... single... Catholic."

"Not a good Catholic if he's smuggling." Tess reminded her.

"True... but it's nothing super bad like weapons, we were busting him because he was smuggling deuterium into Imperium controlled worlds without permission. Trying to resupply the friendlies but if he gets captured... that's a lot of deuterium they're getting for free. They may be friendly to us now but... " Ally shrugged her shoulders. "Not allies yet." she held Tess's hand. "You know grandma Tess... if you ever want to like... go somewhere to get away from it all, there's this cool little resort town, really pretty kinda quaint. Tons of little shops and cafes."

"I will entirely keep that in mind dear." Tess said with a smile. "So tell me, did Leo ever work with you?"

"A little... not as much as I'd have liked but the few times... he was fun. Always was sneaking me little candy bars when he'd make his rounds. Where did he keep all the candy bars and dog treats?" Ally said with a laugh.

"Buffer band. Although he always liked to carry a few dog treats and little candies in his pockets, ever since he was a guard on Earth. The Hope, before I took command, we had a lot of animals on board. Most were therapy animals of some sort, others were just pets of the crew. The old CO encouraged it, as long as they weren't in the sickbay sections, but the recovery rooms they could visit. Anyway... he loved making rounds and meeting all the dogs. Always had treats in his pockets. And then he'd realized that there were some of the actual crew that he liked visiting, so he'd put a few small candies in his pockets or mints or whatever. His old security office always had a basket of fruit and energy bars and such for his guards. I think he spent most of his stipend for some of his assignments on snacks and treats for the other security officers and the animals. He would eat replicated most of the time, just because he spent his credits on stuff for other people. Drove me nuts that one time, we were at the old clinic in Poznan and one of the restaurants had a special on cheeseburgers, they were small but they were super cheap. Bought himself like two bags of burgers... I think he only ate one or two, the rest he fed to our dogs and gave away. I gave him credits so he could actually have a few real meals, I was working 54 hour shifts for a while there so I was never home." she sighed. "Came back, he lost about ten pounds and was pretty much living on fruit and energy bars and coffee because he used up all his replicator credits and the actual credits I gave him. Then he'd get sick because he had like nothing of any real substance..." she chuckled. "Still, his heart was in the right place."

"Sounds like it." Ally sighed and smiled. "I hope I find someone like that someday."

"Well... just find someone who will make you a better person and vice versa... romance only lasts a little while. Commitment... loyalty... friendship, that'll last the long haul. I'll admit, he wasn't perfect and we had more than our share of fights, we even separated a few times. But we'd manage to find what attracted us to each other. And it wasn't just my legs..." Tess laughed.

"Yeah... dad said to me that he watched her for weeks before he had the courage to ask her out, mom used to wear these short little skirts and shorts while working out and he would just stare... then it was months before mom actually agreed to go out with him." Nick said with a smirk.

"He was a bit of a geek back then... tall, skinny, a little awkward. Very blue collar, compared to what I was like back then. I never left to go anywhere without my make up just so, my hair done, nails, my outfit perfectly arranged. Even when I joined Starfleet, I was like Becca, pressed uniform, shiny boots, my badge and pips were always shiny." Tess sipped her drink and smiled slightly. "I was way out of Leo's league, but... he was the first man I ever dated and the last. Course, not the 'only' man I ever dated but he was the only one I slept with and that was after we got married. I was the good girl. Straight A student. Teacher's pet."

"Sounds like me before I came to Terra Alpha." Ally replied. "I guess getting shot and being declared dead sorta changes that. Still... I used to think I got it from mom, but I think it also came from you."

"I used to joke, all my bad habits came from my dad and all my good things came from mom." Nick said and put his holographic hand on Ally's shoulder. "Although I think you girls got all the good things from my side of the family."

"We're always late though." Ally cocked her head.

"That's my side of the family." Tess nodded her head. "I've gotten better at being on time but yeah..." she sighed and looked around. "We'll hold Leo's wake once everyone is able to be there. Jon Price already messaged me, state funeral, full military honors. I'm just waiting for his brother to make his way here."

[Charles Ryder]

"You do know I have access to transporters Tessie." Charles said as he walked over to her. "Came to Terra Alpha as soon as I heard the news." he put a beefy hand on Ally's shoulder. "Hey kid, give your Buscia and I a chance to talk?'

"Of course... pleasure to finally meet you Uncle Charles." Ally said and took her drink.

"Same... " he nodded his head and gave Tess a hug. "How you holdin' up?"

"Better than I was a few hours ago... but it's still pretty raw." Tess said softly and closed her eyes. "How long can you stay?"

"As long as you need Tessie." Charles said with a nod of his head and patted her back.

"I need you to stop calling me 'Tessie', I'll even accept Teri..." Tess said with a chuckle and wiped the tears from her eyes. "So, Leo... he wanted to apologize in person..."

"Yeah... well I was a dick too, no sense holding any kind of grudge. And we already made up. A few months ago, while Nick was lost, after he fell out that window. We spoke for about two hours. Kinda why I wasn't super far... knew the end was coming, but you know us Czeski's... we hate dealing with death."

"Ah but you're Ryders now and Ryders face it head on." Tess said with a light punch to his shoulder. "I take credit for that."

"Yeah guess I should hang out with you for a bit longer this time huh?" Charles replied and looked around. "Nice place... "

"Not entirely done with it yet, Nick works fast but he's only so quick... besides... I may spend a lot more time here. I had to send one of the girls to get my purse from my office, I'm having a hard time even thinking about going back to that hospital now." Tess said softly. "I might go back to the Hope. Or I could just retire and hang out here. Leo always thought I should perform, maybe I should."

"You are a woman of many talents and I am sure whatever you do, he'll be happy to see you doing something, like you always do." Charles said and looked at the bar. "I hope he's got something dark and Germanic on tap."

"Spaten Dark... his favorite." Tess said and pointed to the taps on the bar. "Leo liked to come here with the other guards after a shift, he regretted selling the bar he had on Starbase Byron. Nick's renaming the place to Leo's Blues and Rock Club... my granddaughter is getting out of intelligence and going into full time musician mode apparently."

"Oh yah... I heard her sing years back, she's got pipes and she can shred. Music does run in our family. It's an honorable profession. She's the one that was dating that wrestler chick right? The green one?"

"Jena? Bodybuilder and she's back with her best friend Kirby... Marcus' widow. Olivia was always bi at least when it came to Kirby." Tess said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I do recall they considered both marrying her, but she was too busy with missions with her that the thought of spending all her time together didn't appeal to her. Her formerly 'late' husband is back, but he's with Jena now. Apparently. I dunno... honestly, her whole side of the family is confusing the hell out of me." Tess winced. "But she's happy, which is what matters I suppose. Lot happened."

"No shit... well, I'm retired from wrestling, teaching it now... Naval Academy here offered to bring me in as a PT teacher, lazy ass 'Fleeters need to know how to fight anyway." Charles teased. "Can't fight every battle with a phaser or your mouth."

"Well, not all of us are built for wrestling..." Tess cleared her throat. "It took me years to live down 'stick it in!' when I popped out of my tank top."

"Yeah and you had to sit up like 'what?' they're still magnificent you know..." Charles winked.

"Dirty old man... I'm a widow now... " Tess reminded him. "And you had your chance. Twice I might add." she gave him an eyebrow raise.

"Third time's a charm." Charles said with a grin.

"We'll see... just behave yourself. I'm everyone's mom or grandma here... you make a pass at me, you might get knocked on your ass." Tess said as she finished her drink. "That skinny little thing, that's Daisy, she's my granddaughter in law's assistant. Has a right hook that's taken down Klingons."

"I will keep that in mind..." Charles picked up his mug and stretched. "I'm going to mingle... "