The Huntingtons

[Nick Ryder]

"I grew up in Wisconsin and doncha know it's got its own silly accent. Wot a world ain'a. Gonna go round the corner to the bubbler and get a drink'a water." Nick said in a very convincing Midwestern accent. "Although I've lived around Alice for years now and I pick up accents pretty easily. When I was married to an Aussie, I sounded a bit more Kiwi oddly enough."

"And when we lived in Honolulu he sounded a bit more native, picked up that Islander cadence." Angel replied and smirked. "And his Polish accent is spot on, you'd swear he lived there all his life."

"I kind of found it helped me blend in wherever I am. Give me a few days around people and I blend in." Nick said as he finished his drink

"Yeah, would make him a pretty decent spy..." Angel teased. "Or politician. Although the big part is learning some of the inflections and going from there. Like the Beatles Liverpool accent."

"True... you just have to make everything sound like a question. Would y'like some bangers and mash? I didn't really know I was drunk at the time...' Nick said in his best Liverpudlian accent. "Although I prefer the Posh Brit accent... feels... classier."

"That and you are incurably in love with a Posh Brit. Who... ahem... is still younger than I am." Angel nudged him. "And WAS my Chief of Sciences. It use to bother me but then I fell in love with her too and it's hard to not. You really want to hate her, she's pretty, she's got a classy air to her, she's a genius and fashionable, humble yet confident. I chose her for my CSO for a reason too, but never knew that she and my dad had so much in common or that they would bond almost instantly. Still took him like a year and a half to make an honest woman out of her, but I've never seen him so happy and I've seen him happy in a relationship but never quite this content. Although I was still expecting another sister... just to even things out."

"Not for lack of trying. Although Cassie has sort of fit that role." Nick said with a wink to his apprentice.

"I prefer to think of you as an Uncle. I have way too many daddy issues as it is." Cassie laughed.

[Angel Ryder]

"Oh I like this one." Angel said and put her arm around Cassie's shoulders. "So dad... I'm... probably going to stay a few days. I just need to work out some things and honestly for as much as I try not to, I... kind of need my dad. More than I realized I did."

"You and I have always been close kiddo, ever since you were born. I'll admit it... of everyone we left behind... I kind of missed you the most. But I didn't want you to feel like I didn't trust you or your own calls. Or that I needed to approve of whatever you did. You're probably a smarter, savvier leader than I am." Nick said with a warm smile. "What I have to work at sometimes, you just do naturally. Always did. And I know I say it often, but I want you to know it too... I am proud of you. So proud that even saying it doesn't feel like enough."

"Thank you daddy..." Angel said softly and went over and hugged him again. "Well, if we're going to go out, I need to find something... fun. I brought just boring things."

"Pfft you in 'boring' clothes... that's a laugh." Nick teased.

"Well if I'm going to perform with you I'm not doing it in a suit." Angel said and shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, this is the past right? I can be someone else."

"So... who are you going to be?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I've got an idea forming. I may be in something skimpy... I don't get quite the opportunity to do that anymore." Angel said with a grin as she rubbed her hands together.

"Oh really? Says the girl I had to practically force to wear something more than a string bikini and coverup..." Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Hey... I'm... a bit more under the microscope lately. Part of the reason I took my vacation time here." she admitted.

"Alright... just... cover the bits with more than napkins alright? These people are a bit more reserved although... show some skin and they may get very interested." Nick said and gave Cassie a smirk.

"Oh yes... show some side boob and they will 100% be interested..." Cassie laughed. "I got a few things in mind... how do you feel about halter tops?"

"Something backless... " Angel said with a wink to her dad.

"Oh you're going to show off the wings? Now I know you're repressed."

"I know right? I never show them off... but I did have a very good tattoo artist define the scars a bit, they look pretty and no one sees them." Angel said and sighed. "Except Nathan... and well... it's been too long since... " she shook her head. "1st world problems... alright... enough introspection... Cassie, show me what you got."

[Cassandra Windsor]

Later --

"I have to confess, for as much as your father talked about... and believe me he talks about you a lot luv." Cassie said as she started to put some of the clothes she brought out away. "You're a lot different than I expected."

"How so?" Angel said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Well, I suppose I was expecting you to be much more... well like Alice. I assumed that since Alice was like... wife number three and clearly someone he vibed with enough to have gone back in bloody time because she wanted out, that you'd be well... " Cassie bit her lower lip. "More reserved. Don't get me wrong, Alice is probably the best friend I have ever had. The only real friend I have had that didn't see me as just a Windsor... as 'her royal highness'"

"Alice was my science officer and even before she started dating my dad, which was almost immediate, I used to call her Queen Alice behind her back. Then once she married dad... and well you know what he was back home. She really became Queen Alice. People used to even make T-shirts with 'Queen Alice' and her face on there. She hated it, but also kind of loved it too... inspired a lot of people. Queen in the best way. It didn't take long for me to love her too. Which annoyed me, I really wanted to hate her. She's young, gorgeous and a genius and nice to a fault even. I had no illusions that my mother would ever come back to him. Truth be told, the woman he was dating before Alice... was someone I really respected, she was a Captain and a leader. Beautiful, exotic and telepathic. But then she... and my fiance were both lost in a rift it was hard few months. Especially when we learned that my mother was the one who ordered that they be cast into this rift, which as we found out lead to her ex, Dominus... and he had most of the team that we sent to deal with the Imperium killed. Including my sister's husband. So when this skinny blonde Lieutenant who also just happened to be the only pyrokinetic female we've ever really seen... starts sleeping with your father... I was on yellow alert. Shields up, weapons charged but not quite fighting, just... ready." Angel sighed and laughed. "And then we spend time together and I wonder. where was this woman all my father's life? Then I meet my daughter from a possible future who I literally met after her father got me pregnant. I wasn't even positive I WAS pregnant and there' this girl, gorgeous and smart that comes around, hanging with my father's best friend's kid who also... wasn't even born yet. It was then that I realized my life is weirder than any fiction."

"I'll say." Cassie said with a nod and touched her arm. "I think we found the outfit. Shows off your back tats and still lets you maintain some semblance of modesty." she chuckled and looked at her. "And you are so so... SO MUCH like your father. I thought only he could do that much of an info dump with only taking a couple of breathes."

"It's a gift and a curse." Angel said with a slight blush. "I can see why he chose you as his apprentice."

"He took in a troubled barely legal aged Princess with magical space wizard powers and helped steer her on a better path. I was barely 19, had four DUIs, all covered up mind you, was in rehab twice and did more drugs than a Rolling Stones groupie which is saying a lot." Cassie said and pulled up her sleeve. "It's taken years to heal the track marks. Your dad, Alice and Gale... they saved my life. I'm... pretty sure I would be a footnote in history, which... I'm pretty sure I am. Since the royal family pretty much excluded me for the past... well... as long as I've been living with Nick and Alice. Everyone thinks I was a worthless whore junkie and I just let them think that. Keeps them out of my hair and with who we've faced over the years it's a good thing."

"I suppose, the current Windsor on the throne is a royal queen bitch." Angel said bluntly. "Not someone I really relish dealing with some day."

"So what are you anyway over there?" Cassie inquired.

"Congresswoman 1st District and Speaker of the House, also on the Armed Forced Committee dealing with our Navy, well, what replaces Starfleet where we're from." Angel said and closed her eyes. "I had a... rather... traumatic experience recently and I needed to have that bit of normalcy that comes with being in orbit of my father. He always seemed to put things into the right frame for me and considering I'm walking paths he blazed, but only he knew certain things."

"Ah so he was always like that." Cassie giggled. "Well, I'm glad you came. He really did miss you a lot. Why do you think I keep my hair short like this? I had it long and he'd forget and call me Angel. Not long ago, he had a nightmare, real doozie... and he screamed your name and ran out toward the shed where he keeps his shuttle. If his mechanic friend wasn't in there and noticed he was only in his boxer briefs, he would have taken off. So... what happened?"

"I ran afoul of one of his old enemies. They threatened my children. And... they firebombed my office while I was in it." Angel clenched her fists. "I was engulfed in flame and then... I absorbed it. Like he does. I never did that before. Ever." she rested her hands on the table and sighed. "None of my siblings have that."

"Other than Gale." Cassie reminded her.

"My mother wasn't a pyrokinetic." Angel said and smoothed out her skirt. "I wonder if its because dad's not around and that power has to manifest somewhere with someone. As if I don't have enough questions about who I am and what kind of person I am."

"And you chose to tell me before you tell him?" Cassie raised an eyebrow and smiled at Angel, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Huh... Gale was right. I have become family. I'm rather honored. So... do you want to me like... be the intermediary? Or are you telling me this because I'm just the first person that you could tell it to that wouldn't be entirely freaked out by it?"

"All the above." Angel admitted.

"I'll accept that." Cassie replied with a smirk.

[Angel Ryder]

Later --

"So dad... this 'little bar' isn't that HUGE venue we're heading toward?" Angel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it was a little bar, it still identifies as a 'little bar' but yeah it can pack in a lot of people. Only real decent music venue in this area, I... may have had something to do with its upgrades." Nick said with a wry smile as he glanced at Alice and Cassie.

"Uh huh." Angel shook her head. "So much for keeping a low profile and staying out of history's way."

"We did, for as much success as we have now, in about oh 50 years, this area will be massively depressed and re-developed after the new Prime Minister declares changes to the local economy. Hence why Huntington Manor, despite still being around in our era was all but a shell of its former glory, even worse than the state we found it in. But its that hard scrabble that gets Alice's... father to be who he was. So... as despicable as he was..."

"He has to happen. Right. Right." Angel agreed and sighed and looked over head at the shuttles and fighters flying in formation. "Lot of air traffic."

"Yeah, Starfleet has a Royal Air Force flight school not far from here, they buzz the town now and then, but mostly harmless. I teach there now and again." Nick said and winced slightly. "Even though Mrs. Huntington doesn't enjoy when I do stupid stuff in the air."

"Mr. Morris doesn't like it when I do that either." Angel said with a laugh. "Still, those are some gorgeous birds."

"Maybe we'll go flyin, you always seem to tell me what's wrong when you're behind a console." Nick said and parked the car. "Hey kid, we're as close as a father and his eldest daughter can be, I know your tells. Why do you think I suggested this? Besides the fact that I've been talking about my amazing daughter who's stuck way out in the deep of space probably never see her before I'm an old old man."

"You... are an old old man." Angel teased.

"And you're pushing forty and don't think I didn't notice the little grunt when you got in the car." Nick teased right back.

"I was trying not to get my skirt caught and flash the world what color my panties are." Angel replied and playfully swatted his arm.

"Given that you're in all black I'd wager black right?" Nick said with a grin.

"Purple if you must know. Alice you never lot your touch with a good panty." Angel said and smoothed out her skirt as she got out of the car and slung her purse over her shoulder. "Lot of people, so... what's the occasion?"

"Local band night, classic Rock covers. Figured it has been a while since we shared a stage together, I'll let you play lead." Nick said as he opened the trunk and handed her the case with her guitar.

"Really? Wow... that's a treat. Usually we fight over it and take turns, but I won't say no." Angel grabbed a spare cable and shoved it in her purse. "You just want to sing more don't you?"

"I do... '

[Rebecca Talon]

"As long as you don't ask me to sing," Rebecca announced with a smirk. "Unless you need some paint peeled off the wall." Rebecca had approached Nick and Angel from behind. She was in a simple black dress accompanied by grey hair and salt and pepper in his beard.

"Nick this is is Austin Davis. We've been dating for what? A month?"

"Yeah about that," Austin confirmed.

"Austin, this is Nick Ryder one of my closest friends since the Academy and his daughter Angel."

"Nice to meet you," he said with a Texas drawl.

Rebecca hugged Angel, "It's so good to see you, but what are you doing here?" Rebecca noticed Angel looking at Austin, "Don't worry he knows everything. Ethan let that cat out of the bag."

[Nick Ryder]

"That sounds like my son in law. Well things got weird, I'm a Congresswoman now, Speaker of the House, T'Kir stepped down and represents the Scottish Kingdom, whatever... she barely tolerated Capitol City anyway." Angel chuckled and hugged Becca tightly. "There's a LOT to talk about. But for the moment, I'm just a girl who missed her father and I have to admit, the idea of performing with him again, it's something I forgot how much I missed." she glanced at her date. "He's cute, I like the salt and pepper. Distinguished." she sighed and held her hand. "After a couple of sets, I'll buy a round and you and I and dad have some things to discuss."

"But first we play!" Nick held up his case and cocked his head. "Nice to meet you Austin, yeah Becca undersells her vocal skills, but Angel and I used to get on stage all the time when she was with the Starfleet USO band when she got injured in the line of duty and was recovering."

"Music can heal." Angel said and nudged her father's shoulder. "So you really want me to play lead?"

"Unless you're singing." Nick said with a smirk. "Oh before I forget... come around tomorrow to the garage, I got those new seats for your shuttle ready, my upholstery gal delivered them last week, but I finally got the electronics for the heater and adjustments re-installed. Milla enjoyed getting an excuse to work on those. The red and black leather trim was something she wanted to do since I started hiring her for my seats. Oh and... you gotta give me more details on Austin... Angel seems to like him." he chuckled. "Course, she and Nathan have been... rocky. That girl's following in a lot of my footsteps..."

[Angel Ryder]

"Well you never gave birth to two at once... that was mother and gee... I'm starting to see why she was cranky." Angel teased. "Although the post partum depression was more like post partum aggression. But... I'm a big enough girl to admit when I'm wrong... and you were right dad. We never should have had joint command, I thought it would be a good way to keep our relationship strong, serve on the same ship, but... outranking your husband does rather take a blow to his masculinity." she chuckled lightly. "Still, I'm glad I did what I did, went into office... I'll probably only do one term, that's all Jon's really got left and I would rather be HIS Speaker than someone else's." She chuckled as she saw her father reach for his comm. "Let me guess, you're itching to show off those seats for Beccas shuttle?"

"I am... they're amazing... I might put a set in one of my other shuttles." Nick said as he pulled up an image.

"Wow... okay those are some sexy seats. They look cushy, like you could do the trip from Earth to Vulcan and not have to get up to stretch." Angel said and eyed up Austin. "Or Risa..."

[Cassandra Windsor]

"Oh if you're going to Risa, count me in... haven't been there in a dog's age." Cassie said as she helped with their gear.

"Deal." Angel replied with a grin. "Angel needs to get her groove back."

"I am really seeing now why your father likes me. I think he sees a lot of you in me. Except well... you never had your bum plastered all over the news. And T-Shirts made up saying 'Royal Beaver Inspector' being sold at shops." Cassie laughed and sighed as she shook her head. "It took a long time but I accept my youthful past... and actually embarrassed by it."

"That's pretty bad but... I'm glad that we set you on the right path." Angel replied and pecked her cheek. "I think he needed you as much as you needed them. Every girl that he's taken under his wing, has gone onto bigger things. Rexi Rigan, was his yeoman after me, they dated. Now she's the Fleet XO. Kassie Kaine was the next one, ended up marrying my nephew, works for the President. Bella Cross, was his secretary, became President when they were lost with most of the cabinet, married to the current President."

"So in other words, he finds girls who remind him of you and good things happen?" Cassie hummed. "Interesting... still I've never met a loyal man to his wife, I never felt like he was a bloody pervy old man. More like... the man I wish my father was."

"You should have met my mother. She literally beat that out of him. Man was well trained let's put it that way. If she doesn't have his ring, he doesn't touch. I'm honestly shocked it took him a couple years to marry Alice, I introduced them... a few days later they were sleeping together and haven't been apart. Not gonna lie... I... really wasn't too keen on the whole relationship, I'm older than her. Plus, I think it was because I was her CO, but I lost a great science officer. BUT... I grew to adore that woman and I gained a best friend."

"It took no time at all after the initial jealous 'she's gorgeous' phase eh?" Cass teased

"Oh yeah... I helped her develop her first clothing lines. Spun off of mine. As Starfleet officers, there's a long running joke about how boring and annoying our underwear is. And uniform code and replicators allow only certain kinds... well, when we broke off, we were like 'we're changing the uniform code!' She made my wedding night set. I made her wedding gown. The clothing business I set up while I was pregnant with my first daughter, it's huge. I could retire from Starfleet and form my own Fleet if I wanted. It's paid for my political campaign, I even refused the government salary."

"Wow... that's... big. So Angel... if I were to come to your era. Someday, since I think it will happen. I think I would very much like to work with you." Cassie said and looked at Nick as they walked in. "I already feel sisterly protective of you."

"Starting to feel that way about you as well." Angel said and gasped. "Wow... that's... a lot of people."

"Getting nervous luv?" Cassie whispered.

"Not really used the crowds, but... huh... in the past, okay so... call me Angel Lei... it's a common name. L.E.I or L.E.E..."

"I already put you in as Angel Lee, c'mon kid, you know me." Nick chuckled lightly as he handed off a case to the roadies. "My kid... "

"Where do y'keep findin' these beautiful women Nick? Honestly man... " the roadie said with a laugh.

"What about me Vince?" Cassie batted her eyelashes.

"Your Highness, I still pinch me self when you come 'round. If only I wasn't a married spud." Vince replied with a boisterous laugh.

"Belinda still pissy about me fake flirting?"

"Oh pish... no... she's just jealous I saw you and not her. She's a big fan." Vince said and felt Angel's hand on her arm.

"You tell your wife to come, I'll make sure she gets a photo with the princess and a round on me." Angel said and patted his shoulder. "Little things will keep that marriage happy."

"Mean the world t'me." Vince said and walked off to get their gear on the stage.

"God you're so like your dad. But you smell nicer." Cassie teased.

"I showered." Nick protested.

"You still smell like motor oil." Cassie wrinkled her nose and Alice winced and nodded her head from behind.