Making Memories, chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Bar
Having been thoroughly snubbed by Florna, Martha looked back towards the Doctor, who was still thoroughly engaged in talking to Florna's husband, Werth. She then looked ahead to the bar where Florna had continued on without her. Much to her surprise, she saw that Nya was sitting there sipping some turquoise drink that looked like the exact color of her skin.

Marta walked towards her friend hoping that she might be well received.

"Martha!" Nya said, immediately taking notice of her. "Well, if it isn't a small world."

"It certainly is," Martha said with a smile, happy to be in good company again. Before she could say anything else, the bartender was immediately in front of her. He was a tall thin, Tydian -- well groomed, and with manners to match.

"Good evening," he said, with a bright smile that gleamed with a sincerity that Bri's seemed to lack.

"Good evening," Martha said back with her own smile.

"I do hope you've been enjoying the festivities?" he continued.

Martha nodded. "I must say so. The fireworks were absolutely amazing." She paused for a moment. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Risan, would it?" she asked, thinking back to her reading and the Trydian man the Psycla told her she would meet.

"I'm afraid not," the Trydian said. "I'm Drez," he continued, "but if you are looking for this Risan person I could send a call out through the resort."

Martha shook her head, a bit embarrassed. "That won't be necessary."

"Who's Risan?" Nya interjected. "Is that the name of the Doctor person you were going on about earlier?"

"No, the Doctor is, well, the Doctor. Risan is..." Martha paused unsure of whether to continue. "I'll tell you all about it later," Martha said that the topic might be laid to rest.

"So what will you be having to drink, such a pretty thing as you?"

Martha blushed. "I, well, I don't really... I can't afford..." she began, flustered by the question.

"She'll have a Starry Sky on me," Nya asserted.

"Thank you," Martha managed after several moments.

"Think nothing of it. All that I ask is that you point out this Doctor fellow."

"Oh," Martha said, turning her head to look out over the scene. She then gestured in the direction the Doctor was sitting, "He's sitting there."

Nya arched an eyebrow, "The one in the skirt?"

Martha nodded. "That'd be him," she said with a smile.

"Here you go," the bartender broke into the conversation. He set a navy drink with a bright pink straw in front of Martha.

"He's rather handsome," Nya said decidedly. "I can certainly see why you fancy him."

Martha blushed and took a sip of her drink. She nearly choked when a figure came right up behind her. "Florna," she managed to get out through coughs, clearly a bit startled.

Florna cast a dark look toward Nya, "I can't imagine how we got separated."

Martha furrowed her brow, clearly confused by the statement. "Separated?"

Florna abruptly shifted her gaze from the Rycord back to Martha. "Yes, separated," she asserted. She then turned to Drez. "Bartender, won't you get my dearest friend a pink sunrise? And do put it on my bill, won't you?" The bartender nodded and began preparing the drink at which point Florna turned back to Martha. She leaned in close that she might whisper in Martha‘s ear. "I certainly didn't mean for you to end up alone with such riff-raff."

"Riff-raff?" Martha asked, loud enough for Nya to hear. "What riff-raff?" she asked darkly, quite aware that the Trydian woman was referring to her friend.

Nya's expression immediately turned to one of great annoyance. "Well she certainly can't be referring to me. It would be a rather dim move considering I could snap her in half with one paw."

"Is that a threat?" Florna asked, fire gleaming behind her golden eyes.

"No, it's a fact," Nya said, taking a step toward Florna, who instinctively took a step back.

Just then the bartender set the a bright pink drink in front of Martha. He then turned his attention to both Florna and Nya. "Is there a problem here?"

"This thing," Florna began with malice in her voice, "is threatening me."

At that point Martha stood up and put her face right up to Florna's. "Don't you dare call her a thing."

"Don't worry," Nya said putting a paw on Martha's shoulder, "I can handle this."

Unbeknownst to all of them, it was at that moment that the bartender made a call, and within moments Bri was on the scene.

"Is there a problem here?" she said with such force that they all stopped to look at her, startled by her sudden appearance. Before anyone could answer she whipped around to face Martha. "I should've known you were involved. You and that Doctor of yours -- you seem to bring trouble with you wherever you go."

"I assure you, she's the one who started the trouble," Nya said pointing directly at Florna.

"As if you can believe a Rycord," Florna shot back.

Bri sighed and shook her head. "I don't care who started the fight," she asserted. "You are upsetting the other guests."

"I was just trying to protect her from such riff-raff," Florna said, looking down her nose at Nya.

"Nya is my friend," Martha asserted, "not riff-raff."

Bri turned her attention entirely to Martha, "I'd be careful if I were you. This whole thing seems to center around you, and as far as I can see, the easiest solution is to ask you and your Doctor friend to leave. Then maybe this resort will return to the peaceful condition it was in before the two of you ever arrived."

Bri turned from Martha and turned her eyes toward the heavens. "I'm beginning to think you're a curse" she began in a voice so quiet, meant only for herself to hear. "...ever since they began..." she trailed off.

Martha furrowed her brow, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part."

Bri shook her head to clear it. "I'm beginning to think you and that, that Doctor of yours, are a curse," she repeated.

"If she leaves, I leave," Nya asserted, "and then you lose all my money."

Bri opened her mouth as if about to respond but she then closed it and turned away. She stepped a few steps from the group and Martha guessed that she was handling a call, though she thought it slightly rude that Bri abruptly walked away from them all.

"Did I hear correctly?" a voice said in Bri's ears.

"The two of them have caused nothing but trouble since they arrived," Bri whispered back so no one else might hear her.

"They must not leave," the voice asserted.

"But, sir," Bri protested.

"They must not leave. They are of great value to us."

"If you were only to tell me why, sir -- then they would be so much easier to deal with."

"Are you prying?"

"Of course not," Bri said quickly, fearfully.

"You know what happens to those who pry," the voice said in such a way that it sent shivers up Bri's spine.

"Yes, sir. Of course I do, sir." Bri managed to get out. "I-I will keep them here. For as long as you need, sir, but you must know, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Lucky for you, I don't pay you to think," the voice said and with that the call was ended.

Bri forced an ear to ear smile before returning to the bar. The abrupt change of mood unnerved all three women who eyed her warily. "Ladies, certainly we can settle this in a calm, rational manner," Bri began.

"I don't see what you can do about it," Florna said with a defiant snort. "That she," she glared toward Martha, "would rather consort with such--"

"Well yes," Bri said, deliberately cutting her off, "but perhaps the three of you could all consort together."

Florna wrinkled her nose with distaste just short of pure disgust. "If she'd rather stay with-with--"

"Nya," Martha filled in for her before she had a chance to add an insult.

"Then she is certainly not the type of person I thought her to be. This kind of thing from an ancestor, I'd never have thought I'd see the day," Florna said and she stormed off.

Bri quickly turned on her heel and ran after her. She thrust her hand into a pocket on her uniform and then held it out to Florna who stopped momentarily. "I'd hate for you to leave so upset. We at the resort can not shape the opinions of our other guests, but on behalf of The Psych, I am authorized to provide you with some free passes to our spa facility for all the trouble."

Florna was silent, seemingly pondering this for a moment, and though she did not smile, she took the tickets. "Thank you. You can be sure that I do not blame you or your resort for this whole thing."

Bri breathed a sigh of relief and headed back toward Nya and Martha, while Florna headed toward her husband and the Doctor, a scowl having returned to her face.

When she had reached her husband and the Doctor, she had no problems interrupting their conversation. "We are leaving," she asserted to Werth, who looked at her slightly confused.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"The atmosphere is starting to get to me. Let's go." She roughly woke the young girl who had been napping near her father.

"Oh, well, I'll meet you back at the resort later on then."

She eyed him dangerously, annoyed that he wasn't coming with her, but rather than dealing with another argument that evening she thrust her hands out, he handed her the baby, and she left him and the Doctor, dragging the poor little girl with one hand and cradling the baby with her spare.

"Now, where were we?" Werth asked the Doctor, and within seconds they had picked up the conversation right where they had left off.

A decent while later, their conversation was jarred again by the appearance of Nya stumbling toward them while supporting Martha who appeared to be quite out of it, on her shoulders.

"What happened to her?" the Doctor said, great concern in both his voice and his eyes.

"Well," the Rycord began, "I bought Martha here a Starry Night, but that, that Trydian woman, she bought her a Pink Sunrise. We'd never had one of those before, they are real expensive drinks. So, after, after she stormed off we decided to try it. Apparently, Martha has never had a Trydian mixed drink before."

"So she's--?" the Doctor began.

Nya nodded, "Yes. Luckily, she pointed you out to me beforehand. I figured you'd want to take her to her room, let her sleep it off."

Hearing this, Werth quickly interjected that he should head back to his family so the Doctor could take care of the girl.

"A few more sips and I think she'd have declared her love for the bartender."

Just as she'd finished, Martha began to stir a little bit. She opened her eyes and looked at the Doctor. A dreamy smile formed on her lips. "I love you," she said, and while the dreamy smile remained she closed her eyes and let her weight sink back onto the Rycord's shoulders.

"See? I wasn't kidding," Nya said, shaking her head.

The Doctor was silent, his expression serious for a moment.

Nya furrowed her brow. "You two are together, right?"

"Well..." the Doctor began unsure of what to say.

"You are in the same room, right?" Nya clarified.

"Oh, yes, quite right." the Doctor said.

Nya gave a small nod. "Then she's all yours, mate." She then proceeded to transfer Martha's weight to the Doctor's shoulders.

After Nya had left the Doctor asserted, "I think it's time we get you to bed," he said, under the assumption she was already asleep.

Though she kept her eyes closed, she seemed to reply. "I love you," she said, the same serene smile on her face as the first time she said it.

The Doctor frowned, as if hurt by the sentiment. "No, don't do that. Please don't do that," he half whispered. He was glad that after that for the rest of the trip to the room she no longer stirred and he was able to get her right to bed.