Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Jupiter II sat serenely underneath the starry two-mooned sky, so snug and peaceful in its crater that it would be hard to believe that hours ago it had come careening, red-hot, through the atmosphere. The dust had long since settled, leaving the outer shell dull and tinted grey from the metal-heavy clay and dirt. The windows were all covered, hatch securely closed. Any passerby might have believed that the vehicle had been left abandoned or, more grimly, that the crew of it had not survived.
But, survive they had. The flight seats had done their job of protecting the women and children and hapless doctor of the Robinson expedition- they were all feeling quite sore from the jostling of the harsh landing, but besides potential whiplash they were unharmed. The men, however, were not so lucky. Don and John had both been unsecured from their flight seats as they frantically tried to maneuver the ship and adjust their flight path at the last minute, and during the crash they had both been tossed like ragdolls into the viewport. John’s shoulder had hit the console hard, sending sparks flying and igniting a fire. As he lay unconscious, it singed his clothes and the hair off of his arm but Dr. Smith and Maureen had managed to pull him out of harm’s way in the nick of time. Don had, surprisingly, stayed conscious during the ordeal, but the way he was groaning and writhing had them all thinking he probably would’ve preferred he wasn’t.
Dr. Smith barked orders at the family like the colonel that he was. Usually they, Maureen especially, weren’t eager to follow the bossy, demanding older man, but in this instance he made clear that the title of ‘doctor’ was well earned. All members were exhausted except for Judy who, in that moment, felt awfully under-utilized. The doctor had relied heavily on Maureen as his nurse, and on the little ones to fetch him things, and she was left mostly standing around with nervous hands or planting loving kisses on Don's forehead to soothe him. But with him taking charge of the rescue, it wasn’t long before Don and John were both bandaged up, splinted and braced, and resting in their respective beds
Then, Dr. Smith announced to all that he would need a full day of rest to recuperate from the ordeal, and headed off to bed himself.
The ship was at a bit of an angle, not a terrible one, but definitely noticeable. Walking toward the staterooms was a little bit awkward, as it was ‘uphill’, but even so Maureen ordered her two youngest children to go to bed. They complied, wearily, and with much less complaining than she had expected.
“You should head off, too,” she told her eldest daughter.
“I want to help,” Judy said. There was a lot to be done still- their regular new-planet procedures could not be forgotten just because of a crash landing.
“No, that’s okay, dear,” Maureen told her, squeezing Judy’s shoulder reassuringly. “I can take care of it.”
“Let me help! I can replug the robot’s power pack and send him out to get some air samples.”
“No, no,” Maureen tsked, “We’ll worry about that tomorrow. Just get to bed and I will make sure everything is ready for the night.”
Judy was frowning at her mother, but as much as she wanted to be helpful, she knew there was no use in arguing her case any further. Maureen wasn’t very stubborn, usually, but when it came to an act that she perceived as protecting her family, she could not be budged. So, Judy lowered her head in defeat and trudged off to the ladder to make her way down to the lower floor, where the cabins were.
All was still and quiet on the lower deck. The doors to all five staterooms were closed and, before she made her way to her own room, she took a moment to slide open the door to Don's and peek inside. He appeared to have fallen into an uneasy slumber of some kind, sweat beading in large drops on his head and brow, eyes scrunched, breath shallow and uneven. Judy entered his room to stand beside him and use the sleeve of her sweater to wipe away the sweat and the locks of hair that were stuck to his forehead. Then, she gently tucked the blanket in around his curled up body, taking care not to nudge his splinted arm or bruised chest. Leaning down over him, she planted a soft, loving kiss on his cheek, and when she stood back up she was pleased to see that he looked to be sleeping much more peacefully.
Judy left his room, sliding the door shut as quietly as she could manage before she made her way to her own room. Usually, she liked to sleep in, but she knew there was much to be done, and so she set her alarm to go off early the next morning- so early, she hoped, that she would be able to quietly work on whatever tasks had yet to be done.

The alarm went off at 4AM the next morning- she did, admittedly, snooze it once or twice, so it wasn't until 4:30 or so that she actually got up. It was still dark in her room and she took a moment to sit on the edge of her bed, enjoying how tranquil the early morning was before she stretched herself into a standing position. Then, Judy took the rest of the hour to get dressed and ready herself and, just as she had hoped the night before, she was out of her room by 5. Her first plan of action was to check on Don, so she turned the corner and slid the door open just enough for her to power inside.
Don was still asleep in the same position, curled up on his side with the blanket over him, but Judy was surprised to see another figure in the room. In the dark, she could just barely make it out, but someone was standing at the side of Don's bed looking back at her. Enough light was reflected by his blue eyes that she could tell it was Dr. Smith. As they made eye contact he stepped away from the bed, towards the door, and Judy moved out of his way so that he could come out. He closed the door behind him.
“Good morning, my dear,” he greeted, voice soft so as not to disturb the sleeping members of their expedition.
“Good morning, Dr. Smith,” she returned. “I didn't expect anyone else to be up.”
The bags under his eyes indicated that he had likely been up for a while. He let out a tired sounding sigh.
“I'm afraid I didn't get much sleep,” he told her, “I was worried about Major West and the Professor. Once again I have simply cared too much- at the detriment of my own personal safety.” He sighed deeply, holding the back of his hand to his forehead.
Judy couldn't help but smile. “So brave,” she said, “So compassionate. We are lucky to have you.”
Dr. Smith looked very pleased. “Yes, that's me. Heroic, some might say.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed, with a giggle. “Were you up when Mom went to bed?”
He nodded.
“Do you know what still needs to be done?”
Dr. Smith scratched his chin. “Hmm… I believe the hydroponic garden needs to be set up.”
“Doesn’t the atmosphere need to be tested first?”
“Your mother had the robot do that last night.”
Judy’s smile faltered. “She did? She told me she would wait until the morning.”
With a casual shrug of his shoulders, Dr. Smith told her nonchalantly, “I suppose she changed her mind.”
It was frustrating to always be relegated to the hydroponic garden- it was an important job, for sure, but it was also so easy to pick up that Debbie would probably be able to do it. Mindless busywork. “What else?”
“Let me think,” he tsked, crossing his hands in front of his stomach to absentmindedly fiddle with his ring. “I’m not sure that there is anything within your, ehm… Field of expertise, my dear.”
Judy’s frustration was growing. She frowned. “I can do what anyone else can,” she said, pointing a finger accusatorily into his chest.
“No, I… Of course you can,” he said, with something of a nervous smile as he used one hand to redirect her finger. Cooperatively, she dropped her hand back to her side.
“What still needs to be done?” she asked again, sternly.
He gulped. “Well… The condensation unit needs to be assembled, the console needs repairs, I can think of a number of mechanisms that should be troubleshot after our unfortunate landing. Debris needs to be cleared in order for the Jupiter to be levelled.”
Judy turned her head away in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. He was right-those were out of her field of expertise. With her field of expertise being… Uh…
“I can clear debris,” she said, looking back at him in an attempt to look confident again.
“Are you s… I mean, of course you can, dear, sweet Judith. Er- strong and capable Judith.” Dr. Smith squirmed under her intense glare. “Can I go to bed now?”
“Oh- yeah, of course, Dr. Smith,” she answered, smiling again and giving his shoulder a reassuring pat. “Thank you for the help! Sweet dreams. I’ll make sure Don is okay.”
He looked relieved. “Yes, of course, my dear. Thank you, my dear.” With a polite bow, he took a few steps backwards, and then turned and disappeared into his room.

Judy made it to the hatch and, with a few button presses, both the inner door and the airlock were open. Usually there was a ramp to let them down to the ground outside, as the Jupiter sat quite high off the ground, but with the ship resting unevenly from the crash landing she was unable to deploy it. Bravely, she hopped out of the ship without the ramp, and landed on the soft, damp ground below. Her feet immediately sunk into the mud- it was soft and sticky, blue-hued in color and had something fuzzy and moss-like growing on it. Looking up from the ground, Judy took a moment to soak in her surroundings. This planet was lush with some sort of plant life, or something equivalent to plant life- the giant, living structures looked more like oceanic coral than like regular plants. They towered over her, over the Jupiter, with fleshy tendrils and rings in an incredible variety of shapes and colors. Some were flower-like, some were reaching toward the sky with long tentacle-like appendages, and some were so short that they were like a neon blanket over the muddy terrain. She was sure that this was easily the most beautiful planet that she had ever seen.
After her moment of admiring the beautiful fauna, she turned around to view the Jupiter. It had knocked over a few of the living structures, leaving them lying across the ground or leaning on others. They were very boney inside, surprisingly, and on the broken pieces all of the ‘skin’ and ‘flowers’ had shrivelled and greyed. She felt sad and guilty for what had happened to them but, unfortunately, it didn’t seem like there was anything she could do now. The Jupiter was resting in a small crater of its own creation, with the edge to the right of the entrance of it buried in the mud, and the other end sticking up at an angle.
Judy could see what Smith meant by ‘clear the debris.’ One of the coral-like structures had fallen onto the Jupiter’s edge and was pinning it into the mud, and there were a number of large pieces of rock and earth that had come to rest there as well.
Every step was large and clumsy, making an unpleasant shluck sound as she pulled her feet out of the mud and dropped them back down. It started to accumulate on her boots, making them even more heavy and uncomfortable to move.
From what she could tell, most of the pieces of rock that pinned the ship were much larger than she could ever hope to lift. But that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. She managed to climb on top of the side of the hull, leaving wet footprints that were thick with clay, and a trail of small clumps that fell from her shoes. Taking her pick from the smaller of the pieces, she planted both hands firmly on the craggy edge. Squaring her stance and shoulders, she pulled as hard as she could, focusing her all of her strength into her legs and shoulders, scrunching her face and grunting at the effort. There was an ugly screech, and she saw flakes of metal scraped away from the Jupiter’s hull as it was dragged along, but she simply couldn’t lift it up.
She didn’t realize until she let it go but she had been holding her breath as she tried to lift it. When her hands came off of it she breathed out, chest and throat burning from the force of the air as it left her lungs.
“Damn it,” she sighed, to herself. If this was one of the smaller chunks of earth, and she couldn’t lift it, then she really wouldn’t be any help up here. Or inside, with the consoles and machines… Just like always, it seemed like Judy was destined to be doing the busywork. She trudged with heavy footsteps toward the edge of the ship, sat down and pushed herself off, landing back in the mud.
Head hanging low, Judy started to walk. She wasn’t walking anywhere in particular- definitely not back to the Jupiter, at least, not yet. Maybe a peaceful walk by herself would do her some good, or help clear her head at the very least. For how early it was, this planet was quite bright. There was a small sun that was already up, giving the sky a dusky dawn kind of look, a beautiful dark blue swirled with magenta and purple that lay on the horizon like a blanket over the distant mountains. It would be dangerous to go far- her mother and father might argue that it would be dangerous to go at all, but she was and vying for a little taste of independence and self-sufficiency. She picked a direction and was careful to follow in a straight line so that she could find her way back easily, but the footprints behind her were so deep and visible that she knew she wouldn’t have any issues.
The coral-like structures stretched on ahead, like a dense forest of rainbow colors. She was taken aback by it all- it was beautiful and mesmerizing. Some of the coral-trees had branches so low that she could touch them, and as much as she wanted to she restrained herself. There was no telling if they may be dangerous in some way, and she had enough experience with dangerous plants for one lifetime.
There was a lot of rock around them, tall cave-like structures, hills and crags, and gravelly pits. Wherever it wasn’t muddy with the coral growing tall above her, it was a very dull, ashen stone. She stepped onto a nearby outcropping and stomped her feet a few times, looking to get out of the dreary mud and get as much as she could off of her boots. As she was looking down, frowning at the way it had caked onto the shiny black leather, she noticed something odd. The crack she was looking at in the rock was very straight, very consistent, as if man-made or alien-made. Kneeling down, she used her hand to brush away some of the dust and muck, and sure enough there were more like it. This wasn’t a naturally split outcropping, it was an intentionally made flooring with stones placed together in a very organized way forming a path. She followed it with her eyes and saw that it led straight into the coral forest, into the opening of what she had, in passing, thought was a cave. But now that she was getting a good look at it, she could see that it was not a naturally occurring structure at all. With light, careful steps she followed the path straight into what was clearly a crafted archway. It boasted dusty, clay-caked figures that were carved into the stone, barely visible from all of the plant life that was growing around it. The figures were very odd and fish-like, with giant, round, upward-facing eyes; what seemed to be armored plates on their heads; and a long lure like that of an anglerfish. The figures were in different ornamental poses- on their knees, or what they had that was an equivalent of knees, leaping into the air with apparent joy, and with their fins raised as if praising some sort of fishy God.
There was a large, similarly overgrown brazier to the right of the door, and a crumpled heap of rock to the left that seemed to be the remains of the brazier that was on that side. She could hear her father’s voice in her head telling her 'Judy, don’t go any further. We don’t know if it’s safe.' But on the other hand, sounding like the devil on her shoulder, she could hear her own voice, her sense of curiosity and rebellion, and it was telling her 'Go on, Judy. If it were Will and Dr. Smith, they would’ve been exploring by now. You can have an adventure, too.'
“I can have an adventure,” she said aloud, as if addressing the second voice. She could hear her father’s heavy, disappointed sigh, but she opted to ignore it and venture in. One cautious step after the other, she made her way through the archway and into the interior of the cave. There were more figures of those fish people, much larger ones now, so big that they stood at least two feet above her with giant, gaping mouths threatening to swallow her whole and bulbous eyes. She really hoped that, whatever these things were, they weren’t on this planet anymore.
The cavity was quite small, only a dozen or so meters deep, and with a feeling of disappointment she realized that she was nearly at the back wall. There was no more to explore, it seemed but, in front of her, were two hanging lanterns, green/blue-ish in color, and on either side of a large carved pedestal. The pedestal had a plush looking pillow on top of it which appeared to, at one time, have been purple, but now it was covered in so much dust that it was the same color as the stone podium that it sat on. On the pillow was a very ornate looking box, carved extravagantly out of bone, with all manner of embellishments. Compared to everything around it, it looked surprisingly well-kept and dust free.
Excited, she took a step forward, but something made her stop. Something was odd here… She noticed it unconsciously, at first, but as she stood and thought, she realized that the lanterns were odd. Everything was odd in space, but there was no reason for lanterns to be lit in this abandoned cave. And besides that, when she looked closely at them, they didn’t look like lanterns at all. They were very soft looking, almost fleshy with what looked like veins bulging in them, climbing up the sides like vines up a tree. Craning her neck, she tried to see what they were connected to on the wall, but she couldn’t see anything. They were on some sort of long stalks, and behind them seemed to be total darkness… Tentatively, she took a step forward to try and get a better look. She could nearly make out something there- she took another step, and barely, just barely, she could make out the dim reflection from two bulbous, upward facing eyes staring at her from the ground.
With a shriek, she leapt backwards, just in time as the giant beast lunged forward and snapped its mighty jaws right where she had been standing. It was a creature just like those sculptures she’d been seeing, but there was no way she was going to try and examine it now. She turned tail and ran, the sound of her footsteps echoing loudly in the cave as they were joined by what sounded like someone in wetsuit flippers running after her- loud, awkward, slapping steps. And there wasn’t just one pair of feet. For a moment she thought that the sculptures were wrong, and that these creatures actually had four limbs, but then she realized grimly that she had seen two lanterns there. Two lures likely meant two beasts.
Judy came roaring out of the cave- running across the stonework allowed her to keep her lead for a long time but as soon as she stepped into the mud, she realized why these beasts had flippers. While her boots were sinking and slipping and getting stuck, she was able to look over her shoulder long enough to see that their flippers were so wide and thin that they were able to run across the surface of the mud without missing a beat.
There was no way she could stay ahead of them in the mud... she had no choice. As much as she was frightened that the coral-like plants could poison her, or worse, when she happened upon one with low hanging, evenly-spaced branching growths, she leapt up as high as she could out of the mud and grabbed on. It was slimy feeling, soft and fleshy and seemed to shrink away from her touch, but she continued bravely upward. She clambered higher and higher, ignoring the way the slime from the coral was sticking to her hands and outfit.
Hair disheveled, gasping loudly, chest heaving, she made it as high on the structure as she was able to climb. Plopping herself heavily onto the branch to rest, she chanced a look downward. To her shock and horror, one of the fish-beasts had begun the climb behind her- its movements were clumsy and inept as it tried to grab onto branches with its fins, but even still it was making slow, threatening progress toward her.
“Get away!” she shouted, sure that it couldn’t understand but not caring. “Leave me alone!”
It had a terrible grimace on its face, globoid eyes staring up at her with a desperately hungry look as its jaws gnashed and snarled at the prospect of an upcoming meal. It continued closer as she sat on the branch, trying helplessly to find another nearby plant she could jump to, or any other feasible escape route. There were none. It seemed that she was going to be eaten by a fish-monster while stranded up a coral-tree, and it was all because she had to go and have her own little adventure.
'At least they won’t miss me too much,' she thought, bitterly, 'I was never much help anyway.'
As she stewed in her pity party, staring at the teeth as though they’d be the last thing she’d ever see, she heard a crack. It was quiet, at first, so quiet that the beast didn’t seem to notice. But as it leapt up and slipped, it landed hard back on the lower branch and the crack got louder. This time it did notice- it looked downward just in time to watch the branch give way, snapping like a twig under the weight of it. It let out a wretched hiss as it fell, hitting the different limbs of the coral tree limply like a ragdoll before it met the ground with a terrible wet thud and was still.
The other fish-beast was waiting on the ground. When its companion landed it bent over to look at it, and for a moment, Judy felt guilty for the apparent death of the creature. But then, the remaining beast opened its mouth and snapped its jaws shut on its companion’s face. It leaned its head back, mighty neck raising the dead beast in the air as it began to swallow it whole. Its eyes continued to stare at Judy even as she looked away, feeling sickened by the act.
The amount of time that she spent sitting up there, listening to the thing heave and choke and gag was uncomfortable. It seemed like hours to her before all was silent, and she bravely chanced a glance back down.
Only the one beast remained. It looked very bloated, from throat to stomach, but it also looked quite satisfied with itself. It turned around and began to trudge off, slow and with a wide-set gait to accommodate the extra weight.
She waited until it was out of sight and then, even though she had already been waiting for such a long time, she lingered for a little while longer on the branch, just to make sure that the beast was fully gone. When she began to climb back down she took her time, being deliberate and slow in her actions so as not to slip and end up like that poor fish. Even though one branch had been knocked off of the tree, and a few others had been damaged in places, she was able to make it safely to the bottom.
When she hopped off the very lowest branch to land back in the mud, something caught her eye. There was something shiny there- the first glimpse of any material besides rock, mud and bone. It was a palm-sized medallion of some sort, with a carved image of one of the creatures on the front. The metal it was made of was a pink/bronze color, with a thin, light chain and some sort of shining red gem attached with prongs just on the top of the medallion. She tried to wipe the mud away, but she was so covered with slime and muck that she only made it worse. But even with the way it was dirtied it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen- besides the terrible image of the fish, of course. It was delicate and feminine looking, and the size and shape of the medallion made her think of an olympic medal. 'This must be my prize for winning against those terrible monsters,' she thought, with a proud smile. She slid it into her pocket, wiped her hands and started back toward the Jupiter.

Chapter Text

Her walk back was quiet and uneventful, with her head down as she followed the footsteps, but as soon as she stepped within range of her mother's range of hearing the tranquility was shattered like glass.

"Judy!" Maureen gasped. She had heard her daughter approaching and rounded the final bend to meet her before Judy made it to the ship. "What happened to you?! Where have you been?"

"I just went on a little walk," Judy answered, with a nonchalant shrug.

"What made you think it was a good idea to wander around on an alien planet by yourself?" Maureen asked incredulously.

She was met with an annoyed sigh. "I didn't 'wander around,' she said, I just took a little walk. I can take care of myself."

"Judy, you're covered in mud! And… Slime? What is that?"

"I can take care of myself," Judy repeated, crossing her arms.

"Can you?" Maureen asked, exasperated, "I'm sorry, but I just don't trust your judgement right now. That was very irresponsible of you to walk off like that by yourself, without telling anyone where you were going. You could've been seriously hurt, and with your dad and Don injured we might not've been able to save you!"

"I don't need saving!" Judy cried, "I'm fine!" She stormed past her mother, kicking up mud with every stomp, toward the open door of the Jupiter.

"You go in that ship and you stay there," Maureen warned, "I don't want to see you back out here. Not until you drop the attitude."

Judy had managed to climb up to the deck of the Jupiter- the ramp still wasn't down, so it was a bit of an undertaking, but as she stood in the doorway she spun around to face her mother. "You can't ground me," she scoffed, "I'm an adult! I'm twenty!"

"If you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you like one," Maureen retorted. "You stay on that ship until you're ready to talk to me like a grown-up, understood?"

Judy replied with a frustrated groan, throwing her hands up and turning back toward the viewport. She hadn't noticed it before but, embarrassingly, almost the entire expedition was in here. Dr. Smith was under the console, hiding his face, pretending he hadn't heard anything. Will and Penny were beside him, tools in hand, staring at Judy with shock and disappointment. And, worst of all, Don was here too- he was sitting in one of the pilot chairs, with his leg propped up on the other seat and his arm in a sling over his chest.

Here she was, covered in goo and muck, standing in front of her family and her crush who had just heard the very childlike spat she had had with her mother. She was so embarrassed she felt like she might cry.

Will spoke first, breaking the awkward silence. "Judy, you shouldn't talk to mom like-"

"Ah, William, my dear boy," Dr. Smith interrupted, not leaving his hiding place under the console, "I think Judy got the message."

Will was frowning, but he didn't say anything else. Judy felt her face turn red hot as she, without a word, moved swiftly past the room to the ladder and climbed to the lower deck. She blinked away tears as she walked into her room and began to collect another set of clothes. She desperately needed to get out of her outfit- the way the muck had soaked through and made the clothes stick to her skin and weighed her down was unbearable. A nice cathartic cry in the shower would do her some good.

Judy watched the water as it swirled down the drain, mingling with the clear, gloopy secretions from the coral-like trees, and her tears. Even though the feeling of hot water on her shoulders was soothing, and there was something very cathartic about letting herself cry in this private place, she was still mindful of the fact that she was in a space ship. The water supply was very limited and, on top of that, she had to share this bathroom with six other people, so within half an hour the water was off again. Decidedly too tired to wrestle with the hair dryer, she squeezed her hair in a towel and gently tousled it to get out as much water as she could. Then she got herself dressed, reveling in the feeling of dry, clean clothes clothes. Behind her was the muddy pile of the dirty clothes that she had had to peel off of herself earlier, and that was now left in a sad, neglected pile on the tile floor. She knew her mother would not be happy with her if she just threw them in the hamper without at least a rinse, but in a comparatively mild-mannered act of rebellion, she opted to do just that. As she lifted them up something metallic and heavy-sounding slipped from a pocket and clattered to the floor.

It was that medallion. The soggy clothes fell into the hamper with a wet flump before she took the trinket over to the sink to rinse off the sludge. She wiped it with the towel to admire the way that it shone, reflecting the white LED light above her.

Turning to the mirror, she held it up in front of her chest and admired the way that the colors went together. Then, without thinking, she opened the chain and slid it over her head, letting the round metal ornament rest with a pleasant weight on top of her chest. She looked at herself in the mirror again.

What an odd color for a metal, she thought, this element has a higher momentum of inner-shell electrons, resulting in increased blue-light absorption and giving it an enhanced ability to reflect red/yellow-light.

In the mirror, she saw herself visibly react to the information coming from her own mind. Even though these words and concepts were entirely unfamiliar, it was like it was common sense. It was second nature to her.

It's a consequence of Einstein's theory of special relativity, of course. Light constancy, or light-speed invariance. Which… I… Know about?

I didn't know about it before I put on the medallion, so logically that is where the information is coming from.

There was a sudden rush in her head- explanations and theories, more about colors and invariance, so many racing thoughts that it became overwhelming and physically painful. Her eyes scrunched at the uncomfortable feeling, she could feel the amulet heating up much like an overused electronic device, and the warmth so strong that she could feel it through her outfit. Reacting quickly she took it off, pulling it up over her head and dropping it on the sink. Gradually, the thoughts disappeared as if they were all leaking out through her ears. When she opened her eyes and looked in the mirror again, all she saw was plain old Judy, and the reflection of an unextraordinary medallion, with the chain draped over the side of the bowl. All she could do for a while was stare in shock and confusion, but when she managed to collect herself, she picked it up and slid it quietly into her pocket before exiting the room.

Before she reentered her cabin, she stopped outside of her father's. He hadn't been in the viewport, so she reasoned that he must be in here resting. As gently as she could, quiet as a church mouse, she slid open the door and took a little peek inside. She found her father sitting up in bed facing her, and their eyes locked. His shoulder was bandaged up and in a sling, and his leg was wrapped like a mummy's and propped up on a few pillows.

"Judy!" he greeted, sounding glad to see her. He was pale, and his expression was tight with pain, but even still he smiled for her.

"Hi, dad," she greeted. His smile faded as he looked her over.

"Your hair is wet," he noted.

"Yeah," she said, with a casual shrug. "I took a shower."

"Well… sure, but you always blow-dry your hair. The only time you let your hair air-dry is after you were crying in the shower."

"Do I cry in the shower that much?" Judy asked, a little embarrassed.

John's laugh was soft, but comforting. "I don't blame you, darling. If you have to cry anywhere, it's a good place." He scooted himself up in the bed with a little bit of an uncomfortable grimace at the pain of being jostled. Gesturing to the space he had cleared by his feet, he said, "Have a seat."

She obliged, being very careful so as not to jolt him any further.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

She shifted a little bit. "Nothing," she said, "Just… mom and I got into it a little."

"Hmm. What about?"

"I just went on a little walk," Judy answered, waving a hand dismissively.

This was met with his raising an eyebrow. "On an unfamiliar planet?"

"Oh, not you too," she sighed.

He chuckled. "Sorry… I'm sure your mother laid into you for that one, so I won't say anything. It's just that we care about you, that's all. We don't want anything to happen." Judy was looking at the floor and didn't respond, so John continued. "As old as you get, you'll always be our little girl. We'll always be worried about you."

"But you have to let me grow up eventually," she tried, "I can take care of myself."

"I hear you. I know it, my love, but can you blame us? Things out here tend to be a little bit… unpredictable. I know we can be helicopter parents, or I guess spacepod parents, but…" he paused to watch with amusement as Judy rolled her eyes at the joke, "When I look at you, I still see my little baby girl. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday… When you're as old as I am, and older still, I'll always try and protect you. Your mother too- we can't help it. You are our pride and joy."

At last, Judy turned away from the floor to look at her father's face. "I understand," she said. "I love you guys too. I just don't get why I… I feel like I'm held to a different standard than Will and Penny. They're always running around strange planets with Dr. Smith, and he's… Well, I love him, but he's less responsible than they are."

"True," he chuckled, "They, um… Well, they get treated differently because they're different people. You all have your strengths, and… weaknesses."

Her eyes shifted back and forth between his. John's answer was very vague, but even if he didn't say it outright, she could read between the lines. What he was saying was 'we trust them more than you.'

"Will you apologize to your mother?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts, "For my sake…? Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

All of her complicated, racing feelings were quickly bottled up. Even if she was frustrated and offended by his implication, now wasn't the time. With a deep breath, she stood from the bed and then turned to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I will. Will you let me know if you need anything, though? Did mom leave you a communicator?"

John gestured to the communicator sitting on his bedside table. "I'll let you know. I promise."

"Okay. Love you, dad."

"I love you too, Judy."

Judy made her way out of her father's room, closing the door behind her, before she turned the corner and entered into her cabin. She sat herself down on the bed with a heavy sigh. Dejected, annoyed, embarrassed, guilty… She didn't have enough words for all of these feelings- for a moment she wished that she could borrow Dr. Smith's vocabulary just long enough to express them all. Just long enough to take all of these bad thoughts and name them properly and scream them out into her pillow until they were gone.

The weight in her pocket called her attention suddenly, almost as if the amulet had been reading her thoughts and decided now was the time to offer its services. It would be a bad idea to put it on, right? It could be dangerous somehow. But she had already worn it, for a brief period of time but with no ill effect. If she put it on for a few seconds, like she had in the mirror, then surely it would be fine... Right?

Judy pulled it out of her pocket and held it in her hand to look at it. It was heavy in a comforting way sitting in her palm, warm and pleasant, reflecting light dancing across the surface as if calling out to her. The chain dangled from it and tickled her arm playfully, twisting back and forth and calling out with a chime that was like birdsong to her. She looped her fingers in the chain and held it up, letting the amulet dangle before her eyes. When it went over her head it was an instinctual, almost unconscious move.

The amulet must have some sort of parapsychic abilities. That's not inherently dangerous, she thought.

She tucked it under her neckline, so that it wouldn't be visible to the others- she simply wasn't in the mood to answer any questions about it. And then, with a strange, newfound sense of self-assuredness, she made her way out of her room.

When she entered the viewport, she found everyone where they had been before, except Dr. Smith and her mother. Dr. Smith was nowhere to be found, and Maureen had found a place by Don and the console, with her back to where Judy had entered. Judy felt the amulet against her skin, like a reassuring hand.

"Mom?" she called. Maureen turned around. "I'm glad you're here… I'd like to apologize to you in front of everybody." A little disconcertingly, the amulet got hotter.

Maureen looked surprised. She didn't say anything.

"I should not have spoken to you in that way… It was immature and uncalled for. When I went out by myself, I was briefly chased by some aliens. The ordeal had me feeling a heightened state of emotions, residual fear and defensiveness, which led to me lashing out at you. I sincerely apologize."

Maureen only continued to stare at her, mouth agape. The way that Judy was talking was so unlike her- articulate and verbose, she seemed to speak so easily as if the words were flowing like water. "Did Dr. Smith tell you to say that?"

The heat on her chest was getting uncomfortable. "No," Judy answered, starting to sweat a little, "I just took some time to myself to think about what I wanted to say."

"Well, I…" Maureen paused. "Thank you, Judy. I appreciate you saying so. And I appreciate you telling the truth, it must've been very scary what happened this morning. Are you alright now?"

"Yes, I'm alright," Judy answered. "Is it alright if I step outside for some fresh air? I will not leave the line of sight of the Jupiter."

Maureen pursed her lips as she took a moment to consider it. "...Sure," she said, at last. "Go for it."

Judy made her way casually past her mother. Out of the corner of her eye, she was seeing disassembled parts of the console, and on the other side she was seeing the damage done to the astrogator. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts that it was making her dizzy- through brief glances she recognized every part, saw in her mind how they went into the machinery, saw exactly what damage had been done to them. The more she saw, the more her head felt like it was full of rocks, heavy and clattering around against each other, making so much noise that it blocked out everything else.

The feeling of stepping outside, away from it all, was a relief at first, but the hydroponic garden was beside her. When her eyes fell on it her mind was racing again, thinking of all of potential changes and improvements, way to better utilize space and nutrition.. She forced herself to turn away from it, legs shaking, stepping backwards, but her eyes fell on the damaged hull of the Jupiter. A million ways to free the ship came flooding into her mind with such force that she stumbled further, head snapping back as if something physically grabbed and pulled her. Her entire body was trembling, weak and dizzy, her head was pounding, the heat on her chest was unbearable. Her legs gave out and she nearly dropped to the ground but someone caught her, holding her up by her arms.

"Judy! Are you alright?" Dr. Smith asked, clearly frightened by the display.

"O… off," she managed to choke out, "Get… i-it off."

"Get what off?!" he asked. The panic was coming across thickly in his voice. He leaned forward to look at her over her shoulder, looking up and down for whatever was attacking Judy.

"Neck. Neck!"

He let go of her arms and she fell against him, leaning against his chest as he tugged at the turtleneck of her sweater, so hard that he almost tore the fabric. Within seconds he spotted the chain and hooked his fingers around it, pulling it up and off of her with one swift movement. She let out an immense sigh of relief as it was dragged away from her skin and, at the same time, Dr. Smith yelped as he realized that the medallion he was holding was very, very hot. It plopped into the mud as he dropped it, and hissed and steamed as it was cooled.

"Judith! What is that terrible thing?!" he exclaimed, voice high-pitched, "Are you alright?!"

She took an uneasy step forward, doubling over and resting with her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. He walked around and leaned down to be eye-level, in front of her.

"Are you alright, my dear?" he asked, again, voice softer now. His hand found his way to her jawline again and, carefully this time, he hooked a finger into her turtleneck and pulled it to the side. "Your skin is very red. You may have a first degree burn. We need to run it under cool water or apply a cold compress."

Judy took his wrist and gently guided it away as she stood up straight, and he followed suit. "I'm okay," she said. Her breath was starting to even out. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry."

Dr. Smith didn't seem convinced. He huffed an incredulous huff. "Fine?! You were very nearly set ablaze! Where did you find that dreadful thing?"

As he spoke, Judy scooped it off the ground, shook off as much of the mud as she could, and placed it back into her pocket. "It's nothing," she said. "Just something I picked up this morning."

He was frowning at her. "Does your mother know about it?"

Judy shook her head. "No. I… I wanted to keep it to myself, is all."

"You had better turn it over to her," he chastised, "It is clearly unsafe… She would be able to run some tests to make sure that it has no other effect on you."

"I'm fine, Dr. Smith!" Judy snapped, very clearly annoyed, "I can take care of it." She started toward the Jupiter again, away from him.

"I'll tell her myself, then," he announced, putting his hands on his hips and raising his chin. His words made Judy stop abruptly, standing still for a moment before her head lowered, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"Please don't." She spoke much quieter now, seeming very genuinely saddened by his threat.

Her sudden change of demeanor made him uncomfortable. "What is so remarkable about that blasted bijouterie?" he questioned.

Judy's eyes turned toward the ground, she poked at the mud with one shoe. "...Can you keep a secret? Just between us?"

It was a few seconds before he responded. But after thinking it over, he said, "Of course, my dear." His word didn't mean much- he made something of a habit out of being untruthful and breaking promises. But Judy, although frustrated, was still kindhearted and trusting.

"It…It makes me smart," she admitted.

Dr. Smith seemed doubtful. "It makes you smart?"

She nodded. "When I put it on, I know things that I usually wouldn't know. Like, how to fix the ship, and how to sound put-together when I talk…"

"And it… burns you?"

"Only when I think too much," she said. "Like, all of these thoughts start racing, and it starts to get really hot. But I can wear it for a while and be okay."

Dr. Smith's expression had changed. He still seemed concerned, but besides that, she was seeing the aviricious, self-serving side of him start to come through. "Maybe it needs a different master," he suggested, "Perhaps a more… scholarly mind would be able to better control it."

Judy's response was a harsh, short sigh. She didn't say anything to him, just spun around and started to stomp away once more. He called after her again, but only to remind her to cool the skin that had been affected by the heat.

Judy hadn't intended to wake so early the next morning, but she had forgotten to turn off her alarm. When it went off at 4, she shut it off and rolled over to try and fall back asleep.

It was a while before she gave up on that- she had been tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable, thoughts dark and unhappy. When she finally got out of bed, the clock read 4:37. She very sluggishly dragged herself to the restroom to shower and change, making sure that the medallion was snug in the pocket of her clean outfit.

She didn't know what time it was when she left the restroom, but when she took a quick peek in her parents' room, she saw they were both still sound asleep. She took a peek in at Don, and he was sleeping as well. Maureen had some capsules stored that she had fashioned out of a plant native to Priplanus; they had a pain-killing effect, similar to aspirin. She had given two to Don before bed and it appeared they had done the job. He had a very peaceful expression this time, curled under the blanket with his elbow resting snugly on a pillow at his side.

Judy made her way into the viewport. The first thing to catch her attention was the console in the same state as last night, with removed parts laid out neatly on the floor, exhibiting all manner of dents and charred marks. She remembered how it had felt when she saw it while wearing the medallion. The parts had all been so familiar to her, the knowledge of the inner workings of the console came so easy it was like speaking her native language. Now, they looked like random bits of scrap metal.

How incredible would it be if she had the console all put together and fixed when everyone else woke up? She was sure everyone would be very impressed. Partly, she had started to fear the amulet, but there were two things that outweighed the apprehension… firstly, she felt as if she had had a free ride all this time, not smart enough or strong enough to contribute significantly. It made her feel guilty. On the other hand, something deep inside her missed the amulet. The feeling of looking at complicated machines and understanding them, of so easily knowing what to say. Surely if she was careful, and removed the trinket at any sign of overheating, or at the overwhelming thoughts, then everything would be alright.

She dragged it out of her pocket and, for a moment, just held it in her hand and looked at it. The carved image of the fish-beast reminded her of that terrible encounter, of the gruesome way that the creature had fallen and died, the sound of its wet body hitting every branch and limb… The way its companion's stomach was ballooned and distended from its massive meal. It made her chest feel tight, and an uncomfortable shudder run through her body.

On the back of it there were a couple of scratches in the soft metal, but besides that it was smooth, no engraving of any sort. She hooked her fingers into the chain and held it up, letting the heavy piece of metal hang in the air and swing under its own weight.

Quit stalling, she thought to herself, Someone is going to wake up soon. Either put it on, or put it back in your pocket.

Judy brought the chain over her head, tucking the medallion into her turtleneck before she made sure that the chain itself was hidden underneath the fabric. Immediately she could feel the effect- it was as if the blueprint had been installed in her mind. She made a mental catalogue of the parts and could easily recall where they hid in storage, down to the position that they had been placed in in their boxes.

It didn't take long at all for her to collect the replacement parts. Not every part that had been removed had to be replaced- in fact, when she looked at them, she could see in her mind which could be salvaged and which were now scrap metal. She had never used a torch before, or a soldering iron- before today, she might not've been able to name them if she saw them, or any of the number of other tools she ended up using. But now she used them flawlessly and confidently. It was as if she was born in a welder's mask.

With all parts repaired and lined up beside her, Judy laid down under the console, much like a mechanic laying under a car. She knew this machinery like the back of her hand. She began to install the parts in the order that seemed most logical to her.

What an inefficient computer, she thought, Is this really the best Earth has to offer? But I'm not here to upgrade it… Just to get it working again. She thought of all of the different ways that she could make it run better- it would be so easy for her, it would take no time at all. But fixing it would draw enough suspicion as is. If she wanted to keep her medallion a secret, she should try and be somewhat humble about it.

When the console was put back together, she was certain it had only been something in the realm of an hour. She crawled out from under the machine, dusted herself off, and attempted to turn it on. As she expected the lights came on right away, screens whirred to life, and with no sign of sparks or fire. The medallion against her chest was warm, uncomfortably so, to the point where she started to sweat. But it wasn't painful. She saw no reason to take it off yet, as she might be able to fix the astrogator before anyone woke up.

The inertial navigation gyroscope was in poor shape, with the glass cracked in places across the entire dome and the gyroscope itself having snapped in half. She remembered Don's body hitting it. In her mind, she saw the whole scene play back in slow motion. She saw her father's shoulder hitting the console- where his bone was statistically most likely to have fractured, she could picture the bruised skin in her mind and see where it likely split open, how much blood he lost. If the ship had been at an angle of only a few degrees difference, it could've been his head. She saw where his skull would've been most likely to hit and fracture, graphic images of blood running down his face and exposed bone.

Judy cringed, clenching her eyes tightly as her mind was inundated with scenes of gore and trauma and the frightening statistics of how close they had been to happening. When Don's body had hit the glass dome, there was a 76% chance of him shattering it and landing on jagged shards of glass. He would've bled out in minutes.

With a frightened cry, Judy's hands flew up to cover her ears, holding tightly as if she could squeeze the thoughts right out of her head. Her legs had gotten so weak that she fell to the ground, but she was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice as she curled up into a ball, drenched in sweat, taking short, heavy breaths, paralyzed with fear.

Someone grabbed her. She barely noticed. She felt hands on her arms, felt the motion from being shaken and dragged. Cold fingers around her neck, and a burning- it wasn't until now that she realized it, but as the medallion was dragged up her chest and lifted off of her, it was so terribly hot that she was sure it nearly melted into her skin. She cried out again, this time from the pain as her hands made their way to her neck to press against the tender skin. Her eyes flew open as she heard the sound of the amulet clattering against the deck of the Jupiter- she saw it sitting there, and above it, Dr. Smith. As he knelt beside her, his hands were tightly grasping her arms.

"Judy, can you hear me? Judy?" he was asking. He looked just as scared as she felt.

Mouth agape, she could only manage to blink at him dumbly.

"Judy, say something," he begged.

"Y-y-yes," she stuttered, at last. "I… I'm alright."

A look of relief washed over him. He swayed in place and she thought he might faint, but he didn't. He put a hand over his heart.

"Oh, Judith," he cried, sounding as if he'd break into tears at any moment, "You very nearly frightened me to death. Why would you go and wear that terrible thing again? Are you sure you're alright, dear girl?"

She was panting hard, eyes wide and staring. She tried to nod but it made the pain flare up and she cringed, rubbing the side of her neck gently through the turtleneck.

"Let me see," he requested, and she obliged by pulling down the fabric. His reaction was an uncomfortable looking grimace. "Ouch…"

"Is it bad?" she asked.

"It's still first degree, but…" he answered. "Oh, dear…"

They both turned their attention to the ladder as they heard the sound of someone climbing up. Instinctively, Judy grabbed the medallion and stuffed it back into her pocket- luckily, it had cooled down very quickly. Maureen appeared from below and, from the way they were sitting on the ground looking at her like a couple of cornered animals, she was instantly concerned.

"What happened?" she asked, "I thought I heard talking. Are you both alright?"

Judy tugged her turtleneck up to make sure that it was covering the burn. "We're fine," she answered, as casually as she could.

Maureen didn't look convinced. She raised an eyebrow at Dr. Smith, who turned away from her glare to look at the ground. 

"Why are you on the floor?" Maureen asked.

"I- I got a little bit of a zap," Judy lied. "I was… Dr. Smith was showing me how to fix the console." She pointed to it, and both of the older adults turned to see that it had been repaired and was back in working order. Maureen turned to look back at Dr. Smith.

"Dr. Smith," she chided, "I specifically asked you not to touch it unless Don or John were present.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but Judy spoke quicker.

"It's my fault, mom," she said. "I made him help me. I woke him up. Don't be mad at Dr. Smith."

Maureen was still frowning at him- he had a strange guilty expression on his face like that of a dog who had been caught digging in the trash. If anyone else had this expression it would lead her to believe that she was being lied to, but Dr. Smith tended to look guilty or uncomfortable something like 70% of the time. Often for no reason at all, or at least no reason that she found out.

"Alright," she said, "I'm glad you managed to get it working, I suppose… Are you alright? You weren't zapped bad, were you?"

"No, not at all," Judy said. Maureen approached them and reached down to help Judy to her feet. As Judy brushed herself up, she reached down to help Dr. Smith, and Judy heard her gasp as Dr. Smith reached out.

"Oh, Dr. Smith, what happened to your hands?" she gasped. He hadn't noticed until that moment, but there was a distinct red mark that went across the fingers of both hands from where he had grabbed the burning hot chain.

From the look on his face Judy was sure he was going to spill everything. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer- if her mother killed her, hopefully poor Dr. Smith wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.

"I grabbed a hot wire," he mumbled, voice a little shaky. "It's… nothing to worry about, dear lady. Just a careless slip."

Maureen pulled him gently to his feet. "Make sure you take good care of that," she told him, giving both of his palms a comforting squeeze.

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled at both of them and then left, back to the lower deck to begin to prepare breakfast. As soon as she was out of sight, Dr. Smith spun around to face Judy. "Cool compress now," he demanded. "On your neck and your chest for at least- and I mean at least fifteen minutes."

Judy nodded obediently. It was the least she could do for how he'd covered for her.

"After that, find that salve that Maureen formulated from the cactus-like plants on the last planet we were on. Put that on once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and then before bed."

"Yes, sir," Judy said.

"And one more thing… Do not put the amulet on again. Please?"

There was a pleading look in his eyes. Judy turned away.

"I can handle it," she said, "I just… I'm still learning."

"Still learning?" he repeated, "If I hadn't appeared when I did, you may have lost your head!"

"I figured it out. I know when to take it off, I'll be fine," she told him.

"Judith Elana Robinson," he warned, using his most stern tone of voice, "Promise me you won't wear it again. Or else I'll tell your mother."

When she spun to face him again, her expression made him pale instantly. "If I want to put on a necklace that sets me on fire then that's none of your business. I don't know why you think you can boss me around, I'm not some little kid. You're not even related to me- you're nothing to us. You're not even supposed to be here!"

She was practically seething with rage, jaw clenched tight and having to fight to keep her voice down.

Dr. Smith's face fell. He looked at her with a surprised, hurt look in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. It seemed he didn't know what to say. Judy couldn't stand to look at his pathetic expression anymore, so she stomped away to the hatch, and opened it with the push of a button. She hopped out of the Jupiter.

Chapter Text

Judy had been quietly working in the hydroponic garden for about half an hour when she heard the sound of boots hitting the mud. She looked up to see who had exited the ship, and was glad to see that it was Penny.

"Mom made breakfast," the younger sister announced. In response, Judy only shrugged.

Penny approached her, asking, "Is something wrong?"

Showing off her most convincing fake smile, Judy shook her head. "I'm alright, Pen," she assured her.

Penny stopped by the hydroponic garden, hands coming to rest on the side of the table. She watched beads of water race down the ridged leaves of kale, dripping off of jagged edges and landing in little pools on the table below, reflecting the light of the two suns. Penny snapped a couple of leaves to tuck into her basket, causing a fibrous 'crunch' that was pleasant to listen too. "You've been acting kind of off, lately," the young girl noted, voice quiet.

"Have I?" Judy asked, "I haven't meant to."

"Are you worried about Dad and Don?"

"Yeah," Judy admitted, "I am. But I know they'll be alright."

"I think Dr. Smith did a good job patching them up."

At the mention of Dr. Smith's name, Judy frowned. "They'll be alright," she repeated, simply.

"Can I help you?"

"Go eat breakfast first," Judy answered, "And then I would love your help. Will you bring out the seedlings when you come back? I forgot to grab them."

With a smile, Penny nodded at her big sister, and Judy watched her as she trotted back to the Jupiter and climbed aboard.

It was another half hour before she returned. She had brought the aforementioned seedlings as well as some blocks of rockwool so that they could be transferred to the hydroponic garden. The girls set about their work- shaking the soil from the roots of the seedlings, rinsing them, wrapping them in the material and setting them in place in the water. They had a few little lettuce plants, cucumbers, celery, and strawberries. Every new atmosphere and lighting brought new challenges for the garden, and so their stock was rotating constantly. Judy had gotten quite good with plants, so sometimes she could tell from Robot's reports what would do well in their new home, but she tended to screw up a lot, and always felt bad about being wasteful when the newly transplanted seedlings would shrivel up and die.

"Hey Judy?" Penny asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled in around the two girls.

"What is it, Penny?"

"Do you ever…" she paused, considering her words carefully. "Does it ever make you sad that there's an age gap between us? I mean, we never went to the same school, or watched the same shows, or had the same hobbies..."

"Hmm…" Judy hummed. She took a long while to come up with her answer, silently weighing the pros and cons of being nearly a decade older than her sister. "No," she decided, at last.

"No?"

"Do you remember when Will was born?"

Penny shook her head. "No, I… Not really."

"That's because you were only two," Judy explained, "I was ten. And when you were born, I was eight. I remember both. Dad and Mom were gone all day, it was just me and aunt Colleen. She took me to the dollar store and told me to pick out a toy for you. I found the cutest little pink bear with a heart-shaped nose."

"I remember that bear!" Penny exclaimed, "I didn't know you had picked her out."

Judy was smiling, a nostalgic look in her eyes. "I remember when Mom and Dad brought you home. I remember thinking you were so small, even smaller than my baby dolls. They had you wrapped up in this pink blanket, and Dad sat me on his lap, and I got to hold you. I was so excited to be your big sister. And do you know what else I remember?"

"What?" Penny asked.

"I remember your first word. I remember when you used to call me 'yudy' because you couldn't make the 'j' sound. I remember your first day at school. I remember when I would have my friends over and they would all talk about how cute you and Will were. Maybe we missed out on some things when we were younger, but I wouldn't trade those memories for anything."

Penny wrapped her arms around her sister in a tight hug. "You're so sweet, Judy," she said, "I've always thought having a big sister was the best thing in the world. I thought it was so cool that you could drive me and my friends around."

"By the time you were ten you were four grades ahead. Your friends were practically my age! I always thought I'd be helping you and Will with your homework, but it was the other way around!"

"Remember when he was six and he took apart the VCR, and put it back together?"

"Ugh! Don't remind me," Judy laughed, "That little show-off!"

Penny laughed, too, but when she fell silent, she had something of a solemn look on her face.

"I… I don't know how to ask you this," she admitted, "Did it ever make you feel bad that Will and I were… um… on different academic paths? I hope it didn't, is all."

"Feel bad?" Judy repeated, "No, never. I was very proud to be the big sister of two kid geniuses."

"You're just as smart as we are," Penny said, "I just… think you didn't apply yourself in school."

Judy recognized the words. Even though they came from Penny's mouth, they were Maureen's words. Judy had heard them from her mother many, many times growing up, and as kind as it was for her to say it, and for her dad to say it, and even Penny to say it, Judy knew it wasn't true. Penny was in 10th grade at age 11, Will had already graduated high school at age 9, and Judy had to take geometry twice.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Thank you, Penny." Then with a bit of a cheeky smile, she added, "You know what else? I had mom and dad all to myself for eight years. Best eight years of my life."

"You liar!" Penny accused, "You love me. Mom always says that you thought you were the mom. She said you always wanted to push my stroller or feed me."

"You were pretty cute. You still are pretty cute… I wish I was strong enough to rock you to sleep like I did back then."

The mental image made Penny laugh. "Aaw... I love you, Judy."

"I love you too, Penny." Judy grabbed her younger sister's shoulder and squeezed it, planting a kiss on top of her head. Penny's dark hair felt quite warm as it had been absorbing the heat from the two suns. "Do you want to play a game?" she asked.

"What kind of game?"

"Well… I'll sing the first word of a song, and you have to try and guess what song it is."

"Okay!" Penny chirped, as she was shaking water off of the little strawberry seedling in her hand, "That sounds fun!"

The rest of the morning went by quickly, with the two girls chatting, singing and laughing together. Pretty soon it was time for lunch and, having skipped breakfast, Judy was the first in the galley, with her dear sister beside her. Maureen had prepared sandwiches with some fish filets that had been synthesized by the machine, and she had also made crispy fried lentils.

John had managed to squeeze his battered body into the galley booth with little complaint. Don slid in beside Judy, which she was very happy for, as she'd been seeing disappointingly little of him the past few days. Will sat beside his mother and father and, surprisingly, the one seat that was occupied every mealtime without fail was empty.

John asked the question that had been on everyone's minds. "Where is Dr. Smith?"

"Yeah, it's not like him to miss a meal," Don added.

"He's being kind of mopey today," Will explained, "I told him lunch was ready, but he said he wasn't hungry."

"He skipped breakfast too," Maureen noted, "I wonder what's got him so upset."

Judy lowered her head a little, trying to hide her guilty expression. Suddenly her sandwich didn't look so appetizing, but in an attempt not to draw suspicion, she took a little bite anyway.

"I wonder if he's upset about this morning," Maureen continued, and Judy felt her mother's eyes on her. "He seemed pretty shaken up about you getting zapped."

"Zapped?" John repeated. "Judy?"

Now, she felt all eyes on her. She swallowed. "Well, I… He was helping me fix the console, is all. It was just a little zap, really, I wasn't hurt."

"I thought Maureen told him not to touch it unless Don or I were there," John complained, clearly unimpressed.

"It's my fault. I woke him up and made him help me. Don't be mad at Dr. Smith," Judy said quickly.

John was still frowning. With a huff, he relented. "Well… I'm just glad you're okay. It's a dangerous piece of equipment, and that could've ended up a lot worse. You have to be more careful, Judy."

Judy felt a twinge of annoyance at her father's patronizing words. "I will be," she said, poking dejectedly at her lentils with her fork. She felt Don's hand on hers, and when she lifted her head to look at him, he was offering her a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but feel somewhat relaxed- his handsome smile always made her feel better.

"I'll talk to him after lunch," Maureen decided, "And I'll bring him some food. Maybe he will eat in his room."

"Now isn't the time for him to be moping," Don complained, smile fading, "Not with John and I out of commission. He should be doing his fair share for once."

"Don't be too hard on him," Maureen chided, "He has his… moods."

Don huffed. "I have moods too, and you don't see me laying in bed all day."

"His moods are different," she argued, "He gets a little… depressed sometimes, I think. He's been through a lot."

"Been through a lot…" Don repeated, rolling his eyes. Judy was feeling even worse. She couldn't bring herself to take another bite, and her hand quietly slid from under Don's to sit in her lap.

"We're doing alright," Maureen said, "If we need his help, I'll ask him, but we're managing."

"You're very compassionate, Maureen," John said. He didn't sound entirely pleased, but even so, he said, "I hope that Dr. Smith knows how lucky he is to have you in his corner."

The table fell silent for a few minutes, beside the sounds of forks clinking on plates, before Don spoke again. "Aren't you hungry, Jude? You skipped breakfast."

She looked up at him. "Oh, I… I'm not feeling that well. My stomach has been kind of upset."

"Is it…" his voice went low, "That time of the month?"

"No, it… Yeah, sure. It is."

Don nodded understandingly.

"Will you excuse me?" Judy asked. He scooted out of the bench and stood up to give her space to leave. "I'll bring this to Dr. Smith," she added, grabbing the extra plate that had been sitting untouched.

As she walked away, she heard Will ask, "Is Judy a werewolf?"

Judy stopped outside of the door to Dr. Smith's stateroom and, for a moment, she only stood there and anxiously studied the folds in the sliding partition. Part of her wanted to put the amulet on- it would help her talk to him, and she was anticipating something of a painful conversation. But it had been the start of all of this mess and if he saw her in it, she imagined he wouldn't be very happy… So, without the medallion on, she knocked.

She heard his voice call from inside. "Come in."

She opened the door to find him sitting on his bed, propped up against the wall with his feet crossed. He looked surprised to see that it was Judy who had knocked.

"Hi, Dr. Smith," she greeted quietly, closing the door behind her. Her voice was cautious and uncomfortable. As she held the food toward him, she added, "I brought you lunch."

Dr. Smith took the plate and simply set it down beside him, without touching the food. "I'm glad you're here. I've been doing some thinking about what you said earlier."

Judy cringed, sinking down into herself. "I… I didn't mean it," she tried, "I… You see, when I said 'nothing', what I meant was-"

"I know what you meant," Dr. Smith interrupted. "You were right."

There was a short pause as Judy didn't quite know how to respond. "...I was?"

With a casual tone and demeanor, and hands folded politely over his lap, he continued. "Yes… I'm not any kind of authority figure to you. We're just two adults on the same ship- I don't have any more right to scold you than you do to scold me."

Slowly, she looked him up and down, as if expecting him to change his mind or yell out 'april fools'. But he only continued to sit and watch her stoically. "Yeah," was all she said.

At that moment, Dr. Smith sat up straight and kicked his legs off of the bed. "I was hoping that you would have a chat with me. Adult to adult."

Judy eyed the spot that had been cleared by him moving his legs. "Okay," she said, hesitantly having a seat there. In an attempt to speed up the conversation, she added, "You're going to try and convince me not to wear the necklace again."

"Not at all," Dr. Smith said, holding his hands up. "You are grown. You can do and wear whatever you like, my dear."

Caught off guard, Judy only stared at him. She scratched her chin. "Well...Then what did you want to talk about?"

"I thought that you might like someone to… confide in," he explained, crossing one leg over the other. "Some things are hard to talk about with family, and easier to talk about with friends. Am I correct in assuming that that is what we are- friends?" He peered over at Judy with something of a hopeful look, eyebrows up.

She smiled, and answered, "Of course we are."

He lifted his chin, looking relieved, but as she watched him, his expression turned to concern. "It's just that I… I worry about you, my dear… I simply don't understand why you are making the choice to put yourself in harm's way."

Judy's smile faded. She crossed her arms in a defensive gesture, her eyes darting away. "Is it not obvious?" she asked, sounding a little bitter. 

"Obvious?" Dr. Smith repeated, genuinely confused.

"I mean..." Judy paused to sigh. "Penny is a zoologist, her IQ is 147. Will graduated high school at 9, his IQ is 182. My IQ is 100 even- exactly average. With the medallion I can finally be of some real use to this family, is all."

"I- We all have different strengths," Dr. Smith argued, "No two Robinsons will approach a problem the same way, that's what makes you a good team. And besides, there's no way to measure how smart a person really is, you know, the IQ test only measures a, uh, something of a general ability."

Judy tsked. "Their 'general abilities' are high above mine. And that matters a lot in outer space- it seems like the way I approach problems is always the wrong one."

"I'd argue there are other traits that matter just as much. You are… generous, conscientious, trustworthy. That matters more than you think."

"Anyone can be generous and trustworthy, but I'll never be like my siblings. Will can take apart any machine and put it back together. Penny knows so much about alien environments and creatures. I... I do the gardening, and half the time I screw it up and things die." As she spoke her voice raised, her hands gestured, and her face started to redden as she became more flustered.

"Oh, Judy-"

"It's fine," she interrupted. In an attempt to calm herself she took a deep breath, head high, and announced, "I'm not bothered by it. I accept it." Although she refused to face him, she could feel his worried eyes on her, his concern smothering her like a thick blanket on a hot day.

"But you are," he pleaded gently, "You say you are not, and… perhaps you even believe that you are not, but you are going through great lengths to live up to this arbitrary standard you've set- you're hurting yourself in the process."

"No," she corrected, projecting a false confidence as best as she could, "I love my siblings. I'm not… I'm not jealous or anything."

"Of course you love them. And I know you're not jealous, but I do think that you've hurt yourself by comparing your, erm… academic progress. It's okay to admit if you're bothered, Judy, my dear."

Judy continued to stare ahead, refusing to look at him. Her palms started to sweat, and she grabbed anxious fistfuls of the blanket. As much as she had tried to brush it off and act casually, he continued to peel back layers and expose her lie. There was something she was keeping from him, something she'd kept from everybody, the thing that she attributed to her self-proclaimed mediocrity in the most extraordinary family. It felt like a balloon in her chest, one that'd been slowly growing over the past 16 years, and now it was so full that it was squeezing her heart and stomach and threatening to blow at any moment.

"Dr. Smith…" she said, voice suddenly low and barely audible to him, "Can I tell you something? And you won't tell anyone else?"

He was caught off guard by the sudden change in demeanor. "Of course, my dear," he answered, with the most gentle and encouraging tone that he could manage. She turned to face him and found herself faced with two wide, honest eyes, seeming harmless as those of a lamb.

"When I, um…" She looked around, at the wall by Dr. Smith and at the door behind her, as if someone could have snuck in to listen to their conversation. Of course, they were alone. "I lived with my aunt Colleen in Los Angeles until I was six. When I was three, Mom and Dad moved to New Mexico where they had jobs lined up in Dad's hometown. I, uhm…"

Judy paused again, looking sheepishly at the floor. She let out a shaky exhale. The balloon in her chest had popped- it was as if the air rushed into her head and out of her mouth, making her feel lightheaded and carrying out the words that she had never said before. "My aunt had a boyfriend that came around, and there was something that happened, that I… Sometimes I think that it… broke me, somehow. Like it broke my brain."

There was a long silence between them. When Judy finally looked up, she found Dr. Smith staring past her, apparently deep in thought. His brow was heavy above his eyes, corners of his mouth downturned into a barely discernible frown. When he noticed that Judy was looking at him his expression softened in an instant. He cleared his throat. "'Broken' implies that there is such a thing as a… whole, unbroken person," he said, "It cannot apply to a living thing in the same way that 'perfect' cannot apply to a living thing. Glass can be broken because glass has a natural state of unblemished and intact, but… You aren't broken. Scarred, maybe, but scars continue to fade over time."

Judy nodded a small, slow nod, blinking away the tears that had formed so suddenly. "Why…" her voice was breaking, and she stopped to clear her throat as he had. "Why is it that one thing from… Almost fifteen years ago can affect someone so much? I mean, it's like… like mom and dad left me, I felt so alone, and then this happened, and I… Sometimes I think that that's why I'm not like my siblings."

She clenched her eyes tightly, as if she could prevent her impending tears through sheer willpower. The need to cry was strong and gripped her throat like a hand, but the last thing she wanted was an ugly crying fit in front of Dr. Smith. She was already feeling embarrassed, vulnerable, frightened...

With eyes still closed she felt cold fingertips shakily rested against the back of her hand, hesitating as if asking permission. In response, her hand crept under his, wrapping around his thumb. He squeezed her palm gently, reassuringly.

Dr. Smith spoke again. "While it's true that trauma can affect a person in a lot of ways, especially if it happens during their developmental years, nothing is permanent. As long as you are alive, you have the chance to grow, learn, and heal. I… oh dear, I don't know how to say this. Judy… your siblings are anomalies. Freaks of nature. Sometimes I think that they came from test tubes of some sort."

Judy couldn't help but smile. "That's a little harsh," she said, with a weak chuckle, "But… If everyone is a freak of nature except you, then it makes you the odd one out, really…I can't help but feel like I would just be on a better path if it… hadn't happened. Maybe I would've done better in school, made more friends, I don't know."

"I wish it hadn't happened to you," he said. "I'm sorry. Truly and sincerely. On behalf of the people who should have protected you, the people who missed the signs, and… those who hurt you. I apologize a hundred times over."

Judy felt his weight shift as he leaned forward. She opened her eyes finally and, although it was hard to see through the flood of tears that came forth, she could see him looking at her face.

"You might be… changed by what happened, but it's part of your story. It's part of the thread that weaves your tapestry. And… It may feel like a big part, or it may feel like it has ruined something, but when you step back you see that everything has come together to make a beautiful piece of art. Every flaw, every trauma, every fear and bad day are woven into your story and they make you into who you are. And… Judy?"

She was fighting not to break down. Holding her breath she attempted to hide the outburst, but her body was wracked with sobs- shuddering and trembling with every silent hiccup. His hands came to both of her shoulders, tentatively at first, fingertips just barely resting on her skin, but when she didn't protest they came down and held her firmly.

"I don't know who you might've been," he said, "But the Judy that you are now is a very dear friend of mine. I wouldn't change a thing about you."

Blinded by tears, she reached forward until her hands felt his chest in front of her. She took a fistful of his sweater to pull him closer into a sorrowful embrace. He obliged, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as she buried her face in the cook of his neck. Now she let herself cry- ugly, loud, and cathartic. The sound was muffled by his sweater which was quickly becoming drenched with tears.

"I'm sorry," he said, again, unsure of what else to say in that moment. The way she was sobbing was beginning to overwhelm him, he worried that she would collapse at any moment from lack of oxygen. He rambled on with a string of comforting statements, doing his very best to calm her down. "I've got you. It's alright, just… let it out. You're alright, my dear, take a deep breath." His hand rubbed her back, up and down. He patted her shoulder, squeezed her, rocked her gently side to side.

Finally, her breathing started to even out. The flow of tears was slowing. With a broken, pathetic sounding voice, she told him, "I feel… alone."

She was met with silence. "Thank you for… opening up to me," he said, after a little while, "That was very brave of you. Do you mind if I confide something in you?"

"No," she mumbled, "I d-don't mind."

She was met with more silence. He continued to rub her back absentmindedly, distracted eyes focused on something in the distance. "I believe I understand something of what you're going through," he admitted. "Feelings of fear, guilt and… shame." For a moment his hand tightened around her shoulder, but he seemed to quickly snap himself out of whatever was running through his mind. He loosened his grip. "It's normal to grieve after something like that- you grieve the loss of your innocence, the loss of your childhood. It can take a long time to come to terms with. I only ever talked to two people in my life- my fiance, and… well… you, my dear."

Dr. Smith took a step back, away from her. He cupped her face with both hands, warm and soft, and with his thumbs he wiped her tears away. "If there is one thing that I learned, it is that you need to let yourself feel, share, and ask for help. You are surrounded by people who are… quite frankly, overwhelmingly kind. Frighteningly kind. There is compassion and validation waiting for you."

Judy responded with a weak nod and sniffle. She tried to smile for him but it was unconvincing, at best.

"You're a brave girl," he said, "And strong. I wish I was strong like you, my dear. I'm very lucky to have you around to protect me."

Her smile was more genuine, now. "I'll always protect you," she promised, bringing a hand up to pat the back of his. As she did she felt the ring on his finger and wondered, briefly, if that had anything to do with the fiance he had just mentioned. It piqued her interest and she decided she'd have to ask more about it, but right now she was emotionally and physically exhausted. She looked up at him- her eyes were a deep, ocean blue, like warm-toned sapphire. His eyes were a cold, icy blue, desaturated and almost grey in color. But in that moment they were comfortable to her, he looked at her with care and understanding, so genuine that it seemed unnatural on his face. "Thank you," she said. "I think I need a nap."

"You read my mind, my dear," he said, hands leaving her face and clasping together in front of his chest. "There's nothing like a nice, cozy little nap. Good for the body and the soul."

Judy turned to leave, but she hesitated. "Thank you again," she said, "Really."

"Don't mention it," he said, "'Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other good things.' Aristotle said that, you know."

Although she was tired, and her eyes were puffy and red, she was still smiling as she made her way out through the sliding door, and into her own room to lie down.