#Miner'sRespite – February 23, 2015

Va'ynna takes a few steps down the stairs until she gets a view of the bar, then looks around for familiar faces. She's wearing her typical red dress. The asari looks quiet tired, though nothing out of the ordinary for the time of day.

Jason is seated at the bar in a pair of black cargo pants and a white short-sleeved t-shirt and boots. He's sitting alone with a drink and a plate of food in front of him. He seems to be mostly just pushing the food around with his fork.

Va'ynna sees Jason and, after a few seconds of indecision, proceeds downstairs. She makes her way to over to him. "Hey, can I sit here?" she asks, not taking the seat.

Jason glances over at Va'ynna and a huge smile crosses his face. "V!" he says as he stands from his seat and throws his arms around the asari, giving her a tight squeeze. "When did you get released? You should've called, I would've picked you up!" he says as he releases his grip.

Va'ynna stands completely still for the entire hug, although it looks like she was going to move her arms by the time he released her. "In the afternoon," she says. "And it's fine, the... doctor called a taxi for me. Sorry... I just had a lot on my mind."

Jason retakes his seat and pats the stool beside him. "I bet..." he says, "I'm so sorry you went through that, V. I give you my word that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."

Va'ynna sits down on the patted seat. "Thank you," she says. "I... appreciate what you've done for me... already, too."

Jason shakes his head a few times. "Don't thank me. It was my bad call that put you in that hospital, V. If I would've made the call to keep Steve here, none of that would've happened. We were hoping to stop a larger conflict by sheer force and-..." he sighs, "And people got hurt because of it. I'm sorry." he repeats.

Va'ynna frowns. "You... can't change that," she says, "but you three did... so much for me at the hospital." She pauses for a moment, her breathing getting a little shaky. "That means so much to me."

Jason reaches out and pats Va'ynna on the shoulder. "It was nothing. Really. You're my friend, V. If you need anything. Anything. You just let me know."

Va'ynna looks at the counter. "I... don't think anyone can help me," she says. "I couldn't sleep, so I came here, but... when I go back to my room, I'll still not be able to sleep."

Jason nods silently a few times. "I understand... But you're going to have to sleep eventually. You need to understand that you can't control the world around you. Sometimes things just happen, ya know, V? It doesn't mean it'll happen again. Whether you put it out of your mind, or let it keep you up for days on end until you're sick won't make any difference. Try not to worry about

Va'ynna sighs. "I try, but... my mind just won't be silent," she says. "I thought it'd be... easier once I was out of the hospital, sleeping alone behind a locked door, but... it just wasn't."

Jason remains silent for a while, unsure of what to say exactly. "I don't think there's anything I can say that will make things better, V... But you know I'm just right down the hall. I can't promise you that nothing bad will ever happen again here, but I do promise you that if something does go down... I won't let anyone hurt you unless they go through me first."

Va'ynna nods. "I know... I trust you will," she says. "If only... I..." She sighs. "Thank you," she simply says.

Jason tilts his head to the side, "If only you... What?" he asks, trying not to sound too pushy in his prying.

Va'ynna frowns and stares at the counter. "My... mother," she says. "She... went to visit me at the hospital, but I... I told her to leave right away."

Jason reaches out and grabs his glass. "So she came by, huh?" he asks before taking a sip of his drink. "At the end of the day, it's up to you whether you want to forgive her or not, V. There's no wrong answer there... You just need to decide whether or not it's worth holding a grudge. You have your reasons. Now it's time to take a long hard look at those reasons."

Jason reaches over and puts a hand on Va'ynna's back. "It's not too late, V. You can still reach out to her. It sounds like she's carrying a whole lot of guilt over everything that happened. I'm not saying that's enough to allow her back into your good graces, but maybe it's worth hearing her out, right?"

Va'ynna is silent for a few seconds. "I..., but maybe she doesn't want to talk to me after how i told her," she says, still not lifting her head.

Va'ynna lifts her head and wipes under her eyes with the back of her finger. "Yeah, you're... right," she says. "And right now, I feel stupid for turning her away...."

Jason shakes his head and gives her a pat on the back. "Nah... Family is strange like that. Like I said, there's no right answer. If you felt in the moment that turning her away was the right thing for you, then it was the right thing. But you've had time to think about it and put emotions aside." he shrugs, "It's a touchy issue, V. I doubt she holds it against you."

Jason pulls his arm back and nods. "Don't beat yourself up over it too much, V. We all make mistakes. My relationship with my father wasn't the best, either." he says, giving a short shrug. He hesitates for a moment before continuing, "When he died, I would've done anything to get the chance to get him back and patch all that up."

Va'ynna frowns, looking a little unsure for a moment before placing a hand on his shoulder. "I... I'm sorry," she says.

Jason gives her a smile and a shrug, "Nothing to be sorry about. It's been a long time, V. I've had plenty of time to heal." he assures her.

Va'ynna retracts her hand. "Ah... I understand," she says, "I just... wouldn't forgive myself if my... mother wasn't around anymore." She pauses. "So..., um, is Ilyna really in... Adrasteia right now?"

Jason looks over the food on his plate. "Well, you've got the chance to fix your relationship with your mom. I say it's worth giving it a shot." he says. He takes a long swig of his drink, downing the rest of it before addressing her question. "She told you about that?" he asks with a smile, "Yeah, she's running a security team for me out there. Just for a couple days."

Va'ynna shakes her head. "She... didn't say much about it," she says, "but... when I browsed the Extranet to put my mind off things... I saw article about a celebrity being there, and the... asari with him looked remarkably like Ilyna, so... I had to ask. Commenters were speculating about who she is, too."

Jason stares at Va'ynna blankly for a moment. Eventually, laughter erupts from him, "What!? They made the news? Does the article mention Redrock!?" he asks, the excitement in his voice obvious." His expression quickly changes to fear, "Wait... They made the news..." he repeats, "Is everything alright!? Was it bad?" He begins fishing through his pocket for his omni-tool.

Va'ynna shrugs. "It's... just harmless celebrity gossip," she says. "They're just surprised he was on this world without their knowing. And no, no mentions of Redrock."

Jason calms down and stops searching for his omni-tool, a look of relief washes over his face. "Oh... Hopefully it's not causing too many issues for the team." he says with a shrug, "I'm sure Ilyna can handle a few rabid fans." he smirks.

Va'ynna nods. "I don't think she should look it up," she says. "Some of... the comments were very mean, but... I know that's nothing new... or unexpected."

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Mean?" he asks, "What do you mean?"

Va'ynna frowns. "Um, name-calling and angry outbursts," she says. "I... think they are just jealous."

Jason chuckles a bit and shakes his head. "Man... People can be so petty." he sighs, "Hope they're having a good time. This contract could be the beginning of a good thing."

Va'ynna nods. "How... is Redorck doing now?" she says. "Does it look like... things will get better?"

Jason gives another shrug. "To be honest, I don't know. This is a good contract, but it's going to take a whole lot more than one good payout to get back on track. But hey, it's a start, right?" he says, "I'm a pretty stubborn guy, so I don't plan on giving up."

Va'ynna is quiet for a moment. "I'm... glad to hear that," she says. "I... I don't think I would... have been alive right now had you and Redrock not been around."

Jason 's smile grows. "I'm not sure we deserve that much praise..." he says, although it's obvious that he's carrying a bit of pride, "But I'm glad we could help. This galaxy would be a darker place without you in it."

Jason smirks a bit. "Speaking of Victoria..." he says, "What's going on with all... that?" he teases.

Va'ynna looks at the counter, although there is a barely noticable deepening of her purple cheeks' color. "I... know that she... has feelings for me," she murmurs, "and... I told her I feel bad for... it when she's there for me. That I feel like I'm taking advantage."

Va'ynna frowns. "I... don't know," she says. "I, um, I was looking for her before coming here, but... she's not in her room."

Jason gives a nod, "Yeah, she's with Ilyna. She'll be back when they're done with their assignment." he says, "Don't worry, though. I'll make sure I send her a message to let her know you're missing her." he adds with a wink.

Va'ynna gives him a nudge. "No, don't," she says, sounding rather defensive.

Jason reaches into his pocket and removes his omni-tool. "Oh, it's no problem." he assures her, his smirk growing, "I'm sure it'll put her in a good mood." He activates the interface and peers through it at Va'ynna.

Va'ynna reaches out to grab the arm not holding the omni-tool. "No," she says, looking worried. "Please, stop."

Jason deactivates his omni-tool and frowns at Va'ynna. "Calm down, I'm just messing with ya. I wouldn't do that." he assures her, sliding the omni-tool into his pocket, "But it's probably good for you to make more friends. Even if it's Victoria... At the very least, it'll get you out of here every now and then, right?"

Va'ynna lets go of his arm, looking more than a little embarrased. "Sorry," she says. "I... was thinking of calling her, but... maybe that's a bad idea if she's at work."

Jason gives a shrug. "Security work can be pretty low key most the time. A lot of sitting around. Can't hurt anything to give her a call. If she's busy, she just won't answer." he offers.

Va'ynna nods. "I'll think about it," she says. "Maybe I'll... call her tomorrow, because... I'm tired right now... and a bit of a mess."

Jason sighs as he stands from his stool. "That makes two of us, V." he says, "So I'm gonna try and get some shut eye. You should probably try and do the same."

Va'ynna stands up, as well. "I'll try," she says. "Thank you.... I really needed to talk with someone."

Va'ynna fidgets a bit. "I... don't think you want me bothering you two in the middle of the night," she says, "or... if she'd be happy about that."

Jason furrows his brow, "She wouldn't mind. She's a much more understanding person than she gets credit for." he admits, "Trust me, it's fine."

Va'ynna is quiet for a few moments. "Thank you... I'll... keep it in mind, then," she says, looking like she's about to hug him for a moment, but she refrains. "I'll... see you."

Jason leans in and gives the asari a hug. "Try not to dwell on things too much, V. Just get some rest." he whispers before letting go. "See you later." he adds before setting off up the stairs.

Va'ynna nods, but doesn't give a verbal response. She stands there for a moment before making her way upstairs as well.