A Checkup In Return

Posted on Sat Apr 16th, 2022 @ 12:05pm by Sergeant David Novak

Mission: S1 Episode 2: Caretaker, Part II
Location: Deck 8 - Novak’s Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 2030
1579 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

{ON}

Dana was walking through the corridors on her task to scan members of the crew. She hadn’t seen David since they were on the array, and she wanted to make sure he was alright. Uncertain where he’d be she started at his quarters, pressing the chime she waited to see if he was there.

"Come in." came the voice of the marine. He had come down to his quarters to change uniforms after their three days on the array. He'd changed his bottoms but was still bear-chested and doing pull ups from a bar which was hanging from his ceiling. Marine quarters were one room like other enlisted quarters and were efficient where officer quarters were comfortable. His room was extremely neat and tidy, though not particularly well decorated. His impressive muscles strained against the weight of his own body as the door swished open.

Dana paused just inside the doorway, her eyes firmly fixed on David’s body until she shook it off. “I err ... The Captain wanted all medical staff to check over the crew so I thought while I was here I’d check on you.” She waved her tricorder.

David finished his rep and then released the bar, falling down, both feet on the floor. He looked at Dana, a slight grin on his face. Grabbing his bottle of water, he walked over to her slowly, pausing in front of her and drinking from it in a big gulp. When he was finished, he lowered the bottle and smiled.

"Sure sure." he said with a subtle touch of her arm. He was a bit confused after arriving back on the ship with everyone else, but not too shaken. "You can scan me right here, since you're so busy....unless you wanna come in?"

The expression he gave her was playful and teasing, almost flirtatious.

“Well I ...” she stepped further inside. “I do need to scan you after all, it needs to be a thorough scan so it could take a few minutes.” She smiled warmly as she stepped closer and tapped the tricorder.

"Right, you have to be thorough, right? I mean, what if I have what you're looking for." he said, winking. "Or, what you medical people are looking for."

He placed his hands behind his back, accentuating his chiseled physique unintentionally.

"Scan away, specialist. Let me know if you find anything funny."

Dana couldn’t help but try and ignore the physique on show right in-front of her, something she was definitely failing to do as she looked up from the tricorder. “This err ... well what I mean is ...” she blushed as she became totally tongue tied.

He gave her a challenging smile. He decided to change the subject a bit to get her mind on something else. All the better, he might put on a shirt.

"How are you feeling after our little trip to the farm?" he asked.

Dana shook off her embarrassing behaviour grateful for the distraction. “Me? I’m okay I guess.” She tapped the tricorder as she carried on running his scan. “It worries me a little that we were all out of it for three days though, what happened in those three days?”

"Well, I don't know, maybe they did something funny to us." he said with a shrug that seemed to let the question go as soon as it came. "Clearly whoever returned here didn't have what they were looking for, or they got all that they needed from us. Maybe, unlike you, three days of looking at me half naked was enough."

He was teasing again of course, and this time he chuckled.

"But seriously, I'm glad you're okay. I just wish I could have prevented all this." he said.

Dana put the tricorder down and offered a warmer smile. “You couldn’t have prevented this David, I don’t think any of us could. We’re stuck here for now and we just have to make the best of it.”

"Well, all I know is, if I get my hands on that old man, getting us home will be the last thing he ever does." he said, sounding suddenly callous. He was familiar with violence, and not just because of his role in the Imperial Marines. He wasn't afraid of it, but rather afraid of not being man enough to face his trials when they came.

Dana nodded, she frowned as she looked at her tricorder tapping the screen. “Do you mind if I ...” she reached out a hand touching his body. “According to this you’re missing some muscle tissue, not a lot just enough for testing I’d say.” She paused. “Would you mind running this over me?”

He shivered at bit at her touch. It had been a month since a woman had touched him and he rather liked the feeling. Concealing his reaction for the most part, he wordlessly grabbed the tricorder and ran the sensor over her body, head to toe.

“I’m not totally sure how to read this, but it says you’ve got a few eggs missing.” He said, then looked at her. “Gods only know what they did with that.”

“That might explain why Callie is missing, she is pregnant after all.” Dana paused as she gently took the tricorder back. “This is all too weird, they’re taking genetic samples but they haven’t used any of them on any of us. You'd normally take eggs to fertilise and re-implant but they haven’t done that.” She sighed. “Anyway at least you’re okay that’s what matters.”

He didn’t know much about medical or science; he was a soldier trained to fight and to kill. He merely shrugged at her statement, not really understanding the implications. He raised an eyebrow and a glimmer in his eye indicated a lightening of his heart.

“Is that what matters?” He asked her, turning his head to the side a bit.

Dana offered a smile. “It does to me, I can’t see someone like you being without someone back home, but that doesn’t mean I can’t care in a friendly sense.” She was kind of hoping he didn’t have a girl back home, at least then she could show an interest.

David looked her in the eyes and, after several seconds, his eyes strayed to her lips. Realizing that he wanted to kiss her, he caught a gimps of a picture sitting on a side table behind her. The flowing blonde hair of the girl made him feel immediate doubt. She returned his gaze to Dana's eyes, reaching up and grabbing her arm gently.

"Thanks for checking up on me."

Dana smiled as she looked up at David. “I just ... wanted to be sure you were okay.” She stood looking at him for a moment, she wished he would take advantage of the moment but she wasn’t going to force herself on him. She gently placed her hand on his skin above his heart. “The one that holds your heart is a lucky woman.”

"No one holds my heart yet." he answered, looking deeply into her eyes, the warmth of her touch causing his heart to beat faster. "But someone does have my word. And I try not to break that."

Dana nodded as she withdrew her hand. “Then I’d best get going, because if I stay any longer I’ll encourage you to do more than break your word.” She offered an almost longing look before stepping back.

“I’ll try to be dressed next time you see me.” He said with a boyish grin which communicated playfulness. “Assuming this hasn’t been part of your plan all along.”

“Don’t he dressed on my behalf” Dana offered a smile. “I like seeing you that way” she paused and turned back giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for making me feel like I matter.”

Her closeness, the softness of her voice, and the feeling of her lips against his cheeks caused the skin on his arms and chest to prickle. Underneath his uniform pants, his body began to get ready for something more. He wasn’t shy, however, and didn’t let it show on his face. A month in this ship had left him lonely in many ways. Though he knew she indeed had to go or he might end up breaking his word.

“Of course you matter…stay safe out there.” He said, putting his hands on her arms and gently pushing her away before placing one of them at his right leg in order to hide the beginnings of a noticeable erection. He wasn’t ashamed, but he wasn’t one to be brash about it either.

Dana was finding it hard to pull herself away from David, she backed up slowly but noticed his change of position. “If you want me ...” Her eyes traced lower on his body before tracing back up. “You know where I’ll be. Unless you want to stop me first.” With that she headed for the door.

Once she was gone, David breathed a sigh. The conflicting feelings were palpable for him, but he was a disciplined and self-controlled person. He didn’t give in to any women who might be into him because of feelings alone. He grabbed his undershirt and uniform jacket and put them on, planning to return to the search.