All Right With The World

Posted on Fri May 13th, 2022 @ 8:54am by Ensign Alexandra 'Lexi' O'Connery & Commander William Gerhard
Edited on on Fri May 13th, 2022 @ 8:57am

Mission: Mission 6 - Memory
Location: Various
Timeline: Day 297 20:00
2249 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Lexi hobbled in on the crutches laughing with Duncan before he left her to join the queue as she moved through the room where William sat alone.

“God I wish I could drink.” She declared as a greeting as she sat down in the chair and put the crutches aside. She was healing up well but there was no way she was able to put her weight on her leg get it was going to be weeks until that happened which was frustrating as mentally she seemed to be healing quicker than physically.

"You seem to be in a fine mood this evening," William said with a smile, having watched her hobble over in what most would describe as the best attempt at a run. She seemed to be glowing and had a certain aura about her. He took a sip from his mug before he motioned to the mug he had prepared for her, "Just like you like it. Am I going to get some bonus points for this?" He winked at her teasingly at the comment.

“Well, I will have to see how it tastes first. You know how you Nordic folk are.” Lexi commented setting back in the chair with the mug. She hated feeling so exposed in shorts and a hoodie thanks to the brace on her left leg but sat there with a mug of tea she felt like everything was right with the universe. “The more I remember about you the more I ever wonder how we kept things secrete when you make such good cuppa.” She commented tasting the tea.

"Well believe me it was very difficult on both accounts. You are very picky about how you take your tea, my Nordic skills notwithstanding," William replied with a smile as he watched her drink her tea. "And now that you've had your tea, what is the other reason for your cheerful mood?"

“Oh, my mood.” The blushed brightly before she laughed. “Duncan decided to remind me that I am a poor neighbour as he heard me singing in the shower this morning.”

He gave her an upraised eyebrow. He knew that singing in the shower was a favorite pastime of hers, but he also knew Duncan had been discrete when they had been staying over at her place. "I'm sure that he is quite used to that by now. Trust me, I can vouch for the number of times you've rattled the bulkheads." He paused before giving her a sly grin, "Are you sure it was just your singing he heard or was that a nice way of him commenting on your snoring?"

“You keep saying that and just because I have memory issues does not mean I have forgotten that you mock me over snoring.” The small blonde commented with a shake of her head and her own sly grin knowing what she was going to say would bother him next. “Well, you know what you can do right? Sleep in your own bed.” She said poking her tongue out at all.

He laughed at her comment before looking back up at her, "Hey that's not fair. I've told you my bed gives me backaches." He paused before winking at her, "And that makes me quite grumpy." What wasn't said between them was the fact that before her accident, William had been a regular in her quarters. He had been going there most nights, and since she had been in sickbay, the neglect of his own quarters had become apparent. Her mentioning sleeping with her was the first they had even remotely touched on the matter.

“Ah, that would explain why you are so grumpy hmm?” She teased trying to make light of the situation. Lexi was not ready to take that step … again just because she was physically was not ready. Her leg was in a cast and she could not get comfortable at all in bed. No one would get sleep which was in short supply some days.

"Well, maybe not the only reason I'm grumpy," he replied with a wink before taking a sip from his own mug. Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking back at her. "How much longer has Avira said you have to keep that cast," he asked. He knew that she was counting the days until she could go back to work fully.

"Got to keep the cast on for about another three weeks but could be longer than this if the injuries are more severe. Once the cast comes off, I will still be in the healing process as I will need to regain movement in the leg. So it is not over but it becomes easier and I can move around a bit easier." She let that thought settle between them as she knew she was healing the best she could be resting when she could. "Oh, there are more reasons why you are grumpy hmm?" She demanded rolling back to that question not letting him just flirt and then not carry on with it.

He laughed slightly as she turned the question back to him. He rubbed the bridge of his nose again before looking at her, "Well, not admitting that I am grumpy, I have been getting a few headaches lately." He saw the concern on her face but he waved it away. "It's not bad, comes and goes at times," he said.

“Maybe you need some sleep or something.” She said softly seeing how worn out he looked before she spotted his nose. “William…” the woman said in alarm as she spotted his nose bleeding. She quickly held out a napkin to him worried as he was not the first person she had seen with a nose bleed.

He felt something on his nose as he gave her a confused look before looking down and seeing a few drops of bright red on the table before him. He registered it was blood and took the napkin she offered, sticking it under his nose to stem the flow. He looked back at her with an apologetic look, "Sorry, this is a first." His voice was muffled by the napkin, then he felt the pressure behind his forehead increasing in intensity again. He winced slightly and closed his eyes.

"Do not apologise. Come on... you need to rest." The woman said standing up busying herself with cleaning the plates away and the droplets of blood. She glanced at him and indicated the door. "Normally I would tug on you but I cannot do that so you need to come willingly." She teased him trying to lighten the mood despite the worried glances that people shot in their direction.

William got up from the table, holding the napkin to his nose as he felt eyes on him. They exited the mess hall and made the quick walk to the nearest turbolift. He felt his cheeks blushing slightly as they entered, the embarrassment plain on his face. He cursed himself for getting a nosebleed in such a public setting.

"Well look at you bleeding so you could get back into my quarters." Lexi grinned as she led the way to her quarters and let them both in. It would be easier in his quarters but hers were closer and way more comfortable.

He laughed slightly as he followed her inside, the setting all too familiar to him. "Trust me, it wasn't my plan. I'm just surprised it actually worked," he said before stepping into her restroom. He pulled the napkin and saw the blood flow had stopped, but there were some traces smeared on his face. He turned the taps on and was going to wash his face before Lexi entered after him and pushed his hands away. She ran a washcloth under the sink and started dabbing at his face.

"My how the tables have turned. Now your the mother hen," he said with a wink as she worked.

Lexi pushed him so he perched on the fittings and set to work. She tabbed lightly at his face clearing up the blood. “What happens in relationships things shift and change.” She countered.

He smiled slightly as he felt the cool water hitting his face. At her mention of a relationship, he felt his cheeks flush again as he looked away from her slightly. He had always tried to be the one to care for her, choosing to carry his own burdens alone. This role reversal was new to him, but not that he was complaining.

“Do not be embarrassed.” The woman whispered stroking his cheek gently still seeing the blush. “You have seen me worse.” She reminded trying to make him feel better.

"And I hope to never see you in that state again," he said softly. The feel of her hand on his cheek was soothing and he closed his eyes briefly. He reopened them to find her staring at him, the look in her eyes was one she had given him so many times. It was a look of compassion, a look of love. He felt himself drawn to her then, as he leaned forward and kissed her softly. He felt her return his kiss, and at that moment it was just the two of them there.

Lexi let out a soft moan at the kiss and leaned forward to wrap an arm around him all whilst keeping the weight off her damaged leg. It was the first kiss between them in forever and it sparked so much familiarity with her it was unreal. She wanted it to continue forever.

He felt her arm wrapping around him as he continued to kiss her. The familiarity returned as he felt her fingers running through his hair. He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped support her. He then remembered her leg and he pulled back momentarily to look at her, "Your leg, are you sure?"

“Shut up and kiss me.” She whispered in Swedish as she pulled him back to her. She knew her limit and she was nowhere near it.

He returned her kiss as she pulled him towards her. His arms ran up her back as her fingers danced around his collar. He heard her moan again slightly as their lips danced together. The pain in his head was long forgotten as they stood there in her bathroom. After a while, he felt her pulling away and he allowed his eyes to open, revealing her beaming at him. He gave her a smile and a quizzical look, "What?"

“Nothing. Just remembering you.” She said softly breathless from their kissing but looking happy. “Remembering me. Remembering us.” She soothed as she noticed the quizzical look. “Few better?” She wondered.

"Much better," he said with a smile. His arm was still around her waist and he gently pulled her towards him, hand rubbing her back as she leaned into him. Her statement that she was remembering them made his heart swell with joy. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes as they stood there. "It makes me so happy to see you in such a good mood lately," he said thinking that they were making good progress.

“Was I not before?” She offered suddenly have a recollection of feeling somewhat sad for weeks. It was a safe emotion with him and she had not felt any fear or anything it was just sad.

William looked at her as he watched her search her own patch memories. He nodded slightly before answering, "Leading up to your accident, there seemed to be something weighing heavily on your mind, but you asked me not to probe too much about it," he said as he held her close.

Lexi did not pull back but she looked far away for a long moment as she tried to think. “I saw something on a data core that made me sad but… but I can’t grasp what it was. What data core?” She wondered confused.

"We recovered a data core from an alien vessel that was from the future," he said as she tried to remember. The data core was currently under lock and key, and the captain had ordered that no one except a handful of people could get access to it, but he had heard rumors that some had seen what was on it, Lexi included.

“The future… that maybe makes sense. Maybe I found something I did not like.” Lexi said thoughtful but then the moment was gone and she smiled at him. “It does not matter I guess.” She seemed happier with not knowing what she had seen as she stood there pressed against her sink.

William smiled slightly as she spoke. "You know, someone told me that they would prefer to live their life without knowing what the future holds. They wanted to enjoy each day and live it to its fullest," he said.

"Wise.... but does not sound like me." She laughed and lay her head against his shoulder and sighed softly. "I do not know my memory is mixed up." She shrugged and lifted her head to just look at him.

"You did," he said in acknowledgement before he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. He then pressed his forehead to hers and stood there feeling her wrapping her arms around his neck. Things finally had a sense of normalcy between them, and all felt right in the world.