This is a sequel to "Heart to Heart Many thanks to my beta readers, Linda and Wendy. Debra ( ) indicates thoughts; < > expressions/actions
Marcus was worried.
It had been 2 days since he'd seen Susan, confessed his love for her; 2 long days spent in a Medlab bed with nothing to do but play with his pike. After the 99th expansion and collapse, he was almost as sick of it as Franklin had been on their trip to Mars.
"Stephen, when can I get out of here?" he said plaintively.
"I'll release you today IF and that's a big IF you rest in your quarters for another day. No barroom fights, no arguments with Susan, nothing more strenuous than lifting food to your mouth. Agreed?"
"Agreed. How could I fight with Susan anyway? She doesn't want to see me, hasn't come 'round once since I woke up and found her in my arms."
"Give her time, she's had a rather large shock, finding out you love her."
"Her and the rest of the station. She probably never wants to see my face again."
"I wouldn't go that far" said Stephen with a grin. "I have it on good authority that the commander has been caught 'looking starry eyed' at her post the last couple of days and that she even gave the same order twice. Not that anyone corrected her, of course, just obeyed it twice."
Marcus gave an answering grin "Really? You've given me hope, Stephen, the best medicine there is. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll hobble down to my quarters."
"You do that - and stay out of trouble, I don't want to have to put a "Reserved for Marcus Cole" label on one of my Medlab beds."
"You mean I have to just take whichever one's not occupied? I had grown rather fond of this one. Oh well, I guess we makes our beds and takes our chances."
Stephen
Marcus left Medlab, his mind awhirl. Thoughts of Susan intermixed with the
paranoid suspicion that everyone was looking at him, laughing behind his
back at his delirious declarations of love. How would he ever get her to go
out with him after that debacle ? He would have to think of something, some
way to convince her to give him another chance.
As soon as Marcus was out of earshot, Franklin activated his link.
"Captain? He's on his way."
Meanwhile back in C&C....
Sheridan had a morning that alternated between hidden glee at the stunt
they were going to pull and frustration at not being able to grin every
time he looked at Ivanova. He drew on years of experience in hiding what he
was thinking, but didn't know how Corwin had been able to hold up for so
long. Sheridan had given the orders, but Corwin had made or supervised all
the actual preparations.
His link beeped, Sheridan stepped into his office and said "This is
Sheridan. Go", heard Franklin's warning. Going back into C&C, he gave the
nod to Corwin, who acknowledged it with a widening of his eyes and a slight
nod. Corwin punched in a previously recorded message to have the package
delivered. When he received a text-only message of "Mission accomplished",
he began the illegal and highly satisfying task of controlling the
turbolift which Marcus would need to take to his quarters, keeping the
doors firmly closed until he came. Once Marcus was aboard, Corwin gave a
nod to Sheridan. Time for phase two of the operation, affectionately dubbed
"Blind Date" or "Vesuvius had nothing on Ivanova when she finds out",
depending on who you asked.
"Susan" Sheridan said. Corwin envied his calm demeanor. If Commander
Ivanova as much as looked at him, he was sure he would turn beet red.
"Yes, Captain" she came up to the deck where he stood. He handed her a data
crystal.
"I need you to take this to G'Kar and bring me his answer. It is top
secret, that's why I'm asking you to deliver it."
"Yes sir." she said, for the first time completely unaware of what was
happening on her station.
Susan headed for the lift, outwardly the same efficient commander that was
universally feared by her subordinates. Inside was a different story,
however, with the worrisome suspicion that she had lost some of her power
to intimidate with the stories of Marcus' rantings that had spread
throughout the station. Marcus! That man had complicated her life since the
first time they had met. With his ridiculous stories of wild badgers living
in his trousers, his chart showing her as the center of the universe, his
stated intention of waiting for someone special (a small voice inside said
with awe: and that person is me!), and everything else he had ever said or
done! A twinge of guilt interrupted her thoughts, she hadn't been to see
him since Stephen had walked in on their talk. For once, Susan Ivanova was
at a loss at what to do or say. Marcus had declared his love for her in his
own unique way, deliriously shouting it for the world to hear as he lay
near death in Medlab. What was !
she going to do with him? Again the small voice said (Marry him and live
happily ever after!) She was going to have to do something about that
voice, she didn't have time to argue with herself and why was that lift
taking so long?
After she left C&C Sheridan walked over to Corwin, grinned like a Cheshire
cat, and said "Everything going smoothly?"
"Yes sir."
Marcus would not have agreed. He was in the turbolift from Amityville. Once
the doors had shut rather quickly in the face of a surprised Centauri
matron, the lift refused to move. No matter what level he punched. The
comstation remained locked as well, refusing to change from Babcom's logo
no matter what he said or punched. There was a square package in the corner
of the lift that he was about to investigate when, with a lurch, the lift
began to move.
"About bloody time" he muttered, then watched as the level indicator winked
as he passed his chosen destination and every other level until they
reached ...
The doors opened and Marcus was preparing to get out, whatever level he was
on, just to get out of that possessed lift. He was thwarted in this plan
when he was practically bowled over by a preoccupied and in-a-hurry Susan.
"Ouch" he said, more injured dignity than hurt body. The doors snapped shut
again and the turbolift descended to level 17, then stopped dead. In the
meantime, Susan had noticed who she had run into.
"Marcus! What are you doing out of Medlab?"
"I was going to my quarters to rest but this bloody lift had other plans."
"You set this up didn't you? Just to get to see me?"
"Don't be ridiculous. How could I arrange for the lift to shut in the face
of a would-be fellow passenger, hang about til you decided to use it, then
have it go to a level that isn't supposed to exist and proceed to lose the
capability to move again."
Comprehension dawned on her face, quickly followed by anger. Marcus was
very glad that he hadn't had this particular idea. "Sheridan! He took a
call in his office then came out and sent me on this wild .... with this,
this IMPORTANT crystal."
"We have both been set up then, Stephen must have called ahead in order to
trap me in this particular lift. Funny, I didn't think he was devious
enough to fool me."
"They had help, Sheridan didn't push any buttons or talk to anyone, but he
did look at Corwin. Wait til I...."
"I wonder what they intend us to do locked in a turbolift?" he asked
innocently, completely ignoring the fierce look she gave him, "Did you say
something about a data crystal?"
"Yes, the Captain gave me one to deliver to G'Kar."
"Since that was a ruse, perhaps he recorded a message for us"
Susan inserted the crystal into the Babcom interface and Sheridan's smiling
face appeared.
"Susan, Marcus, you may have noticed that you've been set up. Your friends
decided that as stubborn as you both are, you would probably take a long
time to have a date. We decided to speed up the process, so here you are,
nice private locale, with a picnic lunch in the package in the corner.
Your link is off-line as of now Susan. We'll restore power to the lift in
oh, 3 or 4 hours, so have a nice time and we'll see you later." As his
message ended, romantic jazz music began playing softly.
"Why that.... when I get out of here, I am going to kill them in order of
rank, first Corwin, then Stephen, then the Captain, as slowly as possible."
"And as for you..."she turned to Marcus who cringed slightly." You do
realize that I'm the laughingstock of the whole station."
"Really?" he said with some fire of his own. "You mean you've been
poisoned, delirious for 2 whole days, shouting 'I love Marcus'? That
explains why you haven't been 'round. Not that I expected any more roses,
mind you, but a card would have been nice."
"There you go again with those roses. I was returning them to you. You left
them outside my quarters."
"Not guilty. You must have another admirer. I hope he's not too taken with
you though
"Not interested" said Susan, doing her best to pace in the rather limited
space, which led to her slipping on the edge of Marcus' cape and...
"What the..."
"Oof" was Marcus' reply/reaction as she landed square in his lap. As he
struggled to get his breath back she didn't help much as she tried to get
off his lap and pushed on his chest to get up. "Susan" he managed to gasp,
"I'm having enough trouble getting my wind back without you compressing my
lungs. Do you mind?"
"I am trying to, you caped ...Ranger, you. Why do you always wear the same
outfit? Don't you own any other clothes?"
"No" he stated simply, shrugging out of his cape and folding it to make a
cushion. "Perhaps for our second date you could take me shopping?"
"No"
"No for another date or no for shopping?"
"Yes"
"You're confusing me."
"Good. Now how are we going to get out of here?"
"Why not wait for them? I for one could use some real food, after 4 days in
Medlab. Aren't you hungry?"
"No" Susan started to say, then her stomach growled loudly.
"I take that as a yes. Why don't you sit down," patted the floor next to
him "and use my ever-present cape as a back cushion and I'll see what they
packed for us."
She reluctantly sat down as he unpacked the picnic lunch. "Let's see: a
cloth
Susan, her voice rising with each word, said "Right, but if I was eating in
the mess hall I would get to choose who to eat with and not have to listen
to this music." As if on cue, the music changed from soft jazz to romantic
classical. "Instead, I'm stuck in a turbolift with you and the soundtrack
from a sappy romance vid."
Marcus, in a quiet tone that echoed the wounded look in his eyes, said "Is
it really so bad? I thought you had feelings for me?"
Susan, feeling like she had gut-shot Bambi, said penitently "'Marcus, I do.
I just need time to sort them out. Being trapped into spending time with
you instead of choosing the time and place...I'm angry at them for
tricking us. I'm not angry at you, really.'
"Simple fare, really, but with you beside me, it will taste like a 5 course
banquet" he said as he set the food out on the cloth. They ate in
companionable silence and he was emboldened enough to spend most of his
time looking at her. Over dessert, when their eyes met, it felt as if the
hot caff had spread to her furthermost nerve endings.
"Do you think they forgot to leave life support on? It's getting warmer in
here." she said nervously.
His eyes never leaving hers, Marcus shook his head, "No, but I'm rather
warm as well, must be the hot caff" (She is so beautiful, I'm glad they
tricked us).
"Yes, the caff." said Susan (If he doesn't stop looking at me like that,
I'm gonna combust).
Silence stretched between them, a silence that spoke volumes. Both of them
thinking
(I wonder if I should kiss her/him?) broken by the sound of footsteps.
"People! Maybe they can get us out of here!" Susan said eagerly.
"Hang on a bit. There isn't supposed to be anyone down here. Let's listen a
minute before we go attracting their attention." Quiet again, they pressed
their ears to the lift doors.
"....that's right. Sheridan and his Minbari freak will be coming out of
their council meeting at 1300, then they plan to go to the gardens. We'll
take care of them then ..." and the voice faded out.
"The Captain"
"Entil-Zha."
"We've got to get out of here" in chorus. Looking around, there was not
much to work with. The lift controls were frozen, with only the speaker
system, light, and environmental controls functioning. They both looked up
at the same time to the emergency escape hatch located in the ceiling. The
very-far-up, built for tall aliens ceiling.
"Looks like we get to work together again" Marcus said. "Want a lift?"
"Love one." He braced himself against the wall and clasped his hands for a
step. Susan used this, then climbed onto his shoulders. He stood up slowly
and she began to use one of the table knives to open the hatch.
"Too bad we didn't think of this before lunch" he murmured.
"What's that?" she asked looking down at him and accidentally dropping one
of the loosened screws, which promptly bounced off his head.
"'Susan, while I usually appreciate the fact that we're almost the same
size, it is harder to appreciate that fact when you have been standing on
my shoulders for this long' (even if it shows me a view of you I've never
seen before). 'After all, I have been lying in Medlab for four days, near
death for half that time.'"
He felt close to death again when he saw the steely look in her eyes as she
said "Are you implying that I'm fat?"
"No, no I think you're practically perfect in every way. It's just, in
this situation, I wouldn't mind if you were a little more petite."
"'But if I were "petite" I wouldn't be able to help pull you up' Susan said
as she loosened the last screw 'Watch out below'" and opened the hatch. She
pulled herself through the opening and lay down, extending her arms down to
Marcus. He pulled the data crystal from the companel and stuck it in a
pocket, then jumped and grabbed her arms, pulling himself up to the hatch
edge, then up to the shaft.
"Why did you get the data crystal?" she whispered.
"Just sentimental, I guess, wanted a memento from our first date" he said
smiling as they caught their breath. "What next?"
"We climb the access ladder to level 16, force the doors, and warn the
Captain."
"Right then. After you" he made a sweeping gesture towards the ladder. They
climbed as quickly as possible, not talking, saving their breath for
climbing. After forcing the doors open, they looked at the nearest Babcom
display. It read 1285. No time for Security, the would-be assassins could
have someone on the inside. Just time to run, commandeer the nearest lift,
run some more. Marcus thought of Stephen's instructions that morning: oh
well, if this didn't kill him, Stephen probably would. Susan was thinking
strategy, even as she appropriated a startled Security officer's PPG.
They burst into the gardens just as Sheridan and Delenn walked in another
door. Not breaking stride, Marcus and Susan grabbed the other two pushing
them back through the doorway and down. PPG fire burnt the bulkhead where
they would have been standing.
"What the..." Sheridan started.
"Nice to see you, too, Captain. Couldn't let the bad guys kill you, want to
have that privilege myself" said Susan, gun drawn and looking for a target.
"Entil-Zha" Marcus said, performing a sketchier bow than normal, "How many
do you think Susan?"
"I don't know, maybe 2 or 3 at the most. Wouldn't want to draw too much
attention beforehand."
" And weapons?"
"Probably knives for the most part, the PPG was probably a last minute idea
since we spoiled their surprise."
In the meantime, Sheridan had called Security on his link. They were on
their way, now was the most dangerous time: the assassins could either flee
or make one final effort. They chose the latter. Marcus barely got his pike
extended when they were rushed. Susan winged the one with the PPG, but then
hers was knocked out of her hand. Marcus knocked out her assailant, then
whirled and knocked down one that was about to stab Delenn. Sheridan had
not been idle, either, punching the former PPG wielder's lights out. That
took care of the would-be killers. That was the signal for Security to
arrive, much to Marcus' relief.
"Good. They can pick up the bodies, then. I think I've had enough exercise
for today" he said wearily and sat down on the floor.
"Really?" Sheridan asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.
"Yes. I've supported Ivanova's weight while she did lift maintenance,
climbed up ladders, ran halfway across the station, and fought assassins. I
think I should have stayed in Medlab."
"But you had fun earlier, didn't you?" Sheridan prompted.
Marcus replied "'A gentleman never tells' and pulled himself up with his
pike. 'Now if you'd be so kind as to have Lt. Corwin move my personal lift
up to this level, I have some ... clothing to retrieve'". Susan having
supervised the handling of the thugs, came back in time to overhear this
remark.
"Here, Marcus, let me help you" and offered her arm.
"Thank you Susan. Good-bye Entil-Zha, Captain" as they strolled slowly
through the garden.
- - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning....
Lt. David Corwin hadn't been this nervous since the first day he had set
foot in C&C. He reported early for duty, but Ivanova had been earlier. She
didn't look at him any differently, maybe she wasn't angry. A light was
blinking on his console, alerting him of a text-only message waiting for
him. He downloaded it and broke out in a cold sweat as he read:
Famous last words: I was just following orders.
Instead of a period at the end, there was a grinning skull. He wished he
had followed his first impulse, that of calling in sick and hiding in his
quarters. Ivanova's face gave nothing away, it was as if the message had
come from someone else. But he knew it was from her, wasn't it? Susan
turned away from Corwin to look out the viewport and allowed herself a
quick grin: One down, two to go.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Later that same day...
Stephen Franklin was not a happy man. Autopsies were never fun, but a
message, left by one of his staff, asked that he look at this body. It was
an alien of unknown origin who had died of unknown causes. He told the
computer to begin recording, then began describing the body: "A spheroid,
roughly 1 meter in length, with rubberlike skin and no noticeable features.
4 limbs, approximately 1/4 meter in length each, am preparing to make
preliminary cut in the chest area" as he used his scalpel to cut through
the tough skin.
Pop!!!
He jumped about a foot in the air and wished he had jumped further. It was
a stink bomb as well as a balloon. "Susan!" he yelled. Out of sight, in the
corridor next to Medlab, she smiled and thought: 2 down.
- - - - - - - - - - -
The next morning...
Susan was up early, even for her. Sheridan was a creature of habit and it
was payback time. A little fiddling with some temperature controls and ...
"Aaugh"
Sheridan's yell of surprise and shock as the 1 degree above freezing water
hit him reached the corridor outside his quarters where Susan waited.
"'Yes!' she said with a broad smile. 'I guess our little joke doesn't seem
so funny now, does it Captain?'"
- - - - - - - - - - -
Later that week....
He stood outside her quarters, nervously shifting from one foot to another.
He felt naked without his pike. Oh well, she had agreed to this date, it
shouldn't be as bad as the first. He rang her door.
"Come" he heard.
Hope she likes... he thought as the door opened and he walked in, then lost
all thoughts at the sight of Susan in a low-cut, floor length sapphire
dress that matched her eyes. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and
she wore a sapphire pendant. If someone had asked him his name at that
moment, he wouldn't have been able to tell them.
Susan was surprised as well. (He had some new clothes) was her first
thought. Her second was
(I like them). Marcus wore an open-necked Prussian blue form-fitting shirt
with short sleeves that emphasized his muscles with charcoal slacks to
match. His hands were behind his back, hiding something. She recovered
first:
"You went shopping without me."
"Well, since you said no to one of my questions and said yes to a second
date, I thought I better not push it and went ahead without you. Do you
like them?"
"Yes, yes, they're quite... nice. What do you have behind your back?"
"The direct approach. Well, I think we've established that I had nothing to
do with your mystery admirer's artificial roses. I wanted you to know who
this one came from" and handed her a real, blue rose, just barely beginning
to open.
"A real rose!
"Not half as beautiful as its recipient. Now, shall we go to dinner? I know
this nice little place that serves other hard-to-get items, with
candlelight and music to accompany them."
"In other words, don't ask the waiter where the food came from?"
"Exactly."
"I can do that." He offered her his arm and they went to dinner
arm-in-arm, a pair of hearts who needed no words to express their feelings.