[OPEN]

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

WHO Scott, OPEN
WHAT Attraction event shenanigans
WHEN All this week, pick a day any day
WHERE Hell House, CGM, Dr. Rush’s lab, the odd bar here and there, anywhere in between
NOTES Tag into subthreads for various locations or add your own if none suit you
WARNINGS This week, Scott doesn’t know the meaning of the words “personal space”. And it’s

Comments

Friday, late night

[rightawaydoctor]

Christine had an early shift at the hospital the next morning, so she'd been sleeping most of the evening and was now ready to get up and start her day. However, that still required a jump start in the form of coffee, so she headed down to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

She stopped short when she saw who was at the coffee maker. It was Mr. Scott, but not the one she'd left behind on the Enterprise. Being cautious would have been a good idea, but for some reason she was drawn forward instead of hanging back.

"Hey."

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"Mornin'." He reached up into the cabinet to pull out another coffee mug, and turned to look at Christine, beckoning for her to come closer. He still wasn't quite awake yet himself, and for some reason, he felt like having a shoulder to lean on would be a good idea. No, strike that, it would be a great idea.

[rightawaydoctor]

Her reaction to his salutation was one of slight surprise. After all, this was their first in person meeting, and she'd expected him to say something snarky or flat out ignore her. But he seemed perfectly fine to her, albeit obviously as awake as she was at the moment. She moved closer, not sensing anything about him that signaled danger.

In fact, as she approached, the only thought she could latch onto was that he smelled rather good to her. Was that cologne, or just the way he smelled? Strange. She came up beside him and watched what he was doing.

"I take it you're just getting up too, or is that decaf?"

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

It was too early for snark. Too early and he'd not yet had his coffee, and if he hadn't been disciplined enough to stay awake he'd have gone right back to his room and gone back to sleep. But there were things to do and places to be, so waking up properly it was. Though he did give her a halfhearted attempt at snark as he tried to suppress a yawn. "What d'you think?" She was close enough now for him lean over a bit, which he did, just a little, to rest his head against her shoulder.

[rightawaydoctor]

"I think you're tired," she admitted, immediately liking his head on her shoulder. She tilted her head a bit too, resting her cheek against his hair. Physical contact was nice, and she didn't do it nearly often enough like this. Contact with patients didn't count, because it was detached and clinical.

"So why are you up at this time anyway?"

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"Like t'get up before Laphroaig does." That way he'd have enough time to wake up before it was time to feed Laphroaig, and as soon as that was done he'd head off to the Hell House. "An' I've got Hellsing t'get to." Though in all honesty he really wouldn't mind just staying right there in the kitchen for a bit. Which, again, was distantly concerning. This shouldn't feel right. This shouldn't feel comfortable.

He pushed those thoughts away, and slipped an arm around Christine's waist instead, just enjoying the physical contact.

[rightawaydoctor]

"Laphroiag... that sounds familiar. Was he on that list you made?" She inhaled deeply, the scent of the coffee sending a rush through her. Or maybe it was the scent of him.

His arm she allowed around her waist without comment. But a moment later she couldn't help but say, "You smell nice." Oh God, where had that come from? And why would she say it out loud? It was her first indication that something about this situation was off, but it wasn't disturbing enough to cause her to panic or pull away from him. She liked where she was just fine.

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"Mm. S'my dragon." He snorted then, laughing wryly at himself. God, he'd been in this city too long if he could just casually say something like that. Needed to get back home. Needed-- His thoughts were interrupted by Christine's next statement, and suddenly, getting back home wasn't so nearly as attractive an idea as staying right where he was. "No engine grease," he said, as if that was explanation enough for why he apparently smelled nice. No engine grease. That ought to have sent a pang of longing for home through him, but once again, the thought was buried beneath the desire to keep cuddling with Christine.

[rightawaydoctor]

There was a quick intake of breath as she processed that. "Not the one who got loose, I hope?" After her experience with that dragon last week, she was terrified of them. She was lucky that it had only been a small one, not one big enough to kill her.

Though she'd probably just come back to life again anyway...

"No. You smell clean." The coffee continued to drip down and the smell of it combined with the smell of him was nearly intoxicating. But that wasn't right, was it? That shouldn't be her reaction. What was happening to her?

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

He just shook his head in response to her question about the dragon had gotten loose. No, that had definitely not been Laphroaig, since Laphroaig had wound up getting attacked by it as well. Anyway, he didn't want to talk about Laphroaig right now, because Christine was warm and he was comfortable and he wondered if maybe he ought to skip getting ready for work and just not go, just... take Christine back to his room and curl up in bed and just sleep in for a little while longer.

He didn't notice that he was gripping the edge of the counter tightly with his free hand, wasn't much aware of the weight of the knife he always carried strapped to his arm. And that part of him trying to insist that he should be aware of it was getting weaker, fading.

[rightawaydoctor]

Christine was starting to forget why she'd come down to the kitchen in the first place. Getting ready for work was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. All she wanted to do was stay close to Scott and be wrapped up in his arms.

No, wait...

Focus! she yelled to herself. This wasn't normal for her, and even not knowing much about him, she could guess it wasn't an everyday thing for him either.

"The City..." she began weakly, not even wanting to bring it up and ruin their moment. But she had to.

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"What about it?" he asked, straightening a little so he could turn and get both arms around her. Much better. He pulled her closer, resting his head against hers, closing his eyes. By this point he was pretty sure he didn't want coffee. Didn't want to head off to work. Going back to his room was looking like a better idea by the minute.

[rightawaydoctor]

"Umm, it..." The rest of her sentence was lost as he tugged her close and her arms moved around him too. This was far too nice to just give up. When was the last time she'd been cuddled?

"Hmm? I forgot, sorry."

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

He sighed a little, pressing his face into her hair; there was another distant feeling of unease, another pang of the sense that he shouldn't be doing this, and he pulled away for a moment. It was gone as quickly as it had come, and he found himself saying, "Come lay down with me for a bit." No, that wasn't right. No, he didn't lay down with people. He couldn't-- "Too early t'be up, anyway."

[rightawaydoctor]

Her hands slid around his back to curl up around his shoulder blades. This felt so perfect and yet there was that nagging thought that this wasn't the way things were supposed to be. The City's doing this to us, she reminded herself, and she forced herself to pull back.

"I-I can't. There's...work. I work, in like, an hour. So I can't." Even as the words came out, her body was swaying back closer to him. It was like she was under some sort of spell.

[lt_cmmdr_scott]

"Call 'em an' tell 'em you're sick," he suggested. "They'll never know the difference." Not the most ethical thing to do, but Scott had never been particularly concerned about ethics. The ends justified the means, after all, and right now, all that was standing between him going back to bed and laying down a while with Christine was one little lie that wouldn't even matter in the long run.