You Had Me At Hello

Posted on Tue Nov 29th, 2011 @ 7:22pm by Jackson Banning V & Lieutenant Natalia Bren M.D.

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: Natalia's Office/Quarters
Timeline: Current

A breath of air Natalia didn't even know she was holding expelled from her lips as she sat down to face what lay before her. There were patient files to go over, reports to do, meetings to schedule. Hers as well as Connor's.

She had been relieved Oz had lured Connor out of there, he worked way more than he should of that day. Even before his attack he worked way too much in Natalia's opinion. Sighing she thought So do you, Natalia. The difference between them; he was a driven man, she longed to find a life of her own, and lost sight on how to get there. Even so, in her opinion as his doctor, he wasn't ready to return full time, and the work needed to be done. How does he do it? she wondered, getting her mind prepared for the work ahead of her.

* * *

Jackson settled back in his office chair and propped his feet on the desk with a mutter. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and began to relax. His body was tired. In the wake of the hangar explosion, he and Jan and the boys had spent some time straightening the club back to normal. It had been mostly furniture knocked over, broken glasses, a few bottles in the storeroom.

He'd then gone out to assist in getting people to the closest sickbay. He had hoped for some glimpse of Natalia but none had come. Likely, she was at the main facility and swamped with patients. Things had finally calmed down and now they were back to business as usual. Sulan had called to report she had been in sickbay and was home but advised to take a couple of days off to rest. She assured him she had not been injured in the explosion but that she'd had her shoulder repaired and it was still a bit sore.

Repaired? What the hell? If it wasn't the explosion then what? It was Janice who had explained the Caitian mating custom to him, and he was glad she had waited till after he'd finished talking to Sulan. Love bites he could understand, and enjoy even, but then again he didn't have six inch long fangs. She seemed perfectly happy, though, and for that he was glad. She deserved some happiness if anyone did.

So do you... His little inner voice piped up.

"So? Your point?" Jackson grumbled in reply. Even so, it got him to thinking, something that usually proved dangerous. Maybe he would send Natalia a message, ask to see her. But what if she said no? Better to make it harder for her to do that, and that meant seeing her in person. Absolutely. He'd politely remove her from Sickbay, since he suspected she needed a break, and wouldn't take no for an answer.

His course decided, he lowered his feet to the floor and left his office.

* * *

Fatigue settled over Natalia. Rubbing at the kink in the back of her neck, she reached for her coffee cup, and the delicate purple flowers again caught her attention. She smiled. Then shook her head, pushing away from her desk. How could she think, how could she focus on her work with them here to only make her think of him? Making a decision, she carefully picked the flowers up, and carried them towards the door.

"Going somewhere?" Jackson appeared in the doorway, blocking her exit. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, his blue eyes sweeping over her. "Figured I'd find you here. I am not a doctor, but I can take care of that tight neck."

"Oh..!", Natalia had stopped, just short of running into him, had taken a step back, her eyes torn away from him as she reinforced her hold on the vase, one hand stopping the flowers from falling out. "Jackson..", she blushed at his statement, and looked past him to the reception area outside her office. There was no one there, not a soul at this time of night in this area of sickbay. Giving him a knowing look, she narrowed her eyes at him, "How long were you were watching me?".

"Just a minute or so." His smile lingered. "I'm here to run a rescue mission. Didn't they tell you it was past quittin' time?" His blue eyes held hers as he reached out to take the vase from her. "Takin' these home? I'll be glad to carry 'em for you. Or carry you if need be."

Her heart did a slow dip at his offer. It was bad enough she couldn't tear away from his gaze. She ran her hand down the side of his face. "I was going to place them on the receptionist desk, take them with me when I go. I can't leave yet. I have too much work.."

He captured her hand with his own, brushing it with his lips. "It will still be here. After you've had a decent meal, some down time, some sleep. Maybe a little time talking to someone who isn't a patient or a member of your staff." His lips continued down, brushing the inside of her wrist. "All work and no play makes Natalia frantic as I recall."

Warming inside, her eyes followed his lips. When he kissed the inside of her wrist a shiver went through her. "Jackson, you think you know me..." She was trying to sound normal, but she couldn't. A little of that shiver was in her voice.

"I tried to get to know you six years ago and got nowhere. I can't help feelin' that maybe you ended up on my doorstep for a reason. You know, second chances an' all that." He paused for a moment, still holding her wrist. "Except this time there's no one lookin' over your shoulder, directin' your every step and mine. Now, it's just us." He turned, pressing Natalia against the other side of the door frame, effectively containing her.

"Six years ago I didn't think you were interested." His actions caused her to tense from both desire and fear. She was so unsure. Her heart was pounding. She tried to slow her breathing down, but his nearness was making it almost impossible.

"Six years ago, I had your asshole CMO breathin' down my neck and eyein' me like a prize turkey that was gonna make him famous. I had to watch my step, for my sake and Sulan's too." He noted the sudden tension in her and smiled. "So, you walkin' or am I carryin'?"

She gazed back into his eyes, searching, "I understand, Jackson, I...", and she found herself giving in. "I'll walk, you can carry the flowers", her eyes now shining looked down on them, and then back up to him, she smiled, "No one has ever given me flowers before."

"I'll be sure to remedy that." He leaned down, brushing his lips to her cheek. "You ready?" The question was a whisper, full of undercurrents.

She closed her eyes, feeling the softness of his lips again, and she wondered what they would feel like on hers. It had been so long since she had any kind of intimate contact with anyone. Turning her head towards him, she whispered back, "I'm ready", opening her eyes, to look into his, his face only inches away. Needing to resist the urge to lick her now dry lips, she tried to pull away, "I need to turn off my desk console. Then we can go..."

"About time. Do it." His voice was husky, rough around the edges. His grip on the vase tightened as she moved past him towards the desk. THe thought occurred to him that the desk would do fine, then he mentally smacked himself. That wasn't her style....or his. This lady would need to be handled with kid gloves, whether it had been six minutes or six years. Slow and easy, J...

The sound of his voice caused the heat to rise in several areas of her body, making it harder for her to restore her brain cells, the ones she lost the moment he appeared in her doorway. Feeling all kinds of tingling sensations through her body, she did what he ordered; hitting the send button for a finished memo, closing down another program, shutting down the console altogether. She could feel his eyes on her and it seemed as if she moved in slow motion. Swallowing down her nerves, she looked over at him as she finished, "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here." He cleared his throat and tried again. "Your place, so you can unwind and get comfortable. And toss me out when you feel you need to." The hint that he might be staying a while lingered between them.

Natalia gave him a long stare for a moment, ignoring the continuing sensations he was giving her. A slight smile played at her lips, her cheeks colored, before she responded, "We'll see", sounding more confident than she was feeling.

* * *

Jackson settled back on the sofa, full from dinner and very much relaxed. "Better?" he asked, turning to watch her as she moved about the kitchen.

"Much", she smiled. She walked out, handing him a glass of wine before joining him. She sighed, feeling relaxed herself for the first time that day. Clearly the worse day she had had since arriving on the starbase. She sipped her own wine, pulling her feet up, tucking them underneath her as she settled back.

He took a moment to look her over and smiled. The tension had faded from her and reaching out with his free hand, he touched her cheek. "I waited too long, Natalia. I'm sorry for that. It was a strange situation all around, and I let it get the better of me. Then I took off. Not my finest moment." He leaned closer, lightly brushing her lips with his own.

Placing her free hand over his, she breathed him in, immediately feeling intoxicated without any help from the wine. "I understand", she whispered back, their lips still touching, "I missed you, you have no idea."

"Then promise me you won't take off. That's what I want. The rest will come as long as you don't run." Jackson paused only a heartbeat. "Please."

Suddenly she was falling apart. She hadn't known she had meant something to him. Her hands went to the back of his neck, and she leaned into him. "I promise."

"Remember that, Natalia," he whispered. "No matter what."

*********

Jackson Banning V
Owner & Suddenly Serious
The Nexus Club

Doctor Natalia Bren
Chief Surgeon

 

Comments (1)