Seeking Help From Strangers

Posted on Sat Mar 30th, 2013 @ 11:55pm by Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift M.D., PhD & Lieutenant Nick Marcinko

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Gymnasium / Marcinko's Quarters
Timeline: Current

* * Deck 142 - Gymnasium * *

After the events at Saturnalia Nick had found the closest turbolift and headed straight for the gym. He had been looking for a fight, which Dae was kind enough to help him out with, but the last thing he’d wanted was to come face to face with Leto. He needed time away from her, he needed to think, he needed to heal but it seemed like no matter where he went she was there. It was hard enough getting her out of his mind without her actually being there

He hated her for what she did, and she just couldn’t see that she was wrong for going along with it anyway. For a man who had spent his life putting people down, all up close and personal, this was something he’d not dealt with before. He hated it. He wasn’t the type to be all lovey-dovey, hand-holding and snuggling in front of a fire. He was a killer, plain and simple. So why was he going all ga-ga over Leto? And it wasn’t even he who had broken the rule that she had insisted upon!

But despite his discomfort in being a ‘romeo’, he loved Leto. And when he told her that he would have given up everything for her, her response of banging enemy number one was like spitting in his face. She obviously felt more strongly about her job than she did him, and that cut deeply.

Entering the gym it was sparsely populated for this time of night, which suited Nick just fine. He seemed to scare people, on occasion, which didn’t really bother him but the complaints he heard annoyed the shit out of him. It was a goddamn gym! What did they expect him to do, slap fight with the heavy bag?

He didn’t even bother changing clothes as he began working on the bag, punching as hard as he could and as rapidly as he could. It made him happy that Starfleet still saw the need for old style training equipment like the bags, free weights and jump ropes. Sure, they could be simulated in the holodeck, but Nick could tell the difference in them. The computer was good, but it just wasn’t the same as the real thing.

After a hard thirty minutes working the bag, he ripped his shirt off and began working on the weight pile, first with deadlifts and then bench presses. The people coming in and out knew better than to talk to him and knew better, still, than to offer to spar with him. It never worked out well because he didn’t really have an ‘easy’ setting.

As he lay there pushing the weights up from his chest he thought of Leto again. She was probably the only person he knew that wasn’t afraid of him and would spar at full force. It’s because she was good. No, she was damn good, and could almost match him move for move. That, in itself, was a highly arousing thing for him. A woman that could fight as good as he, and didn’t complain about him sparring with full force.

He sat up on the end of the bench and stared at the floor, rubbing his head, trying to figure things out. His thoughts turned to the escapades that he and Leto, when she was Nenita, had gotten into, most being before they had been lovers, but they were still good times. He even smirked at a few of them, helping to get him out of his somber mood. Oddly enough, those times when it had been her duty to find out information by any means necessary and she’d slept with someone, or several someones, to get that information...it didn’t even phase him. But that was all before. Before he had totally given his heart to her and had openly declared his love.

With a grunt of frustration, he picked his shirt up from the deck and wiped down the bench where he had sweat profusely. Standing there for a moment, he looked to the ceiling, his eyes closed, wondering just what he was supposed to do now.

Did he love her? Yes. Did he trust her to do her job better than anyone else? Absolutely. He opened his eyes with the next question: could he ever be able to be intimate with her again after what she had done?

He sighed heavily and walked slowly out into the corridor, to the lift and then to his quarters. After a quick sonic shower, he sat quietly on the sofa and stared into the darkness, pondering that question.

It was the big one.

It was a doozie.

It was certainly possible to love someone without having physical relations with them. Parents and children, or good friends that you’d do anything for were examples, but the relationship wasn’t the same. It was love but not the same kind of love. Then he had to ask himself if his relationship with Leto was purely physical? Rolling his eyes he scoffed at himself. He’d give up exactly dick for someone he was just fucking, nothing more. No, Leto was different. She was the real thing. And she’d betrayed him.

One thing was for certain, he was tired of being angry, being alone and being confused as hell. He loved her, but he couldn’t stand to look at her. He wanted to be with her, but he wasn’t sure he could ever touch her that way again.

“I cannot fucking believe that I am considering this shit,” he said aloud. “Damn,” he added, as he tapped his communicator. “Marcinko to...”

“Really? This is your plan?” he asked himself. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, just get it overwith you big sissy,” the more animalistic side of him chided. He spoke aloud, “Marcinko to Doctor Swift.”

There was a moment before anyone replied. It was after midnight, local time, and Robin would most likely be asleep. He held the communicator, silently telling himself that if Swift didn’t answer, it was a sign that he didn’t have to go see him.

=^= This is Swift =^= an obviously sleepy voice replied. =^= Who is this again? =^=

“Shit,” Nick mumbled, then finally stated, “Master Chief Marcinko.”

In Robin’s quarters, he sat up quickly, his eyes now wide realizing that this was one call that he had never expected. =^= What can I do for you, Nick? =^=

“That’s Master Chief to you...sir,” Nick blurted. “We ain’t that close yet.”

=^= Fine, Master Chief. What’s the problem? =^= Robin silently mocked Nick’s snotty attitude as he waited for a reply.

Nick tried, for several moments, to put his ‘problem’ into words. He could have spilled it all out, or he could have given a thumbnail sketch, but there was only one word that kept popping up in his mind like a flashing, neon marquee at an old-time Broadway show.

“Leto.”

Robin was already getting out of bed and getting dressed. Hardly anyone that was off duty called him directly. They would schedule something for a later time, but Nick Marcinko? This man needed more help than a trainload of counselors could provide, but Robin was bound and determined to try and help him with this one, even though, to Nick, it was probably the hardest thing he’d ever had to face.

=^= Anything specific you need to talk about? I can be there in a few moments. It could make it easier for you to talk on your own home turf. =^=

Another few moments before Nick replied. “I’m just...” Just? Just what? “I’m confused as ten motherfuckers, doc.”

=^= Good enough =^= Robin said, now out the door of his quarters. =^= Sit tight. I’ll be there in a moment. =^=

“Hooray,” Nick said, closing the comm link. He looked around his quarters, wondering if he should clean up a bit. His eyebrows jumped up as he noticed that, for once, his quarters didn’t look like an old high school locker room, nor did they smell like one.

As he put on more appropriate attire, he said, “Well, this is going to be interesting.”

----------------------------
Master Chief Nick Marcinko
Desperately Needing Direction

Lt. Cmdr. Robin Swift
Hoping to Be a Compass