Home is...

Posted on Mon Oct 2nd, 2023 @ 7:33pm by Ensign George Paxton & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone

Mission: Character Development
Location: George's quarters
Timeline: A little after sickbay post
1458 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Finally released, though it had required some talking and several promises to come back later for further check ups, Mason slowly made his way home. Not his own quarters home but rather, George's quarters . It seemed to take forever, but he really wanted to make it on his own and take it easy just as he had promised.

Though healed, his body was still tender, the healed burns and cuts still sensitive. And despite the transfusions, he still felt very weak. When he finally made it, he debated pressing the chime, then thought better of it and used the access code George had given him leave to use. "George?" He called, though his voice didn't seem to carry. He hoped he wouldn't be disturbing any much needed and deserved rest, a sense of guilt already starting to play on his conscience as he inched inside.

"Mason?" George appeared in the doorway behind his partner. His uniform was still torn from having used it to make a bandage for Mason during the action and it was clear that he had only recently gotten off duty. "I went to sickbay as I could break away from engineering but you weren't there. I wasn't expecting to find you here but I'm glad you came. How are you feeling?"

Turning, Mason cast him an apologetic look. "Trampled," he admitted, then looked away. "Worried about you," he added softly, all professional composure gone now that they were alone. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, I didn't want to leave you behind. That's not how I was trained... you weren't hurt, were you?" Despite his own very weakened condition, the concern for his partner was obvious. Even when he still wasn't meeting the man's eyes.

"I'm absolutely fine," George lifted Mason's chin to look in his eyes and smiled. "Just glad that you're ok and in desperate need of a sonic shower," he chuckled. "Come on," he ushered his partner further inside. "You should be resting. Do you want something to eat?"

Slowly, Mason nodded as he followed George. "But I can wait, go have a shower first," he offered, "you must be exhausted too. I don't want to impose..." He grimaced as he eased himself down on the couch. "I got sort of cleaned up in sickbay, I guess..." A brief smile followed. "Unless you want company?"

"I always want your company, Mason," George brought a glass of water and a cup of tea over to the living room along with some freshly replicated New Orleans style french bread and butter. "But since you already cleaned up in sickbay, it's probably best for you to relax. I'll be back out in just a few minutes and I'll make dinner but you can snack on this in the meantime."

"Always the sensible one," Mason smiled. "I'm sure this bread is sufficient..." The last thing he wanted was for George to exhaust himself even further on his behalf. He watched as the engineer disappeared into the bedroom and leaned back on the couch, slowly plastering the slices of bread with a thick layer of butter. What he did thoroughly enjoy was that the bread was still very warm. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and offered the plate up, for George to take one of the slices.

"I'm good for now, thanks," George left Mason to attend to himself and then recycled his beat-up uniform into the replicator and hopped in the sonic shower. After a long day fighting human-sized alligators, tight spaces, and then what seemed like a million repairs in engineering, it felt good to finally relax. He took a deep breath and relished the clean feeling, but didn't delay too long.

"Ready for dinner?" George reappeared with a freshly donned t-shirt and sweatpants. His untamed hair stood like a tangled mop on top of his head but he looked fresh and had a renewed spring in his step. True he was exhausted from the long day, but he knew a good night's sleep was just around the corner, and somehow that made everything else ok. "I'm afraid a replicated family recipe will have to do for tonight. I'm too tired to put in the effort to cook something more elaborate, but the replicator doesn't do a half bad job with my mom's etouffee recipe."

Suppressing a chuckle at his partner's unkempt hair, Mason nodded. "Anything simple will do," he said quietly, while trying to rise from the couch. "You're tired, you deserve a decent break too." As he failed to rise, he patted the spot next to him. "Come sit with me for a moment?"

"In just a minute," George finished gathering the food and brought both bowls to the couch. He handed Mason his and then finally relaxed into the couch next to him and immediately dug into the bowl he had made himself.

Mason watched him for a moment, eating at a much slower pace. "I'm proud of you, you know," he finally spoke after a very long silence, "not happy you stayed behind because that's not how I've been training, but proud all the same." Another pause. "And very relieved to see you're alright."

"Me? You were worried about me? You were the one bleeding out. I'm glad you & Iska made it to sickbay alright. Speaking of which, we should invite him over for a game night. What do you think? It's something we had discussed before," George smiled.

"We should invite him," Mason agreed as he turned to take George's hand in his. "And of course I was worried, you were left on your own with those pirates. I wanted to turn back but Iska wouldn't let me. He's a good man, I daresay he probably saved my life, getting us safely through the tubes and breaking my fall as we moved down the decks." He smiled awkwardly. "I'll be fine," he promised, "it may take a little bit, but I'll be okay. What about you?"

"As long as I don't have to venture through the jefferies tubes for a while, I'll be just fine. Though, I do need to brush up on my combat skills against Gorn also. It wasn't as easy as I expected," George furrowed a brow, still confused about how that battle had been so different than he had anticipated. He finished the rest of his etouffee quickly and then recycled his bowl back into the replicator. "Now, I think we both need a good night's rest. I'll grab some blankets, put some water by the bed and take care of the dishes when you're done. You take the bed and I'll sleep out here," George's face slipped into a slight frown. "I'd rather not be separated but due to your injuries and my liability to move around in my sleep, it's probably best. What do you think?"

"I don't want to put you out of your own bed. You're not going to sleep on the couch." Mason reached out and drew him closer. "I don't want you anywhere but in my arms. I'm exhausted yes, but we're not going to be separated again."

"Mason," he gave his partner a light kiss. "I won't be far and I want to play it safe while you recover.". He pulled himself off the couch and offered support to Mason to get up. "Besides, I'll sleep better if I know you're comfortable and that I'm not going to hurt you by moving around too much."

Allowing himself to be pulled up, Mason clung to him. "I'll be fine," he promised, "at least stay with me until I fall asleep then?" He cast him an imploring look. "Please?"

George sighed, he was exhausted too, and as much as he wanted Mason to feel comfortable he also wanted to sleep, but he couldn't say no. "I will," he half smiled and gently helped his partner into the bed.

As they settled, Mason gently burrowed into his partner, drawing the man's arm carefully around his waist. "I love you," he whispered, "no matter what." He closed his eyes as he relaxed. "And tomorrow, I'll cook," he added softly, "I owe you a dinner..."

George didn't answer, he still wasn't entirely sure how he felt after their dispute days earlier. Sure he had concerns for Mason and what he had gone through with the pirate invasion, but that hadn't entirely replaced the feeling of disappointment that still existed in the air between. So much had happened to George as well that he just wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling at that moment. The engineer reluctantly looked once more at his partner, ensuring that he had fallen asleep, before slipping out of the room to settle on the couch.