Quarters

[ShelBel]

Jensen walked past the guard and back to his own quarters, thinking. When he'd spoken to Kate, it all seemed so logical; now he felt like his thoughts were scattering all over.

He changed into the uniform he'd worn briefly and as he was tying his boots, his stomach rumbled. Well no wonder, he thought bemusedly. Can't think properly when the blood sugar is low.

Humming to himself, he stood up, closed the door behind him, and headed for the Mess.

<< to the Mess >>

[SilverRider]

Claire woke up after what seemed like ages, feeling refreshed, she had no idea what time it was, or how long she had slept. Shaking off the sleep she got up to get some fresh cloths on, combed her messy hair and went to the Science lab.

<<to Labs>>

[ShelBel]

<< from the Mess >>

Jensen sauntered down the hall, humming to himself. The tray bore a simple breakfast of cornflakes and buttered toast, with tea and milk and sugar, and an extra mug of coffee for Jensen. The guard at the door eyed him cautiously.

"May I help you, sir?"

"Dr. Jensen Winchester. I was here earlier and promised Kate I'd bring her a proper breakfast, since the crew up in the Mess don't seem to know what she likes." He grinned. "Also wanted to do a quick check on her to make sure she's recovered from the zat effects and chat a bit to see how she's doing emotionally."

The guard nodded stiffly and knocked on the door. "Major Howard, your breakfast is here. And Dr. Winchester would like to stay for a few moments."

[Tracy Jane]

"Hmmmm," acknowledged Kate, looking up as Jensen entered the room. "You didn't have to do that you know," she told him, trying to force a smile. She stood up and took the tray off him, placing it safely on the desk before moving back and hugging him tightly, not wanting to let go. "I don't deserve you," she mumbled into his neck as she clung onto him.

[ShelBel]

He hugged Kate back tightly. "Hey, what else are friends for?" They stood there for a long time, Jensen content to let Kate get her fill of human contact. She'd been cut off from the rest of the base for nearly two days, and knowing her, she was going through some serious lack-of-physical-contact withdrawal. He finally pulled back and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Eat, then we'll talk. I know I haven't given you a lot of time to think, but there are a couple of additional things I think you need to take into consideration before you make your decision, okay?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up his coffee cup.

[Tracy Jane]

Kate nodded awkwardly and picked up her tray, setting down the tea first; she'd get that later. She sat on the bed close to Jensen, her leg touching his, a reminder that it wasn't a hallucination. She found that she was much hungrier than she thought and quickly wolfed down the food, before putting the empty tray to one side. She snaked her arms round his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder, smiling a little, now that she had food and friend with her.

"You wanted to talk?"

[ShelBel]

Jensen snaked an around around Kate and squeezed her shoulders. "Yes. I um.... ran into Dr. Lancaster in the commissary, and we talked. She kind of clarified a few items that I think I realized deep down, but didn't articulate when I mentioned my idea to you."

He took a deep breath. "I know you're concerned for you team, Katie, and that's only natural. Jim in particular, and Larry as well. I know you want to be here for them if there's a problem, and again, I understand that. They're like your family. But to be bluntly honest- what would waiting around here for disaster to strike accomplish? If it happened, what could you do? Other than get overwrought and upset and possibly in the way."

He leaned his cheek against her head. "Katie. I could really use your help. The kids... they need this. I'll have the humvee, we'll be one of the first to know if something has happened, and we can be here in under ten minutes if needed." He rubbed her arm. "I don't want to be pushy, but... please. This day camp means a lot to me, and if it gets cancelled I don't know if I can convince the townspeople to do it again. You'll be doing something good, out there, and not dwelling on 'what ifs'. You can be there for your team when they need you and not getting in the way if they need medical help. Its a win-win for everyone- for the kids, for your team, for me, and for you."

He sighed and got up, pacing. "I'm sorry, I don't want to pressure you. I know, I keep saying that, and pretty soon you're going to hit me for it." He grinned, then came back and kneeled next to her on the bed, taking her hands in his. "If I'm being a pain, or too pushy, tell me, but I really needed to tell you how much this would mean to me." He grinned up at her knowingly. "And I know sometimes that what others feel strongly about carries more weight with you than your own feelings. I'm a horrible manipulator."

He stayed where he was, looking up at her hopefully.

[Tracy Jane]

"You know me too well," frowned Kate, drawing her hands out of his and looking away. "You know how I feel, and what I want, but... I owe you one, and you're probably right." She started to scratch nervously at her arm. "Just promise me that you'll let me come back if anything goes wrong." She sat still. Half of her wanted to move away from him was angry at him for being so pushy and manipulative, but the other half just...

She stood up and walked to the door, kicking it with her knee, then slamming her palm against it. "I have to get out of here, Jensen," she sighed softly, turning around. The redhead closed her eyes as she leaned back. "I need to go for a run, or tumble around in the gym. I can't stay cooped up like this." She started to rub her arm again. "I want to see him, Jensen. What if something happens and the last thing I did was call him a bitter, crusty, self-centred...." She started to cry and reached out for her friend.

[ShelBel]

"Hey now," he said softly, crossing the room and taking Kate into his arms again. She cried into his shoulder and he stroked her hair comfortingly. "I promise that if something goes wrong that we will get you back here immediately. Cross my heart. And there you go with your what ifs again."

He sighed. "Seeing you like this is just tearing me up. I know its a hard decision, and I know you probably don't like me very much right now for pushing your buttons, but I'm only doing it because I care about you. This isn't like you, Katie. I want the old Katie back, 'cause I miss how she used to drive me crazy calling me "pretty" all the time." He laughed a little. "Never thought I'd say that."

[Tracy Jane]

Kate snorted with laughter as she leant against his shoulder. "Well, you are a pretty boy, Jensen. You look about ten years younger than I do!" She pulled back and smiled at him, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "I'm just worried, that's all. It's Jim, he's famous for getting himself into trouble." She rested against the door, still clasping his hands. "You know, Hermione reckons it's my fear of losing someone else that made me get so stupidly attached in the first place." She found she couldn't look him in the eye. "I didn't think I'd get attached to anyone. Not after..."

She shook her head and tried to smile brightly. "Tea, you brought tea. And with milk and sugar, this time!" She let go of him and walked to the desk. "Do you want a cup, or are you going to stand there and make faces at the strange girl drinking tea with milk?"

[ShelBel]

Jense grinned and held out his now-empty cup. "Fill 'er up, ma'am. And what the heck, make it like you like it. I need to live on the edge a little more. And if you need to feel attached to someone, I have a four year old nephew that LOVES to hang off of legs. Talk about attachment!" He grinned and winked at her. "Not to mention you've got the legs for it...."

[Tracy Jane]

"No need to tell you where you'll get one of these legs if you carry on," she grinned, blushing slightly as she handed a mug of tea to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Sounds great. Four's a great age. Still young enough to be cute, and old enough to cause mischief and talk back to you." She chewed on her lip slightly before looking back at him. "I never knew you liked the kiddles."

[ShelBel]

"Mmmm," he murmured, taking a sip of the tea. It was different, but he supposed he could get used to it. "Kids, yes. Well, I hadn't had a whole lot of exposure to them before I got here. Then the factory town started to grow, and the off-world workers started to bring their families... It was a necessity at first, but then I found out that I actually enjoyed the little buggers. They're so honest, and they'll call you on stuff that most adults would let slide... And they're awfully fun to tickle and wrestle with."

He sighed and leaned back a bit. "And now we're starting to get into babies. There've been a couple of births already, thankfully nothing out of the ordinary, and I've been able to handle them. And there's nothing quite like it. I didn't expect to be so moved by the process, but it really is amazing on a level that medicine doesn't teach you." He smiled a little self-consciously.

[Tracy Jane]

"Hurts like hell, though," Kate grimaced. She sat back on the bed and crossed her legs, cupping the mug with both hands. She sat smiling for a minute, thinking, reminiscing. "But then... despite the pain, the blood, the tears, the sweat, the exhaustion, there's this little person, who's totally yours, totally dependant on you. There's a little living person, grown inside you and..." she looked up at him. "You know, you watch the videos, read the books, attend the classes and it scares the sh*t out of you. All you see is the horror and the trauma, you never realise how much you're going to feel for that child, that through the exhaustion you're just going to..."

Kate stopped and briefly closed her eyes. She was rambling incoherantly again. But words didn't seem to cut it somehow. She grinned at him before adding. "You really are perfect, huh? You love kids, babies and childbirth, you're a doctor and you're drop dead gorgeous. How come you don't have the ladies queuing up, bubba?"

[ShelBel]

Jensen blushed slightly and dropped his head, chuckling. "Well, for one thing, there really aren't any single women in town. Even if there were, it would be difficult to date someone that I consider a patient. And- I haven't been around here much, besides which, I don't believe in fishing off the company pier, as it were. Sort of limits the choices, you know?" He smiled ruefully, then sobered. "After Earth was destroyed and we lost Dean..." He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been thinking about it. More important things to do, and all that. But now... I guess I'll have to sort of re-assess my conditional relationship requirements. There aren't that many options any more." He shrugged. "I'm not looking, I guess."