Just Visiting
By Somebody's Angel
Nav sighed at she stared at the man in the hospital bed in front of her. He was currently sleeping, and she watched the rise and fall of his chest, remembering how her heart had almost stopped when she saw the explosion.
Mike was kind of like a father-figure to her, and though no-one would ever say it out loud, everyone knew that she was his favourite – he let Nav get away with more cheeky comments than anyone else. They had a great working relationship; half the time Nav preceded his orders, and the other half he only needed to glance at her and she knew what to do.
She thought back to her first week on the Hammersley; it hadn't been her first posting, but it was her first patrol boat, and she was the first female officer the crew had ever had. The other sailors, all older than her and most resenting her instant authority, had pulled trick after trick on her, presumably intending to make her snap and do something to get her kicked off the ship.
But she had grown up with four older brothers, she knew how to take a joke, and knew how to pull pranks. The day after the boys ran her bra up the flagpole, three sets of boxers were there in its place, all got into short-sheeted racks that night, and Buffer and Charge's room was covered in talcum powder.
She had gained the respect of Buffer, Charge, Swain and ET. However the XO had reprimanded her for her 'unprofessional attitude' and forced her to punish the perpetrators. And though the CO had agreed with Smith's official recommendation, he had later unofficially congratulated her on her handling of the situation.
Mike had soon discovered that Nav was fiercely protective of her charts, and hated anyone giving her unwanted navigational tips. However he was obsessive about his ship and its movements, thus it was a while until he trusted Nav enough to take her word about the correct course.
…FLASHBACK…
Nav returned to the bridge from the galley, two mugs in her hand. She glanced at the radar – still nothing – before turning to her station. The CO was leaning over the table, examining the chart of the Coral Sea they were currently sailing in.
She leaned in and silently stared at the chart over his shoulder. He turned to look at her, wordlessly taking the mug she held out to him.
"Am I disturbing you, sir?" She asked politely, a look of compete innocence on her face.
"Yeah."
"Good. That's my chart, sir."
He stared at her for a second, amazed that this young female lieutenant would have the balls to stand up to him so brusquely. But he liked that she didn't take crap from anyone; as a female officer she would always be under extra pressure and, as much as the Navy attempted to eliminate it, discrimination – her ability to stand up for herself would prove a valuable asset.
…END FLASHBACK…
"Morning."
Mike's voice startled Nav out of her reminiscing, and she blinked at him dumbly before remembering where she was.
"Morning. How's the leg?" She sat down in the chair next to the bed, scooting it closer so she could see his face without him sitting up.
But he sat up anyway, grumbling loudly, "Why does everyone ask me that? It's fine. I'm fine."
Nav just grinned, "OK, you're fine. But can you walk around, up and down stairs without limping?"
He gave her a sheepish look, and conceded her point with a shrug.
"You'll be back before you know it. Better to wait and come back fully healed than risk further injury by returning early."
Mike had to hand it to her – she knew how to get to the crux of the matter quickly. But he didn't want to talk about himself. "So I hear we had a stowaway on board?"
Nav blushed instinctively, and turned her face away when the captain looked at her curiously.
"Nikki, what happened with the Samaruan girl?" His voice was teasing – he had heard part of the story from X, and had come to some conclusions of his own.
She sighed – how exactly was she going to explain without implicating her 'relationship' with ET? "She misunderstood something ET told her, and decided to stay on board when we were evacuating the other villagers to Tampu. Then when we found her and tried to get her back to Tampu some insurgents tried to kidnap her. Luckily X was able to bluff them into leaving her alone. But we did have to bring her back to port." She stood up and started pacing around the room, no longer able to keep still.
Mike grinned at her and leaned back in his bed, enjoying his navigator's agitation.
The more time he had served with Nav, the better team they made. Nav got used to Mike's input in her navigation, and Mike eventually trusted her to direct his ship without his interference. Though she sometimes questioned his more outrageous orders, she never directly contravened his authority – her ability to keep this delicate balance made him respect her even more.
He would even go so far as to consider her a friend, something he'd never been able to do with any of his previous officers. He couldn't put a finger on it, but they got on so well; it was impossible not to like Nikki. She had all the boys on the ship wrapped around her finger, and though there had initially been some tension between she and X, it had developed into a grudging friendship.
Choosing to let her off the hook for the moment, he changed the subject. "You on shore leave?"
Nav turned back towards him, obviously surprised that he hadn't made a comment. Seeing the smirk on his face she knew he wasn't as oblivious as he sometimes seemed, and she was glad he wasn't pushing it. "Yeah, 36 hours, or until X sorts out the situation with Zuraya, the Samaruan girl."
"So what are you planning on doing with your free time?"
"Probably going to soak in a hot bath and then watch TV," she said, "Haven't done that in a long time."
"Soap operas?" he grinned.
"Please, I only watch quality television," she said, "Probably Blue's Clues."
He chuckled and she finally sat back down, still fiddling with her hands, "I don't know. I might see if any good movies are on. Or I might just kick back and just sit."
"Nice to spend some time alone, isn't it?"
She blushed again, and this time Mike wasn't letting her off the hook entirely.
"You know Nikki, the Navy fraternisation rule only refers to what happens on board the ship."
"Sir?"
"Provided it doesn't affect your work, what happens on shore is your business." He gave her a long look, and she suddenly understood what he was saying.
"Perhaps you should take your own advice, sir." Nav smirked back at her captain, then stood up and left the room.
Mike was left shaking his head in silent laughter. Trust Nav to turn the conversation away from herself so effectively.
THE END
A/N: So these Nav-friendship fics are turning into their own little universe – for those who haven't read it, the bra-up-the-flagpole incident was first mentioned in my Nav/Spider friendship piece, Amiczi. I have found that I tend to do this – though all the one-shots are able to be understood on their own, inevitably there will be elements and/or comments that are common to my lil SP universe.
As for the end thing about the Navy fraternisation rule, it's based on two things – conversations with others in this forum who have been/are currently in the Navy, and a quote from ET's S1 character description: "they cool it as much as they can on board, leaving any possible romantic encounters for shore leave."