Kate felt incredibly fatigued after breakfast so after Alicia left she closed the blinds and turned on the fan in the living room and spent the rest of her morning asleep on the couch. She woke up to a knock at the door, she sat up slowly and the knock sounded again. She felt completely wiped even though she had slept quite restfully.
"I'm coming!" Kate shouted out blearily as the person knocked for a third time. She stood up and walked over to the door slowly and opened it to find Malcolm and Elisabeth standing at her door.
"Morning" Kate said groggily.
"It's 1 in the afternoon" Elisabeth informed her.
"Mmm that explains why it's so bright" Kate said as blinked at the bright sunlight. She was about to ask why Elisabeth and Malcolm were at her doorstep but before Kate could ask Elisabeth stepped forward and felt Kate's forehead.
"You are feeling a little warm" Elisabeth commented.
"It's a warm day. What are you two doing here?" Kate asked leaning heavily on her door.
"Wash asked me to check in on you since she has gone OTG with Taylor. She said you were looking pale at breakfast" Elisabeth said Kate remembered that it was the day they were supposed to set up a trap for the Sixers using Skye to unknowingly pass the intelligence that would lead to the trap. Kate had helped with some of the finer details but she had no actual physical involvement in the plan. She hoped they came back safe and sound.
"I'm always pale, once I eat I'll be fine. What's your excuse?" Kate asked looking at Malcolm.
"I was promised lunch" Malcolm said casually.
"I think we should get you to the infirmary" Elisabeth said as she looked at Kate with concern Malcolm shared the same look.
"Look I admit I've worked myself into the ground this last week or so but I smacked into the side of a house yesterday. I'm just fatigued nothing a few more hours of sleep and food can't fix" Kate said before she turned away to yawn.
"How about you humour me with one bio-scan and then we will have lunch at Boylan's" Elisabeth suggested.
"Fine, I'm getting changed" Kate said giving up she waved them into the house. She opened a couple of blinds letting the light in again. "Can I get you some tea or something to drink?" Kate asked.
"No, we'll be fine. Do you need a hand getting changed?" Elisabeth asked.
"Please" Kate said.
"I'll just wait here" Malcolm said as he took a seat on the same couch she had been asleep on for the last few hours.
Kate with the help from Elisabeth changed into a tan t-shirt and old forest green cargo pants. It was incredibly embarrassing for Kate as she felt like she was an invalid. She wasn't used to asking people for help.
"These bruises look incredibly painful are you sure you don't want something for them?" Elisabeth asked as she fixed Kate's hair for her into a low bun.
"No but thanks for helping me." Kate said.
"It's what friends do for one another" Elisabeth said as she did the finishing touches on Kate's hair. "And we are good to go" she added.
Kate, Malcolm and Elisabeth sat down at a table in Boylan's half an hour later. Kate's bio-scan showed nothing nefarious that would warrant extra medical attention so Elisabeth seemed satisfied for the time being. The walk and the sunshine had woke her up and even though she felt like lying down for another nap she did feel better for being out and about.
"Well it seems you have the gift Kate" Boylan said as he walked up to the table.
"I have many gifts Boylan you'll have to be more specific" Kate joked, the man chuckled.
"You have a gift of bringing people into my bar, especially the least frequent visitors of my establishment. How are you Doctors Shannon, Wallace?"
"Very well, we'd like to have lunch if you are still serving" Elisabeth said.
"As is my pleasure, what would you all like?" Boylan asked. Kate glanced at the menu and ordered a salad and a cider. It took Elisabeth and Malcolm a few minutes decide in which time Boylan and Kate had a conversation about her coming to work as a bartender for him.
Kate laughed at the notion as she knew Boylan wanted her to be the drawcard for more business. She had been a bartender before when she was in university as a part time job and while she had enjoyed it for the first few months the late nights she had no desire to revisit those days.
"I prefer to be on this side of the bar" Kate told Boylan.
"The offer is there, pay you double whatever Baz is giving you" Boylan said.
"No thank you."
"Think on it. Now have you two decided?" Boylan asked turning his attention back to Malcolm and Elisabeth. The two ordered their meals and Boylan left them to their own devices.
"So how are you two going?" Kate asked as she sat back in her chair relaxed.
"Very well, I finished my study on the arachnid species my Assistant McCormick found" Malcolm said.
"Please tell me it's not a local species" Kate said uncomfortable at the thought of ever encountering that sized spider in her house.
"No it's from the southern part of the continent where the climate is a slightly more tropical" Malcolm said.
"I take it you're not a spider fan?" Elisabeth asked.
"I hate them with a passion" Kate said
"You should have seen her the other day in my lab. To think someone with your qualifications can't handle an arachnid that is in a cage" Malcolm said with amused smile. Kate shot him a dark look.
"Hey let's be fair everybody has an irrational fear or two. Mine happens to be spiders. I've tried everything to rid myself of the fear but it's a self preservation thing I can't unwire it" Kate said with a shrug
"Well don't worry, Zoe has the same fear. She now sings this ridiculously off tune song every time she thinks there might be spiders. I have no idea where she learnt it" Elisabeth said.
"Perhaps it was Jim considering how inspired the lyrics are" Malcolm commented.
"I now have to hear this song just for amusement sake." Kate said.
"You really don't" Malcolm said.
"It could be useful" Kate said.
"I highly doubt a spider would run away from the song" Malcolm told her.
"It may momentarily stun them before I find someone to kill it" Kate replied in a smart alec tone.
"You can't kill a spider?" Malcolm said.
"I know crazy right? Considering my past occupation but I prefer to have a metre between me and a spider if not more space. I only have issue with the big and hairy ones. Can't handle it. Now, Daddy long legs are no problem I can live with them" Kate said.
"Daddy long legs?" Elisabeth asked.
"Yeah tiny little body and long thin legs" Kate described, she looked up at Josh who placed down Kate's cider first. "Thanks" she said as she picked up her cider and took a long pull.
"You're welcome, lunch should be coming along soon" Josh told them as he placed down the other drinks.
"Thank you Josh" Elisabeth said smiling in a motherly fashion that made Josh embarrassed.
"So can we not talk about spiders?" Kate asked.
"Sure- ah one second" Elisabeth said as her comm. unit buzzed. She got up from her seat and moved away to take the call.
"So what's next for you? Snakes?" Kate asked Malcolm.
"No, with the 11th Pilgrimage about a week away I need to compile all our current research, findings and request forms for supplies and staff to send back to 2149"
"Sounds like you'll be very busy" Kate said.
"Yes the joys of being head of the Science Department. I have to get it all finished before going out to the Portal Terminus and making sure it's all in working order"
"The tether between 2149 and here" Kate said.
"Yes"
"I thought your field of expertise was biology and zoology not Engineering"
"No, I'm quite knowledgeable in many areas of science including medicine, chemistry and few other fields including Engineering."
"A perpetual student… bet your parents like doling out the money for that education" Kate said dryly.
"Tertiary Education is free in the UK for people who have a high grade point average" Malcolm stated, Kate's jaw dropped at that factoid. She was about to say something when Elisabeth interrupted.
"Hey guys sorry to interrupt but there was another construction accident, they need me. So I have to go back to the Infirmary" Elisabeth said as she picked up her jacket.
"Oh ok" Kate said she looked nervously at Malcolm expecting him to beg out of lunch with some work excuse himself. But he looked settled with no signs of moving.
"You two stay and enjoy your lunch. Kate if you decide you want something for the pain let me know" Elisabeth said.
"I will" Kate said and with that Elisabeth stopped at the bar to get her lunch to go before leaving Boylans. Kate looked at Malcolm.
"Is this some kind of ploy?"
"I don't know what you mean?"
"She invites me as a group thing then ditches us with some excuse to leave and then we end up alone. Thus you end up getting that meal you wanted without manning up and asking me out" Kate asked matter of factorily.
"I would never try something so blatantly obvious and cliché."
"Right, you know I don't believe you" Kate said making moves the stand up but Malcolm stopped her.
"Come on sit down, it's not a date. We are just two colleagues eating a meal together because its far more entertaining to eat with company than to eat staring at wall. You have to agree I'm far more appealing than a wall" Malcolm said.
"I don't know, I'm afraid of what that kind of omission would do to your ego" Kate said sarcastically.
"Well there's no point in leaving as the food is here" Malcolm stated.
"Fine, but only because I'm hungry" Kate said relaxed back into her seat, within seconds the food arrived and they were left alone again.
"So, You want me to ask you out?" Malcolm asked testing the waters.
"No, I was just saying that if this was some ploy for a date then it's not a good one and I would be thoroughly unimpressed" Kate told him but her blush was betraying her. Malcolm let it drop though.
"Noted" Malcolm said.
"So are you going to tell me when you're going to kiss me? Because that debt is annoying me" Kate said as she took a long pull of her cider.
"Not today if that helps" He told her with an amused smile.
"What are you waiting for a hand written and gold-gilded invitation?"
"No"
"You enjoy me being all twisted up in knots don't you"
"Yes, you like being in control of your life. It's kind of fun watching you get all exasperated. Plus your cheeks turn a beautiful shade of pink it's very attractive"
"Oh you… actually I'm not going to let this continue to get to me" Kate said resigning her frustration and desire to smack Malcolm in the face.
"Ok"
"I hate you"
"No you don't." Malcolm told her.
"Damn you" Kate said laughing at their immaturity, his smug nature and her inability to stop him from getting under her skin.
"You ok?" he asked in an amused tone.
"Yeah, I'm good. So where were we?" Kate asked.
They continued with lunch, talking while they ate. They discussed many topics but Kate managed to keep Malcolm talking about himself. She heard about how he grew up living in one of the domes, which lead to how he and Elisabeth met in his college years at University of Oxford before they went different ways. She went to medical school while he went to get his PHDs from University of Cambridge and Imperial College of Science.
"Really?" Kate said in awe she forgot sometimes that Malcolm was at least 10 years her senior thus had more years of education under his belt.
"Yes, selected tertiary education became paid by the British Government in 2099. Of course you had to keep a 80% grade average for the first semester otherwise you had to pay." Malcolm said.
"Damn, I got 95 on my HSC and graduated second in my program. I was born in the wrong era and country." Kate said with a sigh.
"Why do you say that?"
"I had to earn a scholarship and even then it didn't even begin to cover the costs of my degree. So I signed up to join the Army to get a tax break on my education but I still had to get a loan. When I finished I was already 50 grand in the hole" Kate said shaking her head.
"Ouch" Malcolm empathised
"Yeah with 20% interest on the loan and earning less than 30 grand a year after tax you could say I was in a losing battle" Kate said.
"But then you joined the Grey Group." Malcolm said, she was surprised but soon remembered that Malcolm probably read her personal records and anything in the database about her.
"Yeah, 20 grand sign up bonus and start up with 70 grand a year after tax plus commission. The commission was based on how dangerous the mission was. The less likely you were to survive the more money you made. I cleared my debt in my first year on the job and I was only training. I was lucky… well I thought I was lucky" Kate said as she wore a sardonic smile as she traced an imaginary pattern on the table with her fingers
"Is being here so bad?" Malcolm asked Kate. She looked up and their eyes met for a second before she smiled and looked away as he misinterpreted what she was saying.
"No the opposite, being here is a second chance for me. I get to reclaim a lot of things I lost and say if I had reached home base instead of crashing here. You know what I would be doing right now? I would either be in a crappy apartment alone or on another mission I have had a lot of time to think about my life. Not just here but also if I was back in 2016, I'm glad that I am here and I will never go back" Kate told him, he looked relieved to hear her say she didn't want to leave.
"Well you can't even if you wanted to. It's impossible" Malcolm said.
"Theoretically it's impossible. Not that it matters. What's the time?" Kate asked as she changed topic. Not that she wasn't enjoying herself she was just ready to go home and have a siesta before dinner.
"It's nearly 3pm" Malcolm said looking at his watch.
"I should let you get back to work" Kate said.
"I will walk you home first" Malcolm said as he stood up from his chair and held out his hand to her.
Malcolm and Kate walked back to her house slowly mainly it was due to Kate being tired but also because it was such a beautiful day and Kate found herself enjoying Malcolm's company even though he had the power to drive her mad.
Malcolm regaled her with a story about his first meeting and survival training with Commander Taylor. Kate laughed as he stated the horrors of having to cover himself with slasher dung and spending five days OTG with nothing but the bare basics and Taylor for company.
"He then joked about extending our survival training by another week because he was having so much 'fun' " Malcolm said shaking his head as Kate laughed.
"Yeah, I imagine he would do it just to see your reaction. At least you know you can survive out there" Kate said as she calm down from her laughter.
"Yes, I can. I can hunt for food, make shelter and fire I can even whittle chess pieces" Malcolm said.
"Whittling there's a hobby I could pick up" Kate said as they had reached her front door.
"I could teach you but I'm pathetic at it" Malcolm told her.
"I take it you made the rook that looks more like the leaning tower of Pisa than an actual castle?" Kate asked referring to the only warped looking chess piece on Taylor's chess board. The other pieces were all skilfully handcrafted.
"Yes, I have no clue why Taylor kept it"
"Maybe a memento to remember your OTG adventure together" Kate said with a smile.
"I didn't consider Taylor to be the sentimental sort" Malcolm said thoughtfully.
"That or he can't be bothered to make a new piece" Kate said with a grin.
"Oh that hurts especially when I was beginning to think that the five days might have meant something" Malcolm said sarcastically as he pretended to be wounded. Kate made a derisive noise.
"I'm sure your ego will survive" Kate replied she typed in the security code and opened the front door before turning to Malcolm. "Thank you for lunch, I enjoyed it"
"You sound as though you were doubtful of that" Malcolm teased as he looked at her.
"No…ok maybe a little" Kate admitted. "But you can't blame me when you seem to have power to drive me absolutely mental and you enjoy it" she said pointing an accusing finger at him. He smiled at her comment.
"I do enjoy it. You're easy to stir" Malcolm said with an easy smile.
"I know, I'm used to a professional, cold, and indifferent environment. No one had the courage to stir me like you, Alicia and Shannon" Kate said.
"I take they don't show a lot of sympathy or concern either" Malcolm said moving closer to her.
"No, where I worked they believed that any show of emotions or to be emotional is to be considered weak. Personal attachments, relationships are dangerous and unnecessary distractions." Kate said as Malcolm moved forward she moved backward until she had her back against the door. He lifted her chin up with one finger so they were looking into each other's eyes.
"Do you believe that?" he asked.
"I did" Kate answered, watching as his eyes roved her face. The tension between them was thick with anticipation and want.
"And now?" he asked in a low voice. Kate swallowed and licked her lips and was about to answer when someone coughed loudly. Malcolm stood back and turned to see Alicia watching them with Jim Shannon. Kate couldn't think of a more embarrassing moment it was like the first time she was caught with making out with a guy by her brothers. That had not ended well, this time nothing had happened and Jim was barely containing a grin while Alicia looked smug.
"Jim, Lt. Washington" Malcolm said as he looked at them and back at Kate who's cheeks were now a lovely shade of red.
"Dr Wallace" Alicia said.
"We hate to interrupt by we need Kate" Jim said.
"Of course, I should be getting back to work. Another time Kate" Malcolm said
"Yes and thanks for lunch again" Kate said Malcolm nodded before he walked away. Kate cradled her injured arm and looked to Jim and Alicia who were now both grinning since Malcolm was out of sight.
"You're supposed to be resting" Alicia said.
"Yeah that looked far from sleeping like a Koala to me" Jim quipped.
"I'd say get it out of your systems but it would probably take a month and we don't have the time for that. I also can only imagine the part where you re-enact the scene for others" Kate said mockingly as she closed the front door and moved toward them. Jim and Alicia chuckled at her.
"We couldn't hear what you were saying so the re-enactment wouldn't be true to the event" Alicia said mockingly as she smiled at Kate.
"Damn and I was so looking forward to it" Kate said dryly.
"Anyway we'll discuss what we just saw later." Jim said in his best parental tone.
"Yes Dad, so what do you guys need me for?" Kate asked.
"I'm getting changed before taking over for Taylor. Shannon here wants to search Skye's place but he need a lookout-" Alicia started.
"Who better than you to sit on the porch waiting for her under the guise of wanting to have a catch up" Jim finished.
"Now?" Kate asked.
"Yeah unless you feel-" Jim drawled.
"I'm good for now" Kate said cutting Jim off.
Kate had played lookout for Jim and when he found what he was looking for he released her from duty. He walked her back to her place and they talked briefly about Skye and what her reasons could be for spying.
Kate couldn't offer him many insights she could only say that the scenarios she played out for her training she had both sides of the story. There was always a reason for a person's actions and for Skye to betray Taylor who was supposed to be family meant her reasons had to be deeply personal. It wasn't for money because she showed no interest in possessions and Kate hadn't seen any suspicious or out of character behaviour but then Kate had no base line behaviour indicators to work with.
Jim agreed that if he hadn't checked into her alibi he wouldn't have suspected her and that there had to be a reason. There had to be something to make sense as to why she was helping the Sixers when she showed no signs of malcontent behaviour. The information Skye was feeding the Sixers didn't hurt the colony.
Kate asked how Taylor was going and he told her that Taylor was the same as last night. Angry, disappointed, confused he was keeping it together which Jim claimed was a military thing. Since he was doing the same compartmentalising thing that Jim had seen her do. Kate didn't respond to the comment but listened as Jim said the sooner it was over the better. Kate couldn't agree more, Jim thanked her for her help before leaving her at her door.
Kate went inside completely exhausted and laid down on the couch not bothering to kick off her boots as she sighed as she pulled her long hair out of the bun and relaxed into the couch. Within seconds she was sound asleep.
It wasn't until many hours later. Kate was woken up by the sound of someone knocking on her door. She slowly picked herself up off the couch. She made her way to the door and yawned wondering what the time was. She pulled open the door to find Commander Taylor standing at her door.
"I take this isn't social call" Kate said she noted the early light of dawn.
"No"
"Do you want to come in for breakfast?" Kate asked pulling the door wider to invite him in.
"No thank you. Have you changed your mind about your offer to defend the Colony?" Taylor asked.
"No" Kate said.
"Meet me in the Command Centre in an hour" Taylor told her.
TBC~ cya all in a week :-)