Chapter 21–Intermezzo

"Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end."

--J.R.R. Tolkien

* * *

"Knock, knock." Anna Raynor looked up from her desk to see the first officer leaning against the frame of the infirmary's open doorway. An unexpected frisson of pleasure shot through her. She'd found her thoughts wandering to the man repeatedly since sharing coffee with him the day before.

"Mr. Smeed," she said in surprise, "what brings you down to my little corner of the Welshman?"

He shifted awkwardly before answering.

"I was in the mess getting a cup of coffee, and I though I'd come by and see how you're settling in down here." He raised his hands, demonstrating the offering he'd brought. "I figured you might like some java. Got two cups…"

Her smile widened.

"Be still my heart!"

"If only I thought that smile was for my company instead of Kam's coffee," he sighed dramatically, then wondered once again what it was about this woman that so loosened his tongue.

"Can't I be happy about both?" she teased back. "Come on in, I'll give you the grand tour."

He straightened and ambled into the infirmary, looking curiously around.

"Wow! You've been busy!"

"Well, other than crew physicals, there hasn't been a lot to do besides clean and straighten. I do want to really haul everything out and reorganize completely, but I haven't gotten around to that yet."

"Well, let me know when you're ready, and I'll free up a crewman to help with the heavy lifting."

"Thanks. I'll take you up on that."

They fell into an awkward silence, Anna looking at Smeed, Smeed looking at everything except Anna. His gaze fell on the cups of coffee he held in each hand.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Here!" He abruptly held the full cup of coffee in his left hand out towards her.

"Milk and sugar, right?" he asked.

"You're very observant."

"An oblivious first officer wouldn't last very long on a salvage ship. Especially with the crews we've been hiring the last couple of decades. Had to sleep with one eye open with some of them aboard."

Anna gestured towards the chair that sat opposite her desk. Smeed sank into it as she slipped around and slid into her own chair.

"Why would you hire someone like that?"

He cleared his throat, trying to figure how to answer that question.

"Cheap labor, short term contracts, no questions, no relationships."

"Sounds horrible!"

"Well, if you don't mind me saying so, Doc, you wouldn't exactly have fit in with one of those crews." He paused, considering. "I suppose it was horrible sometimes. Mostly it was fine. It was Jack and me, and we just hired the bodies we needed to keep this old boy in space, to do the salvage. He picked the jobs, I dealt with the crew, we got 'er done."

"It's been you and Jack for awhile, then."

"Lotta years. We make a good team."

"I'm still not sure what to make of him," Anna mused, then flushed when she realized she'd actually said the words out loud.

Smeed raised an eyebrow, and initially the doctor thought he was responding to the fact of her artless confession, not, as turned out to be the case, to the substance.

"Jack's not hard to figure. He is what he seems to be." But he said it with a slight upward twitch of the corners of his mouth.

She grinned back at him.

"Exactly my problem."

His smile widened, then he started talking again.

"Jack is gorgeous, ingenious, resolute, cunning, fearless, charming, mercurial, provocative, ardent, compelling, seductive, and god, does he smell good! But mostly, he's a good man, and the best, most loyal friend anyone could ever hope for. If you're ever in a completely hopeless situation, Jack is the one guy you want standing right beside you."

"Quite the list."

"Not much to do out here in space other than read, especially if you spend much time with Jack. Have you seen his library? Anyhow, it's good for the vocabulary."

"And I would have guessed you'd be a man who answered questions with monosyllables."

He blinked at her, surprised.

"Usually I am."

She eyed him thoughtfully, suddenly more serious.

"You trust the captain."

"With my life. And then some." His reply was equally earnest. "Why? Is there a problem? Something I could help you with?"

"What? Oh, no, thanks, Mr. Smeed. I was just wondering…"

"Jim."

"What?"

"You're one of the three senior officers on this ship. Don't you think you can call me by my first name, at least when we're alone together?"

His stomach churned with an unexpected emotion when her easy smile returned to her face.

"I think I can do that, Jim, as long as you call me Anna."