CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning Mike woke up covered in sweat and feeling like he hadn't actually slept. He groaned and rolled from his bed heading to his shower. He stripped his tee shirt off and tossed it down, then dropped his boxers and climbed in under the stream. He was tempted to break regulations and take a long shower, but his sense of duty made him get out when his time was up. He wrapped his towel around his waist and shaved at the sink. He stepped back into his bedroom and pulled a clean pair of boxers out and sat down on his bed and pulled them on. He felt drained. Tom had given him the day off and he thought about just folding back into bed and hiding under his covers.
It would be better if Andrea was here his brain offered. He blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He tried to classify what was going on between them, and the more he thought about it the more he realized…this was something serious. It may have started as two grieving adults seeking solace with someone that understood…but it was changing, evolving, and he was almost certain she felt that way too. He got dressed and left his stateroom for the wardroom, his stomach complaining it needed something.
He grabbed some coffee and a light breakfast before he sat down at the table and starting eating, while watching the television. Someone else came in but he wasn't paying attention. He jumped a little when he felt a small delicate hand brush over the collar on the back of his neck, her fingers ruffling through the short hair on the back of his head. He cocked his head to the side and watched as she walked off to get her food. Mike's heart was still hammering away but in a good way. She came over and sat down next to him, scooting her chair closer to him, so her leg could sit, pressed lightly against his.
"Morning, Commander Slattery," she greeted, and Mike smirked.
"Good morning, Commander Garnett," Mike replied. She smiled at him. He saw her look around the room, making sure no one else was there. She looked back at him.
"I missed you yesterday," she whispered. The words washed over him, and his heart thumped a little harder. His lips twitched into a grin before he pulled it in.
"Likewise, Shortie," he said quietly. She shoved his shoulder a little, and he smirked.
"Really?" she asked in a stage whisper. Mike couldn't contain his chuckle, nor could he contain the genuine grin that crossed his features.
"You got a problem with that?" Mike responded. His voice playful. She gave him a scowl and he felt his body shake with trying to contain his laughter. He knew in that moment, that Shortie was her name for him.
"I'm not short," she ground out. Mike grinned wider, his face about to split. "You're just a damn giant." Her final words released a guffaw from Mike and then he was laughing, and she was laughing right alongside of him, and it was the best sound he had heard in a long time. Mike finished his food and pushed his tray away from him. He twisted his upper body so he could look at her. Their legs were still pressed together. He leaned on the table to change his angle, taking in her beauty. He felt his heart flutter and knew he was in trouble.
"I'm off duty until tomorrow night," he said not quite sure why he was saying it. They locked eyes and Andrea searched his face. He tried to remain open but the intensity of it all got to him and he looked down. She reached over and wrapped her fingers around his hand.
"Okay," was all she said. He looked at their hands, and then twisted his so that he could intertwine their fingers. His gaze was still on their hands. They both pulled back as they heard the door open up. Mike glanced over his shoulder and saw Tex Nolan come into the room. Andrea picked up her empty tray and walked out without another word. Mike fought his urge to watch her go, not wanting to give Tex any ideas.
Mike thought about hanging around, talking with Tex, but then he felt the need to be alone. He picked his tray up and put it away. He was almost to the door when Tex spoke.
"Didn't mean to interrupt, XO," Tex said playfully, and Mike stopped, turning his head to look at Tex over his shoulder.
"Didn't," Mike replied evenly with a slight shoulder shrug. Tex smiled and tipped his head back.
"So, you say," Tex said with a wink then went back to his food. Mike turned and walked out of the wardroom. Mike spent the day in his stateroom alternating between napping and reading. It felt really good to be able to relax and not feel like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was early in the evening and Mike was debating whether he wanted to get something to eat or not. There was a light knock at his door, and he felt his heart quicken, hoping it was her. He got up and opened the door to see her standing there. He looked over her head in both directions down the p-way not seeing anyone. He gently gripped her arm and tugged her inside, closing the hatch quickly behind her.
"Hey," he mumbled as he leaned down quickly, capturing her lips with his own. When he pulled back, she was grinning at him.
"Hey," she whispered back. "Miss me?"
"Hell yeah, Shortie," Mike whispered and tugged her towards the couch. He sat down and Andrea spread herself out on the couch, dropping her head in his lap. She stared up at him with a smirk and he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You're really going to call me Shortie?" she asked quietly, but there was a smile on her voice that let him know it was okay.
"You bet," he whispered with a smirk. "It's better than Tom's nickname for you," Mike continued. He didn't know the history but there was certainly something. Tom and Andrea knew each other from somewhere.
"What? Eng?" Andrea asked, searching Mike's face.
"Yeah, where'd that come from?" Mike asked. Andrea's hand was rubbing lightly along his arm. He was enjoying the friction of it.
"We served together about six years ago. You weren't on that ship."
"Well, I'm not tied to Tom Chandler's hip, you know," Mike laughed out.
"But you've known him a long time," Andrea said.
"Yes, about twenty-one years now. Long enough to have introduced him to his wife."
"Wow, you guys do go way back."
"Yes. I First met Tom when we shared an office about twenty-one years ago between deployments. He was…he was a mess," Mike said reminiscing.
"A mess? Tom Chandler? No way," Andrea said with a smile. "Do tell." Mike contemplated that. He didn't want to betray Tom's confidence, but at the same time it was twenty years ago. Andrea read his indecision. "It's okay if you don't want to."
Mike looked down at her and just stared. His lips curled up. He saw Andrea blush under his scrutiny. He stroked a hand over her hair.
"It's not that. I mean it was a long time ago. He had just gone through a bad breakup. I guess he'd asked his girlfriend at the time to marry him, but she said no and up and left. Devastated him. We became friends and I had just gotten married to Christine about a year before."
"You were married a long time," Andrea stated, her hand on his arm gripping a little firmer. He looked down at her.
"Yes," he said and was surprised at the choke in his voice. He cleared his throat before he continued. "Anyway, my wife had met this girl at work and told me I should set her up with Tom. So, I got him to agree to double date. They hit it off and he and Darien ended up getting married like six months later."
"Wow, fast turnaround."
"Yes, but it worked for them. Anyway. Tom and I stayed friends and over the years got closer and closer. Now he's my best friend. And he calls you Eng. You almost successfully eluded that story."
"It's not much of a story. About six years ago we served on a destroyer together. I was just in the engine room at that time, but I was good."
"Still are," he whispered as his knuckles lightly dragged down her cheek. She smiled at him.
"Anyway, by the end of the tour I had the nickname Eng."
"That does not tell me how you got that nickname." Her cheeks flushed red, and Mike narrowed his eyes.
"There wasn't something between you and Tom?" Mike asked suddenly and Andrea laughed.
"Are you jealous?" she asked between laughs. Mike narrowed his eyes at her.
"No," he said but even he thought it was weak. Andrea grinned at him.
"There was never anything between Tom and me. I promise," she whispered as she lifted herself up and kissed him. Mike nodded and smirked. "No, there were some issues with the engines on that tour and I made some…unconventional repairs. I worked for like forty hours straight with the chief engineer to get the ship back online. At the end of it, Tom jokingly called me 'The Little Engine That Could'," she explained, giving him a disapproving look at the end.
"The little engine that could?" Mike asked laughing, stroking a hand along her arm.
"Yes, unfortunately. But apparently it was too long, and he ended up shortening it to Eng."
"I like Shortie better," he whispered, and she punched him lightly in the abs. Mike flinched and ducked down wrapping his arms around her. He scooped her up and brought her forward so he could kiss her passionately. When they broke apart, she settled back into his lap.
They spent a long time just talking after that, talking about their pasts, about their fears, things they liked. They worked to get to know each other, neither one holding back. It felt really good to Mike as he hadn't had that in a long time. Eventually they fell asleep on the couch again, tangled together.
Two nights later Mike made his way onto the bridge for watch. He was on night duty for now. He approached Tom who was sitting in his chair staring off into the open ocean. He could see that Tom was not mentally on the bridge, he was far off, thinking. Mike had noticed that that was happening more and more with Tom. His friend was trying to fight it, but it was getting noticeable.
"Captain," Mike greeted him, and Tom didn't move or acknowledge him. Mike glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention and noticed the sailors attempting to be busy. He sighed. "I'm here to take the watch."
Still nothing. Mike shook his head and knew he was going to have to talk to Tom. This was going to be an issue and the crew was definitely starting to notice. He thumped Tom on the shoulder.
"Earth to, Captain Chandler," Mike whispered into his ear. Tom looked at him and grinned. Mike grinned back at him and shrugged. "Looked a bit lost there, Cap."
"Sorry," Tom breathed out. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Guess you're here to take over."
"That generally happens at the change of the watch," Mike chided softly. Tom smiled at him. "Things getting better?"
"Yes. Yes, I think so," he said.
"That's good. She making a good recovery?"
"Yes. Rios says she'll be fine once the bullet track heals. Just soreness and stiffness until then. No side effects from the blood loss or being unconscious for so long."
"That's good. I heard you've been spending a good chunk of your down time with her."
"Got a spy in the infirmary?" Tom asked with a chuckle. "Yeah. We've been…talking."
"Talking is good," Mike rumbled. Tom looked at him and Mike smiled. He was thinking about Andrea. "So, what's the problem?"
"Problem?" Tom asked looking around, seeing who was paying attention to their conversation. Mike looked down at his feet and sighed. His friend could be so stubborn sometimes.
"Tom," he said in a fatherly voice, and he watched Tom glare at him. "Stop hiding."
Tom stood from his captain's chair and motioned that Mike should follow him. Mike fell in behind him as they walked towards the captains at sea cabin. Mike figured he wanted to continue this conversation with more privacy. Once they were both inside and the door swung shut, Tom turned to face Mike.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tom asked with his eyebrows creased.
"You're hiding," Mike replied quickly. "From your feelings for her. Jesus, Man, you're in love with this woman."
"It's a little more complicated, Mike," Tom breathed out. Mike could see the strain of things on his friend's face.
"So, what's the issue?"
"I still love my wife. When I think of Rachel, Darien intrudes, and I feel guilty."
"I told you, Brother, you need to grieve for Darien for real. But you don't really have any reason to feel guilty."
"I fell in love with another woman before Darien was dead, Mike. I feel like I cheated on her. I feel like I'm still cheating on her."
"She's gone, Tom," Mike said gently. "Unfortunately. I know for a fact that if Darien was still alive you would never pursue your feelings for Rachel. But she is gone, Tom, and you can."
"My brain says I can't. I'm so broken and I don't' know how to fix it," Tom muttered. Mike placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. He knew this was something that Tom was going to have to work through himself. No one was going to be able to convince him, until he was reading to face it and convince himself.
"Time will heal it. But you need to tell Rachel all this. You need to get your head on straight."
"How? I can't. I just…besides. I'm the captain of this ship. How is the crew going to react to me breaking the fraternization rule under everyone's noses?" Mike fought the urge to cringe. HE was doing that. He felt like laughing.
"Really? That's what you're going to stand behind? That's where you're going to hide?" Mike said his chuckle escaping as he talked.
"What?" Tom snapped back at him. Mike fought down the laugh that wanted to escape.
"Tom, stop hiding behind the fraternization rules. I think all that went out when eighty percent of the global population died. I mean I can see it's already a distraction for you, hell half the crew knows something has you distracted, and probably half of those have already guessed who that is."
"Mike," Tom said in a warning tone.
"Listen, I hate seeing you like this. We've been through a lot together and I see you as my brother. So, I'm going to tell you right now. Stop hiding. Start processing. Deal with this shit, go after her. She loves you just as much as you love her."
Mike watched as Tom processed everything he had said. Tom was studying his face and he wondered what he could see. Something passed through Tom's eyes.
"How are you holding up?" Tom asked and it took Mike by surprise. He blinked a few times.
"I'm fine. Why?"
"Did you ever hear from Christine or the girls?"
"No. I haven't been able to locate them. I have a sinking feeling that they are no longer with us though."
"Mike," Tom said softly, his head tilting to the side, and Mike almost let that break him. But he pushed it down. "I'm sorry. If you need time…"
"Nope," Mike fired back quickly. "Work is how I process. I'll be fine. You need to figure out what you're going to do."
"Yeah, I know," Tom whispered with a nod. They left the at sea cabin and returned to the bridge. Tom turned to Mike. "XO, you have the watch."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Mike said and watched Tom walk away. "Tom?" he asked, and Chandler stopped and turned back to look at him. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Just let things go at their own pace," Mike said quietly, before clapping his commanding officer on his shoulder. He then walked towards his own chair and climbed into it, settling in.
To Be Continued…
