She didn't hear any crashing noises. What she did hear was a lot of partially muttered curses – he probably thought she couldn't hear them at all, or he probably wouldn't have been griping so loudly – and the clatter of what was probably one of his crutches falling to the floor. Complete with another string of muffled curses.

Someone is having a bad day

Crutches are hard if you're not used to them.

True

"Do you need help?" She called.

There was silence, and another clatter.

"No. I'm getting there. Thanks."

She started shuffling the cards, respecting his right to chose whether to ask for help or not, and a few minutes later he appeared at the doorway, wearing a white t-shirt with a blanket wrapped around his waist like a great big towel, and a scowl on his face that he was trying hard to hide. He hobbled over to the sofa and sat down heavily, giving her a weak smile.

"All that effort for that?" She asked, unable to hide her amusement.

He scowled, but it wasn't directed at her – and she knew it. It was just an annoyed expression.

"The brace is complicating things."

"Yeah?"

"I took it off to get undressed, then put it back on – before I dressed. And one of the fasteners is stuck, or something, because I can't get it undone, and none of my pants will fit over the bloody thing."

Which explained all the cursing.

She looked at the blanket covering him.

"You're not naked?"

"No. I have boxers on. But they're hardly fit for entertaining."

She smiled, and stood up, moving over to him.

"Let me help you get a little more comfortable, Carson," she told him. The blanket was bunched around his waist and lower back, keeping him from being able to lean back against the sofa properly and since he was going to be stuck in one position for a while, there was no reason not to make sure he was comfortable.

He nodded, and Melony unwrapped the blanket from his waist.

"Lift up."

He raised his hips so she could pull the blanket out from under him, exposing his boxers for all the world to see – although at that moment, that was just her.

"Get comfortable," she ordered him, holding the blanket and giving him a chance to shift on the couch until he was more comfortable than he had been, his braced foot now up on the coffee table next to the tray she'd set there. Once he stopped moving, she spread the blanket on his lap and bare legs, covering the brace and tucking the blanket under him on the far side so it wouldn't slip. His shoulders and chest weren't covered – they wouldn't be able to play cards if his hands weren't free – but it wasn't all that cold in the room, so she was sure he'd be fine.

Or you could cuddle with him

She was surprised that Talon suggested that, but it was a measure of the fact that he was making a conscious effort to try and get over his animosity towards the doctor. An animosity that Melony didn't share – although she had her own hesitations when it came to Carson.

"Better?" She asked him.

He gave her a genuinely thankful smile and nodded.

"Thank you."

Mitchell leaned over him, bracing herself with an arm on the back of the couch beside his shoulder, and brushed a tender kiss against his cheek.

"It's okay to ask for help, you know?"

He resisted the temptation to turn his head and steal a kiss, and nodded, his hand coming up to take the one that wasn't holding herself up.

"I'll remember that."

She smiled, and squeezed his hand for just a moment before taking hers back and sitting down beside him on the couch, not quite touching him, but close enough that she was actually sitting on the edge of the blanket.

"Can you reach your tea, or do you want the tray in your lap?"

He shook his head.

"It's fine there. I'll need my hands free for cards."

She took the coffee and tea off the tray, set the rolls and cheese aside, and then brought the tray up and put it over their laps to be used for a modified card table. Then she handed him the cards and picked up her coffee mug.

"Deal them up, Carson."

OOOOOOOO

"I think you're cheating…" Carson finally said, watching as she set her hand down on the table, announcing that she had Gin. For about the millionth time that afternoon.

Melony smiled and shook her head, gathering the cards up after writing the score down.

"It just takes practice."

"By the time we get back to Earth, I'm going to have to sell my house to pay you what I owe you."

They'd been playing all evening, and while he was getting better – and she was trying to help him learn – he was just lousy at the game, and she was very good at it. She laughed, and tore the score paper out of the notebook and crumpled it up.

"We'll start over next time."

"It won't help."

"I know."

He gave her a look, and she couldn't help but smile as she stood up.

"It's getting late. I'd better go so you can get some sleep."

He didn't want her to go, but he understood. There had been a time not so long ago that he would have asked her to stay and cuddle with him for a while – maybe all night – but that wasn't going to happen anymore, he knew. And it was his own fault.

She didn't leave immediately, though.

"Do you need help getting to bed?"

Since he needed to go to the bathroom before going to bed, and he wasn't going to enlist her aid in getting him there, he shook his head –although the help would have been nice.

"I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

She had noticed the hesitation.

He nodded.

"I think so. If you hear a loud crashing, though…"

She grinned and sat down on the arm of the sofa right next to him, her hand touching his cheek.

"Just try not to break the other leg, okay?"

"I'll be careful."

She kissed him, then. A gentle kiss that was sweet and wonderful and suddenly made him glad for the blanket that was covering him as he reacted to the kiss and her nearness. He brought his hand to her cheek, not holding her, but touching her, because he had to, and when she didn't pull away and didn't break off the kiss, he dared to deepen it just a little. She sighed – a pleasured sound, not an annoyed one – and they were like that for another short while before Melony finally pulled back, coming up for air.

"I'll come by in the morning and check on you."

"Okay."

Her hand sifted through his dark hair for a minute, and then she stood up.

"I love you," he said as she crossed the room.

She turned at the looked at him. And smiled.

"I love you too, Carson. I'll see you in the morning."

And she was gone.