Title: In Love and War
Author: CosmicalMadison
Rating: T
Disclaimer/Summary: See Chapter One
Chapter Three - Feelings
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The next day, Mel hurried through her regular patients and rushed over to the resident building to see Mark. When she walked in, she asked the overseer of the building, another nurse named Lliza, where he was, and was directed to the third room on the right. Upon entering the room, she saw the dark-haired young man resting on a hospital bead with his eyes closed. The room was sparsely furnished, containing only the bed, a table and two chairs, and a holoprojector with a few holo-vids stacked beside it.
The clone trooper's eyes flew open when she entered the room. "Mel, it's good to see you." He sat up, adding jokingly, "I was afraid you'd forgotten about me."
She smiled. "I came as quickly as I could; there where a couple of new patients that I had to help check in earlier. So, how are they treating you here?"
"Pretty well...though the food is pretty awful if I do say myself," he added wryly.
"Yeah, I've heard that. So, have you been down to the rec center yet?"
Mark shook his head. "No, not yet. The nurse that brought me here yesterday said that I shouldn't try to go anywhere for at least two days."
"Yeah, she's right. You'll be pretty sore for a while yet. You know, I could arrange for you to borrow a walker; with that you'd be on your feet sooner."
He scrunched up his face. "So much for my dignity."
Mel laughed. "Clones and their dignity! If it will help you..." She trailed off as she saw his face fall, realizing too late the mistake she had made. Mark hated to be referred to as a clone, even though he knew he was one. He preferred people to think of him as an individual, not as just a small part of a larger body. That was why he especially loved that she'd given him the name as she had.
"I'm sorry, Mark," she corrected quickly. "Really, I am. I wasn't thinking..."
"It's all right, Mel," he said, though the dark look remained.
Sensing the sudden downward spiraling of his mood, the young nurse suddenly wanted to do something to cheer him up. "I really am sorry, Mark," she said. "Is there something I can do for you?"
He looked up at her, dark eyes still flashing. "No, not right now. I'd just like some time alone."
Suddenly, she got the distinct impression that his sudden mood swing wasn't caused by her slip of the tongue, but by something else. "What's really the matter, Mark? You can't fool me; I know something's wrong."
"Nothing," he said brusquely. "I just don't feel well. I want to be left alone for a while. Okay?"
"Mark," she said pleadingly, "you don't have to hide from me. Trust me; I won't tell anyone. Now, tell me. What's wrong?"
"I just want to be alone," he repeated gruffly. "Please, just leave for a while."
She frowned, but obeyed. "All right, I'll leave, but I want you to know that I am sorry; if you want to talk to me about it tomorrow, I'll be ready to listen. All right?"
He nodded as she turned her back to him and left the room.
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A day later, at the same time, she headed once more for her favorite patient's room. Today she was determined to find out what had been bothering him yesterday. It worried her. Maybe Mark was having complications from the procedure. If so, he had to tell her so that the problems could be fixed. But somehow she didn't think that was it.
As she walked in, he was sitting on his bed watching a holo-vid. Immediately, he flicked it off and turned to face her.
"Good afternoon," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," he said with a smile, but after a moment the joyful expression was swallowed up by seriousness.
Mel remained silent. If he wants to talk to me, he will. If I push it, he'll just pull away from me.
The trooper sighed heavily. "Mel, I'm sorry about yesterday."
"It's okay," she said quickly.
"No, it's not," Mark disagreed. "I shouldn't have treated you that way." Another sigh. "I...just have been having these weird feelings lately, and I was..." - he took a deep breath - "just a little depressed and angry about it."
"What kinds of feelings?" Mel asked, half afraid to hear the answer. For some strange reason, her mind darted to the possibility that he would tell her that he liked her. She'd heard many times in the past that doctor-patient relationships didn't last, though she'd never known anyone who'd gone through it personally. She crossed the room to stand beside his bed.
"Well, for one thing, feelings about you, Melalaiya." He looked up at her, dark eyes shining, and said abruptly, "I love you, Mel."
She sat down heavily on the bed beside him. "Mark, I...don't know what to say." She realized that she was trembling slightly from the shock.
"I'm sorry," the young man said quickly, "I've upset you. I'm sorry; forget about it. I don't know what I was thinking..."
She glanced over at him and saw that his face was bright red. Almost without conscious thought, she took his hand. "No, Mark," she said softly. "It's all right." She debated in herself for moment, then continued. "I...I sort of feel the same way about you."
He looked over at her. "Really?"
She nodded, once.
A huge smile spread over his face, as he took back his hand from her and scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. "So...ah...now what?" He turned his practically glowing face back on her.
Mel laughed nervously. "I...mm...don't know." She paused for a moment. "Well, you could start by telling me what else was troubling you yesterday."
Mark nodded at the suggestion. "Where do I begin?" he said softly to himself. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "You know, I'm not sure how to explain it. I just keep having these weird sensations, like I shouldn't be here, like there's something wrong, like...like...I just don't know." He hung his head in defeat.
Mel took his hand again, gently. "It's okay," she said softly. "You'll be all right. You're safe here. Nothing will happen to you; I won't let it."
He looked up at her, a slight smile gracing his face. "I know you won't."
Out of curiosity, Mel glanced at her chrono, but Mark caught the movement and misinterpreted it. "I'm sorry, I should let you go. You probably have other things to do. I've kept you here too long listening to me rattle on."
The nurse shook her head adamantly. "No, Mark, it's not like that. I'm really glad I came today. I...I feel a lot better than I did before I came. Today's been a little stressful, but that's all gone now." She gave him her friendliest smile. "Really."
He smiled back. "I'm glad. But still, don't you have some other duties to attend to, rather than just listening to me jabber?"
She glanced at the chrono again. It had been no less than an hour since she had entered Mark's room. With a sigh, she conceded. "I suppose so. I should go do my nighttime rounds and check on my other patients before they settle in for the night."
"Than go to bed yourself," Mark added.
"Yes," she agreed. I'll definitely have to sleep well tonight and mull over what happened today! She stood. "I suppose I'd better get going."
Mark nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
Mel nodded. "Of course. I'll look forward to it."
He smiled, and she in return. As Mel headed for the door, Mark called after her, "I love you, Mel."
"Love you, too, Mark," she echoed softly.
As soon as the door was closed behind her, she rushed to the nearest refresher station, and pressing her back to the cool metal door of the stall let the thoughts explode in her mind. Oh, skies! I can't believe that just happened! He told me that he loved me, and I didn't only acknowledge him, I said that I feel the same! But, thinking more rationally, she knew that she did, in fact, agree. All along, her feelings for him had been growing, almost unbeknownst to her. Thinking back farther, she remembered that this was one of the things that she really wanted in her life, a man who loved her. And now one had almost literally been dropped right onto her lap! Either way, she knew that those tense few moments had changed her life forever.
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I've never written a love story with this kind of thing in it before, so I'm not entirely sure that I handled it in the best way. (Keep that in mind if you review me.) If you have comments or suggestions, you know what to do.