With their squad leader bed ridden, the rest of the team was stuck on the Prydwen.
Johanna had been confined to the ship for long periods of time before, but the others seemed to be suffering.
Murdoch in particular complained he was going crazy with nothing to do but stare at the walls.
Jo visited him often as she dared, but Cade seemed to dislike her, maybe because of all the trouble she had caused him in the past.
Despite this, she stepped nervously into the med bay on Saturday morning, clutching a book in her hands. It was so early that Cade wasn't even there yet, but Murdoch was awake and alert.
"Hey, Princess." He was sitting up in his assigned hospital bed, holding himself tightly. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than ever, like he hadn't been sleeping well. His wounds were still painful then, Jo thought with a frown.
"I brought you something," Johanna said, holding out the book. It was a pre war fiction, which she had bought from the quartermaster ages ago. The spine was intact and none of the pages were missing, a fact Jo was immensely proud of since she had read the book multiple times in its poor condition.
Murdoch smiled at her, but didn't reach for the book she offered him.
"I thought you might like something to do while you're in here..." she began, a little put off by his reaction.
"That's real nice of you, Princess. But I don't know how to read."
Jo felt her face heat up.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think-"
"Don't be sorry." He was cheerful enough as he spoke, certainly not embarrassed by his illiteracy. "Maybe you can read to me instead."
"Oh. Yes, of course," she stammered, taking a seat in the chair next to his bed. Her fingers were shaking slightly as she opened the book to the first page.
"Hey." Murdoch called softly. She turned her gaze to his eyes, suprised by the gentleness behind them. "Thank you. For thinking of me."
She took a deep, calming breath.
"You're welcome. I'm sorry I can't do more."
"Stop apologizing," a hint of exasperation in his voice betrayed his otherwise calm facade.
"Okay."
He reached out and took the end of her braid in his hand, stroking it gently between his thumb and index finger. Jo briefly wondered if she should stop him, but she was not brave enough to say anything in the end.
She was blushing, she knew because she could feel the heat. He had never been so forward before.
"None of this is your fault, you get it?"
"I feel responsible," she admitted shyly, watching his fingers move slowly over her braid.
"You're not."
With no suitable response coming to mind, Johanna cleared her throat and held the book open on her lap.
The smile he gave her was warm and full of affection. She smiled back, finding that she meant it.
It took her five minutes to realize that Murdoch's attention was not really on the story. He was staring at her lips as she read outloud, still playing with her hair.
The situation was intimate, much more than Jo had bargained for when she agreed to read to him. He looked so calm and serene that she couldn't begin to consider pulling away fom him.
Her voice had done what the pain medication couldn't and had relaxed all the lines of his face.
After ten minutes, he was snoring soundly and Johanna stuck a bookmark inbetween the pages of her book.
She watched his face as he slept, silently wondering what she had gotten herself into.