CHAPTER 9 – Logic

"Jack, can I have another minute of your water?" Elizabeth asked three days later as she looked up from her berth and saw Jack coming out of the bathroom fresh from a quick shower after his work-out in the fitness center.

"Sure, but I want something in exchange."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Join me for dinner?"

Elizabeth grinned. "I join you for dinner every day," she reminded him.

"Well, that works out nicely for you, doesn't it?" He smiled as he put on his shoes and Elizabeth jumped down from her berth. "And you can tell me more about the talk you want me to give to your students. I've got time to do the hologram tomorrow."

Despite all their teasing, Jack and Elizabeth had fallen into a familiar pattern during their weeks on the transporter. When they wanted to share good news, they sought out each other. When they wanted to bounce an idea or problem off someone, they sought out each other. When they returned to their living quarters, they were always happy to see the other one there. They joked with each other. They taunted each other. They enjoyed each other's company.

For lack of a better description, they had become best friends.

And every so often, when they walked down a hallway, Jack would take Elizabeth's hand and hold it in a friendly manner. Once when he pushed a loose tendril of hair out of her face, he paused for a moment. He so badly wanted to reach over and kiss her, but she was busy excitedly telling him a story of something that had happened to her that she didn't even seem to notice. And so, he hadn't kissed her. Just like he hadn't kissed her when they bumped into each other in the narrow space between their berths while getting ready for bed. And he hadn't kissed her when he leaned in close to her and captured a spider that had escaped from the Entomology room.

All the times he wanted to kiss her, but he didn't.

He had a feeling that if he kissed her, he might be lost to her forever. And he wasn't ready for that. Jack decided that it simply wasn't logical to get involved with her.

Elizabeth realized that Jack had made his decision. They would be friends and roommates. Nothing more.

"That dinner was really good, Abigail," Elizabeth complimented her friend. They were in the transporter's large sterile kitchen. A glass case ran along one wall holding shelves filled with hundreds of boxes of food and drink items.

"Take a bite of this and tell me how it tastes", Abigail instructed as she handed Elizabeth a small cherry tomato. "I think they're better than the boxed ones but I'm not sure if all this hydroponics is worth it. Lori's been growing them. She's trying these with no soil. Only water and nutrients."

Elizabeth took a bite of the tomato. "Hmm. Delicious. Let her keep growing them."

"She mentioned that Jack visits the nursery quite a lot and the other night, he brought you."

"He did. I needed a pick-me-up and it did the trick."

"It did the trick or Jack did the trick?" Abigail asked with a knowing grin.

"We're just friends," Elizabeth explained. "But yes, he did the trick," she added with a giggle.

"Any movement on his part?"

"We held hands."

"Held hands? What is this? The third grade?", Abigail scoffed.

"Stop! Don't tease. We're really just close friends. Jack's made it perfectly clear that he's not interested in a serious relationship at this point in his life. Not with his job. And I'm not interested in a short-term fling."

"Not even with Jack?" Abigail smiled and said suggestively. "Because quite a few women wouldn't mind."

"Not even with Jack", Elizabeth said firmly.

"Has he asked? For a fling with you?"

"No", Elizabeth said with a disgruntled huff.

When Elizabeth got back to their living quarters, she moved aside some clothes on Jack's bunk and sat down to take off her shoes.

What's this? She picked up Jack's sketchpad. Instead of a drawing, the page was covered in handwritten words. She smiled at the thought that Jack liked using old-fashioned writing utensils rather than a keyboard and computer.

Elizabeth adjusted herself so she was sitting comfortably on his bed, propped up a pillow behind her back, pushed a curl out of her face, and began reading.

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest

This must be some kind of journal he's starting. Or just him scribbling down his thoughts.

We spent a night in a forest, Elizabeth suddenly realized. Sort of. If you count a few minutes one evening in a plant nursery.

She shrugged her shoulders at the coincidence and began reading again.

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest

Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses

He certainly likes using similes to make comparisons. But still, it's quite imaginative. I like it.

It's got to be about me! she realized with a sudden quickening of her pulse. We have been spending a lot of time together. It must be about me. He's so romantic! He wants a relationship with me!

I fill up his senses, Elizabeth thought giddily.

I'm like a walk in the rain – refreshing!

Hmm. That storm in the desert must refer to when we first met and had all those spats.

I'm not sure what the rest means, but I've obviously affected him!

Ooh, maybe the sleepy blue ocean refers to my eyes. Sleepy blue ocean. How absolutely lovely! I've got sleepy blue ocean eyes!

Elizabeth's face broke out in a grin as she thought about Jack's feelings for her.

But why hasn't he kissed me yet? I thought he wasn't interested, but he must be! He's just been shy!

With smile still on her face, she eagerly turned to the next page and began reading the words.

Come, let me love you
Let me give my life to you

Oh my, he's quite emotional! Could our hand-holding really affect him that way? He wants to give his life to me? That's so . . .so . . . passionate! It's so chivalrous!

Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms

Die in my arms?! That's really getting a bit overboard at this stage. And morbid. Elizabeth frowned slightly at Jack's obvious intensity of his feelings for her, but then she continued to read.

Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you

Lay down beside me? I'm assuming he means in a sexual way. It's too soon. I mean, obviously I've thought about it. How could I not? Especially when he's not wearing a shirt and I see all those muscles. Hmm. He's delicious looking.

Elizabeth shook her head. But it's still too soon. We haven't even kissed.

Elizabeth re-read the last line again.

Let me always be with you

Always be with me? Elizabeth frowned again. That's a tad bit possessive. We're already together hours every day. I do have to teach. And he has his work. He can't ALWAYS be with me.

Let me, let me, let me, let me – he certainly likes to ask permission. Doesn't he know that sometimes a girl just wants a guy to take charge?

And he's really into repetition.

Come, let me love you
Come love me again

Oh my, he certainly fell quickly for me.

Elizabeth set down the sketch pad and sighed. This is a bit too much.

She wondered if Jack planned to send his thoughts to her in a letter or to say them aloud. Please, don't say them aloud to me. It's too much.

Hmm, maybe he's one of those mentally unstable guys that becomes obsessed with a woman and ends up stalking her. Oh, gosh, I hope not! He wouldn't have far to go to stalk me, we live together!

He seemed so nice and normal! she thought anxiously and with a frown. Now I'm either going to have to talk to him about his obsession with me or avoid him. Which will be hard to do on this ship!

Wait a minute. Come love me again? AGAIN? I haven't loved him in the first place! Who is he writing about?!

Elizabeth looked at the paper in her hands again and noticed the writing at the bottom of the page.

"Annie's Song", she said aloud.

"Who the heck is Annie?!"

"His ex-wife," Seth answered her question as he entered from the bathroom. Elizabeth looked up in surprise.

"Jack has an ex-wife?!"

"No, stupid. The composer of that song has an ex-wife. It's about her."

Elizbeth looked up at her roommate and motioned with her hand to his face. Seth wiped the remaining shaving cream from his jaw and nodded towards the sketchpad in her hands.

"Jack said it's one of his favorite songs. By some guy from West Virginia, or Colorado, or something like that. John Denver. It's pretty old," Seth added.

The song wasn't about me, Elizabeth realized with a disappointed sigh, quickly forgetting that just moments before she had found it too overbearing. He didn't write it about me. Darn. I had my hopes up there for a minute.

"Jack's trying to remember all the words for the talent show. He's going to sing it with a guitar."

"Where in the world did he get a guitar on the transporter?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"He's your boyfriend," Seth said with a shrug. "You ask him."

"He's not my boyfriend." Elizabeth said dismissively.

"Not yet." Seth moved over to his locker and took out some small rocks which he began juggling. "And why exactly is that?" he asked curiously.

Elizabeth ignored the question, and nodded to the rocks he was tossing into the air. "Is that what you're doing for the talent show?"

"Can't decide yet. That reminds me, Wayne stopped by looking for you."

"Oh, okay, Thanks," Elizabeth replied as she climbed out of Jack's berth and glanced at her watch. "I promised to meet him."

"What's your talent with him?"

"It's a surprise."

"This is a nice surprise", Jack said as he picked up an empty tray and passed Elizabeth who was just leaving the cafeteria line the next afternoon. "I was worried I'd be forced to eat lunch with some of the boring rocket scientists that eat in the table in the corner."

"Some of those boring rocket scientists already invited me to join them," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"You're kidding?"

"Nope." Elizabeth smiled. "I'm surprised to see you here. Our stomachs must be on the same schedule. We're both later than usual today."

"I guess so. I was catching up on some work and before I knew it, it was past one o'clock."

"See you at the table. I'll save you a seat" Elizabeth replied before moving away and heading across the room.

"Elizabeth may be clueless, but I'm not." Abigail remarked as she handed Jack a plate of fried chicken.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Abigail smiled at Jack and handed him an apple. "I know that you are in the security office a couple times a day. And I know that from that room you can see every corridor on this ship."

"So?"

"So if someone is in the security office and happens to see – oh let's say – Elizabeth on her way to the Cafeteria, that person – if for some reason he wanted to eat a meal with Elizabeth because that person enjoyed her company but didn't want to admit it – he could leave the office and time it so that he happened to arrive at the Cafeteria at approximately the same time as her."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack said with an innocent expression.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. But Jack, I will tell you that quite a few gentlemen on-board this ship have noticed her. She's a very nice girl. You might want to keep that in mind when you're taking your time."

Jack sat at the table across from Elizabeth who was sitting between two men, and listened to the conversation going on around him. When he noticed that Elizabeth seemed just as bored as him with the discussion of astro-physics, he gave her a sly wink and a smile.

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. "I'm going to get another carton of milk. Anyone want anything?" she asked as she stood up from the table.

"I'll take anything with caffeine to wake me up" Jack said with a straight-faced which earned him another smile and a humorous shake of the head from Elizabeth.

As she walked out of hearing distance, a man in his late twenties set down his fork and gave Elizabeth an appraising look before turning back to the rest of the table.

"I wonder if she's any good in bed."

While Jack scowled slightly at the remark, the other six men at the table swiveled their heads to get another look at Elizabeth.

"We can do an algorithm," a man with wavy hair suggested. "First, we figure out how old she was the first time she had sex. Then we find out the average number of partners per year for her social status and geographic area. Then we multiple her years of sexual activity with the average number of partners a woman has per year. We compare that to data on the sexual prowess of women who are attractive but not overly sexy-looking. That should give us a good idea if she's any good", Paul remarked.

"What about variables such as long-term relationships and religious hang-ups? You can't forget about them," someone added.

Jack was the only man at the table who didn't nod in agreement. His lunch companions, who were busy methodically evaluating the sexual skills of an attractive but not overly sexy-looking Elizabeth, didn't notice the look of disgust he gave them.

"We need to add data on where she went to college. A big school far from home is likely to provide more sexual experiences and more variety," a scientist who specialized on propulsion and fuel variants added.

"Jack, what can you tell us about her?" a slender physically fit man that Jack recognized from the fitness center asked.

"I can tell you right now she's not going to be interested in any guy who uses an algorithm."

"She might be."

"You're not her type. None of you are."

"What's her type?"

Jack shrugged. He didn't know exactly what her type was, but it wasn't these guys. Any guy that looked at Elizabeth analytically was an idiot.

"Maybe we'll let her decide that. Last time, I checked she didn't have your name stamped on her."

"And a tee-shirt doesn't count", another man chimed in.

Jack exited the elevator on Level B and walked down the quiet hallway. It was past midnight and most of the transporter's occupants were asleep.

Although time was no longer naturally broken into a twenty-four cycle as on Earth, Jack was glad that the transporter crew had done its best to recreate day and night. He expected that his living quarters would be dark. His three roommates would be asleep.

He thought about lunch and also Abigail's warning earlier in the day that other guys might be interested in Elizabeth. It doesn't matter. I'm not getting involved with her. We're just friends. She can hook up with whomever she wants, he thought as he stopped in front of his door and buzzed it open.

When the door slid open and he walked into his living quarters, Jack stopped abruptly at the sight in front of him.

The lights were on and everyone inside was awake and out of bed. His bare-chested roommates were dressed as usual for sleeping -shorts and no tops. Elizabeth was dressed as usual for sleeping -a tee-shirt and shorts. Her hair was slightly tousled.

What was unusual was that Seth had both his hands securely on Elizabeth's hips. Holding her. She was standing in front of him. Just two small inches separating their bodies. Elizabeth's head was even with Seth's muscled bare chest.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, trying not to let his voice betray an emotion which hadn't been there before the door had opened and he had seen Elizabeth in another man's arms.

"Nothing. Everything's good", Seth replied as he let go of Elizabeth's body and then turned and casually climbed up into his own bunk.

Elizabeth gave Jack a tired half smile and moved passed him on her way to the bathroom. Jack's eyes followed her and then he turned to look at the men. Something had definitely been going on.

Carl, who had been sitting on the edge of his berth, took off his glasses and put them on the small shelf attached to the wall above his pillow. "Night, guys."

Jack waited until Elizabeth had closed the bathroom door and he heard water running before speaking again. "What's going on?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Nothing. I was just helping Elizabeth down from her berth", Seth replied.

"Why? She can get down just fine by herself."

"I know she can get down. I was just helping her. She went to splash some water on her face. Can we go to sleep now?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired", a sleepy Seth said as he lay his head on his pillow and then pulled the curtain closed.

"I mean why did you help her down", Jack asked.

"Just being friendly. Go to sleep, Jack."

"She had a nightmare", Carl explained. He moved his legs into his berth and pulled the thin blanket over himself. "She woke us up."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She screamed. We comforted her," Carl said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Jack looked with concern at the closed bathroom door.

"Oh. . . . okay," he said. He tried to make his voice sound casual. What he really wanted to do was ask why no one had messaged him. Why no one had let him know so that he could have hurried to the room to comfort her. But that was irrational.

He took off his shoes and looked at the bathroom door again. "A nightmare?"

Carl yawned. "It was no big deal. Go to sleep."

"What was it about?"

"Something about the transporter blowing up and we all flying out into space and colliding with people. And her family dying and her not being there cuz she was floating around Earth and couldn't get to them. The usual nightmares we all have had at one point or another on this contraption as we hurtle through space."

"And you and Seth comforted her?"

"Don't get all macho and possessive", Carl said. "Seth is happily married and I didn't touch her."

"What are you talking about? I'm not getting all macho and possessive", Jack replied with a scowl.

"Please. You can pretend you don't have a thing for her, but we know you do. Have since day one."

"She's my roommate. That's all. I care about her just like I care about you guys."

"Sure, you do. Except I don't think you'd be so concerned if I had a nightmare", Carl remarked with a smirk. "Seth, you think Jack would be so concerned if you had a nightmare?"

"God, I hope not. I'm happily married," Seth called out from behind his curtain.

"You think he'd be so jealous if someone was helping me out of my berth?" Carl called up.

"Nope. But then he's never looked at your ass the way he's looked at hers."

"Shut up, you guys." Jack growled.

Ten minutes later, Jack lay in his berth and thought about Elizabeth who was now lying in her own berth just a few feet above him in the darkened room.

I'm going to ask her out, he decided with determination. She's too good for everyone else on this ship.

Hell, just admit it, Jack, she gets to you.

Tomorrow. I'll just ask her if she wants to go on a date. A date? To where? We're stuck on a transporter. Somewhere. I'll think of something.

A real date. No more simple hand-holding. A date where she knows I like her. And a good night kiss. Or several.

UP NEXT: CHAPTER 10

P.S. If you get a chance, listen to John Denver's "Annie's song" and "Leaving on a jet-plane". "Leaving on a jet-plane" reminds me of the episode where Jack and Elizabeth get engaged and he wakes her up to tell her that he has to leave, but he'll be back to marry her. "Annie's song" is really beautiful.

P.P.S. Some of you may remember that I've referenced John Denver before, but last time it was in my Reversal story. :)