Graveyard shift was forever Mindy Park's favorite time to work in SatCom's. She loved being one of the few people working, it was nice and quiet and she could stay focused on the satellites without anybody distracting her. It's not that she hated people or her job, she just had had her fill of all things stress-related after having to track everything Mark Watney did for over two years. And since it had been six months since his return home, her job had gotten a lot more relaxed. Director Sanders had offered her a promotion for her work, but Mindy had insisted on staying where she was before this had all started, although she did accept the pay raise and option of choosing her shifts that worked best for her.
She had just filled her coffee cup and sat back down at her desk when her computer screen dinged, indicating a new email. Opening the message, she recognized Vincent Kapoor's email address right away, having worked with him over the whole get-Mark-Watney-home thing. Reading his email, she let out a sigh. He needed new print-outs of the Morse code logs from when Watney was still on Mars. Didn't she already give him copies? Deciding not to question it, she sent the prints to the large printer along the side of the room, walking over and grabbing the copies of the logs.
"Bob, I'll be right back, I'm just gonna run some papers to Mr. Kapoor." Bob, one of the other graveyard techs, waved her away, focused on the task in front of him. She grabbed her key card and a manila folder to hold the copies, and started the trek to Kapoor's office. She was halfway there, her eyes to the ground as she walked, when she crashed right into somebody, her folder falling and spilling the contents all over the floor. She immediately dropped to the ground and started picking them up before a voice spoke to her.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Mindy saw the person, a man, kneel down out of the corner of her eye and start picking up the papers. She shook her head, grabbing the papers from his hand.
"No, it's my fault, I was in my own world, I should have been watching where I walked." The man didn't reply, only continued to hand her the papers, one at a time. "Um, you don't need to help me. Technically these files are sorta classified, for higher-ups only…" She finally looked up and froze midsentence.
Mark-fucking-Watney was kneeled down beside her, handing her the papers. He gave her a sideways smile.
"Well, I know all about higher-ups, trust me. I'm Mark by the way." He held his hand out to her, and she shook it, a bit shocked. She hadn't actually met him in person yet, despite the amount of communication they'd had. And he had no idea who she was. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Mindy. I'm Mindy, I work in SatCom." She watched Mark stand up and offer his hand to pull her up, she took it slowly.
"Well, Mindy from SatCom, it's nice to meet you." Her heart thudded in her chest at his pleasant smile.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Watney." He made a face at that, feeling older than he should.
"Please, just Mark. I'm not old enough to be Mr. Watney. My father, on the other hand, is definitely old enough!" Mindy gave a small laugh, he really was funny in real life. Mark grinned at her, she had a pleasant laugh, he almost found himself missing it when she grew silent again. "Actually, you may be able to help me out. I kinda got myself lost, and if I could find my way back to Vincent Kapoor's office, then I'd be able to find my way out of the building and back to my car, which would be awesome." Mindy offered him a small smile.
"I'm actually headed to Mr. Kapoor's office now to drop these off, you can follow me there if you'd like?" She didn't know it was possible, but his smile grew even wider.
"I'd love that, thank you so much. It's been years since I've been in this building, and I gotta tell ya, I could barely navigate it back then." Mindy felt herself laughing again.
"Don't worry about it, you'll remember eventually. If not, you'll just have to draw yourself a map!" Mark barked out a loud laugh at her response. So, she has a sense of humor, he thought to himself with a grin. Mindy felt herself blush and grow shy from his laughter, it wasn't that funny. Once he calmed himself down, he offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I've only been back around people for a little while, trying to get in as many laughs as I possibly can." Mindy felt herself turn sympathetic, and apparently it showed because Mark was immediately brushing it off. "No, don't feel bad or anything! Honestly, I'm not as bothered by everything as people seem to think. In actuality, I'm more annoyed at how everybody is treating me like I'm some broken man." She nodded along as he spoke, their synced steps echoing off the linoleum as they walked, "I mean sure, it sucked major dick being stuck on a desolate planet, and I have some issues, but shit, doesn't everybody?"
She couldn't hold back the snort, she completely agreed with him. Everybody had issues, herself included, it was just part of human nature, and Mindy found herself telling him as much. Mark couldn't stop the smile forming on his face. He liked this girl, she was fantastic company. Their conversation continued at a comfortable pace, and all too soon they'd arrived at Kapoor's office, standing outside of the door. Mindy knocked twice, waiting to hear a 'come in', then opened the door wide enough for her and Mark to enter the room. Vincent looked up in surprise to see them both, having been under the assumption that Mark had gone home.
"Mark, this is a surprise. I thought you'd already left for the day. Did you need anything?" Mindy was silent while he spoke, handing Vincent the file he'd requested and then standing off to the side, letting them talk.
"Ah-I uh, I got lost, and Mindy here helped me back to you. Thanks a lot, by the way." She smiled at him, before excusing herself quietly.
"Just a second, Miss Park. I have a couple things for you to look up on the satellites." Vincent stood from his desk and reached into one of the drawers of a tall filing cabinet against the wall. She paused, waiting patiently. "Actually, I'm glad you're both here. I've been meaning to invite Miss Park to the banquet." Now it was Mark's turn to grow silent. He hadn't been expecting this. Mindy had played a role in his rescue? That made him curious.
Mindy was instantly uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot. Damn Kapoor and his shit timing! He had to ask her this in front of Mark Watney? He KNEW she didn't want anything to do with the banquet, he'd already asked her the day prior, but he knew if he put her on the spot she'd probably cave.
"I'm uh…already busy that weekend, so I really can't. I'm fairly certain I already told you this Mr. Kapoor." She was glaring daggers at him, but Vincent didn't flinch under her gaze.
"Oh, come now, Mindy! You played a major role in rescuing Watney, you should be present and you know this." Mark was shocked, she'd had a part in getting him home?
"Hold up, Vince." Mark put his hand up, interrupting the conversation, "What did she have to do with me on Mars?" Mindy's face was getting hotter by the second, she was going to kill Kapoor! And Vincent, being the ass that he was, happily told Mark just what exactly Mindy had done.
"You mean you don't know?" Mark shook his head no, obviously clueless as to what had transpired, "Mark, she's the one who found out you were alive on Mars and that you weren't killed on Sol eighteen." His eyes grew wide, and he looked back at Mindy, who had her head down, clearly avoiding all eye contact with him.
"And," Vincent continued, "she was watching every move you made. When you slept, she slept. And she also was the one who you spent the majority of your time talking to. Quite frankly, I think she put more hours in than almost everybody else, with the exception of Bruce and his team, who built the probe." Mark's shock only grew, he was completely stunned. Mindy was the one who found him? Not only that, she was the one he'd spent the most time talking to. And here he thought it had been Kapoor the whole time.
"What about the Morse code? Because that was a bitch to learn, even for me. Did she…?" Mark trailed off, gesturing to the girl who was two steps behind him, who was greatly wishing the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. Vincent nodded his confirmation, and Mark couldn't even form a sentence, so instead Vincent responded.
"When Mindy found you, Director Sanders granted her total satellite and Orbital trajectory control to track everything you did. And after we established contact with you through Pathfinder, she was given the task of getting your logs from you and checking up on you. Then, when we lost Pathfinder, she watched you constantly, she didn't want to miss a single thing. So, when the Morse Code started appearing, we gave her some text books to help her decode the messages. I've never seen one person consume so much caffeine in my life." Mindy was now wishing Kapoor would just stop talking. Why did this need to be known?! She was pulled from her thoughts when Mark turned to stand in front of her, looking at her in awe. She slowly met his eyes, her face cherry red.
"And I'm guessing you were just planning to keep this to yourself and leave me in the dark?" She didn't know what to say to him, he was right, she hadn't planned on him finding out. And even if he had, she wasn't expecting to be in the same room when it happened.
"Don't be too upset with her, I've never met a person humbler than Mindy Park." She heard Kapoor add in, hoping to diffuse some of the tension in the room.
"I'm not mad," Mark began, "I'm just…stunned. The person who I owe my life to is standing right in front of me, and I wouldn't have even known it, if you hadn't said anything." Mindy dropped her gaze again, this was getting ridiculous. All she did was her job, there's nothing more to it than that.
"Mr. Kapoor, I'll be going now, because I have a break in an hour and so far, all I've accomplished is handing you a file. Now, if you'll both excuse me." She made a break for it, grabbing the extra files from Kapoor's hand, then turning for the door. Before she could run back the way she came, she felt a strong hand clamp down on her shoulder and spin her back around. Her eyes followed the hand on her shoulder to it's owner, Mark's piercing blue eyes staring back at her.
"Just wait a minute, please?" She was lost in the depths of his gaze, and found herself sighing, planting her feet firmly in place and looking at the tiled floor again. When Mark no longer thought she'd try to run, he let her go. He thought to himself for a moment before speaking.
"Thank you." Mindy's gaze shot back up, staring at him in question, "You saved my life. And I know you don't think so, and you probably never will, but regardless of that, you did. And for that, I owe you. Thank you so fucking much." She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, when he suddenly put his arms around her in one of the warmest hugs she's ever received. God, he was so warm. She found herself slowly returning the hug, which seemed to last forever. It wasn't until they heard Vincent clear his throat that they let go of each other.
"Sorry, Vince. Got a little emotional for a minute there, huh?" He was looking at her with that lopsided grin, and her heart thudded again. She was just realizing how handsome he was up close. Short, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes with a dimple in his chin, Mark Watney was insanely attractive, almost at unfair standards. She was pulled from her stupor by his voice.
"Well, I'm heading out, it's after ten and I have a press conference tomorrow that I, unfortunately, have to prepare for. Vince, always good to see you. Mindy, I'll see you around, I hope?" He smiled at her, and she felt herself giving him a small nod in agreement. With that being said, Mark headed towards the door, waving farewell and walking out, surprisingly knowing his way to the lobby.
When he was gone, Vincent released a small chuckle, and Mindy turned to glare at him, and he met her gaze with a raised eyebrow.
"Why are you glaring at me?"
"I'm hoping you'll spontaneously combust." Kapoor let out a roar of laughter, shaking his head and telling Mindy she was free to go, reminding her that he'd see her at the banquet. She released a loud sigh when she was back in the hallway, slowly making her way back to Mission Control, secretly hoping the rest of her shift was boring as hell.
Lucky for her, that's exactly how it turned out.