Honestly, Kirk would have preferred a Klingon ship to appear and start attacking them. It would have been a less painful death than being forced to nullify the two pettiest people on board the ship. Cupcake had held a grudge against Kirk for three years, and still hadn't entirely forgiven him for being dubbed "Cupcake" and Hannah appeared to be even worse. She had carried out her promise to re-break Cupcake's nose, as when she had returned to the Med Bay for something to do, Cupcake had made the mistake of opening his mouth. Kirk did point out to McCoy when he complained about having to realign Cupcake's nose twice in the space of an hour that McCoy could have stopped Hannah from punching the security officer.
"And get punched myself? No thanks," came the strangled laugh of a response. Since then Hannah had refused to leave her room, except to go find food in the Mess Hall, or to go to the ship's gym. The two of them being confined on one small ship led to an uncomfortable situation- it was difficult to tell them to get some space from each other and let their anger subside, when they constantly ran into each other. Occasionally literally.
Hannah punched the sand-filled bag repeatedly, causing it to swing wildly upon impact. Her knuckles had turned red and sore with the constant abuse. Sweat formed on her forehead, and wriggled down towards her eyebrows. She glowered at the bag, and slammed a fist into it, her fingers cracking as she missed her target, causing her hand to crumble. She paused, and stretched out her hand.
"Why does the Captain insist I shouldn't underestimate you?" Cupcake spoke from behind her, the taunt rising in his voice. Hannah massaged her hand slowly, and turned to look at the burly security officer.
"Oh, gee, I dunno," She said mockingly, "Maybe, just maybe, because I've broken your nose twice already?" Her left eyebrow appeared to be trying to flee her face, it had risen so high. Her words dripped with condescension, and sarcasm rolled off her in waves.
"Lucky hits," Cupcake dismissed, and drawled, "Now, I don't know about the Captain, but I don't really like having known murderers on my ship."
"It's not your ship," Hannah muttered, walking past him. "And I'm not a murderer."
"How can you not be a murderer? You've killed someone," Cupcake turned to follow her, his speech grating against her.
"You've killed people. Does that make you a murderer?" Hannah retaliated, spinning to look at him. Cupcake looked at her, surprise causing him to halt in his attack. "Exactly," She spat at him. "You've caused deaths to protect your crew. I killed someone to protect myself and others who got stuck in the same situation as me, so feck right off." She crossed her arms and stared down the security officer.
"Alright," Cupcake said slowly, "I'll make a deal. You prove to me what the Captain's been saying, and beat me in a fight, and I'll leave you be." Hannah paused, then grinned at him, a clear acceptance of his offer.
Kirk strode into the gym, ready to break up the fight he'd been told had broken out in the large room. His surprise at hearing laughter was evident on his face, and in the faltering step. He blinked in surprise, and froze, the door sliding shut behind him. Hannah was moving Cupcake's hand to a lower position.
"If you're fighting a midget like me, we're no gonna be able to reach your face easily, are we?" She laughed, "Try to change your defensive pose to suit the person you're fighting."
"What's going on here?" Kirk asked, causing the two sparring individuals to turn to look at him. Cupcake pressed his legs together and stood to attention, respectfully. Hannah rested all her weight on her back leg, and rested a hand on her hip. She glanced at Cupcake, and then returned her gaze to him and laughed.
"Oh Jesus Christ, Kirk, let the man stand at ease before he sprains something," She whacked Cupcake in the shoulder, as Kirk followed her order, and gave the command. "We were just sparring. He was showing me proper technique for hitting someone, and I was proving to him that training doesn't alway help." Kirk frowned at them, and looked to Cupcake to substantiate her explanation. Cupcake nodded solemnly.
"So…"Kirk trailed off, "You two are on good terms again?" Hannah and Cupcake looked at each other, and then both in sync turned back to Kirk, and nodded. Cupcake hesitated, and then added:
"If she promises to find another sparring partner." Hannah grinned hopefully at Kirk, raising an eyebrow in a challenge.
"I get off duty at 7," Kirk signed, resigned. "I'll see you here at 7:15." Hannah beamed back at him.
The two of them walked out of the gym together, Hannah's room being on Kirk's way to the Bridge- at least that's what he claimed to her, insisting he had to go stop off at Engineering on his way back. It was a blatant lie, Kirk's over-explaining only increasing Hannah's suspicion that it was an excuse.
"Do you want to talk about your little fight with Hendorff?" Kirk asked, slowly his pace slightly to delay them reaching their destination.
"Which one?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, and slowed her pace to match Kirk's. "The physical one we just had, or the previous one?"
"I did mean the previous one, but if you want to explain how you terrified a grown man into refusing to spar with you again?" Kirk raised an eyebrow right back at Hannah. She grinned at him, maliciously.
"I so kicked his arse," She gloated. "Honestly, didn't think I still could do that, but it was beautiful." Hannah paused. "And the other fight is resolved, so long as he- and you- don't bring up my past." Kirk frowned at her, and noted that it was her room around the next bend. His concern for her flooded off him in waves. Hannah paused in her step, and turned to look at the Captain that had fallen oddly silent. "Kirk?" She prompted.
"Sorry, just thinking," He dismissed,
"You have enough brain cells to be able to think?" Hannah grinned one final time, and danced into her room.
"McCoyyyyyyyyyyy," The voice whinged from the doorway. McCoy put his PADD down slowly, and glared at the small woman who bounced into his office. Hannah skidded to a halt and leant on his desk. She sighed dramatically, and then prodded him on the nose. McCoy watched the slender finger approach his face, and stared at her in resignation as she pushed it on to his nose.
"If you are about to tell me, I have a very boopable nose, then I'm afraid you've been beaten to it," He commented, standing up and walking away from her. Hannah pushed herself into an upright position, and then sat on the edge of his desk, her feet swinging off the edge.
"Who stole my comment?' She faux-demanded, a smirk forming on her face. "Do I need to beat them up for the right to stupid comments?"
"From what I hear, you're going to do that anyway, at 7:15," McCoy raised an eyebrow at her. "We have a bet going," Hannah perked up, and threw herself off the desk, flying towards McCoy.
"And you've bet on me right?" She teased, poking him in the arm. McCoy swatted her away like an irritating fly. He shook his head.
"Jim, if he decides not to go easy on you, will overpower you in under three minutes," He spoke with confidence. "And I'll be coming to observe, and be the designated medical officer there to deal with your lifeless remains."
"Ye of little faith," Hannah smirked, "Imma take him down," Snapping her fingers, and pointing to the ground, in an overtly flamboyant manner, Hannah sat down on the bed beside McCoy.
"You're a bio-med student, not Jackie Chan," McCoy reminded her. "I think Kirk can handle you,"
"Wanna make a second bet on that?"
"Fine, what you want?" McCoy folded his arms and lent back. Hannah pretended to think.
"How 'bouts, if I lose, I become your personal lackey for the next four years, and if I win, you have to wear Uhura's uniform in every off duty moment for the next month?" She offered, a wicked smile taunting him.
"Bring it, and prepare to do a lot of paperwork," McCoy held a hand for Hannah to shake on. She took it solemnly and beamed.
Hannah pushed at the swollen side of her lip with her tongue, causing it to stick out even further from the rest of her lip. Kirk glanced at her, and apologised yet again for the lip.
"I thought you'd duck!" He offered in defence. Hannah stopped prodding her lip, and laughed, hitting Kirk on the arm.
"Don't be daft, this is nothing compared to that," Hannah nodded to Kirk's nose, which he held gingerly between his fingers in an attempt to stop getting blood on his shirt- or rather, even more blood on his shirt. Kirk laughed with Hannah, and looked down at her, trying to keep his head tilted slightly up.
"What is it with you and noses?" He teased. Hannah laughed and shrugged;
"Must be easy targets," She suggested, "But honestly, sorry. Didn't think I'd hit you hard enough to actually do damage," She winced slightly with her apology, genuine sympathy lacing her words. Kirk turned his head to look straight ahead again, letting go of his nose hesitantly. He let his hand hover near his face for a couple of seconds, before he was sure his nose had stopped bleeding. He waved her apology away, an offhand dismissal of it, before reminding her to go to go to Med Bay;
"After all, you owe McCoy personal lackey service," Kirk reminded her. Hannah groaned melodramatically, pretending to swoon in horror. Standing back upright, Hannah grinned at the Captain, and caused him to beam back at her.
"Mumma McCoy has no idea what he's in for," Hannah giggled, gleefully. "This is gonna be great."
McCoy had already made great use of his new lackey, and it had been less than 20 minutes. He'd sent her on a fool's errand to get a blood sample off Ensign Wilder, to follow up on his treatment of her the previous day. McCoy had smiled to himself, knowing that getting blood from Ensign Wilder was as simple as drawing blood from a stone. He'd sat down at his desk, gotten comfortable with his reports, blessing a peaceful day- after all Hannah would be gone for hours, when the young woman sauntered in and passed the vial triumphantly to the CMO. McCoy's expression was priceless.
"Jesus Christ, you look like someone's attempting to stream a film on Netflix on our crappy Uni wifi," Hannah had giggled. As punishment for her theft of his trope, excessive use of metaphors, McCoy sent her to see if she could stop Keenser from sneezing, and advised her to find some non-corrosive shield to protect herself. Hannah had merely grinned and bounded out of the room.
"She's like a hyperactive puppy," McCoy had grumbled tot he nearest nurse, who merely laughed, and placed a bet with Nurse Stephens that Hannah would be back in under 10 minutes and McCoy would send her to deal with Kirk, because that was the only sure-fire way to get rid of a medical officer for hours. McCoy had left his office when Hannah returned, and didn't register her entry. She cartoonishly tip-toed up to him, and leant on his shoulder, causing the CMO to jump in surprise.
"Keenser's cold is cured," She announced. "Did none of you think of maybe Honey and Lemon in hot water?" Hannah looked around at the room, and was met with blank faces. "Citrus fruit is good for colds, and honey soothes the throat, so coughing hurts less. Also, I asked Keenser if he knew of any good cold remedies for his species and apparently they have discovered lemon is a very good antibacterial agent, and kills most foreign, harmful bacteria. Come on, Doctor McCoy, you should know by now, that sometimes you can just ask a patient?"
Hannah danced on to the bridge, hypospray wielded before her like a weapon. Spock noted her entry out the corner of his eye, and it wasn't until he saw her gaze on the Captain, and the hypospray in her hand that he understood her presence on the Bridge. Chekov turned to look at the source of the noise, caused by the opening of the door, and Hannah beamed at him. Holding a finger up to her lips, she winked at the young Russian navigator. She slowly hid the hypospray unsubtly behind her back.
"Captain Kirk," she chirped, bounding forwards. Kirk turned to look, and raised an eyebrow.
"You drive Bones insane already?" He asked, standing up, and walking to the railing. Hannah leant over the railing, swinging just a touch farther than she intended to, and leaving her face close to Kirk's; just at that distance where it was uncomfortably close. She grinned.
"I think I'm wearing him down," She grinned. "He knows he loves it really." With that, she raised her arm swiftly, and jabbed Kirk in the neck with a hypospray. The Captain whined like a little kid that stubbed their toe.
"Ow!" He objected. Hannah leant back, and patted the Captain's shoulder with her free hand, she smiled in a false sympathy. Kirk rubbed his neck with his own hand, and Hannah mocked the traditions of empathy at him. "That hurt!" Kirk complained. Hannah grinned at him.
"Well, if it's that bad, I mean I could always kiss it better," She teased, and spun, flamboyantly leaving the bridge with a flair. As she stepped into the turbo lift, she gave a cheery salute to the bridge crew, and a taunting wink to the Captain. The doors slid shut, and she was gone from their sight.
"Captain," Uhura spoke, twisting in her seat. Kirk blinked in surprise, and turned to look at Uhura. "I know this is strange for you, but I can translate this. That's a woman flirting back at you."
"Sulu, don't you dare laugh," Kirk warned, as Sulu turned back to his console, smothering a laugh.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Sulu sniggered.
Hannah tossed the empty hypospray on to McCoy's desk. She grinned at him and raised an eyebrow expectantly. McCoy paused, looked at the hypospray, then up to Hannah. Then back to the hypospray. Hannah smiled at it, and McCoy's frown deepened. He gave an exaggerated sniff.
"Go have a shower. You stink."
"Sir, yes, sir," Hannah beamed, and about-turned, striding back out of Med Bay. She sniffed cautiously as the door slid shut behind her, and with horror realised that maybe McCoy did have a point. The reek of sweat hung in the air around her, a distinct smell of rusted metal and, an almost mould like scent. Hannah gagged on the scent, and headed back towards her room- taking the routes that seemed to have the least number of people on them. She hummed happily under her breath the whole way back, for the first time since she boarded the ship, feeling genuinely happy, instead of faking it. Now, with jobs to do, somewhere to report to, she felt like she was part of the crew. Less of an outsider.
Well, Hannah mused, not much less of an outsider, it's not as if anyone understands any of my references.
She reached her door sooner than she expected, and flung herself on to her bed as the door slid shut. Happily noting to herself that she now did associate these things as hers, that she felt safe enough here to take ownership of things, Hannah rolled on to her back. She grinned broadly at the ceiling.
"Computer." A sly smirk replaced the grin, and Hannah was sure she sounded suspicious, even to the computer. "Play Highway to Hell by AC/DC followed by Sabotage by Beastie Boys, and play them loud." Her voice lingered on the last word, savouring the taste of it. Then music stared blaring from unseen speakers, and Hannah grinned wider than she'd done in a long time. Pulling her vest over her head, and tugging her hair down out of the ponytail, she danced over to the bathroom door. She flung the vest across the room from her, and sang along to her music, horrifically out of tune, and eternally proud of it.
"Living easy, Living Free- Season ticket on a one way ride,"