Lieutenant Commander Frank Stanton, Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant Astrid Farnsworth, Communications Officer

Quiet nights aboard the Bell weren't to be wasted. Not unexpectedly Astrid had ended up in Frank's quarters, enjoying the momentary peace in congenial company. But even after a lovely dinner and reciprocally enjoyable exercise, her mind just wouldn't rest.

"I had dinner with Brandon Fayette the other day," she said abruptly, not sure why she was confessing. It hadn't been a date, and she and Frank weren't exclusive anyway. "I was asking him about the parallel universe, and eventually we got to talking about his work at Massive Dynamic."

"That's good." Frank was quiet for a moment and she could feel him picking his words carefully. "He's...not very social, so it's nice that you were able to draw him out a little."

Astrid smiled against his chest. Frank was so concerned about every member of the crew, and so careful about not divulging privileged information. Hints slipped through anyway. Brandon couldn't have earned his rank if he had any kind of serious social disorder, but shyness and awkwardness still set him apart from most of the extroverted crew. Astrid liked a challenge.

She felt Frank lift his head and turned her neck to look back at him. He had on that expression, the one where he knew something relevant to the conversation but felt restrained by his professional oaths not to reveal it. "I'll tread lightly," she ventured, and Frank nodded, seeming relieved.

"He probably talks to Peter Bishop the most," Frank volunteered. "I don't know if it's about anything personal."

"Peter did some work for Nina Sharp too," Astrid mused. "So they have that in common."

"I've consulted with him quite a bit on the Cortexiphan project. Brandon was able to recover some of the 'lost' records." He sighed and Astrid thought he might elaborate, but Frank just shook his head and she thought it prudent to change the subject.

"I think," Astrid said, surprising herself, "I'm going to apply to Command School."

Frank blinked and sat up, dislodging her, and pulled her into his lap. "Is that something you've been thinking about?"

"A little, yeah." She half-shrugged, half-smiled. "I can do most of the coursework via the distance learning program, so it's only a month at the Academy for the sim training at the end. I've been looking over the reqs and it doesn't look too bad. The tactical training is the only part I haven't done much of."

"Astrid, that's fantastic. You absolutely should." Frank kissed her forehead, like a blessing. "I'm sure Charlie'd be delighted to tutor you if you have questions. Were you thinking of trying for your own command?"

Astrid bit her lip. "Not really? It's more, that'll give me the best-rounded coursework, and I like learning new things. I like...being useful."

She'd have felt silly saying that to anyone but Frank, who just nodded like he understood. Of course he did. That was one of the reasons they got along so well.

"And I was talking to Nyota over subspace, and she's already started the program. ...I'm not just doing it because she is," she said with a grin, before Frank could ask. "She's got a different focus, different goals. But I like the idea that I could be helpful around any part of the ship. I like the idea that Olivia can depend on me."

"She already does," Frank said. "And anything I can do to help, let me know."

She smiled at him, looking coyly through her eyelashes. "Well, it is a lot of work. Won't leave me much time for extracurricular activities once I start."

Frank grinned back at her. "So it'd be best to enjoy your free time while we can."

"Enjoy" was a mild term for the rest of their evening, but Astrid had better things to do than argue semantics.