XXXXIV.
Cora digs her nails gently into the back of his thighs, hearing his breath change into pants and she feels his own fingers tangle in her hair as he groans again. She can tell he isn't going to last much longer from the noises he is making and when she glances up at him, she notices he has his head thrown back against the glass wall of their shower and he is watching her. Cora slides her hands onto his behind and grips him tightly so she can match the movements he is making with the rock of his hips and into her mouth, watching Scott's eyes close when she does.
"Cora.." Scott moans making her look up into his face again when she trails her palms over his wet skin and onto his hips, digging her fingertips into the muscles that she can feel straining beneath his skin.
"Mmm?" Cora hums lightly and feels both of his hands on the top of her head, smiling to herself when she notices his feet moving either side of her knees and that his toes curl as if he can't hold on much longer.
"I'm going to.." Scott pants so she strokes her palms onto the back of his thighs again, guiding his hips faster. Cora lets her fingers dig into him until she feels them come into contact with a raised area on his skin that she doesn't recognise. Cora removes her mouth from him and hears him let out a frustrated groan. "Why did you stop?" Scott pants, struggling to speak.
"What's this?" She asks as she leans back from him and rubs her fingers against it again. "You don't usually have a patch here." Cora continues and notices her words make him chuckle when she leans around him and settles her eyes on what looks like a red rash on the back of his thigh.
"How do you know?" Scott laughs making her glance up at his face again, noticing how flushed his face is. "Cora.." He continues making her giggle when he motions towards his naked body and lowers his eyes to his erection. "Let's get back to this." He pants quietly and his eyes are on her again.
"I know every inch of your body, Scott." Cora smiles at him and places her hands on his hips again, noticing his smile widens and she can tell he thinks she's going to finish him. "Does it hurt?" She asks watching him shake his head as she climbs to her feet.
"Forget about it," Scott whispers making her giggle when he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight against his body beneath the showerhead, feeling the water still rushing over them both. "That's better.." He grins at her.
Cora slides her arms around his neck and lets him press his mouth against hers, feeling him trailing his hands down her back and onto her behind. She steps onto her toes when he grips her thighs to lift her off of her feet and up onto his body, kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm as he'd shown her. Cora loosely wraps her legs around his waist and presses herself against him when he moves them until her back is flush against the wall. She tightens her grip on him until they begin panting against each other and she feels him sliding a hand between them.
"Baby, you have another one." Cora pants against his mouth when she feels another one on his shoulder blade. "What is this?" She asks breaking their kiss and unwrapping herself from around him so he lowers her feet to the floor. Cora steps away from him so she can get a better look at him.
"It's probably because I'm hot." Scott sighs quietly as he lifts his hands and runs them through his wet hair, drawing Cora's eyes to another even bigger red patch on his skin beneath his arm and in his armpit. "What?" He asks glancing down at his skin and she sees him frown when he sees it.
"What have you been touching?" Cora laughs quietly and touches the red blotch beneath his arm and then notices he has another smaller one being hidden by the light hair on his chest and some on his neck. She reaches to the controls to stop the shower and the hot water that had been covering them.
"Nothing.." He huffs as she places her hands on his shoulders and begins turning him in place, letting her eyes move over his back and noticing he has patches appearing there too. "I don't think I'm allergic to anything." Scott continues and she notices he glances over his shoulder at her.
"Did you touch something you shouldn't on Havarl?" Cora asks and he shakes his head again but then lifts his hands and begins rubbing his skin and then she notices he begins scratching.
"We had sex, on Havarl.." Scott whispers making her smile at him and wondering why he's lowering his voice when it is only them there. "Does that count?" He asks as she watches him dig his fingertips into his ribs and continue to itch himself.
"Does it itch all over?" She asks and sees large red patches appearing on his hips.
"Now you've drawn attention to it." Scott huffs as he turns to face her again. "I think it's getting worse." He mumbles and looks down at his body again and Cora can see that the rash does look to be spreading. "You shouldn't touch me just in case." Scott adds and she watches him put some space between them.
"SAM, can you identify the rash on Scott's skin?" Cora asks and hears the sound of quiet beeping as SAM does as she's asked and begins scanning Scott.
"Unable to identify," SAM responds making Cora frown lightly, the system was usually pretty successful at identifying these things. "I'm performing additional scans." The voice continues.
"Nothing.." Scott sighs as he lowers his eyes to his display and Cora can see that SAM's scans haven't been able to get them any closer to what it is.
"We have to show it to Lexi." She says and feels his eyes on her and that he just nods lightly and she can see that the itching is bothering him. "I'm sure it's nothing, Scott. But, to be on the safe side.." Cora whispers and sees him nod but he doesn't look completely convinced. She watches him open the glass door to their shower and climbs out of it, stepping over the rim.
Cora knew there were at least a hundred protocols about rashes or reactions after being on planets or coming into contact with local flora and fauna, and they had done a small supply run to Havarl and then spent the evening together there at the Angaran's festival. But she'd been with Scott the whole time and she hadn't seen either of them come into contact with anything they shouldn't. Scott was right that they'd gotten a little carried away and they had consumed alcohol, but she couldn't see it being that. Cora takes a moment to look down at her own naked body and doesn't see any sign of the rash on her so doesn't think she has it.
"We could wait till tomorrow." Scott begins making her attention return to him when she watches him pick up his towel and begin drying his body. "Lexi is probably asleep." He adds wrapping the towel around his waist.
"Come on.." She smiles trying to reassure him the best she can. "The sooner she's given you something for it the better you'll feel." Cora continues and hears him sigh lightly and nod. "Then we can get back to what we were doing." Cora gives him another smile as she steps out of the shower too, which she notices makes him grin.
"Yeah, now I'm really horny and really itchy." He laughs making her glance at him as he drops his towel to the floor and begins pulling a pair of shorts on and up his legs. She watches him scratching again and that his hand goes to his chest and stomach. "I don't know what's worse." Scott huffs with another itch on his neck.
"Definitely horny." Cora giggles quietly. "Maybe you should message her." She nods as she picks up her own towel and begins quickly drying herself off, knowing she didn't want Scott to go on his own to see his doctor if he was feeling more worried about it than he was letting on.
"Good idea," Scott replies as she watches him lift his arm and begins swiping through his display and tapping a message to Lexi. "Would you say it's scabby or oozy?" He asks raising his eyes to look at her and she sees that he grins.
"Why don't you start by asking if she's awake?" Cora laughs lightly and sees him chuckle and nod in agreement.
Cora lowers her eyes from Scott and reaches for her own clothes that he's not long ago removed from her and are pooled on the floor by her feet. She quickly pulls her leggings on followed by her Initiative hoodie, knowing that Lexi won't begrudge them both for being so underdressed at this time of night. Cora lets her eyes briefly take in her reflection in the mirror and runs her fingers through her hair that a few minutes ago had Scott's hands in, trying to make it look less obvious of what they'd been doing.
"She'll meet us at the med bay." Scott begins when she watches his reflection appear in the mirror behind her and that his eyes meet hers. "Do you think it's contagious?" He smiles at her and then wraps his arm around her waist.
"We'll soon find out." Cora returns his smile and closes her eyes for a moment when Scott presses a soft kiss against her neck. "It's too late now if it is." She giggles before opening her eyes and she holds her hand out to him, noticing that he lowers his eyes to her hand before fixing them on her again. "We've already been touching each other all night." She smiles as he grins.
"Hmm, your right." Scott laughs.
She feels him wrap his fingers around hers so she draws him out of the bathroom and across the room towards the door, lifting her arm to activate the controls until it slides open. As soon as they step out into the corridor she immediately notices how quiet it is and knows that other than Kallo and Gil who were watching the controls on the bridge of the Tempest, everyone else was asleep.
"So itchy.." Scott huffs beside her as they continue to walk hand in hand towards the med bay, making her look at him as he carries on rubbing the places that he's covered in the rash. Noticing that he begins scratching his head, and behind his ears which are just as red as his neck now.
"I'm sure it's fine. It won't be long." She replies which draws his eyes to her, lowering her eyes to her mouth where she sees more of the rash surrounding it.
"Scott, you do know I charge more for unsociable hours." Cora hears Lexi's voice and looks ahead of them and towards the med bay doorway where she stands. "It is way past midnight." Lexi smiles at them and Cora notices she looks like they've just got her out of bed and she has rushed to dress too.
"Put it on my tab." Scott laughs as they approach her.
"What have you been touching?" She asks them as Cora sees her run her eyes over Scott and can tell she is taking in the sight of him. Lexi moves away from the door and motions for them to come inside.
Cora notices that the lights in the room activate when Lexi steps inside and they are far too bright and dazzling for her eyes that have just come from the low lights of their bedroom. She watches the doctor cross the room towards one of the examination tables and to where her equipment and the scanners are waiting. Cora can tell by the way she slowly unpacks her equipment that they'd disturbed her and that she was definitely asleep, unlike them.
"Nothing I shouldn't be." Scott replies as Cora notices he glances at her and smiles as Lexi beckons for him to sit so he lets go of her hand and lowers himself to the table, his bare feet reaching the tiled floor.
"Somehow, that doesn't reassure me." Lexi smiles with a shake of her head and stands in front of Scott, reaching over for equipment and donning a pair of medical gloves. "You were both on Havarl today?" She continues and Cora notices she looks at her when she stands at the end of the table.
"Yes, but I'm fine." Cora nods and sees Lexi does too. "We were showering together just now though." She adds and smiles to herself when Scott lowers his eyes for a moment and pretends to scratch his cheek but is hiding his grin.
"I was scrubbing her back." Scott adds making her sigh quietly and shakes her head at him. They'd definitely been doing a lot of touching each other since they'd got back from Havarl but she seemed to be fine.
"So, let us hope it's not spread by touch." Lexi continues and Cora watches her lift her Omni and begin scanning her first. "Your stats seem fine, Cora." She nods before moving to Scott and scanning to check his vitals and readings to make sure they are in the normal range. "His heart rate and temperature are both slightly raised.." She mumbles before she returns her attention to the rash that is covering even more of his body.
"Would an allergic reaction cause that? The increased heart rate?" Scott asks and Cora fixes her eyes on him for a moment, noticing that the rash is almost completely covering his chest and neck now and has spread down his arms. She sees him scratch again, feeling sorry for him for how uncomfortable he looks.
"It wouldn't usually cause a fever. Do you feel hot, Scott?" Lexi asks as she lifts the back of her hand to his forehead. "Your skin is certainly warmer to the touch." She continues before scanning Scott again. "It seems to be going up too.." Lexi mumbles to herself more than anyone else.
"I do feel hot." Scott begins which makes Lexi hum again. "I just thought it was the shower." He adds with a slight nod. The Tempest wasn't the warmest or the coolest place but right now Scott was sitting in just a pair of shorts and she'd imagined he would be cold more than anything else.
"We don't think he's allergic to anything," Cora says as she watches Lexi press her fingertips against Scott's skin and she hums quietly to herself as if she's thinking. She watches her prod him gently but the rash doesn't disappear.
"No, his file doesn't highlight any allergies." Lexi nods lightly.
"I was with him all day, and during the evening on Havarl." She adds but then sighs, maybe she had taken her eyes off of him for a moment or two and they had been drinking. Could she be completely certain that he hadn't eaten something he shouldn't? "I don't know.." Cora sighs and glances at Scott, doubting herself. "Maybe you did?" She adds but he shakes his head.
"We scanned everything, Cora." Scott nods and Cora feels his eyes on her but the itching is getting worse. "It's only some of the fruit, and we didn't eat anything." He adds making her nod lightly, she still felt responsible somehow for his wellbeing.
"I'm going to give you something.." Lexi begins with a smile. "To help with the itching and try and bring your temperature down." She nods and steps towards the line of cabinets on the wall. "Then I need to take some samples, okay Scott?" Lexi continues and Cora sees her attention turn to Scott who is still sitting on the edge of the table.
"Sure." Cora hears Scott's reply and when Lexi approaches him again with some vials, Cora can see that he looks ready to try anything. "Thanks, Lexi." Scott smiles when Lexi presses the first vial against his shoulder and immediately looks relieved of the itch and then the second that she assumes is to lower his temperature.
"Do you know what it is?" Cora asks Lexi who just shakes her head lightly.
"We have extensive databases." The doctor begins smiling at her. "We'll soon know and I'll get him the right treatment. The rash on his skin looks like a simple contact skin allergy, possibly from coming into contact with something. Everything in Andromeda is alien to us and it happens." Lexi adds and Cora can tell she's trying to reassure her.
Cora nods in agreement and lets her eyes settle on Scott who looks more comfortable, but the angry and raised red patches are still getting bigger and don't seem to be going anywhere. She notices that Lexi has retrieved a specimen tube and a small laser scalpel from her equipment trays so that she can collect a sample from Scott.
"Is this going to hurt?" Scott sighs dramatically making Cora smile to herself when she hears his words, he was covered in scars and she was sure he'd had much worse than a laser incision.
"Only if you move." Lexi replies with a smile and moves to stand in front of Scott. Cora watches her running her eyes over his body again and she knows she is deciding where to take it from.
"Baby, can you hold my hand?" Scott smiles at her and lifts his arm offering it to her to take. Cora laughs when she watches him beckoning her closer so she finally gives in and perches on the table beside him. She can immediately feel how hot his skin is against her shoulder and that he's warmer than usual.
"You are burning up, Scott," Cora replies as she wraps her fingers around his and draws them both into her lap, fixing her eyes on him until he realises and gazes back at her. "Hotter than usual." She smiles seeing him grin and his eyes do not leave her.
"Okay, Scott. Sharp scratch, okay?" Lexi nods which makes Scott nod too as she leans closer to him. Cora notices Scott's eyes lower for a moment when the first small cut is made.
"Look at me.." Cora whispers drawing his eyes back to her. "I love you." She smiles as she squeezes his hand tightly over and over again trying to distract him.
"I love you." Scott smiles when she sees Lexi using the laser to carefully scrape a sample from his chest and then drop it into the tube. "That actually hurt." He adds before she sees him glancing down at his chest at the small mark left behind that quickly fades.
"Okay, and some blood." Lexi nods as Cora watches her press a vial to the skin on his forearm and draw it from him. "Wait here. I'll just run the test." Lexi says as she moves away from them and returns to the equipment and machines across the other side of the room. Cora watches her activate them and begin loading the sample to be tested.
Cora turns her attention back to Scott beside her, smiling to herself when he leans closer and presses a kiss against the top of her head as he wraps his arm around her. She guessed that he'd probably decided if she was going to catch it she already would have done. Cora notices that he is watching her closely, his blue eyes on hers.
"I'm not itchy anymore," Scott whispers when he turns his head and lowers his voice so that only she can hear him. Cora feels his mouth gently press against her cheek and then her ear.
"But your still horny, right?" She whispers in return with a giggle when a large smile stretches onto his face. "You could have a flesh-eating disease and your thinking about sex?" Cora continues to whisper and notices he glances over at Lexi who is still busy and then back to her.
"Well, aren't you?" Scott chuckles and she sees him moisten his bottom lip and his eyes lower to her mouth. "I could be on my death bed." He whispers making her laugh and shake her head at him.
"I doubt that." Cora smiles as she lifts her arm to wrap around his shoulders and places her hand on the back of his head, leaning closer to him which makes him do the same. She sees him smile as their lips almost meet.
"You two better not be kissing over there." Lexi begins making Cora giggle when she hears it and Scott let out a frustrated huff. "It's not good news I'm afraid." She adds making them both sit up and look over at her.
"What do you mean?" Cora asks as she fixes her eyes on Lexi who approaches them. "Is he going to be okay?" She mumbles suddenly feeling a wave of panic hit her when she glances at Scott.
"See, I'm on my deathbed," Scott whispers beside her making her sigh that he isn't taking it very seriously and she is so worried about him. "Give me the bad news first.." He adds and Cora feels him squeezing her hand.
"The bad news is I'm going to need to isolate you." Lexi begins and Cora sees Scott frown lightly. "At least until we get you back to the Nexus." She adds and looks between them. "My equipment and tests don't recognise this as an allergic reaction." Lexi continues as Cora feels Scott unwrap his arm from around her.
"So we don't know what it is?" Cora asks as she looks at Lexi and sees her shake her head lightly. "He could be sick?" She continues and notices that her words make Scott's eyes turn to her.
"Yes, he could be. That's why we need Scott in isolation and away from the rest of the crew." Lexi says and nods her head towards a bed at the back of the med bay that Cora knows can be surrounded by glass walls to keep a patient away from everyone else on board.
Cora notices that Scott is watching her again so she fixes her eyes on his and gives him the best reassuring smile she can manage, even though worry she knows must be all over her face. What if Scott was really unwell? What if they didn't ever know what it was and he got worse? What if he'd picked something up on a planet that would kill him? She lowers her eyes from his for a moment trying to push those thoughts away. They'd all been given supplements to boost their immunities for their trip to Andromeda, but they'd come up against things they hadn't expected.
"What's the good news?" She hears Scott asks Lexi and feels him give her hand a final squeeze before he lets go of her and climbs to his feet and off of the examination table. "Is Cora going to be okay? I haven't given whatever this is to her?" Scott continues making her raise her eyes to him.
"I'll have SAM monitor you both." Lexi begins making Scott nod as if he's satisfied with her answer as she watches him cross the room towards the hospital bed. "The good news is, we'll be back at the Nexus by morning." Lexi replies as she sees Scott sit on the end of it.
"There must be something we can do.." Cora sighs lightly but she just sees Lexi shake her head and then step towards a panel on the wall and begin authorising the glass walls to raise from the floor until they reach the ceiling of the med bay and Scott is enclosed completely inside.
"We can run much more extensive tests there and between myself and their medical team we'll be able to find out more." Lexi nods. "For now, I'll just make sure he's comfortable and monitor him." She adds making Cora sigh again and look at Scott who is now trapped on the other side of the glass from her. They'd had such a nice evening on Havarl, and this was definitely not how she'd imagined it would have ended.
"Cora I'm fine.." Scott begins drawing her eyes to his. "I've got a bed and bucket to piss and throw up in." He laughs and she knows he's trying to make her feel better, but it doesn't work. "This cool med-bot to poke and prod me." He grins at her. "You should go back and go to bed. Get some sleep." Scott says.
"I'm not going anywhere, Scott." Cora replies and glances at Lexi who just nods that it is fine for her to stay, knowing no one could stop her from doing that anyway. She wasn't feeling like she wanted to be apart from him right now.
"I'll keep checking in." She hears Lexi say so just nods. "You should both try and get some sleep.." Lexi adds as Cora watches her lowering the lights slightly. "Let me know if you need me." She continues so Cora gives her a grateful smile before watching her leave through the med bay door.
"And we were having so much fun.." Scott huffs quietly from inside the glass box making her look at him and nod her head. There were a million things that she could think of that were more fun than this, and definitely not how she imagined they'd be spending their night.
"So much fun." Cora sighs as she notices he begins looking around at the glass walls that surround him. "I hate this, Scott." She sighs again and feels his attention turn to her. "I'm so worried about you." Cora adds and he nods and then lowers his eyes.
"I'll be fine.." Scott gives her a reassuring smile, making her wonder why she isn't the one comforting him. "You know nothing stops me." He smiles at her making her nod lightly in agreement. "I probably just got sneezed on by an Angaran." Scott laughs and she knows he is just trying to stop her worrying.
"What if it's serious?" Cora sighs and notices Scott shakes his head at her words and then motions to the bed that she is standing beside.
"Then it's a good job you've had your Pathfinder training." Scott smiles at her but she watches the smile quickly fade when she doesn't laugh. "Cora, come on. Let's just try and sleep." Scott nods as she watches him pull the blanket off of the bed and begin spreading it out on the floor.
"What's wrong with the bed?" She asks and sees him shrug slightly and then place the pillow on the floor too, noticing that he has it against the wall of his isolation chamber. "You hate sleeping on the floor." Cora smiles at him.
"It doesn't feel right sleeping in a bed without you, alright?" Scott laughs quietly as he lowers himself to the floor and stretches out on the temporary bed that he's made.
The Lieutenant watches him lift his arms to tuck his hands behind his head to get comfortable. She reaches for the cushions from the chair and lets them fall to the floor beside the glass wall between them, noticing he smiles when he realises what she is doing. Cora lowers herself to the floor too and plumps up the cushions before laying out beside him and settling down so she can rest her head against them.
"I wish I was in there with you.." She whispers as she turns her head to look at him, watching him roll over on his side so he can see her properly. "I wish I could touch you." Cora sighs lightly but gives him a small smile when he reaches out and places his hand on the glass between them.
"You don't want to be in here," Scott replies and returns her smile when she places her palm against his. "You're here. That's all I need. Just you." He adds making her nod and wishing she could really feel his touch.
"You are all I need too," Cora whispers and feels his eyes fixed on hers. "I guess It's only one night." She adds as she watches him moving his fingertips until each one is against hers through the glass.
"We'll be back together tomorrow." Scott smiles softly and lowers his hand to get comfortable.
"I love you, Scott," Cora whispers seeing his smile widen and his eyes return to hers, noticing that he shuffles as close as he can. "So, so much.." She sighs and smiles when he yawns lightly and closes his eyes.
"I love you, too." Scott replies quietly.