dark_ages | landing party ( for thecanarylives )

landing party ( for thecanarylives )

[ He comes to with his head pounding, his vision blurred, and a persistent ringing in his ears. It takes him a while-- a good while, maybe seconds or maybe minutes, to even regain his vision properly, and to take in his surroundings. He's in a shuttle, which is completely wrecked, panels broken and burnt, wires hanging from everywhere, sparks going off and small fires here or there. They're also tilted forward slightly, so he can feel his weight pushing against the belts keeping him strapped to his chair. He looks beyond the window and he sees a lush forest just outside, trees and blue skies as far as the eye can see. It'd be pretty if not for the fact that they've clearly crashed on the planet they were supposed to land on.

Shit. Holy shit, they crashed. How the fuck did they crash? Leonard just wanted to gather some samples from the surface, it didn't even warrant a landing party bigger than two people, how the fuck did they end up like this?

That thought gets his brain into gear. Because he's not alone. He looks over to find Sara passed out, though at least thankfully still strapped to her seat. He lets out a shuddered breath, trying not to panic as he struggles to undo his own safety belt. ]

Sara!! Come on, you piece of shi-- [ His panicked grousing is cut off as his belt comes undone, and he just barely manages to brace himself against the controls rather than slam right into them. Head still spinning, he nevertheless forces himself to stumble towards her, looking her over briefly for possible injuries before he cups her face, trying to wake her up. ] Sara. Hey, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes...

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[ She lets her eyes sink shut a moment, lips pressing softly, sweetly against his, lingering close even when he speaks again.

Nodding at his question, she cants her head up to meet his gaze. ]

Let's hear it.

[ He lets out a deep breath then, shifting slightly. There are a couple of things that come to mind, things that he knows she doesn't know about him. One particularly stands out, as it's important enough to mention, but not so heavy that it should ruin the mood.

God, he hopes it doesn't. He hopes it's not a deal-breaker somehow. ]

I have a daughter.

[ Other than what she’s learned from him organically, the things she knows from his file are all fairly normal. Nothing wildly unexpected, though there’s not a personality to be gleaned from a Starfleet record.

There’s a flicker of surprise in her eyes for a moment, and she tips her head at him curiously.]

How old is she?

[ Well, at least she's not freaking out or trying to run off, so that must be a good sign. He relaxes just a hint, letting out a sigh. ]

She's... about to turn eleven, actually. Her name's Joanna. [ Pressing his lips in, he drops his gaze briefly. ] I don't get to see her a lot. I was never very present, with work and everything, and Joce, my ex-wife, got the custody.

Doesn't help much that I pretty much just ran away after I lost everything in that damn divorce, does it? [ He heaves out a breath, putting a hand over his eyes. ]

[ Now he knows the mild sense of panic that spikes through her every time she tells him something. It's fun, right?

She's quiet as he speaks, brow furrowing when his hand drags over his face. ]

Hey... [ She reaches out for his hand, taking it in both of hers and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. ] It's not running away if you've got nothing left. [ She squeezes his hand in hers, looking up at him again. ]

Why'd you two split up?

Still had her left.

[ Granted, he could only see Joanna on occasion, and not even be able to have her stay with him until she was old enough. Sticking around was just going to be a source of suffering to him, especially when he had literally nothing else left. ]

It was... complicated. Mostly, we just drifted apart, after our first year of marriage. Absence turned to bitterness. Jocelyn is no easy person, but I also was to blame in good part for the way our marriage broke apart. And... she cheated on me, [ He says with a small shrug, not sounding particularly upset about it now. ] At the time it just drove yet another wedge between us. Pretty sure it's when I realized we were never going to work things out.

[ Sara's quiet, watching his features curiously as he speaks. One hand dropping down to rest on his chest, she props her head up on her other hand. ]

Do you get too see her? When you're back on earth?

[ As rocky as her relationship with her family is, it was still hard as hell for her to sign up for a life of deep space missions knowing it'd be years between visits back to earth. She can't imagine what it'd be like knowing he was leaving his daughter behind.

Her brow furrows deeper when he says his wife cheated, lips pulling into a frown. ]

I'm sorry.

Yeah, I get to see her. And we write, and sometimes call each other. It's just complicated. She's still a kid, and I know she likes me, but I can tell she doesn't understand why I'm not around.

[ And he can't really blame her. He's an absent father, at best. It's a miracle she even calls him that, honestly, that his ex-wife hasn't somehow tried to poison her against him. But he's not about to complain either. ]

Don't be, it's fine. [ He shrugs, offering a reassuring smile. ] Guess it just wasn't meant to be. Sometimes I wonder how it'd have gone if we'd decided to cut our losses early on, before we started usin' every little thing as ammunition in a war against each other.

[ But most marriages tend to fall apart like that, he's come to find. ]

What's not to like? [ She teases, fingertips stroking through his hair. Still, she gets it. Hard to build much of a relationship from deep space. ]

She'll understand soon enough. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. [ She returns the smile, rubbing her hand idly over his chest. ]

That's why you enlisted? Chance to start over?

[ He lets out a soft chuckle at that. The sentiment is appreciated, but he'd argue there are plenty of people who don't like him, actually. Not that he cares about those people, but he does care about his own daughter. ]

Yeah. Maybe. [ On the other hand, she's about to enter a more complicated age, so he wonders how that might go. ]

In a way, yes. I just wanted to get away, at the time, and I needed a purpose, something to do with myself.

[ She wouldn't argue with that. She's seen his bedside manner firsthand, and there are definitely times when it's wanting.

He's still cute, though.

She quirks a small smile when he talks about enlisting, casting a glance down at her hand against the cotton of his shirt. ]

Sounds familiar.

[ Right. He does realize there have been a few times where some of his patients, or even his colleagues, forgive him his moods because they think he's cute. Or charming, that's a more appropriate word, he thinks. But hey, if it helps him get his job done, so be it. ]

Yeah?

[ He chuckles softly, leaning in to peck her nose. ]

Well, I don't know about you, but it's been workin' out pretty well for me.

[ Oh, he definitely knows how to put on the charm when it suits him. She's fallen privy to that much, despite her own stubbornness.

She quirks a small smile, wrinkling her nose at his peck and leaning up to catch his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. ]

Mm. I guess it hasn't been so bad. [ She nudges the tip of his nose with hers, smile widening a little. ] Might even stick around a while.

Oh, will you now? [ His lips curl wider too, and he leans in to kiss her again, the hand on her side moving around her to hold her closer, resting on the small of her back. ]

Guess that's my gain too, then. Lucky me.

[ She grins into the kiss, nipping playfully at his lower lip and shifting in closer so they're flush against each other. Head nestling into the crook of his neck, she presses a few kisses to the base of his throat. ]

Yeah, lucky you. [ She chuckles, slinging an arm around his side. ] Just as long as I get access to the fun pain meds. We both know that's the only reason I'm here.

Yes, obviously, [ He chuckles, knowing full well she doesn't mean that. No one goes to this much trouble for some simple pain meds.

Once she scoots close to him, he tugs the covers over them both, tucking them both in comfortably, his arm wrapping around her while his own head sinks to the pillow with a sigh. ]

[ It's true. She could've just as easily snuck into his office and stolen them for herself months ago.

She settles in next to him once they're under the covers, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. ]

Not a bad first date, Doc.

[ Or, you know, seduced one of his ensigns. But he's glad she hasn't.

Kissing back, he smiles at her once they pull away. ]

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[ Sex would've been great too, but he likes this a lot, honestly. He'll just make it up to her on that front some other time. ]

[ Nobody's saying she hasn't ever done that. For the record.

She nips at his lip, grinning and snaking her hand around to squeeze at his ass. ]

Mm. You were a perfect gentleman. [ She's actually a little surprised things haven't gone that way, all things considered... but God knows tonight's been a hell of a lot more intimate than she's actually gotten with anyone in years. ]

[ Yes well, she's not doing it now, so that's what matters.

He laughs at that grope, shifting slightly in response. ]

You sound surprised. Did you expect anything else?

[ Granted, he knows what she means. It's not like he planned the night to go either way, but considering their history, ending the night with sex wouldn't have been a perfectly reasonable expectation. But that still wouldn't have made him act any less like a gentleman towards her. ]

[ She grins up at him, shrugging innocently and hugging him tight up against her. ]

Maybe just a little scandal. Something your Ma should definitely not know about... [ She chuckles, tugging playfully at the drawstring of his pants. ]

Well, [ He starts, looking down as she tugs at the string. ] That does sound very tempting...

[ They did wrap up dinner pretty fast, so they have plenty of time still. He's certainly not opposed to doing something other than sleep. ]

[ She’s pretty sure her morning schedule isn’t all that taxing, and it’s not like they’ve just partied late into the night. Chuckling at his response, she nudges him onto his back and rolls on top of him, sitting up and tugging the hem of oversized shirt up her thighs. ]

You sure? Wouldn’t wanna put you out, Doc.

[ He lets himself get pushed onto his back, lips curling when she sits on him. His hands rest on her thighs, moving idly up and down. ]

I'm sure you can think of some way to make it up to me.

[ She grins down at him, hiking the shirt up to her hips. Shifting back a little so she can straddle his hips, she settles herself against his lap, letting her hands rest against his as he drags up and down her thighs. ]

Hope so. Last time I checked, you weren’t a hard man to please.

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