Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: What No One Else Sees

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in side - sim: What No One Else Sees

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: What No One Else Sees
Posted by… suppressed (22) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“They’re OTC,” Marceau joked, “but yours are extra-special.” They kissed, a long and slow one, and then he rested his head against her. “Cela m’a permis de me sentir mieux.” (It did make me feel better)

~ Marceau

“My French isn’t that good, but I’m pretty sure you said you feel better.” Helena gave him a quick peck before curling up beside him. She was quiet for a minute before she laughed, “Hey Marceau, we aren’t telling my mom about that home remedy.”

Helena

Marceau wrapped his arms around her, suddenly seeming sleepy. “Uh? Non, no we’re not.” He replied, laughing too. Then he cuddled into her and smiled. “I said your kiss made me feel better.”

~ Marceau

---

Some few hours later Helena woke and bit back a pained groan. Her muscles were giant throbbing knots that didn’t want to move. Apparently too much rest was bad because now she couldn’t move. Well she could but it was painful and her muscles protested with the effort. The clock said it was a couple hours past lunch which meant she had missed her second pill.

Helena

Marceau was pleasantly and blissfully asleep next to her. When she started to move he woke groggily and groaned softly, “J’ai mal au ventre.” (My stomach hurts). He looked over at Helena, and she looked like she was in pain. That woke him up a little. “Helena? How do you feel?”

~ Marceau

mal? Didn’t that mean bad? “Everything is tight and it hurts to move.” She turned her head and looked at him and tried to sit up. “I feel as bad as you look. Where are the antacids Dr Grey gave you?”

Helena

Marceau helped her sit up, sitting up himself. “Moving a little bit might help but don’t overdo it.” He gave her a meaningful look. Then he pointed to the nightstand where the box of antacids still sat. “I’ll take one in a minute… And maybe some water for my head. Where are the meds she gave you? You’re overdue for one and it’ll help the stiffness.”

~ Marceau

Helena was in no hurry to move. Simply stretching by pointing and flexing her toes made her clench her teeth. Her core felt like it was on fire and give out. Maybe she would just wilt into a puddle. She let out a small groan. Nope she couldn’t wallow, so she continued to stretch. “Um…” she looked around, “in my pants pocket.” She tried to sit up a little more, “Uuuhff. Grey said I had to eat.”

Helena

Marceau stood and grabbed her pants and pulled the meds out of the pocket and put them on the night table. “I’ll go get us lunch so you can take one of these.” He smiled at her and took her hand, “Stretch gently. Not too much, you don’t want to pull or anything.”

~ Marceau

Helena nodded, she’d be careful. “Hey!” She winced out. “Take yours first.” She rolled her shoulders and rubbed at her arms. “Tell chef you have heartburn. He’ll give you something that won’t bother you and no one will know differently.” Then she sighed. “Don’t tell my mom, but I really want her turmeric tea.”

Helena

Marceau smiled at her, “Merci.” He let go of her hand, filled a cup of water and took one of the antacids. Making a mental note to ask her family for tumeric tea, he headed for the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Helena thought he seemed better, or maybe he just put on his poker face because he was walking out like nothing was wrong. She tried to stretch more while he was gone. She even sat on the edge of the bed to get up and walk, but at least alone, she would admit she hurt too much.

When he returned he was carrying a tray with two plates. Helena’s was a pasta dish and Marceau’s was something bland. He’d done what Helena suggested and told the chef he had heartburn. He sat the tray on the small side table by the bed and pulled up a chair for himself so Helena didn’t have to get up to eat.

~ Marceau

Helena had moved but was laying on the bed again, rubbing her leg, a pained expression on her face when he came back. She had to sit up to eat and the sooner she did the sooner she could take the meds Grey gave her. Arms were difficult to stretch and seemed at the moment to be giving her the most pain and problems (relatively) as she tried to push herself up.

Marceau went over to her to help her sit up. He pulled the night table closer to her. “Here, eat. You can take one after a few bites, you don’t have to finish it all first.”

Helena turned, sitting on the edge of the bed, but leaned against the head board for support. She ate much slower than usual, forcing stiff muscles to work. After a few minutes the stiffness eased some though she was still careful.

“So, is the rest of the ship still holding together?” Her point was that Marceau could trust his crew so he could take care of himself for a bit.

Helena

“Oui.” Marceau replied, looking at her. “Nothing has happened since yesterday.” He needed to write… Her dad a letter. She said don’t tell her mom, so he would simply write her dad. Thinking about it reminded him of Dúnna’s care package. Hadn’t there been tea in there? He just needed to see if it was tumeric.

He checked the room’s small storage and counter space area and found where he’d put away the tea. He’d left the note with it: Helena might want some too. Smiling, he picked out a packet of the tea and put on an electric kettle. “I should be on the bridge. But I am glad I have the time to help you.”

~ Marceau

Helena’s brows went up, but she chuckled. The care package, of course! “No you don’t. Let Grace handle it. She’s the XO, she needs time in the chair too. Yes she has a department, but if she didn’t want the responsibility she wouldn’t have taken the command courses. Trust her. Especially now when, as you put it, we are just traveling. How else will you learn to trust her judgement in tense situations if you don’t trust her with little things. She will call if you need to be there.” Helena took several more bites. “Besides, you don’t have to be on the bridge to command. You can be anywhere.” She smiled, but it looked a bit shy, “I’m glad you are here too.” Helena looked at the small box. “Marceau will you get that out for me? I’m afraid I might drop it.”

Helena

Marceau sighed and nodded. “I guess so.” He poured the hot water from the kettle into a mug over the tea packet and left it to steep. Smiling, he moved to the night table and took a pill out of the pill box for her, handing it to her. “Of course.” Then he picked the tea up off the table and gave it to her. “Try that.”

~ Marceau

Helena took the pill but grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to her. She took her pill before he objected and then turned to look at him. She was worried. “Marceau, I am not saying we don’t need you, just that you are allowed to take time to take care of yourself. We need you, but we need you healthy more. Talk to someone. You used to talk to Kenneth all the time. I know Grace isn’t Kenneth, but she could be. You might even work better together. Talk to Baumann. At the very least it will be interesting. Besides you are both COs and have to coordinate your teams. Get to know him.” She squeezed his hand in that way she did when she wanted to help but didn’t know how. “I’m not in command, never will be, but I’m here too.”

Helena

Marceau let himself be pulled down to avoid straining her muscles. He listened to her. He and Kenneth used to talk everything out. He hugged her tightly and nodded against her. “I know you’re there. You’ll always be there. What if I take time tomorrow, assuming I feel better, to talk to them?”

~ Marceau

Helena nodded, “I think that would be good. I think it will help. Or at the very least you will know some of your crew better.” Then she grinned at him, “And if you do I will give you lots of not-lollipops.”

Helena

Marceau smiled, “How can I refuse that?” He was trying not to lean on her too much, it wouldn’t do good for her muscles. “How are you feeling? Your meds should be starting to help.”

~ Marceau

Helena grinned bigger, but glanced at her plate and back, “That’s the point. You aren’t supposed to refuse.” She was sitting up a little more on her own. If that was because she felt better or him was uncertain. “The ache is starting to go away, but I still feel stiff. I might try walking around a little, later.”

Helena

Marceau shook his head. “I’ll be fine, Helena. Promise.” He nodded, “Let me help you when you do try. You really over did it.” He looked around his quarters for things to do that wouldn’t make her move too much. “Time to break out the board games?”

~ Marceau

“I know I did.” Helena sighed while she moved her food around on her plate. “I’m sorry, Marceau. You didn’t need this worry too. I really didn’t think it would hurt me.” She sighed again, not looking at him. “Truthfully, I’ve been having trouble since Titan. I’m supposed to rest and I did, I took it easy but it wasn’t getting better, so…”

Helena

What? Since Titan? That was over a month ago! Marceau’s expression became one of confusion and worry and his stomachache rushed back. “It hasn’t gotten better since Titan?” He asked, voice full of worry and concern, mind racing.

~ Marceau

She turned to look at him. Great she’d made him feel worse. “It’s not been constant, but I was thinking about it earlier. Usually it’s just a day or so and I’ll go weeks, months, with no problem, but it’s been off and on since then. We’ve been so busy I guess I didn’t really think about it.”

Helena

“Oh, Helena,” said Marceau, not unlike a worried parent. He looked worried, his face paled slightly, and he wrapped an arm back around his belly. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Marceau hugged her again, gently like he might hurt her or something. “You are taking more than two days off duty.”

~ Marceau

More than two days off duty? No, oh no. She should have kept her mouth shut. He was holding her like she might break, and she was pretty certain he had never said her name like that, ever. Helena didn’t know what to make of it; it was overwhelming. Helena hugged him and kissed his cheek, like she had thousands of times before. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m a hot shot pilot. I only need my brain and my hands to fly.” She sat back and gave him a dazzling smile. It didn’t help she was leaning against the headboard.

Helena

Marceau gave her a look like she’d lost her marbles. “That is not all you need.” Her dazzling smile made him smile, but it was a stressed, tight smile. “You need rest. We can’t let this get worse. You won’t pass your physical. If it keeps getting worse you could be disabled, Helena.”

~ Marceau

“I will pass my physical. There’s no other option.” Helena closed her eyes and took a breath. “I am resting, but I can’t stay in bed. Aren’t you the one who told me that? That I have to keep moving too.” Marceau had been worse than their hand to hand instructor first year during her physical therapy. Helena knew she was lucky she wasn’t already disabled, but hearing Marceau say it scared her.

Helena