-- what's that do? ( scotty )

[LT. CMDR. MONTGOMERY SCOTT]

Scotty was perplexed. How had he never noticed this amazingly adorable woman watching him before? Obviously she'd been thinking about this, at least slightly; it didn't seem likely that his explanation of a circuit probe could possibly have been that riveting. People didn't fall in love, or like either, for that matter, over things that ridiculous, surely. Scotty couldn't say that he was really experienced with that; he wasn't sure he'd ever even been in love, but he had a feeling that it didn't start with circuit probes. That left the undeniable possibility of premeditation, and that, frankly, was even more surprising. Scotty shook his head. What was he going to do about this? What if she had all of these wonderful ideas about babies and wedding cakes? He gulped. Best not to think about that right now. There was a picnic at hand with a pretty girl. One who might or might not have designs on the rest of his life.

And then she was gone, off to get food, and Scotty found himself suddenly alone. Before she'd gotten there, he'd been perfectly content to be alone, but now that she was gone, there was an eerie silence that settled over the room. Well, that wasn't very nice. Silence he'd enjoyed before was now oddly distracting...or was it that it wasn't distracting? He shook his head, and tapped a few commands out on the console in front of him, which had finished the diagnostic it was running. "Oh, lovely." he said, happily, as he realized that the process he'd been attempting looked like it had been successful. He checked on the other one, which still had a good amount of time to go before it finished, then wondered what he ought to do with himself until Adalyn came back. Oh, he was going to catch hell for this if any of the younger engineers found out.

What was he going to do? The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was probably making assumptions that might not even be there. Maybe she was just a flirt, just wanted someone to pass the time with. Maybe he was making way too much out of this. But what if he wasn't? Ugh, it was all so difficult. If he assumed she wasn't that interested and she actually was, he might end up hurting her if she thought he wasn't. But then, if she wasn't into him that much, if she was just flirting a little, he could be setting himself up for disappointment, and that was never enjoyable. Women. They were so hard to figure out.

By the time she came back, he'd worked himself into such a state of confusion that he was practically pacing. He was pretending to be doing useful things that just happened to be on opposite ends of the room, but honestly, he was pacing. What else was he supposed to do, just sit down on the stairs and wait? Well, there was an idea. He could do that, he thought. He moved to the stairs, climbed up a short distance, and parked on the stairs there, unsure whether he was going to stay there or not. Thankfully, the door swished open soon afterwards, and he hoped it was her. Jumping down from the stairs, he went to meet her at the door, wondering exactly what it was she'd cooked up. He hoped there were sandwiches involved. He could really go for a sandwich right now. Preferably something with roast beef, or maybe ham. Either way, he was hungry enough to devour whatever it was in a matter of moments, although he had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate that very much. He made a note to take his time and see what else he could find out about this intriguing young lady.

[LT. ADALYN McCORD]

When Riley gave her the go ahead, she went about making a nice little spread for her and Scotty. She didn't really know what he liked, which gave her a slight disadvantage, but she would compensate. She did hear him talk about sandwiches a lot whenever she was around him. She Adalyn went about making two sandwiches, making the one meant for Scotty larger than her own. She loved food, but she wasn't terribly hungry, and Scotty was a man. They tended to consume more than women did to begin with. As she was making all of this, she was making coffee to put in a thermos to take down with her. As she finished the sandwiches up, she placed them in a crate on top of other foods that she found lying around. Riley had offered her free reign to the kitchen, so she took s0me of the junk food as well. Normally they wouldn't have that stuff on ship, but they were currently docked, and she knew where the stashes were.

After she was satisfied with the food she collected, she made her way out of the kitchen, leaving a nice note for the head chef before making her way back to the engine room. All the while she was heading for the room, she was thinking about what was going to happen. Was this just a momentary thing, or would be grow tired of her? This caused her pace to slow a bit. What if he really would get tired of her? The thought alone made her gulp as she continued to walk, but it wasn't at a very fast pace either. She didn't want to jump too soon, they just sort of started to get to know each other. She knew that it was jumping a bit soon already for them, but you couldn't help chemistry.

What if he wasn't really interested in something long term? Adalyn wasn't one to just have a fling and then be done with it. Then again, she wasn't expected children or marriage with him either. Sure those things would be nice, but they really weren't for her, at least not right now. She was an exobiologist on a star ship, she cared moreabout her job than procreating. She also knew that Scotty loved his job, so all those domestic ideas were probably the farthest thing from his mind right now. She hoped that he wasn't thinking that she was expected to plot out their entire lives together already, they really just started. That wouldn't be fair of her, let alone her way about a relationship. She made the mistake of jumping too far into a relationship, and the young man told her that it was too much for him. He just walked away from her.

She reached the door and pried it open slowly as she slipped back into the engine room. She just wanted to have a nice day with him, and hopefully it would turn into something more steady for them. She just didn't expect wedding seating and soccer games. Her thoughts were interrupted by Scotty himself as he ran up the stairs to meet her there. She giggled as she looked up at him, presenting the crateful of food she had brought along.

"Riley had long bread left, so I made sub sandwiches. I also have other earth based foods as well like chips and stuff like that. Oh!" She squeaked and she pulled out the metal thermos and presented it to him with a grin.

"Hot coffee. I also brought a small bottle of milk in case you wanted that instead, they are pretty tapped out in there. What with everyone on surface right now, no need to have the kitchen stocked up until we get back into space." She said and shrugged her small shoulders toward him. She hoped she did well, she didn't want him to look at the meal and feel that there really wasn't anything there he would eat. As for the sandwiches, she used whatever sliced meat that she could recognize. She remembered putting in turkey, roast beef, and maybe ham, she couldn't remember. She prayed that he would enjoy it as she looked up into his eyes, raising the crate up a bit.

"So, where are we spreading?" She asked with her teeth toying at her bottom lip.

[LT. CMDR. MONTGOMERY SCOTT]

Scotty knew engineering inside and out (literally, he'd walked the perimeter, checking off every door and conduit that led to his home-away-from-home), and he knew there were a couple places they could sit that would have enough floor space for them to set out whatever food she'd brought back. He was a bit distracted, though, when she started listing the things she'd brought back. He cocked his head to one side and stared at her, not in a rude way, really, more in the way one would watch something they found worth worshipping. "You," he said, warily, "cannae be real. I'm sure that if there were a woman who had this much interest in engineering and sandwiches, I would've heard of her by now." He cracked a smile, just in case that statement hadn't assured her that he was joking, and took the crate from her, hoisting it to one shoulder. "Let me take that, then." he said, not about to let her do the heavy lifting while he just stood there.

"As for the sight of our lovely picnic, well, I can think of a few places, really. It all depends on what kind of view you were hopin' for. Let me show you some of our options." He started down the stairs, waving a hand towards a whole lot of pipes with water rushing through them. "This is what I like to call our riverside view." he explained. "Nearly drowned here once myself. But it's rather nice, when you're not submerged in it, that is." Continuing on, he led her to an area where a number of pipes ran from floor to ceiling. "This is the forest, there's a wee patch of ground over here in the clearing we could set up in, if you like." Scotty wasn't sure where he was coming up with these analogies, but he made a mental note to pat himself on the back later for the sudden spark of imagination he'd conjured up out of nowhere.

"And there are lots of other places, but honestly, wherever you'd like to sit down is fine with me, so long as we've got room to sit without parkin' on the sandwiches. Or each other, as I'm not sure you're quite up for that, yet." He gave her another wink. "Remind me t'tell your friend Riley later that I quite appreciate all of this."

In any other situation, Scotty would usually have been oblivious to the attention he was receiving, or if he were aware of it, probably hesitant to act on anything. But he was bored. She was bored, probably, how could you help being bored every now and then on a deserted starship? Well, either way, they could entertain each other now. Scotty's conversational skills had never been a weak point; he talked about odd things sometimes but he rarely ran out of things to say entirely. Almost never, actually. The problem was talking about things that wouldn't make her think he was some sort of oddity and leave him sitting there to devour all the sandwiches by himself. Regardless of what he'd been thinking when she first came in, he was certain that wasn't the way he wanted this whole thing to turn out.

He was suddenly very glad that he'd chosen to stay on board the ship. Honestly, having a picnic in engineering sounded like the best of both worlds to him, and the odds of having found someone to share it with were so astronomical that he was still a little nervous that she might just decide to leave. He tried to tell himself that she probably wouldn't do that, seeing as she'd gone to the trouble to put the whole basket of food together and everything, but it was a possibility. He'd have to come up with something enthralling to talk about to keep her interested enough that she wouldn't think about running away, that was all there was to it.

[LT. ADALYN McCORD]

After the words sandwiches left the brunette's lips, she noticed a change in Scotty. She watched as his face changed into a stare of awe at her as she looked down at the crate then back at him. Did she say something wrong? She was utterly confused and her face started to fall a bit. She hoped that she hadn't done something wrong, that would make her feel like a complete fool. She had wanted to do this right, but now she was beginning to doubt herself. It was a trait that she wished to destroy within herself. It frustrated her so much to be so touchy, so paranoid, and she knew that eventually it got on the nerves of others. She hoped that once things got underway, if they did that is, with Scotty, she wouldn't be so unsure of herself around him. Until then, however, she would be a timid bird.

Then the words that left his mouth, relief quickly set in. After that, a blush did as well as she shrugged her shoulders. He just made her feel those lovely warm fuzzies whenever he smiled. His smile was infectious, and it caused her to smile brightly herself. If anything, Adalyn feared that it would be her fault if this didn't work out between them. She was overly neurotic, and she could sense when people would get tired of her crap. She just hoped she could tone it down when she was around Scotty. The last thing she needed was for him to tell her that she was insufferable and walk away from her for good. The thought was frightening, but she soon pushed it out of her mind when the crate was removed from her hand and take by Scotty as he motioned for her to follow him.

The two of them moved along to the places where they could have their little sit down. His imagination made her sweet giggles to surface when he gave the spots more nature like names. She appreciated the effort he supplied and looked toward the water lines before he went on to explain that they could sit anywhere that had room for them. A blush crept across her cheeks when he mentioned the parking on each other thing. She ran her hand through her hair as she turned back toward the water lins and nodded toward them.

"I've always loved a river side view myself. And don't worry, Riley will getting a favor in return for this." She said as she walked toward the nice spot before reached into the crate gently and pulled out a throw. She looked up at him and offered a chuckle.

"I sort of thought of everything." She said, scrunching up her nose adorably before she tossed the blanket across the hard floor before she sat herself down. She spread her legs across the length of the blanket and folded them across each other. She leaned against her palms and looked up at Scotty with a smile on her face. She then sat up more when he came closer to her. She set the thermos down on the blanket and started to twist the cap off and release the aroma of the caffeine riddled liquid. Coffee was something that she literally lived on. It kept her awake when she had work that she had to get done for the next day. It was a life saver in many instances, but also an evil creation in others. It all depended on timing. She turned to Scotty with a raised brow.

"Coffee for you?" She asked, the half serious face breaking into a smile as she held back yet another giggle. She's been doing that a lot since this all began. She wondered if he was starting to get annoyed with the sound of it. She tried to hold back, but she couldn't help it if her mood had taken a turn for the better. It was about time she had something to really smile about.

[LT. CMDR. MONTGOMERY SCOTT]

How was he not making an idiot of himself yet? It seemed impossible, or at the very least, surprising, that he hadn't said anything blatantly stupid yet. The problem was that he didn't think he'd said anything outstandingly brilliant, either. He'd blathered on about engineering matters (which, in all fairness, she had asked about), then he'd done some small talk just now, but he couldn't think of anything to say that would set her (or himself) at ease. At least she seemed to take kindly to his eccentric labeling of the various sections of engineering. He wanted to help her out, but it seemed she had, like she said, thought of everything, and she set things up while he watched, a little taken by the sight of her going to work so efficiently. Dropping to his knees on the blanket across from her, he crossed his legs, and glanced over at her as she grabbed the thermos.

"Coffee, yes, please, that would be lovely." he agreed, unable to avoid smiling again at the giggle that had escaped from her once again. She certainly did giggle a lot, he thought, but it was slightly adorable, and he wasn't about to complain. After all, he had his own quirks, ones that a lot of people found quite annoying, including his tendency to go off on random engineering tangents regardless of the original topic of conversation. For that reason, Scotty had many acquaintances, but few very close friends - he was amusing to a lot of people, but not many of them wanted to be amused all the time, and even fewer wanted to be lectured on how whatever mechanical instrument they were using could be vastly improved by some tweak or another to the power supply or whatnot.

"So," he began, as they started in unpacking the things in the crate, "where are you from? Originally, I mean?" He could fill her in on his own history later if she was interested, but right now, he was curious about her. What sort of story did she have, that could explain her interest in coming around here in her free time? Not that he thought she'd been brainwashed, but there had to be something that had sparked an interest in a field so far outside of her own somewhere along the line that had initiated this whole fascination with him and his work.

Or was it that she had been fascinated with him, and that had led to an interest in engineering? That was an interesting thought, he mused. Was he that interesting, that he could make people care about things they wouldn't have bothered with otherwise?

He remembered a girl he'd fancied once back during his teenage years, who'd been incredibly interested in early literature, and in spite of the fact that Scotty would rather have eaten his socks than read Pride and Prejudice or whatever thing she was on about that week, he had read everything she'd recommended just so they'd have something to talk about. Unfortunately, by the time he'd gotten up the guts to make a move, he had also discovered that she had a boyfriend - one who happened to be captain of the rugby team, and that had been the end of that. He wasn't too emotionally damaged by it, but the incident came to mind when he wondered if she had only been using that as a way to initiate conversation.

But how to ask that without seeming cocky or presumptuous? Best not to, not now, he decided. There weren't many ways you could ask that particular question without sounding like you were assuming yourself to be utterly fascinating, so he decided to go with a blatantly joking method of asking, so it would be clear he wasn't serious.

"So what, specifically, is your interest in engineering? I mean, aside from picnicking with dashingly good-looking chief engineers?" he asked, and had to remind himself not to wink again. If he kept doing that, she'd think he had some sort of eye tic.

[LT. ADALYN McCORD]

Adalyn looked to Scotty as he found his way down on the floor with her as she offered a sweet smile. When he confirmed he wanted coffee, she reached into the crate to pull out two large coffee mugs. She watched as he began unpacking the crate, which she offered a grateful smile before she began pouring the coffee into the large cups. As she did this, Scotty spoke to her, asking where she was from. She looked up at him with a mild look before looking back to her coffee cup as she set it down beside her before she offered Scotty his cup. She took the milk into her hand as she started to pour some of that into her cup so the flavor wouldn't be so bitter. She didn't really like black coffee, it made her more jittery than she needed to be. Milk or any type of creamer took the edge off for her. She then found her voice as she thought of what to say. It wasn't like it was a big secret, but she didn't really like to think of home. It made her feel awkward and unhappy, she preferred to keep moving forward.

"I'm from Omaha, Nebraska. Where some of the hicks still survive." She said with a slight laugh before she stirred the coffee slowly. She looked from him to the blanket they were sitting on as she thought of what else to say, her eyes sort of flashing back. She didn't like thinking about the past, but since he asked, she couldn't help but think about a few things she wished she could forget. She closed her eyes for a moment before putting her smile back on and looking back up to Scotty. This was supposed to be a nice time, it didn't need to be dragged down because of her remembering past hardships.

"It's really not all that interesting. Hot summers...And...b-bitter cold winters.." She said and looked down at her coffee before she took a sip of it. The winters were what destroyed Adalyn. What happened the last winter before entering Starfleet was enough to make her run away from Omaha. She was blamed for what happened that night, even by her family. She forced those thoughts from her mind before she started weeping. She didn't think that would do wonders for her dinner with Scotty. He'd probably freak out, asking her what was wrong. Regardless, since Scotty seemed a little elsewhere, she couldn't help but think a little.

"It's c-c-cold, Addy." Luke said as he gripped the slender form of Adalyn as she yanked him out of the lake with a grunt, tears flowing down her face. The brunette then crumbled to the snowy earth and pulled the tall young man into her arms. They had been running from the cops, thanks to the drinking party they had been at with their friends. As they ran across the lake, the ice cracked, and the lovers went into the lake. Now they sat on the snow at the edge of the lake, alone, listening to the sirens. Addy shuddered as her body took the cold harshly. She clung to Luke as he quivered, gripping her tightly. Addy looked up at the black sky, her lips turning purple as she leaned her head down on Luke's.

"Luke...Luke..." She shook the young man, her hair falling into her face as she looked him over. He wasn't moving. She shook him harder as her breath huffed into the air, visible vapors flowing from her lips as she started to hyperventilate.

"Luke! She screamed, shaking her boyfriend harshly. His messy hair clung to his face as he laid there in her arms, eyes closed, and not moving. She shook her head, shivering violently as she touched his face, her thumb caressing his cheek.

"No no no...Please." She sobbed, her purple lips pressing against his cold forehead. She shook her head, clinging to him tightly. They were supposed to be together forever, they were supposed to get out of Omaha. He enlisted in Starfleet, he was going to be an engineer, she was going to be in the science division. Now it wouldn't happen as she sobbed, hearing the sound of police sirens approaching them, shouting their names with a robotic emotionless tone. Adalyn opened her eyes as she clung to Luke as the light fell on her face and they were found there.

She shook her head and looked to Scotty as he asked her why she was so interested in engineering. She thought about it for a moment as she took the time to giggle as his little joke before she looked to him with a gulp. It was partly her father, but he never let her see it. Luke on the other hand, he was doing things like that all the time, always asking if she wanted to watch, or try it. She always said maybe later. Now, maybe she was just making up for it.

"Well, if you really want to know. I was sort of...engaged once." She said, looking up at the man with a small laugh, but it wasn't happy or anything. Was she really going to tell Scotty about Luke? She stopped, looking down at the cup of hot liquid in her hands before she looked back to Scotty, her smile faded and it was replaced with a stoic look.

"He enlisted in Starfleet when I did...but he never went because he froze to death by a lake in Omaha. We fell in running from the cops. I almost died to, but the authorities arrived to get me somewhere warm. He was an engineer. He always tried to get me to try out his work, but I always said maybe later....I guess I'm just trying to make up for it...you know?" She said, looking up at him a shrug of her shoulders. She missed Luke, but she was all but over what happened. She still felt responsible for his death, but she didn't dwell on it as much as she used to. Still, when she looked at Scotty, she felt like she was getting the opportunity at a second chance at happiness. She has paid her debt, it was time for her to finally be happy.

[LT. CMDR. MONTGOMERY SCOTT]

Of all the things Scotty had been expecting when he'd asked her about her past, the story she gave was probably the last thing he had in mind. She was so happy, or at least, she seemed happy, and to think that she'd lost someone that close to her...Scotty was surprised. He wanted to say something that would take her mind off of what must have been a singularly traumatic experience, but he figured if he abruptly changed the subject, that would probably be pretty insensitive. He had never loved anyone enough to marry them, and certainly hadn't had such a person die and leave him behind, so he wasn't about to pretend to know what she'd been through. But how to comfort her without doing any of those things? He raised a hand to his head, running his fingers through his short, dark hair, the way he tended to do when he was thinking pretty hard. What could he say to that? He wasn't about to make up some story about his own past to make it sound like he could sympathize, that was far beyond anything his conscience (or his imagination) would allow him to do.

The closest Scotty had ever come to losing someone he'd cared about had been when he was fourteen and his best friend moved away from their home town. They had kept in touch for a while, but teenagers aren't the best at maintaining long-distance friendships, and they hadn't talked in a number of years. That wasn't even remotely the same thing, and he knew it. For a moment, he felt overwhelmingly thankful that he'd never had the misfortune of experiencing something like a death in his family, then immediately felt guilty for even thinking that. Surely he deserved that kind of pain more than Adalyn did; he'd done much worse things in his life than she could probably attest to thinking about.

"It gets pretty cold in Scotland, too." he commented finally, hoping that was related enough. "I don't recall anyone ever gettin' lost while I was around...I cannae imagine losin' someone that close, though." There, well, at least that was the truth. The truth was usually a safe bet, so long as it wasn't all-out offensive to the person you were talking to. He wondered how over the whole incident she was, if she really was as happy as she seemed and only remembered it occasionally or when people like Scotty inadvertently brought it up to memory accidentally.

"Are you all right, then?" he asked, giving her a tentative half-smile, of reassurance rather than real happiness. He didn't want to rush her, or make her feel like she had to put up a happy face even if she wasn't happy inside. It would be exceedingly awkward, he thought, if he scrambled around on the throw beneath them to get over and hug her, so instead, he reached over and put a hand over hers, giving it a quick squeeze. In the past few days, Scotty had found himself surrounded by strangely emotional people; first he'd gone and played listening ear for Uhura and Spock's complicated relationship, now there was this vibrant young lady, expressing some interest in him, but at the same time demonstrating the possibility of emotional damage Scotty wasn't sure he knew how to fix.

"I'll tell you whatever you'd like to know." he promised. "And now that I've pried your painful past out - I'm sorry about that, by the way - you're more than welcome to ask me anything y'like. Anything atall, fire away." He wasn't sure if that offer would help her feel any better in the slightest, but at least it might distract her, make her think about the conversation at hand instead of the painful memory she'd just been reliving.

[LT. ADALYN McCORD]

Adalyn wondered if it would have been a better idea if she hadn't told Scotty about Luke. She didn't want him to feel awkward of feel sorry for her. She never really wanted to dwell on the past, for it really wasn't important now. She would always miss Luke, but she needed to move on with her life. She needed to actually live it, and she didn't want Scotty to think that she wasn't capable of that. When Adalyn looked at Scotty, she noticed that her story had made he pause. She looked away, rubbing the side of her coffee cup with her thumb, feeling bad for making him feel bad. That wasn't what she wanted, but she couldn't really take it back. The silence between them was deafening and she wished she could find the words to take away the awkward air between them. She felt bad and hoped that he didn't take this the wrong way.

She looked up from her coffee when Scotty finally killed the silence by talking about his home. She smiled sadly for him, nodding her head when he said he couldn't imagine losing someone that close. No one ever can until it actually happens to them. It's just something you don't think about. She think about happy thoughts like being together, about your future. You don't dwell on the idea of never having a future. Luke had always thought of his future, of hers, what they would do with it. Now he wouldn't ever move forward. She sometimes felt like she should of died with him that night, but the thoughts had eventually disappeared. He would have wanted her to live on, to move on and live her life like he would have.

Adalyn nodded her head toward Scotty when he asked if she was alright. She was, she really was, she just sometimes lapsed into thoughts of the past. She didn't like thinking about it, but there were instances where it was hard to ignore. Now had just been one of those times.

"I'm alright, it was a long time ago. I just think about it whenever I'm reminded of him. Really, it's okay." She said before she looked down as his hand came over hers. She gasped ever so slightly as he gave her hand a squeeze. He was so kind, it made her feel warm all over. She looked up to him, her green eyes sparkling as she listened to him say that she could ask him anything that she wanted. She smiled and turned her hand over and clasped his hand in hers. She tossed her hair out of her face and smiled brightly now. Her happier mood returned as she looked into his eyes.

"Anything at all, eh? Well, how about, would you like to make this a regular occurrence with me?" She asked, basically asking if he would just like to date her. She knew that she was young, younger than he was and she seemed like she would easily lose interest in him, but that wasn't the case with her. Adalyn was very interested in the man and she hoped that they could make this a regular thing for them. Spending time together, getting to know each other. She wanted to get her life back, and she wanted to start with Scotty. She wanted to be close to something and she was tired of being alone. No one should have to be alone when they were drifting in space, where they were alone and far away from anything they could call home. Why not have someone to spend the time with? Adalyn bit on her bottom lip again as she shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you say?"

[LT. CMDR. MONTGOMERY SCOTT]

She seemed to brighten up a little when he held her hand, or at least, he thought she did. He could have been imagining what he wanted to believe, but he honestly thought that she looked a little bit cheerier afterwards. And just like that, she was her sparkling self again, and he couldn't help but smile himself at the sudden transformation. How could he help smiling? He opened his mouth to ask her something, but she'd already taken him up on his offer to ask him a question.

Once again, she'd surprised him. What he'd been expecting was a question regarding his past, something like 'where did you grow up?' (as if that wasn't obvious) or 'has there been anyone special in your life?'. But instead of asking something concerning things that had already happened, she was offering a new prospect, something that could happen. Did he want to do this with her on a regular basis? Well, of course he did. She was pretty, amusing, interesting, and quite frankly, he still had no idea why she was interested in him. But he didn't want to agree too eagerly, lest she think he was desperate, so he tilted his head to one side, as if he were genuinely considering the question.

He tried to keep up the contemplative face, he really did, but it fell apart as he broke into a broad grin. "Well, sure." he replied, amiably. "Although I cannae imagine that you'll be so entertained by picnics after a few weeks of nothin' else." Hopefully, by now, she'd know that he was teasing; he had a tendency to do that when he was in a situation where a straight answer might not be the easiest thing to come up with.

But really, what did he have to lose? It wasn't as if he had a lot of women coming up to him who'd be scared off if he were dating someone special. Nor did he actually care if they did, really. If they hadn't acted on any such impulses by now, well, they'd had their chance.

"Absolutely." he said, a moment later, his tone quieter and lacking the teasingly playful tone it had had a moment ago. He wasn't despondent, but his tone was serious, as if he thought he really needed to assure her that, this time, he wasn't joking. He didn't want her to think that he was making fun of her; it must have been difficult to put her own feelings on the line like that just to ask him something he might turn her down on, and he figured she at least deserved to know that he respected that. Looking down at the hand that held his own, he brought it upwards to his face and dropped a quick kiss on the tops of her fingers.

He was fully aware that he might catch grief for this from some of the other crewmembers, but at the moment, it was worth it. He hoped she knew what craziness she was getting into...