A Stalker?

Month 15 Day 7

08:19 Hours

Captain Burke

Jane stopped just inside Smitty's office and looked. Except for the redhead sitting behind the desk, the room was empty. "You're here alone?" she asked, when the answer was obvious. At least I didn't catch them together, behaving inappropriately.

"Yes, sir," MacDowell answered. "Mr Smythe has me use his computer to do the paperwork while I'm on light duty."

That must be why his paperwork has been showing up much earlier than when he does it himself. "Well, I came to speak with Mr Smythe. Where can I find him?"

MacDowell stopped typing to consult the screens on the walls. "I believe he mentioned double-checking the work he did yesterday on the port warp engine, but I don't see him there. I would guess he's either inside the machine, or perhaps he's on his way back."

"He worked on it yesterday?"

"Yes, sir."

Then double-checking it today is probably a formality, and he's on his way back. "I'll wait for him," she announced and sat down in the chair facing the desk. MacDowell continued her work. Jane observed the occasional wince when she moved her right arm. "How is your shoulder doing, lieutenant?"

"It's still stiff, but it's getting better."

"And how do you like light duty?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Go ahead." She doesn't like it.

"It's unimaginative and repetitious."

"The higher in rank you go, the more paperwork there is to do."

"So I've noticed, sir."

Of course she has. "I've noticed Smitty has you designated as a trainee for half days."

MacDowell glanced at her fleetingly. "That's so that somebody can take over if the task requires I do something my shoulder isn't able to do."

"That must rankle, having somebody constantly looking over your shoulder."

"I'm hoping it won't be necessary too long."

Meaning, she's resigned to putting up with it. "I understand you went to see the movie last night."

A startled glance. "Yes, sir."

"Mr Bugalu said Mr Smythe sat directly behind you."

"He started out directly behind me, but moved over a seat so that a couple could sit together."

"Did that make you uncomfortable, to have him there?"

MacDowell hesitated in her typing. "He behaved like a gentleman."

Jane could almost hear 'this time' on the end of that sentence. But she didn't ask for details.

The redhead glanced up at the screens again. "Mr Smythe has just entered engineering, captain."

"Good." She stood up and turned for the doorway. "If he does anything to bother you, let me know, and I'll talk with him."

MacDowell looked up suddenly, pain in her eyes. "You don't believe we'll get back together?"

"Only you two know that," Jane answered, and moved out to the engineering lobby, where she caught Smitty putting his tool belt away. "Just the person I've been waiting for. Let's go get a cup of coffee."

Startled, he glanced at the clock. Their shift wasn't even an hour old. "Now? I mean, of course. I could use one."

They went to the lift, but Jane sent it to the nearest privacy room. "I need to talk to you," she told him as she shut the door and locked it behind them.

He seemed surprised by her choice of location. "Surely there's a better place to talk than here."

"Not necessarily," Jane answered, and sat down at the small table. "Take a seat," she suggested, gesturing to the other chair.

He did as he was told, his brow furrowed. "What's this about, captain?"

"Are you stalking Lt MacDowell?"

"Colleen?" he whispered, and then shock spread through him. "What? No! Did she say I have been?"

"She said you behaved like a gentleman last night at the movie," Jane admitted. "I didn't have time to ask about the times you met her as she left sick bay, or in the rec room."

Smitty's face reddened. "It's not a large ship, Captain, we're bound to run across each other from time to time. I didn't know she'd be at the movie last night, and I went to the rec room to play some pool."

"And waiting for her outside sick bay?"

He hesitated, and then confessed. "Yes, I did that. She is my subordinate, and after the total screw up that happened her first time with the healing ray, I wanted to make sure she could get home okay."

"She's only had the healing ray twice."

"Yes," he agreed. "The other time I met her there, I managed to get her to talk to me, a bit, as I walked her home. I'm trying to keep communication open between us, captain. Without that, I haven't got a chance."

"How many other times have you 'accidentally' run across her in the past week?"

"None," he asserted, then added, "Oh, I've seen her at a distance, various places, such as the mess hall or walking down a corridor. But those were all purely by chance, and I did nothing to get her attention!"

They were both silent for a long moment. "I had a feeling you weren't ready to give up on her," Jane told him. "And you're probably on the right track, trying to keep communications open. As long as you keep your jealousy under control. Which, as bad as I've seen you display it, I'm surprised she could say you behaved like a gentleman last night."

He blushed, and for a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. "Well..." He spread his hands over the tabletop. "I overheard their conversation. As they settled in their seats."

It seemed to be all he was going to say on the matter. It wasn't enough for Jane. "And?"

"It... wasn't very lover-like."

Jane gave him a slow smile. "Perhaps because they aren't lovers. But I don't suppose one overheard conversation is enough to convince you of that. At least it seems to have made you think about other possibilities. I hope." She gave a deep sigh. Personal matters are always so complicated. "Just be careful, Smitty. It can be a mighty thin line between pursuing someone and stalking them."

"Yes, captain," he returned. "We got carried away, in a hurry, the first time. I'm trying to take it slower this time."

The most sane thing he's said so far. "Good. Now, I understand you did some work on the port warp engine yesterday. I didn't see it mentioned in your daily report."

"Captain, if I reported everything we do, I'd never get a daily report done. It was nothing."

"The warp engines don't sound like 'nothing' to me," she told him. "It sounds serious."

"It was a tiny blip," he returned. "It was a slight imperfection in the alignment of the power stream through one of the crystals. We just had to figure out which one and get it re-aligned, is all."

It still sounds blasted serious. Or that it could have become serious. But Smitty seems to find potential problems before they become much of anything. "Good. Always on top of things, aren't you? I suppose if you did report every little 'blip', as you put it, I would be a nervous wreck."

"And there's no reason to notify you of every blip. I save notifying you for the more serious stuff."

"Good to know." She stood up and unlocked the door. "So, be careful with MacDowell. And keep up the good work." She opened the door and headed back to the bridge.