=/\= Begin part 2B =/\= A silence fell between them. Rob slowly raised his hand but hesitated as though half expecting her to move away as Rangi had done. When she did not, he gently pushed the soft hair away from her face, his fingers touching her cheek like a feather. He said nothing but searched her lovely face for any sign of what she was thinking...or what she wanted. She turned to face him a little better but still didn't say anything. She kept her gaze steady even when her lips and throat seemed to go dry all of a sudden. She moistened her lips with her tongue as she continued to block everything out. She felt as though he were trying to read her like a book and she began to shut her eyes against his steady gaze. "Athena?" his voice hardly made a sound as he gently took her face in his hands and very slowly bent his head towards hers. He looked from her eyes to her lips. "Athena..." She didn't respond but concentrated on the sensations that he was causing, but as if in response to the second time he said her name she leaned into him a bit. Their lips were just a fraction of an inch from touching when a message broke the spell. [Attention all personnel one of the white lab rats have gotten loose. Please, return to the science department when caught, alive preferably.] The interruption was short and only paused what was to come. She opened her eyes, startled at the thought of a rat on the loose. He raised his head a little. "I'll save you" he said quietly and grinned. A moment later his lips met hers. It wasn't more than the next moment that she screamed against his lips as the furry little critter scurried across her barefoot. She shivered against him and said, "I think I found him." She let out a deep breath as she shook a bit more remembering how the clammy feet of the creature felt running over her foot. He pushed Athena gently away. "Its alright..it wont hurt you," he smiled "Think how more afraid he is of you." Turning away, he mentally condemned the rodent to oblivion. "Where did he go," he asked her beginning to search. "I wasn't exactly paying attention at the time," she said. She took the few steps it required her to get to the chair and sat with her feet curled up under her. "but he ran that direction over my foot," she replied and pointed toward the bedroom. Rob glanced back at her with an expression of surprise. {Bedroom?} he thought and walked the few steps to the door. "Theres no where in here he could hide..." he called "...unless..." Sounds of scuffling and the odd thump could be heard "Athena...get a box or something!" He appeared at the door his hands clasped around something that had a long thin tail hanging from between his fingers. He grinned at her, "Want to say 'hello' to him?" When Rob came back into the living room there was a box on the coffee table, but Athena was still sitting in the chair. "No, I do not want to say hello to him." Normal rats, mice and the like didn't bother her but she had never had one run across her barefoot before either. He glanced at her as he dropped the creature unceremoniously into the box and sealed top. He walked to the door and put the box down on the floor, returning to her with a smile. He saw her eyes flicker past him to the box and realized she was probably more shocked than she was letting him know. Placing his arm around her shoulders and tilting his head to see her clearly he said. "It scared you...I didn't mean to make fun of you," and he kissed her hair and smiled, much in the way a child can be reassured by a 'kiss to make it better'. Athena gave him a small smile, "Well, it definately surprised me. She looked up into his face and said, "it was just really strange feeling to have it run across my foot." She looked away and quietly added, "I probably won't be able to sleep tonight either because of it." She looked in the general direction of the box and gave another small smile, "I guess my report will get done though." At the mention of the report, his arm dropped from her shoulders and the smile died from his face. "About that report.." he said watching her face."You're not going to...there isn't any...I didn't 'DO' anything Athena." He walked three steps away, turned round and took two back. "Rangi and I...just had a misunderstanding...that's all." He waited for her response with an uncertain expression. She thought about making him sweat it out for teasing her about the rat, but instead she stood in front of him and said, "I don't think your meeting with Rangi has changed the moral or general mental health of the crew so ..... your safe. You do realize that I've talked to about a hundred people in the last three days?" Rob didnt reply,shifted his gaze to the floor and then looked at her in a measured way. {She's not going to write anything about my anger then?} "A hundred people," he asked trying to mask his concern "Thats an awful lot of writing!" and he gave a small smile. "Just a general paragraph over all and then one for each department, that should cover it." She gave him a smile for his concern, "Thats no so bad is it," she asked. She paused breifly and then looked up and met his gaze. She reahed up and brushed some of his tousled hair out of his face as she thought about how his smile made him seem much more carefree and handsome. He caught her hand and not taking his eyes from hers, brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently. His smile widened and he took hold of her shoulders gently drawing her closer. As he pulled her closer, her hands came to rest on his chest and their eyes never wavered from each others. One of his arms encircled her waist and the other became entangled in her hair drawing her face closer to his as he bent towards her and their lips met. =/\= End Log =/\= Lt. Athena Wellington Ship's Counselor USS Chimera & 1Lt. Rob Richards NPC apb LtJg. Rangi Summers