=/\= Begin Log =/\= Rob sat on the edge of the biobed tapping his hand and yawning. He looked around and sighed. Fifteen minutes ago the nurse had told him she 'would be right back' and there was not a sign of her. He agitated to be away from the Sickbay but couldn't leave without the final 'all clear' Athena walked into sickbay pretty much on automatic. She covered a yawn with her hand as she made her way to Rob's bed. She silently hoped that none of the nurses had guessed what she had done yesterday and that it didn't cause Rob any set backs. She hid another yawn as she approached Rob's biobed. {What a waste of a day!!} Rob thought putting his arms on his knees and staring down at the floor. {There is so much I should be 'doing'}. He tapped his heel on the floor and looked up as he heard soft footsteps approaching. His face broke into a wide smile as he saw the counselor. Athena looked up and smiled back at Rob with a smudge on her face and some of her hair had escaped its ponytail. "Well, I was coming to visit you again, but you must be feeling better if your sitting up." She put her padd on the bed beside him and asked, "When are you going to be able to leave?" Rob pushed the padd further back and patted the place beside him inviting her to sit there. "I can leave as soon as they decide to come back and tell me!" he said, his eyes taking in the smudge on her nose and the wayward tendrils of hair. "And what have 'you' been doing?" he asked glad to know she had bothered to come all the way back to see him. "Would you believe finishing my evaluations," she asked as she hoped up on the bed beside him. He grinned at her. "...errr...yes!" he answered and reached to rub the smudge on her nose. "That didn't sound very convincing," she said. She moved out of his reach as she turned her head to the sound of a nurse or someone dropping a metal tray. "You look as if you've been trying to 'wrap up a cat'! " he told her "...who won?" and he looked past her to see the cause of the disturbance. She smirked at his analogy and said, "I'm not sure yet. She rubbed her hand across her face and smeared stuff across her cheek as well. He glanced at her, his attention still on the nurse but looked back in a 'double take' as he noticed the smudge seemed to have grown. He grinned at her. "Come here," he said standing up and wincing slightly at the movement. As she stood up, he steered her over to a mirror near a wash basin and stood behind her as she surveyed her reflection. She groaned inwardly and grabbed a cloth. As she wetted the cloth with some water she said, "At least, I look how I feel." She gave him a small smile in the mirror as she began to wash the back stuff that she assumed was some kind of grease from her face. She managed to rid her nose of its smudge and moved on to her cheek as she asked, "Its not hurting you too much to stand, Is it?" He smiled at her mirror image. "No..I'm fine..just need to get out of here...no no..give it to me..." and he turned her round to face him, took the cloth and gently began to wipe away smears that she had missed. As he spun her around and took the cloth from her, she let her hands fall to his waist to keep her balance. She stood still and let him finish the job as she looked up into his face. "How long have you been waiting to leave," she asked and "Since yesterday isn't a viable answer." He concentrated on the job, taking time and care, the corners of his mouth curved in a slight smile. He didn't answer but gently pushed the stray hair behind her ears and finally smiled down at her, "Since you were last here," he said. At the sound of the nurse clearing her throat, Athena dropped her hands from his waist and took a step away. "Thank you," she said as she moved around him to pick her padd up off the bed. She gave the nurse a smile on her way. Glancing at the nurses interested expression, he sat back on the edge of the bed and giving her a small smile asked "Can I go?" He could see Athena from the side of his vision but didn't look at her. Athena picked up her padd and looked up to find him looking at her from the corner of his eye. She smiled at the nurse and said, "Tell him your keeping him for another day." Smiled and winked at the nurse when she saw his expression. The nurse cleared her throat to keep from laugh at Rob's surprised and exasperated expression. He couldn't help but have a worried look cross his face. The nurse grinned at Athena and rob looked at her too. "Oh VERY funny!!" he said. "You're free to go Lt." the nurse told him brightly "but...not too much excitement for a while," and she looked from him to Athena and back. Athena gave the nurse a look of cool calm innocence that left the nurse wonder if she had seen what she thought she saw. Athena flashed Rob a quick smile for behind the nurse's back and then started to head for the door. As she did so she pulled the ponytail holder from her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. Rob watched her walk away, smiling to himself as he saw her release her lovely hair. He hopped off the bed side and giving the nurse a quick nod, strode after Athena, catching up with her as she made it to the exit. He fell into step for two paces, bent his head to her and whispered. "Dinner?" =/\= End Log =/\= Lt. Athena Wellington Counselor USS Chimera & 1Lt. Rob Richards NPC apb LtJg. Rangi Summers