| |
Brother Anderson watched Hannah as her expression changed into a mix of confusion and clarity. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then shut it again, frowning.
“Hasn’t Colin always treated you with respect?”
She thought about their interactions. Now that the doctor mentioned it, Colin had treated her kindly, despite her sometimes open hostility. He had always been willing to do things for her. Sometimes crazy things, actually. He had managed to get her oboe. In the process, the airlock had apparently ruptured and exploded. That sounded dangerous, right? And she had been too selfish to bother asking about that. What exactly had happened? Was he hurt? She didn’t even know. She hadn’t asked.
He had helped her learn to use a spacesuit. And she wasn’t even really sure why. Why would he bother? Why did he let her go with him to the airlock? When she had asked, she had had no idea what was involved. He could easily have told her it was a crazy idea.
He had gotten her food, and supplies. He had remembered her favorite drink. He had gone the extra mile to get her nice clothes that fit well. What was it he had said about the bunny t-shirt? “you look great”. He wanted to say sexy, she knew that. She did look sexy. She knew it. He definitely noticed. But he had tried to be respectful. And always as they talked, he spoke to her as an equal. As a person. Never like a sex object. Even though he obviously was attracted to her. He never pursued a physical relationship. She would have handed his ass to him on a platter if he had. He probably knew that too. She had assumed that was why he was acting nice. But maybe it wasn’t just an act. She had never caught him staring at her the way a lot of guys did. She was very good at catching them. Which meant either he was even better at hiding it, or perhaps, there was nothing to hide. She doubted he could be that good. She hated to admit it, but the robot might be right.