“Behold, thou art fair my love. Behold thou art fair. Thou hast dove’s eyes …” Scarecrow’s voice was soft as he quoted Song of Solomon. He smiled as he gazed down at Cooper. In response, she opened her eyes, looked up at him from her bed in the sick bay and returned his smile. True to the doctor’s word, Cooper’s recovery was complete. No evidence of her injuries remained. She was radiant, and much to Scarecrow’s surprise, his fiancé appeared to be a couple of years younger.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
Still groggy from her sedative, she took a moment to respond, “… A bit funny … woozy … A bit like … I’m detached from my body … kind of floating. It’s hard to explain.”
“The doctor told me it’s a side-effect of the regeneration pod,” Scarecrow said. “He says it’ll pass in an hour or so. Can I get you some water?”
“Yes, please …”
Scarecrow reached for a glass on the side table and brought it to Sandy’s now perfect lips, gently tipping it as she leaned her head forward to receive the cool liquid. She motioned when she’d had enough and dropped her head back on the pillow, still muzzy from the regeneration pod’s treatment.
“Ah, she’s awake. Excellent,” the doctor said as he entered the room. “It’s a good thing you were away when the regeneration cycle was complete, Commander. The major didn’t look as presentable as she does now.”
“I had a meeting with the admiral and the CO of the transfer Marines. What do you mean she didn’t look as good, Doctor?” Scarecrow said as his brow knit. “You said she’d be like new when that thing was finished.”
“Oh, no. She was, and she is. It’s just that … well, there was a lot of dead skin. She was still out from the sedative, but the nurses took her and showered her, then did her hair. And I can see, they applied a bit of makeup as well,” he smiled as he spoke. “I think they did that as much for you as for the Major.”
Scarecrow looked down at Sandy and smiled at her. She returned his sanguine gaze.
“… Do I pass muster?” Her voice was still weak.
“On your worst day, ten times over and then some,” he said with confidence as he reached down and stroked her cheek.
“Still feeling a little ‘out of body?’” The doctor peered up at her vital display above the bed, squinting as he scrutinized the ARI readouts. Cooper offered a slight nod.
“Yeah. It’s weird …”
“Don’t worry. It’ll pass in no time. I want you to stay put until the sedative wears off completely. Then you’re free to go. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
He smiled at each of them and nodded, then turned and left the room.
Several hours later, Cooper was back to feeling herself, dressed and walking with her arm in Scarecrow’s as they headed back to her quarters. She maintained a firm grip on her fiancé, as she was still a little queasy. They entered her stateroom and Scarecrow secured the hatch, then turned to enfold Sandy in his arms.
“I’m sorry, Sweeting,” he said.
Startled at his declaration, Sandy grabbed his upper arms with both hands and pushed him back to look into his eyes.
“Sorry for what?” She stared at him, puzzled.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to watch over you. To protect you.”
“Hey, I’m a Marine. I don’t need protecting.”
“But if I would have been with you, those little cretins wouldn’t have attacked you.”
“They bushwhacked me in the head. What are you gonna do, Steve? Hold my hand while I pee?” She chuckled at the absurdity of her last statement, which brought a smile to Scarecrow’s face.
“I’m sorry. It just dredged up a lot of awful memories.”
“Chrissy.”
Scarecrow’s eyes answered for him.
“Lover, as much as I wish you could, you can’t be with me every second of every day. This isn’t the first time I’ve been assaulted, and it probably won’t be the last–”
“It will be if I have anything to do with it,” Scarecrow said. Sandy put her hand on his cheek. He leaned into it.
“I know, Darling. You’re my knight in shining armor, and you want to protect me. I get that. Your chivalry is one of the things I love about you. But I’m a soldier. I’m trained for combat. To protect myself. Those little creeps may have hurt me, but I was still able to defend myself. I admit, this time was the worst … the previous times were nothing more than a groping or a torn blouse. But please understand, I’m not Chrissy. You’re not going to lose me. I promise. Now let’s not talk about this anymore, okay? Let’s just forget it ever happened.”
“I can’t forget it! I won’t. And I can’t understand how you could.”
“Because if we don’t forget it, they win.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Rape is not about sex, Steve. It’s about control. The lieutenant propositioned me outside the O-club, and I spurned him. He couldn’t handle that, so he wanted to get back at me. He probably thought he could teach me a lesson or something. He wanted to dominate me, but I wouldn’t let him. In that brief moment he had me pinned, I was completely helpless. And I hated it.” She winced as she recalled the traumatic memory. “I never want to feel that way again.”
Sandy stopped and peered into her fiancé’s eyes, intent, searching for some sign that he understood. That she was getting through. “The nurses told me the lieutenant died from his injuries.”
“Yeah, the doctor doesn’t know if it was because of injuries he received from you or the first sergeant and his men.”
“Probably a little of both. The point I’m trying to make is, he dominated me for about 30 seconds in that head. But I fought back so he could no longer dominate me. If we continue to dwell on this, he wins. He’ll continue to dominate me–to dominate both of us–from beyond the grave. And I refuse to let him do that.”
She reached up and cradled Scarecrow’s face in both hands, continuing to stare into his eyes. “I want you make me a promise.”
“Anything. Ask, and it’s yours.”
“Promise me you’ll let this go. From this point on, promise me we’ll never mention this again. Please?”
Scarecrow stared back at her, weighing her request in his mind. In a moment, he smiled. A sincere, loving smile. “How could I ever refuse you anything? Of course I will, my Sweeting. My Beloved…”
Sandy leaned in and kissed him like they’d been apart for years and had to make up for lost time.
“… Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For thy love is better than wine,” she said with a gasp when their lips parted. Scarecrow’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“You’re not the only one who can quote scripture, y’know.” She offered an impish smile. She resumed her oral embrace, her arms snaking around his neck. Their lips parted once more and they stood, holding each other.
“I wish we could go back up to the astrometric bubble,” Sandy said as she rested her head on Scarecrow’s shoulder.
“I don’t see why we can’t.”
“Really?” Her head shot back up at Scarecrow’s declaration.
“Captain Carter told us to leave the sofa up there. He said he never used it anyhow. All the equipment is back in place, but it’s first dog watch and I’m pretty sure the astrometric team is off-duty right now. We could stop by the wardroom and get a bottle of wine and some glasses from Frank, and I bet he could pipe some music up for us again. We could lock the lift at the top, and no one would be able to bother us.”
“They say that from orbit, Mars is beautiful this time of year … let’s do it.” Sandy grinned with delight, then spun around and strode over to her chest of drawers.
“You go get the wine, and meet me back here in ten mikes. That’ll give me time to get out of this uniform, and into something a little more relaxed.”
“Only if you lock the hatch behind me.”
Sandy shot an annoyed stare at him. “You promised!”
“I didn’t mention anything. I’m just being cautious, that’s all.”
She was silent for a moment. “Fine. Go, so you can get back before I change my mind and hit my rack instead.”
“I’m already gone.” Scarecrow ducked out the hatch and hesitated until he heard Sandy engage the lock. Then he hurried down the passageway towards the wardroom.
Unbeknownst to him, a figure lurked in the shadows just down from Cooper’s cabin.