The Extent of the Damage 1

The telltale sign of a successful injection, a trickle of piping hot blood, manifested itself as Donovan awaited his caretaker's response.

"Diana. I'm Diana." He could hear some anxiety in her voice. "As much as I might like to tell you the good news, I'm afraid there isn't much."

Don didn't understand. He was alive wasn't he? Wasn't that good enough news when compared to the hell he had managed to live through?

Was there something else that was going on?

Regardless, this was his first interaction with the someone of the opposite sex (presumably) around his age in a very long time. Even in the academy there weren't many he could freely talk to.

Of the many cliché and cheesy pickup lines he had thought up in his 'free' time, this situation was a perfect fit for one. Diana seemed to be on the backfoot, unable to control the conversation. He was going to have fun with it even if she killed him for it.

"Aaaaaah, I get it. You don't have to explain."

"Huh?"

"Man, to think I would die like that. Pretty cool though."

"What? Huh? Explain what?"

"Oh? Are you going to make me say it myself?"

"What? What are you talking about?" She was properly confused now, completely off her guard.

"Isn't it obvious I'm in heaven? I couldn't see much but even I'm smart enough to realize where I am."

"Wha, what made you think that?"

There it was. Time for the punchline, that being the line that would end with him getting punched.

"Just a quick glimpse at you was enough to tell me you were an angel. As far as I know, angels only exist in heaven."

He couldn't hold it anymore. He had been holding a neutral expression, but now he could feel he had burst into a massive shit eating grin.

Oh how he lamented being blinded, he couldn't see the look on his nurse's face.

In his mind's eye, her cheeks were flushed a deep cherry, her mouth pursed in an 'o' out of shock at the audacity. He was prepared to take a hit, be that a punch or slap, in response to his harassment.

Probably the worst part about it was that he had absolutely no clue as to whether or not this might be an effective way to flirt. This was his first try, ever.

Ultimately, it was her lack of immediate action that made him worry he may have 'miscalculated' the efficacy of his teasing. Perhaps she was used to this sort of thing, and had reacted in exasperation.

In hindsight, souring his relationship with the person who was, presumably, responsible for his health was not his brightest idea.

Just as the sweat started forming on his neck, she responded.

"My Grandfather warned me you might do something like this. Shame on me for being surprised by it."

'shit' was the word that formed in his brain. He couldn't be confident, but that did not sound like the voice of a flattered individual.

That made what followed all the more surprising.

A warm, slightly moist sensation on his cheek. He had never received one before, but this was no doubt a kiss.

"Surely you know that no angel would ever give a scoundrel like you affection." Now she was whispering faintly into his ear. Don could feel the light sensation of her hair on his exposed shoulder. "Is that enough to convince you that you live?"

That was without a doubt the hottest thing Donovan had ever heard in his life.

He wasn't a watcher of porn, Navy regulations and the Doctor's strict regimen precluded such activities, but he certainly witnessed the raunchier scenes in some of the movies he had the pleasure of watching while isolated aboard the Noah.

Needless to say, if she offered it he would take her up on the offer without a second thought.

Even now the light sensation of her breaths on his shoulder and neck were making him a bit dizzy.

Was this lust? Was he horny? Don couldn't tell, but this would be the first time he was feeling that way. Don was convinced that this woman would be worth the effort of wooing.

His train of less than pure thoughts was put to an end when Mercedes started whining at him. He had stopped stroking her, and she took it upon herself to attack his shoulder for having the audacity of focusing his attention elsewhere.

Owing to the fact that this attention was focused on the 'dirty' process of human reproduction, he was quite thankful.

He couldn't imagine that his chances at getting far in a relationship with this angel of a woman would be very high if all he thought about was sex.

"Are we done with the flirting?" Her voice, still soft, had returned to a more neutral tone.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good!" She was no longer right up next to his face. "With that out of the way, should we get back to our conversation?"

"Only if you want to."

Diana flicked him on the forehead, inciting a snicker from Don. Teasing was a lot more entertaining than he had imagined it would be.

"As I was saying, I am Diana Helmsguard. I understand you were training under my grandfather. The-"

"Wait, you're Doc's 'Little Moon Goddess'?"

"Yes, yes. The one and only. As I was saying, the situation we find ourselves in is somewhat dire, so I would really appreciate it if you stayed calm."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I will explain that later."

"How did you get here?"

"I got here the same way you did."

"Weren't yo-"

"Hold the questions for now soldier boy. I can answer them later. For now we need to get back to the Noah, do you think you can walk?"

Don had plenty of questions, but they were not very important.

"I'm not confident of doing it under my own power, but I could probably do it if I used your shoulder."

"Then let's do that. Come on, out of bed."