The Extent of the Damage 2

Diana's mind and heart were fluttering.

Don had no way of knowing, but one of her biggest romantical fantasies involved being called an 'angel'. She couldn't place where she had initially dreamt this up, but she blamed her grandfather's excessive use of her pet name.

'Little Moon Goddess', was a reference to her namesake, Diana. In Roman mythology, she was associated with the moon, hence the nickname. It was also related to hunting, but that never really fit her modus operandi.

Diana was embarrassed about this pet name, though her grandfather insisted it fit her in every way. This embarrassment was magnified once Don revealed that he knew about this nickname.

Somewhere in her heart she had hoped that this moniker would die with the rest of humanity, but it would seem the Doctor's peculiarities would persist even after death.

The worst part about this revelation was that she liked it when Don called her that.

Her mind instinctually blamed her grandfather. He did that sort of mental manipulation all the time.

Diana was also wondering if she had been too forward with her admonishment of her future partner. She didn't know anything about him beyond the surface level information, so she feared that sort of suggestive maneuver would turn him away.

She read that men of the modern age liked to be the ones to initiate such intimate engagement, and she was unsure if Donovan followed this trend.

Fortunately for her, the young man who had been deprived of even the opportunity of romantic and sexual relationships for his entire life was completely isolated from the modern dating culture.

Currently, he was in the process of working out how to court her, unaware of the fact that he was going to be with her regardless. Donovan was already infatuated with her, she didn't need to do anything more.

Diana's most immediate concern was getting Donovan back to the Noah in one piece. Doing so was proving to be very difficult.

He strained and struggled to get out of the bed, his legs not being quite as agile as his arms. He was a bit better when it came to walking, but it was slow, and he needed assistance. He wasn't the heaviest, but Diana still struggled with him. There was a big difference in their volumes.

Diana also noticed a different issue, one that really only applied to her.

Donovan was, for the most part, nude. Donovan was also sweaty. While he didn't exactly smell bad, she didn't want her favorite clothes to be ruined by it.

The sweat also made it difficult to keep a hold on his arm, which was draped over her neck.

"How much further is it. I can't exactly see."

The wasn't long when she was unburdened, but it felt ten times as long under this pressure.

"I'd say about 3 minutes."

"Fuck. I really underestimated how much this would hurt."

"How bad is it?"

"Can't really describe it. The painkillers helped, but it feels like my arms are being torn off with every shake, and my legs are on fire."

Diana was tempted to call him a liar given the lack of pain in his voice, but she held her tongue after remembering the visceral roar and the urgency he requested in her retrieval of painkillers.

It might have been hyperbole, but there was definitely truth in his words.

"Do we need to stop?" She was concerned about causing him real injury, but she wouldn't mind a break either.

"Hell no. If I sit down I won't be able to get back up. We march on."

"Then lets hurry up. I don't think I can hold you for much longer."

The small flight of stairs proved difficult, invoking a series of curses from Donovan as his legs struggled to lift his weight. Not being able to see wasn't helping in this arena either, his toes finding out the hard way the distance between steps.

Just as they got to the Noah, his toes once more found out the dimensions of a protruding object.

Diana thought the thud that Donovan's foot made on contact with the metal elevator plate was Mercedes dropping her toy.

The loooong breaths that Don was taking were evidence of the ungodly scream he was no doubt holding back. Diana marveled at his willpower and restraint, if she had done that she might have screamed loud enough to break glass.

Once inside, he took position on the bed.

"Hey ARC, miss me? How long have I been out?"

"Welcome back Don. The last time you were inside of the cabin was 6 days, 3 hours, and 42 minutes ago. While you appear to be much better visually, I cannot imagine you are feeling very well."

"Yeah. Yeah I feel like absolute shit." Diana was slightly shocked by the familiarity and ease with which Don spoke to ARC. She considered herself to be quite guarded in her interactions with it, even if she did not hold any ill will.

"I will scan your body for injuries. Do you have any concerns or priorities when it comes to your body?"

"Uuuuh, yeah, a few. I can't see, its like I'm looking through a sheet of wax paper. A little bit worried about that. Also, splitting headache, but that might be a side effect of the excruciating pain I'm feeling everywhere else. Start with the head, please."

"Certainly. I myself have concerns about the impact your head made."

"Forgot about that."

"I will begin immediately."

"Thanks bud. If you don't mind, can I pass out?"

"Be my guest."

Despite having been up for mere minutes, Don was back to sleep already.

"What are your impressions of him?"

ARC had clearly directed its question at Diana, despite not having mentioned her.

"In what way do you mean?"

"Your general assessment. I am curious, and worried, about the future between you two. I know from my analysis of his personality that he is unlikely to have issues with you, but I do not know much of you."

It was showing genuine concern for her.

"This might be a bit of an in the moment exaggeration, but I think I might already be in love."

"Really? How so?"

"I think that for me, he's just the right amount of silly, serious, smart, and sexy. He doesn't feel too overbearing in any facet I've seen so far."

"So you see yourselves as equals. Is that an important quality in a relationship?"

"It can be. It really depends on person. I think that in our specific scenario, either person holding significantly more power over the other would only end in resentment."

"So you want to maintain a relationship of equals."

"Even that is not entirely correct. I fully understand that I have a level of indecision when it comes to important matters. You surely recall my final words with my grandfather?"

"Indeed I do. You seemed to be hesitant about entering stasis."

"Yes, I did not want to leave my grandfather even though I had to. I might perform most of the important diplomatic work, and you might be in charge of developing our industry and military capacity, but the plan is for Don to be in charge of the truly important decisions, and keeping us alive should the situation turn sideways."

Diana was kneeling at the bedside, petting Mercedes and staring at Donovan's face. The only other place to sit in the cabin was the pilot's seat, and she had no intentions of sitting there.

"Might I make a suggestion? You appear to not have rested properly in this past week, and it is in everyone's best interest for you to be more intimate with him. Sleeping on the bed with him would be an excellent way to accomplish both of those goals."