The Extent of the Damage 3

Don woke up to a numb arm.

He opened his eyes and tried to determine the source, forgetting something important.

His vision was better, but still very fuzzy.

The lack of lighting in the cabin did not help in this matter.

However he could vaguely make out a dim golden blur. Diana.

His body still hurt, but not nearly as much as it did before. Painkillers should have left his system by now, so his body was definitely healing now.

"Good morning Don." ARC's voice was softer than normal, a clear sign of conscientiousness towards the still sleeping Diana. "I think you will be pleased to find you should recover within the hour. Your concussion might take some more time, but it should not be debilitating."

Don shook his free hand in victory.

"Any idea on why it hurt so god damn much?" He wasn't exactly a doctor, but he was a bit curious as to why this hurt to such a degree.

"Besides the natural pain that comes alongside fractured bones and raw skin, the primary culprit was likely a lack of inflammation and constriction of your body's tissue around your nerve endings."

"What? How the fuck did that happen?"

"I was unable to come up with an reason for this, though I hypothesize it may be a result of whatever healing methods were used to save you from 'Split Decay'."

"The fuck is that?"

"I do not know, but it appears to be related to Split. It induces a form of cellular decay starting at the epidermis and spreading inward to capillaries and other organs."

"How bad was it."

"I saved a few images. There doesn't appear to be any scarring or bruising remaining, so those will be your only reference. To give you a general idea, it appeared as if there was a web of bruising across your body and certain portions of your skin were peeling off."

Don was all of the sudden not so enthusiastic about seeing his previous state.

"I suggest you continue to sleep, or at least rest your eyes. I do not expect Diana to wake up for some time. Perhaps you could try that 'spooning' technique."

"..."

"What is that?"

"What do you mean by your question?"

"Spooning. What do you mean by that?"

ARC was perplexed. Surely Don had heard of this before, he knew what sex was. That was a relatively innocent thing to know about, how couples slept together.

But then again maybe he didn't.

While he wasn't sheltered from the topic of sexual intercourse in his training regimen, he likely only ever had the time and energy to learn bits and pieces. He probably learned this limited information from his interactions with others and called it a day.

Donovan might know what spooning is, but not know the name for it.

"As I understand it, spooning is when you sleep with another back to stomach."

Don took a moment to move into a position he thought might be what was implied.

"Try putting your arm closer to her waist."

"Like this?" Don moved his arm further down, the palm of his hand ending up resting over Diana's belly button.

"Yes."

Don felt it to be a natural position, if a bit too intimate for their current relationship.

"Will she be okay with this?"

"I can smooth it over."

Don immediately returned to his initial position.

"Until I can be certain she is okay with being touched like that, I will not 'spoon' with her." He decided that this would be a line he did not cross.

"Suit yourself."

- - - - - - - - - -

Diana would have to be deaf to have not awakened from their conversation.

Try as they might to be quiet, Don's mouth was less than an arm's length away from her ears, and the Noah's interior was incredibly quiet (save Mercedes' snoring).

"I think you will be pleased to find you should recover within the hour. Your concussion might take some more time, but it should not be debilitating."

Full recovery? Did that include his eyesight?

If that was the case then she was going to have to don her best apparel. By her best apparel she of course meant one of the other sets of her favorite outfit, with nothing left out for comfort. The scarf and overcoat would further the modest appearance.

The Doctor insisted that he wasn't preferential towards skimpy clothing, but she wondered if she was being too concealing. On second thought, maybe the scarf was a bit much.

"...uld try that 'spooning' technique."

What did ARC just say? Spooning? Did it go crazy!? Why would it even think of suggesting something like that?

By the time she came to the realization that ARC knew she was awake and was trying to set up a situation that would lead them to be more 'intimate', Don's chest was up against her back and his free arm had wrapped around her chest, his hand resting on the mattress in front of her.

It was a struggle to keep her breaths even.

"Try putting your arm closer to her waist."

Slowly, she felt his arm shift down, ending with his hand on her navel. Just a bit further and he would have made this situation more than intimate and into the sexual.

She was incredibly grateful she decided to leave her clothes on, she was confident her skin would have been hot enough to leave welts on his skin.

She could feel his breath through her hair on the nape of her neck, and suddenly she found she wasn't quite as ready to lose her virginity as she thought. She wasn't disgusted, she was just afraid.

Diana was still willing to give herself to Donovan, just not now.

Just as she was getting dizzy from the blood rushing to her head, the heat on her back and belly disappeared.

"Until I can be certain she is okay with being touched like that, I will not 'spoon' with her."

'Oh thank god.' Diana breathed and internal sigh of relief.

She didn't know if it was the influence of her grandfather, but Donovan showed that he had some form of moral compass when it came to romantic relationships.