This Was Not Part of the Plan.

Posted on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 @ 12:08pm by Colonel Jason "Jack" Frost
Edited on on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 @ 12:09pm

3,048 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: The Emerald Road
Location: Marine Commanders Office

When she was released from sickbay- bruises still livid on her face she spoke in a hoarse voice "Computer- Location of Colonel Frost."

"Colonel Frost is currently on Deck 35, Marine Deck." The computer reported. "Marine Commanding Officer's Office."

Nodding her head, she tucked the regenerator she'd taken from sickbay into the pocket of her tank top, for she was wearing that and the uniform pants she'd worn to his quarters even though they were dirty. She would parade around in her undergarments only for her marine. Setting off to the marine commanders office, she wouldn't ring the chime, she would just walk in.

Nobody dared to question why Jack walked in in boxers only, they may have seen but not a word was said. He was sick to his core, his stomach churned, his mind ablaze with visions blasting him every few seconds at what he did. Even the cup of Coffee that he replicated sat untouched on his table as he struggled to come to terms with what happened. He knew he had to report it, he'd struck an officer and regardless of the situation that is what happened.

Acacia's hair was still loose and wild from the bed, and she combed her fingers through it absently to rid it of the worst tangles as she stepped out onto the marine deck. Once more she was here barefoot and underdressed, for her tunic had hurt too much to even attempt to put on. His fingers had left deep bruises on her throat, and around her left eye. It throbbed as she walked, but this was all superficial damage. The swelling on the inside of her throat had been taken care of instantly by the doctor.

Jacks assistant was at her desk having been instructed that he not be interrupted, something about his voice and his arriving appearance told her he meant every word. It didn't stop her however appreciating the view by the lack of clothing however.

She walked into the office complex and passed the assistant's desk without a word to her. She knew all too well the assistant didn't like her and would stand in her way as she was approaching the Colonels private office.

The Assistant had seen Acacia, and the marks she bore. She couldn't help but wonder if she bit off more than she could chew. "Whats the matter sweetie, the Colonel too much man for you or you just incapable of handling a man in general?"

Rage pure and incarnate burned from her ears to the tips of her toes. "Too bad that a hussy like you panting over him like you're in heat will never know how much of a man he is. "

"Then why don't you step aside and let a better woman show you how." The Assistant sneered in reply sizing the young Doctor up.

She laughed at her, openly and then growled "You don't have what it takes to entice him."

"Like you could entice him, only thing you could do is throw yourself at him like an obedient little pet. Do yourself a favor and get lost, you are embarrassing yourself" Unbeknown to the pair of them that they were starting to gather a small crowd.

"That was a fourth grade word. I'm so proud of you for using it correctly. Why don't you run back and play with mommy's makeup some more and let your betters talk." she sneered insulting her intelligence and her appearance at one time.

"Maybe she could give you some tips to cover those bruises up. What happened, you push him too far? Couldn't keep up? Can't say I'm surprised." Jacks assistant sneered.

The words rang in her ears, and that was the instant that everyone but the assistant knew that something had drastically changed in the verbal encounter. Rage made blood roar in her ears, as she got a flash of the devastation in his face when he'd realized what was happening this morning. What he'd done. She put the full force of her body behind an openhanded slap that rang through the office.

The Assistant didn't go for the slap in reply, her CQC training kicked in. A swift jab to the face adding to the bruising and she used her body to push Acacia in the wall. As the two women fought it out gathering a crowd some marines already heading up the ramp towards them, one of the squad leaders already making contact with the Colonel.

Within moments the two women were on the floor beating each other, attempts to break them up halted when next to the two battling heads close to the floor stood a pair of well polished, tightly strung combat boots. Silence filled the room, all bar the two warring women. "ENOUGH!!" Jack bellowed down at the two women. The Assistant looked up to see Jack in uniform looking his usual self bar the face of death dealing and more imposing posture than normal. "Get up....right nowwww."

Acacia was flushed and panting, in a totally different way than he was used to seeing. Rage was still warring with sense at the moment but she wiped the blood from her hands and got up from where she had her knee in the small of his assistant's back. Her eye was puffy again, the second hit there hadn't helped, but she hadn't even noticed the increased pain.

The Assistant rose too standing sharply at attention, eyes forward as the gathered marines left the scene. "I don't know what I think I saw there but it looked like to me that two officers were fighting on my floor." Jack was in MCO mode, two officers duking it out just outside his door, disrupting his department. That antic just wouldn't fly. Jack leaned in close to his assistants ear, really close so there was zero chance she couldn't hear or fail to understand him. "Do you want to explain to me what just happened here?"

"I threw the first punch if that helps..." she muttered in responce to somethinginside, she couldn't stop from falling from her lips. Blood trickled from her lower lip and she touched it softly.

"Was I talking to you..........?" Jack barked. "My office, right now! I will deal with you after I have dealt with my marine." Jack's gaze was cold, hard and unyielding in its intensity as he looked at her.

Her chin raised, and she met his stare unflinchingly. Her eyes however softened slightly as they met his, before she turned on her heel and walked into his office. Once the door closed behind her her shoulders slumped and she muttered "Well fuck me sideways."

From the other side of the door could be heard Jack tearing his assistant a new one for several minutes. Broken every now and then to hear excuses and answers before launching again, Jack was living up to his last name right now.

Wincing at the tone of voice he was using to cut his assistant into tiny pieces, her chin quivered. The idea that he would use that icy rage filled tone with her filled her with a sense of dread that she couldn't suppress. Her eyes began to prickle and burn, and her chest tightened. Forcing a breath in and out she pressed her fingers to her lips and wincing at the flash of pain. "Oh don't you dare! Don't you dare cry now." Her whisper to herself cracked with emotion as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked an utter fright. Her lip was split and bleeding sluggishly. One of her teeth was loose and her bruised eye was now solidly black. That eye also had some broken capillaries, causing her eye to be blood red. She'd also split her knuckles, so she'd done some damage to the Marine.

When Jack walked in he was torn at what to do, she had come here because of what he did to her that morning. What he'd done was unforgivable, call him old school but no man should strike a woman and though he may have done in the past to silence a hostage to effect an escape for example, none of it explained any cause of justification to Acacia simply trying to wake him and getting struck for it. When the doors closed behind him he walked to the one way mirror watching his assistant taking the walk of shame down the ramp to the on duty medical officer on the main floor. Many marines looked at her, followed her ever step in silence before he brought himself back to the moment. "I don't know where to begin." His tone softer, gentle yet still tempered with the rage he'd used on the marine.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I should have known better." Her voice quivered along with her chin, as the reaction from the adrenaline again fading from her made her body shiver head to toe. "I did know better and I d-did it anyway." it was hard to tell if she was talking about waking him like that, or the fight she'd started.

"The reason you are here is because of me, because of what I....did." Jack replied as he couldn't face her, by his action it lead to this and this lead to a fight causing her further injury. It explained a great deal as to why relationships with marines were fleeting ones or ones that always ended in misery.

Whirling on her heel to face him, she walked right up to him and slid her arms around his waist. Her still bleeding lip pressed to his undershirt, staining it scarlet as she embraced him. "You were having a nightmare. I've been trauma trained. I should have known better than to startle you awake. You are not to blame for this do you understand me Jack Frost?"

"That doesn't make it alright." Jack had clearly had a while to work himself up over this so the words came out growly and angry, but directed at himself. "Not in the least." While there was some measure of relief when she hugged him. "Even apologising seems to pale considering what I did, the words hollow in the scope of what I did to you."

She laughed into his his chest "I think she did more damage than you did love."

"Still......I'm sorry." He put his arms gently around her though it didn't little to sooth his own demons that not feasted on the actions of the morning. "I'd say you broke even, not bad considering she has CQC training." But his praise ended quickly, Acacia was injured. "I'll have one of the CM's come up and treat you, can't say it would be up to SF Medical comforts but gets the job done."

She made a dismissive noise at the idea of a medic, reached into her pocket and then pressed a dermal regenerator into the palm of his glove. "No." she whispered "I trust you to care for me, I don't even know your medic."

"I'm a Marine, I have basic combat medical training at best, this could end up like one of those boyfriend does girlfriends make up experiences. Wont be pretty." Jack knew his way around a regenerator but some of these wounds needed a little more treatment than that, especially the eye and tooth.

"And I'm a doctor, I think we can manage together." she reminded him softly, smiling and then wincing as the split opened anew and blood coursed down her chin. "Ow! " she yelped and blistered the air with curses, as she clapped a hand to her face again.

"Well if it hurts, you only have yourself to blame." Jack took the regenerator and seated Acacia in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Bruising and cuts were easy fixes, the knuckles came next but the eye and tooth would need proper help with more than a regenerator.

"Let me have a mirror?" she asked as she flexed her fingers and opened and closed her mouth to test the repair. That lip was going to be tender for a while, hopefully he refrained from biting her lip for a few days.

Jack walked to a wall and pushed one of the storage space panels that within housed his dress uniform and a mirror mounted on the door. "A mirror." He took a step back.

Turning her head, so that the eye was in focus she palpated it lightly, hissing her breath out through her teeth as she did so for it burned like the devil. Peeling back her lip to look at the tooth, she gently pressed it as well. It grated audibly and her face paled in reaction more to the sound than to the pain that shot through her jaw. Taking up the regenerator, she altered the settings, and lit up the area she could see in the mirror. Another setting change and she was able to flex her jaw again. "That's going to be tender for a while." she muttered as she turned back to him. "Does she have to keep the bruises I gave her?"

"Probably getting healed as we speak while getting chewed by her section leader." Jack replied. People were going to be tender for a few days but she looked better than when she walked in at least.

"Why didn't you ask me what happened?" she asked softly as she raised bright blue eyes to meet his paler blue ones.

"I didn't need to, my assistant told me everything. That and the reason your here is because of what I did. Considering I'm in most way the cause of your injuries I think its easy to know what happened." Jack replied as he looked at her.

Cocking her head to one side she decided not to challenge the idea that the assistant had told him everything that was said "I suppose she was afraid enough to lose your regard that she would tell the truth. I however doubt that she was completely honest because it makes us both look like petty bitches." her smile was genuine. "Ever had ladies fight over you before Jack?"

"One or two, but never two at the same time, with each other." Jack replied. "She will probably be reassigned to another position on board and I'll appoint a new assistant."

Acacia made a noncommittal noise as she turned back to him her bruised eye still livid and dark, but no longer swollen nearly shut.

"Should probably get the rest of you treated before you leave here, I think enough drama for one day has been caused, we don't need a repeat." Jack knew word of this would get about the ship, it was only a matter of time before the First Officer would come knocking on his door.

"There's no fracture underneath, so a simple regenerator will do the trick." she said softly, handing it back to him. He would erase the bruise from her face, but not from either of their memories was her thought. Her free hand, found his hanging at his side, and squeezed it gently. "Someday...you'll have to share that dream with me."

He took the regenerator and began to work on her face. "I think I've shared more than enough already of it." His voice strained with anger and disdain over what he did, striking an innocent over this just didn't sit well with him one bit.

"I'm not so easy to kill slaver" she whispered whilst nuzzling her cheek into his hand. She knew that he would never have struck her in anger, and that he hadn't meant to do so earlier.

"Don't." Jack replied. "Just...don't." It was too soon for her to venture near his dream let alone to quote what he said. He didn't like one ounce what he did and her reminding him of it would make the recovery for him even longer.

"I am not afraid, of it or of you" she said softly, despairing that the stricken look was back on his face.

"I'm not saying you should be, but it is too soon to be doing that after what I did and you know how I feel about it." Jack replied as he worked on her face. "In time perhaps, until then lets just leave it there." Easier said than done he knew but for now it would have to suffice.

She didn't know how he felt about it, but she was confident enough in her read of him to know just how sick this was making him inside. "I..." a breath escaped her pursed lips as she thought about what to say. "I hope, if you ever get to the point where you can talk about it. When you need to let the poison out, that you know you can come to me."

"Considering what you have seen, you would be the only person. Not likely I will be seeing the counselor over this." Jack didn't want anymore 'outsiders' to know, by outsiders he meant those outside of his squad at the time. It was a terrible day a dark day and Acacia had been innocently dragged into it.

A half smile was all that she could offer him. The idea that he would talk to her about the worst periods in his life warmed her to the core, and she couldn't imagine how honored she'd feel if he actually did confide in her.

Inch by inch Jack ran the regenerator over her face to treat the nasty bruises on her face, the bruises he caused though no doubt the fight she just had didn't help the matter. While he knew that at some point he would have to talk to her about what happened he also knew that in doing so it would run the risk that it would change her outlook of him for ever and potentially not in a good way.

Acacias eyes never left his, not for a moment. Acacia hoped to catch some glimpse of emotion in the man who'd been so withdrawn and closed off since this happened. All she knew was that he was hurting, but she didn't know what to look for to see how badly.

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