Once More Out of the Breach ((Matthews/Caine))

[C.T. Caine 0]

Owen hurried to catch up with the new security person who had helped break up the brawl. She had just started walking out of the lounge and he contemplated her backside before finally catching up. Not bad, he thought, a grin spreading over his face. "Hey, Goldshirt," he called after her. "Let's go to sickbay together."

 

Caine had one foot out of the door when she heard a call from behind her, and turned around more at the tone of it than at the content -- there were, by now, a couple goldshirts in the room and the familiar form of address would not have really suggested that she, the new variable in the Agincourt equation, was the one being called to. Sure enough, though, one of the marines, a captain by the pin on his collar, was approaching her. The half-Vulcan CSEC raised a pointed eyebrow slowly at him as he fell into step, taking in his bruised appearance and the blood on his neck. She remembered him -- he had been trying to break up the brawl alongside her. Good...at least he wasn't one of the young jarheads still determined to make a fool of himself; if any of them had tried to play charming, they'd have had another thing coming. The grin on his face still held a good dose of cockiness of course, but Caine didn't necessarily hold that against him.

 

A slow smile slid across her Vulcan features as she allowed him to fall into step with her. "Need someone to watch your back in case you fall over, Captain?" she asked cheerfully, referencing the hit to the back of his neck that he had taken with a quick wave of her arm. The extent of her own injuries was mostly some bruises; she and Messner had done their jobs very cleanly for the most part. She was satisfied, and pleased with her new subordinate's performance as well -- a good sign for her new department as a whole.

 

Matthews cocked his head to one side and smiled. "Very funny, Lieutenant. I figured I'd better watch your back; it's actually quite cute and I'd hate to have something happen to it." The smile quickly turned into a grin as he watched her.

 

The eyebrow climbed higher and Caine had to resist the impulse not to laugh out loud at the marine captain. The man, whoever he was, was certainly good at establishing a profile for himself off the bat. It was amusing, really, more than anything, even if he did sound like a young Academy pup. She hadn't had occasion to deal much with marines before coming to this ship, and given that the CO was one herself, Caine figured she would probably have to get used to it; hopefully some of them were a bit more subtle. "Thank you for the concern, captain, but given that I just spent the past twenty minutes doing my best to knock your boys' heads together, maybe I'm not the one you should be worried about." She paused in front of the turbolift and tapped the controls.

 

"Whoa -- before you get overconfident, I should warn you...those kids in there..." he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the general direction of the lounge "...let's say they are not exactly battle-scarred. They only got me 'cos I didn't want to hurt them. They'll be deployed soon and it'd be a shame to have one or two miss the fun. And just to get this straight -- they are not *my* boys. Those are my boys." Owen was glad that Sergeant Torrence and Corporal Keane had just now walked out of the turbolift in front of them. Both Marines were even taller than Matthews and they looked like the kind of guys with whom you'd better not pick a fight. He decided not to mention that that they had regularly lost their sparring fights against M&M, a petite woman who packed a punch that'd knock down even the toughest guys.

 

Caine eyed the two marines moving past them for a second, then looked back at her conversational partner. "Fair enough, captain," she said, nodding some understanding -- she wouldn't have been wanted to be tied in to that rowdy bunch either, if she could avoid it. She stepped into the now-empty 'lift and settled her back against the wall to hide the stiffening of her bearing in the enclosed space. "And," she added pointedly, glancing at the marine as he followed her in, "I do not get overconfident; I react to what I see. I know perfectly well what I was dealing with there; boys and girls with a great deal of skill and no focus. Just as much of a challenge in their own way as I am sure you would claim yourself."

 

Owen entered the turbolift behind the Lieutenant and leaned against the bulkhead beside her with his hands crossed behind his back. "They will be focused when it counts, trust me. Oh, I'm sorry, I believe I haven't introduced myself. I'm Owen Matthews. You can call me Buddha."

 

Caine filed this name away for future reference and nodded again. "Lieutenant Christina-T'Prinn Caine," she said, making something of a self-deprecating face, "and probably better for all concerned if you just call me Caine. Bit much of a mouthful for day-to-day. Sickbay." The turbolift hummed underneath her and she watched the doors as it moved, waiting to be allowed to step off it again.

 

"Nice to meet you...Caine. You did a decent job back there." He looked her up and down and grinned. "You'd have made a good marine."

 

"I suppose I'm expected to take that as a compliment?" Caine asked laconically, quirking an eyebrow again and taking on a mock-expression of utter seriousness. She liked this Matthews, despite the first impression he had done his best to make; he clearly took his job seriously, but not the life surrounding it -- a good mix which she approved of. "Thanks, but I'd say the gold collar suits me better."

 

Owen nodded. "Fair enough. But you'd be welcome down here anytime. Maybe we could have a sparring fight every now and then."

 

The doors slid open and Caine exited as quickly as she could, stepping out into the relative openness of the corridor. She glanced around to determine in which direction the sickbay was and jerked her head towards it as she began to walk. "You're on, Captain Matthews," she said, the slow grin climbing back on to her face. "I never turn down a challenge."

 

Owen noticed that Caine walked out of the TL rather more quickly than usual. Being a good observer was part of the job description. "Don't like being in there, eh?"

 

Caine's cheerful expression didn't shift at his words. It had taken enough doing to convince Commander Russell back at Alpha Centauri Medical that the claustrophobia she had picked up during the Soltan attack on Earth would not interfere with her duties; she had no intention of turning it into rumor mill fodder. There were times when her father's abortive attempts to train her in emotional control could come in a certain amount of handy. "You're the one bleeding out of your skull; thought you might appreciate a little bit of haste," she said dryly. She would have to be more careful.

 

Matthews made an involuntary move to reach to the back of his head but thought better of it. "It's just a scratch, I've had worse." Actually this was not just a phrase to show off -- it was the truth. "Let's see what the docs say." With that he led the way into sickbay and looked around.