Lillian/Max - Release

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900ish?

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

<tag>

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's committment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's committment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

Max smiled warmly at that, taking it as a sign that things were moving along as he had hoped between the two of them. "How could I not be your friend after all this?" he asked earnestly. "You saved my life down there. Probably multiple times. That means something...something special," he said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest his hand on hers. "Thank you for that...and more," he grinned, gazing into her eyes. Enchanting eyes, like most Betazoids. For an Intel officer like him they carried a hint of danger and intrigue, the possibility of secrets being revealed, but that just made her all the more alluring in his eyes. And he knew Lillian was too kind-hearted for anything like that.

He let his gaze and his hand linger on her for a moment longer, then lifted his hand and speared the last of his pancakes with his fork. After finishing his food, Max drained the last of his coffee and looked back at Lillian contentedly. "Well that hit the spot. I think it must be the ambience that makes the food here taste better than replicator fare." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back. "So what do you have planned today?"

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

Max smiled warmly at that, taking it as a sign that things were moving along as he had hoped between the two of them. "How could I not be your friend after all this?" he asked earnestly. "You saved my life down there. Probably multiple times. That means something...something special," he said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest his hand on hers. "Thank you for that...and more," he grinned, gazing into her eyes. Enchanting eyes, like most Betazoids. For an Intel officer like him they carried a hint of danger and intrigue, the possibility of secrets being revealed, but that just made her all the more alluring in his eyes. And he knew Lillian was too kind-hearted for anything like that.

He let his gaze and his hand linger on her for a moment longer, then lifted his hand and speared the last of his pancakes with his fork. After finishing his food, Max drained the last of his coffee and looked back at Lillian contentedly. "Well that hit the spot. I think it must be the ambiance that makes the food here taste better than replicator fare." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back. "So what do you have planned today?"

Lillian smiled at him and met his eye contact. "It's just nice that you and I can still connect is all," she told him as she finished off her breakfast too and thought about the day. "You know, it's mostly work and this debrief about the planet and then Marlo and I have some bonding planned but we always bond at one point or another in the day. I think we all need to put some focus on what it is that we need to work toward and then we need to do just that--work toward the future. More than anything, I want to make sure that we're all working together, regardless of...disagreements."

She actually meant she and Cecily then, but it could have been meant for Max and Taylor as well. Right now Lillian just wanted to get the show on the road and go back to how things were before the accident and it meant that she needed to kind of focus on her work as well because she knew that she was faltering a bit. What she needed was to make sure that her work was done and not focus so much on men, but that was easier said than done and at that moment she wanted the conversation away from herself because she was far too honest for her own good and right now she felt like complicating things was only going to help her dig herself a deeper hole.

"What about you, Max? What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Lillian asked him, honestly interested.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

Max smiled warmly at that, taking it as a sign that things were moving along as he had hoped between the two of them. "How could I not be your friend after all this?" he asked earnestly. "You saved my life down there. Probably multiple times. That means something...something special," he said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest his hand on hers. "Thank you for that...and more," he grinned, gazing into her eyes. Enchanting eyes, like most Betazoids. For an Intel officer like him they carried a hint of danger and intrigue, the possibility of secrets being revealed, but that just made her all the more alluring in his eyes. And he knew Lillian was too kind-hearted for anything like that.

He let his gaze and his hand linger on her for a moment longer, then lifted his hand and speared the last of his pancakes with his fork. After finishing his food, Max drained the last of his coffee and looked back at Lillian contentedly. "Well that hit the spot. I think it must be the ambiance that makes the food here taste better than replicator fare." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back. "So what do you have planned today?"

Lillian smiled at him and met his eye contact. "It's just nice that you and I can still connect is all," she told him as she finished off her breakfast too and thought about the day. "You know, it's mostly work and this debrief about the planet and then Marlo and I have some bonding planned but we always bond at one point or another in the day. I think we all need to put some focus on what it is that we need to work toward and then we need to do just that--work toward the future. More than anything, I want to make sure that we're all working together, regardless of...disagreements."

She actually meant she and Cecily then, but it could have been meant for Max and Taylor as well. Right now Lillian just wanted to get the show on the road and go back to how things were before the accident and it meant that she needed to kind of focus on her work as well because she knew that she was faltering a bit. What she needed was to make sure that her work was done and not focus so much on men, but that was easier said than done and at that moment she wanted the conversation away from herself because she was far too honest for her own good and right now she felt like complicating things was only going to help her dig herself a deeper hole.

"What about you, Max? What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Lillian asked him, honestly interested.

Max narrowed his eyes and looked at her menacingly. "That's classified," he growled, holding the steely gaze for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding. I just need to do some paper work. It never ends..." he sighed dramatically, and waved a hand for effect. Just then his PADD chimed, and after checking it his eyes went wide. "Oh, and now I remember I need to have a meeting with the Captain ASAP." Real life started catching up with him after the little vacation from life's problems he experienced in Lillian's presence and he regretted it, but c'est la vie.

"Well," Max asked jovially, "I hate to act the spy and ask you this, but can you keep a secret? Just list my release from Sickbay as occurring in half an hour, so the Captain doesn't wonder why I didn't report right away. Leisurely breakfasts with pretty young doctors may be good for morale, but they might seem to hurt efficiency a bit in his eyes. So it'll be our little secret, eh? I'll make it worth your while, promise," he said with a wink, standing and tossing his napkin on the table.

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

Max smiled warmly at that, taking it as a sign that things were moving along as he had hoped between the two of them. "How could I not be your friend after all this?" he asked earnestly. "You saved my life down there. Probably multiple times. That means something...something special," he said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest his hand on hers. "Thank you for that...and more," he grinned, gazing into her eyes. Enchanting eyes, like most Betazoids. For an Intel officer like him they carried a hint of danger and intrigue, the possibility of secrets being revealed, but that just made her all the more alluring in his eyes. And he knew Lillian was too kind-hearted for anything like that.

He let his gaze and his hand linger on her for a moment longer, then lifted his hand and speared the last of his pancakes with his fork. After finishing his food, Max drained the last of his coffee and looked back at Lillian contentedly. "Well that hit the spot. I think it must be the ambiance that makes the food here taste better than replicator fare." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back. "So what do you have planned today?"

Lillian smiled at him and met his eye contact. "It's just nice that you and I can still connect is all," she told him as she finished off her breakfast too and thought about the day. "You know, it's mostly work and this debrief about the planet and then Marlo and I have some bonding planned but we always bond at one point or another in the day. I think we all need to put some focus on what it is that we need to work toward and then we need to do just that--work toward the future. More than anything, I want to make sure that we're all working together, regardless of...disagreements."

She actually meant she and Cecily then, but it could have been meant for Max and Taylor as well. Right now Lillian just wanted to get the show on the road and go back to how things were before the accident and it meant that she needed to kind of focus on her work as well because she knew that she was faltering a bit. What she needed was to make sure that her work was done and not focus so much on men, but that was easier said than done and at that moment she wanted the conversation away from herself because she was far too honest for her own good and right now she felt like complicating things was only going to help her dig herself a deeper hole.

"What about you, Max? What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Lillian asked him, honestly interested.

Max narrowed his eyes and looked at her menacingly. "That's classified," he growled, holding the steely gaze for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding. I just need to do some paper work. It never ends..." he sighed dramatically, and waved a hand for effect. Just then his PADD chimed, and after checking it his eyes went wide. "Oh, and now I remember I need to have a meeting with the Captain ASAP." Real life started catching up with him after the little vacation from life's problems he experienced in Lillian's presence and he regretted it, but c'est la vie.

"Well," Max asked jovially, "I hate to act the spy and ask you this, but can you keep a secret? Just list my release from Sickbay as occurring in half an hour, so the Captain doesn't wonder why I didn't report right away. Leisurely breakfasts with pretty young doctors may be good for morale, but they might seem to hurt efficiency a bit in his eyes. So it'll be our little secret, eh? I'll make it worth your while, promise," he said with a wink, standing and tossing his napkin on the table.

"By now you should know how I feel about lying," Lillian told him plainly, sighing a little bit.

It was no secret that her people valued honesty and at this point in time she had hoped that Max knew her better than that, but he just seemed to want this favor and after the Away Mission? She felt like she owed him. Honestly, she felt like she owed Max and Taylor everything even though others might argue that she had killed the man to get to them and that his plaguing her was somewhat their faults...but they had saved her. Without them she wouldn't have survived and yes, she saved them too, but she had done this to protect them as they had used everything in them to save her and she just felt as though she owed them so maybe one little lie regardless of how much she didn't want to lie...Gan would understand, wouldn't he? Max was his right hand and if she said he needed to be fed as CMO, that couldn't for something didn't it?

"You know, I could just tell him I took you for food on my orders," Lillian tried even though part of her was wavering on just doing as he asked if only purely to keep a smile on his face at this point. "After everything that happened, he's not going to just dismiss my CMO perks."

|| Starbase 12
|| Sickbay
|| August 3, 2387
|| 0900

Max awoke somewhat groggy, and tried to sit up. His head spun a bit and he shook it to try and clear his vision. Clearly he was in some sort of facility, but where it was- sickbay. OK. Well that was good news. Now if he could just make his way to his office things would be just fine.

"Sir, lie back please. You're still a little woozy from the stabilizing agents. Let me give you something for the disorientation," a soothing voice spoke in his ear, and he felt a hypospray being applied to his neck. Soon enough he did feel better.

"So what's the verdict? How much of me did they leave on the planet?" Max asked sarcastically, but even so he was wiggling his toes and fingers just in case. Things were a bit hazy after the attack on the command center.

"Let me see…" the nurse mused, producing a tricorder and running it the length of his body. "Regeneration seems to be nearly complete, and there's no long term cellular damage as far as I can see. I'd say you're on your way to a full recovery, provided you don't overexert yourself as your body heals itself."

"Yes, yes, light duty and all that. I'll be sure not to wander into the cargo loading area and help them move durasteel crates in my free time. Now can I return to my quarters already?" Max replied, just as sardonically.

"I'm sorry sir, the Chief Medical Officer has marked your case as requiring her personal approval for release." That irritated Max at first, but then he cheered up a bit when he considered the possible implications. Besides, he knew there was no point in arguing with the officious young nurse.

"Well then, please go and get her, will you? And some more painkillers," he grimaced, rubbing his temples.

Lillian was more than happy about working and keeping her mind off of things, looking up as her nurse came in and told her that Max had come to. She got up and walked out into the main area, taking a seat next to him and reaching out to touch his face because she was glad that he was there and giant smile was on her face. That whole time on the planet was more than she wanted to remember and it was nice to know that everyone that she cared about was here and perfect.

"Sorry, but I'm making you go through hoops before I send you off again," Lillian told him gently. "I'm not about to lose you."

That being said she slid her hand away and grabbed the PADD the nurse had handed her, looking over his vitals and nodding at all of it. He seemed to be perfectly healthy and that made her feel even better, knowing that she couldn't possibly just make him stay here even though there were plenty of people she wished she could just hold and keep safe and he was one of those people. After the accident she was far more attached to people than she should have been and she knew that, and after seeing him tied to that gun, she just couldn't.

"You seem healthy, but how do you feel?" Lillian asked him.

Max pursed his lips for a moment, then took a long look down at his body and slowly back to Lillian's smiling face. "Well…lucky, I suppose. We had a time of it down there. I know some of your people didn't make it back, and for what it's worth, it was my away mission. They were my people too." He gave her a meaningful look since that's what he thought was expected in this type of situation, but in truth he hadn't known the casualties and didn't want to think about them too much. Too much paperwork he had to deal with because of them.

To change the subject away from himself (always a good idea for an intel officer), Max fixed Lillian with a pointed gaze. "How about you? On your feet again? I hope you're feeling well. I owe you my life, I guess. I'm not sure what to say about that other than…thank you?" he said hesitantly and swallowed after he asked it, gazing into Lillian's captivating dark eyes for a long moment. Then he shook himself out of the reverie, and quickly changed the subject.

"Well, uh, the Marine…how's he doing? He was in a bad way too, I remember," he inquired carefully, trying not to sound too hopeful that there might be some 'tragic' news about Taylor.

"Lieutenant Lucas is fine," Lillian responded as she waved it off, not wanting to talk about him. "I got you both in the shuttle and treated to here in enough time for you to both make it out but now we have a fall out and I'd rather it all just be done. If we hadn't all been together down there, none of us would be here now."

She felt she was getting preachy though and smiled instead. "What matters is I didn't lose you and you're healthy and fit for duty. We suffered a loss, but now we regroup and get ready for next time, you know? You were in charge of this mission and we made it back, so the more we salvaged the better. You and I have to start thinking more positively."

Lillian didn't quite know what to do right now when Max was inquiring about her and while she didn't want to lie, she didn't want to tell the whole truth either. Her nightmares were for her alone and while it could be argued that she should tell a counselor about them, she just wanted this behind her. Taking a deep breath she rested her hand on Max's and gave him the most convincing voice she could muster even though the words she uttered were true.

"I am doing much better now that we're back on the station," she said gently.

"I hear that," Max replied happily, missing the depth in her tone. "Hopefully the Captain will allot us some R&R time…and hopefully the CMO will let us take it," he said with a wink. "If she'll clear me for it, I know this great little Tellarite bar on the main promenade. I just hate to go to a bar alone, you know? So maybe if you came along some time it might speed my recovery...." he said pleasantly, smiling from the sick bed. Max felt like there was a bond between the two of them after the away mission, and he wanted to preserve it as best as he could. "I mean, that is, if…the CMO is OK with that," he added coyly.

Still, his memories of that away mission were creeping back to him and he recalled some of her looks in the direction of Taylor. How was that whole situation proceeding? There might be a complication there. Wondering if he had overplayed his hand a bit, Max decided to back off a bit. "So can you give me any news about the station? I've, uh, I've been out of it for a little while, you know," he grinned sheepishly, gesturing around sickbay.

"Oh, Max," she smirked at his words, nodding a little bit. "The CMO thinks it's a bit early for a bar, but she'll gladly take the CIO to breakfast to get some food in his stomach so he doesn't destroy his liver. In fact, the CMO hasn't had breakfast either and it wouldn't be right for her to not set a good example, now wouldn't it?"

Lillian chewed on her lip. "We had a saboteur and an explosion in the Science Labs that mutated a virus that infected some of the crew--our CO and CEO included. Lieutenant Branton created a fix that held things off until I got back to cure it and the man behind it...you remember Cobalt. He lost more than any of us that accident. After all he did to the station...he didn't make it..."

"Is that so…" Max frowned, thoughts of socializing momentarily forgotten. This seemed a pressing Intelligence issue if there ever was one, and he needed to stay on top of this kind of thing from now on. "I suppose I'll need to see if it goes further than a single disgruntled officer. And with all that's been going on, I sure hope there won't be any more incidents." As he spoke the words, Max ran through contingency plans for this kind of internal infiltration as developed by Starfleet Intelligence. The first thing would be to contact the Counseling staff and getting a hold of their reports. It might be done by asking, or he might have to resort to other means, but this was the sort of thing that clearly needed to be done. And now he certainly had justification for this kind of increased internal surveillance.

"Breakfast would be nice for now though. Maybe the CMO can recommend a place that serves something tastier than hospital food?" Max asked with a grin. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sickbay bed, full of new resolve and wanting to test his own physical limits after his injuries. "Lieutenant Branton…is that our Chief of Science?" he mused aloud, recalling something he had overheard a while back. "She sounds like a capable officer then, wouldn't you agree?"

"She knows several, let's go," Lillian said with a grin on her face, but it was dashed by the mention of Cecily.

Something about the woman just infuriated her and vice versa. The two had a rivalry that not many knew about--in fact mostly it was just the close personal friends, such as Bridget and Marlo who knew about the rivalry and even then the two could be civil to each other. Certainly didn't help that she was impressed by Cecily getting that stimulant up and running and distributed. Still, Lillian wanted to talk about Cecily less than she wanted to talk about Taylor and Taylor's commitment to anything but his job issues.

"Yes, our Chief of Science and she's...capable," the Betazoid said, and that was all she wished to say on the matter. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, what do you say?" she asked fluffing her hair. "Pancakes, coffee and maybe some sausage or bacon...food is essential."

"Sure thing." Max took note of Lillian's change in expression when Cecily was mentioned, but he didn't push it. For now he was happy to be alive and getting breakfast with Lillian. As they made their way down the corridor, he glanced over at her. "So now that all the excitement has died down…would you tell me something? If you were made XO tomorrow, what would be your first priority? This whole command thing is a bit overwhelming for me at times, and I need to start soliciting advice and recommendations from my fellow officers as much as possible. It's hard for an old spook like me to admit it, but communication really is key now," he said with a reluctant grin.

"Are you asking me what I would do if I took your job from you?" Lillian looked at Max questioningly and then she chuckled a little bit. "First of all, I would try to get this station back up to where it was when it was put into effect to do what it does now and for that, we need more marines around here. I know that's not ideal for most--trust me, I know--but people felt safe and with our security department in the disarray that it is, I think that everyone needs to feel safe. All of this could have been prevented with more weapon ready personnel charging in."

Lillian took a deep breath and led him to the Promenade, glancing at him and giving him a gentle smile and shrug. "Everyone around here needs to feel like they are being protected by all of us that are higher up and regardless of personal issues, this is professional. We all need to get our shit together. Hmm...I'm kind of thinking of alcohol in coffee. Humans still do that, right?"

"I'm told that some still do that, yes," Max replied with a mischievous smile. Still, he pondered her words in silence as they entered the restaurant and were seated. When the waitress arrived with menus, he wasted no time. "Two Irish coffees, if you please." When the waitress moved off, he glanced at Lillian, grinning again "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want something to drink?" That bit of joking aside, he scanned the menu and quickly found what he liked. "Breakfast sampler special, yessirree. I want it all!" he laughed. Still, there was a pensive expression on his face after that.

When Max saw that Lillian appeared to have made her own decision as to what to order, he said abruptly "Why do you think more marines around would be a good idea? Sure, the station's security is facing a problematic time now, but it's no cause for scrapping the gold shirts in favor of the green. Marines are really meant for offensive purposes; they're the first to admit it." Some of them could be downright offensive, that was for sure. "I appreciate your input, but understand we can't have this station turned into some kind of forward assault base. Too many of our neighbors would view that as provocative. Even extra starships for rescue and reconnaissance are likely to raise some hackles, but bringing aboard even more marines…" Max let that trail off. It was obviously a sore spot for him, and he was saved by the arrival of the coffee.

Lillian gave the waitress a moment when the coffees arrived and then ordered her breakfast and let Max order his before she decided to move the conversation forward again. She could tell that he didn't like this topic of discussion one bit, but she also felt like this was about the station and not about whatever it was inside of him that hated marines so much...or just didn't want them around. Ever since the accident, it seemed like no one seemed to understand that they were a special kind of starbase and so in the end it really didn't matter personally so much as it mattered professionally and it mattered to Starfleet. Just that thought alone made Lillian wonder when she got like this because professionalism had never been her strong suit and right now she was lobbying for it.

"People around him seem to forget that Starfleet commissioned us to be a 'Response Base', of which we need marines for," Lillian said as she looked Max in the eye. "It's not about what we feel or about whether we want more marines around or not--it's about doing our job and judging by how botched our Away Mission was and how this station faired in our absence, we're not doing our jobs. I don't want to replace gold with green, I want the numbers of both gold and green to go back up to where they were before we lost so many people and I've already suggested we do that in my report to the Captain. We're supposed to be able to send out muscle and aid at the drop of a hat and also to protect our own and we're not doing a very good job of it, now are we? As the XO, it's your job to make sure that the station returns to doing what it is that it's supposed to do regardless of your personal feelings on the subject. To Hell with our neighbors--losing all of those gold, green and teal shirts that we lost during the accident lost us morale and we haven't gotten it back. This station right now is weak and I know that you don't want to be known for being the XO of a station that can't hold it's own...that's not good for any career path."

Lillian took a deep breath but then scowled a little. "Besides, all marine do is their duty--they don't really care for much else so what's the problem with having our numbers of them back up? They won't get in the way because there's nothing worse than someone trying to invite them into their personal life but that gets in the way of their jobs and they can't have that." It all came out a bit bitter, but Lillian started to drink her coffee to make herself stop from verbally vomiting all over the place when Max didn't need to hear it. "As long as they're not losing their limbs, they'll follow orders regardless of personal feelings so why should we have personal feelings about them?"

Any trace of a smile vanished from Max's face during Lillian's diatribe, to be replaced by an utterly impassive expression. "Don't tell me my job," he said quietly, coldly, perhaps forgetting he had asked her to do just that, in effect. He sipped his coffee and took a long time to respond further. "To hell with our neighbors, Lillian? I am just a little bit worried that that kind of attitude will have us responding to a whole lot more nasty things than if we applied a reasoned, diplomatic approach to this sector's problem. Now granted this latest away mission couldn't have been resolved favorably for us by more negotiating, but I think in the future this sort of thing can be avoided through careful analysis and measured response. No more charging in blind with guns blazing," he said, satisfied with himself and his position more and more.

"To that end I will lobby the captain for an expansion of the Intelligence department, to avoid this kind of mishap in the future. Replacement Medical, Scientific, and Engineering personnel are also a priority. And if we bring in more marines at some point…" he said distastefully "…it will have to be made clear to them that 'response' means support and protection of medical and scientific away teams, not search and destroy raids. It's not the Dominion War anymore," Max added finally, remembering her file and wondering how she would take that little bit. He was of the opinion that people needed to be reminded of that frequently, lest a wartime mentality become entrenched in Starfleet.

"Don't ask me for my opinion if you don't want to hear it," Lillian responded, not at all taken back by his cold words.

She knew that she had overstepped, but when you ask a Betazoid for her opinion, you better be damn ready to also get some emotional lash out along with it. Still, she felt a little bad about it and still agreed with him with the fact that they needed more Intelligence officers--Hell, she wouldn't mind getting more engineers and perhaps better science officers. This whole place needed to rebuild and yet she knew that that meant that everyone needed to work together and just arguing with each other didn't really help a thing. So, she sighed and got up from her seat, moving to the other part of the booth that they were in to sit next to him, resting her hand on his knee.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry that I got emotional, but I do that," Lillian explained to him, running her hand up and down his leg. "This isn't a war time, but I just...all of this personal in place of professional is wrong and I don't like it and that's so weird for me, you know? I mean I'm me...you kind of know me. You are the XO--you can educate the new marines all that you want and make sure that they respect you. After all, if it's not the CO, it's you that's in charge. I'm sorry, okay. I hate making you mad."

That said, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Can we just have a nice breakfast and focus on being alive? I don't want to focus on work or on marines or on extra personnel, I just want to make sure that you are fed and healthy and...good. Happy even. So just please focus on me and not on what work we need to do, okay?" She nodded and went back to her own seat, sipping her coffee. "Did you see that I trimmed my bangs?"

Her rebuke made Max feel awful for snapping at her like that. She was right, he'd asked for her opinion, and moreover he'd forgotten who she was. He knew he should treasure everything she said to him, and try and understand it and where it was coming from. Lillian had been through a lot of the same things he had, or at least understood better than most. She was honest, and that was one of the most attractive things about her. And in the end she was right. The stronger the station became, the better it would reflect on him, and his eventual command prospects. What better to enhance his record than leading the rebuilding of a shattered starbase? So he finally nodded in eventual acceptance of her words.

Her movements and tone after that made Max feel wonderful. As she moved closer, touched him, spoke to him, and of course kissed his cheek, it all became clearer and clearer to him. Of course. Why should he worry? It was obvious now, always had been actually. She felt the exact same feelings for him that he felt for her. The whole business with Taylor was just a little game. Women loved their little games, after all. Just a way of making him jealous, that was all. There was no way an intelligent, free-spirited, and of course beautiful woman like her would fall for a knuckle-dragging grunt like the Marine. At the very least it was her subtle way of urging him to be more masculine with her, more dominating. Less gentle. That he could do of course, and certainly would now…within reason. They had their professional lives to consider as well. But he would see what he could do.

"Sorry…I forgot I asked you. Too many people are offering advice unsolicited to me these days, and it's not exactly impersonal what they're offering. I appreciate you, I really do. A reality check always helps. I'll make it up to you soon." He smiled then, genuinely, pondering what sort of food and wine pairing she liked for a moment. Then he continued, sounding wistful. "Not many people dare to really open up to me like you do. Even the Captain seems to keep my at arms length most of the time. I just wonder sometimes if this would all be easier if I wore a red uniform instead of a gray one." He waved a hand as if in helpless regret, then locked his gaze on her.

"Your bangs, yes…" For a moment Max pretended to frown at something he saw, then spoke in false hesitation at first. "Well, as a matter of fact…they look lovely. Just don't keep them too neatly styled, you know. I like that slightly distressed look on you. It's the clearest memory I have of the away mission…though maybe the whole look was enhanced by your…attire. What, ah, what ever became of that dress?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. All in good fun of course, but he hoped the implication was getting through. Masculinity, but subtle. The kind Taylor could never match.

"You men and that dress," Lillian said laughing. "You and Taylor both seemed very intent on it and it was red, so I kept it. I wonder what would have happened had I been naked instead. I'm sure you'd both bring the conversation around to that as well, but I suppose in that instance I'd have to remind you that Betazoids have naked weddings and to be honest, I have no issues being naked if I have to be. The only reason I wear clothes is because it's socially acceptable that I do that in the Federation."

She was teasing of course even though it was true about the naked part, but it did make her blush a little because both he and Taylor seemed to like that dress so much more than she had, but it was because of what it had symbolized at the time. Now of course she liked it more, having tucked it away in her quarters just in case she ever felt like wearing it again even though it was certainly something only someone with intentions of ripping it off would ask about. That made her wonder for a moment if Max was showing the interest in her she had hoped that Taylor would and if he was, then what was she going to do about it?

"You know, for not getting along, you have a lot in common the two of you," Lillian pointed out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I don't know how we're all going to survive with you two so head strong and me so determined to do exactly what it is that I think is best..."

"Socially acceptable, yes," Max grinned, ignoring the mention of Taylor and his fashion preferences. "And it might be a bit too distracting for your fellow officers also, yes?" He laughed as their food arrived, then surveyed the breakfast spread with obvious pleasure. "Good call, I say. A nice change from emergency rations, without a doubt. You must let me return the favor some time. I know a wonderful place on the promenade, Romulan/Bajoran fusion cuisine. I know it sounds strange, but I think the chef has hit a sweet spot in terms of spice and sustenance in my opinion. Maybe after your next shift ends?" he asked carefully, letting the question hang for a moment before dismissing it. "I'll check with you later about it, don't worry." That was the trick he knew, to keep them on their toes. Keep her too flustered and awed to even think about a certain thick-necked marine.

Still, on that note he had to work to disguise a grimace at the second mention of Taylor and when Lillian said the two of them had a lot in common. How are we all going to survive indeed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Lieutenant Lucas will settle down and learn his place soon enough. I have already decided on some changes in my command style as well. And you..." he gazed at her for a long moment. "…you will just have to do what you think is best, as always. Make the right choices, the ones that your heart tells you to make and all that. Don't you think so too?" He finished that little dialogue by starting on his pancakes, but not without glancing at her meaningfully as he did so.

"Sometimes I think distraction is a good thing," Lillian replied with a laugh and a shrug. "I'll check my schedule and let you know. sounds like an interesting bit of food choices, though I warn you, even with Lieutenant Bakel as a best friend I'm not entirely attune to spicy things..."

She smiled even though she said that, listening to him and gaging his physical reactions...reading his emotions. Lillian was a Betazoid and it was really hard not to just sit around and see if people were being truthful with you or not--in fact the only reason she didn't take advantage was because Marlo had told her so long ago that it was rude to do that...rude to get in people's minds and root around. Still, it also seemed that there was more going on here than she was being let in on and she didn't know what that was. She certainly wasn't ready to hear all of that about Taylor and then to have Max say that to her about doing what her heart told her.

"Taylor can handle anything thrown at him and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with more marines if he gets them," Lillian replied with a smile and then she beamed a little more. "I will certainly listen to my heart, but I think that sometimes I'm far too emotional for my own good. Still...I'll remember you said that. Thank you, Max...for still being my friend after all of this. I appreciate you."

Max smiled warmly at that, taking it as a sign that things were moving along as he had hoped between the two of them. "How could I not be your friend after all this?" he asked earnestly. "You saved my life down there. Probably multiple times. That means something...something special," he said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest his hand on hers. "Thank you for that...and more," he grinned, gazing into her eyes. Enchanting eyes, like most Betazoids. For an Intel officer like him they carried a hint of danger and intrigue, the possibility of secrets being revealed, but that just made her all the more alluring in his eyes. And he knew Lillian was too kind-hearted for anything like that.

He let his gaze and his hand linger on her for a moment longer, then lifted his hand and speared the last of his pancakes with his fork. After finishing his food, Max drained the last of his coffee and looked back at Lillian contentedly. "Well that hit the spot. I think it must be the ambiance that makes the food here taste better than replicator fare." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back. "So what do you have planned today?"

Lillian smiled at him and met his eye contact. "It's just nice that you and I can still connect is all," she told him as she finished off her breakfast too and thought about the day. "You know, it's mostly work and this debrief about the planet and then Marlo and I have some bonding planned but we always bond at one point or another in the day. I think we all need to put some focus on what it is that we need to work toward and then we need to do just that--work toward the future. More than anything, I want to make sure that we're all working together, regardless of...disagreements."

She actually meant she and Cecily then, but it could have been meant for Max and Taylor as well. Right now Lillian just wanted to get the show on the road and go back to how things were before the accident and it meant that she needed to kind of focus on her work as well because she knew that she was faltering a bit. What she needed was to make sure that her work was done and not focus so much on men, but that was easier said than done and at that moment she wanted the conversation away from herself because she was far too honest for her own good and right now she felt like complicating things was only going to help her dig herself a deeper hole.

"What about you, Max? What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Lillian asked him, honestly interested.

Max narrowed his eyes and looked at her menacingly. "That's classified," he growled, holding the steely gaze for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding. I just need to do some paper work. It never ends..." he sighed dramatically, and waved a hand for effect. Just then his PADD chimed, and after checking it his eyes went wide. "Oh, and now I remember I need to have a meeting with the Captain ASAP." Real life started catching up with him after the little vacation from life's problems he experienced in Lillian's presence and he regretted it, but c'est la vie.

"Well," Max asked jovially, "I hate to act the spy and ask you this, but can you keep a secret? Just list my release from Sickbay as occurring in half an hour, so the Captain doesn't wonder why I didn't report right away. Leisurely breakfasts with pretty young doctors may be good for morale, but they might seem to hurt efficiency a bit in his eyes. So it'll be our little secret, eh? I'll make it worth your while, promise," he said with a wink, standing and tossing his napkin on the table.

"By now you should know how I feel about lying," Lillian told him plainly, sighing a little bit.

It was no secret that her people valued honesty and at this point in time she had hoped that Max knew her better than that, but he just seemed to want this favor and after the Away Mission? She felt like she owed him. Honestly, she felt like she owed Max and Taylor everything even though others might argue that she had killed the man to get to them and that his plaguing her was somewhat their faults...but they had saved her. Without them she wouldn't have survived and yes, she saved them too, but she had done this to protect them as they had used everything in them to save her and she just felt as though she owed them so maybe one little lie regardless of how much she didn't want to lie...Gan would understand, wouldn't he? Max was his right hand and if she said he needed to be fed as CMO, that couldn't for something didn't it?

"You know, I could just tell him I took you for food on my orders," Lillian tried even though part of her was wavering on just doing as he asked if only purely to keep a smile on his face at this point. "After everything that happened, he's not going to just dismiss my CMO perks."

Max kept on smiling, apparently unfazed, and spread his hand placatingly. "OK, OK. Forgive an old spy for falling into bad habits, the ones that die hard. I keep forgetting it's Captain Sorren now and not his predecessor. He's a bit more personable, I'd say. Times sure have changed..." Max said contemplatively. In truth he was making that up to cover for himself, but he was betting no one would dare compare the two COs anymore. Too awkward.

After standing, he stretched and adjusted his uniform. "Well, in that case, remember what I said earlier. Make the choice your heart tells you to. I know it will be the right one." He winked down at her, and stepped aside. "All right then Doctor. Thank you for the physical and psychological nourishment, it has been well received and digested. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see a man about some computer processing power allotments. Maybe I'll see you around later?" Max gave her one last knowing grin, then tapped a finger to his forehead in farewell and made his way to the door. He stopped only to ask the waitress to put the meal on his running tab, a clear indicator that he had in fact been to this very restaurant before. But he was counting on Lillian not being overly concerned with that little deception as he strode confidently out onto the Promenade, feeling better than he had in weeks.