Gabe/Shelly - Lunch Break

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God i hate this stuff." Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more." he said to himself, taking another drink.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff." Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff." Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'" He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes." He added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of Bacon, Eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and grilled bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions." he said with a chuckle.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and grilled bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout... in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelly, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man i think i need another shower... a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then i seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself, He'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally i'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay i hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like i said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt after taking a long shower, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? i don't do much sport and i dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange ther, actually. She was overthinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was overthinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but i wasn't sure how well it'd go down." he said, "Given that i'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leant back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225

"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Dispite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with woman was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best pokerface, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was went it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted i'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly your the only woman that i've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed notto think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, i'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping i don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's better much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflected off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with him. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with her. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

He nodded slowly, he knew that a lot of people had lost their lives in the events of that day weeks ago. In his own pain he tended to forget that other memebers of the crew had lost people as well. She'd never talked about her loss, not that he really blamed her, She spent her days dealing with other people's problems it must have been hard for her.

"Julianne was the station Chief counselor at the time of the incident wasn't she? After that i went through the station's crew roster, took a while but i got there in the end. I'm sorry for your loss."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with her. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

He nodded slowly, he knew that a lot of people had lost their lives in the events of that day weeks ago. In his own pain he tended to forget that other memebers of the crew had lost people as well. She'd never talked about her loss, not that he really blamed her. She spent her days dealing with other people's problems it must have been hard for her.

"Julianne was the station Chief counselor at the time of the incident wasn't she? After that I went through the station's crew roster, took a while but I got there in the end. I'm sorry for your loss."

"She was my best friend," Shelley said gently with a shrug. "In fact I've lost both of my best friends in a short period of time and I don't know sometimes...I'm either able to keep going, or I have a morning where the panic attacks are really bad."

Shelley didn't really want Gabe to know about her panic attacks, but it was best to get these things out now rather than later. She was bound to have one at some point and yet there was a voice in her head telling her that she was just showing him that she was weak. Still, she found words to say and she didn't mind how they came out at all...at first.

"You, Lilly and Marlo are really the only good friends I have left," she mused slowly. "If I get too close to you, do I lose you too? Maybe I'm a bad luck charm..."

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with her. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

He nodded slowly, he knew that a lot of people had lost their lives in the events of that day weeks ago. In his own pain he tended to forget that other memebers of the crew had lost people as well. She'd never talked about her loss, not that he really blamed her. She spent her days dealing with other people's problems it must have been hard for her.

"Julianne was the station Chief counselor at the time of the incident wasn't she? After that I went through the station's crew roster, took a while but I got there in the end. I'm sorry for your loss."

"She was my best friend," Shelley said gently with a shrug. "In fact I've lost both of my best friends in a short period of time and I don't know sometimes...I'm either able to keep going, or I have a morning where the panic attacks are really bad."

Shelley didn't really want Gabe to know about her panic attacks, but it was best to get these things out now rather than later. She was bound to have one at some point and yet there was a voice in her head telling her that she was just showing him that she was weak. Still, she found words to say and she didn't mind how they came out at all...at first.

"You, Lilly and Marlo are really the only good friends I have left," she mused slowly. "If I get too close to you, do I lose you too? Maybe I'm a bad luck charm..."

"The Chief and the Doctor are still around, and i have no plans to disappear anytime soon, I still have things i have to do." he said, conviction in his voice as he gently squeezed her hand. "I know what ya must be going through, as ya know. Ya've been there of me through all this, but i want ya to know that i'm here for you as well. I may not have ya training but i think i can muddle through."

He looked deeply into her eyes and almost felt the pain she must be going through, Her pain wasn't the same as his but it was no less powerful. He gently brushed her cheek with his hand. "I've bearly had a real night's sleep in weeks, Sometimes i wake up in a cold sweat unable to get back to sleep. I dream of what i saw in perfect detail, each time the same. I guess we all have our crosses to bear... I just wish i knew how."

He wondered what she'd think of his admission, if she thought les of him then so be it, but she'd been honest with him he felt it only right he be honest with her.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with her. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

He nodded slowly, he knew that a lot of people had lost their lives in the events of that day weeks ago. In his own pain he tended to forget that other memebers of the crew had lost people as well. She'd never talked about her loss, not that he really blamed her. She spent her days dealing with other people's problems it must have been hard for her.

"Julianne was the station Chief counselor at the time of the incident wasn't she? After that I went through the station's crew roster, took a while but I got there in the end. I'm sorry for your loss."

"She was my best friend," Shelley said gently with a shrug. "In fact I've lost both of my best friends in a short period of time and I don't know sometimes...I'm either able to keep going, or I have a morning where the panic attacks are really bad."

Shelley didn't really want Gabe to know about her panic attacks, but it was best to get these things out now rather than later. She was bound to have one at some point and yet there was a voice in her head telling her that she was just showing him that she was weak. Still, she found words to say and she didn't mind how they came out at all...at first.

"You, Lilly and Marlo are really the only good friends I have left," she mused slowly. "If I get too close to you, do I lose you too? Maybe I'm a bad luck charm..."

"The Chief and the Doctor are still around, and I have no plans to disappear anytime soon, I still have things I have to do," he said, conviction in his voice as he gently squeezed her hand. "I know what ya must be going through, as ya know. Ya've been there of me through all this, but I want ya to know that I'm here for you as well. I may not have ya training but I think I can muddle through."

He looked deeply into her eyes and almost felt the pain she must be going through. Her pain wasn't the same as his but it was no less powerful. He gently brushed her cheek with his hand. "I've barely had a real night's sleep in weeks. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat unable to get back to sleep. I dream of what I saw in perfect detail, each time the same. I guess we all have our crosses to bear...I just wish I knew how."

He wondered what she'd think of his admission; if she thought less of him then so be it, but she'd been honest with him he felt it only right he be honest with her.

"It's hard," she admitted as she turned to face him, cupping his face. "We aren't just going to forget it, but you...you can't blame yourself. I wish that I could help you through this better--take the pain away--but it takes time to move on. Someday you will...someday you'll think about them less and you'll sleep better at night."

She was glad they were being honest with each other, letting her thumbs stroke his cheeks as she looked him in the eye. Every once in a while her eyes would wander to his mouth and she would blush, but it had to be obvious she wanted to kiss him--it just wasn't the right moment and she wanted him to make the next move. That struggle to be more forward had been winning thus far, but at the same time she was afraid of pushing herself on him.

"You and I can get past this and move on if we try hard enough," she said nodding.

||Starbase 12
||Mess Hall
||August 27, 2387
||1225


"God I hate this stuff," Gabe said, placing his coffee cup on the table in front of him. He leaned back against the bulkhead behind him and closed his eyes. Right now all he wanted to do was rest but something wouldn't let him, a voice in the back of his head that was telling him to go over Cobalt's hidden program again. He couldn't shake the idea that there was more to the situation then first thought. Whoever had made the program in the first place had a deep knowledge of starfleet systems and he doubted such work was cheap.

After a long shower he'd changed into a pair of dark trousers and tee shirt, feeling odd to be out of uniform when he was meant to be on duty. In his mind's eye he went over what he knew about the program though that was little more then the lines of code.

"I really need to get out more," he said to himself, taking another drink.

Shelley wasn't on duty today due to orders from the new Chief Counselor and she was alright with that...or becoming all right with that. She would much rather be working, but instead she was stuck trying to figure out what it was that she was going to do all day and after some reading, she'd decided to join the world. In fact, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't kind of looking forward to seeing Gabe, even though she had no idea if he'd even be in the Mess Hall to eat anything. When she saw him, though, she couldn't deny the smile that crossed her face and she grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the chef and walked over to him.

"You know, you should really get some actual food in your stomach," she told him, motioning to a chair. "Is this seat taken?"

Opening his right eye he replied. "No it's not taken so feel free to 'take up a pew'." He rolled his right shoulder and winced at the aches that were still giving him trouble.

"My fry up's still being made, should be here in a few minutes," he added, opening his left eye and moving to a more normal position. "Sorry it's been a long morning, not at my best right now."

One of the mess hall's staff shouted his name and he excused himself for a moment and returned with his meal of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread.

"Ah the breakfast of champions," he said with a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll be eating both of the sandwiches but...isn't it time for lunch?" Shelley asked him slowly.

It was obvious that the young woman was worried about him, wishing that she knew what it was that she should be doing to help him if he needed it. She wasn't trying to be his counselor, just someone that he could come to, and she didn't mind if he knew that she cared more than maybe she should at this point. Gabe was kind and he was a good person from what she had seen and heard and she just wanted to take his pain away and make things better for him--did that mean something? It almost had to considering how much time she liked to spend alone.

But she liked to spend time with Gabe.

She had started to really enjoy being around him and sharing meal times with him and she wondered if she should be forward...no, that was a Lillian thing. Shelley didn't know the first thing about asking a man to dinner and Gabe probably didn't even feel the same way so she was going to have to just let it go and find a way to be alright with simply being his friend and being there when he needed someone to talk to. The only problem with that was that he made her flush when he smiled at her and it was obvious how she hung on every word.

"You need to start eating more," Shelley said with worry in her voice.

"I know, my own fault really, didn't sleep so well last night. Ended up going to the gym about 6 this morning then proceeded to spend 4 hours working myself into a blackout...in hindsight not my best plan ever." He replied taking a rasher of bacon from his plate, "Feel free to grab something. The fried bread is amazing."

He looked up at Shelley, catching her in direct eye contact. He stared into those deep brown eyes for a few seconds before catching himself.

Man I think I need another shower...a cold one this time. He thought to himself as he tore his gaze away.

"Been running myself too hard lately, not sure why other then I seem to have lost a few IQ points since the incident. Something just keeps gnawing away in the back of my head all the time, just not sure what it is."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" she asked as she touched his forehead absentmindedly to check for a fever.

She hadn't been expecting to reach out and touch him--she actually avoided most contact unless she had to or it was a friendly hug from one friend to another--but she was worried. He seemed to be running himself ragged lately and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get sent to Sickbay. Gabe was taking all of this really hard and he needed a break from it even though it was this right here that made her realize that he was in fact a decent human being.

"What you need is a breather..." she said as she blushed, pulling her hand away.

He felt the tingle of her hand on his and smiled to himself; he'd come to enjoy Shelley's company a lot over the last few weeks and in truth he felt almost normal with her around. His time with her had become the most enjoyable thing about his day. He nodded as he tore a piece of bread in half with his hands, eating it before he replied.

"Ya can say that again, techincally I'm on duty but the chief decided to give me the day off, so I'm free for something, if ya have the time and fancy joining me."

Shelley flushed crimson.

Of all the things she could think of, spending time outside of a meal with Gabe was the last she thought would ever actually happen and she smiled. The look on her face was happy just as much as it was surprised and it made her smile even brighter because she wanted more than anything to spend time with him. Was she that transparent? Was he feeling sorry for her? Whatever the reason, Shelley found herself answering before her brain had a real chance to catch up with her.

"I would love to spend more time with you," she blurted out. "What did you have in mind?"

Gabe chuckled, "Okay I hadn't thought that far ahead." He said, eating some of his meal.

He made note of her reaction and decided that for the first time in nearly a month he'd made the right choice. Her smile and the twinkle in her eye made his heart jump more then a little. He found it odd that he'd met someone that made him like her in what had become his darkest hour but decided not to overthink it, just to go with it and see what happened.

"Nothing too strenuous, I still ache like hell after my badly thought out workout this morning. Like I said not my best idea. Given that, if ya have any ideas, I'm open to them."

"We could run a soothing Holodeck program..." Shelley offered up slowly.

Honestly, she was trying to figure out something to do that would get Gabe to open up and yet helped him to relax because over doing it might send him to Sickbay. Besides, they both had some time to go ahead and just spend getting their lives back in order and what better way than something peaceful? There was always a pier or something like that...but she could leave this in Gabe's hands because she didn't want to make it seem like she was forcing him into anything.

Maybe a nice beah somewhere?... the pair of us in swimwear... too forward. A sports game? I don't do much sport and I dunno what if anything Shelley likes. Okay Gabe, think, surely ya can come up with something. He thought to himself. Without thinking about it he pulled the small hammer of thor around his neck from under his shirt and started playing with it, doing his best to come up with something. Time with a woman wasn't his strong suite, working double shifts maybe but not this. It wasn't often he felt this much out of his depth.

"Okay how about a river cruise?" He asked, pleased he'd managed to come up with something that meant he could relax and still enjoy Shelley's company.

"A river cruise," she said, letting the words set in. "I suppose so--I assumed a beach would be more relaxing, honestly, but it's up to you."

That was odd...Shelley normally went with the flow.

She was one of the more shy people that she knew and this was new. Perhaps Gabe just brought it out of her? Most would think that a counselor would be forward, but not Shelley--she just helped when people brought her problems to fix. Now she was being forward and trying to change things but with Gabe that happened. Nothing truly strange there, actually. She was over thinking--that was the Shelley she knew.

"I just want to spend time with you, Gabe--the 'how' isn't important," she told him gently.

"Well beach was my first idea but I wasn't sure how well it'd go down," he said, "given that I'm sure there's a Risan beach program in the system somewhere."

He ate the last few bits of food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he could manage to get through this unplanned get together without making a total fool of himself, that'd just finish his day nicely.

Okay Sharpe, lets see if we can relax long enough to lie around and do nothing.

"Then we should go," Shelley said, wondering why she wasn't showing any patience at all. "We can change into more appropriate attire and meet up in a little bit, yes?"

She wanted to seize the moment before it got away from her and yet she didn't quite know what she was doing here. Regardless, she was feeling willing to do almost anything and Gabe needed to relax for his own sanity and peace of mind so it was her job to help. Not even that really...she wanted to help him and be the person that was there for him.

"Or we could get supplies along the way and change there...or replicate and change there..."

He gave it some thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to the holosuite as quickly as possible, that way he wouldn't manage to find a way to get sidetracked or renege on the get together out of fear. Despite how much he wanted to spend time with Shelley, his track record with women was awful.

He picked up his plate and smiled at her, "No time like the present." He said, taking his plate back to the counter and offering Shelley his arm, elbow out.

Shelley grinned at that and took him with her to the Holodeck, trying her best not to talk because part of her was fighting to do just that, but she was so much better not talking. She was a rather shy personal normally, but something about Gabe seemed to make her want to make the most of everything and what was that? Why did she suddenly want to make an impression on him? They had met after something devastating had happened and she had really only talked to him and the new Chief Counselor about finding Julianne dead, but she felt like there was something else here...right?

As she set up the Holodeck program for them, she turned to him. "This isn't pity, right? You like me as much as I like you?" Well...that was more forward than she would ever be...

Gabe gave her his best poker face, a little shocked she'd asked that question. It occurred to him that maybe she was as bad as he was when it came to times like this. This wasn't his field of expertise either but he knew he'd have to help her through this as much as he had to kick his own arse into gear.

He placed his hand on her hip and held her close, "No pity here Shelley, granted I'm 'prolly making an arse outta what should be simple but frankly you're the only woman that I've connected with. Beauty and brains, what's not to like?" he added with a smile.

Those words brought a red tint to her cheeks and she smiled uneasily because she wasn't used to this. It wasn't as though she had really been close to men before other than helping them with their issues through counseling and so she had no idea what she was doing here or how to be that girl that men liked--that Gabe would like. She'd never been with a man before really...not the way that most would expect her to have been. These kinds of situations normally brought on her panic attacks and it surprised her that instead of started to hyperventilate, she leaned up to kiss him gently--that was what you did when you got a compliment like that from the guy you were interested in, right?

"I don't do this...ever," Shelley explained as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "You're going to have to be patient with me and sometimes let me catch up."

Before really giving him a chance to respond to any of that, she took his hand and pulled him into the Holodeck, smiling at the beach and setting to replicating herself a swimsuit to wear. They would want to enjoy this hotter atmosphere in less clothes, but not less to the point that she was going to embarrass herself, she hoped. This was starting to make her shake nervously a little, but she was toughing her way through it because she wanted to spend time with him and not seem wholly inexperienced either.

Gabe likewise replicated himself some swimwear, a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination. He tryed not to think about it too hard as he turned to Shelley, taking her hand. "I'm not exactly a romeo myself ya know, I'm mostly going on instinct here so here's hoping I don't do or say anything stupid enough to ruin everything. That's pretty much what's been going through my head since we first met."

He gave her hand a slight squeeze as he looked out onto the beach before them. The sun shining and reflecting off the calm deep blue water as it lapped gently against the sand, "Is it just me or is the sand calling to you too?"

Shelley smiled and had Gabe turn around so she could change right there into the tankini, before she smiled and then wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Race you!"

without another word she was off to where the water met the sand, letting her feet sink in just to let the waves lap against her feet. She had been dying to have some sort of relaxing outing like this and it made her feel so much better to know that Gabe was right here with her. This was good for both of them, she honestly believed that, and she looked up toward the sun before she found herself speaking again, words just spilling out.

"Julianne and I always loved the beach..." she said gently, a sad smile on her face as she thought of her dead friend.

He nodded slowly, he knew that a lot of people had lost their lives in the events of that day weeks ago. In his own pain he tended to forget that other memebers of the crew had lost people as well. She'd never talked about her loss, not that he really blamed her. She spent her days dealing with other people's problems it must have been hard for her.

"Julianne was the station Chief counselor at the time of the incident wasn't she? After that I went through the station's crew roster, took a while but I got there in the end. I'm sorry for your loss."

"She was my best friend," Shelley said gently with a shrug. "In fact I've lost both of my best friends in a short period of time and I don't know sometimes...I'm either able to keep going, or I have a morning where the panic attacks are really bad."

Shelley didn't really want Gabe to know about her panic attacks, but it was best to get these things out now rather than later. She was bound to have one at some point and yet there was a voice in her head telling her that she was just showing him that she was weak. Still, she found words to say and she didn't mind how they came out at all...at first.

"You, Lilly and Marlo are really the only good friends I have left," she mused slowly. "If I get too close to you, do I lose you too? Maybe I'm a bad luck charm..."

"The Chief and the Doctor are still around, and I have no plans to disappear anytime soon, I still have things I have to do," he said, conviction in his voice as he gently squeezed her hand. "I know what ya must be going through, as ya know. Ya've been there of me through all this, but I want ya to know that I'm here for you as well. I may not have ya training but I think I can muddle through."

He looked deeply into her eyes and almost felt the pain she must be going through. Her pain wasn't the same as his but it was no less powerful. He gently brushed her cheek with his hand. "I've barely had a real night's sleep in weeks. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat unable to get back to sleep. I dream of what I saw in perfect detail, each time the same. I guess we all have our crosses to bear...I just wish I knew how."

He wondered what she'd think of his admission; if she thought less of him then so be it, but she'd been honest with him he felt it only right he be honest with her.

"It's hard," she admitted as she turned to face him, cupping his face. "We aren't just going to forget it, but you...you can't blame yourself. I wish that I could help you through this better--take the pain away--but it takes time to move on. Someday you will...someday you'll think about them less and you'll sleep better at night."

She was glad they were being honest with each other, letting her thumbs stroke his cheeks as she looked him in the eye. Every once in a while her eyes would wander to his mouth and she would blush, but it had to be obvious she wanted to kiss him--it just wasn't the right moment and she wanted him to make the next move. That struggle to be more forward had been winning thus far, but at the same time she was afraid of pushing herself on him.

"You and I can get past this and move on if we try hard enough," she said nodding.

For a few second he said nothing, taking the time to digest what she'd said. Of course she was right, for something like this it was her job and she did it well by all accounts. Since the pair of them had entered the holosuite he'd felt better, like he could be himself without worrying every second.

"Ya right, not that i expected any different. If ya have problem with equipment ya call me, a problem of the mind they call ya." He said with a chuckle, "I just hope i'm not outta mine." he added as he gently brushed her hair behind her ear with one hand, the other on her hip and moved in to kiss her.