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» WHO? Alex, Amos, Naomi, Bobbie, Prax
» WHEN? Day 8 and catchall for may
» WHERE? Wandering around the Station
» WHAT? The crew of the Roci goes hunting for their missing members
» WARNINGS? Alex is going to get stuck in a door and there might be some violence initiated to try to get him out. Also: Catchall for other Roci crew threads.

It felt a hell of a lot better, to have the three of them all together. Amos had a few days alone, and Alex was all too glad that hadn't been him. He'd only had a day to wonder how the hell he got there and where the rest of his crew was, before he found Amos. Then a couple days later they'd found Naomi. He was confident, now, that it was only a matter of time before they found the others - Holden and Prax. The cap and the plant guy. Alex hadn't even noticed when Prax had officially become someone he counted as crew. As family. It didn't matter. He was, now. And that meant that Alex was just as keen on finding him as he was on finding Holden.

He wanted to find the Roci, too, but he didn't have a hell of a lot of hope, for that one. Whoever or whatever had brought them here didn't seem too eager to give them a way out. He hated it - hated the idea that he was separated from her, that he didn't know where she was or who had her - but right now Holden and Prax were more important. Once they were all together, they could work on getting the ship back.

They'd started with the top floor and worked their way down. No door was left unopened (when they would open at all), no proverbial stone unturned. Despite the fact that they'd gone through a few floors, now, Alex was undeterred. They could still find them. And even if they didn't, that didn't mean they weren't on the station. Apollo's image had made it clear there was a hell of a lot more to this place than they had access to. So maybe they were being held somewhere else. But that didn't mean they weren't gonna try.

"Alright, I'll take this row," He said amiably, as if calling sides in a game of foot ball, walking towards a row of doors. He tried to open the first one, locked, and went for the next. "Anyone want to lay bets for what sort of person we accidentally walk in on, next?"

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[ His eyes fell back to his glass, to his hands, to the ring. Apparently it was possible to feel both relieved and miserable at the same time. What a wonderful set of feelings.

He didn't answer for a long minute, before finally he let go of the glass and pulled the ring off - shoving it into his breast pocket. He considered, for a few seconds, handing it to Bobbie and asking her to keep it for him for a while, but he couldn't. Couldn't quite let that last thread go. But he wasn't going to be able to look at it for a while, either. ]

Right.

[ He poured himself another drink. ]

Now we just need to find the damn Roci.

[ Because he was going to go a bit nuts being station side for too long - even if the station wasn't trying to kill them, too. ]

[Finding the Roci would be a hell of a feat, but Bobbie gets the idea that he's less concerned about the ship and more concerned about deflecting. Instinctively, she reaches over to squeeze his shoulder, voice a bit softer.]

Hey, you okay? You know you can always try to fix things when we get back.

[The touch surprised him, and he looked up at her, blinking. He loved his crew, and, despite whatever Amos claimed, he knew they loved him. But they weren't exactly a physically affectionate bunch. Amos rough housed, sometimes, and Naomi had kissed his cheek once (and blew his mind in the process), but for the most part they all kept themselves to themselves.

Maybe he was just drunk, so things were taking on more significance than they might have otherwise.

He pushed a smile to his face, and though it didn't quite reach his eyes, he tried to make it reassuring. ]

Nah, I'm alright, Gunny. That whole thing's been broken a lot longer than this, and it ain't gonna get fixed. [ That was why death had seemed a simpler story, at the time. ]

For right now, I think I'm just gonna get very drunk. This stuff is almost startin' to taste good."

[Damn, she feels terrible for him. Whatever hand he had in screwing up his marriage aside, it's clear he's heartbroken, and he's doing a terrible job of covering it up. The crew of the Roci is starting to grow on her in general, but she has a particular soft spot for Alex, and she knows it.]

I'm sorry I, uh... Broke it to you that way.

[Clumsily, she means.]

Do you want some company?

Ain't your fault.

[ And it wasn't. He was actually a little touched, that she'd notice something as small as the presence of a ring. ... Alright, on second thought, he wasn't gonna think too deeply about that.

In answer to her second question, he leaned over with the bottle to top off her glass.]

How many before we start singin' the anthem?

[She raises her glass to clink it against his.]

That depends. How deep are you already?

[ Their glasses clicked and then he took a drink, before looking at it with a studious frown, as if he was trying to count in his head.]

Was a couple in before you showed up, then I lost count. Six? Seven?

[ Enough that even if he stopped drinking now, he was just going to get more drunk as the time went on. ]

But hell, bein' drunks a hell of a lot better than hypoxic.

[She snorts.]

Keeping the bar high, huh? If you puke, aim away from me.

[ He gave her a little faux salute and a smile he didn't really feel. ]

Yes, sir.

[Bobbie's lips quirk up.]

You said you have a kid, right?

Yeah, tha's right.

[ His hand immediately went to his breast pocket for the photo - and then faltered when he remembered he didn't have it anymore. A sort of queasy expression flashed across his face for a second before he trained his attention back to his glass and lowered his hand. ]

Melas. Cutest damn kid in the whole system and a hell of a lot brighter than I ever was. [ His chest actually ached for how badly he wanted that photo, right now. ]

But low grav ain't no place to raise a kid. He's way better off with his mom than with me.

[No one would argue with that. Space wreaks havoc on adults, let alone kids, but it's obvious from the tone of his voice and his expression how much he misses Melas.]

Do you get to talk to him much? I mean... Did you, before the Donnager?

[ He shook his head. ]

Not a hell of a lot. A message every once in a while.

Should have sent them a hell of a lot more often than I did. [ He took another drink. ]

Just got to the point that... I don't know. You want your kid to be proud of you, right? Want them t' look up to you. So I'd put it off, waitin' for a better story, or... [He trailed off, then finished the drink, setting the glass back down. ]

I'm just the best company a girl could ask for, right now.

You don't have me tied to this stool. I'm listening because I want to.

[She just casually edges the bottle away from him. He's going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning.]

I don't think I got the whole story, but it seems to me that he's got a hell of a lot to be proud of now.

[ He didn't know what to say to that.

And when she said the last thing, he felt a heat rise behind his eyes, his vision going a little blurry.

... Yeah. He'd had more than enough.

He rubbed the sleeve of his good arm over his eyes before they managed to betray him, but it wasn't exactly subtle. ]

... Thanks, gunny.

Think I might need to hit the sack, though.

[She's willing to bet that reaction is mostly because of the alcohol. Still, she meant what she said. Bobbie isn't the type to spout crap just to impress anyone. She hopes it helped a little.

But now there's the more immediate issue of Alex's current motor skills.]

...Can you walk?

It's only my arm that's broke, gunny. [ Said with the utter confidence of a man who in two minutes will really not be walking well. But he hasn't tried to stand up yet, so the alchohol hasn't quite hit.

Wait for it.

Wait for it...

He gets up off the stool and pushes back from the bar and immediately the world spins a little. He reaches out to rest his good hand on the bar for a few seconds because woo, the station is going faster than when he sat down.]

... I'm fine. [ He's not fine. ]

[Bobbie doesn't believe a word of it, but she just watches, quiet and amused, until he nearly goes over and she bursts out laughing.]

Sure you are.

[She slides off of the stool and reaches for him.]

Come on, I'll get you back.

[ The laugh is good. The laugh is nice. Even if it is, a little, at his expense - it's nice to hear it, anyway. So a weird sort of half smile creeps up his lips despite himself, and he lets her grab him and grabs her arm with his good one, leaning on her a bit. ]

Thanks, gunny.

Good thing I don't need to fly the ship...

[Bobbie loops an arm around him, shaking her head, but there's something a little fond in her expression.]

Don't make me pick up your slack.

Like I'd let a marine anywhere near the flight deck, [He said, a half smile on his lips still, leaning on her a bit as he wobbled.

They managed to make it all the way back to the 6th floor and Alex wasn't even sure he managed to say goodnight before he fell face first onto his mattress.

He woke up the next morning on his side and with a killer headache, groaning as he rubbed his face. The memory of the night before came trickling in, mortifying him, and he groaned to himself. Damn it. Damn it--

He got up, changed into a clean jumpsuit, combed through his hair and washed his face. Then he did his daily round of looking for Holden (still no go) before he found himself outside of Bobbie's room. He hesitated, and then knocked.]

[Bobbie doesn't mind bringing him back, although there's no way he'll get out of the teasing later. She sleeps pretty well, herself, and she's up long before he is, so she looks much more with it than he does when she answers the door.]

Hey, sailor. Glad to see you're still with us.

[ Yeah, she looks like she actually had a decent knight. He definitely does not, and he raises a hand to scrub through his hair a little shamefaced. ]

Hey, gunny. [ He gives her an apologetic glance. ]

Look, about las' night - - Just - Sorry. And thanks. Usually have a better hand on my liquor, but I guess bein' grounded's gettin' to me.

Promise I won't make a fool of myself like that regularly.

There's nothing to apologize for. You didn't make a fool out of yourself.

[As drunk and emotional as he was, he wasn't out of control, and it's clear he just needed to talk. In her mind, there's nothing wrong with that.]

[ A little relief crossed his expression, and he realised then - maybe for the first time, in an honest, straightforward way - that they were friends. Not just two Martians stuck on a scrap piece of metal, but friends. That she obviously had considered him a friend this whole time, even when he didn't recognize her.

And that even though he hadn't, she had made it pretty damn easy to catch up. A surge of affection ran through him, reflecting in his sheepish expression. ]

.. Still. Thanks. I mean it.

You, ah- you had breakfast yet?

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