Nicole sat on the edge of her bunk, she'd had a nightmare but still had two hours before she was even needed on the flight deck. She dressed and stepped out of her quarters pulling on her leather jacket. In surprise she stepped into the lounge and found Hendricks watching the viewscreen. "Oh, hello." She walked over to the replicator and ordered, "Coffee light and sweet." She took the cup and took a seat across from Hendricks.
"Hello Ms. Shea," Jason Hendricks replied with a smile. He checked his chronometer. "Offtly early to get coffee. Trouble sleeping?"
"Yeah." She said taking a sip of her coffee, with a shrug of a shoulder, "Call me Nicole, please."
"Okay... Nicole." Jason tried to get used to the idea of calling others by their first name. The only other person he felt comfortable doing it with was Corran. He touched the control panel turning the vid-screen off. "Want to talk about it?"
Nicole watched him and found him easy to relax around. "It was very disjointed...lots of swirling colors, and I kept feeling like I was falling." She shivered, and warmed her hands around the hot cup. "Why are you up, Jason?"
"I don't sleep much," he replied matter-of-factly. "During my time in the Corps, I've seen to much, and much of it happened during my time asleep." He went to the replicator. "Coffee, hot." He took the cup of coffee back to his seat. "Your dreams still related to that dust incident?"
"How did you hear about that, may I ask?" She said straightening up and meeting his eyes as he took a sip of coffee.
"Kinda recognize the behavior. My nephew was stuck on that stuff. Can't sleep, always cold..." he looked at Nicole as she folded her arms across her chest trying to stay warm.
"I'm sorry." Nicole nodded, "oh, thought Ash might have warned your team just what you were shipping with." She then added, "I'm not stuck on it...it was an accidental exposure...and 901's sickbay cleared me."
"I'm sure they have. Oh, and Ash did mention it. He didn't think it would be much of a problem for us." Jason smiled and took another sip from his cup of coffee. "You know what helps getting over that stuff, don't you?"
She smirked and thought about his question and then asked, "No, what?"
"Chicken soup," he replied with a wide smile.
"Chicken soup?" She laughed and took a sip of her coffee. "I don't know, food doesn't hold much appeal right now." Do you play cards by chance?"
"Laugh it up, it works." He laughed. "I play a little bit of cards."
"I'll replicate both of us bowls of Chicken soup if you locate a deck of cards, are you game?"
"Should be easy enough." With a smile, he reached into the cargo pocket of his fatigue pants and pulled out a deck of cards which he began to shuffle with great precision and ease.
Nicole stood and walked over to the replicator and ordered; "Two bowls hot chicken noodle soup." The system worked for a moment and a tray appeared with utensils, napkins, and the bowls of steaming soup." She walked back to the table and placed on bowl next to Jason and the other by her place as he shuffled the cards.
"Any game preference?" Jason asked as he continued shuffling.
"How about 5-card draw?" She said sitting down and taking a sip of the soup.
"Excellent choice." Jason began dealing out the cards. "I actually haven't played cards in a while. The boys in the barracks decided to stop playing when I started taking their money," he said with a grin.
"Really?" She said with a hint of a smile, "On freighter ships that I crewed on before getting my own ship, we played for favor points which could be anything from doing chores to sharing a bunk for a night."
"Ahh. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you won. I tell you what," he said, as he finished dealing the last card. "Loser buys the winner a drink at the Easy Inn when we get back."
"Sounds fair." She said picking up her cards, selecting two and laying them face down. He dealt her out two new cards and did the same with his hand.
Jason ate a little of his soup. "This is actually pretty good." He checked his cards and looked at Nicole for any giveaway as to what she was holding.
Nicole nudged her soup off to one side next to her coffee. She met his eyes and knocked on the table "call you."
Jason grinned. "Nothing much. A pair of tens, queen high."
"Hmmm. Three of a kind, fives." she said laying her cards face up on the table.
"Well, looks like the next drink's on me." Jason smiled as he gathered the group of cards back up. As he did this, Corporal Pasquez entered the lounge slower then normal, wearing a pair of sweat pants, and a half-awake look. He kind of looked at the two and stumbled past them to the replicator.
"Tea, chamomile, hot." The replicator did its work, and he picked up the cup and made his way slowly back out of the lounge.
"Well, that was unexpected," Jason added with a chuckle.
Both laughed and Nicole worked on finishing up the soup as they played two more rounds him winning the second and third hands. "OK. looks like I owe you two drinks when we reach the station." She sat back in her chair and watched him through half closed eyes. "Want to go another round?"
Jason checked the chronometer again. It was coming up on 0300 hours standard space time. "One more round couldn't hurt," Jason replied. He slid the cards across the table. "You deal." He stood up, and brought the empty bowls back to the replicator.
He returned to the table to find Nicole unbraiding her hair, finger comb it out before she picked up the cards and shuffled and held them out for him to cut the deck, and then she dealt five cards to each.
She dealt him out two cards and looked at her own; pair of twos, a five, a ten and a king. She tossed out the five and king and picked up a jack and ten. Giving her two pair.
Jason picked up the two. Two queens giving him a full house. He looked over at Nicole. She calmly looked at her cards, wrapping her hair around her index finger playing with it. "All right, I'm calling it this time."
She saw his cards and tossed hers into the pile, "I owe you three. Good show, Jason. Want to stick to the drinks or have you changed your mind on payment?
"Drinks will work," Jason replied. "I'll pay for the dinner," he added with a smile.
"Sounds good." Nicole stood and stretched a bit and walked over to the couch. She watched as he collected the cards, shuffled and then placed them back in their case and his pocket. "Can you wake me in an hour?" she asked laying down on the couch.
"Shouldn't be a problem," he replied. "What important thing do you have to do at 0400?"
"I have to relieve Captain Liteboughlt in the bridge."
"Ah ha." Jason replicated himself a cup of tea. "Well, it shouldn't be a problem. "Computer, lower lights to 10 percent illumination." The computer complied with a beep and the lights went down. "I'll see you again in an hour."
"Don't leave...please." she asked pulling her jacket around her and pillowing her head on her arm.
Jason stopped in the doorway. "All right." He walked over to the couch and took a seat at the end, at Nicole's feet.
"Thank you." She whispered as she drifted off.