After Ever After

Two

"Little Cress wake up the Captain." Cress sang to the Rampion. Cress had found a way to re-program Darla with the younger companion she'd had on her satellite. They were on course to be in Australia in four days and they were carrying two million tiny vials of the Letumosis antidote.

She heard a crash and a loud stream of curses coming from the Captain's cabin. She shook her head smiling and picked up her portscreen, she checked her feeds at Artemisia palace having nothing in particular better to do, and saw Iko with a small party headed to the Queen's quarters.

The Captain and her and only been to the Eastern Commonwealth so far, but everyone's hope was to have the disease completely eradicated before the next annual peace ball. Cress felt important though in this mission, she was a courageous hero traveling the world with her true love to cure the earth of a terrible sickness.

She smiled to herself, glad that for the first time this fantasy version of herself was a reality. She absentmindedly felt around the edges of her wound, she didn't blame the Captain at all for what he'd done, in fact she was relieved when he forgave her for shooting him.

Cress had only just begun walking again last week, and she still had to change her bandages everyday. The Captain lived in constant fear that she'd pull a stitch. She'd come so far from the satellite, this thought made her smile again.

What was the Captain doing anyways? She'd heard him wake up a bit ago...

"Boo."

Cress whirled around, and squeaked dropping her portscreen. The Captain just laughed at her, bringing himself to tears. She grabbed her portscreen and marched away red faced.

"Wait, wait! Cress I didn't mean to scare you, come back!" He called after her. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Cress asked.

"For not scaring you better."

Cress just gave a little huff and went to descend into her "Cress Cave" where she was attempting to hack into the files that Levana had left behind.

"Hey, come on. I'm sorry for scaring you. "

"You didn't even bother with a good morning."

"You want a good morning? You wanted a goodnight and now you want a good morning?" Captain said, his voice dropping to a low. Cress shivered and turned to face him.

"Yes?"

"Come here."

Cress blushed and contemplated scurrying down to her cave anyways, but she longed for his touch seeing as it had been a full ten hours since the last. She took a few timid steps forward, and he closed the gap. He tilted her chin up and pressed his lips on hers softly.

Feeling brave, Cress stepped closer to him wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her hands in his silky soft hair, kissing him harder. He made a surprised sound, but nonetheless grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. She lost herself in the exotic feeling of being touched and loved, and somehow her back ended up against the wall. His mouth found her neck and she moaned.

"Captain, Captain I-- OW!" Cress pushed him off of her and grabbed her stomach.

"Cress?" She held up a finger, he'd started moving his hands upwards and nicked her bandages. She was tearing up.

"Oh aces, Cress. I'm sorry I didn't realize." Guilt seeped into his voice.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. I just... mm. Bandages."

"Right." he scooped her up and carried her to the med bay. "I... um Cress I have to take off your shirt for the bandages."

Cress blushed, that was not how she imagined him seeing her without her shirt, but whichever. She would get an infection if they weren't changed soon.

She nodded at him and he slowly lifted the white cotton shirt off her sticky chest, the blood already beginning to stain it.

When she had her shirt off, it looked bad. She chuckled in disbelief. The Captain had literally groped her stiches out of place.

"Not funny Cress!" He panicked. Captain grabbed the scissors and cut her bandages off. He cleaned the blood away so Cress could see better.

It wasn't so bad. Just two knocked out of place. She cried silent tears while she pulled them out and he applied pressure. Then she promptly sewed herself up with the dissolving medical string.

Cress rested her head on the table. Letting the Captain finish applying salve and bandaging her again. She took painkillers and breathed deeply to push away the pain. Now she wouldn't be fully healed until Cinder's coronation.

The Captain kisses her forehead and she smiles.

"I'm sorry." he says.

"Don't be, you can pull a thousand stiches out of me if you kiss me like that every morning."

He started at this. Cress was never known to be so brash.

After a pause he says with a wink:

"You can pull a thousand stitches out of me too, if I can see you in this lacy number again."

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Thorne sat up, and turned off the lights in the med bay. It wasn't even noon yet, and he'd already landed Cress in the med bay. Was he losing his touch? He scoffed taking the thought back. Of course he wasn't. He went and sat in the pilot's seat.

"Hey little Cress?" He inquired the ship.

"Yes Captain?" She chirped back at him.

"Do you think I deserve her?"

"Please specify."

"Cress, should I just find some other hotshot pilot to show her the world?"

"I do not advise this, she often times has and increased heart rate and raised levels of endorphins when you are present, and she spoke often of you back in the satellite. She is shy though, let her make her own advances with confidence and this will lead to a strong bond between the two of you as partners. Besides," Little Cress read the list of attributes. " You yourself are a hotshot pilot who is capable of showing her the world, and you are smart, charming, handsome, brave, confident, heroic, and handsome, according to my list that you wrote about yourself"

"And?"

"And the best Captain."

"I knew I liked you."