MARTINEZ SMIRKED AS his gaze fell upon Beck at the opposite side of the room, his question itching for a way out. "Beck, would you rather be stuck on Mars with Maia or stuck on Mars with Johanssen?" Martinez questioned the flight surgeon.
A smirk then fell upon Maia's face and she looked over at a now-flushed Dr. Beck, awaiting his answer to Martinez's question.
The three crew members were knee-deep in a very intense game of Would You Rather, which had originally been Martinez's idea. Maia had woken up feeling particularly somber, and Martinez wanted to do something that he believed would make her feel better or at least distract her from her negative emotions. Maia had only complied to stop his incessant begging, and Beck had only complied because of Maia. It was only now that the flight surgeon wished he hadn't.
Maia wasn't so sure that playing such a childish game would do much of anything to help her, but it had done more than she thought, and this thrilled her. It was an excellent distraction, but she found that it was only because of Martinez's and Beck's idiotic answers. The game had become sort of a war between the three of them over the course of time, and intense bantering also grew to be a crucial aspect to the game as well.
"Why ask me a question you already know the answer to, Martinez?" Beck sighed as he began nervously playing with his fingers.
Maia frowned as she looked at him. "I don't know the answer."
Beck glanced over at her, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "It honestly shouldn't be that hard to figure out, Maia. At least in my opinion it shouldn't be. You know better than I do who I'd choose; you just don't want to admit it."
Maia seemed to choke on the oxygen in her lungs at the sound of his words, though she was still slightly confused as to what he meant. He had a habit of wording things to an incomprehensible extent.
"He's saying that he'd rather be stuck on Mars with you rather than Johanssen," Martinez told Maia when he noticed the confused expression on her face. "Goodness, you are so oblivious, Maia Watney."
"Oblivious to what?" Maia exclaimed.
It was only a week ago that Johanssen had said those same words to her, but she had been talking about. . .
"Oh," Maia said as she was met with the startling realization.
Maia blinked in surprise, unsure of how she should further react to the implication Martinez was making. This was yet another incident hellbent on confirming Beck's feelings, the feelings that every last one of her crew-mates (aside from Commander Lewis, Vogel, and Beck himself) were trying to convince her was in fact a reality. Beck's lack of objection to the matter only helped further convince Maia that it was true, and she didn't mind it, but she couldn't figure out whether or not the possibility of it was a good or bad thing for her. She was still so overwhelmed with the emotions that stemmed from her brother's death that it was difficult for her to grasp onto the fact that someone so close to her could possibly share such feelings for her.
Instead of further thinking about the issue, though, Maia decided the best thing to do would be to change the subject. It was now her turn in the game anyway, so it was the perfect opportunity to remove both she and Beck from the awkward situation Martinez had so rudely subject them to.
"Okay, moving on. Would you rather be Iron Man or Captain America for a day?" Maia asked the two of them as she pulled her feet onto the couch with her.
"That's easy," Beck said. "Captain America all the way."
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with Captain America, too," Martinez followed.
Maia let out a huff, unable to believe either one of their answers. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Tony Stark owns an entire kingdom of advanced technology. Do you know how much I could do in one day with all of that? Plus, he's a billionaire."
Beck shrugged. "He's also an asshole, which is something Captain America isn't."
"If I was Tony for a day I wouldn't be an asshole," Maia remarked.
"No, you'd be much worse," Martinez said.
Maia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over my chest. She was slowly growing annoyed with her two crew-mates. "Tony is clearly the better option here."
"No way," Beck exclaimed. "He only cares about himself and his money. Steve, however, cares about everyone. You saw Civil War, didn't you?"
"Yeah, when I was like fourteen," Maia snorted.
"Well, there's a perfect example for you," Beck shot back. "He was willing to do anything to keep his friend from being captured by the government and what not. What was his friend's name again?"
Martinez perked up. "Bucky! Bucky Barnes! That dude with the funky metal arm that Tony completely obliterated, by the way."
Beck shot Maia a knowing look. "Tony wouldn't do that for his friend, now would he?"
Maia rolled her eyes at the two men, unable to deal with them or the topic of Marvel's superheroes any longer. Martinez and Beck were both idiots, as well as completely wrong about what the movie was about in the first place. Captain America's friend was not the only issue that was dealt with in the movie, and that was something Maia didn't feel like going into detail with them about. She believed it would only result in yet another argument that she was in no mood to partake in.
"All I asked is who you would rather be for a day," Maia grumbled.
"And we answered you," Martinez chuckled. "You're the one who went into a full on rant about what makes Iron Man worth idolizing, which, by the way, is nothing."
"Y'know, Johanssen would agree with me," she remarked.
"Agree with you on what?"
Maia turned her head, slightly surprised to see Johanssen entering into the room.
"On who you would rather be for a day," Beck answered her.
She raised her brows. "What are my choices?"
"Captain America and Iron Man."
The sysop's eyes lit up, and Maia knew then what her answer was going to be. "Iron Man, of course. Have you not seen the technological empire the man has built? And he's a billionaire. That's one of the easiest questions I've ever had to answer."
"Whatever," Martinez grumbled. "You women have no morals."
"And you men have no common sense," Johanssen remarked.
Beck narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you even here, Johanssen?"
"I've come to retrieve Mira, if that's okay with you, Dr. Beck," she said with a roll of her eyes.
Maia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you need me? Am I in trouble?"
Johanssen chuckled and shook her head before grabbing Maia's wrist and pulling her up from her spot on the couch. "Not at all. I just have something to show you, is all."
Maia didn't respond, and, instead, allowed her to take her wherever it was she needed to.
Soon enough, the two women came to the rec room, and the moment they were situated back on the ground, Johanssen pulled Maia over to the large computer monitor the room held. The only thing on the screen was the word CONNECT, and Maia grew curious almost immediately. She wondered who would be on the opposite side of the screen the moment she clicked on the box.
"What is this, Beth? Who are you calling?" Maia questioned her friend.
"Just sit down, shut up, and press connect," Johanssen instructed her before walking off.
Maia simply let out a sigh and did as she said. The screen lit up almost immediately, and before Maia could even think, she was met with the faces of her parents, both of whom she hadn't been given the chance to speak to since before Mark died. The tears burned in her green eyes as she looked at their smiling faces. She could tell that they were more than happy to see her, but she could also tell that they were still broken over the recent events that had just taken place, just as Maia still was herself. Seeing them, though, made her feel so much better, much better than Martinez's game had made her feel.
"Mom, dad," Maia squeaked, a few tears trickling down the sides of her face. Her smile was wide, as was the two of theirs. She reminded herself to thank Johanssen for her little gift next time she saw her.
"Hi, sweetheart," Maia's mom spoke.
Her mom looked much the same as she had the last time Maia had spoken to her through video chat. Her dirty blonde hair was becoming slightly grey at the roots; her smile was as bright as could be; her green eyes, although filled with tears, were just as beautiful and radiant as Maia remembered them to be. The only difference was the pain that glistened ever so obviously in her irises.
Her dad was no different either. His light brown hair was also growing grey, and his hazel eyes were masked with the same pain as her mother's, only it was clear to see that he was attempting to keep the pain from reaching his eyes. He, like Mark, loved to hide his true emotions, but their attempts in truly hiding away their emotions always managed to fail both of them greatly.
"It's so great to see you two," Maia said as more tears began flowing down her face. "I miss you both so much it hurts."
"We miss you, too, honey," Maia's dad spoke. "How are you holdin' up, sweet pea?"
Maia took a deep breath as his question registered within her muddled mind. She knew exactly what he was referring to, but Maia couldn't help but wish he had held off a little longer. "I'm not okay, I'll tell you that, but I've been doing much better than I thought I'd be doing. I have my wonderful crew to thank for that, not to mention Dr. Beck."
Her mom's eyes nearly burst from her sockets at Maia's mention of Beck. "Chris Beck? The man Mark told us had a crush on you?"
"Why is it that everyone else knew about this supposed crush before I did?" Maia scoffed, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
"Because you're stupid and lack common human observation skills," her dad remarked.
"Thank you so much, dad, for those kind words."
He chuckled. "Anytime, Maia."
"Ignore him, Maia," her mom told her. "But really, you and Chris? I should've known he would be the one to help you through this. Mark told us so much about him, and you have too if I remember correctly. He's a good one, that man. You need someone like him to keep you sane."
"Mom," Maia warned. "He's my friend."
"For now," her dad smirked.
Maia originally believed the three of them were going to sit and have a chat about new foods they'd tried, places they'd been to, or even some of the more ridiculous items they'd spent money on, but she was wrong. Rather than having a normal conversation with her parents, she was engaging in one about Chris Beck and the wonderful opinions her parents seemed to share for him. It was strange to her, but it was also relieving. She was glad her parents liked Chris, otherwise she would have been sitting at the opposite end of a very unpleasant conversation.
"I've forgotten what a pleasure it is speaking to you two," Maia teased, a small laugh escaping her.
Her mom laughed, which quickly transitioned to crying. "I can't wait for you to finally come home, Maia. It's been so hard here without you—without Mark."
Maia smiled sadly, the thought of her brother invading her mind. "I know, momma. It's been hard for me, too."
"Just promise me—promise us—that you'll make it back home to us. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you, too, Maia," she cried.
Maia wiped a lone tear from her eye and nodded. "I promise you I'll be back. I just wish I could bring Mark with me."
"We do, too, sweetheart," her dad responded, a single tear falling down his face.
"I know, dad."
"Sweetie, we have to go, though," Maia's mom said. "We have an interview with NBC in about half an hour."
Maia raised her eyebrows in question but made no notion to comment. "Okay," she started, raising her hand to the screen. "I'll talk to you both as soon as I can, okay?"
"Okay, sweetie."
"I love and miss you both so much," Maia said to them, her voice strained.
"We love you, Maia," her dad replied.
The screen went black after that, leaving Maia with nothing but an empty rec-room and her tears.