Story [The Martian] Mark Watney: Space Pirate Back On Earth (Vignette Series- Mark Watney/Mindy Park)

Series Title: Mark Watney: Space Pirate Back On Earth
Author: Briannakin
Series: The Martian
Notes: These will be random, out of order Martian vignettes, probably following my head-canon for Mark once he returns to earth.

Index:
Mars’ Final Strike
Home


Title:Mars’ Final Strike
Timeframe: ~5 Years post-book
Characters: Mark Watney/Mindy Park, Mentions of Chris Beck/Beth Johanssen
Notes: I needed something new and different to help break up the COVID-19 quarantine, so I figured why not try my hand at writing a fic in a new fandom! I’ve been a fan of The Martian (more the book than the movie, but you can have only seen the movie and still understand most of this; it’s actually a really good adaptation) for several years, and, as I said in my recent Fanfic interview, I love Martian fics, but have never written because all my ideas are epics (and we all know my muse and epics just don’t work). HOWEVER I got two prompts in the mini-games thread (see spoiler tag since I’m really blabbing on) that kinda sparked something, then I was talking to @mavjade (who just read the book! Yay!) and got some more ideas. It’s not great, but I liked it. It was something different to write and I have a few other ideas bouncing around (isolation, am I right?).

Also, shameless TWW-'verse reference (because both the timing and the location work!).

Spoiler

Mini-Game prompts in this fic:

"They say you’re judged by the strength of your enemies." (Quantum of Solace, 2008) from The James Bond Quote Challenge

And

Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back!” from the Firefly Challenge

Mark Watney was bored.


Through many harrowing events being abandoned on Mars for 18 months, Mark should have been conditioned to appreciate boredom. Boredom meant nothing was going wrong and he wasn’t going to die in a firey explod-y explosion.


But there was no reason for him to be bored now that he was back on Earth… and in mortal danger.


THIS WAS NOT FAIR.


Boredom wasn’t supposed to go with fighting for his life. And he wasn’t supposed to be dying of cancer 5 years after returning from Mars.


He had so much cancer, the cancer had cancer.


He was stuck in an endless loop of chemo and radiation and being poked by both doctors and NASA scientists. But he was being treated at NASA by the top minds, which was nice. Mark had a private room with a view of much of the Johnson Space Centre campus. They were treating him here so they could also study him. They had spent billions of dollars to rescue him, he figured NASA was allowed to poke at him.


Besides, everything was so green outside his window.


Green was his new favourite colour.


The NASA nerds suspected the cancer was from prolonged exposure to solar radiation on Mars - the Hab and the EVA suits radiation shielding weren’t one-hundred percent effective and had likely degraded over time.


Mark just figured it was the baths with the RTG - aka the big box of plutonium. They were worth it though.


There was a knock at the door before it opened. Mindy Park walked in and he gave her a huge smile from his seat in a large leather lounger. She carried a tray of drinks, a brown paper bag, and a large tote-bag over her shoulder. Her blonde hair was up in a claw-clip. “Hey hun,” she said, putting the bags and the drinks down.


At least during this saga of “Mars keeps trying to kill Mark Watney” he had company…. And snuggles. So many cuddles. Before becoming King of Mars, Mark hadn’t been one for much physical affection. He could’ve taken or leaven it. And that probably was a good thing since he had been forced to spend 18 months without looking at another human. The NASA shrinks had been worried that his ordeal would make him some sort of Gollum recluse (and there had been a whole lot of counselling appointments both on Hermes with Chris Beck and remotely with shrinks and then after he returned to earth and had been diagnosed with all the acronyms). But it really just made him appreciate and crave human connection (and hate potatoes). And Beth Johanssen had started it. Always giving him hugs and playing with his hair on Hermes. After a particularly bad panic attack one night, Beth had convinced Chris to join her in cuddling Mark in his bunk. Even back home, they continued to care for him. The rest of the crew helped when they could, but Alex Vogel was back in Germany, Rick Martinez was training for Aries 5 (why he wanted to go back to Mars baffled Mark almost as much as the fact that he was allowed to go back), and Commander Lewis still carried so much guilt - and now the cancer wasn’t helping.


And then there was Mindy.


They had met during the most epic party after he and the other Ares 3 crew had been released from a two week quarantine after landing on earth. The party had been just for Mark, the crew, and everyone involved in getting them home… so it was a pretty large party. Mark, at the time, was still getting used to being around larger groups so had spent most of his time in the corner sipping his drink until Venkat Kapoor had introduced Mark to the “woman who saved his life” (Mindy had tried to be modest, but Mark still thanked her with a drink and a dance). Mark fell in love with her quiet sass. She understood all his weird quirks.


“Hey,” he replied back to her as she leaned down to hug him.


She rubbed his back and held him for a few moments as she stood beside his chair. “Chris said he’s sorry he didn’t stay until you woke. Beth is just a raging ball of hormones right now and needed something.”


“Well, he is the one who got her pregnant,” he pointed out. “I just hope I’m out of here when the baby comes.”


“We’re just going to take this one day at a time - no experimental drugs or surgeries yet, okay?” NASA was coming up with all sorts of ideas to cure Mark, and he was completely willing to try anything.


Mark snorted. “They say you’re judged by the strength of your enemies. Well, Mars was my enemy! I beat it! I can beat stinking cancer.”


Mindy put her hands on her hips. “Did you and Chris have a James Bond marathon last night?”


“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” When she rolled her eyes, he continued. “I should have killed Mars when I had the chance. I was always told ‘Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill ‘em right back!’.”


Mindy was used to Mark’s nonsense. 543 days of isolation knocked a few screws loose, but he was still lovable. Usually his thought process was easier to follow when she knew what he had been binge watching. “No more early 21st century TV for you.”


“What did you get me for breakfast?” he asked, not that he had much of an appetite thanks to the chemo. “And how was work?” Mindy was now night manager of Satcon.


“Strawberry-banana smoothie and carrot muffin,” she said, setting up the bedside table and a chair for herself. “The ice mocha and egg sandwich is for me, but if you think you can handle it, you need protein.”


He scrunched his nose.


“Work was boring. Still just doing preliminary stuff for Ares Six. But I think there’s an issue with one of the satellites. Boring stuff.” She held his hand while they ate.


“So you miss watching me all night long?”


She rolled her eyes again. “I miss being with you at night.”


“You were with me all the way from Acidalia Planitia to Schiaparelli. I just didn’t know it.”


“I meant, sleeping with you. I’m asking for a transfer as soon as you are better.”


“Or after I die.”


“If you die from this, I’m retiring and living off of your money.” Mark had made a considerable amount in the past 5 years just from book deals and lectures. Never-mind NASA was still giving him a wage. It was both compensation to prevent Mark from suing (not that he would) and technically NASA was using him as a lab rat.


“Only if you finally marry me,” he teased her. He had proposed almost a year ago, but no plans for a wedding have been made.


“I’m only having a hospital wedding if you are on your deathbed.”


“Well, I look forward to it either way,” he leaned forward and kissed her.


They finished up their breakfast (which Mark didn’t finish and promptly vomited much of what he did eat). Mindy helped him brush his teeth and change sweats.


“Wanna go for our walk outside?” she asked. Their usual routine was breakfast, a walk, then they cuddled and relaxed (and napped) for a few hours.


“We could do that,” Mark said, putting on his slippers. “Or we could take advantage of the fact that Teddy is out of his office today - meeting with Congressman Santos. We could sneak into Teddy’s office and move everything two centimetres to the left,” he suggested, laughing maniacally.

 

I'm going to have to go through and find all new gifs! (This was the best excited I could find quickly.)

It really isn't fair. But at least this bordem he can listen to more than disco!
But this set the Mark tone (and yes, I keep typing Marc!) very quickly!! Love it!

I didn't mean to laugh because it's not funny, but this was such a Mark thing to think, it made me laugh.

Uh.. yeah. I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't want to live in green house! But that he had a window with a lot of greenery outside was a great touch!

I end up quoting this whole paragraph between here and the next comment because I loved it so much, I couldn't really pull out much. This is such a great detail that shows us what he went through on the way back, and that while he might appear on the surface to be perfectly fine, he's really not. And that's okay because no one could go through something like that and not have some issues.

Heee.... you know this made me so happy!! Just the image of of Beth just touching him all the time, and then getting Chris in on the action. And then the three of them cuddling! *happy sigh*

I love this introduction! Because yeah, I could totally see Mindy down playing her role. But she did save his life! If it wasn't for her, who knows how long it might have been before anyone noticed he was alive. The simple explanation of them falling in love is perfect, it works so well for them!

Hahaa... poor Beck. Just imagining Beth hormonal... lol.
But I love that you showed how they are still helping to take care of Mark. The idea of the two of them staying up and watching a Bond marathon made me so happy.

Yeah, I imagine things would get a little wonky, but it makes me so happy that Mindy finds it loveable and that she can usually follow! These details are sooo good. It really gives you an incite into how he's doing now.

There's just something so sweet about this. Even though he didn't know, he wasn't alone and she was already helping him/taking care of him.

Hahaha.... dp and I joke like this. Of course, neither of us has cancer so it's a little different. We joke that we just want each other's stuff.
I can totally see Mark joking like this, especially since this is another eff you from Mars.

- Especially his "I look forward to it either way. " So sweet!
But yeah, I agree with Mindy.

Ahhhh..... I LOVE the inclusion of our WW 'verse into this! I was thinking about that too, that the timelines kinda line up! Cross-overs!!!
But beside that, oh man, that's hilarious because that would totally drive Teddy nuts and Mark is totally the kind of guy to do that kind of prank!


I loved this so much and I 100% need more in this universe!!

 

I just hope he will find a cure and recover

 

Never read the book but I saw the movie and really enjoyed it! And there aren't too many things I actually enjoy when it comes to movies and TV.

Love the glimpses of the aftereffects of his time on Mars in this line and the line about him not being one for physical affection before.

Great use of the prompts, and I also love the mix of snark and caring between Mark and Mindy. Great work!

 

Lol! Me too! I think we were kinda spoiled by the bounty of TWW gifs!

No, it's so not fair, but I love characters I can torture and Mark (I keep typing Marc too, but the spelling does help me mentally separate the two characters!) is just ripe for it.

I love writing Marks tone and I was so surprised at how easily it came to me! Though writing this and not swearing every second sentence was extremely difficult!

It's actually a line from the book (thus showing exactly how many times I've listened to the book!). It kinda inspired my whole idea of Mark getting cancer a few years after! I know its mean, but it makes sense!

Me too. I can imagine Mark still gardening for fun!

Yeah, he kinda embodies the phrase "It's okay to be not okay." He's not okay and probably never will be, but he has help and support and will live an okay long life (hopefully... unless my muse decides to be really mean).

I played around with the idea of making this more Mark/Mindy/Chris/Beth, but the muse just wanted Mark/Mindy, but I do l love the idea of them just in a cuddle puddle! If anyone needs it, it's Mark!

I really want to write their introduction and how they fell in love but I'm just so bad at love stories.

I love the idea of them continuing to be friends and supporting Mark!

I knew I wanted to include those quotes but I couldn't figure out exactly how, but then I figured a year and a half alone, he probably wouldn't be exactly all there. But Mindy still puts up with him!

It is really sweet in a bizarre "how we met" way that fits them!

My sister and I joke like this too! I can see Mark maintaining his dark sense of humour (and Mindy going along with it).

Thanks!
Yeah I agree with Mindy too!

Yeah! I hope a plot bunny for some sort of cross-over bites. I like to think the unnamed president during the book was Ainsley Hayes-Seaborn.
But I can sooooo see Mark doing something like this to Teddy and it makes me laugh so hard!

Thank you. Ive got one more written and a couple other bunnies floating around!

If you have read the book or seen the movie, you know Mark just kinda exists as a character to torture.

If you enjoyed the movie, I highly recommend the book! It's a quick read but so much fun!

Thank you. Right now with this social isolation and living alone, I'm normally not one for physical affection but I JUST WANT A HUUUUUGGG
Mindy and Mark are so snarky individually, I just love the idea of them together! Thanks for reading!

 

Title: Home
Timeframe: As Ares III returns to earth
Characters: Mark Watney, Ares III crew, and his parents
Notes: YEAH… I’m turning this into a vignette series. I think it will mostly centre around Mark/Mindy I think but I really don’t know what my muse wants. This one is just Gen though. Also, I’m really bad at remembering numbers and calculating dates (how I got a History degree is beyond me), thankfully, other Martian nerds are not. https://the-martian.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline?file=The_Martian_Route_2.jpg



Mission Day 869

One more month.


If everything went according to plan (because everything had gone according to plan thus far on this mission), he’d be home in a month.


Thirty days.



Hermes was limping, but they were going to make it.


The new “game” aboard Hermes was to ask Mark what he was going to do as soon as the module landed. Usually his answers involved food (fresh strawberries or a burger) or making hot love to the first willing participant, but Mission Day 869 was different.


“Hey Mark,” Rick Martinez said, bouncing into the 0.4 g of the rec-room. Gone was all sense of formality and using last names. “What are you going do when we get back to earth?”


Mark looked up from the laptop he was using as he sat in one of the blow-up chairs. He was supposed to be working one one of ten million journal articles NASA and the world wanted him to write; not that he minded - it was a way to process what happened without talking to a shrink - plus it kept him busy, But sometimes it just brought up so many memories and nightmares. Mark felt like he was on a pendulum. For three, maybe four days he would be fairly okay, productive on his tasks and useful. However some little thing would always set him off and it would be a few days of panic attacks, nightmares, anxiety, and generally just curled on his bunk watching movies on his data-stick he had left on Hermes. Right now he was doing okay. He was messaging his mom while watching a recently released movie. The transmission delay was only about four minutes - too much for video chats, but they could IM without it being too annoying (it wasn’t nearly as annoying as spelling out Morse code with rocks on an empty planet).


Messaging his mom and dad was the highlight of his day. Sure the rest of the day was generally filled with being poked with needles by Chris or laying around in his bunk so he could regain enough strength for the descent down to earth. His mom and dad just talked about their mundane days and Mark loved every message. Plus his parents sent daily video messages for NASA to upload.


But it just wan’t the same.


“Hug my mom and dad,” Mark said, breaking down, crying.


Beth, who was sitting next to Mark, scowled at Rick. “You broke him!” She instantly wrapped her arms around Mark, hugged him. “It’s okay. Just hug me until we get home.”


* * *



One month later



December 23rd


Mark didn’t remember much of landing on earth.


He remembered saying a bittersweet goodbye to Hermes and space in general. He never wanted to return to either, but being an astronaut had been awesome (minus the whole stuck on Mars incident). He had seen and done things only a handful of people would ever experience. He had been an explorer of his generation and had lived and survived alone on a planet. And he wasn’t sure what was next.


Hugging his mom and dad - that what was next.


Mark remembered climbing into the descent module and being sandwiched between Chris and Alex Vogul since neither had anything to do during the landing, other than making sure Mark survived. Mark still struggled with being underweight and chronic low blood pressure.


Mark didn’t remember much of the landing because he ended up passing out.


He woke to the unfamiliar sensation of bobbing in water. They had landed in the Atlantic Ocean, just as planned.


“Please, tell me Martinez landed us in the right ocean,” Mark said as he slowly gained consciousness. Since the module was built for the decent to Earth, it was seaworthy. “Because if this turns into a deserted island situation, I am done!”


Commander Melissa Lewis chuckled. “The retrieval team is about 15 minutes away, Watney. Welcome back to earth!”


Everyone cheered, but Mark muted his mic. He had began to cry. He knew this was emotional for everyone, but there were so many moments when he truly doubted he would ever live to see earth again.


Chris had unbuckled his belts and stood up. He had already removed his helmet so he moved to take off Mark’s. “Not as stinky last time!” Chris declared.


* * *


NSBRI - the National Space Biomedical Research Institute was now a part of NASA’s medical division. They had their own building on the Houston campus and was the first stop for the Ares III crew.


Quarantine.


No one had really explicitly discussed it, but they all knew it was coming. They didn’t want to think about having to spend two weeks in a sterile environment when they just wanted to enjoy earth’s pleasures.


Two and a half years with only being around 5 other people meant NASA didn’t want any of the crew - especially Mark - exposed to too many viruses and pathogens while they were adjusting back to life on earth.


The helicopter landed on the helipad and there were doctors and nurses - and a wheelchair.


“Your chariot awaits,” Rick teased Mark.


“Oh come on!” Mark whined. “I’m not completely useless! I can walk!”


“You passed out during landing,” Chris pointed out. “We are just talking precautions.”


“Besides,” Beth pointed out. “NASA paid billions of dollars to rescue you and get you back in one piece. It would be pretty embarrassing if you twisted an ankle and fell down the stairs at this point.”


“That’s going to be the rest off my life, isn’t it?” Mark smiled at the nurse assistant as he sat down in the wheelchair. “Being overly paranoid about dying in some dumb way.”


“Hopefully it is a long and healthy paranoia,” Alex said with a smile.


As a group, they were lead down to the quarantine area. They had spent two weeks here before, right before take off for their mission. It had seemed like a lifetime ago for Mark. They would all have private - but small - quarters to be poked at endlessly by doctors.


But what Mark wasn’t expecting was the Christmas decorations in the small common lounge in the quarantine area. There was garland and a real tree and glittering lights. It was a wonderful sight after 2 Christmases alone on a red planet.


And then the doors to the private bedrooms opened. Mark recognized Chris’ sister, Beth’s parents (Chris had some explaining to do), Melissa’s husband, Alex’s wife and five kids (they were all screaming excitedly in German), Rick’s wife and son (who Rick instantly grabbed and was smushing), and….


“Mom! Dad!” Mark gasped as he stood up.


And then he did it.


He hugged his mom. At some point he swapped and hugged his dad. Nothing felt so right, so calming, and so uplifting.


Mark Watney was home.

 

Same! He's suprisingly easy to get into the head of, but yeah, making him not curse is a little harder! Lol.

Right? I was looking up a date and found a timeline and was so impressed. I was like "thank you internet, you are the best!"

That's a really great idea, and it's not like there wouldn't be a TON of people interested in what he went through, what he did, how he survived. But there ain't no way NASA lets him get away without talking to a shrink, probably for a loooong time. lol

Ha! Yeah... I figure after that one way communication, taking a bit to get a text back isn't a big deal.

I'm not crying....

I'm crying.

My poor Mark, I just want to hold him. But Beth is so sweet, and yeah, I figure she's the huggiest on the crew. (I don't think that's a word, but it is now!)

This was great! Every time I think about them landing back on Earth, I think that it probably wouldn't be fun for Mark. But as always, he has such a since of humor.

Hahah... Poor guy, like he said, he's going to be stuck with that for the rest of his life.
I've been listening to NASA podcasts and one of them is talking about sending people to Mars. They were talking about how now when people come back from the ISS after 6 months or a year, they are carried out of the capsule, carried to the plane, they have help the whole way, but when people get to Mars, they'll have to be able to work. Granted the gravity isn't the same as Earth, but it's still there and that's something they have to think about. They are already doing some experiments trying to figure out how to make that work. So yeah, sorry Mark, ya gonna have to deal with it.

This was so beautiful!! Sometimes all you need is just a hug from mom.

I loved this!!

 

The first person POV of the books helps, though I'm not sure I could do a 1st person POV with him without swearing.

Yeah I thought about doing the math but then I just googled it and was so happy.

Yeah I'm guessing Marc will likely be forced to go to therapy for the rest of his life, but I think writing about it all would also be a healthy way to process everything, plus yeah, everyone would want to read those journal articles.

Yeah, kinda like the old days of MSN messenger... or now when it takes people 5 hours to text you back.

She is so sweet and definitely the huggiest (which is totally a word now) and that would be needed even on a normal mission

No, I don't think it would have been fun for him at all

Interesting! I knew about the ISS stuff (which kinda inspired the wheelchair bit) but that's interesting that they are already figuring out how to make it work.

Thanks, yeah, sometimes you just need a hug from mom!

This following fic was kinda the last idea for a plot bunny I had (the muse is working kinda, just not on anything new). Hopefully my brain will return to The Martian because I do have fun writing in it!

 

Title: Mork and Mindy Mark and Mindy
Timeframe: Begins 2 weeks after Ares III returns to Earth
Characters: Mark/Mindy, Venkat Kapoor


After the two week quarantine period, Mark’s parents and the rest of the families of the Ares II crew organized a huge party with dinner, drinks, and dancing for everyone who had a role in brining Mark and the rest of the crew home alive.


It was a bit overwhelming for Mark, who mostly spent the evening in the corner with his parents, sipping on sparkling juice since he wasn’t allowed alcohol with the medications he was on (and Chris was keeping a close eye on Mark’s drink). However, his parents had gone back to his apartment early to rest, but had encouraged Mark to stay later and to call them for a ride when he was ready to leave. He was contemplating calling his parents (he wanted to just call a taxi but his mother would likely skin him alive if he did), when he heard his name.


“Mark! Mark!” Mark looked up to see Venkat Kapoor dragging a very reluctant woman with him. “I want you to meet someone.”


Mark had met (and thanked) countless people this evening. He was grateful to them all - he owed his life to them - but even as an extrovert, his battery was pretty drained. But she was beautiful! Glasses, blonde hair clipped up with a few tendrils hanging down, and a blue sweater with a black skirt. Mark instantly stood up and straightened his dress-shirt.


“This is Mindy Park! She saved your life!” Venkat might have been a bit drunk and Mark found it hysterical. “She’s the one who found you.”


Mindy blushed. “No… not really… I was just the one in the chair when the imaging came in. So many more people did so much more.”


“Nonsense,” Venkat announced. “You’re the one who figured it out, then figured out all of Mark’s other behaviour when we didn’t have communication.”


“Well,” Mark smiled, “I think I owe you a drink Mindy.”


Venkat grinned as he left the two alone.


* * *


“So, you kept the same schedule as I did? 24 hour and 40 minute days?” Mark asked as he sipped his bubbly juice as he sat with Mindy at the table in the corner. The goons at NASA suggested he ‘pretend’ he was drinking alcohol to make him feel like he was part of the larger group at this party. He enjoyed talking to Mindy. What she did to help him was so much more… practical when explained than anyone of Rich Pernell’s explanations of maneuvers or the overall of Pathfider’s systems. Plus Mark just liked hearing Mindy talk. She didn’t ask him any questions, which Mark found a relief. He had talked about himself and Mars waaaaaay too much.


She nodded. “The extra 40 minutes of sleep was nice, but drifting forward 40 minutes every day killed what little social life I had.”


He looked at her glumly. “Sorry to hear about that,” he said, dripping with sarcasm. They laughed together.


Then, Dancing Queen came on. Mark groan and glared toward the dance floor. Melissa Lewis was dancing towards him. “I’M PRETTY SURE THS IS AGAINST THE GENEVA CONVENTION!” Mark screamed.


“Come on Mark,” his former commander taunted. “You know you want to!”


Mindy smiled. “Wanna thank me properly?” she asked. “Dance with me. I haven’t been to a night-club since grad school.”


“I’m pretty sure this has turned into a disco, which hasn’t existed since my parents were in diapers.” Still, he got up and she held his hand as they made their way to the dance floor.


* * *


Three months later.



Mark unlocked the front door then sat on the couch, rocking himself gently. He kinda felt like an idiot for calling Mindy at 3 am, but he had no idea what to do. His parents were back in Chicago, packing up so they could move to Houston. It had been decided that Mark needed to live in Houston - NASA wanted to keep an eye on Mark (three days a week he was in therapy with NASA psychiatrist Dr. Shields, and he had bi-weekly medical check ups, though they kept mentioning giving Mark some sort of job) and Mark’s larger support system was here (Beth and Chris, Rick, Melissa, and now Mindy). It had been three days since his parents left… and three days since Mark slept.


This is the first time he was sleeping in his condo alone and he couldn’t do it. He could not sleep alone. Not a wink. Every random noise startled him. He had tried everything: warm milk, exercising, reading, audiobooks, even trying to sleep during the day. Sure there had been sleepless nights on Mars, but usually sweeping off the solar cells and taking something from the medical supplies did the trick.


There was a soft knock at his door before it opened. “Mark?”


He looked up and smiled. They had been dating for the past few weeks, but had been taking it slow since Mark was still getting used to other humans. Mindy wore sweatpants and a hoodie, and had her hair in a messy bun. She was so beautiful. “I’m so sorry,” he began as she slipped off her shoes and put down her overnight bag. “I didn’t know who to call; who I could bug at this hour. Dr. Shields would just want to psychanalyse this. I just need sleep. I just can’t sleep on my own anymore.”


“It’s okay. I told you, you can call at any time,” she said, sitting next to him and rubbing his back through his black pyjama shirt. “And I’m glad you did. I hope you still tell Dr. Shields.”


“I will. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. I just need sleep now,” he leaned into her touch. Mindy understood why they were slowly easing into a relationship, just like she knew why he just liked sitting next to her and holding her hand.


“Okay,” she said simply. She rubbed the back of his hand. “I think you might be overtired. Can I make you some tea, or we can watch an episode of something, just something to quiet your mind.” She smoothed his hair and kissed his cheek.


He blushed. “Like that’s going to quiet my brain.” He twitched his lips so she would kiss his cheek again; she did.


Mindy made Mark some tea, then made and turned down his bed while he washed up.


“I just realized,” Mark said, sauntering from the ensuite bathroom. He smelled of cotton and mouth-wash. He had dark circles under his eyes on his gaunt face. “This is our first night together.”


“So you don’t count those nights I watched you on -.”


“Don’t say it. It’s cute you were a dirty peeper, but we are trying to quell my anxiety here,” he said, getting into bed.


"Well, if we are trying to quell your anxiety here, maybe I should sleep on the couch.”


“Ha!” he burst. “I… I just wanna cuddle,” he requested into his pillow.


“Okay,” she said as she lied next to him and held him close.


* * *


Approx. 5 years later



Mark slept fitfully. He was on the couch, under a throw blanket, muttering something about potatoes and airlock 2. Mindy sighed. This happened a few times per week. Mark always told her just to yell at him to wake him but she usually preferred a gentler approach, especially now. He was weak from the cancer. He didn’t like her worrying about him, but se couldn’t help it - she had been worrying about him 2 years before they met.


At least now he was well enough to do his chemo as an outpatient, which allowed him to spend Sunday afternoon napping on the couch.


Mindy sat next to him and gently placed her hand in the middle of his chest. “Mark, sweetheart, it’s okay, you can wake up. Mark?”


He woke up with a start, but his eyes focused on her and he smiled. They didn’t address the nightmares anymore. He had his therapist for that.


“I’m going to put a burger on. Do you want something?”


“Yeah,” he then pulled her down for a kiss.

 

I LOVE THIS COUPLE!!! <3 <3 Mark has been through so much and then to get cancer on top of it! Mindy is a darling, a true blue keeper!

 

I love this!!

I can't even imagine! I totally think even the most extroverted person in the world would probably be overwhelmed with this type of thing!

I just love how you write Mindy! I really think this is exactly as she would be. She did save his life, if she hadn't noticed, maybe no one would have. But she's genuinely humble about it.

Hahah... their banter is so great and makes me so happy! That it was so natural and happened so quickly lets you see that they really are right for each other.

BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA...
I laughed so hard!! Poor Mark!

This is so real to me, after so long of every noise possibly meaning his death, it would be so hard to train your brain not to think that way.

For many people, this would be too much so early on, but I love how compassionate and understanding she is, and that he felt like he could call her that early on. And the way she took charge of what to do was quite beautiful.

This is one of those jokes that keeps on giving, and I don't think they'd ever get tired of it. There's just so much fun to be had.

I love the parallel of her coming over so early in their relationship, to waking him from a nightmare much further into it. The love and compassion is so clear throughout.