Interstellar → Chris Beck

S O L 5 2

THE PAST TEN days or so had been relatively slow for the Ares III crew, especially Maia. She had spent majority of her free time playing cards and watching movies with Beck and Johanssen, which Martinez would joke about and claim that such an activity was "life-sucking torture," while it was actually quite fun from Maia's perspective. The past ten days on the Hermes had been some of the best for her since Mark's death, and it had everything to do with Beck and Johanssen—more specifically Beck, who held the sole responsibility for Maia's change in mood.

With each passing day, Maia grew to be more and more thankful to have the flight surgeon by her side. His presence alone was becoming enough to give her the comfort she needed to help her get through her days, and although it made her happy, it also terrified her. She was more than aware of the feelings Beck held for her, but her newfound knowledge came solely from Johanssen, who had done everything in her power to plant the information inside her head. Johanssen had woken Maia up at one in the morning just so she could explain the whole situation to her, as Beck had been too nervous to do it himself, or at least that was what had come out of Johanssen's mouth.

Johanssen had started with explaining to Maia the origin of Beck's feelings, which was when they began their mission training back in 2032. Maia was a little shocked to learn that Beck had apparently had feelings for her for the past three years, especially since he hadn't bothered to speak up about them, but as she dug deep inside her mind, things began to make sense to her—his actions, his words, and his need to be there for her.

The information had served as sort of a trigger for Maia, and she found herself growing closer and closer to the flight surgeon, despite how desperately she wished to push herself away from him. Her feelings regarding the situation were completely out of her control, or so it appeared to be.

It was no secret that the two crew members had been spending a substantial amount of time with one another since leaving Mars, and it was because of this that Maia found herself slowly becoming attached to Beck. It wasn't a friendly attachment either, and Maia had come to realize that shortly after her conversation with Johanssen. She wondered whether or not she should avoid Beck for both of their sakes, but she could hardly bear the thought of doing so; she could hardly stand not being around him when she wasn't. Thinking of doing something so idiotic sent an aching feeling throughout her body and to rid herself of it, she went to him, and it was upon her arrival that she realized she could not do without him in her life.

The realization of that had been the most frightening aspect of the entire situation. It was a rare occurrence for Maia to allow herself to grow so attached to a person, especially a male. She was a fairly reserved person in regards to the way she felt about other people, but because of the pain she felt from Mark's death, her reservation seemed to disappear, which allowed her to succumb to the attachment she now possessed for the flight surgeon. It was terrifying for her, but she knew there was nothing she could do to put a stop to it, even if she had wanted.

Maia let out a sigh and turned over in bed to stare up at the ceiling. She was alone, just as she had been for the past three hours, and being alone was not something very idealistic for someone as emotionally damaged as she was. Being alone allowed her to delve deep into the torturous thoughts she had spent countless days trying to rid herself of.

This was the very reason Maia needed Chris in her life; this was the very reason why she could not allow herself to push him away. He was the reason she was able to get through her days without losing her sanity; he was the reason why the burning pain inside her heart grew duller and duller as the time passed. Beck was her distraction—her relief from the pain—and his absence only gave that pain the permission it needed in order to sneak its way back to her. Maia despised being alone and she despised being without him, but for the moment she would have to find some way to occupy herself until she was able to be with him again.