Interstellar → Chris Beck

S O L 5 3 6

THE DAYS ABOARD the Hermes had grown tremendously long. Mark Watney's return back to the Hermes and the Ares 3 crew was the only thing preventing everyone from going completely insane. Well. . .almost everyone.

Maia sat quietly on the sofa in the rec-room, her concentration solely on the deck of cards she continued shuffling in her hands. She had just finished another day of prepping for the MAV launch that was to take place within the next month or so, and the mere thought of it had become a rather unsettling one for her.

Of course, the thought of Mark coming back to Maia was one thought she welcomed, but she was never one to shake the thought that something was going to go horribly wrong. The situation had left her dangerously pessimistic, regardless of the fact that she wanted nothing more than to be optimistic. It had been that way for several months, and no matter what anyone told her, Mark included, the feeling still remained. She was just scared; she was absolutely terrified of losing her brother or anyone else on the Ares 3 crew. She didn't think she would be ready to handle it.

The soft sound of feet hitting the floor caught Maia's attention, and she looked over to see Beck. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face and she looked back down at the deck of cards. Beck, who noticed immediately she was not in the right state of mind, walked over and sat down beside her. He could tell just by looking at her that she was in deep thought. She'd been in such a state for months now, but Beck was never able to properly speak to her about it. The Ares 3 crew had been so busy keeping up with the Hermes and launch preparations that it was difficult to find free time. Even though the two shared a room with one another, it was still hard to find time to speak; any time spent together was normally spent sleeping. Beck was just happy he had managed to find a window where neither one of them were busy or sleeping.

"Hey," Beck spoke softly to Maia.

She glanced over at him, the corner of her lips pulling up slightly. "Hi, Chris."

"Wanna play a hand?" Beck chuckled as he studied the deck of cards twirling around in her hands. He couldn't help but wonder which crew member she had lost to for the hundredth time.

"Not particularly." Maia's brows furrowed, "I don't really feel like losing again. Who knew Melissa Lewis was a world-class card player?"

Beck snickered and wrapped his arm around the petite brunette. "She is Melissa Lewis."

Maia only shrugged and sighed. She placed the cards down beside her on the cushion and leaned into his side. Beck wrapped his arms around her immediately, sending a strong wave of comfort into Maia's body. He rubbed her arms softly with the palms of his hands, and she nestled further into his body, longing for more of the feeling he provided her with. It almost took her mind off of everything happening around her. . .almost.

"What's goin' on, baby?" Beck asked her.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

Beck scoffed and looked down at her. "I've known you for almost five years now, Maia Watney, and you don't think I'm capable of looking at your face and not being able to determine that there's something wrong with you?"

Maia chuckled softly and looked up at him. "Is it really that obvious? I thought I was doing a better job with concealing my emotions."

"You are," Beck told her. "But I still know you better than anyone, and I'm not gonna sit here and let you grovel alone anymore, so why don't you just tell me what's wrong with my favorite girl?"

"I'm just feeling a bit pessimistic," Maia answered him.

"About what?"

"About this whole situation," Maia sighed, "I just feel as if something bad is going to happen during the launch. I know we're all doing everything we can to prepare, but what if something goes wrong? What if we don't get to Mark in time? What if we miss him? What if something happens to you during his retrieval? I don't think I could live with myself if something were to happen. We've all been through enough during this trip as it is."

Beck let out a breath and held her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head. He figured she had been feeling down about the mission. "Nothing bad is gonna happen, Maia. NASA has six of the smartest astronauts up here working and preparing to get Mark back, and they also have Mark's very loving and determined little sister working on getting him back as well."

"And this determined sister is going to make sure she gets her brother back in one piece, but I hate that I can't guarantee his safe return," Maia frowned and squeezed Beck tighter.

"You do know if he could see you now, he'd probably have a few choice words to say to you," Beck laughed.

Maia couldn't help but smile at the mere thought of what Mark would say to her were he to be on board the Hermes at the moment. She could only imagine what those few choice words would be. "He would," she responded with a laugh. A single tear managed to escape, but she quickly whisked it away. Maia missed Mark more than anything; she wanted nothing more than to see him again, and she hoped she would be allowed that opportunity.

"You're going to see him again, Maia," Beck told her. "I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure you do. These past several months have been some of the most heartbreaking of my life, simply because I couldn't stand seeing you in pain. I know you're happy with me, but I also know you won't be truly happy until you have your brother back, and that's really all I want—to see you happy."

"I love you, Chris," Maia spoke softly. She craned her head up to look at Beck, her green eyes meeting his beautiful blue ones. "You don't understand just how incredibly thankful I am to have you."

Beck smiled and placed the palm of his hand against the soft skin of her cheek. "I think I do," he reassured her. "And I love you, Maia."

The two leaned in to kiss, but their lips weren't allowed the opportunity to even touch before Martinez's voice echoed through the rec-room.

"Hey, save the baby-making for your bedroom, please," he exclaimed as he jumped to the rec-room floor.

Beck and Maia let out a sigh and pulled away from each other. They turned to look at Martinez, who seemed to be very pleased with himself, and couldn't help but be amused by the smug expression on his face.

"You're part of the very reason I cannot wait to get back to Earth," Maia said with a roll of her eyes.

Martinez smirked and strolled over to the coffee machine, while Maia and Beck watched on with knowing looks on their faces. "You can't deny the fact that I make your life ten times more exciting, Little Watney. And after we get Mark back, your life will be twenty times more exciting. I already have it all planned out; it's gonna be great."

"Oh, joy."

Maia and Beck watched as Martinez attempted to enter his credentials into the system, only to fail.

"Havin' a little trouble there, Martinez?" Beck teased.

Martinez turned around to look at Beck with a glare on his face, while Maia simply laughed from his side. "For months I have been trying to get this stupid thing to work for me, but it never does, and to this day I still don't know why."

"Well, that's what happens when a mechanical engineer-slash-technological genius always has to clean up your mess," Maia stood up from her spot on the couch, "Your three-year-old could work a coffee machine better than you ever could."

"What?" Martinez exclaimed with wide eyes. "You're the one responsible for this outrage?"

Maia grinned and nodded her head. "That would be correct."

"Fix it," Martinez grumbled.

"Let me think about it." Maia feigned a particularly concentrated expression before dropping the charade and letting out a laugh, "Who am I kidding? You can choke."

Maia quickly walked towards the ladder and made her way up, ignoring every last one of Martinez's calls. The moment she disappeared, Martinez looked to Beck for help, though the flight surgeon was very unwilling to provide him with it.

"Don't look at me," Beck defended himself. "I'm just the doctor."

Martinez rolled his eyes and turned back to the machine. All he could think about as he glared at the machine was how exactly he was going to survive the next 300 sols on board the Hermes with his beloved, yet very annoying crew-mates. It was bound to be an interesting journey back to Earth for not only Martinez, but the Ares 3 crew as well, and once Mark had been retrieved, he would know such a thing to be true. He also knew he was not at all ready.