Chapter 27: Chapter 16: Washing Off the Stress

-I don’t know why… I don’t know why at all… but when I was with Luna, it just calmed me down. Well, I say that I don’t know, but…-

After I was done crying, Luna took even better care of me. She helped me into her bathroom and helped me partially undress so I could take a shower because the Goddess knows I needed one. 

“Lauren, I’ll quickly go to the synthesizer to get some comfortable clothes for you. Take your time in there, okay?” Luna called from the other side of the door. She already had taken my clothes out to get them washed. Since I was barred from my room for the time being, it’s not like I could just take a fresh pair out of my closet. 

“Okay. Thanks, Luna.” I called back. My voice was a bit shaky and hoarse from all the crying I’d done. 

“I’ll be right back.” I heard the door open and close. 

Now it was time to somehow get into the shower without killing myself. Luckily, it did have some railings installed for those of us who had prosthetic legs or other disabilities. Seeing as not everyone was combat personnel, it wasn't a requirement to be completely in tip-top shape. 

I managed to pull myself up after getting my underwear off and slowly walked into the shower. The water was almost immediately at the temperature I needed it at. I soaped myself in, carefully so I didn’t slip, and then just stood under the relentless stream of warm water. I’m not sure how long I was standing under it until Luna called out to me again. 

“Lauren, are you still showering? You didn’t fall, did you?” 

“No… I’m fine…” I called back and turned off the shower. Even without using my hands, most of the soap had probably long washed away.

 

“Uhm, I got you some underwear too.” Luna was talking close to the door. “I think these are your sizes anyway…” She opened the bathroom door a little and just offered the underwear on top of a pile of other clothes through the small gap. 

“Thank you…” I quickly dried my hands so I could accept the clothes. “I’ll get you something warm to drink as well for when you get out of the bathroom, okay? Coffee, tea or Chocolate milk?” 

“Coffee is fine…” 

“Alright.”

“No, wait, chocolate milk… please.” I really wanted to drink something sweet. 

“I’ll get on it. Call me if you need help getting your clothes on.”

“It’ll be fine. But thanks anyway.” I felt like I was saying ‘thank you’ way too much… But I also really didn’t know how else to show my appreciation. 

With some difficulties but luckily not too many I do manage to get my new clothes on. Luna had opted for comfortable pants and a hoodie with the ship’s emblem on it, and I got to say that was definitely the right choice considering my general aesthetics and preferences. 

When I then finally left the bathroom, Luna had a nice cup of hot chocolate milk waiting for me on her small table. She’d also put on some calming music in the background. She’d even put the lighting down a bit so that it was easier on the weary eye. 

Luna smiled as I made my way towards the table and sat down.

“Thanks for the clothes.”

“No problem.” She smiled again. “Do you like them?” 

“I do.” I gave her a nod. “You picked well.” 

“Good to hear that.” She sat down opposite to me and drank from her glass of water. “You should try to sleep a bit after your cup is empty. It’ll do your body good to get some rest. I won’t set an alarm for you so you can sleep a bit longer.” 

“What about my shift then?” 

“I’ll cover for you while you recover.” 

“But…” 

“No buts. Otherwise, you will burn yourself out completely.” 

I chuckled softly. “You would probably lock me in your room if I didn’t listen, wouldn’t you?” 

“I would.” Luna nodded with some confidence burning in her eyes. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s insubordination or something akin to mutiny.” I joked around.

“If it’s to protect you, I wouldn’t really care.” Luna looked even more confident before she suddenly started blushing. “I… okay, I didn’t mean… well, I did…” She looked down and then looked back up at me. “Because you are… important to me.” She then blushed a little more and looked down at her table once more. 

“I’m happy to hear that, Luna. You are important to me too.” I gave her a smile back. 

“Thank you…” She silently replied and sipped a bit longer from her water. 

Our conversation fell quiet, giving room for the music to wash over the room. 

 

I yawned after I finished my hot chocolate.

“Are you ready for bed?” Luna asked. 

“Yeah, I think so.” 

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Luna stood up from her seat and headed over to my side. She supported me as I stood up. I thought I wouldn’t need that but once more, standing up after having sat down for a bit wasn’t easy. So she supported me all the way to the mattress. With its inviting blanket ready to receive me. Luna slowly lowered me down so I didn’t fall, she thengot into her own bed next to me.

Before she then got back out again, quickly walked over to the wall and poured a glass of water. Luna then walked back over to me and sat the glass down on the floor next to where my pillow was. 

“This is for when you get thirsty throughout the night. So you don’t have to stumble over to the wall.” 

“Thanks. That’s very thoughtful of you.” 

Luna crawled back onto her bed. “If you need help to go to the bathroom, just wake me up, okay?” 

“I will.” I nodded. 

Luna lay down and got underneath her covers, I was still seated on the mattress. So I followed her example and lay down as well. The lights then automatically dimmed. 

“Good night.” Luna said. 

“Good night to you too… and thanks for everything.” 

“No problem.” 

 

The sound of metal woke me up. “Ugh…” I groaned and looked to the right. Luna was standing next to her table, a plate in hand. 

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?” She apologized. “You can stay in bed for a bit longer.” 

“Ugh…” I groaned again and crawled back so I could use my pillow as a backrest. I pushed myself up. That’s when my groggy mind realized that Luna was already dressed in her uniform. “How late is it?” 

“1500 earth time. You slept for thirteen hours, and it looked like you definitely needed that.” 

“Thirteen hours? Really?” I rubbed the sand out of my eyes. 

“Yes.” Luna nodded. “I got you a bit of food if you feel well enough to eat something.” She put the plate down. “How are you feeling?” 

I stretched my good arm and moved my legs under the blankets. “Uh, pretty good I think… Oh! I need my pills from my room.” 

“Eva came to the bridge to hand them to me. I put them here on the table as well.” 

“Oh… thanks…” I slowly started to get up. As opposed to yesterday evening, I felt like I could stand on my feet pretty darn well. I haven’t slept that long in ages. 

“You really don’t need to get up yet.” Luna stepped over to me, but when she saw I could stand up fine on my own, she slowed her pace. She did look alert, though, so she could catch me if I lost my balance. 

“I should. I feel pretty rested.” I smiled and slowly walked towards the table. “And I don’t want this food to go cold on me.” She’d gotten me one of those English breakfasts. 

“Alright.” Luna smiled and walked with me to the table and sat down opposite to me. 

“How is the ship doing?” 

“We’ve not moved yet and everything is quiet.” 

“Good… and you said Eva handed over the pills? How’s she looking?” I grabbed the bottle of pills and gently shook them around. 

“She has definitely seen better days, she looked pretty tired. But she’ll catch up to her sleeping schedule soon enough, that's what she told me anyway.” 

“As a doctor should.” I smiled. “Always showing a good example.” I picked up the cutlery and took a bit of egg and scooped it into my mouth. “It’s really tasty.” 

“I’ll tell the chef-bot.” Luna replied. 

I chuckled. “And has there been news about my cabin?” 

“Hmm, one of the engineers says it might take a while to replace the servomotor. When I walked into the hallway, they had managed to get the door off, but apparently those doors and motors are quite complex and not easy to switch out.” 

“Huh, must be a design flaw…” 

 “That’s what he was ranting about, yes.” Luna nodded. “But because of that, I’d like to propose that you sleep over until they have gotten your door fixed.” 

“Hmmm…” I pricked a little sausage on my fork. “If it wouldn’t inconvenience you too much…” 

“Not at all.” Luna smiled. 

“Thank you…” 

“No problem.” Luna smiled again and got up as she walked over to the door. “I’ll be back in two hours.” 

“See you later.”

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