Come Here Often?

Chapter 2

Jessica Patton sat in her dorm room, studying diagrams for her upcoming test. She glanced at the clock to see it was getting late and was just getting up to get another cup of coffee, ready to make it an all-nighter, when the door chime sounded. She frowned, having no plans and made no arrangements for any one of her few friends at the academy to come over. She diverted from her kitchenette and went to the door, tapping the button to open the door. Her eyes went wide when she saw the tall, dark headed, dark eyed man on the other side of the doorway. "Leonard? What are you doing here?"

"Listen—I know this is probably terribly inappropriate, and we've only met twice, and that was away from campus—but I'm desperate. I need your help."

Her eyes remained wide a moment longer as she examined him a bit closer. His eyes were clear, he didn't seem drunk, and though his hair and clothes seemed a bit unkempt, nothing seemed amiss. Nevertheless, considering what she knew of the man so far, he seemed trustworthy, so she stepped aside and motioned him in. "Come in." He came through the doorway, releasing a sigh and standing awkwardly till she turned and motioned towards the table at the center of the room. "Have a seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee, or water?"

"Coffee sounds heavenly. I've got a long night ahead of me," he said before grunting as he collapsed into the seat.

She quickly poured two cups of coffee and came back to the table, sliding one to him before sitting across from him. "What's the matter, Leonard? I can't imagine what you had to go through to find my room. It must be important."

"It is. I went to Technology services as soon as it started acting up—"

"It?"

He held up the device he'd had in his hand since coming in, revealing his PADD and slid it across the table. "My PADD. I keep all my class notes on that damned thing and of all times for it to start acting up, it's the day before a big test. As I was saying, I went to technology services and they gave me some line about using the help services, and that it would be 24 hours before they could look at it, much less fix it. How do they expect students to function using these things when they're slow to fix them?"

She sighed. "Academy issued PADDs for cadets are notorious for being out dated and finicky. I invested in my own, primarily for this very reason."

"So, as I was walking out of technology services I thought to myself, who do I know who could fix this thing? And I remembered my over-achieving friend from the Bay Overlook."

She raised an eyebrow. "Over-achieving? Says the man who does extra shifts at the hospital over the weekend and on class days. Pot, meet kettle."

"But still, can you fix it?"

"How did you find out where I live, Leonard?"

"Jim has a friend who works at Residential Services."

"I don't want to think of the code violation it was for her to give you my address."

"Can you be mad at me later and fix this damned thing now?"

She rolled her eyes and picked up the device. "Yes, my dear doctor, I can fix it. Just give me a few minutes." Exactly four minutes later she slid the PADD back over to him. "There you go, all fixed."

His eyes went wide. "Seriously? That's it? You fixed it?"

She nodded. "I did."

He jumped up and she followed. Before she could say anything he was in front of her and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You're an angel, darlin'! I owe you big time."

"I—um—you're welcome. I'm glad I could help. If anything comes up again, you're welcome to shoot me a message, Leonard. And good luck on your test."

"I'm sorry I've got to run. I'd love to chat, but I've got to get back to my room and study for this test."

"No problem, I've got a big one tomorrow too."

"Then good luck to you as well. Thanks for the coffee. G'night."

"Night."

And just like that, he was gone. Her mysterious doctor from the bay had come and gone from her dorm room faster than she could begin to comprehend his presence there. But one thing she wouldn't forget was the kiss he'd planted on her forehead. She swore her skin still continued to tingle where his lips had quickly crushed into her.

Two hours later she sat at the same table Leonard had sat at with her, studying the same diagrams she'd been looking at before. Her PADD chimed and the message notification flashed at the top of her screen. She tapped it, opening the message window.

No new emergencies, just wanted to thank you again for your help. Sorry to barge in on you in your room. I seriously owe you one. Good luck tomorrow. ~LM

She smiled and wrote back a quick message. I'm glad I could help. Should I have had a gaping wound and been turned away by the hospital, I would have come hunting for you as well. Hopefully it never comes to that. Good luck to you as well. ~JP