The Three of Us

Part 8 - The Harvest

Lili and Will prepared lunch for the tired harvesters on Amity. The group was fairly large, and there were boxes and barrels and bags of all sorts of produce, being beamed onto the ship.

"Man oh man, I am gonna get so sunburned from this," she complained.

"Didn't you take stuff?" he asked, putting serving spoons into salads.

"I did. It just feels like it's not enough. I dunno. I burn easily. That much should be pretty obvious. I bet Ingrid's kinda miserable, too. She's about as light as I am."

He looked closely at her face. "You don't look sunburned to me."

She looked down. "I'd better get the coals fanned, or this'll take forever."

"It's not the only thing that's taking forever."

"Huh?"

"Lili, do I have to spell it out?" Will asked. He took a pull from a flask. "Liquid courage." He winked at her conspiratorially.

"Captain Archer's not gonna like it if you get drunk while on duty."

"I don't care," he slurred a bit, and she suddenly realized he'd had more than just the one quick pull.

"No wonder our liquor stocks are being depleted," Lili mused absently.

Craig came over. "The troops will be here soon. They're gonna be mighty hungry."

"Right. Here, uh, go and get some more kindling," Will said.

"I'll help you, Craig," she volunteered.

"No, you stay here."

"What?"

"You, you stay here. With, with me," he said, awkwardly pawing at the air to somehow make his point. Craig left to go look for wood.

She looked at him. "Will, ..."

"Will what?" he was becoming defensive. "C'mon, you know how, how you, you need eggs and oil to make mayo?" She stared at him, a little dumbfounded. "Or, or you put milk and chocolate shavings together, in hot water, and you get hot chocolate."

"And I'm the eggs and the milk?" she muttered under her breath. Louder, she added, "Of course I know all that." She made an effort to sound as icy as possible. Where the hell was everybody?

"Yes, yes, of course you do. But Lili, uh, all of those things, they're, they're better together. We – you and me – we are better to, together." He touched her face and she flinched. "What?"

She measured her words carefully. "You're my boss."

"So?"

"So I don't think any of the relationships on board are of a boss and his or her, uh, employee."

"Then we'll be the first."

"No, Will."

"C'mon, Lili! No one's gonna love you like I will. No one's even gonna approach you. I don't see you getting any other offers." His tone was angry. He grabbed her breast roughly through her chef's whites and tried to kiss her. She backed away.

She saw a rustling in the nearby vegetation. "Craig!" she yelled out brightly.

Jay Hayes emerged, with his team. "We've got apples," he reported.

"How 'bout that," she sighed in relief.

"There's always one in every garden," snarled Will as Craig returned.