[Mercy Merchant]

Julie waits until you are in the elevator before answering your question.  "Joe always looks like that, but underneath he is a great cop and second a real marshmallow.  I think the scowl is a defense mechanism of some kind.  Nothing to do with you guys."

The elevator opens at lower level 1 and she walks with you to the cafeteria, where she takes a tray and walks through the line.  She flashes her ID card to cover both meals and leads you to a small table.  Sitting down, she sniffs at her food.  "Ahh.  The aroma of spiced soy products.  Just like mom used to make."  She looks up at you and blushes a bit.  "Say, you do know that you don't have to jump in the sack with me if you feel uncomfortable about it, right?  I didn't even ask if you were married or seeing someone and don't even really need to know if it is none of my business.  I just thought that maybe.............."

She lets the words drop off and looks at you.

[PRabel]

"Don't worry, I don't have a wife or girlfriend. And I don't feel uncomfortable about being with you at all. Yousee, I'm an ork-obviosly. I'm lucky, if I live another twenty-five years or so. That is, if I don't "die by the sword"-if you know what I mean. So I try to live my life to the fullest. Squeeze as much living into my life, as I can."

[Mercy Merchant]

Julie blushes again and smiles at you.  "Cool attitude to have.  Mine is pretty similar, actually.  Probably not enough life left to worry about all the might-have-beens, so I try to enjoy what I can get."

The food is decent, but nothing to really rave about.  Julie piles dishes on her tray and takes it to a rolling rack stacked with similar trays, where she slides it into one of the empty spaces, motioning for you to do the same with yours.  Afterwards, she leads you back into another section of the lower level of the hospital, showing you the small barracks used by the permanent security staff.  She tells you that there are thirty people working full time and another thirty who are part-timers and live off site and commute to work.  The locker room and shower are communal, with six shower heads and enough lockers for all the security staff.  Julie takes you to her locker and begins to strip down.  She does not have the stunning figure that Cin does, but all her curves are in the right places and you can see that she is in good shape.

[PRabel]

As they walk to the barracks and listens to Julie, he thinks: *So they actually live where they work. It's not leaving much room for personal life. I don't think I could live like this for a long time.*

As Julie starts to get undressed, he admires her body for quite some time before he starts to take off his clothes as well. Once he is finished, he asks her, where he can get a towel.

[Mercy Merchant]

Julie eyes your body and nods her head in silent approval then walks naked to a large bin and opens it to grab a towel, tossing you one before going to the shower area and hanging hers on a hook.  Grinning, she takes your hand and steps onto the tiled floor and moves to one of the shower heads.  She steps to the side as she reaches for the handle.  "Now be careful.  It sometimes takes a few seconds to get the hot water flowing and in the meantime, it is cold as a bitch.  But one of the perks of living here at the hospital is that there is no hot water ration, so feel free to soak as much as you like.  I do remind you that this is a both-sexes shower, so do not be surprised if someone comes in to join us.  It took me about three months to get past the fact that guys would come in here and take a shower right next to me.  Now, though, I just accept it as the way it is.  Ahh, hot water."

She has held her hand under the water and now gives you a smile as she steps forward to give you a kiss before pulling you under the spray with her.

[PRabel]

He grabs the towel and hangs it next to Julies'.

"Yeah, I can imagine it was quite unwelcome the first few times." - he says while thinking: *I have to admit, there are perks of having a corporate job...but I don't know, if I'm ok with the price one have to pay for this comforts.*

As she pulls him under the shower, he relaxes a bit and enjoys both the hot water and the company of Julie.

[Mercy Merchant]

As it happens, no one else comes into the shower area while you are there, but you are not sure if you would have noticed or cared, as Julie takes all of your attention.  There are liquid soap and shampoo dispensers on the wall near each shower head and she uses it liberally to soap herself down and wash her hair while you are treated to an up close and personal experience with a girl who is obviously comfortable in her own body.  She offers to do your back and her touch is both soft and tantalizing, causing your body to react appropriately.  As she comes back around to your front, her eyes widen a bit at your arousal, but she does nothing more than smile at you.  After both of you are clean and rinsed off, she shuts the water off and steps back into the locker room to dry off before wrapping the towel about her and picking up her clothes from the locker.  She waits for you to do the same and gives you a slight smile.  "Ready?"

[PRabel]

He enjoys all the attention he receives from Julie and once they are done, he follows her example and dries himself. Once done, he wrap the towel around his waist and pick up his clothes.

He looks at Julie and says: "Yes, I'm ready. Lead the way."

[Mercy Merchant]

Julie wraps a second towel around her hair and leads you from the locker room into the hall that reminds you of any sort of barracks or dormitory you have ever seen.  Two people pass you in the hallway and greet Julie and nod at you, smiling; one guy giving you an enthusiastic thumbs up as he passes.  Julie stops at one of the doors and presses her thumb against a plate to the side and it snicks open, revealing a smallish single room.  She enters and ushers you in before closing the door behind you.  There is a single bed against one wall and a desk with a chair against the opposite wall.  A counter on the wall opposite the door runs the width of the room between the bed and desk and you can see some personal items on it.  Julie removes her firearm from the clothes she is carrying and puts it in a small safe in the wall above the counter before dropping the rest of the clothes into a hamper.  Turning to you, she motions to the chair at the desk.  "You can put your things there, or on the floor."  She removes the towel from her head, giving her hair a vigorous drying then hesitates just for a moment before dropping the towel from her body, revealing herself to your gaze.  "Listen, G, I want to tell you that I really want to do this, but if you....um....have any doubts, this is probably the last chance for them."

[PRabel]

"Listen! There is no doubt, that I have the desire to be with you. You witnessed it yourself under the shower. You are a tough, confident women, who is comfortable in her body, which - I might add - looks amazing. These things makes you really desirable for me. I would be a fool to pass on an opportunity like that. But in this situation, it seems, that I am a fool. You see, since the attack on my crew here - even with the added security from the badges - I feel that it is my duty to be there guard them all the time. I wasn't here during the assault and one of my colleague died. I'm on edge ever since. Everything else seems to me as a distraction from that duty. That is why I was a bit hesitant to acknowledge your suggestions.
So, I really hope, that you don't take it personally, but I have to refuse your offer...for now at least. When the situation is normal again, we can resume to this idea. That is, if you are still willing to talk to me."

[Mercy Merchant]

Julie's face changes from smiling to something else.....something sad.  She nods and bends over to pick up the towel, draping it across her body.  "Yeah.  I picked up some sort of vibe and wanted to be sure that you were ready.  Guess not.  It's the woman in the hospital bed, right?  The Elf?  I hear that she is still only 20 - 80 to make it and I am sorry.  I saw the way you looked at her, but just wasn't sure but I suppose I am now.  She is a lucky girl and I hope she makes it.  Get dressed then go get some sleep.  Please turn the light off on your way out." 

She slips under the covers of her bed and removes the towel, placing it on the floor before rolling over and looking at the wall.

[PRabel]

"I understand and thank you for your sympathy." He apologies once more, get dressed, turns off the light once he leaves. As he makes his way to the level, where the others are, he thinks:
*Well, I might have just passed up an opportunity for a normal life. To think of it, normal life never really worked out for me. Maybe it is for the best. Hopefully she would get herself transferred to another part of the hospital. That way she would be less likely to get into the crossfire, if this "General" tries to kill Cin again. But I still don't understand, what makes two such great woman to fall for a simple guy, like myself. They are way out of my league. I never was one of the social meetings. Physical confrontation came more natural and as an ork, it was expected from me. We'll see how it all turns out.*

Once he arrives, he tell Larry, that he goes to sleep, if there is nothing else.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yeah, there goes your shot at the house with a fence, a wife who loves you and 2.3 kids that maybe don't.  At least you dodged the part where your wife has an affair with the neighbor because you just don't understand her anymore and the kids really hate you for what you do, wishing you were more like Mister Evans in the next apartment.  Still, it might have been nice to have sex with her before you just dumped her in her own room.  There she was; all naked and willing and you turned her down.  Cad.

Upstairs, Larry nods and you walk into Cin's room to park on the comfortable easy chair there and are quickly asleep. 

Your foot gets a gentle nudge and you open your eyes to see Julie bending over you.  "Hey, sleepy head.  Looks like you got some much needed rest.  Ready to take our shift?  I brought you some fruit from the canteen and some strong 'caf.  I will be out in the hall."  She winks at you and straightens up, motioning to a tray on the table next to your arm before turning and walking out of the room.  A nurse is looking at the medical monitors and nods as she taps one before also walking out.

[PRabel]

As he wakes up, he looks at Julie a bit confused and says: "Thank you! I thought you wouldn't want to meet me again after I was such a jerk. But here you are, smiling at me and caring for me. That just shows what a nice person you are and how stupid I am."

After Julie and the nurse are gone, he eats the fruit and drinks the "coffee". Once finished, he also leaves the room, and joins Julie at the hall to start their shift.
*I don't understand...Why she winked at me? Was she flirting with me just after I refused her?*

[Mercy Merchant]

Julie is getting a debrief from Larry and the hospital security guy he shares a shift with.  You can see two KE officers in the hall as well, but they do not seem interested in sharing their information with you.  After the others finish passing on that nothing happened while you were off shift, they leave to eat and get some rest.  Julie sips at a large cup of caf and smiles.  "Look, about your statement.  If I were that girl in there and I was fighting for my life and you looked at me like you look at her, I would want you to be the sort of guy that says no when a slot comes on to you.  I appreciate your being able to eventually tell me no, although it did seem that you were thiiiiiiis close to hopping into bed with me.  Which sort of makes me feel better, in a strange sort of way.  At least it means that you think I am attractive and were tempted.  I hope that she pulls through for you, G.  I really do.  Besides, I am a professional and can at least try to work through this.  If you want, you can ask my boss for a replacement, though."