A story that somehow got lost on my hard drive. Found it, tweaked it, and here it is.
Dave looked up from his desk in the small office when he heard the door open. It was the Captain of 'The Grand Old Lady', his ship. He started to rise but the Captain waved him back into his seat, sitting down opposite him, a familiar thoughtful look on her face.
"What strange and wonderful odd job have you got for me this time ma'am?" He asked with a smile; the Boss often came to him with a job out of the normal range of his duties. He didn't mind, he knew she trusted him to get them done and enjoyed doing things out of the ordinary.
The Captain smiled back. A lot of her officers didn't know why she put up with Dave; even Dave himself wasn't really sure; But the Captain knew that with all his vast experience in space, now over twenty years, and covering almost every area of the ships operation, Dave would rarely fail to find a way to complete any job she asked of him. On the ships roster he was nominally what they called a lower deck purser, he was the link between the passengers and the officers, but he also did hundreds of other small jobs, liasing between all the different departments and just generally keeping the Captains job so much easier. And of course, these little extra duties that she asked of him occasionally. Dave had been put up for promotion to junior lieutenant more than once, had actually filled in for some officers from time to time, but had turned the opportunity down; he liked being where he was. The Captain knew all this and accepted it now, making use of his adaptability when she needed to. This time was something different though, more personal.
"Dave, an old friend of mine is joining the ship for the run back to earth. Her ship was declared unspaceworthy after some idiot ran their light zipper into the engine. Most of the rest of the crew have been re-assigned, but this time she just wants to go home: I think she's had enough. I'd like you to keep an eye on her for me. I don't mean follow her around or wait on her hand and foot, just make sure she has nothing to worry about and she's comfortable."
"Treat her like the rest of the passengers, you mean?" Dave smirked.
The captain laughed.
"Yes, I suppose I do, but." She paused. "Alice has been through a lot and she is my oldest friend, and she has just been involved in what could have been a very nasty accident and I worry about her."
"Boss, I know what you mean. I'll keep an eye on her and she won't think it's any more than my usual job, I promise."
"I'd like you to come down to the spaceport with me to personally fetch her as well, if you've got the time."
"Sure Boss, I haven't much to do for a day or so, until the new crew members report on board tomorrow."
"Thank you Dave. Come up to the bridge at 18:00 hours and we'll go down and help her get aboard."
"As you wish ma'am."
The Captain left with another 'thank you' and Dave sat back and wondered what it was he'd let himself in for this time.
---
After presenting himself at the specified hour up on the bridge, Dave left with the Captain to collect Alice from the planet below. The Captain piloted the small shuttle herself for the departure, but turned the controls over to Dave for the short trip down to the spaceport. It was slightly against the rules, but she was the Captain after all, and knew he was more than capable of controlling the communications vehicle. For a long time now she had been trying to get Dave to take the training as a small craft pilot, but he kept putting her off, saying he knew all he needed to know and that was how to pilot an escape pod.
Within an hour they were down on the planet, and Dave was looking at a stack of luggage and considering the best way of getting it all aboard the shuttle. The Captain and Alice embraced as old friends do. Alice had seemed a little down at first, but had cheered up when he'd cracked a lame joke about picking up strange women on distant planets. He was struck at how attractive she was; he hadn't known what to expect, but wasn't really expecting someone quite so pretty.
Despite Dave's head scratching the three of them hadn't taken that long to stow all the gear with some help from the port workers, so they took off again fairly quickly. Dave taking the shuttle controls after take-off again so the two old friends could reacquaint themselves. He listened to them talking, having long ago learned how to listen whilst seeming not to listen, and now picked up a little inside information on Alice to aid him in his task. He learnt she was marginally older than he was, but was younger than the Boss, shared several interests with the Captain much the same as he did, seemed tired of space travel, but still liked a party. And once she'd settled down Alice revealed she had a wicked sense of humour that appealed to his own sense of the ridiculous. It sounded like she was a fun lady to be with.
The Captain took over the communication vehicle for the docking once more, so Dave moved back and sat next to Alice and struck up a conversation with her; nothing daring, just his normal boarding chit-chat. How was she, was she going to need anything specific, was there anything he needed to know that could make her more comfortable? The Captain chuckled to herself as she heard him. They were questions he had asked a million times, of thousands and thousands of passengers, much as she had, but Dave somehow seemed to make it sound as if Alice was the first person he had asked them. It sounded to the Captain as if he was really interested in her. A sudden idea struck her and she glanced around to look at the pair talking behind her. She smiled at what she saw; they were both trying to pretend that nothing was happening; But she recognised the soft look in her old friends face, and knew Dave well enough now to spot the excessively caring look he was giving Alice. This might do both of them good, she thought as she brought the shuttle in to dock with 'The Grand Old Lady'.
---
After the shuttle docked the Captain had taken Alice to her cabin and then on a tour of the ship, while Dave oversaw the unloading of her luggage and its transport to the cabin or the hold. He didn't see Alice again for a couple of days after leaving the bags in her room as his time was taken up with readying the ship for its voyage. Getting the passengers aboard and happy was his major priority, but he also had to know where everyone's baggage was put, he had to settle in new members of his team of stewards and handlers and make sure they knew their jobs. Although it was not his responsibility he also checked that the entertainment staff were all okay as well. This meant he had little time to check up on Alice personally, but he made sure that the staff responsible for her cabin knew she was to be looked out for and they should call him at once if anything untoward happened.
As it was, it was a message from the Captain herself that had him rushing down to Alice's cabin on the day of departure. The call had found him down in his office, checking through the last of his lists. Alice was having a panic attack, and the Captain couldn't leave the bridge as they were about to enter hyperspace. Dave got the nearest stewards to get to Alice's cabin and then set off at a run himself. It took him nearly ten minutes to get there, and by then his well-trained staff had partially calmed Alice. As he arrived breathlessly in her compartment she threw her arms around him, holding him close to her. He nodded to the two crewmen that they could leave; they did, smiling.
"Are you all right now?" He asked worriedly. She nodded she was. "First time back in space since...?" She nodded again. "If you get anxious and the Boss isn't available, come and see me. I'll probably be here." He handed her the card with the position of his office on it.
"Thank you." She said, now much calmer.
"You can come and see me anytime you like really." Dave suddenly blurted out.
Alice smiled at his earnestness.
"We'll have to wait and see." She said, kissing him on the cheek.
Dave turned away in shock, his hand to his cheek, mildly appalled at what he'd just said; it was so unprofessional and against everything he told his staff. And to the Captains best friend as well! He turned back to Alice anxiously.
"Can we keep what I just said between ourselves? I don't think the Boss ought to find out I've let her down so early in the voyage. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."
Now it was Alice's turn to comfort him.
"If you think the Captain will think less of you for being human then I won't tell her."
"Thank you Alice."
"On one condition." Alice gave him a mischievous grin.
"And that is?" Dave asked, a little worried.
"You dance with me at least once tonight at the departure ball."
"I can't dance Alice." He almost wailed. She just looked at him. He gave in and smiled. "Okay one dance it is."
"Good." She kissed him on the cheek again, and ushered him out of the door. "I'll see you tonight then."
---
Dave was late for the ball. One of the passengers had wanted something from one of the pieces of baggage they had stored in the hold, and he had had to locate the correct piece of luggage in the correct hold, bring it to the passenger, wait while they got what they needed and then get it put it back. Subsequently he was not in the best of humour by the time he got to the dance. It just seemed to him that he always got the people who didn't read the luggage regulations and just packed willy-nilly. He finally managed to slip into the dance about an hour and a half late. He spotted Alice and the Captain over on the far side of the ballroom, but decided to keep out of their way for a while; he'd wanted to get his dance with Alice out of the way while there weren't too many people watching. Instead he dropped into his helpful purser role, moving among the passengers, laughing and joking. More than once one or other of his stewards came up and asked his advice about something and in one case asked for his assistance in removing a tipsy passenger who seemed intent on causing trouble. The inebriated fellow wasn't threatened, but it was quietly pointed out that it was a long trip and it probably wasn't a good idea to antagonise the other passengers this early in the voyage. He saw sense and ambled off to sober up. Dave finally got himself a soft drink and found somewhere quiet to sit down. He scanned the room but couldn't see the Captain or Alice anywhere. As he sipped his drink a hand dropped onto his shoulder and a slinky voice behind him said:
