Nerdy and the Beast

Emma felt like she had somewhat cleared the air with Liam, though things weren't completely resolved. At least he wasn't angry with her. Either way, she had decided that she would keep things fully professional from this point, regardless of her feelings.

As they arrived to meet with Natasha and the Captain the next morning, she gave him a polite and almost formal smile and nod. He returned the smile, but he seemed a little off. Almost disappointed. She decided not to think too much on it. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Once we land, we need a few different search parties," Kamon told them. "There are three points of the island that contain the missing pieces of the map that will lead us to the ruins. If we're lucky, we can find the buried goods, too."

"I'm sorry," Emma said, much to Kamon's annoyance. "When did you say we would arrive?"

"Two days," Natasha told her. "Pay attention."

"That's what I thought you said," Emma said, flipping open her notebook, "But something is wrong. We're a little too far west and-"

"You're not a navigator, Miss Cunningham," Kamon said. "You're here to decode ancient texts, not tell us where to go."

"But-"

"He said what he said," Natasha snapped.

Emma wanted to protest again, but the smug look on Natasha's face made her blood boil. Emma never considered herself the sort of woman who would hate another person, but every time she saw Natasha she wanted to smack her across the face. Neither her nor Kamon were willing to listen to Emma when she told them they were getting ahead of themselves with the map and were docking too soon. Apparently her lack of progress on the translation diminished her credibility in the matter.

When they were dismissed she just snapped her notebook shut and left without another word. Liam looked like he wanted to say something to her, but she walked off and hid in her room before he had a chance. She took a deep breath and let her head drop against the door.

"You okay?"

Emma yelped and spun around when she heard another voice in her room, seeing Duncan there biting into an apple.

"Duncan?" she whispered sharply. "When did you- How did you-"

"Liam said to be sneaky and avoid Natasha and Kamon," he said. "You were all in the captain's quarters together, so I thought it would be a good idea to get some air. And your door was unlocked, so..."

"Duncan," Emma said slowly, "You're welcome to visit me whenever you like, but you need to let me know first. You can't just walk into a lady's room without her knowing."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Can I stay, please?"

"Of course," Emma said, giving him a smile to reassure him that she wasn't mad. "Now, Liam says you want to help me with some things."

"Yeah!" Duncan said with an eager grin.

"Good," she said, rolling up her sleeves. "We've got a lot of work to do, and we have two days to do it. Can I count on you?"

"Yeah!"

Duncan turned out to be a surprisingly helpful assistant. He sorted through Emma's research to find the pages she needed when she asked for them, and he was quick to bring her books or pens when needed. They had moved from the desk to the floor for more space, pages spread all around them as they deciphered hieroglyphs and messages. The one note, however, still stumped Emma. Behind the skirt of the fall. It just didn't make any sense. She was starting to lose it, but Duncan poked her to snap her back into reality.

"Maybe we should call it for the night," he said.

"A break would be nice," she sighed. "I could use a nice cup of tea. It's been so long."

"There's tea in the store rooms," he said. "I saw it when I was hiding. I can go get it."

"No, that's alright-"

"I'll get it!"

The boy ran out the door before she could say anything else. He returned a little bit later with some old teacups and a teapot with something steaming inside.

"You found tea," Emma said in amazement.

"You deserve it," Duncan told her. "You've been working really hard, and I think you should have a cup of nice tea for it."

"Thank you, Duncan," Emma said, feeling her heart about to burst. "You have no idea how bad I needed to hear that."

She took a sip of the piping hot drink and though it was nothing fancy, it soothed her soul. Natasha was starting to get to her head a little too much, especially when it came to work ethic.

"I found these, too," Duncan said, holding up a pack of cards. "Do you know any games?"

"I know blackjack, but I'm not sure you're ready to lose against me."

"Don't cry if I win," Duncan grinned, shuffling the cards.

They played a few rounds, laughing and sipping at their tea. It felt nice for some lighthearted fun. There was a knock at the door, and Emma quickly gestured for Duncan to hide behind the bed. When she opened it, however, it was Liam.

"You left one of your notebooks," he said, handing it to her. "I managed to get it before Natasha read too much."

"It's fine, I doubt she understood any of it," Emma grumbled.

"Miss Cunningham, was that a snide remark about one of our officers?" he teased.

"Heavens, no. I would never," Emma scoffed. "Do you know blackjack?"

"Know it? I almost lost my head to it once."

She stepped aside to show the game they had set up as Duncan crawled out from his hiding spot to grab his cards before anyone peeked.

"We're just about to start a new round."

Liam cracked a smile and sat on the floor with them. Emma poured him a cup of tea, though she was sure he was used to much finer things.

"Where did you find tea?" Liam asked.

"Turns out that our Duncan is quite the sneak," Emma said. "Deal Liam in, my dear."

Duncan was excited to do so, the three of them playing a few more rounds. Liam caught Duncan peeking at his cards once and responded by flicking a few at him, making the boy laugh. For one night, it felt nice. Like a few friends having a nice evening together. No stressful work to be done or captains to appease.

Duncan fell asleep at one point, and Liam considered it a good time to leave. He started to shake Duncan awake, but Emma took his hand to stop him.

"It's okay," she said. "I have extra blankets, let him sleep here."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want to wake him," she said. "He feels safe here. I don't know. I thought about what you said. About your mother, and how hard it was. I just want him to feel safe. We can take him back to his hiding spot in the morning."

Liam was quiet for a few moments, then nodded. He stood up and straightened himself out, but lingered by the door for a few moments. Emma's hair had come loose from her chignon, and he reached over to tuck one of her dark curls behind her ear. She took his hand before he did and lowered it.

"Please don't," she said softly. "I don't think I know how to feel about it."

He dropped his hand and looked like he wanted to say something, but instead just plastered a smile on his face.

"Goodnight, Emma," he said. "Come get me if you need anything."

"I will," she promised.

She watched him leave before quietly closing the door with a sigh. She really didn't know how to feel. She had to stay professional, but it was so difficult when they got along so naturally. She took one of the pillows from her bed and gently lifted Duncan's head to place the pillow under. She then put a soft blanket over him and gently brushed his hair out of his face. He was fast asleep, which was a good sign. At least he was comfortable around her. If nothing else, she could help this little boy have a chance at a life.