Outrider's Secrets - Part Three

       Tony found herself in the medical bay for four days, normally Vince was her only company. He would play card games with her to pass the time, and Aurelia would stop by with any important work related issues that popped up.
      The experimental medication finally arrived, and Tony moved to her quarters. She was suppose to rest for another few days, while her body adjusted to the foreign chemicals. Doctor Aldrich told her to expect some dizziness as well as nausea, both came within minutes of the first injection.
      Vince watched her exit the bathroom for the fifth time, sit down on the couch, then immediately jump to her feet and return to the bathroom. The doors opened beside him, and Aurelia stepped in with Pax, both could hear Tony’s dry heaving cries from the bathroom.
      “How’s she doing?” Aurelia asked, placing her hand on Vince’s upper arm.
      “As the doctor predicted.” He answered.
      She frowned, and left the men alone in the main room, to help her sister in the bathroom.
      Vince had been debating telling Pax about Tony’s predicament the entire time they were in the medical bay. As his partner, he needed to know, but as much as Pax screwed around, he did usually do things by the book. He felt sorry for Tony, she never signed off on becoming a cyborg, and knew how that felt. With a heavy sigh, he decided that it was best not to tell his partner, even if he knew that Pax would know he was hiding something from him.
      “What’s the new medicine for?” Pax asked through the transmitter.
      “Woman problems.” Vince replied, “And I didn’t want to hear what the doctor said, let alone repeat what he said.”
      His partner grinned, “Fair enough.” Pax heard Aurelia comforting her sister, “Is it serious?”
      “Yeah, could be fatal.” Vince tried not to look at his partner, as he didn’t want Pax to see the lie in his eyes.
      The door buzzed and Aurelia exited the bathroom to answer it. She smiled when as the door revealed Kevin Carnell’s form. “Hey Kevin.” Her smile faded.
      “How is she doing? Aldrich wouldn’t let me in to see her in the medical bay.” He stepped in and looked at the two droids standing at the door. The reason the doctor hadn’t let him in was because Tony had asked that no one but her sister be allowed to visit her. The last thing she needed was for some prying eyes to read her chart or someone to stumble in when they were messing with her implants.
      “New medication isn’t agreeing with her right now. Aldrich says it will take a few days before she gets use to it.” They both looked at the bathroom door, when Tony stepped out and sat down on the couch.
      Holding her stomach, she frowned as she looked over at Kevin. Without being asked, he came to sit next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He had been around Tony when she had been sick before and knew the only way to comfort her was to hold her. She laid her head on his chest, as he stroked the soft locks of her hair.
      Vince caught a brief frown on Aurelia’s face towards Kevin’s affections, before she returned to her cheerful self. “Well, Pax and I will get going. I have a few errands to run, I’ll be back in time to make dinner.”
      “Don’t worry about it, Aura.” Kevin said, “I’ll make her dinner.”
      Aurelia nodded her head, “Thanks.” Her eyes shifted to Vince, “Don’t let him take her into the bedroom alone.” She whispered to him before exiting the room.
      As soon as the door shut, locking out the noise from the outside hallway. Tony began to cry into Kevin’s chest, her fingers grasping onto the cloth of his uniform.
      He began to hum, still stroking her hair. Vince tried not to glare at the man on the couch with his ward, but caught himself looking over repeatedly. He wasn’t jealous, but he didn’t like the closeness between the two. The command that Aurelia had given him, also raised his suspicions.
      He had created a friendship with Tony during their time in the medical bay. She had told him stories of her life, growing up, and how she had become an ambassador. When she told stories of her past, it brought up memories of his own that he couldn’t tell her. After sometime, she had opened up her darker past to him, though it was hardly anything to be ashamed of. He had done worse things both as a cyborg and a human, mostly because he had been in the military.
      There had been times when he knew she needed to be held, but he forbid himself to do so. Not because he didn’t want to be close, instead for the lie that she already knew he was carrying. She had smiled at him so genuinely that it had given him goose bumps. It took all the will he had not to check on her in the bathroom, or carry her to her quarters from the medical bay. He couldn’t wait for these two weeks to be over, so that honesty could be established.
      There had been many wards in his time, all of them he had fooled, but he kept forgetting himself around Tony. His eyes turned slightly when a beep came from Kevin. The commander looked at a small device on his belt.
      “Shit, they need me on the command deck, Tony. I’ll be back later.” He stood up, and she kept a tight hold of his hand. “I promise.”
      Letting go, he walked past Vince and out the door. Tony wiped the tears from her eyes, wrapped her arms around her stomach, and laid down on the couch. She could feel Vince’s eyes on her, and knew he had something that he wanted to say.
      “What?” She finally asked when the air in the room became thick with his question.
      “I said nothing.” Vince announced.
      “No, but you weren’t thinking nothing. Now tell me what is it?” Tony sat up to look at him. Her eyes were red from her tears, and she looked a little green.
      “Are you and Commander Carnell in a relationship?”
      Tony smirked, “Why? Does it make you jealous?”
      “I am a droid, I do not get jealous. I am curious because it is important to know these things about my dependent.” He informed her, not caring for the smug look on her face.
      “No, we use to be, but that ended a long time ago.” She laid back down, and took a deep breath. “Can you sit beside me?” The question came as she patted the seat next to her.
      Vince bowed his head and did as she requested. Taking his hand, she wrapped it around her shoulder, and snuggled up against his chest. Immediately upon laying her head down, she heard the subtle thumping of his heart, and grinned. She knew she was right. Vince’s persistence that he was a droid, had almost started to make her believe the lie. However, now she felt certain once again, though she didn’t say anything out loud.
      Running her hand across his chest, she hugged him, and he returned the pressure. Tony fought another grin, when she heard his gentle heartbeat speed up. “Now, that I am not puking my stomach out anymore, it’s almost time for another injection. You want to stab me in the ass?”
      Vince tried not to laugh, “If you wish.”

      Kevin never turned that evening, instead he sent a meal to her room with a note of apology. After three bites, Tony was back in the bathroom and Vince was eating the meal. He made her broth, which seemed to be the only thing she could keep down. She refused to go to her bedroom, afraid she wouldn’t make it to the bathroom if she got sick. So, she and Vince spent the evening on the couch together, waking up every two hours for her injection.
      Only the first three days were the shots that often, and after that it would go to six hours. It already felt like a life time by the second day, and Tony’s hip was covered in small sores from the syringes. She would wince every time she had to sit down, and for the most part whenever she moved.
      The second night was spent in the same manner as the evening before, except that Tony brought out her blanket to sleep on the floor. She asked him to lay with her and though he informed her that it was improper, he found himself laying beside her. Her cheek snuggled against his chest, as she took long, slow breaths.
      She was needy when she was sick, and whenever Aurelia came to visit, she hung to her sister instead. He concluded it was because they were closer, or perhaps she didn’t want her sister to know she was cuddling him to suit her needs.
      Staring down at the woman in his arms, he grinned remember the challenging looked she gave him when he denied laying with her. There was nothing of the stubborn and proud woman before him now. Her face was relaxed, her eyes closed as she dreamt. The golden waves of hair had come lose from their binding, and were spread across the pillow and his arm.
      She hadn’t been afraid to shove herself against him, though her chest and thighs stayed a comfortable distance away. Vince ran his free hand over her cheeks, removing the stray hairs that fell over her face, and placing them behind her ear. Without thinking it through, he gently laid a kiss on the corner of her lips.
      She twitched, causing him to freeze with his face inches away from her own. When she didn’t awake, he rolled his eyes at his audacity, and fell onto his back. Leaving his arm under her neck, he took a deep breath. Tony scooted closer, resting her hand on his chest. He took her small hand into his own, and inhaled the floral scent of the lotion she used on her hands.
      Suddenly, he felt the small kitten smelling his toes. It wasn’t very friendly, though he hadn’t really gotten use to Tony and him yet. Aurelia had taken care of it when Tony was in the medical bay, and it seemed to have bonded with her. Though Aurelia insisted that she hated cats.
      Using his large toe, he smacked the kitten in the nose, hoping to scare it away. Instead, it swatted at his toe with it’s paw, and then continued to wrestle with his foot. Vince fought a smile, which stopped being an issue when the kitten bit into his toe. He jerked upward, and grabbed the kitten by the scruff of it’s neck. Biting his tongue, he held back the urge to yell at the feline.
      “Don’t hold Wolf like that.” Tony grabbed the kitten from his hand.
      He brought his brow together, “Wolf? Why would you name a cat that?” Wolfe was his last name, was this another joke at his expensive, and if so, how did she knew what his last name was.
      “I don’t know, Aurelia named him that. It seems to work, he’s the lone wolf.” She pet the kitten with her finger tips. “Your toe is bleeding.”
      Vince’s eyes shot to his wound. He couldn’t think of a lie quick enough, and thought of a slew of cuss words instead, none of which he said. Standing up, he went into the rest room to clean it up.
      What was this woman’s game? She knew he was a cyborg, a feeling, living, breathing human being, and yet she wasn’t ashamed to change in front of him or sleep beside him. He would have to inform Pax of these developments. Something had to be done, he had blown cover.
      Exiting the bathroom, he sat down beside her. She was still petting the kitten. “Are you alright?”
      He didn’t respond.
      Placing her hand in the middle of his chest, she slowly tried to push him back down. Vince grabbed her hand, and glared into her eyes. “Why are you doing this, sleeping with me out here?”
      Tony rose an eyebrow, “I told you, I don’t like being alone when I am sick and it’s closer to the bathroom.”
      He didn’t want to admit to anything without Pax agreeing first, “Do you not think it is improper? What if you sister walked into the room, and saw this?”
      She shrugged, “She’s having sex with her droid, she doesn’t have much room to talk.”
      “Droid, eh?”
      She grinned, “Well, that’s what you like to be called, isn’t it?” Reaching up, she brushed some hairs from his forehead.
      “Yes, that is what I am.” He laid back down, and Tony placed her head on his chest.
      “I also like to listen to the sounds of heartbeats when I don’t feel good, it takes my mind off my stomach.” She whispered.
      He chose not to respond, instead wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He was tired of arguing with her about whether or not he was a droid. It was insulting to both their intelligences, as they both obviously knew the truth.

      Tony finally found herself back in her office, though she wasn’t completely rid of her nausea. She was glad to be out of her quarters, even though she couldn’t work a full day just yet. To her shock and pleasure, she had found that Aurelia had done some of her work and she wasn’t as far behind as she thought. She even managed to bring some of it back with her to her quarters, so she could work in between trips to the bathroom.
      “Can you answer that?” Tony asked Vince, when the door buzz.
      Tyler entered, completely ignoring her security droid’s presence in the door way. “Hey, you feeling better?”
      “Yeah, think I’ve managed to go two hours without vomiting.” She jested.
      He nodded, and came to lean against her desk. “So, are you free tonight?”
      “I’m catching up on my work.” Looking away from her console, she grinned at him. “Sorry.’
      “Oh come on, you and me on the ship’s restaurant… or we are actually stopping off at Rinera, we can have dinner on the beach.” He tried his charming grin and begging eyes combination.
      “No, Tyler, I really am busy, besides I don’t want to have a romantic dinner with my ex-husband.” She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
      “Ouch, ex-husband is such a harsh word. I prefer post-marriage husband.”
      She rolled her eyes, “That wasn’t even close to being funny.”
      He shrugged, “Yeah, it wasn’t one of my bests, but come on.” Coming around the desk, he dropped to his knees in front of her. “Listen, Antonia.” He grabbed her hands, “I know this sounds weird after all this time apart, but I feel really bad about the way I behaved. I was young and foolish, and I didn’t respect the sanctity of our marriage. I do now though, so please…”
      “Our marriage is over, Tyler. You slept with other woman, you got caught, we got divorced, remember?” She tried to pull her hands from his, but he refused to release her.
      “I know, but can’t you chalk it up to immaturity, we were too young to get married back then. Let’s give it another try. I mean there has to be a reason why we are both still single after all this time, doesn’t there?” He gave her his infamous pouting face.
      She sighed, “Ok, but I don’t want to leave the ship.”
      Tyler grinned and stood up, “Fine by me, I’ll meet you in an hour then?”
      “Alright.” She said when he leaned down to kiss her cheek.
      Tony watched as he left her quarters, her eyes brushing over Vince’s disapproving face. She decided that she really didn’t care what he thought, this was her life and she could make mistakes if she wanted to. Returning to her console screen, she continued her work until Vince’s glare began to burn her skin.
      “What?” She snapped her head to look at him.
      He wasn’t even looking at her anymore, and slowly turned his head towards her. “I said nothing.”
      Tony shook her head, pulling her screen down, and heading for the bathroom. This time to shower and prepare herself for her dinner with Tyler.
      In the shower, she kept asking herself why she had accepted his offer. She knew that he was a lying, cheating bastard, but he had once been a good man. Or rather, he had once convinced her that he was. It had been a long time, maybe he had changed for the better. He made a good point as well, neither of them were with anyone, and fate had thrown them together again.
      Stepping out of the shower, she went to her room and found a long dark red dress to wear. She put her hair up in a bunch of curls above her head, and ensure her make-up was done perfectly. Knowing that her stomach was still a little upset, she decided to only order soup. That left only one thing, did she want to take Vince with her to ensure she didn’t do anything stupid.
      Exiting her room, she twirled in front of Vince, “How do I look? Everything alright?”
      “It looks satisfactory.” Vince replied in his best droid response,
      In truth he wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful. Tell her that she shouldn’t go out with that cheating loser, and stay in with him. Let him sit with her on the couch, and hold her until all her pains went away. He had enjoyed the closeness the moment he sat down beside her. His line of work didn’t really allow him any relationships, nor did pretending to be a droid most of the time.
      Tony grinned, as she placed her hands on her hips. “Satisfactory will work, I suppose.”
      “Should I remain in your quarters?” Vince asked, he kind of wanted to. The heated anger he got in his chest when he had seen Tyler touch her, had almost caused him to break cover.
      “No, I would prefer if you came with. That way I have a reason to leave.” She smiled, and headed towards the door.

      The officers’ restaurant was elegant, a section for romantic meals by candlelight and another for more platonic meals. Tyler was upon her the moment she entered in, and Vince was on the receiving end of a glare.
      “You had to bring the droid? Think I am going to attack you?” Tyler asked after he hugged Tony.
      “He’s suppose to go wherever I do. It has nothing to do with you.” She lied a bit, he didn’t have to be everywhere with her aboard the ship.
      Tyler frowned, but decided to make the best of it. “Let’s get our table, then. He doesn’t have to sit with us, does he? I only ordered a table for two.”
      Tony shook her head, “No, he can stand, try to get a table near the corner or wall.”
      They were seated near the front, and Vince positioned himself against the wall out of everyone’s way. Tyler took control of the entire meal, ordering for both himself and Tony. It was something that she had once found endearing, but now it was just annoying. She also didn’t like that they were seated in the romantic section, anyone could see the two of them together. The last thing she wanted was for the crew to think she was dating the ship’s captain.
      The red wine came and Tony gulped down her first glass, she was already wanting to leave. Everything that she had once loved about the man was still there, but it seemed that time had changed what she found attractive in a man.
      “So, then I got my promotion after the battle to captain, and I was assigned to a freighter ship. Delivering cargo to bases, which was interesting for about a minute. I put in for a position aboard a sentinel ship, and was hunting pirates within a few months.” Tyler told her, “A year later, I get a message asking me if I want to be the captain of the Outrider, and I thought finally a position worthy of my skills.”
      Tony nodded her head, “Well, as you recall the Outrider doesn’t get into many battles.”
      “Yeah, but there are thousands of people aboard this ship. I am in charge of every one of their lives. My first job had twelve, and my other had around a hundred. It’s kind of nice to have everyone know who you are, but have no idea who some of these people are. There is no way I could remember all their names.” He grinned before taking a sip of wine. “I mean it’s a big responsibility and I know that, and I take it seriously.”
      Tony cut into her steak the moment it was set in front of her, and hoped that a mouthful of food would silence Tyler for a while. There was still a queasy feeling in her stomach from the medication. She almost wished she would throw up, just so she could go back to her room. No such luck, so she continued to drink her wine, and in her head she called it her “Make Tyler Interesting” juice. They were already on their forth bottle by the time dessert came.
      She knew she was in trouble when she tried to stand, and found her legs were like jello beneath her. She was drunk, and glad that she had brought Vince along. Otherwise, Tyler might have been able to encourage her to his quarters.
      “Send the droid back to your room. Nothing is going to happen that you don’t want.” He said. Holding onto her upper arm, he helped her exit the restaurant.
      “No, thank you.” Tony replied, “I need to wake up early tomorrow.”
      “In your state, I doubt that’s going to happen.” He teased, looking over his shoulder at Vince who was walking behind them.
      Approaching her quarters, Tyler decided that he was getting further away from his goal for the evening. “Let me come inside and help you to bed.”
      “Vince can do that.” Tony pointed at him, as the door behind her slide open. “Good night.”
      “Let’s do this again, alright?” Tyler grinned.
      Vince stepped into the quarters, and Tony let the door slide shut, “No, let’s not.” She whispered as it closed, but the look on Tyler’s face told her that he had heard her. She giggled when she heard the door buzz.
      Her eyes went over to Vince, who was once again standing guard of the door. He held no emotion on his face, though inside he was deeply relieved that she had denied him.
      Ignoring the buzz, she threw herself on the couch with a laugh, “I wonder how long he’ll keep that up.” Her words were slightly slurred.
      Vince turned his head to her, “He does know you are in here and seems to be the persistent type.”
      She laughed, “Persistent? Unrelenting, pushy…” Her words trailed off as she couldn’t think of anymore.
      Vince grinned when her eyes closed for a moment once the buzzing had stopped.
      “You can’t drink that man interesting.” She mumbled. “I am so happy that I found out about him, who knows where I would be if I was still married to him.”

      Vince watched Tony on the couch resting her drunk mind. The slit on the side of her dress, allowed her right leg to become completely exposed. His eyes ventured up the toned leg to her stomach, and then her breasts. They heaved up and down as Tony took deep, ragged drunk breathes. His own body reacted when he thought of touching her bare leg, and running his hands over her inner thighs.
      His eyes went to her face, and she was staring at him a coy grin on her lips. “Like what you see, bot?”
      His voice caught in his throat, not that he really knew what he was going to say anyway.
      Tony sat up, covering her leg again. “Tyler may not hold my interest, but you know who does?”
      Vince rose a curious eyebrow.
      “You do. Why are you pretending to be a droid? And why did the council send you to do this?” She stood up to walk in front of him, though she had to take a moment to steady herself.
      “I don’t know what you are talking about, ambassador.” He replied.
      She grinned, then whispered. “Give it up.” Placing her hands on his chest, she slowly ran them from his pecks to his shoulders then back again. To stop her movement, he laid his own hands on her forearms. “You just used a contraction in your speech.”
      He mentally cursed himself, “Occasionally my program allows contractions.” He was starting to view this as more of a game between them, then an outright lie. She seemed to enjoy hearing his excuses and then calling him on his mistakes.
      Tony chuckled, “Don’t make me have to prove it, Vincent Wolfe.” She had finally found his file the other day. He had quite a military record, and several medals for bravery.
      Vince swallowed, “I do not know who Vincent Wolfe is, ambassador.”
      “Ok, so now I have to prove it… is that what you want?” She grinned again.
      He didn’t like where this was going, and most of all he didn’t like that she knew what his name was. How the hell did she figure it out? He knew they should of used real code names, not just nicknames of their formals.
      Before he had time to respond, he felt her soft lips brushing over his own. The smell of wine entered his nostrils, reminding him that he was dealing with a drunk woman. Tony had no idea what she was doing, and would regret this in the morning. Grabbing a hold of her wrists, he jerked her slightly to get her attention.
      “Ambassador, I do not think this is proper…”
      “Oh come on, if Pax has companion droid programming then so do you, right?” She rose an eyebrow, “What are you a droid with morals?”
      “My duty is to protect you, and that includes your honor. Now, ambassador, I think you should go to sleep. In the morning, if you still feel this way…”
      She moved quickly and was able to flick her tongue across his bottom lip. Vince pushed her further from him and tried to regain his composure.
      She giggled and took a step back, “Droid, my ass.” Her words came when he released her wrists, she watched him lick her taste from his mouth. “You’ve been dying to kiss me, now is your chance.”
      “As a droid, I gain no pleasure…”
      “Oh, please, Vince, you’ve been kissing me every night since I started sleeping with you.”
      He frowned, “You’re drunk.” He used another contraction, but he didn’t care anymore.
      “Yes, I am. It’s what has given me the courage to confront you.” She leaned backwards against her desk. Several long moments past between them, she was waiting for him to answer her. What about she wasn’t even sure. “Well?”
      “I think you should go to sleep, before you regret anything else you will say or do.” Vince crossed his arms, and placed himself back into position by the door.
      Tony sighed loudly and pushed herself from the desk, walking to stand in front of him, she glared up. “Let’s get something straight, your job is to protect my body from someone else’s blaster. What I say or do is not. Now, if you are a droid under my command, you will kiss me, and if you are a cyborg then…”
      “Enough, Antonia.” He hissed. “I’m not kissing a drunk woman, I don’t take advantage of women like that.” Ok, he lied, he had taken advantage of one or two drunk women in his lifetime. But this was his ward, he had to spend every day with her for a year. As much as he wanted to, he just couldn’t let it happen. She knew he was a cyborg, she knew his real name, so what was the use of carrying on the charade.
      She tapped his nose with her index finger, “So, I’ve proven it?”
      “No.” It was his stubborn side saying that, even though his logical side knew that he had already given up.
      Tony yawned, “Alright, I’ll try again tomorrow.”

      Morning time was spent in silence, Tony ate her breakfast and didn’t really seem interested in speaking with Vince. Not that he tried to strike up a conversation with her, he was just as embarrassed about their previous evening as she was. There was no doubt now that Tony knew who and what he was, and having been caught in his lie, he felt shame.
      Walking out of her bedroom with her uniform on, she didn’t make eye contact with him. He excused himself while she made breakfast so he could take a shower and use the restroom. Since there was nothing said about him showering, Vince had been wiping himself down with a wash towel every night after she went to sleep. There was no reason to keep up the lie now.
      When he was dressed, he came out into the main room. There was food on the table, but Tony had left for her office. He slowly ate his meal before making his way to her office, where Pax rose a questioning eyebrow to him. With a shake of his head, he was informing his partner that he would explain later. They couldn’t use their transmitters in the office, the radio waves were monitored.
      “What happened?” Aurelia asked once she was finished typing something in. Her eyes went to Vince.
      “What happened to what, assistant ambassador?” He asked, keeping the charade up with Aurelia.
      “Tony is normally with you, why were you so late?”
      Vince tried to think of an answer while she spoke, “The ambassador sent me to Corporal Reyburn for a check-up.” He lied, and hoped that Tony had said nothing to contradict him.
      She stood from her seat and entered her sister’s office. Giving him a unbelieving glare.
      “What the hell?” Pax asked, keeping his voice low.
      “She knows.” Vince responded, “Somehow she got my name. This morning when I was in the restroom she snuck out, what was I suppose to do?”
      His partner nodded, “We can’t break cover.”
      “Break cover? It’s too damn late for that. If you hadn’t fucked around, then you would be guarding the ambassador and not me.” He tried not to snap. Pax had more mechanical parts then his partner, and had more training with undercover work then he had. He should of taken the ambassador, his odds of fooling her were much greater then his own. Though she would of figured it out eventually.
      Pax sighed, “Let her say whatever she wants, but don’t confirm anything. I’ll get a message out to headquarters tonight.”
      “This is bullshit. What do you want me to do, just stand there while she…”
      “Yes. Just stand there, don’t confirm or deny anything.” Pax demanded.
      Vince nodded, “Are you pulling rank on this?”
      It was rare that Pax used his higher ranking on his partner. He wanted Vince to feel like they were in this together and he wasn’t just his superior. Yet, this was an important issue, he couldn’t act without proper authorization. “Yes, I am. So, keep your mouth shut until I give the go ahead.”
      He didn’t respond, just straightened his back and turned his eyes forward. If Pax had pulled rank, then there was nothing he could do or say that would change his mind.

      Aurelia sat in the chair in front of her sister’s desk. “So, what’s going on?”
      Tony looked up from her console, she had a puzzled look on her face. Though, she didn’t know why she tried to feign innocence, Aurelia always knew.
      “Don’t give me that. Why did he come in so much later then you?”
      She shrugged, “I need those reports on…”
      “Tony.” Aurelia growled.
      “Don’t be so damn nosy, Aura. It’s not of your business, and besides we are in the office. No personal discussions, remember? We made that rule the first day you came to work for me.” She turned her eyes back to her console, and cleared her throat.
      “Did you have sex? And now you feel guilty, right?” She grinned confidently and leaned back in her chair, like she had it all figured out.
      “No, I tried to get him to, but he turned me down… ok?” Saying the words out loud only made things worse, now she felt disgusted with herself. Before she was embarrassed with her behavior, but now she wondered what was so wrong with her that he wouldn’t even kiss her.
      Aurelia looked shocked, “He… he said no?” She looked behind her briefly as if she would be able to see Vince.
      “Yeah, he told me to go to bed.” Tony sat back in her chair.
      “Well, maybe he thought it wasn’t proper to sleep with his ward. After all, the two of you have to see each other everyday for year.” She swallowed, “Although, this makes it worse.”
      “Pax slept with you, and besides he is a droid, he doesn’t have…”
      Aurelia chuckled, “Ok, let’s drop the act. You know they are cyborgs, and I know they are cyborgs. I mean I was fooled for a little while, but I have never met a companion droid who was so eager to sleep with anyone. Besides that, he blew his cover the other night in bed.”
      “I really didn’t need to hear that, but I am glad that you know.” She sighed, “Makes things a lot easier on me.”
      “Hey, I may be a ditz, but I’m not stupid.” Aurelia crossed her arms, “Anyway, why does this bother you so much?”
      “Guys don’t turn me down, Aura, I turn them down. I’ve never had a man reject me in my entire life. Do you think he did because he knows about my implants?”
      Aurelia shrugged, “Who knows? Though it would be hypocritical of him.”
      “Kind of embarrassing to offer myself to him, and now I have to sit around and stare at him all day.” Tony dropped her face into her hands, “I kept telling myself not to do it, but that damn wine… damn drunk Tony, she was like no do it.”
      “You were drunk?” She watched her nod, “Maybe, that was it. You know some guys aren’t pigs, and they won’t take advantage of a drunk woman. Most guys would, but some aren’t.”
      Tony looked up, a bit of relief in her eyes. “You think so? He did say something like that, but I really don’t remember much of what was said.”
      Aurelia grinned, “I’ll bet it, though don’t make any more moves.”
      “Why’s that?”
      She giggled, “I am pretty good at reading guys, don’t you think?”
      “Sure.”
      “Both of them seem to be the aggressor types, and if you take that away from them, then they don’t know how to react.”
      Tony giggled, “Don’t worry, I won’t be making a fool out of myself again anytime soon.”