Chapter Text
Beck could feel the panic climbing up his throat, as he surveyed the medical station, not finding a trace of his patient.
It had been nearly 4 days since they had reunited with their lost crew member, and he was in far worse condition than they had assumed. 3 broken ribs, a mild concussion, sunburns on his face, intestinal damage, broken ankle, punctured lung, and so many bruises and gashes that Beck had lost count.
Every time a crew member looked at Mark’s battered form for too long, they teared up, and it was honestly quite awkward.
For Both Mark’s safety and the sake of the crew staying on task, Beck had kept Mark in the makeshift medical bay. Well, he had, until the blond disappeared today.
Okay, cool cool, deep breaths. Your patient somehow staged a jail break. Chris thought to himself, nervously sorting through the items on his desk, looking for a note or something.
The various IV’s that had been attached to Watney all laid on the cot, some dried blood still on the needles.
Chris sighed, leaving the med bay, and floating into the central room. “Commander, Martinez.” He greeted. “Slight issue.”
Lewis stopped, dropping the tablet in her hands. “Issue? What’s wrong. Is everything ok?”
Rubbing his neck nervously, Beck explained the situation. “I can’t find Watney. He disappeared.”
Johansson peaked around the doorframe, Vogel following closely behind her. Well, shit. That meant he wasn’t with them either.
“He couldn’t have left the ship.” Martinez said with an eye roll. Beck huffed, but agreed. “Even so, it’s dangerous for him to be moving around so much. He’s in insane amounts of pain, and his body isn’t ready for so much physical exertion.”
The crew split up, searching the ship, somewhat frantically.
Lewis sighed, exiting the bunk before floating towards the labs. She heard a soft humming, and the clink of metal tools. Gotcha.
With a well placed kick, she floated towards the hallway leading to the labs, then slid down the ladder, landing silently.
Mark stood in front of the desk, a plant in his hands. He continued humming, adding a drop of some chemical mixture to the plant’s pot. He put it back in the box with the grow lights, smiling softly at it. The whole box was full now, after being empty for the past 20 months.
On the desk, there were three capsules, each of Martian soil.
He had brought samples back from Mars.
He shifted his weight further onto his good leg, sighing. “Have you come to take me back to jail?”
Lewis startled slightly, not realizing he was speaking to her.
“You gave us a good scare there, Watney.”
He chuckled at that, using a spatula to scoop some of the soil out, laying it on a clear dish. “Sorry, commander. Got tired of being useless.”
Her expression softened, quietly approaching the younger man. “You weren’t being useless, Mark. You need to recover.” She reassured him.
He didn’t look up, simply reaching to grab a second dish, and opening the other soil capsule.
“Respectfully, commander, I survived on Mars for nearly two years. I can handle some science experiments.” His voice was steady, his eyes not meeting hers.
“Let Beck help you. You’re obviously in a lot of pain, Mark. We can give you some pain meds.”
He sighed, removing his gloves and rubbing his tired eyes. He glanced up, his ice blue eyes meeting her steely hazel ones.
“They don’t work on me anymore.”
She sputtered, staring at him incredulously. “How is that possible?” She questioned, disbelief clearly written on her face.
He chuckled sadly, his eyes clouding over with something unreadable. “I took so much on Mars, it stopped working. Some days I took 7 or 8 at a time. A couple times I crushed a few up and used them as potato seasoning.” He shrugged, tearing up slightly.
Lewis stared at him, fear and horror lacing her carefully crafted mask. She touched his arm lightly, and he looked up at her, shame and pain shining in his eyes.
“How the hell are you alive” she whispered. He laughed at that, tears now freely rolling down his cheeks.
“I honestly could not tell you. Dumb luck?” He smiled slightly, and averted eye contact for a moment. “I haven’t even told you about my rover heating system.”
“You’re wha-” Lewis began, before getting cut off by Beck.
“There you are! Jesus christ you dumbass, that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. Do you realize how much you just jeopardized your recovery?” Chris ranted, flailing his hands for emphasis.
“Sorry Dr. Bossy. My plants were calling me.” Mark joked. And, for the first time since he had come on board, the polished and patented Watney smirk returned, and the glimmer in his eyes resurfaced momentarily. Even through the exhaustion, the starvation, and injuries, in that moment he looked just like he did 2 and a half years prior.
Beck rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I’m sure your plants can wait a little while.” he sassed.
Feigning offense, Mark pressed his hand to his chest. “My poor plant babies. I can’t believe you heathens would neglect them like that. Must be why they all died as soon as I left.” He gasped dramatically.
While the two continued bickering, Lewis closed her eyes, finally being at peace for the first time in 2 years.
Eventually, Beck sighed, rolling his eyes at whatever Mark said. “Alright, I’m going to go get your cot set up again, don't injure yourself any worse while I’m gone.” He muttered, climbing the ladder out of the lab.
“Commander?” Mark’s voice was soft, and Lewis froze. He smiled softly, that same spark lighting up his eyes once more.
“Thank you for, uh, coming back for me. For everything, really. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
And Lewis felt tears prickle her eyes, as she wrapped her arms around the blonde’s shoulders, feeling him shake in her grip.
“Of course, Mark. We would do it all over again.”