Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Doctor S and Professor A ❯ Good for the Souls ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Two-Good for the Souls

A.C. 172 February, 15th 10:00am

"We did it! Two hours early," crowed her assistant.

"Well, it wasn't as good as I hoped but it will succeed in getting us this year's grant. I'm sure of that." Lisa Avilovski smiled at her assistant, Mandy.

"Yeah, and we're that much closer to mapping the zero interface," said Mandy.

"We have a long way to go still. But I have been living on pizza and cat-naps for the last month and a half...I think the next three days should be dedicated to sleep." Lisa yawned.

"I vote for that...it's so nice not to be Under anymore. Let's go home."

"Under" was an L3 scientist slang that describes the period in work where life was given up. It was thought to originate from the saying "Under the gun." It basically meant you had a huge deadline to meet--sleep, life, and food became optional.

The two of them began gathering their things to leave.

"So who was that guy who brought us Chinese food the other night?" asked Mandy.

"I thought you brought the Chinese?"

"Oh didn't I tell you? Some guy brought it--said he was a friend of yours."

Lisa's heart did a flip in her rib cage. She could only think of one person. The man who kissed her on New Year's Eve: Henrik Stein. He had asked to see her again at the time, of course. She agreed, but then told him of the deadline and going Under. He had asked for her business card and the exact date and time of the deadline. February 15th at noon.

"He left a note," Mandy added.

"Where is it?" asked Lisa.

"I'm such a scatter-brain! I just pocketed it and forgot about it." Mandy pulled the note from her coat pocket. "Sorry!"

The note read: February 15-12:01pm at the bottom a small "S".

"He's coming to see me!"

"Mousy Lisa has a beau? This I gotta see. Is he coming now?"

"In two hours."

Mandy yawned. "I'll never stay awake that long...maybe next time."

Lisa yawned as well. "I'm tired too! What'll I do?"

"Why don't you take a nap on the couch? If he wants to see you right after you emerge from Under, he'll have to take what he can get. I always tell my boyfriends to give me at least a day."

"Yes, I'll do that. I want to be coherent when he comes." Lisa giggled

Mandy smiled. "Look at you! All giggly. How old are you?"

Lisa pulled her alarm clock out of her bag, "Get lost twerp!" she joked.

Mandy laughed as she exited the laboratory. Lisa collapsed on the old couch they kept in the back. The alarm clock was set and on her chest. She hadn't had three hours sleep total in the last two days, but she wasn't going to miss seeing Henry. She'd thought about him quite a bit through the first half of January until work took over, now she was free to think about him again.





He came early. The quiet laboratory worried him. Did she not understand the message? The door was unlocked, so he let himself in. She was fast asleep on the couch in the back, and alarm clock clutched in her hand as if this was her standard practice. Most scientists who went Under had odd sorts of sleeping habits. He gently removed the clock from her grasp and turned it off. Without her glasses, she was the beautiful woman he'd caught a glimpse of that other day.

He found her glasses on a table nearby and her coat and purse on the desk. He returned to her side with the three things and gathered her into his arms. She was as light as a feather. He carried her from the room and down to a waiting cab.




Lisa woke up in her own bed, but she wasn't under the covers. That's odd, she thought. She threw of the blanket that covered her--she was still in her lab clothes. Only her shoes were removed. How did I get here? She asked herself.

She padded out into the kitchen still befuddled. Wait a sec...there had been at least five cereal bowls in the sink yesterday, and she was sure she didn't own a clean glass. She looked back into the hall she'd just come from--the pile of laundry was gone. This place certainly didn't look like she'd been under for a month and a half.

On the table was a vase with a long stemmed red rose in it. Under it, a card that read: Lisa, I'm sorry I couldn't stay until you woke up. I'm going Under myself for a while. I'll call you when it's over. Yours, H.S.



A.C. 172 February, 19th 8:00am



"You mean to tell me, he took you home, put you to bed, did your dishes and your laundry and then just left?" asked Mandy incredulously.

"Yes, and I found this note with a red rose." Lisa smiled happily.

"It doesn't say when he comes out from Under," Mandy observed. "That's so sweet, any guy I know would have told me when so I'd feel obligated to return the favor. And there'd be a helluva lot more than a few cereal bowls and a couple sets of lab clothes to clean. Where do you find these men? I thought I was the expert dater compared to you. I bow to the master!"

Lisa just smiled.



A.C. 172 March 8th 7:30pm



Lisa had a pair of magnifying glasses on. She looked at the intricate wiring in front of her. She consulted her notes and made two changes. This had better work, she told herself. She was running out of options. She placed the device in a harness and strapped it to her head.

"Left," she said concentrating, "Go left."

A pair of mechanical eyeballs on the desk looked left.

"Yes!" she squealed clapping her hands. "Yes Yes YES!"

She took the harness off. Finally. Now she could go home and...she gasped in horror. The clock on the wall said 7:30. Henry! She'd stood him up! They were supposed to meet for a date at 7pm. It was to be their first date since New Year's Eve. The way her scatterbrain worked, it looked like she'd blown her only chance of ever getting a second kiss.

"Oh no! Oh how could I do that? The time. What must he think of me?" she moaned.

A voice from behind her said, "I think you're wonderful."

She spun around. There he was in her lab, all dressed up and looking handsome.

"Oh Henry, I'm so sorry...I got so wrapped up...Your first day out from Under too...I..."

"Don't worry," he said, "I didn't go to the restaurant."

"You didn't, but I th..."

"I just had this feeling you wouldn't come there. So I came here. I've been watching you work since seven. I hope you don't mind."

"No I don't m...you came here? Since seven?" Her mouth moved without a sound as she processed the information.

"You know me that well already?" she asked.

She saw a spark that kindled to a fire behind his eyes. He took a step toward her. "Like the other half of my soul."

Her heart did a flip-flop, but her mind was still in control. "Plato? Duality of souls? I don't believe in that." She took a step towards him. "You see, it's not very scientific."

"I plan to have long discussions about it with you in the future." He took another step towards her.

"W-we should discuss it, because it's a very controversial theory." She took the last step, which placed her right in front of him.

"Controversial?" he brushed a wisp of hair away from her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered to his mouth and back, "Well, yes, you see there's very little...proof." His hand felt so nice next to her cheek.

"I have all the proof I need." His lips found hers, and the feeling which bloomed in Lisa was anything but logical.