<USS Avalon> "The Morning After"

 The Morning After 

*by Sussanna Jameson and Patrick McEntire*

The world exploded in tearing wheels of colour and noise. Moaning softly, 
Anna rolled over to snuggle against Mac's back. A grating, rumbling growl 
filled her ears and she moaned again. Pulling herself up on one elbow, she 
glared at Mac and whispered, "You snore, baby."

Anna brushed hair out of his eyes and kissed him lightly before rolling out 
of bed. The impact of her feet on the floor sent shooting pains all through 
her body, concentrating in her temples. Sudden nausia dragged her to the 
bathroom where she retched but wasn't sick. Curling up in a ball, she shook 
her head very slowly.

"Never again, oh Dear God, never again." Crawling into the lounge, she 
curled up again with her mother's blanket around her, hugging one of Mac's 
pillows.

The hum of the engines was like a throbbing in her head and suddenly it felt 
very crowded in there. Too many people packed onto a tiny ship, all 
screaming in her head. Dragging herself up again, Anna punched an order in 
the replicator and a hot toddy materialised on the pad. She sniffed the 
spiced synthahol, sipping it tentatively, the hot liquid warming the inside 
of her throat as it settled in her stomach. Why more alcohol was the best 
cure for a hangover she had no idea, but it worked, or at least it soothed, 
so frankly she didn't care. Returning to her nest of the sofa, Anna picked 
up her well-thumbed copy of Bloody Bones by Laurall K Hamilton and dived in.

Mac rose and went into the kitchen, replicating crackers and seven-up and 
bringing them to her, along with a single red rose and two asprin. 
"Breakfast?" he asked, handing it to her and smiling as he sat down 
carefully next to her, making sure not to jolt her more than necessary.

"Handsome man," she murmured lovingly as she extracted an arm from the 
blanket and took the rose, sniffing it carefully. "Why are you so nice to 
me?"

"Hmm..." Mac pretended to think hard about it. "I've got it. It's because 
you're so damned cute!" he laughed, kissed her upon the cheek, then jumped 
up. "Are you gonna be okay while I go work out, or do you need me to stay 
here with you?"

Anna jokingly glared at him. "And how the hell can you be so cheery after 
being drunk? Please tell me you at least have a headache."

"Drunk! Honey, I've drank more than that at little league games...when I was 
playing them," he winked, then kissed her again. "I can fake a headache if 
you need me to, though."

"No!" Anna flinched at the sound of her own voice. "Please, no. A man with a 
headache? I don't think there's anything more pitiful in the known universe 
except maybe a man with the flu. Just..." She made shooing motions toward 
the door. "Go, be healthy, don't break anything that belongs to me okay?" 
Winking, she kissed him and brushed the side of his face with her fingers.

Mac laughed, returning her kiss with one last one of his own before hurrying 
out to the holodeck to work out.

"I think all 'morning people' should be shot on sight," Anna murmured at his 
retreating back. Snuggling down again, she grinned at the rose and sipped 
gently at the seven-up. "All except that one."

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