Love at First Bight

Chapter Three

On her walk to the Braynow Gaston, Emi figured out how to send a request. Within a minute they replied, welcoming her.

First Officer Alex Parisi waited for her at the hatch and greeted her with a smile.

“Permission to come aboard?” She hoped she didn’t sound too snarky, but her experience with the Kendall Kant’s crew had left a bad taste in her mouth.

He actually laughed. “Permission granted, Doctor. Please follow me.”

She relaxed a little. Parisi talked with her on the walk to the common area.

And talked.

And talked.

If she’d been paying attention, she would have known his detailed life history by the time they finished their walk through the ship. Emi, however, tuned him out after two minutes, and was relieved to see the other two men waiting. Both stood when she walked through the door.

They were all handsome, better looking in real life without the totally serious mugshot expressions they wore in their ID pictures.

Okay, that’s another plus. They’re cute and polite. While not as stacked with rock-hard muscles as the military guys, they were all in great shape.

“How formal will we be in terms of titles?” Emi asked.

The men shrugged and exchanged slightly puzzled looks. “What do you mean?” Captain John Tarrence asked.

“Any problem calling me Emi?”

“Whatever you want us to call you. You can call us by our first names, if you want,” he said.

Apparently her “physical condition” wasn’t an issue because they never brought it up. After a few minutes of pleasantries and getting acquainted, their questions started. It was obvious the three men had backgrounds in science and research, because they were the ones doing all the asking. After ten minutes, Emi held up her hands.

“Time out, boys. My turn.”

The three men actually blushed and sat back. “Sorry,” the captain apologized. “We get carried away sometimes.” They were nice, if not geeky. That wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe they were wild boys inside. At least they had more personality than the other crew. “Where’s my quarters? Well, if I choose your ship.” They exchanged a nervous look. The captain spoke. “Your quarters?”

“I’d like to see what my quarters would look like.” They didn’t respond. She’d finally managed to shut them up.

Wow.

“Um, there are only three crew cabins,” the captain eventually admitted.

“Then you’re one short, aren’t you?” Now the men were uncomfortable, shifting in their seats, their collective anxious energy almost overwhelming her.

“Well,” Captain John said, “we assumed you’d sleep with someone every night¯your choice who, of course,” he quickly added. “And not even for sex if you weren’t in the mood. We thought if you needed to be alone you could use the cabin of whoever was on watch that night.”

“No cabin of my own?” They were losing points quick.

“I can talk to the retrofit crew about it if it’s an issue, but we had another lab installed on the crew level for additional research capabilities. I’m sure we can accommodate you, if that’s what you really need.”

The way he said it made her think he thought she wouldn’t really need it. More points taken away.

“Well, let’s see the crew quarters anyway.” All three men walked with her, trying to make increasingly nervous small talk along the way. While neat and organized, each cabin looked and felt distinctive, with personal effects visible and displayed, and the beds slightly larger than those on the other ship.

Time to get this out of the way. She turned to the men. “You said it’d be my choice of where to sleep every night.” All three men nodded, but that’s all they were offering.

“What about the duty roster? Any ‘regulations?’” She used finger quotes around the word.

The men exchanged a confused look. The captain spoke. “Well, we all have normal crew duties, and so would you. Maintenance, systems checks, that kind of stuff. And of course you’d be the medical officer. But…um…the extracurricular stuff, that’s all up to you. As long as you’re…you know…fair.”

She softened her voice “Look, I’m as uncomfortable about this as you guys obviously are, so let’s just cut to the chase. Is there anything I need to know about ahead of time? Any special…predilections?” The men frowned in confusion. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m not a wild and crazy girl. None of you will want me to dress like a dominatrix or swing from the ceiling or anything?”

They quickly shook their heads, their collective blush deepening.

The captain appeared to be the group spokesman. “No, we’re all pretty boring. I mean, we’re not sex fiends or anything.” He forced a nervous smile. “I think the term is ‘vanilla.’” Let’s push the envelope. “So, like, guy on top? Blow jobs? Hand jobs?” She wasn’t excessively experienced. Daniel had been her second lover, and she considered herself an open-minded, but fairly conventional girl. She wasn’t adverse to the idea of experimenting a little if she trusted someone, although she hadn’t had any opportunity to experiment. She did want to know up front if they had any expectations she wouldn’t be able or willing to meet.

She didn’t know men were capable of blushing that deeply. They didn’t reply.

“I’m not a sex fiend either, guys, don’t worry. I just need to know these things up front so I can make an informed decision. I’m assuming you’ll all be willing to not leave me hanging, right?” The men nodded, relieved not to have to say anything.

They made their way back to the common area. While she wasn’t sure she wanted to pick them, she would definitely pick them over the first crew of personality-deprived macho men.

She shook hands with them. “Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate your time. I still have another crew I need to talk to. I wanted to talk to all three crews before I make my preliminary decision about spending more time with any of them.” Tarrence cleared his throat. “Mind if I ask who?”

“I’ve already interviewed the crew of the Kendall Kant.” At that their faces fell as if anticipating defeat. “Oh.” She felt bad. While she knew it wasn’t professional, she added,

“I’m pretty confident they are off my list. Personality conflicts.” The men looked hopeful again. “Oh,” Tarrence said. “Who’s the other crew?”

“The Tamora Bight.”

All three men looked shocked, then burst out laughing.

“What?” she asked.

Tarrence’s confident grin pissed her off, but she hoped she hid it.

Their sudden, smirky self-confidence rubbed her the wrong way.

“I thought we had some real competition. I didn’t know it was the TB.” The men laughed again, as if enjoying an inside joke. Then it hit her they were making fun of the ship’s initials, comparing it to a long-eradicated communicable disease.

“What’s wrong with the Tamora Bight’s crew?” This was the first wide grin Tarrence and the others had displayed,

expressing genuine amusement and relief. “Well,” Tarrence said,

“they’re experienced, to say the least.” All three men snickered in an impressively irritating way.

“How about saying more than the least?” The men exchanged a knowing look. “They’re pretty much the polar opposite of the Kendall Kant’s crew. Captain Lucio and his boys¯” how he said that also pissed her off, “¯have a lot of service duty…under their belts.” The men snickered again, and Captain Tarrence personally escorted her to the main hatch.

He took her hands and held them for a moment. There was no doubt he was good-looking. “Thank you, Emi. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I can safely speak for my men¯” how he emphasized that managed to piss her off again, “—when I say I hope we’ll be spending more time with you soon.” He gently squeezed her hands in a tenderly seductive way. For a second, she forgot his arrogant and assumptive attitude.

Five years with these three wouldn’t be so bad. Not bad at all.

“Thank you.” She returned to the gangway after the hatch slid shut behind her. She sent Graymard another message.

Braynow Gaston, maybe. I’m not taking them off the list yet, need more time with them.

Send.

Emi looked up the Tamora Bight and sent them a message. A moment later she received their welcoming reply.

What was it about this crew the others didn’t like, other than their apparent bad-boy image? She slowed her pace as she walked down the gangway and studied their personnel files again. There weren’t many long-past details on them, just recent history. No details on how they obtained their demerits. Technically, she supposed they could be for anything from murder and mayhem to not docking straight.

Couldn’t be too serious or they wouldn’t have been assigned a larger ship than the other two crews, right? They weren’t in jail or the brig or whatever the frak they called it in the DSMC, so most likely they hadn’t broken any laws either.

She hoped.

When Emi arrived at the Tamora Bight’s hatch, she waited for an intercom greeting and didn’t receive one. She found the recessed panel in the hatchway and pushed a glowing button. A long, irritating moment later, she received a reply.

“Yeah?”

Okay, they lose points for not being prepared. “Hi, I’m Dr.

Hypatia¯”

“Oh, shit! You’re here?” There was a moment of desperate, garbled whispers, and the man came back on. “Sorry! Uh, I didn’t realize you meant right now. Hold on.” She tried to hold on to her irritation and couldn’t. There was something desperately sweet about the man’s voice. She wondered which crewman it belonged to.

The intercom crackled again, as if someone had accidentally hit the button. “…I freaking told him to clean that mess up, goddammit!

She’s here! Now!”

“Caph, you’re leaning on the intercom,” another, deeper male voice calmly said.

“Crap¯” It went silent again.

The second voice bore a totally different timbre and demeanor than the first. Calm, steady, in charge. Something about it immediately stirred her.

Caph must be…she consulted her hand-held. First Officer Caphis Bates.

She wondered if the other voice belonged to Captain Aaron Lucio.

Emi couldn’t help but smile. She was never one for great formalities, despite her training. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d be miserable on the Kendall Kant. The Braynow Gaston’s

crew…maybe they just came off a little wrong on first impression.

These guys, however, were already living down to their reputation.

After another moment, the intercom crackled to life and the second voice spoke again. The man’s smooth, calm tone not only soothed her, but touched someplace deep inside her. She’d like to get to know the owner of that voice.

“Sorry about that, Doctor. I’ll let you in. Just follow the main corridor all the way to the very end and take the last doorway on the right. That will put you in the secondary corridor. One of us will catch up with you there.”

“Okay.” The hatch slid open. She immediately realized this ship was of a different breed than the two medium-heavies she’d been on.

Its larger size translated into a more complex layout.

I hope they have a freaking map for this monster.

The corridor stretched nearly two hundred yards by her best guess.

From the external size of the vessel, she knew that it wasn’t extending the ship’s full length. She took the last doorway on the right, and another fifty yards down a running man emerged from a doorway and jogged to meet her. As he drew closer in the dim light she realized he was the mate, Ford Caliban.

When he caught up with her, he held up one finger, leaned over with his hands on his knees, and caught his breath. When he could speak he straightened and apologized. “Sorry, Doc. I was down in cargo. We’re not very well organized right now. We’re in the middle of inventory.”

“Is this a bad time? I could come back¯”

“No, no. As long as you don’t hold the mess against us.” His infectious smile couldn’t be denied a reply, and his blue eyes looked even bluer in real life. He wasn’t the second voice she’d heard. That must mean it had been Captain Lucio.

“No problem. I understand you’re working…” She knew who he was, but she wanted him to introduce himself.

He correctly interpreted her hesitation. “Oh! Sorry. Ford Caliban.

Mate.” He stuck out a hand and shook, hesitating before letting go of hers. “Do you prefer Doctor Hypatia, or is Doc okay?”

“Emi’s fine.”

She loved his smile. “Great. Emi. Just call me Ford, we’re pretty casual around here. Come on—this way.” He stood a few inches taller than her, on the slim side of the spectrum but athletic, naturally muscled, and he moved like a cat. She couldn’t help but watch his tight ass as he walked in front of her, leading the way.

Ford led the way through the vast ship. She was surprised at how easy he was to talk to despite his obvious nerves. It took them over five minutes to reach the crew common area. While it didn’t look like a bomb had gone off in the past five minutes, it did look like one had exploded within the past few days. It was a mess. Arranged chaos the men apparently understood, not a random disaster like they couldn’t pick up after themselves.

Ford looked nervous. “Seriously, I mean, we’re not neat freaks or anything, but this is so not normally us. Aar decided to go all captain on our asses last week when we lost his stupid spare razors. Now me and Caph have to do a full inventory and get it all tagged and logged.

This is one of the neat areas right now. The rest is worse.” Nervous energy washed off him. He was terrified she would refuse them on this basis.

She offered him a kind smile. “It’s okay, seriously. I understand.

Hey, this is what dry dock is for, right?” He relaxed a little, and was about to speak when another man bolted into the room, hanging onto the door frame as he rounded the corner. Caphis Bates.

“Holy crap, Caph. Show a little dignity,” Ford scolded.

“Sorry, man.” Caphis blushed, something that looked incredibly sweet and endearing on the large man’s face. “Hiya.” He walked forward, hand extended. “Caphis Bates, call me Caph. First officer.” His green eyes dazzled her. How could they be real? He was cute,

taller and beefier than Ford, but while a large man, he still wasn’t a muscle-bound maniac like the grunts had been.

She shook his gigantic hand. While his practically swallowed hers he was gentle, as if afraid to hurt her.

“Call me Emi.”

He smiled. She felt a little thump in her chest in response.

Definitely a cutie.

“Cool. That’s pretty.” He looked at Ford. “Have you seen Aaron?

He said he’d meet us down here.”

Ford shook his head. “No, haven’t seen him yet.” Caph scooped an armful of supplies off the table and moved them to the floor. “I hope Ford told you we’re not normally like this.” Emi laughed. “Yes, he did. It’s okay, please don’t worry.” Caph also relaxed, reassured by her tone. The three of them sat.

Ford and Caph nervously looked at each other.

The men spoke together. “Well.” They looked at each other. “Go ahead,” they parroted, then both grimaced.

She laughed. “That’s interesting.”

Ford glared at Caph as if daring him to speak. “That happens a lot.

I hope it doesn’t freak you out. Aaron calls us the twins.” Caph agreed. “When Aar’s in a foul mood, there’s been days he’s made us take turns speaking so it doesn’t happen. If it’s not our ‘day,’

we can’t talk around him.”

Emi tried to hold back her amused giggle. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

The men stared at each other for a moment as if deciding who should speak. Ford looked at her. “Any questions?”

“Don’t you think we should wait for the captain?” Both men looked nervous again. “Yeah,” Caph said. “Let me see if I can track him down. He should have been here by now.” He stood and walked to an intercom on the wall and paged him. Caph also had a smooth, fluid gait, a natural motion. His broad chest tapered into a narrow waist and tight ass she wouldn’t mind…

Yum.

“Hey, Aaron,” he paged. “We’re in the commons. Mind dropping what you’re doing? You’re keeping the doc waiting.” He winked at her. She knew she didn’t imagine the heat flare deep in her belly.

She hadn’t had any reaction even remotely like this with the other two crews.

After a long moment, the captain replied. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Go ahead and start without me.” The deep-timbred voice of before.

Caph shrugged. “Okay, Cap.” He rejoined them at the table. “He’s the boss.”

Maybe asking them some questions would help put them at ease.

“How did you go from Merchant Marines to exploration?” The men exchanged a glance. Apparently Ford got to do the honors. “We crew together, been together for years. We won’t split up. We decided we wanted to do something different, and the DSMC’s been after us for a while to transfer over. We’ve been hauling for a lot of years now. We thought maybe one last big run like this, before we settle down for short hops, it wouldn’t be bad. Put some money in the bank, you know?”

“Short hops?”

The men exchanged another glance, but Caph answered. “Yeah, moon runs are minis, day trips. Short hops are anything in this sol-sys.

Medium hops are to the range two sol-sys regions. Long hops are any sol-sys beyond that, and anything outside the galaxy.”

“What did you do a lot of in the Merchant Marines?” Ford’s turn. “Mostly long hops. Lot of military outposts, frontier stations. Some mediums doing larger transport loads.” They talked for several minutes, the men parroting each other a few more times before Lucio entered the room. She felt him before she saw him, his brooding, unwelcoming glare throwing a nearly visible pall before him.

Ford and Caph fell silent when he entered. He walked to Emi and

extended his hand. “Dr. Hypatia, I’m Captain Aaron Lucio.” He spoke quietly, the same voice as before, but softer.

She couldn’t quite figure him out, was having trouble reading him. They shook hands. “Call me Emi.” He nodded. Instead of sitting with them he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him. He was handsome, taller than Ford but shorter than Caph, his cautious brown eyes not giving much away.

His brown hair with just a sprinkle of grey at the temples lent itself to the overall “leave me alone” air he exuded.

Wow. How could a guy who looks that good come off so chilly?

Ford and Caph exchanged glances, and then Caph spoke. “Um, so.

What else?” he asked her.

She looked at Lucio. “You don’t want to join us, Captain?”

“I’m okay. I can hear just fine.” That was it.

All righty then. She focused on Ford and Caph. As of now, if it was just these two, she’d say yes in a heartbeat. They were sweet and funny and definitely welcoming, albeit apparently very nervous.

“You’re the third crew I’ve interviewed today. As I told the other two crews, I wanted to talk to all three if or before I make any tentative decisions.”

Lucio spoke up. “Which other crews?” He wouldn’t join them but wanted to speak up? Annoying. He made no apologies for asking about the others.

“The Kendall Kant and the Braynow Gaston,” she replied.

She watched immediate disappointment paint Ford and Caph’s faces. Before she could reassure them, Lucio spoke again. “Doctor, come with me, please.”

“What¯”

“Please.” He pushed off from the wall and walked to the doorway he’d entered, waiting for her.

Casting a look at Ford and Caph, Emi set off after Lucio.

Emi had to hurry to catch up with him as his long legs quickly carried him down the corridor.

“Listen, Captain, I don’t know what’s going on, but¯” He stopped and turned so fast she nearly ran into him. He kept his voice low, probably so it wouldn’t carry down to the other men, who hadn’t followed. “Those two guys are my crew. I’m responsible for them,” he said. “We’ve been together a lot of years, and I make no apologies.”

That confused the hell out of her. “I didn’t ask for any apologies¯”

“Let’s get this over with before they fall any harder for you than they already have.”

“What?” But he’d turned and strode away again. She raced to catch up.

“I’m sick of people coming in here and getting those two guys’

damn hopes up and then turning us down. I’m tired of the other fucking crews laughing behind our backs because they’re not men enough to say it to our faces, and I’m tired of a bunch of pissant wannabes who don’t have a fraction of our experience thinking we’re some sort of goddamn joke.”

Now she stopped, frustrated in addition to being totally confused.

“Will you please tell me what the fuck you’re talking about, Captain Lucio?”

Her tone must have taken him by surprise. He stopped and turned, walking back to her. “You’re the tenth one they’ve sent to us. Another five rejects after you, they’ll deny us a mission and we’re stuck on short hops for the rest of our careers. Let’s get this over with, quit wasting your time and mine.”

“Why are you so sure I’ll reject you?” He’d started walking again.

She caught up, trying to match his strides.

She was the tenth? What the hell was wrong with them? She still had difficulty reading him, whether it was his anger or her confusion,

she didn’t know.

He stopped short in front of a door. “Because so far we haven’t found anyone with an open mind, that’s why.”

“Uh, yeah, like that clears things up. Just say what you mean, Captain.”

“You want to see the crew quarters?” She mirrored his aggressive tone, hoping that might distract him.

“Sure. Show me.”

He opened the door and she followed him inside. The cabin was much larger than quarters in the other two ships. In the middle of the room lay a very large bed¯more like a pallet¯on the floor, large enough for several people to comfortably stretch out with room to spare. Four cabinets and sets of drawers lined the walls. She didn’t know whose cabin this was, but there were some personal effects placed here and there. It was neat and tidy overall.

“So what’s the problem, Captain?” she asked. “I don’t see a problem with this.”

Lucio smirked, crossed his arms and leaned against one of the cabinets. “This is the crew quarters.” She studied his face, then looked around again. When her eyes fell on his he still wore the same smirk. He nodded. “Yes. The only crew cabin.”

Now speechless, she looked around again. It took her a moment to decide what to say. “The only crew cabin?” He nodded. “Ready to leave, Doctor? I can escort you out the back way so you don’t have to face the twins again. I’m getting good at making excuses for you people.”

Emi hated being pushed around, and she’d be damned if she’d let handsome Lucio make her decision for her. She leaned against the opposite wall and crossed her arms, mirroring his chilly pose. “Why?” His eyebrow arched. “Why?”

“Did you not hear me, or did you not understand me, Captain?” He studied her, perhaps re-evaluating her. “Maybe you’re the one not understanding. This is it. We all share a bed.” She forced herself to maintain her chilly composure. “I get that.

I’m not stupid.”

Impasse. They silently stared at each other for several minutes.

She waited for him to speak.

“That doesn’t bother you?” he finally asked, genuinely curious.

Maybe a breakthrough in his chilly wall.

“Considering I’m supposed to sleep with all three of you, should it? I’m a doctor. It’s not like I’m freaked out over a naked body.” Especially not three hunky guys…

One corner of Lucio’s mouth curled up in the slightest of smiles.

Emi fought the urge to walk over and kiss him. He was handsome, and combined with that voice, it was a downright dangerous combination to her reserve.

“My crew and I are very close, Doctor. We always have been.” She played dirty and tried to read him again, this time succeeding as he’d relaxed a little.

“So you’re all bisexual. The problem is what, exactly?” The problem was she was surprisingly and uncomfortably damp between her legs at the thought of seeing all three of these guys¯even obnoxious Lucio¯naked in the same bed.

He slowly walked over and braced his arms against the wall on either side of her, leaning close, his face inches from hers. She couldn’t say she didn’t want this. Something about him drew her in.

“The other women ran, calling us a bunch of perverts.” His low voice stirred her. She really wanted to grab his shirt and pull him to her, feel his mouth crush hers. “You sure you wouldn’t want the brainy boys or the brawny boys instead of the bi-boys?” Emi refused to back down. “I get the feeling you’re trying to keep me off this ship, Captain.”

His mouth hovered inches from hers, his eyes piercing her. “I won’t see my men get hurt because of whatever games you want to play.”

She hoped her tone sounded as serious as his. “I don’t play games, Captain Lucio. I also don’t believe in pre-judging people, a lesson you could learn. I was having a great time talking to Caph and Ford.

If anyone scuttles my assignment to this vessel, it would be your attitude, not them. I don’t have a problem sharing a bed with those two guys. You, however, have the personality of a fucking porcupine, asshole.”

His breath caught—she heard it. She’d finally knocked him off-balance mentally.

She pursued the advantage. “Maybe you’re used to dealing with some less than average women, Captain Lucio, but I graduated first in my class. Frankly, I don’t take too kindly to someone telling me I should run away just because he’s scared of getting a little too emotionally close to someone.”

Both his eyebrows shot up. That told her something. He was worried for his men, but a part of him felt scared, too. He’d been hurt before.

One more shot across his bow, to see if it was really worth spending more time with them. She liked Ford and Caph, but if this guy didn’t do an about-face on attitude, she’d walk no matter how cute he was.

She leaned forward, challenging his close personal space, and whispered, “If you want to quit dealing with girls and deal with a woman for a change, let me know.” It was soooo tempting to kiss him, but she needed to see if he would trust her a little.

Thank the gods for her psychology degree.

He did. Lucio leaned in the rest of the way and kissed her. She enjoyed every second of it. There was something…off…about it, like he wasn’t quite real, like her sense of taste and smell was messed up or something, but his lips on hers distracted her. She pushed away from the wall into his body, wrapping her arms around him.

Wow! Daniel never kissed her like that.

When he stepped back a moment later, a shocked expression on his face, she knew she’d won the first battle with him.

“You ready to start over with me, Captain Lucio?” Stunned, he nodded.

She stuck out her hand. “Dr. Emilia Hypatia. Please feel free to call me Emi.”

He took her hand and didn’t let go. “Captain Aaron Lucio. Please call me Aaron.”

They stood there like that for several minutes, their eyes locked.

She softly asked, “Why are you afraid to let me in?”

“I told you. I don’t want my men to get their hopes up again just to get shit on.”

“Do you honestly think I’m like that?” She wouldn’t let go of his hand. The extra contact helped give her a little edge in reading him.

“No.”

“You don’t have to tell me today why you’re afraid.”

“I am devoted to my crew. If you join us, you’ll be part of my crew, and I’ll be responsible for your life.”

“That’s very admirable.”

“It’s my job.”

“It’s bullshit. There’s more.”

“Do you have to know that right now?”

“I told you, you don’t have to tell me today. But if I’m trusting my life to you, then you’d better give a little trust in return.” Then she felt it, his pain. How he carefully concealed it she’d never know, but it was there, and deep. Grief. He’d lost someone. That meant she would need to do some digging.

“Not today, Emi. Please. One day, but not today.”

“Fair enough.” Emi wanted to test the lesson he’d just learned.

“You don’t want to fall in love with someone just to have them leave in a few years.”

“I don’t want my men hurt.”

“You feel responsible for them.”

“I am responsible for them.”

“And if I join your crew? Or will you decide to refuse my assignment?”

His hand tightened a little around hers. “I would be responsible for your life, too.”

“You didn’t answer my other question.” He studied her, apparently not used to dealing with someone who didn’t give a rat’s ass about their crew sleeping arrangements. “I wouldn’t refuse your assignment. Not right now, anyway.” He pulled her to him and kissed her again. This time she relaxed her body into his and enjoyed it. When he lifted his lips from hers, he didn’t release her. “I’m sorry,” he apologized.

She nodded. “It’s okay. I understand this has been rough on you guys. Just don’t lump me in with everyone else.”

“Okay.” He let her go and started to lead her from the room.

“Oh, sorry, was I supposed to ask for permission to come aboard or to kiss you or something?” she snarked.

When he turned and saw her smile, he finally smiled. It changed his brooding face into a very handsome sight. “Permission granted, Doc.”