Getting Even

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 8th October 2008

Characters: Jerroll, Edele
Description: Edele gets even with Jerroll.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 2 of Turn 4
Notes: Silver Sails

He marched back into the kitchen, holding his plate. "Very funny."

Edele cast a sidelong glance, though it did not linger. She sniffed and leaned over to continue scrubbing at a pot she had finished using. All the other pots were empty, waiting to be scraped and scrubbed. The smells of the dinner she had cooked lingered and an empty plate gave evidence to her already having eaten. "Did you tell the crew a joke?"

"You burned my food." He dropped the plate on the counter.

"Oh?" Edele didn't even look at the plate but continued to scrub mightily as if the stains would never come out. "What an unfortunate incident.

"Yes, so very coincidental. I expect to have a not coincidentally burned plate of food delivered to my cabin within the candlemark," he said.

"I'm afraid that there isn't any food left." Edele motioned to the dirty pots that were waiting to be cleaned. "All gone. All eaten, except for that plate. I guess you'll just have to make do."

"We have plenty of food." He folded his arms. "If you're too stubborn to make me a decent meal, then you can scrub the deck after you clean up in here."

"I'll do no such thing." Edele turned flashing eyes toward the first make. "If you want a decent meal, you'll learn to apologise for the stupid things you do."

His eyebrow went up. "I thought I already apologized."

"You didn't mean it." Edele turned back to the dishes and began to scrub with a vengeance. "It was all a game to you. You gave no thought to how I would feel."

"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't know you would get so upset." And he hadn't expected her to hold a grudge.

"You didn't _think_ is what you didn't do." Edele suddenly realised that she was shaking and she moved back, hand fumbling for a chair. Why _was_ she so upset anyway? No harm had come to them, so what was her problem? Another question she didn't have an answer for.

His arms stayed crossed, though his eyes were concerned. "And what would you like me to do about it?"

For a few moments, Edele remained silent. Then, she looked up at the pots before letting her gaze slide over to the First Mate. "Well, for starters, you could do the dishes."

"I'll do the dishes, but then you have to cook me something decent," he said. "You can be mad at me all you want, but you still need to do your duty, and that includes feeding me."

"You need to learn how to respect others more." Edele turned away from him, arms crossed over her chest, stubborn, perhaps, to a fault.

"Says the woman who won't feed her First Mate."

"Respect begets respect." Edele quipped with a sniff.

"Yes, but there is also rank and duty," Jerroll said. "If a Weyr thinks they got slighted in a tithe, they don't stop defending a Hold, do they? No, they do their duty. We all have to do our duty on this ship, or everything falls apart."

"You didn't do your duty by me." Edele shook her head. "You tricked me."

"I kept you safe and got you back to the ship. That was my duty. Besides, I already apologized."

"You have apologised, but you have yet to admit that you were in the wrong." Edele pointed out. Apology was one thing, but it lacked sincerity. "All you have done is say you're sorry and that you didn't realise I would get upset. Not that you were wrong to do it in the first place, but that you didn't realise the reaction I would have to it."

If he kept trying to explain himself, this was just going to get worse. "Fine, then. I was wrong to pretend I didn't know where we were so I could spend more time with you."

Edele opened her mouth to chide him again, to reprimand him that attitude said just as much as words did when the last part of his sentence sunk in. "Time with me? You did all that just to spend more time with me?"

"Yeah." He shrugged.

"You know, there are other, nicer ways of doing that." Edele sighed and reached up to push a strand of hair out of her eyes. Men. Why did they have to be so infuriating?

Jerroll shrugged again. "It's what occurred to me at the moment."

"Well it wasn't funny." Edele wasn't sure whether to be pleased or infuriated at him anymore. "If you want to spend time with me, all you have to do is say so. Next time, use that brain of yours. I know you have one!"

"I agree it wasn't funny. And burning my food wasn't funny, so now we're even."

"I wouldn't have burned your food if you hadn't done that in the first place." Edele stated with a punctuated sniff.

"I'm well aware of that," he said. "Now, do you think we can move on?"

"I don't know." Edele leveled her gaze at him. "Are you truly sorry or are you just saying that so I won't be mad at you anymore?"

"I mean it."

Edele stared at him, as if trying to see into his mind to be absolutely sure. Finally, she let out a sigh and stood up straight. "Give me half a candlemark and I'll get something together for you."

His face broke into a smile. "Thank you. And I promise, no more getting lost in the jungle ... unless you _want_ to get lost." Jerroll winked.

Edele couldn't hold back the smile that crept over her lips. "I'll be certain to let you know."

Last updated on the October 11th 2008

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Getting Even