Inflatable Couch Conversation

"Marshall," came the voice that followed the sound of the squeaky door opening. Marshall, however, didn't hear any of the noise that was going on. He had a pair of big headphones on, listening to the blaring rock music as he worked on a new gadget Sloane had asked him to make.

"Marshall!" Sydney Bristow had walked over to him, tapped him on the back and watched as he twirled around on his stool and removed the headphones, resting them around his neck.

"Whoa, uh, sorry Miss Bristow, I didn't hear you come in."

For a moment Marshall's heart soared, the only reason he ever got visitors was when somebody needed something or they had been asked to come and be briefed on Op. Tech by Sloane. People very rarely came to see him voluntarily. And it was even more rare for a woman to come and see him. Especially one he found as beautiful as Sydney. He wondered what she came to see him for.

She smiled sweetly at him,"That's okay. I was wondering if you had any aspirin. My head is killing me."

"Oh, right, uh, aspirin." His heart sank a little. So she did come to get something from him. But a visit was a visit. And since she wasn't sent to him by anyone, it made it better. He took off the headphones as he jumped off his stool and walked over to a steel locker in the corner of the room.

"Hmm... Where is it? Here." He pulled out a red and white tackle box and brought it back over to the table he had been working at. He set it down and opened it revealing an assortment of bottles and boxes inside. He saw Sydney's eyes go wide at the sight. "Sometimes I think I'm, uh, a little bit of a hypochondriac." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Sydney looked over his shoulder as he searched for what he was looking for. "I think you're just well prepared." She smiled.

He picked up a box "Band-Aids? No." He laughed nervously and sat the box down and continued his search. "Eye drops. Thermometer. Lotion. Gauze. Cough drops."

"Marshall, could I have one of those too?" Sydney asked.

He spun around on his stool facing her holding up the package. "Oh, yeah, of course." Sydney took the pack from him and opened it. "You know, those are, uh, menthol flavored. I've got...let's see..." He turned and rummaged a little more through the box. "I've got strawberry and lemon as well. You know, just in case you want a variety." He held up a package in each hand.

"No, this is fine. Thanks, Marshall." She opened the drop and popped it in her mouth.

Marshall spun back around and continued his search. " Cough syrup. Whoa, condoms?" He gulped, "Where did those come from? I certainly have no use for them..." He blushed and quickly hid them in the bottom of the box. "Oh, here it is. Aspirin." He triumphantly held the bottle up and turned around to hand it to Sydney. Sydney, however, had turned her back on him.

Thinking he had done something that offended her, Marshall asked, "Miss Bristow, are you okay? What I mean is, um, did I do something?"

"No, Marshall...it's..."EhhTchoo!" She sneezed into her hand.

Marshall looked at her, a little stunned at what had just happened. "There's some, uh, Kleenex on the table over there. I'll just get you some." He jumped down for what seemed like the hundredth time since Sydney had came in and ran over to the desk. He plucked out a few tissues and began to walk back to her when the thought hit him that she might need more than two. He ran back over the desk, sliding a bit on the slick floor, grabbed the box and handed it to Sydney who still had her hand up to her face.

She quickly pulled a tissue out of the box. " Thanks, Marshall- Ehhchishh!"

Marshall noticed that she was blushing beneath the tissue as she blew her nose. What he couldn't see however was how he was blushing even more. Marshall shyly looked away when he realized he was staring. "You know, I'll understand if you want to be alone and all. All you have to do is be like, uh, 'Marshall, go away', and I'll leave. Don't know where I'll go, but I'll, um, go some place and leave you alone."

"No, that's not necessary, really." She looked around the room. "I would really like a place to sit down for a minute though."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I've got just the thing. Hang on." He ran back over to the locker and took out a bundle of purple plastic. "Inflatable couch. Great for taking naps--Not, not that I take naps while on the job or anything...just on by break.

He unrolled the couch and opened the air valve. Then he began to blow into the plastic, very slowly creating the recognizable form of a couch. Soon, and amazingly without passing out, Marshall got the couch inflated. He let out a long, satisfying breath. He stepped back to admire his work. He motioned to the couch,"Phew, okay, sit down."

Sydney went over to the couch and sat. "Thanks, Marshall; I really appreciate all this."

"Do...do you want anything? I mean, I've got some candy canes, you know 'cause it's December and Christmas time and all, and, uh, that's what people buy. Y'know?" Or, are you cold? I've got a big quilt in the locker here that my mom made. Or..."

"Marshall, slow down. No, I don't want a candy cane. And no, I'm not too cold." She patted a spot next to her, "Come sit down next to me; I need someone to talk to."

"Oh, um, sure." Marshall sat down next to her.

There were a couple of awkward moments where they both sat silently. Marshall playing with his hands in his lap and Sydney looking around at the Christmas decorations in the room. Finally, the silence was broken:

"You don't have your Christmas tree lights on." Sydney noticed.

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that." He reached over and plugged the strand into the wall. The colored lights came on and immediately created a warm pleasant feeling in contrast to the barren and cold metallic standard SD-6 walls.

Sydney's eyes caught sight of paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, sparkling tinsel around the doorframes, and the tiniest bunch of mistletoe hanging above his chair.

Marshall watched as she looked around, "You know, I was, uh, trying to brighten the place up the best I could. Make it all festive and such."

"I think it's wonderful." Sydney turned to face him and smiled when she noticed he was wearing a red and green plaid shirt. "So, Marshall, what are you doing for Christmas?"

"Well, I'm probably going to do what I always do. Have dinner with my mom. Oh, and then we watch It's a Wonderful Life. You know the 'Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings' part? Yeah, I-I love that."

"I like that part to."She took a deep breath and let it out slowly sensing a sneeze building in her nose. "EhhKutchh! ehhKetchoo! ehhKutchoo!"

By the time she was done, Marshall had jumped up and was standing in front of her, tissues at the ready. She gratefully took them and blew her nose. Just then there was a knock on the door before it was opened.

"Hey, Syd, are you done in here?" It was Dixon. "We have a meeting with Sloane in five minutes. You to, Marshall." He nodded recognition to Marshall as Sydney stood up and straightened her skirt.

"Yeah, We'll be there in a minute." She said as Dixon left and closed the door.

Marshall went over to his desk and began collecting the things he would need for the meeting. "You are going to love some of these things I've been working on. They're super swank."

"You know, Marshall, I've been thinking." Sydney said watching him wrap one of his devices in bubble wrap then carefully set it in a briefcase.

He turned around and looked at her, "What Miss Bristow?"

"Well, I was going to see the Nutcracker with one of my friends but he can't make it because he's going to see his parents in Chicago. So, I have an extra ticket. If you have nothing better to do, Marshall, maybe you would like to come."

He swallowed. "Yeah, the Nutcracker, that's the one with the dancing and ballet, right?"

"That's the one."

"When do you, uh, have tickets?"

"Saturday night."

"Saturday. Sounds good." He gave her an uncertain smile.

"Great. I really don't want to go alone." She looked at her watch. "I'm going to start heading over to the conference room; I need to talk to my dad about something. So, I'll let them know that you're coming." She picked up her bag.

"Does your head feel better?" He asked as she reached for the door handle.

"Yeah, thanks."

"You didn't even take any aspirin. Do you still want some, cause you, uh, you can take the bottle, just in case, you know." He grabbed it off the table and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Marshall." She put the bottle in her bag. "I appreciate it." She opened the door and started stepped out. "I'll see you in a minute." Then shut the door behind her.

Marshall stood where he was for a moment still not believing if what just happened had actually happened to him or not. After convincing himself that it had he gathered his case and hurried out the door to the conference room.

He tried to take his seat as silently as he could; hoping that Sloane, who had his back to him, wouldn't notice his tardiness. Luckily his seat was close to the door. He thought he had come in unnoticed when he looked to his right and saw Jack glaring at him.

"Sorry I'm late." He whispered.

Sloane turned from the monitor he was using and replaced his laser pointer back in his pocket. "Marshall, you're just in time. You're up."

Marshall stood up and swallowed, relieved that Sloane hadn't chewed him out. "Hi. How is everyone?" He paused and waited for a response, when he didn't get one he cleared his throat and continued. "Do you know that polar bears can't be detected by infrared photography? Their fur emits no heat. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I thought maybe it would be applicable to something I..."

"Get on with it, Marshall." Sloane barked.

"Right, well we can learn a lot from our friend, Mr. Polar Bear..." He continued with his presentation not caring whether or not he got scolded by Sloane or an annoyed look from Jack anymore.

Once he was done he took his seat and Sloane took his place up front once again. He looked across the table at Sydney expecting her usual approving smile. She didn't disappoint him.

However, her smile wasn't very long and soon she had to close her eyes as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table to steady herself. "EhhKutchh! ehhKetchoo!"

Marshall looked at Jack when he noticed he was shifting uncomfortably in his chair a concerned look across his face; he quickly looked away when Jack stared back. Sloane stopped what he was saying until she was done.

"Bless you, Syd." Dixon said as Sloane nodded and continued where he left off.

After what seemed like an eternity, the mission briefing was over. Sydney and Marshall stayed behind while everyone else filed out.

"Hey, Miss Bristow."

"Hey, Marshall." She said gathering her papers.

"So, I was thinking about Saturday night. I still can't believe you want to go with me."

"Of course I do, you're my friend." She stood up and opened the door. "Merry Christmas, Marshall." She blew him a kiss. "See you Saturday."

He was left alone. "Merry Christmas, Sydney."