#ed mercer fanfiction

[geeky-politics-46]

Anyone interested in me adding The Orville to the list of things I will write for? Specifically for Ed & Gordon. I love Seth so much.

Is fanfiction for The Orville a thing? It must be. I haven't seen any, really. Although I haven't looked much.

I'm planning on giving my Masterlist a makeover soon with a subsection listing characters/fandoms I am currently open for requests/asks on now that I'm working on Peaky Blinders in addition to Marvel stuff. So I'm open to ideas on what you'd like me to add.

[imaginesbymonika]

Bleeding out.

Pairing: Ed Mercer x fem!Reader

Plot: Ed says something stupid, that's it.

Warning: mentions of someone getting shot, a bit of angst but mainly fluff, comedy, Gordon being Gordon

A/N: I don't see anyone write for them, so I am going to do that!

“She’s okay.”, Kelly, who is standing a couple of meters away from her ex-husband watches his hectic movements closely:”Isn’t that what matters?” Her eyes follow him, as he walks from one side of the room to the other in what appears to be a circle: „God. Ed! Will you please calm down!”

At that, he rapidly spins around:”Calm do-.”, he lets out: ”I was supposed to be the one in there right now, not her! Kelly, that weapon was pointed straight at me.” Gordon wants to add something but is quickly cut off when the doors to one of the treatment rooms opens up. He only nods his head towards its direction and Ed instantly storms past the nurses into the room.

“Were you completely out of your mind?!”, Ed doesn’t ask her. It sounds more like an accusation. His nostrils are flaring while he clenches his fist. Meanwhile Y/N who is putting on her shoes only rolls her eyes at her captain’s behavior. But once they land on Kelly and Gordon a find smile emerges on her lips.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

“Yeah, believe it or not… I am.” He tilts his head. “But I am not going to apologize for what I did.”, Y/N shakes her head and attempts to stand up from the table. However when the pain in her leg strikes through her body like a bolt of lightning she lets out a thick groan. But before her body collapses Ed quickly moves forward to grab her by her arms: ”Please. Take it easy.”, he mumbles. He really wants to sound tough and intimidating, but the concern is lying thickly on top of his words. He sighs: ”Let’s just get you out of here, okay?”

“Wait, wait, wait. My jacket.”

“Malloy!”, Ed declares loudly before walking his friend towards the exit. Gordon blinks and glances at Kelly in disbelief: ”Seri- Seriously? What am I? A servant?” “Just take it!”, Kelly simply answers, before handing him the blue fabric:”Do it for Y/N.” The blonde woman watches how he softly whines before ultimately snatching it out of her hands. “Yeah, yeah.”

——

“So…do you think that he will tell her?” Kelly asks, while she sits down on the opposite side of the Helmsman in the cafeteria.

“What are you talking about?”, Alara, who is taking a sip of her drink furrows her forehead at the question. Gordon leans back in his chair:”That our captain is madly in love with Y/N?”, he scoffs and wipes his mouth:”I highly doubt it. His pride won’t allow it.” At the sound of two familiar voices approaching he quickly turns his head to the left: ”Would you look at that.“

Y/N who is walking toward their table smiles widely once her eyes fall on her jacket:" Oh my! Thank you so much, Gordon." She instantly puts it back on before turning to Ed, who has sat down next to Alara. He is aimlessly poking around his food with a fork. "How do you feel?", Kelly asks, giving her friend a compassionate smile. Y/N's gaze remains on Ed for a few seconds longer than probably necessary before she looks to the blonde woman:" No, yeah. I'm fine."

"Yeah, right.", Ed scoffs, and brings his fork up to his mouth. "The captain is right, Y/N. You should get some rest, and try not to get shot again. You're lucky that the bullet only hit your leg. Next time, it-." And as if Ed got punched straight into the face he looks at Gordon in pure revulson:" Next time? No, no, no. There is not going to be a next time." He turns to stare at Y/N:" Promise me right now, that you are never ever going to jump in front of me or anyone ever again."

The young woman chuckles and brings her cup of coffee up to her lips:" Yeah, right." Her voice is dry as she sits down. However when she makes eye contact with Ed again she blinks in surprise:" Oh, you were serious about that."

"Of course I am serious about that, promise me." "No, I am not going to promise you that!"

Kelly and Gordon exchange a quick look. "I will not have this conversation again!", Y/N shakes her head before quickly getting up again from her spot at the table. "Are you serious?!", Ed's voice gets more high-pitched with each passing second, and he clears his throat when he realizes how almost everyone around them is watching them. „Whatever.“, Y/N only says and walks away.

——

"You could have died! Don't you get that?!", Ed asks Y/N as he follows her down the long corridor. For the last weeks, he has done nothing but that: follow Y/N around the ship and (unsuccessfully) ask her over and over again to promise him to not put herself in harm's way ever again.

Isaac and John both turn around at the sound of their voices. "I do get that, God!", Y/N responds, annoyance clear in her voice:" Now, please stop asking me that!" "Promise me, and I am off your back for good!“

"I can feel a certain tension.", Isaac states, observing the bickering friends. "Y/N got shot because she jumped in front of the captain and now he tries to make her pledge to him, that she won't do that again.", John clarifies, and Isaac nods in understanding. "I mean, to be fair, you couldn't promise that either." "What was that?", Ed blinks and slightly tilts his head.

Y/N sits down on her chair and begins to type something into the computer:" Are you actually trying to tell me, that if I was being shot you could just watch that without wanting to interfere in any way?" A chuckle leaves her lips, almost as if she knows his response. Ed rolls his eyes:" There are a million ways to prevent that from happening without me having to jump in front of the weapon!"

The young woman swirls around in her chair:" Okay, imagine this: it's you, me, and a krill with a blaster. There is no way you can save me without sacrificing yourself. You tell me, that you could stop yourself from-." "Of course, I could!"

Y/N stares at him, while her confident smile quickly fades away: "W-What?" She closes her mouth and swallows thickly, before rapidly standing up again. "No, wait. I-.", but before any actual apology can leave his lips, Y/N has already walked out of the room.

——

"You said what?", Kelly almost chokes on her drink. "I didn't mean it.", Ed says, while rubbing the bridge of his nose: „Obviously." Gordon, who puts his knife down only shakes his head:" Tell that to her, not us. She's the one who will be left behind to bleed out, should you two ever get attacked by a member of the Krill."

"I never said anything about letting her bleed out, Gordon.", Ed stares at him in irritation: „Gordon, I-." "But he's right.", Kelly cuts him off, managing to draw Ed's attention towards her. He sighs:" I want to, but she won't talk to me."

---

"Y/N, please."

Gordon and John both turn around. Kelly who is standing near Claire and Isaac quickly makes her way over to join her two friends at the bar. Y/N's leg seems to be entirely healed and the captain struggles to keep up with her:" I am so sorry, but you know I didn't mean what I said." "Oh really?", she unexpectedly stops walking and turns around, which makes Ed nearly bump into her: "Because you answered my question super fast."

Ed opens his mouth to respond, but when no words leave his lips he closes it again. He looks defeated and tired. Y/N clenches her jaw. However, when she notices how the others are watching them from the others side of the room she walks over to them. A shiver runs down Gordon's spine at the sight of her forced smile. "Well that's creepy.", John simply whispers. "How are you, guys.", Y/N states and sits down next to him on the empty bar stool:" My friends. Who actually care about me."

Ed runs a hand down his face:" I was just trying to protect you!" "Yeah, right.", the y/h/c haired woman lets out a high pitched fake laugh:" I do not need protection, after all I am not a child!" She turns the chair around to fully face him again:" And by the way, saying that you would let me bleed out is really not a nice thing to say, now is it."

"For the record, I am just worried about you, we- wait did you just say 'bleed out' ?", He looks past her towards the other men:" Gordon, did you tell her that? I swear to-."

"You two, will you please stop this nonsense?!“, Clair declares, her voice loud and stern:" This has been going on for over two weeks now and it is exhausting for everyone on this ship! Y/N can't you see that Captain Mercer is doing all of this because he is clearly in love with you? And Ed, didn’t you realize by now that Y/N only jumped in front of you because she is in love with you as well?"

Ed who has his index finger still near Y/N's face gradually lowers his hand, while Y/N's jaw drops. She watches in silence how all her friends leave the bar, and for a few moments, neither of them says anything before Y/N finally looks at Ed again, who clears his throat.

"Are you-." "Are you-." "I mean, yes-." "Yeah, I-."

Y/N raises her hand:" Wait, you go first." Ed sits down next to her:" Listen, I- I care about you, okay? That's why I got scared. If you somehow die while protecting me, I- I don't know how to survive that." Y/N sighs as her facial features soften. She looks down and takes his hand in hers:" Well, for what it's worth I care about you too." And without waiting for a second longer, Ed pulls her into a soft kiss. "After everything that has happened, it would be embarrassing now if you didn't."

"I still won't promise you that." "I figured that you would say that.", he answers, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear:" Guess, I will have to look out for you a bit more." "Yeah… I guess so."

[silver-cleo-fanfiction]

The Orville (TV)

Fanfiction links below, with summary, works with smut are indicated

A small change

Ed and Kelly never got divorced, why? Because Ed listened to Kelly and noticed she wasn’t her usual self in the days before he found her in bed with Darulio. It turns out that Retepsian pheromones have a negative reaction for humans. Something that doctors have only just discovered when Kelly Grayson-Mercer is admitted with odd symptoms.

Important: Read the beginning notes of each chapter for any potential content warnings, this fic covers aspects of: death, hospitalisation, poisoning

[beatleshalloween]

The Beatles on the Orville!!!

[commandergraysonorville]

Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: The Orville (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kelly Grayson & Ed Mercer (The Orville), Kelly Grayson/Ed Mercer Characters: Kelly Grayson (The Orville), Admiral Halsey (The Orville), Admiral Perry (The Orville), Ed Mercer (The Orville) Additional Tags: Prequel, Romance, Post-Divorce, Anniversary Summary:

Kelly Grayson deals with her first wedding anniversary after the divorce.

[i-dreamthedream]

Getting to know you

Fandom: The Orville

Pairing: Kelly Grayson/Ed Mercer

Raiting: General Audiences

Status: 1/1 chapter - 2,5k words

Summary:

“We have reviewed the options and we believed that she would be as safe as she can be aboard the Orville. There is no reason to inform the galaxy of who she is and that way her location will keep changing. The ship will be given extra security personnel and weaponry in case you are indeed targeted.” Ozawa looked inside the other room again, where Ed was intently listening to his daughter. “Right now what this little girl needs the most is to be with her family.”

Sequel to Rhapsody in blue

[anulight]

This is my crossover with the Beatles and the TV series The Orville. I am working on a second chapter, but I confess this story has been a bit of a struggle for me. However, I do hope you enjoy this first chapter.

[galaxy-girl-fiction]

Captain Ed Mercer x Female Reader - An Introduction - Fluff

Summary - You’re a medical Trainee on The Orville and are introduced to Ed Mercer out of the blue. 

Contents - No smut, all fluff and cuteness. One swear word.

It had been a few months now since you joined the crew of The Orville, training alongside Doctor Claire Finn in the medical facility. She was as lovely as you had expected, and so incredible in her skill and teachings. You had learnt a lot from her in such a short space of time, moreso than you probably would have under anyone else's supervision. Meeting some of the crew, you had realised they were all genuine people, and you constantly kept your fingers crossed that you passed the medical training. You knew deep down this ship was where you were meant to be.

You were pottering about the Sick Bay, just keeping equipment in check and making sure everything was in working order. Today had been quite slow as regards to patients, so you had some down time to familiarise yourself with things. Claire had taken a break to see to her sons, so you enjoyed the peace while it was present. Gazing out of the window you watched the stars whizz by in the black atmosphere. How was this even real? What a view! The sound of the automatic doors opening broke you from your trance, you turned to see Captain Ed Mercer tumble into the room. He grabbed his arm as he leant on one of the beds, his face twisted with discomfort.

"I need medical attention" he whinged "Where's Doctor Finn?" He asked, desperation in his broken voice.

"She's away right now captain" you rushed to his side, helping him to position himself upright on the bed "Let me take a look" you gently eased his hand away which gripped his wound. The sleeve of his blue uniform had been torn to shreds, and a deep wound left on his skin which bled rapidly.

"Shit" you whispered, the word caused Ed to blink in slight panic "do you know what you're doing?" He asked, realising he was unsure of your name "are you a student?" 

Was he unsure of your ability?

Ed watched your face, reading your eyes as you remained calm, but the ideas in your mind processed rapidly as you tried to figure out the best procedure for this situation. How had he not have remembered you? You were absolutely beautiful, your eyes glimmered and your skin looked soft to touch "arghhh!" He yelled as you pressed the soaked cloth against his exposed wound.

"Just clearing up some of the mess Captain" you smiled as you gazed into his mysterious dark eyes. You had admired Ed since you boarded the ship, how handsome and charming he was. But never had the opportunity to meet him formally, you had known your introductions would happen if you passed your probation. But now the meeting happened prematurely.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He laughed nervously, watching you pull out the Dermoscanner. You hadn't used this unsupervised yet, but had seen Claire use it enough to know its purpose and how it functioned.  Activating the scanner, you ran the beam of light across his wound. Your breathing slowed down with the anticipation, until you felt as though your lungs had stopped altogether, yet your heart pulsed in your ears. You couldn't mess this up, not on the Captain! But it wasn't too long until the surface had fully healed. You took a step back and nodded, admiring your handiwork. Your first solo treatment, and on Ed Mercer no less.

"Wow" Ed smiled as he rubbed the now healed area of his skin "you really know what you're doing. Have you passed probation yet?"

"Nope" you shook your head as you spoke "not long to go though!" You smirked impishly "perhaps you could leave me a gleaming review, Captain"

Ed wasn't sure if it was the way you smiled in this moment, or the cheeky tone of your voice. Whatever it was, it sent a delightful chill up his spine. How had he not seen you before? Your eyes bore into his, and you both felt the sparks flying between you. You drew closer together, like magnets unable to resist one another. The sensation of his sweet breath on your lips made you crave his kiss, should you have such feelings for the Captain? Your lips barely touched when the door opened, causing you to both break the moment. You jumped backwards and fumbled with the device still in your grip, while Ed stood up from his seated position.

"What's going on?" Doctor Finn asked frantically "Captain, is something wrong" she noticed the tear in his sleeve, her brows knotted with confusion.

"Not anymore" Ed smiled and gestured toward you "this excellent medical professional saw to me. I suggest you keep her around Doctor" he caught your eye and winked. You felt your stomach flutter and took your gaze away from his, listening to his footsteps leave the Sick Bay you wondered if Claire had seen how close you had become to the Captain in that moment.

"Well I see" Claire smirked, a knowing look in her eye. She took the Dermoscanner from your grip "Have I taught you how to use one of these unsupervised yet?" She laughed, placing it back into its holder. Your cheeks flushed pink, unable to think of anything to say in this situation "I apologise Doctor Finn, I used my initiative in the moment and..."

Claire interrupted "it's fine! Honestly. I'm impressed if anything" she smiled warmly towards you "I haven't checked the medical files today, can you please update them for me?"

With a nod you took yourself to the desk and took a seat, adjusting yourself comfortably in front of the computer screen. You tapped the pad to awaken the screen from its resting mode and a message popped up. It was from Captain Ed Mercer -

"Thankyou for helping me today. Meet me in the Mess Hall at 8pm for a drink"

Biting on your lip you felt your cheeks flush warm again. 8pm it was.

[jimothystu]

Ed x Alara - “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Fandom: The Orville Requested by an anon: “Could you do an Ed x Alara imagine? Maybe Alara comes to Ed's rescue and he sees her in a different light. And Alara realizes that while others are intimidated by her strength, Ed loves her all the more for it.” Word count: 1.6k Warnings/notes: This is my official first imagine for The Orville - I hope it’s okay! Feedback is always appreciated. If you have any requests for the characters of The Orville (ships or reader-inserts) send them in!

Ed lay on the slab of wood his captors called a bed, thoughts of the events leading up to that moment playing in his mind. The Orville had been exploring a binary star system when they made contact with a species called the Klin. The Klin had invited members of The Orville to come down to the surface, but as the shuttle was on its way to the surface, warcrafts had shot them down. The attackers were of a small faction of the Klin who were xenophobic and opposed all contact with people who weren’t from their world. Dozens of them had surrounded the crashed shuttle with high-yield guns and they demanded that whoever was in charge to go with them or else they would kill them all.

Ed was brought to a small building on the far side of a mountain. He was asked many questions: who he was, where he came from, what he was doing on their planet, that sort of thing. He had told them the truth about everything until they asked for details about the Orville’s tactical systems. He had had a feeling that they were going to want details about the ship in order to launch an attack. He didn’t say anything else after that, and he payed the price. They used what felt like steel-toed boots to kick him in the ribs and they used their large fists to punch him in the face. It had hurt like hell, but Ed remained silent and after a while his captors grew frustrated and locked him into a small room with a bed and a small light, but no windows.

He had been there for what felt like forever. In reality it was nearly two days, but of course he didn’t know that. They’d barely fed him during that time, nor did they give him much to drink, so his head was more than a little fuzzy.

He heard voices from down the hall. They sounded alarmed. He lifted his head and listened. Then, he heard weapon’s fire and he sat up quickly, wincing at the pain in his chest.

“Captain?” a faint voice called.

At first, he thought he was imagining it, then he heard it again and stood up. Ed quickly went to the door and banged on the hard metal, ignoring the pain he was in. “In here!”

“Captain?” Alara’s voice asked through the door.

Ed sighed out in relief and smiled. “Alara, thank God. Mind opening this jar of pickles for me?”

“With pleasure, sir. Stand back,” she said.

Ed moved to the far end of the room. “Okay! Go for it!”

The sound of metal creaking filled the room and within a few seconds the door and the wall around it started to tip inwards, falling to the ground with a loud bang.

Alara stepped over the door. “Captain, are you all right?”

Ed nodded, but as he took a step forward a sharp pain shot through his chest and he gasped, bending at the waist and clutching his side. Alara rushed to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, trying not to let her worry for him be heard.

“They hit my ribs pretty hard,” he said through gritted teeth. “I think they’re broken.”

“Claire will fix you up when we get back to the Orville.” She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and carefully helped him out.

Gordon came running down the hall with several other security officers with him. “Ed! You okay?”

“Just a few broken ribs, nothing I can’t handle,” he replied with a forced smile.

Gordon nodded. “The shuttle’s waiting outside. We should go before any more of these people get here.”

Ed nodded and stumbled alongside Alara. “What happened? How did you guys find me?” he asked.

“It wasn’t easy,” Gordon said as they stepped outside.

Ed squinted against the bright sun.

“This faction has found a way to mask all of their bio-signs,” Gordon continued, “And they have a dampening field all around their buildings that hides them from all scans. It’s like they’re cloaked to all technology. Nothing can detect it.”

“After they took you,” Alara said, “we managed to repair the shuttle, but we had no way of knowing where they took you. We had tried to track them after they left, but our scanners didn’t work and they had gone through a very dense forest so we couldn’t find them on foot.”

They got onto the shuttle and Alara helped ease Ed onto a chair. He nodded his thanks to her.

“We returned to the Orville and tried to locate your bio-signs,” she said, sitting in the seat across from him. “Whatever dampening field they use masked your bio-sign as well.”

Gordon took the shuttle up and they started to make their way back to the Orville.

Ed nodded slowly. “So, how did you find me?”

“Alara found you,” Gordon said. “It was quite impressive, really.”

Alara blushed softly and shrugged modestly. “I figured that if we couldn’t use the sensors, we’d have to use our brains to figure out where you were. So, I spoke to the Klin officials and looked at topographical maps of the continent we landed on. I ruled out some locations based on various factors: being too close to the Klin, being too open, that sort of thing. So, we narrowed it down to a few spots. The Klin officials helped us by deploying some ships to monitor the areas we were searching, in case someone tried to shoot us down again. Their buildings aren’t cloaked to the naked eye, so we had to go to the locations and search around on foot.”

“Sorry for not coming sooner,” Gordon said, glancing back at his friend. “But it took us a while to find you. Kelly and Bortus were in the other shuttle looking, as well.”

Ed smiled slightly. “Thank you. All of you.” As he said it, though, his eyes were only focused on Alara.

--

Ed rang the doorbell to Alara’s quarters and bit his lip. Would it be weird for him to show up at her quarters so late? It was too late for him to reconsider, though. The bell was rung.

The door opened, revealing Alara in her pyjamas. “Captain,” she said, sounding a little surprised.

“Hey, Alara, I know it’s late. Can I come in?” he asked.

Alara nodded and stepped aside. “Is there something wrong? Did Claire let you leave sickbay?”

“Yeah, I’m as good as new,” he assured her. “I just… wanted to thank you again. What you did was truly impressive, and I can’t thank you enough.”

Alara smiled slightly. “Just doing my job, sir.”

Ed laughed lightly. “You say that, but I don’t know of anyone else who exceeds the job expectations as much as you do.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said with a modest smile.

“Oh please, we’re off duty, you don’t have to call me sir.”

“All right… captain?”

He smiled. “Ed’s fine.”

Alara nodded slightly. “Would you like a drink?”

“That would be great,” Ed said.

Alara went to her synthesizer and got two drinks. She handed one to him.

“Thanks,” he said and held up his glass, pleased that she knew what he liked. “To you and your brilliant mind.”

Alara tapped her glass against his and they both took a drink.

“You know, Alara, I was thinking,” Ed said slowly. He didn’t want to come off as sounding inappropriate or anything, but he felt he need to tell her how he was feeling. “I really appreciate and admire your strength. Mental and physical.”

“You do?” she asked, not quite knowing where he was going with that.

Ed nodded and took another drink. “It’s remarkable what you’re capable of doing. It’s like… it’s like you have super-powers.”

Alara laughed softly. “I don’t think anyone’s thought of me as having super-powers before.”

“Well, I do.” He looked at her sincerely. “You’re brave beyond belief, you’re stronger than literally anyone I’ve ever met, and you have more stamina than most of the crew combined. It’s just… you’re incredible.”

Alara looked down at her drink, trying to stop the eruption of butterflies in her stomach. “Captain—Ed, I don’t know what to say.”

Ed decided to just blurt out what he was feeling and be done with it: “Look, I know it might not be recommended by Union policies, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

At that, she looked up quickly, eyes wide. “You… you are?”

He nodded, trying to remain cool and collected. “I’m in constant awe of you, Alara. Not just your strength, but your kindness, your resilience, your sense of humour, all of it. I know you think most guys are intimidated by you, but I’m not.”

“You’re not?” she asked quietly.

“Not even in the slightest,” he replied. “Okay, well, maybe if I ever make you mad.”

Alara smiled. “What about Kelly?”

“She’s moved on, and I have too. I’ll always love her, but not in the way that I once did, and not in the way that I want to love you. If you don’t feel the same way just let me know and we can forget I ever said anything.”

“I…” Alara bit her lip. Could this really be happening? It felt too good to be true. She took in a breath and decided to risk it. “I think I feel the same way.”

A wide grin spread across Ed’s face. “So, would it be all right if I kissed you?”

“It wouldn’t be breaking any Union policies, would it?” she asked, though she was already leaning her head up closer to his.

When Ed spoke, his breath fanned Alara’s face. “If it is, screw it.”

“That’s not a very captain-y thing for you to say,” she murmured.

Ed’s smile reached his eyes. He cupped her face with his free hand and pressed his lips against hers.

If you enjoy my writing, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi

[storiesforallfandoms]

cautious ~ ed mercer;the orville

word count: 3051

request?: no

description: the orville saves a beautiful woman from certain danger, and ed is reminded of all the times he fell for a woman who wasn’t what she seemed to be

pairing: ed mercer x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two)

Ed was careful as he pried open the door of the shuttle they found floating in space. A scan on the shuttle indicated a trace of life, but their requests for contact kept being denied. Isaac found that the shuttle seemed to be out of power, aimlessly floating through space, just waiting for trouble to come.

Ed took it upon himself to investigate. If there was someone on the shuttle who needed help and they passed by on the off chance that this was some Krill attack, he would never forgive himself.

The minute he opened the door, a deathly chill hit Ed. The shuttle was dark and silent. Ed feared he was already too late until he literally stumbled across the body of a female human. She was laying on the ground, her body curled up and a thin layer of frost starting to cover her.

Ed knelt down next to her to scan her. She was still alive, but just barley.

“Mercer to bridge,” he said into his communication device. “I found a human female. She’s alive, but we definitely got to her in time. Prepare a bed in sick bay for her.”

“Aye sir,” came Kelly’s voice in response.

Ed carefully slipped one arm under the woman’s shoulders and another under her legs. He picked her up and held her close to him. Th moment her cold body met his warm one, her eyes opened just a little.

“Hey, don’t worry,” he told her. “I got you.”

~~~~~~

Some time later, Ed and Kelly walked into sick bay to check on their latest passenger. After warming her up, Dr. Finn did a quick check up to make sure everything was okay. She was finishing up on the check up when the two commanders of the ship walked in.

“How is she?” Kelly asked.

“Everything seems alright,” Dr. Finn responded. “Just a bit cold and in need of water, but I’ve fixed both of that already.”

Ed looked at the woman, her blanket still around her shoulders and a glass of water in her hand. “How do you feel?”

“Like I almost froze to death,” she responded. “I feel like my fingertips are permanently frozen.”

“That feeling will go away eventually,” Dr. Finn assured her. “I’ll leave you three.”

The woman stood from the bed, holding her blanket tightly around her shoulders. He couldn’t explain why, but Ed just had the urge to reach out and hold her. She wasn’t as frail looking now, but he still wanted to protect her, or at least to help her feel her fingertips again.

“Thank you so much for saving me, Captain,” she said. “I really thought I was a goner there.”

“I did too when I first found you,” Ed said. “Why were you out there on your own? And what happened to your shuttle?”

“I’m an explorer. I travel alone, with clearance of course. My shuttle ran out of fuel a while back. I was hoping to find another ship that could help me, or drift to a nearby planet where I could refuel. Unfortunately, I had no such luck.”

“How long were you floating out there?” Kelly asked.

“Oh, I have no idea. After the power went down it didn’t take long for the cold to seep in. I managed to fight it for a little while, but soon enough it got so cold I could barley function. I had little hope that anyone would save me, so I laid down on the floor of my shuttle and basically waited to die.” She shivered, trying to forget that doomed feeling she had when the shuttle first ran out of fuel. “What happened to my shuttle? Were you guys able to save it, too?”

“After we got you here, we pulled your shuttle in and gave it to our engineers to fix,” Ed explained. “They’ll refuel it as well as repair any damages it may have. Hopefully they can give you a bigger fuel tank while they’re at it.”

The woman chuckled. “Well, thank you both so much for everything. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

“You almost froze to death out there. I think repayment is the last thing on our minds,” Kelly said. “We’re just glad you’re okay. And you’re free to stay with us as long as you need. I don’t think I’d feel right sending you off on your shuttle so soon after what happened to you.”

“Same here,” Ed agreed. “We’ll have a room set up for you whenever you’re ready to leave sick bay.”

“I’m ready to leave now,” she said. “I’m ready to lay in an actual soft, warm bed and sleep for about 12 hours.”

~~~~~~

After settling away in her room and sleeping for the exact time she said she would, Ed went to her room to check in on her and offer her a tour of The Orville. He told her that he figured she should become acquainted with the place if she was going to be staying a while, but the truth was that he just wanted to spend some time with her. He wished he could say he wanted to spend time with her because there was something about her that drew him to her, but the truth was he just thought she was extremely beautiful. As superficial as it was, he just wanted to be in her presence for any length of time.

He led her onto the bridge where his crew were hard at work as always. “And this is the bridge where the magic happens. Or well, most of the magic anyways. The most important magic I guess.”

(Y/N) looked around the bridge with astonishment. “Holy shit, this is amazing! You just...you guys sit here all the time and get to see...everything?”

“Basically, yeah.” Ed turned to his crew to add, “Everyone, this is (Y/N). She’s going to be staying with us for a while. (Y/N), you’ve already met Kelly. This is Lieutenants Gordon Malloy and Alara Kitan, Lieutenant Commanders Bortus and John LaMarr, and resident robot Isaac.”

Everyone said their hellos to (Y/N) as she awkwardly waved at them.

“Thank you all so much for saving me out there,” she said. “And for being so welcoming of me staying on the ship.”

“I think it’s pretty cool to have an explorer on the ship,” Gordon said. “You don’t have to be tied down to going to one specific place or doing meaningless tasks when you don’t want to. It just sounds so freeing.”

“It’s probably the best experience of my life,” (Y/N) agreed. “I love being out there, but it’ll be nice to be around people for a while. I’ve been traveling by myself for I don’t know how long now, and you start to go a bit crazy with no one to talk to.”

“I guess it’s a good thing you were saved by a Union ship then,” Kelly said. “There’s plenty of people around here to make you wish you were on your own again.”

(Y/N) chuckled. Ed tried to fight back the smile that tugged at his lips when he heard the sound, but it was impossible. It was like listening to the most beautiful music he had ever heard.

“Hey, are you going to be joining us for the formal gathering tonight?” Alana asked (Y/N). “All of us on board are going to dress up all fancy and eat fancy foods and drink way too much. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“Sounds like fun,” (Y/N) said, although there was some skepticism in her voice.

“It’s just a way for everyone to unwind after some of our more trying travels,” Ed explained. “We rarely get to let our hair down and dress up, so we’re doing this formal type of party. It was Kelly’s idea I think.”

“Nope, not at all,” Kelly quipped.

“But anyways, you should join us if you feel up for it,” Ed continued, ignoring his Commander. “It’ll be more fun than you think it is.”

(Y/N) looked around the room of hopeful faces looking back at her. She sighed and shrugged. “Why the hell not? I haven’t been to any sort of gathering in years, and haven’t drank in just as long. Sounds like it’ll be a blast.”

Ed tried not to let his excitement show too much.

~~~~~~

Hours later, everyone was gathered in what was usually the lunch room. They were all dressed in their finest clothes and already had started drinking maybe too much of the alcohol provided.

Ed was stood with Gordon and John as they talked about something regarding some comedy show they had been watching. He was trying his best to act like he was listening, but his attention kept flickering to the door, waiting for (Y/N) to arrive. He was wondering when she was going to show up, or if she was going to show up at all. He’d understand if she didn’t; a room full of people she didn’t know after the experience she had would be more than nerve wracking for anyone. But he was really hoping she would.

“Hey,” Dr. Finn said, cutting into the conversation and effectively bringing Ed’s attention back to the group. “How’s our new passenger doing?”

“She’s great as far as I can tell,” Ed replied. “She got lots of rest, toured the ship today. She said she was going to come tonight but I don’t think she’s here yet.”

“Oh come on, you know she’s not here,” Gordon said. “You’ve been staring at the door all night.”

Ed tried to defend himself, to say that wasn’t true, but all that came out was a couple scoffs and a stuttered response. Gordon and John shared a look that said Ed was just proving their point.

“Don’t act like you weren’t because we’ve seen you looking at the door,” John said. “And at one point the two of us were just insulting you and you were agreeing with us.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a little infatuated with (Y/N),” Gordon added. “I mean, she’s gorgeous. And you did save her life after all. I’m sure even the slightest bit of attraction came from that.”

Dr. Finn scoffed. “You men really think women swoon over everything you do. Just because Ed saved her doesn’t mean she’s automatically attracted to him. You need to build a connection with someone first, to really get to know them before you jump into anything with them.”

“Ed’s really not the best with that,” Gordon muttered to John, which earned him an elbow to the ribs from the latter.

It dawned on Ed then that his helmsman was right; he really didn’t have the best track record when it came to getting to know someone before jumping into something with them. Besides his relationship with Kelly (although even that was a bad example considering how it ended) he had rushed into something with every woman who showed him the slightest bit of attraction and it always blew up in his face. Especially his previous two romantic attractions, Pria and Janel/Teleya.

Ed felt himself getting inside of his own head. He didn’t want to think things would be like that with (Y/N) - especially when he didn’t even know if she had any attraction to him - but it was hard not to focus on the awful endings with the last women he had been with. He barely knew (Y/N), he had no idea if she was entirely a good person or if she had some sort of plan up her sleeve to screw over Ed and the Orville.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone asked him, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

He looked up to see that the “she” in question was (Y/N), who had walked into the party wearing a beautiful champagne colored, sparkling dress. It hugged her body around her torso, then came down in a more loose way around her legs, giving her more room to move. Her hair was pulled back into a braid, which just showed off her beautiful face even more. All eyes were on her as she moved through the party.

Suddenly, all the worries Ed had had vanished from his mind.

(Y/N) walked up to him, Gordon, John, Dr. Finn, and Alana, who was the one who had asked about how (Y/N) looked.

“I feel like I dressed a bit too fancy,” she said. “I stick out like a sore thumb.”

“You really don’t at all,” John said. “You look incredible.”

(Y/N) smile was just as bright as her dress. “Thank you. Alana helped me pick it out. I’m no good with formal wear, especially after wearing basically the same clothes for months on end.”

“I just had a look through some human fashion magazines and picked something I thought would look nice on her,” Alana said. “You guys can say it, I’m a genius.”

Ed felt like he couldn’t say much of anything. He was speechless at the sight of her.

(Y/N) looked at Ed, causing him to quickly snap out of his trance. “You look really nice, Captain.”

“T-Thanks. So - uh - so do you.”

The other crew members shared a look before finding an excuse to dismiss themselves, leaving Ed and (Y/N) alone.

The two spent most of the night together, just talking and sharing stories about their travels. Every so often, (Y/N) would be pulled into a conversation with someone else, but it would never last long. Soon enough, she’d be back in front of Ed and starting another story of another place she had been.

When the night was coming to an end, Ed offered to walk (Y/N) back to her room. Her arm was laced through his as he guided her through the halls. She’d stumble every so often and curse under her breath, which would always cause Ed to laugh.

“I don’t know why I told Alana I’d wear heels with this dress,” (Y/N) said. “I knew I was going to be drinking. Heels and drinking just don’t mix.”

“I guess they complete the outfit or something? I don’t know, I was never good with women’s fashion. I used to let Kelly do whatever she wanted and I’d tell her she looked fine.”

(Y/N) gave Ed a look he had seen numerous times before since embarking on his adventures with The Orville. “Is it hard to work alongside your ex-wife? Especially after...what she did?”

Ed shrugged. “It used to be, but we’ve gotten so used to one another now and we’ve both tried our hands at dating. We realized that it was never going to work and it’s better that we stay...whatever we are now I guess.”

“Well, I have to applaud the two of you. If I was working along side my ex-husband I don’t think I’d have any sanity left.”

“You were married?”

Her face suddenly changed. She turned away from Ed and looked down the hallway, a vacant look on her face. As if her natural reaction was to shut down when the question was asked.

“Not married, but I was engaged,” she said. “He, uh, he left me at the alter. Said he got cold feet, but I found out it was actually because he started banging a  Regorian a few weeks earlier.”

Ed cringed. “Yeah, I know that feeling. Except I was already a few years into my marriage.”

“Yeah, I guess I dodged a bullet with that one.”

They came up outside her room door. Ed was reluctant to let go of her arm, but he knew he couldn’t keep her there all night, no matter how much he wanted to.

(Y/N) turned to look at him, her hand still lingering on his arm. “You don’t deserve that, Ed. You’re such an amazing guy, you deserve someone who is going to give you their all.”

“You deserve someone who is going to give you their all, too.”

They looked at each other for a long time, their comments just hanging in the air. Finally, (Y/N) reached up to cup Ed’s cheek and kissed him passionately. Ed immediately melted into the kiss at first, wrapping his arms around the small of (Y/N)’s back and holding her as closely to him as he possibly could. He felt completely happy and blissful. He never wanted the moment to end.

But then he remembered what Gordon and Dr. Finn had said earlier, and his memories of Pria and Teleya came rushing back. He pulled away a little too quickly, which resulted in a concerned look from (Y/N).

“I-I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me. That was wrong of me to do, I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” Ed said. “Please, I wanted to do that too. It’s just...I’ve only been with two people since Kelly and I got divorced and neither of those relationships ended well. Like one of them was trying to kidnap me and my crew to sell us to some futuristic pawn shop and the other was a Krill in disguise trying to kill me.”

(Y/N) scrunched up her nose. “Oh, yeah neither of those sound very good at all.”

“No, they weren’t. So, you have to forgive me, but I am a bit cautious right now when it comes to new people and starting a relationship. Not that I think you’re anything like that, but that’s the thing, I really don’t know you all that well yet.”

She nodded. “No, I completely understand. Honestly, you’re also the first person I’ve been attracted to since the whole thing with my ex-fiancé, so this is all new to me, too.”

Ed took one of her hands in his and gave it a slight squeeze. “I don’t know how long you plan on staying with us, but if you’d be willing to give me just a little time, I would love to try to start something with you eventually.”

(Y/N) smiled and pulled Ed towards her. She kissed his cheek lightly before pulling away from him. “I’ll wait as long as you need.”

[auxiliarydetective]

Whump-/Flufftober - Day 7: Meddling Friends

“Oh gosh, I barely remember my graduation dance”, Gordon said, letting his head fall back.

“Because you were drunk?”, John smirked.

Gordon hesitated for a few seconds, letting everyone know the answer. Ed, Kelly, John, Gordon and Raevyn sat gathered around a table, sharing drinks and exchanging stories.

“... Yes. A little. Someone spiked the punch.”

“‘Someone’?”, Raevyn repeated. “Don’t you think you might, coincidentally, by any chance, have been involved?”

“He was”, Kelly confirmed.

“I saw him do it”, Ed said, taking a sip of his drink.

“Anyway”, Gordon continued. “All I remember is that I tried flirting with lots of people and failed. Every. Single. Time.”

“Shocker”, Kelly said sarcastically. “Flirting while drunk is a stupid idea, even for you.

John put his arm around Raevyn’s shoulders and shook her encouragingly. “But I bet Raven here had a date to the dance, got asked by at least four other people and still remembers everything”, he said.

The others agreed almost immediately. Raevyn sighed and shook her head.

“I’ll have to disappoint you.”

Ed choked on his drink.

“You didn’t have a date?!”, Gordon asked incredulously.

“I did”, Raevyn corrected. “In a way. But I didn’t go to the dance.”

“Why?”, Kelly asked.

“I was appointed to a ship even before I officially graduated. That ship surprisingly left the night before the dance. I didn’t get to attend the dance. My boyfriend broke up with me right after.”

Silence swept over the room. Quickly, Raevyn finished her drink and got up.

“I’d better go to bed. I have the night shift tomorrow.”

Raevyn sat in her quarters, taking off her uniform jacket and shoes. Gordon was supposed to come by her quarters any minute now, but that didn’t stop her from getting changed. After all, she could simply speed up the process to a matter of a split second using her earpiece. He had asked her at lunch if he could see her in the dress she had intended to wear for the dance. Since its synthesis data had, at one point, been saved on her earpiece, she still had it. Not it was saved to the earpiece once again. But Gordon was taking his time. His shift was long-since over. With a sigh, Raevyn put on her shinyok socks. Shoes… What a weird thing to wear. So restricting.

Suddenly, her communicator beeped.

“Mercer to Raven.”

Raevyn bent over backwards and answered.

“Raevyn here, what’s wrong?”

“Report to Environmental Simulator 1. We need your individual expertise.”

“Alright, I’m on my way. Raevyn out.”

Raevyn got up and started walking over to the simulator. What was wrong this time? Why would they need her specifically. Nothing in the simulator could need telepathic attention and anything electrical would be best looked at by an engineer. If it was gravely important, John specifically. Still, an order was an order. You never really had free time as a senior officer on this ship…

When she got to the simulator, there was nobody there. So, she entered… and was struck by the warm glow of a sunset and the dancing of fairy lights. Music filled the air. The entire bridge crew stood gathered around the entrance, smiling at her warmly. They were wearing suits and dresses, matching the environment they were in. Isaac had changed into his human form and even managed to smile.

“I… I don’t understand”, Raevyn said confusedly.

“Welcome to your graduation dance”, Kelly said kindly. She was wearing a beautiful red dress with basic, yet beautiful jewelry.

Raevyn was speechless. She looked from person to person, trying to find some clue that this was not reality and she needed to return.

“But aren’t you missing something?”, John asked with a smirk.

“A… a date?”, Raevyn stammered.

“Nah, that’s not it. Think again.”

“The dress!”, Gordon said, an excited glow in his eyes. “You have it with you, don’t you? You promised.”

Raevyn’s cheeks started glowing. Swiftly, she ran her fingers across her earpiece, a bright glow engulfed her. When she emerged from it her again, she was clothed in a gown of lovely purple silk with chiffon drapes to shield her from the sun. Delicate silver jewelry sparkled all across her body. Gordon forgot to breathe for a moment, as the others cheered.

The simulation was beautiful. A perfect recreation of what Raevyn had imagined her dance to look like. She even recognized the faces of classmates in the crowd at the sides or on the dance floor. At first, she only stood and watched, enjoying some real punch with the others at the sidelines. Then, the music changed and a most peculiar sight revealed itself to her. The people on the dance floor switched to a much calmer form of movement, matching the song. They stood close together, their hands on each other’s shoulders and waists, going in circles.

“What are they doing?”, Raevyn asked her crewmates.

“Dancing”, Ed said.

“It’s a more traditional human dance called waltz, or slow waltz”, Claire explained. “Haven’t you heard of it?”

“No, never.”

“That’s just said”, John said, shaking his head as he drank. “Were all your human exes douchebags?”

“Maybe. They never danced with me. Not like that. If anything, we went to a club so they could show me off.”

“Well, if I would have been there, I-”, Gordon said, but was cut off.

“You’re here now. Can you dance?”

“I’m not really good at it-”

“That was not the question”, Isaac reminded him.

“Wh- I-”

“Come on, don’t be shy”, Raevyn said with a smile. “I’m a telepath, remember? As long as you have the right intention, you can’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t know…”

“It would be rude to decline”, Bortus told him sternly.

Finally, John grabbed Gordon by the arm.

“I can’t watch this, dude. - Raven, your hand please.”

Amused and confused at the same time, Raevyn gave him her hand. John put her hand in Gordon’s and then pushed them out onto the dance floor. By now, Gordon’s entire face was glowing a bright red. Meanwhile, Raevyn was patiently waiting, her cheeks glowing softly.

“So… What do I do?”, she asked, carefully trying to imitate the position the dancing couples around them were in.

“I… uh…”

Gordon hovered his hand over Raevyn’s waist. It was not touching her that was the problem. He had touched her before. Even her skin. Made a habit out of trying to be as close to her as possible - and it even seemed to him as if she was mirroring this habit. But touching her there had never once crossed his mind. Raevyn took his hand and gently placed it on her waist, looking up into his warm brown eyes. As Gordon still struggled to find the correct words to explain, she started to slowly dance, following the movements Gordon was trying to teach her to do but could not figure out how to. All he had was the picture in his mind of what it was supposed to look like. Raevyn took this exact picture and turned it into reality. Soon, they were moving together and everything around them started to disappear. Gordon was a nervous mess and almost forgot how to move on multiple occasions, but Raevyn kept up their bond, giving him confidence and adapting to any odd move he might make by mistake. It was far from a real dancing lesson, but nonetheless the best one she could have imagined. Way better than her graduation dance could ever have been.

[alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice]

I too am in desperate need for some fluff. Specifically some Orville fluff, if that's alright. Could you write an Ed Mercer x reader fic where Ed is feeling a bit depressed about something and the reader is there to just wallow in self pity with him and in doing so, he feels a little better? Maybe they're in the beginning of their relationship and they're still learning about each other and the best way to help each other in bouts of depression? I know it's a broad prompt but idk. Thank you!

Ed Mercer x Reader - Ice Cream Fixes Everything

A/N: This gave me an excuse to watch an episode of The Orville while I was on a break from homework. Ed has a very specific demeanor to him that I can only summarize as “massive dork” and I hope I got that through in the writing. Thanks for sending this request! I love broad requests, it gives me lots of room to work with.

I’ve been working on the USS Orville for six months now as a science officer. I’ve been dating Captain Ed Mercer for about two. Well… I guess you could call it dating. We’ve gotten closer ever since we met at the bar in the mess hall, but our relationship doesn’t really have a label.

Today was my day off, but I didn’t mention it to Ed. I didn’t really mention it to anyone besides those that needed to know. I miss home. I worked on Earth for years… this is my first time being off planet, and I dived right in, going six months on this ship. I’m homesick for a whole planet. I’m Earth-sick.

I spent a little time in the simulator, with a program that mimicked a place on Earth I loved to visit. I don’t know if I was just masochistic or if I decided I deserved a little taste of home. Now I’m in my quarters, a tub of ice cream from the replicator in my hands, and a comfort film on the screen, the kind I’ve seen a couple dozen times already and could watch a couple dozen more. The movie is about five minutes in when I hear the “beep boop” of the door. I wonder if there’s a way to set the tone on the door to an old-fashioned doorbell, more “ding dong” instead of “beep boop.”

The Captain is standing on the other side of the door… and I’m in pajamas.

He smirks. “You um… you have chocolate on your face.”

My face gets hot and I hastily rub at my face. “Um… what brings you here, Captain?”

“Ed, please, this is a social call.”

“Okay, what brings you here, Ed?”

I invite him in, and he does that little awkward shifting on his feet I’ve noticed is a habit of his. “I uh… I stopped by your station, and you weren’t there, and then I was worried you might be sick or injured and I asked Claire and she gave me a lengthy lecture on patient confidentiality. I probably should have come straight here but… I guess I was worried, and you can take that how you like.”

“I’d like to think it means you care about me,” I admit.

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I meant.” He gestures to my ensemble, and the ice cream tub I set by the door. “Big night?”

I laugh a little. “Today is my day off, and I made it a self-care day, but don’t think you’re getting away with avoiding my question. What brings you here? Are you okay?”

He chuckles a little nervously. “I’ve, uh… I’ve had a day, and I kind of wanted someone to lean on, and I guess I want that person to be you, if you, uh, if you’re okay with it.”

“I’ve got my comfort movie on, and I can replicate you another tub of ice cream.”

Ed seems baffled, looking back and forth between me and the solid quart of ice cream sitting on the table. “What, you don’t plan on sharing?”

I scoff, “Hell no. Oh, you still have a lot to learn about me. I don’t share my ice cream.”

Ed shrugs. “Fair enough, how far into the movie are you?”

“Only five minutes, I can start over.”

We curl up on the couch together, leaning into each other. Ed enjoys the movie, which is good because I might have to break up with him otherwise. Towards the end of the movie, Ed turns to me, glancing down at my lips. “Could I kiss you?”

I nod, and we share a sweet kiss. When we part, he asks. “And, could I call myself your boyfriend? Gosh, that sounds really immature, like we’re teenagers or something.”

“Partners, then?”

He nods, considering it. “Yeah, I like that.” He leans his head on my shoulder. “I don’t know how you managed it, but you made me feel a lot better.”

“Misery loves company, huh?”

“Yeah, you were homesick today, weren’t you?”

I don’t recall saying anything about that. “How did you know?”

He shrugs, “just had a feeling. You had the same look about you when you first came on board. Like you were beyond excited, but a little melancholy too. And I know this is your first time off world. It’s got to be a weird adjustment, six months away from Earth right off the bat.”

I peck his forehead. “You get me.”

“And you get me. What a pair of partners we make, huh? Just wallowing with ice cream together.”

Partners, I’m really liking the sound of that. “I’ll always be here when you need a break from being Captain and just want to be Ed.”

Ed picks out the next movie, a musical over a century old. Gosh, he’s such a dork. I wish I could stay awake for this movie, but I find myself drifting off. When the movie ends, Ed leaves, but not before tucking me into bed, (I repeat, such a dork, but clearly the good kind) to which I respond with a mumble-y “thank you.”

“Thank you,” he says, then in an exaggerated country twang, “partner.”

[beatleshalloween]

Day 4 Time Travel

Future

[shadytreeangelfarm-blog]

And So It Goes (An Orville Fanfiction)

It seemed like a day like any other. You weren’t much for socializing, and preferred to spend your off duty hours in your quarters with a good book, but for whatever reason, tonight felt different. Even though it wasn’t your usual style, you felt like going to the mess hall, sitting at the bar, and having a drink. You’ve wanted to drink before, but you usually order it from your replicator.

“Ah hell. I probably should go out more anyway.”

You decided to let the feeling control you, and you went out to the mess hall. When you arrived at the bar, you were surprised to find a certain someone already there, drinking alone with only the bartender for company.

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me… of all the rotten luck…

“Good evening, Captain,” you said to the lonely drinker.

“Hello Lieutenant,” he said with a long face.

You stood still, staring at the captain, having an internal panic attack.

I can’t believe it! Of all days to come have a drink at the bar, the captain has to be here! What am I supposed to do now?! Do I join him and talk to him? He looks down… but what if he wanted to be alone? Would I just be annoying him? I can’t pester my captain like that, especially during his off hours!

But then again… what if this is the reason I came out here tonight? What if I was called by a higher power to help the captain through whatever it is he’s going through? After all, if he really wanted to be alone, he’d be in his quarters, not at the bar, right?

You took a subtle deep breath, and then approached the seat next to the captain.

“Is it all right if I join you, sir?”

Captain Mercer nodded in response, so you quickly took a seat and ordered your favorite drink. You felt tense and played with your hands, hoping that the bartender would make your cocktail as quickly as possible so you’d have something to do. While you were waiting, you bravely turned to face the Captain.

“I know that I’m just a lieutenant serving under you, and you and I don’t know each other outside of work, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I don’t have a lot of friends, so if you ever needed a confidant, I could be that for you, if you want, and if there aren’t any Union regulations against that sort of thing.”

The bartender served your drink, and you drank from it greedily while inwardly cringing.

“I appreciate the thought lieutenant, but I’m fine.”

You were so embarrassed, you were ready to chug the rest of your drink and retreat back into your quarters, but before you could he added:

“And just for the record, you aren’t just any lieutenant. You’re a valued member of my crew.”

“Thank you Captain.”

“And if you ever need anyone to come talk to, as your captain my door is always open.”

“Thank you sir, I appreciate it.”

“If you want any friends, I could help you with that too.”

“Oh God, no sir, thank you, but I don’t think my captain arranging me play dates is going to get me any friends.”

The captain laughed at that remark.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind, but actually I was thinking, more like a party.”

“A party? For what?”

“I don’t know, just a party for the sake of there being a party.”

“Oh.”

“What, you don’t like it?”

“Oh no sir, it’s not that, it’s just usually when we have a party it’s someone’s birthday or someone’s going away forever or indefinitely or something like that. But you’re the captain, so if you want to have a Tuesday party just cause it’s Tuesday I don’t see why we can’t.”

The Captain smiled.

“Tuesday. That should give me enough time. Lieutenant, let me invite you first to the Orville’s first annual Tuesday party.”

You smiled and watched the captain leave the mess hall with a renewed mood.You smiled. You can’t say a random party for no reason was exactly your idea of a good time, but it was fulfilling to know that instead of reading the next chapter of Taliesin, you helped someone out. And the fact that that person was your captain was like an added bonus. You finished your drink with a smile on your face, and whistled on the way back to your quarters.

You didn’t speak to the captain like that again until the day of the Tuesday party, which was about a week later since your conversation occurred on a Wednesday. You did see the captain once in the hallway, and in passing you two smiled at each other. You wanted to say something like, Looking forward to Tuesday!, but you weren’t able to work up the nerve.

When the time of the party came, you attended.

“Hey! Lieutenant!” the captain said as soon as he saw you come into the mess hall. “Thanks again for giving me this idea, it’s turning out to be really fun.”

You looked closely at the captain’s facial expression, and it seemed to you like he was faking his enthusiasm.

Oh no… this party was supposed to cheer him up, but it doesn’t seem like it’s doing that at all…

“You did a really good job setting this up, Captain,” you said. “I think I might just make a new friend tonight.”

You took a sip of the cocktail you picked up on your way in, and surveyed the room. That’s when you noticed Bortis (yes, Bortis) doing karaoke on a machine in the corner of the room.

“What’s the rules with the karaoke machine?”

The captain raised his eyebrows at you. “What… you sing?”

“Not often, only when I have liquid courage,” you said, lifting up the glass in your hand.

“All right, well just head on over, sign up with your song choice, and they’ll call you over when it’s your turn.”

“If you’ll excuse me, then.”

You walked over to the karaoke sign ups, and put your name down for a song you wanted to dedicate to your captain. You only waited through a couple more people after Bortis before it was your turn. When you got on stage, you looked at the partygoers and spotted Captain Mercer, who was looking right at you.

“I’d like to dedicate this song… to a new friend!”

The song you chose started playing. When prompted, you began to sing.

“You’re having a hard time and lately you don’t feel so good/

You’re getting a bad reputation in your neighborhood.”

You looked up from the screen and saw the captain watching you with a big grin on his face. You were trying to focus on not screwing up the lyrics to your chosen song, so you tried to look away from him and keep your eyes off of him. It also seemed to you like he was laughing? You knew you didn’t have a great singing voice, but was it that bad? Or was it the song choice?

After the song was over, you replaced the microphone and stepped off the stage. You went straight for Ed, as if you were drawn to him.

“Billy Joel,” he said with a big grin on his face.

“Billy Joel!” you said with delighted surprise. “Yeah! I - wow, I didn’t think you would know that song. I didn’t think anyone on this ship would know that song.”

“What, are you kidding me? Billy Joel is only one of the greatest human singers to ever live.”

“Wait wait wait, did you say human? Isn’t he, like, one of the greatest singers to live, period?”

The next thing you knew, you were in Captain Mercer’s quarters.

The next day, you found yourself walking into the captain’s office.

“Hey,” he said with a big smile. “I was just thinking about stopping by your quarters after my shift. I had a great time last night.”

“Me too,” you said, though you weren’t smiling.

“Is… everything okay?”

“I need to know something. I need to know what last night was to you.”

“What do you mean?”

You hesitated as you thought about how to proceed. You chose your words carefully.

“I am not the kind of girl who can just hook up with someone for the physical parts. I have a big heart, that’s been broken and re-glued together. It’s fragile, so if I’m going to be with someone, it needs to be something meaningful. I know that’s a lot to put on someone who I’m just getting to know, so if you want nothing more to do with me, I get it. We can move on as if last night never happened. Because if you’re just going to break my heart, then I’d rather you just do it now because the longer you wait the more it’s going to hurt.”

You were sobbing by the time you finished your little speech.

“Whoa, hey, hey, easy,” Captain Mercer said as he came around his desk to be right next to you. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ve… been hurt pretty badly too. I mean I don’t know what exactly you’ve been through, but I’ve gone to a pretty dark place too. So I get it. I can’t say I’m exactly ready to propose marriage, if that’s what you’re looking for, but I do know that I really like you, and I’d like to keep seeing you.”

You smiled as your tears turned into laughter.

“I’d like that too.”

After your romantic relationship with Captain Mercer went public, you noticed that your crewmates started to treat you differently. Some, who never noticed you before, went out of their way to be nice to you. Others, who also never noticed you before, would be cold and just plain rude to you. It never bothered you, because you were falling more and more in love with Ed Mercer every day.

After about two years together, you went out on an away mission to an unfamiliar planet. When you ran into an unexpected hiccup, you found a viewscreen and used it to call the Orville. When your ship answered your hail, you found yourself face to face with your boyfriend.

“[Your First Name], what’s going on? Are you all right?” he asked.

“Well, as it turns out there’s a group of indigineous individuals here that have found my location, and aren’t exactly super friendly. I’m sort of away from my shuttle, and there’s a lot of them, so I don’t think I can actually make it back without being detected by them.”

“Just stay where you are. I’m sending a team down to the surface to help you get out of there. Tallah!”

“Sir, our orders…”

You saw Ed’s jaw clench as he tightened his hands into fists.

“Okay, so I’m not sending a team down to the surface, but I will get you out of there.”

“It’s okay, Ed,” you said with a forced smile. “It’s like Billy Joel said, only the good die young. I may be young, but I am bad to the bone, so I’ll be fine.”

“You are a lot of things, but bad to the bone is definitely not one of them,” Ed responded.

“Ed, I-”

Before you could get the next two words out, the transmission went dead. You were taken as prisoner by the aliens you had warned the Orville about. They threw you in a cage with iron bars, directly over a patch of dirt in some dark cave.

You leaned against the bars, hugging your knees close to your chest. Your mind started to race. What were these aliens going to do to you? What were their intentions? Their ultimate goal? Would you ever see Ed again? Were you going to die in this miserable place? What would that do to Ed? Would he be able to recover your body? Would he be able to move on, find happiness with someone else?

These questions continued to race in your mind, until you snapped out of it by the sound of approaching footsteps. You looked up to see what was happening, and you were shocked to see the aliens were leading a prisoner to you, but it wasn’t just any prisoner - it was Ed! Your Ed, Ed Mercer, captain of the starship Orville!

“Ed!” you called out as you instantly sprang up to your feet. The aliens opened the cage door, pushed Ed in, closed it, and then disappeared again. You ran up to him and put your arms around him.

“What are you doing here?” you asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to save you.”

You scoffed, and then kissed him.

“Well, I want to say, at least you tried, but if I’m going to die, I don’t want you to die with me…”

“Hey. We are not going to die, all right?”

“But I thought the Orville had orders from Union Command that we are not to engage these aliens. Isn’t that why you couldn’t send Talla and a team? And why you ended up coming here alone, you sweet idiot?”

Ed chuckled at that, and then he leaned his forehead against yours and said, “this wouldn’t be the first time the Orville has gone against the wishes of Union Command. Besides, we can probably find a way out of here ourselves.”

Ed pushed himself away from you and went to the bars surrounding the two of you. He looked around for a while, but eventually found no way out.

“All right, looks like we’re stuck in here until somebody saves us,” Ed said, sitting down next to where you were. “Unless you’ve got a plan on how we’re going to bust out here, since you’re so bad to the bone.”

You buried your own face in embarrassment.

“Oh no, you’re not going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Why did you say that anyway?”

“I thought that those were going to be my last words! I wanted to say something, I don’t know, cool, I guess. And you shouldn’t be judging me! You once told me that when you thought you were going to die, you exclaimed, I’m going to the bathroom to read!”

“As I explained to both you and Kelly, those were Elvis’s last words, okay? At least it was actually last words, not Billy Joel lyrics. If you really died and that was the last thing I heard you say, Billy Joel would have been ruined, okay? You would have ruined Billy Joel for me forever, so...”

You reached over to Ed’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

“I was trying to say something else, before the message got cut off. So technically those were going to be my last words, if that helps.”

“What were you trying to say?”

“I love you.”

Ed smiled and kissed you.

“I love you too.”

You then spent the remainder of your shared time in captivity trying to pass the time however you could think of. Eventually, you started thinking about things you would do when you were able to return to the Orville.

“When I get back to the Orville, I’m going to go to a replicator, and order a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and a glass of 2% milk.”

“Really?”

“Judge me all you want, that isn’t going to make me love pumpkin any less.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m surprised that you’d limit yourself to one slice. I thought you’d order the whole pie.”

You laughed at that. “Maybe I shouldn’t even bother with the crust and just order a can of pumpkin filling. With whipped cream! Can’t forget the whipped cream.”

You smiled and still let small chuckles escape from you. You looked over at Ed and saw he had a serious look in his eyes, but he was still smiling.

“When I get back to the Orville, I want us to get married.”

You instantly stopped chuckling.

“What?”

“Hold on. I can’t do this without a ring.”

“Are you serious?”

Ed got up from the ground and started to look around.

“There’s got to be something around here… like a rusted out loop or something.”

“Ed, I don’t want to wear something sharp that’ll probably barely fit me and give me tetanus or some alien version of it. If you want to give me a ring, there’s no rush.”

“All right. Yeah, no no, it was a dumb idea anyway. But at least I can do this part right.”

You had risen to your feet, so Ed got down on one knee and took your hand in his.

“[Your Name], will you marry me?”

“Yes!”

The two of you sealed the deal with a kiss, and the remainder of your time in captivity didn’t seem so bad. Eventually the two of you were rescued and brought back aboard the Orville. You didn’t share the news of your engagement until after Ed could get a proper engagement ring (he insisted on it), and he had made arrangements for an admiral to come aboard the ship and do the honors.

After you were married, Ed tried to carry you across the threshold, but either you were too heavy or he wasn’t that strong. Let’s go with the second one.

You got into a shuttle that had the words “Just Married” written on the back and flew off to a nearby resort planet to have your honeymoon.

“I wonder if the Orville’s doing all right?” Ed randomly wondered aloud one day.

“I’m sure they’re fine. I mean, I know you’re the glue that holds that place together, but I think they can manage without you for a few days.”

Little did you know then, but as you would later learn, at that exact moment the ship was under fire from the Kaylon, but they survived, got the necessary repairs done, and no one was critically injured, so once you made it back after the honeymoon, neither of you were any the wiser until Ed read Kelly’s report of the incident.

From that day forward, Ed’s quarters became your quarters. Your crewmates had been treating you differently after you started dating Ed, but they changed once again once you were officially his wife. All of a sudden, the kiss-ups were becoming more aggressive, and the cold shoulder types weren’t being cold anymore; they joined team kiss up.

After about three months of marriage, you went into sick bay following a bout of nausea. You were surprised to learn from Dr. Finn that you were pregnant, as this was not something that you had planned. You headed back to your quarters, and waited for your husband to join you when he got off duty for the day. You had been sitting in a chair by the door when he came in.

“Hey,” he said affectionately when he saw you. He came up to you and gave you a quick peck on the forehead before then turning his back to you to remove his uniform.

“You missed a classic Bortis moment on the bridge. Speaking of which I have got to have another talk with Gordon about this. He-”

He stopped himself after he turned around and saw the long look on your face.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” he asked, crouching down next to where you were sitting with the front of his uniform unzipped.

“I’m pregnant, Ed.”

Ed gave you a shocked look before he said, “What pregnant, like… with a baby?”

You gave a slight smile. “That’s generally how it goes, yeah.”

“Oh wow.”

“Yeah… oops, right?”

“I mean, I know we didn’t plan on this,” Ed said as he grabbed your hands in his, “but I’m really excited about this.”

“Really? You mean that?”

“Of course I do. Honey, you’ve made me the happiest guy in the whole universe. And the fact that you’re gonna have my baby just makes me love you even more. And I cannot wait to meet that little guy or girl.”

“Oh thank God, I really thought you were gonna freak out on me!”

You embraced Ed and he hugged you tightly.

“Oh crap, I’m not hurting the baby, am I?” he asked as he quickly pulled away from you.

“No, I don’t think you can squish the baby with a hug. Unless you’re maybe Isaac or Talla. I mean if you couldn’t even carry me over the threshold-”

“All right, you made your point.”

The two of you then silently looked at each other.

“A baby, huh?” he asked.

“A baby,” you repeated with a big smile. You then shared a kiss with your husband.

In the days of your pregnancy, Ed was very doting and caring of you. You also caught him freaking out about becoming a dad, so you did your best to try to calm him. As you would later learn, he also had these freaking out moments when you weren’t around, and Kelly also helped put his fears to rest.

On the day you were supposed to find out the gender of your baby, you had Ed meet you in sick bay for the ultrasound.

“All right, there is your baby,” Dr. Finn said as she glided the scanner over your belly.

“Oh wow,” you said. It was your first time seeing your baby.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Ed asked. If you weren’t so enamored with your baby, you might have picked up on Ed’s suspicious behavior.

“Well I don’t see a penis, so it looks like your baby is a girl, Captain.”

“Crap, that means I owe Gordon time off.”

You looked at Ed with an icy stare, and Dr. Finn joined you.

“Really Ed?” you asked. “You made a bet with Gordon about the baby’s gender, and that’s all you’re thinking about right now? Whether you won or lost your bet?”

“Hold on just a minute…” Dr. Finn said.

“What is it? Did you find the penis?”

“No, but I did find something.”

“What is it? Is everything okay?” you asked.

“Oh no, everything’s all right, but…”

“But?” Ed asked.

“It’s another baby. You two are having twins.”

“Twins?” Ed asked.

“I-I don’t believe it. I mean, I only have one set of twins in my family, but I always thought they were twins because of their other family.”

“It might be my fault then. They run in my family,” Ed said.

“I never knew that,” you said.

Ed just shrugged and said, “it never came up.” He then turned to Dr. Finn and asked, “what about the other one? Is there a penis on that one?”

You shot Ed another glare and he just shrugged with a semi-guilty look on his face.

“No, it looks like twin girls.”

“I think that means I owe Gordon double time off.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose. Was this really the man you were about to have children with?

Your pregnancy proceeded normally. You took maternity leave once you started getting close to your due date, but you insisted that Ed continue on with his duties as normal.

On the day you went into labor, the Orville was under attack. You had been taking it easy in your quarters when the ship began to quiver around you. You did your best to protect your unborn daughters from getting banged around, but as you were doing so, your water broke.

“Oh no…”

Assuming that your husband was busy being the captain, you decided not to call him. Instead, you made your way over to sick bay by yourself. You struggled to get there, so two of your fellow crew members who saw you in the halls helped you there.

“Are you all right?!” Dr. Finn asked as she quickly rushed to your side.

“My water broke…”

“Okay, don’t worry. Just hop on the biobed and we’ll take a look, all right?”

“With all due respect doctor, I’m nine months pregnant with twins. I don’t think I can do any hopping.”

The two good samaritans who helped you to sick bay also stuck around long enough to help you up onto one of the biobeds.

“Are they going to be okay? Am I in labor?” you asked the doctor.

“It looks like it, yes. But you’re going to be in labor for a while longer, and I am in the middle of a triage crisis.”

Dr. Finn started to walk away.

“No, please!”

Despite your cries, Dr. Finn left you to treat some crewmates who were critically wounded. You wanted her to stay with you, but you knew that the doctor was making the right call.

“Do you want us to call the captain for you?” one of your crewmates asked.

“No. The doctor said I’m going to be in labor for a while and he shouldn’t be distracted. As long as he’s here for the birth.”

Once things calmed down a bit and the other patients were out of the woods, Dr. Finn came to check on you.

“How are you doing?”

“Oh, just super,” you said while cringing.

“It looks like your babies are going to start coming soon. Where’s your husband?”

“I haven’t called him yet. I thought he might be needed on the bridge.”

While the triage patients were okay, the Orville still wasn’t quite in the clear.

“Captain Mercer to Sick Bay,” your husband’s voice rang out over the intercom.

“Speak of the devil,” you heard Dr. Finn mutter to herself.

“This is Dr. Finn, go ahead captain.”

“How are things going down there? Any casualties?”

“No, captain, but I think you’d better come down here as soon as you get the chance.”

“Is everything all right?”

“It’s one of the patients. Your wife’s gone into labor.”

There was a pause before a frantic sounding Ed said, “I’m on my way!”

The next thing you knew, in what seemed like an impossibly fast amount of time, Ed had appeared in the sick bay. It was almost scary how his face just suddenly appeared over you.

“I’m here. It’s okay. Are you okay? Is she okay?”

“Don’t worry, captain, she’s just experiencing normal labor pains.”

“Emphasis on the pain part,” you said.

“Okay, well, wh-what can I do?”

“There’s not much you can do. Just be there for moral support.”

“Moral support. Right. Okay, I can do that.”

Once you were fully dilated, Dr. Finn coached you through your pushing. Once the first baby started to crown, Ed took one look at the action, and fainted.

“Ed!”

“Don’t worry about him, just keep pushing!”

“But he’s gonna miss it, I mean, is he even okay?”

“He’s going to be just fine, I promise. He’ll probably come back to any moment now.”

“No, we have to wait for him.”

“You can’t wait, this is happening now, whether you want it to or not.”

Dr. Finn then signaled for one of her nurses to give Mercer a stimulant to revive him. He came to, just in time to see your first baby emerge.

“Here’s the first one,” Dr. Finn said as she brought the baby to you and rested her on your chest.

“Oh! Oh, hi, little one,” you said.

“Captain, so good of you to join us,” Dr. Finn said. “If you’re feeling up to it, there’s an umbilical cord here that needs cutting.”

Ed, still reeling from everything, slowly rose up from the ground and cut the cord. Then, you delivered your second baby, and repeated the process. Ed looked like he wanted to pass out, but he was able to stay conscious.

Once the babies were both being dressed by Dr. Finn, Ed slumped into a nearby chair.

“Boy, I am exhausted,” he said.

You shot him icy daggers.

“You’re exhausted?”

“Well, no I mean, I didn’t just have two babies, but I was on the bridge, and there were these aliens that were firing us, and-”

“Relax my love, I’m just giving you a hard time.”

Now it was his turn to glare at you.

“All right, here they are!” Dr. Finn said as she rejoined the two of you with one baby in her arms, and the other in the arms of a nurse. You took Dr. Finn’s and the nurse handed theirs off to Ed.

“Wow, would you look at em?” Ed said as he walked over to your bedside.

“I know. They’re so perfect.”

The two of you were in awe of your new baby daughters for a while, just staring without saying a word. After you both had enough time to recuperate from the experience and the ship was officially out of danger, you had a steady stream of crewmates coming to meet the captain’s new baby girls.

It was a joy to watch your girls grow up. They were fraternal, but even if they had been identical, you two would have not had any trouble telling them apart. The first one born essentially grew up to be the female version of her father. The younger twin was basically your own clone. She looked enough like Ed, but she acted exactly like you. The two of you couldn’t be happier.

END

[i-dreamthedream]

Rhapsody in Blue

Fandom: The Orville Pairing: Kelly Grayson/Ed Mercer Raiting: Teen and Up Audiences Status: 1/1 chapter - 3,9k words Summary:

"Ed felt Kelly take his hand as they listened to Gordon sing. It had been a beautiful wedding, Bortus’ ill-advised attempt at a best man speech notwithstanding. Claire looked happy, surrounded by her sons with Isaac’s hand on Ty’s shoulder. Crewmembers and Kaylons were mingling and enjoying themselves around them, something Ed still couldn’t believe was possible given the past year. If only Charly could see this, he thought."

Or: what comes after the wedding