I do not own Atlantis. Disney has full rights.

Only when Audrey had reached the top floor did she allow herself to wince.

She would never admit it to Vinny, but those falls really did hurt.

Her whole body ached. The floor was made of metal, after all. And obviously engines weren't very soft.

"Ooh! After this, I'm swearing off of subs." she muttered, wincing as she brushed up against the wall, hitting a tender spot on the side of her arm. "I'm sticking to dry land."

She stopped, looking around. "Now where was Sweet's office?" She thought hard, then sighed.

"Guess I'll just have to keep looking."

A few minutes later Audrey had found his office down at the end of one of the halls.

She took hold of the handle, beginning to open it, then thought better of it and knocked first.

Footsteps sounded inside and soon the door was being opened by none other than Dr. Joshua Sweet himself.

A smile lit up his features when he saw her. "Hey Audrey." he greeted his old friend. "I haven't seen you all morning. What've you been up to?"

Audrey breezed past him, stepping into the room. She shrugged. "The usual. Fixing the engine."

"And how'd that go?" he asked, closing the door softly behind him.

The mechanic leaned against a desk, glancing at him sheepishly. "Uh...actually, that's why I'm here." She lifted an arm to rub the back of her neck, then winced at the aching. "There was this crack in the wall. I tried to fix it..." she narrowed her eyes. "But apparently water is a lot stronger than I thought."

Sweet chuckled. "Hallelujah! Looks like the girl has finally met her match!"

Audrey gave him a playful punch on the arm. "You better watch it." she teased. "I know where you live."

Sweet snorted. "Oh, I'm so scared."

Audrey sauntered by. "When you're underwater no one can hear you scream..."

"Is that so?" Sweet replied. His face broke into a grin and he wrapped an arm around her, holding her down while the other hand ruffled her hair.

"Hey, hey!" Audrey cried, squirming until she had pulled away from his hold. She scowled and adjusted her hat. "I'm injured, remember?"

Sweet rolled his eyes and grinned. "So I've been told."

He paused, then clapped his hands together. "Well, let's get you patched up, shall we?"

Audrey sighed. "Fine." She walked to the examining table.

Sweet offered her a hand to help her up onto it. He waited till she was settled, then gave her the once-over, checking for any visible signs of injury. Only a few bruises and a cut on her forehead could be seen.

"Well, I don't see much injury. Where does it hurt most?" he asked.

Audrey shrugged. "Hey, if it doesn't look that bad that's good enough for me." She started to jump off of the table, but he held out an arm to stop her, giving her a stern look.

"Audrey..."

She sighed. "Fine. It's more in this area." She ran a hand over her side and winced.

"Mind if I check it out?" Sweet asked.

"Go ahead." she replied, eager to just get this over with. She liked Sweet, but she wasn't much into doctoring. All that poking and prodding wasn't for

He gently smoothed a hand over her side, checking for obvious injuries.

"Ah!" Audrey exclaimed suddenly, jumping back.

Sweet winced. Looks like he'd found the source of the problem. "Sorry."

Audrey clutched at her chest. "It's okay." she said through gritted teeth. "I'm fine. Really."

She started to adjust her position, then let out a moan.

Sweet looked at her in concern. "Looks like you have a severely bruised rib."

Audrey frowned. "How long does that take to heal?" she asked. She started to slowly get down off of the examining table. "I still have a few parts to tweak..."

The doctor put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Woah there, I still need to bandage you up."

She blinked at him, then smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right."

Sweet turned, his back facing her, and started opening drawers. He took out some gauze and medical tape, before turning back to her.

He glanced at her, then coughed. "I hate to ask you this, but could you..."

"What?" Audrey asked in confusion. She glanced down at herself, then back at Sweet, frowning.

Sweet gave her a look. "I have to bandage your ribs."

Audrey nodded, not getting it. "Right..."

Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed in her mind. "Oh!" she blushed. "I see."

"I just need to reach your waist. That's all. You can do the rest yourself." he said quickly, relieved that the awkward moment was over.

Audrey relaxed a bit. "Oh, okay." She took hold of the hem of her shirt in her hands, lifting it up about an inch. She coughed, then said. "Go ahead, Doc."

Sweet cut a long strip of gauze, gingerly beginning to wrap it around Audrey's small waist, careful not to pull it too tight.

He wrapped it around her twice, then handed her the rest. "Here, you can finish."

"Thanks." she replied, taking it in one hand.

Sweet turned around, giving her room to wrap the rest up to her ribs.

"I'm done." she said after a moment. "You can look now."

The doctor turned to see the mechanic still sitting on the examining table, a stray strand of gauze peeking out from the bottom of her shirt.

Sweet chuckled. "That was faster than even I can wrap ribs. And I'm the doctor."

Audrey smiled. "I guess it's just one of those determination things." She paused, then added. "So am I in the clear?"

"Almost." Sweet replied, walking over to her. "I just want to clean up that cut on you're forehead. It's not that deep, but we don't want to leave that to get infected."

He grabbed a bottle of water and a couple of cotton balls off of a table.

Unscrewing the cap on the bottle, he poured a bit of water on one of the balls, then leaned in closer, so he was standing face to face with Audrey.

"Let me know if this hurts." he said.

Audrey grinned and raised a hand. "Scouts honor."

Sweet chuckled, then lifted the cotton ball to her skin. He dabbed it on the cut, gently wiping it clean, careful not to hurt her.

He removed the cotton ball, tossing it in the trash, then grabbing another one to finish the job.

As he finished up with that one, he realized how close his face was to hers.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had lowered the cotton ball and was staring into her eyes.

She stared right back at him, eyes wide.

The two stared at each other, hardly daring to breath, as if afraid it might break the moment.

I never noticed what a...deep brown his eyes are. Audrey thought, mystified.

Sweet stared at her in pure wonder. She's so beautiful. How did I never notice this before?

As if in a trance, both leaned forward another inch.

Audrey's heart-rate sped up. On instinct, she leaned forward.

And kissed him.

Her lips met his and a spark traveled through her. She'd never felt anything like this before.

To her surprise, he did not pull away, but instead, kissed her back.

Acting on instinct, she reached out and wrapped her hands around his neck.

He took hold of her waist, pulling her closer.

She reveled in his warm touch as he lost himself in her scent.

They probably would have stayed like that forever, had the door not swung open.

The two broke away, staring at the door with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how Audrey was..." Vinny said, stepping in. He stopped when he saw the two. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Audrey glanced from Vinny to Sweet, eyes wide, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I...I'm sorry I...have to go." She squeezed past Vinny, reaching for the doorknob.

"No, Audrey, wait!" Sweet called, starting towards

But it was too late. She was already gone.

He gave a sigh, shoulders slumping.

Vinny stared at Sweet in confusion. "Did I miss something?"