O's AN: I've been watching my DVD's again. This time I used the Sunbow episode, "Lights! Camera! Cobra!" for a little continuation and interaction between Cover Girl and Dusty. I also added in some Duke and Scarlett, plus a little sailor fun from our one and only Shipwreck.
O's Thanks: Thanks to Scarlett Phoenix for beta reading this and to Medic Me for being my bouncing board on a few sections. Thanks ladies.
O's Disclaimer: General disclaimers apply. I do not own GI Joe or the characters.
Between Your Heart and Mine
The GI Joes assigned to the Hollywood movie looked around at the damage that had been caused to the movie sets. Each one shook their heads and did their best to stay away from Marty, the producer, who was not pleased with the destruction. Now that Cobra had been taken care of, Cover Girl had to get away from Marty. If that producer cornered her one more time, she was going to lose it. She had other things on her mind, namely a certain desert trooper, who was injured by Zartan and the Dreadnoks.
Walking over to Mutt and Junkyard, Cover Girl said, "I am going to go to the hospital to see Dusty. I'll catch a ride with Wild Bill when he comes to transport Dusty back to base."
"Oh no you don't, Doll Face. I'm going with ya," Shipwreck blurted out, walking over to her and Mutt, interrupting Mutt's response.
"Shipwreck, you don't have to. I would rather go myself," Cover Girl huffed. "Besides, I think you are needed here. Ace and the boys are transporting all of you back, and I'm sure he wants to go home."
"You tailed me this whole trip. Now, it's my turn. I know you are concerned about a fellow teammate, but if you are gonna go run off after the desert trooper, then I'm coming too," Shipwreck explained, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly.
Bristling slightly, she curtly replied, "The only reason that I tailed you was because Duke ordered me to keep an eye on you. He knew you could get into trouble in Hollywood and wanted me to try and keep you out of it."
"Figures Duke wouldn't trust me. Hey, I did pretty well. We only got thrown in jail once, and if my memory serves me right, you were beside me in that bar fight, Babe," the sailor stated, rolling his eyes, unwilling to let the subject die.
Cover Girl shook her head and glanced at Mutt. "Fine, suit yourself," she sighed, knowing that she would not win this battle. No one that she was aware of knew of the budding relationship between the tank jockey and the desert trooper, and she sure didn't want to reveal those feelings in front of Shipwreck. "Come on then, let's go," she grumbled hastily, walking over to a Silver Mirage. "You get in the sidecar," she told Shipwreck, firing up the motor.
Shipwreck fussed, "You will certainly kill me in there. You ride, and I'll drive."
She rolled her eyes and tried not to lose her temper. "Hector, you ride in the sidecar or you are not coming. You hear?" She threatened.
As Blowtorch and Recondo approached their bickering teammates, Recondo asked, "Where are you two going?"
"To see Dusty, but she thinks that I am going to ride in the suicide car while she drives," Shipwreck lamented.
"Fine, swabby. I'll see you back at base," Cover Girl retorted, shifting the Mirage into gear and driving away.
Shipwreck ran after her. "Oh no you don't, Courtney. I am coming to. Dusty is my friend. Stop this thing," he bellowed.
'Damn,' Cover Girl whispered under her breath. She had thought that the sailor would back out on wanting to tag along with her if she told him he had to ride in the sidecar. Reluctantly, she pulled over and waited for Shipwreck to climb in. "Hang on, Wreck," she grinned, gunning the motor and heading towards the hospital.
Everyone heard Shipwreck screaming the entire way out of the destroyed movie set. Junkyard howled, joining in Shipwreck's desperate cries of help and salvation.
Parking in the hospital garage, Cover Girl and Shipwreck silently walked towards the main entrance. "I think I am going to be sick," Shipwreck grumbled."What's the matter, sailor? You look a little peaked," she teased.
"Just your driving, Court," he snidely replied as they continued to the information desk.
Cover Girl asked the lady at the desk, "Which room is Ronald Rudat in, please?"
"Room 425," the desk lady answered, giving the two soldiers a quick glance and a warm smile.
"Thank you," Cover Girl politely replied, leading Shipwreck to the elevators.
Once inside, Shipwreck asked, "So if I was hospitalized, would you come visit me?"
Not answering his question, Cover Girl countered, "I covered your back the entire time we were here. What do you think?"
"Well, that was only because Duke made you," Shipwreck griped.
The doors opened and a young couple stepped in, silencing the chatter between the sailor and the tank jockey. Stepping out on the fourth floor, the two Joes headed towards Room 425. Peeking in, they saw Dusty was awake, watching the local news. He turned his head when he heard someone at the door. "Hey you guys," he greeted with a smile. "You really tried to level Hollywood, didn't you?" He was pointing at the television screen and what remained of the movie set.
Shipwreck grinned. "We tried. It wasn't as much fun without you there, though," the sailor told his friend.
Cover Girl walked in behind Shipwreck. She smiled at Dusty but reverted to being a quiet version of the normally talkative ex-model.
Dusty's eyes brightened as he returned Cover Girl's smile, but then he tried to refocus on Shipwreck, who was telling him the play-by-plays of what had happened to cause the destruction of the Hollywood set. He stole a glance at her every few seconds, catching her just staring at him and smiling.
"And George loved it all. Didn't he, Cover Girl?" Shipwreck asked, nudging her as she stood beside him.
Dragging herself out of her trance, Cover Girl looked at Shipwreck quickly, realizing that he was done regaling his version of what happened. "What? Oh yeah, Marty was miffed, but Mr. Lanceburg loved it," she agreed, shrugging shoulders.
"Hey, you doing okay, Doll Face? You seem mighty quiet all of a sudden," the sailor inquired.
Nodding her head, she replied, "Yes, I am fine. Just a little tired." Looking over at Dusty, she smiled and said, "Wild Bill is coming with a Tomahawk to airlift you back to base. Wreck and I will be going with you."
"That is just fine by me. If I have to be cooped up in a hospital, I would rather it be on base," Dusty stated matter-of-factly.
"Hector, would you mind going to get me a soda?" Cover Girl queried. "I think I need some sugar."
"Sure, I can do that. You want anything, Dusty?" Shipwreck asked.
Dusty thought quickly, knowing that Cover Girl was trying to get them a moment alone. "Well, I always wanted one of those 'Get Well' balloons and maybe a box of chocolates," he teased, winking at Cover Girl.
"Uh, sure whatever you say, Dusty," Shipwreck stammered.
Cover Girl quickly retrieved some money from her pocket and stuffed it in Shipwreck's hand. "Here, get the cutest little balloon you can find. I'll let you buy the chocolates," she grinned, catching onto Dusty's ploy.
Rolling his eyes and snorting his annoyance, Shipwreck grabbed Cover Girl's money and tersely asked, "Anything else for you two?"
They both shook their heads. "You asked, Hector. Just remember that," Cover Girl snickered.
"Yes, I did," the sailor sighed, walking out of the room mumbling something incoherent under his breath.
After Shipwreck left, Cover Girl closed the door before turning around to face a grinning Dusty. "I never thought we would get rid of him," she sighed, walking over to his bed.
"Eventually, I knew you would. Come here, Jameel," Dusty implored, clasping her wrist and gently pulling her towards him.
"Well now that you have me this close, what are you gonna do with me?" Cover Girl teased, brushing a hand through his hair, being careful of the bandages.
Smiling, Dusty guided her lips to meet his. After the kiss broke, he softly asked, "Now, wasn't that worth the wait?"
"I am not a patient girl, Desert. You know that," Cover Girl replied, kissing him again before she sat down on the edge of his hospital bed.
"Patience is some people's virtue. I, however, like you without it. Makes life more interesting for me," Dusty joked, scooting over and placing his arm around her slender waist, effortlessly pulling her closer to him.
"So, how is the head?" She asked worriedly, gently rubbing her fingers across the bandage.
"My hard head is fine. I don't know why they would not release me when they released Recondo," he stated.
Chuckling, Cover Girl replied, "Because you hit your head harder then Recondo did. That was one helluva hard fall you two took. I heard Zartan had a little fun with you guys. I am just glad you were not hurt any worse, and Wreck found you when he did," she quietly revealed, hiding the fear in her eyes.
"Hey, it is okay, Court. I am fine. It'll take more than Zartan and his goons to get me down for long." Dusty paused then continued, "Besides, I heard you had an interesting night with Shipwreck."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Cover Girl groaned. "Duke wanted me to keep an eye on Shipwreck, which is the only reason I left to chase after him. Well, that and no one else offered." She shook her head and continued, "Wouldn't you know that Shipwreck would find the sleaziest hole in Hollywood to pick a bar fight in. While you had Zartan, Ripper, and Buzzer to deal with, evidently, Torch followed me. The cops were called regarding the bar fight, and Wreck, me, and Torch got thrown in the slammer. Not exactly how I planned my stay in Hollywood, but I did end up having a little fun at Torch's expense," she grinned devilishly.
"Oh no! What did you do?" Dusty asked warily.
Smirking, she regaled her little game of studying Torch's face then dressing Recondo up as Torch. "It worked. Cobra Commander himself delivered Shipwreck back to the Hollywood set."
"What! You mean after all that, Shipwreck got kidnapped by Cobra?" A surprised Dusty asked. Shipwreck had left that little tidbit of information out when he had told Dusty why the movie set was nearly burned completely down.
Nodding, Cover Girl answered, "Cobra wanted their Firebat back, and somehow Wreck got trapped in it and flown to Cobra's secret hideout. This all happened after we found you and Recondo in the desert. But we got him back and destroyed the Firebat, so not bad for a hard day's work."
"I am proud of you, Jameel. You had the toughest job of us all," Dusty revealed.
"Huh?" Cover Girl asked.
"Keeping track of our sailor boy," Dusty laughed.
Cover Girl laughed and nodded her head. "You don't realize how tough that job was," she teased, leaning over to kiss him.
A knock on the door ended their kiss prematurely. Cover Girl quickly stood up while Dusty said, "Come on in."
Duke and Scarlett walked in. Scarlett caught a fading blush on Cover Girl's face. "We just wanted to see how you were doing, Dusty. We are not interrupting anything, are we?" Scarlett asked teasingly.
"No, nothing at all," Dusty and Cover Girl quickly answered.
"Sure," Duke smirked. "You looked like…"
"Conrad," Scarlett quickly but quietly interrupted, silencing him. She knew how embarrassing it was to be caught in an intimate moment, and she also happened to know that Dusty and Cover Girl had been seeing each other for some time now.
Cover Girl mouthed a 'Thank you' to Scarlett for her save of the day.
Duke looked at Scarlett with astonishment, but the look she gave him said it all. 'I thought so,' he muttered to himself, smiling. "So, uh, how miffed were the Hollywood guys that their sets got burned down?" He asked, trying to cover for the awkwardness of the room.
Relieved that Duke didn't start asking questions, Cover Girl replied, "Well, Marty was extremely upset and had a few choice words for me and Shipwreck, but Mr. Lanceburg loved it. It was the touch of realism that he wanted. I guess he got it all on film too."
"Good, it will be nice to get this show business out of my hair. Recondo thinks he may change careers," Duke revealed.
"Oh no," Cover Girl groaned, shaking her head. "He did good but was a little melodramatic."
Everyone chuckled as Shipwreck returned with his purchases. "Aww, Shipwreck," Scarlett cooed, "I didn't know you cared so much."
"Oh now stop it, Red. Not in front of Duke," Shipwreck quipped. He handed the balloon to Cover Girl along with her soda. Chortling, he continued, "I saw this instead of the chocolates so I bought it for you." Shipwreck handed Dusty a bag from the gift store.
Fear crossed Dusty's face as he decided if he should look inside or not. Instead, he diverted his eyes and watched Cover Girl tie the balloon to the nightstand handle.
"Wreck, you out did yourself. I couldn't have picked out a better one," Cover Girl complimented Shipwreck, giving Dusty a wink. The balloon sported a little teddy bear lying in a hospital bed with the words 'Get Well Soon' written on it.
"It is very cute," Dusty agreed, smiling then handing the bag to Cover Girl. "Here Courtney, you tell me what is inside it. I am afraid of what my sailor friend bought me."
"Shipwreck," Duke said sternly. "Is this appropriate for the ladies to see?"
Scarlett and Cover Girl both rolled their eyes as Shipwreck defended himself, "Yes, I do have some morals."
Cover Girl opened the bag and peeked in. She grinned as she pulled out a little stuffed coyote and handed it to Dusty. "Very cute, Hector," she said, watching Dusty's cheeks flush pink.
"Oh come on, I thought it would be a nice reminder of how I found Dusty and Recondo. The coyotes were all around them, and I chased them off," Shipwreck gloated while explaining himself. "Jeez."
"Okay, knock it off, Wreck," Duke interjected. "I am going to go check on Wild Bill's ETA. Why don't you come with me? Scarlett and Cover Girl can pack Dusty's things."
"Uh, okay, Top," Shipwreck answered.
"Thanks for the coyote," Dusty quickly stated.
"Anytime, my friend," the sailor replied, following Duke out the door.
"Well, that went well," Scarlett huffed, shaking her head. "And you had to baby-sit him this entire trip, Court? I do not envy you."
"It was interesting, to say the least," Cover Girl divulged.
"I am going to go check with the nurses to see about transferring Dusty. I'll be back in a little while," Scarlett remarked, walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.
"That was odd," Cover Girl commented, watching everyone suddenly leave.
"Yes, very strange. He is cute though, don't you think?" Dusty asked, holding the little brown stuffed coyote.
"He is adorable," Cover Girl cooed, picking up the pup and cradling it in her arms.
Laughing, Dusty pulled her close to him. "How about you give me some of that lovin' and not that pup?"
Raising a teasing eyebrow, she quipped, "If you think you can handle it. Although, I would much rather wait until we get home."
"Ah, yes, then I can play the patient, and you can be the doctor."
"Just what the doctor ordered," Cover Girl corrected, leaning down to kiss him.
Absorbed in their kiss, neither heard the door open until they heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. "Excuse me, is everything alright in here?" The doctor asked.
"I'm sure it is. She was just giving him mouth-to-mouth," Scarlett quickly answered, ignoring the daggers coming from Cover Girl's eyes.
"Right, like I haven't heard that one before," the doctor smarted back, smiling at the soldiers before him. "Spc. Rudat, Sgt. O'Hara informs me that you need to be moved back to your base. I just want to check you out before I let them take you."
"Okay, doctor. I am feeling much better though," Dusty replied softly.
"I bet you are," the doctor muttered with a half-smile on his face.
"Come on Court, let's leave the two in privacy," Scarlett ordered the glaring tank jockey.
Outside of the hospital room, Cover Girl hastily complained, "I can't believe you said that, Shana."
Scarlett shrugged her shoulders as they sat down in a couple of waiting room chairs. "I call them like I see them. Plus, it seemed to fit at the time." She looked over at Cover Girl. "Sorry, if I embarrassed you, but you had that one coming."
"Touché, Red. Will you ever let me live down some of my past indiscretions?" She asked, sipping her soda.
"Maybe someday," Scarlett smirked.
Back inside the hospital room, the doctor checked over Dusty before saying, "I'm releasing you as long as you promise to have your base doctor check you out."
"Absolutely, doctor," Dusty agreed.
"You are free to get dressed. Just don't leave until the nurse draws up the appropriate transfer papers."
"Okay," Dusty acknowledged, slipping out of bed to grab his clothes and change.
The doctor exited the room and saw the two redheads. Walking over, he informed them, "I have released him but want him to see your doctor when you get back to base."
"Sure thing, doctor. We will be sure he does," Scarlett replied.
"He is changing now, so give him a few minutes," the doctor stated, turning to walk off.
"Thank you, doctor," Cover Girl quickly said.
The doctor smiled at the ladies and nodded. "You're welcome. Take good care of him, ma'am," he quipped with a wink at Cover Girl.
"You know you two will not be able to hide your feelings forever," Scarlett warned Cover Girl after the doctor was out of earshot. "Conrad and I tried. It lasted pretty long, but it only takes that one slip up."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Cover Girl sighed. "We have been really careful. Not that there is a rank difference, but I don't know. We just didn't want it to be public knowledge yet. Thank you for not saying anything to Shipwreck."
"Sure, no problem. A few people know about you two, but the majority does not," Scarlett explained.
"Like who?" Cover Girl quickly asked.
"Well, besides Conrad and me, Breaker, Mainframe, and Dial Tone." She laughed before she continued, "Actually, they were the first to catch Conrad and myself. The cameras catch everything. Plus, Ace knows, but don't ask me how? And, Footloose's karma told him."
Chuckling softly, Cover Girl nodded. "How long have you known?"
Scarlett cast Cover Girl a quick, cynical glance. "Long enough, Court. Don't worry, I will not tell anyone and neither will Conrad. Although, I should," she evilly grinned.
"I would rather you not say anything, Shana. There are enough rumors going around base surrounding me. I think Ron would appreciate it if he was not included in them."
Sorrowfully looking at the woman beside her, Scarlett nodded her head, glumly stating, "I won't, but if the secret was out, that would squash all the rumors about you and Hector, or you and Lance, or even the latest."
Forgetting her seriousness and the embarrassment of earlier, Cover Girl chuckled. "The one about me and Wally. Ya gotta love that one."
Snickering, Scarlett shrugged her shoulders. She was just glad that the Duke and Cover Girl rumor was forgotten about, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy goading the tank jockey about her past choices. Luckily, Cover Girl could take it as well as she dished it out.
"What's so funny girls?" Shipwreck asked as he and Duke returned from radioing Wild Bill.
"Just girl talk," Cover Girl quickly covered, giving Scarlett a wink. "When is Bill going to be here?"
"He is here now. We just loaded the Mirage," Duke replied. "Is Ron released?"
Nodding, Scarlett answered, "The nurse needs to draw up the transfer papers, but otherwise we are all set. Ron is changing."
"Great," Shipwreck stated. "I am ready to leave Hollywood. I have had enough of it to last me a lifetime." He started to walk towards Dusty's door.
"Hey, Delgado, bring Rudat and meet us up top," Duke called after the sailor. "Come on, ladies. Let's go home."
"Yes, let's go. I have to agree with Shipwreck for once," Cover Girl sighed then shook her head as she realized she just agreed with the sailor. "That's gotta be a first," she muttered.
Duke and Scarlett chuckled as the three headed to the Tomahawk. Duke was tempted to say something to Cover Girl about her secret relationship but decided not to. It was best to let sleeping dogs lie right now. He didn't want two irate women on his hands on the way back to base. They may threaten to throw him out of the Tomahawk. He would wait until later and ask Scarlett in private about the lovebirds.
"Come on, pal. Let's go," Shipwreck told Dusty as he walked into the hospital room.
A nurse followed Shipwreck in. "Mr. Rudat, here are your papers. You may leave whenever you are ready."
"Thank you very much," Dusty told the nurse then addressed Shipwreck, "I'm ready, I'm ready." He shoved the transfer papers in his pack.
Shipwreck was momentarily sidetracked by the pretty nurse and watched her exit the room. Looking back at Dusty, he joked, "Don't forget your pup and balloon. You'll break Courtney's heart."
Dusty looked over at his friend as he untied the balloon. "If I leave the balloon or the pup?" He asked, arching a brow and hiding a smile. "Personally, I think she is really attached to the little fellow." He handed Shipwreck the balloon and placed the stuffed coyote pup into his pack.
"The balloon, Rudat," Shipwreck answered, rolling his eyes. "I think you have dust in your eyes. She digs you."
"Do you think?" Dusty asked, quizzically. As far as he knew, no one knew the feelings that were shared between the tank jockey and desert trooper.
Shipwreck shrugged his shoulders. "Well, she certainly doesn't look at any of the guys like she looks at you. I've seen her watch you. If only she would look at me that way. Instead, Duke has to order her to keep tabs on me."
"I haven't heard my name on the rumor mill yet," Dusty commented, following Shipwreck out of the room.
"It's there, my friend. Trust me," Shipwreck laughed.
Dusty shook his head and laughed with him as the two boarded the Tomahawk. He wasn't going to say anything to confirm or deny Shipwreck's observation.
Ending note: Jameel is Arabic for beautiful