Once again, to those following me for Generator Rex, I am deviating from the norm and writing for one of my favorite 80's cartoon. GI Joe. To you Joe fans, I am here because Willwrite4fics has stated that she wants to write for a different fandom for now which is well within her right. HOWEVER, it's her fault that I'm now shipping Beach Head and Cover Girl. So where am I going to get my fix? I guess I have to take matters into my own hands. So with a little encouragement from Bugsymutt I am now submitting a GI Joe story with beginnings of BH/CG. I in no way think that my story can compare in anyway to any of yours but I hope you will indulge me.
First off, I do not curse and I don't write lemons or limes. So those looking for realism… sorry. I am sure Beach Head and Cover Girl have mouths on them but I can not bring myself to write them. I'm also old fashion in regards to intimacy and although I'm sure they would do it, I don't feel the need to write it in detail (I also prefer to remain oblivious).So if you're looking for that… again sorry, not here.
Second, this is based off the cartoon continuity. But I am not touching the Snakescar or Duke/Scarlett story lines with a ten foot pole. Too many rabid fans out there. (I do love Flint and Lady Jaye though).
Third, I am a canon girl and will keep to it as much as possible. The only thing not canon obviously is the BH/CG which could be…. They never said they couldn't be a couple and again I blame Willwrite4fics.
This story will run like an episode of RAH from the 80's… meaning it's slightly cartoonish.
PS I have no idea what I am doing.
Disclaimer: I don't own GI Joe.
Two men in fatigues, holding Bushmaster M17's, stood guard in front of a metal gate. The woods that surrounded them were silent save for the occasional rustling of the trees from the night breeze and of the underbrush from nocturnal animals scurrying about their business. A set of headlights loomed on the dusty unpaved road leading toward the men. They readied their weapons as the lights came nearer. But when they were finally able to make out the vehicle, they relaxed but not for long. The transport was not slowing down; in fact, it seemed to speed up. When it was clear to the guards that the vehicle was going to ram the gate, they opened fire.
But it was too late. They jumped out of the way as the truck careened into the gate knocking it off its hinges. With a cry of "Cobra!" dozens of Cobra troopers streamed out from the back of the truck. They attacked the compound. As gunfire was exchanged, a lone figure in white silently entered the building while its inhabitants were distracted.
Once inside, he quickly with a snap of his wrists sent shurikens into the cameras. As he slipped through the halls, he avoided the soldiers running to aid their company. Finally arriving at a locked metal door, he pulled a box from his belt. He attached a wire to the control pad. Typing in a few strokes the box lit up and the door slid open. A shot rang out. But the man in white was faster. He dodged the bullet and tossed a dart that lodged itself in the neck of the shooter. He collapsed in a heap on the floor. The man in white entered and walked toward the computer. He contemptuously pushed aside the unconscious body and pulled out a flash drive. Plugging it into the computer, he began downloading data. A few minutes later he exited the compound, leaping over the fence in one jump, ran into the woods, and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
0o0
General Hawk walked through the building surveying the damage done the night before.
"What's the damage, Sergeant Lunt?" He asked the mousy man next to him.
The man took off his hat and scratched his head before replacing it and answering, "Several soldiers were injured, the gate needs to be replaced, the grounds are a mess, and some of the security cameras were destroyed but the worst is this…" The man led Hawk into what use to be a secure room.
Hawk scanned the room. "What information has been compromised?"
The man sighed. "Classified information about our operatives overseas, spy networks, weapon plans…"
"In other words everything." Hawk growled.
"Not everything." The sergeant amended. "They got nothing on the Joes."
"They better not have." Hawk glared at the man. The man flinched under his steely gaze.
"Yes, as per our agreement no sensitive information on the Joes are stored here or any other government database except those you have personally authorized.
"Good. Now let me see the evidence you have gathered." Hawk left the room so fast that Lunt had to trot to keep up.
0o0
Duke rubbed his temple as two nervous Joes stood before him.
"So how did twenty pounds of mash potatoes get into the tank engine again?" Duke rummaged his desk for a bottle of aspirin.
"Well, um sir, Shipwreck read somewhere that you can cook potatoes on an engine…" Grunt began.
"You know what? I don't want to know. Both of you help Cover Girl clean out her tank and you are both on KP duty till the end of the month." Duke popped in the pills and swallowed without water. He scowled at the two men in front of him. "Now get out of my sight."
"Yes, sir!" The two saluted before scrambling out, glad for the light sentence.
Duke leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His intercom crackled to life.
"Duke, Hawk wants to see us pronto." Flint's voice echoed in his office.
Duke didn't answer at first.
"Duke?" Flint's voice held a note of concern.
Duke sighed before he let his finger press the intercom button. "I heard you. I'm coming." Duke said annoyed.
0o0
Hawk quickly briefed Duke, Flint, and Beach Head on the situation
"Storm Shadow stole vital information from one of our government's secluded bases. We need to recover it and see how much of the data has been compromised." Hawk concluded. "We received intel that there recently has been increased activity around the Amazon basin. I'm willing to bet that it's tied into this theft. Assemble a team to go down there and investigate."
"I believe Beach Head should lead this mission." Duke said. "He has training in that terrain."
"Ah have training in every terrain." Beach Head corrected with a scowl. "How many will be in my unit?"
"A smaller unit of 3 to 4 should go in first and do some quiet reconnaissance. A larger unit will be back up just in case you find the base and another unit will be on alert." Hawk stated.
"Very good sir. Ah'll look through the roster and…" Beach Head began.
"Actually, you don't have much of a choice."Flint interrupted. "Since there's been so much Cobra activity lately there are only a few Joes available anyway."
"Who?" Beach Head frowned.
"Shipwreck, Cover Girl, and Snake Eyes." Flint replied.
"That's it?" Beach Head exclaimed incredulously. "Well, maybe I can work with the ninja but the slack off and model?"
"Well, I'm sure you will make it work sergeant major." Hawk replied. "I need another larger unit as back up."
"There are several Joes about to return from a mission. I'll redirect them to our base in the Amazon." Duke said.
"Excellent. Gentlemen, I can not stress how important this is." Hawk left the rest unspoken.
"Yes sir!" The three saluted.
"Dismissed." Hawk return the salute.
The three officers filed out but Beach Head was not pleased.
0o0
"Hey gorgeous, how about a date Friday night?" Shipwreck casually leaned over the tank and waggled his eyebrows at the pretty tank jockey who was tinkering with the tank's engine.
He barely was able to get out of the way as the hood slammed down.
"Serious sailor boy? You break my tank and then ask me out?" She glowered at him.
"Awk, sailor boy's in trouble, sailor boy's in trouble, awk!" Polly squawked happily.
"Shut up, you poor excuse for a dust mop." Shipwreck pinched his parrot's beak together.
"Leave the poor parrot alone." Cover Girl snapped. "And pick the potatoes off my floor."
"Yeah, pick on someone your own size, awk." Polly squawked.
Shipwreck jumped down grumbling but he started cleaning up the mess he and Clutch had made.
"Shipwreck, Cover Girl, Snake Eyes come to the conference room for assignment." A voice announced over the loudspeaker.
"Hot dog, you hear that, gorgeous? We're going assignment together." Shipwreck gave her a sly smile.
"Yeah, well if you don't want that potato shoved up where the sun don't shine keep your hands to yourself." Cover Girl pointed a finger into his chest before stalking off.
"She's crazy about me." Shipwreck assured Polly.
"Or maybe you just drive her crazy, awk." Polly replied.
"Shut up bird." Shipwreck growled as he followed Cover Girl out.
Clutch appeared from under the tank. He pulled off his headphones. "Hey, where'd everyone go?"
0o0
"Any questions?" Beach Head asked glowering at his team.
"No sir." Cover Girl and Shipwreck shouted. Snake Eyes just saluted.
Beach Head looked at his team which also consisted of a parrot and wolf. He was in trouble.
They grabbed their gear and headed into the waiting Tomahawk. When they were strapped in, Beach Head gave Lift Ticket a thumbs up which he returned before the copter lifted into the air.
After several hours they were at their destination.
"We're here, hombres." Lift Ticket announced as he settled the copter down.
The Joes unstrapped and jumped out glad to be on land. Cover Girl stretched her fatigued muscles. Shipwreck of course gave a whistle. Before Cover Girl could even react, Beach Head cuffed Shipwreck so hard his hat fell off.
"That's no way to treat a lady or a teammate!" He snapped at him.
"Relax, I'm just joking." Shipwreck rubbed the back of his head.
"That's no way to talk to your commanding officer now drop and give me twenty!" He bellowed.
Shipwreck looked shock. "Here?" He squeaked.
"Where else, pantywaist? Now drop before I make it fifty!" Beach Head yelled.
Shipwreck still looked uncertain.
"NOW!"
Shipwreck fell on his hands and began the set under the watchful eye of the angry ranger.
Cover Girl swallowed back a giggle, knowing that Beach Head being Beach Head would also make her do push ups. So she wisely kept her mouth shut. After Shipwreck finished his punishment, they made their way to the debriefing room before they departed.
Twenty minutes later they were trudging through the jungle. Beach Head with the machete was hacking his way through the thick vegetation followed by Cover Girl, Shipwreck, and Snake Eyes took up the rear. They marched in silence for several hours before the insects got to Shipwreck.
"Ughh, I should have brought bug spray." Shipwreck muttered as he whacked at another bug by his ear.
"Awk, and a breath mint." Polly squawked.
"I think it's going to parrot under glass for dinner tonight." Shipwreck growled at his companion.
"Look, what part of quiet reconnaissance do you not understand?" Beach Head stopped and glowered at the sailor and pet.
"He started it." Shipwreck pointed at Polly who looked away indignantly.
"Ah swear, if you don't shut up…" Beach Head growled.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Cover Girl grabbed Beach Head's arm.
"What are you talking about?" He turned his fierce glare at her.
"Shhh, Snake Eyes hears it don't you?" She turned to the ninja for confirmation. Beach Head turned to look. He saw that Timber's ears were flat against his head with a low growl from his throat. Snake Eyes meanwhile went into his defensive stance with his katana out. Beach Head stood stock still straining his ears. Next thing he knew he was pushed to the ground by Snake Eyes as an arrow barely missed his head. Cover Girl had her fire arm out and shot in the direction the arrow came from. Shipwreck also had his gun out. More arrows flew through the air. Snake Eyes blocked them with his katana while Shipwreck and Cover Girl began shooting through the thick vegetation. Beach Head cursed as he pushed himself up. Slightly embarrassed that he hadn't heard the enemy and that Snake Eyes had saved him, he sought to take back the situation.
"Retreat behind the trees for cover." He barked.
"I'm all for cover." Shipwreck agreed slowly making his way to the trees while still firing.
Cover Girl turned to follow but an arrow went through her shoulder. With a gasp she went down.
"Cover Girl!" Shipwreck yelled. He tried to go back but more arrows barred the way.
Beach Head scooped her up in his arms. "Keep moving!" He yelled leaping into the dense brush after Shipwreck.
Snake Eyes slowly backed away, providing cover for their retreat by knocking down the arrows.
Once behind the brushes, Beach Head pulled out the arrow and inspected Cover Girl's shoulder. "Does it hurt?"
"No, I always enjoy being a human pin cushion." Cover Girl said sarcastically.
Beach Head bit his tongue knowing now was not the right time to argue. "Shipwreck and Snake Eyes hold them off while I get Cover Girl out of here. Then fall back. Stay out of clearings. We meet up the river at the designated coordinates." Beach Head quickly fired off.
"Got it chief." Shipwreck answered for both him and Snake Eyes. "Hang in there, Cover Girl. We still got that date Friday."
"In your dreams." Cover Girl answered good-naturedly as Beach Head wordlessly wrapped a quick bandage around her shoulder before lifting her carefully in his arms.
Faster than she thought he could move, Beach Head and Cover Girls disappeared in the underbrush.
0o0
After they made it several miles inland, Cover Girl tired of having the vegetation smack her in the face, asked to be put down.
"You're hurt." Beach Head said simply.
"Yeah, but it's my shoulder. I can walk still." She insisted.
"Fine." Beach Head said flatly as he placed her down. He then took out his machete and began cutting a path to the river.
"Do you think that was Cobra or just natives?" Cover Girl asked following him careful not to let her injured shoulder touch anything.
"Ah don't know." He admitted. "It would seem like a Cobra thing to do but they're using primitive weapons."
"Yeah, it would be easy for them to just annihilate us with a grenade." Cover Girl agreed.
"No, that would call attention to themselves, but a bullet to the brain is just as effective and not as conspicuous." Beach Head noted. "But until Ah know our mission has been compromised, we're going to continue."
"Do you think Shipwreck and Snake Eyes are okay?" She asked quietly.
"They're top trained soldiers. Ah should know. Ah put them through the paces. They'll be fine." Beach Head reassured her.
But Cover Girl could tell he was worried. Over the last few months she had been studying his mannerisms mainly because it annoyed her that he kept his face hidden nearly all the time behind that balaclava. She prided herself on being able to read faces but how do you read a face you couldn't see? So she watched him covertly. She roomed with two of the bases most stealthy Joes. She got more tips on spying than she cared to remember from Lady Jaye and Scarlett. The near permanent scowl he wore made it near impossible to tell anything from his eyes. It took a few weeks but she could finally differentiate the tones in his voice. They were subtle but they were there and his voice held a note of anxiety.
"How's your shoulder?" He broke through her reverie.
"Stiff, painful. I'll live." She answered.
"When we get to the meeting point, Ah'm radioing base to have you picked up." He said.
"But why?" Cover Girl grew angry. "It's just a small injury. I…"
"Will be a hindrance. Ah can't have one of my men indisposed when other's lives are on the line. And you would do well to remember to speak respectfully to your commanding officer." Beach Head said firmly.
"Yes sir." Cover Girl gritted her teeth. She knew he was right. With her shoulder injured, she would have a hard time watching their backs but she didn't like the feeling of being useless. Then there was another underlying tone she heard in his voice that confused her. It sounded like guilt. But what did he have to feel guilty for? They walked along in tense silence.
When they finally reached their destination there were no signs of Shipwreck and Snake Eyes.
"Now what?" Cover Girl asked exasperated.
Beach Head was wondering himself. He was saved from replying when a green streak flew past them.
"What was that?" Cover Girl swung around.
"Ah think it's that dang fool sailor's bird." Beach Head held out his arm. Sure enough the green streak flew down and landed on his arm.
"Awk, sailor's been caught, sailor's been caught." Polly whistled.
"Oh no! Are they still…" Cover Girl didn't dare finish her question.
"Both alive." Polly squawked.
Cover Girl breathed a sigh of relief. She could feel Beach Head relax a fraction as well.
"Where are they? Can you bring us there?" Beach Head asked the bird.
"Follow Polly, awk!" The bird flew up.
Beach Head turned to Cover Girl. "You better stay here. If it gets ugly…"
"Then I'll be there to watch your back. " She glared at him. "You need all the help you can get. Injury or not."
Beach Head struggled with whether he should take her. He was taking a chance. Then again he was taking a chance not taking her.
"Fine." He finally decided. "But if you can't fight, stay out of the way."
"Are you coming, slowpokes?" Polly rounded back to get them.
"Coming, stupid bird." Beach Head grumbled.
Cover Girl glowered at his back. She was a trained soldier. She didn't need him to tell her what to do.
0o0
They seemed to be walking forever. Beach Head turned slightly back to see how Cover Girl was doing. She was sweating and her breathing seemed labored, but she was keeping up. He was about to ask the parrot if it knew where it was going, when Polly landed on a branch of the tree in front of Beach Head's face.
"Over there, over there." Using its wing it lifted some foliage out of the way.
Beach Head and Cover Girl looked in surprise at the teeming Cobra base in front of them.
Standing around the base were some natives. Beach Head could see Major Bludd handing out what looked like gold to the natives.
"Look to the right." Cover Girl whispered in his ear.
Beach Head looked over to where she's pointing. At the same time, he noticed that she seemed warmer than usual. Before he could address it, however, he saw Shipwreck and Snake Eyes tied and on their knees. Cobra guards stood over them with weapons in hand. Timber was chained to a stake. He was snarling and snapping at anyone who came near him.
"Well, well, lookie at wot the snake dragged in." Major Bludd had walked over to gloat.
"So you Joes think you can get the drop on us, eh?" He walked around them as he talked. "Too bad we already know your moves."
"Go stuff yourself." Shipwreck replied. He was rewarded with a gun butt to the stomach. He doubled over but continued. "Getting the natives to do your dirty work is low."
"They need money and don't ask questions. Plus the added bonus is that no one is the wiser we're here. All evidence points to attacks by the natives. It's win-win for everyone." Major Bludd kicked the sailor in his side.
"I'm going to kick him so hard, his grandparents are going to feel it." Cover Girl growled.
Beach head gave her a funny look but did not contradict her.
"Come on. We've got to find a way to get them free." He started edging back.
"Wait." Cover Girl grabbed his arm. "It's him."
Beach Head looked again and his eyes darkened. It was Storm Shadow. He instinctively went for his revolver, but realized that there was no way he would win in this fight like this.
Storm Shadow walked over to Major Bludd. He did not look happy.
"This is not an honorable way for us to treat them." He glared at the major.
"This is not your place to say, ninja." Bludd said the last word like an oath. "You did your job now. Get on with you."
"As you say. I have completed my mission. Do not fail in yours." Storm Shadow turned to leave.
"Yes, yes. I will get the data to the Commander. You don't have to worry about me at my job." The one eye man scoffed. He then turned to his men. "Get rid of these Joes. Make it look like an accident."
"Beach Head, what'll we do?" Cover Girl asked alarmed.
"Working on it." He chewed his tongue. He scanned the base quickly. In a few minutes he had a make shift plan.
"Can you hotwire one of their tanks?" He asked Cover Girl.
"Of course." Cover Girl said slightly offended
"Good. Get in there and take one." He said.
"How? There's at least a dozen guards?" She asked.
"Leave that to me. Hey, birdie. I have a job for you." He called Polly over.
Polly landed on Beach Head's outstretched arm and listened to his directions.
0o0
Several Cobra soldiers started marching out with their prisoners with their hands tied behind their backs. Timber was led out on a chain with a muzzle around his mouth. One of the Cobra soldiers held a bow and several arrows. As they exited, the gate slid shut behind them. A few minutes passed, when a green streak dropped a nut on the guard.
"Ow! Stupid bird." The soldier rubbed his head.
"What's a matter? A little birdy bothering you?" His companion teased. "Ow!" He cursed as a nut hit him as well.
"Ha, I'm not the only one." The Cobra guard sneered. "Ow! That's it!" Another nut smacked his helmet askew. The irate Cobra aimed his rifle at the bird and fired. Polly nimbly dodged it. More Cobra soldiers attracted by the fire wandered over.
"What's going on?" One of them asked.
"Stupid parrot!" The guard shot a few more times missing each time.
"Is it mooning us?" Someone asked.
As Polly distracted the soldiers, Cover Girl crawled through a small opening under the fence that some animal must have made. Beach Head had spotted it and directed her to it. Even being of smaller size, she still barely managed to get through. She ignored the stinging pain in her shoulder as well as the wave of vertigo that hit her. She gritted her teeth ignoring everything but her objective.
By the time she reached the tanks, the base was pretty empty. Polly apparently had gotten the attention of the whole base. She heard shots every so often so she knew Polly was still alive. Not that she was that worried about him. He did belong to Shipwreck after all.
"Wot the bloody blue blazes is going on out here." Cover Girl ducked behind two tanks as she heard Major Bludd come out of one of the small compounds. "I'm trying to transfer the data! This better be good!"
Cover Girl ventured a look and was shocked to see that he had left the door opened. They may never get another chance. She took a deep breath and ran into the compound. Looking around the room, which housed a desk and computer, she saw on the screen that the data was just beginning to be transferred. She was no Mainframe, but she knew how to eject a flash drive. She grabbed it and shoved it in the pouch on her belt.
"Hey what…" The soldier never finished his sentence as Cover Girl threw the desk lamp. She jumped over his crumpled body and to the tanks.
"Hey! There's someone on the base." She heard someone yell. Not bothering looking back, she reached a tank and jumped in locking it just as the Cobra soldiers reached her.
Ignoring the banging outside and the nausea that flooded her, she began hotwiring the tank.
Meanwhile, as the Cobra soldiers reached the clearing with Snake Eyes and Shipwreck, the one with the bow got ready.
"Yo Joe!" The cry reverberated through the jungle startling the birds that were nesting in the trees. They fluttered out distracting the soldiers who now aimed their weapons away from their prisoners. That was their mistake. Snake Eyes kicked the weapon out of the nearest Cobra soldier's hand. Then he did a roundhouse kick to knock him out. Shipwreck had bum rushed his guard knocking him to the ground. Timber ran around his guard, using the chain to entangle the man. Timber yanked and the man fell. A soldier took aim at the Joes, but was thrown to the floor when a ranger landed on him. Beach Head punched him. He got up looking at his troops.
"Everyone all right?" He asked.
"Yeah, as soon as you untie us." Shipwreck replied as he turned his hands to Beach Head, who using his knife freed the sailor. When he turned to Snake Eyes, he was already out of his restraints and was helping his wolf friend.
"Now what?" Shipwreck asked.
"Cover Girl is getting our ride." As he finished speaking they heard a rumbling. The men tensed as a Cobra tank came rolling into the clearing. Beach Head, however, remained calm. The tank hatch popped opened.
"Come on guys. I've got several HISSes behind me." Cover Girl called out.
The men scrambled into the Cobra tank just as mortar fire exploded near them.
"Hang on, gentleman." Cover Girl called as she floored it. "Stupid thing drives like molasses." She complained.
"Man the guns!" Beach Head ordered.
Cover Girl heard the gun on their tank return fire. A tank appeared in her line of vision.
"Tank 12 o'clock!" She yelled.
"Got it!" Shipwreck fired.
But the HISS returned fire and everyone was thrown to the side.
Cover Girl cursed as she reached for the controls. "We're on our side! We're stuck."
"Then we take out as many as we can." Beach Head said grimly as he cocked his gun.
Fortunately, that was not needed as they heard cries of "Yo, Joe!" come from outside.
Cover Girl peeked through the periscope. "Hey, our guys are here!"
The Cobras were overwhelmed within a few minutes. Someone tapped on the tank's hatch.
"Who's in there?" They heard a gruff voice ask.
"Leather Neck! It's us!" Beach Head called out.
"Us who?" He asked suspiciously.
Beach Head let out a string of expletives and insults.
"Oh it's you Beach Head. Well, come on out."
The four spilled out of the tank. General Hawk walked up.
Beach Head saluted and looked at him questioningly.
"When you didn't checkin, we got worried. We sent in another small group to look for you and then found…him." Polly landed on Hawk's shoulder.
"Polly, you old sea dog! Extra bird seed for you tonight." Shipwreck smiled at his feathered friend.
Polly hopped over to Shipwreck's shoulder. "Saved your butt, awk."
Hawk looked back at Beach Head. "Did you get the data?"
"It's right here, sir." Cover Girl handed the flash drive to Hawk.
"Good work. I commend you and your team Beach Head." Hawk nodded and then left.
Everyone saluted as he left. Beach Head turned to Cover Girl.
"How?" He began.
"Permission to answer another time. I'm going to pass out now." With that Cover Girl collapsed. Beach head had just enough time to grab her before she hit the floor.
Now that they were not on the run, he realized she was burning up.
"Lifeline!" He roared.
0o0
When Cover Girl came to, she was staring at the ceiling. She tried to get up.
"Don't move." Doc commanded.
"What happened?" She settled back down.
"Your shoulder got infected. You had a fever of 103.4 when they brought you in." Doc answered.
"How long was I out?" She rubbed her eyes.
"Several hours." Doc said checking her chart. "You got a lot of visitors in that time. Had to shoo everyone away."
"Oh, was Beach Head here?" She didn't know why she asked.
"Beach Head? No." Doc answered.
"Oh." Cover Girl didn't know why she felt disappointed.
"He held you all the way back from the Amazon. Finally had to pry you from him, so I could take care of you. Then he just left. I still have to get him for a check up. I'll come back in a few hours. You'll probably be discharged tonight." Doc walked away after replacing her chart.
Cover Girl wasn't sure how she felt after that revelation.
That night Lady Jaye came by to help her back to her room. As they slowly walked out of the medical ward, Beach Head was there waiting for them.
Cover Girl looked in surprise.
"We need to debrief her." He told Lady Jaye tersely.
"Can't this wait?" Lady Jaye asked.
"It's okay. I'll go. I'll meet you back in the barracks." Cover Girl said.
"Are you sure?" Lady Jaye asked.
Cover Girl nodded before following Beach Head to the conference room. There she told her story to Hawk, Duke, and Flint giving full credit to Beach Head.
"Thank you Cover Girl. You may go." Hawk dismissed her.
"Thank you sir." Cover Girl got up to leave.
"Permission to escort her back." Beach Head said ignoring Flint's raised eyebrow.
"Permission granted." Hawk didn't even look up. He dismissed him with a wave.
Beach Head followed Cover Girl out of the room.
"I don't need an escort." Cover Girl told him quietly.
"Ah know. Ah just wanted to see how you were." Beach Head said nervously.
Cover Girl shrugged. "I've been better, been worse. Shoulder's a little stiff." She stumbled a little, but Beach Head caught her. He didn't let go.
"Um, Beach Head…" Cover Girl said face heating up.
"Oh, uh right. Ah should get you back." Cover Girl wondered if he was also red under that balaclava.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they got to her barracks, they paused awkwardly.
"Well, thanks for walking me back." Cover Girl broke the silence first.
"You're welcome." Beach Head cleared his throat. "Why did you tell them it was my plan to get the data back?"
"Well, it was." Cover Girl said.
"No, Ah told you to hot wire a tank." He frowned.
"I'm sure you would have wanted to me get the data if given the chance." Cover Girl said getting annoyed. "Look if it's about disobeying orders or some such nonsense I don't want to hear it. I've had a long day…."
"Woah, woah, it's nothing like that." He held out his hands defensively. "Ah just think you should have taken credit where credit was due."
"We're a team." Cover Girl felt tired. "I should go now."
"Oh right." Beach Head still looked like he wanted to say something. But he seemed to think the better of it. "Good night." He turned and left.
"Good night." Cover Girl wasn't sure why she felt sad.
"Cover Girl?"
"Yes?"
"Ah'm sorry that Ah got you hurt." He mumbled with his back turned. Then he started walking away.
"Wait, what?" Cover Girl ran and grabbed his arm. She stepped in front to face him. He would not meet her eyes. "What do you mean? You didn't shoot the arrow through my shoulder."
"Ah should have paid more attention. Ah should have noticed you had a fever. Ah…"
Cover Girl put her hand on the side of his face and made him look at her.
"Hey, none of that was your fault. You did a great job saving Shipwreck and Snake Eyes. You're a great leader… even if you are shouting at us most of the time." She smiled.
Beach Head relaxed a fraction. He placed his hand on hers.
Some one cleared their throat. They jumped apart.
"Hey, it's past someone's bedtime." Scarlett smirked.
"Yeah, well, Ah better be heading back." Beach Head said clearly embarrassed.
"Okay, see you." Cover Girl said trying not to laugh at his discomfort.
Then he seemed to recover. "PT at 0600 sharp. You better not be late!" He snapped.
"No, sir." Cover Girl almost laughed. She headed toward Scarlett. Before closing the door, she fondly gave one last look at the figure stalking off in the distance.
This is just a test story to see the response. I might write more if anyone's interested... maybe.