Boosting Morale
Miss Pauling stood at the door for what felt like a lifetime, mentally preparing to knock and request permission for entry. She didn't doubt that Scout would object to a visit from her, nor did she doubt that anyone, namely Medic, would object to her sticking around to spend time with the patients. It was within visiting hours, after all. Come to think of it, even if it weren't, Miss Pauling's position as personal assistant to The Administrator came with certain perks, one of which being a ton of respect from just about every mercenary in the Red army. No, Miss Pauling's reluctance to open that door had nothing to do with the implications of her being in the hospital wing of the Red base. She needed to be honest with herself and just admit it; she didn't know if she wanted to see what was in there.
Her phone call from Medic had been brief, thanks to her slamming the phone down and leaping atop her motorcycle the second she heard the words "Scout", "explosion" and "hospital". She didn't know if he had ducked for cover and was being treated for the most minor injuries imaginable, or if he was missing both legs and an arm. She was never proud of her tendency to just expect the worst, but it was tricky to suppress. The mental image of Scout on life support, or comatose, or a vegetable…
"Vell, have you seen zhe patient, Fraulein?"
She was snapped out of her daze by the familiar voice of the Medic, who had appeared behind her so suddenly, she half expected to see one of Engie's teleporters whirring and humming beside him. Remembering that her image as a strong, independent presence was important to the boys, she attempted to compose herself and appear as calm and collected as possible. She was just there as a formality, that was all. Just visiting one of the boys because she was obliged to. No personal connection at all. Just an obligatory, mandatory, unavoidable, strictly official and inarguably professional visit to a hired mercenary that she absolutely didn't have any feelings for.
"Uh, nope. Not yet," she managed to say with something resembling confidence.
Medic appeared nonplussed, which she took to mean that he was totally buying it; she didn't feel calm at all, but prayed that she looked just as composed and reticent as ever.
"Vell, you may feel free to pop in und say a quick Guten Tag," he said as he walked towards her, hands behind his back. He appeared casual and collected as well, but Miss Pauling got the impression that his calmness was completely sincere.
"Say, Medic," Miss Pauling spoke, her voice feeling like a string that was about to be cut by a big, threatening pair of scissors. "You, er, never said …. well, I mean, I was in a hurry to get here- not that there was any reason for that, I mean. Just, uh… I dunno, wanted to beat the…. traffic…."
As she trailed off, she glanced over at Medic, who was eyeing her with a look as if to say "Yes, go on". She cleared her throat.
"What I was about to say was," she continued, "I realize that I never, um, gave you a chance on the phone to really run me through the, er…. well, I mean, the specific… particular... uh…. you know, the real condition, I suppose-"
"Are you asking me," Medic cut her off, "if he is okay?"
There was a pause for a second, after which she gave him a quick nod. Medic removed his glasses and began to wipe the lenses on his white jacket.
"Vell, zhis is just zhe opinion of a man who technically no longer has a medical license, but…"
Medic reached out and pushed the door to Scout's room open.
"He should be fine."
Before entering, Miss Pauling cautiously looked over at the bed. Finally, she allowed herself to step through the threshold of the door and into the small, tidy room. Aside from the bed, a single chair, a desk and some cabinets, it was fairly plain. But the room could have been full of dogs on unicycles and monkeys doing backflips and her eyes would have been fixated on the young man in the bed.
Scout lay motionless, but peaceful. He was unconscious, but clearly breathing. As she slowly approached the bed, Miss Pauling scanned him up and down, trying to spot any major injuries. She was thankful that he was at least in one piece, but still needed some assurance before she could really calm down from the fright she had gotten when she heard the news. The first notable thing was that, simply put, Scout was a mess. His face was black with what looked like ashes from an explosion - the one Medic had mentioned during the call - and his skin was smudged with dirt. He was dressed in a simple hospital gown, but his clothes were folded on a chair beside the bed; they, too, were covered with stains and dirt.
Secondly, Scout was looking, to say it frankly, pretty damn rough. He sported a black eye, prominent even under the black ash and soot, and his skin was covered in bruises. Some small ones were dotted all over his arms and neck, and some bigger ones peaked out from under the coverage of the gown; the short sleeves allowed Pauling to spot a pretty nasty-looking bruise on Scout's right bicep, huge and more purple than her signature shirt. Thankfully, though, Scout didn't seem to be too shaken. Beyond the bruises and just generally being a mess, he seemed okay. Nothing he wouldn't recover from, anyway. Miss Pauling began to sigh, relieved.
"He's fairly veak and drained at zhe moment," Medic spoke, startling Pauling a little; she had just about forgotten that he was there. "But he should be fine once he gets a bit of rest. He'll take it easy for a few days, maybe a week or two, and soon he'll be out bonking people on zhe head with his bat again."
Pauling smiled faintly at this image. She was actually kind of impressed that after all of his time spent in servitude to her and the Administrator, only now was he losing a fight. And even then, he had survived.
"Do you know what happened?" she asked without turning to face Medic.
"Vell," Medic spoke, "I vas talking to zhe other boys who vere zhere just before you arrived."
"And how are they?"
"Zhey're fine. No one dead, anyvay. Sniper's arm is in a sling, but he's fine. Soldier und Heavy are in similar condition to Scout but zhey're alright. Spy got out relatively unscathed and he told me what happened."
Pauling turned to face him now.
"It vas the Payload."
Pauling immediately shook her head. Honestly, that was just about enough to sum it all up. Still, Medic continued.
"They ended up winning. Blue Army were quite determined this time, though. Just kept on coming, no end in sight. Bomb after bomb, rocket after rocket, plus zhey had a sniper trying to pick everyone off from a balcony. According to our sniper, Scout here was the one to point him out to zhe others."
Pauling smiled.
"Is that so?"
Medic appeared beside her now. He was faintly smiling.
"Oh, ja. Your boy here is quite the hero, it seems. That good-for-nothing little schwein vas aiming right at Spy's head vhile he was in the middle of picking a disguise. Scout saw him, yanked Spy out of zhe way, and raised the alarm. The dumb schwul vas just vondering vhat zhe hell was going on vhen our Sniper got him right between zhe eyes."
Pauling was now smiling ear to ear. She was always so proud of the boys in moments like this, when they worked as a team.
"Spy vas reluctant to admit it," Medic kept going, "but Scout really saved his bacon!"
Pauling chuckled, but then remembered why they were there, and her expression turned serious once again.
"So, uh… how did…?"
She gestured to the unconscious Scout.
"Agh, you know him. Zhe second he realized zhat he vas such a big shot, he got all cocky. Whipped out his bat and ran out into the battlefield. Bonked a few Blue schweinhunds on zhe head, but he vas too busy gloating to see the Demo man."
Pauling turned back to Medic, hanging onto every single word.
"And what happened?" she asked eagerly.
"Vell, Spy said zhat he got to return the favor. He yanked Scout out of zhe way of a sticky bomb explosion. Zhey all survived, but Scout got knocked down, as did Soldier and Heavy. Spy managed to carry Scout to safety vhile Sniper and zhe others fought the Blues off. It vas a narrow escape, apparently."
Miss Pauling sighed. She had a real soft spot for Scout, but God help him, he was far from humble. Just then, Scout's eyelids began to twitch. He began to stir. Miss Pauling stepped forward.
"Scout?"
Scout groaned a little as he struggled to sit upright. He was clearly in a bit of a daze as he lifted his head off the pillow, trying to look around and get his bearings.
"Where the hell…?"
He began to prop himself up on his elbows. He turned to face Medic and Miss Pauling.
"Oh. Hey, guys.."
His words were slurred. Had he not just woken up mere seconds ago, Pauling would have been paranoid about him having a concussion.
"Did Spy tell ya about how I totally saved his ass?" he said with that smug little smirk of his.
Medic rolled his eyes.
"At least you seem healthy, Scout." He fixed his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose and closer to his eyes. "If you two vill excuse me, I have more patients to attend to. I shall give you some privacy."
Medic gave Miss Pauling a polite nod and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Pauling put her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels as she searched for something to say. She felt like there were a million things she wanted to ask, and a million more she wanted to tell him, but had absolutely no idea where to begin. She decided to start simple.
"Are you feeling okay?" she said, turning to look at Scout.
"Aw, yeah, sure," he said with a twinge of sarcasm as he shakily sat upright in the bed. "My veins feel like they're full of lead, my head is throbbin' like a mother, and I'm freezin' my God-damned balls off in this goofy-lookin' gown."
Miss Pauling raised an eyebrow at him. Scout sighed, thinking about what mom would say to him if she knew that he was speaking in such a way in front of a lady. A lady as important as Miss Pauling, no less.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"Don't sweat it," she said, settling into the wooden chair beside the bed after moving the pile of clothes to the desk. "I don't think I'd be feeling very G-rated if I had just been through the same thing as you."
"So they did tell ya what happened?"
Miss Pauling nodded.
"Sure did. And you should be proud of yourself, Scout. You and Spy demonstrated excellent teamwork out there."
Scout looked at her blankly as she said this. He was silent for a few seconds. Pauling waited for him to respond before saying anything else. Finally, he responded with a shrug. A careless, uninterested, "whatever" kind of shrug. Pauling eyed him.
"Scout, I'm complimenting you. Where's the gloating? The self-congratulating? Come on, where's the little Scout-isms that we've all come to know and love?" she pressed him with a playful smirk.
Scout didn't look at her. He scowled at the wall like a child would while being scolded. After a second, he turned to look at her, his expression remaining deadpan.
"Miss Pauling, you're sure you're cool with me not keepin' it G-rated?"
Miss Pauling nodded.
"Okay," he said, "I'm not gonna gloat or congratulate myself or whatever, because I think you're full of shit."
Miss Pauling was certainly taken aback by this.
"Full of- Scout, what? Excuse me?"
"Bullshit, Miss Pauling. I'm sorry, but really," he sat up, "you don't honestly think that I deserve to be congratulated, do you?"
"Well, of course I do, Scout. You said it yourself, you saved your teammate's ass out there."
"Right. Right before I made an ass of myself!"
He lay back down, sighing in frustration and looking at the ceiling.
"I do it every freakin' time, Miss Pauling. I go out there, and it's all "Yeah, let's waste 'em" and crap like that, and then I fuck it up just by actin' like an idiot. Because the second I feel like I'm winnin', I need to turn the whole thing into a big joke. But the truth is, that ain't wise, Miss Pauling. 'Cos this is war, ain't it? It ain't no joke, and I'm a total dumbass for actin' the way I do."
Miss Pauling was at a real loss for words here; she had never seen Scout like this. He was supposed to be the cocky smartass, the one with a smart-alecky retort for just about anything you threw his way. He was confident and charismatic, and brought a refreshing bit of fun into the doom and gloom of war. He was a noticeable presence on the team, and while they didn't exactly come out and say it, the others appreciated him for what he did, even if he did sometimes do it a little too well. But this was very out of the blue. Scout was lying before her, self-loathing. Beating himself up over something as simple as, well, him.
"Scout, come on," she said softly. "We all love you on the team."
She placed a hand on his. He turned to face her, but remained silent. Pauling wasn't sure what to really say next; with nine huge personalities around, she never really found herself in a situation like this. The mercenaries had never really had any trouble boosting their morale before, and the last one she expected to see in need of a little affection was Scout. But here he was, and she was obligated to help, not only as an employer, but as a friend. As a woman who had been admiring him for as long as she could remember.
"Scout, you don't need to beat yourself up over this. People like how funny you are. I know, you wouldn't think that a guy as goofy as you would ever belong in the army, but the fact is, you're doing a great job and we all admire you for it. Come on, Scout. Do you have any idea how worried I was when I heard that you were in here? For crying out loud, I was on my motorcycle before Medic even told me what had happened to you, I was so worried!"
She didn't quite realize it as she was doing it, but while she spoke, Pauling was leaning closer to Scout. She was ever so slightly leaning closer and closer, looking deeper into his eyes, her tone of voice fading from formal and proper to intimate and personal.
"Scout, I… I mean, you're amazing. We'd be lost without you. We'd be…"
She didn't even register what was happening next. It was like she blinked and all of a sudden, her lips were on his. The kiss was frantic, full of desire and need. She didn't even care if he was feeling drained, she wanted him right then and there. She straddled him on the bed, sitting on his pelvis as they continued to furiously make out. She felt Scout's teeth on her bottom lip, and she moaned as he gently bit her. He then moved down to her neck, placing kisses on her pale flesh. She felt his hands gently run up and down her hips, admiring every curve, every contour on her body. He was moaning, too. He gently dug his teeth into her skin, leaving a small red mark on her collarbone.
Pauling felt light-headed. She had wanted this for so long. She was in bliss, pure heaven as Scout unbuttoned her shirt and reached around to unclasp her black bra. She giggled, biting her bottom lip as his shaky hands undressed her. Even with his injuries, he was desperate for her. He wanted her so bad, and she wanted him even more.
"I want you to fuck me, Scout."
Scout looked up at her, eyes bright with excitement. Clearly he had wanted this for some time too.
"With pleasure, Miss Pauling."
She immediately swooped down to kiss him again, all the while he pulled off her shoes and pulled down her skirt. Now she was only wearing her bra, panties and stockings. Scout, meanwhile, wore only his gown, which didn't leave much to the imagination at all. Miss Pauling ran her hand down his chest, settling on his member, which was now throbbing. She couldn't help but break the kiss for a second just to glance down at it. Scout didn't mind; he buried his face in her neck once again.
"Geeze, Scout," she sighed with a grin. "That's a pretty big cock."
Scout liked his side of her a lot. He figured that such a stressed, busy woman must have been pretty pent-up, but not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined her this vulgar, this crude, this lustful and feral. And he fucking loved it.
"You want it in you?" he whispered. His confidence was definitely back with a vengeance.
"Hell yes," she said as she straddled him once more, pulling her panties aside and positioning his stiff dick at her entrance. She was already wet.
She immediately slid down onto him, her eyes rolling back as his length filled her pussy.
"Fffffuck, Scout!"
She gripped his shoulders as she rode him. The bed creaked with the force of their lovemaking, and every thrust was met with a deep, lustful moan from Pauling. Scout held her hips, thrusting up to meet her awaiting pussy.
"Fuck! Yes! Unf! Oh God, yes! Give it to me, Scout! Fuck me!" she groaned as he thrust into her.
"You like that?" he said through gritted teeth as he slapped her ass.
"I fucking love it!"
Scout held her sides and flipped her onto her back. She wrapped her shapely legs around his slim waist as he fucked her missionary style. She was not surprised that he was the type of man who liked to take control in bed, but was impressed by his energy given the circumstances. She remembered what the Medic said about resting, but in the moment she honestly didn't give a shit. It was hard to with Scout's big rod sliding in and out of her wet pussy while his teeth nibbled at her bouncing tits.
"Ungh! Yeah, baby!" Scout was in pure bliss.
"Come on, Scout! Fuck me harder!"
Miss Pauling's legs were now completely in the air; Scout was hitting her G-spot with every thrust and she was practically screaming with pleasure. Her body convulsed, her toes curled and her tongue hung out as Scout pumped his fat cock into her cunt.
"Pauling, I'm gonna cum," she heard Scout groan.
"God, baby, me too!" she gasped. "Keep going!"
Scout gripped her hips and bucked into her furiously, with the intensity of one of Heavy's machine guns. He buried his face in her cleavage to muffle the sounds of his own groans, while Pauling simply threw her head back and bellowed his name as her orgasm rocked through her body. She was overcome with intense pleasure as it cut through her like a heavy tidal wave. At the same time, Scout blew his load in her, pumping spurt after spurt of white, thick semen into her cunt.
They just lay there for a few moments, panting, drenched in sweat and completely satisfied. Scout rolled over and Pauling held him, her hand resting on his bruised abdomen.
"Fuck me, that was amazing," Scout sighed.
"I needed that," said Miss Pauling with a smile. She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "I told you, I'd be lost without you here."
Scout rolled his eyes, but smiled back.
"Alright, you've convinced me."