Author's note: Here it is, just as I promised. Now, I have read that Eric says that Ian is a virgin, and you probably have too. Forget he said it for this fic.

Chapter 2

   Maybe it was the smart alec comment right before I drifted back off to sleep, but I found myself dreaming about the day we met. It was a cold and bleak November day, even the lab seemed colder than was normal. It was as if winter itself had reached its icy fingers into our underground testing area. I had my clipboard clutched close to my body in an attempt to conserve body heat. I was tempted to let my hair out the tight bun I habitually wore it in for the extra layer it would provide to my neck and back. Only tempted, for I would be out of uniform and in deep trouble if I did. God knew I had caught enough hell for my hair since basic training. The recruiting officer had said that I wouldn't have to cut it, and I didn't, but the powers that be put so much pressure on me that I nearly did what they wanted. But that same core of stubbornness that helped me keep my hair had helped me fight my way into an almost uniformly male area of the military. In fact, I was the only female on the project. I was very excited to be involved in the Black Dragon project. I had never been allowed to work on something with this level of clearance before.

   I was standing there full of nerves and excitement in equal measure when the doors to the lab opened to admit the test subjects. I could already put names to faces from studying the files, but the flat images and data had done nothing to convey the personalities of the men I would be working so closely with. I stood with the other members of the Bioweapons branch, and made little notes as the men marched past us. I had already been interested in Nottingham, just from the odd gaps in his file. I tried to stay objective as he moved past me, but he had already piqued my curiosity. I am ashamed to admit that I was thinking purely feminine thoughts when he passed near me, all scientific curiosity swept away in a rush of hormones. I even caught myself staring at his butt as he moved down the line to his position. I could not have made an intelligent statement at that moment if my life depended upon it. I was completely ensnared by that incredibly handsome face and tight body. It was totally unreasonable. I was surrounded every day by men in peak condition, some as physically attractive as Nottingham. They had never affected me like this. I even understood the chemical processes driving my body, and it didn't make a bit of difference.

   I silently cursed all the way through the introductions, forcing a smile to my frozen face and nodding as my name was called out. I was going to have to get over this fast, or I would never be allowed to work on something this important again. A few of the other scientists' had made it clear that I already had a strike against me solely based on my gender. If I acted the weak-kneed female I was feeling, it would be kinder to find a cliff to jump off of than face the condemnation.

   I watched as the men were given their orders and bunking assignments. From now on, these men would receive no outside stimulus. There were too many factors involved to let them move freely, to many things that could trigger reactions. We had found in chimps that even minor contact with non program males ended in violence. Every scientist here knew the interaction protocols and what could happen if they failed to observe them. It was a minimal risk this early, to be sure, but better safe than falsifying a training accident report. The fledgling dragons were given the order to move out. I watched them obey, still struggling to rein in my rampaging hormones. It was nicely ironic that I should now be at the mercy of self engineered chemicals, as I was one of the people who created the serum we would be using on the volunteers. In an attempt to distract myself, I began reciting in my head the chemical composition of every member of the hydroxal group in order. By the time I reached polyhydroxal alkaloids the familiar mantra had done its work. I was wrapped in the sheltering cloak of science again.

   I turned to the two scientists on my right. Matheson and Weiss were old friends of mine. We had worked on many projects together, hung out on our own time, and got drunk in civilian bars. The last time we had worked together, it had been around Christmas. The Control had been furious with us when we made peanut brittle in the beakers. Hey, they don't call us Muppet Labs 2000 for our good looks! But he had not been amused, and we had all been separated. Odd that we were censured for that, we had done many other things that were far more destructive to our careers.  Either they had forgotten, or they needed our skills too badly to care.

   "So Burke, what do you think?" Weiss asked.

   "Well, they all seem to match their dossiers. We will learn if those psych profiles are correct only after exposure. Just seeing them parade through didn't give me anything." I replied, glancing back at my clipboard to hide my eyes. We knew each other well enough that he would see something was off in my eyes.

   "What, no women's intuition?"  a familiar voice cut in from the left.

   I very nearly hissed, but got a grip. Ellis was a sexist porcine sphincter muscle whom I had the displeasure of working with for the first time on this project. He was one of the afortomentioned scientists who thought that my lack extant genitalia meant I wasn't good enough for the position. "I do not work that way. I believe in testing and retesting. Only when I have hard data that has been correlated do I form a hypothesis."

   "I got your hard data right here baby." Ellis replied, looking me over like I was filet mignon. The innuendo was so blatant that it could not be ignored.

   "That's not what I heard, baby." I shot back, my voice just a shade away from actual contempt.

   "You heard wrong." Ellis snorted.

   "Doesn't matter what I heard, we'll never know. I have a rule, and I never break it. No contaminating the lab. I will not ever sleep with anyone I work with, or could potentially work with." I drifted off and gave him a measuring look. He didn't have to know that he didn't interest me in the least, which would only make me a challenge. I had met his type before, many times. The secret was usually simple, give them a good logical reason for why you won't screw them, and they could reclassify you as 'one of the guys'. The sooner everyone thought of me like that, the easier my life would be, but Ellis and his cronies had not yet done so.

   "Really to bad about that rule Burke, you don't know what you're missing." Ellis said, but the challenge in his voice had gone down several decibels. It was enough to give me hope that he would grant me a change of status in his mind soon.

   "So, you wanna party tonight? You know once the project starts, we'll be confined to base for the duration. It is our last chance to trash a civvie bar and pick up loose women." Matheson broke into my thoughts.
"Matheson, what am I going to do with a loose woman?" I asked.
"Give her to Weiss, poor guy can't get laid without help." Matheson chuckled.
"Oh yeah, twenty bucks says I get some before you do." Weiss said, obviously stung by the comment.
"Kiss that money goodbye Weiss, the women will never even see you in my shadow." Matheson responded, holding his hand out to shake on the bet.

   I just shook my head. Testosterone really does kill brain cells, I had empirical proof. I tuned the manly braggado out, I had heard it all before. I knew that, short of a miracle, Weiss was going to lose that twenty. Not that he was ugly, but Matheson was more outgoing. Mind, Matheson would get slapped plenty of times tonight before one of the "loose women" took him home, but he would still score first.