A/N-I really was uncertain if I wanted to post this story, but I was so thrilled and surprised when I saw the response! Thank you all so much. I have really skirted many details. I realize this ridiculous little story requires a suspension of disbelief. That being said, this has been insanely fun to write so far and I thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the responses.

Chapter 2

As Kurt looked around the inside of the huge barn, he realized it didn't look like any barn he'd heard of before. There was a loft above, and a set of file cabinets that occupied several feet of one wall. The main space of the barn was filled with training implements, like an obstacle course and a gym. She opened the door of one tall locking cabinet, and he saw electronics inside. There was definitely a computer and a phone, along with a printer and a few devices that blinked occasionally, but he didn't know what they were for.

"Sit tight," she said as she picked up the phone. He could already feel sweat beading on his forehead since the barn was at least twenty degrees warmer than the air outside.

He heard her conversation as he checked out a climbing wall:

"Hey, it's me. Tomorrow's a no go. I have a run to make," Remi said into the phone.

… … …

"No. It's under control."

… … …

"Yea…you too," she added, glancing over at Weller. "I gotta run."

Remi hung up and returned the phone to the cabinet before she grabbed keys from inside and carefully locked it back up. "Let's go," she said, swiftly heading outside and around to the back of the barn. Kurt felt like he was always chasing her, even though he'd only just met her.

Behind the barn there were a pair of large box trucks with farm logos painted on them. She hopped in the driver's seat while he climbed into the passenger's, and she drove around, easily backing the unwieldy vehicle up to the door without a second thought. As she checked her mirrors to make sure she'd lined everything up perfectly, he said, "If running me up to Clearfield is a problem, you could just take me to the train station and be back in time to meet up with your friend." He offered, but he hoped to hell she wasn't going to take him up on it.

"Not a problem," she succinctly answered, shutting off the truck and hopping out.

Kurt jogged after her yet again, following up the steps to the loft as he asked, "Are you sure? I don't want to mess up your plans for the weekend."

She looked at him with bemusement for a few seconds, and he wondered why she seemed so confused. Finally she shook her head and said, "If I didn't want to take you, I wouldn't have offered." Before he could respond, she was right back to business. "All of the boxes along this wall have to get loaded on that platform. We'll lower them down and then load 'em on the truck. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered automatically.

She took off the nicer shirt she'd worn for dinner and hung it on a nail. Beneath she wore a black tank that conformed to her shape. As if she hadn't been distracting enough. She went right to work, no joking or chatting, just moving heavy boxes from one place to another. They'd put almost half of the boxes onto the platform, and she said, "Alright. We'll get these on the truck."

She hopped onto the platform and he followed, standing near her while she unlocked the safety features to lower it. "Hold on," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied again, holding onto one of the cables that crisscrossed the back, conveniently bringing him a little closer to her.

As the platform descended, she chuckled and shook her head, "Such a boy scout."

"What?"

"You. You're so polite and formal, such a good little boy scout," she said, the words colored enough to make it clear that it wasn't a compliment.

"No I'm not," he argued.

"Scout's honor?" she mocked, holding up the three-finger salute used by the Scouts.

He leaned a little closer, still careful to give her enough space. He looked right into her eyes and said, lowly, "But I'm definitely not a little boy."

She paused even after the platform came to rest on the lower floor. He couldn't tell if she was trying to come up with a retort or if she was as fascinated by him as he was by her. She looked away first, and took a beat before she engaged the safety lock again. "Fine. You're such a man scout," she teased, smirking at her own answer and hopping over the cables before she opened the gate.

He followed her to the truck, marching up the ramp behind her as he carried two boxes at a time to try to get the work done. He watched the way her tank rode up when she'd stoop to place the boxes on the ground, and he could see the dip of her spine at her lower back. Even that skin bore intricate and somewhat cryptic tattoos, which of course made him wonder what other artwork might be hidden beneath her clothes. He closed his eyes and decided that if he wanted that ride to Clearfield, he should try to avoid making this woman or her mother hate his guts. He tried to remember the girl he'd met earlier that week at the gas station, the one he had been planning to ask out, but suddenly he couldn't remember her name. Or her face. Or really anything about her.

Remi was so different from any woman he'd ever dated. Different enough that after a couple of hours, he was forgetting about his other opportunities.

"You okay, tough guy?" she teased as she brushed past him, her arm barely touching his, just enough to tickle the hairs and make it known to him that there had been some sort of contact.

"All good here," he said, purposefully forgoing the 'ma'am' to avoid further teasing.

When they had nearly finished the first load, he asked, "What the hell is all this stuff?"

"Probably replacement parts or chemical fertilizer or something," she answered disinterestedly.

"What do you mean 'probably'? You don't know?"

"Everything here is NTKB," she said, using the acronym for the phrase need-to-know-basis that he knew from school.

"And you don't need to know?"

"I don't even want to know," she replied.

He took another stack of boxes up to the truck, and as he came down the ramp, he saw her standing at the bottom like an immovable obstacle. From the look on her face, he was completely certain this beauty who had already redefined the entire concept of 'sexy' was going to hit on him. Her eyes fixed on his lips, she stepped very confidently closer until their bodies were only an inch or two apart at the closest points. This was shaping up to be one of the best days he'd had in a long time, and he was quickly forgetting the frustration of a broken down car and the long walk to a phone.

He should have been worried about her unpredictable brother walking in. Or her domineering mother catching them. Or any of the other things that he should have thought about instead of what it would feel like to touch her. He lowered his head just a little, waiting for her to give him some kind of sign that they were on the same wavelength. He was ready, because the moment he got that sign, he was going to figure out what those perfectly shaped lips tasted like. Her hand went to his side and reached around his back while she lifted her chin toward him, and then he felt something tug at the back pocket of his pants before she assuredly bragged, "Too easy."

She took one step back and looked down at the object in her hands. She had taken his wallet, and opened it, checking out his license first. She studied it carefully, looking over the information and likely trying to figure out if it was a fake. With a tone of disbelief, she questioned, "Twenty?"

"Yea, I'm twenty," he answered defensively. "Why'd you say it like that? You thought I was older or younger?"

She shrugged and continued studying his things without feeling the need to respond. He'd never met someone so comfortable with allowing a question to hang in the air unanswered. She pulled out his military college ID and ATM card, and studied them with just as much attention paid to each. She opened the bill fold and counted his money and he asked, "I'll pay you for gas, if that's what this is about."

She unfolded a piece of paper inside with the phone number and name of the girl from the gas station, reading it without a hint of curiosity or jealousy. She took out both of the condoms he kept in there and mumbled, "So prepared! You always keep backup?"

"Backup?" he scoffed. "Maybe I'm just a more-than-one-round kinda guy."

She rolled her eyes and snickered, placing everything back in place exactly where it had been. She held the wallet out to him, and, after he took it, went right back to work like she didn't just rifle through his belongings.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" he asked when they rode the platform back up to the loft.

She shrugged. "Wanted to see if your story checked out."

Cockily he replied, "If you were curious about me, you could have asked."

"I'm not curious," she answered, looking so bored with the thought that she might yawn. "But we can't be too careful."

"Make up your mind," he teased. "Am I a boy scout or am I dangerous?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she noted.

They filled the platform again, and only a few boxes remained behind. They'd been working for hours, and were both covered in perspiration and growing tired. She grabbed them each a bottle of water that they chugged down as they rode the platform to the ground. When he finished his drink, he said, "I really appreciate you doing this for me, giving me a ride tomorrow."

She nodded, but he still couldn't seem to read her or figure her out at all.

"For a minute there I thought your mom wasn't going to let you go," he added.

She sneered as she resumed her work and said, "There are so many things wrong with that statement."

"Like what?" he asked as he followed.

"No one 'lets' me do anything. I make my own choices. I'm an adult. And Shepherd is a lot of things, but I'd never call her my mom."

"She said you're her daughter…so I figured—"

Seeming a little more open for the moment, she said, "Everything I have is because of her. Without her, I probably wouldn't even have my own brother. She took us in when no one else wanted us."

"You're adopted?"

She nodded and looked away, perhaps trying to decide if she trusted him with more information. "She has provided for us and helped us in a way that no one else probably could. She's a leader. Protector. Commander even. But she's not really mother material."

He felt himself a bit too concerned about a woman he barely knew, and questioned, "She really works you hard. Doesn't she?"

"We owe her," Remi defended.

"But she doesn't own you," he explained, the protective instinct kicking into overdrive. He was going to have to be more objective, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "Is she abusive?"

Remi shook her head and said, "I can take care of myself and my brother just fine now."

She returned to work and he asked, "How old did you say you are?" trying to confirm that when she said she was an adult, she'd meant it literally.

"I didn't say," she answered. Walking past him, she added, "Fifteen."

"What?" he practically choked, realizing that he was going to have to pull way back, and get the hell away from her to keep himself out of trouble.

He saw her knowing smirk at his reaction and realized she'd been testing him. She clarified, "Eighteen, idiot. I said I'm an adult."

"I wasn't sure what your definition of adult was," he argued, trying to save face but knowing that she was getting him to show his hand all too easily while she'd showed him relatively little.

When the two trucks were finally closed and locked up, they sat on a stone wall next to the barn and she brought them two beers. "You allowed to drink here?" he asked.

She laughed with the bottle poised near her lips, "There's one of those phrases again…'allowed to.' I make my own choices."

"Your m—Shepherd…seems to really keep a tight grip on you. You and Roman work really hard," he said, nodding up to the house where Roman stood outside, wiping down the railings and siding. "It seems like you spend most of your time working for her."

"We're good soldiers. Shut up and embrace the suck," she said, again quoting a common military phrase.

She was sounding more and more like she'd been in the service. "You served?" he asked.

Closing her eyes, she drank down a few gulps of her drink and said, "It's complicated. The short answer is that Shepherd served. She raised us the only way she knew how. She had to keep us busy so we'd stay out of trouble."

"But do you ever have fun?" he asked. "Maybe get a leave from home or something?"

"I have fun," she answered shortly, but he wasn't sure if she really meant it, or even understood.

"I know you think I'm uptight and formal, but I know how to have fun," he said. "Maybe I could show you some time."

"I don't need anyone to show me how to have fun," she answered harshly.

"I meant I could prove to you that I know how to have a good time," he apologetically returned.

"Oh."

Roman jogged down the hill toward them. Remi looked down at her watch and noted, "Time to run."

"Wait, Where are you going?" Kurt asked, surprised.

"I told you. For a run."

When Roman reached them, he said to Remi, "You ready?"

Kurt figured the two would disappear and leave him there to wonder what was going on. She took a few steps and then turned back to him, asking, "You want to come…or did I wear you out already?"

He smirked, feeling the slight that was insinuated in her tone. Jumping up, he took off after them.

The siblings looked like they were having fun as they ran. Kurt followed just behind them, watching the brother and sister compete in mini races throughout the long loop, occasionally fighting as they ran in an attempt to best the other. They were pretty evenly matched, but Kurt thought Remi was probably going easy on her brother.

Their farm seemed more idyllic at night. The sounds of crickets, locusts and bullfrogs filled his ears, the air fresh and cooler than during the day. It was so clear that he could see twice as many stars as he could on a typical night at school, and the moon cast enough of a glow that he could make out the terrain well enough to avoid any obstacles.

They ran at least six miles, probably more, before they came back to the house and continued various conditioning exercises for another hour. It was no wonder that they were both so fit. They stretched near a pond at a low point in the landscape below the house.

He heard Remi say something that he couldn't quite make out, and then he felt Roman lunge into him. The teen plowed into Kurt and shoved him toward the pond. But Kurt could tell this wasn't a fight…it seemed as if Roman was playing around. Kurt stepped out of the way and twisted free from Roman's grasp, and then he managed to pick up the kid and haul him to the water. He thought Roman had given up and decided to allow himself to get dunked, but at the last second he fought back, and Kurt and Roman were wrestling at the water's edge, the teen slinging taunts.

Kurt was almost certain he had the win, nearly ready to throw Roman into the pond when he felt something take his legs out from underneath him, sending both him and Roman splashing into the dark, chilly water. Kurt looked up and saw Remi grinning down at them from the bank, shaking her head as she said, "Boys."

Roman lurched out of the water to grab her, and she easily stepped away to avoid him, but while avoiding Roman, she hadn't bothered to keep a watchful eye on Kurt, and he grabbed her calves and lifted her up over his head before dropping her into the water with them. When she popped up for air, she had one eye closed, still looking rather at ease.

"Not many people get the drop on me," she complimented.

He gawked at her as she climbed out, and he knew he was going to have to find a way to see her even after she took him to the train station. For some reason, this farm girl who trained like a warrior and knew how to tell a fake ID was someone he just couldn't forget about and move on.

"What are you staring at?" Roman asked, snidely happy for the opportunity to try to make Kurt look stupid again.

"You know you're going to be up at oh-five-hundred," Shepherd said as she approached. Kurt wondered if she had an alarm set for any time Remi was anywhere near happy, so she could make sure to end the moment immediately.

"Yes, ma'am," Roman answered.

"Remi," Shepherd said in that sweet but terrifying way, "A word?"

Remi and Shepherd walked a distance while Kurt and Roman tried to push the excess water from their clothes. "You have something else to wear?" Roman asked him.

Kurt suddenly realized he didn't, and looked down at his soaked body.

"You can't go inside like that. You're gonna have to sleep out on the porch," Roman added.

"Fine by me," Kurt answered, more interested in trying to hear what Remi and Shepherd were arguing about than in Roman's teasing.

"Pal, I see you staring at her—"

"No. I wasn't, man. It's not like that."

Roman warned, "Take my advice and move on. Go back home where girls are impressed by your uniform, meet somebody who wants a nice guy to look out for her."

Kurt nearly argued, although he thought it seemed extremely foolhardy to react too strongly. He'd just met her. Maybe after he got some shut eye, things would look different. Maybe.

After a somewhat heated discussion, Remi stepped away from Shepherd and came back down toward the pond. She said to Kurt, "I'll get you something to wear for the night," as she jogged past him.

Shepherd called for Roman, somehow able to sound like she was yelling without raising her voice, and Roman headed off to the house. Kurt saw Remi go into the supply barn, and he followed. When he entered, she was ferociously letting loose on a heavy bag.

"Hey," he said, trying to announce himself so she didn't confuse him for an intruder and turn her rage on him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, immediately reining in her anger and turning it off like nothing had happened. It was eerie how easily she halted such a strong emotional response. "I thought you were with Roman. I'll get your stuff."

She went up the steps and he hurried after her. She started looking through some storage closets, and pulled out a plain tee shirt and sweatpants that were still in the plastic bags. "Right size?" she asked.

"Perfect," he answered, trying to smile but noticing that she didn't look at him at all. "What's going on?" he gently asked.

"Nothing," she answered a bit too quickly.

"You can talk to me," he offered.

"Good to know," she roughly retorted.

"Remi, I know that—"

"You know?" she argued. "You don't know anything about this. You don't know me, and I don't know you."

"You want to check my wallet again?" he tried to joke, but she wasn't in the mood for banter.

Her face was stony and harsh, and he found himself hating Shepherd already, even though this whole situation was still very much a mystery to him. With the utmost sincerity, she said, "Tomorrow night, you'll be on a train back to your barracks, and I'll be here. You'll go on with your life and I'll go on with mine. I don't need your help and I don't need someone to talk to."

She had sounded more pragmatic than cruel, but her words bothered him anyway. She stood by the door of the barn, waiting for him to exit so she could lock up. While she did so, he said, "Why are you driving me around tomorrow?"

He waited for an answer, fully expecting her to provide one, but she said, "There's an outdoor shower around back. Cleanup there. Bring your dirty clothes inside when you're done and I'll throw them in the washer."

Watching her walk back to the house, he sighed. She was probably right. In a few hours this would all be nothing more than a strange memory.

When Remi walked into the kitchen, Shepherd was talking to Roman. "…If he gets up, let me know right away."

"You're not really concerned about him, are you?" Remi asked as Shepherd spun around.

"You're being reckless, letting him walk around here like he's family. Those supplies could have been moved by you and Oscar tomorrow. I don't know what your game is here, girl, but I don't like it."

"No game," Remi replied. "He wants to see his sister. He's trying to look out for her. You know I'd do anything for Roman…"

Shepherd took a deep breath full of relief, "Is that what this is all about? You want to help him get back to his sister?"

"It seemed like the right thing to do. Family first," Remi said. "You've drilled that into our heads for almost ten years."

Shepherd seemed more relaxed, but said, "We could have talked about it privately. Come to a decision as a team. One of my men could have transported Weller. There's no need for you to be personally involved."

Remi nodded and said, "I should have handled it differently."

"We'll talk about it after he's gone," Shepherd said before she walked into the other room.

Remi sat at the table, drumming her fingers as she waited for Kurt to return. She'd just lied to Shepherd through her teeth, and for once Shepherd didn't seem to notice. Sure, initially she had wanted to help someone like her, someone who valued a sibling, had loyalty and dedication to them. It made sense to her. But the trip tomorrow was no longer about that.

She'd turned 18 three weeks ago. For some reason, she'd always thought that after that birthday, she'd earn the right to make some decisions in her life. But nothing had changed. Shepherd still treated her the same way she always had. Remi felt naïve for assuming that anything would change just because of a birthday. After all, Shepherd controlled everyone in "the family," even those who didn't live with them.

Remi appreciated all that Shepherd had done for them, the stability, the roof, food and clean clothes, and that had given her a sense of duty and indebtedness that had made her a model underling for Shepherd, more of a soldier than a daughter. But their lives were so controlled that it was making Remi crazy. A few weeks earlier, Remi had mentioned the possibility of attending school, and Shepherd shot her down in no uncertain terms. But now Remi realized she wasn't even going to be afforded a single day out on her own.

Everyone Remi had known in recent years had been Shepherd's associates. Whether acquaintances or dates, everyone Remi spoke to was known and approved by Shepherd. And then that damn boy scout showed up. She felt a shiver as she remembered him telling her that he wasn't a little boy. There was just something about him. He wasn't her type, not at all. He was an outsider, not someone she should trust with family secrets. But she wanted to.

He seemed so kind. Honest. Thoughtful. When he spoke to her, she felt like an individual instead of merely a member of the group. He wanted to make her smile. And, god, he was so very nice to look at. His stare was disarming, his smile charming. He was a perfect height, a little taller but not too tall. For a moment she remembered the way he'd looked as he'd helped her in the barn, his tight tee shirt giving her an idea of what was beneath. She was positive he was going to take it off…every guy who'd ever helped her load a truck in that kind of heat did. But he didn't. It figured, the one time she wanted someone to parade around…

Even with his shirt on, she'd found it difficult to maintain an air of indifference. She'd constantly had to remind herself to stay detached. Her mind flashed to the well-defined muscles in his arms as he'd worked, and just as the kitchen began to feel a little too warm, she heard him come in from outside.

"I owe you an apology," he said as he returned, wearing the clothes she'd given him.

"That's not necessary," she replied, realizing that the dog had dropped his head in her lap and she was rubbing his silky soft ears.

"It is necessary. You're right. I don't know you and—"

"Forget it," she interrupted, reaching out for his dirty clothes impatiently, uncertain how to handle this conversation or any of the conversations he'd tried to have with her. Once he'd handed them over, she hurried off to the laundry.

When she came back, he was down on one knee, petting the dog. She didn't tell him that the dog typically was not friendly with strangers. When she saw the canine roll on his back for belly pets, she realized that she wasn't the only one who felt abnormally comfortable with the visitor.

Shepherd came into the room and said to Kurt, "Roman will show you where you'll be sleeping. I'm sure you're tired."

She took a few steps down the hall, and Kurt whispered to Remi, "It is true, I don't really know you…but I would like to."

Remi saw him searching for any reaction from her, but she'd perfected this poker face along ago. Although her exterior was as still as a frozen lake, she was feeling things below the surface that were anything but peaceful.

"Good night," she said, nodding.

"Good night, Remi," he answered, his eyes lingering on hers for a few seconds longer than she'd been prepared for.

Remi lay in bed an hour later, after she'd thrown the clean, wet clothes into the dryer so they'd be ready by morning. Moments earlier, she'd heard Shepherd on the phone, probably talking to Oscar. She'd told him to be there by seven so he could accompany Remi and Kurt. It infuriated Remi. Was one day of freedom away from the watchful eye of Shepherd and her cohorts truly too much to ask? What was Shepherd so afraid of?

Mostly it upset Remi to think that even though she'd been an almost a perfect soldier, dutiful, loyal, hardworking, and obedient, Shepherd still didn't seem to trust her to have a few hours to herself. Remi looked at her watch and set an alarm. All she wanted was one day. And if they wouldn't give it to her, she was going to take it.