**WHAT** Did You Say? Chap. 2
A/N – This story was inspired by NettieC's excellent (not to mention hilarious) JAG fic Once A Pun A Time JAG.
Knightsbridge
"Michael...what's up?" Marella asked, unaware that someone was listening to every word she said.
"Marella...darling, whatever do you mean?" Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III asked innocently. Just outside their office, Stringfellow Hawke and Caitlin O'Shannessy stood listening, as the door was open a crack. Hawke knew the door was fully soundproofed...if it were fully closed and locked. Hawke wore an expression of shock and recognition at Marella's last comment, while Caitlin's face seemed to be more understanding, albeit confused.
"Just what I said, Michael," Marella continued, her voice becoming low and sultry as she walked towards Archangel's desk. Her eyes took on a look that Michael had become accustomed to seeing more in the bedroom than in his office. "I mean...'what's up?'"
Caitlin's face turned beet red at the question, as she recalled asking Hawke the very same thing the previous Friday afternoon. And, I remember how that turned out, she said to herself as she bit her lip to stop the laughter from escaping. Beside her, Hawke's expression was once again the same impassive mask that Caitlin had been so used to until recently...but she could see the beginnings of a smile threatening his lips.
"Nothing, Marella," Michael continued, sliding his chair further forward, to shield his lower body from her view. Wouldn't want her seeing...Just then, he caught a whiff of the perfume that Marella was wearing.
"Michael," Marella continued, oblivious to both his expression and the fact that they were being eavesdropped on, "I think you're going soft," she said with a completely straight face. Michael, however, realized that he hadn't gone soft, at least not in the way he thought she meant, and just that brief exposure to Marella's perfume would ensure that he didn't...and wouldn't...go soft...at least, for a while. Damn, Marella...why are you doing this to me? Especially here...and now?
Outside, Caitlin turned to Hawke as they walked over to a pair of chairs, and sat down to wait for Michael. "Do you think they know we can hear them, Hawke?"
"I doubt it, Cait," Hawke replied, shaking his head. "You know as well as I do what Michael gets like when he's concentrating on something. I doubt he even noticed the door didn't close all the way." Hawke knew, of course, that the door to Michael's office was virtually soundproof, but he'd noticed it open a crack when he and Caitlin came in from the outer office.
"Michael," Marella was continuing, "you know you can take me anywhere...anytime...don't you?" Caitlin's jaw dropped almost to her chair at that comment, and Hawke could see her face turning a bright shade of crimson.
"Hawke? Can she actually get away with saying that?" Caitlin wanted to know. "Especially...here?" Marella's comment reminded Caitlin of something that had happened just a few days ago, when everything she'd said to Hawke seemed to come out sounding like some sort of sexual innuendo. I coulda been arrested for sexual harassment, Cait said to herself. In fact, I'm just damned lucky Hawke didn't...but...she stopped herself before she remembered exactly what Hawke had done that night at her apartment. That became...the most wonderful night of my life. Not to mention, she had to add to herself, the most enjoyable weekend I've ever had, when she considered that Hawke had spent literally the entire rest of the weekend with her. And we spent most of it in each other's arms, she remembered.
"Marella," Michael said, shaking his head, "as much as I'd love to take you...right here, right now, as a matter of fact...I just don't think it's a good idea. I mean...with the cameras, and everything...we could get into a lot of trouble." Caitlin turned and noticed Hawke shaking his head, and trying almost as hard as she was not to laugh.
"What is so confounded funny, Hawke?" Caitlin demanded quietly.
"Just wondering if they mean what we think they mean," Hawke replied as he turned to face her. "If they do, this could be very interesting for all of us."
"What I wanna know is, how the heck can they get away with saying stuff like that, in an office full of spies?" Caitlin mumbled back. "At least, when we did it..." Geez. Now they've got me doing it...again, Caitlin said to herself. She had to catch herself as she recalled exactly when they did do "it" on Friday night...
Cait finally broke the kiss and murmured, "Hawke...I think we'd...be more comfortable...in there," and turned her head towards the bedroom. Without a word, String had stood up, Caitlin still wrapped around him, and carried her into the bedroom. She honestly didn't remember much after that, other than when she told Hawke, "Just...be gentle, okay? It's..."
"Your first time," Hawke said, smiling. "I know." And with those words, Caitlin knew she had nothing to fear, and had given herself fully to String. And, he'd given himself fully to her, in return. Later, when it was over, Caitlin had remarked, "Boy, are we gonna have a story to tell Dom tomorrow!"
Hawke had simply smiled at her and said, "Yeah...but I think he'll approve." Hawke knew that Dom had been trying to get he and Caitlin together practically since her plane had been hijacked while she was flying to Texas for her sister's wedding. Well, Dom...you may be about to get your wish.
"Very funny," Hawke replied, not wanting to lose track of the conversation inside Michael's office, but at the same time, wondering what had just gone through Caitlin's mind. "But true," he added with a smile as he recalled the afternoon when Caitlin's seemingly endless supply of bad, albeit highly suggestive puns had finally broken down the wall he'd built around his heart.
"So, Michael," Marella said, causing both Hawke and Caitlin to refocus their attention, "do you think I've been...I don't know...a little hard on you lately?" Marella asked. She noticed Michael's expression, then realized what she'd said...in fact, she realized what they both had been saying ever since they walked into his office.
"Actually, yes," Michael replied, then added, "but...turnabout's fair play, since I know I've been a little hard on you as well."
"That may be true, Michael," Marella said, leaning toward him, "but I don't mind." She stroked his face lovingly and gazed into his good eye.
Good grief, Marella, Michael said to himself. I thought you at least had more decorum than that.
Outside, Caitlin and Hawke were both nearly convulsing with silent laughter, and Laura, Michael's prime pilot, had finally noticed their discomfort. "Are you two all right?" She asked, concerned.
"We're okay, Laura," Hawke replied. "Just...wondering what the heck Michael and Marella are discussing in there."
"Me, too," Laura replied, shaking her head, then realizing what Hawke meant. "Yeah...they've sure been throwing the innuendos around, haven't they?" Hawke grinned and nodded affirmatively. "Sometimes I worry about them," Laura continued. "They obviously have feelings for each other...why they don't act on them..." Laura shook her head and sighed as she went back to work.
"Did that sound...I dunno...familiar to you?" Caitlin asked Hawke.
"Yeah," Hawke admitted with a smile. "Sounded a lot like something Dom...and Michael...and Marella have all said about us. But," he turned to her and smiled, "at least I figured out how I felt, finally." He placed his hand over hers on the arm of her chair as she smiled at him, then their attention was drawn back to the conversation coming from the office.
"Well...I figured I might as well at least ask," Marella was saying. "I might get lucky, you know." Both Caitlin and Hawke snapped their heads around at that comment, as Hawke remembered hearing almost the same thing from Caitlin.
"I cannot believe she said that," Hawke said, even as he recalled Caitlin saying it just a few days ago.
"That makes two of us, Hawke," Caitlin replied, and the color around her cheeks told Hawke that she was remembering the day she'd said nearly the same thing to him. "But," she added, smiling suggestively at him, "it worked for me, didn't it?"
"Yeah, Cait," Hawke replied, and he knew it was the truth, "it did. Maybe...maybe it'll work for Michael and Marella, too. I think...I think Laura's right. They evidently care a little more about each other than just as co-workers and friends...kinda like we were, up until a few days ago."
"Well," Caitlin said with an embarrassed smile, "yeah. And, I'd like to see Michael happy...and I see that Marella makes him happy, so why not..." She stopped short as she heard Michael's voice again.
"Well...m mm...that feels good, Marella," Michael murmured as she began massaging his neck. "Um...oh, yeah...that's it, right there." He relaxed totally in his chair as Marella's fingers kneaded into his neck and shoulders.
What on EARTH is going on in there now? Hawke wondered. He exchanged a puzzled glance with Cait, who had no more idea about what was happening behind the door than he did.
Finally, Hawke had heard enough. He stood up, and motioned for Cait to follow him, throwing the door to Archangel's office open and seeing Marella standing behind Michael's chair, giving him a massage.
"Hawke. Cait? What the hell are you two doing here?" Michael demanded, and Marella moved from behind his chair.
"We could ask you the same thing, Michael," Hawke said with a grin.
"What?" Michael demanded. "Why would you say something like that, Hawke?" Then, he realized that Hawke and Caitlin had just walked right into his office. "Marella...did you forget to lock the door when we came in here?"
"I'm sorry, Michael," Marella said, and Caitlin noticed her blushing, much the same way she had a few days prior. "They must have heard the entire conversation."
"Yeah, Michael, we heard it," Hawke said with a shake of his head. "We just don't believe it. What on Earth were you talking about?"
"Well, Hawke," Michael began as Caitlin and Marella moved to the opposite end of the room, "Marella and I...are...together." The emphasis Michael put on the last word gave Hawke an idea what Michael meant, but he wanted to be sure.
"Together...as in..."
"As in, we've become lovers, Hawke," Michael said with a smile. "I finally realized how much I love Marella...and we're taking the next step."
"So...all that talk was..."
"Yes, Hawke," Michael said, embarrassed. "A little harmless flirting...or at least, it would have been harmless, had we locked the door. Honestly, Hawke. We had no idea that you and Caitlin could hear us."
"That's okay, Michael," Hawke said as he shook the master spy's hand. "Good thing there aren't any regulations about employees dating...like in the military."
"True, Hawke," Michael agreed, then added, "but even if there were, all it would take would be my word to overturn them." He smiled, and Hawke knew that Michael meant what he said. Zeus may be head of the FIRM...but I think Michael runs the show more than Zeus lets on.
"By the way, Michael," Hawke added, a conspiratorial smile on his face, "Cait and I weren't the only ones who heard that...Laura heard every word."
"Terrific," Michael said, and shook his head. "I suppose I'll have to explain this all to her, eventually...or I might get some awfully strange looks the next time she has to fly me somewhere." Michael and Hawke smiled at each other, and wondered what Marella and Caitlin were talking about.
"So, Marella," Caitlin was saying on the opposite end of the room, "Are you and Michael..."
"Is it that obvious?" Marella asked, but the expression on her face was a dead giveaway.
"From what Laura, Hawke and I heard, yes," Caitlin replied. "In fact, some of it reminded me of some things I said to Hawke recently..." Caitlin related the story of how nearly everything she'd said the previous Friday had come out sounding like a sexual innuendo...which some of them were, Caitlin had to admit. Finally, she said, "I can't believe Hawke didn't have me arrested for sexual harassment, but he didn't...in fact, we're finally...together."
"Together?" Marella asked, incredulous. "You mean...together...together?"
"Yeah, Marella," Caitlin replied, smiling. "Finally...we're together, together."
"Cait...I am so happy for you!" Marella said, and hugged her.
"Same here, Marella," Caitlin replied, then added, "if what we heard does mean what we think it means."
"It does, Caitlin," Hawke said as he and Michael walked over to them. "Michael just told me."
"Well, congratulations, Michael," Caitlin said, and gave the master spy a friendly peck on the cheek.
"Thank you, Cait," Michael replied. "And from what Hawke has told me, congratulations are in order for the two of you as well. Hawke finally got his head out of his ass about you, Cait? There's got to be a story behind that," Michael laughed, and shook his head.
"Yeah," Hawke replied, smiling. "There's a story behind it, all right. It all started this past Friday. Caitlin started wearing her jeans a little tighter around the hangar...and then on Friday, she said the most unbelievable thing I have ever heard..." And Hawke began telling the story of Caitlin's series of horrible puns, which had finally broken down the walls he had built up for so long.
"Hawke, all I'm going to say is...it's about time!" Michael said when the story was finished.
"That's very true, Michael," Hawke answered with a smile at his friend. "And, I could say the same thing to you."
"Your point is well taken, Hawke," Michael said as he took hold of Marella's hand. "I just have one other question about you two – Does Dominic know?"
"No, not yet," Caitlin admitted, and Michael smiled knowingly and dismissed them. After a round of goodbyes, Hawke and Caitlin headed back to Santini Air, and found Dom waiting for them.
"Dom," Hawke began, noticing the look on his friend's face, "we've got something to tell you."
"Oh?" Dom asked, surprised. "What might that be, String? Might it have something to do with where you were this morning, by chance? I waited in front of the cabin for almost an hour, and you never came out." Hawke shook his head, thankful that he was not as prone to blushing as Caitlin was, because at that particular moment, he was more embarrassed than he could ever recall being.
Hawke and Caitlin looked at each other, and finally Hawke said, "Well, Dom, it started on Friday afternoon, after you left..." For the next hour, Hawke and Caitlin related the story of what had happened between them over the weekend, including the fact that Hawke had wound up at Caitlin's apartment for the entire weekend. Dom, of course, had laughed through most of it, trying to imagine what Hawke must have felt like each time one of Caitlin's puns came out.
"String," Dom began when he was finished with the story, "that has to be one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time. I wish to heck I coulda seen your face! Cait," he continued, smiling at his younger employee, "I've gotta say, that makes me really happy, that String finally pulled his head out of his ass about you!"
"You and me both, Dom," Cait replied. "I just can't believe Hawke didn't have me arrested for sexual harassment."
"Well, Cait," Hawke replied, smiling at her, "I couldn't very well have done something like that, considering what I said after..." He stopped, and Caitlin knew what he was referring to.
"Yeah, String," she answered him, smiling. "That was probably the worst...and yet the best thing I ever heard you say." Dom glanced at String, who simply smiled, but Dom wondered, What the heck did he SAY, for crying out loud? I suppose...I suppose it ain't none of my business, but I could always ask Cait about it later.
"So, String spent his weekend with you, Cait," Dom said, and grinned knowingly at both his friends, "But would one of you please tell me where you were this morning?" Dom demanded. "Neither one of you was here when I got here...and, I noticed one of my choppers was missing."
"Well, we decided to go to talk to Michael...and tell him what was going on between us," Hawke explained. "But we got a whole lot more than we bargained for." He spent the next hour describing the scene between Michael and Marella at Knightsbridge. When that story was finished, Dom looked as if he would pass out, he'd been laughing so hard.
"String, between you and Cait, and now Mr. Clean and Marella, I think I've laughed enough today to last me a lifetime!" Dom said, and Hawke nodded in agreement. "But," Dom continued, a sincere smile on his face, "I'm real happy for both you, and Michael, String. You both deserve it."
"Thanks, Dom," Hawke replied, and smiled at Caitlin. "I think so, too."
Finally, Dom's curiosity got the best of him, and while String was running an errand, Dom asked Caitlin what Hawke had said.
"Well," Caitlin began, unsure of how she was going to describe the situation, "I had gone into the kitchen to get him some aspirin and a glass of water, after I knocked him down and he banged his head on the floor. Then, he handed the glass back to me and spilled some of the water across my chest...and he said..."
"He said...what? Come on, Cait...don't leave me hanging like that!"
Oh, great. Now Dom's doing it. Cait said to herself. Aloud, she said, "Dom...he said, 'Oh, fuck me.'"
"He said that?" Dom demanded, incredulous. In all the years Dom had known String, he'd never heard his younger surrogate son say anything worse than the occasional "Dammit," so this revelation stunned Dom.
"Yeah, he did," Caitlin said as she smiled at the memory. "And things...kinda moved fast after that."
"Sounds like it," Dom agreed. "Well, Cait, like I said before, I'm real happy for you guys. Just...promise me you'll take care of him, okay? Especially..."
"Don't worry, Dom," Caitlin replied as she smiled at Dom. "Now that we're together, after everything I went through to get here, I don't plan on letting Hawke go any time soon!" Caitlin knew that Dom was referring to after he passed away, but decided not to depress either one of them by saying anything.
That night, after the hangar was closed, Hawke took Caitlin up to his cabin with him, after she grabbed a few things from her apartment. He also made sure Dom knew that he would be taking one of the choppers up to the cabin, so Dom wouldn't have to fly up in the morning.
"I figure that's the least I could do, considering what happened over the weekend," he told her, and she wasn't about to argue with him. When they went to sleep that night, Caitlin knew that her life, and Hawke's would never be the same again. And all it took was a few bad puns, she said to herself as she felt sleep claim her. If I'd known that would work, I woulda done it months ago. But that doesn't matter now. Now, Hawke's mine...all mine. And we can start thinking about a life together...someday. She smiled in her sleep as she snuggled tight against Hawke's body, and imagined what her wedding day to Hawke would look like, here at the cabin. Someday, her mind whispered to her. Soon.