Thank you everyone for reading, I'm glad people are enjoying the story. I've always been a G.I. Joe fan and I'm glad I found this site :D
"Pass the potatoes please, Dad," Shana passed the bread to her brother as she took the potatoes from her father. "Thanks." The table was quiet as they all ate silently. The mood was tense and finally Shana sighed with exasperation and looked at her father. "Alright. Spit it out, what's up?"
"Shana. You're not getting enough sleep. Your eyes have dark circles under them, you aren't doing anything outside of this house and the dojo," he continued without giving her an opportunity to protest or disagree, "You are off this week. You will rest. You will get out of the house. You will start looking more like the Shana I know and love, or you are fired, and I'll drag you to a Dr., Psychologist or whatever else it takes to get you out of this funk." He looked at her, his jaw set and expression firm.
Shana's mouth dropped and she looked at her father, opening her mouth to protest. "But Da..."
"But nothing. I'm your father, I've talked it over with your brothers and this is final." His tone softened a little, "Shana, honey, we're worried about you. You are running yourself ragged. You need to find some balance out of the military."
She sighed. She knew there was no point in fighting him in this, and she was too damn tired to anyways. "Alright. I'll take a break. You all were plotting against me weren't you," She looked at each of them in turn. "I should kick all of your butts for it, but you are right I guess. I'll slow down. I promise." She thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I may take a trip to see some old friends. I've been meaning to for a while and this seems like the right time."
"See? That's all we wanted to hear, a little enthusiasm and a lot of rest." Patrick smiled at her and the rest of the dinner passed a lot easier.
"Patch me through to Lady Jaye, please. This is Scarlett." Shana took a deep breath as she spoke to the operator. There were clicks as she was transferred through the system and then a familiar voice greeted her.
"Lady Jaye here" Her voice was a welcome reminder of old times to Scarlett and she couldn't help but smile.
"Hey Jaye. Up for a few rounds in the ring?"
"Scarlett! Is that really you? I was beginning to think you were avoiding us!" The happiness resonated through Jaye's voice, reassuring Scarlett that she made the right decision.
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I've been MIA. Busy adjusting to civilian life. But I'm going on vacation and I'd like to pop up and visit you and Flint if things are calm."
"Calm enough, get your ass up here. Do you want me to call anyone else? I could get some of the guys together. Duke isn't posted too far away." Jaye knew of course of her feelings for Duke, but nothing of what happened between them that night.
Scarlett hurriedly assured her, "No, I just want to spend some time with you and Flint right now. I'm supposed to be relaxing. I may just go visit some of the others privately," she lied easily to her friend, knowing she would assume that it meant that Scarlett just wanted to be alone with Duke to talk to him.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries and made arrangements, and then hung up the phone with each other. Shana tried to keep herself from getting sick at the thought of seeing Duke again. She couldn't, not after that night.
Later that night, in the darkness of her quarters, curled up in Duke's arms, Scarlett watched him as he slept. She couldn't believe this had happened, not how she was expecting, but she wasn't going to complain. She thought of Snake Eyes, still so recently dead, and his insecurity regarding Duke, he always could sense her feelings regarding him. She wondering if she was disrespecting his memory by barely letting his body cool than moving on to Duke.
As she thought about this, she offered a small prayer to him, barely even whispering, "Forgive me, I..." She paused with a sigh, "I miss you. I'm sorry." As she spoke the words, she felt he really did hear her and understood. A weight was lifted off her shoulders and she dozed off back to sleep.
Duke meanwhile lay there with his eyes closed, breathing even, hearing her faint words and couldn't deny the stab of pain he felt in his chest as his thoughts raced. 'Obviously she had just slept with me to forget Snake Eyes and is now feeling guilty about it, regretting her drunken decision. Why didn't I see it earlier?' He thought it over as she went back to sleep.
He decided he would make this easy for her. No matter what, he was glad for the time he spent with her and didn't want to hear her awkward words in the morning as she realized what she did, see her hurry away without wanting to deal with him. He just wanted to remember this night as a wonderful moment.
He kissed her lightly on the lips, brushed her hair off her face and smiled at her in the darkness, then he slipped out of bed, getting dressed silently and walking out of her room, leaving Scarlett alone in bed.
No. No Conrad at the post. She headed upstairs to start packing and tell her family of her plans for a vacation.
