Three
Reece
Why ever did I let Laura convince me to move in with her? That can only end in mayhem. Honestly, getting along well with others in the same living quarters for a prolonged amount of time is certainly not what I'd list under my "greatest strengths". "Hey, Laura, you know…" She slams down on the brakes at the last possible moment before jumping the lights. Couldn't have someone warned me not to get into a car Laura is driving?
"Having second thoughts, Lieutenant?" Yes, yes, yes. Massive second thoughts.
"No. I was just… never mind." She grins and the tires actually screech as the lights go to green again. Good God. She's just a flight doctor, not a fucking pilot!
"Yes, you have. Don't worry, I'm not as bad as a housemate as I'm at driving." I certainly hope so. Because that would really drive me mad. I mean, I'm not the world's most fanatical housekeeper, but… I do like a little order in my things.
"I wasn't doubting your qualities as a housemate, honestly." I was doubting mine, but there's no need telling you that again. "It's just… do you really think that's such a good idea? Working and living together?"
"Okay, granted, it does hold some risks, but think like that: At least we don't have to lie to each other about what we're actually doing. You wouldn't think how often I had to find really weird excuses for the injuries I brought home. I mean, I couldn't possibly tell my creative director housemate who wouldn't have gotten the security clearance to get closer to the Mountain than in a mile in a hundred years that I broke my arm during stealing an artifact from right under the noses of Baal's Jaffa or something. When you have to do that on an almost daily basis, you have to be really creative." She's happily cutting in front of people, taking their right of way… and generally ignoring every traffic rule ever known to man. Or at least it seems like that. Don't think about it, Maureen, simply don't think about it. Concentrate on your conversation, not on the road.
"Honestly, I do see your point. But… I can be a real pain in the neck to live with." She shrugs.
"So can I. Come on, give it a try. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I promise, as soon as one of us gets the feeling that she really can't live in the same place with the other one, we'll find another solution. Just… at least have a look at the place." And with that we finally park in front of a four-story brownstone, actually not much different from the one my parents and I used to live in at home.
"Okay. But if the view isn't as great as you promised…"
"Oh, it is." I follow her into the house to the fourth floor. From the outside, the house doesn't look like much, so I don't really have any expectations to her place. Which is why I start falling in love with it right after she closes the door behind me. There's a small hall leading up to a living room with an open kitchen and two doors to either side that presumably lead to the two rooms. The living room looks tidy, but with enough personal touches – pictures on the wall and in frames on the fireplace's mantelpiece, postcards, lots of books, some candles – to make it look inviting. There are a few empty shelves and some empty spaces on the wall where pictures used to be, but otherwise it looks really nice. Like… home. "Well?"
I give her a tentative smile. "It's… nice. Certainly nicer than any of the SGC's common rooms. Does the fireplace work?"
She nods with a grin brightening up her face. "Yep, it does. The empty shelves were Joana's, so if you really want to move in, they're all yours. Want to see your new room?" Shrugging I agree. She leads me back to the hall, opens one of the doors… and it just somehow blows me away. Directly opposite the door are two really huge windows and the afternoon sun is pouring into the empty room. It looks fairly big, with real wood parquet-flooring and built-in shelves. Taking a few tentative steps into the room, I come to stand in front of one of the windows. The whole house is situated on a hill, and so I can overlook a part of the city and nothing obstructs the Rockies in their raw beauty. Slowly taking a look around I can already see ideas on where to place the furniture forming in my head. She's totally got me with this.
"Okay… where do I have to sign?" Now Laura has this kind of totally satisfied look on her face that reminds me of the cat that got the canary.
"Knew you'd love it. You already got furniture?" Oh. Uh… nope. When my parents died, I sold all of it, just kept the books and personal effects and some of my dad's beloved records and my mom's favorite paintings and stored them away. Which reminds me… I have to find a way to get all of this to Colorado Springs… ah, that can wait. More important now is finding a bed. Sleeping on the ground on a mission is inconvenient, but tolerable, but sleeping on the ground in the room you are about to call your own? Nope.
"No. But we've got a whole weekend before us, haven't we?" And with that, it's settled. We still need the formalities to get done, but overall, I just got myself a place outside the SGC. I… arrived in Colorado Springs. So now it's official: I finally found a place to belong to and to stay with. Not what I thought I would find when I started boot camp, but the best that could have happened to me.
"Well, after we survive the night at Tom's, that is." Laura grimaces and that does worry me a little. She's probably seen it, since she gives me an encouraging look and says, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you. Now… you hungry? I really could use a second breakfast now." Mh… I think I could, too.
--
Greenspan
Poor Maureen. She's turned pretty pale again. Someone really should have told her what to expect when getting into a car I drive. They really didn't call me "Laura Lead Foot" for nothing in high school.
"Uh… Laura? Can I ask you something?" Hopefully not if I could please slow down, because I… uh… can't.
"Sure." Oops, jumped a light. But hey, that was just very, very dark yellow, no red.
"Well… it's… something a little personal, you know." Hey, you idiot, that's my lane! Get out of my way, you son of a… personal? What, personal?
"As long as you don't want to know the story of the tattoo I have on the sole of my right foot… I don't mind personal." Because that is one embarrassing story. And at least they only got the foot… okay, better not think about it. Ever again, preferably.
"You have a tattoo…" I throw her a really mean look and slam on the brakes in the exact same moments. There. That should keep her from asking about that for forever. "Okay, never mind. Uh… where was I? Oh right… it's just… is there something… going between Dee and you?" Aw, fuck. That question caught me so off-guard that I nearly snatch the wheel and ram us into the guard rail full force. Let's just hope she didn't notice that.
Okay, judging from the fact that now practically all color drained from her face, she has noticed that. Dammit. But I can still try to pretend there's nothing wrong here. "Whatever makes you think that?" Probably the fact that I still smile way too much at Dee or that I can't always keep from looking at him when he doesn't notice it or that I tend to avoid the gym when I know he's in it or that I always let other people patch him up in the infirmary…
"Nothing, I just… well, it's not important anyway. Forget that I asked you." I should, yes. But the thing is: You're far too good an observer, little one. I shouldn't have underestimated you. Because you saw it even though I can push it back into a very far corner of my mind most of the time. In fact, I could only do my job back in the NID complex, because I'm still able to blank out certain things – for example the shock of bullets missing a certain NCO's aorta only by inches – when I have to.
I take a deep breath. "Maureen… there isn't anything going on between the two of us. There never has and there never will be, regardless of what either of us might feel at some point."
She swallows, and probably not because I just almost missed our exit. "Look, I'm sorry I asked. I honestly wasn't doubting both your sense of duty and…"
"I know you weren't. You were just asking a friend because some unsettling thoughts were occupying your mind." Now… should I be honest or shouldn't I? Ah hell, I'm gonna live together with that girl for an unspecified amount of time. Might as well trust her. "And just for the record: You weren't all wrong with your assumptions. It's just… please keep it to yourself, will you? I don't want any trouble for either Dee or me. Or Tom, for that matter." She nods, because she knows very well that Tom would be as much in this as Dee and I if something ever happened.
"Of course. And Laura?" We just arrived at Tom's house, but for some reason I don't get out immediately, but simply look at her with raised eyebrows. "If you do want to talk about it… us linguists are pretty good with listening, too, you know."
She blushes a little, probably because she just realized she really opened up to me. I smile, even touched a little by her offer. "Thanks. And now… let's face the enemy." She eyes me a little confusedly. "They'll certainly try and talk you out of moving in with me. And therefore, they are the enemy. Come on, best defense…"
"Is an offence, yeah. Just lead the way then, oh Captain, my Captain." That's my girl. Just you wait, Thomas Moore. We'll make an officer out of her yet.
A/N: There you go... but like I said in the A/N to "Show the world", Joe M. is to blame for the little bout of writer's block that's bugging me. I'll work getting a grip on it, I promise. Just please don't get mad at me for taking a little longer with writing now.
And of course huge thanks to mac who betaed this and "Show the world"'s next chapter, doing a great job with it. Maybe I'll finally get around learning English punctuation... they never taught us here, and quite frankly: That's a shame.
