Em woke warm and safe.
Decidedly male arms were wrapped around her, strong and radiating heat. A muscular chest cradled her back and breath teased her hair.
Scott.
She smiled to herself, shifting slightly as if to burrow deeper into his embrace. Mmmm.
"So, you are finally awake?" His voice was breathy and she could hear his smile.
"Maybe." She couldn't help her half-awake grin.
His arms tightened around her, drawing her closer.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Long enough." And he was kissing her neck, lips soft against her skin. "You, Doctor Harris, are extremely tempting."
"Oh? In what way?"
He was nibbling on her ear. "Oh, in many, many ways."
"Even in an oversized t-shirt bought from a seven-eleven at 2am?"
"Especially in an oversized t-shirt bought from a seven-eleven at 2am." He brushed her hair aside and nibbled on her neck. "And I still haven't worked out why you bought it. The hotel supplies pyjamas."
"Mmm-hmm, but then I wouldn't be 'especially'."
"Oh, you are always 'especially'."
"Especially now?"
"Especially." She could feel his grin against her skin as he trailed kisses across her bared shoulder.
They had had a wonderful night. First driving down to the coast and cruising along the esplanade. Windows down and soaking in the atmosphere, whether it be the night life of the Californian coast or just the fresh sea air, it had resulted in ice creams overlooking the sea and kissing under a cloudless, moon-soaked sky.
She felt like a teenager again.
But there was nothing 'teenager' about Scott Tracy.
She wrapped her hands around his bicep and kissed his skin, tongue trailing over one of the several scars she had discovered on his arms. This one was thin and white in the morning light. Old and long healed.
She kissed it again, almost wishing she could kiss it away.
"Em?"
She shifted in his arms, her usual awkward shuffle to turn herself over. His embrace loosened and she rolled over to face him. She slid her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to kiss him soundly.
His response was immediate and enthusiastic, holding her even closer, almost clutching her to his bare chest.
God, he was gorgeous. For a moment there her brain short-circuited as he took her breath from her mouth. Oxygen deprived, she saw stars.
He broke off and his exhale was hot on her swollen lips.
"Scott?" Her voice barely there.
He continued his attentions, but only nibbled, sucking gently on her bottom lip, kissing the corners, playing.
"Emaline." Whispered.
She preferred to be called Em, always had, but there was something in the way he said her name, something so him, so Scott. She caught his lips again, almost aggressive, wanting him, needing him.
"Thunderbird Five to Thunderbird One."
They both froze, staring at each other.
"Scott are you there?"
The kiss dissolved into nothing and she watched as a series of emotions flickered through his gorgeous blue eyes. Shock, anger, frustration, and finally his whole body slumped in defeat.
"Damn."
Em sighed along with him, but pecked a kiss on his cheek anyway as they separated.
Scott rolled over and reached down beside the bed feeling for his shirt. A grunt or two later and the offending item of clothing landed on his chest.
"Yes, Thunderbird Five, what warrants interrupting my few hours of personal time?" Em translated that into 'John, this better be damned important or I will kick your ass."
"Scott, I'm sorry, but turn on your holoprojector."
The commander frowned as Em reached over to her bedside table, grabbed the control and hit the power button.
The room was suddenly filled with the sound of breaking glass as a man was pushed through a glass door.
Em frowned. Oh my god, that was-
"Virgil!" And Scott sat up straight in bed. "John, what the hell happened?" But the answers were scrolling across the bottom of the projection - Tracy attacked at hotel by marriage protestor.
They watched as Kayo kicked a man's head in before returning to help her fiancé off the ground. Virgil staggered to his feet, glass falling from his familiar red plaid and jeans, blood on his face and arms and...Scott leapt out of bed and began shouldering on his shirt.
"Where are they?"
John's answer was crisp and sharp. "On the way to the airport. Neither is answering my hails."
Em called her 'scoot to the side of the bed and began shuffling towards it.
Scott was already dressed and moving, his suit from the night before rumpled and unkempt as he dove into the bathroom. As she finally made it into her 'scoot and secured her harness, he opened the door and walked out, suit neat and every hair in its correct place.
Em blinked. How?
But she didn't have time to think much more as he was obviously itching to move.
She gave him the control as she darted into the bathroom to take care of her own morning necessaries.
Closing the door, she heard the 'projector flicking through channels as Scott muttered his brother's name.
-o-o-o-
