4 – Moving

Colonel Mitchell dug his cell phone out of his pocket after the third ring, bringing it to his ear. "Mitchell."

"Hi Cameron," came the tentative voice on the other end.

He couldn't help the grin that eased across his face at hearing her voice. Even after a month and a half he'd recognize it anywhere. "Hi, Carolyn."

"I'm sorry to bother you," she started. "I just wasn't sure who else to call on such short notice and was really hoping you'd answer."

"What's going on?" he asked, her car having issues being the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm supposed to move this weekend and I had a few people who were going to help me, but that plan fell through." There was silence for just a moment and then she continued, "I'm calling to see if you're free tomorrow? I can promise pizza and beer at the end of the day."

Cameron smiled, glad to hear her extra help had fallen through. "No problem. What time do you want me there?"

"Everything is packed and ready to go, so whatever time you can make it is fine with me."

He could hear the stress in her voice and wished they were closer friends so she was more comfortable with this request. "Well sweetheart, being a soldier and all means I'm used to getting up pretty damn early in the morning. You might want to be more specific or you could find me waking you up," he chuckled.

"It's Carolyn," he heard her ground out. "Does nine in the morning sound too early?"

"It's a date."

"This is not a date," she sputtered and he thought she sounded kind of cute all flustered.

"It's just a phrase, Doc. But if you did want to ask me on a date I'd…"

"Colonel Mitchell," she injected impatiently, "don't make me regret asking you for help."

"Just saying," he chuckled. "I'm still holding out hope that one day you make an exception and agree to go out on a date with me."

"Colonel," she sternly warned him.

"Okay," he relented. "How about I pick up breakfast on my way?"

"I don't want to be a bother," she started, but Cam didn't let her get very far.

"Bagels it is," he laughed, enjoying overriding her a bit too much.

"Cam?" she asked and it shouldn't tickle him so much to hear her shorten his name.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Just one more thing. Do you own a truck or just the Mustang I've seen you drive?

"I'm from Kansas Doc, so owning a truck is almost mandatory."

"Well, if you could bring it then we might be able to get by with fewer trips."

"Do you need me to bring anything else?"

"No, but thank you so much for doing this for me, Cameron."

"No worries. I'll see you at 0900 tomorrow."

"Bye."

Cameron leaned back on the couch, tipping his beer bottle and taking a drink. It had been a long day. It'd taken two trips to move all of Carolyn's belongings to the new apartment in Castle Rock. Thank goodness it was partially furnished, minimizing the moving to just boxes, smaller appliances and a few pieces of furniture. They'd also spent a couple of hours cleaning her old apartment before leaving with the second load.

Now, with only two slices of pizza left in the box, they were both pretty tuckered out and he should think about heading home. He just wasn't ready to let the day end and Carolyn wasn't exactly kicking him out, so he thought he'd enjoy it while he could.

"That was pretty good pizza," he said, nodding toward the almost empty box.

"It was and they deliver," Carolyn agreed with a smile. "Second good thing about moving here."

"What was the first good thing?"

"Cutting my commute in half."

"Definitely a benefit. Nice town too. It seems to be big enough to have all the amenities of a large city, but still the ease of being a fraction of the size of Denver or Colorado Springs," Cam noted.

"There's a grocery store less than a mile away," she started by way of agreement, "on the same street as the pizza place."

"Not too far for us to date either..., when you finally cave and say yes, that is." Cameron made sure to give her a look that said he was just teasing her. "We can call that the third good thing about living here."

"I might decide to put proximity to you in the negative column," she said with a laugh, getting used to the idea that he was just giving her a hard time and didn't mean anything serious by it.

"You've never been out on a date with me, sweetheart." Cameron leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice into a seductive pitch, "or you'd definitely have it at the top of your pros list." He gave her a wink before standing and scooping up what was left of their dinner and carrying it to the kitchen, weaving around packed boxes as he went.

Carolyn's breath had caught for a second when he'd leaned in so close and she was glad his back was already toward her. Once she regained her senses she held her tongue by biting it, finding her defense mechanism kicking in hard with a ready retort. For all of his flirting and teasing, she knew he was one of the good guys. He'd proved it to her several times already. Too bad military was at the top of the cons side on her dating list.

Cam slowed his truck down and made a right hand turn several times until he was cruising back past the movie theater to confirm what he'd seen. He impulsively pulled out his cell phone and dialed. She answered before he hit the freeway.

"You've only been gone," there was a short pause, "seven minutes."

"Hello to you too," Mitchell sarcastically replied with a chuckle.

"Hello Cam."

Carolyn's exaggerated greeting causing the soldier's chuckle to turn into a laugh. He was glad she didn't realize how much her brisk attitude appealed to him.

"What do you need?" she asked, her voice as business clipped as always.

"I passed a theater on my way out of town that's having a triple feature of the original Star Wars trilogy through next Sunday. I'm thinking I might need to come back up here and see it." Cam paused; this was the tricky part. He'd have to tread carefully. "Think I can talk you into keeping me company? I'll buy the popcorn," he added lightly, hoping to entice her, but not put too much pressure on it.

"Seriously… Star Wars?" she questioned in disbelief. "You are such a boy."

"Everyone loves Star Wars."

He could almost visualize her rolling her eyes. "Come on, Care," he tried, shortening her name, "you know you want to."

"Its Carolyn…" she stated firmly, but then softened up a little, "and I haven't seen those movies since I was a kid."

He could almost hear the caving her mind was going through. "Then it's high time you saw them again, and on the big screen is a bonus."

"Alright," Lam agreed, wondering if she was making a mistake. "This is not a date though," she warned. "I'll buy my own popcorn and meet you there."

"Works for me. How about Saturday? I'll pick you up," he finished with a chuckle.

"I'll meet you out front," she reiterated, "twenty minutes before it starts."

He liked her 'take no prisoner's' attitude. Carolyn wasn't one to let herself get bowled over by anyone. "Yes ma'am. Goodnight Doc."

"Goodnight, Cam."

Mitchell ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He couldn't help but smile. He was going to spend the day with Carolyn on Saturday. No matter who bought the popcorn, it felt like he had a date.