Sorry for the confusion! I accidentally posted this chapter instead of my actual Chapter 6 so I went ahead and changed it and just posted this one early. Thanks for someone pointing it out! So you may have read this chapter but not actual chapter 6.
Thanks for all of the encouraging reviews! I'm especially happy and motivated to continue posting. :)
Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own JE's characters-you know who they are.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Spending only a couple of hours with one Stephanie Plum has turned my world upside down. Who knew I would be affected by a woman like this? I never saw this coming in a million years. And to think she may have a relationship with Brown—I don't think I could handle that. Something traumatic obviously happened to her—something that obviously she's still dealing with. It must not be too bad seeing as how she drifts to sleep quickly while I'm beside her. I feel the heat coming off of her. I put my arms behind my head and close my eyes. I listen to her even breathing, and I relax. It's been a long time since I shared a room with a woman while we sleep. Sure, I've had a few female companions but none that stayed the night—ever. I drift off into a dreamless slumber only to be awakened by a warm mass curling into my side. My eyes open and a smile graces my lips as I see Stephanie huddled next to me. I should not be feeling like this about some woman I just met. She did save my life…and stitched me up all at risk to herself. She even knew I wasn't really Fahad. The list is in her favor, maybe that's why Brown lets her call him Bobby. Hell, I'd let her call me anything she wants. I shake my head at these thoughts. I've never thought about a woman like this since I was a teenage boy in love for the first time. She scoots closer and an arm flings over my stomach, pulling me closer to her sleeping form.
"Warm…protection…safe," are jumbled words I hear out of her mouth. I'm at a full blown grin now, knowing she feels safe by my side. I stretch my toes and drift back to sleep. I'm wretched awake by a muffled shout. Stephanie's on her back, clawing at the air.
"Stop! No!" she says firmly, even though her eyes are shut. She's clawing at an unseen enemy. I scoot closer and rub her arms.
"Babe," I say in a low, even tone. "It's okay. You're okay. It's just a dream." What happened to this woman? She flinches and I see her about to panic again.
"Stephanie!" I yell, and her eyes shoot open. She scans her surroundings like a trapped doe as tears well in her eyes. I pull her into my arms even if it's not the right thing to do. For some reason, I am attracted to this woman—maybe it's fate. I rock her back and forth slowly as silent tears spill from her sapphire blue eyes. I never want to see her tears again.
"Shh…it's okay, babe, it's okay," I whisper in a soothing tone as I rub her arms. Her tears finally dry and she looks up at me.
"Thank you," she whispers, hanging her head in order to not meet my eyes. I put a finger under her chin to force her to look up.
"Hey, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you," I promise to this woman who has managed to capture my respect…and quite possibly my heart in such a short time. She nods before closing her eyes and letting out a breath.
"It was back at Fort Sam Houston," she starts and I tense for a second, afraid of what I'll hear. "It was nothing really." Nothing really? Nothing really doesn't explain her nightmare.
"There was a guy in my class named Kevin. I knew he was a creep because of the way he would talk to the other ladies in our class, and I never interacted with him," she pauses before continuing. "One day when we had free time I found myself alone in the bunk room. I had taken a nap and woke up realizing I missed lunch. I went down to the vending machine to get some food when he showed up." She shuts her eyes tight. I'm not sure if she's reliving it or trying to erase it from her mind.
"He stalked towards me confidently, I was about to get my food when he started talking to me. I thought maybe if I addressed him, he would go away. No such luck. He told me he wanted a 'sweet sugar plum to eat.'" She shudders in my arms at the memory. I guess her last name is Plum.
"I bent down to get my food, keeping an eye on him of course. It didn't help. He still smacked my ass," she says, looking down as a tear falls. "I knew he was a creep, but I didn't know he'd actually touch me." I nod as I feel anger flow through my veins. How dare someone touch her without her permission? I'm furious.
"I yelled at him not to touch me, and I backed away. He pinned me to the wall," she says drawing in a shaky breath, "I caught him off guard with a knee to his nuts. I almost made it to the door, but he was a big man. He grabbed my shoulder causing me to fall to the floor. He kept coming towards me, blocking the only exit in sight." She pauses, and I don't pressure her. I know she will continue. After everything I've seen from her, I know she is brave.
"I was backed up to another wall. I tried standing in hopes of running for it, but he was on me too fast. He slapped me and he…he…m-managed to get my pants down. I had started sobbing at that point. He was too close and too cautious for me to be able to make a break for it that time. He was close to getting what he wanted when the door slammed opening. It broke his attention long enough for me to slam my palm into his nose and elbow him in the stomach. I ran to the light at the end of the tunnel and it just so happened to be Sergeant Major Brown. I had never been so happy and relieved in my life." Ahhh, so this incident is in part why they became so close.
"Bobby slammed Kevin into the wall and kicked him out. I'll never forget the look Kevin gave me as he left—one of pure hatred. One with a promise that I would pay. I have nightmares on and off…mostly when I've gotten into physical combat. The dream is always the same—he finishes what he started, and I can't do anything about it. This is my first one in three weeks." I nod, and squeeze her tight. No wonder my pinning her arms made her react the way she did. I'm also glad my man had been there for her.
"Thank you for sharing that with me," I murmur in her ear, grateful that she would share such a story with me. She nods, clinging to me. I lay back with her on my chest. I stroke her hair until she falls back asleep. I stay awake, thinking of how I would find this scumbag and teach him a lesson he'll never forget. I settle uncomfortably back into the ground, and sigh. I'd never imagine holding a woman in this way especially since we're in the middle of a war zone. My mind drifts off and my eyes flutter close as I fall asleep.
I wake up feeling warm, but the cool air reminds me of where I am. My eyes move to the man who is holding me in his arms. His eyes are close, his breathing even, and I can see the man behind the beard. His jaw is strong, his nose slim, and his eyes wary but soft in his slumber. He looks at peace and a small smile graces his full lips. I'm tempted to wake him with a soft kiss but that would be ridiculous. He turns slightly, his arms falling away from me. With the opportunity, I move slowly and silently. I don't want to wake him again since I already did last night. I get up without him stirring. He must be extremely tired. I move outside of the cave with my backpack. I scrounge around the bottom where I know some astronaut food is located. Yummy. I have enough for about two weeks for one person or one week for two people. That should do. My eyes roam the area. I see smoke a ways away, and I know it's from the destroyed army base. The woods are eerily silent in the early morning light. I hear not a word from feet nor animals, but a small trickling noise grabs my attention. I make my way quickly to the noise and happily see a stream. The water is clear, but I don't want to take chances. I gather some up with a small metal bowl tucked in the front pocket of my backpack. I quickly gather some sticks to make a small fire. When I've started the fire I put the water over it. As the water boils I think back to the events of yesterday.
I can't believe I risked my life for a man I didn't know. Thankfully, I made the right choice. I don't know if he would have survived the blood loss before someone would have found him. It's a comfort to know that he and Bobby are friends. I trust Bobby and so I extend my trust to Carlos. I wonder where he's from or if he works in the same building in Trenton as Bobby does. He's mentioned his boss Ranger but never anyone by the name of Carlos. Footsteps break my train of thought. I instinctively grab the gun in my holster and aim in the direction of the noise. I put the gun down as I realize it's only Carlos. I give him a small smile which he returns. In the light of day I see how tall he is, and muscular in his cargo pants and loose fitting shirt. I see he's taken the turban off to reveal his silky black hair. It stops right before is neck.
"Good morning," he greets pleasantly before taking a seat on the ground beside me. The water finishes boiling, and I pour it carefully into my unrolled pouch canteen.
"Do you have a plan?" I ask as I scoop up more water to boil.
"I need to get in contact with my General, and we need to figure out where to go from here," he replies and I realize he doesn't have much of a plan.
"I believe Bobby's probably looking for—or planning on looking for me. I know they setup a hospital about fifteen miles away from the army base that was destroyed last night. I'd say that's our best bet," I inform him before pouring the newly cleaned water in with the water from earlier.
"Sounds like a good idea," he agrees, "we should get going soon then." I nod. I pack the bowl into my backpack and stand. Ranger hands me the blanket from seemingly out of nowhere. I stuff it in my bag along with the water. We head off towards the army base so we have a starting point. We walk silently, listening for possible enemies. We walk at least a mile before he says anything.
"Why did you come back for me when you could easily be with your squad right now?" he asks not taking his eyes off what is in front of him. I glance over, but I don't reply just yet. I don't even know what possessed me to help him.
"To be honest…I don't know. I just felt like I was supposed to. At the time I didn't even know if you were ally or enemy. Something just pulled me to you," I reply. I don't look at him as I wait for him to process my words.
"How odd," are his only words. I shrug. I guess we were meant to find each other for some reason, but I don't know why yet.
"Thank you for calming me down last night," I start, feeling like I owe him something. He doesn't say a word as we walk in silence once more. We've gone at least another mile and a half when I notice his slight limp. I can see the pain etched in his face when he doesn't know I'm looking. His wound must be really bothering him. I know it can't be good for his stitches to constantly be moving…and he did run me down last night.
"Let's stop so I can check your stitches," I suggest as we near some large boulders amidst a clearing in the trees. He nods before sitting down on one of the rocks. He makes no move to remove his pants.
"You…uh…I need to remove your pants," I say blushing at the thought. He smirks at me before undoing his pants and pulling them down. I try not to stare and focus solely on his wound. I carefully lift the gauze. I see redness and swelling. I take some things from my backpack and carefully clean the wound. He sucks in a breath through his teeth as I place a hand above his wound while I inspect with the other.
"Are you alright?" I inquire, hoping his wound isn't giving him too much trouble. I get out some clean gauze and reapply it over his wound.
"It's just a dull throb now that I'm sitting," he says as I gently prod his surrounding leg, checking for tenderness. He closes his eyes as I finish my small exam. I pull my hands away.
"Maybe we should only walk half days so it doesn't get any more irritated," I hedge unsure if he'd go along with that or not.
"If you wanted to spend a lot of time with me—all you had to do was ask," he replies with a twinkle in his eye. My face grows warm at the accusation.
"That's not what I meant at all!" I huff, crossing my arms. "Whatever then, let's go. I don't want to spend more time with you than I have to." I pack up my supplies and glare at Carlos. I don't know what it is about that man that can send my blood boiling. Stupid man, thinking I found him irresistible. Please. I see him laughing silently as he pulls up his pants.
"Babe, calm down. I was only kidding," he informs me once he catches his breath. "You're cute when you're mad." Excuse me?
"Who gives you the right to call me 'Babe' in some seductive voice? Like I'll fall for you with your kind eyes, tall stature, and big muscles," I rant looking at him. By the time I'm finished he's closer than before. A smile plays at his lips and his eyes noticeably darken. He pulls me in with one hand on my hip and he cups the back of my head with the other as he kisses me. It starts off slow, and he deepens it. I can feel heat pooling in my belly. My hoohah is humming. Wow. I let out a low moan as he swirls my bottom lip with his tongue. He pulls away because of our need to breathe. I blink a couple of times trying to clear the fog he just created in my brain. He graces me with another smirk. Smug bastard. He got me heated up and certain lady bits tingling. Damn Italian-Hungarian hormones. And I haven't had anything sugary in weeks! I decide to ignore him and start walking again. My lips are still tingling from the kiss he put on me. I unconsciously put my hand to my lips in amazement. I'd never felt something like that from a kiss before.
The temperature doesn't warm up much while we're walking. The scenery stays the same. All woods with rocks. Most the leaves have fallen but there's nothing to see otherwise. Carlos hasn't said anything since our kiss. I think it caught him off guard too. We stop when we hear a whistle in the distance. My eyes dart to Carlos', what's happening? Before we can decide what to do, a whizzing passes by my ear. I turn to see Carlos crumple to the floor.
"Oh my god!" I scream, falling back to help him. I drop to the ground, and hope whoever just took this shot is far away. I scan the area, hoping to find some form of protection. I don't know how I got this lucky, but I see one of the many rock formations we had been passing. I hear more gunfire in the distance. I pull Carlos onto my back and head towards our only protection. I feel relief when I see a bigger cave than the one we were in early this morning. I drag him to the very back and hope no one comes closer. I find the lamp in my bag, and turn it on so I can examine his new wound. He was shot in the chest. My hands tremble as I make sure he still has a pulse. I cry out when I find it. I quickly pull his shirt off. His chest is smooth except for the golf ball size hole on the right side of his body. The edges of the hole are jagged as blood spills from his wound. I can't even see the bullet. I pull out my medical supplies, but I know it won't stop the bleeding. I see his eyes flutter.
"St…stephanie?" he questions, voice weak. Tears spring to my eyes. I have to save him.
"I'm right here," I murmur as I get out the syringe. I numb his chest and the minutes tick by. I take a breath and only hope I can reach the bullet. I slowly lower my forceps into the gaping hole, and feel around. Five minutes feels like an hour as I move deeper in my search for the bullet. His breathing has gotten shallower and his skin more pale. My breath catches when I hear the faint clink of my forceps on the bullet. It's too far in for me to see so I have to do it all by touch. I manage to get my forceps around the mangled bullet. I pull up carefully, but the bullet is stuck. A tear falls from my cheek as I realize the pain and the blood loss he will endure. I grip the forceps tighter as I pull with more force. A gush of blood covers my hand and his chest. He groans. I keep going. The sooner I get the bullet out, the sooner I can stitch him up. The bullet comes slowly, taking its sweet time. Everything around me has disappeared and my sole focus is on the man in front of me. I finally get the bullet out. I throw it on the floor and clean up his blood. I put pressure on the wound hoping it will stop. It doesn't right away. I don't want to stitch him up until the blood stops. I take a wad of the gauze and press it to his wound before taking some medical wrap and tightly wrapping it to make the gauze stay in place. Exhausted from the effort and the growing darkness outside the cave, I close my eyes for a minute.
AN: Badass Private Stephanie Plum to the rescue...again! I don't know about you guys but I'm enjoying the change from being the rescue-e to being the rescuer. As always, let me know what you think!
