"Count time," Thompson called out, tiredly. The fairly quiet dorms turned into more of a ruckus as the girl's smaller conversations got broken up and everyone moved to where they were supposed to be.
Red woke up from the noise of his loud voice and the racket the other girls were making. Night counts were always more relaxed and less formal. She didn't move right away, trying to fully wake up and figure out what the weight on her chest was.
"Well, well, well," an overly cheerful yet obnoxious voice said, hovering in the doorway. "What have we got here?"
Red rolled her eyes at Luschek. "Since when do you do counts?"
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in a relaxed way. "Short staffed. Fucking O'Neill tore out of here after he got back from lunch. Something about his doctor could see him if he got there before five. So, of all people I'm the one that gets stuck staying late."
"Imagine that," Red said, unamused with his complaining.
Luschek just shook his head. "Seriously though. How many fucking people does it take to count you guys? It's not rocket science."
Red laughed at that. It was a question she asked every day. "You would be surprised. Especially when it's O'Neill - some days he doesn't make it to ten."
"What's up with sunshine there? She ever shake off that slump she was in today?" he asked, trying to sound casual, but Red could hear the honesty behind his words.
She nodded. "She's much better now. There were just… some things that we needed to talk about," she said, rubbing Nicky's back gently.
Thompson popped up behind Luschek and crossed his arms impatiently when he saw that Nicky wasn't in her own bunk.
"Oh. My. God.," Luschek exclaimed. "You see her right there. I think it's safe to assume that you can go ahead and count her as being present, since she's only about twenty feet from where she's supposed to be."
Lifting his hands in defeat, Thompson backed away. "Hey man, they're not my rules," he said, walking away to finish.
"I guess I should wake her," Red said, brushing hair off of Nicky's face.
Luschek waved his hand. "Nah, let her sleep. She looks…." he hesitated and cocked his head as he thought before finishing, "peaceful." He smiled warmly not realizing how much it showed that he cared.
"Maybe I was a bit harsh calling you a complete piece of shit," Red said, smirking. "You're still shit, but maybe a little bit less than I thought."
Luschek nodded in understanding. "I will take that as a compliment and bid you goodnight before I do something to offend your good graces. I'd prefer to keep all my organs intact and I know how you Russians can wield a knife." On his way out, he looked over his shoulder and said, "Happy Mother's Day."
"Alright ladies shut up. Go to bed. Have all the lesbian sex that you'd like - and if there are any contraband phones in here, I expect photos and videos in the morning. I'm talking to you Vause," Luschek called out, not bothering to check the other cubes.
"Good luck with that," Alex yelled back at him. She popped her head out of her cube and winked at him. "Piper only let me film her once."
"Alex!" Piper yelled, voice not coming from her own bunk.
Alex was jerked back into her cube and Luschek grinned. "Chapman," he yelled, "Be a team player. That's an order inmate." His tone held humor, but everyone knew he would by no means turn down photos or video if they existed.
"Can everyone just shut up so we can get some sleep?" Gina snapped.
Giggles echoed through the dorm, but silence soon passed over the room, as everyone settled into their own spaces.
The main lights in the dorm went out and Red relaxed once more. Luschek was an idiot and useless, but she was grateful for the gift he'd given her. Being able to hold Nicky throughout the night was probably not something that she would get to do often, but for at least one night her girl would stay right beside her.
