AN: Hey! Sorry it's been so long since the last update, but there has been a lot of things happening lately and this has been sorta put on hold for a little while. Hopefully things will begin to simmer down now and I'll be able to update more frequently.

As always, I would like to thank Colorful Raging Cancer, Librangen, casper22, LeMiSo, The Mysterious E, and Jamie for all of your lovely reviews! They have definitely been inspiring me to keep writing lately. Oh, and I have finally gotten back to replying to all of your reviews; sorry about the lapse when I didn't. Unfortunately, I still cannot reply to guest reviews, but know that I still love you all just as equally!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10

Live Wire

I groaned as something woke me up, though I couldn't tell what it was. When I opened my eyes I was met with the broad chest of Sgt. Brad Colbert, and the events of last night came flooding back to me. I glanced up at him, his face bathed in the early morning light, highlighting his soft features. A small smile passed my lips as I nuzzled my head against him, closing my eyes once more. I was way too comfortable to move, and besides, I didn't want to wake Brad. He looked so at peace while he slept.

What felt like less than a minute later, I sensed a presence around me. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and turned to see what it was. Directly behind us stood a group of marines; among them I noticed Walt, Espera, Garza, Lilley, Rudy, and a few others, but front and center stood Ray with the biggest shit-eating grin I'd ever seen.

"No," I groaned, turning back and burying my head in Brad's chest. I pulled the jacket up to cover my head, effectively hiding my face. "I'm not dealing with this."

This must have woken Brad, who I felt move beneath me. He took in a deep breath and then must have opened his eyes because his entire body stilled beneath mine. "There something wrong?" I heard him say in a frigid tone.

I gasped as I felt a hand grab my ankle, and before I knew it I was dragged off of Brad and onto the hard ground. "Nope," I heard Ray say behind me as he let my ankle go, "still both clothed. You owe me, Espera."

I flipped over onto my back, staring up Ray as he grinned down at both of us. "May we all now bask in the glorious presence of Sergeant Brad Colbert, whom you all may better know as the Iceman, for it is only this man," he paused as he held out his hand, motioning towards Brad, "the Iceman, who could, in the barren, pussy-lacking, fuck-butt of a country that is Iraq, have a beautiful," he paused once again to look down at me, "if you don't mind me saying," he said, as if asking my permission, before continuing, "woman draped across his depraved body, and not give into the heat of the moment and try to score a lil' action." Suddenly, applause broke out among the group, along with a few cheers and crude comments. "Congratulations, sir," Ray said as he bowed ceremoniously before Brad. "You are the Iceman."

I could feel my cheeks heat up as I glanced at Brad who held a slight grin on his lips, though it quickly faltered when he looked over at me. My embarrassment quickly gave way as I turned to Ray, a deep glare setting into my features. I pushed my body up, hooking my right foot behind Ray's knee and twisting so that my left foot collided with his hip, effectively forcing him to slam to the ground. I heard him cry out as his body collided with the earth, curling up from the pain of impact.

Slowly I stood, dusting myself off before looking down at him. "Fuck off, Person," I said as I turned and walked away from them, heading to the other side of the Humvee. A small, satisfied smile touched my lips as I heard another cheer ring up from the guys in the group, knowing full-well it was for me.

After a few minutes, Brad came around to where I was standing. "You OK?" I heard him ask as he stopped in front of me.

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing as they met his.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," he said defensively. "I didn't do anything."

"Exactly," I mumbled as I jerked opened the door, turning to climb in.

"Hey," he said, his voice making me stop and turn to look at him, "look at the bright side." A slow grin spread across his lips. "I bet Ray won't try to fuck with you anymore."

I couldn't stop the small smile that formed at his comment. "And if he does, he'll get a taste of what I can really do."

"See, that's the spirit," he smiled before turning to opened the passenger-side door, climbing in himself. "Alright boys, let's go! We're Oscar Mike!"

I, too, climbed inside, situating myself in my normal seat. Walt grinned at me as he climbed in while Trombley looked bewildered. He hadn't been there this morning, thankfully, since they had managed to wake him up only a couple of minutes ago. Ray climbed in slowly, pulling out his sunglasses before slipping them on. He stayed quiet, never looking back at me.

"We ready to go?" Brad asked, turning to Ray.

"Ready as ever," he replied simply.

"Alright then, let's go." Once Brad called in to the other units, we were off once more.

The ride was much quieter today, seeing as Ray seemed to be in no mood to talk. There were a few conversations over the course of the day, but most of it was set in silence.

However, I did manage to discover that this was just one stop on a much longer journey. We were also making our way toward a town called Ar-Ramadi. It was situated along the Euphrates River, 70 miles west of Baghdad. We'd have to cross the Euphrates to get to it, however, and the bridge we'd be using wasn't exactly known to be the safest.

Just great, I'd thought to myself with a sigh, another chance to get shot at. Though, after being with them for this past week, I'd started to get used to being shot at. I guess it just came with the territory.

Just as the sun was about to set, we arrived at our destination. The other team was already there, spread out amongst three different roads. Once we caught up with their leader, we divided up our units accordingly as well.

"Stay here," Brad said, addressing me as he and the others got out. While they all went off to help set up, Brad walked over to my side of the vehicle. "We're only here for tonight, and I would rather not have you distracting anyone."

"Distract them how, exactly?"

Brad gave me a stern look that made me roll my eyes. "Fine," I sighed dramatically, "keep me locked up like a caged dog. But I can't make any promises I won't tear up the house while you're gone."

A slow grin formed on his lips. "Stay," he commanded as he reached out and opened the door, allowing me the throw my legs out, though I stayed obediently within the Humvee. "Good girl," he smiled when I didn't attempt to get out. "Daddy'll be back soon. Behave."

I stuck my tongue out at him in protest—not the most mature thing, I'll admit, but it felt good either way. A wicked grin spread across his lips as I did so, causing something to stir deep inside of me.

"How about this," he began as he took a step closer to me, leaning casually against the door, "if you manage to behave while we're gone, I'll give you a reward when we get back."

Now he had my undivided attention. I leaned forward slightly, intrigued by this offer. "What kind of reward?"

"You'll find out once you get it—if you get it."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're not very good at making deals, you know that?"

"But you're curious now, aren't you?" His grin only spread further when I didn't respond. "Thought so. Be a good girl until I get back, would ya?" And with that, he turned and left.

I huffed and fell back onto the seat, kicking the door lightly out of frustration. That man was going to drive me insane. "Two can play at that game, Mr. Colbert," I mumbled to myself as I let my mind run wild with ways I could get him back for this.

The night progressed slowly, especially since I was stuck with nothing to do. In the background I'd heard a few warning shots fired, but it didn't sound like anything serious had happened. Further away, along another road they were holding, there had been a minute or so of gunfire, and I idly wondered what had happened there.

The sun had long since set, the moon now the only source of light to see by, at least for me. I'd sat up and inched over to the edge of my seat, allowing my feet to touch the ground in silent rebellion. Almost everyone was up with the units holding the road, although a few men lingered around the vehicles, most on radios keeping in contact with the others. I caught a few things over the radio about the status of what was going on, but most of what they were saying was in lingo beyond my comprehension.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

I looked up at the unfamiliar voice to see three men coming towards me. I didn't recognize any of them, so I figured they must have been from the other unit.

"Holy shit! Raines wasn't kidding; they really got a girl with 'em!"

"The things I could do to her right now—"

"Hey!" one of the guys who I noticed sported a tattoo snaking up his neck spoke up, silencing the other two, "let's show the lady some respect."

All three of them stopped in front of me, their eyes visibly scanning me over. "I'm Owen," the guy who'd first spoken, their self-proclaimed leader, said as he gestured to himself. He was fairly tall and all muscle underneath his uniform, judging by its snug fit. With his blond hair and green eyes, he could easily pull off the all-American boy look. "That's Cole," he went on, introducing the guy to his right, "and this here is Shark," he introduced the guy to his left with a wide grin, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

Cole was taller than Owen but he had a much more slight build and donned thick-rimmed glasses that accentuated his square face. The man who Owen had introduced as 'Shark' was a stark contrast to the two. He was extremely tan with dark hair and dark eyes, and from what I could make out in the dim light there were a plethora of tattoos peeking out from the outskirts of his uniform, much more than the one I'd originally seen.

"Shark?" I inquired, looking up at him curiously.

"Nickname."

From the tone of his answer, I didn't venture further.

"Do you have a name, sweetheart?" Owen piped up, an achingly sweet smile on his lips.

As I looked over these three, I internally rolled my eyes. "Laura," I provided smoothly.

"Laura, huh? I like that name."

Congratulations, I thought to myself. Want a prize?

"Hey, tell me," Cole spoke up, breaking me from my thoughts, "how is it a girl such as yourself ends up all the way out here?"

"And with these idiots," Owen added, assumingly referring to Bravo Company.

I ran my fingers through my hair, surprised it didn't have more tangles in it. "I'm a news reporter. I came here to cover a story about one of the troops and the heroic actions they'd taken during an attack on a civilian population by insurgents, but a day before we were set to come home we were taken hostage. These guys found me a few days later when they came in and attacked... wherever we were."

"Holy shit, no way! You were taken hostage?" Cole said in a surprised voice.

"I can't even imagine what they did to you..." Owen said, his eyes once again scanning over me.

"How did you get out?" Shark suddenly asked, his tone flat and even unlike the other two as his eyes searched mine.

I turned to him, now my turn to scrutinize his expression. "I slipped out," I finally said, unable to divulge anything from his look.

"Just like that? Your captors didn't have anything to say about it?"

"When all hell broke loose, they were a bit distracted, and I managed to get out where the guys could see me," I continued as if explaining something to a child. "Once they... realized my situation, I guess, they got me over to them and have been trying to get me home since."

"You managed to get out of there scott-free?"

"Hey, lay off," Cole suddenly spoke up. "She's been through a lot. No need to interrogate her."

Owen must have noticed a change in the air because he quickly slapped Shark on his shoulder once again, dispelling the tension. "Don't mind 'ol Shark here, I'm sure he's just curious as to how we can get a girl of our own to entertain us out here."

"Entertain you?"

He shrugged. "Gets lonely out here with all of us guys, if you know what I mean," he said, punctuating his statement with a wink.

"No," I replied, visibly rolling my eyes, "I don't."

"Want to find out?"

"Excuse me," came a voice from my right, all of us turning to see who it was, "is there a problem here?"

There was almost an instant reaction from all of them at this man's presence. They straightened up, their bodies tensing slightly as they dutifully turned fully towards him.

"Uh, n-no sir," Owen stammered. "We were just—"

"Not doing your jobs?" he finished for them. "Go back to your posts," he said when they didn't reply, his voice dripping with authority. "Now."

Three 'yes sir's sounded before they walked off in unison.

"I'm sorry about them," he said as he walked over to me, standing where they had been just moments ago. "I hope they didn't bother you too much."

"I can take care of myself," I shrugged. As I looked up at this man, I noticed that he was older than the three that had just walked away; I couldn't say by how much, but I knew it wasn't much. His eyes reflected a light shade of either green or blue, and I couldn't tell whether his hair was light brown or dirty blond in the light. His facial features were hard-set and well defined, and I had to admit to myself that, for all intents and purposes, he was rather attractive.

"From what I could hear, I can tell," he said with a smile that softened his features. "I admire a fighting spirit in a woman. I'm Will, by the way," he said as he held out his hand, which I dutifully shook. "Laura, right?"

I nodded in answer.

"So tell me, Laura, what is it you really do?"

I wrinkled my brow in confusion. "What do you mean? You heard what I said to the others."

"Come on," he shook his head, a grin spreading across his lips. "There's no need to lie. I've watched you here with them, and with all the gunfire going on in the background—you never once flinched."

"I'm used to gunshots," I challenged. "My dad's a hunter, taught me how to shoot when I was a kid."

"And there you go with more lies." He shook his head, but his grin never left. "Daddy didn't teach his little girl in a warzone. You don't look even the least bit tense, like you're used to this. I can tell you, I've seen plenty of civilians, some of us military guys even, come through here and they look like they're preparing to get shot at every second."

A small smile spread across my lips at his accusations. I had to give him credit for that one.

"Look at that, she can smile," he teased.

"And what is it that you do?" I asked, changing the subject.

He paused for a moment, as if he were about to say something else, but resigned to answer my question. "I am currently the leader of an EOD unit."

"EOD?"

"Explosive Ordnance Disposal," he elaborated. "Basically, we find IEDs," he paused as glanced up at me, "improvised explosive devices."

I rolled my eyes, "OK, that one I actually knew."

His smile returned as he continued, "we find them and dismantle them. Keep them from going 'boom'."

I rolled my eyes again, but couldn't keep the smile from my lips. "And if you don't?"

"Hence the 'currently' status," he said with an unreadable expression crossing his features. "I'm replacing their former leader—was killed by an IED in Baghdad."

"Oh," I nodded slowly. As I thought about what he did, though, it made more sense in my mind. His job was filled with tense situations and the threat of death at any moment, so it's understandable that he could pick up on the tension others felt. It also seemed somewhat of a necessity given that people's demeanor could give away if there was some threat in the immediate vicinity, such as an IED.

"But you're not in charge of them," I said, pointing back to where the other's had been, "so what's with all of that?"

He glanced back to where the three guys had walked off before turning back to face me. "You are very perceptive as well, young lady. I believe I have met my match," he said, matching my newly formed grin with his own. "I am a higher rank than them, but you're right, I'm not in charge of them. I figure they're all just afraid of me."

"Afraid of you?" I inquired with a raise of my eyebrow, crossing my arms in disbelief. "Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

"What?" he said as he took a step towards me, his face taking on a more serious expression. "Am I not intimidating?"

I stared up at him, looking into his eyes. On the surface, this look would be intimidating as any, but as I searched deeper I noticed a softness in his eyes, yet at the same time a darkness that demanded to keep attachments at bay. I realized that I knew that look from somewhere else, and it didn't take me long to place it. I bit my lip as I shook my head, erasing the idea from my thoughts. "Not in the least."

He suddenly clutched his chest as if he'd been shot. "Wow. That one... that one actually hurt a little bit."

I tried, but failed miserably to contain my laughter at his gesture. "Sorry, it's just that I've been around much, much more intimidating men."

"Is that so?" he said, a smile now spreading across his features. "What with you being a reporter and all, I can only imagine the type of men you're used to."

"Oh, trust me; you have no idea." I don't know what compelled me, but at that moment I looked away from him, turning my gaze to the right. As if on cue, my eyes instantly met with a pair of bright blue ones, causing me to freeze, my smile faltering.

"What is it?" Will asked, noticing my change in demeanor. His eyes followed mine until he, too, realized who was standing there. "Ah, Sergeant Colbert. Long time no see, eh?"

"Sergeant James," Brad glanced at him, his tone devoid of even the slightest hint of happiness at seeing him, before turning back to me. "Is there a reason for your visit?"

"Just saving your girl from the idiots in my company," he shrugged. "They were messin' with her—"

"I was fine," I interrupted. "I can take care of myself."

"As was duly noted," he grinned up at me before turning back to Brad. "You really shouldn't leave her alone back here with our guys walking around."

"You seem to have little faith in your men," he mumbled as he walked over to us, standing so that he was somewhat between me and Will, turned so that he was facing him.

He shrugged casually again, though I could tell that Brad's gesture was noted. "Just being realistic is all."

There was a long moment of silence that passed between us as both men stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. They almost looked like they were sizing each other up, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were two seconds from fighting each other right then and there.

"I think I can take it from here," Brad finally spoke up, breaking the silence but doing little to ease the palpable tension in the air.

"If you say so," Will casually replied. He turned to me and smiled, giving a curt nod, though the mischievous glint in his eyes did not go unnoticed by me. "It was nice meeting you Laura."

"You too," I smiled back.

Once he was far enough away, Brad slowly turned around to face me.

"What?"

He shook his head slowly as he walked over to the passenger door and opened it. "I ask you to do one thing..." he mumbled as he placed something in the seat.

"Don't even think about making this out to be my fault," I warned as I slipped out of my seat, closing the door as I turned to face him. "It's not like I asked those three guys to come over here and interrogate me, nor did I ask Will to come bail me out—"

"I thought you said you didn't need any help," he said as he closed his door, turning to look down at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

I narrowed my eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Do I?" he countered, matching my expression with his own.

"What's with you two anyways?" I changed tactics, hoping to throw him off. "Don't think I didn't notice that pissing contest back there."

For a moment, I watched his expression change, a darkness fleeting across his eyes as he contemplated my question. My plan had worked. Unfortunately, before I could get any useful information out of him, Ray once again made his usual untimely entrance.

"The married couple is fighting, yet again!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air as he walked over to us. "What is it this time?"

Brad turned to Ray, any thoughts from before quickly dissipating. "Sam here has decided to flirt with the enemy—" he paused, looking back at me with an unreadable expression, "or should I say Laura?"

I glared daggers at him, only to receive a devilish grin in reply.

"You harlot!" Ray gasped. "How could you!"

I rolled my eyes at both of them. "You two are like children. And don't avoid the question," I said as I turned back to Brad. "Who is he?"

"Who is who?" Ray asked in confusion.

"No one," Brad sighed dismissively, giving me a pointed look.

"Sergeant William James," I said, ignoring Brad as I turned to Ray. "Know him?"

Ray blanched as I said the name, glancing at Brad with an uneasy look. "Uh... yeah, I know 'im. That's who you were flirting with?"

"I wasn't flirting with anyone," I said as I looked between the two, before settling my eyes on Brad. "Something you want to tell me?"

"No," Brad replied, looking passed me as he scanned over the others who were making their way back. "C'mon, we're moving out soon. Let's get everything squared away," he said, presumably to Ray, as he turned and walked around to the other side of the Humvee.

"Do I even want to know?" I sighed, turning back to Ray.

He slowly shook his head. "Trust me on this—just stay away from that topic." He paused for a moment, staring at Brad as he walked out of view before furrowing his brow slightly. "Though it is odd that it's getting him this riled up..."

"Ray?"

"I think he likes you," he said, as if speaking to himself.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Ray turned back to me, looking as if he'd just noticed I was there. "I mean, the way you two are... I've never seen him get worked up the way he does when he's around you."

I rolled my eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Ray, you obviously don't know him very well then. Trust me on this—there is nothing between us. The man can barely even stand that I'm around—"

"No," he interrupted, "you are obviously blind to the massive amount of unresolved sexual tension between you two."

"Now you're just making things up," I countered.

"Am I?"

As I went to make some smart-ass remark, something in my mind stopped me from doing so.

Ray did not let this hesitation go unnoticed, as a huge shit-eating grin instantly spread across his lips. "That's what I thought. Don't think I don't notice it in you too."

Ray turned as he heard his named called out from somewhere in the distance. He began to walk away towards the voice, but I called out to stop him, making him turn back around.

"Hey, about earlier... I'm really sorry about... you know..."

He shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said before I could finish. Shoving his hands in his pockets, a smile spread across his lips as he gave me a wink before turning and heading back towards the others.

Slowly, a smile spread across my lips as well. It was good to know that I could always count on Ray to be a good sport, no matter what happened.

I hope you all enjoyed! Oh, and I'll give a billion brownie points (maybe a special prize?) to whoever can guess which lovely star made a cameo in this chapter :)