A Birthday Gift

Chapter 6: First Date

Disclaimer: I do not own G.I. Joe. Thanks to Little Lady Hawk and Kris for editing & thanks to the Duke_Scarlett yahoo group for the help with character background info! Any mistakes are my own.

Conrad slipped his dress uniform out of its bag. He doubted Shauna thought much of him having it here. There were occasions he attended a meeting in Washington that required him to wear his dress uniform. He didn't think much of those occasions but they were as much a part of his job as leading troops on the battlefield. Everyone on the team knew how much he hated dressing up but tonight he was reaching for it because he wanted to wear it.

Tonight was his first official date with Shauna and he wanted to look his best. Tonight was important, special; he wanted to wear his uniform so she'd know how much he valued their date.

Shauna took her time getting ready and found herself enjoying the timeless feminine ritual of dressing for an important date. She slipped into black dress pants and gold lace tank, treasures from the shopping trip. She pulled her hair up loosely from the sides. She smiled at her reflection and wondered what Allie would say if she could see her now! She laughed at the thought as she put on the gold pearl earrings and necklace set that had been a Christmas gift from the women in her family. She slid into her heels, picked up her shawl, and took a deep breath. She reached the living room, coming to a sudden halt when she saw Conrad standing next to her dad.

"Wow!" Conrad called softly, forgetting he had a dozen red roses in his hand.

"Conrad…"she took a breath, "You're wearing your dress uniform." She walked forward slowly until she was standing right in front of him. She ran her hands over the front of his jacket, tracing his ribbons and metals. "You hate wearing this thing." She said softly, feeling silly as tears formed in the corners of her eyes

"Shauna…" he called and she looked up, reaching for him as his hands came to cup her face and he bent his head to kiss her soft and sweet, trying to tell her through his kiss what he couldn't express in words. He wished for Dash's poetry or Vince's glib tongue. Telling her she was beautiful, trying to say how much he cared; words would fall short so he settled for pouring his heart into the kiss. He was falling so hard and so fast for this women but it felt so right he couldn't walk away from her if he wanted to. He felt better when he was kissing her, some silent communication passing between them. This was Shauna and whatever she was to him now she had started off as his friend, the one person who could read him no matter what. She got what he was trying to say. She understood him.

Eventually he broke the kiss, aware her father was standing three feet away watching them, he hoped with the same amused expression his step-father had shown. "You look beautiful." He told her, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"Thanks. So do you." She shook her head with a laugh, "You look nice, Conrad."

"Thanks. Tonight is special. I wanted to look my best."

"Well, you do. Hey, are those for me?" She pointed to the roses now lying forgotten on the coffee table.

"Oh, Yeah! I hope you like them." He handed them to her and rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he was going to regain the full use of his brain sometime before the evening was over. He sounded like an idiot when he opened his mouth.

She brought the roses to her nose and breathed in their sweet scent. "They smell lovely, thank you. Give me just a minute to put them in water and then we can go."

She put her hands against the kitchen counter and focused on getting her breathing under control. This was no time for silly, embarrassing tears! Even if they were happy tears! She needed to calm down but she was ridiculously touched by the sight of him in his dress uniform. He'd worn it for her and that meant more than a flower shop full of roses.

She could hear him talking with her dad but couldn't make out what they were saying; the noise in her head was still too loud. She dug out one of her mother's vases and took her time arranging the flowers. She grinned. He may have taken his sweet time getting around to kissing her but was sure making up for it now! Ash and all the others were going to be out their minds with jealously.

They were mostly quiet on the drive to the restaurant; content to just be together. That changed when they walked to their table in a cozy Italian restaurant. Conrad had gotten the name of the restaurant from Sean who had turned out to be unexpected ally. Their table was tucked away in a quiet, candlelit corner of the restaurant with a fancy white table cloth spread under even fancier tableware. They ordered a bottle of wine and sipped while waiting for their food. When she seemed relaxed he decided it was time to start asking questions. He'd start with the general first date questions and move on from there. They'd been good friends for years but he knew there was a lot he didn't know about her. Her ability to turn a question around without having answered was part of her being an integral member of the team.

"So, Shauna, have you lived in Atlanta long?"

She smiled and held in a chuckle at his question. He'd apparently decided to play twenty questions, a game she always won. "I was born and lived here until I left for college."

"Go to college straight out of high school?"

She blushed, but hoped he couldn't see it in the dark, "Um, yes, actually. I wanted to go away for college, something not a one of my brothers opted to do; I wanted independence and a chance to figure out who I was without anybody else's input. My dad agreed on the condition I find my independence living with relatives. I wanted to go off to Ireland; he thought I was too young. We compromised; I got accepted to Harvard and since it was far away from home but still met the requirement of living with family he was mostly ok with it. After a year of good behavior, good grades, and busting my butt washing dishes in my uncle's pub, I moved on campus and found my independence."

"How'd you like it?"

"After growing up the youngest and only girl in the family, then having to live with my uncle's family, again being the youngest, I thrived. I already had one black belt and was seriously working towards my second so I wasn't real worried about being able to take care of myself."
"How many black belts do you have now?"

"Lots." She grinned, "What were you into as a kid?"

"Football. What was that blush about a moment ago?"

She stared innocently and asked, "What blush?"

He grinned and sipped his wine, "The one I heard in your voice when I asked you if you went to college as soon as you'd finished high school."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't blush."

His grin spread and she found it hard to keep a straight face, "You blushed, I'm a sharpshooter, remember, good eye sight. And I know you-I know what your voice sounds like, what that slight hitch means."

"You think you know me so well and here I thought this was our first date?"

"Cheeky. Answer the question."

"What question?"

He let out a sharp bark of laughter, "No wonder you're so good at your job! Did you go to college as soon as you'd finished high school?"

She nodded, "Yes." And picked up her wine as he sat back contemplating her answer. She'd hoped he'd leave it at that. Most men turned tail and ran when they found out about her education. She doubted Conrad would, he had to know she was more educated than he was. But still, old habits die hard.

He leaned forward and braced his forearms on the table, "How old were you when you finished high school?"

She sighed, Damn! He'd had to ask that question. "Isn't it my turn yet?"

"Nope, I haven't conceded my turn."

Her eyes narrowed. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, surprising her. He kept her gaze for a long time before whispering, "It's me, Shauna."

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, "17. I finished a year early and I graduated with Sean. And yes, he was suitably annoyed."

"And…"

She raised her shoulders and shook her head, "And what? I answered your question."

He quirked an eyebrow, "The more you evade the juicier I think the story is, so spill; the whole thing this time. Then, it's your turn."

"For the rest of the night."

He smiled, "Maybe."

This time she sat back in her chair and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Want the story or not?"

He let out a long, labored sigh, "Fine. Answer the question and then it's your turn for the rest of the night."

"Education was a big deal with my parents. They'd both gone to college but my mom was the first one in her family to actually graduate college. When they got to the US they found work more quickly than some who didn't have education. Not great work, mind you or they wouldn't have come down South. Anyway, after Frank and Brian were born they had enough tucked away to start the dojo. It was a success right off the bat and my parents believe a big part of that success was due to their business degrees. They also believed strongly in the phrase 'Idle hands are the devil's handiwork'."

"So you were kept busy."

"My parents valued lots of things including religion, family, hard work, and especially education. My mother didn't believe we should stop learning just because the school year had ended so we went to summer school nearly every year from first grade through high school. The only exceptions were the summers we spent in Ireland. And we didn't just run wild there, either. I didn't mind it so much because I liked school and I was really good at it."

"You're smart, you have a good memory, and you fit things together quickly."

She beamed, "Thanks."

He shook his head, "Just being honest. You had enough credit to graduate early so you went to college early. What did you study?"

She decided to go for broke, he hadn't run screaming yet so she may as well level with him. Besides, he'd probably seen copies of her diplomas on her father's "glory wall" sitting right beside every medal, award, honor, or trophy any of them had every received in their entire lives. "I have a degree in Political Science from Harvard and a law degree from Princeton."

"But that's not all you studied."

"Conrad, for crying out loud! I answered your question!"

He chuckled at her frustration, "I guess I never really knew how much you disliked talking about yourself." He poured more wine in her glass, "Do you think I'm going to turn tail and run because you're smarter than I am?"

Her mouth dropped open, "I'm not smarter than you are! I'm just more educated. I couldn't do what you do and be successful, command the entire team, play politics in Washington one minutes, come up with a battle plan the next. Conrad, you are genius when it comes to strategy."

He grinned, "Thanks. I didn't mean I was stupid or couldn't keep up with you, but thanks."

"My turn now."

"Nope, you still didn't tell me what else you studied."

She rolled her eyes, "I took psychology courses because I thought it would not only help me be a better lawyer but would help if I went into politics, which I did consider before deciding I could make a bigger and more lasting difference in the Army. Now..." She reached out and put her hand on his arm, "…it's my turn."

"Shoot, " he said as he held out a forkful of pasta from his plate. She closed her eyes and moaned as she took his offering. He had a brief moment to regret that this was only their first date before she opened her eyes and shot out her first question. He'd regret pulling out so much detail from her in one setting. She played twenty questions like no one else and she'd find something, he didn't know what, but something that would make him squirm in his seat just as he'd made her squirm.

"College?"

"Football scholarship to study History. My only college degree."

"How many languages do you speak?"

"Lots."

She rolled her eyes when he evaded her question as she had his, "Very funny. How many and what are they?"

"I'm fluent in six and am conversant in 1. I'm fluent in Han Chinese, Russian, Farsi, French, German, and of course English. I can order a meal and find my way around in a Spanish speaking country."

She nodded, "That's a lot and a lot more than me. Some of those language aren't exactly common for an American, even an American soldier to speak."

"Neither is Gaelic."

She wrinkled her brow, "Did I tell you I spoke Gaelic?"

"Your dad did, he mentioned that Sunday meals were generally spoken in Gaelic as he and your mother had both felt strongly that their children be aware of their heritage."

"Mom grew up speaking it at meal time. Not all the Irish speak it or even understand it but her family thought it was an important part of the Irish culture so they taught their children and it became a family tradition. Frank and Brian's wives learned to speak it, but their children, especially Melanie, speak it better than they do.

What's it like growing up an Army Brat?"

He let out a sigh, she'd found something he didn't want to talk about faster than he thought she would. He rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of a way to either avoid the question all together or answer it as succinctly as possible.

She looked down and then up again, reaching for his hand, "Sorry. I didn't realize the question would upset you. Sometimes it's hard for me to talk about mom…"

He linked his hand with hers, "It's ok. You met Jack; you know we have a close relationship. It took me awhile to accept that my dad was gone and not coming back and even longer for me to accept that mom could move on and remarry."

"You were very young when he died. It's…" she paused for a moment, "…it's hard when you're so young. Some people don't get that."

He looked at her, "Some people don't." But she did, she knew what it had been like to be so young and lose a parent so he didn't have to try and explain it.

"Jack knew my dad, they weren't close friends but they had served together occasionally. It helped later, when I was older, because he could tell me stories. I joined the Army as much due to Jack's influence as my fathers. He's a good man and a good husband for my mom. He's a good step-father and had been a good soldier."

"Was it easier when he retired?"

Conrad shook his head and took a sip of wine before answering, "Not at first. I was used to being the man of the house. Dad had been out of the country nearly as much as he was home. Jack wasn't gone as much but he was still active duty and was gone a good bit. After he retired we stayed in Iowa for several years, long enough for me to make good friends."

"And then you moved to St. Louis and became a farm boy." She said it in such a way they busted out laughing, a good way to end their meal.

They walked hand in hand out to the car. She turned to face him when they got there. She put her hand on his chest and looked up at him. "Tonight was really special and I actually enjoyed pretending we were two people who didn't know each other very well. I learned a lot about you." She ran her hands down his arms to link her fingers with his. When she looked up her eyes were bright and focused. "But we have known each other a long time and we know each other even better after dinner. So, right now, I want you to kiss me good night. And I want to pretend it's not our first date."

He slid his arms around her waist, drawing her close to his body. "I think that can be arranged," he whispered, huskily as he bent his head. He kept the kiss slow but they let their guard down, more comfortable with each other than they had been two weeks ago when this had all started. They sank into the kiss degree by degree. When it ended they were both breathing heavily. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder as he moved his hands over her back, resisting the urge to move them lower, to pull her even closer. "How was that?" he whispered

She laughed lightly and looked up, "Really good. Really, really good."

His smile widened, "Good."