The sun's warm rays awoke the first sergeant from a deep sleep. He felt the redhead's warmness next to him and pulled her closer. His eyes slowly opened, gazing around the room. He noticed that his sisters and the kids had already awakened and were probably all downstairs in Fallon's dance studio. The room felt warmer and he assumed that his father had woken early in the morning, to try one more time to fix that old metal tin can downstairs.
He heard his mother's voice floating from the kitchen, and judging from the tone, he knew that she was talking on the phone with Falcon.
Turning his head towards the counterintelligence agent, he noticed that her eyes were slightly opened, but had remained in the same position in his arms. He was about to say something when his blue eyes caught something on top of Scarlett's shoulder. His eyes widened at the sight of the tarantula, resting, and not moving. 'Oh man!' he thought. 'If Scarlett noticed that the spider had settled in for a long winters nap on her shoulder, her cries would be heard all the way back to the base!'
He moved his hand, slowly towards the animal who had probably had become smitten with his fiancée. His fingers were only inches away from Mocha when he heard her voice.
"Leave her."
Duke's jaw fell down full of shock. Did Scarlett just say to leave a spider, a big scary spider on her shoulder? This could be mean only two things, either she had a fever or her brain was frozen solid!
"Leave her?" Duke asked her worriedly.
Scarlett nodded. "She's been sleeping there for hours."
His mouth opened even wider. Did he just hear what he just heard? "And you just let her sleep there?" he asked.
"Well, she crawled up on me and just rested there, so I just let her sleep," Scarlett replied, her voice had no fear in it.
"And you didn't freak out?"
"I did at first, but then just shook it off," she replied, then she brought up her hand and touched the spider, petting it on the back. "She's soft."
Duke felt her forehead.
"Why on earth are you feeling my forehead?" she asked him, gazing at his concerned face.
"Because you're sick."
"I feel fine, honest," Scarlett said truthfully.
"Then why on earth are you petting that spider?" Duke was dumbfounded.
She shrugged. "I don't know why, but this thing has been following me for two days, well... so I let her stay when she climbed on me during the night." Then she gave him a curious glance. "Now, why on earth are you feeling your forehead?"
"I...I think I'm hallucinating." He was dead serious.
Scarlett shook her head, then turned to the spider. "Mocha, I think your Uncle Conrad has a fever," she said to the tarantula, then turned back to see his wider looking eyes, while shaking his head back and forth. She laughed at his face, and rested her head on his chest, continuing the giggle.
"I think I need to get you back to the base and have Psyche Out do a full psychiatric work up on you."
Her laughter stopped and her head rose to meet his, dead on. "You are going to do what?!"
"You heard me. You crazy Irish woman," he teased her.
"Oh, so now I'm crazy huh?" Her voice was serious, her tone sternly. Mocha continued to stay on the redhead's shoulder.
"Shana, I'm only playing," Duke said. "Calm down."
"Calm down?" she glared at him, making him push his head back harder against the pillow. "I wonder how can crazy Irish woman, who needs a shrink, because she is petting a spider, calms down?"
"You know what? Forget it," he said and started to untangle himself from the blankets.
"Con, you're getting us more tan--" but her words were cut short, she felt her body fall off the couch and then felt another heavy object fall on top of her. The living room floor shook from their fall. She let out a moan, and her eyes spotted Mocha dashing out of there, faster than her eight legs can carry.
Duke burst out laughing.
"Sure, laugh, Mr. Man of Action," Scarlett replied, then a smile spread across her features and joined him in the comical moment.
"Grams! Uncle Conrad and Shana are pulling a Vincent on the living room floor!" Jason's voice filled the room.
They looked at each other, then at Jason, then back at each other and burst out laughing again, just as the Falcones came rushing into the room.
Julie Falcone covered her grandson's eyes. "Conrad?" she asked, in shock, looking down at the couple, who was tangled in several blankets.
"I'm too young for X-rated," Hannah teased with a giggle.
"Momma, it's not what you think. I tried to get up and got caught in the blanket and it made us both fall on the floor," Duke tried to explain.
"And here I thought Vincent was the gigolo." George chuckled.
"Sure it is, Sweetiekins," Julie Falcone teased. "Whatever you say." She giggled, watching them try to untangle themselves.
"Mrs. Falcone, Conrad is telling the truth. Mocha was on my shoulder and I was petting her, then-" Scarlett tried to explain.
"Dear, you don't have to cover his first sergeant rear," Julie replied, not believing Scarlett's story about the spider.
"But... It's the truth," Scarlett insisted, then added, "Jason, make sure Mocha isn't hurt, she fell off when we were in the tangled mess." She watched the boy hurry out of the room, trying to find the spider.
Duke thought he finally was untangled enough to stand up but he was wrong. As soon as he did, the blanket tugged on the pajama string and pulled his pajama pants down.
"I'M SCARRED FOR LIFE!!!" Hannah cried out covering her face with her hands.
George was laughing to hard to talk and had to lean against the door jam for support.
Scarlett covered her face, from the embarrassment, then quickly used one hand and handed him part of the blanket to cover up.
Julie Falcone, grabbed Hannah and dashed her out of the room faster than any woman can run. They heard the door to the kitchen close and they knew that Mrs. Falcone and the kids were in hiding.
"Well, son..." George laughed. "You still know how to clear a room."
"Gee thanks, Dad," Duke said sarcastically, as he pulled his sleep pants back up.
"I think I'm going to need that appointment with Psyche Out." Scarlett's small voice came from the floor and she pulled the blankets over her face. "That is the last time I buy you those cowboy hats with the smiley faces boxers."
"Yeah, well, at least I put them on. I usually don't wear any under my sleep pants," Duke admitted softly.
Scarlett's head bolted out of the blankets. "Conrad!" she said in shock, her cheeks turning pinker. "I think I'm going to take a nice long shower." She tried to untangle herself from the blankets, only to make Duke lose his balance and fall back on top of her.
Julie Falcone entered the room, her mouth opened. She did a quick about turn and walked back into the kitchen.
George laughed hard as he left the room, following his wife.
"I think my mom is going to have nightmares now," Duke remarked softly as he tried to get up.
Scarlett's entire body stiffened from the mentioning of one word, the one word that had been haunting her for years. Her eyes widened and her breath quickened. Quickly, she shook it off, hoping he didn't notice. Before he had even gotten up, she wiggled herself out of the blankets and stood up. "I...I really need to take that shower." She quickly walked and dashed up the stairs two by two.
Duke shook his head and then slowly followed.
She heard his feet coming up the stairs and she quickly darted in her bedroom, grabbed her outfit that she had laid the night before and rushed in the bathroom, which was thankfully in the room. Turning the knob, she leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Then quickly turned on the water, letting the sound echo inside the small space. She glanced herself in the mirror and realized she had gone pale. "Shake it off," she commanded herself.
Duke knocked on the door. "Shana..."
Blast! She kicked herself, he had noticed. She had to get rid of him, somehow. "Umm, it's alright Conrad. I'm not embarrassed anymore, just go downstairs and I'll be down when I'm done," she called out from the bathroom. "promise."
"Fine, I'm leaving," Duke said, then went and sat down on his bed and waited.
It was fifteen minutes later, when the bathroom door slowly opened, the redhead emerged, dressed and wearing a towel over her wet hair. Looking down on the floor, she did not noticed the first sergeant until she had taken a few steps and found his tapping foot, then her eyes traveled upwards to his crossed arms and finally stopped at his serious professional face. The same mask he put on when a Joe was in deep trouble. She gulped and the only words that entered her mind were the famous ones that belonged to one Alison Faireborn, 'Oh, crap.'
"What the hell is going on, Shana?" Duke asked in his no nonsense way, standing up from the bed.
Scarlett blinked. "Nothing is going on, just had a nice relaxing shower." She walked to the dresser and picked up her hairdryer and brush. "And now going to brush and blow dry." She didn't look at him, and quickly headed back towards the bathroom.
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around. "Not going to work this time, Red."
She held her breath. Her eyes moving quickly, trying to find an answer. The cell phone started to ring from beside the dresser. "It's Allie," she softly said, trying to head towards to answer the phone, still feeling his grip on her shoulders.
"She can call back later."
The ringing continued. Scarlett eyed the phone, then his set jaw and then back towards the phone. "She's not going to give up, until someone answers it."
"Fine go," Duke said letting go of her as he gave up. "I'm going to go change so we can go."
"Go? Go where?" she asked him, curiously, letting the phone continue to ring. Then she slowly sat down on the bed, her eyes looking down on the floor. "I'm sorry if you want to return to base this early, Conrad. I guess I messed this vacation up."
The ringing stopped and the room fell into a deep silence.
"I told you we had somewhere else to go," Duke said.
She gave him a curious glance. "You did? I don't remember." Now she saw him stiffen, and send her a concerned look.
Suddenly, the phone started to ring again, and her eyes traveled back towards it, then back at him.
Duke quickly grabbed the phone. "Damn it, Allie! She's busy! Go bother your husband!!!" With that, he hung up the phone.
Scarlett didn't say anything, watching him stare at the phone and realize that Lady Jaye might turn homicidal on him for what he had just done. He sounded angry, and she wondered what he was going to do next.
He touched her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."
She nodded, silently, watching him leave the room and close the door behind him. She should have told him, she knew that. But deep down she was also afraid to tell him, about those dreams, the dreams that haunted her nights. She was about to stand up and go after him when the phone began to ring again. She ignored it, but walked back into the bathroom and the sound of the blow dryer covered the nonstop ringing.
Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom, all set. Judging from Falcon's empty room across from hers, he had already gone downstairs. A movement caught her eyes and she watched the tarantula crawl towards her. Bending down, she picked up the spider and held it in her hand. "Now, this is our secret," she said to the animal. "I may no longer be afraid of you, but still am of your billion sisters and brothers."
She walked downstairs and turned towards the kitchen when the basement door opened and Duke's sisters walked out.
"Morning, Shana," Fallon greeted her with a smile. "I see you made truce with Mocha." She pointed to the spider. "I was showing Gracie a new dance I learned."
Scarlett eyed the two sisters and then the door behind them. "Can we go downstairs for a moment?" she asked, leaning her head towards the right, making sure a first sergeant was not in earshot.
The sisters both nodded and headed back down the stairs, Scarlett right behind them. She made sure the door was shut. Fallon's dance studio was not a large spacey room, but it was comfortable enough to teach several children at once. A large mirror took over most of one of the walls and a dance bar was stationed on the other end.
Scarlett took off her shoes at the corner of the floor and turned towards the Falcone sisters. "Alright, first off, make sure Conrad never finds out, he'd probably run me over with a Joe tank for what I'm about to do."
The sisters gave her a curious glance.
"I'm going to show both of you several martial arts moves, which can come in handy in a lot of situations, including men." She smiled and put on her instructor face.
"Alright!" Gracie and Fallon said at the same moment and they burst into laughter.
An hour later, upstairs in the hallway, Jason had stationed himself against the door, his ear glued to the wood, trying to listen in on what was going on downstairs. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced up to see Duke. "Uncle Con, what are they doing down there? All I can hear is some banging. Are they building something?"
"You're hearing banging?" Duke asked the eight-year-old. When the boy nodded, Duke's face grew concerned. "Go help your grandmother and tell her I'll be there in a few minutes." Once the boy left, Duke quietly opened the door and silently walked downstairs.
He could hear their voices in the room, followed by some laughter. He wondered what on Earth all three of them were doing.
Scarlett spotted a shadow by the staircase and her heart jumped. Duke! She quickly blinked hard twice to Gracie and Fallon, who caught the signal and immediately stopped what they were all doing and immediately changed instruction mode.
"Great Fallon, you're getting it, kick, then change and then kick on the other foot," Scarlett said towards the dancer.
Duke's eyes widened, kicking? What on Earth were they doing! Then he leaned closer, to listen.
"Like this?" Fallon asked, now her arms on her waist, mimicking the redhead's movements.
"Exactly," Scarlett answered. "You too Gracie, start with the knee higher."
Duke walked into the dance studio. "What on Earth are you three doing down here?"
"What does it look like, Conrad?" Fallon said. "We're Irish dancing." She smiled at her brother, covering the real reason they were down there, and started to twirl around him, with an easy Irish dance step.
Scarlett and Gracie giggled.
Duke shook his head. "Well I hate to break things up but Shana, we need to eat breakfast and get going. We've got a very long drive ahead of us."
Scarlett nodded, then turned to Fallon and Gracie. "Just remember the steps I taught you."
"Oh, we will," Fallon replied with a smirk on her face.
"You can count on it," Gracie said with a wink.
"Okay, what's going on?" Duke asked as the two of them walked up stairs.
The counterintelligence agent looked at him, a twinkle in her eye. "Nothing is-" then stopped in her tracks. "Forgot something." She turned around, ran down the steps, then rushed over to the stereo where Mocha was peacefully sleeping, picked up the spider gently in her hands and then walked back to Duke, whose face had frozen in time.
"You've flipped your lid," Duke said in shock.
She stuck her tongue out at him and dashed up the stairs quickly, leaving him behind.
A second later, he chased her up the stairs.
Scarlett turned and saw him coming, then quickly looked to her left and then her right for a quick escape route. Looking towards the kitchen, she heard Duke's parents talking with the kids, so she decided to venture into that part of the house. She had taken a few steps, when she felt a tug on her shirt.
"And where do you think you're going?" Duke whispered into her ear huskily.
"I have my orders. Breakfast," she whispered back, listening to the giggles coming from the doorway behind them, seeing both Gracie and Fallon cover their mouths from the scene in front of them.
Duke turned around and stuck his tongue out at them, then lead Scarlett into the kitchen.
"Here you go, Jason." Scarlett walked up to the boy and handed him the spider.
"Mocha! Where have you been?" Jason scolded the spider, then set her on his shoulder.
Julie Falcone turned around from the stove, who was frying from bacon and eggs. "Breakfast is almost ready." She put the food on several dishes and started placing them in front of the seats. "Sit," she ordered Duke, Scarlett, Fallon and Gracie.
"Momma, I ate at the station after the fire," Gracie argued.
Duke pulled out Scarlett's chair.
"Actually, Mrs. Falcone, I'll just have some coffee," Scarlett said to the woman.
Fallon sat on the other side of the table. "I think I'm only going to grab a piece of toast, have a few classes this morning."
Julie put her arms on her hips. "You'll are all going to eat and that is it. Got it? And that's an order," she said in her no nonsense voice. "I'm not letting anyone leave this table without a full stomach."
The girls all looked at each other and gulped.
Gracie gave in, not wanting to argue with her mother in front of her children.
"You heard her, Red. Sit and eat. That's an order." Duke pushed in her chair, chuckling.
"Funny," Scarlett replied to him, just as a plate was set in front of her. She eyed the food and wondered if Jaye had to deal something like this with Flint's mother. She took several small bites.
Fallon groaned on the other side of the table, as another plate was set in front of her. "Conrad? Want my bacon? Mom keeps forgetting I don't eat Miss Piggy."
"You will eat your bacon young lady and like it," George said as he sat down at the head of the table.
"I guess that answers your question baby sister," Duke said with a smirk.
"Sorry, Pop, not going to happen," Fallon stated, then forked the bacon and put it on Duke's plate. She sent a wink to Scarlett, who nodded and added her pile of bacon to Duke's plate and they both turned to Gracie, who gave them an cunning smile and added her bacon to Duke's plate.
Both Hannah and Jason burst out laughing.
George shook his head. "No respect."
Duke just shrugged and started eating the bacon, making the entire room burst with laughter. The breakfast ended quickly and it was time to leave. They all got up from the table while the first sergeant headed upstairs to grab the bags and take them out to the car. Then he returned in the house to say one last farewell.
"Drive safely son and come back soon," George Falcone said, and hugged his son.
"We will, Pop," Duke said, hugging him back.
Julie Falcone hugged Scarlett tightly, with tears in her eyes. "Be safe, both of you."
"Thank you for everything," Scarlett replied sincerely.
The rest of the Falcone family hugged the couple and watched them walk down the stairs and towards the car.
Scarlett headed him off and jumped in the driver's seat. "Sorry, E-8 level clearance drive first. Point and I drive."
He shook his head and walked around the other side of the vehicle and jumped in the passenger seat. With a final wave, the car pulled out of the driveway and into the snow-covered road, heading south. Duke pointed on the map to the MO State line south of St. Louis. It was a good six-hour drive. A yawn escaped his mouth and he found himself falling fast asleep.
An hour later, Scarlett turned to see him, still sleeping, and smiled. Her own mouth let out a yawn and she quickly shook it off. 'Stay awake,' she commanded. Maybe it was time for a distraction. She took out the cell phone from her pocket and dialed the only number that was on speed dial, Jaye's.
On the first ring, a very annoyed sounding voice came on.
"Flint and Jaye's Potato Farm, buy one potato and get a free peeled onion, while supplies last. This is Dash, how may I make your potatoes today, mashed, boiled or fried?"
Scarlett burst out laughing. "Potato Farm?" she asked.
"Hi, Shana," Flint replied. "How's the-" His voice suddenly sounded from far away, then came back clearer. "Alright Allie, hold your knives!" Then a crash sounded on the other end. "Allie! I said hold the knives, not throw them at me!"
There was a scuffle on the other end and Jaye's voice came on.
"What the hell happened this morning?!?" Jaye growled into the phone but she sounded exhausted and a little weak.
"Umm, well...you see... we didn't get enough sleep last night, between the spider, the tea, the broken boiler, no power, calming down the kids, tangled in a pile of blankets, and Con in his underwear in front of most of his family," Scarlett explained quickly in one breath.
"Con in his underwear in front of his parents?" Jaye asked slowly as if she were in shock.
"Yes, we were sort of arguing that the fact the spider was on my shoulder and I told him to leave her alone. So he tried to get up, we both fell on the floor. His nephew found us. Then his parents came in and he tried to stand up, only his pajama string got caught on the blanket and his jammies got pulled down," Scarlett explained.
"What's going on?" She heard Flint ask Jaye from the background.
"Your best friend was trying to streak in front of his parents," Jaye answered.
Scarlett heard Flint burst into laughter in the background. "Duke's going to kill me for mentioning that," she glanced at the first sergeant and breathed a sigh of relief, he was still sleeping.
"Where's he at anyway? He's dead meat when he gets back you know."
Scarlett glanced at the field commander before answering. "He's sleeping next to me, while I'm driving to nowhere land. I think he's exhausted between last night and this morning. Not to mention the shock from the underwear incident and my petting a tarantula."
Dead silence came from the other end, and she heard the phone drop then quickly being picked up. "Allie? Everything all right?" she asked, concerned.
"Dash, I think we need to go get Shana. She's sick," Jaye said to Flint, her voice farther away from the phone.
"Sick? What do you mean sick?" She heard Flint ask in concern.
Scarlett let out a giggle. "Allie? Can you hear me? I'm fine. The spider only slept on my shoulder most of the night. And I carried her around a few times."
Jaye probably had the phone to her ear now but she was still talking to her husband. "She let a spider sleep on her, she carried it and pet it."
"WHAT THE HELL!" came Flint's voice in shock.
Scarlett shook her head. "Anyway, Duke may shoot me for this, but now that he is sleeping, How is Jinx doing with my classes?" she asked seriously. "I'm worried on how the training is going and also how Grady is doing. Knowing him, I won't be surprised if he has made a move on Keiko and if Falcon is near by, I'll be more worried."
"I wouldn't know. I'm not allowed anywhere near the training areas right now," Jaye said hotly and Scarlett could picture the Scot glaring at Flint.
"What happened?" Scarlett asked just as the same time that she heard Flint's voice.
"Now Allie, you knew better than to bring in some explosive javelins in there in the first place. Poor Snake Eyes still is seeing double, not to mention his continuous headache," Flint said, with a few sniffles.
"Allie? Is Dash crying?" Scarlett asked and wondered what in the world was going on back at the base.
"No, he's got a cold," Jaye said. "And that's not the only reason I can't go out there and you know it Dashiell. You got Doc to say I'm not well enough to."
"What's going on?" Scarlett asked now concerned. "Allie, are you alright?
"Allie, I'm not sick!" Flint growled. "Don't forget who is peeling all these onions so your punishment can be easier!" Then a sneeze came from the warrant officer's side.
"Then why are you sneezing?" Jaye asked her husband angrily then answered Scarlett, "I'm fine. it's just morning sickness," then added under her breath, "And I passed out."
"Pass-" Scarlett started to say but heard Flint's voice in the background.
"Well, if you don't keep running all over the place and yelling at everyone, you won't pass out! Doc said so himself!"
"Any word on Brutus?" she asked, hoping the bear had returned to her best friend.
"He's still in DC," Jaye answered starting to cry.
"Alright, don't cry. I don't know where Conrad is taking us, but I'll make sure we head that way and pick him up," Scarlett comforted her friend. Suddenly the car skidded slightly to the right, from the ice on the road. "Woah!" She held the wheel tightly, then glanced at Duke, who was still sleeping. Taking control of the car once more, she continued driving.
"Dash hates me," Jaye cried almost hysterically.
"Allie, you know Dash does not hate you," Scarlett replied, trying to concentrate on the slippery road.
She heard Flint in the background. "Allie, you know I don't hate you, even if we are under a mountain of potatoes and onions."
Suddenly a voice shouted from the background. "Now both of you, stop yapping and start peeling faster! That's an order!"
Scarlett gulped listening to Hawk's voice in the background.
She could hear a squeaking sound of a chair and imagined Jaye standing up. "Peel them yourself." She heard footsteps walking apparently out of the kitchen and knew her best friend was still holding the phone but it wasn't close to her ear.
"Allie!" Scarlett called in the phone. But her friend did not respond. Then she heard a deafening booming voice that made her blood turn to ice.
"SEARGANT! GET YOUR REAR BACK HERE NOW OR YOU'LL BE SENT TO THE BRIG!"
"Allie, please, go back to finish the punishment," Scarlett whispered in the phone.
"I just want to go home and to bed." Jaye's voice came back on, crying. Another sound indicated that she sat down in a chair.
"I know how you feel, right now I just want to be back home, in bed, myself, but if Hawk sees me near the base, I'll be shipped express with a one way ticket to Brazil," Scarlett replied. "Just hang in there. You have Flint, that is helping you. Just go show them what a Joe woman can do."
"Who's side are you on?"
"Umm, I think Duke's calling me. I got to go," Scarlett replied quickly and hung up on the phone, breathing a sigh of relief.
After hanging up on Jaye, she continued driving, letting Duke rest. He certainly needed the long nap after the long months of a busy schedule and missions. She glanced at him, then felt his forehead, just in case Flint had shared any of his germs. He did feel a little warm. She quickly pulled over to the side and grabbed a blanket from the back seat and covered him. Then she started driving towards the south once more, not knowing the destination. For several hours she kept eyeing the phone, trying to decide if she should call her father and break the engagement news to him. She must have picked up the phone a dozen times, but never dialed the number. She didn't know how he would take the news, and what he might do to Duke. Then she decided to call the suite, where Jinx was staying, but she did not find the ninja there and left a brief message on the machine, warning her about Grady.
The drive was long and the snow slowly began to disappear. A few short hours, the state line was directly ahead. Though, she didn't know to head for Kentucky or Tennessee. Dusk was falling and there weren't any hotels nearby. She pulled over to the side for a moment, buried in her thoughts. A yawn escaped and she rested her head on the wheel, closing her eyes for a second, then felt a hand on her back. She opened her eyes and found Duke awake.
"Let me take over and you get some sleep," Duke said softly.
Scarlett slowly nodded, not wanting to argue with him, then felt his forehead once again. Finding no evidence of a fever, she got out of the car and walked to the passenger's side.
Duke had already climbed out and waited for Scarlett over on the passenger side. When she climbed in the seat, he covered her with the blanket.
"Thanks, have a good sleep?" she asked, her eyes slowly drifting closed.
"Yeah." He kissed her softly on the lips and then closed her door. Once he was behind the wheel, he looked over towards the passenger seat and found her asleep.