Pair: Kelly/Fred

Title: Valentine's Day

Kelly lay on her cot, staring up at the ceiling. She was a bit annoyed that the soldiers had taken the liberty of decorating their building. There were pink, red, and white hearts all over the walls in all of the rooms, even some in the showers, which was a bit odd.

She turned and looked over to one side of their room. He sat at the desk there, looking over the reports from the last mission. They'd actually met some rebels this time and he was making sure that all their reports matched up. An ODST had messed up. Olivia had ended up caught in a group of rebels and with a bullet grazing her leg. It hadn't been a big deal and Olivia was fine. They'd altered their stories to hide that it had been the trooper's fault. It had been his first mission out and he'd decided to be lenient on the young man.

Kelly frowned to herself. John wouldn't have let the soldier off. He would have reported it exactly as it had happened. He'd never been one to lie in a report. Kelly banished those thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to think about John, only Fred.

Kelly stood up and moved up behind him. "Are you almost done?" She leaned forward, resting her hands on Fred's shoulders. She let them travel down his chest as she draped herself over him.

Fred stiffened a bit as her hands moved down him. She giggled. He was sometimes still so awkward when it came to anything intimate. "I'll be finished in a moment, Kelly. I just have to finish reading Linda's report to be sure it is correct before I can send them all in."

"Do you really have to do work today? Is it so much to ask to have you all to myself on Valentine's Day?" Kelly pouted.

"Is it already the fourteenth?" Fred froze, realizing he'd lost track of the date.

Kelly frowned. "You forgot Valentine's Day, didn't you?" Kelly stood up and Fred looked back at her. She sighed and looked down at the floor, heartbroken. She'd been hoping that he'd remember. After all, the entire building was covered in decorations.

"I didn't forget." Fred stood up and moved his chair aside. "I swear I didn't. I just didn't realize that it was today."

Kelly crossed her arms. "Yeah, sure you did."

"You know me better than that, Kelly. I set up some plans months in advance. I just didn't realize that today was the day. I promise you, you'll love it…at least I hope you will. I'm still sort of new at this." Fred reached out, hand resting lightly on her waist.

Kelly uncrossed her arms and moved forward, wrapping them around his neck. "All right, I believe you. Just finish your report and I'm going to change into something more comfortable." Kelly gave him a quick kiss before she released him.

Kelly moved off to their footlocker and fetched out some nicer clothing. She chose a pair of black slimming pants, and a slim red shirt that she knew Fred liked. She could feel Fred's eyes on her a few times as she changed. It surprised her how daring he was when he thought she wasn't aware. When she was partially finished Fred joined her. He changed into a pair of black dress pants and clean white shirt. Contrary to his tactics, Kelly didn't try to hide her glances at him. When he'd finished, Kelly stood from the bed where she had been waiting for him. She moved before him and straightened his collar. "Don't you look fancy?"

"It is a very special occasion, though I don't think a uniform is proper for this situation." Fred smiled at her. "Come on, our dinner should be set up already for us." Fred took her hand and led her out of the room. He took her to the garage and they climbed into a warthog.

"So where are we going?" Kelly settled into her seat as Fred sped off.

"You'll see. I know it won't seem like a very nice place on the outside, but I promise that I've chosen the perfect spot." Fred brought the jeep to a stop outside of the laboratories. Fred got out and moved around the car before Kelly could get out. He held his hand out for her.

Kelly looked at his hand. "You do realize I don't need help, right?"

Fred frowned at her. "Just play along. I'm trying to be a gentleman." Kelly reluctantly took his hand and climbed out of the car. He brought her into the laboratory and led her back to a corner where he had a table set up. Kelly noted that there were already plates of food set out for them.

Fred pulled out her chair and she let the matter drop. She wasn't going to argue with him if he wanted to be a gentleman. She felt it was a bit sweet. She sat down and Fred pushed in the chair before he sat down across from her.

The dinner was normal. Kelly had to admit with only the blue lights of the equipment and pipes that ran along the walls to light the area Kelly did think it was a bit romantic. They talked through dinner about a multitude of subjects. The new uniform ideas that had been pitched, the newest batch of recruits, what they thought was going to happen next in the recovery efforts on the glassed planets.

When they finished, Fred took her back out to the jeep. He refused to tell her where they were going. He finally brought them to a stop on a cliff that overlooked the forest that surrounded the base. He backed up and they moved into the rear of the troop transport to sit beside each other. Kelly leaned against Fred, who draped his arm over her shoulder. They sat, staring up at the night sky.

"I have to admit, this has been very nice, Fred. You aren't half bad at this relationship stuff." Kelly cuddled a bit closer to him.

"Well, I asked a few people for help. They gave me some tips and I think they worked out." Fred shifted slightly. "That wasn't all that was suggested to me." He pulled out a small box. "Someone also suggested that this was a good idea. I was going to go with flowers, but I thought this would last longer."

Kelly took the box from him and he urged her to open it. She removed the ribbon that was wrapped around it and opened the box. She gasped as she caught sight of the gold inside. "Fred, how did you get this?"

"I had another soldier go off base to get it. Remember they are actually giving us spending funds. I set some aside for a while to get it." Fred reached into the box and grabbed the gold chain. He unlatched the clasp and put the necklace on her.

Kelly looked down at the golden eagle and smiled. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"Well, I went with something that wasn't to feminine, because I didn't think you'd like that, but the eagle has always been a Spartan symbol, so I thought you'd enjoy it." Fred looked up from the necklace into Kelly's eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kelly."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Fred." Kelly leaned forward and brought their lips together. When she pulled back she was grinning. "So then, shall we go home and celebrate properly?"

Fred swallowed hard and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Though if you want privacy, this is the most private place that we can get." Fred grinned and Kelly scowled at him. "I'm just joking." He gave her a quick kiss before he moved out of the back and slipped into the driver's seat. He stared the warthog and Kelly grabbed onto the bar above her to steady herself as they bounced off toward the base.