Chapter 24:

"Who'd of thought that Ninja boy here had such a soft touch?" Isabella quietly asked herself as she silently observed the black clad man as he finished stitching up the gash in her leg.

The young woman found a deep fascination in watching the way his long, nimble fingers worked. That wasn't strange, was it?

Well, needless to say,

"He's very capable with his hands..." her conscience added.

At her own thought, Isabella blushed furiously.

What was that?

More importantly...where are these thoughts coming from?

Bringing her hands up from her side, she let them innocently rest across her suddenly and frantically fluttering stomach.

Surely, what she was feeling right now was just some aftermath of the battle...

"Right?" she asked herself as her eyes remained frozen on Snake Eyes.

No...this had to be something else.

When Snake Eyes' dark head turned up and saw Isabella watching him, the young woman could've sworn that her heart had stopped beating for a couple seconds.

And when she saw him smile softly behind his mask, an incredible warmth that started in her core, went and spread itself throughout her entire body.

Returning the expression with a tiny, shyer one of her own, Isabella's eyes swept down while her head bowed softly to stare at her lap, breaking the eye contact. "Perhaps I'm falling ill..." she considered.

Or perhaps there was something else at work here; something far greater, and more wondrous than anything Isabella has ever experienced...

In a blinking second, Isabella gasped quietly when she found Snake Eyes' hand, palm up, right in her line of vision. Glancing up in surprise, the young woman found the black Ninja stand tall before her, offering her his hand.

Unconsciously, Isabella reached out and placed her hand within Snake Eyes who then proceeded to help her off the crate till she herself was back, standing on her own two feet, good as new again.

Amazing though, she hadn't even heard him move once in his position; yet here he was. Standing just a foot away...

"Uh...by the way, Snake Eyes..." Isabella finally spoke up while she averted her gaze, feeling suddenly timid, and reached a hand up to run it through her tousled hair; a few strands ended up falling loose around the right side of her face, partially hiding her eye.

"...Thank you." she said in a most sincere voice before she lifted her eyes back up to stare into the ninja's black mask, "...for saving me back there." she paused for a second, "...oh and for the quick fix-up on the leg." She finished with a brief, tiny laugh.

Snake Eyes of course, remained silent as always. His eyes staring intently into Isabella's face from behind his visor. Then, to the young woman's surprise, he raised a black gloved hand up and gently brushed away the loose strands of hair away from her face, carefully tucking them behind her ear before nodding slowly.

It was his own way of saying 'Your welcome.'

And it blew Isabella away. The gesture was so tender, so...sweet.

Was this the same ninja that had practically dislocated her arm the first night they met? Or creamed her during her training?

He drove her absolutely crazy then.

"...but now..." she confessed.

"Yo Isabella!"

The young woman jumped at her name, instantly losing her train of thought as she turned about to see Ripcord approaching.

"Hey Rip." she replied, giving him a small smile as he came to a stop right beside her.

Ripcord grinned softly before he affectionately draped his arm around Isabella's shoulders, pulling her in for a quick hug. "How you standing, girl?" he asked.

Isabella playfully nudged him with her elbow, "Well... I'm standing at least." she answered before she gently nodded her head over at Snake Eyes standing across from them, watching the two with an unwavering gaze. "Thanks to Snake here."

At that, Ripcord's brown eyes flickered over to where the Black clad ninja stood. And Isabella could've sworn that she felt him tense up under Snake Eyes scrutinized stare.

"I guess Snake Eyes still makes him nervous..." she noted to herself with a secret smile.

"...Sup, Zen Master." Ripcord stated in a low voice of acknowledgement towards the other man.

Snake Eyes nodded once as his response while Ripcord cleared his throat; his arm that he placed around Isabella then unconsciously tightened around her shoulders in security.

She noticed this of course, but said nothing.

...She'll have plenty of time to tease him about it later.

"Hey Bella, let's get you back to the bunker." Ripcord suggested as he shifted on his feet to look the young woman over, "...get yourself cleaned up a bit, you know?"

Isabella angled her head upwards to stare into Ripcord's handsome face while a playful frown pulled at her lips. "What are you saying, Rip?" she returned.

"In all honesty?" he replied.

"Of course."

"...you look horrible..." he finally confessed.

At first Isabella was silent, but then she surprised both men when her head dropped back and she emitted a heartwarming laugh. When her laughter slowed she fixed Ripcord with a friendly glare.

"Gee..." she answered, "...thanks Rip. That's exactly the sort of thing a woman wants to hear..."

Ripcord grinned before he gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze with his hand, "Still love ya, though."

Isabella dramatically shook her head, "Nope...I can't believe that." she answered, "...you think I'm hideous." she finished with an adorable pout.

"Oh I never said that!" Ripcord answered defensively with a chuckle, "However...that blood on your face does grant you a new look. Like the ones you see in those old monster movies..." he stated pausing for a second or so before adding, "...Like Frankenstein."

Isabella's mouth dropped open while a look of shock and amusement played across her features, "Frankenstein?" she repeated, "...you're calling me Frankenstein now? Boy..." she shook her head while her arms came up and crossed themselves over her chest, "...oh no you didn't."

Watching Isabella from his place, Snake Eyes couldn't stop the smile that was pulling at his mouth. She truly was something else; funny too.

"I..." Ripcord paused and laughed briefly before shaking his head, "...ok I'm gonna stop now before I say anything more that'll get me into trouble." he admitted, "...but seriously Bella, you should head on back to the bunker. You got banged up, quite a bit." he pointed out.

Isabella shrugged calmly, "It happens."

Ripcord sighed and shook his head before he gently started directing the young woman himself, "Come on, Bella..." he ordered in a firm but caring tone, "...That cut on your head needs to be looked at, ASAP."

With that said, Ripcord started walking away, taking Isabella with him.

When Isabella saw this, she put dug her heels into the ground in protest, "Oh wait Ripcord..." She then tried finding a way to look back behind them, to say a quick goodbye to Snake Eyes.

Ripcord saw her efforts and chuckled as he continued leading her further away from the black ninja, "Don't worry, you can see your boyfriend later, Bella." he promised with a teasing wink.

"Boyfriend?" she whispered back. "No...he's not..."

"Uh-huh." Ripcord answered, cleanly cutting her off before he turned his head back over his shoulder to see Snake Eyes watching them leave.

"Hope you don't mind me taking, my girl Bella, here for a bit!" he called back for the ninja to hear.

The black clad ninja was as still a statue when Ripcord's words settled over him. Then, straightening up to his full height as he watched the Ripcord sweep Isabella out of the room, Snake Eyes' hands, which were both down by his side, flexed a few times in his silence before he frowned behind his mask.

Ripcord had made a slip-up with his words.

So, with the one thought on his mind, Snake Eyes firmly corrected the error of the mistaken man.

"...My Bella..."

And yes actually...he did mind.