Sorry for the slight delay in posting. Life happens. This chapter starts with the morning Ranger panty run.

Chapter 26

BeachHead struggled to keep his expression neutral while he ran in formation with the rest of the group of Rangers. The number of men was about the same while the individuals had changed somewhat. Some Rangers managed to overindulge and weren't seen until right before a competition began, looking haggard with bloodshot eyes. He and Stalker were among a small number that seemed perky and energetic each morning. The damp chill as they began each run felt invigorating even as his body ached from the minor damage from his various mishaps during the week so far.

Beach glanced over at his teammate as they ran. Stalker sported a scrape on his cheekbone and Beach had needed to talk fast to convince him that it wasn't the Sergeant major that was to blame for the trip wire that had sent him tumbling to the paved walkway. He'd finally told the irate Ranger that if he'd wanted to play pranks, he'd wait and do it back home, instead of doing it somewhere that Stalker would have carte blanche to retaliate. Stalker still looked grumpy but now he was glaring at various Rangers he knew. There were a few smug looks in response, but nothing that Stalker could pin down as a definite culprit.

His thoughts drifted back to the night before and he felt his face relax into a smile. He cleared his throat and frowned as Stalker grinned at him. His expression made it clear that teasing on the subject would be a 'bad idea'.

"Sooo, got lucky last night, did you?" Stalker's grin widened as Beach heaved out a resigned sigh. "You know.. and understand, I don't want you to get all hard-assed over it.. but she's good for you. You look more relaxed and.. well... almost happy."

"I'm always happy.. don't I always look happy?" Beach ignored the snort and kept the steady pace, staring ahead. "Ain't nothin' to talk about."

There was silence for just long enough to make Beach think the subject had been dropped. Then Stalker hummed softly. "Soooo.." He glanced over. "What are you going to do when we all get back to the Pitt?" He watched Beach turn red. "No not.. not about THAT.. I mean.. about in general with her."

"Ah dunno whut yer talkin' about." Beach wanted to speed up and leave the man behind.. formation running meant he couldn't move out of position and he swallowed. "It'll be fine.. ain't nuthin' to worry over."

"Oh.. there's plenty to worry over. What do you expect when the week is over? You do realize she's coming back to the Pitt with you, right? She's going to be there like always and she doesn't consider this to be a fling while on vacation. She's going to want to continue the relationship and if you think you can ignore her or just act like none of this week happened, you're going to be the center of ground zero for a massive explosion." Stalker kept his voice low, but plenty loud enough that Beach could not ignore it. He saw the larger Ranger twitch several times as he spoke. "You can't just think you'll dump that woman when the week is done."

"Ah ain't dumpin' no one." Beachhead seethed for a moment. "That's what ya think, ain't it? Ya think Ah just wanted to use her damned body and toss her aside when it's inconvenient. Well... that's good of ya. Nice to know Ah'm such a low dog to go and fuck some girl and lead her on." His glare blazed over at Stalker who almost stumbled. "Thanks. Appreciate that."

The run came to an end at just that moment and the drill dismissed them. Stalker tried to step up to BeachHead but was ignored. "Beach.. I didn't.."

Instead of listening, the burly Sergeant major took off at a jog. He waved off the instructor as he passed by him. "Takin' another couple miles.." As soon as he was clear of the group, he sped up into a ground eating lope to leave everything behind.

Stalker appeared next to him, easily pacing alongside. "Beach.. you can't outrun the issue.. any more than you can outrun me." He watched Beach's face go stony. "Look... I didn't mean to assume you'd dump Courtney.. but you have to admit, you're not the most.. astute at knowing about what women expect."

BeachHead didn't respond, speeding up slightly before slowing back to his normal pace as he realized Stalker was the faster of them. His eyes fixed ahead of them as he continued to run along the sidewalk, the sun finally beginning to creep up over the buildings.

Stalker tried again. "Beach.. dude. You have to think about what you'll do. You can't just leave it until we're back and decide to wing it. You really suck at winging it with her." He drew in several breaths. He was faster but he didn't have the sheer endurance. His legs were already burning with fatigue. "Are you going to keep up the dating? Are you going to try to just go back to being casual? Have you talked to her about any of it?"

Suddenly Beach stopped and turned to him. "No. Okay? No. I don't know what I'm gonna do.. I don't know what she expects... I don't know how to talk to her about it. And I don't know how to deal with any of it." The frank admission took Stalker by surprise. "Happy? I don't know what the hell I'm doin'... you wanna hear me admit it? There. Do I need to say it louder?" Beach tilted his head back to shout. "AH DUNNO WHUT AH'M DOIN'!" Several nearby personnel eyed them warily and moved away at a faster pace. His eyes glinted in the growing sunlight. "There. Anything else?"

Stalker held up a hand. "I'm not ragging on you. I just want to help." He saw the wary look cross the lined face. "I only want to help.. really."

BeachHead's tone showed his suspicion. "Why would you want to help me?"

"Why... I don't know. Because you're my teammate? Because you really need some help? Because you're a friend and I really hate visiting friends in the infirmary when their rightfully angry girlfriends brain them with pieces of heavy equipment? And you know she will." Stalker puffed out an exasperated breath. "It's not exactly a secret that you are all but clueless when it comes to dating. Sorry... but it's true. You gave her a cactus for god's sake."

Beach frowned. "It was a plant.. not a flower. She don't like flowers."

"And you told her she was 'prickly' just like it." Stalker raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you or did you not tell the woman that she'd gained 'plenty of weight' since her modeling days?"

Beach managed to look sulky and looked down at his hands. "That's not fair! I meant it in a GOOD way!" He got quiet a minute. "Soo... what should I do?"

"First... you gotta decide what you expect out of her. Then you'll have to decide if she'll want the same goal." Stalker nodded decisively. "If you want this to work, after we all get back, it's going to take work."

"How's it supposed to work? We ain't even rightly supposed to be datin' and neither of us can opt out of the command line without leavin' Joe!" Beach felt himself growing agitated as he finally faced the issue that had been dwelling on his mind ever since before the trip had begun.

Stalker smiled in a smug manner. "Oh please. If there's one place that the frat rule is a moot point, it's GI Joe. It's not like you'll be the only couple in the Pitt."

Beach rolled his eyes. "Yeah.. but I'm no ninja master to be valued over any sort of rule breakin'. I'm nothin' more than a warm body to yell all of ya'll into PT and a Ranger to shoot at stuff what Hawk don't have time to shoot himself. I can be replaced if Hawk finds out."

His teammate actually laughed at him. "Really? Hawk is going to replace the Ranger that he pried out of the Fort Benning commander's hands? Hand-picked over all the other men he could have chosen.. the one person who never shirks his duty, no matter how tired, no matter how distasteful the duty might be? Please. Plus, you don't seriously think that Hawk doesn't realize you and Courtney are dating, right? He knows. He knows everything that happens. He just ignores things he doesn't need to deal with. He's never said anything about Snakes and Scarlett, plus he's never said word one against Flint and Jaye.. right?"

"Well.. no.. but.." Beach was interrupted.

"And I know you're not going to tell me that you and Courtney can't be at least as discrete as Flint and Jaye. Technically the rank gap between them means they really shouldn't be dating, but that's never stopped those two."

"Yeah.. but.." Again Beach barely got a word out before his fellow Ranger started in again.

"So you're going to keep dating her, right? And that means that when you get back to base, you'll have to walk a really thin line of still being Sergeant major while you have to be Wayne for her too. It's not like you can be her lover while you're training.. or worse, on the battlefield, trying to keep her on the sidelines rather than where she'll do the most good in battle."

Beach finally broke in. "Why the hell would I sideline the woman? She's our best driver." He ducked his head. "I get it.. I do. I don't like feeling like I don't have any choice. But I really don't. Courtney... she's... she... I mean.." His eyes glazed slightly as he stared at the rapidly blueing sky.

"I know." Stalker reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "Man.. I know. There's nothing you can do now. She's got you.. not by the balls.. but by your heartstrings. Yeah yeah.. sounds sappy.. but if it was just a set of tits, you could drop her like a hot potato. You've got it bad, and that means you better go on and plan with that in mind. Sure.. you can kick and fight and struggle.. but unless you just like being miserable, you'll end up by her side in the end. So give in now."

BeachHead grinned slightly. "Well, I don't usually back down from no fights, no matter how long the odds is on me... but I don't wanna win this one. I want to stand with her." He took a long deep breath in and let it out slowly. "So... now what? Do I gotta go talk over all this stuff with her.. or does she already know all this kinda stuff?"

Stalker popped his arm sharply. "She knows.. but you're going to tell her anyway. Women like to talk these things out so they know you're on the right page with them. Plus.. this way you'll make brownie points by talking and planning and being sensitive and caring. You always want a good positive supply of brownie points. Get them whenever and however you can at every opportunity."

Beach looked slightly puzzled. "Brownie points? What the hell would I need that for with her? We're already datin'."

Stalker waved for them to head back towards the hotel. "Sex... Beach... sex. That's why."

"Oh.. well... " Beach smirked as he broke into a run with Stalker pacing him. "Long as there's a GOOD reason..."

End Chapter

Well good thing Stalker cares enough to have a man-to-man talk with Beach. Now how will the talk with GoverGirl go?