Russian: Kotyonok = kitten, moi sladkiy = my sweetness and Da = yes
The next morning Skylar woke up with quite the headache, the source being from all the crying she did yesterday. She was hoping she wouldn't get one, but nonetheless she did and was thankful she had a bottle of Advil on hand and didn't have to go bug Doc for some.
She sat up and groaned, stretching her arms above her head. "I have a headache."
Alex was sitting in the chair next to the desk as he put his shoes on, and he was already dressed for the day. She on the other hand was nowhere near ready, and truthfully she didn't even want to train today. Thankfully her training was just with Glaz, so it should be easy and less stressful on her than training with her CTU.
He got up from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. "I'll get you some Advil."
Skylar watched him walk to the bathroom and rubbed her temples, she hasn't had a headache like this in a good year, maybe more. She looked over at the clock, still having a little over an hour until she needed to meet Glaz, just enough time for the Advil to work and hopefully take the headache away.
Alex came back with a cup of water and two pills, handing both to her. "Here you go kotyonok!"
"Thank you moi sladkiy!" She took the two pills from his hand and popped them into her mouth before taking the water and drinking it. "This headache better go away soon. My hangovers are better than this."
He chuckled and took the cup from her hand, setting it on the bedside table. "Give it time, it should go away soon."
"It better, or I'm not leaving this bed today." She chuckled. "I'll just lay here and sleep all day."
"Wouldn't we all like to do that?" He chuckled. "Just waste the day away in bed."
"I know I would."
He let out a laugh and leaned over to give her another kiss on the forehead, pulling away to see her soften features. Even though she looked content, she also looked tired, defeated in a sense. The look you would get after crying for a long time, maybe it would be good for her to take off the day.
"Why don't you take the day off kotyonok? I'm sure Timur won't mind."
"I think I'm good, the fresh air could do me some good."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." She leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "If I don't feel any better I'll come back here."
"Okay."
She laid back down, fixing the duvet around her and sighed. "Now I'll just lay down for the next twenty minutes and then I'll get ready."
All Alex could do was laugh and lean down to kiss her forehead once again. When he pulled away he saw the small smile etched on her face that made his heart feel happy. Any ounce of happiness she has, makes him feel happy. After all she's been through, she deserves at least that. To be happy. And he'll do his damnedest to make sure she is.
"Okay kotyonok!" He looked at the clock briefly and then back at her. "I have to meet Maxim and Shuhrat, I'll see you later."
"Okay, I'll meet you for lunch."
He leaned down to give her one more kiss before leaving the room to train with Maxim and Shuhrat. As he left Skylar softly sighed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand to pass some time. There wasn't much to do, so checking social media it is. Even then, that wasn't that productive since she was five hours ahead of everyone back in Maine. The only downside of living so far away.
She placed her phone back on the nightstand and sat up, running her fingers through her hair. This was the part of the morning she hated, Alex going to train and having an hour to kill until her and Timur begin training. This part made her bored.
And for some reason, whatever reason that was, went for her phone again. And directly to Henry's texts. She was happy she told Alex, it took a ton of weight off her shoulders and she wanted to block his number, but she knew it wouldn't do a damn thing. He would just get a new phone number and continue to hassle her, at least until she gets the authorities involved.
The fact that he found her scared her the most, she spent four years running away from him, hoping he would never find her, and now he has. He figured out her phone number and she wouldn't be surprised if he figured out where she was. The only thing that made her calm was knowing that if he somehow swindled his way into Hereford, she has Alex. Someone who would protect her if need be.
With nothing much to do she got up to slowly get ready, walking over to the closet and pulling out her fatigues for training. She was thankful they decided to train inside today than out, knowing how cold it was. If she was back in the Marines and he with the Spetsnaz, both of their asses would be outside training.
She tossed the clothes on the bed and went into the bathroom to wash up. While she did she couldn't help but notice how depleted she felt, all she wanted to do was sleep away the day. Unfortunately she couldn't, she had to train, then again one day wouldn't hurt.
Once she was done she shut off the water and the light and headed back into the bedroom to do her hair. She sat down on the bed, grabbing her brush from the nightstand and took out her ponytail and began brushing the snarls out. As she began brushing her hair her phone went off, alerting her of a text message.
Without moving she looked down to see it was from Alex and all it said was 'meet me outside by the track'. She shrugged her shoulders and went back to brushing her hair, and not a moment to soon another ding went off on her phone. Still Alex and this time all it said was 'Timur knows, don't worry'. She set her brush down and texted back 'okay be out in a few minutes'.
Skylar wondered what he had planned, he wouldn't just call her down knowing she had training, as did he. She knew he had something up his sleeve.
She put her hair in a low ponytail and got up to get dressed. Now she was wondering if she should wear her fatigues or put on regular workout gear instead,,,,fatigues would be the smarter choice, just in case he only wanted to see her for a few minutes. Either way she quickly got dressed and left the room to meet him.
xXx
When she got outside it was quite chilly, which was expected for the time of year. She pulled her jacket tighter and started to make her way to the track. Not many people were outside, which was kind of shocking, you would see at least a few CTUs outside training, no matter the weather.
It wasn't long before a tall, handsome blonde Russian came into view, forcing a smile to tug at her lips. "Hi!, you wanted to see me?"
"Da." He linked their arms together and started to walk more towards the empty track. "I thought we could workout together, since you weren't feeling too good."
She chuckled and stopped walking to turn to him. "I will gladly take you up on this offer. But what about Timur?"
"He has Maxim, Fuze is working on his cluster charges."
"I'm not even going to ask what you told them." She laughed. "And since I'm not feeling too great I think a few laps around the track will be fine."
"It wasn't bad kotyonok."
Skylar didn't say anything, she just grabbed his hand and pulled him along.
Her headache was thankfully going away, somewhat, the cold wasn't helping and she even had a hat on. A New England Patriots one to be precise, Alex knew nothing of American football, just what Thermite mentions during the season and even then, it confused him.
She looked over at him to see the confused look on his face, making her raise an eyebrow. "You okay moi sladkiy?"
"Da, your hat made me think about something."
"Why don't you tell me about it?"
"Could you explain American football to me?"
A strong breeze flew past them, sending a shiver down her spine. It made her want to go inside, where it's warm. "I can do that, but I'd rather wait until the actual season. It'll be easier to teach you all the plays and stuff. Maybe I'll even make you a Patriots fan, that'll annoy Jordan for sure."
"Perhaps kotyonok. Are they good?"
He watched her take a step back, looking at him like he just offended her greatly. Or brought dishonor on her family, maybe both.
"Are they good? Everyone pretty much hates them because of how good they are. The Patriots always make it to the playoffs and have a very good chance of making it to the Superbowl every year. Yes they are good!"
"I'll take your word for it. Why don't we go inside and get breakfast? I can see you're cold."
"Yes please, I'm freezing actually."
"I..can warm you up if you want kotyonok?"
She smiled up at him, shaking her head at that smug look on his face. She knew what he meant about 'helping her warm up' and she just loves teasing him. "I can go for a cuddle session under a nice warm blanket, if that's what you mean?"
"I think you know what I mean."
"Oh I do, I just love teasing you about it. Mister I'm always horny." She gave him a cheeky grin and began walking back to the building.
As she walked towards the building an all too familiar voice yelled out behind her.
"Can you blame me Skylar?"
She let out a laugh and turned back around, jogging back over to him to give him a chaste kiss. "No, I can't blame you for that. And in a way I like it and I'm okay with you being horny twenty-four, seven. As long as you're okay with me not wanting sex everyday."
"No I didn't mean…..I. I'm sorry kotyonok, I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I don't just care about the sex."
She looked up at him, face softening as she cupped the side of his face. "It's okay moi sladkiy, it has to be different dating someone who's a victim."
He placed his hand on top of hers, leaning into the gesture. "It's pretty much the same, I just have to do better to remember that you're not going to want to have sex all the time like I do. I would rather have you be comfortable than anything."
"Thank you!" She removed her hand from his face and softly sighed. "Want to get breakfast now?"
Alex let out one of his booming laughs and grabbed her hand. "I would like that."
xXx
The cafeteria wasn't packed as of yet, which they were both happy about. Just a few other people, those who didn't have to train or had training later.
Skylar grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and some juice, then went to go sit down at their regular table. Alex went with more protein, probably the better choice but she just really wanted a bagel and some juice.
"Juice kotyonok, really?"
"Don't judge me I like juice, it's good and it reminds me of my childhood." She took a sip, slightly glaring at him. "Sitting in front of the television with a juice box watching movies."
He laughed and took a bite of his food. It was cute that she was being nostalgic, it made him learn more about her and her childhood. It was so different from his, not because of the age difference, though that has a little bit to do with it, but because of the different cultures. He was raised in a strict military family, she had a civilian life with non strict parents. He was drafted at eighteen and she joined on her own.
Two different lives, but somehow they work well together. That's something he'll never take for granted and knows she won't either.
"What movies did you watch?"
She finished the bite of food in her mouth and moved her attention back to him and not on Doc who looked to be having a mid life crisis a few tables away. "It was mostly Disney movies, Snow White, The Lion King, Tarzan to name a few."
"What was your favorite?"
"My favorite?" She took another bite of her bagel and thought about his question. There were so many movies from her childhood that she loved and could watch over and over again. It was hard to choose. "That's a hard question moi sladkiy. I would say it's tied between Tarzan and Toy Story."
He nodded his head and took a bit of his food. "Never watched either of them kotyonok."
"I'm sure you'll be watching them quite a bit whenever that first little Senaviev comes along." She laughed. "I had a feeling since you would've been in your twenties, early thirties in the nineties. I don't think you would be watching kids movies, unless you like that sort of thing, I'm not judging."
Alex scoffed, though a small smile formed across his face. "I don't doubt that for a minute, kotyonok. You are right though, I wasn't watching any kid's movies in my twenties."
"Are you sure?"
"Da, are you watching kid's movies in your twenties?"
"Occasionally, yes. With the way my life has been and the work we do, it's nice to have something that's fun to watch." She sighed and set her bagel down. "And to have something to watch that doesn't have what I've been through thrown into my face."
He reached his hand over to grab her's and gave it a little squeeze. He felt for her, of course, it's not easy to deal with PTSD and you never know when an attack will occur. The last thing anyone wants is to be watching TV and have it trigger it.
"That's one of the reasons you don't really watch a lot of television or movies isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's easier to re-watch things I know. It…." She abruptly stopped talking and looked around, noticing more people coming into the room. "I'll tell you later."
"Okay."
xXx
After breakfast they headed back to their room where they both decided to change into something more comfy. Skylar changed into a pair of black sweats and a tank top and got comfy on the bed while he changed into something. It felt nice to be able to go back to a room where she felt the most comfortable, not that she didn't feel comfortable with Ash, it was different with Alex, she could pour her heart out to him if she needed and there was something so calming about that.
Once he was finished changing he sat down on the bed next to her, moving a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear. "What were you going to say earlier?"
She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "I was going to say it's easier to watch things I'm familiar with. Being raped doesn't help with the ratings, yeah it might say 'strong sexual content' but you don't know if it involves consent or not until you watch it." She inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out before making eye contact with him. "I made that mistake once and I went into a full blown panic attack."
"I'm sorry kotyonok!" He scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her in a hug, kissing the top of her head. "If you want I can be your...tester. I can watch whatever you've been wanting to watch and see if there's any triggers in it for you?"
"You would do that for me?"
"Kotyonok, I'd go to the edge of the universe for you!"
Skylar looked up at him, features softening under his gaze. "How'd I get so lucky?"
Alex let out a soft laugh and kissed her lips. He's been asking himself the same thing for the past month, it's amazing how one person can come into your life and change it for the better. Someone you never expected. When Skylar joined Rainbow six months ago he thought they'd be friends, nothing more. Yet here they are, together, talking about a future and life in general.
"That's something I've been asking myself for a while. Maybe it was just fate."
Fate. The development of events out of a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. Skylar always believed in fate, even if she wasn't religious. Some things happen out of her control and she'll never understand why, but if fate was the reason she's here now, then that's enough for her.
"Fate, it damn well could've been." She looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face. "Out of all the people I could've ended up with, I'm glad it was you."
Alex mirrored her smile and leaned down to give her a more passionate kiss this time. A few seconds later he pulled away and sighed. "Out of all the people I could've ended up with, I'm glad it was you too."
"Are you sure about that?
"Da, why wouldn't I be?"
All she did was shrug her shoulders and look over at him. "I just come with a lot of baggage, that's all."
"Da, you do. But that doesn't change the fact that I love you! We all have some baggage."
"Some more than others." She slowly exhaled a breath and looked away, over at the picture of them on the nightstand nearby. "I hate it, I wish I could go back to how I was before I joined the Marines. I know I can't and I have to live with it."
Alex moved his hand to cup her cheek, gently moving her head so she was looking at him. That's when she saw his blue eyes had dulled and his jaw was clenched, she wasn't if it was out of anger or something else.
"Skylar everyone here who loves you met you after everything had happened. We love you for who you are now, not who you were." He grazed his thumb on her jaw line, feeling the indentation of her scar. "Who you are now is remarkable!"
"You really believe that?"
"Believe that? I know that!" He let his hand fall down from her cheek and grab her hand in his. "I don't love easy, it was easy to keep people away from my line of work, but with you it's as easy as breathing! We both took a leap, and I say it worked out."
Her face softened and a small smile started to spread across her face. "Yeah, I say it has." She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss. "Thank you moi sladkiy!"
"You're welcome kotyonok!" He moved a few strands of hair out of her face and softly sighed. "What do you want to do today?"
"Hmm, that's a good question." Skylar moved to sit against the headboard and think about what she wanted to do. There really wasn't much she wanted to do but lie in bed all day since she still wasn't feeling too well. And any lack of physical activity was good with her. "How about we stay in bed all day? Maybe go for a little walk later?"
Alex let out one of his famous booming laughs, knowing exactly she was going to say that. "If that's what you want to do, kotyonok?"
Without a word she got under the covers and sighed in content. "Yes it is."
He let out one of his booming laughs again and kissed her forehead. The cheeky smile on her face was the icing on the cake, she really did want to spend the day in bed.
xXx
Skylar spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in bed and it made her very happy. Alex stayed in bed for a few hours with her until his leg started to cramp and he had to walk around for a bit. All they did was talk and start looking for a place to live, so far nothing really good popped up. That was to be expected since it was still winter, they would need to wait at least until spring or close to it.
"I'm hungry, I could go for some pizza."
Alex turned from his seat at the desk to look at her. Her hair was disheveled from lying on her side for the past few hours, to him it made her look very attractive. She would disagree.
"You want pizza?"
"Yes, I haven't had it in a while and I'm kind of craving it. Too bad we couldn't get it delivered, but we can pick it up at the place." She grabbed her phone from beside her, quickly unlocking it and looked back over at him. "Do you want pizza?"
"I'm not that hungry, if you want it though, get it."
"I will." She could hear Alex chuckle as she began to order her pizza. A basic cheese one, with cheese stuffed crust, her favorite. "That would be kind of funny, being able to get it delivered and the poor delivery guy going through a shit ton of security."
"You would probably have to meet him at the gate."
"Yeah you're probably right." She chuckled. "It'll be reading in forty-five minutes."
She leaned forward to grab her brush to fix her hair, this time putting it in a bun.
As she brushed her hair Alex watched her with contentment, there were times where he would forget they were on base and not in a place of their own. Just being with her made him forget things, all that was on his mind was her. He was thankful he could still do his work and not act like an idiot in love. Though he's sure he wouldn't hear the end of it from the rest of the team if he did act like that.
Skylar set her brush back down and looked over at him, seeing he was staring at her. A small smile began to spread across her face and she laughed. "See anything you like moi sladkiy?"
"You know I do!" He winked and it made her laugh, and shake her head. A second later he got up from his chair to sit down on the bed next to her.
"That's good because I like what I see too!"
Alex let out a content sigh and relaxed his posture. "Oh that's good to hear. I was afraid I'd be in a competition with Timur."
"I don't like Timur like that."
"I know, I just like teasing you about it."
Skylar glared over at him, lips going into a thin line. "Just because of that you're using your hand tonight."
She watched his face falter, which put a smile on hers. It was fun teasing him and she loved his reaction each time.
"I….."
She laughed and leaned over to give him a chaste kiss. "I love your reaction when I tease you."
All he did was shake his head and glare over at her. "Let's go get your pizza."
xXx
Thirty minutes later they were back at base and in their room where Skylar was chowing down on her pizza. And in the middle of those thirty minutes Alex changed his mind and decided to have some pizza as well.
"This is so good."
He looked over at her to see the happiness spread across her face. Who knew having some pizza would make Skylar this happy? It was also cute, like a kid in a candy store. He didn't say anything but laugh and continue to watch her eat in happiness.
It was also good to indulge in junk food or not exceptionally healthy food every now and then. No one likes to eat healthy all the time, at least not Skylar.
"I need Specialists Kateb, Glazkov, Basuda, Porter, Cote, Lin, Senaviev, Jackson, and Trace to my office."
The happiness on her face quickly turned into annoyance and she set her food down on her plate. "This better be good."
They both got off the bed to put their shoes one before heading to Six's office.
xXx
As everyone started to funnel their way into Six's office and take a seat, they all looked around at each other, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Does anyone know what's going on?"
"That's why we're here, Jordan."
Thermite glared over at Skylar and shook his head. "Thank you captain obvious."
"I'm a sergeant...dingus."
His mouth gaped like a dying fish and he turned away from her to talk with Smoke. It made Alex chuckle.
She scoffed and glanced over at Ying, giving her a small nod. Even though her and Ying don't really get along they could put their differences away and work as a team.
The room went back to being quiet as they waited for Six to come into the room, all wondering what this could be about, then it clicked into Skylar's mind. Ash. Could this have to do with this outbreak in New Mexico? Now it made her even more curious and anxious to find out.
"Maybe it's for a mission?" Skylar inquired. "It makes sense."
Kapkan turned to her, nodding his head in approval. "That seems like the most plausible choice."
After a few minutes Six finally entered the room, going directly to the front. She looked around the room, glancing at every operator in the room before she began to speak. "Yesterday I sent Specialists Cohen and Streicher to New Mexico to get intel on the sudden outbreak that struck the town of Truth and Consequence. I just heard from her a few hours ago, she's asked specifically for Jordan and Skylar."
Skylar and Thermite glanced over at each other with curious eyes. This was going to be interesting.
"You guys leave tonight, along with Specialist Senaviev. You're our leading Spetsnaz operator and the most experienced, I'm sure you'll be able to help Ash with what she needs. As for everyone else, I'll debrief you now with what I know and you all leave in the morning."
She looked around as everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgement. "Specialist Senaviev, Trace and Jackson you're dismissed. Pack what you need, you guys leave in an hour."
They all got out of their chairs and went out into the hallway, knowing all eyes were on them. Now something felt off, Six was in a hurry to get them to New Mexico, maybe this outbreak was bigger than she anticipated.
xXx
Skylar and Alex made it back to their room to get dressed in their fatigues and grab their things. She went straight for her M4 assault rifle that was under the bed and placed it on the desk. She wasn't sure if she wanted to bring her M4 or sniper rifle, maybe both to be safe.
"Hey, moi sladkiy? Should I bring both my M4 and sniper rifle with me?"
She looked over at him to see him tying up his gorka pants, it always made her wonder how they stayed up so well. All that held them up were two strings, he, along with Kapkan, Glaz and Fuze must have to tie them really tight.
"Da, just to be safe."
She nodded her head and went to go grab her uniform from the closet, setting it down on the bed. "I kinda hate that we're not getting debriefed until we get to New Mexico. Who knows what's going to happen once we get there."
"I know, but it looks like Ash wanted us fast."
"Yeah."
He looked over to see her staring down at her hands, he stood up and walked over to her, gently moving her head to look at him. "Don't worry yourself now, kotyonok. We don't know what's happening in New Mexico, it could be nothing. And if it is something, I'll be there to protect you!"
Her face softened and a small smile began to spread across her face, yet there was still some worry in her eyes. "Thank you moi sladkiy!"
Alex leaned down and kissed her forehead, lips lingering for a moment. "You're welcome, kotyonok!"
She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she walked away to get dressed. As she quickly got dressed she grabbed her boots from the floor, her mind reeling with so many thoughts. What's going on in New Mexico that Ash wanted her there so quickly? Is this outbreak something they can contain? Will there be casualties? She tried her best not to get too worked up just yet, they're not even there yet, but she was happy Alex was going to be there with her.
"I know I can protect myself, it's one of the many things you learn being in the military." She looked over at him, a small smile on her face. "I'm happy you'll be there, to protect me if I can't. It's a nice feeling!"
Alex finished putting on the rest of his uniform and walked over to her side of the bed and sat down in front of her. "Always!"
"I love you!"
"I love you too!"
Skylar finished tying up her boots and sighed. "I guess we should get to our lockers and grab our guns before we leave."
He leaned over to look at the clock, they still had some time to kill. "We have a good twenty minutes before we need to go to our lockers."
"That works too." She stretched her arms above her head and groaned. "I should message my mom telling her I'll be on a mission and I'll call her or dad when I can."
She grabbed her phone to do just that. It was something she always did before a mission, to make sure her family didn't worry about her if they haven't heard from her in the next few days. And she always made sure to call her mom or dad and update them on anything she could when she got the time. Even if it was just a quick text message.
As the minutes ticked by the more anxious she felt, something deep inside her was saying something was wrong, then again it could be just pre mission nerves. She didn't get fully briefed after all, she, along with Alex and Thermite, are going in blind until they meet up with Ash. Everything could actually be fine.
Alex stood up and looked over at her. "Time to go kotyonok."
She sighed and stood up, grabbing her phone and M4 from the desk. "Let's get this over with."