A/N... sorry this is a bit of a spoiler... I hope none of you actually thought I'd send a pregnant woman into the most difficult training program out there. Stephanie isn't really pregnant... her hormones were just out of sorts for awhile. Her CO didn't think she was pregnant which is why he kept preventing her from speaking. If she was truly pregnant, she wouldn't be in the program.
Chapter 16
It made perfect sense. He would know about the competition to become a Ranger. I learned this so called 'preliminary screening' was really a way for us to understand the complexities of Ranger training. Over the next few weeks, other Generals would be putting their recruits through a similar test. If we couldn't pass the basic screening while under pressure, how would we ever make it through training?
Tank's uncle was one of the men responsible for splitting the special ops groups into specialized categories. Rangers were the best of the best. They are deployed when precision and skill are required. I'm not sure how far I will get into training before my pregnancy is discovered. Nighthawks are responsible for flying the choppers for extraction. Another group go deep undercover to gather intel, that's the group Jeanne Ellen was in. I really didn't want Carlos involved with that one. Some men get lost in their role or hook up with a female to gather intel. Ace assured me they never send married men into those undercover roles.
We ordered tons of food and spent time getting to know each other. I could see why Carlos gets along with these men. They have the same values as we do. Hopefully we all make the team. After everyone ate their fill, we cleaned up and started playing poker. It was now down to the final two players. I was totally going to wipe the floor with Hal. He thinks he's got me all figured out, but he doesn't. Our game is aces high and I'm currently holding a royal flush. His only hope is to have a same hand in another suit.
Hal placed his final bet assuming I'm bluffing. We all have our tells in poker, but I've been practicing with Carlos and Uncle Alex. I would display my bluffing tell when I'm not bluffing and I display it when I am bluffing, mostly I kept it random. However, I heard the guys complain about me not displaying any tells. Thank you Ace for teaching me the blank face. "I'm calling it," he said as he lay down his cards. Huh... he has a straight, mixed suits.
"Man, I can't believe you beat me with such a crappy hand," I joked as I lay down my cards.
"What the fuck!" he yelled. "I thought for sure you were bluffing." The guys laughed as I pulled the loot towards me.
"Thanks for the money guys. Next pizza party is on me."
Carlos wrapped his arm around me to whisper, "Proud of you Babe."
It was time for the guys to leave. They would make it back to base before curfew. Each man hugged me or messed my hair before leaving. "I really like your friends," I told Carlos as we went to bed. "My blood test results are back."
"The sample Rylie took to confirm your pregnancy?"
"Yes, she just sent me a message with the results," I answered before telling him I wasn't pregnant after all. Like me, he was sad but we both knew Ranger training was very hard on the body. There would be no possible way for me to endure training without having a miscarriage. In a way I was relieved, but I was also sad.
Carlos pulled back my navy blue comforter to crawl into bed. He held up my end for me. When I moved closer to him, he pulled off my panties to enter me. Making love to him gets better every time. He nipped at my lips before pushing his tongue into my mouth. I moaned as he sucked on my tongue. My orgasm built until I completely shattered around him.
"Babe... wake up. Babe," Carlos sounded panicked.
I looked around the room. Uncle Alex and the medic were in my room. "What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Stitch said. "What's the last thing you remember?"
My face turned bright red. I whispered, "Having the best orgasm of my life."
Stitch looked at Carlos who was sporting a huge smile. "Dude, she had a petite mort orgasm. I've heard of them, but I've never actually met anyone who experienced one." He kept looking between me and Carlos with great awe. "Has this happened before?"
"Never happened before. I'm alright so you can leave now," I mumbled my face turning bright red from embarrassment. I just wanted to crawl under my bed and hide. Having Uncle Alex and Stitch staring at me... with whatever that expression is pasted on their face... was completely embarrassing.
"Let me check your vitals then I'll leave," Stitch stated. I let him wrap the pressure cuff around my arm. It came back at 107/60 and my heart rate was 49 beats/minute. "Everything looks good."
Uncle Alex waited until Stitch left before asking us more questions. "Do you have any cramping? Light headed? Dizziness? Do you need to see a specialist?"
"No, no and no. I'm fine Uncle Alex and there is no baby. It was a false positive," I told him.
"I overreacted," Carlos admitted.
"I would have done the same," I confessed.
Uncle Alex was sad I wasn't pregnant. "Rogers didn't think you were pregnant. The line providing the positive result was faded in a few areas. He thought your hormones were a bit off balance."
"That's what Rylie said when my results came back. The pregnancy hormone was present, but not high enough to indicate I was actually pregnant," I added.
He bid us goodnight and closed our bedroom door when he left.
"Carlos, how long was I out?"
"Ten minutes. I was really worried," he answered.
"That's a long time. I understand why you called for help. Who did you call? Stitch or Ace?"
"Ace. He brought Stitch with him."
"Fair enough. Next time don't call for help unless I stop breathing," I joked.
"You make me feel like a sex god."
"Carlos, you are a sex god... my very own sex god," I said between kisses.
"And you Babe are my sex goddess. I love you," he growled.
"As I love you. Goodnight Batman, we have an early morning." We cuddled with my back pressed into his chest.
In the morning, I woke up laying on top of him. It was our standard waking up position. Regardless how we fell asleep, if he was in my bed, I would be plastered on top of him the next morning. "A man could really get used to this," his voice was deep from sleep.
"So could a woman. You're my favourite pillow." I kissed him before climbing out of bed. We didn't have time for wake up sex.
I removed the borrowed shirt and climbed into the shower. Carlos wrapped his arms around me from behind. "You left me," he growled.
"We have a tight schedule today," I replied.
He ran his hands over my body, heating me more than the hot shower. "Do you know what else is tight?" His voice was deep and sexy. I couldn't find the words to answer. He was distracting me with his gorgeous toned body. "You Babe," he said as he pushed into me.
"Carlos," I moaned as he filled me. "So good." He didn't waste time drawing out an orgasm... or three from me. We quickly finished our shower and dressed to meet the other men.
On the opposite side of the base, an area was divided into six stations. The stations had multiple item to accommodate each pair. Each applicant was required to cycle through the stations in the order assigned to them. We were assigned a partner and divided into six groups. I noticed I was scheduled to go through each station with Ric Manoso. It felt like someone was watching me. I looked around and caught General Rogers' eye. He winked before calling everyone to attention. We snapped to attention and waited for further instruction. "Attention!" he barked. "I have a few rules. Each station must be completed within 45 minutes. Find your partner and start at your first station." I tried to count the number of men, but lost count after sixty.
Carlos and I were scheduled for the Self Defence station first. We had to display our skills to the observing lieutenants. They carried clipboards with papers. A list of defence moves was provided. I knew how to complete all the moves listed. Carlos was a bit nervous performing a few on me. I've sparred with Lester and Tank, I can handle the moves. The lieutenant made a few notes on the clipboard before dismissing us. We only took 25 minutes to complete all moves.
Our next station was the in depth aptitude test. It was designed to uncover psychological issues. You can't move into training unless you can handle all the psychological strains of training. I rolled my eyes before I started recording my answers. This test had more misleading questions.
Already answered that one, I thought. Carlos snickered. Damn... I said that out loud. I'll never make it to training if I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself. I quickly finished the test and waited for the lieutenant to give me a grade of pass or fail. If I failed the test, Carlos automatically fails. I waited patiently until I heard, "Pass." How do you fail an aptitude test? I have no clue, but it does weed out men not capable of handling it mentally.
"Thank you sir," I replied while I waited for my husband's grade. A minute later I heard the lieutenant pass him too. "Computer literacy next," I excitedly said.
"It's in the bag," Carlos agreed. We were both skilled using computers. We didn't know what task they were planning. I sat at my computer and waited for my instructions. This station was manned by Corporal Becker. His eyes glimmered as he passed me my instructions.
I opened my envelope and read 'You have 30 minutes to hack into our database to plant false information for your partner.' It took everything in me to not laugh. Couldn't they give me a more challenging task? I entered the system and hacked my way through the database. Within 15 minutes I had the information planted. For fun, I added information about Becker too. It was completely absurd and would be obvious it was a hack.
When our 30 minutes passed, Becker sifted through the database to find the planted information. He smiled when he read Manoso's information. I said he was transgender and convincingly infiltrated the Army while wearing a red thong. Becker laughed very hard when he read the information I planted about him. Carlos looked at me to see an innocent look pasted on my face. I wrote, 'Becker looked extremely sexy in the tight red dress he wore last night. I want to borrow the dress but I doubt it would look as good on me.'
"You both pass," he tried to say with a straight face.
"What did you have to do?" I asked.
"Detect the hackers. I found everyone except you," he said with pride. "How did you hide yourself?"
"I piggy backed you," I smiled. His jaw dropped.
"I couldn't detect you."
"With a bit of training, you'll get there." I looked around before adding, "I wrote the program and know where to sneak in. I'll have to close those holes."
"You are brilliant," he said with pride.
"Thank you." Our next station was tactical planning. We had to use both intel and our own skills to plan the best course of action. It didn't take long to realize this was Carlos' forte. He was very skilled. I was in complete awe. When my spidey sense kicked in, we discussed the issue and revised the plan. General Rogers reviewed our plan and instantly passed us. He was pleased we detected the fly in the ointment. It was the exact item that triggered my spidey sense.
"We make a great team," he whispered. I was in complete agreement. The next item was the obstacle course. When I saw the course, I was thrilled. It was the same one Uncle Alex had me run after I lost Stephan. Running the course weekly was very therapeutic.
"I'll be fine Batman," I whispered when he noticed the complexity of the course. "Race you!" I shouted over my shoulder.
He ran into the course after me. We finished neck and neck. His toe passed the finish line a second before mine. The lieutenant said "Pass" as we crossed the finish line. When he showed us the time, we were both surprised. The course should take between 35 and 45 minutes to complete. Carlos and I finished it in 32 minutes.
"I told you I'd be fine." He wanted to pull me into a kiss, but we're on base and need to act appropriately. We made our way to the final station. A row of long range weapons were on a table. There was two of each make and type. Similar tables were set up for the other five pairs. Our objective was to select two different rifles and two other long range weapons to take out the targets at various distances. We had to choose one of two ranges. All six targets had to be given kill shots, either to the head or heart. You didn't know which shot was required until you lined up your shot.
After I selected and registered my weapons, I was compelled to use the left side range. Carlos raised an eyebrow and took his position in his range. I quickly lined up my shot to the heart but shifted my aim slightly to the left and fired. My next target was almost a mile away. I quickly swapped out my weapon and noticed the scope was misaligned. It was only out by two millimetres but that could mean the difference between hit or miss. I lined up the head shot and dropped my aim as I pulled the trigger. The target dropped almost a foot but I still hit the target dead centre. The third target was stationary and easy to hit. I grabbed the crossbow to hit the moving fourth and fifth targets. This was the most difficult test of the day. The final target was a dilapidated car. I used the rocket launcher, lined up the shot and blew that fucker up. Boy that was very satisfying.
I returned the broken weapon to the armoury guard instead of handing it to the lieutenant with the other weapons. "The scope is misaligned on this gun. If you look here," I said after removing the scope. "You could see where the bracket is slightly bent to the left. It's only off by a few millimetres, but when you're aiming at a target 1600 metres away, you have make a more drastic correction. I hope this gun is never sent into the field with one of our men."
He took the weapon and moved to another range with trees. He used the scope, aimed at a skinny branch and missed the shot. "Well I'll be damned," he said with amusement. "We need to pull this weapon from rotation. Thank you Palmer." I watched him lock away the weapon to be destroyed. It was a waste of a weapon, but we couldn't afford to lose men due to its inaccuracy.
Carlos listened to our conversation with amusement. "Let's see if we passed," he said guiding me to the weapons table. I could tell he already knows. We approached the lieutenant who promptly said I passed.
Our stations were complete and we passed every one. Now we had to wait for our rank among the men. "How many men are testing today?" I asked.
"Seventy," I heard Uncle Alex say. "Only the top fifteen teams will make it to the next round." So fifteen teams, thirty men will make it to round two. I know they will only recruit the top twelve for two teams of six.
"What's the passing grade?" I had to ask.
"Eighty, but that doesn't guarantee you a spot in the top fifteen." Carlos and I passed each station so we have at least eighty percent. We'll have to wait for the final tally.
"Fall in!" Rogers ordered. Everyone filed into position beside their partners. "Step forward with your partner when I call your name. Zip, Ramos, Sherman, Ram, Hal, Junior, Brown," he said a few more names I didn't recognize until he finally called, "Palmer." Carlos nudged me forward and took his position at my side. Rogers looked at our group before ordering, "All other soldiers... dismissed."