Title: Missing In Action
Part:4/?
Rating: R.
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles
Spoilers: Season Seven
Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, I'm just taking them out for a much needed work out.
Kerry let out a piercing scream as her body flew out into empty space.
The dark of night blocked the drop she knew was there from her eyes.
The bitter wind ripped at her screams as she plummeted down, faster and
faster. She struggled to control the overwhelming fear....
" ... During the sixties, the world's top governments created a secret
squad to battle terrorism. It was known as UAIA. United Anti-Terrorist
Intelligence Agency. It worked well enough at first, but sometime
during the late 70's, early 80's, they began to notice that several
major factions they were after seemed to know all their moves in
advance. It was finally speculated that someone had infiltrated their
top ranks, but they couldn't figure who it was, so they did the only
thing they could, they flushed out the agency and started from
scratch...Dr. Carter, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm - ULP! - fine..."
Robie paused as the helicopter lurched under a sudden gust of wind. He
hid the smile that was playing across his lips as young Carter went
from a light green to a forest green. The young man was dedicated to
Kerry, he had to give him that.
"After that they didn't have anymore trouble," he went on, as casually
as if they were idle conversation in a café, "except they still
couldn't penetrate the IRA. At first they thought it was simply that
the group was one step ahead of them."
"What happened?"
Robie glared playfully at Dr. Legaspi, his eyes falling to her legs for
just a moment. "Well, being the brilliant fellows they were, they posed
as weapons dealers. Needless to say it ended with three high-ranking
agents dead, and five others wounded."
"What does all this have to do with Kerry?" Kim couldn't help
interrupting. This guy had the personality of a cat eyeing up a large
juicy bird.
"One of the original agents, an ex-thief and French resistance member,
realized that the only way to fool the IRA was to fool the agency, so
he secretly recruited a young doctor who just happened to be dating an
IRA member."
"Kerry." Peter glared at Robie, his hand involuntarily crumpling the
coke can he'd been nursing.
"Of course, at the time she wasn't aware of Dr. Campbell's...hobbies.
At least not until the agent in question approached her. Naturally, she
had some reservations, but in the end she agreed to help."
Kim heard the low crunching of the can turn into a louder screech as
Robie continued to talk. She glanced over at the surgeon and saw that
he had ripped the can into three pieces. His dark eyes had murder in
them as he kept them locked on Robie.
"This...'agent' who recruited her," she said with the trace of a sneer.
"Anyone we know?"
Robie just smiled pleasantly.
The raging whirlpool engulfed her body, ripping at her body violently.
The churning depths slamming her carelessly against the jagged boulders
that seemed to appear from nowhere. Each breath felt like a thousand
knifes to her lungs. She tried to swim for shore, tried to grab
something, anything. Each movement was overwhelming and sluggish.
The roar of the river in her ears became a mere whisper against the
distant thunder. The crashing wave filled her vision with foaming white
and blues, then quickly retreated, letting her head come up for another
breath.
The thunder was closer now, the water speeding up and becoming more
violent. She felt the subtle change in the water and searched for the
source. Straight ahead she could see the water disappearing...
"...The agency confirmed everyone on the plane to be dead, yet only
three of five bodies were found. Kerry was not one of them. They also
neglected to report that two of the parachutes were missing."
"That doesn't make sense. Surely they know people will notice that sort
of thing." Kim knew from experience just how dumb the government could
be, but this was extreme, even for them.
"Yes, well, the plane just 'happened' to explode before any outside
people could come in."
"My, that was convenient," Kim said, her face and tone flat.
"Wasn't it, though?" Robie turned and kneeled behind the pilot checking
the small computer screen between the pilot and co-pilot's seat.
Kim glanced at her two companions from County General. They were
obviously as out of their depth here as she was, but neither one seemed
inclined to say so. Peter Benton had that graven-in-stone face he did
so well, saying he wasn't backing out of things no matter how tough
they became. Carter was trying to muster a similar look, but his mild
face wasn't really built for that particular expression. Besides, it's
hard to look tough while carefully closing the seal on a used
air-sickness bag.
She moved to the seat that Robie had abandoned and spoke quietly. "What
exactly are we doing? Assuming that Kerry is still alive, it's too dark
to try and find her."
Robie simply grinned as the red circle on the screen beeped twice, then
stopped moving.
The water felt like a dark grave sucking the last of her energy from
her body. The pressure of the waterfall pushed her further under. She
pushed with her legs trying to get to the surface. Her left leg not
responding to her commands.
The world around her began to fade as she lost the ability to fight.
Kim followed Robie to the shore. She could see a waterfall next to the
pool. Slowly, she traced it to its top. If she had to hazard a guess,
she'd say it had to stretch over thirty stories. 'I should keep this
in mind the next time I want to go rafting.'
"The signal's coming from over there."
Kim glared at Robie's back as he briskly walked toward a large boulder
next to the river. He refused to say why he knew she was alive or what
that signal was, and frankly, she was getting put out.
She fell into step automatically, aware of Peter and John acting as
their shadows. She was getting tired of Robie's games. Deciding to put
an end to all these questions and games. She walked around the
boulder...
"Oh God..."
She ended up working late again. Three hours... four... maybe it had
been five. All she knew was that it had seemed to drag on forever.
Gradually draining her until she was a zombie, to tired to even yell at
Randi.
At the same time she didn't want to go home. It was a large house and
since Carter had moved out it had seemed enormous to her. Enormous and
lonely. It wasn't from a lack of friends, she had plenty of those. More
like from a lack of a lover.
She wasn't one of those women who believed that she had to have a man
in her life to be happy, but it was always nice to have someone waiting
for you when you got home. The problem came in with her job. Long
hours, little benefits, and no time for anything else.
She dropped her suitcase next to the door, too tired to drag it into
her office. Throwing her coat and gloves in the general direction of
the closet, she quickly went up the stairs. Unbuttoning her blouse on
the way.
All she wanted was to strip down and climb underneath the heavy African
quilt her mother had made for her. She frowned slightly as she took in
the open bedroom door. She also made a habit of keeping it closed, but
she'd also been in a hurry when she'd left.
She entered the dark bedroom and propped her crutch next to the bed,
simultaneously stripping off her blouse and shoes. The light material
fell softly to the floor next to her discarded loafers.
She reached down and began to unbutton her pants. Her right hand
cramping slightly from all the writing she'd had to do. She let her
hands drop to her sides and sighed. It looked like they were staying on
tonight... this morning.
Warm arms encircled her waist from behind. A tall, lean body pressing
into her back. Slender graceful hands took up where her hands had
failed. "Let me..."
She knew that voice, a voice that shouldn't be there, it didn't belong
there. Not in her bedroom. Then why did it fill so soothing? So right?
She felt herself leaning back into the strong arms and moved away.
She turned to those icy blue eyes. They were so alive and passionate,
and right now questioning. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, making it
impossible to tell her friend to leave. Not that she really wanted to.
A gentle breeze slide across her chest causing her to remember that she
was topless. Her arms started to rise to cover her chest, but her
friend took hold of her wrists. Holding them down, pulling her into her
friend's chest.
She could feel the way their bodies seemed to mold together, could
smell the soft baby powder, could feel her friend's heartbeat. She
couldn't... she wasn't... she leaned forward, feeling the gentle brush
of their lips.
There was a groan of pleasure... Oh, those hands...
"Oh, Kerry..."
She reached out and entangled her hand into the thick curls of
blonde...
..... and brought Kim closer until they were all that there was. The kiss
becoming deeper, but without the bloodlust she was used to.
She took pleasure from the warmth of her lithe body pressing her into
the soft mattress. Her left hand began to go for Kim's waist, stopping
as the pain shot through her body.
Kim gently broke the kiss and sat back on the mattress. "I'm glad to
see you, too..."
Kerry blinked with embarrassment as she took in the three men in the
motel room. Peter simply shook his head with a little smirk, letting
her know he was greatly amused. Robie was next to him, clearing his
throat while giving them both an appreciative look. John was standing
away, holding a tray with soup and hot tea. He was slightly red and
the look in his eyes let her know he didn't like what he'd just seen.
Kerry tried to sit up, wincing as her muscles protested the action. Kim
leaned over, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and helping her up.
Kerry found her face inches from Kim's. She found her heart racing
faster as the blonde smiled at her.
Settling with her back against the headboard, she saw John glare at Kim
before moving to her side and planting the tray in front of her. "Here,
this should help get you warm."
Kerry careful raised a spoonful of broth and swallowed it. The burning
liquid hit her empty stomach hard then rumbled loudly. She dived into
the soup, enjoying the warmth that it brought to her body.
"I know you've been through a lot, but we need to know what happened?"
Kerry scowled at Robie. She didn't want to have to deal with him right
now, but understood the necessity behind it. "I'll tell you what
happened. Boyd called and said that I had to get to Fort Nelson. That
it was a life or death matter. Then the only flight I could find was
with some Irish guy that would make Romano look like a kitten. Not to
mention the two passengers that had red dove tattoos who started
shooting at me while we were still in the air."
"And you parachuted out," Robie finished softly. "Now are you sure that
it was of red doves?"
Kerry didn't bother answering him. If he didn't get it the first time
then that was his problem. She downed the last of the soup starting to
feel warm inside. The baggy sweat suit and thick socks taking care of
her outside. Peter took her bowl and quietly left the room.
She settled back, becoming aware of Kim sitting right next to her on
the bed. Feeling suddenly self-conscious and more than a little chilly,
she pulled the thick comforter tighter around her body.
"Damn. This smells of a conspiracy. The UAIA is sealed too tightly for
there to be just one or two breeches. The only way they could get away
with any of this was if..." Robie trailed off murmuring to himself.
The yawn took Kerry by surprise as her eyes became too heavy to keep
open. Her head rolled to the side, searching for a pillow, and came to
rest on something soft that smelled of baby powder and the mountains
after a heavy rain. She snuggled closer as two warm arms engulfed her,
holding her safe from the past few days.
John stared blankly as Kerry snuggled into Kim's arms. That didn't mean
anything, though. She'd just been through a tough ordeal, she was tired
and needed to feel safe. Kim was there, she was available, that was
all.
If he'd been the one sitting next to her, than it would have been him
she'd have kissed. Him that held her while she'd slept. He wanted her
to be happy and she would be happy... with him. She wasn't gay, she
wasn't bi, she wasn't even bi-curious.
He turned away from the sight before him and left the hotel room.
"Hey, you okay?"
John leaned against the beam between the catwalk and the roof, trying
to ignore that all-knowing look that Peter tended to get. "Fine."
Peter nodded thoughtfully. "I'll tell you, that was some kiss in
there. Going to be dreaming about that for a while. Two beautiful women
going at it like that. Firm and lean, with just enough curves to make a
man sweat. You know, even back when I first knew Kerry, she had the
kind of body that..."
"You're REALLY not helping, Peter," Carter broke in, irritably.
The older man grinned, glad to get a rise out of Carter. He had a
great affection for his former student, but it was so much easier to
express it by needling and aggravating the kid. "Had a different
effect on you, though, didn't it?"
John nodded helplessly. "I'm in love with her."
"Legaspi?"
"NO! With...!" John nearly choked on his exasperation before he
realized that Peter was kidding him. He just hoped his blush of
embarrassment would cover the heartbreak he was feeling inside.
Peter sighed. He'd suspected that the young man had a thing for Kerry,
but he'd always assumed it was just a crush. The way a pupil would feel
about a teacher. What made it worse was the fact that John believed
that Kerry felt the same way about him. "Carter..."
"I know what you're going to say." John smiled brightly at him. "I
already know that Kerry isn't into women. Kim doesn't stand a chance
with her. Tonight was just exhaustion mixed with shock. Once she gets
some rest, she'll let Kim down and then... Anyway, I should probably
try and get some sleep. Goodnight."
" 'Night, Carter." Peter shook his head. Sometimes Carter's naive
nature was a major drawback, and this time there would be consequences.
Part:4/?
Rating: R.
Pairing: KW, KL, JC, PB
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles
Spoilers: Season Seven
Disclaimer: They belong to TPTB, I'm just taking them out for a much needed work out.
Kerry let out a piercing scream as her body flew out into empty space.
The dark of night blocked the drop she knew was there from her eyes.
The bitter wind ripped at her screams as she plummeted down, faster and
faster. She struggled to control the overwhelming fear....
" ... During the sixties, the world's top governments created a secret
squad to battle terrorism. It was known as UAIA. United Anti-Terrorist
Intelligence Agency. It worked well enough at first, but sometime
during the late 70's, early 80's, they began to notice that several
major factions they were after seemed to know all their moves in
advance. It was finally speculated that someone had infiltrated their
top ranks, but they couldn't figure who it was, so they did the only
thing they could, they flushed out the agency and started from
scratch...Dr. Carter, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm - ULP! - fine..."
Robie paused as the helicopter lurched under a sudden gust of wind. He
hid the smile that was playing across his lips as young Carter went
from a light green to a forest green. The young man was dedicated to
Kerry, he had to give him that.
"After that they didn't have anymore trouble," he went on, as casually
as if they were idle conversation in a café, "except they still
couldn't penetrate the IRA. At first they thought it was simply that
the group was one step ahead of them."
"What happened?"
Robie glared playfully at Dr. Legaspi, his eyes falling to her legs for
just a moment. "Well, being the brilliant fellows they were, they posed
as weapons dealers. Needless to say it ended with three high-ranking
agents dead, and five others wounded."
"What does all this have to do with Kerry?" Kim couldn't help
interrupting. This guy had the personality of a cat eyeing up a large
juicy bird.
"One of the original agents, an ex-thief and French resistance member,
realized that the only way to fool the IRA was to fool the agency, so
he secretly recruited a young doctor who just happened to be dating an
IRA member."
"Kerry." Peter glared at Robie, his hand involuntarily crumpling the
coke can he'd been nursing.
"Of course, at the time she wasn't aware of Dr. Campbell's...hobbies.
At least not until the agent in question approached her. Naturally, she
had some reservations, but in the end she agreed to help."
Kim heard the low crunching of the can turn into a louder screech as
Robie continued to talk. She glanced over at the surgeon and saw that
he had ripped the can into three pieces. His dark eyes had murder in
them as he kept them locked on Robie.
"This...'agent' who recruited her," she said with the trace of a sneer.
"Anyone we know?"
Robie just smiled pleasantly.
The raging whirlpool engulfed her body, ripping at her body violently.
The churning depths slamming her carelessly against the jagged boulders
that seemed to appear from nowhere. Each breath felt like a thousand
knifes to her lungs. She tried to swim for shore, tried to grab
something, anything. Each movement was overwhelming and sluggish.
The roar of the river in her ears became a mere whisper against the
distant thunder. The crashing wave filled her vision with foaming white
and blues, then quickly retreated, letting her head come up for another
breath.
The thunder was closer now, the water speeding up and becoming more
violent. She felt the subtle change in the water and searched for the
source. Straight ahead she could see the water disappearing...
"...The agency confirmed everyone on the plane to be dead, yet only
three of five bodies were found. Kerry was not one of them. They also
neglected to report that two of the parachutes were missing."
"That doesn't make sense. Surely they know people will notice that sort
of thing." Kim knew from experience just how dumb the government could
be, but this was extreme, even for them.
"Yes, well, the plane just 'happened' to explode before any outside
people could come in."
"My, that was convenient," Kim said, her face and tone flat.
"Wasn't it, though?" Robie turned and kneeled behind the pilot checking
the small computer screen between the pilot and co-pilot's seat.
Kim glanced at her two companions from County General. They were
obviously as out of their depth here as she was, but neither one seemed
inclined to say so. Peter Benton had that graven-in-stone face he did
so well, saying he wasn't backing out of things no matter how tough
they became. Carter was trying to muster a similar look, but his mild
face wasn't really built for that particular expression. Besides, it's
hard to look tough while carefully closing the seal on a used
air-sickness bag.
She moved to the seat that Robie had abandoned and spoke quietly. "What
exactly are we doing? Assuming that Kerry is still alive, it's too dark
to try and find her."
Robie simply grinned as the red circle on the screen beeped twice, then
stopped moving.
The water felt like a dark grave sucking the last of her energy from
her body. The pressure of the waterfall pushed her further under. She
pushed with her legs trying to get to the surface. Her left leg not
responding to her commands.
The world around her began to fade as she lost the ability to fight.
Kim followed Robie to the shore. She could see a waterfall next to the
pool. Slowly, she traced it to its top. If she had to hazard a guess,
she'd say it had to stretch over thirty stories. 'I should keep this
in mind the next time I want to go rafting.'
"The signal's coming from over there."
Kim glared at Robie's back as he briskly walked toward a large boulder
next to the river. He refused to say why he knew she was alive or what
that signal was, and frankly, she was getting put out.
She fell into step automatically, aware of Peter and John acting as
their shadows. She was getting tired of Robie's games. Deciding to put
an end to all these questions and games. She walked around the
boulder...
"Oh God..."
She ended up working late again. Three hours... four... maybe it had
been five. All she knew was that it had seemed to drag on forever.
Gradually draining her until she was a zombie, to tired to even yell at
Randi.
At the same time she didn't want to go home. It was a large house and
since Carter had moved out it had seemed enormous to her. Enormous and
lonely. It wasn't from a lack of friends, she had plenty of those. More
like from a lack of a lover.
She wasn't one of those women who believed that she had to have a man
in her life to be happy, but it was always nice to have someone waiting
for you when you got home. The problem came in with her job. Long
hours, little benefits, and no time for anything else.
She dropped her suitcase next to the door, too tired to drag it into
her office. Throwing her coat and gloves in the general direction of
the closet, she quickly went up the stairs. Unbuttoning her blouse on
the way.
All she wanted was to strip down and climb underneath the heavy African
quilt her mother had made for her. She frowned slightly as she took in
the open bedroom door. She also made a habit of keeping it closed, but
she'd also been in a hurry when she'd left.
She entered the dark bedroom and propped her crutch next to the bed,
simultaneously stripping off her blouse and shoes. The light material
fell softly to the floor next to her discarded loafers.
She reached down and began to unbutton her pants. Her right hand
cramping slightly from all the writing she'd had to do. She let her
hands drop to her sides and sighed. It looked like they were staying on
tonight... this morning.
Warm arms encircled her waist from behind. A tall, lean body pressing
into her back. Slender graceful hands took up where her hands had
failed. "Let me..."
She knew that voice, a voice that shouldn't be there, it didn't belong
there. Not in her bedroom. Then why did it fill so soothing? So right?
She felt herself leaning back into the strong arms and moved away.
She turned to those icy blue eyes. They were so alive and passionate,
and right now questioning. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, making it
impossible to tell her friend to leave. Not that she really wanted to.
A gentle breeze slide across her chest causing her to remember that she
was topless. Her arms started to rise to cover her chest, but her
friend took hold of her wrists. Holding them down, pulling her into her
friend's chest.
She could feel the way their bodies seemed to mold together, could
smell the soft baby powder, could feel her friend's heartbeat. She
couldn't... she wasn't... she leaned forward, feeling the gentle brush
of their lips.
There was a groan of pleasure... Oh, those hands...
"Oh, Kerry..."
She reached out and entangled her hand into the thick curls of
blonde...
..... and brought Kim closer until they were all that there was. The kiss
becoming deeper, but without the bloodlust she was used to.
She took pleasure from the warmth of her lithe body pressing her into
the soft mattress. Her left hand began to go for Kim's waist, stopping
as the pain shot through her body.
Kim gently broke the kiss and sat back on the mattress. "I'm glad to
see you, too..."
Kerry blinked with embarrassment as she took in the three men in the
motel room. Peter simply shook his head with a little smirk, letting
her know he was greatly amused. Robie was next to him, clearing his
throat while giving them both an appreciative look. John was standing
away, holding a tray with soup and hot tea. He was slightly red and
the look in his eyes let her know he didn't like what he'd just seen.
Kerry tried to sit up, wincing as her muscles protested the action. Kim
leaned over, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and helping her up.
Kerry found her face inches from Kim's. She found her heart racing
faster as the blonde smiled at her.
Settling with her back against the headboard, she saw John glare at Kim
before moving to her side and planting the tray in front of her. "Here,
this should help get you warm."
Kerry careful raised a spoonful of broth and swallowed it. The burning
liquid hit her empty stomach hard then rumbled loudly. She dived into
the soup, enjoying the warmth that it brought to her body.
"I know you've been through a lot, but we need to know what happened?"
Kerry scowled at Robie. She didn't want to have to deal with him right
now, but understood the necessity behind it. "I'll tell you what
happened. Boyd called and said that I had to get to Fort Nelson. That
it was a life or death matter. Then the only flight I could find was
with some Irish guy that would make Romano look like a kitten. Not to
mention the two passengers that had red dove tattoos who started
shooting at me while we were still in the air."
"And you parachuted out," Robie finished softly. "Now are you sure that
it was of red doves?"
Kerry didn't bother answering him. If he didn't get it the first time
then that was his problem. She downed the last of the soup starting to
feel warm inside. The baggy sweat suit and thick socks taking care of
her outside. Peter took her bowl and quietly left the room.
She settled back, becoming aware of Kim sitting right next to her on
the bed. Feeling suddenly self-conscious and more than a little chilly,
she pulled the thick comforter tighter around her body.
"Damn. This smells of a conspiracy. The UAIA is sealed too tightly for
there to be just one or two breeches. The only way they could get away
with any of this was if..." Robie trailed off murmuring to himself.
The yawn took Kerry by surprise as her eyes became too heavy to keep
open. Her head rolled to the side, searching for a pillow, and came to
rest on something soft that smelled of baby powder and the mountains
after a heavy rain. She snuggled closer as two warm arms engulfed her,
holding her safe from the past few days.
John stared blankly as Kerry snuggled into Kim's arms. That didn't mean
anything, though. She'd just been through a tough ordeal, she was tired
and needed to feel safe. Kim was there, she was available, that was
all.
If he'd been the one sitting next to her, than it would have been him
she'd have kissed. Him that held her while she'd slept. He wanted her
to be happy and she would be happy... with him. She wasn't gay, she
wasn't bi, she wasn't even bi-curious.
He turned away from the sight before him and left the hotel room.
"Hey, you okay?"
John leaned against the beam between the catwalk and the roof, trying
to ignore that all-knowing look that Peter tended to get. "Fine."
Peter nodded thoughtfully. "I'll tell you, that was some kiss in
there. Going to be dreaming about that for a while. Two beautiful women
going at it like that. Firm and lean, with just enough curves to make a
man sweat. You know, even back when I first knew Kerry, she had the
kind of body that..."
"You're REALLY not helping, Peter," Carter broke in, irritably.
The older man grinned, glad to get a rise out of Carter. He had a
great affection for his former student, but it was so much easier to
express it by needling and aggravating the kid. "Had a different
effect on you, though, didn't it?"
John nodded helplessly. "I'm in love with her."
"Legaspi?"
"NO! With...!" John nearly choked on his exasperation before he
realized that Peter was kidding him. He just hoped his blush of
embarrassment would cover the heartbreak he was feeling inside.
Peter sighed. He'd suspected that the young man had a thing for Kerry,
but he'd always assumed it was just a crush. The way a pupil would feel
about a teacher. What made it worse was the fact that John believed
that Kerry felt the same way about him. "Carter..."
"I know what you're going to say." John smiled brightly at him. "I
already know that Kerry isn't into women. Kim doesn't stand a chance
with her. Tonight was just exhaustion mixed with shock. Once she gets
some rest, she'll let Kim down and then... Anyway, I should probably
try and get some sleep. Goodnight."
" 'Night, Carter." Peter shook his head. Sometimes Carter's naive
nature was a major drawback, and this time there would be consequences.