Disclaimer: see part 1

Chain of Command

Part 13

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By Random1377

"Commander on deck!"

Everyone stood at attention as the black-coated figure entered the room.

"Thank you, Major Kaji…" Rei said softly, "thank you all."

It had been four days since she had visited Sandelphon and three since Shinji had been released from the hospital.

Today was her first day back on duty.

"Are there any major updates?" she inquired, heading towards the command dais.

"Nothing earth-shattering," Misato said, falling in step at her side, "I assume you are already aware of Asuka's request for four days personal leave."

"Yes," Rei answered, frowning slightly, "and it has been approved… of course on the condition that she stays in Tokyo-3."

"That hardly seems fair, considering the circumstances," the purple-haired woman said quietly as Rei took her seat.

"She knows the protocol," the red-eyed girl said softly, "Unit 01 is damaged, though Doctor Ibuki tells me it will operate if necessary. Unit 13 is missing an arm… and Units 10 and 08 are gone – not to mention that Shinji will be out for four days… though I doubt he will want to go anywhere."

"I am… aware of all that," Misato said slowly, "but she did take over for you… even though-"

"As was her duty," Rei interjected calmly. "I am not without gratitude, Major…" she said slowly, "and considering the recent… events, I would be more than happy to allow her to go wherever she wants… but right now I cannot spare any pilots."

The Operations Director shrugged, "I doubt she'd want to go anywhere anyway… she just got back, after all. I just think it would be nice to give her the option."

"I agree," the blue-haired girl replied, "it would be very nice. It would be nicer still to not have any pilots at all… and no Evangelions… and no angels… but we do not always get what we want."

Misato grinned, "God I missed you," she said, shaking her head as she moved away from the command desk.

Rei eyed her retreating form for a moment before replying, "I missed you too, Misato."

Had the stairs leading to the dais been taller, the fall Misato took that afternoon at hearing the blue-haired girl use her first name might have proven very harmful – perhaps even deadly.

As it was, she merely tumbled down the short stairs, landing on her rear with a surprised yelp.

"You did that on purpose," she moaned as Shigeru and Makoto rushed to help her up… but her tone was pleased.

"I do not know what you are referring to," Rei replied calmly, never looking away from her desk.

Though anyone within five feet of her could have easily spotted the soft smile on her lips.

**

Asuka's crystalline blue eyes slowly rolled open.

"Mmmm…" she hummed, stretching languidly, "so nice to sleep in for a change…"

"It's better to sleep in with someone…"

Asuka smiled as Shinji's arms slipped around her waist and his lips pressed gently against her shoulder. "I can't argue with that," she said quietly, turning to face her fiancée and kissing him softly, "but the part before going to sleep is the best of all…"

"Why, Miss Souryu," he said, feigning shock, "your boldness amazes me."

"You're gonna have to call me Misses Ikari soon…" she whispered, closing her eyes and settling more fully into his embrace.

"Ok," he said, smiling foolishly.

They let silence descend as they both thought of the long, drawn-out conversation that had taken place when his bandages had been taken off.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore…"

Asuka had decided while unwrapping his bandages that she would have to break it off, in spite of the kind, unprompted things he had said when he couldn't see that she was in the room with him.

Seeing his storm-blue eyes had wavered her resolve, but she had pressed forward, feeling heartsick and incredibly unhappy… but thinking that this must be the only way.

"NO! I won't let this end because of a stupid mistake – I won't!!!"

His determination, and immediate response had given her pause. She had argued that she wasn't sure that she would be able to trust him anymore… even though she'd said she could let it go, she said she'd always be wondering if he was with someone else when he was away from her.

He had looked directly into her eyes and swore to her that that would never happen again, and begged her (literally, getting out of bed and kneeling painfully in front of her) to not give up on them.

She had been caught totally off guard as he had reached under his pillow and pulled out a ring box, offering it to her with his head bowed.

"Don't leave… don't give up on what we have just because I fucked up… please stay with me… please marry me…"

She had opened her mouth to say no… and had been quite shocked to find herself saying yes instead, dropping to her knees and embracing him carefully, weeping against his shoulder as she promised herself to him.

Of course, that was the moment the doctor had shown up to check on Shinji.

Asuka had been shooed from the room, and admonished not to return until it was time for his discharge, as the doctor wasn't going to have one of his patients kneeling on the floor before they were even supposed to be up and about.

Asuka had protested (as the man had shoved her out the door) that she was the Commander, damnit, and the patient in question's fiancée.

The doctor had smiled and commented dryly that he was sure that she, as Commander, had many duties to fulfill and that she, as his fiancée, would be there promptly at six to pick him up. He had then closed the door.

She decided that she didn't like that doctor very much.

"Who's going to be your best man?" Asuka asked quietly, bringing herself back to the present, "Touji? Kaworu? Kensuke? David? Wu Lin?" she smiled suddenly, looking up at him, "You know…" she mused, "I never stopped to think about how many friends you have, Shinji… you're really lucky…"

Shinji sighed. "Not as many as you think…" he said quietly, "David and Wu Lin are pretty much just drinking buddies…"

She frowned, but forced herself not to comment. –He said he'd cut back…- she reminded herself.

The hospital stay was good for that, she mused, but she was still worried about his release.

"Touji's pretty caught up with… with Hikari," he said, hesitant to speak the brown-haired girl's name. "And Kensuke and I aren't as close as we used to be…"

"So… Kaworu?" Asuka asked hesitantly.

She wondered if that would mean Angelica too… and if the self-proclaimed 'impulsive' girl would even still be dating him when the wedding came around.

A scowl crept over her features. It had taken much to allow herself to forgive Shinji… she wasn't sure if she would be able to forgive the Ninth so easily – if at all.

"Probably," Shinji said slowly, "I'll figure it out later…"

She sighed and slowly caressed his stomach with her fingertips. The night before had been the first time they'd been able to sleep together since he was released, as he had been in too much pain up until then.

It had been… different from the last few times. Slower… gentler… more intense. Since they no longer had any secrets between them, neither of them had anything to hold them back… and they had given themselves to one another completely for the first time since she had gone to Germany.

"Why did you leave?" Shinji asked suddenly, as thoughts of the previous night brought him to think of her departure, "What did Rei need you to do there?"

Asuka sighed. "It was a fool's errand…" she whispered, a touch bitterly, "though we didn't know it at the time."

She kissed his side and continued. "Word reached the intelligence branch that a scientist in the German division was on the verge of a breakthrough in the Dead-Sea scroll translation – something that would allow us to predict the angel's pattern and when the next would arrive."

"That sounds pretty important," Shinji observed.

"Doesn't it?" Asuka replied with a sigh. "Anyway… the scientist was told to give his findings only to me, and I was sent there to wait for him to complete the project, which he swore would be done in less than three months."

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "Obviously… he was optimistic… and I couldn't just leave, since he was always on the verge of completing it."

"What did he find?" Shinji inquired, "You came back, so he's done… right?"

She laughed, and this time there was no hiding the bitterness. "Yeah, he finished," she said sarcastically, "he completed his translation and analysis and handed them to me with this little, excited smile…I thought he might start dancing any minute…"

"What did it say?"

She closed her eyes and quoted, "'Based on the pattern of previous attacks and the translations of the scrolls, the next angel attack will be within the next three years, and all attacks will be complete within ten.'"

His jaw dropped open, "That's it?"

"Yup," she confirmed, "six months, two plane trips, several thousand dollars worth of takeout food… and one almost-shattered relationship later… that's it…"

Shinji sighed and gently pulled her into his arms. "Well," he reasoned, "we can't get the time back, the food was probably pretty good, and I'm sure you got to watch a movie on the plane…" he paused, kissing her deeply before finishing, "and we're still here…"

She closed her eyes, "God," she whispered, smiling gently, "it sounds like a bad movie…"

Slowly, he pulled her over until she was resting on top of him. "Hey," he said softly, "I like it so far. Except for a few rough spots, it seems like a good story…"

"Will it have a happy ending?" she asked quietly, gently pressing herself closer to him with a content sigh.

He smiled and caressed her cheek with his fingertips.

"Absolutely…"

**

"Sempai? Are these readings correct?"

Maya looked up from her terminal, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. "What?" she asked, shaking her head to clear it as she stood and walked to his station, "What was that, Wu Lin?"

The young pilot pointed to his screen, "These readings… they look off to me. Shouldn't the power output on Unit 01 be higher than that?"

"Oh," Maya said, understanding the boy's confusion, "no… 01 doesn't have an S^2 engine. It has an enhanced batterypack."

"Why is that?" the young man inquired, "I thought all Units had the S^2s…"

The brown-haired woman shook her head. "Unit 01 is different from the others… in several ways." She reached over his shoulder (not noticing him tense as her hand brushed his) and changed his readout. "Work on Units 03 through 13…" she said quietly, "I'll worry about 00, 01 and 02, alright?"

He was looking down at his hands, trying to hide his flushed cheeks as he replied. "I… ummm… ok, but can I ask about the S^2 at least? I mean, this enhancement is going to draw its power from that… if Unit 01 doesn't have one, it's not going to work right."

"Unit 01 won't get this enhancement," Maya said after a moments hesitation, "I doubt it would take it even if we tried to install it." –In fact,- she thought, -I can guarantee that it won't. It would reject it, just like it rejected the S^2 we tried to put in.- She shivered, -At least it didn't end up like Unit 04…-

The American-made Unit 04 had vanished in late 2015, for reasons unknown. It had taken the entire American Second Branch of NERV with it when it went, leaving nothing but a rather sizable crater and a multitude of questions that would never be answered.

"Sempai…" Wu Lin's hesitant voice brought her back to the present.

"Hmmm?" she hummed, turning her attention back to him.

"Can you tell me about… Doctor Akagi?" he asked, "I've been very interested in her work.

He sighed softly as the brown-haired woman began to talk animatedly about her deceased mentor… not truly listening to her.

It was true that he had a passing interest in the late Akagi's accomplishments. However, he was more interested in observing the way her student's lips moved when she talked… and the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled… and the way her breasts rose and fell as she took breath.

"Geez," Maya laughed suddenly, "I've been talking for ten minutes already, and we still have a lot to do. Sorry about that…"

"No," he assured her, a touch breathlessly, "it's fine… I liked listening."

She nodded, "Well, ok… but let's get back to work."

As she turned to head back to her desk, his eyes slowly slipped down to watch her backside as she moved.

So intent was he on this study, that he failed to notice the door open and close.

"You know," a voice whispered in his ear, "I would think you would be able to find more information on the EVAs in that computer terminal of yours than my wife's ass… of course, I could be wrong…"

"M-mister Ibuki," Wu Lin stammered, flushing deeply.

"Indeed," Shigeru replied with a wolfish smile, "and you know what that means? It means that Misses Ibuki would most likely not appreciate you ogling her derrière… much as I don't appreciate it."

"S-Sorry…" the younger man whispered, "it won't happen again…"

"Good plan," Shigeru replied.

The Chinese pilot let out a shaky breath as the technician went to greet his wife, mentally kicking himself for being so careless… but still stealing glimpses of the woman out of the corner of his eyes…

**

Rei sighed as she came into her office.

-How easy it is to forget how much there is to do…- she thought, laying a stack of papers on her desk and walking over to the window to look out at the Geofront.

She folded her arms, shivering slightly. "Why is this place so cold?" she wondered.

"It's because it's so big," a gentle voice whispered behind her, "makes it hard for the heat to fill the room properly."

Rei closed her eyes and leaned back as Kensuke's arms slipped around her waist. "I am warmer now…" she said quietly.

They had discussed much in the few days they had been dating… what else was there to do when she was lying in bed? They had learned many of one another's likes and dislikes, and had both agreed that their relationship should be kept quiet lest anyone should accuse her of favoritism or him of trying to sleep his way to the top.

"I'd like to take you out…" he said quietly, "on a real date…"

"Mmm…" she hummed, resting her hands over his, "that sounds very nice." She opened her eyes to regard their reflection in the window, "But I would prefer to wait for a moment… is that alright?"

"How come?" he asked curiously, "Not that I mind… I'm in no rush."

She favored him with one of her rare, honestly pleased smiles. "I am… enjoying the feel of being here… now…" she whispered, "with you holding me… it is very…" she searched for a word, finally settling on, "comfortable…"

He slowly turned to face her, meeting her eyes levelly as he replied, "I'll stay… or go… wherever you want, Rei…"

Slowly, she reached up, sliding her hand around the back of his head and pulling his lips closer to hers. "Will you do… what I want?" she asked, feeling her cheeks flush slightly as he drew closer.

"Anything…" he said plainly, kissing her briefly, "for you… you know that I would."

"There is something I want," she whispered against his lips, "but I am… afraid to ask."

"Why?" he asked, wondering what could be so bad that she would be so reluctant to tell him.

"I am afraid that you will… think less of me," she confessed.

"I never would," he replied, now feeling genuinely curious.

She bit her lip pensively for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth the risk.

Finally, she nodded, turning his head to whisper her request into his ear.

His eyes widened… and he understood her hesitance.

"Yes, Rei…" he said soothingly, "of course…"

She sighed, leaning up against him as he embraced her, caressing her back gently.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Reaching past him, she pressed a button on her desk… her blush deepening as the door locked itself, and the lights slowly grew dimmer.

"Thank you…"

Continued…

Author's notes: before anyone asks – yes, they did. :P Ok, that's a healthy chunk of WAFF, methinks… now to get some action injected into our little tale – you know those angels don't sleep :P

It's hard to think up different ways to thank Ryoma for pre-reading… so I'll keep it simple this time. Thanks man. ^_^

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com