SALVATION
Chapter 4 ("Broken Wings")
By Slayne
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"And I wonder, when I sing along with you,
If everything could ever feel this real forever?
If anything could ever be this good again?
The only thing I'll ever ask of you...
You've gotta promise not to stop when I say when..."
--Everlong... by The Foo Fighters
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He returned to cooking dinner, and soon they were sitting at the table. He set a plate in front of her that strongly resembled an MRE, and she glanced doubtfully up at him. He smirked as he pulled a T-shirt on and sat down.
"What?" He asked.
"Is this what you eat all the time?" She poked at a chunk of squirrel meat with her fork.
"Nah, but you can only hunt deer certain times of the year, and I never did like fish much."
"You have heard of things called 'supermarkets' haven't you? Wonderful places they are, full of fresh food and frozen pizzas!"
He took a big bite of the concoction and shook his head. "I see your smart- ass attitude hasn't changed with time."
"You expected it to?" She asked, carefully picking a noodle from the mess on the plate.
"Ahh... I thought maybe some hard-ass General would beat it out of you. Hawk always was too soft on you women."
She rolled her eyes, flashing him a smile. He simply leaned back in his chair and studied her.
She hated that his piercing 'drill sergeant's gaze' that he used on rookies still got to her as well. She tasted the noodle on her fork and shrugged. Not bad.
"Did Hawk realize he was supposed to be soft on us women? Because I distinctly remember the sound of his furious rants. I actually still jump and snap-to sometimes when I hear someone barking an order like he did." She stabbed a piece of the squirrel meat and held it up to her eyes, studying it suspiciously.
"Who barks orders like Hawk did? Some French poofball waiter in all those fancy restaurants you go to in Europe?"
She shot him the same long-suffering glance that used to be commonplace between them so long ago. "I still meet plenty of military types even though I went inactive."
He absorbed that with a frown and then leaned down over his dinner, glaring sternly at her. "And... Why would that be, Courtney? What do you really do in Europe?"
She stilled and glanced up at him. Her life had been quite the boring but busy ordeal since she'd left G.I. Joe... but there were occasions...
"I do exactly what I told you I do... but sometimes... I also do, ummm... favors for the U.S. government as well."
"Favors?"
"Nothing too drastic. I just... pass messages on and things like that...."
"'Things like that can get you killed... or put somewhere you don't want to be."
"Wayne..." She gave him 'the look'.
"Forget it... it's your life." He stated, picking up his fork and taking a big bite of the squirrel. She watched him chew for a while before sliding her own fork in her mouth and finally tasting the squirrel. She chewed hungrily at first, the sauce covering the somewhat gamey taste of the meat... but then it hit and she stopped in mid-chew, making a soft noise. Wayne looked up at her.
"What's the matter?"
"Mmmph..." She opened her jaw behind closed lips, trying to keep the squirrel from touching her taste buds. She grimaced. Wayne cocked an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth jerked upwards.
"You don't look well..." he commented.
She tried to shoot him a dirty look and forced herself to swallow the mouthful of food. "It's not bad."
"Right." He agreed, smiling as he took another bite. She began carefully picking the noodles out from around the chunks of meat.
"So... " He continued as he glanced across the table at her. "You work for Duke then?"
That surprised her. She frowned and looked right at him. "No. Not at all. I've only seen Duke once in the past seven years, and that was a few months ago when he contacted me about possibly coming back to Joe in the future."
"Mm... So Duke's the one who contacted you?"
She shrugged. "Yeah... he was in Spain the same time I was, and we had dinner. Got drunk and hashed over some old times... " She smiled, remembering that night.
"Figures. You always would walk across fire for that guy."
Her eyes shifted back to him. "Rejoining Joe is hardly walking across fire for anyone. It's what I want to do. What I've always wanted to do."
Their eyes held over the table, and Wayne finally set his fork down and looked away, leaning back in his chair.
"So... no wife or girlfriend?" She asked as she glanced around trying to look casual.
He looked at her as if she were nuts. "You thought I somehow became more appealing to the opposite sex when I moved out here and started eating squirrel for dinner every night?"
"Well... I thought maybe you'd met someone before that..."
He breathed deeply and used that piercing gaze on her again. "The last date I had was just before I quit... and the girl ended up crying over dinner when she insisted on talking politics with me, and I pointed out several gaps in her arguments."
Courtney stared at him a moment, the picture sinking in, and then her lips twitched as she tried to hold in a smile.
"Oh yeah," he said dryly. "It was real funny alright. People were trying to comfort her about our 'break up', and she had to tell them it was our first date."
Courtney couldn't hold it in any longer and a laugh burst out of her. "That poor girl! She obviously had no idea what she was getting into with you!" He just shook his head, and she suddenly sobered a bit, feeling a dull ache suddenly streak through her gut as a new thought occurred.
"I'm sorry, Wayne... did you... really like her?" It was difficult to get the words out and she tried to avoid wondering why.
"Nah. I was only doing a friend a favor...If I had really liked her, I probably wouldn't have ranted at her until the second date."
Courtney grinned at him, relaxing in relief. "Well... you could always run the mile down to that little road and kidnap yourself a jogger!"
He stood to pick up their plates and gave her a placating look. "Yeah, that's it... start up with the redneck jokes again. I thought you came up here to be civil to me?" He picked up her plate and gave it a meaningful glance, seeing all the leftover squirrel. "This ain't a restaurant... you don't get a doggy bag."
"Thank god." She muttered. He walked the dishes into the kitchen and called back to her as she stood.
"Thought you would have married a prince by now."
She laughed and shook her head. "Princes are lost on me... I spent too many years around the crabby knights."
"Oh, very funny."
She looked wistfully at the bottle of Jack but left it where it was and walked into the kitchen. She didn't need another drink when she had to drive later. She watched as he put the dishes in the sink then followed him as he moved outside onto the porch. The evening was growing cooler still, and the sky was cloudy, the dark bank of clouds in the distance much closer now.
"It's going to storm." He said, glancing out at the sky.
Courtney didn't reply, closing her eyes as she breathed in the cool air. She could smell pine and prairie grass and the hint of far-off rain. It was much nicer than jet fuel and taxi exhaust and old hotel rooms. She luxuriated in it for a long while before opening her eyes to find him watching her. She glanced around the property.
"What do you actually do out here?"
"What do you mean? It's my home. I hunt and cut wood... and think"
"Think? Please don't tell me you chant and meditate in the forest."
He hesitated but glared. "I didn't move out here to chase butterflies and sit on my ass all day!"
Courtney had to laugh at that. He frowned at her, and she laughed harder, leaning back against the porch railing. "Oh god...now that's a funny image! I'm imagining you out in a meadow chasing butterflies with a big net!"
"Well stop it!" He growled.
She stifled the laugh, but grinned broadly at him. He looked irritated and glanced back out at the sky. They were quiet for a while, listening to the birds and the slight sounds of distant thunder.
"I did think you'd be married by now... maybe have kids." He said seriously without looking at her. She chewed her bottom lip for a moment, thinking about that.
"I almost was." She finally answered. That brought his head around like a shot, and he stared at her.
"You were engaged?"
"I was... engaged to be engaged, I guess."
"Who?" He demanded. When she gave him a vexed glance, he re-phrased the question. "I mean... it wasn't anyone from G.I. Joe was it?"
"No. It was a British officer I met in France. We were better friends than lovers though. It didn't last long."
"Officer." He muttered with venom, and she smiled faintly.
"Like I said... the princes are lost on me. I've spent too much time in the field with the jaded knights."
He didn't say anything this time to the comment. He just glanced thoughtfully at her and then out at the darkening skies of the evening.
"Flint said he came out here to offer you a spot on the new team." She stated. He fidgeted a little and kept his eyes carefully on the sky.
"Yeah... they wanted me to train the newbies and get the old school in shape again."
"He said Hawk offered you the Command Sergeant Major position." She watched him carefully. He swallowed hard and said nothing. The breeze picked up, bringing the scent of rain in stronger and he folded his arms over his chest. She sighed.
"I know that's something you've always wanted, Wayne. Why would you refuse that?"
"I have my reasons."
"Flint said he offered you a return to full E-8 without any loss of benefits. You'd pick up right where you left off. No loss of pension, no penalties..."
"Well, Flint's been damn busy telling other people my business, hasn't he?" Wayne turned to give her a warning glare.
"He's concerned about you."
"He has no reason to be."
"Bullshit."
"What?" He looked at her incredulously and she stood up, facing him.
"I said... bullshit!"
"Explain yourself!" He demanded, and the military-like precision of the command wasn't lost on her.
" I realize you had some... trouble on a mission. I know it was difficult, a helicopter went down and men died. But you quit, Wayne! You let it drive you out of the one place you loved and called home!"
"You don't understand!" He growled at her.
"No... I don't! Please explain it to me, because all I see is that you've finally got what you've always wanted within reach and you're fucking it all up!"
"It was fucked two years ago when those men died!" He suddenly shouted at her, his body tense and his eyes trying to stare daggers into hers.
"So you ran away and hid out here?"
"I don't run away from anything!"
"Well... so again we're back to 'bullshit'!" She glared right back at him.
He swore and took a menacing step towards her. She stood still and held his stare. They simply glared at each other for a long, long moment while the thunder grew louder in the distance. Finally, Wayne relaxed and shook his head.
"Nobody's ever been able to draw anger out of me like you can." He said through clenched teeth. Then he grimaced a bit. "Well... you and Wreck."
"What happened on that mission, Beach?" She asked.
He ignored her. "Did Hawk send you here?"
"No. Are you going to tell me what happened and why you're living out here rather than doing the one thing that meant anything in your life?"
"No."
They stared at each other again. This time there was something... raw... behind his gaze; a torrent of base emotions that she suddenly felt nervous about. When the silence stretched on, and a few fat drops of rain began hitting the porch roof, Courtney sighed.
"Then I guess there's nothing left for us to talk about."
He said nothing, and she turned and walked back inside. She walked into the living room and grabbed her jacket from the armchair where she had thrown it when she'd come in. She stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on the green balaclava lying on a small bookcase next to the chair. She hadn't seen it earlier. She reached out and picked it up. It was definitely one he'd used in Joe. She'd spent enough time staring at it, she should know. That dull ache started in her gut again, and she realized how much she'd missed him all these years: bickering and all. She'd spent so many months wondering how he was and where he was. When she'd finally found out, she'd spent more long months agonizing over whether to come and find him or not. Now she was here... and in a few minutes she'd be gone again.
The screen door slammed, and she quickly put the balaclava back on the shelf and stood straight. He walked slowly into the doorway.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. I have work in a few days... and Duke said to be ready for a call at any time."
"It's storming out. You aren't going anywhere."
She raised her brows at him. "Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere? The best driver in G.I. Joe can't drive in a little rain?"
He held his hands up placatingly. "Best driver or not... the roads on this mountain are wicked when it rains. It's been raining for days, and it's storming hard up the mountain. That means the roads down here are going to be flooded long before the storm starts to get nasty here."
She felt the old annoyance bite her at his words. She was upset that he wouldn't explain anything to her, and even more upset that he wouldn't come back to the team. She brushed by him.
"I'm sure I'll be fine. The Dakota can handle anything."
"Courtney..." He grabbed her arm, and she glared at him. He loosened his fingers a bit, but didn't let her go. "I'm serious... the road is probably already flooded, and it's too dangerous to cross."
She jerked her arm from his grasp. "Well, you certainly knew that was going to happen earlier, didn't you? You're the one who said it was going to storm! Why didn't you say something then?"
He looked a bit taken aback. "I..."
"Oh!" She felt her temper flaring, and felt almost helpless to stop it. "I get it! You thought maybe if you got me here for the night, you'd get a repeat of the vault? Is that it?"
"What?" He was beginning to look angry again too.
"Well, forget it! Rain or not... I've driven the worst vehicles in the worst weather! I can handle a little country road!" She began stalking towards the door. He followed calmly.
"I'm telling you, Courtney... it's not passable in a storm."
"Ummm... let's see... have you heard the word 'bullshit' tonight?"
They walked out onto the porch. The rain was coming down heavier now, and a clap of thunder rolled almost directly overhead.
"Have it your way... but I'm going to end up hauling that nice new truck out of the side of the mountain if you try it."
She snorted and glanced back at him. "Goodbye Wayne."
He said nothing. He just stood on the step, under the roof, and watched her go. She walked through the rain, and slid into the Dakota, slamming the door shut behind her. She started it up immediately and then hesitated. The rain thrummed down on the hood and the roof, and the rivulets of water ran down the windshield, blurring her view of the house and the dark shape that still stood on the porch. For a moment, she felt a nearly irresistible desire to stay. She hadn't gotten her fill yet. She hadn't looked at him enough, hadn't been able to say what she wanted to say. Then she saw the way he had his arms folded over his chest as he watched her, and she glared. She threw the truck into reverse and backed off the gravel driveway.
He didn't move from the porch, and she watched him in the rearview mirror when she drove away. She sighed and concentrated on her driving. The ruts were muddier than they had been, of course, and now had standing water in them. The branches on either side of her, weighted down with water, scraped all along the sides of the truck. The rain pelted the roof, and mud from the tires splashed all the way up onto the windshield. The tires spun and often failed to find traction even in four-wheel drive. As she came out to the fork at the top of the hill, she was beginning to seriously believe Wayne's words about the road. A few more feet down the road, all doubt was swept from her mind as she slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop in front of a raging river of floodwater. The little trickle of water she had driven through on the way up was now a broad and wild torrent. She stared at it in amazement through the windshield wipers.
"Holy shit..."
For a brief moment she thought about trying it anyway... but the mechanic in her nixed that idea right away. The Dakota wasn't THAT modified. Once the water entered the tailpipe of the truck... or got into the engine compartment, it would stall... and then it'd flow right down the mountain, with or without her in it. She knew she had to turn back. The fact that she felt strangely happy about that disturbed her.
When she drove back up onto the gravel slab in front of the house, he was still there. She turned the engine off and sat there for a moment, staring at him through the rain covered glass. The longer she waited, the worse it would be, she knew. Still... she hesitated a bit longer.
He stared at her from the steps of the porch for a few minutes longer and then stepped casually into the rain and walked towards the truck.
"Ahhh shit... " She swore softly, suddenly wanting to give that raging floodwater another try rather than face him. She watched him walk up to the truck. He reached out and opened the door. She stared straight ahead, hearing the amusement in his voice as he spoke.
"Are you, uh... staying out here all night?"
She reached back and grabbed her overnight bag then turned abruptly and slid out of the truck, brushing by him.
"Shut up." She muttered, stalking back towards the house. She could hear him chuckling as he closed the truck door and followed her.
To be continued......
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Chapter 4 ("Broken Wings")
By Slayne
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"And I wonder, when I sing along with you,
If everything could ever feel this real forever?
If anything could ever be this good again?
The only thing I'll ever ask of you...
You've gotta promise not to stop when I say when..."
--Everlong... by The Foo Fighters
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He returned to cooking dinner, and soon they were sitting at the table. He set a plate in front of her that strongly resembled an MRE, and she glanced doubtfully up at him. He smirked as he pulled a T-shirt on and sat down.
"What?" He asked.
"Is this what you eat all the time?" She poked at a chunk of squirrel meat with her fork.
"Nah, but you can only hunt deer certain times of the year, and I never did like fish much."
"You have heard of things called 'supermarkets' haven't you? Wonderful places they are, full of fresh food and frozen pizzas!"
He took a big bite of the concoction and shook his head. "I see your smart- ass attitude hasn't changed with time."
"You expected it to?" She asked, carefully picking a noodle from the mess on the plate.
"Ahh... I thought maybe some hard-ass General would beat it out of you. Hawk always was too soft on you women."
She rolled her eyes, flashing him a smile. He simply leaned back in his chair and studied her.
She hated that his piercing 'drill sergeant's gaze' that he used on rookies still got to her as well. She tasted the noodle on her fork and shrugged. Not bad.
"Did Hawk realize he was supposed to be soft on us women? Because I distinctly remember the sound of his furious rants. I actually still jump and snap-to sometimes when I hear someone barking an order like he did." She stabbed a piece of the squirrel meat and held it up to her eyes, studying it suspiciously.
"Who barks orders like Hawk did? Some French poofball waiter in all those fancy restaurants you go to in Europe?"
She shot him the same long-suffering glance that used to be commonplace between them so long ago. "I still meet plenty of military types even though I went inactive."
He absorbed that with a frown and then leaned down over his dinner, glaring sternly at her. "And... Why would that be, Courtney? What do you really do in Europe?"
She stilled and glanced up at him. Her life had been quite the boring but busy ordeal since she'd left G.I. Joe... but there were occasions...
"I do exactly what I told you I do... but sometimes... I also do, ummm... favors for the U.S. government as well."
"Favors?"
"Nothing too drastic. I just... pass messages on and things like that...."
"'Things like that can get you killed... or put somewhere you don't want to be."
"Wayne..." She gave him 'the look'.
"Forget it... it's your life." He stated, picking up his fork and taking a big bite of the squirrel. She watched him chew for a while before sliding her own fork in her mouth and finally tasting the squirrel. She chewed hungrily at first, the sauce covering the somewhat gamey taste of the meat... but then it hit and she stopped in mid-chew, making a soft noise. Wayne looked up at her.
"What's the matter?"
"Mmmph..." She opened her jaw behind closed lips, trying to keep the squirrel from touching her taste buds. She grimaced. Wayne cocked an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth jerked upwards.
"You don't look well..." he commented.
She tried to shoot him a dirty look and forced herself to swallow the mouthful of food. "It's not bad."
"Right." He agreed, smiling as he took another bite. She began carefully picking the noodles out from around the chunks of meat.
"So... " He continued as he glanced across the table at her. "You work for Duke then?"
That surprised her. She frowned and looked right at him. "No. Not at all. I've only seen Duke once in the past seven years, and that was a few months ago when he contacted me about possibly coming back to Joe in the future."
"Mm... So Duke's the one who contacted you?"
She shrugged. "Yeah... he was in Spain the same time I was, and we had dinner. Got drunk and hashed over some old times... " She smiled, remembering that night.
"Figures. You always would walk across fire for that guy."
Her eyes shifted back to him. "Rejoining Joe is hardly walking across fire for anyone. It's what I want to do. What I've always wanted to do."
Their eyes held over the table, and Wayne finally set his fork down and looked away, leaning back in his chair.
"So... no wife or girlfriend?" She asked as she glanced around trying to look casual.
He looked at her as if she were nuts. "You thought I somehow became more appealing to the opposite sex when I moved out here and started eating squirrel for dinner every night?"
"Well... I thought maybe you'd met someone before that..."
He breathed deeply and used that piercing gaze on her again. "The last date I had was just before I quit... and the girl ended up crying over dinner when she insisted on talking politics with me, and I pointed out several gaps in her arguments."
Courtney stared at him a moment, the picture sinking in, and then her lips twitched as she tried to hold in a smile.
"Oh yeah," he said dryly. "It was real funny alright. People were trying to comfort her about our 'break up', and she had to tell them it was our first date."
Courtney couldn't hold it in any longer and a laugh burst out of her. "That poor girl! She obviously had no idea what she was getting into with you!" He just shook his head, and she suddenly sobered a bit, feeling a dull ache suddenly streak through her gut as a new thought occurred.
"I'm sorry, Wayne... did you... really like her?" It was difficult to get the words out and she tried to avoid wondering why.
"Nah. I was only doing a friend a favor...If I had really liked her, I probably wouldn't have ranted at her until the second date."
Courtney grinned at him, relaxing in relief. "Well... you could always run the mile down to that little road and kidnap yourself a jogger!"
He stood to pick up their plates and gave her a placating look. "Yeah, that's it... start up with the redneck jokes again. I thought you came up here to be civil to me?" He picked up her plate and gave it a meaningful glance, seeing all the leftover squirrel. "This ain't a restaurant... you don't get a doggy bag."
"Thank god." She muttered. He walked the dishes into the kitchen and called back to her as she stood.
"Thought you would have married a prince by now."
She laughed and shook her head. "Princes are lost on me... I spent too many years around the crabby knights."
"Oh, very funny."
She looked wistfully at the bottle of Jack but left it where it was and walked into the kitchen. She didn't need another drink when she had to drive later. She watched as he put the dishes in the sink then followed him as he moved outside onto the porch. The evening was growing cooler still, and the sky was cloudy, the dark bank of clouds in the distance much closer now.
"It's going to storm." He said, glancing out at the sky.
Courtney didn't reply, closing her eyes as she breathed in the cool air. She could smell pine and prairie grass and the hint of far-off rain. It was much nicer than jet fuel and taxi exhaust and old hotel rooms. She luxuriated in it for a long while before opening her eyes to find him watching her. She glanced around the property.
"What do you actually do out here?"
"What do you mean? It's my home. I hunt and cut wood... and think"
"Think? Please don't tell me you chant and meditate in the forest."
He hesitated but glared. "I didn't move out here to chase butterflies and sit on my ass all day!"
Courtney had to laugh at that. He frowned at her, and she laughed harder, leaning back against the porch railing. "Oh god...now that's a funny image! I'm imagining you out in a meadow chasing butterflies with a big net!"
"Well stop it!" He growled.
She stifled the laugh, but grinned broadly at him. He looked irritated and glanced back out at the sky. They were quiet for a while, listening to the birds and the slight sounds of distant thunder.
"I did think you'd be married by now... maybe have kids." He said seriously without looking at her. She chewed her bottom lip for a moment, thinking about that.
"I almost was." She finally answered. That brought his head around like a shot, and he stared at her.
"You were engaged?"
"I was... engaged to be engaged, I guess."
"Who?" He demanded. When she gave him a vexed glance, he re-phrased the question. "I mean... it wasn't anyone from G.I. Joe was it?"
"No. It was a British officer I met in France. We were better friends than lovers though. It didn't last long."
"Officer." He muttered with venom, and she smiled faintly.
"Like I said... the princes are lost on me. I've spent too much time in the field with the jaded knights."
He didn't say anything this time to the comment. He just glanced thoughtfully at her and then out at the darkening skies of the evening.
"Flint said he came out here to offer you a spot on the new team." She stated. He fidgeted a little and kept his eyes carefully on the sky.
"Yeah... they wanted me to train the newbies and get the old school in shape again."
"He said Hawk offered you the Command Sergeant Major position." She watched him carefully. He swallowed hard and said nothing. The breeze picked up, bringing the scent of rain in stronger and he folded his arms over his chest. She sighed.
"I know that's something you've always wanted, Wayne. Why would you refuse that?"
"I have my reasons."
"Flint said he offered you a return to full E-8 without any loss of benefits. You'd pick up right where you left off. No loss of pension, no penalties..."
"Well, Flint's been damn busy telling other people my business, hasn't he?" Wayne turned to give her a warning glare.
"He's concerned about you."
"He has no reason to be."
"Bullshit."
"What?" He looked at her incredulously and she stood up, facing him.
"I said... bullshit!"
"Explain yourself!" He demanded, and the military-like precision of the command wasn't lost on her.
" I realize you had some... trouble on a mission. I know it was difficult, a helicopter went down and men died. But you quit, Wayne! You let it drive you out of the one place you loved and called home!"
"You don't understand!" He growled at her.
"No... I don't! Please explain it to me, because all I see is that you've finally got what you've always wanted within reach and you're fucking it all up!"
"It was fucked two years ago when those men died!" He suddenly shouted at her, his body tense and his eyes trying to stare daggers into hers.
"So you ran away and hid out here?"
"I don't run away from anything!"
"Well... so again we're back to 'bullshit'!" She glared right back at him.
He swore and took a menacing step towards her. She stood still and held his stare. They simply glared at each other for a long, long moment while the thunder grew louder in the distance. Finally, Wayne relaxed and shook his head.
"Nobody's ever been able to draw anger out of me like you can." He said through clenched teeth. Then he grimaced a bit. "Well... you and Wreck."
"What happened on that mission, Beach?" She asked.
He ignored her. "Did Hawk send you here?"
"No. Are you going to tell me what happened and why you're living out here rather than doing the one thing that meant anything in your life?"
"No."
They stared at each other again. This time there was something... raw... behind his gaze; a torrent of base emotions that she suddenly felt nervous about. When the silence stretched on, and a few fat drops of rain began hitting the porch roof, Courtney sighed.
"Then I guess there's nothing left for us to talk about."
He said nothing, and she turned and walked back inside. She walked into the living room and grabbed her jacket from the armchair where she had thrown it when she'd come in. She stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on the green balaclava lying on a small bookcase next to the chair. She hadn't seen it earlier. She reached out and picked it up. It was definitely one he'd used in Joe. She'd spent enough time staring at it, she should know. That dull ache started in her gut again, and she realized how much she'd missed him all these years: bickering and all. She'd spent so many months wondering how he was and where he was. When she'd finally found out, she'd spent more long months agonizing over whether to come and find him or not. Now she was here... and in a few minutes she'd be gone again.
The screen door slammed, and she quickly put the balaclava back on the shelf and stood straight. He walked slowly into the doorway.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. I have work in a few days... and Duke said to be ready for a call at any time."
"It's storming out. You aren't going anywhere."
She raised her brows at him. "Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere? The best driver in G.I. Joe can't drive in a little rain?"
He held his hands up placatingly. "Best driver or not... the roads on this mountain are wicked when it rains. It's been raining for days, and it's storming hard up the mountain. That means the roads down here are going to be flooded long before the storm starts to get nasty here."
She felt the old annoyance bite her at his words. She was upset that he wouldn't explain anything to her, and even more upset that he wouldn't come back to the team. She brushed by him.
"I'm sure I'll be fine. The Dakota can handle anything."
"Courtney..." He grabbed her arm, and she glared at him. He loosened his fingers a bit, but didn't let her go. "I'm serious... the road is probably already flooded, and it's too dangerous to cross."
She jerked her arm from his grasp. "Well, you certainly knew that was going to happen earlier, didn't you? You're the one who said it was going to storm! Why didn't you say something then?"
He looked a bit taken aback. "I..."
"Oh!" She felt her temper flaring, and felt almost helpless to stop it. "I get it! You thought maybe if you got me here for the night, you'd get a repeat of the vault? Is that it?"
"What?" He was beginning to look angry again too.
"Well, forget it! Rain or not... I've driven the worst vehicles in the worst weather! I can handle a little country road!" She began stalking towards the door. He followed calmly.
"I'm telling you, Courtney... it's not passable in a storm."
"Ummm... let's see... have you heard the word 'bullshit' tonight?"
They walked out onto the porch. The rain was coming down heavier now, and a clap of thunder rolled almost directly overhead.
"Have it your way... but I'm going to end up hauling that nice new truck out of the side of the mountain if you try it."
She snorted and glanced back at him. "Goodbye Wayne."
He said nothing. He just stood on the step, under the roof, and watched her go. She walked through the rain, and slid into the Dakota, slamming the door shut behind her. She started it up immediately and then hesitated. The rain thrummed down on the hood and the roof, and the rivulets of water ran down the windshield, blurring her view of the house and the dark shape that still stood on the porch. For a moment, she felt a nearly irresistible desire to stay. She hadn't gotten her fill yet. She hadn't looked at him enough, hadn't been able to say what she wanted to say. Then she saw the way he had his arms folded over his chest as he watched her, and she glared. She threw the truck into reverse and backed off the gravel driveway.
He didn't move from the porch, and she watched him in the rearview mirror when she drove away. She sighed and concentrated on her driving. The ruts were muddier than they had been, of course, and now had standing water in them. The branches on either side of her, weighted down with water, scraped all along the sides of the truck. The rain pelted the roof, and mud from the tires splashed all the way up onto the windshield. The tires spun and often failed to find traction even in four-wheel drive. As she came out to the fork at the top of the hill, she was beginning to seriously believe Wayne's words about the road. A few more feet down the road, all doubt was swept from her mind as she slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop in front of a raging river of floodwater. The little trickle of water she had driven through on the way up was now a broad and wild torrent. She stared at it in amazement through the windshield wipers.
"Holy shit..."
For a brief moment she thought about trying it anyway... but the mechanic in her nixed that idea right away. The Dakota wasn't THAT modified. Once the water entered the tailpipe of the truck... or got into the engine compartment, it would stall... and then it'd flow right down the mountain, with or without her in it. She knew she had to turn back. The fact that she felt strangely happy about that disturbed her.
When she drove back up onto the gravel slab in front of the house, he was still there. She turned the engine off and sat there for a moment, staring at him through the rain covered glass. The longer she waited, the worse it would be, she knew. Still... she hesitated a bit longer.
He stared at her from the steps of the porch for a few minutes longer and then stepped casually into the rain and walked towards the truck.
"Ahhh shit... " She swore softly, suddenly wanting to give that raging floodwater another try rather than face him. She watched him walk up to the truck. He reached out and opened the door. She stared straight ahead, hearing the amusement in his voice as he spoke.
"Are you, uh... staying out here all night?"
She reached back and grabbed her overnight bag then turned abruptly and slid out of the truck, brushing by him.
"Shut up." She muttered, stalking back towards the house. She could hear him chuckling as he closed the truck door and followed her.
To be continued......
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