Heather collapsed in her bed, utterly exhausted. If she was having a hard
time keeping up with Agent Chambers, she could just imagine how the others
were doing. Her three training companions were looking like death warmed
over by the time they were released to go back to their rooms. Heather was
tired, but she wasn't going to back down. Not when they were already
halfway home. Three more weeks and they would be full-fledged members of
HRT. That was the goal. And they were all helping each other get to it.
It wasn't easy at first. There were two rooms at Quantico assigned to the trainees, and the guys were going to have to squish into one so she could have the other. Heather had taken a deep breath, and then made her decision to be just one of the guys right then and there. She gave the other agents a confused look, and said she didn't mind a male roommate. Hell, she had two brothers, it wasn't like they were going to be able to shock her with anything they could say or do. Since they were all adults, it really didn't matter. They weren't going to be leaping into bed together or anything of that nature. After the first day, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. By the time they made it back to their rooms, they were all collapsing in exhaustion.
After the second week, the four of them were already forming a tight bond. Heather wasn't slowing them down, so they just accepted her as a member of the team. They were all struggling through, but each one was helping the other, and not dismissing her as just a girl. They had ignored her at first. HRT was the last remaining boys-only club, and it was a slight affront to them that she got in. She wondered if Ethan had said anything, but decided that the only way to dispel rumors was to show that they were unsubstantiated. She had kept up with them in the physical training easily, and not quite as easily with all of the other tactical training. Agent Greer was the best at that by far, but she was able to help him in hand-to-hand combat when he was struggling. They were forming a team.
Brewster dragged himself into their room and fell onto his bed. "My ex- wife was kinder than him," he moaned.
"I'd swear I was going to kill him in his sleep tonight, but I myself died in that last hour," she groaned in reply. She would kill for a professional masseuse right then. Hell, even Ethan would do. He gave great back rubs, she had to grant him that much. Unfortunately his hands were connected to the rest of him, and she didn't have much use for any of that anymore.
Brewster probably would have replied, but he was already asleep. He was the weakest of them physically, but the strongest intellectually. He had been the one that tied with Heather for top honors on the written test. He was helping the others a lot to study all of the procedure lists and protocols. They had to have them memorized, because out of nowhere, Chambers could come in, announce that there was a hostage situation, and they better go right by the book and deal with it. He had done it the eighth night they had been in training, and even if it was a simulation, the other agents hadn't gone easy on them. Heather was eternally grateful she could get by on a couple of hours of sleep at night.
The only thing that she could figure was that Chambers was making up for letting them have last weekend off. He was trying to make up for the pain and cruelty he had missed inflicting on them for two whole days. Thursday afternoon, they were doing some simulations with other HRT members, and someone had come rushing in and taken Chambers off to the side. Heather wasn't able to hear much since right then her unit went in to apprehend the "suspects", but she heard something about his daughter and a fall. Whatever it was, Chambers had run out of there in one hell of a hurry. Another agent had been there Friday directing them, and then announced that they would have the weekend off. The trainees were a little shocked, but nobody wanted to complain.
Heather had used that free Saturday to find a place to live out there. She wasn't sure as to where to start looking, but she was lucky to have family here to help out. Actually, they didn't know yet that she was there. Her parents had promised not to tell them. Heather knew they had kept their promise when Xander, still slightly hung over, had come stumbling into the kitchen, drawn to the smell of coffee. He had opened the fridge to get the milk out, and that was when Heather announced that she had used the last of it. She also told him they were now out of Cornflakes.
Xander had nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke, slamming his head on the top of the refrigerator, and his shouted explicative got Cole and Janice running down from upstairs. Heather almost fell off of the counter that she was sitting on, laughing at him. He glared at her furiously, then snatched the bowl of cereal from her and dumped some of the milk in his coffee. She thought about fighting him for it, but what the hell, it was hard to rattle Uncle Xander, and she might as well enjoy one of the few times she'd ever been able to do it. Besides, she did need their help.
Heather had told them all what she was doing there, and announced her acceptance into HRT. They all acted very proud of her for getting in, but there was something slightly off. She wasn't sure what it was, but Xander and Cole had taken a couple of minutes aside, and she knew they were arguing about something. Xander always had this slightly pissed look, much like a five year old would wear, whenever he wanted to do something, and Cole refused to let him. There wasn't any reason why Xander shouldn't do it, but some habits were too deeply ingrained. Maybe they were afraid it would be too obvious that she was "different". As the afternoon went on, she subtly made mention a few times about having to slow down a bit and how she was getting help from the other trainees on different things. Family could be so frustrating at times. She did have a mother and father to worry about her. Uncles and aunts were supposed to be people to have fun with.
They found a decent apartment by late afternoon. Janice knew some places that had rent affordable for a young FBI agent, and that wasn't in a rough area. The guys had tried to suggest other places, but Heather was not going to rely on her parents to pay her rent, even though they had offered to. The last thing she wanted was to seem like a spoiled rich brat to her fellow agents. Janice had actually been a young agent at one point in her life, and knew the places that Heather could afford on her own right now. If she had someone that she could room with, there were some great townhouses, but the rent was way too high to swing on her own. Instead they found a nice one-bedroom place, with enough room for her stuff and a washer-dryer hookup in the apartment. The community pool was clean, and if there were roaches, they were trained well enough to scatter when the other occupants entered the room. A place would be available in three weeks, and the lease was signed in time for them all to go to dinner together.
Heather had declined the invitation to spend the night with them. Although they had been told that they were off that weekend, Chambers was mean enough to pull a night raid and find something particularly evil to do to anyone that wasn't there. The other trainees had felt the same way and had filtered back in as well. It was quiet that night, but they were all still tense. Where was he, and what was he planning?
Heather had gotten up Sunday and decided to go to the gym and stretch for a while. It had been a while since she had really been able to go all out, and her muscles felt stiff from not being allowed to move like they could do. She toyed with the idea of going out to the obstacle course and running it as fast as she possibly could. Maybe she would hit the jogging trails and just run for a bit. She was in a split, leaning over so that her forehead was touching her knee, when she realized that she wasn't alone.
Heather looked up, and saw a little girl, maybe five years old, watching her intently. She was an absolutely exquisite specimen of her obviously biracial heritage with her mocha skin and long dark silky curls falling down her back. She was dressed in a little denim jumper, and had the most audacious bright red cast on her left arm. Her dark green eyes were focused on Heather, and the rest of her delicate features seemed rather solemn. "Hello," she greeted when she saw she had Heather's attention.
"Hello," Heather replied, not sure what to say. "Umm…are you lost?"
"Nope."
"Well, you seem a little small to be an agent here," Heather commented.
"Not lost. I know where I am."
Heather smiled. She was starting to like the kid. "Are you supposed to be here?" she asked, trying a different line of questioning.
"Mommy said not to get into trouble. I'm not being trouble. I was just watching. You can bend far. Can you do a flip? I can, but I broke my arm or I'd show you."
"I can do lots of flips," Heather answered, wondering whom the kid belonged too. She was thinking about keeping the little cutie. "How did you break your arm?"
Now the little girl smiled. "I'm going to be like Daddy when I grow up," she announced proudly. She gave Heather a devilish smile. "I was practicing jumping off the monkey bars."
"Drea!" a woman's voice interrupted from the door. Heather looked over, and saw a rather lovely, petite blonde hurrying over. "There you are," she said quickly. She was nervous about something, Heather decided. And it wasn't about the kid not being where she left her. Heather had dealt with parents missing kids before. That was an altogether different kind of terror. This was just…nerves.
Heather got up from the floor, and the blonde gave her a weak smile. "So sorry," she said. "This one just loves to wander off and take a look at everything." She gave her daughter a firm glare. "But she knows better than to interrupt someone."
Heather shook her head. "She wasn't a bother. I was just stretching anyways." Who was Blondie anyways? Heather stretched out her hand. "Special Agent Heather Raleigh."
"Karen Chambers," the woman replied, shaking her hand. Chambers? As in related to Special Agent Tynell Chambers? Oh God. The evil had spawned a new generation. And she was cute. Maybe she would take after her mother.
"I'm Andrea," the short one announced. "You're like Daddy!" she said firmly to Heather.
Heather grinned at her. "Not yet, but I will be soon."
Andrea frowned. "Yes you are."
"Drea!" her mother chastised. "You know better than to talk to an adult like that." She seemed a bit embarrassed when she looked back at Heather. "She's five, going on twenty-five." She explained.
Heather laughed. "I have a younger brother and sister that were just as bad," she replied. "Just be glad she's not in Europe trying to 'find herself' right now." Karen laughed at that, picturing her littlest girl wandering about the streets of Paris or something like that.
"Karen?" A very familiar voice called out from the door as Chambers entered, looking down at the file in his hand. He looked up, his eyes narrowing at seeing his wife talking with a trainee.
"Daddy!" Andrea yelled, running to her father and leaping into his arms. It was a little awkward with that bulky cast on her arm, but he caught her easily. It was suddenly impossible for him to be big and bad with a little girl snuggling against him.
Heather bit her lip, trying not to laugh at seeing this rather unexpected view of the HRT leader. Objectively, Heather could say that if she were just going by physical looks, she would jump in the sack with him in a second. There weren't that many black guys that really attracted her, but he was just gorgeous. Early forties, but he was better built than most guys in their twenties, and there was a maturity to him that was just irresistible. Maybe it was just being a trainee that made him seem to be nothing short of the devil in disguise. There had to be some reason a rather pretty woman in her late twenties would marry him and spawn him off a child other than the fact he looked damn good in a suit.
"Well," Heather said quickly, not wanting to be hanging around any longer. She glanced at her watch. "I need to get going. Nice to meet you." She darted away quickly, grabbing her gym bag. Talk about an awkward situation. She went around the corner, but she could still hear Andrea talking to Chambers.
"Can she come over for dinner, Daddy? She's like you and she does flips and stuff and we can play!" Heather grinned and started trotting down the hall, heading out to the obstacle course. At this hour on a Sunday, there wouldn't be anyone around. Cute little kid though. She seemed determined to be an FBI agent. She was going to have to learn that Heather wasn't like her daddy though. Daddy was way up there on the whole chain of command thing. Besides, where it counted, he wasn't like her at all. There were only a few others that were really like her.
Heather lay on her bed in her dorm that next night, muscles aching, head pounding from the day's exertions. It was getting closer to being over. And there was some good news from the home front at least. As much as the twins irritated her, she was glad when they called mom and dad the other day and said they were coming home for the holidays. Actually, the plans were changed so that everyone was going to be in New York for Christmas. The little weasels were coming in early, and that was just about the time Heather was going to be finishing up her training and having some time off. It would be good to spend the holidays with all of her family. It had been a while since they'd all been together at one time. Maybe Xander and Lon and Shawna would come up to New York as well and Cole and Janice. Everyone together for a little while. As long as Chambers didn't kill her in the meantime. She sighed. She'd make it. She knew she would.
It wasn't easy at first. There were two rooms at Quantico assigned to the trainees, and the guys were going to have to squish into one so she could have the other. Heather had taken a deep breath, and then made her decision to be just one of the guys right then and there. She gave the other agents a confused look, and said she didn't mind a male roommate. Hell, she had two brothers, it wasn't like they were going to be able to shock her with anything they could say or do. Since they were all adults, it really didn't matter. They weren't going to be leaping into bed together or anything of that nature. After the first day, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. By the time they made it back to their rooms, they were all collapsing in exhaustion.
After the second week, the four of them were already forming a tight bond. Heather wasn't slowing them down, so they just accepted her as a member of the team. They were all struggling through, but each one was helping the other, and not dismissing her as just a girl. They had ignored her at first. HRT was the last remaining boys-only club, and it was a slight affront to them that she got in. She wondered if Ethan had said anything, but decided that the only way to dispel rumors was to show that they were unsubstantiated. She had kept up with them in the physical training easily, and not quite as easily with all of the other tactical training. Agent Greer was the best at that by far, but she was able to help him in hand-to-hand combat when he was struggling. They were forming a team.
Brewster dragged himself into their room and fell onto his bed. "My ex- wife was kinder than him," he moaned.
"I'd swear I was going to kill him in his sleep tonight, but I myself died in that last hour," she groaned in reply. She would kill for a professional masseuse right then. Hell, even Ethan would do. He gave great back rubs, she had to grant him that much. Unfortunately his hands were connected to the rest of him, and she didn't have much use for any of that anymore.
Brewster probably would have replied, but he was already asleep. He was the weakest of them physically, but the strongest intellectually. He had been the one that tied with Heather for top honors on the written test. He was helping the others a lot to study all of the procedure lists and protocols. They had to have them memorized, because out of nowhere, Chambers could come in, announce that there was a hostage situation, and they better go right by the book and deal with it. He had done it the eighth night they had been in training, and even if it was a simulation, the other agents hadn't gone easy on them. Heather was eternally grateful she could get by on a couple of hours of sleep at night.
The only thing that she could figure was that Chambers was making up for letting them have last weekend off. He was trying to make up for the pain and cruelty he had missed inflicting on them for two whole days. Thursday afternoon, they were doing some simulations with other HRT members, and someone had come rushing in and taken Chambers off to the side. Heather wasn't able to hear much since right then her unit went in to apprehend the "suspects", but she heard something about his daughter and a fall. Whatever it was, Chambers had run out of there in one hell of a hurry. Another agent had been there Friday directing them, and then announced that they would have the weekend off. The trainees were a little shocked, but nobody wanted to complain.
Heather had used that free Saturday to find a place to live out there. She wasn't sure as to where to start looking, but she was lucky to have family here to help out. Actually, they didn't know yet that she was there. Her parents had promised not to tell them. Heather knew they had kept their promise when Xander, still slightly hung over, had come stumbling into the kitchen, drawn to the smell of coffee. He had opened the fridge to get the milk out, and that was when Heather announced that she had used the last of it. She also told him they were now out of Cornflakes.
Xander had nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke, slamming his head on the top of the refrigerator, and his shouted explicative got Cole and Janice running down from upstairs. Heather almost fell off of the counter that she was sitting on, laughing at him. He glared at her furiously, then snatched the bowl of cereal from her and dumped some of the milk in his coffee. She thought about fighting him for it, but what the hell, it was hard to rattle Uncle Xander, and she might as well enjoy one of the few times she'd ever been able to do it. Besides, she did need their help.
Heather had told them all what she was doing there, and announced her acceptance into HRT. They all acted very proud of her for getting in, but there was something slightly off. She wasn't sure what it was, but Xander and Cole had taken a couple of minutes aside, and she knew they were arguing about something. Xander always had this slightly pissed look, much like a five year old would wear, whenever he wanted to do something, and Cole refused to let him. There wasn't any reason why Xander shouldn't do it, but some habits were too deeply ingrained. Maybe they were afraid it would be too obvious that she was "different". As the afternoon went on, she subtly made mention a few times about having to slow down a bit and how she was getting help from the other trainees on different things. Family could be so frustrating at times. She did have a mother and father to worry about her. Uncles and aunts were supposed to be people to have fun with.
They found a decent apartment by late afternoon. Janice knew some places that had rent affordable for a young FBI agent, and that wasn't in a rough area. The guys had tried to suggest other places, but Heather was not going to rely on her parents to pay her rent, even though they had offered to. The last thing she wanted was to seem like a spoiled rich brat to her fellow agents. Janice had actually been a young agent at one point in her life, and knew the places that Heather could afford on her own right now. If she had someone that she could room with, there were some great townhouses, but the rent was way too high to swing on her own. Instead they found a nice one-bedroom place, with enough room for her stuff and a washer-dryer hookup in the apartment. The community pool was clean, and if there were roaches, they were trained well enough to scatter when the other occupants entered the room. A place would be available in three weeks, and the lease was signed in time for them all to go to dinner together.
Heather had declined the invitation to spend the night with them. Although they had been told that they were off that weekend, Chambers was mean enough to pull a night raid and find something particularly evil to do to anyone that wasn't there. The other trainees had felt the same way and had filtered back in as well. It was quiet that night, but they were all still tense. Where was he, and what was he planning?
Heather had gotten up Sunday and decided to go to the gym and stretch for a while. It had been a while since she had really been able to go all out, and her muscles felt stiff from not being allowed to move like they could do. She toyed with the idea of going out to the obstacle course and running it as fast as she possibly could. Maybe she would hit the jogging trails and just run for a bit. She was in a split, leaning over so that her forehead was touching her knee, when she realized that she wasn't alone.
Heather looked up, and saw a little girl, maybe five years old, watching her intently. She was an absolutely exquisite specimen of her obviously biracial heritage with her mocha skin and long dark silky curls falling down her back. She was dressed in a little denim jumper, and had the most audacious bright red cast on her left arm. Her dark green eyes were focused on Heather, and the rest of her delicate features seemed rather solemn. "Hello," she greeted when she saw she had Heather's attention.
"Hello," Heather replied, not sure what to say. "Umm…are you lost?"
"Nope."
"Well, you seem a little small to be an agent here," Heather commented.
"Not lost. I know where I am."
Heather smiled. She was starting to like the kid. "Are you supposed to be here?" she asked, trying a different line of questioning.
"Mommy said not to get into trouble. I'm not being trouble. I was just watching. You can bend far. Can you do a flip? I can, but I broke my arm or I'd show you."
"I can do lots of flips," Heather answered, wondering whom the kid belonged too. She was thinking about keeping the little cutie. "How did you break your arm?"
Now the little girl smiled. "I'm going to be like Daddy when I grow up," she announced proudly. She gave Heather a devilish smile. "I was practicing jumping off the monkey bars."
"Drea!" a woman's voice interrupted from the door. Heather looked over, and saw a rather lovely, petite blonde hurrying over. "There you are," she said quickly. She was nervous about something, Heather decided. And it wasn't about the kid not being where she left her. Heather had dealt with parents missing kids before. That was an altogether different kind of terror. This was just…nerves.
Heather got up from the floor, and the blonde gave her a weak smile. "So sorry," she said. "This one just loves to wander off and take a look at everything." She gave her daughter a firm glare. "But she knows better than to interrupt someone."
Heather shook her head. "She wasn't a bother. I was just stretching anyways." Who was Blondie anyways? Heather stretched out her hand. "Special Agent Heather Raleigh."
"Karen Chambers," the woman replied, shaking her hand. Chambers? As in related to Special Agent Tynell Chambers? Oh God. The evil had spawned a new generation. And she was cute. Maybe she would take after her mother.
"I'm Andrea," the short one announced. "You're like Daddy!" she said firmly to Heather.
Heather grinned at her. "Not yet, but I will be soon."
Andrea frowned. "Yes you are."
"Drea!" her mother chastised. "You know better than to talk to an adult like that." She seemed a bit embarrassed when she looked back at Heather. "She's five, going on twenty-five." She explained.
Heather laughed. "I have a younger brother and sister that were just as bad," she replied. "Just be glad she's not in Europe trying to 'find herself' right now." Karen laughed at that, picturing her littlest girl wandering about the streets of Paris or something like that.
"Karen?" A very familiar voice called out from the door as Chambers entered, looking down at the file in his hand. He looked up, his eyes narrowing at seeing his wife talking with a trainee.
"Daddy!" Andrea yelled, running to her father and leaping into his arms. It was a little awkward with that bulky cast on her arm, but he caught her easily. It was suddenly impossible for him to be big and bad with a little girl snuggling against him.
Heather bit her lip, trying not to laugh at seeing this rather unexpected view of the HRT leader. Objectively, Heather could say that if she were just going by physical looks, she would jump in the sack with him in a second. There weren't that many black guys that really attracted her, but he was just gorgeous. Early forties, but he was better built than most guys in their twenties, and there was a maturity to him that was just irresistible. Maybe it was just being a trainee that made him seem to be nothing short of the devil in disguise. There had to be some reason a rather pretty woman in her late twenties would marry him and spawn him off a child other than the fact he looked damn good in a suit.
"Well," Heather said quickly, not wanting to be hanging around any longer. She glanced at her watch. "I need to get going. Nice to meet you." She darted away quickly, grabbing her gym bag. Talk about an awkward situation. She went around the corner, but she could still hear Andrea talking to Chambers.
"Can she come over for dinner, Daddy? She's like you and she does flips and stuff and we can play!" Heather grinned and started trotting down the hall, heading out to the obstacle course. At this hour on a Sunday, there wouldn't be anyone around. Cute little kid though. She seemed determined to be an FBI agent. She was going to have to learn that Heather wasn't like her daddy though. Daddy was way up there on the whole chain of command thing. Besides, where it counted, he wasn't like her at all. There were only a few others that were really like her.
Heather lay on her bed in her dorm that next night, muscles aching, head pounding from the day's exertions. It was getting closer to being over. And there was some good news from the home front at least. As much as the twins irritated her, she was glad when they called mom and dad the other day and said they were coming home for the holidays. Actually, the plans were changed so that everyone was going to be in New York for Christmas. The little weasels were coming in early, and that was just about the time Heather was going to be finishing up her training and having some time off. It would be good to spend the holidays with all of her family. It had been a while since they'd all been together at one time. Maybe Xander and Lon and Shawna would come up to New York as well and Cole and Janice. Everyone together for a little while. As long as Chambers didn't kill her in the meantime. She sighed. She'd make it. She knew she would.
