Author's Notes: Special thanks to SapphireMind for beta'ing this for me. (Twice – nonetheless. What can I say? Thanks a million. :)
Something to Talk About – Chapter 4
Wild Bill came out of the infirmary. "Ace and Lift Ticket are going to be okay. They have to stay the night and maybe a few more days. Doc hasn't decided yet. Ace has some darn right nasty broken ribs, and one of them scraped his lung a bit. He is going to be hurtin' the next time he flies."
"Flying and any injury don't mix well when you're in control of a fighter jet. How is Lift Ticket?" Scarlett asked.
"He took a hard hit to the ole noggin when he and Ace collided. I guess he has some kind of a concussion and a few minor burns. How are Jaye and Duke?"
"Flint just took Jaye home. She has a broken wrist and already complaining about the cast. Doc has immobilized her arm completely."
He gave a good-hearted laugh, "Good luck with that one. Glad I'm not her roommate. You may be staying with Duke more often then ya think."
Scarlett swatted Bill and said, "Knock it off, will you."
Bill was going to say something else, but then their fearless leader with the broken leg appeared in the doorway. He was on crutches, and trying to handle them was not a pretty sight. The team members in the room snickered as Duke struggled with the right combination of 'crutches then good leg' walk. Duke just glowered at everyone and muttered about having to learn to walk all over again.
Scarlett got up and joined Duke, "Come on Top, you think you can manhandle those back to your quarters."
Duke let out a low growl and admitted under his breath for her ears only that this was not as easy as it looks. "I'm just not going to use them. I can walk without them," he stated with the dignity that the team had come to expect from him.
"Hey, Hauser. If I see you without them, you will be on inactive duty for a lot longer than necessary," Doc warned from the doorway. "Scarlett, I'm counting on you to be sure he uses those. If anyone can keep him line, it's you."
"Gotcha Doc." She winked back at him and carted off her injured CO.
Although Duke was irritated at what Doc had said, it was the truth. The only person that could get close enough to him and make him use his crutches would be Scarlett.
They walked very slowly out of the base hospital and headed towards Duke's quarters. Duke was having a terrible time. Scarlett had been observing Duke's struggle with the crutches. "Duke, stop. You are working way to hard. Didn't Doc show you how to use these?" Duke looked over at her. Scarlett knew that he hadn't let anyone show him how to use them because that would injure his male ego. "Never mind, stupid question. Here, put the crutches in front of you then use your weight to swing your body between the crutches, and finish with your good leg." He placed the crutches ahead of him like she had explained, but he placed them way to far ahead, and almost fell when he tried to move his body forward. She caught him but couldn't contain her giggles.
"Okay, Red. If you are so smart, then you show me how to use them." He playfully snarled at her. His patience with these crutches was definitely wearing thin, but once again, just her presence made his mood tolerable. If anyone else had dared to patronize him, he would have probably hauled off and berated the poor soul.
"No, try again. Put them about a foot ahead of you, then try to move forward."
After a few awkward steps, he actually began to get the hang of it and started moving forward without looking foolish.
"See, it just takes a little patience to handle them," she teasingly retorted, knowing full well that patience was not one of his strong suits.
He retaliated to her teasing with a pull at her ponytail, which caused him to almost lose his balance. After he regained his composure, they continued towards his quarters. The silence was maddening so he asked her how many times she had been confined to using crutches.
"Twice. Once I fell out of a tree when I was 5 or 6 and broke my leg, and then a couple of years later, I tried to break a board in martial arts class with my foot, but I connected wrong with the board. Broken foot, hurt like hell. My brothers never let me live that down. 'Martial arts family has a daughter who broke her foot on a breaking board.' They don't understand that it was my first attempt at trying that particular move."
Duke laughed. He had never had any broken leg bones, just a broken arm and dislocated shoulders from falling or being thrown off his family's horses.
"Well, here we are. Home Sweet Home," Duke said, not wanting her to leave right away but not sure what else to say.
"Do you need anything while I'm here?" she asked. "Otherwise, I ought to go see how Jaye is doing. Flint may welcome the interruption this time. She can be a handful when she is..." She trailed off. "Duke, what are you doing?" She asked with bewilderment etched in her voice.
As she had been rambling on about leaving, Duke had backed her up against the door. He was now only inches from her. Her heart was racing. They studied each other's eyes. Duke reached out his hand towards her face and caressed her cheek while wiping some stray hairs out of her face. She caught her breath. His touch was so gentle, so comforting, so nice. "Conrad..."
"Shh." He placed a finger over her lips then moved in even closer. He had to be sure that this was what they both wanted. If he read her wrong, he would have single-handedly destroyed a trusting bond and friendship in the matter of mere seconds.
He moved his hand to her chin and tilted her head up towards his. He lowered his head to hers, and their lips met ever so gently then deepened into a more forceful kiss. Slowly their passions ignited and their lips parted to accommodate their probing tongues. Duke placed his other hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him, as she placed her hands on his waist.
As they slowly separated so that their breathless bodies could catch their breath, she looked into his blue eyes. They seemed to sparkle with happiness. She couldn't help suppress a smile that crept to her lips.
"I'm sorry if I was too bold. I just had to kiss you Shana. I've wanted to do that for a long time," he whispered.
"Don't be sorry. Kiss me again handsome."
She couldn't believe that she just courageously said that, but with an answer of "Yes Ma'am," he eagerly aimed to please and bent down to kiss her again. This second kiss left them even more breathless than the first kiss.
"I better go so you can get some rest and get off your feet." Scarlett said as she struggled to regain her breath and poise. She picked up Duke's fallen crutches and turned to head down the hallway.
"Hey, you can't leave yet. I need a good night kiss, maybe even tucked in for the night." He teased her.
She laughed and shook her head. "You're incorrigible."
As she placed the final pillow under his injured leg and was satisfied that it was elevated enough, she turned her attention back to the blond-haired, blue-eyed Commanding Officer grinning back at her. "Don't think I'm gonna wait on you hand and foot, Mr. Big Shot." She mischievously warned him.
"I don't know about that. You have to do what I tell you; I AM your CO," he shot back at her. He had been jealous that she and her team had been separated from him shortly after this long COBRA mission began. Not only because she was not with him, but also because Snake Eyes was on her estranged team. He grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her down to him. He wanted her to understand that his feelings for her were true. "Come here, I need another kiss."
This time, she submitted to his demand. As she got up to leave, her heart ached. She had not let her emotions consume her since she and Snake Eyes split so many years ago. She had sworn that she would never let anyone near her heart again. In fact, she had locked her heart and thrown away the key, but sometimes love is worth taking the chance on again. She said goodnight and left his quarters.
Outside his door, she leaned against it and touched her fingers to her lips remembering those glorious kisses and look of love in Duke's eyes. No other guy has been able to touch her inner soul like this in years, and this time she had a feeling that it was going to be different.
As she dreamily made her way back to her quarters, she thought about what had just happened between her and Duke. A lot of repercussions could result from this, but if they kept it quiet and just between them, things would work out okay. Wouldn't they?
As she let herself into her quarters, Flint was watching the news. He looked over at her as she entered the room. "Hey, what took you so long? Did you get sidetracked?"
She gave him a disapproving look and said, "No. Duke's on crutches, and he needed a little assistance to his place."
"I bet he did," he teased back at her.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. She was definitely not in the mood to argue or refute any rumors. She had been doing that all night. She simply said, "Flint, think whatever you want to."
Flint displayed a look of mock shock and said, "What? You're not going to argue with me. This is a first."
"And the last," she warned as she cast a look over her shoulder at the flamboyant Warrant Officer.
As Scarlett headed for her bedroom, she left him chortling to himself. She changed out of her uniform and took a nice, long shower. She wondered how long she was going to be able to keep her and Duke a secret from Jaye; or how long Duke was going to be able to keep Flint off his trail. She crawled into bed, exhausted but rejuvenated with a hint of a new beginning to her love life.
