Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. Albert Camus (1913 - 1960)

Exile: Day 7

Lady Jaye pored over the manuals in front of her. There had to be something in the SOPs that would help her get the upper hand on Beach Head. She had PT with him in the morning, and there was no way the man was going to trounce all over her. He made it his life's mission to give her grief over the smallest thing. Well, he did that to everyone, but he was worse with her. With a frustrated groan, Jaye tossed the manual across the room.

Scarlett looked up from the book she was reading, "Something bothering you?"

"Beach Head," came the succinct reply.

"Really?" Scarlett looked around in an exaggerated manor, "I don't see Stinky-wizzle-teets anywhere."

Jaye laughed.

"What's he done?" Scarlett set the book on the table and leaned forward.

"Nothing. Everything. The usual," Jaye answered.

"Gee, that really narrows it down. Care to be a little more specific?" Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You know..." Jaye waved her hand in the air as if the motion explained it all.

"No, not really. You have to work on your elaboration skills."

"Hasn't he ever done anything that got your panties in a twist?" Jaye stood and began pacing the floor.

"Don't think for one moment that Beach Head affects the state of my panties in any way, shape, or form," Scarlett replied.

"I'm being serious, smart-ass," she faced Scarlett with her hands on her hips.

Scarlett chuckled, "So am I, but I do know what you mean. He never gets to me, because I never let him know he gets to me."

"You know, I almost understood that," Jaye gave her a blank stare.

"Think about it, and it'll come to you," Scarlett winked at her. "Why don't you let me show you a couple of moves that would impress even Beach Head."

Lady Jaye rubbed her still bruised cheek, "I think I've seen all the moves I want to see from you."

"Suit yourself, but the guys around here really aren't that bad you know," Scarlett laughed quietly.

"Easy for you to say. They treat you like 'one of the guys'. They treat me and Cover Girl like mindless pieces of meat," Jaye flopped down on the couch.

"That's because I'm better than most of the guys. Besides, being 'one of the guys' gets old sometimes," Scarlett sighed.

Jaye detected an odd note in the other woman's voice. She took a moment to study her. Jaye had looked at Scarlett earlier in their confinement, but had not really looked at her. She had the potential to be a very stunning creature, but for some reason she kept it under wraps most of the time. Before, Jaye had only wondered why, but now she was sure she had the answer: Scarlett had no real feminine influence in her life. None unless you counted Uncle Chad.

Jaye didn't know why, but it kind of made her sad. No matter what else Roslyn Hart-Kingston had done, she had still given her daughter confidence in herself a woman. Scarlett, unfortunately missed out on that. Not that Scarlett wasn't a confident person, she just lacked that something that made a man see you as a woman, and not a buddy. Jaye decided it was high time they did something about it.

"What do you have in your closet?" she asked, startling Scarlett out of her thoughts.

"Uh...clothes," she answered, unsure where Jaye was headed.

"What kind of clothes?"

"The kind you wear," Scarlett replied as if she were speaking to a small child.

"Ugh! Get up!" Jaye grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the bedroom.

Jaye flung open the closet, "Oh good lord, girl! What is all this?"

"Clothing. What do you think it is?" Scarlett huffed.

"Clothes? Oh honey, I'm so sorry," Jaye jibed.

"Look, I don't dress to impress. I dress for comfort. I don't have time to mull over my clothes, hair, or makeup. I just want to be comfortable," Scarlett replied.

"Believe me, I understand that sometimes you just want to throw on a pair of sweats and do your thing, but if you don't always want to be seen as one of the guys, you need to let them know you are actually one of the girls," Jaye countered as she began to rummage through the clothes.

"And here I was thinking that was rather obvious," was Scarlett's sardonic reply. She watched as lady Jaye pulled item upon item from the closet heaping them on the bed. Ha! There was that sweater she had been looking for. Maybe she did need to clean out her closet.

"Well, that's it. You have absolutely nothing appealing in here. We need to get you a new wardrobe. Haven't you ever heard of bright colors? All you have in here is neutrals." Jaye said as she took in the drab colors before her.

"I happen to like my wardrobe," Scarlett muttered as she snatched the illusive sweater from Lady Jaye.

"You would." Jaye quipped, "I bet you like your hair too."

Scarlett raised her hand to her hair. What the hell was wrong with her hair? She studied the end of her ponytail. She didn't have split ends, and she damn sure didn't have critters in it. It was clean, and she even splurged on that orgasmic (or was it organic) shampoo. Did she just think orgasmic? Damn she needed to get laid in the worst way.

"Hello! Earth to Shana!" Jaye was waving her hand in front Scarlett's face.

"Oh, sorry. Could you repeat that last part?" Scarlett asked sheepishly.

Maybe she had been too hard on Scarlett about her wardrobe.

"What part do you need me to repeat?" Jaye asked sympathetically.

"Could you start from the part where you said you were sorry?" Scarlett asked.

"Here I am trying to help you, and you aren't evening listening," Jaye groused.

"And yet, you keep talking," Scarlett replied absently as she began to place the clothing back into the closet.

There was only one way to deal with someone like Scarlett and that was by force. Since that option wasn't open to her, Jaye would just have to figure out another way to help the woman realize she was, indeed, a woman.

"Tell me something," Jaye sat down on the end of the bed, "Do you even have a little black dress?"

"I don't like dresses," came the abrupt reply. "I do have a black pantsuit, though."

"See Red, that's what I mean. Every woman should have the little black dress," Jaye said as she began to sift through the clothes on the bed. Sure enough, no dresses or skirts were to be found.

"Well, here's one woman who's done just fine without one," Scarlett raised her chin.

Stubborn cow.

"Ok, I'll make you a deal," Jaye hurried to finish as Scarlett began to protest, "you let me make you over, and I'll let you help me embarrass Beach Head."

Scarlett mulled it over. It really would be fun to toss Lady Jaye around, but she really didn't want to be someone's Barbie doll. She looked over at Lady Jaye. The other woman looked so happy to be in her element, Scarlett didn't have the heart to say no to her.

"Fine, but nothing too fancy ya hear," Scarlett pointed a finger at her.

"Oh, I promise." Jaye said solemnly, "So long as you take it easy on me."

"Absolutely," Scarlett vowed.

Neither woman saw the other cross her fingers behind her back.

Some hours later, Scarlett stared at her reflection in the mirror. What had happened to her? She looked...different. Not in a bad way. Different, in this case was definitely good.

Lady Jaye stared at her handy work. Damn she was good! Who knew that the woman who had been tossing her around a couple of hours earlier actually had eyebrows and cheekbones. It was just amazing what some eye shadow, lipstick, blush and a few hot rollers could do.

"So, what do you think?" Jaye asked with a smile

"You...I...thank you," was all Scarlett could manage.

No other woman had ever taken the time or the interest to show her all of these things. No other woman had ever taken the time to be...her friend. That's what was missing in her life. A real true female friend. Oh, she got along with Cover Girl just fine, but Scarlett would have never let her get as close as she had allowed Lady Jaye. To think just one short week ago, they wanted to kill each other.

"Hell, it was nothing. No need to thank me. Besides, your helping me sock it to Beach head tomorrow is payment enough," Jaye replied as she fussed with Scarlett's hair.

Scarlett stood up and motioned to the mirror behind her, "I'm not thanking you for all of this. I'm thanking you for ..."

Jaye cocked her head to the side, "For what?"

"For being a friend when I didn't even know I needed one," Scarlett smiled.

"Funny how we have to be forced to see what's right in front us isn't it," Jaye embraced her.

"Jaye?"

"Huh?"

"Are we having a tender moment?"

"I think so."

"Oh. Ok."

"Scarlett?"

"Yeah?"

"Since we're friends now, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What about Duke?"