Everyone settled back into their chairs as Duke blew the whistle to start round three. Lady Jaye moved in immediately, but Beach Head was prepared for an attempted throw. He bent down and sprang up, driving his shoulder into her sternum. Breathless, she couldn't block the knee that followed after. She gasped and stepped back, but Beach Head followed. He grabbed the front of her shirt as she straightened, but she fell backwards, bringing up a leg in between them. She threw him over her head, and he rolled, giving her enough time to catch her breath.

Beach Head continued his offense, not letting her get close enough for another throw. It went downhill for her from there, especially since he really wasn't pulling his punches. She was getting tired, and could only hope that he was, too. She could tell that the continual booing every time he landed a blow was getting on his nerves. His face showed his anger, and his punches began to get a little faster and harder. Lady Jaye had a difficult time keeping up with them, and every throw was blocked. If she hadn't become familiar with his fighting style after all of the training, she would have gone down long since.

The end of the round was a relief. Lady Jaye glanced at Flint's unofficial score card; it now read "Lady Jaye 400, Beach Head 309." Flint shrugged at her mock pout and called, "One more round…don't give it up yet."

It was time to use Scarlett's information. She almost hated to do it, but she caught Beach Head's smug expression, and her reticence disappeared.

They faced each other for the last round. Lady Jaye thought that if she could get a few last good throws in, Duke might judge in her favor. She refused to entertain the idea that she would have to do this again in a week if he didn't. And that if in three weeks Duke hadn't pulled her from the extra PT that Beach Head would be able to tell everyone that he dumped her. She was sure he would add some interesting and embarrassing stories to explain why… and she wouldn't be able to deny any of them, no matter how ludicrous, thanks to the bet.

She gritted her teeth and sprang forward at the whistle. She didn't try a throw, though, which was what Beach Head would expect. Instead she brought her elbow up to his chin, and he threw his head back just in time to lessen the blow. She barely clipped his jaw, and he reacted by bringing up his foot and slamming it into her instep. Lady Jaye stumbled back, limping a little. She heard Shipwreck call, "Hey! That was dirty! Get 'im, Jaye!"

She agreed with the sentiment. She had about eight minutes to give a good show. She stepped close again, ignoring the fist she took in the arm, bringing her knee up toward his groin. She was pleased to see the surprised look on his face, along with a brief flash of fear. Lady Jaye would have missed it if she hadn't been watching for it. Beach Head stepped back, but it was still a near miss.

He watched her warily, crouching protectively in defense. She gave him an evil smile and moved in again. He circled around her, not letting her get close. Duke finally yelled, "Quit stalling, Beach Head!" The drill instructor glared at him, but went in for another attack. Lady Jaye blocked and drove a fist down hard; she didn't really want to hit him there, but he had to think she would. Beach Head lifted his leg and turned sideways, which was all she needed. She put a foot behind his other leg and drove her shoulder into his chest. He fell back with a thud.

The other Joes surged to their feet with a loud cheer. She let Beach Head stand, and rushed in. He immediately lowered his hands, assuming she would continue the focus of her attack, but she went straight for the jaw. His eyes widened, but it was too late. Her glove hit him squarely, driving him back a step on the mat. He shook his head, raising a hand to hit back, and she dropped her gaze pointedly to his belt buckle. He froze, noticing where she was looking, and dropped his hands back down.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a triumphant grin, and she punched him as hard as she could in the center of his chest. He growled and came in to return the attack, but she could tell he was winded. She was able to block and even managed a counter kick that landed on his stomach. They went all out for the last few minutes of the round, but with Beach Head constantly on guard for an attack below the belt, it was a fairly even trade.

Beach Head finally got behind her and grabbed her around the arms and chest. Lady Jaye figured he planned on holding her until Duke blew the whistle, and she decided to try one last tactic. Snake Eyes had shown her specifically how to counter this move since Ace had done the same thing to her in one of their first matches. Lady Jaye wrapped her legs around Beach Head's so that her feet rested at the back of his knees. She forcefully straightened her legs and threw her weight back as hard as she could. Beach Head's legs flew out from underneath him and she landed hard on top of him on the mat. She felt his breath leave him in a rush and she rolled free, coming to her feet and standing over him. He glared up at her, but didn't move.

Finally he stood, but neither of them threw a punch or a kick. Beach Head looked her over and nodded. She met his gaze and nodded back. They both understood that he wouldn't give her a hard time any more—well, no more than he did any one else.

Duke ended the round and the match. The cheers subsided as Duke stood and walked to the mat. He checked Flint's sheet and said, "Okay, the unofficial score seems to be 764 to 398 in Lady Jaye's favor." He raised his hand to quiet the laughter, and turned to Beach Head. "I know you have the team's best interest at heart… but I don't see any reason to keep Lady Jaye in PT any longer."

There were moans from around the room. Everyone may have been rooting for her, but that didn't mean that they wanted to lose their bets. Ace was checking his clipboard as Beach Head reached out a hand toward Lady Jaye. Surprised, she took it, and they shook hands. "I knew having you work out with Snake Eyes and Scarlett would help," he told her quietly, "But I'm glad to see those extra sessions with Snakes paid off, too."

Lady Jaye's mouth dropped open in shock. "You knew about it?"

He smiled. "Sure. And you're a better fighter now, aren't you? I just figured you needed the right motivation."

"What?" she sputtered. "You planned this? You knew I'd spend hours training just to get out of your stupid PT?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Would you have trained otherwise?"

She shrugged. "Probably not…" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you just outmaneuver me?"

Beach Head laughed. "Yep. I'm no Psyche Out, but over the years I've learned a lot about what motivates people. For a while there I felt like I was running into a brick wall with you and your smart mouth. But physical intimidation isn't the only way I operate. I just had to use my head—and your stubbornness."

Lady Jaye gave a small chuckle. "I admit I'm impressed. I promise to keep up the training if you promise not to go out of your way to make my life miserable."

"That's all I wanted in the first place," he answered. He turned to leave, but Lady Jaye put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "I think you're forgetting about our little side bet…"

He looked at her and sighed. "Fine. Let Ace announce the results and then I'll tell everyone."

They waited while Ace finished the computing, and Lady Jaye spent a few minutes receiving slaps on the backs and congratulations from her teammates. Cover Girl told her, "Score another one for the girls. I just hope I'm not the next target…"

Scarlett laughed and replied, "I've got some tips that might help."

Ace walked to the center of the mat and gestured for the music to be cut. He turned to Duke and said, "Hey, could you maybe leave for a few minutes, boss?"

Duke shook his head. "Are you kidding? I want to know who won."

The pilot shrugged and turned to the rest of the Joes. "Okay, folks. Most of you bet that it would last a lot longer than this, which leaves us with one winner for the overall time frame." He sighed and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. "Unbelievable. At twelve to one odds, six hundred dollars goes to Flint."

Lady Jaye burst into laughter. She gave Flint a huge grin as he came up to collect his winnings. He pocketed the money with a wink in her direction.

Ace continued, "As for the side bets…as the happy couple appears to be, well, happy," he gestured at Beach Head and Lady Jaye, "That makes our winners—"

Beach Head interrupted Ace. "I have an announcement that may change that little outcome."

Ace turned, acting surprised. "Oh, well, if you two are breaking up, that means I have to recalculate—"

"We're not breaking up, because there is no relationship."

Ace grinned. "Care to elaborate?"

Beach Head rolled his eyes. "We were never dating. Ever. That was just a stupid rumor."

"You kissed her!" Alpine yelled. "We saw it!"

"I was just pissing her off. I told her that if she did well enough in the sparring match I would tell everyone the truth." He gave a small shrug. "So I'm telling. End of story."

The others took in this information in silence. Ace looked down at the clipboard and said, "Well, it seems like we still have winners. At ten to one odds that Lady Jaye and Beach Head weren't dating at all, Cover Girl and Scarlett win four hundred dollars." He winced and pulled out more money. The girls took it eagerly and turned to Lady Jaye. "The girls win again."

Scarlett looked in Snake Eye's direction and signed, "Hey, handsome, want to go get dinner?" Lady Jaye caught the exchange, but it went too fast for most of the others to comprehend. She filed away the information with a smile.

Shipwreck sidled up to Lady Jaye and asked, "Hey, that means you're free, right? The Shipster is also free, you know…"

Flint cleared his throat. "She's not free."

Shipwreck's head swiveled around to gape at Flint. "How do you know?"

"Guh," Lady Jaye said. "Figure it out." She walked over to Flint and put her arms around him. She reached up and kissed him thoroughly, much to the amazed amusement of the others as they applauded the performance.

"So, what are you going to do with your winnings?" Lady Jaye asked.

Flint turned to Duke and asked, "I won our bet, right?"

Duke replied grumpily, "Yes. You won the stupid bet. You cheated, but you won."

"I didn't cheat. I just bet you that Lady Jaye would kiss me in front of everyone today. How did I cheat?"

"I thought she was dating Beach Head!" Duke yelled.

"Well, tough," Flint replied with a smile. He looked down at Lady Jaye. "I just won weekend leave for myself and a guest." He waved his wad of cash. "Care to go somewhere romantic?"

She laughed, feeling the sore muscles along her stomach. "As long as it has a hot tub…"