Hello again -- just catching it up so we can carry forward! Welcome back all :)
Friday dawned cool and crisp; a typically beautiful Colorado autumn day. Jennifer went through the usual routine that she had when not engaged in base activities: up early, work out, run, back to the barracks for a hot shower and something to eat, then decide what to do with the rest of her day. She was tutoring students at the academy, so sometimes she had an appointment with one or two of them.
Usually, though, she would end up on base in one of the labs, reading. They didn't teach much about the classics in the Air Force academy, so she enjoyed reading the books in Dr. Jackson's lab; sometimes she read up on the latest developments in the archaeological world, her new passion, or the science of astrophysics or new weapons technology. But today was different; it was going to be nice outside, and there wouldn't be many more days like this before the snow flew. She wanted to keep from sitting around; she knew it might make her nervous if she spent time pondering her date with Dr. Jackson.
Pulling her bike out of the rack in the basement of the barracks, she chose a trail not too far away; she didn't want to be gone too long. She pedaled at top speed, as was her style. She passed through a thicket of trees, crossed a bridge and climbed the long hill behind the barracks. At the top of the hill, she stopped, looking out over the beautiful Colorado scenery.
Looking at her watch, she decided it was time to head back. She started down the big hill she had just climbed. It was always a game of chicken on this trail; at the bottom, before the barracks, was a main access road for the base. She had ridden down this hill several dozen times; sometimes, she pulled up short at the stop sign at the access road, sometimes she sailed across the access road without a care in the world.
Today would be the latter; it was a beautiful day, nothing could go wrong now. The trail was just the right condition for sailing down the hill; her adrenaline heightened by the ride and the excitement she was feeling. She reached the bottom of the hill, and as she had a dozen times before, prepared to sail across the access road behind the barracks.
Too late, she noticed with horror the car parked illegally on the road directly in her path. She couldn't stop, and hit the car at a full clip, sailing over it, and somersaulting down the lawn on the other side. Not unlike a bad gate exit, she thought to herself as she tried to stop herself from rolling any farther. Coming to a stop, she checked herself. Nothing permanently damaged, she decided, and sat up, making a mental note to write a letter of thanks to the manufacturers of her helmet. She noticed the blood then, and realized that she was in a fair amount of pain. Brilliant plan, lieutenant, she thought to herself ruefully; get into an accident right before a date.
A young girl came running towards her. "Are you alright?" the girl asked breathlessly. "I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't have been parked there," she said with a worried look on her face.
"No ma'am, you shouldn't have been," Jennifer answered, grimacing with the pain of the injuries she had just suffered. "But, there's a stop sign there for the crosswalk and I should have stopped. I'm guessing the damage I did to your car and my bike ought to be punishment enough for both of us," she finished.
"Never mind the car, your bike has definitely seen its last ride," the girl said with a note of dismay in her voice. The bike had followed Jennifer over the hood of the car; scratching and denting it pretty well along the way. From where they were they could see that the front wheel was completely warped, and the front part of the frame was crushed in.
"I'll pay for it, I've got insurance," the girl offered anxiously. "Well, actually, my Dad's got insurance," she said slowly. "It's his car. He is SO going to kick my ass," she said dejectedly.
Jennifer looked at the girl. A fair bit younger than herself, she realized, and not military. She had a high maintenance hair do and wore lots of jewelry, but she carried it well, stylishly. The generous amount of makeup and short miniskirt told Jennifer she was most likely here to see a boyfriend. She had a worried look in her eyes; between the damage that had been incurred and the injuries that Jennifer had suffered, she knew the girl was definitely having a bad day. She just didn't know how bad.
"Well, I'll tell you what. With my bike out of commission, I need a ride down to the infirmary, and I promise I'll call your Dad tomorrow and tell him it was all my fault."
"The infirmary?" the girl asked incredulously. "Oh my God, you're really hurt, aren't you?"
Jennifer grinned. "No, no, it's not that. I'm meeting a friend there and…" she stopped, realizing that there was really no good way to explain this. On a whim, she decided to tell her the whole story. "I've got a date later and the chief medical officer and her daughter offered to help me prepare for this date, so I need to meet her there and then we're going to her house." Looking down at herself, she added lightly "and I guess it won't hurt that she's got bandages there."
The other girl grinned. "Oh, now that I can do for you." She eyed Jennifer with a critical look as if assessing her. "Hey, I'll bet we're about the same size. Believe it or not, I've got just the right dress in the car, too. I was planning to wear it to go out with my boyfriend tonight." Her eyes narrowed. "But, I just walked in on him and his new girlfriend getting cozy, so I won't be needing it any time soon." She looked knowingly at Jennifer. "Never date a flyboy; they'll just break your heart. Plenty more men where he came from," she said defiantly.
Jennifer eyed the girl in amusement. She admired her ability to shake off the situation and move on. Not military herself, but probably a military brat, shrugging things off the way a military parent will teach you to do, she thought.
Suddenly, she realized that the offer might be just what she needed; aside from the occasional formal military cotillion or ball, which she usually attended with friends, she hadn't dated much recently, so she didn't have much clothing that was date worthy. And, a formal gown was probably a bit much for the event as Dr. Jackson had described it.
"Okay, but let me get a couple of things out of my room that I'll need for tonight." Jennifer thought for a second. "Do you want to come in?"
"Oh, no, I was thinking that I could put what's left of your bike in the car; my Dad will need to see it, as evidence of what really happened and for the insurance claim," the younger girl said, again looking dejected.
"Alright, I'll just be a minute. My offer still stands; I'll tell your Dad what really happened."
The girl eyed her, wonderingly. "You'd really do that?" she asked, wondering if the older girl was just pulling her leg.
"It really was my fault; you're supposed to stop there, and I didn't. Besides, I'm a soldier in the United States Air Force; I don't shirk from my responsibility," Jennifer added, matter of factly.
The other girl smiled. "That's cool. My Dad will appreciate that; he's a Colonel up at the base."
Jennifer turned towards the building and realizing now how sore she was, she limped up the stairs. No dress in the world is going to make me look good tonight, she thought; I've probably got scratches and scrapes I don't even know about. How attractive is that going to be, she thought, grimacing at the pain she felt.
She grabbed the bag she had begun preparing earlier with her accessories for the evening, including the pearls her mother had left her and a pair of patent leather high heels. Her Mom had been a military wife, and knew how to dress for any event. "A lady should always have a pair of patent leather high heels and a string of pearls. Any dress can look fabulous with that," she had once heard her mother say. She'd added a beautiful light golden brown silk scarf to the killer combination; it complemented her hair.
Returning to the back of the building, the other girl was just closing the trunk of the Cadillac, where she'd managed to store the remains of Jennifer's bike. Jennifer hadn't noticed that the car she had hit was a brown Cadillac Seville, with plush beige interior. No doubt it was Daddy's pride and joy, from the looks of how it was kept, or at least, it had been, she thought with a grimace.
"Ready?" the other girl asked.
"Ready," Jennifer said. "Can I have a look at the dress?" she asked, curious.
"Oh, sure," the other girl said enthusiastically. Dresses were one thing she knew well. She grabbed the dress from where it was hanging in the back seat and held it out for Jennifer to see.
It was a sleek black sleeveless crepe with a cowl neck, a fitted skirt and a straight bodice. On the waist was a small rhinestone pin, gathering the skirt slightly so that it pulled up gently on that side. Jennifer eyed the dress appreciatively; on the right figure, it would be stunning.
"Wow, I don't know if I can wear that," Jennifer said, a little sadly.
"Why not? You've certainly got the figure for it, even if you're a little banged up right now," the girl said enthusiastically.
Jennifer hesitated. She herself didn't think she had the figure but then, she'd never really thought much about her own body. She kept herself in good physical shape, but to assess herself in that fashion had never occurred to her. She was military; soldiers didn't need to know if they had good figures or not. She knew that her mother had been a beautiful woman; she could tell by the pictures, but she had died when Jennifer was only nine. Her father, a career army sergeant, had raised Jennifer in a strict military household, grooming her for a military career. After he died, she became determined to be the best soldier anybody could be. She'd have the military and she wouldn't need anything or anyone else.
That mindset was changing, and somehow Jennifer knew that this was a good change, but it was slow in coming. The interaction with this girl was a good example of that change.
"Okay, thanks," Jennifer said, holding the dress up to herself. She was pretty sure it would fit; she was excited about it now.
Just then, a head popped out of one of the barracks windows. "Hilary!" the head and bare upper torso shouted. "Hilary, don't go! She doesn't mean anything to me, really!" came the words from the half naked airman in the window.
"Then too bad for both of you!" the girl shouted back. "I hope she wises up and dumps your sorry ass flat, like I just did!" the girl shouted emphatically. She whirled around, bent over and dropped her jeans, baring her ass to the young man. "Take a good look, Lieutenant Levesque, 'cause it's the last you'll ever see of it!" Around the area, people were laughing heartily at the way in which she had embarrassed the young man; it would be difficult to live that down.
Jennifer stood motionless, she was amazed at the girl's brazenness and impressed with her attitude. The girl pulled up her jeans and jumped into the driver's seat. "Ready?" she asked Jennifer again, in a friendly voice. Jennifer eased herself into the passenger seat beside her. She glanced at her watch; it was 3:00. Just enough time to get down to the infirmary and get cleaned off before heading over to Janet's house.
The radio was blasting the latest top 40 music. Jennifer preferred blues and jazz herself; she had inherited all of her mother's old blues albums and had played them almost to the point of breaking. Her Dad had been a jazz musician in the army band; listening to those types of music made her feel close to them.
"So, what's your name?" the girl asked. "You know mine, now."
"I'm Lieutenant – I mean Jennifer – Hailey."
"I think it's so cool that women join the Air Force now," she said. "I sometimes think I'd like to join, but my Dad would never let me. He doesn't even want me dating the flyboys, but there's just something about them."
"So you said your Dad is a colonel up at the base; maybe I know him," Jennifer offered.
"Oh yeah, that's right! I hadn't thought about that. My name's Hilary Taylor; my Dad is Colonel Taylor."
Jennifer froze. Colonel Taylor, her CO. She was going to have to explain to her CO that she had hit his car with her bike. She looked down at her injuries, and I'll probably have to explain that it's my blood in the car, too, she thought. She wondered for a moment what the penalty was for bleeding in a superior officer's car.
"Do you know him?" Hilary asked excitedly.
"Oh yes, I've heard his name," Jennifer said. She decided against offering more information at that moment in time. They were pulling up in front of the gate closest to the infirmary. There would be time for that later. She got out of the car, with her bag and the dress.
"Hey, I need your telephone number, Hilary. I'll call your Dad tomorrow and explain, and I'll need to return the dress."
Hilary scribbled the number on the back of a receipt from the coffee shop that she had thrown in the ashtray, then she grabbed a small plastic bag from the local department store. She smiled as she handed over both items. "Keep the dress, if you like it, and you'll need what's in that bag, too. I've got more. Remember you've got to keep a spare pair in your handbag. Seems only fair, since you don't have your bike, and you're all banged up for your date. Is he nice?" she asked excitedly. "More importantly, is he cute?"
Jennifer smiled back at the girl as she took the bag and the number from her. "Yeah, he's all that," she said shyly.
"Hey, maybe I'll see you again," she said brightly. "Sometimes I come up to the base with my Dad."
"That would be cool," Jennifer said, smiling. She secretly wondered what the penalty was for fraternizing with your CO's kids. She was nice, though, and Jennifer was sincere about what she had said to the girl.
Limping into the infirmary, she made her way to Janet's office. Janet's mouth fell open. "I had no idea that they were planning maneuvers today," she said a bit playfully. What on earth happened to you?"
Jennifer eased herself into the chair next to Janet's desk. "What's the penalty for slamming into your CO's Cadillac with your bike, Dr. Fraiser?" she asked innocently.
Janet looked at her and giggled. "Well, as long as you look worse than the car, it should come down to time served. How's the bike?"
"A casualty, ma'am," she stated in a deadpan tone.
"That'll work in your favor, too. Now, let's get you cleaned up and ready to go; you've got a date to think about!" Her trained doctor's eye looked her over, and she called for a nurse, getting to the business of cleaning the scrapes and abrasions that Jennifer had suffered in the accident. Nothing fatal, but she would be sore for a few days, no doubt. Janet gave her a couple of tablets for the pain and looked at her watch. "Okay, Lieutenant, let's go! Time's a wasting."
They drove back to Janet's house, a pleasant split level. Cassie greeted them at the door. She smiled, then looked Jennifer up and down. "Oh my God, did you get the number of the Mack truck that hit you?" she said.
"Cassie," her mother said warningly.
Cassie laughed. "Come on, let's see what we have to work with here!" Jennifer followed her back into the house, carrying the dress and her bag. She eyed the dress critically, smiling. "Jennifer, this is beautiful. You're going to knock his socks off in this. Where'd you get it?"
"From the driver of the Mack truck," Jennifer grinned. Cassie and Janet looked quizzically at each other, then back at Jennifer.
"It's a long story," Jennifer said. "Where do we start?"
Cassie and Janet went about the business of getting her ready for her date. Cassie sat her down in a chair and gave her a manicure, then a pedicure.
"You never know when you might take your shoes off and it's good to have this done," Cassie advised her knowingly.
Janet brushed out her long, curly locks, as they discussed how she should wear her hair. After a lengthy debate, during which they pondered the meaning of hair spray and the pros and cons of mousse, she decided to wear it naturally, except for an upsweep on the left side, held in place with a rhinestone decorated hair pin Cassie procured from her collection of similar items, along with a pair of shiny, dangling earrings, just the right size for Jennifer's face; they accented the rhinestone piece on the dress.
Next, Cassie delicately applied a series of cosmetic items to Jennifer's face – they were of the same skin tone, which was helpful since Jennifer didn't own any makeup, even though Cassie was always trying to convince her to buy some. First there was a light base of foundation, then an even lighter dusting of powder. Cassie had picked the perfect colors of blush and eyeshadow to highlight Jennifer's features; her natural coloring eliminated the need for any exotic shades. Topping the whole look off with dark brown mascara – waterproof, Cassie noted wisely; that was really the safest way to go – and just the slightest hint of color on her lips, highlighted by a thin application of lip gloss.
It was time for the dress. Jennifer disappeared into the spare bedroom, where Jonas stayed. Janet had only told him that there was basically a girl party going on, so he had opted to work late on the base. She looked into the small plastic bag for the first time since Hilary had handed it to her; there were two pairs of expensive black silk stockings in the bag. They were thigh highs, with a seam up the back and a pretty little rhinestone adorning the ankle. They reminded Jennifer of her mother and her glamorous outfits; she would have to remember to thank Hilary for them.
Heeding the younger girl's advice, she slipped the second pair into the patent leather handbag she had brought for the occasion. Her military ID looked out of place among the stockings, lip gloss and delicate comb for quick hair fixes that Cassie and Janet had given her. She stepped into the dress and brought it up over shoulders. She would need help with the zipper. She put her mother's pearls on, and backing up to the door, she called for help with the zipper. Cassie was quick to oblige.
Jennifer turned around. Cassie looked at her and beamed a wide grin at the older girl. "Wow, Jen," she said appreciatively. "You look amazing." She turned to her mother. "Hey Mom, we do pretty good work, doncha think?"
Janet came up into the hallway. The young lieutenant really was a beautiful girl, underneath all that military, Janet thought. She smiled, replying to her adopted daughter. "Well, you did most of the work, m'dear, and really, we just spiffed up what she came with."
"That's true." Cassie looked at her friend again. "You really are going to knock his socks off in that dress." She frowned suddenly, noticing some scrape marks from the accident Jennifer had suffered earlier. "Ooh, it looks like the Mack truck left some tire tracks…Hey, where's the scarf you brought? That'll work like a shawl and nobody'll notice." Her legs also bore traces of the collision between bike and machine, but the dark stockings worked well to hide those.
Janet looked at the clock. It was already 6:00. "Hey, we had better get you back to the barracks or all of this will be for naught!" She hurried Jennifer and Cassie out into the car. Driving a little faster than usual, against the Friday evening traffic, they held their breath, pulling up to the front of the barracks at 6:45. Dr. Jackson would be there in 15 minutes.
She looked at the two women in the car with her and she felt a wave of gratitude. All of the women she had run into today – including the one she literally ran into – had helped her immensely, and had expected nothing in return. She was touched by their kindness.
"Thanks so much, really, both of you," she said, looking down.
Janet and Cassie smiled at each other. "Hey, no worries, Jen, it was my pleasure," the younger girl said. "Just don't forget I need those earrings back next week and I've got a physics exam you promised to take for me."
"You've got a physics exam I promised to help you prepare for," the older girl corrected her, smiling.
"Oh, well, you can't blame a girl for trying," Cassie grinned. "Never works with Dad, either." Although Jonas Quinn wasn't officially her Dad, Cassie had started calling him that since he had moved in after his surgery. She sort of hoped he would be her Dad one day. As transplants to this planet, they understood each other in ways that no one else could. And it was obvious to everyone except Janet Fraiser herself how much he truly loved her, and not in the patient doctor manner she kept trying to say it was.
Jennifer slid out of the car and walked up to the door of the barracks. She waved as Cassie and Janet drove off, calling out encouragement and wishes for a good, fun evening.