(Quick) Author's Note: In the last chapter, for some reason, it wouldn't post my asterisks, which is how I denotated the "actions" in Sheppard and Evie's chat conversation. So, from now on I will denotate them with colons, i.e. :laughs: We'll see if that works. And since it's been a while since I posted last, you nice people who bother to read this shtuff get two whole chappies! Enjoy!
Chapter Two - A Few Pointers
"When she and I settle down you can bet that he is gonna have to settle for less. He's someone I would hate to be. I got the girl and he's left with just the memory. He's the guy that you should feel sorry for. He had the world but he thought that he wanted more. I owe it all to the mistake he made back then. I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend. If it wasn't for him, I would still be searching. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know my best friend. If it wasn't for him, he would be able to see that if it wasn't for him, he'd be as happy as me." - Relient K, "My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend"
Panting. Panting and soft grunting. These were the only sounds heard in the gym on Saturday after breakfast. Halfway through Summer and Evie's grappling session, Sheppard entered the gym. "Morning, ladies," he greeted, intrigued by watching the two women fight.
"Morning, sir," Evie panted, glad she hadn't taken her eyes off her opponent as she narrowly ducked Summer's roundhouse kick. Taking a step back, Evie attempted to use the same move, but Summer grabbed Evie's foot, twisting it roughly and forcing Evie to turn a one-eighty. With a swift kick to the back of her opponent's knee, Summer threw Evie onto the mat, her friend landing with a soft grunt.
"Nice moves, Captain," Sheppard complimented.
"Thank you, sir," Summer huffed with a smile, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear.
"And 'nice try' to you, Lieutenant," he teased as Evie slowly got to her feet.
"You ever fight her before, sir?" Evie asked, breathing heavily and grabbing her water bottle from her gear.
"A few times," Sheppard said, nodding.
"You ever win?" Evie said, taking a gulp of water.
"Most of the time, actually," he answered. "But only because I'm heavier," he admitted with a grin. Evie sighed tiredly. "I could give you a couple pointers, if you'd like," Sheppard offered.
Evie looked over to Summer. "Captain?"
Summer waved her hand as if shooing her friend. "Go for it," she said, sitting down on the bench.
Evie nodded, setting down her water bottle. She inhaled deeply as she stepped back onto the mat with Sheppard. They had sparred a few times before, and he had kicked her butt on each and every occasion.
"Always keep your defenses up," he instructed, attempting a low punch, which was easily blocked. He tried several more blows in quick succession, and Evie nimbly parried them all. "And always stay on your toes." Thus saying, he delivered an uppercut punch and then darted to the side, attempting to grab her ankle. Evie evaded his grasp with a swift kick to his arm. "Nice," he said, taking a step back. Several more blows were exchanged, some connecting, but most being blocked.
"What you want to do is catch your opponent off-guard," Sheppard explained. As he said this, he feinted to the left. When Evie moved to block his blow, he grabbed her wrist, yanking her forward and flipping her onto her back. She landed on the mat with a grunt. Using her wrist, Sheppard pulled her over onto her stomach, grabbing both her arms and planting his shin against her rear to prevent her from moving. He yanked on both her wrists, pulling her arms tight and eliciting a slight groan from her. "And that," he panted, "is the benefit of catching your rival off-guard."
With a soft cry of effort, Evie brought one of her legs up, kicking his lower back with enough force to send him rolling forward. She hopped up and quickly placed her foot against his throat, grabbing his arm and twisting it out to the side. "How's that?" she huffed, flipping her hair out of her face.
"S'good," he whispered, breathing heavily. "Quick thinking."
Evie nodded and removed her foot, untwisting his arm and pulling him up. "Thanks for the lesson, sir. I feel much more confident knowing that I can kick your butt," she teased.
Sheppard grinned wryly. "Don't count on it next time. Now you finish with Akerly," he said, gesturing to Summer.
Summer grinned and stood to her feet, returning to the mat. "Pointers or no pointers, you're still going down, Lieutenant," she teased, bringing her hands up.
"Bring it, Barbie," Evie said, throwing a blow that Summer narrowly blocked. Sheppard smirked as he watched the two ladies continue to exchange blows for a several minutes. Both women managed to stay on their toes, and Sheppard wasn't certain who the victor would be.
Summer deflected a kick from Evie, then suddenly struck out with her fist. Evie sidestepped the blow and hooked her arm around Summer's. Striking the back of Summer's neck with her opposite forearm, Evie delivered a swift kick to Summer's lower back and dropped the other woman onto the mat. Realizing she had just pinned her friend to the floor, Evie grinned widely, but her moment of victory was curtailed when Summer grabbed her friend's ankle and yanked her foot out from under her. Having always had terrible balance, Evie fell to the ground with a yelp. Summer quickly rolled over and secured Evie to the mat. "Ha! Pinned ya again," she teased.
Evie pouted, mumbling something under her breath, and Summer released her friend. Evie crossed her arms when she heard Sheppard snickering. "Well, I knocked her down, didn't I?" she asked.
Sheppard quickly erased the smirk from his face. "Yes, yes," he answered, nodding. "That was better, Lieutenant."
Evie smiled. "Well," she said, reaching her hands up to Summer, who pulled her up, "if you'll excuse me, sir, I think I'm done for the day."
Sheppard nodded then turned to Summer. "You got enough energy for one more round?" he asked.
"I think so, sir," Summer answered, draining the last of her water bottle.
"You two have fun," Evie said leaving Summer and Sheppard engaged in combat.
XXXXXX
Entering the sparsely occupied mess hall just after lunch, Sheppard was surprised to see Evie at one the tables, crying. "Something wrong, Lieutenant?" he asked, walking over to where she sat, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. Evie held a finger up and turned the page of the book in front of her. Sheppard sat down in front of her and gently raised the book so he could see the title. "The Notebook," he read aloud. "Any good?" Evie nodded, not taking her eyes off the page, and sniffled a little.
A few moments later, Evie closed the book and wiped her cheeks. "Ugh, I'm such a sap for happy endings," she commented, rubbing her nose.
"Nothing wrong with that," he said, picking up the book and flipping through the pages. "Any hot scenes?"
"Yes, but I won't tell you the page number," she teased. "I skipped ahead a few pages when the pants started coming off, anyway."
"You mean you don't fantasize about 'heaving bosoms' and 'torrid love affairs'?" he joked, managing to find the correct page.
"No, sir, I most certainly do not," she answered. "And I don't think this conversation is very appropriate," she said quietly after one of the scientists walked by the table.
"As you wish, Lieutenant, as you wish," Sheppard said, setting the book down. "What would you like to talk about then? Unless you have someplace to be…"
"No, I'm free for the rest of the day, thank the Lord," Evie answered.
Sheppard nodded. "So… Do you have family back in the states?" he asked, picking a topic at random from his head.
Evie nodded. "Mom and Dad. Safe at home in good ol' Dinkyville, Texas," she said with a smile.
"Small town, eh?"
"Population 4,530. Unless Mrs. Ryland had twins again. Then it's 4,532."
Sheppard nodded with an amused smile. "So, you don't have any siblings?"
"No," Evie answered after a slight pause. Sheppard nodded and then there was another brief moment of silence, which was broken when Evie asked, "So, what about your family?"
Sheppard looked down. An awkward silence ensued as long-buried memories resurfaced in his mind…
"You're sure you can't go to the movies with us tonight, John?" the svelte brunette asked as she and her boyfriend sat in his car in her driveway.
"I'd love to, Emily," eighteen year-old John Sheppard replied, placing a hand on her knee. "But my parents are getting back from Europe this afternoon and my dad and I are gonna go to the Steeler's game."
"Oh. Alright." Emily nodded. "You two have fun. So, I'll see you on Monday?" she asked, reaching for the door handle.
"Absolutely, babe," he said suavely, sliding his hand a few inches up her thigh.
"Stoppit, John," she giggled, pushing his hand off. "I'm sure my brother is watching us through the kitchen window."
"So let's give him something to watch," the young man teased, pulling her in for a kiss.
Emily pulled away a minute later, blushing. "I swear, John Sheppard, you are the most mischievous boy I know." John just grinned. She grabbed her backpack from the floorboard and opened the car door. "Thanks for the ride," she said, exiting the car.
"Anytime, baby." He waved as she walked up the steps to her house. John backed out of the driveway and drove back to his house. Once there, he greeted his dog, Whatever, and then reluctantly pulled his calculus book from his backpack. His father, Matt Sheppard, was a strict man, and John knew that there would be no football game if his homework wasn't finished first.
He had only been working for half an hour when the phone rang. He got up and walked over to where the apparatus was hanging on the wall, nearly tripping over Whatever in the process. "Stupid dog," he muttered, lifting the receiver off the hook. "Hello?"
"Is this John Sheppard?" a male voice asked.
"It depends," John smart-mouthed.
"And your parents are Matthew and Christine?"
"Yes. Who is this?" he asked, leaning against the wall.
"This is Officer DiNozzo, Philly P.D." the voice answered.
John swallowed nervously. "Are my parents okay?" he asked quickly.
"Son, I'm so sorry… Their plane crashed. There weren't any survivors." The phone fell from John's grip, the cord catching it just before it hit the floor. He slid down the wall, sinking to the floor. "Son? Son?" John just sat there in shock as the phone continued to swing slowly back and forth…
"Sir?" Evie's voice jolted Sheppard from the painful memory. "Sir, are you alright?"
"Yeah…" he said quietly, continuing to stare at the floor. "My parents were killed when I was eighteen," he relinquished after a pause.
Evie felt like kicking herself. "Oh, man… I'm so sorry, sir." "Sorry" sounded so…unhelpful. It was an automatic response in situations like this, but she knew from personal experience that it didn't do a thing to make the other person feel any better. And talk about a good way to kill a conversation… Where did one go from here? She decided a little transparency couldn't hurt. "Okay, so I lied," she said. Sheppard slowly looked up at her, quickly masking the sorrow in his eyes with his usual façade. "I lost my younger brother," she said quietly, her downcast eyes staring at the salt shaker in front of her. "I generally don't mention it, but since you were being all open…" she trailed off.
Sheppard looked down, his eyes tracing the pattern on the cover of Evie's book. Silence ensued again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Almost subconsciously, Sheppard slowly slid his hand across the table. Then he gently slipped it over Evie's. Continuing to stare at the book, half-lost in thought, he was vaguely aware of her smiling slightly.
"I guess…it just feels better to tell someone…you know?" Evie said softly. "Catharsis or something like that…"
Sheppard nodded slowly and looked up at her. The moment was quickly shattered, however, by the beeping of Sheppard's watch. "Sorry. Senior staff meeting," he explained. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and left.