A little Tiff
Doug stalked out of the school, hands in his pockets, and stopped on the steps to watch Tom and Ninja. When they moved, he started towards the car, shaking his head. I don't know why they're so worried about me seeing 'em when they need to be worried about the suspects. Stepping out so Doug could climb in, Ninja asked, "Was it a bad as you thought it would be?" "Not really. I mean, Mr. Ramsey truly seems to care about us and is genuinely concerned about the missing students." Doug explained before asking. "Why didn't you get a drink during kickball?" Ninja shrugged her shoulders as Tom pulled onto the road, "I wasn't thirsty. Besides, it gave me and Smith a chance to talk."
"What'd you two talk about?" Tom probed. "Me. Where I'm from, how I know you guys, if my Dad was in the military, that kinda stuff. We quit talking when everybody came back outside." She answered, staring out the window. Doug didn't want to upset her but he felt like he needed to ask, "Do you think he trusts you?" Ninja nodded with her eyes glued to the window lost in thought, trying to remember where she had seen those cobalt blue eyes before.
Ninja was pulled out of her thoughts when Tom stopped at a store. "Why are we here and on that note, what's for dinner?" Doug wondered while they all climbed out of the car. "To pick up a few things for tacos. I'll get the tortillas and salsa while you two grab what you want to go 'em." Ninja said, heading toward the Mexican aisle. "Is she ok?" Doug inquired as Tom grabbed a basket before walking to the produce section. "I don't know. Her talk with Smith has made her more quiet than usual. You should've seen her Doug, we were kissing and she watched him get in his car and leave." Tom's eyes lit up as he replied.
Doug looked at him with a mix of shock, surprise, and worry as he placed a tomato in the basket, quietly hissing at his partner. "You two made out with a suspect watching? Are you stupid, Tommy?" "I'm not stupid, Doug. And we weren't making out, we hid out faces the same way every other couple would so one of us could watch him." Tom snapped back just as quiet as Ninja walked up with her items. "Y'all ready to check out?" "Sure," Penhall grunted, giving his best friend a concerned look and not caring who else saw it. They paid for the groceries, walked out to the car, and drove to the house. All without saying a word.
As Ninja was fixing the meat, Tom cut the tomato and onion they bought at the store while Doug did the dishes. After everything was ready, the three partners sat down and started eating. Ninja finally broke the silence, "Why are you guys being so quiet? I'm supposed to be the quiet one." Tom glanced at Doug but didn't answer her question. "Hanson's just upset because I hurt his feelings." Doug snapped. "You doubted my ability to do my job, Penhall. Of course, I'm mad." Tom shot back. "O.K! Both of you just calm down." Ninja sternly ordered. Taking a breath as they complied, she continued, "We had to maintain our covers because Smith is getting more suspicious every day. We stopped when he drove out of sight."
Everyone grew quiet once again until Tom asked no one in particular, "Do you want kids?" Doug was about to make a sarcastic commit when Ninja glared at him, "He was asking both of us, Doug; not just me." Thoughtfully, she replied, "I would love to have kids someday. And I'll try my hardest to make the world they grow-up in as safe as I can." Staring at Ninja, Doug let his bitterness die away, before looking Tom in the eye, "I think she summed up both our answers, Hanson. And I wouldn't mind a few little Penhalls running around." "You know Judy would roll her eyes at the thought of more miniature Doug Penhalls, right?" Tom laughed, glad that they had gotten over their little spat. Doug shared his happiness as he chuckled, "Yeah, and she'd laugh at the thought of them being hers's too." Ninja about choked when he said that, "Are you and Judy dating?"
Shaking his head, Doug explained, "No, we're not dating. Me and Judy got a bit closer when I stopped working the Piedmont case, but nothing happened and nothing will unless she says otherwise. I value our friendship too much." "Not to mention what would Dorothy say?" Tom smirked as Doug gave him an annoyed glare. "As soon as this case is over I'm kickin' her out. All she ever does is gripe and complain about everything I do, even if it's what she asked me to do!" Doug said, slightly angry at Dorothy for being the way she is but more upset with himself for giving in to her for so long. "Have you talked to her?" Ninja inquired, placing a hand on one of Doug's, trying to calm him down. "Yeah, and she was upset that I hadn't called to tell her earlier, even though I explained why I couldn't." Doug exhaled, shoulders slumping as he got up to clear the table.
Remembering that they were supposed to check-in, Ninja snatched Fuller's number off the fridge and dialed it. "Fuller here." "It's Ninja. You said to call, so I called." "Glad you remembered. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Fuller said before hanging up. "Well, he seems distracted. I wonder why." Ninja mused aloud as Tom and Doug wandered into the living room.
"Who?" Doug wondered, flipping through the TV channels. "Fuller. He didn't ask about you two or if we had any improvements on the case." Ninja answered as he settled on the news. "He's a captain, Ninja. Besides, Fuller always looks over files in the evening. I'm sure he's fine." Tom said, reaching for the remote because he didn't want to watch anything depressing. "Maybe, but he hung up before I could ask him what was wrong or if I could speak to Richter." She sighed as she sank down to place her head on Tom's shoulder, adding, "I don't know. Maybe I worry too much." Tom put his arm around her, softly rubbing his thumb against her toned upper arm. So that's how she was able to throw so hard. I wonder how much she works out.
Forgetting all about Doug and his worries, Tom kissed the top of Ninja's head savoring the sweet floral scent wafting off her. Tom pulled her into his lap as he continued to gently kiss her; moving to her forehead, then the tip of her nose, before closing in on her lips and they were as soft and supple as he remembered. She melted into him, letting all her fears and worries disappear, if only for a moment.
"Ahem." Doug cleared his throat to bring them back to reality.
"Sorry Do…" Tom started but Doug held up a hand, silencing him. "You don't have to apologize to me, Hanson. But you need to start thinking with your head because whether she means to get you in trouble or not, she will if you two keep going, and she knows it." "Everybody wants me to think about everything and I'm tired of thinking, Doug! I just want to relax and not worry about drug dealers or missing kids or anything bad. I want to get married and come home to a house full of kids. I want the last face I see at night to be my wife and the last thing I say to be 'I love you.'" Tom asserted, exasperated, and probably would've paced the floor as he ranted if Ninja wasn't still in his lap.
Seeing his eyes glistening with tears, Ninja wrapped her arms around his neck pulling his trimmed, muscular chest to her own. "Shh, Tommy. It's ok. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Ninja soothed, petting the back of his head as Tom let his tears fall.
Doug just watched them with wonder in his eyes. Man, they really do love each other. I wonder when I'm going to find someone to love like that and who truly loves me back. Not wanting to move or speak for fear of ruining the most perfect display of genuine love he had ever seen, Doug silently promised to himself, I'll defend you two and your love until I die or you guys get married. Then I'll do everything I can to make sure Hanson gets home.
Sniffling, Tom tried to pull away but found himself in an iron grip, "Thanks, Ninja." Ninja leaned back and cupped his face with her small, strong hands, wiping his tears away with her thumbs. With a soft, loving smile, Ninja said, "Why don't you go take a shower, Tommy? Trust me, you'll feel a lot better afterward." "Ok, as long as you come with." Tom grinned, standing up with Ninja in his arms, and walked to their room. Laughing, Tom tossed her on the bed before grabbing his nightclothes but was stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Ninja's warbling laughter. "I haven't been carried like that in years." Tom stared at her hazel eyes, fighting the desire that threatened to consume him as he crossed the room and bent down to kiss her forehead; knowing that he would lose the battle if he tasted her lips.
Watching Tom's every move as he left, Ninja gave a content sigh before changing into her pj's. As she was about to knock on the bathroom door, Doug called, "Ninja. Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Sure, Doug. What do you want to talk about?" Ninja answered as she walked across the living room and sat cross-legged on the couch, facing her new friend. "I'm sorry for how I was …" Doug started but didn't get very far before Ninja interrupted him. "Tommy's the one you need to apologize to, Doug, not me, but I understand where you're coming from. I don't want anything to happen to him any more than you do." "I know Ninja and I'm not going to stop you two anymore. If Tommy gets in trouble I'll try my best to get him out of it." Doug promised.
Catching him by surprise, she said, "You can stop us if you think we're going too far. I would rather you keep trouble from happening than to try and get Tommy out of it afterward. Because if you hadn't reminded us that you were here, I don't think either of us could've stopped before we had gone farther than we should've. And to be honest Penhall, we probably wouldn't have stopped after Smith was out of sight if I hadn't needed to get a breath. I know you think Tommy is falling hard for me but I'm falling just as hard for him and I don't know what to do." She exhaled not knowing why she told him all that.
"Why have you not had a boyfriend before?" Doug wondered, grimacing as he recalled that it was a touchy subject.
Ninja saw Doug grimace and chuckled, "It's ok Doug, I know y'all better now than I did on Monday. Every guy I liked either wasn't interested, started dating another girl or got hurt. So after a while, I just quit trying."
"And that's what makes you beautiful Ninja. Everyone at the Chapel is awestruck when you enter, even before we knew you were CIA." Doug said, wanting to help her see herself as beautiful and someone any guy would be lucky to have.
Hugging him, Ninja said as she got up, "Thanks, Doug. See ya in the morning and I'll fix breakfast if I wake you and Tommy up again."
"Tell Hanson that I'm making breakfast if you don't." Doug grinned as he watched Ninja, thinking. Glad you found someone who understands what you went through, Hanson.
When Ninja knocked on the bathroom door, she was surprised to see a shirtless Tom Hanson open the door.
"Oh, I thought I had waited long enough. Sorry." Ninja struggles to find the words as she stared at his muscular body. If it was any other woman ogling at his body, Tom would've quickly covered up, but he didn't mind Ninja's gaze. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ninja brought her eyes to meet his as he spoke. "Come on in. I was just finish drying off, I hate sleeping in a wet shirt."
"May I?" Ninja asked, taking the towel from him. Tom nodded his approval and stood still as she moved the towel from his hardening abs to his sculpted chest. Then she dried his arms, lingering over his Indian tattoo for a moment, before progressing to his back. Throwing the towel over his head, Ninja picked up his shirt and handed it to him, "There. You should be sufficiently dry."
Tom grinned ear to ear as he pulled his shirt on, watching Ninja brush her teeth for a minute before he started brushing his. "How do you sign 'help'?" Tom inquired after spitting out his toothpaste.
Ninja made a fist with her thumb sticking up with her right hand, placed it on her left palm, and jerked them upward. "That's the sign for 'help.' Any other signs you want to know?"
"Umm. Not right now." Tom answered, mimicking her actions, "Thank you for everything you've done this evening. Normally when me and Doug get in a fight like we did earlier, we don't talk for a few days unless we absolutely have to."
"You're welcome but I'm not playing referee every time y'all get in a tiff. I'll be in bed."
Still awake when Tom entered the room, Ninja laid in wait to see if he would remember what they talked about last night. Turns out he did, because Tom left the door open a crack before treading lightly to the bed and crawled under the beige-colored quilt but not the sheets.
"Glad you remembered Tommy. Doug said he'd fix breakfast if I don't wake y'all up tonight." Ninja said as she rolled over to face him.
"What day is tomorrow?" Tom asked, looking at Ninja's face. "Thursday. Why?"
"Doug always makes French toast on Thursdays and it is delicious. So please, don't wake him up. I don't care if you wake me, just try not to wake him, please." Tom pleaded.
"No promises." She sighed, closing her eyes and nestled close. Tom's dark eyes glimmered in the moonlight as the pale silver beams slipped over her sleeping body through the half-open blinds. Feeling Ninja's warm, calming breaths through his shirt, Tom hoped that she would sleep alright tonight. Little did he know how wrong he was.
Busting through the door, she saw Hadar in the middle of the room holding a knife to an adolescent boy's throat. As soon as she looked into the young brown eyes, reading a silent plea for help, she knew she'd hesitated too long. Before she could twitch, she was surrounded by a dozen men armed with automatic guns trained on her. They began shouting in Arabic, she grasped that they wanted her to do something, but couldn't understand what exactly she was to do.
Abruptly, Hadar yelled at his men and they fell silent before the imposing man. "Drop your weapon child, or the boy's blood will be on your hands." Hadar threatened, a thick accent nearly marring his perfect English. She complied, letting the knife slip from her hand, not wanting to see the boy's life cut short when she could prevent it. Suddenly her world went black.