Chances Lost…

Bomber yawned and put her head down against the cool bench in front of her. It was a little after two, the middle of summer, and stinking hot. In the galley things were just a little better than the engine rooms but Bomber was dying from the heat. Now things had gone a little quiet after lunch she managed to find time to breath, having now discovered the only cool place left in the ship was the metal bench in the galley that had just been covered in items from the fridge. It had retained the cool and was very inviting. So, making sure she was alone, Bomber placed her warm forehead against the cool bench and suddenly felt a whole lot better. Until she heard voices and turned to see Spider and ET walk past. She stood up just in time, but knocked over a small bowl of grapes in the process. The little buggers rolled everywhere, out into the hall, catching the boys' attention. ET glanced up at her and laughed but Spider made an effort to stop. Stop and laugh. Heating up quickly, a mix of no more cold bench and embarrassment, Bomber scowled at him. He just grinned and motioned to the grapes.

"Need any help picking those up?" He asked, still laughing and spitting out the words between peels of laughter. Despite it being almost friendly, Bomber continued to scowl at him so he just shrugged and started picking up the grapes anyway. After he had a handful and walked over and put them back in the bowl, squashing a few grapes in the process. He grinned and handed her the bowl. "Wash them and no one will notice."

Bomber shrugged. "Doesn't matter, they're only for the plebs anyway." She joked, putting them back on the bench.

"Well, in that case don't bother washing them." Spider said, giving his usual stupid pout and tipping his head a little. Bomber just shook her head at him and, probably for the first time in the time she'd known him, Spider took the hint and left.

With a sigh Bomber went back to picking up grapes.

***

The sound of Buffer humming softly to himself hit Spider's ears long before his voice and he glanced up at his friend with a sly smile. "Good mood Buff?" He teased.

Buffer frowned at him, joining him at the EOD and glancing down at the relatively blank screen. "You would be too Spider, if you were as lucky as I am." He gave a small grin.

Spider laughed. "I'm going to hazard a guess here and say… Monica?"

Buffer nodded. "Shore leave. Finally." He glanced at his watch. "Two days, 3 hours and 45 minutes."

Spider laughed. "You've got a countdown?"

Buffer shrugged. "You'll get here too one day." He said, somewhat mysteriously, before disappearing. Spider just shook his head with a small smile and went back to work.

***

"If you lean against that counter one more time I'll kill you." Bomber warned, entering her galley to find ET pressing his arms up against the bench top counter.

ET turned. "Oh, but Bomb it's cold." He gave a puppy-dog face and Bomber sighed.

"Fine." She gave in; turning to the fridge to grab what was for dinner. "But if you stink up that bench you're cleaning it." She teased.

ET growled. "So this is why you and Nik… Nav are friends." He caught himself, but it was too late. Bomber turned and glanced at him, checking the hall outside the galley was empty before speaking.

"How is it, you and Nikki? I mean, is it hard, in this situation?" She asked.

ET groaned. "How many people…?" He said, more to himself than anyone else.

Bomber smiled softly. "I'm sorry, it's a bit obvious." She paused. "But, I don't think anyone really minds." She continued, seeing the look of horror on his face after her first comment.

ET shrugged. "Eh, whatever." He continued leaning against the cool patch but then glanced up at her. "Why do you want to know whether it's hard?" He asked, giving her a cheeky look.

Bomber gaped a little, realizing what she'd said. "Oh, no reason." She turned back to the bench behind her and started to pull lettuce leaves off and place them in a bowl.

ET chuckled. "Okay, sure." He paused and Bomber glanced back in the hope he'd gone silently, but he was just grinning at her, waiting for her to reply. He nodded his head slowly as she glanced at him. "So…"

Bomber turned with a sigh. "So what? Just leave it alone alright ET?"

ET laughed. "Calm down, keep going like this and the whole ship will hear you." He lowered his voice. "You can tell me. Who is it?" Bomber crossed her arms and shook her head. "Fine, then I'll just guess." He scratched his chin. "RO?" Bomber shook her head. He frowned but seemed to believe her and continued. "Buffer?" He fished.

Bomber laughed. "What? No!" She exclaimed.

Again he gave her a look and a frown, but kept fishing. He made it through six names before finally stopping, realization across his face. "Spider!" He said, knowing he'd got it this time. Bomber's eyes left his and he clapped, laughing. "Nice. Oh, I knew it."

Bomber glared at him. "You suck." She turned back to the lettuce.

ET stopped laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry Bomb." He was quiet for a minute. "Uh, does he know you like him?" Bomber didn't turn but shook her head slowly. He made a noise like he was sucking air in between his teeth and Bomber turned to find him looking at the floor, deep in thought. He then surprised Bomber with a comment that seemed far too serious for him. "Just tell him. What have you got to lose?"

Bomber lowered her eyebrows. "My job, my pride." She suggested.

ET shrugged. "If you think they're more important…" He said, giving her a blank look. And then, with a small nod, he left the galley. Bomber sighed. ET was right.

***

Bomber joined Spider, who was leaning on the railing watching Buffer leave, as shore leave finally arrived. She glanced up at him. "What are you doing?" She asked, smiling at the look on his face as he watched Buffer hug Monica who'd been waiting on the dock for him.

Spider glanced at her. "Just, you know, making sure…" He stopped, glancing at her. "And what are you doing here?"

Bomber shrugged. "Waiting for you to stop stalking Buffer so I could ask you if you were doing anything this weekend." She said, making Spider frown at her.

"Where did this come from?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

Bomber shrugged. "I don't know." She tipped her head a little. "So, you in?"

Spider grinned as another car pulled up beside Buffer and Monica. "Yeah, if you think you wo…" He stopped as an all-too-familiar girl got out of the car. It was Carly Walsman, his now-ex. Bomber must've seen her too because she let out a small breath and glanced up at him. Spider's smile fell before he gave Bomber a 'sorry' look and disappeared inside. Bomber just stared down at the girl, the moment ruined by the little rich blonde, and sighed. Chance lost.