The pounding echoed in Scarlett's ears. Sounding louder and louder with each force. Her eyes gently opened, her ears barely hearing the muffled sounds echoing from the other room. She turned over to the other side, the sounds became worse. She exhaled an aggravated breath, her red hair that had covered her features, flew from its strength, Even covering her head with a pillow did not work. She grabbed the pillow and threw it against the wall. It hit the wall with a thump and went sliding down, landing with a small thud. "Couldn't you take her to your room, Flint?" she talked to the white wall. They would never had heard her anyway. Giving a sigh of defeat, she knew that she lost her bed for another long night. Grabbing her blanket and the fallen pillow, she left her bedroom.
"Good grief!" she said to herself entering the living room, "The sounds are worse in here!" Was that a moan? she just heard. Her eyes widened. "I got to get out of here!" she said out loud. Walking past the couch, her eyes spotted something she had left earlier in the evening. "Come on Brutus," she said to the fuzzy bear. "Even your ears are too innocent for this show." Taking the bear in her arms, she opened the door and walked out into the darkened hallway.
The door clicked shut, shaking her head, she realized she did not have her passkey or the keys to her office. "Too late to wake up Breaker, and I'm not going to sleep in the rec. room, too many late nighters." She set the blanket on the floor with the pillow, and put the Bear next to it. "You are on guard duty!" she told him, then shook her head, "I think I must be loosing it, talking to a stuff animal!" She rested her head on the pillow as her eyes began to drift close.
Duke walked down the hall past the female quarters heading towards the Officer's quarters to get some sleep. He had worked a long night shift, and was ready for a few hours of rest. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Scarlett slumbered in the hall by her door. "What's the matter?" He asked when he saw she was barely asleep. "To exhausted from running around with Goat Boy to unlock your door?"
Her eyes widened, her eyebrows raised, "Come again?"
"Thought you went out with Alpine tonight." He said as he ran a hand threw his thick blonde hair, refusing to look at her.
Scarlett raised herself on her elbows, looking at him,, "Well, if you want the truth, yes, I was with Alpine tonight. There is no rule against that? Is there?"
Duke didn't answer. "Why do you have Brutus?" He asked, Trying to change the focus of their conversation to the bear he had bought Jaye when she had become injured.
She lifted the bear from where she had set him before, "I guess I must had been very tired, and grabbed him, thinking he was my pillow."
Duke snorted a laugh. "So why are you out here then?"
There was a twinkle in her eye, she did not want Duke to find out the real reason she was sleeping in the hallway, with a blanket, a pillow and a bear. She could see his top blow off if he discovered that Jaye had 'company'. "Would 'couldn't sleep', work for you?"
"Did the lovebirds make it back yet?" Duke asked heading for the door to Scarlett and Jaye's quarters to peek inside.
Scarlett sat straight up, watching Duke take out his key, she had to stop him before he entered the suite, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." she warned.
"Oh really?" Duke looked at her with a smirk. "Will Rory, your stuffed skunk spray me?" He teased sarcastically.
Her eyes narrowed, "If you recall, Shipwreck abducted Rory, during last year's April Fool's, put some kind of rotten smell on the poor thing, hid it in Beach Head's office, where one extremely angry drill instructor found him in his drawer, and I received him back in a small box in ten pieces."
"Damn, I forgot about that. And if you recall Shipwreck had to clean out Beach's office every weekend for 6 months." Duke replied.
She laughed, "Don't forget, he was also my 'assistant' for all those training sessions for two months. I think it was the first time I saw Shipwreck get sea sick and he wasn't even at sea!" She watched Duke step closer to the door, she had to distract him somehow, then blurted out, "Alpine and I went fishing last night." That caught his attention.
"You went fishing? Every time I tried to take you fishing with me, you inform me that you hate fishing." There was a hint of anger in his voice.
"Duke, can you even remember when was the last time you asked me for anything?" she gave him a look, 'Just keep him out of the suite.' she thought, but said, "We caught a real big one too."
"Really?" Duke asked. "What kind of fish was it and how big and how much did it weight?"
Darn it, he had to ask her that question. Well, she didn't lie to him, she was indeed fishing last night with Alpine. Fishing Bazooka out of the toilet. "Umm.. some kind of large red fish, big boned, and probably weighing give or take a few hundred pounds."
"Alright, what are you hiding?" Duke asked, knowing something was up.
"Hiding? who says I'm hiding anything. I'm just sitting here on the floor, with a blanket, a lumpy pillow and a fuzzy bear. Not hiding a single thing, nope." shaking her head and closing her eyes.
"I think you need to go see PsycheOut. You are ten cards short of a deck." Duke said. "I'm going to bed."
Her face blazed, first she was going to kill him, then kill Jaye and Flint for her predicament. How dare he say she was ten cards short of the deck. She was about to open her mouth to retaliate his attack when large bumping sounds echoed within the suite with long cry following them. Both of them stared towards the door. Then looked at each other. Scarlett thought of only one thing-- Busted! Duke took two steps towards the door, took out his key and unlocked it, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you." she warned him once more, but it was too late as he had already entered the suite.
"5...4...3...2...1... and-" Scarlett counted backwards, awaiting the yells, or blows in the room, but nothing came. No sound, no yell, no screams… nothing. Then she noticed him by the door, his expression unreadable, looking surprised, shocked, his eyes wide, and speechless. He closed the door behind him, still staring into space. She kept watching him. He slid down the wall, next to her, still in his own thoughts on what he had just witnessed.
Scarlett swallowed a giggle that wanted to escape her throat, served him right! Instead, she patted his shoulder, handed him Brutus and calmly stated, "PsycheOut's office opens at eight in the morning."
"Umm, yeah, okay." Duke said, slowly standing back up from next to her and began to walk down the hall towards his room, still carrying the bear.
Scarlett watched him walk down the hall in his disturbing thoughts, and burst out in laughter. She watched him bump into a hallway chair, apologize to it and then turn around the corner. "There goes my guard for the night." she smirked, leaning down on her pillow and finally falling into a deep slumber.
A few hours later, Jaye lay cuddled up with Flint in her new bed, her leg over his, her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest, she was fast asleep when the alarm blared.
Flint woke up with a start, took him a few seconds to realize where he was and his mind drifted from the events of the night before. A smile spread wide across his face. The alarm still blared in his ear, with a grumble, he switched it off with his right hand. He turned to glance at Jaye, who was sleeping so comfortable from his embrace. He did not want to wake her, "Let her sleep." he thought. She will have some few hard hours with Beach Head later on, she deserved some rest. He kissed her forehead gently, as she gave off a serene sigh, and slowly got up from the warm bed.
Hastily dressing in his evening attire, he shook his head from the dream he had during the night. For some reason, Duke had been in it. But he knew Duke would had never known that he had stayed the night with Jaye. Besides, they were engaged now. Would that count? He wondered. Checking, his fiancé once more, he covered her with the blanket before leaving her room. He walked softly towards the door, not to disturb Scarlett in her room. Opening it slowly, he stepped forward into the hallway, tripping over something solid and landing on his face.
"Flint!" Scarlett's voice flew to his ear
Flint jumped. "Shana, what the hell are you doing out here in the hall sleeping?"
She scowled at him, "Good morning to you too. And as for why I am sleeping out here, in the draft, with my blanket and my pillow is because last night, someone did not take a certain other someone to their quarters instead used our quarters, so one counterintelligence agent and a stuffed bear had to listen to the entertainment, and had to evacuate the premises."
Flint smirked. "Jealous?" He teased playfully.
She grabbed the pillow and flung it at his face, "No. I'm not jealous." But in truth, maybe she was a bit jealous. Jaye was very lucky to be with Flint. He was everything to her and would do everything for her. But ever since Duke's injury from Serpentor 's snake attack, he had become more distant, more cold and more leaving her out of his world. Shaking her sad thoughts away, she changed the subject, "So, judging from last nights opera, my guess is she said a yes?"
Flint's face brightened and his smile was contagious. "Yep."
"Congratulations!" Scarlett squealed, standing up and embracing Flint with a hug. "I'm so happy for the both of you. Maybe now your famous arguments will disappear and we can finally have some peace!" she teased.
"Oh gee thanks." Flint teased. "Now I need to get out of here before Duke walks by." With that Flint left.
Scarlett went to call out to him about Duke, but he will soon find out himself. Shaking her head, she gathered her stuff, and went back into the suite to wake the sleeping beauty.