Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter!!! Reviews make my day at work so much brighter!!
I hope you like this next chapter, I really enjoyed writing it, it was really fun!
Special thanks to Mari for beta-ing this for me :o)
Well, she's not mad, I think to myself, she's even playing along. I wish it wasn't just acting, but I've come to accept that there can't be anything more than friendship between us. That's all she wants. I love her too much to push her into something she doesn't want. She's realised what Mattie's up to, of course. I wonder if she understands that those lyrics, and the ones I just sang, describe my feelings for her to a T? I doubt it. Since she doesn't reciprocate them, I doubt she's given the words a second thought.
We're all still sat at the dinner table; everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I wondered if Jen would feel comfortable with Mac here. I mean socializing with one senior officer out of the office is one thing; but two is another altogether. But I should have known better. Jen's a good kid. She hasn't had an easy life and she's done an amazing job of getting back on track. I'm really glad she agreed to live with Mattie. The two of them get on like a house on fire, and I think it suits Mattie better to have Jen as a roommate than me.
I can't stop a contented smile, as I sit and quietly take in the scene in front of me. Mac and Jen are laughing together at something that Mattie was saying. I watch as Mattie picks up a peanut butter M&M from the top of her bowl of ice cream and throws it at Jen, who dodges it easily, before retaliating with one of her own, which misses Mattie but instead hits me. They all pause, awaiting my reaction.
"Hey!" I all but squeal indignantly. "Watch it, young lady!" I add in a mock stern voice, taking in the slightly nervous expression on Jen's face. I try to bite back a grin,
"I'm sorry, Si…." Her apology is cut off when I fling a Hershey's Kiss back at her, which typically, bounces of her shoulder and lands in Mac's bowl of ice cream. Great, I think to myself, now I have 3 women staring at me like I'm crazy. Then I hear Mattie collapse into giggles.
"Food fight!!!" she shouts, picking grabbing a handful of M&Ms from the bag on the table and flinging them at me.
"Oh you are so going dow…." Evidently there is a look of shock on my face, as I notice Mac and Jen giggling at me too. I can't help but laugh, I can't believe what I'm about to do. Very slowly, I pick up my spoon, place some M&Ms on it, and fling it at my ward!
Suddenly all hell seems to break loose, and we are all throwing whatever ice cream toppings we can get our hands on at each other. I see Mattie dipping her spoon in her bowl of ice cream, and I quickly duck behind the sofa, thinking I'm safe, only to suddenly feel something cold land on the top of my head! Spinning around, I see my Marine standing behind me, a dripping spoon in her hand and an impish grin on her face. I can't stop the laughter bubbling up inside me and I jump to my feet.
"Are you starting on me Marine?!" I ask, picking up my bowl and edging closer and closer. She starts to back away from me, seemingly not realizing that I am backing her into a corner. I'm just about to launch the contents of my bowl at her, when she squeals and make a run for it, darting by me. Without thinking, I throw my free arm out, catching her around the waist, and we both fall to the ground with a thump. From my position on the floor, half covered by Sarah Mackenzie's body, my eyes widen with shock when I see a bowl of ice cream come flying from the air, to land upside down on Mac's head.
I can't help it, I just can't stop the laughter. She looks so cute. She has vanilla ice cream dripping down her face, and is giggling hysterically, all the while half straddling my body.
Suddenly, I just can't resist, and I boldly reach out with one finger and wipe some of the ice cream of her cheek. Capturing her surprised eyes with mine, I wink at her, and suck the ice cream off my finger. Her eyes widen even more, and I spy a slight blush gracing her cheeks. We stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, which I'm sure Mac could tell me was no more than a few seconds, when we are interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Shit, Mattie! I think, turning to face my ward, who, along with Jen, is peering down at us, another 'I told you so grin' on her face. Quickly, Mac pulls herself off me and I jump too my feet, offering her a hand up which she takes after a brief hesitation.
We all stare at each other for a few seconds, and then burst out laughing. We look ridiculous, and for a moment I wish I had a camera. These images alone would be enough to blackmail all three of them for years to come!
"Matilda Grace, this is all your fault!" I say, unable to stop the laughter from coming, while trying to sound as stern as possible.
"Nuh-uh!" Mattie protested weakly, "Jen and Mac started it!"
I laugh. "Never mind, you girls go and clean yourselves up next door, Mac and I will sort this mess out!"
At my comment, Mac puts her hands on her hips, "You mean I have to help clean up?! You caused most of this mess Sailor!"
"Suck it up Marine!" I reply, "You'll get to take a shower in due course..!" I wince slightly, at the unintentionally husky tone of my voice, and the flirtatious overtones of my words. For a moment I wonder if she's about to kick my six in to next year, but instead she just shrugs, and winks at the girls.
"Go on you to before he changes his mind!" She moves into the kitchen and picks up a cloth, "Come on flyboy, we better get started!" she tosses over her shoulder as she starts to wipe up the mess that we have created.
I follow Mattie back to our apartment, and can't help but notice the look of glee on my roommate's face. From what I saw tonight, I guess that the office scuttlebutt is right. I have to admit I never really doubted it, but now there's no room for any doubt.
Mattie was right, and I really hope that her little pushes will have done the trick; if there are any people in this world who really deserve some happiness, it's the Commander and the Colonel.
"Nice trick with the food fight!" I say to Mattie, "and the guitar playing. That was well done!"
"The food fight wasn't really what I had planned, but hey!" Mattie replied, "It worked didn't it?!" She looks extraordinarily happy with herself.
"Don't count your chickens." I warn her, not wanting to put a damper on her mood, but I realize that there have to be more issues going on behind the scenes than what we know and can see. For two people who are that clearly in love with each other, to have known each other for so long and still not have acted on those feelings, there have to be some serious issues.
"We better leave them alone now anyway." I continue, "They did say they have to work on a case, and we better get started on these films if we want to finish them before the morning! I'm going to go get into my pyjamas; I'll see you in a minute?"
Mattie nods, and we disappear into our separate bedrooms. I can't smiling as I get myself cleaned up. A couple of months of living with a teenage girl seems to have turned me into a complete, hopeless romantic! I was never a real girlie girl growing up, and I gave up on hoping for my prince charming by the time I was about 8. But if the Commander and the Colonel sort things out, I may have to re-think my stance.
As I wander around Harm's apartment, straightening up the mess we made, I feel Harm's eyes following me for a few seconds at a time. I can tell he wants to talk, but doesn't know what to say. I know how he feels. I can still feel his finger stroking against my cheek as he scooped up that ice cream. That could be classified as one of the most sensuous moments of my life. If Jen and Mattie hadn't been there, I honestly don't know what would have happened. I know what I wanted to happen. And if I was reading Harm right then he was having similar thoughts. Now we are stuck in a familiar pattern. We got too close and are surrounded by an awkward silence. It's a position we are far too familiar with, and I'm determined that tonight we will move past it. Somehow.
I can feel his eyes on me again, so I look up from wiping the table to meet his gaze. He offers me a slightly nervous grin.
"We're almost done, why don't you go hop in the shower and I'll finish up here? We can put your clothes in the wash, you can borrow some of mine until they are ready." He says.
I nod, put the cloth down and head towards the bathroom. I hear him padding softly behind me, breaking off as he moves into his bedroom. I start to take my jewellery off, placing it on the counter when Harm knocks on the door and a pile of clothes are thrust at me.
"Here's a towel and some clothes." He says, "Help yourself to whatever you need."
"Thanks Harm." I reply, opening the door and taking the bundle from him. "I won't be long."
He winks at me again, "Take your time, the night is young!"
When I come out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of Harm's boxers and a baggy t-shirt with 'Navy' printed on it in big block letters, I find the apartment looking spic and span and Harm collapsed dozing on the sofa, a piece of paper, that I correctly identify as part of our client's testimony, dangling from his left hand.
I sneak up on him and, unable to stop myself, perch on the side of the sofa watching him sleep. He looks like a little boy when he's asleep. It's something that I noticed in Russia, in Afghanistan and even in Paraguay, even though I was too pissed at him to let it affect me. When he's asleep, all the cares and worries that he perpetually carries around on his shoulders disappear, he looks so peaceful. I really don't want to wake him. I could watch him sleep forever. He shifts slightly and frowns in his sleep. I can't help myself and reach out to stroke the worry lines from his forehead. His hand suddenly reaches up and catches my wrist just as his eyes start to blink open.
"Hey." He says softly,
"Hi" I reply, "Shower's free." His eyes blink shut again for a second, then he stretches and sits up. I go to move off the sofa to give him room to get up, that is until I notice he is still holding my wrist. When he catches me looking at his hand, he grins slightly, moving his hand to gently run a finger down my cheek for the second time that evening. He looks into my eyes for a second, his flyboy grin threatening to appear in full force, then glances ever so quickly down to my lips, before moving his finger to tap my softly on the nose.
"I won't be long." He said getting to his feet and heading in the direction of his bedroom.
One or two chapters to go…... hope you liked it!!