[ First and foremost my apologies, I know this chapter is late and it's shorter than the others too. It was a little hard to get back into my writing last week, I met my own soldier and got a bit distracted. Sorry ;) Sadly he's been deployed now though, so you guys have my undivided attention back. Enjoy! ]
The renewed day did nothing to change the opinions formed the night before and as she rose after only several hours of sleep Sam was ready to face the day and decisions before her. The idea of going home had been rolling around in her head for the better part of half a day now and it was sounding more and more appealing by the moment. As she shoved the few personal and clothing items she could call her own into a beaten down duffel bag she heard the island of Azura waking as well with the sound of voices outside her door growing louder by the minute. It hadn't taken long for a clean up and salvage operation to get underway despite Prescott having deserted the COG, leaving it in pieces. Those pieces came together with UIR assistance and she would have guessed the place was alive with nearly half a thousand soldiers and civilian contractors tripping over one another. There were too many cooks in the kitchen and as much as she wanted to stay here in this paradise she was a Gear, a grunt who served the frontline purposes and then moved on. Now that all the bullets to block were fired it was time to find another frontline to defend she supposed. Where better than Anvil Gate and what better time than now? She felt changed. Older, more knowledgeable certainly but with a solid new purpose; to bring peace to her home. There were other feelings too, ones she would deny herself of until they just stopped showing up. Yes she was still embarrassed and angry at having been taken advantage and made such a fool, but she also was mad at herself for starting to fall for someone again so soon. As much as she'd told herself and Anya it was just sex between Baird and her she had started to take to the idea of him liking her, and maybe she'd taken to the idea of liking him too. Of course events of the night prior certainly dashed all of those hopes and emotions to put her two feet firmly back on Sera's soil.
Could you have imagined it? Samantha Byrne making herself a one man woman for Delta's Princess. The voice in her head asked hypothetically. Yes she could have imagined it, she already had. The voice was right though, it was an absolutely ridiculous thought. That was certainly enough of those for now though and the female Gear zipped shut and tossed the bag over her shoulder hoping if she left the room fast enough maybe she'd be able to leave the nagging doubts and all behind. The sunlight exploded into her quarters as the door opened and she raised a single hand to shield her eyes momentarily. Upon adjusting to the sudden light difference she could see that the island wasn't just busy anymore, it was a mad house. The five hundred people had doubled over night it seemed and she didn't recognize any of the faces as she stepped out onto one of the many cobblestone sidewalks. Almost every inch of shoreline had a ship pulled up to it, woefully ruining the lovely view of the ocean and horizon. It would be alright though, once she was on one of those ships she'd have that view back. Which one was hers though? That something she'd have to hunt down Fenix to find out, along with her papers. Hoffman would have to sign off on all of it when she got to Anvil Gate to make it official and all but she had no doubt he'd be glad to have her there. It was her first day in some time she could recall being completely off duty but even then she was still ready to go. Her armor was crammed in the bag that bounced off her back with each step as she as she walked, leaving her feeling almost uncomfortable in just a pair of cargo shorts, an army green tank and her boots. When the more than occasional pair of eyes gave her the 'elevator stare' she grew tired of uncomfortably looking away and started to rebut them with her own hardened glower.
As had been said, how she was ever going to find anyone in all this commotion was a mystery at the moment but she figured if she walked long enough she could locate someone who knew something. That had always been the Delta way, just keep charging ahead until your plans were forced to turn out right. There were always too many bumps in the road to think they could 'have a plan.' So what about this? What was going to get in her way this time? Nothing, that's what. The voice was refreshingly supportive and Sam lifted her head a bit higher as she walked. She'd been looking for a bit now and was heading towards the side of the island the Eastern wing of Azura lay on, it had suffered the most damage in the invasion and needed the most attention. It was only getting busier the closer she got, which she didn't mind. People seemed to notice her less here. It would be a lie to say she wasn't getting a bit frustrated though.
"-how is that my fault? There's no power because there's no emulsion! I'm a genius, not a friggin miracle worker."
Her blood iced over. Fucking Baird.
Looking towards the remains of a second floor balcony she saw him now standing across from Marcus, neither of whom had noticed her just yet. Samantha found she had stopped in her steps as several passers by began to bump into her static form. What should she do? Why did she have to see him again out of the now thousands of people here? Fenix glanced into the crowd and spotted her not too long after. It looked like he was going to wave to her, and thought better of it. The slight action didn't evade Baird's attention who was still complaining to the Sergeant. He immediately followed the other man's gaze.
The knot in his throat was threatening to choke off his air supply. Just the look of her had been enough to knock the wind from him and now she was staring him down. He looked away first to Marcus, never a man for much emotion he now seemed almost amused. Yes, Baird felt bad. He'd overreacted and purposefully blew up the relationship him and Sam had set on solid ground because…because that was what he did right? He destroyed things. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten out of line with Sam however and maybe in a few days she'd let it go, like usually. What had he been talking about before hand? It was temporarily lost to Damon, especially when he saw that Sam was actually approaching them. She didn't seem to have much of a difficult time ascending the balcony's staircase, though nearly half of it was crumbling. He wondered why she wasn't in her gear today, but didn't complain. Her legs looked good in those shorts.
Nothing was said even when she stopped next to the two men. Sam never looked at him again. Fenix reached inside one of thee cargo pockets hooked to his belt and handed her several sheets of paper folded into a square. He should really apologize, hell he wanted to. If he hadn't been such an idiot he realized he would have probably woken up to that woman next to him this morning. Hell, Sam knew him. He'd killed her favorite plant before and she'd still forgiven him. Surely she missed their joking as much as he did.
"Don't worry Sam, Marcus already told me all the tests came back negative," Baird teased as she looked over the paperwork. It didn't take him long to watch his joke fall flat making this all the more uncomfortable and awkward.
There was a falter in her steps when he spoke but she finished setting down her duffle bag to set the papers inside. The silent treatment huh? The corner of his mouth drooped. If being an asshole didn't get her attention he was at a loss for words. Sam wasn't however, and took a few serious steps toward the man when she was done putting things away. Suddenly Damon was aware that she wasn't playing along at all. Her finger pressed against the center of his armor's chest and she spoke low, warning him.
"This is your last and only warning Damon. Leave me the fuck alone. You're a socially stunted man-child who is nearly incapable of achieving normal human relations because of his own emotional shortcomings and inadequacies. You're a cancer Damon and I am removing you from my life," she hissed.
Her breath was hot on his face as she leaned in to illustrate her point and Baird could feel his heart pounding in his chest now. There had been a moment when he thought maybe he'd have a chance to kiss her when she approached initially. Yeah right. She'd cut him to the bone in a matter of sentences. Her finger left his chest and Sam snatched up her bag, departing with just a nod to Fenix. Baird had been right, Marcus was amused by this.
"I'm going to miss her," he said.
She was leaving? Like leaving leaving? Baird cleared his throat, having already lost sight of her form in the crowd. The idea of never seeing her again did nothing to ease the hurt, and he muttered bitterly turning to make an exit himself, "I say good riddance to the bitch."