[ Bum bum bum! First of all I'm glad to have so many new and returning readers who are enjoying the story. There was a bit that I lost my mojo and motivation but after starting back up I know I can't just leave this thing hanging without Sam and Baird making it right. I mean, come on he called in a bomb threat. I think that's sweet personally haha.
I would like to give a shout-out to GEARSGirl5400, B and B are Back and ShadowedSerenity for reading and reviewing. I'm glad to know my cliff hangers keep you guys on the edge of your seat, so for all the love…here's another chapter!]
They were serious about how serious they took this whole bomb threat thing, Baird thought to himself as the COG and other Unified Governments quickly shut down the entire dock and were in the process of evacuating all the other ships near by the harbor. Of course this had drawn the attention of half the island which had come to a dead stop to watch from beyond the cordon point. There were no less than several Commanding Officers by his side at a time, assuring he had no possible chance of escape if that was even a thought. The more time passed and the more he realized that this was a bad bad idea however he could see why trying to make a mad dash for it might cross ones mind. He had no idea who Willings had contacted above him in Delta squad, but they had had his back and The Constant was returning as they spoke. The ship moved unbearably slow and he often found his eyes moving out to the crowd knowing it wouldn't be long before Stroud or Fenix arrived to tear him a new one. He hadn't the slightest idea how he was going to rationalize all of this to the others but as it turned out fate granted him the smallest of favors now, allowing Cole to be the first one to push his way through the crowd and then the puny soldiers they had trying to hold the line.
"It's okay, he's with me!" Baird announced, like those words would have any weight or meaning. In fact if it did it would probably just make Cole an accomplice in all of this. For whatever reason that thought made him laugh, something that gave Gorasni Naval Officers even further cause for suspicion as they never strayed too far from his site.
Within a few moments his large fellow Gear made it down the entire hillside they had evacuated most of the staff from. Cole came to a stop just a few feet at Baird's side, the look on his face shocked at the new level of asinine insanity his friend had some how managed to create for himself and everyone else. For Baird it was nice to know he could still surprise the man who knew him best.
"Are you serious?" Cole asked, leaning in so he didn't have to raise his voice. "A bomb threat? You know they're going to string your ass up over this Damon. What the fu-why are you smiling?"
"Because," he chuckled, "you're right. I'm a real fucking idiot sometimes."
He couldn't understand it, maybe the heat had fried the man's brain or the pep talk he'd given him had just been taken completely out of context whatever it was something was definitely off about Baird. For one thing, he just couldn't stop smiling and eagerly looking back towards the horizon as The Constant closed in.
"Shit Damon," Cole laughed too, it was the only thing he could say on the matter. He totally got it now, he hadn't seen that look in the man's eyes since the day in Anvil Gate when he couldn't stop staring back at Sam in front of the Raven.
"I'm the best mechanic this place has got though, I mean really how much trouble can I get in?" Baird asked casually.
"A lot I'm sure." Cole refused to sugar coat that part. Still, he had to think there was something rather sweet about the whole ordeal. "And she's going to be really mad at you."
"I know."
She already was and it was entirely his fault. He had embarrassed her in front her teammates and an entire bar full of soldiers knowing that of most things Sam held her pride in almost the highest regard. Having an entire ship turned around because of her probably wasn't the best apology but as far as Baird was concerned it was a start in the right direction. It wouldn't be long now until The Constant reached the pier and would start to dock so he started to move forward knowing that he didn't have a lot of time left as it was. Surely the Captain had had his own men search the ship after the report was made and after it was confirmed there was indeed no explosive they'd lock him up. His Gorasni 'handlers' and Cole weren't far behind his every step as he approached Willings who stood at the edge of the pier, arms folded rigidly behind his back.
"I should probably tell you guys something," Baird started, running a hand back through his blonde hair.
"Yeah?" Willings asked, voice flat and uninterested in the answer he already knew.
"There's no bomb," Baird admitted with the same cadence as someone who ate the last cookie.
"I figured," the Naval Officer remained unimpressed, "which is why I was really looking forward to getting to do this."
From a pocket he pulled out the thick steel bracelets, making a point to dangle them from a finger in front of Baird's face. It made him think of Sam and his pair of goggles she'd tossed over the side of the ship tauntingly. Hell, if he was going to get arrested he might as well make it worth it right? Easily enough he smacked Willings' hand to the side, knocking the handcuffs over the pier's edge and into the water with a chuckle.
"You didn't expect me to make this easy right?"
What Baird didn't expect was the sudden invitation he'd apparently given to everyone to kick his ass. Willings wasted no time with a right hook that caught him in the nose and the Naval Guard to his immediate right struck him across the stomach with a billy-club, knocking the wind right out of him. If it wasn't for Cole dragging him back up to his feet he was sure the beating might have continued a little longer than necessary in order to 'subdue' him. It was almost impossible to stand back up as he fought to suck in breaths that seemed to do nothing. His eyes were watering but through it he could see The Constant arriving at the dock, it's deck lined with the silhouettes of passengers looking on at the mayhem. Was she there?
"I swear to God when I get off this boat I'm going to kill you Damon Baird!"
Samantha couldn't be entirely sure how or why, but she knew Baird had sabotaged this ship on purpose. Maybe it was because he hadn't been able to get that one witty quip off at her before she left Azura and effectively his life forever. It was hard to believe someone would be so childish as to just get the last word in, but not so hard to believe if you were to know that someone was Baird. He always seemed to surprise her with new heights of assholery when she least expected it.
The return trip dragged on painfully slow as she watched every inch of water disappear beneath the bow of the ship, her hands gripped tightly to the railing the whole time. Noah fluttered around her constantly, pestering and reassuring and generally doing everything he could to annoy the shit out of her. It took all she could muster to not tell the kid to go fuck off, but her sour mood wasn't his fault and she had lead him on a bit unfairly all things considered.
Why when freedom and a fresh start had been so close did that asshole have to snatch her back here? Granted she had no immediate and tangible proof it was Baird but … come on, it was surely Baird. And when she arrived at the dock all suspicions were confirmed. It was easy to recognize his form and blonde hair, even at a distance.
"I swear to God when I get off this boat I am going to kill you Damon Baird!" She shouted at the top of her lungs so there was no way he wouldn't hear her.
Getting closer, she could see he was half-hunched over with Cole supporting his frame. Upon hearing her voice he looked up, eyes squinting into sun and made the first motion to take a step forward. She saw and made note of his bloody nose then. The Gorasni officers were quick to apprehend him, the others having their own set of handcuffs with which one was quick to slap around Baird's wrists as he pulled them behind the man's back. This was not the scene Sam had been expecting when they got back to the dock, not by far.
"Wait!" She yelled again, needing a moment to at least make sense of all of this. "Let me…let me talk to him?"
Why she wanted to she wasn't entirely sure herself but the officers seemed to begrudgingly accept her request for a moment and didn't drag Damon off then and there. Her head was shaking when she looked him in the eye.
"So does this mean you're going to get off that boat?" Baird asked in that know-it-all tone that drove her nuts. "Because judging by the male to female ration you're going to be pregnant long before you ever reach your destination."
"UGH! Fuck you Baird," Sam snarled, embarrassed to find herself having to have this conversation in public with an entire audience gathered around them. If he had drug her back to dry land just to continue and embarrass her, well then the mission was a success. "Why are you doing this? Why is it that you have to keep torturing me?"
He found his mouth felt particularly dry now and it seemed like his heart was crawling back up his throat, choking off the air he had fought so hard to win back moments before. Sam was mad, he could tell that even from fifteen meters away. It was all he could do to not make another wise ass comment, because that was just what he did to avoid any real conversation about emotions. No, now was the time to man up and say something real.
"Because…," Baird fumbled a bit with the words wanting to but unable to really procrastinate any longer all circumstances considered, "because I'm a socially stunted man-child who is nearly incapable of achieving normal human relationships due of my own emotional shortcomings and inadequacies."
It had been a pretty damn impressive summary the first time he'd heard it and hadn't been able to come up with much of a better one there after. It was the reason he'd done just about every stupid thing when it came to Sam he'd realized as well. She was staring at him a little dumbfounded now. Unsure if she could understand the point he was trying to convey, he kept on going.
"Right? That's not the reason I did this- I mean it kind of is-"
"You being an asshole is not my fault Baird!" She countered, not needing him to tell her things she already was more than well aware and a first hand victim of.
"I know, none of it is! I am an asshole alright? But when I'm around you sometimes I don't want to be such an asshole, or maybe just a different kind of asshole. Maybe the kind of asshole who can manage to achieve at least one normal human relationship… Do you understand what I'm saying?"
This was an apology. The fact hit her like a ton of bricks to which she was glad she still had a hold on the railing. She wouldn't have toppled but it did weaken her knees just a bit He didn't do this to mess with her, Baird did this so he could apologize to her. Obviously not as moved by such a sweeping and incredibly illegal gesture the officers had given them more than an adequate amount of time and started pulling Blondie back away from the dock.
"Are you saying your sorry Damon?" Sam asked, not caring how loud they yelled now or who heard.
"Are you going to get off the boat, Samantha?" He yelled back.
"Only if you apologize!"
It was hard to tell from as they dragged him off but from a distance, along with the blood on his upper lip Sam could have sworn Baird had a shit eating grin on his face and he taunted her over his shoulder.
"Only if YOU get off that God damn boat!"
Of course he would get the last word in, he had to. Baird stopped resisting as he was lead away looking back once half way up the hill to see if Samantha had made up her mind. Having fantasized about all the punches she'd throw and venomous words she'd spit the whole way back she found herself completely unprepared for this situation. There was a part of her that some how remained thoroughly unimpressed, convinced Baird must have been faking his sincerity. The other smarter half knew that Baird didn't give two shits about being sincere and there for had no real reason to fake it. He had been escorted back up and into the crowd while she still stood aboard The Constant whose bridge was finally lowering for removal of it's crew prior to inspection.
"So what are you going to do Sam?" She'd almost forgotten about Cole until she heard the bellow of his deep baritone voice from a few meters below. He was smiling, perhaps just as impressed by the whole act as she was.
Sam sighed, lightly feigning defeat as she tossed her duffel bag down over the side of the ship to her friend. "Here, catch!"
It was hard to stop the smile that was pulling at her cheeks and making the muscles sore with its intensity. She gave Noah an empathetic look and shrug when she caught him mournfully watching her from the corner of his eye. Really what was a girl to do? All she could think while subduing that grin and making her move towards the bridge was fucking Baird.