Disclaimer: Yup.
Authors' Note: Well another part done, hope you all enjoyed it and look for that crack ficness, it's titled Covert Operations and it will be rated M well infact you can pretty much count on our stories being rated M from here on out. Annnyhow, enjoy the last chapter
Her wrists hurt, her lungs still burned and she was probably just short of having hypothermia. It was all beginning to piss her off now as she began to feel more human and alive again. She was glad when they made it to her room. She tried to get her clothes off, trying to do it herself as though she had something to prove and when she couldn't she stared at him helplessly, "A little help please." She was still shaking but she could speak without making it obvious.
Face quickly stripped her down, once they were in her cabin. He helped dry her off with a towel, then dumped all the blankets on the bed and curled up in there with her.
She was glad he was there, so glad. Her perception of things had been drastically altered by what had just transpired and she decided she wouldn't never ever not tell him she loved him after this. Even if they had the world's worst fight, she'd still tell him, "I… I thought I was going to die. That, that was it." There was a touch of fear in her voice.
"I won't let you. Charissa, I promise as long as I'm around, I won't let you die. I promise. I promised you before, and I'm promising you again: Everything's going to be all right." Face looked at her seriously.
She nodded slowly, "I know." That had really been her first true brush with death and it had really scared her in a way she had never been before. She shifted so she could wrap her arms around him and cling to him like she would never let go, "For once, thank you for saving me." She nuzzled against him, her body temperature slowly rising towards normal again, but she was so tired and she was obviously trying to fight her body's need to rest, she really didn't like the idea of closing her eyes again right now.
"For once? What d'you mean, for once?" Face scowled, but lay down and cuddled with her, pulling the blankets so close he could barely move. It would keep them warm, though, and she desperately needed it.
She laughed, "Tough girl, remember? I have issues with being a damsel in distress and having to rely on someone else to get me out of a jam." She smiled a little at him, her eyes starting to look like normal again as she relaxed, her body no longer trembling and shaking here and there anymore. She closed her eyes a moment and took a long deep breath and grinned, "I almost forgot how damn good you smell."
"Let's...not think about that right now." Face said, slightly uncomfortable, "We are just trying to warm you up right now."
She smirked at him, "Oh by the way, you need to thank Murdock." She slid her leg across his beneath the mound of blankets, "I'm warmer." She stated matter-of-factly and shifted upwards a little and nipped at his neck, "But I wouldn't mind being even more so." She said against his skin.
"Stop." Face crossed his arms in front of his body, "Charissa, a sudden bolt like that could give you a heart attack or superchill your body. It could kill you. You need to stop."
She froze, "Oh. Damn." She felt a little silly and sighed, "Stupid Hollywood, they do everything wrong." She muttered, "I think I'll try to sleep then." She decided, and pressed her head against him just so, so she could hear and feel his heart beating and closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall into a dreamless and very deep sleep.
After the ship had regained its balance properly, and Hannibal and B.A. took in an evening meal, and Murdock had surprised the guests with an enormous pudding flambé, Face finally woke up again. It was late at night, and someone was singing outside their room.
She felt too warm suddenly and shifted in an uncomfortable fashion and woke slightly, "Mmm, too warm." She muttered and started trying to kick some of the blankets off. She normally slept warm anyways, thus she normally just used a sheet to cover up with. As she shifted she began to wake up more and her stomach let out a loud almost menacing growl making her eyes pop open, "Um. I think I'm hungry."
Face blinked sleepily at her, "Well, we could order room service..."
Murdock burst in with a three-course meal, everything balanced on his arms and legs and hands and head. "Dinner is served!"
She blinked at Murdock as she slowly sat up and eyed the food and moved towards it in thoughtless abandon. She quickly remembered she was naked and wrapped one of the blankets around her and settled at the small table and dug in, not giving a damn about manners, "Murdock, you are a life saver." She smiled at him, her mouth full of food.
Murdock smiled happily, "Glad to be of service." He tipped his hat. "Speakin' of which, Captain says thank you to all of us." he grinned at Face, "I'll let you two be, now. Remember to wait an hour after eatin' before attemptin' any exercise."
She almost choked at Murdock's last comment, then laughed and took a drink of water. She looked at Face and quirked a brow, "I can't eat all this by myself. I'm hungry don't get me wrong, but not that hungry."
Face smiled and dug in, "I'm going to eat too, you know. I don't just run on sunshine and rainbows." He began to eat.
Murdock made his way back to the kitchens with the empty trays and plates.
"Sunshine and rainbows?" She smirked at him, "I thought it was sex and… well, sex." She sat back feeling full and stretched, "You know, you're lucky to have a friend like Murdock. He really watches out for you." She sipped at the frosty glass of chocolate milk the crazy man had left behind wondering how he knew she liked it.
"He's probably the best friend I've got." Face grinned, taking some water and eating the rest of his food, "Oh man, this is good...he can cook like nobody else I know, I swear."
"He's a good guy." She smiled and nodded, "Yeah, but… do you think he used special sauce?" She frowned suddenly, "I don't think there'd be any of that on a cruise ship, would there?" She knew all about Murdock and his alternative cooking seasonings, "We had a good little chat, he and I. Or rather he talked and I listened."
"I'm pretty sure he didn't find any antifreeze in the kitchens." Face said, but he dubiously checked the soup, "And what d'you mean, you two talked? When did you get a chance to do that?"
She shifted uncomfortably, "He knew… about what I did and when I snuck back to my room he was there and he basically told me to knock my shit off and either treat you right or head for the hills." She admitted, "It was a bit of a wake-up call honestly." She looked down at her bandaged wrists and sighed.
"Well." Face was impressed. He reminded himself to buy Murdock an entire case of antifreeze when they got back to the mainland, "I'll have to thank him, then. I think he saved us, after all."
She nodded, "Yeah. He did." She said with a small smile. Beneath the table she reached out with her foot and ran it down the length of his calf, her expression and eyes completely innocent.
Face pretended not to notice, "This food is really delicious. What d'you say we go down and thank Murdock again, directly?" He asked casually, moving his leg away.
She arched a brow at him, "Sure." She stood and let the blanket slip from her frame as she did so and wandered over to the small chest of drawers and hunted up some clothing, "And while we're at it we can move your stuff up here." She suggested as she slipped into some clothes.
"Why? We'll be on shore tomorrow, there's no point." He shook his head, "Besides. We didn't bring that much to begin with. I think B.A. brought the most, and that's only because he likes wearing all that gold."
"Really…" Suddenly she seemed a little sad, shore. New York Harbor. It meant going back to a normal life… it meant having to explain to her superiors why she had been out of contact for this long. A thought suddenly skipped into her mind as she looked at him, "You might not need clothes that much anyways." With that she moved towards the door.
"I've got my uniform, I can always con my way into other things." Face said calmly. As much as he knew Charissa was playing for more, he really, really was not in the mood for it - physically or mentally.
She took the hint and dropped any more… wayward thoughts. Mostly because her mind was now occupied by coming up with what to say to her Superiors. She knew she'd get good mentions for taking down Karls in England, but the rest of it… well; she'd probably be up the creek on. She walked calmly and silently beside him, the fact she was thinking hard obvious.
Face was in the bathroom, attempting to fix his hair. It had gotten soaked with the water and his exertion, and damned if he wasn't a vain thing. "Great," he complained, "now it's going to smell like seawater for a week."
She shook her head slowly at him, "I'm sure you can go to where ever it is you go and find something to help with that." She smiled and tilted her head looking at him, "Plus, the surfer dude look kind of works for you." She leaned against the door way of the bathroom and watched him.
"I am not a surfer dude." Face deadpanned, crossing his arms and continuing to hem and haw in the mirror. Finally he turned back to her. "I should get going. I'll send Murdock back for the plates and I'll see you in the morning."
She locked the door after he left and sighed, wishing she would've asked him to stay.
TBC...
~Sound Track~
Wicked Games- HIM (Main Theme)
Decode- Paramore (Charissa's theme)
20th Century Boy- Def Leppard (Chapter 1: When Face comes out with the girls)
You Win Again- Bee Gees (Chapter 3)
Secret- Maroon 5 ( Chapter 7: Slower song in the club scene)
Paralyzer- Finger Eleven (Chapter 7: Faster song during club scene)
Pretty Handsome Awkward- The Used ( Chapter 8: When they take down the Pirates)
Bad Girl- Alexandra Slate (Chapter 9: When Charissa goes to Devon and sleeps with him)
In the Absence of the Sun- Duncan Sheik (Chapter 10: When Face tells Charissa just how much he loves her)