Chapter 5 /New Chapter
Weeks had passed and the base had been busy preparing for Hawk's departure and for Duke's arrival. Scarlett had passed by Duke's old quarters and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the shiny new brass plaque on the door reading LT. CONRAD HAUSER. She quickly wondered why he wouldn't live in Hawk's old quarters, but then remembered Duke was a creature of habit and probably requested his old quarters out of comfort. She ran her hand across the plaque as it sank it that this was really happening. In a few short hours she would face the man who had left her broken hearted and not able to trust anyone, even herself with her heart. Hawk had requested, no, more like commanded her to be with him when Duke's ride arrived. Diva had been very supportive throught out the weeks, and Scarlett told her everything about the break up. She felt she owed it to her since she had stuck by her through it all.
It was now minutes before his scheduled arrival. Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her. She couldn't stop fidgeting or biting her lip. She saw a chopper come into view.
"That's him." Hawk remarked using his hand as a visor to block the sunlight from his eyes. Scarlett brushed her hair off of her shoulders. Diva had curled it a bit and it hung loosley around her face instead of in her usually sleek ponytail. The chopper became larger and larger as it got closer to the landing pad. It landed skillfully moments later. The blades slowed down as a figure emerged from the cockpit. He was struggling with a bag and hadn't noticed her standing there yet. This gave her a good opportunity to analyze all his features. He hadn't changed much in two years. He wore the same uniform and his blond hair looked freshly cut as always. Finally he looked up to see who was there to greet him. His blue eyes latched onto hers and they just stared for a few moments. Both of their eyes held the expression of surprise, but soon turned to a look of contempt.
"I'm surprised you're here to greet me. I wasn't expecting that." Duke finally broke the two year silence.
"Oh, and who were you expecting, Cover Girl?" Scarlett snapped.
"Yeah, maybe I was." Duke answered just as sharply. Scarlett narrowed her eyes and grunted before storming off.
"After two years you still can't be civil to each other?" Hawk sighed, annoyed at how the pair was acting.
"She's the one not being civil. She took what I said and turned it into a shot against her." Duke protested.
"Right, I'm sure your comment was as innocent as you claim" Hawk rolled his eyes.
"Well, I may have wanted to dig a little into her." Duke truthfully admitted.
"I'm nervous I made a wrong decision to leave." Hawk frowned.
"Clayton, you have my word that I will make this work. Even if I have to break my back to get her to work with me, I'll do it." Duke promised.
"She promised she'd try too. I just hope it's enough." Hawk prayed. The two caught up while walking around the base.
That night the Joes were holding a joint retirement party/welcome back party for Hawk and Duke. Scarlett knew she had to go for Hawk, but wanted nothing to do with welcoming back Duke. She and Diva walked to the cafeteria together for the event.
"I wish you would have been there this afternoon, just to see how arrogant and cocky he was." Scarlett sighed annoyed after filling Diva in on the encounter with Duke. They pushed through the double doors and found that the mess hall had been decorated for the event. Tables were now dressed with fancy cloth covers and a small centerpiece of flowers. The Joes that already had arrived were standing and socializing with each other. Scarlett scanned the room and saw Duke surrounded by a bunch of soldiers in one corner. She watched as the group began to laugh. She gritted her teeth. How could everyone just welcome him back like he was god's gift to the team? She felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around. Her eyes flew wide seeing her friend Allison standing there.
"Allie!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around her old room mate. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't think Dash and I would be left off the guest list, did you?" Allie answered happy to have surprised her best friend.
"Is Dash here? Where's James?" Scarlett asked looking around.
"Dash is around here. We got a baby sitter for James over night. I didn't want to say anything about coming because I wasn't sure we'd find a babysitter." Allie explained. Scarlett hugged her friend again. After they broke apart, Diva and Allison exchanged friendly hellos.
"So have you talked to him since he got here?" Allison asked.
"Hawk wanted me to be with him when Duke touched down. As soon as he got off the chopper he made a comment to me. I left before I punched him." Scarlett summed up the first meeting. An announcement was made to get seated. The three girls sat together.
"Do you see Dash? I don't want him to miss anything." Allie craned her neck to look for her husband.
"He's sitting with Duke." Diva spotted him.
"Are you kidding?" Scarlett replied upset.
"I don't mind. You know Dash and Conrad are still good friends." Allison reminded the red head. The group fell silent for a few moments
"Did Duke say anything to Dash about coming back here? About working with me?" Scarlett asked in a small voice.
"I know Duke was nervous about his decision to come back. He's really hoping things work out." Allison informed her.
"Well he didn't make much of an effort to get along earlier." Scarlett said bitterly. Before anyone could respond, Hawk stepped up to the podium that had been assembled and kicked off the celebration. While the Joes dined on Roadblock's finest cooking many stepped up to the podium to talk about Hawk and his accomplishments. Even Scarlett went up and spoke hough she had not prepared a speech. Everyone knew her speech was from her heart. As dessert was coming around, some Joes went up to the podium and toasted Duke for coming back. That prompted Duke to take the podium and talk about how thrilled he was to be back and what an honor had been bestowed upon him. He joked about having big shoes to fill.
"I can't listen to this anymore. I'm going to get some air." Scarlett whispered to Diva and Allison. Her chair made a loud scrapping noise on the floor as she backed it away from the table, enough for other tables to turn their attention from Duke. Embarrassed, she quickly left the room. There was an exit leading outside not far from the mess hall. She stood outside, her back to the building, taking deep breaths with closed eyes. She guessed Duke's speech was over when she heard faint sounds of clapping a few minutes later. She deeply inhaled the night air, wishing this were all a nightmare and that she would wake up soon and realize this wasn't real. She exhaled just as deep and opened her eyes. She mentally cursed finding her surroundings the same, meaning she was not dreaming. She heard the door open and footsteps coming towards her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"Go away." she demanded.
"Shana, we have to talk." His voice revealing a slight twinge of nervousness. She felt her blood begin to boil as it pulsated through her veins.
"Oh, so now you think we need to talk. Well, two years ago I wanted to talk but you were too busy sleeping with Cover Girl!" Scarlett lashed out whirling around to face him.
"We need to find a way to work together. The team is going to suffer if we don't." Duke ignored her comment.
"Is this you caring about something else besides yourself? I don't think I've ever seen that before." Scarlett said pretending to be shocked.
"God damn it! I came out here to offer a truce and all you're doing is adding more fuel to the fire!" Duke screamed. Scarlett subconciously took a step back in for defense.
"Why did you come back?" Scarlett asked narrowing her eyes.
"Shana," he said as she shivered with repulse when he used her real name, "you know I love this team. When I got the offer to take over for Hawk, I couldn't pass it up. It was an honor to be nominated for this job." He replied bringing his voice back to a calmer decibal. "I know you want this to work too, for Hawk's sake at least"
"I do." Scarlett nodded softly.
"So can we have a truce? I know it's a lot to ask and it is taking a lot for me to offer it." Duke asked again. Scarlett bowed her head and thought for a few moments.
"Alright, for Hawk's sake." Scarlett agreed.
"Good, I'm glad it's settled." Duke nodded and returned inside the building. Scarlett looked up at the stars in the night sky wondering how she was going to be
able to handle this new situation. Without receiving an answer, she retreated back into the building. She was about to turn down the corridor that led to the mess hall when she heard some soft voices talking in the opposite direction. All joes were in the mess hall, leaving the military police to guard base. Scarlett headed towards the voices to investigate. She heard some giggling and the voices got louder as she continued down the corridor. She turned the corner and found Diva and Falcon wrapped up in each other. Falcon was trying desperartely to open the door to a storage closet as he continued to kiss and caress Diva. Scarlett cleared her thoat and the two jumped.
"Scarlett!" Falcon cried startled. Diva looked down at her shoes.
"I believe we're all supposed to be at dinner…" Scarlett raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah, um, see…I lost something and Diva was helping me look for it." Falcon fibbed.
"Looks like she was doing a great job of searching your mouth with her tongue." Scarlett answered back with a smile, amused by Falcon's lame excuse. Falcon lowered his head and Scarlett could see a hint of red color his cheeks. "Come on, let's go back to dinner." Scarlett waved them both to come with her.
"We're so embarrassed. We're sorry." Diva apologized for both of them.
"It's alright. Just be glad I found you rather than Hawk." Scarlett replied.
"or my brother…" Falcon added.
"Duke wouldn't punish you." Scarlett shook her head.
"You don't think so?" Falcon asked with wide eyes.
"Nah, we did enough sneaking around together. It would be bad karma if he punished you." Scarlett answered, her heart feeling a twinge of bittersweetness as she remembered the beginning of her relationship with Duke. They re-entered the mess hall to find dinner was just being served. Diva and Scarlett filled Allison in on what had happened outside with Duke and what had happened with Falcon in the corridor.
The night was coming to a close and all the joes were full of good conversation and good food, thanks to Roadblock. Scarlett and Allison were saying their good byes when Dash approached them.
"A few people are going to Lucky's to continue the celebration. Do you want to go?" Dash asked his wife. Lucky's was a local bar that the joes liked to frequent on their time off.
"I think I'll pass this time. I want to catch up with the girls." Allison answered glaring at Flint. Flint caught on to her facial expression.
"Scarlett you could come too…I didn't mean…." Dash continued to put his foot in his mouth. It hadn't occurred to him that Scarlett wasn't invited.
"It's alright, Dash. Please, don't feel bad." Scarlett forgave him.
"Is it alright if I go?" Dash asked his wife.
"Just don't drink too much. We have to drive back to Washington in the morning." Allison reminded him. He gave her a quick kiss and walked back over to where Duke was standing.
"Let's get out of here." Diva suggested. The two other women nodded and they left to continue the gossip fest.