Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
Nertooold54: Why thank you =D I'm glad you liked the chapter and I appreciate that you think I'm a great writer. I've heard that running and exercising are good for negative emotions. Me? I'm not an exerciser so yeah I just write mean sections of my story ). Wow, maybe you should =D That's awesome that you cycled (is that how you say that? =/). Working dogs are amazing and they are now being used for so much more than before. I kind of gloss over the work because there seemed to be fifty million ways to do one type of therapy and I have no idea which one would be proper. But she starts to deal and we'll see her open up more in Second Comes Marriage.
Angelbach: I forgot to post my blog again /sigh sorry about that blergh. Mikayla is named after Army Specialist Mikayla Bragg who died in Afghanistan in December of 2011. I thought her kicking Maggs seemed to be a sisterly thing to do =). Heh...err yeah. Um..LOL
Mlbrunell: Romero in the hospital...hmmm... I wonder... heh ). A puppy? Umm maybe ;-P We'll seeeeee
Beckbones: No need to feel sorry for them =D They're strong they'll get through it. Gotta love the boys LOL it's weird how attached you get to them even though they come from your imagination and aren't real people. Uh, yeah kinda glossed over the therapy since I wasn't sure how specifically to do any of the types. I kinda figured out which is commonly used but not how to do them. So you won't see the therapy just the effects. There are more nicknames to come! I promise LOL. Oye /bites lip. I really need to fix the HORRIBLE grammar in Murder in Maluku. I have it all lined up and my beta already has gone through it. I just have to actually do it =/.
Luckywynner86: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Thank you for your reviews. They have helped kick my muse into high gear and I'm turning out story much faster than I have in the past few weeks. All thanks to you guys.
Chapter 67 – The Mud Pit
"It doesn't matter whether I am or not. It's time to deal," she muttered, opening the door and sliding out of the truck.
Legates got out and locked the truck behind them. They strode towards the building with an air of solemness surrounding them. They entered the offices and Legates looked around. The walls were a soft beige color the carpet a light brown. Pretty generic but it was the bursts of sienna colored decorations around the room that gave it character. There were couches, that sat two or chairs that sat one, placed strategically around the curved desk that sat near a door. Legates walked over to where a young woman sat behind the counter while Michelle walked to one of the couches.
"Two o'clock for Michelle Welton," he said quietly.
Michelle sat down and she began to get nervous, her eyes darting around frantically. The more nervous she got, the harder it got for her to breathe. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and start to hum. Legates' head jerked around at her humming, he winced as he realized she was starting to panic.
"If you could have her fill this out please," the receptionist said, handing him a clipboard and a pen.
He took the clipboard and pen then walked over and sat down next to Michelle. Reaching out, he grasped her hand, tugged lightly and put it on his knee. She relaxed slightly but continued to hum. Legates picked up the clipboard and started to fill out the information that he knew.
When he came to the symptoms, he started checking them off and realized in horror that some of the things she had been doing were apparently symptoms. Just as bad, he had quite a few of these symptoms himself. When he reached the bottom, he leaned over towards her.
"Michelle, Baby, you need to fill in the blanks and any symptoms I don't know about," he said.
She opened her eyes and took the clipboard from his hands. Her hands shook a little and he winced, knowing that this was scaring her pretty bad. She finished filling it out and he looked down at the sheet. Sighing, he listed her medications that he knew about. Taking the clipboard back to the desk, he handed it to the receptionist.
"Dr. Nabhan will be with you momentarily," she said in an efficient voice.
He nodded and went back to sit next to Michelle. Reaching over, he tucked her into his side and ran his hand down her arm. Ten minutes later, to Legates' surprise the door opened and the man in the wheelchair rolled out. Mikayla preceding him with that alert look on her face. The corner of the man's mouth tilted up at the corners when he spotted the pair on the couch.
As he made his appointment for his next visit, Mikayla cautiously approached them. She sat in front of them her head tipping left to right as she listened to Michelle hum. She put her paw on Michelle's foot and tapped it twice. Michelle's eyes blinked open and she gave the dog a smile. The dog nudged her head under Michelle's hand. Taking the dog's cue, Michelle went to pet the dog.
"Don't," Legates said softly, stopping her hand from petting the dog, "you don't pet a service dog when they're working." Michelle pulled her hand back from the great dane's head.
"Ahh, but Corporal Legates, she's not wearing her vest," the man in the wheelchair said, smiling at the pair on the couch. Legates jerked his head around at his name.
"You were wearing your uniform yesterday and a guy your size makes an impression," the man laughed.
Legates shook his head and smiled when the great dane again asked to be petted. Michelle started to stroke the dog's head.
"She's beautiful," Michelle said.
"Thank you," the man said, "if you'll excuse us. I have another appointment." Michelle withdrew her hand but Mikayla continued to sit.
"Mikayla, come," the man ordered. The dog stood up and dutifully walked out of the office.
"Michelle," Dr. Nabhan called from the doorway.
He had watched Mikayla's interaction with Michelle and knew without a doubt that Michelle was exhibiting symptoms of PTSD. Michelle stood up, still gripping Legates' hand. He stood up and followed her into Dr. Nabhan's office.
"Please, have a seat," Dr. Nabhan said, gesturing towards a comfortable looking couch.
Legates eyes scanned the room and he saw bursts of color that were pieces of art. He saw one and his mouth quirked up at the corners, he'd seen one very much like it at the Jeffersonian. He walked over to it while Michelle made herself comfortable on the couch. Dr. Nabhan was trying to watch both of them at the same time. An indulgent smile crossed his features as Legates approached the Montenegro piece on his wall.
Legates looked for the signature and grinned when he saw Angela's name. Turning, he caught Michelle's eye and pointed to the picture with a grin. She looked at it and grinned in return.
"A favorite of yours perhaps?" Dr. Nabhan asked the grinning pair.
"We know the artist," Michelle replied quietly. Dr. Nabhan's eyebrows rose at that piece of information.
"Angela Montenegro-Hodgins works at the Medico-Legal lab with my mother," Michelle said, her voice still soft.
Legates walked over and sat down next to Michelle. Stretching his legs out in front of himself, he placed his arm along the back of the couch behind Michelle. Dr. Nabhan noted both the forced relaxed posture and the seating that allowed him to be protective without over crowding her.
"So, Michelle, Josh tells me you had something happen yesterday," Dr. Nabhan said pleasantly. Michelle sighed, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Something happened yesterday and it made me realize that I need to face my demons to control them. Thus far I've been trying to control the symptoms but I don't think anything I've been doing thus far would have helped yesterday," Michelle said clearly but in a low voice.
"Okay let's talk about your symptoms," Dr. Nabhan said, holding his pen over his paper.
"Well, there's panic attacks," she said, ticking it off on her finger.
"What causes them?" Dr. Nabhan asked, looking at her and pretty much ignoring Legates.
"The dark, large groups of people, being restrained..." she paused trying to think.
"Dr. Brennan," Legates said gently. Michelle nodded and put out another finger.
"Seeing Dr. Brennan in physical pain," she continued, "I think that's it."
"Okay, any other symptoms?" He asked, still scribbling furiously.
"Nightmares," she said in a low voice.
"How often and are there triggers or are they random?" Dr. Nabhan asked, pausing his writing.
"I sleep with a light on to try to avoid them but mostly it's random. Once every few weeks but after what happened yesterday I'll probably be having them either every night or every other night," she mumbled rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. Legates reached over and stopped her from rubbing when he saw her top layer of skin starting to peel.
"Anything else?" He asked, looking at her as she looked down into her lap. She got quiet and stared at her hands and he thought she was thinking.
"Michelle," Legates said gently. She sighed and nodded in resignation.
"After a bad episode I don't talk to anyone...well until Josh came along I didn't speak for days at a time," she mumbled.
"Okay, because it is Saturday I'm unable to get a copy of your files from your previous psychiatrists and psychologists. So I'd like to know, what have they done for you thus far?" Dr. Nabhan asked, looking down at the two pages of notes he'd already made.
"The first doctor that saw me put me in a drug induced sleep because I hadn't slept in a week. They had an EEG connected, I was averaging eight nightmares, each day, during those three days I slept. I stayed at the hospital having panic attacks and trying to learn how to deal with them. They put me on Xanax to help me when I couldn't control the panic and Trazadone to help me sleep after having a panic attack. But then they started discussing Seroquel and I put the brakes on. I left there found another psychiatrist that basically asked what I was on and why then asked if I was seeing a therapist. He writes my scripts and I've been working with Dr. Lance Sweets for everything else," Michelle said in a rush.
"So you fought with the psychiatrist at the hospital?" Dr. Nabhan asked as he continued to write down what she had just told him.
"About the Seroquel, yes. That particular drug has killed people when used to treat PTSD symptoms. And you as a consultant for the military should be aware of that," Michelle snapped, getting defensive.
"Okay, so you do research on your medications?"
"Usually after I get them yes. But the Seroquel has been in the news and as a premed major it was in my best interest to find out as much as I could," Michelle said, getting less defensive.
"Including the Vanderbilt University study that indicated that Seroquel can cause heart failure," Michelle said calmly. Dr. Nabhan's eyebrow rose at Michelle's informed decision.
"I let them put me on Xanax which is highly addictive. So it's not a matter of putting me on drugs in general it's the drugs themselves that are important," Michelle said, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles again.
Legates reached over and closed his hand over hers and stopped her from rubbing her knuckles raw.
"Mmm so they put you on Trazadone and Xanax?" He asked rhetorically. Legates watched a scowl cross the doctor's face as he scribbled.
"As Dr. Sweets specialty is not in PTSD I would not expect him to know that there were other ways currently to treat PTSD," Dr. Nabhan mumbled.
"You know Dr. Sweets?" Michelle asked, surprised at the thought that he would know Dr. Sweets.
"I don't know him personally I just know of him, he is rather well known for his profiling work on the Gormogon case with the FBI," Dr. Nabhan said.
Dr. Nabhan spent a moment rereading the information he had scribbled. Then he looked up and waited for Michelle to look at him.
"Michelle," he said. Michelle looked up and he caught her eye.
"I am going to give you a folder of information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The types of treatments, the types of drugs, the symptoms and things you are going to have to make decisions on. Both on your own and with your family. This is not going to be an instantaneous thing but it will get better. It will just take some work. I'd like to put you on an SSRI," Dr. Nabhan said thoughtfully.
"No," Michelle said firmly. Dr. Nabhan looked up with an eyebrow raised.
"I suffer from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. As such I use MAOI's and Tramadol," she said quickly. Dr. Nabhan's eyebrow rose even higher at her comment.
"Michelle, SSRIs are often used to control PMDD," Dr. Nabhan said.
Michelle dug in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She hit two and waited as the phone rang. Dr. Nabhan watched with interest as Michelle called someone in the middle of her appointment.
"Cam, tell me about- which one were you going to give me?" Michelle asked, looking over at Dr. Nabhan. Legates wiped his hand down his mouth to hide his grin and shot Dr. Nabhan an 'I told you so look'.
"Paxil," he told her with an indulgent smile.
"Tell me about Paxil," Michelle said. She waited with her head cocked as Cam spoke.
"And for the treatment of PMDD?" Michelle asked with a scowl.
"Yeah I can wait," Michelle said. She sat looking at her fingernails as she waited.
"Paul, tell me about Paxil," Michelle said, glancing over at Legates when he snickered. Paul told her about Paxil and its use to treat PMDD. He also explained why he hadn't used it.
"Okay, bye," she said then hung up the phone.
"We can try Paxil for four weeks if it does not help with the PMDD then we'll have to try something else," Michelle said.
"Did you just get a second opinion?" Dr. Nabhan asked partially stunned and partially amused.
"Yes, my mother is a pathologist and she is dating my ex-gynecologist," Michelle told him. Dr. Nabhan let out a sigh and looked to the ceiling.
"Forget it, Doc, it takes a while to understand her family," Legates said with a grin.
She glared at him and scooted away. Dr. Nabhan wrote out a prescription for the Paxil and looked up at Michelle.
"I'd like to schedule you again in two weeks and we'll discuss treatment options. You'll want to take it at night, it will help you sleep. If you're still having trouble sleeping try taking 6mg of Melatonin. I'm writing you a new prescription for Xanax because what you have listed here is an extremely high dose. You can take Xanax with Paxil but in much smaller doses," Dr. Nabhan said, scribbling as he spoke. Legates squeezed Michelle's hand lightly.
"So, make an appointment for two weeks from now and review the information I'm giving you, do some research and we'll go from there," Dr. Nabhan said, standing up and handing Michelle a half inch binder and two prescriptions.
"Do you want me to start the Paxil tonight?" Michelle asked, looking at the prescription.
"Yes," he said, following Michelle and Legates as they walked out of his office.
"And I'll see you, Josh, on Tuesday," Dr. Nabhan said.
Legates gave an abrupt nod and followed Michelle out into the reception area. Legates walked to the door and waited as Michelle made her appointment. They left the building holding hands, Michelle was still silent but not that silence that Legates had come to recognize. This was more of an introspective silence.
"Do you want to go home to your apartment or back to the dorms," he asked after they'd gotten in the truck.
"Dorms, I should call Tanya to let her know what happened," she muttered.
"Okay," he said, driving back to the dorms.
He mentally made a note to take a look at the PTSD treatments himself. If for no other reason than to be informed. He knew the military had their own treatment plans for dealing with PTSD but if he could get help from Dr. Nabhan outside of what the military allotted then maybe he would. Mentally he shrugged, right now was the time to deal with Michelle's nightmare, his could wait.
Michelle had returned to school on Monday and studiously ignored the strange looks she was receiving. She transferred out of Dr. Jacobs class and she returned to Dr. Nabhan's office with her decision. During her appointment Dr. Nabhan could only admire her commitment to her own mental health. Not only had she read the information but she had found other treatments that he had been reading up on himself.
With her medication in place, they began her cognitive behavior therapy to start the process of reprogramming her associations with large crowds and dark places. They also began Imagery Rehearsal Therapy to try to reprogram her nightmares. Legates watched as the spunky Michelle that he adored so much became much more prevalent.
The weeks were passing and Legates worried when their next set of orders would be, it never failed they always seemed to appear when his life was peaceful. It was a Wednesday afternoon the second week of March and Legates was on the weight bench with Techie standing nearby when lightning struck. He smirked as he lifted the bar again.
"Uh oh, that's the same look you had when we took Michelle on a jump. What's making that pea between your ears rattle now?" Techie asked, wearing a huge grin on his face.
"Well, when we were on our way to do that particular jump," Legates said, grunting as he pulled the bar down, "she made mention of playing hide and seek with snipers. How about we get the guys and say Maggs' guys together and play a little hide and seek in the dark." Legates said wearing an almost evil smirk on his face.
"Ohh I haven't played hide and seek since I was a kid. This could be fun," Techie said, rubbing his hands together.
"Maybe if we talk to Jameson, say call it a training exercise of sorts, we could get the obstacle course and surrounding area to play in," Legates grunted, lifting again.
"Oh hoo, you are full of ideas aren't you?" Techie said, his grin spreading wider.
"Why do I get the distinct feeling that those two are up to no good?" Goodman asked loudly, looking at Techie who was wearing a large wide smile.
Techie looked at Legates with a grin and both men began to chuckle. The next morning both men spoke with Jameson about their idea and suspiciously he thought it was a good idea. Creative but a good way to sharpen the scouting and tracking skills of the soldiers. He gave them authorization to use the obstacle course with the condition that he received a list of people who participated. The men nodded and began spreading the word to the guys.
Michelle hustled through her apartment door. Friday was over and the weekend was starting, she couldn't be happier. Time to get nekkid she thought with a smirk. As she was placing her backpack in the bedroom, she looked around and her eyebrows rose in surprise. His ACUs were laying on the bed and he was nowhere to be found. She checked the balcony and then the bathroom, wandering out into the hall she ambled to the living room. He wasn't here and that was unusual. She heard her phone ring with his particular ring and went to answer it.
"Josh?" She answered with her voice full of question.
"Hey, Baby. Want to have some fun?" Legates asked with a smirk, Techie snickered at the question.
"Sure," Michelle purred, wondering if this was going to be a sexual scavenger hunt of some type.
"Hmmm," he growled in return, "ouch," he grumbled when Techie punched him.
"Ouch?" Michelle said, her voice immediately becoming worried.
"Techie punched me. Put on black clothes. Jeans, tee shirt, boots, something you won't care if it gets dirty. Then meet me in the lounge at the dorms," Legates said with a grin.
"Uh okay, I'll be there in about half an hour," she said, glancing at her watch.
She changed into all black clothing and threw on a black pair of low cut boots. She put on a black hoodie, put her keys and wallet in the front pocket then walked out of her room. She burst into laughter at the sight of Tanya coming from her room dressed similarly.
"They're up to something," Michelle said, laughing.
"The question is what?" Tanya said, heading out of the apartment.
Michelle followed her out of the apartment and locked the door behind them. Laughing, they left their apartment and got on the metro. A couple of people shuffled away from them looking at them warily. The girls burst into laughter as they got off the train.
Legates looked around the lounge with speculative eyes as the throng of men and women slowly grew larger. All wearing their night gear, all milling around and talking.
"Where the hell did all these people come from? There must be like fifty people here," Legates muttered to Techie. Techie looked around and his eyes narrowed.
"Yackley said he saw a flyer over in Jefferson's dorm on the cork board," Techie said in a low tone.
"Wonder whose idea that was," Legates said sarcastically.
Michelle opened the door and her mouth fell open at the people, all dressed in black, spilling from the lounge. She grabbed Tanya's hand and they began to bob, weave, duck and move through the crowd. Michelle spotted Legates, Techie, and Martinez sitting on the couches in the back corner. Most of the guys made way for the two girls. Romero reached out and grabbed Tanya by the collar.
"Where do you think you're going, girlie. This is a military training exercise," he asked in a authoritative tone. Tanya squealed and twisted in Romero's grip. Giving up, she crossed her arms and glared at Romero.
"Put me down, Romero," Tanya snarled. Michelle ducked behind Romero and grinned. Goodman caught her grin and shook his head.
"Romero, I'd put her down if I were you," Goodman warned.
"What are you going to do if I don't?" Romero asked, smirking at Goodman.
Goodman shrugged and gave Michelle the thumbs up. Michelle nodded, reached out and pushed against Romero's locked knees. His knees went forward and he stumbled, releasing Tanya. Michelle skirted around people laughing as she went. Reaching Legates, she plopped down in his lap making him omph.
"What is going on here?" She asked seeing all the black. Smiling, he dropped a kiss on her temple.
"Welllll, you remember when we jumped that night?" He asked, looking at her and wiggling his eyebrows.
"Oh tell me you didn't," she groaned.
"It was supposed to be just us and Martinez's unit. Somehow a flyer got put up in the dorms," Legates said shrugging. Tanya looked at Michelle for an explanation.
"Hide and seek. We're playing hide and seek with the freaking Army. Somehow I don't believe this is fair," Michelle whined. Legates chuckled at her whining.
"Go home then," Rogers said, smirking. Michelle scowled at her and glared.
"I think not," Michelle snapped.
"That's my girl," Legates said, chuckling.
"Okay, guys if you want to get credit as a training exercise you need to sign the clipboard with all the information. This is traditional hide and seek. Home is the starting pole of the obstacle course. Count is to fifty. In bounds is the fence. Anyone caught hiding outside the fence is automatically it. Tagging means touching. No tackling, grabbing, punching or anything of the sort. Pull a number out of the hat. Number one is it," Techie called out.
People lined up and took a piece of paper with a number. They heard Rogers squeal and knew she was it.
"Okay, make your way to the obstacle course," Techie called.
People left the building and jogged over to the obstacle course. Martinez and Legates signed Michelle and Tanya onto the base then made their way over to the obstacle course. When everyone was gathered around the pole, Michelle gawked at the amount of people there.
Techie blew a whistle and people started scattering. Laughing, Michelle watched Legates take off running. She waited until he was out of sight and headed straight for the muddy pit under the bars. Jumping in, she wiggled down into the mud until the only thing sticking up was her mouth, nose and eyes. She closed her eyes and waited as Rogers counted.
"Ready or Not, here I come," Rogers yelled.
Michelle lay still, her eyes slit, watching as Rogers jogged past her, not even pausing. Mentally smirking, she waited until she heard Rogers hit the edge of the woods. Tilting her head slightly she saw Rogers over in the edge of the trees. Wiggling to loosen the mud, Michelle rolled over and crawled to the edge of the mud pit, keeping an eye on Rogers.
Rogers paused and Michelle froze. Shaking her head, Rogers continued on into the woods. Michelle started crawling again. Techie crouched on the edge of the woods with his mouth hanging open as he watched Michelle crawl out of the mud. Michelle got to her feet and sprinted to the pole.
Techie crept to the pole as Michelle wiped the mud from her frame. He snuck up behind her and tweaked her sides. She jumped and squealed. Spinning, she threw her hand up. Techie laughed at her actions.
"Did you seriously hide in the mud pit?" He asked her his voice full of laughter.
"Hell yeah. She knows that ya'll Special Ops were trained not to give up the high ground. So, she's going to be looking up. Plus the mud pit was only a few feet from the pole," she told him, grinning. He shook his head and sighed.
"People like you need to be working in strategy," he said, laughing.
His eyes lit up as Legates snuck up behind Michelle. She grinned at him waiting for Legates to pick her up. Legates saw Michelle standing and talking to Techie. He failed to notice the mud on her. Walking behind her, he picked her up and went to place a kiss on her neck. His mouth was near her neck when he smelled the mud. He dropped her and looked down at his shirt and jeans.
"What, did you hide in the damned mud pit?" He asked her in stunned surprise.
"She sure as hell did," Techie said, laughing.
Legates let out a roar of laughter at her ingenuity. People started creeping from the darkness. Michelle spotted Martinez and Tanya sneaking towards them. Michelle snickered. Then from the corner of her eye Michelle saw a form hauling ass towards them.
She started laughing her ass off as Goodman tried to outrun Rogers. He slammed into the pole and laughed at Rogers. Rogers growled and then snarled when she saw Michelle standing there laughing.
"Where the hell were you?" She asked, snarling at Michelle. Michelle just grinned at Rogers.
"Just smile and have fun. It's not a competition," Michelle told her with a sweet smile. Rogers growled and stalked off towards the woods again.
"Rogers is very competitive," Martinez said. He eyed Michelle and snorted.
"Yes, I hid in the mud pit," she said, smirking. Turning, he looked and Legates and raised an eyebrow.
"No, I took off thinking she was behind me. Turned around and she was gone," Legates said, shrugging.
Michelle flopped down on the grass and leaned back on her hands. Crossing her ankles, she looked up at the sky. Tanya sat down next to her and sniffed.
"Sweetie, you smell bad," she said, giggling.
"Yeah, I'm going to need a shower," Michelle said, lifting her arm and sniffing.
"Oh we're not done yet ladies we've only been out here for half an hour," Legates said, smirking. Michelle smirked back at him.
"I didn't say right now, now did I?" She asked, looking up at him with an innocent look on her face. Legates shook his head at her.
"Don't even try it, girl, I ain't that stupid," he said, laughing.
"What? I was just going to see if I could get a kiss," she said pouting. He shook his head at at her.
"Nuh uh and have you get my mouth all muddy? No, I don't think so," he said, laughing.
Martinez flopped down next to Tanya. He grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows. She raised an eyebrow at him and lifted her nose. Michelle laughed and looked over at Martinez.
"You want a kiss, I want a kiss and neither one of is getting one. Logic dictates that we should kiss then we'll both be happy," Michelle said, grinning playfully and looking at him. Martinez looked at her with a grin of his own.
"Can't argue with that logic," he said, leaning forward across Tanya.
Tanya leaned forward and caught Martinez's mouth before he could plant one on Michelle. Michelle giggled and leaned back on her hands again.
"That was dirty," Legates said, pointing at Michelle.
She smiled coquettishly up at him and fluttered her eyelashes. He was so involved in her face he missed her pulling her legs up under herself. Legates squatted down next to her and leaned over to place a kiss on her lips. She launched herself at him and bowled him over onto his back.
"Baby, if you wanted to get nekkid we could have just stayed in the dorms," he said, smirking. She grinned and fluttered her eyelashes at him again.
"No this is more fun because now we're both dirty," she said, laughing huskily.
"Dammit, next time I'm bringing a girl," Jones bellowed, glaring at Legates and Michelle. Techie snorted and shook his head.
"Did she even hide?" Romero asked, stalking towards the pair on the ground.
Michelle rolled off of Legates onto her back and put her hands behind her head. She looked up at Romero and smiled.
"I sure did," she said, grinning.
"She was the first home," Techie said, chuckling.
"God, you absolutely suck, Legates. Your girl looks hot in heels, likes football, can sing like a dream and fucking plays in the mud. WHAT THE HELL!" Jones bellowed while laughing, causing people around him to laugh.
"Well, if you had been a Ranger instead of a Green Beret you might have had the chance to meet her first," Legates said, smirking at Jones.
Everyone looked up at a squealing that was trailing across the open grassy area. Rogers overtook Brown and tagged him.
"Brown's it," Rogers yelled. Techie moved away from the pole and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Olly Olly Oxen Free," he bellowed.
People began creeping out from their hiding places. Everyone was gathering around the pole again when another group of people approached the field.
"What are you doing out here?" A male voice called out.
"Playing hide and seek," Techie said, laughing.
The figure at the front of group turned to face the group. Turning back to face Techie, the man squared his shoulders.
"Mind if we play?" The man asked with a smile on his face.
"Sure," Techie replied, shrugging.
He explained the rules and then blew the whistle. Michelle watched the men scatter. Smiling, she shook her head and took off at a jog. She was against the back fence line when she spotted it. An old jeep that looked like it was straight out of M*A*S*H. Shuffling over, she squeezed underneath and wormed her way towards the front.
She lay quiet watching for Brown to come near. Her breath quietly left her mouth causing small bursts of dirt to fly up. She kept her breath steady and even as she saw a pair of boots pass by. Too big to be Brown's she thought. The feet moved to the side of the jeep and stopped near the tire. All of a sudden she hoped the jeep wasn't parked on a hill as she heard urine hitting the tire. It rolled toward the back of the jeep away from her.
She would have let out a sigh but decided to remain silent. The jeep pressed down on top of her as the guy climbed across the backseat of the jeep. His feet hit the ground with a light thump. Glancing over her arm, she saw a pair of fatigues come into view as the soldier crouched. It was one of the Air Force guys. She heard him freeze and knew someone was approaching.
Slowing her breath down, she evened it out and made it near silent. She pressed into the shadows under the jeep. Brown bent over but didn't look closely. He moved quietly on towards the copse of trees in the back corner. Once Brown reached the tree line, she shuffled nearly silently forward out from under the jeep.
The Airman that was crouching near the jeep watched in stunned amazement as a woman wiggled out from under the jeep and began to make her way towards home. Looking over, he saw Brown had slipped into the copse of trees, so he began to make his way towards home base himself. He heard a thud of feet and turned to see Brown hauling ass after him. Picking up his feet, the Airman began to run.
Michelle heard the thumping of feet over her shoulder and without looking back, she started to sprint. The Airman watched in stunned amazement as the young woman began to haul ass to home base. Legates was standing near the pole when he saw Michelle barrelling towards him, an Airman hot on her heels and Brown right on the Airman's heels. Legates started laughing as Michelle tagged home base then did a teasing dance towards Brown as she sang 'Nah nah' at him.
"Baby, I'm going to have to hide with you," Legates said, laughing.
The Airman was leaning over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air while he tried to laugh at Legates statement.
"Dude, I honestly don't think you would have fit underneath that Willys MB," he said, laughing.
"Sweetheart if you want to learn about military vehicles I can teach you. You don't have to go crawling under them," Legates said with a laughing indulgent grin on his face.
"She seems to be damned inventive," the Airman said. Legates looked at the man's uniform and saw Dunning was his name.
"You have no idea Dunning none a'tall," Legates said.
Michelle snickered at his use of the word a'tall. Dunning stood up and looked at Legates in question.
"First round, she hid in the mud pit," Legates said, nodding his head towards the mud pit.
"In it or around it?" Dunning asked, not believing that she had gotten in the mud pit.
"IN it," Legates said, laughing. Michelle shot Dunning a pretty smile and fluttered her eyelashes at him. She swept her hands towards her clothing, pointing out the mud all over them.
"The best part is I get to take her home and wash her off," Legates said, still laughing.
Dunning snorted and shook his head. They jerked their head around at a feminine screech of laughter. They saw Tanya hauling ass across the wide grassy area. She jumped up on one of the logs over the mud pit and quickly traversed it. Brown tried to follow her and hit the mud with a splash. He was out of the water and tagged her as she stood on the edge of the mud pit laughing at him.
"That's not fair," she yelled.
"Completely fair. You didn't touch home, you were too busy laughing at me," Brown said with a grin.
"Dammit," she said, knowing he was right.
"Uh oh, looks like I'll have to get really creative with my hiding spots now," Michelle grumbled.
Brown bellowed out the all safe words and people began to creep out of various hiding spots. When the whistle blew again, Tanya started to count loudly and Michelle headed for the woods. Legates followed a couple feet behind her. He had to see what she was up to this time. He watched as she scrambled up the net and swung from the edge of the net into a tree.
His mouth fell open as she moved along the branches like some kind of monkey. Laughing, he stood under the tree grinning at her. She disappeared into the shadows of the tree branches. Although from this perspective she was near invisible but if Tanya approached from the other side, Michelle would be visible.
He chuckled and Michelle's eyes followed him as he walked around and found a set of bushes near the tree. Crouching down, he disappeared into them. He bit back his chuckle when her soft voice floated down to him.
"You suck."
They sat in silence waiting for Tanya to come their way. They heard running across the field then Tanya growling in frustration at her inability to catch the people she was finding. Michelle and Legates could hear the laughter from home base. They heard Tanya come stomping and grumbling into the woods. Legates heard Michelle even her breathing out and slow it down.
His eyebrows rose at her knowledge of the breathing techniques. Tanya had passed them by or so he'd thought. He was going to sit a bit longer to wait it out but Michelle was not so patient. He watched as she used the branches like a set of parallel bars to get down from the tree.
She landed and paused before she took off at a slow trot. Michelle heard the thud of feet behind her and looked over her shoulder. She saw Tanya coming at her wearing a large grin. Turning, Michelle started to sprint, the people at the pole cheering her on as she ran. Tanya quickly gained ground and reached out to grab Michelle.
A/N: Let's see what the rest of the game looks like for tomorrow...who is it, stick in ass, seeking, sore and dumb, bargaining, trees, heros, the robe, the jacuzzi, wrinkly, orders, fourteen year old girl's closet, sneaky, dog's feeding schedule, leaving on a jet plane, lost testicles, redwoods, Illinois, the bird, California, field stripping, jump seats, qualifications, contacts, and the jungle.
A/N2: Alright, heading over to the blog to update it. I guess my memory is just shot because I can never remember to do that =( Maybe I'll get used to it. But for now I'll just see about fixing what I got.