Thanks for the comment Bugsymutt. Yes, I was referring to Cobra Claws. Admittedly, one of the sillier, improbable episodes of the series… but heck, I liked it.

So I decided to update with a sort of Valentine's Day fic.

I don't own blah, blah, blah.

Beach Head eyed the offending decoration with contempt. He tore down the frilly red heart from the rec room door.

"Come on, Beach Head, don't be a sourpuss." Cover Girl chided.

"This is highly inappropriate to have in a serious military setting." Beach Head growled crumpling the paper into a red wad. He threw it in the trash can before walking into the room. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the whole room decorated with cupids and hearts.

Beach Head let out a string of curses. Cover Girl just laughed.

"What have you done to this room? It's been sissified!" Beach Head exclaimed.

"Pretty sure that's not a word." Flint looked up lazily from the book he was reading.

"Chill out, man. Like don't send out such negative vibes on such a feel good day." Rock 'N Roll said.

"I'll show you negative vibes." Beach Head walked toward the gunner.

"Relax." Cover Girl put a restraining hand on the ranger. "You'll live longer." She walked passed the glaring drill instructor and sat down next to Lady Jaye.

"So, doing anything tonight?" Cover Girl asked her friend.

"Maybe." Lady Jaye said noncommittally, looking at Flint who gave a wink.

"Mmm-hmmm." Cover Girl grinned, seeing all.

Beach Head also saw but chose to glare instead of commenting. He sat down opposite the television and turned it on. Putting his feet on the coffee table, he turned on the news.

Cover Girl wasn't really listening as she watched Lady Jaye complete her crossword puzzle. But from the corner of her eye she saw the drill instructor stiffen. He then got up and bolted out of the room. No one else seemed to have notice.

"I'll be right back." She said to no one in particular. Lady Jaye who was engrossed in her puzzle merely nodded.

Cover Girl had to break into a jog in order to catch up with him.

"So… where's the fire?" She asked casually. He glared at her. "Oh come on," Cover Girl glared right back. "You told me that we're supposed to work together on you-know-what. You can't run off suddenly and not expect me to wonder what's going on.

Beach Head turned away but the scowl was still on his face. "I need to talk to General Hawk first. Then I'll tell you."

When Cover Girl would not give up, he added, "I promise."

At that Cover Girl stopped and watched him stalk away. She sighed. Ever since that day in December when he appeared at her doorstep, they have been on awkward terms. Returning back to base, Beach Head had been stiff, formal, and relentless during morning PE towards her. She wasn't sure what happened to make him so… uncomfortable around her. He also never mentioned about working together to find that mole. He had warned her not to talk about it to anyone. She had been offended. Who did he think she would talk to? And why did his attitude leave her feeling depressed?

Meanwhile Beach Head was plagued with a mix of emotions leaving him unsettled. A feeling he was not use to nor did he welcome. He knew what was going on and was fighting it with ever fiber of his being. He didn't need attachments and more importantly it went against the fraternization rules. His disapproval of the various in-house romances would be hypocritical if he started one himself… no matter how appealing she was. Pushing those thoughts to the deepest recess of his mind, he knocked on Hawk's office door.

"Come." Hawk's terse reply came.

Beach Head came in and saluted.

"At ease." Hawk didn't even look up. "What can I do for you Sergeant?"

"I need you to look at something." Beach Head picked up the TV remote. A few minutes later Hawk was frowning thoughtfully at the small patch peaking out from under one of the by-stander's sleeves. The news story was about a robbery at an electronics plant that provided parts to the government.

"It could be the Cobra emblem." Hawk peered closely. "But it's hard to tell." He rubbed his chin. "Take Cover Girl and head down there. See if you can find out anything."

"Sir? I can go by myself." Beach Head interrupted.

"Son, you know we go in pairs unless it's a secret reconnaissance. Since we don't even know if this is something worrisome, I want the two of you to check it out."

"Then I should take Shipwreck instead." He named the first Joe that popped into his head.

Hawk raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You don't even like Shipwreck."

"I… like Shipwreck." Beach Head choked on those words.

"Sure you do. But I'm asking you to work with Cover Girl unless you can give me a good reason…" Hawk leaned back to look at him.

"No sir." Beach Head replied quickly.

"Then go to it man." Hawk ordered.

"Yes sir." Beach Head saluted and left.

0o0

"So what are we doing exactly?" Cover Girl glanced over at Beach Head who was driving the jeep.

"We just need to make sure Cobra isn't involved in the theft of some electronics." Beach Head answered curtly.

"It would be nice to know what exactly I'm heading into." Cover Girl was getting tired of his churlish attitude. "Seeing as I'm being dragged around."

"You didn't have to come."

"Didn't you say Hawk told me to go with you? Yeah, I'd love to disobey an order from him." She said sarcastically.

Beach Head just glowered at the road.

Cover Girl sat back in her seat in a huff. Well, if he was going to be a baby about it, she certainly wasn't going to humor him. "Great way to spend Valentine's Day." She muttered under her breath.

"Sorry." Beach Head said so softly that Cover Girl almost missed it.

Startled she looked at him. But before she could say anything he pulled to a stop in front of an office building in a nearly empty industrial part of town.

Beach Head got out without looking at her. She got out and followed him into the building. They walked to the security desk.

"We need to talk to someone about the theft yesterday." Beach Head said to the guard.

The guard looked at him with a bored expression. "Mr. Richards has already talked to the police."

"We're not from the police. We're from…" Beach Head began.

"Look buddy, Mr. Richards has said all he's going to say. So scram!" He got up menacingly.

Cover Girl could tell that Beach Head was about to lose his temper. She placed a hand on his arm. "Let's go. She whispered. When he didn't budge, she grabbed him and yanked him out.

"Why'd you do that?" He glared at her once they were outside.

"Look, there's a time and a place for everything. And right now, we need a strategic plan." She smiled slyly. "Come on, we're going shopping."

"What?" He looked at her incredulously.

Half an hour later, a leggy blond with a very low cut blouse walked into the building. She walked straight to the security desk. Leaning over so low, the security guard had a hard time keeping his eyes off her cleavage.

"Can you help me please?" She said in a breathy voice. "I seem to have gotten lost."

"Sure miss." The man said mesmerized.

While the blond was keeping the guard busy, Beach Head snuck straight past them.

He went into the elevator before anyone could see him. Taking a guess he pressed the button for the top floor. When the elevator doors opened, he peeked outside. A secretary was busy typing on her computer. Beach Head pulled off his balaclava. Walking up to her, he bluffed. "I'm here for the 2 o'clock appointment."

"Wait inside." She said without even looking up. Beach Head walked straight in. There wasn't anyone there. Beach Head scanned the room. He walked over to the computer. Just as he was about to turn it on, he heard the door opening. He frantically looked for a place to hide.

The door opened. "But Mr. Tomax, Mr. Xamot, we have kept our end of the bargain." A man said nervously.

"Yes, Mr. Richards." Tomax replied.

"But you have failed to secure," Xamot continued.

"The proper equipment," Tomax took over.

"That we need to," Xamot resumed.

"Propagate our plan." Tomax finished.

"But sirs, I got everything except that one chip, which only the government has." Mr. Richards wrung his hand.

"Yes, and we already have someone,"

"In high places that can get that to us."

"What we were referring to,"

"Was the energy converter."

"Oh that. We have it but…" Mr. Richards said relieved.

"But it was not,"

"With the other items,"

"That was just picked up." The twins said.

"You can stage another robbery…" Mr. Richards interjected.

"Mr. Richards, do you think Cobra,"

"Has time to do constant petty thefts?"

"Plus, so many robberies would call,"

"Attention to you and us." The twins glared at the sweating man.

"Look, I can find a way to deliver the converter to you through…" Beach Head saw a pair of legs from under the desk where he had folded his 6 plus foot frame.

Beach Head tried to squeeze himself tighter as Mr. Richards sat down in his desk chair and stretched his legs underneath.

"It will be hidden among the other invoices. No one will be the wiser." Mr. Richards said as he crossed his legs. Beach Head knew the gig was up when the man's foot hit his shoulder. Beach Head acted fast. He grabbed Mr. Richards' foot and tossed him backwards. Then using his back, he flipped the desk onto the twins. Leaping from his hiding place, he ran for the door. Mr. Richards called for security.

Downstairs Cover Girl was still chatting up the security guard. From his radio she heard the distress call. The security grabbed his radio to respond. But Cover Girl grabbed his head and rammed it against the security desk, knocking him out. She quickly went to the elevators. One opened and Beach Head ran out. Seeing him without his face covered startled her so much that she paused mid-run. Without a word he grabbed her arm. They flew out of the building.

"I take it you found something incriminating?" She asked as she buckled her seat belt.

Gun fire answered her.

"Get them! They know! Make sure they don't get out alive!" A man screamed from somewhere.

Beach Head punched it. The force threw Cover Girl against the seat.

"You have such a way with people." Cover Girl said sarcastically as more gun fire erupted around them. Several cars were in pursuit.

"Quit yapping and do something useful." Beach Head snapped.

Cover Girl opened the glove compartment and pulled out her gun. Unbuckling her seat belt and bracing herself against the roll bar, she opened fire behind them. She managed to shoot out the tire of one car which careened out of control knocking into another car. There were three cars left. A bullet hit her gun, knocking it out of her hand.

Cover Girl cursed as she sat back down nursing her hand.

"You okay?" Beach Head asked.

If they weren't in such danger, she would have been touched by his concern.

"Fine, but unless we can get away from these creeps, we won't be."

"Hold on to your miniskirt." Beach Head replied. Cover Girl buckled herself in.

Beach Head got onto the highway where he jumped the divider and drove on the wrong side of the road. The cars followed. A semi approached them head on. Its horns blared in alarm.

"Truck." Cover Girl said worriedly.

"I know." Beach Head replied. But he kept his course.

"TRUCK!" Cover Girl fairly shouted.

"I KNOW!" At the last second, he served out of the way. The pursuing car behind him couldn't avoid it in time. The truck hit it head on. The other two managed to get out of the way.

Cover Girl breathed a sigh of relief. She glared at Beach Head. "And I thought I drove crazy."

"Learned from the best." He smirked.

"Well, the difference is that I make it look good." She huffed.

"I don't deny that." They both involuntarily ducked as more gunfire came.

"Any more bright ideas?" Cover Girl asked.

"Just one." Beach Head skidded to a stop. Then he pulled the car in reverse. Looking backwards, he drove the jeep in between the two pursuing cars. One car made a sharp U-turn and continued the chase. The other was hit by another oncoming car. The last car pulled up along side them. It rammed them. A gun poked out. Cover Girl took off her shoe. Using the heel she knocked the gun out of the man's hand.

"See how you like that!" She said triumphantly. Apparently, he didn't like it at all. He lunged to grab her. Beach Head swerved but the car followed.

Beach Head scanned the horizon. His eyes lit up.

"Hang on Barbie!" He yelled as he exited the highway.

"Where are you going?" Cover Girl asked startled.

"You'll see." He said, his eyes never leaving the road.

"I'd rather not." Cover Girl grumbled.

A bridge came into view… a drawbridge.

"Oh no, you're not!" Cover Girl stared at him wide-eyed.

He didn't answer. He gunned the engine.

"You are." She said with resignation. "Well, if you're going to do it, do it right."

She pulled out a pair of sunglasses. She slapped them on his face. "Hit it!" She ordered. Beach Head smirked. The car sped up. The gates were already down. The bridge was starting to lift. The jeep crashed through the wooden arm and sped up the ever increasing incline. Cover Girl held her breath as the jeep flew off the edge. Praying that he got the timing right, she clutched the sides of her seat. When the tires hit the other side of the bridge, she dared to look back. The last car was perched precariously on the edge of the other side.

Cover Girl let out a whoop and raised her arms in triumph, even Beach Head smiled.

"Good job Ranger Man." She beamed at him.

"Didn't do so bad yourself, Barbie." They both chuckled.

0o0

Beach Head gave his report to Hawk. There was a warrant for Mr. Richards arrest but he conveniently disappeared. The company records were seized and it showed that he had been secretly funneling his inventory to Cobra. But when Cobra needed items that were specifically for the government he had orchestrated a robbery to hide the fact that he had given it to Cobra instead.

By the time everything was settled it was almost midnight.

Cover Girl sat on top of her tank which was parked outside, looking at the stars.

"Figured I'd find you here."

Cover Girl glanced over before returning to looking at the stars. "So Ranger Man, everything good."

Beach Head climbed up next to her. She moved over so he could sit.

The sat in silence for a bit before Beach Head cleared his throat. She looked at him expectantly. He pushed a small box towards her. Without opening it she could tell it was chocolates.

"Thanks?" She said questioningly.

"It's still Valentine's Day for another 3 minutes." He shrugged. "And you can give friends Valentines." He added defensively.

"So I'm your friend?" She asked.

"Aren't you?" He countered.

"Am I?" She threw it back at him.

Beach Head turned his head away. Cover Girl went back to looking at the stars.

"What do you want Beach?" She finally broke the silence.

"I don't know." He admitted.

"Then it's going to be hard." Cover Girl observed wryly.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"So right now we're just working together to take down a mole." She said added. "And that's all."

"Right now, yes."

"Is that all you want?" She asked quietly.

Beach Head chewed his tongue nervously. "It doesn't matter what I want." He finally answered.

"Of course it does!" Cover Girl said angrily. "Life's too short to live with regrets."

"I think there'll be regrets either way." Beach Head answered.

"Well, which ones would you rather live with?" Cover Girl narrowed her eyes at him.

Beach Head remained silent.

Cover Girl sighed. "You decide. I'm going to bed." She turned to jump down. He grabbed her hand.

"I need time." He said.

Cover Girl stared at him for a while. His gaze didn't waver despite her intense scrutiny.

"Don't take too long. I won't wait forever." She jumped off. He watched her walk towards the women's barracks until he couldn't see her anymore.

"I know." He said softly. Jumping off the tank, he went back to his room.