Sticks and Stones - Chapter 15 - by Emma Nisbet (grnfield)
Eleven hours had passed by the time Jack awoke, finally roused from his slumber by the overriding need to pee.
He opened his eyes and looked around, trying to get his bearings. His eyes settled on the still form of Janet Fraiser. She was sleeping soundly in an uncomfortably looking desk chair with her feet up on the end of the couch near to Jack's own feet.
The Colonel clambered to his feet being careful not to disturb the small doctor as he did so. He quietly slipped into the bathroom and took care of the pressing need of his bladder.
He washed his face and scrubbed his damp hands through his short hair before attempting to flatten it back into some sort of order.
He returned to the main room of the office and gently roused Janet with a slight shake on her shoulders. She opened her eyes and looked around, somewhat confused by her uncomfortable position.
"Hey, Doc, you OK?" he asked. "That doesn't look to be the best chair to be sleeping in. How long have you been there anyway?"
Janet sat up and stretched her arms above her head then peered at her watch. "Finished my shift about five hours ago," she told him. "I sat in here reading for a while but I guess I dropped off at some point."
She looked around for her book before she finally located it on the floor under her chair. She reached down and placed it on the desk behind her.
"How are you feeling, Sir?" she asked. "By my reckoning you've had a little over eleven hours sleep. I promise I didn't give you enough sedative to knock you out for anywhere near that long. Your body obviously took what it needed once I gave it a helping hand to get settled in the first place."
"Yeah, I guess it did need a bit of help settling," he admitted. "To be honest I do feel a hell of a lot better. Amazing what a good sleep can do for you. Don't know about you but I could eat out the commissary at the moment - and that's saying something."
"Good idea, Colonel. Cassie's staying with a friend overnight so I've no reason to rush back. Once we've eaten I'm going to have a shower to freshen up before I even think about going home. Don't take it the wrong way but I think you may want to do the same, Sir." She gave him a careful smile as she offered up this suggestion.
Jack looked down at his crumpled clothing and grimaced. "You know what? Hungry though I am, I think I might actually need to do that first. I can't be seen in public looking like this. My stomach will have to wait half an hour while I make myself presentable."
Jack removed his wrinkled outer-shirt and folded it over his arm. He then patted down his trousers in a vain attempt to flatten them.
"Meet you outside the commissary in 30?" he suggested.
"OK, Colonel. Will do." she replied.
Jack started towards the door intending to leave.
"Er, Jack…" Janet called after him.
"What?" Jack asked, turning back towards her.
"Well…You might need those." she said, pointing at Jack's boots that had been pushed under the couch.
"Humph, yeah you may be right there." he smiled, looking down at his sock clad feet. "Oh, sod it." he gave her a cheeky look, bent down and picked up the boots. He then turned and left the room without putting them on.
"Men," thought Janet to herself. Looking out of the door at the departing Colonel she couldn't help but smile. A hurdle had definitely been cleared today. The race was far from over but at least they were still in the running.