Still on schedule (yeah!) for weekly updates. This week, it's Risks. Thanks so much to those who took the time to post reviews. I appreciate them more than you could possibly know.
Shadowbeats 22107: As always, you are very kind. I'm glad that you loved it and got a kick out of the dead body bit. Don't we all need friends who would help us hide the bodies, no questions asked?
Sandy-wmd: I'm really enjoying writing the friendship between these two strong women. Every woman needs that friend who will help her get ready for a date or hide a body.
Marqueza: Thanks. I thought it was time that the Maria in this story line got a little fluff.
Nom de Plume: Thank you. I'm glad you like this and Complications as well.
Guest 12/28: Thanks for your review. Glad to know that my story is believable enough that you can really see these two as a couple.
Ella: I appreciate your kind words. Even a strong woman like Maria needs those light spots.
And Shadowbeats22107: Another big thank you for your review of 14.5. I'm glad you like.
I am grateful to all who favorite and who follow, and especially to those who review. You are the cheese on my nachos.
Story time!
Risks 15
Nick turned down a corridor, noticing Maria and a young agent in the hallway. The tension was thick, almost a physical presence. The body language of both individuals spoke of a serious dressing down. He moved closer.
"You can consider this to be an official warning, Mr. Denton," she told him. "With the kind of work we do, one little mistake can easily become a matter of life or death. Your own, if you're lucky, someone elses if you're not. Any more slip ups of this nature and you will find yourself out of here so fast your head will spin. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
The man started to speak, his face and body framed to protest. Then, he noticed Fury. He quickly dropped his glance to the floor then looked back to Maria.
"I said 'Is that clear?'" she reiterated.
"Yes, ma'am," he barked.
"Dismissed," she answered, waving him off. He turned, swiftly departing.
She turned to Nick. "And I certainly don't need you playing enforcer behind my back. I am more than capable of disciplining an employee."
"I don't doubt that for a moment," he told her with a lifted eyebrow. "You would not be where you are if you weren't."
"So why are you checking up on me?" she questioned, crossing her arms and staring up at him.
"I am not 'checking up' on you in any way, form, or fashion, Agent Hill," he told her. "It just happens that this corridor goes to my office and, since that is where I was going, I kind of needed to to be here."
Maria snorted. "Or has someone come whining to you that I'm being too hard on them?"
"You really think that someone is going to come to ME looking for sympathy?" he asked her in disbelief. "ME?"
She shrugged. "Some people here can certainly be pretty stupid sometimes."
He studied her. "Stupid? You really think that we have stupid people working for us?" he asked.
"Some days, yes, I really do," she answered.
Her glare held steady under his unrelenting gaze, then, he motioned for her to follow him into his office.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his concern evident.
"Other than the fact that everyone seems intent on pissing me off today, absolutely nothing is wrong," she told him, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Doesn't seem to be too difficult," he muttered under his breath.
Her face hardened and she glared at him. "What did you just say?"
"I said, you seem to be quite easily pissed off today," he answered, matching her glare.
Before she could respond, his phone rang, He glanced at the caller ID. "Sorry, I have to take this one," he told her, pointing her towards the chair. "Have a seat."
"I'll stand," she answered. She cringed inwardly, knowing how childish that sounded, but she simply couldn't help herself.
As he listened to the voice on the other end of the line, he watched her covertly. Her arms, crossed over her chest, slowly slid down slightly until they were wrapped around her stomach. She winced slightly, so quickly he almost missed it.
Needing to focus on the conversation, he swiveled his chair so that his back was towards her. After a few more minutes of listening and realizing that the agent had nothing new to report, he let his gaze wander again, catching her reflection in the glass of the framed SHIELD emblem that hung behind his desk.
With her arms tightly clenching her stomach, she closed her eyes, biting on her lower lip as she bent over slightly. Finally, she moved to the chair. As she eased down, she allowed herself to double over for a few moments, then sat up, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them to hug them close.
Clearly, she was in pain. Just as clearly, she didn't want to admit it, even to him. He hated seeing it, but wanted to respect her wishes.
He finally interrupted the man on the phone. "Do you actually have anything new to report or are you simply checking in?"
"No, sir, nothing new to report since my last check in," the man admitted.
"Then that's all you need to say," Fury told him irritably. "Detailed reports are only needed if the situation has changed significantly. I don't need you wasting my time repeating what you were told in the briefing we both attended a few hours ago."
He ended the call before the man could reply. In the reflection, he saw Maria quickly jump to her feet, resuming her previous position before he turned to face her again.
He snorted. "There does seem to be a higher level of stupidity in the air today. Maybe I should have the water tested," he told her.
She made an 'I told you so' face. "If there's nothing else, sir, I have work to do."
Watching her for a moment, he hesitated. "You know, Maria, you have plenty of sick time saved up if you need to take some. And I'm certain that you've already taken care of the urgent matters for the day," he phrased carefully. "You could even work from your quarters if you wanted to."
Not carefully enough, though.
"Is that an order, sir?"
"No."
"Then, with all due respect, sir, I'm just fine," she repeated, her voice low and dangerous. "And I don't need a babysitter."
"Just concerned," he started.
"Not necessary," she replied. "I've been taking care of myself for years."
He threw up his hands. "Then, by all means, get back to work."
With a nod, she turned on her heel and stormed out. "And God help all in your path," he added softly.
As his day progressed, he found his thoughts drifting back to her, wondering how she was doing. He hated the thought of her in pain and hated even more that she was trying to hide it from him.
And he was angry at himself for not confronting her about it. They had been together long enough that he shouldn't have been too scared to bring it up. Finally, he made his way to the medical wing, catching Dr. Carlyle as she hurried past.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
She looked at him.
"In private?"
With a heavy sigh and a glance around her crowded waiting area, she motioned his towards her office. "I can give you a minute. We're dealing with a flu outbreak and we're slammed, in case you didn't notice."
"Didn't everyone get their vaccinations?" he asked.
"Some of the patients did, and still got sick, but we're still seeing quite a few who didn't. I've sent out reminders, but some people just aren't responding."
He thought for a moment. "Do you think you'd be able to spare a couple of people to set up a clinic tomorrow? I can let you have one of the conference rooms."
She shrugged. "We can find the personnel, but we still have the problem of getting people to come."
"Because you've been asking too nicely," he told her. "Send my secretary a list of those not compliant, and they will receive a personal order from me to take care of it. By the end of the day, those who still haven't bothered with receive an armed escort, if need be."
"I'll have my assistant coordinate with yours," she told him. "Thank you."
He nodded.
"Now, what did you need?"
He cleared his throat, looking around the room as he tried to think how to properly phrase his request.
"Problems in the bedroom?" she probed.
"What?" he looked at her, startled. "No. Whatever gave you that idea?"
"When a man says he needs to talk to me in private and then can't seem to say anything, that seems to be what it often comes down to," she told him.
"No, everything is fine in the bedroom," he assured her with a smile. "Very fine, in fact."
"Don't need the details," she hastened to inform him.
"You weren't going to get any," he confirmed. "Actually, I was wondering what the best medication is for cramping," he finally told her.
"Muscle cramps after a workout?" she asked.
"Female cramping," he clarified.
"Ah. Agent Hill."
"Yes," he confirmed. "Even though I say that I know everything that goes on around here, I really don't keep track of the cycles of my female employees."
She laughed and patted his shoulder. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
She left, returning a few minutes later to hand him a couple of pill bottles. "One is naproxen, one is ibuprofen. Either one works well, I just don't remember which one works better for her. She knows how to take them."
He looked at the bottles and nodded his thanks. "Is this a normal thing for her?" he asked. "Because we've been together for about a year or so now and it bothers me to think that I haven't noticed her having this much pain before."
"I really can't discuss her medical issues with you, Nick," she told him. "Privacy laws and all that."
"Of course," he acknowledged, standing to leave. "And you have patients, so I'll get out of your hair. Don't forget to get that information to my assistant," he reminded her.
"Will do," she told him. "And remind her to let me know if the pain gets too bad."
"Thanks."
When he stopped by her office to check up on her, her assistant told him that she was out of the office.
"Do you know where she is?" Fury asked.
"She said that if anyone asked, she's out making inspections," he told him, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"And if I ask where she is?"
"But in case of anything urgent, she's in her quarters," he added.
After a couple of stops, Nick stood outside her door and knocked lightly before letting himself in. She was sitting on the middle the sofa, the mark on her face revealing that she had been lying down just before his entrance. She had grabbed up the laptop from her coffee table and was studying it intently.
"How are you doing?" he asked. "Have you taken anything?"
"I'm okay," she told him, shaking her head to answer his second question. "I don't really need anything."
He headed into the kitchen, returning several moments later to hand her a glass of water and the two bottles that the doctor had give him.
"Dr. Carlyle said you knew how much to take," he told her.
After a pause, she gave in, opening one of the bottles and popping a tablet into her mouth, washing it down with a drink of water.
"Thanks."
He disappeared back into the other room, returning again with something wrapped in a towel. He took the laptop from her and knelt in front of her pulling down the blanket that she had draped over her legs.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Hot water bottle," he told her, gently placing it on her abdomen. "The heat can help relieve the cramping." He swung her feet onto the cushion next to her, then sat behind her, his hands going to work on the tight muscles in her shoulder. Feeling her relaxing, his hands moved lower, finally reaching her lower back. He heard her hiss slightly as he touched a tender spot. He continued, carefully massaging the area for several more minutes.
Finally, he rose, sliding an arm behind her back and the other under her knees as he slid her down to rest her back against the sofa arm. "Be right back," he told her.
Returning from another trip to the kitchen, he placed a lap tray in front of her, bearing a steaming bowl of spicy soup.
"Eat," he told her. "Yes, that's an order."
With a small smile, she nodded, taking a small, hesitant spoonful. Another bite followed, then another. Nick watched closely until she had emptied the bowl. He took it back to the kitchen, then sat down at the end of the sofa, taking one of her feet in his hand and starting to gently massage it.
"Feeling any better?" he asked softly.
"A little," she replied. "Thanks."
He turned to look at her. "Are your periods always this bad? Have I really missed you being in this much pain all these months that we've been together?" he asked, concern on his face.
She shook her head. "No, Nick, this isn't normal. This is the first really bad one I've had since we started our personal relationship."
He still looked concerned. "I only have really painful cramping like this once or twice a year, maybe. A doctor told me that I have some scar tissue on my ovaries and tubes, probably from a bad infection I had when I was a teenager."
"Couldn't they do something to help?" he asked. "Some surgery or something?"
She shrugged. "Like I said, it's generally not a problem. It's not often that it's this severe and it usually passes in a day, two at the most."
"I just hate seeing you hurting," he told her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
She pulled her foot from his hand, replacing it with the other one. "Yeah. You can tell me how you know so much about this kind of stuff."
He grinned. "I grew up in a small, three bedroom apartment with my mother and four sisters. Sometimes, Robert and I would bundle up and sleep on the fire escape rather than stay in the apartment when they were all pms'ing."
As he continued her foot rub, he reminisced. "Tori used to have it the worst. She'd sit, curled up on the couch crying for a couple of days. Ann would fix her the hot water bottle and rub her back. I'd run down to Mr. Chang's for the egg drop soup she craved." He looked at her. "I wasn't sure if there was something in particular that you would prefer, but I know you really like that chicken tortilla soup."
"It was perfect," she told him.
He turned, making sure that he had her full attention. "Please remember that you can always talk to me about anything," he told her. "Even stuff like this."
"It's a little embarrassing to talk about female problems, even with the doctor," she told him.
"I won't say that I don't want any secrets between us, because I know that we both have some that we just can't share. Nature of the kind of work we do and the lives that we lead. But anything that you want to share, I will always listen. You don't have to worry about being embarrassed or that I will judge you. I love you and nothing is going to change that."
She nodded. "I'm beginning to understand that, Nick. I will try, if you promise to do the same," she assured him.
"I'll try, too," he told her, "But I've been private and secretive since before you were born, so it's a bit difficult for me to grasp."
"So we just be patient with each other," she said.
He nodded. "So. Is there anything else I can do for you right now? Would you like for me to run you a warm bath?"
She ducked her head, then looked up at him almost shyly. "Would you think me too awfully girly if I asked for bubbles in that?"
He rose, kissing the top of her head as he walked towards the bathroom. "I happen to like it when you get girly sometimes."
She watched him walk away.
"Nick!" she called out.
He turned back.
"I love you, too."
Thanks so much for reading. I'd like to know what you thought. Pretty please?
Just a note: Don't you authors just hate it when someone else uses one of your ideas before you get to it? This idea was a part of this story line way back, in a general outline kind of way. Not too long back, the amazing Shadowbeats22107 (who you should definately read if you like mature fic) posted something of a similar vein in her Clintasha series. I almost trashed this, but finally decided to go ahead with it, since it was basically already written in my head. Hopefully, it's still unique enough to be enjoyable.
More to come.