Chapter 3

Nicolette walked through the base, rotating her arms. She sighed, relieved to be free from debriefing. It made her wonder why she even agreed to be a part of the 141. Hell, she still wondered how Price convinced her. Scratch that. She knew how. She was not military and somethings they did were boring as hell, but she grinned and bore with it. Price was just very persuasive.

She was also relieved that she was free from Ghost. After debriefing, he vented his spleen at her. She knew not to take it to heart. It was the man's way of showing that he cared, and he really had a hard time dealing with a female version of himself. She took it in a stride and said a few words back, reminding him that her job was intelligence. No doubt people thought the 141 were a crazy bunch with all the shouting and insults.

After her browbeating she went to the medic. She did survive a heli crash but not without a few bumps and bruises. Doc confirmed it and the welts looked nasty. Not to mention the abrasion to her face. She got off lucky considering she could have flown out the back and landed like a pancake or a piece of the framing broke off and impaled her or the impact alone would have killed her. Alpha 0-2 and 2-4 were there too and thanked her. She didn't expect it but accepted graciously. The whole thing left her tired and wanting to just relax until Laswell decided they needed to be elsewhere.

She walked into the room that she was allowed to have, rotating her shoulders thinking about turning in after she made a few orders to Addy. The AI was her other secret that she only revealed to the 141, except Laswell. She remembered how they all looked at her when she showed them the AI that had been R&D under Jensen and placed with her. Ghost was her favorite reaction since he always looked ready to want to throw her over his shoulders and then toss her in a nearby lake. The AI had been with her for over three years and was responsible for helping her with the intel gathering. They taught each other the techniques that were almost criminal at times.

Price seemed to have been amused by her ever since they met, and he validated her contributions and skills. He personally vetted, and demanded she be added to his team after he approached her first. He never gave a reason why, except to say that he needed the best and she called bullshit and named ten hackers better than her. He left it that it wasn't what he heard, and Nikolai didn't lie. It was one of those times she fucking hated she could be coy, and the tables turned on her. In the end, she said yes with a few stipulations to which he agreed. Here she was now, three years later and she couldn't help herself to poke at a man that had more emotional issues than her just because.

Sighing she ran a hand through her auburn locks now that they were free from how she pinned them up for the job. She felt her breath hitch when her wrist was grabbed, and she was pushed into the wall. She felt a second hand on her hip and familiar lips pressed against hers in a rough kiss. She lifted a hand and gave a playful pound on the shoulder of the hand's owner and said, "You know better than to fucking do that." She pulled back to look at the face that always encouraged her to be a pain in the ass. "You're asking for trouble, Soap."

Soap grinned at her as he kept her pinned, "Been in trouble since the day I met ya."

Nicolette grinned and hummed, allowing him to kiss her again. He released her wrist, and she wrapped her arms arounds his neck in a hug. "So, what the fuck have you been doing since I've been off with Ghost and everywhere else?"

Soap was able to answer honestly now that they were alone. He tucked his head in the crook of her neck and tried to be cute, "Missing ya."

Nicolette held him in the hug, liking the feel of his breath on her neck. They had gotten together a year and a half ago after she and Ghost made up. It was like a bad awkward first teenage crush, but she understood where Soap was coming from. He had been a witness to the fallout and was actually afraid she thought lowly of him and the rest of the team. They talked and it went from there. They stole moments when they could, and she did get better at texting. Phone calls were a work in progress. And it worked for them.

Soap had been ecstatic when he heard the Three Musketeers were being sent out together. It was the moniker that had been slapped on him, Ghost, and Nicolette because of this strange camaraderie they had. It had been a few months since they last saw each other, but they talked, and she would text him or send emails. He liked the little spitfire that wasn't afraid to tell it like it was. He was amused that someone so little had such a foul mouth when she was mad and had a healthy respect that she could bring a man to his knees if he got handsy with her and it wasn't a punch to the stomach or a kick to the balls. He fell for her hard.

He was eager for some excitement now she was there. He got more than he bargained for on the op and it was hard keeping his emotions in check and pretending she was just a teammate. He pulled back and caressed her face and saw the abrasion on her face from the crash, "See Doc about it?"

"Yes. Bumps and bruises," Nicolette replied, knowing that he wouldn't feel relived until his questions were answered. She would have done the same. She did so when he and Gaz had been captured and she led the op to rescue them.

Soap looked at her face, his thumb tracing the abrasion. "Fucking scared the hell out of me, Nico," he said using the name she asked him and the 141 to call her when not on ops. "Heli hit hard."

"And I felt it. Scared the shit out me too. Pissed me off more," she admitted. She started playing with his mohawk, running her fingers through his hair, knowing it would help. "Fucking OCD."

Soap hummed as he kissed her collarbone. "Still beautiful," he crooned. He chuckled when he felt the flick on his ear. He looked at her as he held her close by the waist. "True, lass. Every little thing makes you beautiful."

"You're so full of it," she replied.

Soap shook his head. "Can't win with you, can I?"

Nicolette shook her head and smiled when he muttered at her in Scottish. She scolded, "English, MacTavish."

Soap rolled his eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. In between, he said, "You know what I said. You've been showing me up with your language skills." He moved his hand to tickle her.

Nicolette squirmed. The man knew exactly where she was ticklish at. His ability to make squeaky clean sweeps when clearing rooms and buildings translated to getting to know her when being intimate. "And you're cheating," she pointed out, trying to put some distance since he was a man on a mission now.

"Play to win like you, lass," he countered as he followed her. He sidestepped and got her back against the wall. He put a hand near her head and leaned forward to look her in the eye. He moved it to caress her cheek and his other hand went to her waist. He desired to be with her, but he always let her lead and she had bruises from the op.

Nicolette returned the look. Soap was always hesitant to be assertive with her, mostly because of the whole thing with how they got together, and the other part was fear of hurting her if she had injuries. She was not a delicate flower, but from him, it was sweet. He paid attention to her, what she said and didn't say. She reached up and caressed his head before kissing him. She said, "Play fair."

Soap knew what she meant and kissed her back. He wrapped his arms around her lithe body, reaching down. His hands cupped the back of her thighs as he hoisted her up. He kissed her again and muttered in Scottish mainly to tease.

"English," Nicolette breathed as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms closed around his neck and shoulders to keep her upright. She heard him growl at her for that and gave a throaty chuckle. She leaned forward to give him a taste of his own medicine and said something in a language she knew he didn't know.

Soap growled at her again as he carried her to the bed that was standard issue for the army. "Play fair, lass," he reminded her.

Nicolette pouted, but knew he was right. The bruises hurt, but that was nothing when Soap laid his hands on her. "Such a Scottish bastard," she growled as she nibbled his ear when he pressed her into the bed. She laughed when he responded. God, she missed that.

It was sometime later that had her sitting up in bed with Soap's head resting on her knee and she was stroking his hair. Her hair was a tangled mess and the shirt she stole from him was oversized, revealing a bare shoulder. She looked down at the man that was just basking in her touch. It was ironic that they both had killing hands and yet were so gentle with each other. She couldn't even feel the bruises anymore. She studied the broad muscles of his bare back appreciatively as she stroked his hair.

"You know you can touch anywhere you want."

Nicolette shook her head at Soap and gently slapped his shoulder. "There. I touched you."

Soap chuckled as he adjusted and moved his hand to stroke her leg. Her skin was silky smooth, and he could feel the muscles ripple underneath. He shifted to lean on his side and look at her, propping his head on his hand. "Feeling better?"

"About?"

"Everything." He shrugged his shoulders. "You seemed pissed at Ghost when he looked like he was going to drag you out of that warehouse."

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "We're too much alike in how we think and act and… Plus, we have different orders so to speak. It'll be okay. Always is."

Soap studied her. He knew she had been badly hurt when she and Ghost had their falling out. It was nasty and he heard that it involved a few vulgar things when Ghost personally went to find her to rescue him and Gaz. They still insulted each other, and it felt different, but he just wanted to be sure. "I believe ya. Just don't like seeing ya hurt and I'm not tempting fate in pissing you off."

Nicolette smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. She caressed his cheek. "I only get pissed at stupidity, Soap," she said. "And you're sweet."

"Finally," he replied, flopping on his back dramatically. "She admits it."

Nicolette shifted so she was laying side by side with him. "I admit nothing," she teased. She giggled at the face he made and caressed his cheek before kissing him. "Just that you are sweet and it's my secret to keep," she said as she settled beside him to drift off to sleep.

Soap made a slight sound and adjusted his body so he could wrap his arm around her. His lip twitched when she shifted, and she wrapped her arm around his torso. She was not shy about touching him when her guard was completely down, or she could claim tiredness and he let her have it. He kissed her head and spoke his true feelings in Scottish.

"English… MacTavish…"

"The intel panned out?" Nicolette looked at the screen at the pair of faces looking at her.

Led us to an AQ cell to the docks. We're going to check it out.

Nicolette nodded, "Going to do a little wet work then. Hope the fishing is good."

What about you, Moppet? Everything alright?

Nicolette looked over at nothing in particular with a slight smile on her face at the nickname Price called her. She had sought refuge in a corner of the base after waking early. She didn't like leaving Soap like that that, but they did agree that it was better not to compromise each other doing the walk of shame. She decided to check in with Price. She hated surprises and wanted to make sure the Captain and Gaz didn't get into any trouble. She looked back, "Well… if you count walking away from a heli crash on an op, okay, then that."

Something on your mind?

She gave a wry smile. She couldn't fool the Captain, not when she had something pressing on her mind. She knew he sometimes indulged her and other times, he made her spit it out. She replied, "Just something unexpected. I suspect Mummy will be giving you a call."

You know she doesn't like it when you call her that.

"And Gaz doesn't like it when I call him Rook when I want to tease him, but I do it anyway. How is everything, Gaz?" She moved her head to show that she could see him.

Hey Ryan. Still pissing off everyone?

"Every damn day," she replied. She sighed and answered the Captain's question, "We found a ballistic missile and it basically sent my feelers on haywire. Laswell will probably call you about it."

Alright. Anything else?

"Just the usual. Making Ghost want to haul me over his shoulder and dump me in a water tank. Or kick my ass." She gave a smirk mingled with a smile.

Try not to kill each other then.

"Then life wouldn't be fun. I'll check in later or Mummy will call," she said, being deliberate with her nickname for Laswell. "Stay out of trouble yourself, Captain. Kind of like you and Gaz."

Rog.

Nicolette waited until Price signed off before closing the computer. She rested her chin on her hands as she looked at the landscape, thinking about recent events. Her lip twitched before she quickly turned and at the same time grabbed the wrist that was reaching towards her and twisted it. She smirked and said, "Always trying to be sneaky, huh Ghost?"

Ghost stared at her intently. It was something they always did when they were on the same location. Sometimes he'd try to get the drop on her in the morning, other times it was her. It would then lead to a morning sparring session in hand to hand. It was mutually agreed upon when she came back after their fallout, and they kept it up ever since. He replied, "Have to make sure you're on the mark, Ryan."

Nicolette smirked as she applied pressure on the wrist. She was wide open for him to make a move just as he was. "Or are you trying to punish me?" She then pouted, "I know you think I've been a bad girl."

"Look again."

Nicolette glanced downward and saw that he had a sparring knife in perfect position to strike and kill. She looked at him and nodded, "Very good." She twisted and grabbed what she had brought with her that morning and swung it around to strike the hand with the knife. The sound of wood hitting metal was satisfying as she pulled back after releasing his wrist. She twirled the wooden escrima in her hand and circled Ghost, looking at him. She then pointed it at him, "You've always liked playing with knives. Never known a ghost to use them."

"Can never have too many. Can make the difference between life and death," the man replied as he circled with her.

"True," she replied. "A British asshole decided a good present was a kukri blade. Thing did save my life." She gave a smirk at Ghost.

Ghost stared back, aware that she brought it up to make him blush. He had been desperate to get her to stay with the 141 after they rescued Gaz and Soap. He didn't realize she already decided to stay. She teased him horribly about being attracted to her which he hotly denied until he threw the kukri blade at her, and it hit the ground. That resulted in a scuffle that to this day she insisted she won despite them both looking like they went another round with a Russian patrol in guerilla warfare. Since then, they had these "fights" more as to reassert this weird friendship of theirs. If one could call it that.

Nicolette knew he was thinking about their first fight like this as she sidestepped to the table. Her eyes never left him as they were still "fighting," and he could pounce on her. She learned that the hard way, but she liked a challenge. She reached over and grabbed a pair of escrima and tossed them at him, watching him catch the pair deftly. She nodded in approval, "See you're not a butterfingers anymore." She picked up another, so she had a pair.

Ghost looked at what she tossed him and eyed her. "You planning on adding a few bruises?"

Nicolette twirled her set, "Come on. You vented your spleen at me but you're still pissed aren't you?"

"I vented. I'm done."

"Really?"

Ghost practiced in guerilla warfare and hand to hand. Most consider him fast. The spitfire that annoyed the hell out him, she was another class. His experience prevented him from getting a hard crack when she dashed forward and sidestepped at the last movement to lay a blow. He countered with a block and automatically swung to counterattack. It was on.

It was rhythmic as the pair swung at each other in an attempt to lay a hit. Ghost was one to go for the direct route to kill. Nicolette liked to play with her targets. That was where they differed and to Ghost, he had no idea whether to appreciate it or else. He grimaced when she landed a hard smack on his wrist, forcing him to step back and give a shake to shake off the pain. "Fuck, Ryan. That's the third time you've hit me there."

Nicolette had her fair share of sore spots. She didn't tell Ghost where the bruises were on her body from the heli crash and he landed a couple of blows on them. She took a couple of breaths and grinned at him shaking his wrist. "You go direct. Good when you need to take out someone quickly. Slow and torturous is when you want something from them," she pointed out.

Ghost took in the meaning of her words. She was reminding him that they had a different look and different approaches to how they did the job, and it was because of the immediate goal. That was one of the things they had clashed on initially and still did, but they were calmer about it. Taking in her meaning he replied, "And what do you want from me?"

"Why are you still mad?"

It was direct and Ghost blinked. "What do you mean?"

Nicolette knew that he wasn't being coy. That was not his thing. He told bad jokes and had crude humor at times, but coy was a bad crash if he ever attempted to do it. She sighed, "Your body language tells me you're still mad that I pretty much was defying you at the warehouse."

"An airstrike was coming in."

"And you could've given me a few more minutes."

Ghost sighed and lowered his defensive posture. It didn't mean that it was all clear. She could easily pick up their fight again. She was right. He had seen her work with downloads to know that some required more time than others.

Nicolette knew that he was thinking about it. She then added, "I know that AQ would be on their way. An idiot would have thought otherwise."

"Then you know why we had to move."

"Addy was eyes in the sky." She looked at him.

It always turned out that way. Aggression wore them out when they were pissed. Then they were willing to talk about it like adults. Nicolette would be the first to admit that they both had issues with trust, relationships, those kinds of things. They were the same, but approaches were different because their goals and mindsets were different. After their fallout, she thought about that a lot and while she didn't want to talk to Ghost when he came to find her, she listened. She read between the lines.

"You're right."

Nicolette looked at him and raised her brow, "Excuse me?"

"You're right. Addy was in the sky." Ghost took a couple of steps forward. "Truth is, that heli crash shook both me and Soap. You were my responsibility, my watch. And…" He knew he was going to catch hell for this, but… "I do like you to a point."

Nicolette stared at him, surprised he actually admitted it. She never expected him to because of who he was. She was the same. She then slowly smiled and said gently, "See? Knew you liked me."

"Only time, Ryan."

"Rog," she replied with a grin. "Wanna throw knives?"

It was comical that she asked as if she were asking him out for a beer. Ghost knew a peace offering when he saw it coming from her. Granted he still had work to do since she was creative about it, but he could tell. He put his weapons together and said gruffly, "If you think you can beat me at that, you're pissing up a rope."

Nicolette gave that devilish grin that Ghost knew would probably cost him at some point. "Is that a challenge, pisspot?"

Ghost nodded at the insult. "Been hanging out with Price for too long."

"No, just you, asshole."

Ghost chuckled at that. That name was her default and was now more of affection than insult. She called him that when they first met and in front of Price too. She took one look at him and said he was an asshole. She didn't complain though even when he had been rough on her. He was deep in thought when something hit his shoulder and hard. He looked, "What the fuck?"

"A British asshole taught me not to get distracted," Nicolette said as she held a rock the size of a ball in her hand. She had thrown one at him when she saw that he was distracted. She threw the second one at him, aiming for the same spot.

Ghost saw it and caught it. "Fuck you, Ryan," he said.

"Well? Did you wanna throw knives or not?"

"Bloody fucking hell. Fine," he groused.

"Excellent." She turned and grabbed the computer and the gear she kept nearby for protection. She did take his suggestion to heart that she have a weapon or something that could be used as a weapon nearby at all times, even if she was on a base. "I do need to work on form. Can't quite get it to whizz like you do."

Ghost shook his head at that, "Bullshit and you know it."

"It's bullshit that you think you won our first fight," she teased as she walked with him to the practice range.

"I know you didn't."

"I know I did. Admit it."

They were still arguing about it as they set up. Soap ended up finding them and watched as they took turns throwing knives. He never could fully understand how they got along by fighting the way they did, but he trusted Nicolette when she said that it always worked out. He figured it was best to treat it like how she always said to never ask how she got her intel.

A/N: Ok I admit, Nico and Ghost are a bit crazy with the trash talk and the fighting. Trust me, you'll see more. Keep watching for more Modern Warfare II: Cry Havoc...