A/N — I wish that I had a good excuse for the lag between chapters but...I don't. A shorter update than I usually post but I wanted you all to know that I'm still around and working on all my WIPs. xoxo — tmtcltb
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Chapter 7
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Danny scoffed, arms crossing over his chest. "You don't actually believe him, do you?"
"Actually, I do," Sasha replied, recalling the way Karl's tone changed at the very end of their conversation. There had been something...sincere...in his voice. Leaving her with the unsettling feeling that Karl did consider them friends, although he would likely define friendship very differently than Danny — who was the kind of guy who knew someone everywhere they went and was always heading to someone or other's wedding — or even Sasha herself. For the briefest of moments, Sasha felt sympathy for Karl, as she wondered whether he truly had any friends, people like Jesse and Danny and Frankie. Those who might think bitch and complain and generally make her life a living hell, but always came through.
Because they cared.
Danny leaned backwards, shaking his head at the sky. "Seriously, Lisichka, you know that Prince Frogface always has an angle. He was probably hoping to get laid."
Hands lifting to her hips, Sasha began tapping her toe. "Is that all men think about? I mean, we're in the middle of a pandemic and people are literally dying outside the building but you figure his first priority was sex?"
Danny has the grace to look mildly embarrassed, and it belatedly occurred to Sasha that Danny and Kara were obviously doing more than talking during those rather-less-discrete-than-they-thought sleepovers in Kara's cabin, suggesting that the whole pandemic thing wasn't doing much to curb his libido. Interesting. Perhaps there was something to that old saying that men thought about sex every seven seconds.
"Fine," Danny replied, his voice begrudging. "So Karl wasn't there to get laid. But you can't take a thing the guy says seriously. He could sweet talk the Wicked Witch herself."
Sasha didn't disagree. Karl's number one qualification for his job was his charisma, his ability to charm everyone he crossed paths with. Actually, now that she thought about it, the fact that Karl never bothered charming Danny might be a clue that he did like the guy, something that she missed, having assumed that the man was driving Danny insane for amusement purposes. Still, Danny wasn't wrong. Karl did nothing without considering every angle — not all that different from Sasha herself. Playing it out to the end, as she short-handed her usual process of determining the likely outcome of an operation. Not that she was failproof, Sasha reminded herself with a quickly hidden grimace. The proof of just how wrong she could be was standing in front of her, Danny's life spared not because of Sasha but despite her, a combination of Rachel Scott's laser focus and a fair bit of luck.
"Hey, I saw that face!" Danny grinned. "You agree with me. What do you think he's really after?"
Laughing, Sasha gave an exaggerated shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine, Kotenok. He'll get the cure to the right people, that's all that matters."
Danny scoffed, before changing the subject. "Actually, Anders had an idea for spreading the vaccine."
Sasha tipped her head. "Anders? I don't think that I've ever heard anything out of his mouth that wasn't a direct quote from The US Marine Corps Story."
But Danny didn't laugh. "His sister died. Quarantined at Laguardia after some bigwig bypassed inspection."
Sasha closed her eyes, imagining how many people died because of one stupid asshat. "God."
"Camille, Anders' wife, is at the same safe zone as my dad. Anders thought he could get some doses of the vaccine to them," Danny explained. His eyes darted around the deck, checking if there was anyone close enough to overhear, then leaned closer. "I told him what Rachel said about how replicating the vaccine was easy and he said we should put it on the web."
"Danny," Sasha sighed. "The fact that Rachel thinks something is easy is no indication that..."
"But that doesn't matter," Danny interrupted. "What matters is that the directions are out there. So if doses of the vaccine start popping up in places where Granderson hasn't authorized distribution..."
"She'll blame it on the web leak," Sasha finished, kicking herself for not thinking of the idea herself. She had been making errors, forgetting things, missing things ever since Danny got sick. Or maybe from the moment she saw Rachel's report on the virus and realized how devastating this virus could be. Sasha forced herself to focus. "Val."
Danny leaned back, grinning. "Exactly."
Silence fell, and Sasha's eyes grew heavy. She should head to her cabin, hoping that she wouldn't be returning to a locked door and Nina's breathless voice asking her to wait just a moment, a sure sign that Frankie was visiting. Yet she didn't move, instead enjoying the purr of the Nathan James' engine as she slipped through the water, maneuvering out of Savannah's harbor in preparation for their departure for Florida.
Funny how she never realized how calming the ocean could be.
Danny smiled suddenly. "He's watching you, you know."
Oh she knew.
Tom's eyes had been burning a hole in Sasha's back since the moment that the helo left the deck, and only the knowledge that Mike was standing right next to Tom had allowed Sasha to ignore the pull of that gaze. Because if Mike wasn't there, Sasha knew she would give into the urge to find some excuse to get rid of Danny and join Tom at the rail. To be with the one person who didn't need a report of what happened in Savannah or want to discuss what to do next. With Tom, she could merely be.
Because he had been there every step of the way.
Sasha narrowed her eyes at Danny. "Looking in our general direction is not the same as watching us."
"True," Danny grinned, teeth flashing in the moonlight. "But he's watching you. Not me. Although I'm pretty sure he thinks we fucked."
Sasha groaned, arms crossing over her chest. "Is that all you think about? I assure you, Captain Chandler does not think we're sleeping together. Not only does he know that I would never sleep with a married guy but, if he did think you were cheating on Kara, the entire ship would know about it. Anyway, I happen to know that Hurtado gave you a glowing reference as a stand-up guy, unlike Benz."
She was fairly certain that Danny muttered something about low standards, then his voice rose enough for her to hear, but not enough to carry. "Fucked. As in, previously. Unless there's another reason the guy enjoys spending time with me about as much as I enjoy hanging around Prince Hans of the Southern Isles?"
"That's not..." Sasha trailed off. Because Danny was wrong, but he wasn't wrong.
Sasha Cooper. The only woman in the world who could make me want to trade places with a dying man.
Why?
Because he had those years with you.
She sighed, reaching out to touch his arm. "It's complicated, Danny."
Danny tipped his head back, studying the sky for a long moment, then his gaze dropped, meeting hers. "Kara said he's a good guy. I would tell you to give him a shot but we both know that you only date assholes. If I had to describe your type, I would go with Emperor Palpatine."
"Too wrinkly," Sasha corrected, feeling the slight tension in her shoulders ease when Danny didn't press further. "Although Voldemort did have a certain appeal."
Chuckling, Danny checked his watch. "Kara should be off duty. You turning in?"
"Yeah." Sasha turned with Danny, walking towards the helo doors. She was almost there when she twisted her head, catching Tom's gaze, the intensity stealing her breath for a second. Because no matter what she told Danny or Tom or anyone else, Sasha knew.
Today changed everything.