I know right?
Twenty Six
"What in hell is going on in here?" A tall, burly man strode into the room, and put his hands on his hips. "I thought I …. Jimmy?"
James dropped the arm he was holding and straightened from a crouch, turning to face the newcomer. "'Lo, Steve." His eyes anxiously checked the sprawl of bodies between the ruined computer consoles. "You all okay?"
"Fine." Ceci squirmed out from under Jade's outstretched leg.
"Yeah." Tori didn't move an inch, preferring to remain where she was with both arms wrapped around her wife.
"Thanks." Jade grimaced, shifting her weight off her bad arm as she met her father's eyes.
James nodded then returned his attention to the newcomers. The SEALS, both protectors and attackers were sprawled everywhere, fatigues in jungle pattern and black smeared with paint and a thick, glutenous coating that also filled the floor, and was spattered on walls, consoles, equipment, and every other surface within the room.
Jim let the end of the firehose he'd been wielding drop off his shoulder, then he glanced down at his feet with a sense of tired disappointment. He reached out a sneakered foot and rolled over the slumped form dressed in similar black fatigues, and gently booted the rifle he'd taken from the attacker far out of range. "Damn."
"Holy shit." Steve Drake had picked his way over to where James was standing. "What the hell's the CO doing here? Did you hit him? Why? What the hell are you doing here? Who... hey, ain't that your little girl and the missus?"
"Steve." Jim exhaled.
"What happened to these damn machines?" The SEAL commander turned and glared at the slowly disentangling team members. "I thought I told you people not to touch any of this.." Steve stopped talking, as a large hand fit itself over his mouth.
"Hush." Jim exhaled. "We got a lot to talk through. Get some medics in here first."
"But…"
"Just do it." Jim's voice took on a crisp stern quality.
Jade managed to push herself upright, hampered by both her arm, and Tori's tenacious hold on her. She let her head rest against the wreckage of the console and blinked. "Doug?"
"Just fine, ma'am." Doug and his companion crawled out from between the computer and the nearby wall. They were both covered in dust, but unharmed. "That other lady officer took off in the dark, though. I don't know what happened to her."
Several possibilities occurred to Jade, and caused her to smile unpleasantly. She hurt too much to enjoy them, however. "Take the box, and get outside. Sinjin's waiting for you. Get it into my car, and just get off base." She kept her voice low. "Move it."
Doug hesitated, then his freckled face scrunched into a grimace, and he nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Be careful." He and the other tech carefully uncovered the disk assembly, and lifted it between them, then started to make their way quietly towards the door, dodging the cursing, slipping SEALS.
Tori's eyes were on the still form at Jim's feet. "You were wrong." She murmured.
"Yeah." Jade agreed, sadly. "I guess I was. I was hoping I wasn't." She closed her eyes. "He was trying to use the exercise to cover wiping his tracks, I guess."
Tori shook her head. "I don't get any of this. What about that petty person? Was she part of it too? Is everyone in this place messed up, Jade?"
"I don't know." Jade answered. "I don't want to think about it right now." She let her eyes open, and examine the hole in the console just opposite her. "I hate this."
"Well, hon. I don't think anyone would like being in a half shot up room full of fire retardant foam and cursing sailors." Tori joked, faintly. "I know I don't."
It was more like a bad dream. Jade felt a hurt beyond the physical as she considered the consequences of the day. Never had to nail a friend, have you? She accepted the self acknowledgment with a bitter taste in her mouth. It was sure easy enough for you to do this to some damn strangers, wasn't it, Jade? You used to laugh about it - remember? It was true, she knew. She remembered exchanging bets with Rob on how many people she could nail at companies they consolidated. What was her record? Fifteen, wasn't it?
Her eyes went to the ceiling. Well. She had a job to do, and after this, chips were going to fall where they fell, that's all. After all, there had been that laser scope on her chest, and now Jade had to face the possibility that given another few seconds, her families' 'old friend' might have chosen to pull that trigger.
That close, with an automatic rifle, and there was no doubt she would surely have died. It would have been a 'mistake' during an exercise, that was all. Friendly fire, and civilians had no authority to be where they'd been anyway.
Jade's lips twitched. Damn, life just really sucked sometimes. She inhaled, then rolled her head to one side, to meet Tori's eyes. Had Tori seen the scope? Did she know what almost happened? "You okay?"
"Me?" Tori almost spluttered. "I'm perfectly fine, Jade. Can you stand up? I'd like to get the hell out of this room. The smell of that foam is making me sick."
No. Jade realized. She didn't know. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to save the news for later, when they were alone. "Sure. That's a good idea." She got her feet under her and slowly stood up. Tori held onto her, which she was glad for as a wave of dizziness nearly sent her right back down to the ground again. "Whoa."
"Easy." Tori wrapped an arm firmly around her. "I got you."
Jade waited a moment, as the buzzing faded, then laid her arm across Tori's shoulders and took a look around the room for the first time. "Holy shit." She blurted, shocked at the compound disaster the area had become.
"Leave it to your father." Ceci had come up on the other side. "He could do that to a perfectly clean carport, too." She looked up at Jade. "You doing all right?" There was a faint hesitance in her voice. "Or is the smell in here killing you as much as it is me?"
Jade felt sick to her stomach, and the pain in both her shoulder and head seemed to be getting worse. Or maybe it was just a combination of things. "It's pretty bad." She agreed. "We're going to get out of here ."
"Good idea." Ceci remarked, noting but not commenting on the stark paleness of her daughter's face. "I'll walk out with you." She exchanged glances with James, who nodded, a sober, very serious look on his face. After a moment's pause, she drew in a breath, then settled a hand firmly on Jade's back as they made their way slowly to the door.
Jade glanced to one side, then to the other, a dozen words of protest rising to her lips about this overly solicitous behavior. Then her stomach almost rebelled, making her glad of Tori's grip, and she decided to make an exception.
Just this once.
James watched his family leave, then he turned back to his old friend, Steve Drake.
"So, what's the deal, Big J?" Steve asked, folding his arms across his chest. "Better come up with something good 'fore Ainsbright wakes up and throws you in the brig." He glanced down. "Gonna be some pissed."
"Can't." Jim replied. "I mustered out." His eyes fell on the still unconscious form of the base commander. "You got medics coming? Ah think I might have busted something in there."
"Yeap. On the way." Steve agreed. "You really retired? No shit?"
Jim nodded. "Got me a nice, peaceful job watching out for mah damn kid." He shook his head. "This ain't a good day, Steve. We got some bad stuff going on here."
The big SEAL snorted. "Here? Nah. Nothin' ever goes on here, Jimmy, you know that better than most. It's so quiet they picked this place to let us to our urban playpen weekend here."
Jim shook his head, remembering those weekends.
"So, what are you gonna tell the heat when they get here? You gonna explain why a retired frogman's holed up inside an official Navy action area, spraying some poor kids with foam and whacking the hell all out of the base commander?"
"No." James replied. "Ah am not going to explain it."
Steve cocked his head in a puzzled fashion.
There was a rifle lying near the wall. Jim walked over and crouched next to it, examining the weapon with knowledgable eyes. "C'mere." He waited for Steve to come over and kneel down. "This what you're arming with?"
A blink. "Hell no." The SEAL commander said. "You know better."
Jim nodded. "Yeap." The rifle was a standard issue old style M16 rifle, with a night scope attached. "Trouble is, what made them holes in them there pieces of machinery sure wasn't this here rifle." He turned and looked. "12 gauge Remington, I'm thinking."
Steve walked over and examined the holes. "Damn." He straightened. "None of my people were carrying those." He came back over. "James, what is going on here?"
James looked from the holes, to his old friend, now starting to groan, then to the rifle he'd taken from Jeff's hands and slammed against the wall. "Ah wish to hell I knew."
"Sir." One of the SEALS had been securing the perimeter of the room. "Sir, I think you'd better come here." He was standing over a stack of boxes filled with fanfold paper.
James and Steve walked over and looked down. Nestled among the boxes was the slumped form of Chief Daniel. "Well." Jim knelt and touched the side of the woman's neck and paused for an instant. "Better tell them medics to get a hop on." He cleared the boxes away from the fallen petty officer, and loosened her collar. Her face was very pale, and the heartbeat he'd had to dig for was faint, fluttering against his fingers erratically. As he moved her slightly, something plastic rolled off her shoulder and rattled against the tile.
"Wh.." Steve stooped and picked it up, holding the syringe carefully. Then he unclipped his walkie talkie microphone from the catch on his padded vest. "Tac one to ops. Need the doc here now." He unkeyed the mic. "Do we need to secure this base?"
James propped the chief's head up on a small stack of paper to keep it off the cold floor. "I think we do."
"All right. We'll do that. Then, James, y'all are going to tell me what the hell is going on." Steve replied crisply.
Tori adjusted the passenger's seat back a little, watching Jade's eyes blink slowly in the mid day sun. "You okay here, honey? Would the back seat be better?"
"No, this is fine." Jade murmured. "Feels better to be half sitting. I think if I laid flat, I'd end up chucking my guts all over your pretty new car."
"It's leather. It cleans." Tori let her hand rest on Jade's thigh as she glanced around. Ceci had gone to get some water, and Sinjin had already left in Jade's car with the drive array box. It was sunny now, and peaceful out here in the parking lot, with a nice breeze blowing. Tori felt a lot better, and she hoped that Jade did as well. "How are you doing?"
Jade tilted her head to one side, and regarded her wryly. "I must be doing horrible."
Anxiously, Tori clasped her fingers in her own. "Why? Does it hurt that bad?"
"No." The blue eyes twinkled, just a little. "It's the seventh time you've asked me in ten minutes." Jade said. "Am I turning green or something?"
"Psshst." Tori had to laugh. "Sorry." She lifted Jade's hand and kissed it. "This was just a little too much, I think. My mind's going in a thousand different directions."
"Yeah." Jade pulled her closer, into a hug and laid her cheek against Tori's soft hair. She could feel the warm breath through the fabric of her shirt as the smaller woman sighed. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I love you." Jade was mildly surprised at how easily that came to her lips now. She felt Tori smile, and one of her arms snaked around Jade's waist, giving her a hug.
"I love you, too." Tori murmured.
They stayed that way, even though Jade could see her mother approaching through the windshield. "Sorry I was such a raging bitch today." She said. "This didn't really go like I planned it."
"Oh." Tori didn't budge. "You mean you didn't expect someone to suspect what we were up to and use a SEAL exercise to cover the destruction of all the evidence?"
"No."
"Tch. Bad Jade. No biscuit." Tori squirmed a little closer. "You must be slipping." She felt the motion under her as Jade chuckled just a bit. "Your tummy's rumbling."
"Not from hunger." Jade sighed, as her mother rounded the door, and paused, watching them bemusedly. "Hi."
"Is it ticking?" Ceci hazarded. "Here, drink some of this. I think it's safe - there's enough chlorine in it to kill anything nasty." She handed Jade a bottle she'd filled from the tap.
"Thanks." Jade accepted it, and took a sip, licking her lips thoughtfully. "Mm… tastes like home." She rolled a mouthful around and swallowed it, perversely enjoying the sharp tang of the minerals and chemicals infusing the tap water. "Nothing else tastes like it."
Tori lifted her head and straightened, pulling the bottle over curiously and taking a sip.
She blinked, then spit it out immediately. "Yahh!"
Ceci and Jade both chuckled.
"Boy, is that ever an acquired taste." Tori looked like she desperately needed something. Like a drink of water. "Good grief, Jade! How on earth could you drink that?"
Jade winced, as a wave of nausea hit her. "I'm wondering that myself a the moment. "She said. "Better step back in case I lose what I just swallowed."
Tori didn't move an inch. She took the bottle from Jade's hands, and gently rubbed her forearm, caressing the warm, bare skin as she watched Jade close her eyes and lean back. "I think we'd better get going." She told Ceci. "Go on and get in. I'll drive over there, then run in and get dad."
Ceci nodded. "Good idea." She opened the back door and climbed inside. "But you drive, I'll go fetch him." She watched Tori carefully close the passenger side door, then jog around the front of the Volvo. Awkwardly, she patted Jade's arm very lightly. "Hang in there, kiddo."
Hang in there. Jade swallowed, uncomfortably aware of the pain in her head and shoulder getting worse. "Do my best." Even the sound of Tori's closing the door hurt. "Did Sinjin get that box?"
"He got it, honey." Tori backed the car, then put it in gear and headed for the building. "Don't worry about that."
Okay. Jade closed her eyes, and concentrated on taking shallow breaths. She didn't want to throw up. That would hurt. That would make her head hurt a lot worse than it did. It would also, the more ingenious part of her argued, ruin the new car smell of Tori's little blue buggy.
That would be bad.
She wouldn't get a biscuit.
Jade winced. Right now, the last thing on earth she wanted was a biscuit.
Tori rubbed her hands, and settled back against the wall, crossing her arms as she watched Dr. Dodie fussing over Jade. It was cold in the emergency room, and she found herself wishing she had a sweatshirt.
Actually, she wished she wasn't here at all, having to watch all the activity around Jade with a heavy, nervous knot in her stomach. Dr. Dodie had taken one look at her lover, and sent them both straight to the hospital, with him driving right behind them.
What was worse was that Jade hadn't protested. Even now, she was resting quietly on the padded rolling bed, with her eyes mostly closed as both doctor and nurses poked at her. That made Tori realize whatever was wrong was serious, because otherwise she knew Jade would be pitching God's own fit.
She wondered how Jim and Ceci were coping out in the waiting room, where they'd reluctantly retired to wait after Jim had carried Jade inside, an image that had imprinted itself on Tori's heart.
"Tori?"
Tori jumped, then focused on Dr. Dodie's kindly face. "Oh, god. Sorry." She searched his eyes anxiously. "How's she doing?"
"I'm guessing she feels like the turd end of a pig in a bog right about now." The doctor told her. "She got herself real concussed there, and looks like she did more damage to her shoulder."
"Oh." Tori's brow knit. "Is she going to be okay?"
Dr. Dodie patted her cheek. "Eventually, sweetheart." He told her. "I need to get a cat scan of that head, though. Would you mind going on in with her, just in case she realizes I've gone and stuck her inside a blinking, white tube?"
"Sure." Tori felt a little better. "Anything I can do to help?"
The CAT scan room was a short elevator trip away, and Tori spent the moments gently rubbing her wife's fingers as the blue eyes peered muzzily at her. "Hey, sweetie."
"Ow." Jade replied.
"I know." Tori walked alongside the gurney as they exited the elevator and moved down the hallway. "Jade, honey, they need to take pictures of your head, okay?"
A groan.
"Yeah, I know.. you hate that, but Dr. Dodie really needs to see what's going on in there." Tori told her. "So you just keep your eyes closed, and it won't be that long, I promise."
"Promise?" Jade mumbled.
"I promise." Tori repeated, as they rolled over to the big machine. "Just keep your eyes closed, okay?"
"Okay." Jade agreed. "Just stay here with me."
Oo. Tori eyed the plethora of machinery, then her wife's pale face. "Don't worry. I will. I promise." She took hold of Jade's hand, and squeezed into a corner, as much out of the way as she could manage.
The technician came over, and glanced at her. "Ma'am, you can wait over there." He pointed towards a low bench, giving her a friendly smile.
Jade's fingers tightened on hers, and Tori met the tech's eyes squarely. "No, I can't." She said. "My wife here is extremely claustrophobic, and has a concussion. You don't want her freaking out."
The man glanced at Jade, then at Tori. "Okay." He agreed cheerfully. "I can buy that. Just try to stay as clear of the machine as you can."
Tori was pleasantly surprised by the easy capitulation. "Thanks." She relaxed. "I will."
The tech, a young blond haired man about Tori's age expertly arranged Jade on the table, and moved the machine to cover her. "Was she in a car accident?"
"Ah.. no." Tori replied. "She.. um… " Got hit in the head with a rifle? No, you can't say that. "It's complicated."
"Okay." The tech signaled to his partner, who was behind a console. "Whatever you say. I never argue with a lady wearing two cell phones."
Tori glanced down at her belt, then felt herself blushing. "Ah, yeah." She heard the machine start humming, and felt Jade's grip tighten painfully. "I'm carrying for both of us right now." She chafed Jade's fingers. "Easy, Jade, I'm here."
The grip lessened, just a trifle. "I'll always be here." Tori whispered.
"Okay." Dr. Dodie entered the emergency room alcove they'd been assigned to. Jim and Ceci were standing on one side of Jade's rolling bed, and Tori was on the other, all of them attempting to comfort her. "Sweetie pie, you did quite a job on yourself."
Jade had her eyes open a little more now, having been pumped full of several syringes of things. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Dr. Dodie walked over and rested his hands on the bed. "I'm admitting you."
Jade grimaced.
"Ah ah ah." The doctor shook his finger at her. "It's all your own fault, young lady. If you'd have stayed at home and rested like I told you do, you'd still be there, and not here."
Jade's lips twitched into a scowl. "I had something I had to do." She protested tiredly.
"Uh huh, and now what you have to do is spend some time in here, letting me fix you." Dr. Dodie replied. "You have a concussion, honey, and there's some swelling in there because of that. You're not going anywhere until I'm sure that's gone." He touched the side of her head, which was dark with bruising. "And I'm calling in an orthopedic surgeon to look at your shoulder."
Jade's blue eyes popped wide open, but then, so did Tori's, Ceci's and Jamess. "What?"
Dr. Dodie put a finger on Jade's nose. "What part of that wasn't in American English? Now you relax, and let them take you upstairs, and get you comfortable." He patted his profoundly unhappy looking patient's arm. "Don't give the nurses a hard time. I like the ones' here, and you'll give me a bad name if you do." With that, he left, after giving James a reassuring pat on the back.
"Shit." Jade exhaled.
"Now, Gigi." Jim put a hand on her shoulder. "Just you relax, like Steve said, and get you some rest."
"In here?" Jade eyed the white ceiling. "Not likely."
Tori actually smiled. "I never thought I'd be glad to hear you griping." She admitted. "But I know it means you feel better, so I am glad."
Jade eyed her. "Easy for you to say. You get to go home." She grumbled. "I have to stay here and be poked, prodded, messed with , and put up with god knows what."
Tori exchanged glances with her in-laws. "Honey, I'm going to go give them your insurance card, okay?" She said, diplomatically. "I'll be right back." She tweaked Jade's toe, then left, passing through the divider curtains and letting them fall closed behind her.
Jade closed her eyes and counted to twenty. Then she counted to twenty again. Then she opened her eyes, and found she was still in the hallway, waiting to be shoved into the elevator. She closed her eyes again.
Jade didn't like frustration. She usually dealt with it in one of two ways - she got rid of it by getting rid of it's source, or she went out and did something physical until the feeling of rage faded. At the moment, neither of those two options were available to her.
If she was being very honest with herself, it wasn't the hospital she hated. The gurney started into motion with a jerk, and she opened her eyes to see the walls moving past. It was the lack of personal control over what was going on, and the fact that she was forced to allow strangers to invade her personal space and strip away her dignity. She couldn't wait til she was alone in her room.
Not to mention the damn gowns. Jade had let them put one on her, but she'd refused to remove her jeans, even after Dr. Dodie had threatened her with a pair of surgical scissors. She still had them on now, providing extra warmth beneath the thin hospital sheet that covered her, smelling of bleach and antiseptic.
The elevator doors closed, and she listened to the nurses' tuneless whistling as the car lurched into motion. That made her still aching head hurt more, and she sighed, biting her tongue to keep from snapping at the man. The nausea had faded, and Dr. Dodie had firmly strapped down her arm again, making the pain bearable, but the various aches and the aggravation were wearing very hard on her temper.
And Tori had disappeared. Jade spent a moment glumly wondering if her cranky ill temper had finally pushed one button too many, even with her wife's usual patience. The thought brought an irrational jolt to her chest, as the fatigue wore down her defenses and let her darker insecurities surface.
Fortunately, she didn't really have time to dwell on it, as the elevator doors opened and her porter pushed her out onto a relatively quiet hospital floor, with shoe squeaking clean floors, and weave walls the color of road kill. Jade hated it immediately, especially when she was guided into a half darkened room midway down the corridor.
"Here we are." The man pushing her announced cheerfully. "Let me just swing you over here, and we'll get you settled into this nice bed."
Jade realized she was too tired to even be disgusted. She eyed the bed, then glanced around the room, realizing it was the only bed in it. Could she have gotten that lucky? She'd been hoping, at the best, for either no room neighbor, or a sleeping one. It was a fairly sizable room too, with a wide, bay window and a sort of padded day bed lounger near that presumably for the patient to relax in.
Hm. Maybe they were out of double rooms. Well, Jade wasn't going to argue with that, sharing the space was one thing she'd been truly dreading. She waited until the rolling bed was even with the stationary one, and the nurse had lowered the rails, then before he could grab hold of her, she moved herself from one to the other in a single, fluid motion.
"Hey." The nurse blurted. "Honey, I was going to help you."
"I know." Jade exhaled. "It's okay." The effort had exhausted her and she laid back against the pillows, and allowed the nurse to fuss with the blankets.
"Are you one of those really independent people?" The man's voice was sympathetic. "I'm like that, too."
Jade glanced at him. "Yeah, I guess I am." She admitted.
"Well, you just take it easy, okay? They'll take good care of you up here, even if you don't want them to." The nurse chuckled. "The floor nurse will be in soon to take your vitals, and get your chart started, and then they'll bring you up some dinner." He checked a tag on Jade's arm. "They'll probably want you to take your jeans off, too."
Jade's eyebrow edged up.
"Don't let them intimidate you." The man whispered, giving her a wink. "Sleep in em if you want." He grinned, and patted Jade's leg, then made his way out of the room.
Hm. Jade had to smile, just a little. Then she sighed, and let her head fall back, her mind turning over vague worries and more concrete ones, like what the hell they were going to do with her shoulder. Her head turned, and she peered at her own arm in worried annoyance. Then she looked around the room, which was depressing and silent.
Surprising how alone you could feel inside a busy place like a hospital. Jade closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of shockingly pungent self pity. She really didn't want to be here.
She just wanted to go home.
Tori paused in the doorway for a moment, watching the quiet figure lying on the bed. There was something so vulnerable about Jade she almost didn't want to walk in, for fear of startling her wife too badly. She took a breath, hesitating before she called out. "Hey."
Jade's head came up and she looked around, their eyes meeting with an almost palpable intensity. "Hey." Jade managed a smile. "Thought you went on home."
Tori walked over to the bed. "You thought wrong." She eased the bag on her shoulder off and let it drop to the ground. "I'm not going anywhere." She leaned on the railing, absorbing the look on Jade's face. "I'm staying right here with you."
Jade felt a little ashamed. "Hey, you don't have to do that." She replied. "Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but you need to go get some rest yourself."
"No." Tori spoke the truth she felt in her heart, and saw in Jade's eyes. "Mom and Dad are going to stay at our place, and keep Chino company." She took Jade's hand. "This is where I want to be, and you're not convincing me otherwise so just forget it."
Jade's eyes dropped to the blanket, then lifted again, filled with simple, yet poignant gratitude. "Thanks." She said, softly. "I'm feeling pretty ragged right now."
"I know." Tori replied. "Dr. Dodie said some of that is from your concussion, and he knows you must be hurting a lot, but they can't give you much for the pain because of your head."
Jade nodded. "I figured that out." She glanced around the room. "At least it's quiet in here, hm?"
Tori also looked around. "Yeah, not bad." She nodded. "Nice view."
Jade studied her profile, seeing the slight tensing of the muscles on either side of Tori's mouth. "Did you arrange for this?"
Now the brown eyes drifted around and met hers, and the hidden smile emerged fully, making those eyes twinkle. "Yes, I did." Tori replied. "And you're in no condition to argue with me about it."
Despite the aches, and the pains, and the aggravation, Jade suddenly felt much better. "You know something?"
"Hm?" A brown eyebrow raised in question.
"You're better than ice cream."
The smile turned into a broad grin, which wrinkled Tori's nose up and transformed her entire face. "There goes my life's goal.. now what do I do?" She laughed. "C'mon, tiger. Let's get those jeans off. I brought your travel bag in, and it has real pajamas in it."
Jade relaxed, and accepted her fate. "Oh ho." She remarked wryly. "Now I know why you arranged for a private room."
"Absolutely." Tori agreed with the banter. "You're helpless, and in my clutches here alone, and I can do whatever I want to you." She started removing one of Jade's socks, and tickled the bottom of her foot. "I am in total control."
Jade snickered. "You know, Tor, that would be more effective if you didn't have that cute little nose."
A sigh. "I'd never be cast as a domineering world conqueror, huh?"
"No." Jade muffled a laugh.
"Guess I'll have to just make the best of it." Tori leaned over and bit her on the toe.
"Ooh." Jade jumped, allowing herself to be absorbed into the play, and forgetting for the time being where she was, and how she felt.
Which, of course, is exactly what Tori, the undercover conqueror of the world, intended.
They heard the rumble of the dining cart long before it screeched to a halt somewhere near their door. Tori glanced up from her laptop, which was open on of all places, her lap, then set the machine aside and got up from the low couch.
Jade had dozed off after she'd changed, finally succumbing to the events of the day, leaving Tori to work on sorting and organizing the data from the base. She was glad her lover had gotten some rest, the dark circles apparent under her very blue eyes had started to be worrying, and she debated waking Jade up for the dinner she knew was on the way.
Jade forestalled her decision by stirring, and Tori crossed quickly over to put a hand on her arm as her eyes blinked open, and she looked around disorientedly. "Hey.. it's okay." Tori reassured her. "You just took a nap."
"Ah." Recognition flooded Jade's face, and she flexed her hands. "Yeah… guess I did. What time is it?"
"About six." Tori told her, looking up as an older woman dressed in Pepto Bismol pink with a floral hair net entered. "Dinner Time."
"Hello." The woman smiled at Jade. "Ready to eat?" She slid a tray onto the rolling bedside table and maneuvered it in front of her noncommittal patient. "Your doctor ordered you a regular diet, so we brought you something pretty standard. Tomorrow you'll get a card, so you can order what you want, okay?" She had a kindly face, and beautifully arranged silver gray hair.
"Anything?" Jade drawled, still half asleep.
"Well, anything on the card." The woman laughed. "My name's Sue, and I'm here at night. Give me a call if there's anything you need while I'm up here. No guarantees, but I'll see what I can do." She waved at them, then left the room.
"Mm." Tori leaned on the railing. "What a nice lady."
Jade fingered her silverware, and studied the plastic tray and it's contents with wary suspicion. "The guy who brought me up here was nice, too. Did you arrange for that while you were at it?" She smiled at Tori.
Tori chuckled, but shook her head. "No." She lifted the cover off the tray and allowed steam to escape. "Ah. Chicken."
"Yes, chicken." Jade agreed, examining it. "But on the bright side, those are sort of mashed potatoes, aren't they?" She poked at them.
"So they are." Tori said. "They even brought peas, your one concession to vegetables." She noticed. "And jello."
"I like jello." Jade allowed. "You think it's strawberry?"
Tori selected a jiggling cube and put it into her mouth experimentally. "Yeth."
"Eh." Jade stabbed the half chicken with her fork. "Considering the last thing I had to eat in a hospital, this isn't too bad." She managed to rake a bit of the white meat off and tasted it. It was fairly bland, but not as dry as she'd expected, and she found it tolerably edible. "Mm."
"Here." Tori held her hand out. "Let me borrow your fork and knife, and I'll cut that up for you. Must be a pain trying to do it one handed."
Jade hesitated, then handed the implements over. "Yeah." She busied herself with the cup while Tori leaned over and sawed industriously at her main course. "On the other hand…" Jade found a very tasty looking bare shoulder very near by. She licked it.
"Yipe!" Tori jumped. "Oh.. Jesus, Jade. I had no idea what that was."
Jade nibbled the soft skin, breathing in the warm, clean scent of her lover with a sense of quiet pleasure. "Mm…. Much better than chicken."
Tori put the knife and fork down and responded, sliding a hand up to rest against Jade's cheek, as she found the exploring lips, tasting a hint of the chicken on them, and the sweet tang of the apple juice Jade had taken a sip of.
Boy, that felt good. Tori lost herself in the moment, tuning everything out to concentrate on just how smooth Jade's skin was, and just how wonderful it was to kiss her. After a moment they parted, and gazed into each other's eyes. Tori was very conscious of how unsteady her breathing was. "Mm."
Jade's eyes reflected a quiet passion of her own. "To hell with dinner." She murmured softly, running her fingers down Tori's shirt, and finding a gap in the buttons.
"Um." Tori glanced up. "We're in a hospital, honey."
"So?" Jade defeated the button, and smiled as she felt Tori respond to her touch, pressing her body forward against her exploring fingers. "You did ask for a private room." She leaned forward a little and kissed her lover again.
"You're hurt." Tori's breath whispered against Jade's lips.
"This makes me feel much, much better." The ready argument came back at her.
"The door's open." Tori feebly parried.
"We're not in the cardiac care unit."
Tori found herself walking a fine line, her body's overwhelming craving warring with her conscience, and the knowledge a legion of censorious nurses could walk in at any moment. Well, a few more seconds of this can't hurt.
And it didn't. She ended up half sitting on the bed, both arms around Jade's neck and Jade's arm around her waist.
Then a loud crash happened outside, and they stopped, separating a little and looking at each other. "Did we cause that?" Tori asked, nervously.
"Why don't' you look?" Jade answered.
Look? Tori imagined turning her head to see a doorful of people staring back. "Nu uh. You look."
"Me?" Jade remained where she was, looking intently into Tori's eyes. "You sure?"
She was getting lost again, this time into those rich blue pupils, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and take up right where she left off. Her body was craving it now, Jade's hand moving slowly, teasingly across the fabric of her jeans, pausing to pluck lightly at the seams.
Footsteps clacked nearby, though. Tori swallowed, and got her breathing under control, then released one arm so that she was merely perched on the bed. Jade's hand captured hers and they twined fingers, letting out twin sighs as the footsteps hurried past, and she caught a glimpse of a white and blue uniform go by.
"That was fun." A tiny, mischievous glint danced in Jade's eyes. "Bet it's quieter here later on."
Tori's nostrils flared. "Oh." She let out a faint laugh. "I hope so."
They both looked at the tray. "Chicken, huh?" Tori picked up the fork and stabbed a piece, then offered it to Jade. "If you share, I'll go get a pizza later."
Jade munched contentedly. "Deal." She agreed.
"How's it going?" Ceci's voice crackled softly in Tori's ear. "Jimmy's been pacing for hours, so I hope Jade's gotten more rest than he has."
"I think she's okay." Tori murmured, casting an eye over her sleeping partner. Jade had half curled onto her side and was resting comfortably, the blankets tucked up around her shoulders as the soft nightlight threw shadows over her strong, planed features. "She's been sleeping for a little while."
"That's a first." Ceci chuckled. "I'd have thought she'd be climbing the walls by now."
"No." Tori stretched, and leaned back. "We had dinner, then we.. ah.. talked for a while. The nurses came in and took readings and stuff, then I got her to lay down. She's been fine." The medical attention hadn't gotten Jade too upset, really. Her blood pressure had been low, she'd had no temperature - she'd even smiled at the nurse.
Of course, Tori had felt pretty relaxed by then too. A smirk appeared on her face.
"No signs of anything with the concussion?" Ceci asked. "She's alert, and all that?"
The smirk widened. "Oh.. yeah. She's um.. very aware."
"Good." Jade's mother sighed. "Last time she had a concussion, she was in a fog for two whole days, and she scared the.." Ceci abruptly fell silent. "Listen to me. You'd think I was… "
"Her mother or something?" Tori finished warmly.
Ceci sighed. "I'm glad you're there for her, Tori."
"Me too." Came the soft reply. "I'm not sure which one of us is benefiting more, though. I know I'd be really unhappy if I wasn't camping out with her." Tori checked her watch. Eleven thirty. She wondered if she could get comfortable on the little couch, wishing she'd brought something useful like a sleeping bag to make the furniture more bearable. "How's Chino?"
"Bouncing." Ceci replied. "But now that we know Jade's all right, maybe she'll settle down if Jimmy does." A low rumble moved closer. "Honey, she's fine. Tori said she's asleep, and there's no problem." A rustle.
"Kumquat?"
Tori grinned. "Yes, dad?"
"Gigi's not giving you any fuss?"
"Nope." Tori assured him. "She's been a model patient."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Better bring her ice cream tomorrow as a reward, don't you think?" Tori teased. "She's being such a good girl."
James chuckled. "Glad to hear that, Tori. We'll be there, don't you worry. I got something I need to take care of early, then we'll be down."
Tori's ears pricked up, but she hesitated, not wanting to ask questions over the hospital's phone lines. Time enough tomorrow to ask him, when they were face to face. "Okay. See you then."
"All right." Jim said. "Tell Gigi.. " He hesitated.
"Tell her you love her? Sure." That was an easy one. Tori said goodbye, and put the phone back in it's cradle, then she got up and reviewed her little couch. It wasn't like she was a giant or anything, either, Tori reasoned. At all of five foot six, surely she had to fall into the wide part of the bell curve.
Yet the padded couch seemed barely large enough to lie down on, much less to accommodate her admittedly restless mode of sleeping. "I'm going to end up on the floor." She murmured. "I just know it." But, it was all she had to work with, unless she wanted to cut to the chase and take up residence on the chilly tile. A glance over her shoulder. Or crawl into bed with Jade, and give the nurses a real shocker in the morning.
Mm. Her body liked that idea. Tori rubbed her temples, and firmly turned her thoughts elsewhere. But in a moment, she found herself standing at Jade's bedside, her hands resting lightly on the railing that fenced her partner in. She reached over and gently moved a lock of disheveled light brown hair, stroking it's silky smooth texture, and letting it tangle around her fingers.
She felt more peaceful, Tori realized, just being close to Jade, and she spent a few minutes idly wondering why. Was it just because Jade's sleeping expression was so relaxed? There was none of the usual tensions that characterized her expression, the slight narrowing of her eyes, and bunching of her jaw muscles that made Jade appear restlessly alert all the time.
Not now. Tori could see only the faintest motion of her eyes under their lids, and wondered what her lover was dreaming of. She gazed down for another moment, then she walked over to the heavy visitor's chair and picked it up, putting it down right next to the bed. Okay. She lowered the guard rails, then sat down, and rested her arm on the bed, putting her chin down on it and reaching up to circle Jade's slack fingers with her own.
They were clasped instinctively, a welcome warmth that made her smile. She decided to just rest here a minute, then get up and try to get comfortable on her torture couch. Tori closed her eyes, smiling a little when she felt Jade's breath warming the skin on her forearm. Mm. That felt nice.
Yeah.
