CHAPTER 42

HOME CARE

Dianna was in a haze of pain and morphine, her head was pulsating, and she barely saw when there was a helo next to her. She was dragged from the vehicle to there, and she almost fell to the ground. She felt an urge to vomit, and she did just that, even though there was pretty much only water in her stomach.

"Sorry" she mumbled, looking at the ugly grass, now wet.

"Let's get the fuck out of Venezuela" she heard Jason say next to her, and they raised her to the helo. Then she dozed off again and woke up already on the plane, with Davis sitting on a bed next to her, awake. She had a big bruise on the side of the forehead.

"Where's Blackburn?" Dianna mumbled to Davis, who quickly called the guys when she saw she was awake.

"He went straight to the hospital. He had a gunshot wound on his arm, but he'll be ok" Davis said, calmly, and now Dianna saw that Davis had a cut on her other cheek too, and a bruise there.

"What happened, Davis?" Dianna asked, with a shaky voice, and all that Davis could tell her is that the VSP probably found out the British doctor was working with the CIA and tortured him to find out where their Base was, because he never actually boarded his plane. And Jessica had no idea how to find him.

"Thanks for your idea. To pretend we were CIA" Davis affectionately said. She knew that she'd have suffered a lot more if the VSP even suspected she was military.

Dianna smiled and suddenly felt pain all over her face and raised her hand to touch it.

"Is it too bad?" she asked, with a slight smile, and Davis smiled back.

"Not really. But your nose is probably broken" she sincerely said, and Dianna nodded. She knew.

Only then she noticed her left arm on a sling, and Davis quickly assured her, "It's temporary. Because the ligaments and tendons were swelling".

"Did they put it back in place?" Dianna didn't remember that.

"Yes. But you were half awake, so your scream wasn't too loud", Davis tried to make a joke, and Dianna smiled, nodding. Davis looked to the side and Dianna followed her look.

"Hey" Jason was standing near the entrance of the area they used on the plane to keep the girls separated during the flight. Davis quickly got out of her bed and left the area.

"How are you?" Jason said, affectionate, awkwardly sitting on the other bed. He was still wearing the black uniform, and that was an amazing look on him. Dianna sighed.

"I'm ok. My lungs and my face hurt, oh and my shoulder too, but it's manageable" she lazily said. Jason slightly smiled and kept quiet, then he grazed her right hand with his rough fingers, noticing she didn't have any rings on it. But then he concluded she probably took them out for most ops, exactly for reasons like these, and his conclusion was correct.

"I was so scared for you" he said, with a shaky voice, holding her hand.

Dianna kept quiet for a while, looking at him. She knew he'd apologize soon.

"I'm so sorry, Dianna" he mumbled, still looking at her right hand, caressing it. Then he looked up. "Please forgive me", he pleaded.

Dianna frowned. "No, Jason. You don't have to apologize, I do. I was wrong. I really acted wrong. I just felt so bad with what they did to you, and I wanted revenge, but I should've thought about what you wanted, not me. It was your decision to make. I'm really sorry" she said, sincerely.

Jason immediately nodded, smirking. "U-hum. Yes. I understand. Of course I forgive you". Then he touched her chin, looking at her lips, fortunately unharmed.

Dianna still had a frowned face. "I don't want you to accept my apology just because I was hurt, Jason".

Jason stared at her, now stern, and took his hand off her chin.

She licked her lips, and continued, "I really need you to understand that I'll work on it, I'll try to stop being so impulsive and also stop trying to control things around me, like I do at my job. And I need you to work on your problems too, Jason" she said, affectionate, and he frowned.

Dianna stated, acid, "I know that you thought that your therapist gave me some sort of information about your sessions".

Jason swallowed. "Yes, it crossed my mind at first, but that was just because it was really too much of a coincidence that you were acting in a way that I told my therapist that I liked, you know, being thankful and appreciative". He tried to explain, standing up next to her bed, coming closer.

Dianna frowned. "Why is that? Didn't you think you deserve my appreciation? Jason, in less than half a day you managed to get the team to do everything at my house, and I had an amazing day. The least I could do was to show you how grateful I was", she said, grazing her hand on his cheek.

Jason put his hand over hers, loving the sensation of her hand on his face again. "It's just that sometimes it's hard for me to believe. That I did enough. I don't know" he stated, feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"Oh, this self-loathing thing" Dianna casually said, smirking. "You definitely need to work on that. You're the only one who could think that you're not enough" she said, smiling now, and Jason gasped, looking at her bruised face. She took her hand off his cheek. "We should talk some other day, Jason. I really don't want you to apologize and say you forgive me just because I was beat up or something".

Jason couldn't believe it. "Beat up, Dianna? You were tortured. Drowned. This was not just a bar fight that I pulled you away from".

Dianna blinked at him. "I know. Even worse. Probably you were feeling guilty about me being there, because you blame yourself for everything, like you told me once. You know I'm really thankful that you guys rescued me Jason, but like I said, you also hurt me, and I'd rather talk about us some other day, ok?"

Jason stared at her. At first he thought she was high from the meds, but suddenly he realized she was right. He was acting out of guilt and fear of losing her, and they had issues that they needed to address. But he needed to make sure that she knew he'd be there for her, if she wanted to.

"Ok, I know. We'll talk some other time about it. But when we get to VA Beach, I really want to help, ok? You'll need assistance for a few days, and we both know that Davis is also wounded and she will be taking some meds, and feeling groggy, she can't take care of you alone".

Dianna pouted, because she hadn't thought about that. "Will I need surgery?" she asked, suddenly alarmed.

Jason shook his head, smiling. "Apparently not, from what Trent said. You must have flexible ligaments, they stretched but they didn't seem to have ruptured. They'll confirm that after you get a CT scan when we arrive in VA Beach".

"I'm flexible, alright" Dianna joked, smiling, but stopped as soon as she saw Jason's expression.

Davis fortunately walked back in, letting them know they were almost landing, and Jason left them, in silence.

"Hum… make yourself at home" Dianna awkwardly mumbled to Jason as they got inside her house, and he just ignored her and placed his black bag and her small bag in her tableless dining room. They stopped at his place first, to get his things so he could stay at Dianna's house for at least a couple of days.

"I really don't like to be a burden like this" she said, while Jason put down the bags, "and what if you get spun up?" Dianna said, now sincerely curious.

"If I get called during the next days, we'll see. But Bravo was put aside for a few days, since you, Davis and Blackburn all took a toll. They always give us time off when more than one guy is injured, and the rest of the team usually trains during that period", he calmly explained to her, while he walked to her kitchen and grabbed a glass. He was acting very quiet, because he wasn't sure how else he was supposed to act.

After their fight he was furious at her but expected her to reach out for him, even though he knew he was rude to her too. But Bravo Team was called to train other soldiers overseas and Dianna stayed in VA Beach assisting the CIA. He hadn't seen her or spoken to her for almost a week before that op. The Venezuelan op was the first time they worked together again. So he felt hurt when, again, she didn't look for him to apologize during the op, and he also was too proud to admit to her that he wanted to talk to her. He still had his doubts about if she went after his therapist without telling him for his benefit or hers, although he had a feeling that maybe she just acted in an irresponsible way, which wasn't good either. But her silence wasn't helping him at all.

And now, after everything that happened, Dianna told him she also felt hurt by his words, which he understood, and asked him to wait to talk about their relationship. So Jason was kind of lost and didn't really know how to behave near Dianna.

Dianna looked at Jason taking water from her fridge, she already had to take some pills. "Please, not water" she asked, looking at him, stern. He nodded, and poured her diet coke, and she quickly took her pills, quiet, because her throat was still hurting from the drowning. "There's beer left from that night, if you want to" she stated. He slightly raised his shoulders and decided it would be best to drink something to relax.

They both walked to the sofa, with their drinks, and Dianna laid on it, comfortably. Jason sat on the very opposite side of the sofa.

"Could you please turn the TV on?" Dianna asked. She wanted him to have something to do or watch, because she'd soon fall asleep. He nodded, and silently grabbed the remote.

"I like to watch sports. You can put something like that if you want. Just not baseball, please. It's kinda boring. Only after I fall asleep" she said, already feeling sleepy.

Jason smirked, he thought she was pretending to like sports, but when she admitted she didn't like baseball, he knew she was serious. And it was daring of her to admit that.

"Do you like hockey, too?" he asked, he knew she probably didn't.

She laid on her side. "I do. Sometimes I loose track of where the puck is, but I like to watch it anyways. Love it when they fight. I really love football too. The American one. And rugby, depending on which country is playing".

He raised his eyebrows, still looking at the TV, and found a football game to watch.

"There are chips in the fourth kitchen cabinet" she mumbled, half asleep.

"I'm good, for now".

"What do you do at your place when you're on a leave?" she asked, curious, facing him but already with her eyes closed.

"Pretty much what I'm doing now. Or I go for a hike, or run", he answered, smirking when he saw her sleeping with a sling on her arm and her head on a pillow, her face all bruised and her nose cut. Talking to him as if it was a lazy Sunday afternoon.

He glanced around the house, realizing how beautiful it already was. She put her paintings on the walls, bought a new delicate rug, that she placed under the sofa and coffee table. She had a mirror close to the front door, and her linen curtains were looking good and straight, he proudly concluded. She had plaid fabrics on her pillows and the kitchen curtain had a delicate flower theme. She did all that during the last few days, turning her house into a home. And Jason' apartment was still the same, sad and empty. At least he dropped the box with Natalie's stuff at her office; actually, at the room where she does her sessions. He didn't even look up and put the box near the entrance and left, leaving her with her patient. He was just trying to figure out if he'd ever get back that shirt and his other things that she took to her place. Probably she burnt it by now.

Dianna woke up, groggy, and it seemed to be late afternoon, it was almost dark. The TV was on, in a low volume, and Jason was stretched on her sofa, holding one of her pillows, lightly snoring. Obviously the sofa was too comfortable and nobody could resist taking a nap on it. She stood up because she had a feeling that she missed the time to take one of her meds, and she grabbed her bag to get the papers with her prescriptions, but she couldn't unzip it, it was really stuck. She suddenly felt really glad that Jason was there, because she obviously couldn't do anything with only one hand, probably not even pour her drink on a glass.

"Jason" Dianna slightly shook him, glancing at the empty bottle of beer on the coffee table. He used the coaster, at least. She realized he probably didn't sleep after the op, during their flight back. She sighed, he was really cute sleeping. He had a bad boy expression most of the time, but she always thought he was cute. At least with her. But she really loved when he looked stern and dangerous, too. A lot.

"Jason, wake up" she shook his arm again, pressing it too, and he finally woke up, groggy of sleep. "Sorry to wake you up, but I think I missed the time to take one of the pills. I need you to unzip the bag so I can read the prescriptions" she pointed at her small bag, that she placed on his side.

He clumsily unzipped it and read the papers himself, then checked his phone. He almost instantly woke up completely. "Oh God, yes, we skipped two meds, Dianna" he said all worried, but Dianna knew that it wouldn't be that serious. She hadn't had surgery. But she was feeling more pain when she woke up.

"That's ok, just pour me some more diet coke. These are not the pills that make me groggy again, are they? I don't want to sleep all day" she said, while Jason walked to her kitchen, fast, to get her pills and pour her more soda.

"I'm so sorry, I'll set the alarm from now on" Jason said, apologizing, coming closer with her pills.

"That's ok, seriously. It's not like I had surgery or something. The antibiotics are just in case, not really to prevent something" she said, taking her pills in front of him. He frowned at her.

"Yes they are, to prevent your cuts from getting infected" he said, staring at her, stern.

She stared back at him, because he was too serious. She willingly avoided to see her face so far, because she knew she'd be very bruised, so she quickly walked to her mirror close to the entry. She was really shocked when she saw bruises on her cheek, yes, but she instantly saw that she had a few white small stitches on her nose, which was kind of ok, but then she turned and noticed a lot of black stitches near her right ear, where the soldier punched her with his gun right before the guys came to rescue her. She hated stitches, more than a cut. She started to feel nauseated and dizzy, and Jason noticed that and held her, sitting her on the floor with her head down, so she wouldn't faint.

"You won't even notice the scars Dianna, I promise" Jason said, trying to calm her down.

But she wasn't caring much about the scars at that point. "It's not that" she said when she finally felt like she wouldn't faint, "I just really, really don't like looking at stitches. Or feeling them" she said, and Jason sat in front of her, on the floor, smirking.

"I'm serious Jason" she raised her right hand close to her ear, but not able to touch the bigger cut, "How am I going to wash my hair? I'll pass out".

Jason smiled even more now, he was so used to having stitches that he didn't really care much. But he knew that she had to keep it dry for at least a couple of days. He held her chin, turning her face to look at it really close.

"It's not that close to your hair. I'll wash it for you, if you want" he gladly offered, because he loved her hair.

Dianna was so disgusted by the thought of those stitches that she just nodded, agreeing.

She looked back at Jason, he had his hand on her chin and was looking at her lips, and Dianna knew that it wasn't right, but she really needed to kiss him. But she was so bruised that she didn't know if he'd want to, besides the fact that he was probably still angry at her.

And besides the fact that she was the one that suggested Jason he shouldn't rush into conclusions and forgive her so quickly. What a moron she was.

Jason felt nauseated with the desire to kiss Dianna. He kept staring at her, with his thumb almost on her lip, thinking about what to do, but Dianna was an impatient woman. "Can you help me stand up?" she suddenly said, anxious, and he finally took his hand off her chin and stood up, raising her from the floor.

"I'm hungry. Aren't you? We could order take out" she joyfully said, disguising the fact that she was feeling embarrassed that he didn't try to kiss her, even though she obviously wanted him to.

He agreed and they ended up ordering chinese food, and ate in the living room, because she knew Jason would eat quietly next to her if they ate at the kitchen island. It'd be too awkward.

"Take off your shoes, Jason" she teased, because he was keeping his feet off the sofa when he stretched himself. "The smell can't be that bad" she joked.

He chuckled. "It's not, ok? I showered. I just didn't know if you're ok with that or if you're like Davis" he sincerely answered.

"I love walking barefoot here, or with my socks when it's cold. Maybe a flip flop when I go outside" she admitted, looking for some movie or tv show on the TV.

"Alright then" he said, playful, and took his shoes off, putting them to the side.

"You see, I have this problem" Dianna suddenly said, while she clicked on the remote, and Jason turned to her, concerned, "That I can spend like an entire hour deciding on what to watch, instead of just picking something and actually watching it" she said, and turned to Jason, smiling. "Please, for the love of God, take the remote and choose something for us" she stated, smiling.

He chuckled. "Alright then. I'm really not in the mood to watch you not pick anything while we eat".

Jason chose a tv show about criminal cases, because he usually liked those, and he knew that Dianna would enjoy. And she did, complaining a lot about how different real life is from the tv shows, and how everything moves faster on tv.

"You pretended to be a Russian spy, Dianna" Jason teased, because obviously real life could be as crazy as tv shows, sometimes, "and you interrogated a guy for, like, five minutes and figured out an ambush", he said, now affectionate.

She smirked. "True. It happens sometimes. And your ops are actually more exciting to watch than any action scene on tv", she said, sincere.

There were long seconds of awkward silence, with obvious sexual tension between them.

A thought suddenly occurred to Dianna, linked to the tension. "Did someone bathed me? I'm wearing my other clothes" she suddenly asked, because she remembered these were the clothes that she had in her bag. Probably, the other ones were filled with blood. Jason chuckled.

"I don't know Dianna, they usually do. But I can't help you if you don't remember".

But Dianna looked at him, lost. "I think the morphine hit hard on me. I never took it before. I can't even remember when they put my shoulder back into place, Jason".

Jason looked alarmed. "Seriously? Because that hurts" he shivered, remembering the pain that it was when he had to do it.

"Oh, no. Am I concussed again? I mean, they did knock me on the head" now she was afraid that Jason was only a hallucination. "Please, not again". She put her box of chinese food on the coffee table, grabbed her phone and picked a name.

"Dianna, I'm really here, come on" he said, concerned because she was looking really scared, and his phone rang. She was calling him.

"Pick up" Dianna said. "If you're my hallucination, you'll say the same things, right? But the truth".

He didn't fully understand, but picked up in front of her. "Hum. Hello"

"Jason. Hi. Where are you right now?"

"Hum. At my apartment. Why? Are you ok?"

"Oh my God" Dianna looked, with wide eyes and with the phone on her ear, at 'fake Jason'.

"Just kidding. I'm at your place" he laughed, still talking to his phone. He didn't see the pillow thrown at his face fast enough, though.

"Jerk" Dianna grumbled, trying to calm herself down.

Later that night, Jason helped Dianna remove her sling. She was still in pain but she concluded that some nurse bathed her, because she had no blood spatters and 'because her bra was closed at the wrong hook', and apparently that was irrefutable evidence that someone other than Dianna opened it and closed it. And now Jason had to open it again for Dianna, because she said she really needed to take another bath, in her bathtub, before going to bed, 'to truly remove the filth of that place and people'.

Dianna had to come out of the bathroom and ask for Jason's help, because she simply couldn't unhook her bra with one hand.

"Are you sure? I think I've opened this one before with one hand" he teased, but he wasn't lying.

"I think I can't because of the angle" she explained. "You unhook it and I'll hold it at the front, ok, the rest of my clothes I can take off on my own" Dianna suggested. She turned her back to him, with her hair pulled to the side, and it took him a couple of seconds to focus, but he quickly opened it. With one hand.

"Thanks", Dianna murmured, and quickly closed the bathroom door, with Jason still standing there. "Sure. No problem" he murmured. To himself.

After her bath, Dianna brought one of her pillows and a heavy blanket to Jason downstairs, because he'd sleep on the sofa that night and it was a chilly night. "Sorry, I don't have a bed for the guest bedroom yet" she quickly apologized, in her light pink silk pajamas, and Jason smirked. "You know, I really like this sofa. Comfortable" he caressed the fabric, playful, and instantly remembered how he was about to eagerly fuck Dianna on that exact same spot, right before they fought, a week earlier.

"It is" Dianna quickly agreed, but she didn't notice Jason's look when she said that; she was already walking away. "Good night, Jason" she said, affectionately, while she walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

Jason couldn't really sleep that night, even though he was very comfortable. He was worried that Dianna might have a nightmare, or that she called him and he didn't hear her. So he ended up watching another crime tv show, this one based on a true story, about a couple of FBI detectives that interrogated serial killers. That was enough for Jason to not sleep that night. Fortunately, it was 4AM and Jason's alarm went off on his phone, letting him know it was time for Dianna's meds, and also an excuse to check on her. He heard her alarm too, but he pretended that he didn't.

"Hey" he opened her bedroom door, softly knocking, "it's time for your meds again". Dianna had her lampshade on and was already seated, swallowing the pill, and took some tea from her bedside table. She still didn't want to feel the 'taste' of water.

"I had my alarm on, you didn't need to come up here" she said, a bit sleepy.

"That's ok. Just wanted to check if you took it. And if you need something else" he tenderly said, standing by her door, half in and half out her bedroom.

Yes, you on top of me, Dianna thought. She sighed. "I'm good. My shoulder is not hurting that much anymore" she lied.

Jason smirked, and raised an eyebrow at her. "I dislocated my shoulder twice, you know".

Dianna smiled. "Women have like nine times more tolerance to pain. So we don't die of a heart attack during childbirth".

"Now you're just making stuff up", Jason chuckled, but Dianna was already falling asleep again, so he let her sleep and kept her door ajar, just in case.

At dawn, finally Jason could feel safe enough in a world full of serial killers, and managed to fall asleep. After the two first episodes, he promised himself that he wouldn't watch that tv show anymore, but of course he ended up watching it all night. He really was curious to see how it would end. At 8AM, he was heavily asleep when his alarm buzzed, it was time for Dianna's other meds, and he grunted while he turned the alarm off. He heard her alarm too, loud and clear, but still, he got up from the sofa and started to walk up the stairs to her bedroom.

"I'm here, Jason" Dianna teased from the kitchen island. She had a cup of tea and her pills were next to her, ready to be taken. She was also fully clothed already, and there was a plate in the sink. So she had eaten breakfast, too.

"What" he looked at her, confused. Her house downstairs was almost completely open concept, so either she was incredibly quiet or Jason was incredibly asleep.

"I told you not to watch that tv show" she playfully said, raising an eyebrow. He turned to look at the tv, it was paused on that tv show, so obviously Dianna deducted that he had insomnia due to the horrible things he just watched.

He sat on the other stool of the island, with his hand on his face. "How" he started, then he grazed his stubble with his hand, trying to wake up, "Could you possibly see that in real life and sleep at night?"

Dianna shrugged, cocky. "Actually, the cases they show on tv are the most interesting ones, but not always the worst ones". Jason made a disgusted face, but she continued, smirking. "You know how it goes, Jason. How well do you sleep at night, huh?"

Jason pouted. He knew his job was pretty ugly too, and not for anyone. "Yeah, I got the point".

"You hungry? I thought about getting muffins or something else and coffee for you, because I only have eggs and bread. And tea. I need to get stuff at the grocery store" she said, very much awake. He took a second to think, and she added, "If you want to go back to sleep I can get it anyways and you'll eat them later".

"No, you know what? I can have eggs. And tea or whatever it is that you drink. I'm not that sleepy, I slept yesterday afternoon a lot".

Dianna squirmed on the stool. "I just really wanted to get out of the house for a while. Last week I was working from home everyday".

Jason smiled. "Ok. Then we can go out to have some breakfast. Or have you eaten?"

Dianna quickly got out of the stool. "Just some bread. I'm still in a mood for something sweet. We can walk near the beach".

He looked outside. "It's windy as fuck, Dianna".

"So what? I love a cold wind on my face" she joyfully said.

Jason came closer to her. "I wouldn't recommend sand on your face right now" he tenderly said, squinting his eyes while checking her stitches.

"Oh" she brought her fingers to her ear, still not able to touch her cut. "You're right. We should go by car then". She said, not hiding her sadness.

Jason agreed, and he took a quick shower before driving with her to a diner Jason knew and loved. Dianna thought is was weird that he didn't want to go to a place closer to her house, even though this place wasn't that far away. They walked in and the young cute waitress immediately recognized Jason, joyfully greeting him, and Dianna felt a bit of jealousy, instantly having a clue of why he liked to go to that place.

"Oh, I see. The pancakes must be really great, huh" Dianna said, bitter, after the waitress told them she'd come to take their orders soon. Jason just looked at her, confused.

"Ok, I'm here Mr. Hayes. Same as always for you?" the waitress asked, friendly, and he nodded.

"Amy, this is Dianna. She works for the Navy too" he quickly introduced her, and Dianna now felt less jealous, but noticed that he didn't say she was his girlfriend. Even though Dianna herself was unsure about their current relationship status.

"Oh" the waitress said, then made a concerned face, "Oh. Yes, of course. Well, nice to meet you Dianna. We love receiving people from the Armed Forces here, you're very welcome. What would you like to eat?"

Dianna was impressed with how well she was being treated, and happily ordered some pancakes, bacon and hot chocolate to the girl, and she and Jason lazily enjoyed their meal.

"I'd really like to buy that dishwasher. Are you too tired now?" Dianna asked Jason, and he felt offended again.

"Would you please stop treating me like an elder? I don't need to rest or sleep all the time, I'm fine. Sure, if you don't mind it, we can go to a store, no problem".

Dianna again forgot about her bruised face. "Seriously, is it really that bad? I mean, is it too noticeable? I didn't think so".

"It's not. Your face is still pretty" he said, playful, and not lying.

Dianna couldn't disguise a smile. "Thanks. Even though I know you're lying" she said, very aware of how purple she was looking.

Jason smirked and stared for a couple of seconds, then stood up, helping her slide off the booth. "Come on, let's go".

"I don't understand the difference" Dianna said for the second time to the seller, when he tried to explain the difference between two seemingly identical dishwashers.

"Pick the cheapest one" Jason joyfully said.

"But it's not that much of a difference. What if the other one really is better?" she argued, and the seller nodded, anxious.

An older lady, that kept staring at Dianna, decided to come closer to her as soon as Jason was talking to the seller, to get her a discount.

"Sweetheart, do you need help? I can call the cops if you do" she quietly said to Dianna, glancing at Jason. Another woman was standing nearby, concerned, probably her friend.

"Oh" Dianna looked, confused, then she touched her face, then looked at Jason, anxious, "he's not my husband" she quickly explained.

The other woman came closer too, and affectionately told her, "That doesn't mean you should let him do that to you, either, honey".

Jason finally noticed the cluster, and he turned, walking closer to Dianna, and the women stared at him, with hateful eyes.

"No no" Dianna tried to explain again, "he didn't do this to me. Seriously". The seller now was staring too, as well as a family nearby.

"Perhaps we should see about the dishwasher some other time" Jason gently touched Dianna's waist, for her to go with him.

But Dianna hated how those people were staring at him, and she felt guilty because she insisted on going to that store. She now understood why Jason wanted to have breakfast at a place where the people there knew who he was. But now she didn't want these ladies to think ill of Jason. He didn't deserve that.

"He didn't do this. I swear. He's a military. A hero" she said, anxious, while Jason gently tried to make her come with him.

"That's even worse" the older lady whispered, "he has a gun in your house then?"

Dianna pulled Jason closer by his t-shirt, and decided to walk on the edge of the line of what she was allowed to reveal to civilians. "No, look" she pointed at his cut on the neck, that didn't have stitches anymore, but was very visible, "He rescued me. He helped me get out".

Jason looked at her, alarmed, and the ladies now were starting to believe her, but still confused. Jason tried to fix the situation, so that Dianna wouldn't blurt any secret from the CIA or the Navy.

"I rescued her from a horrible man" he gestured at Dianna's face, looking humble, and now the ladies and the family nearby were all 'ohhh' and coming closer to Jason, admired.

"You really are a hero, then", the younger woman said, looking up at him.

Jason opened a very charming smile at them, almost knocking them out with his grin. "Anything for my girl here" he said, holding Dianna's waist and slightly shaking her, while she looked a bit confused.

"Is he in jail?" the older lady ignored Dianna and asked directly to Jason, while wetting the floor with her drool.

Jason hunched down, so his face was closer to the ladies. "I kicked his ass", he stated, stern, and the ladies 'uuuh' and placed their hands over their hearts, checking him out. The woman from the family near by joined them, and Jason stood straight again and added, proudly, while raising an eyebrow, "He won't bother her anymore".

"Ahhhh" the three ladies exhaled, in unison, already in love with Jason. The husband of the third lady was still suspicious of him.

"Sir" the seller, who seemed to be about to invite Jason to be their poster boy, came to stand beside him, also ignoring Dianna completely. "You know what, it would be our pleasure if you were our client. I'll grant you and your lady that 10% off that you asked for".

Dianna just basically stood there, since everyone was basically ignoring her and drooling over Jason, but she was really glad that he got her that discount.

"He's a keeper" the younger lady finally spoke to Dianna again, and Jason grinned when he heard that, almost knocking the lady with his charm, and she immediately turned to him again. "I'm sorry that I doubted you... sir. And thank you, so much, for your service" she said, and Dianna could swear that she saw the lady discreetly blinking to him.

"Jesus" Dianna muttered, as soon as she was alone with Jason at the store again, because the seller was already registering the sale of the dishwasher on the system. "You're quite the charmer, huh" she said, slightly turning to him.

"Well, thank you, ma'am" he charmingly said to her, grinning, still with his arm on her waist. They realized it, and Dianna smiled at him, timid, and murmured. "Thank you. For the discount, I mean".

"U-hum" Jason said, with a husky voice, not taking his eyes off her. But unfortunately, the seller unknowingly interrupted their stare. Dianna had to sign the receipt.

Dianna walked into the house in pain, but she didn't want to admit it to Jason. More than once he told her to sit somewhere, alerting her that her back would hurt because of the sling, and of course, she dismissed his concerns.

She held her back door open for Jason to carry her dishwasher into the house, and it looked heavier than Jason said it would be. He placed it on the corner of the kitchen, then stretched his back.

"Ok, now all that you're missing is a dining table" he joyfully said, and Dianna answered with a tired smile.

"That can wait. I live alone anyways" she dramatically stated, and walked to the living room, falling on the sofa.

Jason quietly hung his car keys on the wall, and walked to the sofa too, taking his shoes before laying there and occupying 70% of the space. 'What do you want to do?"

Dianna sighed, still laying with her back on the sofa, "You don't have to stay by my side all the time, Jason. You can do other stuff if you want to. I can do most things".

Jason was about to answer that, and his phone rang. "It's Davis", Jason told Dianna.

"Hey there, nurse boy" Davis mocked him as soon as he answered the phone.

Jason sighed. "Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good, considering. Wanted to know how's Dianna doing".

He glanced at Dianna, "Still in pain. She doesn't admit it, though" he mocked, and Dianna gave him a stare.

"Yes, I imagine" Davis chuckled. "So, do you want me to come over tonight? Or when"

Jason hunched down a bit. "What do you mean? You can visit".

"Yes, I know. I mean, to stay with her. I've finished my pain killers, I'm good. Now's just the antibiotics for the cut. I can go and take care of her, I'm not going to be groggy anymore".

Jason tried to play it cool, but disguising his answer to Dianna. "Nah, it's all good".

Davis kept quiet. "Are you sure? I can totally go. I know things are odd between you two".

"U-um, no need" Jason said, anxious, "Like I said, she's doing great. We'll talk tomorrow then, b-bye", and he ended the call.

"How is she?" Dianna asked, after a few seconds, while lazily entwining a lock of her hair between her fingers.

Jason slowly nodded, "Better. Still groggy though. A lot. I had to keep repeating stuff to her. We should let her rest for today". He suddenly stood up, "I think I'll check out your plumbing, to see if I can install your dishwasher, huh? Should be easy".

"Sure" Dianna said, smirking, still entwining her hair.

Jason forgot that Davis has a big mouth, and a loud voice on the phone.

.