"They'll miss you." Hector said. "They might even shoot me themselves next time just so Potter can eat in his view a
decent meal." Although the military did provide great quantities of balanced food, it wasn't all that tasty, being mass
produced.
"Me? At least now that I'm up and about, I can go back to sneaking into the Red Cross camp when everyone's least
expecting it."
She spun around so she was walking backward, facing him, hands still in his. Laughing.
"Well, I do want to see you again and I have enjoyed most of this past week. But we're going to have to work on a
better way. I'd hate to think of all the bullets we'd have to waste." She could tease at this point. He was all right now.
"We need to come up with a better way to see each other for more than an hour."
"Never know." Hector said, guiding her around trucks and humvees and marching troops as she walked backwards
facing him. "Fate might just work in our favor one of these days."
At least he hoped it would. He'd hate to have to take on Fate himself, which he would.
She gave him a smile.
"I've already taken it up with 'Fate.'" She told him with a laugh. "Though I've asked Him to please not use bullets next
time. I happen to be fond of the body you're wearing."
"It’s not like it was a new scar." He said, ducking his head with laughter. "It's just above where my appendectomy scar
is. Guess that's just a bad spot for things to go. Maybe if it went on the other side, it would have been okay." He
mused and then shrugged. "So look at that. That's the missile range. I know, not very impressive, but this is." He said
and took her hand and went under the shade of the anti air craft missile launchers.
In the middle of a desert, the difference between ground that had been in the shade and ground that had been
baking in the sun all day was dramatically different and Andi sighed as her eyes gratefully adjusted.
"Much nicer." She agreed. Glad to be out of the clinic again and in the fresh air. Or as fresh as air could be on a base
full of machinery. She'd probably spent more time indoors and in air conditioning in the past week than she had in
months. And as nice as it had been, she had been starting to feel a bit stifled by the end. She could only imagine
what it had done to Hector. Moving to stand facing the opposite direction he was, she rested her chin across his
shoulder and looked out across the field at the large guns.
"Do you really ever think you would need to use these?" She asked curiously.
"We have." Hector said with a soft shrug. "Mostly puddle jumpers coming our way to scout out our staffing numbers or
supplies. They never get close enough to find out. They've got a certain range too, so we can cover incoming
friendlies, whether it be troops or supplies. We like to make sure we're as secure as we possibly can be."
There was no room for error in his professional life, from anyone. The price was always much too high.
It was both a terrifying and reassuring concept. She was growing familiar with feeling both of those emotions at the
same time when it came to Hector's life. She shut her eyes and tilted her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder.
"Then I'm glad you have them." She stated. "For more than just the shade." Anything that kept him safe had her
gratitude. From his body armor to the man that covered his back on missions to the huge guns that served as
warning and protected him while he slept. Not to mention the probable squad of guardian angels he most likely
needed either. He'd possibly needed those even before he'd joined the army.
"They're going to put you right back out there again, aren't they?" She asked softly.
He nodded as he situated himself, and her, in the shade the artillery provided. "It's what I do." He said, seeing no
need to tell her the whispers Swanson and Mark already told him, about CIA coming in for a joint operation. Wasn't
uncommon, they (Deltas) were often used as cover for the CIA. The CIA was just usually involved in far messier things
than they were. Which was saying something.
But he left that out.
She settled in against him and tucked in close. Back to worrying about him.
It had been easy when she'd been able to keep an eye on him at all times. Even with the fever and the infection she'd
known, as a doctor, she could actually do something to fight whatever came for him. But she couldn't do any of that
most of the time.
She understood what he did. Some. It wasn't as if they'd met under anything but obvious circumstances in that area.
She could tell herself she'd loved him despite that. But she suspected that a great deal of Hector being Hector had
developed because of what he'd chosen to do with his life. What he did was a part of who he was. And she wasn't
able to divide 'this I love' from 'this I don't love' when it came to him.
But she still worried.
All she said though was: "Well, remember to avoid the bullets this time, yeah?" as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Next time I'd rather see you at my camp. My bed's more comfortable than the cots here."
"No hospital bed is comfortable." He said with a chuckle. "And I'll try to avoid all bullets that think they're headed for
me, promise." Besides, they were getting some new version of body armor from the Pentagon in any case. Would
hopefully work better.
But he couldn't tell her that he had actually had a remarkable run, being shot just this one time in all the years he'd
been in the military, and all the years he'd been a Delta. He couldn't tell her that realistically, he should have been
blown to bits long ago because of the risks he took, some of which were above and beyond the call of duty.
He could already feel her worry and there was nothing he could do to alleviate it. This was what he did, and who he
was. She had known that. And knew, at the same time, that it didn't make it any easier knowing that from the first
breath.
"That's all I need." She answered, voice soft. To know that he would try to come back to her. If she wanted any more
she needed to be asking God for those promises. Not him. As long as he tried to come back, that was all she could
ask of him. That - and the opportunity to be in his arms when he was here. "Besides," she added with a smile against
his throat. "I think I've picked over all the cooks secret stash of goodies. We've got to give them time to restock."
"Actually, I think we're changing cooks, so you'll have your work cut out for you the next time." Hector said with a
laugh. "He's retiring or some such thing...who knows what goodies the next cook will bring with him." Change in the
ancillary staff was nothing new, and actually quite frequent.
In fact, were it not for the high 'success' rate of the Deltas and Rangers stationed here, they too would have been
cycled out. Something he wasn't going to mention, because with that high success rate came more operations.
"Mm." Andi hummed it cheerfully against his throat before chuckling. "Another challenge."
She was going to have to leave soon. Everyone seemed very insistent on being wherever they were supposed to be
by nightfall and she knew why. She'd have to call Mike and ask him to come and get her. But not now. She didn't want
to think about going back to the way things had been and only seeing Hector sporadically for just an hour or two.
She honestly couldn't imagine how married women all the way over in other countries managed it. At least here she
got to see Hector from time to time. She tipped her head back enough to look up at him. One of the only men she
really had to look up to meet the eyes of. Tender she stroked fingers down his cheek. Thinking how much she did
love him.
"Do you always turn down leave that way?" She asked with a soft smile.
"Well, where would I go?" He said with a shrug. "Can’t go to the Red Cross camp, Sam would have a shit fit and pick
up a weapon to chase me out. Don't want to go home, not just yet. Too much....stuff there."
His father would see him coming home as a weakness. That he couldn't cut it. And probably arrange for the foreman
at the factory to stop by for a visit.
Until his wounds were but a memory, he had no intention of setting foot on American soil.
She saw the shadows move into his eyes and wondered what there was at home he didn't want to deal with. Family...
his father... maybe other things she didn't know about. Gentle she cupped his face with both slim hands and met his
eyes with her own.
"Molly would run interference for you if you ever decided to stay with us." She offered with a soft, teasing smile.
"Sam's absolutely helpless against her unremitting sunny nature. All she has to do is look like she's going to cry." The
threat of Molly's tears was actually enough to drive almost the entire Red Cross base to drastic measures. Sad
movies had been banned from the monthly entertainment lineup. Andi lifted her face and pressed a gentle kiss to
Hector's forehead, then the tip of his nose. "Invite me next time. We'll go somewhere people don't watch us while we
sleep." She offered before she slipped her lips across his.
"Might have to plan a trip to the moon for that one." He said with a chuckle. "But I already told you next time I go home
you can come. I'm just not ready to go home right now. Families are weird that way, I guess." He said, downplaying the
whole reluctancy he had about going 'home' to 'family.'
She'd seen the letters he threw away without opening. Respected his privacy by not fishing them out and reading
them when he wasn't looking. But she'd seen the cramped handwriting and that the man's name in the return address
didn't start with Pete. It had made her heart ache for him. She wished she could take him home with her instead. Mum
would absolutely dote on him. Worse than she even did now since she'd also seen her mother's familiar script on one
of the letters he'd gotten and it had been a pretty thick envelope. And Da - she thought he might actually enjoy her
Da's company once they both relaxed in each other's presence. But he wanted to show her his world first and that
was only fair considering he was practically living in hers. Gentle she brushed his hair back from his forehead. It had
gotten longer in the past few months and she wondered how soon they'd make him cut it.