He so rarely made any big movements in his sleep that when he did wake up, when the sun had passed over them
and was heading on its own way to bed, the first thing he did, which he almost always did, was roll his neck to crack it.
Sighing at the light popping sound and carefully stretching out the rest of him, he moved carefully and slowly so as
not to wake the sleeping beauty next to him. If anyone deserved uninterrupted rest, it would be her. She'd decided to
stay awake with him since the nightmare, after everything else she had to be tired. And this was supposed to be a
rest. He looked at her, just looked. The way the encroaching shadows of dusk played on her features was truly
amazing. He was confident there had to be at least a tribe of men driven insane by some strange virus to not have
noticed her and tried to win her for themselves before. He nearly felt sorry for them, but if they were idiots, they
deserved it.
Andi's body usually stayed in the position it had been in when she'd fallen asleep. Too many years of sleeping in
narrow beds or awkward, cramped spaces where if you did move it was likely you'd fall off of whatever you'd fallen
asleep on. It was only recently, with Hector, that she'd started to actually move in her sleep. If you could call snuggling
closer whenever the opportunity presented itself moving. She certainly slept deeper now, the warmth and
reassurance of his skin against hers shutting off her natural nature to sleep light so she could hear if anything
threatening or needy sounded in the area. And when she woke it wasn't with the blurry immediate awareness that
there were things that needed to be taken care of and jobs to do right away.
When she woke up next to Hector it was closer to slowly swimming to the surface of some peaceful, warm forever
ocean. And her body woke up before her mind did.
So the first thought wasn't to wonder if he'd had a nightmare. It was that he smelled good. Felt warm. And she smiled.
The next was that he'd moved slightly and she turned into him with a peaceful, humming sigh, nuzzling as she
snuggled closer. He felt good. His body against hers felt so good. And then it slowly dawned that he was awake and
that lazy thought was followed by the steady rhythm of his heart against her and his breathing, low and relaxed. So it
was all right. No bad dreams. He was relaxed. Her lips smiled again and still peacefully hazy she pressed a kiss
against his skin.
"Good morning." She murmured softly.
"Evening." He corrected with a chuckle. "Sun's still out. A bit. Unless we've slept for more than twenty four hours."
Which wouldn't be unheard of. When they first got to his house, they'd just fallen into bed and right to sleep. He
awoke to bruises that were more faded than they should have been, had he fallen into the habitual four to five hours
tops of sleep. The bruises, which, were pretty much gone now. Including the ones around his neck, the scratch on her
cheek.
Time really did heal all wounds. Physical ones at least. The others he was still holding out for.
She hummed against him, smiling.
"We're getting lazy." She commented and it wasn't a complaint. It was easy to forget the world outside here. And she
liked it that way. They'd have to go back soon enough. Eventually he'd even have to go back to his unit and she'd
disappear into Africa again. But - for now - they got to tell the world to shove off. And she liked - she needed that.
Just as long as they got back by Friday afternoon so Hector could pick Josh up from school everything else could
fade into the background and that was all right with her.
Slow she opened just one eye and looked up at him. Saw the look on his face and her eyebrows quirked upward.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing." He said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "I'm just lucky is all I guess. Just waiting for the proverbial
shoe to drop." Then he laughed.
"So who gets to get all the clothes before they mysteriously disappear?" He asked. They hadn't seen anyone, but that
didn't mean anything!
She shifted over a bit more so she was on her back and reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders. He was
trying to distract her.
"If they can find all our clothes out there they're doing better than us." She commented with a soft laugh of her own.
"And we've still got sheets if worse comes to worse." She added 'practically'. Then her face softened and she moved
one of her hands to gently play with a strand of his hair against his forehead that was starting to curl. Met his eyes as
she tenderly tucked it back. "Which shoe?" She asked.
"The left one." He said with a grin. "Don't worry about it. Really, don't." He said to try and reassure her. But talking
about a possibly break up was usually a nice way to jinx yourself, and he'd rather not go there. At all.
"Maybe they'll fold them and leave them nice and neat on the porch. Wouldn't that be something?" He said with a grin
and kissed her. "You are so beautiful. You know that, right? If not, you are.'
"I'm odd looking." She answered him. "Don't make me count the ways." She repeated, edges of her lips curving. Then
she traced a light finger down his cheek. "Don't." She added softly. "Don't do that. Don't hide now. Please. There are
too many shoes in the air for me to know which one you're telling me not to worry about."
"You're not odd looking." He said, firmly. "And, I don't know, the shoe. You know, the shoe. The one that drops when
you least expect it. So if you expect it to drop, it's not unexpected and you're prepared. The shoe. I guess like the
elephant everyone talks about. Except with me, it's a shoe."
She was laughing quietly by the time he was done with his 'explanation'.
"Hector!" She protested. She'd wanted to know which event, out of all the events that could go wrong for one or the
other or both of them, he was worrying about now. Instead she got 'the shoe'. Like 'them'. 'who's listening?' 'you know,
them'. She cupped his face in both her hands and leaned up to kiss him, laughter still on her lips. "I love you." She
managed hopelessly. "My non-funny looking, 'the shoe', elephant avoiding love of my life."
"Definitely an elephant avoider. I'll give you that." He said with a chuckle, thinking about Mr. Snuffles. "And go ahead
and count the ways you're 'odd' looking, I'll argue you out of every single one of them. Promise. And counter with my
own, which you'd probably argue me out of, we could be at it all night."
She rested her head back against the pillow and looked up at him. Making a face. She still wasn't sure which situation
he thought of as 'the shoe'. There were so many, the worse being that one of them could get killed when they went
back to Africa, the least being that someone really had run off with their clothes. And everything in between. If he
couldn't put it into words yet, his mind would either let it slid or pick away at it until it did have the words. So - for the
moment...
"I have a dented chin." She tapped it to prove the point. "I like it because it’s stubborn but it’s not very beautiful." It
was a silly, distracting game. But that was all right. So that whatever shoe was bothering him could be forgotten about
for a while. Besides, she wanted to hear what he could possibly think was wrong with the way he looked. "And my
neck is too long." She added as an afterthought. Eyes laughing at him for starting this in the first place. And soft
because this was how she let him off the hook instead of pressing for a definition for 'shoes'.
"Your neck is not long." He said. "Giraffes have long necks, you don't. It's perfect. And I love your chin." He said and
kissed it just to make a point before settling back down himself. "Okay, my ears look like I'm about to take flight." He
said and pushed them forward with his fingers to exaggerate it.
She laughed as she snuggled in close to him, eyes dancing.
"I love your ears." She protested. Leaning in to press a kiss to the tip of both of them. "Don't make fun of those.
They're perfect; my friends. Besides, I don't want you to have little rat like ears all tucked back. Those aren't
attractive, they're skittish." Gentle she ran a fingertip down the curve of one of his ears. Honestly, those ears of his
were the only part of him that admitted they were human instead of Adonis-like. And she loved them because they
had always kept her from feeling intimidated by his looks. In certain parts of her family, looking as stunning as he did
was as much a weapon as anything else and she'd learned to be leery of good looking men. That said - his ears
weren't really all that big or stand out. If he'd worn his hair a bit longer, he could have covered them and you'd never
know.
She hoped he never covered them.
"They're perfect for nibbling on too." She finished as if that settled the matter. Then she patted one of her hips. "And I
have no curves. I'm too boney." That, at least, she was sure of.
"Really? I never noticed. And if anyone was going to be struck by sharp bones, it would probably have to be me, now
that I think about it." He teased, his hand lying over top hers on her hip. Sure, it wouldn't hurt if she gained a few
pounds. But she wasn't thin to the point of asking if she needed to be hospitalized. "Believe me, you have curves. I
like your curves." He said, trailing his hand up from her hip along her waist to right below where her rib cage curved.
"My nose is crooked. It's a wonder I can breath straight."
Her eyes half lidded in pleasure at his touch. And then went wide and surprised.
"Your nose?" She repeated. "Hector," she cupped his face to lean in and press a kiss to the tip of his nose, "you must
have one of the most masculine and I'll add easily the sexiest nose I've ever seen. And I've seen quite a few.
Sometimes different ones on the same person. Yours is scrummy and that's a term I usually only let teenagers use in
context of their teen idols." She gave him a pleased kiss. "Don't knock the nose. I know men that would pay good
money to buy a nose like yours." She rested her head on the pillow next to his, meeting his eyes with her own. It was
a silly game. But it was a good excuse to tell him how very, very handsome he was without him trying to brush it off.
And she liked hearing that he was pleased with her too. It was apparent in the way he always reached for her but she
liked hearing it too. Words were important. "I should like a larger chest." She admitted. "If I wasn't so sure paying
money for that kind of thing was ridiculous."
"Your chest is fine." He said with a mock exasperated roll of his eyes. "Standing upright is important, in the world of
bipeds, after all. Besides, 'big' usually only looks right on meatier woman, and strippers. Since they have the flashy
lights and loud music to further distract." He said with a chuckle. "Okay, now this is strange." He lifted one of his feet
up. "My middle toe is longer than the one next to the big toe. Isn't that disturbing? It's like a weird mutation without the
cool special powers."
She did start to laugh then. Hard.
"You're wonderful!" She put her arms around him and pulled him down for a sparkling kiss. "Handsome and wonderful
and perfect looking. Really you are. From the top of your wonderful thick hair all the way to the tip of your perfect
mutant toes. I would swoon properly over your looks if I knew how to." She kissed him again. "My handsome,
wonderful man." She touched the tip of her nose lightly to his. Still grinning. "I love who you are inside. You call to me.
I would love you for who you are if you were four foot tall or four foot wide. But I'm thrilled who you are is wrapped in
the body you're wearing. Its an extra gift to me." She kissed him again. Sweeter this time. "You are a gift to me." She
told him gently. "All of you."
"Oh, not so sure the inside is much better." He said. "I do have that missing appendix, remember?" He reminded her
with a grin. But what he knew was inside of him, all that darkness, all that he was quite easily capable of, wasn't really
a laughing matter. It could be quite scary in fact.
Her face softened and she curved her hand gently against his cheek. Looking up at him with dark, clear eyes.
"Inside is so much better." She answered, voice soft and sure. Found his eyes with hers. "Inside you is everything I
need. Don't ever think otherwise."
He wasn't going to labor the point. Everything inside him that was cold, and dark and unseemly...she'd see it sooner
or later. And the look in her eyes would be far, far different. He wasn't in a rush to see that.
It might be easy for her now, to discount...well, everything she had had the unfortunate luck to see him do in Africa,
and who knew? She might be rationalizing it in her mind, and pushing it back. And the way she talked about her
mother's side of the family, his own roots didn't compare in the slightest. Again with the unfortunate luck for her to
have seen.
He bet Swiss bankers probably had their appendices. And if they didn't, the scar wasn't further mangled by a gun
shot wound.
Her face softened again at the look in his dark eyes. Did he think she couldn't see that? Gentle she stroked her
thumb along his cheek.
"Come here." She murmured in response. Drawing him softly down to touch his mouth tenderly with hers. Letting the
kiss slip slow and caressive and tender. Taking the touch deeper. Pouring her love and acceptance and welcome into
him as her arms drew him down. This would never change. She'd told him before and she'd tell him again. As many
times as he needed to hear it. She was his now. And he was hers. And he would always belong in her arms.
Well, if his mutant toes couldn't chase her off, all the hidden things didn't stand much of a chance. And he wasn't
deliberately hiding them, they just weren't part of his life here, in Louisiana. That was another life entirely, one where
he wore a flak jacket and a helmet, and carried all the ammo he could stuff into a pocket. Where he taped his blood
type to his boot and on his arms.
That wasn't the life here. Thank god.
She accepted him, and loved him, at face value. For everything he said and did, and everything he didn't say. That
kind of unconditional love....he really didn't think it existed outside Molly's soap operas.
But he wasn't going to question it, or stop it. Or question her, or stop her. He liked it. He loved her. He hoped she
knew that if not from words, then at least actions and touches.
She felt the shift in him. The - relaxing inside. She wasn't sure exactly what had just been... It had felt - it had
reminded her of the time he had asked her not to forget him. When he'd said it lightly but his wounded heart had
been in his eyes. As if she could ever forget him...
So she sighed her soul into that kiss. And then she drew him down into a hug. Simply - holding him close, tucked
around him with her eyes closed. A little bit of her would die when this ended and he had to go back to the army.
There wasn't a chance she was going to let a moment of this slip through her fingers now.
"I love you." She whispered. "You know that, yeah?"
"Someday I'm going to figure out why." He said with a grin, but an honest grin. "I love you too." He assured her. "No
matter what, because of everything, in spite of everything....I think I covered all the bases there. Did I?"
"I need to hear you say that." She told him with a soft smile. Turning her face to press a kiss against him. "I like
hearing you say those words." She didn't doubt his love. He was a gift, this was grace. She couldn't earn it so she
didn't have to try. All she had to do was open her arms and accept it. Accept him. So she did. It was just she - like any
woman - thrived on hearing 'I love you' from the man she loved. "But yes." Another smiling kiss. "You did cover all the
bases."
Maybe one day he would figure out why she loved him. She hoped so. Because then he'd never wonder if she was
going to forget about him.
He smiled. "Good. Then I'm getting the day....night....whatever....off on the right foot. With or without shoes." He said
with a teasing wink. "Speaking of which...I haven't seen them since we got here. I think. Do we still have shoes?"
She laughed against him.
"I don't know if we even still have clothes." She admitted. Far too cheerfully considering the awkwardness that might
cause. She sat up enough to rest her chin on his shoulder and look across his back at the window. "I think those tiny
little birds ran away with them all." She remarked after a moment. Not that she could see where they'd hung the
clothes from where she was but it was a funny picture. Tiny little birds running off streaming jeans and t-shirts from
their beaks. She pressed a kiss to Hector's shoulder and grinned.
"It’s almost dark outside. Someone should go see at least. But I'm too pale. You and you're nice tan skin blend better."
"I thought you had a thing against me streaking?" He teased in return. "Certainly seemed against it at the base. Ah,
wherever they are, they'll keep for now. Hey, if it rains, less laundry to do!"
"There were rabid women lying in wait for you at the base." She pointed out with a grin. "If you'd run out the door
without pants you wouldn't have made it more than a few steps and then I would have had to go rescue you from their
lair. It was lucky you even still had a sheet by the time I arrived. I don't share." She added with a smile. Proud of it and
entirely serious as much as her tone was laughing. "Besides," she nipped his shoulder lightly, "you just want to keep
the clothes out there so I end up wandering around starkers for the rest of the vacation."
"I'll be sure to tell Cara you're referring to her and the other nurses as rabid." He said with a chuckle. "And what's
wrong with my grand plan? I actually like it. Quite beneficial to my viewing pleasure, I'll have you know."
She gave his shoulder a light hit and laughed.
"You're evil." She reminded him with a grin. Leaning back down to rest the tip of her nose against his. "But it's all
right. Because the viewing pleasure goes both ways." Then she kissed him with a smile and untangled herself to slip
out of bed. "Stay put." She instructed with another kiss and then padded on silent feet into the 'kitchen' area.
She didn't wander around in the nude. Ever. She'd always shared rooms with someone but she doubted she would
have even if she'd had her own flat. It just wasn't something one did. But with Hector... it did still feel a bit odd at times
and it took a bit of getting used to in those moments. But... she shot him a look over her shoulder. Clothes only got in
the way and she so very much liked being able to touch him, feel skin against hers at any given moment. It was an
intimacy and it felt good. For her soul. For her body. And frankly, for her ego when he looked at her that way.
And she hadn't been lying. She very much liked the view from her side too. He was an amazingly built man.
Collecting 'dinner' and some drinks she walked back to the bed and crawled in to snuggle up against him. Eyes
dancing as she offered him one of the drinks.
"Since we're on vacation I thought we should eat in bed. Truly act wild, yeah?"
"We're such rebels." He said with a laugh as he took the drink. Though this was certainly something no one back
home would think of when they thought of them. Completely out of line and not in sync with their professional
personalities, that was for sure. To say the least.
But it felt...good. Really good. Just the simple pleasures and intimacies that neither had to work very hard at or
struggle with. A definite vacation from life. He almost didn't want to go back, except for the same reason she'd have to
return. He was needed, she was needed, and the world didn't stop for them. It just seemed to pause every now and
again, especially lately, and let them catch their breaths.
She settled comfortably in, one of her thighs resting against his. Smiling contentedly as she opened the bag that held
the bread they'd slowly been decimating. There might be crumbs. But there were clean sheets in the closet and
frankly, they'd both sleep in much rougher conditions. She thought they'd survive.
There was peanut butter. And some other spreadable stuff but Andi had become a peanut butter junkie in her time
here and that pretty much made a sandwich for her. Gleefully making a sandwich out of nothing but bread and
peanut butter, she commented:
"We are going to have to find our clothes eventually. I don't think we have enough food for the entire week." Which
meant, basically, that she was going to run out of peanut butter before then.
Hector laughed. "See, Cassie and I ate this all the time when we were kids, because this was all we could make on our
own that we could reach." He said. "So we'd try to cut the bread into shapes, we were never all that successful
though. Came out funnier looking than my toes. We did, however, master the triangle."
But peanut butter was fine by him. Easy to make, easy to eat. Didn't require a lot of preparation or ceremony.
Andi chuckled. The man was so good looking he had to pick on his toes...
"Stop making fun of your prehensile toes." She chided with a laughing smile as she handed one of the 'sandwiches' to
him and started making another. "We didn't have peanut butter growing up." She added. "And more's the pity. But
sometimes we'd get jam. Da made the best jam sandwiches. We'd toast the bread and then put the jam on and eat it
still warm. It was heaven." She grinned at the memory and then bit into her own sandwich. "It took me a while to get
the hang of toasting the bread properly. Sometimes it would be raw on one side and burnt on the other. Or I'd just
drop the entire thing into the fire." She shot Hector a laughing look. "I still pretend I can't make toast just so Da will do
it for me." She took time out from her sandwich to take a sip of her drink. "Grandda used to make sandwiches out of
condensed milk and honey." She added with a grin.
"I'm way too American." He said with a shake of his head. "I don't even know if I'm supposed to find that last part
digestible, never mind appetizing. Then again, I'm the guy who puts ketchup and tabasco sauce on most everything,
so I'm pretty sure my taste buds are NOT the ones to make judgements."
She laughed and rested her shoulder against his.
"Grandda was in the army too. Maybe eating oddly is reverse revenge for the horrible food they feed you there." She
kissed his cheek. "Besides, I don't cook badly. Most of the time." She corrected, making a face at him. "When I'm not
distracted. I'll convince you there's more to life than tobacco sauce yet."
"I was not distracting you." He said with a laugh. "Okay, maybe a little. Okay, a lot. But it was fun. Who knew you'd be
that easily distractable?" He teased and ate his peanut butter sandwich.
"And Cassie was right, I cover everything with tabasco sauce as habit, because Vanessa was such a bad cook and I
never had enough initiative to make something myself." He said. Then, it turned into a way to 'get at her.' Even if she
made something palatable, he'd still slather on the sauce.
"Mm." She said it while she worked through the peanut butter in her mouth and then shook her head with a soft laugh.
Looking at him from the edges of her eyes as she took a drink.
"Tall dark handsome man sitting there right next to me in a dark 'kitchen' making that whole tent disappear except for
the space right next to him, all long legs and dark eyes letting me into a piece of his soul... You're right, who knew
something like that would steal all my attention?" She shot him a smile as she wiped her hands off and screwed the lid
back on the peanut butter jar. "Just don't tell my patients. It might make them nervous." Her grin flashed. "Especially if
you're in the room at the time."
"It was way too dark for you to know what color my eyes were, unless you were working from memory." He said with a
chuckle. "What can I say? You had me pegged from the start, I use story telling in most insidious ways that usually
work to my advantage, along with being entertaining."
She touched the tip of his nose lightly.
"You share yourself. Trade your stories and things that are precious to you for trust. An offer for an offer. I
understand that now." She gave him a soft smile. "You lured me in by offering your self instead of asking for mine.
How could I resist that?"
"I think you'd be surprised." He said with a chuckle. "A lot of people wouldn't bother reciprocating, and would just write
me off as the weird soldier who likes to talk a lot about absolutely nothing at all."
Andi chuckled.
"I thought Swanson was always complaining because you didn't talk." She teased. But she understood what he
meant. And she was glad he'd offered those pieces of himself to her so many nights ago half a world away. She was
glad he'd never stopped. He drew all of her to him because of it. And that was never going to change. Content, she
snuggled up against his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "I like your stories." She told him with a smile. "I
like listening to you tell them." She tipped her head to smile up at him. "Even if it is in mangled English."
"Improved. It's improved English." He said with a chuckle. "He does, and I don't." Hector said. He was still famous for
'the great wall of Garrett' even if she'd never come across it yet. He hoped she never would, even if it was such a
conditioned response.
"Oh yes." She nodded solemnly, eyes laughing. "Improved."
In truth she loved listening to him talk. It was his words. But it was the sound of his voice and the slow drawl and the
smooth melt of the words themselves. And it was that he shared it all with her.
"I should have brought my book along." She grinned up at him. "We were only half way through and I was hoping
there would be more scenes with the two old nosy neighbors. You do their voices quite sublimely." She could tease
but she did love listening to him when he forgot himself into telling a story. And that he actually indulged her by
reading out loud to her...
Gentle she reached up and slipped her fingers down his cheek. Face softening as her eyes went deep. Oh God, she
thought... he would make such a good father... He deserved to be a father. With a house full of laughing children with
his mischief in their eyes and light in their souls...
"I love you." She whispered it, raising her face to brush her lips against his. "I do."
He laughed at her comment on his reading. "I just copied the voice of that old woman a few rows up from us, the one
with the big feathery hat." Who kept asking for martini after martini. "But you and Josh have that in common."
He looked at her as her eyes went bottomless and the angles of her face softened a bit and then she kissed him, he
could taste the peanut butter on her lips and decided it was his favorite food.
"Love you too." He agreed, and he did. That much was certain.
"Good." She whispered. Was it unfair of her to take that chance away from him? She'd warned him but... She reached
up to wind her arms around his shoulders, shifting next to him so she could raise her face and kiss him properly.
Then she drew back slowly and rested her forehead against his.