The voice came through the door and Suzette nodded contentedly. Before it sank in and her eyes suddenly flew wide.
"What?!" She pushed the door open to look in and see her friend, wrapped in a towel drying her hair with another.
Andi's eyes met hers. Full of more life and laughter and love than Suz had ever seen them before.
"He told me he loves me" Andi answered, voice unsteady and lips trying not to fall into a silly little smile.
"Mon Dieu." Suzette managed.
Mike sauntered into the infirmary, rolling his neck as he did so. Then he pulled to a sudden stop. And started
laughing.
"I'm sorry." He managed. "I was going to come in and see how you were doing." The little elephant on Hector's chest
glared reproachfully down at the Delta. Mike held up the hand he didn't have the bag in. "But I can see you're busy.
I'll come back later."
Suzette had more than one sharp retort to that little comment on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn't bear to bring
down her friend. Especially since, personally, she reluctantly supposed she had nothing against Hector himself. Just
that Andi was far more fragile than everyone else thought, Suzette saw that. But she forced the smile on her face and
leaned against the sink.
"Then by all means you must impress his family." She said. "It’s expected, not to mention makes things easier if the
family loves you as much as we do. If they don't..." She made an extravagant gesture. "Americans."
"Mike, come on." Hector said, closing his eyes to avoid the elephant. "Don't make me move." He said, shaking his
head.
"Oh I'd like to see that." Mike said, watching this whole scene, wishing he had a camera. That would have made it all
perfect. Then he watched as Hector strained against the restraints, but not to get loose for once, but to give himself
leverage, and then wound or not, shifted to knock the elephant off his chest at least, then settled down, a bit of a
sweat breaking out on his brow. That had been more effort than it had looked like. "Nearly impressed." He said with a
chuckle.
"Oh screw you." Hector said.
"You wish." Mike commented, pulling over a chair to settle down next to Hector's bed. Giving Potter a nod of greeting.
Privacy wasn't something military were used to. Absent, he palmed the little elephant and set it on the edge of the bed
where it had the perfect view to cover the door for them.
"I'm not poking and prodding because you're conscious." He commented, shifting the stuffed animal so it had the best
range for covering fire without realizing that was what he was doing. "But you're either one lucky son of a bitch, my
friend, or Andi's folks were praying pretty damn hard this past week. Or both." He leaned back in the chair so it
creaked. It had been - a long couple of days, running between here and the Red Cross camp every sunrise and set.
Worrying. And not, for once, just about Andi. He was really getting too old for this shit. He absently eyed the readings
on the machines.
"Should be good to eat. But don't expect anything fancy." He stretched his legs out and looked at the Delta. Who still
looked like hell. Just not as deep a level of it as he had before. "You're going to be here a while, you know. You want
me to get something for you to do? Walkman or something?" Since it was hard to read with your wrists strapped down.
Andi blew out a breath.
"I don't exactly have to meet the family, do I? I mean, what's the chance of them coming to Africa?"
Suzette's eyebrow arched.
"You don't want to meet the family." She surmised. Strangely surprised by this side of her friend. She'd never known
Andi to be nervous about meeting anyone, though it only made sense she would be.
"I don't want to meet the family." Andi agreed flatly, running a brush through her wet hair.
"Whoa." One of the soldiers, towel over his shoulder, had walked in. He got one look at Andi with her damp hair and
the towel wrapped around her and then got another look at a tiny icy Frenchwoman that made the blood in his veins
freeze with the look in her eyes. Raising his hands he automatically backed out. Knowing when he was in over his
head. Suzette turned back to Andi.
"You will be fine. People love you. They think you are 'refined'." She shifted back and put a heel in the way of the door
to keep it closed. Andi snorted as she quickly braided her wet hair. Which undid the 'refined' impression.
"My mum's family didn't like my da. And I saw what that did. After I - " she paused. Changed what she'd been planning
on saying. "Hector's family is important to him."
"So are you." Suz stated. Like it or not, there wasn't really any question about that. And it did make Andi's shoulders
relax and that stubborn chin of hers come down a notch.
"Yeah." She agreed softly. Drew in a breath as she pulled on her tank top. "I'll just make sure they love me." She
decided after a minute. "Then it won't be a problem."
"Just so." Suzette agreed confidently. If they didn't love the willowy doctor in front of her now then they obviously
needed head work. Not that anyone that raised a son to go out and shoot people for a living didn't anyway. Of course,
she suspected that, unlike Andi, she was much more aware of how vicious and ruthless women could be to each
other, all without the males even being aware of it. Especially when there was a man involved. She was quite good at
it herself in fact. Fashion wouldn't be the only thing she'd have to start working with Andi on.
At least meeting family seemed as if it should be very far away. Despite the way the soldier was moving things ahead
so quickly. She should really search his things and make sure he wasn't hiding a ring somewhere.
"Do you think we can catch dinner still?" Andi asked, looking up from where she was rubbing lotion on her legs.
Suzette's eyebrow arched again.
"You want dinner?" She couldn't help but ask. Andi made a face.
"I made a promise." She explained. Not sounding enthused.
"Eventually they'll have to let me move around. I read somewhere its vital to recovery." Hector said with a sigh. "A walk
man would be great. This place is so silent." And not the silence he was used to. Deadly quiet sterile silence that just
drove home the points of death, sickness and invalidity. "And I'm starving. Starting to dream of dancing steaks."
"To your Hector." Suzette said with a nod about the promise. "Well, he's good for something, we've been trying to get
you to eat for ages." She said with a chuckle. "I don't know what they're providing tonight, but I think we can get food
at their messy hall or whatever its called."
"Don't get your hopes up." Mike commented with a chuckle over the steaks. "But I'll see what I can do in the
'something to listen to' area." He stretched his legs out in front of him and settled in. Taking Andi's place for a while
watching over the Delta. Knowing from experience how insane the reinforced inactivity could make you. Which
brought his eyes to the restraints still holding Hector down. He didn't make the dry sarcastic comment but his face
said it anyway. Instead he folded his hands over his stomach and settled in.
"I'm actually kind of surprised you're still breathing. Felt for sure Andi would kill you herself once she'd figured out you
were going to be all right."
"He distracted her." Potter commented without looking up from his book.
"Oh?" Mike's eyebrow went up and he shot the Delta a look.
Suzette's 'messy' hall comment had Andi laughing almost all the way there. There was a bit of a line but it cleared
surprisingly quickly for the two Red Cross doctors. Cara was filling a plate and smiled when she saw them both.
"Taking a break?" She asked Andi who grinned.
"Just for a little while." She looked at the nurse's plate and frowned. "You're eating that?"
"No." Cara chuckled. "Your boyfriend is."
"Lucky boy." Suzette commented dryly from near Andi's shoulder. Andi chuckled.
"Poor man." she agreed.
"Lucky man." Cara clarified. "I should make him eat through a tube just to torture him."
Suzette watched her as she walked off.
"Aren't you going to follow her?"
"Mm?" Andi looked up from the salad she was putting on her plate. "Why?" She glanced at the French woman next to
her.
Suzette sighed.
"She is bringing your man food and going to be alone with him."
Andi's lips started to curve.
"And?" She prompted. Suzette made a face.
"You know what I am saying. You should not trust other women around him now. It is important to defend your
territory."
Andi actually laughed, a surprised flow of sound and had to shift the plate to one hand to cover her mouth. Suzette
shook a serving spoon at her much to the amusement of the soldiers on either side of them.
"You will see." She warned. "The women will be twice over him now that he is taken. It is the way of things."
"It's not as if he has no say in the matter." Andi took the spoon away and put it back. "I trust him, Suz. And Cara's very
nice. And I've already threatened her life. Now move down, you're holding up the line."
Suz muttered some opinions in French that Andi didn't bother translate and moved down. Andi just chuckled at her
but she patted her friend's shoulder.
"Stop worrying, Suz. You were right the first time."
"When I said you should leave him cold?" Suzette asked and Andi chuckled.
"No. When you called him 'my Hector'."
"I have that way." Hector said. "I can be quite distractable. Plus, I imagine I could be considered pitiful right now, all
tied down and trussed up like a goddamn turkey."
"Is it Thanksgiving already?" Cara said, coming into the infirmary and hearing that comment. "Your fever was high
enough to cook you, knew I should have stuck a kitchen timer into you."
"And the hits keep on coming." Hector said, staring up at the ceiling. "If that's not for me, be nice and leave. Please?"
"Oh its for you." Cara said. "But don't thank me yet, its Cookie's special." Hector groaned.
"Not the mystery meat."
"Are you hungry or not?" Cara replied.
"Really shouldn't be choosy." Mike said and eyed the restraints again. "Who gets to feed him?"
"Oh come on!" Hector shot out. "Give me a break. If I swear on my mother's grave not to leave, can I feed myself?"
"Don't know your mother." Mike commented mildly, standing up to help Cara with the tray before shifting over to start
unstrapping Hector's wrists. It was hard not to kick the man when he was down. It was just so damn easy. And fun too.
He had to admit it was fun. Having been in a similar position himself a couple years back though, he hadn't forgotten.
Though granted - he hadn't needed anyone to strap him down either.
"Psycho." He added. "Most people simply stay in bed when they're supposed to." He flipped the second strap free
and remanded: "Don't use that hand too much. You pop those IVs and I'm going to ask Cara to let me put them back
in myself. And she'll let me too. Because I'm actually nice."
He figured if Hector pushed himself, the man might be able to stand up and shuffle at this point. In extreme pain in the
process. Which, no matter how mean he fought, meant that between an MP and Mike it wouldn't be hard to strap him
back down.
"You throw Mr. Snapples at me though and its all over for you, buddy." He warned.
"Men are not to be trusted." Suzette stated as they found their seats at an empty table. "They are fun. To be enjoyed.
But you cannot trust them to act as reasonable people. They are men. It is not in them."
Andi chuckled as she opened a bottle of juice.
"Suz, guys aren't just raging packages of hormones, you know. They do have a brain attached." Suzette snorted.
"Only when it suits them to not forget. When it is sex - feh." She gestured with a hand. "A man will sleep with anything
that is warm."
"I will not." Swanson stated, sitting down on Andi's other side. Suzette had already proved herself capable of giving
glares that kept the soldiers away. But Andi thought of the nineteen and twenty year old Rangers as children and was
too friendly. Any friendly was too friendly at that age. Swanson knew. He'd been a raging package of hormones at that
age too. Right now, he shot down a hopeful before the kid even had a chance to approach the table with a glare.
Suzette rolled her eyes.
"Not all men are dogs." Swanson protested.
"No." Suzette agreed sweetly. "Some are just gay."
Laughing, Andi waved a hand in front of her to form a barrier.
"Stop it." She chided. "Or I'll send you both to your rooms."
"And most people need to be in the bed." Hector said, sitting up with a heavy grimace as he rubbed at his now freed
wrists. He looked over at Potter, then at Mike, and realized his chances of making a break for it weren't good and
settled back as the tray was put over his lap. "Others they hold hostage here for their own fun and games."
"Oh yes, this has been fun for all of us." Cara said with a roll of her eyes. "The only easy part was up until today you
were barely conscious, therefore, quiet. You didn't complain that much."
"It was the drugs." He said with a chuckle as he started to eat. He was hungry dammit, and even the mystery meat
wouldn't put him off. "I think its time for the Deltas to go on another safari."