Out of Uniform by Pauline
Thanks to
Joy for letting me borrow Lee’s outfit.
Lee stood in front of the full length mirror and
shook his head in disapproval. Surely
Admiral Jackson could have found a more suitable costume. The black, close fitting, one piece costume
with a white skeleton printed on it was far too tight in Lee’s opinion.
Lee’s assignment was to attend the annual
Halloween party being given by Admiral William Forrest at his mansion in the
leafy suburbs of North West Washington. As
Chief of Naval Research, Forrest had access to information on all developments
at the Office of Naval Research labs in
******
Lee pulled into the curb and killed the engine. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he
looked at the expensive cars lining the driveway. It wasn’t the assignment that bothered him,
it was his disguise. The porch and front yard were strung with
lights and decorations. Lee adjusted his
black and white eye mask that covered the upper half of his face before he
reached for the door handle. As he
approached the house, he hoped that there wouldn’t be anyone here that he knew.
The sound of ‘Bad Moon Rising’ filtered out from the open front door and there
was a group of guests congregated outside. He had never met Admiral Forrest
although he was familiar with the name. Lee
almost turned around when the thought that Admiral Stark might be attending struck
him; he didn’t need that complication.
Although the young captain was used to attending
functions, he never really enjoyed them.
He would rather be back aboard Seaview, where he was in his element;
commanding the most powerful submarine in the world was child’s play compared
to this. Tagging onto the end of a
group of people entering the house, he slipped inside without drawing attention
to himself. He still wasn’t comfortable
and would have preferred a less revealing costume. Why couldn’t Jackson have gotten him a
Dracula costume with a nice long cloak that he could have hidden under? Sometimes he thought that the director of ONI
enjoyed getting him into these situations.
Moving down the entrance hall, Lee walked through
the elegant archway to the drawing room.
The house was decorated in the French style and a large guilt mirror
hung above the marble fireplace. A waitress approached him with a tray of
drinks.
“
“Thank you,” Lee smiled and took one of the
glasses. He took a sip as he looked
around at the other guests. With the
costumes and masks, it would be difficult to identify anyone and hopefully
would make it equally difficult for anyone to recognise him. People were standing around in small groups talking,
while others were dancing. No-one took
much notice of Lee as he meandered across the room towards the Admiral’s study. He wanted to get this over with and get out
of the costume as soon as possible.
“Well, hello there,” a woman dressed in a figure
hugging red cat suit, black knee high boot and wearing red devil horns in her
long black hair intercepted him, taking hold of his arm.
So much for a
quick in and out. Lee smiled politely. “Hello...?”
“Fiona,” she told him, draping herself against
him.
The cat suit couldn’t have been a closer fit if it
had been sprayed on. Lee found himself
looking into red eyes. She must be wearing contact lenses, he realised. “Lee,” he replied.
“Are you a friend of Admiral Forrest?” she asked.
“Not exactly.”
The woman appeared slightly tipsy and Lee wondered how long she had been
at the party.
“Oh, you’re not a friend of Mrs Forrest are
you? I’ve heard she likes to play the
field.”
“No, I’m a friend of a friend,” Lee replied,
trying to disengage himself from the woman’s clutches. “If you’ll excuse me, Fiona?” Lee
moved away towards the buffet, pretending interest in the ghoulish selection of
snacks and dips on offer.
“Try the mummy rolls, they’re one of the safer
options,” a woman in a skimpy green fairy costume stood beside him.
Lee smiled and nodded. He picked up one of the hot dogs wrapped in
pastry and took a bit.
“I’m Ginny, nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure, Ginny,” Lee put down his glass and
extended a hand. He didn’t offer his name.
He didn’t want too many people knowing it, even if they didn’t have a
surname to go with it.
Ginny’s gaze travelled over him. “I like the
costume,” she commented.
Lee felt himself blush. “Thanks, it was a last
minute thing.” There was something
familiar about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Ginny nodded understanding. “You didn’t choose
it?”
“No,” Lee shook his head.
“Well it’s very... becoming.”
Now acutely embarrassed, Lee choked on the bite of
Mummy roll he had just taken. He was
only too aware of how ‘becoming’ his
costume was. Although he wasn’t a prude,
he wasn’t in the habit of displaying his credentials quite so obviously.
“Oh dear, are you all right?” Ginny asked with
concern.
Lee tried to take a drink, but he inhaled at the
wrong moment and the bubbles went up his nose, making him cough even more and
making his eyes water. Great! Now he was really drawing attention to himself.
He needed to get out of there fast.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Ginny
apologised, handing him several napkins.
“E’cus...me,” he choked out and made a quick exit.
“Of course,” Ginny said to his back.
******
Admiral Nelson scowled as he looked around the
room in search of his commanding officers.
Spying Chip Morton with his current girlfriend, Lindsey Jamieson, Nelson
made his way across the room towards them.
He exchanged words with guests and crew members along the way, but there
was still no sign of his Captain.
With over a hundred crew, plus admin and support
staff, the annual Halloween party had out-grown the cafeteria. This year it was being held in the new
conference centre which had recently been completed. Fancy dress was optional, but most of the
guests had entered the spirit of things and there were some impressive
costumes.
“Chip, where’s Captain Crane?” Nelson almost
demanded as he approached the blond.
“I’m not sure, Sir,” Chip replied apologetically.
Nelson frowned, Lee and Chip were close friends
and usually arrived together. “Have you
spoken to him today?”
“No, Sir. I
was picking Lindsey up, so we arranged to meet here,” Chip explained.
Nelson looked at his watch, while it was not all
together unknown; Lee was not in the habit of arriving late.
“Should I call him? Maybe he’s having car trouble,” Chip
suggested.
“The way he treats that car, it wouldn’t dare break
down. I’ll call security and see if he’s left a message. Nice to see you, Miss Jamieson. If you’ll both excuse me,” Nelson hurried
towards the foyer and a telephone.
******
Once Lee had managed to get himself back under
control, he slipped back into the party and finding the study door unlocked,
sneak inside unobserved. The room was
dark, but he didn’t dare switch on a light.
Going to the window, he closed the drapes before switching on the small
pen light that he had strapped to his ankle; he’d figured that no-one would be
paying attention to his feet.
He started his search with the large antique
mahogany replica desk, surprised to find that it wasn’t locked. If Forrest did have anything incriminating
inside, he wasn’t worried about keeping it secured. Hearing voices outside the door, he froze and
switched off the light. Stepping back
into the shadows, he listened and waited, ready to make a break for the door if
necessary.
After a moment, he relaxed and returned to his
search. He had just found a secret
compartment when there was again a noise outside the door and it opened.
“Who are you?
What are you doing in here?” A
tall man stood silhouetted in the open door.
Then light flooded the room,dazzling Lee temporarily.
Shit! The man, dressed in a Jack the Ripper costume,
complete with top hatch and cane, was blocking his escape. What
was the penalty for assaulting an Admiral? Lee wondered. Especially if the Admiral was
innocent and so far, he hadn’t found anything incriminating. He knew that if he was identified, he would
be on his own, ONI would deny all knowledge.
After a moment of silence in which they both
stared at each other in shock, Lee grabbed the antique leather office chair and
made a break towards the door, ramming the chair at whom he assumed to be
Forrest as he started towards Lee with cane raised.
Forrest grunted as the chair hit his legs, but the
cane came down, catching Lee in the face.
Lee clamped a hand over his face, tasting blood
from his nose. He sagged against the
door frame, the pain almost causing him to pass out. Forrest had pushed the chair aside and was
turning to attack again. Lee pushed off
and staggered out the door.
“Stop him,” a loud voice yelled over the noise of
the party.
“Quick, this way,” a female voice said and Lee was
grabbed and pulled towards the French door.
They emerged out onto a lawn. “Run”, the female voice encouraged. They took off in the direction she
indicated. It was Ginny he realised as
his vision cleared.
“I have a car,” he protested.
“We can arrange for the rental company to pick it
up. I take it you didn’t rent it in your
real name?”
“Of course not,” he spat. He pulled to a halt and lent against a tree.
“Who are you?”
“Your back up.”
He could hear voices and a dog barking. Glancing back toward the house, he could see
a group of people searching the garden.
Ginny led him through the trees surrounding the
back yard, across a road and into a wooded area. She rummaged in the shrubbery and came out
with a holdall. “I’ve got a first-aid
kit.”
“I’m okay, we don’t have time...” Lee protested.
Opening the holdall, she pulled out a pack away
jacket and a torch. “Here,” she shoved the
holdall at him. “Down there, under the
bridge, there’s a creek, you can clean up. There’s a uniform in the bag, I suggest you get out of that costume.”
Lee stared at her in surprise. “How?”
She shook her head as she pulled the jacket on
over her costume. “Hurry up, my car is one street over.”
“Thanks,” Lee grabbed the bag and moved further
into the cover of the trees. He turned
on the torch and shone it in the direction she had indicated. There was a small brick bridge with a shallow
creak. He splashed his face with the cold water before quickly changing into
the uniform shirt and pants he found in the holdall. Stuffing the blood stained costume into the
holdall, he rejoined Ginny at the edge of the trees. He crouched down beside her, looking out into
the dark blue haze of night, occasionally illuminated by the beam of a
headlight from nearby passing traffic.
“Can you make it?” she asked. “We need to get out
of here.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he nodded, straightening. “Which way?”
“This way.”
******
Lee collapsed into the passenger seat, rested his
head back against the head rest and closed his eyes; his head was throbbing as
was his face.
“Where are you staying?” Ginny asked as she got in
behind the wheel.
“I’m not; I came straight from ONI headquarters.”
“Great, I don’t know what Admiral Jackson is going
to say when he sees you,” she started the engine and pulled away from the curb.
“He won’t be happy that I didn’t complete the
mission.”
“You certainly have a knack for getting into
trouble.”
Lee opened his eyes and looked at her. “Do I know
you?”
Ginny chuckled, “Oh, yes, commander, we know each
other,” she pulled off her green wig, tossing it into the rear of the car and
shook out her hair.
“Sophie.” Lee blinked; of course she’d seemed familiar.
“At the risk of getting my head bitten off, do you
need a hospital?” she asked, smiling.
“No, I just need a coffee and a couple of
aspirin.” He told her. He wanted to get
back to
“Okay, but I think you should see a doctor.”
******
Admiral Jackson glared at Crane. “What the devil
happened, commander?”
“I’m sorry, Sir, I got careless and almost got
caught,” Lee apologised as he stood in front of Jackson’s desk. Even though he had changed clothes and
cleaned up, he knew he looked a mess, both eyes were turning black and his face
was swollen.
“Humph, I don’t suppose you managed to find
anything?”
“Sorry, Sir, I didn’t have time to complete my
search,”
“Very well, Commander, you had better get yourself
checked out.”
“I’m fine, Sir,” Lee insisted.
You don’t look it,” Jackson growled. “Nelson will
have my head if I don’t make you see a doctor.”
Lee smiled.
“Yes, Sir.” Jamieson would have a
fit when he saw him; he would just have to avoid the doctor until things
improved.
Jackson turned to Sophie. “Miss Carter, see that
Commander Crane gets medical attention.”
“Sir, I am perfectly capable of...” Lee started to
protest.
“Commander Crane,” Jackson interrupted. “Do as you are told,”
He ordered gruffly.
“Yes, Sir,” they answered in unison.
******
Nelson was almost breathing fire as he yelled down
the phone at the director of ONI. “Jackson,
where’s my Captain?” he demanded.
“Now, calm down, Harriman. Crane was running a little errand for me,
things got a little complicated.” Jackson told him.
“How complicated?
What the devil have you gotten him into this time?” Nelson
exploded. Surely Jackson could have
found someone else to do his dirty work for a change.
“I have an agent looking after him, he’ll be
fine.”
“Meaning what exactly?” Nelson asked impatiently.
If Lee was hurt again, he would personally kill Jackson and take pleasure in
doing so.
“I can’t tell you what he was doing. He’s a bit bruised, but I’m sure there’s no
concussion,” Jackson assured him.
Nelson growled.
“You still haven’t answered my question, where is he? I’ll send the
Flying Sub to pick him up.” He wasn’t
prepared to take Jackson’s word; he wanted Lee in
“Harry, it’s late, let the man get some sleep. I’ll have him call you tomorrow.”
“I’m not happy about this, Jackson.” Nelson looked at his watch. “Lee had better call in the morning.” He slammed the phone down, cursing Jackson.
******
In the naval medical centre emergency room, Lee
sat on the exam table with an ice pack held to his face while a doctor looked
at his X-Rays. His energy was starting
to wane and he just wanted to crash.
He’d flown into
“You’re lucky, there’s no fracture,” the doctor
told as he turned off the light box and turned to face Lee. “I’ll prescribe
some pain medication and then you are clear to go. I would have preferred to admit you for
observation; I suggest that you take it easy for a few days.”
“Thank, Doc,” Lee slid down from the exam table.
The doctor wrote out the prescription and handed
it to him. “You can get this filled at the pharmacy.”
Lee accepted the paper and went in search of
Sophie, who had insisted on waiting for him.
He would need to find a hotel room for the night, although he doubted
that would be easy on Halloween. He
found Sophie in the relatives waiting area.
She smiled and came to her feet as he entered.
“They’re letting you out?”
“Yeah, I guess I need to find a room,” he couldn’t
quite stifle a yawn.
“I have a suite at the Best Western, if you don’t
mind sharing.”
“A suite?” Lee asked in surprise.
“Yes,” she laughed. “Compliments of you know who. It seems that Admiral Jackson is one step
ahead of you this time.” She took his
arm and started towards the door.
Lee shrugged, too tired to argue.
******
The twin bedded room was small, but Lee didn’t
care, he fell onto one of the beds and kicked of his shoes without bothering to
undo them.
“Aren’t you going to get undressed?” Sophie asked.
“It may have escaped your notice, but I don’t have
any night clothes, he told her without moving from where he had fallen. “Unless you have any more surprises up your
sleeve?”
“I promise not to ravish you,” Sophie teased. “But
if you need me, I’ll be right across the lounge.”
“Thanks, I’ll be fine.” After she had left and he heard the shower in
the shared bathroom, he sat up and shrugged off his leather jacket that he had
stashed in his locker at ONI. Looking
around for somewhere to hang it, he opted for the back of a chair. He quickly pulled off his shirt and pants,
laying them across the bottom of the bed, then crawled under the blankets. He’d have to try and get a flight first thing
tomorrow, but now he needed sleep. After
adjusting the pillows, he closed his eyes and snuggled down into the bedding. The tablets that Sophie had bullied him into
taking were kicking in and the pain had faded to a dull ache.
“Lee do you want anything from room service?” Sophie called. Getting no response, she walked over to the
open doorway of Lee’s room. She smiled
when she found him asleep. Even with the
bruising and two black eyes, there was something alluring about him in sleep. He was an extremely good looking man and she
wondered what had made him choose to become an ONI agent.
She walked over and sat on the edge of the other
bed, watching him. She remembered the
first time they had met; he’d been injured that time too. She also remembered how stubborn he’d been;
only reluctantly accepting her help. Once they were safely aboard Seaview, she had hardly seen him
again. Now fate or ONI had thrown them
together again.
Her maternal instincts were in high gear, her
fingers itched to reach out and touch him.
She wondered what he would say if he woke and found her watching
him. She shook her head, he was an
experienced agent and this was an assignment; don’t get involved. With a
heartfelt sigh, she stood, but still hesitated.
Maybe she should sleep in the other bed, just in case he needed anything
in the night.
“What are you doing?”
Realising that he was awake, she blushed.
“Watching you,” she admitted sheepishly.
“I’m fine, go to bed,” he told her firmly.
“Yes, Sir,” she grinned and reluctantly headed for
her own room.
******
He was suffocating, he couldn’t breathe. Panicked, he struggled to free himself from
the covers as he gasped for air. In a
daze, Lee opened his eyes and looked around the room. Slowly things came into focus and he
remembered where he was. His nose was
blocked and his mouth was parched. He
took in a lung full of air and sat waiting for his heart rate to return to
somewhere near normal.
Throwing off the covers, he swung his legs over
the side of the bed and planted his feet on the floor. He was desperate for a drink. Wearing only his skivvies, he got up and took
the kettle into the bathroom. After
downing a glass of water, he filled the kettle and returned to the
bedroom. While he waited for it to boil,
he tore open a sachet of coffee and emptied it into a cup, along with one of
sugar.
What time was
it? He looked at
his watch; he hadn’t gotten to bed until nearly
Coffee made, he took it back to bed; not something
he usually indulged in.
“Lee, are you all right?” A sleepy Sophie wandered
into the room.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“That’s okay,” Sophie sauntered over and sat on
the bed, sweeping her hair back off her face. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay; you should go back to bed. One of us needs to get some sleep,” he told
her.
“Maybe I should stay...in case.”
“Sophie, if I need anything I can get it myself,” Lee
was beginning to get exasperated with her fussing. He slide further down under the covers and
closed his eyes, hoping that she would take the hint. He couldn’t deal with her right now, he might
say or do something that he would regret and he didn’t want to upset her. She was after all under orders from
******
Emerging from the bathroom several hours later,
Lee was met by the smell of coffee, making his stomach rumble. A room service cart stood in the suite lounge
and Sophie was already eating.
“I ordered room service, didn’t think you’d want
to eat in the restaurant. Forrest
probably has people out looking for you and it’s going to be hard to disguise
those bruises,” she pointed out.
Lee nodded. “Thanks.” Damn!
He didn’t need this. He wanted, needed
to get back to
Sophie gave him a sympathetic smile. “This isn’t
entirely your fault. I was supposed to
cover your back and I didn’t, I’m sorry.”
Lee poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.
“Yeah, well however you look at it, I messed up.”
“Eat,” Sophie ordered. “We can talk about it
later.”
There was a selection of cereal, fresh fruit and
croissants. Frowning, Lee chose cereal
and emptied it into a bowl and added milk.
What was it with women bossing him
around?
“Try the croissants,” Sophie suggested as she took
a delicate bite of her own.
Lee scowled, but took a croissant and spread it
with butter. His blocked nose and head ache had dulled his appetite.
“I picked up your rental car while you were
asleep. It’s in the parking garage,” she
informed him.
“You shouldn’t have done that, they may have been
watching it.”
Sophie shrugged. “They had no reason to suspect me
and I made sure I wasn’t followed.” She
was interrupted by the telephone. “I’ll get it,” Sophie said, getting up.
He watched her pick up the receiver, only half
listening to what she was saying. After
a brief conversation, she hung up.
“Admiral Jackson needs you to call Admiral Nelson
asap,” she informed him.
“In other words, he’s had his ear bent by Nelson,”
Lee smiled; he’d been on the receiving end of Nelson’s temper a few times. He looked at his watch, doing a mental
calculation;
******
Lee had insisted that he didn’t need help, but
Nelson had been equally insistent and had sent Chief Sharkey and Kowalski in
the Flying Sub to pick him up. Now all
he had to do was get to the marina to meet them.
He had left the keys to his hire car at reception
and they had taken Sophie’s. The hotel
had allowed them to leave by the back entrance and so far they seemed to be
away clear. Lee glanced out of the rear
window as Sophie pulled out onto the freeway.
“Okay? She asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, no sign of anyone following,” he
settled back in the seat. He stared out
of the windshield, there wasn’t much to see, only buildings and flyovers. The journey continued in silence, they hadn’t
talked any more about what had gone wrong with the assignment. As far as he was concerned, it was his fault,
he shouldn’t need anyone to back him up.
“Stop it,” Sophie gave him a sideways glance.
“What?”
“I know what you are thinking. Stop blaming yourself.”
“Then who do I blame? Because of me, Forrest knows that we’re onto
him.”
“Not necessarily, he may have thought it was a
simple attempted burglary,” she reasoned. “After all, you didn’t find
anything.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Lee ran a hand
through his hair and winced, his headache was returning full force. He wished that the whole mess had never
happened.
She gave a slight shake of her head. “The marina is coming up, what now?”
“Park and we’ll walk. Sharkey will have moored the Flying Sub
somewhere secluded.”
******
“Skipper, what happened? Are you all right, Sir,” Kowalski couldn’t
contain himself when he saw Crane’s injuries.
He’d been waiting for them near the entrance to the marina, while Sharkey
had remained with FS.1
“I’m Fine, Kowalski,” Crane gave his standard
reply.
“Yes, Sir, Kowalski conceded reluctantly. He doubted that Crane was ‘fine’, those
bruises had to hurt and he wondered what other injuries the Captain might have.
He watched Crane as he turned to the
woman Ski remembered from a previous mission.
He’d extracted them both from
“Agent Carter, you are officially relieved, Seaman
Kowalski will take it from here.” Crane
joked.
“I guess this is goodbye, take care of him, Kowalski.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kowalski grinned, hovering at
Crane’s side.
“Don’t you think I can take care of myself,”
Crane’s laughter surprised Kowalski. The
Captain didn’t usually tolerate people fussing.
Maybe he could get Crane to allow him to check him over once they were
aboard FS.1.
“That’s debatable, Commander,” she replied with a
playful smile.
Kowalski considered whether he should back off and
give them some privacy, but knowing what the XO would do if he let anything
happen to Crane, he didn’t dare let the man out of his sight.
Crane was still smiling. “Good bye, Sophie, and
thanks.”
“A pleasure working with you, Commander.” She
responded formally.
“Isn’t it about time you called me Lee?”
Sophie glanced around her. “Never know who might
be listening. Do me favour, try and stay
out of trouble; I won’t be there next time.”
“I’ll try,” Lee took her hand. “Take care
yourself, agent Carter.”
“You bet.” She took a step closer and grabbed his jacket
lapels, pulling him into a zealous kiss, then stepped back. “See you around,
Commander.” Turning, she walked away.
Crane stood for a moment watching her go before
turning to Kowalski. “Let’s go, Ski.”
“Aye, Sir.” Smiling to himself, Kowalski headed
off towards where the Chief was waiting with FS1.
******
Lee settled himself into the rear passenger seat
of FS1 leaving a somewhat surprised Kowalski to take the co-pilot's chair. Hiding a smile at the rating’s slightly
shocked expression; Lee inclined his head and busied himself with fastening his
safety harness. If there had been only
the two of them, Lee would have taken the bunk.
His headache had not been helped by the walk in bright sunlight to the
far end of the marina where Sharkey had concealed the yellow craft away from
prying eyes. However, knowing the Chief’s tendency to embellish the truth, the
last thing he needed was an exaggeration of his injuries spread around the
institute.
Glancing up, he caught the doubtful look Kowalski
was giving him, but the rating made no comment as he took his seat and turned
to face forward in preparation for departure.
No doubt there would be a reception committee waiting for him when they
arrived at the institute and Lee resigned himself to the idea of having to
subject himself to Jamie’s scrutiny. It
wasn’t that Lee didn’t appreciate everything
that the doctor had done for him since he’d taken over as Seaview’s
captain, is was just that he hated spending time in Sickbay or Med Bay, He was a very active person and as well as
hating Jamie’s bossing him around, he found it mind numbingly boring.
The cabin darkened as Sharkey submerged the Flying
Sub and the daylight was replaced by the shimmering light created by the
reflexion of the water. Once they were
in
Lee remembered when Admiral Nelson had first told
him of his plans for the Flying Sub. Lee had been very doubtful, and as for
cutting a hole in Seaview’s keel for a hanger, Lee thought the idea was
madness. However, once he’d seen the craft and flown her, she quickly became
‘his baby’ and he loved flying her. She
had certainly proved her worth on several occasions and was now as much a part
of Seaview’s equipment as the mini sub and diving bell.
Enjoying the ride, Lee watched the view through
the cockpit windows. Sharkey was diving to avoid the many surface vessels in
the area around the marina. There was an
amazing amount of life in the waters around the marina, even basking sharks and
seals. Lee had dived with seals; they
were very inquisitive and playful creatures that sometimes interacted with
divers. They typically remained
submerged for ten minute and reached a depth of 160 feet. Lee had found himself
getting more involved with the scientific side if his job, he was no-longer
just a sub driver. He often went out on dives to collect specimens or
investigate underwater anomalies.
Despite all the injuries he’d suffered, Lee loved his job. Seaview and the institute had become his
home, his family and he was looking forward to getting there, even if it did
mean that he had to face a lecture from his friends.
******
Lee looked from Chip to Nelson and heaved a sigh.
“I’m telling you, Admiral, I’m fine. I
don’t need to see Jamie. The doctor at
the hospital said that there was no fracture or concussion, just told me to
rest for a few days, I can do that at home.” He argued.
Chip folder his arms and regarded him dubiously,
while Nelson’s looked of exaggerated patience told him that the Admiral was not
convinced.
“Lee,” Nelson lent forward across his desk. “I
don’t want to argue with you, please, humour me?”
Lee rested back in the chair. Why did he always
have to go through this every time he was hurt?
Of course, he knew that he couldn’t win, he would have to give in and
visit Med Bay.
Nelson sat with his arms resting on the desk as he
watched Lee. He was trying hard to hide
his amusement, but the sparkle in his blue eyes betrayed him. “Well Commander,
what are you waiting for?”
His tone was light, teasing, but Lee knew that he
wouldn’t take no for an answer. Yes,
they had clashed before and Lee could be just as stubborn as Nelson. But when
it came down to it, he was Lee’s boss and CO, as well as his friend. “All right, Admiral, I’ll go see Jamie,” Lee
conceded as he pushed to his feet. When
Chip made a move to follow him, he glared at him. “I don’t need an escort, Mr
Morton.”
Chip snorted. “Begging your pardon, Sir, but are
you sure you don’t have a concussion, cos' it
seems to me that you need a body guard,” Chip grinned.
Again Lee looked from Chip to the Admiral, who was
smiling, and then back at Chip, he shrugged.
“Very well, mother hen, if you must,”
Chip had been playing ‘big brother’ ever since the academy, even though
Lee was older by a year and Lee knew that he shouldn’t expect that to change
just because he was Chip’s CO. Shaking
his head, he turned and headed for the door.
Happy Halloween