The Major crossed
to her desk placing her steaming mug of coffee down on the metal coaster that
sat waiting. The clang of the contact
seemed to reverberate around her brain with an added touch of venom that
morning and she brought her hand up to rub gingerly at her temple. She considered that she was getting too old
for late night partying. Not that she
had been drunk or anything the night before, and even if she had been she
thought that it would have been permitted for once.
The total and
utter amzing joy of the moment when Liverpool had won had been
mind-blowing. As the penalty was saved
it was a split second of complete perfection when nothing else in the world
mattered. The fact that there were
about a hundred other people in the room all jumping up and down madly with her
had only added to the fantastic sense of triumph. It had seemed entirely natural to grab Andrea in that moment and
embrace her, knowing that she would be feeling the exact same sense of pride
and joy, mixed with a healthy dose of incredulity.
The Major hadn’t
thought twice about subsequently dragging the young woman onto the dance floor,
though she’d had to hold back her laugh when Andrea had stared at the Major like
she was demented as she started dancing.
The Major hoped she hadn’t made an utter fool of herself, especially
when she started twirling Andrea around the dance floor during “We Are The
Champions”. She’d just had the urge to
share her happiness with someone, and Andrea had seemed like the right
choice. She wasn’t entirely sure why,
it wasn’t as if there was a lack of other people in the room to celebrate
with. Their special bond due to the
fact they supported Liverpool had been part of it, but that wasn’t the only
reason the Major realised as she thought back over her actions.
During the past
weeks they had bonded in many other areas too, to the stage where Andrea was
probably one of the people she was closest to on the base. Their friendship was going from strength to
strength and fortunately the young woman had seemed happy to humour the Major’s
ebulent behaviour of the previous night like only a good friend would. The Major cringed as she recalled how she had probably been
tripping all over Andrea’s feet. No
wonder the young woman had eventually excused herself rather hurriedly.
Kate thought
Andrea’s reason had seemed a bit odd though - that she needed some fresh
air. The Major guessed that could be
true, the thrill of the night, coupled with the consumption of alcohol could
have gone to her head. However,
something at the back of the Major’s mind told her there was more to it, though
she wasn’t entirely sure what that might be.
She had found herself surprisingly disappointed when Andrea hadn’t
returned and she herself had gone to bed shortly after, the excitement of the
night finally catching up on her too.
The night was
catching up on her again now as she tried to take a sip from her coffee, only
to find that it held a strange aftertaste.
She determinedly vowed that she would never drink again.
……………
Andrea ran along the endless white corridor, glancing
over her shoulder every couple of seconds to look for those chasing her. She couldn’t see them, but she knew they
were there, just waiting for her to trip up so they could pounce on her. She skidded round a corner, trying to stop
herself plunging off the edge that met her but travelling too fast to
succeed. She fell into the darkness,
hurtling down, seemingly unable to engage her ability to fly. Then with a crash she was on the floor,
lying face down on white concrete. A
foot or so in front of her were a pair of black boots.
Andrea groaned to herself, knowing there was little point
even trying to raise her head to see who it was. Then suddenly there was a hand upon hers, causing Andrea to gasp
involuntarily.
This had never happened before!
Andrea’s eyes shot up.
In front of her was not what she had assumed she would see all
along. She had thought that the mystery
feet belonged to another person out to get her, to tell her how useless she was
or accuse her of abandoning them.
Instead she found herself face-to-face with the Major who was regarding
her softly, her fingers still resting on Andrea’s hand.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her voice low and husky.
“Er…yes…I think so…” replied Andrea uncertainly
“Here, let me help you up,” offered the Major, closing
her fingers gently round Andrea’s palm and pulling the young woman to her feet.
Andrea’s upward momentum was more than she realised and she crashed straight into the Major, her hands reflexively shooting out to catch the other woman and keep her from being knocked to the floor. Now Andrea had her arms around the smaller body, she was reluctant to let go, in fact pulling the Major ever so slightly closer. The Major didn’t object, so Andrea brought the Major’s body tight up against her, feeling the warmth of her bosom as it pressed into Andrea’s own. That warmth was spreading throughout Andrea now, building into a raging fire of desire. The Major tilted her head up to gaze into Andrea’s eyes, the young woman finding herself drawn down towards them. They were so bewitching, tempting, how could she resist? Her head was lowering now, her lips parting slightly in anticipation before…
Her eyes shot open.
“Oh my god!” Andrea said to herself, repeating the exclamation a few more times for good measure. Not that it helped calm her thumping heart in any way, but she needed to do something to distract herself from the lingering image of the dream.
Sitting up in bed, she drew her knees up under the duvet and propped her elbows on them as she held her head in her hands. If she had thought trying to ignore the Major was a viable plan, the dream she’d just experienced exposed how difficult that was going to be. She knew that if she hadn’t woken up at that moment then…
She had to mentally stop herself, knowing it would just be torture to think about it, filling her mind with wishful thoughts that could never be fulfilled. She sighed as she contemplated the rest of the dream before that, realising that her subconscious must have known long before she did how she felt about the Major. The boots had been there from the very beginning, but it was only now that Andrea had finally admitted the depth of her feelings that the other woman’s face was revealed to her.
Andrea’s heart ached now as she thought of the Major. She just couldn’t seem to help herself, finally giving in and letting the images swim happily through her mind. Each new picture brought a warm glow to Andrea and she knew she was grinning stupidly as she gazed off at the wall seeing much more than the magnolia paint on its surface. What she saw was a vision of beauty, the Major’s pale blue eyes reaching out to bring her close while her face softened, her auburn hair tumbling loosely around her cheekbones.
Andrea’s breath caught in her throat and she had to cough for a moment to get her respiratory system to work again. The swirling mass of emotions evoked just by thinking about the Major was dizzying. Andrea didn’t think she had felt this way about anyone before, certainly not Meg.
Thinking of London, Andrea got the sudden urge to run away from the island, to go back there and hide where she was safe from her own feelings, where she wouldn’t be battered by this never-ending tumult of conflicting desires. Yet at the same time her heart cried out in protest at the very thought of it. To leave the island and not see the Major every day, maybe not at all, was not something she wanted to contemplate. The sick sensation that curdled her stomach at that prospect was more evidence, if she needed it, that she was desperately in love with the Major.
Andrea felt a furry brush across the back of her hand, Gerry obviously having been woken from his slumbering position on the end of her bed. He rubbed back and forth across her skin, purring quietly. Andrea tickled him behind the ears, generating some louder appreciative purring.
“What am I going to do?” she asked the cat. He glanced up at her, not offering up any answers to the question.
With one last, long sigh, Andrea flopped back down onto her lonely bed, covering her eyes with a forlorn hand.
………..
Somehow over the
next few days Andrea managed to pretty much avoid the Major, or at least being
alone with her. She could just about
cope being in the same room as long as others were present, though even then
she found her eyes had a propensity to linger on the Major far more than was
polite or acceptable. How the other woman
hadn’t noticed Andrea didn’t know, only grateful that somehow she appeared to
have missed picking up on the fact that Andrea had become a bumbling,
stuttering idiot in her presence. She
supposed it helped that she barely spoke around the Major, knowing her voice
would betray the effect the other woman had on her. Andrea still had a hard time comprehending just how hard she had
fallen for the Major – this sort of thing never normally happened to her. Usually she had a tight reign on her
emotions, whereas now she could barely control them from one moment to the
next.
The same was
happening now as she sat in a briefing given by the Major to Andrea and the
other superhumans. Andrea wasn’t even
sure what the briefing was about since as soon as she had entered the room she
had been unable to stop her eyes drifting to the commanding presence of the
Major stood at the front of the room.
When she had started speaking Andrea paid far more attention to the
timbre of her voice, the way she said certain words and how her speech was
accentuated with a myriad of different hand gestures than what she was actually
speaking about.
Suddenly it
dawned on Andrea that the others were getting to their feet, signalling that
the meeting was over. The young woman
didn’t know where the time had gone, quickly rising from her seat to escape the
room before she was left alone with the Major.
She had almost made it to the door when she got a call waylaying her.
“Andrea, can I
have a word?”
Andrea froze with
her back to the Major, watching in desperation as the other three exited the
room. She took a couple of what she
hoped were inaudible deep breaths before she turned back round, trying to keep
her features as calm as possible.
“Is something the
matter?” she asked, staying where she was rather than close the distance
between her and the Major.
“No, nothing,”
the Major replied. Since Andrea hadn’t
moved, she took the intiative and walked across the room, Andrea having to
contain the dueling urges to either turn and flee or alternatively grab the
other woman and kiss her. The latter
was certainly more appealing, but also more unlikely. The Major was before her now, tilting her head up in a look of
mild concern. The second of Andrea’s
urges was growing stronger all the time.
“I just wondered how you were?”
Andrea could
almost have laughed out loud at the irony.
How she was? She wondered what the Major’s reaction might be if
she answered that with ‘Great, only I’m head over heels in love with you.’ She suspected it was probably best not to
try it and find out.
“I’m fine,” she
settled for instead.
“I’ve not seen
you up on the roof at all since we got back from Lanzarote,” noted the
Major. Andrea wondered if she had
detected a faint air of disappointment in the tone, but put it down to an
overactive and wishful imagination.
“Been sleeping better have you?”
This time a small
snort did escape Andrea’s lips before she could stop it. The Major looked at her curiously and Andrea
did her best to cover it up as cough.
She certainly had been sleeping better, that was for sure, her dreams
now ending with the appearance of a seductive Major most nights. Again, Andrea thought it best not to mention
that.
“Yes, I think the
counselling must be helping at last,” she lied.
“That’s good,”
remarked the Major, a smile spreading across her face at the news. Andrea could have died and gone to heaven
right there and then. “Still it’s a
shame we’ve not been able to have any of our late night chats.”
Now Andrea knew
she had heard a touch of regret in the Major’s voice, infinitely pleased that
it was possible that the Major could miss her company in some way. Though it couldn’t be anything like the big,
gaping void Andrea herself felt at having to miss out on being with the Major
due to her self-enforced distance from the other woman.
“Since it seems I
won’t be seeing you up there, how about you come round my quarters for a chat
instead?”
Andrea was sure
her ears were playing tricks on her now – had the Major just invited her round
her quarters? Andrea considered that
things had gotten so bad that she was dreaming in the daytime now. Only the Major continued on, just to
confound her.
“I could maybe
cook some dinner, we could play some scrabble, I’ll even make tea instead of
coffee.”
Andrea was
suddenly feeling faint while her mind was screaming at her to say yes, and
quickly, before the Major changed her mind.
Some logical part of her brain managed to kick into gear though, telling
her that the Major was just being friendly, as she had been up until now. As far as the Major was concerned nothing
was different – she had no way of knowing that Andrea was now a mass of
swirling emotions, all of them centering on the Major herself. Given that, Andrea knew she couldn’t put
herself in that tortuous situation. A
whole night spent in such close proximity to the other woman while being unable
to declare what she felt would be awful.
“I’m feeling a
bit tired actually,” said Andrea, uanble to meet the Major’s eye as she lied
once again.
“Oh, well,
another night maybe?” offered the Major.
“Maybe,” allowed
Andrea. She had no intention of ever
accepting the offer, but it was easier to agree, she might be able to get out
of the room quicker that way and regain her shattered composure in some way. “If that’s all?” she prompted.
“Yes, that was
it.”
Andrea nodded and
hurried from the room as fast as she could without looking like she was
running. She had never been so grateful
to be out in a corridor in her life, hugging the plain white walls in relief.
“I was going to
invite you for a game of pool, but I can leave you and the wall to it if you’d
like?”
Andrea whirled
round to Tom, forcing her hands down to her sides to appear more calm.
“Bloody hell,” he
remarked, having already seen her agitated state, “What is wrong with you? You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof with
ants in your pants to boot. What did
the Major say to you?”
“Nothing,”
replied Andrea.
“Really, and
nothing has you clinging onto the walls does it? Something’s going on – you’ve been like this since the party on
Wednesday night. Don’t think I didn’t
spot the two of you having a rather friendly dance together.”
Andrea’s eyes
shot to him in alarm, her heart rate quickening once more. If Tom had seen them then who else had noticed
and was gossiping about it? And how
long before someone said something to the Major?
Tom had been
studying her reaction intently. “Oh my
god, you fancy her don’t you?” he cried.
“I do not!”
stated Andrea adamantly. It wasn’t
entirely a lie, since ‘fancy’ was far too throwaway a term for what she felt.
“I should have
seen it coming,” he said, ignoring her denial, “I thought we warned you about
that?”
“I just said I
don’t fancy her!” Andrea stated again, though her voice was now taking on a
slight hysterical edge. She tried to
calm it before she continued. “I hope
you haven’t been spreading any sort of gossip to that effect.”
Tom looked
wounded that she would think he would.
“No, I’ve not said anything about it to anyone,” he replied, “But I’m
right aren’t I?”
“Please, just
leave it, Tom,” Andrea said, a hint of warning in her tone now.
He looked
surprised that she had chosen to employ it, but seemed to sense she really
meant it. Andrea decided it was best to
try and switch topics. “Look, I don’t
really want to talk about it right now, you’ll be the first to know if I change
my mind, ok?”
“Ok,” agreed Tom
reluctantly.
“Now, you
mentioned pool?”
On the way up to
the rec room, it suddenly struck Andrea that she’d forgotten to speak to Tom about
the visit of his father. She’d been so
caught up in her own startling revelations that it had completely slipped her
mind. Aiming to rectify her lapse she
turned to the fair-haired man in the lift as they travelled to the above ground
part of the base.
“What about you
and your father?” she asked, “Did you manage to speak to him while he was
here?”
A dark look
passed across Tom’s face, partly answering her question before the man even
spoke. “We had words.”
Andrea was afraid
to ask what they might have been. “I’m
guessing it didn’t go well then?”
“Not exactly,
no. I tried to talk to him alone, but
he said he was too ‘busy’.”
Andrea felt a
sympathetic anger at Tom’s father’s avoidance, wishing she had crushed the
Colonel’s hand when she’d the chance.
Tom continued on
bitterly. “He’s obviously far more
interested in his base and how that’s doing than what his son’s up to.”
“I’m sorry,” said
Andrea, “Maybe he really was busy, he did have a lot of people to speak to that
day.” Andrea didn’t know why she was
making excuses for the Colonel, just trying to find a way to make Tom feel
better about it.
It didn’t seem
she was succeeding. “Yeah, right!”
scoffed Tom, “Anyway, I’ve had it trying to reach out, if he wants to speak to
me, he knows where I am.”
It appeared that
was the final word on the matter and they proceeded to the rec room in silence,
both of them enveloped in thoughts of very different kinds.
………..
The Major typed
away at her keyboard, trying in vain to finish the report for the Colonel. It had only been a week since his visit to
congratulate them on the success of their mission, but he was demanding his
updates as usual. However, the Major
was finding it hard to concentrate that day, the words seeming to blur into an
incomprehensible mass on the screen.
Realising she was getting nowhere fast she got up from her office desk
and crossed to the large window, looking out as the early summer sun brushed
over the grass of the island. It looked
like a lovely day outside, the first day of June, and the Major wished she
could just leave the report and head off out to sea on her boat. She’d hardly had time to go sailing at all
recently, with their increased workload and training schedule. As she tried to recall the last time, she
realised it had been over a month ago, when she had taken Andrea out for the
day.
Thoughts of that
day filled her mind now, a small smile creeping across her face as she
remembered Andrea dripping and indignant after her impromptu dip in the
sea. Maybe she could entice the young
woman out for another attempt some time, she considered, and try not to hit her
with the boom this time. As she
contemplated the idea, it occurred to her that it might be quite hard to
accomplish since Andrea seemed to be avoiding her recently.
The Major wasn’t
sure if she was imagining it or not, but there seemed to be a definite distance
between them that hadn’t been there little over a week ago. Where before they had been getting quite
close, sharing many an evening just talking or stargazing, now Andrea was
hardly speaking to her, let alone spending any time with her.
The Major was
surprised at the degree of concern she felt, realising she was actually missing
those nighttime chats and their interaction in general. When Andrea had turned down her offer of
dinner a couple of days previously the Major had found it hard to hide her
disappointment, even now feeling a small pang of regret at the missed
opportunity. Resolving to do something
about the situation, she walked back over to her desk, picking up her
communicator. She paused for a moment,
trying to think of a plausible excuse for summoning the young woman. Unable to come up with one immediately she
keyed in the correct code, deciding she would just wing it.
“Andrea?”
There wasn’t an
immediate reply, and the Major was about to repeat herself when the other
woman’s voice suddenly came on the line.
Yes?
“Could you come
to my office please, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Again the reply
was delayed, the Major imagining she could hear the sound of Andrea’s breathing
as she waited for a response. For a
minute she thought Andrea had actually cut the link. I’ll be right there.
The Major
breathed a small sigh of relief as she placed the communicator back down,
unsure exactly why. If she didn’t know
better she would say she was nervous at the prospect of the encounter, finding
her hands subconsciously smoothing down her trousers as if she was trying to
make a good impression. It wasn’t long
before there was a knock at the door and she called out to grant Andrea entry.
The Major studied
the young woman as she entered, searching for any signs of anything
untoward. Andrea had an implacable
expression on her face, though the Major did note that she seemed to be staring
just over her shoulder, rather than making direct eye contact.
“Why don’t you
sit down?” offered the Major, gesturing to the chair in front of the desk. If she’d thought more about it, she realised
she should have sat over on the sofa, but to cross now when she was already
behind the desk might seem a bit odd.
Andrea slowly
approached, lowering herself into the chair but not saying anything at
all. If anything the Major would have
classed the other woman’s demeanour as frosty, and she wasn’t sure how
successful she was going to be in getting anything out of her. Still, she plunged on anyway.
“I was just
wondering how you’re doing?” she asked.
Andrea’s eyes
briefly flicked to her in a quizzical look.
“You called me here to ask how I am?”
“I like to keep
track of the welfare of all my operatives,” said the Major, cringing at the
formal sound to her words. It sounded
as if she was carrying out an assessment of Andrea or something. She tried to qualify the statement
better. “I haven’t really had the
chance to speak to you much the last week or so, and I wanted to make sure
everything was all right.”
“Yes,
everything’s fine. Is there any reason
it shouldn’t be?”
Andrea really
wasn’t making this easy for her. “No,
no reason,” said the Major, “I was just…concerned. I might be wrong, but I got the impression you were avoiding me.”
Andrea paused for
a moment before answering, her eyes now having drifted to the floor. Suddenly the Major got a feeling that she
might not have been wrong at all. Andrea was avoiding her, but why?
“I’m not avoiding
you,” stated Andrea defensively, “I’ve been to all the necessary briefings and
training sessions haven’t I?”
“Yes,” agreed the
Major, “But…” she searched for a way to put it without sounding too anxious,
“…we’ve not spent any time together outside work.”
Andrea
shrugged. “I’ve been doing other
things.”
The Major tried
to control the dismay she felt at Andrea’s dismissive attitude, speaking before
she’d really considered her words.
“What sort of things?”
Andrea’s eyes
flashed angrily. “I’m sorry, I didn’t
realise I had to give you a full report of my after hours activities. Would you like pictures, video recordings
too?”
“Of course not…”
“Maybe I could
tape all my conversations for you…”
“No, I didn’t
mean….”
“Though you
pretty much do that already anyway don’t you!”
Andrea was up out
of her seat now, glaring down at the Major.
“I’m fine, all right,” she snapped, “So if that’s all, I have work to be
getting on with.”
Without waiting
to be dismissed Andrea spun on her heel and stalked out of the door, leaving
the Major wondering exactly what had just happened.
…….
Andrea sagged
against the wall, round the corner from the Major’s office. This was much worse than she had
thought. Not only could she not control
her emotions round the other woman, but now her frustrations were spilling out
in other ways, such as starting arguments for no reason whatsoever. She had thought distancing herself might
help, but if anything her feelings just seemed to be intensifying. Even worse was that the Major seemed to have
noticed the lack of contact between them.
Andrea’s mind
conspiratorially took the word contact and started bombarding her with thoughts
of all the ways the Major had touched her in the past. From how she had held Andrea so close out on
a muddy rain-lashed field, to the barest of brushes across her hand. Each touch was remembered with a
corresponding tingling at the point of contact, like she could still actually
feel those fingers now.
Those thoughts
were nothing compared to the devious tricks her mind had been playing on her
while in the Major’s office, though. As
soon as Andrea had stepped inside the room and seen the other woman sitting
behind her desk, regarding Andrea with her soft blue eyes, Andrea’s heart had
started beating wildly out of control.
Trying not to stare at the Major’s face, or hair, or eyes, or body,
Andrea had suddenly started having disturbing fantasies while at the same time trying
to conduct a normal conversation. Those
daydreams centred around what she’d like to do to the Major on the invitingly
large desk between them. No wonder she
had eventually snapped, it wasn’t right for any one person to try and contain
that amount of raging desire.
Finally composing
herself Andrea turned for her quarters, deciding that a very long and very cold
shower was definitely in order.
…………
The last working
day of the week found Andrea out on the training ground of the island base,
thankful for once that it was Chadwick rather than the Major who was leading
the exercise. Her happiness at that was
short lived when the burly Lieutenant joined her as she was running some last
checks on the explosive devices arrayed before her on the ground. He knelt down next to her, surveying her
work with his dark eyes.
“Make sure you
get it right, Hallstrom, we don’t want any nasty accidents do we?”
“You’d know all
about those wouldn’t you,” she countered.
If she had hoped that the football game would settle things between them
once and for all, she’d been sorely disappointed.
“What’s that
supposed to mean?”
“Whatever you
want it to,” she replied cryptically, clambering up to get away from him.
She still thought
he was responsible for the accidents that had occurred on the base, though she’d
found nothing else to back up her suspicions and she was hardly in a position
to be pushing her case to the Major anymore.
She experienced an unwelcome clutching sensation in her stomach at the
thought of the Major, who never seemed to be far from her thoughts these
days. Gazing out across the
sun-drenched grassland did little to push those pervasive thoughts away either.
“Oi,” called
Chadwick from behind her, “When you’ve quite finished sunning yourself?”
Andrea turned
back to him, walking over and petulantly snatching up one of the devices. Not bothering to wait for his orders she
zoomed straight up into the sky, knowing what she was meant to be doing
anyway. Reaching the apex of her curve
she turned for the ground, beginning her run to drop the device on its
target. Sweeping through the air, she
spotted a plane high up in the brilliant blue sky, the sun glinting off its
white body as it trailed two white streams behind it. Suddenly she was taken back to the week before and another plane
entirely. How she wished she could turn
back time to that day when she was blissfully unaware of her love for the
Major. Though not so much unaware as in
deep denial, she considered.
Trying to force
her thoughts back to the present she glanced down at the bomb in her hand, only
then noticing that the clock on it was far more advanced than it should
be.
3…
Andrea gaped at
it – how had that happened?
2…
Shit!
1…
Desperately
Andrea flung it away, the device exploding spectacularly in the sky mere feet
from her. The blast wave cannoned into
her immediately, knocking the breath from her body and sending her hurtling
towards the ground. She crashed
forcefully into the turf, driving across surface, digging up the grass in a
great gash for about fifty feet before she finally came to a halt.
It took her a
couple of minutes to come to her senses, opening her eyes to see the blue sky
above her. Tentatively she sat up from
the muddy hole she now occupied, noting that her clothing was still steaming
from the after effects of the explosion.
She was covered in muddy streaks and her jacket was ripped in a number
of places. Luckily she herself didn’t
seem to be hurt, apart from a slight ringing in her ears. Once more she was grateful for her denser
bone structure – if it had been anyone else they would most likely have broken
every bone in their body falling from that height.
Looking around at
the impressive track she had made in the ground, she spotted a group of people
running over the grass towards her, among them Lieutenant Chadwick. Seeing him at the head of the bunch, Andrea
leapt to her feet, trailing a few loose bits of earth in her wake.
“You fucking
tampered with the bomb, you bastard!” she yelled at him as he stopped in front
of her.
“I did no such
thing,” he replied, meeting her fierce gaze.
“You obviously didn’t check it right.”
“Bollocks! I
checked it fine.” Though now she wasn’t
entirely sure – had she let her thoughts of the Major affect her
concentration?
“Obviously you
didn’t,” repeated Chadwick, “Too busy thinking of your girlfriend were you?”
“Fuck off!” spat
Andrea, too annoyed that he might be right to think of anything more
intelligent to say.
“I don’t know why
you bother,” he continued insidiously, “She’s never going to want anything to do
with you - she’s already had one mutie freak.”
Amdrea flew at
him, surprising him with the suddeness of her action. She managed one good blow to his face before the others who were
already close by yanked her off him.
Blood was pouring
from his mouth now as he cradled his jaw.
“You’re fucking crazy!” he cried, “You can go and report to the Major;
let her sort you out!”
……..
Andrea stood
waiting in the centre of the Major’s office, knowing with a horrible sinking
sensation that she was in big trouble. Why
had she let Chadwick wind her up again?
Of course it didn’t take much examination to find the answer to
that. As if she needed any reminder
what the cause was, the door to the office opened now and the Major stalked in,
not saying a word as she swept past Andrea and sat down at her desk. She held her mouth clamped tightly shut, her
eyes finally swinging up to Andrea with a deathly look in them.
“So here we are
again,” she began in a threateningly low voice. “I thought you and Chadwick were going to sort this out, but
again you’re brawling on the training ground like a couple of kids.”
Andrea couldn’t
help blurting something out, still annoyed from earlier and now having to
contend with the way all her emotions spiralled out of control when she got
near the Major. “Chadwick’s an arse!
He…”
“I don’t care
what you think of the Lieutenant!” shouted the Major, shooting back to her feet
and firmly cutting Andrea off. “You’re
here to do a job, and I expect you to put any personal differences to one side
to do that.”
“But it was his
fault!”
“Really?” said
the Major doubtfully, leaning across her desk with her hands on the surface,
“He says you were distracted and didn’t check the timer properly…”
“Oh, I see,
taking his side are you?” cried Andrea angrily, “I might have known you lot would stick together!”
“Us lot?”
repeated the Major, “Since when have I ever taken sides between the superhumans
and the military staff?”
“I don’t see
Chadwick in here right now!”
“That’s because
he wasn’t the one that attacked a fellow member of staff!”
“I’m telling you,
he tampered with that bomb! Oh, and I’m
fine, by the way, thanks for asking!”
The Major paused
at that, as if realising for the first time that Andrea could have been killed
if she hadn’t noticed the timer at the last second. Andrea thought the Major’s face had taken on a definite pale
colour, at the same time accepting that it could be due to her continued cold
fury with the young woman.
When the Major
did speak again, her voice was still harsh, though slightly more
controlled. “So you want me to believe
you could be so distracted as to allow Chadwick to alter the timer on a device
you had previously checked, with you right there beside him? And pray tell, what was it that diverted
your attention to such a degree?”
Andrea was
stymied, unable to confess that she had left Chadwick alone for a moment while
she had been preoccupied with thoughts of the Major herself.
“No, no more to
say?” prompted the Major.
Andrea averted
her eyes, hearing the Major uttering a long sigh as she sat back down in her
chair the creak of the leather audible in the hushed room.
“Sit down,”
ordered the other woman stiffly.
Andrea remained
where she was, stubbornly refusing to obey.
She still couldn’t understand how the Major could believe Chadwick over
her.
“Please?” said
the Major more softly this time.
Reluctantly
Andrea sat in the chair, unable to refuse the request now the Major had
resorted to using her quietly persuasive voice. Andrea gazed down at the floor, able to see the tips of the
Major’s black boots beneath the desk, trying to concentrate on those to still
her racing heart.
“What’s going on,
Andrea?”
The Major’s voice
was now quiet and cajolling. Andrea
swallowed nervously, the sound of her name passing the Major’s lips doing a
whole range of strange things to her insides.
“Going on?”
managed Andrea in reply, not daring to look up, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean with
you,” explained the Major, “And your attitude.”
“I don’t have an
attitude,” said Andrea far too quickly to make the claim plausible.
“Really,” stated
the Major, having obviously caught it too.
The office was
quiet as the Major left an inviting gap for Andrea to fill. All the normally impercetable background
noises of the office filled Andrea’s ears.
She could hear the gentle hum of the air conditioning, the low buzz of
the computer, the faint whisper of the wind outside the window, the sound of
the Major’s breathing. She noted the
last of those ruefully, marvelling at how everything always seemed to come back
to the other woman. The silence
stretched on interminably and Andrea could resist the urge to look up no
longer, desperate to see what the Major was doing.
Her eyes were met
by the Major’s regarding her thoughtfully across the desk, her chin resting on
an upturned palm as she observed Andrea.
Having now looked up, Andrea could do nothing but maintain the gaze,
drawn in by the immense power contained in it.
The sounds of the room had long since faded, all Andrea’s concentration
on the face before her. When the Major
did speak Andrea almost jumped, so entranced was she.
“If there’s
something wrong you can talk to me.”
Andrea found
herself unable to speak. What could
she say anyway? It wasn’t like she could admit her feelings.
“I’m just
worried,” continued the Major gently, “You seem withdrawn, distant, like
something’s troubling you. If there’s a
valid reason for this aggresive behaviour I would like to know.”
Andrea looked
down at the desk, crinkling her brow as she fought hard to keep back the tears
that were threatening what was left of her composure. When was this torture going to end?
She heard another
slow exhale from the Major, sensing the other woman leaning back in her chair
once more. “Fine,” she said with an air
of resignation, “In that case you leave me no alternative but to punish you for
your transgression.”
Andrea’s eyes
shot up again. “What?” she cried.
The Major’s tone
was business-like once more. “I can’t
allow members of my staff to be physically attacked,” she outlined, “Consider
yourself confined to your quarters for a week.”
“You’re grounding
me?” said Andrea incredulously.
“If you will
behave like a child, then you will receive appropriate punishment.”
Andrea stared at
the Major, considering the restrcition imposed on her. She didn’t really care that she wouldn’t get
to do any training, or talk with any of her friends, or even leave her
room. The only thing that really
bothered her was the fact that it meant she wouldn’t see the Major for a week.
“You’re
dismissed,” the Major added.
Andrea opened her
mouth to speak, but caught herself. She
desperately wanted to explain herself, tell the Major everything, but she knew
that was impossible. Instead she got to
her feet and left the room without another word.
……..
The Major heard
the small click from the door as it closed behind Andrea, somewhat surprised by
her timid exit. She had half expected
Andrea to storm out and slam the door off its hinges. But then again nothing Andrea did seemed to make sense anymore.
The Major leaned
back in her seat, trying to fathom what was going on with the young woman. She was convinced something was wrong, and
she’d got the impression that Andrea was almost going to tell her what it was, but
there was something holding her back.
The other strange sense she’d got was that whatever that something was,
it was to do with the Major herself.
That concept troubled her no end – that she could somehow be responsible
for Andrea’s marked shift in behaviour.
As the Major’s thoughts went round and round trying to shed some light
on the conundrum, she began to wonder at her own feelings.
Why was
she so bothered with what was wrong with Andrea and what the young woman
thought of her?
And she knew that
she was bothered, almost irrationally so.
Ever since they’d got back from the mission her thoughts had been
occupied by the young woman much more than was reasonable or necessary.
She rubbed
roughly at her temple when suddenly a disturbing thought hit her. She tried to ignore it but it was there now,
dancing in her face, taunting her until she gave in and examined it. With no small degree of consternation she
wondered if the reason she was so concerned about how Andrea felt towards her
was because she in turn felt something for the other woman. And that something wasn’t just what she
felt for the other people under her command.
She cared about all of them, of course, but none of them seemed to have
the effect on her that Andrea did. None
of them caused her to lose her cool as easily as she did with Andrea and she
certainly didn’t feel the urge to spend most of her free time with Tom, or have
late night discussions with Bel, or dance round the room with Harry.
She stopped
herself as she wondered where the last scenario had sprung from. Did she really want to dance round the room
with Andrea? Thinking of it she
couldn’t help recalling the time they had danced together after the cup final
victory. However, whereas before in her
recollections she had always concentrated on what an idiot she must have
looked, now she found herself assessing what it had actually felt like. It had felt good she realised. More than good – wonderful. How had she not noticed at the time? A ridiculous, giddy rush shot through her as
she remembered holding Andrea in her arms, their bodies pressed together in all
sorts of places normal decorum dictated they shouldn’t be.
The Major shot to
her feet in shock.
This was
bad. This was very bad.
Shaking her head,
she told herself she couldn’t be heading down this path again. She didn’t even want to voice what the path
was, let alone go anywhere near it. But
it was there anyway, tempting her to take it.
Shaking her head she knew there was no way she could head down that road
marked ‘getting involved with someone under your command.’
It was patently
ridiculous to consider it anyway. Even
if she did feel ‘something’ for Andrea, the degree of which she wasn’t even
going to start to examine for fear of what she might find, then to think Andrea
returned it in any way was absurd. She
decided she would just have to ignore her troubling feelings and emotions and
hope they went away.
That would be
harder said than done, though, she soon realised as she crossed to get a
drink. Out of nowhere the image of
Andrea from the changing rooms had appeared in her mind, walking across the
room in just a towel, pushing her wet hair from her face.
The Major in turn
tried to push the mental picture away, but more nagging thoughts wormed their way
into her brain. Was it really so absurd
to think Andrea might feel something too?
She had certainly been exhibiting some strange behaviour herself
recently. The Major had assumed that
Andrea was annoyed at her for some reason, but now she analysed it she realised
that Andrea’s actions could be attributed to someone who was attracted to
another person but felt the need to repress it. That would certainly explain why Andrea had been avoiding her so
much, if she found it hard to be in the Major’s presence.
The Major laughed
to herself. Talk about wishful
thinking!
Here she was
casting herself as some great irresitable lure; one that Andrea could barely
control herself around. Her original
presumption of some undetermined offence was much more likely. She supposed she would just have to try and
find out what that was so they could at least get back to being friendly, even
if the Major’s mind was conspiratorially screaming at her that it knew she
wanted much more than that.
……..
The following week passed with agonising slowness for Andrea, cooped up in her quarters with only Gerry for company. Left to her own devices, she couldn’t help going over what she had recently realised regarding her burgeoning feelings for the Major. As she did, many a time she would wish for the other woman to drop by on any pretext, even if it was just to punish her further.
The only other thoughts that preoccupied her were those regarding the warehouse accident and what had subsequently happened to Maria. They were much more unpleasant and she did her best not to dwell on them, though her nightmares still persisted in making that difficult. Even when thinking of the accident, she managed to bring those ruminations around to the Major by wondering how the officer’s investigations were going.
To try and distract herself from everything she had played her violin, re-read many of her books and played endless games on the playstation. She had even attempted some writing, though that only served to remind her of the Major again by bringing to mind the pages of her novel that Andrea had caught sight of.
The desperate loneliness she felt at missing out on even the barest of interaction with the Major, led her to realise that trying to ignore her feelings just wasn’t going to work any longer. After hours of agonised thinking, she concluded that left her with two options - either she could tell the Major how she felt and face the consequences or she could leave the island and try to forget about the other woman.
A week alone had given her plenty of time to try and decide which one to pursue, though she swung between each of the choices from one moment to the next. At times she would resolve to talk to the Major the first chance she got, while the next minute she would be filled with doubt, thinking she would look like a fool if she did.
If only she had some inkling how the Major herself felt it might have helped, but Andrea didn’t have much to go on. On the plus side was the fact that the Major seemed to have been disappointed by Andrea’s recent distant behaviour and had noticed enough to comment on it. There was also the way they had been spending so much time together before Andrea had distanced herself, time the Major seemed to enjoy and relish. Andrea was sure she had detected sparks between them on a number of occasions now she looked back on it with a critical eye, though at the same time considered it could just be her wishful imagination.
Had she been the only one to get those strange tingling sensations whenever they touched? Had she been the only one to feel that fluttering in her stomach when their eyes met?
On the down side of things was the looming spectre of Adam Dixon, making Andrea think the Major would be highly suspect about getting involved with anyone under her command. The other big stumbling block was the fact that Andrea was a woman and as far as she knew the Major was well and truly straight. Though how someone who was straight could give off quite the vibes she got from the Major she didn’t know.
As she stood with her hand on the door she knew the time for prevarication was over, she had to pick and stick to her decision. Finally she realised that if she didn’t say anything then she would most likely regret it forever. If she did tell the Major and things went horribly wrong, then she could always leave anyway, but at least she wouldn’t be left thinking about what might have been. Having made her choice she opened the door and strode from the room.
…………
The Major walked along the corridor to the base exit, Sophie McAllister striding along breezily next to her. Her friend’s visit that morning had been a pleasant surprise, given how the Major had been feeling all week. Even more surprising was to find that Sophie had taken a transfer to the Intelligence Corps and now knew exactly what it was the Major had been so cagey about regarding the base. Not that Sophie would be stationed on the base itself, but at least it meant they would probably see each other around much more often.
Maybe it was Sophie’s excitement over her transfer, but for once the dark-haired woman seemed less than perceptive when it came to the Major’s emotional state. Normally she was first to pick up anything when the Major was out of sorts, but not that day. The Major supposed that she herself could equally just be getting better at covering things up. It was amazing Sophie hadn’t noticed anything, considering that inside the Major was a nervous wreck.
Ever since she had started wondering about her feelings towards Andrea a week ago, those feelings had started to build in a seemingly unstoppable fashion. The Major had found herself thinking about Andrea at the most inopportune moments, having to mentally shake herself more than once in meetings with Lieutenant Chadwick and Dr Todd. It was getting very hard to ignore the fact that she was attracted to the young woman.
“A penny for them.”
The Major’s face swung to her friend who had now stopped in the sun-drenched lobby. “Huh?”
“Something’s obviously on your mind if that’s the best you can manage,” noted Sophie.
The Major guessed that Sophie wasn’t as imperceptive as she had assumed. Knowing it would be hard to pull the wool over the other woman’s eyes now, she decided to use her friend as a sounding board. “You know last time you were here, you said something about Andrea…”
“Andrea?” queried Sophie, trying to place the name. “Oh, tall, blond and gorgeous! What about her?”
“What you said about her liking me – were you just joking or did you really mean it?”
“Oh, I meant it! Though I think the term I used was ‘fancy’,” she corrected with an amused half-smile on her face. “Hang on a minute,” she added, her face now taking on a suspicious look, “Why are you interested all of a sudden? Last time you couldn’t wait to get off the subject and now here you are bringing it up.”
The Major glanced guiltily away at the window for the barest of moments.
“Oh my god!” cried Sophie, her hand flying up to her mouth, “You like her don’t you!”
“I do not!” the Major replied automatically, looking around nervously and noting with some relief that there wasn’t anyone else in the lobby area.
“You do! You do!” cried Sophie, bouncing excitedly on her feet. “My god, someone has finally done what I could only dream of, they’ve shown Kate Jarvis the light!”
“Will you keep your voice down,” hissed the Major. “It’s nothing like that,” she continued, “I’m just trying to work out some of her behaviour.”
“Really,” said Sophie doubtfully, “And why might you be interested in behaviour that centres around whether or not she’s attracted to you?”
The Major was finding it increasingly hard not to blush under Sophie’s intense scrutiny. “She’s been behaving oddly, and I was wondering if it was because she felt…something for me. If that’s what it is then at least I might be able to do something about it, whereas at the moment I’m in the dark.”
“Oh yeah, and what exactly might you be doing about it if it is true?” asked Sophie arching her eyebrow.
“Will you stop it!” cried the Major in exasperation, despite the fact that her own mind had also come up with a few lewd suggestions of its own. “I want to know so we can go about re-establishing our friendly relationship, because at the moment she’s pretty much avoiding me.”
“She’s been avoiding you?”
“Yes.”
“And have you noticed anything else. Strange irrational behaviour? Short temper? Prone to flying off the handle?”
“Yes, on all accounts.”
Sophie nodded thoughtfully. “Yep, she ‘s got it bad. A first-class crush by the sounds of it.”
“A crush?” repeated the Major, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone at it being classed as such.
Sophie’s eyes had narrowed again. “Are you sure you’re not more interested than you’re letting on?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” stated the Major. It was one thing gauging Sophie thoughts on Andrea’s feelings, but quite another to have to admit openly that she shared some of them.
Sophie shrugged, the Major thinking that her friend hadn’t bought her denial in the slightest. “You know, if you need any help finding out for sure, then I’m your girl!”
“What do you mean?” asked the Major in confusion.
“Nothing reveals someone’s feelings faster than a bit of jealousy.”
“You want to play some sort of trick on Andrea?” deduced the Major with a touch of distaste.
“Not a trick, more a…test.”
The Major regarded her friend doubtfully. “It’s all right, I think I’ll pass.”
“Are you sure?” asked Sophie, sidling up close to the Major. “All it takes is a little touch here while a certain someone is watching,” she said placing her hand on the Major’s shoulder, “A little stroke there,” she added, drawing her fingers seductively down the Major’s shirtsleeve.
The Major laughed, catching Sophie’s fingers before she decided to put them anywhere else. “I’ll manage on my own, thanks.”
Sophie brought their entwined fingers up to her lips and lightly kissed them before letting go. “You know where I am if you ever change your mind.”
The Major shook her head, laughing again at her friend’s outrageous behaviour.
…………
Andrea dashed back down the corridor, keeping her head down and avoiding making eye contact with anyone as she did, just desperate to get back to the safety of her quarters before her simmering emotions exploded. She could barely believe what she had seen, but it had been there in front of her, plain as day – the Major and the other woman flirting with one another. As her mind replayed the caress of the other woman over the Major’s shoulder and down her arm she balled her fist and had to fight hard to stop the urge to drive it into the nearest wall. Rounding a corner she barrelled straight into Tom, who bounced off her onto the ground.
“Hey!” he cried indignantly, but Andrea didn’t stop to speak or even help him up. She carried straight on down the corridor and wrenched open the door to her room, slamming it firmly behind her.
Finally in the privacy of her quarters she let out an anguished howl, cursing herself for having waited too long. It was obvious to Andrea now that the Major wasn’t interested in her. Not only had she been flirting with the other woman, the recollection of which twisted Andrea’s stomach into a knot, but also she was obviously not concerned in the slightest about how Andrea was doing. She could easily have come by Andrea’s quarters at any time that morning if she’d really cared in any way, but it was clear that Andrea meant nothing to her beyond being another operative, and a troublesome one at that. While Andrea had been missing the Major like crazy, the other woman probably hadn’t given her a second thought.
In impotent frustration Andrea snatched up one of the kitchen stools and brought it down hard on the tiled floor, shattering it into pieces. A few hot tears pricked at Andrea’s eyes as she flung the piece she was left with across the room with such force that it embedded itself in the far wall, the end of the metal leg vibrating as it protruded from the concrete.
A querying mewl drew her attention to the floor, where Gerry was regarding her curiously. As she bent down to him he shied away, and she had to make some soothing noises before he would let her pick him up. She cradled him to her for comfort, wishing desperately that it was someone else entirely she held close to her breast. But that was never going to happen. With a woeful resignation she knew that all she was left with was the option of leaving the base and trying to get on with her life in some way. Maybe with time and distance she would forget the Major.
Suddenly there was a chime at the door and Andrea’s eyes darted to it from her crouched position. She was in no state for visitors and wondered if she could pretend not to be in. The chime sounded again. Obviously not. As always the base’s monitoring equipment would verify her location.
“Just a minute!” she called out, dumping Gerry on the floor and dashing over to the wall with the metal stool leg lodged in it. With a swift yank she pulled it out, but that left an obvious hole in the paintwork. Andrea tried her best to cover it up by dragging a large pot plant across in front of it.
Taking the leg and retrieving the remaining bits of the stool she shoved them all in the cupboard under the sink, where they joined the other seat she had mangled a couple of months previously when testing out her powers. She splashed some water from the tap over her face before finally turning to the door.
“Come in,” she called.
The sight of the Major entering the room did a hundred and one things to Andrea’s already fragile emotional state. Her immediate reaction was one of joy, to see the woman she had been thinking about all week there in her quarters. Then she was reminded of what she’d just seen and she was swamped with anger and jealousy.
“I thought you’d like to know that your punishment’s over now, you can come and go as you please,” the Major said, walking over in Andrea’s direction.
“Thanks,” said Andrea tersely, “I already knew.”
The Major looked at her curiously having no doubt noticed the frosty tone. “Are you all right?”
“Oh yeah, I’m just great having been stuck in here all week!”
“There was a reason behind that though,” the Major reminded her, “You were out of line with what you did to Chadwick.”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Andrea dismissively. “Did you want something in particular or did you just come to rub my nose in it a bit more?”
“I wanted to see how you were, check everything was all right and maybe have a word with you. But it doesn’t seem like now is a good time.”
In her furious state, Andrea completely ignored the first part of the major’s sentence, latching onto the slight frustrated edge to the latter part. “No, it’s not really a good time,” agreed Andrea tetchily.
“Perhaps I should leave you to it,” offered the Major, gauging retreat was most likely the best option.
“Actually I wanted to talk to you about something first,” Andrea leapt in, supposing now was as good a time as any to say what she was thinking.
“Go on.”
“When I first came here you said that if I learned to control my powers then I could leave,” outlined Andrea, “I’d like to leave now.”
“What?” said the Major in a strangled cry. She looked startled, her eyes becoming wide as she gaped at Andrea.
“I’m fed up of hanging round here while my life passes me by,” explained Andrea, “I need to get back to the real world. And I need to find out about that warehouse accident – it’s not like you’ve been making great progress have you.”
The Major frowned at Andrea’s thinly veiled accusation. “I have been making some,” she said, “I’m sure I’m getting close to something. Anyway, I doubt you’ll have much more success. At least I have an inside track.”
“Right!” scoffed Andrea, “More likely you’re colluding with whoever it is to cover it up!”
“That’s ridiculous!” exclaimed the Major, taking a moment before continuing in a more even tone. “What’s really going on here? I thought you were settling in, I thought maybe you were even starting to like it here.”
Andrea shrugged, avoiding the Major’s curious gaze.
“Is this because of your punishment?” probed the other woman, “I was hoping we could just put that behind us now it’s over and move forwards.”
“It’s not that, I’ve just had enough.” Andrea stated flatly. She looked back to the Major, searching her face for something, anything. “It’s not as if there’s any real reason for me to stay anymore is there?”
The Major’s eyes remained fixed on Andrea, though for once she seemed at a loss for words. Andrea determinedly fought down the urge to relent, though the fresh churning sensation in her stomach was making it hard. As Andrea studied the face before her, she realised what the expression she saw was – the Major was sad. Suddenly Andrea was wracked with doubt. Was the Major actually personally concerned that Andrea might be going?
“Is there a reason I should stay?” repeated Andrea, giving the Major the chance to say something to make her change her mind.
The Major’s lips parted minutely then closed again, as if she was trying to formulate an answer. All the time her eyes remained locked on Andrea’s, the young woman almost able to feel the tension in the air. The sound of the Major’s communicator ringing out made Andrea want to rip it off the other woman’s wrist and smash it into small bits. The Major shot her a quick apologetic look before answering. She was being summoned to an urgent briefing, as was everyone else. Realising the moment was gone Andrea went and sat down wearily on her sofa. Once the Major had finished she glanced over to where the young woman was rubbing lazily at her face.
“Are you coming? We’re needed for an urgent rescue mission.”
Andrea sighed, feeling the burden of responsibility pressing
down on her shoulders. She supposed she
could go and do this mission and then finally get off the godforsaken island
after that. With an air of resignation
she clambered to her feet and followed the Major out the door.