Kate felt an
unfamiliar warmth pressed up against her as she swam into consciousness, having
to take a moment to deduce what it was.
Slowly her mind recalled the night before and her eyes peeked open to
see that Andrea was fast asleep next to her.
While Kate lay on her back, Andrea was up against her side, an arm
hapzardly draped across Kate’s stomach, her golden hair tickling against her
shoulder.
Kate thought she
should be more perturbed by the waking vision, but she couldn’t help smiling as
she felt Andrea’s breath brushing out over the naked skin, slow and rythmical.
The perfect
moment was rudely disturbed by a chirping sound from somewhere on the floor,
and Kate quickly rolled out of bed to try and silence whatever it was before it
woke the slumbering Andrea. She rooted
through the discarded clothes, flinging them round the room before she finally
found her communicator nestling in one of the cups of Andrea’s bra. Retrieving it she perched back up on the edge
of the bed as she answered the call.
“Yes?” she answered shortly in a hushed voice.
Major? came Chadwick’s voice in reponse.
“Yes, you were
expecting someone else?” she answered sarcastically. Sometimes he could be rather dense.
No, of course not, you just sounded a bit…strange.
Just as Kate was
about to comment she felt a warm hand snaking across her back and sliding round
her waist, pulling her back against a soft bosom. She let out a small gasp at the arousing contact.
What was that? asked Chadwick, thinking he had missed something.
“Er…nothing…”
Kate managed, though it was hard to concentrate now that Andrea was kissing
along her shoulder. “Was there
something you wanted?”
I was wondering where you were - we had a meeting
scheduled for 0900.
Kate’s eyes
flicked to the bedside clock which tellingly revealed that it was already
quarter past nine.
“Sorry, I got…”
Kate had to pause as Andrea’s tongue slid along her ear lobe, “…waylaid with
something else,” she quickly finished.
“I’ll…I’ll see you at eleven instead.”
Kate immediately
cut the signal, dropping the communicator back on the floor as she spun round
to face the grinning Andrea. Kate
wanted to be annoyed but she couldn’t manage it when faced with the vision of
beauty before her. Not to mention the
seductive look apparent in the piercing blue eyes that held her gaze
expectantly.
“You think you’re
going to make that meeting do you?” asked Andrea, her fingers creeping across
the duvet and up onto Kate’s exposed thigh.
“Are you trying
to prevent a member of Her Majesty’s army from carrying out their duty?”
queried Kate as the fingers continued on their upwards path.
Andrea smiled. “Absolutely.”
After Andrea had
demonstrated her best distraction tactics they lounged contentedly in the bed,
neither having the will or energy to move.
Andrea’s fingers were absently tracing across Kate’s bare skin, and she
caught them, brushing her thumb lightly over the back of Andrea’s hand.
Andrea’s eyes
drifted up Kate’s face. “You’re not
having any second thoughts yet are you?
In the cold light of morning?”
“No,” stated Kate
emphatically, though a few doubts did start to creep into her mind even as she
said it. In particular she wondered
about what would happen when everyone found out, worrying how it would affect
her command of the troops respect. She
had almost lost it completely after Adam, having to fight hard to maintain it
through hard-work and dedication. For
her to be seen to be having another relationship within someone on the base so
soon afterwards might be seen as a return to that weakness.
“But?” prompted Andrea, seeing the thoughtful look.
“Nothing, I’m
just a touch concerned about how this might be perceived round the base,” said
Kate honestly.
“Who cares? Let them think what they want,” said Andrea,
shrugging where she lay against Kate.
Kate sighed,
stroking her hand through Andrea’s hair.
“Unfortunately it’s not so simple, not after what happened last
year. I can’t be seen to be allowing my
emotions affect my command again.”
“You don’t want anyone to know about this,” deduced Andrea
Kate nodded solemnly. “Not for the
time being, no.”
“And it’s nothing
to do with being ashamed to be with me, embarassed that people might find out
that you’re seeing a woman?”
“Not at all,”
stated Kate, “God, anyone would be proud to be considered as being with
you. No, I just don’t want to give
anyone an excuse to call my professional abilities into question. I’m already on my last chance, even the
faint whiff of scandal and I could be out on my ear, and then you’d be left
with Chadwick running the show.”
Andrea sucked in
a breath, Kate feeling the cool intake across her shoulder blade. “Now there’s a good reason to keep things
quiet,” concurred Andrea, “I suppose
there’s no harm in keeping this between ourselves for now.”
“I thought you
might agree with that reason at least,” noted Kate, “There’s no sign of things
thawing between you two then?”
“I’m convinced
he’s up to no good,” Andrea explained, “Even if you did supposedly catch
someone else for the sabotage.”
“The evidence was pretty damming,” Kate remarked.
“But it didn’t stop the accidents did it?”
“You mean the
explosion last week?” queried Kate.
“That was just an unfortunate accident, the building hadn’t been
properly checked for safety. A fact
which I took Chadwick to task over, I assure you.”
Andrea paused for
a moment before she continued. “There
was something else I didn’t mention at the time…”
“What?” asked
Kate, sitting up straight against her pillow as the conversation took a more
serious turn.
Andrea sat up
too, pulling the duvet up with her.
“Just before the explosion, I found a broken gas pipe. Deliberately broken.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, someone had
tampered with it. I thought I saw
someone else in the room, but it was hard to tell with all the smoke.”
Kate was aghast. “Why didn’t you
tell me about this before?”
Andrea looked at
her sheepishly. “We were hardly on
speaking terms as it was, I didn’t think you’d want to hear any more of my
accusations about Chadwick.”
“Someone tried to
kill you for god’s sake!” cried Kate, “Of course I want to know about it!”
Andrea brushed
her hand over Kate’s cheek in an effort to calm her, but she was far too
agitated for it to register immediately.
Her mind was racing with thoughts of whether someone was deliberately
out to harm Andrea, and what she would do to them when she caught them.
Andrea kept her
fingers where they were until Kate’s breathing slowed. “Luckily I was all right, but it’s nice to
know you care.”
Kate held the
warm hand to her face before bringing it round to kiss Andrea’s palm. “You don’t know just how much I do care,”
she revealed, “I know it seems ridiculous after we’ve only known each other for
such a short time, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Me either,”
agreed Andrea, “That is I can’t imagine my life without you, not my life
without myself obviously.”
Kate laughed at
Andrea’s awkwardness, the young woman playfully pushing her against her pillow
in return.
“It’s your fault,
you know,” said Andrea indignantly, “Turning me into this stuttering
idiot! I was perfectly capable of
sensible speech before I met you.”
Kate smiled
again. “It’s certainly flattering to
know I can have such an effect, especially on someone as cool and collected as
you.”
“Are you
kidding? I’m sure you have the same
effect on everyone, you just need to turn that imposing stare on them
and…poof…they’re putty in your hands!”
Kate chuckled at
Andrea assessment. “I hope they don’t
all harbour similar feelings to you too, though,” she noted.
“I hope not either, or I might have to have a word,” Andrea replied
half-jokingly.
“I’ve been
wondering,” said Kate slowly, “How long exactly you’ve been hiding these feelings?”
Andrea met Kate’s
eyes, the cool blue stare penetrating in its intensity. “Honestly?
I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly when it started. Maybe it was right back at that first time I
saw you sitting at that desk in the interview room.”
Kate barked an
incredulous laugh. “If it was then
you’re even better at hiding an attraction than I gave you credit for! I thought you couldn’t stand me.”
“They do say
there’s a fine line between love and hate,” offered Andrea, “Perhaps part of
the reason I was so antagonistic towards you was because there was this
underlying desire.”
Kate turned the
words over in her mind. “Underlying
desire, I like the sound of that.”
Andrea grinned at
Kate’s seductive tone. “I think it just
grew slowly from there, lots of little things building up until before I knew
it I was in love. I tried to fight it
for ages, but that night of the cup final, that’s when I finally realised the
truth.”
Kate’s brow
creased for a moment as she tried to recall the evening in question. “On the dancfloor, when you suddenly left…”
she finally deduced.
Andrea nodded.
“But why did you run off?” asked Kate, “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Oh yes, I’m sure
that would have gone down well. ‘Thanks
for the dance, Major, by the way I’m in love with you.’ Harry and Tom had already told me all about
Dixon, plus I thought you were straight.
I just assumed it was all a one-way thing from my point of view, that
any sort of romantic overtures would not have been welcome. That was kind of proved that day in the
mine.”
Kate cringed at the reminder. “God,
I made a right cock up of that didn’t I?”
“Why did
you kiss me that day?” asked Andrea fixing her gaze on Kate once more,
curiosity evident in it.
Kate wasn’t
entirely sure herself, trying to put into words what had really been something
instinctual. “It seemed like the right
thing to do at the time,” she explained, “We were sharing that intimate, if
dangerous, moment and it just seemed…natural.
Not to mention the rather…disturbing thoughts that had been building
about you before then.”
Andrea shifted closer. “Do tell.”
“For a long time
I maintained that we were just friends, that the inordinate interest I took in
you was because you were our newest operative…”
“But it wasn’t?”
“No,” agreed Kate,
“Looking back on it, I think it was the first seeds of my attraction to
you. As you yourself said, even right
back in those early days there was just something about you that I
found…intriguing. Maybe it was partly
the challenge you presented, someone almost as strong-willed as myself.”
Suddenly Kate
found herself hauled down her pillow so she was flat on her back, Andrea
clambering on top of her and pinning Kate’s arms up next to her head. “Almost?” she repeated with a wicked grin.
Kate made a show
of considering her answer, trying to ignore the flood of arousal between her
legs. “Equally?” she offered instead.
Andrea lowered
herself further so that her breasts were pressed up against Kate’s chest, her
long blonde hair falling over her shoulders and tickling across Kate’s
collarbone. “Are you sure I can’t make
you change your mind?” she whispered before dipping her head to start nibbling
up Kate’s neck.
Kate closed her
eyes at the erotic touch, desperately trying to resist. “Ah…ah….no,” she managed, “Definitely only
equally as stubborn.”
Andrea pushed
herself up for a moment to look Kate in the eye. “Oh, now it’s stubborn is it?”
“I don’t think I’ve met anyone more obdurate in my life.”
“Ha!” scoffed Andrea, “For this one I don’t mind conceding the crown to
you.”
“Me?” asked Kate innocently.
“If I hadn’t told you I loved you, would you ever have said anything?”
“I might have done.”
Andrea laughed. “Liar!”
Kate just had
time to give Andrea an apologetic smile before her lips were covered in a
sensuous kiss.
………
The Major closed
the door behind her, checking there was no one in the corridor to see her
departure from Andrea’s quarters. Not
that there was anything wrong with being seen leaving one of her operatives
rooms at what was now quarter to eleven, she considered. However, the fact that half the buttons were
missing off her uniform shirt might have added extra suspicion. She had no idea where they had gone, and
after some fruitless searching she’d just had to pull on her jacket and hope it
covered the shirt sufficiently.
The Major had
made it to the end of the corridor with the intention of popping back to her
quarters to get a fresh shirt before her meeting with Chadwick, when she almost
walked straight into Tardelli coming the other way.
“Morning, Major,”
Tardelli said breezily, seemingly thinking nothing of the Major’s presence.
“Morning, Bel,”
replied the Major, trying to pull her jacket closed even more without being too
obvious about it.
Unfortunately her
nervous manner didn’t go unnoticed. “Is
everything all right, Major?”
“Yes,” she
replied, attempting to get a grip on herself.
It wasn’t as if Tardelli knew what she had been doing only minutes
before, despite her inner guilt.
Tardelli was
peering curiously at her now though, studying the Major’s face intently. “Only you look a little flushed,” added
Tardelli.
The Major ignored
the comment, though now Tardelli had drawn attention to it, she was finding it
increasingly hard to control the burning in her cheeks. “I’m in a hurry actually,” she informed the
younger woman, “I have a meeting. So if
you don’t mind…”
Tardelli stepped aside. “Of course
not, catch you later.”
The Major nodded
and hurried past, thinking she needed a quick cold shower before she faced the
Lieutenant.
……..
A few hours later
Andrea picked her tray up off the counter and cast her eyes round the canteen
for a seat. Nearby she could see Tom
and Bel sitting with their lunch, huddled close in hushed conversation and
decided it was best to leave the two lovers alone. Thoughts of lovers led her back to earlier that same morning and
she allowed herself a small satisfied smile as she recalled what had happened
with Kate. She wished that every day
could start so wonderfully. She was
about to bypass Tom and Bel to go and sit with Dr Todd instead when Bel shot up
from her seat.
“Andrea, why don’t you join us?”
Andrea regarded
her curiously, surprised by the over-enthusiastic invite. “Are you sure I’m not intruding?” she asked,
looking down to Tom for confirmation.
He had a mischievious grin on his face, suggesting it was fine.
“Not at all,” confirmed Tardelli.
Andrea lowered
herself into the seat opposite the pair of them, feeling like she was sitting
down in front of an interview panel such was the way they watched her every
move like hawks. As Andrea picked up
her own sandwich, Tardelli tried to continue with her meal too, but it was
obvious she was itching to ask Andrea something. She was practically bouncing up and down in her seat. In the end, she could resist no longer.
“So…um…how are you?”
“I’m fine,” replied Andrea, thinking that wasn’t the real question at all,
“And you?”
“Good, good,” nodded Tardelli dismissively. “Had any interesting meetings lately?”
“Meetings?”
repeated Andrea, rather confused, “I
had a session with Doc before I came here if that’s what you mean. I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘interesting’
though.”
“Right, so…er…no
other….sessions today?” questioned Tardelli, using Andrea’s own words.
Andrea was
getting increasingly wary of where Tardelli was heading, though she considered
she could just be paranoid. It wasn’t
as if the other woman could know what had happened the night before and earlier
that day. “Nothing official,” she
replied evasively.
“Oh, so the Major
being in your quarters this morning was a personal matter was it?” asked Tardelli nonchalantly.
“How the hell did you know about that?” blurted Andrea in shock.
“So she was in your quarters?” cried Tardelli triumphantly.
Andrea
immediately realised her mistake, deducing that Tardelli had probably seen the
Major in the corridor and made some leaps of reasoning. Ones that had turned out to be correct, as
it happened. “I didn’t say that,” said
Andrea desperately trying to backtrack.
She looked pleadingly at Tom, since he already knew of her feelings
towards the Major, but he merely shrugged apologetically, unable to stop
Tardelli now she was intent on her course.
“Don’t try and
worm your way out of it,” Tardelli said, leaning conspiratorially across the
table so she could speak in quieter tones, “And you really need to get a grip
of that blushing if you’re going to try and lie like that.”
Andrea’s hand shot up to her face, feeling that her cheeks were indeed hot.
“So come on, why
was the Major paying a personal visit to your room so early in the morning?”
“10am isn’t
early,” Andrea reasoned.
“It is when the
Major’s acting shifty and wearing the same dress uniform as she was
yesterday. Plus I’m sure her shirt was
missing a few buttons too.”
“You didn’t
mention that bit!” cried Tom suddenly, swinging to Tardelli in surprise before
looking back at Andrea. “Can I take it
there have been some positive developments?”
Now it was
Tardelli’s turn to be surprised. “Hang
on a minute, developments?” she interjected, regarding Tom with extra
interest. “Was there something to
develop from?”
Tom stammered under the demanding gaze.
“Uh…well…I…”
Andrea started to
rise from her seat, sensing her chance to escape while the other two engaged in
debate.
Unfortunately
Tardelli spotted her before she got too far.
“You stay right there!” she instructed loudly.
Andrea glanced
round the room anxiously, seeing a few turning heads. She sat back down wanting to avoid any kind of scene.
“Right, someone
better start telling me what’s going on here,” Tardelli insisted, “Before I
have to get loud again.”
Andrea groaned
internally. This was all she needed
after Kate had told her to try and keep things quiet – the base’s biggest
gossip knowing all the details.
“I really can’t tell you,” she tried one last time
“Then I’ll have
to speculate,” Tardelli noted, “Very loudly,” she added raising her voice.
“All right, all
right,” said Andrea, reaching over to place a staying hand on Tardelli’s
arm. “I’ll tell you, but you have to
keep this quiet, you can’t go spreading anything round the base.”
“Ok, ok, I get it,” insisted Tardelli sensing she was close, “Now spill!”
“Well, The Major and I we…er…we….um….”
Andrea wasn’t
sure of the least titilating way of explaining it, offering Tardelli a look to
try and make her point without words.
It seemed to have
the desired affect. “Jesus Christ!”
exclaimed Tardelli before reigning in the hysterical level of her voice. “You shagged the Major!” she hissed in
amazement.
“That’s one indelicate way of putting it I suppose.”
“Well pardon me
for offending your sensibilities, but I hardly think you’re in the position to
be getting picky,” Tardelli noted.
“Fuck! I can’t believe it. You and the Major…and you knew about this?”
she asked Tom accusingly
“Not about the
shagging part!” he insisted, his eyes wide as he looked across the table, “Last
I heard Andrea had a bad case of unrequited love.”
“Not so unrequited after all then,” remarked Tardelli.
“It seems not,” he concurred.
Both their eyes
were on Andrea again now, the young woman squirming in her seat. “What?” she asked.
“Shit! I just
can’t get my head around this,” said Tardelli, shaking her head, “Who would
have guessed the Major was a closet dyke.”
“She’s not
necessarily a dyke,” Andrea corrected, “She just happens to love a woman.”
“I beg your
pardon?” said Tardelli, seizing on the words, “Did she actually say that, that
she loved you?”
Andrea mentally
kicked herself for letting the offhand comment slip out. It was just a turn of phrase - she hadn’t
necessarily meant that the Major had said it, though of course she had. However, nothing got past Tardelli, and now
she had asked the direct question, Andrea found it hard to deny it. She found it hard to cover up anything where
the Major was concerned. Her feelings
were just too intense to hide them effectively. Her current delay in answering was more than enough for Tardelli
to come to her own conclusions, though.
“Fuck me! She did, didn’t she?”
Andrea thought
that things couldn’t get much worse, not only had she had to reveal that her
and Kate had indeed slept together, but now the depth of their feelings were
obvious too.
“Please, you have
to keep this quiet, you can’t go telling anyone else,” Andrea pleaded desperately.
“Right, my lips
are sealed,” Tardelli agreed, making a show of zipping them up with her hand.
“I mean it,”
insisted Andrea, “Not Harry, not Doc, no one.
After what happened with Dixon she doesn’t need any more trouble.”
“Ok, I understand,” repeated Tardelli, “Mum’s the word. So did you say it back?”
Andrea considered
that Bel would have a good job in the police force waiting for her if ever she
felt the urge. She certainly wasn’t
afraid to ask what was on her mind, and it was hard rebutting such
directness. “I…did,” she confirmed
looking down nervously at her half-eaten sandwich. She wasn’t sure exactly why she was so anxious. Perhaps it was the reminder of just how much
in love with the Major she was and how vulnerable that made her feel. It was an unusual and not entirely pleasant
sensation for her.
“My god!” muttered Tardelli to herself.
“I think it’s sweet,” Tom whispered, “Another case of true love.”
Andrea glanced up
at him to see he was offering her a genuinely fond look. “Thanks.”
……………..
Though Andrea had
hoped she had successfully impressed the need for secrecy on Tom and Bel, it
wasn’t long before she started to fear for their ability to keep their
promise. Later that afternoon all three
of them were sitting in one of the briefing rooms, along with Harry, awaiting
the Major’s arrival. As usual Tom and
Bel sat next to each other, their heads huddled close in conversation that
Andrea couldn’t quite catch. She could
guess the subject though, since their eyes would flick to her every now and
then.
When the Major
entered the room, Andrea’s own eyes were drawn to her immediately, unable to
keep visions of the night before encroaching on her thoughts. Visions such as the Major’s head tipped
backwards in ecstacy, Andrea’s name issuing from her lips. Andrea had to force herself back to the
present to see The Major catching her eye briefly, a tiny smile edging at her
lips. The brief look caused Andrea’s
heart to do a somersault in her chest.
However, when the
Major reached the desk in the centre of the room, Andrea spied Tom and Bel
chuckling to themselves and glancing between her and the Major. Andrea buried her head in her hands not
daring to look. She wondered if the
pair of them could have made it any more obvious if they tried. Her only hope was that the Major might just
take the whispers and giggles for Tom and Bel’s usual high spirits and not make
the connection to herself.
As the Major
tried to continue on with her briefing, though, Tom and Bel’s sniggers could be
heard every so often. Finally the Major
placed down her pointer and fixed her eyes on the dark-haired young woman.
“Is there something the matter, Miss Tardelli?” she asked pointedly.
“Not at all,
Major,” replied Bel nonchalantly, “We were just saying you were looking a bit
tired, that you must have had a long night.”
The sinking
feeling engulfing Andrea’s stomach was painful, and made all the more so when
the Major’s eyes flicked to her in a dark look. Andrea could quite happily have got up and throttled Bel with her
bare hands.
“I’m touched by
your concern,” the Major said cooly back to Tardelli, “But I am perfectly
fine. Now, if you and Mr Parsons can
remain quiet for more than five minutes we can get on with this.”
And with that she
turned back to the chart she had been illustrating before, not deigning to look
at Andrea again. Andrea shot an angry
look at Tardelli who showed no remorse for her indiscretion in her calm
expression. When the meeting finished
the Major left the room immediately, Andrea having to hurry out to catch her up
in the corridor.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said as she drew level with the striding woman.
The Major came to
an immediate halt, Andrea having to pull up sharply too. The Major swung to face Andrea, regarding
her ferociously, but not saying a word to begin with. Her stormy eyes bored into Andrea who felt about as big as a
gnat.
Finally the Major spoke through clenched teeth. “In my office, now.”
The Major didn’t
say another word as they made their way there, Andrea’s sense of foreboding
growing the whole time as she saw the other woman’s stiff walk and infuriated
demeanour. Once they got inside the
room, the Major crossed to her desk so that it was between her and Andrea,
though she didn’t sit down.
“Would you care
to enlighten me as to what that was all about?” she said, turning to Andrea,
“Because I got the distinct impression that Bel knew something she shouldn’t.”
Andrea decided
that honesty was the best policy. “I’m
afraid she does know something she shouldn’t.”
The Major’s face
showed the barest signs of despair.
“Tell me you didn’t tell her about us?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly tell her…” said Andrea uncertainly.
“Not exactly? What’s that supposed
to mean?”
“She kind of worked it out for herself,” Andrea tried to explain.
“How the hell did
she manage that without some sort of help?” demanded the Major, her tone rising
in anger. “Jesus Christ! I ask you to
keep this a secret and you couldn’t even manage that for one day. Hell, you couldn’t even manage it for a few
hours!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tell her…”
“Oh well, that’s
all right then,” scoffed the Major sarcastically, throwing her hands in the
air, “It doesn’t matter that the woman with the biggest mouth in the whole of
Britain knows our intimate secrets, just as long as you’re sorry!”
“If you’ll let me
get a word in edgeways!” snapped Andrea, her own temper sparking. “She saw you, as it happens, in the
corridor this morning, not doing a very good job of looking inconspicuous. Her and Tom were pressing me on it, and I
had to tell her to stop her causing a scene in the messhall.”
“The messhall?”
repeated the Major incredulously, “Bloody hell, this just gets better. You may as well have broadcast it on the
tannoy system!”
“I’m not the one who was sneaking round the corridors with my uniform
disarrayed!”
The Major stared
balefully back at Andrea, her lips held firmly shut. Finally she let out a long sigh, lowering herself into her chair
and rubbing at her temple in resignation.
Andrea sat in the
chair opposite, leaning on the front of the desk. “I’m sorry that Bel found out, I really didn’t want to tell her
but it seemed the only way out of the situation. I made her promise not to tell anyone.”
“And you seriously believe she’ll keep that promise?”
“We can but
hope,” offered Andrea, “I did impress upon her how important it was, but I’ll
have another word with her.”
“I’m just getting
this horrible feeling that we won’t be able to keep a lid on this very long,”
remarked the Major ruefully. Andrea was
thankful to see that her momentary anger had passed. Kate’s initial reaction had scared her more than she cared to
admit. Andrea was so worried that
sooner or later Kate would realise this was more effort than it was worth. She hated the insecure feeling, but couldn’t
seem to banish it.
“You could be
taking too pessimistic a view of how people will react,” Andrea suggested to
try and put a positive spin on things, “You might find people are actually
pleased for you. Tom certainly thought
it was sweet.”
“He did?” asked
the Major as a smile crept across her face.
“I always liked Mr Parsons,” she added.
“I suppose you could be right, though at the same time there are always
going to be people waiting to use something like this against me.”
“But only if you
give them just cause to,” offered Andrea, “If you keep performing your job as
well as ever then they can hardly say it’s affecting your ability to command
the base can they?”
“Right, so all I
have to stop my mind wandering to thoughts of you every five seconds while I’m
working?” noted the Major sarcastically, “Talk about asking the impossible.”
“Believe me, I
know how hard it is too. Even this
morning when I saw you in that briefing, all I could think about was ripping
that uniform off…”
“Oh god, don’t…” pleaded the Major.
“I can’t help
it,” said Andrea, rising up from her chair and leaning across the desk, “You
look so damn sexy in it.”
Andrea braced
herself on the desk, stretching forwards to place her lips on the Major’s. The other woman let out a small moan before
her hands came up to Andrea’s face to pull her closer, the kiss deepening.
Suddenly though,
the Major pulled away, leaning back into her chair. Andrea almost fell face first onto the desk with the sudden loss
of contact.
The Major exhaled
slowly, looking up to the ceiling. “We
can’t,” she said closing her eyes for a moment, before looking back to Andrea,
“Not while I’m on duty. Remember I have
to keep performing my job to the same standard.”
“You’re right,” agreed
Andrea regretfully, knowing she had just made that point. She sat back into her own chair, though all
she wanted to do was clamber the rest of the way over the desk and carry on
where they had left off. “I guess I’ll
just have to control my impulses until later then,” she added with a feral
wink.
…..
Two days later
the Major was back in her office attempting to get on with some paperwork. Placing her third cup of coffee of the
morning down on her desk she rolled the sleeves on her informal barrack-dress
shirt up as a way to try and engage her brain by showing she meant
business. Sitting down, she picked up
the first report, trying her best to concentrate on staff assignments and not
think about the sight of Andrea’s naked body sprawled in her bed the night
before. A knock at the door jolted her
out of her reverie and she called out a quick “come” to grant entrance. The door was opened by her good friend
Sophie McAllister who also wore the shirt sleeves on her identical open-necked
olive shirt up. The Major assumed it
must be a warm day outside, though she hadn’t had a chance to find out
yet. She did have a lunch rendevouz
with Andrea arranged and was trying hard not to count the hours until then.
The Major smiled
as she quickly got up to meet her friend, receiving a warm hug of
welcoming. Eventually Sophie pulled
back from the hug and glanced round the room a couple of times, as if searching
for something.
“What is it?”
asked the Major, bemused by her friend’s behaviour and following her gaze
though she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the room.
Sophie’s eyes
finally settled back on the Major, now looking her up and down. “I was just looking for the real Major
Jarvis since this one seems a whole different person to the last time I was
here.”
The Major rolled her eyes. “Very
funny.”
“Seriously
though, what’s happened to put you in this good mood?” asked Sophie, studying
the Major suspiciously. Before the
Major could answer Sophie’s eyes started to widen. “Oh no…wait a minute….you
haven’t….” Sophie paused, seemingly unsure if she was on the right track. She looked to the Major for
confirmation. All she could do was make
a small tilt of the head and a sheepish half-smile of acknowledgment.
“Oh…my…god! You
have! You got laid!” cried Sophie in amazement. The Major wondered if this was what had happened to Andrea with
Tardelli and Tom – was it really that obvious to all and sundry what was going
on?
Suddenly Sophie
grabbed the Major into another tight hug of congratulations. After almost squeezing the life out of her
she pulled back. “It was with Andrea
wasn’t it?”
“Of course it was
with Andrea!” cried the Major indignantly in return, “What do you take me for?”
“I did take you
for a straight woman, since you kept insisting to me that’s what you were. I hope you didn’t blurt out any stupid
comments about it being a mistake afterwards.”
“You’re the real
comedian today aren’t you,” noted the Major, “No, I didn’t make any such
statements this time.”
“Good,” said Sophie with a nod.
“So…?” she added invitingly.
“So what?” replied the Major obtusely.
“So - tell me everything! I want
all the juicy details!”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“What?” exclaimed
Sophie. “That’s just because you
haven’t been doing any kissing recently!
You can’t suddenly tell me you’ve switched sides and then just leave it
at that.”
“I most certainly
can,” insisted the Major, seeking some way to divert the conversation. “You seem to have lost a star by the way,”
the Major pointed out, indicating Sophie’s rank slide, “No doubt when you were
crushing me.”
“Don’t try and
change the subject,” chided Sophie, “All right, if you’re not going to tell me
the specifics of what happened you can at least tell me all about Andrea. She must be some woman to have this affect
on you.”
“She is…” replied the Major dreamily.
“Oh god, you’re
not going to go all gushy on me and tell me how much in love you are, are you?”
“You were the one who asked!”
There was a loud beep from the Major’s communicator just as she spoke.
“Look’s like
we’re both saved by the bell,” remarked Sophie, taking the seat in front of the
Major’s desk and casting her eyes round the floor in search of her missing rank
insignia.
The Major had a
quick conversation with Doc who needed her urgently for something. She considered it most probably wasn’t
urgent at all – he did have a tendency to get over-excited, but supposed she
may as well go and find out what it was in person. At least that way Sophie might have forgotten what they were
talking about when she got back.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” she said to Sophie, feel free to help yourself
to a drink.
“I look forward
to it!” replied Sophie with a wink, making the Major think her hopes were
extreme wishful thinking.
………
Andrea strode
down the corridor an extra bounce in her step.
Of course she’d heard people saying such stupid romantic guff like how
they felt they were walking on air when they were in love, she just never
thought it would happen to her. It had
only been three days since she had confessed her love to the Major, but her
life before that seemed like a whole other lifetime now. Ever since she had said those words she had
felt different. It was like she had
finally admitted her inner desires and now she was free to experience them. And she was certainly experiencing
them. Considering Kate was pretty new
to the concept, she didn’t seem to have much trouble when it came to two women
having sex together. In fact, if
anything she was actually the dominant one a lot of the time. Andrea was more than willing to go along
with that, as long as she could turn the tables ocassionally. They’d spent every spare moment together
after hours, talking and laughing and just enjoying each others company. And having lots of sex of course. Andrea allowed herself a small smile – who
would have known the Major could be quite such an animal in bed under that
cool, authoritative exterior.
They still had to
work too unfortunately, though Kate had suggested that perhaps they could get
away one weekend, maybe take another sailing trip since the weather was so much
better now it was summer. Andrea
thought it was a great idea – they would finally get some time alone together
where they wouldn’t have to worry about the rumour mill being sparked into action
round the base.
Andrea had spoken
to Bel again after the incident in the briefing room and told her in no
uncertain terms that if she did something so stupid as that again then Andrea
would rip her a new orifice. Bel had
huffed and puffed a bit, but she knew she was in the wrong and had eventually
conceded the point. So far it seemed no
one else was any the wiser, though how they could miss all the looks she and
Kate now exchanged she didn’t know. And
those looks didn’t just stay at eye level.
More than once she had noticed Kate’s eyes drifting towards her chest
area when they were supposed to be having a serious work discussion.
When Andrea had
finished her morning briefing with Dr Todd early, she’d had only one thought on
her mind – to come and see Kate. They’d
arranged to have lunch and Andrea knew she was far too early for that, but she
didn’t care. She was sure she could
come up with some plausible excuse for her presence.
Reaching the
landing outside Kate’s office, she noted that the soldier-cum-secretary who
normally sat outside was absent. Andrea
carried straight on to the office door, knocking a couple of time but getting
no response. She hesitated for a moment
before she let herself in, being greeted by the sight of a very inviting backside
displayed to her from underneath the Major’s desk. Guessing the other woman must have dropped something, Andrea
carefully crept forwards, bent down and dealt a small pinch to the uniformed
rear. There was a loud thump as a head
impacted on the underside of the sturdy desk followed by a tirade of colourful
swearwords, all delivered in a thick Scottish accent.
Andrea stepped
back in surprise as an unfamiliar dark-haired head appeared from beneath the
desk. Overcoming her initial shock, she
realised the person wasn’t totally unfamiliar to her, recalling the woman’s
face from the time she’d seen her with Kate in the corridor. The time the woman had been stroking Kate’s
arm.
“You’re not the Major,” stated Andrea frostily.
“That much I
know,” replied the woman, rubbing her head as she knelt on the floor before
Andrea clutching a small brass object in the other hand. “You often greet her like that then do you?”
Andrea was caught
off-guard, not quite knowing how to explain herself. She knew Kate wanted her to try and keep a lid on things and
didn’t know how much this woman already knew.
She was saved from answering by a voice from the door.
“Now this is a pretty picture.”
Andrea’s eyes
shot to the Major who was already heading across the room towards them having
closed the door behind her. Andrea
could see the obvious amusement on her face; it looked like she could barely
contain her mirth. From her expression
Andrea surmised that the woman on the floor wasn’t someone they needed to be
careful what they said around. When the
Major reached them she offered her hand to the still crouching woman.
“I thought you’d
decided that throwing yourself at their feet wasn’t the best way to pull
women?” the Major asked the dark-haired woman jokingly.
The woman took
the Major’s hand and clambered to her feet.
“It seems quite effective actually.
I might use it more often if it means I get my bottom fondled.”
“I wasn’t fondling
it,” Andrea quickly interjected when both the other women’s eyes slid to her,
“It was more of a…a…,” she couldn’t really think of a suitable way to put it,
“…a light pinch.”
The other two
women just maintained their gaze, waiting for further elaboration, as if they
were enjoying watching Andrea squirm.
Andrea looked
beseechingly at the Major. “I thought
it was you…” she attempted, though her statement sounded faintly ridiculous
when faced with the two women before her.
Apart from the fact that they both wore identical uniforms, they looked
nothing alike – the Major was shorter and more compact than the stocky other
woman who was only marginally shorter than Andrea herself. Where Kate’s hair was a lustrous auburn
colour, cut into a neat bob, the other woman sported short dark hair. The Major folded her arms, giving Andrea an
amusededly doubtful look.
“She was obscured
by the desk…” added Andrea by means of explanation before deciding she was on a
hiding to nothing. “I should give up,
shouldn’t I?”
“It’s probably a
good idea,” agreed the smiling Major, “Before that hole gets any deeper. Since there’s already been bottom touching,
I suppose I ought to at least make some formal introductions,” she added,
making Andrea think it was going to be a while before she lived this one down. “Andrea, this is my old friend Sophie
McAllister, Sophie this is Andrea Hallstrom.”
Andrea took
Sophie’s offered hand, squeezing a little bit tighter than was necessary as an
image of her flirting with Kate flashed through her mind again. Sophie made a small grunt in response.
“That’s quite
some grip you have there,” she noted, taking back her hand and rubbing it
gingerly.
Andrea caught the
brief reproachful glance Kate shot her, raising her eyebrows unapologetically
in return. Kate’s mouth was just
opening when she was cut off by the sound of her communicator again.
“Oh for god’s
sake,” she muttered in exasperation. “What’s wrong now?” she asked into it.
As the Major
carried on her conversation, Andrea eyed up Sophie who met her appraising stare
in kind. It was the Major who
interupted them, else they might have been staring silently at one another all
day. “I have to go back downstairs
again for a minute,” she said apologetically, “Is it safe to leave you two
alone?”
Andrea wasn’t
sure if Kate was jokingly referring to the earlier bottom-pinching incident, or
whether she was concerned about the obvious frosty atmosphere between her and
Sophie.
“Sure, Andrea and I can have a nice chat,” said Sophie nonchalantly.
“That’s what I’m
worried about!” exclaimed the Major, “God knows what you’ll be telling her.”
Andrea was
intrigued as to exactly what secrets Sophie might divulge. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad being left
alone with her after all.
“I’m sure you’ve already told her everything there is to know…” said
Sophie.
Andrea noted how
Kate’s eyes narrowed warningly. “Right,
I shouldn’t be more than a couple of minutes,” she said to both of them.
As she left the
room Andrea wondered what it was Sophie wasn’t supposed to tell her. She switched her attention back to the other
woman who had crossed over to the drinks cabinet and was happily helping
herself to a glass of water as if she owned the office. When she turned she couldn’t fail to see
Andrea staring at her disapprovingly.
“Would you like to take this outside?” asked Sophie.
“Sorry?” said Andrea, totally confused.
“It’s just that
you look like you’re about to challenge me to a duel, like I’m some sort of
rival for Kate’s affections.”
Andrea didn’t reply, though Sophie had been far too close to the mark for
comfort.
“You don’t have to worry,” insisted Sophie, “Kate and I are just good
friends.”
“You often stroke
and caress your friends like you want to go to bed with them do you?” asked
Andrea bluntly.
“What?”
“In the
corridor,” outlined Andrea in a low, threatening voice, “A few weeks ago, I saw
the two of you.”
A light finally
went on in Sophie’s head. “Oh, that!”
she remarked, laughing to herself. She
stopped when she saw that Andrea was still fixing her with a deathly stare, not
amsued in the slightest. “We were
joking around,” Sophie explained more seriously, “We were talking about you at
the time actually.”
Andrea was completely knocked off her combatitive course. “You were?”
“Yes, Kate was
unsure what was going on between you two and I was trying to give her the
benefit of my experience. She didn’t
want to approach you directly, so I was attempting to persuade her to try and
find out how you felt by other means.”
“By making me jealous, to see if I reacted,” deduced Andrea.
Sophie’s brow
creased. “Yeah, it doesn’t sound so
good when you put it like that,” she admitted, “I didn’t actually realise you
were there at the time, and Kate didn’t want to have anything to do with such
game playing I hasten to add. She
decided she’d rather flounder on in her own way - it’s a miracle you two ever
got together!”
“Just lucky I
guess,” commented Andrea, not really wanting to discuss her feelings with this
woman. “What was that chat you wanted
then?” she asked instead, “Want to check my intentions do you?”
Sophie lowered
herself onto the couch by the window, crossing her uniformed trouser legs. “Something like that,” she agreed.
Though the pose
was very similar to how Kate often sat on the same couch, and Sophie gave a
passable impression of cool command, Andrea considered she didn’t quite have
Kate’s presence. Perhaps that was why
Sophie was only a lieutenant still.
Andrea sidelined the uncharitable thoughts, getting back to the topic at
hand. “I’m sure Kate is more than
capable of handling herself,” she pointed out.
“Maybe,” allowed
Sophie, her eyes following Andrea as she crossed the room towards her, “But
after what happened last year, I just don’t want to see anyone fuck her over
again.”
Andrea stayed
standing since she was less then happy with Sophie’s tone. “I seriously hope you’re not comparing me to
Adam Dixon.”
“Should I be?”
questioned Sophie, “I don’t know you well enough to make any judgements
yet. Consider this a friendly warning
that if you do do anything to hurt Kate then I’ll kill you.”
Andrea couldn’t help making a rueful laugh. “I’d hardly call that a friendly warning.”
Sophie shrugged, leaning back on the sofa.
“Take it how you want to.”
Andrea was
starting to get really annoyed with the way Sophie was poking her nose in. Looking out for Kate was one thing, but
making out that Andrea was likely to do the dirty was something else. “I really don’t like the implication you’re
making,” she informed Sophie icily, “From what I’ve learned of Dixon he was a
selfish bastard who used Kate. I love
Kate, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her.”
“Then we shouldn’t have any problems,” said Sophie evenly.
Andrea stared
down at her, wondering how upset Kate might be if she punched her friend in the
face. Even when they had been staring
at each other silently for what must have been a good few minutes Andrea
refused to look away, determined not to be the first to back down.
It was Sophie who
eventually broke the eye contact, laughing to herself. “If you love Kate with that same fierce
determination then she’s a lucky woman,” she noted, “And I have to admit that I
like you a lot more than that Dixon creep.”
As always Andrea
was curious about Dixon. “If he was
such a bastard, why did Kate start seeing him?”
“Maybe you should
talk to her about it,” suggested Sophie, “But let’s just say that everyone
makes mistakes. And he was one big
mistake!”
Andrea didn’t get
the chance to extract any more details from Sophie as Kate came back into the
office at that moment, cursing Doc and his experiments. It seemed he’d had some sort of accident
that Kate needed to go and sort out.
Thinking she didn’t really want to spend any more time with Sophie,
Andrea excused herself and headed back to her quarters, still hopeful Kate might
be able to join her later.
……
Luckily Doc
didn’t waylay Kate as much as she had first feared and she was able to make it
to Andrea’s quarters for lunch as planned.
Andrea was lounging on her sofa afterwards, feeeling decidedly stuffed,
as Kate got up to fix some drinks. She
tracked Kate’s progress to the kitchen, appreciatively noting the cut of her
trousers over her bottom.
“Where are your mugs?” asked the Major, searching around the kitchen.
Before Andrea
could answer she saw Kate rising up from one of the lower cupboards, a piece of
broken metal in her hand.
“Is there any
reason you have two broken stools under your sink?” asked the Major waving the
leg in the air.
“Um…I’m starting a collection of damaged furniture?” offered Andrea.
The Major eyed
her doubtfully. “Dare I ask what riled
you so to inflict this kind of punishment on your stools?” She turned the wrenched metal over in her
hand, flicking off a few flecks of paintwork that were still attached from
where it had formerly been embedded in the wall.
“The first time
was just me being stupid,” Andrea explained, recalling her unsuccessful attempt
at using her powers, “The second…well…that was you.”
“Me?” asked the Major in surprise.
Andrea had come
over to the kitchen now, taking the broken piece of stool from the other
woman. “It was just after I’d been
confined to my quarters for a week,” she started to explain, recalling the
difficult time.
“Ah, yes, I
remember,” nodded the Major, “That week was hard, though I didn’t fully
understand why at the time.”
“For me too,”
agreed Andrea, “The only reason I’d started that fight with Chadwick in the
first place was because he was making suggestive remarks about you and me.”
“You never told me that.”
“How could I have
done without revealing my feelings for you?” reasoned Andrea, “And then you
confined me to my quarters and it was worse than anything Chadwick could
do. Not being able to see you for that
week, knowing you were so close but out of reach - it was agony.”
Kate took
Andrea’s hand gently. “I’m sorry, it
wasn’t easy punishing you like that.
Maybe if you’d explained things to me I wouldn’t have been quite so hard
on you.”
Andrea squeezed
Kate’s hand softly in return, before bending down to put the stool remnants
away again. She kept her back to Kate,
since it was hard admitting what she had to say next. “Anyway, by the end of that week,” she continued, “I’d resolved
that I was going to come and tell you how I felt, only then I saw you and
Sophie in the corridor. She
was…flirting with you and I just saw red.
I’m not proud of losing my temper, but at least it was just some
inanimate objects feeling my wrath.”
“You do seem to
have quite the temper, that’s for sure,” remarked Kate from behind her, “I’ll have to be careful!”
Andrea shot up
from where she was stowing the stool back in the cupboard. “I would never hurt you,” she declared
earnestly, “I can control myself and my powers when I need to.”
The Major reached
out to gently stroke Andrea’s face. “I
know you wouldn’t hurt me, I was just joking – badly it seems.”
“Forget it, it’s
just me being sensitive,” said Andrea, “The mugs are up here by the way,” she
added opening a cupboard.
Andrea made her
way back over to the sofa while Kate finished off in the kitchen. When Kate finally did bring the tea over, Andrea
offered her a warm smile of gratitude, moving along as an invite that the other
woman happily accepted, snuggling up next to her. Waiting for her drink to cool, Andrea absently stroked her
fingers through the fine strands of Kate’s auburn hair where it rested on
Andrea’s shoulder. Something was on
Andrea’s mind, something that she knew she just had to ask.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” replied Kate immdeiately.
Andrea paused for
a moment, trying to find the best way to put it. She gave up and decided on short and simple. “You and Sophie, did anything ever happen
between you?”
Kate pushed
herself up slightly so she could turn to look at Andrea. “What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know,
lesbian intuition?” offered Andrea.
“That and the way she still looks at you like she’s carrying some sort
of torch for you.”
The Major looked genuinely surprised.
“She does?”
“Take it from one who knows,” remarked Andrea.
The Major
digested the comment for a moment. “I
didn’t realise she still held any feelings like that, if she does.”
“So something did happen between you?”
The Major held
Andrea’s gaze for a couple of seconds, perhaps determining how much to reveal,
before dipping her head in acknowledgement.
“Yes, it was ages ago, when we were at Sandhurst. It was a very brief fling,” she outlined
matter-of-factly, “I think I just wanted to see what it was like - a bit of
experimentation to see if it was for me.
Which I quickly decided it wasn’t.”
Andrea nodded in
understanding, averting her eyes as a few unwelcome thoughts of Sophie and Kate
sprang to mind. She knew she shouldn’t
have asked if she didn’t want to hear the answer. She supposed she should console herself with the thought that
Kate hadn’t attempted to lie about it, that she had told her the truth.
“At least I
thought it wasn’t for me,” added Kate, her voice dropping to a huskier tone as
she shuffled closer to Andrea again, “Until now…”
Andrea could feel
the warmth from Kate’s body close to her own, feel the accompanying heat from her
gaze that lingered on Andrea’s face, waiting for her to look up. As she did, Kate immediately took her face
in her hands and kissed her with aching tenderness.
When she finally
pulled back Kate was still studying Andrea’s face. “You’re not jealous are you?
It was a long time ago.”
“Honestly?” asked
Andrea, “Maybe a little bit, but don’t worry I’m not about to take her outside
and beat her up,” she insisted though there was a little part of her mind
devilishly suggesting that wasn’t such a bad idea. “So is she that experience you were talking about or has there
been any other women?” she asked curiously, banishing the insistent inner
demon.
“No, that was it,
the one time,” admitted Kate, “After that it was various men, until…”
“Until Dixon,” Andrea finished for her.
“Yes,” confirmed Kate simply.
Andrea could
sense the shift in mood, Kate’s posture taking on a distinctly defensive
shape. “We don’t have to talk about him
if you don’t want to, I know he hurt you.”
Though that’s what Andrea had said out loud, she was desperate to know
more about Dixon, not the least of which was why on earth Kate had ever been
with him. At the same time Andrea
realised she could end up hearing something she’d rather not, as she had with
the previous revelation about Sophie.
“He did hurt me,”
continued Kate, her face taking on a wistful sadness as she recalled it,
“Though now I have a bit of time and distance, I think the pain was more my
wounded pride, mixed with annoyance at my own stupidity, rather than a broken
heart.”
Andrea found
herself perversely pleased at that - it sounded as if Kate hadn’t ever really
loved Dixon. Not the way she hoped Kate
loved her.
“Looking back on
it I realise I still wasn’t over my father’s death at the time I took charge
here,” added Kate, “What with that and the difficulty of settling into my new
job and responsibilities, I needed someone to lean on and he was conveniently
there. A little bit too conveniently as
it turned out.”
Andrea could feel
her anger simmering below the surface.
Not anger directed at Kate, but at Dixon, the man who had treated her so
badly. “I’m sorry he hurt you,” she
said, rubbing Kate’s arm comfortingly.
“You know I would never do that, don’t you?” she asked, feeling the need
to reassure Kate now they were on the prickly subject of relations with
subordinates.
“Of course,” agreed Kate sincerely, “You two are nothing alike.”
Andrea heaved an
internal sigh of relief, happy that Kate had made a clear distinction between
the two of them, even if certain other people like Sophie hadn’t.
“So what about
you?” asked Kate, switching the topic of conversation, “Have you ever been with
man?”
“No, I’m one
hundred percent lesbian and proud of it,” declared Andrea, glad for the shift
too. Talking about Dixon was
uncomfortable and she could only handle so much at once.
“You’ve never even been tempted, not a little bit?”
“No, men just
don’t do anything for me, not in that way.
Not that I’m a man-hating lesbian or anything, well not all men anyway.”
Kate’s eyebrows creased, wondering at the reference.
“Whereas some men
just rub me up completely the wrong way,” clarified Andrea, “In particular
certain snide army lieutenants.”
“Ah,” commented
Kate, realising that Andrea was talking about her second in command.
“Have you found
anything else out about the explosion in the training house?” asked Andrea.
Kate shook her
head. “No, there wasn’t much left to
analyse. If that pipe was deliberately
broken, then it’s long gone now.”
“So Chadwick gets away with it again,” noted Andrea in annoyance.
“You don’t know it was him,” Kate tried to reason.
“Right! And bears don’t shit in the woods.
It was him.”
“That’s purely speculation on your part…”
“You mean you
don’t believe me,” stated Andrea, disturbed at the thought that it might be the
case.
“No, I didn’t say
that,” Kate replied, still keeping her voice calm and even, “I’m in a difficult
position. Of course I want to back you
up, but I can’t without proof.”
Andrea suddenly
remembered that she’d never told Kate about the time in her quarters when
Chadwick had pulled her power regulator off and left her as she had a
seizure. She hadn’t wanted to at the
time partly because she feared Kate wouldn’t believe her and partly because
she’d look like a fool for letting Chadwick goad her. However, she considered that maybe now was the right time to
bring it up. She was just thinking of
the best way to introduce it when Kate beat her to the punch.
“How about we
don’t talk about Chadwick anymore, since we always seem to end up arguing about
him?”
Andrea paused – should she still say what she was going to?
“Please?” asked Kate.
Andrea sighed,
supposing it would keep for another time.
She considered that maybe she should start carrying out her own
investigation into the Lieutenant, see if she could dig up anything, since no
one else seemed to suspect him.
Thinking of investigations reminded her of the other one that was still
unresolved.
“How about talking about our other favourite subject then?” suggested
Andrea.
“Sex?”
Andrea couldn’t
help laughing at that, especially when Kate was resolutely maintaining an
implacable expression. “All right, our
second favourite,” conceded Andrea, “What I actually meant was the
investigation into the warehouse accident, though now you mention it perhaps
sex is a more suitable a topic…”
“And so much more
fun,” agreed Kate. “But I do have some news as it happens, I wasn’t going to
say anything until I had something more solid to tell you, but I’ve discovered
that one of my old colleagues is on the investigation team. Now all I need to do is try and get in touch
with him without his superiors knowing.”
Andrea was heartened. “That’s good
then - a lead at last!”
“Yes, I was
beginning to think the investigation had disappeared off the face of the earth
before I had this breakthrough.”
“Someone
certainly wants to keep it that way it seems,” Andrea noted thoughtfully. “Why is it all so secret I wonder? And does that have anything to do with me
and these powers?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Kate.
“It’s just so
frustrating not knowing,” Andrea tried to explain, “My powers are such a big
part of who I am now, and I don’t really know the full story behind how I got
them. It’s like something’s missing and
I need the answers to fill that gap.
And of course there’s what happened to all my colleagues and finding out
who was responsible.”
Andrea suddenly
realised that Kate had gone very quiet as she’d been speaking and now she
looked at the other woman she saw that Kate was looking down at her hands,
looking unusually anxious.
“What is it?” asked Andrea.
Kate glanced up,
the apprehension in her features obvious.
“I have something to tell you,” she said slowly.
Andrea could feel
a disquieting ache settling in her stomach as she noted Kate’s pensive
tone. “What is it?” she asked, unsure
if she wanted to know the answer or not.
She’d never seen Kate looking so uneasy, especially not around her.
“It’s nothing to
do with you, or us, this is to do with me,” Kate added seriously, “But I think
it’s something you should know.”
“Ok, but now
you’re really starting to worry me,” said Andrea, trying to control her rising
dread. What could this something be to
affect Kate so?
Kate kept her
eyes fixed on Andrea who didn’t dare look away, practically holding her breath
as she waited on tenterhooks for the bombshell.
“I hope you’ll
understand why I never said anything before, but if this is going anywhere I
need to tell you the truth.”
“The truth about what?” Andrea fought hard to keep the panic from her
voice.
“The truth about
why I’m here, why I’m running this place,” replied Kate, “You have to promise
me that you’ll hear me out before you pass judgement. I want you to know that I was ordered never to tell anyone about this
and I mean anyone. To do so now is a
direct violation of orders. I only say
that in hope that you might understand, or at least appreciate why I never said
anything before. But at the same I’ll
also understand if it changes your opinion of me, if you can’t forgive me, even
if you end up hating me.”
Andrea didn’t
think that was possible, though at the same time couldn’t help speculating what
could be so bad as to make Kate think that.
“All right, I’m listening…”
Kate was quiet
for a moment, seemingly uncertain of her course again. Her eyes silently
searched Andrea’s face, seeking a way to begin perhaps. Andrea tried to give her a reassuring,
encouraging look, though inside her stomach was filled with butterflies. Kate took a long, slow intake of breath
before opening her mouth to speak.
Beep!
It was Kate’s communicator.
“Leave it,” whispered Andrea, barely able to find her voice her mouth was
so dry.
Beep!
“I…can’t,” said Kate regretfully, picking it up and answering it.