Page 11

11

SYLVIE

S ylvie had managed to get her cell phone turned back on and was going through the normal catch up of emails, updates, and texts. She’d already been at Tripler for a week in the Med-Surg ward, not sure when she’d be able to leave. She was trying to get herself together and starting to worry about what would happen to her when she was released. She was almost through her emails and came across one from Rave. I guess his mission was pretty short , she thought as she opened it.

We got back and you weren’t on the ship. Running is useless. I’ll find you. N

She had just opened a reply box when her phone started to ping as text messages came in.

Where are u?

Are u ok?

I need your room number; they’re trying to stop us.

She dropped her phone, started to work her way off the bed. They were coming and she did not want to look as bad as she felt. She could not be bedridden when these guys showed up. She had almost gotten her feet on the floor when her doorway darkened.

“You didn’t fall,” Rave said looking at her. The right side of her face was a massive bruise, her eye swollen shut. Stitches around her eyebrow ridge reaching her cheekbone. She was guarding her left ribs. The team finished pushing Rave in and saw the same thing. For a second time around her they were speechless.

“What the fuck!” Red muttered, his voice hard. Clearly, she’d been right. That anyone would do this to a woman was bad enough; and they saw it regularly; but a Sailor was too much.

Sylvie clicked her tongue as she started to push off the side of the bed. Rave was at her side, wrapping an arm around her hip. He felt her jerk away from his fingers, “I’ll fucking kill him.” In the process of trying to get his hands off more bruises, she had put her shoulder into his side and settled for a second, trying to inhale him. He pulled on the waistband of her scrubs to expose the bruises on her hip.

“Hey! I’m standing here,” she slapped his hand away from her clothes. She glared at him though her good eye.

“So, we’ll be outside,” Tech cued the team.

“Sylvie, glad you’re…alive,” Red stumbled over which was met by Flash slapping the back of his head.

“Hope you get to feeling better,” Stitch said following the rest.

Genie took up the rear, “Let us know if you need anything. We’re local for a while.”

Through her embarrassment Sylvie answered them, “Thanks for coming, guys.”

Rave sat down on the edge of the bed, “I left you to that asshole.”

“You had a job to do, that simple. We’ve known each other for like 3 seconds. I’m not talking about this again.”

“How?” He looked up at her.

“I had a migraine.” He watched her replay the memories in her head. “I was in the bathroom, it was too bright, he hit me,” she motioned at the stitches.

“With what? I’ve seen you fight.” Thinking back to their kiss and sizing up the circumference of the stitches he realized the answer to his question.

“Fire extinguisher,” they said in unison.

She shook her head, clearing it. “Don’t look at me like you’re crushed. You don’t have to live with this. This didn’t happen to you.”

“It shouldn’t have happened to you.”

“Well, that’s a moot point isn’t it.” Changing directions, “Are you really stationed here?”

Rave blinked, his forehead wrinkling in question, “Yeah.” He reached up and tucked back the hair that was covering up her swollen eye. “Are you pressing charges? Did they--?”

Sylvie growled.

“It is my business. If I’m gonna be with you I should know, don’t you think?” Rave retorted.

“They did what they could before I got off the ship. Look, you don’t want to be with me. You don’t want to inherit this. This is gonna get so much worse before it gets better.” She hesitated, “If it gets better.”

“You don’t understand, this isn’t something I will get rid of. You’re it for me, I feel it. I will be whatever you need when you need it, and we’ll go from there.”

“Why is it every time you start talking it sounds too good to be true?”

“Because you don’t know me yet.” He answered simply. “Are you supposed to be out of bed? You have injured ribs, bruises, stitches.” Sylvie growled again. “I can wait for your doctor, or you can tell me.” When she wasn’t getting so mad at him, he’d have to tell her how cute it made her look.

“I can walk and the DFAC has awesome coconut macaroons sometimes,” she started toward the door slowly. He walked on her right side, to protect that blind side. They were alone in the elevator, but it stopped on the fourth floor and people got on. Sylvie turned in toward Rave, wanting to hide. He gently placed his left arm around her, pulling her in closer. No one would be able to see her face that way. More people got on when the elevator stopped on the second floor. Sylvie shrunk into him even more. When the elevator opened on the first floor she turned right and headed to the dining room.

He stayed tight to her as she walked the line in the serving area, sending off in waves his don’t fuck with me attitude . When they got to the cashier, he looked down at her, “You’re not eating enough.”

The cashier interrupted, “Ma’am, is that all?” It wasn’t her first day and she’d seen Rave nearly standing on top of Sylvie the entire time they’d been in there. She thought it was nice he’d grabbed extra macaroons for her tray, but now he seemed controlling. She rang up the cup of soup, three servings of macaroons, and two fountain drink cups on the tray. Sylvie faced the cashier and nodded. The cashier’s eyes widened, and she took in the scrubs. Her gaze went back to Rave and narrowed slightly.

Obliviously, Rave pulled out his wallet and set the money on her counter. He took Sylvie’s tray and lifted his chin toward a table by a window. The cashier watched them sit down, concerned about what appeared to be a ‘good guy’s’ attentiveness. Once she was settled, her bruises facing the window, he went to get their drinks.

Sylvie played with her soup. “Are you going to eat?”

“Are you going to entertain me?”

“What do you want to know? I’ll entertain if you eat.” He smiled at her.

“Family.” He leaned forward to start when she followed with, “Is your wife gonna get jealous you’re here.”

He sat back. “What did you say? I’m not married. Who told you that? I’ll kill ‘em.”

“You’re gonna kill a lot of people. Do you have an anger problem we should discuss?” She set a macaroon down in front of him.

He covered her hand, his fingers long enough to reach her wrist; grabbing the macaroon in the other hand he tossed it in his mouth quickly. “If you like these, I promise to leave the cook alive.” He winked at her.

Jeezuz. She blinked slowly to regather. This could not happen. She could not handle falling for him and have him walk away during all this shit too.

“ Now eat,” he directed. “I have an older brother and sister and a younger sister and brother. My mom is a teacher, and my dad is a plumber. Boring and normal.”

“What about kids? in-laws?” She paused with a full spoon.

“I see what you’re doing,” he grinned at her. “My older siblings are married. I have some nieces and nephews spread across them.” Gauging how much time he needed to kill for Sylvie to finish her food he continued. “My older sister is a stay-at-home mom; her husband is a lawyer. My older brother and his husband are both teachers. My younger sister is a flight attendant, has probably been to more places than I have. And my younger brother is still in school, pretty sure his major changes every week. I don’t know maybe they don’t even need those anymore.”

Two Security guards approached the table. “Excuse me, Ma’am?” The one closest to the table interrupted. Sylvie craned her neck to look at him. Sylvie and Rave both looked from the partner to the guard who spoke.

“How can we help you?” Rave answered, making direct eye contact and stilling with no expression.

“Sir, I was asking her,” he motioned to Sylvie. “Ma’am, is everything ok?” He turned his gaze on her.

“Sure. I was just getting out of my room?—”

Rave took in the dining room, finally reading it, turned back to Sylvie. “Babe, someone thinks I beat you.”

“Is that what this is about?” She looked from Rave back up to the guard. Rave felt goose bumps under his fingers and watched them spread across her arm. “Where were you a week ago?” she rhetorically asked.

“I’m gonna ask that you come with me, ma’am. Sir, I need you to stay here.” Rave’s hand flattened Sylvie’s under his, a power play the guard didn’t miss. “Sir?—”

“No, please, he didn’t do this. Both of you wouldn’t be able to stop him, even if he did,” Sylvie pleaded with the guard. “The truth is he was out on mission when…this happened. Which is why he’s so over the top right now.” The guard looked skeptical, but Sylvie hoped she’d dropped enough military lingo for him to understand who was sitting across from her.

The guard had not totally backed down, the whole room was focused on them and seeing Sylvie trying to hold everything in check; Rave knew he had to get them out of there. “We were just getting ready to leave. How about we follow you out,” he directed at the guard, “and we can talk somewhere else?” The guard barely nodded, also recognizing Sylvie was at the end of her rope, which regardless of how she blew would cause an even bigger scene. Rave slowly stood, motioned he needed the guard to back up so he could get to Sylvie. He helped her out of her chair, grabbed the tray from behind her as she started past the guards toward the exit. Sylvie didn’t wait for Rave to drop the tray; she went straight out the door and the first guard followed her.

Sylvie stopped facing the wall. “Ma’am, are you sure you’re ok with him?”

Sylvie turned toward the elevators they had come down, giving the guard a profile view of her left side. She turned her face to look him in the eye after a few beats, “I’d be dead if he’d done this to me. I’m safe with him.”

The guard nodded as Rave came out of the door, the second guard on his heels. Sylvie looked like she was suffering from hypothermia. The guard stepped out of his way as he went to her. “I’m sorry?—”

“You were just doing your job. She could’ve used the same attention to detail a couple weeks ago. I hope the rest of your shift is quiet.” Meaning to start toward the elevators, Rave put his hand around her ribs, her arm touching his as he tried to pull her into him. “Jeezuz, woman! You’re freezing!” He couldn’t tell if she nodded or just stared at him. He grabbed her up and headed down the hall. All he could think was her bed would have blankets. She whimpered and shifted in his grip trying to decrease the rib pain.