When her alarm went off on Thursday morning, Meredith slapped the snooze button and stretched. She folded her arms under her head and stared at the ceiling as she went over yesterday’s events. She felt fairly confident that they would do much better as a team when they hit the obstacle course that day.
Nine minutes later, she got up and pulled on a swimsuit, deciding that a dip in the pool held a lot more appeal than hitting the weights.
Stasi followed her outside, taking off for the yard to do her business and run around. Meredith dropped a towel on a chair and dipped a toe in the water. She dived into the pool and began her laps. She slowly rose to the surface at the shallow end, her eyes looking at the feet in front of her before raising up the legs to find Brian staring down at her.
“Morning.” He smiled at her, and she noted that the gesture was much more genuine and relaxed after yesterday.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
He sat down on the edge, dropping his legs into the water. “Much better. Thanks for yesterday.”
“All part of the service.” Meredith sank a little lower in the water, blowing bubbles as she spoke.
Brian appraised her. “I don’t think so, but thank you anyway.”
She grinned before returning to her laps. He joined her after a few minutes, their laps alternating as they swam.
Meredith finally climbed out of the pool and headed towards her room, Stasi following closely behind. She showered and dressed, quickly braiding her hair, but leaving it down until it was almost time to go.
She walked down the hall and began knocking on doors to wake everyone. Nick was already up, coming out of the shower when she reached his door, and she opened it for him as he slid by to get inside.
Howie answered the door, rubbing his eyes and nodding as she told him how long he had. She bypassed Brian’s door and went straight for AJ’s. Knocking once, she waited for him to open the door. When he didn’t, she opened it and peeked inside. He was sprawled across the bed, the sheets barely covering the curve of his ass, and she took a deep breath as she realized he was nude.
Deciding that scaring him awake wasn’t a good idea, although the prospect of viewing everything he had to offer had distinct appeal, she stayed by the door and called his name.
“McLean!”
He rolled over, making sure he stayed covered, and looked at her. His eyebrow rose as they stared at each other. “You called?”
She looked at him, realizing he’d been awake when she opened the door. “Time to get up and greet the day.”
He sat up in bed, the sheet pooling at his waist as one leg hung over the edge. He stretched his arms above his head and took a deep breath. Meredith just watched him, shaking her head as she realized he was doing all of it because of her.
“Just get your ass moving, McLean.” Laughing, she closed the door and headed for Kevin’s room.
Wondering if she’d have a problem today, she knocked on the door. Opening it when she didn’t receive an answer, she peeked inside to find the bed made.
“Boo.”
She turned around to find him behind her, partially dressed since he’d just come from the shower.
“Morning. How are you feeling?” She smiled at him.
“Much better.” He moved around her to get to the bed, pulling on the t-shirt that lay there.
“Glad to hear it. I expect y’all to do much better on the wall today.” She leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms as she watched him pull on socks and boots, noting his precise movements as he carefully tucked his cuffs into the combat boots.
“I think we will.” He finished dressing and followed her out into the hall and down to the kitchen.
When they arrived, everyone was eating something for breakfast. She and Kevin both grabbed a bowl and spoon and sat down, reaching for boxes of cereal and some milk. She ate her breakfast quickly since she still had to put on her boots. After she finished, she got up to put her bowl in the sink. When she turned around, she was surprised to find a piece of toast in her face. AJ held it out to her, a smile on his face.
Taking it, she munched on it as she made her way back to her room. She pulled on her boots and pinned up her hair, gathering the rest of her stuff that she’d need for the day. When she came back into the front foyer, she found them all waiting for her, ready to get the day started. Glad to find that their energy and enthusiasm had returned, she herded them outside and into the SUV. Before long, they were back on base and pulling up in front of her building.
The path to her office was becoming well known, and the guys nodded greetings to several familiar faces. Becky was waiting with coffee and several papers for Meredith to sign. The young woman excused herself when she had the signatures, smiling at the lightened atmosphere.
Meredith quickly checked her e-mail, finishing her coffee as she answered a few things. When she finished, she stood, and the other five took that as their cue it was time to leave.
Curran noticed the change as the group lined up for their morning run. It was almost as if they’d been totally recharged and couldn’t wait to hit the obstacle course and conquer the wall. He smiled when they began their calisthenics with fervor, hoping the enthusiasm lasted.
Meredith enjoyed the camaraderie that had been missing the day before as the group prepared to tackle course as a unit. The individual runs had gone well, each person making it over the wall. Now, they worked together and encouraged each other, whooping with delight when all thirteen of them successfully bridged all of the obstacles.
Nick was practically dancing with joy. He felt a hundred times better after things had settled down yesterday and he’d gotten his head wrapped around the new group dynamic. Curran smiled at him, the comparison to Andy becoming clearer every day.
“You guys did okay.”
“Thank you, sir.” Brian smiled at the older man. He looked over and watched as another group continued working with the wall, refusing to leave until all team members had made it over.
Curran followed his line of vision and watched the group as well. Brian nodded towards the group.
“I like that they’re sticking together.”
Curran nodded. “We make it a point to never leave anyone behind. If we can’t bring everyone back alive, we do our damnedest to at least bring them home.”
The rest of the Seal team nodded, and the guys gained a little more respect for their teachers.
Meredith sent each of her trainees off with a Seal to work on their assignments. Singleton and McLean were off to the side, and the Seal was going through the basics of setting a C4 charge. AJ listened carefully, following the man’s instructions as he inserted the detonator into the block of explosives. Then, Singleton pulled out a notebook and began to draw, giving examples of how explosives could be used to effectively create a trap or an avenue of escape. They were at it for a long time before AJ held up his hands and walked away.
Meredith slowly made her way over to the pair, catching bits of conversations between the other trainees and their instructors.
“Problems?” She looked at McLean, who was leaning against a tree.
“No, not really. Just not following the reasoning right now.”
She nodded, remembering her own sessions with Singleton. “It can be very overwhelming, but I think once it clicks, it’ll be amazingly easy to understand.”
He looked over at her, studying her face. “You’ve done this?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m as good at it as you will be.”
“What makes you think that?” He turned to fully face her, interested in her answer.
“Not sure. Just a feeling I’ve got. It’s usually right on the money, so I like to go with my gut.”
“My mom swears by her intuition, so I’ll trust that yours knows what it’s doing.” He straightened and walked back to finish his session with Singleton.
Meredith made her way back to talk to Curran, stopping to check on each of the boys. She smiled as Brian looked over Leary’s pack of medical supplies, taking things out and asking their purpose. Leary went through basic triage procedures with the young man, giving a few examples of things he might encounter on a mission.
Nick and Lane were going over various pieces of electronics equipment that might be used in a mission, and the young man was soaking it up like a sponge. Lane looked up at Meredith as Nick broke down a scope and grinned, shaking his head at the young man’s exclamations of discovery.
Howie and Ramos were covering standard radio procedures that might be used in a mission. Meredith looked at the two dark heads bending over the radio and smiled. Ramos looked up as her shadow fell over them, and he handed her a radio.
“If you’ll head over towards those trees, Commander, we can run a test.”
She took the radio and moved towards the tree line, stopping when she was out of sight of the pair.
“Bad Karma 2 to AoD.”
She clicked the radio. “Copy, Bad Karma 2. This is AoD. Over.”
She heard their voices before Howie’s filled the air. “Radio test complete. Over.”
“Roger that, Bad Karma 2. AoD out.”
Meredith walked back and handed Howie the radio. He looked at her. “Why do they call you AoD?”
Ramos hid a smile as Meredith looked at him. “I’ll tell you guys later. I don’t want to have to repeat the story several times.”
Howie nodded his acceptance and looked back down at his manual. Meredith turned and headed for Kevin. Brown was explaining how to take various pieces of the team and insert them into the big picture. The other man nodded as he watched everything begin to coalesce into the plan that would be used to execute the mission. This was the area that Meredith had the most experience in, so she sat down with them to discuss how her profile was incorporated into a mission. She knew that Kevin would be the most logical person for this job since he took the responsibility for running things in the group very seriously. He kept track of schedules, meetings, and personalities, helping ensure that things ran smoothly. This ability translated well to mission planning, and he grasped the concept in a short amount of time.
A loud whoop drew their attention to Singleton and AJ, where AJ was shaking his butt in joy and bouncing around.
“Guess it finally clicked.” Meredith couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips.
“What clicked?” Kevin continued to watch his friend’s impromptu dance.
“The whole concept of planting explosives to achieve the desired goal. I think he finally got it.”
The two of them turned back to the small dry-erase board Brown was using to outline his explanation to finish their conversation.
A low rumble drew Meredith’s attention, and she looked over at Kevin. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders as his stomach again announced its desire for lunch. She looked at her watch and decided that now was as good a time as any to stop for food.
She whistled, catching everyone’s attention, and gestured for them to come to her.
“Richardson’s stomach has informed me that it’s time for lunch. Is everyone at a good stopping point?”
Everyone nodded as they chuckled, and they fell into a formation to return to mess hall. Those who had seen the group the day before were surprised to see the jovial expressions and hear the laughter as the thirteen people went through the line to get their lunch.
They settled at a table and dug into the food, their appetites greatly increased after the busy morning. She watched them, glad they were back on track.
“So, Commander…”
Meredith looked up as Howie spoke, tilting her head slightly.
“…what does AoD stand for?”
Hawkins hid a chuckle as Meredith turned to glare at him before turning back to the five men who didn’t know.
“Well, they gave me the name after we got back from Saudi. Curran kind of got it started when he saw me at the camp. I looked pretty bad, but the helos had stirred up a pretty good breeze and my hair was blowing about my head, making it look like I had a halo on. Since I was also carrying a gun and firing it, he thought I looked like an angel…an avenging angel. Hawkins started calling me Angel of Death.”
The five men were a little surprised at the nickname because they couldn’t quite picture her being that angry or lethal. She saw the confusion and grinned.
“Now, it’s more like an oxymoron. I’m pretty laid back, and they like to tease me.”
Howie nodded at the explanation, not surprised that Hawkins got a great deal of enjoyment out of calling her by that name.
“Better hope she never has cause to show you how she earned it.” Curran nodded at the group, subtly reminding them that she was perfectly capable of fulfilling that call sign’s original meaning.
The rest of lunch was spent talking about the morning’s lesson. After they took their trays back and headed outside, Meredith informed them they were heading back to the training grounds to work on learning hand signals. At the blank expressions, Singleton and Leary demonstrated several, and they nodded in understanding.
They marched over to the field, taking a direct path for once, and sat down around one of the tables that had been provided. Curran went over the basic signals and made sure everyone understood them. Then he started putting groups of signals together, asking each of the five to explain what he was asking.
After about thirty minutes, he began to give them more advanced signals. Each of the Seals contributed ways they had learned the signals, giving the trainees little tricks to keep track of what they were learning.
Meredith couldn’t help laughing when Kevin told Curran to jump into the lake, just shaking her head as she explained what he had done wrong. The other four caused a lot of laughter as they tried to string together commands that made sense.
The next hour was spent with each of the five standing up and giving hand signals to the group to see if they could be followed. It didn’t take long for the laughter to echo across the field.
The sun was slipping farther into the Western sky as they returned to Meredith’s office, their voices ringing out in a cadence as they marched. Meredith cringed a bit when she let Hawkins lead them and he chose a song that undoubtedly wasn’t meant to be sung by a woman. She shook her head and sang out at the appropriate moments, plotting revenge as she marched.
When they arrived back at her building, Team 2 saluted or was saluted and left with “goodbyes”. Meredith walked into her building and into her office, booting up her computer for one final check before they left for the day.
Becky had already left, placing folders in Meredith’s inbox that needed to be reviewed. She took a look at them, signing or initialing where appropriate, then placed them in her outbox for Becky to retrieve the next morning. She leaned back in her chair and stretched, then looked around the room at the five men hanging out.
“You did good today. I’m proud of you.”
Nick grinned shyly, but his eyes lit up with pride, as did the others. She grinned at each one of them.
“How about we go out for dinner tonight? My treat.” She stood up and moved around to the front of her desk, leaning on the edge.
“I think you should let us buy you dinner tonight.” Kevin stood up, too, bending his body to each side before straightening.
“Yeah. I think we should buy you dinner.” Brian stood, followed by the others.
She shrugged, unwilling to argue. “Sounds good. Let’s go home, get changed, and we can figure out where we want to go.”
Reminiscent of their first meeting, Taps began to play as they walked toward the car, and all six stopped and saluted the flag. She smiled at them, nodding her approval as they continued their walk after the flag had been lowered.
Meredith tossed the keys to Kevin. “Wanna drive home?”
He caught them as surprise crossed his face before he nodded. “Sure.”
She ended up in the very back with Brian as Kevin carefully maneuvered the vehicle out of the parking lot and off the base. When they arrived home, Kevin handed the keys back to Meredith, who promptly handed them to Brian. He took them from her, unsure of what he was supposed to do with them.
“I really should have given you the security code before now.” She motioned for him to open the door, and she punched in the code, repeating it out loud so the guys would know.
“I’ll have some keys made this weekend so you can get in and out.”
They nodded their thanks and headed for their rooms after giving Stasi a pat or a rub. Stasi followed Meredith to her room as she tried to figure out what she was going to wear to dinner. Her shower was quick, and she dried off as she walked into her room and headed for the closet.
Meredith looked over her clothes and chose a green sundress that ended above her knees. She pulled on clean underwear and stepped into the dress, zipping it. Walking back into the bathroom, she applied a little bit of foundation and blush, then unbraided her hair and ran her fingers through the waves. On impulse, she left it down and let it curl around her shoulders and down her back. She pulled on a pair of slides and left her bedroom.
One by one, they made their way into the den until everyone had arrived.
“Any requests?” Howie looked around the room.
“I’m so hungry, I could probably eat an entire herd of cattle.” Nick rubbed his hair, then laid his head on his hand.
“I don’t know exactly what I want. I just want food.” Brian leaned his head back against the sofa.
Meredith rubbed her chin. “Well, there’s a little buffet restaurant about fifteen minutes from here. It’s not a chain and they don’t have a big salad bar, but they do have a fantastic assortment of vegetables, meats, and desserts. You guys up for it?”
Kevin nodded, taking the lead on getting everyone out the door. “Sounds good. Let’s go.”
Once again, Meredith drove to the restaurant but informed the guys that someone else was driving back because her days as the only chauffeur were over. They laughed and agreed to take turns driving back and forth to the base since they knew the way.
The restaurant wasn’t terribly crowded, and the hostess seated them in a secluded corner of the room. They took off for the food bars after placing their drink orders, picking and choosing from the delicious-smelling foods that were presented. Meredith was the last one back to the table, and Nick stared at her plate, which was piled high with carrots, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, fried chicken, and a biscuit.
“You’re gonna eat all that?!” He was astounded at the amount of food she had.
“I bet I can just about eat you under the table.” She set her plate down as she sat, picking up her napkin and placing it in her lap.
“I’d pay to see that.” AJ looked at the two of them, peering over the top of his sunglasses.
“Guess we’ll see then, won’t we?” She looked over at Brian. “Grace?”
He nodded and offered a short prayer of thanks for the food, throwing in an extra thanks for making it through the last couple of days. With a grateful “amen” resounding around the table, the group began to eat. The conversation ranged from the current political race to families to pets to favorite things.
AJ, Kevin, Brian, and Howie watched as Nick and Meredith finished their first plate. In unspoken agreement, the two of them got and went to the bar together for their second plates, comparing choices as they wandered around the bar.
They returned to the table, passing Kevin and Howie on their way. Sitting down, they shifted everything to their liking and began to eat. AJ just watched them.
“Where are you going to put all that food?”
“Hollow leg.” Meredith took a swallow of tea to help wash down her vegetables.
Nick laughed when he saw AJ’s expression, only quieting when he returned to eating. Kevin and Howie returned, and Brian went up, followed shortly by AJ.
The four men were still eating when Nick and Meredith went up to the bar again.
Howie looked over his shoulder at the pair. “Think she can do it?”
“Hell, I’m not betting against her.” AJ looked up as the duo returned to the table, their plates less full than they had been.
Kevin wandered over to the dessert bar and looked over the choices. When he returned, he had a slice of cake in one hand and a slice of pie in the other. Brian leaned over and looked at his cousin’s choices, then looked up into Kevin’s face.
“Hungry, Kev?”
“Both looked good. I’m sure I’ll work it off tomorrow.” He dug into the cake first, his eyes widening in appreciation. “That’s really good.”
Meredith chuckled. “All desserts made by hand.”
Howie, Brian, and AJ walked over to grab a dessert, each of them returning with something different. Brian chose banana pudding, Howie chose the chocolate pudding topped with fresh whipped cream, and AJ chose the chocolate chip cookies.
Nick ate the last bite of carrots, then pushed his plate away.
“Full?” She smiled at him.
“Just getting started.” His gaze was challenging. “Ready for dessert?”
“You bet.” She followed him to the dessert bar.
In a few minutes, they came back with loaded bowls. Nick had three chocolate chip cookies topped with soft-serve ice cream, strawberry sauce, and sprinkles. Meredith had a fudge brownie with ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate chips. AJ looked a little ill at the sight of their finale.
“I’m glad I’m not sharing a room with you, Nick.” He leaned back in his chair and sipped his Coke as he watched them eat.
When the two finished, they looked at each other.
“Draw?” Nick smiled at Meredith, since he couldn’t tell which of them ate more.
“Draw.” She held out her hand, and they shook on it, the other four just looking at them like they were crazy.
The four of them had paid for her dinner, so Meredith insisted on leaving the tip. They left the restaurant and headed home, Howie taking the wheel for the drive back. When they arrived, she asked him to open the door and disarm the system, just to give him a feel for it.
The remainder of the evening was spent in relative silence as each person took the opportunity to read or write or call a loved one. Meredith sat in her office and finished paying some bills and checking her e-mail. She couldn’t help but laugh when she saw a message from Irene telling her that she heard the Backstreet Boys were there and could Meredith get an autograph for her.
Meredith sent an e-mail back and told her she’d try, but she couldn’t make any promises. Can’t wait to see her face when she gets here.
She finished sending e-mails to friends and was putting the last stamp on the envelopes in front of her when AJ knocked on the door. She waved him in as she stacked the envelopes together to be mailed.
“You said we could check e-mail?” He moved to the front of the desk.
“Sure. Need me to set anything up?” She rolled back in her chair.
“No. I’ve got a Yahoo account to check home e-mail.”
“Let me log out of my account, and you can log in under the guest account.” She clicked the mouse a couple of times to shut down all of her programs and log out, then got up out of the chair.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” She headed for the door. “Just log out when you’re done. The computer stays up.”
“Thanks.” AJ sat down and logged in under guest. He smiled when he saw the BSB wallpaper on her computer.
Getting into his e-mail, he responded to a couple of important messages, then logged off. He cruised around the ‘net for a bit, checking out the latest rumors and laughing at some of the things the fans put out there. When he tired of that, he logged out and walked out of the office.
He checked the den, but only found Nick in there. “Hey, man. Where’d everyone go?”
Nick looked up from the movie. “They got tired and decided to go to bed. I’m just finishing up the movie.”
“I’m heading to bed. ‘Night, Nick.”
Nick waved to AJ, his mind already back on the movie.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**BsB**
Meredith groaned and rolled over, staring at the clock. “I’ve got to stop doing this shit.”
She crawled out of bed, grabbing a robe and making her way to the kitchen to get some Alka Seltzer. Meredith entered through the hall, and Nick entered through the dining room---each managing to the scare the other. She leaned against the counter, her hand pressed against her chest; partly out of fear, partly out of indigestion. He clutched the doorjamb, his eyes wide.
The two of them looked at each other.
“I’ll grab the glasses.” He headed for a cabinet.
“I’ll grab the Alka Seltzer.” So did she.
They sat down at the table, watching the tablets fizz in the water. When they’d completely dissolved, they clinked the glasses together before drinking the liquid. Setting them down, the two stared at each other, trying not to laugh too loudly as they waited for the antacid to work.
“I’m way too old to be doing this.” She laid her head in her hand as she sat.
“Yeah, you are.” He set his elbow on the table and let his chin rest on his palm.
Looking up quickly, she narrowed her eyes. “I suggest you learn to respect your elders.”
He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “Yes, mom."
Meredith smiled at him, leaning back in her chair. They remained quiet as their indigestion slowly faded to a manageable level. When they both felt they could go back to sleep, they stood and headed for opposite doors.
“Let’s not mention this, okay?” He looked at her, the mega-watt grin flashing at her.
“Agreed.” She nodded, a grin creeping onto her face in response.
“’Night, Mom.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “’Night, Munchkin.”
He rolled his eyes in reply before leaving the kitchen and returning to his room. Meredith turned out the lights and walked back to her room, climbing into bed to get a few more hours of sleep before she had to get up.
Table of Contents
Chapter Nine