Part 81
Philip eased himself backwards to sit on the bed as he rolled the long black
sleeve up high enough to reveal his bicep, while the nurse readied the
equipment on the bed table. He scanned her face out of interest. She
was
still blushing and that intrigued him; he wondered why she was doing that.
With a slight quirk of his head he watched her as she stepped closer to him
now, her head still bowed in her preparations. He held his arm out to her
and she stepped even closer, so that his forearm brushed past her waist as
she wrapped the band around his arm. She placed the stethoscope into her
ears and picked up the bulb in her small hand, delicately ended with very
pale pink nails. The back of Phil's arm brushed against her waist as she
moved slightly to press the stethoscope against the pulse point in the bend
of his arm. Her eyes lifted to meet his momentarily then her blush
deepened
as she quickly blinked and looked away. Philip watched as the arteries and
veins on the white underside of her wrist stood up as she pumped the bulb,
tightening the band around his arm. Her thumb and fingers released the
valve as she watched the mercury fall, mentally noting the markers for the
blood pressure. Deftly she released the rest of the air and then unclipped
the earpieces before laying the stethoscope around her neck.
"Good," she said as she ripped the band open and Philip eased his arm
out.
He closed and opened his fist then flexed his arm.
"Keep doing that," she said, as she noted in his chart. "I'll be
taking some
blood next."
The patient involuntarily swallowed and nodded. He turned his head so that
he could read what she was writing about him, but her handwriting was too
hard to read at that angle. His eyes shifted back onto her face, which was
still a little flushed. The pink of her cheeks stood harsh against the
blonde hair that framed her face despite being pulled into a band at the
base of her neck. If she were a guy Philip would have thought she was
gorgeous, however he was left to wonder then if she was a little 'plain' to
be labeled beautiful or even pretty for a woman. Her green eyes shifted
onto his face then the lashes, darkened by mascara, fluttered as she looked
away again. The color in her cheeks notched up a shade at the same time.
"So.." He said in a gentle voice as to not alarm her any further.
She
seemed a little skittish and anyone about to stick a needle in his vein
needed a steady hand, in his opinion. Despite the bowed head he could see
her smile.
"So," she said as she lifted her face, shaking her hair out of her
eyes at
the same time. He had to raise his chin a little now to meet her eyes..
A
smile lit his face and a laugh bobbed his Adam's Apple slightly.
"What's a nice nurse like you doing in a dump like this?" He joked.
She,
thankfully, laughed at the joke.
"Wondering, actually," she said through a burgeoning smile as she
sorted
through the paraphernalia on the table for the tourniquet. His chin
remained raised but his eyes saw the thin webbed band.
She fastened the band tightly around the gentle curve of Philip's re-forming
arm muscle. Next she retrieved some gloves from the tray. He was glad to see
her use the precaution then it occurred to him that his HIV status must be
on his chart somewhere. She smiled at him and brushed the wayward blond
strands from her eyes with a clumsy swipe of the back of her hand.
As she slapped on the gloves she explained that they were purely for
precaution then she ripped open a swab and reached down for his arm. She
knelt one knee onto the bed and settled his elbow against her thigh. Her
fingers caressed his inner elbow, running over the veins that clearly stood
out against the lightly tanned skin. Philip wondered if she usually took
this much time examining her patient's veins as her hand lingered over his
skin.
"Wondering about what?" He asked, picking up their conversation.
His eyes
shifting from the touch to her face - her eyes fluttered again, a clear
indicator that she'd been staring at him.
As she rubbed his arm with the swab she said, "You have lovely.." Her
fingers caressed the thinning edge of his hairline from his forearm,
smoothing over the dark hairs as she examined his veins a little more
closely. He was about to ask her what he had that was so lovely but she
seemed to wake from her daze and finished her sentence with; "Veins."
The young man laughed. "Said the vampire to her meal..."
She shook her head to get the hair from her eyes as she lifted her gaze
again. A broad smile lit her face. "You."
"Huh?" He frowned.
She laughed again. He looked so confused. "I've been wondering about
you.
What's a nice guy like you doing in a dump like this?"
Philip enjoyed her growing confidence in their conversation. She had a
very
expressive face that intrigued him as he watched her talk. "You're
Lieutenant Simmon's brother, right? But you're not in the Military - that
much is obvious from all that gorgeous hair of yours!"
He absently ran his hand over his pulled back hair.
"Though you should wear it down. Looks way better with the curls."
"I'll take that on board," he said with a smile. She shrugged
then picked
up the needle and readjusted her knee on the bed, making his arm slide up
her thigh and brush against her hip. She touched her finger to the
protruding vein and then pressed the sharp tip against his skin.
"So I ask myself-" she said as she pushed through the skin.
Philip flinched
but remained still. "What's a Lieutenant's brother doing in a
military
hospital, under guard of one of our best Colonels?" She pressed the
tube
into the cylinder and the red blood flowed into the chamber. Philip
watched
it with some interest, wondering if the disease still swam within his veins..
"Best colonels?" He asked, his eyes flicked up from the blood and met
her
stoic gaze.
"Colonel O'Neill is the cream of the crop - so why is he on baby-sitting
duty? No offense," she said as she removed the full tube and wrote a
note
on the side before slotting it into the tray.
"None taken," Philip said as he watched her ease the needle from his
arm.
He pressed the swab she handed him to the pinprick to stem the tiny smear of
blood that escaped. "Do you think it's odd that he's guarding
me" He asked
as he looked up into her eyes once more.
She lowered her foot to the ground and then tidied up the tray on the table..
"I know some very strange things happen over there in that mountain so I
guess I shouldn't be too surprised by anything I see around here." She eyed
him closely as she taped the cotton ball to his arm. "I guess ours is not
to
reason why..."
"Just to wonder." He added as he rolled his sleeve down again.
She laughed
at that and nodded.
She pointed and wagged her pen at him. "Exactly!"
He stood and as he did she had to lift her chin to keep his gaze.
"You know," she said in a low voice now. His eyes crinkled with
a slight
frown.
"Now that the colonel is out of the room..."
Philip tilted his head now. This nurse intrigued him. With a twitch
of a
smile he said, "You don't like him, do you?"
"Colonel O'Neill? He's okay but he's just so cranky all the
time...."
Philip bit back the smile as thoughts of a softer side of Jack - naked and
curled up with him in front of the fire, or cuddling him on the sofa - came
unbidden to his mind.
"He thinks he's funny, too, you know? But he's not. He can be really nasty
sometimes. And he scares the new recruits. Hell, he scares some of us oldies
too, but you've probably noticed that?"
When Philip looked a little blank she added, "His formidable
personality."
The man shrugged one shoulder.
"But I won't say too much. You're obviously his assignment for
whatever
reason and so I shouldn't be tainting your image of him. He's probably
perfectly sweet to you."
"He has his moments," Philip said with a smile. She looked at
him and
shrugged.
"Wish I got to see them. Man puts the beejeebies up my wazoo at
times."
Philip gave a loud laugh and she looked at him, and then began to laugh
herself. "Sorry that was probably too much information for you!"
They continued to laugh as she stepped up to the head of his bed.
"Having
said all that about him though - I have to tell you, if I ever needed
someone watching my six I'd want it to be him. He's really the
best.."
The young man felt immense pride to hear this kind of recommendation about
his partner. Despite her personal assassination of Jack's character -
something Philip couldn't totally dismiss - it was nice to hear his
co-workers say such things about him
"Still," she said as she tugged at the bed sheet. "I'm glad it's
you and not
me!"
"What makes you think I'm any different?" he asked then watched was
she was
doing. Quickly he reached out and stopped her. "You don't
need to do
that," he assured her.
"It's my job."
"But it's my bed. I don't want you making it - you're not a maid."
The nurse snorted at this then shrugged. One less bed to make was one less
bed to make and she was grateful for that. She turned her head to thank him
and realized how close he was as he reached across her to stop her bed
making.
"That does," she said. Again he frowned. "That there
proves that you're
not like him. Colonel O'Neill. He'd sit there and watch a Lieutenant
make
a bed. Hell, he'd expect me to make it around him lying in it and still
want to bounce a quarter off it."
"He's not that bad~!" Philip dismissed that with a playful scoff.
She just grinned. It was quite elfish and Philip matched her happy smile.
"Like I said, better you than me. Though I gotto tell you - we're all
dead
curious as to what's happened or what you've done that has made you such hot
property for the US Military to watch you like it is."
"Why do I need to have done anything?"
Looking like she believed he was trying to snow job her, she waved her pen
at him and said, in a tone that told him she clearly knew 'something' was
going on, "Because, if you hadn't, Brown Eyes, you'd not be baby-sat by the
Colonel!" She put the pen in her pocket as she said, most defiantly,
"I'm
sure he's not just here for your good looks!"
The artist frowned. Was she merely flirting with him now, or did she suspect
something and this was her clumsy way of letting him know?
"I really don't think I understand-" he said as he shook his head..
She stared back at him for a few moments then said, "Well, maybe he is here
for your good looks.."
Philip felt his heart flip in his chest as he watched her scoop up the box
from the table. He was about to stop her when she made a flippant comment
that eased his mind. "Lord knows that's what I'm here for!"
She gave him a
wink that made him laugh abruptly.
"My good looks?" He said doubtfully.
"Hell yeah! You don't see it but we're drawing straws out there to
come and
answer your bell. And I can tell you, hun, the short straw is 'no' loser in
this game!"
He was surprised by the sudden escalation in her flirting. "But I rarely
call for a nurse."
With a dramatic sigh she tossed her head and said, "WE know! The only
one
we want to come in and fluff a pillow for, and do you let us? Hell, no!"
She gave him another cheeky smile.
"I'll try to give you more opportunities to pander to me in future!"
She made a clicking sound in her cheek as she gave a sharp nod. "You
be
sure to do that!" As she balanced the box on her hip she added, "You
know,
you really do look a lot better without that beard."
He touched his hand to his face and she gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, that
one."
"Are you always like this with your patients?" He gave a baffled
laugh.
"Uh, no. Just the ones that I think are really cute!" She
teased. He
blushed and shook his head. That made her laugh. "Sorry - I
shouldn't
tease you like this.."
"No," He said with a smile. "I'm not used to it."
She gave a one-shoulder shrug as she said, "I just like to play around
sometimes. Helps break up the boredom at work." Then she grew a little
serious as she confessed; "I only do it with the ones I think I can get
away
with it with."
"So," he said with a tilt of his head. "It's more or less a
compliment?"
She nodded. "It's all been a compliment, as much as it's been fun.
But in
all seriousness, you really do look better without the beard. Who knew you
were so handsome under all that fuzz?" She watched him blush and dip
his
face again and she gaffawed as she nudged him playfully, "Come on,
don't
tell me you haven't been told that at least a zillion times in your life!"
They were standing quite close together now as he lifted his face and met
her eyes. Her smile suddenly faltered as she stared back into his gaze.
She swallowed and then blushed herself. Philip realized that while she was
able to 'hide' behind the bluster of an all-out flirt session she was all
right, but when she had to be honest she would blush profusely. He thought
of it as a sort of built-in lie detector.
"Now you're the one blushing....." He said after several moments of
awkwardness.
She huffed loudly as she tossed her head and said, "I know! I hate it
when
I do that!" Her eyes shifted to meet his briefly then she looked down at
her
feet. Under her breath she mumbled, "It's really not very professional of
me.."
"What? Having fun at work?" he asked. She shook her head then
shrugged and
looked up.
"Flirting with the patients. Could get me into a lot of trouble if I
chose
the wrong one.. or if he got the wrong impression.. or couldn't take a
joke.."
Phil held her gaze. "Well, you're safe with me. I don't mind
that you
flirted.."
She laughed. "Didn't get me anywhere though, did it?" There was
some truth
in the question and in the earnest look in her eyes.
He bit his bottom lip as he gave a slight shrug. She nodded.
"Didn't think so. You were definitely worth the try though."
He gave her a smile despite the fact that her words conjured up a long
distant memory within him, and a feeling of unsettledness. Sudden flashes of
Todd filled his thoughts. By the time he could shake off the memories she
was saying; "You really are sweet. You'll make some girl very happy
one
day."
Philip wasn't about to correct her. Somehow coming out to a nurse who had
clearly noted the amount of time he and Jack had spent together didn't seem
like a wise thing to do, so he just gave a soft cough before he told her,
"I
believe I already am."
The smile dimmed on the pretty nurse's face. "Oh!" She
gave a sharp nod as
she added, with a strained tease to her voice again; "I'll break the tragic
news to the others then."
He walked beside her over to the door and then he reached across her for the
handle. He dismissed that with a laugh. "I'm sure they'll survive!"
She forced a smile and gave him a sharp nod, but said nothing. He winced,
feeling like he might have handled the whole thing a lot better. Deciding
to add insult to injury, he told her; "Oh, and one other thing.." He
hesitated about saying this then decided it had to be done. "I'm
actually
very good friends with the Colonel.. so.." He screwed his face up as
he
shrugged and make a sound in his cheek.
The blushing nurse's eye went wide. "Oh God!" She made a whimpering
sound in
the back of her throat as she blurted out, "I'm sorry. I was rude!"
"No, no.. it's okay," he tried desperately to appease her now.
He touched
his hand to her shoulder and squeezed her as he reassured her, "You weren't
really and I do agree with you on a few of the points, but there is another
side to him that is quite funny and caring - not at all the nasty person
your think he is."
She looked at the floor as she rolled her eyes at herself. "I'll keep that
in mind," she muttered.
He touched his fingers to her chin and gently lifted her face. "Mind
if I
walk with you back to the nurses station?"
A smile flittered across her lips. "I'll be the envy of the other
nurses if
you did that," she reverted to her teasing tone again. He smiled
broadly.
"Then let me carry that for you too." He held his arms out for the
box.
"No, you're the patient.."
"I'm not sick. Here-" He gently eased it from her and then allowed her
to
open the door for him. Together they stepped into the corridor.
"You can
tell me the way to the cafeteria anyway," he said.
She was just coming to the end of her directions to where Jack would be
waiting when they reached the nurses station. Philip was aware of the other
nurses watching them approach then he eased the box onto the counter and
reached out to touch the nurse's shoulder. "Thanks."
"My pleasure, Philip!" She smiled. He'd insisted she call him by his
first
name then found out her name was Anna. "Thanks for walking me
home," she
said with a wink.
He grinned. "That was 'my' pleasure, Anna." With that he gave a polite
bow
and left, going off down the corridor.
The other nurses all groaned and leaned over the counter to watch the
black-clad body disappear around a corner.
"He's shaved!"
"He's gorgeous! Anna - what the hell was all that about~!" The
nurses asked
her excitedly.
Anna smiled, and hid her own sadness as she told them, "Settle Petals.
He's
very much taken, and not by me!"
There was a general round of "Oh pity!" and "damns" then the
nurses settled
into their work once more. Anna looked off down the corridor wistfully
before shaking herself and concentrating on her work.
*
Jack's fork hovered between his plate and his mouth as he caught sight of
Philip entering the cafeteria. The lithe man weaved through the tables and
over to where the colonel had set up residence with a plate full of
blueberry pancakes and a side order of bacon and eggs with toast. As he
watched the slim body work its way towards him Jack couldn't get over the
odd sensation of watching Philip do something so 'ordinary'. A shiver ran
down his spine as the young man smiled and drew closer.
Finally Philip stood before him and pulled out the chair. With a big smile
he settled himself opposite his lover. With an even bigger smile he
snatched a piece of bacon from Jack's plate and popped it into his mouth.
"You going to say anything?" He asked between chews.
“Don’t steal my bacon?”
The young man grinned. “Or you’ll what?”
As he sat back in his seat Jack cupped his hand around the porcelain cup
that held his tepid coffee. “I’ll just remind you that I’m a Colonel
of the
United States Military..” He took a breath and arched his brow. “And I
don’
t like my assignments stealing my bacon.” He raised the cup and
carefully
watched the man opposite him as he drank.
Philip’s chews slowed then ceased as he stared back into brown eyes that
suddenly seemed unfamiliar. “Point taken,” he murmured and shifted in
his
seat. He looked around then back at the man on the other side of the
table.
“You recommend any of the food in this joint?”
“None,” Jack said as he pushed his plate aside. “I think this is
where they
drum up the most of their business.”
Philip wanted to smile at that but wondered if the ‘assignment of a US
Colonel’ would be allowed to smile.
“Sure took your time with the pretty nurse,” Jack said as he arranged his
plates and cleared the table before him. He leaned forward then dragged
his
wallet from his back pocket, opened it and tossed a few bills onto the
table. Philip looked at the money.
“What’s that for?”
“You have to eat.”
The dark eyes lifted to look at Jack. “Sure my Colonel can give me
money?”
“Your Colonel can give you any damn thing he wants to.”
“Just checking,” the young man said as he stood and snatched up the money.
Jack moved his head slightly to watch him go then he sat back and emptied
his cup of the cooling coffee.
Philip soon returned with a tray of food and sat, heavily, in his seat
again. Jack wordlessly watched him as the young man sorted out his plates
of toast and bacon, then tilted the plate of eggs so that the runny mess
slid ungraciously onto the dried out bacon strips. He stacked the empty
plates with Jack’s then turned his attention to the orange juice in the tall
glass. “No Herbal Tea,” he grumbled to himself. Jack leaned back
so far
that he was almost straight in his seat as he fished for something in the
front pocket of his pants. Philip frowned slightly as he watched him, then
started to eat his meal, leaving Jack to do whatever it was he was doing.
“Here,” he heard his lover’s voice call to him softly. He shifted
his gaze
and saw the clear plastic bag Jack was holding out to him. With a
deepening
frown he took the bag and opened it. Inside were ten bags of herbal tea.
Philip’s lips twitched with a smile as he considered that generous act.
“Thanks," he said quietly as he pulled one teabag out and got to his feet
to
go and get a cup of boiling water. Jack’s smile grew a little more as he
enjoyed his lover’s appreciation of his consideration.
When Philip returned he put the cup down almost reverently then inhaled a
deep breath as he sat down. “If this place wasn’t so full, I’d kiss
you,”
he mumbled, with his head bowed, so that only Jack could hear him. The
older man looked around at the empty room then back at his lover.
“Promises..” he teased. Philip smiled then took his first sip of
herbal tea
in many days. His moan was almost orgasmic as he closed his eyes and sighed
out deeply. Jack’s mouth twitched with a smile while he waited for the brown
eyes to open again.
They did open and met his gaze head on. “Man, I love…” Philip sighed
softly;
“Tea.”
Jack’s smile became a leer. “Do you and your tea want to be alone?”
“Would you? That would be great, thanks,” Philip retorted then winked before
he picked up his utensils and started to eat the less than appetizing meal
before him. “You know, I thought you wanted me healthy and home
again..”
Jack watched him eat. “I do. But I know where you’re going with
that
thought and I believe Doc Frasier must be hard up for patients..”
Philip laughed. “Suggesting you bring me here for a meal?” He wanted to
confirm they were both on the same wavelength. Jack gave a slight tilt of
his head in affirmation.
“Bet they have the stomach pump on stand by, even now,” Jack mumbled.
“And Janet rubbing her hands gleefully behind it, waiting for the next
victim..”
“Well, suffer through it, Philip. I’ll take you out for a good meal on
your
first night home.”
The young man stopped eating and looked up. “You’re going to let me leave
the house on my first night home?”
Jack grinned. “You’ll need protein..”
“I can think of at least one very enjoyable way of obtaining some, thanks
just the same.”
“Well then, I’ll need protein..” Jack responded. Philip chortled and
sipped
his juice.
“Lot’s of it..” He murmured as he put his glass down again.
Jack sat back and watched his lover eat, enjoying the simplicity of the act
and not allowing the moment to pass without silently acknowledging that this
was something he never thought he’d get to see ever again.
<End of part 81>
Stories on this page are the property of Nessessitee and Slida. Please do not copy these without the written permission of the Author. All Rights are acknowledged for MGM, Gekko and Stargate Productions as to the Copyrights of the characters within this story and no infringement on the copyrights are intended. For the Bombshells Series the character of Philip Simmons is entirely the creation and intellectual property of Nessessitee and Slida.
While the performances given by RDA and MS help to fuel the author's desire to write for their characters in a niche that she feels is present on the actual show, the portrayal of their characters in loving relationships in no way reflects the Author's opinion of the men's private life, nor should it be construed in that manner.