“Gee baby, she’ll only be here for a short time, you’ll wear her out,” Aidan smiled, a comforting smile knowing Vicky would be happy and preoccupied, and none the wiser for what Aidan will be facing.
“Oh no! I just realized we haven’t even set a date yet, Aidan!”
“Okay, what date would you like? You pick, because I don’t have a preference.”
Vicky decided the bathroom was not the place she wanted to be in, to start planning her wedding, so she walked back to the bed and sat down. Opening her cell phone, she clicked on the calendar app.
“Okay, we both want to get married as soon as possible, right?”
Aidan nodded in agreement, as she sat down beside her.
But Vicky put her phone down and looked at Aidan, “Oh, I have to ask first, how you feel about a large wedding with all the trimmings?”
“Is that what you want kid?”
“Yes, it is, actually. I mean I know it’s a lot to ask, but you won’t have to lift a finger. I’ll take care of everything, I promise.”
“Baby, I want you to have the wedding of your dreams. Whatever you want, however you want it,”
Vicky looked up at her and giggled, the excitement bubbling up inside of her, “Okay then, let’s pick a date,” calculating in her head, Vicky went down the list, “Let’s see, I’ll need time to plan it, have my dress made, ask my bridesmaids, invite our guests, oh gosh there’s so much to do. Let’s say six weeks from today.” She looked at the calendar, “Oh good, that’s a Saturday, perfect.”
“Okay, we’ve got our date, what’s next?”
“Well, I’m going to be busy for the next few weeks, but what about you? I don’t want to leave you sitting around this hotel with nothing to do.”
“Oh don’t worry about me, baby. I’m going to check in with Homeland Security and see about getting a job. You remember that right? That I want to be an agent?”
“Yes, I knew it was coming. You’ll make a great agent, it’s just that—”
“That you’ll worry about me, right? Seriously, I don’t think anything can compare to as much violence as we’ve been through just right there in that hospital.”
Vicky laughed, she had to agree, it had been dangerous being in the hospital just a few months ago, but now, now she wouldn’t be anywhere else. This hospital was more her home than her house was. She knew every nook and cranny of the building, every quirk it had, every hum it sang. That was her hospital and she fought like hell to keep it going, from terrorist and from foreclosure.
“Aidan…,” Vicky spoke so softly that Aidan could barely hear her, “I’ve got the perfect place for our wedding.”
Aidan could see the excitement glittering in her blue eyes. Please don’t say here.
“We’ll have it right here!”
That was not what Aidan wanted to hear, but she tried not to let it show. No, Aidan was hoping it would be in another state, some place far away from her father.
“That’s great kid, but if you’re inviting as many people as I think you are, where will you put them all? I think the island of Hawaii might be room enough.” Although she said it to sound like a joke, Aidan was actually trying to put the idea of holding the wedding someplace else, in her lover’s mind.
But Vicky was oblivious to her suggestion. She was concentrating on finding a room in the hospital to hold all the people she hoped would be attending, but she couldn’t think of any room that would be large enough, “Oh well, I’ll worry about that later. Maybe Joyce will have some ideas. Oh Aidan, this is going to be so much fun!”
Aidan was thankful that the wedding seemed to have pushed the ugly memories from Vicky’s mind. Vicky was so alive again, so full of energy and zest for life, that Aidan was drawn to kiss her, deeply, possessively.
“I love you so much, kid.”
“Oh sweetheart, I couldn’t love you more.”
There was a knock on the door, and the two separated. Damn!
“I think our breakfast just arrived. I was hoping to serve you breakfast in bed, but they took too long,” Aidan went to the door and peered through the peep hole, and then she opened it. The bell hop brought in a tray overflowing with food, so much food in fact, that he had to set it down and go fetch the coffee.
“Just put it on the counter, thanks,” Aidan pulled out a five from her jeans and handed it to him. Then she made sure that the do not disturb sign was still on the knob before she closed the door. When she turned around, Vicky was back in bed with a napkin tucked in under her chin.
“Oh Aidan, breakfast in bed. You spoil me.”
Grinning, Aidan said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet, baby,” She brought the tray over and sat it on Vicky’s lap. Then she slid under the covers beside her. Vicky picked up a sausage link and put one end in her mouth, and the other in Aidan’s. Together they ate their way to the middle, where Aidan growled lustfully at the last bite.
“Aidan, we should invite Jerry over for breakfast, we can’t eat all of this ourselves.”
“Well, that’s not really what I had in mind, but okay, sure. I’ll go get him, don’t go anywhere, okay?” The only reason Aidan gave up a morning of sex with her lover was because she needed Jerry to cover for her while she went out after breakfast.
***
“I’m impressed.”
“Impressed? What are you talking about, doctor? What is there to be impressed about?”
Dr. Kline was indeed impressed with the survival instincts Samantha used to stay alive. A weaker person might have given up, probably have died after the first few months of captivity. But Samantha instinctively found a way to protect herself emotionally and physically. He doubted though, that it was that easy, because they had barely just begun to tap the surface, and he knew there had to be much more to her story.
“I’m impressed with your intuitiveness, your desire to survive. You were trapped, and alone in the desert, with only the enemy to keep you company. Civilization as you knew it was gone. Forced into a vastly different philosophy, one that certainly does not treat women the way you’re used to. Surrounded by men who despised, and used you, and you had the presence of mind, and the courage to fight them. And by fight them; I’m talking about a sound, strategic move on your part to fraught their attempts to manipulate you in abusive ways. Yes, very impressed.” Kline hoped that some little part of his speech would soak beneath Samantha’s resistance and lift her up, if only the tiniest bit.
Though she didn’t respond to his statement, she did begin to understand what he was saying. She tried to see herself through his eyes and thought maybe he was on to something. It was an olive branch he was holding out, and she made the decision that she would grab for. If only to keep from drowning in the suffocating despair she was swimming in.
***
“I need to see Tom Bradshah please, and no, he is not expecting me, but if you tell him it’s Aidan Cassidy, I think he’ll want to see me.” Aidan didn’t say it to try and impress the secretary; she said it because she had a unique bond with the man. One that involved almost being blown up together.
The secretary picked up her phone and rang his office. In less than a minute he came limping out the door, his hand extended.
“Come in. It’s good to see you again, Aidan.”
“Thank you, sir, and you also.”
“I’m glad to see we both survived, although I left part of my leg back at the hospital.”
“I noticed the limp, sir.”
“Yeah, I’m a desk jockey now. They won’t let me out in the field anymore, but at least I’m still the boss around here.”
Tom Bradshah, head of the local branch of Homeland Security, was instrumental in recruiting Aidan to help with the terrorist threat against St. Francis Hospital. On President Trenton’s request, he worked with Aidan to locate and dismantle the attempt to blow up the hospital. But Tom and Aidan were in the same room when one of the bombs was intentionally set off, killing several people, and injuring Tom. The fact that he�
�s even alive is by the grace of God, at least that’s the way he sees it.
“So what brings you here today? Not more bomb threats I hope?”
“Actually, sir—”
“Sir? Why so formal? Call me Tom, like before.”
“Well, that may not be the proper thing to call my boss.”
Tom looked at her curiously.
Aidan took a deep breath and plowed through her prepared speech, “I want to be an agent for Homeland Security. Now I know I’m not the usual age of most of your recruits, but I’ve already been trained, qualified on the firing range and hand-to-hand combat, and—”
“Aidan, the job is yours. It was from the moment President Trenton brought you into the fold. I was just waiting for you to ask. And since I will be your official boss,” Tom had a playful grin on his face, “I’ll have to call you by your last name, like everyone else.”
“Wow, really sir? That’s great.”
“When can you start?”
“Well, sir, I wasn’t prepared to go to work right away. I didn’t think you’d be this easy..., uh, I mean..., well not to push my luck, but can I start in two months? You see I’m getting married in six weeks and don’t want to commit myself.”
“Okay, let’s do this; let’s put you on desk duty part time so you can learn the inner workings of how we do things around here. You’d be surprise how much paper work we have to deal with. But I do actually have a slot available, as an agent, so when you get back from your honeymoon, we’ll put you in the field immediately.”
Starting over again had its advantages, especially when it seemed they were eager to hire her. So, remembering how her fiancée lived her life proudly open and free, Aidan boldly said, “I want it known up front, sir, that I am a lesbian. I know you didn’t ask but I’m telling. I’m not going to play those games anymore that I had to play in the Army.”
“I can appreciate that, Cassidy, but I already knew it. And since we’re being honest with each other, I trust you with my life, Cassidy, just not with my wife,” He winked and Aidan laughed, appreciating his acceptance.
“That’s excellent, sir, thank you. I, uh…, have one more sort of, favor I need to ask for. Off the record.”
Tom was impressed with her boldness, though he expected no less, “Yes, Cassidy?”
“I have a need for a license to carry a concealed weapon, for reasons I can’t go into at the moment. I don’t want to wait the required time to get one. Any ideas how I can make that happen?”
“Well that does sound ominous, Cassidy, but what you do on your own time, is none of my business, as long as it doesn’t reflect badly on this office, and what it stands for. With that said, off the record, as an agent of the United States Homeland Security, Local LR56, you automatically have the right to conceal your weapon as long as you carry a badge.” Tom got up and went to the cabinet, unlocked it, and pulled out a badge and a Sig P229 in a holster. He handed them to her and said, “I’ll rush the paperwork through so you’ll be legally employed here, and you’ll need to qualify in fire arms before you use it, understand?”
Aidan nodded her head, and took the gun from its holster. She inserted the magazine and slid the chamber, feeling the weight and balance of the weapon. Then she decocked it, and put it back in its holster, which she then clipped to her belt on her right side. As long as she had a cast on her left hand, she would have to use her right hand for most things. But when it came to shooting a pistol, she had taught herself to be ambidextrous.
“Sir, again I don’t want to push my luck, but why are you bending the rules for me? Not that I’m not appreciative, I just don’t like owing people without knowing why.”
“I wouldn’t say that I was bending the rules necessarily, but the top two reasons are President Trenton and the Medals of Honor. Don’t you know Cassidy, all the agencies were shitting in their pants trying to get you to work for them. But I’m sure it must have been my winning smile that convinced you to come here, right?” Tom laughed at his own joke.
“That and the sexy limp you’ve got going for yourself, sir.”
Laughing, he picked up his phone and asked his secretary to come in, “I’ll need you to fill out some paperwork, get your photo taken, finger printed, that sort of thing,” then Tom stood up and shook her hand, “Welcome to the team, Cassidy.”
“Thank you, sir. I look forward to serving under your leadership.”
“That’s good, because we’re going after the underground terrorist cell that you got a piece of a couple of months ago.”
“I was hoping that would be the case, sir.”
Tom took out a thick folder full of papers and tossed it on the desk in front of her, “Then here, take this home and study it, and in two months be prepared to form your team and find these bastards.”
“Roger that sir. Uh, my team, sir?”
“Yes, whoever you need to make it happen. We have excellent agents here.”
“What if they’re not an agent, sir?
“You have someone in mind, Cassidy?”
“I do actually. He helped me on a mission to Syria recently.”
“Oh yes, Jerry Williams, fresh out of the Army, and your right hand man in rescuing Samantha Vincent this week.”
“Damn,” Aidan didn’t bother to conceal her surprise.
“He would be an ideal candidate, Cassidy and he’s already proven what an asset he was to you. He’ll have to go through the same paperwork, background check, and so on, that you will.”
“Thank you, sir, I will ask him today,” Jerry would be Aidan’s first choice, but she knew that Jerry had plans for his life that didn’t include this type of job, so she wasn’t expecting him to accept. Still, she certainly was going to ask him anyway.
Tom asked, “What about Victoria Montgomery? I understand that she was indispensable in Operation Pink Knight as well. She would make a good agent too.”
“My fiancée? Yes, she was essential but she prefers running the hospital.” Aidan had to admit, it would be remarkable to team up with Vicky again. They were invincible together, but then again, she would be safer in the board room where she prefers to be. Besides, she would have to take a huge cut in salary, and she’s not that foolish.
Aidan picked up the folder with CLASSIFIED stamped across the cover, and thumbed through it. She wasn’t prepared to see pictures of a pool of blood where she had laid after being shot in Vicky’s office, where she was wounded while saving President Trenton’s life. In retrospect, she should have expected it. She tucked the folder under her arm and followed the secretary out the door.
Picking up the phone, Tom dialed a number and said, “This is Tom Bradshah, sir, just wanted to let you know that Cassidy was here asking for a job. Yes sir, Mr. President, of course I hired her on the spot. Very good, sir.” With that Tom hung up the phone, and leaning back in his chair, he propped his legs up on his desk, a smile of victory on his face. All the other agencies were falling all over themselves trying to hire Aidan, and here she walks in to his office asking for a job.
***
Waiting in line for a cappuccino, Kate saw Ruth come through the front lobby doorway, and she called to her, “Ruth! Ruth, over here.”
“Good morning, Kate.”
“So, how did the date go?”
“Get me a coffee, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Five minutes later, the two women sat at a small table behind the coffee bar, sipping on their drinks. Kate eyed Ruth eagerly, impatiently, but Ruth wasn’t ready to tell her what she wanted to hear.
“You have a beautiful daughter, Kate. She seemed really nice.”
“Thank you. She is the light of my life. And don’t let her kid you, she’s nothing like I am, thank goodness.”
“Well, she has your sense of humor, that’s for sure.”
Kate laughed, and nodded her head. One of the things she was most proud of was the fact that her daughter was raised to accept people for who they are, and not be afraid to joke about it.
“Okay, you’ve stalled long enough, kitten. What happened on your date? Anything between the sheets you want to talk about?”
“Actually, we never got to the sheets. The date was pretty much a disaster from the git go.”
“Oh no! Tell me what happened.”
“You saw what happened. I spewed my drink all over her.”
“And then?”
“And then? And then I tried to apologize, and wipe the drink from her blouse.”
“And then?”
“Then I, uh, guess, um, that sort of made it worse. She sort of had two big, wet, handprints right over her breasts, and um, she wasn’t wearing a bra. I told her it looked sexy, but I don’t think she appreciated my compliment. Actually, I thought she was going to scream from embarrassment. We left after that. You know, it was easier when I was married to Fred. He would have thought it was funny.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you didn’t turn it around to your advantage?”
“I didn’t see an opportunity to do that, Kate.”
“There are always options Ruth. For instants, taking her back to your place for a change of clothes. Or driving her straight to a clothing store and buying her a change of clothes, then taking her back to your place. Or offering her your shirt, and then taking her back to your place.”
“I’m sensing a theme here…, but seriously, it’s too late, she hates me now.”
“I seriously doubt that, but I see now that we will have to work on the pre-sex etiquette more. I’ve concentrated too much on teaching you the techniques of love making, when I should have also been teaching you the techniques to getting them in to bed, so you can make love to them. That’s a very crucial element for having sex. Well, unless you’re with someone like me, that is. I neither want, nor require such preamble.”
“And I like that about you, Kate.”
Kate sparkled at the compliment. “Oh kitten, you say the nicest things. Why don’t we get together tonight and practice dating?”
“Sure, and then I can take you back to my place for sex.” Ruth jested.
Remember, You Love Me: Little Girl Lost Page 11
