Fic: Combined Arms: This Gun's For Hire
Title: This Gun's For Hire
Fandom: Army Wives/Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: gen
Recipient: sgteam14283
Prompt: Army Wives/Stargate, Evan Lorne and Chase Moran, Special Ops training
Summary: Chase Moran gets an offer he might not be able to refuse. Post S5 Army Wives finale.
A/N: Holiday Fic Request Meme. First crossover prompt and an interesting combination. I wrote Stargate/Army Wives before (it's part of a bigger series, though, but if anyone wants to read it, I can point you to the entry on fanfiction.net :)) but this was interesting, too because of the perspective. I never wrote from the POV of any AW character before, so it's still kind of my virgin fic in this fandom. So, err, be gentle? ;)
PS.: For how long has Chase been a Delta operator? I distinctly remember him telling Pam in the pilot that "they made it into Delta" but apparently, I'm the only one remembering that. Any input? Resolved!
PPS.: Oh, BTW, this? The first part of three. And no idea how many more after the meme *coughs I don't have a 'verse name yet, though. Any suggestions are welcome.
This Gun’s For Hire
“You can't start a fire
you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
even if we're just dancing in the dark.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Dancing in the Dark”
Live fire exercise and he tells himself he can’t wait for his last ever one. Only a couple of weeks until he can move to California with Pam and the kids. He’s not gonna miss it, or so he likes to think. Of course he isn’t. Who in his right mind would miss training, missions, training, missions… Seriously, who would?
He will, that’s what. He didn’t tell Pam until now and he doesn’t plan to and something tells him she’s seen right through him anyway. Maybe it’s her being a cop or her being a mother or her being her but she’s got him figured out. Which is a good thing because he doesn’t have to tell her then, as in out loud.
So he concentrates on the training again, pushing his squad, telling them the SEALs got nothing on them and Hell Week’s what Deltas do for breakfast. Rumor has it there’s going to be some big push mission in a couple of days and because he’ll still be with his squad then, he makes sure they give top notch performance. They’re not gonna lose anyone under his watch.
He shouts at them and he makes sure they don’t waste any ammo and put every single projectile to good use. They’ve been running on next to no sleep for three days straight now and they’ve crossed a river, done some rappelling and then everything is kind of a blur, but he’s pretty sure they’re still doing good. They need to.
Not just for the mission but also because they’ve got visitors today, on the fourth and last day of their exercise. It’s the easy part; the obstacle course, Delta version. Still live fire but rather relaxing, even after the fourth run in a row. Couple of minutes break now, and then it’s the last run. Overlooking it all, their visitors.
Two in civvies, but they’re not the guys he can’t stop glancing at, even though he needs to keep his eyes focused on the mission. There’s this guy. Air Force camos, Oakleys, pilot’s stance. Lieutenant Colonel. Looks harmless, has a dangerous undercurrent going. The kind of guy all of Pam’s friends would fall for hard and Pam the hardest. It’s not intimidating him but he keeps his eyes on the guy, just in case. And then the guy comes walking over.
He looks at his squad and Biedermann raises an eyebrow, looking just this side of tired. Well, he’s gotta do something about that. Later. Because right now, Air Force guy reached them and he nods at them. His name tag reads “Lorne” and he notices a wedding band but the name tag and his rank insignia are the only distinguishing features on Air Force guy’s uniform. No unit patches, no wings, no nothing.
Lorne just nods into the round and takes off his shades, saying, “Sergeant Moran?” looking directly at him.
Huh. Resisting the urge to look at his squad, with an amused grin, he gets up, standing at attention. “At ease, Sergeant.” Okay. Parade rest then. “Walk a couple of steps with me.” What?
“Sir?” He looks directly at Lorne now, determined to remember who’s a soldier here and who’s flying planes.
Lorne, however, doesn’t seem to be very much impressed. “Simple order, Sergeant. Walk with me.”
Well. That was clear. “Yes, sir.”
Not looking back at his squad because he knows they’ll have his back regardless, he takes those couple of steps with the Colonel. A few feet away from his squad, out of earshot but observed closely by the two civilians, Lorne stops. “So… curious?”
He blinks. It’s the slight smirk in Lorne’s face that mildly confuses him. “About what, sir?”
“I’m sure you know about what, Sergeant. And I’m sure you’re curious.” There’s another smirk, a little more pronounced. Why does he get the feeling that this Lorne character isn’t some pencil pusher from the Pentagon, despite the two civilians accompanying him?
Probably because he’s got that… look. The one Colonel Burton has, and General Holden and basically all the officer spouses of Pam’s friends. The one that tells you he didn’t get the fancy rank for nothing and that he can see right through you, no matter how many walls you have built. Nope, that’s not your usual plane jockey, he decides. “Alright, sir. Maybe a little.”
“Thought so. I’m here on… a little recruiting mission.” That just makes him raise his eyebrow, knowing full well he shouldn’t do that in an officer’s presence. “I’m part of a top secret research facility. In fact, I command the military contingent. And lately, we’re… expanding. We need new personnel, military and civilian.”
Uh-huh. That doesn’t tell him anything. “Where do I fit in all of this, sir?”
Lorne smirks again, looking as if he understands his confusion but can’t reveal anything. Of course he can’t. They never can. What comes next still surprises him. “You’ve been a Delta operator since 2007. Married, divorced, remarried the same woman, two kids. Correct, so far?”
What the hell? He resists swallowing hard. “Yes, sir.”
“You are prepared to leave the Army for a private security firm based in California in a few weeks. Correct again?” Okay. That’s just plain spooky. Sure, he’d handed in his resignation papers and all. But that he was supposed to join his buddy’s security firm? No one aside from Pam knew that.
He swallows. “Yes, sir.” Baffled enough not to blurt out what’s burning in his mind. “Permission to ask a question, sir?”
He’s pretty sure there’s amusement in Lorne’s face now but it’s hard to tell. Man’s got a poker face, he has to give him that. “How do I know all of this?”
Of course he’d know what he was most likely to ask. There has to be a reason why he’s commanding some top secret military contingent. “Yes, sir.”
Lorne shrugs. “We have our ways.”
It’s not getting any clearer. “We, sir?”
“Yep. See the two guys over there?” Lorne points towards the civilians who are still keeping their distance. “They’re representatives of the civilian side of the base I command.”
“What kind of post, sir?” He knew his temporary befuddlement would be a short one. And he’s surprised that Lorne doesn’t give him hell for interrupting a field grade officer. Colonel Burton and Colonel Sherwood sure as hell would have.
“Joint Air Force and Marine Corps operation.” Okay, that can’t be true. He’s pretty sure he never heard of any joint operation between two branches as different from each other as the Air Force and the Corps. The Air Force usually has the Army to do their dirty work and the Marines are shuffled off to their dirty work by the Navy. Lorne’s gotta be pulling his leg. “But we’re always looking for competent personnel from other branches, too. When we looked into the Army, we found you.”
It’s gotta be a joke. Sure, he’s good and he’s got a tight hold on his squad and he brought every one of them home alive every damn time they went away on a mission. But he’s not that good. Most of all, he won’t be in the Army for much longer. “I’m… honored, sir. But you’re a couple weeks too late.”
Lorne raises an eyebrow. “You mean because you handed in your resignation?” He nods. Yeah, because of that. Because Pam will kill him if he only so much as thinks about changing that decision. “We can always take care of that. You’d have to sign a non-disclosure agreement first, though.”
Right. Of course he’d have to do that. And it’s not like he wouldn’t do it and it’s not like he’s not starting to get really interested in that acclaimed joint Air Force and Marine Corps operation except that this part of his life - rigorous training, missions, feeling like a bachelor because he never gets to see either his kids or his wife - will be over soon. And that’s a good thing. He shakes his head. “Sir, part of why I wanted to resign was that I have a wife and kids who I’d like to see more often than just a couple of days each month.”
There. Lorne should get that or the wedding band has to be a fake. Or maybe his wife is either a lot more indulgent or a lot more uninterested than Pam. “Your wife is a cop with the local PD, isn’t she?”
He frowns. “Yeah.” And Pam’s a damn fine cop. Best cop he ever saw and it’s not because he’s a little biased.
“We can always use skilled security and investigative personnel.” Wait, what? He actually does something akin to a double take.
Not exactly sure if he just heard Lorne right, he narrows his eyes. “She could come with me?”
Lorne nods. “Yes. Your wife and your kids, and no secret missions.” It sounds too good to be true.
Still skeptical, he eyes Lorne. “Because the entire installation is top secret?”
The Colonel nods. “Exactly.”
Fuck. He nearly has him. Staying in the Army, just for a couple years longer, doing what he loves to do, not having to keep any of that from Pam or Katie and Lucas… Too good to be true. Just too good to be true. “And all Pam and I would have to do is sign the non-disclosure agreements?”
“Basically, yes.” How the hell did it happen? How could this Chair Force guy make leaving the Army sound so unappealing all of a sudden? How could he get him so interested that he seriously considers risking Pam’s wrath that will most probably end in more than just a month on the couch?
He takes a look around, back to his squad, the civilians… and his CO, staring holes into Lorne’s back. So the Colonel’s been serious. Even talked to his CO before coming here. He swallows again. “Why me?”
“Well,” Lorne says and rubs his neck, then makes a face. Much like he does whenever he’s gotta tell his squad off for squad night, because he’d much rather spend a free evening with Pam. Or just any time he has to tell his squad off because of something Pam said or did. “I know a Marine Corps Captain who'd kill to have someone like you on her team. And I'm still lacking an anniversary present.” He… what?
Involuntarily, his gaze flickers back to the ring on Lorne’s left hand. So Lorne’s wife is probably neither indulgent nor uninterested. She’s a Marine and serving on the same base. Under his command. This is just this side of weird. He frowns. “So…”
“So... I'm making you an offer you can't refuse." Right. How does he know he can’t?
“What makes you think so, sir?” It’s a valid question, isn’t it? So it’s okay that there’s a slightly irritated undertone to it.
Lorne seems to have ignored it. Instead he starts numerating stuff on his fingers. “You don’t want to leave the Army.” It’s a statement, not a question and it pisses him off. Lorne is right. “Your wife needs more of a challenge than what she’s doing right now.” Pam always needs more of a challenge. Wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t. “Your kids deserve an excellent education.” True. Katie sometimes scares him with how smart she is and Lucas needs teachers who push him enough that he can be his best.
He’s not convinced. Not yet. “And you owe your Captain an anniversary present.”
For a moment, he’s positive that Lorne will bust his ass and leave him standing here. Maybe that’s why he said it. It doesn’t work. It’s the face that Lorne makes that tells him that. “That, too.” Then he’s back to business. “Just think about it, Sergeant.”
Before he can stop himself, he snorts and it’s out. “I’ll never get any action again if I do, sir.”
There’s a little grin on Lorne’s face now. One that looks understanding. “I’ll never get any action again if I come home without you, Sergeant.”
Oh, and that’s a good reason for him to risk a second big falling out with Pam and maybe a permanent divorce, too? From the look of it, Lorne knows it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. Because he gave him plenty of other reasons, perfect ones. He wonders what the contingent Lorne’s commanding is like. What that Captain he married and who would give him hell is like. “Your wife, sir… she a good Marine?”
There’s a short moment when Lorne’s face softens, right after he asked that question and then professional distance is back. “One of the best.” Professional distance and a weird look of pride. Probably what he looks like when he’s talking about Pam. “Could have been Recon if they’d allow women to serve there.” Lorne shrugs and grins again. “Their loss.”
He’d love to know how much of that is spousal bias and how much is actually true. He’d love to meet that Captain. He’d really like to keep his marriage and family intact. He frowns. “I’ll… think about it, sir.”
It’s not that he regrets saying that. It’s just that he just surprised himself with not outright turning the offer down. Lorne doesn’t look surprised. “That’s all I’m asking of you, Sergeant.” Then he reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a small stack of business cards. “I’ll be stateside for two more weeks. When you reach a decision, be sure to give me a call or send me an e-mail.”
Trying not to look too eager, he takes the card and has a short look at it. He’s pretty sure he never saw an e-mail address with the extension @sgc.usaf.mil before. “Will do, sir.”
Lorne is about to say something when there’s the sound of a cell ringing. It’s the hymn of the Marine Corps and Lorne pulls the cell out of his pocket, saying “I gotta take this call. Carry on, Sergeant,” without even looking at the display. Then he turns around, answering his phone with, “We really need to work on the patience thing, jarhead,” and walking away, laughing and talking and pretty much seeming to having forgotten about that Sergeant he’d been so eagerly trying to convince not to end his career in the Army and sign a non-disclosure agreement instead.
Operative word being seeming. Because he’s pretty sure Lorne knows full well about the seed he planted in his mind and that’s starting to grow rapidly even if he tries to weed it out.
While Lorne goes to join the civilians - and obviously talk to his CO again - he walks back to his squad. Biedermann is being a facial smartass again and he just growls, “Get up. Been sitting around on your asses way too long. Any longer and no one will consider us Deltas anymore,” forestalling any attempts at trying to squeeze him for information on that Chair Force type who’d dragged him away.
It’s working, at least on his squad because they get up for what would be the last run through the obstacle course if he wasn’t suddenly in the mood for two more. If he’s gonna work with a Marine, he sure as hell should be up to scratch. He just has to find a way how to break it to Pam that there actually is that if, even though he knows it’s a damn bad idea and even though he’s kind of pissed at Lorne for triggering all of this. First, though, training. He’s gonna figure out everything else later. Good plan.
~*~
TBC in Been a Bad Day.
Fandom: Army Wives/Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: gen
Recipient: sgteam14283
Prompt: Army Wives/Stargate, Evan Lorne and Chase Moran, Special Ops training
Summary: Chase Moran gets an offer he might not be able to refuse. Post S5 Army Wives finale.
A/N: Holiday Fic Request Meme. First crossover prompt and an interesting combination. I wrote Stargate/Army Wives before (it's part of a bigger series, though, but if anyone wants to read it, I can point you to the entry on fanfiction.net :)) but this was interesting, too because of the perspective. I never wrote from the POV of any AW character before, so it's still kind of my virgin fic in this fandom. So, err, be gentle? ;)
PS.: For how long has Chase been a Delta operator? I distinctly remember him telling Pam in the pilot that "they made it into Delta" but apparently, I'm the only one remembering that. Any input? Resolved!
PPS.: Oh, BTW, this? The first part of three. And no idea how many more after the meme *coughs I don't have a 'verse name yet, though. Any suggestions are welcome.
This Gun’s For Hire
“You can't start a fire
you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
even if we're just dancing in the dark.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Dancing in the Dark”
Live fire exercise and he tells himself he can’t wait for his last ever one. Only a couple of weeks until he can move to California with Pam and the kids. He’s not gonna miss it, or so he likes to think. Of course he isn’t. Who in his right mind would miss training, missions, training, missions… Seriously, who would?
He will, that’s what. He didn’t tell Pam until now and he doesn’t plan to and something tells him she’s seen right through him anyway. Maybe it’s her being a cop or her being a mother or her being her but she’s got him figured out. Which is a good thing because he doesn’t have to tell her then, as in out loud.
So he concentrates on the training again, pushing his squad, telling them the SEALs got nothing on them and Hell Week’s what Deltas do for breakfast. Rumor has it there’s going to be some big push mission in a couple of days and because he’ll still be with his squad then, he makes sure they give top notch performance. They’re not gonna lose anyone under his watch.
He shouts at them and he makes sure they don’t waste any ammo and put every single projectile to good use. They’ve been running on next to no sleep for three days straight now and they’ve crossed a river, done some rappelling and then everything is kind of a blur, but he’s pretty sure they’re still doing good. They need to.
Not just for the mission but also because they’ve got visitors today, on the fourth and last day of their exercise. It’s the easy part; the obstacle course, Delta version. Still live fire but rather relaxing, even after the fourth run in a row. Couple of minutes break now, and then it’s the last run. Overlooking it all, their visitors.
Two in civvies, but they’re not the guys he can’t stop glancing at, even though he needs to keep his eyes focused on the mission. There’s this guy. Air Force camos, Oakleys, pilot’s stance. Lieutenant Colonel. Looks harmless, has a dangerous undercurrent going. The kind of guy all of Pam’s friends would fall for hard and Pam the hardest. It’s not intimidating him but he keeps his eyes on the guy, just in case. And then the guy comes walking over.
He looks at his squad and Biedermann raises an eyebrow, looking just this side of tired. Well, he’s gotta do something about that. Later. Because right now, Air Force guy reached them and he nods at them. His name tag reads “Lorne” and he notices a wedding band but the name tag and his rank insignia are the only distinguishing features on Air Force guy’s uniform. No unit patches, no wings, no nothing.
Lorne just nods into the round and takes off his shades, saying, “Sergeant Moran?” looking directly at him.
Huh. Resisting the urge to look at his squad, with an amused grin, he gets up, standing at attention. “At ease, Sergeant.” Okay. Parade rest then. “Walk a couple of steps with me.” What?
“Sir?” He looks directly at Lorne now, determined to remember who’s a soldier here and who’s flying planes.
Lorne, however, doesn’t seem to be very much impressed. “Simple order, Sergeant. Walk with me.”
Well. That was clear. “Yes, sir.”
Not looking back at his squad because he knows they’ll have his back regardless, he takes those couple of steps with the Colonel. A few feet away from his squad, out of earshot but observed closely by the two civilians, Lorne stops. “So… curious?”
He blinks. It’s the slight smirk in Lorne’s face that mildly confuses him. “About what, sir?”
“I’m sure you know about what, Sergeant. And I’m sure you’re curious.” There’s another smirk, a little more pronounced. Why does he get the feeling that this Lorne character isn’t some pencil pusher from the Pentagon, despite the two civilians accompanying him?
Probably because he’s got that… look. The one Colonel Burton has, and General Holden and basically all the officer spouses of Pam’s friends. The one that tells you he didn’t get the fancy rank for nothing and that he can see right through you, no matter how many walls you have built. Nope, that’s not your usual plane jockey, he decides. “Alright, sir. Maybe a little.”
“Thought so. I’m here on… a little recruiting mission.” That just makes him raise his eyebrow, knowing full well he shouldn’t do that in an officer’s presence. “I’m part of a top secret research facility. In fact, I command the military contingent. And lately, we’re… expanding. We need new personnel, military and civilian.”
Uh-huh. That doesn’t tell him anything. “Where do I fit in all of this, sir?”
Lorne smirks again, looking as if he understands his confusion but can’t reveal anything. Of course he can’t. They never can. What comes next still surprises him. “You’ve been a Delta operator since 2007. Married, divorced, remarried the same woman, two kids. Correct, so far?”
What the hell? He resists swallowing hard. “Yes, sir.”
“You are prepared to leave the Army for a private security firm based in California in a few weeks. Correct again?” Okay. That’s just plain spooky. Sure, he’d handed in his resignation papers and all. But that he was supposed to join his buddy’s security firm? No one aside from Pam knew that.
He swallows. “Yes, sir.” Baffled enough not to blurt out what’s burning in his mind. “Permission to ask a question, sir?”
He’s pretty sure there’s amusement in Lorne’s face now but it’s hard to tell. Man’s got a poker face, he has to give him that. “How do I know all of this?”
Of course he’d know what he was most likely to ask. There has to be a reason why he’s commanding some top secret military contingent. “Yes, sir.”
Lorne shrugs. “We have our ways.”
It’s not getting any clearer. “We, sir?”
“Yep. See the two guys over there?” Lorne points towards the civilians who are still keeping their distance. “They’re representatives of the civilian side of the base I command.”
“What kind of post, sir?” He knew his temporary befuddlement would be a short one. And he’s surprised that Lorne doesn’t give him hell for interrupting a field grade officer. Colonel Burton and Colonel Sherwood sure as hell would have.
“Joint Air Force and Marine Corps operation.” Okay, that can’t be true. He’s pretty sure he never heard of any joint operation between two branches as different from each other as the Air Force and the Corps. The Air Force usually has the Army to do their dirty work and the Marines are shuffled off to their dirty work by the Navy. Lorne’s gotta be pulling his leg. “But we’re always looking for competent personnel from other branches, too. When we looked into the Army, we found you.”
It’s gotta be a joke. Sure, he’s good and he’s got a tight hold on his squad and he brought every one of them home alive every damn time they went away on a mission. But he’s not that good. Most of all, he won’t be in the Army for much longer. “I’m… honored, sir. But you’re a couple weeks too late.”
Lorne raises an eyebrow. “You mean because you handed in your resignation?” He nods. Yeah, because of that. Because Pam will kill him if he only so much as thinks about changing that decision. “We can always take care of that. You’d have to sign a non-disclosure agreement first, though.”
Right. Of course he’d have to do that. And it’s not like he wouldn’t do it and it’s not like he’s not starting to get really interested in that acclaimed joint Air Force and Marine Corps operation except that this part of his life - rigorous training, missions, feeling like a bachelor because he never gets to see either his kids or his wife - will be over soon. And that’s a good thing. He shakes his head. “Sir, part of why I wanted to resign was that I have a wife and kids who I’d like to see more often than just a couple of days each month.”
There. Lorne should get that or the wedding band has to be a fake. Or maybe his wife is either a lot more indulgent or a lot more uninterested than Pam. “Your wife is a cop with the local PD, isn’t she?”
He frowns. “Yeah.” And Pam’s a damn fine cop. Best cop he ever saw and it’s not because he’s a little biased.
“We can always use skilled security and investigative personnel.” Wait, what? He actually does something akin to a double take.
Not exactly sure if he just heard Lorne right, he narrows his eyes. “She could come with me?”
Lorne nods. “Yes. Your wife and your kids, and no secret missions.” It sounds too good to be true.
Still skeptical, he eyes Lorne. “Because the entire installation is top secret?”
The Colonel nods. “Exactly.”
Fuck. He nearly has him. Staying in the Army, just for a couple years longer, doing what he loves to do, not having to keep any of that from Pam or Katie and Lucas… Too good to be true. Just too good to be true. “And all Pam and I would have to do is sign the non-disclosure agreements?”
“Basically, yes.” How the hell did it happen? How could this Chair Force guy make leaving the Army sound so unappealing all of a sudden? How could he get him so interested that he seriously considers risking Pam’s wrath that will most probably end in more than just a month on the couch?
He takes a look around, back to his squad, the civilians… and his CO, staring holes into Lorne’s back. So the Colonel’s been serious. Even talked to his CO before coming here. He swallows again. “Why me?”
“Well,” Lorne says and rubs his neck, then makes a face. Much like he does whenever he’s gotta tell his squad off for squad night, because he’d much rather spend a free evening with Pam. Or just any time he has to tell his squad off because of something Pam said or did. “I know a Marine Corps Captain who'd kill to have someone like you on her team. And I'm still lacking an anniversary present.” He… what?
Involuntarily, his gaze flickers back to the ring on Lorne’s left hand. So Lorne’s wife is probably neither indulgent nor uninterested. She’s a Marine and serving on the same base. Under his command. This is just this side of weird. He frowns. “So…”
“So... I'm making you an offer you can't refuse." Right. How does he know he can’t?
“What makes you think so, sir?” It’s a valid question, isn’t it? So it’s okay that there’s a slightly irritated undertone to it.
Lorne seems to have ignored it. Instead he starts numerating stuff on his fingers. “You don’t want to leave the Army.” It’s a statement, not a question and it pisses him off. Lorne is right. “Your wife needs more of a challenge than what she’s doing right now.” Pam always needs more of a challenge. Wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t. “Your kids deserve an excellent education.” True. Katie sometimes scares him with how smart she is and Lucas needs teachers who push him enough that he can be his best.
He’s not convinced. Not yet. “And you owe your Captain an anniversary present.”
For a moment, he’s positive that Lorne will bust his ass and leave him standing here. Maybe that’s why he said it. It doesn’t work. It’s the face that Lorne makes that tells him that. “That, too.” Then he’s back to business. “Just think about it, Sergeant.”
Before he can stop himself, he snorts and it’s out. “I’ll never get any action again if I do, sir.”
There’s a little grin on Lorne’s face now. One that looks understanding. “I’ll never get any action again if I come home without you, Sergeant.”
Oh, and that’s a good reason for him to risk a second big falling out with Pam and maybe a permanent divorce, too? From the look of it, Lorne knows it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. Because he gave him plenty of other reasons, perfect ones. He wonders what the contingent Lorne’s commanding is like. What that Captain he married and who would give him hell is like. “Your wife, sir… she a good Marine?”
There’s a short moment when Lorne’s face softens, right after he asked that question and then professional distance is back. “One of the best.” Professional distance and a weird look of pride. Probably what he looks like when he’s talking about Pam. “Could have been Recon if they’d allow women to serve there.” Lorne shrugs and grins again. “Their loss.”
He’d love to know how much of that is spousal bias and how much is actually true. He’d love to meet that Captain. He’d really like to keep his marriage and family intact. He frowns. “I’ll… think about it, sir.”
It’s not that he regrets saying that. It’s just that he just surprised himself with not outright turning the offer down. Lorne doesn’t look surprised. “That’s all I’m asking of you, Sergeant.” Then he reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a small stack of business cards. “I’ll be stateside for two more weeks. When you reach a decision, be sure to give me a call or send me an e-mail.”
Trying not to look too eager, he takes the card and has a short look at it. He’s pretty sure he never saw an e-mail address with the extension @sgc.usaf.mil before. “Will do, sir.”
Lorne is about to say something when there’s the sound of a cell ringing. It’s the hymn of the Marine Corps and Lorne pulls the cell out of his pocket, saying “I gotta take this call. Carry on, Sergeant,” without even looking at the display. Then he turns around, answering his phone with, “We really need to work on the patience thing, jarhead,” and walking away, laughing and talking and pretty much seeming to having forgotten about that Sergeant he’d been so eagerly trying to convince not to end his career in the Army and sign a non-disclosure agreement instead.
Operative word being seeming. Because he’s pretty sure Lorne knows full well about the seed he planted in his mind and that’s starting to grow rapidly even if he tries to weed it out.
While Lorne goes to join the civilians - and obviously talk to his CO again - he walks back to his squad. Biedermann is being a facial smartass again and he just growls, “Get up. Been sitting around on your asses way too long. Any longer and no one will consider us Deltas anymore,” forestalling any attempts at trying to squeeze him for information on that Chair Force type who’d dragged him away.
It’s working, at least on his squad because they get up for what would be the last run through the obstacle course if he wasn’t suddenly in the mood for two more. If he’s gonna work with a Marine, he sure as hell should be up to scratch. He just has to find a way how to break it to Pam that there actually is that if, even though he knows it’s a damn bad idea and even though he’s kind of pissed at Lorne for triggering all of this. First, though, training. He’s gonna figure out everything else later. Good plan.
~*~
TBC in Been a Bad Day.