Page 10 of Unruly Kris

“Really?” Kris looked at her in surprise. “I never would have guessed that, with all the places you’ve been posted.”

“Austin rarely gets snow, and all my postings have been in warm climates. Texas, Louisiana, Nevada and then here. It’s not a big deal, you don’t miss what you’ve never had, Kris.” She gave him a sidelong glance, seeing something flit across his face briefly, a look in his eyes that was there and then gone . “Hey, when you were a kid, did you ever get the chance to lay on the floor under the tree and look up at the lights?”

“No.” Kris looked at her confused. “Why?”

“Because it’s the best way to see them.” Cath grabbed pillows and a blanket off the couch. “Come here.”

She helped him get down, then settled beside him on the blanket, leaning her head on his shoulder, peering up at the colored lights through the tree branches, feeling her heart pound in her chest as she tucked herself close to him. She thought back to earlier in the day, getting ready to leave the car, she had been so close to telling him she loved him aloud. She wanted to so badly, but her voice locked up, disappeared as usual when she needed it the most. Now, laying with him like a kid, it was the perfect moment and yet, she knew if she tried to say “I love you” the same thing would happen again.

Racking her mind, Cath tried to think of something, anything she could do to show him how she felt, to make the words come out easier. Then as she was brooding, an idea suddenly popped into her head, and she mentally kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner.

She smiled into Kris's shoulder and chuckled softly. “Totally perfect.”

“What is?” Kris said, stroking her hair lazily.

Cath quickly tried to cover her thoughts. “The tree, it’s perfect.”

“And here I thought you meant us,” he joked, picking up one of her hands and intertwining their fingers together lazily.

“Well, that just goes without saying...”

9

“Knock, knock. Can I come in?”

At the warm tone of Kris’s voice, Cath pulled her eyes from the computer screen and the situation report she was pouring through. The latest intelligence from one of their covert operatives alerted Special Forces of a possible shift in power among the remnants of the Black Dragon Clan that would have wreaked havoc on the operative network they worked hard to put in place. The last 96 hours had been an absolute blur of new information, tactical meetings, possible planning for an extraction of the operative if things went south and getting her squad ready to go on in case they had to peel out at a moment’s notice. After four and a half days on high alert, surviving on bad coffee and even worse sandwiches from the mess hall stuck in the familiar loop of not knowing if she was leaving or not, the whole operation had gone nowhere. The information proved false, Cath’s CO called a partial stand-down early that evening and she had come home to rest, only to remember she had a four-day stack of reports she had to burn through first, all of which had been neglected while she was in charge of the Emergency Command Center they set up.

She scrubbed a hand across her eyes and gave Kris an exhausted smile. He was standing in the doorway to her office in a t-shirt and pajama pants, a steaming cup of what she hoped was coffee in his hands. A quick glance at the clock told her it was after 3AM, she had been working steady since she got home, and that had been hours before.

“You should be asleep,” she admonished gently. “You’re still healing.”

“I’ve been lounging at home for over a month, and you’ve been up for four days straight.” Kris raised an eyebrow. “Which one of us do you think is more exhausted?”

“No comment,” she said, trying to hide a yawn behind her hand and failing miserably. “Especially since I can’t go to bed until I get these done.”

He crossed the room cautiously and she realized it was the first time he had ever been in her office. It was the only room in the house locked when she wasn’t in it, primarily because of the desktop connected to the Special Forces computer network and the large black gun safe that sat squat along one wall like a monolith. Other than that, the space was fairly utilitarian in its looks, sporting her desk, a series of low filing cabinets, a bookcase filled with a random assortment of books and knickknacks and an overstuffed armchair.

Kris approached her desk and set the cup down beside her, then came around behind her and began kneading her shoulders. Cath leaned back against him, resting her head on the solid wall of his abdomen and then after a moment, she reached for the mug and took a sip. She made a surprised face and then glanced up at him. “Chicken soup?”

“Yeah, you came home and got right to it without dinner, I figured you might be hungry. I also figured it was less like I was trying to feed you covertly and more like I was trying to bring you a hot drink if I put it in a mug.” His logic was sound; if he had showed up in the doorway with a bowl of soup, she would have told him to just leave it and then totally ignored it until it was cold and inedible. The simple kind gesture of putting it in a mug meant she could fool herself enough into thinking it was coffee and would wind up drinking it. Kris rested his cheek against her hair and then kissed the top of her head. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

He turned to walk away, and Cath reached out, snagging his hand and pulling him back to her. “Don’t go, keep me company for a bit.”

“You sure?” he leaned on the corner of her desk and nudged the mug towards her subtly. “I don’t want to interrupt you.”

“Absolutely.” Cath reluctantly picked up the coffee cup and took a sip. Her stomach growled in response as she realized how hungry she actually was. “You’re much better company then these reports and talking you will keep me awake and focused.”

Kris headed for the armchair, tucking himself in it and stretching his legs out in front of him, watching as she doggedly tried to push through paperwork. “So, it doesn’t look like you’ll have to take off then?”

“No, not unless the situation changes rapidly.” Cath shrugged with a sigh and returned her eyes to her computer screen. “Which can and does happen, but I highly doubt it this time.”

“Good, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to hear it.” Kris’s tone was emphatic, causing her to look over in surprise and consternation. He saw the expression on her face and raised a hand in conciliation before she could speak “Cath, I love you, I know how much your career means to you. I support everything you have to do for the Special Forces but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you being in danger or not feel relieved when you don’t have to be.”

“Smooth save.” She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck and flexed her shoulders, trying to cram the fatigue she was feeling into the small box she normally kept it in when she needed to pull hard.

“Yeah well, like you enjoy pointing out, I’m a pro with my mouth.” He leaned his head back against the chair with a self-satisfied grin and watched as she reached for another file. “Don’t you have to be up in like three hours?”

“Two and a half.” She yawned and tried desperately to focus on the screen. The words started swimming in front of her as a dizzy spell took hold and she swore softly, closing her eyes. Her stomach suddenly rolled, and she took a steadying breath through her nose. She had been running on adrenaline since the Red Alert sounded, and not for the first time she pushed herself to the point of her body crashing. Add to that the stress of worrying over Kris’s accident and injuries and she had been tired before the rise of this potential crisis, now she was redlining fast into extreme exhaustion. She stopped typing, balling her hands up into fists to stop the tremor that started in her fingers and tried not to vomit. Gradually, stilling her stomach, she began to run herself through the all too familiar breathing exercises she taught herself to try and stave off the worst of the obvious symptoms.

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