Holiday Op

Chapter Six

"Okay, Captain. We need to get you out of this place. The chopper will come back as soon as it can."

Please at least give us today, she thought not sure if she was more shocked at herself for not wanting to get to the ER and a long, hot shower, or if the shock came from thinking things… those kinds of things… about Slick.

Slick. “What's your name?” she whispered.

He turned with a look of surprise. “Oh, yeah, Captain. Believe it or not, ‘Slick’ isn't on my birth certificate."

"Is that so?” She chuckled. “And what is?"

"Kodyn. Kodyn Lang. My friends, and by friends I mean you, too, call me Kody."

"Kody,” she said. “Nice.” Her mouth dried. “Could I… water-"

Before she could finish, he was up in a flash and held the canteen out to her. “Go slow. Don't want you puking up anything after the morphine.” Then he smiled at her. “Okay. Okay. I know you're a nurse and know all that stuff, but it's ingrained in my medic mind, too. And sorry for the term ‘puking.’”

She laughed and winced at the same time.

"Need another shot?"

She did. But instead she said, “No,” because there was no way she wanted to lose her faculties and miss out on this very different Christmas-pain or not. From the day she'd met Slick, or rather Kody, there was that cliched chemistry, yet she'd always tried to ignore it and tell herself he annoyed her.

After all, he was jock material, and she'd had her fill of jocks in high school and college-and the relationships never worked out. Never worked out for her, thus her career goal of the military.

Then there was Daddy. The jock of all jocks and he treated their mother like some prized possession until she decided she needed a life of her own. It was then Prue and her brother started calling themselves “orphans” when their family, as it was, crumbled. And she'd vowed then, she'd never date anyone like her father. Ever.

She looked up at Kody. Darn, he even had the same dark hair, although Daddy's eyes were a pale green while Kody's were that fab blue. Oh so very blue. The kind of eyes one lost themselves in-as she was doing right now.

Great.

Kody lifted some medical stuff out of his bag. “Let me do a once over on you again."

Again? Obviously he must have done a complete assessment of her medical condition last night. “I'm fine. Really.” For a second, she thought, how sweet. He must care. Then she told herself how nutty a thought that was. He was a PJ. A medic for crying out loud. He'd treat any victim the same. “Really. Fine."

He merely had to look at her for her to say, “Okay. You're the boss-at the moment."

He laughed and aimed a penlight into her eyes to check her pupils. “Active and reactive to light, Captain."

"So, am I going to make it?” She smiled.

He leaned near. “If I have anything to do with it."

Without a thought, at least without a realistic, conscious thought, she lifted her good arm and ran her finger across his face and down to his lips where she gently, slowly let her finger remain. But only for a second because before she could speak or pull back, Kody kissed the tip-and Prue nearly melted into a dusty puddle.

"Oh. Sorry.” She pulled back. “I don't know what I was-"

Now his finger was on her lips, silencing her stammering.

Thank you, God.

"Don't think, Captain. Just go for it."

Oh… my… God!

Did he mean go for a kiss? Could she really? Was this the right place and right time? Was she nuts? Was she crazy? Was she suffering some mental condition brought on by her accident? Could post-traumatic syndrome start when you just got into a situation like this?

She should be thinking about the five basic needs of survival now. Personal protection like shelter and fire. Medical condition. Sustenance. Travel. And signal and recovery.

But she was having lusty thoughts about her rescuer. That had to be some syndrome like the Stockholm syndrome even though Slick, as she called him in her head still, hadn't abducted her.

Only her heart.

Yet she felt so safe, so secure, with him here. With a mental slap to herself, Prue pushed up all the way and stood, albeit on shaky legs.

Slick grabbed her. “Whoa girl. What are you doing?"

"I… I.” Good question. She had no good answer let alone any answer. I need to get away from you was her reason, but she said, “I need to walk. Cramps."

Oh crap. First thing she thought of was “female” cramps and felt her skin burn hotter than the desert sun. “Um. Muscle cramps. My legs."

"Walk where? You can't go traipsing around the desert in this kind of weather. Dust devils are exceedingly dangerous and for some reason, prolific these last few days. Some kind of weather phenomenon."

Yeah, weather phenomenon that had them trapped here together, yet her in no condition to do much about it. What rotten luck.

Christmas.

Bah humbug again.

"I know, but, when will the helicopter come back?"

"They'll be here ASAP with the first weather clearance. You can always count on the paratroopers, Captain. You know our motto-"

"That others may live,” she interrupted, because now she knew it was true. She'd been turned off by so many cocky jocks in her past that she suddenly realized she'd built up some kind of falsehood about them in her mind.

They were all not like her father. These were brave guys who thought of others first. Daddy never thought of anyone else first other than himself.

"Right, Captain. But to survive, one never can become complacent. That'd be contrary thinking to survival.” Didn't he realize he was talking to a ‘worse case scenario thinker'? If something could go wrong, Prue always thought it would. Complacency wasn't in her vocabulary-as it must not be in his.

Nice.

"Now, if you need to stretch, go ahead. But we need to stay put so we can be found. No traveling except for sustenance, which, I'm glad to say, I thought to bring. I've signaled with the fire going and my guys know where we are anyway. I'm sure you learned the basic five needs of a survivor in flight school.” He busied himself trying to communicate with the base in his assumption about her.

She merely nodded, almost ashamed to say she never applied to be a flight nurse because she wasn't all that crazy about flying.

After all, look where the helo trip had gotten her!