tomorrow.”
“It's been more than a year,” Mac conceded.
“We'd both been released from training status by the time we were her age. She knows she's getting stuck in Dispatch because she's a girl.”
“Will Command release once the season is over?”
“Eventually. They'll drag their feet and call Cmdr. Duncan in for his opinion. Maybe Ballentyne or anyone else that's worked with her. Us, too. We remind them we need a Scout before spring.”
“Don't tell her I'd prefer she was bored to tears in Dispatch,” Mac said.
“In a perfect world, we could all be so bored. In this world, you and her and I have an advantage,” Wade said, wishing he knew more about what they were. “We use that advantage.”
Mac nodded, agreeing. “If she knew, would she be angry?”
Wade stopped, furrowing his eyebrows. “Shannon, angry that you worry about her? We're talking about the same person, aren't we?”
“We are.”
“Go tell her about her pseudo-promotion. Don't keep her out too late. You're really riding shotgun with her tomorrow.”
Mac grinned optimistically. He could think of worse duties.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“How long has the power been down?” Shan asked, awake enough to know the safety light in the hall was off.
“Twenty-five minutes, just after you came upstairs,” Mac told her, shuffling around in the dark as quietly as he could. “It'll be daylight soon anyway. When they get the system rewired, we'll be all good.”
“Next summer,” she murmured. The solar panels would keep the heat on but she snuggled up next to him anyway as he crawled in to bed with her. He was warm, his skin damp like he'd just showered. “I thought we had a date.”
“Until Dispatch sent me out towards Divide.” He brushed her hair back from her face.
“I figured they found you a job. What happened?”
“Someone at the depot thought they heard cars driving around and since no one in Security was anywhere near there, they sent a couple of us out to have a look.”
“They sent cars out to see if there were cars out,” she said. “And?”
“Nothing we could find.”
“I'm not surprised.” She'd learned over the summer that the majority of calls led to nothing.
Better safe than sorry, the other officers told her.
“We're not having sex, are we?” he said gently. Even with thermals on, she was soft in all the right places.
“Not now,” she told him. “I've heard a rumor that I'm driving today.”
“Absolutely true.”
Shan kissed him anyway, moving enough to make him groan.
“I was pretty sure you just turned me down,” he whispered raggedly.
“Sorry,” she offered, untangling herself from him.
“Don't be.” They both settled in, getting comfortable.
There was the hesitation again. She understood her own dilemma about Mac and sex; when it happened it would be their first time and also her first time. What puzzled her was Mac's uncertainty. She was pretty damned sure Mac wasn't that afraid of her father, despite the jokes. Team Three had very few secrets, even when it concerned private matters. Shan wouldn't ask, knowing she might not want to hear the answer.
“Are you worried about driving?”
“Not as much as you'd think.” She was already drifting towards sleep, curling close again. “Not as much as you are.”
He stroked her hair for awhile, trying not to imagine worst-case scenarios. Wade and Shannon were both far more adept at the glimpses of emotion and insight the Gen En gave them. Mac struggled with it, and of course, wouldn't freely admit to anything.
“Shannon,” he whispered to see if she was still awake.
“Alex.”
Hearing her say his given name rather than his nickname gave him an adrenalin rush. “I'm glad you're here. I don't just mean here at the station, I mean in Security. All rookie harassment aside.” He could feel her lips curl into a grin against his neck. “Just don't forget I'm your
“It's been more than a year,” Mac conceded.
“We'd both been released from training status by the time we were her age. She knows she's getting stuck in Dispatch because she's a girl.”
“Will Command release once the season is over?”
“Eventually. They'll drag their feet and call Cmdr. Duncan in for his opinion. Maybe Ballentyne or anyone else that's worked with her. Us, too. We remind them we need a Scout before spring.”
“Don't tell her I'd prefer she was bored to tears in Dispatch,” Mac said.
“In a perfect world, we could all be so bored. In this world, you and her and I have an advantage,” Wade said, wishing he knew more about what they were. “We use that advantage.”
Mac nodded, agreeing. “If she knew, would she be angry?”
Wade stopped, furrowing his eyebrows. “Shannon, angry that you worry about her? We're talking about the same person, aren't we?”
“We are.”
“Go tell her about her pseudo-promotion. Don't keep her out too late. You're really riding shotgun with her tomorrow.”
Mac grinned optimistically. He could think of worse duties.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“How long has the power been down?” Shan asked, awake enough to know the safety light in the hall was off.
“Twenty-five minutes, just after you came upstairs,” Mac told her, shuffling around in the dark as quietly as he could. “It'll be daylight soon anyway. When they get the system rewired, we'll be all good.”
“Next summer,” she murmured. The solar panels would keep the heat on but she snuggled up next to him anyway as he crawled in to bed with her. He was warm, his skin damp like he'd just showered. “I thought we had a date.”
“Until Dispatch sent me out towards Divide.” He brushed her hair back from her face.
“I figured they found you a job. What happened?”
“Someone at the depot thought they heard cars driving around and since no one in Security was anywhere near there, they sent a couple of us out to have a look.”
“They sent cars out to see if there were cars out,” she said. “And?”
“Nothing we could find.”
“I'm not surprised.” She'd learned over the summer that the majority of calls led to nothing.
Better safe than sorry, the other officers told her.
“We're not having sex, are we?” he said gently. Even with thermals on, she was soft in all the right places.
“Not now,” she told him. “I've heard a rumor that I'm driving today.”
“Absolutely true.”
Shan kissed him anyway, moving enough to make him groan.
“I was pretty sure you just turned me down,” he whispered raggedly.
“Sorry,” she offered, untangling herself from him.
“Don't be.” They both settled in, getting comfortable.
There was the hesitation again. She understood her own dilemma about Mac and sex; when it happened it would be their first time and also her first time. What puzzled her was Mac's uncertainty. She was pretty damned sure Mac wasn't that afraid of her father, despite the jokes. Team Three had very few secrets, even when it concerned private matters. Shan wouldn't ask, knowing she might not want to hear the answer.
“Are you worried about driving?”
“Not as much as you'd think.” She was already drifting towards sleep, curling close again. “Not as much as you are.”
He stroked her hair for awhile, trying not to imagine worst-case scenarios. Wade and Shannon were both far more adept at the glimpses of emotion and insight the Gen En gave them. Mac struggled with it, and of course, wouldn't freely admit to anything.
“Shannon,” he whispered to see if she was still awake.
“Alex.”
Hearing her say his given name rather than his nickname gave him an adrenalin rush. “I'm glad you're here. I don't just mean here at the station, I mean in Security. All rookie harassment aside.” He could feel her lips curl into a grin against his neck. “Just don't forget I'm your
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