OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
Kane had been approaching the far end of town when a call came through the patrol's radio. "All units we have a suspect on the run. Driving a red Chevy Tahoe. Plates 37T5 2RE8. Suspect fled the scene of a domestic abuse case. Be advised suspect is armed and hostile. Northwest of Jefferson and Bermuda Run."
Kane did the mental mapping in his head and made the call without allowing himself to think much about it. He floored his police car, passing one street and turning quick onto another. He gunned the engine as he drove through the STOP sign and slammed into the rear door of the Tahoe. Two police cruisers came to a halt behind them and Kane closed his eyes, wincing from the impact. He heard officers yelling orders and as he opened his cruiser door he watched them take the man away in cuffs. Kane felt a wave of nausea as he stood. An officer came over and he nodded that he was fine. Unfortunately, his knees had buckled as he had waved her off and that was all that it took for a quick call to his boss and a mandatory CAT scan ordered.
He rode in the other officer's cruiser. The pain wasn't the worst he had felt and truthfully he was more irritated than anything to have to go in for the scan. The nausea had gone away after draining a water bottle and he was fairly certain he didn't have any serious damages internally. Policy was policy though. As the cruiser neared the hospital he couldn't help but think of Brynlee.
It had been too long since he had seen her. His ADA. Though she was far from being anything of his. Still, a guy could dream. He could still remember laying in the hospital bed, her body close to his, her red hair spilling over his chest. He had let himself get carried away in the fantasy of a life with her. In the idea of a life that he would never have. And just like their dreamy future he had let himself imagine, it hadn’t lasted. He had been pulled and sent away. He had thought they were pulling him out of the city for good, but it had only been for a few months. A quick trip to a small nation overseas and back again. The US wasn’t the only one in mass chaos.
He arrived back in town a week ago, and his cover had been put to use quickly. The police department had lost a few officers and they were desperate for bodies so he found himself working in constant shifts. Not that there was a true alternative. She didn’t deserve someone like him. Someone who was gone all the time. It wasn’t fair for either of them to keep up the fantasy of having something more. Still, he didn’t know if he was strong enough to see her yet. He wasn’t sure which hurt worse, being physically taken away from her or emotionally pulling away from her. It was a heartbreak either way.
Kane had done the test as asked, unable to keep the smirk from his lips as he had been asked to lay in the same machine where he and Brynlee had met. When the woman informed him that he could get down, dressed, and wait for the doctor to come in, Kane got dressed and got out of there. He figured he was fine and any results would be sent to the PD. He walked out and shut the door, moving out and down the hallway to where the cafeteria was. He again tried unsuccessfully to think about Brynlee as he ordered coffee and sat down at a small table near the window. For a guy who was used to having zero attachments, this small town was quickly becoming his own little version of hell.
Brynlee was once again, called into work. What was new? She had become accustomed to the call to the point she was tempted every single time to block the number. 'Wow, sorry! I am not quite sure how that happened!' It was an oh so tempting thought. One that constantly sat there and yet she never acted on. She knew that lives depended on her. Lives that others loved and cherished and wanted to see the next day and hopefully for much longer. Whether they were infected or sick, it fell on the red head in some form. And if she refused the call, she could be risking their lives by being short handed.
She sat at her kitchen table for a moment after accepting the call, staring at the warm coffee between her hands and briefly let her mind wonder. It was ridiculous how her mind thought of him as often as it did. She told herself a while back to forget him. He wasn't coming back. That after his scare and being released from the hospital, they restationed him somewhere. His job didn't care about his personal life, or the fact that he had a date with her. At least, she hoped it was just that and not the fact that he was just avoiding her after she quite literately saved his life.
She entertained the blonde in her mind for just a moment. Wondering if he was at least doing okay. Wondering how his leg was healing up. And remembering his hand in hers. With a shake of her head, she tossed the thoughts aside and got up, grabbing her scrubs and gear, her bag that quite honestly she wasn't sure why she carried around anymore considering all it did was go with her to work, sit in a locker, and then just be picked up to be brought back home. She never got to the snacks she packed. Never got to the change of clothes.
She made sure to dump out the coffee she didn't get to finish so that way it wasn't gross on her counter when she returned... possibly the next evening. Brynlee was out the door without a second thought and headed into work. Fifteen hours later, she was about to have at it with a nurse who had somehow lost her patient. "What do you mean he isn't in the room?" She asked. Though she didn't linger to hear the babble of the woman. She had a patient to find. Her red hair pulled back in a high ponytail swished behind her as she headed straight for the doors. Hoping to spot someone in the parking lot looking like they were trying to get away. But alas, nothing.
She stood outside the automatic doors next to the cafeteria for a moment, scanning the area as the nurse who had lost him scrambled behind her. 'He was just there... I left to come find you and... he was blonde. A cop who had gotten into an accident.' She placed her hands on her hips for a moment and hung her head. She was too tired for this. She had half a mind to go find her replacement and tell them that this renegade cop was their problem. As she raised her head, her eyes scanned the windows without much purpose. The woman's voice drowning out in her mind as her face grew pale at who she thought she saw sitting there...
Kane. Freaking. Shelby. Her heart immediately started working overtime as she stood there for a moment, her brown eyes wide and locked on him. "Is that him?" Her voice just loud enough for the nurse to hear her over her mask. There was a pause and then the nurse exclaiming 'Yes! Oh thank god.' Of course it was him. She held a hand out for his file, which was slapped into her hand as the nurse scurried away. Her eyes never leaving him until she opened the folder in her hands and moved to look for herself. 'Kane Shelby'. Son of a biscuit. So without much else reason, she walked in through the double doors, and made her way to stand into the cafeteria. Preparing for him to no longer be there by the time she got inside.
Kane took a sip of the dark liquid. It was fresh, but slightly bitter, not that that little detail would cause him to not drink the entire cup. He had gotten accustomed to eating or drinking whatever was available and not complaining about it. It had started when he was six and refused to eat broccoli. After his mother sent him to bed without anything to eat he quickly learned to be grateful for whatever was placed in front of him.
He sat back in the chair, wincing slightly. He forced himself to take a long, deep breath and had to stifle a grunt of pain. The thought that maybe he should have stayed a little longer in the room came to his mind, but he pushed it out just as quick. Even if he was hurt worse than what he had assumed, the PD needed him. If he could walk, he could be used and that was just how it was. He was trained to work through pain, eventually the problem would go away, at least that's what he told himself.
He finished the cup and rubbed the back of his neck. He'd have to get a ride back to the station. Scratch that, his mind remembered, he'd have to get a completely new patrol car. The car wouldn't need to be scrapped, and he was sure the damage would be worth the apprehension. He had no regrets, even if his body might be currently telling a different story. Kane grabbed his personal cell out of his pocket and clicked on Brynlee's name, his fingers awkwardly typing,
Hey. I'm in your neck of the woods. Coffee break?
Delete. Delete. Delete.
Hey. How are you?
Delete. Delete. Delete.
He sighed and put the phone back into his pocket without hitting send, his eyes naturally scanning the room as he did. Her hair caught his attention immediately, his heartbeat quickening as her presence caused a chain reaction inside of him. A grin came to his lips immediately.
His ADA was living up to her nickname. The people in the cafeteria naturally parted around her, her eyes unmoving from his, pinning him to where he sat. He caught sight of the folder in her hands and it clicked pretty quickly as to why she was making her way over looking none the happiest. He held up his hands in an act of surrender. "I didn't know they'd be sending their big guns after me. I concede."
His eyes scanned over her. She looked impossibly beautiful. Her eyes exactly as he had remembered. He motioned to the seat across from him, "Can I buy you a coffee?" He asked, sitting up straighter in his seat, the action causing him to stifle another grunt that he knew her instincts wouldn't let go.
Brynlee didn't think she'd see him again. After learning he was a Navy SEAL who was undercover, she thought that maybe he had bene reassigned somewhere. That with her knowing, they had removed him. Except he had her number, so why didn't he call her? Text her even? 'Hey I'm okay.' or 'Hey I was moved, sorry about that.' Hell she would have taken a 'hey I'm not interested' over the silence that she had gotten. So maybe there was a hurt that was personal lingering underneath the hard gaze that she had pegged on him. It faltered just a bit when he smiled at her.
"I didn't know they'd be sending their big guns after me. I concede."
She was barely within steps of him when he started, his hands raising up in surrender. She wanted to laugh. Bryn wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him close to her. Instead, she came to a halt in front of his table in the cafeteria and looked him over. Judging by what she read in the file, he should definitely be resting up in a bed somewhere. Not relaxing at a table in the open cafeteria with the stuff they called coffee. She stared at him still. What did she even have to say at that moment? 'Where have you been?' 'Thanks for communicating.' 'I missed you.'
It all sounded way too stupid and the words made her throat dry. So by the time he gestured to the seat across from him, her eyes moved to it and lingered on it for a moment before looking back to him. Watching him grimace at his ribs as he moved in his seat. Right. He was hurt and in need of medical attention. Just like he did last night. "You concede?" As if she didn't hear his offer for coffee. "You are absolutely unbelievable." Her voice was supposed to sound angry. Like a stern doctor who was lecturing her patient for pushing themselves too hard. Instead, she sounded almost breathless.
She placed the folder down on the edge of the table and leaned into it. Her dark eyes staring at him as she could feel her breath in her mask. "You have broken ribs. You need to be in a bed waiting for your doctor, which is me, to go over the test results with you." She lectured further, finally starting to find her voice once more. Dear lord she forgot how handsome he was. It was worse now that she was closer to him. She could see the brightness of his eyes and the dimple in his smile. It was overwhelming in a way, but she wouldn't let that distract her. Not yet.
She stopped short at his table and her eyes held his. She seemed to be debating on what to say to him and he couldn't blame her. He had halfway hoped that she would have forgotten all about him. That she would have realized that he wasn't anything worth spending her free time with. Just another annoying patient. As she stood at a standstill though it was clear that she had a strong opinion on him and it didn't look like it was favorable.
She ignored his offer for coffee and repeated his comment back to him. No, this wasn't good at all. He found himself holding his breath. The hard way she set her features against him made him want to hold her, hell, take her hand in his and apologize for everything under the sun. Promise her that it'd never happen again.
He couldn't though. That would be a lie and he wouldn't lie to her. Not her. His life was a constant game of lies but Brynlee was the one steady, ceaseless thing he had right now. He wouldn't lie to her and that was yet another reason he knew he should let her be mad at him. He knew in the back of his mind that this was a good thing for her. That if she was mad at him, she would find someone else, someone who was actually worthy of the woman she was. He knew it, but knowing and selfishly not caring were two paths he couldn't get to cross.
She put his chart down on the table and he listened silently as she continued to lecture him. It was deserved and he knew it. He tried to look very sincere, but the way she spoke with such solid, unrelenting authority had the corners of his lips pulling in a grin. She was fire and steel in a small package, a grenade wrapped up with a bow.
His mind told him not to press his damn luck but the words came out before he could stop them, "Well I'm here now. You still want me in bed?" His eyes met hers. He normally wasn't the kind of guy who flirted, who made suggestive comments, but she had always brought out another side of him. His eyes moved to her lips, pausing for a brief second, oh how he missed those lips. Even when she was furious at him, they still demanded his attention.
Forcing himself to look away though, he spoke, the words quiet, "I'm sorry I haven't been by lately. I had to go out of town for a while." Not that he thought she was waited with bated breath by the phone. Sure, he had thought that there was something between them, and if nothing but friendship's sake, he knew she was owed at least some sort of explanation for his absence.
Brynlee was still trying to wrap her mind around seeing him again. Her breath in her mask became too much all of a sudden and she pulled it below her chin. She stared at him, her gaze unmoving as she did. And that little grin on his face only flared that temper of hers further. Her eyes flickering to his lips and then back up to him. He was absolutely infuriating. And yet it made her want to wrap him into her arms and pull him to her chest. Hug him hard to know that he was not only fine from the previous accident he was involved in, but he was back in the field.
"Well I'm here now. You still want me in bed?"
She let her head hang for a moment in front of her. Her hair falling forward, well what little had fallen out of her pony tail. She had her eyes closed for a moment before she lifted her head and looked at him. She caught the way his eyes lingered on her lips and she couldn't help the small twitch of a smile briefly claim the corners. "Unbelievable. You ghost me, before even taking me up on the date I had planned for us, and you want to now come flirt with me while I'm at work?" She asked him, raising a brow.
"I'm sorry I haven't been by lately. I had to go out of town for a while."
Brynlee slowly sank into the chair across from him. Her fingers flicking his folder to sit right in front of her as she folded her hands on top of it. She stared at her fingers for a moment, the way they laced together over that manila folder of his. She wanted to tell him that it was fine. They had a few heated moments of flirting and kissing, he saved her life, she saved his. Nothing more. She wanted to tell him that she had forgotten about him after he disappeared. But, it wasn't true.
She thought about him more than she should have. "Duty calls right?" She tried to shrug it off, her anger still there but much less hostile. "How's your leg?" Brynlee asked, she wanted to reach across the table. But she didn't. Instead she glanced over at the others around them. Before she turned her eyes back to him. "I am going to have to get you into a bed. Whether you like it or not."
Kane watched the corners of her mouth pull up in a tiny smirk, pulling up the anxious feeling in his chest. Then she opened her mouth and it became all too clear that he wasn't getting out of it that easy. He swallowed hard, listening to her speak, one eyebrow raised at the nerve of his comment. He deserved it. Completely and totally. That was the world he lived in: here one day and then gone the next without an explanation. There wasn't an option to leave at another time or take a pass or even make a call sometimes. That was the nature of his job and the part of his brain that knew that was screaming that it wasn't going to change and the quicker he let her go, the easier it would be. It could be easy. He knew he could shrug off her words, act like he didn’t care, act like she was the only one upset at their spontaneous break. She would be pissed off, refuse to see him again, and then they could both move on. It could be so easy. A clean break.
As she sat down though, speaking about duty calling he frowned. She brought up his leg and the memory of her and that day came to mind, bringing a soft smile to his lips, "It's fine." Now that she was so close, he found himself having to talk himself down from putting his arms around her. He couldn't pretend that she didn't mean anything to him. It wasn't fair or right for him to not at least give her the upfront truth about all of it. He had learned pretty quick on that she wasn't the kind of girl who appreciated someone making choices for her. Him breaking things off so she could move on was the right thing to do in his mind, but that didn't mean it was the right thing to do by her and he'd be damned before he did something on his terms and not hers. No matter what the outcome might be.
"Ada, I'm sorry. I was pulled in the middle of the night. No calls. No emails, I didn't even get to pack this time. I can't go into details but if you google South Sudan you'll get a pretty good picture about what I've been dealing with. I wanted to call, and I was looking forward to having our date…"
He cleared his throat, glancing around briefly, mimicking her. He had picked a spot away from the general flow of people, but now he was wishing they were somewhere much more quiet and private. Then again, they never were good at doing things the easy way.
He met her eyes, "I like you Brynlee. A lot. If I was a normal guy we'd probably be married already." He chuckled a little. It was mostly a joke of course, but on some other level he knew he'd never meet another girl like her anywhere in the world. The grin dropped however as he continued on, "I'm not though. This is the job and yeah, it's been nice pretending to be in this role of policeman where I can see you and we can plan dates, but that's not my reality." He wanted to reach across and hold her hand. Hell, he wanted to get down on his knees and tell her he was kidding and ask her for her forgiveness. Instead he shook his head, "I can't give you any of that and that's not the kind of life that a girl like you deserves. There's no future with me." He felt like he had just gutted himself, but he needed her to see the reality of his life. He needed her to see that he wasn't the kind of guy that she needed to spend her time on. She was too incredible to waste her affection on a guy like him who could only offer her heartbreak.
When he brushed off his leg as being fine, she wanted to press. She remembered how it looked. How really a lot of him looked and the shrapnel protruded from his limbs. The way she had to make a good tourniquet for his leg, shoving the cloth between his teeth before she pulled it tight. The distractions he asked for her to talk about as she pulled the pieces she could from him. The ones she could safely pull out without having him sedated and with a surgeon doing it. Brynlee was not a surgeon, but she damn well felt like one in that moment. And then her aggressively going after the one who tried telling her that he wouldn't come help and prep a room for Kane? The man was still terrified of her to this day.
"Ada."
That simple nickname he had given her after that incident brought her attention fully back to him. His apology was one that she didn't think she needed, but hearing it was a whole different thing. She visibly softened, she wanted him to call. Hell, she wanted a text message to just know he was alive. She had a few moments of doubt where she thought he just didn't want to see her and he had chosen to taking the path of ignoring her. But his next set of words clearly said otherwise.
"I like you Brynlee. A lot. If I was a normal guy we'd probably be married already."
A small burst of laughter left her, a hand raising to push back the pieces of hair that fell forward into her face. It was a bold statement. Even for her. And yet she welcomed it with open arms and found herself glad to hear him say it. Glad to know she wasn't the only one who was feeling the way that she was. Brynlee let that thought settle for a moment as he pressed on. Though her brows wound up tugging together as he went on and ended on the whole 'a girl like you deserves better' note. "A girl like me?" She was repeating a lot of his words this interaction. Apparently her quick wit had escaped her the moment she saw him.
"Kane." Her voice was almost a scold. Her brown gaze pinning him to his seat as she looked at him. "A girl like me would never want some white picket fence life. I can handle a lot more than you'd think. All a girl like me asks for, is a heads up. Or at least a 'hey I'm back' when you do resurface. I have a busy life too." She gestured around them at the hospital. "I can disappear for a few days at a time. I risk my life being here. Not the same way you do out there." Her hand gesturing out the window at the world that was outside. "But it doesn't mean I let others decide what is best for me. I know what I want. I decide my own happiness, blondie." She crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her chair.
"There is only no future if you decide there isn't one to go after. But I'd argue that there is one. A tangible one." Suddenly the cafeteria felt too small for this conversation. Too open, too public. A deep breath let her and she turned her freckled face towards the ceiling for a moment, as if a sign would fall from one of the tiles and tell her what to say to him next. Of course it didn't, but her mind made up for that. "I like you Kane, a lot. So... as chivalrous?" She questioned, a light laugh leaving her as she returned her eyes to him. "As your offer was of 'you deserve better' may have seemed, I think it's a load of shit. So save that for some other girl. Not me." Her gaze serious as she pointed aimlessly towards the hallway into the hospital. "Now. Get back to your room so I can properly discharge you."
Kane realized, as he was speaking to her, that she was clearly having none of anything he was saying. One thing was certain, and that was the fact that he didn't think she had a career in playing poker. Her lips were slightly pursed, her eyebrows drawn together. She was wearing her emotions on her sleeve, at least to him it seemed that way.
He had gotten her to laugh at the mention of them being married, but the conversation promptly took a tailspin after that. Her brows were further furrowed from either his arrogance or possibly, chauvinistic, thoughts and as she repeated what he said, he knew the plane had officially crashed into no man's land. He wasn't expecting survivors.
She spoke his name, her eyes boring into his and he opened his mouth to speak before promptly shutting it again, letting her finish what was on her mind. And oh did she have a lot to say. As she precisely and thoroughly told him what a girl like her wanted, he felt his throat get dry. When she further explicated his actions and thought process, bringing up the notification on when he got back into town, he felt his cheeks redden. That was a fair point.
She gestured around the room and mentioned that her job was every bit as stressful as his, requiring all of her time and then some, he nodded. "You do and you're right…I didn't consider that." He had honestly never dated a girl like her. A girl who had her own life and career that she was passionate about. He wasn't use to having a woman who could go toe to toe with what he did. Then she called him blondie, while putting it all into non-uncertain terms that she wasn't the kind of girl who let other people make the decisions for her. He resisted the urge to say yes ma'am, complete with a salute and all.
Brynlee leaned back in the hospital chair, her arms crossed in front of herself. He wished he could read her mind, find out what was going on in her head. He was all but certain she was going to tell him to go to hell. She was fiery and fearless. He should have known better than to try and shield her from anything. She was his Ada after all, first to fire and last to leave. He watched her silently, waiting for the words to come out. Then she threw him a curveball and mentioned their shot at a future together.
His eyebrows raised just slightly, one corner of his lips pulling upward. He didn't say anything yet. He wasn't exactly sure what he should or could say. He was, quite frankly, a little shocked, his mind wrapping around the idea that maybe the plane hadn't gone down just yet. That there might be survivors on the ground.
Then she decided to give him the mental equivalent of smacking him over the head with a shovel as she told him she liked him too. Damn it all to hell. He grinned, his head nodding softly, "Understood." His eyes tracked over her beautiful face, her piercing eyes, soft lips. He felt like they were on a cliff, her hand extended to his. No turning back now. He leaned forward, "Is that date still on the table?"
He waited for her reply, having to shift from the pressure in his abdomen. The motion to lean made had him wince and he could see as plain as day as she shifted into her medical side. Her face was serious as she ordered him back to his room. "Is that really necessary? I thought hitting the car from the side might have decreased some of the damage." His ribs and shoulders were telling a different story however. "What if I promise to keep ice on it and follow up with my personal physician?" Which was her obviously. Not that he didn't want to spend time with her, he could just think of a thousand other things he'd rather be doing than causing a disruption to her day.
"You do and you're right… I didn't consider that."
She leveled her stare at him. "I might not have to dodge literal bullets, but it isn't exactly a cake walk. And the only time I was dodging bullets you were here to save me." She glanced around in almost a teasing manner, suddenly her mood elevating from cautious into full on typical Brynlee. "Which I hope that means I won't be doing that today... I've already had a long shift. And last time you didn't fair too well. But at least you know where some good jello is at." She winked at him, remembering the time they spent together curled up on the hospital bed.
The moment the words were out of her mouth about liking him, about her feeling the same way about the damn man that she hadn't even gotten one proper date with yet, his grin was across his features and making her own spread. Her cheeks hurting a little at how wide her smile was and she shook her head, biting her lower lip to try and contain it as she looked at the table between them. All the times she thought of him, she had not expected this if she ran into him again. She expected him to possibly rub the back of his head and offer a sorry, or for her to yell at him and walk away. End of it. She talked a mean game in her head and yet... her she was, grinning at him.
"Is that date still on the table?"
She reached forward, pulling a napkin from the little dispenser on the edge of the table and reached for the pen in her pocket. Clicking it quickly and scribbling down 'date' onto the paper. Then clicked the pen once again, tucking it back into her scrub pocket and pushing the paper towards him. Though she kept her finger tips on it, in case he tried to take it too quick. "It comes with stipulations. If you chose to accept it, that is." She let her eyes linger on his, mischief shinning in them. "I already offered you a date, fully planned. This time? It's all on you, blondie." She said, lightly pushing the napkin before she released it and left it there for him to take it or leave it.
When he bickered about returning to the room, she rolled her eyes at him. Standing up and placing her hands on the table to lean towards him. Let out a sigh as she did. Some of her red hair falling over her shoulder. "Kane, I swear. Just get up there, let me examine you and we will talk about me discharging you earlier than I should be." Her brown eyes leveling with him, knowing that she was right. That she was telling him the truth and also telling him he wasn't going to have her signing any papers on him. Not when he was a SEAL who was undercover. No way in hell was her name going to be on that report if something hurt him further.
Kane couldn’t help the cocky grin that came to his lips as she brought up him saving her. He had never considered himself a damsel in distress kind of guy, but hearing her mentioning him saving her gave him a warm, pleased feeling that filled up his chest. He chuckled at her joke before speaking up, "That I do. If I remember correctly, you were the one who saved my ass that day." And boy did she. He had been near an explosive that had gone off a few mere feet from him and shrapnel had all but guaranteed him a one-way ticket to losing his leg but she had taken control and worked her magic. He had been only semi-coherent through a lot of it, but he could remember clear as day the memory of her barking orders and refusing to give in an inch. She had saved him, in quite possibly, more ways than one. "I'm tempted to request that you be carried along with me on all of my trips. My pocket ADA."
He was trying to read her face, to gauge every reaction that came across her features. He currently couldn't help the grin that was on his lips but as soon as she might inflect even the smallest amount of anger at him he doubted the grin would stay there. Miraculously though, she grinned back, which of course made him continue grinning like an idiot. The people around them most likely thought they were both insane but he didn't care.
He asked about the date and he watched as she pulled a napkin from the dispenser, writing on it with a pen. He raised an eyebrow curiously as he watched her write 'date' onto the small napkin, turning it towards him. The edge of his lips quirked up in amusement as she smirked playfully, laying out the terms and conditions of grabbing the note.
He nodded, holding up his hands in mock surrender when she mentioned she had already planned a date once for them. The next one would be on him. He made a show of pretending to think about it, moving his head from side to side in thought before leaning forward and taking the note from the table. "I accept the terms Miss Valentine." He shifted his weight to the side so he could slip the napkin in his pants pocket and grunted with the effort.
The action didn't serve his efforts of convincing her that he was fine. He put a hand on his ribs to ease the pain as she stood up from the table, leaning towards him. His ribs could have been on fire and he wasn't sure he would have noticed after that. Her eyes were unyielding, metaphorically matching her fiery hair that fell over her shoulders, daring him to challenge her. His mind was almost instantly filled with a, less than chivalrous, image in his head of her and him in much different conditions. His smile was wicked as his eyes ran over her pursed lips a fraction of a second before replying, "lead the way."
He knew better than to challenge her of course, but also with the way she was staring at him, he would have done damn near anything she asked of him. Jump off the building? Yes ma'am. Take me away from this place? Yes ma'am. Ignore all of the little voices screaming in your head that this was going to end horribly bad? Yes ma'am.
