Quarters

[ShelBel]

Jensen's heart was breaking. Kate had had more than just a rough patch, it appeared, and it killed him that he'd not been around to help her sort through it before it came to this.

"Hey hey hey," he soothed, reaching out to stroke her shoulder. "Katie... God, I've got to get you out of here. You need time to think, yes, but I think you need something to do as well, to keep you busy and let your mind- and your emotions- sort themselves out a bit. And keeping you locked up in your quarters I don't think is going to get the job done."

Kate's mood swing, from joy at seeing him, to despair at the thought of what had happened, alarmed him more than he cared to admit. What this good Irish girl needed was some fresh air and some non-military time. He slid off the bed and knelt next to her, taking her in his arms gently. "Shhhhh." He rubbed her back gently. "Tell you what," he said gently. "Let me talk to the general. I may have an idea. You stay here, drink some more tea- I'll have someone send down some milk and sugar for you- and get a good night's sleep."

He kissed her forehead. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Katie, okay?"

[Tracy Jane]

Kate clung to him, wrapped her arms tightly around him, now sobbing. "Don't go," she begged, pulling him closer to her. "Don't leave me, I don't want to... please!"

She cried into his shoulder, gradually growing limp, the tears draining her of energy. "I can't stand this place anymore. I just want to go, Jensen. I need to get out of here."

She sat limply, leaning against his chest murmering quietly about how she wanted him to stay, how she couldn't stand this place, how she needed Jim, the same thoughts going round and round, getting gradually quieter.

[ShelBel]

Jensen stayed where he was, allowing Kate to cry herself out, all the while rubbing her back. His knees were numb, but it was a small price to pay. His mind was going around in circles, concepts and ideas banging off each other randomly. He had to sort it all out by tomorrow and come up with something that Blue would think was feasible.

Finally, Kate's crying descended into mumbles, then deep breathing. With a small groan Jensen got up, arranged the lanky woman in her bed, pulled the covers up, and stroked her hair out of her face. He got up and crossed to the door, sparing one last look at his sleeping friend.

"Okay you. Tomorrow is another day, and I'm going to get you out of here."

[Tracy Jane]

Kate felt herself moved around, being put to bed like a young child, but she was drifting off to sleep and didn't have the energy, nor the willpower to resist it. She put her last remaining ounces of effort into pulling one of her daughters' teddies closer to her, which she hugged tightly as the last sobs shuddered through her body and she cried herself to sleep.

((Meh. I thought you expected me to post something, seeing as Jensen hasn't left yet. I'll try and get on tonight. No promises, though. Gen... you know what you're doing with Rowena and Hermione, so feel free See you all as soon as I can))

[ShelBel]

Jensen closed the door behind him, motioning to the guard. "Thanks," he said softly. She nodded at him once and let him pass.

As he walked to his own quarters, a million ideas were spinning in his head. He had to come up with some sort of plan. Hopefully, something would sort itself out while he slept. He opened the door to his quarters and stepped inside, shedding the lab coat and draping it over a chair, then quickly shed the rest of his clothes and slipped into bed. The long walk and all the emotional b.s. had worn him out, and sleep claimed him quickly.

[gatelover12]

Richard's head perked up at the mention of his name. 'Saved by the bell' He thought as he opened the door, smiling at the SF. "Well unless you know another Lt. Dobson, I suppose you're off the hook." With that he practically skipped down the hallway toward the locker rooms. <<to locker rooms>>

[Tracy Jane]

Kate heard Jim's voice and rolled over in bed to nuzzle against him, but the bed was empty. Sitting up and shaking her head, she heard the intercom announcment and her eyes widened in shock. Jim... calling Larry and Richard to the gateroom. They were going on a mission and leaving her behind. He wasn't even going to say goodbye to her, he wasn't going to tell her.

She stumbled sleepily out of bed, running to the door and swinging it open to find a zat pointed squarely at her. "We were warned this might happen," the guard told her, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Please," begged Kate. "I need to see him, or if not him, at least the General. Or Jensen, let me see Jensen." Her eyes flitted down the corridor, looking for an escape route as her breathing quickened and shallowed, like a caged animal about to be slaughtered. "I just...."

"No," the guard told her. "Please, Major Howard. Return to your quarters."

Kate froze for an instant, meeting the guard's eye before bolting for the control room. She just wanted to see Jim, make things right, ask why she'd been left behind. She screamed as she hit the floor for the second time in the past two days.

[ShelBel]

The announcement over the base only vaguely registered with Jensen; he stirred enough to realize that it wasn't for him, then turned over and fell back asleep. The scream the followed shortly after, however, jolted him wide awake instantly. What the hell...? Wearing only his boxers and a t shirt he bolted out of bed and flung open his door. Down the corridor and around the corner, out of sight, he could hear someone muttering under their breath, and it sounded like that female guard at Kate's room...

"Oh, NO..." he groaned, and jogged down the hallway toward the noise. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, there was Kate sprawled on the floor unconscious, and the guard preparing to drag her back into her room. He sighed. "Allow me."

Kneeling beside Kate, he scooped her up. The guard nodded. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate the assistance."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"She tried to leave, sir. I asked her to return to her quarters and she tried to make a break for it."

"Dammit Katie," he sighed, setting her back in her bed. "Okay. Umm..." He took in his state of dress. "Let me go back to my quarters and put on some more appropriate clothes. I'll come back and stay with her; she's going to need someone here when she comes to."

"I don't know if that's permissible, sir..."

"Doctor's orders. If there's a problem with it, have the general take it up with me." The guard looked about ready to say something else, but Jensen held up a finger. "Don't. I'll be back in two minutes."

He practically sprinted down the hall, threw on a pair of sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt, socks and slippers, and ran back, making sure he had his ID badge clipped to the zipper pull of the sweatshirt. The guard cast him a resigned look, saluting half-heartedly as he passed; Jensen couldn't be angry with her, she hadn't done it maliciously, and Kate HAD been warned. She was just doing her job.

With a sigh, he pulled the desk chair over and settled in next to Kate, one hand holding hers, the other stroking her hair. "Things are never boring with you, are they?" he mused, not sure if he should chuckle or cry. "What a mess."

He leaned back in the chair, crossed his ankles, and let his head drop back. Hell of a way to reintroduce myself to base life, he mused as his eyes slid shut.

[Tracy Jane]

Kate groaned gently as she started to come to. She felt a hand holding hers, a rough, masculine hand. He was there, with her, beside her. He hadn't gone off world after all. She pulled it up to her mouth, kissing it gently, not trusting her spinning head enough to lean over.

She started running her hand up his arm, making her way to his neck, wanting to pull him down, have him beside her, but something wasn't right. Something didn't compute. The soft fabric of the hooded sweatshirt.... a hooded sweatshirt? But Jim...

Kate groggily opened her eyes, her vision obscured by dancing dots and her head still spinning. She started to prop herself up in bed, but collapsed backwards again, her head not being able to cope. As she adjusted to the light, she finally saw who her visitor was.

"Oh, crap!" she exclaimed before burying her head underneath a pillow.

[ShelBel]

Jensen stirred slightly, sleep-fogged brain only vaguely registering motion next to him. Then warm lips on his fingers... a hand creeping up his arm...

He swallowed a giggle as Kate finally seemed to rouse enough to compile sensory input into coherent thought. "Oh, crap!" she groaned, and buried her head under the pillow. Jensen could see in his mind's eye the bright red blush that was surely creeping up her neck and turning her face a lovely shade of crimson.

"Hello Sleeping Beauty," he teased softly, withdrawing his hand from hers. "Quite the wake up call you've given me. Twice. Is this standard operating procedure?"

[Tracy Jane]

Kate removed the pillow from over her head and hit him with it repeatedly as she blushed. "You evil... What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him. Her beating finished, she sat up, bringing her knees defensively to her chest and hugging the pillow. She looked confused for a moment. "What ha...... I thought you were him."

Running a hand through her hair, her eyes flitting round the room as she worked her way through what she remembered, how she had heard Jim's voice, how he obviously hadn't thought of her. The blush receeded, leaving her pale and drained.

She looked up at Jensen uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

[ShelBel]

"It's okay," he told her softly. "I just thought you shouldn't be alone when you woke up. Wasn't expecting to be slobbered on, but I'll live." He grinned, hoping his gentle teasing would at least lift her spirits a bit. "Tell you what. I think I've got a solid proposal for the general in regards to getting you out of here for a while, but let me ask you something first, because if you're not willing, I might as well skip it."

He took a deep breath. "Kate- how would you feel about running a day camp for some of the town children for a week?"

[Tracy Jane]

"I... I don't know. What if something happens to Jim? Or La... What if something happens to Jim?" She asked, her eyes wide with worry. "I want to be here." She paused for a second. She wanted to do it, but she was torn. "And anyway, they don't like military."

[ShelBel]

"They like me," he said bluntly, "and they trust me. You're like family. Look, the situation is this- my brother's wife Mary was going to do it. It was her idea, at first, mainly to allow some of the women in town to have some social time, and to introduce some of the children to each other, to expand their social circles.

"But then I started thinking about it, and its a prime opportunity to do some observation and informal testing; to make sure everyone is developing properly, you know? I want to run some basic sight and hearing tests, check for scoliosis, do some vaccinations, that type of thing. The population is starting to grow- most of these kids are from off-world, and a few are now having Gaia-born sibilings- and its my responsibility to make sure they stay healthy.

"Mary had most everything set up, which is why I needed to come back to base now for supplies. But Mary's about 8 months along and has been having some troubles; I put her on bed rest for a couple of weeks as a precaution. We were going to scrap the whole thing because frankly, I didn't think I could find anyone who could manage it- but I think you could."

He leaned over and patted her knee. "You don't have to tell me right now, Kate. Think about it for a bit. We've got about 15 children signed up, between 6 months and 10 years old- including my newphew Sammy. I'd be there with you the whole time, and I guarantee that by the time their moms come to pick them up at the end of the day, you'll be so tired you won't have time to think." He grinned, then sobered again. "This is the first time we've tried anything like this with the town. Lots of the people are leery. But if it goes well, I'd like to do some more in different areas, and hopefully screen all the children eventually."

He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "I've also got an emergency radio with a direct link to the infirmary, so if anything happens, we'll know about it instantly. I'm going to need one of the base vehicles for all the supplies, so we can make it back quickly if need be."

He leaned in, expression sincere. "I don't want to pressure you, Katie, but this would mean a lot to me. And I know how you are with kids. I'd love to introduce you to Sammy, he's quite the handful." He grinned. "Think about it, okay? I won't go any further with this until you give me an answer one way or the other."

He kissed her on the crown of her head, and gave her a hug. "I'll see you later, I promise." With that, he got up and crossed the room, opening the door. He cast a quick wink and a smile over his shoulder at her, then was gone.

[Tracy Jane]

Kate nodded gently as he walked out of the room. Still hugging her pillow, she muttered softly, "Never stay long, do you?"

She was sorely tempted by the offer. The thought of going out there to work with children sounded perfect to her. She had, after all, begged him to get her off this base. She was sick of the concrete, sick of the regulations, she would love to get out into the town, be able to wander the forests at will, and have fresh air and casual company.

She would be able to relax in the evening with a bottle of wine, or a nice gin and tonic, no restrictions to stop her. Have a night at the local bar, or even have Jim over. Off base, off duty.

But no. Jim was going off world, without her. That was the whole problem, she couldn't leave the base knowing that he was out there. What if something happened to him, and he got brought back injured? She wanted to be there for him, waiting for him. But they weren't together anymore, Kate reminded herself, chiding herself for worrying about him so much. She had no right to feel that way. Not after what she had done.

Children, though. Working with children, ranging from six months to ten years old. She hadn't spent time around children since... and Jensen was going to introduce her to his nephew. A handful indeed. He'd have to be, to be related to that charmer. And she bet he could get away with just as much as his uncle.

But Jim... it always came back to Jim.