Nicholas D. Wolfwood (wolfwood) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-20 15:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, commander tyra shepard, nicholas d. wolfwood |
Who: Nicholas D. Wolfwood and Commander Shepard
What: Checking in and getting advice
Where: Shepard's place
When: 9/18, before this text
Warnings/Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Wolfwood had gotten the message that Shepard was home from the hospital, but he’d given her a day or two to catch things up with the Moonstar woman. She needed it, whether she wanted to admit it or not. But now he was knocking on her door, hoping he could catch up with her and get some advice.
Shepard hadn’t really done the kind of catching up she needed to do, just the kind she wanted to do. Whatever was going on between them, she’d figure it out. For now, she was happy with the status quo. Besides, she had no idea of Dani would ever want a family and that was pretty high on Shepard’s want list. No to kids was simply not going to fly. “Hey, Wolfwood.”
“Ma’am.” He tipped her a half-serious salute. “Can I come in? Brought you some beer. Wanted to check in after the hospital stuff.” He’d spent as much time as he could with her, when Moonstar wasn’t there. She was one of the closest things he had to a friend here. He worried.
“I see you bribing me.” She opened the door to let him in. The house was anything but spartan. Tyra had filled it with all sorts of things from places she’d been stationed, and she even had a fish tank next to the hamster cage. Because Shepard had a hamster. Deal with it.
“Maybe. You can’t have me court martialed for it anymore.” Wolfwood smiled a little. “You look a thousand percent better. I was in there most of the time when you were sleeping, so I bet you gave Dani the brunt of all your grumpy crap.”
“Yep. That woman is a slowly going crazy saint. Between me, her roommates and Wrex, I’m not sure how she hasn’t lost her shit.” Shepard grinned. Proudly.
“Search me.” Wolfwood shrugged, coming in and setting the six pack of beer down on a nearby table. “Are you just relaxing for the next little while, though? Doctor’s orders? Belle wanted me to ask, too. She looked in on you a little bit.”
“Fuck that.” Shepard shook her head and grabbed one of the beers, opening it and taking a swig. “I rested enough.”
Wolfwood laughed. “Well, please don’t go crazy. Give Belle and me a chance to relax.”
“Tired of relaxing.” Shepard winked at him. “Need to get back to doing things. Once I figure out the things.”
“You know I’ll tell you if I have anything.” Did he really want to do this? He did need help. “I wanted to ask you about something, though. And figured you’d have the time. With all due respect. Ma’am.”
“If I need anything, I’ll let you know. It’s high time I started moving a few things forward. What do you need?”
“First, for you not to laugh at me.” Wolfwood sighed. “Belle.”
“What about her?” Shepard finished her beer and reached for another one.
“I’m doing what I said I wouldn’t.” Wolfwood said simply. “Getting attached. And I know it’s going to fuck me if I don’t stop it.”
“Getting attached sneaks up on you,” Shepard replied. “But it’s not a bad thing.”
“It is with her.” Wolfwood took a beer of his own. “I know she’s going to be sent somewhere. And I was all stupid and macho thinking I’d be fine, when I just want to spend time with her. I need to either snap out of it or find a way to take my discharge.”
“Or you could could get transferred,” Shepard replied casually. She was going to get those two together if it killed her.
“Transferred ... like, stay on active duty in Cali? I know there’s a joint service training center around here.” That wasn’t a terrible idea. “I’d honestly been thinking about getting out of the service even before all this ... I mean, twenty years, Shepard.” Wolfwood shrugged. “How I’m not dead or psychologically damaged, I have no idea.”
“I mean, you technically wouldn’t exist. You’d be ‘retired,’” She raised her eyebrows at him.
“I’d still be on military payroll, just not on some list to go back to get shot at in the Pakistani foothills.” Wolfwood mused.
“Well, occasionally get shot at in the Pakistani foothills. Just only for a couple of days, and usually we’re supposed to avoid combat.” Shepard took a swig. “Infiltration oftens turns into the A-Team.”
Wolfwood nodded, still thinking. “I could deal with that. Just, the odds would be lower. And I don’t know, it’d be good to stay here.” Even aside from Belle, there were good reasons. He’d made friends. Winston Frost would be glad to keep him on, or at least that was the impression he got.
“Yeah. Strictly off books transfer, you’ll look retired, get called in every few months, do what you do best. Probably more often if shit like Vegas keeps happening.” Shepard blanched at the thought.
“God forbid,” Wolfwood said fervently.
“I’ll talk to Bella too. Figure she’d be interested.” Shepard grinned at him.
"Maybe one day." Wolfwood sighed. "I don't want to sound like I'm back in high school, but I am fairly sure she doesn't feel the same way. l mean, she's still doing her job."
“Wolfwood.” She clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “Grow a pair. Or like Wrex would say, a quad.”
“That’s ... special.” Wolfwood hadn’t talked to Wrex since Afghanistan, so he wasn’t aware of the man’s dreams. “And yeah, I mean, I wanna talk to her about it, but I don’t want to make her pick between me and her job. Doesn’t seem fair.” He wasn’t scared she’d pick her job. Nope. Not at all.
“Things work out, no one will have to pick between anything.” Her dreams had told her that being torn between those choices sucked. She’d nearly lost Liara over it.
“How you figure? She loves her work.” Wolfwood shrugged.
“Yeah, and if she takes my offer, she’ll still be able to do what she loves,” Shepard pointed out, pointing her can at Wolfwood. “Keep up with me here, man.”
“What offer?” Wolfwood raised an eyebrow. “Did you give her the same spiel as you just gave me?” Belle hadn’t told him anything, not that he’d expected it.
“The one I’m going to give her. Haven’t talked to her yet.” Shepard nodded at him.
“But for the same thing?” Both of them going on incursion missions? “She isn’t Army. At least she never told me she was. Is that going to be an issue?”
“No. I’ve seen her in action,” Shepard said. She thought of the Laughlin job. “She’ll do.”
“Obviously, I’ll take your word.” Shepard knew better. He couldn’t help but joke. “And I thought you were retired.”
“I’ll read you in fully if you accept,” she promised, giving him a broad, teasing smile.
“I do have to think about it.” Wolfwood shrugged. “And I mean, hell, I don’t even know if base command will authorize a transfer.” She might have some weight to throw behind that, but he didn’t want to presume. “And I know I have to sack up and talk to Belle, but I don’t want it to get awkward.” He cared about her.
Shepard grinned at him, a cocky sort of grin that hinted she might be able to do something about it. “Oh, it’ll get awkward, that kind of means it’s something that matters.”
“With the greatest of respect, Colonel Shepard, bite me.” Wolfwood said, somewhere between exasperation and amusement. “Ma’am.”