Lise leaned over the sink and tried in vain to wipe the steam from the mirror before her. For a moment, she thought about wrapping a towel around herself, before dismissing it as pointless. The steam still hung heavy in the air, and after how she had just passed the last two hours with the naked man in the shower a few steps away from her, modesty would be a pretense, and a hollow one at that.
Her thoughts turned to the parade of horribles marching toward her in the rapidly approaching now. While her eyes faced the mirror, her thoughts weren’t on her reflection, but the fact that she hadn’t just crossed a line with a patient, but completely obliterated it. Her professional and military career might very well be over, and she’d be lucky to not face criminal charges. As much as the end of her career bothered her, it was the thought of separation and years in a jail cell apart from Cooper that bothered her more. “And I may be facing that music before dinner.” she thought, as she spied her soaked clothing, wadded up in a corner on the bathroom floor. “I could put them back on,” she thought, “and just say I got in the shower with him to snap him out of it. But I’m pretty sure that even the neighbors heard us.”
Cooper turned off the water and opened the shower door, grabbing a damp towel as his eyes traveled up from her feet, to her behind and shapely hips. He considered the fact that her curves were very alluring, and that her typical garb concealed them, a state of affairs that he considered to be a severe injustice. When he noted her reflection, the far away look in her eyes told him about the doubts and regrets racing through her mind. He walked up behind her and said “Hey…regret is my department.”
Lise’s attention jerked back to her reflection, and the smiling man behind her. “Easy for you to say. You haven’t fallen in love with your patient, and then seduced him.” She fought back tears as she thought of the separation that was certain to be imposed on the two of them. “I’m pretty sure I seduced you right back…more than once.”
Lise fought the urge to smile at the memory, and said “I’m serious. I can lose my license, and be court-martialed and jailed for this.”
His face reverted to a neutral expression, and he said “I’m sorry. You’re very good at what you do, and you undoubtedly worked hard to get to where you are.”
She closed her eyes and said “You don’t understand. I don’t regret what we did…and what we could do for the rest of our lives. I regret the fact that they will separate us and keep us apart, since I’m sure I’m going to jail.”
He cocked his head, put a finger under her chin, gently turning her face to his as she fought back the tears. He leaned in, and gently brushed his lips against hers. “I won’t let that happen,” he whispered “but we don’t even have to go there until the door to this room opens.”
She started to protest, and he kissed her, gently at first, then with more and more force, and she let go of her anxieties as two became one, again…and again.
————————————————————————–
Cooper walked into the bedroom first, and saw one of Lise’s uniforms draped across the chair next to his bed. He picked up the note written in Rick’s almost illegible scrawl, which read “First, its about time, hoss. You fuck this up, and you won’t have to slap yourself for the rest of your life, because I’ll do it for you. Second, it’s dress uniforms. We have been summoned for an audience with the King. We leave here at 5. See you then.”
Lise exited the bathroom, having chosen to again reject a towel, and now second guessing it at the rush of desire she felt at seeing the back of the half-dressed man in front of her. Cooper turned, waving the note, and said “We’ve been summoned to see the King this evening.” Lise tried to smile, at seeing her uniform. Cooper, seeing the path of her gaze, said “Rick brought it. You don’t need to worry about him saying anything in mixed company. He knows how to be discreet.”
Her gaze turned to Cooper and said “I don’t want to be discreet. I’m just not ready for this to be over.” But as the two dressed in silence, she wondered if she could be discreet herself, even in the presence of the King.
Taxes, Stupidity, and Death 