23

“You can’t trust her.  It’s a trap.”  Rick spat, shaking his head.

Lise looked at him, and retorted “Of course it’s a trap.  But if she has information on what the States are likely to do next, I think we have to proceed.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that she wants to kill you?  I mean, you are sleeping with her husband, and her son has clearly grown attached to you.”  Rick asked, trying to not let the concern he felt creep into his voice.

“Why Colonel,  I didn’t realize that you cared.” Lise said sarcastically.

Rick shifted his weight on his feet, a cloud rolling over his face before he growled in a low voice “If something happened to you…I don’t want to see Cooper or Jake go through that.  Ever.  You have been great for them both, and Cooper deserves that happiness.  I’ve never seen a man endure so much to finally achieve it.  He’s my friend, and I don’t want to see him hollowed out with grief over losing you, and the effect it would have on Jake.”  He looked down at the floor, clearly disturbed that he’d said this much, and maybe a little angry that she could draw it out of him to begin with.

Lise quietly contemplated him for a few minutes before asking “Colonel…Rick…how long have you been married?”

“I’ve never mentioned that I’m ma…”

“You didn’t have to.  Remember what I do for a living.”

A smirk twisted Rick’s expression.

“So you’re just messin’ with me for fun?”

“Hardly.”

“Did he tell you?”

“Cooper?  Oh no.  I’ve never asked him anything about you, and he’s volunteered very little.  But when I see you two together, I know you’ve known each other a long time, and that you both trust each other, which is a big deal, because neither of you are “trusting souls”.  But I watch you sometimes, and I’ve listened to what you’ve said about me and him, and I know that you’re married.”

Rick looked at Lise and said “Yeah.  She’s my second wife.  And after the crap I went through with the first, I never thought I’d get married again.  I think it worked so well because I fell in love with her brain first.”

Lise smiled, but didn’t say anything.

Rick shifted again and said “When I see Cooper with you, I see him relaxed.  I can see you  care, probably more than you ever meant to, and I see that the two of you can just be.  You don’t have to be talking.  You don’t have to be doing anything specific, you can just be together and enjoy each other’s company without saying anything at all.  That’s a good thing.  Maybe the only thing.  And he needs that.”

“What the hell, Old Man?” came Cooper’s voice in a hoarse croak.  “She’s MY hot shrink.  Get your own, dammit.”

Lise and Rick looked towards the bed in the center of the room, where Cooper sat grinning, squinting through narrowed eyes clearly pained by the antiseptic fluorescent lights humming overhead.

Rick stepped toward Cooper and asked “How much did you hear, Hoss?”

Cooper turned his head slightly to face his friend and said “Enough.”

Rick’s face asked the question that remained locked behind his lips.  “Yes, Old Man.  I think Nick was scared to death of you while you were cooking the bacon at the party at Mack and Kat’s house.  Does that answer your question?” Cooper said quietly.

Rick let out a chuckle and nodded.

Cooper’s smile faded.  “Good.  Because I think Lise is right.  If Teresa has even a hint of what they are planning, we need to find out what it is.”

Lise stepped to the opposite side of Cooper’s bed, and quietly took his left hand into hers.  She found herself unable to put into words all the feelings she had for this man, but realized when his eyes met hers that she didn’t have to, because she had said it all without saying a word.

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22

Lise froze, trying to decide what to do next.  “Don’t bother with the elevator,” Teresa said, anticipating one course of action.  “It will not work again until I want it to.”  She stepped out of the darkness, into the light spilling out from the open elevator door.

Teresa looked at Lise with a combination of haughtiness and grudging respect.  “If I wanted to hurt you, that would have already happened.” she stated flatly.  “And if I wanted you dead, you would have never seen it coming.”

Lise stood quietly, weighing the truth of these words, but not knowing why they had been spoken in the first place, before deciding to let Teresa keep talking without any interruption.

“You really are quite beautiful.  Certainly not a fashion model, or the normal ideal of beauty, but you are beautiful.” Teresa said while walking around Lise, who was standing quietly.  “I can certainly see what my husband sees in you.” She said, pausing while looking at Lise’s backside.

“By now, you are undoubtedly wondering why I brought you here.  Believe it or not, I still love my husband, and my remaining son.” Lise couldn’t conceal the slight flinch at the mention of Jake.  Teresa’s eyes seemed to sparkle a bit more at this involuntary tell.  “You needn’t worry.  I didn’t come to get either one back.  Not really.  I know there is too much water under those bridges to safely cross them again, even if I could get either one of them to trust me enough to do so.  Actually, I’m glad for the three of you.  I can tell how happy Cooper is with you.  He might never say it out loud, but his body language with you says all there is to say about that.  And Jake.  He trusts you.  I’m guessing that the two of them are the most truly relaxed and at peace that they have been in years.”

Lise felt her angry growing, and could take no more. “Only if you don’t count the nightmares.  They are less frequent, if you don’t count when Rick showed up, but they both still dream about Evan.”

Teresa’s face clouded as anger filled her eyes, and her mouth contorted into a snarl.  “Evan.  He didn’t have to die.  I had already guaranteed his safety, and Jake’s.  But then Cooper ran, and took them with him.  And then Rick showed up, and spoiled the raid.  You don’t know the whole story.  You only know what happened.  I miss him.  I miss all of them.”  Both women were silent for a few moments.

When she spoke again, her words were calm and measured.  “I heard that they were alive.  I wasn’t sure I believed it, but I knew I had to see for myself.  I left myself think that maybe I could bring him home…that I could bring them both home.  And then they came for me.   They actually thought they could keep me, and so they were careless, and discussed their plans in front of me.”

Teresa paused for a few seconds, before taking a tangent.  “I saw how you defended Jake.  I couldn’t have done better myself.  Thank you.”

Taking another moment, Teresa recomposed herself, and said “They’re planning on coming for him.  They won’t be subtle.  They WILL come in force.  I know the details.  I will share them, but…”

Lise looked at Teresa “But what, exactly?”

Teresa turned and looked Lise in the eye and said “But I want asylum.  I want a place here.  Things are about blow up completely, and I think they don’t care who gets hurt now.”

Lise silently analyzed what she had just heard, trying to figure out if she believed any of it, and if she could afford to pretend that she could afford to not try to learn more.

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21

Lise was tense.  The elevator ride seemed to be taking longer than usual, and she hated hospitals.  The artificial light, the antiseptic smell, and the worry.  It had been almost a month, and Cooper remained in a coma.  Lise was tired, and had come back to the hospital despite having left only a few hours earlier, because worry prevented her from sleeping.  When she walked past the detail outside the room, and saw Cooper laying there, with his friend Rick talking to him about a party they had both attended many years before in Texas.  Rick looked up at Lise, and asked “What are you doing here?  You need to get some rest.”

Lise smiled, and “I couldn’t sleep.  Besides, I like to hear some of these stories about the two of you when you were both younger.”

Rick shifted slightly in his chair and said “It was a long time ago, with friends, most of whom are long dead. Just an old guy reminiscing with a friend.  But I swear, when I talked about how Fred was giving me the eye, and how Cooper told him that there was nothing to worry about as long as you could hear me talking, but it was time to worry when I got silent, I swear he smiled just a little bit.”

Lise paused, silently thankful for the friendship this man had with Cooper.  Rick couldn’t ignore the concern she  was concealing with her smile and said “Seriously, Lise.  You look dead on your feet, and this is no place to get any rest, now is it, Agent Roy?”  The agent, sitting quietly in a chair in the other corner nodded slightly and said, “No Colonel, it is not.”  Although Roy was still recovering from his wounds, and not yet cleared to return to duty, he insisted on spending as much time in Cooper’s room as possible as soon as he was able to walk.

Knowing that he was right, and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of letting him know, Lise debated with herself before saying “Ok, Rick.  I guess you’re right.”

Rick got up out of his chair, ad said “I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

The two walked out of the room, and when out earshot of the detail, Rick asked in a hushed tone “How’s Jake?”

Lise frowned, and replied “Better.  It was a big shock for him, and he is still trying to process it.  Having Cooper unable to communicate with him isn’t helping.”

Rick nodded.  “For what its worth, Jake trusts you, and I think he loves you too.  That has to help when you talk with him.”

Lise said “Only so much.  Deep traumas in both these men, and they both lead right back to her.  I’ll be back tomorrow morning.  Make Roy go to bed in an hour.”

The elevator door shut, leaving Lise alone with the hum of the elevator and the sound of her own thoughts.  When the elevator reached the ground floor, it didn’t stop, continuing to the sub-basement, where it chimed, and the door opened to a dark view punctuated by clutter and a silhouette.  Teresa’s voice said “Major.  Do come in.  It’s time you and I had a long talk about my men.”

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