Hey, Stanley!”

Stanley turned and saw Heather rushing along the pale green corridor, her cobalt blue eyes shining, her auburn locks bouncing around her face.

Rubbing his hand over his still wet hair, he smiled in greeting at the petite woman before him,

“Hey yourself, what’s up?”

“Have you seen Jake? Gail told me he was with you.” She stated breathlessly, trying to look around him as if he had Jake hidden behind him.

Fighting the sudden urge to grin, Stanley only pointed at the door he just had emerged from a few seconds before,

“There you go, but…”

Beaming a thankful smile and a breathed “Thank you!” at him Heather crossed the few steps to the closed door and yanked it open.

A mischievous giggle escaped Stanley – who was he to stop a woman on a mission?  - that made Heather turn for a second, a puzzled look on her face: but Stanley was already leaving, his huge frame shaking with stifled laughter.

Still frowning at Stanley, Heather entered the room, too distracted to notice the big black letters painted on the wood… “SHOWERS – STAFF ONLY.”

*****

Musing over Stanley’s strange behavior, she called out for Jake, stopping suddenly in her tracks, eyes going wide…

The narrow room was filled with lockers and a few low benches, the air was humid and slightly misty and she could smell the scent of a manly shower gel.  Whilst her shocked eyes trailed over the messy pile of boots, jeans, grey long sleeved shirt and worn green army jacket she only knew too well, she registered distractedly the squeal of a tap being turned off and the sound of water droplets splattering on wet ground (which she just now had noticed) receding to just a few sporadic, isolated drops.

She would run, if she could, but she felt like a deer caught in headlights, as if her feet were glued to the cold, tiled floor, unable to avoid the inevitable.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she froze as a muscled arm – dripping wet – reached out of the shower booth to snatch the fresh white towel from the hook on the wall, and only seconds later Jake stepped out, the towel sitting low at his hips, showing well defined muscles, a flat stomach, and nicely tanned skin, glistening an ethereal blue in the dim light of the camping lantern on the metal rack beside him.

Gasping at the unexpected sight of him almost naked, it took tremendous effort to draw her eyes away from the towel, but she allowed them to travel over his naked torso, registering some faint white lines and scars which told more about Jake's past then he ever had told so far, lingering for a second on the dangling dog tags until she finally managed to look into his wet face, all the while desperately trying to get her mind out of the gutter and to remember why she was here, what she had needed from him, what she wanted to tell him…But her mind had gone blank…

“Uh-oh…” she uttered, wishing a hole would open up in front of her in which she could throw herself, but - of course - life never was that nice…

Helplessly her eyes fixed on his soulful brown orbs, noticing he watched her with curiosity and a spark of amusement.

Rubbing his wet face he stated simply “Had to take a shower” feeling caught off guard by Heather’s sudden appearance.´

Feeling the overdue blush spreading quickly over her delicate features, Heather managed to choke out “Go ahead!”, flinching inwardly at the mousey sound of her own voice.

Now that was just cute… Jake couldn’t stop flashing his typical crooked smile on her, not knowing what it would do to her. “No, I DID.” He insisted, “I just took a shower.”

Watching her obvious embarrassment grow and her blush slowly slide towards an intense ruby, he fought the urge to smirk: she really was just too cute when she was like that…

Heather always made him wonder, she was just like a book full of secrets for him… He had never met a woman like her. She was starting to slide under his skin, inching her way a little deeper each time he saw her.

Heather was strong, tough, kind and wore her heart on her sleeve.  She had a very good sense for humor and always was able to make the people around her feel good.  She was very deft with her hands and seemed to instinctively know what was wrong with anything mechanical or technological, including cars and other machines, never afraid to get her hands dirty; she was extremely likeable and pretty, vivid and self-confident and even had the ability to calm down kids after the most horrible accident, while being hurt herself. But then, in an instant, all the bravado could falter and she would turn into a nervous, blushing, innocent girl, a bit quirky but just extremely lovable.

She made him… curious, at least… intrigued… and somehow frightened.  She was easy and complicated all at once.  She made him feel good and had even managed to reassure him a few times when he thought the world had gone to hell and there was nothing he could do.  Okay, the world had gone to hell but somehow....

Jake stopped that train of thoughts with palpable effort and concentrated on the woman in front of him, tousling his wet hair.

Jeeeeez… that smile… Heather’s heart skipped a few beats and her breath hitched in her throat. That smile always made her knees wobble and her heart race. ‘Get a grip!’ she scolded herself. ‘Later will be the right time to crawl under a rock and never see daylight again…’

“Ooh ahhh… right” she stammered, laughing nervously.

“So - what's up?” Jake asked, eyeing her suspiciously and wondering how deep that blush actually went…

Pulling herself together, she opted for storming headlong into the battle, desperate to get it over with.  She finally fixed a point just a bit to the side and behind Jakes shoulder as she managed to remember what she wanted to ask him.

“I... April said that the medical center was running low on gasoline for the generator. And it occurred to me that if we had a length of hose and a funnel we could siphon gas out of our cars. Then it occurred to me that there's all that gas inside the tanks at Murthys Gas Station, and if we could get enough suction, we could get all the gas we wanted…” she rattled off without ever really looking at him, her voice finally trailing off.

Looking slightly miserable and still flushed, she softly bit her lower lip and waited for his response, still not facing him.

Watching her for a second, scanning her face and letting her words sinking in Jake asked simply “Would a water pump do it?”

She nodded approvingly, still unable to look him in the eyes, she stated quietly, “…should do…”

Looking at the stunned young woman in front of him Jake decided it was time to release Heather from her apparent misery,

“ ’kay, sounds like a good plan… let me get dressed, I’ll search for Stanley for help and we will join you ASAP…” he uttered in a soft, calming tone, like the one he used to calm a skittish horse.

Heather nodded and backed off, turning around and fleeing the room, leaving behind a man who shook his head slightly and stared with an absent smile at the place where she had been standing, just a few seconds before.

He felt a painful longing tug at his heart.  She really was quite something, this Heather Lisinski…

*****

A couple of minutes later, Stanley found Jake and Bonnie in front of the window that opened into the Intensive Care Unit of the little medical center, staring with concern at the contaminated stranger occupying the only bed.

After reassuring Bonnie – still staring paralyzed at the critically ill man inside - that he would take care of her stubborn elder brother, Jake turned to Stanley to inform him about Heather’s idea – but he found Stanley watching him with an amused, knowing smile.

Somehow feeling mocked, he scowled at his best friend and just asked, “What?”

“Well…” Stanley stalled, flashing a Cheshire cat grin at Jake… “I was just wondering if Heather found you where I left you…”

Totally oblivious to Bonnie, who hadn’t seen this exchange, the sound of a sharp smack and a grunted “OUCH!” followed by heartfelt laughter resounded through the Med Center, causing a rush of turning heads and a sharp frown of reprimand from Gail who herself had problems in not laughing out loud at the scene before her.

She was always aware of Jake these days.  Obviously, this was due to having lost him for five long years without knowing if she would ever see him again, without knowing if he was alive and well or… she shook off that thought.

So she had witnessed the strange encounter in front of the ICU.

When Bonnie had finally noticed the reflection of the movements behind her in the window, she had turned and was now looking back and forth between the friends, a clear question mark on her eloquent face, knowing she had missed something. Stanley’s big frame was shaking with laughter and the undeniable sour expression on Jakes face had already crumpled into one of his lopsided grins, which seemed somehow… satisfied.

Smiling to herself, Gail relented at the sudden and highly appreciated moment of high spirits… it was so seldom since the day of the bombs… and to watch Jake and Stanley fooling around like they had as teenagers (with Stanley taking the mick out of Jake, of course) just felt good…

Hopefully they all would be able to preserve some of this humor and humanity in times like these…

*****