Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

Tilting her head back and to the side, she revels in his lips exploring her soft skin, letting out soft gasps and sighs as his hot mouth worships her neck. Running her hands through his hair, her hands move down his back as he leans into her. She does it slowly and gently though, careful to keep both shoulders still against the bed as to not aggravate her wound. She can only reach halfway down his back before letting her hands slid back up, and holding the back of his neck, their mouths crashing into each others once more.

"I better heal soon," she whispers hoarsely, pulling away if only to catch her staggered breath, "I want that shower sooner rather than later."

Her lips seek his once more, her teeth nibbling his bottom lip playfully as her body becomes alive with desire. A growl sits in her chest though at her inability to do much else than kiss the beautiful man hovering over her, the wounds impeding her wants.

"Stay with me tonight," she eventually sighs, holding his head back to stare into his eyes, "I've had a week of hell. I could really use a good night's sleep with someone's arms around me. Preferably you."

Winters nods. "Of course, but would you prefer to sleep in an actual bed instead of this cramped hospital bed? I can leave a note to the Doc saying that I am looking after you, I'm sure she won't mind." He says, out of breath before kissing her gently again for only a second between words. "I've had a bad week too." He admits before pulling away again.

He stands and offers his hand to her, his other hand skillfully removing the IV from her arm, ready to put it back in in case she wants to stay in this bed for the night.

"Oh god, please a real bed. I've been sleeping on grass and dirt for a week."

Taking his hand with her good arm she sat up slowly, holding her bad arm to her side, "Can you carry me though? I am in no condition to walk Kevin."

Rubbing the spot on her arm where the IV had been attached she waits, hoping he will scoop her up and sweep her away.

He laughs quietly before putting one hand on her back and one under her legs, scooping her up marriage style and walking her out of the room, careful not to hit her against the door on the way out.

He walks down the hall with her, walking into his quarters and locking the door, he sits down on the bed with her in his lap before laying down, leaving her on top of him as he look up at her, his hands now on her hips.

"Sleep well." He says to her quietly, this thumbs rubbing her hips while he speaks. He examines her face and her features, savoring every bit of the beauty that he can.

Giggling as he lifts her, she's carried to his room. As he repositions both of them, she cuddles into his chest, marveling at his well toned abs. Resting her head just under his chin, her hands rest on his arms. Katerina's shoulders rest painlessly, and her legs lay between his, her good leg crossing under her bad one to keep it from aching. Slowly her eyes flutter shut, a sigh of relief escaping her rosy lips.

"Good night," yawning and picking her head back up, Katerina kisses him softly before returning to her comfy spot on his chest, "See you...in the morning."

~~

Morning comes and Katerina wakes slowly, now curled in his arms sideways. At some point they must have turned in their sleep, but she remains nestled into him, and it feels glorious.

The warm feeling filling her dies quickly though as her body wakes up and searing pain lashes through her, the pain medication flushed out of her system.

"Ah!" she hisses, waking him with a start as she cringes, only causing more pain to flourish, "Kevin help!"

Her whole body screams at her in anger, and she realizes all too late she slept on her wounded shoulder. Trying to shuffle onto her back only causes more irritating pain lashing down her bad arm and into her stiff knee. She can smell it now, blood soaking his sheets in a small pool as her sleeping position irritated the stitches and scabbing wound, letting it dribble blood all night.

"I need the doctor!" she cries louder, gritting her teeth as the pain only worsens, "Fuck!"

He wakes and jumps. "Shit.." He says before moving around her and picking her up again, running her quickly up the hall and plugging her back into the IV, Arya hadn't even woken yet.

Kevin turns on the IV for a moment before switching it back off, it doesn't take much morphine to ease pain. "I'm gonna go for a run Kat, I'll see you in a bit." He says before kissing her softly, he breaks away and walks out of medical.

He jogs into the woods, armed with his pistol and he continues his exploration, jogging throughout the day.



Al wakes with a yawn, he kisses the top of Em's head and curls around her, enjoying the warmth that they share. He lets out a content sigh, happy that she is here next to him.

He had slept completely peacefully, a big change when it comes down to some of the nightmares he had experienced, he had kept his arms around her the entire night, signaling that he hadn't moved even slightly.

Ember is woken to the sound of yelling, Katerina's voice echoing through the base like an alarm. Feeling Al stir she places a hand on his chest, listening for a minute to the commotion outside the room.

"What is she doing out of the medical room?" Em sighs, kissing Al's cheek, "Morning by the way. Great way to wake up right?"

The yells die down, and the base goes back into silence as if nothing had happened. Turning her hazel eyes on the man she had slept with, she grins.

"Well I just had the best sleep in years," she yawns, stretching her limbs before curling one arm over his chest and intertwining their legs, resting her head on his shoulder, "You?"



It would take an entire herd of elephants to wake Arya. When she does wake its already ten in the morning. Taking a quick shower then dressing, she wanders to her medical lab to check on the blonde, finding her alone and fast asleep. Checking her vitals then her temperature she makes sure the IV is hooked up but off, before wandering out to the couch, leaving the door open in case Katerina woke and needed her. Nestling in with her book, Arya hopes for an uneventful day, just wanting her patients to heal quick so the team could finally return to doing ops.

He nods. "Best sleep I've ever had." He admits before pressing his lips to hers, still hungry for her touch since last night, as if he couldn't have waited any longer, his eyes close as he kisses her, their bodies intertwined.

He wants to do more with this woman, for a moment he wishes for a normal life, one where they could love each other without being in a war, the sparks flying between them are undeniably strong, full of passion.

She kisses him back, her cheeks flushing at his touch, her heart already picking up its beat. Funny how she can keep a steady breath staring down the barrel of a gun, but this man has her breathless, making her heart rate rise and her skin warm to his touch.

"How's the stitches feel?" Ember asked quietly before kissing down his stubbly chin to his neck, both worried for his well-being and curious at how gentle she needed to be with him.

"My wounds aren't even bothering me." He admits, lifting his head up to give her access to his neck. "Don't stop.." He mutters, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh, her lips feeling amazing against his neck.

He pulls her as close as she can be to him, his bare chest pressing against her bra, his body aching to feel her bare skin against his, his mind focuses on priorities though, as if it knew they needed to focus.. But a little bit of kissing wouldn't hurt.

Grinning, she continues to kiss down his neck, gently nibbling his collar bone before retracing her steps to his mouth, pressing her pink lips to his. With a quick movement she is on top of him, straddling his waist as her fingers explore his bare chest, her lips growing more and more hungry for his. At the back of her mind she knows she should be talking to Shrake, or checking on Katerina, or...

Fuck all of that, her carnal thoughts groan, craving him more.

He kisses her back fiercely, his tongue slipping against hers for the first time, he swirls his tongue around with hers, he feels his hands reaching around her back, unhooking her bra and throwing it to the table across the room, her bare chest now against his.

He feels himself harden as she straddles his waist, he breaks the kiss and begins his own exploring, kissing around her neck while his fingers glide down her back, exploring every inch of her beautiful upper body while he pays attention to her sensitive skin. He kisses at her collar bone before going back up to pay attention to her cheeks, getting ever so close to her lips again before going back down for her neck, showing how much of a tease he is.

A groan bubbles up from her chest, desire circling both of them as Al pulls her bra off, exposing her small breasts as she presses them into her chest, nails digging into his shoulders, tilting her head back and exposing her perfect neck, his lips pressing the smooth skin.

"Alex," she can't help the moan falling from her lips as he teases her, his hands exploring the scars on her back from years of combat, the feel of his skin against hers making her shiver.

Al looks over at the clock, it reads five in the morning.. They have time. He returns to looking up at her before speaking softly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks her, making sure he has her consent before doing anything that might be considered inappropriate within the Ghosts.

The Ghost standards for relationships are odd to say the least, relationships are allowed as long as they do not interfere with missions, but yet they are still frowned upon, making it hard to maintain one within the Ghosts themselves.

He paused, causing her to pull her head back and get a better view of his face. His eyes were staring at the clock before turning back to her. At his words she truely thought about it, Shrake's voice in her head, reminding her of standards. But I like him...I really like him.

Throwing caution and standards to the wind, Ember opens her mouth to say yes as a soft knock on the door throw them both off. Biting her lip, she remains quiet, thankful that they had locked the door.

"Hey Al, you in there?" It's the redheads voice again, the man she still had yet to introduce herself to, "If you are, do you know where Ember is? Everyone but Arya is up because of Katerina's yells and Shrake wants to know what happened to her. Ember isn't in her quarters though."

Em's eyes widen, biting her lip to not snort at the hilarity of her situation. Pressing a finger to her lips, Em signals to Al to not give away where she was, knowing spreading their relationship around would only get them more lectures than anything else.

Al nods. "Winters went for a run, maybe she went with him!" He calls back, closing his eyes and hoping the younger teammate would believe his lie.

He reassuringly puts one of his hands over one of hers, staring up into her eyes while he waits for a response from Red.

"Thanks man, I forgot that man runs every morning. I'll have to try and track them down then," his voice sounds a little resigned, like the last thing he wants is a morning jog, "Oh and Shrake also wanted to talk to you when you have a second. No rush."

Footsteps sounded off, getting quieter as the man left and Em rested her head on his, sighing.

"I almost got alone time with you," she whispered, kissing his cheek, "Damn these thin walls."

With everyone awake, it wouldn't be hard for them to hear Ember and Al. The walls were not only thin, but the rock acted like an megaphone, amplifying and echoing every noise around the base. And now that Al had lied for her, the last thing she was going to do to him is expose the lie.

"I can sneak into the women's showers," she breathed, "Make up an excuse. Do you want to talk to Shrake first, or me?"

Squeezing his hand, she kissed him once more, wishing she could stay in his arms, "Tonight you will leave your door unlocked, okay? Once everyone is in bed, I'm going to get finish what we started handsome."

She knew what she was saying out loud, that she would be sneaking around and breaking the unofficial rules to not sleep with a team mate. But somehow Emberly didn't care, wanting him more than she wanted to follow the rules.

He nods. "I'll wait impatiently." He says with a slight chuckle. "I'll talk to Shrake first, you can take your shower and then talk to him afterwards." He says quietly before meeting her lips, the excitement growing within his chest.

"You'd best get dressed and get moving, Red might come back." He says softly, moving slightly to allow her to get off before grabbing his shirt and putting it back on, wiping away any mark she had left on him so that Shrake wouldn't notice before walking out.



Shrake spots Alex and intercepts him, grabbing his upper arm and guiding him into his office.

"Right, first order of business I have a warning for you." He says to the shorter man. "I don't care if you date Ember, I don't care if you fuck Ember, but if she gets in the way of your A game it isn't happening, you hear?" He asks him, Alex just nods.

"Second off, don't get too attached, you'll be like me if you do." He says with a chuckle. "And finally, we have an op in a week, so if you want to get something done you'd best do it, get some shooting practice in and make sure you're on your A game like the rest of the team." He says to the man before shooing him out of his office.

Sneaking into the shower rooms, she takes a long, elaborate shower, wiping the last week away as her thoughts remained glued to Al. Sure, there were other things to think about, but when she walked out of the shower she could mull over them, wanting just five more minutes to blush over the man who made her breathless.

By the time she was showered and dressed back in her comfortable Ghost gear it was getting close to ten and Arya caught her in the hallway.

"Talk to me when your done with Shrake?" the doctor asked after Em turned down the offer to talk right away.

"Sure. I'll come find you."

Moving on into the main room, she caught sight of Shrake and moved towards him.

"Sorry about the wait," she muttered, crossing her arms, "You wanted to talk to me sir?"

"Yo, come into my office." Shrake says before leading the way, closing the door behind them. "I know you're seeing Miller, and I could care less. I'm just gonna administer you both a warning to ensure that if one of you dies I'm not down two soldiers, you hear?" He asks her.

"I fully expect you both to be on your A game during ops, no matter what happens, we can't afford any mistakes so I don't expect there to be mistakes, am I clear?" The man asks, raising his eyebrows at the redhead,

"Yes sir," she replys curtly, nodding but slightly confused, "I thought I was coming in here to report on my last week though."

Shrake shrugs. "Yeah, I completely forgot, priorities and all that, you can report away if you want." He says to her. "Any important information, incidents, et cetera?" He asks her.

Sitting down she gives him a report on the mission and then a recap of the hell they'd been through, as well as the secret cave Katerina had shown her.

"I'm not sure if we can find the cave again where we exited but I know where the town is, so we can try," she shrugged, "It would be perfect for getting back into the compound if we need to. In other news, Katerina has a laptop."

She explained that the encrypted computer was in her room, and that they needed a password, but Katerina was very protective of it.

"All her intel is on it," Ember explained, "With her password, we can have everything we need on the cartel, everything she's collected. Of course she didn't give me the password. I...I thought Al was dead and I was blaming her. She was smart not to give me the code, she worried I'd shoot her down once her usefulness was spent and all her intel was in our grasp. I can't say the thought hadn't crossed my mind. She'll tell you though, I'm sure."

Shrake just nods. "I'll make sure to debrief her once she is healed, that's all I need to know, you're dismissed." He says to her before walking over to the door opening it and walking back into his office, writing down some notes before shoving them into the drawer with his maps.

He sits back down and begins writing an op report for Kat's operation, quickly sealing it and making a note to send it once the next intel helicopter arrives.

Arya keeps Katerina asleep for the rest of the day after noticing the strain on the stitches in her arm, knowing the woman was being less than gentle on herself. What Kat needed was rest to heal so after setting the IV up so it gave Kat just enough morphine and fluids to keep her asleep and relaxed, Arya returned to the couch and got caught up in a conversation with Ember. The day slowly passed on, everyone visiting with Ember at one point or another to get caught up. As the day dragged on Arya found herself back in the medical lab, writing reports until she was half asleep.

Catching Winters once more on his way into Casper she spoke quickly to him on Katerina's condition, which was stable but easily changed.

"Everyone else knows and I'm making sure you do too. Make sure she doesn't leave her bed. I don't know what she did last night, but I found loose stitches."

Saying good night, she wandered into her room, confident she could leave her patient for the night without anything life threatening happening to Katerina.


The day went by achingly slow, and for some reason everyone seemed up late. At eight she was pacing her room, Shrake's warning bouncing in her head. Am I being smart here? I lost my head when I thought he died. What if he gets injured? The closer we get, the harder its going to get.

But she needed to see him. She had promised to meet him in his room, and Ember couldn't deny herself being with him at least once more. Maybe he can clear my thoughts for me. Maybe he has the answer I need.

Eventually she gave up waiting, making sure the hall was clear before sneaking into Al's room to find it empty. At this point she was only wearing her nightwear, a pair of jogging shorts that hugged her hips and a white tank top she usually wore under her Ghost gear. She had her carbine and chest rig on her though, stuffing it in a corner of the room in case an emergency arose.

Falling onto the bed, Ember's wild red locks fanned out around her face as she lay on his pillow, stealing a book from the nightstand beside his bed, getting into reading it as she waited for Miller to retire to his room.