She opened her eyes, wheezing and breathing uncontrollably. Looking around her, somehow, she managed to crawl from the bathroom to a corner in her room.
A panicked MacTavish held her face gently. Her pupils like two pins, undereye circles a stark contrast against her pale, clammy skin. She gripped his wrists with trembling hands, her teeth chattering, hair sticking to the side of her face.
"What happened?" she whispered, frightened.
"I think you had an episode."
He grabbed her a glass of water and she gulped it instantly. With a wet face cloth, he wiped her face, neck, and chest. The dampness felt cooling against her hot skin. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down her wheezing.
"How did you know..." she muttered.
"Archer and Roach asked me to check on you. They felt something was off with you and I guess they were right."
MacTavish glanced down at her right hand and saw that she was bleeding. Nonetheless, he was more preoccupied with her mental state more than her physical afflictions. Tears streamed over her cheeks, and he wiped them away tenderly.
"I'm feeling better," she said, nodding constantly. "You can go."
"Stop it!" he snapped rather angrily. "You always do this, pushing people away when they're trying to help you. I know you can take care of yourself. For once, let me help you."
Deep down, she knew he was right. She was so used to take care of herself, that when someone steps in, it felt out of place. It seems that she did not deserve the attention and care that she needed. So, for once, she listened to him and let him take care of her. He helped her up and walked her to the bathroom.
"You need to take a shower because you need to cool down." He felt her forehead and cheeks. "You're probably running a slight fever."
He went into the bathroom and glanced at the broken mirror shards on the floor. He picked up the larger fragments and covered the smaller ones with a towel.
"Watch out. I don't need getting you more injured than you are. I'll give you your privacy but keep the door open."
He collapsed on the bed as he heard the shower running. He rested his head on his hands feeling completely defeated. The weight of the mission, his teammates' deaths, and now this, pressed heavily on his shoulders.
His mind wandered over the mission reliving every tiny detail. The moment he stopped Reynolds from assisting Meat or Royce. The moment he stopped Roach from going back to get her. She did not know that he was going to abandon her. He was going to be her cause of death, and she was totally oblivious of it. The guilt crushed his soul.
He was startled as the bed near him sunk. He was so distracted and preoccupied that he was unaware of Reynolds joining him. She slipped her arm over him, holding him firmly, and caressed his face softly.
He instantly gave in to her invitation. They rested their heads on each other's shoulders holding each other in a close embrace. Her fingers running through his hair, the faint hint of fruit hitting his senses calming him down. Their breaths felt hot on their skin as their chest rose and sank in synch. His grip got tighter, forcing her closer to him and he whispered in her ear.
"If you knew that you nearly died because of me, you would not even give me a second glance, let alone hold me like this."
They broke apart slowly and she looked at him quizzically.
"The first thing Roach asked when he fell, was your whereabouts so that he could come for you," he explained, avoiding her gaze. "Even Ghost asked about you. And I told them both to leave you."
"You did what needed to be done to get the rest of the team safely home."
MacTavish furrowed his brow at her. "Why are you so calm about this?"
"Captain, all the responsibility to complete the mission and get the team safely back weighs on your shoulders. You have the hardest job out of us all. We know the risks this job brings. However, you still told Nikolai to wait for me even though he was running low on gas."
She shrugged and smiled at him. "I think of it more as saving my life rather than the opposite."
A hint of a smile appeared on his lips.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" he looked at her inquisitively.
Her eyes glazed over and looked like her mind was falling into a deep precipice once more. MacTavish held her face softly, forcing her gaze to meet his.
"Christianne, look at me. You will be ok; do you understand me?"
She snapped back, the corner of her lips curving upwards. She stared deeply into his gleaming, blue eyes.
"I despise you, Captain."
It was his turn to look at her with a faint frown.
"You became the embodiment of the soldier yourself snapped at," she grinned. "You thought with your heart instead of with your head."
"You despise me because I saved your life?"
"I am going to speak against my own argument here. But I never want to put you in a position where you risk yourself and your team for me. Do you understand me?"
He scowled at her unusual request. "Are you asking me to let you die?"
"If need be, yes."
He shot up from the bed. "Do you have a bloody death wish? You're a bloody hypocrite."
"I know."
"It's best if we rest," he said sounding slightly flustered.
He settled on the same cot Reynolds usually sleeps in when Hernandez is present.
"MacTavish-"
He grabbed her arm firmly, his fingers digging into her skin. "Don't you ever ask me that again."
She was in utter shock at the desperation etched in every wrinkle in his face. He let her go forcefully, took off his boots and lied down in the cot next to the bed, covering himself with the blanket.
"Now sleep."
"MacTavish, I-"
"I said sleep," he said, his tone suggesting that he was not going to discuss the issue further.
Resigned at him suddenly snapping at her, she lied down.
"'Night."
"G'night."
"And captain?"
"Aye?"
"Thank you."
The sound of the mattress spring startled MacTavish awake. Panicked, he glanced over Reynolds's bed and saw her sitting.
"Did I wake you?" she asked apologetically.
He assured her that it was fine and went to check his phone.
R & R approved. Total duration 1.5 days.
He beamed and noticed that Reynolds was narrowing her eyes at him.
"R & R approved for next weekend. Why don't you ask Matthews for some leave?"
"Finally, some good news. I definitely will," she grinned.
MacTavish looked at Reynolds, she was glowing that morning. Her hand healed well, and she looked healthier than the previous night. He did his best to bury the memory of her words from the previous night, when she'd looked him in the eye and asked him not to hesitate if her death meant completing the mission.
He realised that he was staring too much and cleared his throat.
"I'll see you later, yeah?"
He put on his boots hastily and rushed out not giving her a chance to reply. He went to his room ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach.
Saturday morning couldn't have come any faster. Reynolds woke up and stretched while yawning extremely loudly. She did not care if she was being rude because the men were out of the base for their Rest and Recuperation, and she was all by herself.
She dashed towards her duffle bag and dived at the very bottom for something special. First, she put on an oversized woollen sweater and black leggings. What came next was what made her giddy.
She pulled out a pair a purple and white stripes, knee-high, fleece socks and put them on. Finally, the star of the show; a pair of bed slippers in the shape of... wait for it... hippos. It even had the ears on them! She squealed with joy.
Grabbing her earphones, she jammed them in and turned the music on. Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees was playing so loud that she was probably going to get hearing damage from it. Yet she did not care in the least. She strutted down the corridor along the beat and went into the rec room.
Everything was dead silent, apart from the music blasting in her ears. Reynolds proceeded to the kitchen to the side of the rec room. As there was no one present, there was no food being served so she decided to make a sandwich. She got out some bread, peanut butter, and jam.
With every few spreads, she would pause, shake her ass and carry on.
"Ah ha ha ha stayin' alive... stayin' alive..."
Then she added some eighties disco moves, by pointing to the ceiling and the ground and twirled around. As she turned around, she let out a high-pitched scream and threw the knife in the air.
In the doorway, MacTavish was leaning against the doorway, laughing his heart out.
She rested against the fridge and took a few deep breaths to keep her heart from nearly escaping her chest.
"Nice dance moves," he sputtered, still laughing heartily.
"What the hell are you doing here?! Aren't you supposed to be out for R & R with the rest of the team?"
"Did not take it," he replied shrugging. "I have too much work to do."
He was walking towards the fridge but stopped in his steps. He gasped as he looked at her more closely and thoroughly.
Reynolds groaned inwardly. She knew that hell was going to unleash very soon.
"What are those?!"
He was mainly looking at her bottom half of the outfit. He gasped at the socks, but he was mostly fascinated by her slippers.
"Are those... hippos?! They're so cute!"
Right on cue, he started laughing so much that he was gasping for air and clutching his side. She felt her cheeks get red and felt slightly embarrassed.
"I guess I should start calling you little hippo instead of little ducky," he smirked. "You never dress like this around the base!"
"This is why," she said, annoyed, indicating at him.
"You look adorable," he grinned.
"Stop taking the piss, MacTavish."
"I'm not."
She glanced over at him, his eyes twinkling donning a genuine smile. He grabbed a sandwich and started spreading some butter on it.
"This is my special comfy outfit. I rarely wear it when I'm out on a job, but I always carry it with me. It gives me solace. I wore it today because I thought I was going to be alone."
"I thought I told you to ask Matthews to take some time off," he told her, while taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.
"He refused, claiming that I was needed in case something came up," she mumbled. "Billy, on the other hand, got lucky. His was approved."
"Coffee?"
"Sure."
MacTavish turned the coffee machine on as he stole a glance at Reynolds. It was a new side of her that he was sure, she never showed. It made her look like she was letting her guard down, almost as if she was... normal. That she led the usual life working a customary nine to five job and went back to her apartment to relax by wearing that kind of outfit.
"There you go," he said, handing her a cup of piping hot coffee.
"Mmm. Thank you."
"I'm sure I ruined your plans for the weekend then," continued MacTavish, munching on some biscuits.
"Not at all," she said putting on a grin from ear to ear. "I am going to sleep, read a book, do some Pilates, and sleep some more."
He offered her a biscuit which she gladly took.
"You look different," he blurted out.
She stared at him momentarily not knowing what he meant.
"The outfit is not exactly camo approved so I don't usually wear it on missions-"
"I'm not talking about the outfit," he interjected.
Reynolds stammered and decided to sip her coffee.
"I'm feeling better," she smiled.
"Good," he said, returning her smile.
She felt her face flush and grabbed her phone, starting to walk towards her room.
"I'll see you around then?" he asked.
"Not today. I am going to be a hermit and a total recluse from the rest of the world!"
He chortled and drank some more coffee. He was looking forward exploring this side of Reynolds more. If she let him in, that is.
It was going to be one interesting weekend.