Rest and Recovery, Part 3

Posted on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 3:54pm by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Captain Jonathon Harrison
Edited on on Fri Aug 20th, 2021 @ 3:54pm

Mission: The Factions
Location: Private Island, Florida
Timeline: Present Day

It never took much to wake Bethany, as she tended to be a light sleeper. Still, she was tired. Between the fight with the HYDRA agent, then Garrett, and her short nap just didn’t feel like enough to compensate for the broken ribs and exhaustion. Not that she would ever let that show. The well-trained soldier in her simply wouldn’t allow it.

She smiled at Jon, then stood and stretched before almost absently gearing up for wherever they were about to get dropped. The others had apparently already made their preparations, as they were in their spots near the hatch. She walked over and looked out of the window, and she froze as she saw the expanse of water beneath them, the setting sun glittering over white-capped waves. The desert-born young woman had never seen so much water in her life.

Jon just secured his sunglasses as he grabbed onto the descent line. He didn’t bother with the safety harness, as the plane had come in low over the beach at the end of the island, stirring up sand and water.

“See you down there!” Jon called over the engines, and jumped, sliding down the rope to land on the beach.

Once Jon was down, Bethany followed suit, zipping down the line behind him, just as she had during dozens of missions over the last few years. She winced as she hit the beach, though, and sucked in a sharp breath. Stupid ribs, she thought, though she forced herself to shove that pain aside as quickly as she could.

Then a voice from above her shouted, “Don’t do nothin’ I wouldn’t do!” and she looked up to see them hauling the rope back into the plane. After a few more good natured catcalls and wolf whistles, the hatch closed and the plane turned and flew off over the watery expanse. After blinking in confusion for a moment, she turned to Jon, one eyebrow raised curiously.

Jon smiled. “Happy birthday, love,” he said, pulling Bethany close to him to kiss her.

It still took a couple of seconds for Bethany’s brain to catch up, having been ready for some kind of fight. Instead, she found herself standing on a sandy beach, surrounded by ocean, and in the arms of the man that she loved so fiercely. Her hands slid up his muscled chest and around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, further into the kiss.

Jon finally broke the kiss before he was forced to rip her combat fatigues off and take her right there on the beach. “There’s more,” he said, taking Bethany’s hand and leading her up higher on the beach until it turned into soft grass at the top of the hill and they came in sight of a two story low beach house that appeared to be almost made of all glass, giving superb views of the beaches and ocean that surrounded the private island.

Bethany gasped softly as they approached the house, but it wasn’t really the glass structure that took her breath away. She was a simple girl, with simple tastes, so the house was nice, but she had longed to see the sea. She had been to lake beaches, and those were well and good, but the waters that stretched out in all directions caught her attention as the sun seemed to dip below the surface of the water. “It’s...so beautiful,” she said softly, squeezing Jon’s hand, the color rising in her face as she smiled.

“We’re as alone here as we can be for a week, love,” Jon told Bethany. “The entire island is ours, with not another piece of land in sight. We’ve got a boat if we want to head to Miami or Key West or something, but otherwise it’s just us, the sun, the sand, and the ocean.”

“I don’t know what to say, really. Thank you,” Bethany said, finally pulling her eyes away as the sun sank beneath the waves, and the light of the moon and stars began glittering on the surface of the darkened waters. She looked up at Jon and gave him a bit of a grin. “I knew Dyami wouldn’t send me off on a mission with my ribs still broken. But I wasn’t expecting this.”

Jon smiled. “I wouldn’t let him send you off on a mission with your ribs broken,” he told her. “But you deserve it. We both do.”

They approached the house, and the door responded to Bethany’s nano-signature, sliding open for them, and they entered the large living room. Furniture and decoration was mostly in a minimalistic black and white, with the largest TV one could purchase in one corner.

While it was minimalistic in decor, the house was still more opulent than most places that she had ever been to. “I guess we shouldn’t throw stones around here,” she said, chuckling slightly at the sheer number of large windows. It wasn’t exactly a house that Bethany would have had built, but then she was rather security minded, and glass wasn’t great for stopping bullets, typically.

The young woman wandered around, taking in the weak points, the entrances and exits, as she looked for a bedroom to drop her bags in. “I’ll get changed and see what we can dig up for dinner, since we didn’t get to eat before we left,” she said, giving Jon a happy smile.

“Bedroom is upstairs,” Jon said. “Kitchen is fully stocked. Anything else you think we need, we can take the boat out tomorrow,” he told her.

After going up the stairs, Bethany paused, blinking a bit at the fact that the entirety of the house seemed to be all glass, including the bedroom upstairs. The only places that seemed to have solid walls were where plumbing would have to go. Even on a deserted desert island, the young woman felt very exposed.

She rummaged around in her bags and eventually settled on a deep green sundress that tied behind her neck, and draped a bit lower than she was used to, both front and back, giving a tantalizing glimpse of soft flesh. There was no one on earth that she would ever wear something like that for, save for Jon, and he knew it. Bethany braided her unnaturally thick hair and slipped on the pair of brown sandals that Jon had packed for her, then headed back downstairs to see what he was getting himself into.

Jon had set the table with a nice selection of cold picnic items, from fresh tropical fruit, to hard-boiled eggs, sandwiches, and a pitcher of tropical virgin sangria, though a large glass of some kind of punch sat at one of the places. Jon had opened up a part of the walls to allow the tropical breeze through.

Bethany smiled as she saw what Jon had set out for them, the spread somehow seemed fitting for their surroundings. She took a deep breath, and marveled at the strange scent of salt on the breeze. So many things that were new to her senses had her feeling slightly giddy, and even though she was calm, her skin was flush with excitement.

“This place is kind of weird. There’s so much glass that it’s a little unnerving,” the young woman said as she walked over to the table. “Don’t get me wrong, the views are beautiful.”

“If the glass is a problem…” Jon said. He picked up a tablet from the table and pressed the screen a few times. The glass started to darken. “I just thought you would enjoy the view.” He looked her over in the dress and smiled. “You look beautiful.” He didn’t mention the benefits of all the windows and remoteness. Bethany could run around starkers and soak up all the sun she wanted.

Jon, however, had brought plenty of sunscreen.

The green-eyed young woman laughed, then blushed furiously at Jon’s compliment. “Um, thanks,” she said, seeming a bit fidgety. She still didn’t know how to take any kind of praise, and she really didn’t consider herself to be all that beautiful. “It’s just...different, is all. I guess I’m just always worried about snipers and surprise attacks.” Bethany’s smile faltered briefly, and her eyes dropped to the table. She picked up a slice of orange, then nibbled at it distractedly.

“No one knows we’re here,” Jon said. “That should keep the bounty hunters away.” Jon tapped the tablet again to return the windows to full transparency again. “Have a seat. I made your favorites.” He gestured her to the place that had the glass of punch.

Bethany leaned up and kissed Jon gently, then sat down in the seat at the place he had set for her. She looked over everything and smiled. He was a thoughtful man, and he seemed to enjoy surprising her. “I’m trying not to worry so much. I’m still just trying to switch gears, I think. I was expecting a mission, and having people after me doesn’t help much, I guess.” She took up the glass of punch and sipped at it as she tried to decide where to start.

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TBC
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