Overlap

“Are you fucking kidding me, Carrillo?”

Josie was losing her mind. It had been 3 days since her debrief with Kaitlyn and Joe and she and Bobby had still not left Landstuhl. There had been a mass casualty bombing in Lebanon and medical transport was unavailable whilst the US was providing aid. Bobby had just walked in on Josie doing one-legged tricep dips off the edge of her hospital bed.

“You’re supposed to be resting, jackass, use your goddamned head.”

“I’ve been using my goddamned head for days-“ Josie snapped back. “I have to move my body and these assholes won’t even give me crutches.” She hopped back up on the bed and slowly swung her left leg around to rest on a pillow.

“There’s a reason for that, Carrillo, and those assholes are just trying to make sure you can get back in your bird someday so have a little respect, ok?”

“Fuck, I know, I’m sorry.” Josie rubbed her eyes, frustrated and ashamed. “My brain is just fried. Any word on our transport?”

“I just got off the phone to TRANSCOM, there’s a Herc on its way from Beirut with some civilian burn casualties, they’ll be assessed and stabilised here and hopefully be back in the air with us in tow by morning. I’m not sure how we’ll get to Liberty from Augusta but Joe’s workin’ on it”

“Bobby, I could kiss you.” Josie said in a grisly, sultry voice before chuckling to herself.

“You wish,” Bobby mumbled and rolled her eyes. “I’ll start taking your crap back to the truck. Your ass better be glued to that bed when I get back” She stacked two archive boxes and left.

Finally, some good fucking news. Over the last few days, as she’d experimented with being more mobile, the pain in her leg had gotten worse. She’d been given a choice- up her pain meds, which made her groggy and unable to work or stay in bed, rest and stop aggravating her leg. Josie begrudgingly chose option two and her crutches and wheelchair were immediately confiscated. She was acutely aware that she’d been a jerk to everybody since.

She checked her phone for the nine hundredth time today. 11:37am. Nothing. If she was completely honest with herself she’d have to admit that she was really acting out because she hadn’t heard from Cruz since debrief day. Ordinarily she’d have plenty to distract her, she was good at self regulating her emotions. She worked through any frustrations either in the air, the gym or the bedroom but right now she had no outlet, no way to vent her simmering angst. She hated feeling powerless, not in control, and her first instinct was usually to lash out, whether it was productive or not.

Josie was jolted out of her malaise by an announcement calling for all available personnel to attend the ED. Soon she could hear the low, continuous buzz of the Hercules coming in to land. She could hear movement in the corridors and shouting from outside, coming through the window behind her bedhead. Bobby appeared once more in the doorway.

“Hey, the Herc is about to deplane, they need all hands on deck so I’m gonna help out for a bit - do you need anything before I go?”

Josie shook her head, “I’m good. Go.”

She reached for the VR headset on the nearby over-bed table. She switched it on and laid the simulator dashboard over her lap, careful not to get the cords tangled in her external fixation rods. She began a simulation in mountain flying, hoping it might relax her. Just as she was trying to navigate through a particularly bad downdraft, she could feel a vibration somewhere in her lap. She looked down to the panel, searching for the alert, only to nosedive her bird, hitting a leeward ridge on its way down. What the fuck is happening? After a moment of confusion she took the VR headset off, finally recognising that it was her phone buzzing in amongst the bed clothes and cables.

Cruz.

Josie took a beat to calm herself, now thoroughly entangled in headset, cords and sheets. She answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi.” Cruz’s voice was quiet, soft. Josie’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’m sorry-“

“How are-“

Both spoke at once, their voices charged with anticipation.

Josie huffed a breathy laugh and said, “You first.”

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Cruz was tired. She felt like all she was these days, was tired. She’d been running on fumes now for over a week, the last decent sleep she had was the night before Sky-Hawk, when Josie lay beside her. She was good at running on minimal sleep but after three days in a hospital armchair, another two days sweeping and setting up surveillance on Josie’s place and then another two of solo recon in the middle of the Mexican fucking desert, she was well and truly cooked. She needed a shower, a change of clothes and a bed, fast. But not before she spoke to Josie.
Cruz liked covert observation, she liked locking in, focussing on something. She was good at it and she liked that she was good at it, and Cruz didn’t like that many things about herself. But the last few days, all she could lock in on was Josie. Josie’s hand finding hers. Josie’s eyes that seem to see right into Cruz’s soul. Josie’s skin, her lips, her tongue, her taste. Two days staring into sand and thinking only of Josie.
Maybe if she just spoke to her, Cruz could clear her from her mind. Get her focus back. Stop daydreaming about gliding her tongue over those abs. If she called now, she might even be able to get to sleep before the sun came up.

“You first.”

Cruz smiled into the phone and lay back on her bed. “I’m sorry I haven’t called, I’ve been out of range and-“

“-It’s ok, I know you’re busy. It’s nice to talk to you now though, what time is it where you are?” Josie said, easing in with small talk.

“Almost 5am. How are you? How’s your leg? I really tried to be there when you woke up but-“ Cruz was speaking softly but with an urgency that made Josie want to reach through the phone and hold her.

“Cruz. It’s ok, I’m ok. I kinda can’t believe you were here at all.”

“There’s nowhere else I would’ve wanted to be.” Cruz can’t believe how forthright she’s being, but there’s something about Josie that just makes her want to be completely open.

“Well, next time you spend three days next to me in bed I’ll make sure I’m awake for it.” Josie teased, huskily. Cruz made a noise somewhere between a murmur and a laugh, smiling to herself in the dark.

“Mm ha… Are you in much pain?”

“No, I mean, yes, sometimes. I’m on meds though, it’s fine, really.” Josie paused, unsure of how much she could say to Cruz over an unsecured line.
“Cruz- I know, where you’ve been this week.”

“Ok. Let me just say… I would never choose to violate your privacy but… when Joe was gonna send Kyle’s team I just-“

Josie interrupted “-hey, I just wanted to thank you for doing that. It’s truly mortifying to know that somebody has combed through every inch of my personal space but I’m glad it was someone I trust. Wait, did you say Kyle? Fuck me, I’d rather have the place burnt to the ground.”

“Well, next time I spend two days scouring through every inch of your personal space I’ll make sure you’re there for it. That… sounded sexier in my head.” Cruz cringed inwardly.

“Cruz, there’s not a single fucking thing that you could say to me that I wouldn’t find sexy.”

Cruz inhaled sharply, feeling lightheaded. Knowing that Josie trusted her, wanted her, stirred something inside her. Something that she hadn’t felt in years, since her. But this time felt different, it felt honest, free.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” The words slipped from Cruz’s mouth, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Cruz…” Josie crooned softly, “…you don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that”.

That makes two of us, thought Cruz, unaccustomed to being so generous with her feelings.

“I’m pining over here.” Said Josie, “I don’t pine.”

“Oh, you don’t huh?” Cruz taunted playfully, feeling quite proud of herself.

Josie laughed softly, “No I don’t. And I’ve been such a dick to everyone here because I’m not used to-”

“-All the pining?” Cruz was having fun now.

“Yeah, the pining.”

“I’m sure you weren’t a dick. I’ve seen you be… bratty, but never a dick.”

“Bratty?! How dare you?” Josie growled in mock offence, knowing exactly what Cruz was talking about. Josie could barely speak two words to Joe without coming off like a petulant teenager. “No, I’ve kinda been the worst. Bobby called me a jackass this morning.”

“Why?”

“She walked in on me doing one-legged dips.”

Cruz erupted into laughter. “Josie, Jesus Christ, you gotta take it easy!”

“I know I but I have all this pent up energy-“

“-don’t tell me, from the pining?” Cruz interrupted.

“Yes! Fuck. Seriously though, when will I see you? We’re hoping to be Stateside tomorrow.”

“Well that’s a good start, I didn’t like my chances of coming to you. I’ve got a meeting at three and then I’ll have a better idea of where we’re at.”

At that moment, Bobby crashed into the room like a rodeo clown in a Chanel boutique. She rushed around the room, drawing the curtains and closing the blinds.

“Thunder, who’re you talking’ to?” Bobby started booting up Josie’s laptop.

“Cruz, why? Bobby, what’s going on?”

“Tell her to check in with Joe in 15 minutes and hang up.”

“Jos?” Cruz heard everything, “text me, lemme know you’re okay.”

“Ok, I gotta go. Talk soon?” Josie wished she could have one last sweet nothing from Cruz.

“Definitely. Keep pining and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Cruz hung up, unable to wipe the smile off her face. She showered and slipped into bed, replaying the phone call with Josie over and over in her head. She didn’t call Joe, she only wanted Josie’s voice to be the last one she heard before she went to sleep.