Author's Note: I am so excited about this chapter! xD I really hope you like it! Please tell me if you're enjoying the story or not! 

If you have any writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills as a writer.

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Chapter 15

The rec room was quite silent on Saturday morning. Collins was the only one there, her left arm in a cast and sling sitting on the couch. The TV was on but she was staring at the ground, her eyes unfocused. At least the painkillers were working; she did not feel any pain. Not only her arm felt numb, but also her whole body and her emotions with them. She still felt ashamed about last week's mission, she was with the Captain of Task Force 141 and she did not manage to accomplish a simple objective. It was basic training: take cover, shoot at the targets and back to cover while reloading your weapon. She felt miserable and did not feel that she was worthy to be part of the Elite Task Force. There was nothing elite about her.

"Hey Collins!" shouted Allen and Collins forced herself to turn around to see Daniels, Allen, and Williams walking towards her.

"Hi," she murmured resuming her previous position.

"You have been discharged. That's good!" said Daniels sitting next to her brushing Collins' brown hair out of her face.

"The Doctor said it will do me good to move a bit and not stay still in a bed."

"How are you feeling?" asked Williams sitting on the other side.

"I'm ok," lied Collins still looking down.

They heard the door open and saw Malloy and Red walk in and they approached them. Malloy stopped suddenly looking at Collins' face confused.

"What's with the face Private?" she asked.

"It's nothing ma'am, I'm ok," said Collins forcing a smile.

They all resumed talking and Williams walked towards Malloy who was playing billiard with Red.

"She's depressed," said Williams and Malloy and Red looked at her.

"Da, she stills blames herself. Her father has ruined her and her mother's lives," said Red shaking her head.

"That's for damn sure," said Malloy shaking her head and then turned to Williams, "and I don't think the medication is helping. The painkillers I took when I was shot made me go mad and then happy a second later."

"Collins! What medication are you taking?" asked Williams and Collins reached into her pocket and threw her a yellow bottle filled with pills. Williams caught it and read the label and threw it back to her. "Stop taking those pills; they have terrible side-effects."

Collins stared at her and said, "But ma'am, Doc told me to take them twice a day."

"And I'm ordering you to stop taking them," said Williams. "You'll feel some pain but you'll feel better psychologically. I'll suggest Doc alternative pills for you."

"Roger that," she said putting the bottle back into her pocket.

"Collins, you're breaking my heart seeing you depressed like that," said Malloy pouting. She paused for a moment and then went to the stereo and took out a CD from her pocket. She inserted the CD, pressed play and turned on the volume. Collins' head shot up as 'Don't stop me now' played; she loved Queen. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Williams and Malloy dancing funnily slow-motion at the start of the music and move their hips with the rhythm of the music. When the rhythm picked up, they started waving their hands in the air and moving their heads from one side to the other and making funny faces. Red started laughing and joined in with them. Daniels and Allen screaming grabbed Collins and started dancing with her.

'Just like the good old times,' thought Collins as she smiled.

Ozone, Archer, Roach, and Ghost entered the room to investigate the loud music when they saw the women dancing and fooling around, singing loudly and laughing all together.

"Yeaaahhh! Let's dance!" shouted Ozone joining the women and shaking his hips around making everyone burst out laughing. Ghost watched Williams dancing and shook his head while smiling and walked towards her.

"What's going on?" he asked shouting over the loud music. Williams grabbed him by the arm to the other side of the room.

"Collins is feeling a bit down so we thought we would cheer her up," said Williams.

Ghost nodded and walked towards Collins and grabbed her right hand and put his arm around her waist assuming a dance position and started dancing funnily and jumping around. Collins laughed so hard that tears started falling and her stomach hurt as she jumped around foolishly with him.

"Roach come 'ere," shouted Ghost as Roach came near them. Ghost gave Collins to him and said, "Show her what she taught you last time Sergeant."

"Yes, sir," smiled Roach and started jiving with her. Collins laughed at his attempt to dance but Roach continued because he loved seeing her smile.

Ghost walked towards Williams and told her, "Objective completed, Marine." She turned to him and smiled. She appreciated what he did to cheer her mate up. The music stopped and 'You're the one that I want' played. Ghost turned to Williams and raised his eyebrows. He suddenly started dancing and took off his jacket slowly and everyone started whistling. Williams started laughing and joined him dancing. Price and MacTavish walked in and saw Ghost fooling around and everyone cheering. Price shook his head, lighted a cigar and sat on the couch stomping his foot and nodding to the beat. All that MacTavish could see was Malloy dancing with Ozone, laughing together. Her radiant smile, those laughing eyes, and her silky hair always tied up in a high ponytail; the way she moved with the grace of a woman until she picked up a gun and in an instant turned into a hardened soldier. He sighed and joined Price, together with smoking a cigar.

"I'll be right back," said Malloy going out.

They continued laughing with Roach holding Collins by her waist and dancing together. Malloy walked in holding tubs of 'Ben and Jerry's' and spoons.

"Ice cream!" yelled Allen happily. The women screamed and grabbed a spoon and started opening the containers.

"You wanna join?" Red asked the men. They shrugged and grabbed a spoon digging it into the ice cream.

"You're the best Captain ever," cheered Collins.

"I aim to please," winked Malloy.

She still ignored MacTavish for what he had said to her the other day. This hurt more than Special Forces training, and that's saying something. Malloy shook her head.

'I need to toughen the fuck up,' she thought while eating some vanilla ice cream.

Ghost stood up, "I'll see you at six," he whispered in Williams' ear and slightly squeezed her arm as he walked outside leaving her blushing. At least everyone was concentrated on the ice cream to notice.

"Why don't we go to your office for a second, Soap?" asked Price putting out his cigar and MacTavish nodded in response.

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They entered the office and Price waited for MacTavish to close the door and walk near him. Price punched him in the stomach and MacTavish groaned in pain and fell to the floor. He then grabbed him from the front of the shirt to pull him up, staring angrily in his eyes.

"I told you not to hurt her lad!"

"I didn't!" choked MacTavish.

"Then why in the bloody hell did I find her crying in her room?" he asked angrily.

MacTavish kept staring at him. She was crying? Ghost was right, and he thought by avoiding all of this, he would have prevented her from hurting.

"I'm sorry," said MacTavish looking down ashamed.

"Apologise to her, not to me son," said Price letting him go.

"I admit it I'm no expert in this field. I barely had time to live, let alone go out with a woman these past years.

"I'm not an expert either, but having a woman in your life who loves you for who you are, is the best darn thing a man can have," said Price sighing and looked at MacTavish. "You are lucky that you may have found a woman who cares about you. Don't lose her."

"Sir?" asked MacTavish confused.

"Never mind," replied Price angrily and slammed the door behind him leaving MacTavish confused and sighing.

'What is he not telling me?'

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"Oh boy, I'm so nervous," said Williams applying eyeliner in the bathroom.

"Calm down, it's just a date!" said Malloy who was playing chess on her laptop.

"Outing!"

"Whatever it is, it cannot be worse than a mission with the enemy chasing you firing at your ass."

"I know," said Williams and checked herself out in the mirror before going out. Her hair slightly curly was flowing freely rather than tied up in a ponytail; her eyes lined with natural make-up, some lip gloss, and blusher against her dark skin. She was wearing a cream shirt with a dark brown blazer on top and jeans. She wrapped a scarf around her neck, wore brown gloves and went out of the bathroom and turned to Malloy.

"How do I look?"

"You look ravishing babe! You make me so proud," Malloy said pretending to wipe away a tear from her eye.

Williams laughed and said, "Off I go then."

"Good luck and enjoy yourself. Remember! Always use protection!"

"Funny," said Williams sarcastically grabbing her bag and went outside as they were going to meet just outside the barracks. Ghost was waiting for her near the car. He was wearing a blue shirt which was neatly tucked into his black jeans and a black jacket. He smiled as she walked towards him.

"Wow, you look different," said Ghost mesmerized at her appearance.

"I hope it's a good thing," said Williams nervously.

"Definitely, yes, of course," he stammered slightly panicked and Williams giggled. "You look beautiful."

She blushed at that compliment and said, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

He flashed a smile at her. "Shall we, milady?" he asked opening the door for her and she laughed as she got in the car. They drove for about 15 minutes with Ghost trying to glance at her without being noticed. She looked so different with civilian attire, so radiant with her hair flowing he just wanted to run his fingers through it. They parked into a parking lot and he got out of the car and hurried to the other side to open the door for Williams who was already half out.

"I didn't imagine you as a gentleman," said Williams surprised.

"It's because I'm a rough soldier doesn't mean I don't know how to treat a woman," he winked.

The cafeteria was just around the corner with Ghost holding the door open for Williams and holding her chair before she sat down and he sat next to her.

'Wow, I guess I was mistaken about him,' she thought.

The waitress came and Ghost ordered coffee and carrot cake. "Make it a big piece of cake please," he said grinning at Williams and the waitress walked away. "May I call you Charlene?"

"Yes, of course."

"Where are you from?"

Williams looked in his eager eyes for a moment. "I'm originally from California but moved to New York with my sister to study at NYU ."

"That's where you met Malloy right?" asked Ghost and Williams nodded in reply. "How did you two meet?"

She started laughing. "I'm sorry but it's a funny story. I was working at the cafeteria at the University so that I can earn something on the side. Lisa and... Taylor came at the bar and ordered some drinks. I accidentally knocked down the glasses and she ended up soaking in soda. I was panicking because my boss had already warned me not to do anything stupid or he would fire me. Feeling a poke on my shoulder, I turned around and saw my boss glaring at me asking what had happened and I froze up. Lisa took all the blame saying that she was clumsy and knocked everything down. We became friends after that."

"The best way to meet someone then," he beamed.

"Definitely; I still think today that fate brought us together that night. We were taking very different courses from each other. I was studying to become a doctor and Lisa and Taylor were in Education to become Geography teachers. They were a year older than me; I was just starting back then." Williams looked down saddened remembering that night; they had laughed so hard and now it's all gone.

Ghost squeezed her hand briefly and said, "I'm sorry."

Williams smiled at him and said, "So, Simon! I can call you Simon, right?" and Ghost nodded. "I like your name," nodding in approval.

Ghost chuckled, "I'm glad you do."

"Tell me a bit about yourself. What about family?"

He was dreading that question and tried to avoid it. Luck was on his side when the waitress came with two large pieces of carrot cake and coffee. Williams cheered; it had been a long time since she had carrot cake. Her sister used to bake that cake whenever she felt sad.

"What did you learn at University?" asked Ghost.

"Are you avoiding my question Lieutenant?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"I did not know I was being interrogated," he replied coldly.

Williams was a bit surprised at his tone of voice. She did not mean to be rude she just wanted to know more about him. He was so secretive and she tried to break the shell that was enclosing him.

"I apologize, I did not mean to be impolite."

"Don't worry about it," he poked her jokingly before turning solemn again. "I don't have a family, they're all dead."

"I'm so sorry," she said grievously.

"It's ok, it's been a long time ago," he said poking his fork through the cake remembering how his family was unfairly slaughtered. He was betrayed by his comrades and commander. He is still thankful that he was chosen for the 141 and met MacTavish and Roach who helped him remember that life was still worth living.

"That mission in Roba's drug cartel must have been tough," said Williams quietly looking at the coffee she was holding.

Ghost looked sharply at her. "I see you have read my file. Did your Captain teach you that? 'Cause she has a habit of doing it."

"She taught me to never let my guard down. I just wanted to know more about you that's all," she replied defensively.

"Yeah, that mission was strenuous," he said sipping his coffee. "What about your family Charlene?"

"My sister is my family. No relatives, nothing."

"What happened to your parents?"

"You sure are asking a lot of questions tonight," said Williams sounding nervous.

"You and the E.T.F. have been with us for months and I realized that all I know about you is that you are a very skilled soldier and anything I have read from your file. I'm trying to get to know you," replied Ghost with a soft voice.

Williams sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine. My father was an alcoholic and abusive. He would beat my mum and us every weekend when he would go out and drink with his friends. However, after a while, things got worse as he would return home drunk every night rather than just the weekends. All I can remember from my childhood is my mum screaming and my sister trying to defend us from him."

"What happened?" asked Ghost concerned.

She picked up a spoon and started stirring her coffee. "One night I arrive at my home after a night out with my friends and called for my mum." She stopped stirring and took a sip. "There was no reply. I rushed to her bedroom and saw her sprawled on the floor, blood everywhere and everything was upside-down. I walked closer and saw her eyes wide with fear. Witnesses said that my father was seen at the house during that time so he was charged with murder."

"So he was locked away in prison, right?"

"Wrong. There was a lack of evidence so they released him."

"You told me he was dead. How did he die?" he asked her. Then he looked into her eyes and recognized that look. The same look he had when he saw his family dead on the floor; pain, anger, revenge. He had contemplated suicide that night but decided to eliminate all those bastards who had hurt him and his family.

"You killed him, didn't you?" he whispered and Williams kept a straight face and looked away from him. "I'm not judging you," he continued. "The atrocious things I did are unforgivable. The things you do for your loved ones, right mate?"

Williams smiled softly at him and it was her turn to squeeze his hand and he held it.

"I guess we can agree that we are both fucked up in our own way," she said and Ghost laughed. They finished eating and the sun was setting. Ghost paid the bill and suggested they go for a walk in a nearby park. It was early February so the trees had shed all their leaves but it was peaceful with couples cuddling on benches and children playing accompanied by their parents.

"It's so beautiful here! It reminds me of the base back in America. We are surrounded by trees there which make the morning jogs more bearable," she giggled.

"I would love to see where you train and where you grew up," he said walking beside her.

She looked at him and said, "I would be glad to show you around and see how us 'Yanks' train."

He chuckled at that comment and saw Williams clutching her scarf closer to her body. He put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly as she looked up to him embarrassed not knowing how to react.

"It's getting a bit chilly isn't it?" he asked as he held her tight to him.

"So you thought you'd squish me because it's getting cold?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Body warmth! You know you get closer to someone so that you won't freeze," he said innocently.

"Mhmm," she smirked but did not complain further; she was shaking because the temperature dropped significantly. Ghost noticed she was shivering and decided to return to the base. Back at the base, he parked the car and accompanied Williams back to her room. When they reached the door, Williams turned to face him.

"Thank you for the wonderful evening. I had a great time," she smiled.

"I am glad you enjoyed yourself," he said smiling back.

Williams lowered her head not knowing what to say next but felt a hand under her chin and it pushed her head up. She looked up seeing Ghost looking intently at her getting closer. Her heartbeat quickened and she was slightly panicking. But that feeling got replaced by other emotions when their lips met with Ghost still holding her chin with her thumb and index finger. She felt a rush of warmth in her body and felt her cheeks hot. They both slightly parted their lips, their tongues met, the kiss getting more heated ignoring the fact that they are in the corridor and anyone could see them. Ghost moved his hand from her chin to her face and his other arm stroking her waist pushing her against the wall. Williams put her arms around his back as they kissed passionately tilting their heads to the other side. MacTavish was walking down the corridor when he saw Ghost holding Williams. He stopped immediately and turned around walking fast and quietly outside the barracks. He started smiling as he decided to wait a bit; his paperwork can wait.

Ghost and Williams finally parted, gasping for air both laughing. He pushed her hair from her face feeling its softness between his fingers. He smiled at her; she was so beautiful with such a charming personality.

"I must admit, I did not know you are so sweet," whispered Ghost grinning.

"You're full of surprises too, Simon. We'll just have to get to know each other more," she whispered back.

Ghost grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Thank you for tonight Charlene. Losing to you was the best decision I have ever made. Good night."

"Good night," she said watching him go into his room. She exhaled a deep breath and opened the door entering her room screaming with joy in her head.

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Quick Author's Note: Soooo, what do you think? :D There is going to be a twist in the next chapter ;) Is Malloy hiding something...? We'll know in Chapter 16!

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