The Unexpected... Expect It

By:  M. J. Cogburn and C. E. Krawiec

rate the story!

print the story!

After months of utter humiliation and the most grueling drill sergeant ever to step foot in front of him, namely Alesandro Donaldson, Trevor Conroy was more than fit.  He was the epitome of muscles and fitness.  Even as he was down on the ground again for a pity retort back to Donaldson, counting his repetitions, he wished he had ten cents for every pushup he’d done since he arrived at Ft. Hildren .  He knew that he’d have over five hundred dollars easily.  Even as he finished his set of fifty pushups, he stood slightly out of breath as he stared down at the man before him.

“Got any more comments, Conroy!”

Although he knew that it would cost him more pain and agony, Trevor Conroy slightly sneered at Alesandro Donaldson.  “Only one, Sergeant Donaldson.”

“What’s that, recruit?”  Donaldson asked as he stepped into Trevor’s personal space.

“You’re one of the lousiest sons of a bitch that I’ve ever met in my entire life, Sergeant.”

“Recruit, you just bought yourself a ticket to hell.”

Trevor smirked slightly at the man before him, his lip curling up slightly as Alesandro Donaldson inched closer to him.  “I’ve already seen hell, Sergeant.  Just take me again.”  Trevor shook his head slightly as he stared back into his sergeant’s steaming gaze.

“Drop and give me a hundred more, recruit.  You will not talk back to your superior.”

Trevor met the man’s gaze with a slightly cocky attitude, but responded, “Yes, sergeant,” then proceeded down to the ground again to continue his pushups.

Trevor counted the pushups and watched out of the corner of his eyes as Donaldson walked around him.  It was only when Donaldson stopped and bent down to talk to him that Trevor paused in his set.

“Listen up, Conroy.  I may put you through one kind of hell, but when it comes to pure hell -- that’s when you get to go back to the island to face your sweetheart.  You know, the one you forgot about when you were screwing Recruit Denney.  I hope she tosses your ass to the side for some hot playboy who’ll treat her the way that she should be treated.  Why’d you stop, Conroy?  Get your ass moving!  NOW!”

Trevor snarled but began his set again.  He continued to count as the sergeant continued to circle him.

Alesandro watched the recruit before him for several minutes before he knelt down once more as Trevor was finishing his set.  “You know what, Conroy?  I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking or at least you thought about just letting this be kept a secret – this whole thing with Recruit Denney.”  He paused before he dropped the ball on the recruit.  “Don’t worry, Mr. Conroy, Siren will know all.”

Even as Trevor scrambled up to his feet after completing the fifty pushups, his countenance flushed.  He knew not how Sergeant Donaldson knew Siren’s name, nor did he care.  All he cared about at this point was nixing anything the sergeant had to say.  Even though he knew not to move from his position, Trevor stepped forward into Alesandro’s personal space.  “Is that a threat, Sergeant?” he asked his eyes burning now with the heat that was coming from within.

Alesandro Donaldson carefully looked into the recruit’s eyes and smiled.  “It wasn’t my threat to make, Mr. Conroy.  That was Lothos’ idea.  However, since you think that you of all people get to step up into the military’s face, you get another set, Mr. Conroy.  I suggest you shut up and remain so once you’ve finished this set.”

The two men remained staring at each other for a moment before Trevor Conroy’s common sense kicked in and he lowered himself to the ground.  It mattered not to him that he had another set of fifty pushups from the arrogant ass before him.  The only thing that motivated Trevor Conroy now was the one thing that had kept him going for the last three months – Siren.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Waddling - literally waddling down the hallway, Siren Lothoman grimaced as she stopped to place her hand on the wall.  Just walking down the hallway was getting to be a problem.  She paused slightly then taking a deep breath, blew it slow.  She wiped at her brow, a bit puzzled why she was sweating so badly.  She shivered slightly, put her hand around her bulging abdomen as best as she could and continued her walk to the Logistics Sector.

Five minutes later, Siren opened the door and slightly smiled.  There was Allen McAllister already busily scribbling away on his work.  Not too far from him at Trevor’s desk was Madeline Tenney, a young woman Lothos had brought in to help with the increasing workload.  Toward the back of the office was yet another smaller desk where Stanley Evans sat doing his work.  As she closed the door behind her, she turned to see Allen already out of his chair and coming toward her.

“Yes Allen?” she asked him carefully.

“Are you feeling okay, Siren?  You look… white as a ghost.”

“I’m fine.  Walking down here these last couple of weeks is getting to me, but I can handle it.  Go back to work, Allen.  I’m fine.”

“Let me help you to your desk,” he offered softly.

“Allen,” Siren lowered her voice a bit warningly.  “Go back to your desk.  I’m fine.”  She watched as Allen began to raise his hand toward her forehead and she frowned and dodged his hand from making contact.  “Allen, if I needed a mother hen, I’d go home.  Between both Xavier and Marion babying me, making sure that I’m well fed and keeping my feet up to control edema, this is my only sanity.  This place is my solitude.  Here, I can work.  Please, Allen, wipe that silly grin off your face, sit down, and get to work.  I’m quite capable of walking to my office… alone.”

Throughout her diatribe, Allen stood there with a grin on his face knowing just from her words alone that she was probably okay.  He had been spending enough time with Siren in and out of work – especially being her Lamaze coach - he was beginning to finally understand how and why Trevor Conroy had fallen head over heels in love with her.  He was already in that same stage.  “Yes ma’am,” he responded promptly and went back to his desk with a shake of his head.

Taking a few steps into the office, a small pain shot through her abdomen and she stopped in mid stride, took a slow deep breath, and let it out just as slowly.  Wincing slightly, she started toward her desk once more.  As she settled into her chair, she put the thought of pain behind her, picked up her pen, opened the manila folder that she had stopped on last night and began to review it. Another pain washed over her back and midsection and she stopped reading to close her eyes and sit back in her chair.

Siren brought her hand up to her forehead and wiped at the sweat that was on her brow.  She knew that she'd been having a fever - be it a low grade one - for the last two days and she couldn't understand why she couldn't beat it.  She stood up and started toward the door and not only felt it, but could see the beginnings of the seizure by the trembling of her hand.  "Allen?" she called out.

"Coming," he called back.

Siren took a few steps toward the door before everything went black and she twisted slightly not wanting to land on her abdomen and fell to the floor with a thud.  Even as she felt Allen's hands on her shoulders, she felt herself begin to thrash.  Although she knew that she was in the midst of her seizure, she knew from the wet feeling around her thighs that something was most definitely wrong.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        In the end, after that third set of pushups for insubordination toward Sergeant Donaldson, Trevor had set his mind to not letting the DI get his goat again.  A few pushups were one thing; he could deal with that discipline.   Now, after months of training, he was so ready to leave the fort and never set foot in it again. It was the goal of the end of training, only five days away, that had hardened Trevor’s resolve to not give Sergeant Donaldson even the smallest chance to order him back to repeat basic training, a fate entailed upon two members of his squad several weeks earlier.

The rest of the day’s hard physical training and the first session of final tests had been completed without any further incident between Recruit Conroy and his DI.  By the time the signal for “lights out” sounded, Trevor was just crawling into bed.

Drawing the covers up under his chin, Trevor shifted onto his side and wriggled into a comfortable position.  As his head hit his pillow, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Under his breath he murmured, “Just five more days until we’re together again, Siren. God, how I’ve missed you.”  He sighed and nestled his cheek against his pillow.  “Five days until I put days like today behind me.” Just as he surrendered to sleep, he whispered, “Sweet dreams, my own.  I hope your day was more relaxed than mine.”