Patience Pt. 03

Author's Note: This will be a slow burn type of romance/drama with more emphasis on the love rather than sexy times. If you're looking for more of the sexy times this may not be your cup of tea.

End of Part II

Once we got back to the Capital and got the rest of her stuff in my house, I looked at my phone and realized there was an email from the unemployment bureau. I quickly read it before handing Belle the phone. She read the same message that said her unemployment had been approved and that she should see the first deposit in her account within the next 7-10 days,

"What would I do without you? You're a lifesaver." before throwing her arms around me.

***

Part III

It was a few days later midafternoon; I had sent Belle shopping for groceries and was looking over some files in my lab when my phone started to ring. I looked down to see it was Joe that was calling and answered it.

"Hey Joe, what's up?"

"You know you picked a great time to be off. There's someone here looking for you. Does the name Nelson mean anything to you?" Joe said.

"Admiral Nelson." I replied. "He was my boss when I was at ONI. What does he want with me?"

"I think he's wanting to recruit you. He says he started up his own institute and needs a good analytical mind like yours to head up his intel division. Apparently, he heard about how you got our analysts back in order when you started with us back in the day." Joe told me.

"Well, I can't come down there right now I sent Belle grocery shopping, so she's got my Denali. Tell the Admiral if he wants to talk to me unfortunately, he'll have to come here."

"He's talking to the chief right now, but I'll tell him." Joe told me before saying, "So you've got her doing the shopping now. Sounds like you two got a good domestic routine going."

I rolled my eyes and told him, "She volunteered to take charge of cooking and cleaning as a way to repay me for helping her."

"I'll give your address to the Admiral when he's done with the chief. You'll probably see him in a bit. He said he couldn't be here long, so he wanted to see you asap." Joe told me.

I decided that my old navy hoodie and shorts would be too casual to host my former CO and four-star admiral, so I put on a pair of khakis and an oxford shirt. I skipped the tie since I knew he probably wouldn't be wearing one.

About an hour after I got off the phone with Joe, I heard my doorbell ring. I opened the door and found myself face to face with my old boss. He was just as I had remembered him. About 5 foot 9 with chiseled facial features and auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. Though he was technically retired he still wore the standard khaki uniform I always remembered him wearing khaki shirt and pants with four stars on each collar. As I had predicted he wasn't wearing a tie.

After I let him in, I extended my hand and said, "Admiral, it's good to see you again sir."

He shook my hand and said in his deep baritone voice, "It's good to see you too Robert. I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice."

"Of course, sir." I said then remembering the Admiral's penchant for coffee said, "Would you care for some coffee sir?"

"Yes, coffee sounds very good thank you." the Admiral replied.

Once I got the coffee brewed, the admiral and I settled into chairs in the lab and I asked, "So what brings you here Admiral?"

"Well Lad, you know I've left the Navy and started my own research group. I was hoping I could get you to help me get my analysis division off the ground and going in the right direction. From what I know of your work at ONI and what I've heard your collogues at SBI say it sounds like you're just the man I need."

I took a swallow of coffee to let the Admiral's words sink in and process them. "I'm honored sir. But just to be clear, are you offering me a job?"

"If you want it, yes." the Admiral replied. "I know you like working for SBI and can understand if you're reluctant to leave to work for a start-up research group that may or may not make it. If that's the case, I would be willing to let you be a consultant part time."

"You've certainly given me a lot to think about Admiral." I told him. "And I'm certainly going to consider your offers. I hope you're not looking for answers right away though. As I'm sure Joe and the chief told you I've got quite enough going on right now to keep me busy."

The Admiral gave me a slight grin before saying, "Yes they did mention something about you taking time off to help an old friend from college. I have to admit I was surprised to find out you were off when I got to SBI headquarters. You were never one for taking time off when you were at ONI."

"I'm still not." I told him and gave him the cliff notes version of what was going on with Belle. After I finished the story, I did add, "I will admit even with the current situation it has been nice being off." The Admiral looked poised to say something when we both heard the front door being opened. Belle was obviously back.

"Robbie." she called out.

"In the lab love."

Belle appeared in the doorway all smiles as she said, "Hey they had some really good stuff on sale at the store. They had some really nice-looking chicken breasts. I think I'll fry them up for us tonight, how does that sound?"

"You keep feeding me like this I'm going to get fat and lazy." I said teasing her.

She giggled before giving me a playful poke in my stomach and saying, "Well apparently you want to get fat since you keep eating it." Then noticing the Admiral, she said, "Oh hello." with a slight blush.

"Hello, my dear." the Admiral replied.

"Belle, this is Admiral Nelson, he was my boss at ONI. Admiral this is Belle." I said introducing the two.

"Oh, Robbie used to talk about you when he was in the Navy. He really liked working for you." Belle said with a smile.

"Well, I'm hoping he'll agree to work for me again." the Admiral told her grinning back at her.

With that Belle left us in the lab to finish putting the groceries away. Once she was out of sight the Admiral turned to me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "She's quite a lovely woman. I can see why you would drop everything to help her." I knew this was coming and hoping that it wouldn't, but here it was. I couldn't stall or rebuff the Admiral like I could with Joe.

When I didn't say anything right away instead taking a swallow of my coffee to give myself a second to think of what to say the Admiral spoke up again.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel Lad?"

"It's not that simple Admiral. In all the years we've known each other she's never given any indication that she looks at me as anything other than a friend or a brother." I sighed slightly before adding, "Or the one she calls when she's in a jam like she is now." Then dropping my voice a few octaves to make sure it wouldn't carry outside the lab I added, "She likes the 'bad boy' types, which is the main reason she gets in the scrapes she gets in and then calls me to get her out of them." Another sigh and another swallow of coffee and I said, "She's very smart, but then she gets involved with these bums who drag her down. She has an accounting degree and is damn good with numbers, but there again she lets these guys take advantage of her. It's really sad to watch."

It actually felt good to say this out loud after so much time of carrying it around with me. During my monologue the Admiral listened attentively with an almost grandfatherly like look on his face. This is what I admired about the man. Yes, he was an old school sailor who ran a tight ship, but he also cared about the people under him and wasn't afraid to show it.

When it was clear that I was done talking for the moment the Admiral said, "Lad, has it ever occurred to you that she's starting to change? That maybe after so many years she's gotten tired of what she's been doing. You see the college girl who runs around with 'bad boys' as you put it who get her into trouble. And that's not unreasonable giving the current situation. But what I just saw is someone who is happy she's here instead of a much darker place. I see someone who's eager to do something for you that she hopes makes you happy."

"You may be right, and I honestly hope you are, but I still haven't seen anything that shows she sees me as anything but a friend." I said. "I will admit that since she's been here, she's tried the hardest she can do as much as she can for me. It's because of her this place is so clean and that I'm eating more and better than I usually do. I think she's realized she owes me something for watching her back all these years. She keeps saying she feels bad that I'm in this mess with her. She never said that in the past."

"See what I mean Lad, it sounds like she may be coming around on you. Give it some time and I wouldn't be surprised if you two's situation looks a bit different." the Admiral told me.

"I hope you're right Admiral." I said. "I don't suppose you need accountants at the institute. When the dust settles on her situation Belle is going to need a job."

"I might be able to get her on staff." the Admiral told me. "When can she start?"

"That's hard to say. She's still got to settle issues in Dover and right now she doesn't have a car. And my Denali currently isn't up for long distances, it needs either a head gasket or an engine." I told the Admiral.

The Admiral pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me before saying, "When I get back to the office tomorrow, I'll look at our personnel situation and see what I can do for her."

"Thanks Admiral." I said. "I'd better see if Belle needs help." With that we both left the lab and found Belle in the kitchen. She had slipped an apron over her t-shirt and jeans and currently had her hands in a big mixing bowl battering the chicken she had just told us about.

She smiled as the Admiral and I walked in, and I told her, "Good news Love, the Admiral may have a job for you at the institute when the dust settles on your situation."

Her mouth formed an 'O' of surprise before she said, "Oh my god really? That would be great!"

"Don't get too excited yet my dear." the Admiral said. "I've still got to see exactly what I need when I get back to the institute."

Belle readily replied, "Oh I understand. But I appreciate you thinking of me either way. Will you stay for dinner? I can easily fry up a third chicken breast for you."

By this point I had joined Belle on her side of the island bar/counter and said, "Yeah stay and eat with us. Belle will spoil you with her culinary skills."

The Admiral gave a warm grin and said, "I'm afraid I can't. This was a short trip and I've got to be back later tonight so I can get an early start tomorrow. Maybe next time."

Belle pushed her case though. "Oh, come on we won't keep you too long. You'll love it I promise."

I couldn't help but be slightly amused as I watched her try the same tactics on the Admiral that she often used on me. The shy grin and slightly pouty eyes would have melted me. With a chuckle I said, "I don't think that will work on the Admiral like it would with me."

All three of us had a good laugh before the Admiral said, "I'm afraid he's right and I do really need to go. For what it's worth you make a tempting offer though."

I walked the Admiral to the door and shook his hand and told him, "Thanks for stopping by Admiral. It's been good seeing you again. And I'm going to consider your offer."

With a look of warmth, the Admiral said to me, "It's been good see you too Robert. And I hope to be seeing more of you soon." Then after we exchanged business cards to keep in touch as he was walking out the door, he turned back to face me before saying in a lower voice, "Take good care of her Lad."

With the Admiral gone I helped Belle finish cooking, and we sat down to eat. As we dug into our plates Belle spoke up.

"So, he's offered you a job?"

"If I want it yes." I replied.

"Doing what?"

"Same thing I do at SBI basically. He wants me to head up his intel analysis division. He even said if I don't want to leave SBI that he'd let me consult part time." I told her.

"So, what do you want to do?" Belle asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied. "It's a tempting offer and you know how much I liked working for the Admiral. On the other hand, his institute is a startup and may or may not last even with him running it. I've got to think on it but I'm leaning towards the consulting role for now."

"That makes sense." Belle told me with a thoughtful look on her face. "If the institute makes it I'm sure he would give you a full-time job if you change your mind."

"You're probably right." I admitted.

"He might have a job for me?" Belle asked.

"I told him you have an accounting degree and are good with numbers and asked him if he could use someone with those skills at the institute and he said he would check into it." I replied.

"Have I ever told you you're a lifesaver?" she asked with a big smile.

"You might have mentioned it." I said in a deadpan voice and we both laughed.

"What did he tell you when he turned back before leaving?" Belle asked out of the blue.

Not wanting the situation to turn awkward I told her, "He told me to keep in touch."

***

The next couple of days were hard. Attorney Wells had Belle come in for depositions in a run up to a potential session with the grand jury. I was able to be at the first day's session but the second I had to meet with Joe about some recent developments at work.

The meeting with Joe lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. Joe had met me at the attorney's office, so Belle could keep the Denali and we went to lunch and went over what we needed to. I knew my time with Joe overran Belle's with Wells because I got a text from her saying she was finished at Wells' and wanting to know if she should go home or wait for me. I told her I was still with Joe and that he could give me a ride home so she could go home.

Joe dropped me off and I walked into my house and found the surprise of my life. Belle was half slumped back on the sofa and on the coffee table sat a tumbler and a bottle of scotch given to me by the Admiral. The bottle had been about 3/4 full and now was less than 1/3 full.

Belle wasn't completely passed out. My entrance apparently woke her, and she eyed me with what could only be a hungry aroused look. I was completely taken aback by the look I had never seen on her.

"Hey baby you're finally back." she said in a slurred purr.

"Belle what do you think you're doing?" I asked losing patience at the situation.

"Waiting for you baby." she said as she got up from the sofa and staggered towards me.

"Don't play stupid." I said impatiently. "Why are you sitting here getting smashed on my scotch?"

Belle completely ignored my question and impatience and continued to stagger towards me. As she got to me, she stumbled, and I was forced to catch her to keep her from falling to the floor.

As I held her up, she looked into my eyes with a look of lust in her eyes. "Oh Robbie you're so strong." she said in the same slurred purr and started pawing at me. Keeping my grip on her shoulders I moved myself back to arm's length from her. "Don't play hard to get Robbie. You know you want me." She said giving me an extremely exaggerated version of the pout she often gave me when she was sober.

In spite of the situation, it looked incredibly sexy, and it took all my self-control not to let her take me then and there. It would have been very easy to give into the temptation I'd had for well over a decade, but military discipline and my own rigid code of ethics kept me in line. I knew she wouldn't be doing this if she were sober and that while not right away, she would remember what happened and it would be very embarrassing for both of us if I yielded to temptation.

I continued to hold her at arm's length as I told her, "Come on Belle let's get you in bed so you can sleep this off."

"Now you're talking stud." she said as I pulled her close and guided her towards the bedroom. Once she was close, I had to fight to keep her pawing hands off of me. The good news was that as we got into the bedroom, she quit trying to seduce me. The bad news was she stopped because she clearly felt the urge to throw up. I heard her gag, and I knew what was coming. I quickly pulled her into the bathroom and over the toilet. I was just fast enough as she started throwing up right as I got her over the commode. I held her hair back as she emptied her stomach into the toilet bowl.

She threw up for several minutes until apparently, she had gotten everything out of her system at least for the moment. I then slowly pulled her up and we made our way back into the bedroom. Thankfully or un-thankfully depending on how you wanted to look at it she was too weak to try to seduce me anymore. Once I got her onto the bed, she looked up at me with a weak smile and said, "Goodnight Robbie." before she passed out completely.

I'd been around Belle long enough and seen her drunk enough to know that there would probably be one more spell of throwing up to purge the last of the toxins from her system within the next couple of hours. Not wanting my bed or what was left of her dignity to be ruined I maintained a bedside vigil putting the tv on low volume.

Sure enough, about 2 and a half hours later I heard her stir and sit up weakly. "Robbie? Why do I feel like I've been run over by a car?" she asked weakly. Before I could even respond she gagged again and took off for the bathroom and I was right behind her. Again, I held her hair back and she puked her guts out for a few minutes. She stood up when she was done and looked at me and said, "Robbie what happened? I feel terrible."

Not wanting to embarrass her and knowing she'll remember it later anyway I told her, "Don't worry about that now. Let's get you back to bed." Apparently too weak to argue she simply nodded, and I led her back to the bed. She quickly fell back to sleep, and I continued my bedside vigil.

Knowing the best thing for a hangover was re-hydrating the body I grabbed my phone and called Joe once Belle was sleeping again. After some of his patented ribbing and sarcasm he agreed to get some bottles of Gatorade and some subs from Jersy Mikes and bring them over. About an hour later Joe arrived.

I put the Gatorade in the fridge and sat down at the table with Joe. As a thank you for helping me out I told him to get himself a sub from Jersy Mikes too, so we sat down to eat. As we did, he asked, "So what happened?"

At that point I didn't care if he gave me hell for it I knew it would help to talk about it. "For some reason Belle got back and decided to get into my scotch and proceeded to get plastered." I went and picked up the bottle of scotch from where it was on the coffee table and showed it to Joe. "This bottle was about 3/4 full this morning and you see where it is now. I got home and found her half slumped across the sofa. For some reason in her drunken state, she decided to try to make a move on me when she saw me come in."

Surprisingly, Joe didn't have some flippant remark at my story instead saying, "Damn Rob I'm sorry."

"Luckily or un-luckily depending on how you want to look at it it was right after she was trying to make a move on me that her stomach gave in to all the alcohol in it and I had to hold her hair while she puked."

"Holy shit." Joe said as I told the story.

Giving in to my need to vent I continued a little more aggressively, "She's lucky I know how her body reacts to being drunk, because after I put her to bed sure enough a couple hours later she was puking again."

"What would make her want to get wasted like that?" Joe asked.

"I'm not 100 percent sure." I replied. "My first thought is that Wells gave her hell at the deposition, and she wanted a drink to dull the frustration. I'll know soon enough. While she doesn't remember now she will some point soon. That's going to be an adventure to when it all comes back to her."