“She heads into danger at every opportunity. She fucking volunteers to go overseas into the damn combat zones. As a surgeon, she shouldn’t be anywhere near the fighting, but she chooses to do so,” Luke replied, sadly. “The first time it happened I called and complained to anyone who would listen to me that they should not send medical personnel into combat zones like that. Her direct superior agreed with me but said that Daisy had volunteered to go on the choppers that were sent to bring in the wounded. She had argued that she would be able to help save lives by getting to the severely wounded faster. She had made a good argument and his superiors had agreed with Daisy. It was the first time she was wounded,” Luke paused as he reflected on his memories. “I felt so helpless as I sat at her bedside at US Naval Hospital Beaufort waiting for her to recover. I’ve lost count the number of times I have had the damn casualty assistance team show up at my house or call me at work when it wasn’t bad. Did she tell you about the shrapnel from an IED? I thought she was a goner that time.”
About that time, Daisy returned to the table. Ace jumped up to pull her chair out for her. He looked at her with concern, but she didn’t seem to notice. When she was settled, she asked. “What are you all taking about that is so serious?”
“Guy talk, sis,” Luke chuckled as he took a sip of his iced tea. Daisy eyed them both suspiciously but didn’t make any further comments. They sat and visited for another couple of hours before deciding to call it quits. Daisy gave Luke a kiss on the cheek and quick hug, before Ace shook his hand firmly. Once they were in the parking lot, Daisy turned back to Luke.
“We’ll be heading home in the morning Luke, but I’ll call you when we get home, ok?” Daisy asked.
“Sure sis. Be safe going home. I love you,” Luke told her as he squeezed her hand.
“I love you, too Luke. Take care of yourself. Be careful with this woman, okay? I worry about you having a complete stranger in your home,” Daisy squeezed him back before turning with Ace to head toward her SUV. Luke nodded in agreement, but rolled his eyes when Daisy turned away.
Chapter 17
Ace drove them back to the hotel. He ordered room service and they spent the night getting to know each other even better. The next morning, they made the 4-hour drive back to North Carolina. The trip was uneventful. They chatted about everyday stuff. They argued over what music to listen to on the radio, but all-in good-natured fun. Ace had wanted to bring up her injuries and mandate that she not put herself in danger anymore but was afraid he would scare her off. He decided to give it a little more time before he placed any other demands on her. Once they arrived home, Ace carried their suitcases in and put them in the laundry room.
Ace was anxious for Daisy to meet his friends. He called Hawk when they were back at Daisy’s house and they made plans to visit them the next evening. Hawk and Charlotte were having a dinner party at their house and have invited the team and any guests they want to bring. Apparently, Deadeye was bringing Elise, the young woman they had rescued from ISIS.
Daisy was unsure about going to a dinner party at a stranger’s house, but she couldn’t very well say no after Ace had gone with her to her brother’s BBQ. She decided she would just have to suck it up and deal until it was over. Surely it wouldn’t be as bad as Luke’s party with her mother brow beating her the whole night. Daisy took her time getting ready. She wanted to look nice for Ace in front of his friends. She wanted him to be proud of her when they met his friends.
They arrived at Hawk’s around seven. Several people were already there. Hawk answered the door and invited them in after giving Ace a bro hug back slap and taking Daisy by the hand with a gentle shake. He led them into the living room. It was a large room with an open floor plan. A large dining room could be seen behind the large sectional. The floor was a dark hardwood. The walls were painted a light tan with dark trim. The sectional couch was a dark brown leather with recliners on either end. Another tan cloth recliner sat off to the left of the couch. A beautiful area rug graced the floor.
When they entered the room all the men stood to greet them. Ace made the introductions to the room.
“Hey guys. I’m sure you all remember Dr. Daisy Robertson. Daisy, I will introduce everyone to you. The guy who opened the door is Hawk. He was the headman of our team for six years, but now he runs things from state side. This lovely lady coming to us with the little munchkins hanging off her is Charlotte. She is Hawk’s wife. They have another little one on the way, soon.” Charlotte handed the boys off to Deadeye and came to embrace Ace and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. She then turned to Daisy and grabbed her into a tight hug. Daisy was surprised but hugged her back.
“I am so happy to meet you, Daisy. I didn’t think this guy would ever settle down. I know you are something special to have stolen his heart,” Charlotte babbled on as Daisy was getting more and more embarrassed.
“Ok, Charlotte. Calm down, you’re going to scare her off,” Hawk admonished his wife gently.
“Oh, Hawk. I’m not going to scare her off. She’s Navy after all. I’m quite sure she has encountered people much scarier than me,” Charlotte scoffed at Hawk.
“Um…actually you are pretty scary,” Daisy laughed, nervously. Ace placed his hand on her lower back in support. The room erupted in laughter at Daisy’s comment. Charlotte just rolled her eyes.
“Don’t encourage him. He’s always trying to reign me in,” Charlotte laughed again. “But it doesn’t work, no matter how hard he tries.”
“No, but I keep trying. I know it futile, but I enjoy a challenge,” Hawk laughed as he pulled Charlotte to him and kissed her deeply. Daisy felt a little uncomfortable at the public display of affection, but no one else seemed to think it was awkward.
“Ok, I will continue the introductions. I know you met some of them before but in case you have forgotten. This guy here is Deadeye and next to him is Elise. You remember her from the op we did?” Daisy nodded and shook both their hands.
“You are feeling ok now Elise?” Daisy asked her quietly, not intending for anyone else to over hear her.
“Oh yes I’m fine, Dr. Robertson. Thanks for asking. It was tough for a while, but with Warren, Charlotte, therapy, and my family I am doing really well,” Elise replied. She didn’t seem to be at all embarrassed to be discussing her ordeal. “I hope you are ok. I saw the report on the news about you being rescued after your helicopter was shot down. Were you injured?”
“Not in the crash. I got a flesh wound afterward and suffered some dehydration, but nothing serious. We were very lucky,” Daisy tried to down play the whole situation. She didn’t like to talk about herself.
“Daisy, you were fucking shot, hunted by terrorists, and lost in the desert for days. Just because it didn’t hit anything major doesn’t mean it wasn’t serious. You should never have been in that situation in the first place,” Ace reproves her. Daisy shot him an exasperated glare.
“Ace, we are not having this argument again especially in front of everyone. Trust me I have had much worse and survived; it really wasn’t a big deal,” Daisy grumped in an irritated voice.
“We’ll finish this later,” Ace countered, softly. “On with the introductions, next is Straw, Mercury, Bull, and Wallace. The big guy there is Tank and next to him is Virus, Worm, and Hack,” Ace finished his introductions. Each of the men, took her hand. Straw ever the flirt kissed the back of her hand and just laughed at the growl that escaped Ace’s lips. Daisy beamed a smile at him to further frustrate Ace. Just then a woman entered the room. Charlotte hurried to her side.
“Daisy, this is my best childhood friend, Lisa Winters,” The women acknowledged each other, apparently everyone else already knew her. “Ok now that the introductions are done, let’s head into the dining room to eat,” Charlotte herded everyone toward the dining area. They all settled around the enormous table. Ace pulled out Daisy’s chair as did Deadeye for Elise. Daisy noticed that Hack assisted Lisa with her chair, but she didn’t seem very appreciative, almost annoyed. Daisy wondered to herself what was going on here, but was quickly distracted by the delicious food before her. Charlotte was an excellent cook. The food was delectable. The men on the team all joined in a lively conversation about what Charlotte and Hawk should name the new baby. They hadn’t revealed the gender, yet, but all the guys wanted it to have their name if it was another boy. All of them except Ace. Daisy leaned into him and asked him a question so only he could hear.
“Don’t you want to get your name in the pot?” Daisy whispered. Ace leaned back into her and replied.
“I want our son to have my name,” Ace looked at her with such sincerity that Daisy was speechless. She swallowed hard and continued to stare at him. Was he serious? He wanted her to have his child. Finally, finding her voice Daisy replied.
“Ace I’m not sure I would make a very good mother. You know how awful my mother is,” Daisy said with tears in her eyes.
