The Abyss Between Us

Chapter 14 - Hawthorne

Pip was jostled from slumber as whatever she was leaning on moved. She groaned and opened her eyes to see Ghost and Soap talking quietly. She pushed herself up and noticed the boat wasn't rocking.

"Are we already at the copter?" Ghost glanced at her and nodded. Eyes still blurry from sleep, she pushed herself to standing, pulling the jacket she was wearing close and walking out to the deck. Dawn was just breaking as she stared out at the dark water.

"I loaded up your gear already," Farah said, coming to stand beside her.

"When does it end, Farah? When can we finally sleep in peace?" Farah looked at the woman beside her and saw not the terrifying soldier she was, but a tired and scarred girl, like herself.

"It doesn't, for us, but we fight so that more children don't end up like us." Pip glanced at Farah and nodded, turned her back on the ocean and the sun.

"Well, guess we better get going." They stepped off the boat together behind Ghost and Soap and that's when Pip realized Ghost was in just a long sleeve shirt. The material hugged his bulky arms and she couldn't help but stare. She held the jacket close and smelled it, enveloping herself in a mixture of cigarette smoke, burning wood, bourbon, and what she guessed was his natural musk. She mindlessly sat on the floor of the helicopter, only to be jostled as it hit a wind current wrong.

"Steady there," Ghost voice was low in her ear as his hands grabbed her arms and sat her against the seat he was in, effectively trapping her between his legs. She heard someone chuckle and her whole face flushed. She found her boots very interesting for the next few of hours.

~~~~~~~~

The midday sun warmed the inside of the helicopter as Pip spotted the farmhouse, and the dogs heading the sheep into a closed pasture. The woman standing on the ground was waving and pointing, directing Nikolai to land. As the motor powered down, Pip open the door and jumped out before being tackled to the ground by the massive sheepdog.

"Ach, Tobi, get off of meh!" Everyone watched the spectacle as Price and Nik climbed out the other side.

"Johnny! Nikki!" Ghost eyed the older woman as she briskly made her way over to the helicopter and pulled both of the men named into hugs. He chuckled as he watched Pip finally wrestle the big dog off of her. It then turned it's attention to everyone who was trying to disembark around them. A shrill whistle sounded, calling the dog to the woman's side. Ghost offered his hand to Pip, who gladly accepted it and attempted to dust herself off.

"Hi Nana." They watched her walk over to the woman and they hugged. "These are my new... Coworkers." Nana took a good look at each of them before turning back to the house.

"Well, c'mon in! There's plenty o' room fer all o' yah." Price cleared a hand on Hawthorne's back.

"Still got time to get back in," he said, gesturing to the helicopter. Pip raised an eyebrow at him.

"No thank you, I choose life." Soap couldn't hold in his laughter and slung his arm over her shoulders.

"Reminds me of my Nanna. This should be fun."

"No one's gonna be able to understand us by the time we leave." Her face flushed with how easily her accent was already changing being home.

"E'en better."

~~~~~~~~

"I told you she was gonna make you take it off," Price said with a smile as Simon pulled the knit cap on as far as he could.

"Can't believe I couldn't say no." Price just shrugged as he handed Simon the face mask. He was looping it over his ears when Pip walked down the stairs with a huge armload of clothes. Her hair was wet and hung down in loose ringlets to her mid back. Simon found himself staring as she sorted everyone's clothes.

"Jasus, he fookin bled..." Anyone listening to her now would never believe she was Russian. Something about how mundane she was in the moment stirred his heart and he turned away.

"Shut it," he hissed seeing Price's smile. Price just patted his shoulder and went back into the main part of the house where the others were gathering. Simon stood there for a moment more before letting out a large breath and turning back to Pip, who was still sorting everything, and spotted the pile of pocket treasure she was collecting on the table. He walked over and started examining the pile.

"Sorry bout yer mask. She can be...."

"Stubborn?" Pip nodded as she picked up the bundle of shirts and got them in the washer. Simon tried to focus on the pile in front of him, but his eyes kept wondering to Pip. Her toned body was draped in clothes too big for her, but he almost preferred it, the sight of her in his jacket popping into his mind. She met his gaze and he turned back to fiddling with a knife she'd pulled from Johnny's clothes.

"Let's go join everyone. I can 'ear Johnny gettin' rowdy." She touched his arm and goosebumps erupted on his exposed arm. He pulled his arm back and nodded, retreating to the main room where the others were. Pip stood there for a moment before following, walking in to see everyone being shown her baby pictures.

"What a rascal you were," Alex said with a smile.

"Got it from my babushka," Pip said as she squeezed herself onto the couch between Johnny and Alex and propped her feet up on Simon's shoulders.

"Aye, may she rest in peace. One of the only Russians I liked. Nikki is the last one." Nikolai chuckled and gave the room a proud smile.

"Impressing Nana here can prove difficult," he said with a mock warning tone. Pip looked around the room, at what had changed since the last time she'd been here. Her eyes landed on a framed picture she had never seen before. She gestured for Farah to pass it over as Nana got lost in another story from a childhood Pip would never remember.

"Nana, who are these people in this picture with you?" Everyone turned to Pip as she showed the photo.

"Oh, those are my brothers before we all got deployed during the war." Pip knew her grandmother had been part of WWII but had no idea she'd had siblings. "I'm sure your friend here has more family history to share with us." She gestured to Johnny, and his eyes widened. He looked at the photo again and then looked up with a smile.

"Wait wait wait, are you Great Auntie Kenna?"