Daisy | Simon Riley

|29|

When Drew and Simon touched down on the base tarmac, it felt like years since she'd left it.

Too much had happened. Too much had changed.

But it didn't matter that it had felt like a lifetime had passed; it had only been four days since the attack and her body was still in the throws of its consequences. And despite her protests, the doctors had given her another dose of pain medication upon her arrival in the med bay, making the trip to her room a challenge to not fall asleep.

She couldn't even contemplate unpacking—or rather, overseeing Simon unpack for her—because the minute she'd sat onto her bed, she couldn't keep her eyes open.

When she awoke the next day to the afternoon sun peeking through her blinds, she was frustratingly refreshed, and it was only then that began the task of organizing her belongings. The simple chore should have taken less than an hour, but ended up stretching into the evening, and had it not been for Price bringing her dinner, she'd have skipped it all together out of absentmindedness.

As they ate, he gave her a short recap of what had happened through the day, assuring her cooly that they were making progress and she shouldn't worry. 

But of course, she did anyways.

How could she not? There was so much new information, so many more questions that needed answering—but she hadn't been privy to any of it.

As night crawled over the base, that need to work got worse with the teaser Price had offered. She even considered walking over to HQ where a team was in office, but she knew they'd turn her away.

Because she wasn't supposed to be out of bed. The doctors, along with the team, had told her vehemently to stay put, to not risk making her injuries worse. They didn't care that she said the ache had dulled significantly, or that as long as she didn't move too quickly, her wounds were nearly ignorable.

Obviously, their advice was well-founded, but she was restless, and when she was restless she tended to get antsy.

Impulsive.

God, she was antsy. Four walls didn't usually feel so constricting, but at the moment, her door felt like an escape.

Her hand ran through her hair before she inched to the edge of the couch. Then she stood, abandoning her phone on the cushion as she grabbed her jacket from the chair and carefully shoved her feet into her boots. It was significantly less cold at base than it was up at the Finnish outpost, but she still grabbed a pair of mitts, tugging them on as she tossed her keys into her pocket and pulled the door open.

She stifled a groan at the tugging pain and slipped into the hall, making her way slowly toward the elevator. Once on the ground level, she went to the back exit, stepping outside to the garden.

As it had been before, the space was empty, but a freshly fallen layer of snow crunched underfoot as she made her way to the bench. She was thankful her coat was long at the back, because even as she sat with it beneath her, the cold from the near frozen bench leached into her thighs and ass.

But it was better being there than in her room.

She just needed a little air. Then she would go back.
But as if fate was trying to keep her on edge, the door behind her opened.

"We had plans to watch a movie," Simon's gruff voice called.

She didn't attempt to look over her shoulder, knowing she'd regret it, so she waited as he came up beside her. "Forgot about that," she answered passively.

"Don't think you're supposed to be out here," he commented, pulling out his smokes and lighter before brushing off the bench and taking a seat beside her.