You're More Than Meets The Eye (William Lennox)

Chapter 10

You walked down the white but familiar hallway, the padding of your boots seeming to reverberate through the empty halls. It had been nearly a month since the battle in Jordan. Many that had been injured had already healed, so the infirmary was nearly deserted. Except for one room. You rounded the corner, your feet guiding you more than your mind, until you reached the large window. You hadn't gotten to talk to Riley since she first arrived home. She was always asleep when you came by. Either your timing was just horrible, or perhaps she was avoiding you and was pretending to sleep when you came. You didn't know. However, what you saw this time surprised you. You took an unexpected step towards the window, nearly forgetting it was there before your outstretched hand collided with the glass. Inside, Riley's honey eyes met yours as she laughed, her smile bright, her eyes still sparkling. A nurse was administering a shot, likely antibiotics, and you watched as Riley turned her attention back to the nurse, chatting away, even though she still watched you from the corner of her eyes. You darted over to the door, fumbling with the knob momentarily before turning it and nearly falling inside the room.

"Colonel!" The nurse scolded, as she placed a small bandage over the small puncture wound on Riley's arm. But your attention was entirely on Riley as she cocked her head slightly, a large smile spreading across her pale pink lips.

Over the angry lecture from the nurse you only heard her voice. Only heard two words, the two you had wanted to hear for so long.

"Hey, Colonel."

Slowly, a relieved smile stretched across your face as you ran a bashful hand through your hand as you looked away from her stunning beauty momentarily.

"Hey, Riles."

The nurse stopped her criticizing, watching the exchange between you before she simply shook her head and walked out, muttering angrily about disrespect.

The door closed behind her, and you involuntarily took another step forward, your eyes glued to the shimmering orbs before you.

She was alive.

Sure, you'd known that she made it years ago. You'd known she was alright for a long time, but right now, in this moment, it had become real. Sure, she looked tired. There were dark purple bags under her eyes, traces of stitches on the left corner of her forehead, and she was hooked up to every medical machine known to man, but she was alive. She was smiling at you. Her eyes were sparkling at you. She had spoken to you.

Finally you stammered out the words: "How are you feeling?" Your voice was tight, and for some reason apprehensive. Why were you nervous?

"I'm feeling better. You know, if the nurses didn't tell me otherwise, I would be mad at you for never visiting." She winked, flashing you a half smile. Once again, you ran your hand through your hair, unsure of what to say. "But they told me that you've visited every day. Guess our timing was just bad." She continued, her eyes still seeming to bore into yours. "Sorry about that."

"Ironhide visited!" You blurted out. What were you doing? Why couldn't you seem to talk to her...?

"Ironhide?" She asked with a chuckle. "How did he manage that?"

"A holoform?" You continued anxiously. "I caught him checking up on you one day."

She merely laughed. "Well that's sweet of both of you." She answered warmly.

Both of you.

The words seemed to put you at ease as you pulled a chair from the wall and next to her bedside.

"It's been a while." You finally spoke, your nerves starting to ebb as you stared at her.

"It has. About two weeks, right? The doctors told me it's been nearly a month since Jordan."

"Yeah, that's right." You nodded, watching her carefully. You were afraid she would be upset. She was a woman who took advantage of every available moment she had, losing a month was probably something that bothered her. But instead she just laughed.

"I guess that battle was just so exciting, I had to rest for a month!" The sound of her laugh made your heart do a quick tumble, but you recovered just as swiftly .

"Guess so." You joked alongside her. Sensing your worry she brushed her fingers against the hand you had resting on her bed. Her touch caused a spark to run through your veins, but you focused on keeping still.

"It's fine, Will." Again, your heart flipped, the way she said your name seemed to melt over you like warm honey. "Besides, I'll bet I could still beat your ass on the track." There it was-the competitive spark in her eye, the same spark you had seen the first time you had met her.

"You sure about that, Bryant? It's been a while."

"There are some things that are genetic, Colonel. Me being faster than you is one of them." She winked at you, a large smile on her now paler face.

"How much longer?" You asked, and you felt your eyebrows knit together slightly.

"Am I in here?" Riley continued the question with a smile. "Not long. Mary, the nurse, she thinks that I'll be out of here in no time. A few days, hopefully!"

"Then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to stay with NEST?"

"What?" Her eyes went wide, as she stared at you, scanning for any trace of a joke. She didn't find one. "What do you mean?" She repeated a sense of desperation in her voice.

"After what happened..." Your voice trailed slightly as you lowered your head. Even now, you couldn't shake the guilt you'd felt for not backing her up. Shaking your head slightly, you continued, "After what happened, do you still want to do this?"

Her eyebrows pulled together for a moment, first out of confusion before she scoffed lightly. "Of course I do. Don't be an idiot, Colonel. This is what I do. Fighting is what I've always done."

"I know, but..."

"Are you asking if I have any doubts? Any regrets? Do you think that I've changed since I've stared down death in the face?" The right corner of her lip curled upwards. "C'mon, Colonel. You honestly don't think that's the first time, do you?"

"First time you've nearly died?"

"I was a NAVY Seal for a while."

"What happened?"

"Does it matter? I'm just saying that I haven't changed." You both stared into each other's eyes for a moment before a relieved smile stretched across her face. "I thought you were kicking me out!"

"No, of course not!"

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! Shouldn't that be illegal when you're speaking to someone who's in the hospital? There isn't a sign outside saying: 'Please do not upset the patient?' There should be! Jeez, Colonel." She was shaking her head, chuckling between sentences and grinning at you. "That was just cruel."

And then you knew. Hell, you'd known for such a long time. Part of you had known from the moment you met her. Even so, in this moment it had become so painfully obvious to you. In this moment you knew you wanted to see that smile for the rest of your life.

"Sorry, Riles." You answered, your eyes twinkling. "I'll be more careful next time."

HELLO! So I checked Wattpad on a whim, and after seeing that there were now notifications and that people still wanted me to update I thought: 'Why not'? Thanks so much for your support! Sorry if this chapter is short! I'll work on making them longer and trying to wrap up this story. Thanks again! :)