[MillietheWarrior]

“Um…” Sam looked down at her plate, before Babe brightened again and seemed to remember.

“Oh, shit. Here.” He turned and pulled open a drawer, handing her a fork. “You want somethin’ to drink? Come on, siddown at the table. You an’ I got some talkin’ to do about your intentions towards Gene.”

Sam laughed quietly, startled by his humor and took a seat at the table, setting her plate down as Babe rummaged in the fridge. “Ya want a beer? Lemonade? Water?”

“Lemonade, if you don’t mind.”

[MillietheWarrior]

Babe nodded and sat down beside her a few moments later with a large glass of lemonade, sliding it towards her. The chair on her other side scraped along the floor, and George Luz plopped into it, grinning widely at Sam, who quickly stuffed a forkful of spaghetti in her mouth to avoid an awkward conversation.

The moment she bit down, however, she was surprised at how amazingly good the food was, and her eyes widened as she stared at her plate. Babe was leaning forward eagerly, anticipating her reaction as Sam slowly lifted her gaze towards him. “Holy fuckin’ shit, Babe. Marry me,” she muttered, and he nearly fell out of his chair with laughter, George doing the same as Sam stuffed another bite into her mouth.

[MillietheWarrior]

“No seriously,” she muttered, chewing happily. “This is legit the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. Eugene should have officially introduced us earlier. I guess he didn’t because he was afraid your culinary skills might force me to run off with you.”

“I really like this girl,” Luz remarked, taking a swig of his beer. “You fit right in with the rest of us. Gene hit the jackpot with you.”

Sam leveled him with a flat look, chewing more spaghetti. God bless Babe Heffron’s mother’s foresight for teaching her child to cook.

“I’m glad ya like it, Sam, honest,” Babe remarked, leaning forward on the table. “No one ever ‘preciates me. Maybe now that you and Gene are together, he can bring ya around more often for food. You’re probably a lot like him, huh? You don’t cook much and probably only eat out of a microwave.”

“Hey now. I eat granola bars too. You can’t microwave those.”

[MillietheWarrior]

Babe rolled his eyes. “Ten bucks says some idiot has tried, though. Anyway, sorry ‘bout all the guys bein’ here. It really was gonna be you and Gene and me. But they just sorta…I’m gonna be honest and say that I think they fuckin’ bugged our house and that’s how they found out about this.” He glared at George across the table, but the wise-cracking soldier just grinned and saluted him with his beer. “Yeah, you asshole.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“I fuckin’ hate this company.”

“You love us, and don’t ever deny it.”

Sam was looking between the two, an amused smile on her face as she continued to work her way through her plate. “Babe,” she muttered. “If you ever try to move away or leave, or try to transfer out of Easy, so help me I will hunt you down and drag you back. Now that I’ve tasted your food, there is no way I’m letting you get away.”

George cackled and Babe just grinned. “Have it your way, Sam,” he agreed easily. “Consider me your personal chef for the rest of your life.”

“Yessss. Excellent!”

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[MillietheWarrior]

Gene was dying to know what the hell was so funny in the kitchen. And he was hungry, damn it.

But he’d practically been assaulted by the men who were waiting for them in the living room, and he resigned himself to sitting awkwardly on his own couch between Penkala and Muck. They’d passed him a beer, and he’d immediately taken a sip; Christ, he felt like he actually was introducing Sam to his family. At least she seemed to have gotten comfortable; he could just see her around the corner of the wall that separated the kitchen and the living room, talking and laughing with Babe and Luz and, thankfully, getting a plate full of food in the process.

“Sorry we intruded on your dinner, Gene,” Frannie told him, sitting in the armchair across from the couch. Bill was sitting on the arm of the chair, an unrepentant grin on his face that made Frannie’s words fall almost flat. “Bill and Joe caught wind of it, and they wanted to invite the whole company, but I firmly told them no and put my foot down.”

[MillietheWarrior]

“And when Frannie says no,” Buck continued for her, grinning from his own place on the floor where he was leaning against the wall beside Malarkey. “She means no. She didn’t want to overwhelm you or your lovely lady friend. Congrats, by the way, doc! I’m really happy for ya!”

“Hear, hear!” Muck crowed, raising his beer and taking a swig. “You are one lucky bastard, ya know that? An Irishwoman and a nurse? Quite the combination, I’d say.”

“How do ya know she’s Irish?” Gene asked, raising a brow and leaning forward on his knees.

“Oh, come on,” Malarkey quipped. “Her last name is ‘Branigan,’ she’s got red-hair, and she looks like she’d probably punch like the devil. She’s definitely Irish.”

“No doubt,” Joe agreed, raising his beer.

[MillietheWarrior]

Gene snorted, taking a drink of his beer and peeking over at the kitchen; whatever Sam had said had nearly caused George and Babe to fall out of their chairs with laughter. He couldn’t help the smile that curled over his lips; he knew they would love her. He just hadn’t intended to introduce her to his ‘military family’ so soon.

As he watched, she finished what food was left on her plate (she was a fast eater and loved food, he’d discovered, especially if it didn’t require microwaving) and Babe cleared her dishes for her. She caught his eye and grinned, lifting her lemonade cup. She disappeared around the corner towards the stove, and when she reappeared, she was carrying another plate full of food. She brought it and her lemonade with her as she headed towards the living room, following by Luz. She stood timidly near the corner of the kitchen, fingers tightly gripping the plate and cup. Gene could tell she was a little uncomfortable with so many people; she’d been the same way at the bar. He knew very well that crowds made her a little jumpy.

[MillietheWarrior]

Yet another reason he’d been praying it would have been only Babe when they’d arrived.

Penkala immediately got up from his seat, motioning for Sam to take it. When she shook her head and politely refused, he insisted.

“Really, I’m okay Alex.” George must have filled her in on the who was who; she knew names, but she hadn’t known faces too well before today. Gene mentally thanked Luz for helping out. “You keep your seat. I can stand.”

“Nonsense!” Penkala snorted, gently taking her elbow and guiding her to sit. She did so, but only on the edge of the couch, looking highly uncomfortable. Gene immediately reached out and drew her against his side, and she squeaked as their hips and shoulders bumped. She handed over the plate of food to him, and he took it eagerly, leaning against her as he ate.

“And call me ‘Penk.’ Only my mother calls me ‘Alex.’”

[MillietheWarrior]

“Yep!” Skip agreed. “And you can call me Skip. Doc here only ever uses our last names; he won’t use any nicknames, no matter how hard we try to force him. He is one stubborn little French son of a bitch.”

“Rude,” Gene mumbled around a mouthful of spaghetti, but smiled nonetheless as he took a drink of his beer, feeling Sam begin to relax against his side. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, and he gently rubbed her arm with the back of his hand.

“I’m Buck,” Buck introduced from where he sat, and clambered to his feet to walk over and shake Sam’s hand. “That red-head over there is Don. You already know Joe-” Toye nodded at her with a faint smile. “And o’course, Bill and Frannie. Sorry we intruded on your dinner date with Babe and Gene.”

Babe shouted a “You never apologized to me!” loud enough from the kitchen that they all heard, but Buck ignored him.

[MillietheWarrior]

“We were eager to see our favorite doc and meet his Soulmate properly. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

“Speak for yourself,” Luz remarked. “I came for the free beer.”

Gene mentally sighed and buckled down for a long night; he knew the men would never let them leave early. He might as well get comfortable. But with Sam sitting at his side, the tension easing out of her as she laughed at Luz’s jokes and the men’s good natured ribbing, he decided that it really wasn’t that bad after all.

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[MillietheWarrior]

Sam was sick.

She was sick, and she was not going to fucking admit it.

But when she woke up that morning with a stuffy nose, a stuffy head, and an achy body, she decided that maybe, yeah, okay, she was a little sick.

But she still wouldn’t admit it. Not to Gene, at least.

She’d called in to work, left Gene a message telling him she wanted a ‘me’ night, turned off her phone, and promptly fell asleep. She didn’t think that would come back to bite in her in the ass, of course. But she was oh so wrong, and she found that out only a few hours after she’d chugged some Nyquil and declared herself dead to the world.

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[MillietheWarrior]

Gene had snuck into Sam’s home (he had a spare key, but she honestly figured he wouldn’t come over that day; he respected her ‘me’ time and was always completely cool with it) and was a little alarmed to find that all the lights were out. It wasn’t normal behavior, and neither was the fact that his calls went straight to voicemail. He’d finally wheedled it out of Frannie that Sam was sick, and he’d sighed and called Babe, asking for a favor.

The red-head had been happy to comply.

Cue a few hours later when the two of them were sneaking into Sam’s house with a thermos of Babe’s chicken noodle soup (Sam would forgive him for disturbing her; he brought Babe as a peace offering).

[MillietheWarrior]

“What the heck?” Babe muttered. “Dude, she must be really sick if she isn’t even watching those shitty romance movies she’s always sucking us into.”

Gene and Sam had been together now for over four months, and in that time, she’d completely glommed onto Babe, forcing him to join in on ‘shitty movie night’ once a week at the very least, and bringing him beer in exchange for food. Both complained that they were going to make each other fat, but they settled into a very easy friendship that Gene was glad to see.

The two moved further into the apartment, and Gene motioned for Babe to head to the kitchen to set the soup on the counter while he checked on Sam. The lights in her room were out, the door opened just slightly, and he peeked in, seeing nothing but a shapeless lump on her bed. “Sam?” he called, pushing open the door and closing it behind him. “You feelin’ all right, chére?”

[MillietheWarrior]

He heard a rustling from under the covers, and a low groan, and Sam’s pink-tinged face peeked out at him in confusion, brows knit and eyes narrowed as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Gene?” she mumbled, trying to sit up. “What the heck are you doing here? It’s a ‘me’ day…”

“‘Me’ days only count if ya aren’t sick,” he replied, stroking a hand over her forehead and feeling the fever in her skin.

“I’m not sick,” she protested, trying to pull away from him and managing only a feeble, weak attempt.

[MillietheWarrior]

“Yes you are.”

“No. If I was sick, could I do this?”

Gene waited for something to happen, but she just kept staring at him with bleary, unfocused eyes. “Um…do what?”

“Cartwheels. Am I not doing them?”

He smothered a laugh before he gently pushed her back onto the bed. “No, not in the slightest. Lay down. Have you taken anything for this yet?”

“Nyquil? I think. I dunno. Everything is hazy.”