Sunday Snippet: All Jacked Up

February 9, 2014

WooHoo! The Walking Dead is back tonight! So excited to see what happens next.

In other TV news, Arrow and Bitten continue to eat my brain, so much so, I've decided to dust off my Universes Altered blog and start recapping the episodes. Hopefully if I do weekly brain dumps, I'll have more space in my head. :D

What else? Almost Human, Lost Girl, and Helix are still must see. And Banshee, gotta take a moment to mention Friday's episode. I loved it. Usually, there's so much going on it's hard to keep up—I love that, don't get me wrong—but I seriously enjoyed having a tight focus on Lucas and Carrie/Ana this week. I don't know, for such an almost quiet episode, some big shifts occurred. Important ones, I think. But I'm really excited to see the next episode when shit goes sideways and everything is back to normal. J

Tonight's post is from All Jacked Up, a novella where my female character is kind of a pain in the ass. I love writing that kind of character. J

Here's the tagline:

Lita North is injured and ordered to stay off her feet for forty-eight hours which doesn't go over well because Lita doesn't do inactivity. But when Ollie Tulver gets stuck babysitting her after she disobeys the order, she has two choices: continue being a pain in the ass or toe the line. Lita being Lita, she decides do to both.

And a sneaky peek…

Ollie tracked Lita down in the rec room. Her leg, propped on a chair with ice covering her knee, looked swollen. The captain made the right call.

Ollie leaned against the bulkhead and sighed. "Dammit, Lita, just once it would be nice if you could follow orders." He pushed away from the wall and made his way to her table, stopping directly behind her.

She held a royal flush. He could be nice and let her win the pot, but she'd pissed the captain off, so no dice.

He let out a low whistle. "Damn, Lita, so many face cards. How do you do it?"

Everyone at the table groaned and threw their hands on the table.

Lita tilted her head back, shooting Ollie a nasty look. "Asshole." Her arm swung back, her fist connecting with his gut. "Did you have to trash my win?"

Ollie moved around and dropped down onto a vacated seat. "Yeah, I did." He gathered up the cards, scooping them into a single pile. "Captain's not real happy with you and Doc Cramer is ready to pump you full of sedatives if you don't stop undoing everything he's done." He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You wanna be knocked out for the next two days?"

Lita rolled her eyes. "No. And if Cramer comes near me with a needle, I'll punch him in the face." She adjusted the ice pack. "Look, I'm icing the knee and the swelling is already going down."

Ollie snorted. "Really? So, what? It started out the size of a watermelon and you've managed to get it down to grapefruit?" He raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "Maybe." Her cheeks reddened and she glanced away.

Ollie got up and held out a hand. "Come on."

Her head jerked back and forth. "Uh uh. No way. I'm not going to sickbay."

Ollie laughed. "Yeah, right. As if." He reached over and grabbed the ice pack from her knee. "With the mood Cramer is in, he won't inject you with anything, he'll just shoot you with a side arm." Laying the bag on the table, he grasped her arm. "We're gonna steer a wide berth around sickbay."

Lita shot him a wary glance. "Then where the hell do you want me to go? I can't stand being cooped up in quarters." She reluctantly let him help her get up.

Ollie tucked a shoulder into her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Since you're so keen on not following orders, Captain Netts has a job for you." They made their way slowly to the hatch, where she'd propped her crutches.

Lita grimaced, but accepted the supportive devices. "Is he going to let me help out on maintenance shifts?" She hobbled forward, clearing the threshold and entering the corridor.

Ollie fell into step beside her, adjusting his stride to match her slower one. "Nope. You'd enjoy working on the hangar deck." He slid his gaze sideways. "Netts is pissed off, remember?"

Lita paused. "What's he want me to do?" Caution crept into her tone.

Ollie could let her off the hook, but decided to let her task be a surprise. "Just follow me, Lita. We don't have to go far."

She grumbled, but plodded along after him, making two turns before stopping again. "Ollie, what the hell? We're getting into the civilian sector of the ship. What's going on?"

He ignored her question and moved forward, halting outside the first of several extended stay quarters, usually reserved for government officials, scientists, or military contract VIPs. The rooms had a semi-private bathroom, sleeping berth, and small sitting area. He undogged the hatch and opened the door.

When she caught up, he ushered her inside. "Let's go, Lieutenant."

Lita frowned when he used rank, but hobbled inside, stopping short when she caught sight of Captain Netts. Ollie bit back a grin when she damn near fell over trying to salute her superior officer, letting one of her crutches fall to the deck.

Netts waved the gesture off. "At ease."

Lita steadied herself on one prop and nodded. "Thank you, Sir."

Netts shook his head. "Lieutenant North, you and I seem to have a communication problem." He jerked his head toward the leather chair by the sofa. "Take a seat."

She managed to keep the weight off her leg and collapsed onto the cushion. Ollie picked up the fallen crutch and laid it beside her on the armrest. He stepped back, letting the captain take point.

Netts swept an arm in front of him. "You've been ordered to stay off your feet for forty-eight hours three separate times." He waited a beat. "And you've disobeyed every damn time, doing additional damage to Doc Cramer's handiwork."

Lita glanced down, fixing her gaze on her hands. "I'm sorry, Sir." She wisely kept her mouth shut instead of trying to defend her actions.

Netts kept a straight face. "Since you're so hell bent on being useful, I've decided you can repaint the lower section of the bulkhead in this room." He nodded toward Ollie.

Ollie entered the small bathing area and brought out a wheel chair and a rolling cart. Several cans of paint, two brushes, and everything else she'd need were within easy reach on the two-tiered trays.

Lita's shoulders slumped. "Sir, I know I've been a pain in the ass, but I'm not sure I'm the person for this job."

Netts held up a hand. "It's this or I let Cramer sedate and restrain you in sickbay." He leveled his gaze on his junior officer. "Trust me, that won't be pretty. You've made the good doctor very unhappy."

Lita huffed out a frustrated breath. "Fine. If it's this or spending more time in sickbay, I'll do the painting."

Netts gave her a pointed look. "Thought you might see it that way." He started for the hatch. "Tulver can explain how this will work." He angled his head around. "And, Lieutenant, if you so much as step foot outside this space, I'll have Tulver knock you out and carry to sickbay. Are we clear?"

Lita's mouth thinned to a straight line. "Yes, Sir. We're clear."

Netts nodded. "Glad to hear it." He glanced toward Ollie. "Carry on, Tulver."

The captain exited and Ollie waited for an explosion from Lita.

It didn't happen.

Instead she slouched down in the chair and mumbled. "I've really done it this time, haven't I?"

She seemed so defeated, Ollie had to cut her some slack. "Yeah, you sorta did. But look, Lita, just do what Netts wants and just… behave for the next two days and you'll be back in his favorite category."

Lita rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so easy." She propped her leg up on the small table.

Ollie moved around and sat on the couch. "It will be. At least, it'll be better than being at Cramer's mercy." He waited a beat. "Because the man has none left where you're concerned."

Lita's lips twitched. "I know. Patience isn't his strongest trait, and considering I have absolutely none, it's no wonder he hates me."

Ollie chuckled. "Hate is such a strong word… but in your case, not far off the mark."

Lita shot him a sideways glance. "Gee, thanks, Ollie. Your cheering up skills could use some work."

Ollie lifted a brow. "I'm not here to cheer you up—not my job. My orders are to make sure you do what you're supposed to, and not let you leave this space for forty-eight hours." He leaned forward. "You can make it easy or hard, but I'm expecting the hard, so here's how we're going to do this." He got up and handed her the crutches. "You're going to get settled in the wheelchair and start on the bulkhead."

He paused, waiting to see if she'd argue. When she made her way to the chair without argument, he bit back a smile.

He pushed the cart toward far wall. "In two hours, I'll bring you some lunch and we'll figure out the next step. If you need anything, call down to the hangar deck and have me paged. I'll get here as soon as I can."

Lita wheeled over beside him. "And what if I need to take a piss? Do I have permission to use my crutches to do so?"

Ollie's lips curved. "Nope. I'm taking them with me. Less temptation." He narrowed his eyes. "If I come back and see any swelling, I will do what Netts ordered and knock you out. Stay off the leg, Lita."

She huffed out a sigh. "Fine. Off the leg. I got it." She grabbed the tape and pulled off a long piece. "Get out and let me get started on this."

Ollie strode across the space and grabbed her crutches. "Two hours then lunch. Anything special you'd like me to bring?"

Lita snorted. "Unless the galley is serving alcohol, no."

Ollie laughed. "Sorry, can't help you there." He started for the hatch, but turned back. "Seriously, Lita, if you need anything, call."

She muttered something unintelligible and waved him off.

He exited into the corridor and dogged the hatch, keying in the lock code. Keeping her barricaded in didn't sit very well with him, but Netts ordered the precaution and Ollie didn't feel like landing in a shit pile. Bad enough he'd be getting it from both sides for the next two days. Netts and Cramer, he could handle, but Lita… he had no doubt she'd test every damn limit and probably drag him over at least one line he hadn't thought of yet.

He grinned. He kinda looked forward to whatever she came up with.

This one has been fun to write. Lita, as mentioned, can't help being a pain in the ass. Luckily Ollie has her number and gives her just enough space to figure out things out. J

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye