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Petey stood on the other side with a guilty flush staining his cheeks. Sighing, Eric anchored his hand over the top of the door to lean on it, his bag slung over his shoulder. “Are you watching me? Did Joe send you to stand guard?” he snapped.

Petey suddenly swallowed. The color drained from his face, and his eyes widened as if he’d just been caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.

Eric sighed. “I’m going to grab a shower, then head to sickbay, since I presume the admiral hasn’t called.”

As he turned away to pass Petey, the young man cleared his throat roughly and said, “I was real sorry to hear of what Gail Carruthers did, accusing you like that. Me and the boys know none of it’s true and would like to help if there’s anything we can do, sir.”

Eric stopped after a few steps and glanced back at Petey. “How well do you know her?”

“Well…not real well, but my friend Ernie Biggs in engineering says she hit on him a few times, only he didn’t like her, said she was trouble. He said she likes to recruit others to do her dirty work, makes things up about people. He said she’s got a dark cloud she carries over her.”

“What did your friend mean by ‘trouble’?”

“Ernie said she never does anything without a reason, like she thinks everyone has it in for her. He says she’s a real screwball.”

Eric wondered as he listened if maybe there was more to her background. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to dig. Quite often, women like this had skeletons stashed a mile back in their closets.
Maybe she’d done this before and was now just getting good at it. That thought alone spiked the hairs on the back of his neck, bringing an icy wariness of how truly dangerous she could be. He knew he hadn’t done this, and everything about how she filed the report, her false accusation, it was as if she had planned it.… He stared at Petey hard and then glanced away, shuddering to think of what would happen to his career if he didn’t get this cleared up. Everything he treasured—his ship, his crew, his status in the Navy—everything about it had shaped him into who he was, and this bitch had taken him by the balls and would, if given the opportunity, shake him till they rattled. The more he thought about it, the stronger his heated feelings of resentment for Gail became.

“I want you to go talk to the XO and tell him what you told me,” Eric said. “Also, make sure you mention to him that I want him to speak to your friend Ernie, too.” He started down the passageway, his sneakers squeaking, and then stopped and turned completely around. “Thanks, Petey, for all your support.”

The young man gleamed, puffed out his chest, and offered a proud salute. This time, Eric saw how deeply this man worshipped him, and that took some of the sting from the awful ache and loneliness that he’d been feeling.

Abby was sitting up in bed with her thick blonde hair neat and shiny, reading a book. When Eric shut the door, she was watching him with something
deep and soft and loving, and it reached across the room, right into his heart, and squeezed until he thought he’d go mad if he couldn’t see her. It was beautiful, just like she was, and his throat thickened. He almost choked at how much it would hurt for her never to look at him that way again. That was exactly what would happen if she ever learned of Gail’s dirty, cruel accusation.

Something caught his eye over by the lockers. Larry was watching Eric with such awkwardness that Eric wanted to race over there and
throttle the man. The way his eyes widened and looked away, well, he just hated that shit. Abby was watching him, and then she glanced over at the doctor and back to him. Her eyebrows rose, and he knew she picked up something. He just hoped she wouldn’t ask.

“Larry, don’t go anywhere, I need to have a word with you,” Eric said. Then he headed straight for Abby, feeling as if the floor would give out on him until he stood right beside her and she looked up at him with something that had him choking up: absolute trust. God, no woman had ever looked at him that way.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

He couldn’t help but touch her. He slid his hand over her shoulder and his calloused thumb across her jaw, and she leaned into it.
“Fine, Abby. I just wanted to check and see how you are this morning.” He tried to smile, but he also knew it didn’t reach his eyes. Not even close.

“I’m fine, and no more contractions.” She pointed a finger over to Larry. “The doctor said everything’s okay this morning and told me to take it easy today.” She was too intuitive for her own good, because she
squinted those dynamic blue eyes at him as though he were a puzzle she was determined to solve. “You look tired. I’m so sorry I kept you up.”

He grinned. “I’ll survive, and you didn’t keep me up. I wanted to be here. I need to talk to the doc for a minute. Don’t go anywhere.”

“As if I could,” she answered in her soft voice. Eric left, with Larry behind him.

****

The last thing Eric wanted to do was speak with Larry in the passageway, where every crewmember could chance to pick up on what they were saying, especially in light of what Gail Carruthers had set in motion. So he led Larry straight to his cabin and shut the door.

“Captain, I am so sorry about Gail. If I’d known what she was going to pull, I would have put a stop to it.” Larry shook his head, clenching and unclenching his fists in front of him. “I spoke with her in the mess hall, and she never even gave mention to this, this…” Larry gestured wildly with his hands as his face
glowed a faded pink. Then he stopped and said nothing further. He stared like a helpless man at Eric, as if he somehow felt responsible. “I’m sorry.”

Eric reached out and slapped him on the arm.
“Larry, stop beating yourself up. I know you would have stopped her. Did you get a copy of the report?”

“Yes. Joe was down earlier and brought it to me. He questioned me, but I’m afraid I wasn’t much help.” Agitated, Larry began pacing the length of the office, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Eric watched him for a while until his own unease and anxiety, and anger, threatened to get the best of him. He stopped Larry, saying, “Frankly, I don’t understand. Why the hell would she pull this?” He didn’t wait for Larry to reply, because his mind was spinning a mile a minute. “What do you know about her past? I mean, when she transferred in under your department, were there any problems she had at other postings?”

Larry finally stopped pacing and approached the desk. He shook his head, his eyes blank. “I read her files and made a few inquiries, but nothing I could see.… And no, she has never spoken of anything.” Larry shrugged. “But she wouldn’t talk to me, anyway. She might’ve talked to some of the women.”

“Is there anyone you know she’s close to?”

“I don’t think there are many. I’ll check around, but she is
pretty isolated, keeps to herself. Does her work, though, so I’ve had nothing to complain about.” Checking his watch, he winced at the captain. “She hasn’t reported for duty yet, but I expect her in about twenty minutes. When I spoke to Joe, I told him I wanted her out of my department. What really pisses me off is that right now, he said I can’t move her. If I start reassigning her or posting her to shit jobs, she could yell and scream that you’re trying to get back at her.”

“He’s right, but let me be clear: I don’t want her around Abby right now.”

“Captain, do you think she would physically hurt her? Is that what you’re worried about, because I can assure you…”

Cutting him off with a wave of his hand, Eric said, “No, no, it’s not that. I don’t want her to say something that would upset her. I don’t want Abby to know of these charges, and I definitely don’t want Gail telling her this fictitious story she created. How safe is it right now to move Abby?”

“Move her off the ship?”

Eric didn’t miss the surprise that registered in Larry’s voice.
“No, not off the ship, but to one of the cabins reserved for the visiting officers and guests.”

“Not right now.
Maybe in a day or two. If we do, she can’t be left alone. She’s too close to delivering.”

Eric sighed, hearing an edginess creep into the man’s voice.

Larry continued. “I’ll find a way to keep Gail out of sickbay and away from her as much as possible.”

“One more thing, Doc.
I don’t want any word of this getting back to Abby. She doesn’t need any more stress.”

“As her doctor, I agree. She
’s just stabilized. The contractions have stopped, but any stress right now could bring labor back on. I doubt we’d be able to stop it a second time. I’d be happy if the baby held off for another week, and we could get her into Bahrain.”

“No, she won’t be going to Bahrain. Not yet.”

The doctor looked rattled for a moment, but he didn’t say a word.

Eric squeezed his neck, trying to work out the tight knots that burned like hooks up the back of his neck. “I’m going back to talk to Abby,” he said.

“Listen, before all the stuff with Gail happened this morning, I was going to talk to you about the nightmare Abby had, the one that brought on her early labor. The fear she had in her eyes, it’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before,” Larry said.

“Shit, I was going to talk to her. I know some of her fears, and maybe I can talk to her and reassure her again.”

“Yeah, well, I’m no shrink, but if it happens again next time, her labor probably won’t stop. I can give her a sedative to help her sleep. That will probably keep the nightmares quiet, but I don’t want to keep doing that. It’s just not safe.”

Wincing and then lowering his voice, Eric said, “I’ll talk to her right after we’re finished here.”

Larry gestured to the door. “I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed, and as far as Miss Carruthers, I’ll make sure she’s occupied elsewhere for the day.”

****

Eric was just behind Larry as he opened the door to sick bay. The guard outside flushed a deep red when he glanced nervously at the captain and then at the doorway. He started to say something when Eric spied Gail holding a chart and speaking with Abby, and in that instant he felt a red tide hamper his vision. It was the first time in his life that he thought he could kill someone.

He didn’t realize he had even made it through the door until he saw Abby’s wide eyes fix on him, then over to Carruthers and then Larry. Of
course she knew something was going on.

Larry stepped in front of the captain.
“Carruthers!”

Gail dropped the clipboard. It
thunked on the floor as her head snapped toward Larry.

“I need to speak with you, now!” He pointed stiff fingers at the door. When she refused to move, opening her mouth as if to protest, Larry snapped, “I said now, Carruthers.”

Slowly, so slowly, she stooped and picked up the clipboard, then dropped it without care on a side table. She appeared to thrust her stubby nose in the air and pace unhurriedly past the captain. Eric had to dig deep inside himself to not look at her, because all he wanted to do was give her a good kick in the rear to send her flying just as she walked past. He didn’t, but he did count until he heard the door close and then looked over at Abby, who was watching him with a questioning look filled with such worry that he thought she’d leap out of bed and come over to him.

“What was that all about?” Her voice sounded breathy, and she pointed a finger towards the closed door.

With an edgy sigh, he turned a brief, heated look at the solid door before sliding a chair up to the bed and straddling it, resting his arms over the back. “Forget it. Just a little trouble that will be resolved shortly.” The weariness crackled in his voice. Then he reached forward and squeezed her arm before allowing his hand to fall away. “Abby, I’m more concerned about what happened last night. Your nightmare scared you enough to put you into early labor. I want to talk to you about it.…”

The buzz of the phone interrupted Eric.

“Just a minute, I need to get this.” Jumping up, he reached the phone in two long strides. “Hamilton.” He gazed back at Abby, realizing his talk would have to wait, as the admiral was on the line, waiting to talk to him. “I’ll be right there,” he said, hanging up the phone. He hesitated. “I have an important call coming in. I have to take it.” He paused briefly while his eyes softened. “I’ll be back to talk to you in a while. See if you can’t get some rest in the meantime. Okay?”

She just nodded. “I’ll try.”

Eric hurried to the door and glanced back at a woman who would not sit quietly by and do nothing. She was quiet, honest, but she had a fighting spirit that he’d swear would go to the death. She was one woman he prayed he’d never disappoint.

“Admiral
James, thanks for returning my call.” The pounding headache Eric had struggled with earlier returned, pulsing viciously, as the tentacles tightened at the back of his neck. He leaned back in his chair and reached around, grasping his neck, squeezing, trying to relieve the building pressure.

“Sorry I couldn’t get back to you earlier. Listen, I was going to call you anyway about
this report I received via a Petty Officer Jennifer Hampton, filed by an HM3 Gail Carruthers. When I read the accusation, my first response was ‘What the hell?’ Frankly, I’m speechless. Tell me, is any of this true?”