Double update! I just love Grisham <3

“Coffee.”

You wake up to the strong smell of brew presented beneath your nose and sit up, blearily wiping sleep from your eyes as Grisham puts the mug next to the bed on a little woven coaster apparently set out for the purpose. You look up into her warm dark eyes while the sleep has yet to fall from yours and for a second, you can’t remember who this large, handsome woman is, or why you’re in her bed – then the whole embarrassing night comes flooding back. Being chased around Surnow’s office, getting caught… Terra leaving you in the clutches of Grisham, who is looking at you with a wry smile.

“Not a morning person, huh?”

“No,” you say groggily.

She’s wearing a vest and long pajama pants, both white. Unlike her uniform, which made her look burly and butch, the more casual clothing makes her look butch and burly. There’s something about Grisham, something you can’t quite put your finger on. She seemed so damn mean at first, but she’s looking after you in a way that’s almost sweet.

“We need to be out of here in thirty minutes,” she says, “so drink your coffee and look sharp.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

“Yes, you do,” she says, pointing to your freshly laundered and folded uniform sitting neatly at the foot of the bed.

“You did my laundry?” You hold the mug between your hands, the warmth radiating through your fingers.

“Someone had to,” she shrugs. “You can’t wear that t-shirt on base, and definitely not on the range.”

“We’re going to the range?”

“You’re going to learn to handle an energy weapon,” she says. “So you can do something besides curse and squirm if you find yourself in real trouble.”

“Wow, that actually sounds fun,” you say, a little smile coming to your lips as you sip your coffee.

“Good,” Grisham nods.

You watch her as she gets dressed, pulling on an olive green shirt which is fitted close to her body. She has a thick torso and actually, now you’re paying attention, quite a nice butt. Shapely in the way even a curvy fit woman can be. Her thighs are strong, just like the rest of her, but its her arms that draw you with their toned musculature which flexes even as its hidden under the length of her sleeves.

“Has, uhm, anyone heard from Terra?”

Grisham shakes her head. “Last I heard, your comrade pinged a radar a few hundred miles from here. Terra’s going to have her work cut out for her getting that one back.”

“Oh.” You look down at your cup, wondering why Terra didn’t take you with her. What’s the point of being part of her unit if she leaves you behind like excess baggage?

“You’re killing me,” Grisham says, sitting down on the bed next to you. “Seriously. Quit looking so miserable.” She reaches out and taps you under the chin with her forefinger.

“Why do you care?” You try not to sound petulant, but the question is petulant and you can’t really help it. “I mean, thanks for all this, but…”

“You don’t deserve it? Well, you don’t deserve to be abandoned in a cell either,” Grisham says. “Terra’s a legend on this and every other base. She’s a hell of a woman. But…”

“But what?”

“But, let’s just say she doesn’t have the greatest retention rate,” Grisham says. “And that’s with more experienced soldiers. I don’t know what she’s doing with someone like you.”

You frown a little. This is starting to sound a lot like what Sarah was saying.

“You’re cute,” Grisham says. “And you looked so damn lost last night…” she shakes her head. “If I’d taken a black and white video of you and put some music over it, I could have done a fundraiser for cadets without commanding officers.”

“I’m not that pathetic,” you say with a little grin.

“Mhm, you were so sad looking you saved your butt the caning it deserved,” she says. “But being cute doesn’t work forever, alright?”

“Alright,” you nod. Another thought strikes you as you look at the bed. “Did we… I mean… did you… where did you sleep?”

“I caught a nap in the chair,” Grisham says. “I don’t need much sleep, and you looked like you needed a whole lot of it.”

“I’m sorry,” you say. “You should have made me sleep in the chair, I would have fit it better. You’re doing way too much for me…”

You’re starting to feel guilty for how nice she’s been to you. You must have totally misread her in the beginning.

“Don’t worry, you’ll hate me again soon enough,” she says with a wry smile. “I’m only nice in small doses. Now get your butt out of bed and get dressed. We have work to do.”

“Yes ma’am,” you say, putting the cup to the side and reaching for your uniform. You drag most of it on without leaving the bed, then hop out to fasten your pants. Grisham watches you, standing at the end of the bed with her arms folded over her chest, a difficult to read expression on her face as you finish up dressing.

“Come here,” she orders.

You go to her and she tugs your uniform into proper place, straightening the collar and pushing your hair out of your eyes. “Okay,” she says. “Vaguely presentable, I guess. Those boots will be shined today.”

You look down at the scuffed boots. Okay, fair enough. They do need a clean after all that running around after Sarah and Boris.

“And we’re getting you a haircut,” she says, ruffling your hair. “I can’t work out if this is supposed to be medium length or camouflage, but it won’t wash on this base.”

She catches your scowl and keeps talking before you can open your mouth. “It’s not negotiable,” she says. “Terra might have let you slop around with your shirt untucked…” she says as she pulls at your waistband and pushes your shirt down into your pants nice and tight, her hand sliding past your butt. “But this is an operational base. There are standards and nobody breaches them. It’s not like the academy with its grace period. You’re about to have to grow up real quick, cadet.”

It’s funny she says that, because she’s done everything but lick her handkerchief and clean a smudge off your cheek. You feel like you’re being fussed over by a heavily militarized mother hen.

“You’re a scruffy little thing,” she comments, tapping your butt. “Don’t worry, we’ll whip you into shape.”

You never thought of yourself as scruffy before, but maybe she’s right. The first few weeks at the academy they really seemed to be more or less happy if you managed to get the whole uniform on.

“Terra never said anything.”

Grisham’s eyes travel up and down your body. “Well, I’m thinking Terra wasn’t worried about your uniform so much as how you filled it out.”

You’re confused now. What is she talking about?

“Oh god, you’re…” Grisham shakes her head and looks down at you with an expression which makes you wonder if you’re in trouble again. “You don’t know how damn adorable you are, do you?”

Adorable? You blush.

“Where were you raised? A colony at the end of the solar system or something?”

“Yes ma’am,” you nod.

“You have a lot to learn,” Grisham says. “A whole lot. Damn,” she shakes her head. “I don’t know whether to hug you or spank you or…”

“I did something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, yet,” she says. “You’re just too damn innocent for this.”