44. Alex
CHAPTER 44
ALEX
I t took about twenty minutes for the MAs to show up. Not surprising; the hospital was like three blocks away from the security building, and the cops weren’t usually that busy on this base.
And once they walked into the exam room—holy shit. Everything moved fast. A pair of cops took me into an empty office to take my statement. Then they left to take Connor’s. I’d texted Chief Wallace to let him know what was going on, and he texted me back to say he’d just watched the MAs escort Tobias out of the building in handcuffs.
A JAG officer took me to her office in the admin building, and the afternoon was a flurry of questions, forms, phone calls, and texts. My cheekbone and nose throbbed as I spoke with the attorney, my boss, Connor’s supervisor, the security officer, and even the base CO. Everyone but the hospital CO so far, but I was sure I’d end up in front of her before too long.
“Is this standard protocol?” I asked Commander Whalen, the JAG officer. “Or is everyone on this base just bored?”
She laughed. “A little of both. The bigwigs are getting involved because they’re making sure it’s not an international incident.” She blew out a breath. “I’ve already taken two calls from the Spanish admiral about it, so…”
“Wow.” I paused. “It, um… There could be others.”
Whalen cocked a brow.
I shrugged. “Tobias used the same hookup apps I did. And a lot of the people on those apps are local. I know for a fact he was an asshole to at least one local—I just don’t know if it crossed any lines, you know?”
She made an unhappy sound but didn’t comment on whether that would be an issue for him or for the base. She did take Isidoro’s number, though, after I texted him to see if he’d be willing to talk to her. His response loosely translated to, Fuck yeah, I’ll tell her everything.
I had no idea what would come of that, but either way, Tobias’s career with the DoD and his time in Spain were likely over. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Commander Whalen was finally done with me around 1600, but my day wasn’t over yet.
No, I had a summons to the office of Captain Tucker, the hospital CO. The one member of the brass I hadn’t seen yet today.
And when I walked in—oh, that wasn’t good. Connor was already there.
Heart pounding, I took the empty chair beside him in front of her desk.
She peered at both of us for an uncomfortably long moment. Then, “I understand there was an altercation between you and a civilian contractor, HM1.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Mmhmm. And afterward, you specifically requested to see Lieutenant Commander Marks”—she gestured at him as if I’d forgotten he was there—“for medical attention.”
My face warmed, which made the bruise throb even harder. “Yes, ma’am. I did.”
“I see.” She took off her glasses and met me with a hard look. “Lieutenant Commander Marks and I have already had a discussion about the two of you fraternizing.” Her eyebrow arched. “The man who assaulted you, HM1, has made multiple accusations about you two having a romantic or sexual relationship. And now, when you’re assaulted by this individual, you go straight to him and refuse to speak with anyone else.” She inclined her head. “I’m sure you can see how this paints a picture I can’t ignore.”
I swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Mmhmm.” She gestured at Connor while keeping her gaze firmly fixed on me. “So I need you to tell me how I should be interpreting that picture.”
Blood pounded in my ears. Connor and I had, fortunately, gotten our story straight before he’d gone to make the call to the MAs.
“I understand the accusations, ma’am,” I said. “But he’s made similar accusations about any man he’s ever seen me with. It’s… That’s just kind of how he is.”
“And why is this?”
I hesitated, my stomach winding itself into knots because I hated showing this card. “The man who assaulted me is my ex-boyfriend.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am. We… had a volatile relationship that ended badly. He’s been harassing me ever since. Lieutenant Commander Marks…” I paused for a deep breath. “Very few people at this command know that I’m gay. Lieutenant Commander Marks is the only one I felt safe going to about this because he’s the only one who knows I’m queer.”
“I see.” Captain Tucker’s eyes flicked toward Connor. “Is this true?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “HM1 Barlow told me about the issues he had with the man in question. When he realized that I’m also queer, he felt comfortable enough to confide in me.”
She glanced back and forth between us. “This doesn’t help the allegations of the two of you fraternizing.” Her expression hardened. “Especially not after you originally told me it was an arrangement for HM1 to help you with your Spanish.”
Oh, fuck…
Connor didn’t miss a beat. “He did do that. But there was also what I’ve just described.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yet you withheld that information when we spoke previously.”
“That’s correct.” He didn’t sound the least bit contrite, and he gestured at me. “I withheld it because I was not at liberty to disclose HM1’s sexuality without his consent.”
That actually seemed to hit its mark, and some of the suspicion in her expression ebbed in favor of surprise. She recovered, though the hostility had eased slightly. “There is still the issue of an unacceptable level of familiarity between the two of you. I can’t have heterosexual officers and enlisted meeting outside of working hours for?—”
“With all due respect, ma’am,” Connor broke in evenly, “people like us have very few options for community at commands like this. Very little in the way of support from people who understand some of the unique challenges we face.” He gestured at me. “While we’ve kept our relationship professional and appropriate, I did avail myself to HM1 as a safe confidante when it came to those challenges.”
I almost whistled. He wasn’t technically lying, apart from keeping our relationship professional and appropriate, but good God, could he smoothly spin the truth into something the Navy would find palatable.
Captain Tucker shifted a little in her chair and studied us, the scrutiny making me twitchy. After a while, her posture relaxed a bit more. “Well, I suppose that’s not something I can understand from personal experience, though I do certainly understand the isolation that comes with overseas assignments.” She folded her hands on the desk and looked at each of us in turn. “I know for a fact you’re not the only LGBT people on this base, though, so I would strongly recommend finding that community within your own ranks. But given the circumstances—given what happened to you today, HM1—I can’t begrudge you for finding appropriate support where it’s available.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I murmured.
She nodded sharply. “But as much as possible going forward, let’s keep our extracurricular interactions within the UCMJ’s requirements, shall we?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we both said.
After that, she dismissed us. The relief had my knees shaking; she could’ve hemmed us up, and I’d worked for homophobic COs who absolutely would have. We were lucky to work for a commanding officer who understood we had limited pools for socializing and support, even if she did still warn us to find that support among our own.
Given the things she could’ve done, I’d take it.
Connor and I didn’t say a word or even look at each other in the hall. We walked to the elevator in silence, waited for the doors to open, and stepped inside.
Side by side, we both stared up at the numbers as the elevator took us back down to the hospital’s ground floor.
The part of me that Tobias had conditioned to believe I was unworthy of the hassle fully expected Connor to announce that this was it. We were done.
The part of me that had seen, time and again, how much Connor genuinely loved me, was wholly unsurprised when he said, “Meet me at my place?”
Heart thumping, gaze still fixed on the numbers, I smiled.
“See you there.”