She was so scared of him. Scared at what he might think if he really knew her heart. She felt so close to touch him and yet so isolated from him. She couldn't allow her self to care. All she wanted was to clamp down her emotions and never feel again…………

Sector 12lv-444, 4 years later:

"Uh, man it really hurts to piss."

Drake said as his form stood far back into the foreign woods of a jungle. It was moist and damp at night and yet the air chilled your skin. The platoon of Marines had been here for nearly 3 days with nothing much to do but get drunk and play cards.

Hudson, Hicks, Frost, Crowe and Vasquez were giggling from around the tiny heat lamp, as they sat there, holding a bunch of playing cards in their cloved hands. A couple of beers sat nestled in the dirt beneath them, out of the site of Sarg.

"Well, you know what the Love Doctor would say, 'sounds like a girl problem!'

Hicks said over his shoulder, giving a mock gruffly tone in his voice, while still looking at his cards. They all scoffed once more as Drake came hobbling back to their cozy little camp, holding his crotch.

"No man, I think oww I should lay off the booze." He carefully sat down next to Hudson, scrunching his long face and almost teary eyed.

"Yeah right! Drake lay off the Russian wheat juice! My ass is holy, man!" Hudson and Drake yelled out in mock. "Whopp!"

"You better if you want John Jacob Jingle Hiemer to ever get action again. They might cut it off if it gets way bad, you know." Crowe exclaimed.

"Damn. Where's a good doc when you need it?" Drake looked a little nervous.

"So does this mean you chicken out on the game tonight?" Frost declared, dangling his can of beer.

Vasquez remained quiet through this whole time. She liked to think of this time of night as her reflection time. The time she spends thinking about certain things that happened during the day. She hadn't really paid much attention really until just now.

"Fuck no, your not backin' out on me! We smoked these posers last time and we gunna do it again, Drake my man." She raised her 'goblet of wine' in a ceremonial first swig and the game began…..

"That's my Baby!" Drake cheered out.

3 Hours Later:

Every body had gotten out by now except Hudson, Drake and Vasquez. Hicks and Frost were the first to black out; they discarded their friends and went to pass out back in their field tents. Crowe would have still been in if he had not thrown up his last can of beer.

Hudson tried to stand, trying to prove he could, but he got up too fast.

"I uh I could…….. 'ere all…….hiccup……..really special time…….for me!" He swayed back and forth while Vasquez kneeled on the ground, laughing her head off.

giggling Hey! Whoa………you could…...hiccup fall on me!" She gazed up at Hudson, while he grabbed her head to keep balance.

"I git I got it. Down worry." Hudson smiled dumpishly.

Drake was laughing as he tried to go help Hudson stand.

"Ahww, you're drunk. You drank too much man! Come on…."

He said as he grabbed Hudson's shoulder. They teeter tottered to the far end of the camp, and Hudson could no longer stand so Drake dumped him off by the TVO-Jeep's tires.

"Ah just stay 'ere a while an….."

Hudson couldn't finish, for he had passed out. Drake shuffled back to the little camp circle were Vasquez went for another beer. Only she couldn't find any more, so she lazily scooted around the logs to see if she could spot another one perhaps.

"Damn cans wal'k off by hiccup themselves dont they?" She slurred out.

"They ain't comin back Vas. I think we's won an' all." He stumbled and fell next to Vasquez.

She grabbed his ear with her toughened fingers. He let out a yelp and tried to push her. He was too wasted to do so, and ended up plopping his head in her lap.

"whoops"

"Get…get…out -my lap." She unsteadily whacked him with a bluish green tree branch which had fallen on the ground.

"I like it when you's mad, Baby." He grinned.

Drake rose up and sat up next to her. He slid his huge hand down her smooth olive skin face.

"You're hot ...for an army chick……….." He whispered

"Shut up you asshole." She blushed only when Drake said things like that to her, even when intoxicated...she didn't really know why though.

He nipped her shoulder with his teeth, showing he was annoyed.

"Damn, don't get bitchy or nothin on me."

She brought her hand right across his pale face, giving him a good playful smack. His face moved from the blow, and then he turned back to look into her deep brown eyes.

She new he wasn't jacking off anymore. She saw his face, glowing from the only source of light coming from the heat lamp. The face was that usually lacked expression was showing some other emotion right then.

She swayed back, unstable from the intoxication of alcohol. She looked away from her best friend's gaze.

He leaned away too, mortally pissed off. He gathered up his knees and rests his arms on them. He did his usual bad-ass sneer and sat there, occasionally glancing at the small Puerto-Rican woman.

"Ur right…….forget it." She broke the silence. He still ignored her.

She leaned over and offered her palm to him. He smirked and sighed.

"C'mon, man-Drake?"

Then she proceeded to slowly put little space from her lips to his. She had not the faintest clue why she did it, but she closed her lips on his. It was sort of spontaneous, she thought.

You can't let this happen. You can't trust any man with your god damned feelings!

No, NO. Let this happen……now or you'll never get your chance again………….

She set her hand on his shoulder and pushed him to the ground. Drake didn't fight, for he didn't really know what she was doing until she had straddled on top of him, bringing her face up to his.

They paused together, wondering. Neither of them has ever shown a romantic side to the other at all. Because of the occasional limited bunk space, they have slept next together, nothing more than Marines.

Drake didn't protest. In fact, Vasquez was surprised when he put his rough hands on her small hips. Their bulky field uniforms were thick to keep out cold, but he still used his hands to press her hip bone into his. She let out a suprise grunt. She was a little unused to a male touching her in this way. She has tried to stay away from men for things like intimate issues.

Then Drake broke off and cried out in a yell of pain. His hand slid down her toned arm and pulled it away from his sesitive area.

"AHH, shit Vas."

"What! What did I do!" She was angry at his cry of pain. It really had surprised her.

Drake pushed her off of him gently.

"That…uh….part is tender right now, remember?"

Vasquez cleared her throat, "Oh, uh I ……..yeah……..sorry."

I god, I must be crazy! Why am I doing this shit? She thought.

Drake knew it would be over even though it just began. Vasquez lightly punched him in the arm and said her good night.

"I got to go to bed. I'm gunna have a shitty hangover tomorrow……Please don't wake me up……."

He kicked the ground with his boot, mad at himself for not just ignoring the pain. Drake did not want to go in the tent, as they often shared one. He almost felt like going into Frost and Hicks' tent but he knew they barely held enough room for two full grown men. After a while, he eventually went inside the tiny makeshift tent. He saw Vasquez's short but muscled form through the darkness.

She was fast sleep...well passed out actually.

He got out of his camo pants and jacket and set his boots to the side. He crawled in a sleeping bag and passed out too.