A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (12 page)

“
Thank you.”

There's a brief moment of silence before Ric's voice came over the line. “Jessi?”

“
Yeah, it's me.”

“
What's up?”

“
I just … I wanted to thank you again for what you did tonight.”

“
It was no big deal.”

“
Trust me, Mr Jordan, it was a very big deal.” 

“
Call me Charge.”

She frowned and repeated, “Charge?”

“
It's my position on the ship. Everyone calls me Charge.”

Jessi smiled and agreed. “Okay, Charge. But, I meant what I said. Saving me like you did was a big deal for me because … well, let's just say I've been in a situation similar to that before and it didn't end with someone saving me.”

There was another pause before Ric said, “Tell you what then. You can thank me properly when I get back to shore.”

“
O-Okay. When do you get back?”

“
We should only be gone for two months, but I'll give you a call when we return to port. Sound good?”

“
Yeah.”

“
And Jessi?”

“
Yeah?”

“
If you need anything while I'm gone, call the Naval yard and tell them you're with me. They'll send someone to help you or call the police to assist.”

Jessi was shocked for the second time that night.

Ric Jordan didn't know her or anything about her, save for her name and the building where her apartment was, and yet there he was, offering his assistance.

It touched her to know someone could care about her in that way.

“
Jessi? You still with me?”

“
Uh ...” She cleared her throat as emotions welled up inside her and replied, “Yeah, I'm still here. Thank you, Charge.”

“
It's no … It's okay.” He said. “I'll see you when we get back?”

“
Absolutely.” Jessi said, a smile on her face. “Stay safe, sailor.”

Ric chuckled and said, “Aye, ma'am.”

They hung up and when Jessi went to bed that night, she wasn't tormented by memories of past or more recent hurts. She slept peacefully and even found herself looking forward to spending some more time with her hero in uniform.

HMAS Sydney was on it's routine patrol in the Arafura Sea, near Papua New Guinea, fulfilling their orders to watch for any FFV's trying to illegally cross into Australian waters.

Ric sat at his post on the bridge, monitoring the engines as he tossed a rubber ball between his hands. They'd left port at 2300 hours last night and had been at sea for nearly seven hours, but Ric couldn't get Jessi off his mind.

Her unexpected call last night had been a welcome surprise and he found himself looking forward to her thank you when they returned to port. 

“
Charge.” Lieutenant Daniel Coleman came over to his station, drawing Ric out of his thoughts as the Lieutenant gave him a cup of coffee and asked, “How did things go last night with that woman?”

“
Jessi? She's fine.” Ric replied.

“
That's good to know. Did the police locate that scum trying to rape her?”

“
No.”

“
Too bad.”

Ric took a drink of hot coffee before asking, “How's Kel?”

Daniel smiled. Every time someone mentioned his fiance or their daughter, the Navigator changed from the hardcore sailor he could be to a man in love. “She's good. Planning the wedding and looking forward to it more and more.”

Their CO – Jackson Tanner – came onto the bridge then and joined them at Ric's station. He handed Daniel a slip of paper and said, “This just came in from NAVCOM. You've been approved to take more time off.”

Daniel was lucky he had a CO like Tanner pulling for him.

In the last year, the Lieutenant had had to take more time off then any other sailor on the ship in an attempt to keep Kelley Harmon safe. His psychotic brother had been bent on seeking revenge against her and it'd been up to Daniel to keep Kelley and her unborn daughter alive. If he hadn't, there's no doubt that the sweet woman from Melbourne would have died at the hands of her former boyfriend, who'd once been a federal agent with the AFP.

“
This says I can take it from the beginning of November until the end of January.” Daniel read.

Jackson smiled and simply stated, “Looks like you'll be getting married at the end of the year after all.”

Daniel grinned and said, “Thanks, boss.”

“
Take five and go call Kelley.”

Daniel left and Ric gave Jackson an update on their fuel and engine status. “Everything is looking good here so far, boss. Nothing to report.”

“
Good to hear.”Jackson said. Then, “Tell me about this woman I've been hearing about. Jessi?”

“
I stopped some arsehole from raping her at the rodeo last night.” Ric said. “She's fine now, but she was pretty scared at first.”

He remembered what she'd said on the phone last night; it was a very big deal … I've been in a situation similar to that before … He didn't know what to make of that, but he told himself he'd find out more when he got back to port. 

Three

Two months later …

Since her attack, Jessi had been attending a self-defense class at a gym not far from the cafe. She'd told herself that she wouldn't be the victim ever again and it was time to do something about it. The class was teaching her and a handful of other local women the basics of hand-to-hand combat that would allow them to slow down an attacker long enough for them to get away and get help.

Jessi wasn't delusional; she knew she wasn't going to become some Alpha-female Ninja just because she knew a few moves, but the class was giving her the one thing she'd been lacking in her life.

Confidence.

She felt stronger and more capable of standing up for herself.

And that new-found confidence was put to the test one afternoon when she was at the cafe. Jessi was in the middle of cleaning the service counter and rearranging the display cabinet that held their salad bar when a very familiar voice spoke to her from behind.

“
Jessica.”

She froze, her heart lurching to a full-blown stop before picking up speed again and racing a million-miles-a-minute in her throat. Her hand tightened around the rag she held and her stomach rolled, but she forced herself to turn around and face the man who had made her his personal punching bag. Seeing him again after three months was a shock to the system, so Jessi was proud when her voice sounded normal when she spoke. “What are you doing here, Kevin?”

Kevin Nolan smiled a slow, feral smile and asked, “Is that any tone to take with your husband?”

Jessi swallowed and replied, “Ex-husband. And you didn't answer my question.”

“
I'm impressed, Jess. You've grown some balls since you've been away from me.”

Why did he have to show up the one afternoon I'm here on my own? Jessi silently fumed, hating that Judy had needed to go home and Eve wasn't due to start for another ten minutes. 

“
I'm here to talk.” Kevin said. “That's all I want. To talk to you.”

“
I have nothing to say to you.” She told him, “And I don't want to listen to anything you have to say, either.”

Kevin came closer and took her hand, his grip tightening painfully when she tried to pull away. “Jess, baby, don't be like that. We left things unfinished.”

Jessi stopped trying to free herself because his tight grip was hurting her. Instead, she forced herself to meet his cold gaze and said, “Nothing is unfinished between us, Kevin. It was all finalized when those divorce papers were signed.”

“
I didn't want to sign those papers.” Kevin snarled. “I didn't want to lose you.”

“
You should have thought about that before you decided I would make a good punching bag.” Jessi told him.

Kevin stared at her for a few minutes, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking, which scared her. When he spoke, his voice was normal and calm. “Give me a second chance, Jess. Please, baby. I can't live without you.”

His pleading made her sick and she jerked her hand free when he wasn't expecting the move. She pointed a finger at the entrance and told him, “I suggest you leave, Kevin, before I call the police.”

Anger clouded his eyes and he growled, “I'll leave. But I will be back.”

He left and Jessi sagged against the back counter, pressing a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart as she wondered how he'd managed to find her. And with his finding her, her attempt to start over in a new city had just been squashed.

The next day, the HMAS Sydney returned to port.
Christmas was just around the corner and that meant that the Sydney was one of a handful of patrol boats that were going to be in port for the holiday.

And that meant nearly every sailor on board could attend the wedding of Daniel and Kelley, which was happening in a few days, at the beginning of December.

Ric made a call to Jessi the minute he was on leave, and earned himself an invite to her apartment.

“
Hi. Welcome back.” Jessi said when he arrived.

“
It's good to be back.” Ric said. He smiled at her, reacquainting himself with her beauty as he asked, “Are you still wanting to repay me for that night?”