Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“So you’re gay,” Shenin Devereaux said, her tone matter of fact.

“Yep,” Tyler Hancock confirmed simply, her brow furrowed. She couldn’t tell if Shenin was freaking out, or if she didn’t think it was a big deal.

Shenin and Tyler had been friends for six months. They were both airmen in the United States Air Force, and part of the same unit at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada. They belonged to the security force detail on base, and were responsible for on base security, policing activities for Air Force personnel, as well as anti-terrorism.

They’d first met on the day Shenin arrived at the base. She’d been transferred from Beale Air Force Base in Sacramento, California. She’d just checked in with the base commander, but hadn’t been told where the barracks for the base were. She’d been standing outside, trying to decide whether or not to just wait for someone to walk by who she could ask, or go back inside and ask. That’s when a person on a blue Harley Davidson motorcycle pulled up in front of the admin building.

Shenin watched as the person, definitely a woman, got off the bike. She took in the jeans, cowboy boots, leather chaps and blue and black Harley Davidson jacket, it looked warm, she was freezing, since she was wearing a short-sleeved uniform, and hadn’t thought to grab her jacket out of her duffel. She also noticed the long braid that went down the woman’s back almost to her waist. When the woman turned around and took off the helmet, she smiled and Shenin saw the deepest dimples she’d ever seen, with a very bright smile and very blue eyes.

Tyler couldn’t help but notice Shenin. For one, she was a redhead, and she also had a body that would stop the proverbial Mack truck. There was no way she was going to avoid talking to this one, no way in Hell. Shenin made it easy.

“Is that a Softail?” Shenin asked, looking at Tyler’s bike.

“Heritage,” Tyler said, nodding, then quirked an eyebrow. “You ride?”

“Yeah,” Shenin said, nodding and smiling, “not a hog though.”

“What do you have?” Tyler asked.

“Honda Shadow Spirit 750,” Shenin replied.

“750?” Tyler repeated, looking surprised, thinking that she might need to re-evaluate the new comer. “Impressive.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shenin said her tone wry, the look on her face mocking as she said, “little thing like you, with all that power between your legs…” Her voice trailed off suggestively, like most men’s would after a statement like that.

Tyler laughed, nodding. “Yeah, I’ve heard shit like that more times than I can count.”

“Annoying as fuck, isn’t it?” Shenin said, rolling her eyes.

“You said it!” Tyler agreed.

They both laughed.

“We should ride sometime,” Tyler said, smiling.

“That would be great, just not when I’m going to freeze my ass off,” Shenin said, shivering.

“Or dying of heat stroke,” Tyler added.

“Or that,” Shenin said, nodding.

“Senior Airman Tyler Hancock,” Tyler said, extending her hand to the other woman.

“Airman 1

st

Class Shenin Deveraux,” Shenin replied, shaking Tyler’s hand.

“So where are you headed?” Tyler asked, having noted that Shenin looked lost when she pulled up.

“Women’s barracks, security force.”

Tyler looked momentarily surprised, then nodded. “You must be the newbie we’ve been expecting,” she said, grinning.

“Four damned years in, and I’m the newbie again, son of a…” Shenin replied, her voice trailing off.

Tyler laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re not all bad,” she said, grinning. “You’re actually going to be bunking with me; we’re two and two in the dorms. Welcome to Nellis,” she said, smiling. “So where you are from?” Tyler asked.

“Beale Air Force Base,” Shenin said.

“California?” Tyler replied.

“Land of fruits and nuts,” Shenin replied, having heard it before.

“I like fruits and nuts,” Tyler replied winking. “Look give me a few minutes, I’m headed to the barracks anyway, I can take you there.”

“That would be great!” Shenin replied. “I waited on the flight line at Beale all morning, and now I finally get here and it’s friggin’ cold, and I just want a hot shower and some shut eye.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Tyler said, smiling, “just give me a few.”

Shenin nodded and watched as Tyler strode into the building.

Ten minutes later, Tyler came out of the building and noted that no less than five guys were buzzing around Shenin, trying to engage her in conversation, two of them were officers. Tyler stood back watching, she noticed that while Shenin was answering questions, and being what appeared to be polite, she didn’t seem to be taking advantage of her looks. There was no hair twirling, no batting of eyelashes, nothing like that; she was simply standing there talking to the guys. She certainly didn’t seem to have any guile or game, Tyler found that she immediately liked that about the girl.

When Shenin saw that Tyler had come out, she politely excused herself, nodding in acknowledgement to the two officers. The men, however, seemed loathe to let her walk away. Shenin glanced back at Tyler and Tyler got the silent mayday immediately.

Walking over to the group, Tyler acknowledged the officers with eye contact and a respectful nod; she didn’t need to salute because she wasn’t in uniform.

“Okay, boys,” Tyler said, moving between the men and getting to Shenin, her grin sly, “back off, security force property here.” And with that, she took Shenin’s arm and guided her away from the men, bending down to scoop up Shenin’s duffel while she walked by and guided the younger woman to her bike. The men looked on as Tyler gave Shenin her helmet, climbing onto the bike, and Shenin climbed on behind her. Tyler placed Shenin’s duffle over the gas tank of the bike and started the engine with its legendary growl and rumble. Winking rakishly at the guys, she gunned the engine and expertly turned it to drive off.

As they rode toward the barracks Shenin found herself huddling behind Tyler’s five seven frame because it was cold. Part of the ride got bumpy, and Shenin gripped Tyler’s jacket at the waist, Tyler grinned at the feeling. It was the beginning of their friendship.

Six months later found them arriving at Ronald Regan National Airport on leave. Tyler had invited Shenin home with her. They made an interesting pair, Shenin being smaller, and such a contrast to Tyler in many ways. Tyler’s hair was long, golden brown, and extremely curly, she had a slim but strong build, whereas Shenin was petite, but curvy, with silky straight rich auburn colored hair, that hung a couple inches past her shoulders. Tyler dressed in simple jeans, her customary black cowboy boots, a button up shirt and leather Harley jacket. Shenin was dressed in black slacks, a mint green tank top with a long light black jacket and dress boots on her feet. Tyler wore no make-up; Shenin not only wore make-up but jewelry that was color coordinated with her outfit as well. They were very much opposites.

As they left the baggage claim, Tyler bent down to pick up her camera backpack, and loop it over one shoulder, she also picked Shenin’s laptop case, looping it over the other shoulder.

“I could have gotten that,” Shenin said, giving her friend a narrowed look.

“Now you don’t have to,” Tyler said, grinning.

Shenin shook her head, Tyler was forever doing things like that, so she was getting used to it, but she never wanted to assume that Tyler would always do it for her.

As they walked out of the airport to catch the bus to the rental cars, Shenin was shocked by the way that hot, damp air struck her almost physically. Automatically she started fanning herself with her hand.

Tyler noticed Shenin’s movement and grinned.

“Welcome to Maryland in the summer,” she said, rolling her eyes as she did.

An hour later they were in their rental car on the way to Tyler’s family home, when Tyler’s cell phone rang, the display on the Bluetooth connection on the car displayed the name “Angie.” Tyler answered the phone with her customary answer when she knew the person.

“What’re you doin’?” she asked, smiling.

“Where are you?” Angie replied sharply.

Tyler blinked, obviously surprised by either the tone of the voice, or the question, or both.

“I’m, uh, home,” she replied, “in Maryland.”

“Sheila said you took Devereaux home with you, is that true?” Angie asked her tone hurt.

Tyler glanced over at Shenin, already regretting the hands free Bluetooth in the rental car.

“Yeah, she’s with me,” Tyler said, her tone of voice taking on an edge that Shenin easily recognized as her way of cautioning the other person to be careful with what they said. Apparently “Angie” either didn’t recognize the tone, or she decided to ignore it.

“Are you fucking her, Tyler?” she screeched into the phone.

Tyler instantly snatched up her cell phone, canceling the hands free, and holding the phone to her ear. “Have you completely lost your mind?” Tyler practically growled, “or have you just decided that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell no longer applies to me or the Air Force?”

As Tyler listened to the woman on the other end of the line, her look was passive, but Shenin been able to see that her eyes were turning to ice, slowly but surely as the woman obviously ranted on and on. It didn’t appear that Tyler was fazed by anything the woman was saying. When the woman went silent for a long minute, Tyler calmly asked, “Are you finished?” Her voice was as cold as the icy look in her eyes.

Shenin could hear a short and meek sounding reply.

Tyler nodded. “I will be back in ten days, have my stuff packed, I’ll pick it up when I get in.”

With that she hung up the phone and calmly set it down in the cup holder of the car. Shenin kept silent, not sure what she could possibly say after that conversation. She was decidedly shocked by what she’d just heard, although looking at it in hindsight, she also realized she should have really figured it out. She also knew that discussing it with Tyler at that point wouldn’t be the right time or place, and she didn’t want to upset Tyler anymore.

Once the tension in the car finally eased, Shenin made a point of asking about other things like the houses, or the signs, allowing Tyler to have her privacy at that point in time.

Tyler was greatly relieved that Shenin hadn’t jumped on the gay thing right away. Tyler needed time to figure out what she was going to do.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had been brought in to lift a ban on homosexuals in the military. It essentially said that the military shouldn’t ask military personnel about whether or not they were gay. The bill had also included a part about “don’t pursue, don’t harass.” Military personnel knew it was bullshit, and in no way shape or form truly protected gay members of the military from persecution. It put gays further into the closet, because they could not talk about being gay, or engage in any sexual activity. It was a ridiculous bill that only served to further alienate gays in the military. It was a joke that gays were told they couldn’t engage in sexual activity when their heterosexual counterparts could have sex with any member of the opposite sex every minute of every day, and twice on Sundays if they so desired. The idea that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, allowed gays to be open with their sexuality was complete and utter bullshit, and no member of the military, gay or straight thought any differently.

It was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell that struck fear into the hearts of any gay service members. It was a gag order, a death sentence to your career, it was no protection at all and it didn’t stop the military from dishonorably discharging gay service members. The fact was that the discharge of gay and lesbian service members had increased steadily since the law was enacted in 1993. It was not a good time to be gay in the military, and Tyler knew that full well. She had not gone into the military knowing that she was gay, but she was also not willing to lose her career over something she felt was none of the government’s business.

Being gay had shredded Tyler’s home life when she’d come out to her parents. She’d always been a daddy’s girl, and had, indeed joined the branch of the armed forces that she had because her father was retired Air Force. When she’d discovered she was gay two years into her service, she’d known that it was going to devastate her parents, and likely her large family. It hadn’t been an easy thing to deal with, and it still wasn’t.

Growing up in Port Tobacco, Maryland, Tyler hadn’t really been exposed to anyone who was gay. She’d been a tomboy, but then again, so was her mother, and she wasn’t gay. Her parents had been happily married for over thirty-five years. For Tyler, being back in her hometown always seemed strange, ever since she’d left over twelve years before. Getting out into the world had opened her eyes to many things, being gay was just one of those things. The trip back to Maryland had been the first in five years, the first since she’d finally admitted to her parents that she was gay.

By the time Shenin and Tyler had reached her parents’ house, Shenin had decided to wait to talk to Tyler about the phone call. She easily sensed, from what she knew about Tyler’s relationship with her parents that the gay thing was probably not well accepted. The last thing Shenin wanted to do was to upset Tyler right as she was seeing her parents again. The house they pulled up to was a red brick construction with wood framed windows painted white to match the front door. It was an older ranch style home, with a carport and long driveway. Tyler’s parents came out of the house to greet them. After a fairly awkward round of hugs, Tyler introduced them to Shenin.

“Mom, Dad, this is Shenin, she’s a friend of mine from Nellis, we’re on the security force together. Shenin, these are my parents, Carl and Becky.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Shenin said, smiling and extending her hand to each of them. “Your daughter was my very first friend at Nellis.” Her smile was so warm and genuine that Carl and Becky couldn’t help but like her right away.

“Tyler always did make friends easy,” Becky said, smiling at her daughter.

Shenin looked between them, and wondered how much her parents knew, and how much damage had been done to their relationship if they did know.

Finding out their only daughter was gay had been jarring for Carl and Becky. Tyler had always been a tomboy, but she’d also dated guys in high school. She’d even been engaged, before she’d decided to enlist in the Air Force. They just couldn’t comprehend what had happened to change her so drastically and they still weren’t sure how to deal with her. What they did know was that they loved their daughter and that they would do their best to understand her life choices.

Tyler easily read the resolve on her parents’ faces, they were trying to cope, and she couldn’t help the little flame of hope that started in her heart. They meant the world to her, and knowing that she’d disappointed them or made them ashamed of her, broke her heart every time she thought about it. Sometimes Tyler didn’t think she could handle facing them, but she’d known she needed to. Her father had been having heart problems, and the last thing she wanted was for the last memory she had of him to be their last conversation. She’d told him that she’d had the realization that she was gay; his response was to tell her she needed to stop hanging out with whoever she was hanging out with, that they were being a bad influence on her and would get her thrown out of the Air Force. Her mother had shaken her head in disgust and said, “You’re just letting people tell you that kind of garbage, it’s not true.” They hadn’t understood, and at the time, they hadn’t tried to understand, at least not as far as she was concerned. She’d left that same night and hadn’t gone back for five years, this was the first time since then.

The memory of that last visit had been so clear that when she’d told them she was coming home, and they’d insisted that she stay with them, she’d been fairly sure the priest who’d given her first communion would be there to greet her. Her other thought was that they’d kidnap her and take her to a deprogrammer so they could get her un-brainwashed from that gay cult she’d joined in the desert. Neither seemed to be the case at the moment, but she knew it wasn’t impossible that there’d be a dinner or two with the local clergy.

“So you’re Air Force?” Carl asked Shenin, his look skeptical.

“Yes sir,” Shenin replied. “Airman first class.”

Carl nodded, then looked at his daughter. “You make sergeant yet?” he asked.

“Not yet, Dad, but I’m working on it,” Tyler told him, making him smile.

He looked at Shenin again. “So, you’re on the security force with Tyler?” he asked, again skeptical.

“Yes sir,” she said.

“Little thing like you?” he said, sounding very old fashioned suddenly.

“Yep,” Shenin said, holding back a grin. She could see that he wanted to say something about little girls carrying big guns, or something like it. She’d heard it for years now.

She knew it always shocked people that someone as small as her, at five four and a hundred-thirty pounds, could be in the security force. She actually liked that it shocked people; she liked being more than a pretty face. She knew that sometimes it made her a target too, and that was why she’d become lethal in hand-to-hand combat, with a black belt in karate, and an expert with weapons. Shenin Devereaux could protect herself.

“Well, come on in,” Becky said, gesturing for them to go inside. “It’s awfully muggy out here.”

“Tyler, I put you two in your old room, on your old trundle bed,” Becky said, leading them down the hallway of the house.

Tyler grinned. “Thanks, Mom,” she said.

“Go ahead and get unpacked, dinner’s in an hour.” With that Becky left them to unpack.

Two hours later they had eaten and retired to Tyler’s old room. That’s when the conversation started…

“So you’re gay,” Shenin said, her tone matter of fact.

They were lying in the bedroom Tyler had lived in when she was growing up. They were sleeping on the trundle bed she’d had sleepovers with her friends on years before. Tyler was on the upper part of the bed, while Shenin was on the lower ‘drawer.’ There were a lot of pictures of Tyler growing up, and it was obvious she was not only a tomboy, but also a daddy’s girl. Her father had coached her softball team when Tyler was much younger. There were lots of pictures of Tyler and her dad as she grew up. There were also pictures of Tyler with guys that she’d gone to prom and junior prom with. It was pictures like that Shenin was thinking of when she asked the question.

“Yep,” Tyler confirmed simply, her brow furrowed. She couldn’t tell if Shenin was freaking out, or if she didn’t think it was a big deal.

“Not sure why I didn’t see it,” Shenin said.

“You feel like you should have?”

“Yeah,” Shenin said.

“Why? Because you’re from California?” Tyler asked, grinning.

Shenin laughed, hearing how dumb it sounded. “Well, we are the land of the fruits and nuts,” she said, grinning. “Location of gay mecca, right?”

“What, San Francisco?”

“Yep,” Shenin said.

“Never been there,” Tyler said.

“Oh,” Shenin replied, slightly deflated, “honestly though, I should have sensed it better. How good of a friend am I if you’ve felt like you needed to hide it all this time?”

“Honestly, Shen,” Tyler said, settling on her side to look down at her friend, “I just didn’t want to mess things up with us.”

“What do you mean? Did I seem like someone that wouldn’t like you if you were gay?” Shenin asked, worried that was the case.

“Shen, if I didn’t think you’d like the real me, I wouldn’t be able to be friends with you,” Tyler said. “But you never know with people, especially other members of the security force… you know?”

Shenin thought about that for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’d need to be careful until you were sure you could trust a person not to out you.”

“You got that right,” Tyler said.

“I’m not going to out you, Ty,” Shenin said. “I hope you know that.”

Tyler blew her breath out. “Yeah, I guess I do know that.”

“You didn’t mean for me to find out, did you?” Shenin asked then.

“I didn’t mean for you to find out that way,” Tyler corrected. “I was going to tell you, probably on this trip. I just wasn’t ready for you to find out that way.”

“So Angie is someone you’re dating?” Shenin asked.

“Was dating,” Tyler said, emphasizing the word “was.”

“That must be scary,” Shenin said, “having someone like that just put your business right out there with no idea who was in the car with you, or what they knew about you.”

“Yep, and it’s not something I can forgive. Jealousy is one thing; stupidity and endangering my career are completely different.”

They were both silent for a moment, Tyler was thanking her lucky stars to have such an understanding friend, it had been a concern that Shenin would pull the whole regulations angle, and say she had to report it. Shenin was pretty forthright when it came to regulations, they were, after all, the law on base.

“So, you’re really okay with this?” Tyler asked, with that last thought in mind.

“Tyler,” Shenin said, looking a little surprised, “you’re assuming I’ve ever agreed with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It’s complete bullshit, and anyone that believes that it’s okay to treat people like that is dumber than shit, and not someone I ever want to associate with. I get that it’s a regulation and all, but it’s a dumb fucking regulation and not one I’m ever going to hold with, I don’t care what it costs me.”

Tyler’s eyes widened at the outburst. “Tell me how you really feel, Shenin, don’t hold back,” she said, grinning widely, even as her eyes shone with a glazing of tears for someone truly being on her side. This girl was one in a million, it was too damned bad she was straight.

Shenin smiled, not commenting on the tears in her friend’s eyes, but touched by it all the same.

“This must have been so hard on you,” Shenin said, reaching up to touch Tyler’s hand. “With them,” she said, indicating Tyler’s parents sleeping in the next room.

“Oh yeah,” Tyler said, blowing her breath out. “They were really shocked, it was hard on everyone.”

“Including you,” Shenin put in.

“Yeah,” Tyler said, “this is the first time I’ve been home in five years.”

“Oh, Ty…” Shenin said, squeezing her friend’s hand. “I’m so sorry you went through that. It’s not right the way this world treats people that don’t fit some crazy idea of

normal

, but you have to know that they love you. I could see that tonight.”

“I know they love me,” Tyler said, “but they’re having a hard time understanding this aspect of my life.”

“Give them, time, Ty,” Shenin said.

“I know,” Tyler said, sighing, “I just worry about my dad.”

“I get that,” Shenin said, nodding.

Again they were quiet for a while each lost in their thoughts.

“Are there others?” Shenin asked.

“That are gay?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah, in the squadron I mean,” Shenin said.

“What do you think?” Tyler asked.

“You want to test my gaydar?” Shenin asked.

“Well, it failed you on me, obviously,” Tyler said, grinning.

“Yeah, but it’s not really a surprise to me either, I really think it was just not important to me what sex you preferred. You’re my friend, and that’s all that’s important to me.”

Tyler nodded, still astounded at how easy this had ended up being; there hadn’t been an awkward strange moment between them.

“So, who?” Tyler asked, prodding her friend.

Shenin narrowed her eyes for a minute. “Well, Terri, definitely.”

She named their lieutenant, who was very butch, and also a really great team leader and everyone in the unit had the utmost respect for her.

“Too easy,” Tyler said dismissively.

“Okay…” Shenin said, narrowing her eyes again, then looked at Tyler again. “Jean,” she said, naming another member of the unit.

Tyler smiled, nodding. “And the last?”

“That’s harder,” Shenin said, but then when she thought about it, it really wasn’t, they were the two women, that seemed to totally get Tyler. “Sheila.”

“You are good, Sheila is very stealth,” Tyler said.

“It has nothing to do with her,” Shenin said. “It has to do with you; the three of you seemed to totally get each other. I originally chocked it up to your time together in the unit, but now I know that’s not the only thing.”

Tyler nodded, again. Shenin seemed to grasp even the most subtle things about her and her lifestyle.

“Hey…” Shenin said then, her tone suspicious. “Now I totally get that whole toaster joke between the three of you,” she said, her eyes narrowed.

Tyler started to laugh. “Oh, no, don’t include me in that, I’m just a bystander.”

“So how does that joke go again?” Shenin asked.

“Well, we don’t really spell it out, usually, but for you, I’ll make an exception.” Tyler said, winking. “Basically, if a lesbian can recruit a straight woman to the life, they get a free toaster.”

“And here I thought they were being nice to me,” Shenin said, making a face. “Bitches!” she exclaimed, laughing.

“Nah, they like you, they just think you’re hot, too.”

“I see,” Shenin said, grinning.

Tyler grew quiet for a moment, reaching down, she took Shenin’s hand in hers, and squeezed it gently. “Thank you for this,” she said sincerely.

Shenin smiled softly. “Always for you,” she said, her tone strong.

The next few days were spent visiting Tyler’s old haunts and meeting her family. Tyler had a lot of family; Shenin ended up feeling like Tyler was related to at least half of Maryland. It was interesting to Shenin that none of Tyler’s family seemed to have any problem with her being gay, in fact many of them seemed happy to accept the idea that Shenin was her partner. Tyler had to explain over and over that Shenin was just a friend. The more time Tyler spent around her family, the more comfortable she became, it warmed Shenin’s heart to see it in her friend.

One night, three days into their visit, they were eating in a local restaurant having dinner, just the two of them. Tyler suddenly stopped talking and was staring just over Shenin’s shoulder. Shenin glanced over her shoulder and saw a man standing there his eyes fixed on Tyler. He looked around the same age as Tyler, maybe a couple of years older, but it didn’t seem that time had been as good to him as it had been to Tyler.

“Jason,” Tyler said, nodding to the man that had once been her fiancé.

“I heard you were in town,” the man said, stepping toward the table, his eyes going to Shenin. She noted the hostility in them. So did Tyler.

Tyler was on her feet instantly, putting herself closer to Shenin. Shenin could sense Tyler’s tension and recognized her defensive move to protect her.

“Yeah, I’m here to visit my family,” Tyler said.

“Guess you weren’t brave enough to face me though, huh?” he asked, his tone snide.

Tyler took a long pause, letting her eyes travel from his thinning hair, past the beer belly to his dirty tennis shoes then back up to his face.

“I don’t see what I’d have to fear from seeing you,” she said, her tone calm.

“You fucked me over, Tyler,” he snapped, gesturing toward Shenin with a dismissive wave. “For that.”

Tyler glanced behind her at Shenin, her blue eyes sparkling with barely contained malice. “That,” she repeated to Shenin, her tone flat and sardonic, then she looked back at Jason. “That,” she said again, her head nodding back toward Shenin, “could take you apart with her bare hands, so I don’t think you want to fuck with her. As for what you think I did to you, get over it, it was years ago.”

Jason looked stunned, this wasn’t the easy-going Tyler he used to know. She was harder, it had to be the gay thing. Being gay made women hard like men. Besides, that’s what they all wanted, to be anyway, right?

“You lesbians are all the same,” he sneered, glad that people were now staring at them. “You all just wish you were men.”

Tyler grinned, having heard that one often enough. “No, dumbass,” she said, her voice calm. “It’s men we’re trying to avoid, that’s the whole point.”

“Fucking dyke!” Jason exclaimed, reaching out to shove Tyler, a move she easily dodged, grabbing his arm and wheeling around to wind it up behind his back, wrenching it upward, making him stand on his toes. It was a move she’d used a lot on drunken airmen, and they were usually in much better shape than Jason was.

Shenin stood up, stepping over to Jason and leaning in.

“You might not want to call her that,” she said, her tone conversational. “She doesn’t like it and she might just break that oversized chicken wing of yours.” She smiled sweetly, her look belying her words.

Tyler patted Jason on the shoulder with her other hand. “So why don’t you run along now, so I don’t have to plant your face on the floor. Okay, sweetie?”

With that she let him go, giving him a shove that had him stumbling to keep from ending up on the ground. Jason quickly left. Tyler looked around the restaurant that had grown silent and still during the incident. She noted a number of nods and approving looks.

“Sorry for the disruption folks, but boys will be boys,” she said wryly, sitting down as Shenin did the same.

There was laughter from a few patrons, and even a little bit of applause.

“Well, that was fun,” Shenin said, grinning, as they resumed their meal.

“Sorry, about that,” Tyler said looking chagrinned.

“You can’t help how other people act,” Shenin said.

“No,” Tyler said, “but I’m sorry that my baggage is piling up near you.”

“Ty,” Shenin said, reaching her hand out to touch Tyler’s, “I’m never going to stand by while a man acts like that toward any woman, let alone my best friend.”

Tyler smiled. “Even if it gets you splashed with gay paint?”

Shenin narrowed her eyes slightly. “There are much worse things to get splashed with, like bigoted mini penis paint for one.”

That had Tyler laughing out loud, nearly snorting soda up her nose as she did.

“Seriously, though,” Tyler said, her look direct, “thank you for that.”

Shenin shrugged, shaking her head. “Just backing my partner’s play,” she said.

It was a simple statement, but it spoke volumes to Tyler. She knew in that moment that her faith and trust in this woman was well placed. Shenin could have easily been very put out, even angry about being involved in this kind of scene, and to be assumed to be gay as well. But none of that seemed to bother Shenin, she’d been there for her friend, no hesitation, no questions asked. It was amazing. Tyler was finding out all the time that the world was filled with amazing people.

The rest of the trip was less dramatic, and before long it was time to leave. They’d enjoyed their stay, visiting historic places such as the Dr. Samuel Mudd house, as well as touring some of the museums and veteran monuments in Washington, D.C.

As Tyler said goodbye to her parents, her father hugged her for an extra moment.

“We love you,” he told her. “We just want you to be happy,” he said then, bringing tears to Tyler’s eyes as she nodded, unable to speak for a moment.

“I love you guys too,” she finally managed.

Shenin looked on, happy for her friend, and knowing that it was what Tyler had needed to hear.

Later on the plane, while Tyler slept, Shenin reflected on the trip. She’d learned a lot about her friend in the past ten days. She’d learned that her best friend was gay. She’d also finally been able to assign the appropriate word for the way Tyler was so often: gallant. It described actions like picking up things for other women and it also described the instinctual reaction Tyler had when she’d intervened between Jason and her. Tyler was gallant, like the knights in medieval days, or the cowboys. That thought made Shenin grin; Tyler lived in her favorite cowboy boots when she wasn’t on duty and when it wasn’t hotter than Hell outside. She was also known to wear a cowboy hat on occasion. It was endlessly ironic to Shenin. What she did know was that her friend was an incredible person, and she was very happy to be associated with her.