Bethany's pov ***

The rest of the weekend was spent either in bed or eating. We had decided that when we are working, we call each other by nerd and Demo. At home we can be Bethany and Tanner.

Now I'm almost to work when my phone rings. "Hello? This is Bethany Adamson."

"Hello aunt Beth! Its Hudson. And Parker and Tristan!"

"Well hello my little loves! What are you doing up so early?"

"We wanted to call daddy before work. But wanted to call you too. Is that ok? Are you still sleeping?" Tristan replied.

I chuckled. The innocent minds! "No, sweetheart. I'm awake and almost to work. About two more minutes to drive."

"Oh! OK! Did you have a good weekend?" Hudson asked.

"I did! I met three awesome young men! I met gram and gramps. Who are really nice. Did y'all have a good weekend?" I asked as I pull up to the gate. I show my ID and the guard does a quick walk around my truck with the mirror. I am given the go- ahead. "Thank you!" I tell the guard.

"You're welcome, ma'am. Have a good day."

"You too!" I drive forward then to my office in the middle of the base.

"Who was that aunt Beth?" Tristan asked.

"That was the guard on base, sweetheart."

"Are you in the Army too?" Came from Hudson.

"Like uncle Tanner is?" Parker added.

"I am in the Army. Isn't that cool?" I answer.

"They let girls in the Army? For real?" Parker responded.

"Oh you are funny! Yes they let girls in the Army. I'm a good soldier!" I pull into my parking spot and kill the truck.

I chuckle with the boys. "We know that, aunt Beth! We're just joking with you." They all laugh. Which makes me laugh.

"I love your humor! But now I have to go into my office. I will talk to you later. Ok gators?"

"Ok Beth! We love you! Stay safe!"

"I love you too, guys! Thank you! Later gators!" They hung up. I smile as I enter my office with my briefcase. It is only six a.m. so I am the only one here. I open my computer and see that a simple code is waiting on Martinson. Nothing for me. I get to work on the tap.

I decided to start from scratch. I am still so engrossed in my work that I don't realize Tanner is sitting in front of me with a Styrofoam container and cup, until he speaks.

"Are you going to eat, nerd?" Demo asked suddenly.

I jump as he startles me. "Demo! I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were here." He pushes the food toward me. I open it to see lasagna. A paper bag holds garlic bread and little packets of butter.

"Eat up, nerd. You probably didn't eat lunch. Just my guess." He is so sexy when he lifts that eyebrow at me.

"Sorry, boss, its a hazard of mine to zone out. I think that I told you about that." I said as I cut into the food with a moan.

"You did. I was going to bring you lunch but was tied up with business. Sorry."

"We're good, Ta..... Demo. This is really good!" I noticed that Tanner is eating too. "Did you not eat lunch either?"

"I did. Sanders had me meet him at his office and he ordered pizza. I learned a little more about the dinner party." We talked until the food was gone. I excuse myself to be restroom. I don't remember taking even a two minute break all day.

"I am going to go and let you get back to work or go home. Your choice. I will call you later. Make sure that you answer. Or I will have to come back up here."

"Yes sir!" I chuckle when his eyes darken with lust.

"That may cost you, nerd." He stands and gathers the trash. "Later nerd!"

"Later, Demo!" I say as he opens the door. "By the way. I received a call early this morning. It was the boys."

"I think they called quite a few of us. I got one too. They called me lazy when I said that I was still in bed, but you were already at work. The nerve of them! Who are they to judge me?" We both laugh.

"What rotten little boys!" I laugh hard at him.

Tanner's smile is so sexy! "Later, nerd! Take care of yourself. Don't get too wrapped up in work." He winked then shut my door.

I get back to work.........

I answer my personal phone. "Hello? This is Bethany."

"Have you taken a break since I left?"

"Actually..... no. I haven't." I look at the clock on my computer screen. Eleven p.m.! Holy shit! "Oh hell! I just realized what time it is! I'm logging off right now. I promise." I start saving everything so I can log off.

"Good! Because I am in your bed."

Wait! What? "Excuse me? Did you say what I think you said?" I ask him.

He chuckles that sexy, deep laugh. My panties are wet. "I did!"

"I will be there in five minutes! Don't leave that spot! That's an order!" I log off and grab my briefcase to put it in the safe. After making sure the safe is locked and my office is secure, I drive home. I see Tanner's truck in my garage.

I smile as I run up the stairs and into my apartment. After locking the door and setting the alarm, I start stripping as I go down the hallway. "Honey! I'm hoommeee!" I say just like he did last week.

I open my bedroom door and see my man laying on my bed. Naked and looking so delicious! And asleep! I crawl into bed beside him. I lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep instantly. I think that I feel him kiss my head.

The next morning I wake up about four o'clock. I kiss Tanner's chest and his arms tighten around me. We made love slow and easy for an hour. Tanner holds me as we gather our breath.

After a while, I stretch and moan. "I have to get up and go."

"I thought that you'd say that. Go shower." We shower as he tells me of his schedule this week. He will be going on a security detail on Friday and be back Saturday. I leave for work.

This set up our routine for the next two weeks. Tanner was gone a few days a week. He always made sure to leave someone to bring me lunch and dinner.

I was working around nineteen hours a day. Until the second Wednesday. Tanner left for a trip to Mexico to retrieve a man and his small child. They had been separated from their tour group by the cartel. Thermo was in charge of feeding me.

He brought me Mc Donald's for lunch. I was working to finish the tap and never realized that he didn't show back up for dinner.

I grabbed a bag of chips from the vending machine Thursday morning. A candy bar Thursday evening. The tap was almost finished. I was just waiting to finish the download and to see if it will work. I am so fuckin tired! I don't know what time it is. It can't be past midnight.

My phone rings. "Hello?"

"Hey nerd! Where are you?" Tanner asked.

"I'm at the office. I know that it's late. Please don't be mad. But I think that I finished the tap." I tell him.

"She's in her office working." I hear him tell someone. "I'm at your door." He hung up. I know that he is pissed. I brace myself as I unlock the door. Tanner walks in with General Sanders and Marquez. Followed by Decker and Granger. They all look at me oddly. Granger shut the door.

Tanner stood beside me and whispers. "You might want to put your hair together and either tuck your shirt or pull all the hem out."

"Excuse me. I'll be back in a moment." I ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

My hair was going every direction possible. I took it down and finger- combed it back into a braid. Then I put on some deodorant and tucked my shirt in. Last, I splashed my face with cool water. I dried my face and hands then walked back into my office.

I salute the men and waited for either Sanders or Marquez to say why they are here this late. Damn I'm exhausted!

"Alright, Adamson! Show us what you have accomplished." General Sanders said.

"Yes sir! I believe that the tap is finished. I'm waiting on the program to finish downloading."

The computer notified me that it was completed. I check the screen. It is displaying the phone conversation between Tanner and myself just a few minutes ago!

"Can someone call my phone? It is working! It recorded my last conversation with Demo!"

I was getting so excited! My phone rings with Tanner's name. I answer in Spanish. The tap translated the sentence.

I switch to Arabic. It was translated in real time.

I switch to Korean. With the same results for every language that I know. I have tears rolling down my face. Every face is smiling.

I hung up the phone and called daddy. "Hey, baby! How are you doing?" Dad answers and the tap works just as it is supposed to.

"Hi, daddy! I'm good. I'm trying out a new program. So our conversation is being recorded and monitored."

"Ok, baby. We were just talking about you this morning. We hadn't heard from you in a couple days."

"I'm great daddy! I've just been working a little overtime for a project. I have to go now. I will call you tomorrow. Ok daddy?"

"Ok, baby! You be careful and don't work to the point of exhaustion. You start sleep walking when you do."

"Yes sir. I love you daddy!"

"I love you too, babygirl!" He hung up and I read everything on the screen.

"It worked!" I yelled to the room with a huge smile.

Everyone was looking at the screen. At the end of the conversation was the date, time, length of the call, and location of where both parties were.

I feel my eyes widen as I took a double take on the date and time. "Friday, nine a.m.? That has to be wrong! It is Thursday evening." I look at Tanner.

"It is Friday morning, nerd. When was the last time that you left this office?"

"Not since I came in Wednesday morning." His eyes widened in shock. "I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me! I lost track of time."

"We will discuss this later. General Sanders, Captain Marquez, do you have any questions for Sargent Adamson?"

"Where is the data on the process? I will also need the tap." Marquez said.

I closed everything out on my computer and handed him the thumb-drive. "This is the process and the program that will translate any foreign language. Here is the tap. It is good for up to three hundred feet." I handed him the small tap that was the size of a quarter. I had put it in a box. I took my phone off of the server that the tap is on. I don't want anyone knowing everything that I say on the phone.

"Job well done, Adamson! You go home and eat and sleep. Be in my office at nine hundred Monday. Enjoy your weekend."

We all saluted Sanders and Marquez as they left. The remaining guys face me. They are all upset with me. "Sorry!" I say in a small voice.

"Where was Thermo since Wednesday?"

"He brought me lunch from Mc Donald's Wednesday. After that, I don't know." I sat in my desk chair, no longer able to hold myself up.

"What else do you need to do before leaving for the weekend?" Granger asked.

"Lock my office up." I lay my head back and close my eyes.

********************

Switches to Tanner's pov ****

"I'll lock up the office. Decker, hand me her briefcase. Granger, call Thermo and find out why he was derelict in his duty. Tell him that he better hide until I calm down. We're gonna stop and get her something to drink and eat. Then going to the lake house. She will relax all weekend. So no unit there tomorrow. Decker, call Slice and have him meet me at the house. I need him to check nerd over. She worked for around fifty fuckin hours! That is totally unacceptable!" I need to calm down before getting behind the wheel. If I wreck us because of my temper, it wouldn't do any good for anyone. I look at Bethany. She is sound asleep!

"Can one of you drive her truck to the lake?"

"You got it! Do you know where her keys are?" Decker asked.

I looked in her desk drawer, nothing. I look in her briefcase. There they are. I handed them to Decker. I sling the long handle of her case over my shoulder. Then I pick Bethany up and hold her close as we leave her office. Granger pulls her door shut and checks to make sure it is locked. I walk towards the front door of the main lobby. The lieutenant at the front desk looked at us suspiciously. "Sargent Adamson is off duty for the weekend. She worked for fifty hours straight. Now she is asleep and going home. Let any calls go to her voice-mail."

"Yes sir!"

I put Bethany into my front seat when Decker opened the door. "I'll stop at IHOP and pick up some food for her. You want anything?" Decker volunteered.

"I'm good. Just fuckin pissed that this happened. Fuckin Mc Donald's? She hates their food!"

"Everyone know that she does. Let me and Granger deal with that."

"Hey, Demo! Slice will be there in half an hour."

"We're gone. See you guys soon." I start my truck and drive away. With the love of my life sound asleep in my passenger seat. I hold her hand as I drive the twenty minutes. Granger is right behind me in his jeep.

We get Bethany into the house and I put her in the guest room next to mine. After slice leaves, I'll move her to my room.

"Thermo said that he forgot. He had a date and got caught up in her. I told him to hide because you were out to beat his ass. He wants me to tell you that he is sorry. So! Thermo is a sorry ass, immature, self- centered, idiot. There, now I've told you that he is sorry."

Decker shows up a few minutes later with food. Slice shows up about the same time as Decker. I show him to the room with Bethany after we told him what was going on.

"Well I can tell you now that she is probably perfectly healthy except for sleep and food deprived. But if you want me to look her over, I will."

"Just a quick check would put me at ease. Like vitals or something." I tell him.

"Lead the way." After checking her heart, breathing, pulse, and blood pressure, slice declared Beth healthy as a horse. Just dehydrated and exhausted.

"Thanks, slice! I feel better now." I told the medic as we walk down the stairs. "She's good, guys. Just needs to sleep and eat."

"Good!" Granger said relieved.

"Awesome news!" Decker replied.

I notice that they are both probably here for a while. Both have a glass of tea. Slice left and I went up to move Bethany into our room. I took her uniform off and put a t-shirt and shorts on her. Brian said that she sleepwalks in her exhausted sleep. I don't want the guys to see her goods if she does it while they are here.

I go back down. Granger tells me more about his conversation with Thermo.

Decker is almost as pissed as I am. My phone rings. "This is Tanner Cline." I answer General Sanders call.

"How is she?"

"She fell asleep seconds after you left with Marquez. Never even twitched when I carried here to the truck or house. I had her checked out. She is dehydrated and exhausted. So sleep and food are prescribed."

"Why did she work so hard? The tap was important, but to work that long without a break is dangerous."

"She gets wrapped up in complicated things and zones out everything else. We took turns in making sure that she ate and didn't work past twenty- three hundred. We were called out on a trip. I left Thermo on duty. He didn't do what he was supposed to. Adamson worked for at least fifty hours straight. That won't happen again!"

"Does Adamson have a passport? She's going to need it."

"I have already checked that out. It expires in seven years. So she's good on that."

"Good! Have her come into my office Wednesday at nine hundred instead of Monday. I want her take Monday and Tuesday off. We will leave the following Monday as planned. Any questions?"

"No questions, sir."

"Alright, have a good weekend and take care of Adamson." General Sanders told me. Then hung up without another word. I relate everything to the guys.

We hear a whimper a few hours later. I go to the stairs and see Bethany sitting at the top. I sit beside her. "Tanner?" She whispers. She sounds scared.

"I'm here baby! Tell me whats wrong and I'll fix it."

"I'm lost, Tanner. I don't know where I'm at." She whimpers. Tears are rolling down her face..

"You are at the lake house, baby. So you are safe. I've got you, sweetheart." I tell her. She is just staring straight ahead.

"She's still asleep." Decker said from the bottom of the stairs.

I nod. "Sweetheart, where are you trying to go?"

"I'm thirsty."

"Ok, sweetheart. I will show you the way, but first, I need you to open your eyes. You are still asleep. Can you wake up for me?" I pull her closer to me. Bethany lays her head on my shoulder... and snores.

After a couple minutes of her snores, I put her back to bed.

My phone rings with Brian Adamson's name. "This is Tanner."

"Tanner, this is Brian Adamson. Are you with Bethany?"

"Yes I am, Brian. She's asleep."

"How is it that she was working and not taking a break?"

I told him what happened and how we will spend the weekend with her relaxing until Wednesday. We made plans and ironed out some details.