"I didn't even start," Bain said, surprising her. "She and I were looking for a blood type match, plus a couple of other factors she thought might help; when we finally found one she thought would be right, we put him straight under." He grinned. "Don't worry, though. He'll have to stay out while Sis takes what you need--we don't want to take any chances on damaging it--but once he wakes up, I'll make sure I get anything interesting. Unless you'd rather I save him for you?" Cortin returned the grin. "I shouldn't be greedy, and I do have something else to look forward to from him; you go ahead." "Thanks." Bain glanced at her, then obviously decided not to go on. Cortin hid a sigh. Having civilians apprehensive about her was one thing, but her men should feel free to ask or tell her anything. "What's the problem, Dave?" "It's not exactly a problem, ma'am . . . uh, Joan." "What, then?" Bain looked uncomfortable. "Uh . . . you're the first lady trooper I've been around, and . . ." "Oh." Yes, that explained his hesitation. "I've been the only woman on a team most of my career. I'm neither a virgin nor a prude, though I sometimes find it useful to pretend the latter around civilians. So spill it." Bain grinned in relief. "Right, Joan. Okay, then--Mike says that before the Brothers messed you up, you enjoyed using our dispensation whenever the opportunity offered. Nothing fancy, but not skimping anyone, either." "True," Cortin said, smiling. "I'm a firm believer in the basics, and God was generous enough to let me enjoy them in abundance. If He's merciful enough to let this work out, I'll do it again." "Just let us know what you want, and how much; we'll do our best to oblige." Bain grinned again. "Always a good idea to keep the CO happy, you know." Cortin couldn't help laughing, in spite of the pain. She knew that a commanding officer taking part in a team's sexual activity tended to have an extreme effect, one way or the other; it could tear the team apart, or it could weld it into near-unity. From watching hers work together, she was certain it would react positively, so she said, "And from my experience with other teams, I doubt you'll find at least that aspect overly disagreeable." "Or at all difficult," Bain agreed. "I'm looking forward to it, in fact." He gestured in a way that told her he was still unsure. "I've been with a lot of civ women, paid or curious about an Inquisitor, but they didn't--oh, hell!" "You're not the first one to tell me that," Cortin said drily. "I was lucky, always had enough willing troopers around I never had to go to a civ man--but I always got more out of Special Ops men. The emotional feel was better, even when physical things were the same." "You do understand, then." Bain's look was full of relief and something else she couldn't quite identify.