Siblings Lives SEALed Together

He just said "no, but I guess it would be nice to have one."

They finally left that store. Trish grinned at Brandon and said, "I guess this is kinda an expensive day for ya."

He replied, "Well apparently it was stuff I guess I was supposed to have had, so it's OK."

Somewhat emboldened, she headed him to Bed Bath and Beyond.

"What are we doing here? I thought all this was for the kitchen!" he groaned.

She smiled and said, "Well you need some towels, beach towels, and do we have any other sheets for the bed?" again checking to see his reaction to her using "we."

Looking perplexed he asked "no, why?"

She just grabbed his hand and said, "Well we need some."

After new sheets and more towels than he thought he would use in a year, she asked if she could pick up a couple of things for herself.

"Sure, I guess. What do you need?"

She picked up some bath oils, body wash, face wash, shampoos, conditioners, toothbrush holder, and soap dispensers. He was looking at her a little strangely so she spoke up "well if I get stuck out of my house again, it would be nice to have some stuff at your place. If you don't mind, I mean I can put it back..."

He cut her off, "No no no, that's fine, I just didn't realize what you were doing. It's OK, it's good."

She again hugged him tight and whispered "thank you" as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, lasting longer than the others. "Ok, one more stop, but I think you might like it."

"Really?" was his only reply.

"Yep, gonna pick out a bathing suit or two."

Brandon came back to life. "Alright! Do they have live models to demonstrate?"

She punched him in the arm. "No, and if they did, I sure wouldn't bring you, you'd be drooling all over everything!"

They headed to a nearby department store. Much to Brandon's dismay, she shooed him away while she looked for her suits. Almost whining he asked why he couldn't help her pick them out. She just said no and then asked how many people use the pool at his condo. He said it depends, holidays and summer weekends, it was pretty busy, weekdays and in the spring like now, not too many. She smiled and then told him to scram, he could see what she purchased later. As he was walking away, she said maybe he should get a suit. "Maybe a Speedo!"

He turned in time to see her blush and he replied "Are you kidding?"

She smiled back and thought, "not at all."

By midafternoon they were finally heading back. Brandon had dropped some serious change on stuff he didn't think he needed, hadn't really wanted and probably would use most of it. However, Trish was happy and that was all that mattered to him. Once he got all her purchases inside, she said they should change to go swim.

She went to the spare bedroom to change. While in there she saw several pictures of Brandon. His boot camp photo, one from BUD/S graduation, one on completion of SEAL training in his dress uniform proudly wearing his new Trident. She could see the evolution in his appearance as he filled out and matured. Next were various photos from what she assumed were missions he had been on. Groups of guys, arms around shoulders, drinking beer, hamming it up. A picture of them ready to jump out of a plane, one in scuba gear and other similar type pictures.

A couple pictures however, caused her to pause. One looked like it was a picture from an actual patrol. It looked like a jungle area. He was wearing camo face paint, a boonie hat and body armor with his gun ready at his chest. The other was several team members walking from a helicopter. They were dirty had all their gear on and looked tired, but it was the look on his face, his eyes that startled her. A look she had never seen before. Nothing like the brother she knew and loved. Dark, focused, fearless, deadly, but more, something that she couldn't put her finger on or identify. It almost scared her. She knew she did not want to see that look in his eyes, ever.

She quickly changed into her new light blue bikini, and nervously stepped out of the room. Brand was waiting in the living room. He turned toward her when he heard her open the door. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open for a second.

"Wow, you look, amazing!" She blushed a little and mumbled her thanks. She had grabbed a tee shirt and slipped it on before they headed to the pool.

It was warm and sunny, but the water was pretty cool. That didn't seem to faze Brandon as he dove in and swam laps under water. Coming up for air he told her, "It's a hell of a lot warmer than Coronado where we trained".

Trish mainly laid in the sun. She noticed that Brandon's glances in her direction were getting longer and longer, Brandon had been right, no one else was there and she was glad because Brandon's staring at her had caused her nipples to noticeably stand out.

After a couple hours, Trish got a text from Jill, asking how she was, and did they want to go get something to eat? They agreed to meet for pizza and beer. They went back, showered and changed. Trish still need some clothes so she texted Jill to bring her some. As they were leaving, Brandon grabbed a pager.

"What is that?" Trish asked.

"My alert pager. If they call an alert, we have to go. Could be a drill, could be an unscheduled training exercise, could be the real deal. We never know 'till we get there."

He seemed pretty matter of fact about it, but Trish realized there was going to be a lot more to being with Brandon, if that happened, and she was desperately hoping it would, than the usual guy-girl issues.

As they headed to meet Jill and Derrick, it began to rain with lightening in the distance. "I hope it doesn't storm. You remember how much I hate storms." Brandon chucked and nodded.

The pizza was good and so was the company. Trish teased Jill that she looked awful tired, "You guys must have talked, a lot!"

Brandon burst out laughing, Jill blushed a little and Derrick looked puzzled. Brandon told Derrick that he would tell him later as Jill leaned over and whispered in Trish's ear. It was Trish's turn to blush a deep red.

"NO!"

Jill leaned back smugly, arched an eyebrow "really?"

Trish stammered, "no, a, no, NO!"

The look on the guy's faces showed that they obviously had no idea what had been said.

Jill smiled at her best friend broadly and said,

"Oookaay...Well I think Derrick needs to take me back, we have some more to, talk about. If that's OK with you?"

Brandon chuckled and Derrick was up and ready to get Jill back to her place.

There were peals of thunder as they drove back.

"So what did Jill want to know?"

Trish blushed again and said, "She was just teasing me. I really hope it doesn't storm any worse." Being serious and trying to change the subject.

"I think we're going to get some pretty strong thunderstorms tonight." he replied.

They got in the door just as it started to pour rain. The thunder grew louder and the lightening increased. Trish told Brandon she was going to change for bed. Trish took the clothes Jill had packed for her. She found a few pair of panties, a couple pair of shorts, a halter top, blouse, a yellow summer dress, and a couple of old tee shirts that she had since she was a kid and now wore to bed at night.

On the tee shirts was a note "not that you'll actually be putting these on."

She smiled and put on a tee shirt. She wondered if it was too thin, her nipples were sticking out noticeably and it didn't cover her panties. She decided to go ahead and see what happened. She went out to find Brandon on the couch watching TV. She sat beside him, saw him glance at her, then do a double take. He quickly jerked his head back to the TV and clearing his throat said,

"I thought I would catch the news and see what the weather is supposed to do."

The forecast was for storms most of the night and then clear by morning. Trish said she was going to bed.

Brandon said, "Help yourself to the bed, I'll sleep here on the couch again."

At that moment there was a huge clap of thunder and the room was illuminated by a brilliant flash of light from lightening nearby. Trish jumped into Brandon's lap, burying her face in his shoulder.

Brandon was very aware of her amazing body through the thin material of her tee shirt. She was shaking slightly, but she felt good.

She looked at Brandon and quietly asked if he would sleep with her.

He hesitated. He was wondering if he could control himself if he was in bed with her. He remembered the feel and sight of her in bed this morning, the way she looked in her bikini at the pool, and now she was in his lap with only the thinnest material separating him from her incredible body.

Again, part of his brain was screaming, "This is a BAD idea, Do NOT do it!"

There was another thunder clap as rain pounded against the windows. Trish jumped again and looked at Brandon with a tear in her eye. He caved.

He nodded slowly like a prisoner accepting his sentence. Trish put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. She then gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. Pulling back slightly, she whispered in his ear softly, "Thank you." She stood, reached down and took his hand and they walked back to the bedroom as the storm continued to rage.

As they walked, Brandon prayed for the strength to not do something stupid. Then he wondered if that would be to DO something with her, or NOT to. He slipped off his clothes leaving his boxers on and slid into bed, Trish snuggled into him. She sighed and quietly said how much fun today had been.

Brandon chuckled "You must not get out much." She slapped his arm lightly,

"No, I mean, just being with you and doing things together. I'd forgotten how much I always liked that. I love you."

Another large clap of thunder caused her to jump. Brandon as he had done so many times before, held her in his arms and gently stroked her hair, saying, "It's OK, you safe now...I love you too."

They both drifted off to sleep. Brandon's sleep was not good. His emotional turmoil over his feelings for his sister jumbled together into nightmarish visions. He remembered glimpses of their childhood. The look of hurt in her face the night he left home. Then they were standing in the front of a church, with thousands of people watching. Some laughing, some pointing at them, others shaking their heads in disgust. She was wearing a wedding gown and her mother was screaming at Brandon, "you bastard, get out!" Next he was back in a jungle. A pregnant Trish was there with several small children standing in the open as a firefight raged around them. He called out, but no sound came out of his mouth. He tried to run to her, but he could not move. Then she was slapping him yelling "you're sick!" Suddenly he was alone. He then saw her in the distance smiling and waving to him. But she was moving away, getting smaller and smaller until she was gone and he was alone.

He jerked awake, covered in sweat, looked at the clock, 3 AM. The storm had passed with the thunder off in the distance. He looked down at Trish. She was sound asleep, a contented smile on her face. "God she is so beautiful" he thought.

"I wish I knew what to do. I can't hurt her, but I can't let her go either."

Normally he would talk to Derrick over a few beers and they would hash it out. He was like the brother he never had. But this was one topic he could not share. He would have to figure it out as he went, hoping he didn't step on a landmine in the process. He laid back down and finally fell back into restless sleep.

He heard a cheery, "Hi sleepy! I brought you some coffee, I was gonna fix you a big breakfast but we forgot to get any food yesterday."

He opened his eyes to see Trish's radiant smile. He felt groggy from his less than restful sleep.

"Wanna do something today?" she asked happily.

"Yeah, sure" he croaked, then sipped some coffee.

"Did you sleep OK? You woke me up once tossing and turning and muttering in your sleep. Bad dreams?"

He shrugged "sorta."

He needed to pee but did not want to stand up with his morning hard on, which she was not helping by sitting next to him looking so cute. Finally he told her he need to go to the bathroom. Glancing down at his lap she giggled and headed to the living room, exaggerating the sway of her hips as she left the room. After he took care of his morning routine, he dressed and went into the kitchen to get more coffee.

"OK, so what do you want to do today? Do you need to study? I would think you have finals sometime soon."

She smiled "Finals are a week or so off...Why don't you show me where you work? Then we can get some groceries."

He looked surprised, "You wanna go to the base?"

"Sure, I am curious where my big brother works." she replied.

A little later they were on their way. Brandon pulled up to the gate and a Marine guard came over. Brandon showed his Id. The guard looked at Trish and said

"Miss, I need your Id."

She leaned over and said "I'm his girlfriend."

Brandon slowly turned his head toward her with a surprised look on his face.

The guard replied, "That's nice Miss but I need a photo Id."

Trish suddenly realized someone was about to find out they had the same last name, were probably related, and she had just popped off she was his girlfriend. She fumbled in her purse, and Brandon smiled realizing what she had done. He saw her driver's license and grabbed it and handed it to the guard.

Trish's face went pale, the guard handed it back saying, "thank you Miss McCallum, have a nice day." and waved them on.

She slumped in the seat. "Oh my God, that could have been a disaster." she sighed.

Brandon chuckled, "Why?"

She snapped, "You know good and well why! This could've been bad. We are brother and sister and I told him I was your girlfriend. Everyone thinks we are a couple anyway."

Brandon looked surprised at her last comment since they had only been together for a couple of days and hadn't really seen anyone other than Derrick and Jill. He pulled into a parking area and said,

"I don't think there is anything to worry about, we aren't related. Let's go for a walk."

Trish stared at him like he had lost his mind, "What the hell are you talking about, you're my brother!" Then glanced around to make sure no one had heard her.

He chuckled again, took her hand and they started off. He showed her as much of the base as he could, then they headed toward an isolated area he knew. After making sure they were alone, he began.

"When I left home, I intended to enlist, but since I was seventeen and had not finished high school, that wasn't going to happen. I called a recruiter and he said if I had my parents' permission, I could enlist. So I was shut down again. I knew I would have to wait until I was eighteen. Since I had pretty good grades, I wasn't too worried about getting a GED. I knew your mother didn't want me back, but I wasn't sure if she would try to mess up my enlisting if she could. So, I thought I needed new papers. I met a guy, who knew a guy," He smiled at the cliché "and we talked. I liked him and sorta spilled my guts on why I needed a new identity. He told me he had left home as a teen because his old man used to beat him. Anyway, he said he liked me and would help me in exchange for some minor odds and ends work he needed done."

Trish looked concerned, "what kinda odds and ends?"

Brandon said "I don't think I should tell you, let's just say I am glad I didn't get caught. Anyway, he took my birth certificate and driver's license, made a few minor touch ups and, the new me was born."

Trish was stunned, "what did he do?"

Brandon smiled," Well, Brandon David McCallum does not exist, Brandon David McCallun does. Add a digit to my birthday changing it from four to fourteen, changing your mother's maiden name from Roberts to Robertson. Add a digit to her birthday. Change Dad's name to McCallun, and alter his birthday, change their places of birth and a new, not too easily traceable identity is born. When I enlisted, if your mother had reported me, no record of such a person enlisting or attempting to enlist exists. So as far as almost all the world knows, we are two unrelated people with very similar names." Brandon looked quite proud of his efforts,

Trish was still stunned. "Wow, you put a lot of thought and work into that."

He shrugged, "I had a lot of time to kill until I was eighteen. You wanna head out and grab something to eat, then we can go get some groceries if you want."

They walked silently back to the car hand in hand. Trish was mulling over what he had just told her.

As they drove, Brandon kept glancing at her. "You OK?"

She nodded, still not saying anything. She was thinking that if things moved forward with her and Brandon as she was hoping they would, his attempt to prevent their mother from interfering with his Navy plans could make some things easier. They wouldn't have to be careful about letting people know their last names. Yes they still looked similar, definitely not like twins, and they would have to be careful about talking about their childhood, but she doubted Brandon ever talked about that anyway. This was looking like it could be a good thing.

They went to a little restaurant with some outdoor seating to get something to eat. Finally Trish spoke up, seeming to be back to her old self.

"So what is you week like?"

He told her it varied, a lot of prep and training for an upcoming deployment in a couple of months. He said they had been doing a lot of joint exercises, mainly with the British Special Forces so he was suspecting that might be a part of their next deployment.

After they finished they headed to a grocery store. They had a good time getting supplies for them. He told her to get whatever food and snacks she liked so there would be stuff for her when she was around. She picked up some "essential" grocery items as well as items she needed to make his "Thank you" dinner, which he kept insisting she didn't need to do.

"What's the matter, don't you think I can cook?" She grinned at him.

He just shrugged saying "I bet it will be better than most of our MREs," and walked on.

It took her a few seconds to realize what he had just said. She called out, "Hey!" When he turned to look at her, she stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and continued on.

She made him pick up some wine to go with their meal. and finally they headed back. It was late afternoon when they arrived. After putting things away, she said she would fix his dinner that coming weekend. He told her he would be out on a training exercise most of the week, He would leave early Tuesday morning and be back Friday. Trish looked disappointed,

"Oh, I was kinda hoping to come over and hang out some this week after class."

He told her she could come over whenever she wanted.

"But you won't be here, how could I just come over?"

He went to a drawer and took out a key. "Here you go. Now you can come and go whenever you want."

She looked puzzled "What's this for?"

He smiled, "It a spare key to the place. It's yours, come and go when you want. Just, no guys here with you!"

She stammered, "I, I can't do that, I mean, what if, if YOU have someone here? That would be awkward and embarrassing."

The thought he might have another girl here was an unpleasant idea, to say the least, for her.

He laughed, "That ain't happening"

She frowned, "I don't know, I mean, what if your old roommate shows up?"

He shrugged, "So?"

Looking exasperated "Well, you two, I mean you must have been... you know..."

He smiled, "She's gone, there never really was anything there. After this amount of time, I bet she wouldn't even remember me."

Smiling widely she replied. "Yeah right!...Well if you are sure it's OK, and I won't bother you, then, OK."