<em>- Bo in lounge taking the list of questions next -</em><br/><br/>While the others wrote their questions, Bo sipped his scotch, enjoying the warm glow of the fire.  The soft light played over Nicci's hair and reflected gently off her bare shoulders.  Sitting above and just behind her, he couldn't help but notice.  Bo found himself smiling at Vince's display of concentration, his tongue sticking out ever so slightly between his lips.  It was an affectation that Bo's own brother fell victim to quite often, never seeming to be able to separate the moment of intense focus from the muscle that poked ones tongue forward.  As Mari set the pad on her leg to write, Bo's eyes drifted casually down her calf to her slim ankle, the tanned tint of her skin glowing warmly in the firelight was like a flame calling the moth.  At the moment, Bo felt his eyes must have wings to follow.  Suddenly she lifted the pad to Mila, flashing a smile that both broke the spell that her carefully crafted legs had created, and touched Bo in a deeper manner.  The smile a gateway to her soul, and an anchor to his heart.<br/><br/>Marcus was next, and seemed to be rather pleased with what he was writing.  Bo could only presume that he had decided to be clever, or funny, with his questions.  Bo was glad that Marcus decided to go first, as it hadn't been predetermined.  That would give him some extra time to relax with the robust scotch in his hand, the warm fire to his side, and the lovely Nicci at his feet while giving him a preview of the questions in full.  As Marcus began to read the questions aloud, Bo let his fingers trail slowly up Nicci's spine, lifting her hair as his hand rose to rest casually in the little curve of her neck where it met her shoulder.  He smiled down at her warmly, content to let his hand rest there, his thumb gently kneeding her taunt flesh in a small, slow circle.<br/><br/>Bo found himself chuckling at some of Marcus's answers, as well as appreciating the character that he displayed.  It was easy to feel the bond immediately in his first answer, as Bo too grew up with a strong bond with his mother.  The most difficult part in listening to Marcus was in not taking the time to think of his own answers.  Bo really wanted to listen carefully to what each person had to say without the little tickle in the back of his mind trying to convince him that he needed to think of some answers too.  So when Marcus asked who wanted to go next, Bo jumped at the opportunity to get his out of the way so that he could focus on the others.  He gave Nicci's shoulder a gentle squeeze and set the glass of scotch on the small table beside him before standing and taking a leaning step toward Marcus, his hand out to take the offered stack of papers.<br/><br/>"I'll volunteer to go next, if nobody objects," he spoke with a lighthearted smile as he stepped back to his seat, papers in hand, and a quick glance around to see if anyone really did seem to want to go next.  Though as he suspected, the others seemed pleased to be let off the hook for the moment.  So he got down to the business of rereading the questions quietly to himself, as he considered.<br/><br/>"Well, my childhood hero is an easy one, so I'll start there," Bo began with a wistful look, as he leaned back in his chair.  "Lieutenant Anthony Davis, or "Scrappy" as he was known.  He was a friend of the family's growing up and a neighbor.  Though I loved my mother very much, and admired my father's service, it was Lt. Davis who set my direction in life.  He spent most of his life serving in the Navy, and was a former SEAL himself, being a member of one of the first UDT units in Vietnam.  He's the one that encouraged me, and even helped to develop my fitness level so that I could follow that path myself."  He glanced around at the others to judge their reactions.  Most people he met had some preconceived notions of what a SEAL was, and often judged him based on that.  He hadn't quite told them that he was one, but the hint was fairly obvious, so he searched their faces for just a moment.  Finding nothing but interest in what he had to say, Bo continued with a small smile forming on his lips, "Three words to describe me.  I'm sure my teammates would have a few different words, but mine would be Integrity, Honor, and Commitment.  At least, those are the ones I would aspire to being known by."  He paused for just a moment, recognizing his own questions, and wanting to keep his own answers to them vague so as to not lead any of the others'.  "Lying is not in my character, so I would find that very difficult.  As a Navy man, I would stay with the ship as well."  He paused again, considering answering as Marcus had just to keep it vague, but he also didn't want to create a pattern for the others to follow unthinkingly.  "My best friend, I would send on in the raft with messages for all of my loved ones should I not make it.  My soul mate, well, that would be more difficult.  I would give her a chance to state her desires, then ultimately decide to keep her with me if she expressed a need to do so.  If only one vessel survived, then at least one of them would as well."  Having passed the hurdle of his own questions, he moved on.<br/><br/>"Unnecessary suffering makes me angry, as I've seen too much of it." He resisted the urge of his mind to wander this time and trudged forward. "Many things make me afraid.  I've been scared witless more times than I'd liked to recall, to be sure, but those are the moments that remind you that you're alive.  And the taste for life that you have once they pass almost makes the fear worthwhile."  Bo chuckled to himself when he got to the next question, with a suspicious glance to Marcus.  "If I really wanted to creep people out in an elevator, I'd stand with my back to the door, rocking back and forth on my feet, staring at the ceiling, slowly doing a countdown from 10.  Possibly with one hand down the front of my trousers, and twitching the muscles in my face violently after every number.  A little drool would help too, if I could manage it."  He shook his head at the ridiculousness of it.  "Oh well, a tongue exploring another body."  His mind went immediately to the three women in the room.  "Warm, soft, moist, delicious, and enticingly textured."<br/><br/>Bo glanced to the man to his right, Vince.  It was difficult to imagine what he would say to Vince if he knew him better, and after their earlier exchange Bo wasn't comfortable trying to be funny.  There was no telling how that might be taken.  He decided to go for just what he was thinking in that moment, "if I knew Vince better or not, I will tell him that I think he is an admirable guy with a lot of really great qualities."  Letting the sincerity of his words settle a moment, he went on, smiling once again.  "The color of a smile.  Well it depends on whose smile, now doesn't it.  A beautiful, enticing woman's is most definitely red, waving like a matador's cape, luring me, urging me to paw the ground in anticipation.  Though I might not be quite so obvious as to paw the ground."  He chuckled lightly, subtly sliding his hand back onto Nicci's shoulder.<br/><br/>Bo's face screwed up slightly as he considered the next question.  Sexual nature was a bit vague, and though he had heard Marcus's answer, he still wasn't quite sure what to say.  "Well, I'll skip to the last one and come back, uh, my favorite childhood memory.  There are so many, most involve my family in one way or another.  My dad took me hunting many times, from as early as I can recall.  But it wasn't until my ninth birthday that he felt I was big enough to handle a real hunting rifle.  That morning, after all my other gifts had been open and the cake had been tasted, he got up from the kitchen table and told me to follow him.  Just me.  We went out to his truck, and from behind the seats he pulled out a gun case.  Inside was a beautiful hunting rifle, a Remington .308, complete with scope.  I turned it over and over in my hands, gawking over each little detail.  Being a man of few words, he said simply, 'It's yours son.  Hop in.'  And I did.  I killed my first deer that day.  Gutted and cleaned it where it lay, and drug it through the woods back to the truck with my new gun slung over my shoulder and my dad walking ahead looking every much as proud as I felt."  Breaking from his reverie a moment, Bo looked around the room, realizing that everyone might not appreciate that image.  "Sorry if that was too graphic.  Got lost in the memory a moment."  He cleared his throat lightly, "well, my sexual nature.  I'm a man that needs to feel something for the woman that I'm with.  There were times when that wasn't true, but I always felt regret afterwards, and made efforts to avoid putting myself in those situations.  That connection is important for me."<br/><br/>As he finished, he was acutely aware of the sound of the fire, and the others watching him.  Some he could tell were thinking of the answers that they would give, or perhaps considering what he had revealed about himself.  Nicci was looking up at him and his gaze met hers.  He gave her a questioning look, a slight rise of his eyebrows and tilt of his head to which Nicci simply smiled and nodded ever so slightly.  "Nicci, if you'd like to do the honors of going next, it will be wonderful to hear your answers," he spoke softly, but loud enough for all to hear.  The questions, he slipped into the hand she offered.