In preparation for making a serious effort to get on with this story continuum, I actually put Falling in Love with a Lie through its paces. Beta extraordinaire, JackieJacks, took on the challenge despite the fact that this is not a fandom with which she is familiar. So, any characterization issues you have are all me. However, JackieJacks helped me to improve upon the underlying story. BIG THANKS to a wonderful beta and an even better friend!
There are no major changes to the basic story line, but there are a couple of additional scenes and some existing scenes that I rewrote whole-sale. The story is split into more normal-sized chapters. Most significantly, I have changed the rating to mature and added in the intimate scenes that I cut in the earlier version posted here. If you liked it before, you should find it basically the same, but hopefully better.
So if you've read the story before, I hope you like the changes. If you're a new reader, I hope you'll enjoy. Either way, please leave me a note and let me know how I did.
Happy reading!
The Meeting
"We're in luck, Murdock. Viola's with this group."
Captain HM 'Howlin' Mad' Murdock shook out of his semi-comatose state as his best friend, Lieutenant Templeton 'Faceman' Peck, grabbed his arm and pointed up to the stage.
Murdock followed Face's gaze to where several pretty, young, female members of the USO tour that had arrived that morning stood. Unfortunately, he had no clue which young woman he was supposed to be looking at. The truth was he didn't even really remember walking from the airfield to the stage at Nha Trang Military Base in Vietnam. He yawned.
Face gave his arm an exasperated thump. "Jesus, Murdock, wake up. You know how it is when these girls come on base. If we don't lay claim now, we're going to become part of the rabble. Of course, with Vi here, that gives us a leg up. Am I happy to see her."
Murdock grunted in response, too tired to plot Face's next sexual conquest. Colonel Vickers, his Aviation CO, had had him running ops until the wee hours of the morning. Then as he was dropping into bed Colonel Smith, his Special Forces CO, had called an impromptu briefing and they had completed a recon sweep for their next mission.
It was late afternoon when he had finally wrapped up everything with the bird. Then Face had shown up and dragged him to the stage. His friend hadn't even give him a chance to change out of his flight suit.
"Vi is the woman of my dreams, Murdock. I'm telling you, buddy, Viola is like the embodiment of the free love movement."
Stifling another yawn, Murdock muttered, "Free love, huh? Seems to me you ain't ever short on free love, Faceman."
Face's smile was a strange combination of dreamy and lewd. "Vi is all about the sexual act as a natural part of human interaction... and man, is she a natural."
While Face jogged toward the stage, Murdock dragged himself after, shaking his head at the kid-at-Christmas excitement of his friend. A shapely young woman with dark brown curls wearing a brightly colored, low-cut shirt and white short shorts screeched when she caught sight of him. Leaping off the stage, she ran to Face and wrapped around him. Murdock smirked. If he'd been guaranteed a greeting like that he'd be excited, too.
Face's grin was broad as he swung her around. "Hey, Vi! What a great surprise."
"My favorite soldier." She gave him a warm, open-mouthed kiss before releasing him. "It's been a while since I saw you. I figured for sure you'd have scammed your way stateside by now."
"You know, Face, she's right. Why haven't you scammed yourself a ticket home?" Murdock asked.
"Well, hello there." Stepping past Face, the perky woman tilted her head to the side, gaze blatantly appraising. "You gonna introduce me to your tall, handsome friend here, Templeton?"
"Viola Greene, meet Captain HM Murdock. Murdock, Vi."
Taking Murdock's right hand in both of hers, she said "Nice to meet you." She ran her thumbs over the back of his hand. "Large, strong – very nice. What do you do with these hands, HM?"
Murdock shifted under her gaze. "I fly."
Her smile was suggestive as she took a step closer. "I'd love to have you take me up sometime."
Face inserted himself between Murdock and Vi, taking her hands.
"Down girl, he's not your type. I've been working on him, but he's still kind of an old-fashioned guy."
"Old-fashioned, huh? Pity." Vi smiled at Murdock coyly and winked, then turned her attention back to Face. "So, how much longer are you in country?"
"Who knows? I lose track."
An amused snort was interrupted by another yawn, forcing Murdock to cover his mouth. Face knew how much time he had – they all did. In fact, Face had signed on for another year in this hell-hole just last month. He shook his head to clear the gathering cobwebs. It bothered him that he understood why; after extending his first tour, he had signed up for a voluntary second tour himself. Murdock liked working with Smith's team. It had been a long while since he felt like he belonged anywhere.
"Hey, Murdock."
Zoned out, it took him a few seconds to focus. When Murdock looked up, Face was motioning to him from up on stage. He jumped up to join him just as Vi took the arm of the woman sitting at the piano and pulled her to her feet.
"Captain HM Murdock, old-fashioned guy, meet Sheila Downey, old-fashioned gal. She just joined us in Saigon. She's new in country. Originally from the great state of Texas, just like you."
Petite at over a foot shorter than him, with a mop of honey-gold hair that framed a broad, expressive face, the woman next to Vi took Murdock's breath away. Her full lips were curved up in a smile that could've lit a night sky. But what really caught his attention were the large, wide-set eyes, the color of the sky he loved so much.
Sheila held out a hand and he took it, admiring the firm, confident grip. "It's nice to meet you, Captain Murdock."
He hoped like hell the smile on his face wasn't as goofy as it felt. "Murdock, um, you can just call me Murdock."
"Murdock, please, call me Sheila."
He nodded and couldn't seem to stop grinning at her like an idiot. Then he realized he was still holding her hand and released it abruptly.
"S-sorry about that."
Face sniggered. "Don't mind him, Sheila. Murdock's just captivated by the scenery."
Eyes widening, Murdock protested, "I'm kind of out of it. I was in the air all night." He considered Sheila's inscrutable expression, and added repentantly, "Really, I'm not usually this slow."
"Man, that's the truth. Usually he's totally manic. You just aren't catching him at his best," Face said.
A warm smile appeared on her face, accompanied by a low chuckle. "Well, I guess maybe we should try this again after you've gotten some sleep."
"We'll definitely have to do that." Murdock felt himself relax, smiling at Sheila fondly.
"Man, there goes my hopes for a new conquest this evening. Guess I'll just have to make do with you, Temp." Vi sighed and took hold of Face's arm possessively.
Obviously happy to have Vi hanging off his arm, Face didn't seem sure what to make of what she'd just said. Murdock couldn't help but laugh.
"Face as the booby prize - now there's a switch for ya."
Face gave him a withering look before turning his most dazzling smile on Vi. "So, are you girls busy tonight?"
Sheila opened her mouth, but Vi cut her off.
"Absolutely not. What did you have in mind?"
mmm
It was a chore getting her reluctant roomy to dinner with the guys. Viola sat next to Face and staked her claim. Though Sheila sat next to the pilot, she seemed a bit standoffish, especially at first. She also kept pretty quiet. Vi blamed that on herself – she hadn't given Sheila a chance to back out of the date or she probably would have. After all, she'd refused every double dating opportunity Vi had offered over the last month.
As it ended up, Vi didn't talk a whole lot either. The two men were obviously good friends, and they played off each other like a practiced comedy team. They took turns telling amusing stories, each one more fantastic than the last. Murdock's zany sense of humor seemed to drive Face kind of nuts, and the interaction between them was entertaining. Sheila even loosened up and by the end of dinner, they were all cracking up. Parting ways at the mess hall entrance, they promised to meet later at a nearby bar.
Vi grabbed Sheila by the arm as they walked toward their tent. "Those two are hilarious."
"Yeah," Sheila said with a laugh. "It was like watching two of the stooges, only without the eye-poking and head-slapping."
"I think they came pretty close a couple times." Vi patted Sheila's arm. "I'm glad you came. I know you were nervous, but Murdock seems like a really nice guy."
Smile thoughtful, Sheila nodded agreement. "Yeah, he does seem really nice. I'm glad I came, too."
Vi grinned in triumph. She was finally making progress with her tight-laced roomy.
mmm
Murdock dropped onto his bunk and closed his eyes. Coffee had helped him make it through dinner, but the buzz had worn off pretty fast. He needed to sleep for at least a little while before they met the girls at the bar. Unfortunately, Face was in the mood to talk.
"So what do you think? Vi is hot, with a capital 'H.' I'm sorry you drew the short straw, bud. Maybe Sheila will liven up with a couple drinks in her."
Rolling onto his side, Murdock opened his eyes and looked at his friend.
"First of all, I believe Vi indicated she was the one who drew the short straw. And secondly, I think Sheila is nice, just a little... shy. I mean she just got in country and you know what a culture shock that can be."
"Vi did not draw the short straw."
Murdock grinned. "Neither did I."
Face shrugged. "Hopefully. I'm sure Sheila will be fine once she loosens up. I mean, she's Vi's roomy, she's gotta be an easy lay –"
"You know, Face, it's not all about getting laid."
"Yeah, yeah – I know, you're looking for what your grandparents had."
Murdock groaned, tired of having this conversation with Face.
"I'm not saying that Sheila is the one. But she's someone's daughter, and she deserves a certain amount of respect. You treat every woman like a walking vagina. They do have brains, Face."
"Whatever. I keep telling you that you should take what you can get. Sheila's only here for a few days, anyway. It's not like you're gonna forge a lifelong relationship with her. Screw her and move on. You can look for your soul mate once you're stateside."
"You don't look for your soul mate, Face, you just find them."
"I thought you didn't believe in God," Face said.
"I never said that…" Murdock's half-hearted denial trailed off into a yawn.
"Well the way you talk about love is the way some people talk about the hereafter…"
Half-listening to his friend, Murdock found himself remembering Sheila's eyes. Wide and sky-blue, they were probably her best feature. If eyes were the windows to the soul, then what he saw in hers told him she was worth getting to know. Face was still going and Murdock shrugged as he rolled to his back. Sometimes, it was kind of fun to get Face spun up.
"Then again, who knows, maybe Shelia could be the one. I'm certainly not one to ignore the possibility. I'm looking forward to getting to know her."
"I do hope you mean in the biblical sense. I really don't want a repeat of the Nurse Jensen incident..."
Murdock closed his eyes and tuned out the ensuing lecture. He'd heard it before anyway.
m
Face stopped mid-sentence when Murdock snored. He looked over at his sleeping friend in disgust. The pilot's romantic bent was a little hard for him to fathom. Murdock actually wanted to find a woman he could spend the next sixty years with. The thought made Face feel claustrophobic. Who in their right mind would voluntarily sign up for that?
He appreciated the irony of that thought. A lot of people would wonder the same thing about his choice to voluntarily re-up last month. Murdock understood the why – he had made the same choice just a few months ago, himself. Maybe Face should stop wondering why Murdock wasn't riding his shirt tails through the nursing corps and try to understand why he was so hell-bent on finding the woman of his dreams.
Laying back on his bunk, Face snickered to himself. No way.
mmm
Back at their quarters, Vi stripped down to nothing, then spent quite a bit of time picking what to wear, and almost as importantly what not to wear. By the time she had decided, she turned to find Sheila dressed and reading a book.
"You are not wearing that?"
Sheila looked up. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
The girl was so Midwest it wasn't funny. For a big city girl, she certainly didn't have much style; blue jeans and an unremarkable blue shirt with tennis shoes. Other than the color of the shirt, which complemented Sheila's eyes, the outfit was decidedly pedestrian. Her shy roomy obviously needed help and Vi was just the girl to give it.
Holding up a very short and stylish go-go dress, Vi said, "Sweetie, if you want to turn Murdock's head, you are going to have to get with the times and wear something like this. What you have on might be ok if you were headed to the barn to milk cows, but not for a night out on the town with a tall, handsome pilot."
She tossed the dress aside and turned to look in her closet again, certain that Sheila didn't have anything appropriate.
"You know, Sheila, you have great legs, you need to show 'em off in a mini. And you may not have a whole lot up top but that shirt really ain't doin' much for ya. We're about the same waist size, I'm sure I have something in here that will fit you."
"I don't know, Vi. I've never really been into the whole fashion scene."
Pulling out a blue jean miniskirt, Vi gave a satisfied nod. "You just let Viola fix you up, Sheila. I know what men like."
mmm
For at least the fourth time since they left their quarters, Sheila tugged down on the miniskirt and Vi sighed in exasperation. She was glad she had decided against the red sleeveless shirt with plunging neckline and opted for the more conservative electric blue spandex top. The color really highlighted Sheila's eyes and the snug fitting fabric hugged the few curves she had.
Sheila's fingers trailed along the hem of the mini, and then tugged on it again.
"Vi, it feels like my ass is hanging out of this thing. I'd really rather go back and put on my own clothes."
"If you do that, we'll be late. The guys are probably already waiting for us. C'mon, Sheila, trust me. Murdock is going to love it."
They walked into the bar a few minutes later. Vi waved at Face with a big smile, then sighed as Sheila tugged at the skirt again.
"Would you stop fidgeting with the damn skirt, Sheila. It's fine. Your ass is not hanging out." Any more than it's supposed to, she thought with a wry smile.
Putting her hands on the shorter woman's shoulders, Vi pushed her toward the table in the corner where Face and Murdock both stood waiting for them.
"Hi boys. I hope we didn't keep you waiting." Sidling up to Face, Vi gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Murdock held out a chair for Sheila, and Vi shot her a warning glare as she started tugging on the skirt again. Shrugging apologetically, Sheila sat down.
"What do you girls want to drink?" Face asked.
"I'll take a gin and tonic," Vi said. Worried that Sheila would ask for something embarrassing like a Shirley Temple, she added hastily, "So will Sheila."
Sheila flashed Vi an irritated glare and Murdock chuckled. "Stop putting words in her mouth, Vi. Whatcha want to drink, Sheila?"
Smiling gratefully at him, she said, "I'd like whiskey, please."
"I'll go get the drinks," Murdock said.
Sheila's eyes followed the pilot up to the bar and Vi had to stifle a laugh. She strayed a look herself and nodded appreciatively. At least the girl wasn't blind.
Face's arm slipped around her, his breath tickling her ear as he leaned in close.
"C'mon, Vi, quit playing me like that. No need to make me jealous by drooling over my best friend."
"I didn't think it was possible to make you jealous, Templeton."
Looking into his blue eyes, she heaved a dreamy sigh. Templeton Peck was one of the best-looking men she had ever met, from his carefully-groomed platinum hair, to his blue eyes and thousand watt smile, to his muscular physique – he had the whole package. As much as the captain's hands fascinated her, she knew she'd enjoy her night with the lieutenant.
Sheila could have the pilot.