Written for the Forum XIIIc 26) Carter's Ring Challenge – Tuttle—to explain why Carter wears a wedding ring.

A/N: This story does not follow the premise set in my other Carter stories, regarding his age or his volunteer vs. draft status. He is not a code-talker in this story, either.

~HH~

Jan 1942

Fort Henderson, CA*

Eighteen-year-old Andrew Carter stirred in his sleep. He was warm and comfortable, and subconsciously, he really hoped his DI would forget to wake him up. Boot camp was difficult, and he relished any break he could get. He had not had much sleep ever since he had been drafted.

He cracked open his eyes, and groaned. He was not used to drinking, and he had never experienced a hangover until now. As a matter of fact, he could have gone the rest of his life without one…

The first thing that registered to him was that he was not in the barracks. He was in a large bed in what looked to be a hotel room. He lay there a moment, trying to remember how he had gotten there. He was startled when he rolled over and discovered a beautiful redhead sleeping soundly next to him. Confused, he reached over to wake her, and caught sight of his left hand. A gold band rested on his ring finger, looking for all the world as if it belonged there. The problem was, he had never seen it before. He sat up in bed and stared at the still-sleeping woman. At least, he didn't remember seeing it…

What had happened last night? He glanced down at himself. He was totally naked. He was not as naïve as his barracks-mates liked to think. He was a virgin, but he had made out with girls before. He knew the score. But he could not remember what had happened with the redhead, although it seemed fairly certain something had happened. He glanced over the side of the bed and spied his clothes. He grabbed his shorts and pulled them on, trying not to wake the girl. He wasn't ready to deal with her quite yet.

He wracked his brain, trying to remember the evening before. They had graduated from boot-camp three days ago, and they were waiting for their next orders. He had drawn guard duty on the two nights following graduation, and then received a three-day pass. He and several other soldiers had come into town late yesterday afternoon. Immediately, he had been swept up in the post-graduation celebrations, and had drunk way more alcohol than he had intended. His last clear memory was of his buddies challenging each other to a drinking game. And he had joined in. Apparently, sometime after that, he had met the girl now sleeping in his bed. He glanced over at her again. She stretched in her sleep, and he knew instantly that all her clothes were AWOL. He only hoped they were somewhere in the room.

He shook his head, considering his options. Dressing and leaving came to mind, but he dismissed the notion immediately. He was not that kind of man. If he had done something stupid, he was responsible. And winding up hungover in bed married to a woman he couldn't remember even meeting was definitely stupid.

His next thought was that perhaps his buddies were playing a prank on him….and he sincerely hoped that was the case. He realized he would never know if he didn't bite the bullet and wake the girl up. He turned back to her just as she stretched again and opened her eyes. She smiled, and leaned into him. She kissed him soundly and exclaimed, "Good morning, darling!" As she moved to put her arms around him, he saw she was also wearing a ring—a diamond ring. One that looked expensive. After extricating himself from her embrace, he reached for his wallet. At least that was still where it belonged, along with his military i.d. and his driver's license. He checked his cash…He had kept it with him, understanding there was no safe place in the barracks to leave it until he got to the bank. He had over two months' pay saved up, and had brought it with him to open an account in town. Nearly $100. All that was left was two one-dollar bills and a couple of quarters. He was broke. He found a receipt in his wallet for the rings. He gaped at the total. $84.50. And his signature was scrawled across the bottom of the receipt. Apparently, the owner of the jewelry store was taking no chances.

The girl had jumped out of bed, and headed into the bathroom. She seemed much more at ease with the situation than he was. Carter finished dressing and decided it was time to sit down with his…bride…and talk. He didn't even know her name. Oh, his mother was going to kill him! He rolled his eyes, realizing he was in a lot of trouble all the way around. Soldiers had to get permission from the Army to marry, after all!

He was working on tying his tie when the girl came back into the room. She sat on the edge of the bed staring at him. She had apparently stashed her clothes in the bathroom, because she was now dressed. He grabbed a chair from the corner of the room, and, turning it backwards, he sat down, folding his arms across the back of the chair, and returned her stare with his own blue-eyed gaze.

It was only at that point that she began to look flustered. She took a deep breath. "So…I guess we're really married, huh? By the way, I don't remember your name. Sorry about that."

Carter sighed. "It's okay. I can't remember your name, either. As a matter of fact, I can't remember much of anything about last night. My name is Andrew. Private Andrew Carter."

She looked at him more critically. Rather ungraciously, she frowned and said, "You're only a private? Terrific."

Now it was Andrew's turn to frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that I never pictured myself married to a private. That's all."

Andrew smirked. "That's okay, I never pictured myself married to anyone."

Her eyes widened. "Uhhh, you do—I mean, you do like girls, right?"

Andrew's own eyes widened as he caught her meaning, and his ears began to flame. "Of course, I like girls! I'm not like that!"

She held up her hands as if to fend him off. "Okay, I'm sorry! I just wanted to make sure!"

"Why would you even say that?"

"A girl can't be too careful, you know."

The absurdity of her statement seemed to hit them both at the same time. In moments, the two were laughing nearly hysterically. It took a few minutes for them to catch their breath.

Andrew sobered and stared at his new bride. "So, what is your name, anyway?"

~TBC~

A/N: *Fort Henderson is fictitious, and is a nod to Larry Hovis's role in "Gomer Pyle, USMC," Season One.