I Can't Believe It
By: AliasCWN
"I can't believe she got hit. I should have been more careful."
"It's not your fault Tully, it could have happened to anyone." Mark Hitchcock tried to console his best friend.'
"But she was my responsibility. I was supposed to take care of her." Tully shook his head in disbelief. "You guys are alright though, right?"
"We're fine Tully." The blond assured him with a pat on his arm.
"Why did she have to get hit? Three bullets Hitch, she took three bullets!"
"I'm sorry Tully, I really am."
"I should have dodged quicker, I hesitated too long."
"You got out of there in time to keep you and Moffitt safe, that's what really counts." Hitch argued. "Sometimes you just have to take one for the team, this was just her turn."
"But this was her first time in combat Hitch! It's not supposed to happen this way." Tully looked positively heartbroken. "The Colonel isn't going to be very happy." Tully added in a lower voice.
"She's not finished Tully, she's just….. "Hitch searched for the right words. "Her beauty is marred but she's still a fighter."
"How can you say that? You saw what they did to her!"
"I did Tully, and I sympathize with her, but it's you and Moffitt that I really worry about." Hitch leaned closer to Tully as if distance affected his argument.
"I just can't believe she got hit. I didn't want anything to happen to her." He looked as if he thought that Hitch didn't really understand. "We were going to be together for a long time; I promised her."
Hitch made a face that he tried to hide from Tully. "It doesn't pay to make promises out here Tully, you know how hard they are to keep. Things happen fast, and we can't always control the way things go; her getting hit,… just as an example." Regretting his cavalier attitude, Hitch tried again to console Tully. "Look Tully, you did all that you could. She got hit three times, sure, but you got her out of there. She'll be fine,..just wait and see. You can try to be more careful the next time, I'm sure that she would appreciate that. I really don't think that she'll hold this against you. The next time out she'll do her job just like you'll do yours."
"I know that Hitch…It's just that I didn't want anything to happen to her." Tully repeated.
"Neither did I buddy, neither did I, but you'll both be fine. You can still work together. I'll trade you jeeps if that would make you feel any better."
"How would that make me feel better?" Tully asked indignantly.
"Just offering." Throwing his hands up in surrender, Hitch mentally took a step back; he didn't want to upset his best friend by pushing it too far.
"No, no thanks, I couldn't do that."
Hitch watched Tully sigh and lean back against the wheel of his jeep. There little campfire cast flickering lights across the planes of the other privates face. There was strain there, and unhappiness; all because of the small skirmish they had gotten into with a couple of German patrol cars. They'd won the fight, but it had taken a toll on Tully more so than on the others.
"We'll get her patched up good as new Tully."
"Won't be the same." The ex-moonshine runner from Kentucky groaned. "She'll never trust me again."
"Tully, don't you think you're getting a little too attached? After all, they come and go on a pretty regular basis around here."
Shaking his head in denial, Tully stared at Hitchcock as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Are you saying I shouldn't care, I should just let her take a bullet like it didn't matter?"
"Nooo…" Hitch drew the word out long while frantically trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't upset Tully. "I'm just saying that we can't afford to get too attached to any special one. We have to take care of the ones we have but at the same time we have to remember that none of them last forever."
"I understand," Tully nodded, apparently appeased by the logic, "but it still feels like I let her down."
Hitch nodded his solemn understanding, choosing to remain quiet rather than upset his friend any further. "Maybe you should try to get some sleep Tully, you've been awake for over twenty-four hours. Maybe things will look better after you get some rest." Hitch walked over to the jeep and got a blanket; handing it to Tully, he encouraged him to lie down.
"I'll sleep Hitch," Tully responded with a yawn, "but she'll still be the same in the morning."
"I know Tully, I know."
Sam Troy sat on the other side of the small fire and listened to the exchange in silence. He watched as Tully drifted off to sleep with Hitch watching over him. Once he was certain that Tully was asleep, Hitch stood up and picked up a rifle.
"I'm going to go relieve Moffitt on watch."
Troy nodded and watched his driver walk away. A small smile played over his lips as he remembered the conversation he had just heard. The smile was still on his face when Moffitt sat down next to him.
"What's so amusing?" The Brit asked curiously. "I could use a good laugh about now." He yawned widely and stretched his tired muscles.
Troy repeated what he could remember of the conversation between the two privates. By the time he finished, Moffitt was smiling from ear to ear.
"I know Tully was tired," Troy exclaimed, "but darn Jack, they were talking about a jeep!"