Disclaimer: I no own (Alex Rider or Traveling Soldier)
A/N: this is basically a response to my story How to Save a Life, I got a lot of reviews saying I should make it more of a story so here ya go
Alex had just turned eighteen, and you would think that MI6 would leave him alone. But they won't, and Alex sort of like the thrill of spying. This time he was headed into the eye of the hurricane. MI6 was sending him in undercover as a Vietnam soldier. He was a little nervous so he went to his favorite café and ordered a coffee. With Jack gone, he would have no one to write to so when this girl gave him a shy smile he figured she would be the one to go to.
Alex learned that she got off work in an hour and he met her at the pier, she had swapped her work uniform for a pretty sun dress that matched the bow in her hair.
"I'm leaving for the army tomorrow; can I send letters to you? I have no one, and you caught my eye" She nodded in silent agreement and they sat and talked for another hour before she had to go. Alex was sad that she had to go, but all good things must come to an end.
Dear Catherine, April 27, 2012
I am in California, do not worry for me. I miss you very much and wish I could see you smile again. Please do not worry for me for I shall one day return
From,
Alex Rider
Dear Catherine, May 4, 2012
I have made it to Vietnam, safely. I am scared to admit it but I think I am in love with you. Your letters are beacons of hope in this dank gloomy atmosphere. I fear that I will not be able to write for awhile. It is getting pretty rough over here, but when that happens I remember your pretty smile. I hope to see it again.
Love,
Alex Rider
Dear Catherine, June 9, 2012
I will soon be home, just not as you think. I will not see you for the longest time, and I am sorry. I love you so very much and hope you have a long wonderful life. Please don't forget me.
Love,
Alex Rider
The last note had made no sense to Catherine, until the football game the next week. She didn't normally go to football games but something told her that this one was special. The Lord's Prayer was said and the anthem was sung. And then the announcer came up with the microphone,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please bow your head for a list of local Vietnam dead." He rambled off a list but Catherine wasn't paying any attention. She was just praying that the name Alex Rider didn't show up on that list. It didn't, right as she was about to heave a sigh of relief something else came and struck her cold. "And now will you please give a moment of silence for one of the bravest men, ever Alex Rider, who went undercover inside the Vietnam lines, to save our country. He was sadly captured and tortured and died for this country may he rest in peace."
All the sudden the last letter made sense to her. He was coming home, but not to her. He was coming home to be buried, and he won't see her until her death. This was going to come a whole lot sooner than he had imagined. Don't worry Alex, I won't forget you.
Catherine tore out of the stadium and ran to her car, she drove to her house and grabbed a bottle of pills swallowing a handful of them dry. As consciousness, leaked away from her, her last thought was 'here I come Alex. We can finally be together'
Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,
I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you
Chorus: I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home
So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
[Chorus]
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
[Chorus x2]