Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Author's note: I know when I originally wrote Charley in I said "it's not a romance thing." I have no explanation for my actions … it just happened.

Planning Stages

By Suzie2b

Hitch took his coffee and walked up to the table Tully was sitting at in the mess hall. He looked over Tully's shoulder before he went around to sit across from him. "Checking out rings, I see."

Tully sighed as he flipped the catalog's page. "Yeah, we decided on plain gold bands. But finding ones we can afford is the hard part." He pointed to a picture. "Look at this. Matching gold bands will cost at least sixty dollars. That's more than I make in a month! Then there's the cost of having them shipped over here."

"Maybe Charley could help pay for them."

"As a volunteer she makes half of what I do. Besides, I don't want her to have to help pay for this."

Hitch thought for a second, then grinned. "Well then, why don't you buy local? I've seen some of the jewelry they make right here in Ras Tanura. They can get pretty intricate with the designs. I bet doing plain gold bands would be a snap for any one of those jewelers and they wouldn't cost as much."

Tully closed the catalog. "Yeah, you're right. And I won't have to pay postage."

Hitch continued to grin. "There ya go then. Problem solved. You and Charley pick a date yet?"

"We're going to talk about that when she gets back from this latest mission. She's going to be back some time tomorrow. And I have to find out what paperwork needs to be done." Tully drained the last of his coffee and looked at his watch. "We better get going. We need to make sure the jeeps are ready to go."

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The next morning Tully knocked on the door to the quarters Sergeants Troy and Moffitt shared. Troy pulled it open and Tully said, "Hi, sarge. Is Moffitt here?"

"Right here, Tully. What can I do for you?"

Troy stepped aside and let the private enter. Tully said, "Well, um … I need some help."

Troy asked, "Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Things are fine. It's just that Charley and I are getting ready to set a date."

Moffitt smiled. "Congratulations. What do you need help with?"

Tully sighed. "Rings."

Moffitt's eyebrows went up. "You need my help with rings?"

"We've decided on gold bands. Since she's out on a mission I was looking through a catalog she has, but I found out I can't really afford them on my military pay. Hitch suggested getting them made locally."

Troy smiled. "That's a good idea."

"Well, my Arabic is really limited." Tully looked at Moffitt again. "I was wondering if you would help me negotiate with one of the vendors."

Moffitt grinned. "Of course I'll help you. And I may just know the man to talk to."

Troy said, "Okay, get out of here. You've got two hours before we go out on patrol."

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Moffitt took Tully to a little shop on the edge of town. "Malik made a wonderful bracelet that I sent to my mother. It was at a very reasonable cost too." They walked in and Moffitt greeted the proprietor. "Греэтингс, Малик. И хаве броугхт ёу а поссибле сале."

Malik grinned as he stepped from behind his work bench. "Греэтингс то ёу, Сергеант Моффитт. Вхат цан И до фор ёу?"

Moffitt introduced Tully and explained what the private wanted. Malik nodded and smiled at Tully. They haggled back and forth on the price until they agreed on something that turned out to be slightly less than half of what Tully would have paid for the rings in the United States and had them shipped to North Africa.

Then Malik said, "И неед ринг сизес."

Moffitt translated, "He needs the ring sizes."

Tully smiled. "Yeah, guess that would help, wouldn't it." He pulled Charley's engagement ring out of his pocket. "With her hand in that cast, she can't wear it."

Malik took the ring and carefully measured it. He wrote the measurement down and handed the ring back to Tully. Malik then measured Tully's ring finger and noted it next to Charley's.

Tully asked, "How long will it take to make the rings?"

Moffitt translated and Malik replied, "Тво веекс ат мост."

Moffitt looked at Tully. "Two weeks at most."

Tully nodded. "Okay, I'll give him half the money now and the rest on delivery."

Moffitt relayed the information. Malik nodded and took the offered money as Tully said thank you. "Тханк ёу."

As they walked out of the shop, Tully sighed. "Thanks for the help, sarge. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore."

Moffitt grinned. "Glad to have been of assistance. How is Charley, by the way?"

"Her hand's healing well. Couple more weeks and the cast will come off. She's out on a mission."

"They let her go on a mission with a broken hand?"

Tully shrugged. "I didn't like it, but the doctor said it would be all right as long as it was a short trip and she's careful. She should be back today."

Moffitt checked the time. "We'd better get moving. Troy will have our heads if we're late."

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The jeeps pulled into the motor pool late in the afternoon. Troy got out and said, "Make sure these jeeps get in line to be serviced before tomorrow. Moffitt and I are going to give Boggs our report."

Hitch and Tully went and spoke with the sergeant in charge to make the proper arrangements. When they turned to leave, they saw Charley and Corporal Erikson pull in.

Charley got out, smiled and thanked the corporal, then caught sight of Hitch and Tully coming her way. She met them and slipped an arm around Tully. "Hi, guys. Just get back?"

Tully grinned and put his arm around her shoulders. "How'd you guess?"

"You smell like sweat and desert."

Hitch chuckled. "How was your first two days back to work?"

Charley smiled. "Pretty good. No major problems."

Tully asked, "So what were the problems that weren't major?"

"Had to take the long way 'round in both directions because of German patrols."

Tully asked Charley, "Hungry?" When she nodded, he looked at Hitch. "After she checks in we're going to get some dinner. Want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll go get a shower first. See ya later."

As Hitch headed off towards the barracks, Tully stopped, pulled Charley up on her toes, and kissed her soundly on the mouth. "Hi."

Charley laughed softly as they started walking again. "How was your day?"

Tully sighed. "Thankfully uneventful. Captain Boggs has us doing daily recons."

"Sounds exciting."

Tully chuckled, then said, "Hey, I got the rings ordered this morning."

Charley grinned. "How long will it take to get them?"

"About two weeks."

Charley frowned disapprovingly. "That's got to cost a fortune to get them here that quick."

Tully sighed. "Well, here's the thing. I was going through that catalog you left with me. I was getting discouraged by how much it was going to cost and Hitch suggested that I check into buying locally. Moffitt helped me out with his Arabic and Malik, the shop owner, is going to make 'em for us for less than it would have cost otherwise."

Charley hugged him as they started up the steps to headquarters. "My friend, my lover, my soon-to-be husband … and now a shrewd businessman. How do you do it?"

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At breakfast the next day, Charley told Tully, "I heard about a couple of apartments that are for rent in town. After my deliveries I thought I'd go take a look at them."

Tully shook his head. "Not by yourself. If Carl or one of the other guys can't go with you, wait for me to get back. We shouldn't be too late."

"You really think someone would bother me after what happened a few weeks ago?"

"Better safe than sorry." Tully saw Hitch, who waved to signal it was time to go. "Gotta go. Love you."

They kissed and Charley smiled. "Love you too." She finished her coffee and wondered where Carl might be. Then she headed for headquarters.

Inside she was humming softly as she put letters and documents in her satchel. When she didn't have a mission, Captain Boggs kept her busy making deliveries around the base.

As she was leaving, Charley happened to run into Carl. She smiled. "Hey, I was hoping I'd run into you. How are you feeling?"

Carl grinned. "A little sore yet, but gettin' better. How 'bout you?"

"Good." Charley held up her casted hand. "In a week and a half I get to lose this think."

"You need me for something?"

"I was wondering if you'd have time to come with me to look at a couple of apartments. Tully doesn't want me to go alone. It shouldn't take too long."

Carl shook his head. "Sorry. Can't this morning."

Charley said, "It wouldn't be until after lunch. I have deliveries this morning."

"Oh, well in that case. I'm free this afternoon."

"Great! Meet me for lunch around twelve-thirty?"

Carl grinned. "I'll be there."

The first apartment was located over a bar. It was smaller than her quarters were, unfurnished, filthy, and smelled rather … well, odd. The second one just happened to be over one of the cafés that Charley and Tully liked to go to from time to time. In fact, the owner recognized Charley and was concerned that she and Tully had broken up.

Charley assured them that all was well and Carl was just being a friend by escorting her while Tully was away. Lila, the owner's wife, showed them upstairs to a furnished one room apartment. It was small, but bigger than her quarters, and the bed was bigger than hers too. It was clean and smelled fresh. And best of all, since they would be the only ones living on the second floor, they would have the bathroom at the end of the hall to themselves. Charley was thrilled with her luck and left a deposit. "I'll bring Tully by later to look at it, but I'm sure he'll like it."

Charley met the jeeps at the motor pool. She was so excited she could barely stand still.

Tully looked at her and smiled as he said to Moffitt, "I bet she found an apartment."

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The following day, Tully went to talk to Captain Boggs. The news wasn't good and he dreaded telling Charley. It was midafternoon when he finally went to her quarters.

Charley answered the door with her usual smile, but it faded as she saw the look on Tully's face. As he stepped inside and she closed the door, she asked, "What's happened?"

Tully sighed. "I spoke to Captain Boggs about us getting married. About the paperwork and all." Charley nodded and he continued, "Um … there's a bit of a problem."

Charley's heart started pounding. "What … problem?"

Tully hesitated, then said, "According to regulations … if we get married, the army will ship me out to somewhere else. We won't be able to stay together."

Charley's face paled. "No … this has to be a cruel joke."

Tully led her to the bed and they sat down. "I'm sorry. I don't want to leave my unit, Charley. And I especially don't want to leave you." A tear slipped down her cheek and he pulled her into his arms as she began to sob. "We'll make it work, sweetheart. We can move into the apartment. We'll save the rings for when we are able to get married."