I don't own any of the usual LOCI characters. I'm merely borrowing them and playing with them for a while. Thanks to DW. All of the other usual disclaimers apply.

CHAPTER ONE – THE USO DANCE

Germany, June, 1983

He walked into the Heidelberg USO with his CID colleagues, all in their Army mess greens, shoes shined, hats in hand, and eager to meet women, something they hadn't been able to do properly since their arrival in January. The 5 young men paused inside the doorway to get their bearings; oh, yes, this would be well worth the wait.

Several pretty young women had noticed their arrival with great interest and moved in to meet them; smiles wide and eyes bright, they had gone boldly up to the young men and willingly allowed themselves to be led off onto the dance floor. Oh, yes, definitely worth the wait.

Robert Goren watched his colleagues and grinned. He was happy for them. They'd been waiting for this dance for weeks and deserved it as a reward for all their effort and hard work. He moved smoothly and gracefully in the opposite direction, towards the bar and away from the hoard of eager young ladies crowding the entrance. To him they were like a pack of giggly hyenas, waiting to pounce on whatever unsuspecting game came through the door.

He didn't mind these functions; the USO put on a great evening, and dances such as this were a way for him to catch up with other friends he'd made during his 3 years in the service. This was his first USO dance since coming to Germany and he was eager to visit "off duty" with several of his buddies who were also stationed here.

The bartender filled his order for a beer; he didn't usually drink beer, but had discovered German beer and found the one he now sipped to be a particular favorite.

"Bobby!" He turned to find himself face to face with "Richard!" The two men shook hands and pulled each other into a friendly embrace.

Richard Guthrie and Robert Goren had met when both were stationed at Ft. Belvoir, VA. While not in the same platoon, they had met at the gym and become fast friends. The two men discovered a shared love of reading, Mets baseball, and chasing skirts. The latter activity had provided the opportunity for many of their escapades back then.

Richard stepped back and put his arm around the beautiful smiling woman next to him. "Bobby, this is Rachel MacAllistair…my fiancée. She's over here visiting for a few weeks."

"Fiancee? You son of a gun!" Robert grinned at Rachel. "This calls for a drink. What'll you have?"

The three spent tiem visiting and catching up; Robert was very happy for Richard and Rachel and wished them all the best. As the happy couple moved away to visit other friends, his view of the rest of the room opened up and he was able to scan the dance floor.

This USO was like any other: a large hall with a raised stage at one end for shows and bands and a bar area at the other. The wooden dance floor was in the middle and metal folding chairs lined the side walls.

It was the wall to his left that caught his attention. Three young ladies were whispering and giggling amongst themselves, occasionally covering their mouths as they spoke and laughed. It was obvious they were watching the guys; they'd point, giggle, wave, comment behind their hands and smile.

Her smile took the breath right out of him and captured his gaze. He found himself transfixed when their eyes seemed to meet. Her gaze caught his and she held it for a few seconds before nudging her friend. She said something behind her hand and the girl next to her looked his direction as well. Her eyes widened and she turned and whispered into the first one's ear. Whatever her friend had said caused her to turn away from him and re-focus her attention on the two friends sitting with her.

Robert continued to sip his beer and look in their direction. His patience was soon rewarded, as the raven haired beauty caught his gaze again.

Amy knew he'd been looking at her, so she had deliberately looked back at Susan and Kelly and pointedly ignored him for a few minutes. She was here to celebrate Kelly's 21st birthday, NOT to meet someone. Susan told her he was still looking in her direction.

Inwardly, she sighed as she looked his way again. What's the harm, she thought. I'm going back to school in August. A summer flirt could be fun.

This time she held his gaze steadily, daring him to look away first. A minute later, several couples on the dance floored crossed her line of sight, and when they had twirled away, he was gone.

It's just as well, she thought. I'm not ready yet. Kelly leaned in her direction and caught her attention again.

"What about that one," she asked Amy, pointing at a soldier who looked like he could be the next Calvin Klein underwear model. "Oh, my," gasped Amy, and the three friends dissolved into fits of giggling, leaning into each other. Amy was practically bent over in Susan's lap with laughter when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Amy turned her head to find herself staring at a pair of extremely muscular and well-toned thighs. She gulped as she sat up and her gaze continued to travel upward, taking in his narrow well-toned waist, flat, tight abs, broad chest and shoulders that seemed to stretch out forever on either side of him. She continued her optical journey up to the heavens to find the most incredible pair of brown eyes atop a quirky grin looking back at her with a bemused expression. Oh, my……Amy's thoughts evaporated as the soldier's grin became a handsome smile. She gulped again and sat up even straighter.

He held his hand out to her. "Would you like to dance with me," his soft, low voice asked.

Amy was very surprised to hear herself saying, "Yes" as she was usually the one doing the asking. She took his offered hand and allowed him to guide her out onto the dance floor.

He was tall, very tall; not as tall as her father, but close enough. This soldier, no, MAN Amy corrected her thoughts, was thankfully taller than her.

At 5 foot 10, Amy took after her father in the height department; being so tall had often intimidated the boys growing up, but this man seemed unintimidated by anything.

"I'm Bobby," he said as he looked down at his beautiful dance partner. Damn, those eyes are blue, he thought to himself. A man could drown in those big, blue eyes of hers.

"I'm Amy," she replied.

"Do you have a last name, Amy?"

"Does it matter," she responded, meeting his eyes matter-of-factly. "Do we have to use last names in a place like this?"

"I guess not," he replied.

The music changed to a slower tempo and he reached to pull her closer. "Will you dance with me some more? Please?"

"Well, since you asked so politely, how could I refuse?" Amy allowed Bobby to wrap his long, strong arms around her and pull her close. I could get used to this, Amy thought, as she rested her cheek on his shoulder and they swayed together in time to the music.

Between dances and drinks, Bobby and Amy had managed to chat. It was the usual chatting between two people just getting acquainted: where are you from, why are you here. They surprised each other by both having lived in New York City.

"I LOVE the City," she gushed. "My grandparents live in Manhattan. I remember skating in Central Park and Rockefeller Center during visits for Christmas. Grandpa just loves the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so I grew up spending many a Saturday there with him."

"So, why exactly are you HERE, in Germany," Bobby asked.

"To dance with you, of course!" she responded, her blue eyes dancing merrily at him.

Bobby felt his stomach drop and his heartbeat accelerate.

"I-I mean, that can't be the only reason, can it," he tilted his head to one side as he asked.

Uh, oh….thought Amy, I could be in trouble with this one…..

"I'm just here for the summer," she heard herself saying.

Bobby didn't respond but remained quiet as he studied her.

Amy chose her next words carefully. "My father is stationed here, so I came over for the summer to visit my family. I have to go back on August 3rd."

"That's too bad," Bobby replied, as he reached across the table and wrapped his hands around hers. "We'll just have to make the most of the time we have, then." As he said this, he pulled her hands toward him, leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly across her knuckles. "Dance with me again," he asked her. Amy didn't think she could stand up, her knees were like Jell-O from his caress, but she took a deep breath and managed to follow him out onto the dance floor.

She recognized the opening strains of "Save the Last Dance for Me", and looked up at Bobby sadly. "You have good timing. This is the traditional final song of the evening."

"Then let's dance," said Bobby, as he once again wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.