I leaned my head back and felt Shifty's arm draped across the back of my chair. He looked down at me and smiled, pulling me into him. I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head, and I felt completely at home. It was no secret that most of the men in the company saw Shifty and I married after the war was over. We generally ignored it. That subject had just never come up between us, which was both surprising and not. Surprising because of how long we had known each other, and how close we were. Not surprising because Shifty could be painfully shy about things like that, and he was the type that would definitely be concerned about ruining a friendship.

He had a girl that he'd been writing back home, although most of the other guys didn't know that. It wasn't serious at all, but it might have potential. She didn't begrudge our friendship, which was a start. The only girl he'd been serious with since we'd met had been overwhelmingly jealous, and wanted Shifty to choose between us. I had felt absolutely horrible, but he hadn't even blinked as she stormed out the door. Giving up our friendship wasn't even an option for him. Anyone who loved him would have to accept me as a part of his life, and I felt exactly the same way, which is probably why the college boyfriend hooked up with another girl. It didn't matter. I'd take Shifty over a jealous boyfriend any day.

He was loyal, caring, and respectful. Strong but gentle. Proud but humble. Handsome, but in a soft, boyish way. When he settled down, his family would be at the center of his universe. He was everything a woman could want. Any woman would be lucky to have a man like Darrell Powers. I looked up, seeing him in a different light for the first time.

He felt my gaze and looked down, giving me another soft smile and rubbing my shoulder. Had his eyes always sparkled like that when he smiled at me? Was I imagining the way he just glanced down to my lips? Did everyone else know something that I didn't?

I sat up slightly, still looking up at him, and suddenly aware of how close we were. He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, and his fingers lingered for a second. I felt the back of his hand along my cheek, and then his thumb run along my jawline to my chin. He swallowed hard, and his face grew serious, his eyes nervously searching mine. He was unsure about something.

"Sweetie, what is…?" His lips were on mine before I finished the sentence. The kiss was soft and hesitant, but not unpleasant. It had lasted just seconds, but I found myself wondering if there were more to be explored there. We were leaning in again for what promised to be a deeper kiss, but were interrupted as the lights came on and we learned that we were needed on the front again. Apparently, other infantry units were being overrun by the Germans in some God-forsaken forest in Belgium. We were moving out in a hurry, on our way to hold the line.

The room emptied quickly, and we prepared our limited gear. I could hear the other guys around the trashcan fires grumbling. We were all low on ammunition and had no winter clothing, and we were being sent out into the Ardennes Forest in the dead of winter. No one was thrilled. We had loaded the trucks, and we were standing around, trying to keep warm as we waited on "Foxhole Norman" to finish his base-wide canvas for K-rations and other supplies. He hadn't even been smart enough to come up with that on his own. Thank God for Dick Winters. The conversation turned to the rumors of complete decimation of our side by the Germans in that area, and whether any of us would be making it out of this one alive. It wasn't exactly cheerful.

I felt a tug on my hand, and saw Shifty motioning me to follow him. I tried to ask where or why, but he just pulled my hand until I followed, shutting the door behind me as I entered the now-deserted barracks area. Confused, I turned to face him and found myself being spun so that my back was against the door.

"Shifty?"

"I'm sorry. I know this is really out of character for me, but if we're really going into what they say we're going into, I don't wanna risk dying and not knowing what it feels like to do this," he answered, and then he was kissing me again. My arms went around his neck, as his hands found my hips and pulled me closer, making me gasp. He took that opportunity to sweep his tongue against mine, and I all but melted against him. The tally board in my head added "great kisser" to the list of superlatives that I'd previously assigned to Darrell C. Powers.

I was effectively trapped between him and the door now, not that I ever wanted to move. I moaned slightly as his mouth moved down my neck, and then back up my jawline, and he looked at me hungrily. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, pulling him back down into another kiss as he lifted me, wrapping my legs around his waist and pinning me against the door. He rocked his hips against mine as I kissed behind his ear, and the hard desire that I felt sent heat all over my body.

I whispered into his ear, "We have thirty minutes."

I hadn't gotten the words out before I felt the cool of a bed beneath me. He was unbuttoning my blouse, leaving a trail of hot kisses as he went. When he reached my stomach, he ran his tongue along the skin just above my waistband and my body shuddered. His eyes met mine, and the unspoken want flowing between us was so strong that it was almost tangible.

The kiss that followed was deep and slow, and I didn't even notice that he'd undone my belt and trousers until I felt his hand slide beneath my waistband. His fingers found my center, already slick with the need of release, brushing gently against that bundle of nerves and causing me to moan his name against his lips.

He knelt above me and pulled his undershirt over his head, reaching to unfasten his belt and trousers. I reached up and traced the definition in his abdomen, and his eyes fluttered closed as my fingers ran over his skin, finally pushing his pants down over his hips. I felt the cool of his dog tags between us as he settled over me, kissing my neck as I whispered in his ear. He looked back up, and his eyes burned into mine.

"Say that again."

"I want you, Darrell."

He kissed me hard, stifling my cry as he entered me, and my body met his rhythm all on its own. We knew that this might be the only chance we would ever have, and that we didn't have long. There were no wasted movements. His hand gripped my hip so that I was sure I'd have a bruise, pulling me to him with every thrust, and I dug my fingernails into his shoulder blades. Every kiss, touch, and word meant something.

"Don't stop. Please don't stop."

"I won't, baby. You feel so good. I've wanted this for so long."

"Really?" For some reason, his revelation surprised me. He slowed his movements and looked down at me.

"Kasia, I've loved you for as long as I can remember." I felt a tear slide down my cheek and he caught it with his thumb. He was unsure of himself again, his eyes worried, but I pulled his dog tags down so that I could kiss him.

"I love you back."

I felt him smile against my lips, and we were caught up in the moment again. He was as precise with his love-making as he was with his rifle, expertly finding and hitting that spot inside of me that had me almost crying from pleasure. This time, he didn't slow until we were both seeing stars.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"You're the most amazing man I've ever known."

Outside, someone yelled that we would be moving out in ten minutes. Reluctantly, we dressed and started for the door. As I followed him out, he stopped and turned to face me.

"I don't know what is going to happen when we walk out of here. I don't have anything to give you right now but myself. But if we get through this war alive, you have to know that you're the one I want to go home to."

"Okay," I answered, watching him curiously. He looked down, biting his lip, and then looked back up at me.

"Marry me, Kasia."

I didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Our slow kiss was interrupted by a yell from outside, "Alright everybody, let's load up!"

He sighed and slid his fingers down to intertwine with mine, leading me out the door and toward the waiting convoy. Popeye was leaned against our truck, arms crossed, waiting for us. He stared at us, slack-jawed with realization. Shifty was smiling from ear to ear and I was flushed and happy as I tried to tame my hair into a ponytail.

"You gotta be kidding."

"What?" Shifty asked, helping me into the truck and following me up.

"After all these years, you just had to get a quick one for the road before they send us off to God knows where? Didn't know you two had that kind of arrangement," he answered, grabbing Shifty's hand and climbing up beside us.

"Careful there, Pop," Shifty grinned, smacking him on the leg and returning his hand to mine. "That's my girl you're talking about."

"You finally told her?"

"Yep."

"Wait a minute! Popeye knew?"

"Of course I knew, sweetheart. He had to talk to someone. It was either you or me, and you were kind of the problem. Just like it was with you and him," he answered, patting Shifty on the back.

"What?" Shifty asked, looking between us.

Popeye laughed again, shaking his head. "You talked to me about how you felt about her. She talked to me about how she felt about you. I didn't say anything because I knew you two had to figure it out on your own. It was only a matter of time, so I just sat back and waited. Now, just don't screw it up."

Shifty smiled and placed a kiss against my left ring finger, watching Popeye's face change from amused to dumbfounded as he asked, "So, Mrs. Powers… do you think he should be your maid of honor or my best man?"