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Chapter 2

The Start of The Wait

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well! R & R!

Disclaimer: All core characters are not mine. Believe it.

Two weeks. Two weeks he had been gone and she had been missing him every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week.

She had had lunch with her closest friends, Bess and George the day after Ned left and told them everything he said.

"I can't believe he asked me to wait for him," Nancy confided to them.

"I can," George declared. "How you two didn't see it before, I don't know, but everyone else saw that you two were meant for each other."

"Yeah," Bess agreed. "You should see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one else is looking. I can't wait for him to get back so that we can start planning your wedding!"

Nancy sobered. "That may be a while. From what I've heard on the radio, things are getting worse every day. I can only hope he'll write soon so that I can be sure he's alright."

"He hasn't written you yet?" George asked.

"No. He promised to write every day, but I still haven't gone one letter."

"Well don't worry," Bess said, trying to lighten Nancy's mood. "Mail probably travels slow from Hawaii to Illinois. Maybe when you get home today, there will be a letter waiting for you."

And sure enough, when Nancy got home, there was a letter for her.

"Here Nancy," Hannah said, handing her a pile of letters. Nancy quickly leafed through them until she saw one addressed to her in Ned's handwriting, with his name on the return address. There was also a package for her from him. Nancy smiled, wondering what it could be.

She opened the letter carefully, being sure to not rip the letter inside, dated one week and five days ago, and started reading it slowly, to be sure she didn't miss a single word.

February 17, 1942

My Dearest Nancy,

Things are going well here and I have arrived safely at Pearl Harbor. It really is beautiful here, despite the fact that some things were completely destroyed in the raid. I start my training tomorrow and I've already made friends with some of the guys I'll be in it with. The guy who called me when I was with you before we left is one of them. His name is Peter Smith and he's my roommate. He was actually born and raised in River Heights. Maybe your dad knows him or his parents. The guys are really great and you don't have to worry about any of the nurses because, even though they seem okay, none of them have captured my attention like you have.

I already miss you. I've been gone two days and I miss you like crazy. I wish you could be here to share this place with me. Maybe after the war is over, you and I will come down here. Maybe after we're married. You haven't forgotten your promise yet, have you? Because I'm going to hold you to it, you can count on that. Not a second goes by when I don't think of you. I'm already hoping that the war is over soon so that I can come home to you.

If you recall, a few days before I left was Valentine's Day. I know we didn't really do anything-probably because I was packing and you-were you ignoring my phone calls? Because Hannah always said you were out. But anyhow, I bought you something right when I got in the first day, got it engraved, and sent it with the letter. I hope it's there by now. I hope you like it. No, I know you'll love it.

Do you think- do you think you could send me a picture of you? I have one, but I'd like another- just in case. I just want to be able to see your smile, even when I'm not there. Ha, this is starting to sound like a love letter. Which I suppose it is, but normally when you think of love letters, you think of movies or plays or poetry- not real life. But I guess that's what war can do- make you do things you'd never imagined you would do.

I miss you and I love you. Promise to write back as soon as you get this!

All my love,

Ned

Nancy read the letter again, savoring every word, staring at his familiar handwriting and the connection to him, so far away. To think, just two weeks ago, they had never even told each other they loved each other and now this! After reading the letter again, she turned to the package and opened it. Inside was a beautiful oval gold locket, a little bigger than a thimble. On it were engraved her initials, N.E.D. Funny how her initials spelled out his name. She opened it and engraved on the inside were the words Nancy and Ned- 1942. Opposite that, on the other side of the locket, was a place where she could put a small picture. She smiled as she thought of the perfect picture of him she would put inside.

That night when Carson got home, Nancy commented at dinner, "I got a letter from Ned today."

"What did it say?"

"Just that he misses us and he's safely in Pearl Harbor. He started his training already and he wants to know if you know someone named Peter Smith."

"Yes, I believe I do. Why did he want to know?"

"No reason really. He's his roommate and he was raised in River Heights, so he just wanted to know if you knew him or his parents."

"I see. Well, Peter's a good kid, did good in school. His father's actually a lawyer, too. Not in criminal justice though, he mostly deals with contracts and that type of thing."

Nancy nodded and showed him the locket she was wearing around her neck. "He sent me this, too."

"That's very nice," Carson said after taking a closer look at it. When he saw Ned's picture and the engraving inside, he asked, "Nancy, I was wondering if anything happened between you and Ned at the airbase right before he left."

"What makes you think that?" Nancy asked, caught off her guard.

"You've just been acting different. If you don't want to tell me, that's find...you've just been kind of off in the clouds lately."

"Well, something did happen," Nancy admitted. "He asked me to wait for him."

Carson smiled. Though he didn't act like it, he was happy Nancy had found a nice boy to date. Besides, he liked Ned. "I'm very happy for you, Nancy. Even though I make a fuss and insist you call him an escort, I like Ned. He's a very nice young man. Doing a good thing, too, serving his country."

Nancy blushed. "Thanks, Dad. Knowing you're okay with this means a lot to me."

Carson smiled and patted her head before going into the living room and turning on their radio to hear the latest news. Nancy, instead of listening to the news like she had been as of late, went up to her room to write a letter to Ned.

Two weeks later, Ned Nickerson was in the bunk room he shared with five other soldiers in training. The training was very fast-paced and some of the men who had only started two months before him were already heading off to Europe and Japan. Now he was tired after a long day and was hoping to get some shut eye before the next day. He was just about to get into bed when one of his roommates, Peter Smith, came in and said a letter had come for him. One look at the spiral handwriting and he knew it was from Nancy. "Thanks Pete," he called after him before opening the letter.

February 29, 1942

My Dearest Ned,

I was relieved to hear that you arrived in Hawaii safely. After I had not gotten a letter after two weeks, I was starting to get worried. You were completely right- I loved the locket. It's beautiful, and I put the perfect picture of you in it. I also sent a picture of me with this letter. I hope you like it.

Things are going well here. Hannah is twice as busy as usual. She's been deciding what she wants to plant in the victory garden she wants to plant. Dad is busy with all kinds of trials, so he hasn't been home much lately. Bess and George are well, too, and are trying to get my mind on other things so I won't worry about you.

How is training? How long do you think it will be until you go to fight? Let me know where you will be as soon as you can so that we will never be out of touch.

Before you talked of enlisting, I didn't have much interest in the war. Now I am trying to find out everything I can about it. You moved me to do that. Now I'm always listening to the news with Dad instead of just music on the radio. Now it seems that the war- and you- are all I can think of. Hoping that the war will not last long, hoping that you will come back to me soon. But I'm almost afraid to hope. In school we learned about the other wars and they dragged on for years. Those men probably had people they loved hoping the war would end soon also, but that didn't come true for them. I try to be optimistic, and I will be optimistic, but it is hard thinking that you may be away for even a year. It's been hard enough just these last two weeks.

My father does know Peter Smith and his parents. His father is a lawyer, too. Not criminal defense though, he works with contracts and that sort of thing. I told him, by the way, that you asked me to wait. He said he was happy for me and that even though he acts aloof when you are around sometimes, he really does like you. I told Bess and George also. They can't wait for you to get back so that they can start to help me plan the wedding!

The wedding. How strange and new those words look to me. Do you find it hard to believe that, barely two weeks ago, we had never done so much as say we love each other and now we talk of marriage and a wedding. And you so far away, too. Have I told you yet that I miss you? I miss you and I love you and every day you have been away is torture. I pray that you will return safely to me soon. Write back A.S.A.P.!

All my love,

Nancy

Ned smiled and reached into the envelope for the picture she had sent him. She was smiling brightly in it, and her strawberry blonde hair, though it looked dark in the black and white photo was in large curls going down the side of her face, the way many girls wore their hair now. The v-neck of the dress ended right below her collarbone. Ned remembered the dress well. It was royal blue, A-lined, and hit right below her knees, which had become more popular in the 30's because many families could not afford enough to make dresses full length anymore. She always looked beautiful in that dress. It brought out the color of her eyes and made her hair stand out against the dark tones. He stuck it in his notebook that he wrote letter to people in, promising himself that he would write to her the next day.

He went to bed with her image stuck in his mind.

The next morning, Ned woke up early. He had to go to breakfast and then off to Air Force training. He had received his pilot's license two years ago, when his parents had gotten enough money to pay for lessons. He had wanted to start earlier, but had been unable to because of the Great Depression. His families hadn't been one of the ones to lose everything, but hadn't been as fortunate as Nancy and her father either, who had barely lost a cent.

The man training Ned and his comrades was Commander J. E. Wright, who had served in the Great War, now being called World War I, years before. Training was basically being taught new maneuvers or how to handle an emergency situation, and then practicing it until you could do it perfectly. They weren't drilled as much as Ned had thought they would be, not that he was complaining. He was perfectly fine being in a small plane for a few hours, just thinking about doing the move right. It helped get his mind off things. Especially Nancy.

Thinking about Nancy hurt sometimes. Sure, he loved getting her letter so he could see her words again and looking at her picture, but thinking about her was hard sometimes. He remembered his promise to her- that he would return again and marry her. And if he did return, marrying her would be the first thing he did. But he was starting to worry that maybe something would go wrong and he wouldn't be able to go back to her. Being in training and finding out all the things that could possibly go wrong scared him. Not of the things that could go wrong, but what would happen to Nancy if something went wrong. He couldn't stand her being hurt. Not even a little.

And that was when he resolved that nothing would go wrong.

A/N: OMG, your reviews last chapter were amazing! Thank you all soooo sooo much! And I swear I'll update Secrets within the next week. R&R! XOXO