Chapter Two

Oh, God...

Ally woke, bleary eyed and confused. She was in a strange bed – what the hell had happened last night? Opening her eyes a crack she took in the surroundings and suddenly remembered where she was – Spock's spare bedroom. Looking to the table beside her she spotted a glass of water and aspirin, which she swallowed gratefully before collapsing back onto the pillows. Sometimes having a teacher for a little brother had its uses. She wriggled a little in discomfort – the pillow was sodden. Reaching up, she touched her still-damp hair and groaned aloud.

Last night she'd learned a fair bit about angles and geometry, and also a fair bit about Carl Rundle. She remembered talking and laughing a lot afterwards as they sat in the mess hall afterwards, but about what she had no idea. She was confused – she didn't really know what to think. She regretted it – obviously. She'd probably just sealed the deal on their friendship being completely over, and lord knows what he thought of her now. And yet... was it worth it? It had certainly been a wonderful night... and he was leaving today anyway – it's not like she'd see him again. It hadn't been so much a kiss goodbye as a shag goodbye. One hell of a rebound.

After getting up, her shower was fairly awkward and thought provoking – she'd had far too many shower related memories in the past twenty-four hours to last her the rest of her life. One horrible, the other not quite so horrible. Yet she stayed under the running water until it ran cold, because there was way too much to face out there at the moment. But she had to get out sooner or later, so she dressed and headed downstairs to find Simon in the lounge, reading the paper.

'Afternoon.'

'God, what time is it?'

'Nearly half one. Hangover?'

'Yep.'

'Want any breakfast?'

'Nope.'

'You got even with Polson, then?'

'Didn't know you said things like 'get even'. But yeah, we did.'

'I'm still on the right side of thirty, you know.'

'Yeah all right, don't rub it in.'

'You don't need to worry about that, so long as you had fun. What on earth did you get up to last night, anyway? You didn't get in till about two, and you were soaked.'

Ally groaned.

'Mistakes were made. Drunken mistakes. Sorry, I didn't get you up, did I?'

'Doesn't matter. So – what's going on with Frazer?'

'Do we really have to do this now?'

'I guess not. Toast in the kitchen.'

But as she sat in silence she mulled over everything. It had been less than 24 hours since she'd found out about his affair, and yet so much had happened since then that she hadn't had time to think about it. There were so many logistics involved with divorce, but since there weren't any kids involved it should be quick and painless. She wasn't planning on fighting for his money – she'd always despised that kind of woman, and in any case she'd been fighting to be more independent from Frazer for years. She'd get a normal job, though in what she didn't know. And with the TA on top of that, she should be okay. Then the issue of her name occurred to her. Ally Minshull. Ally Matlock. Alison Minshull. Alison Matlock. Which to choose – the name of her estranged father, whom she hadn't seen in years, or her cheating bastard of a soon to be ex-husband? She'd leave that decision for later. First priority was to go and get her stuff, and then to find a flat. But then something occurred to her.

Oh, hell!

Nope. First priority was to find Simon and ask him to recover her earrings from the men's changing rooms in the drill hall.

xxx

'Here you are.' He climbed back into the driver's seat and handed them over.

'Thanks.'

'Do I really want to ask how your earrings ended up in the blokes changing rooms?'

'Probably not.'

'Are you coming to see off Lieutenant Rundle?'

'What? Why?'

'We just figured it would be best if his last memory of us didn't involve melon. But I understand if you...'

'Hmm.'

xxx

Why did I consent to this? As she climbed out of Simon's escort, she spotted the familiar crowd over by the removal van outside Carl's house. Diesel turned and spotted them first.

'Hey, Spock! What took you so long?'

She felt obliged to speak up, seeing as it was her earrings which had made them late in the first place.

'Sorry, my fault. Had an errand to run.'

'Ally...' She saw Carl's head turn quickly in surprise.

She gave a brief smile of acknowledgement, before looking away to compose herself.

'Almost ready?'

'Just a few more boxes.' He yawned, and immediately blushed. Luckily a diversion was caused in the form of Lloydy making an appearance, always a recipe for disaster. She moved quickly to Carl's side, her own face tinged slightly red.

'Look, about...'

'Don't worry. It's forgotten.'

She smiled widely, though she could feel that her eyes weren't following. He reached for her hand and gave it a brief squeeze, before heading off to get into his car. The others clustered around, shouting their goodbyes, but Ally remained behind, glued to the same spot. She felt that this time round, it would not be so easily forgotten.

xxx

She could feel a stitch building in her side, but this time she relished it. She jumped over a log and ploughed her way on through the wood, keeping her eyes trained on the dark shape moving ahead of her whom she presumed was Eric. After Polson's downfall she had decided to remain in the TA. He was still here until his transfer, when she would too be transferred to train under his replacement. If all went well, she hoped to be training at Sandhurst within the next four months. Right now she could hear his voice shouting in the distance. Probably at Lloydy, though the voice was becoming louder and getting closer. It no longer bothered her, not since the mess dinner. She'd got things into perspective, and men like him no longer registered on her radar. She looked at her watch and upped her pace. She was to be at the truck in the next ten minutes, ready to load up before the men arrived back.

As she climbed into the truck she panted instructions at Dawn, who had been fairly quiet since her split from Eric. But then; she didn't feel much in the mood for conversation at the moment either. She'd collected her things from the house, and had sorted out a flat nearer to the centre of town. The conversations with Frazer had been fraught and brief, since their main discussion when he'd got back. She was still sad, and she did still love him, but not enough. Spock was right – she hadn't been happy, and it wasn't going well even before the affair. It was for the best. But as for what to do now, she was still clueless. She just threw herself into TA training and hoped for the best.

xxx

Two weeks later, Spock didn't know what to do for the best. Ally had been with Frazer almost since she'd come out of university. He knew she was strong and didn't doubt that she could stand on her own two feet, but all the same – he could see that something was bothering her. They had spent the day moving her things into her new place, and he could see that she was instantly comfortable in her own surroundings –but a little overwhelmed none the less. Then the others had come over for an impromptu housewarming, with various tales of an ostritch escape.

However, that wasn't why she wasn't herself. Dawn and Eric had returned from the weekend engaged, and Hodge was certainly looking very cosy with Mel. Dawn had obviously tried to keep it on the down low – she kept shooting anxious looks in Ally's direction – but the men didn't have quite the same tact. He knew better than to bring it up, but he could practically see the thoughts brimming around her head. He'd also been witness to her last exchange with Rundle, and everything was so obviously not forgotten there.

Hence how she came to be here, slumped on a fence beside him watching Diesel play with his new 'pet', and making the occasional gesture of mirth, before heading off to be by herself again.

Ally wished he'd give it a rest with the concerned glances and questions. Yes, she was hurting. Surprise, surprise. Her marriage had just broken down. She just couldn't comprehend why Frazer was so far from her thoughts these days. After a brutal training session the day before, she's discovered that things were going to be done differently than Carl had had planned, and hence her officer training had been set back again. She could hear the glee in Polson's voice as he delivered the news. Not much longer now... a few more weeks and he'd be gone. Before, that would have delighted her. But without Carl there, it didn't matter if Polson was. Far from forgetting, his absence loomed in the drill hall, which seemed emptier somehow. Almost without her noticing, he was gaining a considerable presence in her thoughts... and it disturbed her.