Sunday

Sunday was usually Tom's lie in day when he wouldn't get out of bed until near midday at the earliest and even then it would only be to go to the toilet or to get food. But this Sunday was different, and so by 5am, Sam and Tom were on a shuttle bus from the hotel to the assessment centre. It was similar to the buses the they used in airports to transfer customers from a plane to the airport, and so it had no seats, only handrails and poles to keep yourself balanced. But Sam was too short to reach the ones above her without going on engraving tiptoes and she was in the middle of the coach so she just comfortably leant against Tom's torso and he wrapped his spare arm around her to keep her sturdy.

"Doesn't it feel weird that you're the only female here?" One man asked and Sam rolled her eyes before she kept her sight on Tom, and Tom only, to keep herself to herself. She could hear other men making comments about her without even trying to be discreet, but then one mouthy bloke who obviously intended to follow a career in aviation started making comments very loudly.
"What's a similarity between women and planes? When they go quiet, you know something's wrong." He joked and several of the men chuckled whilst others gave Sam sympathetic looks. "What's the difference between a plane and a female? Airplanes can be flown at any time of the month." He joked and it appeared that his remarks were neither intelligent, nor funny to some of the others so Sam turned around to face the idiotic individual.
"Y'know without stupid people, we would have no one to laugh at. So can everyone just give a round of applause to this individual for his contribution to society?" Sam retorted and thankfully, everyone else in the bus began clapping and cooing at the man who flushed red.
"That's my girl." Tom said quietly to Sam who felt a smile tug at her lips.

"Listen, I'll probably leave the centre and be ready way before you because you'll have to wait as there's loads of men, but um, I've got the keys so I'll just wait for you in the car okay? In fact, if you give me a twenty minute warning or something, I can go and get us dinner from somewhere and then meet you in the car park." Sam suggested.
"Sounds brilliant. But don't get anything small, I want a feast." Tom stated and Sam smiled.
"When do you not? You have a bottomless pit instead of a stomach." Sam stated.
"Yeah but you love me for it." Tom smiled as he bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Oi oi!" One of the men shouted and several men wolf whistled.
"Pft, she's got a wedding ring and she's already cheating during training. Real faithful." The man who had made the airplane jokes retorted.
"Yeah, I've got a wedding ring and so has he. Or are you too stupid to work it out?" Sam remarked as she held Tom's hand.

"Waaheeyy! You got told mate!" Someone announced and Sam just gave the idiot a dirty look before she looked back at her husband.
"You're on fire today, aren't you?" Tom smiled.
"Yeah but you love me for it." Sam mocked him before she went on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips.
"Get a room!" Someone shouted and Sam just rolled her eyes.

There were over 100 men sitting in a lecture hall whilst a Sargent explained about what was going to happen throughout the day, and because there was only one female, Sam had to join them too. But thankfully, she managed to get a seat next to Tom in the front row on one of the ends so Sam only had to sit next to him.
"Right, Major Nicholls you are to go with Mr Read now for a warm up, before you complete the 1.5 mile run, and lads whilst she is doing the run, you'll be doing your warm up." He explained and then looked at Sam so she reluctantly got up and left the hall as she followed a man in camouflage gear out to the track. It was concrete with grass in the middle, and a concrete patio area at the side where there were benches for people to wait their turn.

"Right, you must perform this run in under 14 minutes 30 seconds." Mr Read said clearly. "And you'll be starting on the other side of the track because it's a mile long so you'll finish on this side after one and a half laps. You cannot stop, you cannot cut corners, you cannot walk. Are there any questions?" He asked as he walked with Sam across the middle of the track over to an orange cone.
"Nope." Sam replied as she stretched her arms. She was wearing her running leggings, her favourite running shoes, a sports bra and a grey hoodie to keep her warm with her hair tied up in a ponytail.
"Okay, I'll just give you a few minutes to warm up." He stated before he took his radio out and began speaking to other people so Sam began stretching her inner thighs, her knees and she rolled her ankles in circles before she took deep breaths to calm her down but she knew she'd easily beat the time. Sam was almost ready to begin when she saw all of the men came pouring out of the building and stood on the patio and sat on the benches. Sam couldn't see if Tom was there or not, but she suddenly felt she was under so much more pressure as the men were clearly going to be watching her. "Right, you ready?" Mr Read asked as he took out his stopwatch.

"Yes sir." Sam replied as she stood by the orange cone and took a deep breath.
"On your marks, get set go."

Tom, who was in a plain navy green tshirt and black shorts, watched as Sam began running, and he felt so sorry for her as the men began chanting and cheering for her but he knew they were being sarcastic. And some were wolf whistling, whilst others made comments about her breasts but he knew she'd just be trying to ignore them. Lots of men were shouting at her to slow down because she'd never finish at that pace, but Tom was almost certain that she could.

"Oi, shut it now!" A man in charge shouted so loudly that some men covered their ears. All the men went silent as Sam ran past them and she didn't even give them a glance as she focused on her breathing and putting one foot in front of the other.

"10 minutes 12 seconds." Mr Read announced as Sam passed the line and then stopped as she took deep breaths. "Lads she's barely even broken a sweat and she's got a better time than most males so can we have a round of applause please?" He shouted and most if the men began clapping - of course, Tom was the most enthusiastic.

"Here, you left your water inside." Tom said kindly as he handed her the clear bottle and she took a few sips.
"Thanks."
"Ms Nicholls, the army's fastest time for the para troops is 9 minutes 45 seconds. Now that time for a female training to be a combat medic is remarkable." The man in charge said as he held out his hand.
"Thank you." Sam said politely as she shook his hand.
"Right, the first group of lads, you're up." He ordered.
"What group are you?" Sam asked curiously whilst she continued to catch her breath back.
"Group four." Tom stated.
"Right well-"
"Ms Nicholls, no time for chatting we have to get on." Mr Read ordered and Sam rolled her eyes at Tom before she turned around and followed the man.

6pm
Tom walked out of the assessment centre along with a dozen other men who were in his group, where he found Sam sitting in the car, parked on the curb. He dumped his suitcase in the boot before he jumped in the front with Sam.
"I passed." Tom said proudly as he placed his certificate on the dashboard.
"Me too." Sam stated as she pulled away because she technically wasn't supposed to be parked there. "What time did you get for the 1.5 mile run?" Sam asked curiously.
"I passed." Tom repeated.
"Yes, but what time did you get? Let me guess... 12 and a half minutes?" Sam asked.
"What? No! How unfit do you think I am!?" Tom protested.
"Well what time did you get then?" Sam asked.
"12 minutes 53 seconds." Tom grumbled and Sam had to stifle a laugh.
"That's still really good though, considering you've had barely any training." She said reassuringly.
"Thanks. What have we got for dinner?" He asked curiously.
"You'll see in a minute." Sam replied.
"But I'm hungry now." Tom whined.
"You sound like a ten year old."
"I am a ten year old."
"Not with that face you're not." Sam remarked.
"Oi!" Tom laughed.

A few minutes later, Sam pulled up outside a Harvester restaurant.
"I thought you might want a rack of ribs for dinner." Sam said innocently as she grabbed her handbag.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Tom said dreamily as he jumped out of the car.
"Only, when there's food involved." Sam stated as Tom linked arms with her and they entered the restaurant. "And you can have a few beers too because I'm driving home." She added.
"Table for two?" A waiter asked as he grabbed two menus.
"Yes please." Tom nodded. "He didn't give me any crayons." Tom moaned quietly to Sam as they made their way to a table in the busy restaurant, but thankfully they ended up towards the back of the restaurant by themselves.

"Would you like to order any drinks?" He asked as Sam and Tom took their seats.
"I'll have a diet Pepsi and he'll have a Budweiser please." Sam replied as she knew that Tom would object to drinking - he'd offer to drive her home but she knew he'd want a beer as he hadn't been allowed one for several days in order to pass the blood test.
"I'll be right back." The waiter smiled before he left the couple to it.
"I was reading the newspaper in the car by the way, Russian military have taken over the whole of Crimea. And they're stopping all flights in and out of the there; the military have control of all the airports and the shipping ports so I'm guessing the army will be looking at tactics to invade soon." Sam explained as they both looked down the menu.
"Well, we'll be out there to help them soon won't we?" Tom said proudly.
"Mmhmm." Sam nodded.

9pm
Sam had drove for the whole two hour journey, back to Holby, but when she parked in the car park to their flat, Tom hadn't stirred; his rack of ribs and two beers had let him fall asleep on a full stomach and he had slept the entire journey. Sam opened his car door and squatted down besides him because she knew he hated being woken suddenly.
"Tom... Tom..." She sung. "C'mon you big lump, we're home." She smiled as Tom groggily opened his eyes and then had a good stretch before he finally got out of the car and they made their way up to their flat. The beers hadn't affected his mindset, it had just made him need a wee so he went to the toilet in their ensuite, but when he came out, he found Sam sitting on the bed and she had just come off of the phone.
"Who was that?" He asked curiously as he sat besides her on the mattress.
"Ma'am. She's sorted out our 14 week training course and she said she's emailed me the details for both of us." Sam stated as she grabbed their shared iPad from under her pillow, unlocked it and brought up her emails.
"That was quick." Tom remarked.
"Well, I suppose they're running at full capacity at the moment, they're probably trying to get everyone trained up as fast as possible. There's no way the training was 14 weeks when I joined last time." Sam stated. "Right, fourteen weeks in a training camp in Cardiff starting next Monday." Sam announced.

"Hopefully there'll be some other women there for you this time."
"Ugh no thanks. I'd rather be the only female there." Sam stated.
"Why?"
"Because I've never come across a woman in the army who doesn't wear make up on duty, doesn't use their gender as an excuse to get out of cleaning the latrines or isn't bitchy." Sam stated as she used her finger to scroll down the details. "I can't wait to start." Sam smiled.
"Why?" Tom laughed.
"Because it's fun. Working in the ED is just working 9 til 5 and about half of the patients are drunken idiots whereas training to join the army is just so much more of a challenge. There's unpredictable hours, drills, workouts, obstacle courses." Sam listed.

"And of course there's the fact that you enjoy being fitter than most of the men there so when you beat them you earn their respect." Tom concluded.
"Exactly. Then you don't get as many of the idiots who think it's funny to take the mick out of me because I'm female when I'm clearly more intelligent and fitter than them."
"Oh you're certainly fitter than them." Tom stated.
"Why thank you Major Kent. Well, technically you're not Major yet, but you will be soon if you put the work in." Sam stated.
"Stop rambling on and tell me the secrets as to how to pass the training easily." He ordered.
"There isn't any. Just put the effort in, don't piss the sergeants off, don't piss anyone else off, do as your told and you'll be fine." Sam stated. "Anyway, it's really a misconception about how fit you have to be to join the army. You really don't have to be hench and muscular, the point of training is to improve your fitness. I mean, you have to pass the test of the 1.5 mile run, sit ups, press ups etc. But even if you fail in one, you can pull your grade up in the other so you really don't have to be tremendously fit."

"I am tremendously fit." Tom protested.
"Of course you are dear." Sam said sarcastically as she handed him the iPad and went into the ensuite without closing the door so they could talk whilst she got ready for bed after the long weekend.
"We'll have to go shopping in the week to get things for the kit list." Tom stated. "It says that you only need enough underwear and stuff for a week at a time because they have washing facilities there, and we need money for the first week to buy our training kits and stuff." He explained whilst Sam brushed her teeth.
"You do realise that we're going to be training apart from each other for most of our time there right?" Sam queried as she poked her head around the door so she could see him.
"We'll still be able to see each other at meals and in the evening won't we?" He asked.
"It depends how strict the training centre is. I didn't go to Cardiff, I went to Manchester last time." Sam replied. "But then, females stayed on another floor, we trained separately and we were in the same cantine but we were on different tables."
"We'll find a way to be together. Just remember, after lights out meet me in the utility room." Tom joked.
"Yeah. In fact, why don't we meet in the sergeants room?" Sam suggested mockingly. "I'm sure we won't get caught there." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, how about because we haven't got any family to send us letters, we could write to each other if we don't manage to meet up?" Tom suggested.
"And what? Tuck the envelope under our dorm doors?" Sam laughed.
"I'm being serious!" Tom protested.
"We'll see." Sam replied sheepishly.
"Ow... Ow ow ow ow." Tom moaned as he clutched his lower leg.
"What?" Sam burst out of the bathroom in a panic as she heard her husband in pain.
"Cramp." He muttered as he held leg with both hands and screwed his eyes shut.

"Stand up then you moron." Sam ordered as she pulled him up from his shoulders. He put a little bit of weight as he held onto Sam's shoulders whilst he slowly put more pressure on affected limb.
"Oh thank god." He whispered once the pain had stopped.
"Better now?"
"Yeah, thanks." Tom smiled and Sam shook her head at him in disapproval that he hadn't acted sooner. "Still a bit achy though."
"I've got some deep heat in the kitchen, do you want me to rub some of that in for you?" Sam asked.
"Well now that you mention it, my body aches all over now." He joked and Sam rolled her eyes before she got the tube of deep heat and then reentered the bedroom.

"Right, where do you want it?" She asked.
"Um... The backs of my legs and backs of my upper arms please." Tom replied as he pulled his shirt and trousers off and then laid face down on the bed.

"Fourteen weeks of boot camp." Sam stated. "Y'know, you're not going to get your Friday night beers, or Sunday lie ins for a while."
"Saturday afternoon football?" He asked.
"Maybe." Sam replied.
"Y'know, I think sneaking about to see each other is going to make the time I spend with you even more enjoyable." Tom groaned as Sam rubbed the gel into his upper arms whilst he rested his head on his pillow.
"Promise me you're happy doing all of this. Because I love the idea of us both being in the army but I won't enjoy it, if I know that you're not happy."
"I promise I'm happy. It's like you said, combat medicine is going to be a lot more interesting than working in the ED because for starters, a drunk patient will be a rare one, and there'll be so much more for me to learn. Besides I'm improving my fitness which is something I've always wanted to do, and once we get deployed, we'll be working with each other, rather than training without each other." Tom explained.

Sam rubbed the deep heat lovingly into his skin to make him more comfortable, and once she was done, she changed into a pair of shirts and a vest top and slid under the cover on her side of the bed.
"Night night." Sam whispered as she pecked Tom on the cheek and then switched the light off.
"Night." Tom replied sleepily. "Don't let the beg bugs bite." He added.
"How old are you?" Sam asked, followed by a giggle as Tom smiled to himself.
"I can't remember." He admitted.
"Go to sleep, we've got lots to do this week." Sam ordered.
"Technically, seeing as it's Sunday. We've got lots to do next week." Tom corrected.
"Do you want to sleep on the sofa?" Sam threatened.
"No." Tom replied quietly like a naughty schoolboy.
"Then go to sleep." Sam ordered.
"Yes Ma'am." He smirked but he quickly closed his eyes so he didn't see her reaction. Sam gave him evils before she closed her eyes room and settled down for the night.

Thanks for reading, please review :)