Disclaimers: all the usual apply
Chapter 4
Arlene POV
Arlene gently rapped her knuckles against the bathroom door, both anxious to talk to her best friend and dreading the colossal scolding she knew she was heading for.
"Yes?" came her friend's muffled voice from the other side of the door.
"It's me. Can I come in?"
There was a loud crash from behind the door followed by a hissed, "Shit!" and some shuffling before it opened a fraction, steam snaking from the crack.
She took this as permission to enter, so quickly stepped inside before shutting the door behind her. The warm steam hung in the air like a dense fog, making it nearly impossible to breath let alone make out the details of the bottles and jars scattered throughout the bathroom.
"Jeez Jessica, can we crack a window or something?" she complained, hating the sticky moisture attacking her hair.
"I'm trying! If this damn window doesn't budge soon I swear I'm going to break it!"
She had no doubt her friend would make good on her threat to the window's safety, so she sighed in relief when a high pitched screech preceded a gust of fresh air.
Jessica hopped down from the precariously thin bath rim she'd been balancing on in order to get to the small window situated beyond any normal person's reach. The blonde quickly spun around to face her, the friction between her bare feet and the moist tub making a squeaking noise that seemed almost comical in the moment.
"You could have been hurt," she stated the obvious just so it was said.
Clutching a fluffy white towel around her chest with one hand, while the other balanced the towel wrapped around her hair, Jessica climbed out of the tub with as much grace as she could manage. Which wasn't much. Luckily after a few years of sharing rooms and bathrooms, not only with each other but three men, they'd lost most of their shame and sentimentality about seeing each other naked.
Now comfortably out of the bath Jessica straighten out her towels before turning an expertly arched eyebrow onto her. She knew that look. It never ended well for her when she was on the receiving end of it.
"Why aren't you still in bed. Cuddling or what not with a handsome soldier?"
Trying to give her hands something to do and avoid direct eye contact she reached for a small, light green jar and twirled it around in her hands. "Because I'm here."
"And?"
She kept twirling the jar of cream in her hands until Jessica snapped it away from her. "You keep twirling it like that and you're going to make me sick. Now, what happened?"
She turned her back to the basin and leaned against it, finally looking at her friend. "We spent the night together." The words conjured up a highlight reel of memories which brought a grin to her face as a blush heated her cheeks.
Jessica smiled, a little smugly. "As glad as I am that you had a fabulous night, why aren't you having an even better morning? Please don't tell me the entire experience was disappointing."
"I'm not giving you details."
"Honey, I've seen you naked more times than I can count and I have an excellent imagination. I don't need details."
"Jessica!" she exclaimed, her face now on fire as she dropped her eyes to the ground.
She heard her friend lightly chuckle and looked up to shoot her a glare.
Jessica rolled her eyes as she took a step towards the basin, pushing her aside so she could look into the small bathroom mirror.
"Take a seat there," Jessica instructed, pointing to the closed lid of the toilet, "and tell me why you're here, looking like someone had stolen your puppy, instead of wrapped up in Joe's arms."
She did as she was told, and stared out of the small window at the passing early morning clouds. "Last night was – well it was perfect. He was everything I needed him to be and then some. And waking up wrapped up in his arms this morning was both magical and tragic."
As she'd been talking Jessica had tipped her head forward and rubbed her blonde hair between the white fluff. With her head still upside down Jessica glanced at her and asked, "Why does it have to be tragic?"
"Because, the few hours I had with him were perfection but it was never going to last. I'm not meant to be in his life."
Jessica flipped her head back as she straightened. She grabbed a men's shirt which had been neatly folded off to one side. Without having to undo any of the buttons she pulled it over head wet hair. "Why not? Lots of people do the whole sweethearts, writing each other letters thing."
"We're not most people and you know it. This is cleaner, simpler."
Jessica snorted and shot her a look as she pulled on pants that were clearly a few sizes too big for her. "Oh yeah, until you lock eyes across a bloody battlefield."
"That's not funny."
"I'm only half joking."
"We won't see each other again."
"Oh, so you know where Joe and we are going to be stationed? Because we're all heading for Europe, which means England. And we're more likely to be stationed with paratroopers than any other unit because we're all insane enough to jump out of perfectly good planes."
"There are thousands of paratroopers."
Sitting down on the floor so she could cuff the pants and put on her kitten heals from the previous evening, Jessica retorted, "True, but you know how these things go."
She dropped her face into her hands and groaned.
"I'm sorry," Jessica said, her voice sounding smaller all of a sudden, "I just wanted you to be happy. I shouldn't have pushed."
She lifted her head and found her friend sitting with her legs crossed on the floor, blue eyes looking intently up at her. "No, don't be sorry. It was amazing and I was happy. I guess that's the problem. Now I know what I can't have."
"You could still. I'm sure if you run you'd be able to catch him," Jessica replied hopefully.
She shook her head. "It's better this way. No mess or heartbreak. Just one amazing memory for both of us to hold onto. God knows where we're going to need it."
"The memories aren't the problem, the 'what-ifs' are. Those little bastards will break your heart all over again."
"Yeah, they're jerks," she retorted dryly.
They shared a moment of silence for all the things that could have been, but never would.
Her mind leapt to a future with Joe she'd never have. One where she'd meet him as he disembarked from the troop ship after a long campaign of love letters. She'd run to him, dodging embracing couples to launch herself into his strong arms. His deep laugh would dance with her girlish giggle as he spun them around and around until her head started to spin.
Fucking 'what-ifs', she thought, angry at herself for indulging one for even a second.
"How did you tell him?" Jessica asked.
Her eyes focused on her friend's face as she felt herself frown. "Huh?"
"Please, please tell me you didn't just sneak out of that room without saying goodbye to him. I swear in the name of all things holy, if you did I will personally drag you to the docks so you can put the man out of his misery!"
She reached for a damp towel which was draped over the side of the tub and flung it in Jessica's general direction. "Oh calm down! I left him a letter."
Jessica caught it easily and dumped it unceremoniously on the ground in-font of her. "A letter?"
"It was beautiful, okay? Majestic even."
"Majestic? You've been spending far too much time with Clark. That's the type of nonsense he'd sprout after leaving some unsuspecting girl pining over him after one hour together in a dimly lit closet."
"I heard that!" Clark's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.
They both rolled their eyes, neither one surprised that he'd been listening in on their conversation the whole time.
"I heard that too!" he shouted.
"He knows us too well," she said as she got up.
Jessica held out a hand and she grabbed it, giving her friend a good tug to help her up. Eyeing her interesting ensemble of a men's clothing mixed with a pair of kitten heels and long, wet hair she remarked, "Nice outfit."
Jessica smirked and did a dramatic twirl. "I'm thinking about staying like this all day. Why change?"
She reached for the door as she chuckled at her friend's theatrics, but before she could open it Jessica placed a hand over hers. "Are you sure you're okay? There really is still time to catch him."
The thought crossed her mind for a split second before she brushed it away. "I'll be fine. I'll always have the memory to keep me warm."
"Okay. If you say so. We still have few hours before we need to report to the docks, so if you change your mind I can pull some strings."
She smiled, but shook her head.
Jessica lifted her hand, silently, begrudgingly, giving in to her wishes.
Yeah, 'coz you can cuddle with memories.
Bill POV
He leaned against the wall of the barracks, cigarette dangling between his lips, as he watched the men check and recheck their bags before the order came to ship out. His ran his eyes over the room, past Perconte throwing a pack of smokes at Luz's head with more force than necessary, and over Malark and Penk pouring over a contraband magazine one of the men had snuck in upon their arrival in New York, before they fell to the one empty bed.
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath.
"What?" Toye asked, briefly glancing up from his pack.
"Where the hell is he?" he growled, jerking his head in the direction of the empty bed.
Toye looked over his shoulder and when he came up empty he turned back to Bill. "You think he went AWOL?"
"Nah, the salty bastard loves a fight to much to miss this one." He took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "He left with that broad last night. Hopefully one of 'em remembered to set an alarm."
Toye scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure that was the first thing on their minds. Setting an alarm."
He met his friend's remark with a blank stare which earned him a shrug before Toye turned back to whatever he'd been busy with.
A shadow temporarily blocked the morning light filtering in through the open door and his heart dropped. He'd been expecting one of the officers to fetch them so they could head to the ships for the better part of an hour, and finally the they were here.
He could already hear Sobel shouting at the top of his lungs when he realised they were a man short, revoking all their weekend passes for the next year as he took out his wrath on the men left behind.
I'm gonna fucking kill him, he thought, balling his fist tightly as he braced himself for the inevitable onslaught.
"Fuck Joe, how nice of you to join us!" Luz's shout dragged him out of his red haze.
The man's features had been obscured when he'd stood in the doorframe, but now that he'd stepped inside he could make him out in more detail.
Joe was wearing his dress greens from the previous night, and they were obviously wrinkled as he'd expected. Joe walked meekly past Luz, saying something to him which caused the shorter man to frown as he followed him with his eyes.
Luz caught him intently watching their exchange and shrugged as he shook his head.
He quickly got up from his bed and marched over the Joe's bed.
"You're late," he stated flatly.
"Yeah, well spotted genius. Your mother must be real proud?" Joe retorted without much sting to his words.
He understood why Luz had looked confused. Joe was always quick with a comment and he had a sharp tongue and quick temper. His response was practically meek in comparison to what they'd come to expect from him.
"Ummm…" he stammered, the wind momentarily knocked from his sails as he wavered between giving him a piece of his mind or calling Doc Roe to come and have a look at him.
The loud crash of boots on the wooden floor made the choice for him. Everyone turned to the aisle and snapped to attention, the hustle and bustle of the room now perfectly quiet.
Lieutenants Winters and Welsh marched up and down the aisle, eyes expertly assessing each one of them. As expected Winters stopped in-front of him and Joe, the redhead Lieutenant quirking his head to one side as if deciding whether he was seeing correctly or not.
"Liebgott, you're not ready. The orders were relayed to you as to when we're moving out?"
His eyes fixed to the wall just behind Winters Joe replied, "Yes, sir."
"Then why aren't you dressed?"
"No excuse, sir."
Winters nodded and his eyes darted to the perfectly made bed, which Joe had never slept in, and the packed bag on top of it.
"You have five minutes to change, pack and join your platoon outside."
"Yes, sir."
Winters briefly met his eyes as he turned towards the door, but whatever the officer was thinking was well hidden.
Reaching the door Welsh exited first just as Winters said, "Move out," before disappearing into the sun.
As if time had briefly stopped and now started up again everyone picked up where they'd left off. He wanted to talk to Joe, but the other man was hastily getting dressed, his head down and a dark shadow hanging over his eyes.
Biting his tongue, he decided to wait until they got onto the troop ship. Rumour had it they'd have nothing more to do than talk, gamble and sleep so he'd have enough time to find out what the hell had happened.
Jessica POV
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean
With one hand braced on her knee she used the back of the other to wipe the sweat from her brow.
The compact cabin she shared with Arlene was stuffy, both from the closed door and her body heat, with the small open window above her head providing only meagre relief.
She straightened out and stared longingly out of the window. There were clouds in the sky with a soft rain misting the air. She knew on deck it would be cold and fresh, far better weather for exercising than a small, stuffy cabin.
Heavy metal scraping across more metal told her someone had opened the door to their cabin, a blissful draft carrying away the warm air.
"Jeez, did you decide you needed a sauna?" Alex moaned as he stepped inside the room.
She slowly turned around to meet him with a scowl. "You're not trapped indoors the whole damn time. So don't even start."
Holding up his hands he replied, "Please don't kill me. I'm innocent I swear!"
She grunted an incoherent reply. Innocent was not a word she would use to describe him.
"I brought you some lunch, thought we could eat together," he said over his shoulder as he reached down for something on the floor near the door.
She grabbed a towel and dried herself off as much as possible, before slipping on a very worn and faded khaki jersey she'd stolen from one of the men years ago. As warm as it was, she didn't feel like dealing with any looks from passing officers if they saw her eating with Alex in the room wearing only her PT shorts and sweat soaked white PT shirt.
Sitting down on the hard metal floor she leaned her back against the side of the lower bunk bed. The majority of the floor space in the room she shared with Arlene was taken up by the metal bunk beds. Their trunks and bags were shoved against the opposite wall, leaving a small strip of space to stand, move and sit.
Alex sat down opposite her, Arlene's travel trunk providing him with back support, his long legs awkwardly crossed in-front of him. A metal tray containing two suspicious looking sandwiches and two canteens appeared between them.
"Don't get too excited. It's just water and tuna sandwiches."
She tried to arrange her face to match that of a disappointed child's. "Oh no, I thought it was bacon and good wine."
His green eyes sparkled as his lips drifted into a smile. "Do you honestly think if it was bacon and wine this is all I would bring?"
Reaching for her canteen she replied, "Fair point."
Taking a few big swigs, she savoured the cool water running down her throat, giving her stomach a chance to settle after the exercise.
She used the moment of silence to study her friend who was by now digging into his own sandwich. Alex always reminded her of the naughty blond boy that seemed to live on every street. He was tall, and if it hadn't been for years of training he'd be lanky. His hair was sandy blond and no matter what the military did, it always seemed to stand up in all directions. His green eyes were always darting around, making it seem as if he was constantly looking for an opportunity to cause havoc. He was always generous with his affection and smiled quickly. An attribute which made him both a wonderful friend and a dangerous flirt.
Who doesn't love the boy next door with a naughty streak and a million watt smile?
She replaced the cap of her canteen and placed it between her crossed legs. As she reached for her own sandwich she asked, "How are things upstairs?"
The day they'd gotten onto the troop ship she knew the trip was going to be tricky at best and unpleasant at worst. The ship was transporting paratroopers to Europe and was filled past capacity. They'd been ordered to arrive an hour before the paratroopers were supposed to start loading. As soon as they'd boarded they were shown to their quarters below deck. Their unit was given two cabins next to each other, one for the men and one for her and Arlene, right at the back of the ship.
The captain had politely but firmly ordered her and Arlene to stay below decks from 05:00 to 22:00 and when they did go up top they had to try to hide their identity.
She understood, two women on a ship full of board soldiers wasn't going to end well, but that didn't make her cabin fever any less. Of course after a few days on board some of the other officers who were stationed close to them had realised there were two women aboard. If only by the way their friends would stand watch at the door of the bathroom when they had to use it. None of the officers approached them though, whether because of orders they'd received or death threats her friends had made she didn't know.
Alex washed down his bread with a drink of water from his own canteen before he answered her question. "The weathers turning a bit. It's cold and wet today. Although you wouldn't know if you go below decks. You think this is cramped? Shit, you should see where they have the enlisted men jammed in to."
She raised an eyebrow for him to continue.
"The ship wasn't made to carry this many people. So the officers and up got cabins, while the enlisted men stay in the hold. They put rows and rows of hammocks down there, running all the way up the walls. I promise, you're down there for one minute and you can't breathe or see because of the smoke and heat. Plus, it stinks."
"Sounds lovely," she mumbled through her mouth full of bread and something that maybe tasted like tuna.
"Where's Arlene? Aren't you two supposed to be on lock down until later?"
She swallowed and replied, "Next door with John and Clark playing cards. I needed to get rid of some of my energy before I lose my mind."
"You mean there's more left to lose?"
"Oh, ha-ha, you're real funny. But to answer your question, apparently there is."
He smiled a reply as he took another bite of his sandwich.
A comfortable silence fell between the two friends as they finished their meal.
"How do you think the newbies are going to be?" Alex asked once he'd finished his meal, stretching his long legs out in-front of him as much as he could in the tight space.
"Good hopefully. Green definitely. We had our pick and on paper they all seem like a perfect fit. It'll also be good to have the extra bodies on the team. Ten people instead of five will make a difference."
"Yeah, and we'll have time to train them up to our standards. Get them use to working with you and Arlene."
She smirked. "That's a whole different story! They all think they know what it'll be like to fight alongside women, but then the time comes and they're so damn sentimental about it."
"I remember that feeling. Shit, I was so scared to accidently hit you when we did close quarter combat drills."
"I remember, I got so incredibly frustrated with you. You were supposed to try and hit me, not avoid it. Luckily you got over it."
"Well, you did knock me out cold. After that I felt less bad about trying to hit you back."
She smiled to herself. "I remember that. Good times."
He shifted his weight around as he cleared his throat. She'd known him for long enough to recognise the signs of him building up to a more serious question, so she arched up one eyebrow and tilted her head a fraction to one side.
"So, how's Arlene doing?"
There it is.
"You should ask her."
"I have. She just looks at you and says she's fine. Whenever anybody uses the word fine, it never means fine."
"And what makes you think I'll know any more than you do?"
He shot her a blank stare but she held her ground.
With a huff of air, he finally said, "For one thing it's the two of you. You'll tell each other things like this. Also, you're pretty relentless when you want to be, I've seen you crack tougher nuts than Arlene." He paused and waited for her to say something, but when she didn't he added, "I'm not trying to get some gossip. I just want to make sure she's okay. You two don't get mixed up with someone often, so it has to be something special when you do."
She sighed and reached underneath the nearest pillow, pulling out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Holding out the pack to Alex, he followed the familiar routine of taking two cigarettes and the lighter. As she tucked the pack back safely underneath the pillow he lit both cigarettes, giving hers a quick puff to make sure it took before handing it to her.
"I still remember the days I swore I'd never smoke," she said before taking a long drag.
Alex exhaled his smoke. "So, what happened?"
"War."
"Seems like a good enough reason to me."
She placed the ash tray they'd stolen from the hotel on the tray between them. Taking another drag, she took her time deciding how much to share with Alex, and by extension John and Clark.
She leant forward and with a flick of her wrist ash fell into the tray. "As impossible as it sounds I think she fell in love with him. Not that she'd ever say it out loud."
Alex didn't interrupt her, he just continuously added to the wisp of smoke hanging between them.
Leaning back against the bed she continued, "She thinks leaving him with a letter was the best for both of them. Neither one will have to worry about the other, they can both just focus on the fight. Of course she's going to worry about him in any case, and I'm pretty sure Joe knows she's going to be around fighting, so he'll worry as well. Honestly, I think she's worried it was going to end badly in the end, so she cut it off before it could get started."
Alex ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes as he took a final drag of his cigarette. Pressing the stump into the ash tray he said, "Maybe it won't end badly. They could both survive."
She handed him what was left of her cigarette, she rarely managed to finish one and the men were always happy to help her. "It's not just that. She was probably worried that if he found out how involved we really are in the fight he'd back off. We're not exactly what most men sign up for when they ask a woman to dance."
"Any guy that backs off because of your job is an idiot."
"Agreed, but idiots can still break your heart, and hers has been broken into pieces before."
"So I take it she doesn't secretly hope to run into him again?"
"I suspect she has mixed feelings on that front. Honestly the chances are slim, but could still happen. We're probably going to be based with or close to the paratroopers."
"Yeah, about that."
"What do you know?"
Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand he elaborated. "Once we were out at sea we started asking around. You know, see who was on the ship with us. Turns out, Joe's Company is here."
Her mouth fell open and she just stared at him for a good few heartbeats.
"Hello?" Alex said, waving his hand in-front of her face.
Snapping out of her shock she threw her head back. "Well this is just fucking perfect now isn't it? Probably a good thing we're trapped down here all goddamn day."
"Yeah, if her plan is to never see him again."
She lifted her head back to look at her friend. "You just watch. We're going to be stationed in the same small English town. No avoiding him there."
"Should we tell her?"
"I'll tell her tonight when we're alone. She's going to finish all my smokes before we even hit English waters."
"Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to hide mine and leave Clark's out in the open."
"You're evil."
He shrugged. "Maybe, but you still love me."
"Unfortunately."
He shot her a lopsided smile which she answered with a playful wink.
Nixon POV
The officers' mess was practically empty at 15:00.
That sweet spot between lunch and dinner when everyone seemed to vanish and you could hear yourself think.
He was sitting at the table, sharing a pack of smokes with Harry while Dick watched them with a look of disapproval etched all over his features.
"When you look at me like that you remind me of my mother. All disappointment and disapproval."
"Well then it should make you feel like you're home. I'll remember to keep doing it," Dick retorted.
Harry shook his head at their back and forth. He was probably still trying to figure out how the two of them had become such close friends. On paper they were exact opposites. The one barely adhering to the rules while the other was as straight-laced as it got.
"Before you two start again," Harry interjected, "you heard about the women on board?"
Nixon gave him a knowing look. "I'm the Intelligence officer. Of course I know."
"So what can you tell us?"
"It's top secret."
Dick rolled his eyes. "No it isn't."
He shot a glare Dick's way before taking a swig from his canteen, the bitter liquor burning his throat. "Fine, it's not top secret. But no one seems to know the full story."
"What have you heard?" Harry asked nonchalantly, doing his best to hide his curiosity.
He leaned forward onto his elbows as if he was sharing a state secret with the other two men. Harry followed his lead but Dick just looked his way, eyebrow raised.
Spoil sport, he thought, but he knew his friend well enough to see he was interested, he just hid it far better than Harry did.
"Two women are traveling with a group of elite soldiers. I haven't seen any of them, but from what I've heard they sound a lot like those men we saw at the club in New York."
At the mention of the club Dick's body tensed. He leaned in closer to the conversation, no longer trying to play it cool.
He smirked, he'd though that bit of information would really peak his interest. Since leaving New York his friend had seemed distracted at times, and he would be damned if it wasn't because of the woman in the red dress they'd met.
Happy that he now had a captivated audience he continued, "Some of the men say they're wives or girlfriends of the bigwigs traveling with a guard, but I don't see that. I know there are a small handful of units that have women, and there is a rumour that an elite unit has one or two. So I'd put my money on them being soldiers."
Harry let out a long whistle and reached for the open canteen perched on the table between them. "You think they'd be able to keep up with them men?" he asked, the canteen hovering in-front of his lips.
He shrugged, unable to see a scenario where a woman would be able to keep up with the men in physical combat.
"What do you think?" Harry asked Dick.
His best friend paused, momentarily staring off into the distance. When his eyes focused back on the two of them he replied, "We haven't heard anything official, so there's no point in speculating. We'll find out at some stage."
"What do you mean 'anything official'? I'd settle for anything unofficial at this stage," Harry snorted.
"Don't look at me. He's the Intelligence Officer," Dick said, looking over to him.
"When I know, you'll know. Now give me my flask back. I'm gonna start charging."
Harry smiled as he handed him back his canteen which felt suspiciously lighter.
Joe POV
Anybody that wasn't an officer had been given a makeshift bunk in the hold of the large ship. Rows and rows of hammocks stacked high up the metal hull. The air was heavy with smoke and body heat and every hour or so a fight inevitably broke out. He'd actually been in one earlier that day. Guarnere had called Sobel a Jew, and he took offence because he's a Jew.
Fucking Sobel and Guarnere with his big yap, he thought, tentatively touching his nose and flinching. At least they'd both landed a few punches.
Laying on his back in his bunk he reached inside his jacket and took out the neatly folded piece of paper, already worn from being read and reread more than a dozen times. As he played with Arlene's letter, rolling it between his fingers, he had to admit half of the reason he'd picked the fight was because he couldn't fight with her, or for her.
"Hey Joe," Luz called up from his bunk one down and across from his.
"Yeah," he replied, quickly putting the letter away safely.
"What ever happened with you and that brunette? The good looking one from New York."
He turned his head, wondering what he should say. Luz was the first one to really outright ask him about Arlene. Some of the other men had hinted at it, but no one had really asked.
He didn't want to talk about her, but at the same time she was all he could think about.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You know what I mean. 'C'mon, where stuck on this rust bucket, give me some kind of a distraction. I'd do the same for you."
He gritted his teeth. Arlene should only ever be his distraction.
"Yeah Joe, tell us all a story," Malarkey chimed in.
He bit down the anger welling up in his chest. "Luz, you just wanna hear my story 'coz you don't have any of your own," he retorted, hoping to buy himself some time.
The men close by laughed and a few good natured comments were exchanged followed by some violent cursing.
He smirked and waited, knowing Luz wouldn't give up.
"I'm still here Joe," the other soldier said as if on cue.
He sighed, he had to say something. The longer he avoided them the more persistent the men would get and he didn't trust himself to keep his temper in check. "The night was fine," he lied, it had all been perfect.
"Fine huh? Could have fooled me. Sulking about," he heard Bill mumble but chose to ignore him.
"You gonna see her again?" Malarkey asked. He always thought the Irishman was a bit of a romantic at heart.
"Yes, she's going to England. I'll find her," he replied, the truth of the words and his own conviction catching him off guard.
He was angry and his pride was bruised, but he couldn't get her off of his mind so he knew, come hell or high water he had to see her again.
"England's a big place. You really think you're gonna find one broad?" Luz asked.
He nodded to himself. "Yeah, I do."
I have to.
Jessica POV
She stood on the dark deck, her legs and torso pressed against the metal railing as both hands curled around it, eyes closed as the cold sea spray dusted her face. She swore she could almost smell England they were so close, it wouldn't be more than day or two now until they dropped anchor.
The last few days the sea had been choppy at best, making it nearly impossible for anyone to venture above deck unless they were willing to risk going overboard. Today however, the weather had turned, resulting in blue skies with a cool ocean breeze. By the time darkness had fallen the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped by a few degrees. She didn't mind, she knew that meant the deck would be pretty much empty which suited her just fine.
She and Arlene had spent the day lying on their bunks, faces turned to the small open window, talking aimlessly, reading and napping. As soon as their curfew had passed she'd stuffed her long hair into a cap and grabbed her army issue jacket which was a size too big for her. She'd begged Arlene to come with her, but the brunette was terrified of running into Joe so had refused.
Not that she would, he's not supposed to be above deck this late at night. Officers and women only.
She opened her eyes with a sigh. She knew Arlene would be happier with Joe in her life. More stressed but definitely happier. At the moment she was doing her best to act as if nothing ever happened, but no one missed her shorter temper and bouts of contemplative silence.
Stubborn woman. Almost looking forward to getting back into the fight just so she can stop pretending to be okay because she'll be too busy trying not to get killed.
Pushing her concerns for her friend aside she found the corners of her lips curl up when the moon peaked out from behind the bank of clouds which had hidden it and then her smile widened when the memory of her last night in New York flashed before her eyes.
Every now and again she would think of Richard, more often than she would admit even to herself. The way his muscles felt under her touch, the weight of his hands on her shoulders or his distinct scent of army issue soap, woody aftershave and something uniquely warm and masculine.
She'd already done the math. If Joe was on-board there was a damn good chance so was Richard, but unlike Arlene she hoped to run into him. She knew it was foolish because nothing would probably come of it, but she still wanted one more chance to be near him none the less.
What the hell Jessica! Move on already. This pining thing is so not your style.
From the corner of her eye she saw a soldier approach the railing two feet to her right. He didn't look her way, but even if he did she had her cap pulled down and collar popped to hide her face as much as possible. In the dark he wouldn't know she was a woman from where he was standing.
He stopped at the railing and removed his cap, running his hand through his red hair a few times. The colour was like a shock to her system, making her do a double take as her heart sped up.
Well fuck. Be careful what you wish for.
Turning her face back to the sea she took a deep breath and shook out her shoulders. Taking a few moments to regain her composure she moved silently down the railing.
Richard didn't look her way as she approached. He was staring intently off into the distance, his mouth set into a determined line and she noticed his hands were shoved deep inside his pockets.
For a second she worried that approaching him like this wasn't the right thing to do. He'd obviously come out here for some peace and quiet and it seemed he had a lot weighing on his mind.
No, it's now or never. Buck up.
She kept moving until she was right beside him, their arms only an inch apart. She looked up at him, he was taller than she remembered, but then again she'd been wearing heels when they'd met. He still hadn't registered her presence so she decided a more direct approach was best.
"Well, fancy meeting you here soldier," she said.
He blinked as if coming out of a daze and slowly moved his head to face her. When his eyes landed on her he tilted his head slightly to one side and his mouth hung slightly open.
She smiled up at him. "No, you're not going crazy. Yet."
His face transformed to mirror her smile. "Jessica. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, just going for my annual holiday cruise. Such an inconvenience that all these soldiers decided to tag along this time."
"Yeah, we keep hogging all the pool chairs, not to mention the space at the bar."
"How rude."
"I'll talk to the men. See what I can do."
"Well I'd appreciate that. Days on board and I still don't have a tan."
He let out a short laugh as he stared at her through his long lashes, the ocean spray making them stand out black against his blue eyes.
Well that look's dangerous, she thought.
Hoping to steer the subject to something more formal she said, "I heard the Airborne being deployed to Europe. Makes sense, a bit tricky to jump into a forest of palm trees."
His face became a fraction more serious as he looked back out over the water. "We'll spend some time in England first. Could be a while before we deploy."
She looked from him to the water, allowing her eyes to settle on the dark horizon. "You make it sound like a bad thing."
"If I'm going to fight, I'd prefer to have it over and done with."
"Understandable. Waiting for the unknown is almost the worst part."
She felt his eyes on her, but kept hers fixed to the horizon. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked again.
"Same as you, going to England and then onto Europe. Aldbourne to be exact. Seems we'll be stationed in the same town."
He kept staring at her for a few heartbeats and she used all her self-restraint not to look over to him. This was not the place to do the things she'd imagined since meeting him.
"There's a rumour going around of a special military unit traveling on-board with two women. And that they're part of the unit, or a general's mistresses," he said, finally tearing his eyes away from her face.
"I highly doubt any general could handle two mistresses at the same time, and no sane man would have two of his mistresses travel together unless he wanted a blood bath."
"So it's the former option then," he stated and she knew he had her backed into a corner.
"Yes there are two women on-board, hopefully it's obvious I'm one of them," she replied, deciding to be as honest as she could.
"You're safe on that front," he remarked.
She looked over to him and he turned his face towards her.
"That night at the club, you remember Clark?" she asked.
He nodded and waited for her to continue.
"I told you we worked together and that's the truth. Currently there are five of us, but we should be ten. We're meeting the replacements in England."
He pursed his lips and nodded as he absorbed the information. "Can I ask what you do exactly?"
She glanced out to the ocean as she pulled her jacket collar up higher, the wind was getting colder and the spray was starting to bite into her skin. Turning back to him she answered, "You can ask, but I can't give you any more details as things stand. I work for the military and spend a lot of time near the front. That's the best I can do."
He seemed to bite back whatever follow up question he had for the time being. A few seconds of silence passed between them, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. She didn't think she could be uncomfortable around him.
"Can I see you again?" Richard asked.
She felt the smile slide across her face. "I suspect we'll be running into each other more often than you think. And I'll be looking forward to every moment."
He dropped his head, the most adorable school boy smile lighting up his face.
"Lieutenant Winters, Captain Sobel needs to speak to you, sir," a man shouted from the top of the stairs which led to the officers' quarters below deck.
Richards' head shot up, his face going from a smile to a frown in a split second flat. "I need to go. I'll see you around, or in England," he said, sounding annoyed and hopeful at the same time.
"Go, don't keep your Captain waiting."
He hesitated for a moment before greeting her with a nod and stalking after the soldier that had called him away.
She watched him leave and thought of all the things she should have said.
Whoever Sobel is, I'm not a fan. What an asshole.
She stayed out on the deck for a few more minutes, no longer staring at the ocean but waiting to make sure she could slip back to her room unnoticed while trying to keep warm and dry and failing at both.
Finally satisfied that the coast was clear she headed for the stairs leading below decks. Over the past few days she and Arlene had found the quickest and quietest route from the deck to their room and by this stage of the journey she was able to navigate it blindfolded.
Quickly taking the last corner she ran straight into a solid mass, nearly sending her flying backwards, but luckily her reflexes kicked in and her hands shot out, searching for something to steady herself.
What they found was one muscular upper arm and one calloused hand. She jerked her head up to find two dark pools set into defined features staring down at her, a scowl which seemed permanent doing nothing to detract from the man's good looks.
"You should watch where you're going trooper," he said, letting go of her and straightening out.
"So should you," she shot back.
His expression changed from deeply annoyed to confused in a fraction of a second.
Shit, I need to work on my man voice. Oh well, at least he's an officer.
She dropped her collar, the air was stuffy and warm below deck and she could already feel herself start to sweat underneath all the layers.
The man relaxed and a smirk pulled at the right corner of his full lips as he stared her down.
Well, she wasn't one to back off from a fight, be it the staring kind, so she placed her hands on her hips and waited him out.
"So the rumours are true. There is a woman on board," he said, still holding her gaze.
"Well, either that or I'm a fabulous figment of your imagination."
"You felt pretty real when we collided."
She shrugged. "Either that or you have one hell of an imagination. Which one is it Lieutenant?"
He took out a packet of smokes and a lighter from his jacket's breast pocket and placed one cigarette between his lips. Lighting it he gave two quick puffs to make sure it took as he put the pack and lighter back. "Call me Speirs," he said, cigarette confidently dangling between his lips.
"Just Speirs?"
"Ronald Speirs. And you?"
She casually reached over and pulled the cigarette from between his lips, taking a long slow drag. "What do you usually call the figments of your imagination?"
He looked shocked for a moment, clearly a man unused to being challenged, but he recovered quickly, his face settling into a well-rehearsed blank mask. He didn't say anything, just stared her down as he waited for her to cave in first.
Oh darling, you have no clue who you're dealing with.
She moved forward, closing the space between them. His mask faltered again for a moment and he took a step to the side like she'd suspected he would. She squeezed past him in the narrow hallway, never breaking eye contact.
Just as she passed him she glanced back over her shoulder, satisfied to find him still looking after her. "Thanks for the smoke, Lieutenant."
She continued to her room, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. She'd been able to spend time with Richard, had a fun encounter with some random Lieutenant she was sure she'd never see again and scored a free smoke. Above all else though, she now had two stories to tell Arlene to help take her mind off of Joe.
I should go for walkabouts more often.
XXXXXXX
Hello everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic week and that the weekend is off to a cracking start. I have such lovely reviewers and I want to thank each and every one for their reviews. Also, to everyone that takes time out of their busy lives to read my story, thank you so very much.
See you all soon.
