AN: Thank you for all the follows. Reviews are awesome and make my day! Anything y'all would like to see happen? Just leave a comment or PM me. I will try my best to fit it in! By the way, if you wanna see some, uh, sex scenes *ah-hem* please either write it yourself, PM it to me; or if you have another author you know that can do it, you could get them to write it and send it. I will insert it into the story and credit the writer at the beginning and end of that chapter(s).
The Confederates came every two days to pick up any able-bodied rebel and stick them back into the army. As for the Yankees, they put them into prisons to use as exchange with the Union who had also captured some Confederates. This helped to "empty" the house and make space for more wounded soldiers.
Maura knew that they would be coming soon, and for some reason, she didn't want them to take Jane away. She may be wearing a uniform that was now brown, but she still might be hauled away. Maura went to the chest where she had kept some keepsakes she had taken from her parents. She held out the checkered shirt, followed by the pair tanned breeches, and the suspenders. They all looked to be about Jane's size. Thankfully, her father was not a really big sized man and was built more like Jane – athletic, wry, and reasonably skinny. She hid it in her room first, before she went looking for Jane.
She found her near the fireplace, curled up in a chair and reading a small, worn-out paperback. Maura cleared her throat. "Mr. Romana, could you come up here for a while, I need to change your dressing."
Jane looked up drowsily. "What? I thought one of the nurses told me that she'll only need to change it tomorrow?"
Maura shook her head, "No, just listen to me." It was probably the firmness in Maura's voice and her expression that compelled Jane to listen to her.
Because of her heavily bandaged hands, Jane fumbled a bit as she tried to close the book. Succeeding at last, she stood up, tucked the book under her arm and followed Maura. She was surprised when she was led to Maura's very own bedroom. Pushing open the door, Maura gestured for Jane to enter in. She quickly and quietly shut the door when the both of them were inside.
"Uh, Maura, why do we need to be in your room for you to change my bandages?" Maura ignored Jane's question and went to the bed to pick up the clothing she had chosen.
"Jane, there are going to be soldiers that will be coming soon to pick up both the 'federates and unions. I don't want them to have to guess which side you are on. So, I brought a change of my father's clothes that you can change into. Please do take care of them! I'll try to find you something later. This will have to do for now." Maura handed the clothing to Jane.
"Why can't you just lie to them?" Jane tilted her head and asked.
Maura cheeks flushed a pinkish hue. "I, I can't lie. Every time I do, I get a shortness of breath, feel nauseated, have a quickened heartbeat, and all my muscles might tighten. It'll be better if you dress like this, and I'll let you answer whatever questions the soldiers might ask you."
"Didn't you just tell a lie to get me up here?" Jane drawled.
"That technically does not count as a lie because I am changing your dressing. And by dressing, I say to mean the clothing that you are currently wearing." Maura fired back.
Jane rolled her eyes and snorted. "So, apparently, you can't tell lies, but you can sure find the loopholes within telling a lie."
"Just keep quiet and put the clothes on!"
"Okay, okay." Jane laid her book down on a wooden chest nearby and proceeded to unbutton the only three buttons that she had buttoned on her jacket. There was a slight delay, but the buttons were big and Jane managed to get it unbuttoned. She shrugged the jacket off as best as she could and handed it to Maura who folded it neatly and put it in the corner of her wardrobe.
When she turned around, she saw that Jane was fiddling with the trouser button. This button was at least half as small as the jacket's. And, not to mention that there was another two smaller buttons to go.
Frustration was building up on Jane's face. Maura suddenly knelt down in from of Jane and put her hands on Jane's hands, stilling their movement. "Here, let me." Maura said.
Jane's vision nearly went blank, and her knees were slowly turning into jelly. How many other girls had taken this position in front of her? How many times at the local saloon had Jedidiah the soldier taken some of the call girls up to his room?
Maura had been wondering what created that bulge Jane's pants. She had noticed it the first day they had met, right after they had introduced themselves. She hadn't wanted to bring up, knowing that it would have made for an awkward conversation. Kneeling in front of Jane and pulling down her pants was not the way Maura wanted to find out. However, if life handed you a lemon, go ahead and make lemonade out of it.
Trying to distract herself, Maura posed a question. "Jane, did you manage to use the outhouse at all since you came here yesterday?"
"What? Maura, what kind of question is that?"
Maura looked up and quirked an eyebrow.
"Fine, I didn't use at all. I haven't really been drinking a lot of water, so I don't really need to use the outhouse."
Maura knew that the underlying reason was because Jane did not want to ask for help. "Jane, please don't be hesitant to ask for help. If you don't feel comfortable to ask for help with one of the other volunteers, you are more than welcomed to come to me." By now, Maura began pulling down the pants, finally revealing what the bulge was.
It was shaped to look like what it was supposed to represent. It was made out of extremely soft, yet firm leather, with its length about seven inches. There was a harness through which Jane wore it, almost like an underwear.
"Ah, I know what that is. I recently read in a news article that a 28,000 year old stone phallus was recently found in a German cave."
"Maaauuurrraaa! Please, it's embarrassing enough that you have to help change me. Besides, I only put this on when I am not within my own home and tent, which happens quite a lot. It helps with the disguise. Can you please just get done dressing me?" Jane whined. She was now left only wearing her cotton shirt, which she insisted on keeping on and wearing underneath the checked shirt. For it effectively hid her breast – which wasn't really large to begin with – and made her look as flat as a man.
Maura chuckled as she helped put on the new set of clothes. "Jane, you don't have to feel embarrassed. Listen, if you want, I can put up a mattress for you, if it gives you more privacy makes you more comfortable to take that, uh, thing off at night."
"Thank you, kindly, Maura. I will keep that in mind." Jane said sincerely.
Maura knew she shouldn't push it. She just smiled warmly at Jane as she finished buttoning the last button on the shirt. "Come, let's go down."
Twelve men were already downstairs when Jane came down. Maura had gone to the kitchen to get a jug of lemonade to serve the "guests."
One of the soldiers, spying Jedidiah and the way he was dressed, sauntered up to him. "Who might you be? I ain't see you the last time I was here."
"Well, I'm Jedidiah Romana, Maura's fiancé. Just got here yesterday. I would shake your hand, but, as you can see, I can't." Jedidiah held up his hands.
"Maura never did mention that she had a fiancé before." The soldier rudely did not introduce himself, and merely squinted at Jedidiah, eyeing him like a ravenous college guy eyeing the last slice of pizza.
"Well, yeah. We've never actually met. We spoke through letters. 'Most all the other guys in my regiment had some gal to write back to and I had nobody, so one of our mutual friends suggested that we write each other. Surprisingly, we kept at it. I had reckoned I would come visit her once this darn war was over, but, I got injured, my service got cut short, and who knew, I was brought here for treatment. So, here I am!" Jane lied smoothly.
Just then, Maura bustled in, carrying a jug of lemonade and a few glass cups, and effectively stalling anymore questions that would have come up. "Oh, hi, Dennis. I see you've met Jedidiah."
"Yes, I have. Jedidiah your fiancé." Dennis pointedly stated.
Maura made a strangled noise. "Uh, yes, that's Jedidiah." Wanting to redirect the attention, she quickly mentioned, "Well, all the able bodied soldiers are already gathered outside on the front porch. Have a lemonade." Maura shoved a glass into Dennis's hand.
Maura and Jane managed to finally get rid of Dennis and his crew. Once they were out of sight, she turned to Jane. "Seriously? You're my fiancé?!" Maura harshly whispered.
"Well, what did you want me to say? I'm your distant cousin a thousand times removed? I mean, look at us. I look like a mix between an Italian and a native Indian. I could pass as someone who had led a hard life. But, you. I don't think I come close to being related to you. You look like the epitome of an American beauty." Jane burst out. Her eyes widened when she realised what her last sentence meant. "I just heard what that sounded like. I mean, you're pretty, you know. But, you're also, um, nice on the inside. It's not that you're just nice on the outside - I mean you do look good - but it's not just the outer - oh, forget it! You know what I meant!"
Maura was laughing at how flustered Jane was sounding. "Yes, I do know what you meant. I'm pretty."
"Yeah, yeah, anything you say." Jane muttered. "You could at least have warned me that you had a suitor."
"You mean Dennis Rockman? He's hardly a suitor. He only meets me when he comes to pick up the soldiers."
"He seems pretty infatuated with you."
"He might be. I'm not sure. I've got to go back in to help out now. Go occupy yourself." Maura said. "Oh, and Jane, don't even think to hesitate to come to me if you need help."