I'm melting

In your eyes

I lost my place

Could stay a while

And I'm melting

"I Caught Fire in Your Eyes" by The Used

Becca's POV

March 25, 1944

I stuck the last of the paperwork I'd been assigned to do on the corner of the desk and stood up. I winced as bones cracked and unused muscles were allowed to stretch for the first time in hours.

"Gene, have I mentioned how much I hate paperwork?" I asked Gene, who was at another desk in the small room filling out inventory forms. We'd been in here for the past two days doing paperwork the aid station seemed to have been neglecting for the past two months. Why we'd been picked out of all the staff on hand was beyond me, but I was almost glad for it. Something had changed that day in the bar. I could feel it waiting just under the surface of my awareness to lash out. I felt helpless against it and until I knew exactly what had caused it, I was adamant about staying away from both Bill and Ron.

"Yeah, Fields, about twenty times already," he groaned, his face hitting the stack in aggravation. I could understand his frustration. I'd rather be out doing runs with Sobel than see another piece of paper. I was just about to sling my medical bag over my shoulder when a familiar figure passed by the door's entrance. I let out a squeak, one that Gene didn't seem to notice. Ducking beneath a desk, I hoped I wasn't too late to hide from Bill.

Ever since the night that I'd gotten drunk, Bill even more than Ron had been difficult to hide from. I couldn't help but feel that he knew exactly what I was trying to keep secret, something that I had no idea how to handle. His dark eyes would soften whenever he looked at me and his smiles held more knowledge than I was really ready to face. If he knew, I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't tell someone. So, I'd been avoiding him ever since. And it seemed like he'd finally gotten tired of it. I gulped down my fear, my heart pounding hard and fast in my chest. My teeth came down on my bottom lip to keep myself from making any noise.

I heard footsteps as someone entered the room. I closed my eyes, trying in vain to steady my pulse and my breathing.

"Hey, Doc, you seen Fields anywhere?" Oh God, Gene, don't tell him. Don't say anything, please.

"Uh, well, funny you should ask because he was just at that desk." Thoughts of strangling Roe in his sleep flashed through my mind before Bill's angry face appeared in my line of vision. I started, my head crashing against the heavy wood of the desk. I cried out, holding my throbbing head in my hands.

"Jesus Christ, Bill!" I muttered, rubbing the sore spot and wincing from the pain. That was definitely going to bruise. I could see his lips twitching, obviously trying to keep the laughter from spilling out. I glared at him as if daring him to say anything.

"What the hell're ya doin' down there, Fields?" he asked, his chuckles echoing in the small space and making my chest swell even as I rolled my eyes at him. I ducked out from beneath the desk, settling in the hard-backed chair for a moment before answering him.

"I thought I dropped something," I muttered, my voice shaky and quiet. Silence ensued, the only sound in the room the scratching of Gene's pen against the paper before him. Bill just looked at me, his eyes staring at me, through me, like I'd never seen him look at me before. I knew then, without a doubt, that he knew I was hiding something. Something huge. I looked away from him as Gene stood up and stretched. But I could still feel his gaze like a white hot flame licking my skin. I closed my eyes to the sensation, feeling my heart pounding from anticipation of what he was going to do.

"Alright, James, I think I'll be taking off for the day. I'll see you back at barracks?" Gene posed it as a question as he looked between Bill and me. The slight pucker that formed between his black eyebrows was the only sign that he could sense something was going on too. He didn't say anything, though, for which I was grateful. I collected myself quickly, and spouted out a hurried, "yes," before he left the room.

The tension in the room was palpable and I felt slightly sick with it. My insides writhed with it, my unease grew greater while the seconds ticked past.

"So, me and the boys was wondering if you wanted to come with us to the pub tonight? You haven't been in two weeks," Bill's voice almost seemed like just another part of the room. Materializing out of thin air and fading before I'd really had the chance to process what he'd said.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head so that I could snap out of whatever daze I'd fallen into to. Bill rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was then that I realized he was nervous, yet another piece of the puzzle.

"I asked ya if ya wanted to go to the pub tonight." I glanced down at my quavering hands, tempted to sit on them just so that I would stop shaking so much.

"Oh," I said lamely, my teeth darting outwards to capture and tease my bottom lip. The pub. The very place I'd been avoiding for the past two weeks. How could I say yes to him? When every nerve in my body was screaming for me not to go. There was almost a guaranteed chance that Ron would be there. I flinched as I thought of the company he would bring. The gorgeous blonde that so obviously belonged on his arm. He deserved someone like that. I, however much I wanted to be that for him, was nowhere near up to his standards. It was easier to accept that I simply wasn't good enough for him and to move on. Only, I was more stuck on him now than ever. The few glimpses I'd caught of him at the hospital when he came by to see her sent my heart reeling and my knees crumbling like sand beneath me. No, there was no way I was going to the pub.

"I don't think so, Bill. I've been..."

"Working all week, I know. And you've been avoiding me for the past two for God knows what reason. So come on, Smalls. Just one damn beer and then I'll let you drag your lazy ass back to barracks," Bill said, amusement lighting up his eyes at the surprise on my face, "Oh yeah, you think old Bill Guarnere don't know when he's being snubbed?"

"I have not been snubbing you, Bill. I told you I've been busy. Besides, why would I be avoiding you?" I asked him, realizing that the question was sort of rhetorical. We both knew exactly why, but I would never go right out and say it. To do so would be the end of my military career, the only thing I had to hold onto in this time. To my astonishment, Bill stepped closer to me. His arms came to either side of my hips as he leaned over me, a smirk forming on his lips at my quick intake of breath. Stuck between his chest and the desk, I couldn't help the way my breath hitched and my pulse quickened to a steady gallop. The blood flowed hot and thick through my veins. I could feel my pupils dilate with my desire. This was the first time a man had been so close and I couldn't help but notice that Bill Guarnere was quite attractive. It wasn't fair that he could put me in such a position.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my voice much firmer and steeled than I felt right now. Bill's grin only grew and his warm breath flowed across my cheeks and flooded me with heat.

"Say you'll come to the pub," he said, his voice low and sensuous in my ear. I shuddered, feeling the shaking of my knees.

"Fine," I whispered, unable to say anything else. I cursed the day that I'd become so easily bent to the will of a man and I wondered when this had happened. I also wondered when I'd begun to notice that Bill Guarnere was a man, one that was obviously interested in me because of the mystery I presented. But did I feel the same? I couldn't honestly say and I knew that no man could ever make me feel the way Ron did.

Bill pushed away from the desk and gave me a mock salute.

"Well I'll see you tonight then," he said and walked out before I could reply. I took a shuddering breath and covered my mouth with my hand. What was I going to do?

Ron's POV

My eyes are closed, my breath rising with a clamor in conjunction with the woman beside me. Her soft lips work as a tantalizing fire licking and biting my skin on their trail to my face. Her hands work away my clothing one item at a time. Now my shirt, now my pants falling to the floor.

I can't help the guttural moan that rips through my throat as she straddles my lap. I grip her hips tightly in my fingers, silently willing her to stop. I can already feel myself on the edge, all my muscles taut and bulging in her hands.

"Stop," I tell her, my voice so hoarse in my strain that it is unrecognizable. In defiance, she rubs herself against me with a small whimper.

"Ron," she pleads, succeeding in nearly breaking my will in two. Beneath me, my legs are shaking with trepidation. I feel like I never have before. With her, I feel like an ignorant virgin, someone who has never known the power and freedom that comes with the act of making love to another person.

She looks down at me, through me. Drowning me in her bright blue eyes which look like two glacial lakes in the midst of her ivory-colored skin. Every look is like a brush of our bare skin, like a caress of her soul on mine. I lean forward to capture her lips in a bruising kiss. I am consumed by my passion. My one goal in making her feel a pleasure so great that she will forever be mine.

Her lips feel like silk against mine, slipping and sliding in a delicate dance as old as time. Her fingers knot within my hair, pulling me even closer to her heated body. My hands come up to balance her in my arms as I turn her over, pushing her back into the bed. She moans, the sound vibrating through my body and traveling straight to my groin. I pull away from her, breathless and looking down on her beauty with a sly smirk.

"You don't know what you do to me," I whisper, sweeping a black lock behind her ear. She shudders beneath me, her hand coming up to hold mine to her face.

"Show me," she mutters softly. I lean down, making a trail with my lips from her stomach to her lips. I can't deny her anything. And this is the one request I have been waiting to grant her for a long time.

I shoot upwards in bed at the knock on my door. Sweat coated my skin like a second layer and the bulge in my boxers was proof that I needed the woman from my dreams like no other. I groaned, rubbing a hand through my hair.

"Lieutenant Speirs?" a timid voice called through the door. I fell back in the bed, recognizing the voice at once. Britney. I ripped the covers away from myself and jumped out of bed. I couldn't ignore her and I couldn't let her see the proof of my arousal.

"Just a second," I shouted, wrenching my pants up my legs and buttoning them at my waist. I searched the floor for my shirt, spotting it near the edge of the bed. I padded toward it and throw it over my head in haste. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the door trying to think about anything but my dream. When I opened the door, I wanted to feel a little bit happy that there was a beautiful woman waiting on the other side for me. Her bright smile and kind eyes were glowing and her cheeks took on a pink tinge when she saw me. But I didn't feel a thing. How could I, in all honesty, say that she was beautiful? I wrung my hands together as I stepped aside for her to enter the room. The casual brush of her soft arm against mine should have sent a jolt of electricity through me, but it didn't. I found myself wanting. And I knew then that I was more over my head than I'd thought before.

Ever since that first date when I'd been forced to spend the entire evening with her at my back, calling for my attention from across the room, I had felt something working its way slowly within me. If I didn't do something to quell it or release it, I knew I was going to go insane.

"Ron, are you aright?" Britney asked, her doe eyes doing nothing to calm me down. If anything, thinking more about that dream only made being near her all the more uncomfortable.

"Yeah, uh, I'm fine. Did you need something?" I asked her, trying to keep the hostility from my voice. By the look on her face, I hadn't succeeded. She turned from me, ducking her head slightly as she went to the desk and sat down.

"No- well, yes. I was wondering if we could go out tonight? It's been a really long week at the hospital and I can see something's obviously bothering you. So, why don't we go to the pub and relax for a while?" I thought about it, my mind saying no while my mouth wanted to spout out a yes. What if she was there again? What would I do then? But I did need a distraction. Anything to keep my mind off of her.

So, before I really knew what I was doing, I replied with a short, "Sure." At that, Britney jumped up from the desk chair and hugged me about the neck. Planting a quick kiss on my cheek and laying a hand on my chest, she thanked me. I looked down on her. On her blonde curls, delicate face, and pink lips and knew that she wasn't the girl for me. She was pretty, but there was nothing there. No connection, no passion, no mystery.

"You're welcome," I said then searched for an excuse to shove her out. I glanced down at my watch. 6:00, "Well, I've gotta be assembled at 0630." Her eyes widened and she stepped away from me with a small smile.

"Of course. Duty calls," she said with a sad glint in her eyes, "I have to be at the hospital by then anyway." She walked past me. Again, a brush of her bare skin on mine. And then she was gone. Leaving me alone to my thoughts, making me almost regret seeing her leave. I shook my head, my mind taking me to places where I didn't want to go. I crossed the room to where my ODs were hanging up. I took one down, threw it on the bed and began to undress. As I took off my clothes, a sudden thought struck me.

I didn't even know the woman's name. How could I have not realized it until now? I rubbed my jaw with my hand. It was yet another mystery about her that I wanted to solve. Steering clear of her would be much harder than I thought. I managed to control myself by turning my thoughts to the pub tonight. I really had been tense for these past two weeks and catching glimpses of her around Aldbourne hadn't been helping. Yes, going to the pub tonight was a good idea. Now, if only she would stay away from there for just this one night, I would be fine.

***

I heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that she wasn't coming after all. I turned to my date, who was watching the couples twirl and dance on the floor. She looked exhausted, of course, I'm sure I did too. The invasion was fast approaching, galloping at lightning speed toward us. It's awaiting victims. But I wasn't scared. I wasn't even nervous, because I knew I would not die in this. I could feel it in my bones, feel it like a snake coiled in the pit of my stomach. I wouldn't die because my business with the woman was not over just yet. I marveled again at the fact that I didn't know her name.

Soon, I thought to myself, soon enough I will know her name. I glanced over at my date again, feeling guilty and somewhat put-out that she was still consuming my every thought. Sighing internally, I took in Britney's face. I realized then that she wanted to dance. Jumping on the opportunity to whisk away my thoughts, I grabbed her hand.

"Want to dance?" I asked her, even as I was hoisting her from her seat. Surprise filled her expression before she looked down at our entwined hands and blushed furiously.

"Of course," she simpered. I nodded and pulled her to the dance floor, my stomach filling with knots for what reason I could not comprehend. I couldn't focus on the song, I couldn't focus on anything. And I found that I didn't want. This felt so wrong. My hand should not be lying on this hip. My eyes should not be watching this woman. My shoulders should not be gripped in this way. Yet here I was, betraying both my desire and my need for another. Of course, as soon as these thoughts flooded unbidden and unwanted through my mind, my eyes caught the intense blue stare from across the room. She was sitting with the Easy men that seemed to swarm her like flies whenever I saw her. The black-haired sergeant was nudging her for her attention. Only when he snapped his fingers in front of her face did she release me from her gaze. I sighed with a breath I did not know I had been holding.

"Ron, are you alright?" Britney asked me, her voice filling with concern. I hardly heard her and I didn't even make an effort to look down on her. My eyes were only for her as she laughed at whatever the Sergeant was saying. Again, an enraged jealousy filled me to my very core. I could feel myself begin to shake with it, my vision blurring around the edges until all I could see was them together. It didn't matter that the sergeant might not have known her secret, but my rage took control of all conscious thought. I was tempted to walk over there and pull her away, but that would raise questions. Questions I did not want to have to answer. Questions that I could not afford if I wanted her to say, which I desperately did. Out of the corners of my eyes, as I danced with Britney, I could see some movement. And whenever I watched, her she came nearer and nearer to us. My heart was pounding, my heart like a flickering flame providing the heat to cover my entire body. It consumed me, made me mad with want and need. And then, there she was. I stopped mid-step and stared at her. I could only hope that she saw my true feelings for her. I had been called cold-hearted and unfeeling. But for her, I could let the floodgates open for just a moment so that I could reveal the truth to her. It might have been a trick of the light as her mouth moved, but I could have sworn that I saw an answering to my desire. Her bright blue eyes seemed to fill with electricity, sending my pulse sky-rocketing. Then, I noticed that she was looking at me expectantly as if she had just asked a question. With an effort, I shook my head from the clouds and focused on her again.

"What?" I asked her, my voice surprisingly tender. I cleared my throat, closing myself off again. The surprise was evident on her face, but she recovered just as quickly, clearing her throat as well.

"I asked if I could cut in?" she said, looking me straight in the eye. Unafraid, convinced that I would not deny that simple request. But how could it be simple when it flooded my heart with doubts? Why would a woman ask to dance with another woman? Shame and embarrassment filled me as I wondered if I had been wrong after all. I looked, really looked, at her for only a moment more before I placed Britney's hand in hers. That small brush of her bare skin on mine sent shivers of utter pleasure down my spine and sent me spiraling into the deep abyss of my own thoughts. I couldn't help but think that if a simple touch could invoke feelings like that, there was no way Private Fields was a man.

Becca's POV

I could feel the shudder that passed through him at our simple brush of skin on skin. It flowed from his fingertips into my own and I had to close my eyes for a moment to refrain from shivering in anticipatory delight. Why did this-staying away from him-have to be so damn hard? And what on Earth had possessed me to walk over here to ask his girlfriend to dance? I was jealous, I could admit that. But walking over here and purposefully walking into the lion's den had to have been the stupidest thing I could have done.

Coming to my senses, I took the woman's hands in my own and began to lead her around the dance floor in an awkward two-step. I was thankful that I was just an inch taller than her. Otherwise, it would have been weird. I tried to keep the smirk off my face when I saw that she looked slightly put-out that she now had to dance with me instead of Ron. It was petty, but I found comfort in it.

"So," I began, attempting to brighten the mood by making small-talk, "I never caught your name while we were working at the hospital." Her green eyes moved up my torso and finally landed on my face. There was something unreadable behind that mask of porcelain skin and perfectly bowed pink lips.

"It's Britney," she said, a small smile lighting her expression. I nodded, scanning the crowd quickly and seeing Bill watching me with a funny look on his face. Something glowed in his dark eyes as our gaze met and then he looked away just as quickly.

"Britney is a nice name," I said, blushing a little bit as I thought how ridiculous my current position was. Surprise flooded her face and her cheeks flushed red too.

"And what's your name, soldier?" she asked me, biting her lip and batting her eyelashes at me. I refrained from rolling her eyes and telling her that her moves were being wasted on me, knowing that keeping her busy and away from Ron was the only hope that I had.

"It's James. James Fields. I'm with Easy Company in the 506th."

"A paratrooper?" she asked in awe, something just behind those green orbs sparking to life. It could have been anything, but I had a very good feeling that I might be playing my role a bit too well.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, leaning forward slightly so that my lips were right next to her ear, "But just between you and me, Easy Company has better men than Dog." Where the hell had that come from? I shrugged internally, figuring that I would milk the guise for all I could while I could. I had to hang onto whatever advantage I could and judging by the way Ron was looking at us now, I knew that he hadn't been expecting it at all. I wondered for a brief moment what that could mean. Could he possibly know what I was trying to hide? If he did, then should I be happy or worried about it?

"Oh, James, I don't doubt that," she said, her fingertips moving gently along my shoulder and up to caress my bare neck. I blushed, my teeth coming out to tease my bottom lip. Jumping from her as I realized the song was over. I clapped quickly along with the other people, keeping my gaze adamantly away from her face. I could tell she was looking at me. But hers weren't the only pair of eyes on me. I could feel two other sets. Each belonging to certain dark haired, dark-eyed men in Easy and Dog.

As the next song began again, I jumped when a hand closed around my shoulder again. Only it was much different from the hand that had sent chills of fear rolling through my body. I could tell it was Ron, who had come back to claim his dance partner.

"I think I'll take over," he said, his voice sounding so close that I could almost imagine his lips tracing the outline of my earlobe. It sent tingles of pleasure to my toes and threatened to turn me into a puddle of goo. Without answering him, I shrugged out of his grasp and fled as fast as I could toward the exit doors. The gazes followed me, painting a trail of shame and embarrassment so that they would be sure to continue to torment me. I stumbled out of the doors, quickly making my way to the left into an abandoned side-street. I leaned against the wall, tears beginning to drip from my eyes and landing on the uniform covering what I really was. Landing there and soaking through to my skin. I began to feel a chill that filled me to my bones, a dread that was intent on wreaking havoc on everything that I had come to know for the past few weeks. I was on the verge of breaking already and we weren't even out of England yet. I was so close to experiencing one of the biggest moments in history. I hadn't gotten this far to quit now, had I? As I sank to the ground, I couldn't help but feel like I was doing that. I felt like a failure, a complete ruin of a human being. Transformed and mutilated by a lifetime of ridicule as well as a twisted sense of what was fact or fiction anymore. Sickening cries ripped through me, making me grab my knees and pull them to my chest. I couldn't even really pinpoint exactly why I was crying. The lies I was living. The man I was completely enamored with was choosing another woman over me. And to top it all off I had a strong feeling that the same woman might believe that I was hitting on her.

"God dammit!" I muttered aloud, another sob working its way up my throat.

"God dammit is right," a voice said from the shadows to my left. I started, my face whipping up to see who had intruded on my cry-fest. I was shocked, though not overly so, to see Bill Guarnere standing there looking down on me with so much knowledge in his eyes that it scared me.

"Bill?!" I gasped, wiping my face and trying to hold on to any semblance of a man that I could just to keep my lies going. When he knelt before me and pushed my hands away, I knew the gig was up. At least with him. He smiled gently, his hands taking over for my own. He brushed the tears away, cupping my cheeks with his strong palms. We stared at each other for a moment. I didn't know what to say to him. I was terrified of so many things. Most of all what he would do with the information he knew.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna tell nobody, woman," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle as he continued to stare at me.

"How did you-," I began to ask, but he held his finger to my lips. Butterflies filled my stomach and I tried not to let it show on my face.

"If I were a woman hiding in the Army, I'd be thinking the same thing. Now," he said, his tone shifting with the look in his eyes. He was trying to hide an amused smirk from his face, "Why don't we start with you telling me your real name."

Tears filled my eyes anew and I couldn't help but throw my arms around him and press my face into his warm neck.

"Becca. My real name is Becca," I said, my voice muffled by his skin and the tears that were now flowing like a thick rain down my face. He pulled me to his chest, his hands rubbing up and down my back.

"It's gonna be okay, Becca," he muttered in my ear. To my astonishment, I found the strength to believe him.

Okay yay finally and this was not an April Fool's joke hehe! Hopefully you have all figured out who the mystery guy was. I know its sort of implied, but if you didn't...it's Bill! And I won't say any more on that front. Lots going on in this chapter. This is only the beginning of all the drama. So don't say I didn't warn you. :) Please review if you have the time. Oh and for anyone wondering...Becca was "flirting" with Britney because she wanted to get her away from Ron. I don't write slash, so put it out of your minds lol. Sorry Alice in Wonderland quote...by the way, is anyone else madly in love with Johnny Depp's Hatter? Or is it just me?

Disclaimer: No disrespect is meant for the real men of Easy Company. The only things I own are my OCs and any plot lines that you do not recognize.