AN: Again, to my guest reviewer (I really wish you had an account so I could thank you!) YOU ARE AMAZING. And to all my other lovely Patriots who reviewed, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! :)

R&R!

Later that night, Madison sat around the campfire with a lot of men from the militia. They were all eating strange foods and singing songs that sounded happy, but had a subtle allusion to the tragedy of war.

Most modern adolescents would've found the whole sight, men and everything, barbaric and nasty. She, however, thought it was rather nice to see everyone relaxing. In her mind, it was a way to escape the fact that they could be faced with death on any given day. The dreariness that loomed around every corner just disappeared in that moment.

On the teen's left hand side was Gabriel. His father sat on the other side of him, followed by John Billings and Dan Scott. On her right hand side, there was Jean and the reverend.

The men let out cackles (some drunken and some sober) of enjoyment as they all finished the tune. Apparently it was one of their favorites but Madison had, of course, never heard of it.

Benjamin smiled widely and looked around the circle.

"Anyone else wanna have a go?" he asked, cheerfully.

Shaking heads and a chorus of "Nah"s and "Not me"s signified that everyone was just about ready to hit the hay.

Groaning, Madison stood to leave the bonfire. She was unexcited, to say the least, with the occurrence of bedtime. In fact, most of the soldiers had no respect for her. And with the militia already being extremely short on shelter, some of the soldiers (like her) were forced to sleep outside in the elements. She got a blanket, of course, but it was alot different than her full-sized bed at home.

Suddenly a voice stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

She turned to see Gabriel looking up at her from the splintering log he sat on. His hair was greasy and sweaty, much like hers, and his clothes were ragged and stained, but he still seemed to give off an aura of cleanliness and good nature.

"Bed... Well- um- ground, I mean." she chuckled tiredly.

"You don't have to leave just yet. I won't bite." the corporal half smiled.

Madison looked around to see that they were the only two around the fire. The colonel was standing a ways away talking to Dan Scott, and apparently the others had gone to their tents.

She didn't want to give a bad impression, considering this young man was one of the only friends she had at the camp, so the teen sat down beside Gabriel despite her better judgement.

It was comfortably quiet for a few moments, until Madison spoke up.

"So... How are ya?"

The boy just ignored her pleasentries.

"... Where are you from, Madison?"

It was a very simple question, really. To any normal person, it would've been easily answered without much thought. But to her... that was a different story.

If she told him she was from the future, he would think she was crazy.

If she told him she was from the future America, he would think she was even crazier.

And if she told him that his whole life was just part of a movie... he would probably never talk to her again. I mean, he didn't even know what a movie was!

But that was the thing. It didn't feel like a movie. Atleast not anymore. She had no clue what it was, but something was causing her to feel like this was real. Like if she screwed something up, it would actually effect the events of the real war.

"Well...?"

She was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of his voice.

"Um... I can't tell you- BUT IT ISN'T CUZ I DON'T WANT TO! Really, I swear It's just... if I told you, you'd never talk to me again. ... I don't need anybody else thinking I'm a nutcase..."

The young man's eyes widened. "Are you from England? You're a spy for the regulars!" he began to stand, but she latched her fingers around his arm, forcing him to remain seated. In the process, she felt his taught muscles underneath the thick layers of cloth. Her eyes widened, if only for a second, and she removed her hands from his bicep.

"Okay, Madison, focus on the problem at hand." she told herself. Slowly, her cognizance returned.

"I promise I'm not a spy or anything. I've never even been to England."

Gabriel looked at her, obviously puzzled.

"Anyway..." she began, in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "Um... How long have you been involved in the war?"

Gabriel looked slightly distant. He seemed to be thinking about his past battles. Maybe all the friends he'd lost.

"About three years."

Madison was the one frowning, now. "How old were you when you inlisted?" she questioned him, even thought she already knew the answer.

"Seventeen."

"So... you're twenty now? ... You don't seem four years older than me."

The man smirked. "And you don't seem four years younger than I."

Madison grinned. "I love how you guys talk. Like... you sound so proper. It's nice." she began to blush.

Gabriel noticed easily, and turned toward his newest friend, leaning slightly closer for no other reason than to get her flustered and make the pink hue in her cheeks grow deeper. He found it funny and adorable.

"Yes, I've noticed your accent as well. It's very thick. And I can't seem to recognize it." he stated, matter-of-factly.

"Oh... I didn't realize it was that noticable." she mumbled.

"So..." he sat up straighter. "Tell me about yourself."

Madison faltered. "... Huh?"

"I wish to know more about you. I already know that you refuse to tell me where you're from, but I wish to know more."

She sighed. "There's not much to tell, really."

He smiled at the younger teen beside him. "I'm sure you had a life of your own before you decided to journey here."

"Well yeah." After a moment of contemplating what details of her life she should share and which ones would be better left out, the girl spoke again. This time, slightly softer.

"My name is Madison Beth Ryans. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm definately not from here. I lived with my mom in our home in the city, and I went to school like any other kid my age."

"What about your father?" the blonde questioned.

"He and my mother got a divorce a few years ago. I don't see him much."

Gabriel looked away, not wanting to upset or embarass her, even if he had no idea what a 'divorce' was. He knew that if it meant she didn't see her father, it couldn't be a good thing.

"So... tell me about your mother."

"There's nothing to tell." she snapped. She'd meant for her words to come out a lot smoother, but instead it seemed to be a gruff, snippy tone.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I don't have the best relationship with my mother." her voice lowered an octave and got softer. "Sometimes I wonder if she even cares that I left."

Gabriel felt sympathy for Madison. He knew what it was like to feel pain and loss. Even if both of his parents loved him dearly, he still had lost one of them, and that was very painful.

After a few seconds, he smiled.

The girl turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

Gabriel shrugged off her question.

"Where have you been sleeping?" he finally asked.

Madison smirked, raising her pointer finger in the direction of a patch of grass with a blanket folded messily on top of it.

Gabriel looked at her, then to the grass, then back to her.

"I have my own tent, you know. It's very small, and... it has several holes in the top of it..."

Madison giggled, making the older teen chuckle as well.

"Really... you could stay there if you'd like."

The younger of the two felt her eyes narrow at his offer. He couldn't be flirting with her, right? Or was it different in this day and age? Maybe, here, it didn't mean anything for a male and female to sleep in the same room- er, tent.

Apparently the corporal noticed his friend's facial expression, as he began to laugh.

"Nothing like that, I swear it. I will stay as far away from you as possible."

Madison relaxed a little.

"Good. Wouldn't want Anne getting angry."

And with that, she stood and walked in the direction she knew his tent had been, leaving Gabriel to stand there, smirking.

He scoffed a small bit at her statement, before he began to follow her.

And then he remembered... his father was the only person who knew about he and Anne. He hadn't told anyone else. And Madison never talked to Benjamin...

AN: Ahhhh this chapter was fun to write. I like building up Madison's relationship with Gabriel, and before anyone gets suspicious, THERE WILL NOT BE ANY GABRIEL/OC ROMANCE IN THIS STORY. THEY ARE STRICTLY FRIENDS.

Anyway, please review!