A Soldier She is
"Hey kid, how you doing?"
Isabella stood to attention. "Fine sir."
"At ease lieutenant. Seriously, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine sir."
Mardsen looked at his lieutenant. He had always had a soft spot for the young doctor, perhaps more than that, she hadn't been played a great card in her life, not that she talked about it much. Mardsen definitely felt an attachment to the soldier standing before him, "I've served with you long enough to know when you're upset, what is it?" He smiled as a frown spread across her face. He shrugged, "You don't have to talk about it."
"That's good, because I don't want to."
Mardsen smiled, "You forgot the sir."
Bella blinked, "Sir, sorry, sir." And then she laughed, "Very funny."
"I think the joke was yours, unintentional or not."
Bella was still smiling, "And now you're making fun of me."
"It worked though, didn't it." Mardsen watched as Isabella's smile faded. He was worried about her, not enough to consider speaking to their superiors, but enough to keep a closer eye on her.
Her shoulders dropped with a wistful smile, completely different to the one of amusement that had lit up her face only moments before, "Not for long Captain, not for long."
"Chin up Kid, we're nearly on the other side."
"That's the thing though. I can do this-" She gestured to the barren landscape, "Not exactly everyone else's idea of comfort, but it works for me. Back at home, even back at base, there's nothing there for me."
"That's why we're here kid... all of us, no family, no friends who aren't dead or already over here and no desire to change that situation. We're the ones who don't have anything to lose."
Bella looked around the camp, and he was right, none of the soldiers around her had any attachment to the outside world. She possibly least of all of them. She had no family, her mother had killed herself when she was five, her uncle had abused her and she had never known her father. She had no friends outside of the unit, the army was the only place that she felt at home. She trusted her comrades in arms with her life on a daily basis, and they entrusted their well-being in hers, and with that kind of bond a form of friendship was inevitable. But outside of a life threatening situation she felt too uncomfortable and too uneasy to be around people let along communicate with them. Just a simple trip to the shopping centre would leave her anxious and unable to sleep until she had performed an endless round of rituals. Back home she would swing from periods where she slept for weeks, completely unable to leave her bed to periods where she was constantly awake. Being in the army changed that, it helped her to deny what she knew was wrong with her. Because she could be normal here. She could be safe. Ironic really, considering they were behind enemy lines and in the middle of a war zone. She blinked, bringing herself out of her revere She looked back at Mardsen, the Captian who had trusted her and turned her into the soldier she was today. He could have had any officer from the Royal Medical Corp, but he chose her. And she wasn't quite sure what she would have done if he hadn't. "Do you want me to check the western pass again, sir?"
Mardsen shook his head, "You've done enough work today. Get some sleep. Send Spike and Jacobs to do it for me, I'm going to change the watch."
Bella nodded firmly, stood to attention before heading back towards the tent where she was sure she would find Spike and Jacobs in the midst of a card game. "Kit up Boys, Captain wants you to check the western pass?"
