Mallory

I sat, slightly hunched, over the jacket of Violet's ODs, needle pinched tightly between my tired fingers as I finished off the second to last tear that I was mending. The she-devil herself was sitting at a rickety table, along with Faye, outplaying a couple of the boys at poker. The pot was, at the moment, sixty seven dollars, two packs of lucky strikes, and a chocolate bar. I ducked my head to hide my grin was Violet frowned at her cards, flicking her eyes back and forth between them and the others. To the untrained eye, she looked distressed over her hand, but I knew her too well. That was simply her poker face. She took great enjoyment in letting the boys think they had her before revealing her (usually) winning hand. Tonight was no different.

The needle bit into the cloth once more, but I barely paid attention to my sewing (it was a mindless task anyways). Instead, I paid attention to the conversation at the poker table.

"Well boys -and girls-," that was Luz. "It looks like you all are in trouble." He laid down his cards, earning groans from around the table. "Full house." He reached over to scoop the pot into his arms, but Faye grabbed his arm, smirking.

"I don't think so, Mr. Luz," she taunted playfully. "Violet hasn't laid down her cards yet."

The man glanced over at Violet, who was smiling slightly to herself. "You got something to show us, sweetheart?" he asked suspiciously.

Violet only smiled sweetly at him. "Actually…" Drawing out the word, she spread her cards out in front of her. "Royal flush, boyo." Luz's head hit the table. "I win again."

I laughed loudly, causing a few heads to turn towards me (Violet's included). My friend only flashed me a cheeky grin as Malarkey scowled. "You knew she had a flush, didn't you?" he accused me.

I only grinned and shook my head, dropping my eyes back to my sewing long enough to tie it off and bite the thread. After stowing the needle and thread back in my little sewing kit, I stood up, gathering the clothes I had acquired throughout the night. Slipping the kit into one of my many pockets, I tossed Violet's jacket at her head, grinning when she squawked. The other jackets I tossed at Tab and Johnny Martin, nodding in acknowledgement when the offered their thanks. Slipping my hands in my pockets, I kissed each of my girls on the cheek, announcing that I was going back to our room. I then slipped out the door and into the crisp autumn night.

Taking a moment for myself, I stood still under the clear, starry sky and breathed in deeply. The air tasted of autumn: crisp and spicy. Letting out a soft sigh, I started my walk back to our little house across the tiny little town. I walked slowly in an attempt to savor the peaceful night. I knew what lay in wake, just a few months ahead of us, and I knew that this was one of the few calm nights we would see for a while. It was a little disconcerting, knowing who would die and who would live, who would be injured, who would escape with the barest of wounds. I wanted to warn them, but I knew better than to talk to anyone about it. Things wouldn't be the same if we said anything; we could change the future. For better or for worse, we couldn't risk finding out.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that when a low, husky voice sounded near my left ear, I jumped almost a foot in the air. Thankfully, I didn't scream. Either way, I think the squeak that passed through my lips was just as embarrassing. I whirled around, hand curled over my heart, to see an amused Lewis Nixon looking back at me. Letting out my breath in a sigh, I narrowed my eyes at the handsome intelligence officer and scolded him lightly.

"Lewis Nixon, you almost gave me a heart attack! Give a girl some warning next time you decide to go creeping about in the dark." No matter how startled I had been just a few seconds before, I found that I couldn't be mad at him, not really.

Nixon fell into step beside me, hands in his pockets as well, and we lapsed into a comfortable silence after he uttered an amused apology. After a few minutes, I decided to make small talk and said softly, "The sky is really clear tonight, isn't it?"

After sparing a glance at the sky, he soon turned his dark eyes back on me, making me extremely aware of how glad I was that it was dark out when I flushed under the intensity of his gaze.

"It sure is," he replied just as quietly. "I have a feeling that it's going to be one of the last calm nights we're going to have for quite some time."

I chuckled under my breath, earning a curious glance from my companion. "I was just thinking the same thing before you snuck up on me," I admitted with a smile. "The next few months aren't going to be easy. I'm glad the boys are enjoying themselves tonight."

Nixon turned his head fully towards me for a few moments. After scrutinizing me for a few seconds, he sighed.

"I take it you know quite a bit that we don't know," he said wryly. When I opened my mouth, he put his hands up and continued before I could say anything. "Don't worry; I'm not going to ask. I know how things are."

I smiled again before looking at the ground. My tone was serious, however, when I admitted, "You're going to lose good men. It's going to be hard, but they'll pull through. That's a damn fine group of men here. I'm proud to be here with them."

I kept my head down, but I could feel my companion's eyes on me as he asked quietly, "It's going to get bad, isn't it?"

I nodded, meeting his dark eyes once more. "It's going to get really bad," I admitted. "I won't say any more, but I will tell you that they do pull through. It could be worse, but they've been trained well."

We walked in silence for a few moments before he muttered, "Thank you."

I nodded in acknowledgement before adding as an afterthought, "Please don't tell anyone else. It's going to be hard enough for them without knowing what lies in store."

Nixon nodded. "Of course."

Deciding that the night was too nice to be spoiled with talk of war, I tactfully changed the subject.

"So, what's your family like?"

We spent the next half hour talking back and forth and swapping stories about our lives before the war. By that time, we had been standing in front of our little house for about ten minutes, laughing over stories from their basic training with Sobel. When my chuckles subsided, I looked up at our lodgings and sighed softly.

"Well, this is me," I murmured before looking back over to Nixon, who was suddenly closer than I had remembered. My breath hitched in my throat when I gazed up into his dark eyes, and warmth pooled in my belly when I felt the heat that was radiating from his body. He was close, so close. Close enough that I could smell him. When I breathed in the scent of Vat 69 whiskey and (surprisingly enough) a sort of piney scent, the warmth in my belly roared into a raging blaze, making my knees tremble beneath me.

Time seemed to slow around me when he raised a hand toward my face. When he gently tucked a wayward brown curl behind my ear, my breathing stopped altogether. He was close enough to me that I could feel his hot breath playing over my slightly parted lips, causing shivers of pleasure to run up my spine. Even as his calloused hand moved down to cup my cheek, I was subconsciously leaning closer to him, aching to feel his lips on mine. I hadn't known him very long, but there was something about Lewis Nixon that drew me to him.

Our lips were a hairsbreadth apart when a shout broke the spell that hung over us. Before I could blink, the space between us had grown into feet, leaving me aching to feel his warmth once more. I sucked in a shuddering breath as he cleared his throat and said, "Goodnight, Miss Cutler." Then, he was gone. Though I was slightly pleased to notice that his voice had been strained, I couldn't help but curse the disturber of the peace for ruining the moment.

Disappointed, I disappeared inside, where I leaned with my back against the door to our room and pressed a trembling hand to my abdomen. What have you gotten yourself into, Mal?

Shaking my head, I slowly began to undress, brushing my hands repeatedly over my belly (a habit I had acquired over the past year and a half). Once dressed in my pajamas and settled on the couch (it was my turn to give up the bed), I gazed out the window, replaying the feeling of the handsome officer's hand on my cheek. A few minutes later, the door creaked open to reveal Violet's head as she peeked inside and spotted me.

"Hey Mal," she said softly, opening the door the rest of the way, allowing room for her and Faye to slip into the room. "We though you'd've been asleep by now."

I sighed. "Nope."

Dressed in her skivvies and half under the covers, Faye frowned at me.

"Are you alright, love?"

I looked over at her with a trembling lip.

"Oh, Faye, I don't know!" I exclaimed.

Wordlessly, my younger friend opened her arms. Getting up from the couch, I shuffled over to the bed and dropped down in front of her, gladly crawling into the warmth of her comforting embrace. "What happened, sweetie?" she asked softly as she stoked my hair soothingly in a practiced manner.

Violet crawled into the other side of the bed and leaned into me, rubbing my back soothingly. It was a position we were all familiar with, seeing as how our nights were spent much like this when my nightmares woke me from my slumber. Safe in their embrace, I recounted the events of that night.

"I don't know, I just feel…scared, I guess." I admitted. "Excited and happy, but scared. I don't know if I can handle it. Faye, what if he finds out and he wants nothing to do with me? What if-"

My friends shushed me earnestly.

"Mallory," Violet whispered to me, "there is no reason whatsoever for him to push you away. It wasn't your fault, and no one with a lick of sense would ever blame you. Now stop worrying, and let's go to sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning and you'll see that we're right, and when the two of you are married and popping out little brats, you'll say, 'oh, Violet and Faye, you two were right. I should listen to you more often,' and we'll all live happily ever after. The end."

I giggled at her haughtiness, earning smiles from my blood sisters. "Come on," Faye said, patting the bed between herself and Violet. "I'm sure we can make room for you up here. Let's go to sleep, love."

Sniffing, I wriggled between them, feeling much better. Violet rolled over and blew out the kerosene lamp, casting us into darkness, broken only by the stripe of midnight blue and white pinpricks that peeked through the curtains. Yawning, I snuggled down, smiling when two different arms draped over my waist protectively.

"Thank you," I whispered to the darkness, earning a soft 'welcome' from Faye and a grunt from Violet. Closing my eyes, I reveled in the feeling of security before whispering again, "I love you guys."

"Go to sleep!"