Babe in Spain.

Part of this chapter was inspired by a story Babe Hefron told at an interview a year or two ago. i thought it was a shame they didn't put it in the series, but hey ho

Roy and I hadn't spoken I weeks. The break we had was filled with scuppered missions and I spent most of the time with my 'ducklings', Bill, George, Perco and Con. Perco had finally, well not warmed, but come round to the fact that Con was batting for the other team, and had gotten used to being round him, once he realised that he wasn't going to do anything. I though it was silly how he reacted, just because you're attracted to a certain sex, doesn't mean you go for everyone.

Anyway, Roy and I hadn't spoken for a while, and I knew he was still reeling from what had been asked of me. We still slept in the same bed, but far apart and I'd have gone out walking the dog before he woke up.

A lot of our friends noticed we weren't together as much, but we just passed it off as a rough patch.

The 'rough patch' got even worse, the night before Easy and Alpha were set to go to Holland for Market-Garden.

We'd all gone down to the local pub for a night out, to celebrate the battle field commissions to Canada and I; we were both now second Lieutenants. I was with George, PeeWee, Buck, Bill, Babe, Bull, Joe and some of Babe's replacement friends. George, Buck, Joe, Babe and I were playing darts, while Bill went over and sat with Babe's friends. He said something about Bull, and they laughed, only to get mouthed at by Bill and PeeWee.

"Oh you're cruel! Leave my ducklings alone." I chided, slapping the two on their arms, much to Webster's amusement.

"Yes Ma'am!" Bill grinned, pulling a chair from Web's table so I could sit down.

"Pick on the other duckling, he's more comfortable around you." I winked at Bill, which was his queue to tell the 'Doris' story. Poor Babe, he was so embarrassed, he looked at me almost pleadingly.

"I'm sorry Babe, but I haven't heard this story. You've heard the spaghetti story."

Babe pulled a face at the thought, making me laugh. There was a huge burst of laughter from the corner and we all looked round. Malarkey, Skip and Pink had all lost a drinking contest to Canada, for the hundredth time.

"Do they ever learn?" PeeWee asked, shaking his head. "C'mon Bill, get on with this story, I haven't heard it."

"Babe tell you about Doris?" The boys shook their heads. "No? Well listen up, I'm gunna tell you. So, it was the morning of the first scrapped mission, and everybody's getting ready to get on the plane, when suddenly Babe stops dead in his tracks. Bim anda bam anda boom, everyone's crashing into each other. Now on the nose of the plane is painted this beautiful pin-up, and underneath it says 'Darlin Doris'. Now Doris just so happens to be the name of the skirt who, just that morning, sent Babe one of them letters.. You know, those letters... Ah... hey Web, whadda you call them letters that the broads send?"

"Oi, I'm offended!" I joked, taking a swag of my drink.

"A 'Dear John' letter."

"Yeah that's right, a 'Dear Babe' letter," Bill laughed, "Anyway, Patton overruns the drop-zone; mission cancelled. In other words, Babe don't have to risk getting inside Doris again."

The Easy Com. Sergeants laughed, Babe blushed and Webster smiled and shook his head.

"Oh Bill, you're so rude!" I giggled, getting up. "Oh, Heff, if you blush any more, you'll combust!"

He followed me to the bar, both of us getting another drink. We stood there for a moment, just talking about everything going on in our lives, and I realised that Babe kept glancing over in the corner.

"Babe, I'm trying to have a conversation with you. What are you looking at?" I asked, looking to the corner.

"Don't make it obvious! Look, there.."

In the corner of the room, was Con and Doc Roe, quietly chatting away. I watched as Doc Roe blushed and then said something, then Con blushed. They talked for a few more minutes and then Con came to get two more drinks. He stood next to us and Babe and I raised our eyebrows. He blushed redder than a tomato.

"Con?" I asked with a smile, wanting to know what was going on.

"We're just talking."

"They're on a date." Babe threw out, knowing that Con was lying.

"We are so not on a date!" Con hissed trying (and failing) to not look embarrassed.

"Oh you so are!" I hissed back, closing the gap between the three of us.

"I didn't know Doc Roe.."

"Neither did I, no wonder he was quiet in Toccoa." I replied.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, so I let Con go back to his date-that-wasn't-a-date and turned around. James Miller, a buddy of Babe's was stood behind me. I was wondering what he wanted, because he was a quiet boy, until I noticed that his company citation badge was mission.

"Hey Miller...Where's your badge?" I asked with a frown.

"Lieutenant, I don't want to offend you, but do you know how much of an asshole your boyfriend is when he's drunk?"

With that Miller explained what had happened and I was furious. I slammed my drink down on the side of the bar, while Miller stayed with Babe. I stormed over to Roy and I could feel my heartbeat in my head and chest. I couldn't believe him, having a drunken rant about everything and making Miller feel like shit because he wasn't in Normandy. He wasn't either and I was only there for so long.

He was still talking to the replacements when I got to the table.

"You. Out. NOW." I growled. Even if he was as drunk as a skunk, he knew to listen to me. "Wait for me outside Private Cobb."

He stumbled outside, and I just stood there fuming.

"I don't think this is a rough patch any more..." I admitted slowly.

Bill looked at my sympathetically, as did the rest of the guys.

"Hashey, Ramierez, I am so sorry about him, he's not usually like... that... I don't know what to do any more..." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Night boys."

I stepped out from the warmth of the pub, into the cool summer air. It reminded me of Toccoa, in a way. Roy was leant against the pub wall, smoking, something what he hadn't done before.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I hissed, dragging him along by the arm.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned, cockier than ever.

"Bitching at Miller because he has a company citation!"

"He wasn't in Normandy!"

"Neither were you!" I yelled, slapping him. I was at the end of my tether. "I was there for two days tops, you were hit in the plane. We weren't there! And it's a fucking company citation! Everyone in the company gets one, regardless if they were there or not!"

I stormed off and left him staring in my wake, thoroughly sober.

"C-Cally wait!"

"Fuck you!"

"Cally c'mon! Wait up!"

"Do you have any idea how pissed off I am?!"

"No, do you have any idea how pissed off I am?"

I stopped in my tracks and whirled around. He hadn't spoken a word to me since a few days after everyone came back from Normandy, how was I supposed to know how he felt.

"We've not spoken for weeks! What am I a mind reader?"

"I wanted you to come talk to me!"

"Again, I am not a mind reader." I told him, toning my voice down.

"You should have come to talk to me anyway!"

"Why do I always have to come to you?"

"So don't come to me then!" he told me, point blank.

My mouth flapped, but no words came out. This wasn't just a rough patch. This was like sandpaper for loo roll, rough patch. I didn't have clue what to say, so we both just stood staring.

"You...you honestly mean that?"

He didn't answer me, he just looked at his feet, and so I went back to the pub, to the only person who could cheer me up at this moment.

"Bull!" I cried, tears rolling down my face for everyone to see. He turned around, just in time for me to latch on to him and cry into his class A's. He passed his glass to Peewee and then hugged me, taking me to the same booth Con and Doc Roe were at. All the time, as the two companies watched me, I just kept weeping into Bull's uniform, crying 'Bull' as if it would help me any more than being sat next to him would.

"Now," He began calmly, "what happened?"

"I- I think – I think we just-just broke up!"

Bull looked at Con, Con looked at Bull and Eugene looked at me. He asked Shifty, who was near by, to get me a tissue, and then scooted over so that he was sat on the other side of me. Con bowed his head sadly.

"Cal..I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I should never have brought this up."

"It's not- not your fault Con..." I sobbed into the tissue Shifty handed over to Eugene.

"Now yo' listen to me. If yo' still love each other, maybe d'ers a chance to reconcile."

"And if he doesn't still love me?"

Eugene licked his lips, "Well, now d'ers a risk you go'n haveta take."

Bull came home with me, and saw that I went to sleep before he left. Roy had gone to sleep on the settee, and was already sleeping peacefully when I got in. I avoided him during the briefing for Market-Garden, sitting in a corner beside Canada, listening to her saying how much of a historical cock-up it would be.

I sorted my things out close to Bill and Babe (the flower pot men as I had called them, well Canada and I were already the dynamic duo) and I heard them talking.

Bill had made Babe a machine gunner, I think as a joke, because Babe was a scrawny little kid from South Philly and he wanted to toughen him up.

Popeye came up to Bill holding two big bandoleers of ammo, "Hey Sarge, whadda ya want me to do with these?"

Bill looked around and noticed me watching them, as I'd finished gearing up. He sent me a mischievous wink and told him to give the bandoleers to Babe. So, now Babe has a machine-gun strapped to his chest and two bandoleers over that.

Then a few minutes later, Van Klinken came over with some grenades, "Bill whadda ya want me to do with these."

"Give 'em to Hefron." So now, he had extra grenades, two bandoleers of ammo, his reserve and a machine-gun. By this point I had the biggest smile on my face, just watching these two, even when more so when Bill winked at me again, as he asked Babe if he was okay with all the stuff he was carrying. So then George came over, with two more bandoleers of ammo.

"Bill where shall I put these?"

Bill once again pointed to Babe and said, "Give them to Hefron."

And by now, I could tell the poor kid was getting tired; he'd got grenades, 4 big bandoleers, his reserve and his machine-gun. So he confronted Bill.

"Hey Bill what am I gunna do with all this gear you keep giving me, I can hardly move!"

Then Bill turned to him, and looked him right in the eye, serious as he could, which would only prove to be one of my fondest memories, and said to him, "Hey, look, I don't know whether you noticed or not, but we're jumping into Holland. I don't want you ending up in god-damn Spain."

Babe, in my opinion was just as bad as him, because he replied with, "Well that makes sense."

I snorted loudly, choking on the water I had just been drinking.

"You okay Lieutenant?" Bill laughed, as we started to board the planes.

"Yes Bill, I'm just fine. I'm more worried about Babe ending up in Spain. You sure you've given him enough stuff?"

Soon enough, we were flying over Holland... Too bad we weren't going to Amsterdam.