Chapter 25
Jessica POV
A few weeks later
"Nix, you lost the bet fair and square. Just pay up already," Jessica nearly shouted to be heard over the din of the tightly packed pub.
"Oh, c'mon Jess! This isn't fair. How was I supposed to know she was married?" Nixon replied.
"Ummm…for one because I told you so! How 'bout that?"
"You can't argue with her Nix. Just give up," Richard added from beside her.
She turned her head so she could smile up at him and when she found him looking down at her adoringly her stomach fluttered.
It had been a few weeks since they'd become an item. They were good at keeping it a secret from people outside of their inner circle. Their friends had become adept at finding subtle ways of helping them. More than once she'd found the only open seat was the one next to Richard, and often everybody would either arrive late or leave early, leaving her and Richard alone for a few minutes.
And really those were the only moments of privacy they'd been able to enjoy. They were on constant stand-by to drop into Europe, but every time they were ready to go it was called off because Patton had overrun their drop zone with his tanks.
God, I hate waiting. Patience is not one of my virtues.
"Just give up and pay Nix," she said and finally her friend relented, unhappily slapping a pack of smokes into her open palm.
She popped the pack into her purse. "It was lovely doing business with you."
"You know, a good friend wouldn't take advantage of my heartbreak like this," he complained.
Richard coughed and cleared his throat earning him a scowl from Nixon.
"Nix, I am closer to single handily winning this war, than that woman ever was to breaking your heart. Come now, stop sulking."
"I'm not sulking," Nixon moaned between sips of watered down whiskey.
Taking a big gulp of her own cheap whiskey she rolled her eyes at him over the rim of her glass.
"C'mon Dick. You're on my side, right?"
"No," Richard replied flatly and she thought Nixon was going to faint from shock.
"W-what," he sputtered. "Oh, I know. It's because the two of you –," before he could breathe another word she stomped on his foot with the back of her heel.
"Ouch! Jesus, what the hell? You already took my cigarettes!"
"You finish that sentence at the decibel you're shouting and you'll lose more than a pack of smokes Lewis Nixon," she replied.
They eyed one another for a few moments, the mock tension hanging between them until Nixon conceded defeat by downing what was left in his glass.
"I don't know why you're upset Nix. You're married," Richard, always the voice of reason, said.
Her hand shot up. "Oh, pick me! I know the answer to this!"
Nixon pulled a face, scrunching up his nose and narrowing his eyes. "No one likes a know-it-all Jess."
The second Richard's hand pressed into her lower back her heart lurched and her stomach summersaulted. "That depends on the know-it-all," Richard retorted, and just like that his hand was gone, leaving her feeling warm and flustered.
Nixon pretended to be sick, but before he could start up again she felt an unfamiliar presence right over her shoulder. Something clicked inside of her, something sharpened and honed from years of experience, because all at once the butterflies and laughter vanished and what was left in their place was a deadly focus.
"Captain King?" asked the unfamiliar voice over her shoulder.
Jessica turned slowly, making sure to keep her facial expression relaxed even as her heart picked up pace with each passing second.
"Yes," she answered the waiting sergeant as she scanned the crowd behind him, quickly spotting two more out of place soldiers.
All around them people were drinking and laughing, the atmosphere was as thick with good humour as it was with smoke, so the seriousness on the three men's faces was jarring and did little to ease the hollow feeling in her stomach.
"You need to come with me ma'am. We've already sent for Captain Marsh," the man replied evenly, his face never softening.
Alex and me, guess we're done waiting.
"I see. And where are we going?" she asked.
"To command ma'am," he answered and she knew she wasn't going to get any more information out of him.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Of course. Give me one moment."
He nodded and took a step back. "Ma'am."
Turning back to Nixon and Richard she plastered a reassuring smile on her face. "Well gentlemen, it seems our evening has been cut short. Don't get into too much trouble without me."
Nixon tried to return her smile, but one of his best qualities was that he wore his heart on his sleeve, so it wasn't very successful. "We will talk when you get home," he stated.
"Okay," was all she said.
As she turned to leave she moved, so that for a moment, she was facing Richard and their bodies were barley an inch apart. With their hands hidden between them their fingertips grazed and she whispered, "I'll find you afterwards."
He dropped his head and reached to scratch the back of his neck. "I'll be waiting."
Arlene POV
Malarkey had chosen the table, Joe was getting their drinks and she had picked her prefect seat. Her back was protected by a solid wall and she had a clear line of sight of the only door leading in and out of the pub.
You can never be too careful.
She was idly scanning the room when she found Skip and Penkala making a beeline for them.
"We have company," she said to Malarkey, nodding over his shoulder.
The redhead turned and waved his friends over as if they hadn't already spotted him.
She affectionately referred to them as the three musketeers and, usually, if you were looking for the one, you only had to find the other two. She took an odd amount of comfort in the fact that her theory seemed to be holding true.
"Hey, Malark, can we join you and the lieutenant?" Skip asked, eyeing the open table and two vacant chairs.
The place was packed with soldiers and a handful of civilian women. The men either sat crammed around the few available tables or stood in small groups. She'd caught a glimpse of a dart board and was sure it would be put to good use sooner rather than later.
Malarkey waved an unlit cigarette in the direction of the open chair next to her. "If you can find another chair. That one belongs to Joe."
The words had barely left his lips when Skip leaped into the only unclaimed seat, nearly knocking himself and the table over.
"Oh, c'mon!" Penkala exclaimed.
"It's called survival of the fittest. There'll be another chair somewhere," Skip replied as he leaned back into the chair with a smug grin on his face.
"The fittest huh? LT," she looked up from the cigarette Malarkey was lighting for her at the mention of the nickname some of the men had started to use. "Who's the fittest, me," Penkala puffed his chest and lifted his chin, "or this bozo?" he finished, playfully slapping Skip across the top of his head.
"Hey!" Skip exclaimed, a hand shooting up to fix his hair.
"Oh, ah, well," she hesitated and used taking a puff of her lit cigarette to buy herself some time. "I think it's safe to say you'd both survive just fine."
Three massive glasses of beer appeared on the table followed by Joe asking, "Who'd survive what?" as he took his seat next to her.
"We were asking the LT who's the fittest between the two of us," Penkala brought him up to speed.
"Okay?" Joe replied, obviously confused.
Wiping down his mouth after taking a big drink of his warm beer Malarkey clarified, "Skip took the open chair and now Penkala is stalling looking for his own, by asking the LT who's the fittest between the two of 'em. Like survival of the fittest. Get it?"
Joe looked both bored and confused at the same time. "Penk, just go get a damn chair. I think I saw one the other side of the bar."
Penkala's head lifted and his eyes darted across the room, his little tiff with Skip immediately forgotten. "See it. I'll be back. Make some space so long."
"I'll move up," Arlene offered, conveniently opening up a space between herself and Malarkey by moving closer to Joe.
When she felt the heat from Joe's body she stopped, allowing her arm to fall so it brushed his. He glanced over to her and smirked before leaning back in his chair, one arm casually slung over the back of hers.
Stolen glances and secret touches were all they'd been able to steal for days. Bill and Luz had helped as much as possible. The two men always made sure to stand or sit so she and Joe had to be next to one another, and often they would move closer to her so her only natural recourse was to move even closer to Joe.
She owed them. They'd not only kept their secret, but were doing everything they could to help them have some semblance of a physical relationship.
She was so busy planning what she could do to get a moment alone with Joe she nearly missed the three men that walked through the door, and if they hadn't been so clearly out of place she probably would have.
Everything about them screamed official business and it made her stomach sink. She couldn't explain why; they could be here for any number of reasons. But the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she tracked their path until they disappeared into the tightly packed crowd.
She was so preoccupied with trying to pick up their trial again that she nearly yelped when Penkala clumsily dropped his chair into the open space beside her.
Her head snapped in his direction, stopping Penkala half-way between sitting and standing.
"You okay LT?" he asked, little frown lines creasing the corners of his eyes.
She shook her head and forced a smile. "Sorry Penk, I was off in my own world and you managed to sneak up on me. Which is quite the accomplishment, so you can be very proud."
The man smiled broadly and fell into the old wooden chair. "See, I'd definitely survive longer than Skip."
Her chair creaked and shifted a fraction as Joe moved forward so he could lean on the table. Turning his head to her and raising his glass in front of his face he asked, "Everything okay?"
She glanced across the table to see if anyone was looking at them, but she didn't have to worry. Skip and Penkala were continuing their debate with renewed intensity and Malarkey was happily playing referee, or throwing more coals onto the fire, she wasn't sure.
She turned her head a fraction so she could watch the room while giving herself and Joe a small amount of privacy. "Did you see the three sergeants that walked in?"
"Yeah, the serious ones. Look like they all got a stick up the ass."
She gave him a crooked smile. "Those are the ones."
Joe briefly scanned the room but she surmised from his unchanged expression he couldn't see them. Turning his attention back to her he asked, "You know them?"
"No."
"You think there's trouble?"
She could almost hear the second half of the question.
You think they found out about us?
She wasn't sure what would happen if the higher-ups found out about the two of them, but she knew it wouldn't be good.
"No. No, I don't think we're in trouble," she answered.
Joe dropped his head and she could see the tension leave his shoulder. "Then what?", he asked, looking back up and taking a sip of his beer.
"That," she replied, nodding to the door.
The three men were leaving again, but this time they weren't alone. Jessica was walking with them, her body tight and face set into the neutral mask she donned when she wasn't happy about something.
"What's that about?" he asked, pointing his cigarette in the direction of the group.
"No idea. But if she looks like that it means a fight is close."
"How can you tell?"
The men and Jessica disappeared through the door.
Reaching for her full glass of beer she replied, "Because every time I've seen that look, we ended up in a fight. Because I know her."
Jessica POV
She'd been happy to wear her pink dress again. She knew it made her look young and carefree and that was a part of herself she wanted to hold onto for as long as possible. But now she was regretting it.
Soon she'd be in a room full of big men in their shiny uniforms and all they would see was a girl wearing a pink dress. If this were an undercover mission she wouldn't mind, the dress would provide her with the element of surprise.
But this wasn't an undercover assignment, so she felt exposed and naked and she missed the reassurance her own uniform provided terribly.
She was so busy running over every scenario the next few hours could bring, and preparing herself for each one, that she only vaguely registered a soldier heading for her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she assumed he was heading for the pub, the warm yellow light streaming out from the open door behind her followed by the hum of voices. So when he changed course at the last moment so their paths would cross she didn't immediately react, not until he was close enough to touch.
Jessica slammed to a halt and her eyes snapped up to the tall soldier's face. The piece of her mind she was going to give him died in her throat when she recognised the dark eyes staring back at her.
"Ron," his name, barely above a whisper, slipped from her lips before she could stop herself.
She hadn't meant to say his name. She'd practiced calling him Lieutenant Speirs. Over and over again until she wouldn't even use his name in her thoughts.
She'd never meant to say his name ever again.
His face betrayed a hint of relief and for a second it was as if that horrible evening had never happened. But then she caught a glimpse of her pink dress and that was all it took to snap her out of the momentary trance.
She made to move past him to the three waiting men. "Evening Lieutenant Speirs."
His right arm shot out, blocking her path. Coming to an abrupt stop she raised one eyebrow and slowly, coolly moved her head so she could stare him down.
The look on her face would have scared lesser, or more sensible men, into putting as much distance between them as possible. But Ronald Speirs was neither, so he moved his body into the space his arm had occupied, stuffing his hands deep into his trouser pockets as he went.
"Captain King?" she heard the sergeant's gruff voice from somewhere behind Speirs.
She contemplated calling him over to get rid of Speirs, but decided against it. She didn't need three strangers to fight this battle for her and sooner or later she'd have to face him.
Apparently sooner it is.
"I'm fine. Just give me a minute. We have to discuss something confidential," she called back in reply.
She heard whispering followed by, "We'll wait at the jeep. You'll easily see it. We need to get going though ma'am."
"Understood Sergeant. This won't take long."
Turning her cool gaze back to Speirs and crossing her arms over her chest she asked, "Well?"
"Can we speak somewhere more private?"
"If you wanted to have a private conversation you should have sought me out weeks ago instead of waiting until we ran into each other by chance."
He pursed his lips and seemed to be taking deep, measured breaths.
She waited, face impassive, unreadable.
Not a chance in hell I'm giving you an inch.
"I'd wanted to talk to you the day after…" he trailed off, nervously running a hand through his immaculately styled hair, "that night," he finally managed to mumble.
"Then why didn't you?"
His fingers twitched and she thought he was going to reach for her, but instead he stuffed his hand back into his pocket. "You're not the easiest woman to approach."
She smirked. "Odd, I've been called lots of things but that's a first."
"Jessica, don't make this more difficult than it has to be," he said and she could feel her blood start to boil, but then Ron's face softened, his eyes losing their usual coolness, replacing it with something which reminded her of sadness or regret.
"Please," he said the word so softly, almost like prayer, that it nearly broke her heart.
But she'd never been one to forgive easily or quickly. And as much as she hated to admit it, that night he'd broken a bit of her trust, and she wasn't ready to feel sorry for him yet. So she stuffed her sympathy down deep and embraced the heat rising in her chest.
"More difficult than it has to be? That's rich coming from the man that -" she only realised the volume of her voice had steadily been climbing when he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the three waiting men. Taking a deep breath she continued, practically hissing each word, "That had showed up drunk on my doorstep and kissed me right after he'd broken up with his girl. You're the one that made it difficult, not me."
He took a small step closer to her and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "I know, what happened that night. I'm never going to forget it and trust me, I've tried. I just need to explain."
Light appeared behind him, perfectly silhouetting his muscular frame in the most annoying way.
She moved so they were a foot or so apart again. "I don't have time for this Lieutenant Speirs. I need to go."
She made a move to leave when his hand shot out, grabbing her arm. "Jessica wait."
Her muscles tensed and she resisted the urge to slap him, instead choosing to stare at his hand, willing her every muscle not to react. Nothing she did now would end well.
He dropped her arm and straightened out to his full height, effortlessly dropping his usual facade back into place.
"Can I find you, so we can have this conversation?" he asked, his eyes looking somewhere behind her.
Damnit.
She pulled her shoulders back and forced herself to look up at him. She'd be damned if she was going to be the one to look away. "Very well. We're going to have to work together, so it's probably best for us to sort out this disagreement. When you're able to find the time in your apparently chock-and-block diary, find me."
She started walking to the waiting jeep, purposefully not altering her path to accommodate the man standing in it. Just as she passed by his shoulder he dropped his head so his mouth was next to her ear and said, "Does Winters know about that night? Are you going to tell him?"
She paused and turned her head, their faces were so close she could see the scattering of freckles on his cheeks even in the dim light. "I'm a Captain, Lieutenant. You'd do well to remember that. And your place."
The last thing she saw was the flash in his eyes and the way his jaw set. She didn't hang around to see what had caused it, anger or lust.
For now at least, she had more important things to worry about.
Arlene POV
Jessica and the three strangers had barely left the room when she pushed out her chair, the scraping of wood on uneven tiled floor covering her words so only Joe would be able to hear. "I'm going to find John. See if he knows anything."
She could see he wanted to go with her, recognising the restlessness in his eyes, the need to do something instead of wait around for whatever was coming. All she could do was give him a reassuring smile.
"I'll be here," Joe replied.
"Hey, LT, you leaving us already? You're gonna break my heart!" Skip exclaimed the moment she made to stand.
Four pairs of eyes focused on her and three of them had no idea what was going on. A carefree joy filled the space between the three friends and she didn't have the heart to rob them of it, especially over nothing more than a gut feeling.
So she tilted her head to one side and pouted. "Oh, Skip. You're such a sweetheart I'd never forgive myself for breaking your heart."
Skip dropped his face and smiled as a blush deepened the pink tinge the alcohol and cigarettes had already given his cheeks.
"I'll be back. Whoever keeps my seat warm in my absence owes me a drink."
"We got ya' LT," Malarkey replied and the other two musketeers nodded in agreement. She glanced over to Joe and he smiled up at her, but she could see the strain on the edges of his lips.
I shouldn't have said anything. Now he's worried.
She pushed her guilty feelings aside, leaving the table behind her in search of John and quickly finding him where she expected to. Deep in flirtation with a pretty girl in the darkest corner of the overcrowded pub.
Despite how enamoured he looked with his date, she knew he'd be scanning the room with the edges of his mind. It wouldn't be a conscious effort on his part, it was a basic instinct drilled into them over years. One way or another they'd each learned the price you pay if you completely drop your guard.
Sometimes someone else pays it for you.
She swallowed down the lump that clogged her throat and took in a very deep breath through her nose.
Holland. Michael. Two thoughts that knocked her to her knees every damn time she thought about them. It was never intentional. Her mind would just shove the memories to the fore without warning and without any consent on her part.
"Hey Arlene. You okay?" John's steady voice broke through the hammering of her heart in her ears.
She blinked and when her eyes regained focus they settled onto a concerned looking John.
She waved him off with a casual flick of her wrist. "I'm fine."
He raised one eyebrow but thankfully dropped the subject.
"Did you see Jessica leave with three sergeants?" she asked.
John cleared his throat and sheepishly glanced over his shoulder at this companion in answer. The pretty girl smiled back at him before turning her full attention to the nearly empty glass in her hand.
"Ummm….," he started to say as he turned back to her but she interrupted him. "It's fine John. We don't have to keep tabs on each other all the damn time."
He smiled gratefully and she tried to return it but she could feel how lacklustre her attempt was.
John took a step closer to her. "Something wrong?"
"I'm not sure. Three sergeants came, they were here to work not socialise, and a few minutes later Jess left with them. Posture parade ground perfect and face set."
He ran a hand through his short hair. "Shit."
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I just wanted to know if you'd maybe heard something."
He shook his head. "But I'll ask around."
She reached over and patted his shoulder. "Don't bother. Enjoy the rest of the night. Whatever it is Jessica or Alex will tell us as soon as they know."
"You sure?"
"M'hm, that's what I'm going to do. You know how these things go, we need to enjoy the warm beer and soft beds while we can."
Her friend's stiff posture relaxed and his smile softened, wiping years from his young face in the blink of an eye.
"Go have fun. And be safe," she said, nudging him softly back to his date.
Using one arm he gently pulled her into a hug. "You too," he whispered into the top of her head before letting her go with a light squeeze.
She didn't wait around to see him and the girl continue were they'd left off. She preferred to keep those type of mental images to a minimum. She considered these men brothers and therefore preferred to live in self-imposed ignorance on some counts.
As she was making her way back to her table through the crowd of uniformed bodies, raucous shouting tugged at her ears until she absolutely had to pause so she could find the source.
The source, it turns out, wasn't hard to find, and for a while she simply stood there in the middle of the crowd watching the group of men, the edges of her smile softening as the weight slowly lifted from her chest.
Luz, Buck and Toye were playing darts with one of the replacements, Heffron, but everyone called him Babe. Bull, Johnny and Bill were watching over the group, the bemused looks on their faces reminding her of indulgent parents watching their kids play.
Deciding her table would survive without her for a little while longer she made her way over to the group of men. As she pushed her slender frame through the crowd her eyes scanned the faces until she found the ones she was looking for. Heffron's friends and fellow replacements. The three men were sitting at a small table near the game, huddle together, heads slightly bowed as not to draw to much attention from the veterans.
There was a fourth empty chair at the table, Heffron's she assumed. Where most of the replacements lived on the outskirts of the veteran's circle, Heffron had been welcomed in, a fact that had surprised her at first. It had been clear from the start that the D-day veterans were keeping the replacements at a safe distance. They'd lost enough friends and still had more to lose, they didn't like to increase their odds by adding more numbers to the friends tally. She understood, she felt the same. In their line of work every new friend was a potential loss.
Which is precisely why she'd been surprised when she'd watched Bill spend a good few hours talking to Heffron, pulling the young man into the conversations around them, inadvertently telling everyone this replacement was now part of their circle. Soon enough she got pulled into the mix, and from there it took her all of one sentence from each of the men to figure out what had softened Bill to Heffron. They were both from Philadelphia. Heffron reminded Bill of home.
"Well, if it ain't the prettiest woman here, gracing us with her presence," Bill exclaimed as he caught sight of her.
A full beer appeared from her right and she accepted it before looking to see who had offered it.
"Thanks Bull."
"My pleasure ma'am," he replied, the words somehow making it past his ever present cigar.
Arlene eyed the dartboard and the four players. Suppressing a smirk she asked, "So, what are you playing for?"
"Pride," Buck replied.
"And?" she pressed.
"Four packs of smokes," Toye answered with a confident smile.
"I see, and how's the bet going to be settled then?"
Luz exhaled a cloud of smoke. "First one to hit the bull's eye wins."
"Hm, who's shooting?"
Toye slapped Babe on the shoulder. "The kid's winning this one for us."
She sipped her beer and looked to Luz and Buck.
"I am," Buck replied.
She glanced over to Bill and he just smirked and shrugged. "I'm gonna introduce myself to our new recruits. See what Babe's friends gotta say for themselves."
"Play nice, Bill."
He tried to look offended, but wasn't sober enough to stop himself from smiling.
"Yip, that's what I thought."
He chuckled and swaggered over to the small table. She briefly glanced over her shoulder. The three young men all leaned back in their chairs, as if they wanted to put some distance between themselves and Bill. Their confusion and desperation to impress Bill was so clearly written on their innocent faces it made her smile.
Poor things. Baptism by fire.
She turned her attention back to the darts game, trying to figure out how on earth Buck was losing to Babe. Buck Compton was an excellent shot and she'd seen him play darts enough times to know most people would lose. She'd only ever seen Alex beat him, and that had been a close game from start to finish.
And then it hit her. Buck was clasping the dart clumsily with his left hand.
Her eyes shot over to Luz. He wore his usual lopsided grin and his unruly brown hair, which had been stylishly combed to one side at the start of the night, was standing upright. He looked exactly like a naughty schoolboy, cheeks flushed and eyes glinting with mischief. His eyes met hers and he gave her a wink. She tried to hide her amusement behind the rim of her glass, even turning away from the four players. She loved Toye and liked Babe, but she wasn't going to be the one to spoil Luz and Buck's scheme.
"Hey Lieutenant, aren't you a righty?" Luz asked, followed by loud groans and complaints from his two opponents.
Arlene chuckled and Bull and Johnny just shook their heads. A second later she heard the satisfying thud as the dart found its target, Luz going as far as to emphasise it with a little whoop of his own. Luz and Buck congratulated one another on their victory as if it hadn't been planned, and even though Toye and Babe grumbled, they still paid up.
No longer in danger of giving Luz's ploy away she turned back to the four players, smiling at them over the brim of her glass.
"Man, that's unfair. C'mon," Babe continued to moan.
Luz tossed a pack in her direction and she easily grabbed it. "That's for keeping the game going LT."
"Oh, thanks Luz. It's not necessary, but I won't say no."
"You knew?" Toye asked, looking both offended and confused in equal measure.
She rolled her eyes. "Not until I got here. And you should have known to Toye. Heffron's still new but you know playing with Luz means there's a trick somewhere."
"So cheating," Babe said, fingers almost reaching to reclaim the cigarettes he'd just handed over.
She shook her head. "No darling, just good strategy. After all, all's fair in love and war. And darts apparently."
"See, can't argue with that boys. I'll buy you another drink LT," Buck said, slapping his own empty glass down on a nearby table which was already overflowing with empty glasses and cigarette butts.
She smiled in thanks and shrugged when she found Toye and Babe still staring at her like she'd killed their puppy. "Sorry boys, in this case you should have known better. You fight alongside Buck each day and neither one of you noticed he was shooting with his left hand. You have no one to blame but yourselves."
Toye was the first to relent, downing what was left of his beer and immediately bumming a cigarette from Luz, from a pack he'd just lost.
Yip, pride it is then.
Babe looked a little more defeated, but when Toye slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a good humoured shake his spirits seemed to lift.
"Don't beat yourself up kid," the older man said, "Luz is famous for pulling all kinds of stunts. And the LT only noticed it because she's smarter than all of us put together."
The young man looked over to her and she gave him a reassuring smile. He dropped his head and gave his own sheepish grin.
"Word of advice," she said, taking a sip of her beer, "either be on Luz's side or Captain King's. No one can put on a show like the two of them."
"I'll remember that ma'am, but I think I'll stick to Luz."
"Why so?"
"Well, and please don't tell her I said so, Captain King is damn scary."
"Unless she dislikes you, you have nothing to worry about."
He nodded and seemed to be earnestly considering her words, which she found utterly adorable. She was about to try and reassure him that Jessica didn't dislike him, so he could relax, when someone gently clasped her arm.
She turned to find Johnny staring intently at her, his brows furrowed into a deep V.
"What is it John?" she asked, ignoring the nerves slowly tickling her stomach.
Johnny took a step closer to her so their conversation wouldn't easily be overheard, a small action which only served to further increase her nerves.
"I saw Captain King leave with three sergeants. She didn't look happy. Anything up?"
She cleared her throat and tipped her glass to her lips only to be met with air. Dropping the glass onto the nearest table she replied, "I don't know John. You probably saw the same thing I did."
"Yeah, but you know the captain better than I do, and the last time I saw her that serious was when Germans were trying to kill us."
She sighed, she'd hoped she was wrong and had read into the situation. Apparently not.
"I don't know what's going on, but I do know that Jessica only ever has that look on her face when a fight's on its way. That, along with the fact that we've been waiting to jump into France for weeks now, makes me think that we're deploying soon."
"Damn, that's what I thought."
"It could just be us though. Not Easy."
The frown that seemed to be ever-present on Johnny's face deepened to such an extent she was certain he'd have a headache later. "God, like before Normandy. The men were already nervous about their first combat jump, the fact that you two were already in the fight only made their itch to go worse."
"You didn't know we were in France."
"Not officially, but the looks on your guys faces gave it away. I swear by the end, they were a day away from stealing a plane and invading France."
Despite herself the corners of her lips twitched up into a smile. "It's called permanently borrowing Johnny, not stealing. We don't use that word. It has all kinds of negative connotations."
He rolled his eyes and her smile broadened.
"That's not the point," he drawled.
Her smile faltered and she busied her hands lighting a cigarette. When the ember was a bright orange she said, "I know John. But for now you know as much as I do."
"And when you know more?"
"I'll share what I can."
He started to say something when shouting and high-pitched whistling cut him off. She turned to search for the cause of the commotion and found Smokey standing on a chair, in front of him stood a very awkward looking Lipton.
She almost smiled at the man's obvious discomfort at being the centre of attention, but then she really looked at him and noticed the guilt lying just beneath the surface.
"Looks like we're about to find out Johnny," she said.
He sighed, already sounding exhausted. "Yeah."
"Hey, ya all!" Smokey shouted to be heard over the crow. "I got an announcement to make!"
In contrast to the man standing in front of him Smokey looked ecstatic and she could only guess it was because he didn't know what was coming.
The men all shushed one another, and although the room never went dead quiet, everyone would easily be able to hear whatever announcement was coming.
Happy he had everyone's attention Smokey grabbed Lipton's shoulders and said, "This here is Carwood Lipton!"
"He's already married, Smokey," came the smart-ass comment and she recognised Malarkey's voice even though she couldn't see him.
Smokey shot a look in direction of her old table before going on. "This here is Carwood Lipton, the new Easy Company first sergeant!"
The small space was quickly filled with cheers, clapping and men stomping their glasses on tables. But she didn't move, because Lipton didn't look like a happy man.
Just say it already, damnit!
Something stung her fingers and instinctively she shook her hand, looking down just to see the burning butt of her cigarette lying at her feet.
Fuck. She'd forgotten she was even holding a cigarette and had managed to burn herself.
This does not bode well.
She flattened the stump with her toe and looked up just in time to hear Lipton announce, "Well, I hate to break the mood here boys, but we're moving out again."
For a beat the room was dead quiet, and then slowly men started to move and murmur. The raucous laughter and drinking from a few minutes earlier had been replaced by the weight of war. In an instant you could feel it settling over them.
"I guess now we know," Johnny grumbled around his glass.
"Wonder where we're going," she heard Bull ask.
"Holland," she replied flatly.
"I thought you didn't know anything?" Johnny asked, only sounding a little annoyed.
She shrugged and turned to face him and Bull. "I didn't. It's just an educated guess."
"Based on?" he pressed.
The feeling in my stomach that everything is about to be turned into a shit show.
"Just a gut feeling."
Bull removed his cigar from his lips and asked, "Your gut ever been wrong?"
She paused, looking between the two men. Taking a deep breath she answered, "There have been times when I haven't listened to it, but it's only been wrong once."
"Yeah, what happened?" Babe, who had been eavesdropping asked, suddenly appearing over Bull's shoulder.
Bull and Johnny both shot him a look and he dropped his eyes, realising he'd stepped out of line by asking.
"Arlene, you coming?" she heard John's voice a second before she felt his hand around her arm.
She turned her head slightly and replied, "Yeah, I'll be right there." Looking back to the three men she answered Babe's question, "Jessica nearly died and someone else did."
She turned and left before she could see the shock on Babe's face or the anxious look Bull and Johnny shared. Her gut told her they were going to Holland, her heart told her they were going to Holland, and the sickening feeling gnawing at her stomach told her they were going to Holland.
Please be wrong.
Arlene stuck close to John, following in the wake he created as he carved a path through the crowd. She stole a glance in the direction of her table, hoping to see Joe, but she was met by an empty chair and a pang of disappointment.
She looked away from the empty chair, turning her full attention to John's broad shoulders and trying to get a grip on the anxiety twisting her insides.
God, get it together, she scolded herself, embarrassment at her over reaction already starting to mix in with the anxiety.
She couldn't be this emotional, this fearful of jumping into a country simply because of one man. One incident.
The one time you nearly got your best friend killed. Got someone taken by the Gestapo.
Without seeing where she was going she climbed the short flight of stairs leading to the door and exited into the cool night. She didn't register the air changing from humid and hot to cool, the contrast making the hairs on her arms stand on end as her body reacted to the change even though her mind didn't register it.
She was so lost in her own internal monologue that when a strong hand gripped her arm she yelped, spun around and threw a careless punch.
"Whoa!" Joe exclaimed, jumping back at the last second so her fist just-just missed him.
She blinked several times, the pounding of her heart drowning out her rapid, short breaths.
"Shit Arlene, you okay?" John asked, appearing next to her, his large hand pressing into her back as if he were trying to ground her.
She waved him off clumsily with one hand as she reached for Joe with the other. "I'm so sorry Joe. I wasn't paying attention and got a fright."
Joe stepped closer to her, holding out her dark blue coat between them like a peace offering. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you. It's my fault."
As he draped the coat over her extended arm she gently held onto his hand. "No, it's not your fault. But thanks for understanding. And ducking."
He smirked and John huffed a small laugh. His hand fell away from her back and he said, "You're lucky Liebgott. She's got a mean right."
"Yeah no, I got that memo."
An awkward silence suddenly fell over them and she became all too aware of Joe holding her hand and John watching the two of them.
She cleared her throat. "Um John, could we have a second please?"
He jumped a little. "Oh yes, shit. Sorry. Um, I'll wait over here."
"Thanks, I'll be quick."
She waited a few seconds until her friend had moved slightly out of earshot before taking a step closer to Joe.
His eyebrows knitted together and he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I've never been so grateful for a dark street," she said.
His lips tried to move into a smile, but he stopped and sighed. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head, trying to clear the emotional fog. "We're going to Holland," was her only answer.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Not officially. Not even unofficially actually. But…" she trailed off, knowing she sounded silly at best but more likely mad.
"But your gut is telling you it's Holland," he finished for her.
She tightened her grip on his hand and simply stared up at him. Focusing all her mental energy on every inch of his beautiful face so she didn't have to think about anything else.
Joe used his free hand to gently cup the back of her neck as he moved forward to close the space between them. His warm lips gently touched her forehead. She allowed her eyes to drift closed and took deep breaths, savouring his scent and the warmth of his body. Slowly her mind centred itself and the anxiety and guilt lessened, a little.
"You will be fine," he whispered into her hairline.
She gave a small nod.
For a brief second his lips pressed harder onto her skin, and then they were gone. She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.
"I need to go," she said softly.
With a reassuring squeeze of her hand he replied, "You know where to find me. I'm not going anywhere."
XXXX
Hello! We're on a roll here with the chapters! Although I'll be honest and say this is the last one that's 100% done,so here's hoping I can keep up the pace. (I am busy writing the next one. It's filled with angst and some unexpected swearing...so good times all round)
Thank you for every review, like, follow and minute spent reading this.
Have a great Friday and wonderful weekend.