Falling Star Chapter 26

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Hi! As promised, you are all in suspense no longer!! Well, I have dragged you all on for 26 chapters with minimal Dick/Roseanna so I think you're all owed some, haha! Hope you all enjoy this latest chapter! I have to thank you all so much for the kind reviews. You all say really nice things about this story and I really, really, really appreciate it and it drives me on to write each following chapter.

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July 15th, 1945- Zell Am See

Squinting against the bright sun, Annie yawned as she put on her sunglasses, stretching out her legs along the length of the recliner chair. "Honestly, Roseanna, why are things never simple with you?"

"And what exactly does that mean?" Roseanna piped up from the other side of the balcony, clad in sunglasses herself, curled up into a wicker armchair.

Annie gestured dismissively with her hands. "Well, it's just…you know, you Caines. Always a drama."

"It's not my fault," She protested, sitting up in her chair, leaning her elbows against the armrests. "I didn't ask him to try and kiss me and I certainly didn't plan for Dick to walk in at that exact moment."

Annie burst out laughing. "Okay, maybe you didn't plan for it, but you can't deny the drama follows the Caine family around, like bees to honey."

"Like flies to….," She sighed heavily. "…well you get the idea."

"Morning, ladies," Nix chirped, following a light knock at the balcony door. "Working hard I see."

"Excuse me," Annie tutted, absent-mindedly pouring herself a glass of water. "It's our morning off!"

"As opposed to which other mornings?" Nix asked, chucking as he sat himself down, slapping his hands off of his thighs. He raised his eyebrows at Annie, motioning to Roseanna, sitting grumpily in the corner, huddled up in a blanket despite the blistering heat. "Morning, Roseanna."

Roseanna grunted in response, pushing her sunglasses further up her nose with her index finger.

"Now, why is it…," Nix began. "that when I see Dick walking around with a face like thunder, I can be guaranteed you'll have one, too?"

Annie, answering for her, clapped her hands together tactfully. "Tiiiiny misunderstanding."

"Isn't it always a tiny misunderstanding between those two?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

Annie burst out laughing. "I just said that before you came in! I swear, I literally said to her…."

"Her has a name," Roseanna piped up. "And Her is sitting right here. I mean she. I mean…I give up."

"So go on then," Nix cajoled her. "What is this tiny misunderstanding?"

"Well, I was sitting with Floyd and George last night, trying to comfort them after Sergeant Grant was shot," She began to explain. "How is he, by the way?"

"Made it through the night," Nix commented, biting his lip. "We'll have to wait and see, but the kraut doctor seems positive."

"That's something, at least," She nodded at him. "Anyway, Floyd got the wrong end of the stick and…thought it would be appropriate to kiss me. Dick, however, decided this would be a perfect time to walk in and get the wrong end of the stick, himself."

"Nice timing," Nix observed, an amused glint in his eye. "Would make a good plot for a movie."

"Tell me about it," She sighed. "I don't know how to make it right."

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Why don't you just…explain the situation to him."

She shrugged her shoulder doubtingly. "I'm not so good with words."

"What? You?...a singer? A singer who went to college?" He asked, shaking his head at her.

"Let me rephrase that," She cleared her throat. "When it comes to that man, I'm not good at finding the words. So, explaining it to him works in theory…."

"Then why don't you explain it to him in your own way, with someone else's words," Annie piped up, sending her a look full of secret signals.

"Huh?" She asked, frowning.

Annie sighed. "Think about it…."

Roseanna's face lit up, taking off her sunglasses as she finally got the gist. "Oh, I see. I don't know, it's a little…corny."

"Perhaps," Annie smiled, as though the two girls were talking their own little language, evident by the confusion on Lew's face. "It's what you do, though."

"I suppose you're right," She said, biting her lip.

"Lew," Annie said, on all action stations. "We're showing a movie tonight, Thousands Cheer. Do you think you could arrange it to have Dick in the mess hall in time for the credits going up?"

"Probably,"

"Fantastic," Annie replied, standing up. "Get to it."

Nix laughed, taken aback by her sudden authoritativeness. "Could I, by any chance, be let in on this plan I've suddenly been implicated in?"

"No," She flashed him a smile. "…but you'll be rewarded in kind."

"I'll hold you to that, Annie," He said, winking at her.

……………………………………

"Knock, Knock," Nix said, knocking on the door to Dick's office, poking his head around, watching his friend sitting at his desk, cross-armed, staring off into space. "Busy day?"

Dick suddenly sprang into action upon his arrival, looking around for something to do, grabbing a sheet of paper and putting it into his typewriter. "What can I do for you, Nix?"

"Still at it?" Lew asked, disbelievingly. "It's going on 7 p.m.."

Dick merely looked at him and shrugged.

"Come on," Nix said, motioning for him to follow him. "They're showing a movie in the mess hall. Why don't you come watch it with me?"

"Who's in it?" Dick asked gruffly.

Nix scratched his chin in though. "Uhhh….Judy Garland, I think."

Dick wrinkled his nose, crossing his arms again. "I don't really care for her movies."

Lew gave him an amused smile. "Well you might be the only person who feels that way…well, except one. When did you become Otis Ferguson, anyway?"

"Who?"

"He was a…never mind," Nix shook his head. "Just come. It's a movie, for God's sake. It's supposed to entertain you, help you take a load off."

Dick shook his head, looking at him doubtfully. "I don't know. I've got a lot to do here."

"Like what?" Nix challenged.

"Well," Dick gestured around him. "Like…like…okay, fine. Let's go."

…………………………………

1 hour later

Annie bustled into the mess hall, trying to distinguish certain faces amongst the throng assembled, all watching the movie. As she waded further in, her head full of finding who she was looking for, she stopped suddenly at the sight of Nix and Dick sitting at the edge of one of the rows of chairs in the middle of the hall. She moved in closer to them, whispering. "Dick, you're here. Good."

He smiled politely at her as he noticed she was standing there. "Evening, Annie. Good? Why?"

She blushed, catching Nix's eye. "Oh, nothing. It's,erm…it's just good to see you out and about from that office of yours. Say, you don't know if there's a Eugene Roe in here tonight, do you?"

"Doc Roe?" Nix frowned at her. "He's sitting down the front there."

"Why, what's happened?" Dick asked, concerned.

Annie clapped her hands together, amicable smile on her face. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Excuse me for just a moment, gentlemen."

Hoping she'd brushed that off well enough, Annie moved down the front, prompting groans from several of the men as she got in the way of their view of the screen. She waved her hands, apologetically, whispered out into the crowd. "So sorry fellas, I'll be out of your hair in a moment. Is there a Eugene Roe here?"

"That's me," A southern drawl piped up from a few rows up. The man stood up, walking over to where she was standing. "What's wrong?"

"Would you mind awfully heading up to room 202 on the second floor?" She looked at him pleadingly, sure to keep her voice down. "Roseanna's had a little accident with a curling tong.

"Sure," He nodded his head. "202 did you say?"

"That's the one. Thanks, Eugene," She patted his shoulder, watching him dash off. She felt a tugging at her sleeve, looking down to see Floyd. "Evening, Floyd."

"Is she alright?" He asked, concerned.

"She's fine. Don't worry about it. "Annie reassured him, giving him a smile before making her way back up towards Nix and Dick. She sat down in an empty seat next to them. "Back."

"Why was Eugene in such a rush?" Dick ask inquisitively.

"No idea," She shook her head innocently, eager to change the subject. "So, how's the movie?"

"It's alright," Dick replied blankly.

Lew leaned across. "Dick's not a fan of Judy Garland. He thinks that she's overrated."

"Is that right?" She smiled at Dick, amused. "Well, actually, I'm inclined to agree. She's such a lovely woman though. Rotten luck with men, mind you. Still, I heard that she just got married in June to that director, Vincente Minelli. Here's hoping she'd picked a good 'un there, unlike before. I'll never forget the Caine Summer Barbecue Party in 1940 when she found out that Artie Shaw had eloped with Lana Turner. Oh, she was devastated. She was so in love with that man." She stopped when she noticed that Lew was smiling at her, amused. "…what?"

"How come you've never told me these stories before?" He asked, his eyes glimmering.

"You've never asked, Captain," She shot back, winking at him. "Besides, I'm not really one for gossip."

"Right," Nix snorted with laughter. "If you'd dropped any more names in that story, it'd be a garden salad."

……………………………….

Roseanna winced in pain as she sat in her and Annie's office, in front of a large mirror, watching Eugene treat her burned hand with ice.

"Sorry," He apologised. "I'll be gentle."

"It's alright," She shook her head. "I'm just a big baby."

"Forgive me for noticing," He cleared his throat, flashing her an amused smile. "But you have a tendency to injure your right hand. Why is that?"

"Wish I could tell ya, Eugene," She laughed, wincing again as he began to wind a bandage around. "All I know is, I'll be paying much more attention to which end of the curling tong I pick up in future."

"I think that would be a good idea," He laughed.

"Am I interrupting?" Luz's voice piped up from the door. "Mind if I come in?"

She looked up to see him leaning against the doorframe. "Come in, George."

"Well," Eugene packed up his bag. "That's us about done here. You might want to keep that dry for two days. I'm afraid that means no swimming."

"Will do," She waved him off with her good hand. "Thanks, Eugene."

Stepping aside to let Eugene leave, George made his way into the room, sitting on the chair that the doc had just vacated. "What've you done to yourself?"

She motioned to her hair tongs and then her bandaged hand, laughing. "Whaddya think?"

"I don't think you're supposed to pick those things up by the hot end," He joke. "Though I'm not a girl, so I wouldn't know."

"I'll bear that in mind," She rolled her eyes. "What brings you here?"

"Concern," He said, jokingly putting a concerned look on his face. It softened. "No, actually, Floyd asked me to come and check if you were alright. I would've come myself though, honestly."

"Sure you would've, George," She said, playfully slapping him on the arm. "Well you can tell him that I'm fine. Why didn't he come himself?"

"Too embarrassed," George said, pouting exaggeratedly. "He told me what happened last night."

"He did?" She asked, looking away.

"Poor bastard thinks he blew his chances," George pointed out. "…but I didn't have the heart t tell him that he never had a hope in hell anyway, not with the Major around."

"Yes, well…," She said, still looking away dismissively.

"That's what all this is about, right?" He said, pointing to the tongs. "Tab told me he walked in in the middle of everything."

"Well yes, and I think he got the wrong end of the stick," She frowned. "So I thought I would sing to him, to should him how I feel."

"I see," George crossed his arms. "You can't just tell him?"

"Well, I did back in Belgium," She pointed out. "That didn't work. Now, I don't know. I have increasingly less confidence around Di- the Major."

"Christ, Roseanna. I can't believe you're working so hard to get one man to like you. You, being famous and all. I mean, why don't you just go home and marry Henry Fonda or something?"

"Well because he's 40 and married, for a start," She raised an eyebrow at him, before looking down at her feet. "Besides, I…I don't think there is anyone else that I want."

"You serious?"

"I know it sounds silly. When I first met him, I began to fall for him almost straight away. He seemed to strong, determined…and safe. It sounds crazy I know and, believe me, when I went home to the US, I tried to tell convince myself that it was just the atmosphere of being in the middle of a warzone and Dick taking care of me that made me feel that way. But I couldn't stop thinking about him, every single day. You know, I'm no expert, George, but I think it might be…love," She blushed, looking away again.

"Shit," Was all George could say, stunned.

Embarrassed, she gestured around her to her hair, the mirror and the tongs. "So I guess that's why I'm doing all of this. Pretty stupid, huh?"

George's expression took on a softness she'd never seen it take on before. He cleared his throat. "No, I don't think it's stupid. I think that it's very…brave of you, to keep going after the man you want, especially when you already tried once before."

"What's that look," She said, confused by the look on his face.

"Nothing," He laughed, a reminiscent look in his eyes. "Makes me think of your sister. Sorry, stepsister."

"What about her?" She said, her eyes suddenly growing wide. "What? You were in love with her?"

"I used to think so when I was younger," He laughed, embarrassed.

"Oh, George," She scolded, laughing. "Surely not."

"Well hey, her pictures and records were everywhere! She was everywhere I looked when I was a young man…and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. I think I built her up in my head to be something that she wasn't."

"What? Like a nice person," Roseanna joked.

"Very funny," He shook his head at her. "I suppose when I actually met her in person, I actually thought, a little part of me anyway, that I could use the old George Luz charm and make her fall for me."

That sentence made Roseanna think of the day she'd found him waiting outside of the their dressing room for Lola, and she'd just simply walked straight past him. "Oh, George."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh well, a man can hope. It's your fault, too."

"Oh, really?" She cocked her head at him.

"Yeah," He laughed, amused. "When I saw that you'd developed feelings for the Major it gave me a little burst of confidence, like maybe us Joe Regulars had a chance with you hotshots."

"I'm sorry, George," She said, reaching out and patting his hand. "You'd have a chance with many women. Lola is just the exception, given the she's already betrothed…to the devil."

George laughed at her joke, as the both of them sat back, sighing heavily at the deep conversation they'd just had.

"Pretty intense conversation," She said, look over at him.

"Yeah," He nodded in agreement, frowning. "Do me a favour…don't let this get back to the other fellas."

"Stays between us," She reassured him. "Now, can you do me a tiny, little favour?"

"What?"

"Welll," She said, gesturing. "I've got half a head of uncurled hair and an injured hand. See where I'm going with this?"

His eyes widened. "Oh, no, no, no. I can't do that. If it ever got back to the other fellas that I curled your hair…I'd never hear the end of it. No, I'll go get Annie."

"No," Roseanna held up a hand. "She's setting up the microphone and music. Please, George, you're the only one who can help me."

"But, but…," He protested. "I don't even know what I'm doing!"

"I'll walk you through it," She reassured him, frowning at his sceptical look. "Come on, George. I'm the one in danger of having my hair burnt off."

"Oh good," He said, reaching for the tongs. "Fill me up with confidence, why don't you?"

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As the movie credits rolled, the men began to shuffle to their feet in preparation of leaving. Panicked at their sudden upheaval, Annie ran behind the screen to where she'd assembled the microphone. She gave a thumbs up to Roseanna, waiting at the side. "Excuse me, excuse me! If you could all just keep your seats for a moment, we have a little something extra for you tonight. If you'll just, wait…wait until I get this screen up."

Annie rushed to the side, pulling the rope and pulling screen up to reveal the microphone. She walked back over to the mic, leaning down. "Thank you all for staying behind. Now let's give Roseanna a big round of applause. She's got a song she wants to sing for you all."

Amidst the applause and sudden whoops, Roseanna walked out, feeling very sheepish all of a sudden. Giving the crowd a quick scan, she couldn't see Dick, but would just have to trust that they'd managed to get him here. Clearing her throat, she leaned down into the mic. "Evening everyone. Well, like Annie said, I'd like to sing a little song for you tonight. It's always been one of my favourite, by the Mills brothers and, erm…right now it seems to mean so much more to me. Thank you everyone."

Giving a nod to Annie to start the music, she cleared her throat again:

You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it till the petals fall

You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall, so
If I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all

You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it till the petals fall

You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall
So-o if I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of a-all

You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
Crush it, till the petals fall

You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall, so
If I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all...

When it was over an applause rang throughout the room, and she sheepishly thanked everyone and walked off to the side again, hoping it had done the trick. After catching her breath for a moment and getting a quick drink of water for her dry mouth, she prepared to go out and find Dick. Before she could do so, she was confronted by Floyd. She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance.

"Sorry to scare you," He held his hands up apologetically.

"That's alright, Floyd," She smiled amiably.

"Heck of a performance," He complimented her. He gave her a sort of hopeless look. "I don't…I don't suppose it was about me by any chance."

She bit her lip, looking down. "No. I'm sorry, Tab."

"Well, hey, that's alright," He said, plastering a smile over his face so as not to make her feel bad. He reached out, taking one of her hands and kissing it quickly before releasing it. He put a hand on the side of her arm. "Well, he's a lucky man, whoever he is."

She watched him walk off, feeling a little guilty. Still, it wasn't fair of her to lie to him, was it?

"Nice job," Lew piped up, appearing behind her.

She spun round to greet him. "Thanks Lew. Did, um…."

"He went back to his office there," He explained.

"Oh," She looked down, her heart sinking.

Nix nudged her playfully in the arm. "He asked me to ask you to pop up and see him if you get the chance."

"Really?" She asked, erupting into a wide smile.

"Yep, so he's up there watin' on you now," Nix nodded, stepping out of the way as George Luz walked past them, a scowl on his face. Nix frowned. "Why does Luz have a bandaged hand."

"Uuuuh," She said, thinking quickly, pursing her lips and looking none the wiser. "You know, I really have no idea…."

……………………………..

Roseanna quickly touched up her lipstick as she stood outside the door to his office. She had to keep her hand from shaking as she did so. She couldn't believe how nervous she was. Psyching herself up, she knocked lightly on the door.

After a slight pause, she heard. "Come in."

She opened the door, looking around for him, unable to find him.

"I'm out here," He called from the balcony, as though reading her thoughts.

Putting her hands nervously in her pockets, she shuffled out onto the balcony. Her nerves washed away momentarily as she looked out at the stars and the moonlight glinting off of the water. She whistled. "Wow, I forgot how good the view was from your office."

Dick, however, wasn't looking at the view. He was looking, with concern, at her bandaged hand. He reached out, touching it gently. "What happened?"

"Oh that?" She piped up, looking at it, feeling idiotic at the thought of telling him how it had happened. "Accident with a, erm…curling tong."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Bit of a nasty habit you have there of injuring this hand."

"Apparently so," She nodded.

"Your hair looks lovely, though," He said, complimenting her. "Very nice."

The moonlight framing his face, making him look even more handsome seemed to give her a sudden burst of confidence, so lost was she in his eyes. "Then it was all worth it then?"

"Sorry?" He asked, confused.

"The hair and the, erm…song," She blushed, hoping it wouldn't show up in the moonlight. "…you do know that was for you…don't you?"

He paused a moment, looking at her. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I knew. Then again, I didn't need a song to know how you really feel about me."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "So you know that the kiss yesterday wasn't what it looked like?"

"Of course I do," He said quietly, clearing his throat. "I know that it was one-sided. It showed me, thought…"

"Showed you what?" She asked, prompting him as he suddenly fell quiet.

"It showed me…," He swallowed. "Showed me how much I really care about you, too."

"Geez," She joked. "You didn't know that already?"

"No…no, I did," He corrected her. "I suppose I've just been trying to keep a lid on it, since this is my job here, but I can't describe to you how just how jealous I felt when I saw Sergeant Talbert kissing you. I…I came back here and kicked my door."

She couldn't help but laugh at his revelation. "You kicked your door?"

"I did, yes," He said, straightening up and smoothing his tie indignantly, all the while looking sheepish, with a playful glimmer in his eye. "Don't laugh. That's a big thing for me."

"I'm sorry," She said. "I don't mean to laugh it's just…it's so nice to hear you say that."

They both fell silent, both merely taking in the moonlight-bathed face of the other. Her stomach filled with butterflies. A reaction he always seemed to evoke in her. Trying to steady herself and appear nonchalant, she put her hands along the banister, leaning against it. "So…now what do we do?"

Before he could respond, she lost her balance, her hands sliding along the banister, causing her to slide. He instinctively reached out, grabbing hold of her before she lost her footing. As she gave a yelp of surprise at her impending fall and then sudden saviour, neither noticed the clinch they'd become entangled in, with his arms around her upper wait and her arms wrapped tight around his neck.

"You're a walking hazard," He joked, unable to stop himself from chuckling.

She freed one arm from around his shoulders, covering her embarrassed face with her hand. "I know, I'm such a disaster!"

"You're not a disaster," He whispered, his eyes locking onto hers. She felt electricity tingle up her spine as they looked into each others each, subconsciously wrapping the arm back around his neck. She closed her eyes, taking in his smell. She'd longed for so long to get close enough to him again so that she might smell it. She opened her eyes gently to see find that his, too, were closed. She wondered if he might be doing the same thing. Closing her eyes again, their lips slowly yet instinctively made their way towards each other, meeting in a gentle kiss. Wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, she let everything just drift away as she lost herself in the embrace.