Chapter 27

Arlene POV

Jessica gave Arlene's harness a final sharp tug before slapping her shoulder. "You're all strapped in and ready to go."

She rubbed her shoulder and glowered at her best friend.

Jessica rolled her eyes even as a smirk skated across her lips.

"Did you really have to slap my arm that hard?"

Jessica played at shadow boxing as she replied, "I'm getting into the spirit of things."

Arlene rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the smile that lifted the corners of her lips.

That seemed to please her friend, who stopped her antics and continued checking her own kit.

All around them paratroopers were gearing up for their jump into Holland. After days of anxious waiting, the orders had finally come down and you could feel the surge of energy and anticipation in the air.

Men were checking and re-checking their gear as others stood in loose groups, puffing through packs of cigarettes as they waited for the order to board the planes. The replacements were conspicuously watching the veterans, mimicking their preparations while trying desperately to hide the nerves so clearly eating away at them.

Trucks bustled back and forth with last minute supplies and as soon as one stopped, a small army of soldiers proficiently unloaded the cargo before it sped off again.

"How are you feeling?" her friend asked.

She shrugged and started to strap her spare sidearm to her left thigh. "Honestly, relieved."

"Really?"

She straightened out and gave Jessica's gear a once over with her eyes as she answered. "I've spent so much time thinking about what could happen and what I'd do. I've gone over it all a hundred times. We have. It's exhausting. I just want to get it over and done with."

"People don't like uncertainty. It's not our happy place."

"Jess…" she hesitated, knowing what she wanted to say but unsure how to word it.

Jessica waved her off. "You don't have to say anything."

She sighed and shook her head. "Thank you."

Her friend frowned and tilted her head fractionally.

"Thank you for having my back. I know in the last few days we've gone over every possible scenario and I've probably bored you to death with my over analysis. God, it's like I was making up for lost time or something. But, just thank you for having my back no matter what. Even when I know it was hard."

"Oh, honey. Come here," Jessica replied, pulling her into a tight embrace as her arms laced around her waist.

Arlene returned the hug and the two friends stood like that, in each other's arms, in the middle of an airfield full of soldiers readying to go to war. They didn't see the looks some of the men shot them. The nudges and whispers. They wouldn't have cared if they had.

Jessica was the first to leave the embrace. The blonde took a small step back but held onto her shoulders with a firm grip. "I will always have your back. I will always do whatever is necessary for you."

She reached up and took her friend's hand. "And I'll always have yours."

Jessica winked and dropped her free hand from her shoulder. Arlene gave the hand she'd been holding a squeeze before letting it go.

"And besides," Jessica said as she went down onto her haunches, taking out the knife Speirs had given her from her pack and strapping it to her right ankle. "Talking about you meant we didn't have to talk about me."

"You mean talk about the man that gave you that knife? Or about the one whose compass you've checked five times today already, just to make sure it's still around your neck?"

Her friend scowled up at her. "Smart-ass."

"I learnt from the best."

Jessica pulled a face.

She smiled. "I can't believe you still haven't spoken to either one of them. Especially Richard."

Jessica gave the strap of the knife's harness one more tug before rising. "The last few days have been very busy. I didn't really have time to chase after boys."

This time it was her turn to roll her eyes. "Okay, A - those are definitely not two boys. And B - you could have easily made time not to chase after them, but to, oh I don't know, be in the same room as them for more than the absolute minimum time required."

"We're about to jump into another fight. There are more important things to worry about than my love life."

"Sure-sure, why go through the effort making up with your man, or finding out if the other handsome soldier is serious in his intentions, when you could all be dead in a few days?"

Jessica crossed her arms and huffed.

"You know you are incredibly stubborn, right?"

"Whose side are you on?"

She sighed, intently holding her best friend's gaze. "Always yours. You know that. Which is why I don't want you have to live with the regret of not clearing things up with Richard when you still had the chance."

Jessica kicked her toe into the ground and mumbled, "He was an ass. He should apologise to me."

"I agree and I'm sure he would have if you were literally alone for one minute. You never gave the poor man a chance."

Jessica's posture softened and she bit her bottom lip.

"And listen, I don't care about Speirs, except that it's incredibly entertaining for me. But I literally watched you do some A-grade tactical manoeuvring in order to avoid having to speak to him. I mean, it was incredibly impressive."

Jessica held up a hand. "Thank you. You can stop now. I think you made your point."

"Which is?"

"That I was being a coward."

"Well I didn't want to use those exact words, but…."

"Yes-yes, thank you. You and your perfect relationship can stop gloating now."

"Firstly, thank you."

Jessica stared at her flatly.

"And secondly, you have two Prince Charmings vying for you. So stop being the stubborn woman that you are, and give them a chance. God, at least give Richard a chance to say he's sorry. You're practically torturing him."

"No I'm not!"

"M'hm."

"Not intentionally," Jessica grumbled.

"So what then? Because something isn't adding up."

Jessica dropped her eyes to stare at her feet, fingers nervously fiddling with the ends of her one harness strap.

Arlene took a small step closer to her friend, dropped her head slightly and asked in a whisper, "Jess, do you want to make things right with Richard? Or, are you having doubts now that Speirs is back?"

Jessica took a deep breath and tightly shut her eyes so the corners wrinkled.

She placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Damn."

Jessica opened her eyes and pushed out the breath she'd been holding. "I really like Richard. He's fantastic. Even when he's being a jerk he's still better than most men. But a part of me does wonder what could be."

She nodded and rubbed a small circle on Jessica's back.

"But the other part of me doesn't wonder because…have you met Richard Winters? He's handsome and kind and intelligent and all round amazing."

"So…"

Jessica straightened out and rolled her shoulders back. Arlene dropped her hand but remained standing where she was. Pretty soon there really wouldn't be time for this conversation.

"So, I'm mad at Richard, but also at myself."

"And do you want to be with him?"

Jessica paused, blue eyes flicking up to the cloudless sky. When they settled back onto hers she replied, "I know I want to give us a chance. A real one. I'm not sure about much else beyond that."

Arlene gave her a soft smile. " I think a chance is all he's asking for. And as for Speirs, you'll cross that bridge when you get there."

Jessica gave a small nod. "I really need to find Richard, huh?"

"Yeah, you kinda should."

Her friend's lips softened into a weak smile. "You know, I enjoyed our time together more when all the focus was on you."

"Oh now, fair is fair. We've spent days on me and my mistakes, we can spend a few minutes on you."

Jessica wrinkled her face and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"You know Jessica, it's moments like these I'm glad you're in-charge of a unit of elite soldiers." The voice came out of nowhere nearly making them both jump.

They hadn't noticed Nixon approach them, the man could be sneaky when he wanted to be, so when he spoke they were both startles and their heads shot in his direction.

"Jeez Nix, you shouldn't sneak up on armed women like that," she said.

"And as you well know, I'm not in-charge," Jessica added.

Nixon took a drag from his newly lit cigarette. "That's semantics and you know it."

Jessica reached over and stole the cigarette from between his lips. Nixon scowled at Jessica, but immediately started lighting another one. He held it out to her but she shook her head. She'd already had half a pack that day.

Nixon gave a nonchalant shrug and took a long drag.

"Any new intelligence to share?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Still the same. Should be quick and easy."

The look on his face didn't match the ease of his words. Deep lines ran across his forehead and the dark circles underneath his eyes seemed a permanent fixture.

Nixon cleared his throat and his eyes darted between the two women. He seemed about to say something when she got the jump on him. "I'm going to check on our replacements. Make sure they know which planes they need to go to and that sort of thing."

Jessica shot her a sideways glance but didn't say anything. Nixon gave her an appreciative little smile.

As she turned to leave she paused and locked eyes with her best friend, giving her a pointed look.

Make things right while you still can.

Jessica conceded with a small nod.

Nixon POV

Jessica watched her friend leave with an almost forlorn expression. It was only when Arlene had vanished into the sea of green that she hesitantly turned her attention to him.

"You know, if I wasn't so confident I'd take it personally."

"What?"

"You're either avoiding me like the plague or wishing Arlene would come back and save you from having to spend a few seconds alone with me."

Jessica let out a small sigh. "Sorry."

He arched one eyebrow. "Sorry?"

She blew out a long stream of smoke and replied, "Yeah, sorry. I know I've been, shall we say absent, the last few days."

"Absent is a good word."

Jessica bit her bottom lip. He'd noticed her start to do it more and more recently.

He shook his head as if to clear it and took a long drag of his cigarette to allow himself some time to get his train of thoughts back on track.

"Listen Nix, I don't know what Richard told you," she started to say, but her words trailed off and she eyed him expectantly.

Emptying his lungs he answered, "That you two had a fight about Speirs. Or it started off as a fight about Speirs but then escalated into something else. He wasn't quite clear on what that something else is though."

"I had shared some very personal information with him and then he'd asked me about what Speirs had wanted. Apparently he'd seen the two of us talking."

He held up a hand. "You mean we saw."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised that you're also a part of this."

"Because I'm an integral part of both of your lives. Obviously."

She shot him a flat stare, but he swore he spotted the corners of her lips threaten to lift.

"Anyway, as I was saying. I told him what Ron had said."

"That he's going to fight for you," he interjected.

"Those weren't his exact words, but close enough."

"Okay, then what?"

She dropped what was left of her finished cigarette to the ground. "I'm sure Richard told you all of this already."

"He had, but I want to hear your version."

She paused for a beat before relenting. "Fine, then, somehow it came out that Speirs and I had a falling out in Aldbourne shortly before Richard and I became a couple. Richard asked whether I was only with him because I'd been mad at Ron. And I told him to bugger off. Just with more words."

He drew the last bit of life from his cigarette before dropping it next to Jessica's. "That tracks with what he told me."

"So is that why you're here. To put me under cross examination on his behalf?"

He shook his head. "Nah kid. I know you wouldn't settle for anyone or anything. If you're with Dick it's because that's where you want to be."

For the first time since he'd surprised her Jessica smiled up at him. It was small and a little shy but it put him at ease.

He'd hated the last few days. He'd grown close with the young woman, and being unable to speak to her ate away at him. Even more so because he could clearly see something, or someone, was working on her nerves.

"Thanks Nix."

He pulled her into a one arm hug and placed a kiss into her hair. "I missed you kid."

She wrapped both of her arms around his waist and squeezed. "I missed you two Nix. Thank you for coming to find me."

"What, you thought I was going to let you jump into a fight without forcing you to talk to me? Please."

He felt her give a small huff of a laugh next to him.

"Listen, I gotta ask. Do you want to be with Dick?"

She pushed herself slightly away so she could look up at him through those unbelievable long lashes of hers. "Yes."

"And Speirs?"

For a second a small frown creased her forehead. "Ron understands that I'm with Richard. He's going to do what he feels he must, but in the end he'll respect my choice."

"In the end, huh?"

She tried to let go of him but he held firmly onto her shoulder. "No, listen, stop wriggling. I didn't mean it like that."

She stopped trying to escape his grip, but her body remained stiff against his. "Then what did you mean?"

"That I get it's complicated. And I know I'm on Dick's side here, but I'm also on yours. So, if you ever need someone to talk too and Arlene's otherwise occupied, I'm here for you to."

Jessica hesitated for a moment, but then he felt her relax and her arms were back around his waist. "Thanks Nix."

He gave a tight squeeze before letting her go. "Anytime kid."

"Listen, umm…. You wouldn't happen to know where Richard is right now, would you?"

He smiled broadly. "Thank God. Finally."

"Okay, there's no need for dramatics."

"On that we disagree, but we can argue about it later." He pointed to his right and Jessica followed his hand. "He's two planes and a few tents that way, talking to Alex and Buck."

She stood up on her toes and planted a quick peck on his cheek. "Thanks Nix."

"Pleasure kid," he answered but she was already marching away from him.

Jessica POV

She systematically scanned faces, kits and weapons as she purposefully walked in the direction Nixon had pointed. The area was packed with soldiers and she didn't have the time or patience to struggle through the crowd so she kept to the edge where the vehicles sped buy with their last minute cargo.

She was hopping from one face to the next when her feet stopped in their tracks as she did a double take.

Sobel, really?

"You have got to be kidding me."

"I know right. Like we don't have enough going on," Bill's voice came from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder to find him, Heffron and Johnny standing a few feet away. Bill and Johnny eyed Sobel warily over her shoulder while Heffron stood by with a confused look on his young face.

Glancing back in the other captain's direction she saw him using his height to tower over Malarkey, dipping his chin slightly so their faces were uncomfortably close and he was looking down his long nose at the sergeant. Malarkey looked dead ahead, refusing to make eye contact with Sobel, his posture remaining painfully rigid.

"Why is he grilling Malarkey?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"If I had to guess, he's asking him about the bike," Johnny replied.

She nodded slowly, contemplating her next move.

Malarkey and Smokey had borrowed a motorcycle from the army during their latest stay in Aldbourne, off course eventually it was found and the army again took possession of it. The two men had not been discreet when using it, but no one was going to snitch on them either.

"You know, I should just walk away," she said to herself, blue eyes studying Sobel.

She turned back to face the three men in time to see Bill shrug as he said, "You probably should Captain."

One corner of her lips twitched, she recognised the mischievous glint in Bill's eyes.

"H'm…but where's the fun in that?" she asked.

The man dropped his face to hide his broadening grin. "Nowhere I can see."

"Yeah well, you ain't your mother's sensible son," Johnny chimed in, arms crossed disapprovingly over his chest, but his eyes continued to flick over her shoulder to Sobel and Malarkey.

Bill lifted his face and lightly slapped Johnny on the back. "Thanks for the compliment John."

"You know," she said, adjusting her uniform so her rank was clearly visible, "no one's ever called me sensible."

Johnny and Bill tried to hide their smiles. Heffron tried to hide his confusion.

As she turned to leave she gave the three soldiers a dazzling smile and said, "And a girl's gotta live while she can. Have a great jump boys."

Bill POV

As soon as the captain had turned her back he allowed his face to break into a massive grin.

"God, I love that woman," he said, a new cigarette pressed between his lips as he tried to light it while continuing to watch her.

Johnny sighed and shot him a sideways look. "That woman is a captain."

He reluctantly looked away from the captain to return Johnny's look. "Thanks, I hadn't noticed."

Johnny rolled his eyes, but despite his objections he shifted his weight so he could see Sobel and Malarkey more clearly.

"Ummm…Sarge, what just happened?" Babe asked as all three men watched Captain King approach Easy's first CO.

"I'll explain later kid. The shows 'bout to start and I don't wanna miss anything."

Jessica POV

Sobel was so focused on admonishing Malarkey he didn't notice her approach. The anticipation of catching him off-guard threatened to hasten her steps, but she forced herself to maintain a steady pace and fixed her face into a polite, if chilling, smile.

She knew there would be eyes on them. The veterans of Easy disliked their old CO on the best of days. His methods may have made them one of the best fighting units out there, but they hadn't won him any popularity contests. Which would have been fine if he'd proven himself a skilled commander in the field. He hadn't and his ego had nearly cost Richard his career and Easy a great CO.

When she was only a few feet away from the two men she said, "Captain Sobel, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

Sobel's face shot in her direction and she had to control her smile at the look of bewilderment which left his mouth slightly agape.

"Captain King," he managed to sputter, dark eyes blinking a few too many times.

She tilted her head slightly to one side and loosely clasped her hands behind her back.

Sobel's brow furrowed and his eyes searched her face as he waited for her to say something more. Slowly however realisation dawned on him, she knew the moment it happened because his blinking was replaced by a scowl and his mouth set into a thin line.

Begrudgingly he straightened out and saluted her.

Oh, sometimes I do love silly military protocols and hierarchies.

She languidly returned his salute and met his deepening scowl with the hardest smile she could muster.

As both officers moved to stand at ease Jessica caught Malarkey's eyes darting between them, the man trying his very best to hide his relief.

She allowed the awkward silence to stretch on for a few more beats before she casually asked, "So, I take it you're the new Regimental Supply Officer?"

Sobel gave one firm nod. "Correct."

"Congratulations. It's a very important job and one that suits your particular set of talents."

His brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed slightly.

She replied with an earnest smile. As much as she despised the man, an army marched on its stomach and organising and ordering were two things he was very good at.

That and being an ass.

He swallowed but seemed to relax a bit. "Thank you."

She felt her smile drop and any trace of warmth which had been there a moment before vanishing. "Now, I hate to tell you how to do your job but as you can see we're busy getting ready for an invasion and Sergeant Malarkey's time is better spent with his men than standing here."

Sobel visibly stiffened and from the corner of her eye she spotted Malarkey shift his weight uncomfortably.

To his credit Sobel recovered faster than she'd anticipated. He pulled himself up to his impressive height and pointed to the back of the large open truck parked behind him. "Sergeant Malarkey is free to go as soon as he tells me how he stole this motorcycle."

She smiled the way she'd seen parents do when indulging a small child. "Well clearly he didn't, since it's safely tucked away on the back of your truck."

He swallowed hard and replied through tight lips. "After it was retrieved by my men."

"I see," she said, nodding and intently studying the motorcycle. Turning her full attention back to him she continued, "So your men saw Sergeant Malarkey stealing the motorcycle then?"

Sobel blinked, once, twice, three times. "Well, no. N…n-not exactly."

She furrowed her brow, put her hands on her hips and tilted her head slightly to one side. "Well, they either did or they didn't. It's really not a question of degrees."

Two more blinks.

"Well?" she asked when he didn't say anything after another, increasingly annoying, round of blinking.

Sobel seemed to get a hold of himself. He dropped his shoulders and tried to confidently meet her gaze. "They did not."

"But someone else did and lodged a formal complaint?"

"I'm certain someone did."

"As certain as you are of your whereabouts on a map? Because if so, I would be careful taking that opinion to court."

The man's eyes flashed and he nostrils flared. He took an involuntary step towards her but she didn't so much as break eye contact.

"People saw him using the motorcycle," he replied.

"This specific one or just a one?"

He clenched his jaw so hard she could feel his teeth aching.

"And these people," she said as she took one small step towards him, "did they lodge a formal complaint or is it just something else you're certain of?"

She was standing so close to him she could feel his breath on her skin. It was hot and coming in fast, short bursts. His skin was blotchy in places and his arms were practically welded to his sides as he tried to control what she assumed was the urge to punch her.

She resisted the urge to smirk.

In a voice which would have been barely audible to Sobel, she coolly said, "Careful Captain, I'm having a terrible week and I know how to make things look like accidents."

Sobel's entire being froze as his small dark eyes studied her steady features. She held his gaze, head still tilted slightly to one side as if she were studying him.

Sobel blinked first, and second, before rocking back on his heels and putting some distance between them.

She smiled innocently up at him, eyes darting to the single bead of sweat running down his temple. "You're right Captain Sobel. Sergeant Malarkey was using a motorcycle for part of our stay in Aldbourne. My unit had access to one and the sergeant had expressed an interest in it. I gave him permission to use it from time to time."

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "And Captain Marsh would attest to that?"

Jessica shrugged. "Of course, it's not like I'm lying. We can go and find him now if you want to ask him yourself? Although he's rather busy at the moment and less patient than I am."

Sobel shook his head and looked around as if Alex were standing right there, waiting to jump in on that que. "No, that won't be necessary." His eyes finally settling back onto her face he continued, "Thank you for clearing this up."

"Oh, such a pleasure. I would hate to see you wasting your precious time on such an insignificant event."

He gave her a stiff smile. "I should get back to work."

"Agreed."

The captain turned and greeted Malarkey with a single stiff nod. "Sergeant Malarkey."

"Sir," he replied with a hasty salute.

Sobel turned to her, lips set into a thin smile. "Captain King."

She forced a warm smile. "Captain Sobel. Do take care."

He cleared his throat and gave her a single nod in reply before smartly turning on his heel and disappearing behind the truck, ready to bark out orders to the nearest subordinate.

She took a deep breath and shook her head.

Always an event, never a pleasure.

Jessica turned her attention back to Malarkey to find him still standing at attention, his eyes intently watching her.

"At ease Malarkey."

His shoulders relaxed and the tension vanished from his face so quickly the transformation was almost startling. "Ma'am," he sighed in relief.

"Walk with me," she said as she turned and slowly walked back the way she'd came.

Malarkey fell into step beside her, but didn't say anything, rather choosing to shoot her sideways glances.

"Next time, be more discreet. As much as I enjoy going toe-to-toe with Sobel, the timing isn't ideal."

She caught sight of his red hair bobbing up and down. "Yes, ma'am. I understand ma'am. And umm...thank you ma'am."

She turned her head so she could look at him and smiled. "You're very welcome Sergeant."

Malarkey returned her smile with a cheek splitting one of his own.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Captain Winters is do you?" she asked.

"Oh, he's right over there," he pointed to a spot over her shoulder. "With Captain Marsh."

She glanced in the direction and nodded. "So he is."

Her stomach flipped a little and she resisted the urge to swallow down the nerves starting to form a lump in her throat.

"Thank you Malarkey," she replied, turning back to face him. "Oh, and let's keep the details of what I told Sobel between us huh?"

The sergeant chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

Turning away from him she took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back and down. Regardless of the butterflies in her stomach she was going to look confident.

Jumping out of a plane into a warzone? Easy-peasy. Talking to one man? Makes me want to vomit.

Richard and Alex were watching her approach. Richard's brow was furrowed and his eyes kept darting from her to where Sobel had disappeared. Alex just smirked and shook his head.

She picked up her pace. She was uncomfortably aware of the two men watching her, and she needed to speak to Richard before her courage abandoned her or they really ran out of time.

"Gentlemen," she greeted them with the best smile she could muster.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Alex asked in greeting.

She shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. I simply checked in with an old acquaintance and helped to facilitate the resolution of a misunderstanding."

Alex hummed and nodded, his head slowly moving up and down as he spoke, "Right. And you're going to tell me all the details of the conversation?"

"Of course, you were part of the resolution."

His mouth opened and she could see the question starting to form, but at the last moment he just shook his head. "I'll find you later and you can bring me up to speed."

"Sure thing."

She braced herself for the uncomfortable silence that was about to follow as she figured out a way to get Richard alone when Alex saved her by saying, "Okay well, I'm gonna head over to my stick. Make sure everyone is settled. I'll see you two on the ground."

She touched his hand. "I'll see you over there."

Alex smiled at her and gave Richard a nod before leaving the two of them alone.

As soon as Alex was gone she wished he would come back. Whatever awkwardness he'd saved them from a moment earlier was now back tenfold. She looked anywhere but at the man she'd came all this way to speak to and Richard had found something fascinating on the ground by his feet.

This is ridiculous.

She forced herself to look at him and was startled to find his blue eyes shooting up to her face.

"Richard," she blurted out at the same time as he said, "Jessica."

The both fell silent again for a beat but then his mouth cracked into a smile and she felt the blush creep up her cheeks even as the giggle escaped from between her lips.

She absentmindedly played with the tip of her long, blonde plait. "You first."

Richard took a small step towards and turned his body so their conversation would be shielded from most prying eyes. "I'm sorry for how I reacted and if we had more time I would explain myself better."

She huffed a tiny chuckle. "I suppose that last part's my fault. I have been using my years of training and experience to avoid you and now we've run out of time."

He smiled gently down at her, concern still evident on his handsome features, but the edge had been removed.

Jessica let go of her hair and reached over to straighten out his collar, brushing it down she allowed her fingertips to graze the exposed skin of his neck.

His breathing stilled and their eyes locked. The world around them faded into nothing more than a low hum. Her fingers ached to move so her hand could cup his neck, she saw him swallow before he whispered, "Take care of yourself."

With a gentle smile she replied, "You too."

She was the first one to break contact. Her hand dropped to her side like a dead weight and her smile faltered as the noise of the staging area came rushing back up to them.

Richard straightened out, his had rubbing the spot her fingers had been a moment earlier. "I'll see you over there."

She gave a single, small nod. "We'll talk over there."

XXXX

Hello everyone! Long time no posting (that sounded better in my head. Oh well, now I'm committed)

I hope 2019 ended with a bang and your 2020 is already looking great.

I'm no leaving the story and will finish it, work and life are just super busy (as I'm sure all of yours are too) so writing tends to take longer than it should.

Chat soon!