AN: Happy Fridays folks! Have a great weekend :)
Robin liked Aldbourne but being in England made her drink more. They only had two pubs in the village and men from Easy and Dog were often found in there, drinking warm beer and getting "sensibly" drunk. Of course, not everyone could be sensible when it came to drinking. Robin was terrible on warm beer, her friends realised. But when they weren't joking around and having fun in a pub, fun could often be found in a field during a training exercise.
On one particular occasion, Sobel managed to get 1st Platoon lost in a cow's field. Stuck behind a barbed wire fence, Sobel was clueless on how to handle the situation. He ordered the men to find some cover behind a large cluster of trees. Leading the way, were Perconte and Luz. It was raining and cold in Aldbourne, they all wanted the exercise to be over with. Especially Robin, who was nursing a horrible hangover.
"Sobel's lost again, right?" Robin mumbled.
"Yep". Luz replied, sounding bored.
She sighed;
"fuck sake…".
An idea suddenly popped into Perconte's head;
"hey, Luz? Can you do Major Horton?"
With a tired grin, Luz put on his best Horton impression;
"does a wild bear crap in the woods, son?"
A few chuckles were shared.
Perconte smirked and nudged his arm;
"maybe the Major can goose this schmuck. Get us moving?"
"No way…". Luz shook his head, "I'm not 'gonna-"
"oh, yes". Skip Muck said eagerly, who had recently been transferred to 1st Platoon from 2nd, "Luz, you 'gotta…come on".
After a moment, Luz agreed;
"all right, just this once".
Eagerly, the rest anxiously waited for Luz to start. Getting himself ready, as if he was about to perform in front of a packed audience, Luz soon yelled;
"is there a problem, Captain Sobel?!"
"Who said that?! Who broke silence?!" Sobel yelled back, sounding furious at first.
"Shit". Luz whispered.
"Keep going, keep going!" Hoobler whispered eagerly, "he's too stupid, you've got him".
Taking in a deep breath, Luz continued;
"what is the Goddamn hold-up, Mr Sobel?!"
And then, Sobel responded;
"a fence, sir! A barbed-wire fence!"
Robin chuckled quietly and shook her head.
"Oh, that dog just ain't 'gonna hunt!" Luz said, "now, you cut that fence and get this Goddamn Platoon on the move!"
"Yes, sir!"
With the conversation over with, the men covered their mouths to muffle their laughter. Robin leaned over to Luz and whispered with a grin;
"cheers, Geo".
"Hey – you fellas fucking owe me if I get caught". Luz said.
"We ain't 'gonna tell". Dukeman grinned, "hands down, best thing since breakfast".
Robin leaned back and looked at Hoobler;
"Horton's not even here. He's in London, on leave".
Of course, Sobel soon found out Horton was on leave when cows roamed around the gardens of Battalion HQ. Knowing one of his men had made a fool out of him, Sobel was furious but no one in 1st Platoon ratted on George Luz. After that prank, tensions rose between Sobel and the men. But Robin hadn't noticed the tension between Sobel and Winters. She suspected Sobel was jealous of the Lieutenant because the men respected Winters. They certainly didn't respect their Captain. Which was unfortunate for both parties. Knowing Robin couldn't do anything about the current situation, she continued to train as normal and drink until she couldn't stand.
"Ain't that the girl who gave you a black eye?"
Robin turned around on her seat and grinned;
"aye, it is".
The famous four were sitting inside the Blue Boar, trying to enjoy a warm beer. And it seemed Maggie was doing the same. Only, she was with her boyfriend. Facing her friends again, Robin downed the rest of her pint and patted her pockets;
"anyone for another round?"
"Yeah, thanks, bub". Bob smiled, "I think…yeah, I'll have a warm beer".
Hoobler snorted;
"it's all they serve".
Dukeman sighed;
"the weekend needs to hurry the fuck up". He said, "we need London".
"Agreed. We need to get annihilated". Bob smirked, "whiskey, rum, vodka…gin".
Robin left the table and headed to the bar, while Hoobler said;
"no gin. I fucking hate gin".
"What's wrong with gin?" Dukeman asked, "you drank an entire bottle".
"Exactly". He grumbled, "I was making-out with the fucking toilet the next morning".
Bob snorted;
"it took Strayer's staff six hours to round those cows up".
Hoobler laughed;
"no shit…really?"
"Yeah, I heard it from Lavenson".
"How's he doing?" Dukeman asked, "I miss that fella".
Bob shrugged;
"seems happier to be away from Sobel".
"Don't fucking blame him". Hoobler said, "at least the fellas doing good".
When they heard a glass smash onto the ground, the three of them jumped and turned to face the bar. Each was shocked to find Robin slumped across the bar counter, while a man brought his bloodied knuckles away from her face. Temper quickly rising, Hoobler was the first to charge at the man who had just punched Robin. Tackling him to the ground, he grabbed his neck;
"what the fuck are you doing?!"
"She's a bitch-"
"shut the fuck up!" Hoobler punched him, "you bastard!"
Bob reached Robin and gently brought her head up from the counter;
"hey…you awake, bub?" He asked calmly.
Before Hoobler could punch him again, Dukeman grabbed a hold of Hoobler's shoulder and pulled the raging man off;
"that's enough, Hoob. Come on, man".
Hoobler managed to kick the man in the stomach;
"jackass!"
When Robin opened her eyes, Bob had two heads.
"Bob?" She slurred.
With a tiny sigh, Bob smoothed back her fringe;
"let's go, huh? Can you walk?"
"Eh – aye, got legs". She whispered, "got legs…".
"Fuck it, I'll carry you".
Picking up her, Robin's head fell heavily against his shoulder. With a sigh, she looked over at Maggie and gave her a tiny wave and smile, before closing her eyes again. Bob carried her back to the huts, with a raging Hoobler behind him. Dukeman kept a tight hold on his arm, worried Hoobler would go back inside the pub and kill that man.
"What happened, pal?" Bob murmured while carrying her, "why'd he punch you?"
"He was…making fun of Maggie". She mumbled, "calling her…a slag and that".
"And you thought you'd be a knight in shining armour, huh?"
"Aye".
Bob huffed;
"well…look what happened, Robin. He knocked you out cold".
"How was 'a meant to know the cunts a boxer".
"He told you that?"
Robin hummed;
"aye…before he punched me".
Bob chuckled quietly;
"you're crazy, Robin. Fucking crazy".
"She'd have never done that last year". Dukeman grinned, "what happened to being afraid of conflict, Robin?"
Lifting her head slightly, she smiled at Dukeman;
"aye, well…that's before I had pals to defend, eh?"
"You loyal little shit". Hoobler chuckled, "I almost killed that fella for you, pal".
…
Robin was excited to see London. She couldn't wait to hit the clubs and have a good time with her friends. However, without knowing it, Talbert changed her mood. It wasn't his fault. He sat down next to Robin on her bed and asked;
"I'm 'gonna head to Scotland with Lip. Where's the best place to start?"
It's not that she forgot her dad was in Scotland. Robin just deliberately kept it off her mind. Her dad was busy seeing her mum, a woman she hadn't seen in years. Rubbing her lips together, she stared down at her lap and mumbled;
"Edinburgh, Tab. Always a good place to start".
"Cheers, buddy". He grinned, "I'll tell Lip".
"When yous going?"
"Tomorrow". Talbert replied, "you 'wanna come?"
Looking up at Talbert, Robin thought about it.
"Nah, I'm alright, Tab. Maybe another time, eh?"
He smiled;
"alright, bud. Enjoy London, huh?"
"Aye, see you, Tab. Cheers for the offer".
When Talbert got off her bed, Robin gave Bob a nod, before heading out of the hut. It wasn't raining outside for once, but the sun was hiding behind fluffy clouds. After a few seconds of standing alone, Bob soon joined her outside.
"What's up?"
With a sigh, Robin mumbled;
"'gonna have to see my dad soon, eh? And mum".
Bob frowned;
"you sure about your mom?"
"Aye, well…'gotta, eh? If I see my dad, I've to see mum too".
"I'll come".
"Nah…".
Bob sighed;
"come on, Robin". He mumbled, "you can't do this alone".
"I'll be alright".
"If you don't want me along, then bring someone else". Bob said, "please, Robin".
Running a hand down her face, she said;
"Bob…I don't want anyone seeing the state of my mum".
"Why?"
"Cause she's fucked up". Robin stressed, "she's all kinds of fucked. Last time I saw her, she almost fucking killed me, man. What's she 'gonna be like now, eh? She might not even 'wanna see me…".
Bob frowned;
"is that it? You're worried she won't see you?"
She shrugged;
"'dunno, maybe".
"Well, if that happens, we'll get drunk somewhere". Bob said, "we'll get drunk and have a good time, like we always do".
"Aye, but-"
"what the hell happened to you?"
Bob and Robin turned around, watching Roe approach them;
"why is it, you've always got a banged-up head or face, Bowie?" Roe asked, "you fall?"
Shaking her head, Robin mumbled;
"nah, got punched".
Tutting under his breath, Roe took a closer look at her face;
"who did that? A boxer?"
A tiny smirk reached her lips;
"aye, it was".
Shaking his head, Roe muttered;
"you're on my list, Bowie".
"I'm already on Johnny's".
"Yeah? Well, ain't you famous, huh?"
Bob smirked;
"she's very important, doc. More important than the King himself".
Roe pointed to Robin;
"keep an eye on her, Klinken".
"Always do, doc".
When the medic walked off, Robin sighed and looked up at Bob. With a nod, she told him;
"right, you can come".
Bob smiled;
"good choice, pal".
"But don't make it all soft and that, alright?"
"Scout's honour". He promised, "we'll keep it cool and emotionless".