Chapter 23

Arlene POV

Arlene leaned back, gingerly resting her sore muscles against the rough wooden fence that surrounded the Easy mess. Before the war the building had been an average sized barn with a dirt and grass track running around it, forming a yard of sorts at the entrance. Now the large interior was filled with long wooden tables and benches in order to cram as many soldiers into it as possible.

Men in uniform dotted the open grassy space in front of the building's entrance and more filtered in through the wide gap in the wooden fence.

Her eyes scanned each face, mentally ticking off the ones she recognised before quickly moving on, as she intently searched for one man in particular.

With her mind focused on the soldiers in front of her she rolled her shoulders back without thinking. A low groan rolled up her chest and it took all her self-control not to hiss. Everything hurt, every muscle in her body was either stiff or bruised, or in most cases a bit of both.

"You okay?" her best friend asked beside her.

Arlene carefully twisted her neck, all too aware now of her sore muscles, so she could glare at the pretty blonde.

Jessica smiled sweetly back at her, the picture of innocence if there ever was one.

"You are an evil woman," she growled, narrowing her eyes further until she was staring at the other woman through two slits.

Jessica gave a hint of a shrug and replied, "Oddly enough, you're not the first person to tell me that."

She rolled her eyes at the nonchalant response, grateful that at least those muscles didn't hurt, before turning back to watch the men and continue her search.

For every face she recognised there were three she'd never seen before. Even when she spotted some of their own men, the new faces still outnumbered the old.

Replacements.

A few seconds of silence passed between the two women when a hand holding a lit cigarette obstructed her view. "Consider it a peace offering.".

She accepted the cigarette, taking a long, slow drag before exhaling. "I haven't been this sore since the first year of training. Did you and Alex make a bet to see who could come up with the best way to torture us?"

Arlene felt Jessica shift her weight from one foot to the other and heard the low groan. "Yes, because all we did the whole week was sun ourselves while you lot worked up a sweat."

She twisted her neck slightly so she could shoot her friend a look, but when she saw the concern etched into Jessica's delicate features she paused and wordlessly turned back to the men, following her friend's gaze. It didn't take her long to find the group of soldiers that had caught the other woman's attention.

Their new replacements were standing with a handful of Easy men, all replacements themselves she assumed since she didn't recognise a single one. The men were talking animatedly amongst themselves as they shared a few cigarettes, oblivious to the two women studying them.

"They're good soldiers. The last week of training proved that much. You and Alex put them through their paces and they kept up," she offered.

Jessica took drag of her own cigarette, and as the smoke drifted out in front of them she simply said, "They're all so young."

"You're younger than a lot of them."

"No, I'm not. I mean, I am in years, but I don't feel it. They're young and idealistic. They want to be heroes."

"I don't think that's unique to our replacements, or replacements in general. By the way our men, old and new, look at you and Alex, you already are heroes to them."

"They give you and John the same looks."

She stubbed out her cigarette butt on the thick wooden stake to her left as she exhaled the last bit of smoke. "It's because we've been around the block a few times. I've known you for years. I've seen you work. You're a hero."

Jessica scoffed as she tossed her cigarette to the ground, stamping it out with the heel of her boot. "I'm not a hero. I just want to get my team home alive. Maybe make it back myself. Some days it seems I've failed more than I've succeeded."

Her heart clenched in her chest. "It's war. People die. That's not your fault or failing. And I can personally say you've saved me more than once. Like in Holland."

Jessica's brow furrowed at the mention of the country and for a split second her fingers balled into two tight fists. But then, in the blink of an eye, her face and her hands relaxed, a teasing smile creeping across her lips. "I'm relieved your taste in men has improved since then. I would hate to have to disapprove of another one of your boyfriends."

She couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips, or the suppressed laugh that came out as a snort. Jessica always was able to change the subject so quickly it nearly gave you whiplash.

"I'm glad you approve, but Joe did tell me you threatened him with bodily harm if he messed up."

Jessica gasped and the unexpected sound made her whip around to face her friend.

"No-no, I did no such thing," Jessica exclaimed, blonde hair shaking side to side.

"Really?" Arlene drawled, knowing her friend better than that.

A mischievous smirk slowly rolled over Jessica's face, taking all the fake innocence along with it. "I promised to kill him, I never threatened to harm him."

"Jessica!" she exclaimed, but even she didn't think she sounded very upset and Jessica's widening grin confirmed her suspicion.

She huffed out a breath and shook her head. "As I said before. Evil."

Her friend shrugged. "You still love me."

"Mmmmm...it comes and goes."

"Wow, so mean."

The two women fell into a companionable silence again as they watched more and more familiar faces join the replacements. The men that noticed them standing off to one side waved and smiled, but no one encroached on their private moment, not even John or Alex when they finally arrived with Winters and Nixon. The four men briefly glanced in their direction, waved and smiled before heading into the barn.

As her hand dropped back to her side, and without looking at Jessica she asked, "Have you seen Speirs yet? Since that night."

She felt Jessica's body tense for a split second before the she regained her composure. "No. The few days before the replacements arrived, I spent the little free time I had with Richard. God it was amazing."

"And then we left for a week long picnic from hell in the woods thanks to our two fearless leaders," Arlene added for good measure.

My muscles are going to ache for a week, someone needs to listen to me bitch about it. May as well be one of the people who caused it.

"I'm so glad you had fun. You're welcome."

"That wasn't a thank you and don't change the subject."

"There isn't anything to change. No, I haven't seen him and I'm not looking forward to it either."

"So, you're not going to avoid him?"

Jessica stepped away from the fence and turned so they were facing one another. Her voice remained low and even, but her eyes flashed as she answered, "Why must I be the one to go out of my way to avoid him? He was the drunken ass with the pretty blonde girlfriend he'd failed to mention. He should be avoiding me out of sheer embarrassment."

She held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm on your side. Does Richard know?"

"No, and I'm not planning on telling him. They may need to work together, hell, we may need to work together. There's nothing to gain from causing a scene."

She knew there was more to it, but decided against pushing the subject further right then. "When did you become so mature?" she asked instead.

Jessica wrinkled her nose. "I don't know; you must be rubbing off on me. I'm not sure I like it."

She chuckled as she nodded towards the barn. Most of the men had gone inside, only a few stragglers were loitering near the entrance. And one of them was Joe.

The moment he'd entered the small yard her eyes had locked onto him. Throughout her conversation with Jessica she'd followed his every movement. He had briefly glanced over to her and nodded his head in greeting. She'd flicked her lips up into the start of a smile, hoping he could see the small gesture.

That was it. That was all they could risk out in the open, surrounded by soldiers. It was actual torture keeping her distance from him, far worse than what Jessica and Alex had put them through. At least then she'd been too exhausted to miss him to badly.

Jessica turned to the door and said, "Oh, I see."

"We have to go inside soon, anyway," she replied as she slowly started for the door.

Jessica fell into step next to her. "True, but your timing is awfully convenient."

She didn't argue, the blush warming her entire face wouldn't allow her to anyway.

Her friend took pity on her, draping an arm across her shoulders as she said, "You two are adorable."

Leaning ever so slightly into her best friend she giggled before she could stop herself. She felt Jessica's chest expand but before her friend could say anything, she cut her off with a weak, "Not a word."

Jessica hesitated for a beat, but in the end she conceded. "Fine. If it makes you feel any better Richard and I have to be discreet as well. Not, loitering-at-the-door-barely-making-eye-contact-discreet of course. But we can't go around holding hands, gazing adoringly into each other's eyes."

"Thanks, but I can't really imagine Richard being all doe eyed."

"I don't know, I've seen how he and Nix look at one another."

The words barely reached her ears when she burst out laughing, the sound exploding from the depths of her chest with such force it surprised her. Soon Jessica's boisterous laughter joined hers and they'd stopped walking, unable to do both at the same time.

She could feel people staring at them. Two women nearly doubled over, their laughter loud and unconstrained, not a single ladylike shred anywhere to be found. But even as her brain registered their stares it dismissed them.

Fuck it, life's short.

Slowly their laughter ebbed until they were gasping for air and wiping tears from their eyes.

"Oh God," Jessica said between gasps, "I thought I was the only one that noticed it."

"No, those two are so in love. It's actually quite something to behold."

"You want to hear something really evil?"

"Oh no, what now?"

"Nix still doesn't know about us?"

"You sure? We have been away for a week. Richard may have given up the game."

Jessica shook her head, a few strands of blonde hair catching the afternoon sun. "As soon as Nix saw me this morning, he started pestering me. He tried to be sneaky about it, but I could see right through him. Judging by the things he asked I suspect Richard's having more fun with this than he's letting on."

"Oh, so Mr. Perfect has a naughty side. That bodes well."

This time it was Jessica's turn to blush, pink blotches quickly spreading from her cheeks to her neck. "C'mon. We need to get inside."

"Changing the subject again?" she teased, but followed her friend to the open door where Joe still stood, casually leaning against the doorframe, cigarette between his lips.

Those lips…Arlene, stop it! Stop thinking about his lips. Now!

Just as she was about to disappear into the shadowy interior Jessica glanced over her shoulder and winked. Arlene ignored her friend and slowed her pace so she naturally paused next to Joe.

"Liebgott," she greeted him.

It was the first time they'd been this close to one another since the day spent in bed together. She could feel her heart beating against her pulse points and it took an embarrassingly large amount of concentration to remind herself not to reach for him. Or stare at his lips.

Joe tossed his smoke to the ground and stomped it out as he shoved his hands deep inside his pockets. "Lieutenant Green. Heard you lot had a rough week."

She smiled. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Joe smirked and she nearly groaned out loud. "I don't doubt that."

"We had to be sure the new boys are up for the challenge. And that they know their place."

"And?"

"They're still here."

Joe nodded and she could see some strain leave his eyes.

"How 'bout yours? How are they?"

He scoffed and shrugged. "Green, all with a point to prove. Some of them had to be taught some manners."

She nodded. She knew what that meant, that some of the men had made some remarks about her or Jessica which would have earned them latrine duty if they'd said it about any other officer.

She wasn't surprised, hell she would have been shocked if that hadn't been the case.

"That's to be expected I suppose. I can only imagine the things you lot said when we weren't around."

Joe had the decency to blush instead of protest.

Men will be men.

"In the end it doesn't matter. What matters is how we all work together in the field, and that turned out wonderfully."

Joe's smirk returned along with a dark twinkle to his deep brown eyes. "Yes it did."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, or blush, or giggle like a little girl. Really anything that would give them away.

Fate intervened on her behalf when Carwood Lipton stopped next to her. "Lieutenant Green, how are you doing ma'am? I heard you all put your new boys through the ringer."

"I'm doing well thank you Lip, but how many times do I have to tell you to call me Arlene?"

Lipton shyly dropped his gaze and ran a hand along the back of his head. "I guess once more ma'am."

She smiled and reached for the Sergeant's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before dropping it back to her side. "It's okay Lipton. You were just raised right. You know your manners."

The man looked up, and even though the blush was still there, he'd relaxed. She liked Lipton. He was a good man and a great Sergeant. A bit of a mother hen, but a large group of men needed one to keep them all alive and well. She also knew as lovely as he was, he didn't flinch away from the ugly business of war and was as steady as they came under fire.

"Oh, and you don't have to feel too bad for our replacements. Alex and Jessica gave us a 24-hour pass tomorrow."

"I'm sure they're grateful for that. I know we are. Captain Winters gave every man one as well for tomorrow."

She glanced over at Joe, the smallest hint of a smile pulling at her lips. "Well, isn't it nice when things work out."

Joe dropped his head to hide his broadening smile. "I should head in," he mumbled, the smallest of tremors in his voice.

Lipton didn't hear it and he didn't notice that she spent a few seconds watching Joe leave.

Turning back to find Lipton's eyes running over the men seated inside she noticed they were the last two to go in. "Well, we should head inside before we get into trouble."

Lipton turned his eyes to her and smiled sweetly. "After you," there was a second's hesitation before he added, "Arlene."

She beamed back at him.

Such a good man.

Nixon POV

"C'mon Dick, just confess already."

He'd tried to weasel and trick the truth out of Dick. He'd attempted bargaining, blackmailing and every other tacit he could think of. But nothing had worked. So he'd finally resorted to good old fashioned begging with a healthy side of badgering.

"Nix, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Talking about what?" Buck asked as he slid in beside Nixon.

Nixon entered the barn with Dick, Alex and John, the four of them quickly making their way over to one side, where a table had been set up for the officers. For now, no one was sitting though. Instead, they were standing in a loose group as they waited for everyone to arrive.

"Nothing Buck. Ignore Nix," Dick replied, shooting him a scowl as he went.

Buck looked from the one man to the other, trying and failing to figure out what was going on.

"You know, you two have been going at it for nearly a week. What's going on? Does one of you know when we're deploying? Or where for that matter?"

"Wish we could tell you something Buck," he said, "but we've only been back a couple weeks. Easy should be staying put for a while still. Hopefully."

The blond lieutenant frowned and Nixon wasn't sure if he'd given him good or bad news.

Each man handled the wait differently. He passed the time by spending as much of it as possible in the company of beautiful women and Vat 69.

"It'll give us time to train the new guys. I swear they finished their training in half the time we did," Buck said.

His eye drifted over the soldiers already seated at tables and the few stragglers who were still finding a seat. You could easily spot the D-day veterans. They sat apart from the replacements, having animated discussions with the air of confidence earned by being there for the invasion of Europe and surviving it.

The replacements however could easily be split into two groups. On the one hand you had those visibly nervous around the veterans, their eagerness to impress written all over their faces, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. Then you had the lot that acted with so much bravado you'd swear they were going to single-handedly invade Germany and kill Hitler. It was a show some pulled off better than others, but a show none the less.

"They'll be fine," Dick's voice of reason broke through his train of thought.

"Who? The replacements?" Harry asked, offering him and Buck a smoke as he joined the group. "Yeah, they'll be fine as long as they don't make trouble for themselves."

As if they'd planned it, he watched Trouble walk through the door, blonde hair catching in the sunlight as crystal blue eyes cut across the room with lethal precision.

Man, she really was fucking scary when she wanted to be. Beautiful, but scary.

When Jessica's eyes found their group, she paused for beat and he swore Dick shifted his weight, his chest slowly rising and falling.

Nothing to tell my ass.

From where he was standing he couldn't see Dick's face, but he could see Jessica's and hers never changed. She just slowly looked away from them as she started to saunter into the barn.

If some of the replacements were putting on a show, they were all about to get a lesson from a real master in the art.

"This is gonna be good. Ten bucks says one of them tries his luck," Buck, never one to let an opportunity to place a bet go by, said.

"C'mon, that's too easy. No way anyone is taking that," Harry replied.

"Fine. What would you bet then?"

A quick glance showed him Jessica talking to a table of Toccoa men near the middle of the room, but a dozen or so pairs of unfamiliar eyes were watching her. "I'll bet a pack of smokes that she'll put the idiot in his place without saying a single word."

"Not a word? C'mon, even Jessica ain't that good," Buck replied.

"So you in or not?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm in. But make it two packs."

"Deal."

"We should probably all stop staring at her, huh?" Harry said without making a move to look away.

"We need to watch her to see who wins the bet. What's your two's excuse?" he asked.

"I'm a man that enjoys a good show," Harry replied with a cheeky grin.

When Dick didn't say anything they all looked over to him expectantly. Nixon could feel the anticipation bubbling up inside of him, the resulting nervous excitement making a small muscle in his right hand twitch. He was sure this time Dick wouldn't have any other option but to say something incriminating.

Yes, c'mon!

His friend, as if reading his mind, looked him right in the eye, and with the sincerest tone of voice he'd ever heard answered, "These men are my responsibility. If they act in any way which threatens Easy's reputation and professional relationship with Captain King's team I need to know so I can act appropriately."

Buck rolled his eyes and Harry audibly snorted. For his part he glowered at Dick, especially when he caught the mischievous twitch of the other man's lips.

Fuck. So close.

"Here we go," Buck said, and he sounded an awful lot like someone watching the races.

Jessica was already half turned away from the table she'd been speaking to when she said something over her shoulder which had all the men within earshot smiling guiltily. The blonde woman threw her head back and laughed, a sound that lifted over the deep throaty sound of the men's voices to easily carry over to their ears.

He plotted her most likely path to them and quickly found a group of replacements huddled over their table, talking quietly but animatedly. When one of them spotted Jessica walking towards their group he started subtly nudging the man sitting at the end of the bench closest to her path. In no time at all his gentle nudges become something closer to shoves and you could actually see the anticipation building in each man.

"If she kills one of them, I'm going to testify it was an accident," Harry mumbled.

"Surely they're not this dumb. She's a captain for God's sake," Buck said, his words laced with a mixture of disbelief and glee.

"No Buck, that bunch is definitely stupid enough," Dick replied and Nixon swore he could hear the explicit adjectives on the tip of Dick's tongue.

"Oh, this isn't good. John, go make sure our boys stay in their seats," Alex's voice appeared out of nowhere.

Of course he'd been standing close by all along, but it wasn't until he spoke that Nixon remembered he was there.

Alex, John and a handful of lethally trained soldiers who would have no issue finishing a fight if it meant protecting their Captain's honour.

"We could stop it before it starts," Harry offered meekly.

"No," Alex replied instantly, "it won't help anyone if the men think we're going to her rescue."

"Yeah, well. We're not going to her rescue, we're saving those clowns from themselves," Buck restored.

Those clowns were by now so pumped up they didn't see the tables of soldiers staring at them, cigarettes stumped out and muscles tensed. They didn't notice the group of officers silently willing them to use common sense and follow military rules.

They only had eyes for Jessica King.

On three, two, one. Show time folks.

The replacement half-stumbled, half-popped out of his seat, completely blocking Jessica's path. She stopped slowly; planting her feet slightly apart as she clasped her hands behind her back. The man pulled himself up to his full height and his young, muscular frame towered over the woman's.

Nixon couldn't hear what the guy was saying, but he could see his lips move as he gestured towards Jessica and then back to himself. When he finished speaking he smiled triumphantly, but that soon faltered when Jessica didn't respond.

At all.

Honestly, from where he stood he wasn't even sure she'd blinked once since the encounter had started.

"Well, that's unnerving," Buck echoed his thoughts.

The replacement took a faltering step towards Jessica, an ungainly act which gave the impression he'd managed to trip whilst standing still rather than someone taking intentional action.

Jessica did not give an inch. Nothing flinched, nothing tensed.

Is she still breathing?

The soldier was able to stop himself before he crashed into her and he quickly started to speak, but this time it seemed rushed and rambling. His earlier confidence rapidly abandoning him.

For the first time since she'd stopped walking Jessica moved. It was slow, graceful and deliberate. She tilted her head to the side and raised one perfect eyebrow. The guy managed to stammer out a few more words before he lost his voice.

The soldier's friends tried to hide their laughter, but they weren't trying very hard. This quickly changed though when the captain's ice blue eyes swivelled in their direction. You could practically feel the chill that ran over the group as Jessica gave them her full attention. They were looking everywhere but at her. Unfortunately for them everywhere they looked they found unfriendly faces staring back at them.

Satisfied, Jessica turned back to the man still standing in her path. He was either frozen in fear or far dumber than Nixon thought possible, because he did not move. That was not until Jessica took one very deliberate stride towards him. A stride which would bring her up against him if he didn't move. But move he did. The fool almost fell sideways back into his seat, half landing on-top of his friend.

Jessica's stride never broke, she kept moving through the space the soldier had occupied a split second earlier as if he'd never even been there. With every step he could feel the men around him relax and stealing a glance at the table Jessica's men occupied he could see them do the same.

"Well fuck," Harry breathed out.

"Well, that was impressive," Buck said.

"And terrifying," Alex added.

A chorus of "H'hm" echoed that statement.

Before anyone could say anything more Jessica joined them, her eyes and lips softening, losing their glacial quality as she smiled softly up at each man.

"Enjoy the show?" she asked.

Her question was simply answered by the sound of four grown men clearing their throats.

"That's what I thought."

Dick was the first to speak, saying, "I apologise for the conduct of my men Captain King."

"Don't worry about it Richard. It isn't the first time, won't be the last. Luckily he had the good sense to sit down before I had to make him move. I would hate to put one of your men in the hospital."

Dick shrugged. "Frankly, that would have been a more acceptable outcome."

Three pairs of shocked eyes turned to openly stare at Dick. His brain desperately tried to pounce on this golden opportunity to get his friends to confess to their relationship, but somewhere the signal was getting lost between his brain and his mouth, because he just stood there. Gaping.

"Arlene, you missed the show," Jessica said and he knew he'd lost his chance.

"I watched from the door. Quite the performance you put on."

"I didn't mean that. I was referring to this lot. Gawking like a gaggle of teenage girls."

Arlene snorted, quickly trying to hide it behind her hand.

"We should start," Dick said and with that everyone shuffled around, finding a seat at the empty table.

As Sergeant Lipton started the briefing, running down the itinerary for the next few days, including the 24-hour leave everyone had coming up, Dick took his seat in the only open space left at the table.

The fact that, that space was between Jessica and Alex was either by luck or design.

"Buck," he nudged the man in the ribs, earning him a sidelong scowl.

"You owe me two packs. Pay up."

Buck's scowl intensified but he didn't protest and he handed over his prize.

A small hand flashed out in front of him and he followed it up the arm until he found its owner. Jessica wasn't looking at him, her eyes trained on Lipton, but when he didn't hand over a pack she wiggled her fingers.

"Fine," he mumbled under his breath, slapping a pack into her palm.

The cigarettes vanished in a flash and in their place, Jessica shot him a wink.

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his lips. A smile that only broadened when he noticed Jessica was sitting pressed against Dick when there was open air between her and Alex.

I will crack them.

Jessica POV

If you asked her what Lipton had said during his briefing, she wouldn't be able to tell you. Even if the fate of the war effort hung in the balance, she still wouldn't be able to answer with even a shred if certainty. Although she'd make up a damn good story.

What she could tell you was how the warmth that emanated from Richard as she sat with her side pressed to his slowly curled around her until she felt as if she were melting into him. She could go into great detail about how he smelled. Clean and masculine, an intoxicating mixture of soup and spice.

She'd be able to drone on and on about how she could feel their bodies straining against their minds, trying to be closer to one another.

But what Lipton said. She didn't have a damn clue.

Okay King, you need to get a grip or this is going to become a problem.

"Jessica," Harry's voice brought her mind crashing back to the here and now.

"H'm?"

"So, you joining us?"

Oh, crap. Apparently I missed more than the briefing.

"Yes," Arlene stepped in, "we'll be joining you all at the pub tonight. Don't see why not since we can sleep in tomorrow morning."

What a lifesaver. I love that woman.

"What she said. Oh, actually! Now that I think about it my brother may be joining us."

Before she could take a breath to continue her train of thought Nixon jumped in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there beautiful. You're telling me David's here and you kept this a secret? What other secrets are you keeping from me, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. You're gonna have to do better than that Nix.

"Secrets? From you? Only one or two."

The corners of his lips started to curl upwards as he leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table so he could rest his chin in the palms of his hands. Looking every bit like the cat that caught the canary Nixon purred, "Only one or two? Do share."

"Oh, Nixon darling. Those big, brown beautiful eyes of yours may work wonders on most women. But since I have no intention of jumping into bed with you, you'll have to try harder than that."

Richard cleared his throat next to her and she resisted the urge to look over to him because the moment she did they would give Nixon all the proof he needed.

She caught Arlene smiling devilishly as she watched the exchange. Nixon must have followed her gaze because he slowly turned his head so he could see the brunette and asked, "What do you know?"

"More than you do," Arlene replied.

Probably sensing defeat Nixon's hands disappeared from the table, just for one to reappear with a flask seconds later.

"Eventually you'll tell me."

"Tell you what?" Buck asked, crystal blue eyes darting from Nixon, to her, to Arlene.

"Who she's playing house with," Nixon replied.

"Oh, you mean it's not Speirs? Jesus, don't let him hear that. We don't want a murder charge on our hands," Buck said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Speirs' name had barely made it past the man's lips when she felt Richards' muscles tighten and from the corner of her eyes, she could see his jaw harden as if it were cut from solid rock.

She'd never been one to entertain a man's jealousy and more often than not she'd found it oddly off-putting. Whatever spark had been there quickly snuffed out and replaced by something between boredom and distaste. But not this time. No, this time her body reacted before her mind could even process what was going on. Her lower abdomen contracted sending a slow, simmering heat crawling up her stomach and into her chest. She consciously had to keep her breathing even and calm, using every ounce of self-restraint not the reach for the soldier sitting pressed against her.

Get it together. This is not you. Just…, she wanted to scream in frustration. Why weren't we alone?

The awkward silence that filled the table as everyone waited for her reaction knocked some sense back into her, finally allowing her brain to regain a small measure of control over her body.

We're going to have to work on that. Shit.

"Excuse me?" she managed to cough out.

Buck simply shrugged. "Yeah, the guy's obviously crazy for you. I mean, Speirs is a little crazy to start with, but he definitely has the hots for you. He even let that pretty blonde girl of his go."

The warmth which had threatened to overwhelm her good sense a moment before was slowly replaced by a different type of heat. The searing kind which sharpened her tongue and her mind, one she'd gotten well acquainted with over the years.

"Well, I'm sure soon enough she'll see what a blessing it is to be rid of him."

Alex snorted, projecting some of his coffee across the table so a few drops landed on John, the younger man slowly and dramatically wiping his face.

"You okay there buddy?" Buck asked, clearly amused.

Wiping off the last few drops of coffee from his chin Alex just waved Buck off before turning his eyes to her. "That's harsh Jessica."

She shrugged one shoulder indifferently.

"Yeah, don't let Speirs see you do that," Harry said between drags of a cigarette.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Not care. That'll only make him try harder," he replied.

Oh, anger my old friend. How I've missed you.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to give Harry and everybody else a piece of her mind Richard simply and coolly stated, "He can try."

She heard her jaw slam shut and this time her eyes did find him, and so did everybody else's.

"What?" Arlene burst out, saying the word so loudly a few extra heads turned in their direction.

"Well, for starters Jessica doesn't seem like a woman swayed by badgering."

"And?" Nixon asked, the flask of presumably Vat 69 forgotten, hovering inches away from his lips.

"And," Richard continued evenly, his eyes findings hers for a beat before he turned back to Nixon, "I'm sure that if she's with anyone, that man wouldn't let her go without a fight. And it's not a fight Speirs can win."

Goodbye anger and indignation. Hello, whatever the hell this feeling this.

Try as she might, and she really did try, she couldn't tear her eyes from Richard's face. There, just below the surface was a simmering fire she'd never seen before in the usually perfectly composed man. There was something about seeing Richard react with a mixture of possessiveness and confidence to the possibility of another man trying to win her over that just got under her skin in the very best, if ill timed, way.

Any other man she would have gone off on him for even insinuating that it would be up to two men to decide who she was with, as if she had no say in the matter. But right at that moment all she could do was openly stare at Richard and focus on breathing in and out. Focus on not reaching for him or reacting to the warmth slowly making its way through her body.

Look away Jessica. He's not that handsome. Just, look away and get it together. People are going to start noticing you staring. You're not sixteen. Stop staring.

Thankfully she was saved from her internal dialogue by the same man that was causing her so much distraction when Richard abruptly stood, brushing imaginary dust from his jacket and tugging it straight. "I have some paperwork to do before tonight. Buck?"

The other solider blinked a few times before stammering out, "Huh, yeah?"

Apparently I wasn't the only one staring.

"The table of replacements that had disrespected Captain King are with you correct?"

Buck blinked again and looked over his shoulder to the table of soldiers sitting a few feet away from them. "Yes, they're under my command."

"Good, give them all latrine duty for two weeks. I won't have anyone in Easy disrespect an officer like that."

Buck's head bobbed up and down. "Yes, sir."

With one last glance down at her Ricard nodded to the group and left, crossing the barn in a few quick strides before vanishing into the afternoon sun.

Well damn, that was unexpected.

Richard POV

He didn't see or hear anything during his brief walk back to his billet. Whatever noise was around him was drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in his ears and his eyes remained diligently focused on the sidewalk just in front of this feet. It was only when his path was blocked by a large, brown door that he stopped.

Richard opened the door with more intent than was necessary and when it slammed shut behind him the harsh sound was enough the make him flinch.

Damnit.

He was sure he was alone, but he wasn't willing to take the chance of having to make polite small talk. So he took the stairs leading up to his room two at a time, taking more care to shut his bedroom door softly behind him.

Anybody that knew him even a little bit would use words like calm, collected, stoic or controlled to describe him. He was well aware of the carefully crafted persona he projected to those around him, especially the men under his command. Sure, most would also add choir boy or no fun to his list of attributes, but that didn't bother him as long as the men under his command felt they had a steady and reliable leader. Besides, those closest to him knew better. They knew that behind the control and sense of duty lay a mischievous and playful mind.

And as he paced back and forth in the small, yet comfortable space he called home, he kept trying to reconcile the last hour of his life with the image he'd created for himself. An image which he was comfortable with and felt genuinely reflected who he was as a military commander. An image that felt safe and familiar despite all the chaos that surrounded them.

Logically he knew most people would just assume that, because he holds himself to such high standards, the replacement's disregard for Jessica's rank had rubbed him up the wrong way and that his outburst over Speirs had been nothing more than him projecting his annoyance and disapproval.

Most people would think that, but not all and not him.

There were certain things he'd expected the day to bring.

When he'd woken up an hour early, anxious excitement making it impossible to remain in his bed for one moment longer, he wasn't surprised. He'd missed Jessica. The few days they'd had together before training had fuelled his fascination with her.

The fact that his eyes had found her within seconds of arriving at the Easy mess felt like an inevitability and even the sense of relief that had washed over him when she was once again near him was welcome and comforting.

But then Jessica had her encounter with the replacements and really it was all downhill from there.

As he replayed those few tense moments over and over in his head, he could feel his heart rate pick up again. He angrily tugged at his tie until it loosened enough for him to yank it over his head before tossing in onto the perfectly made bed. Loosening the first two buttons on his shirt he heaved a deep breath, his lungs happily drowning in the cool air.

Get it together Richard.

All he'd wanted to do was remove his captain's stripes, walk over to the man blocking Jessica's path, nearly dwarfing her frame with his as he tried to intimidate and impress her, and knock him unconscious.

Of course he knew damn well Jessica could do that herself. He had no illusions about just how proficient she was at knocking jerks flat on their asses. But that hadn't mattered in that moment. All he saw was someone threatening his girl and all he wanted to do was protect her.

My girl. Shit. Jessica King is my girl. Maybe. Oh, God.

It still sounded strange in his head. He'd wanted it for so long. Now that it was a reality, he couldn't believe it.

Because the moment you do it can be taken away.

The thought jumped to the front of his mind with such clarity and force that his feet stopped dead and his heart hammered to a standstill with a deafening thud.

He stood in the middle of his room, unable to move or think or even breathe, paralyzed by the realisation until his lungs screamed for air and his basic biological need overrode his emotional paralysis.

Even with the oxygen racing into his lungs there was a split second where he felt calm. As if the preceding hour had been only a momentary glitch. For a second he felt in control, steady. And then, as if the temporary respite had been a joke played on him by the universe, he remembered.

Speirs.

This time he wasn't paralysed. No, a switch flipped and sent adrenaline pumping through his veins. His pacing increased until he heard his steps in clear, hard thuds on the carpeted floor and he was faintly aware of the skin stretching tight over his knuckles as he looked around the room for anything to hit, or break.

It was that surge of unexpected anger that brought him finally crashing down from the emotional seesaw he'd been on.

Richard dropped onto his bed, consciously unclenching his fists and focusing all his energy on his breathing. He had to get himself under control.

Even in battle he'd never felt such a surge of anger. He'd killed men and looking back he couldn't say he'd hated them. They were simply fighting on opposites sides of a conflict far greater than any one individual. He was doing what he had to do for his country, for those men next to him. And they were doing the same.

And here he was, safely tucked away in Aldbourne England, in the home of a family he loved, contemplating inflicting actual bodily harm on another man for no other reason than he liked the woman Richard was with.

But she's not just another woman. Not to you.

He suddenly felt exhausted. Unable even to sit up straight he dropped his forearms onto his thighs and dropped his head between his shoulders.

He tried shutting his eyes but that proved fatal because all he saw was the way Speirs looked at Jessica. He knew that look. Want, hunger, maybe even affection. He knew how dangerous that combination was in a man like Speirs.

In his search for a solution to his problem he contemplated ending things with Jessica. His logic told him it was a good idea, but his heart, his body shouted at him that it wasn't an option. Even if she wasn't with him he'd still worry about her, still want to protect her. He knew he'd regret letting her go because it really wouldn't change the way he felt.

And worse of all she'd be with someone else. And that thought gripped his stomach and twisted it until he thought he might gag. And right there, he knew walking away wasn't an option.

What am I going to do?

XXXXX

I'm back! I have no real reason for staying away so very long. I've never forgotten about the story, or Arlene and Jessica, and in this time I've come up with multiple versions of their tale. Some waayyyy more dramatic than others.

Thank you to everyone that read, reviewed, favourited and followed the story. I really appreciate the time you all take on the story despite my absence.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one is already in the making so the wait won't be so long this time.

Have a fantastic week and weekend!