It felt like time moved slowly. Who knows how long they were stuck in the food bunker. All of this didn't have to happen if Gomer just did what he was asked without the extra effort put in. Or should have Carter left well enough alone and let Gomer do his job in peace? After all, the Private was out of his hair that day. As time seemed to move slowly, Gomer and Carter just sat there not saying a word. Feeling guilty, Gomer then spoke up to his Sergeant, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, Pyle." Carter softly snapped.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You sound mad."

"Pyle, I said I wasn't mad! Now would you stop it!" Carter screamed.

He saw Gomer flinch from being screamed at and immediately felt remorse for his actions.

"Sorry...I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean to lose my temper. I just don't like the idea of being stuck in a food bunker." Carter said as he rubbed his temples. "Just the last thing I need is to be stuck in a food bunker."

Still feeling guilty, Gomer made a guilty face, knowing he was the reason why both of them are there.

Carter noticed this and muttered, "Please don't look at me like that, Pyle."

"I know, Sergeant but...golly, I still feel bad that this happened. I know it's my fault and I feel horrible...just horrible. If I could take it all back..."

"Pyle, shit happens. Stop with the pity party already."

"But, Sergeant..."

"Pyle, I mean it!" Carter then took in a deep breath and soften his features, "Look, I'm not upset with you, I'm upset with the situation. Honestly, I'd rather be stuck here with you than with someone I can't stand...like Hacker."

Gomer, knowing how Sergeant Carter's feelings towards Hacker, softly replied, "Gosh, I thought you didn't like me that much."

"Didn't like you? Pyle, if I didn't like you, I wouldn't be pushing you to be the best." Carter replied, somewhat embarrassed, "I do it because I do care...about you...in a way."

Gomer smiled at him. He figured Carter must be bottling up some emotions and hiding demons that no one knows about, hence why he takes it out on the other guys, including him.

"You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I'm good," was all Carter said.

Feeling optimistic about the predicament, Gomer grinned ear to ear, "Well, Sergeant Carter, look on the bright side; at least we have a full supply of food to last us!"

"Oh yeah, Pyle…great observation. There is just one thing missing…AND THAT'S AIR!" Carter shouted.

Gomer shuttered for a split second. Carter realized he had done it again, quickly saying, "Sorry…"

The Private just took a step back, not wanting to upset Carter again. It was silent in the room once again. That was when Carter looked up and realized the bunker has a skylight. He was now hopeful.

"Pyle, look!" He told him, pointing to the ceiling.

Gomer looked up and noticed the skylight.

"Well, I'll be...a window!" Gomer cried out.

"Yeah. If you climb up, we can try and get out of here." Carter told Gomer.

"But, Sergeant, I don't think I'll be able to reach," Gomer explained.

"Pyle, you listen here!" Carter was back in Sergeant mode. "You are to climb that shelf and open that window so we can get out of here! That's an order!"

"But, Ser..." Gomer was cut off.

"Do it!" Carter yelled.

Feeling like he had no choice, Gomer started to climb the shelf of organized food. Carter watched him climb and it was then he realized something...

'Wait, why am I staring so hard at his backside?'

Carter quickly looked away and then thought, 'Oh hell no...why him? I could be attracted to anyone...why him? Please not him?'

"Sergeant," Gomer called from the top of the shelf, "I can't reach the latch..."

"Try harder, Pyle!" Carter ordered as his face turned away.

As Gomer was reaching for the latch, he started to stumble on the top shelf, which couldn't support his weight.

"Ser..." at that moment, Gomer fell back as he landed on top of Carter.

The two faced each other, taking in what just happened. Gomer looked into his Sergeant's eyes as Carter had his hands on his shoulders, feeling the Sergeant's biceps. It was just a few seconds to realize that they were in a compromising position. Carter quickly pushed Gomer off him and shouted, "Damn it, Pyle! You had one job!"

Gomer got up and wiped the dirt off his uniform. He looked down at the shelf and smiled to himself.

"Well, at least nothing broke."

He got down on his knees, and started cleaning and organizing the food that just fell for Carter to yell, "Pyle!"

*GC*

The two just sat on the floor, taking in the failed attempt at escape. Carter sat with his head against the wall while Gomer munched on a jar of maraschino cherries.

"Pyle, I don't think you should be eating the food supply." was all Carter could say.

"Sorry, Sergeant. I'm just hungry is all." Gomer responded. "Want a cherry?"

"No thank you, Pyle."

As Gomer took a bite of another cherry, he started to speak, much to Carter's annoyance, "You know, when I was just a little boy, Grandma Pyle would bake the best cherry cobbler and how I wish I could have a piece now, oh how I wish!"

"Very nice, Pyle," Carter replied, not giving a care.

"Sometimes, while it was still very warm, she would top it off with some vanilla ice cream. One day, I was having a bad day and she knew what would make me feel better...cherry cobbler. It worked like magic because I felt better in an instant once I took a bite of cherry cobbler and vanilla ice cream."

'Are you done?' Carter thought.

Gomer munched on a few more cherries, making Carter think he got the hint and wanted him to be quiet until he spoke again, "Now aren't you glad I organized everything by size, date, name and, maybe this was a bit out of my way, color?"

"Oh yeah...I'm very happy, Pyle. Ecstatic." Carter replied sarcastically.

Why does he bother with sarcasm? Gomer could never tell when he was being sarcastic.

"What did your momma use to cook you to make you smile?" Gomer asked.

'Geeze, he is really pushing this. Why does he want to get stuff out of me? Fuck it, let me just answer him so he can shut up.' Carter thought.

Not caring to answer or go into full detail, Carter replied, "She used to make me mac and cheese."

"Homemade? I only ask because Grandma Pyle used to make her own recipe."

"Yes, Pyle, homemade. It was actually an old family recipe she would use. It was the best; beat that Kraft shit."

"Were you going to see your momma and daddy for Easter?" Gomer then asked.

"I was..." Carter responded out of annoyance.

"Gosh. I didn't think you had plans." Gomer replied.

'No, you never think, Pyle.' Carter thought as Gomer munched on another cherry.

"Pass me a cherry, Pyle," Carter ordered.

Gomer handed him the jar of cherries, accidentally spilling the juice on his uniform.

'Oh come on!' Carter thought.

"Sor..." before Gomer could apologize again, Carter cut him off.

"It's not a big deal." Carter calmly replied.

The two sat there and munched on cherries. Feeling guilty for staining his sergeant's uniform, Gomer spilled some of the cherry juice on himself. Carter looked at Gomer, asking him incredulously, "What did you do that for?"

"So you wouldn't look silly," Gomer replied.

"Pyle, no one is going to see…oh forget it…" Carter did a facepalm notion while Gomer just smiled to himself.

*GC*

After an hour or so, one jar of cherries was eaten, Gomer opened up another jar. Gomer kept telling Carter about his grandmother's cobblers.

"She made the best cobblers in all of Mayberry; cherry cobbler, lemon cobbler, apple cobbler, blueberry cobbler...she never would tell anyone what her recipe was. All I knew was she used an extra tablespoon of vanilla extract. Her cherry and apple cobblers were my favorites."

"Very good, Pyle," Carter replied, not really caring.

"So you never told me about your momma and daddy." Gomer broke his thoughts.

"What about them?" Carter asked as he flicked a cherry stem across the room.

"Well...what do they do?" Gomer asked.

Carter sighed and started to speak, "Where do I begin? My mother was once a nurse, then quit her job to stay home and raise a family, to which I don't understand. My dad owns his own construction company. Meanwhile, you have my sisters, Babe, who was the family homecoming beauty queen, and Muriel, who cared more about her studies than finding a man...pretty self-explanatory if you ask me."

"You never told me your daddy did construction!" Gomer exclaimed.

"Yes, he does, and he was also the reason why I joined the Marines in the first place. He was a sergeant and I wanted to do that." Carter told Gomer, who got the hint his sergeant looked up to his father greatly.

"My mother suggested I work with him during the summer, just to keep me out of trouble. Plus I did enjoy working with him because we did have good times."

"Did you build houses?" Gomer asked.

"I think that's the point of working in construction, Pyle..." Carter replied, in a sarcastic tone.

Gomer smiled, not taking the hint of sarcasm. After a few seconds of silence, Carter figured he could ask Gomer questions.

"So...your family...how did you grow up?" He asked.

Smiling that he was interested, Gomer started to speak up, "I was raised by Grandpa and Grandma Pyle when I was 5. My real daddy was killed in a car accident, and my momma dropped me off with them, and I never saw her again."

Carter looked at him and couldn't believe how he was just casually saying that.

'So that's what he meant when he asked what if some of the Marines had no 'mommies or daddies' to go home to.' he thought to himself.

"It was okay, though. I never complained. Grandma Pyle taught me how to cook, clean, and even how to bake her anise cookies. You know...the cookies with the frosting and the little sprinkles..." Gomer made a gesture with his hand as if he was sprinkling dust.

"Yeah," Carter smiled a small smile, "I know what they are. My sisters used to bake them all the time. I don't know how they did it, but those cookies had no taste. Your grandma's sound like they were good."

"Boy, they were the best! I sure loved baking with her. Although, I did get picked on in school for it. One day, my classmates just got together, and beat me up."

"Geeze, Pyle! How can you sit there and smile about it?" Carter was appalled at Gomer explaining his trauma.

"I never let it break me. Grandma Pyle used to tell me to never let mean people break my spirit." He smiled. "Plus it was nice to be included in something."

Taken aback, Carter looked at Gomer and almost cried out, "Included in something? They were beating the shit out of you!"

"I know but most of the time, no one talked to me, and if they did, it was to call me names and throw stuff at me. One time, my classmate threw a baseball at me and gave me a concussion. Everything went black, I woke up in the hospital and Grandma Pyle was saying some Un-Christian words. Grandpa Pyle went to all their houses, dragged them by their ears, and gave them a good piece of his mind."

Taking in Gomer's story, Carter didn't realize how bad the Private had it growing up in Mayberry, but surprised it never let him faze him as a person; hell, Gomer was a person so kind...so pure-hearted...someone who would never use a word of profanity, even while pissed off. Who could ever think of actually hurting him like that? Gomer noticed the sympathy look on Carter's face, then spoke up, "Please don't feel bad for me, Sergeant. It's all in the past and I'm still as happy as a clam."

"I know, Pyle, but still...it sounds rough what you went through." Carter softly said. "Had I known all this before, maybe I wouldn't have been so rough on you, and cause you to have any flashbacks."

"Sergeant, you are just doing your job. I don't take it personal." Gomer smiled at him.

"Yeah but still...I feel shitty now." Carter muttered. "So your grandma...she taught you how to cook?"

"Why yes, she did! She taught me everything she knows." Gomer proudly explained. "She even taught me how to make the omelet that I cooked you once. I'm sorry you didn't like it."

"Are you kidding?" Carter spoke up. "That was the best omelet I've ever had!"

"Oh?" Gomer was now confused. "Then why did you tell me you didn't like it?"

Sighing, Carter explained, "Because I didn't want all of that mess with Hacker to start up again...I didn't want to you lose you out of my platoon. To be fair, I didn't like that he was taking advantage of you...and I still feel like shit betting on you."

Feeling a little somber, Gomer looked at Carter, telling him, "I won't lie, Sergeant...what you did hurt my feelings."

"I'm sorry, Pyle." Carter sincerely said. "Really, I am. Had I known what was going to happen, I would've never done it."

Gomer smiled at him, and responded, "I forgave you a long time. Grandma Pyle always said, 'You are only wasting your time holding a grudge. The only one hurt in a grudge is the one holding it.'"

This made Carter scoff. It was at that moment he realized he was actually bonding with Gomer, forgetting that he was annoyed with him. He then spoke up, "Well...I hope I get to try those cookies of her's one day."

Gomer turned to him and smiled.

*GC*

The skylight showed that it was starting to get dark out. Carter eventually turned on the light in the bunker and to his disappointment, the lights were fluorescent. Oh, how he hated fluorescent lights since they bothered his eyes. It was starting to get stuffy in such a small space. Gomer started to cough lightly. Why was he coughing so much?

"Gosh, it's as hot as the middle of August at noon," Gomer stated.

"You can say that again…" Carter replied.

The Sergeant hadn't realized how hot it could get in there; there were no open windows, no such filtration of some sort…nothing. Carter stood up just to loosen up his tie, then unbutton his uniform shirt. Since he had his back turned, he didn't catch Gomer looking at him disrobe. While staring at him, Gomer saw how tight and fitted the white undershirt was on Carter. The Private's eyes danced along with Carter's back muscles, while he bit his lip slightly. Sure he looked up to Carter, but he never imagined being attracted to him. When Carter turned around, he caught Pyle for a split second and asked in a mordant voice, "You see something you like?"

Shaking himself out of these thoughts, Gomer fumbled with his words, saying, "Oh…uh…no, Sergeant…I was just…"

Gomer started coughing again, but this time, he was hunched over. Carter walked over to him, placing his hand on his back, both feeling a spark of electricity run through him. What was this? Sure Gomer felt strongly for Luanne when they were going together but he never felt this sensation with her…hell, with any woman, as a matter of fact. Carter, on the other hand, tried to ignore it but found that he hadn't had that since…well it didn't matter, he had to make sure Gomer was okay.

"Are you alright, Pyle?"

Looking up, Gomer nodded his head and made a, 'uh huh' sound. Just looking at one another for a few moments, Gomer stood up straight and fixed himself.

"You…you've been coughing a lot lately," Carter observed. "Something you want to tell me?"

"Maybe allergies," Gomer replied. "Who knows? All I know is that is hot in here, and I might do what you just did."

Right there, Gomer unbuttoned the buttons of his green uniform shirt. Carter noticed him bite his lip lightly, which made him feel a shiver down his spine for whatever reason.

'What the hell was that all about? Get it together, Vince.' He thought.

As Gomer removed his shirt and revealed a fitted, white undershirt, Carter then noticed that Gomer had filled out since he first met him in basic training; he remembers him as a scrawny thing from Mayberry, North Carolina. Now, he was as buff as a Marine could be, gaining weight in all the right spots. The Sergeant's eyes traveled along Gomer's biceps and chest, as he was folding his shirt neatly. Gomer looked up and caught this, which caused Carter to blush immediately out of embarrassment.

"Did I do something wrong? Why are you staring at me?" Gomer asked, innocently.

"Uh…no…you didn't, Pyle…" Carter managed to say.

Standing there in their undershirts and pants, the two kept stealing glances at one another secretly. However, it was still very stuffy in the room.

"So…um…" Carter was fumbling with words, "you feel any better?"

"Not really. I'm still hot, and I don't know why I can't breathe but…" Gomer spoke breathlessly, as he started coughing again.

Scared and concerned for his platoon member, Carter went to the other side of the bunker and grabbed a few water bottles. He sat Gomer down and made him drink one.

"Drink it down, Pyle...slowly." He instructed as he assisted him.

Gomer practically finished the bottle within five seconds. He was seriously dehydrated and needed water badly.

"Do you want another?" Carter asked him.

Gomer nodded his head, coughing up some more. Carter gave Gomer another bottle to drink some more.

"Drink it, Pyle. I need you to drink." was all he said, completely ignoring the fact that he, himself, was starting to heat up, and couldn't really breathe well either. The room was suffocating and the florescent light was enough to drive Carter mad; but he kept his composure just for the Private, who was starting to struggle.

*GC*

Walking into his barracks, Boyle expected to find Carter there but found nothing.

"What the hell? Where's Vince?" He asked himself, as he saw all of Carter's stuff still in place.

"Corporal Boyle?"

Boyle turned to find Duke at the doorway, "What is it, Slater? Why aren't you in your barracks?"

"A bunch of us just noticed Gomer isn't here. None of us know where he is, and all his stuff is still in his locker. I'm concerned."

"Wasn't he going home for the holiday?" Boyle asked.

"No. We both planned to stay. This isn't like him to be missing."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, Sergeant Carter isn't here either. Where was the last place Pyle was supposed to be?"

"Well...he was assigned to the food bunker, and..."

With this realization, the two men looked at each other and feared that Gomer and Carter were stuck in the airtight food bunker all day and had no way out.

"Oh my God! The food bunker!" Duke cried as he and Boyle ran towards the bunker.

They both hoped that the two men were still alive, for it was easy to die from asphyxiation.

*GC*

It was now the middle of the night and Gomer and Carter were practically passed out. Even though he was struggling, Carter did all he could to make sure Gomer was alright. Gomer went from breathing to wheezing. This was not a good sign.

"Pyle…Pyle, listen to me!" Carter struggled to speak, "You need to get it together, okay?"

"I can't breathe, Sergeant." Gomer weakly responded.

"I know but you need to be strong, Pyle. Think of your platoon."

Gomer nodded his head but he was still wheezing, and it hurt to breathe at this point. The air-tight space was suffocating, and it was affecting him much worse than it was Carter. Carter sat and wondered what to do.

"Sergeant," Gomer said as if he was going to cry, "I don't want to die…"

Hearing those words haunted Carter and sent a chill down his spine. Sure he found Gomer rather annoying and had lashed out that he wanted to hurt, even kill, him but he often said that out of pure frustration. He didn't really want him to die. While still wheezing, Gomer stared up at his Sergeant and softly said in a faint voice, "Sergeant…I'm sorry I got us into this mess…I'm so sor…"

"It's okay, Pyle…" Carter replied, "I'm not mad anymore. Let's focus on trying to stay alive…"

It was true when he said he was no longer mad at him, for they were pretty much on the same boat; struggling to breathe and feeling weak. Although raised as a Christian, he was not a religious person at all...but this time, he needed help. Carter prayed silently to himself, "Lord…if you can hear me…please send Boyle, Slater, hell even Hacker a sign…please give someone a sign to help, if that's what you want…more so for him than me…Pyle needs to survive, and I'll gladly take his place…"

Praying was all he could do at this point. He feared that he and Gomer were going to die that night in a food bunker of all places. Gomer was on the floor wheezing, causing Carter to scoop him into his arms.

"Pyle, stay with me! You have to stay with me!" Carter's voice was breaking. "You drive me up a fucking wall but you can't die! Please, I don't want you to die!"

With every bit of strength he had left, Gomer did the unthinkable and kissed his Sergeant on the lips. Carter pulled away for Gomer to respond to his actions frailly, "I…I'm sorry…"

Silent for a few moments, Carter simply said, "Don't be…"

With that said, Carter kissed the young Private back. He figured since they might die, he might as well give Gomer one last bit of happiness. Carter held Gomer's cheek, rubbing his chin with his left thumb. Both men never imagined this moment ever happening, in all the history of Camp Henderson. It was at that moment nothing else mattered, except what was happening at that right now. Within a few seconds of sharing what was possibly the most passionate kiss either one has ever had, there was a loud banging on the door. This startled both of them, more so Carter, that he pulled away from the kiss immediately.

"Vince! Gomer! Are you in there? It's Boyle and Slater!" Boyle cried from outside.

'We're saved! Thank you, God! We're saved!' Carter thought before yelling out, "Chuck, we're in here! Get Pyle out of here! He needs medical attention immediately!"

Carter helped Gomer to his feet and said softly, "Pyle, we're saved. I need to lean on me and I will help you out of here."

All Gomer did was nod his head as Carter helped them both up to their feet while he had his hand on the wall. Boyle pulled the door open and saw not only a messy food bunker but the two men a sweaty mess with red stains on their uniforms.

"Good Lord! What happened?" Boyle softly exclaimed.

"We got locked in there, we tried to escape from the sky roof, we ate cherries and now he can't breathe!" Carter spoke quickly as he struggled to hold Gomer up. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he needs help!"

Duke and Boyle looked at Gomer horrified. He was wheezing heavily. Duke ran over to help Carter and called out to his friend, "Gomer? Hey, Gome, can you hear me? It's Duke."

"I don't know…I…" Gomer then rolled his eye back and passed out, for the cool hair brought his body to shock.

Before he fainted and hit the ground, Carter and Duke managed to hold him up.

"Oh my God! Slater, go get medical attention!" Boyle ordered.

"Right, sir!" Duke replied as he ran to get help, leaving both of his commanding officers with his passed-out friend, who was sat up against the wall.