Chapter X:

"Marie, I need to speak with you." She turned immediately, looking at the woman behind her, and offering her a slight smile.

"All right." Sensing it was more important than her task of folding towels, she set the pile on her lap down on the table and got up. Having a habit of fidgeting, Marie straightened her dress and fixed her hair and hat to keep her hands busy, whilst she followed the woman.

"I've just spoken to an army official. They are growing short handed... they need all the men they can get. Now, I know no one here is healthy enough to go out just yet. But he was insistant. I asked him to give me two weeks."

"That's reasonable." She was only half paying attention, but the nurses around here were used to that. After seeing all the wounds and deaths of young men and old alike, one's eyes tended to glaze a little in remembrance. Of course, Marie's mind was only partly on Jacob. Mostly, it was thinking on Logan, and all that he'd had to say the previous night.

"Is there anyone you know of, Marie, that could leave here in two weeks?"

"Two weeks?" Yes, she knew someone who was able to leave in two weeks. She knew of someone who was able to leave tomorrow, if they needed. But she couldn't possibly tell them that, could she? It wasn't her place. She didn't know how Logan felt about going, and she knew, personally, that she didn't want to see him go. Work always came before anything else in her life... at least, before she was shipped across the Channel and brought to France for first aid purposes. Of course, at first, everything was all right. But then fate had to guide Logan to this hospital... despite that there were at least ten others in the area. Good Lord, she should curse fate, shouldn't she? "The man in bed two... the one with the sling... he'll be ready by then..." That's it Marie, save him by naming others. Or are you saving yourself? "And... bed four, with the eye patch. Betsy's been working on him, and says his vision will be up to par in no time..."

"What about that man in bed two? The one involved with the mine? The other two have died from it. Will he follow the same path?"

"No ma'am... he's a fighter... Ah think he'll make it."

"Yes... he has shown considerable progress. Perhaps you should take him around for a walk today. Get him some crutches, see how well he works on them."

"We don't want to rush things, ma'am..."

"It is not your job to tell me what you think. It is your job to humor these men until they are healthy enough to rejoin the fighting. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am, Ah just..."

"Yes?" Her eyes were narrowed on Marie, and for a second she stopped breathing. She wondered then if the old woman knew of her feelings for Logan. By denying that he was well, was she just signing his name onto her list of able recruits? Or was she just announcing her feelings for all to hear. If they suspected her feelings, they would send her back home. Having him around much longer was not safe...

"Ah believe he'll be ready in two weeks."

"Really? Well! That's good news isn't it?" Marie watched her bend her head to add his name to the list, not able to control the feeling of betrayl growing. "That's all. Back to work!"

"Yes ma'am..." God, she sounded like a robot... 'Yes ma'am. No ma'am. Perhaps, ma'am.' It made her crazy. Folding the last of the laundry, she put the towels back on the shelves where they belonged and went to Logan, taking a pair of crutches along. This would not be a surprise to him. She was going to tell him herself... prepare him for it.

"Mornin', Marie." The voice was definitely enough to send her back the way she'd come. Somehow, she stood firm and forced a smile, knowing full well it didn't fool him. "What's with the crutches?"

"We are goin' for a walk. Lord knows those poor legs of yours haven't had much exercise in the last few days." She busied herself with work, as she usually did to avoid things. Pulling back his blankets, she focused on moving his legs around the bed and helping him to stand. God knows how amused he must be by all this... her pretending to help him when in truth he didn't need it.

Once he was steadied on the crutches, and after she'd made sure they were just right for someone of his height, she started walking. She hid a smile, knowing that he'd probably never used the crutches before, seeing as how he wobbled from side to side and barely got the hang of them. Of course, it was a good thing too, since it truely looked as though he was having trouble putting pressure on his legs. "Which one of my legs is supposed to be bad again, I forget..."

"Whichever you like. Ah figured Ah wouldn't write a particular down, in case we evah forgot an' had you walkin' on one tha first day, an' on tha other tha next."

"Good plan." He nodded his approval, but didn't look up at her. He was too busy concentrating on the floor and making sure that his face never came closer to it than it was right then.

"You're doin' fine..." She led him outside, where the remains of a garden were, and walked in silence a while. She didn't know how to tell him about what she had done. It was an awful thing, something she doubted he could forgive her for. But it had to be said, so that he was ready for it before the two weeks was over. "Ah have a confession. An' it's one you aren't goin' to like much."

"What? I have to stick around here a few more weeks?" He looked up at her suddenly and offered a slight grin. In the past four days of being with him, she'd never once seen an actual smile. They were all half smiles, cocked grins, and so on. Maybe one day... "Somehow I think I'll manage." She recognized the look on his face because she'd seen a similar one the night before. God, he was making this harder than it had to be.

"Logan..."

"There's no use tryin' to lie 'bout it, Marie. I know you feel it too."

"Whether Ah feel it or not is not the present issue." He nodded, and her heart sank at the knowledge that he wasn't paying any attention to her.

"Someday you'll say it. You'll look at me an' say it flat out."

"Logan, this mornin' mah superior asked me who was ready to go back into war in the next two weeks. Ah told her by the end of that time you would be up and ready to fight. She's sent your name, with a list of others, back to the army official who'd proposed the need for more men. After two weeks, Ah'm never gonna see you again."