A/N- alternate universe. Women are allowed to serve in the army with the men. There's no Evelyn. Warning: not very faithful to the movie :0) Title Subject to change.
Disclaimer- you know what I own and what I don't.
Navy Girl
Chapter One
Miranda stood in Colonel Dolittle's office, clutching her bag in front of her. She wasn't the type to be nervous, but her heart was hammering in her chest. The colonel was sitting at his desk, looking at some papers. Finally he looked up.
"So you want to join the Navy." He said, looking at me skeptically.
"Yes, sir." Miranda answered.
"It's very rare for women to join, you know. Special arrangements will have to be made."
"Yes, sir, I understand, sir."
"Very well." The colonel said doubtfully. Miranda contained a whoop of happiness and surprise. She was one of the first women to join since President Roosevelt had issued an order that women were to be allowed in preparation for the inevitable war. Even though she had joined, for fun, Miranda doubted that there would be any war. Hitler was Europe's problem, after all.
She practically skipped outside, almost running into two men talking together. They glanced at her with a look of surprise.
"Hi, I'm Miranda," she said, shaking the two men's hands.
"I'm Rafe, and this is Danny," one of them said. Danny gave a slight wave of his hand and a smile.
"Did you just enlist?" Danny asked. "Me 'n Rafe are fighter pilots ourselves."
"I did enlist," Miranda answered, "but not as a fighter pilot. I want to work on an aircraft carrier."
Danny nodded and smiled. "Where are you stationed?"
"Umm," Miranda looked at the papers she held in her hand. "Pearl Harbor!" She said happily. "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii. Where are you two stationed?"
"Pearl Harbor, as well. We're leaving tonight, on the ten o clock train." Rafe said. Just then, a car pulled up. Two uniformed men sat inside.
"Danny, Rafe! Hop in!" The man at the wheel called. "Who's the girl?"
"She's Miranda, she just enlisted," Danny answered.
"I'm Billy," the man said. "Why don't you come along? We're all leaving together."
"Sure," Miranda answered, sliding into the car beside Danny. Rafe sat on her other side. The man in the passenger seat turned around and gave Miranda a bright, toothy smile.
"I'm Anthony," he said. Miranda shook his hand as the car squealed away from the curb.
"Honolulu, here we come!" Billy cried, waving his hands in the air. Anthony grabbed the wheel and prevented them from crashing into another car. Billy smiled apologetically, putting his hands back on the wheel.
"Maybe you should let me drive," Rafe said. "I'm not drunk."
"And who says I am?" Billy said. Anthony slapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon, we've got Japs waiting!"
"Do you live on Long Island, Miranda?" Danny said when Rafe and Billy had switched seats.
"No, I'm from New Jersey. We just moved here about a week ago."
"What do you're parents think about you joining the Navy?" Rafe asked from the front. "Danny's dad put up a big stink about it when we left for Long Island ourselves." Danny tensed in his seat. Miranda looked at him curiously.
"What's wrong?" She murmured once Rafe had turned around again.
Danny sighed. "My dad, he's just…"
"I understand. My parents didn't want me to enlist, but this is what I've wanted to do for a long time. My mother wanted me to be a nurse, but I want to work on the boats." Miranda shook her head. "My mom put so much time into teaching me how to sew and stuff…all gone to waste."
Rafe laughed as he pulled into the train station. Miranda picked up the duffel bag that she had packed her things in and got out after Billy. There was a roar as a train left.
"Well," said Danny, yawning," we've still got two hours before the train leaves."
Rafe laughed again, this time at Danny. "What, all that Chicken tire you out?"
"Chicken?" Miranda said.
"Yeah," Rafe said as they entered the station and put their bags down, "see how long you can fly straight at a person before you have to turn."
"And then you forget what's right and what's left," Danny said, punching Rafe on the arm.
"Oh," Miranda said.
"Let's get something to eat," Billy said, looking around the station. "I'm starved."
"We could leave our bags here and get something to eat. There's a restaurant right down there," said Miranda, pointing.
"Good idea," said Anthony. The five piled their bags on a bench and walked down the street. Miranda's skirt fluttered slightly in the wind- even though she would join the army, her mother would kill her if she caught her in pants, even though that was what Miranda would have to wear while serving on an aircraft carrier. Danny voiced her thoughts.
"You'll have a hard time wearing skirts on a carrier," he said.
"I know," said Miranda. "My mother would kill me if she found out that I was wearing pants!"
Rafe laughed. "I wouldn't mind," he said. "Skirts are unpractical, how do you run in them? And those shoes!" He said, pointing at the pumps Miranda was wearing. "They must give you hell of a lot of blisters."
Miranda agreed. They got to the restaurant and sat in a booth. Miranda ordered a glass of wine because she had eaten before she went to Dolittle's office. The guys got burgers and Danny shared his fries with her.
"Son of a"- Anthony cried, looking at the clock. "It's five to ten!"
The whole table was in an uproar for a moment as everyone gathered their things and ran out of the door, throwing money onto the table behind them. Miranda took off her shoes and sprinted down the street and back into the station.
"Ten o clock to San Francisco, all aboard!" A voice called. They grabbed their duffels and ran onto the train, which left the station as soon as Billy's foot was in.
Miranda sighed contently as the train started to move, happy that she had new friends and a new future.