Plura Ater NoxPlura Ater Nox
Chapter 37
"You've made one too many mistakes. The first of which is, not being drowned at birth."
He took no pity on the German lieutenant and used the simple method Aimée had, and just expelled his attack directly into the victim and fried him completely. He kept his grip firmly on Lt. Van Eyke's neck for a short while, as he sent pulses of his chi blast lancing through the body of the smaller man. When he let the neck of Lt. Van Eyke go, there was barely anything left of the German officer, except for a crispy fried body.
After he dropped the corpse of Lt. Van Eyke to the ground, Captain Andreas stepped around it, but stopped and smirk. He knew the building was free of German occupation now, and he needed to do something, no, show something to someone…
Taking out his walkie-talkie, he paged the group in charge of POWs, and requested that Aimée be brought to the building where he now was. He didn't say why. He just felt like it was necessary. He had come this far; he had her in his grasp. He just needed to break her completely. He knew she had tried to use him, but, he still couldn't help but to cling to the feelings he had for her from before. He just needed a way to get through to her and make her realise some how, some way…
After a few minutes of mindlessly guarding the area, Captain Andreas gazed up, hearing two sets of footsteps and the indignities being cried out from the girl. He smirked. Surely this will break her resistance, maybe offer insight as to why she even fell for the reincarnation of Tomo in the first place, which the American never did understand.
"Thank you, Smith. Go back to your post."
"You're welcome, sir!" the private replied, saluting his superior. He then added, before he left, "It was a miracle that we had very few casualties. It seems we taken a good number of these damned Krauts prisoner."
"The great Americans, who gave their life, deserve to be honoured." Captain Andreas replied, before he dismissed the private, as he turned to Aimée, grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to where he was.
"Ow! Let me go, you ignorant Yankee!"
"Not until you answer my questions! You aren't getting off easily on this, woman!"
"I don't have to do anything for you!" Aimée retorted, pulling her wrist out of his iron-grip; the force of his grip left a red-mark on her wrist. As she pulled back, he let her go; hence, she lost her balance for a moment. She would have regained it, if not for the fact that she tripped unceremoniously over one of the many dead bodies decorating the floors of the long corridors.
Crying out in surprise, she fell backwards over the body, landing right square on her ass, in a rather awkward position, her legs tangled slightly over the severely burnt body, her upper body on the cold dank floor. She moaned softly, sitting up. She had yet to realise what had just happened; of course when she did, she would be horrified with what she discovered.
She first glared up at Captain Andreas, then spat angrily, "aren't you even going to be a gentleman and help me up?"
He stared baffled at her. He blinked; then bit his tongue to prevent himself from laughing out loud at her ludicrous response. The fact that she requested such a thing sent him into fits of hysterics, which he kept under control.
"Help you? You're asking me for help? I don't know if I can, I mean, you seem to be pretty self-sufficient, so, I hardly think it's my place to help you."
Growling, resentfully, she started to get up, but a shrill piercing scream erected from her as she moved to her feet and away from the body as quickly as she could. She hadn't realised it, but, unconsciously, she had sought security next to Captain Andreas, though she didn't quite understand why.
After a short while, she pulled away. Scowling, she studied the area. "Johann should have been out by now…" she whispered in concern.
"He was, and now he's where he deserves to be, rotting in hell witth the rest of those bloody krauts." Captain Andreas explained. "I killed him out of self-defence. This is bloody war; no time for stopping to make sure the person really wants to die or not. The person is a member of the enemy army, they are fair game."
"So you killed him." Aimée replied scathingly.
"In such blunt terms, yes. He did kill numerous allies of mine; he planted spies in the area. And don't tell me you actually think he loved you. You were just a little pawn in his game. You were lost and vulnerable. He used you to get to me. He knew I had my powers, and he didn't like that. He never liked you. You were just another means by which he could meet his ultimate goal.
"You were caught in a bad position. You valued your life, so you decided to betray your friends, did you not? Then you thought you won the favour of Lt. Van Eyke, but really, all you did was set yourself up to be one of his many pawns. Just look at Yorck, also a pawn of Van Eyke's.
"He knew you were weak; you had no choice. He took advantage of you, didn't he? I know he did; Faulkner reported to us the various things he overheard when he was spying on Yorck. Many of which included references to you; you as a spy. You were seen as nothing more than a stupid little French girl, who's only use, was serving as a good little whore.
"He never did care for you. He knew he could manipulate you if he got to think I had forgotten or never cared about you in the first place. It worked, didn't it? You turned on me and tried to use me.
"I know you tried to kill me several times, but you couldn't. I could have very well killed you, but I didn't. I didn't because I never stopped loving you; just like before, only I never figured out how to tell you and this time, you didn't give me a chance."
Her visage paled, her body was ablaze with light tremors as she listened. Her blood ran hot and cold, her mind swam in a helix of mystification. Surely this was all a lie. She couldn't have possibly been manipulated and used again. She had learned from the last time, hadn't she? Didn't she have the common sense…?
"Yes, why don't you want to be loved? Do you want the same cold strict relationship you had with Nakago? Do you get a masochistic pleasure from it?!"
'I wanted to be loved! But… You took advantage of that. I wanted Nakago, and you knew that. You remembered how he treated me. You played off my emotions.' Tears fell from her eyes, trickling down her rouged cheeks, her eyes alight with injure. The hot indignant tears that fell from her eyes seemed to be endless.
"Honestly, have you ever felt loved? Ever wanted to know what it feels like to be part of a pair instead of the dispenser, giving out the service? You probably can only imagine what true affection and love feels like."
'I felt love! I did when I left for my mission. I felt it when I first encountered him this time around. I could have been one with him, but you convinced me that e didn't want me and that he would only use me, but in the end, it was the opposite.'
"How can you say it doesn't feel nice to have someone touch you like this and not desire you to sell your body?! For once you feel the need to go with what your heart desires and mind, instead of just one, leading you to let your body to be used?!"
'I was still used in the end…'
Hot tears continued to streak her face.
Captain Andreas merely watched while this happened. He said nothing. He knew he didn't have to say anything, the tears falling down her face and the shock in her eyes was enough to tell him what was going through her mind at this minute; a kind of despondency. He knew his words may have had some affect on her.
He stood patiently, waiting for her to stop crying or at least move from her position. He didn't want to rush her. He knew it might be a very bad thing if he did, especially since some form of emotional trauma was crashing down on her psyche right now and the last thing in the world that she needed was for anything to make it any worse.
Then, she unexpectedly collapsed in his arms, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.
~~~~
Stretching back, Brennan hefted his gun over his shoulder as he strolled down the now corpse-free corridor, in search of the two he had graveyard duty with. He didn't mind; at least two his friends were also going to suffer along with him on this issue.
He knew Séamus was out front waiting. He had been leaning against the wall when he had left him. IT had been Séamus who suggested that Brennan go fetch Jeremiah for duty, he had yet come out. Brennan found the request odd, since Jeremiah was Séamus' twin brother, but nonetheless complied.
Sighing, he rapped his knuckles on the door and pushed it open…
He fell to his knees, the gag reflex kicking in.
He felt a wave of nausea cascading over him.
He turned sharply and fled. He had to get to a bathroom. He felt his stomach turning itself inside out. His gut was synched together in a tight vice.
"Brennan?" Lt. Faulkner arched an eyebrow, as he felt a wind rush by him. He pivoted, facing the bathroom. He didn't need to see anything; the retching reverberations alone were enough to tell him what was wrong.
He sighed and leaned against the door's frame.
After a long moment, a pale, sickly Brennan emerged clutching his stomach. "Bloody hell… That was one nasty sight! Ugh…" he shuddered.
"What's wrong?" Lt. Faulkner asked; his was gazed fixated ahead.
"Jeremiah just took his life."
"What?" he gasped out; turning to his friend in utter disbelief, he asked, "Did you check on Séamus yet? If not, go and check on him! If he's attached to his twin as much as he was as Suboshi, he'll need sedatives to keep him calm."
"Of course."
"SIR!!"
Before Brennan and Lt. Faulkner left the area, they were forced to turn at the sound of a young man's voice, as he ran over to them, his face ablaze with anxiety. He skidded to an abrupt halt, and saluted his superior officer. "I was walking through the halls by Captain Julien César Andreas' room, when I heard a gun shot. I thought I should check on it. He's dead, sir. He shot himself in the mouth. Also dead is Miss Aimée Beauregard. I couldn't tell, but I think either he put something in her drink, or she swallowed a suicide pill."
"He what? No, not another…" Lt. Faulkner gasped out then shuddered. He gazed around, sensing a bad omen about this place. His intuition on the matters of unwanted evil spirits was lively, warning him.
He shook his head and turned to the private. "Have them prepared for burial. Send a notice to the American base on London alerting them about this, as well as all the other casualties if that hasn't yet been done. As for the girl… I don't know. Just give the information to the French government and hopefully they will be able to locate her family."
"Roger that, sir!"
Reaching out, Lt. Faulkner grabbed Brennan's wrist. His eyes were dead serious. "Listen and listen carefully. We have lost three people to suicide here in one day. If my intuition is right, Séamus will take his own life next. I do not want to see any more of my men and friends take their lives on my watch. Also, I will not risk your death, so, you are going to make like the wind and blow. You're going to London, finding Chelsea, marrying her and making her the happiest woman on the face of God's green earth. Don't like it, go anyway! I don't want any more of my good friends to die because of this bloody war."
"But, Marcus, I promised I'd fight…"
"No buts, boy! You're going home, you're taking Chelsea, sweeping her off her feet and making her your wife and spending the rest of your life with her! You're both going to die of old age! You are both going to be happy for once! I want her to be happy. She didn't get a chance at a life last time, she gave it for us. You are going to make that up to her and make sure she gets a long one, with you by her side.
"I can survive without you and Séamus here. I am past my prime anyway, so, I'd much rather see you make Chelsea happy. She would be happy if you were by her side instead of fighting. She would rather have you at home with her then fighting for her honour. She wants you, period…."
"Yer sure?"
"Get out of here before I teleport you there myself." Lt. Faulkner playfully pushed Brennan toward the exit. Then, offering a gentle smile, he added, "don't forget to bring Séamus with you. It'll do him good to be away from this hell."
Holding out his hand, Brennan waited for Lt. Faulkner to take it.
Clutching hands, they gazed into the other's eyes. Brennan then pulled away and smartly saluted his friend. "It's been a pleasure serving you, sir."
"It's nice to have my friends by my side when I'm in battle, but, now something more important awaits you. Go and make her happy, that is your mission soldier."
~~~~
She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing the sweaty bangs and sat back, gazing at the page in her typewriter. It was unusually warm today. The office was really muggy and the air thick. She felt like she was going to gag on it. Sighing, she pulled the page out the typewriter and handed it to her supervisor, and then asked if she could step outside for a minute to get some fresh air.
Once receiving permission, Chelsea reached into the hip pocket of her skirt and pulled out the matchbook and the modest pack of cigarettes. Once outside the typing room, she took one out, stuck it in her mouth and lit up. She inhaled deeply as she walked down the hallway to the exit.
Pushing the door open, she exhaled, holding the cigarette between her fingers, as she watched the traffic pass on Whitehall Street. They had done a wonderful job of cleaning up the debris from when she first arrived, but she still couldn't shake the image from her memory. She knew she would be seeing that for the rest of her life and there was nothing that she could do about it.
Dropping the butt of her cigarette to the ground, she extinguished the smouldering ashes with the toe of her shoe as she pulled out a second one and lit up. She inhaled, and then pulled it out of her mouth as she exhaled, her gaze still rested on the street in front of her.
"Got a spare match?"
"Of course, sir." Chelsea replied, reaching into her pocket to pull out her match book. As she fished it out, she averted her gaze to the man; the voice had sounded familiar. She let out an ecstatic gasp, as she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him closely. "Brennan! Thank god, oh, thank god! You're safe!" Tears of happiness fell down her cheeks in throes.
"Chelsea…" he whispered, holding her close; inhaling her scent. While he would have preferred to have been fighting for her, being with her also had its benefits. He hadn't realised it when he was over on mainland, but he had missed her terribly, as he found out now as he held her in his arms.
Then, wasting no time, he effortlessly swept her into his arms. "We ain't waitin', we're going to find a cathedral and we're weddin' today! Today your life becomes better. Yer my queen and ya deserve nothin' less. Ya ain't gonna to object 'cause I say so."
Gasping out, giggling, Chelsea gripped his shirt as she was swept off the ground so gracefully. "How can I say no now…? I did promise that I would marry you as long as you came back alive."
"Then let's go now!"
"But it's so soon!"
"No it's not." Brennan replied, as he placed Chelsea back on her feet and knelt on one knee before her, taking her hand in his. He cleared throat. "Oh, beautiful maid'n Chelsea Llewellyn, will ya gimme yer hand in holy matrimony?"
"Dilys!"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple case and opened it revealing a gold wedding band with a single diamond embedded in the centre. He had spent all of his life savings on this, but it was worth it. He did have a job, so it wasn't such a BIG deal, but it was still a large dent in his funds.
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. Standing up, he pulled her close, kissing her lightly, as she returned it. Then spontaneously, he grabbed her wrist. "Now let's do it! I ain't waitin' no more. I ain't gettin' no younger."
Giggling, she followed behind him, allowing for him to pull her along. "You certainly don't waste any time in getting what you want, do you?"
"I ne'er do. Now, no more yakkin'. We're getting' married and we start our new life today. Yer life begins today, and I'll protect ya from ev'rything. All ya gotta do is love me and be yer-self."
"I don't want to sound rude, but why are you being so quick in getting this done?"
"Because…" Brennan stopped in his track and took her in close. "Because I love you and I wanna make it official. I ain't fightin' no more, so, now it's time. Besides, Marcus sent me home for this reason, so I'm makin' the most of it. I'm getting' ya by my side for now and ev'r."
"Oh Brennan…" Chelsea whispered, but her words were cut short as he placed his finger on her lips.
"Let's say nothin', Chelsea. Let's just… enjoy each other…" he whispered, as he took her hand in his and led her to the steps of the cathedral….
---> To epilogue
Chapter 37
"You've made one too many mistakes. The first of which is, not being drowned at birth."
He took no pity on the German lieutenant and used the simple method Aimée had, and just expelled his attack directly into the victim and fried him completely. He kept his grip firmly on Lt. Van Eyke's neck for a short while, as he sent pulses of his chi blast lancing through the body of the smaller man. When he let the neck of Lt. Van Eyke go, there was barely anything left of the German officer, except for a crispy fried body.
After he dropped the corpse of Lt. Van Eyke to the ground, Captain Andreas stepped around it, but stopped and smirk. He knew the building was free of German occupation now, and he needed to do something, no, show something to someone…
Taking out his walkie-talkie, he paged the group in charge of POWs, and requested that Aimée be brought to the building where he now was. He didn't say why. He just felt like it was necessary. He had come this far; he had her in his grasp. He just needed to break her completely. He knew she had tried to use him, but, he still couldn't help but to cling to the feelings he had for her from before. He just needed a way to get through to her and make her realise some how, some way…
After a few minutes of mindlessly guarding the area, Captain Andreas gazed up, hearing two sets of footsteps and the indignities being cried out from the girl. He smirked. Surely this will break her resistance, maybe offer insight as to why she even fell for the reincarnation of Tomo in the first place, which the American never did understand.
"Thank you, Smith. Go back to your post."
"You're welcome, sir!" the private replied, saluting his superior. He then added, before he left, "It was a miracle that we had very few casualties. It seems we taken a good number of these damned Krauts prisoner."
"The great Americans, who gave their life, deserve to be honoured." Captain Andreas replied, before he dismissed the private, as he turned to Aimée, grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to where he was.
"Ow! Let me go, you ignorant Yankee!"
"Not until you answer my questions! You aren't getting off easily on this, woman!"
"I don't have to do anything for you!" Aimée retorted, pulling her wrist out of his iron-grip; the force of his grip left a red-mark on her wrist. As she pulled back, he let her go; hence, she lost her balance for a moment. She would have regained it, if not for the fact that she tripped unceremoniously over one of the many dead bodies decorating the floors of the long corridors.
Crying out in surprise, she fell backwards over the body, landing right square on her ass, in a rather awkward position, her legs tangled slightly over the severely burnt body, her upper body on the cold dank floor. She moaned softly, sitting up. She had yet to realise what had just happened; of course when she did, she would be horrified with what she discovered.
She first glared up at Captain Andreas, then spat angrily, "aren't you even going to be a gentleman and help me up?"
He stared baffled at her. He blinked; then bit his tongue to prevent himself from laughing out loud at her ludicrous response. The fact that she requested such a thing sent him into fits of hysterics, which he kept under control.
"Help you? You're asking me for help? I don't know if I can, I mean, you seem to be pretty self-sufficient, so, I hardly think it's my place to help you."
Growling, resentfully, she started to get up, but a shrill piercing scream erected from her as she moved to her feet and away from the body as quickly as she could. She hadn't realised it, but, unconsciously, she had sought security next to Captain Andreas, though she didn't quite understand why.
After a short while, she pulled away. Scowling, she studied the area. "Johann should have been out by now…" she whispered in concern.
"He was, and now he's where he deserves to be, rotting in hell witth the rest of those bloody krauts." Captain Andreas explained. "I killed him out of self-defence. This is bloody war; no time for stopping to make sure the person really wants to die or not. The person is a member of the enemy army, they are fair game."
"So you killed him." Aimée replied scathingly.
"In such blunt terms, yes. He did kill numerous allies of mine; he planted spies in the area. And don't tell me you actually think he loved you. You were just a little pawn in his game. You were lost and vulnerable. He used you to get to me. He knew I had my powers, and he didn't like that. He never liked you. You were just another means by which he could meet his ultimate goal.
"You were caught in a bad position. You valued your life, so you decided to betray your friends, did you not? Then you thought you won the favour of Lt. Van Eyke, but really, all you did was set yourself up to be one of his many pawns. Just look at Yorck, also a pawn of Van Eyke's.
"He knew you were weak; you had no choice. He took advantage of you, didn't he? I know he did; Faulkner reported to us the various things he overheard when he was spying on Yorck. Many of which included references to you; you as a spy. You were seen as nothing more than a stupid little French girl, who's only use, was serving as a good little whore.
"He never did care for you. He knew he could manipulate you if he got to think I had forgotten or never cared about you in the first place. It worked, didn't it? You turned on me and tried to use me.
"I know you tried to kill me several times, but you couldn't. I could have very well killed you, but I didn't. I didn't because I never stopped loving you; just like before, only I never figured out how to tell you and this time, you didn't give me a chance."
Her visage paled, her body was ablaze with light tremors as she listened. Her blood ran hot and cold, her mind swam in a helix of mystification. Surely this was all a lie. She couldn't have possibly been manipulated and used again. She had learned from the last time, hadn't she? Didn't she have the common sense…?
"Yes, why don't you want to be loved? Do you want the same cold strict relationship you had with Nakago? Do you get a masochistic pleasure from it?!"
'I wanted to be loved! But… You took advantage of that. I wanted Nakago, and you knew that. You remembered how he treated me. You played off my emotions.' Tears fell from her eyes, trickling down her rouged cheeks, her eyes alight with injure. The hot indignant tears that fell from her eyes seemed to be endless.
"Honestly, have you ever felt loved? Ever wanted to know what it feels like to be part of a pair instead of the dispenser, giving out the service? You probably can only imagine what true affection and love feels like."
'I felt love! I did when I left for my mission. I felt it when I first encountered him this time around. I could have been one with him, but you convinced me that e didn't want me and that he would only use me, but in the end, it was the opposite.'
"How can you say it doesn't feel nice to have someone touch you like this and not desire you to sell your body?! For once you feel the need to go with what your heart desires and mind, instead of just one, leading you to let your body to be used?!"
'I was still used in the end…'
Hot tears continued to streak her face.
Captain Andreas merely watched while this happened. He said nothing. He knew he didn't have to say anything, the tears falling down her face and the shock in her eyes was enough to tell him what was going through her mind at this minute; a kind of despondency. He knew his words may have had some affect on her.
He stood patiently, waiting for her to stop crying or at least move from her position. He didn't want to rush her. He knew it might be a very bad thing if he did, especially since some form of emotional trauma was crashing down on her psyche right now and the last thing in the world that she needed was for anything to make it any worse.
Then, she unexpectedly collapsed in his arms, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.
~~~~
Stretching back, Brennan hefted his gun over his shoulder as he strolled down the now corpse-free corridor, in search of the two he had graveyard duty with. He didn't mind; at least two his friends were also going to suffer along with him on this issue.
He knew Séamus was out front waiting. He had been leaning against the wall when he had left him. IT had been Séamus who suggested that Brennan go fetch Jeremiah for duty, he had yet come out. Brennan found the request odd, since Jeremiah was Séamus' twin brother, but nonetheless complied.
Sighing, he rapped his knuckles on the door and pushed it open…
He fell to his knees, the gag reflex kicking in.
He felt a wave of nausea cascading over him.
He turned sharply and fled. He had to get to a bathroom. He felt his stomach turning itself inside out. His gut was synched together in a tight vice.
"Brennan?" Lt. Faulkner arched an eyebrow, as he felt a wind rush by him. He pivoted, facing the bathroom. He didn't need to see anything; the retching reverberations alone were enough to tell him what was wrong.
He sighed and leaned against the door's frame.
After a long moment, a pale, sickly Brennan emerged clutching his stomach. "Bloody hell… That was one nasty sight! Ugh…" he shuddered.
"What's wrong?" Lt. Faulkner asked; his was gazed fixated ahead.
"Jeremiah just took his life."
"What?" he gasped out; turning to his friend in utter disbelief, he asked, "Did you check on Séamus yet? If not, go and check on him! If he's attached to his twin as much as he was as Suboshi, he'll need sedatives to keep him calm."
"Of course."
"SIR!!"
Before Brennan and Lt. Faulkner left the area, they were forced to turn at the sound of a young man's voice, as he ran over to them, his face ablaze with anxiety. He skidded to an abrupt halt, and saluted his superior officer. "I was walking through the halls by Captain Julien César Andreas' room, when I heard a gun shot. I thought I should check on it. He's dead, sir. He shot himself in the mouth. Also dead is Miss Aimée Beauregard. I couldn't tell, but I think either he put something in her drink, or she swallowed a suicide pill."
"He what? No, not another…" Lt. Faulkner gasped out then shuddered. He gazed around, sensing a bad omen about this place. His intuition on the matters of unwanted evil spirits was lively, warning him.
He shook his head and turned to the private. "Have them prepared for burial. Send a notice to the American base on London alerting them about this, as well as all the other casualties if that hasn't yet been done. As for the girl… I don't know. Just give the information to the French government and hopefully they will be able to locate her family."
"Roger that, sir!"
Reaching out, Lt. Faulkner grabbed Brennan's wrist. His eyes were dead serious. "Listen and listen carefully. We have lost three people to suicide here in one day. If my intuition is right, Séamus will take his own life next. I do not want to see any more of my men and friends take their lives on my watch. Also, I will not risk your death, so, you are going to make like the wind and blow. You're going to London, finding Chelsea, marrying her and making her the happiest woman on the face of God's green earth. Don't like it, go anyway! I don't want any more of my good friends to die because of this bloody war."
"But, Marcus, I promised I'd fight…"
"No buts, boy! You're going home, you're taking Chelsea, sweeping her off her feet and making her your wife and spending the rest of your life with her! You're both going to die of old age! You are both going to be happy for once! I want her to be happy. She didn't get a chance at a life last time, she gave it for us. You are going to make that up to her and make sure she gets a long one, with you by her side.
"I can survive without you and Séamus here. I am past my prime anyway, so, I'd much rather see you make Chelsea happy. She would be happy if you were by her side instead of fighting. She would rather have you at home with her then fighting for her honour. She wants you, period…."
"Yer sure?"
"Get out of here before I teleport you there myself." Lt. Faulkner playfully pushed Brennan toward the exit. Then, offering a gentle smile, he added, "don't forget to bring Séamus with you. It'll do him good to be away from this hell."
Holding out his hand, Brennan waited for Lt. Faulkner to take it.
Clutching hands, they gazed into the other's eyes. Brennan then pulled away and smartly saluted his friend. "It's been a pleasure serving you, sir."
"It's nice to have my friends by my side when I'm in battle, but, now something more important awaits you. Go and make her happy, that is your mission soldier."
~~~~
She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing the sweaty bangs and sat back, gazing at the page in her typewriter. It was unusually warm today. The office was really muggy and the air thick. She felt like she was going to gag on it. Sighing, she pulled the page out the typewriter and handed it to her supervisor, and then asked if she could step outside for a minute to get some fresh air.
Once receiving permission, Chelsea reached into the hip pocket of her skirt and pulled out the matchbook and the modest pack of cigarettes. Once outside the typing room, she took one out, stuck it in her mouth and lit up. She inhaled deeply as she walked down the hallway to the exit.
Pushing the door open, she exhaled, holding the cigarette between her fingers, as she watched the traffic pass on Whitehall Street. They had done a wonderful job of cleaning up the debris from when she first arrived, but she still couldn't shake the image from her memory. She knew she would be seeing that for the rest of her life and there was nothing that she could do about it.
Dropping the butt of her cigarette to the ground, she extinguished the smouldering ashes with the toe of her shoe as she pulled out a second one and lit up. She inhaled, and then pulled it out of her mouth as she exhaled, her gaze still rested on the street in front of her.
"Got a spare match?"
"Of course, sir." Chelsea replied, reaching into her pocket to pull out her match book. As she fished it out, she averted her gaze to the man; the voice had sounded familiar. She let out an ecstatic gasp, as she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him closely. "Brennan! Thank god, oh, thank god! You're safe!" Tears of happiness fell down her cheeks in throes.
"Chelsea…" he whispered, holding her close; inhaling her scent. While he would have preferred to have been fighting for her, being with her also had its benefits. He hadn't realised it when he was over on mainland, but he had missed her terribly, as he found out now as he held her in his arms.
Then, wasting no time, he effortlessly swept her into his arms. "We ain't waitin', we're going to find a cathedral and we're weddin' today! Today your life becomes better. Yer my queen and ya deserve nothin' less. Ya ain't gonna to object 'cause I say so."
Gasping out, giggling, Chelsea gripped his shirt as she was swept off the ground so gracefully. "How can I say no now…? I did promise that I would marry you as long as you came back alive."
"Then let's go now!"
"But it's so soon!"
"No it's not." Brennan replied, as he placed Chelsea back on her feet and knelt on one knee before her, taking her hand in his. He cleared throat. "Oh, beautiful maid'n Chelsea Llewellyn, will ya gimme yer hand in holy matrimony?"
"Dilys!"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple case and opened it revealing a gold wedding band with a single diamond embedded in the centre. He had spent all of his life savings on this, but it was worth it. He did have a job, so it wasn't such a BIG deal, but it was still a large dent in his funds.
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. Standing up, he pulled her close, kissing her lightly, as she returned it. Then spontaneously, he grabbed her wrist. "Now let's do it! I ain't waitin' no more. I ain't gettin' no younger."
Giggling, she followed behind him, allowing for him to pull her along. "You certainly don't waste any time in getting what you want, do you?"
"I ne'er do. Now, no more yakkin'. We're getting' married and we start our new life today. Yer life begins today, and I'll protect ya from ev'rything. All ya gotta do is love me and be yer-self."
"I don't want to sound rude, but why are you being so quick in getting this done?"
"Because…" Brennan stopped in his track and took her in close. "Because I love you and I wanna make it official. I ain't fightin' no more, so, now it's time. Besides, Marcus sent me home for this reason, so I'm makin' the most of it. I'm getting' ya by my side for now and ev'r."
"Oh Brennan…" Chelsea whispered, but her words were cut short as he placed his finger on her lips.
"Let's say nothin', Chelsea. Let's just… enjoy each other…" he whispered, as he took her hand in his and led her to the steps of the cathedral….
---> To epilogue