Cadie sleeps soundly through the night, only waking up to the sounds
of a large number of vehicles getting there in the morning. She looks
out of the window, marveling at how many Joes had actually come, in
order to be at her "funeral". She hadn't thought that she was that
popular among them, even.
She is so absorbed in counting that she doesn't sense another person slipping into the room. James sneaks up behind her and slides his arms around her waist, and begins to nuzzle her neck. "I told you that they liked you, Widget. You were, and still are, an integral part of the team. "He sighs, tightening his hold on her. "I can't wait until tomorrow. You'll be mine forever after."
"I can't wait either, James. No one has ever made me feel the way you do. With you, I feel safe enough to actually start to relax. You make me feel like there are some good qualities that people have, and I know for a fact that you got all of the good ones." She turns in his arms and leans up, kissing him passionately.
"Hawk told me earlier this morning that he was extending our leave for two weeks for our honeymoon. I told him that was fine with me. He also told me that he wanted to play that CD that you recorded for me, when we went into town that time. That is, if you would allow it."
"If you think that it would work, you're welcome to use it."
"I remember when I first heard it. You had swung by the recording studio while I was taking care of some other business, namely getting some electronic parts that I needed for a private project of mine, and when we met up again you somehow managed to slip the CD into the bag of things I had bought. I remember taking it out and thinking, I didn't buy this. I decided to put it on and listen to it anyway. The first song I heard was "It Must Have Been Love." The voice I heard was so perfect. So pure, and the natural talent really showed through. I grabbed the jewel case and looked to see who the artist was. Imagine my surprise when I read that it was Cadie Tolliver, none other than you, my beautiful little weaponsmithing Widget! I finally understood why you didn't want me to go with you that day. You wanted to surprise me, right? You did a bang up job of it. Not only was your body beautiful in my eyes, but also you had the beautiful voice to go with it! I didn't realize at the time that I had the volume on max and everyone in the barracks could hear it. Duke and Beach Head were the first to come investigate, and it didn't take the rest of the guys in the barracks too long to come and try to find out whose CD I was listening to. And then I read the inside cover and the dedication, and I couldn't help it; I had to reach for a paper towel. I didn't know that I meant that much to you. And then I heard "Wind Beneath My Wings". None of us could help crying; honey, you had the entire male barracks in tears. Your voice is a very powerful weapon. And then you showed us how versatile you were when you sang "Inside My Mind". I had no idea that you had also written it or played it until Steeler said something after reading the credits."
She turned in his arms to face him. "The girls teased me mercilessly about going and doing it. It wasn't until Courtney turned it into a triple dog dare that I actually did it. She triple dog dared me to record that and somehow manage to sneak it into your quarters. I used my initiative and got you to do some of the work for me; by sneaking it into your bag, I made sure that you'd bring it to your quarters. That way I didn't have to worry about getting caught by any of the guys. I had two copies made, one for you, and one for the female barracks. Allison copied it for each of the girls in our barracks. Everyone said that I had such a pretty voice, but I didn't believe them. And besides, you know now that you mean more to me than just what the dedication referred to. I had to make myself have a beautiful voice, in order to make up for what I didn't have in my physical body."
"Would you do me the honor of autographing my copy?"
"James, you're relentless, you know that? Of course I'll autograph it, if you want."
"Will you allow me to try and get it published? I think the world should hear and know just what kind of people fit the image of my personal G.I.Joe songbird." He pulls her close to him and kisses her.
"I suppose. Let's see what kind of critique I get after everyone hears it."
There came a knock at the door. Steeler calls out, "James, are you in there? Beach Head and I need to talk to you."
Cadence squeals and jackknifes out of his arms and into the adjoining bathroom, closing the door very quietly. James lets Steeler and Beach Head in after he schools his features into a mask of sorrow and pain, and grabs an article of clothing from Cadie's suitcase to clutch to his chest.
"Where is she?" asked Beach Head.
"What do you mean?" James countered.
"I know that it'll take more than a gunshot wound to the chest to kill that little beauty. Besides, we've already talked to Chuckles."
"Oh. In that case, come on out, Cadie."
She strolls out of the bathroom and over to James, sitting on the bed next to him and taking her underwear from him and throwing it back into her suitcase and dropping the top shut. "Next time, don't grab something so intimate. Please. I don't need all of these guys knowing what kind of underwear I use."
"Sorry, Babe," James told her.
"What do you two want? Besides seeing the dead brought back to life, I mean."
"We just had to make sure for ourselves that Chuckles wasn't yanking our chains. I'm glad that you survived, little one. We all are," Steeler told her, hugging her lightly. "Besides, he took us aside and told us that he needed us in on a plan, and then he told us what he had in mind. By the way, Cadie, you look lousy as a blond. You can tell it's bleached. Are you sure you'll be okay, little one? I mean, she is your cousin and supposed best friend."
"I'll survive. I just went ahead and found myself a new best friend," she says, shooting a wicked glance at James over the others' heads. He looks down at the floor in embarrassment, feeling himself getting hard. "Jeez," he thought, "If she can do that with just a look, I wonder what she can do with a touch or a word. These next days are going to be hell. I may never walk without pain again, I'm so hard."
James slides his arm around Cadie's shoulders and hugs her. She stretches, yawns and flinches as her wound makes its presence known again. Beach Head holds out his hand, holding a couple of pills. "Lifeline told me to bring these up to you. He said you'd need them."
She takes them and reaches for the glass of water that Steeler had gotten from the bathroom. "Thanks, That's exactly what I needed. They'll put me to sleep, so I have to ask you guys to leave and keep this to yourselves. Don't let on to anybody that I'm still alive, and do not, under any circumstances, let on to Taffy that you know of an additional plot that she doesn't know about."
"No problem, Cadie," Steeler and Beach Head reply in unison. James and Cadie begin to laugh, and the other two leave the room.
Cadie twines her arms around James's neck and kisses him. "You really want to be mischievous? I have some things I need some help with."
"Sure, I'll help you."
"Good, go run me a hot bath. And I do mean hot."
While he does that, she reaches into her suitcase and presses a certain spot on the lining. A part of the bottom comes up and reveals a secret compartment. Cadie reaches in and pulls out a small box. She walks into the bathroom where James is standing, watching her with a strange look on his face.
"I never go anywhere without my little bag of tricks," she explains. He smiles; this was the Spitfyre that he knew, always thinking and always up to something.
Quickly, she unbraids her hair and blends the coloring mixture, getting him to help her apply it. He looks at his watch and calculates the time that it would take for her hair to get done. While they are waiting for her hair to get done, Cadie soaks her tired muscles in the hot bath that James had run for her. When it gets finished, he helps her rinse her hair and helps her dry off, putting a clean pair of pajamas on her and carrying her out into the bedroom and tucking her in the bed, lying next to her on top of the blankets.
"James, can I ask you sort of a personal question?" Cadie asks shyly.
"Honey, you can ask me a most personal question if you want. We're going to be married tomorrow, and I want no secrets between us. I won't press you about it, though. You can have all the time in the world to tell me yours," he answers her.
"Why did you decide to become an electronics engineer?"
"Like you, I tend to be a little shy, and when I was a kid, I discovered that I was pretty handy with electronics. I could take anything apart and put it back together. I always loved working with things, and I knew that I wanted to find a career where I could use my talents. When I was in high school, I decided to go to the University of Wisconsin, and major in electronics engineering. I never looked back after that."
"But why the military after that? You could have had a more lucrative career doing electronics. But then again, it's always seemed to me that you were made to be a soldier. A really hot soldier at that."
"I knew that somebody had to defend the country, and I was one of them who were strong and brave enough to do it, so I might as well do it. One thing's for sure, once I was in, I knew that this was the job for me, and that being an electronics engineer was going to be a secondary occupation. And what about you? Why did you join the military?"
"For me it was more a case of survival; of guaranteed food and shelter. I wouldn't have to fight for a safe place to sleep or eat from a garbage can again. And then after I'd been in a little while, I found I enjoyed it. I was able to discover and develop my latent talents of weapon-smithing and whatnot, and use them."
"Will you tell me about your scar? I know you think that it's an imperfection and you're embarrassed about it, but that's not how I see it."
"What do you see it as?"
"I see it as a symbol of how strong you are, Widget. It gives your face character. It doesn't detract the beauty, rather it adds to it. Not very many people I know would be willing to go out and enjoy life if they had a scar like that. You seem so much at home with us horny heavy artillery wildasses and grease monkeys and you handle everything so easily. Sometimes we have a little contest to see who can get under your skin the fastest, but so far none of us has been able to do it."
"Thank you," she whispers, turning her head to stare at the wall, not daring to look at him as she tells him one of her deepest hidden secrets.
When she begins to speak, her voice has the inflections and tone of a child in pain. "It was my tenth birthday. We were having a party, with a few of the people that I considered friends coming over. Taffy was there." She spat the name of her roommate and cousin, as if the name was distasteful to her. James lays his hand gently on her shoulder in solidarity.
"We were just about to cut the cake when my mother picked up the knife and came over to me. She slashed my face and continued down my neck to my chest, just above my heart, and stabbed me. We all thought for sure that she had hit my heart and that I was dead, but guess what, she missed. She then raised her voice and screamed at me that she didn't know why I was celebrating; I shouldn't have existed in the first place. That I was nothing more than a mistake on more than one person's part. Everybody started laughing at me. I felt so humiliated that I couldn't see straight. I just got up and ran. I grabbed a towel next to the pool, wet it and put it on the wound, and then ran for the woods. Mama told me to never come back, that I wasn't a member of their family, and that I would no longer be allowed to live there. She said that she didn't want anything so hideous living anywhere near where she was at any time. I cried for what seemed like weeks. I never had a chance to get the cut or stab wound stitched, but luck was with me and they healed on their own, without getting any infections. When the towel would get soaked with blood, I'd wash it off in the creek and reapply it. I don't see how I missed getting any diseases or attracting animals. And yes, you guys did manage to get under my skin. I just never showed it to y'all, but when I got back to my quarters, you would have been ashamed of yourselves. I cried myself to sleep so many times over those things you guys said."
"Oh God," James moans, pulling her into a huge hug. "How could anyone be that cruel? No wonder you don't believe in love or trust."
"How can you trust when you're betrayed by the one person that you've always been taught that you had to trust, no matter what? How can you believe in love when the one person that is supposed to love you doesn't?"
"I don't know, Babe. I really don't." He pulls her to him and cuddles her close.
The couple spends most of the day doing just that- cuddling. Neither one of them bothers with lunch, but James's mom brings them up some dinner.
Cadence falls asleep, warm and snug in James's loving embrace. He stays awake a little longer, marveling at the breathtaking beauty he is holding in his arms, but he soon succumbs to sleep as well.
She is so absorbed in counting that she doesn't sense another person slipping into the room. James sneaks up behind her and slides his arms around her waist, and begins to nuzzle her neck. "I told you that they liked you, Widget. You were, and still are, an integral part of the team. "He sighs, tightening his hold on her. "I can't wait until tomorrow. You'll be mine forever after."
"I can't wait either, James. No one has ever made me feel the way you do. With you, I feel safe enough to actually start to relax. You make me feel like there are some good qualities that people have, and I know for a fact that you got all of the good ones." She turns in his arms and leans up, kissing him passionately.
"Hawk told me earlier this morning that he was extending our leave for two weeks for our honeymoon. I told him that was fine with me. He also told me that he wanted to play that CD that you recorded for me, when we went into town that time. That is, if you would allow it."
"If you think that it would work, you're welcome to use it."
"I remember when I first heard it. You had swung by the recording studio while I was taking care of some other business, namely getting some electronic parts that I needed for a private project of mine, and when we met up again you somehow managed to slip the CD into the bag of things I had bought. I remember taking it out and thinking, I didn't buy this. I decided to put it on and listen to it anyway. The first song I heard was "It Must Have Been Love." The voice I heard was so perfect. So pure, and the natural talent really showed through. I grabbed the jewel case and looked to see who the artist was. Imagine my surprise when I read that it was Cadie Tolliver, none other than you, my beautiful little weaponsmithing Widget! I finally understood why you didn't want me to go with you that day. You wanted to surprise me, right? You did a bang up job of it. Not only was your body beautiful in my eyes, but also you had the beautiful voice to go with it! I didn't realize at the time that I had the volume on max and everyone in the barracks could hear it. Duke and Beach Head were the first to come investigate, and it didn't take the rest of the guys in the barracks too long to come and try to find out whose CD I was listening to. And then I read the inside cover and the dedication, and I couldn't help it; I had to reach for a paper towel. I didn't know that I meant that much to you. And then I heard "Wind Beneath My Wings". None of us could help crying; honey, you had the entire male barracks in tears. Your voice is a very powerful weapon. And then you showed us how versatile you were when you sang "Inside My Mind". I had no idea that you had also written it or played it until Steeler said something after reading the credits."
She turned in his arms to face him. "The girls teased me mercilessly about going and doing it. It wasn't until Courtney turned it into a triple dog dare that I actually did it. She triple dog dared me to record that and somehow manage to sneak it into your quarters. I used my initiative and got you to do some of the work for me; by sneaking it into your bag, I made sure that you'd bring it to your quarters. That way I didn't have to worry about getting caught by any of the guys. I had two copies made, one for you, and one for the female barracks. Allison copied it for each of the girls in our barracks. Everyone said that I had such a pretty voice, but I didn't believe them. And besides, you know now that you mean more to me than just what the dedication referred to. I had to make myself have a beautiful voice, in order to make up for what I didn't have in my physical body."
"Would you do me the honor of autographing my copy?"
"James, you're relentless, you know that? Of course I'll autograph it, if you want."
"Will you allow me to try and get it published? I think the world should hear and know just what kind of people fit the image of my personal G.I.Joe songbird." He pulls her close to him and kisses her.
"I suppose. Let's see what kind of critique I get after everyone hears it."
There came a knock at the door. Steeler calls out, "James, are you in there? Beach Head and I need to talk to you."
Cadence squeals and jackknifes out of his arms and into the adjoining bathroom, closing the door very quietly. James lets Steeler and Beach Head in after he schools his features into a mask of sorrow and pain, and grabs an article of clothing from Cadie's suitcase to clutch to his chest.
"Where is she?" asked Beach Head.
"What do you mean?" James countered.
"I know that it'll take more than a gunshot wound to the chest to kill that little beauty. Besides, we've already talked to Chuckles."
"Oh. In that case, come on out, Cadie."
She strolls out of the bathroom and over to James, sitting on the bed next to him and taking her underwear from him and throwing it back into her suitcase and dropping the top shut. "Next time, don't grab something so intimate. Please. I don't need all of these guys knowing what kind of underwear I use."
"Sorry, Babe," James told her.
"What do you two want? Besides seeing the dead brought back to life, I mean."
"We just had to make sure for ourselves that Chuckles wasn't yanking our chains. I'm glad that you survived, little one. We all are," Steeler told her, hugging her lightly. "Besides, he took us aside and told us that he needed us in on a plan, and then he told us what he had in mind. By the way, Cadie, you look lousy as a blond. You can tell it's bleached. Are you sure you'll be okay, little one? I mean, she is your cousin and supposed best friend."
"I'll survive. I just went ahead and found myself a new best friend," she says, shooting a wicked glance at James over the others' heads. He looks down at the floor in embarrassment, feeling himself getting hard. "Jeez," he thought, "If she can do that with just a look, I wonder what she can do with a touch or a word. These next days are going to be hell. I may never walk without pain again, I'm so hard."
James slides his arm around Cadie's shoulders and hugs her. She stretches, yawns and flinches as her wound makes its presence known again. Beach Head holds out his hand, holding a couple of pills. "Lifeline told me to bring these up to you. He said you'd need them."
She takes them and reaches for the glass of water that Steeler had gotten from the bathroom. "Thanks, That's exactly what I needed. They'll put me to sleep, so I have to ask you guys to leave and keep this to yourselves. Don't let on to anybody that I'm still alive, and do not, under any circumstances, let on to Taffy that you know of an additional plot that she doesn't know about."
"No problem, Cadie," Steeler and Beach Head reply in unison. James and Cadie begin to laugh, and the other two leave the room.
Cadie twines her arms around James's neck and kisses him. "You really want to be mischievous? I have some things I need some help with."
"Sure, I'll help you."
"Good, go run me a hot bath. And I do mean hot."
While he does that, she reaches into her suitcase and presses a certain spot on the lining. A part of the bottom comes up and reveals a secret compartment. Cadie reaches in and pulls out a small box. She walks into the bathroom where James is standing, watching her with a strange look on his face.
"I never go anywhere without my little bag of tricks," she explains. He smiles; this was the Spitfyre that he knew, always thinking and always up to something.
Quickly, she unbraids her hair and blends the coloring mixture, getting him to help her apply it. He looks at his watch and calculates the time that it would take for her hair to get done. While they are waiting for her hair to get done, Cadie soaks her tired muscles in the hot bath that James had run for her. When it gets finished, he helps her rinse her hair and helps her dry off, putting a clean pair of pajamas on her and carrying her out into the bedroom and tucking her in the bed, lying next to her on top of the blankets.
"James, can I ask you sort of a personal question?" Cadie asks shyly.
"Honey, you can ask me a most personal question if you want. We're going to be married tomorrow, and I want no secrets between us. I won't press you about it, though. You can have all the time in the world to tell me yours," he answers her.
"Why did you decide to become an electronics engineer?"
"Like you, I tend to be a little shy, and when I was a kid, I discovered that I was pretty handy with electronics. I could take anything apart and put it back together. I always loved working with things, and I knew that I wanted to find a career where I could use my talents. When I was in high school, I decided to go to the University of Wisconsin, and major in electronics engineering. I never looked back after that."
"But why the military after that? You could have had a more lucrative career doing electronics. But then again, it's always seemed to me that you were made to be a soldier. A really hot soldier at that."
"I knew that somebody had to defend the country, and I was one of them who were strong and brave enough to do it, so I might as well do it. One thing's for sure, once I was in, I knew that this was the job for me, and that being an electronics engineer was going to be a secondary occupation. And what about you? Why did you join the military?"
"For me it was more a case of survival; of guaranteed food and shelter. I wouldn't have to fight for a safe place to sleep or eat from a garbage can again. And then after I'd been in a little while, I found I enjoyed it. I was able to discover and develop my latent talents of weapon-smithing and whatnot, and use them."
"Will you tell me about your scar? I know you think that it's an imperfection and you're embarrassed about it, but that's not how I see it."
"What do you see it as?"
"I see it as a symbol of how strong you are, Widget. It gives your face character. It doesn't detract the beauty, rather it adds to it. Not very many people I know would be willing to go out and enjoy life if they had a scar like that. You seem so much at home with us horny heavy artillery wildasses and grease monkeys and you handle everything so easily. Sometimes we have a little contest to see who can get under your skin the fastest, but so far none of us has been able to do it."
"Thank you," she whispers, turning her head to stare at the wall, not daring to look at him as she tells him one of her deepest hidden secrets.
When she begins to speak, her voice has the inflections and tone of a child in pain. "It was my tenth birthday. We were having a party, with a few of the people that I considered friends coming over. Taffy was there." She spat the name of her roommate and cousin, as if the name was distasteful to her. James lays his hand gently on her shoulder in solidarity.
"We were just about to cut the cake when my mother picked up the knife and came over to me. She slashed my face and continued down my neck to my chest, just above my heart, and stabbed me. We all thought for sure that she had hit my heart and that I was dead, but guess what, she missed. She then raised her voice and screamed at me that she didn't know why I was celebrating; I shouldn't have existed in the first place. That I was nothing more than a mistake on more than one person's part. Everybody started laughing at me. I felt so humiliated that I couldn't see straight. I just got up and ran. I grabbed a towel next to the pool, wet it and put it on the wound, and then ran for the woods. Mama told me to never come back, that I wasn't a member of their family, and that I would no longer be allowed to live there. She said that she didn't want anything so hideous living anywhere near where she was at any time. I cried for what seemed like weeks. I never had a chance to get the cut or stab wound stitched, but luck was with me and they healed on their own, without getting any infections. When the towel would get soaked with blood, I'd wash it off in the creek and reapply it. I don't see how I missed getting any diseases or attracting animals. And yes, you guys did manage to get under my skin. I just never showed it to y'all, but when I got back to my quarters, you would have been ashamed of yourselves. I cried myself to sleep so many times over those things you guys said."
"Oh God," James moans, pulling her into a huge hug. "How could anyone be that cruel? No wonder you don't believe in love or trust."
"How can you trust when you're betrayed by the one person that you've always been taught that you had to trust, no matter what? How can you believe in love when the one person that is supposed to love you doesn't?"
"I don't know, Babe. I really don't." He pulls her to him and cuddles her close.
The couple spends most of the day doing just that- cuddling. Neither one of them bothers with lunch, but James's mom brings them up some dinner.
Cadence falls asleep, warm and snug in James's loving embrace. He stays awake a little longer, marveling at the breathtaking beauty he is holding in his arms, but he soon succumbs to sleep as well.