Beth walked through camp towards Johnny's hootch. She knocked and exclaimed, "Johnny! Hey Mckay, you around?"
"Ya, Come on in Beth."
Beth pulled open the door and stepped in, "Whatcha doin'? I need to ask you a huge favor?" She batted her eyes at Johnny, who was sitting on his leather chair drinking a beer and smoking a cigar.
"What kinda favor do you need sugar pie?" He set down his beer, got up and went to give her a hug.
"You think we could go to your townhouse tonight? I could get a real bath and we could just hang out. What do you say?"
He laughed, "I say, go pack your bag. You can take a bath and I'll make you a special dinner. How bout spaghetti? I got the ingredients at my townhouse." Beth smiled and hugged him again.
"Give me like 15 minutes." She got up and made her way to the door.
"I'll pick you up. Be ready."
She walked out the door, "Fifteen minutes? Oh my God!" Beth picked up the pace and jogged the rest of the way back to her hootch. She got her bag out from underneath her cot. She looked through her foot locker and picked out her favorite pair of boxers and her biggest shirt she owned and threw it into her bag along with a pair of fatigue pants that had been cut into shorts and a fatigue shirt and her pair of green sandals. She kept looking through her stuff and found a pink spaghetti strap top and a black knee length skirt and a open toed pair of black high heels. Beth laid them out on the top of her stuff in her foot locker for tomorrow. Beth grabbed her bag and set it by the door, then walked back and shut the radio off and walked to the door to wait for Mckay. Just as she opened the door, Johnny pulled up, and Beth smiled, "I'm ready!" She climbed in and they were off.
"Johnny?" Beth asked as she hung on for dear life, she'd forgotten how bag Mckay's driving really was.
"What? Did you forget something?"
She reached across the jeep and hit him in the arm, "No! I have a really really big favor to ask of you." He looked at her. "Well, see tomorrow's me and Percell's 3 month anniversary, and I'd kinda like to throw him a little party, but I don't have any decorations or a present for him. You wanna help me? It won't take that long, and we have a some time before the stores close." Mckay nodded and smiled.
Mckay drove right by his townhouse, "Uh, Mckay?" Beth said. "You just went by your place did you?" Mckay shook his head up and down, but kept driving, until he got to this little store.
"Come on, this guy's got a lotta decorations and stuff. He helped Alex get a painting of the Eiffel tower one time for Goldman." Mckay quit talking and waited while Beth got out of the jeep.
She walked around the jeep to Johnny's side and she put her hand on his back, "After that first mission that I was here for and you got drunk and talked about Alex, I asked Danny and he told me. I'm so so sorry Johnny. I feel worse for you than I do for Goldman, because even if he loved her, he had his time with her, you didn't." She gazed at Johnny and could see him trying not to cry. She opened her arms for him and he stepped closer. "Come here, Johnny. Oh, John. John." She held him tight, stroking his back. He leaned away from her and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Let's go. Let's go have fun." She took his hand and squeezed it. Johnny opened the door for her and they walked in.
"Oh my God." She whispered. "It's an American store. Johnny, they've got American stuff!" She hugged him. She walked through the aisles taking red and blue balloons and streamers and confetti. She squealed as she walked through the rows until she reached the candles, then just looked at Mckay. "Candles? They have candles here and you never told me?" Johnny's eyes got huge and he shrugged, "I didn't know that you liked them." She grabbed two long red candles, then she grabbed some small candles in the shape of a rose that were pink, white, and red. She grabbed some table clothes and then she walked to an aisle and saw sweets and beer and wine. Johnny laughed and she squealed.
After she had grabbed all the stuff she needed, they carried the stuff up to the cash register and laid them down. The man rang up the items and Beth paid.
They carried the bags out to the jeep, set the stuff down, then crawled into the jeep and made their way back to Johnny's townhouse. They unloaded everything and walked into the house. "Johnny you got someone to turn the air conditioning on before we got here!" She dropped everything and went and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you so much!" Johnny laughed and squeezed back.
"I'm going to go start dinner, and why don't you start making the banner for Danny." Mckay said as he made his way to the kitchen, pulling out two beers, one for him, and one for Beth. "Thanks," She said and made her way into the living room with the bags of decorations. She laid all of the stuff out on the floor and then picked up the poster board and proceeding to make bubble letters of "Happy Anniversary!" After she had all the letters written out, she took the paint she had bought, red, with red glitter to match. She painted, then waited for the letters to dry. She looked around Johnny's house, enjoying the feel of an actual house around her. She could smell garlic toast and water boiling.
"Supper!" Johnny yelled from in the kitchen.
"I'm coming. Can I change first? Where's my room?"
Johnny stuck his head around the corner. "Right down that hallway…Your own bathroom and everything…" He smiled as Beth clapped her hands.
Johnny picked up Beth's bag and walked her down to her room. He pulled open the door and motioned for her to walk in. "You had someone put different sheets to? Something that would make me smile so much! Satin sheets? Oh Johnny…I owe you so much!"
He hugged her, "You don't owe me anything. All I need is your friendship, that's enough for me." They both smiled and laughed, then Johnny left, so Beth could get changed, so they would eat. Beth opened her bag and she pulled out her baggie t shirt and her pair of boxers. She took off her clothes and threw them on the floor, smiling at the mess she was making. She pulled on her shirt and slipped into her boxers. She brushed her hair quick and walked back into the living room to find Johnny sitting on the floor behind the coffee table with two plates of spaghetti laid out on the table, and two glasses of wine.
"Oh Johnny, you're so sweet. I'm so hungry!" She sat down on the floor next to Johnny.
They ate their dinner and talked and finished the decorations for the party tomorrow.
Beth woke up and stretched and smiled. "Last night was wonderful." She whispered as she slipped out of bed and grabbed the robber Johnny had borrowed to her. She plodded her way into the kitchen and searched through the cupboards and found stuff for homemade waffles. She found the waffle maker that she had given Johnny. She plugged it into the wall and stirred the batter.
As the waffles were cooking, she made some fresh squeezed orange juice and took out two plates and two glasses. She slid the waffle onto the plate and made three more. She took the plates into the living room and went back to get the glasses.
Johnny still wasn't up, so Beth went into his room and shook him. "Johnny….Hey Johnny…time to wake up…we gotta eat and then get outta here, so we can get set up before the guys come back…"
Johnny rolled over and slowly opened his eyes, "Morning." He stretched and smiled at her.
"Morning yourself. Breakfast's all ready."
"Thanks." He said as he grabbed his fatigue pants.
"It's in the living room."
They ate and then gathered all their stuff and put it back into the jeep. "I have one more stop before we go back to camp."
She looked at him questioningly.
Johnny started the jeep and made his way down a street. He stopped at a store, "Come on. Let's go."
Finally they were back at the base, unloading all their stuff into the hootch. "Beth," Johnny said, "I'm going to go take the jeep back, and I'll come back and help you set up."
She smiled, "Ok, thank you so much for all this help."
Johnny walked out and Beth began to set different decorations on different cots. As she worked she flipped on her radio, but suddenly heard laughter and soft footsteps. She quickly ran to the door and swore silently as she stepped outside, "Hey! Guys you're back!
She ran out to Danny and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek! "Hey! I have a huge favor to ask you guys. I just mopped and polished the floor and I was wondering if you could go eat or take a shower while it dries?"
Danny moaned, "You knew we were coming back today."
"Well ya, but you weren't supposed to be home for like another three hours. I wanted the place to look good for when you came home."
Ruiz chimed in, "Ya, that's cool. Just make sure it's dry by the time we come back, or we're going to have permanent shoe marks on the floor."
Four men slowly trudged away. Mckay walked around the corner, "I heard what you said. Good thinking. We gotta get set up!" They rushed into the hootch, and Johnny hung up the Happy Anniversary letters, while Beth blew up the balloons and taped them all around Danny's bed. She took pushed all the beds to the outside of the room and move all the foot lockers to the front of the hootch, making a small table and a couple seats. All the newbies had gone to eat after Taylor and the guys had gone to shower.
Beth put new batteries into her radio and turned on a country station. Mckay hung streamers from the corners of the room to the opposite corners.
She took the different rose shaped candles and set them in a glass bowl filled with water, lit them, and sprinkled glitter around the room.
They quickly finished decorating. "Johnny, I gotta get changed!"
"Ok, I'll be back in a little bit, I have one more thing to get."
Johny walked out the door.
Beth took off her clothes and slipped into the skirt and pulled the shirt up over her head. Beth sat down onto her bed and strapped her shoes on. She combed out her long hair and parted it off to the side a little, leaving it long and straight. For once she didn't put it into a ponytail or anything, just left it long and beautiful.
She put on a touch of make-up, and placing a necklace around her neck, slipping her favorite rings onto her fingers, and slipped earrings into her lobes. Beth looked around the hootch making sure that everything was perfect.
Beth had talked to some of they guys' buddies, telling them about the anniversary party that she was having for her and Danny, most of them said they'd show if they could. She heard Mckay laughing about something, and she walked to the door. Mckay and about five other guys walked around the corner, carrying food and sodas.
Beth gasped and slowly opened the door. "Johnny, oh my god! You didn't!" Johnny smiled and the guys carried the stuff into the hootch and put the stuff on the make shift tables. She squealed and ran up to Johnny, and threw her arms around him, "Thank you so much!" He laughed and hugged her back.
Johnny cracked open a Sprite for Beth, "Thanks." She opened the door and stepped outside and patiently waited for the guys to show up.
15 minutes later
The guys walked to the door and Danny stopped dead in his tracks, looking Beth up and down. "What are you doing?" Danny could hear music coming from their hootch, and soft laughter came pouring out of the windows.
"Happy Anniversary baby!" She squealed as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Come on, let's go inside!" She ushered the rest of the guys into the hootch.
Taylor looked at her, "Hey, the floor ain't clean!" He laughed as Mckay handed him a Coke. Beth smiled.
"Danny, this is my present to you, happy anniversary, hunnie, you deserve nothing but the best." He looked down at her and pulled her into his arms. "Thank you."
"I love you." She whispered as he held her close. He smiled, "I love you, too. I have something for you."
Danny let go and walked over to his bed and lifted the mattress. He pulled out a small box, and Beth had to sit on the nearest chair she would find. He walked back to her, and slowly opened it for her, as the room fell silent.
Ruiz looked at Taylor and shrugged, having no clue as to what Danny was doing.
Danny opened the box and Beth saw a ring, with a small diamond place exactly in the center. "Danny…"
Hey sat down next to her, "I know, you're not ready for marriage. Remember, we've already talked about that, but this is a promise ring. This shows that when we get back to the world, that if you'll have me, I'm going to put a wedding ring on that finger. What do you say, do you promise to love and to cherish me?"
Tears ran down her face as Beth smiled, "YES!" Danny pulled the ring out of it's case, and slowly slipped it onto her ring finger. Danny pulled her up onto her feet, pulling her into his arms. He dipped his head and twined her mouth with his.
Everyone in the room cheered as their lips parted. "Congratulations!" Taylor and Ruiz said as they came up and patted Danny on the back. Ruiz gave Beth a hug, then Taylor followed. "I'm happy for you. Just promise me that you won't fall off the bed again? You might seriously hurt Percell." They both laughed.
"Thanks a lot for taken me into your group. This group is the best friends that I have ever had. Thanks so much!" She went back over to Danny and he slipped his arm around his waist. "Ok! Everybody this is a party! Let's celebrate!" People began filling their plates with the food that Mckay had brought.
"Danny, go get some food. I gotta talk to Johnny for a minute." She kissed his cheek, then walked over to Mckay. "Hey. Johnny, I really wanna thank you for bringing this stuff for me and Danny and for being there from day one. That first day that I was here I really thought that I wasn't cut out for this, but you didn't even ask who I was or anything, when those guys were buggin' me, you came to my rescue. I'll always be grateful to you, and don't tell the guys, but besides Danny, you're the best friend that I have ever had. Now, gimme a hug!"
Mckay leaned in and gave her a huge hug, and a small kiss on the cheek. "And you're mine. Since Alex died, I've really shied away from women, because I didn't want to get close to them, and then loose her."
"Mckay, no matter where we are after the war is done, I will always be here for you, and if you ever need anything I'll be right by your side."
"Thanks, but you better get back to Danny, looks like he wants to dance." He gave her a slight push.
He saw the look of love in her eyes, "Ya, but Mckay, you better save a dance for me later."
He nodded and she walked to Danny, "Care to dance my handsome man? I think this is where it all started a couple months ago." She batted her eyes at him and took his hand, leading him to the middle of their hootch. He too her into her arms, pulling her as close as he could with others in the room.
"Now would be a great time for that hotel room wouldn't it, sweetheart?" She laughed as the moved to the movement of the music. He ran his hands up and down her hips. "Maybe when I get R & R in a couple weeks, you could take a few days off of your articles and go with me, Ruiz, and Taylor. We all managed to get it together. Doc doesn't get his for a couple months, and he said while we're gone he's gonna go help at the orphanage. What do you say, wanna come with?"
She touched her fingers to the side of his neck, "I will definitely go. I just have to double check with the boss. Now let's just enjoy the evening." They slowly twirled to the music. Just as the song ended Sarge and Lt. walked in.
Beth motioned to Danny as the two leading men stepped inside. "Let's go tell them the news. Huh?" He nodded and walked to the door.
"Hey, Zeke, Goldman! Come on in, have some pop and some food, Mckay had it shipped in! Then look what Danny surprised me with!" She lifted up her finger and wiggled it in front of them. Isn't it beautiful?"
Both men smiled, "Congratulations," They both said simultaneously. Goldman gave her a hug first, then it was Zeke's turn.
"When we get back to the real world, if she still wants me, she's gonna get a huge engagement ring, and then a wedding ring." Danny said.
"And you both are invited. You two have really been there for me since I've been here. Myron even when you yelled at me and Danny for being out by the perimeter, I even thank you for that, because you can never be totally safe here, but I did have fun that morning." Beth poked Danny in the side, and laughed lightly. Come on guys get some food and drinks. This here is a party and I want you two to celebrate! Danny, would you mind? Come on Myron, let's dance!"
She took him by the hand and led him to the dance floor. "Beth, I don't do fast songs…"
She took his hands and raised them into the air, "Oh, come on! Enjoy yourself for once!" Myron frowned. Beth leaned in closely, "Ok, come on." She grabbed his arm and pushed him outside. "What is it?"
"What?"
She rolled her eyes, "Don't "what" mean, what the hell is wrong with you? Spill." She looked him straight into the eye and placed her hand on his arm. "Tell me. Now."
He looked at her and tried to pull away, "Tell Anderson I went back to my hootch."
"No." She walked in front of him, "You're going to tell me, or I'll go get Johnny and he'll get it out of you. That's one thing that he is great at. Now come on and tell me. Come on." She gently shook his arm.
"Oh, fine. Tomorrow's the anniversary of my mother's death. Been 15 years. It's just got me a little down is all, not really in the party mood."
"Oh, Myron. I'm sorry I didn't know. Well, there's two options. Either you can stay here, sit and eat, and be with us, or I can go inside and make a huge plate of food for you, and you can go back to your hootch, turn on Mckay's radio, and just hang out by yourself, if that's what you wanna do." She leaned in and gave him a small hug.
Goldman looked at her, "I didn't want to say anything, because this is a really special night for you and Percell, and I didn't want to spoil it, I'll be fine. But I don't think that I'd be much fun, and I just gotta lot of thinkin' to do. Mind if I just take some food back to my hootch?"
She smiled, "Of course, you take as much as you want. I even think that Taylor's got some cigars in there if you want some." He nodded and held the door for her to go back inside.
Beth grabbed a plate for Goldman, "What stuff do you want?"
"Anything and everything. I can't believe that Mckay actually got this stuff."
As Beth put the different foods on the plate, grabbing a separate plate for the vegetables and fruits. Ruiz, Taylor, Percell, and Doc all stood off to one side, "Danny, man, you are one lucky dude to have found someone like her." Doc said.
Taylor put in, "Ya, Percell, you definitely lucked out this time, but you can't hog her all the time, she's still our friend." They all laughed.
Beth waved and smiled at Danny as she walked Goldman out. "I'll stop by tomorrow and check on you, and if you need anything, send Mckay over here, k?" She reached out and squeezed his shoulder.
"Night."
"So what are you guys talking about?" She questioned as she took Percell's hand. "Hey, sweet pea." She kissed him.
"Hey, now, now, not in front of the Sarge here." Zeke said as he too joined the group.
Beth blushed, "Sorry." Zeke laughed.
The next morning Doc woke up and smiled, as he saw that during the night sometime, Beth had snuck into Percell's bed and they had their arms wrapped around each other. "Danny! Yo, MAN!" Doc whispered sharply. "Percell!"