Our Girl and it's characters belong to the bbc and were written by Tony Grounds.
End of Week 1- Post the first night exercise
Molly sighs in relief as she enters the instructor's offices after a very long and tiring week. She dreads having to write up the end of exercise reports when all she wants to do is fall into her bed and sleep away the memory of this awful experience.
"Oh come on, Dawes, it wasn't that bad." Matthew says as he enters the room five minutes after her. He takes in her tired eyes and slumped shoulders as she sits behind her desk and begins to type up her report.
"I'm sorry for all grief I gave you when I was a recruit. I mean if I was half as bad as these recruits, then I really owe you a big apology." Molly grits out as her fingers slam harshly into the computer keys. "I don't even know how I'm going to explain this situation."
Matthew walks over to her, taking her hands in his and away from the keys she was taking out her frustration on. "Ok, Molly, take a breath and try to calm down." Molly obeys taking a deep breath to help steady her nerves. "Everyone is fine. It was a dumb idea, that had unforeseen consequences, but no one was hurt by it. It's done and the recruits paid the price for their childish behavior." Matthew reminds her as he pulls her out of the desk chair and over to the couch in the back of the room, so they can talk things out more comfortably.
"I know everything is fine now. I'm just embarrassed that my recruit turned the first night exercise into such a disaster."
"Nobody blames you, Dawes. There's always a recruit who pushes the boundaries and causes some trouble. This time it just happened to be one of yours. Next time it could be one of Luke or Kara's recruits." Matthew says in reassuring voice.
"The day started out so promising you know." Molly sighs remembering how nice things were going to begin with. "The recruits were able to set up their shelter for the night and even got their fires going after a few false starts. I mean there were some complaints about having to eat MREs, but that's to be expected. Those things are disgusting." She wrinkles her nose as she remembers her dinner of beef stew MRE.
"My chicken and rice MRE wasn't too bad. It just depends on which kind you get." Matthew grins at the glare she gives him.
"Geddings, you'll eat anything. Excuse me if I don't take your word on that." Molly gives a smile small as she teases his eating habits.
"Anyway stop distracting me. I have to talk this through, so I know how to write it up. Like I was saying everything was going according to plan, the recruits were following instructions and were really starting to bond with each other as they learned the new skills. Once dusk fell everyone got settled into their sleeping bags for the night and all was quiet for a few hours. But Private Jackson decided he needed a midnight snack and he just happened to have some contraband marshmallows hidden in his kit. He and Private Gordon were roasting the marshmallows over the fire and an ember drifted onto an open kit lying nearby and caught fire. The fire grew before either of them noticed and by the time they started to put it out the smell of smoke had woken the whole camp."
"Yeah that about covers it. By the time I got to where your section was camped the smoke was so thick it was difficult to see who was who. Thankfully the stream was nearby and the fire was quickly put out." Matthew finished the tale. "This is just the first week. The recruits are still kids they have a bit more growing up to do. There will be plenty more screw ups in the coming weeks. Don't let this incident wear you down."
Molly goes back to the desk and quickly types up the report while the details are still fresh in her mind, while Matthew goes to his own desk to look over some forms that the Captain wanted him to review.
Once their work is complete for the day they decide to go to the pub in town to get a decent bite to eat. The pub is packed as it's a Saturday night. Matthew takes Molly's hand to lead her through the crowd to a table in the back. With his back turned he doesn't notice the bright smile and slight blush that blooms over Molly's face at the gesture.
When the waitress finally makes her way to them they both of them order the fish and chips with lemonade. The meal is as delicious as Matthew said it would be and it helps to lift Molly's spirits. They play a round of darts. The game is neck and neck for a while since they are both skilled players, but Matthew takes the win that round.
"You don't think this incident will reflect poorly on me as their instructor? Molly asks staring at the floor. "I should have searched their kits before we left." Matthew tenderly reaches over and lifts her chin up so she will meet his eyes.
"Molly, you are way too hard on yourself. There's no way you could have anticipated what happened. You've succeeded in everything you've set your mind to so far. I know you'll prove yourself to be a top notch instructor as well. I have all the faith in the world in you." He assures her in quiet voice as he holds her gaze. He takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze in comfort.
Without either of them realizing it they have drifted towards each other. Neither one will ever be able to tell who leaned in first, but in the next moment they have come together with a soft brush of lips that sends sparks of heat through their veins. The kiss lasts only a few seconds before they part. Their eyes lock onto each other with twin looks of wonder. Both acknowledging this is the start of good.
"Thank you, Matt. For being there for me. I don't know how I would have handled today without you. You've been my rock." Molly whispers as she brushes her thumb in soothing circles over his hand that is still intertwined with hers.
Matthew smiles warmly back at her. "You've got me, Molly. No matter what." He vows as he brings her hand to his kissing it gently.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Do you think the Matthew/Molly kiss happened too soon? I'm not sure if this is feels rushed or if it works for them. Let me know your thoughts.