Our Girl and it's characters belong to the bbc and were written by Tony Grounds.
Week 2- Weapons Training, Introduction to Foot Drill, and Military Swim Test.
Molly stands before the line as 3 section assembles. Private Jackson falls into line last. "Private Jackson, thank you so much for gracing us with your presence this morning. Since you have so much time to waste you will have the honor of cleaning the ablutions (bathrooms) for the rest of the week. I expect it to be so clean that I will see my reflection shining back at me in the floors. Is that clear, Private?" Molly eyes him sternly.
The smug smile slips off Private Jackson's face as he replies. "Yes, Ma'am. It will be an honor, Ma'am."
3 section files into the Armory to sign out their allocated rifles. One by one each recruit steps forward to except their rifle. Some have looks of apprehension on their faces, while others eye the rifle like a shiny new toy at Christmas. Molly leads the recruits to the classroom for 'Skill at Arms' (SAA) lessons.
"This is the SA80 A3, it's the standard issue assault rifle used by the British Army." Molly says as she stands in front of 3 section. "The rounds the SA80 fires is the standard NATO 5.56 x 45 mm round. The rifle has an effective range of 400 meters."
Molly shows the recruits how to disassemble the rifle and explains all the various parts. She then reassembles the rifle and shows them how to insert the clip and the steps to take to properly prepare it for firing. "It's important that you know all the ins and outs of your weapon. This will be your life line out in the field."
The recruits take time learning the different parts of the rifle and practice reassembling it. Private Shepherd and Private Addison excel at weapons training, but Molly is not surprised as they both come from military families and like Kara they were probably trained at an early age on how to handle firearms.
Private Leah Shepherd noticing that Private Abigail Finnigan was struggling with reassembling her rifle crosses the room to help her friend. "Hey Abby. Let me help you out with this. It can be tricky at first."
Leah patiently explains all the different parts of the rifle to her friend and then slowly shows her how to reassemble it. She sits on the floor with her friend as Abby practices with her rifle and goes through each steps until she has them down perfectly. Abby smiles as she finishes reassembling the rifle.
"Thank you Leah. You made this lesson so much easier to learn. I owe you one." Abby reaches over to squeeze Leah's shoulder in thanks.
"Glad I could help. My dad made sure I could do this in my sleep, so this lesson was a breeze for me. I'm glad I could use that experience to help you." Leah smiles as they gather up their gear to head to the next lesson.
Molly and Kara observe their recruits as the drill instructor Corporal Casey begins to teach the recruits some of the foot drills.
"I'm so glad they have another instructor in charge of drill. This was the worst part of phase 1 for me. It's so hard learning to stay in step with each other." Molly tells Kara.
"I know and there's so many different formations. It gets confusing at times." Kara agrees. "So what's going on with you and Matt? You two seem pretty close."
"Well there's always been an attraction between us. But he was the commander of my section during my training here, so he had a duty of care. And even after I moved on to phase 2, since I was just starting out on my journey in the army a relationship at that time would have just been a distraction. Now though, we're finally on equal footing. We decided to give this thing between us a chance to grow." Molly reveals to her mate.
"That's great, Molly. I think you two will be great together. Remember to invite me to the wedding." Kara says with a sparkle in her eyes.
Molly's eyebrows shoot up at the wedding word. "Hey now don't rush into wedding mode. We're going to take time to get to know each other better first."
"I'm not rushing you. I just have a good feeling on where this is leading."
As Molly finishes typing up her report for the day she sees Matthew enter the office out of the corner of her eye. "Hey. So Kara knows about us. Apparently we're pretty obvious with how close we are. She's already planning to attend our wedding."
"Well she's certainly sure of us. I'm glad to know we have so many people supporting us." Matthew says as he joins her on the couch. "Luke wants to be a groomsman. Mostly so he can meet some new single ladies."
"Wow, he and Kara are already way ahead of us. Talking about weddings when we just decided to start dating." Molly sighs as she takes a sip from her lemonade bottle. "You know Katie's single. I'll bet she and Luke would be a good match. And Katie will probably be my maid of honor." She says passing the bottle to Matthew.
"Now who's planning ahead." Matthew says as he takes the bottle and takes a drink. "They're on the right track though. I don't plan on losing you again. I can see a wedding in our future." Matthew gives Molly a warm smile.
His dark eyes lit with a warmth that draws her in. They come together with a crash of lips. Before they can get too caught up in each other a quiet laugh in the doorway causes them to break apart.
"Ok, lovebirds. Try to contain yourselves. This is still our place of work and we all share this office." Luke laughs out as he stands in the doorway with a hand comically holding his hand over his heart.
Molly blushes bright red as Matthew straightens his collar and flips their mate off.
"There's no need for such a rude gesture Matthew. Remind me to work this into my speech at your wedding." Luke teases as he settles at his desk.
A/N: This was a fun chapter. I like having their friends already talking about their wedding. Thank you for reading.