Eh, just a little story I came up with this morning.

Music wafted through the room, accompanied by the sound of clinking glasses. Gaudy green and red garlands hung from the walls and in the corner sat a small Christmas tree, decorated with cheap ornaments and lights. Smoke hung in the air in great clouds as the party –goers mingled and laughed.

Carter, looking smart in his best suit, hung back in the corner, feeling uncomfortable. Having only been hired a week ago, he felt like an unwanted intruder at the Christmas party. Honestly, he didn't know why he had even bothered showing up.

Well, he did know- the school's secretary was very pretty.

And, besides, the principal had invited him. It would have been rude to turn down the invitation.

"You're the new chemistry teacher, right?"

Another man had approached him with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand. Carter cleared his throat and smoothed down his tie before shaking his hand. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm Carter."

"Good to know ya. Joe Curtis, mathematics. You can call me Joe. You're replacing Old Man Bishop, huh? He was a good guy. Heck he taught chemistry when I went to school here. He must have been crazy to think he could last another school year, but," Joe shrugged, "he loved it, so I don't blame him for trying. But, hey, you'll be a great fit I'm sure." He slapped Carter's back, causing him to spill a bit of his drink. "Oh, shoot, sorry 'bout that."

"S'okay," Carter replied with a lopsided grin. He couldn't help but be a little amused. This guy sure was a chatterbox. He wondered if he had left the same kind of impression on people once upon a time. He wouldn't now, of course; he wasn't quite as open as he used to be. It was easier that way- he had too many secrets and too many terrors still loomed large in his memory.

"Hey, have you met anyone else?" Joe asked. Carter shook his head. "No problem. I saw you looking at Miss Morgan over there, let me introduce you."

"Oh, I, uh-"

"It's no worries at all. We'll say hello and then I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang. Come on." Joe beckoned him to follow. Carter hesitated, but then set down his drink and fell in step behind him as they made their way to a small group of women.

"Hiya girls! Merry Christmas!" Joe greeted brightly.

"Hello Joe," one woman said with an eye roll that was nevertheless accompanied by an affectionate smile. "Merry Christmas."

"Say girls, have you met the new chemistry teacher? This is Carter. I gotta assume his first name is Mister since he didn't actually give it to me."

Carter felt his cheeks turn red. "Andrew."

"Right, Andrew," Joe grinned. "Uh, this is Jill Cunningham, one of our English teachers, and for French we have Joanne Smith here, and this old goat is Mable Perkins; she teaches home economics." That earned him a little smack on the shoulder. "Hey now, hey now, you know 'old goat' is a term of endearment. And this lovely young lady here," he said, grandly extending his hand towards the school secretary, "is Lucy Morgan. Luce, this is Andrew."

Now Carter's face was really burning. He caught a sly look pass between Mable and Joe and couldn't help but think that this whole meeting was a calculated maneuver.

"Pleased to meet you," Carter said shyly, taking her hand.

"Oh, we've met. When you first arrived, remember?" Lucy said. "I gave you all your paperwork."

"Right. I, uh, meant everyone else. I'm not pleased to meet you. I mean, I was… when we did."

Carter realized he had been holding her hand a little too long without doing anything so he quickly shook it and then dropped it. His awkwardness hung in the air, causing even Joe's smile to falter.

"Well then, um… Say, Mable have you seen Tony anywhere?" Joe asked.

Mable jerked her head towards another group across the room. "Over there, regaling everyone with his war stories," she said.

"Oh hey, he's got a million, let me tell you!" Joe said. "You gotta meet him, Andy. Can I call you Andy? Or should I go back to calling you Mister?"

Carter really just wanted to crawl into a hole. He was sure he would grow to like Joe, but right now he wished he could strap him to a bundle of dynamite. Would it be too suspicious if there was a chemical lab explosion in the math room?

"Andy's fine."

"Sure it is. Why don't you join us, ladies? Don't want to miss out on Tony's stories, do we?" Joe took Lucy's hand and then clamped it with his elbow, while Mable did the same with Carter, denying him the chance to break away and run for it.

"So's there I was, in the fiercest dogfight of my life!" he heard someone, he assumed Tony, say as they approached. Joe gently moved people aside so that their group could join. "Them Japs kept coming- there must've been a million of them. And they weren't afraid to go kamikaze either. Those Navy boys were doing a good job picking them off, but there were too many. So I get right up there in the sun so's they can't see me and I swoop down and- ehhehhehhehhe!" Tony held his arms out like he was gripping the controls of a plane. "I got two in one go. Then another was right on my tail so I dove down, right towards the water. I must've been going five hundred miles an hour and then at the last minute, swoosh! I pull out of the dive. I swear, the bottom of my wings skimmed the waves. And that Jap went right in- splash! Fish food!"

"Were you scared, Tony?" a woman twittered, practically swooning.

"Nah," Tony scoffed, waving his hand. "I knew they were no match for me. I must've shot down a hundred of them bastards during the war. Did I tell you about the time I joined the Marines on Wake?"

"Heya," Joe quickly interrupted, "before you do, Tony, I'd like to introduce you to our new chemistry teacher. This is Andy."

Tony jumped off the chair he had been standing on and strode up to him. Tony sized him up. "Another egghead, huh? Well, pleased to meet you. I'm Tony Davis, physical education." With a self-satisfied grin he took Carter's hand and squeezed it just a little harder than necessary. Carter didn't flinch but instead met him with a cool, steady gaze. He had Tony pegged already- a bully and a braggart.

Tony's grin wavered. "So, tell me, Andy, where did you serve?"

"Europe. I was in the Air Force."

"Oh yeah?" Tony said, lighting up as if he had gained the upper hand. "Boy, you guys had it easy over there. At least you could fraternize with those pretty English dames. So, what? You must've been an officer, right? They usually made eggheads officers. Pilot?"

"Lieutenant, bomber crew," Carter said evenly.

"Oh, a bomber crew? Should have guessed."

If Tony was trying to rile him up or intimidate him, it wasn't working as Carter ignored the somewhat insulting tone.

Tony furrowed his brow, apparently not getting the reaction he wanted and now unwilling to drop his interrogation. "How many missions did you go on?"

At that, Carter felt his calm starting to crack. He knew where this was going and he didn't appreciate the idea of someone belittling and dismissing his service. Not so much because it undermined his own self-confidence, but because it was an affront to the other brave men who had either died or had been captured soon after entering the war. "Not many," he said tersely. "We were shot down in '42."

Again, Tony lit up. "Oh, that was quick. So you got to sit out the war in a POW camp then. Did you ever try to escape?"

"A few times, but no luck," Carter said, trying very hard now to keep his temper and pride in check. If only this goon knew half the things he had done during the war, he wouldn't be quite so smug.

But, of course, the true nature of Stalag 13 was top secret. Even if Carter wanted to tell him, he couldn't. And, frankly, he didn't need to. He knew what he had done, he knew all the missions he had completed and the lives he had saved. And that was what was important. So, he firmly quelled his temper. This peacock could grandstand all he wanted.

"Too bad. You really ought to meet Del. He was a POW too, but he escaped. I guess it takes a real hero to do that. Hey, Del, come over here!" Tony motioned for someone to join them. "Andy here was a POW. Why don't you tell him how you escaped?"

A portly older man came and joined them. Carter could instantly tell why Tony wasn't afraid to sing his praises- the dumpy school teacher posed no threat to his status. But something about him caught Carter's attention and he looked at him curiously, tilting his head to the side. Somehow he looked awfully familiar.

"I was just lucky, honestly. Tenth time was the charm," Del said with a nervous chuckle. He looked over at Carter and after a moment, his eyes went wide. "I- hey. Hey, wait. Wait, you're one of the guys from Stalag 13! Sergeant Carter, right?"

Carter flinched. Now he knew why he looked familiar.

Sergeant Del Russell already had nine escape attempts under his belt when he broke out of Stalag 11. The Gestapo had recaptured him near Hammelburg and were intending to execute him when Newkirk and Carter, posing as SS officers, had rescued him. He had spent nearly a month in the tunnels of Stalag 13 waiting for the heat to die down. The man had nearly eaten them out of house and home before they finally sent him off to London.

"Well how the hell are you?!" Del cried enthusiastically. "I tell you, you boys saved my life! If it hadn't been for you-"

"Oh yeah, I remember," Carter said, hastily interrupting him. "You passed through right after you were shot down. Yeah, yeah, you were in real rough shape, friend. I'm glad we could get you sorted, but I don't think you can really say we saved your life," Carter said with an awkward laugh.

"Aw no, probably not," Tony said, slapping Del on the back. "You would have been all right without the Sergeant's help, right Del?"

"Sure he would have," Carter agreed quickly. "Say, Tony, you were telling us about Wake Island?" Carter desperately wanted to change the subject and switch focus away from him. Tony was all too happy to oblige, seemingly satisfied that he had come out on top of the conversation as he launched into another tale. Carter waited a moment and then grabbed Del, forcefully pulling him away. He practically threw him into the corner and put his arm against the wall to box him in.

"Sergeant Russell?"

Del nodded dumbly, a little stunned at the rough treatment.

"Sorry. Look, you haven't told anyone how you actually got back to London, have you?"

Del shook his head. "No, sir. I… I made up a story about seducing a pretty fräulein who helped me to the coast."

Carter sighed in relief and dropped his head as he relaxed. "Good." He met Del's eyes again. "You know Papa Bear, Stalag 13, the whole thing is classified, top secret, right?"

"Yes. They made that very clear when I got back to London."

"Good. So we can't talk about it. Ever. You think you can handle that?" It had to be that way. As much as Carter would love to have someone to talk to who at least knew about the existence of Papa Bear's organization, there was too much risk involved. Maybe if this was a one-time encounter they could grab a beer and chat, but he had to work with this man now on a constant basis. And once that box was open, there was a chance they would let something slip in casual conversation. It was best to just ignore their connection.

"Sure. Sure, I can. But why don't you let me buy you a drink sometime? Seriously, I owe you guys."

"Why don't we give it a while? But yeah, we'll do that sometime."

"Okay then. Should we go back to the party or..."

"You go," Carter said. "I think I'm going to head out."

"Suit yourself," Del said before leaving.

Carter let out a breath. He knew this party had been a mistake. Quickly he went to go grab his coat.

"I wouldn't worry about Tony."

Carter whirled around, one arm halfway into his sleeve to see Lucy standing there.

"What?"

"It's just the way Tony tells it, he was shooting down kamikazes one minute and then dropping bombs on Hitler the next. He practically won the war single-handedly," she explained with a wry smile.

"Oh, yeah. No. Guys like that they just… they need to be tough," Carter finally said with a shrug.

Lucy hummed in agreement. "Are you leaving?"

"I- um, yes. I think I've had enough for one night."

"All right. I guess I'll see you after the Christmas break then."

"Yep." Carter finally slipped his arm all the way into his sleeve and settled into his coat. The he grabbed his hat and tipped it to her politely. "I'll see you, Miss Morgan." She nodded and turned to rejoin the party.

Carter hesitated, watching her go. Then he caught sight of Del and it hit him.

He had impersonated an SS officer, gone into the belly of the beast, stared down danger and come out on top.

Surely he could ask out a girl.

"Miss Morgan?"

She stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

"There's a little coffee shop down the street I was thinking of going to. Would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to," she said with a bright smile. "That's my coat there."

He grabbed it and helped her into it. Then he looped his arm around hers and together they strolled out into the snowy night.

I'm leaning into this whole Lieutenant Carter and Sergeant Carter are the same person thing.