"So, if you're a civilian, what exactly were you doing in the officers' club? It's not like they just let anyone in…"

"Are you implying that I'm 'just anyone'?"

"No! No, not at all! I just meant that…" She broke out in laughter before I could even finish the sentence.

"I'm just messing with you. I'm actually on the PR side of things: film and photography. I film whatever's happening out here and show it to the folks back home. Officers' club privileges sort of come with the job. It's always funny to rub that in Andy's face."

"Andy?"

"My brother, Andy Hopkins. He's stationed here too, but he's a gunner, so not an officer, meaning no access to the club. You know him?"

"Yeah, he's my radio operator."

"The quiet kit becomes the radio operator. Kinda funny, isn't it?"

"So he's like that around you too?"

"He's pretty much always like that. I think it just tires him."

"What does?"

"Talking, pretty much interacting with others in general. He likes having some time alone. Says he needs it to 'recharge' or something like that."

"I…I know what that's like. Don't really care for crowds that much either." Does explain a lot about Andy. Guess we're more similar than I thought. "Hey, Maggie?"

"Yeah?"

"If you don't mind me asking: why here? Of all places, why the base less than ten miles from Bunny Burrow?"

"Why not here?"

"Well, why not the frontlines or something like that? I can't exactly imagine anyone'd be excited to watch planes just taking off and landing again…"

"Well, that's where you're wrong. Formation take offs always seem to get people excited. As for landings, just today I filmed a rather dramatic landing with a plane coming in on three engines!"

"You were filming that?"

"Of course! I had quite a nice view from the balcony of the control tower. I tried rushing over there to film the aftermath, but let's just say you're not the only one who can't run long distance…Why do you ask?"

"Because I'd very much like to know what my landing looked like from outside the cockpit."

Her face shifted into a mix of surprise and admiration.

"That was you!? Wow, so you're a pilot then!"

"Well, yeah, what did you think I was?"

"I…I didn't really give it much thought…But this is perfect! I get to cover the first fox to make it into the Air Force!"

"Am I…Am I really the first one to do that? It doesn't seem like it'd be such a big deal…"

"Well, have you heard of any other foxes in the Air Force?"

"No…"

"Then there you have it!"

"That's…That's pretty cool, actually."

James Barkley, first fox Air Force pilot. Who would have thought?

Maggie and I kept walking in silence for a while. It wasn't an awkward silence, but more of the 'nothing really needed to be said' type. Since we were already near it anyway, I figured I'd show Maggie the plane: she'd now have all the time in the world to document it. We climbed inside and sat just behind the cockpit, our backs on the armored bulkhead that lead to it and our legs resting on the landing gear 'bumps'.

"So, what happened anyway?" She eventually said, before sliding down so that her back rested on the 'bump' instead. "To the plane, I mean."

"Don't really know." I said, sliding down in a similar manner. "Number 3 just sort of died before we were anywhere near the target."

"So I was right, then! I knew it couldn't have been battle damage: No bullet holes or burn marks anywhere near that engine! And seeing as how you arrived after everyone else, I gather you didn't abort the mission, did you?"

"No, we just kept going, dropped the bombs and turned around. Then Hopper got hit and we lost cabin pressure. I managed to lose 11,000 ft of altitude in less than a minute!"

"That's really something else…How fast were you going?"

"Managed to reach 400 before pulling up." I couldn't exactly keep the pride from my voice. She let out a respectful whistle.

"400? Didn't know they could go that fast, even in a dive. Well, at least not without, you know…"

"The controls locking and the plane beginning to shake itself apart?"

"Right, that. So…you flew the plane all the way back?"

"Pretty much. Wasn't too hard to keep her in the air. Only problem was we lost all heating in the front. I had to send everyone else to the back so they didn't get hypothermia or something like that."

"So almost no heating at 10,000 ft? That sounds pretty bad…"

"Eh, I'm used to the cold."

"Tundra Town, right?"

"Yeah. Surprised you remembered."

"What can I say? I'm a good listener."

"Not too bad at punching either."

"Oh, that? Trust me, that was nothing, I could do way worse. Maybe someday I'll show you if we run into an even bigger asshole outside of military property."

"I'd like that."

She sat up rather suddenly with a troubled expression on her face.

"Hey, James?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I just figured you'd like to see the plane..."

"No, I mean why are you here, in Bunny Burrow? Not exactly a normal place to find a fox in."

"It's a long story…For now let's just call it an unforeseen side effect of how I got into the Air Force."

"Oh… How did you get into the Air Force?"

"Can we not talk about that?"

"Sorry... I've been told I ask too many questions."

"No, it's fine, it's just… I don't really want to talk about that right now."

"Okay."

We then went back to silence. I lied there staring at the stars through the small escape hatch on the roof, my mind beginning to wander, and hers…well I'm not too sure about hers. She seemed lost in thought. Eventually those thoughts became words:

"James?"

"Yeah…?"

"Would you like to see that footage I told you about?"

Maggie took me to where she was staying. Her tent was very far from mine, but otherwise identical save for the movie projector pointed towards one of the 'walls'. She apologized for getting me excited about seeing my landing, as she had yet to get today's film developed. She put in another roll instead and countless images began to appear on the tent wall. The subject matter varied from flybys to formation takeoffs to just plain day to day life. Crews chatting during their time off, having lunch together, celebrating a successful mission, pretty much just living.

"Hey, Maggie?"

"Yes?" She asked, her eyes still glued to the images on the screen.

"Why did you film all of this? I mean, I get the landings and the action and everything, but why everything else?"

She seemed to pause for a few seconds.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Not exactly a reply I was expecting.

"I promise."

"It's just…I don't know. My life isn't exactly that exciting and…sometimes I feel like everyone but me's out having great adventures…I guess seeing stuff like this just helps me remember…"

"Remember what?"

She took a deep breath before continuing.

"That life isn't just about the big moments. It's not about the adventures. It's about the little things, about the time we spend just lying around or sharing a meal or just listening to the radio. And it's about who you do those things with."

We sat in silence again, the only noise being that of the projector whirring as the images on the wall moved around and changed. Maggie seemed to blush a little.

"Sorry about that. I guess I went a little overboard, Didn't I? My friends always tell me that I have a tendency to make things too dramatic."

"I think what you said was beautiful."

"Really?" A smile began to form on her face and I could swear there was a twinkle in her eyes.

"Absolutely. And don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Maggie and I talked for a while longer and I didn't notice how late it was until she fell asleep. I stopped the projector for her and started the long walk back to my tent. By the time I got there, I could barely keep my eyes open. The light was off and Bucky was already fast asleep, so I did my best not to wake him up as I climbed onto my bed. It's been a really long day and I couldn't be happier to get some rest.