HANG IN THERE WITH ME, AMAZING PEOPLE... IT'S GETTING INTERESTING!

**WINTERS POV**

What was I thinking, telling her to come here? I had no idea what I wanted to say yet, and I'd left myself little time to come up with something. I had let my heart take over again, something that Nix happily pointed out was a result of my not handling this whole mess a lot sooner. I'd seen her come outside and jump into Bull Randleman's hug after I called off the patrol, and I marched up to her with all the confidence in the world. My confidence fled as soon as I walked away, and now I was up here, pacing my room like a nervous teenager. Why didn't I choose some place more neutral? Maybe I could catch her outside and direct her to my office instead.

The knock on the door signaled that I was too late. I willed my head to take control and steeled myself for what I knew would be a painful conversation for both of us. My orderly, wearing a concerned expression, escorted her into my room and stood awkwardly, waiting for my dismissal. My eyes never left hers as I gave it and he left the room quietly as we stood, staring at each other for what seemed like hours. She broke the silence first.

"Sir? Was there something that you needed to talk to me about?"

I cleared my throat and set my shoulders back, trying to appear much more formal than I actually felt in that moment. My insides always felt like jelly when she held my stare like she was doing now.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Um, would you like to sit down?"

"No, thank you. I'll stand."

"Okay. Well, I just wanted to clear the air between us."

I realized that I was wringing my hands and shoved them into my pockets.

"Clear the air, sir?"

"Yes. I think that I've let things get out of control. That I have led you on in some way. I need to apologize for that."

"Apologize? There is nothing…"

I interrupted her. I couldn't afford to let her speak. I wasn't sure that I would be able to continue this charade of detachment if I did.

"Yes, there is. I allowed myself to become personally involved with you, far more than I ever should have. I led you to believe that something would… that something could… happen between us. That I had feelings for you which I wanted to explore further," I raced on, trying desperately to ignore the defeat in her eyes in spite of the unruffled façade that she was putting on. The words tasted like acid in my mouth. "I just want to be clear so that neither of us in distracted moving forward. Nothing can happen. Nothing will happen. We are fellow paratroopers, and you are under my command. Going forward, all of our interactions must be strictly professional. I will not allow any of this to jeopardize my command or our battalion going forward. The truth is that those moments between us were just that. Moments. Moments of physical attraction which are in the past now, never to be repeated. So, do we have an understanding?"

I was lying through my teeth, but unflinchingly convinced that I was doing the right thing. I did my best to make sure that my tone left no room for discussion, and her eyes said that I had succeeded. She swallowed hard and nodded, adopting the most passive look that she could muster.

"I understand."

"Good. One other thing. This thing that seems to be building between you and Sergeant Randleman?"

"There isn't…"

I held up my hand to stop her.

"Off the record, I support it. He'll take care of you. He's a good man. The two of you are good together. Just… be discreet."

There was a tear at the corner of her eye but, miraculously, it did not fall. Even more miraculous was that I did not reach up to wipe it away. I nodded and offered her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, dismissing her from the room and shutting the door behind her.

I leaned against the wood, laying my head back and releasing a slow breath, praying that, with it, I could finally let go of her. From my place at the door, I could turn my head and see out the window to the street below. She stepped out into my view and crossed the street into Denver Randleman's waiting arms.

**ROSE POV**

I took a moment to gather myself after he shut the door so that I could at least maintain my composure until I got past the other officers who were downstairs in the CP. Altogether, considering that I felt as though my insides had been run through with a bayonet, I pulled off my escape rather well. Nobody looked up except for Nix, who raised an eyebrow at me as I made my hurried exit.

My mind raced. He'd dismissed me so emphatically. So purposefully. Just moments, he had said. Moments in the past. I had known that nothing could happen while we were over here. There had been no need to explain that. This was more. He was pushing me away permanently, as though those moments had meant nothing. Maybe they didn't mean anything. They certainly hadn't meant what I had wanted them to mean.

As I stepped into the glaring sunlight and made my way across the street I felt unbalanced, and the centrifuge in my brain threatened to topple me completely. I wondered if I would be sick. Someone bumped into me and I stumbled, bracing myself for a fall that never came.

Instead, a pair of strong arms caught me and lifted me off the ground. I buried my face against his neck as he carried me off to the side, away from curious ears.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. Just breathe. What the hell happened in there?"

The story, and my long-held tears, gushed out of me in a whispered rush. I had been prepared for Dick Winters to let me down with a gentle, sincere statement about what our current positions meant for any sort of fraternization. I'd even expected it; perhaps something along the lines of what had happened in Paris. I understood the position he was in. I could even understand his pushing me toward Bull, because the same thing had happened during the Bulge. What had robbed me of my breath was the coolness of his delivery and his suggestion that what had been between us was purely a physical attraction.

Bull's grip around me tightened protectively but he let me cry, stroking my hair and back until I had exhausted my tears. I took a deep, shuddering breath and he pressed a kiss into my temple.

"I know you're upset, but he's not that kind of man. I'm sure he didn't mean it quite the way it sounded. He's probably going to be a career military man, and he's focused on making it through this war right now. He's just doing what he thinks he has to do."

Bull's calm, measured tone and carefully chosen words helped make sense of the swirling thoughts in my brain. The ache in my chest lessened a bit when I considered the notion that Winters probably thought that he was doing the kindest possible thing by putting a clear line between us. I leaned back and looked up at Bull with a watery smile.

"You know you're my hero, right?"

"Nah, I'm nothing special. I just can't stand to see you upset."

"Well, you always know what to say. How to calm me down. How to make me feel better. Even if it's just a hug. That makes you pretty damned amazing in my book."

His fingers tipped my chin up so that he could wipe my tears away with his thumb. His serious eyes burned into mine.

"Baby girl, I told you I'd be here waiting, didn't I?"

"You always are."

"Damned right. And I always will be."