The next morning, when she knocked on his door he was already up and dressed, standing by the window, watching the slowly waking streets of St. Claire. She stepped closer and smiled. "You like France, Captain?"

He turned around and showed her his calm smile, the one she had seen all night, trying to get to sleep. "Yes, I like it very much. This is such a beautiful town, and I can see why you want to fight for it. I would, too."

She smiled, but immediately checked herself, for she was smiling a little too friendly. He seemed to notice. She was all business now.

"Mademoiselle de Neuf is gone to get the oscillator. Luc is taking care of bar business for now, but tonight I'll have to be the host again. You'd better stay here then, in case we get some "superior" guests. I wouldn't want to arouse suspicion." She rolled her eyes accordingly. "Until then we should have enough time to check on all the equipment and get ready for everything." He nodded and they went to their storage room.

After a few hours they had quietly gone over all their weapons and equipment and sorted it for their respective missions. "You know, I'm really impressed. You've got quite a collection here."

She grinned mischievously. "Connections to the right people, Captain." He grinned back and it warmed both their hearts. He still felt that she didn't really want to get to friendly with him, she kept her distance. But he knew he was getting through to her. He shouldn't get too distracted, but he couldn't stop bantering with her while they worked. More than once she smiled that intoxicating half-smile of hers, but she also had a pointed reply to everything on the tip of her tongue. He guessed she needed that attitude to run her bar as well as her little group of fighters.

He thought of Sandra, the young woman who had made eyes at him back home before he left. She had been disappointed that he had to go, but she'd move on if he didn't come back from the war. She was innocent but also naïve, sweet, pretty, but also a little boring. Like many of the girls he knew. He could've settled for that, but it wouldn't really have made him happy.

But Katrine, well, Katrine was something else. She was headstrong, exciting. She had a beauty that went deeper than 'pretty'. She took matters into her own hands, not afraid to get them dirty. But she was hard to approach. It challenged him. She was a woman not easily impressed, especially not by men, especially not by Americans it seemed. She had that air about her, something two days ago he would have called 'arrogance'. Now he thought, having met her, he'd call it class.

She put down a crate and brushed some dirt off her hands. "We're quite done here. I hate not having anything to do though..."

"Well, we could eat something," he offered. She nodded. "But not in here, I hope," he added with a smile.

She considered it a moment. "We can't sit in the bar. It's not as full as it will be tonight, but there's always someone coming in randomly during the day. Why don't you go back to your room, I'll bring something up."

"Alright."

About 5 minutes later she knocked on his door and stepped inside with a basket. He grinned. This looked a lot better than what he usually had at camp. He felt a little sorry for his soldiers who had it considerably less comfortable than he. Katrine's basket contained a few tomatoes, baguette and cheese, and of course a bottle of red wine. He rolled his eyes at it as she spread out her picnic on the small table. "Not too much of that for me today, or I won't be quite fit for duty tomorrow."

"I think you can learn a thing or two, here Captain," she laughed. "You didn't strike me as an abstinent man – what do you usually drink?" At the word 'abstinent' her eyes had sparkled, and if he didn't think her such a lady, he'd have sworn she meant more than just alcohol.

He grinned. "I am far from abstinent, Mademoiselle, but I am certainly not used to … well your way of life," he ended gentlemanly. No need to say something insulting. She accepted that and probably understood. They had a really nice meal, during which they talked about random war-related things. After a while of professional attitude, he grinned and searched her face.

"Why don't you just ask?" she said quietly.

"Ask you what?"

"What you've been thinking all the time... 'What's a girl like me doing.."

"...-in a place like this," he finished with her, laughing. "You seem to read my thoughts, Katrine."

Her mouth opened a bit and her features hardened as he used her name. She had introduced herself as simply Katrine, and he had offered his first name, but they had both so far avoided calling each other by name at all. His voice caressed her name, as if he had spoken it every night of his life, with longing. She tried to shake the thought. The feeling in her chest made that hard. She hadn't been interested in any man in such a long time, ever since the mess of a husband she'd had had died. She was independent, she had never needed a man to support her, not with the bar nor with the resistance. She could trust Luc with her life, but he was different, detached somehow. Feelings of any kind didn't suit him. This man however was full of them, his eyes couldn't conceal the powerful passion inside, not for me, she thought, not quite 'lust', more like a passion for ...life. The thought struck her that he probably hated being a soldier and killing people. It awoke some more basic needs in her, she longed for him in a way she couldn't understand. She knew him. Trusted him with her life, completely. But we've only met. How can it be I feel so connected to him?

She poured herself some more wine and took a distracted sip. He still watched her, disturbing her thoughts with his probing eyes. This was dangerous. She got up and walked to the window. It was getting late and she needed to go downstairs – but she wanted to retain this moment with him as long as she could.

"Do you really need an answer?" she suddenly said, returning to his question. He got up, too and took a step towards her, almost drawn to her.

"I don't think I do." After a pause he continued. "Katrine.." It sent a shiver down her spine. "...this is so strange. I feel like I know you. I know it's impossible.. I don't mean to ...insult you, but for some reason I feel I need to protect you - stand by your side whatever happens."

She managed a half-grin, but he could see she was nervous, too. "I hope you will, that was the idea, you know?"

She turned from the window and absent-mindedly massaged her neck a little. Suddenly she felt two strong hands take over. Warmth flooded her neck and swept through her body. He met no objection, she simply moved her head around probing her aching muscles. She felt his body close to hers. This felt so familiar, his hands, this moment... Suddenly she turned around and shook her head in disbelief, searching his eyes. "I know you."

They stared at each other, completely captivated by the moment. His hand slowly moved up her arm, felt her warm skin under the blouse. His other hand slightly stroked her hair and then wandered to her cheek. Without noticing they pulled closer together. His shirt was slightly open at the top, she could see the texture of his tanned skin below and felt his tender but firm grasp on her shoulder. She shivered. He whispered her name. His head moved toward hers.

Just as she was about to give in, someone knocked on the door. They jumped and she quickly stepped away from him, trying to collect herself. He looked at her nervously, cursing under his breath. "Yes?" He asked louder. The door opened slightly, revealing Luc. He looked at them, taking in the situation. He raised an eyebrow but came in quickly and closed the door to continue with what he wanted to say. "Katrine, I have bad news. Our courier and Sylvie were attacked on the street this morning. She still has the oscillator, but he got shot and we lost the latest message."

Katrine was dead alert by now. "What about Sylvie?"

Luc put some emphasis on his next words. "She was unharmed. But she didn't immediately return to us after the incident." Katrine considered his words grimly. Miller looked at them and asked, "what's going on? Do you suspect her of anything?"

"You are an observant man, Captain," Luc said. "We suspect she is working for the Nazis. We're keeping an eye on her."

"I'll be keeping an eye on her," Katrine corrected. "If she messes up, I'll shoot her and complete the mission on my own."

Miller shuddered. She was a dangerous woman, not to be toyed with. It made his hair stand on end, but he still wanted to kiss her.

"It would be best if you made an appearance downstairs soon," Luc added, looking at Katrine, then he left.

Katrine hesitated a moment before following. That was his chance – he stepped closer, with a quick move slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. His head was next to hers, he could feel her breath on his neck.

"Come back tonight," he whispered. Her heart skipped a beat when he kissed her on the cheek quickly, then let her go. Her cheek burning with the touch of his lips, her body trembling, she tried to gather her senses. She composed herself quickly, angry at having been so easy to shake. She only stared at him, her eyes were shooting lightning. She turned on the spot and left for her room to change.

He exhaled and wiped his face with his hand. Then he decided to get some sleep until the bar closed. They wanted to get the operation under way sometime between midnight and one o'clock, so he needed all the sleep he could get. His body aching for Katrine's touch, the sense of her skin still lingering on his lips, he figured he wasn't going to get much.