So…She was your Momma once?" Sierra questioned unsure as she clutched her grandfather's hand while they crossed the street where they were supposed to meet Jessica.

"No, she's still my Momma. She's just…sick and doesn't remember anymore." He said unsure of how to explain to such a young mind that seemed to be full of questions this afternoon.

Sierra furrowed her brows, still far off from fully understanding this whole situation. She knew she had to go with him this time because Lucas and Julia would be gone and there was no one else to watch her for him while he visited Jesselynn. She still thought it was unfair that she couldn't really talk with her great-grandmother.

"So, is that why Aunt Jessica said to call you Jeremy, Pappy?" She asked as Michael pulled her closer to his side as they walked along the sidewalk, worried of any oncoming cars. He always wondered if the drivers around this particular neighborhood were NASCAR rejects.

"Yes, but don't worry. You can still call me Pappy. Your aunt Jessica and I use fake names so we don't alarm Jesselynn. Like I said, she's sick and still thinks my brothers and sisters and I are little kids. If we were to say our names, she would notice and she would start panicking. We don't want that to happen so we just use different names and pretend we're someone else." He said, trying to explain it to where she would understand it further, but not making it so complicated.

"Oh. Does her sickness do that to her? Why is she sick?" She asked, staring up at him with bright blue eyes that displayed a million questions just looking for answers.

Michael sighed as he thought over his answer. How was he supposed to explain that to her? Would she even understand the complication of losing your memory? He knew she probably thought it was just a joke now since he and Julia usually referred to it whenever they forget something so easily. Would she understand that it's an actual thing and not laugh at when referred seriously?

"Well, you see, some odd years back, my mother, Jesselynn, started acting differently. She would walk around in search of something that she lost years ago. One time, she was looking for a doll that my youngest sister, Samantha, lost when she was younger than you are. Samantha was already moved out of the house and married at this time. She said that she was trying to find it for Samantha before she got home from visiting Martha and Walter so she'd stop crying over it constantly. We tried to tell her that Samantha was a grown woman now and didn't need that old doll that was probably deep down at the bottom of an old dump pile. She didn't believe us and walked away, muttering something.

"But that's what this illness does to older people. They start to lose their memory of everything. They may remember bits and pieces every now and then, but they usually just slowly lose who they really are. That's why Jessica and I are visiting Jesselynn every day we can. We know she may never really be the same again, but we want to know all that's still in her mind. All her fond memories and honestly some of her worst. We don't want to lose the real Jesselynn." Michael said, hoping Sierra would understand now and why it was so important for him to be here.

"Oh. Okay." Sierra said, understanding what he meant now. She stared down at the ground she was walking on as she thought about how sad that must have been. Her great-grandmother sounded like a very interesting woman to Sierra. Michael spoke of her so fondly and she wanted to know of the woman that took care of her Pappy like Pappy was taking care of her.

As they began to walk along the parking lot of the retirement home, Sierra immediately spotted her Aunt Jessica as she waited for them outside her vehicle. She managed to slip her hand from Michael's hand and sprinted after her with a smile.

"Aunt Jessica!"

Jessica turned at the girl's voice and smiled when she saw her. Sierra had already opened her arms for a hug, so Jessica met her halfway and pulled her up in a tight embrace.

"What are you doing here, short stuff?" Jessica asked holding her on her hip, brushing away a loose strand of hair that was strewn across her face.

"I had to go with Pappy today because everyone was busy and couldn't watch me. Now, I get to spend the day with you, Pappy, and my new great-grandma!" Sierra happily replied, waiting for Aunt Jessica to respond happily with her.

Jessica continued to smile for the girl, but looked over at Michael who was now approaching the scene. He saw his younger sister's look and sighed.

"I had to, okay? Besides, see how excited she is? This'll be great for her and don't worry, I already explained the whole situation to her.

"Yup, great-grandma's sick and I promise not to do anything that would make her sicker." Sierra responded, staring straight into Jessica's green eyes.

Jessica looked at her young niece's face and over to Michael who already knew her answer before she could even verbally say it.

"Okay, okay, just don't jump and scream all over the place." Jessica said with a grin as she sat Sierra back on her feet.

Sierra just giggled and took her aunt's hand in her right and Michael's in her left as they began to enter the facility.

It took a minute for them to see Jesselynn as her nurse gave Jessica and Michael a report on Jesselynn. They said she was doing very good this time around and was remembering some more things than last time. Of course, they were still from the past and nothing from the present. They expected as much, but was thrilled to know that she was doing much better this time around.

Sierra hid behind Michael's leg nervously as they entered her room. Michael smiled down at her and encouraged her to appear by his side rather than behind him. Sierra took that moment to look around the room. She thought it was pleasant, but was rather interested in the pictures on the walls and shelves than the decoration. She could see her aunts and uncles, though she wasn't exactly sure which was which because of their brown hair and green eyes, but she could find her Pappy very easily. She smiled at the picture of Michael when he was about her age. He had thick blonde hair -completely free of gray hairs- and she could spot fair freckles along his cheekbones. He looked so young and happy in the pictures with his mother and siblings. She wished she had as many stories and memories to tell like Michael did, but she didn't have any real memories with her parents. The only good thing she remembered was the first day she met Michael.

"Ah, Jazmine, Jeremy! I've been waiting all day for you two to get here!" Jesselynn said as she turned from some of the photo albums near her bed and began to greet them.

Sierra looked up at the elderly woman in front of her and grinned shyly. Jesselynn was surprised momentarily to see a new face with the group then smiled in warm welcome.

"Jesselynn, this is Sierra. Jeremy's granddaughter." Jessica said introducing the two as Michael took a seat, leaving Sierra to meet her great-grandmother.

"Hello, ma'am." Sierra said shaking the woman's hand and quickly returning to Michael's side with a grin as Jesselynn just chuckled at the shy girl.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Sierra." Jesselynn said taking her regular seat with a grin.

Sierra smiled at her then turned to Michael, tugging on his sleeve to show she wanted to tell him something quietly. He leaned down to her level and she covered his ear with her small hands.

"She doesn't look sick, Pappy."

Michael just smiled and shook his head. Sierra took that as a sign that now wasn't the time to really talk about it. Sierra understood and sat back onto the couch and looked at the adults as Jessica began speaking.

"Jesselynn, I hate to rush into something, but do you think you can tell us about how you and your husband started to come together? Like, what even brought you two to the others' attention." Jessica asked, getting comfortable in her seat as they all looked over at Jesselynn.

She was quiet for a moment as she thought about what brought them together. She remembered married life with him and first meeting him, but she rarely thought of in between as much as the other two. "Well, what brings anyone together? Before we rarely spoke together. We'd have half-hearted conversations. I liked to check on my brother and see that everything was going well whenever I could, which wasn't very often. But, I guess when we really began to focus on each other would have to be around the year '68. It may have been really early that year, but either way, that had to be the time when I started seeing him more than just an old warhorse."

November 6, 1967

Vietnam

Jesselynn Thorne, Roxanne Fischer, and Sergeant Frank Woods

"Trust me, she's great. I'm the beginner! I'm surprised you weren't scared with me…Although, now that you know I'm a beginner you're probably ready to strangle me, right now…Anyway, she's done this a million times so you don't have to worry." Roxanne rambled on beside him as she was gathering her things and rushing around the small office.

Sergeant Woods just arched a brow at her. This Roxanne was a strange woman who continued to ramble on and on when she was nervous. When she was stitching him up the first time around, he asked her to talk about something just to keep them both occupied. She talked about her young daughter back home and told him all her sweet, fond memories of her before realizing she was talking his ear off and probably letting him in on things he didn't even care about. She tried to make him speak, which he did, but he didn't have any fond memories to share. He just gave his two cents on the moments that he remembered and was out of there.

Now, it was weeks later and his stitches were ready to be removed. He couldn't wait to get them out of him either. He was ready to get back out there in the fight then wonder around the base checking in and out on some of his squad mates. They said he would get used to the stitches after a little while with them on, but he never did. He wanted them out the second they were in.

As Roxanne continued to gather the things she needed, he looked around the small office that Roxanne and her friend, Jesselynn, seemed to live in. Although, it would seem that Roxanne was living in the office more than the latter. He could catch a glimpse of a small framed photograph of a small girl, Roxanne, and a man in military uniform. He partially wondered who the man was and what had happened to him, but he never asked just in case the man shared the worst fate. He couldn't handle the sight of a weeping woman so he thought it best to just avoid it as much as possible.

There were two desks in the room, one pressed against the right wall and another against the opposite wall. He could definitely tell which belonged to which woman. The one nearest him was rather neat and had more character than the other. Besides the photograph, there was a small doll sitting on top of some files that she had taken out and laid on her desk. He guessed it was a doll that her daughter –which she spoke so fondly of, Sonora, wasn't it? –gave it to her as a gift to remember her by. Oh, if only that young girl knew how she spoke of her to him.

There was another picture, but he could barely make out what it was. He could see two people standing face-to-face in a big front yard. He guessed it was a wedding picture because of the appearance of a white dress and he could see the corner of the Military man once again. Maybe his suspicions were right; this man in uniform was her husband. He was slowly piecing together this strange woman in front of him that was now messing with something on the other desk.

The other wasn't as neat as Roxanne's was. It appeared like a tornado of paper suddenly struck the desk top last night when she must have been working. Medical files and multiple scraps of papers were scattered across her desk. The scrap paper was written on with neat, yet swift handwriting. He guessed they were notes from a book or file she read later that night. He tried to read some of the words on it, but he could barely pronounce the medical terms scribbled out before him. There were some slight smudges where she must've miscalculated or wrote the wrong word and tried to erase it, but left a mark on the fragile, delicate paper.

Besides the paper mess scattered around the desk, there was one object that interested him. It was a simple necklace, that he could tell. There was three charms carefully decorated on the chain and it just occurred to him that they were bottle caps. Three different brand names of soda were decorated on the top and were held securely in place by a piece of medal that looked like it was constructed from a wielder. The largest cap was longer than the other two, and was displayed the most than the others.

He couldn't understand what it meant and why it held such an importance to her. It was obvious it did because of how delicately it was placed on display. She made sure it was far from her mess she called a desk, which was probably best. He jokingly thought it would be engulfed in her tidal wave of papers.

He tore his eyes away from the desk when he saw that Roxanne caught him staring at the other woman's desk. She was just standing there with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, that's Jesselynn's. I wouldn't get too close to it, you might get lost in there." She said with a grin and a fake stern expression.

He grinned with her for a second, "Well, like my mother used to say, 'the messier the work space, the harder the worker'." He said with a grin on his face.

Roxanne smiled, "Yeah, probably so. I don't know how she does it. I never see her come out of her office unless it's to help transport wounded inside….I kind of worry about her, you know? She's too…armored from everything. With her brother here, it's the only thing that will make her take a step outside. I'd hate for something to happen to him. There's no telling what would happen to her if she loses him." She said, smile fading from view as she looked over at Jesselynn's desk, staring at the bottle cap necklace with him.

"She lost many people before?" He asked interested in why her brother's death would affect her so strongly. Well, yes, it is her only brother, but why would it end in complete catastrophe for her?

Roxanne sighed and took a seat on her desk, pulling her dress down as she looked over at him, "She'd probably kill me for telling you, but it's not like it's a big, classified secret. Hell, maybe Justin even told you, but when she was a little girl, her parents died in a bad car accident. She was present with them. I…just…feel so much pity for her. There's no telling what thoughts and images are torturing her mind still, you know? To be so young and really see and feel your parents dead bodies beside you…It's just terrible.

"She told me before that she had to go into a sort of foster care. This professor and his wife took her and her brother in sometime after the accident. She never cried or threw a fit over it just for her brother. He was too young to understand why they couldn't go back home to Mommy and Daddy anymore so she tried to make him forget about them, in a way. I honestly think she didn't want her baby brother feeling the pain she felt, even to this day. She's more open about them and what kind of people they were, but I think there's still something she's keeping from him. From me. I try to make her talk, but it seems to be no use, you know? She's just content with being by herself, I suppose." Roxanne explained, messing with her nails to avoid his eyes that she knew were staring down at her.

Woods sat there as he tried to soak this new information in. He remembered Justin saying that their parents were dead, but he never said how. Now, he figured he didn't even know, considering Roxanne's story. He guessed he could understand Jesselynn's reasons, but he couldn't understand why she would fully block out everyone. Then again, he'd figured he'd have to go through the same thing, but his was close to Jesselynn's. He could partially understand why she chose to just keep to herself. He found the company of just himself better than a large group, besides when he was on a mission.

The two were then interrupted when the same woman they were just speaking of appeared in the room, immediately going to her desk when she looked over at the two.

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear." Woods said under his breath with a grin as Roxanne stood up from her desk and began to gather her things once again.

"Excuse me?" Jesselynn questioned, hearing something coming from Woods' direction.

"We were just talking about you, Jess. I was telling Sergeant Woods here that he needn't worry about being taken care of by different hands." Roxanne said, trying to take the attention away from Woods as she hopped in between them and put on her best forced smile.

Jesselynn was quiet at first as she turned from Woods' view and began to take some of the equipment from Roxanne's hands that she offered her. "Well, I guess that was kind of you to assure someone's who's probably done this a million times before. I read his files, he ain't a stranger to the infirmary." Jesselynn said already preparing her station and looked up from under her lashes at Woods with a grin.

Woods grinned back for a second though it didn't reach his eyes. Roxanne figured he found it hard to look into her eyes. She couldn't blame him; after the story she told him he probably saw a different Jesselynn then the one he would occasionally speak with.

Roxanne could feel the awkward tension spreading and interrupted the silence by clapping her hands together and let out a sigh, "Well, I guess I'll leave you to do whatever now. Dr. Sanders wants to speak to me about some 'extra training' or something. Okay...See ya." She said as she gathered her things and what she would need for her and Dr. Sanders' meeting and disappeared out the door the second she could.

That left Woods and Jesselynn alone as she began preparing to remove his stitches.

Woods sat there quietly as he waited for Jesselynn, taking another look around the office room before his eyes rested back on Jesselynn. As he looked down at her busy hands, he couldn't help but notice a particular darkness that he could tell she was trying to hide with her cardigan sleeve. He couldn't tell exactly what, but he knew a bruise when he saw one. He wanted to say something, but decided it best to not place him in a situation he had no business in. Besides, it was probably just a clumsy accident she had around the base when he was busying himself with other things.

Jesselynn sighed and stepped closer to him, staring down at his shirt then up at him. When she continued to do so and made a motion with her hand, he responded to her quiet command.

"What?" He demanded, not knowing what she was pushing him to do now. He hated it when she and others would do that; expect him to read their minds.

She rolled her eyes and relaxed her shoulders, "I was hoping you wouldn't make me say this aloud. If I'm going to remove your stitches, you have to take off your shirt. Unless you have a special shirt that has a giant hole above your ribs." She said crossing her arms with a grin, feeling the blood run to her cheeks. She felt like she was asking her brother to remove his shirt.

Woods just nodded and did as she asked, wincing slightly as he did so. It was still weird feeling the stitches under his arm. He couldn't wait to get them out.

Jesselynn took the shirt he placed beside him and folded it nicely, placing it on Roxanne's desk.

"So you fold clothes and put them away, but you can't stack papers?" He joked, noticing her motion with his shirt.

She just grinned, "Yeah, it's a gift and a curse. I obsess over other's tidiness, but I can't clean my own shit." She said with a smile, moving his arm slightly so she could see what she was working with.

He chuckled softly, but tensed when he felt her hand touch his bare skin. They were...surprisingly softer than Roxanne's. Well, maybe just different than soft. He could feel her long nails press against the skin around his stitching. He had expected to feel the appearance of scars or some marks she had gained over her years, but felt no such thing. They were also cold, which made him jump at first when her chilled fingers came in contact with his.

"Okay, guess we should get started now." She said letting out a breath as she picked up her first tool.

"Think you can tell me about something? Makes this go by a lot faster." Woods said as she began, staring out at the bottle cap necklace once again.

Jesselynn sighed, "Don't tell me you're starting in on it now. I'm fixing to go insane!" She said staring down at her work, avoiding his eyes though she knew she wouldn't catch them staring at her.

Woods was quiet for a moment, "What are you even talkin' about?" He questioned, wondering why she was even accusing him of something he had no idea about.

"Ever since I got back from visiting Marcus, all Roxanne and Justin have been doing is trying to get me to talk. Speak, just speak, they tell me!...You'd think I was the most closed-mouth bitch that ever roamed this earth..." She said slightly aggravated and tugged on the thread an ounce too hard, causing him to wince. She muttered an apology and set back to work.

"Who's Marcus?"

"Oh, just an ex-fiancée. He's a jerk and I broke it off before I started working as a surgeon for the Military. I was only with him because he promised the best for my brother, but obviously, Justin made other plans then some high class college." She said calming down some, letting out a breath.

"Never knew you were engaged. Kind of shocking since you know, you're such a gentle homemaker." He said with a scoff, teasing about her accidental tug.

She just rolled her eyes with a grin, "Ha ha ha, very funny. Were is the exact word. Can't believe I even agreed to speak with 'im. We just...had to settle some things, you know?" She said glancing up at him from the corner of her eye.

Woods said nothing but arched his eyebrows for a split second, his eyes returning to that old bottle cap necklace. "Tell me something, what's up with that necklace there on your desk?" He said taking hold of the conversation.

Jesselynn glanced up at the necklace though she knew exactly what he was talking about. She felt a tug on her heart at the thought of it, but decided to answer. It's not like it was CIA, classified information, right?

"My dad made and gave it to me on my fifth birthday. He told me it'd give me luck on my first day of school. It'd help me through any kind of trouble because it was made from love. He, uh, even told me once he took a little corner of his heart and wielded it into each bottle cap on there. H'said that as long as I wore it that nothing would touch me because the love of my father was always there and protecting me...I've worn it for years and still do now a days. I don't know why I don't wear it...it just feels...wrong. Like I don't deserve it." She said, taking more pauses the more the pain of her father's loss struck her harder.

"What are you talkin' about? Don't deserve it?" He questioned, thinking that she had gone insane to think so.

Jesselynn was quiet and she began to work slower as she stared into his skin, "Justin probably told you by now or Roxanne just couldn't keep her mouth shut, but my parents and I were in a car accident when I was about ten. They were fighting about something and a deer came onto the road...I was terrified that we were going to hit so I thought I was doing the right thing by taking hold of the wheel and steering us off course...I was such an idiot! I should have never touched the damn wheel. We may have hit, but we'd all be alive to this day, right? Damage to the car instead of my whole life!" Jesselynn said, now growing angry with herself at the memory of that night.

Woods took a moment to process this. It explained why she was so quiet and kept to herself. It explained why she didn't talk about her parents to Justin that much. Woods sighed realizing she must've felt guilty about the whole thing. Now he understood why Roxanne spoke of so much pity when it came to Jesselynn and her past.

"Can...can we talk about something else, please? What about you? Considering how charming and charismatic you are, you must have someone back at home. Wife? Kids? Something? The only thing I know about you is your name and that you take a joy out of fighting. S'only fair after everything I told you now." She said quickly turning the conversation away from her and onto to something, anything, else.

Woods just chuckled, "No, none of that. All I have is my Ma. Well, there is my sister, but it's not like I'm going to talk to her any time soon."

Jesselynn looked up from her work to the side of his face, "What are you talking about? Why not?" She asked suddenly interested in this strange man's past.

He just shook it off, "Too much of a long story, save us time to just forget it."

"Trust me, you have plenty of time. Like I said, after everything you forced out of me tonight, it's only fair I get a slice of information out of you." Jesselynn pressed on, taking her work slower in order to get him to speak.

He just sighed and was tired of arguing with her, "Fine. It's a long story so I have to start out with my parents. My Ma was just seventeen when she had me, fifteen when my sister came along. My old man, when I was no older than three decided to join the Army. My Ma and my older sister, Rosalind, hated the idea of him going away when we were already struggling, but he still went. Ma took it the hardest. She had known him since they were just kids and married him young. She knew of no other love besides him. She hated being apart from him and you could tell. She wasn't as cheerful as she used to be and we started to grow apart. Mostly Rose and Ma since I was still very young.

"Well, when I was about four or five, we got the news that the chopper my father was in was shot down and he and five other men were killed. My Ma was crushed and Rose just kind of parted from me since I seemed to be the least affected, but it's not like I was trying to be like that. I never really got to know like they did. How am I supposed to be crushed over someone when I could barely remember their face?" He began to explain, sparing her the unneeded details of his childhood besides the main facts.

Jesselynn sat there for a moment, hands unmoving as she soaked in this information. She was suddenly glad of her memory the night of the car accident. She was able to bond and gain so many loving memories of her father, but this man in front of her couldn't share such a memory and his family began separating after his father's death.

"That's terrible...I'm...so sorry about that, Frank." She said staring up at him, forcing to gain his attention and look over at her.

He looked over at her and immediately found her light green eyes, filled with pity and sorrow. He hated the look, which was why he hated talking about his past so much. He had seeing that pity in their eyes when they looked at him. He remembered the same look in his teacher's and mother's eyes as he grew up. His mother said he was just like him, which only made the loss harder for her.

"It's alright. S'not like it's your fault. Long after that, when I decided to join, my sister was angry with him since she thought I was being suicidal. When I ignored her advice and talks, we just never talked again. I think she might be married; I know she has a little boy though. Ma told me about 'im. He's about four now, I think."

"It's still sad, either way you say it. I couldn't imagine Justin deciding to have nothing to do with me and then never knowing about a possible nephew or niece. Not judging you or anything, I'm just saying you're a lot stronger than me. I'd be going into hysterics in a corner or something." Jesselynn said, jokingly slightly as she began to make the finishing touches on her work.

Woods decided it best to say nothing and let her focus on her work once again. He thought about what she had said. Perhaps he had grown stronger when it came to that particular thing. It's not like Rosalind would welcome her young son into her brother's life with welcome arms. She'd probably consider him a bad influence or something of the sort. He had just grown used to it to where it no longer bothered him anymore. He only cared about his mother now.

"Well, I guess you're all ready to kick ass another day. You might not want to strain yourself so fast, but it shouldn't stop you for very long." She said standing straight and looking up at him as she returned him his shirt.

"Good, I've gotten so tired of sitting on my ass." He said throwing his shirt back on and turning towards her.

"I think I agree with you. Although, I'm usually busying myself with surgeries. Maybe with you back out there I'll see less of soldiers being rolled in here." Jesse said placing her fists on her hips, watching Woods take another look around the room as if there was an item he was supposed to be taking with him.

"Hey, thanks for letting me talk about my parents and stuff. It's really nice to just let out something to someone who really understands, you know? Of course, I could've just talked with Justin, but it's hard. Don't ask me why, but it's just hard for me to talk and act so weak in front of him. Ever since they died I always told and forced myself to be strong and never show any weakness in front of him. I guess I forced myself just a tad too much." She said, now staring down at her desk and trailing a fingernail across the wooden desktop.

Woods said nothing but nodded, "Yeah, I understand...Also...I'm sorry about your folks." He said hesitantly, staring at her face though she continued to avoid his eyes.

She let her finger trail over to the stack of papers before her eyes slowly found his. She was used to seeing him fake an emotion, but this time there was something different. It was a complete change or something like that. She would be foolish to think that one little talk with him would do that, but his eyes softened with something close to concern when he looked at her now. Behind blue eyes that she knew must have been ruined and damaged by the terrible and gory moments he must have seen in the years he'd been serving; there was still an ounce of that old, decent human being he must have been long before.

"...I'm sorry about yours." She said in a silent tone so just he could hear while she tried to show the same level of concern and emotion in her eyes as he did.

There was no other words between them as he gave a simple, quick nod and disappeared out the door and left Jesselynn with nothing but her thoughts.

She thought over what just happened and realized that that was the first time they really communicated. Yes, they had their casual conversations sometimes, but that was when she tracked him down to ask about her brother. He was growing stronger with each day that passed and Woods spoke proudly of him when she came around to ask him. Now, she wondered if he truly meant it or to feed her good words so she wouldn't bother him any longer. Either way, it still gave her relief to hear that he was making a name for himself here.

She also realized that that was the first time she ever spoke of her guilt to anyone. She couldn't understand why, but speaking with him was just so easy. He had the same complications during his childhood and had his dose of family drama. Yes, he wasn't the one who possibly killed his parents unknowingly, but Jesselynn still greatly pitied his situation more than hers now. He lost his father before he could even share a memory with him. He had his mother, but his sister sounded like she was far out of the question.

Jesselynn began to wonder if she had told Justin a long time ago about their parents' death, would he be like Rosalind? She wouldn't blame him if he did. She hated herself and her decisions, too. But could she live with the thought of Justin wanting absolutely nothing to do with her? Not caring if she was alive or dead? Justin was the only thing that kept her strong; kept her going. If he had turned away from her at such a young age, Jesselynn had no idea what she would do. Probably just go back to Marcus or someone like him and just wait to waste away or wait until he beat her death. Whichever was faster.

Jesselynn took a seat in the closest chair and held her face in her palms. She was so exhausted. She hadn't even had a tiring or long day, but the lack of sleep she seemed to be getting just made her shoulders heavier and steps slower with each day that passed. She couldn't help but think how ironic it was. Justin grew stronger and Jesselynn was slowly wasting away already. She scoffed at herself when she thought her escape from Marcus really helped after all.

As she forced herself up from the chair, she started to make plans about going to bed early. She would check the patients, make sure everything was stable and that they were comfortable, then maybe do some last minute paper work and trudge her way back to her quarters. She'd probably beat Roxanne once again. She seemed to be going to bed sooner than the latter lately, which made her curious. Roxanne used to be the one who beat almost everyone to bed, but now she seemed to be slipping in at the break of dawn. Jesselynn thought about asking her secret as she began to walk down the aisles of hurt and recovering men, asking the conscious ones -who were able to comfortably speak with her- of their current position and if they were alright.

Okay, sorry for taking a while to update this. I thought I would have, but it took me forever to really write the scene between Frank and Jesse. I hope it turned out alright and lived up to any expectations, if any. I definitely had fun writing this one. Also, what do you think of the Woods back story? It was rather difficult to think of something that would mold the wonderful Sergeant Woods we all love now and not make a mockery of it. Please tell me what you thought and if you have any kind of advice, PLEASE TELL ME! Anything helps and would be a million times appreciated.

Hmm...Creative Question: If you could think of a different way for Woods and Jesse to really notice each other, how would you do it? Please answer, I'd love to see what your amazing minds can come up with!

Okay, I think I'll go now. I'll try to update soon, but there's no telling with me. But, you'll know when I update when you see an alert! :D Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with me! I promise real soon there will be chapters involving the first Black Ops storyline! Once again, thank you oh so much!