Elizabeth had opened her textbook in her bunk and was fanning herself with one hand while she memorized tactics.

"You'll never make it here."

Elizabeth looked up. It was the blonde girl who looked almost childlike. Lilly? Lillian? Lilith.

"What?" She asked.

"I said, you'll never make it here." Lilith was sitting cross legged on her bunk.

"That's none of your damn business." Elizabeth said getting annoyed.

"I know your type. You want to prove to the world that you're better than everyone thinks, but you'll never really amount to anything. You know why? Cause you're afraid of so much. You know what I'm afraid of?"

"Monologues?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically

"Nothing." Lilith said. "I enjoy what they throw at me."

Elizabeth sat up. What the hell was up with this girl?

"You know Lilith, with an attitude like that; I'm surprised you don't belong to the North."

That shut her up. Lilith's mouth snapped shut and she got up and walked out.

"I've been dying to tell her that for ages." The voice above her said. Elizabeth hadn't noticed Madison on the top bunk when she came.

Madison's face came into view, upside down. She swung around and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Lilith doesn't like new people, or people in general. She's kind of looking for approval in all the wrong places. It worries me sometimes." Madison said.

"Why is she still around?" Elizabeth asked.

"Cause she's amazing at what she does. You should see her in sparring." Madison said. "She never gets caught for fighting dirty."

"I bet she doesn't." Elizabeth muttered. She was an innocent looking little bitch.

"So, you have Commander Harvelle." Madison said.

"Yep."

"He is so pretty." Madison said unashamedly. Well thank goodness someone around here was acknowledging that!

"He is!" Elizabeth said, avoiding her bunkmate's face. She was sure she was blushing again.

"Of course not a lot of people say so because, he's also scary, another person you want to avoid sparring with."

Elizabeth couldn't help imagining what that would be like, him grabbing her tight and then pinning her to the ground, or her pinning him to the ground, she could be flexible. All this talk about sparring made her realize something.

"What time is it?" She suddenly asked. Madison looked at the clock.

"3:02"

"Crap I'm late!" Elizabeth threw herself out the door and across the courtyard to the indoor gym. She tried to sneak in quietly as the cadets grouped up in front of Harvelle. Unfortunately there was an even number and no one for her to pair up with. She could just stand around, maybe he wouldn't notice.

"Nice of you to join us Curran." Harvelle said rather loudly.

Well shit.

"Since you decided you are the new princess in town, I am going to ask you to get your royal ass up here and be an example! Now step up to the plate!"

Elizabeth walked up to the spot on the mat where Dean was. He had stripped his coat and shirt off to reveal a wife beater tank top in the standard issue grey.

"Strip down." He said.

Elizabeth didn't know how he could say something like that with a straight face after he damn near kissed her today. Stupid bastard. She tore off her coat with more anger than she would normally have had.

"Now, everyone if this was guerrilla warfare and you were unlucky enough to have to fight one of the Northern troops, I bet you would fight a hell of a lot like Curran here. Look, she's angry and she has to fight. So watch and learn."

He turned to her.

"Attack me." He said and Elizabeth saw the slight quirk of his eyebrows. That was the only invitation she needed. She launched herself at him, but his arm caught around her waist she found herself going over his shoulder. She landed painfully on the mat.

"You see, grab your opponent over the waist and onto the ground. If you have a weapon, then they should be dead by now. I want you to practice now. Curran you get to keep getting your ass kicked."

"Lucky me." Elizabeth said getting up.

"What did you say, Cadet?" Dean said. His face was close to her. They were circling each other.

"I said, lucky me Commander." Elizabeth said. This was dangerous but there was an edge of fun, like an old dance she'd forgotten.

"That's gonna cost you." Dean said.

"Try." She challenged.

Dean launched himself at her, Elizabeth didn't quite dodge in time and he clipped her so they both fell but she was able to recover first, she grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled it behind her. He moved his arm so she flipped over. She landed on the mat on her back and he was on top of her pinning her into the mat.

"This isn't over." Elizabeth said.

He gave a small smile, one that wouldn't be seen by the other cadets.

"I really hope not." He said. Elizabeth became once again very aware of how close he was and how incredibly solid his body felt. He pushed back and extended his hand to her. Pride told her not to take it but the warmth in his eyes made her take his hand. He helped her up.

"That actually wasn't bad. You took opportunities and you can spot weakness." A plan looked like it was forming in his mind.

"I want to be better than that." Elizabeth said. She wanted to be one of those people Madison warned against.

Dean smiled. "I can help you with that. After dinner meet me here Cadet every night. Congratulations, I'm your new sparring partner."

So they did, Elizabeth began to really get used to the feel of the mat slamming against her skin as she was thrown to the ground. Becky would ask why she came in later each night but all she could so was shrug it off and say she had been practicing.

"With a bowling ball?" She asked as Elizabeth peeled off her tank top to reveal a large purple bruise that she had blooming on her side.

"Oh I won this one!" Elizabeth said. She actually had won that round. She had ended up holding Dean's arm behind his back as she sat on his back. She had laughed despite the fact that it hurt like balls.

xXx

He was a demanding partner.

"Concentrate Curran." Dean said from behind her. Elizabeth was struggling to hold the ridiculous pose he'd had her get into. Her arms were shaking as she balanced her knees on one elbow and her feet stuck out to her side. She breathed in slowly to try and get her mind off the steady burn that had settled.

She heard him move around to stand in front of her. His boots were in her range of vision.

"Fight the pain." He said.

'Get down and get into this position and then tell me to fight the pain.' Elizabeth thought to herself.

"And getting pissed off at me won't help the pain." Dean said. How did he do it?

"It actually does sir." Elizabeth grunted out.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore and rolled out of the position and stretched her cramped muscles.

"You can improve that." Dean said helping her up. Just another list of things she had to improve. However, he did say something else.

"You're the best we have here Cadet. You've come along away." He said.

"Thank you sir." Elizabeth said, he could have told her she'd won a Grammy and she couldn't be more thrilled. She kept it under control though. He smiled though and she felt that feeling that just made her want to be close to him.

"Alright enough talking." Dean said, "Round two?" He asked.

"Round two." Elizabeth said eagerly entering the sparring circle.

They began to inch around the edges, Elizabeth knew his habits now, how his legs were slightly bowed which could give her advantage, how his hands were large and held out in front of him, how licked his lip concentration, the last part was completely unnecessary to her, but she had it noted just the same.

She made the first move diving at him, he moved to the left and tried to aim a punch at her that she avoided gracefully. Elizabeth really enjoyed sparring with Dean, it was always exciting, always a challenge and always a satisfaction to kick his ass. Plus when he grabbed her arm and held her against him, to potentially throw her to the ground, she had a few seconds of being close to him and then she countered his movement and jabbed her elbow hard into his ribs. He let go with a wheeze and she retreated, but Dean pursued her to the edge of the circle. Elizabeth turned and there he was.

"You step out, you forfeit." He said biting his lip and raising his eyebrows.

Elizabeth couldn't stop the smiling on her face, even though she was aiming a kick at her Commander's head, they were having fun. Dean's hand caught around her waist as he avoided the hit and brought her closer. However the momentum caused him to lose his balance and Elizabeth and Dean tumbled down to the mat. Elizabeth took advantage of the trip and pinned his arms to his sides with her hands.

"I won!" She said laughing. It only then dawned on her that she was straddling Dean and she did not want to move.

"For once in your life." He said smiling up at her.

It occurred to her that she probably should get off of him. Elizabeth got up, regretfully, and extended her hand which he took.

"So when you said I was the best in the squad sir, does that mean I have a chance for the Squad Leader position?" Elizabeth asked as they grabbed their towels.

"I can't say anything about that." Dean said but he shot her a smile.

"C'mon sir." Elizabeth said.

"I've heard from good resources that you are doing very well." Dean said smiling and then he walked away.

Well that had to be it! Elizabeth was in a good mood for the rest of the night, and even the next morning she was still going.

"You seem cheerful this morning." Adam said as they met under the flag.

"Oh I am."

"Why? Did you hear something about the Squad Leadership position?" Adam asked.

The one soldier who showed distinction among the ranks was chosen as a leader. It wasn't an official position but it did make it easier to get noticed. Elizabeth had eaten and breathed training to become the best and she was the top of her group.

"Yes I did in fact." She answered. Dean had said she was the best in the squad.

They got breakfast and they lined up for inspection. Dean walked up and down the ranks. Elizabeth was hoping to catch his eye, however he avoided hers.

"Alright, I know that a lot of you have been gunning for the title of Squad Leader. If any of you kiss asses thought you could get there just by doing me favors you are wrong. You have to earn the right. You have to prove you are the best. Well congratulations one of you had earned that right."

Here it comes! Elizabeth impatiently waited.

"Cadet Milligan!" Dean shouted.

"Sir!" Adam said.

"Congratulations, you're the new Squad Leader." Dean said.

Elizabeth's stomach plummeted. She was happy for Adam but where had he been all those night she had been sparring, all the study hours she'd spent in the simulators. Dean had told her.

'Oh to hell with him.' The voice in her head said. And she did just that. She congratulated Adam honestly and went through the drills of the day. When it was time after dinner to begin sparring practice she headed back to her bunk.

Only Madison was in there, bent over a book on her bunk.

"Hey, Elizabeth." She said as she walked in. Elizabeth gave muttered greeting and grabbed her back pack.

"Well someone's had her panties in a bunch all day." Madison said. "And don't think I'm the only one who's noticed. Rufus and Garth stopped by earlier to see where you were. Garth had this crazy looking sock puppet on his hand. Said he'd make you talk to it."

Elizabeth was pretty sure Mr. Fizzles would have ended up somewhere at the bottom of a latrine if she had run into Garth today.

"Well just tell them that it's none of their business." Elizabeth said digging around for her textbook.

"Not your secretary honey." Madison said "If you are going to walk around having a bad day, you better have a good reason for it."

"I do!" Elizabeth said zipping up her backpack.

"Where are you going?" Madison asked.

"I'm gonna study and work in the simulation a bit." Elizabeth replied shortly.

"Alright, see you at lights out." Madison said as Elizabeth headed out the door.

It was a half-truth that Elizabeth had told her. She did in fact study for the rest of the hour, but when it came for calls for lights out, she headed in the opposite direction from her bunk. There were the apartments for the upper ranking officials and soldiers with families, then there were the bunkers for the male soldiers and then there were the decently sized individual cabins of the single male commanders. Dean, Ash and a few other men lived there. She crouched low, scouting around for which one was his. Somehow Ash still managed to make his look red neck. However, surrounded by a few unoccupied cabins, she saw Dean at the window. He was closing the curtains. Keeping low and ducking around just in case someone was looking through their window and made it onto his small porch. She didn't want to stay there on the porch in the open. Without knocking she swung the door open.

"Cadet! Lean how to knock!" Dean shouted.

Elizabeth probably should have figured why he was closing the curtains, it definitely did not prepare her for the sight before her. Dean had taken his shirt off and was reaching down to take his boots off. One of his boots was in his hand and he had unbuttoned his pants. Elizabeth's eyes followed the trail of hair down before her eyes snapped up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He said quickly buttoning his pants. Elizabeth refused to be flustered. 'Holy shit is that a tattoo?' Her mind gasped. Focus dammit!

"I want to talk to you." Elizabeth said crossing her arms. Dean dropped the boot he was holding and walked over to her using his height to his advantage.

"And it was so important that you had to walk over, after hours, and barge in to my private quarters because you're pissed off?"

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "You lied to me."

"I did not lie to you." Dean said.

"You said I was the best in the group!" Elizabeth snapped.

"That doesn't make you Squad Leader." Dean said.

"Then what the hell does? I have let you kick my ass every night so I can get better. I study until I can't see the page, I lead the group in simulation and I have never disobeyed one order from you! What the hell did I do wrong?" Elizabeth said her voice raising.

"I'm not the only one that makes the decisions here! This was a board discussion."

It all made sense now.

"Is it because I'm a woman?" Elizabeth asked quietly, but there was fury in it. Dean hesitated and it said it all.

"I think I've heard enough. You're just like the rest of them." Elizabeth opened the door to leave but Dean put his hand on it and slammed it shut with a frustrated groan.

"You are not leaving here thinking that I am like them." he said.

"Yes, I am sir. Now get out of my way." Elizabeth said. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders.

"You are staying here until you hear me out. That's an order." He said.

"Well this is the one order I am going to disobey." Elizabeth said. She broke his hold. He grabbed her again around the shoulders. He was angry.

"You're pushing your luck cadet." His eyes were dark green with anger. Elizabeth was not going to take this manhandling lying down. She broke his hold and attempted to sweep his leg out from under him. He saw her coming and threw her away from him. She landed in the middle of the room.

Elizabeth got up and almost unconsciously they began to circle each other. It was a different sparring match.

"In my defense I did speak up for you." Dean said as he dodged a punch from her.

"Yes, you tried really hard." Elizabeth shot sarcastically. His elbow caught her in the middle but she managed to pull his arm behind him. He wrenched free and tried to sweep her leg out from under her which she jumped to avoid.

"I did!"

"They have your mother! They know how capable women can be!" Elizabeth said He pulled her to him to pin her down but she was able to get away.

"Ellen has to fight for that every damn day! Every woman in this camp has to fight against some man who doesn't see the potential."

"Don't patronize me." Elizabeth said. He grabbed her and managed to flip her onto the ground, she noticed he cushioned her fall somewhat to keep her head from hitting the ground. He fell with her, supporting his weight on his hands above her.

"I'm not patronizing you." He said angrily. "You are the best damn solider, man or woman, I have ever seen!"

"You think that?" Elizabeth asked trying to get out from underneath him but his knees pinned her to the ground.

"I do, you idjit." He said. His face was inches from her and she could feel his skin burning through her clothes.

"Good." Elizabeth said, she was still pissed and the fact that he called her an "idjit" was no help, and with a burst of strength she managed to roll them over so she was top. He looked up at her and she finally got a look at his tattoo, a pentagram in a circle. She pinned his hands above his head.

"I won." She said. She would have gotten up and headed out the door leaving him there but, then she found herself leaning down and kissing him. It was rough, still angry, and just as dirty as she could hope. There was still anger but now it was battle for dominance but the fight here was entirely different. They broke away as Dean ripped her jacket off. Elizabeth dug her nails into his arms as his hands slipped under her tank top. The bed was just a few feet away and he got up and dragged her up with him.

"Are you sure?' He asked as they backed towards it. Elizabeth gave his lip a hard nip.

"Damn right I am." She said. Her tank top joined her jacket on the floor and his hand palmed her breast. Her knees hit the back of the bed and she fell backwards, Dean following her.

"Do you even know my first name?" Elizabeth said reaching for the button of his pants.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth." He said emphasizing each name with hard kiss.

"Good." Was all Elizabeth could manage after that. That was definitely enough talking for now.