Well here it is! I must ask, is it sad when the highlight of my week is Thursday night, aka when I publish my next chapter? My life's taken a turn as of late and publishing my chapter and then seeing all the views and reviews I get in the days following seems to be the only thing to cheer me up these days. Not that I'm pressuring you all to review, I'm just making sure all of you who do review know exactly how much it means to me.

And for anyone wondering, no there's really been no more development with the previously mentioned crush. We haven't talked since last Thursday night (AFTER I published so I guess that actually was a good development hahaha). He randomly texted me a picture of a newborn calf from his farm yesterday afternoon. I know, right? Of course, when I replied back that I wanted one, he never replied so there you go.

I must say I forgot to mention this last Thursday (I have NO idea why I forgot!) but Scott Grimes (Don Malarkey for any fans who don't know actor's names haha) Tweeted me last week! Confession: THAT was the highlight of my week haha. Anyway, I tweeted him asking "what's it like being the hottest ginger on television and in the movies?" to which he responded "I don't know I'm not Ron Howard" Hahaha I found that ridiculously amusing and exciting and every other positive emotion one could feel from that situation.

Anyway, it's probably time we got on with the chapter. Read on!

Chapter Eight

Ten minutes into meeting Commander Morgan, Meg felt the man was slightly intimidating. He had just returned from a meeting with President Eisenhower and she knew he felt her presence was of much less importance. Even after his assistant had read off the list of her achievements, portraying her as some sort of god-like spy, he still seemed to find the whole ordeal a bit boring.

Immediately after the introductions, Morgan had a private show Meg to her room in the South Rotunda. A room in which she stayed for three days, only leaving at meal times or to wander aimlessly around London.

Dear Adam,

I'm only writing because I promised I would; other than that I have nothing to write about. Upon my arrival two days ago I was introduced to Commander Morgan (a very intimidating man). He seemed preoccupied (and unimpressed by all my accomplishments) and had me shown to my room. Adam I have not left this room since then, other than to get food! I have yet to meet anyone else other than Morgan and the private who showed me to my room (and I don't even remember his name!) From what the private insinuated, there are a large number of people involved in whatever I shall be doing but either they're all locked away as well or I keep missing them when I step out of my room for some fresh air.

If I'd known this was how it was going to be, I would have packed more books or a deck of cards to keep me occupied. I'm almost finished with Gone With the Wind (for the 6th time) and I don't know if I can start it over so quickly after finishing. I've tried taking a few walks around London to re-acquaintance myself with the city but the chilly November weather has me slightly turned off to the idea of walking around. I'm going insane, so please send me a long letter in reply so I have something else to read.

I did manage to find a nice cafe on my first day here so I sometimes find myself wandering there for tea time, but even then I get a table to myself and usually spend it reading over some form of literature or other. Yesterday I read through a pamphlet on current theatrical productions in the West End. Someone left it at my table but I'm glad they did, it's given me a few ideas of shows I can see if I have more evenings off.

How is everyone in Aldbourne doing? Are the Easy men staying relatively out of trouble? Please give me good news about my boys. I hope they are staying out of trouble and if they aren't, please order them to behave, for my sake.

What's the news on Lieutenant Winters' Court Martial? I'm not sure if you heard about the entire ordeal since you were gone for the beginning of it but Captain Sobel (that horrid man who tried to accuse us of driving jeeps whenever we felt like it) is now accusing others. He claims that Dick disobeyed orders and did not inspect the latrines when he was supposed to. However, apparently he changed the time of Dick's inspection and never informed him! First I would like to point out that inspecting latrines is something a private or punished man should be doing, not a lieutenant. Second, I can't believe the American military would actually allow Sobel to attempt to court martial Dick. I hope it all works out well, so please keep me informed. I feel out of the loop already and it's only been three days!

Much love,

Your sister

Four days after her arrival, Meg was finally summoned to the large meeting room. There, she was bombarded with the lovely task of being introduced to roughly 200 people of importance. It didn't take her long to realize she was there for a meeting which was to be held by Morgan and she wished someone had informed her of this so she could have dressed up a bit nicer. As it was, her green skirt and black blouse would just have to do.

"Gentlemen," Commander Morgan said after everyone had been seated. Meg huffed in silence that he seemed to have forgotten she was there. "We're here to continue the discussion on Operation Rankin. As you all know, I've just returned from meeting with President Eisenhower. While he was impressed with the plans for Operation Overlord, he was not willing to spare Anthony Biddle. He also made it clear that he doubts the odds of Marshall becoming Supreme Allied Commander."

A chorus of groans floated throughout the room and Meg scowled to herself. She wished she knew what they were talking about. It seemed she was the only one in the room who was out of the loop. Glancing on both sides of her, she decided that the two men seated next to her did not seem the type who would be willing to talk during a meeting. It looked like she was just going to have to wait and ask someone when the meeting was over.

"I know, I was disappointed as well," Morgan continued over the noise, silencing everyone with his voice. "But with those two factors in mind, we will need to alter the plans a bit. At some point over the next few months we will be doing just that, but for now we need to work on Rankin."

As the meeting progressed, Meg quickly realized on her own just what she was sitting in on. Operation Rankin was a plan created by the men around her on what to do in the case of a sudden German collapse.

Marco had brought her in on the ground floor of planning the Allied invasion!

Meg,

I hope London's treating you well. If the weather there has been anything like here at Aldbourne however, I'm sure it's not as enjoyable as it could be. Any word when I can come visit? I have a 48-hour pass coming up next weekend and I feel it'll go to waste otherwise. That is of course unless Sobel decides to revoke it. Don't be surprised, it's something he's known for around here. Maybe if you invite him, I can even drag Harry along. Lord knows he could use some fresh London air to get his mind off of Kitty; the man won't shut up about her. If I ever have the pleasure of meeting her when this war is over, she might be embarrassed with how much I already know about her. I hope right now you're laughing because you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've been around Harry less and I'm sure even you could toss out some Kitty Grogan facts that would shock the lady.

Hell, if this whole mess with Sobel's cleared up by then, maybe we can convince Dick to come along too. If anyone in our group deserves a weekend getaway from Aldbourne, it's him.

And before you ask, no there's been no major movement on Dick's court-martial. Yesterday he appealed his punishment and today he received a lovely note from Sobel declining. I know that statement probably confuses the hell out of you, especially since you seem to find the American way of doing things foolish. Let's just say I think this whole incident may turn ugly very quickly. I don't fancy trading places with Dick.

As far as the other men go, they're all fine. Continuing training as usual. George Luz keeps asking me if I've heard from you. Before you ask why, let me inform you that apparently someone witnessed me carrying you home from the bar that Saturday night. Don't shoot the messenger; it's just what I heard. I guess I may have been wrong when I told you that all the men would be at the pub later than us.

You're brother seems to be doing well. I don't know for sure, since he's still giving me the cold shoulder, but he's making friends. Not as well as you did of course, but then again he's not the only woman these men get to interact with on a daily basis so that's not surprising. He has been hanging out with your usual crowd: Luz, Muck, Malarkey, etc. If he ends up taking your place of honor in that group, Harry and I agree you're more than welcome to become a regular fixture to our threesome with Dick.

I wish I had more to tell you about Easy; I know you were eager to stay up on the gossip here but honestly Meg, there's been nothing.

Let me know about next weekend,

Lew

Meg scoffed to herself as she read the letter. It was a Saturday afternoon and she was heading back to her room after a morning meeting with a few of the officers she was working with. Her scoff was mostly because of the butterflies that hadn't stopped flittering about in her stomach since she saw the name on the return address.

She had had school girl crushes before, but not recently, and never on a married man. If she didn't watch herself, it was only going to end in heartbreak and then she'd be sorry.

Heartbreak. Was it really that serious of a crush?

"Ma'am," a voice called just as she was about to climb the stairs, pulling her from her silent musings. Stopping and lowering the letter, she turned to find a gentleman in British uniform standing below her.

He had dusty blonde hair that swept across his forehead, flattened down by his army cap. He looked to be about 30 and she was quick to note the chevrons on his shoulder.

"Captain," she said in greeting as she descended the steps and offered him her hand. He shook it with a smile.

"I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. Captain Roger Norris, British First Army."

"Agent Megan Myeroff," she said but he smirked.

"I already knew that. I don't think there's an officer here who doesn't know who you are."

"Yes, well I hadn't been formally introduced to anyone so I wasn't sure. Besides, you seem much more open to the idea of a woman being included in the group than most of the others," she said. Over the past couple days she had come to the realization that the men here would not be as accepting of her as the men of Easy. Scrutinizing side glances and annoyed facial expressions were all she had received in way of greeting whenever she arrived at a meeting.

"They're just old fashioned," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Where were you off to?"

"Up to my room," she said before holding up Lew's letter. "I've gotten some correspondence over the last couple days that I've neglected. Don't want anyone thinking I've gotten myself killed."

He smirked at her comment and she could tell that he thought she was joking. Despite the fact that he was willing to accept her on equal terms in the meetings, he didn't believe she'd ever be in a position where her life could be in danger. How foolish of him.

"Well if you're free tonight, I'd love to get a drink and hear about the IIA. It's not often one gets to talk to an agent from there."

"You know about the IIA?" she asked, suspicion setting in. Sure the agency wasn't a secret, but not many people knew more about it other than the fact that it was an intelligence agency that provided support in times of need.

"Well when we heard they were bringing in an agent from there, a couple of us did our research."

At this statement, Meg felt the wheels in her head begin to turn frantically. What could they have possibly found in their research? Did they know to expect her specifically before she arrived? Had they learned of other names as well? This was something she absolutely had to find out.

"I'd love to get a drink tonight," she said, putting on a false smile. "Say, seven o'clock?"

Their plans set, Meg bid him goodbye and hurried up the steps as fast as was ladylike. She had a very pressing letter she had to write.

Adam,

I hope you had your key nearby when you opened this letter (Although by now we should both know that any letter sent between us will be coded). As you can guess by the fact that I'm using our code, I have something important to tell you. Two things actually.

First, I've been sent here to work directly with a group of military officers led by Morgan. We're working on plans that will play a pivotal role in the expected Allied invasion. We've been discussing one plan at length but there's another plan that looms over our heads constantly, and I seem to be the only one here who doesn't already know what it is because I haven't had that explained to me yet. I'll let you know about it as soon as I see you in person next, assuming I've been informed of it by then of course.

Second, I was heading back to my room just now after receiving my mail and I was approached by an officer of the British First Army. His name was Captain Roger Norris and he told me he wanted to get drinks because it's not every day that one gets to talk to an agent of the IIA. Adam, I have no idea how he knows about the Agency but I agreed to drinks so I could find out what he knows. It could turn out that he knows nothing more than the average Brit, but there's always the chance that he's stumbled upon something crucial, whether he means harm by it or not. There's no point in warning against it because by the time you get this letter our meeting will have already taken place. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Let us hope it proves to be simple curiosity in our agency and nothing more.

On a lighter note, I wish you would respond to my letters quickly. You promised to write everyday but it's been a few days since my first letter and I have yet to hear from you. And don't you dare blame it on the post; I've received correspondence from others at Aldbourne already (and don't ask who for I won't tell you).

In said letter I was informed that you seem to be taking my place among the men of Easy Company. Careful now brother, don't tell me we'll have to have a fight to the death to see who gets the title of favorite Myeroff in the group. The writer of the letter also mentioned that you're being rather cold toward Lieutenant Nixon. Adam, please don't be childish. The lieutenant has done nothing but tease me a little; for the most part he's been friendly toward me and that's surely not a reason to treat him like dirt. Be nice, for my sake.

Love,

Meg

Finishing her most important letter, Meg leaned back to reread it. It may have been a little on the short side, but then again she had already written him once this week and not much had happened since then that she could write about. Besides, it's not like he had replied to her first letter and given her any topics of conversation to expand upon. Deciding it was complete, she set it aside before rereading the letter from Lew, trying to decide what to write in reply.

She scrawled out the name Lew before wrinkling her nose. If she was going to open the letter by scolding him, it felt more proper to use his full name, not his nickname. Scratching the name out, she scrunched the paper up in a ball and started over again.

Lewis,

First, I must inform you that I'm furious with you. You promised me no one would find out about my walk home last Saturday. Now I'm assuming the entire regiment knows! I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again, after you've given me that information. How will I be able to face the boys now? I fear whenever they seem me, all they'll be able to think of is the fact that I can't seem to hold my liquor and have to be carried home.

Also, I thought I told you that you weren't allowed to visit me in London? Please be smart, although if you and Harry really do need a getaway, I may run into you boys for an hour or so between meetings while you're here. However, I don't know how long I'll be able to stay in your company if Harry does choose to talk about Kitty as much as you make it sound like he has been of late. That must get old. It's a shame Dick won't be able to come with you. I hope things change and he can.

They're keeping me somewhat busy here. I wish I could tell you what I'm doing because I think it may play a large role in the war. However, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, and maybe by then I'll be able to tell you exactly what I took part in. For now I'll simply tell you that no one in Easy Company has to fear me choosing British Naval officers over them. None of the men here seem to think I'm capable of doing my job. At least everyone at Aldbourne knew I was good at what I did, despite being a woman.

Please tell the boys I miss them all and any letters sent my way would be much appreciated. I've only brought one book with me and I'm almost finished with it so any extra reading material will be welcomed with open arms. There's only so many times a girl can walk around St. James's Park before it gets boring so the idea of reading and writing letters to all my favorite men is actually appealing, expected hand cramp and all.

As far as Dick is concerned, tell him I'm thinking of him. I have a few choice words I would say to a certain Captain if I saw him, but it's probably better if I don't write them down here. I don't want to get anyone in trouble. While you're right and I don't agree with the American way of things, I'm sure this whole debacle will get sorted out quickly and everything will be back to normal in no time. It just must be hard on Dick until it does.

Alright I know I've told you twice not to visit me, but perhaps I could use a friendly face around here. I haven't even been in Westminster a week but already I feel alone and out of place. In fact, I don't fully understand why it was requested that I attend these meetings; none of the men let me have a voice anyway. I know I said I may play a large role in this war, but honestly I want to do something on my own, not as a large group.

Write me if you do plan on visiting London. I hope to hear from you soon.

Meg

As she signed the letter with a flourish, she had a sudden, unexpected urge to put the word love above her name. Setting her pen down, she sighed and put her head in her hands. It seemed as if she could no longer deny the effect Lewis Nixon seemed to have on her.

She knew he was a married man. She knew it was wrong. Yet there was this small part of her that enjoyed the attention. She had never received that kind of attention before. Even the boys like George, with all their teasing, flirtatious remarks hadn't had the same effect on her that Lew had. Maybe it was because she knew they were joking about it but what was going on between her and Lew felt 100 percent serious.

It scared the hell out of her. What would people think if they found out? Fawning over a married man was the mother of all sins for a woman. And what if he returned it? What would people say if something actually started between them? She would essentially be his mistress, and she knew no self-respecting woman would ever agree to that set up.

But still, she yearned to be around him. She knew it was just an infatuation but she wanted more of him. She wanted to be the butt of his jokes, she wanted to be the subject of his conversations. It was unhealthy to get this smitten so soon.

She only hoped this time away from him would weaken it.

And yet here she was, practically begging him to come visit her in her letter. She stared at it for a second, debating rewriting it. Finally she shook her head, folding it up and placing it in an envelope.

He had seemed adamant on dragging Harry to London to visit her so who was she to deny them that? Besides if Harry was involved, it was sure to strictly be a visit among friends, nothing more.

She wouldn't let it evolve into anything more.

At seven o'clock sharp, Meg met Captain Norris at the bottom of the stairs and the two headed to a local lounge for a drink. She had spent a good part of the afternoon debating what to wear. She didn't want to dress up too much and make him feel awkward discussing business things with a woman but at the same time she didn't want to go underdressed and not be able to use her seduction skills to pull the information out of him. Picking out her outfit was a careful process.

As she began to put her hair up in curlers, she thought back to the way the boys had reacted when they saw her in her navy wrap-around dress. It had certainly impressed them as much as she wanted to impress the captain tonight. Pausing in her curling, she walked over and pulled the dress out of her closet, eyeing it with a nod. It was perfect.

"So Captain," Meg said after he'd started his second drink. They had settled into a small table in the middle of the lounge. Meg chose the location, hoping it would be too busy for people to pick up anything they were saying. He had finished his first drink quickly, hopping up from the table to get another one before they were able to really start any conversation. While she would usually be annoying by the fact that he didn't seem to be paying close attention to the level of her drink, this time she didn't mind.

She needed to stay sober tonight.

"Yes?" he asked, leaning in to hear her better over the music playing from the live swing band over in the corner.

"What did you hear about me?" she asked, trying to make her face as coy as possible. She knew it was dirty to use her skills on someone on her side but she wanted to know what was out there about her. If the British could find out information, so could the Germans.

"Not a lot," Roger said with a chuckle, "and certainly nothing about you personally." At this statement she relaxed, instantly feeling ten times better. "When the Commander mentioned that an agent would be coming in to work on the plans, someone asked from where. Obviously we were expecting him to say British intelligence or someone from the American government. When he said IIA, we were shocked. We thought perhaps he was joking," he added with another small laugh.

"Why were you shocked?" she asked with genuine interest. The IIA was known in Europe for sending agents to the aid of countries in need, especially if the country in question was an ally of the UK.

"We figured it was under your pay grade," he answered truthfully. "You lot are out there doing heroic, action-packed rescues and missions. Why the hell would they send an IIA agent to plan something?"

"Maybe because they know we know what we're doing?" she offered, instantly hoping she hadn't offended him. She had basically just insinuated that all the men at the meeting didn't know what they were doing. She was relieved when he laughed at her answer.

"Fair enough," he replied, taking a long drink as the conversation died.

"So then what exactly did you find when you did your research?" she finally prodded. She hoped he was a little under the influence and wouldn't find her questions too pushy. Otherwise he would shut down and she'd never find the information out. She suddenly wished she had waited until he'd had a couple more drinks.

"Well Sergeant Wellington mentioned that he'd worked with a member of the IIA before so most of our information came from him."

Meg's ears perked up.

"Thomas Wellington?" she asked and he nodded, raising an eyebrow.

"You know him?" At her nod of confirmation, he laughed. "Don't tell me you were the IIA agent he worked with."

"No, but I know who was," she said, suddenly wishing she hadn't already sent Adam's letter. She was sure he'd find it ironic that his one-time substitute partner would now be working with Meg, his usual partner. "You'll have to introduce me to Sergeant Wellington at the next meeting on Monday."

"That'll be a little hard," Roger informed her as he finished his drink. "He's been away since the day before you arrived and I don't know when we're expecting him back. I'll definitely introduce you though."

"Thank you," Meg said, finally relaxing into her seat.

She could definitely use her second drink now.

Meg,

Harry and I are catching a cab to London Saturday morning. While our pass officially starts Friday after dinner, we both have weekly paperwork we need to have turned into the Colonel before we can leave. Sorry if you thought you'd have the full 48 hours with us. It looks more like half that instead. We'll still enjoy ourselves though. Harry's excited to see you, as am I. It's only been a couple weeks, but it's such a change without you here, causing all kinds of trouble for everyone.

I haven't mentioned anything about our visit to any of the boys. I didn't think you'd care to be bombarded. Of course that also means I haven't said anything to Adam, mostly because I'm afraid he'll tear my head off, but also because he's your brother so you should be the one to tell him people are visiting.

I don't know where you're staying, but why don't we meet in St. James's Park at noon? We can grab a bite to eat before spending the afternoon seeing the sights. If you send a letter in reply to this, I most likely won't get it before we leave for London so it looks like you're stuck meeting us. You can't stand up a couple of swell American paratroopers now can you?

Keep your plans open for Saturday night, Harry and I are trying to come up with something entertaining to do and you know us, once we think of something it's sure to be something great. Maybe we can spend the day checking out the sights and deciding on something to do in the evening. Basically, we're expecting you to spend the whole weekend with us. I hope you didn't have other plans.

Still nothing major on Dick. I of course will let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I can't wait to hear about the adventure you've been having. I'm sure it's much more exciting than what you would be doing here, with the exception of spending time with me of course.

We all miss you here. This past weekend was our first weekend without you since meeting you and I know all of us felt a little more down because of it. The boys were their usual selves at the pub but I noticed they all glanced at the door every time it opened. The only person they could have all been expecting was you, so I guess they thought you'd surprise us.

See you in a few days,

Lew

So since I ended the chapter in italics, I felt the need to do this first line in regular font so it doesn't get confusing.

Anywho...

I got SIX reviews last chapter. SIX. And ok, so maybe two of them were from the same person *cough* IceColdInAlex *cough* but that's still the most I think I've gotten on a chapter for this story (If I'm mistaken don't bite my head off lol)

paintmyworlddarkblue - first: every week when I type your name, I'm always terrified I've spelled it wrong so I recheck it like, 3 times. If I ever do spell it wrong, know that' I'm terribly sorry a thousand times over. I'm glad you love George and Dick. George is one of my favorites and since he isn't a love interest, I wanted him to play a large role. As for Dick...well my roommate/editor is adament that he should be her love interest so I never hear the end of it haha. Thanks for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!

IceColdInAlex - Your intuition is very good when it comes to her mission...haha. As for Meg feeling guilty, it's sad but it needs to be there. My first draft had her feeling no guilt whatsoever and my roommate/editor was like "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING!? WHY ARE THEY NOT FEELING GUILTY ABOUT THIS!? HE'S MARRIED FOR GOODNESS SAKE!" and a bunch of other statements that were in all caps and covered the margins of my draft haha. Thanks for reviewing!

LovingBOBThePacific - Totally got your hints hahahaha. I don't think I really have him as a pivotol character but I'll go through my draft and try to add him a little more in future chapters, just for you :) I do agree that he has a nice voice haha. It used to bother me, but I totally grew on it and now it gives me chills lol. Thanks for your review! I'm working on reading your one story (slowly but surely!) and as soon as I'm done I'll start on the other one! YAY!

LauRa-ReaDinG-XoX - Thanks for your review! This mission will most likely not harm her but I can't guarantee other things won't! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you review again! :)

Lift the Wings - Thanks so much for being a new reviewer! And I agree, I LOVE Nix too! (and he is quite yummy, isn't he?)